Hercules is the story of the "honorable loser," one who is willing to gracefully lose a battle in order to win a war. In effect, his deification results from the valor in fighting battles, and submission to die on a funeral pyre, thus, becoming a god. It is a man's ability to sacrifice for a greater cause, to lose gracefully and not as a "sore loser," only then to see the rewards of a full, healthy pride in having done one's masculine duty. It is similar to the honor in "the captain going down with the ship," which may be difficult for many to understand the instincts within. Only men who have been through a great sacrifice know the honor and value of so doing. It is receiving the Purple Heart, and being a returning veteran.
Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the ancient world. One version of these is written as the "Twelve Labors", but the list has variations. One order of the labors is below:
- Slay the Nemean Lion.
- Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
- Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
- Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
- Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
- Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
- Capture the Cretan Bull.
- Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
- Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
- Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
- Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
- Capture and bring back Cerberus.
Hercules' return from the underworld represents his ability to overcome earthly desires and vices, or the earth itself as a consumer of bodies. In medieval mythography, Hercules was one of the heroes seen as a strong role model who demonstrated both valor and wisdom, while the monsters he battles were regarded as moral obstacles. When Hercules became a constellation, he showed that strength was necessary to gain entrance to Heaven.
Once, when Hercules was trying to take his bride home, he had to cross a river, where Nessus, a centaur, was the ferryman. He rowed Hercules across and then, in rowing Deianeira across, he tried to rape her.
Hercules used his poisoned arrows to shoot the centaur dead. Before he died, the centaur gave Deianeira some of his blood - now tainted with poison - to use on her husband as a love potion if he were ever to stray.
Years later, Deianeira became concerned about Hercules' overtures toward another woman, his ex-wife, Iole. She then used some of the old centaur blood on a shirt and gave it to Hercules, thinking it would keep him faithful to her.
The blood was not a love potion, but a poison originating from Hercules' own arrows.
When Hercules put on the shirt, it scalded his skin. The burning would have killed an ordinary man, but Hercules was not one. He built a funeral pyre, climbed upon it, and eventually persuaded Philoctetes to light it. He was then allowed to die and be with the gods, a constellation. Philoctetes was given Hercules' poison arrows and protected all his days by the god.