Detail of a Cypriot Limestone Relief in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2023

Title: Limestone relief

Period: Archaic

Date: end of the 6th century BCE

Culture: Cypriot

Medium: Limestone

Dimensions: WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 20 1/2 × 34 3/8 × 2 15/16 in., 98 lb. (52 × 87.3 × 7.5 cm)

Classification: Stone Sculpture

Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76

Accession Number: 74.51.2853


The relief depicts Herakles rustling the cattle of Geryon. Recognizable by the lionskin falling over his back, the hero stands at the far left. In the upper register, Geryon's three-headed dog has an arrow in one neck. In the lower register, Eurytion, the herdsman, is characterized as uncivilized by his satyrlike features and by the stone and tree that he uses as weapons. Geryon's herd is represented with particular attention to the calves in the foreground and the lead animals that look back. Since this relief as well as the statues of Geryon and Herakles were all found near the temple of Goloi, the question arises whether they were originally associated in some way.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/242404