refuses to accept this threat and although she has the children dressed in robes of death, she still holds out hope for Herakles’ arrival. Hope is also what gets Heracles through his 12 acts; furthermore hope is offered to him by Theseus so as to help Heracles get through the pain and suffering he experiences from having mistakenly killed his wife and children. Hope drives this piece of work; giving all those within it the ability to push forward no matter the dreadful circumstances. Identity: In the play Heracles, Euripides plays with the characterization of his main character, Heracles, and his identity. In lines 1263-1265 and lines 1341-1345 Heracles talks about how Zeus cannot be his father and about how the gods cannot exist because, if they do exist, they must be perfect. If this in fact is true, it means that Heracles himself does not exist because Zeus is his father. It also renders inexplicable his supernatural strength to complete tasks that mere mortals cannot, such as the 12 labors for Eurystheus. This paradox creates both a problem in the plot of the story, as well as a problem with the identity and existence of Euripides’ main character. By having Heracles boldly deny the existence of the gods as the Greeks know them, Euripides may be offering his own atheistic beliefs. During his time, the religion of polytheism is still widely accepted though there is an intellectual strain questioning the validity and reliability of everything. By penning this play, Euripides joins this intellectual debate and casts doubt on the divine. Moral responsibility: In Heracles, Euripides’ focus is on Heracles and his moral character. In the play Heracles holds himself to a higher ethical standard than he does the gods. This is shown when Heracles believes that the gods, if they exist, do no wrong. Though driven mad by them, he accepts all blame for the awful act of killing his family. Madness agrees that what the gods have done is wrong, but Heracles does not hold the gods to blame for what happens. Theseus then attempts to reason with Heracles stating that no mortal man can stain what is divine (line 1231) and that Hera is to blame (lines 1312-1313). Theseus even says “how dare you then, mortal that you are, to protest your fate, when the gods do not?" (lines 1320-1321). Theseus attempts to absolve Heracles of any