Amphitryon set off with her last surviving brother on an expedition against their cousins and uncle.Īmphitryon had been away for some time when Zeus set a scheme in motion to win the lovely Alcmene for himself. She refused to marry him, however, until the deaths of her father and brothers had been avenged. Despite the tragic death of her father, Alcmene was loyal and went with her would-be husband. The king’s brother charged the young man with murder, and Amphitryon was forced to flee to Thebes to be ritually cleaned of the crime by the king there. When Amphitryon attempted to resture the king’s stolen property, he instead accidentally killed Electryon. Six of Electryon’s nephews came on behalf of their father to demand a share of the kingdom and all but one of the king’s sons was killed in the ensuing fight. Unfortunately, a series of tragedies unfolded before the marraige could be finalized.

Her father had arranged for her marriage to Amphitryon, his nephew. This made Alcmene not only that hero’s granddaughter, but also the great-granddaughter of Zeus. Her father was the king of Tiryns and the son of the hero Perseus. Hercules was one of many heroes who was born to Zeus from a mortal woman.Īlcmene was a beautiful human who was described as the tallest, fairest woman in all of Greece. The answer to that question may lie in the unique circumstances of the hero’s birth and how it related to Hera’s position among the gods. So why did Hera have such special animosity toward one of Zeus’s many sons? Hera was antagonistic toward many of Zeus’s lovers and children, but her hatred of Hercules was so intense that it became the driving force in his life. Zeus’s jealous wife spent most of the hero’s life trying to ensure his downfall. Instead, Hercules was constantly hounded by his stepmother, Hera. It was not Zeus who played the greatest role in his life, however. The entire legend of Hercules, from his birth through the events of his twelve famous labors, was directly shaped by the fact that Zeus was his father. While many inherited some measure of heroism or strength, Hercules was unique in the way his parentage played into his story. Zeus had been the father of many of the most famous names in legend including the great-grandfather of Hercules, Perseus.īut while Hercules was not alone in being the son of the king of the Olympians, this fact had much more of an impact on his life than it did for many of his half-siblings. In fact, his father was the king of the gods himself – Zeus. Like many of the most renowned heroes of Greek mythology, Hercules was the son of a god.

Is zeus hercules father