Scribd
Upload
43 views1 page

Heracles

Heracles, a divine hero in Greek mythology and son of Zeus, is known for his legendary twelve Labours and as a champion against monsters. He is considered the greatest of Greek heroes and has no identified tomb, embodying both hero and god. His myths may have origins in Neolithic hunter culture and could be based on real individuals whose stories were embellished over time.

Uploaded by

ebooksgallore001
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
43 views1 page

Heracles

Heracles, a divine hero in Greek mythology and son of Zeus, is known for his legendary twelve Labours and as a champion against monsters. He is considered the greatest of Greek heroes and has no identified tomb, embodying both hero and god. His myths may have origins in Neolithic hunter culture and could be based on real individuals whose stories were embellished over time.

Uploaded by

ebooksgallore001
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Heracles (/ˈhɛrəkliːz/ HERR-ə-kleez; Ancient Greek: Ἡρακλῆς, lit.

'glory/fame of Hera'), born Alcaeus[2]


(Ἀλκαῖος, Alkaios) or Alcides[3] (Ἀλκείδης, Alkeidēs), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of
Zeus[4] and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.[5] He was a descendant and half-brother (as
they are both sired by the god Zeus) of Perseus.

He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae
(Ἡρακλεῖδαι), and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the
modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus
and Maximian, often identified themselves. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.

Origin

Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being the twelve Labours of Hercules;
Alexandrian poets of the Hellenistic age drew his mythology into a high poetic and tragic atmosphere.[6]
His figure, which initially drew on Near Eastern motifs such as the lion-fight, was widely known.

Heracles was the greatest of Hellenic chthonic heroes, but unlike other Greek heroes, no tomb was
identified as his. Heracles was both hero and god, as Pindar says heros theos; at the same festival
sacrifice was made to him, first as a hero, with a chthonic libation, and then as a god, upon an altar: thus
he embodies the closest Greek approach to a "demi-god".[6]

The core of the story of Heracles has been identified by Walter Burkert as originating in Neolithic hunter
culture and traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld.[7] It is possible that the myths
surrounding Heracles were based on the life of a real person or several people whose accomplishments
became exaggerated with time.[8]

You might also like