Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano
Encyclopedia
The Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano is a Roman
Sarcophagus
from Genzano
which is in store at the British Museum
. It features the Twelve Labours of Hercules. It has been dated to about AD 150-180. It is 221 cm long, 76 cm high and 91.5 cm wide.
On the front of the sarcophagus Hercules is depicted performing five of his twelve tasks, from left to right:
The side panels provide two additional scenes of Hercules:
The remaining five labours are shown on the front of the lid, from left to right:
These later scenes are framed by images of Hercules as a child strangling the serpents sent by Hera to kill him (left) and Hercules as an old man receiving immortality (right).
The image of Geryon depicts him with three heads.
The stone for this sarcophagus came from Marmara Island
, Turkey
. It is unknown whether this sarcophagus was exported as finished item or completed in a workshop in Rome
.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
from Genzano
Genzano di Roma
Genzano di Roma is a town and comune in the province of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani, at a distance of 29 km from Rome, on the Alban Hills.-History:The origin of the name Genzano is still disputed...
which is in store at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. It features the Twelve Labours of Hercules. It has been dated to about AD 150-180. It is 221 cm long, 76 cm high and 91.5 cm wide.
On the front of the sarcophagus Hercules is depicted performing five of his twelve tasks, from left to right:
- leading CerberusCerberusCerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
from the gates of underworldUnderworldThe Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death... - taking HippolytaHippolytaIn Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons....
's girdle - plucking the golden apples of the garden of the HesperidesHesperidesIn Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean....
- taming the ferocious horses of DiomedesDiomedesDiomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, known for his participation in the Trojan War.He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his maternal grandfather, Adrastus. In Homer's Iliad Diomedes is regarded alongside Ajax as one of the best warriors of all...
- overcoming the Nemean lionNemean LionThe Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived at Nemea. It was eventually killed by Heracles. It could not be killed with mortal weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack...
The side panels provide two additional scenes of Hercules:
- struggling with the Ceryneian HindCeryneian HindIn Greek mythology, the Ceryneian Hind , also called Cerynitis, was an enormous hind , who lived in Keryneia, Greece. It was sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt, animals and unmarried women. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze or brass, and it was said that it could...
- fighting the Lernaean HydraLernaean HydraIn Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast, with reptilian traits, that possessed many heads — the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint, and for each head cut off it grew two more — and poisonous breath so virulent even...
The remaining five labours are shown on the front of the lid, from left to right:
- capturing the Erymanthian boarErymanthian BoarIn Greek mythology, the Erymanthian Boar is remembered in connection with The Twelve Labours, in which Heracles, the enemy of Hera, visited in turn "all the other sites of the Goddess throughout the world, to conquer every conceivable 'monster' of nature and rededicate the primordial world to its...
- cleansing the Augean stables
- shooting the Stymphalian birdsStymphalian birdsIn Greek mythology, the Stymphalian birds were man-eating birds with beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims, and were sacred to Ares, the god of war. Furthermore, their dung was highly toxic...
- capturing the Cretan bullCretan BullIn Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was either the bull that carried away Europa or the bull Pasiphaë fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur.- Origin :...
- defeating GeryonGeryonIn Greek mythology, Geryon , son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern...
These later scenes are framed by images of Hercules as a child strangling the serpents sent by Hera to kill him (left) and Hercules as an old man receiving immortality (right).
The image of Geryon depicts him with three heads.
The stone for this sarcophagus came from Marmara Island
Marmara Island
Marmara is a Turkish island in the Sea of Marmara. It is the largest island in the Sea of Marmara that is the center of Marmara district in Balıkesir Province...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It is unknown whether this sarcophagus was exported as finished item or completed in a workshop in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
External links
- Object reference: GR 1873.8-20.760 British Museum database entry