Hercŭles, a celebrated hero, who, after death, was ranked among the gods, and received divine honours. According to the ancients there were many persons of the same name. Diodorus mentions three, Cicero six, and some authors extend the number to no less than 43. Of all these the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, generally called the Theban, is the most celebrated, and to him, as may easily be imagined, the actions of the others have been [♦]attributed. The birth of Hercules was attended with many miraculous and supernatural events; and it is reported that Jupiter, who introduced himself to the bed of Alcmena, was employed for three nights in forming a child whom he intended to be the greatest hero the world ever beheld. See: [Alcmena]. Hercules was brought up at Tirynthus, or, according to Diodorus, at Thebes, and before he had completed his eighth month, the jealousy of Juno, intent upon his destruction, sent two snakes to devour him. The child, not terrified at the sight of the serpents, boldly seized them in both his hands and squeezed them to death, while his brother Iphiclus alarmed the house with his frightful shrieks. See: [Iphiclus]. He was early instructed in the liberal arts, and Castor the son of Tyndarus taught him how to fight, Eurytus how to shoot with a bow and arrows, Autolycus to drive a chariot, Linus to play on the lyre, and Eumolpus to sing. He, like the rest of his illustrious contemporaries, soon after became the pupil of the centaur Chiron, and under him he perfected and rendered himself the most valiant and accomplished of the age. In the 18th year of his age he resolved to deliver the neighbourhood of mount Cithæron from a huge lion which preyed on the flocks of Amphitryon his supposed father, and which laid waste the adjacent country. He went to the court of Thespius king of Thespis, who shared the general calamity, and he received there a tender treatment, and was entertained during 50 days. The 50 daughters of the king became all mothers by Hercules, during his stay at Thespis, and some say that it was effected in one night. After he had destroyed the lion of mount Cithæron, he delivered his country from the annual tribute of 100 oxen which it paid to Erginus. See: [Erginus]. Such public services became universally known, and Creon, who then sat on the throne of Thebes, rewarded the patriotic deeds of Hercules by giving him his daughter in marriage, and entrusting him with the government of his kingdom. As Hercules by the will of Jupiter was subject to the power of Eurystheus [See: [Eurystheus]], and obliged to obey him in every respect, Eurystheus, acquainted with his successes and rising power, ordered him to appear at Mycenæ and perform the labours which by priority of birth he was empowered to impose upon him. Hercules refused, and Juno, to punish his disobedience, rendered him so delirious that he killed his own children by Megara, supposing them to be the offspring of Eurystheus. See: [Megara]. When he recovered the use of his senses, he was so struck with the misfortunes which had proceeded from his insanity, that he concealed himself and retired from the society of men for some time. He afterwards consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was told that he must be subservient for 12 years to the will of Eurystheus, in compliance with the commands of Jupiter; and that after he had achieved the most celebrated labours, he should be reckoned in the number of the gods. So plain and expressive an answer determined him to go to Mycenæ, and to bear with fortitude whatever gods or men imposed upon him. Eurystheus, seeing so great a man totally subjected to him, and apprehensive of so powerful an enemy, commanded him to achieve a number of enterprises the most difficult and arduous ever known, generally called the 12 labours of Hercules. The favours of the gods had completely armed him when he undertook his labours. He had received a coat of arms and helmet from Minerva, a sword from Mercury, a horse from Neptune, a shield from Jupiter, a bow and arrows from Apollo, and from Vulcan a golden cuirass and brazen buskins, with a celebrated club of brass according to the opinion of some writers, but more generally supposed to be of wood, and cut by the hero himself in the forest of Nemæa. The first labour imposed upon Hercules by Eurystheus, was to kill the lion of Nemæa, which ravaged the country near Mycenæ. The hero, unable to destroy him with his arrows, boldly attacked him with his club, pursued him to his den, and after a close and sharp engagement he choked him to death. He carried the dead beast on his shoulders to Mycenæ, and ever after clothed himself with the skin. Eurystheus was so astonished at the sight of the beast, and at the courage of Hercules, that he ordered him never to enter the gates of the city when he returned from his expeditions, but to wait for his orders without the walls. He even made himself a brazen vessel, into which he retired whenever Hercules returned. The second labour of Hercules was to destroy the Lernæan hydra, which had seven heads according to Apollodorus, 50 according to Simonides, 100 according to Diodorus. This celebrated monster he attacked with his arrows, and soon after he came to a close engagement, and by means of his heavy club he destroyed the heads of his enemy. But this was productive of no advantage, for as soon as one head was beaten to pieces by the club, immediately two sprang up, and the labour of Hercules would have remained unfinished had he not commanded his friend Iolus to burn, with a hot iron, the root of the head which he had crushed to pieces. This succeeded [See: [Hydra]], and Hercules became victorious, opened the belly of the monster, and dipped his arrows in the gall to render the wounds which he gave fatal and incurable. He was ordered in his third labour to bring alive and unhurt into the presence of Eurystheus a stag, famous for its incredible swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen feet. This celebrated animal frequented the neighbourhood of Œnoe, and Hercules was employed for a whole year in continually pursuing it, and at last he caught it in a trap, or when tired, or according to others, by slightly wounding it and lessening its swiftness. As he returned victorious, Diana snatched the goat from him, and severely reprimanded him for molesting an animal which was sacred to her. Hercules pleaded necessity, and by representing the commands of Eurystheus, he appeased the goddess and obtained the beast. The fourth labour was to bring alive to Eurystheus a wild boar which ravaged the neighbourhood of Erymanthus. In this expedition he destroyed the centaurs [See: [♣][Centauri]], and caught the boar by closely pursuing him through the deep snow. Eurystheus was so frightened at the sight of the boar, that, according to Diodorus, he hid himself in his brazen vessel for some days. In his fifth labour Hercules was ordered to clean the stables of Augias, where 3000 oxen had been confined for many years. See: [Augias]. For his sixth labour he was ordered to kill the carnivorous birds which ravaged the country near the lake Stymphalis in Arcadia. See: [Stymphalis]. In his seventh labour he brought alive into Peloponnesus a prodigious wild bull which laid waste the island of Crete. In his eighth labour he was employed in obtaining the mares of Diomedes, which fed upon human flesh. He killed Diomedes, and gave him to be eaten by his mares, which he brought to Eurystheus. They were sent to mount Olympus by the king of Mycenæ, where they were devoured by the wild beasts; or, according to others, they were consecrated to Jupiter, and their breed still existed in the age of Alexander the Great. For his ninth labour, he was commanded to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons. See: [Hippolyte]. In his tenth labour he killed the monster Geryon king of Gades, and brought to Argos his numerous flocks, which fed upon human flesh. See: [Geryon]. The eleventh labour was to obtain apples from the garden of the Hesperides. See: [Hesperides]. The twelfth and last, and most dangerous of his labours, was to bring upon earth the three-headed dog Cerberus. This was cheerfully undertaken by Hercules, and he descended into hell by a cave on mount Tænarus. He was permitted by Pluto to carry away his friends Theseus and Pirithous, who were condemned to punishment in hell: and Cerberus also was granted to his prayers, provided he made use of no arms, but only force, to drag him away. Hercules, as some report, carried him back to hell, after he had brought him before Eurystheus. Besides these arduous labours, which the jealousy of [♥]Eurystheus imposed upon him, he also achieved others of his own accord, equally great and celebrated. See: [Cacus], [Antæus], [Busiris], [Eryx], &c. He accompanied the Argonauts to Colchis before he delivered himself up to the king of Mycenæ. He assisted the gods in their wars against the giants, and it was through him alone that Jupiter obtained a victory. See: [Gigantes]. He conquered Laomedon, and pillaged Troy. See: [Laomedon]. When Iole, the daughter of Eurytus king of Œchalia, of whom he was deeply enamoured, was refused to his entreaties, he became the prey of a second fit of insanity, and he murdered Iphitus, the only one of the sons of Eurytus who favoured his addresses to Iole. See: [Iphitus]. He was some time after purified of the murder, and his insanity ceased; but the gods persecuted him more, and he was visited by a disorder which obliged him to apply to the oracle of Delphi for relief. The boldness with which the Pythia received him irritated him, and he resolved to plunder Apollo’s temple, and carry away the sacred tripod. Apollo opposed him, and a severe conflict was begun, which nothing but the interference of Jupiter with his thunderbolts could have prevented. He was upon this told by the oracle that he must be sold as a slave, and remain three years in the most abject servitude to recover from his disorder. He complied; and Mercury, by order of Jupiter, conducted him to Omphale queen of Lydia, to whom he was sold as a slave. Here he cleared all the country from robbers; and Omphale, who was astonished at the greatness of his exploits, restored him to liberty, and married him. Hercules had Agelaus, and Lamon according to others, by Omphale, from whom Crœsus king of Lydia was descended. He became also enamoured of one of Omphale’s female servants, by whom he had Alceus. After he had completed the years of his slavery, he returned to Peloponnesus, where he re-established on the throne of Sparta Tyndarus, who had been expelled by Hippocoon. He became one of Dejanira’s suitors, and married her, after he had overcome all his rivals. See: [Achelous]. He was obliged to leave Calydon, his father-in-law’s kingdom, because he had inadvertently killed a man with a blow of his fist, and it was on account of this expulsion that he was not present at the hunting of the Calydonian boar. From Calydon he retired to the court of Ceyx king of Trachinia. In his way he was stopped by the swollen streams of the Evenus, where the centaur Nessus attempted to offer violence to Dejanira, under the perfidious pretence of conveying her over the river. Hercules perceived the distress of Dejanira, and killed the centaur, who, as he expired, gave her a tunic, which, as he observed, had the power of recalling a husband from unlawful love. See: [Dejanira]. Ceyx king of Trachinia received him and his wife with great marks of friendship, and purified him of the murder which he had committed at Calydon. Hercules was still mindful that he had once been refused the hand of Iole, he therefore made war against her father Eurytus, and killed him with three of his sons. Iole fell into the hands of her father’s murderer, and found that she was loved by Hercules as much as before. She accompanied him to mount Œta, where he was going to raise an altar and offer a solemn sacrifice to Jupiter. As he had not then the tunic in which he arrayed himself to offer a sacrifice, he sent Lichas to Dejanira in order to provide himself a proper dress. Dejanira, informed of her husband’s tender attachment to Iole, sent him a philter, or more probably the tunic which she had received from Nessus, and Hercules, as soon as he had put it on, fell into a desperate distemper, and found the poison of the Lernæan hydra penetrate through his bones. He attempted to pull off the fatal dress, but it was too late, and in the midst of his pains and tortures he inveighed in the most bitter imprecations against the credulous Dejanira, the cruelty of Eurystheus, and the jealousy and hatred of Juno. As the distemper was incurable, he implored the protection of Jupiter, and gave his bow and arrows to Philoctetes, and erected a large burning pile on the top of mount Œta. He spread on the pile the skin of the Nemæan lion, and laid himself down upon it as on a bed, leaning his head on his club. Philoctetes, or according to others, Pæan or Hyllus, was ordered to set fire to the pile, and the hero saw himself on a sudden surrounded with the flames, without betraying any marks of fear or astonishment. Jupiter saw him from heaven, and told to the surrounding gods that he would raise to the skies the immortal parts of a hero who had cleared the earth from so many monsters and tyrants. The gods applauded Jupiter’s resolution; the burning pile was suddenly surrounded with a dark smoke, and after the mortal parts of Hercules were consumed, he was carried up to heaven in a chariot drawn by four horses. Some loud claps of thunder accompanied his elevation, and his friends, unable to find either his bones or ashes, showed their gratitude to his memory by raising an altar where the burning pile had stood. Menœtius the son of Actor offered him the sacrifice of a bull, a wild boar, and a goat, and enjoined the people of Opus yearly to observe the same religious ceremonies. His worship soon became as universal as his fame, and Juno, who had once persecuted him with such inveterate fury, forgot her resentment, and gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage. Hercules has received many surnames and epithets, either from the place where his worship was established, or from the labours which he achieved. His temples were numerous and magnificent, and his divinity revered. No dogs or flies ever entered his temple at Rome, and that of Gades, according to Strabo, was always forbidden to women and pigs. The Phœnicians offered quails on his altars, and as it was supposed that he presided over dreams, the sick and infirm were sent to sleep in his temples, that they might receive in their dreams the agreeable presages of their approaching recovery. The white poplar was particularly dedicated to his service. Hercules is generally represented naked, with strong and well-proportioned limbs; he is sometimes covered with the skin of the Nemæan lion, and holds a knotted club in his hand, on which he often leans. Sometimes he appears crowned with the leaves of the poplar, and holding the horn of plenty under his arm. At other times he is represented standing with Cupid, who instantly breaks to pieces his arrows and his club, to intimate the passion of love in the hero, who suffered himself to be beaten and ridiculed by Omphale, who dressed herself in his armour while he was sitting to spin with her female servants. The children of Hercules are as numerous as the labours and difficulties which he underwent, and indeed they became so powerful soon after his death, that they alone had the courage to invade all Peloponnesus. See: [Heraclidæ]. He was father of Deicoon and Therimachus by Megara, of Ctesippus by Astydamia, of Palemon by Autonoe, of Everes by Parthenope, of Glycisonetes, Gyneus, and Odites by Dejanira, of Thessalus by Chalciope, of Thestalus by Epicaste, of Tlepolemus by Astyoche, of Agathyrsus, Gelon, and Scytha by Echidna, &c. Such are the most striking characteristics of the life of Hercules, who is said to have supported for a while the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders [See: [Atlas]], and to have separated by the force of his arm the celebrated mountains which were afterwards called the boundaries of his labours. See: [Abyla]. He is held out by the ancients as a true pattern of virtue and piety, and as his whole life had been employed for the common benefit of mankind, he was deservedly rewarded with immortality. His judicious choice of virtue in preference to pleasure, as described by Xenophon, is well known. Diodorus, bks. 1 & 4.—Cicero, de Natura Deorum, bk. 1, &c.—Apollodorus, bks. 1 & 2.—Pausanias, bks. 3, 5, 9, & 10.—Hesiod, Shield of Heracles, &c.—Hyginus, fables 29, 32, &c.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 9, li. 236, &c.; Heroides, poem 9; Amores; Tristia, &c.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 8, &c.—Theocritus, poem 24.—Euripides, Hercules furens.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 8, li. 294.—Lucan, bks. 3 & 6.—Apollonius, bk. 2.—Dionysius of Halicarnassus, bk. 1.—Sophocles, Trachiniæ.—[♠]Plautus, Amphitryon.—Seneca, Hercules Furens & Hercules Œtaeus.—Pliny, bk. 4, ch. 6; bk. 11, &c.—Philostratus, Imagines, bk. 2, ch. 5.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 7; bk. 2, ch. 42, &c.—Quintus Smyrnæus, bk. 6, li. 207, &c.—Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis.—Pindar, Olympian, ode 3.—Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 438.—Statius, bk. 2, Thebiad, li. 564.—Mela, bk. 2, ch. 1.—Lucian, Dialogi Deorum.—Lactantius, De Falsa Religione.—Strabo, bk. 3, &c.—Horace, Odes, Satires, &c.——A son of Alexander the Great.——A surname of the emperor Commodus, &c.
[♦] ‘atrributed’ replaced with ‘attributed’
[♣] ‘Centaur’ replaced with ‘Centauri’
[♥] ‘Eurytheus’ replaced with ‘Eurystheus’
[♠] ‘Plutarch’ replaced with ‘Plautus’
Hercŭleum, a promontory in the country of the Brutii.——Fretum, a name given to the strait which forms a communication between the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Hercŭleus, one of Agrippina’s murderers. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 8.
Hercŭleus Lacis, a lake of Sicily.
Hercŭlis Columnæ, two lofty mountains, situate one on the most southern extremities of Spain, and the other on the opposite part of Africa. They were called by the ancients Abyla and Calpe. They are reckoned the boundaries of the labours of Hercules, and according to ancient tradition they were joined together till they were severed by the arm of the hero, and a communication opened between the Mediterranean and Atlantic seas. Dionysius Periegetes.—Silius Italicus, bk. 1, li. 142.—Mela, bk. 1, ch. 5; bk. 2, ch. 6.—Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 1.——Monœci Portus, now Monaco, a port town of Genoa. Tacitus, Histories, bk. 3, ch. 52.—Lucan, bk. 1, li. 405.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 830.——Labronis vel Liburni Portus, a seaport town, now Leghorn.——Promontorium, a cape at the bottom of Italy, on the Ionian sea, now Spartivento.——Insulæ, two islands near Sardinia. Pliny, bk. 3, ch. 7.——Portus, a seaport of the Brutii, on the western coast.——Lucus, a wood in Germany sacred to Hercules. Tacitus, Annals, bk. 2, ch. 12.——A small island on the coast of Spain, called also Scombraria, from the tunny fish (Scombres) caught there. Strabo, bk. 3.
Hercy̆na, a nymph who accompanied Ceres as she travelled over the world. A river of Bœotia bore her name. Pausanias, bk. 9, ch. 39.