Amazons

Hercules serves as the slave of Queen Omphale, mosaic pavement, 26 CE, National Archeological Museum of Spain, Madrid (discussed in next part, but pretty nice for a banner) I cannot think of any other Ancient Greek character more of a draw for trouble than Hercules. Beside Hercules, Odysseus is a slacker; Theseus and Perseus--choirboys. In the many stories where he is the hero, he is mortal (though a demigod--one of the earliest Marvel Universe-style heroes in Greece perhaps

Images of barbarians were created to support a narrative of Roman superiority, and to justify military aggression as a defense of...