He was no ordinary boy. Son to a Greek god – and not just any of the myriad of deities – but born to the numero uno, the head honcho, the El Capitan of Olympus – the man himself – Zeus.
He was born in to family drama that makes legends. (Maybe more on that later, but imagine Zeus hiding him from Hera (his wife) … legends I say … murders … betrayals … and more)
As a child, he was found in his room playing with a two headed snake. What kind of snake was it? Well it was the kind my wife says is the best kind … dead. The child killed it himself.
He had his name changed several times … given the name Alcides by his earthy parents … changed to Heracles to try to appease his stepmother Hera. This name meant “pride” or “joy”, something they wished he would be to Hera. But noooooooo.
Heracles married and had children. Legend says Hera induced madness into Heracles and caused him to kill his own family.
Try bringing that up at family reunions and holidays.
Later, he returned to sanity and was purified? by King Thespius. An oracle told him to travel to Delphi, and to do whatever King Eurystheus might set him to do.
He was given ten labours or tasks. Two, though accomplished, were not accepted, so he had to do twelve in total.
These labours, were tasks that required extreme strength. The difficult nature of the tasks made them impossible – well to others maybe. But here, Alcides … then names Heracles … later known as HERCULES … accomplishes them and proves his place in history. We even call difficult task – Herculean Tasks.
This is a Roman relief depicting the sequence of the labours.
No matter your family drama – You can overcome it.
The next few posts will look at these labours, and maybe some lessons for us mere mortals.]
— But a little artistic trivia first. How many actors have portrayed the mighty demigod, Hercules?
Well, my research basically says, no one is sure. IMDB hd 14, Ranker listed a 18, other lists have variant numbers. Is these are just the English speaking roles. Through in theater, school plays, and so forth … wow.
Some A-Listers are on the tally …
– Kevin Sorbo
– Dwayne Johnson
– Lou Ferrigno
– Arnold Schwerzenegger
– Reg Park
– Ryan Gosling (yes LaLa Land man himself!)
But at the top of Ranker’s List … Steve Reeves … who did multiple Hercules movies in the 1960s. Wiki says Reeves, by 1960, was the number one box office draw in 25 countries.
I am not sure which actor or portrayal of Hercules I like the best. I guess I have some binging to do.
Some of the photos taken from powerpoint from here. Some information gleaned from wiki as well as my own readings in Greek literature.
Final Question – who is your favorite Hercules?
Muddy Shoes by Todd 
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