Editing Heracles (section)

==Mythology==

===Birth and childhood===

[[File:Herakles strangling snakes Louvre G192.jpg|thumb|Heracles strangling [[snake]]s (detail from an Attic red-figured stamnos, c. 480–470 BCE)]]

A major factor in the well-known tragedies surrounding Heracles is the hatred that the [[goddess]] [[Hera]], wife of [[Zeus]], had for him. Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman [[Alcmene]]. When Zeus desired Alcmene, he decided to make one night last three by ordering [[Helios]], the god of the sun, not to rise for three days, so he would have more time with Alcmene.<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Library]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D8 2.4.8]; [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Hercules (Seneca)|Hercules Furens]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2007.01.0003 24]; ''[[Argonautica Orphica]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/549#113 113]; [[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [https://pt.calameo.com/read/000107044fc0f01286992 Hermes and Helios]</ref> Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, [[Amphitryon]], home early from war (Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with his son at the same time, a case of heteropaternal [[superfecundation]], where a woman carries twins sired by different fathers).<ref>Compare the two pairs of twins born to [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] and the "double" parentage of [[Theseus]].</ref> Thus, Heracles's very existence proved at least one of Zeus's many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus's mortal offspring as revenge for her husband's infidelities. His twin mortal brother, son of Amphitryon, was [[Iphicles]], father of Heracles's charioteer [[Iolaus]].

[[File:Jacopo Tintoretto - The Origin of the Milky Way - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Origin of the Milky Way]]'' by [[Jacopo Tintoretto]]]]

On the night Heracles and Iphicles were to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus's adultery, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of [[Perseus]] would become High King. Hera did this knowing that while Heracles was to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was [[Eurystheus]]. Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alcmene's dwelling and slowed the birth of Heracles and Iphicles by forcing [[Ilithyia]], goddess of childbirth, to sit cross-legged with her clothing tied in knots, thereby causing the twins to be trapped in the womb. Meanwhile, Hera caused Eurystheus to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Heracles. She would have permanently delayed Heracles's birth had she not been fooled by [[Galanthis]], Alcmene's servant, who lied to Ilithyia, saying that [[Alcmene]] had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this, she jumped in surprise, loosing the knots and inadvertently allowing Alcmene to give birth to Heracles and Iphicles.

[[File:Herakles snake Musei Capitolini MC247.jpg|thumb|Heracles as a boy strangling a snake (marble, Roman artwork, 2nd century CE). [[Capitoline Museums]] in [[Rome]], Italy]]

Fear of Hera's revenge led Alcmene to [[Infant exposure|expose]] the infant Heracles, but he was taken up and brought to Hera by his half-sister [[Athena]], who played an important role as protectress of heroes. Hera did not recognize Heracles and [[Milk of Hera|nursed him out of pity]]. Heracles suckled so strongly that he caused Hera pain, and she pushed him away. Her milk sprayed across the heavens and there formed the [[Milky Way (mythology)|Milky Way]]. Athena brought the infant back to his mother, and he was subsequently raised by his parents.<ref>Diodorus Siculus's ''[[Bibliotheca Historica]]'' ([https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html Book IV, Ch. 9])</ref>

The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles.<ref name="Alcides" /> He and his twin were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his brother grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them on his cot as if they were toys. Astonished, Amphitryon sent for the seer [[Tiresias]], who prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he would vanquish numerous monsters.

===Youth<!--Linked from 'The Choice of Hercules'-->===
[[File:Terracotta kantharos (drinking cup) in the form of the heads of Herakles and of a woman MET DP118168.jpg|thumb|left|Side of terracotta [[kantharos]] in the form of the head of Heracles, [[Athens]], c. 470 BCE]]
[[File:CarracciHercules.jpg|thumb|The choice of Hercules by [[Annibale Carracci]]]]
After killing his music tutor [[Linus of Thrace|Linus]] with a [[lyre]], he was sent to tend cattle on a mountain by his foster father Amphitryon. Here, according to an allegorical [[parable]], "[[Hercules at the crossroads|The Choice of Heracles]]", invented by the sophist [[Prodicus]] (c. 400 BCE) and reported in [[Xenophon]]'s ''[[Memorabilia (Xenophon)|Memorabilia]]'' 2.1.21–34, he was visited by two allegorical figures—Vice and Virtue—who offered him a choice between a pleasant and easy life or a severe but glorious life: he chose the latter. This was part of a pattern of "ethicizing" Heracles over the 5th century BCE.<ref>Andrew Ford, ''Aristotle as Poet'', Oxford, 2011, p. 208 n. 5, citing, in addition to Prodicus/Xenophon, [[Antisthenes]], [[Herodorus]] (esp. [[FGrHist]] 31 F 14), and (in the 4th century) [[Plato]]'s use of "Heracles as a figure for Socrates' life (and death?): ''Apology'' 22a, cf. ''Theaetetus'' 175a, ''Lysis'' 205c."</ref>

Later, in [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], Heracles married King [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]]'s daughter, [[Megara (mythology)|Megara]].

===Labours of Heracles===
{{Main|Labours of Hercules}}
[[File:Mosaic with the Labors of Hercules, 3rd century AD, found in Lliria (Valencia), National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid (15457108142).jpg|thumb|All 12 labours of Heracles, Mosaic of Llíria (Valencia, Spain)]]
In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children and Megara. After his madness had been cured with [[hellebore]] by Antikyreus, the founder of [[Anticyra|Antikyra]],<ref>Pausanias Χ 3.1, 36.5. [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaeus]], ''[[Geography|Geogr. Hyph.]]'' ΙΙ 184. 12. Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. "Ἀντίκυρα"</ref> he realized what he had done and fled to the [[Delphi|Oracle of Delphi]]. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King [[Eurystheus]] for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours, but after completing them, Heracles was cheated by Eurystheus when he added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would become a god, and be granted immortality.

Other traditions place Heracles's madness at a later time and relate the circumstances differently.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography And Mythology|publisher=Little, Brown, and Company|year=1870|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=W.|location=Boston|pages=393–394|id=ark:/13960/t9f47mp93}}</ref> In some traditions, there was only a divine reason for Heracles's twelve labours: Zeus, in his desire not to leave Heracles the victim of Hera's jealousy, made her promise that, if Heracles executed twelve great works in the service of Eurystheus, he should become immortal.<ref name=":3" /> In the play ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'' by [[Euripides]], Heracles is driven to madness by Hera and kills his children after his twelve labours.

Despite the difficulty, Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus in the end did not accept the success the hero had with two of the labours: the cleansing of the Augean stables, because Heracles was going to accept pay for the labour; and the killing of the Lernaean Hydra, as Heracles's nephew, [[Iolaus]], had helped him burn the stumps of the multiplying heads.

Eurystheus set two more tasks, fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing [[Cerberus]]. In the end, with ease, the hero successfully performed each added task, bringing the total number of labours up to twelve.

Not all versions and writers give the labours in the same order. The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' (2.5.1–2.5.12) gives the following order:

;1. Slay the [[Nemean lion|Nemean Lion]]: Heracles defeated a lion that was attacking the city of [[Nemea]] with his bare hands. After he succeeded he wore the skin as a cloak to demonstrate his power over the opponent he had defeated.
;2. Slay the nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_02.jpg|thumb|Heracles slaying the Lernaean Hydra]]A fire-breathing monster with multiple serpent heads. When one head was cut off, two would grow in its place. It lived in a swamp near [[Lerna]]. Hera had sent it in hopes it would destroy Heracles's home city because she thought it was invincible. With help from his nephew [[Iolaus]], he defeated the monster and dipped his arrows in its poisoned blood, thus envenomizing them.
;3. Capture the [[Ceryneian Hind|Golden Hind of Artemis]]: [[File:Palermo-Museo-Archeologico-bjs-08.jpg|thumb|Heracles and Ceryneian Hind by [[Lysippos]]]]Not to kill, but to catch, this hind that was sacred to [[Artemis]]. A different, but still difficult, task. It cost time, but, having chased it for a year, Heracles wore out the Hind. Artemis intervened, but as soon as Heracles explained the situation to her, she allowed him to take it, and he presented it alive to [[Eurystheus]].
;4. Capture the [[Erymanthian Boar]]: A fearsome marauding boar on the loose. Eurystheus set Heracles the Labour of catching it, and bringing it to [[Mycenae]]. Again, a time-consuming task, but the tireless hero found the beast, captured it, and brought it to its final spot. Patience is the heroic quality in the third and fourth Labours.
;5. Clean the [[Augeas|Augean]] stables in a single day: The Augean stables were the home of 3,000 cattle with poisoned faeces which Augeas had been given by his father [[Helios]]. Heracles was given the near impossible task of cleaning the stables of the diseased faeces. He accomplished it by digging ditches on both sides of the stables, moving them into the ditches, and then diverting the [[Alfeios|rivers Alpheios]] and [[Pineios (Peloponnese)|Pineios]] to wash the ditches clean.
;6. Slay the [[Stymphalian birds|Stymphalian Birds]]: These aggressive man-eating birds were terrorizing a forest near [[Lake Stymphalia]] in northern Arcadia. Heracles scared them with a rattle given to him by Athena, to frighten them into flight away from the forest, allowing him to shoot many of them with his bow and arrow and bring back this proof of his success to Eurystheus.
;7. Capture the [[Cretan Bull]]: The harmful bull, father of the [[Minotaur]], was laying waste to the lands round [[Knossos]] on [[Crete]]. It embodied the rage of [[Poseidon]] at having his gift (the Bull) to [[Minos]] diverted from the intention to sacrifice it to himself. Heracles captured it, and carried it on his shoulders to Eurystheus in [[Tiryns]]. Eurystheus released it, when it wandered to [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] which it then terrorized, until killed by [[Theseus]].
;8. Steal the [[Mares of Diomedes]]: Stealing the horses from [[Diomedes of Thrace|Diomedes]]'s stables that had been trained by their owner to feed on human flesh was his next challenge. Heracles's task was to capture them and hand them over to Eurystheus. He accomplished this task by feeding King Diomedes to the animals before binding their mouths shut.
;9. Obtain the belt of [[Hippolyta]], Queen of the [[Amazons]]: Hippolyta was an Amazon queen and she had a belt given to her by her father [[Ares]]. Heracles had to retrieve the belt and return it to Eurystheus. He and his band of companions received a rough welcome because, ordered by Hera, the Amazons were supposed to attack them; however, against all odds, Heracles completed the task and secured the belt for Eurystheus.
;10. Obtain the cattle of the monster [[Geryon]]: The next challenge was to capture the herd guarded by a two-headed dog called [[Orthrus]], which belonged to Geryon; a giant with three heads and six arms who lived in [[Erytheia]]. While travelling to Erytheia, he passed through the Libyan desert and was so annoyed by the heat he shot an arrow at Helios, the sun. Helios, impressed, lent him his giant cup which Heracles used to find Orthrus, the herdsman Erytion and the owner, Geryon. He killed the first two with his club and the third with a poisoned arrow. Heracles then herded the cattle and, with difficulty, took them to Eurystheus.
;11. Steal the golden apples of the [[Hesperides]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_11.jpg|thumb|Hercules stealing the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides]]These sacred fruits were protected by Hera who had set [[Ladon (mythology)|Ladon]], a fearsome hundred-headed dragon as the guardian. Heracles had to first find where the garden was; he asked [[Nereus]] for help. He came across [[Prometheus]] on his journey. Heracles shot the eagle eating at his liver, and in return he helped Heracles with knowledge that his brother would know where the garden was. His brother [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] offered him help with the apples if he would hold up the heavens while he was gone. Atlas tricked him and did not return. Heracles returned the trickery and managed to get Atlas taking the burden of the heavens once again, and returned the apples to Mycenae.
;12. Capture and bring back [[Cerberus]]: His last labour and undoubtedly the riskiest. Eurystheus was so frustrated that Heracles was completing all the tasks that he had given him that he imposed one he believed to be impossible: Heracles had to go down into the underworld of [[Hades]] and capture the ferocious three-headed dog Cerberus who guarded the gates. He used the souls to help convince Hades to hand over the dog. He agreed to give him the dog if he used no weapons to obtain him. Heracles succeeded and took the creature back to Mycenae, causing Eurystheus to be fearful of the power and strength of this hero.

===Further adventures===
After completing these tasks, Heracles fell in love with Princess [[Iole]] of [[Oechalia (Thessaly)|Oechalia]]. [[King Eurytus of Oechalia]] promised his daughter, [[Iole]], to whoever could beat his sons in an archery contest. Heracles won but Eurytus abandoned his promise. Heracles's advances were spurned by the king and his sons, except for one: Iole's brother [[Iphitus of Oechalia|Iphitus]]. Heracles killed the king and his sons—excluding Iphitus—and abducted Iole. Iphitus became Heracles's best friend. However, once again, Hera drove Heracles mad and he threw Iphitus over the city wall to his death. Once again, Heracles purified himself through three years of servitude—this time to Queen [[Omphale]] of [[Lydia]].

===Omphale===
{{Main|Omphale}}
[[File:Affresco romano - eracle ed onfale - area vesuviana.JPG|thumb|Heracles and [[Omphale]], Roman fresco, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Fourth Style]] (45–79 CE), [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]], Italy]]

[[Omphale]] was a queen or princess of [[Lydia]]. As penalty for a murder, imposed by [[Xenoclea]], the [[Pythia|Delphic Oracle]], Heracles was to serve as her slave for a year. He was forced to do women's work and to wear women's clothes, while she wore the skin of the [[Nemean Lion]] and carried his [[olive|olive-wood]] club. After some time, Omphale freed Heracles and married him. Some sources mention a son born to them who is variously named. It was at that time that the [[cercopes]], mischievous wood spirits, stole Heracles's weapons. He punished them by tying them to a stick with their faces pointing downward.

===Hylas===
While walking through the wilderness, Heracles was set upon by the [[Dryopes]]. In [[Apollonius of Rhodes]]'s ''[[Argonautica]]'', it is recalled that Heracles had mercilessly slain their king, [[Theiodamas]], over one of the latter's bulls, and made war upon the Dryopes "because they gave no heed to justice in their lives".<ref>Richard Hunter, translator, ''Jason and the Golden Fleece'' (Oxford:Clarendon Press), 1993, pp. 31f.</ref> After the death of their king, the Dryopes gave in and offered him Prince [[Hylas]]. He took the youth on as his weapons bearer. Years later, Heracles and Hylas joined the crew of the ''[[Argo]]''. As Argonauts, they only participated in part of the journey. In [[Mysia]], Hylas was kidnapped by the nymphs of a local spring. Heracles, searched for a long time but Hylas had fallen in love with the nymphs and never showed up again. In other versions, he simply drowned. Either way, the ''Argo'' set sail without them.

===Rescue of Prometheus===
[[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' and [[Aeschylus]]' ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Aeschylus)|Prometheus Unbound]]'' both tell that Heracles shot and killed the eagle that tortured [[Prometheus]] (which was his punishment by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mortals). Heracles freed the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] from his chains and his torments. Prometheus then made predictions regarding further deeds of Heracles.

===Heracles's constellation===
On his way back to [[Mycenae]] from [[Iberia]], having obtained the Cattle of [[Geryon]] as his [[The Twelve Labours|tenth labour]], Heracles came to [[Liguria]] in North-Western [[Italy]] where he engaged in battle with two giants, [[Alebion|Albion]] and [[Bergion]] or Dercynus, sons of [[Poseidon]]. The opponents were strong; Heracles was in a difficult position so he prayed to his father [[Zeus]] for help. Under the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle. It was this kneeling position of Heracles when he prayed to his father Zeus that gave the name [[Engonasin#History|Engonasin]] (''"Εγγόνασιν"'', derived from "εν γόνασιν"), meaning "on his knees" or "the Kneeler",
to the constellation known as [[Hercules (constellation)|Heracles's constellation]]. The story, among others, is described by [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]].<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], i. 41</ref>

===Heracles's sack of Troy===
[[File:College of the Augustali (7254063590).jpg|thumb|A fresco from [[Herculaneum]] depicting Heracles and [[Achelous]] from [[Greek mythology|Greco]]-[[Roman mythology]], 1st century CE]]
Before [[Homer]]'s Trojan War, Heracles had made an expedition to Troy and sacked it. Previously, Poseidon had sent a sea monster (Greek: kētŏs, Latin: [[cetus (mythology)|cetus]]) to attack [[Troy]]. The story is related in several digressions in the ''Iliad'' (7.451–53; 20.145–48; 21.442–57) and is found in pseudo-Apollodorus's [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]] (2.5.9). This expedition became the theme of the Eastern pediment of the [[Temple of Aphaea#Eastern pediment|Temple of Aphaea]]. [[Laomedon]] planned on sacrificing his daughter [[Hesione]] to Poseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles happened to arrive (along with [[Telamon]] and [[Oicles]]) and agreed to kill the monster if Laomedon would give him the horses received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus's kidnapping [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]]. Laomedon agreed. Heracles killed the monster, but Laomedon went back on his word. Accordingly, in a later expedition, Heracles and his followers attacked Troy and sacked it. Then they slew all Laomedon's sons present there save [[Priam|Podarces]], who was renamed Priam, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize and they had a son, [[Teucer]].

===Colony at Sardinia===
After Heracles had performed his Labours, gods told him that before he passed into the company of the gods, he should create a colony at [[Sardinia]] and make his sons, whom he had with the daughters of [[Thespius]], the leaders of the settlement. When his sons became adults, he sent them together with [[Iolaus]] to the island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540:book=4:chapter=29|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I–V, book 4, chapter 29|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540:book=4:chapter=29:section=3|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I–V, book 4, chapter 29, section 3|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

===Other adventures===

[[File:NAMA Héraclès & Busiris.jpg|thumb|right|Heracles fighting the servants of the Egyptian King
[[Busiris (Greek mythology)|Busiris]], Attic ''[[Pelike]]'', c. 470 BCE]]
* Heracles defeated the [[Bebryces]] (ruled by King [[Mygdon of Phrygia|Mygdon]]) and gave their land to Prince [[Lycus (son of Dascylus)|Lycus]] of [[Mysia]], son of [[Dascylus]].
* He killed the robber [[Termerus]].
* Heracles visited [[Evander (philosopher)|Evander]] with Antor, who then stayed in Italy.
* Heracles killed King [[Amyntor (son of Ormenus)|Amyntor]] of [[Ormenium]] for not allowing him into his kingdom. He also killed King [[Emathion]] of [[Arabia]].
* Heracles kills the Egyptian King [[Busiris (Greek mythology)|Busiris]] and his followers after they attempt to sacrifice him to the gods.
* Heracles killed [[Lityerses]] after beating him in a contest of harvesting.
* Heracles killed [[Periclymenus]] at [[Pylos]].
* Heracles killed [[Syleus (mythology)|Syleus]] for forcing strangers to hoe a vineyard.
* Heracles rivaled with [[Lepreus (mythology)|Lepreus]] and eventually killed him.
* Heracles founded the city [[Taranto|Tarentum]] (modern [[Taranto]] in Italy).
* Heracles learned music from [[Linus (mythology)|Linus]] (and [[Eumolpus]]), but killed him after Linus corrected his mistakes and caned him with rods. He learned how to wrestle from [[Autolycus]]. He killed the famous boxer [[Eryx (mythology)|Eryx]] of [[Sicily]] in a match.
* Heracles was an [[Argonauts|Argonaut]].<ref name="1.9.16"/>  He killed [[Alastor]] and his brothers.
[[File:Herakles och Antaios, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Heracles killing the giant, [[Antaeus]]]]
* When [[Hippocoon]] overthrew his brother, [[Tyndareus]], as King of [[Sparta]], Heracles reinstated the rightful ruler and killed Hippocoon and his sons.
* Heracles killed [[Cycnus (son of Ares)|Cycnus]], the son of [[Ares]]. The expedition against Cycnus, in which Iolaus accompanied Heracles, is the ostensible theme of a short epic attributed to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Shield of Heracles]]''. 
* When Ares tried to avenge Cycnus, Heracles defeated him, with the help of [[Athena]].
* Heracles killed the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Giants]] [[Alcyoneus]] and [[Porphyrion]].
* Heracles killed [[Antaeus]] the giant who was immortal while touching the earth, by picking him up and holding him in the air while strangling him.
* [[Pygmy (Greek mythology)|Pygmies]] tried to kill Heracles because they were brothers of Antaeus and wanted to avenge Antaeus's death, but failed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/225#2.22.1|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg1600.tlg001.perseus-grc2:2.22.1/|title=Scaife Viewer &#124; Imagines, Flavii Philostrati Opera Volume II|website=scaife.perseus.org}}</ref>
* Heracles went to war with [[Augeias]] after he denied him a promised reward for clearing his stables. Augeias remained undefeated due to the skill of his two generals, the Molionides, and after Heracles fell ill, his army was badly beaten. Later, however, he was able to ambush and kill the Molionides, and thus march into Elis, sack it, and kill Augeias and his sons.
* Heracles visited the house of [[Admetus]] on the day Admetus's wife, [[Alcestis]], had agreed to die in his place. Admetus, not wanting to turn Heracles away, nor wanting to burden him with his sadness, welcomes him and instructs the servants not to inform Heracles of what has occurred. Heracles, thus unaware of Alcestis's fate, enjoys the hospitality of Admetus's house, drinking and revelling, which angers the servants, who wish to mourn as is their right. One scolds the guest and Heracles is ashamed of his actions. By hiding beside the grave of Alcestis, Heracles was able to surprise Death when he came to collect her, and by squeezing him tight until he relented, was able to persuade Death to return Alcestis to her husband.
* Heracles challenged wine god [[Dionysus]] to a drinking contest and lost, resulting in his joining the [[Thiasus]] for a period.
* Heracles also appears in [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[The Frogs]]'', in which Dionysus seeks out the hero to find a way to the underworld. Heracles is greatly amused by Dionysus's appearance and jokingly offers several ways to commit suicide before finally offering his knowledge of how to get to there.
* Heracles appears as the ancestral hero of Scythia in Herodotus's text. While Heracles is sleeping out in the wilderness, a half-woman, half-snake creature steals his horses. Heracles eventually finds the creature, but she refuses to return the horses until he has sex with her. After doing so, he takes back his horses, but before leaving, he hands over his belt and bow, and gives instructions as to which of their children should found a new nation in Scythia.
* In the fifth book of the ''New History'', ascribed by [[Photius]] to [[Ptolemy Hephaestion]], mention that Heracles did not wear the skin of the Nemean lion, but that of a certain Lion giant killed by Heracles whom he had challenged to single combat.<ref>[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 5] "Heracles did not wear the skin of the Nemean lion, but that of a certain Lion, one of the giants killed by Heracles whom he had challenged to single combat."</ref>
* Heracles fought and killed [[Cacus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0572:book=1:chapter=39:section=2|title=Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae, Books I-XX, book 1, chapter 39, section 2|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg113.perseus-grc1:18|title=Plutarch, Amatorius, section 18|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>
* Heracles fought with the [[Sicani]] people, killing many including the famous [[Leucaspis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.perseus-grc1:4.23|title=Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I-V, book 4, chapter 23|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>
* Heracles encountered [[Scylla]] during a journey to Sicily and slew her.

===Death===

[[File:Muerte de Hércules, por Zurbarán.jpg|thumb|left|''Death of Hercules'' (painting by [[Francisco de Zurbarán]], 1634, Museo del Prado)]]

This is described in [[Sophocles]]'s ''[[Trachiniae]]'' and in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' Book IX. Having wrestled and defeated [[Achelous]], god of the Acheloos river, Heracles takes [[Deianira]] as his wife. Travelling to [[Tiryns]], a [[centaur]], [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]], offers to help Deianira across a fast flowing river while Heracles swims it. However, Nessus is true to the archetype of the mischievous centaur and tries to steal Deianira away while Heracles is still in the water. Angry, Heracles shoots him with his arrows dipped in the poisonous blood of the [[Lernaean Hydra]]. Thinking of revenge, Nessus gives Deianira his [[Shirt of Nessus|blood-soaked tunic]] before he dies, telling her it will "excite the love of her husband".<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'', IX l.132–33</ref>

Several years later, [[rumor]] tells Deianira that she has a rival for the love of Heracles. Deianira, remembering Nessus's words, gives Heracles the bloodstained shirt. Lichas, the herald, delivers the shirt to Heracles. However, it is still covered in the Hydra's blood from Heracles's arrows, and this poisons him, tearing his skin and exposing his bones. Before he dies, Heracles throws [[Lichas]] into the sea, thinking he was the one who poisoned him (according to several versions, Lichas turns to stone, becoming a rock standing in the sea, named for him). Heracles then uproots several trees and builds a [[Pyre of Herakles|funeral pyre]] on [[Mount Oeta]], which [[Poeas]], father of [[Philoctetes]], lights. As his body burns, only his immortal side is left. Through Zeus's [[apotheosis]], Heracles rises to Olympus as he dies.

No one but Heracles's friend [[Philoctetes]] ([[Poeas]] in some versions) would light his funeral pyre (in an alternative version, it is [[Iolaus]] who lights the pyre). For this action, Philoctetes or Poeas received Heracles's bow and arrows, which were later needed by the Greeks to defeat Troy in the Trojan War.

Philoctetes confronted [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] and shot a [[poisoned arrow]] at him. The Hydra poison subsequently led to the death of Paris. The Trojan War, however, continued until the [[Trojan Horse]] was used to defeat [[Troy]].

According to [[Herodotus]], Heracles lived 900 years before Herodotus's own time (c. 1300 BCE).<ref>[[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+2.145 II.145]</ref>

=== Godhood ===
After his death in the pyre, Heracles ascended to Olympus as a god, and having finally reconciled with Hera, he got her daughter [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]] as his fourth and final wife. They had two sons together, [[Alexiares and Anicetus]].

When [[Typhon]] attacked Olympus, all gods transformed into animals and ran terrified to Egypt; Heracles became a fawn.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]] [https://topostext.org/work/216#28 18]</ref>

In the ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'', a satirical work by [[Lucian]] of [[Samsat|Samosata]], Heracles and another recently deified mortal, [[Asclepius]], fight over which gets the most prestigious seat on the table of the gods, each arguing that they are the one who deserve it. Zeus intervenes, and rules in favour of Asclepius, reasoning that the best seat should go to the one who became a god first.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/lucian-dialogues_gods/1961/pb_LCL431.313.xml?result=2&rskey=dQhSx2 15]</ref>

Heracles also appears to [[Philoctetes]], stranded and abandoned by the other Greeks on [[Lemnos]] island, and through his ''[[deus ex machina]]'' intervention, Philoctetes is convinced to join the other Greeks at [[Troy]], where he kills [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] with Heracles's arrows.<ref>{{cite book | title = Sophocles' Philoctetes and the Great Soul Robbery | first = Norman | last = Austin | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=2DE0_YEcsisC&pg=PA191 191] | publisher = [[University of Wisconsin Press]] | year = 2011 | isbn = 978-0-299-28274-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2DE0_YEcsisC}}</ref>

=== Christian chronology ===
In Christian circles, a [[Euhemerism|Euhemerist]] reading of the widespread Heracles cult was attributed to a historical figure who had been offered cult status after his death. Thus [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]], ''[[Preparation of the Gospel]]'' (10.12), reported that [[Clement of Alexandria|Clement]] could offer historical dates for Heracles as a king in Argos: "from the reign of Heracles in [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] to the [[wikt:deification|deification]] of Heracles himself and of [[Asclepius]] there are comprised thirty-eight years, according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] the chronicler: and from that point to the deification of [[Castor and Pollux]] fifty-three years: and somewhere about this time was the capture of [[Troy]]."

[[File:Agrigent Heraklestempel.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Temple of Heracles, Agrigento|Temple to Heracles]] in [[Agrigento]], [[Sicily]], Italy]]

Readers with a literalist bent, following Clement's reasoning, have asserted from this remark that, since Heracles ruled over [[Tiryns]] in Argos at the same time that [[Eurystheus]] ruled over [[Mycenae]], and since at about this time [[Linus (mythology)|Linus]] was Heracles's teacher, one can conclude, based on [[Jerome]]'s date—in his [[Universal history (genre)|universal history]], his ''Chronicon''—given to Linus's notoriety in teaching Heracles in 1264 BCE, that Heracles's death and deification occurred 38 years later, in approximately 1226 BCE.