MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS & HEROES
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Transcript of MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS & HEROES
Chapters 11-12
MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS & HEROES
THE LABORS OF HERCULES
Heracles (Hercules) Son of Zeus and Alcmene
(mortal) Persecuted throughout his
life by Hera who is jealous of Zeus’s affair with Alcmene
Born “Alcides” but renamed “Heracles” (glory of Hera) to appease Hera
Sends snakes to kill him in his crib when he is a baby
Hera’s Revenge Hercules married Megara,
daughter of the King of Thebes
They had three sons together Hera found the family and struck
Hercules with a fit of madness Hercules killed his three sons
and his wife because he thought they were beasts
Athena knocks out Hercules with a rock
When he recovers, he realizes what he’s done
Hercules’ Penance Feeling guilty for murdering
his family, Hercules consults the Oracle at Delphi
He is ordered to accomplish ten tasks given to him by King Eurystheus
Completing these “labors” would purify him and earn him immortality
Although he was supposed to complete ten, he was made to perform 12 since he got help completing two of them
1. Kill the Nemean Lion Lion had hide so thick it
could not be pierced by arrows or knife
Hercules wrestled the lion to the ground and strangled it
2. Kill the Hydra of Lerna Hydra is a huge serpent with
many heads Each time he cut off a head,
two more grew in its place So, when he cut off a head,
Iolaus cauterize the stump, preventing the new heads from growing.
Hydra had one immortal head, which Hercules buried
Didn’t get credit for this one because Iolaus helped him
3. Capture the Cerynitian Hind The deer with the
golden antlers was sacred to Artemis
Hercules had to capture it unharmed
Took him one year to catch it
Finally caught it in a huge net while it slept
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar
The boar had plagued the countryside for a long time
Hercules called it out and led it straight into a snow drift.
Caught the boar in chains
5. Clean the Augean Stables This task was intended to
humiliate him and it seemed impossible
The stables belonging to King Augeus contained thousands of cattle and hadn’t been cleaned in thirty years
He had to complete the task in one day
Diverted the courses of two rivers to make them run through the stables and wash away the dung
6. Drive out Stymphalian Birds These man-eating birds
had taken over a forest in Arcadia
Hercules got rid of them by using a giant rattle made by Hephaestus
Rattle’s noise scared them away
Because Hephaestus helped him, he did not get credit for this one.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull Beautiful bull
given to Minos by Poseidon
Hercules subdues the bull after a long struggle
8. Captures the Mares of Diomedes
Dangerous man-eating horses
Hercules rounds up the horses
Diomedes attacks Hercules
Hercules defeats Diomedes and feeds him to his own horses
The horses then become tame
9. Fetch Hippolyte’s Girdle Belt/sash owned
by the Queen of the Amazons
Hercules asks for the girdle and the Queen simply gives it to him.
10. Steal the Cattle of Geryon Hercules first has to kill
a two-headed watch dog Encounters many other
obstacles along the way to completing the task
11. Fetch the Golden Apples These apples belonged to
Atlas’s daughters. Hercules convinces Atlas
to fetch the apples for him while he holds the world on his shoulders for Atlas
Atlas returns with the apples but refuses to take the world back on his shoulders
Hercules tricks Atlas
12. Fetch Cerberus from Hades
Three-headed guard dog of the Underworld
Gets guidance from Athena, Hermes, and Hestia
Wrestles Cerberus bare-handed because he promised Hades not to use weapons
Death and Immortality Hercules finally “purified” He was given immortality,
but he would first have to die.
A dying centaur tricked Hercules’ wife (Deianeira) into killing him with a poison shirt
His mortal body was burned alive at his request
He ascends to Mount Olympus