School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Classics Seminar, Diverging Characters: The Portrayal Herakles in Euripides, with reference to Sophocles Women of Trachis, Edward L’Orange, MPhil thesis review.

Event Details

Date:

Friday, 08 May 2015

Time:

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Room:

Room E303

UQ Location:

Forgan Smith Building (St Lucia)

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Herakles was undoubtedly the most popular hero in ancient Greece. The stories from his mythical life were the subject of numerous works of art in the ancient world, including the works of the great Tragedians. However, the portrayal of Herakles by two of the greats, Sophocles and Euripides, is markedly different. Sophocles’ Women of Trachis presents a brash and selfish hero, while Euripides’ Herakles presents a much more sympathetic and likeable character. In this seminar, I will discuss these two portrayals of the hero. Euripides, I will argue, tends not to criticise Athenian cult figures, and this attitude informs his depiction of Herakles. In fact, Euripides’ portrayal of the hero is not only positive, but deliberately reflects Herakles’ cult identity. To demonstrate this I will briefly examine the similarities between Euripides’ Herakles and the depictions of the hero in a cult context.