Commodus as Hercules

Commodus as Hercules
Bust of Commodus as Hercules
Year	192 AD
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Marble
Subject	Commodus
Dimensions	133 cm (52 in)
Condition	Well-Preserved
Location	Capitoline Museums, Rome
Coordinates	41.8931° N, 12.4825° E
Owner	Capitoline Museums
Accession	MC1120

Commodus as Hercules, also known as The Bust of Commodus as Hercules, is a marble portrait sculpture created sometime in early 192 AD . It is housed in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, Italy. 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 (31 August 161 AD – 31 December 192 AD) was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192 and the son of the previous emperor, Marcus Aurelius. During his sole reign, he came to associate himself with the Greek hero, Herakles (whose myths were adopted in Rome under the name Hercules), eventually having a bust depicting him as the hero created near the end of his reign.

Here, the Roman Emperor has taken on the guise of the mythological hero, Hercules. He has been given the attributes of the hero: the lion skin placed over his head, the club placed in his right hand, and the golden apples of Hesperides in his left. Each of these objects has been placed as a reminder of the hero's accomplishments, as well as also 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 zodiacal 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.

Evidence pointing towards the latter of these two ideas has been presented by Professor Robert Hannah of The University of Waikato, who has pointed to the thought that these signs could represent the month of October, which the emperor had renamed after Hercules during his rule:

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