Hercules: A Greek Tale

The concept of an epic hero ordains in most capacities to be born into their position, subsequently having to prove themselves worthy of said position, eventually excelling their birth circumstances and achieving greatness. This is true of most epic heroes, being either demigods, royalty, or both. Hercules is a demigod (explaining his astounding feats of strength and will), Aeneas is a demigod and of a royal bloodline, Odysseus is essentially blessed by the gods and king of Ithica. Those characters’ qualities of birth can be definitively classified as happenstantial luck. Yet, is it luck if one’s powers are inexplicably unique and inherent, not being bestowed? The most enigmatic, yet prominent epic hero who defies the trope of born luck seems to be the Anglo-Saxon character of Beowulf.

In Greek mythology Hercules is known for his strength and courage, considered as half man and half god. He was an adventurous superhuman born from mortal mother and the son of god Zeus. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus decided to kill Hercules after his birth. Hercules then married the Theben princess Megara and had three children. However, Hera wasn’t happy about him. She was filled hatred of him, and as time goes, this situation made him to kill his wife and all his children. Hercules then felt guilty about the crime he had done. Hercules was charged to serve his cousin, king Eurystheus, and the ‘twelve labors’ were given to him as punishments. Those labors are a call to adventure that made Hercules to cross the threshold

Who is the best example of a hero? Hercules. He is the mortal son of zeus. Hercules is the strongest hero of all time. Not only does he have incredible strength, but he is very caring of his family and mortals. Hercules is not just one of those basic, amatuer heros, he has so much experience since he had performed 12 labours. These are some of the reasons why Hercules is known as the greatest hero of all time.

Hercules is thought to be one of the world’s greatest hero. There are children’s movies about him, but they all have a happy ending. Hercules, originally born “Heracles” lived a short cruel, yet heroic life. “The 12 Herculean tasks he performed over a period of 12 years have been immortalized in everything from classical poetry to Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion.” (French 1). Hercules, in Greek mythology, was a hero known for his strength and courage and for his legendary adventures. Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles. He was the son of the god Zeus and a human mother Alcmene, wife of the Theban general Amphitryon. Hera, Zeus' jealous wife, was determined to kill Hercules, and after Hercules was born, she

Hercules is definitely one of the most famous greek heroes in history, is supposedly “brainwashed” by a jealous Hera into murdering his family, was to make up for it by completing twelve famous labours for king Eurystheus. Not only did he murder his family, the twelve labours mostly consist of stealing goods and possessions from others and murdering people that get in his way. He has killed some grand pesky beats, but he is still being ordered to kill, and following those orders without hesitation.

Greek mythology has been passed on and retold over generations. Literature and movies have been created to entertain as well as provide specific themes based off of myths. There are many heroes that mythology talks about and each one has lived an epic life, but there is one famous hero that has been immortalized throughout history. Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal named Alcmene. Zeus impregnated her while her husband was away and this is where his story began. Zeus' wife, Hera, found out about the affair and was outrageous about his careless actions. She tried to prevent Hercules' birth; however, when that didn't work she sent snakes to kill the baby. Hercules was too mighty for the snakes and strangled them before they could even hurt him. As stated in this source, "Hera remained angry. How could she get even? Hera knew that she would lose in a fight, and that she wasn't powerful enough to prevent Zeus from having his way. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Hercules' life as miserable as she could" (Crane WEB). Hercules grew up to be a great young warrior and was all around. With this god-like strength, also came an uncontrollable temper that made him react at times without thinking, but later made him realize the wrongdoings of his violence. He later then married a woman named Megara and had two beautiful children. But one day, Hera instilled a fit of rage into Hercules and made him slaughter his family with his very own hands. He was shocked by his actions and asked Apollo for assistance since he was drowning in guilt. Apollo later then gave him specific tasks to help Hercules redeem himself for the bloodshed he caused. The hero was sent to Eurystheus, and under his strict hand, he was to accomplish twelve labors over the next twelve years.

For my research paper I chose to explore and analyze instances of the great Greek/Roman hero, Heracles (Hercules), appearing in popular culture and the effect his myths had on early civilizations. Considered by most to be the greatest of the Greek folk heroes, Hercules was the embodiment of masculinity and physical power. The word “herculean” literally translates into “having enormous strength, courage, or size” (dictionary.com.) Since their inception, the myths and legends of Hercules have been immensely popular and have had vast influences on people and cultures throughout the world. Over the next few pages I will attempt to compare and contrast several examples of Hercules’ representation in pop culture with the underlying

Hercules the son of Zeus and Alcmene, was born on a very bad stormy night in the present day of Nashville Tennessee. After Hercules was about 15 years old his mom came down with a very bad sickness that could kill her instantly. Hercules tried everything he could to make sure his mom wouldn't die, he made sure ate and drank as much has she need to. Hercules stayed home from school to help out with his mom.

The third Labor was the capture the hind of the Cerynitian, a female deer with golden horns. It was very important to Artemis, so Hercules had to be very careful not to wound it. He hunted for a year when he found it on the banks of the River Ladon in Arcadia. With his bow and arrow, he shot an arrow between the tendons and bones of its forelegs, which pinned it down without drawing blood. Artemis was unhappy, but Hercules managed to place the blame on Eurystheus.

Hercules faced these Labor with training, as a young boy. Heracles was trained by the famous hero mentor, Cheiron. Hercules went into these labors ready to face the world and to try

Hercules is an incredibly famous Greek demigod. He is the son of the god of the sky, whom is also the ruler of the Olympian gods, Zeus. He was a “divine hero, one of the greatest in mythology.” Hercules has had fascinating stories told about his youth, which included the great story of how he took on two venomous snakes. His heroic training and actions were incredible, for he was taught by many great tutors and was given important gifts from the Olympian gods, including his father. Hercules started the Olympic Games, which started when he went to war against Elis and Augeias. Hercules’ love life included Hera, who drove him to insanity, and Deianeira, who died trying to get Hercules to prove his love to her. Lastly, Hercules was involved in

Hercules, or better known as Heracles, was a Greek demigod that is the Son of Zeus and a mortal woman that was named Alcmene. When he was an infant, Zeus's wife Hera was really jealous of Heracles, so she sent two snakes to kill him. She was unsuccessful however, as he enjoyed strangling the snakes to death with one in each arm. He grew to become proficient in the bow and arrow, became a great wrestler, and possess superhuman strength. He later married and had five children. But, Hera tried to strike Heracles with madness and was successful. While Heracles was full with madness, he killed his five children all at once, in one day. When he recovered from his madness, he ventured to Delphi to consult the Oracle. He ordered Heracles to serve

The Life of Hercules Hercules or Herakles is one of the most known figures in greek mythology. Born as the son of Zeus and mortal women Alcmene. Being born as a demi-god he had incredible strength and stamina. With his amazing strength he did many unbelievable feats throughout his life like performing the twelve labors and traveling to the underworld.

Hercules, or known in Latin as Heracles, was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. In art, Hercules was portrayed as a powerful, muscular man wearing lion's skin and armed with a huge club. He was also described as being a macho man buffoon, who was very impulsive. Hercules’ home and birthing place is in Thebes, Greece. Thebes is a city in central Greece. It plays as an important setting in many Greek myths, such as the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and many other important roles in Greek Mythology. The demigod, Hercules has an interesting origin, he is most famous for his 12 labors, and leaves a legacy in words and expressions.

Zeus fell in love with a Greek woman named Alcmene, and impregnated her. When the wife of Zeus, Hera, found out she tried to prevent the birth of the child. Hera could not stop the birth, and the child was named Hercules, which means “glorious gift to Hera” in Greek. Hercules was a demi-god because of one human parent and one god parent. Hera tried to kill the baby by placing snakes in his crib, butt the child strangled the snakes before they could kill him. Hera wanted to get revenge on Zeus by making Hercules life miserable.