The Greek hero, Hercules, is often portrayed in modern media to be a brave and righteous man who helps those who are in need and slays the wicked beasts terrorizing the innocent. We all know Greek mythology is often romanticized in modern media so was Hercules really a hero or a villain?
The son of Zeus, Hercules, was indeed a hero according to Greek mythology and by the people of Greece. He endured many daunting tasks to redeem himself for his bloodlust caused by the Goddess, Hera, to become a symbol of strength and endurance to the common folk.
Though his father, the King of the Gods, definitely had questionable morals due to his actions recorded in Greek mythology, Hercules was actually virtuous for most of his actions saved for a few. Why would people even think that a hero like Hercules was a bad person?
Why Is Hercules Considered A Hero?
Though some people judge the Demi-god as a villain due to his erratic behavior and uncontrollable rage, there were many still who considered him to be a hero. He was brave, strong, and virtuous enough to always be on humanity’s side no matter what.
Hercules didn’t know of his divine blood at first but when he eventually did, he was never arrogant about it. He treated himself like any other human and even tried to live as a human as much as possible.
As a Demi-god with great strength and endurance, Hercules could have easily gotten his way with anything, but he willingly put himself in a position of hardship. He wanted to become a symbol to the people and give them hope for their mundane lives.
Hercules wanted to tell the commonfolk that if a Demi-god like him had to endure so many hardships, a normal human shouldn’t complain about theirs. He was considered by many to be a champion of the weak and the protector of the people.
During his famous twelve labors, Hercules dealt with all types of beasts from the previous era which were terrorizing the people. This included the Lernean Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Stymphalion Birds, and the Erymanthian Boar.
These were all beasts that threatened the people of their respective regions and Hercules killed or captured all of them for the better of the people. Without his labors, the Olympian Gods wouldn’t have been able to rid the lands of the ancient beasts either.
The hero’s story is a staple one for stoics as it depicted the uncontrollable random circumstances of life. Hercules couldn’t stop Hera from messing with his life but he never surrendered to her. He was a true man of courage and willpower.
Is Hercules Bad?
Some people see the hero, Hercules, in a bad light due to his erratic behavior that was very similar to that of his father, Zeus. He has done some terrible deeds and killed innocents but things are not as simple as they seem.
Hercules was a Demi-god that eventually ascended into Godhood but was always on humanity’s side no matter what. He was considered to be the champion of the weak and the protector of the people due to his infamous labors that kept mankind safe.
Though he has killed a few people, including his own family, it wasn’t really his fault as it was under the influence of the Queen of the Gods, Hera. She was hellbent on causing him tremendous suffering due to his status as a bastard of Zeus.
She looked for every opportunity to run his life which made the Demi-god endure hardships that wouldn’t normally exist. He even named himself, Hercules, meaning “the Glory of Hera” to symbolize how he would achieve greatness through overcoming the Goddess’ trials.
Hera even went as far as to force him to kill his own family which started the most important part of the legend, his twelve labors.
Who Did Hercules Kill?
Hercules killed several innocents all under the influence of the Goddess, Hera. He has also killed someone by accident as he wasn’t aware of his divine strength.
He did try to atone for all the innocents that he has killed but his hardships just kept coming.
Linus, His Teacher
When Hercules was young, his stepfather, Amphitryon, hired the best tutors in the world to teach him many things. Among them was the ability to play the lyre which was taught by his nanny, Linus.
Hercules was very arrogant even from a young age as he felt that he was better than others but still didn’t know of his divine blood. He was a very difficult student which led to Linus trying to punish the child for his misbehavior.
Unfortunately for the both of them, Hercules retaliated by throwing his lyre at her, not knowing the extent of his full strength. The force accidentally killed Linus and he was sent to tend to the flocks after that to prevent any other incidents.
Hercules couldn’t just sit still when he heard that the Theban army was defeated by a group of Minyans. He led them to victory which caused Creon, the King of Thebes to reward him with his daughter, Megara.
His Family
Hercules was rewarded by King Creon for his amazing feat of helping the Theban army to win against the Minyans with his daughter’s hand in marriage. The joining of Megara and Hercules was a happy one and they had two beautiful children together.
Hera, still bitter about his existence and the bastard of Zeus, was not happy when she found out about it. To end his happiness, Hera sent Hercules on an uncontrollable and violent bloodlust where he killed his own children.
Athena knocked the hero out of his madness with a stone but it was too late. Realizing what he had done, Hercules was filled with grief and regrets. He knew that this was a stain that was impossible to wipe away no matter what he did.
In his quest for redemption, he went to an oracle at Delphoi to ask for a way to clean the stain off his souls. The oracle told Hercules that the only way he could cleanse such a stain would be to perform 10 labors for his cousin Eurystheus, the King of Tiryns.
This was the event that kicked off the most well-known epic in the entirety of Greek mythology, Hercules’ Twelve Labors.
Iphitos, The Son of Eurytheos
An event that eventually led to the death of the legendary Greek hero, the death of Iphitos was definitely a tipping point for Hercules’ life. It all happened during his return to Tiryns after his twelve labors were done.
Hercules stopped in the city of Oechalia where King Eurytus gave the hero a challenge. He would give him his daughter’s hand in marriage if he were to defeat Eurytus and his sons in an archery contest.
Unsurprisingly, Hercules won the contest but Eurytus went back on his word. He feared that the hero would kill his daughter, Iole, as he did with his previous children with Megara in an angry bloodlust.
Hercules left the city in anger and not long after, King Eurytus’ 12 mares were stolen. They started to accuse the hero of doing the deed but Iphitos, the son of Eurytus, thought Hercules to be innocent.
Iphitos invited the hero to help him find the real thief and stayed as Hercules’ guest in Tiryns. Hercules then invited Iphitos to the top of the castle walls to discuss their next step in finding the thief.
Suddenly, Hercules was once again thrown into a bloodlust and threw the prince off the castle walls to his death. For this crime, Hercules was forced to serve Queen Ompale of Lydia for 15 months where he would be given a new set of labors all over again.
He had to leave his then-wife, Deianira, for the entire time. This would eventually cause the death of the hero as he never returned to his wife.
Is Hercules Considered Guilty of His Crimes?
Many have debated whether or not the Greek hero, Hercules, was actually guilty of the crimes of murder that he committed. It could be argued that it was all caused by the jealousy of Hera who hated his existence as a product of Zeus’ adultery.
The only murder that Hercules was directly guilty of was the death of his music teacher, Linus. Even then, he only did it by pure accident as the child was unaware of his godly strength when he threw his lyre at her.
The next murder of his own children was caused by Hera sending him into an uncontrollable rage which was only stopped as Athena knocked him out of it. He felt extreme regret and tried to find a way to cleanse himself of this unforgivable sin.
Hercules suffered many hardships from then on as he went on the famous twelve labors to redeem himself. He eventually finished all the labors given to him by King Eurystheus but tragedy struck once again during his visit to Oechalia.
Hercules found himself accused of a crime and the events led to his murder of Prince Iphitos, the son of Eurytheos. It was never explained if Hera was responsible for this but Hercules did go into another uncontrollable bloodlust.
Some may think that Hercules was a villain for his atrocities but one must ask if Hera was the true mastermind behind it all. We should still give credit where credit is due as Hercules did help humanity by killing the vilest beasts in the world during his twelve labors.
Hercules was well known as the champion of the weak and the protector of the people who achieved Godhood through his hardships.
Conclusion
The son of Zeus, Hercules, was a hero that was always on the side of humanity despite him being a Demi-god. He did some bad things and killed a few innocents but whether or not he was guilty of it is questionable.
The Goddess, Hera, manipulated the hero’s life and sent him on uncontrollable rages to kill his family and possible Iphitos, the son of King Eurytheos. Some people still think that the Greek hero was guilty of his crimes and only wanted an excuse for his behavior.
Things have long past and some things are set in stone. Though it was true that Hercules did some questionable things in the past, he was a man of virtue and did what he thought best for humanity.
As protector of the people and a champion of the weak, Hercules was truly a hero indeed.
