There is more material available on Herakles than any other Greek god or hero. His story has many more episodes than those of other heroes, concerning his life and death as well as his battles with myriad monsters and other opponents. In literature, he appears in our earliest Greek epic and lyric poetry, is reinvented for the tragic and comic stage, and later finds his way into such unlikely areas as philosophical writing and love poetry. In art, his exploits are amongst the earliest identifiable mythological scenes, and his easily-recognisable figure with lionskin and club was a familiar sight throughout antiquity in sculpture, vase-painting and other media. He was held up as an ancestor and role-model for both Greek and Roman rulers, and widely worshipped as a god, his unusual status as a hero-god being reinforced by the story of his apotheosis. Often referred to by his Roman name Hercules, he has continued to fascinate writers and artists right up to the present day. In Herakles, Emma Stafford has successfully tackled the ‘Herculean task’ of surveying both the ancient sources and the extensive modern scholarship in order to present a hugely accessible account of this important mythical figure. Covering both Greek and Roman material, the book highlights areas of consensus and dissent, indicating avenues for further study on both details and broader issues. Easy to read, Herakles is perfectly suited to students of classics and related disciplines, and of interest to anyone looking for an insight into ancient Greece’s most popular hero.

Herakles and Hercules: two names for a figure of pervasive appeal in Antiquity. He was a hero of myth and a god with cult associations. He was ancestor of Macedonian kings, patron of Carthaginian generals and of Roman emperors, and a role model for Stoic philosophers. As a performer of the famous labours, wanderer, liberator, madman and murderer of kin, Herakles-Hercules has retained his fascination down to the present. The eleven new studies in this volume explore why this figure appealed so widely in Antiquity. They examine his role in ancient myth and philosophy, drama and art, as well as in politics and propaganda, warfare and religion.

Greek mythology’s mightiest hero faces the world’s most fearsome beasts, monsters, and demons Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, was the greatest of the Greek heroes and the strongest man on earth. Three times as big as his fully mortal twin, and imbued with extraordinary courage and ingenuity, Hercules began his remarkable feats while still in the cradle. Zeus’s wife, the goddess Hera, jealously schemed to kill Hercules, but the resourceful half-man, half-god escaped her traps and accomplished seemingly impossible tasks. Renowned mythologist Bernard Evslin recounts the famous twelve labors of Hercules, as the warrior tries to break Hera’s curse by facing down the Nemean Lion, killing the many-headed Hydra, outwitting the giant Anteus, and more.

Recounts the story of the mythological hero, Hercules, child of Zeus and a mortal woman, including his twelve labors and ending with his ascension to Mount Olympus as a god.

Five would-be criminals from Kassel try to hit the big money. But usually something goes wrong. This not-very-serious collection of eleven short stories based in Kassel, Germany, is not a guide book to this German town and is very much fiction. However, it may make you smile - or even laugh.

An introduction to Greek and Roman mythology provides explanations of all the gods and their roles, origins of the myths and theories on who wrote them, and the function of myths in society

Alphabetically listed entries identify and explain the characters, events, important places, and other aspects of Greek and Roman mythology.