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HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY

Ancient Greek Heroes

Heracles or Hercules

Hercules was the best known and most beloved hero in ancient Greek mythology, son of Alcmene and Zeus.

The word Hercules, etymologically means the glory of Hera, or glorified soul. Zeus is the mind of the world, while Hera is his soul.
 

Alcmene was married to Amphitryon, son of the king of Tyrritha.

Hercules' origin was from Argos, but he was born in Thebes.
 

During Amphitryon's absence on an expedition, Zeus took his form and appeared to Alcmene who believed that her husband had returned. After their union for 3 consecutive nights (ordered the Sun not to rise for two days, thus tripling the length of a night), and while Alcmene became pregnant with Hercules, Amphitryon returned and Alcmene became pregnant with Iphicles. Nine months later, twin brothers Hercules and Ifiklis were born, but to a different father.
 

Hera envied Alcmene and hated Hercules before he even was born, and throughout his life, she tried to destroy him in every way.

 

Normally Hercules should have become king of Argos, because according to Zeus' oracle, the first child born of the Perseid family would reign in Argos.


 

But Hera, wanting to avenge her rival Alcmene, sent Eilithia and delayed the birth of Hercules by a month. At the same time he accelerated the birth of his uncle Eurystheus by two months. Thus Eurystheus became the lord of Argos.

 

 

As he grew older, he became a big, strong and unruly child.
Hercules' adoptive father, Amphitryon, who undertook to raise him, taught him the art of the honeymooner, Castor taught him the art of weaponry, Alykos taught him wrestling, Eurytus taught him the bow, the centaur Chiron taught him the sciences and Linus taught him music.

 

 

When he relieved Thebes from the power of King Orchomenos, to whom the inhabitants were obliged to pay taxes, Creon, King of Thebes, gave him his daughter Megara as a wife, as a reward.
 
From her he had three or more children.
 
But in a moment he had a fit of madness, sent by his great enemy Hera, and killed his wife and children. When he realized what he had done, he wanted to purify himself and went to the Oracle of Delphi to ask how.
 
Pythia advised him to serve his uncle Eurystheus for twelve years.
Thus he accomplished his famous twelve labours in the space of eight years and one month.

At the same time, however, he did other feats, called parerga.

Eurystheus, who feared Heracles, sent him to perform twelve labours, that is, twelve difficult feats, hoping that in one of them he would be killed.

 

 

Apart from the 12 labours, Hercules also performed other mythical feats. Some of them are:
 

But he did not continue the excursion to the end, because he was too heavy and Argo, the ship of the Argonauts, could not bear his weight.

Hercules, understanding where his strength was due, lifted him up with his strong arms and choked him without difficulty. After this feat, Hercules, tired, fell asleep. Then the Pygmies, a people of dwarfs, chained him and nailed him to the earth. When Hercules woke up, he shook himself up and grabbed them in his hand, he wrapped them all in the skin of the lion of Nemea he was wearing.
 

Heracles and Goddess Athena

The death of Hercules


The centaur Nessos lived on the river Euinos and passed the passers-by across the river for a fee. When Hercules and his wife, Diana, arrived there, she climbed the Centaurus Nessos while Hercules decided to swim across the river alone.
 

While they were in the middle of the river, Centaurus tried to rape Dianera. Hercules hearing the screams of his wife, shot Centaurus with his arrows, poisoned by the blood of Lenaeus Hydra, and killed him.
 

As he was dying, the centaur confided to Dhinera that her husband no longer loved her and that in order to regain his love, she had to give him a tunic to wear, after dipping it in the blood of the dead centaur. Dhinera, not knowing that Nessus' blood was poisoned by the arrows, gave the tunic to the hero. Hercules, as soon as he put on the tunic, felt terrible pains and tried to take it off. But the tunic had stuck to him, and with it his flesh was torn away.
 

Feeling terrible pains, Hercules lit a fire on the top of Mount Oiti and was burned alive.
 

Even today, the highest peak of this mountain is called Pyra.
 

After his death, Hercules was de-goded, that is, he became the god of power and mascularity.
 

Zeus took him to Olympus and married him to the goddess of youth, Ivy.

The ancient Greeks usually portrayed Hercules dressed in the lion's clothing, holding a club in his hand, with the stature of a giant and a strong, youthful and robust body.
 

The establishment of the Olympic Games is also attributed to Hercules.
 

Hercules is the greatest action hero in Greek mythology.
 

Half man, half god, with superhuman powers, destined to liberate the Greek world from evil.
 

But he is also a man tormented by a terrible sin and driven to take on twelve impossible challenges as he seeks redemption. For us it is a myth, but for the ancient Greeks it was a reality.
 

The figure of Hercules as the dominant figure in Greek mythology and his exploits have been a source of inspiration for many art forms, not only for the ancient Greeks but also throughout the centuries on a global scale.
 

In sculpture, in ceramics, in painting and in contemporary art forms such as cinema and animation suggest not only the scope of this hero but also his timelessness.

More heroes coming soon...