About the lecture

In this lecture we think about Heracles as the founder of the Olympic Games, focusing in particular on: (i) the poetry of Pindar (c. 518-438 BC), our earliest source for Heracles as the founder of the Olympic Games; (ii) the idea of the Olympic Games as founded from the spoils taken in war (Pindar, Olympian 2.3-4); (iii) the importance of the prophetic clan of the Iamidae at Olympia (Pindar, Olympian 6.66-71); (iv) the figure of Heracles as athlete par excellence; and (v) the stories of real-life athletes being related to Heracles, e.g. Theagenes of Thasos (Pausanias 6.11.2-9).

Key sources:
– Pindar, Olympian 2 (Theron of Acragas, chariot-race, 476 BC)
– Pindar, Olympian 3 (Theron of Acragas, chariot-race, 476 BC)
– Pindar, Olympian 6 (Hagesias of Syracuse, mule-car race, 472 or 468 BC)
– Pindar, Olympian 10 (Hagesidamos of Western Lokroi, boys’ boxing, 476 BC)
– Pindar, Nemean 1 (Chromios of Aitna, chariot race, 476 or 472 BC)
– Figure N (Seer), East pediment, Temple of Zeus, Olympia, c. 460 BC
– Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.25.12 (statue of Heracles at Olympia), 6.11.2-9 (story of the athlete Theagenes, son of Timosthenes)
– Statue of a Victorious Youth, 300-100 BC (J. Paul Getty Museum, 77.AB.30)

About the lecturer

Emma Stafford is Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Leeds. Her research interests lie in various aspects of Greek cultural history, especially religion, approached via a combination of literary and material evidence. She also has an interest in the reception of classical myth, especially the myth of Herakles/Hercules. Her recent publications include Herakles (2011) and (as co-editor with A. J. L. Blanshard) The Modern Hercules (2020)