ABSTRACT
The many sides we have already seen to Herakles’ image, and the great range of stories attached to him, show the versatility of his character, which could be adapted to suit very different literary genres and visual media. A further aspect to this versatility can be seen in the ways in which Herakles was appropriated throughout antiquity for political ends, especially as a means of legitimating people’s claims to territory or political power. In this chapter we will look first at Herakles’ role as alleged ancestor of, and rolemodel for, the ruler – a guise in which he was claimed by the two Spartan royal families, by Alexander the Great’s family, by the hellenistic kings who succeeded him, and by various Roman republican generals and emperors. Next we will we will turn to Herakles’ role as founder and patron, of cities and cultural institutions; here we will consider his relationship with a variety of Greek colonies, before turning to his role in relation to the panhellenic games. Finally, we will consider some less direct uses of Herakles’ image in archaic and classical Athens, where, some argue, he was invoked in support of the tyranny of Peisitrastos and his sons, and was later displaced by the more ‘democratic’ hero Theseus.1
