Faustulus

In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Heraklês ("glory of Hera", Ηρακλης) was a divine hero, the demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene, and stepson of Alcmene's rightful husband and great-grandson of Perseus. In Roman mythology he was called Hercules. He was, arguably, the greatest of the mythical Greek heroes, best known for his superhuman strength. Many stories are told of his life, the most famous being The Twelve Labours of Herakles. His Etruscan equivalent was Hercle, a son of Tinia and Uni. He was also ...

Including:

• Heracles - Birth and childhood
• Heracles - Adulthood
• Heracles - The Twelve Labours
• Heracles - Omphale
• Heracles - Hylas
• Heracles - Iole
• Heracles - Killing various giants
• Heracles - Laomedon/Tros
• Heracles - Other adventures
• Heracles - Marriage affairs and death
• Heracles - Acca Larentia
• Heracles - Heracles' male lovers
• Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations
• Heracles - Spoken-word myths – audio files

Read more here: » Heracles: Encyclopedia - Heracles

In Roman mythology, Acca Larentia was Hercules' mistress after he won her in a game of dice (Macrobius i. 10; Plutarch, Romulus, 4, 5, Quaest. Rom. 35; Aulus Genius vi. 7). Hercules advised her to marry the first man she met in the street, who proved to be a wealthy Etruscan named Tarutius. She inherited all his property and bequeathed it to the Roman people, who out of gratitude instituted in her honour a yearly festival called Larentalia (23 December). According to some, Acca Larentia was the mother of the Lares, and, like Ceres, Teilus, Flora and others, symbolized the fertility of the ...

Read more here: » Acca Larentia: Encyclopedia - Acca Larentia

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 ...

See also:

Heracles, Heracles - Birth and childhood, Heracles - Adulthood, Heracles - The Twelve Labours, Heracles - Omphale, Heracles - Hylas, Heracles - Iole, Heracles - Killing various giants, Heracles - Laomedon/Tros, Heracles - Other adventures, Heracles - Marriage affairs and death, Heracles - Acca Larentia, Heracles - Heracles' male lovers, Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations, Heracles - Spoken-word myths – audio files

Read more here: » Heracles: Encyclopedia II - Heracles - Birth and childhood

Before their lives began, Romulus and Remus’s grandfather Numitor and his brother Amulius received the throne of Alba Longa upon their father’s death. Numitor received the sovereign powers as his birth right while Amulius received the royal treasury, including the gold Aeneas brought with him from Troy. But because Amulius held the treasury, thus having more power than his brother, he dethroned Numitor as the rightful king. Out of fear that Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, would produce children that would one day overthrow him as king, he forced Rhea to ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome

After five years of joint rule, Tatius was assassinated by foreign ambassadors and Romulus became the sole king of the Romans. Romulus introduced legislation that prevented adultery and murder. As the king of Rome, Romulus was not only the commander-in-chief of the army but also the city’s chief judicial authority. His judgements of many crimes were held in place for over six hundred years without a s ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome

Romulus's life ended in the 38th year of his reign, with a supernatural disappearance, if he was not slain by the Senate. One day, when Romulus and all the people had gone to the plain beyond the city, a sudden storm arose. The darkness became so great that the people fled in terror. When the storm was over, the Romans returned. To their surprise, however, Romulus had disappeared. The people sent for him, but none could find him. The people were amazed, and were all talking about his sudden disappearance, and wondering what could have become of ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension

Romulus and Remus - Main Sources. around A.D. 100 Plutarch (Lives of Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Camillus) around A.D. 10 Livy (The Early History of Rome) Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources. around 40 B.C. Cicero (The Republic VI, 22: Scipio's Dream) around A.D. 20 Dionysius of Halicarnassus (L. 2, Roman History (Book I)) around A.D. 100 Florus (Book I, I) ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - Sources

The Sabines, though a numerous and war-like people, found themselves bound by precious hostages, and fearing for their daughters, they sent ambassadors with reasonable and moderate demands that Romulus should give back their maidens, disavow his deed of violence, and then, by persuasion and legal enactment, establish a friendly relationship between the two peoples. But Romulus would not surrender the maidens, and demanded that the Sabines should allow marriage with the Romans, whereupon they all held l ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines

With Amulius dead, the city settled down and offered Romulus and Remus the joint crown. However, the twins refused to be the kings as long as their grandfather was still alive and would not live in the city as subjects. Thus after restoring the kingship to Numitor and properly honoring their mother Rhea Sylvia, they two left Alba Longa to found their own city upon the slopes of the Palatine Hill. However, before they left Alba Longa, they took with them fugitives, runaway ...

See also:

Romulus and Remus, Romulus and Remus - Life Before Rome, Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - War with the Sabines, Romulus and Remus - Life After the Founding of Rome, Romulus and Remus - Death Resurrection and Ascension, Romulus and Remus - Sources, Romulus and Remus - Main Sources, Romulus and Remus - Secondary Sources, Romulus and Remus - Notes

Read more here: » Romulus and Remus: Encyclopedia II - Romulus and Remus - The Founding of Rome

Via the Greco-Buddhist culture, Herculean symbolism was transmitted to the far east. An example remains to this day in the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples. Later interpretations of Heracles' legend cast him as a wise leader and a good friend (many of the movie and TV adaptations cast him in this light, especially the recent syndicated TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and the movie Hercules). While he was a champion and a great warrior, he was not above cheating and using a ...

See also:

Heracles, Heracles - Birth and childhood, Heracles - Adulthood, Heracles - The Twelve Labours, Heracles - Omphale, Heracles - Hylas, Heracles - Iole, Heracles - Killing various giants, Heracles - Laomedon/Tros, Heracles - Other adventures, Heracles - Marriage affairs and death, Heracles - Acca Larentia, Heracles - Heracles' male lovers, Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations, Heracles - Spoken-word myths – audio files

Read more here: » Heracles: Encyclopedia II - Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations

Heracles had countless affairs with women. He naturally had a great many children from various women, collectively referred to as the Heracleidae (most notable: Macaria). One event that stands out was his stay at the palace of King Thespios, who liked his build and encouraged Heracles to make love to his daughters, all fifty of them, in one night. They all got pregnant and all bore sons. Many of the kings of ancient Greece traced their lines to one or ano ...

See also:

Heracles, Heracles - Birth and childhood, Heracles - Adulthood, Heracles - The Twelve Labours, Heracles - Omphale, Heracles - Hylas, Heracles - Iole, Heracles - Killing various giants, Heracles - Laomedon/Tros, Heracles - Other adventures, Heracles - Marriage affairs and death, Heracles - Acca Larentia, Heracles - Heracles' male lovers, Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations, Heracles - Spoken-word myths – audio files

Read more here: » Heracles: Encyclopedia II - Heracles - Marriage affairs and death

He continued to perform feats such as slaying a lion that was preying on the local flocks and defending Thebes against a neighbouring army. For the latter he was awarded the King of Thebes' (Creon) daughter, Megara. Heracles - The Twelve Labours. Main Article: The Twelve Labours In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles slew his children and brother's children and as penance as told to him by the Delphic Sibyl, he was required to carry out ten tasks set by his arch-enemy, Eurystheus (who ...

See also:

Heracles, Heracles - Birth and childhood, Heracles - Adulthood, Heracles - The Twelve Labours, Heracles - Omphale, Heracles - Hylas, Heracles - Iole, Heracles - Killing various giants, Heracles - Laomedon/Tros, Heracles - Other adventures, Heracles - Marriage affairs and death, Heracles - Acca Larentia, Heracles - Heracles' male lovers, Heracles - Modern and ancient interpretations, Heracles - Spoken-word myths – audio files

Read more here: » Heracles: Encyclopedia II - Heracles - Adulthood