Hades wisely entrusted ferocious Cerberus to protect the gates to the underworld. Only mighty Heracles overcame the hellhound through godly strength and guile as the final and most difficult task of his twelve labours. After being dragged up to the surface through a cave and exposed to daylight, a violently agitated Cerberus vomited toxic froth onto nearby aconite plants (aka Wolf’s Bane). Legend has it that this toxic vomit is what made Wolf’s Bane poisonous.
The Ceryneiean or Golden Hind was the sacred animal of Artemis, the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt, virginity, flora, and fauna. So powerful and swift was it that it was faster than any arrow let loose and almost invincible. The Hind was finally captured by the demi-god Heracles as part of his twelve labours of penance.
In the HADES inspired D&D game I’m running my players are about to face off against Heracles in Elysium. We’ll see if the god of strength goes easy on them or not :)c
Achlyswas the personified spirit of the death-mist – the clouding of the eyes preceding death. She may also have been the goddess of deadly poisons. Akhlys was sometimes numbered amongst the Keres. She is one of the figures depicted on Heracles’ shield, perhaps also representing the personification of sorrow and grief.
For the past few weeks, our prompts have been to write a fairytale, and to imagine a myth ending differently. For the latter, here’s a text one of our mods @lucinaofstarlight wrote, concerning the relationship between Hera and Heracles.
TW for a vague mention of attempted sexual assault
Glory of Hera
After a moment of silence, as if the world was drawing breath, the battlefield was filled with loud cheers of joy as the Olympian gods celebrated their newly-fought victory over the giants. Heracles got an approving nod from Athena, who had fetched him to help with the battle: after all, a prophecy had stated that the gods could only win if they were aided by a mortal. And Heracles had been a great help indeed, having shot many giants with his arrows. The hero’s confidence faltered slightly when he saw Hera approach him.
In the midst of battle, he had saved the Queen of the Gods from being attacked and assaulted by giant Porphyrion. The enemy had first been struck by a thunderbolt thrown by Hera’s husband Zeus, and Heracles had then rushed to help by shooting Porphyrion with an arrow. No harm had come to Hera, who had then proceeded to fight as she had before. The goddess of motherhood and marriage was quite fierce when she wanted to be, as Heracles had experienced before. He was a brave and resourceful warrior, even now clad in the hide of the Nemean lion he had killed. But if there was something that made him feel nervous, it was being in the presence of the goddess who had caused many problems for him before. What was she thinking about right now?
“Thank you for saving my life”, Hera said, to Heracles’ surprise. What confused him even more was her tone, which was actually genuinely grateful.
“Of course, my lady”, the man replied politely. Hera must have noticed the slight suspicion in his voice and demeanor, and chuckled.
“Has it not dawned on you yet, boy?” the queen asked, and proceeded to explain. “I don’t hate you. All the obstacles I have thrown at you have been challenges for you to overcome.”
She glanced at her husband who was standing nearby, chatting with his beloved daughter Athena. Hera turned back to Heracles and continued:
“Zeus fathers children, I forge them into the heroes this world needs. In that sense, you are my son as much as you are his.”
Her tone was proud and royal but at the same time the look in her eyes was soft and approving. Heracles was confused and unsure what to think, but in the end supposed that this was a good thing.
“Geez”, he said, scratching his head embarrassed. “I guess that explains the meaning of my name and all.”
Hera’s Glory. The goddess simply nodded and turned her head towards the night sky, where the stars were clearly visible now. There was the milky way, which had come to existence when Hera had nursed baby Heracles and he had sucked so strongly that milk had spilled across the sky. Her milk had also given Heracles his super strength. As he had been just an infant he himself didn’t remember this event, but Hera did, and thought of that memory now.
She had never hated him. She had had plans for him all along.
Omphale. Sculptor: Joseph Anton Weinmüller. Omphale was the queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. She was the daughter of Iardanus and the wife of Tmolus, the king of Lydia. After Tmolus was killed by a bull, she continued to reign on her own. She purchased the hero Heracles after he was sent into servitude for one year by the Delphic Oracle for murdering Iphitos.
In my dream I am adolescent Heracles having a prophetic dream about the twelfth labour. In search for the putrid Avernus I travel far south. The further I go the thicker the fog gets but there’s no stench to guide me to the entrance – on the contrary, I’m treated to the most exotic flower fragrance. After a while I spot a source of light in the mist and it soon leads me to a lavender field with a decorated crystal coffer towering above it. Inside the coffer there’s an enormous shriveled corpse – its chest being consumed by smokeless fire in complete silence. I realize this is the entrance to Hades I’ve been after and rejoice. Without delay I shatter the coffer and immediately wake up into the darkness of hell – as a naked youth. I remember a woman laughing in front of me. The shock breaks the spell and I wake up again marveling about the idea of unleashing hell upon the world as the only means of entering it.
Inspired by the tale of Hylas in the Argonautica by Apollonios Rhodios. Hylas was the son of Theiodamas, king of the Dryopes, by the nymph Menodice (Apollon. Rhod. 1.1213; Hygin. Fab. 14.271; Propert. 1.20.6); or, according to others, a son of Heracles, Euphemus, or Ceyx. (Schol. adTheocrit. 13.7; Anton. Lib. 26.) He was the favourite of Heracles, who, after having killed his father, Theiodamas, took him with him when he joined the expedition of the Argonauts. (Apollon. Rhod. 1.131; Orph. Argon. 221.) When the Argonauts landed on the coast of Mysia, Hylas went out to fetch water for Heracles; but when he came to a well, his beauty excited the love of the Naiads, who drew him down into the water, and he was never seen again. (Comp. Val. Flacc. 3.545; Orph. Argon. 637; Theocrit. 13.45.)
Heracles himself endeavoured to trace him, and called out his name, but in vain; and the voice of Hylas was heard from the bottom of the well only like a faint echo, whence some say that he was actually metamorphosed into an echo. While Heracles was engaged in seeking his favourite, the Argonauts sailed away, leaving Heracles and his companion, Polyphemus (the Argonaut), behind. He threatened to ravage the country of the Mysians unless they would find out where Hylas was, either dead or alive. (Apollon. Rhod, 1.1344.) According to the Latin Argonauticaof Valerius Flaccus, he never found Hylas because he had fallen in love with the nymphs and remained “to share their power and their love.” In Theocritus 13 Hylas was the companion and lover of Heracles.
You may be familiar with Heracles (or the Roman spelling, Hercules) from the Disney animated movie, or perhaps even mythology. Heracles from mythology was driven into a rage by Hera – one of the Greek goddesses – and accidentally killed his wife and children. Very family unfriendly, you can see why Disney cut that scene.
As penance, Heracles served King Eurystheus for twelve years, performing what are now called the Twelve Labours of Heracles. You can read all about them here, but some highlights include rerouting a river to clean an enormous stable, simply borrowing a belt from a queen – before Heracles’ friend louses it up – and capturing the Guardian of the Underworld, three-headed Ceberus, with his bare hands.
![[Fate x Fall Guys Collab]When /ourking/ Artoria realizes what team she just landed on, and now has](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5c576231354498db746aaee33b89d644/81a399ac6e885d00-8b/s1280x1920/b90a99866ee7ce5c439d08d657fc7170eb8aa8cb.png "[Fate x Fall Guys Collab]When /ourking/ Artoria realizes what team she just landed on, and now has")
