Hercules (constellation)
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Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. It is the fifth-largest of the modern constellations and is the largest of the 50 which have no stars brighter than apparent magnitude +2.5.
The constellation Hercules as it may appear to the naked eye.
Hercules as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825. The figure appears upside down in the sky relative to neighbouring constellations. The former constellation of Cerberus is held by Hercules before its stars were part of the constellation.
Hercules
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Hercules is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
Hercules battles Achelous, metamorphed into a serpent, 1824, by François Joseph Bosio. Louvre LL 325.
Baby Hercules strangling a snake sent to kill him in his cradle (Roman marble, 2nd century CE, in the Capitoline Museums of Rome, Italy).
A fresco from Herculaneum depicting Heracles and Achelous from Greco-Roman mythology, 1st century CE.
Hercules and the Nemean lion in the 15th-century Histoires de Troyes