ANTONINE PERIOD, CIRCA MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.

The front panel of this lively sarcophagus shows Hercules battling two centaurs, the hero depicted with his knee bent over the body of one, his left hand clutching the neck of the beast and his right arm raised in preparation to strike. To Hercules’ sides are two other centaurs, one preparing to strike the hero with a large branch or club, and the other carrying off a woman. The scene is nearly identical to one preserved on the front left of a sarcophagus in Princeton, although that example lacks a centaur absconding with a woman (see no. 41 in J.M. Padgett, ed., op. cit.). The scenes on both sarcophagi are likely inspired by the struggle of Hercules against the centaurs at the wedding of Deianeria at Olenos. During the wedding, the centaur Eurytion attempted to rape Deianeria and Hercules arrived to save the bride. As N. Papalexandrou remarks (pp. 144-145 in J.M. Padgett, ed., op. cit.), “Articulate as it is in its combination of pathos and salvation, this theme could provide a metaphor for death celebrated as a wedding which would be appropriate in this particular context.”

While T. Sengelin (op. cit.) considered this sarcophagus to be later in date, his conclusion was drawn from photographs and not firsthand inspection. Undoubtedly, the incrustations and undulating surface of the front panel together confirm the sarcophagus' authenticity.