HERCULES
The most popular of Greek heroes, Hercules (sometimes
called “Herakles”) was celebrated in stories, sculptures , paintings and coins.He was born in
Thebes, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, Amphitryon’s wife, and the twin brother of Iphicles, while his
mortal parents were in exile from Argolis, their true homeland. Amphitryon, his “mortal” father, was a grand-son of
Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenæ, and Alcmene, his mother, was Amphitryon’s cousin,
herself a grand-daughter of Perseus. Because of Hera’s jealousy of Alcmene and a careless pledge of
Zeus, even before his birth, Heracles was deprived of the kingdom of Mycenæ in favor of his father’s
cousin Eurystheus, yet another grand-son of Perseus, who later subjected hims to his famous labors.
The legends relating to Heracles are so many that it is impossible to quote them all here. While a baby,
he managed to suck the breast of Hera in order to acquire immortality, despite her hatred for him.
When he and his twin brother were still toddlers, one night they were asleep, Hera introduced two
monstruous snakes in their room. While Iphicles started to cry as soon as he saw the snakes, Heracles
seized one in each hand and suffocated them. This is how Amphitryon found out which one was his
son and which Zeus’. Heracles grew to gigantic proportions and soon started to undertake wondrous
deeds.
The Labors of Hercules
The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for
Hercules, made him lose his mind. In a confused and
angry state, he killed his own wife and children.
When he awakened from his “temporary insanity,”
Hercules was shocked and upset by what he’d done. He
prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god’s
oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the
king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in
punishment for the murders.
As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve
Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible.
Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and
Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he
really needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules
was, without a doubt, Greece’s greatest hero.
His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of
an idea the Greeks called pathos, the experience of
virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame
and, in Hercules’ case, immortality.