In the Footsteps of Hercules
Character locations: Leeds City Museum, Mandela Gardens, Town Hall, Bond Court, City Square.
Time: 6pm-10pm for characters 5.30pm to close of Light Night for location information.
Description:
Become a hero by stepping into Hercules’ size 14½ shoes – complete his 12 Labours and discover why he belongs in Leeds. Meet monsters and costumed characters from ancient mythology, including Hercules’ mother in Leeds City Museum and Hercules’ nephew, the Amazon Queen, Nemean Lion and Horses of Diomedes elsewhere.
Collect a map of the locations from the young Hercules or his mother, Alcmene, in the Ancient Worlds Galleries of Leeds City Museum or join the route at any location with an information point or costumed character. Each location will have information explaining the link between it and one of the 12 Labours, including illustrations and excerpts from relevant ancient texts. Masked costumed characters, who will
tell the story of a Labour and guide interactions with the location, can be found in Leeds City Museum, in Mandela Gardens, on the Town Hall Steps, in Leeds city centre locations to encounter mythical characters and monsters featured in his 12 Labours. In the Footsteps of Hercules brings ancient Greek and Roman myth to life by combining cutting-edge classical research by Emma Stafford and other experts on ancient costume with performance art and story-telling in a “factasy” walking tour of Leeds taking in its public art, architecture, and history.
Will you kidnap Cerberus, kill the Hydra, seek the Cretan Bull, confront the Nemean Lion, capture the cattle of Geryon, cleanse the Augean Stables, dodge the Horses of Diomedes, scare the Stymphalian Birds, spot the Erymanthian Boar, find the Apples of the Hesperides, meet the Amazon Queen, or chase the Keryneian Hind? Above all, will you find Hercules in Leeds?
To see the map and the posters used on the night, please go to
this page.
