Heracles: Ancient Greece, Cult Tradition, and Regional Myth

HERACLES: Ancient Greece, Cult Tradition, and Regional Myth explores one of the most enduring heroic figures of the ancient Mediterranean world through mythology, sacred landscape, religious tradition, and symbolic interpretation.Far more than a slayer of monsters, Heracles stood between mortal suffering and divine transformation. Through the Twelve Labours, he confronts lions, serpents, sacred beasts, savage kings, cosmic boundaries, and the Underworld itself. Each trial reveals a deeper struggle between civilisation and chaos, mortality and immortality, violence and purification.Blending mythological retelling with historical context, regional traditions, Greek hero cult, and artistic legacy, this richly illustrated volume follows Heracles across the sacred landscapes of ancient Greece and beyond. From Nemea and Lerna to Crete, Thrace, the western horizon, and Hades, Heracles emerges as the eternal image of endurance, suffering, and transformation.

Pages: 250, Paperback, Peta Oakes