Classical

Limestone statue of Herakles

In the late sixth century B.C. a local Cypriot god was assimilated with the powerful animal-slaying Greek hero, Herakles. On Cyprus he is shown bearded or beardless, wearing a lion's skin and a short tunic and holding a miniature lion in his hand. Herakles was the male divinity most often represented in Cypriot sanctuaries. In the Classical period, King Evagoras of Salamis placed images of Herakles as a Panhellenic hero on his coinage. At the same time the Phoenician kings at Kition identified him with the Phoenician god, Melqart, who was worshiped at Kition. WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 21 3/8 × 8 × 2 3/4 in., 14 lb. (54.3 × 20.3 × 7 cm, 6.4 kg)

Date

350 - 300 BC

Accession No.

74.51.2660

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

Sanctuary of Golgoi-Ayios Photios (?)

References

Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1885. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 1. pl. LXXXVI.578, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1098, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). 1990. Vol. 5: Herakles-Kenchrias. "Herakles (Cypri)," p. 194, no. 14, pl. 162, Zürich: Artemis Verlag.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 344, p. 214, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 320, p. 240, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.