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> One anecdote I remember is that Hercules was potentially derived from stories of a Phoenician hero who walked along the shore and discovered that the molluscs

> One anecdote I remember is that Hercules was potentially derived from stories of a Phoenician hero who walked along the shore and discovered that the molluscs that crushed beneath his feet created a purple hue. He was renowned for turning this stuff into purple dye that came to signify royalty. Any more info about this? It's not clear how the two figures are related from this description, but I wouldn't be surprised if Hercules was derived from an earlier Phoenician myth. (Or did Hercules have a purple cloak I'm unaware of?)

pvaldes 3y ago
> a Phoenician hero walked along the shore and discovered that the molluscs that crushed beneath his feet created a purple hue This can be taken littorally, but not literally. Is clearly speech beautification. In ancient times it was probably understood by the public that the narrator talks about a task that is impossible (or really difficult at least). Is clearly a metaphor to stress that a character has heroic qualities like strength and, in particular, a high tolerance to pain.
- debo_ 3y ago
  I didn't intend for it to be interpreted literally. I wrote "derived from stories of."
  - pvaldes 3y ago
    We are talking about this snail. Is related with Hercules in a different way, as some are said to be shaped like the Hercules club: http://www.idscaro.net/sci/04_med/class/fam3/species/bolinus_brandaris1.htm http://www.idscaro.net/sci/04_med/class/fam3/species/bolinus... Can't fall to mention that the Cerne Abbas giant has been drawn holding a club that is spiny also.
    - debo_ 3y ago
      Are you ok?
boomboomsubban 3y ago
A quick search for Phoenician purple (apparently called Tyrian purple) brought up this seventeenth century painting recounting a second century AD Heracles story that may have been influenced by the Phoenician god Melqart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules%27s_Dog_Discovers_Purple_Dye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules%27s_Dog_Discovers_Pur...

pvaldes 3y ago

> a Phoenician hero walked along the shore and discovered that the molluscs that crushed beneath his feet created a purple hue This can be taken littorally, but not literally. Is clearly speech beautification. In ancient times it was probably understood by the public that the narrator talks about a task that is impossible (or really difficult at least). Is clearly a metaphor to stress that a character has heroic qualities like strength and, in particular, a high tolerance to pain.

debo_ 3y ago
I didn't intend for it to be interpreted literally. I wrote "derived from stories of."
- pvaldes 3y ago
  We are talking about this snail. Is related with Hercules in a different way, as some are said to be shaped like the Hercules club: http://www.idscaro.net/sci/04_med/class/fam3/species/bolinus_brandaris1.htm http://www.idscaro.net/sci/04_med/class/fam3/species/bolinus... Can't fall to mention that the Cerne Abbas giant has been drawn holding a club that is spiny also.
  - debo_ 3y ago
    Are you ok?

boomboomsubban 3y ago

A quick search for Phoenician purple (apparently called Tyrian purple) brought up this seventeenth century painting recounting a second century AD Heracles story that may have been influenced by the Phoenician god Melqart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules%27s_Dog_Discovers_Purple_Dye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules%27s_Dog_Discovers_Pur...