Statuette of a sleeping Eros, with the attributes of Heracles. 1st century AD, Tralles. Inv 250 L. 58 cm.

He is lying on a lion’s skin with the animals mouth covering the top of his head. Adolf Furtwängler determined this was not just a representation of Heracles mimicking Eros, but a symbol of immortality, used to decorate children’s tombs. This one probably dates from the Christian Period. It was likely brought to Istanbul by Démostènes Baltazzi, who frequently surveyed the region of Izmir.