Alexiares
A son of Heracles and Hebe born on Mount Olympus after Heracles' deification, serving as a divine guardian against war
The Legend of Alexiares
Alexiares was one of the two sons born to Heracles after his apotheosis and marriage to the goddess Hebe on Mount Olympus. His twin brother was Anicetus. Their names are significant: Alexiares means "he who wards off war" and Anicetus means "the unconquerable," together embodying the protective and invincible qualities of their father. Unlike the mortal children of Heracles, Alexiares and Anicetus were born divine, the product of the union between a deified hero and the goddess of youth. They appear in Apollodorus and other mythographical sources as guardians of the gates of Olympus, standing watch alongside their father in his divine role. The twins represent the final chapter of the Heracles saga — after a mortal life filled with suffering, labours, and eventual death on the pyre at Mount Oeta, the hero ascended to Olympus where he found lasting peace, a divine bride, and sons who would never face the hardships that defined his earthly existence. Alexiares and Anicetus received limited cult worship, primarily in connection with the wider veneration of Heracles.
Parents
Heracles and Hebe
Symbols
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