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 Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:11 pm
Ok, we all know of the Greek Hero, Heracles (Hercules is the Roman name) but do you know of his 12 trials?
Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcemene. Hera found out about the affair and grew extremely jealous. She wanted Heracles to suffer, so when he was adult, she made him do something terrible.
Heracles was married to his love, Megara, and they had two children. One night, Hera filled Heracles with madness and he murdered his entire family. To redeem himself, he went to the Oracle of Delphi for help. He was ordered to seek repentance from his cousin and rival, King Eurystheus.
Hera ordered the king to give Heracles 10 trials to redeem himself. So, Heracles was given the task of clearing out the world's toughest monsters.
Trial #1 - The Namean Lion. A lion that was rampaging throughout the land, killing much livestock. Heracles attempted to fight it off using arrows, but weapons were useless. Heracles used his brute strength to defeat the lion and used his skin for armor.
Trial #2 - Hydra. Heracles' next task was to kill the many-headed serpent, Hydra. As one head was chopped off, 2 more grew in its place. So, with the help of his charioteer, Iolaus, he was able to beat the Hydra by cauterizing the wounds with fire so that the stumps would not grow heads. The king, upon hearing the Hydra's defeat, refused to accept it as a trial because of the help from Iolaus.
Trial #3 - The Cerynitian Hind. For his third trial, he was ordered to capture Artemis' golden-horned deer, the Ceryntian Hind, alive. He captured it but was stopped by Apollo. When Heracles mentioned that he was forced to by the king, Apollo and Artemis let him take the deer.
Trial #4 - The Erymanthian Boar. The fourth trial was to capture the boar that was terrorizing the shepherds from Mount Erymanthus. He used the same net to capture the boar as he did with the deer. Heracles was getting annoyed by the tasks, so he shoved the boar into the jar that King Eurystheus had been hiding in as payback.
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Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:16 pm
Trial #5 -The Cleaning of the Augeian Stables. For his fifth test, Heracles was to clean out these stables within a day owned by King Augeias, king of Elis in the Peloponnese. Heracles demanded 1/10 of the cattle as payment for the task and broke a hole in the wall at a weak spot shown to him by Athene. He used water from the rivers Alpheius and Peneius to flush the place clean. The king refused to accept the task since Heracles demanded payment.
Trial #6 - The Stymphalian Birds. Heracles went to Arcadia to kill a flock of birds that had settled on an island in Lake Stymphalus that caused problems for the local fishermen. He climbed to the top of a mountain and used bronze castanets, given to him by Hephaestus (god of blacksmiths), and captured most of the birds. The captured ones sank into the sea while the others scattered off, never to return again.
Trial #7 - The Cretan Bull. The seventh trial was to capture the bull belonging to King Minos of Crete. It was the same bull that Minos' wife, Pasiphae made love to and gave birth to the minotaur. Heracles wrestled the bull and managed to bring it back to King Eurystheus, where it later escaped to Marathon.
Trial #8 - The Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes, a tyrannical king from Bistonia, had four mares that he himself had trained to eat human flesh. He would often go out and find victims to feed his horses. Heracles traveled to Thrace with his companion, Abderus, to capture the steeds. As Heracles fought and killed Diomedes, the mares ate Abderus. Heracles managed to bring the mares back to the king and they later escaped to be eaten by wolves.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 9:18 am
Trial #9 - The Belt of Hippolyta. Heracles is assigned to steal the belt of the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. Heracles was able to steal them, but he ended up battling the Amazons, killing some in the end. But his mind was still filled with guilt over the loss of his wife and children.
Trial #10 - The cattle of Geryon. Geryon was the grandson of Medusa and had 6 legs and 3 heads. Heracles had to go into the Atlantic Ocean for this one. With his mighty strength, Heracle split the mountain separating Europe and Africa permanenty making a passageway.The Strait of Gilbraltar could be seen as the Pillars of Heracles where sailors would pray for safety. To pass this trial, Heracles killed Geryon with poison arrows and easily captured the cattle.
Trial #11 - The Golden Apples of Hera. Heracles next trial was to steal the golden apples from a garden that was guarded by a 100-headed dragon. These apples were from Hera, so there's a nasty twist there. Heracles goes to the titan, Atlas, at the end of the world and volunteers to take the world off his shoulders if Atlas agrees to get the apples. Atlas gives the world to Heracles and retrieves the apples. He decided he didnt want the world anymore and walked away. Heracles tricked him into taking the world for a second so he could adjust himself. Atlas agrees and takes the world while Heracles walked off with the apples.
Trial #12 - Cerberus. Heracles' last trial was to take Hades' loyal pet, Cerberus, to King Eurystheus. Hades allowed Heracles to take Cerberus, but only if he could subdue him with only his fists. Heracles took him down with his mighty strength and was able to take him to the king. The king, fearful for his life, hid and agreed that Heracles had finished his tasks.
Heracles decided to die by fire because he was tired and he wanted eternal rest. Zeus recognized all his suffering and allowed him to join the gods on Olympus.
So now you know the trials of Heracles
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