Entitled: The Great Hercules. Hercules is a Roman hero and god. He was the equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus (Roman equivalent Jupiter) and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. One cycle of these adventures became canonical as the Twelve Labors. In Roman works of art and in Renaissance and post-Renaissance art, Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the lion skin and the gnarled club (his favorite weapon), in mosaic he is shown tanned bronze, a virile aspect. This engraving has long been known as the Knollenman, or bulbous man. It shows Goltzius's bulging-muscle figure style at its most extreme. Engraving by Hendrick Goltzius, 1589. |