The myth about heracles in literary interpretation of P. Hacks (based on the play “Omphale”)

Abstract

The paper explores the literary reception of classical story of Heracles in the play “Omphale” by Peter Hacks. The usage of ancient Greek mythology stories, images and motives, their interpretation is an integral part of world literature’s artistic practice, in particular, German literature. It is in German culture where a strong national tradition of artistic interpretation of antiquity was formed. Peter Hacks, who created a number of literary adaptations of famous myths (“Die schöne Helena”, “Amphitryon”, “Orpheus in der Unterwelt”), evolved in line with this tradition. Analysis of the play, which includes historical, literary, receptive and comparative approaches, allows us to study the functioning of reception mechanism and the adaptation of antique plays in modern times, as well as the peculiarity of German playwright’s mythopoetry.