Gádeira, el décimo trabajo de Heracles y la política de Atenas

Abstract

The myth of Herakles and Geryon is important to understand the Greekconception of the Far West. In V and IV century B.C. Athens, it was given a political significationwhich aligned with Athenian aspirations to control the West as far as the Pillars of Herakles.In this article, we study this political use of the myth and its implications, analyze its originin the circle of Cimon of Athens, its influence on the literary representation of the island ofGadeira, and the criticism of its intent implicit in Plato’s Atlantis myth.