Heracles: Encyclopedia II - Heracles - Birth and childhood

Heracles - Birth and childhood

• Primordial gods and Titans
• Zeus and the Olympians
• Pan and the nymphs
• Apollo and Dionysus
• Sea-gods and Earth-gods

• Heracles and his Labors
• Achilles and the Trojan War
• Odysseus and the Odyssey
• Jason and the Argonauts
• Perseus and the Gorgon
• Oedipus and Thebes
• Theseus and the Minotaur
• Triptolemus and the
  Eleusinian Mysteries

• Satyrs, centaurs and dragons
• Ancient Greek religion

A major factor in the well-known tragedies surrounding Heracles stem from the hatred the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, had for him. Heracles was a son of Zeus and Alcmene, and so his very existence proved at least one of Zeus's many illicit affairs. Hera often conspired against Zeus's mortal offspring, as revenge for her husband's infidelities.

Heracles was a product of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus coupled with her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, home early from war. Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with twins.

On the night the twins were to be born, Hera, knowing of her husband Zeus's adultery, persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus would be High King.

Once the oath was sworn, Hera hurried to Alcmene's dwelling and slowed the birth by sitting crosslegged with her clothing tied in knots. Meanwhile, she caused another boy Eurystheus to be born prematurely, making him High King in place of Heracles. She would have permanently delayed Heracles' birth had she not been foiled by Galanthis, her servant, who told her that she had already delivered the baby. Upon hearing this Hera jumped in surprise, therefore untying the knots and finally allowing Alcmene to give birth. One of the boys, Iphicles, was a mortal, while the other was the demi-god Heracles.
Another version says that Hera made Eileithya sit in said position and that Galanthis tricked the goddess.
Hera turned Galanthis into a weasel and forced her to give birth by laying eggs through her mouth.

Heracles was named in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera. A few months after he was born, Hera sent two serpents to kill him as he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled a snake in each hand and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were child's toys.

One account of the origin of the Milky Way is that Zeus tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles; discovering who he was, she pulled him from her breast, and a spurt of her milk formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to this day (a similar story is told about Hera and Hermes; however, in that case, the trick worked and Hera became fonder of Hermes).

According to Greek tradition, probably based on Libanius, "Oration" XII, 99, or on the Epitome of the Library of Apollodorus, Heracles was conceived in the womb when Zeus extended the night into three during his parents' nuptial. That miraculous event may have been a solar eclipse near daybreak, which took place on September 7, 1251 BC. It lasted from 6:51 to 9:41 in the morning at Sparta, with 75.9% magnitude.

Legend has it that Heracles was born in Thebes, Greece, where Alcmene and Amphitryon lived. The eclipse could well be visible there also. Alternatively it is more likely to have been the total solar eclipse which occurred at around about midday on February 10, 1286 BC thereby making one night into three. Totality occurred at 10:52 UTC according to NASA projections. This would place Heracles' birth in early November of the same year.

The ancient Greeks celebrated Heracles' birth on the 4th day of each Greek month.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Birth and childhood", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki