The bust is one of the most famous masterpieces of Roman portraiture and depicts the emperor in the guise of Hercules, whose attributes he has been given: the lion's skin over his head, the club in this right hand, and the golden apples of Hesperides in his left hand as a reminder of the Greek hero's feats.
Capitoline Museum. Marble 1644-1648AD. According to Ovid, the mythical Medusa had the power to turn to stone anyone who looked directly at her. Bernini's is a veritable portrait of the most beautiful and deadly of the Gorgons (this is, in fact, a a Bust, and not a truncated Head) at the very moment of her metamorphosis.
Capitoline Museum. The creation of the original She-Wolf can be traced back to Etruscan or Magna Graecia of the fifth century BC. The twins were added (maybe by Pollaiolo) during Michelangelo's Capitoline rebuilding.
