Apollodorus - Heracles

December 3, 2015

Apollodorus: The Library of Greek Mythology

• Apollodorus was an Athenian writer who lived about 140 B.C.

• He was a productive and versatile grammarian who published the only book full of myths titled the Library of Greek Mythology. The Library is an encyclopedia of mythology, within fragmentary form, full of interesting points and adventures for the Greek society.

• Apollodorus’ Heracles is the most famous of the Greek heroes. The name Heracles is derived from Greek words Hera and Kles that means Hera’s glory or Hera’s fame. Hera tried to get rid of him when she realized he was her husband’s child. Hercules is its Latin equivalent.

• Heracles is a very complex hero who belonged to the entire Greek world and is referred to as Pan-Hellenic

• Heracles had a remarkable birth wince he had two fathers- Zeus and Amphitryon(a king of Thebes). Alcmene (Heracles’ mother) was tricked into a sexual relation with the metamorphosed Zeus, who pretended to be her husband. Alcmene did not want to sleep with Amphitryon, although she was married to him, until he avenged the deaths of her brothers, as her father Electryon had planned. Electryon’s eight sons had been killed in a battle against the Taphians. Zeus admired Alcmene’ s beauty took on Amphyitryon’s likeness in in order to engage with her into intimacy. The next morning Amphyitryon appeared and wanted the consummation of marriage. In this way, Alcmene was impregnated with both mortal and divine seeds. From Zeus was born Heracles the greatest hero, while from Amphitryon was born Iphicles, a man of humble stature with effeminate characteristics.

• The principal and indirect reason for Heracles’ status as a hero was based on the reality that he was tested by the goddess Hera, who was jealous at the