Mature Heracles and Youthful Kings: Theocritus 17 and Hellenistic Iconography

In the ‘genealogical’ passage of the ‘Encomium’ of Ptolemy Philadelphus Theocritus several times calls upon Heracles as the ancestor of both the Argead and Lagid dynasties, and surprisingly for his time recalls the mature image of the hero when portraying him. The present paper attempts at the inte...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Agnieszka Fulińska
Format: article
Language:EN
FR
Published: Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doaj.org/article/640e48fb232d440eac1a36cbc8996db7
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the ‘genealogical’ passage of the ‘Encomium’ of Ptolemy Philadelphus Theocritus several times calls upon Heracles as the ancestor of both the Argead and Lagid dynasties, and surprisingly for his time recalls the mature image of the hero when portraying him. The present paper attempts at the interpretation of this passage in the context of the representations of Heracles in the art of the 4th century BC and the early Hellenistic age, and the assimilation of Alexander with his mythical ancestor.