Heracles and his early life, 12 labours + Greek Heracles Flashcards
Name all 12 labours of heracles
- The Namean Lion
- The Lernaean Hydra !DIDN’T COUNT!
- The Golden Hide
e4. The Erymanthian Boar - The Augean Stables !DIDN’T COUNT!
- The Stymphalian Birds
- The Creatan Bull
- The Mares of Diomedes
- The Belt of Hippolyte
- The cattle of Geryon
- the apple of Hesperides
- Cerberus
What was the 1st task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Namean Lion
- H had to kill the lion
- after attacking the lion with bows and sword he realised that the skin of the lion was impregnable to weapons so instead he strangled it to death
- he needed to skin the lion to present it as a prize to Eurystheus as proof of victory however he couldn’t do this with a weapon
- Eventually, Athena told H to use the lion’s own claws
- he was successful and he is depicted in some images with a lion skin cloak
What was the 2nd task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Lernaean Hydra !DIDN’T COUNT!
- A Hydra is a many headed serpent monster. It had blood of venom
- he had to kill it
- if one head of the hydra was removed, two more grew back
- Heracles got help from his cousin Iolaus as he would seal the neck with a flaming torch
- once all heads removed H detached the immortal head and buried it under pile of rocks
- Heracles used venom for bows
What was the 3rd task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Golden Hind (deer)
- AKA Ceryneian Hind
- from Mount Ceryneia in Arcadia
- the deer was bigger than a bull and fully golden
- The dark was difficult because it was so swift and H had to track the hind for a year before he was able to catch it by snaring it
- he carried it to Mycenae
- on journey back H was met by Apollo and his sister Artemis who was angry and Heracles caught her sacred hind
- he explained he had been forced into it and had only inteded to borrow it and so he went on his way
What was the 4th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Erymanthian Boar
- Larger than normal boar and was terrorising the countryside of Arcadia
- needed to bring it back alive
- He wore it down by chasing it through thick winter snow
- he caught it when tired and carried it back to Mycenae
- the king was so scared on arrival and hid in a sunken pithos jar
What was the 5th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Augean Stables !DIDN’T COUNT!
- H tasked with cleaning the stables of Augeas, King oh Elis + son of Helios IN ONE DAY. He was famed for having herd of enormous cattle that produced extremely large amount of dung so the task was deemed impossible
- H diverted the rivers Alpheios and Peneios through the stables, cleaning them instantly
- Initially King A promised payment however after he refused
- Enranged, H came back with an army and defeated the king
- this is how H founded Olympic Games
What was the 6th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Stymphalian Birds
- the birds were ravaging the farm lands of Stymphalos
- H went into deep Arcadian forest where the Stylamphian marsh was
unsure how to rouse the bird, Athene gave H a rattle made by Hepahistos
- he shook it , birds flew into sky, Heracles shot them down with arrows/slingshot
What was the 7th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Cretan Bull
- bull had been destroying homes and farmland in Crete
- King minos welcomed him because of this
-H crept up behind bull and strangled him
- he released the grip before he passed out
- he rode the Bull to greece
- King E was scared again and hid in Pithos
H let boy loose and let it wander to Marathon
What was the 9th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Belt of Hippolyte
- Hippolyte was queen of Amazons, female race of warriors who lived near black sea
- Queen had belt given to her by her father Ares
- Eurystheus’ daughter wsnted it
- King sent H to retrieve it and he took an army in case of trouble
- Hippolyte admired deeds of H and welcomed him and agreed to give him the belt
- however, Hera was angry the task was too simple so she disguised herself as an Amazonian and spread rumors that he wanted Hippolyte and not the belt
- in anger they set out to kill H but he defeated them, killed Queen and get belt
What was the 8th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The Mares of Diomedes
- Diomedes was king of Bistones in Thrace
- he had a set of horses tied by a bronze manger with iron chains
- - they were crazed and ate limbs
- - H defeated the stable men looking after horses
- Diomedes set out to overcome H because he was angry
- H left horses with his friend Aberdos while he went to fight with Diomedes
- Aberdos was eaten
- IN retaliation H fed Diomedes to his own horses after defeated him
- their appetites were calmed and H took the horses back
- they were then set free/killed by wild animals depending
What was the 10th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- The cattle of Geryon
- had famous red hides
- to steal cattle he had to defeat herdsman Eurytion and his dog Orthrus
- he beat them with his club and then began to leave with cattle but another shepherd warned Geryon and so he rushed at H
- he had 3 heads, arms and legs
- H used club and bow to beat G
- On the way back he went throguh southern italy
- King E sacrifices bulls to Hera
What was the 11th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- the apple of Hesperides
- in garden of Hesperides grew the golden apples which Gaia (earth) presented as a wedding gift to Zeus and Hera
- the apples were guarded by Hesperides, who were Nymphs, daughter of Atlas
- he had to collect the apples
- H didn’t know where the garden was so this was the longest task
- - he went to N africa, near east, Illyria
- in Illyria he fought river Achelous
finally he was on Mount Caucaus and he found Prometheus chained (each night liver pecked out be eagles as punishment from Zeus)
- H killed the eagle so Prometheus told him how to get the apples
- H travelled to Atlas who held up the sky and H offered ot hold up sky if Atlas would get apples
- He accepted and Atlas ogt the apples and offered to deliver apples himself so that he would not have to take back sky
- H accepted but said he needed to get cushions for his shoulder and ran off with the apples
- After he gave them to the king Athena took the apples back to Zeus
What was the 12th task of Heracles’ 12 labours and what was it?
- Cerberus
- had to get Cerberus from the underworld
- To gain Persephone’s favour, H was initiated into Eleusinian mysteries
- when he arrived, he was greeted by Hades and P
- they presented him a challenge- if he captured Cerberus without any weapons he could take it back to King E
- H accepted and uses stranglehold
- after taking him to King E, Cerberus was returned to Hades
What is the story of Hippodamia and Pelops?
Oinamos (H’s father) recieves an oracle that he will die when Hippodamia marries. To avoid this he set up a chariot competition as he was a skilled rider. Any suitor that could beat him could marry H, if not they would be killed. Pelops arrived (after many had tried and failed) and challenges o to a race. To ensure victory, Pelops bribes Oinamaos’ charioter to replace his bronze linchpins with ones made of wax which melted during the race and threw O off the chariot, killing him. Pelops marries H and sets up the Olympics as funery games in honour of O
one of the origin stories for the olympic games
Who is Hippodamia?
daughter of Oinamos, King of a nearby town (near Olympia) called Pisa.
How does Pelops win the race against Oinomaus?
To ensure victory, Pelops bribes Oinamaos’ charioter to replace his bronze linchpins with ones made of wax which melted during the race and threw O off the chariot, killing him.
How is one version of the Olympics games set up?
Pelops marries H and sets up the Olympics as funery games in honour of Oinomaus
How is Heracles involved in the initiation of the Olympic games
After Heracles cleans the Augean stable on his fifth labour, Augeas refused to pay the money promised so Heracles promised revenge.
He collected an army and marched onto elis (where Augeus was king) and took the city. He celebrated with the Olympic games and founded the altar or Pelops
Which is the better Olympic games origin story? H+P or Heracles? what are the pros/limitations?
H+P makes more sense as it is more of an actual story (about competition) however, Pelops wins Hippodamia by cheating. It is also on the pediment which is the first thing you see when you enter the temple
Heracles wins and it is local, but they both are, and it seems a bit random
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a lion and what is special about it
The Namean lion- 1st labour- the lion’s skin is impermiable
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a snake like animal and what is special about it
The learnAEAn Hydra-2nd labour- when one head was removed, two more would grow back, the venom of the Hydra was used for h’s arrows
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a deer (specific name) and what is special about it
The Golden hind-3rd- it was larger than a bool and was golden hoove to horns, the animal was very swift and was sacred to Artemis (took1 year to hunt it down)
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a pig (like animal- not a pig but a…) and what is special about it
They Erymanthian Boar-4th-larger than usual and was terrorising Arcadia (tired down but chasing it in the winter snow)
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on the stable and cattle and what is special about it
The Augean stables-5th-the enormous herd of cattle produced a large amount of dung, Diverted two rivers to clean them
What were the names of the rivers which were involved in the Augean stables?
Alpheios, Peneios
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on birds and what is special about it
The Symphalian Birds-6th-metal beaks (?) and were terrorising farmlands of Stymphalos so he. got a rattle form athena from hephaistos
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a bull and what is special about it
The Cretan Bull-7th- the bull was strong and terrorisingCretan homes and farmlands
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on some horses and what is special about it
The Mares of Diomeded-8th- crazy man eating
what is the name of the labour where Hercules has to get a belt and what is special about it
The Belt of Hippolyte-9th- eed to get belt form Hippolyte (amazonian queen) but Hera intervenes and it ends in a war
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on a some cattle and what is special about it
Cattle of Geryon-10th-he has to defeat Eurytiona dn his dog Orthrus and Geryon who had 3 heads and 3 sets of arms and legs
what is the name of the labour where Hercules needs to get some apples and what is special about it
The Apples of hesperides-11th- needs to get golden apples which are guarded by Hesperides, Nymphs and daughters of Atlas (holds up sky- Hercules tricks him etc…)
what is the name of the labour where Hercules takes on something from the underworld and what is special about it
Cerberus-12th-has to gain favour of Persephone by initiating the Eleusinian Mysteries and has to take cerberus without using any weapons (challenge set by Hades and Persephone)
What is the story of the birth of Hercules?
- Alcmene and Amphitryon lived in Thebes
- Creon was the king at the time
- when Creon and Amphitryon were on a campaign and Zeus visited Alcmene and slept with her (disguised as Amphitryon)
- ON return, Alcmene slept with Amphitryon
- Amphitryon found out that Alcmene had slept with another man
- He was initially angry but discovered that it was a God and was relieved
- Amphitryon was now pregnant with 2 children and when they were about to be born, Zeus boasted that he would now have a son that would match him on earth - while he ruled the sky, his son would rule the earth
- Enraged, Hera made Zeus vow that the first son of the House of Perseus born that night would rule, once this was done, Hera asked his daughter Eileithyia to prolong Alcmene’s labour until Sthenelus’ son Eurystheus was born, with the intention of killing both Heracles and Alcmene
- Eurystheus was born first so he became king
What did Hera do after the birth of Heracles?
unhappy that Heracles coudln’t be killed, Hera sent two snakes to poison Heracles. This failed as Heracles strangled the snakes.
What did Alcmene to in response to Hera’s plots?
Alcmene took Heracles to the woods and abandoned him where he was recovered by Athena?
which Goddess helped Heracles after hw was abandoned and how?
Athena took Hercales to mount Olympus in the hope that he woudl be accepted there however Hera rejected him and ordered that Alcmene raise him. From this point Athena was his protector
Where did Alcmene and Amphitryon and who was king?
Thebes, King was called Creon
WHen did a god visit Alcmene and what happened
Zeus and he slept with her
How did amphtryon find out that alcmene had betrayed him?
from a seer
What is the name of Hercules’ ‘twin’ brother?
Iphitus
What did Hera make Zeus promise and why?
Amphitryon was now pregnant with 2 children and when they were about to be born, Zeus boasted that he would now have a son that would match him on earth - while he ruled the sky, his son would rule the earth
- Enraged, Hera made Zeus vow that the first son of the House of Perseus born that night would rule, once this was done, Hera asked his daughter Eileithyia to prolong Alcmene’s labour until Sthenelus’ son Eurystheus was born, with the intention of killing both Heracles and Alcmene
- Eurystheus was born first so he became king
who did Hercules marry initially? who is her father? who was he?
Megara, daughter of Creon, king of Thebes
What did Hera do to Hercules and his wife
enraged by Zeus’ affair, Hera sent the Goddess madness to infect Heracles who drove Heraclles insane so he killed his children and wife.
which Godess drove Hercules crazy?
Madness because Hera got her to
What did Heracles do after the death of Megara and children?
he exiled himself from thebes and when to consult the oracle Delphi about what he should do. unbeknownst to him, Hera was incontrol of the oracle and advised Heracles that he should serve King Aurystheis for 12 years. It was from his time Heracles started his 12 labours (initially 10 but 2 didn’t count)
What was the name of the person Heracles visited and what were they?
an oracle called Delphi
what was special about the oracle Delphi?
Hera controlled Delphi so the oracle advised Heracles that he should serve King Aurystheis for 12 years.
