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

Herakles Inside and Outside the Church explores the reception of the ancient Greek hero Herakles (the Roman Hercules) in the predominantly Christian cultures which succeeded classical antiquity in Europe, grappling with the question of his significance in the post-classical world. Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction Part 1 Making Connections: the Early Years Chapter 1 Herakles, ‘Christ-Curious’ Greeks and Revelation 5 Chapter 2 The Tides of Virtue and Vice: Augustine’s Response to Stoic Herakles Part 2 Appropriation: Verbal Chapter 3 Exemplum virtutis for Christian Emperors: the Role of Herakles/Hercules in Late Antique Imperial Representation Chapter 4 Herculean Centos: Myth, Polemics, and the Crucified Hero in Late Antiquity Chapter 5 Herakleios or Herakles? Panegyric and Pathopoeia in George of Pisidia’s Heraklias Chapter 6 Herakles in Byzantium: a (Neo)Platonic Perspective Chapter 7 Dante’s Hercules Part 3 Appropriation: Visual Chapter 8 Hercules in the hypogeum at the Via Dino Compagni, Rome Chapter 9 The Constellation of Hercules and His Struggle with the Nemean Lion on Two Romanesque Reliefs from Split Cathedral Chapter 10 From Antiquity to Byzantium to Late Medieval Italy: Hercules on the Façade of San Marco Chapter 11 Transformations of Herculean Fortitude in Florence Chapter 12 Ovid’s Hercules in 1497: a Greek Hero in the Translation of the Metamorphoses by Giovanni Bonsignori and in His Woodcuts Part 4 Beyond the Church Chapter 13 Wearing the Hero on Your Sleeve: Piecing Together the Materials of the Heraklean Myth in Late-Roman Egypt Chapter 14 Herakles Vajrapani, the Companion of Buddha Conclusion Index Locorum Index of Terms "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"-- Provided by publisher "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."-- Back cover