Hercules is seen with his club trampling on a couple of Cupids with symbols of wealth and rule, while Minerva symbolically crowns Hercules, and at the same time, punishes another Cupid who shoots the arrow of love. The elaborate symbolism is further complicated and enriched by the reasonable possibility that the figure of Hercules represents Sigismund Báthory (1572-1613) giving up the princely crown of Transylvania to the Emperor Rudolf II (reigned 1576-1612) who was Spranger’s patron. Sigismund later regretted his action and in 1600 he attempted to recover his throne. The figure of Hercules also symbolises the triumph of good over evil and this variety of meaning is typical of artists who worked for the Emperor such as Arcimboldo and Hans von Aachen.

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