Herakles at the tree of the Hesperides

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This Summer, the wonderful roman bronze figure Herakles at the tree of the Hesperides, from the British Museum's collection, will be on display in the Pavilion's foyer in celebration of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Dating from the 1st century AD, this important statue was excavated at a temple in Byblos, Lebanon and depicts Herakles (Hercules), legendary founder of the Olympic Games and a patron god of the gymnasium - the training ground for atheletes in ancient Greece. The Herakles figure will act as the centrepiece for our Olympics season this spring and summer. The impressive physical presence of this object from the anicent world will create a surprising juxtaposition to the Pavilion's modernist architecture and the installations by conceptual artist Cerith Wyn Evans in the Galleries. The loan is a result of a conference organised by Arts Council England and the British Museum at Margate's Turner Contemporary last year, which brought together people working within contemporary art galleries in the South East. The dialogue with the British Museum and in particular the Senior Curator of Greece and Rome, Ian Jenkins, identified Herakles at the tree of the Hesperides, as a major piece for loan during this year's olympic season.