The Legend Of Herakles: The Twelve Labors

Herakles, later known by the Romans as Hercules, is one of the most well-known mythological beings in all of the ancient world and the world today. He was a half-man and half-god, being the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. The story of the mortal god Herakles, is one of great tragedy and redemption. When the jealous wife of Zeus, Hera, still cannot forgive her husband for the adultery he committed, she sends Herakles insane and causes him to unwilling kill his wife and children. Following that tragic event, Herakles went to see what he could do in order to cleanse himself with the advice of the Oracle at Delphi. During this visit he was told to go to Eurystheus and complete the impossible challenges that he is asked to perform, these are what come to be known as the twelve
While engaging in these twelve labors, Herakles’ strength and superhuman power is described as something that no human mortal could accomplish, but that every Greek would attempt to get as close to it as possible. The legend of Herakles, was the inspiration for many artists and important people (e.g. politicians, priests, soldiers, etc.) in the ancient world. The focus of this paper is on the discovery, Hellenistic characteristics, and scholarly interpretations of a pinnacle piece of artwork from the Hellenistic age, the Farnese Herakles.

The Farnese Herakles was found in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome by the Farnese family in the year 1546. Excavations took place under the grandson of Cardinal Allesandro Farnese and during these excavations, the Farnese unearthed one of the largest collections of ancient Greek art up to this point. In this collection they found the colossal statue of the Farnese Herakles, separated into pieces. The statue originally was found with only the upper parts of the body, beginning with the