UNIT 03
The Mediterranean World, 600 BC
Nature of the Heroic, The
Bridge between humans and the divine
• Euhemerus = gods were first humans and then heroes
• Obviously less than divine, but somehow more than human
• Still bound by human limitations, such as injury and death
Appeal of the “local hero”
• Provides “community engagement” through service to city
• Sometimes intervene between the gods and their home city
• Goes to far off places, meets weird creatures, kills them
• Does things that you and I might never dream of (wish fulfillment)
• Still does things wrong but makes up for them in a superhuman way
• Makes people proud to be from their home city
Famous Greek “Local” Heroes
Heroes and their locales
• Heracles – Argos (then pan-Hellenic)
• Theseus - Athens
• Perseus - Argos
• Jason - Iolcus
• Bellerophon – Corinth
• Peleus - Phthia
Public Affairs Mission and Heroes
• Hero was considered a leader of his town (often a king)
• Hero was a source of civic pride
• Hero killed monsters, fought wars for his town
• Hero interceded with gods for his town
• Hero was someone city could look up to
Entertainment Value of the Heroic
Why do these stories need to be entertaining?
• Remember that Greek civilization was largely non-literate
• Who wants to remember a boring old list of facts?
• Exaggeration is fun!
Soap Opera Theory (Oprah, Brangelina)
• We all wish we could be rich and/or beautiful too
• We also enjoy watching rich and/or beautiful people suffer
Wish Fulfillment Theory (Rambo, Madonna, Chuck Norris)
• We all wish we could go crazy and live like rock stars or cowboys
• We also want to avoid the risks of illness and death
Who are some modern individual heroes?
Random modern heroes
Military heroes
• George Washington
• George S. Patton
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
Culture heroes
• Bill Gates and/or Steve Jobs
• Madonna L. Ciccone
• Elvis A. Presley
• Oprah Winfrey
Sports heroes
• Tiger Woods
• Michael Jordan
THE HEROMETER
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Divine birth on one side
Weird events from birth onward
Hero faced with opposition (0% or 100% chance of success)
Proves heroic stature by overcoming opposition (or not)
Love interest (sometimes more than one)
Helper, human or Divine (sometimes more than one)
Labors (one big labor, several canonical labors, or both)
Confrontation with death (katabasis, immortality)
Heracles
Young Heracles
Birth of Heracles
• fathered by Zeus (disguised as Amphitryon) and Alcmena.
• Amphitryon gone to avenge Alcmena’s brother’s deaths from war.
• Zeus boasts; Hera speeds up Eurystheus’s birth
• Alcmena has twins: Heracles (Zeus’s son) and Iphicles (Amphi’s).
Heracles's Trials by Hera
• Eurystheus - cousin of Heracles for whom he performs his labors,
becomes king of Mycenae (whomever born first, got to be king)
• Snakes, beast master/demigod,-sent by Hera, strangled. Now
identities of children are known
• Saves Thebes, king gives him daughter, Megara, for wife. Hera
strickens him w/ madness and he kills family.
• Goes to Oracle and must perform 12 labors for Eurystheus.
Heracles’s Personality
Negative traits
• Homicidal tendences – kills his music teacher Linus. Kills his first
wife Megara.
• Regret and Atonement - exiled to Thebes. On mt. w/ shepherds.
Kills threatening lion.
• Sexual Promiscuity – 50 daughters of Thespius. Cheats on
Deianeira.
Positive Traits
• Sense of humor – Cercopes, Omphale
• Work ethic – does his labors without complaining
• Loyalty – Hylas, keeps promise to Meleager
Heracles’s First Six Labors
• Nemean Lion - invincible skin. Taken by beating and using own
claw. Provides armor.
• Lernaean Hydra - Many headed dragon w/ immortal head.
Cauterizes others, buries immortal head under rock. Dips his arrows
in the Hydra’s blood to make them poisonous
• Cerynean Hind - Artemis's sacred (rein)deer with gold horns. Has to
catch and bring back. (w/ permission).
• Erymanthian Boar - chases into deep snow, catches.
• Augean Stables - dirty for 10+ years, clean in one day by having 2
rivers run through stables. Refused to pay Heracles.
• Stymphalian Birds - dirty, man eating, scared them w/ bronze
rattle, & shoots to get out of area.
Heracles’s Second Six-Pack
• Cretan Bull - father of Minotaur.
• Mares of Diomedes -flesh eating horses. Killed Diomedes and fed
to horses. Change to nice ponies.
• Girdle of Hippolyta (Queen of Amazons) to take off means to
undress for intercourse. Kills after Hera intervenes.
• Cattle of Geryon - Go edge of world to take cattle from 3 headed
monster Geryon. Brings them back in the cup of sun god Helios.
• Apples of Hesperides - tree of life guarded by dragon "Ladon".
Nereus prophet instructs w/ Atlas help. Apples = immortality
• Cerberus - 3 headed hound of hell-captured w/ permission from
Hades; Heracles promises to marry Meleager’s sister Deianeira.
Heracles and Cerberus
Heracles’s Side Labors (parerga)
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Antaeus (son of Gaea, wrestled and choked to death)
Atlas (tricked into taking the world back)
Busiris (cruel Ancient Egyptian king, killed)
Centaurs (gets them drunk and kills them)
Cercopes (beware the man with the black bottom)
Olympian Games (to honor his daddy Zeus)
Prometheus (freed from his rock)
Centaurs
Centaurs
Definition of Centaurs
• Half-men, half horse
• Reaction of a culture which doesn’t ride horses to one that does
• Aztecs thought this way about the Spaniards
• Seldom very sweet-tempered
Ancient Greek Centaurs
• Children of Centaurus (son of Ixion and cloud-Hera)
• Chiron – tutor of young Jason
• Nessus – tried to carry off Deianeira
• Famous battle with the Lapiths (their cousins)
Battle of Centaurs and Lapiths
Death of Heracles
• Deianeira “man killer,” sister of Meleager
• Nessus the centaur offers her a honeymoon ride, gets killed
• Heracles tires of family life with Deianeira, wins Princess Iole in an
archery contest in Trachis
• Kills Iole’s brother, incurring miasma, has to be auctioned to
Omphale (Lydian Queen) dress up as maid for a year.
• Returns to claim Iole, Deianera hears about this, sends favorite
cloak w/ potion on it..he dies.
• Philoctetes lights funeral pyre and receives bow and arrows.
• Mortal part goes to underworld, immortal part goes to Mt. Olympus
• He marries Hebe, Goddess of youthful bloom (daughter of Zeus and
Hera (Hera finds him now worthy).
Heracles Wrestles Death
Heracles through the ages
• Heracles in the Iliad (shoots Hera in the breast with a three pronged
arrow) and Odyssey (whines to Odysseus in the Underworld)
• Heracles at the Crossroads of Vice and Virtue: picks Virtue (played
by Roseanne) over Vice (played by Paris Hilton)
• Heracles in the Aeneid: one big long Public Affairs Mission
• The Emperor Commodus as Heracles: Marcus Aurelius’s son
declared that he was Heracles, dammit. The cultural elite were
aghast but the common folk of Rome found it very cool
• TV shows and cartoons beyond belief
Hercules the TV show
Theseus
Legends of Athens
King Erichthonius -1st king of Athens.
• When Athena born, Heph runs after to claim prize,
• his seed spills on Athena’s thigh and she wipes it on Gaia
• autochthony - a creature w/ body of snake, head of human
• Daughters of Cecrops saw it and went crazay
Cephalus and Procris
• Cephalus dresses in disguise to prove his wife Procris.
• Wife unveils herself and Cephalus curses her.
• Artemis gives her dog and spears that always get target.
• Cephalus gets spear, lies under tree and asks wind (aura) to come.
• Procris hears this and rustles bush behind him…he kills her.
Legends of Crete
• Queen Pasiphae asks Poseidon to send beautiful bull for sacrifice;
• Poseidon sends bull as ordered, but Pasiphae does not kill it.
• Pasiphae made to fall in love for punishment. Daedalus builds wood
cow for her to “entice” the bull
• Pasiphae gives birth to Minotaur – bull-headed baby boy
• Daedalus builds the Labyrinth to keep the Minotaur out of sight
• Labyrinth = actually the magnificent palace at Knossos
• Daedalus gets seriously weirded out in the process
• He builds wings for himself and his son Icarus, who flew too high
and drowned in the Icarian sea. Hubris!
Palace of Knossos (artist’s version)
Birth of Theseus
• King Aegeus could not impregnate wife. Oracles said not to undue
hainging ft of wine skin.
• Pittheus knows what this means and gets him to bed his daughter
Aethra.
• Alternate explanation = Aethra raped by Poseidon (Aegeus may
originally have been a sea god, not a king)
• Aegeus buries sandals and sword underneath rock.
• If the child is a son, he should claim the sandals and sword and
come to Athens
• Theseus becomes a young man and leaves to meet dear old dad.
The Hero, the sword, and the sandals
Theseus’s Highly Inventive Early Labors
• Periphetes (clubman) beat upside of head w/ club to punish
(reversed)
• Sinis (Pine Bender) bend trees, put man in middle-thwap
(reversed)
• Man Eating Sow -Theseus eats it
• Sciron (hero of Megara) Sits on cliff, tells strangers to wash feet
and push over edge for giant turtle to eat.
• Cercyon (wrestler) lifted off the Earth and crushed to death – just
as Heracles did to Antaeus
• Procrustes (the stretcher) stretches/cuts of protruding/smaller
bodies on bed. (reversed)
Theseus vs. Minotaur
• Aegeus is married to Medea (Thinking Woman) and does not
recognize Theseus.
• Medea recognizes Theseus and tries to poison w/ wine.
• He recognizes his old sword and hits the cup out of Theseus’s hand.
• Theseus goes to prove himself in ship with black sail. He will sail
back with a white sail if he makes it.
• Ariadne gives him magic to get thru maze and kill her half-brother,
the Minotaur
• Theseus leaves her on way back to Athens on island of Naxos,
where Dionysus picks her up
• Aegeus sees the black sail on the horizon (Theseus forgot to
change it)
• Aegeus jumps in sea, giving it the name of Aegean Sea.
Perseus
Perseus’s Childhood
• King Acrisius of Argos was told by an oracle that his grandson
would kill him
• He imprisoned his only child, his daughter Danae, in a forest
• Zeus enters in shower of gold sunlight-conceives baby Perseus.
• Acrisius puts Danae and Perseus into a box which he throws in the
sea (assuming they will drown)
• Washed up on island of Seriphus, ruled by evil king Polydectes, who
covets Danae.
• Perseus has to satisfy Poly w/ gift to gain admission to party of rich
(usually one horse).
• Perseus says he could just as easily bring back the head of Medusa
the Gorgonette.
• Polydectes said “You’re On!”
• Perseus’s chances are either 0% or 100%, depending on how you
look at it.
Medusa
Perseus’s Excellent Adventure
• Perseus befriends Athena (lends shield) and Hermes (gives Cap of
Darkness, winged sandals, magic bag) to help him conquer.
• Graeae (3 goddesses of Old Age sharing one eye and tooth) tell him
how to win after he takes their eye.
• Walking backwards, using shield as a mirror, cuts Medusa's head off
(out come Pegasus and Chrysaor).
• On his way back, saves and marries Andromeda (her mother said
she was prettier than Goddesses) from a sea monster
• Shows Polydectes the head and turns him to stone
• Gives magical stuff to Hermes and shield to Athena-Medusa’s head
on shield).
• Goes back to Argos; King Acrisius flees in fear.
• Goes to discus contest, hits Acrisius in foot, incurring miasma
• Wanders around, eventually founds Mycenae.
Jason
Background of the Argonauts
Jason’s early years
• Sent Jason to Mt Pelion, raised by Centaur Chiron.
• Went back to Iolcus to claim throne from Uncle King PeliAS.
• Lost shoe carrying Hera in disguise thru river (fulfilling prophesy of
Pelias getting killed by man w/ one shoe).
• Goes to town, Pelias tells him he has to go get golden fleece.
Origin of the Golden Fleece
• King Athamas and Queen Nephele had two children:Phrixus and
Helle. He tired of her, got 2nd wife Ino, who bribed an oracle to order
Athamas to sacrifice Phrixus.
• Gold ram appeared before sacrifice, Phrixus and Helle soared away
on its back.
• Helle lost grip and fell to Hellespont to death over sea.
• Phrixus landed in Colchis, sacrificed ram to Zeus, and gave skin to
Aeetes (son of the sun god Helios) for thanks.
Jason cures Phineus of his Harpies
Countless Screaming Argonauts
• Jason sails on the Argo, a ship built by Argus and Athena.
• Best fighters (B-Movie Heroes) go on trip, recruited by Hera.
• Island of lonely Lemnian women who offended Aphrodite and made
stinky. Argonauts stay and heroically beget children.
• Next island they meet King Cyzicus, mistakenly killed after being
swept back into harbor.
• Stop on Cios after Heracles broke oar, loses Hylas (Herc’s
boyfriend) to sea nymphs. Hercules goes away too.
• Island of Phineus- cursed w/ harpies taking food for revealing too
much of divine plan. Harpies (1/2 woman and bird) befoul food.
Drive off Harpies
• Pass through Symplegades (clashing rocks), and send a dove
through to confirm passage.
Medea, Jason, and the Golden Fleece
Adventures in Colchis
• On Colchis, King Aeetes of Aea received the Argonauts.
• Hera makes Aeetes’s daughter Medea fall in love with Jason
• Aeetes tells Jason he can have fleece if
– he yokes 2 fire breathing bronzed hooved bulls and plows earth
– sowed the dragon’s teeth left over from Thebes
– destroy warriors springing from their teeth.
• Medea helps Jason accomplish the labors and take the fleece.
• Medea chops up her brother for Aeetes to pick up en route.kill son.
• Back in Iolcus, Pelias is unwilling to step down.
• Jason kills the other menfolk and Medea tricks Pelias’s daughters
into chopping him up and killing him.
• Town people drove Jason and Medea away to Corinth.
Medea Escapes
The Medea of Euripides
Plot
• Medea and Jason have moved to Corinth
• Local king Creon wants Jason to marry his daughter Creousa
• Medea offers to go along with the plan – does she mean it?
Questions:
• Is this a typical midlife crisis story?
• Is Jason heroic or sleazy?
• Is Medea a crusader or a witch?
• Who do the gods blame?
• What is Aegeus doing here?
Bellerophon
Bellerophon
• While in Corinth he incurs miasma, goes to Argos.
• Purified by King Proetus whose wife Sthenoboea falls in love with
him.
• He refuses, She writes note accusing him of trying to rape her.
• King Iobates has him perform labors.
– Labor #1: Solymi
– Labor #2: Amazons
– Labor #3: Chimera
• gets big head, tries to fly to Olympus on Pegasus
• Thunderbolt kills him -- HUBRIS!!!!
• Pegasus stays on Mt. Olympus
The Amazons
The Amazons
Lineage
• Name comes from a+mazon = Greek for “no breast”
• Supposedly chopped their right breasts off to make them better
archers
• Total matriarchy under Queen Hippolyta
• Supposedly male children were exposed at birth and only female
babies raised
Purpose of the Amazons in Greek Myth
• Get beat by various Greek heroes
– Heracles
– Theseus
– Bellerophon
• Somebody has to be the bad guys (or girls) in these legends
• Also, a possible lesson for uppity females
Atalanta
Atalanta
• Father abandons Atalanta to be raised by hunters and a she-bear.
• Atalanta becomes a famous runner; her dad becomes proud and
holds race for her hand in marriage.
• Hippomenes (aka Milanion) brings 3 golden apples to the race
• Every time she gets ahead, he throws an apple and she stops to
pick it up.
• Atalanta and Hippomenes get married and consummate marriage in
Artemis’s temple.
• Artemis changes them into a lion and a lioness (supposedly could
not procreate)
Calydonian Boar Hunt, The
Calydonian Boar Hunt, The
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Sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon after she is dissed
Meleager and men go to hunt it.
Atalanta (either the famous runner or not) hits it first,
Meleager finishes it off.
Uncles tease him about giving skin to a girrrrrlllll
He kills his uncles
Mom takes log from box (when it burns, Meleager dies)
Throws it into the fire, killing Meleager
In the underworld, Meleager fixes up Heracles with his sister
Deianeira
Peleus
Peleus as hero
• Peleus in Phthia. King Eurytion purifies him from miasma and joins
him in Calydonian boar hunt.
• Peleus misses boar and kills King. Goes to Iolcus for purification.
• Queen Astydamia falls in love with young Peleus, who rejected her.
• Astydamia writes a note claiming Peleus had raped; Peleus gets
sent on labors:
• Peleus is taken out on a “snipe hunt” and abandoned. His sword is
hidden in a pile of poop.
• Wakes up surrounded by centaurs. Chiron, nice centaur, tells
Peleus where sword is.
• Awarded wife Thetis (the nymph destined to bear “a son who is
greater than his father”) for his display of good behavior.
The Judgement of Paris
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
• Thetis – the famous nymph destined to bear “a son who is greater
than his father.”
• All deities invited to her wedding with Peleus except Eris, Goddess
of Discord.
• Eris came w/ golden apple "for the fairest."
• Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena each claim it. Zeus wisely declines the
role of judge
• Paris (a handsome but duuuumb Trojan prince) selected judge
• He chooses Aphrodite, and is rewarded with the most beautiful
woman in the world.
• Paris claims Helen, wife of Menelaus (king of Sparta), starting
Trojan war.
• Thetis gives birth to Achilles and dips him by the heel in the river
Styx to make him invulnerable.
Retellable Heroic Tales
Pyramus and Thisbe (Ovid) = Romeo and Juliet
• Wall separates houses, forbidden to see one another.
• Thisbe sees lion w/ bloody teeth and leaves, dropping scarf.
• Pyramus sees veil, stabs himself in side. Thisbe falls on his sword.
Hero and Leander
• Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, lives in tower.
• Hero turns lamp on every night to guide Leander on thru water.
• Rainy night it goes out and Leander loses his way.
• She sees him on beach dead next morning-jumps off.
Philemon and Baucis
• Zeus and Hermes in disguise. Everyone mean except P and B.
• P and B pray to gods before meal, and about to kill goose for dinner.
• Gods reveal themselves, spare P and B from flood
• Wind up as Oak and Linden tree w/intertwining branches.
Dinner with Philemon and Baucis
Pyramus and Thisbe
Where do we go from here?
Oct 21
Oct 23
Hour Exam 2
Introduction: Belief and Society
Oct 28
Oct 30
Blended Day
Heracles, Athens and Crete (L 22-26)
Nov 04
Nov 06
Blended Day
Blended Day
Nov 11
Nov 13
B-Movie and Other Heroes (L 27-30)
Hour Exam 3