Hercules (also known as Herakles by the Greeks) was worshipped as the divine protector of mankind. He had a large number of shrines scattered throughout the ancient world and festivals were widely celebrated in his honor. His main cult center was at Thebes, his place of birth according to myth. In ancient Roman religion and myth, Hercules was venerated as a divinized hero and incorporated into the legends of Rome's founding. The Romans adapted Greek myths and the iconography of Heracles into their own literature and art, but the hero developed distinctly Roman characteristics. Some Greek sources as early as the 6th and 5th century BC gave Heracles Roman connections during his famous labors.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus places Hercules among divine figures honored at Rome "whose souls after they had left their mortal bodies are said to have ascended to Heaven and to have obtained the same honors as the gods." His apotheosis thus served as one model during the Empire for the concept of the deified emperor.
The divine Hercules was cultivated at Rome as early as the 6th century BC, at a temple next to the shrine of Carmenta and the Porta Carmentalis. By the 5th century BC, the mythological tradition was well established that Hercules had visited Rome during his tenth labor, when he stole the cattle of Geryon in the far west and drove them through Italy. Several Augustan writers offer narratives of the hero's time in Rome to explain the presence of the Ara Maxima dedicated to Hercules in the Forum Boarium, the "Cattle Market" named because of Geryon's stolen herd. For in relevance to today’s , other than taking a moment to acknowledge the men and women who protect us on a daily basis-Police-Firemen-Military, or enter strong man competitions, I say today is a good day to indulge in some classic b-movie flesh-tasitic awesomeness of Hercules!
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