Description
Alabaster sculpture – Hercules and Cerberus. Rome, 17th century.
Made entirely of carved alabaster. Separate alabaster base, missing left foot and arm, and other small defects and signs of aging.
To atone for killing his family in a fit of madness induced by the goddess Hera, Hercules entered the service of King Eurystheus, who imposed twelve impossible tasks on him. The last and most arduous was the capture of Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld. After being guided to the realm of the dead, Hercules confronted the monster without weapons, subduing it with his superhuman strength alone. He brought Cerberus back to the world of the living to show him to Eurystheus, who, terrified by the sight of him, hid in an amphora and ordered Hercules to immediately return him to the Underworld. With the completion of this feat, Hercules achieved his redemption, freeing himself from the burden of his guilt and putting an end to Hera’s plan for his destruction.
