Heracles/Hercules
Mrs. Pace – Mythology 2017
Hercules is the ROMAN name for
the Greek hero, Heracles. He is
the son of Zeus and the mortal
Alcmene. Extraordinary
strength, courage, and ingenuity,
were among his characteristic
attributes. Heracles used his wits
on several occasions when his
strength did not suffice.
Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a.
“The Rock” has been cast as
Hercules in the modern
film set to be released in
July 2014.
TRIVIA: Hercules: The Thracian Wars stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It is a revisionist take on the classic
myth; this film addresses the imagined life of Hercules after the 12 Labors. Another Hercules film, Hercules: The
Legend Begins, starring Kellen Lutz of Twilight fame did not do as well, but nevertheless, is a modern remake.
The most credible version of the Hercules myth
comes to us from The Bibliotheca, which is
an ancient
Greek anthology of myths and heroic legends,
arranged in three books. The Bibliotheca is
commonly attributed to an unknown poet who
simply went by Apollodorus.
The Bibliotheca has been called "the most
valuable mythographical work that has come
down from ancient times.”
Hercules’ mother, Alcmene, was the wife
of Amphitryon. However, she was
the mother of Heracles by Zeus. She was
also the mother of Iphicles by
Amphitryon.
According to the Bibliotheca, Alcmene was
born to Electryon (the son
of Perseus and Andromeda), so this makes
Alcmene the granddaughter of Perseus
and Andromeda. Hercules is, therefore,
the great-grandson of Perseus and yet also
his half-brother…things that make you go
hmmmmm!
TRIVIA:
Alcmene was tricked by Zeus. He disguised
himself as Alcmene’s husband, Amphitryon
and mated with her. Amphitryon returns
from a battle and also mates with his wife on
the same night. Alcmene conceives twins –
Hercules (Zeus) and Iphicles (Amphitryon).
This is called heteropaternal
superfecundation.
Hercules
Perseus
On the night the twins were born, Hera,
knowing of her husband’s adultery, persuaded
Zeus to swear an oath that the first child born
that night (to a member of the House of
Perseus) would become the High King of
Mycenae, specifically a region called Tiryns.
Hera did this knowing that while Hercules was
to be born a descendant of Perseus, so too was
Eurystheus. Once the oath was sworn, Hera
hurried to Alcmene’s dwelling (with the help
of Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth) and slowed
the birth of the twins. Eurystheus, Hercules
cousin was born first; thus, he became the
High King.
Tiryns
*
Ancient
Greece
Crete
Alcmene feared Hera’s wrath (rightfully so), so she enlisted
the help of Athena, Hercules’ half-sister and protector of
heroes. Athena takes the baby to Hera claiming he had
been abandoned. Hera did not recognize the infant and
nursed him out of pity. Hercules suckled so strongly that
he caused Hera pain. She pushed the infant away; her milk
sprayed across the heavens and thus formed the Milky
Way. (Bet you didn’t know that!) But with the divine milk,
Hercules acquired additional supernatural powers – with
powers from both Zeus and Hera, Hercules becomes
stronger than any other demi-god before him. Athena
returned the baby to Alcmene, and Hercules was from that
point raised by his mother and Amphitryon.
The baby was originally named Alcides by his parents; it
was only later that he became known as HERACLES as an
unsuccessful attempt to appease Hera.
Even though Hera did not succeed in stopping Hercules’
birth, she refused to relent. When Hercules and Iphicles
were eight months old, Hera sent two giant snakes to the
twins’ bedroom. Iphicles woke up screaming in fear;
Hercules grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled
them. This was a shocking discovery for the parents.
Amphitryon sent for the blind seer, Tiresias, who
prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he
would vanquish many monsters in his lifetime and
would eventually be granted immortality and given a
place on Mount Olympus.
Life as a demi-god is not easy.
Hercules proves his prowess in various skills
throughout his youth; he dominates in
wrestling, archery, and of course anything
involving brute strength. He, however,
struggled with music and was often
frustrated that he could not master this
talent. In fact one day in a fit of rage (an
attribute often associated with Hercules), he
kills his music tutor, Linus, by striking him
with a lyre. Amphitryon decides Hercules is
a bit too much for the townspeople/mortal
world. He sends Hercules away (“to
mature”). He raises cattle and lives a quiet
life, UNTIL…he is visited by two women….
The famous
“Choice of
Hercules”
While tending cattle in a far off mountain range, Hercules is visited by two
women/nymphs. The first, a very voluptuous, flirtatious vixen offered Hercules
a pleasant, easy life. She said, “if you choose me, your only problem will be
deciding which pleasures in life to enjoy. Hercules asked her name; to which she
replied, “My friends call me Happiness, but my enemies call me Vice.”
The second woman then spoke up saying, “My name is Virtue. I am here to
tell you that you have the ability to become a doer of great deeds. But I
won’t lie to you; blessings never come easily. If you want the favor of the
gods, you must worship the gods; if you want friends, you must help others;
if you want honors from Greece, you must benefit Greece.”
To this Vice said, “Do you see how long the road she’s describing is?
Wouldn’t you rather have a short and easy path to happiness? Pick me.”
Virtue responded, “There is no happiness in taking things you haven’t
earned! What kind of a life is that? What kind of a man are you,
Hercules? Choose.”
Hercules decided to follow Virtue’s difficult path, like all Greek heroes
before and after him.
While living in isolation in the Theban mountains, Hercules
proved to be very useful. He killed a large mountain lion that had
been preying on cattle of the nearby Theban townspeople. He
also aided the Theban army in defeating one of their neighboring
foes. For this, the King of Thebes gave Hercules his daughter,
Megara, as a reward. Together the couple live a quiet, simple life.
They had three sons.
But hold on….trouble is coming and its name is HERA.
Hera’s at it again….
Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the
most important oracle in the classical Greek
world. It was believed that Apollo spoke through
his oracle, a priestess known as the Pythia. This
oracle was consulted before all major
undertakings in ancient Greece.
This time she sends a fit of madness
upon Hercules. In its clutches he kills
Megara and their three sons. When
he recovers his sanity, he is beyond
grief stricken and horrified by his
“dark side.” He goes to the Oracle at
Delphi for guidance.
To atone for this crime, he was
sentenced to perform a series of tasks,
or "Labors," for his cousin Eurystheus,
the king of Mycenae.
So begins the story of Hercules and his TWELVE LABORS…
Convinced of his need to make amends for his heinous
crimes, Hercules agrees to the following 10+2 tasks
set out for him by his cousin, King Eurystheus:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Slay the Nemean Lion
Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis
Capture the Erymanthian Boar
Clean the Augean stables in a single day
Slay the Stymphalian Birds
Capture the Cretan Bull
Steam the Mares of Diomedes
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the
Amazons
10.Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon
11.Steal the apples of the Hesperides
12.Capture and bring back Cerberus
TRIVIA: The labors totaled 10 in the beginning, but
Eurystheus did not accept Hercules efforts against two
foes, so he created two additional labors for him to
complete, which brought the total to 12.
VS.
Time to delve deeper.
You are going to be
working in a small
group to become
experts on ONE of the
12 labors. You will
teach this story/task to
the class via a
PowerPoint
presentation on
Monday. At the end of
the presentations, ALL
students will have ALL
of the details for each
labor.
After Hercules completes the 12 Labors,
he joins the Argonauts ( Jason’s crew) in a
search for the Golden Fleece. He had
many adventures with the Argonauts,
until he was detained on the island of
Mysia (possibly searching for his “friend”
Hyla). The Argonauts, as we know, sailed
on without Hercules to complete their
mission.
For clarity: These two myths ( Jason and Hercules) were
occurring from this point forward, simultaneously, or at
least within a very close time frame.
Hercules falls in love again….this time with a woman….
Hercules has the hots for a “striking beauty” named Deianira.
The two marry, making her Hercules 2nd wife.
The backstory:
Deianira was already betrothed to the fearsome river god,
Achelous, who was horned and bull-like. According to the
Bibliotheca, “This Deianira drove a chariot and practiced the art
of war.” She was not a passive female figure, and she wanted
nothing to do with her horned- suitor. Hercules had to defeat the
river god in order to win Deianira as his bride.
The myth says that Hercules tore one of Achelous’ horns off,
causing him to bleed to death. Hercules gave the horn to
Plutus, son of Demeter and god of wealth, who turned it
into the first cornucopia, a symbol of abundance and plenty.
In Canto VII of Dante's The Inferno, Plutus is a demon of
wealth who guards the fourth circle of Hell, "The Hoarders
and the Wasters." Dante likely includes Plutus to symbolize
the evil of hoarding wealth.
The cornucopia shows up as a symbol of Thanksgiving. It
also made an appearance in The Hunger Games, albeit it
was made of metal and more like a death trap.
The central story of Deianira concerns the Tunic
of Nessus (sometimes called the shirt of Nessus).
A wild centaur named Nessus attempted to
kidnap Deianira as he was ferrying her across the
river Euenos. Some versions say that Nessus tried
to take advantage of Deianira. Hercules rescues
her by shooting Nessus with a poisoned-tipped
arrow (poisoned from the Lernaean Hydra’s
blood).
As he lay dying, Nessus plotted revenge. He told
Deianira to carefully collect his spilled blood; if
she ever wanted to prevent Hercules from having
affairs with other women, she should apply this
blood to his clothing. Nessus all the while knew
that his blood had been tainted by the poisonous
blood of the Hydra and would burn through the
skin of anyone that touched it.
Hercules falls in love again….
He falls for Princess Iole of Occhalia. King Eurytus of
Occhalia promises Hercules his daughter’s hand in
marriage, if Hercules could beat his son in an archery
contest. Hercules easily wins, but Eurytus abandons his
promise. Another of the king’s sons, Iphitus, feels badly
for Hercules, so he aids the hero in killing his father and
dim-witted brothers. Hercules kills the king and his
sons, except for Iphitus. Hercules has his way with Iole
and from this point forward adopts Iphitus as his “best
friend.” However, once again Hera rears her vengeful
head. She drives Hercules insane once more. In his
unstable mental state, Hercules hurls Iphitus, his “ best
friend” over the city walls to his death. Once again,
Hercules must atone for his sin. This time he is told by
the Oracle at Delphi to enslave himself to Queen
Omphale of Lydia. This makes for quite the interesting
enslavement.
For a year, Hercules subjects himself to enslavement at the hands of Queen
Omphale of Lydia. During this year of servitude, the gender roles are reversed.
Queen Omphale takes Hercules lion cloak and dons this manly symbol about
her body; she also seizes and carries his symbolic wooden club as if it was
rightfully hers.
Throughout his serfdom, Hercules is forced to do women’s work and to wear
women’s clothes. Through this embarrassing year of slavery, Hercules purifies
his soul and earns forgiveness for the murder of Iphitus.
All the while Hercules 2nd wife, Deianira is wondering….where is my hubby?
Deianira RIGHTFULLY suspects that Hercules was
fond of a new consort (Iole). When Hercules
returns to Deianira (mind you years later), she
soaks a shirt of his in the bloody mixture, creating
the poisoned Tunic of Nessus. Hercules put on the
shirt and was instantly in excruciating pain. The
cloth burned into him. As he violently tried to
remove the shirt, flesh ripped from his body.
Hercules chose a voluntary death, asking that a
pyre be built for him to end his suffering.
It was very common for
noble Vikings to be
“cremated” on a funeral
pyre on a burial ship.
After death, the gods transformed him into an immortal, or some believe the fire burned away
the mortal part of the demi-god, so that only the god remained. After his mortal parts had
been incinerated, he could become a full god and join his father and the other Olympians on
Mount Olympus. This transformation or deification is called apotheosis. Once in Olympus, he
marries his 4th and last wife, Hebe.
Hebe, Hercules 4th wife, is the goddess of
youth. Her name translates to “flower of
youth.” She is the daughter of Zeus and
Hera and the cupbearer for the gods and
goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving
their nectar and ambrosia.
Hercules received Hebe
in marriage upon his
ascension to Olympus,
a wedding which
reconciled the hero with
Hebe's mother Hera.
Hera finally relents her attacks and anger
towards Hercules.
Peace at last!
“Free at last, Free at last, Great God
a-mighty, (he) is free at last."
-great words borrowed from MLK, Jr.
The End!