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