''Commodus as Hercules'', also known as ''The Bust of Commodus as Hercules'', is a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

created sometime in early 192 AD.Speidel, M. P.. "Commodus the God-emperor and the Army". ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 83 (1993): 109–114. It is housed in the

Capitoline Museums The Capitoline Museums () are a group of art and archaeology, archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, facing ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Originally discovered in 1874 in the underground chambers of Horti Lamiani, it has become one of the most famous examples of Roman portraiture to date.

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

(31 August 161 AD – 31 December 192 AD) was Roman emperor from 180 to 192 and the son of the previous emperor,

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

.Adams, Geoff W. ''The Emperor Commodus: Gladiator, Hercules or a Tyrant?'', 2013.Hekster, Olivier. "The Roman Empire after His Death." ''A Companion to Marcus Aurelius'' 96 (2012): 234. During his sole reign, he came to associate himself with the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

hero, Herakles (whose myths were adopted in Rome under the name

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

), eventually having a bust depicting him as the hero created near the end of his reign.

Symbolism

Here, the Roman Emperor has taken on the guise of the mythological hero, Hercules. He has been given the attributes of the hero: the skin of the Nemean lion placed over his head and his left arm, the club in his right hand, and the three golden apples of the

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, Atlas (mytholog ...

in his left hand. Each of these objects has been placed as a reminder of the hero's accomplishments, as well as allowing the Emperor to associate and refer to himself as the Roman Hercules. At the base of the sculpture, carved into the globe are the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

al signs of Taurus, Capricorn, and Scorpio. The meaning behind these symbols has been somewhat debated since the discovery of the sculpture, with interpretations ranging from purely astrological to calendric.Hannah, Robert. "The Emperor's Stars: The Conservatori Portrait of Commodus". ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 90.3 (1986): 337–342. Evidence pointing towards the latter of these two ideas has been presented by Professor Robert Hannah of The University of Waikato, who suggested that these signs could represent the month of October, which the emperor had renamed after Hercules during his rule:

In this way, the signs are interpreted as an indication of the month of October. October figured prominently at various stages of Commodus' life, and indeed was renamed after Hercules by the Emperor. This calendric interpretation can therefore be seen to emphasize the Herculean aspect of the portrait.

Other sources argue that the three signs instead are linked to the foundations of the city of Rome. In this case, Taurus refers the founding of Rome under

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

, which took place traditionally on feast of the Parilia, the 21st of April; Capricorn represents

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, who regarded the sign as his; and finally Scorpio is the emperor himself, as the third "founder" of the city. This popular theory also can be seen as Commodus once more emphasizing his association with Hercules, as Scorpio falls in the month of October, which he had renamed after Hercules. Further decoration can be found surrounding the globe, from the kneeling

Amazons The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. ...

to either side (one of whom has been lost), to the

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

entangled with a pelta. The pelta is decorated with eagles' heads and a Gorgoneion as symbols of the god

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, the father of Hercules and tutelary god of Commodus. Believed to be for the purpose of celebration, this idea is furthered by the inclusion of two Tritons, which are believed to represent his

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The origina ...

. Traces of gold on the two Triton figures suggest that the bust of Commodus was as well at least partially gilded.

Intent

There is speculation about the Emperor's intent in creating depictions of himself as a godlike figure. Some sources say it was Commodus's desire to be not merely the protégé of Hercules, but a

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, the incarnation, the epiphany of Hercules. Others claim instead that he simply desired to be the center of attention and show his intense appreciation for games and spectacles. Archaeologist and museum director

Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour, CH Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Military Cross, MC Territorial Decoration, TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeolo ...

suggested that although the bust would have been made for Commodus or someone close to him at the court, and the mythological topic decided by the patron, the artist was deliberately subverting the flattering subject and casting the flamboyant emperor in an ironic light: the contrast between the trappings of Hercules, the real hero (lion hide and club, etc.), and the "effeminate" and self-obsessed emperor shown in stone here is too grotesque to be taken only as an idolizing portrait, and the hidden intention becomes ironic. "The sculptor must have felt very sure of his ground, protected by the blind vanity of his sitter".Wheeler, Mortimer (1964 repr 1985), ''Roman Art and Architecture''

References

{{Reflist 2nd-century Roman sculptures Heracles 192 Nerva–Antonine dynasty Aurelii 2nd century in Italy Marble sculptures in Italy Sculptures in the Capitoline Museums Cultural depictions of Commodus Busts in Italy Roman sculpture portraits of emperors

Symbolism

Intent

Further reading

References