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3.11 Hercules

Hercules, the hero son of Jupiter and Alcmene, was a popular deity and 57 figurines plus two clubs have been identified. The most common depiction of Hercules is that of a nude, standing with his right arm raised to hold a club and his left arm extended out from the body and draped in a lionskin (75, 76, 77 and 87). Twenty figurines have this form, while only one from Bitterne, Hampshire (573), holds a club in his raised left hand. Another small group of figures have a raised right arm with a club, but the lionskin is draped over the head (90, 96 and 1147).

Other figures show Hercules with the lionskin draped over his left shoulder and forearm, and his arm on his hip (82, 93, 714, 896 and 1045), raised (263 and 495) or to the side (89, 91, 297, 306 and 606). He may or may not hold a club in his left hand. While the standing figures with raised club are usually clean-shaven, those with drapery may be bearded. A further two bearded Hercules show him kneeling (303 and 816) and two show him holding a club in his left hand and a cup in his right (330 and 1064). Another figure of particular interest is high-quality Archer 169 from London, which may be depicting Hercules shooting the Stymphalian birds. This figurine was probably imported from the Continent. Finally, Figurine 94 from Bressingham, Norfolk shows him standing with a small winged figure of Cupid on his shoulders.


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