Heracles
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Who was Heracles in Greek mythology?
In Greco-Roman mythology, Heracles (Hercules) was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Hera, Zeus's wife, persecuted Heracles, and he served Eurystheus, completing the famous Labours of Hercules:
- Slaying the Nemean lion
- Slaying the Hydra of Lerna
- Capturing the Hind of Arcadia
- Capturing the Boar of Mount Erymanthus
- Cleaning the stables of King Augeas
- Shooting the birds of the Stymphalian marshes
- Capturing the bull of Crete
- Capturing the mares of Diomedes
- Taking Hippolyta's girdle
- Seizing Geryon's cattle
- Fetching the apples of the Hesperides
- Fetching Cerberus from the underworld
After further exploits, he died from poison and ascended to become a god, reconciling with Hera and marrying Hebe. Heracles is typically represented as a strong, amorous man with occasional rage, utilizing a bow or club as his weapon.
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What is Heracles best known for?
Heracles, a famous Greco-Roman legendary hero and son of Zeus, is best known for his incredible strength and the Labours of Heracles. These were a series of twelve immensely difficult tasks imposed by King Eurystheus as atonement for Heracles killing his wife and children in a fit of madness caused by Hera. The Labours included slaying the Nemean lion, capturing the Cerberus, and seizing the cattle of Geryon. After completing the Labours, Heracles undertook further enterprises and warlike campaigns.
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What were the Twelve Labors of Heracles?
The Twelve Labors of Heracles were a series of tasks assigned to Heracles (Hercules) by King Eurystheus to atone for killing his wife and children, a deed driven by madness inflicted by the goddess Hera.
The labors were:
- Slaying the Nemean lion
- Slaying the nine-headed Hydra of Lerna
- Capturing the elusive hind of Arcadia
- Capturing the wild boar of Mount Erymanthus
- Cleansing the stables of King Augeas of Elis in a single day
- Shooting the monstrous man-eating birds of the Stymphalian marshes
- Capturing the mad bull that terrorized Crete
- Capturing the man-eating mares of King Diomedes of the Bistones
- Taking the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons
- Seizing the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon
- Bringing back the golden apples of the Hesperides
- Fetching Cerberus, the triple-headed dog, from the underworld
After completing these tasks, Heracles was freed from his servitude.
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Why did Heracles have to perform the Twelve Labors?
Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene, was driven mad by Hera, Zeus’s wife, which led him to kill his wife, Megara, and their children. To atone for this tragic act, Heracles consulted the oracle at Delphi and was told to become the servant of King Eurystheus.
It was Eurystheus who then imposed the famous Twelve Labors upon Heracles. After completion, Heracles was free, but he continued to perform other noteworthy feats.
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What special abilities or qualities did Heracles possess?
Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene, was known for his superhuman strength. Even as a baby, he possessed the strength to strangle two serpents sent by Hera to kill him.
As an adult, Heracles was an enormously strong man, a huge eater and drinker, very amorous, and generally kindly but with occasional outbursts of brutal rage. His characteristic weapon was the bow but frequently also the club.
To atone for killing his family in a fit of madness, Heracles served King Eurystheus, completing the Labours of Hercules, a series of twelve enormously difficult tasks that demonstrated his incredible strength and courage.
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How has the story of Heracles influenced art and literature throughout history?
Heracles, a famous Greco-Roman hero, has significantly influenced art and literature. He is typically depicted as a strong man who is of moderate height, a huge eater and drinker, very amorous, and generally kindly but with occasional outbursts of brutal rage.
Representations of Heracles often showcase his strength and heroic deeds, such as the slaying of the Nemean lion and the Hydra of Lerna. In sculpture, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia features metopes that show the labors of Heracles, capturing a new sense of expression, like pain, fear, and despair, in the faces of the figures.
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Heracles, one of the most famous Greco-Roman legendary heroes. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene (see Amphitryon), granddaughter of Perseus. Zeus swore that the next son born of the Perseid house should become ruler of Greece, but—by a trick of Zeus’s jealous wife, Hera—another child, the sickly Eurystheus, was born first and became king. When Heracles grew up, he had to serve Eurystheus and also suffer the vengeful persecution of Hera; his first exploit was the strangling of two serpents that she had sent to kill him in his cradle.
Heracles waged a victorious war against the kingdom of Orchomenus in Boeotia and married Megara, daughter of Creon, king of Thebes, but he killed her and their children in a fit of madness induced by Hera and, consequently, was obliged to become the servant of Eurystheus. It was Eurystheus who imposed upon Heracles the famous Labours, later arranged in a cycle of 12, usually as follows: (1) the slaying of the Nemean lion, whose skin he thereafter wore; (2) the slaying of the nine-headed Hydra of Lerna; (3) the capture of the elusive hind (or stag) of Arcadia; (4) the capture of the wild boar of Mount Erymanthus; (5) the cleansing, in a single day, of the cattle stables of King Augeas of Elis; (6) the shooting of the monstrous man-eating birds of the Stymphalian marshes; (7) the capture of the mad bull that terrorized the island of Crete; (8) the capture of the man-eating mares of King Diomedes of the Bistones; (9) the taking of the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons; (10) the seizing of the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon, who ruled the island Erytheia (meaning red) in the far west; (11) the bringing back of the golden apples kept at the world’s end by the Hesperides; and (12) the fetching up from the underworld of the triple-headed dog Cerberus, guardian of its gates.
Having completed the Labours, Heracles undertook further enterprises, including warlike campaigns. He also successfully fought the river god Achelous for the hand of Deianeira. As he was taking her home, the Centaur Nessus tried to violate her, and Heracles shot him with one of his poisoned arrows. The Centaur, dying, told Deianeira to preserve the blood from his wound, for if Heracles wore a garment rubbed with it he would love none but her forever. Several years later Heracles fell in love with Iole, daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Deianeira, realizing that Iole was a dangerous rival, sent Heracles a garment smeared with the blood of Nessus. The blood proved to be a powerful poison, and Heracles died. His body was placed on a pyre on Mount Oeta (Modern Greek Oíti), his mortal part was consumed, and his divine part ascended to heaven, becoming a god. There he was reconciled to Hera and married Hebe.
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In art and literature, Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height, a huge eater and drinker, very amorous, and generally kindly but with occasional outbursts of brutal rage. His characteristic weapon was the bow but frequently also the club.
In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger.