Heracles

The Superman of Greek Mythology

Nov 2, 2006 Robin Fowler

Born of the gods, Heracles possessed unnatural physical strength. But his destiny would be to fight against the rage and jealousy of Hera.

Of all the heroes of Greek mythology, Heracles (Roman: Hercules) is probably the most well known and highly regarded. He was the “ideal” Greek man/hero – he was strong, charismatic, and he was thought to have made the Greek world safe for all men to tread. The most widely told story of Heracles was of his Twelve Labors, which were a testament to his physical and mental strength, his courage, and his resourcefulness.

Heracles was half divine, as the father of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. He was also the great-grandson of fellow Greek hero Perseus. But it was his divinity that provided him with his great strength. Zeus, who had desired a son who was strong and astute enough to protect and defend the mortal and immortal alike, came to Alcmene (who lived in the Greek city of Thebes) disguised as her husband Amphitryon. This, of course, angered Hera, who would spend plenty of her time very jealous of Heracles, and making life very difficult for the hero!

Heracles’ power and brawn was first discovered one night while, as an infant, he was sleeping alongside his twin brother Iphicles. When two rather large snakes attacked Heracles (perhaps sent by Hera?), rather than crying, the infant strangled the serpents with his bare hands.

As a child, Heracles was turned over to tutors by his parents. The tutors, Rhadamanthys and Linus, worked to develop the boy’s virtue and intellect. Later on, Heracles worked on his own to develop his muscles and strength.

As a young adult, Heracles defended Thebes from the tyrant king of Orchomenus, with the help of Athena, another favorite child of Zeus’. When the tyrant was destroyed, and the new king, Creon, took his rightful throne, he awarded Heracles with a marriage to his daughter Megara. Though the marriage was not the happiest, he nonetheless settled down with his wife and children. But life was not destined to go so smoothly for Heracles.

Hera, in one of her many interferences, caused Heracles to go mad. In his fit, he murdered the wife and children of Eurystheus, mistaking them for his own family. As penance, he then spent twelve years enduring twelve arduous tasks dreamt up by Eurystheus. These Twelve Labors would test Heracles’ strength, prowess, and virtue, and make him the standard of heroism:

• Bring back the hide of the Nemean Lion
• Slay the Lernaean Hydra
• Capture the last Ceryneian Hind
• Capture the Erymanthian Boar
• Clean the Augean stables in a single day
• Rid Greece of the Stymphalian Birds
• Capture the Cretan Bull
• Steal the Mares of Diomedes
• Get the Girdle of Hippolyta
• Get the Cattle of Geryon
• Steal the Golden Apples of the Hesperides
• Capture Cerberus

Luckily for Heracles, he often had the gods on his side. This enabled him to get out of some pretty sticky situation during his twelve tasks. Much to the chagrin and amazement of Eurystheus, he completed each task as it was set forth.

Following the completion of his Twelve Labors, Heracles went along with Jason and the Argonauts to search for the Golden Fleece. His escapades with this crew, along with the completion of the twelve tasks that would have been impossible for any mortal man to complete, make him possibly the greatest hero from Greek or Roman mythology.

Sources consulted:

Graves, R. The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994.

Bonnefoy, Y. Greek and Egyptian Mythologies. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1991.

The copyright of the article Heracles in Ancient History is owned by Robin Fowler. Permission to republish Heracles in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.