The Shaping of Heracles in Creophylus, Pisander, and Panyassis

Abstract This article explores the shaping of Heracles’s persona in the lost epics of Creophylus, Pisander, and Panyassis. In consultation with relevant literary and artistic accounts, I investigate the hero’s modus operandi within each of these so-called Heracles epics. While scholars have been hindered from envisioning Heracles as a fully fledged character within the framework of these poorly preserved poems, my examination aims to shed light on his dynamic representation in early Greek epic.