Heracles between Hera and Athena

Abstract

Heracles, the self-sufficient “loner” of ancient Greek myth is shaped through interactions with others, notably Athena and Hera. As this chapter demonstrates, the input of these two deities runs deeper than the standard binary of helper (Athena)/persecutor (Hera) allows. Heracles is marked out as a mythological being through where he stands in relation to Athena and Hera who—separately and in collaboration—mark out his life as hero and his transformation to godhead and to a life as a specific kind of god. His nature, both his heroic nature and his divine nature, is shaped by Athena, but it is in connection with Hera that he is born, killed, immortalized, and, indeed, named.