The painting shows Hercules as a baby killing two snakes with his bare hands to protect his twin brother Iphicles; while his mother Alcmene watches distraught. Amphitryon; a prince of Argos; clutches his sword; while a teacher in slave robes clutches the terrified Iphicles. Copperplate engraved by Tommaso Piroli from his own 鈥楢ntichita di Ercolano' (Antiquities of Herculaneum); Rome; 1789. Italian artist and engraver Piroli (1752-1824) published six volumes between 1789 and 1807 documenting the murals and bronzes found in Heraculaneum and Pompeii.