Limestone figure of kneeling Herakles

Limestone figure of kneeling Herakles

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This very fine sculpture shows Herakles as an archer. He has a quiver and scabbard, and was probably shown drawing his bow. The scale and pose suggest that he originally stood in a pediment. The subject and treatment of the drapery clearly reflect Greek influence; indeed, the archer strongly recalls his counterpart in the west pediment of the temple of Aphaia at Aegina.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Limestone figure of kneeling HeraklesLimestone figure of kneeling HeraklesLimestone figure of kneeling HeraklesLimestone figure of kneeling HeraklesLimestone figure of kneeling Herakles

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.