Hercules at Museo Archeologico Nazional - Naples, Campania, Italy
N 40° 51.221 E 014° 15.051
33T E 436855 N 4522784
Hercules at Rest is larger than life, just like the hero himself. Of marble, it is a Roman copy carved in the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries AD from a Greek original of the second half 4th century BC.
Waymark Code: WMKCAQ
Location: Campania, Italy
Date Posted: 03/18/2014
Views: 7
[Text for this entry is taken from an interpretive display in the museum.]
Hercules at Rest is larger than life, just like the hero himself. Of marble, it is a Roman copy carved in the late 2nd or early 3rd centuries AD from a Greek original of the second half 4th century BC.
In this magnificent sculpture, the hero appears exhausted and pensive after the umpteenth labour undertaken for his cousin Eurytheus. The fruit that he carries in his right hand, held behind his back, suggests Hercules' acquisition of apples from the Garden of the Hesperides. The rock hints at the setting for that particular mythological episode. The hero has put down his club and lion-skin and halted, although his feet still convey a sense of movement on his journey. The dynamic pose of his legs is offset by the sagging of the head and shoulders, and the statue is so unbalanced towards the left that in reality the figure would be unable to stand up.
The piece is, for the most part, authentically ancient, apart from the left forearm, restored in plaster.
Time Period: Ancient
Approximate Date of Epic Period: 2500 a. C.
Epic Type: Mythical
Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art
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