Bust of Commodus as Hercules
2024 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Bust of Commodus as Hercules

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This late 2nd c. sculpture depicts Emperor Commodus as Hercules, featuring the Nemean lion’s skin, Hesperides’ apples, and a club. The Triton torsos in white marble symbolize a marine procession celebrating Commodus’s apotheosis. This iconography, common in sarcophagus decoration, highlights the emperor’s divine aspirations and the fusion of imperial and mythological imagery.