Editing Heracles (section)

==Character==

[[File:Eurytios Krater Louvre E635 n1.jpg|thumb|left|Greek mythology influenced the [[Etruscan Civilization|Etruscans]]. This vase at [[Caere]] shows [[King Eurytus of Oechalia]] and Heracles in a symposium. Krater of corinthian columns called 'Krater of Eurytion', {{circa|600 BCE}}]]

Extraordinary strength, [[courage]], ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both males and females were among the characteristics commonly attributed to him. Heracles used his wits on several occasions when his strength did not suffice, such as when laboring for the king [[Augeas]] of [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], wrestling the giant [[Antaeus]], or tricking [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] into taking the sky back onto his shoulders. Together with [[Hermes]] he was the patron and protector of [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasia]] and [[palaestra]]e.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Guide to Greece'', 4.32.1</ref> His iconographic attributes are the [[Nemean Lion|lion skin]] and the [[Club (weapon)|club]]. These qualities did not prevent him from being regarded as a playful figure who used games to relax from his labors and played a great deal with children.<ref>Aelian, ''Varia Historia'', 12.15</ref> By conquering dangerous archaic forces he is said to have "made the world safe for mankind" and to be its benefactor.<ref>Aelian, ''Varia Historia'', 5.3</ref> Heracles was an extremely passionate and emotional individual, capable of doing both great deeds for his friends (such as wrestling with [[Thanatos]] on behalf of Prince [[Admetus]], who had regaled Heracles with his hospitality, or restoring his friend [[Tyndareus]] to the throne of [[Sparta]] after he was overthrown) and being a terrible enemy who would wreak horrible vengeance on those who crossed him, as Augeas, [[Neleus]], and [[Laomedon]] all found out to their cost. There was also a coldness to his character, which was demonstrated by Sophocles's depiction of the hero in ''[[Women of Trachis|The Trachiniae]]''. Heracles threatened his marriage with his desire to bring two women under the same roof; one of them was his wife [[Deianira|Deianeira]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama|url=https://archive.org/details/factsonfilecompa00ejoh_975|url-access=limited|last=Thorburn|first=John|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|year=2005|isbn=978-0816052028|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/factsonfilecompa00ejoh_975/page/n563 555]}}</ref>

In the works of [[Euripides]] involving Heracles, his actions were partly driven by forces outside rational human control. By highlighting the divine causation of his madness, Euripides problematized Heracles's character and status within the civilized context.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Heracles and Euripidean Tragedy|url=https://archive.org/details/heracleseuripide00papa|url-access=limited|last=Papadopoulou|first=Thalia|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn=9780521851268|location=Cambridge, MA|page=[https://archive.org/details/heracleseuripide00papa/page/n94 81]}}</ref> This aspect is also highlighted in ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' where [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] linked the hero's madness to an illusion and a consequence of Heracles's refusal to live a simple life, as offered by [[Amphitryon]]. It was indicated that he preferred the extravagant violence of the heroic life and that its ghosts eventually manifested in his madness and that the hallucinatory visions defined Heracles's character.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Self-representation and Illusion in Senecan Tragedy|last=Littlewood|first=Cedric|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0199267613|location=Oxford|page=94}}</ref>