The Apotheosis of Hercules

The Apotheosis of Hercules, along with other similar scenes of figures elevated into the heavens, was a commonly depicted subject in Baroque art, used for decorative cycles and in particular for ceiling paintings. The death and subsequent elevation of Hercules to the heavens on the wish of Jupiter is recounted by Ovid in The Metamorphoses. According to the text, the other gods approved Jupiter’s d…