Heracles at the crossroads
Heracles at the Crossroads , also known as The Choice of Heracles , is a myth found in Greek mythology . It is about the Greek hero Herakles , who has to choose between an effortless, but short-term and morally reprehensible path, and an arduous but virtuous and long-term happy path. The myth is a creation of the classical period and goes back to a lost work of the sophist Prodikos von Keos . It is passed down most extensively by his contemporaries Xenophon in his memorabilia (2, 1, 21–34). The subject was widely received in art.
content
When the young Heracles, who is still undecided which way of life to choose, retires to a secluded place to reflect, two women appear to him. One is simply dressed and modestly looks down without looking at Heracles. The second is lavishly spruced up and wears precious clothes. She speaks to Heracles and offers him her friendship. She promises him that if he follows her, he will be spared pain and will not have to forego any joy. When Heracles asked her her name, she said that her friends call her bliss ( Εὐδαιμονία ), and that her enemies call her viciousness (Κακία). Then the other woman, who is the embodiment of virtue ( Ἀρετή ), takes the floor. She explains that the gods did not give people anything without effort and diligence. The reward for the virtuous path is honor and admiration. The two women debate which way is more advantageous for Heracles. Finally, Heracles opts for the virtuous path.
background
In Xenophon's memorabilia , the myth is part of a lengthy exposition by Socrates of why it is inadvisable to always choose the easiest route. In addition to Prodikos, he also quotes Hesiod ( Works and Days 287–292) and the Sicilian comedy poet Epicharmos . It is unclear in what context the myth appeared in Prodikos and in what relationship Xenophon's description stands to the original text, since Xenophon himself states that he only reproduces the story from memory.
The parable could have a forerunner in the judgment of Paris , with which it was already compared in antiquity.
Impact history
Antique reception
Many Greek and Roman authors referred to the myth of Heracles at the Crossroads. For example, in his epic Punica , Silius Italicus portrays the general Scipio Africanus in a similar situation. In his play The Birds , the comedy poet Aristophanes makes fun of Heracles, who has to choose between kingship and a tasty meal and almost decides to eat.
Flavius Philostratos reports on images that show Heracles making his decision and apparently assumes that these are familiar to his readership. The myth was also received in ancient art, even if the works mentioned have not survived.
painting
The myth of Heracles at the crossroads served as the inspiration for numerous paintings, particularly the Renaissance , Baroque and Classicism . The topic was also used in a figurative sense, for example in Angelika Kauffmann's self-portrait at the crossroads between music and painting . In the 19th and 20th centuries the similar motif, the broad and the narrow path, was widespread in Pietist circles.
Heracles at the crossroads. Tischbein , 1779, German Historical Museum Berlin
Albrecht Dürer : Jealousy or Hercules at the crossroads
Annibale Carracci : Scelta di Ercole
Sebastiano Ricci : Ercole al bivio
Andrea Appiani : Ercole al bivio
Angelika Kauffmann : Self-portrait at the crossroads between music and painting
music
- In 1733, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the myth-based cantata Let us worry, let us watch , also known as Hercules at the Crossroads .
- Georg Friedrich Handel worked on the myth in his oratorio The Choice of Hercules from 1750.
- Pietro Metastasio created the libretto for the Festa teatrale Alcide al bivio , which was set to music several times and first performed in 1760 in the version by Johann Adolph Hasse .
literature
- G. Karl Galinsky : The Herakles Theme. The Adaptations of the Hero in Literature from Homer to the 20th Century. Blackwell, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-631-14020-4 .
- Wolfgang Harms : Homo viator in bivio. Studies on the imagery of the path (= Medium aevum. Volume 21). Fink, Munich 1970, DNB 456913300 (Habil.-Schrift, Univ. Münster / Westf.).
- Erwin Panofsky : Hercules at the crossroads and other ancient images in the new art (= Warburg library of cultural studies : Studies of the Warburg library. Volume 18). B. G. Teubner Verlag, Berlin 1930, DNB 362003475 .
Web links
- Xenophon's version (original text) at Wikisource
- Xenophon's version (original text) in the Perseus Project
- German translation by Otto Güthling in the Gutenberg-DE project
Individual evidence
- ↑ Athenaios , Deipnosophistai 510c.
- ↑ Silius Italicus , Punica 15, 18–128.
- ↑ Aristophanes , The Birds 1596–1602.
- ↑ Flavius Philostratus , Life of Apollonios from Tyana 6:10 .