Chapter 13: Herakles
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♦ Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale 2045 (H2883): fragments of Attic red-figure calyx krater by Pronomos Painter with Gigantomachy (see below)
Outside of outlined celestial vault on the upper left, Selene on a mule, then inside vault on lower left, kneeling Enkelados; to right, Gigas lifting boulder; above him, legs of three more Gigantes
Inside vault on lower left, Prophyrion?; above and to right of him, two Gigantes with boulders; inside vault on lower right, Gaia rising out of earth; outside of vault, Helios in chariot rising up, with sun above him; above sun, horses from Zeus’ chariot
Drawing from A. Furtwaengler and K. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei: Auswahl hervorragender Vasenbilder (Serie II, Text, 1909) fig. 72 (whole view and two details)
Beazley Archive Pottery Database
Digital LIMC and links to entries in printed LIMC (with photos)
♦ Paris, Louvre S1677: Attic red-figure neck amphora by the Suessula Painter, with Gigantomachy (see below for identification of figures from Side A)
Side A, from A. Furtwaengler and K. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei: Auswahl hervorragender Vasenbilder (Serie II Tafel 1909) pl. 96
View of Side A, from Wikimedia
Side B, from A. Furtwaengler and K. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei: Auswahl hervorragender Vasenbilder (Serie II Tafel 1909) pl. 97
On left edge of side A, Apollo above Artemis, both with bows, and both attacking Gigantes; to right of Apollo, chariot of Zeus, driven by Nike (see below); below horses, Athena in aigis attacks kneeling Gigas
On upper left, Nike from Zeus’ chariot (see above for horses from the chariot); to right of Nike, Zeus, who raises thunderbolt against Gigas and dying Amazon?; to lower left of Zeus, kneeling Herakles in lionskin shooting at same opponents as his father Zeus; on upper right, Dionysos on chariot pulled by two panthers attacks Gigas
On upper right, Poseidon attacks Gigas with trident; on lower right, Hermes in petasos attacks kneeling Gigas
Drawing of side A and details from pl. 1, F. Ravaisson, “Notice sur une amphore peinte du Musée du Louvre représentant le combat des dieux et des géants,” Monuments grecs publiés par l’Association pour l’Encouragement des Études Grecques en France, no. 4 (1875)
Beazley Archive Pottery Database
Perseus Art and Archaeology Artifact Browser
Digital LIMC and links to entries in printed LIMC (with many black-and-white photos of Sides A & B)
♦ Berlin, Antikensammlung 3375: Attic red-figure squat lekythos with Gigantomachy; Dionysos brandishes his thyrsos while riding in a chariot drawn by two winged griffins; one of griffins bites into the right upper arm of Gigas with serpentine legs; Gigas fights back by trying to stab griffin in neck; Gigas’ right serpentine appendage bites hero on the right in his right thigh; hero (probably Herakles) raises a club against Gigas; hero’s petasos has slipped off his head
H. Winnefeld, “Gigantenkampf auf einer Vase in Berlin,” in Festschrift für Otto Benndorf (1898) pl. 1
Beazley Archive Pottery Database
Digital LIMC and links to entries in printed LIMC
♦Berlin, Pergamon Museum: Great Altar of Zeus and Athena (see below for sections of the east frieze with Zeus and Athena)
Model of Pergamon Acropolis in Pergamon Museum, with Great Altar in its precinct in center, from Wikimedia
Model of Great Altar, Pergamon Museum, with Gigantomachy frieze on base of enclosure wall, from Wikimedia
Detail of drawing of east frieze from Great Altar showing sections with Zeus and Athena, from H. Winnefeld, Altertümer von Pergamon (Band III,2, Text): Die Friese des groszen Altars (1910) Beilage 3
Section of east frieze with Gigas who has been struck by one of Zeus’ thunderbolts, Zeus preparing to launch another thunderbolt, and his snake-legged opponent Porphyrion; from Flickr
Reconstruction of section of Great Altar with Zeus, which shows the aigis on Zeus’ left arm and his eagle; from Wikimedia [taken from Nordisk familjebok (Swedish, ‘Nordic Family Book’)]
Section of east frieze with winged Alkyoneus, whom Athena is attempting to pull away from his life-giving mother Gaia; on lower right, Gaia rises out of earth and pleads for mercy towards Alkyoneus; above Gaia, Nike flies in to crown Athena; from Flickr
Head of Alkyoneus, who cries out in pain from bite on his right breast of Athena’s serpent; from Wikimedia
Digital LIMC (with bibliography) and links to entires in Digital LIMC (with many photos of sections of frieze not presented above)
♦ Paris, Musée du Louvre, G372: Attic red-figure skyphos by Penelope Painter with Gigas (with inscribed name Gigas) carrying a boulder while Athena gestures towards where he is to place it
Beazley Archive Pottery Database
Digital LIMC and links to entries in printed LIMC
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Tags:
#Gigantes, #Gigas, #Selene, #Enkelados, #Porphyrion, #Gaia, #Helios, #Apollo, #Artemis, #Athena, #Nike, #Zeus, #Amazon, #Herakles, #Poseidon, #Hermes, #eagle, #Alkyoneus, #Alkyoneus
Edited by R. Ross Holloway, Elisha Benjamin Andrews Professor Emeritus, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown Univ., and Frances Van Keuren, Prof. Emerita, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Univ. of Georgia, July 2025.
