Votive relief with the recovery of a statue of Hercules from the sea

This relief illustrates some of the more enigmatic aspects of the cult of Hercules, notably his incarnation as a as a god associated with prophecising and a protector of destiny. In this scene he is performing an act of divination by drawing sortes –
tesserae or chips – out of a box. The sequence represents three distinct episodes, from right to left. The first on the left shows the miraculous catch of an archaicising statue of Hercules, dressed in lorica plate, armed with a club and ready to attack. Along with the statue is the box containing the sortes inside a large, curved net being dragged by two groups of fishermen. The second scene shows the same statue of the god, still in his warrior attire, in the act of drawing a sors out of the box and handing it to a camillus – a young male cult attendant. The final scene illustrates the fulfilment of a prophecy of victory pronounced by the haruspex Fulvius Salvis (as reported also in the inscription on the relief), dressed in a toga and facing towards another figure being crowned by a winged victory (this section of the relief is missing). From the temple devoted to Hercules which stood in the Republican-era sacred precinct, this work highlights certain perculiarities of the cult of Hercules which existed within the context of Ostia, where he was regarded as a protector of seafaring and any military or trading activities associated with it.