Peta Oakes (Gaelic Mac Dubhdara)
Librería Samer Atenea
Kálamo Books
Librería Elías (Asturias)
Librería Kolima (Madrid)
Librería Proteo (Málaga)
Heracles: Ancient Greece, Cult Tradition, and Regional Myth explores one of the most enduring heroic figures of the ancient Mediterranean through mythology, worship, sacred landscape, and artistic tradition.Heracles was far more than a slayer of monsters. Born between mortal suffering and divine ancestry, he became a figure of endurance, purification, protection, and transformation. His labours carried him across the known world and beyond its boundaries, confronting lions, serpents, sacred beasts, violent rulers, impossible tasks, and the realm of the dead.Drawing upon Greek literature, local cult traditions, archaeology, vase painting, sculpture, and regional myth, this volume follows Heracles through Nemea, Lerna, Arcadia, Crete, Thrace, the western horizon, and Hades. It considers how different communities adapted his story, honoured him as both hero and god, and used his image to express strength, suffering, civilisation, and renewal.Blending accessible historical context with mythological interpretation, Heracles reveals how a flawed and burdened hero became one of antiquity’s most widely recognised sacred figures. It is suited to readers interested in Greek mythology, hero cult, classical religion, ancient art, and the regional traditions that gave the labours their enduring power. 6
