Heracles

Heracles (/ˈhɛrəkliːz/ HERR-ə-kleez; Greek: Ἡρακλῆς, lit. "glory/fame of Hera"), born Alcaeus[2] (Ἀλκαῖος, Alkaios) or Alcides[3] (Ἀλκείδης, Alkeidēs), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.[4] He was a descendant and half-brother (as they are both sired by the god Zeus) of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae (Ἡρακλεῖδαι), and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.

Quick facts: Heracles, Abode, Symbol, Personal information... ▼

Heracles
God of strength and heroes Divine protector of mankind and the patron of the gymnasium
One of the most famous depictions of Heracles, Farnese Hercules, Roman marble statue on the basis of an original by Lysippos, 216 CE. National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
Abode	Mount Olympus
Symbol	Club, lion skin
Personal information
Born	Thebes, Boeotia, Greece
Died	Mount Oeta, Phocis, Greece
Parents	Zeus and Alcmene
Siblings	maternal: Iphicles, Laonome; paternal: Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Helen of Troy, Perseus and many others
Consort	Megara, Omphale, Deianira, Hebe
Children	Alexiares and Anicetus, Telephus, Hyllus, Tlepolemus
Equivalents
Roman equivalent	Hercules
Etruscan equivalent	Hercle
Canaanite equivalent	Melqart[1]

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