Heracles & Geryon - Ancient Greek Vase Painting (original) (raw)
Greek Mythology >> Galleries >> Greek Vase Paintings 4 >> L3.5
DETAILS
| Museum Collection | Musée du Louvre, Paris |
|---|---|
| Catalogue No. | Paris F53 |
| Beazley Archive No. | 310309 |
| Ware | Attic Black Figure |
| Shape | Amphora |
| Painter | Attributed to Group E Potter |
| Date | ca. 550 - 540 B.C. |
| Period | Archaic |
DESCRIPTION
Heracles battles the three-bodied giant Geryon. The hero wears a lion-skin cape and brandishes a sword. Eurytion, the fallen herdsman of Geryon, lies at his feet. The giant is depicted as a three warriors standing side-by-side, implicitly conjoined at the waist. Each of his bodies is armoured and equipped with a shield and spear. The first shield is emblazoned with a Gorgoneion--the monstrous visage of Geryon's grandmother Medusa.
IMAGE DETAIL
Detail of the Gorgoneion shield.
Geryon's shield is emblazoned with a Gorgoneion (Gorgon's head). The monster is depicted with a round face, wide mouth, boar's tusk, protruding tongue, bstaring eyes, a beard, and coiling serpents in its hair.