Herakles and the Gods
Olympian Gods
Zeus(Jupiter)
Zeus was the god of thunder and the ruler of the othergods, as well as Herakles’ father. Zeusbecame the ruler of the gods by overthrowing his own father.Of all of the immortals, Zeus works most behind the scenes.Whenever he does commit an act to help out someone, namely Herakles,which is not too often, he does not let everyone know.The relationship between Zeus and Herakles is not like any otherfather-son relationship; they both acknowledge each other with the respect duebut they do not closely communicate or function as a family.Hera, the sister and wife of Zeus, is a reason for his lack ofparticipation with the mortals of Earth, not to mention he is the ruler of allthe gods and does not have the time to take care of everything.
Poseidon(Neptune)
Poseidon was the brother of Zeus andthe god of the ocean. After deposing their father Cronus, Poseidon, Zeus, andHades shot dice in a helmet forlordship of the world. Zeus won the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon thesea. Poseidon may have matched hisbrother in dignity but he was by far much weaker than his brother.Poseidon controlled all of the oceans of the world.Poseidon and Herakles do not interact much at all except for when thegods fight against the giants and Herakles assists them in battle (Apollodorus1.6.2.)
Hera(Juno)
Hera was the sister andwife of Zeus and was very passionate in her hate for Herakles.In myth, Hera was simply Zeus’ wife, and as such she was inferior tohim in position and power and had to obey his commands. (It was only later, incult, that she became the queen of the heavens, of gods and men as he was king.)In myth, she was frequently humiliated and punished by her husband. Hepunished her after a violent quarrel in which Hephaestus interfered on herbehalf, and Zeus threw his son out of Olympus, laming him from the fall. Herathen focused her hatred also upon the women that Zeus loved.Instead of attempting to punish Zeus, she would punish the women, evenwhen they yielded to him only because he coerced or tricked them. It made nodifference to Hera how reluctant any of them were, or how innocent, the goddesstreated them all the same. Hera and Zeus had four children together, Hephaestus,Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia the goddess of childbirth.Herakles and Hera have a long past together.Hera was the one, along with Athena, who found Herakles in a field whenhe was a baby and Herakles bit the breast of Hera and made the Milky Way as themilk shot forth from her breast (Age of Heroes, p.300.)Hera sent the snakes into the crib of Herakles as he was sleeping as ababe, but the ever-strong Herakles, even as a child disposed of the snakes withease (Apollodorus 2.4.8.) WhenHerakles returns from the underworld to save his wife and children from Lycus,Hera sends Iris and Madness to infest the body of Herakles and drive him insane,forcing him to kill his wife Megara, and his children (Euripides, The Madnessof Herakles.) Hera also sent astorm after Herakles when he was at sea and had taken Troy.Thus forcing Zeus to hang her from Olympus.This was also where Hephaestus came to her rescue and he was cast out ofthe home of the immortals by Zeus (Apollodorus 1.3.5.)Also, during his labors, Hera sends a giant crab to try to kill Herakleswhile he is fighting the Hydra (Apollodorus 2.5.2.)Needless to say, Herakles is an ever-present reminder of theunfaithfulness of Zeus and she is compelled to destroy the hero.
Demeter(Ceres)
Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and sister to Zeus, Hades,Poseidon, Hera and Hestia. Demeter was the goddess of corn, fruit andagriculture in general and a goddess of fertility. Demeter had a daughter named Persephone who was captured byHades and forced to live in his underground palace with him.Demeter was heart broken and the loss of her daughter and went on aworldwide search for her. While searching, Demeter neglected her duties to change theseasons and to make the earth bear its fruits, so in turn the earth grew barrenand dry as she wandered along searching for Persephone.Finally, Zeus intercedes and tells Hades that he must give up Persephone.Hades agrees but since she had eaten part of a pomegranate she had toreturn to Hades and remain as his wife for four months out of the year and shewould live with her mother the other eight months on Olympus.Whenever Persephone returns to Hades each year, Demeter is sad and theearth grows cold and looses its fruit, causing winter. Demeter had only a tenuous relationship to Herakles when hewas returning from Hades with Cerberus, he freed Ascalaphus whom Demeter hadimprisoned, but Demeter turned Ascalaphus into an owl, and allowing Herakles tocontinue on his journey (Apollodorus 2.5.12.)
Athena(Minerva)
Athena was the daughter of Zeus, and ina way, also the daughter of the titan, Metis, the daughter of Oceanus andTethys. Before Athena’s birth, Zeus swallowed Metis because it was predictedthat she would give birth to a child destined tobe greater and stronger than himself. At the proper time, fully armed and withan ear-splitting war shout, Athena burst forth from Zeus’ head. Sheimmediately took her seat at Zeus’ right hand side in the great council of thegods. Athena owned the traits of her father, power and valor, and her mother,prudence and wisdom. In the war that was going on between the gods and the giants,Athena helped Zeus and Herakles, who were sent for at his suggestion, not onlyby giving them sound advice, but also by taking part in the action. Athena wasthe protector of heroes, she watched over every one of them and helped them outwhenever she could. Athena, alsothe half-sister of Herakles, has been found on numerous occasions to assist ourhero in his tasks, trials, and missions. The goddess of wisdom that she is inmyth, Athena always made sure that she stayed behind the scenes while at thesame time making sure that Herakles succeeded in what lay before him.Athena assisted Herakles when he was a child (see Hera.)She also kept Herakles from killing his mortal father, Amphitryon, whenhe was taken by madness (Euripides, The Madness of Herakles.)When Herakles fought the giant Alcyoneus, Athena advised Herakles to draghim from the town of Pallene, for he could not die within the city (Apollodorus1.6.1.) Also, when Herakles wastrying to obtain the apples of Hesperides, and he must hold up the world forAtlas, Athena helped him out with this burden as well by standing behind him andtaking off some of the weight (Michelle.)
Apollo(same)
Apollo was the god ofart, culture, and music. Apollo wasa many sided god, and was worshipped for various different qualities andcapacities. He was often a punishing god, and because of this, he is depictedhas having a bow and arrows, these having the ability to cause sudden death.Apollo had the ability to tell prophesy which he channeled throughoracles, in particular the famous Delphic Oracle.In addition to
having the ability toexercise this power, he also had the ability to transfer it to other menand gods as well. Apollo was a godwho would help the mortals one-minute but would punish them for something thenext. The relationship betweenApollo and Herakles was complex. When Herakles visits the Delphic Oracle during his travels hebecomes enraged at what the oracle tells him and knocks over a tripod.Apollo arrives and the two begin to battle.The fighting only stops once Zeus intervenes (Apollodorus 2.6.2).However there is an instance when they are side-by-side in battle whenthe gods fight the giants. Apollois seen shooting and arrow into the left eye of the giant Ephialtes, andHerakles is seen shooting the right eye (Apollodorus 1.6.2.)
Artemis(Diana)
Artemis was the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon. Artemis was the twinsister of Apollo. Because she isApollo’s twin it would be expected of her to share the same characteristics ofher brother, and indeed she does. Artemistoo carried a bow and arrows, and wielded sudden death upon whomeverthe deadly arrows struck. Like the other divinities, some of herqualities were ambivalent; hence she brought evil and suffering upon mortals,yet she also cured their ailments and helped them to solve their problems.Artemis is not known for many famous deeds but whenever she is mentioned,she is usually along side her brother Apollo.She does have relationship to Herakles however.When Herakles had to return to Eurystheus with the golden hind, which wassacred to Artemis since she was the goddess of the hunt, she and Apolloconfronted Herakles when he had captured the animal.They agreed to let him borrow it as long as he returned it to the forestonce he was done (Apollodorus 2.5.3.)
Dionysus(Bacchus)
Dionysus was born in Thebes, the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus,and is generally known as the god of wine and merrymaking. Dionysus was the onlygod whose parents were not both divine. When Dionysus had grown older, Heradrove him mad, in which condition he traveled through many parts of the earth:Egypt, Syria, Asia and India. Where he was received with hospitality heresponded in kind and taught people the elements of civilization and how tocultivate the vine; where he was not accorded the respect due to him and notrecognized as a god entitled to worship, he visited horrible punishments uponthe inhabitants, usually madness. Thosewho incurred Dionysus’ wrath, were not only sent into a frenzy, but in thatstate harmed or killed themselves and those they loved, or were attacked bytheir loved ones. Once Dionysus had secured his authority as a god across theworld he left his home high on Mount Olympus, and visited Semele in Hades,secured her release and took her back to Olympus, where she was worshipped asThyone. In myth Dionysus andHerackles do not come together, but both were driven mad by Hera.In comedy, Dionysus and Herakles share two very similar attributes; theyboth love to party and to drink wine.
Hermes(Mercury)
Hermes was the son of Zeus andof Maia, a Naiad who was the oldest and loveliest daughter of Atlas, and wasborn on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. As the messenger and herald of the gods,Hermes was frequently requested to speak in public, and to do a great deal oftraveling; he therefore became the god of eloquence and speech, and thegod of roads who would protect travelers like himself.In many places, Hermes was worshipped as the god of crops, and of mining.In Arcadia, he was honored as the god who bestows the blessing of fertility onanimals and soil. He was (as well as Morpheus, who played a minor role), the godof sleep. Hermes was one of themost active and energetic gods, and held many positions of trust, bestowed onhim by Zeus. One of Hermes' mostimportant duties was to ferry the shades or the ghosts of the dead from theupper world to the lower world (This is how Herakles was able to travel back andforth without injury.) This duty was so important, that Hades, himself used todo it. Hermes, along with Athena, also helped Herakles when he could. He also counseled Herakles when he descended to Hades andwarned him of the Gorgon’s inability to harm him anymore and gave him a swordto use on his journeys (Apollodorus 2.5.12.)
Aphrodite(Venus)
Aphrodite was the goddess of love. The unfaithful wife of the lame Hephaestus,she was in love with at least four other gods; Ares, Hermes, Poseidon andDionysus, and at least two mortals, Anchises and Adonis, both noted for theirbeauty. By Anchises, she was the mother of the Roman hero, Aeneus.Aphrodite, although the most beautiful of the goddesses, rarely played amajor role in myth. There was norelationship between Herakles and Aphrodite in myth. It is interesting that they are both considered great loversand they do not have any other connection at all.
Ares (Mars)
Ares was one of the sons of Zeus and Hera, and was the god of war.Ares was very belligerent and violent with his temper, which he inheritedfrom his mother. His own parents detested him, and his fellow gods dislikedhim as well, especially Zeus and Athena, who hated him for his blood lust. For awar god, Ares made a surprisingly poor showing in the contests in which heparticipated. When Diomedes, theson of Tydeus wounded him before Troy, his cry of pain, as loud as ten thousandwarriors, made both the Trojans and the Greeks tremble. In the battle of thegods, Athena, who had helped Diomedes, caught him in the neck with a huge rock,his stunned body, falling over seven hundred feet (Homer, Iliad V).Herakles, who had killed his son, Cycnus, conquered Ares in single combat(Hesiod, Shield of Herakles).
Hephaestus(Vulcan)
Hephaestus was born the son of Zeus and Hera, and was the god of fire and thechief workman of the gods. Hephaestus was lame and ugly, and was twice thrownfrom heaven on Olympus, once by his mother in shame and anger at his deformity,and once by his father because of a quarrel in which he sided with his mother.Perhaps the most important far-reaching contribution made by Hephaestus was hisinvention of Pandora, the first woman on earth, whom he made out of clay, at thecommand of Zeus, in order to plague mankind.Among the specimens of his skill as a craftsman, may be mentioned all ofthe palaces of the Olympian gods, the thunder-causing and fear-inspiring shieldof Zeus, the armor of Achilles and Aeneas, the scepter of Agamemnon, thefire-breathing bulls of Aetes, king of Colchis, the crown or Ariadne, and thebeautiful but fatal necklace of Harmonia, the wife of Cadmus. Hephaestus’ only relationship with Herakles was that hegave the hero a golden breastplate and shield to wear when in battle(Apollodorus 2.4.11, Hesiod, Shield of Herakles).
The following weregods and goddesses but they were not considered to be Olympian gods.
Hades(Pluto)
Hades was the third brother of the Olympians who drew for his share of theuniverse; the underworld and to rule over the dead was what he ended up with;God of the underworld (with his queen Persephone).Hades was also known as the god of wealth and precious metal that layhidden deep within the earth, and was a son of Cronus and Rhea.His helmet, given to him by the Cyclops was famous, for whoever wore it,became invisible. Hades lent his helmet, on occasions, to other gods, andsometimes mortals, just as Zeus lent his shield to Athena and Apollo. It wasrare that he left his dark realm tovisit Olympus or the earth, nor was he urged to do so, he was not a welcomevisitor. Hades was unpitying and inexorable, but just; a terrible, not an evilgod. Hades was king of the dead, not death itself, whom the Greeks calledThanatos. Hades’ symbol is the two pronged staff, which he used to drive theunwilling shades of spirits into his dark regions. The land of Hades is wellmapped in mythology, being split into two parts: Erebus to which the dead comeimmediately after dying, and Tartarus, the deeper part.Although not incapable of feeling love, Hades was a grim, fierce, andinexorable god, but not unjust, not a hater of foe of man, although of all ofthe deities he was the most hated by both men and gods.Hades did contribute help to Herakles with completing his labors when hehad to bring the tri-headed guard dog of Hades, Cereberus, to Eurystheus.Hades agreed to let Herakles borrow the hound under one condition, thathe defeats the animal without any weapons.Herakles did just that and returned to the world of the living with hisnew trophy (Apollodorus 2.5.12.)
Hestia(Vesta)
Hestiawas the first born of Cronus and Rhea and the sister of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon,Hades and Demeter. Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, and a virgin by choiceas Apollo and Poseidon wooed her, but she swore to Zeus that she would liveforever in the unmarried state. WithAthena and Artemis, she was one of the trinity of virgin goddesses.As a symbol of domesticity, she was honored, at the command of Zeus, by ahearth consecrated to her not only in every private home, but also in the publicbuilding of every capital city in Greece - as well as in the temples of thegods. All sacrifices began, andended with tribute being paid to Hestia, and she always had first mention inprayers. Hestia is quite simply the female counterpart of Hephaestus, the god offire; hence her presence was not as strong as other divinities.Herakles and Hestia did not have a relationship together at all, mostlikely because Herakles never had anything to do with hearth and home.(AH)
