Article 2.
(Read article 1: Hercules: why is a disgusting man a movie hero?)

The hero Heracles (or Hercules as he’s called in later Roman tradition). But when you read the ancient sources a bit more carefully, you notice that he wasn’t even called Heracles. His real name was Alcides but he took the name Heracles, likely a kind of reputation parasitism of the stellar myths and legends of a former man named Heracles. This is a typical tactic that characterizes psychopaths. If you’ve met a psychopath in, for example, your working life, you probably recognize this tactic.

Alcides belonged to the prominent families of prehistory. His descendants have probably added more glory to the myth, and the confusion with the stellar hero, to give themselves a special status. Over time, Heracles has come to be considered a demigod among the Greeks. The strange thing is that the ancient Greek legends still tell of a rapist and assassin. But once Heracles got his heroic status, it’s as if there’s a blindness to his abominable crimes. This is something that Heracles has in common with other historical heroes and religious role models. Many are blind to their cruelty. But why does this blindness occur?

Last article: Heracles – the worst role model ever: a psychopath

Read also: The 12 Labors of Hercules – the Dawn of Civilization

Stellar constellation. Was Hercules of Heracles in the Greek legends a psychopath, rapist and murderer?
The stellar constellation Orion as the hero Heracles. Usually, another constellation is called Heracles. But according to an ancient myth retold by Herodotus, Orion may have been the constellation that was originally called Heracles. In the myth, Heracles meets a creature whose upper body is that of a woman, and whose lower body is that of a serpent. She may have symbolized the starry sky as it looked about 4,000 years ago (the stars seen from the earth have moved since then). At that time, Draco (the dragon/serpent) was the stellar constellation that lay straight to the north, representing winter and cold, and Virgo was a summer constellation. Heracles got three sons with her/the starry sky but wants to leave and gives her his belt (Orion’s belt?) together with his bow so that one of his sons can take over after him. As is known, Orion is a winter sign that disappears during the summer months, but on the brink of autumn a “new” Orion rises in the sky, an “heir” or “son” who can take over after the former one. Copyright Annika Lagerhorn

Last article: Heracles – how the pedophile and rapist became a hero