Thinking comparatively about Greek mythology XIV, with a focus on the role of Hēraklēs as a leader of fighting men

Abstract

In my essay for 2019.10.18, I argued that the role of Hēraklēs as a leader of fighting men is interchangeable in Greek myth with his wider role as a leader of people in general. And then, toward the end of that same essay, at §14, I indicated that a parallel argument can be made in the case of the Germanic hero named Starkaðr/Starcatherus as we see him represented in the mythological traditions of medieval Scandinavia. As a preview for such an argument, I showed a woodcut picturing the Germanic hero in such a role, and now I show again the same woodcut, this time as the illustration for introducing my essay here.