|
Constellation
Hercules - The Son of Jupiter
Object name: Hercules
Equatorial: RA: 17h 20m 01s Dec: +29°53'46"(current)
Equatorial 2000: RA: 17h 19m 48s Dec: +29°54'00"
Sky Database: Constellation
Abbreviation: Her
Constellation: Genitive Form: Herculis
Description: Hercules, the Son of Jupiter
Pronunciation: HUHR' kyoo leez
Genitive Pronunciation: HUHR' kyoo lis
Hercules - The Son of Jupiter
Hercules is the modern name given
to Heracles, the mythical Greek hero who was reputed to be the
strongest man who ever lived. Heracles was the son of Zeus and
Alcmene, a beautiful mortal woman. Zeus' wife Hera hated this
product of her husband's infidelity and wanted to kill him, but,
Heracles being an immortal, she could not. Instead, she
tortured him by casting a spell that drove him insane and made him
kill his children. After Heracles had recovered his sanity and
realized what he had done, he went to the Oracle at Delphi to find a
means to redeem himself. The Oracle ordered Hercules to serve
Eurystheus, the King of Mycenae, who then ordered Heracles to
perform twelve arduous tasks that have come to be known as the
Twelve Labors of Heracles.
His first task was to kill a lion
that could not be harmed by any weapon. Heracles killed the
animal by strangling it; the lion is represented by the
constellation Leo the Lion. His last
task was to bring the three headed monster Cerberus from the
Underworld to King Eurystheus. After finishing his tasks,
Heracles was once again free. Heracles took his own life after his
flesh had been seared from his bones by the blood of the
Hydra The female water snake. To put an end
to his pain, Heracles built a funeral pyre and set himself upon it,
burning away his mortal body and sending his immortal spirit to the
stars.
|
