Indo-European Tribes, the Descendants of Heracles?

Here is one interesting fact which occurs in ancient written sources and refers to the tribes involved in migration.

In ancient written sources, some tribes-participants of migration (Etruscans, Celts, Germans, Slavs) are considered the descendants of Heracles. Those tribes lived around the time of the Trojan War (about the middle of the 13th century BC).

After the fall of Troy, many Asiatic tribes (Venetis, Tevkras or Trojans) left their settlements (Asia Minor) and moved to the shores of the Mediterranean and then to Europe. It is assumed that Veneti is the common name of the tribe group of Celts, Germans, and Slavs.

Heracles is an ancient Greek mythological hero. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, the Mycenaean princess Alcmene. The name Heracles is interpreted as “glorified because of the persecution of Hera.”

According to some mythologists, the original name of Heracles was Alcides. In myths, Heracles is presented as a brave warrior who opposed the enemies of mankind and the evil forces of nature.

Of the numerous myths about Heracles, his twelve feats are well known – he killed the Lernaean hydra, strangled the Nemean lion, cleared the Augean stables, etc.

According to other myths, Heracles liberated Prometheus chained to the rock in the Caucasus mountains, participated in the hike of the Argonauts, took part in the conquest of Troy, etc. Finally, Zeus rewarded Heracles with immortality and took him from the earthly world to Mount Olympus.

As you can see, a part of his exploits is connected with Asia Minor and the Caucasus. Note also that Heracles was a mythological hero, a warrior, but not a god or ancestress, like in the mythologies of the Etruscans, Germans or Slavs. And this means that this hero was of secondary importance among the Greeks.

In this case, it can be assumed that Heracles was not of Greek origin. It was mentioned above that the name Heracles is explained as “glorified because of Hera’s persecutions”, but one cannot help but notice that it is consonant with Armenian words hur (fire) and akn / achk (eye), which would become the name Hur-akn, Hur-achk (“Fiery eyes”, similar to Hrach, Hurik, “the fiery eyes of Vahagn”).

It is also associated with the Indo-European words atar, atur, meaning “fire”. All this means that the homeland of the hero must be sought in the Armenian Highlands. And from here, with the migration of the Indo-European tribes, the cult of Heracles could spread to Asia Minor, the Mediterranean basin, and then Europe.

Note also the “the country of Heracles” mentioned in the Byzantine heroic epic “Digenis Akrit”, which was formed in the 9th–10th centuries in the circles of the descendants of the Pavlikians and the eastern military aristocracy. In the opinion of the researchers, the Armenian province of Angegh Tun corresponds to the “the country of Heracles”, which again indicates the connection of Heracles with the Armenian Upland.

This is a translation of an excerpt from Anzhela Teryan’s “Ancient Written Sources of European People About Their Homeland Armenia and Armenians”. In the book, the following sources of data were mentioned. Download the full version of the book

 “Genealogical Memory of the Slavs and Their Historical Roots” p. 45, M. Ohanyan, Yerevan, 2007.

“Reader of the History of the Armenian People” p. 799, Yerevan, 1981.