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Heracles of Antikythera

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Heracles of Antikythera
Greek: Ηρακλής των Αντικυθήρων
The statue in the NAMA
Year4th century BC
CatalogueNo 5742
MediumMarble
MovementHellenistic
SubjectHeracles resting
Dimensions2.50 m (98 in)
ConditionHead missing; marble eroded
LocationNational Archaeological Museum, Athens
OwnerGreece
Websitehttps://www.namuseum.gr/

The Heracles of Antikythera (Greek: Ηρακλής των Αντικυθήρων) is a large ancient Greek marble sculpture of the Greek hero Heracles, found in the wreck of Antikythera among several other findings, and now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.[1]

Description

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After spending centuries at the bottom of the sea, the sculpture is eroded with fragments missing.[2] It was retrieved gradually, its discovery made in several stages: the body was brought to light by divers who discovered the wreck of Antikythera in 1901, while his left hand was found in 2016 and his (presumed) head in 2022.[1] The body is 2.50 m. tall and its unattached head is 65 cm, making it a larger-than-life statue.[1]

The sculpture represents Heracles at rest, leaning on his club; it is a Hellenistic copy of the Heracles of Lysippus (dated around 320 BC), of the same type as the Farnese Hercules.[2][3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Angeliki Simosi; Lorenz E. Baumer (November 2022). "L'épave d'Anticythère livre peu à peu ses derniers secrets". Archéologia (in French) (614): 56–63..
  2. ^ a b Kaltsas, Nikolaos (2002). Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Translated by David Hardy. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. p. 251. ISBN 9780892366866.
  3. ^ Vermeule, Cornelius (1975). "The Weary Herakles of Lysippos". American Journal of Archaeology. 79 (4): 323–332. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
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