Hercules and Hercules Constellation - Vienna, Austria
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 11.650 E 016° 22.834
33U E 602595 N 5338802
This sculpture is part of one of the fountains located in the gardens of the Belvedere Palace in Vienna.
Waymark Code: WMKQ0Y
Location: Wien, Austria
Date Posted: 05/14/2014
Views: 6
This work was originally submitted to the figuratives sculpture category as "Two and a Half Men". But it was denied after the reviewer, Lumbricus, wrote to someone at the Belvedere Palace and was informed that the work depicts Hercules and Antaeus.
The sculpture apparently depicts the death of Antaeus after Hercules has crushed him in a bearhug.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Antaeus had defeated most of his opponents until it came to his fight with Heracles (who was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides for his 11th Labour). Upon finding that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing him to the ground as he would reheal due to his parentage (Gaia), Heracles discovered the secret of his power. Holding Antaeus aloft, Heracles crushed him in a bearhug. The story of Antaeus has been used as a symbol of the spiritual strength which accrues when one rests one's faith on the immediate fact of things.[clarification needed] The struggle between Antaeus and Heracles is a favorite subject in ancient and Renaissance sculpture."
Next to this pair is a young boy who is half merman...or merboy. The fountain is quite large and has a shallow pool.
As for the Hercules Constellation, Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Hercules is a constellation. It is named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is the fifth largest of the modern constellations."