1. Heracles’ identities in the Black Sea

Heracles, the invincible son of Zeus, was associated with the mythological traditions of the Black Sea since the foundation of the Greek colonies. One of the most popular figures of Greek mythology, with eastern origins, with access to both the heroic-chthonic and divine level,¹ Heracles appears in the Black Sea either as a founder and patron of the cities or as an ancestor of local tribes, legitimizing colonization and linking ideologically the entire region of the Black Sea to the ancient Greek world. Furthermore, the association of Heracles with colonisation practices was already perceived in ancient times.²

2. Heraclea Pontica

Heracles' role as founder, eponymous hero, liberator and patron is evident in the case of Heraclea Pontica,³ the city bearing his name.⁴ The idea of Heracles as protector and ally of the Mariandynians, the indigenous tribe,⁵ dated in the time of the Argonaut expedition, who gave land to the settlers for the establishment of a city, is reflected in the myth delivered by Apollonius Rhodius.⁶ Heraclea Pontica is also associated with the labour of Heracles to capture Cerberus⁷, since, according to the mythological tradition, at this place Heracles descended into Hades.⁸ Heracles was gradually related with the local hero Idmon and the Acherousian peninsula, where there was apparently a sanctuary of Heracles and the sacred cave leading to Hades.⁹ The importance of Heracles’ cult in Heraclea, especially during the Hellenistic era, is confirmed by the fact that Ptolemy III Euergetes built a marble temple on his own expenses.¹⁰

3. Sanctuaries, inscriptions, coins and sculpture

3.1. Classical Period

Apart from Heraclea, Heracles was worshipped along with other deities in the southern Black Sea colonies, but his cult was not particularly widespread. Some representations of Heracles are occasionally found on coins from Amisus,¹¹ where his worship as a god is testified epigraphically in the Early Roman Period. Most probably, Heracles was worshipped as a god in Anchialus.¹² Likewise, in the west coast of the Black Sea there is only evidence for the important role of the cult of Heracles as a god in Callatis. Moreover, in Doric Callatis there was a temple dedicated to him.¹³ The fact that Heracles was depicted on the Early Christian coins of the city as Ctistes (founder) is indicative of his role in Callatis as an eponymous hero.¹⁴

In the other cities of the region, the archaeological data for Heracles' worship are sporadic and scarce. Roman inscriptions with his name, found in Odessa,¹⁵ suggest some probable dissemination of the cult, under the influence of Rome. The representation of Heracles with a club next to the Mother of Gods or Cybele on the throne is extremely interesting. This inscribed relief of the 2nd-3rd century AD from Odessa¹⁶ refers to the close relationship between the two cults and confirms the enduring integration of Heracles into ancient Greek cults throughout antiquity. Perhaps this is the reason why his worship in most of the Black Sea cities did not breech the boundaries of a hero cult and was not widespread, with only few exceptions.¹⁷

On the contrary, according to colonisation practices, the cult of Heracles spread to Chersonesus in southwest Tauris,¹⁸ a colony of Heraclea Pontica, where he was worshipped mainly in domestic shrines, an indication for the dissemination and the character of the cult. The main attribute of the domestic worship of Heracles was the representation of the club as his symbol, whereas few dedicatory inscriptions or reliefs rarely occur.¹⁹ Some finds from a shrine with an altar found at the Chersonesus of Strabo, near Chersonesus, indicate that Heracles was worshipped here along with the main deities of the city.²⁰ However, Heracles’ representations in some feasting scenes on a relief, point to his correlation with agriculture at Chersonesus, where the bull was used as his symbol on the coins of the city during the Hellenistic period.²¹ In the Late Hellenistic period the cult of Heracles was reinforced at Chersonesus, as it is testified by the representation of his head instead of the head of Athena Parthenos on the obverse of the coins of the city.²² His worship developed steadily during the Roman period as well, as it is evident by the archaeological finds and a month dedicated to Heracles.²³

In Herodotus, Heracles is presented as a sacred ancestor of the Scythians and other local tribes. Herodotus renders the mythological tradition of the tenth labour of the hero, which elevates him to the divine dimension, to his union with the local goddess,²⁴ thus projecting the right of the settlers to expand their power throughout the region of ancient Scythia.²⁵

According to a certain view, the establishment of the Temple of Heracles as a protector of the borders by the Borystheneans or the Olviopoliteans at Hylaia in the first half of the sixth century BC, was based on that myth. The decline of his cult in this region is dated in the second half of the fifth-first half of the 4^th century BC,²⁶ a view which has not been confirmed by archaeological finds. Nevertheless, the scanty evidence about his cult in Olbia is dated mainly at the end of the Hellenistic period, when Olbia developed links with Chersonesus and images of Heracles started to appear on the coins of Olbia. A rare figurine of a reclining Heracles with a lion hide is also dated in the same period and probably comes from Chersonesus.²⁷

3.2. Hellenistic Period

In Hellenistic times, the period of the revival of Greek traditions, Heracles’ cult as a protector of adolescents and by correlation of the gymnasiums and palaestrae, was based on his heroic status.²⁸ In Histria, the cult league of Heracleans might have been associated with the worship of Heracles.²⁹ Heracles was also worshipped as the patron of adolescence in Mesembria³⁰ and Amisos.³¹

The Dniester region and the city of Tyras were associated with the hero as a place of cult through the tradition of an alleged footprint of Heracles in this region.³² A characteristic element of the dissemination of the cult in the area of the Cimmerian Bosporus is the myth of the Apatouron sanctuary near Phanagoria, which connects him with the worship of Aphrodite.³³ In addition, representations of either Heracles or his symbols on the coins of Bosporus during the reign of the Spartocids, can be justified by his connection with the cult of Apollo.³⁴ His cult became more popular in Bosporus during the Late Hellenistic period, when there was a shift towards Greek traditions.³⁵

3.3. Roman Period

The cult of Heracles was differentiated in Bosporus during the Roman period. Inscriptions from Panticapaeum, Phanagoria and Hermonassa³⁶ present Heracles as the heroic ancestor of the kings of Bosporus, which aimed to strengthen the royal power.³⁷ The significance of the cult of Heracles in Bosporus in this period is confirmed by archaeological data.³⁸ A characteristic example is the depiction of the twelve labours of Heracles on a tomb carved into a rock in Gorgippia,³⁹ which reinforces the view of some scholars concerning the chthonic dimension of the cult of Heracles in Bosporus.⁴⁰

Finally, on the east coast of the Black Sea, in the Caucasus region, the cult of Heracles was based on the myth of Prometheus, which is confirmed by archaeological finds representing Heracles in Colchis, as well as a sanctuary at Vani.⁴¹ Athens might have played an important role in encouraging the cult of Heracles in the region of Colchis, since the city had developed economic associations with Phasis and Dioscourias in the 5th-4th century BC.

4. Conclusion

Heracles, a characteristic figure of the Greek mythology who represented the ancient Greek ideals, maintained in the Black Sea not only his indigenous character by linking the Doric, Ionic and local traditions, but also his role as hero and god in folk religion.