KerkopesCercopes

The Kerkopes were two Monkey-Men named Passalus and Akmon (Acmon).

As Herakles (Heracles) was sleeping under a tree, the two mischievous characters stole his bow; Herakles caught the barbaric looking brothers and tied them upside-down to a pole which he carried over his shoulder; the Kerkopes were not only unrepentant but highly amused by their plight and, as they dangled behind Herakles, they began making disparaging comments about Herakles’ hairy posterior; Herakles, who was so accustomed to sorrow and brutality, couldn’t resist the infectious good humor of the Kerkopes and set them free.

Herakles’ encounter with the Kerkopes was a popular artistic theme beginning in the early sixth century BCE and continuing well into the fourth century; the story was popular from mainland Greece to the island of Sicily.

This story is one of the fragmentary remains of the Epic Cycle; for the complete translations of the Epic Cycle I recommend the Loeb Classical Library volume 57, ISBN 0674990633; you can sometimes find this book at the library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.