At 8:55 the rat on the docks is a re-use from a previous episode.
At 13:30 says "Save your breath, let the gods sort them out". This is a slight variation on "Kill then all, let God sort them out" from the Latin "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius".
The premise is a bit similar to the Marvel Comics version of Hercules, who is a nice man and often fights against brutal, vicious Amazons. At one point in this show, the Amazon commander states that Hercules is a symbol of patriarchal oppression, which is consistent with the DC Comics version of Hercules. DC's Hercules is usually depicted as a misogynist tyrant who oppresses Wonder Woman's Amazon tribe, although some DC retellings allow him a measure of redemption.
Siri says in her rousing speech to the Amazons: "Don't sacrifice your lives for the Amazon Nation. Make our enemies sacrifice theirs." This paraphrases a slogan attributed to the American General George S. Patton: "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his." The precise wording has been disputed.
Ephiny, a kindly Amazon who often appears in Xena: Warrior Princess (1995), makes her first "Hercules" appearance here. Her son Xenan appears for the only time in "Hercules". His Centaur blood causes him to age rapidly, as he is only two or so years old.