The
statue of Paris presenting to Venus the apple of discord followed. The
Anemodulion, or "Servant of the Winds," was a lofty obelisk, whose
sides were covered with bas-reliefs of great beauty, representing
scenes of rural life, and allegories depicting the seasons, while the
obelisk was surmounted by a female figure which turned with the wind,
and so gave to the whole its name. The bas-reliefs were stripped off
and sent to the palace to be melted.
A beautiful equestrian statue of great size, representing either
Bellerophon and Pegasus or, as the populace believe, Joshua on
horseback commanding the sun to stand still, was likewise sent to the
furnace. The horse appeared to be neighing at the sound of the
trumpet, while every muscle was strained with the ardor of battle. The
colossal Hercules of Lysippus, which, having adorned Tarentum, had
thence been transported to the Elder and subsequently to the
hippodrome of the New Rome, met with a like fate. The artist had
expressed, in a manner which had won the admiration of beholders, the
deep wrath of the hero at the unworthy tasks set before him. He was
represented as seated, but without quiver or bow or club.
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