Table Of ContentHerakles Inside and Outside the Church
Metaforms
studies in the reception of
classical antiquity
Editors-in-Chief
Almut-Barbara Renger (Freie Universität Berlin)
Jon Solomon (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
John T. Hamilton (Harvard University)
Editorial Board
Kyriakos Demetriou (University of Cyprus)
Constanze Guthenke (Oxford University)
Miriam Leonard (University College London)
Mira Seo (Yale-nus College)
volume 18
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/srca
Herakles Inside and
Outside the Church
From the First Apologists to the
End of the Quattrocento
Edited by
Arlene Allan
Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides
Emma Stafford
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Statue of Hercules, detail of pulpit by Giovanni Pisano (c.1310) in Pisa Cathedral.
© 2019. Photo Scala, Florence.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2019051122
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ISSN 2212-9405
ISBN 978-90-04-42152-3 (hardback)
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Contents
Foreword vii
Acknowledgements xiv
Notes on Contributors xvi
Introduction 1
Arlene Allan
Part 1
Making Connections: the Early Years
1 Herakles, ‘Christ-Curious’ Greeks and Revelation 5 21
Arlene Allan
2 The Tides of Virtue and Vice: Augustine’s Response to Stoic
Herakles 45
Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides
Part 2
Appropriation: Verbal
3 Exemplum virtutis for Christian Emperors: the Role of Herakles/
Hercules in Late Antique Imperial Representation 73
Alexandra Eppinger
4 Herculean Centos: Myth, Polemics, and the Crucified Hero in
Late Antiquity 94
Brian P. Sowers
5 Herakleios or Herakles? Panegyric and Pathopoeia in George of
Pisidia’s Heraklias 116
Andrew Mellas
6 Herakles in Byzantium: a (Neo)Platonic Perspective 133
Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides
7 Dante’s Hercules 155
Giampiero Scafoglio
vi Contents
Part 3
Appropriation: Visual
8 Hercules in the hypogeum at the Via Dino Compagni, Rome 173
Gail Tatham
9 The Constellation of Hercules and His Struggle with the Nemean
Lion on Two Romanesque Reliefs from Split Cathedral 198
Ivana Čapeta Rakić
10 From Antiquity to Byzantium to Late Medieval Italy: Hercules on the
Façade of San Marco 219
Lenia Kouneni
11 Transformations of Herculean Fortitude in Florence 248
Thomas J. Sienkewicz
12 Ovid’s Hercules in 1497: a Greek Hero in the Translation of the
Metamorphoses by Giovanni Bonsignori and in His Woodcuts 271
Giuseppe Capriotti
part 4
Beyond the Church
13 Wearing the Hero on Your Sleeve: Piecing Together the Materials of the
Heraklean Myth in Late-Roman Egypt 293
Cary MacMahon
14 Herakles Vajrapani, the Companion of Buddha 315
Karl Galinsky
Conclusion 333
Arlene Allan
Index Locorum 341
Index of Terms 351
Foreword
Herakles is Greek mythology’s most famous hero, appearing in dozens of
episodes of a story told in every genre of ancient literature and in a bewilder-
ing variety of visual media. The subject of the volumes within the Metaforms
series, however, is not the hero in antiquity, but rather his enduring popular-
ity in later ages, from late antiquity via Byzantium and the Renaissance to the
modern world.
1 Naming the Hero
The Greek Herakles was called ‘Hercle’ by the Etruscans, and adopted early
on by the Romans as ‘Hercules’. Subsequent cultures have spelt his name in
different ways: for example, in modern English the ‘k’ is often rendered as a
‘c’ – ‘Heracles’ – following a long tradition of the Latinisation of Greek names;
in German both ‘Herakles’ and ‘Herkules’ are correct, in French both ‘Héraclès’
and ‘Hercules’, while in Italian ‘Ercole’ is the norm. In this series we have tried
to be consistent in referring to our hero as ‘Herakles’, a straightforward trans-
literation of the ancient Greek Ἡρακλῆς, whenever Greek material is under
discussion, ‘Hercules’ when dealing with Roman material. ‘Hercules’ is also the
default spelling in the Renaissance, when Latin was much more widely under-
stood than Greek, and subsequent centuries have tended to adopt this version
of the hero’s name more often than not, though there are exceptions: we have
tried always to remain faithful to the primary material under discussion in our
choice of spelling. The hero is occasionally referred to as ‘Alcides’ (‘Alkeides’ in
Greek), after his paternal grandfather Alcaeus (Alkaios), son of Perseus.
2 The Earliest Sources of the Hero’s Story
In order to appreciate the myriad ways in which Herakles has been put to
use in post-classical media, some knowledge of the story conveyed by the an-
cient sources is necessary. It is important to recognise that there is no single
authoritative account of Herakles’ life and deeds to which we can refer: we
know of various Herakles epics dating to the seventh century BCE and later,
but none survives in more than a few fragments; likewise fragmentary are the
works of the early mythographers, who first attempted a systematic presenta-
tion of stories about Herakles in the fifth century BCE. Our earliest sources
viii Foreword
for the whole story are Diodorus Siculus, whose Historical Library of c. 30 BCE
includes a lengthy account of Herakles as part of a grand history of the world,
and Apollodorus, whose Library of the first or second century (all dates are CE,
unless otherwise stated) includes a briefer synopsis, as part of a handbook of
Greek mythology. Individual episodes, however, can be traced much earlier in
Greek literature and visual arts, where there is plenty of experimentation with
different ways of telling the story, and sometimes what seems to be a com-
pletely different version of the episode in question. The freedom which an-
cient writers and artists felt in adapting Herakles’ story should be born in mind
when we are considering post-classical treatments of the hero: there is no such
thing as the ‘right’ story from which any divergence is ‘wrong’. Contemporary
scholarship recognises that any search for a definitive version is reductive, and
rather seeks to understand the motivations for, and effects of, diversity in the
story’s presentation.
It is possible, however, to think in terms of more-or-less traditional treat-
ments, and some elements of Herakles’ story are more widely-attested than
others. Arguably the best known episodes are the twelve labours, which in-
clude the Heraklean exploits most frequently depicted in antiquity, and are
returned to again and again in the literature and art of subsequent centuries.
The specific number twelve may only have been established in the first half
of the fifth century BCE, when the labours are depicted on the twelve me-
topes (six at either end) inside the porches of the temple of Zeus at Olympia.
The particular set of exploits here agrees with the lists later provided by
Diodorus and Apollodorus (with minor differences in their order), so can be
regarded as more or less canonical, though some variation is introduced at dif-
ferent periods.
3 Synopsis of Herakles’ Myth
The following synopsis of Herakles’ myth is based on Apollodorus’ account
(Library 2.5.7). Names are given in their Greek spelling; the Latin version is
only given (in parenthesis) where it differs substantially (regular minor differ-
ences are the substitution of ‘c’ for ‘k’, ‘ae’ for ‘ai’, and an ‘-us’ ending for ‘os’).
3.1 Birth and Early Life
Herakles was born of the mortal woman Alkmene, fathered by Zeus (Jupiter),
who had taken on the form of her husband Amphitryon, king of Thebes;
Herakles’ twin brother Iphikles was fathered by Amphitryon himself. The one
Foreword ix
significant event of his childhood occurred in the boys’ infancy, when Herakles
strangled a pair of snakes sent by Zeus’s jealous wife Hera (Juno) to kill him.
On the verge of adulthood, the young Herakles was presented with a choice
between the paths of Virtue and Vice, who appeared to him in the form of
beautiful women. His first marriage to Megara, daughter of Kreon (a later king
of Thebes), was cut short by the fit of madness, sent by Hera, in which he killed
both her and their children.
3.2 The Twelve Labours
A period of enslavement to Amphitryon’s cousin Eurystheus, king of Tiryns (or
Argos) is often seen as expiation for these murders. In performing the tasks he
set, Herakles is often helped by his nephew, Iphikles’ son Iphitos.
1) The Nemean lion: because of its invulnerable skin, Herakles has to use
his bare hands to kill the lion, showing off his prowess in wrestling; the
lion-skin thereafter becomes his trademark garment.
2) The Lernaian hydra: whenever one of its heads is cut off, two more grow
in its place, so that Herakles can only vanquish the monster by cauteris-
ing the stumps.
3) The Keryneian (sometimes Kerynitian) hind: usually a gentler creature,
sacred to Artemis (Diana), with golden horns, which Herakles must cap-
ture alive and present to Eurystheus.
4) The Erymanthian boar: again to be captured and presented to Eurystheus,
who is often depicted cowering at the sight of this ferocious beast.
5) The stables of Augeias, king of Elis: Herakles sometimes avoids the de-
meaning task of shovelling cow-dung by the ingenious device of divert-
ing a local river or two to wash the stables clean.
6) The Stymphalian birds: man-eating or simply numerous, these are shot
down by Herakles’ arrows.
7) The Cretan bull: presented to Eurystheus, then released for later capture
by Theseus.
8) The mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace: these man-eating horses are usu-
ally fed on passers-by, until Herakles feeds their master to them.
9) The Amazons: vanquished by Herakles in battle, who sometimes takes
their queen Hippolyta’s belt as a trophy.
10) The cattle of Geryon: brought back by Herakles from the far west, after
defeating the triple-bodied monster, Geryon.
11) The apples of the Hesperides: fetched by Atlas from the Hesperides’ gar-
den in the far west while Herakles holds up the heavens, or retrieved by
Herakles himself after slaying the serpent Ladon.
x Foreword
12) Kerberos: the three-headed hound of Hades, brought up from the
Underworld for presentation to Eurystheus, then returned to the land of
the dead.
3.3 Other Exploits
As if twelve labours were insufficient proof of his heroism, Herakles is credited
with a host of other successful encounters, sometimes known as the parerga,
‘additional deeds’. Some are associated with one or other of the labours, but
many are not securely placed on any mythological timeline.
– Pholos and the centaurs of Mount Pholoe: a friendly encounter en route for
the Erymanthian boar becomes a brawl when a jar of wine is opened.
– Alkestis: en route to tackle the mares of Diomedes, Herakles brings the
recently-deceased wife of Admetos back from Hades.
– Encounters en route to/from Geryon and the Hesperides’ garden: with the
shape-shifting sea-god Nereus or Triton, who is reluctant to provide direc-
tions; with the giant Antaios, who can only be conquered if his contact with
his mother (Earth) is broken; with the Egyptian king Bousiris, given to sacri-
ficing foreign visitors; with the Roman brigand Cacus, who attempts to steal
the cattle Herakles is driving home.
– Unplaced encounters: with the giant Alkyoneus, sometimes approached
while asleep; with Kyknos, who used the skulls of his victims to build a tem-
ple of Apollo; with the Moliones, conjoined twins; with wizened Geras and
Thanatos (Old Age and Death personified, respectively).
– Participation in the great battle of the gods against the giants, the
Gigantomachy, which established Zeus’ supremacy: according to some, the
gods could only win with Herakles’ help.
– Following the murder of Iphitos, son of Eurytos, king of Oichalia, Herakles
seeks purification at Delphi, where he impatiently steals the tripod on
which the Pythia sat to deliver her oracles, until Apollo intervenes. The or-
acle orders a period of enslavement to the Lydian Queen Omphale, with
whom Herakles swaps clothes; while in Lydia, he deals with local nuisances
Syleus and the Kerkopes.
– Herakles rescues Hesione, princess of Troy, from a sea-monster; in return,
her father king Laomedon promises Herakles divine horses, but deceitfully
sends him away with ordinary ones; Herakles returns with companions to
carry out the first sack of Troy.
– In the Peloponnese, Herakles founds the Olympic Games, but also sacks
both Elis and Pylos in response to various slights. At Tegea he seduces prin-
cess Auge, begetting a son Telephos, who goes on to become king of Mysia
in Asia Minor.
