Twelve Labors Of Herakles Analysis

The Temple of Olympia was constructed from 475-450 BC. It was six by thirteen columns, and would be one of the largest temples to date. Around the inside there are twelve metopes, each five by five feet, depicting the Twelve Labors of Herakles. Through the course of his labors, one can “follow the hero through his career, from his first labor as a beardless youth” right up to the end, where he is depicted as an older, worn out man (Neer 226). The panels make a point of emphasis on the psychological aspect of these labors. For example, when Herakles has to hold up the world from falling, he “suffers stoically, in marked contrast to the easy stance of Athena” (Neer 226). Through comparison of facial expressions and stances, it can be observed

This can relate to the way the Temple at Olympia represents the twelve labors. Both the poem and these metopes invoke “pathos”, or suffering. Herakles is forced to conquer these “numberless wonders, terrible wonders”, and often suffer great pain and sacrifice through them. In battle, he has the ability to generate “thought, quick as the wind”, as he is an expert at combat. It is obvious that Herakles does not want to continue fighting, much like parts of Greece during the Persian War. The Olympians invoke this feeling of pathos that one also feels from Spohocles lyrics; the feeling of endless work, all alone. However, what the Olympians do not understand is that this is not the only feeling in Greece after the war. There are many who are celebrating victory, such as the Athenian states. While Herakles’ Labors on the metopes on the Temple of Zeus at Olympus does invoke some feelings of post-war weariness (which the Olympians barely had a part of fighting in), it is only part of the post war story in