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In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Heracles or Herakles (Roman: Hercules) meaning "glory of Hera
Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus (original name) (" + , )" was a divine hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
, the son of Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 and Alcmene
Alcmene

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the mother of Heracles....
, foster son of Amphitryon
Amphitryon

Amphitryon, or Amphitrion, in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus , king of Tiryns in Argolis.Amphitryon was a Thebes, Greece general, who was originally from Tiryns in the eastern part of the Peloponnese....
 and great-grandson (and half-brother) of Perseus
Perseus

Perseus , the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Mycenae there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths in the cult of the Twelve Olympians....
. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae
Heracleidae

In Greek mythology, the Heracleidae or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles , especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira ....
 and a champion of the Olympian order
Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
 against chthonic
Chthonic

Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Ancient Greek religion.Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the Landscape or the land as territory ....
 monsters.






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Heracles
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Heracles or Herakles (Roman: Hercules) meaning "glory of Hera
Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
", or "Glorious through Hera" Alcides or Alcaeus (original name) (" + , )" was a divine hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
, the son of Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 and Alcmene
Alcmene

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the mother of Heracles....
, foster son of Amphitryon
Amphitryon

Amphitryon, or Amphitrion, in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus , king of Tiryns in Argolis.Amphitryon was a Thebes, Greece general, who was originally from Tiryns in the eastern part of the Peloponnese....
 and great-grandson (and half-brother) of Perseus
Perseus

Perseus , the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Mycenae there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths in the cult of the Twelve Olympians....
. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae
Heracleidae

In Greek mythology, the Heracleidae or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles , especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira ....
 and a champion of the Olympian order
Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
 against chthonic
Chthonic

Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Ancient Greek religion.Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the Landscape or the land as territory ....
 monsters. In Rome
Roman mythology

Roman mythology, or more appropriately, Latin mythology, refers to the mythology beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its main city, Rome....
 and the modern
Modernity

Modernity is a term that refers to the modern era. It is distinct from modernism, and, in different contexts, refers to cultural and intellectual movements of the period c....
 West
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
, he is known as Hercules
Hercules

Hercules is the Ancient Rome name for the mythical Ancient Greece hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italian shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength....
, with whom the later Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor

The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin language titles such as imperator , Augustus , Caesar and princeps were all associated with it....
s, in particular Commodus
Commodus

Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus , was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 . The name given here was his official name at his accession to sole rule; see 'Commodus#Changes of name' for earlier and later forms....
 and Maximian
Maximian

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305....
, often identified themselves. The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it linking the hero with the geography of the Central Mediterranean. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.

Extraordinary strength, courage
Courage

Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity, and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, Risk, uncertainty, or intimidation....
, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among his characteristic attributes. Although he was not as clever as the likes of Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
 or Nestor
Nestor (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nestor of Ger?nia was the son of Neleus and Chloris, and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's brothers and sisters....
, Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king Augeas
Augeas

In Greek mythology, Augeas , whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and husband of Epicaste. He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned ....
 of Elis
Elis

Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture. It is in southern Greece on the Peloponnesos peninsula, bounded on the north by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messenia, and west by the Ionian Sea....
, wrestling the giant Antaeus
Antaeus

Antaeus in Greek mythology and Berber mythology was a giant of ancient Libya, the son of Poseidon and Gaia , whose wife was Tinjis. He was extremely strong as long as he remained in contact with the ground , but once lifted into the air he became as weak as water....
, or tricking Atlas
Atlas (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens. Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia or Klym?ne :...
 into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes
Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. An Twelve Olympians, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunni...
 he was the patron and protector of gymnasia
Gymnasium (ancient Greece)

The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits....
 and palaestra
Palaestra

The palaestra was the History of Ancient Greece wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and Amateur wrestling, were practiced there....
e. His iconographic attributes are the lion skin
Nemean Lion

The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived in Nemea. He was eventually killed by Heracles. The lion was usually considered the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , but it was also said to have fallen from the moon, offspring of Zeus and Selene....
 and the club
Club (weapon)

A club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff , or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon....
. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have "made the world safe for mankind" and to be its benefactor. Heracles was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing both great deeds for his friends (such as wrestling with Thanatos
Thanatos

In Greek religion, Th?natos was the Daemon personification of Death and Mortality. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person....
 on behalf of Prince Admetus
Admetus

In Greek mythology, Admetus /?d 'mi: t?s/ was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named. Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt....
, who had regaled Heracles with his hospitality, or restoring his friend Tyndareus
Tyndareus

In Greek mythology, Tyndareus ???da?e?? was a Sparta king, son of Oebalus and Gorgophone , husband of Leda and father of Helen, Castor and Polydeuces, Clytemnestra, Timandra , Phoebe and Philonoe....
 to the throne of Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
 after he was overthrown) and being a terrible enemy who would wreak horrible vengeance on those who crossed him, as Augeas, Neleus
Neleus

Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias. Tyro was married to Cretheus but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances....
 and Laomedon
Laomedon

In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Troy king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla , Proclia, Aethilla, Clytodora, and Hesione....
 all found out to their cost.

Origin and character

Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being The Twelve Labours of Heracles; Alexandrian poets of the Hellenistic age drew his mythology into a high poetic and tragic atmosphere. His figure, which initially drew on Near Eastern motifs such as the lion-fight, was known everywhere: his Etruscan
Etruscan mythology

The Etruscan civilizations were a people of unknown origin living in Northern Italy, who were eventually integrated into Roman culture and politically became part of the Roman Republic....
 equivalent was Hercle, a son of Tinia
Tinia

The Etruscan bright sky god Tinia was the highest god in Etruscan mythology, the Etruscan equivalent of the Roman mythology Jupiter and the Greek mythology Zeus....
 and Uni
Uni

:For the numerical prefix...
.

Heracles was the greatest of Hellenic chthonic
Chthonic

Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Ancient Greek religion.Greek khthon is one of several words for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the Landscape or the land as territory ....
 heroes, but unlike other Greek heroes, no tomb was identified as his. Heracles was both hero and god, as Pindar
Pindar

Pindar , was an Ancient Greek Lyric poetry poet.Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is by far the best preserved, and critics in antiquity tended to regard him as the greatest....
 says heroes theos; at the same festival sacrifice was made to him, first as a hero, with a chthonic libation
Libation

A libation is a ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a deity. It was common in the religions of Ancient history, including Judaism:Isaiah uses libation as a metaphor when describing the end of the Suffering Servant figure who: "poured out his life unto death"....
, and then as a god, upon an altar: thus he embodies the closest Greek approach to a "demi-god". The core of the story of Heracles has been identified by Walter Burkert as originating in Neolithic hunter culture and traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld.

Hero or god?

Heracles' role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling (see below), was accepted into the Olympian Pantheon
Twelve Olympians

The Twelve Olympians or younger gods, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal Greek Godss of the Greek pantheon , residing atop Mount Olympus, having supplanted the Titan or older gods in the greek mythogical narrative....
 during Classical times. This created an awkwardness in the encounter with Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
 in the episode of Odyssey
Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Hellenic civilization epic poetrys attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer....
 XI, called the Nekuia, where Odysseus encounters Heracles in Hades
Hades

Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive case , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades"....
:
Temple To Hercules
:And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles—
His ghost I mean: the man himself delights
in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high...
Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds
scattering left and right in horror as on he came like night..."


Ancient critics were aware of the problem of the aside that interrupts the vivid and complete description, in which Heracles recognizes Odysseus and hails him, and modern critics find very good reasons for denying that the verses beginning, in Fagles' translation His ghost I mean... were part of the original composition: "once people knew of Heracles' admission to Olympus, they would not tolerate his presence in the underworld," remarks Friedrich Solmsen
Friedrich Solmsen

Friedrich W. Solmsen was a Philology and professor of Classics. His Edition of Hesiod is considered definitive. He published nearly 150 books, monographs, Scholarly method Article , and reviews from the 1930s through the 1980s....
, noting that the interpolated verses represent a compromise between conflicting representations of Heracles.

It is also said that when Heracles died he shed his mortal skin, which went down to the underworld and he went up to join the gods for being the greatest hero ever known.

Christian dating

In Christian circles a Euhemerist reading of the widespread Heracles/Hercules cult was attributed to a historical figure who had been offered cult status after his death. Thus Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima c 314. He is often referred to as the Father of Church History because of his work in recording the history of the early Christianity church, especially Chronicon and Church_History_....
, Preparation of the Gospel (10.12), reported that Clement
Saint Clement

St. Clement may refer to:* Pope Clement I, also known as St. Clement of Rome, , martyr and fourth pope* Saint Clement of Metz fl. 4th century), first bishop of Metz...
 could offer historical dates for Hercules as a king in Argos: "from the reign of Hercules in Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
 to the deification of Hercules himself and of Asclepius
Asclepius

Asclepius is the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts, while his daughters Hygieia, Meditrina, Iaso, Aceso, Aglaea and Panacea symbolize the forces of cleanliness, medicine, and healing, respectively....
 there are comprised thirty-eight years, according to Apollodorus the chronicler: and from that point to the deification of Castor and Pollux
Castor and Pollux

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of Leda and Zeus/Tyndareus , the brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra and the half-brothers of Timandra , Phoebe, Heracles, Philonoe....
 fifty-three years: and somewhere about this time was the capture of Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
."

Readers with a literalist bent, following Clement's reasoning, have asserted from this remark that, since Heracles ruled over Tiryns
Tiryns

Tiryns is a Mycenaean civilization archaeological site in the Greece Prefectures of Greece of Argolis in the Peloponnese peninsula, some kilometres north of Nauplion....
 in Argos at the same time that Eurystheus
Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
 ruled over Mycenae
Mycenae

Mycenae , is an archaeology in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 6 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north....
, and since at about this time Linus
Linus (mythology)

Linus may refer to any of three sons of Apollo from Greek mythology:*Son of Apollo and Urania, he was killed by Apollo during a contest.*Son of Apollo and Psamathe, whose father was the King of Argos....
 was Heracles' teacher, one can conclude, based on Jerome
Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Christian priest and Christian apologetics best known for translating the Vulgate. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church, and his version of the Bible is still an important text in Catholicism....
's date—in his universal history
Universal history

Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic religion wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of mankind as a whole, as a coherent unit....
, his Chronicon—given to Linus' notoriety in teaching Heracles in 1264 BC, that Heracles' death and deification occurred 38 years later, in approximately 1226 BC.

Cult of Heracles

The ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of the Herakleia
Herakleia

The Herakleia were ancient festivals honoring the divine hero Heracles. The ancient Athenians celebrated the festival, which commemorated the death of Heracles, on the second day of the month of Metageitnion , at the ????sa??e? Gymnasium at the demos Diomeia outside the walls of Athens, in a sanctuary dedicated to Heracles....
, which commemorated the death of Heracles, on the second day of the month of Metageitnion (which would fall in late July or early August). What is believed to be an Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
ian Temple of Heracles in the Bahariya Oasis
Bahariya Oasis

El-Waha el-Bahariya or Bahariya is an oasis in Egypt. It is approximately 300 km away from Cairo and the least technologically advanced Oasis in the country....
 dates to 21 BC.

Myths of Heracles


Birth and childhood

A major factor in the well-known tragedies surrounding Heracles is the hatred that the goddess
Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. Often deities are part of a polytheism system that includes several deities in a pantheon .Common associations of goddesses are the Earth goddess, the Mother Goddess, Love goddess, and the hearth goddess, reflecting historical gender roles....
 Hera
Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
, wife of Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
, had for him. A full account of Heracles must render it clear why Heracles was so tormented by Hera, when there are many illegitimate offspring sired by Zeus. Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene
Alcmene

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the mother of Heracles....
. Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon
Amphitryon

Amphitryon, or Amphitrion, in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus , king of Tiryns in Argolis.Amphitryon was a Thebes, Greece general, who was originally from Tiryns in the eastern part of the Peloponnese....
, home early from war (Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with his son at the same time, a case of heteropaternal superfecundation
Superfecundation

Superfecundation is the fertilization of two or more ovum from the same menstrual cycle by spermatozoon from separate acts of sexual intercourse....
, where a woman carries twins sired by different fathers). Thus, Heracles' very existence proved at least one of Zeus' many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus' mortal offspring, as revenge for her husband's infidelities. His twin mortal brother, son of Amphitryon was Iphicles, father of Heracles' charioteer Iolaus
Iolaus

In Greek mythology, Iolaus or Iolaos was a Thebes, Greece divine hero, son of Heracles' brother Iphicles and Automedusa.He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with for some of his Labours of Hercules....
.

On the night the twins Heracles and Iphicles were to be born, Hera
Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
, knowing of her husband Zeus' adultery, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus
Perseus

Perseus , the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Mycenae there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths in the cult of the Twelve Olympians....
 would be High King. Hera did this knowing that while Heracles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was Eurystheus
Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alcmene's dwelling and slowed the birth of Heracles by forcing Ilithyia
Ilithyia

Eileithyia , was the Minoan civilization whom Greek mythology adapted as the goddess of childbirth and midwifery. Her name does not appear to have an Indo-European languages etymology, which for R....
, goddess of childbirth, to sit crosslegged with her clothing tied in knots, thereby causing Heracles to be trapped in the womb. Meanwhile, Hera caused Eurystheus
Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
 to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Heracles. She would have permanently delayed Heracles' birth had she not been fooled by Galanthis
Galanthis

In Greek mythology, Galanthis was the red-gold haired servant of Alcmene, who assisted her during the birth of Heracles. When Alcmene was in labor, she was having difficulty giving birth to a child so large....
, Alcmene's servant, who lied to Ilithyia, saying that Alcmene
Alcmene

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the mother of Heracles....
 had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this, she jumped in surprise, untying the knots and inadvertently allowing Alcmene
Alcmene

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena was the mother of Heracles....
 to give birth to her twins, Heracles and Iphicles.

The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles. He was renamed Heracles in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera. A few months after he was born, Hera sent two serpents to kill him as he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled a snake in each hand and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were child's toys.

Youth

After killing his music tutor Linus
Linus (mythology)

Linus may refer to any of three sons of Apollo from Greek mythology:*Son of Apollo and Urania, he was killed by Apollo during a contest.*Son of Apollo and Psamathe, whose father was the King of Argos....
 with a lyre
Lyre

The lyre is a string instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. The recitations of the Ancient Greece were accompanied by lyre playing....
, he was sent to tend cattle on a mountain by his foster father Amphitryon. Here, according to an allegorical parable
Parable

A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or Verse , that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human characters....
, "The Choice of Heracles", invented by the sophist Prodicus
Prodicus

Prodicus of Ceos He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Like Protagoras, he professed to train his pupils for domestic and civic service; but it would appear that, while Protagoras's chief instruments of education were rhetoric and style, Prodicus made linguistics prominent in his curriculum....
 (ca. 400 BC), he was visited by two nymphs - Pleasure and Virtue - who offered him a choice between a pleasant and easy life or a severe but glorious life: he chose the latter.

Later in Thebes
Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, Greece, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain....
, Heracles married King Creon
Creon

Creon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes,_Greece in the legend of Oedipus. He was the father of Menoeceus and Megara by his wife, Eurydice of Thebes....
's daughter, Megara
Megara (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes, Greece. In reward for Heracles' defending Thebes from Orchomenus in single-handed battle, Creon offered his daughter Megara to Heracles and he brought her home to the house of Amphitryon....
. In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children by Megara. After his madness had been cured with hellebore
Hellebore

Commonly known as Hellebores, members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous perennial plant flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae....
 by Antikyreus, the founder of Antikyra
Anticyra

Anticyra, or Antikyra the ancient name of a city in Phokis, Greece....
, he realized what he had done and fled to the Oracle of Delphi
Delphi

Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King Eurystheus
Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
 for ten years and perform any task, which he required. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours but after completing them, he said he cheated and added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles.

The Labours of Heracles


Driven mad by Hera, Heracles slew his own children. To expiate the crime, Heracles was required to carry out ten labors set by his archenemy, Eurystheus
Eurystheus

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus , as was his opponent Heracles....
, who had become king in Heracles' place. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would be granted immortality. Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus did not accept the cleansing of the Augean stables because Heracles was going to accept pay for the labor. Neither did he accept the killing of the Lernaean Hydra as Heracles' cousin, Ioloas, had helped him burn the stumps of the heads. Eurysteus set two more tasks (fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing Cerberus
Cerberus

Cerberus is the name given to the entity which, in Greek mythology and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping....
), which Heracles performed successfully, bringing the total number of tasks up to twelve.

Not all writers gave the labors in the same order. Apollodorus
Apollodorus

Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greeks scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace....
 (2.5.1-2.5.12) gives the following order:
  1. To kill the Nemean lion
    Nemean Lion

    The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived in Nemea. He was eventually killed by Heracles. The lion was usually considered the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , but it was also said to have fallen from the moon, offspring of Zeus and Selene....
    .
  2. To destroy the Lernaean Hydra
    Lernaean Hydra

    In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , noisome offspring of the earth goddess, Gaia. It was said to be the sibling of the Nemean Lion, the Stymphalian birds, the Chimera ,and Cerberus....
    .
  3. To capture the Ceryneian Hind
    Ceryneian Hind

    The Ceryneian Hind, also called Cerynitis, was an enormous deer sacred to Artemis, the chaste goddess of the hunt and moon. It had golden antlers like a stag and hooves of bronze or brass, and it was said that it could outrun an arrow in flight....
    .
  4. To capture the Erymanthian Boar
    Erymanthian Boar

    In Greek mythology, the Erymanthian Boar is remembered in connection with Labours of Hercules, in which Heracles, the enemy of Hera, visited in turn "all the other sites of the Goddess throughout the world, to conquer every conceivable 'monster' of nature and rededicate the primordial world to its new master, his Olympian father," Zeus....
    .
  5. To clean the Augean Stables
    Augeas

    In Greek mythology, Augeas , whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and husband of Epicaste. He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned ....
    .
  6. To kill the Stymphalian Birds
    Stymphalian birds

    In Greek mythology, the Stymphalian birds were man-eating birds with wings of brass and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims, and were pets of Ares, the god of war....
    .
  7. To capture the Cretan Bull
    Cretan Bull

    In Greek mythology, the Cretan Bull was either the bull that carried away Europa or the bull Pasipha? fell in love with, giving birth to the Minotaur....
    .
  8. To round up the Mares of Diomedes
    Mares of Diomedes

    The Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes King of Thrace , king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea....
    .
  9. To steal the Girdle of Hippolyte.
  10. To herd the Cattle of Geryon
    Geryon

    In Greek mythology, Geryon , son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean....
    .
  11. To fetch the Apples of Hesperides
    Hesperides

    In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Ancient Libya, or on a distant blessed island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus....
    .
  12. To capture Cerberus
    Cerberus

    Cerberus is the name given to the entity which, in Greek mythology and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping....
    .


Further adventures

After completing these tasks, Heracles joined the Argonauts
Argonauts

In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece....
 in a search for the Golden Fleece
Golden Fleece

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the winged ram Chrysomallos . It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly....
. They rescued heroines, conquered Troy, and helped the gods fight against the Gigantes
Gigantes

In Greek mythology, the Gigantes or, commonly, Giants, were a race of giants, children of Gaia or Gaea, who were fertilized by the blood of Uranus_, after being castration by his son Cronus....
. He also fell in love with Princess Iole
Iole

In Greek mythology, Iole was the daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. According to the classical tale by Apollodorus, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage....
 of Oechalia. King Eurytus
Eurytus

In Greek mythology, Eurytus is the name of numerous characters....
 of Oechalia promised his daughter, Iole
Iole

In Greek mythology, Iole was the daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. According to the classical tale by Apollodorus, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage....
, to whoever could beat his sons in an archery contest. Heracles won but Eurytus abandoned his promise. Heracles' advances were spurned by the king and his sons, except for one – Iole's brother Iphitus. Heracles killed the king and his sons–excluding Iphitus–and abducted Iole. Iphitus became Heracles' best friend. However, once again, Hera drove Heracles mad and he threw Iphitus over the city wall to his death. Once again, Heracles purified himself through three years of servitude - this time to Queen Omphale
Omphale

In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued to reign on her own....
 of Lydia
Lydia

Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkey provinces of Manisa Province and inland Izmir Province....
.

Omphale

Omphale
Omphale

In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued to reign on her own....
 was a queen or princess of Lydia
Lydia

Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkey provinces of Manisa Province and inland Izmir Province....
. As penalty for a murder, Heracles was her slave. He was forced to do women's work and wear women's clothes, while she wore the skin of the Nemean Lion
Nemean Lion

The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived in Nemea. He was eventually killed by Heracles. The lion was usually considered the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , but it was also said to have fallen from the moon, offspring of Zeus and Selene....
 and carried his olive-wood club. After some time, Omphale freed Heracles and married him. Some sources mention a son born to them who is variously named. It was at that time that the cercopes
Cercopes

In Greek mythology, the Cercopes were mischievous forest creatures who lived in Thermopylae or on Euboea but roamed the world and might turn up anywhere mischief was afoot....
, mischievous wood spirits, stole Heracles' weapons. He punished them by tying them to a stick with their faces pointing downward.

Hylas

While walking through the wilderness, Heracles was set upon by the Dryopians. He killed their king, Theiodamas, and the others gave up and offered him Prince Hylas
Hylas

In Greek mythology, Hylas was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. Other sources such as Ovid state that Hylas' father was Heracles and his mother was the nymph Melite, or that his mother was the wife of Theiodamus, whose adulterous affair with Heracles caused the war between him and her husband....
. He took the youth on as his weapons bearer and beloved. Years later, Heracles and Hylas joined the crew of the Argo
Argo

In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcus to retrieve the Golden Fleece....
. As Argonauts, they only participated in part of the journey. In Mysia
Mysia

Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north....
, Hylas was kidnapped by a nymph. Heracles, heartbroken, searched for a long time but Hylas had fallen in love with the nymphs and never showed up again. In other versions, he simply drowned. Either way, the Argo set sail without them. Additional Notes: In the cult motion picture Jason and The Argonauts, Hylas is killed, crushed by the bronze giant Talos
Talos

In the Cretan tales incorporated into Greek mythology, T?los or T?lon was a giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete, circling the island's shores three times daily while guarding it....
 as he falls dead. Also, there is reference made to a custom of the local people of the area, whereby every year they would pretend to search for Hylas, calling his name.

Rescue of Prometheus

Hesiod
Hesiod

Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
's Theogony
Theogony

The Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogy of the polytheism of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC....
 and Aeschylus
Aeschylus

Aeschylus was an Ancient Greece playwright. He is often recognized as the father or the founder of tragedy, and is the earliest of the three Greek tragedy whose Play survive extant, the others being Sophocles and Euripides....
' Prometheus Unbound
Prometheus Unbound

Prometheus Unbound is a four-act play by Percy Bysshe Shelley first published in 1820, concerned with the torments of the Greek mythology figure Prometheus and his suffering at the hands of Zeus....
 both tell that Heracles shot and killed the eagle that tortured Prometheus
Prometheus

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to human beings for their use....
 (which was his punishment by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals). Heracles freed the Titan
Titan (mythology)

In Greek mythology, the Titans ; were a race of powerful deities that ruled during the legendary golden age. Their role as Elder Gods was overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Twelve Olympians, effected a mythological paradigm shift that the Greeks borrowed from the Ancient Near East....
 from his chains and his torments. Prometheus then made predictions regarding further deeds of Heracles.

Laomedon of Troy

Before the Trojan War
Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
, Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
 sent a sea monster to attack Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
. The story is related in several digressions in the Iliad (7.451-453, 20.145-148, 21.442-457) and is found in Apollodorus' Bibliotheke
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)

The Bibliotheca , in three books, provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends, "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times," Aubrey Diller observed, whose "stultifying purpose" was neatly expressed in the epigram noted by Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople:...
 (2.5.9). Laomedon
Laomedon

In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Troy king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla , Proclia, Aethilla, Clytodora, and Hesione....
 planned on sacrificing his daughter Hesione
Hesione

file:HerculesHesione.jpgIn Greek mythology, the most prominent Hesione was a Troy princess, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy, sister of Priam and second wife of King Telamon of Salamis Island....
 to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles happened to arrive (along with Telamon
Telamon

In Greek mythology, Telamon , son of the king Aeacus, of Aegina, and Endeis and brother of Peleus, accompanied Jason as one his Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar....
 and Oicles
Oicles

In Greek mythology, Oicles was an Argos, Greece king, father of Amphiaraus, son of Mantius and grandson of Melampus. He helped Heracles fight Laomedon and/or the sea monster attacking Troy and died in the battle....
) and agreed to kill the monster if Laomedon would give him the horses received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus' kidnapping Ganymede
Ganymede (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ganymede, or Ganymedes is a divine hero whose homeland was the Troad. He was a Troy prince, son of the eponym Tros of Dardania, and of Callirrhoe , and brother of Ilus and Assaracus....
. Laomedon agreed. Heracles killed the monster, but Laomedon went back on his word. Accordingly, in a later expedition, Heracles and his followers attacked Troy and sacked it. Then they slew all Laomedon's sons present there save Podarces
Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
, who was renamed Priam, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize; they were married and had a son, Teucer
Teucer

In Greek mythology Teucer, also Teucrus or Teucris , was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy....
.

Other adventures

Heracles defeated the Bebryces
Bebryces

In Greek mythology, the Bebryces were a mythical tribe of people in Bithynia. After their land and King Mygdon of Bebryces were conquered by Heracles and given to Lycus, it was called Heraclea Pontica....
 (ruled by King Mygdon
Mygdon

Mygdon may refer to:* Mygdon of Phrygia, in Greek mythology, king who was an ally of King Priam of Troy* Mygdon of Bebryces, in Greek mythology, killed by Heracles, son of Poseidon...
) and gave their land to Prince Lycus
Lycus

Lycus or Lykos...
 of Mysia
Mysia

Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north....
, son of Dascylus
Dascylus

In Greek mythology, King Dascylus or Daskylos of Mysia or Mariandyne was the father of Lycus. One account says that Dascylus was a son of Tantalus....
.
  • He killed the robber Termerus
    Termerus

    In Greek mythology, Termerus was a robber who Heracles killed.Later it is said that Teremus pleaded with Athena who got his life back for him....
    .
  • Heracles visited Evander
    Evander

    In Roman mythology, Evander or Euander was a deification culture hero from Arcadia, Greece, who brought the Twelve Olympians, laws and alphabet to Italy, where he founded the city of Pallantium on the future site of Rome, sixty years before the Trojan War....
     with Antor
    Antor

    In Greek mythology, Antor was a friend of Heracles, who went with him to visit Evander.See Virgil X, 779....
    , who then stayed in Italy.
  • Heracles killed King Amyntor
    Amyntor

    Amyntor , was an ancient Greek name attributed to several people both mythological and historical....
     of the Dolopes for not allowing him into his kingdom. He also killed King Emathion
    Emathion

    In Greek mythology, Emathion refers to four individuals....
     of Arabia.
  • Heracles killed Lityerses
    Lityerses

    In Greek mythology, Lityerses was a son of Midas. He challenged people to harvesting contests and beheaded those he beat. Heracles won the contest and killed him....
     after beating him in a contest of harvesting.
  • Heracles killed Poriclymenus
    Poriclymenus

    In Greek mythology, Poriclymenus was a name attributed to two different individuals.Poriclymenus was a son of Poseidon and Chloris and would-be murderer of Amphiaraus in the Seven Against Thebes....
     at Pylos
    Pylos

    This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. For the mythological figure see Pylus . For board game see Pylos .Pylos, or P?los , is a large bay and a town on the west coast of the Peloponnese, in the district of Messenia in southern Greece....
    .
  • Heracles founded the city Tarentum
    Taranto

    Taranto is a coastal city in Puglia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
     (modern: Taranto
    Taranto

    Taranto is a coastal city in Puglia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
    ) in Italy.
  • Heracles learned music from Linus
    Linus (mythology)

    Linus may refer to any of three sons of Apollo from Greek mythology:*Son of Apollo and Urania, he was killed by Apollo during a contest.*Son of Apollo and Psamathe, whose father was the King of Argos....
     (and Eumolpus
    Eumolpus

    In Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione. According to Apollodorus, Chione, daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, pregnant with Eumolpus by Poseidon, was frightened of her father's reaction so she threw the baby into the ocean....
    ), but killed him after Linus corrected his mistakes. He learned how to wrestle from Autolycus
    Autolycus

    In Greek mythology, Autolycus was a son of Hermes and Chione . He was the husband of Neaera, or according to Homer of Amphithea. Autolycus fathered Anticlea and several sons of whom only Aesimus is named....
    . He killed the famous boxer Eryx
    Eryx

    In Greek mythology, Eryx was the son of Aphrodite and King Butes of the Elymian people on Sicily. Eryx was an excellent Boxing but died when Heracles beat him in a match....
     of Sicily
    Sicily

    Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
     in a match.
  • Heracles was an Argonaut
    Argonauts

    In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece....
    . He killed Alastor
    Alastor

    Alastor can refer to a number of people and concepts related to Greek mythology:*Alastor was an epithet of the Greek mythology Zeus, according to Hesychius of Alexandria and the Etymologicum Magnum, which described him as the avenger of evil deeds, specifically, familial bloodshed....
     and his brothers.
  • When Hippocoon
    Hippocoon

    In Greek mythology, Hippocoon was a son of King Oebalus and Queen Gorgophone of Sparta. When their father died, Hippocoon's brother, Tyndareus, became king....
     overthrew his brother, Tyndareus
    Tyndareus

    In Greek mythology, Tyndareus ???da?e?? was a Sparta king, son of Oebalus and Gorgophone , husband of Leda and father of Helen, Castor and Polydeuces, Clytemnestra, Timandra , Phoebe and Philonoe....
    , as King of Sparta
    Sparta

    Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
    , Heracles reinstated the rightful ruler and killed Hippocoon and his sons.
  • Heracles slew the giants Cycnus
    Cycnus

    In Greek mythology, four people were known as Cycnus or Cygnus . Most of them ended up being transformed into swans. The most famous Cycnus however, was the son of Ares....
    , Porphyrion
    Porphyrion

    In Greek mythology, Porphyrion was a Gigantes, one of the sons of Uranus and Gaia . He attempted to rape Hera. Hera set him against Dionysus, promising the giant Hebe 's hand in marriage if he would defeat the god....
     and Mimas
    Mimas (giant)

    Mimas was one of the Gigantes of Greek mythology. Like the other giant sons of Gaia , Mimas had serpents for legs and was born fully armoured. Mimas was slain by Hephaestus during the war against the Olympian Gods....
    . The expedition against Cycnus, in which Iolaus accompanied Heracles, is the ostensible theme of a short epic attributed to Hesiod
    Hesiod

    Hesiod was a Greek language oral poet, his date is uncertain but leading scholars agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the Eighth-century BCE....
    , The Shield of Heracles
    The Shield of Heracles

    The Shield of Heracles is a fragment of Greek Epic poem, of 481 lines of hexameters. The theme of the episode is the expedition of Heracles and Iolaus against Cycnus, the son of Ares, who challenged Heracles to combat as Heracles was passing near Itonus, told in a turgid and laboured diction; the section has apparently survived because...
    .
  • Heracles killed Antaeus
    Antaeus

    Antaeus in Greek mythology and Berber mythology was a giant of ancient Libya, the son of Poseidon and Gaia , whose wife was Tinjis. He was extremely strong as long as he remained in contact with the ground , but once lifted into the air he became as weak as water....
     the giant who was immortal while touching the earth, by picking him up and holding him in the air while strangling him.
  • Heracles went to war with Augeias after he denied him a promised reward for clearing his stables. Augeias remained undefeated due to the skill of his two generals, the Molionides, and after Heracles fell ill, his army was badly beaten. Later, however, he was able to ambush and kill the Molionides, and thus march into Elis, sack it, and kill Augeias and his sons.
  • Heracles visited the house of Admetus
    Admetus

    In Greek mythology, Admetus /?d 'mi: t?s/ was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named. Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt....
     on the day Admetus' wife, Alcestis
    Alcestis

    Alcestis is a princess in Greek mythology, known for her love of her Admetus. Her story was popularised in Euripides's tragedy Alcestis ....
    , had agreed to die in his place. By hiding beside the grave of Alcestis, Heracles was able to surprise Death when he came to collect her, and by squeezing him tight until he relented, was able to persuade Death to return Alcestis to her husband.
  • Heracles challenged wine god Dionysus
    Dionysus

    In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos , is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated Dionysus as a late arrival....
     to a drinking contest and lost, resulting in his joining the Thiasus
    Thiasus

    In Greek mythology, the Thiasus , was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival; the grandest such vision was his "Roman triumph return from India, represented in many Roman bas-reliefs and sarcophagus panels and celebrated in Nonnus' Dionysiaca....
     for a period.
  • Heracles also appears in Aristophanes
    Aristophanes

    Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a prolific and much acclaimed comedy playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays have come down to us virtually complete....
    ' The Frogs
    The Frogs

    Frogs is a Greek comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus, in 405 BC, and received first place....
    , in which Dionysus seeks out the hero to find a way to the underworld. Heracles is greatly amused by Dionysus' appearance and jokingly offers several ways to commit suicide before finally offering his knowledge of how to get to there.
  • Heracles appears as the founder of Scythia in Herodotus' text. While Heracles is sleeping out in the wilderness, a half-woman, half-snake creature steals his horses. Heracles eventually finds the creature, but she refuses to return the horses until he has sex with her. After doing so, he takes back his horses, but before leaving, he hands over his belt and bow, and gives instructions as to which of their children should found a new nation in Scythia.


Heracles' women

During the course of his life, Heracles married four times. His first marriage was to Megara
Megara (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Megara was the oldest daughter of Creon, king of Thebes, Greece. In reward for Heracles' defending Thebes from Orchomenus in single-handed battle, Creon offered his daughter Megara to Heracles and he brought her home to the house of Amphitryon....
, whose children he murdered in a fit of madness. Apollodoros (Bibliotheke) recounts that Megara was unharmed and given in marriage to Iolaus
Iolaus

In Greek mythology, Iolaus or Iolaos was a Thebes, Greece divine hero, son of Heracles' brother Iphicles and Automedusa.He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with for some of his Labours of Hercules....
, while in Euripides
Euripides

Euripides was the last of the three great tragedy of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias....
' version Heracles killed Megara, too.

His second wife was Omphale
Omphale

In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued to reign on her own....
, the Lydia
Lydia

Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkey provinces of Manisa Province and inland Izmir Province....
n queen or princess to whom he was delivered as a slave.

His third marriage was to Deianira
Deianira

De?anira or Dejanira is a figure in Greek mythology, best-known for being Heracles' third wife and, in the late Classical Greece story, unwittingly killing him with the Shirt of Nessus....
, for whom he had to fight the river god Achelous
Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
. (Upon Achelous' death, Heracles removed one of his horns and gave it to some nymphs who turned it into the cornucopia
Cornucopia

The cornucopia is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th century BC, also referred to as horn of plenty, Horn of Amalthea, and harvest cone....
.) Soon after they wed, Heracles and Deianira had to cross a river, and a centaur
Centaur

In Greek mythology, the centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attica Pottery of ancient Greece, they are depicted with the torso of a human joined at the waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be....
 named Nessus
Nessus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nessus was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Ixion and Nephele, the Cloud....
 offered to help Deianira across but then attempted to rape
Rape

Rape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
 her. Enraged, Heracles shot the centaur from the opposite shore with a poisoned arrow (tipped with the Lernaean Hydra's blood) and killed him. As he lay dying, Nessus plotted revenge, told Deianira to gather up his blood and spilled semen and, if she ever wanted to prevent Heracles from having affairs with other women, she should apply them to his vestments. Nessus knew that his blood had become tainted by the poisonous blood of the Hydra, and would burn through the skin of anyone it touched.

Later, when Deianira suspected that Heracles was fond of Iole
Iole

In Greek mythology, Iole was the daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. According to the classical tale by Apollodorus, Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage....
, she soaked a shirt of his in the mixture, creating the poisoned shirt of Nessus
The Shirt of Nessus

The Shirt of Nessus, Tunic of Nessus, Nessus-robe, or Nessus' shirt in Greek mythology was the poisoned shirt that killed Herakles....
. Heracles' servant, Lichas
Lichas

In Greek mythology, Lichas was Hercules' servant. He brought the The Shirt of Nessus from Deianira to Hercules because of her jealousy of Iole, killing him....
, brought him the shirt and he put it on. Instantly he was in agony, the cloth burning into him. As he tried to remove it, the flesh ripped from his bones. Heracles chose a voluntary death, asking that a pyre
Pyre

A pyre is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon the pyre which is then set on fire....
 be built for him to end his suffering. After death, the gods transformed him into an immortal, or alternatively, the fire burned away the mortal part of the demigod, so that only the god remained. Because his mortal parts had been incinerated, he could now become a full god and join his father and the other Olympians on Mount Olympus. He then married Hebe
Hebe (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Hebe is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. H?b? was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Troy prince Ganymede ....
.

Another episode of his female affairs that stands out was his stay at the palace of Thespius
Thespius

Thespius was a legendary king of Thespiae, Boeotia. His life account is considered part of Greek mythology....
 king of Thespiae
Thespiae

Thespiae was an ancient Greece polis in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which runs eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, Greece....
, who wished him to kill the Lion of Cithaeron. As a reward, the king offered him the chance to make love to his daughters, all fifty of them, in one night. Heracles complied and they all became pregnant and all bore sons. This is sometimes referred to as his Thirteenth Labour. Many of the kings of ancient Greece traced their lines to one or another of these, notably the kings of Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
 and Macedon
Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
.

Heracles' eromenoi

Heracles, Iolaus and Eros Cista Ficoroni Foot
As symbol of masculinity and warriorship, Heracles also had a number of pederastic
Pederasty in ancient Greece

Greek pederasty, as idealised by the Ancient Greece from Archaic period in Greece onward, was a relationship and bond between an adolescent boy and an adult man outside of his immediate family....
 male beloveds. Plutarch
Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
, in his Eroticos, maintains that Heracles' eromenoi
Eromenos

In the Pederasty in ancient Greece of Athens, the eromenos was an adolescence boy who was in a love relationship with an adult man, known as the erastes ....
 (male lovers) were beyond counting. Of these, the one most closely linked to Heracles is the Theban
Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, Greece, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain....
 Iolaus
Iolaus

In Greek mythology, Iolaus or Iolaos was a Thebes, Greece divine hero, son of Heracles' brother Iphicles and Automedusa.He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with for some of his Labours of Hercules....
. Their story, an initiatory
Rite of passage

A rite of passage is a ritual that marks a change in a person's social status. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
 myth thought to be of ancient origin, contains many of the elements of the Greek pederastic apprenticeship in which the older warrior is the educator and the younger his helper in battle. Thus, Iolaus serves as Heracles' charioteer and squire. In a testament to the closeness between the two heroes, Iolaus is also known as Heracles' symbomos, (altar-sharer). Unlike all other heroes and gods, each of whom had his or her own altar, sacrifices to either hero could be offered at one and the same altar.

Also in keeping with the initiatory pattern of the relationship, Heracles in the end gave his pupil a wife, symbolizing his entry into adulthood. Iolaus's ritual functions paralleled his relationship with Heracles. He was a patron of male love—Plutarch reports that down to his own time, male couples would go to Iolaus's tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other—and he presided over initiations in the historical era, such as the one at Agyrion in central Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
. The tomb of Iolaus is also mentioned by Pindar.

One of Heracles' best-known love affairs, and one frequently represented in ancient as well as modern art, is the one with Hylas
Hylas

In Greek mythology, Hylas was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. Other sources such as Ovid state that Hylas' father was Heracles and his mother was the nymph Melite, or that his mother was the wife of Theiodamus, whose adulterous affair with Heracles caused the war between him and her husband....
. Though it is of more recent vintage (dated to the third century) than that with Iolaus, it too exemplifies in detail the normal cycle of a youth's initiatory process, consisting of education through service to a warrior, and concluding with promotion to adult status and marriage.

Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
, as a warrior city where pederastic pedagogy
Pedagogy

Pedagogy , or paedagogy is the art or science of being a teacher. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
—ostensibly of a chaste nature—was enshrined in the laws ascribed to Lycurgus
Lycurgus (Sparta)

Lycurgus was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of Spartan society in accordance with the Pythia....
, the legendary legislator, also provided Heracles with an eromenos
Eromenos

In the Pederasty in ancient Greece of Athens, the eromenos was an adolescence boy who was in a love relationship with an adult man, known as the erastes ....
—Elacatas, who was honored there with a sanctuary and yearly games. The myth of their love is an ancient one. Abdera
Abdera, Thrace

Abdera was a town on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. At coordinates , the site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece....
's eponymous hero, Abderus
Abderus

In Greek mythology Abderus or Abderos was a Greek hero, reputed a son of Hermes by some accounts, and eponym of Abdera, Thrace.The paternity of Abderus differs according to the sources....
, was another of Heracles' beloveds. In what is considered to be initiatory myth, he was said to have been entrusted with—and slain by—the carnivorous mares of Thracian Diomedes
Mares of Diomedes

The Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes King of Thrace , king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea....
. Heracles founded the city of Abdera in Thrace
Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
 in his memory, where he was honored with athletic games. The topos of death in such stories is thought to symbolize the passage from one stage of life to another.

Among the lesser-known myths is that of Iphitus. Heracles' subsequent murder of Iphitus is held to be evocative of an initiatory ritual. Another such story is the one of his love for Nireus
Nireus

In Greek mythology, Nireus was a name attributed to the following individuals:*Nireus was a son of Poseidon and Canace.*Nireus was a son of Aglaea and Charopus....
, who was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" (Iliad, 673). Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles, a fact thought to authenticate this tradition. The last in this category—despite the fact that Greek literature preserves no mention of this role—is the story of Philoctetes
Philoctetes

In Greek mythology, Philoctetes was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War....
. He is also heir to the hero—and thus presumably his disciple—and is the one who lights his pyre. Later he is the initiator of Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus

In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia . Achilles' mother foretold many years before Achilles birth that there would be a great war....
, son of Achilles
Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
.

There is also a series of lovers who are either later inventions or purely literary conceits. Among these are Admetus
Admetus

In Greek mythology, Admetus /?d 'mi: t?s/ was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named. Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt....
, who assisted in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar
Calydonian Boar

The Calydonian Boar is one of the monsters of Greek mythology that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age. Sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon in Aetolia because its king failed to honor her in his rites to the gods, it was killed in the Calydonian Hunt, in which many male heroes took part, but also a powerful wom...
; Adonis
Adonis

Adonis is a figure of West Semitic origin, where he is a central cult figure in various mystery religions, who enters Greek mythology in Hellenistic culture....
; Corythus
Corythus

Corythus is the name of six mortal men in Greek mythology*Corythus, son of Paris and Oenone. After Paris abandoned Oenone, she sent the boy, now grown, to Troy, where he fell in love with Helen, and she received him warmly....
; and Nestor
Nestor (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nestor of Ger?nia was the son of Neleus and Chloris, and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's brothers and sisters....
, who was said to have been loved for his wisdom. His role as eromenos was perhaps meant to explain why he was the only son of Neleus
Neleus

Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro, brother of Pelias. Tyro was married to Cretheus but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances....
 to be spared by the hero.

Heracles' children

Telephus
Telephus

A Greek mythology, Telephus or Telephos was one of the Heraclidae, the sons of Heracles, who were venerated as founders of cities. Telephos was by far the most famous of these heroes, and the various sites at which libations were offered to placate his spirit occasioned etiology of travels around the Greek mainland, in Magna Graecia a...
 is the son of Heracles and Auge
Auge

In Greek mythology, Auge a daughter of Aleus and Neaera and priestess of Athena Alea at Tegea, bore the Greek hero Telephos to Heracles....
. Hyllus
Hyllus

In Greek mythology, Hyllus was the son of Heracles and Deianira, husband of Iole, nursed by Abia .Heracles, whom Zeus had originally intended to be ruler of Argos, Lacedaemon and Messenian Pylos, had been supplanted by the cunning of Hera, and his intended possessions had fallen into the hands of Eurystheus, king of Mycenae....
 is the son of Heracles and Deianeira or Melite
Melite

Melite was one of the naiads, daughter of the river god Aegaeus, and one of the many loves of Zeus and his son Hercules. Given the choice, she chose Hercules over Zeus who went off in search of other pursuits....
. The sons of Heracles and Hebe
Hebe (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Hebe is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. H?b? was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Troy prince Ganymede ....
 are Alexiares and Anicetus
Alexiares and Anicetus

Alexiares and Anicetus are minor twin gods in Greek Mythology. They are the sons of Heracles and Hebe , and along with their father, the guardians of Mount Olympus....
. There is also, in some versions, reference to an episode where Heracles met and impregnated a half-serpentine woman, known as Echidna
Echidna (mythology)

In the most ancient layers of Greek mythology, Echidna was called the "Mother of All Monsters". Echidna was described by Hesiod as a female monster spawned in a cave, who mothered with her mate Typhon every major horrible monster in the Greek myths,...
; her children, known as the Dracontidae, were the ancestors of the House of Cadmus.

Death of Heracles

This is described in Ovid's
Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman Empire poet known as Ovid to the English language-speaking world, who wrote about love, seduction, and Roman mythology transformation....
 Metamorphoses Book IX. Having wrestled and defeated Achelous
Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
, god of the Acheloos river, Heracles takes Deianeira as his wife. Travelling to Tiryns
Tiryns

Tiryns is a Mycenaean civilization archaeological site in the Greece Prefectures of Greece of Argolis in the Peloponnese peninsula, some kilometres north of Nauplion....
, a centaur
Centaur

In Greek mythology, the centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attica Pottery of ancient Greece, they are depicted with the torso of a human joined at the waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be....
, Nessus
Nessus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nessus was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Ixion and Nephele, the Cloud....
, offers to help Deianeira across a fast flowing river while Heracles swims it. However, Nessus is true to the archetype of the mischievous centaur and tries to steal Deianara away while Heracles is still in the water. Angry, Heracles shoots him with his arrows dipped in the poisonous blood of the Lernaean Hydra
Lernaean Hydra

In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna , noisome offspring of the earth goddess, Gaia. It was said to be the sibling of the Nemean Lion, the Stymphalian birds, the Chimera ,and Cerberus....
. Thinking of revenge, Nessus gives Deianara his blood-soaked tunic before he dies, telling her it will "excite the love of her husband".

Several years later, rumor
Rumor

A rumour or rumor , is often viewed as "an unverified account or explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern" However, a review of the research on rumor conducted by Pendleton in 1998 found that research across sociology, psychology, and communication studies ha...
 tells Deianeira that she has a rival for the love of Heracles. Deianeira, remembering Nessus' words, gives Heracles the bloodstained shirt. Lichas, the herald, delivers the shirt to Heracles. However, it is still covered in the Hydra's blood from Heracles' arrows, and this poisons him, tearing his skin and exposing his bones. Before he dies, Heracles throws Lichas
Lichas

In Greek mythology, Lichas was Hercules' servant. He brought the The Shirt of Nessus from Deianira to Hercules because of her jealousy of Iole, killing him....
 into the sea, thinking he was the one who poisoned him (according to several versions, Lichas turns to stone, becoming a rock standing in the sea, named for him). Heracles then uproots several trees and builds a funeral pyre
Funeral Pyre

"Funeral Pyre" was the The Jam thirteenth single released on 6 June 1981. Backed by the B-side "Disguises", a cover of a The Who track, it reached #4 in the UK Singles chart....
, which Poeas
Poeas

In Greek mythology, Poeas, or Poias was one of the Argonauts and a friend of Heracles.*As an Argonaut, Poeas is identified as the greatest archer of the group....
, father of Philoctetes, lights. As his body burns, only his immortal side is left. Through Zeus' apotheosis
Apotheosis

Apotheosis refers to the exaltation of a subject to divinity level. The term has meanings in theology, where it refers to a belief, and in art, where it refers to a genre....
, Heracles rises to Olympus as he dies.

No one but Heracles' friend Philoctetes
Philoctetes

In Greek mythology, Philoctetes was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War....
 (Poeas
Poeas

In Greek mythology, Poeas, or Poias was one of the Argonauts and a friend of Heracles.*As an Argonaut, Poeas is identified as the greatest archer of the group....
 in some versions) would light his funeral pyre (in an alternate version, it is Iolaus
Iolaus

In Greek mythology, Iolaus or Iolaos was a Thebes, Greece divine hero, son of Heracles' brother Iphicles and Automedusa.He was famed for being Heracles' nephew and for helping with for some of his Labours of Hercules....
 who lights the pyre). For this action, Philoctetes (or Poeas) received Heracles' bow and arrows, which were later needed by the Greeks to defeat Troy in the Trojan War. Philoctetes confronted Paris
Paris (mythology)

Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek mythology. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War....
 and shot a poisoned arrow at him. The Hydra poison would subsequently lead to the death of Paris
Paris (mythology)

Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek mythology. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War....
. The Trojan War, however, would continue until the Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse

The "Trojan Horse" refers to the stratagem that allowed the Greeks to finally enter the city of Troy during the Trojan War. In the best-known version of this Bronze Age story, after a fruitless 10-year siege of Troy, the Greeks built a huge figure of a horse, in which a select force of men hid....
 was used to defeat Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
.

Heracles in Rome

In Rome, Heracles was honored as Hercules, and had a number of distinctively Roman myths and practices associated with him under that name.

Reception history

Via the Greco-Buddhist culture, Heraclean symbolism was transmitted to the far east. An example remains to this day in the Nio
Nio

Kongorikishi or Nio are two wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Gautama Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in China, Japan and Korea in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues....
 guardian deities in front of Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese Buddhist temples. Herodotus
Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
 connected Heracles both to Phoenicia
Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
n god Melqart
Melqart

Melqart, properly Phoenician language Milk-Qart "King of the City", less accurately Melkart, Melkarth or Melgart , Akkadian language Milqartu, was tutelary god of the Phoenician city of Tyre as Eshmun protected Sidon....
 and to the Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
ian god Shu
Shu (Egyptian deity)

In Egyptian mythology, Shu is one of the primordial gods, a personification of air, one of the Ennead of Heliopolis . He was created by Atum from his breath, resulting from an act of masturbation or autofellatio in the city of Heliopolis....
. Temples dedicated to Heracles abounded all along the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
 coastal countries. For example the temple of Heracles Monoikos (i.e. the lone dweller), built far from any nearby town upon a promontory in what is now the Cote d'Azur, gave its name to the area's more recent name, Monaco
Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe . The territory lies on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea....
.

The gateway to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic ocean, where the southernmost tip of Spain and the northernmost of Morocco face each other, is, classically speaking, referred to as the Pillars of Hercules/Heracles, owing to the story that he set up two massive spires of stone to stabilise the area and ensure the safety of ships sailing between the two landmasses.

Organisations named after Heracles include the Greek football team Iraklis F.C..

Heracles was canonized by Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley , , was a United Kingdom occultist, writer, mountaineering, poet, and yogi. He was an influential member of several occult organizations, including the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the A?A?, and Ordo Templi Orientis , and is best known today for his Works of Aleister Crowley, especi...
 as a saint in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica

Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica , or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis , an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema....
.

Heracles
Hercules (DC Comics)

Hercules is a fictional character Olympian Gods in the DC Universe based on the Greek demigod and hero of the Hercules.Hercules first appears in All Star Comics #8 as part of a Wonder Woman story, and was created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G....
 appeared as an enemy of the Amazons in the pages of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a Character , a DC Comics Superhero#Superheroines created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 , she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception ....
. He would later reconcile with them, though. There is also a Marvel Comics superhero named Hercules
Hercules (Marvel Comics)

Hercules is a fictional character, a superhero in the , based on Heracles of Greek mythology, the character exists in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
, that is a member of the superhero team The Avengers. He claims to be the god of strength himself, descended from Olympus.

Hercules
Hercules (Disney character)

Hercules is a Disney character who first appeared in the Hercules and later in the midquel television series of the Hercules . He is based on the mythical character Hercules, although some aspects of his life differ greatly from the original legend....
 has appeared in several movies, such as a Disney animated movie that was loosely based on his myths, and the 1963 cult classic Jason and the Argonauts
Jason and the Argonauts (film)

Jason and the Argonauts is a Columbia Pictures fantasy film feature film starring Todd Armstrong as the titular Jason in a story about his quest for the Golden Fleece....
, where he appeared as a member of crew of the Argo, searching for the golden fleece. In television, Hercules is the mentor and ancestor of Herry Hercules from Class of the Titans
Class of the Titans

Class of the Titans is a Canada animation television series created by Studio B Productions and Nelvana. It premiered on December 31, 2005 at 5PM ET/PT on Teletoon with a special 90-minute presentation of the first three episodes....
.

Spoken word myths

  • Heracles and Hylas, read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
, Odyssey, 12.072 (7th c. BC); Theocritus
Theocritus

Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC....
, Idylls, 13 (350–310 BC); Callimachus
Callimachus

Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar of the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of ancient Egyptian Greeks Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes....
, Aetia (Causes), 24. Thiodamas the Dryopian, Fragments, 160. Hymn to Artemis (310–250? BC); Apollonios Rhodios, Argonautika, I. 1175 - 1280 (c. 250 BC); Apollodorus
Apollodorus

Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greeks scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace....
, Library and Epitome 1.9.19, 2.7.7 (140 BC); Sextus Propertius
Sextus Propertius

Sextus Aurelius Propertius was a Latin elegy poet who was born around 50?45 BCE in Mevania and died shortly after 15 BCE.Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of elegy. He was friends with the poets Gallus and Virgil, and had with them as his patron Maecenas, and through Maecenas, the emperor Augustus....
, Elegies, i.20.17ff (50–15 BC); Ovid
Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman Empire poet known as Ovid to the English language-speaking world, who wrote about love, seduction, and Roman mythology transformation....
, Ibis, 488 (AD 8 –18); Gaius Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus

Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a Roman Empire poet who flourished in the "Silver Age of Latin literature" under the emperors Vespasian and Titus and wrote a Latin Argonautica that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic....
, Argonautica, I.110, III.535, 560, IV.1-57 (1st century); Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus

Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, though whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria it is not clear, a pupil of the famous Alexander Cornelius, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus, by whom he was made superintendent of the Palatine library, according to Suetonius' minor works, De Grammaticis, 20....
, Fables, 14. Argonauts Assembled (1st century); Philostratus the Elder, Images, ii.24 Thiodamas (170–245); First Vatican Mythographer, 49. Hercules et Hylas

See also

Other figures in Greek mythology punished by the gods include:
  • Medusa
    Medusa

    In Greek mythology, Medusa was a gorgon, a chthonic female monster; gazing upon her would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her Aegis....
  • Prometheus
    Prometheus

    In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to human beings for their use....
  • Sisyphus
    Sisyphus

    In Greek mythology, Sisyphus , was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and to repeat this throughout eternity....
  • Atlas
    Atlas (mythology)

    In Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens. Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Asia or Klym?ne :...
  • Tantalus
    Tantalus

    In Greek mythology Tantalus was a son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto. Thus he was a king in the primordial world, the father of a son Broteas whose very name signifies "mortals" ....


Modern sources


Further reading

  • Padilla, Mark W. (1998). "Herakles and Animals in the Origins of Comedy and Satyr Drama". In Le Bestiaire d'Héraclès: IIIe Rencontre héracléenne, edited by Corinne Bonnet, Colette Jourdain-Annequin, and Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, 217-30. Kernos Suppl. 7. Liège: Centre International d'Etude de la Religion Grecque Antique.
  • Padilla, Mark W. (1998). "The Myths of Herakles in Ancient Greece: Survey and Profile". Lanham, Md.: University Press of America.