Hercules and Antaeus, Villa Castello (Medici)

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This bronze sculpture depicts the struggle between the hero Hercules and the giant Antaeus. Antaeus was the son of the Earth goddess Gaia, and remained invincible as long as he maintained contact with the earth. Hercules defeats Antaeus by lifting him up in the air, where he is vulnerable, and crushing him.

The elaborate Villa Castello gardens were designed by Niccolo Tribolo, who entrusted the sculptural execution to Bartolomeo Ammannati, who produced this fountain and others to Tribolo’s design in the 1530s. The sculpture group tops a marble fountain that was once at the entrance to a circular labyrinth of cypress trees, myrtle, and roses (it was relocated in 1788 to an open terrace where it can be seen today).

The Villa Castello in 1599 :