Intro:
The greek hero Heracles (better known as his Roman form Hercules) is one example of how a human or demigod (half god) must complete a quest in order to achieve his goal and truly embody the best characteristics of humanity. Heracles lived in Thebes, and every year its citizens had to pay tribute to King Erginus of the Minyans. Heracles didn't want to pay, so both he and Erginus raised armies that fought each other and ultimately resulted in Heracles killing the King. The King of Thebes was so grateful, he gave Heracles his daughter, Megara, to be his bride. However, Hera, Queen of the Gods, hates Heracles because her husband Zeus had an affair, resulting in Heracles' birth. Hera makes his life miserable, cursing him to kill his children. This is where his quest begins. (6)
The Quest:
Ordinary World:
Heracles had a normal life with his wife and kids (6)
Call to Action:
Hera cursed him to kill his children, so Heracles must atone for his wrongful actions (6)
Meeting the Mentor:
He visits the Oracle of Delphi which tells him to be the servant of King Eurystheus of Argo (6)
Crossing the Threshold:
Heracles follows Delphi's advice and the King gives him 10 labors he must complete for atonement (6)
Heracles had a normal life with his wife and kids (6)
Call to Action:
Hera cursed him to kill his children, so Heracles must atone for his wrongful actions (6)
Meeting the Mentor:
He visits the Oracle of Delphi which tells him to be the servant of King Eurystheus of Argo (6)
Crossing the Threshold:
Heracles follows Delphi's advice and the King gives him 10 labors he must complete for atonement (6)
Tests, Allies, Enemies + Approach + Ordeal:
First Labor: The Nemean Lion - Heracles had to go kill a giant lion terrorizing the people of Nemea. After strangling it, he skins the lion and brings back the pelt, which he made into a cape. (6)
Second Labor: The Lernean Hydra - Heracles had to kill a monster with a hundred heads, each of which grew back after they've been cut off. With the assistance of his nephew Iolaus , Heracles cut off the heads and his nephew cauterized each stump to prevent regrowth. (6)
Third Labor: Erymanthian Boar - Heracles must capture a giant boar and bring it back alive, which was much harder than killing it. However, he managed to capture and bring the boar to the King, whom was terrified of the boar. (6)
Fourth Labor: Cerynian Hind - The King orders Heracles to capture a very fast deer with golden horns. There are variations on how he caught the deer, but either way he caught it and brought it to the King. (6)
Fifth Labor: Augean Stables - Heracles must clean Augean's stables, which he never cleans. Heracles is resourceful and uses the Alpheius River to wash away all the dung from the oxen. (6)
Sixth Labor: Stymphalian Birds - Heracles must get rid of the man-eating birds that surround Stymphalian Lake. He either uses a bronze rattle or poisonous arrows to scare them away. (6)
Seventh Labor: The Cretan Bull - Heracles must go to the island of Crete and capture the bull that allegedly fathered the Minotaur. He allies with the King of Crete to capture the bull, returning to King Eurystheus. (6)
Eighth Labor: Horses of Diomedes - Heracles has to capture the horses of Diomedes, that just so happen yo be man-eating horses. Heracles feeds Diomedes to his horses, then takes the horses away. (6)
Ninth Labor: The Belt of Hippolyte - Heracles must obtain the belt of Hippolyte, the Queen of the Amazons. Despite the fact that Amazons rarely dealt with men and often killed them, when Heracles asked for the belt, the Queen gave it to him. However, Hera thought that was too easy, so she disguised herself as an Amazon, starting a riot which ended in Heracles killing Queen Hippolyte. (6)
Tenth Labor: Cattle of Geryon - Heracles must sail to the end of the known earth (the Atlantic Ocean) to an island called Erytheia where he has to capture the red cattle of Geryon. Geryon has three heads, three torsos, and three sets of legs all meeting at one waist. With the help of a golden goblet from the sun god Helios, Heracles sails to the island and must defeat the giant Erytion and his two-headed dog before he can battle Geryon. He whacks Geryon with his giant club then sails away with the red cattle in the giant golden cup. (6)
First Labor: The Nemean Lion - Heracles had to go kill a giant lion terrorizing the people of Nemea. After strangling it, he skins the lion and brings back the pelt, which he made into a cape. (6)
Second Labor: The Lernean Hydra - Heracles had to kill a monster with a hundred heads, each of which grew back after they've been cut off. With the assistance of his nephew Iolaus , Heracles cut off the heads and his nephew cauterized each stump to prevent regrowth. (6)
Third Labor: Erymanthian Boar - Heracles must capture a giant boar and bring it back alive, which was much harder than killing it. However, he managed to capture and bring the boar to the King, whom was terrified of the boar. (6)
Fourth Labor: Cerynian Hind - The King orders Heracles to capture a very fast deer with golden horns. There are variations on how he caught the deer, but either way he caught it and brought it to the King. (6)
Fifth Labor: Augean Stables - Heracles must clean Augean's stables, which he never cleans. Heracles is resourceful and uses the Alpheius River to wash away all the dung from the oxen. (6)
Sixth Labor: Stymphalian Birds - Heracles must get rid of the man-eating birds that surround Stymphalian Lake. He either uses a bronze rattle or poisonous arrows to scare them away. (6)
Seventh Labor: The Cretan Bull - Heracles must go to the island of Crete and capture the bull that allegedly fathered the Minotaur. He allies with the King of Crete to capture the bull, returning to King Eurystheus. (6)
Eighth Labor: Horses of Diomedes - Heracles has to capture the horses of Diomedes, that just so happen yo be man-eating horses. Heracles feeds Diomedes to his horses, then takes the horses away. (6)
Ninth Labor: The Belt of Hippolyte - Heracles must obtain the belt of Hippolyte, the Queen of the Amazons. Despite the fact that Amazons rarely dealt with men and often killed them, when Heracles asked for the belt, the Queen gave it to him. However, Hera thought that was too easy, so she disguised herself as an Amazon, starting a riot which ended in Heracles killing Queen Hippolyte. (6)
Tenth Labor: Cattle of Geryon - Heracles must sail to the end of the known earth (the Atlantic Ocean) to an island called Erytheia where he has to capture the red cattle of Geryon. Geryon has three heads, three torsos, and three sets of legs all meeting at one waist. With the help of a golden goblet from the sun god Helios, Heracles sails to the island and must defeat the giant Erytion and his two-headed dog before he can battle Geryon. He whacks Geryon with his giant club then sails away with the red cattle in the giant golden cup. (6)
Reward & Road Back:
Upon returning the red cattle to King Eurystheus, Heracles was expecting his reward, which was atonement for the murder of his children. However, the King decided that the death of the Hyrda didn't count because his nephew helped him, and the cleaning of the stables didn't count because he used a river to help him. Heracles agreed to completing two additional tasks to receive atonement. (6)
Resurrection:
Eleventh Labor: The Golden Apples of the Hesperides - Heracles must fetch golden apples from the nymphs of sunset, the Hesperides. Heracles allies with the Titan Atlas who is forever trapped holding up the sky. Heracles takes Atlas' place while Atlas retrieves the apples. However, upon returning Atlas doesn't want to go back to holding up the sky. Heracles tricks Atlas by agreeing to stay under, so long as he can put some shoulder pads on to alleviate the pain. Atlas agrees, and Heracles traps the Titan back under the burden of the sky. Some versions state that Atlas wasn't involved and that Heracles must slay a dragon named Ladon. Either way, Heralces brings the golden fruit back to the King. (6)
Twelfth Labor: Cerberus - For the final task, Heracles must ring back the hellhound that guards the underworld, the three-headed dog named Cerberus. Heracles travels to the underworld and comes across two Greek demigods banished by Hades for attempting to seduce his wife. Heracles enlists the help of Theseus, but Pirithous cannot leave the bench he is glued to. With Theseus' help, Heracles goes before Hades and asks to borrow the dog, and the God agrees so long as Heracles doesn't use any weapons against Cerberus. After beating the dog, Heracles brings the hellhound to King Eurystheus, the returns the dog back to Hades. (6)
Return with Elixir:
After completing his Twelve Labors, Heracles has finally atoned for killing his children. He was made immortal as a reward for completing all those difficult tasks, and gives his wife Megara to his friend Iolaus upon returning to Thebes.
Upon returning the red cattle to King Eurystheus, Heracles was expecting his reward, which was atonement for the murder of his children. However, the King decided that the death of the Hyrda didn't count because his nephew helped him, and the cleaning of the stables didn't count because he used a river to help him. Heracles agreed to completing two additional tasks to receive atonement. (6)
Resurrection:
Eleventh Labor: The Golden Apples of the Hesperides - Heracles must fetch golden apples from the nymphs of sunset, the Hesperides. Heracles allies with the Titan Atlas who is forever trapped holding up the sky. Heracles takes Atlas' place while Atlas retrieves the apples. However, upon returning Atlas doesn't want to go back to holding up the sky. Heracles tricks Atlas by agreeing to stay under, so long as he can put some shoulder pads on to alleviate the pain. Atlas agrees, and Heracles traps the Titan back under the burden of the sky. Some versions state that Atlas wasn't involved and that Heracles must slay a dragon named Ladon. Either way, Heralces brings the golden fruit back to the King. (6)
Twelfth Labor: Cerberus - For the final task, Heracles must ring back the hellhound that guards the underworld, the three-headed dog named Cerberus. Heracles travels to the underworld and comes across two Greek demigods banished by Hades for attempting to seduce his wife. Heracles enlists the help of Theseus, but Pirithous cannot leave the bench he is glued to. With Theseus' help, Heracles goes before Hades and asks to borrow the dog, and the God agrees so long as Heracles doesn't use any weapons against Cerberus. After beating the dog, Heracles brings the hellhound to King Eurystheus, the returns the dog back to Hades. (6)
Return with Elixir:
After completing his Twelve Labors, Heracles has finally atoned for killing his children. He was made immortal as a reward for completing all those difficult tasks, and gives his wife Megara to his friend Iolaus upon returning to Thebes.
So What?:
The rhetoric behind the story of Heracles is that in order to teach the moral of the story, he must go on a quest. The purpose behind his quest is so he can redeem himself and atone for killing his children (6). The quest follows the guidelines of the "Hero's Journey," and each part of Heracles' story fits into each of the 12 steps along the journey (5). The point of fitting the story of Heracles into the 12 steps of the "Hero's Journey" is to demonstrate how almost every single hero story follows the same plot, whether it's Greek myths or modern adventure tales (5). His story has a cautionary and didactic tone, and this helps the writer achieve the purpose of the story, which is to warn citizens of Greece what will happen if they disobey the gods (6).
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