Heracles became frustrated, flew into a rage, and banged the lyre down on Linus’s head. One day Linus, his music master, was teaching Heracles to play the lyre. Like most Greek youths, he took music lessons. Heracles’ LessonĪs a young boy, Heracles became aware of his extraordinary strength-and his temper. Though Hera failed to kill Heracles, she persecuted him throughout his life, causing many of the events that led to his great suffering and punishments. However, the infant grabbed the snakes and strangled them. She tried to kill the infant Heracles by having two poisonous snakes placed in his crib one night. Hera was fiercely jealous of Zeus’s lovers and children and pursued them mercilessly. When the goddess Hera discovered that Zeus had seduced Alcmena and fathered Heracles, she was furious. He told them that Zeus had slept with Alcmena the first night and predicted that she would bear a child who would become a great hero.Īlcmena bore twin boys-Heracles, the son of Zeus, and Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon. Concerned that Amphitryon did not remember being with Alcmena on both nights, the couple consulted the blind prophet Tiresias, who could see the workings of the gods. The next day, the real Amphitryon returned and slept with his wife. One night while Amphitryon was away, Zeus came to Alcmena disguised as her husband. Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, a distinguished Greek warrior and heir to the throne of Tiryns. In Greek mythology, only two figures with half-mortal, halfgod parentage-Heracles and Dionysus- became fully immortal and were worshipped as gods. Only supernatural forces could defeat him, and it was magic that ended his mortal life.
#Atlas bringing herakles the apples of the hesperides full
When the fury passed, though, Heracles was full of sorrow and guilt for what he had done and ready to accept any punishment for his misdeeds. Easily angered, his sudden outbursts of rage often harmed innocent bystanders. Heracles (called Hercules by the Romans) was not blessed with great intelligence, but his bravery made up for any lack of cunning.
Besides tremendous physical strength, he had great self-confidence and considered himself equal to the gods. I depicted the moment Hercules looks back at the tricked titan Atlas and he is holding the golden apples in his arms.The greatest of all heroes in Greek mythology, Heracles was the strongest man on earth. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to keep the apples, so Hercules had to bring them back and he did that by giving them to Athena. Atlas put the world on his shoulders again and in an instant, Hercules grabbed the apples and ran off to king Eurystheus. After the titan returned with the apples, the hero managed to trick Atlas by saying he could stay and hold the world but he needs a moment to put some soft paddings on his shoulders for better endurance. Atlas agreed, because he wanted to transfer the burden of carrying the world on this back to someone and Hercules took over. Upon his arrival to the Golden Apples' location, Hercules could not go and get them himself and he had to make Atlas bring them for him. In gratitude, Prometheus gave Hercules the apples' location and the hero continued on with his journey. He battled and killed many warriors and when he finally got to Mount Caucasus, he rescued Prometheus of his punishment by killing the eagle that was feasting on his liver. Hercules went on a long journey to bring the golden apples to king Eurystheus, because he didn't know the exact location of the garden they were in. The apples were guarded by powerful beasts such as the dragon Ladon and Atlas' daughters - the nymphs called the Hesperides. The apples belonged to none other than Zeus himself and they were a wedding gift to him by Hera so they were very valuable. The next labor Hercules had to do was to get the Golden appples of the Hesperides.