HERCULES, the latinized form of the Greek HERACLES, the most famous Greek hero. His name (Gr. `HparcXijs, probably "glorious gift of Hera," cf. Diocles) shows that he cannot be originally a god, since no Greek god ever has a name compounded of that of another deity. Probably a real man, a chieftain of Tiryns in Mycenaean times and vassal to Argos, lies behind the very complicated mythology of Heracles. As told in later ages, the story in its main outline runs as follows: Zeus loved Alcmene, wife of Amphitryon of Tiryns, who at the time was living in exile at Thebes. Taking the shape of Amphi tryon, he begat a son who he intended should be lord of the Argolid; but by a trick of Hera that position was won for Eurys theus, who was born shortly before Heracles. Hera pursued Heracles with her hatred. In his cradle she sent serpents to kill him, which, however, he despatched. In young manhood, of ter his first adventure (the killing of the lion of Mt. Cithaeron), Heracles won for his wife Megara, daughter of Creon, king of Thebes, but again Hera interfered, and in a fit of madness sent by her he murdered Megara and her children. For this or for some other reason he became the servant of Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus and king of Argos. The numerous tasks imposed by his master were arranged at some unknown but not early date in antiquity into a cycle of 12 (the 12 Labours or Dodekathlos), usually in the following order: 1, capture of the lion of Nemea; 2, the Hydra of Lerna; 3, capture of the hind (or stag) of Arcadia; 4, capture of the boar of Erymanthus; 5, cleansing of Augeias' stables in Elis; 6, shooting the birds of Stymphalus (so far we have Peloponnesian adventures only, and these are probably the oldest) ; 7, capture of the Cretan bull; 8, capture of the mares of Diomedes in Thrace ; 9, taking the girdle of Hippo lyte, queen of the Amazons; io, seizing the cattle of Geryon; 11, bringing the apples of the Hesperides; 12, fetching up Cerberus from the lower world. It will be seen that the last two take place in the other world ; there is little doubt that they represent a forcible seizure of immortality, and are parallel to the adventure mentioned by Homer (Iliad, v., 395) in which he fights and wounds Hades.
Subsidiary to the Dodekathlos is a series of minor adventures called Parerga. For example, during the 4th labour, he met and fought the Centaurs; during the 11 th, he wrestled with the giant Antaeus. A further series of enterprises, undertaken after he was freed from the service of Eurystheus, are known as rpetEas. These include the campaigns against Troy, Elis and Pylos. Other notable incidents are his struggle with Apollo for the sacred tripod at Delphi, stopped by Zeus throwing a thunderbolt between the combatants, and his share in various famous exploits, such as the battle of the gods and giants, and the Argonautic expe dition. His last series of adventures was as follows: His second wife was Deianeira, daughter of Oeneus king of Calydon, for whom he wrestled with her other suitor, the river Achelous. As he was taking her home, the centaur Nessus tried to violate her, and was shot by Heracles with an arrow dipped in the venom of the Hydra. Dying, the centaur bade Deianeira take the blood from his wound and keep it safe, for anyone wear ing a garment rubbed with it would love her for ever. Years after, when Hyllus and several other children had been born to them, Heracles fell madly in love with Iole, daughter of Eurytus king of Oechalia. He was re pulsed by Eurytus when he de manded her, and the matter was further complicated by his killing Eurytus' son, for which he had to go into exile for a year, as slave to the Lydian queen Omphale, who set him to do women's work. According to some accounts, Heracles loved her and served her to gain her favours. Return ing, he captured Oechalia and took Iole prisoner. Deianeira realized that she was a dangerous rival, and sent Heracles a gar ment smeared with the blood of Nessus. This was a powerful poi son, and Heracles was seized with terrible agonies. At last he had himself brought up to the top of Mt. Oeta where a huge pyre was built. On this he was put and induced a shepherd, Poeas, with the gift of his bow and arrows, to light it. His mortal part was burned, but his divine part ascended to heaven, was reconciled to Hera, and wedded Hebe.
144. This is the latest form of the persistent theme of the winning of immortality.
Even this short sketch shows how complex the saga is. The Peloponnesian adventures may well be in origin an exaggerated account of the exploits of a real man, a great fighter and hunter; many of the others may have been originally accredited to some local hero, afterwards absorbed by Heracles. The incident of Omphale sounds like the tale of some Oriental mother-goddess and her male consort. There are several other traces of Heracles being identified with foreign gods; e.g., he is equated with the Phoenician Melqart.
In cult, he is sometimes a hero, sometimes a god; Athens claimed to have been the first to give him divine honours. His titles are numerous, among the most characteristic being aX€ (KaKos (averter of evil, also a title of Apollo) and KaXXivLKOs (nobly victorious). In art and literature, he is represented as an enormously strong man, of moderate height, a huge eater and drinker, very amorous, generally kindly but with occasional out bursts of brutal rage. He generally wears the skin of the Nemean lion ; his characteristic weapon is the bow, frequently also the club (whether this is original or not, is doubtful) . Numerous representations of him survive; of statues the most notorious is the hideous muscle-bound figure, now at Naples, known as the Farnese Hercules.
There is another Heracles, one of the Idaean Dactyli, who has only the name in common with the son of Alcmene.
In Italy, his name is corrupted in various ways, the most familiar being the Latin Hercules. He is worshipped as a god only, hero-cult not being Italian, and is principally a god of merchants and traders, although others also pray to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger. Tithes of commercial profits, etc., were often presented to him, and feasts held in his honour. His best-known cult was at the Ara Maxima, in the Forum Boarium at Rome. Though very early, this cult is probably not to be identified with that of any native deity. Late and artificial legends represented him as returning from the raid on Geryon's cattle by way of Italy, visiting the future site of Rome and there introducing more humane rites in place of human sacrifices and teaching Evander's people to worship himself, having earned their gratitude by killing the monster Cacus (really an ancient fire-god).
For Heracles see especially Preller-Robert, Griechische Mythologie, ii., p. 421 f oll. ; L. R. Farnell, Hero-Cults, p. 95 f o11. ; the arts. HERAKLES, HERCULES in the various classical dictionaries may also be consulted with profit. Add for some points B. Schweitzer, Herakles (Tubingen, 1922). For Hercules, see Preller-Jordan, Romische Mytho logie, p. 278 f oll. ; Wissowa, Religion u. Kultus, p. 271 ff. All these works contain references to the older literature, classical and modern.
(H. J. R.) Hercules was a favourite figure in French mediaeval literature. In the romance of Alexander the tent of the hero is decorated with incidents from his adventures. In the prose romance Les Prouesses et vaillances du preux Hercule (Paris, 1500), the hero's labours are represented as having been performed in honour of a Boeotian princess ; Pluto is a king dwelling in a dismal castle ; the Fates are duennas watching Proserpine; the entrance to Pluto's castle is watched by the giant Cerberus. Hercules conquers Spain and takes Merida from Geryon. The book is translated into English as Hercules of Greece (n.d.). Fragments of a French poem on the subject will be found in the Bulletin de la soc. des anciens textes francais (1877) . Don Enrique de Villena took from Les Prouesses his prose Los Doze Trabajos de Hercules (Zamora, 1483 and 1499), and Fernandez de Heredia wrote Trabajos y of anes de Hercules (Madrid, 1682) , which belies its title, being a collection of adages and allegories. Le Fatiche d'Ercole (1475) is a romance in poetic prose by Pietro Bassi, and the Dodeci Travagli di Ercole (1544), a poem by J. Perillos.