Search

The story of Herculesʼ achievements, like many others in Greek mythology, has undergone various changes since Hesiodʼs early transmissions helped to consolidate the essential elements of the myth and its characteristics. With the translocation of myths from Caucasian Iberia to Western Iberia, certain places, characters and events associated with the land were also transferred. The Fortunate Islands, the Garden of Hesperides, the place of the 10th and 11th labours of Hercules have been relocated, and the origin and meaning of the pillars set up by the hero have been identified and interpreted. The aim of this article is to show how one of these myths, namely that of Hercules and Geryon, was shaped in the classical and later periods. The transformation of three elements of this myth will be analysed: its location, the figure of Geryon and the description of Herculesʼ achievements. La storia delle dodici fatiche di Eracle, come molte altre della mitologia greca, ha subito vari cambiamenti da quando le prime trasmissioni di Esiodo hanno contribuito a consolidare gli elementi essenziali del mito e le sue caratteristiche. Con la traslazione dei miti dallʼIberia caucasica a quella occidentale, sono stati trasferiti anche alcuni luoghi, personaggi ed eventi associati al posto. Sono state ricollocate le Isole Fortunate, il Giardino delle Esperidi, il luogo della decima e dellʼundicesima fatica di Eracle, e sono stati identificati e interpretati lʼorigine e il significato dei pilastri eretti dallʼeroe. Lʼobiettivo di questo articolo è mostrare come uno di questi miti, quello di Eracle e Gerione, sia stato plasmato in epoca classica e successiva. Verrà analizzata la trasformazione di tre elementi di questo mito: la sua collocazione, la figura di Gerione e la descrizione delle fatiche di Ercole.

Actor Christian Di Domenico discusses how the “Trasporto dei miti” (“Transport of Myths”, or “City of Myths”) project has become part of his life, by challenging him both as an actor and as a human being. Whenever he meets a homeless person, an invisible person, he asks himself the same question: “Would I be able to face this way of life in the same way?”. This dilemma became even more apparent to Di Domenico when he saw Medea per strada (Medea on the Streets) staged in a moving van in its original version, which helped him to understand how life and myth can have an active dialogue. His interpretation of the myth of Heracles has developed from the question of how to face adversity in life and from his experience of witnessing myth in the theatre.