Like many of the other Olympians, Hermes was quite the philanderer. He never married, but fathered many children with over forty different women and goddesses.
He was also a patron to inventors, and is said to have invented music, numbers, the alphabet, astronomy, measurement, and many other indispensable creations.
Hestia was the goddess of architecture, the hearth and home, domesticity and the family. She was a daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She was a passive goddess, and is not always considered to be one of the twelve. In other myths, Dionysus replaces her on Olympus.
She remained a virgin, despite the advances of Apollo and Poseidon. She was directed by Zeus to tend the Olympian fires. With any sacrifice, as Hestia was the oldest child of Cronus and Rhea (and the last to be purged, therefore also the youngest), Hestia was the first goddess to receive an offering.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, and consort of Hades. Thus she was the goddess of the underworld. She is identified with the growth and productivity of the seasons, due to the above mentioned abduction and residence with Hades during what are the winter months.
Every spring as she returned from the underworld, the plant life would spring back up. As she was symbolically reborn, so were crops and other plants which had lain dormant in during her time in the underworld.
Poseidon was the god of the seas, earthquakes, storms, etc. His weapon (and symbol) was the trident. Another bisexual god, Poseidon had many consorts and children. He was often referred to as the earth shaker, and was one of the Olympian gods who fought against the Titans.
He was in competition against Athena to be the patron god of Athens. Although he lost the contest, he would remain a chief deity among the Athenians.
In Homer’s Odyssey, he was angry with Odysseus (or Ulysses in Latin) for blinding one of his children, a Cyclops. The god of the sea was infuriated, and set about making Odysseus’s journey as difficult as possible. He, in fact, tried to kill Odysseus on more than one occasion, but was always thwarted.
Although much has already been covered in regard to Zeus (and much more will be covered) it seems fitting to give some information about the god outside of his poisoning his father Cronus, and his various infidelities.
Although the primary focus thus far has been on Zeus’s various indiscretions (an accounting of his romantic endeavors alone would fill a few volumes), Zeus also had a protective side, especially toward Hera.
Ixion, king of the Lapiths in Thessaly, would come across Zeus in a way which was new to mortals of the time. According to myth, Ixion had married the daughter of Eioneus, but didn’t pay the dowry. Eioneus, in order to have some assurance that Ixion would come to pay him, held his son-in-law’s horses as collateral to ensure that payment would be made.
Ixion, however, was not about to give his new father-in-law his just dues. He lured Eioneus to his home, saying that he was ready to pay up, but killed Eioneus by casting into a flaming pit.
Killing a member of one’s own family, in the myth, was unheard of, and those who could purify him refused to do so. Zeus, taking pity on the mortal invited Ixion to his table at Olympus, but Ixion’s treachery was not over.
Ixion became enamored with, and began to pursue Hera. When Hera told Zeus about this, the king of the gods could hardly believe that one, especially someone in Ixion’s position, would be so impudent as to make a move on his wife.
Zeus, as a test, created a cloud in the form of Hera (who would come to be called Nephele) and placed it in Ixion’s bed (other stories have the cloud-Hera being placed in Hera’s bed). Ixion had imbibed a few drinks at this point, and when he came across Nephele, he set himself upon it.
Zeus came in and, unable to deny Ixion’s motives any longer, cast Ixion from Olympus, striking him with a thunderbolt. Ixion was bound to a flaming wheel, which was set to spin for eternity.
According to the myth, Nephele (cloud-Hera) had become pregnant through the dalliance with Ixion and gave birth to Centauros. Centauros would go on to mate with the horses of Mount Pelion, thus creating the race of Centaurs.
These are but a few stories related to the gods. The myths surrounding most of them are quite vast, and their essences are still about us today in popular and underground culture.
CHAPTER 4
Heracles and the Twelve Labors
Zeus (as is well established by now) was quite the playboy. How he ever got anything done between his affairs is astounding. However, one of his many children would come to be known as the divine hero. Quite possibly the most famous of Zeus’s mortal children would be the one known as Heracles.
Heracles (the original figure from whom Hercules was adapted) was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Zeus disguised himself as Alcmene’s husband, Amphitryon, returning from the war of the time. He lied with her and swiftly departed. Later on that same evening, the real Amphitryon returned home. His wife, already impregnated by Zeus with Heracles, became pregnant that same night with the child of Amphitryon.
The hatred of Hera toward Heracles is legendary. This began its manifestation during Alcmene’s pregnancy. Hera convinced Zeus to declare that the next high king would be of the house (a descendant of) Perseus (the founder of Mycenae, and the hero who beheaded the gorgon Medusa). Unbeknownst to Zeus, another child of that house was nearing its birth.
To ensure that the product of Zeus’s infidelity would not become high king as intended, Hera went to Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, and tied Ilithyia’s clothing in knots, her legs crossed. As no mortal could be born with Ilithyia in such a position without the intervention of a god, Heracles and his unborn twin half-brother were stuck in the womb of Alcmene.
Hera, in order to ensure the succession of another high king, caused the child Eurystheus to be born prematurely. He was now the one destined to become the high king while Heracles and his brother remained unborn.
Hera never intended for Heracles to be born at all. It was when one of Alcmene’s servants came to Ilithyia and lied to the goddess, saying that the twins had indeed been born. Ilithyia, overcome by surprise, reacted with such a startled gesticulation at the news that her bonds were broken, thus allowing the twins to be born.
Alcmene offered up the child Heracles in an attempt to escape the goddess’s wrath, however, when he was brought before her by Athena, Hera didn’t know the child’s identity. She nursed him, but the child’s incredible strength caused Hera pain while nursing. She removed the suckling child from her breast (the milk coming out to form the Milky Way).
Though Hera cast the child aside, he had consumed some of the milk, and with that, he acquired his powers. He was brought back to the house of Alcmene, and would be raised by them. Still fearing Hera’s wrath, the child (who had originally been named Alcides by his mortal parents) was renamed Heracles.
This was not to be the end of Hera’s attempts on the boy, however. When he was less than one year old, Hera sent two snakes to kill the young Heracles. Although his brother cowered, Heracles took the beasts to be playthings. He strangled them and played with them in his crib.
Heracles would grow to adulthood and marry a woman named Megara. The two had children, and life was good until Hera decided to intervene yet again. Sources differ upon exactly when, but what is consistent is that Hera caused Heracles to go insane. He believed that he was being attacked by evil spirits. He fought back against these dark beings, the battle ending in their easy slaughter. The problem was, these were no demons. In his madness, he had killed his children (in some myths he also killed Megara, however others have her departing and marrying his charioteer and nephew Iolaus).
Just as he was about to kill his mortal pater Amphitryon, Athena, known for her protectiveness of heroes, cast a stone into Heracles’s chest, causing him to lose consciousness.
Now guilty of a sin which would require absolution, Heracles went before the oracle of Delphi, not knowing that the oracle was under the influence of his evil step-mother (history has a lot of those) Hera. The oracle advis
ed Heracles to go before the high king and serve him in whatever way he should require. If he did so, Heracles was promised immortality, and a seat at Olympus.
The high king Eurystheus, an ally of Hera, was all too eager to have such a mighty servant. Although Eurystheus originally said that the debt of Heracles would be considered cleansed after performing ten heroic tasks, his requirements of the budding hero would come to be known as the twelve labors of Heracles.
The first labor was to kill the Nemean Lion, a ferocious beast with nearly impenetrable skin. Not only this, he was given only thirty days to complete the task. Let’s just say Heracles and Eurystheus had issues. Heracles gathered arrows in order to slay the lion but the arrows bounced harmlessly from the lion’s tough hide. Stories differ on whether he was finally able to strangle the lion to death, or whether he shot an arrow through the lion’s mouth. Regardless, Heracles had indeed passed his first test.
Heracles tried to skin the lion, but could not break through its thick skin. It was only when Athena guided him to use the lion’s own claws, that he was able to achieve the task. Heracles skinned the lion, and fashioned a cloak of armor from its impenetrable hide.
The king, upon seeing Heracles returning and carrying the dead beast on the thirtieth day, was petrified. He forbade Heracles to enter the city again, and communicated the remainder of the tasks through use of a messenger.
The second labor of Heracles was to slay the Lernaean Hydra, a nine headed serpent. The hydra was spawned by Hera (surprise, surprise) in order to kill Heracles. Slaying the beast would prove to be an even more difficult trial than the Nemean lion.
The Bibliotheca (fallaciously attributed to Apollodorus) gives a detailed account of the bout. The hydra began with nine heads, poisonous breath and even its tracks could kill a man. Heracles covered his mouth and nose to protect himself from the miasma of poisonous gas.
Heracles quickly went to work, decapitating the heads of the hydra one-by-one. Much to his dismay, however, with every beheading, the hydra would sprout two to replace the stump. He called for his charioteer (some say nephew) Iolaus for help. A new approach was developed including both of the men. Heracles would sever each head, and Iolaus would quickly cauterize the stump before two new heads could be sprouted.
This method worked quite effectively, although Hera wasn’t done yet. She sent forth a crab to distract Heracles so that the hydra would be able to defeat the hero. Heracles, undaunted, stomped the crab beneath his foot.
The final head of the hydra became immortal, however Heracles was able to sever it with the use of a golden sword which Athena had given to him. The beast was slain. Heracles, always an opportunist, dipped the tips of his arrows in the blood of the poisonous blood of the hydra.
Unfortunately for Heracles, upon completing his tenth task, Eurystheus declared the slaying of the hydra improperly completed as the hero had the help of his nephew and charioteer.
The third task of Heracles was to be different. Heracles had proven himself against the fiercest of Hera’s creations, and so Eurystheus set the next task to be the capturing of the Ceryneian Hind, an animal sacred to Artemis, able to outrun an arrow.
Heracles awoke one morning to glimpse the light reflected from one of its antlers. He gave chase to the animal, but it was indefatigable. He would chase it for the space of one year.
He eventually caught it, but on his return was confronted by Artemis and her brother Apollo. Heracles quickly explained and apologized for the situation. Artemis agreed to forgive him, so long as he let it go upon proving the hind’s capture. Heracles agreed and, upon reaching the gates of the city, insisted that Eurystheus come and behold the animal for himself.
When Eurystheus came outside the city gates, Heracles, true to his promise let the hind go. He taunted Eurystheus, saying that the king had been too sluggish, and that it was his fault that the hind had escaped. It’s not like the two were friends, but Eurystheus became more determined than ever to foil the hero’s quest to become immortal.
The fourth labor of Heracles was to capture the Erymanthian Boar. He consulted a centaur for guidance, and was told to lead the boar into thick snow. By these means, he was able to capture the animal. He returned to the centaur. The centaur was overcome with fear at the sight of it. He begged Heracles to dispose of the boar, and Heracles obliged.
As the fifth labor, Eurystheus decided to not only present Heracles with a near impossible task, but to humiliate him in the process. The fifth labor was to clean the stables of Augeas in one day. Augeas, no doubt excited to learn that his stables would finally be cleaned, offered Heracles one-tenth of his herd, should the hero be able to finish the job in the space of a day.
While certainly being demeaning work, Eurystheus felt that the labor would be futile, as the stable housed over a thousand immortal cattle which produced an epic amount of droppings. To add further difficulty, the stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years.
Heracles, always persistent, rerouted two rivers, the Peneus and the Alpheus to run through the stables, thus washing them clean. Augeas, thinking the task impossible in such a short time-frame, rescinded his offer to the hero, claiming that he had already been instructed to carry out the cleaning anyway. In many myths, upon completion of his labors, Heracles would return to kill the reneging stable-owner.
After his tenth labor was complete, Eurystheus would declare this task to be forfeit as the slaying of the hydra, due to the fact that it was not Heracles, but the rivers which cleaned the stables.
The sixth labor of Heracles was to kill or drive away the Stymphalian birds. These, true to form, were no ordinary birds, but creatures with bronze beaks, and metallic feathers which the birds could use as projectiles to fend off any possible predators. And, as if Heracles hadn’t waded through enough feces, the droppings of the birds were poisonous.
Heracles went to the swamp where the birds dwelled, however, he was unable to make his way closer to them as he would sink in the soft ground. Athena came to the rescue once again, presenting Heracles with a rattle, made by Hephaestus. Upon shaking it, the birds were frightened and took wing. He killed many of them with his bow, while the rest would fly away.
The seventh labor was to capture, but not kill, the Cretan bull. This bull had been causing all sorts of havoc in Crete. The king of the time (mythical King Minos) was quick to offer his aid, but Heracles refused. He was able to come up behind the bull and beat it to within an inch of its life.
He had the bruised and beaten bull sent back to Eurystheus who intended to sacrifice it to Hera. The goddess, however, refused the sacrifice, and Eurystheus let the beast go.
The eighth labor was to capture Diomedes’s horses. The task may have seemed simple at first, but Heracles soon came to the knowledge that the mares were wild, likely caused by a steady diet of human flesh.
Diomedes was hardly keen to have his horses taken. In a common version of the myth, Heracles refused to sleep during the night, fearing that Diomedes would try to kill him in his sleep. He snuck in and severed the chains which held the horses.
He then spooked them to the top of a peninsula, took his axe and cut the land around the peninsula and thus trapped the horses on his self-made island. Heracles killed Diomedes and fed him to his horses which calmed the man-eaters down enough for the hero to bind their mouths and return them to Eurystheus.
The ninth labor was a task for the petulant king’s petulant daughter. She coveted the girdle of Hyppolyta, the queen of the Amazons, and so her father Eurystheus commanded the retrieval of the belt to be the ninth labor.
Heracles set sail with some of his companions and, upon landing on the shores of the Amazon’s territory, told the Amazonian queen of his task. The queen was impressed, and offered to give the girdle to Heracles without protest, even though it had been a gift to her by the god of war Ares.
Hera, however, just couldn’t stay out of things, and disguised herself, slandering Heracles to the Amazons. She told them that his real pu
rpose was to kidnap their queen and the Amazons quickly attacked him and his ship.
Heracles fought off the Amazons, killing their queen and taking the girdle from around her. He set sail, and delivered the belt to Eurystheus.
The tenth labor (which was supposed to be his last) was for Heracles to return with the cattle of the monster Geryon. This task was in a far off land, and so Heracles had to do some traveling.
He reached the desert of Libya and, while trudging through it, became angry at the excessive heat. To vent his displeasure, he shot an arrow at Helios, the Titan who carried the sun through the sky. While the arrow missed its target, Helios was so impressed by the feat that he offered his golden cup to assist Heracles in his travels through the desert. This cup was the means of by which Helios made his conveyance from the west (at the end of the day) to the east (to begin the next day). By using this cup, Heracles was able to reach the land of Erytheia where Geyron and his cattle lived.
Mythology: The Ancient Secrets of the Greeks, Egyptians, Vikings, and the Norse (Mythology, Gods, Myths, and Legends) Page 3
