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{{Short description|Roman adaptation of the Greek divine hero Heracles}}
{{About|Hercules in Roman classical mythology|the Greek divine hero from which Hercules was adapted|Heracles|other uses|Hercules (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Roman
| name = Hercules
| image = Hercules combatant Achelous (8655488835).jpg
| alt = 
| birth_place = 
| death_place = 
| caption = Hercules battles [[Achelous]], metamorphed into a serpent, 1824, by François Joseph Bosio. [[Louvre]] LL 325.<ref>[[Louvre]] [http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=556 L.L. 325] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611155621/http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=556 |date=2020-06-11 }}.</ref>
| god_of = God of strength and heroes
| abode = Rome
| symbol = Club, Nemean Lion, bow and arrows
| consort = 
| parents = [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Alcmene|Alcmena]]
| siblings = 
| children = 
| mount = 
| Greek_equivalent = [[Heracles]]
| Etruscan_equivalent = [[Hercle]]
| norse_equivalent = [[Hercules Magusanus]]
}}

'''Hercules''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɜːr|k|j|ʊ|ˌ|l|iː|z}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|k|j|ə|-|}})<ref>{{cite Collins Dictionary|Hercules}}</ref> is the Roman equivalent of the Greek [[divinity|divine]] [[hero]] [[Heracles]], son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and the mortal [[Alcmene|Alcmena]]. In [[classical mythology]], Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.

The Romans adapted the Greek hero's [[iconography]] and myths for their literature and art under the name ''Hercules''. In later [[Western art]] and literature and in [[popular culture]], ''Hercules'' is more commonly used than ''Heracles'' as the name of the hero. Hercules is a multifaceted figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick and choose how to represent him.<ref>"Hercules," in ''The Classical Tradition'' (Harvard University Press, 2010), p. 426.</ref> This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the [[classical tradition|later tradition]].

==Mythology==

===Birth and early life===
In Roman mythology, although Hercules was seen as the champion of the weak and a great protector, his personal problems started at birth. [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] sent two witches to prevent the birth, but they were tricked by one of [[Alcmene]]'s servants and sent to another room. Juno then sent [[Snake|serpents]] to kill him in his cradle, but Hercules strangled them both. In one version of the myth, Alcmene abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Juno's wrath, but he was found by the goddess [[Minerva]] who brought him to Juno, claiming he was an orphan child left in the woods who needed nourishment. Juno suckled Hercules at her own breast until the infant bit her nipple, at which point she pushed him away, spilling her milk across the night sky and so forming the [[Milky Way]]. She then gave the infant back to Minerva and told her to take care of the baby herself. In feeding the child from her own breast, the goddess inadvertently imbued him with further strength and power.

===Death===
{{Main article||Heracles#Death}}

==Roman era==
{{Main article|Hercules in ancient Rome|Heracles}}

[[File:Herakles snake Musei Capitolini MC247.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Baby Hercules strangling a [[snake]] sent to kill him in his [[Bassinet|cradle]] (Roman marble, 2nd century CE, in the [[Capitoline Museums]] of [[Rome]], Italy).]]

The [[Latin]] name ''Hercules'' was borrowed through [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]], where it is represented variously as [[Hercle|Heracle]], Hercle, and other forms. Hercules was a favorite subject for [[Etruscan art]], and appears often on [[bronze mirror]]s. The Etruscan form ''Herceler''<!--is this right?--> derives from the Greek ''Heracles'' via [[syncope (phonetics)|syncope]]. A mild oath invoking Hercules (''Hercule!'' or ''Mehercle!'') was a common [[interjection]] in [[Classical Latin]].<ref>W. M. Lindsay, "Mehercle and Herc(v)lvs. [Mehercle and Herc(u)lus]" ''The Classical Quarterly'' '''12'''.2 (April 1918:58).</ref>

Hercules had a number of [[Roman mythology|myths]] that were distinctly Roman. One of these is Hercules' defeat of [[Cacus]], who was terrorizing the countryside of Rome. The hero was associated with the [[Aventine Hill]] through his son [[Aventinus (mythology)|Aventinus]]. [[Mark Antony]] considered him a personal patron god, as did the emperor [[Commodus]]. Hercules received various forms of [[Religion in ancient Rome|religious veneration]], including as a [[List of Roman birth and childhood deities|deity concerned with children and childbirth]], in part because of myths about his precocious infancy, and in part because he fathered countless children. Roman brides wore a special belt tied with the "[[Hercules knot|knot of Hercules]]", which was supposed to be hard to untie.<ref>[[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]] 55 (edition of Lindsay); [[William Warde Fowler]], ''The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic'' (London, 1908), p. 142; Karen K. Hersch, ''The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 101, 110, 211.</ref> The comic playwright [[Plautus]] presents the myth of Hercules' conception as a sex comedy in his play ''[[Amphitryon (Plautus play)|Amphitryon]]''; [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] wrote the tragedy ''Hercules Furens'' about his bout with madness. During the [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial era]], Hercules was worshipped locally from [[Hispania]] through [[Gaul]].

===Germanic association===
[[File:I08 274 Augustalenkolleg, Herkulesmotiv.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A fresco from [[Herculaneum]] depicting [[Heracles]] and [[Achelous]] from [[Greek mythology|Greco]]-[[Roman mythology]], 1st century CE.]]

[[Tacitus]] records a special affinity of the [[Germanic peoples]] for Hercules. In chapter 3 of his ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'', Tacitus states:

{{blockquote|... they say that Hercules, too, once visited them; and when going into battle, they sang of him first of all heroes. They have also those songs of theirs, by the recital of this ''barditus''<ref>or, ''baritus'', there being scribal variants. In the 17th century, the word entered the German language as ''barditus'' and was associated with the Celtic [[bard]]s.</ref> as they call it, they rouse their courage, while from the note they augur the result of the approaching conflict. For, as their line shouts, they inspire or feel alarm.}}

Some have taken this as Tacitus equating the Germanic ''[[Thor|Þunraz]]'' with Hercules by way of ''interpretatio romana''.<ref>Simek, Rudolf (2007:140–142) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}</ref>

In the Roman era [[Hercules' Club (amulet)|Hercules' Club]] amulets appear from the 2nd to 3rd century, distributed over the empire (including [[Roman Britain]], cf. Cool 1986), mostly made of gold, shaped like wooden clubs. A specimen found in [[Köln-Nippes]] bears the inscription <small>"DEO HER</small>[culi]", confirming the association with Hercules.

In the 5th to 7th centuries, during the [[Migration Period]], the amulet is theorized to have rapidly spread from the [[Elbe Germanic]] area across Europe. These Germanic "[[Thor|Donar's Clubs]]" were made from deer antler, bone or wood, more rarely also from bronze or precious metals. The amulet type is replaced by the [[Viking Age]] [[Mjölnir|Thor's hammer]] pendants in the course of the [[Christianization of Scandinavia]] from the 8th to 9th century.
{{clear}}

==Late ancient and medieval mythography==
[[File:Histoires de Troyes - Nemeian Lion.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Hercules and the [[Nemean lion]] in the 15th-century ''[[Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye|Histoires de Troyes]]'']]

After the Roman Empire became [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|Christianized]], mythological narratives were often reinterpreted as [[allegory]], influenced by the philosophy of [[late antiquity]]. In the 4th century, [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] had described Hercules' return from the underworld as representing his ability to overcome earthly desires and vices, or the earth itself as a consumer of bodies.<ref>[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], note to ''[[Aeneid]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+A.+6.395&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053 6.395] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801183425/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+A.+6.395&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053 |date=2020-08-01 }}; Jane Chance, ''Medieval Mythography: From Roman North Africa to the School of Chartres, A.D. 433–1177'' (University Press of Florida, 1994), p. 91.</ref> In some early [[Church Fathers|patristic]] texts, Hercules was identified with the biblical figure [[Samson]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dayan |first=Ayelet |title=Christian settlements and monasteries in the Northern Judaean Shephelah and the Western Samaria hills during the Byzantine period |date=2025 |publisher=Archaeopress Archaeology |isbn=978-1-80327-941-1 |location=Bicester |pages=72}}</ref>

In medieval mythography, Hercules was one of the heroes seen as a strong role model who demonstrated both valor and wisdom, while the monsters he battles were regarded as moral obstacles.<ref>Chance, ''Medieval Mythography'', pp. 168, 218, 413.</ref> One [[glossator]] noted that when [[Hercules (constellation)|Hercules became a constellation]], he showed that strength was necessary to gain entrance to Heaven.<ref>Chance, ''Medieval Mythography'', p. 219.</ref>

Medieval mythography was written almost entirely in Latin, and original Greek texts were little used as sources for Hercules' myths.

{{clear}}

==Renaissance mythography==
[[File:Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600.jpg|thumb|right|King [[Henry IV of France]] depicted as Hercules vanquishing the [[Lernaean Hydra]] (i.e. the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]), by [[Toussaint Dubreuil]], {{circa|1600}}]]

The [[Renaissance]] and the invention of the [[printing press]] brought a renewed interest in and publication of Greek literature. Renaissance mythography drew more extensively on the Greek tradition of Heracles, typically under the Romanized name Hercules, or the alternate name [[Heracles|Alcides]]. In a chapter of his book ''Mythologiae'' (1567), the influential mythographer [[Natale Conti]] collected and summarized an extensive range of myths concerning the birth, adventures, and death of the hero under his Roman name Hercules. Conti begins his lengthy chapter on Hercules with an overview description that continues the moralizing impulse of the Middle Ages:
<blockquote>

Hercules, who subdued and destroyed monsters, bandits, and criminals, was justly famous and renowned for his great courage. His great and glorious reputation was worldwide, and so firmly entrenched that he'll always be remembered. In fact the ancients honored him with his own temples, altars, ceremonies, and priests. But it was his wisdom and great soul that earned those honors; noble blood, physical strength, and political power just aren't good enough.<ref>[[Natale Conti]], ''Mythologiae'' Book 7, Chapter 1, as translated by John Mulryan and Steven Brown (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2006), vol. 2, p. 566.</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1600, the citizens of [[Avignon]] bestowed on [[Henry of Navarre]] (the future King [[Henry IV of France]]) the title of the ''Hercule Gaulois'' ("Gallic Hercules"), justifying the extravagant flattery with a genealogy that traced the origin of the House of Navarre to a nephew of Hercules' son Hispalus.<ref>The official account, ''Labyrinthe royal...'' quoted in [[Jean Seznec]], ''The Survival of the Pagan Gods'', (B.F. Sessions, tr., 1995) p. 26</ref>

== Worship ==
=== Road of Hercules ===

The Road of Hercules is a route across Southern Gaul that is associated with the path Hercules took during his 10th labor of retrieving the Cattle of Geryon from the Red Isles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Dewitt|first=Norman|date=February 22, 2020|title=Rome and the 'Road of Hercules'|journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association|volume=72|pages=59–69|doi=10.2307/283041|jstor=283041}}</ref> Hannibal took the same path on his march towards Italy and encouraged the belief that he was the second Hercules.<ref name=":0" /> Primary sources often make comparisons between Hercules and Hannibal.<ref name=":0" /> Hannibal further tried to invoke parallels between himself and Hercules by starting his march on Italy by visiting the shrine of Hercules at Gades. While crossing the alps, he performed labors in a heroic manner. A famous example was noted by Livy, when Hannibal fractured the side of a cliff that was blocking his march.<ref name=":0" />

=== Worship from women ===

In ancient Roman society women were usually limited to two types of cults: those that addressed feminine matters such as childbirth, and cults that required virginal chastity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Schultz|first=Cecelia|date=February 22, 2020|title=Modern Prejudice and Ancient Praxis: Female Worship of Hercules at Rome|journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik|volume=133|pages=291–97}}</ref> However, there is evidence suggesting there were female worshippers of Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Hercules.<ref name=":1" /> Some scholars believe that women were completely prohibited from any of Hercules's cults. Others believe it was only the "Ara Maxima" at which they were not allowed to worship.<ref name=":1" /> [[Macrobius]] in his first book of ''Saturnalia'' paraphrases from Varro: "For when Hercules was bringing the cattle of Geryon through Italy, a woman replied to the thirsty hero that she could not give him water because it was the day of the Goddess Women and it was unlawful for a man to taste what had been prepared for her. Hercules, therefore, when he was about to offer a sacrifice forbid the presence of women and ordered Potitius and Pinarius who were in charge of his rites, not to allow any women from taking part".<ref name=":1" /> Macrobius states that women were restricted in their participation in Hercules cults, but to what extent remains ambiguous. He mentions that women were not allowed to participate in Sacrum which is general term used to describe anything that was believed to have belonged to the gods. This could include anything from a precious item to a temple. Due to the general nature of a Sacrum, we can not judge the extent of the prohibition from Macrobius alone.<ref name=":1" /> There are also ancient writings on this topic from Aulus Gellius when speaking on how Romans swore oaths. He mentioned that Roman women do not swear on Hercules, nor do Roman men swear on Castor.<ref name=":1" /> He went on to say that women refrain from sacrificing to Hercules.<ref name=":1" /> Propertius in his poem 4.9 also mentions similar information as Macrobius. This is evidence that he was also using Varro as a source.<ref name=":1" />

=== Worship in myth ===

There is evidence of Hercules worship in myth in the Latin epic poem, the ''[[Aeneid]]''. In the 8th book of the poem [[Aeneas]] finally reaches the future site of Rome, where he meets [[Evander of Pallantium|Evander]] and the Arcadians making sacrifices to Hercules on the banks of the Tiber river.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Loar|first=Matthew|date=February 23, 2020|title=Hercules, Mummius, and the Roman Triumph in Aeneid 8|journal=Classical Philology |volume=112|pages=45–62|doi=10.1086/689726|s2cid=164402027|url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&context=classicsfacpub|url-access=subscription}}</ref> They share a feast, and Evander tells the story of how Hercules defeated the monster Cascus, and describes him as a triumphant hero.<ref name=":2" /> Translated from the Latin text of Vergil, Evander stated: "Time brought to us in our time of need the aid and arrival of a god. For there came that mightiest avenger, the victor Hercules, proud with the slaughter and the spoils of threefold Geryon, and he drove the mighty bulls here, and the cattle filled both valley and riverside.<ref name=":2" />

Hercules was also mentioned in the Fables of [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]]. For example, in his fable about [[Philoctetes]] he tells the story of how Philoctetes built a funeral pyre for Hercules so his body could be consumed and raised to immortality.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae3.html|title=Hyginus, Fabulae, 100–49|last=Grant|first=Mary|website=Theoi Texts Library|access-date=March 7, 2020}}</ref>

=== Hercules and the Roman triumph===

According to Livy (9.44.16) Romans were commemorating military victories by building statues to Hercules as early as 305 BCE. Also, philosopher [[Pliny the Elder]] dates Hercules worship back to the time of Evander, by accrediting him with erecting a statue in the Forum Boarium of Hercules.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal|last=Loar|first=Matthew|date=February 23, 2020|title=Hercules, Mummius, and the Roman Triumph in Aeneid 8|journal=Classical Philology|volume=112|pages=45–62|doi=10.1086/689726|s2cid=164402027|url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&context=classicsfacpub|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Scholars agree that there would have been 5–7 temples in Augustan Rome.<ref name=":22" /> There are believed to be related Republican ''triumphatores'', however, not necessarily triumphal dedications. There are two temples located in the Campus Martius. One, being the Temple of Hercules Musarum, dedicated between 187 and 179 BCE by M. Fulvius Nobilior.<ref name=":22" /> And the other being the Temple of Hercules Custos, likely renovated by Sulla in the 80s BCE.<ref name=":22" />

===In art===
In Roman works of art and in Renaissance and post-Renaissance art, Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the [[Nemean Lion|lion skin]] and the gnarled [[Club (weapon)|club]] (his favorite weapon); in [[mosaic]] he is shown tanned bronze, a virile aspect.<ref>''Hercules'' almost suggests "Hero". The Classical and Hellenistic convention in frescoes and mosaics, adopted by the Romans, is to show women as pale-skinned and men as tanned dark from their outdoor arena of action and exercising in the [[gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]].(See also [http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/pompei%26herc1.jpg Reed.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506182021/http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/pompei%26herc1.jpg |date=2006-05-06 }}, jpg file. [http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/#Subject Reed.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823062542/http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/#Subject |date=2006-08-23 }}, subject).</ref>

In the twentieth century, the ''[[Farnese Hercules]]'' has inspired artists such as [[Jeff Koons]], [[Matthew Darbyshire]] and [[Robert Mapplethorpe]] to reinterpret Hercules for new audiences.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Hinds|first=Aimee|title=Hercules in White: Classical Reception, Art and Myth|url=https://www.thejugaadproject.pub/home/hercules-in-white-classical-reception-art-and-myth|access-date=2020-10-22|website=The Jugaad Project|date=23 June 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref> The choice of deliberately white materials by Koons and Darbyshire has been interpreted as perpetuation of colourism in how the classical world is viewed.<ref name=":3" /> Mapplethorpe's work with black model Derrick Cross can be seen as a reaction to Neo-classical colourism, resisting the portrayal of Hercules as white.<ref name=":3" />

===Roman era===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:Heracles Pio-Clementino Inv252.jpg|''[[Hercules of the Forum Boarium]]'' (Hellenistic, 2nd century BCE)
File:Affresco romano eracle ebbro e onfale.JPG|Hercules drunk and [[Omphale]]. Fresco from House of the Prince of Montenegro, [[Pompeii]], 25–35 CE
File:Hercules Nessus MAN Napoli Inv9001.jpg|Hercules carrying his son [[Hyllus]] looks at the centaur [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]], who is about to carry [[Deianira]] across the river on his back. Fresco from Pompeii, 30–45 CE
File:Herculaneum Collegio degli Augustali Ercole sull'Olimpo.jpg|Hercules in Olympus with [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] and [[Minerva]], fresco from [[Herculaneum]], 1st century CE
File:Hercules and Iolaus mosaic - Anzio Nymphaeum.jpg|Hercules and [[Iolaus]] (1st century CE mosaic from the Anzio Nymphaeum, Rome)
File:Hercules Hatra Iraq Parthian period 1st 2nd century CE.jpg|Hercules ([[Hatra]], Iraq, [[Parthian Empire|Parthian period]], 1st–2nd century CE)
File:Muze 001.jpg|Hercules bronze statuette, 2nd century CE (museum of [[Alanya]], Turkey)
File:Missorium Herakles lion Cdm Paris 56-345 n3.jpg|Hercules and the [[Nemean Lion]] (detail), [[silver]] [[Plate (dishware)|plate]], 6th century ([[Cabinet des Médailles]], Paris)
File:Affresco romano - eracle ed onfale - area vesuviana.JPG|Heracles and [[Omphale]], Roman fresco, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Fourth Style]] (45–79 CE), [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]], Italy
File:Tesoro di hildesheim, argento, I sec ac-I dc ca., piatto da parata con ercole bambino e i serpenti 01.JPG|A Roman gilded silver bowl depicting the boy Hercules strangling two serpents, from the [[Hildesheim Treasure]], 1st century CE, [[Altes Museum]]
File:Head from statue of Herakles (Hercules) Roman 117-188 CE from villa of the emperor Hadrian at Tivoli, Italy BM 2.jpg|Head from statue of Herakles (Hercules) Roman 117–188 CE from villa of the emperor Hadrian at Tivoli, Italy at the British Museum
File:Herakles with the Apples of the Hesperides Roman 1st century CE from a temple at Byblos Lebanon BM.jpg|Hercules (Herakles) with the Apples of the Hesperides Roman 1st century CE from a temple at Byblos, Lebanon at the British Museum
File:Hercules from Cappadocia or Caesarea 1st century BCE - 1st century CE Walters Art Museum.jpg|Hercules from Cappadocia or Caesarea 1st century BCE – 1st century CE, Walters Art Museum
File:Hercules slaying the Hydra Roman copy of 4th century BCE original by Lysippos Capitoline Museum.jpg|Hercules slaying the Hydra Roman copy of 4th century BCE original by Lysippos, Capitoline Museum
File:Hercules Roman 1st century BCE - 1st century CE Walters Art Museum.jpg|Hercules Roman 1st century BCE – 1st century CE, Walters Art Museum
File:Herakles and Telephos Louvre MR219.jpg|Herakles and Telephos Louvre MR219
File:Ercole seduto (epitrapezios), 50 ac-50 dc ca., con braccia, clava e gambe sotto il ginocchio di restauro 02.JPG|Hercules, 50 BCE – 50 CE, MAN Florence
</gallery>

===Modern era===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="220">
File:Hendrik Goltzius, The Great Hercules, 1589, NGA 70311.jpg|''The Giant Hercules'' (1589) by [[Hendrik Goltzius]]
File:Lucas Faydherbe - Hercules.jpg|[[Lucas Faydherbe]], [[Bust of Hercules]] – collection [[King Baudouin Foundation]]
File:Peter Paul Rubens cat01.jpg|''The Drunken Hercules'' (1612–1614) by [[Rubens]]
File:HerculeDejanire.jpg|''Hercules and [[Deianira]]'' (18th century copy of a lost original), from [[I Modi]]
File:Brooklyn Museum - Les Écuries d'Augias - Honoré Daumier.jpg|Hercules in the [[Augean stable]] (1842, [[Honoré Daumier]])
File:Hercules Comic Cover.JPG|<!--deliberate link to disambig follows-->[[Hercules (comics)|Comic book]] cover ({{Circa|1958}})
File:Bartholomäus Spranger - Hercules, Deianira and the Centaur Nessus - Google Art Project.jpg|''Hercules, [[Deianira]] and the Centaur Nessus'', by [[Bartholomäus Spranger]], 1580–1582
File:Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600.jpg|[[Henry IV of France]], as Hercules vanquishing the [[Lernaean Hydra]] (i.e. the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]), by [[Toussaint Dubreuil]], {{Circa|1600}}. [[Louvre Museum]]
File:Herakles pyre Coustou Louvre MR1809.jpg|Hercules on the Pyre by Guillaume Coustou The Elder, 1704, Louvre MR1809
</gallery>

===In numismatics===
Hercules was among the earliest figures on ancient Roman coinage, and has been the main motif of many collector coins and medals since. One example is the Austrian [[Euro gold and silver commemorative coins (Austria)#2002 coinage|20 euro Baroque Silver coin]] issued on September 11, 2002. The obverse side of the coin shows the Grand Staircase in the town palace of [[Prince Eugene of Savoy]] in [[Vienna]], currently the Austrian Ministry of Finance. Gods and [[demi-gods]] hold its flights, while Hercules stands at the turn of the stairs.
<gallery>
File:Æ Triens 2710028.jpg|[[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], with Hercules fighting a [[Centaur]] on reverse (Roman, 215–15 BCE)
File:Denarius Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus 1 Obverse.jpg|Club over his shoulder on a Roman [[denarius]] ({{Circa|100 BCE}})
File:MAXIMINUS II-RIC VI 77-251201.jpg|[[Maximinus II]] and Hercules with club and lionskin (Roman, 313 CE)
File:5 French francs Hercule de Dupré 1996 F346-2 obverse.jpg|Commemorative [[franc (France)|5-franc]] piece (1996), Hercules in center
File:Caracalla Denarius Hercules RIC192.jpg|Hercules, as seen on a Denarius of the Roman Emperor Caracalla. Dated 212 CE
</gallery>
{{Clear}}

===Military===
{{for|ships named Hercules|Hercules (ship)}}
Six successive ships of the British [[Royal Navy]], from the 18th to the 20th century, bore the name [[HMS Hercules|HMS ''Hercules'']].

In the [[French Navy]], there were no less than nineteen ships called ''[[French ship Hercule|Hercule]]'', plus three more named ''[[HMS Alcide|Alcide]]'' which is another name of the same hero.

Hercules' name was also used for five ships of the [[US Navy]], four ships of the [[Spanish Navy]], four of the [[Argentine Navy]] and two of the [[Swedish Navy]], as well as for numerous civilian sailing and steam ships.

In modern aviation a [[military transport aircraft]] produced by [[Lockheed Martin]] carries the title [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]].

[[Operation Herkules]] was the German code-name given to an abortive plan for the invasion of [[Malta]] during the  [[Second World War]].

===Other cultural references===
<gallery>
File:PillarsHerculesPeutingeriana.jpg|[[Pillars of Hercules]], representing the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] (19th-century conjecture of the ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'')
File:Maczuga Herkulesa (background Castle Pieskowa Skała).jpg|''[[Maczuga Herkulesa|The Cudgel of Hercules]]'', a tall [[limestone]] rock formation, with [[Pieskowa Skała|Pieskowa Skała Castle]] in the background
File:Royal Coat of Arms of Greece.svg|Hercules as [[Supporter|heraldic supporters]] in the [[Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Greece|royal arms]] of [[Greece]], in use 1863–1973. The phrase "Ηρακλείς του στέμματος" ("Defenders of the Crown") has pejorative connotations ("chief henchmen") in Greek.
</gallery>

===In films===
{{For|a list of films featuring Hercules|Hercules in popular culture#Filmography}}
A series of nineteen Italian Hercules movies were made in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The actors who played Hercules in these films were [[Steve Reeves]], [[Gordon Scott]], Kirk Morris, [[Mickey Hargitay]], Mark Forest, Alan Steel, [[Dan Vadis]], [[Brad Harris]], [[Reg Park]], [[Peter Lupus]] (billed as [[Rock Stevens]]) and Michael Lane. A number of English-dubbed Italian films that featured the name of Hercules in their title were not intended to be movies about Hercules.

==See also==
* [[List of films featuring Hercules]]
* [[Hercules (comics)]]
* [[Hercules (constellation)]]
* [[Hercules in popular culture]] of the 20th and 21st centuries
* [[Sword-and-sandal]]
* ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]''
* [[Strength (Tarot card)]]
* [[Samson]]
* [[Gilgamesh]]
* [[Melqart]]
* [[Cú Chulainn]]
* [[Demigod]]

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist}}

;Sources
* Charlotte Coffin. [http://www.shakmyth.org/myth/111/hercules "Hercules"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228164206/http://www.shakmyth.org/myth/111/hercules |date=2021-02-28 }} in Peyré, Yves (ed.) ''A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Classical Mythology'' (2009)
* Bertematti, Richard (2014). [https://www.amazon.com/Heracliad-Epic-Saga-Hercules/dp/0990302717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430233139&sr=8-1&keywords=heracliad "The Heracliad: The Epic Saga of Hercules"] (Tridium Press). {{ISBN|0990302717}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Wikisource-inline|list=
** {{Cite Nuttall|title=Hercules|noicon=x|short=1}}
** {{Cite NSRW|wstitle=Hercules|short=1|noicon=x}}
** "[[s:Hercules and the Wagoner|Hercules and the Wagoner]]," by [[Aesop]]
** "[[s:Heroes Every Child Should Know/Hercules|Hercules]]," from ''[[s:Heroes Every Child Should Know|Heroes Every Child Should Know]]'' by [[Hamilton Wright Mabie|H. W. Mabie]]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8703872/Rare-statue-of-Hercules-discovered-in-Northern-Israel.html Hercules discovery in Israel]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130319070803/http://www.maravot.org/Uni_suckling-Heracles.html Etruscan mirror illustrated Uni and Hercle]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060825014500/http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/598123 Hercle and Menerva on an Etruscan mirror from Città di Castello, c. 300 BCE: Badisches]
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/apples.html The Apples of the Hesperides]
* [http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/result.htm?alt=Hercules Images of Hercules]
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000067 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (c. 2,950 images of Hercules)]
}}

{{Labours of Heracles}}
{{Hercules media}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hercules| ]]
[[Category:Heroes in mythology and legend]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Roman gods]]
[[Category:Lion gods]]
[[Category:Archetypal names]]
[[Category:Legendary progenitors]]