Heracles

13 important questions on Heracles

How was Herakles viewed in Antiquity?

As a great example, a savior of mankind, a prestiguous ancestor to the people. His human proportions made him a tragic character, but still a great role model for kings.

What did Aristotle think of the story of Herakles?

He mainly noted that it would make for a bad epic, since it contained far too many episodes and had very little unity.

Why was Herakles deemed a great moral example?

Because, when he met Virtue and Vice on the crossroads and they both offered him what they had, he still chose Virtue; rather than living the easy life, he decided to work hard and live a fulfilling life instead.
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Who wrote the story about Herakles at the crossroads?

Xenophon.

What was the link between Emperor Commodus and Herakles?

He was a bad Roman empire who reigned between 177 and 192 AD; he was a megalomaniac, whose lust for power made him very cruel and drove Rome into chaos. He was eventually killed. He was identified with Herakles because of this madness, not because he was such a good emperor. Also, he built a statue of Herakles in his name.

Why is Herakles a tragic hero according to Sophokles?

After his return from his exile, he gets accidentally killed by his wife Deianeira. She had been abducted by Nessos, who Herakles had then shot. He was wearing a shirt that got drenched with his blood. Nessos lied to Deianara and told her that Herakles would love her forever if she made him wear that blooddrenched shirt; however, when he put it on, the blood that was on it burned his skin away and killed him.

Why is Herakles a tragic hero according to Euripides?

Because, right after his twelve works, the evil king Lycus was about to sentence his wife, father and children to death. Herakles manages to save them, but then gets driven mad by the goddesses Iris and Madness and kills them anyway, thinking they are Lycus himself. So, no matter how deserving he would have been of a nice life, the gods/fate wouldn't let him have one.

What are Herakles' human proportions, according to Theocritus?

1. Because he gets shown as both a baby and a young man, demonstrating that he grows up like any normal person.
2. Because he falls in love several times, like any young man would.

In what way can Herakles be deemed a comic character?

Because he is a glutton.
- He only understands the concept of desire when it is explained to him as peasoup.
- He still eats after his best friend Admetus has been killed.
- He eats an entire plough ox.

In which ways were Herakles and Christ likened during the early Middle Ages?

- They were both of divine descent, conceived in a human mother and raised by a human adoptive father.
- They both came back to Earth after death.
- At birth, they were marked for death.
- They wandered the Earth performing miracles.
- After death, they ascended to Heaven/Olympus.
- Temples were built in their names.

How does Raoul Lefevre describes Herakles in his Recuyell des Histoires de Troyes?

He turned him into a medieval character, a gallant knight. He ran other people's errants, protected them, competed in the Olympic Games and finally founded a university. In other words, he was a perfect example.

What is Herkules auf dem Scheidewege?

This is a series of worldly cantatas by Bach, where Herakles is presented with the choice between Vice and Virtue. Here, Herakles himself asks for the good road, and becomes a more prominent character who instinctively wants to do what is right.

How is Herakles portrayed differently from the original character in the Disney movie?

- Hera and Zeus are his parents, not Alcmene and Zeus.
- He is made mortal by Hades, not by Hera.
- He falls in love with Meg.
- He is seen as a loner, so a human character.
- He becomes a mortal hero on Earth so he can live with Meg; not a God on the Olympus.

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