The Birth Of Heracles (Heracles & The Water Serpents) | Greek Mythology

From the bloodline of Perseus, a mighty half-god was born. With the strength of a thousand men, he would become the strongest, the greatest. Slaying more monsters than any man or god, he would triumph over mortals and the divine. Hercules, son of Zeus. Once upon a time, the wandering Aes of Zeus descended upon Alcmena, the beautiful princess of Mycenae and granddaughter of Perseus. She was already betrothed to her cousin, prince Amphitryon, who was at that time away at war. The night before Amphitryon returned to announce his victory, Zeus, knowing everything about the war, transformed himself into the prince, and visited Alcmena, recounting stories of the battle like he was the real deal. The unsuspecting woman welcomed him joyously, they slept together that night, and the princess got pregnant by the god. When the real Amphitryon returned, he also laid with Alcmena, and also got her pregnant. The oracle of Delphi revealed to the confused woman what had transpired. She was carrying the son of Zeus, and the son of her betrothed. As time came for her to give birth, Zeus, knowing his son was supposed to come first, decreed that the descendant of Perseus to be born next, would become king of Mycenae. However, Hera had other plans. The queen of the gods, entered the house of Alcmena, and commanded Aletheia, goddess of childbirth, to sit with her legs crossed, so Heracles would not be born. She then visited Nikepi, the pregnant wife of king Sthenalus, uncle to Amphitryon. And although Nikepi's pregnancy was not to be due till after a few weeks, Hera put her into labor, and she bore a sickly son, named Eurystheus. Zeus saw he had been tricked, but he couldn't go back on his word. Eurystheus would be king of Mycenae. In his fury, Zeus scolded Aletheia, who jumped in fear, thereby uncrossing her leg, allowing Heracles to be born, with the birth of Amphitryon's son, Iphicles. The king-god would not let his favorite son go empty-handed, so he blessed baby Heracles with the strength of the gods, which would further be amplified by Hera, without her knowing. Fearing the wrath of the queen of the gods, Alcmena abandoned baby Heracles, called Alcides at that time, in the woods to die. But Athena picked him up, and cunningly presented him to Hera, as a motherless child, cleverly invoking the motherly side of the queen goddess. Hera, completely unaware of who the baby was, breastfed him every day, thus increasing his godly strength. Soon, baby Heracles had gotten enough nourishment to grant him unimaginable raw strength. One day, while being breastfed, he sucked so hard on Hera's nipples, that the goddess winced in pain, pushing him away. It is said that Hera's milk sprayed out into the heavens, creating the milky way. Athena afterwards, returned the baby to Alcmena, who perhaps, having regretted her actions, gladly took him back in. In her last bid to appease Hera, she changed the baby's name from Alcides to Heracles, which meant, for the glory of Hera. Yet, Hera would not be appeased. When Heracles turned eight months old, the goddess sent two water serpents to the house of Amphitryon, to kill the son of Zeus. The serpents crawled into the bedroom of Heracles and his younger brother, Iphicles, and as soon as little Iphicles sighted the snakes, he cried out, alerting their nurses. However, when the nurses ran to the scene, they met no danger, for the serpents were already dead. Little Heracles had strangled the serpents, crushing them with his tiny hands, holding them up in each hand, for all to see. Marveled by this astonishing feat, Amphitryon sought the advice of the blind prophet, Tiresias, who then foretold that Heracles would go on to slay many more monsters during his lifetime. Thus, young Heracles was tutored by the best teachers, and trained by the best warriors, the most famous being his stepfather, Amphitryon, and the wise centaur, Chiron.