The 12 Labours of Heracles/Hercules | Myths Explored and Explained
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
6:43 Sponsor
8:27 Heracles' Labours continued
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"No Hera. You're nothing but trouble for the Amazons". I loved that. Thanks for your oration of the 12 labors of Heracles.
I always found it a bit funny that Hera was the original evil stepmother who inspired the trope that then Disney used in so many movies. Yet when Disney did their spin on hercules/heracles they chose to make Hera a benevolent mother... make up your mind lol. Then again portraying the Greek pantheon in a children's movie is always going to be difficult XD
Great series! You should do the Romulus and Remus myth at some point!
Also curious: Heracles' name literally means 'Glory of Hera'. Could the cycle of labors, and his eventual immolation, suggest a sort of seasonal hero sacrificed to the goddess?
@9:00 - It makes perfect sense, actually. You missed that when Heracles (and Iolaus) killed the Hydra, he coated his arrows in its poisonous blood. Even the slightest scratch is fatal. This, of course, plays into his death...
@12:10 - Augeas banished Heracles and his son (Phyleus), but Heracles returned immediately and killed Augeas, took the cattle owed, and gave the kingdom to Phyleus. Eurystheus invalidated the Labour because it was the river did the actual work and because Heracles accepted payment for it.
Anyway Eurystheas is considered as a scared idiot by all Greeks
Wonderful work dear ❤
Wasn't there one version of the myth where it was Cheiron, not Pholus, who was wounded by the poisoned arrow? Cheiron, being semi-divine himself (btw, technically, he was sort of Heracles' uncle), had to beg the gods to end his torment, and was translated to the heavens as the constellation Sagittarius...
I really do love your enthusiasm and story telling skills. You could have made one video of this, and I'd have watched the whole thing and not even noticed the passage of time. I don't know if you're knowledgeable about Russian mythology, but I'd like to hear about some of that if you are.
Orpheus and Eurydice. You'll never look back.
Your videos are so relaxing and interesting and make me feel smarter, so thank you :)
I'm so glad you like them!
This exactly 💯
I love how you retell these myths. Your sass and enthusiasm is a delight!! I am so glad I found your channel
Lovely to meet you! Thank you for subbing (:
Oh my god. As you were talking about this I realised... my favorite childhood book is A REIMAGINING OF THE TWELVE LABOURS?! my mind is forever blown. I absolutely adore this series, I've been getting into some retellings and it's so cool to get the backstory in such an engaging way! Thank you 🥰
Thank you for making mythology more accessible and fun! I really enjoy listening to these videos while I work. Have a nice day!
Glad you like them, Noelia!
Your videos are extraordinary, and I’ve learned a lot. I want you to know that I really appreciate all of your efforts in creating these videos. You deserve all of the credit and praise in the world!
I'm loving this series!!! Thanks so much for breaking this down! Fascinating! 😁
You are so welcome!
I can’t wait to show my nephew this! We started watching these together and it’s gotten him interested in mythology!
I love these videos! I've forgotten most of these stories so it was super interesting ☺️
i love that you explane Promethius the guy that for some reason shows up in almost all the fantasy fiction i read so i accidentally know all about him, but the sea god shapeshifter guy I've never heard of gets no introduction.😄😄😄
Loving these series and learning so much. Love the varied perspectives from the diverse myths.
I dearly love listening to this delightful Lady!
"Ultimate Geese" is an excellent description which I shall be using in future. I may even pitch a television series to ITV with that name, as I suspect it would be a perfect vehicle for Ross Kemp.
"They're like the ultimate geese" best line
First time reading this story was on the ladybird classics series. Love it.
On the arrows Heracles bore. Iirc, in one version of the myths he had dipped them in the Hyrdra's blood which was poisonous. (This in regard to the centaur that the arrow scratched him and he died)
How much do you know about the relationship between the labours and the zodiac? Because I recently heard that when copying the Babylonian zodiac, the Greeks had to make it sort of make sense with their myths and that’s around the time where the first records of the 12 labours show up. In my head, that could explain the whole “this one didn’t count because of help, this other one does”
I haven’t really looked that much into it, but it popped in my head while watching your video.
In any case, love your videos! I hope you have a lovely day :)
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DISCLAIMER
This video was produced by a random student on the internet who loves reading, especially about ancient history and classics. The purpose of my videos is to make classics and ancient history interesting and accessible to everyone. It is important to highlight that I am not a professional or qualified educator, “expert”, historian or classicist. However, I ensure that all the information I use in my video scripts has been collated from numerous credible sources, which I will link in the description box if accessible online. I always work my hardest to deliver thoroughly researched and reliable information in my videos, but please always conduct additional, independent research to formulate a thorough understanding of any topic discussed. Additionally, I am dyslexic, and I will mispronounce words throughout this video, sometimes without realising it. This is not ill-intended or stemming from willful ignorance, and I do make the effort to research how to pronounce words before I start filming, but I often misread my phonetic spelling. In light of this, please do not rely on my video for an authoritative or reliable source of how to pronounce certain words.
Ohh i was waiting for this!!!!! Yesss! I looooved this so much!!! 💕💕💕Thank you!
You covered this so much better than other youtubers...and I've listened to quite a few. :)
You are a wonderful storyteller. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so much!
Really loving these videos you’ve been doing!
😎Greek mythology , drama , poetry have always been a fascination for me. Have some old school " spoken word " recordings containing complete or excerpted material from this classical genre. Your voice is so reminiscent of the talents that partook in these recorded performances. Would love to hear you do more Greek material including some of the dramas and classical poems. The episode on Homer and the first part of the Heracles ( 😃definitely a favorite heroic presence enhanced even greater by the 1960s Steve Reeves films) story are next on my viewing list.
Love these myths explored and explained vids
Thank you Cinzia, very cool Heracles video! 🙆♀️
I really enjoyed listening to you. I love reading too. I'm looking forward to watching watch more of your videos.
Thank you so much 🤗
It's always a pleasure when you upload!
Thank you for watching!
Love these explainations. You have something really interesting going on, on your channel.
Glad you like them!
Doesn't one version of the Heracles and centaur myth have the arrows he used coated in Hydra venom/blood? And I always read the bit about the hoof as meaning the fleshy bit just above the hoof.
Anyone else wonder if the Labors are an early example of "sequel fatigue"?
You’re amazing, how you can carry so many facts and figures in your beautiful head stumps me...I got a slight headache just trying to follow along!
A marvelous vid, as always.
I can't get over that Ares killed all the other gods in the DC movie universe.
Oh I'd almost like to see you do a video on Theseus or Jason just to hear you slag them off :D On a linguistic note: "apple" was a generic term for fruit, so many people think the golden apples were oranges
thank you for this great Video! :)
Disney Hades: EVIL
Mythology Hades: Oh, you wanna borrow Spot? well... okay, but don't hurt him. Also return him in time for dinner plz.
once again...well presented...well done....I adore the show of arm muscle show with one arm..Herclules..
I read many of the ancient myths in school, but the writing was so clunky that it was hard to understand a lot of it. Your videos really help since you're using modern English and not the academic translations like in the books they assigned to us as kids. Hearing you tell the stories this way makes it really accessable, and makes the characters actually relatable. The ancient people really didn't think much differently about things than we do today. Hell, thinking about modern films and books, we too make up monsters to tell a good story.
Loved everything about this. Just wished you'd have touched on Hydra's buddy Karkinos who was killed by Heracles (and thank you so much for using his Greek name) and immortalized by Hera as the constellation Cancer
9:10 he doubted the powers of the gods and was punished immediately, it's like a saying played out in a story. It should be along the lines of "he whom doubts the gods will suffer the consequence immediately".
My father used the same type of saying "the gods punish immediately", a more modern western saying would be "don't play with fire or you might get burned".
If that would have been a saying back then, he could have picked up the burning wood used to kill the first ones, wondering how it could kill them while playfully juggling the stick, drops it on the ground that immediately catches fire around him and he dies in a burning blaze of fire.
Great vid!
Please do an in-depth video like this on Neptune/Poseidon
Really like the humor in your narrative.
Thank you 😊
Wasn't the arrow that killed Pholus dipped in the Hydras blood?
When Hades took Cerberus for walks, how many leashes did he use?
Sort of like Taskmaster for the Ancient Greeks. Hera is Greg, Eurystheus is Little Alex Horne. "Kill the Lernean Hydra. For every head you cut off 2 more will grow back in its place. Fastest wins, your time starts now."
In very small print at the bottom it says "If your nephew helps you, you will be disqualified."
I would assume the reason Herakles was permitted assistance with the mares and Amazonian belt is because there are multiple Amazons and multiple mares. But only one Hydra
My image of Theseus is mainly shaped by Mary Renault's novel "the King must die" and it was a rather sympathetic image than that of the rather primitive Herakles. Could it be that your pieve point is that Theseus left Ariadne behind on an island? It earned her a god in stead of a mortal.
I would love to hear you talk about Alexander the Great or the Alexander romance.
I agree with your assessment of Theseus and Jason, My fave is Odyssius, dude just wanted to be at home having a family
Ohhhh, Odysseus, the pillaging pirate who slaughtered innocents and slept with multiple people over a 20 year period and then immediately left his home after returning? I would say he wasn't so innocent ;)
Thank you.
Perhaps the centaur who died from the arrow in the hoof is a reference to infection.
I love Orpheus, if you can do a deep dive into his story I'd be very happy
Someone plz make an accurate rpg game out of Heracles’ struggle. I’d play the sh1t outta that.
Your voice is top tier u make me sleepy and interested at the same time
The Lion was in the Disney film too, but only a brief scene in a montage. (They drew the Lion skin to look like Scar from The Lion King, if you remember that.)
So was the boar in the same montage!
@@CinziaDuBois Now I have to rewatch it!
Is there a link to the previous video when it is mentioned in the beginning and my settings are just blocking it?
"But why did the antiquity of the Phrygians cause them to be linked with the interpretation of divine myth in particular? In order to suggest an answer, we must briefly consider why & how myth came to be interpreted in the first place. It is well known that in the Greek world of the fifth century B.C. the dominance of mythic narrative as an explanatory discourse began to be challenged by the emergence of other modes, historical, philosophical, & medical. Yet the centrality of myth in earlier Greek culture and its incorporation into classic works of art and literature, the Homeric epics above all, gave it a prestige that it never lost. One response on the part of many intellectuals was to co-opt that prestige by reinterpreting traditional divine myths as coded accounts whose real meaning could be revealed only by those with the proper interpretive key. An often-cited remark of Pausanias nicely sums up this view:
“when I began this work I used to look upon these Greek stories as markedly on the foolish side; but when I had got as far as Arcadia my opinion about them became this: I guessed that the Greeks who were accounted wise spoke of old in riddles and not straight out, and that this story about Kronos is a bit of Greek wisdom”
(8.8.3). In other words, divine myth could be appreciated as a type of ancient wisdom, one that through the application of the proper techniques could be mapped onto types of modern wisdom. By the Hellenistic period, a range of such techniques had been developed, of which the two most popular were precisely those attested for these Phrygian tales: the historicizing interpretation that saw the gods as ancient rulers & culture heroes, & the allegorizing interpretation that saw them as symbols of elements and forces in the natural world.
54To a large extent, no doubt, the appropriateness of these interpretive techniques could be demonstrated simply by their ability to “reveal” the modern wisdom that was alleged to lie encoded in the ancient narrative."
[Phrygian Tales, J. B. Rives]
I'm genuinely surprised that Heracles was even capable of talking with Hera. I have an admittedly limited knowledge of Greek Mythology but I remember him getting warm and threatening to shoot Helios (I think, either him or Apollo). Also he threatened to strangle the ocean, or god of the ocean when he was seasick.
I remember an analysis of the Atlas encounter which stated that Heracles didn't outsmart Atlas--not truly--Atlas was just so incredibly stupid that Heracle's obvious trap went off without a hitch.
Why wouldn't he be able to talk to Hera?
this video was already spectacular without the phrase “the ultimate geese”
Hera: Best mom of the year.
Taking a shot everytime you say "however"
Strange, it won't let me add this to a playlist.
On the dropped arrow killing the centaur:
Presumably legendary heroes have good arrows with sharp points, capable of cutting mythical creatures.
The arrow could have pierced a major blood vessel in the foot,thus bleeding the creature to death.
It could also be a reference to horses, as in, horses are traditionally killed if they become lame from illness or injury.
So perhaps the Greeks were imagining the centaur dying instantly from an injury that would make it lame?
Heracles' arrows had arrowheads coated in Hydra blood, which was lethal.
HERCULES IS MY FRIEND THANK YOU TALK ABOUT HIS 12 WORKS
I think I maybe have laughed a little too hard when just sacrificed them to Hera 😅
I love mythology
the birds for the 6th labor were Canadian Geese
I love Greek mythology! Not so keen on Theseus either well done to Dionysus for rescuing Ariadne from him..
I do entertain the possibility that Heracles was a real man (eponymous ancestor of the Heracleidae) who became the subject of a large number of tall tales. Hera can even be written into the story as an explanation for things that actually happened. Perhaps he was subject to intermittent schizophrenia, which has been attributed to divine influence in quite a few cultures.
Sounds like those centaurs have a drinking problem.🤣🤣
A hind is a deer, not a part of a stag. Compare Drake's ship _Golden Hind._
Is it bad that my first experience with the myth of Heracles was from the Kevin Sorbo show, not the Disney movie?
Can you recommend classical stories like odyssey, golden fleece, i claudius, golden ass etc. Im stupidly uneducated and the last 4 years have been me catching up on everything i missed while living out my old gangster fantasies and spending time in prisons. Im onto literature now and i love classical works, especially philosophical works. Ive bought so many philosophical allegorical books and ive exhausted the list in my head. You sound like you know a ton of recommendable books. My question and explination might sound like im dumb but im not so dont go easy on me. Greek stories are my fave by far because of the myths and legends within them. Pilgrims progress, paradise lost and devine comedy have been completed this month so not thise but like those from ancient scholars. Looking forward to your response 👍 😊
Oh I love historical accounts too but as I said from around the Mediterranean area. If there are exceptions still recommend them though. ❤
I have a video about this on my channel (:
Them pipes in that thumbnail. Fierce.
I mean you joke but I do actually weight-lift 😅 I just couldn’t tense my muscle because my jumper was too tight around my upper arm
in my opinion, the labors are a metaphore of the things that are needed to be done and the changes in tradition that are needed to be taken, for a culture to undertake a safe transit from barbarism to civilisation
OK, maybe Herodotus meant that Cerberus had 3 dog heads and 47 snake heads. One for the the tail, and 23 on each side of his torso.
Ever read "The Lusiads"? I think you will like it and I'd really love to hear you opinion on it :)
'they're like the ultimate geese' 😂😂😂
Hercules used the impenetrable lion skin as a cloak.
Everyone wants to wrestle Heracles? Of course they do! I want to wrestle Heracles. Don't you want to wrestle Heracles?
Wrestle Heracles.
That'd be a great band name: Wrestling Heracles
Apologies for feeding the troll Cinzia! 🙇♀️
From Ancient Greek τοξότης ("bowman, archer")
Stymphalian birds the same thing as Crebain from Dunland🤣🤣🤣
Hail Hercules!
"The ultimate geese".... Swans?🤔
Spoiler alert: After all those labors Heracles is smelling rather manky, so as he dries off from his shower he calls to his wife, "Honey, could you toss me a fresh shirt?"
"Sure, dear. It's just out of the dryer, nice and warm..."
Toxos is the Greek word for bow 🏹
Or poison arrows toxicology
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Is it weird that the task that would most intimidate me would be the geese?
Also, isn't the Minoan bull the father of the Minotaur?
It is!
Question: Wasn't Iolaus Hercules's lover?
Only according to Plutarch, but no where else mentions Heracles sleeping with his nephew. I prefer to think that was Plutarch's wet dream more than lore
Very respectable work and i congatulate you for it. But as a Greek myself some things need to be clarified. No Greek Myth is literal and was never used literaly. The word Myth comes from the Greek Μύθος. Μύθος comew from the words Μύηση + Θεία which means Induction into the matters of the Gods which in turn are the Higher Ideals in the Cosmos of Ideas (Κόσμος των Ιδεών). The Myth of Heracles symbolises the ascension and the glorification of our Soul into the realm of the Gods meaning the Higher Ideals. Ηρακλής = Ήρα + Κλέος which is the Goddess Hera who symbolises the Human and Cosmic Soul (this comes from her Name Ηρα = Αηρ = Air one of the Four Roots of Nature and second Highest of them Behind Fire which is symbolized by Zeus. Air symbolises the Soul.)
Κλεος means Glory. Therefore Heracles is the human Soul which through the Labours conquers each one of the Ethical Virtues and ascends to mount Olympus the highest peak (Ολυμπος = Ολο + Λαμπείς = Ever Shining). This Myth is the greatest tool in the hands of those who can decode its meaning and the best example for how every human can become Virtuous.
Is the story of Heracles and Samson related?
Possibly! When you compare myths you often find that one is just a different version of another. Some people think Hercules going through the 12 labours is the story of the Sun going through the 12 signs of the Zodiac - and the name Samson means "Sun".
@@stephensteviecole9238 this comment you made really shook me as a person.
After much contemplation, yes, the story of Heracles is more than just the physical strength Heracles shows, but rather the emotional strength and fortitude required.
And theres alot here that resonates with what we go through in life.
Carrying on despite achieving something incredible and having it deflated as a failure.
Holding on and staying the course through dramatic and radical change.
Shouldering the burden for someone else (as noble as it is) then having the strength and wits to face that person and say, this is not *my* burden to carry and you actually need to step up and take it back.
(and much more)
What youve said, even though its not what you intented, taught me alot, and i greatly appreciate that.
Thank you Stephen.
@@michaelpuckering6155 my pleasure! I've believed for a long time that myths, legends & folklore, are not meant to be literally believed as factual events, but to teach us things about ourselves
Hercules? You mean Hunkules!
Awful lot of stories about Heracles losing his temper and killing whoever was unlucky enough to be close by. He always felt really sorrowful afterwards though.
three heads and three bodies... so three people?
You forgot to say, Heracles means something like Glory of Hera. Zeus was his dad, but Hera was not his mum. No wonder she was furious (Yep. Greek mythological pun). It's nearly as bad as the Johnny Cash song, A Boy Named Sue. Except worse. (Sue failed to become a god, and vanished into obscurity. As I'm already on a side note, Jason discovered lesbians. Give him a break.)
I didn't forget to cover his family line! This is part two of a series of Heracles - I cover His familial relations with the gods in part one :) Though I accidentally cut out the bit where I discussed his name. Stupid editing on my part
@@CinziaDuBois I was drunk. I'll watch part one. Forgive me lol
@@CinziaDuBois what would be the zeus version of the name Zeuscles
What about the rest of his life?