HOME | DD

Description
"Now, you will see how strong I am!"

Long ago, during the Bronze Age, a select few of the Gods of Olympus, such as Zeus, Ares, Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite, would journey down to earth to procreate with mortals. The children of this union were half human and half deity. They were called demigods, and many of them would grow to become extraordinary heroes, such as Theseus, Orpheus, Autolycus, Aeneas, and the Amazons...yet the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Hercules!

His father was Zeus: King of the Gods, while his mother was a mortal woman named Alcmene. Yet Zeus' queen, Hera, saw this half-breed child as an insult; a living reminder of her husband's infidelity. Alcmene named the boy "Heracles", which meant "Glory of Hera", but this failed to appease the goddess...she wanted him dead! First, she sent two vipers into his bed one night in the hopes they would do the deed early. Luckily, the boy inherited his father's divine strength.

From the moment he could stand, he was trained in the arts of combat. He had a plethora of mentors who taught him the skills of archery, driving a chariot, swordsmanship, wrestling, boxing and even playing the lyre. Though a scolding from his music mentor, Linus, led to the boy striking the man with the lyre with all his strength; killing him instantly. After this, Hercules began looking after the goat herds of his stepfather, Amphitryon, protecting them from the predators that roamed the wilds of Boeotia, such as wolves, lions, bears, lynxes and leopards. Yet he also took up arms to defend his home of Thebes whenever the need called for it. For his bravery in battle, Hercules was given the hand of King Creon's daughter, Megara as his bride. For him, it seemed the ideal life...but it was never meant to last.

During a great battle, the Thebans were near close to defeat. In that moment, Hercules was sent into a frenzied rage, forcing him to abandon all sense of the world around him. Bloodlust drove him on, killing all who stood in his way in the belief that he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. All who opposed him would die. When his rage finally abated, the glory he had reveled in turned into horror...his final victims were his own wife and children! A cruel trick, orchestrated by Hera to spite him. Seeing the carnage he wrought about, the truth surfaced into his head with perfect clarity, and became the visions that would haunt him for his entire mortal life. Knowing that he could never return home after what he did, Hercules set off to the Oracle of Delphi, the Pythia, to know how he could redeem himself for this vile sin he committed. Under Hera's influence, the Pythia told him to enter the services of his cousin, Eurystheus: King of Mycenae.

In order to atone for the slaughter of his family, Eurystheus commanded Hercules to perform twelve labors, twelve dangerous tasks that would normally kill any man. If he completed them all and survived, the Gods would finally forgive him of his sins. These were what earned Hercules the famed reputation he maintained well into modern times. He killed the Nemean Lion with his bare hands, slew the Lernean Hydra, captured the Erymanthian Boar and the Cretan Bull, allied with the Amazons of the Steppes in return for the Girdle of Hippolyta, retrieved the cattle of Geryon; obtained one of the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, and he brought Cerberus up from Hades itself! After twenty-five long years, Hercules embarked on more adventures across the world, traveling as far as Gaul, India and China, journeying as one of the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece, and everywhere he went, women swooned over him, taking every chance to get into his bed. As such, Hercules ended up fathering tens of thousands of children, many of whom would form the lines of ancient kings across the world. Many other peoples claimed descent from him as well, such as the Scythians, Dorians and the Celts.

At the end of his life, having gained quite the fame and glorious reputation, Hercules killed a centaur named Nessus, who tried to rape his latest wife, Deianira. With his last breath, the centaur tricked her into taking some of the blood pouring from his wounds and instructed her to bathe it in his favorite tunic should he ever become unfaithful. One night, when Hercules was making preparations to entertain guests of his, he asked his wife for his finest tunic. Deianira feared that what Nessus warned her about would come true. After bathing the tunic in the blood, she gave it to her husband, only for him to feel such excruciating pain. Hercules recognized the scent from the tunic as the blood of the Hydra he killed decades ago, and the only way to end the pain was fire. He built a massive funeral pyre, and laid his lionskin cloak down upon it. None dared light it, except his trusted friend, Philoctetes. Yet as the flames consumed him, Hercules found himself in Olympus itself. There, he witnessed the Giants, deceived by Gaia, attacking the Gods themselves. The Fates foretold of a prophecy that a demigod with immense power could save Olympus and mankind. Hercules arrived in the heat of the battle and immediately turned the tide.

As a reward for his deeds in the Gigantomachy, Hercules was bestowed immortality, a marriage to Hebe: Goddess of Youth, and Hera agreed to call off all her attempts to further torment him. Hercules accepted all of these, and took his rightful place as the God of Heroes amongst the rulers of Olympus. From then on, countless heroes followed in his footsteps, facing evil and chaos head on, and all earned the blessing of the man who became a god: Hercules.

So, for Hercules I decided to depart from his villainous incarnation in the comics, in favor of his more noble mythological origins and backstory. He's one of my favorite Greek heroes, so it was only right to depict him as faithful to the Ancient Greek and Roman sources as possible. His appearance speaks mainly for itself: a set of armor and a sword given to him by his half-brothers, Castor and Pollux, his signature club made from a giant olive tree, and the pelt of the Nemean Lion made into a cloak. He is the half-brother of Wonder Woman, Troia, and Wonder Girl, as well as the brother-in-law of Roy Harper, AKA Arsenal, and the uncle of Lian Harper, AKA Speedy. As the God of Heroes, he enjoys his status in Olympus, and is faithful to his wife, Hebe, with whom he fathered two sons: Alexiares and Anicetus. From time to time, Hercules will also go down to Earth to visit Diana and Donna, and he is greatly flattered and honored by how the Western World has idolized him for centuries, even though he can spot out how some stories are exaggerated from how they really happened. He has even blessed some of his powerful strength unto Captain Marvel as well.

When he's not training on Earth, Hercules usually can be found in the arena atop Olympus, training with Ares and Athena, or spending quality time with his wife and sons in Demeter and Persephone's gardens. Statues of him alongside those of Hippolyta I can be found dotted across Themyscira, as the Amazons admire him for being one of the only men who could match them in terms of strength and force of will. Yet unlike other Greek heroes, whose weakness is their immense hubris, Hercules' weakness is his fiery, and sometimes destructive rage. Yet after a reunion with the sorceress, Medea, whom he met with the Argonauts, she finally cured him of his madness.

Disclaimer: this incarnation of Hercules belongs to DC Comics, H.G. Peter and Dr. William Moulton Marston PhD.

Description
"Now, you will see how strong I am!"

Long ago, during the Bronze Age, a select few of the Gods of Olympus, such as Zeus, Ares, Poseidon, Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite, would journey down to earth to procreate with mortals. The children of this union were half human and half deity. They were called demigods, and many of them would grow to become extraordinary heroes, such as Theseus, Orpheus, Autolycus, Aeneas, and the Amazons...yet the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Hercules!

His father was Zeus: King of the Gods, while his mother was a mortal woman named Alcmene. Yet Zeus' queen, Hera, saw this half-breed child as an insult; a living reminder of her husband's infidelity. Alcmene named the boy "Heracles", which meant "Glory of Hera", but this failed to appease the goddess...she wanted him dead! First, she sent two vipers into his bed one night in the hopes they would do the deed early. Luckily, the boy inherited his father's divine strength.

From the moment he could stand, he was trained in the arts of combat. He had a plethora of mentors who taught him the skills of archery, driving a chariot, swordsmanship, wrestling, boxing and even playing the lyre. Though a scolding from his music mentor, Linus, led to the boy striking the man with the lyre with all his strength; killing him instantly. After this, Hercules began looking after the goat herds of his stepfather, Amphitryon, protecting them from the predators that roamed the wilds of Boeotia, such as wolves, lions, bears, lynxes and leopards. Yet he also took up arms to defend his home of Thebes whenever the need called for it. For his bravery in battle, Hercules was given the hand of King Creon's daughter, Megara as his bride. For him, it seemed the ideal life...but it was never meant to last.

During a great battle, the Thebans were near close to defeat. In that moment, Hercules was sent into a frenzied rage, forcing him to abandon all sense of the world around him. Bloodlust drove him on, killing all who stood in his way in the belief that he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. All who opposed him would die. When his rage finally abated, the glory he had reveled in turned into horror...his final victims were his own wife and children! A cruel trick, orchestrated by Hera to spite him. Seeing the carnage he wrought about, the truth surfaced into his head with perfect clarity, and became the visions that would haunt him for his entire mortal life. Knowing that he could never return home after what he did, Hercules set off to the Oracle of Delphi, the Pythia, to know how he could redeem himself for this vile sin he committed. Under Hera's influence, the Pythia told him to enter the services of his cousin, Eurystheus: King of Mycenae.

In order to atone for the slaughter of his family, Eurystheus commanded Hercules to perform twelve labors, twelve dangerous tasks that would normally kill any man. If he completed them all and survived, the Gods would finally forgive him of his sins. These were what earned Hercules the famed reputation he maintained well into modern times. He killed the Nemean Lion with his bare hands, slew the Lernean Hydra, captured the Erymanthian Boar and the Cretan Bull, allied with the Amazons of the Steppes in return for the Girdle of Hippolyta, retrieved the cattle of Geryon; obtained one of the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, and he brought Cerberus up from Hades itself! After twenty-five long years, Hercules embarked on more adventures across the world, traveling as far as Gaul, India and China, journeying as one of the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece, and everywhere he went, women swooned over him, taking every chance to get into his bed. As such, Hercules ended up fathering tens of thousands of children, many of whom would form the lines of ancient kings across the world. Many other peoples claimed descent from him as well, such as the Scythians, Dorians and the Celts.

At the end of his life, having gained quite the fame and glorious reputation, Hercules killed a centaur named Nessus, who tried to rape his latest wife, Deianira. With his last breath, the centaur tricked her into taking some of the blood pouring from his wounds and instructed her to bathe it in his favorite tunic should he ever become unfaithful. One night, when Hercules was making preparations to entertain guests of his, he asked his wife for his finest tunic. Deianira feared that what Nessus warned her about would come true. After bathing the tunic in the blood, she gave it to her husband, only for him to feel such excruciating pain. Hercules recognized the scent from the tunic as the blood of the Hydra he killed decades ago, and the only way to end the pain was fire. He built a massive funeral pyre, and laid his lionskin cloak down upon it. None dared light it, except his trusted friend, Philoctetes. Yet as the flames consumed him, Hercules found himself in Olympus itself. There, he witnessed the Giants, deceived by Gaia, attacking the Gods themselves. The Fates foretold of a prophecy that a demigod with immense power could save Olympus and mankind. Hercules arrived in the heat of the battle and immediately turned the tide.

As a reward for his deeds in the Gigantomachy, Hercules was bestowed immortality, a marriage to Hebe: Goddess of Youth, and Hera agreed to call off all her attempts to further torment him. Hercules accepted all of these, and took his rightful place as the God of Heroes amongst the rulers of Olympus. From then on, countless heroes followed in his footsteps, facing evil and chaos head on, and all earned the blessing of the man who became a god: Hercules.

So, for Hercules I decided to depart from his villainous incarnation in the comics, in favor of his more noble mythological origins and backstory. He's one of my favorite Greek heroes, so it was only right to depict him as faithful to the Ancient Greek and Roman sources as possible. His appearance speaks mainly for itself: a set of armor and a sword given to him by his half-brothers, Castor and Pollux, his signature club made from a giant olive tree, and the pelt of the Nemean Lion made into a cloak. He is the half-brother of Wonder Woman, Troia, and Wonder Girl, as well as the brother-in-law of Roy Harper, AKA Arsenal, and the uncle of Lian Harper, AKA Speedy. As the God of Heroes, he enjoys his status in Olympus, and is faithful to his wife, Hebe, with whom he fathered two sons: Alexiares and Anicetus. From time to time, Hercules will also go down to Earth to visit Diana and Donna, and he is greatly flattered and honored by how the Western World has idolized him for centuries, even though he can spot out how some stories are exaggerated from how they really happened. He has even blessed some of his powerful strength unto Captain Marvel as well.

When he's not training on Earth, Hercules usually can be found in the arena atop Olympus, training with Ares and Athena, or spending quality time with his wife and sons in Demeter and Persephone's gardens. Statues of him alongside those of Hippolyta I can be found dotted across Themyscira, as the Amazons admire him for being one of the only men who could match them in terms of strength and force of will. Yet unlike other Greek heroes, whose weakness is their immense hubris, Hercules' weakness is his fiery, and sometimes destructive rage. Yet after a reunion with the sorceress, Medea, whom he met with the Argonauts, she finally cured him of his madness.

Disclaimer: this incarnation of Hercules belongs to DC Comics, H.G. Peter and Dr. William Moulton Marston PhD.