Editing Heracles

{{Short description|Divine hero in Greek mythology}}
{{About|the Greek divine hero|the similar figure in Roman mythology|Hercules}}
{{redirect|Herakles|other uses|Herakles (disambiguation)|and|Heracles (disambiguation)}}
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{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Heracles
| image = Herakles Farnese MAN Napoli Inv6001 n01.jpg
| alt = 
| birth_place = [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], [[Boeotia]], [[Greece]]
| death_place = [[Mount Oeta]], [[Phocis]], [[Greece]]
| caption = 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|National Archaeological Museum]], [[Naples]], [[Italy]]
| god_of = God of strength and heroes<br />Divine protector of mankind and the patron of the [[gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]]
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| symbol = [[Club (weapon)|Club]], [[Nemean Lion|lion skin]]
| consort = [[Megara (mythology)|Megara]], [[Omphale]], [[Deianira]], [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
| parents = [[Zeus]] and [[Alcmene]]
| siblings = maternal: [[Iphicles]], [[Laonome]]; paternal: [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]], [[Athena]], [[Dionysus]], [[Helen of Troy]], [[Perseus]] and [[Zeus#Offspring|many others]]
| children = [[Alexiares and Anicetus]], [[Telephus]], [[Hyllus]], [[Tlepolemus]]
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent = [[Hercules]]
| canaanite_equivalent = [[Melqart]]<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.academia.edu/42964040 | title=Herakles/Melqart, the Greek façade of a Phoenician deity | journal=Revista Hélade: Dossiê Fenícios | date=January 2019 | last1=Lima | first1=Rodrigo Araújo de }}</ref>
}}
{{Greek mythology sidebar}}
{{Ancient Greek religion}}
[[File:Hercules Nessus MAN Napoli Inv9001.jpg|thumb|right|Heracles carrying his son [[Hyllus]] looks at the centaur [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]], who is about to carry [[Deianira]] across the river on his back. Antique fresco from [[Pompeii]].]]
'''Heracles''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛr|ə|k|l|i:|z|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Heracles.wav}} {{respell|HERR|ə|kleez}}; {{langx|grc|Ἡρακλῆς||glory/fame of [[Hera]]}}), born '''Alcaeus'''<ref name="DGRBM2">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Schmitz |first=Leonhard |title=Alceides |editor=[[William Smith (lexicographer)|William Smith]] |encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]] |volume=1 |pages=98 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |location=Boston |year=1867 |url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0107.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527153935/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0107.html |archive-date=27 May 2008 }}</ref> ({{lang|grc|Ἀλκαῖος}}, ''Alkaios'') or '''Alcides'''<ref>''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' ii. 4. § 12</ref> ({{lang|grc|Ἀλκείδης}}, ''Alkeidēs''), was a [[Divinity|divine]] [[hero]] in [[Greek mythology]], the son of [[Zeus]]<ref name="1.9.16">Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Hercules 1.9.16]</ref> and [[Alcmene]], and the foster son of [[Amphitryon]].<ref name="Alcides">By his adoptive descent through Amphitryon, Heracles receives the epithet '''Alcides''', as "of the line of [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]]", father of Amphitryon. Amphitryon's own, mortal son was [[Iphicles]].</ref> 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]] ({{lang|grc|Ἡρακλεῖδαι}}), and a champion of the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian order]] against [[chthonic]] monsters. In [[Roman mythology|Rome]] and the [[modernity|modern]] [[western world|West]], he is known as [[Hercules]], with whom the later [[Roman emperor]]s, in particular [[Commodus]] and [[Maximian]], often identified themselves. Details of his [[cult (religion)|cult]] were adapted to Rome as well.

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==Origin==
Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being the twelve [[Labours of Hercules]]; [[Alexandria]]n poets of the [[Hellenistic age]] drew his mythology into a high poetic and tragic atmosphere.<ref name="Burkert">Burkert 1985, pp. 208–09</ref> 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]]".<ref name="Burkert" />

The core of the story of Heracles has been identified by [[Walter Burkert]] as originating in Neolithic hunter culture and traditions of [[shaman]]istic crossings into the netherworld.<ref>Burkert 1985, pp. 208–12.</ref> 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.<ref>Loewen, Nancy: ''Hercules'', p. 15</ref>

===Hero or god===
Heracles's role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling (see below), was accepted into the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian Pantheon]] during Classical times. This created an awkwardness in the encounter with [[Odysseus]] in the episode of ''[[Odyssey]]'' XI, called the [[Nekuia]], where Odysseus encounters Heracles in [[Hades]]:

{{Blockquote|<poem>And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles—
His ghost I mean: the man himself delights
in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high&nbsp;...
Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds
scattering left and right in horror as on he came like night&nbsp;...<ref>[[Robert Fagles]]'s translation, 1996:269.</ref></poem>}}

Ancient critics were aware of the problem of the aside that interrupts the vivid and complete description, in which Heracles recognizes Odysseus and hails him, and some modern critics deny that the verse's beginning, in Fagles's translation ''His ghost I mean&nbsp;...'', was part of the original composition: "once people knew of Heracles' admission to Olympus, they would not tolerate his presence in the underworld", remarks [[Friedrich Solmsen]],<ref>{{cite journal |first=Friedrich |last=Solmsen |title=The Sacrifice of Agamemnon's Daughter in Hesiod's Ehoeae |journal=[[The American Journal of Philology]] |volume=102 |issue=4 |year=1981 |pages=353–58 [355] |doi=10.2307/294322 |jstor=294322 }}</ref> noting that the interpolated verses represent a compromise between conflicting representations of Heracles.

==Cult==
The ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of the ''[[Heracleia (festival)|Heracleia]]'', which commemorated the death of Heracles, on the second day of the month of [[Metageitnion]] (which would fall in late July or early August). What is believed to be an [[Egypt]]ian Temple of Heracles in the [[Bahariya Oasis]] dates to 21 BCE. A reassessment of [[Ptolemy]]'s descriptions of the island of [[Malta]] attempted to link the site at [[Ras ir-Raħeb]] with a temple to Heracles,<ref>[[Ptolemy|Ptol.]] iv. 3. § 37</ref> but the arguments are not conclusive.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ventura|first=F.|title=Ptolemy's Maltese Co-ordinates|journal=Hyphen|date=1988|volume=V|issue=6|pages=253–69}}</ref> Several ancient cities were named [[Heraclea (disambiguation)|Heraclea]] in his honor. A very small island close to the island of [[Lemnos]] was called Neai (Νέαι), from νέω, which means "I dive/swim", because Heracles swam there.<ref>[https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/nu/103 Suda, nu,103]</ref> According to the Greek legends, the [[Herculaneum]] in Italy was founded by him.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DH%3Aentry+group%3D4%3Aentry%3Dherculaneum-geo Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Herculaneum]</ref>

Several ''poleis'' provided two separate sanctuaries for Heracles, one recognizing him as a god, the other only as a hero.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The "Sacred History" of Euhemerus of Messene|last=Winiarczyk|first=Marek|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2013|isbn=978-3110278880|page=30}}</ref> Sacrifice was made to him as a hero and as a god within the same festival.<ref>Burkert 1985, p. 208.</ref> This ambiguity helped create the Heracles cult especially when historians (e.g. Herodotus) and artists encouraged worship such as the painters during the time of the [[Peisistratos]], who often presented Heracles entering Olympus in their works.<ref name=":0" />

Some sources explained that the cult of Heracles persisted because of the hero's ascent to heaven and his suffering, which became the basis for festivals, ritual, rites, and the organization of mysteries.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Ancient Mystery Cults|last=Burkert|first=Walter|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1987|isbn=978-0674033870|location=Cambridge|pages=75–76}}</ref> There is the observation, for example, that sufferings (''pathea'') gave rise to the rituals of grief and mourning, which came before the joy in the mysteries in the sequence of cult rituals.<ref name=":1" /> Also, like the case of Apollo, the cult of Heracles had been sustained through the years by absorbing local cult figures such as those who share the same nature.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization|last1=Hornblower|first1=Simon|last2=Spawforth|first2=Antony|last3=Eidinow|first3=Esther|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0198706779|location=Oxford|page=367}}</ref> He was also constantly invoked as a patron for men, especially the young ones. For example, he was considered the ideal in warfare so he presided over gymnasiums and the ''ephebes'' or those men undergoing military training.<ref name=":2" />

There were ancient towns and cities that also adopted Heracles as a patron deity, contributing to the spread of his cult. There was the case of the royal house of Macedonia, which claimed lineal descent from the hero,<ref>{{Cite book|title=King and Court in Ancient Macedonia: Rivalry, Treason and Conspiracy|last=Carney|first=Elizabeth|publisher=The Classical Press of Wales|year=2015|isbn=978-1910589083|location=Swansea|page=66}}</ref> primarily for purposes of divine protection and legitimator of actions.

The earliest evidence that shows the worship of Heracles in popular cult was in 6th century BCE (121–122 and 160–165) via an ancient inscription from Phaleron.<ref name=":2" /> After the 4th century BCE, Heracles became identified with the Phoenician God [[Melqart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Melqart/|title=Melqart|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref>

[[Oitaeans]] worshiped Heracles and called him Cornopion (Κορνοπίων) because he helped them get rid of [[locust]]s (which they called ''cornopes''), while the citizens of [[Erythrae]] at [[Karaburun|Mima]] called him Ipoctonus (ἰποκτόνος) because he destroyed the vine-eating ''ips'' (ἀμπελοφάγων ἰπῶν), a kind of [[cynips]] wasp, there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197:book=13:chapter=1:section=64|title=Strabo, Geography, Book 13, chapter 1, section 64|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ko/rnoy|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, κόρνοψ|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=i)pokto/nos|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ἰποκτόνος|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

Near the town of [[Bura (Achaea)|Bura]] in [[Achaea]], there was a statue of Heracles on the River [[Buraicus]] and an oracle in a cave. People who consulted this oracle first prayed before the statue, then threw four dice from a mound that was always kept ready onto a table. These dice were marked with certain characters, the significance of which was elucidated by an artwork shown in the cave. Because of this town Heracles had the epithet Buraicus (Βουραϊκός).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DB%3Aentry+group%3D10%3Aentry%3Dburaicus-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Buraicus]</ref>

==Character==

[[File:Eurytios Krater Louvre E635 n1.jpg|thumb|left|Greek mythology influenced the [[Etruscan Civilization|Etruscans]]. This vase at [[Caere]] shows [[King Eurytus of Oechalia]] and Heracles in a symposium. Krater of corinthian columns called 'Krater of Eurytion', {{circa|600 BCE}}]]

Extraordinary strength, [[courage]], ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him. Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king [[Augeas]] of [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], wrestling the giant [[Antaeus]], or tricking [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with [[Hermes]] he was the patron and protector of [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasia]] and [[palaestra]]e.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Guide to Greece'', 4.32.1</ref> His iconographic attributes are the [[Nemean Lion|lion skin]] and the [[Club (weapon)|club]]. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children.<ref>Aelian, ''Varia Historia'', 12.15</ref> By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have "made the world safe for mankind" and to be its benefactor.<ref>Aelian, ''Varia Historia'', 5.3</ref> Heracles was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing both great deeds for his friends (such as wrestling with [[Thanatos]] on behalf of Prince [[Admetus]], who had regaled Heracles with his hospitality, or restoring his friend [[Tyndareus]] to the throne of [[Sparta]] after he was overthrown) and being a terrible enemy who would wreak horrible vengeance on those who crossed him, as Augeas, [[Neleus]], and [[Laomedon]] all found out to their cost. There was also a coldness to his character, which was demonstrated by Sophocles's depiction of the hero in ''[[Women of Trachis|The Trachiniae]]''. Heracles threatened his marriage with his desire to bring two women under the same roof; one of them was his wife [[Deianira|Deianeira]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama|url=https://archive.org/details/factsonfilecompa00ejoh_975|url-access=limited|last=Thorburn|first=John|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|year=2005|isbn=978-0816052028|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/factsonfilecompa00ejoh_975/page/n563 555]}}</ref>

In the works of [[Euripides]] involving Heracles, his actions were partly driven by forces outside rational human control. By highlighting the divine causation of his madness, Euripides problematized Heracles's character and status within the civilized context.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Heracles and Euripidean Tragedy|url=https://archive.org/details/heracleseuripide00papa|url-access=limited|last=Papadopoulou|first=Thalia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn=9780521851268|location=Cambridge, MA|page=[https://archive.org/details/heracleseuripide00papa/page/n94 81]}}</ref> This aspect is also highlighted in ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' where [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] linked the hero's madness to an illusion and a consequence of Heracles's refusal to live a simple life, as offered by [[Amphitryon]]. It was indicated that he preferred the extravagant violence of the heroic life and that its ghosts eventually manifested in his madness and that the hallucinatory visions defined Heracles's character.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Self-representation and Illusion in Senecan Tragedy|last=Littlewood|first=Cedric|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0199267613|location=Oxford|page=94}}</ref>

==Mythology==

===Birth and childhood===

[[File:Herakles strangling snakes Louvre G192.jpg|thumb|Heracles strangling [[snake]]s (detail from an Attic red-figured stamnos, c. 480–470 BCE)]]

A major factor in the well-known tragedies surrounding Heracles is the hatred that the [[goddess]] [[Hera]], wife of [[Zeus]], had for him. Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman [[Alcmene]]. When Zeus desired Alcmene, he decided to make one night last three by ordering [[Helios]], the god of the sun, not to rise for three days, so he would have more time with Alcmene.<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Library]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D8 2.4.8]; [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2007.01.0003 24]; ''[[Argonautica Orphica]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/549#113 113]; [[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [https://pt.calameo.com/read/000107044fc0f01286992 Hermes and Helios]</ref> Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, [[Amphitryon]], home early from war (Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with his son at the same time, a case of heteropaternal [[superfecundation]], where a woman carries twins sired by different fathers).<ref>Compare the two pairs of twins born to [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] and the "double" parentage of [[Theseus]].</ref> Thus, Heracles's very existence proved at least one of Zeus's many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus's mortal offspring as revenge for her husband's infidelities. His twin mortal brother, son of Amphitryon, was [[Iphicles]], father of Heracles's charioteer [[Iolaus]].

[[File:Jacopo Tintoretto - The Origin of the Milky Way - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Origin of the Milky Way]]'' by [[Jacopo Tintoretto]]]]

On the night Heracles and Iphicles were to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus's adultery, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of [[Perseus]] would become High King. Hera did this knowing that while Heracles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was [[Eurystheus]]. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alcmene's dwelling and slowed the birth of Heracles and Iphicles by forcing [[Ilithyia]], goddess of childbirth, to sit cross-legged with her clothing tied in knots, thereby causing the twins to be trapped in the womb. Meanwhile, Hera caused Eurystheus to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Heracles. She would have permanently delayed Heracles's birth had she not been fooled by [[Galanthis]], Alcmene's servant, who lied to Ilithyia, saying that [[Alcmene]] had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this, she jumped in surprise, loosing the knots and inadvertently allowing Alcmene to give birth to Heracles and Iphicles.

[[File:Herakles snake Musei Capitolini MC247.jpg|thumb|Heracles as a boy strangling a snake (marble, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE). [[Capitoline Museums]] in [[Rome]], Italy]]

Fear of Hera's revenge led Alcmene to [[Infant exposure|expose]] the infant Heracles, but he was taken up and brought to Hera by his half-sister [[Athena]], who played an important role as protectress of heroes. Hera did not recognize Heracles and [[Milk of Hera|nursed him out of pity]]. Heracles suckled so strongly that he caused Hera pain, and she pushed him away. Her milk sprayed across the heavens and there formed the [[Milky Way (mythology)|Milky Way]]. Athena brought the infant back to his mother, and he was subsequently raised by his parents.<ref>Diodorus Siculus's ''[[Bibliotheca Historica]]'' ([https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html Book IV, Ch. 9])</ref>

The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles.<ref name="Alcides" /> He and his twin were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his brother grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them on his cot as if they were toys. Astonished, Amphitryon sent for the seer [[Tiresias]], who prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he would vanquish numerous monsters.

===Youth<!--Linked from 'The Choice of Hercules'-->===
[[File:Terracotta kantharos (drinking cup) in the form of the heads of Herakles and of a woman MET DP118168.jpg|thumb|left|Side of terracotta [[kantharos]] in the form of the head of Heracles, [[Athens]], c. 470 BCE]]
[[File:CarracciHercules.jpg|thumb|The choice of Hercules by [[Annibale Carracci]]]]
After killing his music tutor [[Linus of Thrace|Linus]] with a [[lyre]], he was sent to tend cattle on a mountain by his foster father Amphitryon. Here, according to an allegorical [[parable]], "[[Hercules at the crossroads|The Choice of Heracles]]", invented by the sophist [[Prodicus]] (c. 400 BCE) and reported in [[Xenophon]]'s ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]'' 2.1.21–34, he was visited by two allegorical figures—Vice and Virtue—who offered him a choice between a pleasant and easy life or a severe but glorious life: he chose the latter. This was part of a pattern of "ethicizing" Heracles over the 5th century BCE.<ref>Andrew Ford, ''Aristotle as Poet'', Oxford, 2011, p. 208 n. 5, citing, in addition to Prodicus/Xenophon, [[Antisthenes]], [[Herodorus]] (esp. [[FGrHist]] 31 F 14), and (in the 4th century) [[Plato]]'s use of "Heracles as a figure for Socrates' life (and death?): ''Apology'' 22a, cf. ''Theaetetus'' 175a, ''Lysis'' 205c."</ref>

Later, in [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], Heracles married King [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]]'s daughter, [[Megara (mythology)|Megara]].

===Labours of Heracles===
{{Main|Labours of Hercules}}
[[File:Mosaic with the Labors of Hercules, 3rd century AD, found in Lliria (Valencia), National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid (15457108142).jpg|thumb|All 12 labours of Heracles, Mosaic of Llíria (Valencia, Spain)]]
In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children and Megara. After his madness had been cured with [[hellebore]] by Antikyreus, the founder of [[Anticyra|Antikyra]],<ref>Pausanias Χ 3.1, 36.5. [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaeus]], ''[[Geography|Geogr. Hyph.]]'' ΙΙ 184. 12. Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. "Ἀντίκυρα"</ref> he realized what he had done and fled to the [[Delphi|Oracle of Delphi]]. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King [[Eurystheus]] for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours, but after completing them, Heracles was cheated by Eurystheus when he added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would become a god, and be granted immortality.

Other traditions place Heracles's madness at a later time and relate the circumstances differently.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography And Mythology|publisher=Little, Brown, and Company|year=1870|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=W.|location=Boston|pages=393–394|id=ark:/13960/t9f47mp93}}</ref> In some traditions, there was only a divine reason for Heracles's twelve labours: Zeus, in his desire not to leave Heracles the victim of Hera's jealousy, made her promise that, if Heracles executed twelve great works in the service of Eurystheus, he should become immortal.<ref name=":3" /> In the play ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'' by [[Euripides]], Heracles is driven to madness by Hera and kills his children after his twelve labours.

Despite the difficulty, Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus in the end did not accept the success the hero had with two of the labours: the cleansing of the Augean stables, because Heracles was going to accept pay for the labour; and the killing of the Lernaean Hydra, as Heracles's nephew, [[Iolaus]], had helped him burn the stumps of the multiplying heads.

Eurystheus set two more tasks, fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing [[Cerberus]]. In the end, with ease, the hero successfully performed each added task, bringing the total number of labours up to twelve.

Not all versions and writers give the labours in the same order. The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' (2.5.1–2.5.12) gives the following order:

;1. Slay the [[Nemean lion|Nemean Lion]]: Heracles defeated a lion that was attacking the city of [[Nemea]] with his bare hands. After he succeeded he wore the skin as a cloak to demonstrate his power over the opponent he had defeated.
;2. Slay the nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_02.jpg|thumb|Heracles slaying the Lernaean Hydra]]A fire-breathing monster with multiple serpent heads. When one head was cut off, two would grow in its place. It lived in a swamp near [[Lerna]]. Hera had sent it in hopes it would destroy Heracles's home city because she thought it was invincible. With help from his nephew [[Iolaus]], he defeated the monster and dipped his arrows in its poisoned blood, thus envenomizing them.
;3. Capture the [[Ceryneian Hind|Golden Hind of Artemis]]: [[File:Palermo-Museo-Archeologico-bjs-08.jpg|thumb|Heracles and Ceryneian Hind by [[Lysippos]]]]Not to kill, but to catch, this hind that was sacred to [[Artemis]]. A different, but still difficult, task. It cost time, but, having chased it for a year, Heracles wore out the Hind. Artemis intervened, but as soon as Heracles explained the situation to her, she allowed him to take it, and he presented it alive to [[Eurystheus]].
;4. Capture the [[Erymanthian Boar]]: A fearsome marauding boar on the loose. Eurystheus set Heracles the Labour of catching it, and bringing it to [[Mycenae]]. Again, a time-consuming task, but the tireless hero found the beast, captured it, and brought it to its final spot. Patience is the heroic quality in the third and fourth Labours.
;5. Clean the [[Augeas|Augean]] stables in a single day: The Augean stables were the home of 3,000 cattle with poisoned faeces which Augeas had been given by his father [[Helios]]. Heracles was given the near impossible task of cleaning the stables of the diseased faeces. He accomplished it by digging ditches on both sides of the stables, moving them into the ditches, and then diverting the [[Alfeios|rivers Alpheios]] and [[Pineios (Peloponnese)|Pineios]] to wash the ditches clean.
;6. Slay the [[Stymphalian birds|Stymphalian Birds]]: These aggressive man-eating birds were terrorizing a forest near [[Lake Stymphalia]] in northern Arcadia. Heracles scared them with a rattle given to him by Athena, to frighten them into flight away from the forest, allowing him to shoot many of them with his bow and arrow and bring back this proof of his success to Eurystheus.
;7. Capture the [[Cretan Bull]]: The harmful bull, father of the [[Minotaur]], was laying waste to the lands round [[Knossos]] on [[Crete]]. It embodied the rage of [[Poseidon]] at having his gift (the Bull) to [[Minos]] diverted from the intention to sacrifice it to himself. Heracles captured it, and carried it on his shoulders to Eurystheus in [[Tiryns]]. Eurystheus released it, when it wandered to [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] which it then terrorized, until killed by [[Theseus]].
;8. Steal the [[Mares of Diomedes]]: Stealing the horses from [[Diomedes of Thrace|Diomedes]]'s stables that had been trained by their owner to feed on human flesh was his next challenge. Heracles's task was to capture them and hand them over to Eurystheus. He accomplished this task by feeding King Diomedes to the animals before binding their mouths shut.
;9. Obtain the belt of [[Hippolyta]], Queen of the [[Amazons]]: Hippolyta was an Amazon queen and she had a belt given to her by her father [[Ares]]. Heracles had to retrieve the belt and return it to Eurystheus. He and his band of companions received a rough welcome because, ordered by Hera, the Amazons were supposed to attack them; however, against all odds, Heracles completed the task and secured the belt for Eurystheus.
;10. Obtain the cattle of the monster [[Geryon]]: The next challenge was to capture the herd guarded by a two-headed dog called [[Orthrus]], which belonged to Geryon; a giant with three heads and six arms who lived in [[Erytheia]]. While travelling to Erytheia, he passed through the Libyan desert and was so annoyed by the heat he shot an arrow at Helios, the sun. Helios, impressed, lent him his giant cup which Heracles used to find Orthrus, the herdsman Erytion and the owner, Geryon. He killed the first two with his club and the third with a poisoned arrow. Heracles then herded the cattle and, with difficulty, took them to Eurystheus.
;11. Steal the golden apples of the [[Hesperides]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_11.jpg|thumb|Hercules stealing the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides]]These sacred fruits were protected by Hera who had set [[Ladon (mythology)|Ladon]], a fearsome hundred-headed dragon as the guardian. Heracles had to first find where the garden was; he asked [[Nereus]] for help. He came across [[Prometheus]] on his journey. Heracles shot the eagle eating at his liver, and in return he helped Heracles with knowledge that his brother would know where the garden was. His brother [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] offered him help with the apples if he would hold up the heavens while he was gone. Atlas tricked him and did not return. Heracles returned the trickery and managed to get Atlas taking the burden of the heavens once again, and returned the apples to Mycenae.
;12. Capture and bring back [[Cerberus]]: His last labour and undoubtedly the riskiest. Eurystheus was so frustrated that Heracles was completing all the tasks that he had given him that he imposed one he believed to be impossible: Heracles had to go down into the underworld of [[Hades]] and capture the ferocious three-headed dog Cerberus who guarded the gates. He used the souls to help convince Hades to hand over the dog. He agreed to give him the dog if he used no weapons to obtain him. Heracles succeeded and took the creature back to Mycenae, causing Eurystheus to be fearful of the power and strength of this hero.

===Further adventures===
After completing these tasks, Heracles fell in love with Princess [[Iole]] of [[Oechalia (Thessaly)|Oechalia]]. [[King Eurytus of Oechalia]] promised his daughter, [[Iole]], to whoever could beat his sons in an archery contest. Heracles won but Eurytus abandoned his promise. Heracles's advances were spurned by the king and his sons, except for one: Iole's brother [[Iphitus of Oechalia|Iphitus]]. Heracles killed the king and his sons—excluding Iphitus—and abducted Iole. Iphitus became Heracles's best friend. However, once again, Hera drove Heracles mad and he threw Iphitus over the city wall to his death. Once again, Heracles purified himself through three years of servitude—this time to Queen [[Omphale]] of [[Lydia]].

===Omphale===
{{Main|Omphale}}
[[File:Affresco romano - eracle ed onfale - area vesuviana.JPG|thumb|Heracles and [[Omphale]], Roman fresco, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Fourth Style]] (45–79 CE), [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]], Italy]]

[[Omphale]] was a queen or princess of [[Lydia]]. As penalty for a murder, imposed by [[Xenoclea]], the [[Pythia|Delphic Oracle]], Heracles was to serve as her slave for a year. He was forced to do women's work and to wear women's clothes, while she wore the skin of the [[Nemean Lion]] and carried his [[olive|olive-wood]] club. After some time, Omphale freed Heracles and married him. Some sources mention a son born to them who is variously named. It was at that time that the [[cercopes]], mischievous wood spirits, stole Heracles's weapons. He punished them by tying them to a stick with their faces pointing downward.

===Hylas===
While walking through the wilderness, Heracles was set upon by the [[Dryopes]]. In [[Apollonius of Rhodes]]'s ''[[Argonautica]]'', it is recalled that Heracles had mercilessly slain their king, [[Theiodamas]], over one of the latter's bulls, and made war upon the Dryopes "because they gave no heed to justice in their lives".<ref>Richard Hunter, translator, ''Jason and the Golden Fleece'' (Oxford:Clarendon Press), 1993, pp. 31f.</ref> After the death of their king, the Dryopes gave in and offered him Prince [[Hylas]]. He took the youth on as his weapons bearer. Years later, Heracles and Hylas joined the crew of the ''[[Argo]]''. As Argonauts, they only participated in part of the journey. In [[Mysia]], Hylas was kidnapped by the nymphs of a local spring. Heracles, searched for a long time but Hylas had fallen in love with the nymphs and never showed up again. In other versions, he simply drowned. Either way, the ''Argo'' set sail without them.

===Rescue of Prometheus===
[[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' and [[Aeschylus]]' ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Aeschylus)|Prometheus Unbound]]'' both tell that Heracles shot and killed the eagle that tortured [[Prometheus]] (which was his punishment by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals). Heracles freed the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] from his chains and his torments. Prometheus then made predictions regarding further deeds of Heracles.

===Heracles's constellation===
On his way back to [[Mycenae]] from [[Iberia]], having obtained the Cattle of [[Geryon]] as his [[The Twelve Labours|tenth labour]], Heracles came to [[Liguria]] in North-Western [[Italy]] where he engaged in battle with two giants, [[Alebion|Albion]] and [[Bergion]] or Dercynus, sons of [[Poseidon]]. The opponents were strong; Heracles was in a difficult position so he prayed to his father [[Zeus]] for help. Under the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle. It was this kneeling position of Heracles when he prayed to his father Zeus that gave the name [[Engonasin#History|Engonasin]] (''"Εγγόνασιν"'', derived from "εν γόνασιν"), meaning "on his knees" or "the Kneeler",
to the constellation known as [[Hercules (constellation)|Heracles's constellation]]. The story, among others, is described by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]].<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], i. 41</ref>

===Heracles's sack of Troy===
[[File:College of the Augustali (7254063590).jpg|thumb|A fresco from [[Herculaneum]] depicting Heracles and [[Achelous]] from [[Greek mythology|Greco]]-[[Roman mythology]], 1st century CE]]
Before [[Homer]]'s Trojan War, Heracles had made an expedition to Troy and sacked it. Previously, Poseidon had sent a sea monster (Greek: kētŏs, Latin: [[cetus (mythology)|cetus]]) to attack [[Troy]]. The story is related in several digressions in the ''Iliad'' (7.451–53; 20.145–48; 21.442–57) and is found in pseudo-Apollodorus's [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]] (2.5.9). This expedition became the theme of the Eastern pediment of the [[Temple of Aphaea#Eastern pediment|Temple of Aphaea]]. [[Laomedon]] planned on sacrificing his daughter [[Hesione]] to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles happened to arrive (along with [[Telamon]] and [[Oicles]]) and agreed to kill the monster if Laomedon would give him the horses received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus's kidnapping [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]]. Laomedon agreed. Heracles killed the monster, but Laomedon went back on his word. Accordingly, in a later expedition, Heracles and his followers attacked Troy and sacked it. Then they slew all Laomedon's sons present there save [[Priam|Podarces]], who was renamed Priam, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize and they had a son, [[Teucer]].

===Colony at Sardinia===
After Heracles had performed his Labours, gods told him that before he passed into the company of the gods, he should create a colony at [[Sardinia]] and make his sons, whom he had with the daughters of [[Thespius]], the leaders of the settlement. When his sons became adults, he sent them together with [[Iolaus]] to the island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540:book=4:chapter=29|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I–V, book 4, chapter 29|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540:book=4:chapter=29:section=3|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I–V, book 4, chapter 29, section 3|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

===Other adventures===

[[File:NAMA Héraclès & Busiris.jpg|thumb|right|Heracles fighting the servants of the Egyptian King
[[Busiris (Greek mythology)|Busiris]], Attic ''[[Pelike]]'', c. 470 BCE]]
* Heracles defeated the [[Bebryces]] (ruled by King [[Mygdon of Phrygia|Mygdon]]) and gave their land to Prince [[Lycus (son of Dascylus)|Lycus]] of [[Mysia]], son of [[Dascylus]].
* He killed the robber [[Termerus]].
* Heracles visited [[Evander (philosopher)|Evander]] with Antor, who then stayed in Italy.
* Heracles killed King [[Amyntor (son of Ormenus)|Amyntor]] of [[Ormenium]] for not allowing him into his kingdom. He also killed King [[Emathion]] of [[Arabia]].
* Heracles kills the Egyptian King [[Busiris (Greek mythology)|Busiris]] and his followers after they attempt to sacrifice him to the gods.
* Heracles killed [[Lityerses]] after beating him in a contest of harvesting.
* Heracles killed [[Periclymenus]] at [[Pylos]].
* Heracles killed [[Syleus (mythology)|Syleus]] for forcing strangers to hoe a vineyard.
* Heracles rivaled with [[Lepreus (mythology)|Lepreus]] and eventually killed him.
* Heracles founded the city [[Taranto|Tarentum]] (modern [[Taranto]] in Italy).
* Heracles learned music from [[Linus (mythology)|Linus]] (and [[Eumolpus]]), but killed him after Linus corrected his mistakes and caned him with rods. He learned how to wrestle from [[Autolycus]]. He killed the famous boxer [[Eryx (mythology)|Eryx]] of [[Sicily]] in a match.
* Heracles was an [[Argonauts|Argonaut]].<ref name="1.9.16"/>  He killed [[Alastor]] and his brothers.
[[File:Herakles och Antaios, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Heracles killing the giant, [[Antaeus]]]]
* When [[Hippocoon]] overthrew his brother, [[Tyndareus]], as King of [[Sparta]], Heracles reinstated the rightful ruler and killed Hippocoon and his sons.
* Heracles killed [[Cycnus (son of Ares)|Cycnus]], the son of [[Ares]]. The expedition against Cycnus, in which Iolaus accompanied Heracles, is the ostensible theme of a short epic attributed to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Shield of Heracles]]''. 
* When Ares tried to avenge Cycnus, Heracles defeated him, with the help of [[Athena]].
* Heracles killed the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Giants]] [[Alcyoneus]] and [[Porphyrion]].
* Heracles killed [[Antaeus]] the giant who was immortal while touching the earth, by picking him up and holding him in the air while strangling him.
* [[Pygmy (Greek mythology)|Pygmies]] tried to kill Heracles because they were brothers of Antaeus and wanted to avenge Antaeus's death, but failed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/225#2.22.1|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg1600.tlg001.perseus-grc2:2.22.1/|title=Scaife Viewer &#124; Imagines, Flavii Philostrati Opera Volume II|website=scaife.perseus.org}}</ref>
* Heracles went to war with [[Augeias]] after he denied him a promised reward for clearing his stables. Augeias remained undefeated due to the skill of his two generals, the Molionides, and after Heracles fell ill, his army was badly beaten. Later, however, he was able to ambush and kill the Molionides, and thus march into Elis, sack it, and kill Augeias and his sons.
* Heracles visited the house of [[Admetus]] on the day Admetus's wife, [[Alcestis]], had agreed to die in his place. Admetus, not wanting to turn Heracles away, nor wanting to burden him with his sadness, welcomes him and instructs the servants not to inform Heracles of what has occurred. Heracles, thus unaware of Alcestis's fate, enjoys the hospitality of Admetus's house, drinking and revelling, which angers the servants, who wish to mourn as is their right. One scolds the guest and Heracles is ashamed of his actions. By hiding beside the grave of Alcestis, Heracles was able to surprise Death when he came to collect her, and by squeezing him tight until he relented, was able to persuade Death to return Alcestis to her husband.
* Heracles challenged wine god [[Dionysus]] to a drinking contest and lost, resulting in his joining the [[Thiasus]] for a period.
* Heracles also appears in [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[The Frogs]]'', in which Dionysus seeks out the hero to find a way to the underworld. Heracles is greatly amused by Dionysus's appearance and jokingly offers several ways to commit suicide before finally offering his knowledge of how to get to there.
* Heracles appears as the ancestral hero of Scythia in Herodotus's text. While Heracles is sleeping out in the wilderness, a half-woman, half-snake creature steals his horses. Heracles eventually finds the creature, but she refuses to return the horses until he has sex with her. After doing so, he takes back his horses, but before leaving, he hands over his belt and bow, and gives instructions as to which of their children should found a new nation in Scythia.
* In the fifth book of the ''New History'', ascribed by [[Photius]] to [[Ptolemy Hephaestion]], mention that Heracles did not wear the skin of the Nemean lion, but that of a certain Lion giant killed by Heracles whom he had challenged to single combat.<ref>[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 5] "Heracles did not wear the skin of the Nemean lion, but that of a certain Lion, one of the giants killed by Heracles whom he had challenged to single combat."</ref>
* Heracles fought and killed [[Cacus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0572:book=1:chapter=39:section=2|title=Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae, Books I-XX, book 1, chapter 39, section 2|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg113.perseus-grc1:18|title=Plutarch, Amatorius, section 18|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>
* Heracles fought with the [[Sicani]] people, killing many including the famous [[Leucaspis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.perseus-grc1:4.23|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I-V, book 4, chapter 23|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>
* Heracles encountered [[Scylla]] during a journey to Sicily and slew her.

===Death===

[[File:Muerte de Hércules, por Zurbarán.jpg|thumb|left|''Death of Hercules'' (painting by [[Francisco de Zurbarán]], 1634, Museo del Prado)]]

This is described in [[Sophocles]]'s ''[[Trachiniae]]'' and in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' Book IX. Having wrestled and defeated [[Achelous]], god of the Acheloos river, Heracles takes [[Deianira]] as his wife. Travelling to [[Tiryns]], a [[centaur]], [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]], offers to help Deianira across a fast flowing river while Heracles swims it. However, Nessus is true to the archetype of the mischievous centaur and tries to steal Deianira away while Heracles is still in the water. Angry, Heracles shoots him with his arrows dipped in the poisonous blood of the [[Lernaean Hydra]]. Thinking of revenge, Nessus gives Deianira his [[Shirt of Nessus|blood-soaked tunic]] before he dies, telling her it will "excite the love of her husband".<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', IX l.132–33</ref>

Several years later, [[rumor]] tells Deianira that she has a rival for the love of Heracles. Deianira, remembering Nessus's words, gives Heracles the bloodstained shirt. Lichas, the herald, delivers the shirt to Heracles. However, it is still covered in the Hydra's blood from Heracles's arrows, and this poisons him, tearing his skin and exposing his bones. Before he dies, Heracles throws [[Lichas]] into the sea, thinking he was the one who poisoned him (according to several versions, Lichas turns to stone, becoming a rock standing in the sea, named for him). Heracles then uproots several trees and builds a [[Pyre of Herakles|funeral pyre]] on [[Mount Oeta]], which [[Poeas]], father of [[Philoctetes]], lights. As his body burns, only his immortal side is left. Through Zeus's [[apotheosis]], Heracles rises to Olympus as he dies.

No one but Heracles's friend [[Philoctetes]] ([[Poeas]] in some versions) would light his funeral pyre (in an alternative version, it is [[Iolaus]] who lights the pyre). For this action, Philoctetes or Poeas received Heracles's bow and arrows, which were later needed by the Greeks to defeat Troy in the Trojan War.

Philoctetes confronted [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] and shot a [[poisoned arrow]] at him. The Hydra poison subsequently led to the death of Paris. The Trojan War, however, continued until the [[Trojan Horse]] was used to defeat [[Troy]].

According to [[Herodotus]], Heracles lived 900 years before Herodotus's own time (c. 1300 BCE).<ref>[[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+2.145 II.145]</ref>

=== Godhood ===
After his death in the pyre, Heracles ascended to Olympus as a god, and having finally reconciled with Hera, he got her daughter [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]] as his fourth and final wife. They had two sons together, [[Alexiares and Anicetus]].

When [[Typhon]] attacked Olympus, all gods transformed into animals and ran terrified to Egypt; Heracles became a fawn.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]] [https://topostext.org/work/216#28 18]</ref>

In the ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'', a satirical work by [[Lucian]] of [[Samsat|Samosata]], Heracles and another recently deified mortal, [[Asclepius]], fight over which gets the most prestigious seat on the table of the gods, each arguing that they are the one who deserve it. Zeus intervenes, and rules in favour of Asclepius, reasoning that the best seat should go to the one who became a god first.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/lucian-dialogues_gods/1961/pb_LCL431.313.xml?result=2&rskey=dQhSx2 15]</ref>

Heracles also appears to [[Philoctetes]], stranded and abandoned by the other Greeks on [[Lemnos]] island, and through his ''[[deus ex machina]]'' intervention, Philoctetes is convinced to join the other Greeks at [[Troy]], where he kills [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] with Heracles's arrows.<ref>{{cite book | title = Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery | first = Norman | last = Austin | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=2DE0_YEcsisC&pg=PA191 191] | publisher = [[University of Wisconsin Press]] | year = 2011 | isbn = 978-0-299-28274-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2DE0_YEcsisC}}</ref>

=== Christian chronology ===
In Christian circles, a [[Euhemerism|Euhemerist]] reading of the widespread Heracles cult was attributed to a historical figure who had been offered cult status after his death. Thus [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]], ''[[Preparation of the Gospel]]'' (10.12), reported that [[Clement of Alexandria|Clement]] could offer historical dates for Heracles as a king in Argos: "from the reign of Heracles in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] to the [[wikt:deification|deification]] of Heracles himself and of [[Asclepius]] there are comprised thirty-eight years, according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] the chronicler: and from that point to the deification of [[Castor and Pollux]] fifty-three years: and somewhere about this time was the capture of [[Troy]]."

[[File:Agrigent Heraklestempel.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Temple of Heracles, Agrigento|Temple to Heracles]] in [[Agrigento]], [[Sicily]], Italy]]

Readers with a literalist bent, following Clement's reasoning, have asserted from this remark that, since Heracles ruled over [[Tiryns]] in Argos at the same time that [[Eurystheus]] ruled over [[Mycenae]], and since at about this time [[Linus (mythology)|Linus]] was Heracles's teacher, one can conclude, based on [[Jerome]]'s date—in his [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], his ''Chronicon''—given to Linus's notoriety in teaching Heracles in 1264 BCE, that Heracles's death and deification occurred 38 years later, in approximately 1226 BCE.

==Lovers==

===Women===

====Marriages====

During the course of his life, Heracles married four times.

* Heracles waged a victorious war against the kingdom of Orchomenus in Boeotia and married his first wife [[Megara (wife of Heracles)|Megara]], daughter of Creon, king of Thebes. But he killed their children in a fit of madness sent by Hera and, consequently, was obliged to become the servant of Eurystheus. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.4.12&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022 2.4.12]) Megara was unharmed. According to Hyginus (Fabulae, 32), Heracles also killed Megara.
[[File:HeraclesLocoObraTeatral.jpg|thumb|263x263px|An insane Heracles is depicted killing his son while Megara stands horrified on the right side of the scene ([[National Archaeological Museum, Madrid]], c. 350–320 B.C.E.)]]
* His second wife was [[Omphale]], the [[Lydia]]n queen to whom he was delivered as a slave (Hyginus, Fabulae, 32).
* His third marriage was to [[Deianira]], for whom he had to fight the river god [[Achelous]] (upon Achelous's defeat, Heracles removed one of his horns and gave it to some nymphs who turned it into the [[cornucopia]]). Soon after they wed, Heracles and Deianira had to cross a river, and a [[centaur]] named [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]] offered to help Deianira across but then attempted to [[rape]] her. Enraged, Heracles shot the centaur from the opposite shore with a poisoned arrow (tipped with the Lernaean Hydra's blood) and killed him. As he lay dying, Nessus plotted revenge, told Deianira to gather up his blood and spilled semen and, if she ever wanted to prevent Heracles from having affairs with other women, she should apply them to his vestments. Nessus knew that his blood had become tainted by the poisonous blood of the Hydra, and would burn through the skin of anyone it touched. Later, when Deianira suspected that Heracles was fond of [[Iole]], she soaked a shirt of his in the mixture, creating the poisoned [[shirt of Nessus]]. Heracles's servant, [[Lichas]], brought him the shirt and he put it on. Instantly he was in agony, the cloth burning into him. As he tried to remove it, the flesh ripped from his bones. Heracles chose a voluntary death, asking that a [[pyre]] be built for him to end his suffering. After death, the gods transformed him into an immortal, or alternatively, the fire burned away the mortal part of the demigod, so that only the god remained. After his mortal parts had been incinerated, he could become a full god and join his father and the other Olympians on [[Mount Olympus (Mountain)|Mount Olympus]].
* His fourth marriage was to [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]], his last wife.

====Affairs====

An episode of his female affairs that stands out was his stay at the palace of [[Thespius]], king of [[Thespiae]], who wished him to kill the [[Lion of Cithaeron]]. As a reward, the king offered him the chance to perform [[sexual intercourse]] with all fifty of his daughters in one night. Heracles complied and they all became pregnant and all bore sons. This is sometimes referred to as his Thirteenth Labour.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hercules |url=https://public.wsu.edu/~hughesc/Hercules_labours.html |access-date=27 April 2024 |website=public.wsu.edu}}</ref> Many of the kings of ancient Greece traced their lines to one or another of these, notably the kings of [[Sparta]] and [[Macedon]].

Yet another episode of his female affairs that stands out was when he carried away the oxen of [[Geryon]], he also visited the country of the [[Scythians]]. Once there, while asleep, his horses suddenly disappeared. When he woke and wandered about in search of them, he came into the country of [[Hylaea (geography)|Hylaea]]. He then found the [[Drakaina (mythology)|dracaena]] of [[Scythia]] (sometimes identified as [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]]) in a cave. When he asked whether she knew anything about his horses, she answered, that they were in her own possession, but that she would not give them up, unless he would consent to stay with her for a time. Heracles accepted the request, and became by her the father of [[Agathyrsus]], [[Gelonus]], and [[Scythes (mythology)|Scythes]]. The last of them became king of the Scythians, according to his father's arrangement, because he was the only one among the three brothers that was able to manage the bow which Heracles had left behind and to use his father's girdle.<ref>[[Herodotus]], [[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]] IV. 8–10.</ref>

[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] writes that Heracles and Lavinia, daughter of [[Evander of Pallene|Evander]], had a son named Pallas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.perseus-grc1:1.32.1|title=Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae, Books I–XX, book 1, chapter 32, section 1|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

===Men===
{{Primary sources section|find=Heracles|find2=male lovers|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Hercules and Iolaus mosaic - Anzio Nymphaeum.jpg|thumb|Heracles and [[Iolaus]] (Fountain mosaic from the [[Anzio]] Nymphaeum)]]

Many myths were later 'homosexualized' after the development of the ancient Greek practice of [[pederasty]] and athletic nudity c. 630 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Verstraete |first=Beert C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejPZu3Ktu5cC&pg=PA17 |title=Same-sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-56023-604-7 |language=en}}</ref> [[Plutarch]], in his ''Eroticos,'' maintains that Heracles's male lovers were beyond counting. Of these, the one most closely linked to Heracles is the [[Thebes, Greece|Theban]] [[Iolaus]]. According to a myth thought to be of ancient origins, Iolaus was Heracles's charioteer and squire. Heracles in the end helped Iolaus find a wife. Plutarch reports that down to his own time, male couples would go to Iolaus's tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other.<ref>Plutarch, ''Erotikos,'' 761d.The tomb of Iolaus is also mentioned by Pindar.</ref><ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes,'' 9.98–99.</ref> He also mentions [[Admetus]], known in myth for assisting the [[Calydonian boar hunt]], as one of Heracles's male lovers.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Erotikos,'' 761e.</ref><ref name=advo>{{cite news |url= https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/2013/08/14/golden-age-denial-hercules-bisexual-demigod?pg=8  |title= The Golden Age of Denial: Hercules, the Bisexual Demigod |date=14 August 2013 | publisher= Advocate | author= Christopher Harrity  | access-date= 6 February 2021}}</ref>

One of Heracles's male lovers, and one represented in ancient as well as modern art, is [[Hylas]], who sailed with Heracles on the [[Argo]].<ref>[[Theocritus]], ''Idyll'' 13; [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''Argonautica,'' 1.1177–1357.</ref><ref name=advo/>

Another reputed male lover of Heracles is Elacatas, who was honored in [[Sparta]] with a sanctuary and yearly games, Elacatea. The myth of their love is an ancient one.<ref>Sosibius, in [[Hesychius of Alexandria]]'s ''Lexicon''</ref>

[[Abdera, Thrace|Abdera]]'s eponymous hero, [[Abderus]], was another of Heracles's lovers. He was said to have been entrusted with—and slain by—the carnivorous mares of Thracian [[Mares of Diomedes|Diomedes]]. Heracles founded the city of Abdera in [[Thrace]] in his memory, where he was honored with athletic games.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] 2.5.8; [[Ptolemaeus Chennus]], 147b, in [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius]]'s ''Bibliotheca''</ref>

Another myth is that of [[Iphitus]].<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, in Photius's ''Bibliotheca''</ref>

Another story is the one of his love for [[Nireus]], who was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" (''[[Iliad]]'', 673). But Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles.<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, 147b.</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] makes mention of [[Sostratus of Dyme|Sostratus]], a youth of Dyme, [[Achaea]], as a lover of Heracles. Sostratus was said to have died young and to have been buried by Heracles outside the city. The tomb was still there in historical times, and the inhabitants of Dyme honored Sostratus as a [[hero]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 7. 17. 8</ref> The youth seems to have also been referred to as [[Polystratus]].

A series of lovers are only known in later literature. Among these are [[Eurystheus]], [[Adonis]],<ref name="PC">[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm#190 Ptolemaeus Chennus, ''New History''], as summarized in [[Bibliotheca (Photius)]]</ref> [[Corythus]],<ref name="PC" /> [[Argus (Greek myth)|Argus]],<ref>[[Photius]], ''Bibliotheca'' excerpts, [https://topostext.org/work/237#190.14 190.14]</ref> and [[Nestor (mythology)|Nestor]] who was said to have been loved for his wisdom. In the account of [[Ptolemaeus Chennus]], Nestor's role as lover explains why he was the only son of [[Neleus]] to be spared by the hero.<ref>Ptolemaeus Chennus, 147e; [[Philostratus III|Philostratus]], ''Heroicus'' 696, per Sergent, 1986, p. 163.</ref><ref name=hapo>{{cite web |url= https://gh.ciwanekurd.net/4177-who-were-hercules-male-lovers.html  |title= Who were Hercules' male lovers? |date=  | publisher= History and archeology news portal  | author=   | access-date= 6 February 2021}}</ref>

A [[scholia]]st commenting on [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius]]'s ''[[Argonautica]]'' lists the following male lovers of Heracles: "Hylas, [[Philoctetes]], [[Diomus (mythology)|Diomus]], [[Perithoas]], and [[Phrix]], after whom a city in [[Libya]] was named".<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'', 1. 1207</ref> Diomus is also mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium as the eponym of the [[deme]] [[Diomeia]] of the Attic [[phyle]] Aegeis: Heracles is said to have fallen in love with Diomus when he was received as guest by Diomus's father Collytus.<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Diomeia''</ref> Perithoas and Phrix are otherwise unknown, and so is the version that suggests a sexual relationship between Heracles and Philoctetes.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Children==
{{Main|Heracleidae}}
[[File:Herakles and Telephos Louvre MR219.jpg|thumb|upright|Heracles and his son [[Telephus]]. (Marble, Roman copy of the 1st or 2nd century CE)]]

All of Heracles's marriages and almost all of his affairs resulted in births of a number of sons and at least four daughters.
One of the most prominent is [[Hyllus]], the son of Heracles and [[Deianeira]] or [[Melite (naiad)|Melite]]. The term ''Heracleidae'', although it could refer to all of Heracles's children and further descendants, is most commonly used to indicate the descendants of Hyllus, in the context of their lasting struggle for return to Peloponnesus, out of where Hyllus and his brothers—the children of Heracles by Deianeira—were thought to have been expelled by Eurystheus.

The children of Heracles by Megara are collectively well known because of their ill fate, but there is some disagreement among sources as to their number and individual names. Apollodorus lists three, Therimachus, Creontiades and Deicoon;<ref>Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca'', 2. 4. 11 = 2. 7. 8</ref> to these Hyginus<ref>''Fabulae'' 162</ref> adds Ophitus and, probably by mistake, Archelaus, who is otherwise known to have belonged to the Heracleidae, but to have lived several generations later. A scholiast on [[Pindar]]' s odes provides a list of seven completely different names: Anicetus, Chersibius, Mecistophonus, Menebrontes, Patrocles, Polydorus, Toxocleitus.<ref>Scholia on Pindar, Isthmian Ode 3 (4), 104</ref>

Other well-known children of Heracles include [[Telephus]], king of [[Mysia]] (by [[Auge]]), and [[Tlepolemus]], one of the Greek commanders in the [[Trojan War]] (by Astyoche).

According to [[Herodotus]], a line of 22 [[List of Kings of Lydia|Kings of Lydia]] descended from Heracles and Omphale. The line was called Tylonids after his Lydian name.

The divine sons of Heracles and [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]] are [[Alexiares and Anicetus]].

===Consorts and children===

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
# [[Megara (mythology)|Megara]]
## Therimachus
## Creontiades
## Ophitus
## Deicoon
# [[Omphale]]
## [[Agelaus]]
## [[Tyrsenus]]
# [[Deianira]]
## [[Hyllus]]
## [[Ctesippus]]
## Glenus
## Oneites
## [[Macaria (daughter of Heracles)|Macaria]]
## [[Onites (myth)|Onites]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Statius |first1=Publius Papinius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=54liAAAAMAAJ&q=onites+son+of+heracles |title=Statius, Thebaid 12: Introduction, Text and Commentary |last2=Pollmann |first2=Karla |date=2004 |publisher=Schöningh |isbn=978-3-506-71783-2 |pages=210 |language=en}}</ref>
# [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
## [[Alexiares and Anicetus|Alexiares]]
## [[Alexiares and Anicetus|Anicetus]]
# [[Astydameia]], daughter of [[Ormenus]] or [[Amyntor (son of Ormenus)|Amyntor]]
## [[Ctesippus]]
# [[Astyoche]], daughter of [[Phylas]]
## [[Tlepolemus]]
# [[Auge]]
## [[Telephus]]
# [[Autonoe (mythology)|Autonoë]], daughter of Piraeus / [[Iphinoe (mythology)|Iphinoe]], daughter of [[Antaeus]]
## [[Palaemon (Greek myth)|Palaemon]]
# Baletia, daughter of Baletus
## Brettus<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Brettos''</ref>
# Barge
## Bargasus<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Bargasa''</ref>
# [[Bolbe]]
## [[Olynthus (mythology)|Olynthus]]
# [[Celtine]]
## [[Celtus]]
# [[Chalciope]]
## [[Thessalus]]
# Chania, nymph
## Gelon<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] on [[Virgil]]'s ''Georgics'' 2. 115</ref>
# The [[Scythia]]n [[Drakaina (mythology)|dracaena]] or [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]]
## [[Agathyrsi|Agathyrsus]]
## [[Gelonians|Gelonus]]
## [[Gelonians|Scythes]]
# [[Epicaste]]
## Thestalus
# Lavinia, daughter of [[Evander of Pallene|Evander]]<ref name="Dion. Hal. 1. 43">[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'', 1. 43. 1</ref>
## Pallas
# [[Maliya#Greek attestations|Malis]], a slave of Omphale
## Acelus<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium s. v. Akelēs</ref>
# [[Meda (mythology)|Meda]]
##[[Antiochus (mythology)|Antiochus]]
# [[Melite (heroine)]]
# [[Melite (naiad)]]
## Hyllus (possibly)
# [[Myrto (mythology)|Myrto]]
## [[Eucleia]]
# Palantho of [[Hyperborea]]<ref>[[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]], ''De mirabilia mundi'', 1. 15</ref>
## Latinus<ref name="Dion. Hal. 1. 43" />
# [[Parthenope (mythology)|Parthenope]], daughter of [[Stymphalus (son of Elatus)]]
## [[Everes (mythology)]]
# [[Phialo]]
## Aechmagoras
# [[Psophis (mythology)|Psophis]]
## [[Echephron]]
## [[Promachus]]
# [[Pyrene (daughter of Bebryx)|Pyrene]]
## none known
# Rhea, Italian priestess
## [[Aventinus (mythology)|Aventinus]]<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'', 7. 655 ff</ref>
# [[Thebe (daughter of Adramys)]]
# [[Tinjis|Tinge]], wife of Antaeus
##[[Sufax|Sophax]]<ref>[[Plutarch]], Life of [[Sertorius]], 9. 4</ref>
# 50 daughters of Thespius
## 50 sons, see [[Thespius#Daughters and grandchildren]]
# Unnamed [[Celts|Celtic]] woman
## Galates<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Library of History'', 5. 24. 2</ref>
# Unnamed female slave of [[Iardanus (father of Omphale)|Iardanus]]
## [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]] / [[Cleodaeus]]
# Unnamed daughter of Syleus (Xenodoce?)<ref>So [[Conon (mythographer)|Conon]], ''Narrationes'', 17. In Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca'' 2. 6. 3 a daughter of Syleus, Xenodoce, is killed by Heracles</ref>
# Unnamed daughter of Aphra
## [[Diodorus]]<ref>Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews</ref>
# Unknown consorts
## Agylleus<ref>[[Statius]], ''Thebaid'', 6. 837, 10. 249</ref>
## [[Amathes|Amathous]]<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Amathous''</ref>
## Azon<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]] s. v. ''Gaza''</ref>
## [[Chromis (mythology)|Chromis]]<ref>[[Statius]], ''Thebaid'', 6. 346</ref>
## Cyrnus<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] on [[Virgil]]'s Eclogue 9. 30</ref>
##[[Dexamenus]]<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'', 1. 50. 4</ref>
## Leucites<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'', 162</ref>
## [[Manto (mythology)|Manto]]
## [[Pandaie]]
## [[Phaistos#Iron Age|Phaestus]] ''or'' Rhopalus<ref>In Stephanus of Byzantium s. v. ''Phaistos'', Rhopalus is the son of Heracles and Phaestus his own son; in [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'', 2. 6. 7, vice versa (Phaestus son, Rhopalus grandson)</ref>
{{div col end}}

==Heracles around the world==

===Rome===
{{Main|Hercules in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Tesoro di hildesheim, argento, I sec ac-I dc ca., piatto da parata con ercole bambino e i serpenti 01.JPG|thumb|A Roman gilded silver bowl depicting the boy [[Hercules]] strangling two serpents, from the [[Hildesheim Treasure]], 1st century CE, [[Altes Museum]]]]

In Rome, Heracles was honored as ''Hercules'', and had a number of distinctively Roman myths and practices associated with him under that name.

===Egypt===
[[Herodotus]] connected Heracles to the [[Egypt]]ian god [[Shu (Egyptian deity)|Shu]]. Also he was associated with [[Khonsu]], another Egyptian god who was in some ways similar to Shu. As Khonsu, Heracles was worshipped at the now sunken city of [[Heracleion]], where a large temple was constructed.

Most often the Egyptians identified Heracles with [[Heryshaf]], transcribed in [[Greek language|Greek]] as ''Arsaphes'' or ''Harsaphes'' (Ἁρσαφής).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heryshef {{!}} Ancient Egypt Online |url=https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/heryshef/ |access-date=27 April 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> He was an ancient [[Ram (sheep)|ram]]-[[god]] whose cult was centered in [[Herakleopolis Magna]].

===Other cultures===
{{See also|Heracles in popular culture}}
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
Bistoon Kermanshah.jpg|Hellenistic-era depiction of the [[Zoroastrian]] divinity [[Verethragna|Bahram]] as Hercules carved in 153 BCE at [[Kermanshah]], [[Iran]].
Museum für Indische Kunst Dahlem Berlin Mai 2006 015.jpg|The protector [[Vajrapani]] of the [[Buddha]] is another incarnation of Heracles ([[Gandhara]], 1st century CE).
Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG|Heracles as protector of Buddha, [[Vajrapani]], 2nd-century [[Gandhara]].
Mathura Herakles.jpg|The [[Mathura Herakles]], strangling the [[Nemean lion]] ([[Kolkata]] [[Indian Museum]]).<ref>The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, James C. Harle, Yale University Press, 1994 [https://books.google.com/books?id=LwcBVvdqyBkC&pg=PA67 p. 67]</ref>
File:Gandhara Herakles, Asia, G33 South Asia.jpg|Herakles under his lion skin and holding thunder ([[vajra]]), with Buddhist monks, [[art of Gandhara]], [[British Museum]]
</gallery>
Via the [[Greco-Buddhist]] culture, Heraclean symbolism was transmitted to the Far East. An example remains to this day in the [[Nio (Buddhism)|Nio]] guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples.

[[Herodotus]] also connected Heracles to [[Phoenicia]]n god [[Melqart]].

[[Sallust]] mentions in his work on the [[Jugurthine War]] that the Africans believe Heracles to have died in [[Spain]] where, his multicultural army being left without a leader, the [[Medes]], [[Persian people|Persians]], and [[Armenians]] who were once under his command split off and populated the Mediterranean coast of Africa.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Jugurthine War/The Conspiracy of Catiline|last = Sallust|publisher = Penguin Books|year = 1963|page = 54|others = Translated by S.A. Handford}}</ref>

Temples dedicated to Heracles abounded all along the Mediterranean coastal countries. For example, the temple of ''Heracles Monoikos'' (i.e. the lone dweller), built far from any nearby town upon a promontory in what is now the [[Côte d'Azur]], gave its name to the area's more recent name, [[Monaco]].

The gateway to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, where the southernmost tip of Spain and the northernmost of Morocco face each other is, classically speaking, referred to as the [[Pillars of Hercules|Pillars of Hercules/Heracles]], owing to the story that he set up two massive spires of stone to stabilise the area and ensure the safety of ships sailing between the two landmasses.

==Uses of Heracles as a name==

In various languages, variants of Heracles's name are used as a male given name, such as Iraklis ({{langx|el|Ηρακλής}}) in Modern Greek and [[Irakli]] ({{lang-ka|ირაკლი|tr}}) in Georgian.

There are many teams around the world that have this name or have Heracles as their symbol. The most popular in [[Greece]] is [[G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki]].

''[[Heracleum (plant)|Heracleum]]'' is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family [[Apiaceae]]. Some of the species in this genus are quite large. In particular, the giant hogweed (''[[Heracleum mantegazzianum]]'') is exceptionally large, growing up to 5&nbsp;m tall.

==Genealogy==

; Source<nowiki>:</nowiki><ref>Morford, M. P. O.; Lenardon R. J. (2007). ''Classical Mythology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 865.</ref>

{{tree chart/start}}

{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ZEU |v| DAN |ZEU=[[Zeus]]|DAN=[[Danaë]]}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!|}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PERSE |v| ANDRO|PERSE=[[Perseus]]|ANDRO=[[Andromeda (mythology)|Andromeda]]}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| |,|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|^|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;|PER | | | ALC |v| HIP | | | | | | ELE |v| ANA | | STH |v| MEN | |MES|PER=Perses|ALC=Alcaeus|HIP=Hipponome|ELE=[[Electryon]]|ANA=Anaxo|STH=Sthenelus|MEN=Menippe|MES=Mestor}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | |,|-|-|-|^|.| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|-|.| | | | |!|}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | ANA | | | AMP |v| ALC |v|ZEU | | | | LYC | | | EUR |AMP=[[Amphitryon]]|ALC=[[Alcmene]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|LYC=Licymnius|ANA=Anaxo|EUR=[[Eurystheus]]}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|'| | | |`|-|-|-|-|-|.|,|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | IPH | | | | | | | | | | MEG |v| HER |v| DEI | | HEB |IPH=[[Iphicles]]|HER='''Heracles'''|MEG=[[Megara (mythology)|Megara]]|DEI=[[Deianira]]|HEB=[[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|'|,|-|-|^|v|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|boxstyle=background:#c6c9ff;| | | | | IOL | | | | | | | | DRI | | |  HYL | | MAC | | AND |IOL=[[Iolaus]]|DRI=Three Children|HYL=[[Hyllus]]|MAC=[[Macaria (daughter of Heracles)|Macaria]]|AND=Others}}

{{tree chart/end}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Religion}}
;Other figures in Greek mythology punished by the gods include
* [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]
* [[Ixion]]
* [[Medusa]]
* [[Prometheus]]
* [[Sisyphus]]
* [[Tantalus]]
* [[The Danaides]]

;Figures resembling Heracles in other mythological traditions
* [[Agilaz]]
* [[Beowulf]]
* [[Cú Chulainn]]
* [[Gilgamesh]]
* [[Lugalbanda]]
* [[Melqart]]
* [[Samson]]
* [[Thor]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/heracles.html Heracles at Theoi.com] Classical literature and art
* [http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/heracles.html Timeless Myths – Heracles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018141759/http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/heracles.html |date=18 October 2018 }} The life and adventure of Heracles, including his twelve labours.
* [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Heracles1.html Heracles, Greek Mythology Link]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031203111032/http://www.insecula.com/contact/A004087.html Heracles (in French)]
* [http://www.vollmer-mythologie.de/heracles/ Vollmer: Herkules (1836, in German)]
* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], (1977) 1985. ''Greek Religion'' (Harvard University Press).
* {{cite book | last=Kerenyi | first=Karl | author-link=Károly Kerényi | title=The Heroes of the Greeks | publisher=Thames and Hudson | location=New York/London | year=1959 }}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Bär |first1=Silvio |title=Herakles im griechischen Epos : Studien zur Narrativität und Poetizität eines Helden |date=2018 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3-515-12206-1}}
* Brockliss, William. 2017. "The Hesiodic ''Shield of Heracles'': The Text as Nightmarish Vision." ''Illinois Classical Studies'' 42.1: 1–19. {{doi|10.5406/illiclasstud.42.1.0001}}. {{JSTOR|10.5406/illiclasstud.42.1.0001}}.
* Burkert, Walter. 1982. "Heracles and the Master of Animals." In ''Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual'', 78–98. Sather Classical Lectures 47. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
* {{cite book |last1=Frade |first1=Sofia |title=Heracles and Athenian propaganda: politics, imagery and drama |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd |location=London |isbn=9781472505590}}
* Haubold, Johannes. 2005. "Heracles in the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women." In ''The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women: Constructions and Reconstructions.'' Edited by Richard Hunter, 85–98. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
*Karanika, Andromache. 2011. "The End of the Nekyia: Odysseus, Heracles, and the Gorgon in the Underworld." ''Arethusa'' 44.1: 1–27.
* Padilla, Mark W. 1998. "Herakles and Animals in the Origins of Comedy and Satyr Drama". In ''Le Bestiaire d'Héraclès: IIIe Rencontre héracléenne'', edited by [[Corinne Bonnet]], Colette Jourdain-Annequin, and Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, 217–30. Kernos Suppl. 7. Liège: Centre International d'Etude de la Religion Grecque Antique.
* Padilla, Mark W. 1998. "The Myths of Herakles in Ancient Greece: Survey and Profile". Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America.
* Papadimitropoulos, Loukas. 2008. "Heracles as Tragic Hero." Classical World 101.2: 131–38. {{doi|10.1353/clw.2008.0015}}
* Papadopoulou, Thalia. 2005. ''Heracles and Euripidean Tragedy.'' Cambridge Classical Studies. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* Segal, Charles Paul. 1961. "The Character and Cults of Dionysus and the Unity of the ''Frogs''." ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' 65:207–42. {{doi|10.2307/310837}}. {{JSTOR|310837}}.
* Stafford, Emma. 2012. ''Herakles. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World.'' New York: Routledge.
* Strid, Ove. 2013. "The Homeric Prefiguration of Sophocles' Heracles." ''Hermes'' 141.4: 381–400. {{JSTOR|43652880}}.
* Woodford, Susan. 1971. "Cults of Herakles in Attica." In ''Studies Presented to George M. A. Hanfmann.'' Edited by David Gordon Mitten, John Griffiths Pedley, and Jane Ayer Scott, 211–25. Monographs in Art and Archaeology 2. Mainz, Germany: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
* Euripides. The Children of Herakles. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
* Euripides. Heracles. England: [[Shirley Barlow|Shirley A. Barlow]], 1996. Greek Version: Oxford University Press, 1981.

===Primary sources===
*[[Homer]], ''Odyssey'', 12.072 (7th century BCE)
*[[Sophocles]], ''[[Women of Trachis]]'' ({{Circa|450 BCE}})
*[[Euripides]], ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'' (416 BCE)
*[[Theocritus]], ''Idylls'', 13 (350–310 BCE)
*[[Callimachus]], ''Aetia (Causes)'', 24. Thiodamas the Dryopian, Fragments, 160. Hymn to Artemis (310–250? BCE)
*[[Apollonios Rhodios]], ''Argonautika'', I. 1175–1280 ({{Circa|250 BCE}})
*[[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' 1.9.19, 2.7.7 (140 BCE)
*[[Sextus Propertius]], ''Elegies'', i.20.17ff (50–15 BCE)
*[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' (8 CE)
*[[Ovid]], ''Ibis'', 488 (8–18 CE)
*[[Gaius Valerius Flaccus]], ''Argonautica'', I.110, III.535, 560, IV.1–57 (1st century)
*Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae|Fables]]'', 14. Argonauts Assembled (1st century)
* [[Lucian]]. Dialogues of the Dead. Dialogues of the Sea-Gods. Dialogues of the Gods. Dialogues of the Courtesans. Translated by M. D. MacLeod. Loeb Classical Library 431. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961.
*[[Philostratus the Elder]], ''Images'', ii.24 Thiodamas (170–245)
*[[First Vatican Mythographer]], 49. Hercules et Hylas

==External links==
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000067 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 2950 images of Heracles)]
* {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Heracles |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Labours of Heracles}}
{{Hercules media}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Agricultural gods]]
[[Category:Argonauts]]
[[Category:Characters in the Argonautica]]
[[Category:Children of Zeus]]
[[Category:Deeds of Apollo]]
[[Category:Deeds of Artemis]]
[[Category:Deeds of Athena]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Divine twins]]
[[Category:Dragonslayers]]
[[Category:Filicide in mythology]]
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[[Category:Helios in mythology]]
[[Category:Heracles| ]]
[[Category:Katabasis in classical mythology]]
[[Category:Kings of Argos]]
[[Category:Kings of Tiryns]]
[[Category:LGBTQ themes in Greek mythology]]
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[[Category:Perseids (mythology)]]
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