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Who was Heracles in the legend about the founding of the Olympic Games?

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A woman in a white pleated dress lights the Olympic torch from a large flame in a gold cauldron, with a crowd seated in the background at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. — Olympic Games An actress playing the role of an Athenian high priestess lights the Olympic flame in Athens, October 31, 2017. The torch was later carried to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

In the context of the Olympic Games, the figure of Heracles appears in myth as the legendary founder of the festival. According to this tradition, he was the son of Zeus and Alcmene.12

It is important to note that while these stories are significant to Greek cultural history, they are distinct from historical evidence. The first recorded Olympic champion was Coroebus of Elis in 776 BCE, and notions that the Games began earlier are considered to be founded on legend rather than historical fact. Additionally, the artistic legacy of Heracles at the site of Olympia is well-documented; for instance, the frieze of the Temple of Zeus featured sculptured metopes depicting his Twelve Labours.123