Heracles (Divine Hero)
heroThe son of Zeus and Alcmene who performed twelve impossible labours and was the only hero to achieve full godhood after death.
The Myth
Heracles — whose name ironically means glory of Hera, the goddess who persecuted him — was the greatest hero of Greek mythology. Born to Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, he was marked for suffering from birth: Hera sent serpents to his cradle, which the infant strangled. Driven mad by Hera, he killed his own children, and the twelve labours were his penance. Each labour pushed beyond mortal limits: 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 Belt of Hippolyta, the Cattle of Geryon, the Apples of the Hesperides, and Cerberus from the Underworld. After the labours, he continued adventuring until his wife Deianeira, deceived by the centaur Nessus, gave him a poisoned shirt. In agony, Heracles built his own funeral pyre on Mount Oeta. As his mortal body burned away, his divine nature ascended to Olympus, where he married Hebe and became a god.
Fun Fact
Heracles is the only Greek hero who fully became a god — all others remained in the Underworld as shades.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Deianeira
heroThe wife of Heracles whose love inadvertently killed the greatest hero in Greek mythology when she...
Diomedes
heroDiomedes was the only mortal in the Iliad to wound two Olympian gods in a single day.
Heracles
heroThe greatest hero of Greek mythology, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Famous for his...
Heracles (Labours)
heroHeracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a...
Alcmene
heroAlcmene was the mortal woman whom Zeus seduced by disguising himself as her husband — she bore...
Augean Stables
conceptThe fifth labour of Heracles: cleaning the stables of King Augeas, which held 3,000 cattle and had...
Cerberus
creatureThe three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld, preventing the dead from leaving and...
Ceryneian Hind (Detail)
creatureA golden-antlered, bronze-hooved deer sacred to Artemis that Heracles pursued for an entire year as...
Cretan Bull
creatureThe magnificent bull sent by Poseidon to Minos that became the father of the Minotaur, later...
Geryon
creatureGeryon was a giant with three bodies joined at the waist who owned magnificent red cattle at the...
Hebe
godHebe served nectar to the gods and married Heracles.
Hera
godQueen of the Olympian gods and goddess of marriage. Known for her jealous rages against Zeus's...