It is the symbol of power. Its lower half was removed from the Perge Ruins in 1980 as a result of scientific excavations. We realized in 1990 that the upper half of the statue was in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Ministry tried for many years to say that the upper half of Weary Hercules was kidnapped from us and went there. In 2011, the upper half of Heracles returned home.
Herakles, a mythological hero, is known by this name in Greek mythology; In addition, he is also known as "Hercules" in Roman mythology. In English sources, it is referred to as "Hercules".
He is the son of Alcmene, the daughter of the Mycenaean king, and Zeus, the King of the Gods. Zeus, who fell in love with Alcmene, approached Alcmene by taking the form of the woman's husband. Heracles, who had a demigod nature and had a divine power since birth, managed to kill two poisonous snakes sent by Hera when he was only a few days old. Realizing that Heracles was the son of Zeus, Hera constantly struggled with Heracles and caused his death.
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Herakles received a very superior education compared to his time. He was able to shoot arrows, ride horses and wrestle perfectly. According to legend, when Herakles turned 18, he managed to kill the famous monster in the forests of Kitharion. Therefore, as a reward, Megara, the daughter of the King of Thebes, was given to him. Heracles, who had 3 children with Megara, went crazy with Hera's tricks and Heracles killed his children and his wife. In order to be purified from this crime and all his sins, he was forced to enter the service of the Mycenaean King Eurystheus and do whatever the king wanted. The 12 tasks that the Mycenaean King had Heracles do were called "12 tasks of Herakles" in mythological sources.
12 Labors of Hercules
1. Defeating the Nemean Lion (Legends about this lion state that the lion's hide can only be cut with its own claws.)
2. Killing the Hydra in Lake Lerna
3. Manage to capture the Kyreneian Stag, known as one of Artemis' sacred animals
4. Keeping a large wild boar, believed to live on Mount Erymanthian, with a net
5. Cleaning the stables of Augias in just one day (For the cleaning of these stables, the beds of two large rivers must be shifted and passed through the stables.)
6 . To expel the Stymphalian Birds that were disturbing the people of the Stymphalos region, with the help of God Athena.
7. Bringing from Crete the uncontrollable Cretan Bull that Poseidon gave to Minos
8 . He came under the command of Diomedes, the King of Troy at the time, and killed the sea monster that oppressed the people of Troy (He also killed the king who could not slow down and mistreated him).
9. Taking his belt from Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons (Actually, he made an agreement with the queen for the belt, but with Hera's provocations, the Amazons attacked Heracles. Then Heracles had to kill the queen.)
10 . Stealing the cattle of the 3-bodied giant creature Geryoneus
11. Bringing the golden apples of the Hesperides (He also made a deal with Atlas, the guardian of the golden apples.)
12 . Bringing the dog named Kerberos, who has the duty of protecting Hades' land of the dead, to the earth
After completing 12 tasks, Herakles had to experience difficult adventures again. Events such as saving Prometheus, spinning wool disguised as a woman, damaging Troy, and participating in the expedition of the Argonates are some of the legendary stories of Heracles. After a while, he married Deianeira and killed Nessos with his arrows because the Centaur Nessos wanted to get closer to his wife. Nessos left some of his blood to Deianeira before he died. Later, after Heracles' wife had a fit of jealousy, she gave him a shirt dipped in this blood, which prepared the death of the mythological hero. The shirt sticking to Hercules caused him unbearable pain. Wanting to get rid of the pain, Heracles threw himself into the fire and burned to death.
All the gods, especially his father Zeus, were very saddened by the death of Heracles. For this reason, Herakles was taken to Olympus and granted immortality. He was then married to the Goddess Hebe. Herakles, who is considered the ancestor of the people of the Greek Peninsula known as the Sons of Herakles, is the symbol of physical strength and moral strength.
