bow of Heracles

E461997

legendary object mythological weapon object in Greek mythology

The bow of Heracles is the legendary weapon in Greek mythology whose possession is crucial for the Greeks’ victory in the Trojan War and which becomes the central object of contention in Sophocles’ tragedy "Philoctetes."

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
bow and arrows of Heracles	2
Bow of Heracles	1
arrows of Heracles	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	legendary object ⓘ mythological weapon ⓘ object in Greek mythology ⓘ
arrowEffect	incurable wounds ⓘ
arrowProperty	dipped in the blood of the Lernaean Hydra ⓘ
associatedWith	Heracles NERFINISHED ⓘ Neoptolemus NERFINISHED ⓘ Odysseus NERFINISHED ⓘ Philoctetes NERFINISHED ⓘ Trojan War NERFINISHED ⓘ
causeOfConflictIn	Sophocles’ Philoctetes NERFINISHED ⓘ
centralObjectOf	Sophocles’ Philoctetes NERFINISHED ⓘ
culture	Ancient Greek ⓘ
era	Mythic age ⓘ
givenBy	Heracles NERFINISHED ⓘ
givenTo	Philoctetes NERFINISHED ⓘ
guardedBy	Philoctetes on Lemnos ⓘ
hasCapability	kills with a single shot ⓘ never misses its target ⓘ
hasComponent	bowstring ⓘ
hasMaterial	horn ⓘ wood ⓘ
hasOwner	Heracles NERFINISHED ⓘ
hasProperty	indispensable for the fall of Troy ⓘ sacred ⓘ supernatural accuracy ⓘ
locationDuringTrojanWar	Lemnos NERFINISHED ⓘ
mentionedIn	Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca NERFINISHED ⓘ Epic Cycle NERFINISHED ⓘ Hyginus’ Fabulae NERFINISHED ⓘ Little Iliad (lost epic) NERFINISHED ⓘ Proclus’ Chrestomathy (summary of the Epic Cycle) NERFINISHED ⓘ Sophocles’ Philoctetes NERFINISHED ⓘ
mythologicalTradition	Greek mythology ⓘ
prophesiedBy	Trojan War oracles ⓘ
prophesiedCondition	Troy cannot be taken without the bow of Heracles ⓘ
relatedArtifact	arrows of Heracles NERFINISHED ⓘ
requiredBy	Greeks for victory in the Trojan War ⓘ
soughtBy	Neoptolemus NERFINISHED ⓘ Odysseus NERFINISHED ⓘ
symbolizes	heroic legacy of Heracles ⓘ necessity of suffering for victory ⓘ tension between expediency and morality ⓘ
transferContext	reward for lighting Heracles’ funeral pyre ⓘ
usedBy	Heracles in his labors NERFINISHED ⓘ Philoctetes against Troy ⓘ
usedToKill	Paris NERFINISHED ⓘ
weaponType	bow ⓘ

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Philoctetes → featuresObject → bow of Heracles ⓘ

Stymphalian Birds → killedBy → bow of Heracles ⓘ

this entity surface form: arrows of Heracles

Philoctetes (Sophocles) → notableObjectInPlot → bow of Heracles ⓘ

Stymphalian Birds → weaponAgainstThem → bow of Heracles ⓘ

this entity surface form: bow and arrows of Heracles

Nemean Lion → weaponUsedAgainst → bow of Heracles ⓘ

this entity surface form: bow and arrows of Heracles

Orthrus → weaponUsedAgainst → bow of Heracles ⓘ

Paris → weaponUsedAgainst → bow of Heracles ⓘ

this entity surface form: Bow of Heracles