Intaglio of Heracles fighting the Hydra

A gold finger ring set with a garnet intaglio. Heracles (left) stands facing forward, head turned right toward the Hydra. He is nude and beardless. He raises his club over his head with his left hand. In his right hand he holds one of the Hydra's snake heads which he has apparently ripped off. The Hydra's tail is wrapped around his right leg and its six heads are raised trying to strike Heracles. The garnet is set horizontally in the band so the image would be sideways when worn.

Fourth century BCE Greek garnet intaglio set in a second century CE Roman gold ring. Found in Agrigento, Sicily. British Museum 1814,0704.1292.

Online Resources
British Museum 1814,0704.1292
Subjects
Heracles
Hydra
Type
Image
License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Agent
Unknown
Date
ca. 4th century BCE
Culture
Greek
Medium
garnet
Dimensions
h. 3.25 cm; l. 1.30 cm
Location
British Museum
Image Credit
© Trustees of the British Museum.
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