Intaglio Depicting the Head of Hercules, 18th Century CE - 2nd Century CE
Carnelian-Gold
FJ.6530
This intaglio is set in an 18 karat gold ring. According to the Greek playwright Euripides, when Hercules wished to return to Argos he needed permission of his cousin Eurystheus,...
This intaglio is set in an 18 karat gold ring.
According to the Greek playwright Euripides, when Hercules wished to return to Argos he needed permission of his cousin Eurystheus, who stipulated a condition that he must first carry out twelve Labors in order to rid the world of certain monsters. The first of these gargantuan tasks was killing the Nemean Lion which was terrorizing the land of Nemea (Greece). Once he had slain the lion Hercules flayed it and adorned himself in the skin using the head as a helmet. This finely engraved intaglio shows the mythical hero wearing his trophy, which was said to be impervious to steel and fire.
According to the Greek playwright Euripides, when Hercules wished to return to Argos he needed permission of his cousin Eurystheus, who stipulated a condition that he must first carry out twelve Labors in order to rid the world of certain monsters. The first of these gargantuan tasks was killing the Nemean Lion which was terrorizing the land of Nemea (Greece). Once he had slain the lion Hercules flayed it and adorned himself in the skin using the head as a helmet. This finely engraved intaglio shows the mythical hero wearing his trophy, which was said to be impervious to steel and fire.