The Greatest Hero of All (w/ Emma Stafford)
Heracles (aka Hercules) was known as the greatest of all the Greek heroes. In this episode, I talk to the world's leading expert in Heracles mythology Emma Stafford about who the hero was and what he meant to the people of the ancient world.
Emma Stafford is Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Leeds. Professor Stafford's work focuses on Greek cultural history and she specializes in myth, allegory, personification, religion, and the reception of Greek culture. You can read more from her Wikipedia biography here.
Professor Stafford’s work inspired the Hercules Project, which aims to chart and account for the significance in western culture of the classical hero Hercules, from late antiquity via the Renaissance to the present day. Visit its website. In addition, her book, Herakles, is the most in-depth, comprehensive study of the hero I have come across and a great resource.
