Aim: What were the 12 labors of Hercules? Do Now: Who were Perseus and Andromeda? What was the name of their most famous descendant? HW: Latin 2 Vocabulary Quiz Friday 5/10 on pg. 43 of Wheelock’s Latin 3 Vocabulary Quiz Friday 5/10 on pg. 334-335 of Wheelock’s Final- Latin 2- June 11th and 12th Latin 3- June 11th, 12th, and 13th Speaking- May 29th Dictation (Latin 3)- May 30th Latin 3 Review session- Tuesday May 28th 2:40-3:40 LHS Meeting- Monday at 2:30 in Rm 202

Hercules

Son of Jupiter and Alcmene Alcmene- the mortal granddaughter of Perseus and Andromeda Jupiter disguised himself as Alcmene’s husband Amphitryon

Amphitryon,

Oddly enough, Amphitryon returned home from war later that night! Alcmene was now pregnant with, not one, but two sons…yay

What do you remember about Juno’s personality? i.e. Jupiter’s wife

Juno made Jupiter swear an oath

He promised her that the child born that night into the Perseus family would become High King Juno made him promise this, knowing that a boy named Eurystheus would be born soon Juno caused Eurystheus to be born prematurely, before Hercules She would’ve prevented Hercules’ birth altogether if it hadn’t been for Alcmene’s servant who lied, saying that the boy had already been born

More questionable parenting in mythology Alcmene, when she found out what her servant had done, and afraid of Juno’s vengeance, abandoned Hercules

Minerva, Hercules’s half-sister, brought Hercules to Juno

Juno didn’t recognize the baby and nursed him The divine milk gave baby Hercules supernatural powers

Juno was NOT finished trying to destroy Hercules She sent two giant snakes into the bed chamber of the twins when they were only 8 months old Hercules strangled both snakes and was found by his nurse, playing with them like toys

It was at this moment that Hercules’ mother and step-father knew that he was…different They summoned a seer named Tiresias who foresaw that Hercules was destined to slay many monsters

Growing up, Hercules was not the most ambitious student He killed his music tutor Linus with a lyre

Amphitryon sent Hercules to tend to some cattle on a mountain There he was visited by two figures: Vice and Virtue They offered him a choice between a pleasant, easy life and a severe but glorious life Which one do you think he chose?

Later, Hercules got married He married King Creon’s daughter Megara

Yet more questionable parenting In a fit of madness, induced by Juno, Hercules murdered his and Megara’s children Once he realized what he’d done, Hercules was devastated

He consulted the Oracle of Delphi which (surprise surprise) was being manipulated by Juno To atone for his crime, Hercules was instructed to serve King Eurystheus (the man who became king in Hercules’s place) Hercules was ordered to perform 10 labors set forth by Eurystheus, upon completion of which, Hercules would be purified of his sin and become an immortal god

Kind of like a really really really high stakes version of the Triwizard Tournament

Task # 1- Slay the Nemean Lion

This lion had been attacking the city of Nemea Hercules defeated the lion with his bare hands He then wore the skin of the lion as a cloak as a demonstration of his victory

Task # 2- Slay the Lernaean Hydra

So what’s the Lernaean Hydra? A fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion and a body of many snakes which lay in a swamp near Lerna (a region of Greece)

With the help of his nephew, Hercules defeated the Hydra He then dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s poisoned blood, thus impregnating them with venom

Task # 3- Capture (but not kill) the Golden Hind of Diana

The Golden Hind (deer) of Diana Golden antlers Hooves of bronze or brass Could outrun a flying arrow

After chasing the hind for a year.. Hercules captured it and presented it, alive, to Eurystheus

Task # 4- Capture the Erymanthian Boar and bring it to Mycenae A fearsome boar, on the loose

Just like the 3rd task, this one took a long time But with perseverance and patience, our tireless hero captured the boar and brought it to Mycenae

Task # 5- Clean the Augean Stables in 1 day The Augean stables were the home of a herd of cattle that produced poisoned feces These stables had been given to Augeas by his father Helios…an interesting choice of gift Augeas offered Hercules one tenth of the cattle if he got the job done in one day

How did Hercules clean these stables in 1 day? First, he dug ditches on both sides of the stables Next, he moved the feces into the ditches Finally, he diverted the Alpheios and Penaios Rivers to wash the ditches clean Job well done! Time to get paid, right?

Wrong. Augeas refused to pay Heracles killed him and gave the kingdom to Augeas’s son

Task # 6- Slay the Stymphalian Birds Man-eating birds were terrorizing a forest near Lake Stymphalia in Northern Arcadia

Hercules frightened them by shaking a rattle given to him by Minerva The birds started flying away from the forest and Hercules was able to shoot many of them with his bow and arrow

Task # 7- Capture the Cretan Bull The Cretan bull was laying waste to the lands of Knossos on Crete The bull was the father of the Minotaur- a creature with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man. It lived in the center of a Labyrinth designed by Daedalus and his son Icarus

Hercules captured the bull and carried it on his shoulders to Eurystheus in Tiryns Eurystheus released the bull which wandered to Marathon It terrorized Marathon until it was killed by a hero named Theseus

Task # 8- Steal the mares of King Diomedes These horses had been trained to eat human flesh Hercules fed King Diomedes himself to the horses He then bound the mouths of the horses and took them to Eurystheus

Task # 9- Take the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons Amazons- a tribe of female warriors This belt had been given to Hippolyta by her father

Juno had instructed the Amazons to attack Hercules and his companions Hercules managed to slay Hippolyta, take her waist-belt, and bring it back to Eurystheus

Task # 10- Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon Geryon- the giant grandson of Medusa

The herd of cattle was guarded by a two-headed dog, the herdsman Erytion, and the owner Geryon Hercules killed the dog and herdsman with his club and killed Geryon with a poisoned arrow He herded the cattle and brought them to Eurystheus

Ten tasks! Guess we’re done, right? Wrong.

According to King Eurystheus… Task # 2 (the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra) didn’t count because his nephew helped him Task # 5 (cleaning the Augean stables in 1 day) didn’t count because Hercules was going to accept payment and because the rushing waters, not Hercules, cleaned the stables

So guess what? You have two more tasks!

Task # 11- Steal the golden apples of the Hesperides (nymphs of the evening) The golden apples were protected by Juno who ordered Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon, to be their guardian

On his journey to find the garden where the apples were kept.. Hercules met Prometheus (a Titan who is credited with creating man from clay and for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humanity) Hercules shot the eagle eating Prometheus’s liver and, in return, told Hercules that his brother Atlas would know where the garden was Atlas said he would get the apples for Hercules if he would hold up the heavens while he was gone Atlas tried to trick Hercules into holding the heavens in his place forever, but Hercules wasn’t fooled. He took the apples and brought them to Mycenae

Task # 12- Capture and bring back Cerberus At this point, Eurystheus is pretty fed up with Hercules’ ability to complete all of these labors So he sends him on a mission that he believes will be be impossible

But Hercules does it again! Pluto agrees to hand over Cerberus if he is able to obtain him without using any weapons When Hercules brings Cerberus back to Eurystheus, he is not just stunned but frightened by Hercules’ power and strength

The beginning…