Hercules story summary
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Heracles
Divine hero in Greek mythology
This article is about the Greek divine hero. For the similar figure in Roman mythology, see Hercules.
"Herakles" redirects here. For other uses, see Herakles (disambiguation) and Heracles (disambiguation).
| Heracles | |
|---|---|
One of the most famous depictions of Heracles, Farnese Hercules, Roman marble statue on the basis of an original by Lysippos, 216 CE. National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy | |
| Abode | Mount Olympus |
| Symbol | Club, lion skin |
| Born | Thebes, Boeotia, Greece |
| Died | Mount Oeta, Phocis, Greece |
| Parents | Zeus and Alcmene |
| Siblings | maternal: Iphicles, Laonome; paternal: Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Helen of Troy, Perseus and many others |
| Consort | Megara, Omphale, Deianira, Hebe |
| Children | Alexiares and Anicetus, Telephus, Hyllus, Tlepolemus |
| Canaanite | Melqart[1] |
| Roman | Hercules |
Heracles (HERR-ə-kleez; Ancient Greek: Ἡρακλῆς, lit. 'glory/fame of Hera'), born Alcaeus[2] (Ἀλκαῖος, Alkaios) or Alcides[3] (Ἀλκείδης, Alkeidēs), wa
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Heracles
Heracles (Latin: Hercules): most important of the Greek demigods. Several dynasties, like the twin royal houses of Sparta and the Argeads of Macedonia, claimed to descend from this son of Zeus.
Youth
According to the ancient Greeks, the demigod Heracles (or Hercules, as the Romans called him) was the son of a mortal woman named Alcmene and the supreme god Zeus. Zeus' lawful wife Hera hated the child born out of wedlock, and sent two snakes to kill the baby. However, the young boy killed the animals. Heracles became a strong warrior, but Hera struck him with madness, and he killed his own children.
When he had recovered, he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which ordered him to serve his relative Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, who would order him to perform "the twelve labors".
Lion of Nemea
Heracles' first task was to kill the lion of nearby Nemea, a terrible beast. It was resistant against all weapons, but Heracles strangled it. From now on, he wore the lion's invulnerable pelt as armor. The Greeks celebrated Heracles' victory every two years at the Nemean G
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Hercules
Roman adaptation of the Greek divine hero Heracles
This article is about Hercules in Roman classical mythology. For the Greek divine hero from which Hercules was adapted, see Heracles. For other uses, see Hercules (disambiguation).
Hercules (, )[2] is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divineheroHeracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Greek hero's iconography and myths for their literature and art under the name Hercules. In later Western art and literature and in popular culture, Hercules is more commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules is a multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him.[3] This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the later tradition.
Mythology
Birth and early life
In Roman mythology, although Hercules was seen as the champion of the weak
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