The Violent Hero - by Katherine Lu Hsu

Book Synopsis

This book uses the mythological hero Heracles as a lens for investigating the nature of heroic violence in Archaic and Classical Greek literature, from Homer through to Aristophanes. Heracles was famous for his great victories as much as for his notorious failures. Driving each of these acts is his heroic violence, an ambivalent force that can offer communal protection as well as cause grievous harm.

Drawing on evidence from epic, lyric poetry, tragedy, and comedy, this work illuminates the strategies used to justify and deflate the threatening aspects of violence. The mixed results of these strategies also demonstrate how the figure of Heracles inherently - and stubbornly - resists reform. The diverse character of Heracles' violent acts reveals an enduring tension in understanding violence: is violence a negative individual trait, that is to say the manifestation of an internal state of hostility? Or is it one specific means to a preconceived end, rather like an instrument whose employment may or may not be justified? Katherine Lu Hsu explores these evolving attitudes towards individual violence in the ancient Greek world while also shedding light on timeless debates about the nature of violence itself.

Review Quotes

"The Violent Hero offers a comprehensive study of Herakles' violent nature and behaviour and its ramifications for Greek culture, literature, and arts. While scholars have hitherto taken Herakles' 'heroic violence' as a given fact, Katherine Lu Hsu proposes for the first time a systematic scholarly evaluation of this topic." --Silvio Bär, Professor of Ancient Greek at the University of Oslo, Norway

"Lu Hsu's close readings are good starting points for taking students through the different manifestations of Heracles in classical Greek literature." --Classics for All

"By focusing brilliantly on the chosen theme ... The Violent Hero allows us to reflect, with a certain distance, on the very difficult way in which we must manage and talk about violence, today more than ever." --Annie Verbanck-Piérard, Kernos

About the Author