This is the official website for The Hercules Omnibus, a compilation of sources about the great hero. I plan to gather public domain English translations of all Greek and Roman works about or mentioning Hercules into a single Google doc/PDF. But instead of forcing the reader to devise their own chronology of his life, the material will be broken up into his lineage, conception, childhood, early adventures, major and minor labors, later adventures, death, apotheosis, etc. On top of this, I will include info about his Etruscan and Germanic versions.

• Before continuing, I must point out that I know Heracles/Herakles (Ηρακλής) is the hero’s original Greek name. But I’ve chosen to use his Roman name in the title because it is far more widely known around the world. But within the omnibus, I will refer to him as “Heracles” with Greek sources, “Hercules” with Roman and Germanic sources, and “Hercle” with Etruscan sources. I’ve noticed that a lot of older English translations refer to him as Hercules even when dealing with Greek works, so I’m openly stating now that I will slighting alter translations to use the correct name for the correct source.

And I will supplement all of this by noting the agreements and differences between the various works. For example, “Author-A says this happened, but Author-B says something else happened.” Notes about consensus or discrepancies will include reference numbers so readers can confidently navigate between sources.

Once finished, I will release the fully-cited book for others to access and read freely online. Until then, I will use this website to post interesting information I come across, as well as to archive books, papers, and art on the subject. And once I become knowledgeable enough, I might even post an occasional article.

Who is this for?

This project is first and foremost for me, a hobbyist Sinologist known in one small corner of the internet for researching the characters and events of the Chinese classic Journey to the West (Xiyou ji, 西遊記, 1592 CE; “JTTW” hereafter). I am purposely stepping out of my comfort zone in order to learn as much as I can about Hercules. This is because the Son of Zeus is a culturally and historically significant mythic figure known the world over. Also, strangely enough, I believe he will help me better understand Sun Wukong (孫悟空), the immortal monkey hero of JTTW, by viewing him through the lens of a hero from a different time and place.

However, I hope the finished product will be a good starting point for those who know little about Hercules. After all, they won’t have to waste time tracking down the disparate sources since I’ve already done that for them. I also hope that it will serve as a resource for researchers, both hobbyist and professional alike.

How it started

On June 20th, 2022, the YouTube channel DEATH BATTLE! posted an episode pitting the demi-god against Sun Wukong. I responded with an analysis article discussing what I liked and didn’t like about the segment. One section included a list of interesting parallels (later moved here), the most obvious of which can be summed up below:

Hercules-Sun Wukong buddy cop movie idea:

One is a divine hero who is super strong, wears a big cat skin, and fights monsters with a blunt weapon. The other is a divine hero who is super strong, wears a big cat skin, and fights monsters with a blunt weapon. Both are extremely pissed off and ready to clean up the streets.

Left – Hercules kicking some hydra ass (larger version). Image found here. Right – Monkey about to kick somebody’s ass (larger version). Image found here.

Preparation for this section obviously involved lots of reading, but I honestly wasn’t learning anything at the time. Allegorically speaking, I was just mechanically scanning and transcribing what I saw.

I didn’t reach a point where I truly wanted to absorb information about Hercules until the summer of 2025. This is when I started rereading previously consulted books in preparation for a second response article (see below). I must admit that I was overwhelmed in the beginning because the sheer number of ancient sources discussed by one particular edited volume made it seemingly impossible for a beginner like me to decipher the basics of the demi-god’s life. But, thankfully, I found a book geared more towards the general public, Hercules: The First Superhero (An Unauthorized Biography) (2015) by Dr. Philip Matyszak. It contained the overview I was looking for and gave me a better appreciation for the subject. Most importantly, it inspired me to start this project. I’m going to create the book I wish I had had in the beginning.

Anyways, you can read the finished article here. It draws upon elements from JTTW, Greek myth, Greco-Buddhist art, and Buddhist literature to propose a more natural reason for the two heroes to come to blows. The confrontation contains details that lovers of Greek myth and JTTW are sure to appreciate.