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  • See U in History

  • Greek Mythology

  • The Young Hercules

  • Zeus, the supreme god of the Olympus, felt marveled by a beautiful young woman,

  • her name was Alcmena,

  • she was married to Amphitryon, the king of Tiryns.

  • Amphitryon had departed to fight the city of Thebes and so Zeus decided to visit her.

  • The God descended to earth, assuming the shape of the king who was fighting in the war,

  • and, pretending to be her husband, she got pregnant.

  • When Amphitryon returned, he suspected that his wife had cheated on him,

  • and gave the order to burn her in a bonfire.

  • Zeus appeared and halted the burning of Alcmena, revealing that he was the father of the baby.

  • Amphitryon felt honored for having the opportunity to raise the son of the god of gods,

  • and pardoned her wife.

  • The god had great plans for the child.

  • A prophecy claimed that the first great-grandson of the hero Perseus would be the king of the glorious city of Mycenae.

  • Alcmena was the hero's granddaughter, so her son would have the rightful claim to the throne.

  • However, her cousin was also pregnant.

  • Furious with her husband's infidelity, the Goddess Hera decided to force Eileithyia,

  • the goddess of childbirth, to anticipate the birth of Eurystheus.

  • Due to the premature birth of his cousin, Hercules lost the right to the crown.

  • The moment of birth arrived, and there were two children, Hercules, son of Zeus, and Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon.

  • Hera's jealousy was out of control.

  • The goddess decided to send two poisonous snakes to kill the baby.

  • The snakes meandered until they reached the cradle where Hercules and his brother were asleep.

  • Alcmena woke up startled by the cries of Iphicles,

  • and encountered the baby Hercules with two dead snakes, one in each hand.

  • Fearing further reprisals from the goddess,

  • the princess took her son to the forest and, there, she abandoned him.

  • However, fate joined the goddesses Hera and Athena and the abandoned baby on the same path.

  • Without realizing that he was Hercules, Hera was impressed with the baby's strength and decided to breastfeed him.

  • But he sucked the milk with so much force that the goddess felt a stabbing pain.

  • She shoved him away, but the milk gushing out from her breast pierced the clouds,

  • carving the sky and thus giving origin to the Milky Way.

  • Due to Hera's sacred milk, the little Hercules had now divine powers.

  • Athena grabbed the baby and returned him to his mother.

  • Hera, realizing the mistake she had done by breastfeeding her rival's son,

  • became possessed and invaded with an immense desire for revenge.

  • Seeing Hercules back home, a prophet named Tiresias said:

  • - Let's celebrate the return of the child, who, one day, will deliver the world from everykind of monster and,

  • and, due to his great deeds, will guarantee a place in the Olympus, beside his father.

  • Amphitryon, Hercules' foster parent, knew that his son was destined to accomplish great deeds,

  • so he spared no effort to give him the best education.

  • With his father, Hercules learned to drive carriages.

  • With King Eurytus, he learned how to become an expert archer.

  • With the hero Castor, he learned how to fight with several sorts of weapons.

  • However, despite having an incommensurable talent, Hercules was undisciplined and did not tolerate being corrected.

  • One day, Linus, his music teacher, whipped him a stick due to his lack of discipline.

  • Hercules, angered with such act of aggression, struck his teacher in the head with the zither he played.

  • Lino died immediately.

  • Hercules was judged and found not guilty.

  • The judge ruled the episode as an act of legitimate defense.

  • Everyone began to fear the unbridled force of Hercules,

  • so he was sent by his father to the field, where he would take care of Amphitryon's cattle.

  • The young boy became a beautiful man and was, without any doubt, the strongest man in the world.

  • One day, he crossed paths with two beautiful women.

  • One had a noble and secluded posture, and a semblance of purity,

  • the other was sensual and seductive,

  • she approached Hercules and said:

  • - You are now a man, and you must choose which path you want to follow.

  • Come with me and your life will be comfortable and plentiful, you will never be in need.

  • You won't have to work anymore and, nonetheless, you will live with many luxuries.

  • - Who are you, beautiful girl?

  • - I'm the goddess of bliss.

  • - Also known as slothintervened the other girl.

  • - Know your talents and, if you follow me, you'll dominate the virtues,

  • you may have pleasures and luxuries, but you will have to work hard for them.

  • You will be loved by the people, but will have to make great sacrifices.

  • - I will give you the victory, as long as you are willing to pay the price with your own blood.

  • - Look at what this crazy woman is offering you, just a lot of pain and suffering.

  • Come with me, because you will have an easy path ahead.

  • - Be quiet, despicable woman. Among the deities, you are one of the most despised.

  • No one who chooses to follow your path is remembered with reverence.

  • - Come with me and will be appraised by friends,

  • loved by the gods and honored by the homeland and you will never be forgotten.

  • Hercules decided to follow the one who would lead him through the path of virtue.

  • Hercules had chosen to carve the path of virtue and justice.

  • Still in his youth, he decided to release the cattle of his father from a terrible predator.

  • In Mount Helicon, there was a lion that kept terrorizing the region.

  • The king of the city of Thespiae asked Hercules to hunt the lion and,

  • as a gesture of hospitality, he would allow the hero to sleep with his daughters in the evenings

  • Several days went by and the hero could not find the creature.

  • The king had 50 daughters and sent each one of them to sleep with the hero, after his return from the hunt.

  • After 50 days of searching, Hercules finally managed to trap the lion.

  • After exterminating the creature, the hero skinned it and worn his fur as a garment.

  • The King of Thespiae was satisfied with the lion's demise

  • and even more pleased to have his 50 daughters pregnant of the mighty Hercules,

  • hence ensuring a powerful offspring.

  • Victorious, the young man hit the road again towards Thebes.

  • On the way, he met a tax collector who charged outrageous taxes from the population of Thebes.

  • The Theban had been defeated in battle and therefore had to pay a humiliating tribute to the King Erginus.

  • Hercules decided to stand for them and expelled the collectors.

  • Erginus was furious and ordered the Theban people to deliver Hercules,

  • so he could get his much-deserved punishment.

  • Creon, the King of Thebes, feared the rival's threat,

  • since the Thebans had their weapons taken by the enemy after the end of the conflict.

  • Hercules said:

  • - Fear not, Athena is on my side and under my leadership I will lead the Thebans to victory.

  • The goddess asked Hercules to take his warriors to the Temple of Athena.

  • When they got there, the temple was packed with weapons for his army.

  • Under the leadership of Hercules, the Theban army headed to the battlefield.

  • The troops of King Erginus had no chance against the hero and his troops,

  • who were under the shield of Athena.

  • The enemy king was killed, Thebes was free.

  • However, Amphitryon, Hercules' foster parent, did not survive the battle.

  • Creon, the King of Thebes, decided to give, as a reward,

  • the hand of his beautiful daughter Megara to the city's savior.

  • The name of Hercules was now acknowledged throughout Greece and,

  • with his new wife, the demigod was happy and had 3 children, whom he loved very much.

  • But the Goddess Hera watched everything and was concatenating a terrible revenge against the hero.

See U in History

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