Hebe the Cupbearer Statue by Thornwaldsen, Large

Thorvaldsen Museum , Copenhagen, Denmark, 1816 A.D.

Hebe was the Greek goddess of youth and Spring. Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was sometimes called Ganymeda. She is the cup-bearer in Heaven and pours the ambrosia nectar to the gods when they are assembled. She was also the patron goddess of the young bride. Hebe was often portrayed as an attendant of the bridal Aphrodite. She married Heracles (Hercules) when the hero became a god at his death. At Rome the goddess was worshiped under the name of Juventas. The Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen emulated ancient Greeks, believing that they were the only sculptors who attained pure formal beauty without regard to content. Probably his best work is the statue of Hebe. Her pure beauty and everlasting youth made her portrayal a splendid choice for Neoclassical art. The art movement, Neoclassicism, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, referred back to Classical times for inspiration.