Heroes of Greek Mythology (part 1), Paintings

2. The term "hero" is perhaps overused today, but these guys were the originals.
The mythology of ancient Greece was filled with great heroes who slew monsters, battled
whole armies, and loved (and lost) beautiful women.
The full stories often reveal Hercules, Achilles, Perseus and others to be imperfect
characters ... but their names have lived on for millennia.

4. Art in Detail
Heroes of Greek Mythology
(Paintings)
part 1

5. ACHILLES
Achilles he lives in a gated community down in Elysium, the city of the blessed dead, and he's famous for his
nasty temper, he doesn't like paparazzi.
So if you don't want to get skewered with a spear and dragged behind his chariot like Hector, do not run up to
him for an autograph.

6. COYPEL, Charles-Antoine
Fury of Achilles
1737
Oil on canvas, 147 x 195 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

7. ACHILLES
I Am Perfect.
Just look at me.

9. WEST, Benjamin
Thetis Bringing Armor to
Achilles I
1806
Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 69.22 cm
New Britain Museum of
American Art, New Britain

10. ACHILLES
Not sure why Heracles got to be a god after he died. What about me?
HERACLES
Hey buddy, I did 12 labors, and a whole bunch of other nearly impossible things on top of that.
ACHILLES
Yeah, well I was the greatest warrior of the Trojan War.
HERACLES
How great could you be? You got taken out by a little arrow in the heel.

12. HERACLES
f you see a trail of dead monsters strewn about the street, then chances are that Heracles isn't far away.
He's a big, super-muscular guy, who's always walking around with a lion skin cape and a giant club.
He's pretty much the Greek version of Superman.

13. COYPEL, Noël
Story of Hercules - Juno and
Hercules
1688
Oil on canvas, 180 × 132 cm
Palace of Versailles, Versailles

14. HERA
Impudent little TWERP. You are not worthy of Mount Olympus, and I mean to strip you of your immortality.
HERACLES
Could it be (gasp) that you secretly like me, Hera? Could it be that I am your favorite son-in-law?

16. GAROFALO
Apotheosis of Hercules
c. 1539
Oil on canvas
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

17. Good morning, Mount Olympus!
Here he is, the greatest man to ever walk the earth ... Heracles.
Has killed many monsters – lions, Hydras, boars, giants. Has sailed with Jason and the Argonauts.
Heracles is a god!

19. HECTOR
If anybody deserves to be in the city where the good souls go, it's this mightiest warrior of Troy. He's noble,
courageous, and kind to his wife and kid.
Unlike certain other heroes of the Trojan War, you won't find Hector surrounded by paparazzi, milking his fame.
If you get a chance, you should definitely have a chat with him. Hector: he's one of the good guys.

20. RESTOUT, Jean
The farewells of Andromache
and Hector
1728
Oil on canvas, 128x194 cm
Private collection

21. HECTOR
I mean, saying goodbye to Andromache was sad, but I don't remember getting this melodramatic about it.

23. DAVID, Jacques-Louis
Hector
1778
Oil on canvas, 123 x 172 cm
Musée Fabre, Montpellier

24. INTERVIEWER
Do you resent Achilles for killing you? He jabbed a spear into your throat. Dragged your body behind his chariot.
HECTOR
I killed his beloved Patroclus. It was war. These things happen.

26. JASON
If you want to have a pow-wow with this famous finder of the Golden Fleece, you'll have to head down to the
Underworld.
Jason's spirit is probably sipping cocktails on the beaches of the Elysian Islands, and he'll probably be
surrounded by a crowd of girls giving him googly eyes as he tells them about voyage with the Argonauts to
capture the Golden Fleece.

27. LOO, Charles-André van
Miss Clairon in Medea
1760
Oil on canvas, 79 × 59 cm
New Palace, Potsdam

28. JASON
This is the last time I'm going to tell you this: stay away from my house.
It wasn't bad enough that you killed our kids, now you have to haunt me in the afterlife?
We're dead! Get over it already. Let's just get on with our lives...well, deaths.
MEDEA
How dare you accuse me of such a thing!?
Without my advice and magic, you never would've gotten Golden Fleece.
You pitiful pathetic little man!

30. QUELLINUS, Erasmus II
Jason with the Golden Fleece
1630
oil on canvas, 181 × 195 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid

31. JASON
My moment of glory!
My Shining Moment!
I brought back the Fleece, Pelias! You owed me a kingdom.

33. PERSEUS
Perseus never did make it to Mount Olympus after he died. Unlike Heracles, he wasn't turned into a god.
He was turned into a constellation, which is pretty good consolation prize.
If you want to see Perseus, just look up into the sky ... he's up there holding the severed head of Medusa.

34. MAFFEI, Francesco
Perseus Beheading Medusa
c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 130 x 161 cm
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

35. MEDUSA
Yeah, for real, you chopped my head off while I was SLEEPING. Ooooh, sooo impressive.
PERSEUS
How is life without a head, Medusa? Peachy?
MEDUSA
Lucky for me, I'm a monster. I'll find you, Perseus. I WILL FIND YOU.

37. PERSEUS
How come Heracles was made immortal and not me? It's not fair.
ZEUS
Quit complaining. You got a constellation named after you.
PERSEUS
Oh, cool… a constellation. I'm way cooler than Heracles.
ZEUS
Suck it up, son. Life's tough.
HERACLES
Quit your whining, puny mortal. I'm just better than you.

38. PIERO DI COSIMO
Perseus Frees Andromeda
c. 1513
Oil on wood, 70 x 123 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

39. PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA
A sea monster to show off his buff muscles ?
Nope, it's all about a girl !
While flying over Ethiopia, Perseus spots the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock in the sea,
preparing for her future as a monster meal.
.... Perseus falls in love the princess at first sight !

41. Art in Detail_ Heroes of Greek Mythology
(Paintings)
images and text credit www.
Music wav.
created olga.e.
thanks for watching
oes