Salmoneus was a major character on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. He was a shrewd businessman who engaged in many ventures (some of which were not entirely legal). Despite being greedy for money and wealth, along with the perks that came with it, he also did possess a genuine, kind hearted nature and helped Hercules and later Xena when they needed it. He became best friends with Hercules, Iolaus, Xena, and Gabrielle.
Encounters With Hercules[]
When he first met Hercules, Salmoneus was a traveling toga salesman. He proposed a line of togas named for Hercules. The hero turned him down and Salmoneus was chosen to be father to the children of the 50 Daughters of King Thespius who were following Hercules. (HTLJ "Eye of the Beholder").
Having given up toga sales, Salmoneus next encountered Hercules on the way to Nespa for the wedding of Penelope and Marcus. He intended to try to sell real estate in Macedonia to the wedding guests. During the wedding, Hercules was poisoned and went temporarily blind. When a group of Centaurs kidnapped the bride and her maid of honour, Salmoneus had to act as Hercules' eyes so the hero could save the day (HTLJ "As Darkness Falls").
In Athens, Salmoneus commissioned a special "Sport Toga" for himself at the price of 12 dinars. He wore it when on his way to Midasius to see King Midas' new gambling palace, the Golden Touch. Hercules decided to accompany Salmoneus to Midasius to check in on the king and his daughter, Flaxen. At the Golden Touch, Salmoneus caught the eye of Hispides, a bearded lady. She followed him throughout the palace trying to keep his attention but it was not until she shaved her beard that Salmoneus took serious note of her. He and Hispides left Hercules while discussing a new business venture (HTLJ "All That Glitters").
Salmoneus attended a "Self Actualization" seminar which inspired him to become a self-help guru. He asked Hercules to help him run a series of his own workshops but the hero declined. Instead, Salmoneus was roped into babysitting Kefor for Deric when Hercules was trying to help the Centaur escape from the Cretans (HTLJ "Outcast"). Still in the Athens area, Salmoneus agreed to manage his Brother in Law's "Pleasure Palace" for a short time. While there, Salmoneus came up with the idea of "Happy Hour" and befriended two local women: Heliotrope and Mica. They later saved his life when he was about to be hanged for not paying protection money to Pilot. When the Pleasure Palace was to be converted into a senior citizens' centre, Salmoneus told Heliotrope and Mica that he had an idea for a game called "Bongo" to be played there (HTLJ "Under the Broken Sky").
Purces and Zandar worked with Hera in a plot to kill Hercules. They led Salmoneus to Hera's secret treasure in Orestia. Salmoneus began selling the treasure causing him to become the target of Nemesis. When Nemesis tried to kill Salmoneus, Hercules intervened and Hera sent Pyro to kill the hero. Pyro failed. In Orestia, Salmoneus met a young woman named Serita. Though he thought she was only interested in him for his wealth, Serita stuck by Salmoneus even after he lost the treasure. When they kissed outside Salmoneus' mansion, a local villager noted that they made "a great couple" (HTLJ "The Fire Down Below").
Salmoneus encountered Hercules and Atalanta just as they were planning the first Olympic Games. He let them use his Brother in Law's land for the games. It was Salmoneus who came up with the name "Olympics" for the games and he also had the idea for the Olympic Torch as a symbol (HTLJ "Let the Games Begin").
Salmoneus nearly missed the wedding of Jason and Alcmene because he was on business in Athens. He sent ahead a wedding gift which came in handy when Hercules used it to kill the giant sea serpent, Perfidia. Salmoneus arrived just after the ceremony had taken place (HTLJ "The Wedding of Alcmene"). Following the wedding, Salmoneus met with Hercules in a small fishing village where the salesman had a brief career selling manure for the Titus Brothers: Big Titus and Little Titus (HTLJ "The Power").
Salmoneus bought an Air Sandals franchise from Gnoxious. He hoped to get Hercules to act as a celebrity endorser for the sandals but the hero declined. Salmoneus and Gnoxious then began selling Wrist Dials (HTLJ "Centaur Mentor Journey").
Salmoneus came up with the idea to create a House of Horrors featuring wax sculptures of fiends and monsters. He purchased a stolen Mummy from some grave robbers and was shocked to find that the Mummy came back to life. Hercules and Princess Anuket were able to defeat the Mummy and Hercules convinced Salmoneus to donate the wax from his House of Horrors to a good cause (HTLJ "Mummy Dearest").
Salmoneus heard rumours of plentiful gold in the Baclava Province. When he got there he discovered an "abandoned" temple which led him to the "Lost City" created by Kamaros. There, under the influence of Lotus Leaf, he lost all interest in profit and began a communal existence as Brother Sal until Iolaus was able expose Kamaros as a warlord who was drugging people so they would do his will (HTLJ "The Lost City").
Salmoneus travelled with Hercules to visit the Augean Stables. He concocted a plan to sell manure from the stables with Hercules' celebrity endorsement. En route, he was stung by a bee. The healer Melanippe was able to ease his suffering (HTLJ "Reign of Terror").
Encounters With Xena[]
Salmoneus was in the Parthian Province selling a new line of clay cookware when Xena and her army attacked. He disguised himself as a woman and hid but was found out by Darphus and Cretus who brought him to Xena. When Salmoneus told Xena that he knew Hercules she spared his life telling him that he "amused" her. Salmoneus later offered himself as a manager to the warrior princess, telling her she needed some good public relations. He offered to write her a theme song. Salmoneus was present when Darphus took over Xena's army and forced her to walk the Gauntlet. He found a Shepherdess to care for the Baby that Xena rescued from a village destroyed by her army and later helped Hercules to defend Parthus against the army (HTLJ "The Gauntlet").
Salmoneus continued to travel with Hercules and Xena and came up with the idea of writing celebrity biographies of the duo. When the heroes discovered that Darphus had been resurrected and was once again slaughtering innocent people, Salmoneus went with them as they tracked the warlord. The group was ambushed in a canyon and buried in a rockslide. Salmoneus, terrified of being trapped in the small space, became nearly catatonic but Hercules was able to rescue him. Embarrassed, Salmoneus took his leave of the heroes and hitched a ride with Enos who ended up bringing him directly to Darphus' camp at Elysia. Salmoneus was fed a sumptuous meal to fatten up so that he could be fed to Graegus but Xena and Hercules were able to rescue him. Salmoneus then told Hercules he was headed to Athens (HTLJ "Unchained Heart").
Background[]
- Salmoneus was played by Robert Trebor.
- Cut dialogue in "Centaur Mentor Journey" stated that Salmoneus was an orphan.
- Salmoneus is mentioned several times during Season 6, even though he's never seen.
- In "Love, Amazon Style", we find out that he's in prison for tax fraud
- In "Hercules, Tramps and Thieves", we find out that he was in legal trouble regarding a massage parlor
- In Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus there is a background character that resembles Salmoneus. It is unknown if this is coincidence or if the character was meant to have a role in the film.
- Salmoneus appeared in a total of 22 episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.
- Salmoneus made no appearances on XWP after its second season because the producers wanted to reduce the reliance on crossovers and expand the supporting character roster of both series. As a result, Salmoneus and Autolycus were mostly restricted to HTLJ, while Joxer and Callisto were mostly restricted to XWP.
- The mythological Salmoneus predated the majority of the Greek heroes: he was the son of Aeolus, one of the first Greeks to exist, as well as was the brother of Sisyphus, amongst many others. Salmoneus founded Elis and Pisatis. His daughter Tyrella, his second wife Sidero and his grandson Pelias were parodied in the episode If the Shoe Fits.... Salmoneus was the great-grandfather of Jason, who was the son of Tyrella's son Aeson.
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
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