Heracles
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Heracles (disambiguation).
Image:Heracles.jpg In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Heraklês ("glory of Hera", Ἡρα + κλέος, Template:Polytonic) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. He was the greatest of the mythic Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans and a champion of the Olympic order against archaic chthonic monsters.
Extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among his characteristic attributes. 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."
In Rome and the modern West, he is generally known as Hercules.
Contents |
Origin and Character
Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being The Twelve Labours of Herakles; Alexandrian poets of the Hellenistic age drew his mythology into a high poetic and tragic atmosphere<ref>Burkert 1985, pp.208-9</ref>. His figure, which initially drew on Near Eastern motifs such as the lion-fight, was known everywhere: his Etruscan equivalent was Hercle, a son of Tinia and Uni; he was also identified by Greeks with Heryshaf (Egyptian mythology) <ref>ibid.</ref>.
The greatest of Hellenic chthonic heroes, yet unlike other Greek heroes, in that no tomb of Heracles was identified, 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".<ref>ibid.</ref>
The core of the Heracles complex has been identified by one author as far older still, coming out of the Neolithic hunter culture and shamanistic crossings into the netherworld.<ref>Burkert 1985, IV 5.1 et passim</ref>
Mythical dating
According to Eusebius, Preparation of the Gospel (10.XII), Clement states that "from the reign of Hercules in Argos to the deification of Hercules himself and of Asclepius there are comprised thirty-eight years, according to Apollodorus the chronicler: and from that point to the deification of Castor and Pollux fifty-three years: and somewhere about this time was the capture of Troy."
Christian readers with a literal bent have asserted from this remark that, since Heracles ruled over Tiryns in Argos at the same time that Eurystheus ruled over Mycenae, and since at about this time Linus was Heracles' teacher, we can conclude based on the date for Linus' notoriety in teaching Heracles in 1264 BC (given by Jerome in his Chronicon), Heracles' death and deification occurred 38 years later in approximately 1226 BC.
Cultic worship
The ancient Greeks celebrated the festival of the Herakleia, which commemorated the death of Heracles, on the 2nd day of the month of Metageitnion (which would fall in late July or early August).
The Myths of Heracles
Birth and childhood
| Topics in Greek mythology |
|---|
|
|
|
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 fruit of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, home early from war. (Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with his son at the same time.) Thus, Heracles' 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.
On the night the twins were to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus's adultery, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus would be High King. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alcmene's dwelling and slowed the birth by sitting crosslegged with her clothing tied in knots. Meanwhile, she caused another boy Eurystheus to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Heracles. She would have permanently delayed Heracles' birth had she not been foiled by Galanthis, her servant, who lied to her that she had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this Hera jumped in surprise, therefore untying the knots and finally allowing Alcmene to give birth.
One of the boys, Iphicles, was Amphytrion's son and a mortal, while the other was the demi-god Heracles.
Heracles was named in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera. A few months after he was born, Hera sent two serpents to kill him as he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled a snake in each hand and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were child's toys.
The Twelve Labours
Main Article: The Twelve Labours
In a fit of madness induced by Hera, Heracles slew his own and his brother's children. As penance, commanded by the Delphic Sibyl, he was required to carry out ten tasks set by his arch-enemy, Eurystheus (who had become King in his stead). Heracles successfully carried them all out, but Eurystheus was told by Hera to deem that he had failed two of the tasks for having received help, and allocated two more, which Heracles also completed, making 12.
Image:Heracles Farnese.jpg The traditional order of the labours is:
- The Nemean Lion.
- The Lernaean Hydra.
- The Ceryneian Hind.
- The Erymanthian Boar.
- The Augean Stables.
- The Stymphalian Birds.
- The Cretan Bull.
- The Mares of Diomedes.
- The Girdle of Hippolyte.
- The Cattle of Geryon.
- The Apples of the Hesperides.
- The Capture of Cerberus.
According to Jerome's Chronicon Herakles completed his Twelve labours in 1246 BC.
Omphale
Omphale was a queen or princess of Lydia. As penalty for a murder, Heracles was her slave. He was forced to do women's work and wear women's clothes, while she wore the skin of the Nemean Lion and carried his olive-wood club. After some time, Omphale freed Heracles and married him. Some sources mention a son born to them who is variously named. For further details see Omphale.
It was at that time that the cercopes, mischievous wood spirits, stole Heracles' weapons. He punished them by tying them to a stick with their faces pointing downward.
Hylas
While walking through the wilderness, Heracles was set upon by the Dryopians. He killed their king, Theiodamas, and the others gave up and offered him Prince Hylas. He took the youth on as his weapons bearer and beloved. Years later, Heracles and Hylas joined the crew of the Argo. As Argonauts they only participated in part of the journey. In Mysia, Hylas was kidnapped by a nymph. Heracles, heartbroken, searched for a long time but Hylas had fallen in love with the nymphs and never showed up again. The ship set sail without them. Story of Heracles and Hylas
Iole
King Eurytus of Oechalia promised his daughter, Iole, to whoever could beat his sons in an archery contest. Heracles won but Eurytus abandoned his promise. Heracles killed him and his sons–excluding Iphitus–and abducted Iole.
Laomedon/Tros
Before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy. The story is related in several digressions in the Iliad (7.451-453, 20.145-148, 21.442-457) and is also found in Apollodorus' Bibliotheke (2.5.9).
Laomedon planned on sacrificing his daughter Hesione to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles happened to arrive (along with Telamon and Oicles) and agreed to kill the monster if Laomedon would give him the horses received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus' kidnapping Ganymede. Laomedon agreed.
Heracles killed the monster, but Laomedon went back on his word.
Accordingly in a later expedition Heracles and his followers attacked Troy and sacked it and slew all Laomedon's sons present there save Podarces, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize; they were married and had a son, Teucer.
Other adventures
- Heracles defeated the Bebryces (ruled by King Mygdon) and gave their land to Prince Lycus of Mysia, son of Dascylus.
- He killed the robber Termerus.
- Heracles visited Evander with Antor, who then stayed in Italy.
- Heracles killed King Amyntor of the Dolopes for not allowing him into his kingdom. He also killed King Emathion of Arabia.
- Heracles killed Lityerses after beating him in a contest of harvesting.
- Heracles killed Poriclymenus at Pylos.
- Heracles founded the city Tarentum (modern: Taranto) in Italy.
- Heracles learned music from Linus (and Eumolpus), but killed him after Linus corrected his mistakes. He learned how to wrestle from Autolycus. He killed the famous boxer Eryx of Sicily in a match.
- Heracles was an Argonaut. He killed Alastor and his brothers.
- When Hippocoon overthrew his brother, Tyndareus, as King of Sparta, Heracles reinstated the rightful ruler and killed Hippocoon and his sons.
- Heracles killed the giants Cycnus, Porphyrion and Mimas.
Marriage, liaisons and death
Heracles had numerous liaisons with both women and youths, some of which linked his name with later dynasties of the historic period, who claimed descent from his offspring, collectively referred to as the Heracleidae, among whom the most notable was Macaria. One episode that stands out was his stay at the palace of King Thespios, who encouraged Heracles to make love to his daughters, all fifty of them, in one night. They all got pregnant and all bore sons. Many of the kings of ancient Greece traced their lines to one or another of these, notably the kings of Sparta and Macedon.
During the course of his life, Heracles married three times. His first marriage was to Megara, whose three children he murdered in a fit of madness and whom he later gave in marriage to his beloved Iolaus, because the sight of her was too painful. His second wife was Omphale, the Lydian queen or princess to whom he was sold as a slave. His last marriage was to Deianira, for whom he had to fight the river god Achelous. (Upon Achelous' death, Heracles removed one of his horns and gave it to some nymphs who turned it into the cornucopia.) Soon after they wed, Heracles and Deianira had to cross a river, and a centaur named Nessus offered to help Deianeira across but then attempted to rape her. Enraged, Heracles shot the centaur from the opposite shore with a poisoned arrow (tipped with the Lernean Hydra's blood) and killed him. As he lay dying, Nessus plotted revenge and told Deianira to gather up his blood and spilled semen and, if she ever wanted to make sure of Heracles' love, she should apply them to his vestments.
Later, when Deianira suspected that Heracles was preferring the company of Iole, she soaked a shirt of his in the mixture. Heracles' servant, Lichas, brought him the shirt and he put it on. Instantly he was in agony, the shirt burning into him. As he tried to remove it the flesh ripped from his bones. Heracles chose a voluntary death, asking that a pyre be built for him to end his suffering. After his death on the pyre the gods transformed Heracles into an immortal, or alternatively, the fire burned away the mortal part of the demi-god, so that only the god remained. He then married Hebe.
No one but Heracles' friend Philoctetes (in some versions: Iolaus or Poeas) would light his funeral pyre. For this action, Philoctetes (or Poeas) received Heracles' bow and arrows, which were later needed by the Greeks to defeat Troy in the Trojan War.
Heracles' children
Telephus is the son of Heracles and Auge. Hyllus is the son of Heracles and Deianeira or Melite. The sons of Heracles and Hebe are Alexiares and Anicetus.
Heracles' eromenoi
Image:Heracles, Iolaus and Eros - Cista Ficoroni foot.jpg
As paragon of masculinity and warriorship, Heracles also had a number of pederastic male beloveds. Plutarch, in his Eroticos, maintains that Heracles' eromenoi (male lovers) were beyond counting.
Of these, the one most closely linked to Heracles is the Theban Iolaus. Their story, an initiatory myth thought to be of ancient origin, contains many of the elements of the Greek pederastic apprenticeship in which the older warrior is the educator and the younger his helper in battle. Thus Iolaus is Heracles' charioteer and squire. Also in keeping with the initiatory pattern of the relationship, Heracles in the end gives his pupil a wife, symbolizing his entry into adulthood. Iolaus' ritual functions parallelled his relationship with Heracles. He was a patron of male love—Plutarch reports that down to his own time male couples would go to Iolaus' tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other<ref>Plutarch, Erotikos, 761d</ref>—and he presided over initiations in the historical era, such as the one at Agyrion in central Sicily.<ref>Bernard Sergent, Homosexuality in Greek Myth, Boston, 1986, pp. 141-152</ref> The tomb of Iolaus is also mentioned by Pindar.<ref>Pindar, Olympian Odes, 9.98-99</ref>
One of Heracles' best known love affairs, and one frequently represented in ancient as well as modern art, is the one with Hylas. Though it is of more recent vintage (dated to the third century) than that with Iolaus, it too exemplifies in detail the normal cycle of a youth's initiatory process, consisting of education through service to a warrior, including sexual relations, and concluding with promotion to adult status and marriage. <ref>Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica, 1.1177-1357; Theocritus, Idyll 13</ref> [1]
Sparta, as a warrior city where pederastic pedagogy—ostensibly of a chaste nature—was enshrined in the laws given by Lycurgus, the quasi-mythical legislator, also provided Heracles with an eromenos—Elacatas, who was honored there with a sanctuary and yearly games. The myth of their love is an ancient one.<ref>Sosibius, in Hesychius of Alexandria's Lexicon, per Sergent, 1986, p. 163</ref>
Abdera's eponymous hero, Abderus, was another of Heracles' beloveds. In what is considered to be initiatory myth, he was said to have been entrusted with—and slain by—the carnivorous mares of Thracian Diomedes. Hercules founded the city of Abdera in Thrace in his memory, where he was honored with athletic games. The topos of death in such stories is thought to symbolize the passage from one stage of life to another. <ref>Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, II 5.8</ref><ref>Ptolemy Khennos, 147b, in Photius' Bibliotheca</ref>
Among the lesser-known myths is that of Iphitus. Heracles' subsequent murder of Iphitus is held to be evocative of an initiatory ritual.<ref>Ptolemy Khennos, in Photius' Bibliotheca; Sergent, 1986, p.297</ref> Another such story is the one of his love for Nireus, who was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" (Iliad, 673). Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles, a fact thought to authenticate this tradition.<ref>Ptolemy Khennos, 147b; Sergent, 1986, p.298</ref> The last in this category—despite the fact that Greek literature preserves no mention of this role—is the story of Philoctetes. He is also heir to the hero—and thus surely his disciple—and is the one who lights his pyre. Later he is the initiator of Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.<ref>Martial, Epigrams 2.84</ref>
There is also a series of lovers who are either later inventions or purely literary conceits. Among these are Admetus, who assisted in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar;<ref>Plutarch, Erotikos, 761e</ref> Adonis;<ref>Ptolemy Khennos</ref> Corythus;<ref>idem</ref> Jason;<ref>Ptolemy Khennos</ref> and Nestor, who was said to have been loved for his wisdom. His role as eromenos was perhaps to explain why he was the only son of Neleus to be spared by the hero.<ref>Ptolemy Khennos, 147e; and Philostratus, Heroicus 696, per Sergent]], 1986, p.163</ref>
Hercules in Rome
Image:Hercules and Iolaus mosaic - Anzio Nymphaeum.jpg
The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it linking the hero with the geography of the Western Mediterranean. Details of cult were adapted to Rome as well.
The Great Altar of Hercules (Ara Maxima Herculi), housed within the Forum Boarium, has been dated to the 6th or 5th century BC. It stood near the temple of Hercules Victor.
The cult of Hercules may have been the first foreign one to be adopted in Rome; his most important shrine, the Ara Maxima Herculi<ref>The various founders of this altar, including Hercules himself, are discussed at the Lacus Curtius website.</ref>, lay at the edge of the original Palatine settlement, where the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, was later held<ref>One possible origin for the myth of the Cattle of Geryon, one of The Twelve Labours of Herakles, has been attributed to an older Milky Way myth which associates the Milky Way constellation with a herd of dairy cattle, where each cow is represented by a star</ref>. He became popular with merchants, who customarily paid him a tithe of their profits.
In Roman mythology, Acca Larentia was Hercules' mistress. She was married to Tarutius, a wealthy merchant. When he died, she gave his money to charity. In another version, she was the wife of Faustulus.
The later Roman Emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximinus, often identified or compared themselves with him.
Modern and ancient interpretations
Via the Greco-Buddhist culture, Heraclean symbolism was transmitted to the far east. An example remains to this day in the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples.
Views of Heracles/Hercules since the Renaissance have made few distinctions, the Roman figure overshadowing the Greek. Later interpretations of Heracles' legend cast him as a wise leader and a good friend (many of the movie and TV adaptations cast him in this light, especially the recent syndicated TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and the movie Hercules). While he was a champion and a great warrior, he was not above cheating and using any unfair trick to his advantage. However, he was renowned as having made the world safe for man by destroying many dangerous monsters, and he was also held up as an example for never having attacked first, but for having conquered all merely by defending himself when attacked, and protecting the helpless and distraught. His self-sacrifice obtained him the ascent to the Olympian realms and he was welcomed by the gods. The legend of Heracles endures, though often co-opted to suit the political fashion of the day.
As a public domain character Hercules or Heracles has appeared in several comic book adaptations; see: Hercules (comics)
See also: sword and sandal (film genre); Maciste; The Sons of Hercules; The legend of Hercules has been described in many movie and television adaptations.
- Steve Reeves starred in a number of 1950s movies as Hercules
- A syndicated TV series The Sons of Hercules, which repackaged Italian Maciste films
- Hercules appears as a character in the movie Jason & the Argonauts
- A 1963 animated television series, The Mighty Hercules
- Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1969 film debut, Hercules in New York
- Lou Ferrigno played Hercules in the 1983 movie of the same name.
- The Disney movie Hercules (1997 film)
- Hércules CF A football team based in Alicante, Spain.
- Hercules, a constellation
- The lunar crater Hercules
- Băile Herculane, a spa town in Romania where Hercules supposedly rested during his travels.
- Hercules, a 1907 built steam tug now preserved in San Francisco, California.
- Hercules, a small town in California named after the Hercules Powder Company
- Hercules Motorcycles, built by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss
- HMS Hercules, several ships of the Royal Navy
- The Bristol Hercules, an aircraft engine
- The C-130 Hercules, a transport aircraft
- USS Hercules, a hydrofoil formerly operated by the U.S. Navy.
- Hercules, an IBM mainframe emulator
- Hercules Graphics Card
- The character of Berserker in Fate/stay night.
Spoken-word myths – audio files
| Heracles myths as told by story tellers |
|---|
| 1. Heracles and Hylas, read by Timothy Carter |
| Bibliography of reconstruction: Homer, Odyssey, 12.072 (7th c. BC); Theocritus, Idylls, 13 (350–310 BC); Callimachus, Aetia (Causes), 24. Thiodamas the Dryopian, Fragments, 160. Hymn to Artemis (310–250? BC); Apollonios Rhodios, Argonautika, I. 1175 - 1280 (c. 250 BC); Apollodorus, Library and Epitome 1.9.19, 2.7.7 (140 BC); Sextus Propertius, Elegies, i.20.17ff (50–15 BC); Ovid, Ibis, 488 (AD 8 –18); Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica, I.110, III.535, 560, IV.1-57 (1st century); Hyginus, Fables, 14. Argonauts Assembled (1st century); Philostratus the Elder, Images, ii.24 Thiodamas (170–245); First Vatican Mythographer, 49. Hercules et Hylas |
Notes
<references/>
References
- Timeless Myths – Heracles The life and adventure of Heracles, including his twelve labours.
- Heracles, Greek Mythology Link
- Heracles (in French)
- Burkert, Walter, (1977) 1985. Greek Religion, IV 5.1 et passim (Harvard University Press)bg:Херкулес
da:Herakles de:Herakles et:Herakles es:Heracles fr:Héraclès he:הרקולס hu:Héraklész ko:헤라클레스 it:Eracle la:Hercules nl:Heracles (mythologie) ja:ヘラクレス nb:Herakles pl:Herakles pt:Hércules ro:Heracles sl:Heraklej sr:Херакле fi:Herakles sv:Herakles uk:Геракл zh:海格力斯