Heracles (or his Roman name "Hercules" he is more commonly known as) was the son of Zeus and the mortal

princess Alcmene, step-son of prince Amphitryon. When he was born, Hera was so jealous of his mother that she sent two serpents to strangle the infant. Instead, since he had the strength of the gods, Heracles killed the snakes.

Contents 1 In Greek Mythology 1.1 Birth 1.2 Twelve Labours 1.3 Abderus 1.4 Death 2 See Also 3 External Links 4 Notes 5 References 6 Gallery

In Greek Mythology Edit

BirthEdit

Heracles was the great grandson of the hero Perseus , king of Mycenae, by nature of being step son of Amphitryon, son of Alcaeus, son of Perseus. However, his cousin Eurystheus' mother (Nicippe) was also in labour at the same time as Alcmene, his own mother. Whoever was born first would be King of Mycenae. Heracles was going to be born first, however, Hera sent the goddes of childbirth, Eilytheia to Earth to prevent this. Eilytheia was spotted prolonging the labour of Alcmene by a maid, who screamed and interuppted the goddess' concentration. As a result, the labour pain was reduced, Heracles was born and the maid was turned into a weasel by Eilytheia. However, Eurystheus' birth was announced first and so he became king.

Twelve LaboursEdit

When Heracles grew up, he married and had two children. But Hera hated to see him happy. She enchanted him to go mad for one night. In that night, he killed his wife and sons. Incredibly guilty, Heracles went to his cousin King Eurystheus of Mycenae to do ten tasks for him to redeem himself. The king used the labours to try and kill Heracles, by setting him impossible tasks. He feared the hero would grow too popular and challenge him for the throne. However the king failed. After Heracles redeemed himself, he married again to Deineira.

AbderusEdit

Heracles sent Abderus to guard the man-eating mares of the Bistonian king Diomedes , when Heracles discovered that Abderus have been devoured by the mares, he built the city of Abdera in memory of his lover.

DeathEdit

After his marriage, Deianeira was abducted by Nessus, a centaur. When he lay dying, the centaur offered a vial of poisoned blood, telling Deineira, if Heracles should ever fall in love with another, soak his clothes in it. Heracles fell in love with a maiden, and Deianeira applied the poisoned centaur's blood to a shirt . When Heracles put it on, he felt a burning sensation and tried to remove it, but peeled off his own skin and died. He was accepted into heaven and married Zeus and Hera's daughter Hebe , goddess of youth. He had two immortal sons, Anicetus and Alexiares.

See Also Edit

• Abderus

External Links Edit

Notes Edit

References Edit

GalleryEdit

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Greek mythology articles
Deities	Zeus • Poseidon • Apollo • Athena • Aphrodite • Ares • Artemis • Hermes • Dionysus • Hera • Hephaestus
Heroes	Abderus • Bellerophon • Daedalus • Diomedes • Achilles • Cadmus • Heracles •Perseus • Odysseus • Orpheus • Theseus • Jason • Argonauts
Groups	Demigod • God • Titans • Graeae • Gorgons
Creatures and monsters	Empusa • Minotaur • Chimera • Typhon • Medusa • Makhai • Hydra • Pegasus • Centaur • Charybdis • Cyclops
Titans	Atlas • Coeus • Crius • Cronus • Epimetheus • Gaia • Helios • Iapetos • Pallas • Perses • Prometheus • Oceanus • Hyperion • Rhea • Styx
Locations	Tartaros
Topics	Titanomachy

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