Black-Figure Amphora (Storage Vessel) (Primary Title)
attributed to, Group E, Greek, active 560 - 540 BC (Artist)
Herakles was the most popular hero of antiquity and was frequently worshipped as a god. He is best known for the twelve labors he performed to atone for killing his wife and children in a fit of madness. His first labor was to slay a fearsome lion that was devouring the people of Nemea (near Corinth). Since swords and arrows could not penetrate the lion’s hide, Herakles killed it with a club and used the beast’s own claws to skin it; afterward, he wore the skin as both a trophy and protective garment.
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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