13 Hercules

							Hercules
Mythology
Maynard

Hercules was extraordinarily tall, enormously strong, and excessively emotional. It seemed that
everything about him was larger than life. While Perseus and Jason relied heavily on magic, and
Theseus often used his exceptional mind, Hercules relied on his own physical size and strength.

An interesting story is told of Hercules which is not included in the Hamilton text. When he was
a young man, he was given a choice: Pleasure offered him comfort, wealth, and happiness; Duty
offered him pain and hardship but an everlasting name as a hero. Hercules chose Duty. A
variation of the story had Vice with all its attending pleasures and Virtue with all its hardship and
suffering present the choice. Similarly, Hercules chose Virtue.

The Greek civilization is not alone in admiring physical size and strength; many other cultures
throughout the ages have honored heroes of superhuman might. From the Old Testament hero
Sampson, who retained his strength only as long as he remained unshorn, to the warrior-hero
Beowulf, who performed great feats of might and power in defeating Grendel, to the American
folk hero Paul Bunyan, whose enormous footprints formed the Great Lakes—the heroic ideal
remains. But the most famous strong man of all times is still powerful Hercules.

Read p. 166-179 and answer the following questions:

1. Give four examples of the great strength of Hercules.




2. Interpret the following quote: “Intelligence did not figure largely in anything he did and was
    often conspicuously absent.”




3. What happens to Hercules when Hera sends madness to possess him?
4. Is Hercules considered guilty of his crimes?




5. List the twelve labors assigned to Hercules.




6. What happens after Hercules completes the twelve labors?




7. How does Hercules become involved in battling Death?




8. How does Hercules die, and why is he allowed onto Mount Olympus?