Hercules/Heracles Flashcards
Who were Hercules’s parents?
Zeus and Alcmene
How did Zeus get Alcmene pregnant?
Pretended to be her husband who was at war and slept with her
Who was Hercules’s step father and husband of his mother?
Amphitryon
What was Hercules’s ‘twin’ brother called?
Iphicles
How did Amphityron find out someone slept with his wife?
From a seer but relieved when he found it was a god
Why did Hera not like Hercules?
He was the child of Zeus’s affair
What did Zeus boast
His son would rule the earth
What did Hera do after Zeus boasted?
Made him vow that first son born of house of perseus that night would rule
What did Hera ask Eileithyia to do?
Prolong Alcmene’s labour until Eurystheus was born
Where did Eurystheus become king of?
Mycenae
What did Hera send to Hercules as a baby?
Two snakes but Hercules strangled them
What did Alcmene do when scared of Hera’s wrath?
Left Hercules in a forrest?
Who found Hercules in the forrest and what did they do?
Athene took him to Mount Olympus to be taken in?
He refused Hercules’s entry to Olympus?
Hera
Who is Hercules’s protector?
Athene
Who was Hercules’s wife?
Megara
What did Hera send to Hercules when he grew up and what happened?
Sent Goddess madness to infect him and it meant he went insane and killed his wife and three kids
What did Hercules do after killing his family?
Exiled himself from Thebes and went to the Oracle at Delphi
What did the Oracle say?
To serve King Eurystheus for 12 years
Who actually controlled the Oracle when Hercules spoke to it?
Hera
What was Hercules first Labour?
Nemean Lion
What happened in the First Labour
Hera trained the lion, he tried attacking with bow and arrow but failed cos of skin, stunned it with club and strangled to death, skinned it with its claw
What was the Second Labour?
Lernaen Hydra
What happened in the second labour?
hydra kept growing heads, got help from cousin Iolaus, cut head and Iolaus seeled with torch, crushed crab sent by hera, buried immortal head under rocks, used venom as poison on arrow
What was the Third Labour?
Golden Hind
what happened in the third labour?
special hind bigger than bull and sacred to artemis, had to be alive, very quick and swift, spent a year finding it, caught it by snaring it and tying its legs, took back to mycenae but encountered apollo and artemis, she was angry but hercules explained
What was the fourth labour?
Erymanthian Boar
what happened in the fourth labour?
had to be alive, terrorized Acardia, chased it through thick winter snow, Eurystheus got scared and hid in pithos jar
What was the fifth labour?
Augean Stables
what happened in the fifth labour?
had to clean stable, augeus had many cattle so lots of dung impossible to clean, Hercules diverted Alpheios and peneios rivers, augeus promised payment but refused after, Hercules got angry and brought army to defeat king, set up olympic games after to honour zeus
What was the sixth labour?
Stymphalion Birds
what happened in the sixth labour?
given a rattle from athene made by hephaistos, rattle sent birds into the sky, used arrows and slingshot to kill them
What was the seventh labour?
Cretan Bull
what happened in the seventh labour?
king happy for him to take it, strangled it but let go so he could ride it across sea to greece, Eurystheus hid in pithos jar, released back into wild and becam Marathon bull defeated by Theseus
What was the eighth labour?
Mares of Diomedes
what happened in the eighth labour?
master fed defeated soldiers and passers by, killed stablesman, Diomedes wanted to fight Hercules so let Abderos look after horses, horses ate abderos, hercules angry so fed horses diomedes, horses calmed down and taken to mycenae, let into wild and killed by animals
What was the ninth labour?
belt of hippolyte
what happened in the ninth labour?
belt given by ares, eurystheus daughter wanted it, hercules took army expecting trouble, hippolyte impressed and allowed hercules to have belt, hera disguised as amazon spread rumour hercules wanted to kidnap hippolyte, hercules thought hippolyte lied, bloody fight, hercules won, hippolyte killed and belt was taken by hercules
What was the tenth labour?
Cattle of Geryon
what happened in the tenth labour?
took him to edge of world, cattle famed for red hides, defeated herdsmen eurytion an dog orthrus, geryon (with three sets of arms and legs) followed him, hercules defeated geryon, and went through italy to greece, bulls sacrificed to hera by eurystheus
what was the eleventh labour?
Apples of Hesperides
what happened in the eleventh labour?
golden apples in garden of hesperides, gift from gaia to zeus and hera for wedding, longest task as hercules had to find garden, made it to mount caucasus where prometheu was chained, killed eagle that ate his heart, as reward he was told where apples were, went to atlas, held the sky whilst atlas got apples, tricked atlas into holding sky again by looking for pillow while holding apples, athene took apples back
What was the twelfth labour?
Cerberus
what happened in the twelfth labour?
gained favour of persephone by being initiated into eleusinian mysteries, greeted by hades and persephone in underworld, challenged by hades to capture cerberus with no weapons and then he could take it, strangled it and took it to eurystheus then returned to hades
how many labours did he originally have to do?
10
Why did he do two extra labours?
He had help with the hydra and was paid for stables
Who was Cacus?
Son of Vulcan
How many cattle did he drive off?
4
How did Hercules find out some of his cattle were gone?
One lowed and the ones in the cave lowed back
How did Hercules react to finding out the cattle was gone
Rushed to the cave with his club in a rage
What did Cacus do when he saw Hercules coming?
Hid in his cave and used a boulder to seel of the entrance
What did Hercules do when he arrived at the cave?
Circled Aventine hill three times but failed to get in
How did Hercules get in the cave?
Found a gap in the top and tore it out
What happens in the cave?
hercules hurls missiles at cacus, cacus envelops cave in smoke he bellowed, hercules threw himself in the smoke, hercules chocked cacus and drained his throat of blood, doors ripped out revealing the cattle, and what cacus did was revealed to the gods.
Who set up an altar in the grave?
Potitius
