Statuette of Eros wearing the lionskin of Herakles

This small statue of Eros is decidedly playful. It presents the god as a winged boy dressed as Herakles, the pugilistic hero who eventually became a deity. Smiling, he seems to be hiding something in his left hand behind his back-possibly a reference to the many statues of a weary Herakles holding the golden apples of the Hesperides. Greek poetry preserves several descriptions of statues representing Herakles strip-ped of his lion skin, club, and quiver by Eros; one account attributes the original composition to Lysippos, a renowned sculptor of the fourth century B.C. This skillfully executed terracotta may reflect Lysippos's large-scale bronze creation showing Eros himself in the possession of Herakles' attributes. The statuette was found in the Hellenistic cemetery at Myrina, a city on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara in what is now northwestern Turkey. It is among the largest of roughly two thousand terracotta figurines found amid more than five thousand tombs at the site. The ornate style, sculpting technique, and type of clay used date the work to the late first century B.C. Although it appears lighthearted and is made of an inexpensive material, the sculpture bears an important message: Eros, who personified Love, could overpower even the mightiest of the Greek heroes.