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Hercules, the superman, the killing machine, the myth – who was the man beneath the lion skin? This biography tells the story of the first superhero, from his traumatic birth to his dramatic death. Hercules was more than just his twelve famous Labours. He was a father, a lover, and a general. And he was also a cattle-thief, a murderer, and a rapist. Using literary and visual sources from early Greece to the late Roman Empire, this detailed and highly accessible biography fleshes out the character of one of the most complex heroes of Greek mythology. This book presents a large number of quotations from the relevant classical texts, thus enabling the reader to get a good impression of what ancient Greek and Latin authors wrote about Hercules and his adventures. Those who would really like to delve into the sources can find the original Greek and Latin texts in the back of the book. Philip Matyszak studied ancient history and received his PhD degree from St John’s College, Oxford. He wrote many books on classical antiquity, among which The Greek and Roman Myths: A Guide to the Classical Stories, Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day and Legionary: The Roman Soldier’s (Unofficial) Manual. He currently gives e-learning courses in ancient history at Cambridge University’s Institute of Continuing Education.

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