Hercules Flashcards
Etymology of Heracles
Glory of Hera, hopefully to placate hera
birth of Heracles
Hera sends two snakes to kill Heracles, he kills them while still in the cradle
Tutor Litus
musical tutor, Heracles was terrible b/c he was so strong. He kills Litus, goes into exile to serve king Thespius
Quest for Thespius
tracks and kills lion terrorizing the countryside. He impregnates all 50 daughters of Thespius. Children called the Heraclidae.
Heracles in Thebes
liberates thebes working for Creon. He gets Megara, daughter of Creon for wife. Hera casts madness on Heracles, and he kills Megara and their children. Goes to Delphi to get rid of Miasma
Megara
Daughter of Creon, married to Heracles, killed by Heracles
Oracle of Delphi for Heracles
Serve his cousin and King Eurystheus, perform 12 labours and granted immortality at the end
Types of Labours
Athlos- labors
Parergon- side quests
Praxis -Military Exploits
Local Labours
located in the Peloponnesus:
- Nemean Lion
- Lernaean Hydra
- Ceryneian Deer
- Erymanthian Boar
- Augean Stables
- Stymphalian Birds
Nemean Lion
Lion whose hide cannot be pierced by blades. Hercules wrestles the lion, and clubs it to death with tree trunk. Skins the lion with his own claws, takes the lion skin and club as his symbols
Lernaean Hydra
Breathe is poison, 9 heads, 1 is immortal. Goes with his nephew Iolaus. Buries the immortal head under a GIANT boulder. Take poison from the fangs of Hydra
Ceryneian Deer
Deer w/ golden horns. Sacred to Artemis. Find deer, w/o killing it or pissing off Artemis. Comes across Artemis, convinces her to let him live b/c he will release the deer
Erymanthian Boar
Huge boar, kills it. Brings it back to Eurystheus, who is terrified and hides
Side Quest of the Centaurs
Centaur Pholus had very powerful wine, very fragrant. Gives some to heracles, other centaurs attack thinking Herac. a thief. Chiron steps on one of Herac.’s poison arrows. he is immortal and in terrible pain, trades his immortality to Perseus
Augean Stables
huge stables never cleaned, diverts streams into the stables and cleans them quickly. founds the Olympic Games