H is for Heracles

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Heracles, otherwise known as Hercules, was the strongest of all mortals and stronger than many gods. He is the most famous Greek hero. He was the last mortal son of Zeus, and the only man born from a mortal woman to be made a god after his death. Hera, Zeus' wife, was jealous of Heracles since he was born from an affair Zeus had, and so tried to kill him by putting two snakes in his bed. Heracles strangled them both.
Later on in his life, Hera drove him mad and caused him to kill all of his children. He had to perform 12 labours in punishment for this, including killing the Hydra and bringing the hellhound Cerberus from the Underworld.
He also performed many minor labours, and was one of the Argonauts.

Comments

  1. Rob Z Tobor9 April 2013 at 10:31

    I too have included Hercules in my tale today, did you know he was very keen on Chocolate Hobnobs and wore a Hoola skirt. It is how he became a god, the rest of the Argonauts would say MY GOD when ever the saw him....

    Rob Z Tobor

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  2. Dani9 April 2013 at 11:57

    I love the story of Hercules.
    Dani @ Entertaining Interests
    #warriorminion

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  3. Unknown9 April 2013 at 14:23

    Hercules is one of the more well known of Greek Mythology- I wonder if that's because he was so failable.

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  4. Tasha Seegmiller9 April 2013 at 14:48

    I'm slow getting around to blogs, but I love greek mythology! So happy to see you sharing these and glad I found your blog!

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  5. Mark Means9 April 2013 at 14:58

    I've always heard he was a hard worker....with all those labors and such... :)

    Left and Write

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  6. Anonymous9 April 2013 at 15:31

    Ah so Heracles and Hercules are the same person! Good to know coz that was confusing me. Wonder why he's got two names?

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  7. jaybird9 April 2013 at 16:16

    I always liked the tale of Hercules. There was a show on tv in the late 90s I also liked, starring Kevin Sorbo. I think he did a great job as Hercules. And was very easy to look at. :)

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  8. Bevimus9 April 2013 at 21:16

    Wow. I'm sort-of of amazed by how much of his history I didn't know about. Massive strength and defeating the Hydra, that's pretty much all I know about him. Thanks for the continuing education!

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  9. DarcNina9 April 2013 at 22:45

    Great H day post! :)

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  10. Kimberly Gabriel10 April 2013 at 00:32

    I really should know more about Hercules. I love that I'm learning so much from your posts!

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  11. Jeff Hargett10 April 2013 at 01:01

    So much rich lore around this one. I suppose Hercules is the best known of the Greek gods for a reason. Loving your A-to-Z posts!

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  12. Nana Prah10 April 2013 at 09:21

    I didn't know all of that about Hercules. What I learned about him I got from the series show that was on years ago.

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  13. Outcast10 April 2013 at 11:41

    I'd say that Hercules is probably one of the most famous characters to come out of Greek Mythology expect for maybe Zeus or Cupid, love this story too.

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  14. Mina Lobo15 April 2013 at 03:22

    I commend you on using the Greek "Heracles" rather than the Roman "Hercules!" :-)
    Some Dark Romantic

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