#  Hellenic Studies Folio #7 from the Center for Hellenic Studies 

 





February 03, 2021

 

 

   ![Painting of Herakles emerging from the flames of his funeral pyre and ascending in a chariot to join the Olympian Gods in the clouds.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/chsgreece/files/noel_coypel_story_of_hercules_-_the_apotheosis_of_hercules_1700.jpg?itok=PT0MYosK) 

 

 "[The Apotheosis of Herakles](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No%C3%ABl_Coypel,_Story_of_Hercules_-_The_Apotheosis_of_Hercules,_1700.jpg)" (circa 1700) by Noël Coypel (1628–1707); oil on canvas; Palace of Versailles; Image via Wikimedia Commons. ##  Herakles, the prototypical Greek

- How can a figure such as Herakles be a source not only of salvation but also of trouble and even horror for the community?
- How did narratives about Herakles, his labors, and his other deeds multiply during ancient times?
- What does a reconstruction of Mycenaean myths about Herakles bring to our understanding of this all-in-one hero?

###  A community discussion based on the *Herakles* of Euripides and touching on Indo-European models of the hero as seen in Herakles, Achilles, and Odysseus

 Video of approximately 6 minutes.

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###  Two versions of Herakles as founder of the Olympic games

 Essay of approximately 1,300 words.

   ![Painting showing Herakles wearing on his head an olive garland symbolic of athletic victories to be won at the festival of the Olympics.](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/chsgreece/files/heracles_crowned_325.jpg?itok=Ktf3jl_-) 

 

  
[Thinking comparatively about Greek mythology XVIII, a post-Mycenaean view of Hēraklēs as founder of the Olympics](https://classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu/thinking-comparatively-about-greek-mythology-xviii-a-post-mycenaean-view-of-herakles-as-founder-of-the-olympics/)###  "Extra credit" video viewing:

 [Watch a presentation on and a discussion of Herakles as a figure of the Mycenaean era, based partly on depictions of Herakles in art and architecture](https://youtu.be/Gt9n3o7QsA0?t=25); video of approximately 60 minutes.



 

 

 



 

 

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