| Antaeus | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Antaeus, Anti |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
Antaeus was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. He was the son of Poseidon and Gaia, who lived in the interior desert of Libya. His wife was the goddess Tinge, for whom it was claimed that the city of Tangier in Morocco was named (though it could be the other way around), and he had a daughter named Alceis or Barce. Another daughter, Iphinoe, consorted with Heracles.
Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the earth. As Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, he always won, killing his opponents. He built a temple to his father using their skulls. Antaeus fought Heracles as he was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides as his 11th Labour. Heracles realized that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing or pinning him. Instead, he held him aloft and then crushed him to death in a bear hug.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Antaeus from before Januray 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Pindar, Odes
- Plato, Laws
- Plato, Theaetetus
- Apollodorus, The Library
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History
- Plutarch, Lives
- Philostratus the Elder, Imagines
- Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy
- Hyginus, Fabulae
- Ovid, Metamorphoses
- Ovid, Heroides
- Propertius, Elegies
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History
- Seneca, Hercules Furens
- Statius, Thebaid
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Bouncer
- Bouncer #11-14
- Everybody's Comics #1
- All Great Comics
- Book of All Comics #1
- All Good Comics
Notes[]
- The Bouncer was originally a statue of the Greek mythology figure Antaeus created by a sculptor named Adam Anteas Jr. who was also a descendant of Antaeus.