Herakles and the Hind of Keryneia

This is a plaster reproduction of a marble metope that had once adorned the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. A metope is the square panel between two triglyphs on a Doric frieze. The original metope is dated to 470 BCE - 457 BCE, and depicts Herakles’ third labour: the capture of the hind of Keryneia. Herakles (known as Hercules to the Romans) was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, and is one of the most well-known heroes in Greek and Roman mythology.

The Hind of Keryneia was said to be a golden-horned deer sacred to the goddess Artemis. Ordered by Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae, to deliver it to him, Herakles was unable to kill it lest he anger the goddess. Herakles chased the animal throughout Greece for an entire year until it finally became weary. The hind rested in Arkadia, where Herakles was able to capture it alive and deliver it to Eurystheus.

The original metope can be found at the Olympia Archaeological Museum, Olympia.

Author: Alysa Levy