Hercules of the Forum Boarium

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Hercules Musei Capitolini MC1265 n2

Hercules of the Forum Boarium is one of two gilded bronze statues of

Palazzo Dei Conservatori
for safe keeping in 1950 and remain there today. The Hercules of Forum Boarium was likely to have been a cult image of Temple of Hercules that stood by the ancient cattle market.

Description

The bronze sculpture is slightly over life-sized

Nemean Lion that he defeated on his first Labor.[2]
Both sculptures display contrapposto, a typical style from Lysippos in which the figure's weight is thrown entirely on one foot. Though their muscles are exaggerated, they stand in marked contrast to the bearded, burly and perhaps more familiar Farnese Hercules.

Subject

Hercules-Bronze-Vatican-DSC 0216, also known as the Mastai Hercules

The statue of Hercules from Forum Boarium is based on his twelve labors where he must bring back the Golden Apples of Hesperides to Eurystheus. Hercules found Prometheus during his search and freed him from his prison. In return, Prometheus told him where he could find the Golden Apples. The apples were guarded by a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon who could not be conquered by Hercules. To defeat Ladon, he needed the help of Atlas, the titan that held the Earth and Heavens on his shoulder. Hercules managed to convince Atlas to help him get the apples, but in exchange, Hercules would have to carry the weight of the world while Atlas acquired the apples. When Atlas returned with the apples, he did not want to retake the weight of the world back. Hercules tricked Atlas by saying that he would gladly stay and hold up the world, but asked Atlas if he could take the weight again so he can adjust his cloak. Atlas took back the weight of the world and Hercules immediately picked up the Golden Apples and ran off.[3]

History

The temple of the Forum Boarium in Rome is located by the

Campidoglio in 1510[5] The statue of Hercules Aemilianus is believed to have been commissioned by either Aemilius Paullus, who dedicated a tomb to Hercules, or by Scipio Aemilianus.[2] The statue was found after Romans demolished a portion to create space for their new rotunda.[6] There are two ancient temples where the statue may have been displayed: the temple located between Circus Maximus and the Church of Santa Maria and the temple of Hercules Ameliana. The statue of Hercules of the Theatre of Pompey, also known as the statue of Hercules Invictus, was discovered in 1864 near the Theatre of Pompey, and is known as the Hercules Mastai or Mastai Righetti. This is the gilded, bronze statue of Hercules that is now located in the Vatican Rotunda and is currently (2023) being restored.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ Height 2.41 m.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1468-0092.1990.tb00215.x
    .
  3. ^ Symmachus, Aurelius. "The Temple of Hercules". www.roman-empire.net. Archived from the original on 2006-01-04. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  4. ^ Eugène Müntz, Les arts à la cour des papes pendant le XVe et le XVIe siècle, vol. III:177f.
  5. ^ inv. no. MC1265; Haskell and Penny 1981:227
  6. ^ Fabio, Barry (March 2011). "The Mouth of Truth and the Forum Boarium: Oceanus, Hercules, and Hadrian". The Art Bulletin. 93 (1) (Vol. 93, No. 1 ed.). College Art Association: 17–19.
  7. ^ "Hercules Mastai".

References

  • Haskell, Francis, and Nicholas Penny, 1981. Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900 (Yale University Press) Cat. no. 45.
  • Platner, Samuel Ball, and Thomas Ashby, 1926. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, (London: Oxford University Press): "Aedes Herculis Victoris" (On-line text)

External links

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