The bust of Commodus as Hercules vs. the portrait head of Caracalla

            Most marble carvings, weather it be a bust or a portrait are made because the subject is extremely important within their community, country or empire.  Sometimes the image(s) and or the message which these carvings portray can be misinterpreted due to exaggeration by the subject itself.

     The bust of Commodus and the Caracalla portrait were both made in honor of two very important influential men.  Commodus was an extremely handsome, vain and pretentious man; he claimed to be the reincarnation of Hercules as well as the incarnation of the god Jupiter.  The bust that was created of him was made in the likeness of which he wished to be portrayed.  So that Commodus would be associated with strength, power, immortality and divinity, the idealized bust was made to resemble the youthful god Hercules. Commodus is shown wearing the hide of a lion, which is worn like a cloak upon his head and shoulders.  The head of the lion rests atop Commodus' head; the front legs of the lion are then wrapped around Commodus’ neck, tied and draped over his chest area. The paws of the lion hide which Commodus is wearing appear to be slightly textured, contrasting the smooth polished stone of Commodus’ chest.  His chest and arm muscles are accentuated in order to project physical perfection.  The way in which he is shown holding the club exudes courage, power and strength. He is shown glancing to his right, away from the viewer, which is somewhat of an arrogant pose.  The way in which the face was sculpted appears to create a sultry gaze.  The chiseled eyes have arched eyebrows and droopy eyelids which hang over the iris of the eyes thus giving him the look of relaxation and confidence.  Commodus’ hair on this bust is very detailed, the curls have been made to exhibit depth and texture, light and shadows, using positive and negative relief. 

There are many representational symbolic features within this bust; the piece which he wears upon his head is Hercules lion hide, the 1^st of 12 labours, the killing of the Nemean lion.  He is holding Hercules club, and is shown wearing the Girdle of Hippolyta. This girdle depicts the 9^th labour, the killing of the Amazon queen and the defeat of the Amazons. The shield on the girdle has the head of a gorgon Medusa on it, which refers to Greek mythology. Below his right arm, there appears to be a female sculpture.  This headless and armless sculpture represents the killing of Amazon women. The fruit in his left hand are the apples of Herispides which represent the 11^th labour. The marble ball underneath of Commodus is the “Orbis Terrarum”, (orb of the world); a thick band is wrapped around the orb which contains zodiac signs.  These particular signs represent important times in Commodus’ life and the rosettes on the orb represent stars. The cornucopia represents the new golden age which Commodus brought. They are full of fruit, which also represents prosperity, abundance and fertility. Commodus is surrounded by and adorned with trophies, which leads me to believe that he was a handsome, strong, courageous ruler.  Realistically, I think his ego was larger than he actually was.



The portrait head of Caracalla shows a very realistic threatening scowl which is rather intimidating.  The portrait forces one to acknowledge this mans stern militant authority and power.  Like Commodus, Caracalla wanted a particular representation of himself to be made.  However, Commodus was rather arrogant and egotistical with his sculpture depiction. In my opinion he just wanted to be glorified, Caracalla on the other hand wanted to be feared and respected.  Caracalla had a reputation for being callous and aggressive; however he was well respected by his military. In order to be properly acknowledged, Caracalla wanted his competency, his association with the army, and his capabilities as a military leader to be visually prominent.  This portrait appears to be veristic, due to the enhanced furrows, wrinkles and lines on his face. He looks like he has “been there, done that” and seen more than the average man. The shortness of Caracalla’s hair and beard was done by negative carving; a technique done by stippling a chisel across the surface of the stone.  The characteristic traits of Caracalla's which this portrait depicts are that of a thick neck, a sharp turn of the head (to the left), protruding muscles of the forehead and wrinkled brows, two slanting protrusions above the eyes, a furrowed brow, cleft chin and an overall sinister expression. The scowl and suspicious glance worn by Caracalla was, among other things a nod to the army.  It was also an affirmation of military strength from Caracalla, who became commander in chief at a relatively young age. 

In conclusion I feel that bust of Commodus portrays an arrogant and prideful young man more so than strong and powerful one.  To me, the portrait of Caracalla portrays wisdom, power and strength. Both pieces are unique because certain parts of their body i.e.: eyes, hair and gaze are accentuated in different ways.  The adornments, stance and facial expressions are all characteristics affiliated with propaganda.