Herakles Inside and Outside the Church: From the First Apologists to the End of the Quattrocento

Herakles Inside and Outside the Church: from the first Apologists to the Quattrocento explores the reception of the ancient Greek hero Herakles (the Roman Hercules) in the predominantly Christian cultures which succeeded classical antiquity in Europe. Each chapter takes a particular literary or visual incarnation, grappling with the question of the hero’s significance within the early Church, in less formal contexts, and beyond Christendom in his unexpected role as Buddha’s companion in Gandharan art.

The volume is one of four to be published in the Metaforms series examining the extraordinarily persistent role of Herakles-Hercules in western culture up to the present day, drawing together scholars from a range of disciplines to offer a unique insight into the hero’s perennial appeal.

Arlene Allan (PhD Exeter 2004) is Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She is co-author of A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama (Wiley Blackwell 2005; revised 2014) with Ian C. Storey and sole author of Hermes (Routledge 2018).
Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides (PhD Kent 2002) is Associate Professor in Ancient History at Macquarie University, New South Wales and Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2017-2021). She is author of Eros and Ritual (Gorgias Press, 2005; reprinted 2013) and Models of Kingship (Routledge 2017).
Emma Stafford (PhD London 1999) is Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Leeds. She is author of Worshipping Virtues (Classical Press of Wales/Duckworth 2000) and Herakles (Routledge 2012), and coordinator of the Leeds Hercules Project (https: //herculesproject.leeds.ac.uk/).

Contributors are: Arlene Allan, Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, Alexandra Eppinger, Brian Sowers, Andrew Mellas, Giampiero Scafoglio, Gail Tatham, Ivana Čapeta Rakic, Lenia Kouneni, Tom Sienkewicz, Giuseppe Capriotti, Cary MacMahon, Karl Galinksy.