My Latin II students are translating Hercules XII Labors. So to help them visualize and remember each labor I recreated a scene depicting a central moment in each labor. What is so great about this is giving the students the chance to "step" into the ancient vase and explore the painting from all different angles originally not available. The scenes are copied from vase paintings from around the 5th century BC.

While the larger scale organic model was very tempting, I opted for the smaller scale. I wanted the challenge to reside in the ability to accurately replicate at a small scale. There is something satisfying in seeing the scene in spite of the blocky nature of the sculpture. The smaller scale is something that my students can easily reproduce and modify as they wish.

If you have suggestions about how to improve a scene let me know. I want to give my students the best experience possible.

The XII labors are as follows:

1 Nemean Lion
2 Lernean Hydra
3 The Stag of Ceryneia
4 The Erymanthean Boar
5 The Augean Stables
6 The Stymphalian Birds
7 The Cretan Bull
8 The Horses of Diomedes
9 The Belt of Hippolyte
10 Geryon's Cattle
11 The Apples of the Hesperides
12 Cerberus