M13.2 HERACLES & HYDRA
| Museum Collection | Musée du Louvre, Paris |
|---|---|
| Catalogue No. | Louvre CA598 |
| Beazley Archive No. | 461 |
| Ware | Attic Black Figure (White Ground) |
| Shape | Lekythos |
| Painter | Attributed to the Diosphos Painter |
| Date | ca. 500 - 480 B.C. |
| Period | Late Archaic |
DESCRIPTION
Heracles battles the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra as one of his twelve labours. The hero wearing a lion-skin cape slices at the heads with his sword while his armoured squire Iolaus applies a burning brand to the neck stumps. A giant crab (which would become the constellation Cancer) nips at the hero with its claws. The goddess Athena stands behind him wearing a helm and snake-trimmed aegis cloak.
This is a montage of several photos of the vase.