The Myths of Hercules and Atalanta

Hercules

Background

Greatest hero of Greece Helped the gods conquer the Giants Had “the supreme self confidence

magnificent strength gives” (Mythology 160) Wasn’t very intelligent (threatened to

shoot the sun, wanted to punish tossing waves, etc.)

Controlled by his emotions (outbursts of anger followed by completing any punishment as penance)

Only the gods/goddesses could defeat him

Background

Born in Thebes Son of Zeus and Alcmena (Zeus took the

shape of Alcmena’s husband to seduce her)

Had twin brother Iphicles 2 snakes attacked Hercules and his brother

While Iphicles screamed, Hercules killed them Hera was mad at Zeus and became

determined to kill Hercules Teiresias (blind prophet) told Alcmena that

her son would be the hero of all mankind

Stories Accidentally killed his music

teacher By 18 years old, he had killed the

great lion that lived in the woods of Cithaeron

He defeated the Minyans (enemies of Thebes), and the Thebans gave him Princess Megara as a reward. They had 3 children but, in a fit of rage brought on by Hera, he killed them as well as Megara.

When he came to his senses, his (earthly) father told him what he had done

Was told by oracle to go serve King Eurystheus to “redeem” himself Known as the 12 Labors of Hercules

The 12 Labors of Hercules 1st Labor: Kill the Nemian Lion

(lion that no weapon could kill) He killed it with his bare hands

2nd Labor: Fight the Hydra (immortal monster with 9 heads) He defeated it with the help of Iolaus. As Hercules cut the heads, Iolaus would burn the stump so no new head would emerge.

3rd Labor: Bring back a stag with horns of gold ALIVE (that was the tricky part) He spent a year hunting it down.

12 Labors of Hercules 4th Labor: Capture a great boar on

Mount Erymanthus. He chased it until it was tired and then drove it into snow to trap it.

5th Labor: Clean the Augean stables in a single day. (Augeas had thousands of cattle) He changed the courses of two rivers to make them flow through the stables to clean them out.

6th Labor: To drive away the Stymphalian birds (a plague to the people of Stymphalus) Athena helped drive the birds out of the coverts. As the birds flew up, Hercules shot them.

12 Labors of Hercules

7th Labor: Capture the Cretan bull. Hercules brought it to Mycenae but let it go later.

8th Labor: Capture King Diomedes’ man-eating horses. Hercules killed the king to control the horses.

9th Labor: Get the girdle of the Amazon queen Hippolyte. The Amazons thought Hercules was going to try to carry off their queen and attacked his ship. Hercules (thinking it had been Hippolyte’s idea) killed her.

12 Labors of Hercules 10th Labor: Bring back cattle of Geyron

(a monster with 3 bodies). On his way there he set up the Pillars of Hercules. Then he got the cattle and brought them back to Mycenae

11th Labor: To bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. Hercules traded places with Atlas (holds up the sky) so that Atlas would get the apples for him.

12th Labor: Bring back the three-headed dog, Cereberus, which guarded Hades. While in the underworld he also freed his friend Theseus from the Chair of Forgetfulness.

More Stories

Fought with the river god Achelous over the Princess Deianira. Hercules won and she became his wife.

Freed Prometheus from the eagle’s torture. Deianira, hearing that Hercules had fallen in

love with another, sent him a robe soaked in the blood of a centaur. This caused Hercules extreme pain when he put it on, until he asked to be burned alive to stop it.

Lessons

One trait is not above all others (e.g. strength, confidence, intelligence)

Allusions

Herculean strength= comparing someone as having Hercules's strength.

Wrestlers/Boxers basically continue on Hercules’s “tradition” of showing that those he beat were beneath him.

Questions

Why do you think Hera took out all her rage on Hercules instead of both Hercules and his mother for having the affair with Zeus?

Because of his strength, do you think he was more loved or feared by the people?

Do you think Hercules could have accomplished his 12 Labors had he not been as strong, but more intelligent?

Atalanta

How Atalanta Came To Be Atalanta’s father was

disappointed because he had wanted a boy, but instead got a girl… Atalanta.

He decided she was not worthy enough to be raised and abandoned her at a mountainside somewhere in Arcadia to die.

A mother bear found her and took her in as one of her own (brought up by bears)

When she was a little girl hunters found her and took her in.

She became a better huntress than all the rest of the hunters.

She worshipped Artemis the most

Once two centaurs, Rhoecus and Hylaeus, had tried to attack her, but she shot both down with her bow and arrows.

The Calydonian Boar Hunt At the beginning of the harvest season, the

first fruits were to be sacrificed to the gods and goddesses.

Oeneus, king of Calydon, had forgotten to give a sacrifice to Artemis. To punish him, she sent a giant boar to the crops, cattle, and people.

The King asked for all the bravest young heroes to kill the boar.

Meleager, Oeneus’ son (one of the men in the group), fell in love with Atalanta and convinced them to let her join the hunt.

When they found the boar, it quickly killed two men and another died from a misdirected javelin.

The Calydonian Boar Hunt Atalanta was the first to wound the boar and

mortally wounded it with her arrow. Meleager then took his spear and finished off the

boar. Meleager got the skin of the boar, but he gave it to

Atalanta to honor her part in the kill. Meleager’s uncles, who were part of the hunt,

became enraged that a women would get the skin and demanded that they get it. Meleager refused and killed them when they tried to take it from Atalanta.

Meleager’s mother had then become furious at the news of her brothers’ deaths and killed Meleager by burning the log that the Fates had magically tied his life to.

Marriage of Atalanta

After the boar hunt, Atalanta’s next achievement was when she competed in the funeral games honoring Pelias (Jason’s Uncle)

This is where she won a wrestling match against Peleus, the father of the future hero, Achilles.

At this event, she found out who her parents were. She lived with them under the condition that she stayed a virgin.

Her father agreed but after many suitors coming over to marry her, he started changing his mind. The two compromised that whichever suitor could beat Atalanta in a foot race could marry her; but if they lost they would be executed.

Marriage of Atalanta

However, one man, Hippomenes, was clever.

He was a great racer, but knew he was no match for Atalanta. So, he asked Aphrodite to help him and she did.

She gave him 3 golden apples that were irresistible to anyone who saw them.

He prayed to Aphrodite before the race and kept the 3 apples handy. When they started he was in the lead, but Atalanta soon passed him.

He threw one apple a little off track. She couldn’t help but stop to go pick it up.

Marriage of Atalanta When she was in the lead again he threw

the second apple a little farther off track this time and she again stopped to grab it.

When she was about to beat him a golden apple cross her path again. Hippomenes crossed the finish line and married her.

After his victory, he went to a temple of Zeus to thank him for his victory, forgetting it was Aphrodite who had helped him

Aphrodite became jealous and made the two desire each other uncontrollably. They made love in Zeus's temple.

Zeus was horrified by this and changed both of them into lions, where they will hunt together for the rest of their lives.

Lessons

Being a hero does not depend on the gender of the person.

Brute strength is not always the winning key against intelligence.

Allusions:

Atalanta and the Arcadian Beast by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris

Questions:

Usually myths explain why something happens. Why do you think the Greeks would make up this myth?

What do you think was the major cause for Atalanta not wanting to ever marry?

Back then, women were expected to tend to the household. Which is more probable to who made up this myth, a man or a women? Explain.

References (pictures and book)

http://undertheblacksky.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hercules.jpg

http://www.shoshone.k12.id.us/greek/images/hercules.jpg http://www.freewebs.com/miss_megara/Hercules-arealslice.JPG http://www.myartprints.co.uk/UK/artist/-Greek-

1129114525456675.html http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/

AtalantaPeleusSA596.html http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Atalanta.html http://www.paleothea.com/Myths/Atalanta.html http://poseidon.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/images/wallpaper/

herculesvshydra_1024.jpg https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/dictionary/Dict/image/stymphalian-

birds2.jpg http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22529/22529-h/images/t-0017-

1.jpg http://blogs.reuters.com/reuters-dealzone/files/2007/12/

cerberusallison.jpg Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Little, Brown, and

Company, 1998. Print http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/mythology/

names/heracles.htm