Hercules
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Hercules was the name in
Roman mythology of the hero
Heracles from
Greek mythology, the son of
Jupiter (or Jove, the Roman name for the Greek god Zeus) and the mortal
Alcmene. He was made to perform twelve great tasks, called the
Twelve Labours of Hercules and become a god; the Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged.
The cult of Hercules may have been the first foreign one to be adopted in Rome; his most important shrine, the Ara Maxima, was in the original
Palatine settlement. He became popular with merchants, who customarily paid him a
tithe of their profits.
The later
Roman emperors often identified or compared themselves with Hercules, in particular
Commodus and
Maximinus.
Movie and television adaptations
The legend of Hercules has many movie and
television adaptations.
Namesakes
\nAs a name associated with legendary strength, "Hercules" has been used for a variety of things:
Category:Roman mythology
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