Heracles (Hercules)

Greek mythology – Present

The strongest of the Greek heroes, a son of Zeus renowned for completing the Twelve Labors; known to the Romans as Hercules.

greek mythologyherodemigod

Heracles, called Hercules by the Romans, was the greatest and strongest hero of Greek mythology. He was a son of Zeus and a mortal woman, which made him a demigod, part god, part human, with superhuman strength. From birth he was hated by Hera, Zeus's jealous wife, and her persecution shaped his entire tragic, heroic life. Heracles is most famous for the Twelve Labors, a series of seemingly impossible tasks he had to perform as punishment after Hera drove him to a moment of terrible madness. The labors included slaying the many-headed Hydra (which grew two heads for each one cut off), capturing fearsome beasts, cleaning the impossibly filthy Augean stables in a single day, and even bringing the three-headed dog Cerberus up from the Underworld. Each labor became one of the best-known adventure stories of the ancient world. Heracles matters as the model of a different kind of hero from Odysseus: where Odysseus wins by cleverness, Heracles wins by strength, courage, and sheer endurance. But his story is not simple triumph. It is marked by suffering, guilt, and the unfair anger of a goddess, a reminder that Greek heroes were rarely pure or lucky. His fame was so enduring that the Romans adopted him wholesale, and his name still means raw power today, a 'Herculean' task is one that demands almost impossible effort. How we know. Labors appear on temple sculpture and in later handbooks; details vary. The classroom set is the Twelve Labors.

Heracles (Hercules)

Further reading

Heracles (Hercules)

Further reading