Variations
in the Depictions
of Heracles' Twelve Labors in Art
Nemean
Lion
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Generally
accepted as Herakles first labor, the Nemean Lion scene is depicted in multiple
variations. By far, the most common
scene in vase painting is of the hero wrestling the lion barehanded and
beardless. His club is often set to
the side, just out of reach. This
follows the literary tradition of Apollodorus 2.5.1, which tells of Herakles
strangling the beast. Some
of the variations to the rule include scenes of Herakles running to attack the
lion, as in Ex. 6. This is a rarity
in Greek art, possibly because of the artists' contempt for open space.
Decoration was an extremely important aspect in their artistic
traditions. Weaponry
was also subject to variation. Although
the lion was supposed to be invulnerable to arms, Herakles is occasionally shown
attacking the lion with his club, Ex. 5 & 6, or his sword as in Ex. 1. |
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More
often than not Athena is present during this battle, which would allow the
audience to be assured of Herakles' victory.
The
Lernaian Hydra
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One
of the earlier labors of Herakles was to kill the Lernaian hydra, which lived at
the entrance to Hades. According to
Apollodoros and Diodoros Herakles was helped by Iolaos who burned the stumps of
the hydra, after Herakles had severed their heads, to keep them from growing
back. In the majority of vase
paintings pertaining to this labor, Iolaos was present, however in sculpture he
rarely appears, possibly because sculpture focuses on only the most important
figures. |
In
literary works, the number of heads is never agreed upon because whenever one head
was cut off, two more would replace it.
While the artists of Greece usually preferred to show the Hydra with nine
heads, it was up to their own discretion.
In
Archaic art, Herakles’ work is impeded by a crab pinching at his heels.
This pest was sent by Hera, a long time enemy of our hero. This
collaborates with the literary tradition of Apollodorus 2.5.2. (Herakles
hindered by the crab)
This
labor declined in popularity after 450 BC.
Of the few remaining artifacts, the majority of them show Herakles
presenting the boar to king Eurystheus who is hiding in a vase.
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his next labor, Herakles must capture the Hind which belonged to Artemis.
In most of the literary sources, the Hind is a female with golden
antlers, but in art she is not always depicted with her antlers.
According to
Apollodoros and Diodoros, Herakles was able to capture the Hind without harming
it. However, in Euripides, Herakles 375ff the Hind was killed. The
artistic tradition supports both variations.
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Again
there are conflicting literary sources on the outcome of this labor.
In Apollodoros 2.5.6, Herakles scared the birds into flight and then
killed them using his bow and arrows. However,
according to Diodoros 4.13.2, his mission is to merely scare the birds away.
In art, generally one bird represents the entire flock, leaving room for
Athena's presence which is of more importance in this scene.
This is one of the rare occasions in Greek art where we see Herakles
using his bow. While this is not
one of the more popular labors, it appears frequently as a motif on coins.
This scene, of Herakles cleaning the stables, is mainly depicted on temple metopes. One possibility for the rarity of this scene could be because of its degrading nature. Niether is there the excitement of battle to bolster the scene. (Sketch of Metope)
This
is one of the more difficult scenes to interpret when dealing with Greek art.
Herakles can often be confused with Iason and Theseus, both of whom also
wrestle with bulls. Iason is more
easily distinguished from Herakles because he doesn't use any of the weapons
that we associate with the former hero. Distinguishing
Theseus becomes a more difficult task because he is often depicted with a club
and in the presence of Athena. This
problem was recognized in antiquity and thus Theseus never used the bow and
arrow or wore a lion skin when fighting the Marathonian Bull.
This
labor often became an event for the Olympians because many of them are seen
watching this episode. The
overwhelming presence of the gods is due to the artists' attempts to incorporate
many mythological stories into one main setting.
Although various mythic figures often appear in depictions of this event,
we have only found one instance in which they appear simultaneously (Leningrad B
2680, Vollkommer fig. 13).
In this vase calyx krater, Athena, of course, is present, showing her connection with Herakles and assuring victory. Nike, as well, is often shown crowning Herakles for the immanent triumph over the bull. The bull is also associated with the rape of Europa, which explains her appearance, and the depiction of Zeus. Poseidon sent the bull to punish King Minos for his lack of homage to the gods and thus he and his wife, Amphitrite, are present. The tripod of Apollo is present, a symbol of immanent triumph, which indicates Herakles' mastery over the bull, therefore Apollo and Artemis were in attendance. (Herakles without a beard, wrestling the bull); (Herakles fighting with club); (Herakles with the bull subdued)
This labor is rarely depicted in art. The main representations are found in metopes and other temple sculpture. Within these Herakles is either guiding the horses by holding on to their reins or hitting one with his club while holding the reins. It is interesting to note that the fierceness of battle which the artists generally depict in Greek art is avoided in this particular labor. Herakles is never shown fighting Diomedes in these scenes though in literary works the hero kills Diomedes by either clubbing him or throwing him into the midst of the horses where he was devoured. (Sketch of Metope)
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Next
to the Nemean Lion, the Amazons appear most frequently in Greek art.
There are nearly 400 examples of Herakles fighting them in Black figure
style alone. In this labor, once
again, there are discrepancies among artistic representations.
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The other trend is to follow Apollodoros
2.5.9 which states that the queen surrendered the belt to Herakles
without a fight.
Although
Apollodoros calls the queen Hippolyte, she is also referred to as Andromache on
several of the vases. This
is probably due to the fact that there was a stock of Amazonian names which
authors/artists pulled from.
Again
the question of who was present comes into play. In certain vase paintings Telemon appears to assist Herakles
as he battles the Amazons. There
are also depictions of Herakles facing his enemies alone.
Weaponry is sporadically assigned according to the wishes of the artists.
The three most common arms in use are the sword, club and bow.
It
is interesting to note that Herakles is often shown gripping the helmet of the
Amazon queen. While this issue is
not addressed in any major literary works, it could have sexual undertones.
Herakles clutch on the headpiece could symbolize rape.
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It
is interesting to note that Herakles is often shown gripping the helmet of the
Amazon queen. While this issue is
not addressed in any major literary works, it could have sexual undertones.
Herakles clutch on the headpiece could symbolize rape.
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Unlike
the horses of Diomedes, the scenes involving this labor generally show Herakles
fighting Geryon, rather than herding the cattle. In fact there appears to be only one representation of
Herakles driving the cattle during early Greek art. A possible explanation for this could be that Geryon was a
monstrous being, while Diomedes was an ordinary mortal.
The
one major discrepancy among artistic representations is the number of bodies
which Geryon was reported to have. Some
of the diversities are Geryon depicted with two legs and two bodies, one
body and three heads, most traditional three bodies with a head apiece.
While Herakles' bow is present during the confrontation, he generally uses either his club or sword. Geryon is shown in different stages of defeat. In some he has yet to be wounded, and in others one or more of his bodies has already been overpowered. (Geryon with three bodies); (Sketch of Metope); (Herakles herding cattle)
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one of Herakles' last labors his task is to retrieve the hound of Hades.
The basic theme for this labor is Herakles dragging Kerberos out of the
underworld, by force, on a leash. Discrepancies
occur in the surroundings of this central theme.
The general trend among the artists was to depict representations of the
Underworld in the encompassing space. These
include Hades and Persephone, rulers of the Underworld, whom Herakles had to ask
permission to remove Kerberos according to some literary traditions.
Others include Orpheus and Theseus, who were two of the few mortals that
journeyed into the Underworld and were able to return.
Many of the humans who were condemned to the Underworld are also present
in some representations. These
include: the Danaids, Sisyphos, Tantalos, and Peirithoos.
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(Kerberos with three heads); (Kerberos with two heads); (Kerberos with two bodies); (Eurystheus hiding in vase); (Persephone and Hades) |
This
is one of the more popular labors in Greek art. Due to its popularity several different variations arose.
One of the more popular motifs traces its origins from Agatharchides, d.mari
robro 7 which claims that Herakles supported the world for Atlas while he
went and fetched the apples. One
representation of this shows Herakles seated before Atlas asking for help.
The second is from Apollodoros, 2.5.12, which has Herakles distracting or
killing the guardian serpent and retrieving the apples himself.
Although Hera was given the Garden as a wedding present, she is seldom shown in these depictions. This seems odd because of her animosity towards the hero. The Hesperides are also shown on several different vases but not always in the same fashion.
(Hesperides snapping off a branch of the tree); (Herakles holding up the sky); (Coin with Herakles in the Garden of the Hesperides) |
One scene depicts them
picking the apples off the tree, another depicts them handing Herakles
a branch from the tree, and still another shows them guarding the tree.
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We would like to thank Rainer Vollkommer, whose book Herakles in the Art of Classical Greece, proved a necessary tool for our research.