| Megara | |
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Real Name |
Megara |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
Megara was a Theban princess and the first wife of the hero Heracles. She was the eldest daughter of Creon, King of Thebes, who was possibly the brother of Jocasta and uncle of Oedipus. If Creon is the same figure, Megara's mother is likely Creon's wife Eurydice, and she would be the sister of Menoeceus (Megareus), Lycomedes, Haemon, and Pyrrha.
Megara was married to Heracles by her father as a reward for the hero after he led the defense of Thebes against the Minyans at Orchomenus, and the couple had several sons together. Hera sent Heracles into a fit of temporary madness due to her hatred for him. In his madness, Heracles killed their children either by shooting them with arrows or by throwing them into a fire. Whether Megara also died as a result of this attack depended on the author. In some sources, after Heracles completed his Twelve Labours, Megara married Heracles' nephew Iolaus and became the mother of Leipephilene by him.
Heracles' desire to atone for the murders of his wife and children is typically cited as the catalyst for becoming a slave to his cousin Eurystheus and performing the Twelve Labours. Euripides presents an alternative order of events in his tragedy, Heracles, as it was the completion of the twelfth labour (retrieving Cerberus from Hades) that begun the agon. The play begins with Megara, her children, and Amphitryon as suppliants at an altar seeking refuge from the tyrant Lykos who threatens them as Heracles is in the underworld.
Heracles returns to save his family, but Iris and the spirit of madness, Lyssa, cause him to go mad and kill Megara and their children since he believes he is attacking Lykos. Roman playwright Seneca the Younger retells a similar story in his play Hercules Furens.
While in the underworld, Odysseus sees Megara, but does not elaborate on her mythology beyond stating she was the daughter of Creon and the former wife of Heracles.
The Hellenistic poem Megara by an unknown author, presented a dialogue at Tiryns between a mournful Megara and Heracles's mother Alcmene, as the former grieves her children and Heracles's absence during his labours.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Megara before January 1, 1929 are in public domain in the US.
Notable appearances are listed below:
- Hercules Furens
- Herakles (Euripides)
- Megara
- The Odyssesy