The Legends of Hercules

The Legends of Hercules
By: Deanna Jaxine Stinson, Author and Myth Researcher
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The Mythology

Hercules is the legendary hero of the era of Greek and Roman mythology. He is a great force who is half mortal and half immortal. In Greek mythology he is worshipped as a God.

The story of Hercules starts when Zeus and his mother meet. Her name is Alcmena. She is the daughter of a great warrior. His name is Amphitryon. His father is a king. His kingdom is Tiryns.

The great goddess Hera discovered that Zeus had been with Alcmena. Out of jealousy she tried to kill Hercules as an infant- sending two snakes into his crib to kill him. Hercules killed the serpents.

Hercules married a woman named Megara. She was a daughter of a king that Hercules won the right to marry in battle. He ended up killing her and her children in a rage set in by Hera. Hercules is a hero so to him this is devastating. He needed forgiveness so he traveled to meet an oracle in Delphi. He could be forgiven if he performed 12 labors for his kingdom.

Here is the Twelve Labors of Hercules:

Slay the Nemean Lion
The Nemean Lion was actually a shape shifting woman that would lure men into the rocks with her human damsel in distress tricks. Upon coming closer she turned into a lion and would eat them. Hercules destroyed her with her own sharp claw.

Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Hercules cut off the head of the Hydra with a golden sword that Athena had lent to him. Hera sent down a giant crab like monster to try to distract Hercules. Lolaus is his nephew and he fought alongside with him at this point.

Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis.
The hind was very hard to capture, but Hercules did this even though it took him traveling through many countries to accomplish this.

Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
Hercules has the help of a centaur to complete this task.

Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
He reset the directions of two rivers to accomplish this task.

Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
These are man eating birds with beaks of bronze and feathers of metal. These birds were sacred to Ares. Athena decided to help Hercules because the birds were destroying crops. She gave him a rattle made by Hephaestus.

Capture the Cretan Bull.
Hercules battled this bull with his bare hands. He actually let it go free because his companion wanted to sacrifice it to Hera but Hera would not accept it.

Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
Hercules kills the owner of the mares and feeds them the body which acts as a tranquilizer.

Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.
A beautiful princess wanted a belt given to an Amazon Queen by Ares. He ended up killing the Queen because Hera interceded and made it so the Queen was paranoid instead of kind and she tried to go up against Hercules.

Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
Hercules captures each last cattle and has them disguise their tracks by getting them to walk backwards.

Steal the apples of the Hesperides.
Hercules captures a shape shifting, Old Man of the Sea to figure out the location of this garden. Hercules agreed to hold up the world for a moment for Atlas while than shaking the fruit free.

Capture and bring back Cerberus.
He learned from Eleusis how to enter and exit the underworld alive. Then he attacked it with his bare hands and dragged it up to the Earth.

After the twelve labors Hercules lived the rest of his life much the same way. He had many adventurous and the God’s were still highly interested in his acts.

The Constellation of Hercules

The constellation of Hercules is the fifth brightest constellation in the sky. The constellation is said to represent Hercules standing over the dragon that guards the entrance to the garden where the golden apple was.

Beta Herculis is the brightest star in this constellation. This constellation has fifteen stars with planets orbiting within.

The Two stars Vega and Lyra lay very close by.

Hercules – Starring Dwayne Johnson (Movie Review by Deanna Jaxine Stinson – Movie Critic)

The Hercules Movie was just released. The role of Hercules is played by Dwayne Johnson. It is based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars.
Dwayne Johnson doesn’t wear his shirt for most all of the movie. He rarely has armor on. He is good at being intimidating.

In the movie, Hercules has companions that seem familiar to the people that he encounters in the mythologies of his twelve labors. The movie doesn’t explain the twelve labors exactly or the people that came from his past. The characters are all just there and there are no introductions.

The woman warrior in his group is an Amazon Queen so I am assuming they were trying to keep that labor alive yet they don’t explain how she began traveling with him.

His nephew is also by his side much like in the legends.

There is also a very funny oracle that travels with him. He has visions that he thinks his companions don’t take seriously yet they do because he foresees his own death at one point but is saved thanks to his friends that are listening despite their silence.

Hercules starts with the last labor. Hercules is just ready to finish his last task when he changes his mind and a new story is written and that is the movie of Hercules.

I recommend this movie because it stays true to the mythology of Hercules and continues on from that point with a new story. It is funny and intense. The monsters are beautiful to look at on the screen in the flashbacks.

It is a good movie if you know the legends well and even if you don’t. Hercules is a well-known story continued on through modern motion picture.

August 16, 2014:
On this night went to UA Laguna Village 12 – Regal Theaters with Deanna Jaxine Stinson and saw the movie ‘Hercules’ starring Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock. This movie was done with excellence. In this movie, you look at Hercules in a new light. Is he really a man-god? Is his story-telling nephew telling big yarns for Hercules glory and to cause fear for the enemy? Is he truly the son of Zeus? Lots of great action, no time for boredom in this movie!

Oliver D’signs truly cleared up the photo that one of the investigators took at Madison Mansion, you can distinctly see the apparition.

Paul Dale Roberts, HPI Esoteric Detective
aka The Demon Warrior
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