At first glance, the shapely Greek vases in Herakles and the Eurystheusian Twelve-Step Program suggest that more scholarly interpretations of Athenian symposia may await us. The clever title might be our first clue that all is not as it might seem. Peggy Gotthold and Lawrence G. Van Velzer have repackaged the myth of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, here identified by the Greek version of his name, Herakles, as a Twelve-Step Program, thereby telling the ancient story in modern dialogue.
In the same tongue-in-cheek spirit, the sprightly drawing on the vases hints that these Greek vessels are not to be treated as sacrosanct objects. A closer look reveals simple line drawings that are both sinuous and loosely sketchy, an unexpected mélange of Henri Matisse and Jules Ffeifer.
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Each of the pages depicts a scene from the Twelve Labors. Although both the Twelve Labors and the Twelve Steps involve making amends for past errors, the differences are conspicuous. The Twelve-Step Program, for instance, requires a “searching and fearless moral inventory,” while among the Twelve Labors was the more active imperative to “slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.”
The playfulness of the imagery is matched by the hilarity of the text. And, when the pages are fully fanned out, the book displays an impressive array of Greek vases, giving this ingenious artwork its coup de grâce.
Herakles and the Eurystheusian Twelve-Step Program
Peggy Gotthold and Lawrence G. Van Velzer |
