*Includes pictures
*Includes ancient accounts of Hercules
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
"Hercules, who subdued and destroyed monsters, bandits, and criminals, was justly famous and renowned for his great courage. His great and glorious reputation was worldwide, and so firmly entrenched that he'll always be remembered. In fact the ancients honored him with his own temples, altars, ceremonies, and priests. But it was his wisdom and great soul that earned those honors; noble blood, physical strength, and political power just aren't good enough." - Natale Conti
There are few mythological characters that require less of an introduction than Hercules. His "labours" are known and have been reimagined by cultures far beyond their Greek beginnings, and he continues to influence modern culture in more ways than any other ancient Greek hero.
What is curious about Hercules's character is that, despite his fame even in the ancient world, there was no authoritative source for his biography. The Library of Myths, commonly though falsely attributed to Apollodorus, is frequently used to illustrate the key episodes of Hercules's life. Despite being written at some time during the 2nd century CE, the Library encapsulates much of the "conglomerate of popular tales" that has become Hercules's vulgate biography. Ultimately, though these tales are well known, their true beauty lies in the social and religious influence of their telling and the historical memories that remain, to this day, as shadows in their lines.
The truth is that Hercules's biography is an amalgamation of many myths from across the Mediterranean and beyond, with many mythographers seeing fit to include a symbol here and a descendent there according to the needs of the society at that time. More than any other hero, Hercules is ubiquitous in Greek myth for that reason. After his fourth labour, Hercules was said to have heard Jason's call to join the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, after which he supposedly threw down the Erymanthian Boar at the gates of Mycenae and trudged off to join the Argo. Heroes, in general, are associated with one or more of the following: "death, combat, athletic contests, prophecy, healing, mysteries, oracles, founding cities, and the initiation of young adults and the maintenance of clan groups." Hercules is associated with all of them.
The true value of Hercules's myth, however, lies in his being an "inspiration to the common man, to endure trials and the drudgery of man," while also achieving the highest possible social prestige as the ancestor of the most influential cultural movement, the Dorians, whose lineage was claimed by the Spartans, the Lydians, and the Macedonians. And yet, the basis of his myths-notably his pursuit of animals in which he employed and encountered supernatural elements-is probably as old as the shamanistic hunting cultures of prehistory. It would be better, then, to see Hercules not so much as a distinct entity in himself, but as a ubiquitous accumulation of symbols that have traversed time and culture to arrive in the body of one character, one who is unlikely to be forgotten by people anytime soon.
Hercules: The Origins and History of Ancient Mythology's Most Famous Hero looks at the story of the legendary demigod and the various roles he played in ancient mythology. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Hercules like never before.