Hercules, or known in Latin as Heracles, was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a model of masculinity. In art, Hercules was depicted as a powerful, muscular man, dressed in a lion's skin and armed with a huge club. He has also been described as being a macho buffoon, very impulsive. The home and birthplace of Hercules is in Thebes, Greece. Thebes is a city in central Greece. He plays an important role in many Greek myths, such as the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, and many other important roles in Greek mythology. The demigod Hercules has an interesting origin, he is most famous for his 12 labors and leaves a legacy in words and expressions. Hercules has an interesting origin. Hercules was conceived by Zeus of divine nature and a mortal woman named Alcmene. Zeus appeared to her one night, disguised as her husband Amphitryon. Amphitryon then appeared to him “again”, giving him two sons, one of divinity and the other of morality, their names were Hercules and Iphicles. Hera, unhappy with her husband's deceptive ways, made Zeus swear that the next descendant of Perseus to be born would be the great king. Zeus agrees with this thinking that the next born will be Hercules, but Hera has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. The goddess determined to deprive Hercules of his birthright calls on Lithia, goddess of childbirth. Lithia accelerates the birth of Eurystheus and slows down the birth of Hercules and Iphicles. Hercules and Iphicles would likely never have been born if not for Galanthis, a close friend and servant of Alcmene, who deceived Lithia by telling the goddess that Hercules was already born. This riddle puzzled Lithia long enough for baby Hercules to be born. Unfortunately, Eurystheus already had it... middle of paper... with armor and weapons. He quickly drew his sword, killed Hippolyta and removed his belt from her dying body. This led to the great battle between Hercules the Greek and the Amazonians. Once the enemy was driven out, Hercules took the belt to King Eurystheus, thus completing his mission. Works Cited Bulfinch, Thomas. The mythology of Bulfinch. 1855. Evinity Publishing 2011. February 17, 2014. www.sacred-texts.com Ellingson, Leiff. "Hercules." Encyclopedia Mythica. May 16, 1999. February 17, 2014. www.pantheon.org Harding, Caroline Hirst and Samuel Bannister Harding. Stories of Greek gods, heroes and men. Chicago: Scott Foresman and Company, 1897. Sabin, Frances. Classic myths that live today. Morristown, New Jersey; Silver Burdett Company, 1958. Tatlock M Jessie. Greek and Roman mythology. New York: Century Company, 1917.