Workers repairing Rome’s sewer system have found a life-size statue of Hercules. This is reported by Heritage Daily.

Hercules is the Roman equivalent of the Greek hero Heracles, who according to ancient mythology did 12 deeds as the price for killing his sons and wife Megara. He committed the crime under the power of madness sent by Hera, the queen of the gods and wife of Zeus. The Romans adapted this story and even created their own myths about Hercules. Some Roman emperors, notably Commodus and Maximian, identified themselves with Hercules and revered him as a god.

The statue was discovered by construction workers repairing collapsed sewer pipes in Appia Antica Park. Part of the Appian Way connecting Rome to Brindisi runs through here, and there are many villas and tombs in the park.

The life-size statue was made of marble and was discovered at a depth of 20 meters. The statue depicts Hercules in the skin of a lion and with a stick, his favorite weapon. Judging by the resemblance of the hero’s face to a real emperor named Decius, the statue was carved in his image in the middle of the 3rd century AD.