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Hercules of the Forum Boarium

Hercules of the Forum Boarium is a gilded bronze statue of Hercules discovered during excavations at Rome’s Forum Boarium under Pope Sixtus IV. The sculpture is 241 cm tall and is generally thought to have stood in the surviving Temple of Hercules Victor at the site in antiquity. Pliny the Elder mentions such an image in his Natural History. Hercules is shown holding a club in his right hand and three apples of the Hesperides in his left. The statue is dated to the 2nd century BC and is displayed on the Capitoline. A related gilded bronze Hercules, depicted with the Nemean lion skin, was found in 1864 among the ruins of Pompey’s Theatre.

Hercules of the Forum Boarium, a gilded bronze nude male statue holding a club and three round objects.
The Hercules of the Forum Boarium shown as a gilded bronze statue with a worn surface revealing darker bronze beneath.
© · CC BY-SA 4.0
Hercules of the Forum Boarium statue holding a club and three golden apples.
The Hercules of the Forum Boarium shown with his club and three apples in hand.
· Public domain
Gilded torso of Hercules of the Forum Boarium holding a club and small round objects.
Close-up of the gilded torso of Hercules of the Forum Boarium, with a club in one hand and small round objects in the other.
© · CC BY 2.0
Engraving of Hercules of the Forum Boarium showing a muscular nude male figure holding a club and small rounded objects.
Engraving of Hercules of the Forum Boarium, showing the muscular nude figure with a club and raised hand.
1646 © Bloemaert, Cornelis; Ferrari, Giovanni Battista; Mascardi, Vitalis.; Scheus, Hermann · Public domain
Monochrome print of Hercules of the Forum Boarium, shown as a nude muscular figure holding a club and a cluster of apples.
Hercules of the Forum Boarium depicted in a monochrome print, with the figure holding a club and the apples of the Hesperides.
© Rijksmuseum · CC0

Identification

TitleHercules of the Forum Boarium
Original-language nameГеркулес с Бычьего форума
TypeAncient Roman gilded bronze statue
SubjectHercules (Heracles)
Alternative namesCapitoline Hercules; Hercules Capitolinus; Hercules Aemilianus; Hercules Mastai or Mastai Righetti

Historical context

Date2nd century BC
PeriodHellenistic

Creator

Stylistic modelBased on Lysippus' canon of proportions

Discovery and provenance

Discovery locationForum Boarium, Rome
Discovery contextFound during excavations at the Forum Boarium under Pope Sixtus IV, among the remains of the temple dedicated to it
Original cult contextAssociated with the cult of Ara Maxima, dedicated to Hercules by the Greek king Evander
Probable original locationTemple of Hercules Victor at the Forum Boarium
Possible identification in ancient sourcesProbably the cult statue mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the Natural History
Inventory dateAlready inventoried in 1510
One ofOne of two surviving gilded bronze Hercules statues found at the Forum Boarium

Physical characteristics

PoseContrapposto, with the figure's weight on one foot
Head featuresFinely modeled head with short athlete-like hair
ProportionsSlender figure with a proportionally smaller head and exaggerated musculature
SizeSlightly larger than life-size
Height241 cm

Materials

MaterialGilded bronze
Surface treatmentGilded

Appearance

IconographyHercules holds a club in his right hand and three golden apples of the Hesperides in his left

Iconography and meaning

Depicted episodeRetrieving the Golden Apples of the Hesperides for Eurystheus, one of the Twelve Labors of Hercules
Mythological contextHercules encountered Prometheus, who told him where to find the apples; Atlas helped him obtain them; Ladon guarded them
Roman foundation legendIn Roman tradition, Hercules founded an altar where the Forum Boarium later stood, and he killed Cacus after Cacus tried to steal the cattle of Geryon

Location and ownership

AcquisitionAcquired by the Conservators
Moved to Palazzo dei Conservatori1950
Earlier locationDisplayed in the courtyard and later in the Conservators' apartment on the Capitoline Hill
Stored inPalazzo dei Conservatori
Current locationPalazzo dei Conservatori, Capitoline Museums, Rome

History and restoration

InscriptionF.C.S. on the covering slab
Expansion of inscriptionFulgor conditum summanium
Interpretation of inscriptionA lightning strike was believed to have hit the statue, requiring it to be buried and losing its magical significance
Temple historyThe temple remains were demolished under Sixtus IV and later converted into a church
Placement historyBoth gilded bronze Hercules statues from the Forum Boarium were placed in safety in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in 1950 and remain there

Significance

Comparative sculptureCompared with the Hercules from the Theatre of Pompey (Hercules Invictus / Hercules Mastai or Mastai Righetti), also a gilded bronze statue discovered in 1864 and now in the Vatican Rotunda
Artistic comparisonThe figure is slimmer and less corpulent than the Hercules Farnese

Other

Bibliographic sourcesHaskell and Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900 (1981), cat. no. 45; Platner and Ashby, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (1926), entry 'Aedes Herculis Victoris'