ROMKids Artventures: Herakles and the Nemean Lion
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Χαίρετε (hello) Art-ventures! Grab your crayons and paint and join us to make DIY scratch art!
Check out the craft below—while you are getting set up, scroll down and be inspired the fascinating tale of Herakles and his face-off with the Nemean Lion. Then, discover the ancient craft of Greek amphora art!
Herakles and the Nemean Lion
In the famous Greek myth, Herakles was a demi-god, or half-god, born with superhuman strength. His mother was Alkmene, a mortal, and his father was Zeus, King of all Gods. Zeus adored Herakles and wanted him to be the next great hero of Greece.
One day, when Zeus’s wife Hera (Goddess of Family and Marriage) was particularly upset with Zeus, she decided to target his favourite demi-god son for revenge. She put Herakles into a trance that made him do despicable things.
When Herakles learned of his actions, he was sad and confused, and prayed to the gods for help. To make up for his behaviour, Herakles was told to complete 10 labours, or challenges, for his cousin King Eurystheus.
The first labour was to defeat the Nemean Lion—a monstrous animal with impenetrable golden fur and sharp claws that could pierce any armour. Herakles trekked down to the menacing cave that housed the monster and, using his incredible strength, vanquished the lion. Herakles used the lion’s powerful claws to remove its magical fur and made his own lion-pelt armour.
Fun Facts
Even before he was born, Zeus knew Herakles’ potential and aspired for him to become the next great ruler of Greece. However, Hera used her goddess abilities and stopped Herakles’ birth just long enough so that his cousin Eurystheus would be born first and become King instead of Herakles, much to Zeus’ displeasure.
Herakles’s second labour was to defeat the Hydra—a monster with 9 heads, poisonous fangs, and super healing abilities. For this task, Herakles was helped by his nephew, Iolaus, who stopped the monster from regenerating.
For his fifth labour, Herakles had to clean the Augean stables, which hadn’t been cleaned in years, so they were full of mountains of cattle poop! With help from the river gods, Herakles finished the task in just one day by redirecting the river’s strong current through the stables to wash them out.
Herakles’s cousin, King Eurystheus, was mischievous—he said the Hydra and Augean Stables labours didn’t count because Herakles had help. So, Eurystheus got Herakles to finish two extra tasks for him. This is why the myth is often referred to as “The 12 Labours of Herakles.”
After Herakles defeated the Nemean Lion, Hera placed the animal in the stars and created the constellation Leo.
King Eurystheus was so terrified by Herakles’s strength that he would hide from Herakles in a large amphora or jar!
Amphorae
(αμφορείς)
Take a look around your house and think of all the containers that hold your food. You might see items like milk bags, juice cartons, cereal boxes, big bottles and little bottles, jars tall and small. In ancient Greece, people stored food in clay jars called amphorae.
Some amphorae were embellished with striking paintings that told stories—exciting sporting events, important people, or tales from mythology. Artists only had black and reddish-brown colours to work with, so they would often differentiate people using defining characteristics. For example, Herakles’s story of the Nemean Lion was well-known, so his famous lion-pelt armour became an easy way to spot him in amphorae art. And Athena (Goddess of Wisdom, Strategy, and Battle) is depicted on many Olympic-themed amphorae, donning her warrior helmet, iconic aegis (shield), and spear.
Though amphorae were simple containers, they became important storytelling devices and beautiful ornamentation in Greece. Today, they have helped archaeologists and historians learn more about ancient Greek lifestyle, culture, and religion.
Fun Facts
Ancient Greeks often put olives, honey, wine, grains, fish, fruits, oil, and other foods and liquids in their amphorae. Archaeologists have even unearthed amphorae with preserved food inside!
There were two popular ways to paint amphorae. Black-figure pottery was common around 700 BCE—figures were painted in black on top of the clay background. About 150 years later, red-figure pottery was invented, where artists painted black backgrounds and left the figures revealed in the reddish clay.
Amphor-a is one jar: “Eurystheus hid in an amphora.” Amphor-ae means more than one jar: “The ROM has many amphorae!”
Some potters and artists would include little inscriptions on the amphorae—they could be names of the figures, potter’s stamps, artist signatures, and even expiry dates for the goods inside. But some amphorae had writing that (as far as we know today) means nothing!
The Greek word amphi- means “on both sides,” and -phero means “to carry.” Notice how most amphorae have handles on both sides?
When the Romans conquered Greece, they adopted much of the mythology but changed elements of it to suit Roman culture and language. Hercules is the Roman name for our Greek hero Herakles.
ROMKids Challenge
Put on your historian hat and see if you can find these Greek legends when you're next at the Museum to beat this ROMKids challenge!
Make your way to our Greek gallery to check out our vast collection of beautiful amphorae. Can you find Herakles? How about Athena? Remember their signature outfits!
While you’re hunting for Herakles and Athena amphorae, keep your eyes peeled for more Herakles-themed art. I spy with my little eye our hero’s sculpted head and a golden brooch of Herakles in his lion headdress.
Before you leave, be brave like Herakles and visit some lions—they’re not all as scary as the Nemean Lion. Search for the ROM’s protective lioness in our Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity. And say hello to the two lion statues guarding the museum’s Queens Park entrance.
