Pillars of Heracles
placeThe Pillars of Heracles were the two promontories at the Strait of Gibraltar — the boundary between the known Mediterranean world and the terrifying, unknown Atlantic beyond.
The Myth
Heracles set up the two pillars during his tenth labour (the cattle of Geryon) to mark the western limit of the known world. One pillar was the Rock of Gibraltar; the other was identified with either Monte Hacho or Jebel Musa in Morocco. The inscription "Non Plus Ultra" (Nothing Further Beyond) warned that the world ended here. After Columbus, Spain's motto became "Plus Ultra" — there IS more beyond. The pillars appear on Spain's coat of arms and, through it, on the dollar sign ($).
Symbols
Fun Fact
The dollar sign ($) may derive from the Pillars of Heracles on the Spanish coat of arms — the ancient boundary of the world is on every American bill.
Explore Further
Geryon
creatureGeryon was a giant with three bodies joined at the waist who owned magnificent red cattle at the...
Hera
godQueen of the Olympian gods and goddess of marriage. Known for her jealous rages against Zeus's...
Heracles
heroThe greatest hero of Greek mythology, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Famous for his...
Acheron
placeThe Acheron was the River of Woe in the underworld, which the dead had to cross — in some...
Aeaea
placeAeaea was the mythical island home of Circe, the divine sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men...
Arcadia
placeArcadia was both a real mountainous region in the central Peloponnese and an idealised landscape of...