Hercules Fight Achelous Metamorphosed into a Snake at The Louvre, Paris

myminifactory

Achelous was a powerful river god in Greece, revered as the strongest among his peers. He ruled over the land along the river, while the king of Calydon governed the nearby city. The king's beautiful daughter Dejanira was about to be married, and her father announced a contest: whoever could defeat all suitors would win her hand. Achelous, with his incredible strength, seemed unbeatable. However, Hercules had heard of Dejanira's beauty and traveled from distant Thebes to compete for her affection. Despite being the strongest mortal in the world, Hercules faced an opponent who could change shape at will. As a snake, Achelous slithered out of Hercules' grasp; as a bull, he charged with his sharp horns. But Hercules, undaunted, seized the bull by its horns and flipped it to the ground. With one mighty jerk, he snapped off one of the horns. The crowd gasped in awe. Hercules emerged victorious, winning Dejanira's hand in marriage. The people of Calydon were also rewarded: the goddess Plenty ordered that the broken horn be filled with the harvest's bounty, creating the Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty. With one horn missing, Achelous' power to flood the kingdom diminished. This object is part of "Scan The World", a digital archive of 3D printable sculptures and artworks from across the globe. MyMiniFactory launched this initiative to create a free public resource for accessing fully 3D printable content. Scan The World is an open-source community project, and anyone interested in contributing can email stw@myminifactory.com to learn how they can help.