I
Heracles
The Greatest of All Heroes
The strongest of all mortals, who completed twelve impossible labours and was rewarded with a place among the gods.
Parentage Son of Zeus and Alcmene
Read the legendWhat made a hero
Three words every Greek hero lived by
Kleosκλέος
Glory that outlives you. A hero’s deeds were sung by poets, so his name would never die.
Areteἀρετή
Excellence of every kind: courage in battle, skill, strength and, later, virtue of character.
Hubrisὕβρις
The arrogance that tempts mortals to rival the gods, and the swiftest road to a hero’s downfall.
The legends
Heroes of myth and epic
Open any hero to read their full story, their greatest deeds and the legacy they left behind.
- II
Achilles
The Greatest Warrior of Troy
The swift-footed champion of the Greeks at Troy, who chose a short and glorious life over a long and quiet one.
Parentage Son of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis
Read the legend - III
Odysseus
The Man of Many Ways
King of Ithaca and the cleverest of the Greeks, who devised the Trojan Horse and spent ten years fighting his way home.
Parentage Son of Laertes and Anticleia
Read the legend - IV
Perseus
Slayer of Medusa
The hero who beheaded the Gorgon Medusa with the help of the gods and rescued Princess Andromeda from a sea monster.
Parentage Son of Zeus and Danaë
Read the legend - V
Theseus
Founder-Hero of Athens
The hero who killed the Minotaur in the Labyrinth of Crete and united the villages of Attica under Athens.
Parentage Son of Aethra and King Aegeus of Athens, or of Poseidon
Read the legend - VI
Jason
Leader of the Argonauts
The prince who led the Argonauts across the world to win the Golden Fleece, with the help of the sorceress Medea.
Parentage Son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus
Read the legend - VII
Bellerophon
Tamer of Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and killed the fire-breathing Chimera, until pride brought him down.
Parentage Son of Glaucus of Corinth, or of Poseidon, and Eurynome
Read the legend - VIII
Atalanta
The Swift Huntress
A fearless huntress and the fastest runner in Greece, who drew first blood in the hunt for the Calydonian boar.
Parentage Daughter of Iasus of Arcadia, or of Schoeneus
Read the legend - IX
Orpheus
The Legendary Musician
The poet and singer whose music could charm animals, trees and stones, and who descended into the underworld to bring back his wife.
Parentage Son of the Muse Calliope and King Oeagrus, or of Apollo
Read the legend - X
Hector
Defender of Troy
The noble prince and greatest warrior of Troy, who fought to protect his city and family and fell to Achilles.
Parentage Son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy
Read the legend
“Even the bravest cannot fight beyond his strength.”
