Themes in Heracles (Hercules): Later Adventures and Death
Little Words, Big Ideas
Strength and Skill
If there's one theme that keeps popping up throughout Heracles' life, it's "Strength and Skill." In pretty much every story, he performs some kind of superhuman act that shows off just how awesome...
Violence
Pretty much every story of Heracles has the same ending: "And then Heracles slaughtered [insert nasty monster or villain]." There's no getting around the fact that he was an incredibly violent guy....
Death and Immortality
Heracles was never just a mere mortal. He was born with a divine blood. His father is the greatest god of all, Zeus. But he was still mortal. One thing that makes the end of Heracles' life stick ou...
Jealousy
From his birth to his death, Heracles has been plagued by jealousy. As a mortal son of Zeus, Hera has seen him as a hated reminder of her husband's cheating ways. She has hounded the hero for years...
Marriage
It is easy to lose track of how many wives Heracles has. Remember how he gave his wife Megara away? And he then marries Queen Omphale after becoming her slave? After living happily with Queen Ompha...