| “ | When the people called out your name louder than mine, you see, when they saw you as a god, how long before they saw you as their king? | „ |
| ~ King Eurystheus to Hercules. |
King Eurystheus of Athens is a major antagonist in the 2014 epic action film Hercules.
He was the king of Mycenae, former boss of Hercules but was later revealed as a helper and ally of Lord Cotys. He was also revealed to be the one who caused the murder of Hercules's family and framed him of it, in order to ruin Hercules's reputation before the people of Mycenae.
He was portrayed by Joseph Fiennes, who also portrayed Fred Waterford in The Handmaid's Tale and Timothy Howard in American Horror Story: Asylum.
Biography[]
In the movie he was introduced as Hercules former employer, who tasked Hercules with killing the legendary Hydra (which turned out to be a group of outlaws with masks).
When he realized how the smallfolk cheered for Hercules and how little they cheered for their own king, Eurystheus decided to get rid of him. Knowing that killing Hercules would bring a revolt, Eurystheus drugged Hercules and killed his family, letting three wolves rip them apart. He blamed Hercules for the murder and banished him.
When Hercules is imprisoned in Cotys's dungeon, Eurystheus reveals himself to Hercules and tells him that he murdered his wife and children and that he aided Cotys all along. He brought with him the three wolves that killed Hercules' family, but Hercules manages to free himself and his companions and kill the three beasts.
After his escape from Cotys's dungeon, Hercules follows a fleeing Eurystheus and confronts him in Cotys's throne room. Though Eurystheus begs for mercy by saying that Cotys poisoned his mind, Hercules stabs him with his own dagger, killing him.
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