Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python

This bronze relief was made by Georg Raphael Donner (1693-1741), one of the most prolific Austrian sculptors of the time. It represents the legend of Apollo slaying the serpent Python.

Apollo was one of the twelve gods of Olympus and the embodiment of the classical Greek spirit, representing the rational and the civilised. In Greek mythology he was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin-brother of Artemis (Diana). In classical sculpture he represents the ideal form of male physical beauty (as Venus does for female) and is portrayed young, beardless, with long hair and rather feminine features. His attributes were varied: bow, arrow, quiver (for his patron of archery), the lyre (patron of poetry and music), a four-horse chariot (for the sun god), a snake (for his victory over Python) and more.