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Separate-Can-913 t1_j65rl2w wrote

Reply to comment by Rob-Study-8562 in Ancient statue of Hercules emerges from Rome sewerage repairs by Rob-Study-8562

The face looks to be a portrait of an actual person rather than the immortal flawless (demi-)god, so maybe it belongs to a funerary monument with a statue of the deceased depicted as Hercules, not unlike Commodus had himself depicted as this greatest of Greek heroes.

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ObviousWillingness51 t1_j65xzfj wrote

Roman statues differ from greek examples precisely because they tended to depict subjects in a more naturalistic, and imperfect form.

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Brailledit t1_j666s9d wrote

That's what I tell my 2nd dates when we get to third base.

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Basuliic t1_j66c7fw wrote

Wow, your dates are patient longrunners type!

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Brailledit t1_j66cc6s wrote

It's a mutual understanding of Roman statues.

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Separate-Can-913 t1_j685xuu wrote

This is true. Of human beings. Not of gods. The combination of the naturalistic appearance and the provenance along side the Appian way, famous for it's many funerary monuments led me to my suggestion. That's all

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ObviousWillingness51 t1_j68idz1 wrote

Yeah im mot going so deep as to suggest they all are that way, nor do i want to make any suggestions as to this specific nature of this particular statue. You seem to have some better understanding of its context, so i don’t refute that.

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non_linear_time t1_j6841bd wrote

I suspect it's a general or emperor presenting himself as Hercules. Not unusual. The face is too old for a younger Hercules, and when he's older, he usually has a beard. It's giving me a Tiberius or Claudius vibe, but I'm no specialist on this stuff.

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drvondoctor t1_j68d7r6 wrote

Fun fact: if you take the names Tiberius and Claudius and combine them into one name, you end up with Tiberius or Claudius.

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FN-Broken t1_j675qpi wrote

Isn't determining it was Heracles based on a club and a lions pelt a little presumptuous?

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drvondoctor t1_j68edvs wrote

Not really. Those are both significant items in the mythology of Hercules. They were pretty much his trademark props. If the ancient world had action figures, the Hercules figure would have come with a lion pelt and a club.

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