The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

• To the people of ancient Greece, the hero Herakles (HAIR-a-kleez) embodied the best of mortals and Gods. Stories of his accomplishments were very popular.
  
• This black-figure vase, called a hydria (high-DREE-a), is a good example of the qualities of harmony and SYMMETRY, highly prized by the Greeks in their art.
  
• The Greeks thought of their gods as humans, as the paintings on this hydria show.

Herakles was the son of the great god Zeus (zoose) and a mortal, Alcmene (alk-MEE-nee). Zeus had tricked Alcmene into believing that he was her husband. Zeus's wife, Hera, was so jealous of her husband's love for Alcmene that she made Herakles' life miserable. When Herakles was a grown man with a family of his own, Hera sent madness upon him and drove him to kill his entire family. He went to the ORACLE at Delphi (DEL-fie) to seek penance for his horrific crime. The oracle told him that he had to go see the king of Mycenae (my-SEE-nee) and do whatever the king had told him to. When he completed the deeds, his sins would be forgiven.

The king of Mycenae first ordered Herakles to kill the Nemean (nee-MEE-un) lion that had been threatening a nearby village for many years. The village people told him it could not be killed by weapon or arrow. Herakles tried to shoot the lion, but his arrows could not wound the beast. Finally, he wrestled the lion to the ground and strangled it with his hands. He kept the skin as proof and wore it as a cloak, which gave him even greater strength.

Herakles' second task was to capture a savage boar from the mountain of Erymanthus (err-a-MAN-thus). Herakles trapped the fearsome boar and brought it back alive to the king to prove he had accomplished his task. The king was so frightened by the beast that he ran and hid in a bronze jar.

Much to everyone's amazement, Herakles went on to successfully complete ten more seemingly impossible tasks. Because of him, many people lived without fear. Zeus was so impressed by Herakles' strength, courage, and hard work that he made him a god. Athena (a-THEE-na) the goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts, came down from Mount Olympus (OH-limp-US) in her chariot to carry Herakles to live among the gods.

Herakles
Parts of Herakles' story are probably based on the life of a historical figure, while other parts seem to be taken from the myths of other eastern Mediterranean countries. In Greek mythology, the hero Herakles personified physical strength and courage. His repeated triumphs over evil, particularly his successful completion of the 12 labors, earned him god status. Throughout the ancient Greek world, Herakles was worshiped as a protector.

History
Herakles was the most popular hero in 6th-century Athens, even though none of his exploits was performed there. He appears frequently on Athenian vases. Herakles' popularity was due in part to his association with Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. She protected Herakles against the evil doings of Hera.

In his efforts to gain control of Athens, a 6th-century tyrant named Peisistratus (pie-sis-trot-us) took advantage of the well-known relationship between Athena and Herakles. He wanted people to think of him as a modern Herakles-strong, unbeatable, and heroic, so he staged a chariot procession to the Acropolis (a-CROP-a-lus), pretending to be Herakles. Seated beside him was a woman dressed up as Athena. This event inspired many vase paintings of Herakles' apotheosis to Olympus, including scenes of Athena with her chariot.

Antimenes Painter
The Antimenes (an-TIM-en-eez) painter painted many images of Herakles and Athena together, responding to public demand for timely themes in art. Although many Athenian vase painters did not sign their work, art historians can identify them by stylistic traits that recur in their paintings. This vases's theme, extensive use of white, and composition helped art historians to identify the artist as the Antimenes painter. He signed the name Antimenes painter to only a few of the 150 vases attributed to him.

Hydria
This vase, called a hydria, was used for carrying and pouring water. The two handles on the sides were used for carrying, and the third one, on the back, was used for pouring.

Style
The painting style of this vase is called black-figure because the figures are rendered in black against the natural red color of the clay. The artist drew the figures on the surface of the vase with a clay and water solution called ENGOBE (ON-gobe), which turned black during the firing process. White and dark red accents were added with separate solutions. The artist incised details into the engobe before firing. For example, the lines that show details in faces and clothing in this vase painting are all incised.

This hydria exemplifies the qualities of harmony and symmetry, highly prized by the Greeks. The orderly designs conform to the different parts of the vase and accentuate its well-balanced, harmonious proportions. (See Figure 6.) A circle of tongue MOTIFS (moe-TEEFS) decorate the base of the vase and emphasize its function as the support of the whole vessel. A circle of rays rises out of the base and draws the viewer's attention to the paintings on the main body.


Scenes
The main scene on the body of the hydria shows Athena in her chariot, presumably having just descended from Mount Olympus to take Herakles to live with the gods. Because the Greeks thought of gods as humans, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the two in this scene. However, certain attributes readily identified the most popular figures to the Greeks familiar with their stories.

Athena wears armor, which identifies her as the warrior goddess and the protector of heros. She fought not for the sake of destruction but for just causes. The cloak she wears is made of serpents, a reference to the serpent-haired head of Medusa (meh-DOO-sa) given to her by Perseus (PURR-see-us) after she helped him to kill the evil gorgon. Her skin is white because vase painters typically colored all women's skin white and men's skin black.

Herakles is shown in profile facing Athena in the middle of the scene and is easily identifiable because he has the short spiky hair of an athlete and a short beard. The figure to the left of Herakles is Hermes (HER-meez), the messenger god, who guided Herakles on his many journeys. Hermes is identified by his pointed traveling hat and his long red beard. He is also carrying a traveling staff in his left hand. The other figures are grooms who assist Athena in harnessing the four horses to the chariot she and Herakles will soon be riding to Mount Olympus.

A band of lions and wild boars surrounds the bottom of the vase. They represent the Nemean lion and the wild boar of Erymanthus that Herakles had conquered as 2 of his 12 labors.

Look
1. Tell the story of Herakles. What part of Herakles' life is illustrated here? (Athena coming with her chariot to take Herakles to live with the gods.) What animals do you see on the lower section of the hydria, beneath the figures of Herakles and Athena? (Lion and boar.) Why might these animals appear on this hydria? (They represent 2 of his 12 labors.)

2. An ATTRIBUTE is a distinctive symbolic feature that identifies a character. Athena's attributes include armor, a cloak made of serpents, and a chariot. Identify Athena on the body of the hydria. Herakles' attributes include the short spiky hair of an athlete and a short beard. Find Herakles on the hydria. Find Hermes with his attributes: a pointed traveling hat, long red beard, and traveling staff.

3. How many horses do you see on the hydria? (Most will say three.) Count the horses' legs on the right section of the hydria. (Eight.) How many horses do you think there are now? (Four.) Why can't we see the body of one of the horses on the right section of the hydria? (The Antimenes painter used OVERLAPPING to give the illusion of depth.)

4. How many colors do you see on the hydria? (Orange, black, white, and dark red.) Describe the process by which the ENGOBE is applied to the orange clay. Where has the artist used a sharp tool to scrape through the engobe revealing the light orange clay beneath? (The figures on the main body of the hydria.) What details was he able to include with these lines? (Faces of humans and horses. Muscles of men and to a lesser extent horses. Athena's costume, chariot, harness, and reins.)

5. The people of ancient Greece valued harmonious proportion, order, and balance in their art. How has the Antimenes painter achieved order, harmony, and balance in this hydria? Consider color and shape. (The shape of the hydria is SYMMETRICAL: equal on both sides of an imaginary vertical line through the center. There are also equal amounts of black and orange on the hydria; neither of these colors overpowers the other.)

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Think
1. Tell the story of Herakles. The people of ancient Greece valued order, balance, and perfect proportion, not only in their art but also in their daily lives. How did the character of Herakles personify order, balance, and proportion? (Herakles possessed a balance of mortal and super god-like qualities. The proper proportions of physical strength, courage, and hard work made him an ideal character.)

2. Herakles was a hero to the ancient Greeks because he embodied both mortal and superhuman qualities. Can you think of any modern-day heroes that embody both mortal and superhuman qualities? (Superman, Wonder Woman, the Incredible Hulk, Santa Claus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, She-Ra Princess of Power.)

3. The figures on the hydria look human, but they were gods to the Greek people who lived at the time. Think about the other works of art you have seen in the World Mythology in Art image set. Do any of them represent mythological figures as human? (Orpheus and Eurydice, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Shoki the Demon Queller, Theseus.) Have you seen works of art that represent mythological figures as animals? (Chi Wara, Raven.) Are there works of art that represent mythological figures as some combination of the two? (Thoth, Nebuchadnezzar, Medusa, the Centaur in Theseus Slaying a Centaur.)