In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Greek mythology, he is the son of Zeus and Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus. Heracles / Hercules is also a symbol of masculinity and power. The hero known to the Romans as Hercules was the Greek demigod Heracles whose Roman name is Hercules. The tattoos depicting Heracles with his characteristic lionskin headdress usually have the lion as a symbol for courage and might also depict the Nemean lion he killed as one of his Labors.Īs a son of Zeus, Heracles’ club represents thunder and lightning, so tattoos depicting this attribute are also common. Hercules is a symbol of strength and heroism, so tattoos of him are often made by those who want to show their own power. This name means “mighty one” or “mightiest”. Hercules was known as The Strong Man and so his tattoos convey symbols of power and muscles!īut those tattoos could also symbolize other things such as perseverance… The Greek hero, as he is represented as a figure in the arts and culture, depicted with attributes of divine origin.
