The God of Olympus

by Matthew Argyle

  Hercules suddenly heard a cracking sound, like rock splitting in two, and he looked back to see a bright being. The man stood erect in the center of the circle. He was relatively large and muscular, although by no means as large or muscular as he would have supposed for a god. He stood there dressed in a bright, spotless white robe. His hair was long and white. For a long period of time Hercules couldn’t stand to look up at the man because his being emanated so great brightness.

  “Who are you?” asked Hercules.

  “Do you not recognize me?” asked the man in a deep voice. “Why I am disappointed, for I am none other than your father Zeus. You have come all this way to talk with me, have you not? You have journeyed long and now need the guidance that I can provide you. Please, speak!”

  Hercules nodded, although he didn’t really feel so comfortable now in speaking to such an intimidating being—the most powerful God he had ever encountered. He kept his body leaned up against the ice wall and began to speak. As he spoke Zeus’ brightness seemed to calm so that he could see his father’s face—now solemn and kind.

  Hercules trembled, but managed to speak: “Father…I seek an answer as to who I am! I desire to know my history…I desire to know why I am here and what I must do to be with you again!”

  “Ha!” laughed Zeus so loud that Hercules thought that all the ice around him would crumble. “You have asked brilliant questions! You are no doubt prepared for what you must do and know.” Then Zeus began to speak comforting words to Hercules. He told Hercules about the Great War in the heavens before he was born: “You see, Hercules, we loved you, but for these long years have been forced to be apart from you because you were made mortal. Into you we placed our hope to win both the war on earth and the war in heaven. Your mother and I bet everything on you, as we poured our God power into you son. Our own righteousness is the only thing that keeps us here.”

  “But where have you been all my life father? Couldn’t you at least visit and help all the people here on this world? People here think you have abandoned them and have lost much hope.”

  Zeus sighed. “Why do mortals think that simply because they cannot see us or our workings that we do not care about them? Do they not think in their finite, weak minds that perhaps there is another reason they do not see, a reason far deeper than they would ever suppose? My dear Hercules, you see the reason I am here is because I must be! You see Hercules, when your mother and I poured our God-power into you we made ourselves subject to death by Hades’ hand. The only place that Hades cannot come and destroy us is on and above this place, Mount Olympus. So you see Hercules, I must remain here, for were I to leave I would be subject to the power of Hades and could die. My boy, this is the only place in the universe that is safe from the corruption of Hades and from the eyes of all evil…”

  “But how do you have power here?” asked Hercules. “You had power to cause a tornado to appear and solidify the snow and ice into a solid ice wall.”

  “Yes,” replied Zeus. “But we, your mother and I, have power only here on Mount Olympus where all things are powerful and protected.”

  “But I don’t understand?” asked Hercules. “Why do all this for me? Why place the future of this world in the hands of one weak man?”

  “Because we believe in you, your mother and I,” said Zeus. “Above all we love you, and believe me when I say that your mother would be here now if it were not for her great heart. You see, she loves you so much that she couldn’t bear to see you for only a moment. The pain of leaving you would be too great.”

  Hercules suddenly fell to his knees on the icy ground. “Oh woe that I was brought into this mortal world!” exclaimed Hercules. “Woe that I was to live here while all my heavenly brothers are at home in their heavenly homes! Woe that I do not get to truly know my heavenly parents! Oh am I the cursed one!”

  Zeus suddenly walked over to Hercules and placed his hand on his shoulders. “You are not cursed!” said Zeus. “And I would not have you speak this way. What happened to you cannot be undone, nor was it meant to be. All things in life pass for a reason and there is a reason why you are here. There is only one chief trial for a God such as Hera and I, and that is that we should watch while mortals suffer! You see, Hercules, what humans strive for, such as power or prestige is not what a God strives for! With one hurl of my lightning bolt I could have people bow down to me. I could have everyone across the entire world, and not just Greece, worshiping and praising my name! But that is not what being a God is about Hercules. Being a God is about being much more. It is about more than your mother and I. Once you become a God Hercules, you will realize that everything is not about yourself, but about others. Do you not see Hercules? What we really care about, at least in relation to the mortal world, is that, at least in the end, good triumphs over evil. That is what all of our workings in the world are for. So, yes, time ahead may be of great trial and tribulation, but they will be times, nevertheless of great hope. You see, once you have progressed to the status of Godhood humans are, more often than not, mere tokens of weakness, ignorance, strife, and corruption. But humans still teach me much. They teach me of love and dependence on virtues that Gods so often forget. As Gods, we do not need to toil the land to survive, nor do we need to woo someone to be our partner. Your time of mortal strife is but a short one, but one filled with potential unimaginable. Now you must know Hercules that this world needs your help just as much as we do. Perhaps this is why you are here—to understand what it is like to be human and to learn to embrace it, to learn how to help these weak mortals in a way that your mother and I never could. Hades, above all, seeks to control all the poor souls who live on this world, and for a long time, while the war in the heavens has ceased, he has been working iniquity on this mortal world, iniquity outside of anything that I can control. Your mother and I, being trapped on Mount Olympus, have, for a long time, looked down on the mortals of this wretched world. And what do we behold but suffering innumerable! Souls cry up to us from the dust of the earth but we cannot heal them! Our fate and thus the fate of the universe is bound to you Hercules. Should you fail all will come to naught. Should you fail the stars will cease to shine! Should you fail Hades will take over and all will come to naught!”

  Hercules sighed and stared up into the eyes of the bright being. “What would have me do father?”

  “Hercules in order to vanquish all evil and stop Hades you must make yourself more than a man. You must make yourself a true hero!”

  Hercules stood there puzzled. He hoped for some simple and clear task, but this he did not get. “But how am I to be a true hero?”

  “Only you can know!” exclaimed Zeus. “But to begin this process you must seek out Philoctetes, the trainer of heroes. Philotetes now dwells on the Island of Lemnos. He will tell you more.”

  “But how am I to get there?” asked Hercules. “I cannot cross a sea!”

  “Pegasus will take you!” said Zeus. Hercules wondered who Pegasus was until suddenly he knew. Around him the ice wall shattered and a noble, white, winged beast that looked much like a horse burst onto the mountain top. “Consider this our gift to you, a young stallion worthy for even the greatest of kings—Pegasus, the noblest steed ever created. I made him long ago, before my God-power was taken from me, just after you were born. He was to be our great gift for you. He is made out of the only material here that I can make him out of here on Mount Olympus—cloud, snow, ice, and of course, a little magic. As such, he is pure white. He has the strength of an ox, the beauty of a bird, and the swiftness of a horse. Like you he can endure any nearly any element he is brought against. In addition, he can endure any kind of weather, from the coldest to the warmest. Indeed, you may say that he is a stallion worthy of a true hero—worthy of you. And he is bound to you and will be near you at all times you need him.”

  Hercules found Pegasus to be remarkable and they bonded almost instantly. The great creature lifted himself up so he was on both hind legs and opened his wings. They were at
least twenty feet wide when spread out fully. His feathers and skin were soft, like that of the softest pillow.

  The great steed finally descended, stared into Hercules’ eyes, and smiled. Hercules patted his head, which was very soft. “Pegasus will direct you to where you must go! So go now my son. Go to Philoctetes. And look to your heart for guidance, for you will need it!”

  Hercules saw Zeus turn around and begin to walk away from him. However, suddenly he stopped and looked back at Hercules, this time with a much more tender look about him, much less like a strict God, and more like loving teddy bear. “Always remember Hercules that your real home, your true home, is not on this earth. Instead, your true home is up in heaven with your mother and I…but there are just some things you must do to get there.”

  Hercules then watched as Zeus suddenly disappeared in a pillar of light into the heavens above. He then looked at Pegasus, and spoke soft words, “Pegasus, will you ride with me to Philoctetes?”

  Pegasus smiled and leapt up into air gleefully like a happy child. Hercules smiled as well. He got up onto Pegasus, extended his massive white wings, and lifted them up off the mountain into the depths below. Meanwhile, one of Hades’ dark winged spies saw Hercules and Pegasus and flew out of his mountainous cave towards Hades’ dark abode, where he would quickly find Hades and alert him to this new development.

  Chapter 3: Philoctetes

  Before returning to Hercules’ adventure, something must be said of Philoctetes. Philoctetes was an anomaly within the Greek world. He was known by many but loved by few. To both the mortals of the world and the Gods in heaven he was known as a failure. He was once a mighty man and leader, of chosen lineage. As the son of King Poeas he was a Greek hero. His most famed skill was as an archer. He fought in the Trojan War where he was a noble hero.

  In fact, his performance during the Trojan War so impressed the Gods that Zeus secretly appointed him to be a trainer of heroes—heroes that would help win the war of good and evil on the earth (while he fought against Hades in the heavens). Philoctetes obeyed the command of Zeus and raised up an army of the greatest heroes the world had ever seen. However, sadly to Philoctetes, Hades heard of what he was attempting to do, and secretly tempted each of the great heroes Philoctetes had trained (some with power, others with lust, and others will wealth). Then Zeus called for a great war to occur with Philoctetes and his great heroes against Hades and his armies on earth.

  Philoctetes stood noble and erect as he looked out over the battlefield, a battle that he was sure they were going to win. Although they were far outnumbered, Philoctetes and his heroes and he knew that his men and women were far more prepared and trained than Hades. They were the elite, he knew, the most elite warriors the world had ever known! But in all of Philoctetes’ intelligence and experience he had failed to see that, regardless of their great skill in war, they may still fail due to internal malady.

  The battle began but the heroes did not fight as their true selves. They all fought with a loss of nobility, or a loss of life, as he did not suppose or foresee. Hades, on the other hand, laughed and mocked Philoctetes, by saying, “Your warriors do not fight for you, but for me, for they have all been ensnared by me, doomed to become my servants forevermore!”

  Philoctetes, at this time, did not understand that even the greatest of warriors derive their strength from spirit, and it was this spirit they did not have. Instead, they fought as if enslaved, for all had been enslaved by sin and guilt. Then, eventually, many of them stopped fighting entirely or some even sided with Hades until Philoctetes was left alone against Hades and his armies.

  It was then that Philoctetes shot an arrow at Hades, trying in one last desperate attempt to defeat Hades, but it did not affect him. Hades then sent his favorite animal, his ferocious, venomous snake, forward and it bit Philoctetes, wounding him severely with a powerful and very poisonous venom. Hades laughed, having won the battle against Philoctetes and his heroes.

  “Do not kill Philoctetes!” declared Hades to all his warriors. “Let him return to report his failure. He will live only long enough to report.”

  Indeed, this occasion was saddest amongst all occasions for Philoctetes, for all of Philoctetes’ heroes had failed, destined to serve Hades.

  Meanwhile Hades let Philoctetes return to King Odysseus and report to him what had occurred. Odysseus mocked him, saying, “You failed against Hades’ armies, even with your great heroes to aid you. You are not as great as I supposed! Go, you are banished from this land henceforth!” And so Philoctetes was forced to leave his homeland as an outcast, still severely wounded from the snake bite. Without anyone to go to for help Philoctetes took his ship and sailed east. He surely believed that it would be his destiny to die in his ship on the sea. And, sadly enough, this is what Philoctetes wanted at this time. In these moments death was the only way that Philoctetes could escape the pain of the poisonous wound and the shame of his failure against Hades and his armies. But just before all was lost and Philoctetes saw the rays of heaven’s sunlight, he found that his ship had landed on a foreign land. The place was called the Island of Lemnos. It was a place that Philoctetes found had the power to heal his wounds. How, he did not know. Miraculously, after he came aground on the island he found that he had greater strength flowing through him. He had enough strength to get up and explore the island and it was here that he found his new home. After he lingered there on that island for a short period of time he found that the island, although miraculous in its healing powers, had the odd ability to transform him into something very hideous and ugly. He figured that this island was a cursed island, an island that heals and preserves only to curse.

  Now Hercules was flying with Pegasus to the very same island. Apparently Pegasus knew where Philoctetes was. Perhaps Zeus had told him. Hercules didn’t know. However, after several hours of flying through the air they both descended down onto the Island of Lemnos.

  As the two descended onto the island Hercules was awed at what he saw. Strange vegetation, unlike anything he had ever before seen, grew up from the depths of the earth. It was large and tinted a dark brownish-orange hue. A foggy, almost black, soot hovered in the air like a poisonous fume. Beyond the layer of fog Hercules could see fallen stone monuments and statues that made the large island look like it once was a thriving metropolis. Once Hercules stopped and stepped out onto the ground he also noticed that a battle must have occurred here on this island long ago, for old swords and shields littered the ground. Hercules even found that there were still the bone remains of many of the warriors. He paused for a moment and wondered what kind of trainer of heroes could live on such an obscure island.

  Hercules smiled as he looked back at Pegasus, although Pegasus didn’t look at all happy to be there. “Are you sure that this is the Island of Lemnos, where Philoctetes lives?” Pegasus nodded. He seemed to possess no doubt, as if he possessed a keen Godlike understanding of location. “Very well, then we must move forward. But be wary of what creatures we may find on this island, for many of them may be bad.”

  So the two continued forward through the vegetation for several miles moving south-east through mountainous terrain until they arrived on top of a very large mountain and looked down to see a long valley plain below. The two traveled down the mountain, where they saw a small stream and, beyond the stream, the bare back of what they thought was a massive man foraging in the bushes. Hercules was amazed at how tall the man was, at least twenty-five feet, and wide, at least five feet. All he had on was a ragged tunic that went down to his knees, with only one strap around his shoulder. The man had tan skin and appeared to be completely bald. Hercules and Pegasus both hid behind the tree, and watched as this massive man managed to pluck out a bunch of berries (although they were quite large to be able to fit them in his fingers) and drop them into his mouth. They both watched this giant eat. Suddenly he stopped eating and turned around, where he began the attempt to itch his back. Once he was turned Hercules noticed that he only had one large
eye near the center of his face. From what Hercules had heard and read this could only be one creature.

  “A Cyclops,” whispered Hercules to Pegasus. “Very dangerous creatures, Cyclops are, from what I hear at least. This could not be Philoctetes. Come, we must go quietly around.” But as soon as Hercules had said that he felt himself thrown upside down.

  Hercules looked up to see that another massive Cyclops had grabbed him by his feet and hung him towards the ground as he walked into the open prairie. Hercules looked to his right and saw that the same Cyclops that grabbed him had also grabbed poor Pegasus and propped him under his shoulder, so that his wings could not extend outwards.

  Hercules tried to struggle free, but the creature’s large hand was not budging.

  Then the Cyclops that had Hercules and Pegasus began to speak, in a harsh mumble to the other one. “Look what I have here…some foolish trespassers on our island…they think that they can just take our eating spot…” He spoke very gruffly, but also in a stupid and prideful sort of tone.

  “I don’t think so,” said the other Cyclops, now very excited that they had something else to eat besides berries. “Come, we must start a fire and cook these things! I don’t think I have had a man and bird to eat in a long time.”

  “I don’t know if that is a bird,” said the Cyclops that had Hercules and Pegasus in his hands. “It is more like a horse.”