Commodus as Hercules and the Head of Caracalla

            In some Roman art and previous art has a propaganda quality. In many cases the ruler wants to be seen as a strong powerful leader. The Commodus as Hercules and the head of Caracalla represent propaganda in Roman art.

            The Commodus as Hercules is an interesting piece. There are many elements in this sculpture that reinforce the idea of propaganda. I think that Emperor Commodus commissioned an artist to create him embodying Hercules because Hercules is a powerful warrior, not to mention he is Zeus’ half mortal son. In this sculpture Commodus is wearing the skin and head of the Nemean lion; this could signify that Commodus can slay a lion proving he is a powerful warrior. Commodus has a club in one also proving his power.

            The head of Caracalla is simply just the head of the Emperor Caracalla. This sculpture of Caracalla serves propaganda through his facial expression. He is scowling to provide a message that he is a strong powerful Emperor, who is “hard-as-nails.” His facial expression looks as if he is glaring out at us, not smiling; he is toughened with a tightly held jaw almost angry. When I see this sculpture I would not mess with this Emperor, he appears to be feared.

I feel that the head of Caracalla demonstrates propaganda more so then the sculpture of Commodus as Hercules. To me Commodus is pretending to be a powerful leader by dressing up as Hercules. Commodus does not have much of a facial expression. In the book it says that “it captures its subject’s weakness. The foolishness of the man comes through in his pretentious assumption of the attributes of Hercules.” I really agree with this because one can not dress up to appear as a powerful man like Hercules and expect people to fear you. If anything that would make you fear Hercules due to his power. This ultimately makes Commodus out to be a coward for dressing up in such a childish way. Another reason I feel this way is that the way Commodus is captured, he appears too youthful. Caracalla on the other hand has a toughened face. By looking at his sculpture you have a feeling that this man has been through a lot and has aged in the process, he is captured more naturalistically. If one naturally has a daunting glare then you will naturally be feared.

            I am unsure whether these sculptures are for a particular audience or if they are widely understood. I almost feel that Commodus as Hercules could be for any audience because his message is most likely not immediately seen due to the fact that he is just dressing up. I think that Caracalla head is for a more narrow audience, perhaps for his enemies as a way to say “look into my scowl; you will not under estimate my power.” I also think that Caracalla’s message is more immediate because of his intense facial expression.

            Overall Caracalla head sculpture is a more successful example of propaganda in art then Commodus as Hercules. Caracalla will be seen as a fearful Emperor whereas Commodus will only be seen as an impostor.