Hercules standing next to Nemea's dead Lion

The first of the Twelve Labours has been the subject of countless artistic treatments — vase paintings from the sixth century BCE that show the wrestling match itself, Hellenistic bronzes, Roman sarcophagi, and Renaissance bronzes by Antico and Pollaiuolo. The composition of the hero standing victorious beside the slain beast is the moment after — the trial complete, the proof of strength laid out for Eurystheus to confront. It marks the beginning of the great cycle that would eventually win Heracles his place among the gods.