When Hercules was born in Alcmene, she called him Herakles. But in Roman, Heracles is pronounced Hercules, which is the name we use for Hercules to this day. Hercules in Greek mythology is a great figure of bravery and muscular strength. Hercules' bravery earned him a place among the gods. After leaving the mortal world, he found a position on Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods.
Zeus, the king of the gods was an unfaithful husband. He had a weakness for the pleasures of the world. He fell in love with Alcmene, Amphitryon's wife. In no time, Alcmene conceived Hercules. This angered Hera and she tried to kill Hercules. Hercules survived his first fatal assault with a miracle.
When Hercules reached adulthood, he became a famous warrior. He also fell in love with a beautiful woman called Megara. Megara became the mother of the children of Hercules and together they formed a happy family. However, things had to be different. Hera took a vow to irritate Hercules during his lifetime. She trapped Hercules in a savage rage. In his rage, the mortal god Hercules killed his family. It was exactly what Hera wanted!
When Hercules returned to his normal state of mind, he saw that things were beyond repair. He begged Apollo to get rid of his crime. Apollo was the sun god who could read the future. We find in Greek mythology that Hercules asked for his opinion. Apollo assigned him ten important tasks (later he was transformed into twelve) as a means of purifying his soul.
The Oracle of Delphi sent him to Tiryns where King Eurystheus reigned. Hercules was expected to serve him as a worker for twelve years of his life. However, the difficult service was not unsuccessful. Apollo promised him immortality. He had to become a god. However, the great Hercules of Greek mythology had a problem, Hera. She actually kept her promise to make Hercules' life as miserable as she could. Nevertheless, with the help of Hermes and Athena, Hercules succeeded in his twelve-year mandate with excellence. In addition, he became the greatest mortal on earth to become a god.
Hercules in Greek Mythology - What Made Him So Special?
The honorable penance of Hercules and its eventual success is what makes it so special. His success brought him immortality, which would have been unthinkable for ordinary mortals. Hercules' first task was to peel off the hide of the horrid Nemean lion after capturing one. His next task was to kill the Lernean Hydra. The Lernean Hydra was a serpent with nine heads, who never calmed the lives of those around him. The third task for him was to bring a doe (a sacred red deer) from Ceryneia to the king. The deer was the pet of Diana, the goddess of the moon.
The fourth task of Hercules was to bring a living Erymanthus boar. It was very dangerous for people and animals living around Erymanthus Mountain. Next, Hercules was asked to clean King Augeas' stables in one day. Do you think what's so great about it? King Augeas had an impressive amount of cattle, cows, bulls, goats, sheep and horses. Hercules proposed to King Augeas to clean the stable only if he rewarded Hercules with a tenth of his cattle.
After this success, Eurystheus planned to make something more difficult for Hercules. He ordered Hercules to drive out a huge flock of birds, which gathered near a lake near the town of Stymphalos. The goddess Athena helped her with a pair of bronze krotala, an object similar to castanets. The Cretan bull was an easy task for Hercules. Hercules fought the bull, then returned it to King Eurystheus.
The eighth task was to bring the man-eating horses of Diomedes. It was followed by the battle against the Amazonian women's army to obtain the belt of Hippolytus, the queen. The tenth job was great. Hercules had to go around the world, to bring the cattle of the monster Geryon. He had three heads and three pairs of legs, all tied at the waist.
The delicate task was the eleventh. Eurystheus asked Hercules to obtain the apples from the Hesperides. These were the golden apples offered by Hera to Zeus. These apples were strictly guarded by a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon, as well as Hesperides, daughters of Atlas. The other obstacle was that Hercules had no idea where these Hesperides apples were located. Eventually, Hercules found the location of Nereus which he grabbed until Nereus gave him the location of the Hesperides apples.
Then Hercules found out through Prometheus, whom Hercules had helped, that he should ask Atlas to collect the apples. Hercules agreed to hold heaven and earth while Atlas collected the apples. When Atlas returned with the apples, he told Hercules that if he held heaven and earth for the rest of the time, he would bring them to Eurystheus himself. But Hercules deceived Atlas by asking him to hold the earth until he padded his shoulders. Atlas took Hercules' place holding the earth, and Hercules picked up the apples and ran.
After making the great Hercules do all kinds of incredible races, Eurystheus made sure not to succeed the last time. So he ordered Hercules to kidnap Cerberus, the beast of the underworld. Have you ever heard of a living man visiting Hades? However, Greek mythology tells us that Hercules was no ordinary man. He was a hero.
He finally completed all the tasks, purified his soul, and saved the Princess of Troy from a voracious sea monster. He also helped Zeus beat the Giants in a great battle for control of Olympus. He remarried the lovely Deianira. She presented him with a cloak, which was covered with what she mistakenly believed to be a magical love potion. He was told that the balm would make the person love him forever.
Ironically, it was poison, which burned Hercules' skin. Hercules, unable to bear the pain, asked his friends to light a fire. So Hercules placed himself on the fire to be burnt alive. But the gods looked down and Zeus thought that Hercules had suffered enough. So he asked Hera to end her anger towards Hercules, which she did. Then Hercules was brought to Olympus in Athena's chariot at the request of Zeus.
This deadly Greek Hercules is without a doubt the greatest hero of Greek mythology. Hercules is still considered the perfect mythical character.