Statue of Hercules restored as killing the Hydra of Lerna
The sculpture was discovered during the reconstruction of the Chuch of Sant'Agnese. The sculptor Alessandro Algardi doncuted a complete restoration of the statue. He probably modified the ancient iconography of Hercules who domesticates the hind of Ceryneia to iconography of Hercules who kills the Hydra. At any rate, the work is a Roman reworking of a Greek creation attributed to Lysippus who, according to the sources, sculptured the labours of Hercules.
Masterpieces of the hall
The hall
The two sides of the Gallery are lined with a row of sculptures of various types from different periods arranged according to strictly ornamental criteria.
Many statues are Roman copies of original Greek masterpieces, now lost. Modern restoration has, in some cases, greatly altered the original iconography.
Hundreds of small inscriptions, mainly from the Empress Livia's colombarium of slaves and freedmen on the Via Appia, have been inserted in the walls.
