Homer's epic poem The Odyssey tells of the Greek hero Odysseus's ten-year journey from Troy back to Ithaca, his island home. Along the way, he and his crew are plagued by the gods and encounter numerous monsters and wondrous creatures, such as the one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemos, the enchantress Circe, the seductive Sirens, and the monstrous Scylla and Charybdis. After enduring years of hardship, Odysseus arrives in Ithaca to find his home invaded by suitors courting his wife, Penelope. She had delayed selecting one of them to be her husband by promising to wed when she finished weaving a tapestry, which she secretly unraveled at the end of each day. Odysseus's return leads to the slaughter of the suitors and a reunion with his wife.

Orpheus, the son of Apollo (god of prophecy and music) and a Muse, was considered the most skilled singer in antiquity. He is best known for his failed attempt to rescue his wife, Eurydike, from the Under-world. Another adventure is alluded to here: Sailing with Jason and the Argonauts, Orpheus encountered the Sirens, mythical bird-women whose seductive singing lured Sailors to their deaths. Orpheus rescued his companions with a song so beautiful that the Sirens despaired and threw themselves into the sea.

This seated man has been identified as Orpheus because the statue once cradled a lyre in its left arm and his mouth seems to be open in song. The cult of Orpheus, which promoted a belief in life after death, flourished in southern Italy, where this group was made. In South Italian art of this period, however, Orpheus usually wears an Eastern costume, which is not seen on this figure. Since Sirens often appear on tombs, mourning and protecting the dead, he may be a mortal, perhaps a poet or a singer, depicted as Orpheus in a funerary monument.

This sculpture was one of J. Paul Getty's most prized possessions and, in fact, inspired him to build this Museum in the style of an ancient Roman villa. The statue, representing the Greek hero Herakles with his lionskin and club, was discovered in 1790 near the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian (ruled A.D. 117--138) at Tivoli, Italy. It was purchased in 1792 by an English collector, the Marques of Lansdowne, to become part of his extensive private collection of ancient sculptures.

Shortly after its discovery, the statue was reworked in Rome, probably by Carlo Albacini, a prominent restorer. A spirit of purism caused it to be stripped of its restorations in the 1970s, but these historical additions were reintegrated in the 1990s to present the work as it appeared in the eighteenth century.