The Argonauts

Abstract

This chapter considers the representation of Heracles in the Argonautic narratives of Apollonius Rhodius and Theocritus, Idyll 13. Particular attention is paid to the importance to the subsequent tradition of the divine Heracles of Odyssey 11 and to how the model of Heracles became important for ruler cult and Ptolemaic ideology. The chapter considers Heracles’ relations with Hylas, both of them being lost to the Argonautic expedition on the outward voyage, and to Heracles’ difference from the other Argonauts; whereas the expedition is presented as a model of Greek solidarity and homonoia, Heracles is both a civilizer and benefactor of mankind and a difficult, solitary hero who does not easily embody communal values.