Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Herakles, the most popular figure from ancient Greek mythology. Hercules was the son of god with incredible strength and stamina. He performed amazing feats, including wrestling death and traveling twice to the underworld, and his stories were told throughout Greece and later in Hera, the wife of Zeus, knew that Hercules was her husband's illegitimate son and sought to destroy him. In fact, he was born with the name Alcaeus and later took the name Herakles, meaning "Glory of Hera", signifying that he would become famous through his difficulties with the goddess.
The demi-god, who suffered like mortals and who could make a mess of things in life just as easily as any man or woman but perform deeds no mortal could, had great appeal for the people of Greece and Rome. Hercules was a kind of super-powered everyman who suffered disappointments, had bad days - even bad years - and eventually died due to another's trickery. These stories, besides simply being entertaining, would have served an ancient audience by letting them know that, if bad things could happen to a hero like Hercules, they had nothing to complain about regarding the disappointments and tragedies in their own lives. Hercules served as a symbol of the human condition where, to use Hemingway's phrase, "a man may be destroyed, but not defeated." An interesting aspect of Hercules' character is that, because of his divine strength and abilities, he did not have to willingly submit to any of the labors or punishments imposed upon him. He chose to suffer indignities such as his famous Twelve Labors or his servitude to the queen Omphale and did so willingly. His inner strength and ability to endure hardships made him an inspirational figure to the people and a symbol of stability in the midst of chaos, even if it was a chaos he himself had caused. The historian Thomas R. Martin writes:
The only hero to whom cults were established internationally, all over the Greek world, was the strongman Herakles (Hercules). His superhuman feats in overcoming monsters and generally doing the impossible gave him an appeal as a protector in many serpents to kill him in his cradle, but Hercules strangled them both. In one version of the myth, Alcmene abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Hera's wrath, but he was found by the goddess Athena who brought him to Hera, claiming he was an orphan child left in the woods who needed nourishment. Hera suckled Hercules at her own breast until the infant bit her nipple, at which point she pushed him away, spilling her milk across the night sky and so forming the Milky Way. She then gave the infant back to Athena and told her to take care of the baby herself. In feeding the child from her own breast, the goddess inadvertently imbued him with further strength and power.
He was brought up at the court of his supposed-father Amphitryon, where he had the best tutors in the land who taught him wrestling, horseback riding, fencing, archery, how to drive a chariot, play the music teacher, Linus, by hitting him with a lyre one day during an argument. He was then sent to tend the flocks to keep him out of trouble. This seems to have been an impossibility for Hercules, however, as he heard that the Theban army had been defeated by a band of Minyans and, feeling this was unjust, he led a band of Theban warriors to defeat the Minyans and restore order to Thebes. King Creon of Thebes gave Hercules his daughter, Megara, in marriage as a sign of his gratitude.
The Madness of Hera & the Twelve Labors
At this point in the story, Hercules was a young, successful hero, married and, in time, with three strong sons. Hera could not tolerate the situation and so sent upon him a madness in which he killed his children (and, in some versions, Megara as well). He continued in his rage until Athena knocked him out with a stone and, when he came to, he was overwhelmed with grief at what he had done. He would have killed himself but his cousin Theseus convinced him that would be cowardly and that he must find a way to atone for his sins. Hercules consulted the Oracle at Delphi who told him he must attach himself to his cousin Eurystheus, King of Tiryns and Mycenae, who would devise labors to expiate his sins. These labors originally numbered only ten but later grew to twelve. After Delphi he was no longer known as Alcaeus and took the name Herakles.
The Twelve Labors of Hercules were:
1. To kill the Nemean Lion who was impervious to all weapons. He trapped the lion in a cave and strangled it with his bare hands. He then skinned it and ever after wore the skin as his cloak.
2. To kill the monster known as the Hydra who had nine venemous heads and, when one was cut off, two more would grow in its place. With his nephew Iolaus, Hercules cut off the heads and Iolaus then seared the necks with a torch to prevent them growing back. Hercules then dipped his arrows in the Hydra's blood for future use; since it was so venomous, it killed quickly. Because he had help in this labor, Eurystheus would not count it as one of the ten and assigned another.
3. To capture the Cerynitian Hind who was sacred to the goddess Artemis. Hercules spent over a year trying to catch the deer with the golden antlers alive and finally brought it down with an arrow to the hoof. Even so, Artemis refused to allow him to take the deer - and would have killed him for hunting it - until she heard the story of his labors and let him go.
4. To capture the Erymanthian Boar. This labor took Hercules to the land of the Centaurs, and the wine he had been given to attract the boar drew the centaurs to him. They attacked him and he had to kill many of them but brought the boar back alive to Eurystheus. It was during this labor that he took part in the adventure with the hero Jason and his Argonauts.
5. Cleaning the Stables of Augeius in a day. Eurystheus felt this side-adventure with the Argonauts was an unnecessary luxury on Hercules' part and so devised an impossible task for his next labor. The stables of King Augeius were immense and his herd vast, and there seemed to be no way for anyone to clean them in a month, let alone a day. Hercules said he would do it but made Augeius promise him a tenth of the herd if he succeeded. Augeius agreed since he knew he could not lose, but Hercules diverted two rivers to flow through the stables and clean them completely. Augeius then refused to honor the deal he had made. Hercules felt cheated and swore he would return and kill Augeius once he had completed his labors for Eurystheus. Eurystheus, however, told him he could receive no payment for his labors and that, by trying to profit, he had disqualified that labor and would have to do another to make up for it.
6. To drive away the Stymphalian Birds who were ravaging the countryside. He accomplished this with a rattle given to him by Athena. The rattle startled the birds who flew away, and Hercules shot them down with his arrows in flight.
7. To bring back the Cretan Bull from Knossos. The bull belonged to King Minos of Crete and was sacred to the god of the seas, Poseidon; accordingly, it could walk on water. Minos no longer wanted the bull because his wife had fallen in love with it and, in fact, had become pregnant by it (giving birth to the Minotaur), and so Minos happily gave the bull to Hercules who rode it across the sea from Crete to Athens and brought it to Eurystheus. The bull was then released and would cause further trouble throughout Attica until it was finally killed by Theseus.
8. To bring back the Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was a Thracian king who fed his horses on a steady diet of human flesh so that no one could come near them. Hercules fed Diomedes to the horses and, when they were full, brought them back to Eurystheus. It was during this labor, either going to or coming from Diomedes' palace, that Hercules stopped to visit his old friend Admetus whose wife Alcestis had recently died. Hercules wrestled death for the soul of Alcestis and returned her to her husband.
9. To bring back Hippolyte's Girdle. Hippolyte was the queen of the Amazons, and her belt (girdle) was a symbol of her right to rule. The Amazons originally welcomed Hercules but Hera, disguised as one of them, spread a rumor that Hercules had come to kidnap the queen and enslave them. The women attacked Hercules and Hippolyte was killed in the fight; Hercules then took her belt and left. In another version of this labor, however, no one dies; Hercules kidnaps Hippolyte's sister and ransoms her for the belt and then leaves peacefully. On his return voyage he has many other side-adventures, which further enrage Eurystheus, but he accepts the girdle as a legitimate labor.
10. To bring back the cattle of Geryon, king of Cadiz. Hercules had many side-adventures on this labor, including inadvertently building the Pillars of Hercules at Gibraltar and threatening to shoot the sun with his arrows for making him too hot. When he finally reached Cadiz (Spain), he had many problems rounding up the cattle, including having to chase down a bull (the herd had to be complete in order to be accepted for the labor). Bringing the cattle back to Greece, Hera sent gadflies to sting the beasts and scattered them, so Hercules had to round them up again. Then the princess Celtine saw Hercules and fell in love with him. She hid the cattle and would not divulge their whereabouts unless he had sex with her. This he did and so became the father of Celtus, progenitor of the
