“Who are you?” she asked, as she opened the door and let him wander on inside.
The man was relatively odd looking. In fact, it was hard to tell whether he was a man at all. He entered the house and suddenly lifted up his right foot. “Wait!” he said, reaching his hand down to pull off one of his blue sandals. “Okay, I got it! A rock was stuck in my shoe you see! Oh, blast, I hate when that happens. It never happens in heaven ya know. Well, what are you gonna do? We must treat some things lighter than others. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hermes, messenger of the Gods, patron of poets, travelers, herdsmen…well basically I have a very long title. But that is unimportant. What is important is that I have come on behalf of the child you have. Tell me, I was sure that I saw him land in your cart and come this way. Where is he?”
At this moment Amphitryon was still hiding with the child in the back room of the cottage, listening to their strange guest. Alcmene still didn’t know whether the guest was an ally or an enemy, but was beginning to believe that he was no enemy. “For what enemy,” she thought, “would wear something like this and appear so bright and happy?”
Suddenly Hermes smiled and moved over towards the hall. “Do not worry,” said Hermes. “I come in peace, in behalf of Zeus and Hera, high Gods!”
Amphitryon looked over at Alcmene who smiled and, without hesitation, motioned for him to come out. “It is fine. Bring out the baby! I know that he is a messenger of Zeus and Hera!”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Amphitryon, who brought the naked child out in his arms.
Hermes sent a powerful smile down at the child and began running his hand along his head. “Oh my goodness! It is him! The son of Zeus and Hera—Hercules!”
“Hercules,” said Alcmene. “That is the child’s name…”
“The son of Zeus and Hera?” said Amphitryon, clearly thinking it was all one big dream.
“Yes,” said Hermes, smiling. “Oh, what a wonderful child!”
“A child of the Gods?” said Alcmene. “But what is he doing here? He must not be here on our world.”
“No, on your world he must remain,” replied Hermes. “I will not explain the details here for it would take me far too long and, as a messenger of the Gods, I have many great deeds to do. But I will tell you this—Hercules must remain here until the time comes that he may return home. And indeed, who knows when this time will be. I certainly don’t know. Heck, Zeus doesn’t even know. Only your Hercules can know when it will be time for him to return to his heavenly home.” Hermes looked over at Amphitryon and Alcmene, who both stood staring deep into the child’s eyes. “I have not been with you for long, but I can tell that you are a noble couple, a couple with whom true love is no stranger. I do not believe that it is against fate that young Hercules has been brought here.” Hermes suddenly pulled out a bright-white manuscript. “You only need to sign this and he will be yours, as least as long as he is on this mortal world.”
Amphitryon and Alcmene both looked up with tears of joy in their eyes. “It would be our pleasure!” exclaimed Alcmene, as she grabbed a light feathery pen from Hermes and signed her name.
“Indeed we have been praying for a child,” said Amphitryon as he also signed the paper. “But how are we to take care of a God?”
Hermes rolled up the manuscript and put it beneath his clothes. He then chuckled loudly, grabbed a piece of fruit from off the table, and took a bite. “A part-God now. And, well, pretty much how you take care of any other kid. Clean him up, change his clothes, give him food and water, you know, the basics.” Suddenly Hermes’ lighthearted tone seemed to get more serious. “But above all you must read him this.” Hermes suddenly pulled from behind his back a white book. “He is a unique child. He will have no kinsman on earth or in heaven. He must learn of the divine world while young, for he will grow more and more attached to it. But you must be wary and not reveal to Hercules what has transpired this evening, especially who his real parents are. I fear that if Hercules were to know the identity of his true parents while young bad things may ensue. He may develop terrible pride. He may seek to begin grand designs too early. Either way, do you promise to keep the identity of the boy’s true parents a secret?”
Alcmene and Amphitryon both nodded.
Hermes smiled. “Excellent. Well, time is moving fast and I have places I must be. So now I must leave you.”
Then suddenly Hermes snapped his fingers and was gone, leaving Amphitryon and Alcmene with Hercules.
******
Time passed quickly and it would not be a lie to say that Hercules was an exceptional child, a child of love, hope, and soberness.
Amphitryon and Alcmene raised Hercules with more love than any parents had ever before raised a child. He was their treasure, making the boy not only a treasure of his godly parents, who watched him grow up from above, but also his mortal parents.
Every day seemed like a new surprise for Amphitryon and Alcmene, who poured all of their daily mortal strength in feeding and providing for young Hercules. It seemed that, although he technically was more mortal than God, his Godly attributes shined out all the clearer. He was a tame child, a child who would sit nicely at the table, a child who would obey his parents without hesitation. However, he was also a wild child in that his Godly powers continued to grow and grow within him, allowing him to run faster than any man, endure weather far more terrible than any man could endure, and carry much more than any man could carry.
Amphitryon and Alcmene were overjoyed at the amazing powers their child possessed. And, as Hermes had instructed, every night they read to their young child from the book of the Gods. Hercules was intrigued by the stories of these Gods and felt some miraculous connection to them. Eventually Hercules became old enough to want to know whether or not all these stories and Gods were real. Amphitryon and Alcmene smiled at the child and said, “They are as real as you are.” Of course Hercules at the time didn’t understand the deeper meaning of their words (that in fact Hercules was, at least in part, a God like them), but he understood enough to accept the fact that these stories and the Gods portrayed within them were quite real.
There were many things that were unique about Hercules and of which his earthly guardians became aware. Hercules was extremely fast and spent much of his time running through the hills. Hercules was also very tolerant of any of kind of weather, be that very cold or very warm weather. As a result Hercules rarely wore more than a tunic.
The older Hercules got the more responsibility he was given. As great parents they knew the importance of giving Hercules responsibility. And so the couple bought many sheep and made Hercules the official shepherd. Amphitryon smiled as he gave the young fourteen-year-old Hercules an old wooden shepherd’s staff. “Hercules, may you watch over these sheep and protect them from all harm. This will be your task.”
Although this was a simple task for such a talented child, Hercules didn’t mind being given the task of shepherd and tended to his duties with great diligence. There was even a notable instance of when Hercules found some of the sheep had wandered off, but returned with the skin of a great lion, having slain the lion to protect his sheep. Of course, when Hercules returned with the skin of the lion over his shoulder his parents were quite amazed.
However, his duty as shepherd was not an eternal duty and did not keep him entirely isolated from the world. At times he would need to travel into the nearby village for supplies and when he entered the village he was beginning to see life as it really was, away from his sheltered life.
Eventually the time had come that Amphitryon and Alcmene both dreaded and waited for their entire lives—the time of Hercules’ departure.
You see, they had begun to see signs of this hero’s life with them coming to a close. Hercules began to spend much more time outside among the sheep, thinking, pondering, and reading the book of the Gods.
Now Hercules was a grown man, a man of almost thirty years of age. He was not overly muscular or buff, did not appear to be weak or
malnourished. He had dark blonde hair that sunk to his shoulders and his skin was a light tan. He sported a rugged, but somehow appealing and handsome complexion.
“His head is in the clouds!” exclaimed Alcmene, as she stared out at Hercules.
“Yes, indeed,” replied Amphitryon. “The boy is now a man. He does not desire to make a home on earth. Instead, his deep desire is for the heavens and we no longer have any right to keep him here, away from his eternal destiny.”
“But what will we do without him?” asked Alcmene. “He has grown so close to our hearts.”
“We knew that this day would eventually come,” replied Amphitryon. “Let me speak with him darling.”
Although Amphitryon and Alcmene had grown to love Hercules with every fiber of their soul, they knew that the time had come that Hercules needed to leave.
There, on the hill overlooking their home, Amphitryon spoke soothing, but nevertheless difficult words to his son: “Hercules, I have seen the heavens stirring and have also seen the stirring within your own heart. It is this type of stirring that you must not hold within you, for if you do you will never realize your true potential and will never save this world or the many other worlds that you need to save.”
“I don’t know what I am supposed to do,” said Hercules. “Everything is confusing. For so long I have lived with the idea that this life is the life for me, that these fields and hills were all I was to live for. But now I am not so sure. I don’t know where I fit in in this world. I feel somehow like I need more.”
“Look Hercules,” said Amphitryon, placing his arms around Hercules’ shoulder. “We all find our place in the universe at one time or another, but some find it faster than others.”
“But father, I cannot leave you,” said Hercules. “What will you do without me here tending the flocks?”
“Your mother and I will manage,” replied Amphitryon. Amphitryon paused and beckoned him to look over the Greek countryside. “You see the land out there, out there in the real world. It is a land of tall mountains and deep valleys. It is a land that is sometimes rocky and dry, but in other times is lush and full of groves and grapevines. When people first came to this land they were simple shepherds, farmers, and fishermen, much like you and I. They were simple workers of the field, and above all they were very humble and virtuous. But as time passed these humble people began moving to big cities and what they created was indeed grand and glorious. However, these people became corrupted. They lost the virtue they once possessed. They need someone to help them—they need a hero. Look Hercules, it is my will that you stay, but it is my command that you leave, for far too long has your heart secretly been set on the things not of this world; for too long has your mind delved deep into that book—the book of the Gods. You see, once the mantle of the hero falls upon us we must act upon those impulses.”
“But what am I supposed to do?” asked Hercules. “Where should I go? I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Perhaps you should look in the book. You were given that book for a reason and it wasn’t just to fill your imagination with vain images and ideas. Childish fantasies they may seem to be to most people, but it is often these childlike fantasies that erupt into vivid and powerful realities. Hercules, we know your destiny and we can no longer take you away from it.”
Hercules prepared himself to depart with his old lion skin as the only extra covering besides his clothes, as well as a small leather side pack filled with food and water. After a few tender moments of love Hercules bid farewell to his parents, for after this he was off, off into the world he had, for so long, not known.
He knew where he had to look. The map in his book gave him the clue. He would go from the beginning of the book to the end, visiting all the various Gods for an answer to his questions. He could go days without eating, drinking, or resting, for physical needs were not important to Hercules now. Instead, his drive was coming from something deeper—a drive to discover his true identity and place in the universe.
Hercules traveled first to the great Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, love, and desire. He found that she lived in a great palace to the north of Greece. The palace was lush and green and surrounded by roses. Doves were fluttering around her. She had long blonde hair and was arrayed in a beautiful red dress. Hercules found that Aphrodite was beautiful and kind, but had little additional knowledge to give him. Instead she merely said, “I know little of this world, for I rarely deal with it. Perhaps, my child, you may visit Apollo. He occasionally visits this world. Perhaps he will know.”
So Hercules left the God’s great palace and went to visit Apollo in the heart of Athens where he was discussing many profound things with the philosophers there. However, Apollo didn’t know either, but told him to visit another God—Athena. And so he did this travelling abroad looking for answers—answers to the most simple but vital questions.
He visited Dionysus, who told him to ask Demeter, who told him to ask Artemis, who told him to go to the eastern sea and speak with Poseidon, the great God of the sea. Hercules obeyed.
Once Hercules reached the sea he yelled, “Poseidon, great God of the Sea! Come forth from the great waters!”
Hercules waited a moment and watched as the waves began to grow more intense. Then suddenly the waves in front of him parted as the massive man of the sea came forth from the water on the land and addressed young Hercules.
Hercules was astounded at Poseidon for he carried a sharp, gold trident, and he was arrayed in a blue-green robe. He appeared very buff and had a long black beard. “What mortal dares command me?”
“My name is Hercules, great God! I come with questions that Artemis said that you may answer! O great Poseidon! Who am I? And who are my parents?”
For several moments Poseidon was silent and bore a look of sternness and anger. But then his expression changed. He seemed less intimating and more loving. Suddenly Poseidon extended his massive trident down to the boy and tapped him in the chest with it, causing him to fall down. “My eyes do not deceive me!” he explained in a voice that sounded very much like Santa Clause. “You, my friend, certainly are Hercules, son of great Zeus and Hera, Gods of all!”
Hercules was silent and in shock. He had no idea who he was before this and to hear from a God that he was the son of Zeus and Hera, the Gods he had read about so much during his life, was quite shocking. He pulled out his book and turned the page to the Gods on the final page, great Zeus and lovely Hera. He then lifted up his eyes. “You must be mistaken, for I cannot be their son. I am a mere mortal! I have not eyes to see or understand heavenly things!”
Poseidon shook his head and raised his arms which caused the behind and around him to propel high into the air. “No, my young friend, you are indeed Hercules. Although I have not seen you since you were a child I would never mistake your eyes, for they are your mother’s eyes, and your firm, strong body, that is much like your father’s. No I would not be mistaken about you child!”
“But if it is true,” said Hercules, “then why was I here on earth? Did they not want me? Did they not care where I went?”
“Those are all good questions but questions that I cannot answer,” said Poseidon firmly. “I am afraid that only Zeus can answer those questions for you.”
“But where is he? Where is Zeus now?”
Poseidon then pointed towards the north-west with his massive trident. “He is where he has been since the time of your birth—on Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain in Greece and the most difficult to climb. Indeed, it is a mountain of Gods!”
Hercules paused and looked down at his map where he immediately saw it—the grand mountain of Olympus!
“Why is Zeus not in his temple?” asked Hercules.
Poseidon suddenly laughed, causing water to fling everywhere around him. “You silly child, Zeus dwells not in temples made with mortal hands! No, to find him and get answers to your questions you must make the long and cold climb up that snow-filled mountain. Only then will you get answ
ers to the questions you seek. Good luck son of Zeus and Hera!”
Hercules nodded, thanked the great Poseidon, and watched as he moved back down into the water. After the water had calmed he looked up to the north-west and took a deep breathe. He knew that he would soon begin the great journey to the mountain of the Gods.
Chapter 2: Mount Olympus
The great mountain of Olympus was known by mortals as a holy mountain, but little about the mountain was actually known. High the mountain lingered, in the north-eastern part of Greece, surrounded by miles upon miles of highly dangerous snow-covered mountains. Legend had it that no man had actually reached Mount Olympus alive, let alone returned to tell the tale. However, by now rumor had spread about this mysterious mountain—that magical lights issued forth from it.
Hercules was not concerned with how difficult and rigorous the journey to that dastardly mountain would be. No, instead Hercules hoped and prayed that his journey would not be in vain—that he would find an answer that he knew only Zeus could answer.
So Hercules nobly and quickly made the terrible journey through the jagged icy mountains, through the snowstorm with only his torn tunic and lion skin attached. Although this would kill an ordinary man, Hercules was no ordinary man.
When his journey was finally complete and he had reached the very top of Mount Olympus, high above the clouds, he looked up into the dark, icy sky and yelled, “Zeus, I Hercules, your son, now call upon you! Will you please answer my plea?”
There was suddenly a weird feeling gathering all around him. It was a type of warm chill, a feeling that felt quite different than anything he had ever before felt. It filled his soul with comfort, but also fear. In his mind he was wondering what malice of the air had caused it, but then suddenly he knew. It was Zeus.
Hercules waited for a few moments and suddenly watched as lightning bolts fired down from the heavens, shaking the ground on which he stood terribly. Then it seemed as if a tormenting tornado of snow and sleet blew all around him. Hercules ducked down to the ground, put his head down, and placed his arms around his eyes to shield him from the elements. In a few minutes, to his great surprise, the tornado had made a tall and thick shaft of ice all around him. Hercules suddenly felt dignified, as if the skies in the heavens had heard his prayer. All around him there was a soothing silence and peace. Hercules walked around in this small circle no larger than fifteen feet in diameter. He pressed his hands against the wall of ice and sleet, but it did not feel cold. Instead, it felt like smooth glass.
The God of Olympus Page 2
