Greek mythology is replete with various legends. Each of them is a fascinating legend about the courage and resourcefulness of heroes. One of these legends is the myth of Hercules. Greek mythology describes the whole life path of the hero, without disregarding a single detail.
The birth of a hero
Courage, masculinity and compassion - that is what the myth tells about. The birth of Heracles, the son of a simple mortal Alkmena and the great Zeus, was not part of Hera's plans. She delayed the birth of the queen and accelerated the birth of Eurystheus, who was the great-grandson of Zeus. And, according to the promise made by the great god, Eurystheus is given power over the Peloponnese. Hera sent two snakes to the Alkmene kids. But the incredible power of Hercules appeared. The baby strangled them.
According to another legend, which tells of the appearance of the Milky Way, Hera was forced by cunning to breast feed Hercules. But he sucked so hard that she was forced to throw him away, and drops of milk turned into the
Milky Way.The myth of Hercules It says that the upbringing of the young hero was carried out by Autolycus, Hebris, Castor and the wise centaur Chiron. They taught the young man wrestling, playing kifar and archery. But after the incident with Lin, who decided to punish him for disobedience, Hercules was expelled to Mount Kiferon.
Twelve Feats of Hercules
Myths and legends of Hercules give different versions of the heroic deeds. According to one of them, he went to serve Eurystheus after killing his children in a crazy fit. Other versions indicate that Hera sent madness on Hercules after completing 12 feats. After that, the hero went into slavery to the Lydian queen Omfale. The latest version is more common in the literature.
After liberating the surroundings of Kiferon from the terrible lion that devastated everything around, Hercules, on the advice of the oracle, goes to the service of Eurystheus. During the twelve-year service to the king, he was to perform ten feats. The cunning ruler did not count some acts of the hero.
The first feat of Hercules is the extraction of the skins of a Nemean lion, which was invulnerable. The hero strangled the beast, and made a cloak from his "fur coat".
In the next feat, the hero was helped by his nephew Iolaus, because of which he was not credited. Hercules with Iolaus destroyed the Lernean hydra with nine heads, one of which was immortal. Huge Karkin cancer prevented her from killing her. He grabbed the hero's leg. Iolaus burned the wounds of hydra with fire, which served as an obstacle to the emergence of new heads.
The myth of Hercules also tells of other deeds of the demigod. These include:
- the capture of a magic doe with golden horns;
- obtaining Erimanfsky boar;
- the destruction of Stiffali birds feeding on humans;
- cleaning out the Augean stables ;
- capture of the Cretan bull.
The last feat was the path to the kingdom of the dead beyond Cerberus, which then had to be returned back.
The last days of the hero’s life
After going through many trials, Hercules married Diyanir. Because of jealousy for the captive, which her husband brought, she impregnated the clothes of the centaur with the poisonous blood of a centaur. When he put on her, she immediately grew to her body and began to slowly kill the hero. According to legend, Hercules gained immortality and joined the gods on Mount Eta. After ascension to Olympus, he married the daughter of Hera and Zeus.
The myth of Hercules and the trials that fell upon his fate is still popular today and is reflected in films and theatrical productions.