Heroes of Olympus

by Philip Freeman

  After a good night’s sleep in the joyful palace, Hercules continued on his way to Thrace with a few of his companions. He found the horses and fed them their own master to calm them. Then he led them to the beach to take them by ship back to Argos, but the Thracians launched an attack. Hercules left the horses with his friend Abderus and went into battle. By the time he won, the horses had eaten his friend. Hercules founded a town named Abdera in his friend’s memory and created an athletic festival with every sort of game and contest—except for horse races.

  Hercules returned to Eurystheus with the mares. The frightened king of Mycenae let the savage animals go. They ran to the forests below Mount Olympus where they were eaten by wolves.

  King Eurystheus had a daughter named Admete. This princess demanded that Hercules bring back the belt of the Amazon warrior-queen, Hippolyte.

  Soon Hercules was on his way across the Aegean and into the Black Sea with a band of volunteers. Along the way he battled new enemies and killed two sons of King Minos. At last he arrived in the distant kingdom of the Amazons.

  Hippolyte was impressed by her guest and offered to give him her belt. Hera, still angry, told the other Amazons that Hercules was there to kidnap their queen. The Amazons attacked Hercules’s ship. Hercules thought Hippolyte had set a trap for him and killed her at once. Fleeing arrows and spears, he and his companions sailed away.

  The voyage home was full of trials. Hercules rescued a princess from a sea monster at Troy, killed Poseidon’s son Sarpedon, and invaded the island of Thasos. Finally he gave Hippolyte’s belt to the herald Copreus, who presented it to Eurystheus for his daughter.

  Next, Hercules had to capture the cattle of the monster Geryon, a creature with three bodies joined at the waist. This beast lived on an island in the great Ocean. No one had ever traveled that far west from Greece before. Eurystheus hoped Hercules would either be killed by the monster or become lost and die in the land of the setting sun.

  The hero journeyed alone across the Mediterranean to Africa, then west across the desert until he came to the land of the giant Antaeus. This enormous bully was the son of Poseidon and Earth, and it was his habit to challenge every stranger to a wrestling match. In spite of his size, Antaeus was often thrown to the ground. Each time he touched his mother, the Earth, his strength was renewed. He killed every challenger and used their skulls to decorate the temple of Poseidon.

  Antaeus wanted to add Hercules’s head to his collection and demanded a wrestling contest. Hercules threw the giant time and again. Each time Antaeus grew stronger while Hercules grew weaker. At last Hercules understood what was happening. He held Antaeus high above his head so that he could not touch the ground. The giant weakened and Hercules snapped him in half like a twig.

  After many weeks of travel, Hercules saw the vast Atlantic. He was so impressed by the sight that he erected two pillars on opposite sides of the narrow passage to the Ocean, one in Europe and the other in Africa. These Pillars of Hercules marked the edges of the world.

  As he worked, Hercules grew so hot that he shot an arrow at Helios. The sun god laughed, but he admired the hero’s nerve. He loaned Hercules his golden bowl. Helios used this vessel to journey from the sunset lands to his home in the east so that he could rise again the next day. Hercules climbed into the bowl and followed the Iberian coast north until he came to Geryon’s island kingdom.

  He crept up on the cattle grazing on a riverbank, but nothing escaped the notice of the guard dog, Orthus. The hound rushed at Hercules. The son of Zeus smashed the dog’s skull with one blow of his club.

  Hades also had a herd of cattle nearby. His servant warned Geryon that a thief was stealing his cattle. The three-bodied monster stormed into the meadow. Hercules struck him down with poison arrows and then herded the cattle into the golden bowl. Once he was safely across the sea to the mainland, he returned the vessel to the sun god. It was time to begin his long journey by land back to Greece.

  Hercules led the cattle across the Iberian peninsula, then over the Pyrenees Mountains to the land of Liguria below the Alps. There he was attacked by two sons of Poseidon who tried to steal the cattle. Hercules pounded them and their followers with so many stones that they were all killed and the land was covered with rocks.

  Hercules then turned south into Italy instead of taking the route beyond the Po River into Greece. He crossed the Alps and followed the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea past the cities of the Etruscans until he came to a quiet valley beneath seven hills on the banks of the Tiber River.

  In a cave there, under a rocky crag, lived the fire-breathing monster Cacus. The ground around his cave was covered with blood and gore. The valley below was deserted, and Hercules had no idea anything lived there. He placed the cattle in a pasture and retired for the night. While he slept, Cacus grabbed four bulls and four heifers and forced them to walk backward just as Hermes had done with the cattle of Apollo.

  The next morning Hercules realized eight of his best animals were gone. He saw their tracks, but was puzzled since they didn’t lead away from the herd. Then one of the cows in the dark cave let forth a mournful mooooo. Hercules ran toward the sound. Cacus piled giant boulders at the entrance to his cave, but Hercules changed the course of the Tiber River to reveal a back door.

  Cacus belched black smoke to create a thick cloud to hide behind. Hercules strangled him until his eyes popped out. He then led his missing cattle back to the herd and continued on his way.

  Hercules wasn’t very good at geography. He made his way south to the straits separating Italy from Sicily and realized he was lost. He finally made his way back up the Italian shore of the Adriatic Sea and returned to the northern borders of Greece. There Hera drove some of the cows mad with a gadfly. They escaped across Thrace and swam the Hellespont to Asia. Hercules took the remainder of the herd to Mycenae. After he gave the cattle to Eurystheus, the king insulted Hercules by sacrificing the entire herd to Hercules’s enemy Hera.

  Hercules had now worked for Eurystheus for over eight years, performing impossible deeds to cleanse himself of guilt for murdering his family. The king had almost given up trying to kill Hercules. The next labor he assigned to Hercules would keep him away in distant lands for as long as possible. Hercules had to fetch the golden apples of the nymphs known as the Hesperides.

  Few knew where the Hesperides lived. For Hercules to seize the apples, he would first have to find them. The pure gold apples grew on a tree given by Mother Earth to Zeus and Hera as a wedding present. A hundred-headed serpent named Ladon guarded the tree.

  He began by asking sister nymphs where the Hesperides lived. They sent him to the ancient sea god Nereus. Nereus, a shape-shifter, didn’t want to be disturbed. He changed into many terrifying forms to frighten Hercules away, but the hero stayed until the god revealed the location of the golden apples.

  Nereus either gave bad directions or Hercules got lost again. His search took him over most of the known world and beyond. His first stop was Egypt, where he entered the kingdom of Busiris. Years before, when Egypt had suffered a famine, a soothsayer had told the king to restore the land by sacrificing a foreigner to Zeus. Busiris took the advice and killed the seer on his altar. Fertility returned to the land, so the king sacrificed every foreigner who came his way. Hercules was seized and led to Busiris. While the king prepared to kill the hero, Hercules broke through the ropes holding him and grabbed one of the king’s priests by the ankles. He used him like a club to kill Busiris and his sons.

  Hercules next sailed north to the Greek island of Lindos and wandered east to the Caucasus Mountains. He found Prometheus chained to a rock with the eagle of Zeus eating his liver. Just as Prometheus had foreseen long before, the son of Zeus killed the eagle and broke his chains. As thanks, Prometheus pointed out that Hesperides meant “nymphs of the West.” He told Hercules that he should find a way to have mighty Atlas retrieve the apples for him.

  After a march west across the northern coast of Africa, Hercules found Atlas ho
lding up the sky. Atlas agreed to fetch the golden apples and handed the heavens to Hercules. It didn’t take Atlas long to come back with the fruit, but he told Hercules that he wouldn’t take the sky back. Hercules groaned and asked Atlas to hold the sky for a minute while he placed a pillow on his shoulders as padding. Atlas wasn’t very smart. Once he held the sky again, Hercules thanked him and went on his way. Atlas was left to hold up the heavens for eternity.

  After another long journey, Hercules presented the apples to the king. Eurystheus was too frightened to keep them. Hercules gave them to Athena, who returned them to the Hesperides.

  The final labor of Hercules was the most terrifying of all. Eurystheus ordered him to go to the underworld and bring back Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of Hades. If Hercules failed, he would be trapped forever among the dead.

  Before he started down the path to Hades, Hercules went to the city of Eleusis to be taught the mysteries of Demeter. The goddess had shown her followers how their spirits might escape the eternal night of the underworld. Hercules wanted this knowledge in case things did not go well on his last labor.

  Leaving Eleusis, Hercules went to the cave of Taenarum near Sparta and began his journey. He walked through darkness for days until he reached the kingdom of shades. He found Theseus and Peirithous sitting trapped on their chairs after trying to steal Persephone. They reached out to him, but Hercules could save only Theseus.

  Finally Hercules asked Hades if he might take Cerberus to fulfill his duty. Hades agreed, as long as Hercules didn’t use his weapons. Hercules wrestled with the beast while wearing his lion skin. The serpent fangs on the tail of Cerberus could not penetrate the lion skin. Hercules held Cerberus so tight that the three-headed beast gave up. Hercules then carried Cerberus all the way to Eurystheus. The frightened king, still hiding in his jar, said the labors were finally complete. He ordered Hercules to take Cerberus and leave. The hero, now cleansed of his guilt, bade his uncle a bitter farewell and returned the guardian of the underworld to his home.

  Now that Hercules was finished with his labors, he decided it was time to get married again. His old archery teacher, King Eurytus of Oechalia, offered his daughter Iole to anyone who could best him and his sons in a contest. Hercules went to the kingdom and won, but Eurytus refused to give him his daughter. The king was afraid that the girl would end up dead like Megara and her sons. Iphitus, a son of Eurytus, stood up for Hercules. The king still refused. Hercules stormed away swearing vengeance. He settled in the town of Tiryns not far from Mycenae.

  It was only a short time later that Eurytus noticed twelve prized horses were missing. Iphitus again defended Hercules. He journeyed to Tiryns to prove the hero’s innocence. Hercules welcomed Iphitus and promised to prove he wasn’t hiding horses. He then led Iphitus to the top of the high walls of Tiryns. While Iphitus was admiring the scenery, Hercules pushed him to his death. He then went to the pasture to admire his stolen horses.

  Hercules believed he could get away with anything. He asked King Neleus in Pylos to cleanse him of the crime of killing Iphitus. The ruler refused. Hercules soon developed a horrible disease as a punishment. He made his way to Delphi to ask what he must do to wash away the guilt. The priestess of Apollo wanted nothing to do with him.

  Hercules grew angry. He grabbed the sacred altar from the temple and ran down the road. He said that he would establish his own oracle if the god would not help him. Apollo flew down to Delphi, grabbed the altar, and fought with Hercules. Zeus sent a lightning bolt to break up the fight. Apollo unwillingly told Hercules he could be cured if he would serve as a slave for three years. Apollo led him to the nearest slave market where he was bought by Queen Omphale of Lydia.

  During his three years as a slave, Hercules cleared the countryside of bandits and other evildoers. One such pair were the Cercopes, bandits who attacked travelers. One day they saw Hercules sleeping beside the road and decided to rob him. Before they knew what was happening, he had hung them upside down by their feet from a pole over his shoulders. As he carried them down the road, the two began to joke with each other. Hercules laughed so hard that he decided to let them go. Zeus later turned the pair into monkeys.

  After he had served his three years as a slave, Hercules settled some old scores. The first was against King Laomedon of Troy, who had cheated him of his reward when he rescued the king’s daughter Hesione from a sea monster. Hercules filled eighteen ships with soldiers to attack the city. He killed Laomedon and all the princes of Troy save one, a young boy named Podarces. When the princess Hesione was brought before Hercules, he offered to let her buy the freedom of one of the Trojan captives. Hesione chose her brother Podarces to preserve the royal line, giving Hercules her veil as his price. The lad was thereafter known as Priam, Greek for “ransomed one.” He became king of Troy and ruled the city during the Trojan War.

  After attacking other kings and princes who had offended him, Hercules collected a large army. He marched against Augeas who had refused to give him his reward when he had cleaned Augeas’s filthy stables. He killed the king and his sons, then started a series of athletic contests in nearby Olympia to celebrate. These contests were repeated every four years and came to be known as the Olympic Games.

  After so many adventures, Hercules still did not have a wife. He heard of a beautiful princess named Deianira in western Greece and decided to make her his. The maiden had another suitor, a river god named Achelous. Hercules fought him for the hand of Deianira. It was a difficult contest, as the river god had the body of a water serpent and a deadly horn on his forehead. The two fought until Hercules grabbed Achelous by his horn and ripped it from his head.

  Hercules took his new bride and traveled east to settle in the city of Trachis. Along the way they came to the swift Evanus River where the centaur Nessus ferried passengers across the stream on his back. Nessus had served as a beast of burden for travelers since Hercules drove him out of Arcadia after the battle at the cave of Pholus. The last person he wanted to see was Hercules, but he had little choice but to ferry Deianira across the river.

  Halfway across, Nessus tried to force himself on Deianira. In an instant Hercules shot him through with one of his poisoned arrows. As he lay dying, Nessus told Deianira to take some of his blood. “It is a powerful love potion in case you ever need it,” he said.

  After they reached Trachis, Hercules made a home for himself and Deianira. In time he decided on one last act of revenge. He was still angry at his old archery teacher, Eurytus, who had refused to give him his daughter Iole. Hercules raised an army and took the king’s city, killing Eurytus and his surviving sons. He then took Iole home to Trachis as a slave.

  Deianira knew it was time to use the blood of Nessus. She smeared it on a cloak and presented it to Hercules. Her husband draped it around his shoulders. The cloak burned his skin like a blazing fire. Hercules screamed in agony, but he could not remove the cloak. The poisonous blood ate his flesh until Hercules built a funeral pyre. He dragged himself to the top and asked a young man named Philoctetes to set it on fire. In an instant Hercules was consumed by the flames and his torture finally ended.

  When his friends and family went to collect his bones and ashes after the fire had cooled, they could find nothing. Zeus had snatched his son and taken his soul to Mount Olympus, where he became an immortal god. He made peace with his stepmother, Hera, and married Hebe, the goddess of youth.

  There in the heavens, Hercules at last found the eternal glory he had sought all his life.

  Oedipus

  Long before Hercules was born at Thebes, the city was founded because of a wandering cow and an angry dragon. After Europa was kidnapped by Zeus, her brother Cadmus searched everywhere for her. Finally, he went to the oracle at Delphi to ask Apollo where to find her. The oracle said to forget about Europa and instead seek out a cow. Cadmus had to follow the cow until it collapsed. Wherever that was, he had to establish a city.

  This seemed very strange, but Cadmus couldn’t ignore
the orders of a god. He walked down the mountain road until he came upon a herd of cattle. One cow had a mark on its side like a full moon. This seemed like a sign, so he bought the beast and followed it as it wandered away. The cow made its way down the mountain, past lakes, over hills, and across plains. At last it lay down on a ridge above a broad plain north of Athens.

  It was a good spot for a city, with a fortress for protection and fields all around. Cadmus built an altar and sent some of his companions to a spring to draw water. Suddenly he heard a scream. His friends lay dead at the feet of a mighty dragon. Cadmus attacked this guardian of the spring. After a fierce battle, he slew the dragon.

  Athena appeared and told him to knock out the dragon’s teeth and sow them in a field like seeds. Cadmus was used to strange orders by now, so he planted the teeth.

  He had no sooner sown the last tooth than the tips of hundreds of spears broke the ground. They were followed by helmets, then faces, chests, and legs. A whole army of warriors rose from the dragon’s teeth. Cadmus grabbed his own sword to defend himself.

  “Stay out of things that aren’t your business,” said the soldier closest to him.

  The warriors started killing each other. At last only five fighters were left alive on the bloody field. At Athena’s command, the survivors laid down their weapons. These five warriors became the founding fathers of Thebes, under the rule of Cadmus as king.

  A city of men alone has no future. Women were found for the warriors along with a queen for Cadmus. Her name was Harmonia, the beautiful daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. The gods themselves presented gifts to the happy couple, including a necklace and robe for Harmonia. She and Cadmus lived a long and tragic life together. All four of their daughters—Autonoe, Ino, Semele, and Agave—led lives marked by violence, madness, or sadness. Only Polydorus, their son, passed his days in peace, fathering a son named Labdacus. Labdacus in turn fathered a future king of Thebes named Laius.