| “ | Through action, a man becomes a hero. Through death, a hero becomes a legend. Through time, a legend becomes myth. Through hearing a myth, a man takes action. | „ |
| ~ Heracles |
Heracles, also known as Hercules was a divine hero in Greek mythology and the son of Zeus and Alcmene. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes and a champion of mankind who protected defenseless mortals against the most terrible of monsters.
Overview[]
Heracles was the mightiest of all the heroes in Greece, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae and a champion of the Olympian order.
Extraordinary strength, courage, and ingenuity, with both males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him. Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king Augeas of Elis, wrestling the giant Antaeus, or tricking Atlas into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with Hermes he was the patron and protector of gymnasia and palaestrae.
History[]
Background[]
Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. When Zeus desired Alcmene, he decided to make one night last three by ordering Helios, the god of the sun, not to rise for three days, so he would have more time with 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' many illicit affairs.
Fear of Hera's revenge led Alcmene to expose the infant Heracles, but he was taken up and brought to Hera by his half-sister Athena, who played an important role as protectress of heroes. Hera did not recognize Heracles and nursed him out of pity. Heracles suckled so strongly that he caused Hera pain, and she pushed him away. But with divine milk, Heracles had acquired supernatural powers. Athena brought the infant back to his mother, and he was subsequently raised by his parents.
The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles. He was renamed Heracles in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera, with Heracles meaning Hera's "pride" or "glory". He and his twin were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his brother grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them on his cot as if they were toys. Astonished, Amphitryon sent for the seer Tiresias, who prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he would vanquish numerous monsters.
Twelve Labours[]
In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children and Megara. After his madness had been cured with hellebore by Antikyreus, he realized what he had done and fled to the Oracle of Delphi. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King Eurystheus for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours, but after completing them, Heracles was cheated by Eurystheus when he added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would become a god, and be granted immortality.
While still haunted by his nightmares of killing his wife and children, Heracles decides to faithfully serve the Olympian gods for the next ten years, hoping that in this way, he can redeem himself and his past sins can be forgiven. He even joined the Argonauts alongside his male mortal lover Prince Hylas but left when the young prince was killed after Heracles was hoping that him joining the Argonauts' adventures would relieve him of his pain.
The death of Hylas made Heracles soon discover that he would forever be under the service of the gods to kill any monstrous beast that threatened the livelihood of mortal cities sacred to the gods while also collaborating wars against foreign kingdoms that seek to take over Greece. Ten years into his service, Heracles concluded that he won't ever be rid of his nightmares, so in defiance he cursed out the gods, especially Hera and did this by eating one of the golden apples that were plucked from the garden of the Hesperides and spit it at Hera's idol.
Iphicles[]
Heracles was cursed with immortality instead of divinity as punishment for his defiance against the Olympian gods. His immortality would ensure that he would not be taken by death and would forever be haunted by the sins of his past. Heracles would use his immortal life as a means to pass the time by traversing around Greece and even beyond it to slay great monsters and dethrone mad monarchs. His immortality had him cold, bitter, and distant from those that try to be close to him which is something of a far cry from how he was in the past.
During a drunken stupor, however, Heracles is visited by Athena herself who speaks to him through her Pallas Owl. Dismissing her at first, Athena claims that she feels pity towards Heracles' plight and she too can understand the burden of being a "favored bastard" of Zeus. Athena would later reveal a method of ridding himself of his punishment and his nightmares; by stopping his mad half-brother Iphicles from summoning the Gigantes and use them to destroy the gods, although Heracles had no knowledge of Iphicles being his half-brother until a fateful encounter with him. Iphicles, manipulated by Invictus, was hellbent on destroying the gods for abandoning him and making his brother Heracles suffer for their clear favoritism over him as well as using him to slay his own family as well.
Upon discovering this, Heracles angrily confronted Athena and scolded her for hiding the truth from him. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as she attempted to elaborate the enormity of the situation only for Heracles to rebuke her saying that she may be a bastard child of Zeus but she is still like the rest of her family, manipulating mortals and demigods to prevent their own demise and rid any obstacle in their the way including their champions' own kind. While initially Heracles disregarded Athena, he would soon return to stop Iphicles after he was briefly reunited with the souls of his wife and children as he ventured into the underworld to perhaps allow Hades to remove the curse that was placed on him.
Personality[]
Despite having iconographic attributes that are the lion skin and the club, these qualities did not prevent Heracles from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children. By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have "made the world safe for mankind" and to be its benefactor. Dream of the Endless even remarks that Heracles' final battle with Tiamat in the Dreamlands is the archetypal story of a hero slaying a mighty dragon that is ingrained in the mortal minds of all storytellers. While perceived as a brute, Heracles is actually quite cunning and strategic as displayed when he completed the twelve labours which all consist of seemingly impossible tasks that no man can accomplish.
Heracles was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing both great deeds for his friends (such as wrestling with Thanatos on behalf of prince Admetus, who had regaled Heracles with his hospitality, or restoring his friend Tyndareus to the throne of Sparta after he was overthrown) and being a terrible enemy who would wreak horrible vengeance on those who crossed him, as Augeas, Neleus and Laomedon all found out to their cost. Heracles has demonstrated great willpower and fortitude during his journeys, determined and dedicated to anything he sets his mind to. During the Greek era, Heracles was able to accomplish feats that were believed impossible. In the Norse era, despite choosing to kill only in self-defense and to protect his family and allies, Heracles’ grit has remained unshaken. Even since his young days, Heracles was fearless and never backed down nor did he run from his enemies; whatever they were.
Heracles excelled in his endeavors, earning recognition even among other heroes like Theseus. However, he harbors extreme bitterness towards the Olympians and is weary of constantly fulfilling their requests. Despite his fatigue, he acknowledges the lingering sense of duty but now acts on what he believes is right and not what the gods tell him to do. It is said that wherever he goes, everyone around him becomes unhappy upon seeing him, and that he is a monster with a human face and an animal heart. This may be because, due to having enemies on all sides, many people around Heracles end up getting hurt accidentally. Yet for all his faults, Heracles deeply loved his family, his murder of them being his deepest regret and driving him into madness. In fact, the only time he is happy being when he got to see his wife and children. Heracles also cared for his half-brother Iphicles and even sympathized with him when it came to being manipulated by the gods and displayed genuine painful anger for having to kill him.
After the Gigantomachy and the subsequent destruction of the Olympian gods, Heracles traveled to the Norse lands where he was known as "Tírr". The deaths of his family and friends have made him a stern and quiet man, growing distant and wanting nothing to do with others. Even so, he did not lose his instinctiveness to help people but was wary and mistrustful of the gods of these lands. It was not until he met his wife Sigrid on the battlefield that Heracles began to change. He has mellowed and softened significantly. However, Heracles was apprehensive towards having more children as he was haunted by Hera's words to where he fears he will lose control and kill them like he did back in Greece. This also led him to enter arguments with Sigrid as he was also fearful of telling her the reasons why he is afraid to bear children with her. In the midst and end of their journey with their allies, Heracles finally opens up about his violent past to Sigrid following Mímir's advice as well as the goddess Freyja. While he still maintains his brusque, imposing demeanor, he proactively helps others and readily calls them friends, even openly admitting that he cares for them. Like with his former wives, Heracles deeply loved Sigrid who returned the feeling passionately, to where they were more than willing to defy fate such as changing the course of events that could provide a different outcome for Ragnarök.
When he traveled to the Asian lands, Heracles was unconventionally mentored by Budai, but it paid off as he displayed remarkable calmness and maturity, not allowing his rage to consume him and mastering it in its entirety. His temper flares briefly whenever he deals with Sun Wukong's antics and tomfoolery but can still control himself. Deep down, however, Heracles is ridden with a sense of loneliness, struggling to come to terms with the fact that he very well could be the last god on Earth since all of them were wiped out by their fated apocalyptic wars and prophecies. But by the end of his journey in the East, Heracles would fully embrace his role as a protector, a god that lives among mortals, and when they pray to him for protection against men and monsters, he answers them. Heracles states that he wants the mortals to cling to their hopes and that he may be hope's answer to preventing the world from being consumed by darkness.
Powers and Abilities[]
Heracles was considered the most powerful hero and demigod in existence. Already beyond most mortals and monsters, to where armies of them pose no threat to him, his immortality upon consuming the apples of the Hesperides only to then achieve divinity in the aftermath of the Gigantomachy, his powers only dramatically increased, so much so that Hera displayed visible apprehension at the thought of Heracles claiming her as a target of his wrath. Heracles was even able to go toe-to-toe with Tiamat during their climactic battle in the Dreamlands with their blows shaking the very borders of the Collective Unconscious.
Heracles's most defining attribute is his god-like physical strength. He possesses incredible superhuman strength, which only grows over time, eventually reaching immeasurable levels. Even as an infant he was immensely strong to where he quite easily snapped the necks of two snakes sent by Hera to kill him. He is able to easily subdue and rip apart many large and powerful beasts and creatures such as infected humans, monsters like the indestructible Nemean Lion or the Lernaean Hydra, and magical beings using only his bare hands. As part of his immense strength, he can produce powerful shockwaves by either clapping his hands or stomping his foot. He was even capable of matching, overpowering and killing some of the Gigantes themselves with his raw strength who were nearly invincible even for the gods. He also contended with some of the gods themselves, such as when he was able to overwhelm Ares during their brutal fight, fiercely wrestled Thor which split the terrain below them apart, kept hold of Sobek's maw from devouring him, and was able take Sun Wukong by surprise with his strength several times. His most famous feat, however, would have to be him holding up the Firmament in place of Atlas when the Titan went to collect the apples of the Hesperides.
One aspect that is often overlooked is his intelligence. Though often knocked for just being a brute, Heracles could demonstrate a surprising amount of intelligence and wisdom to deal with numerous non-combative threats in his way. His intelligence primarily manifests itself in a remarkable degree of deductive analysis throughout his journeys, which has only sharpened in time as he experienced both numerous intellectually challenging situations and manipulations/deceits. Heracles has proven to be quite cunning and resourceful, being able to make good use of the environment and available tools to come up with ways to systematically defeat his enemies and swiftly adapt to unexpected situations, as shown when he repeatedly turned his enemies' weapons against them.
Similarly to Cain, Heracles was able to tap into his immense volumes of rage for greater physical prowess and the ability to increase his superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, and durability, making him much stronger than normal. He can also harness the ultimate powers of his rage in several weapons in his arsenal like his club. But by the time of his journeys in the Eastern lands, Heracles' experience and relentless training to master his rage granted him the ability to freely call upon concentrated bursts of his wrath. In conjunction, supplementing Heracles' extraordinary physical powers is his incredible battle prowess, being phenomenally lethal and dangerous in all forms of combat, both armed and unarmed. His combat skills were further honed by experiencing numerous difficult ordeals during his service to the gods and triumphing over armies and powerful monsters. His skills in combat were enough to garner the respect and admiration from some of the greatest warriors across the lands.
Heracles can also tap into his inherent power as a god even well after the destruction of Olympus by the Gigantes. When fully realizing his power, Heracles grows to titanic sizes and is enveloped in a golden fiery aura. His battles cries even resemble that of a lion's roar which is said to increase the valor and strength of those who hear it. In his god form his strength becomes boundless to where a single punch from him can not only defeat gods and demons with several blows but also change the weather subsequently. The force of his blows can also create destructive wind pressures, which are so strong they knocked out a large portion of the Einherjar and even shook Asgard to its foundations. As a god, he is able to fight and even overpower some of the mightiest Gigantes during the Gigantomachy, the Four Heavenly Kings, stood on equal ground with Set for a considerable amount of time until Horus joined the fight, and could stun Tiamat with the force of his attacks.
