Heracles: A Tragic Hero

The Greek mythical hero Heracles can be seen as a very problematic character. In light of Heracles’ legends, his status as a man, hero, and god is highly controversial. There are several factors that are necessary to look at to explore why he is so problematic: his birth; his character and actions; the attitude of the Gods towards him; the twelve labours; and his death and afterlife.

The birth of Heracles initially begins why he is very problematic as it introduces a constant feature of his story; the hostility of Hera. Heracles is the illegitimate son of Zeus and the mortal Alcemena, which enraged Hera (M.Sham, Classical Mythology). The day which Heracles was born, Zeus had previously boasted on Olympus ‘Today Eileithyia, helper in childbirth,

This is due to the many stories that have been created and changed about Heracles through the years, it has become unclear about what kind of a person Heracles is. Different accounts like those of the ninth labour show different characteristics of Heracles. In each account, he has been portrayed as a diplomat, a savage killer, and a lover; all of these characteristics are very juxtaposed (M.Sham, Classical Mythology). In addition, the way in which Heracles performs each task acts as evidence of whether he is purely courageous and truly a hero, or that he in fact is simply a brute. The eleventh labour, The Apples of the Hesperides, depicts Heracles outwitting Atlas into once again holding up the heavens by simply telling him he “wished to use his lion cloak as a cushion for his shoulders.” There are also other versions of this particular labour where Heracles goes directly to the garden and quickly dispatches of the monster guarding the tree. This only shows Heracles as a savage and brutish character (Csapo, Theories of Mythology). Not only do different versions of the stories about Heracles and his life cause problems with interpretation and beliefs throughout time, but they also build up an unclear picture of Heracles’ character. In light of this, it shows how Heracles is in fact a problematic character as there are many unclear versions of him being