Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra

Moderno

National Gallery of Art

This square relief sculpture shows a male figure fighting a creature that has a human head and a serpentine body. The man is depicted with his knees bent, raising his right arm in a fist while his extended left arm grips the creature's neck. He is nude except for a cloth that is knotted around his neck and groin. The creature has a woman's face with long, curled hair, but below her neck is the torso and tail of a snake. The necks and heads of more snakes sprout from the torso alongside the human head. The material the sculpture is made of is a bronze color and has some small scratches.