A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

400:-'HERACLES. HERACLES.'
de Pith. Orac. 20; Macrob. Sat. i..12.) But themselves. The Greek colonies had introduced
temples and sanctuaries of Heracles existed in all his worship into Italy, and it was thence carried
parts of Greece, especially in those inhabited by to Rome, into Gaul, Spain, and even Germany.
the Dorians. The sacrifices offered to him con- (Tac. Germ. 2.) But it is, nevertheless, in the
sisted principally of bulls, boars, rams and lambs. highest degree probable that the Greek mythus
(Diod. iv. 39; Paus. ii. 10. ~ 1.) Respecting the was engrafted upon, or supplied the place of that
festivals celebrated in his honour, see Diet. of Ant. about the Italian Recaranus or Garanus. [GAs. v.'HpaKheta. RANUS.]
The worship of Hercules at Rome and in Italy The works of art in which Heracles was reprerequires a separate consideration. His worship sented were extremely numerous, and of the greatest
there is connected by late, especially Roman writers, variety, for he was' represented at all the various
with the hero's expedition to fetch the oxen of stages of his life, from the cradle to his death; but
Geryones; and the principal points are, that Her- whether he appears as a child, a youth, a struggling
cules in the West abolished human sacrifices among hero, or as the immortal inhabitant of Olympus, his
the Sabines, established the worship of fire, and character is always that of heroic strength and
slew Cacus, a robber, who had. stolen eight of his energy. Specimens of every kind are still extant.
oxen. (Dionys. i. 14; CAcus.) The aborigines, In the works of the archaic style he appeared as a
and especially Evander, honoured the hero with man with heavy armour (Paus. iii. 15. ~ 7), but he
divine worship. (Serv. ad Aen. viii. 51, 269.) is usually represented armed with a club, a Scythian
Hercules, in return, feasted the people, and pre- bow, and a lion's skin. His head and eyes are
sented the king with lands, requesting that sacrifices small in proportion to the other parts of his body;
should be offered to him every year,.according to his hair is short, bristly, and curly, his neck short,
Greek rites. Two distinguished families, the fat, and resembling that of a bull; the lower part
Potitii and Pinarii, were instructed in these Greek of his forehead projects, and his expression is grave
rites, and appointed hereditary managers of the and serious; his shoulders, arms, breast, and legs
festival. But Hercules made a distinction between display the highest physical strength, and the
these two families, which continued to exist for a strong muscles suggest the unceasing and extraorlong time after; for, as Pinarius arrived too late at dinary exertions by which his life is characterised.
the repast, the god punished him by declaring that The representations of Heracles by Myron and
he and his descendants should be excluded for ever Parrhasius approached nearest to the ideal which
from the sacrificial feast. Thus the custom arose was at length produced by Lysippus.'The sofor the Pinarii to act the part of servants at the called Farnesian Heracles, of which the torso still
feast. (Diod. iv. 21; Dionys. i. 39, &c.; Liv. i. exists, is the work of Glycon, in imitation of one
40, v. 34; Nepos, Hann. 3; Plut, Quaest. Rom. by Lysippus. It is the finest representation of the
18; Ov. Fast. i. 581.) The Fabia gens traced its hero that has come down to us: he is resting,
origin to Hercules, and Fauna and Acca Laurentia leaning on his right arm, while the left one is reare called mistresses of Hercules. In this manner dining on his head, and the whole figure is a most
the Romans connected their earliest legends with exquisite combination of peculiar softness with
HIercules. (Macrob. Sat. i. 10; August. de Civ. the greatest strength. (Muller, Handb. der ArDei, vi. 7.) It should be observed that in the ch/iol. p. 640, &c. 2d edit.; E. A. Hagen, de
Italian traditions the hero bore the name of Reca- Herculis Laboribus Commnent. Arch., Regiomont.
ranus, and this Recaranus was afterwards identified 1827.)
with the Greek Heracles. He had two temples at The mythus of Heracles, as it has come down
Rome, one was a small round temple of Hercules to us, has unquestionably been developed on
Victor, or Hercules Triumphalis, between the river Grecian soil; his name is Greek, and the substance
and the Circus Maximus, in the forum boarium, of the fables also is of genuine Greek growth:
and contained a statue, which was dressed in' the the foreign additions which at a later age may
triumphal robes whenever a general celebrated a have been incorporated with the Greek mythus
triumph. In front of this statue was the ara max- can easily be recognised and separated from it.
ima, on which, after a triumph, the tenth of the It is further clear that real historical elements are
booty was deposited for distribution among the interwoven With the fables. The best treatises on
citizens. (Liv. x. 23; Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 7, 16; the mythus of Heracles are those of Buttmanm
Macrob. Sat. iii. 6; Tacit. Ann. xii. 24; Serv. ad (3Mythologus, vol. i. p. 246, &c.), and C. O. MUiller
Aen. xii. 24; Athen. v. 65; comp. Dionys. i. 40.) (Dorians, ii. cc. 11 and 12), both of whom regard
The second temple stood near the porta trigemina, the hero as a purely Greek. character, though the'and contained a bronze statue and the altar on former considers him as entirely a poetical creation,
which Hercules himself was believed to have once and the latter believes that the whole mythus
offered a sacrifice. (Dionys. i. 39, 40; Plat. Quaest. arose from the proud consciousness of power which'Rom. 60; Plin. H. N. xxxiii. 12,'45.) Here the is innate in every man, by means of which he is
city praetor offered every year a young cow, which able to raise himself to an equality with the im-'was consumed by the people within the sanctuary. mortal gods, notwithstanding all the obstacles that
Trhe Roman Hercules was regarded as the giver of may be placed in his way.:health (Lydus, de Mens. p. 92), and his priests'Before we conclude, we must add a few re-'were called by a Sabine name Cupenci. (Serv. ad marks respecting the Heracles of the East, and'Aen. xii. 539.) At Rome he was further con- of the Celtic and Germanic nations. The annected with the Muses, whence he is called Musa- cients themselves expressly mention several heroes
getes, and was represented with a lyre, of which of the name of Heracles, who occur among the
-there is no trace in Greece. The identity of the principal nations of the ancient world. Dio-'Italian with the Greek Heracles is attested not only dorus, e.g. (iii. 73, comp. i. 24, v. 64, 76) speaks'by the resemblance in the traditions and the mode of three, the most' ancient of whomi was the
of worship, but by the distinct belief of the Romans Egyptian, a son of Zeus, the, second a Cretan, and