Farnese Hercules

One of the world's most celebrated ancient sculptures — the exhausted Hercules after his twelve labours, a marble masterwork from the 3rd century BC, today at the National Museum in Naples.

The Farnese Hercules is one of the most celebrated ancient sculptures in existence — an over-life-size marble statue depicting the exhausted demigod resting on his club after his twelve labours. The original was created in the third century BC after a Greek bronze by Lysippos. Discovered in the Baths of Caracalla in the sixteenth century, the statue became the centrepiece of the Farnese collection in Rome and was regarded as the ideal embodiment of the male form. More than 200 copies testify to its extraordinary fame in antiquity and the Renaissance. Today the sculpture can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples — an unmissable stop for anyone fascinated by antiquity.