Hercules's the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus (the Roman Jupiter) and the mortal Alcmena. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italian shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength. While adopting much of the Greek Heracles' iconography and mythology as his own, Hercules adopted a number of myths and characteristics that were distinctly Roman. Etymology Hercules' Latin name isn't directly borrowed from… (More on Hercules)