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Mythology in Marble

Chapter 36: ART.
By Louie M. Bell
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About This Book

A concise guide that pairs brief retellings of classical myths with descriptive analyses of the marble sculptures inspired by them, offering readers accessible explanations of how narrative themes inform pose, expression, and iconography. Each entry includes notes on artistic features and provenance alongside poetic quotations and illustrations to reinforce popular interpretations. Practical tools such as a table of Greek and Roman deity equivalents and a suggested reading list are appended to aid further study. The overall aim is to equip museumgoers and general readers with the background needed to appreciate mythological sculpture without requiring specialized art-historical training.

Hercules.
“The Hero.”

“I toil no more
On earth, nor wield again the mighty strength
Which Zeus once gave me for the cure of ills;
I have run my race; I have done my work; I rest
Forever from the toilsome days I gave
To the suffering race of men.”
—Wm. Morris.

STORY.
THE DEMI-GOD.

Hercules is one of the most significant figures in Grecian mythology. He was the son of Jupiter by a mortal maiden named Alcmene. Juno, who hated the children of her husband by mortal mothers, declared war against him from his birth. Through her decrees there were imposed upon him a succession of desperate undertakings which are called the Twelve Labors of Hercules. The variety and motives of these labors make up a story which might easily be turned into Christian allegory. Through them we learn not only of the strength of Hercules and his victories over monstrous evils, but also of his frailties which he vanquished by superhuman will.

INTERPRETATION.

Hercules is a sun hero, born of the sky (Jupiter) and the dawn (Alcmene). His twelve great tasks are interpreted to represent either the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve months of the solar year, or the twelve hours of daylight.

ART.

“Great Alcides stooping with his toil
Rests on his club.”
—Pope.

This colossal statue, called the Farnese Hercules, was found in 1540 in the ruins of the baths of Caracalla, Rome, and is now one of the chief attractions of the Naples Museum, where it was placed by the Farnese family in 1790. There has been much dispute as to its origin, but the conclusion to which criticism is now pointing is that it was executed by Glycon in the first century.

The anatomy of the figure, though exaggerated to be in keeping with the character of the hero, is well worth study.