Herakles Vase.

In our second class we looked at a portrayal of Herakles found on a red figure vase, shown above (Boston 99.538). We decided that this image showed many examples of Herakles' key attributes. He has his club which was made from an olive tree in the valley of Nemea which he then used during his first labour; killing the invulnerable Nemean Lion. This lion was overcome and the skin was then used by Herakles as armour. This skin is an iconic image and is one of his most typical attributes. He is also carrying a quiver, as he is a good archer, as the Stymphalian bird episode emphasises. This attribute is not always found in images of Herakles because archery was seen as a cowardly practice since you were picking your enemies off from afar and not besting them with your own physical strength. He is carrying a sword too showing his how skilled he is with many weapons.
In class we were also wondering what he was carrying on his left arm. After I looked it up on the Perseus website, I discovered that he is carrying two wine skins. The rest of the image shows Herakles driving the Cretan Bull, another one of his labours, where he has to bring the bull from Crete back to king Eurystheus. He could be celebrating his success by carrying the wine skins or maybe it is alluding to his role as deity for young men who had many festivals dedicated to him.