Hercules
 | |
| Basics | |
| Name | Hercules |
|---|---|
| Other Names | Herakles |
| Moe Points | |
| Active in | Greece |
| Related Characters | |
| Father: Zeus | |
Hercules (Greek: Ηρακλής, Hēraklēs, derived from Hēra, "Hera" and kleos, "glory") is a demigod hero in Greek mythology.
Introduction
Hercules was the grandson of Zeus and Perseus, the king of Olympus, the daughter of Electryon, king of Tiryns and Mycenae, and the wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes. Born to Cemene, he was therefore both the great-grandson and half-brother of Perseus. According to legend, when Hercules was born, the goddess Hera was jealous and sent a poisonous snake to bite him. Hercules twisted the snake to death in the cradle. In his youth, Heracles met the goddess of pleasure and the goddess of virtue. The two goddesses asked him to choose between two paths of life: hedonistic and simple or arduous but glorious. Hercules chose the latter.
While in Thebes, Hercules married Megara, the daughter of King Creon, but because of Hera's curse, he killed his child with Megara in madness.
After regaining sanity, Hercules realized his crime and was asked to complete ten tasks for his enemy, King Eurystheus, and fulfill all his requirements. Later, two more were added, which are the famous Twelve Labours:
Kill the Nemean lion, kill the Hydra, capture Artemis' Ceryneian Hind, capture the wild boar of Mount Erymantus alive, clean the Augean stables, kill the Stymphalian birds, subdue the Cretan Bull, subdue the Mares of Diomedes, seize the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, retrieve the cattle of the giant Geryon, capture the golden apples of the Hesperides and capture Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound.
After completing the 12 "impossible" Labours, Hercules returned to freedom, roamed, got married, took risks, and performed many deeds. In the end, Hercules was misunderstood by his wife and put on a poisonous robe stained with the blood of his enemies. Unable to endure the pain, he burned himself to death. After his death, the gods took him to Mount Olympus and became Hercules. Hera also reconciled with him and gave him Hebe, the goddess of youth, as his wife.
When Hercules set himself on fire, his friend Philoctetes promised to light a fire for him, and Hercules gave Philoctetes his bow and arrows in return. Later, during the Trojan War, Philoctetes used this bow to kill the Trojan prince Paris.
In popular culture
Characters, things or works based on Hercules or borrowing his name often appear in ACGN works.
- Hercules (Fate) - a character in the Fate series and its derivative works.
- Hercules (Eiyuu Senki) - A character that appears in Eiyuu Senki ~The World Conquest~ and its derivative works.
- Heracross - A Pokémon that appears in the Pokémon series.
- Hercules - A superhero from Marvel Comics.
- Hercules (Disney) - Disney's 1997 animated film and its protagonist.
- Disney's 1998 animated series, adapted from the 1997 animated film, and its protagonist.
- Hercules (Tokyo Afterschool Summoners) - A character that appears in the game Tokyo Afterschool Summoners.
- Hercules - A ship that appears in the game World of Warships.
