Herakles (1)Heracles or Hercules

The ultimate hero; the son of Zeus and the mortal, Alkmene (Alcmene).

The life of Herakles was one of fearless adventure and countless sorrows; the ancient Greeks had no doubts as to his reality; historians like Herodotus (Histories, book 4, chapter 82) and Xenophon (Anabasis, book 6, chapter 2) mentioned him with no hesitation and recounted his exploits as actual historical events; the descendants of Herakles ruled numerous cities and districts for perhaps five or six hundred years after his death.

His half-brother, Iphikles (Iphicles), was also born to Alkmene but was the son of Amphitryon and conceived on the same night as Herakles; Zeus had promised that the next son born in the line of Perseus would rule Argos; Hera delayed the birth of Herakles so that his cousin, Eurystheus, could become the ruler of Argos and Herakles would be doomed to a life of wandering and hardship.

While Herakles was still a child, Hera sent serpents to kill him but Herakles managed to kill the beasts in his crib; as a young man, Herakles was bound to his cousin, Eurystheus, and was required to perform twelve Labors commonly known as the Labors of Herakles; after the completion of the Labors, Herakles was free to do as he wished but the Immortals had devised a hard life for Herakles and his life was punctuated with toil and misery; the accomplishments of his adult life have been divided into three classifications: Labors (athloi), Incidentals (parerga) and Deeds (praxeis).

The death of Herakles was particularly sad because he was accidentally poisoned by his last earthly wife, Deianeira; Herakles built his own funeral pyre and offered his bow and quiver to a man named Philoktetes in exchange for lighting the fire that would consume him; before Herakles could die an agonizing death, Athene (Athena) or Nike raised his immortal body to Mount Olympos (Olympus) where he still resides, wedded to the goddess of Youth, Hebe.

For more detailed information on Herakles I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.