HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.

Herakles was the greatest of the Greek heroes who, through his brute strength, cleverness and determination, and with the assistance of his patron Athena, was able to complete his Twelve Labors and later join the Olympians as an immortal. Here the hero is depicted wearing the Nemean Lion skin over his head, a reference to the fruits of his First Labor, when he killed the beast that had been ravaging the town of Nemea. The lion was impervious to conventional weapons, so Herakles strangled it, and then flayed it using its own claws. Forever after, Herakles wore its pelt for its protective properties.

This bearded head of Herakles recalls the New York Herakles type, named for the example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is based on a now-lost Greek original, likely in bronze, from the late 4th century B.C. (see no. 465 in J. Boardman, “Herakles,” in LIMC, vol. IV). The present example is a Hellenistic variant loosely based on this type. The lion’s head is well detailed, its fangs framing the hero’s face, its mane a mass of thick, flame-like locks, with some original reg pigment preserved. The hero’s hair is brushed back in thick, impressionistic locks that are minimally chiseled, the style recalling that seen on other Hellenistic originals such as the statue of Agias from the Daochos monument at Delphi, pl. 22 in B.S. Ridgway, Hellenistic Sculpture I, The Styles of ca. 331-200 B.C. His mustache and beard, divided at his chin, are similarly sculpted. His narrow eyes feature heavy upper lids.