Myth and Religion:
Heracles/Hercules
Heracles:
Birth Story:
Amphitryon and Alcmene lived in Thebes which was ruled by King Creon
Amphitryon went away on a campaign with Creon and Zeus visited Alcmene , he
disguised himself as Amphitryon so that she thought she was sleeping with her
husband
Upon his return Amphitryon sleeps with Alcemene but then finds out from a Seer (a
person who is reputed to be able to see the future) that Alcmene had slept with
another man
He finds out that it was a god and is relieved
Alcmene is now pregnant with two boys – Amphitryon’s and Zeus’
Zeus then boasts that his new son could match him on earth and rule the earth while
he ruled the skies
Hera is upset by his promiscuity and makes him promise that the first son born to
the House of Perseus that night (Heracles was supposed to be born that night) would
indeed rule.
Hera then asks her daughter Eileithyia (goddess if midwives and childbirth) to
prolong Alcmene’s labour so that Stethenelus’ son (Eurystheus) would be born first
This happens and Eurystheus will therefore rule, Hera had hoped that Heracles
would die in the prolonged labour but he doesn’t so she sends two snakes into his
cot but Heracles kills them
Athena then took him to Mount Olympus in the hope that he would be accepted but
Hera rejected him and ordered that he be returned to Alcmene to raise him, Athena
is now his protector
Early Life:
Heracles married Creon’s daughter Megara. Hera sent the goddess madness to infect
Heracles. He is driven insane and kills his children and wife
Heracles then exiles himself from Thebes and consults Oracle of Delphi about what
to do
Hera takes control of Oracle and advises Heracles that he should serve King
Eurystheus for ten years
Heracles now starts his 12 labours
12 Labours:
Eurystheus originally challenges Heracles to 10 Labours
Because Heracles either received help or payment for two of his labours, Eurystheus
adds two more
1
, 1. Nemean Lion: In pictures Heracles is depicted as being more youthful
because this is his first labour.
a. He realises that the lion’s skin is impregnable so he strangles it to
death
b. He was unable to skin it to proof his victory to Eurystheus so Athena
told him to use its own claws to skin it
c. From this point onwards he is depicted wearing the lion skin as a
cloak.
2. Lernean Hydra
a. When one head was cut off another would grow in its place
b. He got help from his cousin Iolaus, after he chopped off a head, Iolaus
would seal it with a flaming torch
c. During the labour Hera sent a giant crab to attack Heracles, after it bit
Heracles on the foot, he crushed it and then carried on attacking the
Hydra
d. Once all the heads were removed, he detached the immortal head
and buried it under some rocks, he also used the Hydra’s poison for
his arrows.
e. Didn’t count due to help from his cousin
3. The Golden/Ceryneian Hind
a. From Mount Ceryneia in Arcadia
b. Supposed to be larger than a bull and golden from horn to hooves
c. It was sacred to Artemis
d. Heracles tracked it for a year and then caught it by snaring it. He then
carried it to Mycenae
e. On his way to Mycenae he was confronted by Artemis and Apollo who
were angry that he had caught the sacred hind, he explains that it was
Eurystheus and they let him continue
4. Erymanthian Boar
a. Heracles was ordered to bring it back alive
b. It was much larger than normal boars and was terrorising the
countryside of Arcadia.
c. Heracles wore it down by chasing it then caught it and carried it back
to Mycenae
d. On Heracles’ arrival, King Eurystheus was so scared that he hid in a
sunken Pithos (large storage) jar
5. Augean Stables
a. Tasked with cleaning stables of Augeas, King of Elis who had a herd of
enormous cattle that produced so much dung that Eurystheus
thought that it would be impossible.
b. Heracles diverted two rivers (Alpheius and Peneius) through the
stables which cleaned it instantly
c. Originally Augeas had promised payment but then he refused to give
it so Heracles returned with an army and defeated the King
d. He then founded the Olympic games to commemorate his victory and
in honour of his father.
2
, e. Didn’t count because Heracles had been promised payment
6. Stymphalian birds
a. Birds had been ravaging farm lands of Stymphalos (and in some
accounts, ate residents)
b. Heracles went deep into the Stymphalian marsh in the Arcadian
forests
c. He didn’t know how to rouse the birds so Athena gave him a rattle
made by Hephaestos
d. When they flew into the air he shot them down with his arrows/ sling
shot
7. Cretan Bull
a. He had to bring the bull to Eurystheus in Mycenae
b. It had been destroying homes and farmland so King Minos was happy
to let him remove it.
c. Heracles crept up behind it, strangled it and let go just before it
passed out, he then rode it Mycenae
d. Eurystheus hides in a Pithos jar again
e. He lets it loose and it roams around in Marathon
f. Theseus defeats it in his labours
8. Mares of Diomedes
a. Diomedes was King of Bistones in Thrace and owned a set of horses
that fed on the limbs of defeated enemies and passing strangers
b. Heracles defeats the stablemen and then takes the horses away
c. Diomedes came to fight Heracles to get them back
d. He leaves the horses with his friend Abderos, but the horses eat
Abderos, so as retaliation he feeds Diomedes to the horses
e. The horses are now calm and he takes them to Eurystheus, there is
then two accounts about what happens:
i. They were freed and roamed the plains of Argos
ii. They arrive at Olympus and are killed by wild animals
9. Belt of Hippolyte
a. Hippolyte was Queen of the Amazons – who supposedly lived near
the black sea.
b. The belt was given to her by her father Ares
c. Eurystheus’ daughter wanted it for herself so Heracles was sent to get
it.
d. Heracles takes an army but Hippolyte admires him and gives him the
belt to take
e. Hera is unhappy at how easy this is, takes the form of an Amazon and
spreads rumours that he plans to kidnap the queen
f. The Amazons are enraged, attack Heracles, in the battle Heracles kills
Hippolyte and takes her belt
10.Cattle of Geryon
a. Geryon’s cattle were famous for their red hides and were found at the
edge of the earth
3
, b. Heracles quickly defeats their herdsman and his dog, Eurytion and
Orthrus
c. Geryon is warned of Heracles actions by another shepherd and rushes
after him
d. Geryon had 3 heads and 3 sets of arms and legs. Heracles overpowers
Geryon with his club and bow
e. His journey back from Erytheria took Heracles through Southern Italy
which is where the Romans forged their link with him
f. Eurystheus sacrifices the bulls to Hera
11. Apples of Hesperides
a. The golden apples were in the garden of Hesperides and were a
wedding present from Gaia to Zeus and Hera
b. The apples were guarded by the Hesperides – nymphs that were
daughters of Atlas.
c. Heracles is unaware of the garden’s location is and his journey takes
him through Illyria where he fights Achelous
d. His final stop is Mount Caucascus, he kills the eagle that would eat
the liver of Prometheus and freed him. Prometheus tells him how to
find the apples as a reward
e. Heracles travels to Atlas who was tasked with holding up the skies by
Zeus
f. He offers to hold up the skies if Atlas would get the Apples
g. When Atlas returns, he offers to take the apple to Eurystheus himself
so he didn’t have to take back the skies
h. Heracles accepts but tells Atlas to take them back whilst he gets some
pillows to support his shoulders.
i. Atlas takes the sky back and Heracles leaves with the Apple
j. Once he had presented it to Eurystheus, Athena took it back to the
garden
12. Cerberus
a. Heracles has to retrieve Cerberus from the underworld
b. In order to gain favour with Persephone, he is initiated into the
Eleusinian Mysteries
c. When he arrives in the underworld he is presented with a challenge
by Hades and Persephone, if he could capture Cerberus without any
weapons he would be allowed to take it to Eurystheus
d. He strangles Cerberus, presents it to Eurystheus and then returns him
to Hades.
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Heracles/Hercules
Heracles:
Birth Story:
Amphitryon and Alcmene lived in Thebes which was ruled by King Creon
Amphitryon went away on a campaign with Creon and Zeus visited Alcmene , he
disguised himself as Amphitryon so that she thought she was sleeping with her
husband
Upon his return Amphitryon sleeps with Alcemene but then finds out from a Seer (a
person who is reputed to be able to see the future) that Alcmene had slept with
another man
He finds out that it was a god and is relieved
Alcmene is now pregnant with two boys – Amphitryon’s and Zeus’
Zeus then boasts that his new son could match him on earth and rule the earth while
he ruled the skies
Hera is upset by his promiscuity and makes him promise that the first son born to
the House of Perseus that night (Heracles was supposed to be born that night) would
indeed rule.
Hera then asks her daughter Eileithyia (goddess if midwives and childbirth) to
prolong Alcmene’s labour so that Stethenelus’ son (Eurystheus) would be born first
This happens and Eurystheus will therefore rule, Hera had hoped that Heracles
would die in the prolonged labour but he doesn’t so she sends two snakes into his
cot but Heracles kills them
Athena then took him to Mount Olympus in the hope that he would be accepted but
Hera rejected him and ordered that he be returned to Alcmene to raise him, Athena
is now his protector
Early Life:
Heracles married Creon’s daughter Megara. Hera sent the goddess madness to infect
Heracles. He is driven insane and kills his children and wife
Heracles then exiles himself from Thebes and consults Oracle of Delphi about what
to do
Hera takes control of Oracle and advises Heracles that he should serve King
Eurystheus for ten years
Heracles now starts his 12 labours
12 Labours:
Eurystheus originally challenges Heracles to 10 Labours
Because Heracles either received help or payment for two of his labours, Eurystheus
adds two more
1
, 1. Nemean Lion: In pictures Heracles is depicted as being more youthful
because this is his first labour.
a. He realises that the lion’s skin is impregnable so he strangles it to
death
b. He was unable to skin it to proof his victory to Eurystheus so Athena
told him to use its own claws to skin it
c. From this point onwards he is depicted wearing the lion skin as a
cloak.
2. Lernean Hydra
a. When one head was cut off another would grow in its place
b. He got help from his cousin Iolaus, after he chopped off a head, Iolaus
would seal it with a flaming torch
c. During the labour Hera sent a giant crab to attack Heracles, after it bit
Heracles on the foot, he crushed it and then carried on attacking the
Hydra
d. Once all the heads were removed, he detached the immortal head
and buried it under some rocks, he also used the Hydra’s poison for
his arrows.
e. Didn’t count due to help from his cousin
3. The Golden/Ceryneian Hind
a. From Mount Ceryneia in Arcadia
b. Supposed to be larger than a bull and golden from horn to hooves
c. It was sacred to Artemis
d. Heracles tracked it for a year and then caught it by snaring it. He then
carried it to Mycenae
e. On his way to Mycenae he was confronted by Artemis and Apollo who
were angry that he had caught the sacred hind, he explains that it was
Eurystheus and they let him continue
4. Erymanthian Boar
a. Heracles was ordered to bring it back alive
b. It was much larger than normal boars and was terrorising the
countryside of Arcadia.
c. Heracles wore it down by chasing it then caught it and carried it back
to Mycenae
d. On Heracles’ arrival, King Eurystheus was so scared that he hid in a
sunken Pithos (large storage) jar
5. Augean Stables
a. Tasked with cleaning stables of Augeas, King of Elis who had a herd of
enormous cattle that produced so much dung that Eurystheus
thought that it would be impossible.
b. Heracles diverted two rivers (Alpheius and Peneius) through the
stables which cleaned it instantly
c. Originally Augeas had promised payment but then he refused to give
it so Heracles returned with an army and defeated the King
d. He then founded the Olympic games to commemorate his victory and
in honour of his father.
2
, e. Didn’t count because Heracles had been promised payment
6. Stymphalian birds
a. Birds had been ravaging farm lands of Stymphalos (and in some
accounts, ate residents)
b. Heracles went deep into the Stymphalian marsh in the Arcadian
forests
c. He didn’t know how to rouse the birds so Athena gave him a rattle
made by Hephaestos
d. When they flew into the air he shot them down with his arrows/ sling
shot
7. Cretan Bull
a. He had to bring the bull to Eurystheus in Mycenae
b. It had been destroying homes and farmland so King Minos was happy
to let him remove it.
c. Heracles crept up behind it, strangled it and let go just before it
passed out, he then rode it Mycenae
d. Eurystheus hides in a Pithos jar again
e. He lets it loose and it roams around in Marathon
f. Theseus defeats it in his labours
8. Mares of Diomedes
a. Diomedes was King of Bistones in Thrace and owned a set of horses
that fed on the limbs of defeated enemies and passing strangers
b. Heracles defeats the stablemen and then takes the horses away
c. Diomedes came to fight Heracles to get them back
d. He leaves the horses with his friend Abderos, but the horses eat
Abderos, so as retaliation he feeds Diomedes to the horses
e. The horses are now calm and he takes them to Eurystheus, there is
then two accounts about what happens:
i. They were freed and roamed the plains of Argos
ii. They arrive at Olympus and are killed by wild animals
9. Belt of Hippolyte
a. Hippolyte was Queen of the Amazons – who supposedly lived near
the black sea.
b. The belt was given to her by her father Ares
c. Eurystheus’ daughter wanted it for herself so Heracles was sent to get
it.
d. Heracles takes an army but Hippolyte admires him and gives him the
belt to take
e. Hera is unhappy at how easy this is, takes the form of an Amazon and
spreads rumours that he plans to kidnap the queen
f. The Amazons are enraged, attack Heracles, in the battle Heracles kills
Hippolyte and takes her belt
10.Cattle of Geryon
a. Geryon’s cattle were famous for their red hides and were found at the
edge of the earth
3
, b. Heracles quickly defeats their herdsman and his dog, Eurytion and
Orthrus
c. Geryon is warned of Heracles actions by another shepherd and rushes
after him
d. Geryon had 3 heads and 3 sets of arms and legs. Heracles overpowers
Geryon with his club and bow
e. His journey back from Erytheria took Heracles through Southern Italy
which is where the Romans forged their link with him
f. Eurystheus sacrifices the bulls to Hera
11. Apples of Hesperides
a. The golden apples were in the garden of Hesperides and were a
wedding present from Gaia to Zeus and Hera
b. The apples were guarded by the Hesperides – nymphs that were
daughters of Atlas.
c. Heracles is unaware of the garden’s location is and his journey takes
him through Illyria where he fights Achelous
d. His final stop is Mount Caucascus, he kills the eagle that would eat
the liver of Prometheus and freed him. Prometheus tells him how to
find the apples as a reward
e. Heracles travels to Atlas who was tasked with holding up the skies by
Zeus
f. He offers to hold up the skies if Atlas would get the Apples
g. When Atlas returns, he offers to take the apple to Eurystheus himself
so he didn’t have to take back the skies
h. Heracles accepts but tells Atlas to take them back whilst he gets some
pillows to support his shoulders.
i. Atlas takes the sky back and Heracles leaves with the Apple
j. Once he had presented it to Eurystheus, Athena took it back to the
garden
12. Cerberus
a. Heracles has to retrieve Cerberus from the underworld
b. In order to gain favour with Persephone, he is initiated into the
Eleusinian Mysteries
c. When he arrives in the underworld he is presented with a challenge
by Hades and Persephone, if he could capture Cerberus without any
weapons he would be allowed to take it to Eurystheus
d. He strangles Cerberus, presents it to Eurystheus and then returns him
to Hades.
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