Heracles
the Strong One – Maurice Saxby
The Conception and
Birth of Heracles
Zeus the
almighty god, and husband to Hera, had an infatuation
with the beautiful mortal Alcmena, whilst Alcmena’s
husband, Amphitryon, was away at war Zeus deceived
Alcmena into believing that he was her husband. Through this union Heracles was
conceived. Heracles was born into the family of Alcmena and Amphitryon as a
twin to Iphicles, Zeus the father of Heracles and Amphitryon the father of
Iphicles.
The Hatred Heracles
Faced
Hera’s hatred of Heracles was evident from birth, as she knew that he was the product of her husband’s unfaithfulness. Hera’s jealousy was seen through her many attempts to take Heracles life, her calculating nature was obvious when sending the serpents into his cradle when he was less than a year old. Heracles unafraid throttles the serpents to their death with ease.
Heracles Grows Up
As Heracles matured he became known for his great strength, bulging physique and his willingness to help others. He was trained in the arts of fencing, archery and chariot driving, which he enjoyed. Heracles was also educated in reading, writing, singing and playing the lyre. It was during a session with his music teacher that Heracles lost his temper, which resulted in the teachers demise. For this crime Heracles was banished to the mountains, at which point he redeemed himself by choosing to lead a life of hard work and good deeds in hope for a life of happiness.
Heracles was soon repaid for these good deeds by the king offering his daughter, Megara, as a wife to Heracles. They were soon married and had children.
The Labours of
Heracles
Hera’s jealousy continued to grow at which time she
caused Heracles to believe that his family were enemies, this triggered him to
slaughter his wife, children and nephews. Heracles was banished from Thebes and
commanded by his father, Zeus, to speak to the Oracle, Delphi. The Oracle
commanded Heracles to serve King Eurystheus at which time he will be forgiven
for his sins. King Eurystheus was jealous of Heracles and set him twelve tasks
in hope of seeing to his destruction. These twelve labours included:
1)
Killing the Nemean lion
2)
Killing the hydra of Lerna
3)
Bringing back the hind of Ceryneia
4)
Capturing the boar of Erymanthus
5)
Cleaning the Augean stables
6)
Killing the birds of Stymphalus
7)
Retrieving the Cretan bull
8)
Bringing back the horses of Diomedes
9)
Stealing the girdle of the Amazon
queen
10) Bringing
back the cattle of Geryon
11) Bringing
three golden apples from the garden of Hesperides
12) Bringing
back alive the dig of Cerberus
On completion of the twelve labours
Heracles was set free and could begin his life once more.
Heracles as God
Mount Oeta to build an altar in
which he commands others to set him alight. Heracles is immediately drawn
Heracles falls in love with his friend’s sister, Deianeira,
they soon marry. When Heracles and Deianeira are on a journey, a centaur, Nessus, captures Deianeira. In the fight for
Deianeira Heracles kills the centaur. In his dying moments the centaur
tells Deianeira that if she soaks Heracles tunic in his blood it will
ensure Heracles undying love. Upon hearing of Heracles infatuation with
another young lady Deianeira does as Nessus had suggested. However, this
does not result in regaining Heracles love but leads to the death of her
husband. In great pain due to the poison of
Nessus’ blood, Heracles climbs up into the heavens by his father Zeus and
becomes immortal.
Strengths
—
Retold by renowned children’s
literature author and academic
—
Greek and Roman versions plot points
remain intact
—
Genealogy discussed consistent with
other Greek and Roman versions
—
Illustrations provide good visual
support to the written text
—
Written in prose that is easily
understood
—
Subheadings are provided for easy
perusal of the text
—
Compact version of the myth
—
An honest retelling including both the
strengths and weaknesses of Heracles personality
—
Illustrations are provided by a well
known illustrator
—
The text acknowledges variations of
Heracles name
—
Information regarding the author and
illustrator is provided
—
Research evidence provided in the
bibliography
Weaknesses
—
Could offer more illustrations to the
reader
—
A map would allow the reader to follow
Heracles journey
Links to Other
Resources
Listed below are some resources that
discuss similar elements of the Heracles story to that of Maurice Saxby’s Heracles
the Strong One.
— Birchell,
Ann and Corbett, P.E (1974) Greek gods and heroes. London: British
Museum Publications.
— Claridge,
Jessica (1971) Heracles. In Folk tale myths and legends. New York:
McGraw-Hill Publishers.
— Cotterell,
Arthur (1996) The encyclopedia of mythology: Classical Celtic Norse. New
York: Smithmark.
— Flaum,
Eric (1993) The encyclopedia of mythology: Gods, heroes and legends of the
Greeks and the Romans. Philadelphia: Courage Books.
— Grimal,
Pierre (1986) The dictionary of classical mythology. England: Blackwell
Reference.
— Guerber,
H.A (1938) Herakles. In The myths of Greece and Rome. London: Harrap.
— Hoena,
E.A (2003) Zeus. Minnesota: Capstone Press.
— Ingpen,
Robert and Perham, Molly (1995) The twelve labours of Haracles. In The
mystery and magic series: heroes and heroines. Great Britain: Dragons World
Children’s Books.
— Low,
Alice (1985) Heracles. In The Macmillan book of Greek gods and heroes.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
— Press,
Petra (1997) The great heroes of mythology. New York: MetroBooks.
— Randall,
Ronne (2002) The twelve tasks of Hercules. In The children’s book of myths
and legends. Enderby: Bookmart Ltd.
— Richardson,
Adele (2003) Hercules. Minnesota: Capstone Press.
— Schmidt,
Joel (2004) Roman mythology. Rochester: Grange Books.
— Vivier,
Frederique (2004) Greek mythology. Rochester: Grange Books.
— White, Anne (1959) The twelve labours. In Myths and legends. London: P. Hamlyn.
