This was the pilot for a TV series titled "Hercules", that never materialized. The series would have Hercules (Gordon Scott) master of the ship Olympia, along with the philosopher Diogenes (Paul Stevens), returning the young Ulysses (Mart Hulswit) to Thebes. Each episode would have the ship stopping at various locations where they would face challenges and adventures. The producers were planning to recruit US actors familiar to American TV viewers, especially actors who were already in Europe working on other projects. This was Scott's last appearance in a peplum, as he moved on to its replacement genre, the spaghetti western.
The sea monster allegedly cost $25,000 ($223,055 in 2021 dollars) to build.