Magical Girdles and Herculean Labours

[chronarchy]

Some may recall that I located a reference to a Roman military belt that is fitted with gold plates depicting the deeds of Hercules in a German text. I have had a thing for the Twelve Labours since I found statutes of eight of them at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna in 2005

Comments

[verginiamus]

Thanks for posting this. I am a civilian re-enactor with a Roman Legionary group (Legio XX). They are always looking for this sort of stuff. (Yes, I have a life outside of ADF.)

[chronarchy]

My pleasure. I knew others would be interested: it's a darn cool belt.

[singingwren]

The thing on the lower left looks like it is sideways. Don't you see an eagle in it, or some kind of big winged bird?

[chronarchy]

I s'pose it could be: there were birds in those labours, after all. But that would put Heracles on his back, which doesn't sound too heroic.

Speaking iconographically, of course. There are plenty of heroic things one could do on their back.