Hercules in the present bronze is shown breathless and tired. It has been suggested that the statue depicts the hero after having strangled the Nemean Lion or resting after fetching the apples of Hesperides, or indeed recovering from the efforts of his twelve labours.

The Antique marble of the Farnese Hercules is an overwhelming 317cm. in height. It is currently in the collection of the Museo Nazionale, Naples. It is beleived to be by Glycon, designed for the baths of Caracalla, executed early in A.D. 3, and a copy of an earlier work by Lysippus.