Hercules (16)

"For countless were the labors I

endured; never yet have I refused."

The following books will introduce you to Hercules, who said these words in Euripides' Heracles (see below).

To order a book, or for more information, follow the book title links to Amazon.com, then return home to browse other characters.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths (Vol. 2). Baltimore: Penguin, 1990.
- This is the best and most detailed source on the Heracles myths, replete with everything from Hercules' feats in the cradle to his famous Twelve Labors to his numerous romances. (For Graves full tour of Greek mythology, see also The Greek Myths, Vol. 1.)
Ovid. The Metamorphoses (Allen Mandelbaum, Trans.). New York: Harcourt Brace, 1993.
- Heracles becomes Hercules to the Romans, as Ovid retells the major events of his life.
David Grene and Richmond Lattimore (Eds.). The Complete Greek Tragedies: Vol. II. Sophocles. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
- Includes Sophocles' tragedy The Women of Trachis (Michael Jameson, Trans.), in which Heracles' wife Deianeira does what no one else could do--kill the super strongman.
David Grene and Richmond Lattimore (Eds.). The Complete Greek Tragedies: Vol. III. Euripides. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
- Includes Euripides' tragedy Heracles (William Arrowsmith, Trans.).