Vase 31849: Herakles Fighting The Nemean Lion

Vase 31849: Herakles Fighting the Nemean Lion

Vase 31849 features Herakles’ first labor: that of the killing of the Nemean Lion. It is a black-figure amphora B from 550-500 BC. An Athenian vase, it is currently held on the market in London at the Sotheby’s Art Auction. It has been published in the Sotheby sale catalogue under the code, “10.7.1990, NO.278,” while at the Hesperia Art Auction in New York it was under the code, “27.11.1990, 2, NO.28”, and some photographs are also in the Beazley Archive.
The choice of an amphora for this depiction is quite clever as often times amphoras would be kept in the home to serve as storage for oil and wine and be well painted to serve as decoration. As it was crafted between 550-500 BC, this vase is part

of the Archaic period. Other vase pieces around this time tended to be also done in the black-figure style and often featured figures in a flat, Egyptian-style pose as seen here. In terms of other Heraklean pieces, the first vase featuring this scene was from the end of the 7th century, which would only be around 50-100 years before Vase 31849 would have been crafted. Over 700 other black-figure vases depicting the first labor of Herakles remain today.
One is best able to decipher the figures within the piece based upon their attributes. As this is the most famous of Herakles’ myths and there were no other stories that have survived featuring a man slaying a lion while being watched over by the gods, this can only be Herakles’ first labor. If there was any doubt, however, the young male off to the left behind Herakles and watching the tussle is holding a club; one of Herakles’ signature weapons, along with the bow and arrow. This figure is Iolaus, his nephew and companion who often appeared during recountings of the story. On the left side of the vase, a male and female figure appear. We know the figure closer to Herakles is a woman for a couple reasons. First, women were often painted with white skin, likely to differentiate them from men without much hesitation. Secondly, she wears a long skirt, which many women wore when depicted on vases. Examining the details of the figure, one may notice her spear, helmet and a piece of fabric fringed with intertwined snakes. These attributes together identify the woman as the goddess of strategy, Athena. The bearded man standing next to Athena can also be identified through attributes: A round, wide-brimmed hat called a petasus can be seen atop his head; he is wearing a traveler’s cloak; has talaria, or winged shoes, upon his feet; and in his hand, grips an intertwined staff called a caduceus. All of these attributes combined signifies this figure as the god of travelers, Hermes.
As previously mentioned, this vase features Herakles in the midst of fighting the Nemean Lion.

However, unlike many renditions of this myth, he is not in the act of strangling it. In fact, it appears as if he has not quite figured out how to kill it. This is evident by how Iolaus, his nephew, is holding his club and gesturing while Herakles seemingly stabs the lion in the chest with a knife or dagger. As the myth goes, the Nemean Lion was immune to all weapons and Herakles had to use his godly strength to subdue it. The artist may have indicated the intended ending to the myth through how Herakles is grasping at the jaws of the lion, but decided to feature him fighting it, rather than on the cusp of victory. The Nemean Lion is well balanced on Herakles, its front paw wrapped around his torso, while its hind paw is balanced on his leg, likely to break up the negative space around the figures. While they are likely also used to balance the piece compositionally, Athena and Hermes, two gods who often helped Herakles during his quests, can be seen watching the battle. Athena often appeared in many of his myths, especially the labors, and thus it is no surprise that she appears here for the first of the twelve. However, Hermes is not often seen in artistic retellings of this myth. He is more commonly seen in some of the other labors, especially Herakles’ final labor: where he must bring Cerberus from the Underworld. Despite this, the combined presence of Athena and Hermes indicates that this is a quest and one that is encouraged by the gods. The way Athena is gesturing may also indicate that she is trying to influence the tide of the battle; perhaps by encouraging Herakles to try different tactics. This type of influence would not be outside of her sphere as she is the goddess of strategy. The balance of the piece is disrupted, however, by the figures intruding on the vase’s neck decoration. Athena’s helmet and spear, as well as Hermes’ hat go above the main

compositional space and into the decoration above. This makes the piece seem as if it was not well planned out and the neck decoration was selected before the figures were painted on without considering for size. However, this could have been intentional and part of the technique, as well.
The black-figure technique has advantages and disadvantages within the context of this scene. Firstly, the artist was able to take advantage of a red paint to provide a sense of texture on some of the clothing and fur, making the piece more original. This is most easily seen on Hermes, where his beard and some of his cloak features red in order to differentiate each layer of fabric from another. Small bits of red cross-like shapes are combined with similar shapes done in white paint on Athena’s dress, which give it a more ethereal look. The crosses may also be done to give the dress a shine, perhaps reminiscent of armor. One of the main problems with the black-figure technique is how easy it is for figures to get lost in one another. As mentioned, the artist avoided this with Hermes’ cloak by adding in some red to break up the black mass. However, this was not done quite as clearly with Herakles and the lion. Flecks of red were painted in Herakles’ beard as well as in the lion’s mane, but the majority of their bodies seem to merge, only separated by thin, white lines of detail. Despite this severe downside to the black-figure technique, the white on black figures is striking and creates a more dramatic appearance, especially where detail is high as it is in the lion’s face.
The image shown on vase 31849 remains close to the original story of Herakles and the Nemean Lion, however, the artist was willing to depict a different scene from many other artists of the time by depicting Herakles stabbing the lion. While the black-figure technique can often make bodies blend together, the artist used a red paint and significant amounts of detail, especially in the face of the lion, to break up the mass of black and make the scene more interesting for the viewer. The artist also paid close attention to the balance of the composition in regards to horizontal placement of the figures, but the way the figures of Athena and Hermes breach the neck decoration without using a difference in color disturbs the vertical balance of the piece. Overall, however, this piece remains excellent example of an Archaic period amphora.