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The name Heracles means "glorified by Hera" or "thanks to Hera". It was given to Alcidus, son of Zeus and a mortal woman Alcmena, wife of the king Amphitryon. >From his day of birth Heracles was pursued by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus. While Amphitryon was absent, Zeus came to Alcmena as her husband. During the night they spent together the sun did not rise over the earth for three days. Before Heracles was to be born Zeus swore to other gods at their meeting that his descendant coming into being on that day would become the king of Mycenae and the neighbour peoples. Hera, though, hampered the labours of Alcmena and helped the labours of Nicippe, wife of the king of Mycenae Sphenelus, to finish earlier so that in due time Eurystheus, son of Perseus and grandson of Zeus, was born to inherit Peloponnesus.
Hera sent two huge snakes to the cradles where Alcidus, son of Zeus, and Iphiclus, son of Amphitryon, were sleeping. Being awakened by the hissing of the snakes Heracles woke up and strangled them. Some variants of the myth say that Zeus or Athena cunningly induced Hera to suckle Heracles. The boy sucked the milk with such strength that the goddess threw him off while the drops of her milk formed the Milky Way.
Heracles grew strong and courageous and Hera still pursued him. The goddess made him insane and the hero threw his children into the fire because he took them for the sacrificial animals. When he came round he became aware of the tragedy and went off to Delphi as he wanted to act on the Apollo's advice and to redeem his guilt. Pythia, the prophetess of Apollo, announced that gods ruled him to settle down in Argos with the king Eurystheus and perform for him twelve labours which in case they are successfully performed would bring him immortality.
The fight with the Nemean lion was the first of the labours of Heracles. The huge lion, living in the mountains near the town of Nemea, killed people and animals to devour them. Heracles tried to shoot the lion hiding in a cave with arrows, but its skin was invulnerable. Then in a single combat the hero strangled the monster to death. When Heracles brought the lion to Mycenae, Eurystheus was so much scared that ordered him not to come into the town any more and to show his prey behind the town's gate. Eurystheus even made a huge bronze pythos in which he hid himself from Heracles and communicated with the hero through a messenger.
The second exploit of Heracles according to Eurystheus order was to kill the Lernaean hydra with nine heads that devoured animals and devastated lands round Lerna. The fight with hydra was extremely difficult as instead of one cut off head two new ones appeared. Iolaus helped Heracles. He seared the freshly cut wounds and the new heads could not grow. The last hydra's head which was immortal was cut off by Heracles and buried into the ground.
The third exploit of the hero was capturing of the hind of Artemis. For the whole year Heracles pursued the wonderful hind with golden horns and copper hooves before he could catch it.
Among the deeds of Heracles at the king Eurystheus's service were taming of the most fierce wild boar of Erymanthus, of the Cretan bull, of the mares of the Thracian king Diomedes and of Cerberus, the guard of Hades, killing of the Stymphalian birds with sharp iron wings and stealing of the oxen of Geryon. Heracles managed to clean the Augean stables, to obtain the golden apples of the Hesperides and the girdle of the queen of the Amazons Hippolyta for Eurystheus's daughter Admete. For the unintentional murder of the young boy Iphitus the hero was for three years enslaved by Omphale, the queen of Lydia. Slavery at Omphale's was humiliating for Heracles. She forced him to wear woman's attire and to spin together with women slaves. Meanwhile Omphale put on the lion's skin and armed herself with a club.
Numerous myths narrate about the future life of Heracles, his military adventures, his children who later reigned in different Greek towns.
After Heracles had won victory over the king Eurytus and taken his daughter Iole prisoner, his wife Deianeira felt apprehension for his affection towards her. Being convinced by the centaur Nessus that his blood could revive the love that was gone she sent the hero a tunic soaked with Nessus's blood. The poisonous tunic inflicted such an acute pain on Heracles that he could not stand it and threw himself into the fire. But Zeus rescued his son. He carried Heracles on Olympus and granted him immortality. Hera in her turn gave up hatred and married her daughter Hebe to the hero.
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 Heracles and Omphale Giovanni Francesco Romanelli Larger view |
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