Heracles: Heracles was one of the Greatest Heroes in Greek Mythology. (Grimal 1996) His parents were Zeus and Alcmene. (The Greek Gods of Mythology n.d) It was said that as an act of hatred in which Hera had for Heracles , she drove him mad, and caused him to slaughter his wife and kids. (The Greek Gods of Mythology n.d) As a result, his punishment was to complete the 12 labors given to the Greek Hero by his cousin Eurystheus. (The Greek Gods of Mythology n.d)
Hippolyta : Hippolyta was known as a courageous queen of Amazon. (Lee 2002) The Amazons were known as fierce warriors that consisted of women. (Lee 2002)They were also known to be the descended of Ares. (Lee 2002)
Ares ; Ares was most famously known as the god of war. His parents were the mighty god Zeus and the goddess Hera. (Grimal 1996) Unlike his parents he belonged to the second generation of Olympian deities. (Grimal 1996) Lastly he belonged to one of the twelve great gods. (Grimal 1996)
Melanippe: Melanippe was known as a nymph.(Atsma 2000) Her father was Chiron.( Atsma 2000) Myth has it that she was transformed into a mare after having revealed secrets about the gods. (Atsma 2000)
Eurystheus: Eurystheus was the cousin of Hercacles, as well as the person responsible for assigning the 12 labors for the Greek Hero. (Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology n.d) Although Heracles was suppose to be older than Eurystheus, because of the knowledge that the first child born would eventually rule the kingdoms in the future. . (Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology n.d) Hera decided to delay the birth of Heracles and sped up the birth of Eurystheus. (Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology n.d) Thus making Heracles younger than Eurystheus. (Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology n.d)
(Labor)
For the ninth labor Eurystheus ‘s daughter requested him to tell the Greek Hero Heracles to bring her the belt of Hippolyte. (Perseus Project n.d) It was said that the belt was given to Hippolyte by the Greek god called Ares. (Grimal 1996) During his journey to kingdom of the Amazon he was accompanied by a number of volunteers. ( Grimal 1996). Upon arriving he was greeted by the queen of the Amazon, Hippolyte herself. (Perseus Project n.d) Heracles requested for her belt and as a result she promised to give it to him. (Perseus Project n.d) However the cunning Hera did not wish for Heracles to succeed so easily, she decided to blend in as an amazon warrior and started spreading rumors that Heracles was going to carry their queen away. (Perseus Project n.d) In order to protect their queen the Amazon warriors charged toward Heracles, thinking that they had betrayed him, he killed Hippolyta and defended himself against the aggressive warriors. (Perseus Project n.d) After they have scattered he head back to Mycenae and presented the belt of Hippolyte to Eurystheus, which was then given to his daughter.(Perseus Project n.d) Lastly other myths has it that Hippolyta refused to give the belt to Heracles. (Grimal 1996) She only gave the belt to Heracles when she was promised Melanippe freedom , which was one of her friend that have been captured during the battle(Grimal 1996)
Reference
Atsma, A 2000, Melanippe, Available from: < http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheMelanippe.html>. [ 22 September 2011]
Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology n.d , Eurystheus, Available from: < http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/eurystheus.html >. [ 22 September 2011]
Grimal, P 1996, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, , Blackwell Publishing , Oxford
Lee ,M 2002, Hippolyta, Available from: < http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hippolyta.html >. [ 21 September 2011]
Perseus Project n.d, Hippolyte’s Belt Heracles Fights the Amazon, Available from: < http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/amazon.html >. { 22 September 2011]
The Greek Gods of Mythology n.d , Heracles, Available from: < http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~baheintz/heroes.html >. [ 22 september 2011]
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