...But before I post it, I have to wonder at the number of (ugh) slash sites that came up when I did a Google search on Iphicles, LOL!
BOY WITH A SNAKE – POSSIBLY IPHICLES
It is not clear whether this figurine represents a mythical
figure or whether it is only a common Hellenistic Period
genre representation. It may be interpreted as Iphicles
recoiling from a snake, his right hand raised in fear and
repulsion. Iphicles was originally worshipped as a hero
in the city of Pheneos. Later his myths were associated
with Heracles (cat. no. 13), giving rise to the tradition
that Iphicles and Heracles were half-brothers. In those
myths, Iphicles figured as the counterpart of the brave,
but tragic, Heracles, emphasising the latter's deeds.
The dualistic quality in the relationship between the
two brothers was apparent from a very early age. When
Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene, was only a child,
Zeus' jealous wife Hera set two snakes at him. He astonished everyone by grasping the snakes
behind the head and strangling them with his bare hands, while Iphicles was frightened and
crawled away. This statuette possibly represents that escape from one of the snakes set at him by
Hera.
The statuette probably originally had a pendant representing Heracles killing the snakes. Parts of
the right hand are missing. A cast has replaced an original bronze snake.
