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Welcome to the Hercules Homepage.  Here you will find some of my favorite images of Hercules from ancient times to the present.  Click on any of the images to have them enlarged.

There are few figures who have captivated our attention and fantasies like Hercules.  He began as the Greek hero, Heracles (which means "gift of Hera").  The Romans adopted him (as t he Romans do) and made him into Hercules.  (Click here for more on the classic legends.) The Roman Empire carried the legend to the many co rners of the known world, where Hercules gained true immortality.  Long after the gods of the ancient empires had slipped into obscurity, the demi-god was still being painted, carved, and written about.  As David Webster has pointed out, "T he statues of Hercules were the last to leave the scene and we are happy to say, were the first to return...."

The legends of Hercules have everything that a story-teller or artist could wish for.  There was drama, intrigue and betrayal, romance, madness, and comedy.  There is some element to meet every personal taste.

Moreover, Hercules is the quintessential superhero.  He sided with the underdogs; and his supernatural strength allowed him to battle the forces of evil in the physical world.  Yet there was also a battle within him between striving for good or for his own gain.  His victories in this regard were always bitter-sweet.  Although he only truly triumphed in this battle at his death, his continual effort and his small gains represent gains for us all.  We tend to see ourselves in our d aily struggles as smaller-scale versions of him.  His ultimate elevation to godhood gives us reason to hope that in the end, it may all be made right for us as well.  That makes Hercules the kind of god you can relate to.  Maybe that's why we have preserved his legend for two and a half millennia.

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