spectator have yet to occur.Only one man reacts—a seer who knows
the future (FIG. 5-32). He is a remarkable figure. Unlike the gods,
heroes, and noble youths and maidens who are the almost exclusive
subjects of Archaic and Classical Greek statuary, this seer is a rare
depiction of old age. He has a balding, wrinkled head and sagging
musculature—and a shocked expression on his face. This is a true
show of emotion, unlike the stereotypical Archaic smile, without
precedent in earlier Greek sculpture and not a regular feature of
Greek art until the Hellenistic age.
The metopes of the Zeus temple are also thematically connected
with the site, for they depict the 12 labors of Herakles (see “Herakles,
Greatest of Greek Heroes,” right), the legendary founder of the
Olympic Games. In the metope illustrated here (FIG. 5-33), Herak-
les holds up the sky (with the aid of the goddess Athena—and a
cushion) in place of Atlas, who had undertaken the dangerous jour-
ney to fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides for the hero. The
load soon will be transferred back to Atlas (at the right, still holding
the apples), but now each of the very high relief figures in the
metope stands quietly with the same serene dignity as the statues in
the Olympia pediment. In both attitude and dress (simple Doric pep-
los for the women), all the Olympia figures display a severity that
contrasts sharply with the smiling and elaborately clad figures of the
Late Archaic period. Many art historians call this Early Classical
phase of Greek art the Severe Style.5-32Seer, from the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus, Olympia,
Greece, ca. 470–456 bce.Marble, full figure 4 6 high; detail 3 2 –^12 high.
Archaeological Museum, Olympia.
The balding seer in the Olympia east pediment is a rare depiction of old
age in Classical sculpture. He has a shocked expression because he
foresees the tragic outcome of the chariot race.G
reek heroes were a class of mortals of intermediate status
between ordinary humans and the immortal gods. Most of-
ten the children of gods, some were great warriors, such as those
who fought at Troy and were celebrated in Homer’s epic poems.
Others pursued one fabulous adventure after another, ridding the
world of monsters and generally benefiting humankind. Many he-
roes were worshiped after their deaths, and the greatest of them
were honored with shrines, especially in the cities with which they
were most closely associated.
The greatest Greek hero was Herakles (the Roman Hercules),
born in Thebes and the son of Zeus and Alkmene, a mortal woman.
Zeus’s jealous wife Hera hated Herakles and sent two serpents to at-
tack him in his cradle, but the infant strangled them. Later, Hera
caused the hero to go mad and to kill his wife and children. As pun-
ishment he was condemned to perform 12 great labors. In the first,
he defeated the legendary lion of Nemea and ever after wore its pelt.
The lion’s skin and his weapon, a club, are Herakles’ distinctive at-
tributes (FIG. 5-66). His last task was to obtain the golden apples
Gaia gave to Hera at her marriage (FIG. 5-33). They grew from a tree
in the garden of the Hesperides at the western edge of the ocean,
where a dragon guarded them. After completion of the 12 seem-
ingly impossible tasks, Herakles was awarded immortality. Athena,
who had watched over him carefully throughout his life and assisted
him in performing the labors, introduced him into the realm of the
gods on Mount Olympus. According to legend, it was Herakles who
established the Olympic Games.Herakles, Greatest
of Greek HeroesRELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY5-33Athena, Herakles, and Atlas with the apples of the Hesperides,
metope from the Temple of Zeus, Olympia, Greece, ca. 470–456 bce.
Marble, 5 3 high. Archaeological Museum, Olympia.
Herakles founded the Olympic Games, and his 12 labors were the
subjects of the 12 Doric metopes of the Zeus temple. This one shows
the hero holding up the world (with Athena’s aid) for Atlas.120 Chapter 5 ANCIENT GREECE1 ft.
1 ft.