Heracles

Heracles is regarded as one of the greatest Ancient Greek heroes of all time. He was born as the Greek demigod son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Heracles married Hebe, the goddess of youth, after attaining godhood. His original Greek counterpart is Heracles (meaning "Glory of Hera").

History
Heracles' life was always beset with danger. Zeus was tricked by Hera into boasting that the next of the line of Perseus would be king of all of Mycenae so Hera delayed Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, from Heracles being born until after Eurystheus was. Shortly after she sent snakes to kill him, but he strangled them with his bare hands.

In one story, Hera was tricked by Athena into suckling a young Heracles which is where most of his great strength came from, and he bit so hard that when she pulled him away, the milk created the Milky Way. This was probably the reason as there are no other known myths that involve superhuman strength in any other of the children of the Big Three.

Eventually, Heracles was sent to train with Chiron. At one point Heracles was offered a choice between a life of hardship and glory or a life of ease and comfort. He chose the first. Heracles often had problems controlling his temper and great strength. He would often be punished by being made a slave for a number of years or exiled from the city as a result, but he always willingly submitted to punishment. If wronged, he would often take revenge even if many years had passed. One such instance was when he killed a sea monster for King Laomedon of Troy in exchange for magical horses. When Laomedon refused to pay him, Heracles returned years later to take revenge by sacking the city and nearly wiping out Laomedon's entire family.

Heracles's feud with Hera continued all throughout his life, but reached an apex when she drove him to madness and made him kill his own family. His famous Twelve Labors came about as punishment to purify him of this deed.

Aside from the Twelve Labors, Heracles had many other adventures and during that time he loved many women, fathering many children. At some point he aided the gods during the first Gigantomachy since a demigod was needed to kill the giants.

Late in life, Heracles took Deianeira as his wife. The centaur Nessus offers to carry Deianeira across a fast flowing river while Heracles swims it. However, Nessus is true to the archetype of the mischievous centaur, and tries to steal Deineira away while Heracles is still in the water. Angry, Heracles shoots him with his arrows dipped in the poisonous blood of the Lernaean Hydra. Thinking of revenge, Nessus tells Deianira to take a couple of drops of his blood if she thinks that Heracles' love will ever fade for her. Deianeira takes the blood thinking of the many ladies that would like to steal her husband.

One day while Heracles is away at war, he won a great victory and sent a messenger for his best tunic to celebrate. Deianeira, thinking that Heracles wants his best tunic to look good for a lady, takes Nessus' blood and paints it on the tunic. Lichas, the herald, soon delivers the tunic to Heracles. However, because it is covered in the Hydra's blood from Heracles' arrow, it poisons him, tearing his skin and exposing his bones.

Before he dies, Heracles throws Lichas into the sea, thinking he was the one who poisoned him (according to several versions, Lichas turns to stone, becoming a rock standing in the sea, named for him). Heracles then uproots several trees and builds a funeral pyre which Poeas (the father of Philoctetes) lights. Through Zeus' apotheosis, Heracles rises to Olympus as he dies. No one but Heracles' friend Philoctetes (or his father, Poeas in some versions) would light his funeral pyre (in an alternate version, it is Iolaus who lights the pyre). For this action, Philoctetes received Heracles' bow and arrows, which were later needed by the Greeks to defeat Troy in the Trojan War. The Trojan War, however, would continue until the Trojan Horse was used to defeat Troy. Philoctetes confronted Paris and shot a poisoned arrow at him. The Hydra poison would subsequently lead to the death of Paris.

As for Heracles, when he is brought to Mount Olympus, Hera ended up dropping her vendetta against him while Heracles ended up marrying Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth and Hera and Zeus' daughter.

Some stories relate that Heracles' mortal half was sent to the Underworld and later encountered by Odysseus.

Accomplishments
One of the things he is most known for are the twelve labors he had to complete for King Eurystheus. These were a series of "labors" that were given to him to purify him after he was cursed with madness by Hera, causing him to murder his wife and children. His labors include:
 * 1) Slaying the Nemean Lion.
 * 2) Slaying the Hydra.
 * 3) Capturing the Ceryneian Hind, the golden stag of Artemis.
 * 4) Capturing the Erymanthian Boar.
 * 5) Cleaning the Augean Stables in a day.
 * 6) Slaying the Stymphalian Birds.
 * 7) Capturing the Cretan Bull.
 * 8) Stealing the Man-Eating Mares of Diomedes.
 * 9) Obtaining the Girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyta.
 * 10) Obtaining the cattle owned by Geryon.
 * 11) Stealing the apples of the Garden of the Hesperides.
 * 12) Capturing and bringing back Cerberus from the Underworld.

The original labors were only ten, but King Eurystheus claimed that slaying the Hydra - because he had help while burning the ends of the necks - and cleaning the Augean Stables - because he was paid - which made the deed not count.

Heracles had many miscellaneous adventures including:
 * Killing Antaeus and Cacus.
 * Going on the quest for the Golden Fleece (temporarily).
 * Besieging Troy along with Telamon (father of Ajax) and Peleus (Argonaut and father of Achilles). After razing Troy, Heracles slew most of the royal family and only Priam survived. This war was the predecessor of the famous Trojan War.
 * Killing Periclymenus over his expedition against the city of Pylos.
 * Killing Lityerses, the Reaper of Men.
 * Inventing the combat art of Pankration with Theseus and later rescuing him from the Underworld.
 * Slew Kyknos, a son of Ares who built a temple to his father out of the skulls of travelers he killed.
 * Killed the Trojan Sea Monster.
 * Helping the gods kill the giants in the first Gigantomachy.

Battles with Gods
Heracles is famous for battling (and sometimes even defeating) more gods than any other Greek hero.
 * Ares battled Heracles several times. Once at Pylos, where Ares was completely defeated. In another, he tried to save the life of his son Kyknos who tried to murder Heracles, but the intervention of Athena delayed Ares long enough for Heracles to wound him, sending him back to Olympus.
 * Heracles wrestled with and overpowered Nereus, despite the latter attempting to break free via shapeshifting.
 * Heracles is recorded to have wounded both Hera and Hades with his arrows at the battle of Pylos forcing both to retreat.
 * He battled Apollo over the Oracle of Delphi who Heracles tried to strangle and again at Pylos. The first time, Zeus broke it up with a thunderbolt and later Apollo gained the upper hand and drove Heracles back.
 * Heracles wrestled the river-god Achelous for the hand of Deianeira. He won, even though Achelous shapeshifted into a bull and a snake.
 * Heracles wrestled and defeated Thanatos on behalf of his friend Admetus, rescuing his wife.
 * He fought the giant Porphyrion alongside Zeus and slew him with his arrows.
 * He also defeated many other giants alongside other gods such as Alcyoneus.