22: Heracles

Question 1

etymology of heracles and geographical associations

Answer 1

• heracles: ‘glory of hera’
• hera: implacable nemesis
• associated with mycenae, tiryns, argos (all in peloponnesus)
• also associated with boeotia (birth and some adventures) and trachis (final adventures and death)

Question 2

historical origins

Answer 2

• prince of tiryns: vassal of mycenaean King
• end of mycenaean age, he enters greece
• pan hellenic hero: particular locales but ranges throughout greek world
• italy: hercules and incorporated into state religion

Question 3

heracles the lion tamer

Answer 3

• ‘master of animals’
• association with eastern myth
• primitive qualities like brute strength –> wields club and wears lion skin

Question 4

conception of heracles

Answer 4

• zeus lusts after alcmena, the granddaugther of perseus
• amphitryon, the husband of alcmena
• zeus disguises as amphitryon and impregnates her.
• Heracles: son of Zeus
• Iphicles: son of Amphitryon

Question 5

other versuion of conception and from who

Answer 5

• Plautus’ Amphitruo
• Jupiter (zeus) comes disguised as Amphitruo’s servant, Sosia
• Alcmena gives birth to twins: Heracles and Iphicles

Question 6

hera on heracles’ birth

Answer 6

• zeus boasts that his descendant was born that day to rule over all
• hera delays heracles’ birth and speeds up Eurystheus’ birth: grandson of Zeus
• Heracles becomes Eurystheus’ slave

Question 7

suckling heracles

Answer 7

• zeus gives infant heracles to hera to suckle
• heracles bites down so hard hera pulls away
• ‘milky way’ created
• galaxy from G: Galakt-‘Milk’
• hera unleashes serpents and heracles kills them in the crib

Question 8

heracles anger

Answer 8

• he had mentors. He kills music teaacher, Linus, with lyre and is sent away to mt. cithaeron
• slept with 50 daughters of thespius, sleeps with 1 each night

Question 9

madness of heracles

Answer 9

• megara, daugther of creon, king of thebes
• megara is heracles’ first wife with whom he has 3 kids
• hera drives heracles mad and he murders his entire family and seeks purification at delphi
• pythia’s instructions: go to Tiryns to perform 12 labours for eurystheus. if he accomplishes all of this then he getes immortality

Question 10

labours and side deeds

Answer 10

• 12 Athloi: contests with prizes that are perormed while still being eurystheus’ slave
• sometimes alone and sometimes aided by athena and iolaus (newphew)
• side deeds: G. Parerga during and after labours

Question 11

12 labors

Answer 11

1. nemean lion
2. lernaean hydra
3. cerynean hind
4. erymanthian boar
5. augean stables
6. stymphalian birds
7. cretan bull
8. mares of diomedes
9. girdle of hippolyta
10. cattle of geryon
11. apples of hesperides
12. cerberus

Question 12

12 labors

Answer 12

• canonical 12 labours but some 10 are only counted and 2 are discounted as cheating
• the canonical 12 are on metopes of temple of zeus at olympia
• 1st 6: set in peloponnesus that is centred upon mycenae and man vs beast

Question 13

Nemean Lion

Answer 13

• nemea (new of Mycenae)
• task was to kill lion and bring back skin
• he kills liom with a club, other versions are with bow and arrows
• variant: he strangles lion and skins with own claws
• club and lion skin are iconic

Question 14

lernaean hydra

Answer 14

• lerna (SE of Mycenae)
• hydra: water serpent
• 9 heads: 8 mortal and 9th immortal. for every head cut off 2 more grow
• aided by iolaus: cauterizes stump and hera sends an enormous crab
• buries immortal head beneath boulder and dips arrows into hydra’s venomous blood. Hera transforms crab into constellation ‘cancer’

Question 15

cerynean hind

Answer 15

• Mt. Cerynea (in Arcadia)
• Hind (=Deer) sacred to Artemis who had golden antlers aka ‘golden hind’
• he tracks it for 1 year but must not harm it otherwise he will face artemis’ wrath
• variant: pindar’s 3rd olympain ode: heracles goes to land of hyperboreans to conquest over death

Question 16

Erymanthian boar

Answer 16

• mt. erymanthus in arcadia
• trapped with nets
• parergon ‘side deed’: pholus the centaur entertains heracles with wine. Other centaurs attack and are killed by heracles. Chiron wounded and exchanges immortality with Prometheus

Question 17

Augean stables

Answer 17

• Augeas, king of Elis (in Peloponnesus) owned vast herd of cattle and had never cleaned stables
• heracles cleans them by diverting 2 riveres. Negiotiated 1/10 of herd for himself. AUgeas takes back deal and is killed by heracles
• olympic games said to be instituted by heracles

Question 18

Stymphalian Birds

Answer 18

• Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia
• flock of birds that have various attributes like arrow shooting wings
• heracles flushes them out with castanets given by athena and shoots them all

Question 19

labors 7-12

Answer 19

• labors 7-9 all outside of peloponnesus
  7. S. to Crete
  8. N. to Thrace
  9. E. to Land of Amazons
  10-12 all connected with conquest of death

Question 20

cretan bull

Answer 20

• island of crete there is a bully rampaging
• heracles overpoweres bull and rides it back to mainland
• bull escapes but is killed by Theseus, athenian hero. –> Theseus and bull of marathon

Question 21

mares of diomedes

Answer 21

• Mares of Diomedes, King of Thrace, son of ares
• Mares feeds on human flesh
• Parergon: Alcestis. heracles entertained by Admetus. Wife, Alcestis was recently deceased. Heracles wrestles Thanatos and brings Alcestis back from dead. From Euripdes’ Alcestis

Question 22

Girdle of Hippolyta

Answer 22

• Hippolyta: queen of amazons and ‘horse-tamer’
• girdle is the belt worn above hips
• hippolyta offers heracles girdle as a sign of sexual submissions
• hera interenes disguised as an amazon and announces heracles’ abduction of hippolyta. Amazons attack heracles and companions. Heracles strangles Hippolyta

Question 23

Cattle of Geryon

Answer 23

• 3 bodied monster, offspring of callirhoe and chysaor
• lives on island of erythia ‘red land’
• Eurytion: giant herdsman
• Ortho(r)us: 2 headed watch do
• helius aids heracles by giving him lift in golden cup along river ocean
• heracles kills them all and brings cattle back east

Question 24

pillars of heracles

Answer 24

• monument to 10th labor
• identified with rocks of gibraltar (europe) and Ceuta (africa)
• boundary between known and unkown: life and death

Question 25

apples of hesperides

Answer 25

* hesperides: daughters of evening * 3 daugthers live in far west who guard tree bearing golden apples, originaly wedding gift from Ge to Hera. tree also protected by serpent named ladon

Question 26

apples of hesperides

Answer 26

* heracles and nereus. must first wrestly with nereus to find them * variant: heracles kills ladon and gets apples on his own * metopes of temple of zeus at olympia: aided by athena and atlas. heracles supports heavens and atlas fetches apples

Question 27

Cerberus

Answer 27

* cerebrus: 3 headed hell hound * aided by both hermes and athena * most difficult of al labours and most clearly conquest of death * meets theseus and pirithous, rescues only theseus * brings cerberus to eurystheus and returns cerberus to underworld

Question 28

heracles and cercopes

Answer 28

* pair of dwarfs attempt to rob heracles * mother warned them 'beware of the black bottomed man' * suspends them upside down, make jokes about dicks. Lets them go and later turned into apes or stones by Zeus

Question 29

heracles second marriage

Answer 29

* heracles marries Deianera * 'man slayer' * first wrestles achelous, river god, shape shifter, bull horned * breaks off horn in fight and becomes horn of plenty. variant: exchanges achelous horn for amalthea

Question 30

heracles vs centaur

Answer 30

* heracles vs centaur nessus * nessus helps deianera across river and attempts to rape her midstream * heracles kills him with poisoned arrow * before dying: convinces her that her blood is love potion to precent heracles from loving another * blood later causes heracles' death

Question 31

heracles and iole

Answer 31

* iole is daughter of eurytus who refuses to yield her * heracles returns to tiryns and kills ioles brotherm iphitus and goes to delphi seeking urification * pythia refuses to answer. heracles attempts to steal tripod and wrestles with apollo. heracles sold into slavery for 1 year

Question 32

trans heracles

Answer 32

* heracles in bondage and in drag * bought by omphale, queen of lydians * they become lovers and exchange clothes * transvestism: connected with 'rite of passage'

Question 33

death of heracles

Answer 33

* Deianera in love and learns heracles' love for iole * she dips robe in poisoned blood of nessus * heracles is burned and cant remove robe * funeral pyre prepared on mt. oeta. Deinera commits suicide and gives bow and arrows to philoctetes' father

Question 34

deification of heracles

Answer 34

* heracles mortal flesh burned away and immortal spirit ascends to olympus * reocnciliation with hera and he marries Hebe = 'youth' * in odyssey book 11, his ghost has ambiguity of status

Question 35

heracles moralized

Answer 35

* choice of heracles or heracles at the crossroads, parable told by prodicus of ceos * choice between pleasure and duty: allegorized as two women. Heracles chooses duty