Good day, dear Take in Mind readers! We continue coverage of the significant life events of the most famous hero of ancient Greece. In the previous episode, we paused on the moment when the perfectly prepared young Heracles embarked on a heroic, but full of dangerous adventures, path to immortal greatness.
Here the “adults-only” part of the story begins, so our younger readers should jump straight to the next paragraph. Thespius or Thestius, who was the legendary founder and king of Thespiae, had the most important insight about Heracles. The way he could assess the personality of the young man remains a mystery. Perhaps the idea of Thespius, about the way to strengthen his own dynasty with healthy genes and to possess the divine relatives simultaneously, may seem shocking (and even immoral) in our enlightened and chaste epoch, but, honestly, the Thespian king was a very far-sighted politician. So, he decided… that each of his fifty(!) daughters should give birth to a son from the young hero. And… In one(!) night, Heracles conceived 51 descendants with 49 princesses. Do not be confused by these numbers: one of the princesses decided to remain a virgin forever and refused to take part in this grandiose orgy, and twins were born to two women. The Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus lists the names of all the princesses and children. Anyway, Heracles presented himself as a superhero in this event as well. By the way, many Greeks consider (and, between us, they are probably right) this incredible act of childbirth as the thirteenth feat of Heracles.
Please do not think that the previous adventure somehow weakened the hero. Or that his long trip abroad had somehow affected his patriotism towards Thebes. The latter fact, with their own and bitter example, was learned by several account executives from Orchomenus. A few years before the story begins, King Clymenus of Orchomenus was accidentally killed by Perieres, the charioteer of Menoeceus of Thebes. The son of Clymenus, King Erginus of Orchomenus started a war against Thebans, inflicting a heavy defeat. The Thebans were compelled to pay King Erginus a tribute of 100 oxen per year for twenty years. By bad luck, the collectors met Heracles on his way. The arrogant executives scoffed: “Thebes was lucky that our kind king did not cut off the noses, ears, and hands to all the citizens. We, in his place, would arrange such a bloody massacre!” These bloodthirsty thoughts were heard by Heracles who passed by. He cut off the noses, hands, and ears of the collectors, hung each of his goods around his neck, turned them around, and sent them back to King Erginus.
However, this creepy Orchomenus adventure was still far to be ended. Knowing that King Erginus would demand revenge, Heracles quickly gathered and led the Theban army. These valiant patriots not only defeated the army but, in turn, launched a counteroffensive and captured Orchomenus.
As a reward, the eldest daughter of the King Creon of Thebes, Megara married Heracles, and Heracles started to live a calm family life. Soon the happy couple gave birth to Therimachus, Creontiades, and Deicoon. The future looked so colorful… But, alas, Hera was not yet loyal to her husband’s illegitimate son. She sent madness to Heracles, and in a state of possession, the hero killed the children and, most possibly, also Megara.
Soon the magic dissipated and the seizure passed… No one knows what suffering the young man experienced. But that is why Heracles was a superhero, and even such blow of fate (or, more precisely, of Hera) did not break him completely. Heracles went to Delphi to ask the oracle if it is possible to expiate such a terrible crime. And if so, how? The oracle (via the priestess) ordered Heracles to go to the unloved relative, King Eurystheus of Tiryns (let’s return to the story of how Eurystheus took the royal throne, originally intended for Heracles, next time). There, ordered by the king, Heracles must carry out ten labours.
Don’t worry, the Greeks and your author are doing all right with the count to twelve. Next time we will make sure that, like the revolution, heroic deeds have a beginning, but there is no end! However, the oracle reassured the hero that in case of successful completion of all the levels of his “quest”, Heracles will receive a full amnesty, immortality, ascent to Olympus, and all divine privileges.
We will talk about how Heracles completed his famous labours next time. But just before saying goodbye, I want to share with you a little thought. It turns out that despite her outright hatred, Hera herself pushed Heracles to divine greatness. Just imagine: If the terrible murder of Megara and the children wouldn’t happen, there would have been no twelve labours, no participation in the campaign for the golden fleece, no liberation of Prometheus… One century later no one would remember some Theban aristocrat and, even worse, the wonderful Disney cartoon would not be produced. But on the other hand, the lives of young women and children are… Of course, this is a terrible choice… Therefore, the story of Heracles forces us to think no less than Dostoyevsky did a few millennia later. So, what do you, our dear readers, think about this? Please share your opinions below.
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