Heracles - Mythopedia In the 1990s, Kevin Sorbo played the hero in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and in a few made-for-television movies More recently, Hercules was played by Dwayne Johnson in Hercules (2014) Heracles (or Hercules) also features in other media, including Rick Riordan’s young adult book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Antaeus – Mythopedia The most complete accounts of Antaeus’ myth come from Roman rather than Greek literature Some of the earliest sources to describe how Heracles (Hercules to the Romans) defeated Antaeus are the Metamorphoses and the Ibis by Ovid (43 BCE–17 18 CE) and the mythological handbook of Hyginus or “Pseudo-Hyginus” (first century CE or later)
Heracles (Play) - Mythopedia Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1475) Uffizi Gallery, Florence Google Arts and Culture Public Domain The myth of Heracles’ madness predates Euripides and continued to be represented in literature and art after the Heracles But despite its many idiosyncrasies, Euripides’ version of Heracles’ madness is perhaps the
Shield of Heracles - Mythopedia Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1475) Uffizi Gallery, Florence Google Arts and Culture Public Domain The Heracles of the Shield of Heracles represents the hero just as these new developments were taking shape In this poem, however, Heracles fights like the heroes of Homer, with shield, spear, and chariot; the club and lion
Iphicles – Mythopedia Hercules and the Hydra by John Singer Sargent (1921) Museum of Fine Arts Boston Public Domain Who was Iphicles’ son? Iphicles’ son was Iolaus, who aided Heracles in virtually all of his adventures In fact, Iolaus features much more prominently in the mythology of Heracles than that of Iphicles
Ladon - Mythopedia Seneca (either 54 BCE–39 CE or 4 BCE–65 CE): There is an allusion to how Heracles bested Ladon in the tragedy the Madness of Hercules (530ff) Lucan (39–65 CE): The serpent from whom Heracles stole the golden apples of the Hesperides is mentioned in Book 9 of the epic Civil War (360ff)
Geryon – Mythopedia Hercules and the Cattle of Geryon by the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (after 1537) Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum Public Domain The poet Stesichorus gives a surprisingly touching account of Geryon’s death He describes how Heracles shot Geryon down with one of his arrows, poisoned with the blood of the Hydra:
Achelous – Mythopedia Achelous was the name of both the largest river in Greece—flowing from the Pindus Mountains to the Ionian Sea—and the god of that river A child of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, Achelous was an ancient and powerful god He fought Heracles for the hand of the princess Deianira, but was ultimately defeated
Hydra - Mythopedia Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio del Pollaiolo (ca 1475) Wikimedia Commons Public Domain The Hydra was eventually killed by Heracles, who was sent to fight it as one of his Twelve Labors After a long struggle, Heracles found a way to prevent the Hydra’s heads from regenerating when he cut them off
Cerberus – Mythopedia In the 2014 film Hercules, Cerberus is reimagined as a more realistic enemy: three wolves that the hero must fight Outside of film, Cerberus is a “summon” in the video game Final Fantasy VIII In J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997), the three-headed dog Fluffy was inspired by Cerberus