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Marble statue of a bearded Hercules

68–98 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 162
Restorations made during the early 17th century: both legs, the plinth, the support at the left leg, pieces in the lion’s skin. The arms were also restored but have been removed.

This statue and the over-life-sized statue of Hercules across the courtyard in all probability were made as a pair to decorate one of the great spaces in a large public bath. Although they are much restored, their stance and attributes are essentially correct and are variants on long-established statue types that probably originated in images of the Greek hero Herakles dating to the fourth century B.C. They were part of the large collection of ancient sculpture assembled in Rome at the beginning of the seventeenth century by a wealthy Genoese banker, the Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Marble statue of a bearded Hercules
  • Period: Early Imperial, Flavian
  • Date: 68–98 CE
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Marble, Island
  • Dimensions: H. without pedestal 93 3/4 in. (238.20 cm.)
  • Classification: Stone Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, 1903
  • Object Number: 03.12.14
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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1271. Marble statue of a bearded Hercules

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