Hercules

HERCULES

Hercules was considered one of the greatest heroes

of mythology. He was known as a demi-god, and he symbolized great strength and courage. Hercules was Roman name for the greatest hero of Greek mythology. Like most authentic heroes

, Hercules had a god as one of his parents, being the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. Zeus' queen, Hera, was jealous of Hercules, and when he was still an infant, she sent two snakes to kill him in his crib. Hercules was found with a strangled serpent in each hand.

Hercules father was Zeus. His mother was Alcmene. He had one sibling named Iphicles. Two other names for Hercules were Herakles and Heracles.

The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children. When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders.

As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he really needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero.

His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.

I chose Hercules because as a kid I watched the movie, and I was just interested to learn a little more about him.