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Classical Civilisations > Heracles/Hercules > Flashcards

Heracles/Hercules Flashcards

1
Q

Depiction

A

Holding a club, wearing lion skin

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2
Q

Birth

A
  • Zeus raped Alcmene by transforming into the shape of her husband Amphitryon and sleeping with her
  • On the same night, the real Amphytrion also sleeps with Alcmene
  • Alcmene is pregnant with Heracles, Zeus’ son, and Iphicles, Amphytrion’s son.
  • Hera becomes angry and cheats Heracles out of his birthright by asking Zeus to make the next descendant of Perseus the king of Mycenae on the night of Heracles’ birth
  • Zeus agrees, so Hera kidnaps Eileithya, the goddess of childbirth, to delay Heracles’ birth.
  • Eurystheus is born before Heracles and becomes king of Mycenae
  • Alcmene becomes afraid of the wrath of Hera and abandons Heracles, where he is later found by Athena.
  • Athena becomes Heracles’ patron goddess, and she returns him to his mother.
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3
Q

Early life

A
  • Made to go mad by Hera
  • Killed his wife and children
  • Exiled himself
  • Went to the oracle at Delphi to ask how to atone for his sins
  • Hera controlled the oracle to tell him that he should serve King Eurystheus for 10 years
  • Eurystheus gives him 10 labours so Heracles can be purified of his sin
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4
Q
  1. The Nemean Lion
A
  • The lion couldn’t be harmed by weapons, so Heracles strangled it instead.
  • When he couldn’t skin the lion to take back to King Eurystheus, Athena told him to use the lion’s own claws to cut into it.
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5
Q
  1. The Lernaean Hydra
A

-The hydra had many heads which would duplicate each time one was cut down
- Heracles stopped the heads from growing back by having his nephew Iolaus seal the necks with a flaming torch
- While they were fighting, Hera also sent a giant crab to attack Heracles which he steps on
- Heracles kills the hydra and dips his arrows in its venom
- Eurystheus discounts this labour as he recieved help from Iolaus

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6
Q
  1. The Golden HInd
A
  • The golden hind was sacred to Artemis
  • Though it is not dangerous, the hind was difficult to catch and it took 1 year for Heracles.
  • Apollo and Artemis confront him
  • Artemis is angry that he is taking her hind, but he assures her that he is just borrowing it
  • After presenting the hind to Eurystheus, it is released back in the wild.
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7
Q
  1. The Erymanthian Boar
A
  • Large boar which was terrorising the countryside of Arcadia
  • Heracles immobilised the boar by chasing it through thick snow
  • When he caught it, he bound its legs and carried it back to the King
  • Eurystheus was so afraid of the boar that he hid in a sunken pithos jar
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8
Q
  1. The Augean Stables
A
  • Heracles was tasked with cleaning the stables of Augeus, famous for having cattle that produced a lot of dung
  • Heracles diverted the rivers Alpheius and Peneius to run through the stables, cleaning them instantly
  • Augeus had initially promised him money, but now refused
  • Enraged, Heracles took the king to court but was exiled although the judge ruled that Heracles should get his money
  • Heracles returned with an army and defeated the king, replacing him with his son
  • Eurystheus discounted this labour as Heracles was paid
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9
Q
  1. The Stymphalian Birds
A
  • Heracles had to kill the birds which had been ravaging the farmlands of Stymphalos
  • Heracles went to the Arcadian forests where he had trouble rousing the birds
  • Athena helped him by having a rattle made by Hephaestus for him
  • The rattle scared the birds into the air, from where Heracles shot them down
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10
Q
  1. The Cretan Bull
A
  • Tasked with bringing the Cretan bull, the father of the Minotaur to Eurystheus
  • The bull had been destroying Cretan homes and farmland so King Minos was happy to let him take it
  • Heracles snuck up on the bull and strangled it until just before it passed out
  • He returned to Mycenae riding on the bull, where Eurystheus was so afraid he hid in a pithos jar again
  • The bull was let loose in Marathon, where it was later defeated by Theseus
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11
Q
  1. The Mares of Diomedes
A
  • The mares were crazed due to their appetite for the limbs of Diomedes’ enemies
  • Upon arrival, Heracles defeated the stablemen looking after the horses
  • While Heracles went to look for Diomedes, he left the horses with his companion Abderos, who was eaten
  • Heracles fed Diomedes to the horses to calm them
  • Heracles then took the horses back to Eurystheus
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12
Q
  1. The Belt of Hippolyta
A
  • Hippolyta was the queen of the Amazons, a race of female warriors
  • She was given a magical belt by her father Ares
  • Eurystheus’ daughter wanted it for herself so Heracles was sent off with an army
  • Hippolyta was an admirer of Heracles and freely allowed him to take the belt
  • Unhappy with the ease of his task, Hera took the form of an Amazonian and spread the rumour that Heracles planned to steal the queen, not the belt
  • Enraged by this, the Amazons rode out to kill Heracles and his men
  • Heracles now thought that the queen had been scheming and had not been planning to hand the belt over at all
  • Heracles kills Hippolyta and takes the belt
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13
Q
  1. The Cattle of Geryon
A
  • Heracles traveled to the edge of the earth, where the Cattle of Geryon were
  • They were famous for their red hides
  • Heracles beat the herdsman Eurytion and his dog with a club and began to leave with the cattle
  • Geryon, who had 3 heads and 3 sets of arms and legs, rushed over to stop Heracles but was defeated
  • The journey back from Erytheia took Heracles through Southern Italy and it was here that the Romans forged their link with him
  • Upon his return to Mycenae, Eurystheus sacrificed the cattle to Hera
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14
Q
  1. The Apples of the Hesperides
A
  • In the Garden of the Hesperides grew golden apples guarded by the nymph daughters of Atlas, and were associated with the light of the world
  • Heracles was sent to collect the apples which became one of his longest tasks
  • He traveled from North Africa to the near East, then to Illyria where he fought the river Achelous
  • Finally he went to mount Caucasus where he killed the eagle that tormented Prometheus
  • As a reward, Prometheus sent Heracles to Atlas who held up the sky
  • Heracles offered to hold up the sky if Atlas collected the apples, and he agreed
  • When he returned Atlas offered to deliver the apples himself so that he would not have to take back the weight of the sky
  • Heracles agreed, but then asked Atlas to take back the sky so he could get something to cushion his shoulders
  • Atlas agreed, then Heracles picked up the apples and ran off with them
  • As the apples were the property of Zeus they were soon returned by Athena
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15
Q
  1. Cerberus
A
  • Once he arrived in the underworld Heracles was greeted by Hades and Persephone, whom he had garnered the favour of
  • Heracles was allowed to take Cerberus with him if he subdued it without weapons
  • Heracles succeeded by using a chokehold, and presented it to Eurystheus
  • Afterwards, Cerberus was returned to Hades to guard the entrance to the underworld
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16
Q

Heracles at Olympia
- Heracles as founder of the Olympic games

A
  • After the 5th labour, the Augean Stables, Heracles sacked the city of Elis and instituted the Olympic games in honour of his father Zeus
17
Q

Heracles at Olympia
- 12 metopes from Temple of Zeus at Olympia

A
  • The 12 metopes are displayed on the doric frieze at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
18
Q

Homeric Hymn to Heracles the Lion Hearted

A

“Many things he did that were reckless, many things he suffered”
- He is portrayed to be a saint/matyr

“grant both excellence and happiness”
- Homer prays for blessings for himself

19
Q

Virgil’s Aeneid - Hercules and Cacus

A
  • King Evander explains the story of Hercules and Cacus to Aeneas as the reason there is a festival for Hercules
  • Cacus is the son of Hephaestus
  • Cacus steals 4 bulls and 4 heifers of the Cattle of Geryon from Hercules
  • He reversed the signs of their tracks and hid them in his cave
  • Hercules realises that the cows are gone and chases Cacus “with a venomous dark rage”
  • Cacus becomes terrified and hides in his cave
  • Hercules “three times he circled the whole Aventine Hill, three times he tried the stony doorway in vain, three times he sank down, exhausted, in the valley
  • Hercules opens up the cave of Cacus by tearing off the top of the hill
  • “highest heavens thundered with the blow”
  • First, Hercules throws all his weapons at Cacus, and in retaliation Cacus “belched thick smoke from his throat”
  • Hercules runs through the smoke, then kills Cacus in a chokehold
  • “people could not get their fill of gazing at the hideous eyes”
20
Q

Ovid’s metamorphoses - Hercules and Achelous

A
  • Achelous tells Theseus the reason for his damaged forehead
  • Achelous was a river-god competing with Hercules for Deianira’s hand in marriage
  • They begin to wrestle, and once Achelous begins to lose, he transforms into a snake
  • However, Hercules laughs, “my task in the cradle was to defeat snakes” and strangles the snake
  • Achelous then transforms into a bull
  • Hercules rips off his horn, which becomes full of fruit and flowers, made sacred by Ceres
21
Q

Ovid’s metamorphoses- The shirt of Nessus

A
  • After Hercules successfully won Deianira’s hand in marriage they travelled, and were met with the River Euenus
  • Although Hercules had no problem crossing it, he was worried about his wife
  • Nessus the centaur approached, and offers to carry Deianira across the river on his back.
  • Hercules agrees, and walks straight across the river, but Nessus tries to abduct Deianira
  • Hercules kills Nessus with his bow tipped with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra
  • “I will not die without revenge”
    -Nessus gives his blood soaked tunic to Deianira as a gift for reviving a waning love
  • After some time, Hercules is away when the Goddess Rumour told Deianira that Hercules had fallen in love with Iole
  • Believing this, Deianira sends the shirt of Nessus to Hercules as a gift
22
Q

Ovid’s metamorphoses - The death of Hercules

A
  • Hercules put on the shirt of Nessus, and the power of the venom dispersed throught his limbs
  • “he repressed his groans while he could”
  • He tried to tear off the shirt, and where it pulled away, skin was pulled away with it
  • “his marrow liquefying with the secret corruption”
  • He shouts in frustration at Juno, asking if performing the 12 labours was not enough of a torment for her
  • Hercules roams around in agony over Mount Oeta
  • He catapults Lichas, the servant who gave him the top, and he becomes a rock in the sea
  • Hercules builds his own funeral pyre, and has Pilocetes light the pyre and take his bow
  • Hercules lays on the pyre and Jupiter assures the gods that Hercules will be deified, against Juno’s wishes
  • Jupiter takes Hercules up to heaven in a chariot as a god

Classical Civilisations (3 decks)

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