Character:
Heracles: Heracles was one of the Greatest Heroes in Greek Mythology . 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)
Hera: Hera was known as the greatest goddess compared to the rest of the Olympian goddess. (Grimal 1996) Her parents were Cronus and Rhea. (Grimal 1996) Her husband was the mighty Zeus. (Grimal 1996) It was stated after having being swallowed by her father , she was then revived by the help of Metis and Zeus.( Grimal 1996)
Echidna: Echidna was a Greek monster, it’s body consist of half woman and half serpent. (Britannnica n.d ) The monsters parents were Phorcys and Ceto (according to Hesoid’s Theogony) (Britannnica n.d ) Her husband was the creature Typhon. (Britannnica n.d ) Her offsprings included Ladon, Hydra, Chimera, Orthus ,Sphinx ,Cerberus and lastly the Nemean lion. (Britannnica n.d )
Typhon: Typhon was a monster that had one hundred heads, each head touching the stars. (Tuccinardi 1998) He was the husband of Echidna and the father of Ladon, Hydra, Chimera, Orthus ,Sphinx ,Cerberus and lastly the Nemean lion. (Tuccinardi 1998) The creature’s parents were Gaia and Tartarus. (Tuccinardi 1998)
Iolaus : Iolaus was known as a Theban divine hero. (Iolaus n.d) His father was Iphicles, the brother of Heracles and his mother was Automedusa. (Iolaus n.d ) He was known for helping his uncle Heracles during the second labor. (Iolaus n.d)
Lernaean Hydra . The hydra was an enormous nine headed water serpent who was said to haunt the Lerna swamp. (Atsma 2000)Its parents were Typhon and Echinda.( 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)
The second labor that Heracles had to complete was to slay the Lernaean Hydra.(Grimal 1996) The reason was because this horrible creature was known to ravage the country side as well as destroying the herbs and crops . During this labor Heracles was accompanied by his nephew Iolaus (Grimal 1996) While trying to defeat the monster, Heracles realized that every head that he cuts off, two more heads grew in its place. (Grimal 1996) Thus the clever Greek hero told his nephew Iolaus to burn the stump of the neck after cutting the head. (Grimal 1996) This prevented the necks from growing back.( Grimal 1996) Furthermore after having severed the immortal head ,Heracles buried it underground and placed a rock on top of it. (About n.d, ) After Heracles dipped his arrows into the blood of the Hydra , which made each of the bows very poisonous. (Grimal 1996) However after having defeated the creature, Hera sent yet another creature after Heracles, this time in the form of a Crab.(Grimal 1996) However Heracles was able to slay the creature with ease. (Grimal 1996)Lastly Eurystheus refused to accept this as a labor because Heracles had helped while completing this task. (About n.d)
Referencing
About n.d, Heracles Labor 2 , Available from < http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/twelvelabors/ig/12-Labors-of-Hercules/Hercules-and-the-Lernean-Hydra.htm >. [ 21 september 2011]
Atsma ,A 2000, Hyrda, Available from: < http://www.theoi.com/Ther/DrakonHydra.html>. [ 21 September 2011]
Britannnica n.d, Echidna , Available from: < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177879/Echidna > . [ 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
Iolaus n.d, Iolaus, Available from: < http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/08/ajb/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Iolaus.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]
Tuccinardi , R 1998, Typhon , Available from : http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/typhon.html>. [ 22 September 2011]
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