# Heracles — The Birds character guide

> Heracles in The Birds by Aristophanes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Heracles Hi Triballian, Heracles Mortal, Euelpides By Heracles

**First appearance:** 0002-the-birds

## Snapshot

The gluttonous demigod sent down from Olympus to negotiate, whose appetite proves easier to satisfy than his loyalty.

## Who they are

Heracles arrives as one of the gods' ambassadors, but he is less a diplomat than a stomach with a club: loud, hungry, and easily distracted by the smell of roasting birds. His presence turns the high-stakes standoff between heaven and Cloudcuckooland into a farce of bribes and banquets. Where Zeus's authority is abstract, Heracles makes it flesh—and makes it embarrassingly corruptible. He matters because he shows, early enough to enjoy, that the gods' side is held together by appetite rather than principle.

## Relationships

### [Pisthetaerus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters/pisthetaerus)

_rivalry_

Heracles is initially a threatening envoy of Zeus but is easily manipulated by Pisthetaerus into betraying his own cause.

### [Posidon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters/posidon)

_professional_

Heracles and Posidon are fellow divine envoys sent by Zeus to negotiate with Pisthetaerus, working together as a delegation.

### [Triballian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters/triballian)

_friendship_

Heracles and the Triballian god are fellow envoys, but their bumbling and foolishness make them easy targets for Pisthetaerus's tricks.

### [Pisthetaerus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters/pisthetaerus)

_rivalry_

Heracles is initially a threatening envoy of Zeus but is easily manipulated by Pisthetaerus into betraying his own cause.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters/heracles
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_birds_se/characters