in fabulous history, a most renowned Grecian hero, who after death was ranked among the gods, and received divine honours. According to the ancients, there were many persons of the same name. Diodorus mentions three, Cicero fix, and some authors extend the number to no less than forty-three. Of all these, one generally called the Theban Hercules, is the most celebrated; and to him, as may easily be imagined, the actions of the others have been attributed. He is reported to have been the son of Jupiter by Alemena (wife to Amphitryon king of Argos), whom Jupiter enjoyed in the shape of her husband while he was absent; and in order to add the greater strength to the child, made that amorous night as long as three. Amphitryon having soon after accidentally killed his uncle and father-in-law Electryon, was obliged to fly to Thebes, where Hercules was born. The jealousy of Juno, on account of her husband's amour with Alemena, prompted her to destroy the infant. For this purpose she sent two serpents to kill him in the cradle, but young Hercules strangled them both. He was early instructed in the liberal arts, and Castor the son of Tyndarus taught him how to fight, Eurytus how to shoot with a bow and arrows, Autolius to drive a chariot, Linus to play on the lyre, and Eumolpus to sing. He, like the rest of his illustrious contemporaries, soon after became the pupil of the centaur Chiron, and under him he perfected and rendered himself the most valiant and accomplished of the age. In the 18th year of his age he resolved to deliver the neighbourhood of Mount Citheron from a huge lion which preyed on the flocks of Amphitryon his supposed father, and which laid waste the adjacent country. He went to the court of Theseus king of Thebes, who flared in the general calamity; and he received here a tender treatment, and was entertained during 50 days. The 50 daughters of the king became mothers by Hercules during during his stay at Thepis, and some say that it was effected in one night. After he had destroyed the lion of Mount Cithaeron, he delivered his country from the annual tribute of 100 oxen which it paid to Erginus. Such public services became universally known; and Creon, who then sat on the throne of Thebes, rewarded the patriotic deeds of Hercules by giving him his daughter in marriage, and entrusting him with the government of his kingdom.

Eurithaeus, the son of Amphitryon, having succeeded his father, soon became jealous of Hercules; and fearing lest he might by him be deprived of his crown, left no means untried to get rid of him. Of this Hercules was not insensible, because he was perpetually engaging him on some desperate expedition; and therefore went to consult the oracle. But being answered that it was the pleasure of the gods that he should serve Eurithaeus 12 years, he fell into a deep melancholy, which at last ended in a furious madness; during which, among other desperate actions, he put away his wife Megara, and murdered all the children he had by her. As an expiation of this crime, the king imposed upon him twelve labours surpassing the power of all other mortals to accomplish, which nevertheless our hero performed with great ease. The favours of the gods had indeed completely armed him when he undertook his labours. He had received a coat of armour and helmet from Minerva, a sword from Mercury, a horse from Neptune, a shield from Jupiter, a bow and arrows from Apollo, and from Vulcan a golden cuirass and brazen buffkin, with a celebrated club of braids according to the opinion of some writers.

The first labour imposed upon him was the killing of a lion in Nemea, a wood of Achaia; whose hide was proof against any weapon, so that he was forced to seize him by the throat and strangle him. He carried the dead beast on his shoulders to Mycenae, and ever after clothed himself with the skin. Eurithaeus was so astonished at the sight of this beast, and at the courage of Hercules, that he ordered him never to enter the gates of the city when he returned from his expeditions, but to wait for his orders without the walls. He even made himself a brazen vessel into which he retired whenever Hercules returned.—The second labour was to destroy the Lernaean hydra, which had seven heads according to Apollodorus, 50 according to Simonides, and 100 according to Diodorus. This celebrated monster he first attacked with his arrows; but soon after he came to a close engagement, and by means of his heavy club he destroyed the heads of his enemy. This, however, was productive of no advantage; for as soon as one head was beaten to pieces by the club, immediately two sprang up; and the labour of Hercules would have remained unfinished, had not he commanded his friend Iolas to burn with a hot iron the root of the head which he had crushed to pieces. This succeeded; and Hercules became victorious, opened the belly of the monster, and dipped his arrows in the gall to render the wounds which he gave fatal and incurable.—He was ordered in his third labour to bring alive and unhurt into the presence of Eurithaeus a stag, famous for its incredible swiftness, its golden horns, and brazen feet. This celebrated animal frequented the neighbourhood of Oenoe; and Hercules was employed for a whole year in continually pursuing it: at last he caught it in a trap, or when tired, or, according to others, by slightly wounding it and lessening its swiftness.—The fourth labour was to bring alive to Eurithaeus a wild boar which ravaged the neighbourhood of Erymanthus. In this expedition he destroyed the centaurs, and caught the boar by closely pursuing him through the deep snow. Eurithaeus was so frightened at the sight of the boar, that, according to Diodorus, he hid himself in his brazen vessel for some days.—In his fifth labour Hercules was ordered to clean the stables of Augeas, where 3000 oxen had been confined for many years.—For his sixth labour he was ordered to kill the carnivorous birds which raged the country near the lake Stymphalus in Arcadia.—In his seventh labour he brought alive into Peloponnesus a prodigious wild bull which laid waste the island of Crete.—In his eighth labour he was employed in obtaining the mares of Diomedes, which fed upon human flesh. He killed Diomedes, and gave him to be eaten by his mares, which he brought to Eurithaeus. They were sent to Mount Olympus by the king of Mycenae, where they were devoured by the wild beasts; or, according to others, they were consecrated to Jupiter, and their breed still existed in the age of Alexander the Great.—For his ninth labour, he was commanded to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons.—In his tenth labour he killed the monster Geryon king of Gades, and brought to Argos his numerous flocks which fed upon human flesh. This was in Iberia or Spain; in the furthest parts of which he erected his two pillars, as the utmost limits of the then known world. These ten labours he achieved, as the fable says, in about eight years. In this last expedition he is likewise affirmed to have killed Antaeus, a famous giant of a monstrous size, who, when weary with wrestling or labour, was immediately refreshed by touching the earth. Hercules overcame him in wrestling, and slew him; and after him the tyrant Busiris, in his way through Egypt. This bloody man used to sacrifice all his guests and strangers upon his altars; and designing to have done the same by Hercules, was slain by him, together with all his attendants.—His eleventh labour was the carrying away the Hesperian golden apples kept by a dragon: (See HESPERIDES).—The twelfth and last, and most dangerous of his labours, was to bring upon earth the three-headed dog Cerberus. Descending into hell by a cave on Mount Taenarus, he was permitted by Pluto to carry away his friends Theseus and Pirithous, who were condemned to punishment in hell, and Cerberus also was granted to his prayers, provided he made use of no arms but only force to drag him away. Hercules, as some report, carried him back to hell after he had brought him before Eurithaeus.

Many other exploits are said to have been performed by Hercules; in particular, he accompanied the Argonauts to Colchis before he delivered himself up to the king of Mycenae. He assisted the gods in their wars against the giants, and it was through him alone that Jupiter obtained a victory. He conquered Laomedon, and pillaged Troy. When Iole, the daughter of Eurytus king of Oechalia, of whom he was deeply enamoured, was refused to his entreaties, he became the prey of a second fit of infancy, and he murdered Iphitus, the only one of the sons of Eurytus who favoured his addresses to Iole. He was some time after purified of the murder, and his insanity ceased; but the gods persecuted him, and he was visited by a disorder which obliged him to apply to the oracle of Delphi for relief. The coldness with which the Pythia received him irritated him, and he resolved to plunder Apollo's temple and carry away the sacred tripod. Apollo opposed him, and a severe conflict was begun, which nothing but the interference of Jupiter with his thunderbolts could have prevented. He was upon this told by the oracle that he must be sold as a slave, and remain three years in the most abject servitude to recover from his disorder. He complied; and Mercury, by order of Jupiter, conducted him to Omphale, queen of Lydia, to whom he was sold as a slave. Here he cleared all the country from robbers; and Omphale, who was astonished at the greatness of his exploits, married him. Hercules had Agelaus and Lamon by Omphale, from whom Croesus king of Lydia was descended. He became also enamoured of one of Omphale's female servants, by whom he had Alceus. After he had completed the years of his slavery, he returned to Peloponnesus, where he re-established on the throne of Sparta Tyndarus, who had been expelled by Hippocoon. He became one of Dejanira's suitors, and married her after he had overcome all his rivals. He was obliged to leave Calydon his father-in-law's kingdom, because he had inadvertently killed a man with a blow of his fist, and it was on account of this expulsion that he was not present at the hunting of the Calydonian boar. From Calydon he retired to the court of Ceyx king of Trachinia. The king received him and his wife with great marks of friendship, and purified him of the murder which he had committed at Calydon. Hercules was still mindful that he had once been refused the hand of Iole; he therefore made war against her father Eurytus, and killed him with three of his sons. Iole fell into the hands of her father's murderer, and found that she was loved by Hercules as much as before. She accompanied him to Mount Oeta, where he was going to raise an altar and offer a solemn sacrifice to Jupiter. As he had not then the shirt and tunic in which he arrayed himself to offer a sacrifice, he sent Lichas to Trachin to his wife Dejanira, in order to provide himself a proper dress. Dejanira had some time before been attempted by the Centaur Nessus, as he was ferrying her over the river Euenus; and Hercules beholding it from the shore, had given him a mortal wound with an arrow. The monster finding himself dying, advised her to mix some oil with the blood which flowed from his wound, and to anoint her husband's shirt with it, pretending that it would infallibly secure him from loving any other woman; and she, too well apprised of his inconstancy, had actually prepared the poisoned ointment accordingly.—Lychas coming to her for the garments, unfortunately acquainted her with his having brought away Iole; upon which she, in a fit of jealousy, anointed his shirt with the fatal mixture. This had no sooner touched his body, than he felt the poison diffuse itself through all his veins; the violent pain of which caused him to disband his army, and to return to Trachin. His torment still increasing, he sent to consult the oracle for a cure; and was answered, that he should cause himself to be conveyed to Mount Oeta, and there rear up a great pile of wood, and leave the rest to Jupiter. By the time he had obeyed the oracle, his pains being become intolerable, he dressed himself in his martial habit, flung himself upon the pile, and desired the bystanders to set fire to it. Others say that he left the charge of it to his son Philoctetes; who having performed his father's command, had his bow and arrows given him as a reward for his obedience. At the same time Jupiter, to be as good as his word, sent a shaft of lightning, which consumed both the pile and the hero; insomuch that Iolaus, coming to take up his bones, found nothing but ashes: from which they concluded, that he was passed from earth to heaven, and joined to the gods. His friends showed their gratitude to his memory by raising an altar where the burning pile had stood. Menecles the son of Actor offered him a sacrifice of a bull, a wild boar, and a goat, and enjoined the people of Opus yearly to observe the same religious ceremonies. His worship soon became as universal as his fame; and Juno, who had once persecuted him with such fury forgot her resentment, and gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage. Hercules has received many surnames and epithets, either from the place where his worship was established, or from the labours which he achieved. His temples were numerous and magnificent, and his divinity revered. No dogs or flies ever entered his temple at Rome; and that of Gades, according to Strabo, was always forbidden to women and pigs. The Phoenicians offered quails on his altars; and as it was supposed that he presided over dreams, the sick and infirm were sent to sleep in his temples, that they might receive in their dreams the agreeable prelages of their approaching recovery. The white poplar was particularly dedicated to his service.

It is observed, that there are none even of the twelve great gods of antiquity that have so many ancient monuments relating to them as Hercules. The famous statue of Hercules, in the Farnese palace at Rome, is well known to the connoisseurs: this represents him, resting after the last of his twelve labours above recited, leaning on his club, and holding the apples of the Hesperides in his hand. In this statue, as in all the other figures of him, he is formed, by the breadth of his shoulders, the spaciousness of his chest, the largeness of his size, and the firmness of his muscles, to express strength and a capacity of enduring great fatigue, which constituted the chief idea of virtue among the ancient heathens. His other attributes are his lion's skin, his club, and his bow.—Hercules is represented by the ancients as an exemplar of virtue: however, the Hercules Bibax, or drunken Hercules, is no uncommon figure; and his amours are described, both by the poets and artists. Thus, the Cupids are made to take away his club, and he is exhibited in the posture of bending under a little boy; by which actions we perceive, that he who conquered all difficulties was a slave to love. His children are as numerous as the labours and difficulties which he underwent; and indeed they became so powerful soon after his death, that they alone had the courage to invade all Peloponnesus. See HERACLIDAE.

The apotheosis of Hercules, or the establishment of his altars in the principal cities of Greece, is fixed by Thrasybulus 29 years before the taking of Troy.

Hercules has been particularly honoured by the Greeks under the name of Mufageter, "the conductor of the Muses;" and at Rome under that of Hercules Musarum. He is represented on medals with a lyre in his hand; and the reverse is marked with the figure of the nine Muses, with their proper symbols.

in Astronomy, one of the constellations of the northern hemisphere.—The stars in the constellation Hercules in Ptolemy's catalogue are 29; in Tycho's, 28; in the Britannic catalogue, 113.

HERCULES'S Pillars, in antiquity, a name given to two lofty mountains, situated one on the most southern extremity of Spain, and the other on the opposite part of Africa. They were called by the ancients Abyla and Colpe. They are reckoned the boundaries of the labours of Hercules; and according to ancient tradition, they were joined together till they were severed by the arm of the hero, and a communication opened between the Mediterranean and Atlantic seas.