Hercules and Stoicism

Introduction; Who’s Who?

Few names command as much respect as that of the brave hero Hercules. Whether it be from the Disney movie, a basic mythology book, or from anywhere else it seems everybody knows about the great son of Zeus. When you imagine him; what is he? Strong? Of course, but less than the Gods. Resourceful? Sure, but nowhere near Odysseus. Brave? Now we’re talking. Above all else, Hercules was seen as brave and this courage made him a subject of great interest and reverence by Greeks and Romans alike.

Now onto the Stoics. What defined them? Despite what you may guess, the Stoics weren’t just a group of people who blindly hated emotions. The Stoics, rather, were mostly defined by a few other ideas. The love of fate, the acceptance of death, and their teaching that virtue was the only good. Of this complex idea of “virtue”, four values were defined as the Stoic Pillar Virtues: Wisdom, Justice, Temperance, and Courage. With a demi-god so associated with courage and a school that valued it so much, it was only a matter of time before Hercules became a Stoic symbol. But what role did he serve? Was he propaganda? A role model? A patron saint? Something else? I hope to explore that today and uncover what Hercules’ role was throughout the history of the Stoic academy.

The Choice Of Hercules and the Early Stoa

Centuries ago, around 300 B.C. a wealthy Greco-Phoenicain merchant lost everything. He had been shipwrecked, and he lost all his money, with nothing more than a few coins in his pockets. As he walks around the streets of Athens in his ragged clothes he comes upon an ancient bookstore of sorts and finds a copy of Xenephon’s Memorabilia. Inside, he finds a story that will change not only his own life but the entire ancient world. This man, of course, was Zeno of Citium, the legendary founder of Stoicism, and this story was “The Choice of Hercules.” Through it, he was inspired to work through hardship and fulfill his destiny.

So what is this choice of Hercules? The story goes as follows: Hercules, as a young man, before he became the great demi-god hero is walking along his merry way (probably dreaming of his future glory). Suddenly, he comes upon a fork in the road. Seeing this, he begins to contemplate which way to go and two goddesses show up and start advocating for their side. The first goddess, named Kakia, claims that following her path would be pleasant and would give our young hero a quick path to “Eudaimonia” itself. She talks about how her path would give him everything he ever dreamed of and that he would not even have to work for it. The young Hercules is star-struck but still feels a need to at least hear the other goddess out. She is wearing dull, simple garbs; she speaks soberly; she tells him that her path is difficult. She describes her path as dangerous and full of trials and hardships but ultimately remarks that “Eudaimonia” can only be reached through overcoming difficulties and remarks that through the wisdom and courage that Hercules builds in his hardships, he will find “Eudaimonia.” Of course, Hercules is even more convinced by this and takes this path and becomes the great hero we all know. Those of you who know Greek may have already recognized that “Arete” is the embodiment of Virtue, “Kakia” of Vice, and “Eudaimonia” of Happiness and Contentedness. 

Whether Zeno’s love of this story is true or imposed later (It was more or less confirmed that Hercules and his choice were Stoic symbols by the time of Chryssipus circa 230 B.C.) it does not matter; the story itself and the fact it was appreciated so much speaks multitudes about the ancient Stoics. It shows that they from the very early times (possibly even from the founding) saw Hercules as a role model of not only courage but also temperance in the face of vice allowing him to cover half of the pillar virtues. It makes clear many of the values of Stoics and reinforces their commitment to traditional religion (as opposed to the blasphemous hedonists at the Epicurean academy) and above all, appropriates Hercules (a widely loved figure in Greece) as a Stoic patron for centuries to come to serve as an inspiration. 

The Romanization and Continuation in the Late Stoa:

As a result of this semi-mythical story of Zeno reading about Hercules, later Stoics viewed Hercules as “their guy.” The Roman Stoics who already had such an affinity for Hercules (because of his higher relative standing among the Roman Gods) could not get enough of him. They loved writing about him so much because, to them, it appeared like a celebrity and god (in Hercules) was acting in a way not only in line with their philosophy but also that he also helped inspire it. This gave them so much more gravitas when writing and nowhere is this more clear than in the plays of Seneca centered around Hercules. 

Though one of them is contested, it seems that Seneca wrote up to two plays centered on Hercules and his exploits. The first and uncontested one is entitled Hercules Furens (Hercules Raging) this takes place right before his labors and centers around his madness induced by Juno causing him to slaughter his family. The play touches on his emotional state and morals following this event. In this, Seneca brings up major Stoic themes primarily those of the sanctity of intention and general virtue in face of danger. Firstly, we see this “sanctity of intention” clear in the way that Hercules is redeemed in the Oracle of Delphi, his townsfolk, and even his own eyes after this atrocity because he never intended for this to happen because he was in a divine trance. Roman Stoics looked at intentions as the primary way to judge an action as they were the only thing entirely in control of the actor (which as we know was very important to the Stoics.) But nonetheless, Hercules was still expected to be brave and repent for his actions for his family’s sake, which of course aligns with Hercules’ most clear Stoic virtue of courage.

Seneca’s second work on Hercules the Hercules Oetaeus uses the character even more overtly as a philosophical tool. In fact, this is part of the reason so many people doubt he even wrote it (because of the heavy-handedness.) In this play, Hercules has finished his labors and is ruling but because of his infidelity, he is accidentally killed by his wife. Rather than be angry about it, however, he ends up accepting his fate; he is described as “joyous” as he builds his funeral pyre and others cannot help but remark “How calmly he bore his fate!” This goes right in line with the Stoic love of fate and belief in a benevolent universe; Hercules stands by what happens trusting it happened for him and not to him. Ultimately, he is rewarded by becoming a god and living his immortal life in bliss.

In the writings of Seneca, it is clear that Roman Stoics were more interested in changing the character of Hercules to be a true Stoic sage. Unlike the Greeks who showed him as just brave and moderate, the Romans made him a lover of fate (as seen in Hercules Oetaeus), a believer in Stoic ethics (as seen in Hercules Furens), making him just as much a symbol of the philosophy as a mythological character. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans re-worked Hercules to make him seem like a Stoic himself rather than a paragon of a virtue that Stoics happened to value, and though this made Stoicism look semi-divine, it put Hercules in a position of less power and influence that he would not regain for another 100 years as a gift from the greatest Roman Stoic.

Conclusion; You Are Hercules:

In conclusion, Stoics have had Hercules as a symbol of their school’s values since the very beginning. Whether it be for validation, popularity, or as a role model Hercules has always been there for the Stoics. I would be remiss, however, to close this argument without mentioning the person who, I believe, best used Hercules as a philosophical role model: Epictetus. It really is unsurprising; as a bridge between the early and late Stoa as a Greek scholar living in a Roman world, he best saw both sides of Hercules. In his writing, he mentions Zeno’s moderate soldier and Seneca’s fate lover. In doing so, he is able to speak of Hercules' challenges and urges us to all see ourselves in him. To be the heroes of our own stories. To see all of our challenges as ways to prove ourselves. To tell the universe to “bring it on” and face it all joyously. To use wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance to become even more wise, just, brave, and controlled, and through these virtues gain happiness. In his writing, Epictetus makes clear what I think all Stoics want us to do: Imagine ourselves as Hercules, gloriously fighting off the brutal vices and challenges that face us every day and moving on, getting stronger, slaying the beasts with a smile on our faces.