Greek Artifact Terracotta Roundel Bearded Head Herakles Hercules w Lion Skin Mane Headdress Nemean Lion Twelve Labors Relief Sculpture Classical Period 4th Century BC
Ancient Greek Eastern Mediterranean small relief sculpture roundel of bearded Hercules, with the Nemean Lion skin and mane headdress. Estimated by similar terracotta roundels and detail, it is estimated to have been created approximately 4 Century BC. The style of Hercules with lion is similar to that of jewelry made in the Islands of Caria, Cos.
Hide of a lion/lion mane over Hercules' head; (a reference to the Nemean Lion of Hercules’s Twelve Labors).
The 12 Labors of Hercules
The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his wife and children.
When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders.
As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero.
His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering that would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.
• Labor 1: The Nemean Lion
• Labor 2: The Lernean Hydra
• Labor 3: The Hind of Ceryneia
• Labor 4: The Erymanthean Boar
• Labor 5: The Augean Stables
• Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds
• Labor 7: The Cretan Bull
• Labor 8: The Horses of Diomedes
• Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyte
• Labor 10: Geryon's Cattle
• Labor 11: The Apples of the Hesperides
• Labor 12: Cerberus
Ancient Greek
Eastern Mediterranean
Terracotta Roundel with Relief of Bearded Head of Herakles / Hercules with Lion Skin / Mane Headdress
Classical Period
4th Century BC
Terracotta disc pierced with a hole for suspension, possibly for use for an accomplishment/accolade, such as an awarded medal, or jewelry.
Measures approximately 2.4"
There are sections of calcite deposits seen on the outer surface. Roundel sculpture relief is in excellent, stable condition.
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