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Heracles, the son of Zeus and Alcmene (a mortal woman), was a Greek hero and demigod. Because he was the product of one of Zeus’ many affairs, Heracles was hated and hounded by Zeus’ jealous wife Hera. Hera ensured that Heracles’ life was filled with hardship and tragedy. Of all Heracles’ heroic deeds, the most important were the Twelve ...
Lucan tells the story of Antaeus in a digression on the origins of Libya (the site of part of Caesar’s campaign against Pompey). Further references to Antaeus were made by Seneca (either 54 BCE–39 CE or 4 BCE–65 CE) in his Madness of Hercules (480); Statius (ca. 45/50–ca. 96 CE) in his Thebaid (6.893ff); and Juvenal (ca. 55–after 138 ...
Ladon was the name sometimes given to the terrible serpent that guarded the Garden of the Hesperides. His main duty was to ensure that no one stole the famous golden apples of the Hesperides, which were hidden away in this remote garden. Ladon was assisted in this task by the nymphs known as the Hesperides. When the hero Heracles was sent to ...
Heracles (Play) The Heracles is a tragedy by Euripides, usually dated to around 415 BCE. In the play, Heracles returns home after completing his Twelve Labors, just in time to save his family from a violent usurper. But he is driven mad by the gods and ends up killing the wife and children he has just saved.
Cerberus was the offspring of Typhoeus and Echidna and the guard dog of the Underworld. A servant of Hades (the Greek god of the dead), Cerberus prevented the inhabitants of the Underworld from returning to the land of the living. He was well suited to this task: in most traditions, Cerberus was a gigantic hound with three heads and a mane of ...
Hippolyta, daughter of Ares and Otrera, was a queen of the Amazons. She was best known for her girdle, which was said to signify her supremacy among the Amazons. Unfortunately, the hero and strongman Heracles was ordered to steal this girdle for his ninth labor. When Hippolyta and the other warlike Amazons resisted, Heracles fought and killed ...
In Disney’s animated Hercules, for instance, Nessus is the first opponent the hero must face (though in this retelling, it is Megara rather than Deianira whom he rescues). The Centaur has also been featured in TV shows such as Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and video games such as Titan Quest and Rise of the Argonauts. As in ancient sources ...
Hercules catching the hind of Cerynea by Simon Frisius, after Antonio Tempesta (ca. 1610–64). Rijksmuseum Public Domain. Though Heracles finally managed to capture the Ceryneian Hind alive, there are different accounts of how he accomplished this. In one, the hind arrived at Mount Artemisius in Arcadia, where it tried to cross the Ladon River.
The Nemean Lion terrorized the area around the town of Nemea (from which it earned its name) until it was finally slain by Heracles —a son of Zeus and the greatest of the Greek heroes. Heracles was sent to fight the lion as the first of his Twelve Labors, ultimately defeating it with his bare hands. Once the Nemean Lion was dead, Heracles ...
The Erymanthian Boar was known exclusively for its role in Heracles’ famous Twelve Labors. These were assigned to the hero by Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae, who in turn was guided by Heracles’ divine nemesis, Hera. The labors were meant to destroy Heracles, but the inimitable hero was able to complete them all (much to Hera’s chagrin).