Hercules
[[Image: Modern Day Ancient Past |center|250px]]
Biographical Information
Name:	Hercules
God:	Strength and Heroes
Mentoring:	Herry
Home:	Olympus
Family:	Zeus (Father)
Weapon:	Strength, Olive Club
Abilities:	Immortality Superhuman Strength
Physical Description
Gender:	Male
Hair color:	Chocolate brown (young) Black with gray
Eye color:	Green
Height:	6'2
Character Information
First appearance:	Chaos 101
Portrayed by:	Garry Chalk
GALLERY

Hercules is the God of Strength.

He is the ancestor and mentor of Herry.

Physical Appearance

In the past, Hercules was a young man with short brown hair and a beard. He had a thin but muscular body, being the ideal physique of a Greek hero.

In the modern times, he looks older with a balding head, stubbled chin, wearing a white tank top that slightly exposes his pot belly and shows a heart tattoo on his left arm, green boxer shorts, and socks.

Personality

When he was younger, he was a brave but honest man. In Labour Day, he tried to explain that he hadn't performed two of the twelve labors to the locals but saw they did not believe him.

Currently, he is somewhat lazy but still a helpful teacher to Herry and the other teens. He thinks of himself as a father figure to Herry and can't stand to see him lose at anything, especially wrestling. During certain points, he is shown to be haunted by certain events of his past, most notably when he was forced to leave Peirithous behind in the Underworld.

Biography

When Hercules was mortal, he intended to perform twelve labors for an unknown purpose,^[1] which included slaying the Nemean Lion, the Hydra, the Stymphalian Birds, and obtaining a Golden Apple of Immortality from the Garden of the Hesperides.^[2] Presumably after the Hydra had been defeated, Hercules dipped one of his arrows into the creature's poisonous blood; Hercules gifted one of the arrows to Theseus, where it was passed down through generations of his family until ultimately coming into the possession of Theresa's father.^[3]

While he was on his way to perform three of these tasks, his future descendant Herry (who had been sent back in time by Cronus) performed them instead. People mistakenly believed Hercules had performed these tasks and hailed him as a hero, which he could not correct and seemingly felt no qualms taking credit for.^[2][4]

At an unknown point in time, Autolycus taught wrestling to Hercules.^[3] However, it is not clear if this is true or not.

Hercules was friends with Theseus and Peirithous, who at some point journeyed to The Underworld and were trapped in the Chairs of Forgetfulness. Hercules went to rescue them but was only strong enough to carry one person out. He ultimately chose Theseus, leaving Peirithous behind.^[5]

Hercules is Herry's mentor. By modern day, he has the appearance of a middle-aged pot-bellied, balding man with a heart tattoo on his biceps. However, looks can be deceiving, as Hercules retains all the strength of his glory days. He bears a resemblance to his modern descendant and describes himself as Herry's "great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great-grandpa"^[6] though he states that he thinks of Herry as a son.

Personality

He appears to be somewhat dimwitted, but he knows the value of using your brain as well as your strength. He takes a lot of pride in his office, which showcases his famed accomplishments, which he proudly speaks of and uses as examples for Herry and the others to overcome certain situations.

He is shown to be very helpful and concerned about Herry and the teens as well as those he is close to and considers his friends. While he sometimes is not as involved in the situations the young heroes face, some of his lessons can have a bigger and/or longer lasting impact on how they view things, such as teaching Herry that the mind can be stronger than brute force.

Role in the Series

Hercules Synopsis

Mythology

After Peirithous and Theseus' wives died, they pledged to carry off daughters of Zeus; Theseus chose Helen of Sparta and together they kidnapped her when she was 13 years old and were going to wait until she was older to marry. Peirithous chose a more dangerous prize, Persephone herself. They traveled to The Underworld and stopped to rest on the Chair of Forgetfulness and found themselves unable to stand up from the rock as they saw The Furies appear before them.

Hercules freed Theseus from the chair, but the earth shook when he attempted to free Peirithous, signaling to Hercules not to save him as he had committed too great a crime in attempting to claim a married goddess for himself.

Relationships

• Herry: Hercules' descendant and pupil. Hercules takes great interest and involvement in many of Herry's lessons and occasional daily matters, such as possible girl trouble. Hercules thinks of himself as a father figure to Herry and cannot stand to see him off his game, offering to help him clear his head with helpful advice. When Herry succeeds, Hercules becomes genuinely proud of his actions and the hero he is becoming.

Trivia

• Hercules's true Greek name is Heracles, while Hercules is Roman. His Roman name was likely used because it was more commonly known, even if inaccurate.

• When Cronus sent Herry back in time in the hopes that Hercules's labors would defeat him, he claims that even Hercules could not defeat Ladon and claim a golden apple on his own.^[7] This carries one of two implications:
  • That after Hercules took credit for Herry's success, the story ended up including the idea that Hercules got help and Cronus falsely believed it to be true.
  • That in the past, Hercules originally did perform the labors himself and Cronus's interference altered history, as opposed to a causal loop where the past is unchangeable and Herry had always been the one to perform the labors.
    • If this is the case, who exactly assisted Hercules in obtaining a golden apple is unknown (see below).

• In real mythology, Hercules performed his labors as atonement for murdering his family when he was driven mad by Hera.^[8] Because Hera is much kinder in this series, the in-universe reason for his labors is unknown.
  • Cronus also claims that obtaining a golden apple guarded by Ladon was a labor Hercules was unable to do on his own.^[7] In real mythology, there are two versions of this feat: That he tricked Atlas, the father of the Hesperides that owned the garden, to easily get the apples for him (thus this was a feat that he "couldn't do alone"); or that he slew Ladon to get to the apples (which Herry did). These two version of events appear incompatible.
  • Also in real mythology, Hercules encountered Theseus and Peirithous in the Underworld only because he had ventured there on his own for his twelfth labor, capturing Cerberus. Thus, it is unknown if he rescued Theseus before or after his labors.

• In the original myth, Hercules was the son of Zeus and step-son of Hera. This is not mentioned in the series.
  • Also in the original story, Hera greatly disliked Hercules for being an illegitimate son of Zeus and was the one behind him killing his family.

• In his room in Olympus:
  • Three of his labors are depicted on the walls, including his defeat of the Nemean Lion, the Hydra, and the Stymphalian Birds.^[2]
  • A painting depicting his rescue of Theseus from and abandonment of Peirithous from the Chair of Forgetfulness in The Underworld.^[5]
  • A tapestry bearing the roman numerals "I M II IV" (translating to 1, 1000, 2, 4).^[5]

• Hercules claims he was very skilled at using the discus and javelins.^[9]

• During the course of his life, Hercules married four times.

• Hercules is 10x as strong as the ordinary man.

• He is said to have been taught wrestling by Autolycus in Bad Blood and Antaeus in Mother Knows Best.
  • This appears to be contradictory, but it is also possible that he was taught by both and simply never mentioned it.

Appearances

Season One Chaos 101 Sibling Rivalry Labour Day

Season Two Pandemonium Mother Knows Best (mentioned) Bad Blood (mentioned) Recipe for Disaster Phantom Rising Part I

References