Heracles

Lore & Background

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. Unlike other Greek heroes, no tomb was identified as his. 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. 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. His figure, which initially drew on Near Eastern motifs such as the lion-fight, was widely known.

Reader's Guide

Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king Augeas of Elis, wrestling the giant Antaeus, or tricking Atlas into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae. His iconographic attributes are the lion skin and the club. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have 'made the world safe for mankind' and to be its benefactor. 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, or restoring his friend Tyndareus to the throne of Sparta) 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.

Did You Know?

• Heracles's name literally means 'glory/fame of Hera' in Ancient Greek.
• On the night of his birth, Hera persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus would become High King, knowing both Heracles and Eurystheus were eligible.

Origins and Divine Lineage

Heracles, originally named Alcaeus or Alcides, was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon. He was a descendant of Perseus, another son of Zeus. 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. Zeus had sex with her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, home early from war. 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.

The Paradox of Hero and God

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'. Heracles's role as a culture hero, whose death could be a subject of mythic telling, was accepted into the 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. 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 ...', was part of the original composition.

Cult Practices and Local Variations

The ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of the 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). Several poleis provided two separate sanctuaries for Heracles, one recognizing him as a god, the other only as a hero. Sacrifice was made to him as a hero and as a god within the same festival. Some sources explained that the Greek hero 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.

Oitaeans worshiped Heracles and called him Cornopion because he helped them get rid of locusts, while the citizens of Erythrae at Mima called him Ipoctonus because he destroyed the vine-eating ips there. Near the town of Bura in Achaea, there was a statue of Heracles on the River Buraicus and an oracle in a cave. Because of this town Heracles had the epithet Buraicus.

Character Traits and Enduring Legacy

According to the Greek philosopher Dicaearchus, Heracles was square-built, muscular, dark, hook-nosed, with brownish-amber eyes and long hair. Pseudo-Apollodorus adds that 'his body measured four cubits, and he flashed a gleam of fire from his eyes', while the poet Pindar describes him as 'of stature short, but dauntless soul'. In art, he is usually shown with short, curly hair, a thick neck, a projecting lower forehead, broad shoulders, and strongly developed arms, chest, and legs, as in the Farnese Hercules. Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king Augeas of Elis, wrestling the giant Antaeus, or tricking Atlas into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae. His iconographic attributes are the lion skin and the club.