Hercules
Hercules is the Greek Herakles in Roman dress: the strongest man alive, driven mad by Hera, and given twelve impossible labours as both punishment and redemption. He is the god of the work itself, and Rome loved him because the work is what a person has instead of a clean start.
Hero made god, not an Olympian: Herakles received hero-cult in Greece and, as Hercules, a genuine Roman state cult (Ara Maxima; Hercules Invictus). The Olympian-style correspondences are modern.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Mars
- Zodiac Affinity
- LeoAriesSagittarius
Offerings
- Offerings
- MeatWineBreadSweat offered as workFirst fruits
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- HeraklesAlcides
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The Strong ManDoer of the Twelve LaboursGod of Toil
- Symbols
- ClubLion skinBowOlive wood
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneBlunt enduringAddressHerculesThe Strong ManDoer of the LaboursRelationshipThe hero who is saved by doing the workWarningHis redemption is the labour not the victoryResonanceThose facing a long unglamorous task
- Modern Practice
Hercules is called on for impossible tasks, for endurance, and for protection against monsters and violence. His practice is the labour: name it, do it, and make the offering at the end rather than the beginning.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- StrengthLabourEnduranceProtectionHeroismMonstersRedemption
- Mythology Summary
Hercules is the Greek Herakles in Roman dress: the strongest man alive, driven mad by Hera, and given twelve impossible labours as both punishment and redemption. He is the god of the work itself, and Rome loved him because the work is what a person has instead of a clean start.
Details
One of 3,120 entries in the Grimoire — the whole library, every cross-reference, is free to take. Take the whole thing Is it wrong somewhere?
Referenced by 7
Every entry that names Hercules, grouped by the system it comes from.
☥ Deities 6
☯ Archetypes 1
- The Hero Deities
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