Do we like them?

Do we like Hercules?

A character from Greek mythology (the Labours of Heracles) (Ancient Greece)

Our score: 7 out of 10. A flawed, hot-tempered brute with a big heart. He cleans up monsters and takes his punishment, so we'd back him, though we'd keep the wine away from him.

Hercules (the Roman name for the Greek Heracles) is the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Alcmene. He is the strongest hero in Greek myth. Zeus's wife Hera hates him for who his father is, and she makes his life difficult from the start. He is brave, loud, hungry and short-tempered. He tends to solve problems with his fists or a club, and sometimes with a clever trick.

His most famous stories are the Twelve Labours, set by King Eurystheus of Mycenae. They include killing the Nemean lion and the many-headed Hydra, capturing the Erymanthian boar, cleaning the huge Augean stables in a single day, and fetching Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld. Beyond the Labours he has many more adventures and campaigns.

Why the score is a 7: his good deeds are huge, since he removes real threats to ordinary people, and he takes on punishment without complaint. But he isn't a tidy hero. He is proud and quick to anger, and he sometimes cheats or bargains his way through a task. He also leaves a fair amount of wreckage behind him. That mix makes him easy to root for but not a saint.

The Labours exist because Hera drove Hercules mad, and in that madness he killed his own wife and children. The Delphic oracle told him to serve Eurystheus as atonement. This is why the story reads as a tragedy as much as a monster-slaying romp. His guilt and his determination to make amends are what push us to forgive him.