The wife of Zeus, the goddess Hērā, is jealous she decides to intervene in the life of the hero who is about to be born, Hēraklēs (4.9.4).
The supreme god and king of gods, Zeus, impregnates Alkmene, a mortal woman (4.9.2). In The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours Gregory Nagy provides the background to the story of Hēraklēs as outlined by Diodorus: This first includes depictions of the Labors of Hēraklēs. So we have prepared two galleries with a selection. The Hēraklēs myths have inspired many artworks from classical times onward: he is probably the most represented of all the ancient Greek heroes.
We have been enjoying Gregory Nagy’s series of posts on Hēraklēs at Classical Inquiries.
