Game Piece with Hercules Throwing Diomedes to His Man-Eating Horses

ca. 1150

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 304

This carved ivory disk is a tableman, a game piece used in tables, the medieval precursor of backgammon. Each player had fifteen pieces; traditionally one set depicted the labors of the classical hero Hercules and the other showed the feats of Samson, the Old Testament strongman. In this example, Hercules appears on the left, holding upside down Diomedes, king of Bistonia. According to the myth, Diomedes kept man-eating horses until Hercules fed them the king himself. Here the horses, who have doglike faces and lions' manes, tear into their former master.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Game Piece with Hercules Throwing Diomedes to His Man-Eating Horses
Date: ca. 1150
Geography: Made in Cologne, Germany
Culture: German
Medium: Elephant ivory
Dimensions: Overall: diam. 2 3/4 x 13/16 in. (diam. 7 x 2 cm)
Classification: Ivories-Elephant
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1916
Object Number: 16.106
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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