The Hydra

            The second of twelve labors appointed to Hercules in his quest for writing a wrong. The Lernean Hydra. Making a home for itself in the lake of Lernea and eating livestock that wandered into the swampy area, the Hydra was a forced to be reckoned with.  

            After slaying the Nemean Lion, Hercules ventured to the swamps of Lake Lernea. Even though it posed a problem being a gigantic monster. It also had mystical powers. And Hercules found this out the hard way. The Hydra could not be decapitated and killed. It very breath was toxic gas. For every head that was chopped off, two grew back in its place. With the help of Hercules’s nephew, Iolus, there was a solution. By taking a flaming branch, Iolus cauterized the stump before another head could replicate. Even though Hercules set out to kill the Hydra and completed his task, Eurystheus did not count this task towards Hercules’s labors.

            In correlation with the location. The den where the Hydra lived. Legend has it, that beneath the waters was the entrance to the Underworld and the Hydra was its guard.

S.J., and Raymond V. Schoder. Aerial view of site and bay, from E. Photograph . http://www.perseus.tufts.edu. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, n.d. Web. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/hydra.html>.

Atsma , Aaron J. "HYDRA LERNAEAN : Giant serpent of Lerna, labor Heracles ; Greek mythology ; pictures ; constellation : HYDRA LERNAIA." THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art. N.p., 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. <http://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakonHydra.html>.

Harrison, Jane, Robert Graves, Carl Kerenyi, Walter Burkert , and Micheal Lahanas. "Lernaean Hydra." Hellenica, Information about Greece and Cyprus. Hellenaworld.com, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. <http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/LernaeanHydra.html>.

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UNCW. "The Lernean Hydra." UNCW Faculty and Staff Web Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. <http://people.uncw.edu/deagona/herakles/children/hydra.htm>.

The Minotaur

An angry, savage freak of nature.  It is a symbol that serves as the beast inside all man. Behind the myth, there is a reality. It deals with human sacrifices, bestiality, and the remains of a actual labyrinth.

The story of the Minotaur could be said to have been the horrifying tale told around the campfire in ancient times.   He is the mutant child of a human female and male bull.  In the kingdom of Crete lived King Minos and Queen Pasiphae. They lived happily at the apex of power. Every year it is customary for the king to sacrifice his prize bull as a offering to Sea God, Poseidon.

However one year, a calf was created that was so beautiful, so perfect, so pure that King Minos did not want sacrifice it to the God.  So instead, he cheated Poseidon, by sacrificing a lesser bull in place of his prized possession. Poseidon angered by this treachery decided to punish the king and teach him a lesson that he would not soon forget. Poseidon casted a spell on Minos’s wife Pasiphae. She was to lust for the bull that Minos loved so much. Long story short, nine months later the Minotaur was delivered unto this earth.  Possessing the body of a supernatural man, the head, legs and tail of a bull. The Minotaur was a stigma on King Minos’s reputation.

Even though he could not kill this beast, because it was his wife’s son, King Minos decided an alternate route to erase the Minotaur from the history books. A labyrinth. To complete this task, Minos called upon Daedalus, Crete’s master architect and engineer. It was so complex that even he barely escaped with his life intact. Due to a conflict between Athens and Crete, Athens sacrificed people to the labyrinth of the Minotaur.

On the third time Crete demanded tribute, Theseus traveled with the others. Theseus had one sole purpose. To destroy the Minotaur and save Athens from this disaster.   The hero’s plan was to take string and let it drop onto the ground so that it would be easier to find the way out or to backtrack. However, with a monster of this caliber, the hunter becomes the hunted. One by one the beast hunts down his prey, leaving the best meal for last. A meal to play with.  Finally Theseus caught up with the Minotaur and slayed the beast.

"Minotaur GREEK MYTHOLOGY." N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. <https://sites.google.com/site/basicgreekmythology/monsters-and-creatures/minotaur>.

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Pegasus

Probably one of the most iconic figures in Greek Mythology is Pegasus. The white winged horse. The origins of the great beast was sired by none other than the God Of The Sea; Poseidon. And The Gorgon Medusa. The hero Perseus was chosen to slay the Gorgon. He decapitated the demon. After completing this arduous task, Perseus flew back to Seriphos. On the way, drops of blood fell on the earth. It is said that blood of supernatural beings give birth to other being. Pegasus was one of them. After his creation, Pegasus traveled on many journeys. His final destination was Mount Olympus to serve the god of thunder, Zeus. During his time with Zeus, he carried his lightening bolts around. It was here that Pegasus spent the last of days and as a reward, Zeus transformed Pegasus into a constellation.

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Tristar. 1984. Tristar. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.

The Nemean Lion

The Nemean Lion is the first labor assigned to Hercules. The legend goes that Hercules is to kill and bring the pelt of the lion to King Eurystheus. The Lion is said to have had impenetrable skin that could not be cut by no ordinary sword. The lion lived in a cave located in the hills of Nemea. The strategy for Hercules was to fight the Lion one on one and hopefully survive with the help of his weapons at hand. Sword, Shield, Bow and Arrow. However none of these got the job done. So the only weapon he had left was his bare hands. Fighting the Lion is a example of human willpower against the power of nature. 

After a long battle, Hercules strangled the Lion. Because none of his weapons could skin the beast, so the only thing sharper that his weapons was the Lion's claws. When Hercules brought the pelt to Eurystheus, blood dripped on the palace floor, henceforth Hercules was to show proof outside the city gates. Because Eurytheus was so terrified of the lion's carcass that he let Hercules keep the pelt. That was now his armor. Thats why in some paintings he is depicted wearing a lion's pelt.As in relations to Anthropology the Nemean Lion has ties to Nemea and the constellation of Leo. The constellation itself can be said to have been a homage to Hercules.

"Slaying the Nemean Lion. GREEK MYTHOLOGY." N.p., Web. 1 Feb. 2014. <https://sites.google.com/site/basicgreekmythology/hero-s/hercules/slay-the-nemean-lion>.