THE MONSTERS OF GREECE
Like other Greek heroes, such as Perseus, Heracles was tested
during confrontations with numerous creatures, many of whom
were monsters that would terrify most people. These creatures
ranged from the Nemaean lion, an animal of supreme strength,
to monstrous creatures – such as the three-headed dog,
Cerberus – which seemed to come from the world of horror and
nightmare. By overcoming them, Heracles was able to demonstrate
both his superhuman strength and his exceptional bravery. He
also gained from some of these combats by adopting
the attributes of his adversaries – for example, he
took the lion’s skin as his cloak and the Hydra’s
gall to poison his arrowheads.HERACLES AND NESSUS
Heracles was travelling with his third wife, Deianira, when they met a
centaur, called Nessus, who ofered to carry Deianira across a river.
When they were across the water and a safe distance from Heracles,
Nessus raped Deianira, but Heracles saw what was happening and
shot the centaur with one of his deadly arrows. As he died, Nessus
told Deianira that if she wove Heracles a shirt from the hairs on his
back, the wearer would never leave her for another woman. Some time
later, Deianira suspected her husband’s fidelity, and gave him the shirt
to wear. But when Heracles put the shirt on, he discovered it was an
evil trick. Its hairs made his skin blister and burn as if attacked
by flames. In agony and begging for death, the
hero asked to be put on his funeral pyre.THE HERO’S CLUB
King Thespius, ruler of a kingdom called
Thespiae, was troubled by a lion that attacked
his cattle. Thespius’s men had failed in killing
the lion, so Heracles volunteered to try. He
made himself an enormous club by tearing up
an olive tree. He clubbed the lion to death and
was allowed to sleep with all but one of
Thespius’s fifty daughters as a reward.THE LABOURS OF HERACLESThe Hydra
Heracles dispatched the
multi-headed Hydra with the
help of Iolaos. As Heracles
cut off each head, Iolaos
cauterized the stumps.The Nemaean lion
Wrestling the Nemaean
lion brought Heracles into
danger from the animal’s
claws and jaws, but he
finally prevailed.The Erymanthian boar
When Heracles brought the
vicious boar to Eurystheus,
the frightened king hid from
the beast by climbing into a
large storage jar. Cerberus
After showing the terrifying guard
dog of the Underworld to Eurystheus,
Heracles returned the creature to
Hades, its master.Heracles fighting the centaur
The centaur Nessus had once been
defeated in a fight with Heracles,
and longed for revenge.On his funeral pyre
As the smoke from Heracles’s pyre
reached the heavens, Zeus saw his
agony. He drew him up to Olympus
and made him a god.A formidable weapon
The legendary club of Heracles, with which he
overcame many opponents, was so heavy that
only he could pick it up and wield it with ease.THE CHARACTER OF HERACLES
First and foremost, Heracles is a hero, a figure of incredible
strength and outstanding bravery. But ancient Greek writers treat
his character in diferent ways according to the parts of his story
they are narrating. For example, in The Children of Heracles,
Euripides portrays him as the tragic figure who kills his own
children, but in another play, Alcestis, he gets comically drunk.
Sophocles deals
with the hero’s
relationship with
his wife, Deianira,
and other writers
concentrate on his
heroic adventures.The dramatists Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides^35