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Persephone: Queen of the Dead
Chapter 13
As I had said earlier throughout the long centuries that I have lived within the Underworld there have been many mortals who have risked their lives to enter into the realm of the dead begging me to release the soul of a loved one, but none were so bold as the Lapith Prince Pirithous, son of King Ixion and half-brother to the Centaurs. The young prince inherited his father, Ixion’s, pride. Even though Ixion was married to a beautiful princess named Dia, he believe that he was blessed by the Gods and therefore he deserved no mere mortal princess as a bride, instead he thought that he deserved a Goddess as his wife. Of all the Goddesses to choose from, he picked none other than Hera, wife of Zeus the greatest of the Olympian Gods to be his new bride.
Hera was flattered by the attention she was getting from this mortal and when she was angry with her husband, usually because she had found out he had been unfaithful to her once again, she would run to the king’s palace and tease him, hoping that this would make Zeus feel even the slightest jealousy. Now even though she would tell the king that he was worthy of her affection she had no intention of becoming his lover, she was only using him to get back at her unfaithful husband. Her plan worked and soon Zeus thought his wife was having an affair with a mere mortal. Instantly he became furious and decided to put an end to his wife’s new love interest.
“How dare you give yourself to the mortal!” Zeus shouted at his wife.
“You’ve slept with many mortals, both men and women.” Hera shouted back.
“That man is a beast!” Zeus bellowed as he took one of his thunderbolts in his hand and was preparing to leave the palace, to strike the mortal down when Hera begged,
“Please Zeus, don’t destroy him. Nothing has pasted between us, I swear to you.” Hera said to her husband as she opened her mind to him.
Instantly he was assured that nothing had passed between them, and he knew that his wife was only using this mortal to make him jealous. This made him smile.
“I won’t destroy him now, but I swear that if I find out that anything passes between you I’ll not only destroy him, but you as well.”
He stayed his weapon and spared the mortal’s life, but he couldn’t let Ixion go unpunished for one of the most heinous of crimes, the crime of hubris. It took several days before he was able to devise a plan that would not only punish the mortal, but also to teach his wife a lesson. He stretched out his arms into the sky and searched until his fingers grasped a large white cloud. He drew this cloud back to the palace and hid it until night when he was certain Hera was fast asleep. Zeus looked at his wife’s beautiful face as she slept, and all the anger he had toward her vanished, only the love he felt stayed behind. He almost gave stopped what he was going to do, but then he remembered the look on Ixion’s face when he looked at the Goddess. Using only his bare hands alone, he shaped this cloud into the likeness of his wife, Hera, and once satisfied that Ixion would be convinced that it was the Goddess herself, he let his breath fill the form with life. Instantly the form opened its eyes and was filled with life. He instructed this reflection of his wife to go to the king. That night the image of the Goddess entered the king’s palace and went to his private chamber. Ixion thought that the Goddess Hera herself had finally given in to his passion. Without uttering a single word, he took the cloud that he thought was the Goddess and instead of making love to it, he raped the image he held in his arms, and it was from his lust and the seeds he sent forth into the magical cloud that the Centaurs were born.
Let me stop here for a moment to distinguish between the Centaurs who were born from Ixion with the most famous and wisest of all the Centaurs, Chiron. Chiron was not related to Ixion at all, his father was Cronus who took the form of a stallion as he made love to his mother Philyra, one of the daughters of Oceanus, making him of the same generation as the Olympians, and like the Olympians he was immortal. Chiron lived in Thessaly and not only befriended Gods and mortals alike, but became mentor to a number of heroes. The Centaurs who were descended from Ixion were monstrous beings, half man and half horse, who were mortal. They lived in the mountains and forests, far form any civilization; their food was raw flesh and their behavior bestial. No mortals except the Lapith people would even speak of these creatures.
The prince Pirithous was not born from this union, instead he was born to Ixion’s wife, the princess Dia, making him only half brother to the Centaurs, and while he was growing up he heard the story of how his half brothers were conceived and thought that he wouldn’t be as foolish as his father by allowing himself to be tricked by the Gods, he would succeed where his father failed; he would marry a Goddess. King Ixion had other plans for his son, he wished for Pirithous to marry the daughter of Adrastus, King of Sicyon, therefore joining the two kingdoms in an alliance. The arrangements were made when his son was still a young boy and it would be many years before the marriage would take place, so the young prince thought little about his future wife and allowed his fantasies to take over. When Pirithous became a young man his father started to discuss the marriage plans, and since he had no intention of marrying King Adrastus’ daughter Hippodameia he left his home and family spending many years at sea.
In his travels he had come to city Athens where he meet Theseus, who had just been crowned as King for his bravery in defeating the Minotaur and freeing the people of the land from the threat that loomed over them for the past four years, and instantly the two became good friends. Theseus, on his way back from Crete with Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, left her on the island of Naxos.
“My dear Ariadne, you know it’s for the best that you stay here.” He said to the young girl as she held her tear-stained face against his chest.
“But I love you.” She sobbed.
“You deserve someone who will give you his entire heart.”
“But I have nowhere to go.”
“The Gods will take care of you.” He said as he kissed her forehead and stepped onto his boat. The reason Theseus left the princess Ariadne at Naxos was because he was in love with the child who would one day grow up to become the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, and he knew that though Ariadne was beautiful, he would never be satisfied with anyone other than the child who had stolen his heart. He told this to Pirithous one night as they were both drunk from the finest wine his kingdom could supply. While listening to his friend, Pirithous devised a plan.
“Theseus, we can leave tonight for Sparta and bring back Helen as your bride.”
“My friend, this is foolish.” Theseus replied, though he secretly hoped that they would.
“Why? You don’t think yourself worthy enough for Helen?”
The two friends spent the entire night discussing their plans and within a week they both set off for Sparta. Several weeks earlier Helen had her first blood, and she along with several other girls were to perform a ritual dance in a couple of days to announce to the entire village that they were no longer children, but had become women. The two men found Helen, along with the other girls just outside a temple dedicated to Artemis rehearsing their dance. As they hid behind some shrubs and watched the young girls dance, Theseus knew deep within his soul that this was a mistake, but he did nothing to stop his friend’s plan. They stayed concealed until the dance was complete and the girls were preparing to leave, and with luck on their side Helen stayed behind, having trouble changing back into her daily robes, and as she tried to catch up with the others Pirithous grabbed her from behind, placing his hand over her mouth to prevent her companions from hearing her screams and fled into the cover of the forest, dragging the young Helen behind. Once near the shore, Pirithous’ hand slipped and the frightened child let out a scream that instantly alerted the others. “Help! Help me!” She cried.
Her companions, hearing her screams turned toward the beach and started to run only to reach the shore too late. They watched as the small boat carrying the scared Helen sailed into the darkness of the night.
“Look, the shore is empty” Pirithous said to his friend, not seeing her companions. “I told you no one heard her.” He continued.
“The others might not have heard her, but I fear that the Gods have.”
“Nonsense! You have nothing to fear.” Pirithous tried to reassure Theseus. Seeing that his words had no effect, he came up with a different strategy.
“We can turn around and take Helen to your mother Aethra. She can watch her until she can become your bride. That way, even if they suspect you took Helen, they won’t be able to find her. They can search your entire kingdom, but they’ll never find Helen.”
“No matter where we go, the Gods will know.” Theseus said with a tone of hopelessness. Even thought he knew this would not save them, they turned their ship around and headed for his mother’s home in Attica.
What they didn’t know was that the other girls who had followed them to the shore reported what they had seen to Helen’s brothers, Castor and Pollux, who immediately set out to save her. I don’t know how they knew that their sister was in Attica, but one of the Gods, probably Artemis, informed them, for it is sacrilegious to hurt any mortal while in a temple dedicated to any of the Gods. Two weeks after the young Helen was brought to Aethra ships were seen on the horizon.
“Look!” one man shouted, “Battleships.” The men ran to the city to warn others and soon the entire town was prepared for battle. The people of Attica had no idea why they were being attacked, but still they fought bravely and it wasn’t until many souls were guided to my palace that the two brothers and their companions were able to rescue the scared child Helen. It was several months before the news of Helen’s rescue reached Theseus during which time Pirithous had returned to his father’s land.
Once reunited with his father, Pirithous could no longer postpone his marriage to Hippodameia, so he agreed to allow his father to make the wedding arraignments, and it wasn’t until the day of the wedding when Theseus arrived that he found out what had happened to Helen.
“Helen’s brothers, Castor and Pollux, destroyed Attica. My mother barely got away with her life.”
“They took Helen back with them?” Pirithous asked, pretending to share Theseus grief, but it didn’t matter to him, he had assisted Theseus and knew that he was bound to assist him in the future.
The wedding took place and during the last day of the celebrations Pirithous’ half brothers, the Centaurs, who don’t usually tolerate alcohol became drunk and when they saw the dancers, they grabbed them and dragged them kicking and screaming towards the nearby woods. They had no intention of returning the maidens, for after their lust was satisfied, they would then satisfy their appetite. Both Theseus and Pirithous immediately started to fight the Centaurs, and one of them, a powerful dark brown and white Centaur named Eurytion became so enraged at his half-brother’s nerve to protect the maidens, he snatched the bride Hippodamia and started to flee with her, causing the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths that was told about in myths and images adorn many vases and urns.
Even though their marriage did not start out well, soon Pirithous grew to love Hippodamia and they lived together happily for many years. Just after their son, Polypoetes was born, Pirithous began to long for the sea again, and soon he set sail for Athens to visit his old friend Theseus. That first night while they were drinking he convinced Theseus to leave his kingdom once more and go to the seas again like they had when they were young.
“Theseus, don’t you miss the adventure of the sea?” You’ve been trapped here in Athens for so long.”
“I’m much too busy to enjoy myself, I have a kingdom to rule.” Theseus said with a sigh.
“We won’t be long, I promise.”
“What do you have in mind?” thinking if it was only a short trip he could find someone to rule in his place.
Pirithous told his friend, “I want to travel to the Underworld.”
Theseus chocked as he repeated, “The Underworld. Why would you want to travel there?”
“You remember when years ago I assisted you with the capture of the young Helen.” Theseus nodded, he had indeed remembered, “Well, I want us to travel to the Underworld were we’ll release the Goddess Persephone from her prison.”
“Your mad with drink.” Theseus told his friend, adding, “We’d never succeed in such a plan.”
“You know as well as I do, that the Persephone wouldn’t agree to marry the Lord of the Underworld unless he placed a spell over her. Once we enter the Underworld and free her from his spell, she’ll protect us.”
It didn’t really matter, since he had assisted his friend when they kidnapped Helen, Theseus couldn’t refuse Pirithous’ request no matter how ludicrous he though this plan was. He did at least try to convince his old friend to return to his wife and son, knowing that she was a good woman, but Pirithous wouldn’t listen to him.
They set out the next morning, and after many months of traveling, when they were almost ready to give up hope of ever finding an entrance to my kingdom, they came upon a cave near Mount Cyllene where they planned to take shelter for the night. A storm was growing outside and they were confined within this cave for an entire day. As they searched for another exit they traveled deeper and deeper in the cavern, and it was there that they accidentally found an entrance to the world below. This entrance didn’t bring them through the main gate, but was a back door to our world, letting them out in the middle of the mountains that are between Hades’ palace and the Dungeon of the Damned, Tartarus, and once within our world the gate they came through suddenly slammed shut, instantly trapping them there between the two worlds.
Hades knew of their plans from the beginning, and I believe that it was he who secretly led them to seek shelter within that cave, and once there it would be easy for him to make them accidentally stumble upon this hidden entrance to the Underworld, and once they were there he made sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. The mountains near our palace are cold and inhospitable, and the two would have died from exposure if Hades had not secretly guide them to the Elysian Fields, and once there it was easy for them to locate our palace. I also knew that they were coming for my dear husband Hades explained to me their mission before they even set out on the expedition, and when they finally arrived both Hades and I were sitting on our thrones waiting for them. Theseus bowed low to us showing us the respect that we deserved, but Pirithous stood proudly and looking directly into Hades’ eyes he said without any fear in his voice,
“I am Pirithous, son of King Ixion.”
Not following the usual customs when greeting a deity, where the God or Goddess is addressed first by acknowledging their status, followed by a statement of telling how you have worshipped them, and only then stating the reason why you have come. Pirithous was not showing Hades the proper respect that a God as powerful as he deserved.
Hades overlooked this rudeness, and politely greeted them,
“What brings you two mortals here to the Underworld?”, Hades said, pretending that he knew nothing of their plan.
“We have heard that the Goddess Persephone was abducted by the Lord of the Underworld, and forced to spend one-half the year in this prison as your wife.”
Pirithous addressed Hades, and as he said this I thought that this must be the story mother is still telling. Even though I had already spend several decades here within the Underworld, and have explained to her that I was happy living as Hades wife, she still couldn’t accept the fact that I fell in love, telling everyone that I must have been abducted and dragged against my will.
“And where did you hear this story from?” I asked.
“It is common knowledge that ever since you were abducted by the Lord of the Underworld, the great Fertility Goddess Demeter has decided to withhold her fruits from the earth while you are kept in this prison, and only when you are released and returned to Mount Olympus, will she allow any growth to occur.” He replied to me.
“And you two heroes have come to free her and remove Demeter’s curse on the lands.” Hades responded to them with a smile on his face.
“No,” responded Pirithous, boldly stating, “We’ve come to take the Goddess Persephone, daughter of the Goddess Demeter and the great God Zeus as my new bride, where she will live among the mortals and rule with me in the kingdom of my father.”
“And what makes you think that I’ll allow this?” Hades asked.
“As Lord of the Underworld, it is told that you are a just ruler, and as a just ruler, you must know that your wife would be much happier living with me in the world of the living.”
“And what do you think of this, my dear?” Hades asked me, leaning closer and whispering to me to go along with what Pirithous proposes.
“My dear husband, during these long years of living within the Underworld I have grown found of you, but I must admit that the offer this mortal makes is tempting. I do miss the company of the living.” I said to all.
“Very well, Persephone, you are free to leave with Pirithous…but before you leave I have one request of you.” Hades said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “I hope that you and your new husband-to-be would agree to have a farewell dinner with me.”
Before Pirithous or Theseus could respond, I said, “I wouldn’t dream of leaving without a farewell dinner, for throughout the years you have been very kind to me.”
Hades clapped his hands and a servant arrived and led the two men to one of the chambers where they were provided with fine robes to change into since their cloaks were torn and wet from their long travels. Once alone, Theseus tried once again to convince Pirithous that this had to be some type of trap,
“My friend, you know that the God of the Underworld would never release his bride, not even to the great God Zeus. Aren’t you at all suspicious that he had agreed to release her to a mere mortal.”
Pirithous was as foolish as his father was and wouldn’t listen to his friend’s advice.
“The God of the Underworld knows that I am correct. Persephone will be much happier living as my Queen, then she ever could be here surrounded by death.”
Hades and I dressed in our finest silk robes, embroidered with gold and silver threads and were already seated in the dining area when our two guests entered. Hades bid them to take the seat of honor across from where we were, and once the two mortals were seated the arms of the chairs, which were carved serpents, instantly opened their red eyes and came to life. Neither of the men noticed this, nor did they notice as the snakes started to slither up, very slowly winding around their ankles, continuing up their legs. When they did finally realize what was happening, it was too late; the serpents had already bound them tightly to their seat. Both men struggled to free themselves, but the harder they fought, the tighter the serpents wound around them.
A purple mist soon began filling the room and I watched as both men looked in terror as their skin started to lighten, as if all the blood were being drained from their bodies, and gradually they turned turn almost pure white. Their struggling seemed to slow as the color faded and soon I saw that they were no longer able to move their limbs, and I knew that the transformation was almost complete, within seconds they would no longer be mortal men, but only statues of their former selves. Once complete, the look of terror was frozen on their faces as they sat and sat for the next four years. They would have both sat there frozen for eternity, but the hero Hercules came to the Underworld as one of his twelve labors and found his cousin Theseus sitting in the “Chair of Forgetfulness” and begged us to release him.
Before I continue, let me briefly tell the tale of hero Hercules.
Many years ago Zeus had found another mortal woman name Alcmene that he had become infatuated with. Though Alcmene was beautiful, she was married, and did whatever she could to discourage the awestruck God. Zeus tried all of his tricks, but none worked, so when her husband Amphitryon was away on an expedition he took his shape and came to Alcmene.
“My beloved, I’ve missed you so.” Zeus said.
“Amphitryon, your back early.” Alcmene replied to the disguised god, all the while thinking it was her beloved husband.
“I couldn’t bear being parted from your loveliness for any longer.” He said as he took the beauty in his arms and kissed her. She giggled as he effortlessly lifted her and took her to her husband’s bed where made love all day, and when the evening arrived, Zeus knew that Alcmene’s real husband was near, so he excused himself, telling her he has some business to complete before night fell. Zeus kissed her forehead, and when he did this he was assured that she had conceived a son. It was only a few hours later when the real Amphitryon came home,
“Alcmene, I’m home.”
“Were you able to complete what you needed?” she asked, still thinking that her husband was gone only a couple of hours.
“What are you talking about? I’ve just come back.”
It was then that she suspected some type of treachery, so she pretended that everything was as it should be, saying nothing of his appearance that very afternoon. That night her true husband made love to her and she conceived a second son, this one fathered by her mortal husband. It wasn’t until she found out that she was expecting that the seer Tiresias explained to her what had happened that day, telling her that one of her sons was fathered by the great God Zeus, and would be remembered throughout history as the greatest hero who ever lived, while the other would be destined to be forgotten. Alcmene didn’t want her husband to find out, for if he did, she was sure he would kill her. Zeus, not wanting to cause trouble in his lover’s domestic life came to Amphitryon that night while he dreamt.
“Amphitryon, your wife has conceived two boys.” Zeus’ image spoke. In his dream, Amphitryon fell prostrate on the floor, knowing he was in the presence of the most powerful of the Gods.
“Stand.” The mortal did as he was bid. Since Zeus was cloaked within a dream, his form glowed, but he had no fear of his presence destroying the mortal.
“Amphitryon, the first son born to your wife will not be your son, but mine.”
Amphitryon looked at the God, and Zeus knew that he thought that his wife had been unfaithful to him, so Zeus told him how he had assumed his shape and as her husband, he made love to Alcmene. Zeus continued.
“Don’t blame Alcmene, she had done nothing wrong.”
Amphitryon woke, and he knew that there was nothing for him to do, except love both children as if they were both his own.
Eight months later, Alcmene gave birth to twin boys. It wasn’t long before Hera found out about her husband’s affair and she swore that she would curse the life of the son that was to be bore from that union, sending many dangers and trials across his path. A lesser mortal would’ve given up hope and accepted his fate, but Hercules was no mere mortal, he was the son of the greatest of the Gods, Zeus, and he was able to keep one step ahead of Hera. Once he became a teenager, he left his mortal family, not wanting anything to happen to them and for the next ten years he moved around continuously, not staying in one place for more than a couple of weeks.
While he was approaching the city of Thebes a lion crossed his path. Thinking nothing of it, he continued walking, but the beast attacked him from behind. Hercules easily killed the lion. What he didn’t know was that this same lion had been causing destruction in the land, and as a reward the King of Thebes gave Hercules his youngest daughter Megara as his bride. Tired of moving around, Hercules decided that he would no longer run, so he took Megara as his wife and for the next several years they lived together peacefully in Thebes. Soon Hercules thought that the Goddess Hera forgotten her hatred for him, and during the time that Hercules stayed in Thebes his wife Megara gave birth to three children. Hercules loved his children dearly, and if he had any notion that Hera hadn’t given up, he would have left his family immediately to protect them, but he knew nothing of Hera’s plans.
Hera wasn’t through with Hercules though, and one night while the happy family was sleeping, the Goddess sent a madness into him. He awoke with a fear in his soul that he couldn’t explain. He didn’t know what power was taking control of his body, only that some force greater than his own made him take the oil lamp near his bed in his hands and open it. He tried to stop himself as he held this lamp above his innocent children and poured the oil over there sleeping bodies, the oldest being only three years old. The boy stirred while he slept, but did not wake. Hercules tried with all his might to stop what he was doing, but he couldn’t fight this madness. He tried to scream, to wake his children and alert them of the danger, but no sound came from his mouth. After struggling for a few moments, his hand reached into the hearth and lifted a burning log; the heat burning his hand. The pain shot up his arm, and he thought he would pass out from it. “Good”, he thought, “if I pass out, I won’t hurt anyone”, but he didn’t. Time seemed to stop as he struggled with himself, and as if in a dream he watched as he held the burning log over his innocent children. A single sound, a screech, slipped from his mouth as he dropped the fire on his sleeping children.
I made sure that the three children died instantly without much suffering, and I personally greeted their shades when they entered the Underworld doing whatever I could to console them, but as I did so a hatred filled my heart, not a hatred for Hercules, for he was only an innocent victim of Hera’ wrath, but a hatred of the Goddess herself. When Hercules realized what he had done, he almost killed himself; I don’t know why he didn’t, maybe Hera wouldn’t allow him to escape her wrath by taking his own life. Instead, he left his hysterical wife and wandered for months, only to find himself one day at the Oracle of Apollo. Here he asked the Gods for their forgiveness, and after sitting there alone for hours with no answer, he stood up and was about to leave, when a voice filled the room telling him,
The Goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, has condemned you from birth, and through her you have killed your children. The Gods will forgive you, but first you must give your wife Megara to your nephew Iolaus to live as his wife for the rest of her days. After this is done, you must travel to Argos and seek out your cousin, King Eurystheus. He will give you ten labors to complete. When you have completed these ten labors, and only then will your sins be forgiven and will you be allowed to live the rest of your life in peace.
“I can’t marry Iolaus, I’m married to you.” Megara said to her husband when he told her what the Oracle told him.
“Don’t fear, Iolaus will take care of you.”
“But it’s a sin to have more than one husband.” She said as she tried to suppress the sobs.
“The Oracle wouldn’t tell me to give you to Iolaus if the Gods didn’t want you to be with him.” Hercules said as he took her hand and placed it within his nephew’s, then he looked at Iolaus and said,
“Iolaus, please take care of her.” Without another word, he turned and walked away, never seeing his first wife again. Within a month he reached Argos and when he met with his cousin he bowed to Eurystheus. When his eyes meet his cousin’s he knew that Hera had already been there. Hera had instilled a fear into Eurystheus, a fear that the hero would destroy him. She had whispered the tasks into Eurystheus’ ear, hoping that the labors would be too great and destroy Hercules.
For his first task, Hercules was to kill the Nemean Lion, a monster that was ravaging the land and devouring the inhabitants of Nemea. Eurystheus demanded proof of the death of the lion, requesting that he bring back the lion’s skin. At first Hercules thought this would be an easy task, had he not already killed a lion that threatened the people of Thebes, but this lion was not an ordinary beast, and Eurystheus knew it, this lion was a mythical beast whose hide was impervious to any mortal weapons. Hercules shot the lion with his arrows, but these only bounced off him, then the lion, angered by this, pounced on the hero and as he fought to keep the lion’s mouth from his body, he pulled out his sword and tried to stab the lion, but the sword only broke in two. He thought that the lion would soon kill him and at that time he welcomed death, but death was not to come to him, at least not yet. He heard a voice and at first thought it was the voice of the God of Death, calling to him.
“Death, come and take me!” he shouted.
The voice came again, a little louder and he knew that it was his father, Zeus, speaking to him alone,
“Don’t fight this beast as you would a normal lion, for mortal weapons can not hurt him. Stop fighting and let your body go limp. The lion will think you are dead and will momentarily loosen his grip. When he does, you are to jump onto his back and with your entire strength grasp the lion’s neck and strangle him. This is the only way to kill this beast.”
Hercules did as he was told, and after a long struggle with his bare hands around the lion’s throat, he felt the beast slowly lose its strength, and finally give in to death. Once he was sure the lion was dead, Hercules tried with all his weapons to skin the beast, but no blades would penetrate the beast’s hid, finally it occurred to him that if mortal weapons couldn’t kill the beast, then he would have to use something that wasn’t made my mortal hands to skin it.
“Use the claws” He didn’t know if this was his thought, or if Zeus had spoken to him once again. He grabbed the massive paw and using only one claw he ripped through the magical hid. Once finished skinning the beast, he threw the hide over his robe and retuned to his cousin.
Eurystheus’ next task was for Hercules to destroy the Lernaean Hydra, a giant serpent with seven heads and breath that was venomous. Hercules traveled to the swamp where this creature lived and saw only a gigantic tree that grew within the marshy land. Shooting arrows into the swamp, near the base of the tree, he felt the ground began to tremble slightly. He knew he had found the Hydra’s lair. After several more arrows, the serpent rose from the marshy water angry at the intrusion. Hercules struggled with this task, for each time he would cut off one of the heads it would immediately grow back, and after awhile the poisonous breath began to make him dizzy and he feared that he would soon loose consciousness. Again Zeus assisted his son, this time by taking the form of Zeus’ nephew Iolaus, who was acting as charioteer for his uncle during this task. Zeus’ breath surrounded Iolaus, and instantly he was asleep. As Iolaus the God came to Hercules who was fighting a loosing battle with the Hydra; Zeus knew that without his assistance, the hero would be totally destroyed. Iolaus, who was holding a flaming torch, yelled to Hercules,
“Uncle, don’t let the beast’s breath get to you.”
“Iolaus get away!” Hercules shouted to his favorite nephew.
“Cut off the nearest head.” Iolaus shouted.
Hercules did this and before a new head could sprout from the severed neck his nephew thrust the torch into the bleeding stump, searing it and preventing a new head from growing in its place. One head was destroyed, followed by the second, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and as the seventh head was finally cut, the beast died, its massive body crashing down at Hercules feet.
Zeus, still in the form of Iolaus then took several of Hercules’ arrows and dipped them in the Hydra’s blood, knowing that these arrows would contain venom so powerful that whatever it touched would die. He gave these arrows to his son hoping that he’d be able to use them in one of his other labors. When Hercules returned to his chariot he was surprised to see his nephew fast asleep, but he was too worn out to give it a second thought. Hera, once again came to Eurystheus and whispered to him that Hercules didn’t kill the Hydra alone, but was assisted with this task; therefore he would not agree to accept this as one of the ten labors and another labor was devised for him.
Next, Hercules was sent to Mount Erymanthus, were he was to capture the Erymanthian Boar and bring his body back to Eurystheus. Once completed, he was instructed to bring back the Hind of Ceryneia, a deer that was sacred to Artemis. Eurystheus thought that when Hercules killed this sacred deer, that he would anger the Goddess Artemis, and she’d destroy him, but Eurystheus failed to request that he wished for the body of the Hind of Ceryneia, so after many weeks of trying to capture this beautiful deer, Hercules finally succeeded and brought back the deer alive. Eurystheus, angry that the deer was alive, had it put in the stables and was planning on killing it himself the next day. That night Hercules called to the Goddess Artemis and told her of his cousin’s plan and Artemis came and freed the animal, and as a reward for not hurting her beloved deer, she assisted Hercules in his remaining labors.
The fifth labor was for the hero to kill the Stymphalian birds. These predatory birds lived near the shore of Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia and had multiplied to the point of becoming a plague by ravaging the crops and attacking the local residents. Hercules was able to kill of few of these birds with his arrows, but after several hours he didn’t see much progress. Artemis called on Hephaestus, the God of Fire, who created a giant rattle that she than gave to Hercules, and by using this he was able to frighten the birds away. Each time the hero returned Eurystheus became angrier and angrier that he couldn’t think of a way to destroy his cousin, so the next labor was designed as a way to humiliate the hero by ordering him to clean the stables of Augias, in one day. These stables had not been cleaned in several decades, and it would be impossible to clean them in one night, so as Hercules sat contemplating what he should do, Artemis whispered to him in the wind,
“Hercules, don’t give up, for I know how you can finish this labor before the sun rises. Go to the Alpheus and Peneus rivers and divert the flow of both these mighty rivers, causing the waters to flow through the stables taking all the filth with them.”
In the morning when Eurystheus saw that all of Augias’ stables were completely clean, he couldn’t believe his eyes, but then once again Hera whispered to him that the hero was again assisted by one of the Gods, so he wouldn’t accept this labor either.
His next tasks were to capture the Cretan Bull; bring back the mares of Diomedes, four beautiful mares which fed only on human flesh; followed by going to the Amazons where he was to capture the girdle worn by the Queen of the Amazons; then to travel to the Mediterranean where he was to capture the cattle of Geryon and bring them back alive to Eurystheus, finally he was to travel to a sacred grove in the land of the Hesperides and steal the golden apples that Gaia had given to Hera as a wedding present, but to complete this task, he had to kill another multi-headed serpent who was guarding the apples. Eurystheus knew that if the hero succeeded, Hera’s wrath would only increase since these apples were precious to her. All these labors Hercules was able to complete without much difficulty, and when he returned he was confident that the Gods would soon forgive him.
While Hercules was away on the eleventh task, which took almost an entire year, Eurystheus conceived a plan that he was sure would destroy the hero. The final labor required Hercules to gather all his courage, he was ordered to descend to the Underworld were he was to capture the guard dog Cerberus and bring him back to the upper world, either dead or alive. Again the Gods assisted Hercules. Zeus ordered Hermes to show his son the path to the Underworld and with Hermes as his guide he reached our palace within a few days, and once there, he bowed to us as Hermes introduced him and explained why he was sent to the Underworld. Reluctantly Hades agreed to allow Hercules to borrow Cerberus, but only because he knew that Zeus would be angry if he didn’t.
“I’ll allow you to take my beloved pet Cerberus, but you must promise me that no harm will come to her.” Hades finally said.
“My Lord, with your blessings I’ll have Cerberus back to you within a week.” Hercules answered as he bowed low.
“Tell your cousin, Eurystheus that if Cerberus is harmed in any way, I’ll personally come to his palace and drag his shade to the prison Tartarus for eternity.” Hades explained.
As we were leaving the palace Hercules noticed Pirithous and his cousin Theseus in their petrified state, and asked,
“Forgive my curiosity, but this man is my cousin Theseus, King of Athens. Four years ago he set out to sea with his friend Pirithous and has not been heard from since.” He paused here, then continued, “Please tell me what crime they committed against you.”
“Pirithous inherited his fathers pride.” Hades answered, “He had the nerve to come here with your cousin Theseus expecting to take Persephone back with him as his bride.”
“I beg you my Lord, allow me to return with Theseus.” Hercules said as he bowed to us.
“My dear,” I said to my husband, “Theseus came with Pirithous unwillingly, you’ve seen this in his thoughts, I implore you to let him leave with his cousin, during these last four years he has paid for his crime.” Hades nodded to me, then spoke to Hercules,
“I’ll allow Theseus to return with you only after you return Cerberus.”
Hercules went down on one knee and kissed Hades’ hand in gratitude, this shocked him, since most mortals, and even most of the Gods feared the Lord of the Underworld. We left the palace and went to the Entrance of the Underworld where Hades spoke softly to Cerberus assuring her that Hercules would bring her back home in a couple of days, she walked up to him and gently licked his hand. Hades then called to Charon to bring the ferry across the river, and once there he had to order him to take Hercules and Cerberus to the other side.
Once he was back in his cousins’ palace and Eurystheus saw the size of the hound that accompanied Hercules, he ran in terror and hid in a large jar and refused to come out until the beast was taken back to the Underworld. Three days later, Hercules returned with Cerberus, and thanked both of us again for allowing him to return with his cousin, and with that Hades clapped his hands once and I watched as the life slowly came back into Theseus’ body changing his skin from white marble to soft flesh once again, while the serpents once more open their red eyes and slowly began their descent, uncoiling from his limbs, allowing him to once again move. Once freed Theseus knelt in front of us, then he spoke to me,
“Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld, consort of the Lord Pluto, please forgive me for my foolishness, I should’ve tried harder to convince Pirithous that his plan would only cause his death.”
“My husband, Hades, knew from the beginning of your adventure that you came unwillingly, and it is for that reason alone that you are allowed to leave the Underworld, but I’m sad to say that your dear friend, Pirithous, will spend eternity with us.”
Theseus nodded that he understood, then he took my hand and kissed it softy before leaving.
Hercules returned to his cousin’s palace and once Eurystheus saw him he demanded that another labor was needed.
“I won’t accept your last task as being complete. I asked for the Hound of the Underworld to be given to me. Since you have returned Cerberus I’ve no other choice but to devise another labor for you to complete.”
At these words Hercules’ head lowered, he was so tired and the thought of another labor almost destroyed him. He was about to speak, to ask what his next task would be when Zeus instantly appeared in a great flash of light and spoke to his beloved son,
“Hercules, my son, you have succeeded in not only the ten labors that were agreed upon, but you have completed two extra labors that Eurystheus had given you, therefore you have been forgiven of your crimes.”
Eurystheus stood shaking in the corner as Hercules bowed to his father,
Chapter 13
As I had said earlier throughout the long centuries that I have lived within the Underworld there have been many mortals who have risked their lives to enter into the realm of the dead begging me to release the soul of a loved one, but none were so bold as the Lapith Prince Pirithous, son of King Ixion and half-brother to the Centaurs. The young prince inherited his father, Ixion’s, pride. Even though Ixion was married to a beautiful princess named Dia, he believe that he was blessed by the Gods and therefore he deserved no mere mortal princess as a bride, instead he thought that he deserved a Goddess as his wife. Of all the Goddesses to choose from, he picked none other than Hera, wife of Zeus the greatest of the Olympian Gods to be his new bride.
Hera was flattered by the attention she was getting from this mortal and when she was angry with her husband, usually because she had found out he had been unfaithful to her once again, she would run to the king’s palace and tease him, hoping that this would make Zeus feel even the slightest jealousy. Now even though she would tell the king that he was worthy of her affection she had no intention of becoming his lover, she was only using him to get back at her unfaithful husband. Her plan worked and soon Zeus thought his wife was having an affair with a mere mortal. Instantly he became furious and decided to put an end to his wife’s new love interest.
“How dare you give yourself to the mortal!” Zeus shouted at his wife.
“You’ve slept with many mortals, both men and women.” Hera shouted back.
“That man is a beast!” Zeus bellowed as he took one of his thunderbolts in his hand and was preparing to leave the palace, to strike the mortal down when Hera begged,
“Please Zeus, don’t destroy him. Nothing has pasted between us, I swear to you.” Hera said to her husband as she opened her mind to him.
Instantly he was assured that nothing had passed between them, and he knew that his wife was only using this mortal to make him jealous. This made him smile.
“I won’t destroy him now, but I swear that if I find out that anything passes between you I’ll not only destroy him, but you as well.”
He stayed his weapon and spared the mortal’s life, but he couldn’t let Ixion go unpunished for one of the most heinous of crimes, the crime of hubris. It took several days before he was able to devise a plan that would not only punish the mortal, but also to teach his wife a lesson. He stretched out his arms into the sky and searched until his fingers grasped a large white cloud. He drew this cloud back to the palace and hid it until night when he was certain Hera was fast asleep. Zeus looked at his wife’s beautiful face as she slept, and all the anger he had toward her vanished, only the love he felt stayed behind. He almost gave stopped what he was going to do, but then he remembered the look on Ixion’s face when he looked at the Goddess. Using only his bare hands alone, he shaped this cloud into the likeness of his wife, Hera, and once satisfied that Ixion would be convinced that it was the Goddess herself, he let his breath fill the form with life. Instantly the form opened its eyes and was filled with life. He instructed this reflection of his wife to go to the king. That night the image of the Goddess entered the king’s palace and went to his private chamber. Ixion thought that the Goddess Hera herself had finally given in to his passion. Without uttering a single word, he took the cloud that he thought was the Goddess and instead of making love to it, he raped the image he held in his arms, and it was from his lust and the seeds he sent forth into the magical cloud that the Centaurs were born.
Let me stop here for a moment to distinguish between the Centaurs who were born from Ixion with the most famous and wisest of all the Centaurs, Chiron. Chiron was not related to Ixion at all, his father was Cronus who took the form of a stallion as he made love to his mother Philyra, one of the daughters of Oceanus, making him of the same generation as the Olympians, and like the Olympians he was immortal. Chiron lived in Thessaly and not only befriended Gods and mortals alike, but became mentor to a number of heroes. The Centaurs who were descended from Ixion were monstrous beings, half man and half horse, who were mortal. They lived in the mountains and forests, far form any civilization; their food was raw flesh and their behavior bestial. No mortals except the Lapith people would even speak of these creatures.
The prince Pirithous was not born from this union, instead he was born to Ixion’s wife, the princess Dia, making him only half brother to the Centaurs, and while he was growing up he heard the story of how his half brothers were conceived and thought that he wouldn’t be as foolish as his father by allowing himself to be tricked by the Gods, he would succeed where his father failed; he would marry a Goddess. King Ixion had other plans for his son, he wished for Pirithous to marry the daughter of Adrastus, King of Sicyon, therefore joining the two kingdoms in an alliance. The arrangements were made when his son was still a young boy and it would be many years before the marriage would take place, so the young prince thought little about his future wife and allowed his fantasies to take over. When Pirithous became a young man his father started to discuss the marriage plans, and since he had no intention of marrying King Adrastus’ daughter Hippodameia he left his home and family spending many years at sea.
In his travels he had come to city Athens where he meet Theseus, who had just been crowned as King for his bravery in defeating the Minotaur and freeing the people of the land from the threat that loomed over them for the past four years, and instantly the two became good friends. Theseus, on his way back from Crete with Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, left her on the island of Naxos.
“My dear Ariadne, you know it’s for the best that you stay here.” He said to the young girl as she held her tear-stained face against his chest.
“But I love you.” She sobbed.
“You deserve someone who will give you his entire heart.”
“But I have nowhere to go.”
“The Gods will take care of you.” He said as he kissed her forehead and stepped onto his boat. The reason Theseus left the princess Ariadne at Naxos was because he was in love with the child who would one day grow up to become the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, and he knew that though Ariadne was beautiful, he would never be satisfied with anyone other than the child who had stolen his heart. He told this to Pirithous one night as they were both drunk from the finest wine his kingdom could supply. While listening to his friend, Pirithous devised a plan.
“Theseus, we can leave tonight for Sparta and bring back Helen as your bride.”
“My friend, this is foolish.” Theseus replied, though he secretly hoped that they would.
“Why? You don’t think yourself worthy enough for Helen?”
The two friends spent the entire night discussing their plans and within a week they both set off for Sparta. Several weeks earlier Helen had her first blood, and she along with several other girls were to perform a ritual dance in a couple of days to announce to the entire village that they were no longer children, but had become women. The two men found Helen, along with the other girls just outside a temple dedicated to Artemis rehearsing their dance. As they hid behind some shrubs and watched the young girls dance, Theseus knew deep within his soul that this was a mistake, but he did nothing to stop his friend’s plan. They stayed concealed until the dance was complete and the girls were preparing to leave, and with luck on their side Helen stayed behind, having trouble changing back into her daily robes, and as she tried to catch up with the others Pirithous grabbed her from behind, placing his hand over her mouth to prevent her companions from hearing her screams and fled into the cover of the forest, dragging the young Helen behind. Once near the shore, Pirithous’ hand slipped and the frightened child let out a scream that instantly alerted the others. “Help! Help me!” She cried.
Her companions, hearing her screams turned toward the beach and started to run only to reach the shore too late. They watched as the small boat carrying the scared Helen sailed into the darkness of the night.
“Look, the shore is empty” Pirithous said to his friend, not seeing her companions. “I told you no one heard her.” He continued.
“The others might not have heard her, but I fear that the Gods have.”
“Nonsense! You have nothing to fear.” Pirithous tried to reassure Theseus. Seeing that his words had no effect, he came up with a different strategy.
“We can turn around and take Helen to your mother Aethra. She can watch her until she can become your bride. That way, even if they suspect you took Helen, they won’t be able to find her. They can search your entire kingdom, but they’ll never find Helen.”
“No matter where we go, the Gods will know.” Theseus said with a tone of hopelessness. Even thought he knew this would not save them, they turned their ship around and headed for his mother’s home in Attica.
What they didn’t know was that the other girls who had followed them to the shore reported what they had seen to Helen’s brothers, Castor and Pollux, who immediately set out to save her. I don’t know how they knew that their sister was in Attica, but one of the Gods, probably Artemis, informed them, for it is sacrilegious to hurt any mortal while in a temple dedicated to any of the Gods. Two weeks after the young Helen was brought to Aethra ships were seen on the horizon.
“Look!” one man shouted, “Battleships.” The men ran to the city to warn others and soon the entire town was prepared for battle. The people of Attica had no idea why they were being attacked, but still they fought bravely and it wasn’t until many souls were guided to my palace that the two brothers and their companions were able to rescue the scared child Helen. It was several months before the news of Helen’s rescue reached Theseus during which time Pirithous had returned to his father’s land.
Once reunited with his father, Pirithous could no longer postpone his marriage to Hippodameia, so he agreed to allow his father to make the wedding arraignments, and it wasn’t until the day of the wedding when Theseus arrived that he found out what had happened to Helen.
“Helen’s brothers, Castor and Pollux, destroyed Attica. My mother barely got away with her life.”
“They took Helen back with them?” Pirithous asked, pretending to share Theseus grief, but it didn’t matter to him, he had assisted Theseus and knew that he was bound to assist him in the future.
The wedding took place and during the last day of the celebrations Pirithous’ half brothers, the Centaurs, who don’t usually tolerate alcohol became drunk and when they saw the dancers, they grabbed them and dragged them kicking and screaming towards the nearby woods. They had no intention of returning the maidens, for after their lust was satisfied, they would then satisfy their appetite. Both Theseus and Pirithous immediately started to fight the Centaurs, and one of them, a powerful dark brown and white Centaur named Eurytion became so enraged at his half-brother’s nerve to protect the maidens, he snatched the bride Hippodamia and started to flee with her, causing the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths that was told about in myths and images adorn many vases and urns.
Even though their marriage did not start out well, soon Pirithous grew to love Hippodamia and they lived together happily for many years. Just after their son, Polypoetes was born, Pirithous began to long for the sea again, and soon he set sail for Athens to visit his old friend Theseus. That first night while they were drinking he convinced Theseus to leave his kingdom once more and go to the seas again like they had when they were young.
“Theseus, don’t you miss the adventure of the sea?” You’ve been trapped here in Athens for so long.”
“I’m much too busy to enjoy myself, I have a kingdom to rule.” Theseus said with a sigh.
“We won’t be long, I promise.”
“What do you have in mind?” thinking if it was only a short trip he could find someone to rule in his place.
Pirithous told his friend, “I want to travel to the Underworld.”
Theseus chocked as he repeated, “The Underworld. Why would you want to travel there?”
“You remember when years ago I assisted you with the capture of the young Helen.” Theseus nodded, he had indeed remembered, “Well, I want us to travel to the Underworld were we’ll release the Goddess Persephone from her prison.”
“Your mad with drink.” Theseus told his friend, adding, “We’d never succeed in such a plan.”
“You know as well as I do, that the Persephone wouldn’t agree to marry the Lord of the Underworld unless he placed a spell over her. Once we enter the Underworld and free her from his spell, she’ll protect us.”
It didn’t really matter, since he had assisted his friend when they kidnapped Helen, Theseus couldn’t refuse Pirithous’ request no matter how ludicrous he though this plan was. He did at least try to convince his old friend to return to his wife and son, knowing that she was a good woman, but Pirithous wouldn’t listen to him.
They set out the next morning, and after many months of traveling, when they were almost ready to give up hope of ever finding an entrance to my kingdom, they came upon a cave near Mount Cyllene where they planned to take shelter for the night. A storm was growing outside and they were confined within this cave for an entire day. As they searched for another exit they traveled deeper and deeper in the cavern, and it was there that they accidentally found an entrance to the world below. This entrance didn’t bring them through the main gate, but was a back door to our world, letting them out in the middle of the mountains that are between Hades’ palace and the Dungeon of the Damned, Tartarus, and once within our world the gate they came through suddenly slammed shut, instantly trapping them there between the two worlds.
Hades knew of their plans from the beginning, and I believe that it was he who secretly led them to seek shelter within that cave, and once there it would be easy for him to make them accidentally stumble upon this hidden entrance to the Underworld, and once they were there he made sure that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. The mountains near our palace are cold and inhospitable, and the two would have died from exposure if Hades had not secretly guide them to the Elysian Fields, and once there it was easy for them to locate our palace. I also knew that they were coming for my dear husband Hades explained to me their mission before they even set out on the expedition, and when they finally arrived both Hades and I were sitting on our thrones waiting for them. Theseus bowed low to us showing us the respect that we deserved, but Pirithous stood proudly and looking directly into Hades’ eyes he said without any fear in his voice,
“I am Pirithous, son of King Ixion.”
Not following the usual customs when greeting a deity, where the God or Goddess is addressed first by acknowledging their status, followed by a statement of telling how you have worshipped them, and only then stating the reason why you have come. Pirithous was not showing Hades the proper respect that a God as powerful as he deserved.
Hades overlooked this rudeness, and politely greeted them,
“What brings you two mortals here to the Underworld?”, Hades said, pretending that he knew nothing of their plan.
“We have heard that the Goddess Persephone was abducted by the Lord of the Underworld, and forced to spend one-half the year in this prison as your wife.”
Pirithous addressed Hades, and as he said this I thought that this must be the story mother is still telling. Even though I had already spend several decades here within the Underworld, and have explained to her that I was happy living as Hades wife, she still couldn’t accept the fact that I fell in love, telling everyone that I must have been abducted and dragged against my will.
“And where did you hear this story from?” I asked.
“It is common knowledge that ever since you were abducted by the Lord of the Underworld, the great Fertility Goddess Demeter has decided to withhold her fruits from the earth while you are kept in this prison, and only when you are released and returned to Mount Olympus, will she allow any growth to occur.” He replied to me.
“And you two heroes have come to free her and remove Demeter’s curse on the lands.” Hades responded to them with a smile on his face.
“No,” responded Pirithous, boldly stating, “We’ve come to take the Goddess Persephone, daughter of the Goddess Demeter and the great God Zeus as my new bride, where she will live among the mortals and rule with me in the kingdom of my father.”
“And what makes you think that I’ll allow this?” Hades asked.
“As Lord of the Underworld, it is told that you are a just ruler, and as a just ruler, you must know that your wife would be much happier living with me in the world of the living.”
“And what do you think of this, my dear?” Hades asked me, leaning closer and whispering to me to go along with what Pirithous proposes.
“My dear husband, during these long years of living within the Underworld I have grown found of you, but I must admit that the offer this mortal makes is tempting. I do miss the company of the living.” I said to all.
“Very well, Persephone, you are free to leave with Pirithous…but before you leave I have one request of you.” Hades said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “I hope that you and your new husband-to-be would agree to have a farewell dinner with me.”
Before Pirithous or Theseus could respond, I said, “I wouldn’t dream of leaving without a farewell dinner, for throughout the years you have been very kind to me.”
Hades clapped his hands and a servant arrived and led the two men to one of the chambers where they were provided with fine robes to change into since their cloaks were torn and wet from their long travels. Once alone, Theseus tried once again to convince Pirithous that this had to be some type of trap,
“My friend, you know that the God of the Underworld would never release his bride, not even to the great God Zeus. Aren’t you at all suspicious that he had agreed to release her to a mere mortal.”
Pirithous was as foolish as his father was and wouldn’t listen to his friend’s advice.
“The God of the Underworld knows that I am correct. Persephone will be much happier living as my Queen, then she ever could be here surrounded by death.”
Hades and I dressed in our finest silk robes, embroidered with gold and silver threads and were already seated in the dining area when our two guests entered. Hades bid them to take the seat of honor across from where we were, and once the two mortals were seated the arms of the chairs, which were carved serpents, instantly opened their red eyes and came to life. Neither of the men noticed this, nor did they notice as the snakes started to slither up, very slowly winding around their ankles, continuing up their legs. When they did finally realize what was happening, it was too late; the serpents had already bound them tightly to their seat. Both men struggled to free themselves, but the harder they fought, the tighter the serpents wound around them.
A purple mist soon began filling the room and I watched as both men looked in terror as their skin started to lighten, as if all the blood were being drained from their bodies, and gradually they turned turn almost pure white. Their struggling seemed to slow as the color faded and soon I saw that they were no longer able to move their limbs, and I knew that the transformation was almost complete, within seconds they would no longer be mortal men, but only statues of their former selves. Once complete, the look of terror was frozen on their faces as they sat and sat for the next four years. They would have both sat there frozen for eternity, but the hero Hercules came to the Underworld as one of his twelve labors and found his cousin Theseus sitting in the “Chair of Forgetfulness” and begged us to release him.
Before I continue, let me briefly tell the tale of hero Hercules.
Many years ago Zeus had found another mortal woman name Alcmene that he had become infatuated with. Though Alcmene was beautiful, she was married, and did whatever she could to discourage the awestruck God. Zeus tried all of his tricks, but none worked, so when her husband Amphitryon was away on an expedition he took his shape and came to Alcmene.
“My beloved, I’ve missed you so.” Zeus said.
“Amphitryon, your back early.” Alcmene replied to the disguised god, all the while thinking it was her beloved husband.
“I couldn’t bear being parted from your loveliness for any longer.” He said as he took the beauty in his arms and kissed her. She giggled as he effortlessly lifted her and took her to her husband’s bed where made love all day, and when the evening arrived, Zeus knew that Alcmene’s real husband was near, so he excused himself, telling her he has some business to complete before night fell. Zeus kissed her forehead, and when he did this he was assured that she had conceived a son. It was only a few hours later when the real Amphitryon came home,
“Alcmene, I’m home.”
“Were you able to complete what you needed?” she asked, still thinking that her husband was gone only a couple of hours.
“What are you talking about? I’ve just come back.”
It was then that she suspected some type of treachery, so she pretended that everything was as it should be, saying nothing of his appearance that very afternoon. That night her true husband made love to her and she conceived a second son, this one fathered by her mortal husband. It wasn’t until she found out that she was expecting that the seer Tiresias explained to her what had happened that day, telling her that one of her sons was fathered by the great God Zeus, and would be remembered throughout history as the greatest hero who ever lived, while the other would be destined to be forgotten. Alcmene didn’t want her husband to find out, for if he did, she was sure he would kill her. Zeus, not wanting to cause trouble in his lover’s domestic life came to Amphitryon that night while he dreamt.
“Amphitryon, your wife has conceived two boys.” Zeus’ image spoke. In his dream, Amphitryon fell prostrate on the floor, knowing he was in the presence of the most powerful of the Gods.
“Stand.” The mortal did as he was bid. Since Zeus was cloaked within a dream, his form glowed, but he had no fear of his presence destroying the mortal.
“Amphitryon, the first son born to your wife will not be your son, but mine.”
Amphitryon looked at the God, and Zeus knew that he thought that his wife had been unfaithful to him, so Zeus told him how he had assumed his shape and as her husband, he made love to Alcmene. Zeus continued.
“Don’t blame Alcmene, she had done nothing wrong.”
Amphitryon woke, and he knew that there was nothing for him to do, except love both children as if they were both his own.
Eight months later, Alcmene gave birth to twin boys. It wasn’t long before Hera found out about her husband’s affair and she swore that she would curse the life of the son that was to be bore from that union, sending many dangers and trials across his path. A lesser mortal would’ve given up hope and accepted his fate, but Hercules was no mere mortal, he was the son of the greatest of the Gods, Zeus, and he was able to keep one step ahead of Hera. Once he became a teenager, he left his mortal family, not wanting anything to happen to them and for the next ten years he moved around continuously, not staying in one place for more than a couple of weeks.
While he was approaching the city of Thebes a lion crossed his path. Thinking nothing of it, he continued walking, but the beast attacked him from behind. Hercules easily killed the lion. What he didn’t know was that this same lion had been causing destruction in the land, and as a reward the King of Thebes gave Hercules his youngest daughter Megara as his bride. Tired of moving around, Hercules decided that he would no longer run, so he took Megara as his wife and for the next several years they lived together peacefully in Thebes. Soon Hercules thought that the Goddess Hera forgotten her hatred for him, and during the time that Hercules stayed in Thebes his wife Megara gave birth to three children. Hercules loved his children dearly, and if he had any notion that Hera hadn’t given up, he would have left his family immediately to protect them, but he knew nothing of Hera’s plans.
Hera wasn’t through with Hercules though, and one night while the happy family was sleeping, the Goddess sent a madness into him. He awoke with a fear in his soul that he couldn’t explain. He didn’t know what power was taking control of his body, only that some force greater than his own made him take the oil lamp near his bed in his hands and open it. He tried to stop himself as he held this lamp above his innocent children and poured the oil over there sleeping bodies, the oldest being only three years old. The boy stirred while he slept, but did not wake. Hercules tried with all his might to stop what he was doing, but he couldn’t fight this madness. He tried to scream, to wake his children and alert them of the danger, but no sound came from his mouth. After struggling for a few moments, his hand reached into the hearth and lifted a burning log; the heat burning his hand. The pain shot up his arm, and he thought he would pass out from it. “Good”, he thought, “if I pass out, I won’t hurt anyone”, but he didn’t. Time seemed to stop as he struggled with himself, and as if in a dream he watched as he held the burning log over his innocent children. A single sound, a screech, slipped from his mouth as he dropped the fire on his sleeping children.
I made sure that the three children died instantly without much suffering, and I personally greeted their shades when they entered the Underworld doing whatever I could to console them, but as I did so a hatred filled my heart, not a hatred for Hercules, for he was only an innocent victim of Hera’ wrath, but a hatred of the Goddess herself. When Hercules realized what he had done, he almost killed himself; I don’t know why he didn’t, maybe Hera wouldn’t allow him to escape her wrath by taking his own life. Instead, he left his hysterical wife and wandered for months, only to find himself one day at the Oracle of Apollo. Here he asked the Gods for their forgiveness, and after sitting there alone for hours with no answer, he stood up and was about to leave, when a voice filled the room telling him,
The Goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, has condemned you from birth, and through her you have killed your children. The Gods will forgive you, but first you must give your wife Megara to your nephew Iolaus to live as his wife for the rest of her days. After this is done, you must travel to Argos and seek out your cousin, King Eurystheus. He will give you ten labors to complete. When you have completed these ten labors, and only then will your sins be forgiven and will you be allowed to live the rest of your life in peace.
“I can’t marry Iolaus, I’m married to you.” Megara said to her husband when he told her what the Oracle told him.
“Don’t fear, Iolaus will take care of you.”
“But it’s a sin to have more than one husband.” She said as she tried to suppress the sobs.
“The Oracle wouldn’t tell me to give you to Iolaus if the Gods didn’t want you to be with him.” Hercules said as he took her hand and placed it within his nephew’s, then he looked at Iolaus and said,
“Iolaus, please take care of her.” Without another word, he turned and walked away, never seeing his first wife again. Within a month he reached Argos and when he met with his cousin he bowed to Eurystheus. When his eyes meet his cousin’s he knew that Hera had already been there. Hera had instilled a fear into Eurystheus, a fear that the hero would destroy him. She had whispered the tasks into Eurystheus’ ear, hoping that the labors would be too great and destroy Hercules.
For his first task, Hercules was to kill the Nemean Lion, a monster that was ravaging the land and devouring the inhabitants of Nemea. Eurystheus demanded proof of the death of the lion, requesting that he bring back the lion’s skin. At first Hercules thought this would be an easy task, had he not already killed a lion that threatened the people of Thebes, but this lion was not an ordinary beast, and Eurystheus knew it, this lion was a mythical beast whose hide was impervious to any mortal weapons. Hercules shot the lion with his arrows, but these only bounced off him, then the lion, angered by this, pounced on the hero and as he fought to keep the lion’s mouth from his body, he pulled out his sword and tried to stab the lion, but the sword only broke in two. He thought that the lion would soon kill him and at that time he welcomed death, but death was not to come to him, at least not yet. He heard a voice and at first thought it was the voice of the God of Death, calling to him.
“Death, come and take me!” he shouted.
The voice came again, a little louder and he knew that it was his father, Zeus, speaking to him alone,
“Don’t fight this beast as you would a normal lion, for mortal weapons can not hurt him. Stop fighting and let your body go limp. The lion will think you are dead and will momentarily loosen his grip. When he does, you are to jump onto his back and with your entire strength grasp the lion’s neck and strangle him. This is the only way to kill this beast.”
Hercules did as he was told, and after a long struggle with his bare hands around the lion’s throat, he felt the beast slowly lose its strength, and finally give in to death. Once he was sure the lion was dead, Hercules tried with all his weapons to skin the beast, but no blades would penetrate the beast’s hid, finally it occurred to him that if mortal weapons couldn’t kill the beast, then he would have to use something that wasn’t made my mortal hands to skin it.
“Use the claws” He didn’t know if this was his thought, or if Zeus had spoken to him once again. He grabbed the massive paw and using only one claw he ripped through the magical hid. Once finished skinning the beast, he threw the hide over his robe and retuned to his cousin.
Eurystheus’ next task was for Hercules to destroy the Lernaean Hydra, a giant serpent with seven heads and breath that was venomous. Hercules traveled to the swamp where this creature lived and saw only a gigantic tree that grew within the marshy land. Shooting arrows into the swamp, near the base of the tree, he felt the ground began to tremble slightly. He knew he had found the Hydra’s lair. After several more arrows, the serpent rose from the marshy water angry at the intrusion. Hercules struggled with this task, for each time he would cut off one of the heads it would immediately grow back, and after awhile the poisonous breath began to make him dizzy and he feared that he would soon loose consciousness. Again Zeus assisted his son, this time by taking the form of Zeus’ nephew Iolaus, who was acting as charioteer for his uncle during this task. Zeus’ breath surrounded Iolaus, and instantly he was asleep. As Iolaus the God came to Hercules who was fighting a loosing battle with the Hydra; Zeus knew that without his assistance, the hero would be totally destroyed. Iolaus, who was holding a flaming torch, yelled to Hercules,
“Uncle, don’t let the beast’s breath get to you.”
“Iolaus get away!” Hercules shouted to his favorite nephew.
“Cut off the nearest head.” Iolaus shouted.
Hercules did this and before a new head could sprout from the severed neck his nephew thrust the torch into the bleeding stump, searing it and preventing a new head from growing in its place. One head was destroyed, followed by the second, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and as the seventh head was finally cut, the beast died, its massive body crashing down at Hercules feet.
Zeus, still in the form of Iolaus then took several of Hercules’ arrows and dipped them in the Hydra’s blood, knowing that these arrows would contain venom so powerful that whatever it touched would die. He gave these arrows to his son hoping that he’d be able to use them in one of his other labors. When Hercules returned to his chariot he was surprised to see his nephew fast asleep, but he was too worn out to give it a second thought. Hera, once again came to Eurystheus and whispered to him that Hercules didn’t kill the Hydra alone, but was assisted with this task; therefore he would not agree to accept this as one of the ten labors and another labor was devised for him.
Next, Hercules was sent to Mount Erymanthus, were he was to capture the Erymanthian Boar and bring his body back to Eurystheus. Once completed, he was instructed to bring back the Hind of Ceryneia, a deer that was sacred to Artemis. Eurystheus thought that when Hercules killed this sacred deer, that he would anger the Goddess Artemis, and she’d destroy him, but Eurystheus failed to request that he wished for the body of the Hind of Ceryneia, so after many weeks of trying to capture this beautiful deer, Hercules finally succeeded and brought back the deer alive. Eurystheus, angry that the deer was alive, had it put in the stables and was planning on killing it himself the next day. That night Hercules called to the Goddess Artemis and told her of his cousin’s plan and Artemis came and freed the animal, and as a reward for not hurting her beloved deer, she assisted Hercules in his remaining labors.
The fifth labor was for the hero to kill the Stymphalian birds. These predatory birds lived near the shore of Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia and had multiplied to the point of becoming a plague by ravaging the crops and attacking the local residents. Hercules was able to kill of few of these birds with his arrows, but after several hours he didn’t see much progress. Artemis called on Hephaestus, the God of Fire, who created a giant rattle that she than gave to Hercules, and by using this he was able to frighten the birds away. Each time the hero returned Eurystheus became angrier and angrier that he couldn’t think of a way to destroy his cousin, so the next labor was designed as a way to humiliate the hero by ordering him to clean the stables of Augias, in one day. These stables had not been cleaned in several decades, and it would be impossible to clean them in one night, so as Hercules sat contemplating what he should do, Artemis whispered to him in the wind,
“Hercules, don’t give up, for I know how you can finish this labor before the sun rises. Go to the Alpheus and Peneus rivers and divert the flow of both these mighty rivers, causing the waters to flow through the stables taking all the filth with them.”
In the morning when Eurystheus saw that all of Augias’ stables were completely clean, he couldn’t believe his eyes, but then once again Hera whispered to him that the hero was again assisted by one of the Gods, so he wouldn’t accept this labor either.
His next tasks were to capture the Cretan Bull; bring back the mares of Diomedes, four beautiful mares which fed only on human flesh; followed by going to the Amazons where he was to capture the girdle worn by the Queen of the Amazons; then to travel to the Mediterranean where he was to capture the cattle of Geryon and bring them back alive to Eurystheus, finally he was to travel to a sacred grove in the land of the Hesperides and steal the golden apples that Gaia had given to Hera as a wedding present, but to complete this task, he had to kill another multi-headed serpent who was guarding the apples. Eurystheus knew that if the hero succeeded, Hera’s wrath would only increase since these apples were precious to her. All these labors Hercules was able to complete without much difficulty, and when he returned he was confident that the Gods would soon forgive him.
While Hercules was away on the eleventh task, which took almost an entire year, Eurystheus conceived a plan that he was sure would destroy the hero. The final labor required Hercules to gather all his courage, he was ordered to descend to the Underworld were he was to capture the guard dog Cerberus and bring him back to the upper world, either dead or alive. Again the Gods assisted Hercules. Zeus ordered Hermes to show his son the path to the Underworld and with Hermes as his guide he reached our palace within a few days, and once there, he bowed to us as Hermes introduced him and explained why he was sent to the Underworld. Reluctantly Hades agreed to allow Hercules to borrow Cerberus, but only because he knew that Zeus would be angry if he didn’t.
“I’ll allow you to take my beloved pet Cerberus, but you must promise me that no harm will come to her.” Hades finally said.
“My Lord, with your blessings I’ll have Cerberus back to you within a week.” Hercules answered as he bowed low.
“Tell your cousin, Eurystheus that if Cerberus is harmed in any way, I’ll personally come to his palace and drag his shade to the prison Tartarus for eternity.” Hades explained.
As we were leaving the palace Hercules noticed Pirithous and his cousin Theseus in their petrified state, and asked,
“Forgive my curiosity, but this man is my cousin Theseus, King of Athens. Four years ago he set out to sea with his friend Pirithous and has not been heard from since.” He paused here, then continued, “Please tell me what crime they committed against you.”
“Pirithous inherited his fathers pride.” Hades answered, “He had the nerve to come here with your cousin Theseus expecting to take Persephone back with him as his bride.”
“I beg you my Lord, allow me to return with Theseus.” Hercules said as he bowed to us.
“My dear,” I said to my husband, “Theseus came with Pirithous unwillingly, you’ve seen this in his thoughts, I implore you to let him leave with his cousin, during these last four years he has paid for his crime.” Hades nodded to me, then spoke to Hercules,
“I’ll allow Theseus to return with you only after you return Cerberus.”
Hercules went down on one knee and kissed Hades’ hand in gratitude, this shocked him, since most mortals, and even most of the Gods feared the Lord of the Underworld. We left the palace and went to the Entrance of the Underworld where Hades spoke softly to Cerberus assuring her that Hercules would bring her back home in a couple of days, she walked up to him and gently licked his hand. Hades then called to Charon to bring the ferry across the river, and once there he had to order him to take Hercules and Cerberus to the other side.
Once he was back in his cousins’ palace and Eurystheus saw the size of the hound that accompanied Hercules, he ran in terror and hid in a large jar and refused to come out until the beast was taken back to the Underworld. Three days later, Hercules returned with Cerberus, and thanked both of us again for allowing him to return with his cousin, and with that Hades clapped his hands once and I watched as the life slowly came back into Theseus’ body changing his skin from white marble to soft flesh once again, while the serpents once more open their red eyes and slowly began their descent, uncoiling from his limbs, allowing him to once again move. Once freed Theseus knelt in front of us, then he spoke to me,
“Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld, consort of the Lord Pluto, please forgive me for my foolishness, I should’ve tried harder to convince Pirithous that his plan would only cause his death.”
“My husband, Hades, knew from the beginning of your adventure that you came unwillingly, and it is for that reason alone that you are allowed to leave the Underworld, but I’m sad to say that your dear friend, Pirithous, will spend eternity with us.”
Theseus nodded that he understood, then he took my hand and kissed it softy before leaving.
Hercules returned to his cousin’s palace and once Eurystheus saw him he demanded that another labor was needed.
“I won’t accept your last task as being complete. I asked for the Hound of the Underworld to be given to me. Since you have returned Cerberus I’ve no other choice but to devise another labor for you to complete.”
At these words Hercules’ head lowered, he was so tired and the thought of another labor almost destroyed him. He was about to speak, to ask what his next task would be when Zeus instantly appeared in a great flash of light and spoke to his beloved son,
“Hercules, my son, you have succeeded in not only the ten labors that were agreed upon, but you have completed two extra labors that Eurystheus had given you, therefore you have been forgiven of your crimes.”
Eurystheus stood shaking in the corner as Hercules bowed to his father,
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I kinda feel bad for Herakles...