Etruscan

Hercle was the Etruscan name of the hero known to the Greeks as Herakles and to the Romans as Hercules. Lion skin, club, and bow are attributes associated with several of his labors. The inscription on his right leg reads, “hercales mi,” meaning, “I am Hercle.” Ancient Etruscan art was strongly influenced by the art of Greece, and this statuette is an exceptionally fine example of a type popular in central and northern Italy, where Hercle was worshipped as a defender of the civilized world against the beasts and monsters that threaten it.

Bronze, 350-275 B.C.
Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1978.22