Biography of hurcules father zeus

He was worshiped with funeral sacrifices, and was regarded as a magicianlike other ancient daemones of Crete. The Phoenician Heracles, whom the Egyptians considered to be more ancient than their own, was probably identical with the Egyptian or Libyan Heracles. He was worshiped in all the Phoenician colonies, such as Carthage and Gades, down to the time of Constantine, and it is said that children were sacrificed to him.

We become acquainted with the Celtic and Germanic Heracles in the accounts of the expedition of the Greek Heracles to Geryones. In his contest with them, he was assisted by Zeus with a shower of stones, as he had not enough missiles; hence the Campus Lapideus between Massilia and the river Rhodanus. We must either suppose that the Greek Heracles was identified with native heroes of those northern countries, or that the notions about Heracles had been introduced there from the East.

For the worship of Heracles at Rome and Italy, see Hercules. The works of art in which Heracles was represented were extremely numerous, and of the greatest variety, for he was represented at all the various stages of his life, from the cradle to his death; but whether he appears as a child, a youth, a struggling hero, or as the immortal inhabitant of Olympus, his character is always that of heroic strength and energy.

Specimens of every kind are still extant. In the works of the archaic style he appeared as a man with heavy armor, 69 but he is usually represented armed with a club, a Scythian bow, and a lion's skin. His head and eyes are small in proportion to the other parts of his body; his hair is short, bristly, and curly, his neck short, fat, and resembling that of a bull; the lower part of his forehead projects, and his expression is grave and serious; his shoulders, arms, breast, and legs display the highest physical strength, and the strong muscles suggest the unceasing and extraordinary biographies of hurcules father zeus by which his life is characterised.

The representations of Heracles by Myron and Parrhasius approached nearest to the ideal which was at length produced by Lysippus. The so-called Farnesian Heracles, of which the torso still exists, is the work of Glycon, in imitation of one by Lysippus. It is the finest representation of the hero that has come down to us: he is resting, leaning on his right arm, while the left one is reclining on his head, and the whole figure is a most exquisite combination of peculiar softness with the greatest strength.

Episodes of his life are found on numerous vases, sarcophagi, reliefs, and frescoes. A bronze from Herculaneum shows him as a beardless young man wrestling the stag of Artemis. The Twelve Labors were the subject of the metopes at the temple of Hephaestus at Athens and of the temple of Zeus at Olympia. The many depictions of Heracles on vases include, among others, the scene with Busiris and the one where Heracles shows Cerberus to a frightened Eurystheus both on the hydra of Caere, mid-sixth century BCE.

This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith, which is in the public domain. Send commentscite this article. For other occurances of the name "Heracles", click here. Article created on Monday, March 3, Iconography The works of art in which Heracles was represented were extremely numerous, and of the greatest variety, for he was represented at all the various stages of his life, from the cradle to his death; but whether he appears as a child, a youth, a struggling hero, or as the immortal inhabitant of Olympus, his character is always that of heroic strength and energy.

References Notes Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library iv, 8. Iliad xviii, Iliad xiv,; xix, 98; Odyssey xii,; xxi, 25, Iliad v, ; Odyssey xii, ; Hesiod. Shield of Heracles The Library ii, 4. Fabulae29; Shield of Heracles3. Isthmian Odes vii, 5 ff. Iliad xix, 95 ff. Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library iv, 9. Hercules Furens Nemean Odes i, 49 ff.

Idylls xxiv, 1 ff. Historical Library iv, 9; Pausanias. Description of Greece ix, Catasterismi44; Hyginus. Poetical Astronomy ii, in fin. Idylls xxiv, ; Scholiast on Theocritus, xiii, 9, 56; Tzetzes on Lycophron, Historical Library iii, 66; Aelian. Varia Historia iii, Isthmian Odes iv, Fabulae; Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library iv, 29; Athenaeus, xiii, p.

Historical Library iv, 10 ff. Idylls xvi, ; Euripides. Fabulae32; Euripides. Apollonius Rhodius. Argonautica i, ; Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library iv, Hercules Furensff. Fabulae32; Scholiast on Pindar's Isthmian Odes iii, Description of Greece x, Fabulae32; Tzetzes on Lycophron, The Library ii, 6. Historical Library iv, 31 ff. Iliad ii, ; Odyssey xxi, 22 ff.

Trachiniaeff. As a reward, the king offered him the chance to perform sexual intercourse with all fifty of his daughters in one night. Heracles complied and they all became pregnant and all bore sons. This is sometimes referred to as his Thirteenth Labour. Yet another episode of his female affairs that stands out was when he carried away the oxen of Geryonhe also visited the country of the Scythians.

Once there, while asleep, his horses suddenly disappeared. When he woke and wandered about in search of them, he came into the country of Hylaea.

Biography of hurcules father zeus: Heracles born Alcaeus (Ἀλκαῖος,

He then found the dracaena of Scythia sometimes identified as Echidna in a cave. When he asked whether she knew anything about his horses, she answered, that they were in her own possession, but that she would not give them up, unless he would consent to stay with her for a time. Heracles accepted the request, and became by her the father of AgathyrsusGelonusand Scythes.

The last of them became king of the Scythians, according to his father's arrangement, because he was the only one among the three brothers that was able to manage the bow which Heracles had left behind and to use his father's girdle. Dionysius of Halicarnassus writes that Heracles and Lavinia, daughter of Evanderhad a son named Pallas.

As a symbol of masculinity and warriorship, Heracles also had a number of male lovers. Plutarchin his Eroticos, maintains that Heracles's male lovers were beyond counting. Of these, the one most closely linked to Heracles is the Theban Iolaus. According to a myth thought to be of ancient origins, Iolaus was Heracles's charioteer and squire.

Heracles in the end helped Iolaus find a wife. Plutarch reports that down to his own time, male couples would go to Iolaus's tomb in Thebes to swear an oath of loyalty to the hero and to each other.

Biography of hurcules father zeus: Hercules' father was the king

One of Heracles's male lovers, and one represented in ancient as well as modern art, is Hylaswho sailed with Heracles on the Argo. Another reputed male lover of Heracles is Elacatas, who was honored in Sparta with a sanctuary and yearly games, Elacatea. The myth of their love is an ancient one. Abdera 's eponymous hero, Abderuswas another of Heracles's lovers.

He was said to have been entrusted with—and slain by—the carnivorous mares of Thracian Diomedes. Heracles founded the city of Abdera in Thrace in his memory, where he was honored with athletic games. Another myth is that of Iphitus. Another story is the one of his love for Nireuswho was "the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion" Iliad But Ptolemy adds that certain authors made Nireus out to be a son of Heracles.

Pausanias makes mention of Sostratusa youth of Dyme, Achaeaas a lover of Heracles. Sostratus was said to have died young and to have been buried by Heracles outside the city. The tomb was still there in historical times, and the inhabitants of Dyme honored Sostratus as a hero. A series of lovers are only known in later literature. Among these are EurystheusAdonis[ 65 ] Corythus[ 65 ] Argus[ 66 ] and Nestor who was said to have been loved for his wisdom.

In the account of Ptolemaeus ChennusNestor's role as lover explains why he was the only son of Neleus to be spared by the hero.

Biography of hurcules father zeus: Traditionally, Heracles was the son of

A scholiast commenting on Apollonius 's Argonautica lists the following male lovers of Heracles: "Hylas, PhiloctetesDiomusPerithoasand Phrixafter whom a city in Libya was named". All of Heracles's marriages and almost all of his heterosexual affairs resulted in births of a number of sons and at least four daughters. One of the most prominent is Hyllusthe son of Heracles and Deianeira or Melite.

The term Heracleidaealthough it could refer to all of Heracles's children and further descendants, is most commonly used to indicate the descendants of Hyllus, in the context of their lasting struggle for return to Peloponnesus, out of where Hyllus and his brothers—the children of Heracles by Deianeira—were thought to have been expelled by Eurystheus.

The children of Heracles by Megara are collectively well known because of their ill fate, but there is some disagreement among sources as to their number and individual names. Apollodorus lists three, Therimachus, Creontiades and Deicoon; [ 71 ] to these Hyginus [ 72 ] adds Ophitus and, probably by mistake, Archelaus, who is otherwise known to have belonged to the Heracleidae, but to have lived several generations later.

A scholiast on Pindar ' s odes provides a list of seven completely different names: Anicetus, Chersibius, Mecistophonus, Menebrontes, Patrocles, Polydorus, Toxocleitus. The line was called Tylonids after his Lydian name. The divine sons of Heracles and Hebe are Alexiares and Anicetus. In Rome, Heracles was honored as Herculesand had a number of distinctively Roman myths and practices associated with him under that name.

Herodotus connected Heracles to the Egyptian god Shu. Also he was associated with Khonsuanother Egyptian god who was in some ways similar to Shu. As Khonsu, Heracles was worshipped at the now sunken city of Heracleionwhere a large temple was constructed. An example remains to this day in the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples.

Herodotus also connected Heracles to Phoenician god Melqart. Sallust mentions in his work on the Jugurthine War that the Africans believe Heracles to have died in Spain where, his multicultural army being left without a leader, the MedesPersiansand Armenians who were once under his command split off and populated the Mediterranean coast of Africa.

Temples dedicated to Heracles abounded all along the Mediterranean coastal countries. For example, the temple of Heracles Monoikos i. There are many teams around the world that have this name or have Heracles as their symbol. The most popular in Greece is G. Iraklis Thessaloniki. Heracleum is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family Apiaceae.

Some of the species in this genus are quite large. In particular, the giant hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum is exceptionally large, growing up to 5 m tall. Contents biography of hurcules father zeus to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item.

Divine hero in Greek mythology. This article is about the Greek divine hero. For the similar figure in Roman mythology, see Hercules. For other uses, see Herakles disambiguation and Heracles disambiguation. God of strength and heroes Divine protector of mankind and the patron of the gymnasium. One of the most famous depictions of Heracles, Farnese HerculesRoman marble statue on the basis of an original by LysipposCE.

National Archaeological MuseumNaplesItaly. ThebesBoeotiaGreece. Mount OetaPhocisGreece. Sacred Places. Sacred Islands. Sacred Mountains. Rites of passage. Other Topics. Main article: Labours of Hercules.

Biography of hurcules father zeus: Hercules' parents were, and why

Then, after Hercules was born, Hera sent two snakes to kill him in his crib. The infant Hercules was unusually strong and fearless, however, and he strangled the snakes before they could strangle him. But Hera kept up her dirty tricks. When her stepson was a young adult, she cast a kind of spell on him that drove him temporarily insane and caused him to murder his beloved wife and their two children.

He ordered Hercules to perform 12 labors for the Mycenaen king Eurystheus. Once Hercules completed every one of the labors, Apollo declared, he would be absolved of his guilt and achieve immortality. First, Apollo sent Hercules to the hills of Nemea to kill a lion that was terrorizing the people of the region. Some storytellers say that Zeus had fathered this magical beast as well.

Hercules trapped the lion in its cave and strangled it. Second, Hercules traveled to the city of Lerna to slay the nine-headed Hydra—a poisonous, snake-like creature who lived underwater, guarding the entrance to the Underworld. For this task, Hercules had the help of his nephew Iolaus. This way, the pair kept the heads from growing back.

Heracles was given Twelve Labours which would purify him of his sins and grant him immortality. The Twelve Labours were:. After completing this tasks, with help and encounters from numerous prominent figures in Greek mythology, Heracles joined the Argonauts in a search for the Golden Fleece. Heracles would fall in love with Princess Iole of Oechalia, her father King Eurytus promised her hand in marriage to anyone who could beat his sons in an archery contest.

Heracles won, but the King abandoned his commitment, and Heracles advances were spurned by the King and his sons, except for the son Iphitus. Heracles killed the king and his sons, abducted Iole and Iphitus became Heracles best friend.