Birth and Childhood

Abstract

The stories about the birth and childhood of Heracles tell of a hero who has the potential to be a protector and savior for gods and men, but also the most uncivilized of beings. His supernatural strength is both a boon and a disaster in waiting: it allows him to face wild animals and other threats, but, coupled with his lack of self-control, it is also what makes him dangerous to mankind. Already as a child, Heracles is the hero who “contains his own antithesis”; the greatest of the Greek heroes—the only one who transcends his half-mortal status to become a god—is also the most savage and threatening to human institutions.