Hercules and the Hydra

Hercules slayed the Lernean Hydra as the second of the ancient hero’s twelve labors. When one of the nine snake-like heads was destroyed, two grew back. Hercules cauterized each stump, allowing him eventually to kill the monster. The object he holds may have been a club, sword, sickle, or torch. The sinuous, scaly Hydra and the defined musculature presented challenging opportunities for sculptors working in bronze. The raw, tumultuous energy and twisting form-associated with artists of the late 1500s-contrasts to Jacopo Sansovino’s earlier Virgin and Child (1951.316).