Hercules was born from Zeus and Leda, a mortal and the supreme divine being of Olympus. He was conceived outside of Zeus' union with Hera who was fiercely and understandably jealous of the infamously promiscuous king. Hercules' existence was indelibly marked with a tear between worlds; Both divine and mortal, ever a half breed. On one hand he wasn't truly a pure Olympian, on the other nor was he really like the Greek mortals. Hercules could've been the next ruler of Olympus if not for Hera's intervention by making her own son Eurytheus come before him, which Hercules would have to serve for a time. Eurytheus sent Hercules on a series of 12 seemingly impossible trials. To be clear these weren't meant as a test of Hercules' ability, they were meant to break him. The torture was the entire point. Nevertheless, Hercules succeeded in overcoming each trial set before him. This is as much a testament to Hercules' realization of his own potential as it was about the act itself.
 
Fevered language, Babel in our minds
Beautiful lepers of our own design
Give me your restless, broken and tired
Building blocks of this vivacious empire
Masterful vision of entropic divide
Ignite and exodus, return of the child
To rekindle the meaning of 'sanctified'
Revealing the beauty once left behind
 
Created by Denver Artist Matt Maes - Surreal Mythical Art