Virgil Aeneid 8.301-2

Hail, Hercules, true son of Jove, an added Glory for the Gods are you.
Come now, and dance at your holy rites with skillful feet.

Dynastes hercules -- The Hercules Beetle

Not only is there a moth named after Herakles, but a beetle. It's a type of Rhinoceros Beetle, native to Central and South America. These types of beetles are among the largest in the world.

Here's a video of two males dueling during mating season:

And here's one just chilling on a rock: 

Random facts I've found about them:

• Mating can last up to 50 minutes
• They live as larvae underground for 10-16 months and only 3-4 months as adults above ground
• "Pound for pound, Hercules beetles are the strongest animal in the world. Some can lift as much as 850 times their own weight" 1
• They're omnivorous and have a "sweet-tooth" for fruits

And according to Wiktionary, Dynastes means, "a ruler, prince." 2

Sites of Interest:
1 Hercules Beetle 
YouTube Video: Hercules Beetle
Hercules Beetle
Hercules Beetles
Tons of Pics
2 Wiktionary entry
Wiki

Interesting... Herakleia Nosos?

I came across this--

Herakleia nosos, morbus herculeus, mal d'hercule - epilepsy has been known as the 'Hercules sickness' for over 2000 years. This name for the disease originates from the opinion that the demigod Hercules, the son of the god Zeus and the human Alcmene, suffered from epilepsy. The 'proof' of this is always stated to be the part in the fifth main scene of Euripides' play Hercules furens, in English Madness of Heracles, where Hercules (who is just about to bring Zeus an expiatory sacrifice) is described with the following words:

'And everyone looks at the man who has been struck dumb and is completely changed, whose reddened eyes roll, from whose beard froth drips... He bears his body and struggles to breathe'...

(Source)

Did not know this! I had no clue Herakles was associated with epilepsy. It doesn't makes sense to me, though, as an explanation for his madness. And a play is not enough proof for me to latch onto the idea. I know those with complex partial seizures have their consciousness altered, but they don't go homicidal and crazy. Many may make automatisms (lip smacking, repetitive movements, etc), but...it doesn't really fit Herakles. Also, while people can have seizures (from injury, fever, Rx, etc) and not have epilepsy, to say Herakles was epileptic implies he had recurrent seizures (and if alive today, would have been put in Rx to control them), which doesn't fit with mythology and what we know of his life. Interesting, though, how mythology weaves itself into so many facets of our lives.

Alcides (moth)

Alcides is the birth name of Herakles. I discovered there are diurnal moths that bear this name. They come from Australia and surrounding areas. Here's a pic of one--

Alcides agathyrus

The second part of its scientific name also has a link to Herakles. I looked up "agathyrus" and didn't find much. I did find an entry on Wikipedia, though that said: "In Greek mythology, Gelonus was the son of Echidna and Heracles, he had an older brother Agathyrus and a younger Scythes." (source)


Interesting! It is a pretty moth, I must say. I guess it has some iridescence, which can't really be seen well in the photos.