Wrestler's Weight with Hercules and the Nemean Lion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2010

Wrestler's Weight with Hercules and the Nemean Lion; Wrestling Scene (reverse)

Date: ca. 1st century

Culture: Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)

Medium: Schist

Dimensions: 10 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (26 x 34.9 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1994

Accession Number: 1994.112


As the first of his twelve labors, the Greek mythic hero Herakles was ordered to slay the monstrous Nemean lion. Since the beast's skin was impervious to spears and arrows, Herakles strangled him. He then skinned the lion, taking the pelt as a cloak and the head as a helmet. The lion skin slung over his left arm suggest that the figure on this weight is Herakles, although there is no obvious explanation for the charmingly tame lion that accompanies him. Two half-moon shaped indentations for gripping at the back (not visible) indicate that this object is an athlete's weight.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38635