2. Project title: “Our European Literary Routes”
Mobility meeting in Gualdo Tadino, Italy
April 4th – April 8th 2022
3.
4.
5. Hercules
The greatest hero in Greek mythology is
Hercules. Thanks to his strength and
bravery, he managed to defeat beasts and
monsters. With his intelligence he was
able to perform twelve feats, which made
him famous all over the world. He even
held the whole Earth on his back for a
while. Let's meet him!
6. The first stages of Herucles life
Once Amfitryonas and his wife, Alcmene, were forced to
leave their homeland and seek refuge in Thebes. There,
Alcmene gave birth to two children. Hercules, who was the
son of Zeus, and Ifiklis. Hera was jealous of Alcmene and
hated Hercules very much. When the two children were
about eight months old, Hera sent two snakes to kill them
one night. As soon as the snakes approached their crib,
Ifiklis, terrified, cried. But Hercules, without any fear,
snatched the snakes from their throats and strangled them.
Everyone then understood that Hercules had a divine
origin.
7. Hercules marriage
When Hercules grew up, he
married the daughter of the king
of Thebes, Megara, and became
the king. He ruled Thebes for a
few years and lived happily.
8. Hercules harming his family
One day, however, Hera drove him crazy and Hercules hurt his children and his wife, thinking that
they were his enemies. But he came to his senses and realized the evil he had done. He then went
to the oracle of Delphi, to ask Apollo what he had to do to be forgiven by the gods.
Pythia told him that he had to return to Mycenae, his mother's homeland, and serve faithfully for
twelve years his cousin, Eurystheus, who reigned there. Then he would become immortal and
climb Mount Olympus.
9. The 12 deeds
Hercules left Thebes and went to Mycenae to serve Eurystheus. Eurystheus, who was afraid
of Hercules, sent him to do twelve deeds, hoping that at least in one of them he would be
killed.
10. The myths
The myths, products of the human spirit of another era, reflect its ethics and values. The
same happens with the feats of Hercules.
11. Hercules fight with the lion of Nemea
The first feat of Hercules was to kill the lion of Nemea. This terrible
lion had been raised by Hera. His skin was so hard that the iron arrows
did not penetrate it. Hercules, going to Nemea, cut a wild olive tree
and made a heavy bat from its trunk. Then he went and waited near
the lion's nest and when it appeared, he hit it first with his arrows.
The arrows fell to the ground without injuring it and the lion attacked
Hercules. He then hit it with the bat. After an hour of fighting, when
Hercules managed to win, he took the skin of the lion, put it on and
returned to Mycenae.
12. The symbolism of the lion of Nemea
The extermination of the lion of Nemea symbolizes the effort of the brave man (Hercules) to
defeat his wild, animal instincts (lion) with a bat, which is the unshakable mental will.
13. Hercules fight with Lernaean hydra
The hero continued with his second feat. In the
lake Lerne of the Peloponnese, a terrible water
snake lived, with a huge body and nine heads that
burned plants, animals and people. The
inhabitants of the area were desperate and no
one dared to approach the lake. Eurystheus
ordered Hercules to kill this monster. So he did,
completing another of his twelve achievements.
14. The symbolism of Lernaean Hydra
Lernaean Hydra symbolizes the monster that lives inside us, with the multi-headed
carnivorous desires of ourselves that emerge from the defects of the "I" (the body of Hydra),
which each of us has, and must be beheaded and burned with the "fire" of the spirit.
15. Hercules catching Artemis’s deer
Continuing, he caught the goddess Artemis’s sacred deer, which had golden horns, bronze
hooves and no one reached the run and handed it alive to Eurystheus, as he had ordered.
16. The symbolism of the golden deer horns
The golden deer horns symbolize superior knowledge. The deer in general, can symbolize the unruly character
of man, i.e. his egoism that runs uncontrollably everywhere and in the end is caught by Hercules (brave soul)
and tamed. Thus man is liberated and utilizes his egoism with dignity, conquering spiritual purity.
17. The Stymphalian hens
Then Hercules went to Lake Stymfalia. There lived the, large birds, with iron beaks and
feathers, which were fed on human flesh. When he arrived, he started hitting two bronze
rattles that the goddess Athena had given him. The birds came out of the reeds of the lake
where they were hiding and flew in terror. Then Hercules killed a lot with his arrows. Those
who escaped went away and did not appear again.
18. The symbolism of Stymfalides hens
Stymfalides hens symbolize the vile elements of our character (evil, pettiness, empathy,
selfishness, jealousy, ingratitude, etc.). The rattles that Athena gives to Hercules, work of
Hephaestus, are the forged knowledge, with which we will achieve our goal. The bow and
arrows of Hercules symbolize the psychic power, with which we will exterminate all the
psychic monsters that devour our soul.
19. Hercules cleaning the stables of King Augeia in one day
Eurystheus later sent him to clean. Augeias lived in Helida and had countless herds given to
him by his father, Helios. The animals were too many and his shepherds did not have time to
clean the stables. Hercules changed the flow of the rivers, with the result that their rapid
waters entered the stables and carried the manure to the sea.
20. The symbolism of cleaning the stables of Augeia
The cleaning of the stables of Augeia from dung symbolizes the corruption of a social or
political situation that for many years plagues a place that stinks awfully. The two rivers
Alfeios and Pinios that Hercules used with their water to clean the stables, symbolize the
purgatory property of water.
21. Hercules catching the wild bull of Minos
After all these feats, Eurystheus sent Hercules to more distant places. So the hero went to
Crete and caught the wild bull of Minos.
22. The symbolism of the bull
The domestication of the bull is the domestication and control of our impulses, especially the
sexual impulses with the psychic boldness of temperance.
23. Diomedes’s wild horses
Then he went to Thrace, where King Diomedes, the son of the god Mars, lived. He had four
wild horses, which were fed on human flesh. He killed Diomedes, captured the horses and
brought them to Mycenae.
24. The symbolism of Diomedes's horses
Diomedes's horses symbolize that when there is excessive enthusiasm and impetus from any
successes in our lives, then an egocentric unbridled self-confidence is born that we ourselves
must tame with the prudence of our personality.
25. Hercules taking the belt of Hippolytus
Then he travelled even further, to the Black Sea, to the land of the Amazons.
The Amazons were all beautiful and famous in archery and horseback riding. Hercules fought
with them, defeated them and took the belt of their queen, Hippolytus, and brought it to
Eurystheus.
26. The symbolism of the Amazons
The overthrow of the Amazon State symbolizes the abolition of the Matriarchy, not only in
the Amazons, but also in other peoples. The Hippolytus belt, a symbol of matriarchal power, is
the overthrow of authoritarian feminism.
27. Hercules and the oxen of Giryonis
Later he travelled to the West, to bring to
Mycenae the oxen of. Giryonis was a
monster that had three bodies from the
middle and above. His oxen were guarded
by his dog, Orthos, who had two heads
and his tail was a snake. Hercules killed
them both, and brought the oxen to
Eurystheus who sacrificed them to the
goddess Hera.
28. The symbolism of the red oxen of Giryon
The red oxen of Giryon symbolize our hidden material desires that we want to conquer at all
costs, indifferent to the needs of our spirit and soul.
29. Hercules fighting Cerberus
Continuing, Eurystheus realized that Hercules was invincible on earth, so he sent him to the
underworld to bring him Cerberus, a terrible dog with three heads, guarding the entrance to
Hades. Hercules went to Hades and with the permission of Pluto and Persephone, fought with
Cerberus, defeated him, tied him up and brought him to Mycenae.
30. The symbolism of Cerberus
Cerberus is the monstrous beast that we have inside us; he keeps our soul imprisoned in
darkness (Hades) and does not allow it to be released. Hercules, the glorious and brave soul,
captures Cerberus with the help of Athena, that is, with the wisdom of knowledge, and so
when Cerberus comes out of Hades, he dies. The descent of Hercules to the underworld
symbolizes the initiation of the hero. So he becomes a mystic of the sacred mysteries, since
he has passed all the trials to be in the spiritual ,sacred knowledge with the "Knowledge of
himself".
31. Hercules bringing the golden apples of Hesperides
Hercules's last feat was to bring. The garden
of Hesperides was located on the edge of
the earth. There was the tree that made the
golden apples. Whoever ate them stayed
young forever. It was guarded by
Hesperides nymphs and a sleepless dragon.
Nearby was the Titan Atlas holding Uranus
on his back. Hercules travelled a long way to
get there.
32. Hercules releasing Prometheus
He also crossed the Caucasus where he released who, thanking him, showed Hercules the way
to reach the Garden of Hesperides and advised him to send Atlas to get the golden apples.
Hercules found Atlas and he agreed to go to the Garden of Hesperides.
33. Hercules and Atlas
Hercules, however, was forced to hold the sky
on his back until he returned. Atlas, with the
help of Hesperides, who made a magic drink
and put the dragon to sleep, took the golden
apples. Returning to Hercules, he did not want
to take Uranus on his back again and said that
he would bring the apples to Eurystheus
himself. Hercules agreed and asked to help him
put a pillow on his back, to better hold Uranus.
Atlas approached to help him and Hercules with
a quick movement put Uranus on the back of
Atlas, grabbed the golden apples and returned
to Mycenae. Achieving this feat, he was finally
free.
34. The symbolism of the golden apples
Apples generally symbolize knowledge. Golden apples are the highest knowledge of wisdom,
the Truth that completes the man. But very few can take it and they are the ones who have a
heroic soul (Hercules), putting the dragon to sleep without killing him. This knowledge of "the
golden apples" transmits divine qualities to the heroic man.
35. The transformation of Acheloos into a snake and a bull
In the Transformations of Ovid, Acheloos describes to Theseus his struggle with Hercules, since they
both claimed as a woman the beautiful Dianeira, daughter of the king of Aetolia, Oeneus. Initially,
Acheloos was hit by Hercules, fell to the ground, and was transformed into a snake. However, just
as Hercules was about to drown him, the river god was transformed into a bull with huge horns and
attacked him. Hercules, a symbol of strength and bravery, managed after a fierce battle to break the
left horn of Acheloos and force him to leave the battle and surrender to his power.
36. The horn of Amalthea
However, according to the myth, Acheloos,
always wanting to take back the broken horn,
gave Hercules the "horn of Amalthea, that is
Infallibility" in exchange, which Hercules
offered to his father-in-law, Oeneas. This horn
had the power to produce food and drink
unsteadily. So Hercules took Dianeira as his
wife.
37. The symbolism of Acheloos
Acheloos symbolizes the power of water, which, in its passage, entrains and destroys human
creations. Hercules opposes the river - god with his own body and this fact symbolizes the
titanic effort of the man to tame and manage the flow of the river.
38. The death of Nessus
Being now free, Hercules married Dianeira, daughter of the king of Aetolia, Oeneas. One day they
went to cross the river Evinos. There they met the Centaur Nessus. Nessus took Dianeira on his
back, to cross the river. He wanted to take her as his own and started running. Then Hercules hit
him with one of his poisoned arrows. Before he recovered, Nessus said to Dianeira: "Collect some
of my blood. If you smear Hercules’ tunic with it, he will love you forever ". The moment Nessus
was dying from the poisoned arrows of Hercules, she confessed to Dianeira that her husband no
longer loved her, and that in order to regain his love, she had to let him wear a tunic, after first
dipping it in the blood of the dead Centaur.
39. The death of Hercules
Dianeira, who did not know that Nessus' blood was poisoned by the arrows, gave the tunic to
the hero. Hercules' pains were so horrible that he went crazy. He gathered wood and begged
someone to burn him. Philoctetes then took pity on him and lit a fire on the top of Mount
Oitis and Hercules was burned alive.
40. Hercules after his death
After his death, Hercules was deified, that is, he became the god of Power, and the leader of
all the heroes. Zeus took him to Olympus and married him to the goddess of youth, Ivy. Hera,
then, made him her child.
41. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION !
Ioannidou Marianna
Kafetzi Nasia
Laskaridou Zenia
Mpouzana Katerina
Papadopoulou Danae
