Home > Heracles
For the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon).In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Heraklês ("glory of Hera") was the demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene, the grand-daughter of Perseus and the wife of Amphitryon. In Roman mythology he was called Hercules. He was, arguably, the greatest of the mythical Greek heroes, best known for his superhuman strength and many stories are told of his life. The most famous group of stories tell of The Twelve Labors of Hercules. His Etruscan equivalent was Hercle, a son of Tinia and Uni. He was also identified with Heryshaf ( Egyptian mythology).
1 Birth and childhood
Heracles was a son of Zeus and Alcmene. A major factor in the tragedies surrounding Heracles stem from Hera's hatred of him; as the wife of Zeus she often hated his mortal offspring, especially so in Heracles' case. While Alcmene was pregnant with Heracles, Hera tried to prevent her from giving birth. She was foiled by Galanthis, her servant, who told Hera that she had already delivered the baby. Hera turned her into a weaselAlternate uses: Weasel (disambiguation Mustela africana ''Mustela altaica Mustela erminea ''Mustela eversmannii ''Mustela felipei ''Mustela frenata ''Mustela kathiah ''Mustela lutreola ''Mustela lutreolina ''Mustela nigripes ''Mustela nivalis ''Mustela nu. Heracles was named in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera. A few months after he was born, Hera sent two serpents to kill him as a he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled a single snake in each hand and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were child's toys. One account of the origin of the Milky WayThis article is about the galaxy called the Milky Way. For the candy bar of the same name, see Milky Way candy bar. The Milky Way (a translation of the Latin Via Lactea in turn derived from the Greek Galaxia gala, galactos means "milk")) is a hazy band of is that Zeus had tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles: discovering who he was, she had pulled him from her breast, and a spurt of her milk formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to this day.
According to Greek tradition, probably based on Libanius, "Oration" XII, 99, or on the Epitome of the Library of Apollodorus, Heracles was conceived in the womb when Cronos, god of time, extended the night during his parents' nuptial. That miraculous event may have been a solar eclipseFor Solar Eclipse the alien friend of the rubber doll Betty Spaghetty, see Betty Spaghetty Zambia 2001 eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are on a single line with the Moon in the middle. Seen from the Earth, the Moon is in front near daybreak, which took place on September 7September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). There are 115 days remaining. Events 1191 Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf. 1539 Guru Angad Dev ji became the second Guru of the Sikhs 1776 World's, 1251 BCE. It lasted from 6:51 to 9:41 in the morning at Sparta, with 75.9% magnitude. The Legend has it that Heracles was born in Thebes, GreeceFor the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. Thebes #x303 Thivai) was a city in ancient Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. In ancient times, where Alcmene and Amphitryon lived. The eclipse could well be visible there also.
