RT Book, Section
T1 The Egyptian Heracles of Gades.
A1 Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar, Manuel
K1 Religión fenicia
K1 Religión egipcia
K1 Civilización antigua
AB Melqart, the tutelary god of the Phoenician city of Gades, is referred to by Greek and Latin authors of the Roman period as Heracles or Hercules. Although several of these authors recognise his Tyrian origin, Pomponius Mela and Philostratus refer to the god as “Egyptian”. Accordingly, the aim here is to investigate the reasons behind the “Egyptian” character of the Melqart/Heracles worshipped in Gades, a traditionally enigmatic question. One of the possible reasons for this attribution may be the Egyptianising character of the representations of Phoenician divinities, including Melqart. However, some authors, such as Silius Italicus and Philostratus himself, report the absence of cult images of the god in his sanctuary at Gades. This raises the possibility that the “Egyptian” character of the Heracles/Hercules of Gades in Roman times might have been more related to the connotations of the mythical deeds of the god in the confines of the oecumene, which included measuring the world to its limits, protecting the community from catastrophic floods and the use of cosmic magic, aspects that in Hellenistic and Roman times were related to Egyptian wisdom.
PB CNR Edizioni
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/37267
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/37267
LA eng
NO Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar, M. (2024): "The Egyptian Heracles of Gades", in Alberti, L., Bellelli, V., Garbati, G. (eds), Materiali su Eracle. Un supereroe mediterraneo. Roma: CNR Edizioni, 137–148.
NO Permiso editorial en petición 50/2025 gestor de peticiones RIUMA
NO Proyecto “TSUNIBER: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Iberian Peninsula: Social Responses in the Longue Durée” (PGC2018-093752-B-I00—MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE); “Historiographical Studies Group” (PAIDI HUM-394).
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 21 ene 2026