Hercules Defeating the Nemean LionBaldassare Peruzzi

This fresco (c. 1511) in the Loggia of Galatea shows Hercules wrestling the invulnerable Nemean Lion, one of his Twelve Labors. The hero’s twisting nude body and the lion’s straining muscles emphasize physical struggle and controlled force. As part of a zodiac cycle, the scene represents the sign of Leo and links mythological heroism to Renaissance interests in astrology and humanist virtue.