# Ἡρακλῆς
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* Ἡρακλέης (Hērakléēs) — Poetic, uncontracted

### Etymology

From Ἥρᾱ (Hḗrā, “Hera”) +‎ -κλῆς (-klês, “glory”). Compare Ἡράκλειτος (Hērákleitos).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /hɛː.ra.klɛ̂ːs/ → /i.raˈklis/ → /i.raˈklis/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /hɛː.ra.klɛ̂ːs/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /(h)e̝.raˈkle̝s/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /i.raˈklis/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /i.raˈklis/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /i.raˈklis/

### Proper noun

Ἡρακλῆς • (Hēraklês) m (genitive Ἡρακλέους); third declension
* Heracles; Hercules

#### Derived terms

* ἡράκλειος (hērákleios)
* Ἡράκλειος (Hērákleios)
* Ἡράκλεια (Hērákleia)
* Ἡράκλειαι (Hērákleiai)
* Ἡράκλειον (Hērákleion)
* Ἡρακλείδης (Hērakleídēs)
* Ἡρακλεώτης (Hērakleṓtēs)
* Ἡρακλεῶτις (Hērakleôtis)
* Ἡράκλανον (Hēráklanon)

#### Descendants

Historically, there have been two dominant forms of the name in other languages—one based on the Greek form (Heracles), and the other based on the Latin form Herculēs. The Latin form was adapted from the Etruscan form 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle), which was adapted from Greek. When used together, Heracles specifically refers to the figure in Greek mythology, and Hercules specifically refers to the adaptation of the figure in Roman mythology. However, in many languages, the dominant form (whether from Greek or Latin) is used interchangeably to refer to either mythology context. In particular, in English, the Latin form Hercules is most common.
| Language | Heracles | Hercules |
| Arabic | هِرَقْل (hiraql) | هَرْقُل (harqul) |
| Basque | Herakles | Herkules |
| Bulgarian | Херакъл (Herakǎl) | Херкулес (Herkules) |
| Catalan | Hèracles | Hèrcules |
| Coptic | ⲏⲣⲁⲕⲗⲁⲥ (ēraklas) | |
| Czech | Héraklés | Herkules |
| Danish | Herakles | Herkules, Hercules |
| English | Heracles | Hercules |
| Esperanto | Heraklo | Herkulo |
| Estonian | Herakles | |
| Etruscan | 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle) | 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 (hercle) |
| Finnish | Herakles | Herkules |
| French | Héraclès | Hercule |
| Georgian | ჰერაკლე (heraḳle) | |
| German | Herakles | Herkules |
| Greek | Ηρακλής (Iraklís) | |
| Hebrew | הראקלס (Heraqles) | הרקולס (Herqules) |
| Hungarian | Héraklész | |
| Indonesian | Herakles | Herkules |
| Irish | | Earcail |
| Italian | Eracle | Ercole |
| Japanese | ヘラクレス (Herakuresu) | ヘルクレス (Herukuresu) |
| Korean | 헤라클레스 (Herakeulleseu) | |
| Latin | Hēraclēs | Herculēs |
| Lithuanian | Heraklis | Herkuliu |
| Luxembourgish | Herakles | |
| Norwegian | Herakles | Herkules |
| Polish | Herakles | Herkules |
| Portuguese | Héracles | Hércules |
| Romanian | Heracle | Hercule |
| Russian | Геракл (Gerakl) | Геркулес (Gerkules) |
| Serbo-Croatian | Heraklo/Херакло; Herakle/Херакле | Herkul/Херкул |
| Sicilian | Èracli | Èrculi |
| Slovak | Herakles | Herkulom |
| Slovenian | Heraklej | |
| Spanish | Heracles | Hércules |
| Swedish | Herakles | Hercules |
| Tagalog | Hraklís | Hercules |
| Turkish | Herakles | Herkül |
| Ukrainian | Геракл (Herakl) | Геркулес (Herkules) |
| Upper Sorbian | | Herkules |
| Welsh | Heracles | Ercwlff |

### References

* “Ἡρακλῆς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* Ἡρακλῆς in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,012