Relief sculpture depicting Heracles performing his Golden Apples of the Hesperides labor. Temple of Zeus metope. Circa 460 BCE.

A metope from the east side of the temple of Zeus depicts Heracles performing his Golden Apples of the Hesperides labor. Athena stands behind the hero, helping him support the enormous weight of the sky which rests on his shoulders. A cushion helps him endure the task. Atlas on the right has just returned and presents the apples he fetched for him.

This photo depicts the sculpture from an angle below, closer to the way they were meant to be seen by viewers as they looked up at the temple's metopes high above the epistyle.
Exhibited in Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece.

Tags:
Art Athena Atlas Classical Heracles Metopes Mythology Olympia Olympia Museum Original Photo Peloponnese Relief Sculpture