💪 The Memoirs of Heracles

For centuries, others have told my story. Some added details of their own, while others forgot the parts that truly mattered. This time, allow me to tell you how it really happened...

— Heracles

👶 Chapter I. I Never Planned to Become a Hero

My birth was no accident. Sometimes I wonder whether my path had already been chosen before I ever entered the world. Looking back on everything that followed, it is difficult to believe it could have been any other way.

 

There has never been any doubt about my mother. She was Alcmene—daughter of the King of Mycenae and wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes. People often spoke of her extraordinary beauty. But I believe she was far more than a beautiful woman. When I think about my own life, I cannot help believing that she possessed an exceptional strength of character as well.

 

It was she who caught the eye of Zeus.

👑 Chapter II. Two Fathers

People often asked me whose son I really was.

 

My answer depended on who was asking.

 

When I spoke to ordinary people, I would say that my father was Amphitryon, King of Thebes. He was the man who raised me, taught me to respect others, and never once allowed me to feel less important than my brother.

 

But if someone asked about the strength I was born with... then my answer became far less certain. After all, it is difficult to believe that an ordinary mortal could crush two snakes with his bare hands while still an infant.

 

They say it all began during a war.

 

My earthly father was fighting far from home, while Zeus... well, Zeus had always had a weakness for beautiful women. He took the form of Amphitryon and returned to Thebes before the real king. My mother had no reason to suspect anything. She spoke with him, listened to his stories from the battlefield, and that very night conceived a child. Me.

 

But fate has a peculiar sense of humour. The following day, the real Amphitryon returned to the palace.

 

My mother lived through the same homecoming twice. First with a god. Then with a man.

 

That very same night she conceived again. And so my brother Iphicles was born.

 

We were twins. We grew up together. We laughed at the same jokes. We shared the same table. Yet from the very first day, our destinies could not have been more different.

 

I never considered Amphitryon the lesser of my two fathers. Quite the opposite.

 

Zeus gave me life. Amphitryon taught me how to be a man.

 

And now, when I look back on everything that happened, I know one thing for certain.

Without either of them... I would never have become Heracles.

 

📜 At the time, I had no idea that my birth had enraged someone far more powerful than any mortal. Hera had no intention of forgiving either Zeus... or me.

🔥 Chapter III. My Father Wanted to Burn My Mother

I do not remember that day. I was far too young. But I heard the story so many times that it almost feels as though I witnessed it myself.

 

When the real Amphitryon returned from the war, he quickly realised that something had happened which he could not explain. My mother knew details of battles he had not yet had the chance to describe. She did not greet him with the longing he had expected. To him, everything pointed to betrayal.

 

And yet... Alcmene had betrayed no one.

 

Believe me—it is not easy to recognise a god when he looks exactly like your own husband.

 

Amphitryon's anger was overwhelming. He decided to punish the woman he had loved more than anyone else. Legend says that he ordered a funeral pyre to be built. My mother was to die in the flames.

 

Then something happened that no one present could explain.

 

The sky suddenly darkened. A torrential rain began to fall. The fire was extinguished before it could consume Alcmene. Some called it a coincidence. Others believed it was a sign that Zeus himself had come to her rescue.

 

At that moment, Amphitryon realised that forces far greater than himself were at work.

 

He did more than forgive my mother. He chose to raise me as though I were his own son. Never once did he make me feel like an outsider.

 

For that, I honoured him all my life.

 

Years later, I often found myself returning to this story. Not to judge. But to understand. Because if the rain had not fallen that day... there would have been no Twelve Labours... and none of the stories you know about me today.

 

📜 My mother was saved. So was I. But I had no idea that someone else had just decided to turn my entire life into an endless trial. Her name was Hera...

🌌 Chapter IV. How the Milky Way Was Created

I don't know whether I was truly hungry. I probably was. Newborn babies usually are.

 

According to the stories, it was then that Zeus came up with one of his most... unusual ideas. Since I was his son, he decided to make me immortal. And the best way to achieve that, he believed, was through the milk of a goddess.

 

There was just one problem. Hera was hardly fond of me.

 

It's difficult to blame her. After all, I was living proof of yet another of her husband's affairs.

 

I doubt she would have willingly agreed to nurse me.

 

So my father came up with another plan.

 

He waited until Hera had fallen asleep. Then he simply... carried me to her.

 

The legend says that while she slept, he placed me at her breast. I had barely taken a few mouthfuls when Hera awoke with a start and immediately pushed me away.

 

She was far from pleased by what she saw.

 

A few drops of the goddess's milk spilled across the heavens. At least, that is how the ancient Greeks told the story. You can still see them on every clear night.

 

You call them the Milky Way.

 

Did it really happen that way? I cannot say. But I do know one thing. From that moment on, Hera no longer saw me as an ordinary child. I became someone she wanted to erase from her life. Preferably forever.

 

I was not even a year old. And already I had earned the hatred of the Queen of the Gods. Looking back now... it was hardly the best way to begin a life.

 

📜 Not long afterwards, Hera decided to discover whether I truly was the son of Zeus. She sent two very unusual visitors to my cradle...

🐍 Chapter V. The Snakes in My Cradle

I have no memory of that night. I was only ten months old. But from that moment on, no one doubted that my life would be very different from that of any other child.

 

Hera had not forgotten about me. Since her first attempt had failed, she decided to try again. This time, she sent two enormous snakes into my chamber. They had not come to frighten us. They had come to kill.

 

My twin brother, Iphicles, and I were sleeping side by side. It was his terrified cries that woke the entire palace. One of the serpents had already wrapped itself around his tiny body. The other was slithering towards me.

 

They say I was not frightened in the slightest. I simply reached out my hands. I seized both snakes. And squeezed with all my strength. That was the end of their story. Mine... was only just beginning.

 

A few moments later, Amphitryon burst into the room. He expected to witness the sight no father should ever have to see. Instead, he found two boys. One was crying. The other sat quietly beside two lifeless snakes.

 

I never asked him what went through his mind at that moment. But I still remember the expression on his face. There was no fear. No anger. Only... astonishment. I think that was the moment he realised he was raising a child who could not be explained by the ordinary laws of the world.

 

From that night onward, no one spoke of me as an ordinary boy.

 

And I, too, began to sense that the gods had chosen a path for me...

one from which there would be no turning back.

 

📜 Everyone admired my strength. At that age, I would simply have preferred to play like any other child. Unfortunately, the gods had very different plans for me...

🎼 Chapter VI. I Never Enjoyed Playing the Lyre

As I grew older, my parents decided it was time for me to receive a proper education.

 

That sounded perfectly reasonable. No one, however, thought to ask what I wanted. Together with Iphicles, I was placed under the guidance of Linos, a renowned musician and teacher. His task was to teach us the lyre, singing, and all the accomplishments expected of a well-bred young man.

 

My brother loved every lesson. I... did not.

 

I truly tried. I sat quietly. I listened. A few times, I even managed to play something that didn't sound like a frightened goat. The problem was that I found bows, spears, and wrestling far more interesting than the delicate strings of a lyre.

 

Linos was not a patient teacher.

 

Neither was I.

 

It was an unfortunate combination.

 

One day, during a lesson, we argued.

 

I no longer remember what started it. What I do remember is losing my temper and hurling the lyre. I never intended to kill anyone. I simply... forgot how strong I was.

 

Linos did not survive.

 

It is not a moment of which I am proud. Many times since then, I have wondered whether my life might have taken a different course had I learned to master my anger that day. But time cannot be turned back. Not even if you are the son of Zeus.

 

My parents decided it would be best to send me away from the city. 

 

Looking back, I know it was one of the wisest decisions they ever made.

At the time... I thought it was a punishment.

 

📜 In the countryside, no one expected me to sing beautifully.

Instead, I quickly discovered that there were skills far more useful than playing the lyre...

🏹 Chapter VII. The Countryside Taught Me More Than the Palace Ever Could

Leaving Thebes felt like a punishment.

 

Today, I know it was one of the greatest gifts I was ever given.

 

After the death of Linos, no one wanted me in the palace any longer. My parents decided that life away from the city would be safer—for me and for everyone around me.

 

I did not argue. To be honest, the palace had never truly felt like home.

 

Life in the countryside was different. There were no marble halls. No teachers correcting my every movement. Instead, there were forests, mountains, and people who judged a man not by how beautifully he played the lyre, but by whether he could meet the challenges of everyday life. That suited me far better.

 

Each day brought a new lesson. I learned to shoot a bow. I trained in hand-to-hand combat. I mastered the art of driving a chariot. I learned to read the tracks of wild animals and discovered the patience that hunting demands. At the time, I had no idea that one day these skills would save my life.

 

Looking back, it seems as though fate was preparing me for something far greater. With every passing day, I grew stronger. Not only in body... but in character.

 

It was there that I first understood an important truth. Strength alone is never enough.

First, you must observe. Then, you must think. Only then should you act. That lesson stayed with me for the rest of my life.

 

I did not yet know that I was about to face an enemy feared by everyone.

 

A mighty lion.

 

And it was then that I discovered something else: Patience can be every bit as powerful as strength.

 

📜 When I left the countryside, I believed I had already learned everything there was to know. Life was quick to prove me wrong. A lion that had terrorised an entire kingdom for months was waiting for me...

🦁 Chapter VIII. The Lion and the King's Fifty Daughters

I was not yet eighteen.

 

For the first time in my life, I had been entrusted with a truly important task.

A gigantic lion had been terrorising the lands of King Thespius for months. People were dying, flocks were disappearing, and fear had found its way into every home.

I told myself that if I had spent so many years training, it was finally time to discover whether I had truly learned anything.

 

King Thespius welcomed me warmly. He invited me to stay in his palace so that I could spend each day tracking the beast and learning its habits.

 

I did not rush into battle. I watched. I waited.

 

The lion was powerful. I intended to be more patient.

 

Each evening I returned to the palace exhausted from another day of searching. The king seemed remarkably attentive. He made sure I was well fed. That I had time to rest.

 

And... that I never felt lonely.

 

It was only much later that I realised what he had been planning.

 

Thespius had... fifty daughters. Yes. You read that correctly. Fifty.

 

Every evening, a different daughter was sent to my chamber. 

 

The king dreamed of grandchildren as strong as I was.

 

It is difficult to say who enjoyed the arrangement more— the king... or his daughters.

 

When I finally killed the lion and prepared to leave the palace, Thespius bid me farewell with a broad smile. A few months later, I am told, his smile grew even wider.

Each of his daughters gave birth to a son.

 

I never managed to keep track of exactly how many children I had. But if the poets are to be believed... there were rather a lot of them.

 

Of course, what truly mattered was that the lion would never threaten anyone again.

Although I must admit... the king probably remembered me for something else entirely.

 

📜 I returned to Thebes, convinced that my greatest challenge was already behind me. I had no idea that only a few days later, a single thoughtless act would change my life forever...

👑 Chapter IX. At Last, I Was Happy

I returned to Thebes, proud of my first victories. I had no idea that fate had prepared a reward I never expected.

 

On my way home, I encountered the envoys of King Erginus. They had come to collect the tribute that Thebes had been forced to pay to Orchomenus for years.

 

I had never been able to accept the idea that the strong could humiliate the weak without consequence. So I stopped them. And then... well. Let's just say they returned home in far worse condition than when they had left. Without ears and without noses, it was rather difficult for them to look like proud ambassadors.

 

Today, I would probably have acted differently. Back then, I believed that justice demanded decisive action.

 

News of what had happened quickly reached Thebes.

 

King Creon decided that I deserved the greatest reward he could offer. He gave me the hand of his eldest daughter, Megara.

 

It was probably the first time in my life that I truly knew peace. I was no longer fighting monsters. I was no longer fleeing the anger of the gods. I no longer felt the need to prove myself to anyone. I simply... lived.

 

Megara was patient. Far more patient than I deserved. She never asked why I disappeared for days at a time. She never complained that I preferred the forests to the palace. She laughed at my jokes... even when they were not particularly good. And believe me... many of them were not.

 

As the years passed, our family grew. The house filled with the laughter of children. More and more often, I found myself looking forward to peaceful evenings at home instead of dreaming about my next adventure. It was a feeling I had never known before. And I loved it.

 

Now I understand why the gods were able to take it away so easily. After all, the deepest pain comes not from losing something extraordinary... but from losing what we love most.

 

📜 Had I known what Hera was preparing, I would have held my children a little tighter that day. The tragedy is that we usually recognise happiness only after it has already slipped away.

💔 Chapter X. Hera Took Everything from Me

For a long time, I believed that Hera had finally forgotten about me.

 

I was wrong. The gods know how to wait. Sometimes... for years.

 

I had a home. A wife. Children. For the first time in a very long while, I woke each morning believing that I no longer had to fight anyone.

 

And that was the moment Hera chose to strike. Not at me. But at those I loved.

 

I do not remember everything. That is the nature of madness. It leaves behind only scattered fragments. A scream. Flames. Fear. Faces I no longer recognised. I believed my enemies surrounded me. I thought that if I did not strike first... I would die.

 

When my mind finally cleared... it was already too late. The house was silent. The worst kind of silence. There was no laughter of children. No joy. No Megara. Only the consequences of my own madness.

 

Even now, I struggle to speak about it.

 

People say, "Heracles killed his own children."

 

It is true. But it is not the whole truth. That day, I was no longer myself. I had become an instrument of Hera's vengeance. And perhaps that is what hurts the most.

 

I remember wanting to die. I could no longer see any reason to keep living. A man may defeat a lion. He may strangle serpents with his bare hands. He may overcome monsters. But how does one defeat one's own memories?

 

It was Theseus who stopped me.

 

He did not speak many words. He did not try to comfort me. He simply remained by my side.

 

Only years later did I understand what an extraordinary gift it is to have a friend who stays with you when you can no longer bear the weight of your own life.

 

The Heracles I had once been died that day. The young man who believed in his own strength... was gone.

 

From that moment on, every victory would become an attempt to atone for a guilt that—even though I had not acted of my own free will—I carried in my heart for the rest of my life.

 

📜 I did not yet know that the Oracle would soon set me upon a path that would change my life forever. I never saw the Twelve Labours as a punishment. They were the only chance I had to learn how to live with something I could never undo.