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Ancient Greece Athenian Heroes: Herakles and

Heather Sebo Gillian Shepherd Pitcher: Herakles Wrestling Triton, 520-10 BCE

No ancient author recorded the story of Herakles and Triton. This lack of literary sources for the depiction and the fact that it appears almost exclusively in Athenian art has led some scholars to look for a special meaning in the scene. They argue that the mythological battle may have had political significance for the Athenians. Peisistratos and his sons, may have adopted Herakles as their symbol; and the scene may refer to a naval victory of over her neighboring enemy, the city-state of Megara.

Image source: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails? artobj=109803&handle=li! open content! Herakles and Apollo vying for possession of the Delphic tripod; ca. 530 BCE.

Image source: Artstor! Image source: Amphora 530 BCE. Herakles steals Apollo’s tripod Artstor! The Nemean Lion. Because the creature was invulnerable, Herakles was forced to wrestle with it kill it with his bare hands. Herakles uses the lion’s claws to skin it and wore the lion’s invulnerable hide. The Lernaian Hydra. A poisonous serpent monster with ten heads. Two heads grow back for every one cut off. The only way to prevent this is to cauterize a severed neck with fire. Hera also sent a crab to distract Herakles by pinching his foot. Herakles dips his arrows in the Hydra’s blood. The Keryneian Hind. A test of swiftness. Herakles pursues the golden antlered hind for a whole year. He wounds it while it is swimming the river Ladon. The Erymanthian Boar. Eurystheus orders that this creature of predictable ferocity be brought back alive. Vase painters delighted to show a terrified Eurystheus hiding in a jar (pithos) while Herakles advances with the creature in his arms preparing to shove it into the jar with him. The Cleaning of the dung from the stables fouled by the vast herds of Augeias. Required by Eurystheus to clean the stables by himself in a single day, Herakles diverts the rivers Alpheios and Peneios to do the job for him. The Stymphalian Birds. In order to clear the multitudes of (man eating?) birds that infested the Stymphalian Lake, Herakles either frightens them with a bronze rattle or kills them (or both).

Neck-Handled Amphora: Herakles Wrestling the Nemean Lion. c.520 B.C !

Image source: Artstor! The Cretan Bull. Perhaps the bull sent by to Minos and loved by Pasiphae. Herakles captures, rides it back across the sea The Mares of Diomedes. Herakles is required to harness these man-eating mares. Herakles distracts them by feeding them either to Diomedes himself or a groom. The Belt of Hippolyte. The quest to retrieve the war belt of the Amazon queen usually involves routing the Amazons and killing Hippolyte. The Cattle of Geryoneus. Herakles crosses the ocean to the ends of the earth in the cup used by Helios to make his nightly passage over the ocean. Herakles then kills the triple-bodied or triple-headed Geryoneus, (as well as his dog and cowherd) and seizes his cattle. Herakles must bring back some golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides. On his way he kills the eagle that was eating Prometheus’ liver. Prometheus advises Herakles to assume Atlas’ task of holding up the sky so that Atlas may collect the apples. But when, on his return Atlas announces that he does not intend to resume the burden of the sky, Herakles tricks him and then seizes the apples. In othervsrsions Herakles collects the apples himself. Herakles and the Cretan bull. Metope Olympia. 470 BC - ca. 457 BC

Image source: Artstor! Herakles and Atlas. Metope Olympia. ca. 470 BC – 457 BCE

Image source: Artstor! Amphora with Herakles Kerberos and Athena c. 520-510 BCE

The ultimate labour is the journey to the Underworld to fetch the dog Kerberos. Hesiod says Kerberos is “a hideous and pitiless” hound who stands guard outside the echoing house of Hades: “wagging his tail/ and wriggling his ears he fawns on those who enter; but he does not let them out again;instead, he lies in wait and devours those he catches.” Image source: Artstor! Image source: Artstor! Image source: Artstor! Theseus: a different kind of hero

Attic Red Figure Kylix Attributed to the Euergides Painter ca 510 - 500 BC Side A1: Herakles wrestles the Nemean lion.

Side A2: Adjacent images depict Theseus and the Minotaur

http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/M19.1.html! at Delphi, ca 500 BCE.

http://www.coastal.edu/ashes2art/delphi2/images/ sanctuary_thumbs/athenTres/athenTres3.jpg! Theseus and Antiope Metope Athenian Treasury Delphi, ca 500 BCE.

Image source: Artstor! Delphi: Athenian Treasury: Theseus & the Marathonian Bull", 5th C. BCE

Image source: Artstor!

Labours of Theseus (Kylix) Kerkyon ! ca. 440-430 BCE

The “man-slaying” Krommyon Sow !

Bed of Procrustes!

Sinus on his Throws own pine tree! Skiron into the sea to be devoured by a turtle.!

Bull of Marathon! Image source: Artstor! Sinus on his Deeds of Theseus (Kylix) own pine tree! ca. 440-430 BCE

The “man- Bull of slaying” Marathon! Krommyon Sow (Phaia)!

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Image source: Artstor! Surely, the drive of a god is behind him, to bring law to lawless people. It is no easy thing to engage again and again and never be loser. In the length of time all things are brought to completion Aegeus: The man says only two attendants go with him. On his gleaming shoulders he wears a sword with an ivory hilt; two polished throwing-spears in his hands; a well-wrought skin-cap of Sparta covers his head and his bright hair; over his chest a sea-died Shirt, and above, a Thessalian woollen cloak. In his eyes there shines the flamelight of a Lemnos volcano. Yet he is said to be a boy Trained to feel the finesse of war and bronze-battering Ares’ work. The end of his search is said to be shining Athens. 18

Theseus and Amphitrite ca 500-490 BCE

Image source: Artstor!