Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. In ancient times it was the largest city of the region of Boeotia and the modern city still contains the Cadmea (ancient citadel).
Resume
The record of the earliest days of Thebes was preserved among the Greeks in an abundant mass of legends which rival the myths of Troy in their wide ramification and the influence which they exerted upon the literature of the classical age. Five main cycles of story may be distinguished:
1. The foundation of the citadel Cadmea by Cadmus, and the growth of the Sparti or "Sown Men" (probably an aetiological myth designed to explain the origin of the Theban nobility which bore that name in historical times);
2. The building of a "seven-gated" wall by Amphion, and the cognate stories of Zethus, Antiope and Dirce; 3. The tale of the "house of Laius," culminating in the adventures of Oedipus and the wars of the "Seven Against Thebes" and the Epigoni;
4. The advent of Dionysus;
5. The Exploits of Heracles.
It is difficult to extract any historical fact out of this maze of myths; the various groups cannot be fully co-ordinated, and a further perplexing feature is the neglect of Thebes in the Homeric poems. On the other hand, these myths cannot be entirely discarded, as shown by the recovery in the 1909 excavation of the "House of Cadmus", whom legend states was born in Tyre and taught letters to the Greeks, of a collection of Mesopotamian cylinder-seals, including one referring to a Kassite king who ruled between 1381 and 1354 BC.
Further archeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed cist graves dated to Mycenaean times containing weapons, ivory, and tablets written in Linear B.
It seems safe to infer that it was one of the first Greek communities to be drawn together within a fortified city, that it owed its importance in prehistoric as in later days to its military strength. As a fortified community, it attracted attention from the invading Dorians, and the fact of their eventual conquest of Thebes lie behind the stories of the successive legendary attacks on that city.
The central position and military security of the city naturally tended to raise it to a commanding position among the Boeotians, and from early days its inhabitants endeavoured to establish a complete supremacy over their kinsmen in the outlying towns.
This centralizing policy is as much the cardinal fact of Theban history as the counteracting effort of the smaller towns to resist absorption forms the main chapter of the story of Boeotia.
No details of the earlier history of Thebes have been preserved, except that it was governed by a land-holding aristocracy who safeguarded their integrity by rigid statutes about the ownership of property and its transmission.
In the late 6th century BC the Thebans were brought for the first time into hostile contact with the Athenians, who helped the small village of Plataea to maintain its independence against them, and in 506 repelled an inroad into Attica.
History of Thebes
Cities in ancient Greece were built in fertile plains and close to a high ground (Acropolis) for protection and they were all walled (except Sparta). In the big and fertile Boeotian plain there were numerous ones, among them Orchomenos and Thebes, very ancient cities which became big powers.
People were living here, from Neolithic ages and beyond. This was the land of the aboriginal (autochthones) Ectenians, the oldest inhabitants of Boeotia and their famous king Ogyges.
Around 2500 BC, the territory, especially the north Boeotia, was occupied by the so-called Minyans. This little known people, whose origin was Kolchis, build the city of Orchomenos, famous later for its riches and culture. Orchomenos, in the archaic age was controlling a very large area and it was one of the first cities to issue coins in Greece. Minyans undertook the construction of the colossal project to drain and irrigate the plane of kopais, which overflowing from the rivers Kiphisos and Melanas and it seems they succeeded. For this purpose they constructed a canal 133 feet wide and 16 feet deep, extending for about 42 kilometers. With the passing of time though, they lost power and political supremacy passed to Thebes.
Around 1500 BC, the legendary hero Kadmos with an unknown number of Phoenicians came and founded Thebes. On a high ground, the so-called later Kadmeia, he build a palace and probably introduced the Phoenician alphabetical writing, although the art was not used, until centuries later.
In the 13th century, the city was totally destroyed and this confirms the legend of "The Seven against Thebes", when Adrastos with the Epigonoi conquered Thebes and razed the city.
About 1200 BC, people coming from Arne in Thessaly and from territories from the mount Boeon in Epirus, occupied the place. This complex mixture of cultural and racial body came in intermarriage with the local population, creating the future Boeotians.
It is in this archaic age, that the legends belong, from which the Attic tragic poets drew up their subjects.
Kadmos
From Homer's Odyssey we learn about the two brothers Amphion and Zethos, as the founders of Thebes and that it was them, who built the big walls of the city, but according to Apollodoros and others, it was Kadmos, whose sister Europa was carried by Zeus, disguised as a bull, from Egypt to Crete, where she bore her three children Minos, Rhadamanthos and Surpedon.
Kadmos, in search for his sister, arrived at Delphi, where he was told to follow a cow and built a city, in the spot where the animal would lie down. According to the myth, the cow stopped at the later Acropolis, Kadmeia.
There are numerous myths about the accomplishments of Kadmos. He killed the Dragon (an offspring of Ares), who was guarding the fountain Areia. Godess Athena told him to sow the dragon's teeth into the earth and from them, they sprang armed men (Sparti), who killed each other, surviving only five (Chthonius, Echion, Hyperenor, Pelorus, Udaeus). From these five, the noble families of Thebes arose, calling themselves Sparti.
There are also many myths about the four daughters of Kadmos. One of them, Agave, married Echion and in his reign the God Dionysos appeared for first time in Greece to establish his rights and obtain divine honor. Kadmos and the famous Theban prophet Teiresias accepted him, but not Pentheus, the son of Agave, who was strongly opposed to his wild ceremonies. He was avenged by Dionysos, with the help of his mother Agave, who in a state of Bacchic fury, torn him to pieces and brought his head to Thebes.
Kadmos with his wife Armonia retired in Illyria. Kadmos ought to have ruled wisely, in order to secure a place, in the difficult to enter Elysium as the ancient people believed that went after his death.
Amphion - Zethos
There was the succession of kings, Polydoros, Labdakos and Laios, whom Lykos dethroned. The brother of Lykos, Nykteus, had a daughter, Antiope ,who was famous for her beauty among the Greeks. Epopeus, king of Sikyon, abducted Antiope and her father Nykteus raised an army and invaded Sikyon. During the battle, which was won by the Sikyonians, Epopeus and Nykteus were wounded, Nykteus was carried to Thebes where he died. Before his death, he appointed as regent of Thebes his brother Lykos and made him promise to raise an even larger army and take vengeance and punish his daughter, in case that she was taken. Lykos invaded Sikyon, defeated and killed Epopeus and took back Antiope, but in their way to Thebes, in a cave near the city Eleutherae, she bore the twin sons, Amphion and Zethos, which she abandoned them there. A shepherd, found the children and brought them up as herdsmen, knowing nothing about their noble birth.
When Antiope returned to Thebes, she found life unbearable from the persecutions of Lykos and his cruel wife, Dirke. She escaped and found refuge at the place where her sons were living, which by now had grown to manhood. Dirke tried to bring her back, but Amphion and Zethos in the mean time recognized Antiope as their mother and took revenge, for her sufferings. Lykos was slain and Dirke drugged to death, tied up to the horns of a bull. The two brothers returned to Thebes, banished Laios and took the throne. Making use of their lyre, which had been taught from the god Hermes, they started building the walls of Thebes, the stones moving by themselves, obeying the rhythm of their song.
Oedipus
When Laios, king of Thebes, married Iocaste, Delphi gave an oracle to him, that if Iocaste bore a son, he would kill his father. And so, when Oedipus was born, he was exposed on the mount Kithairon, where he was found by herdsmen of king Polybos of Sikyon, who brought him up, as his own child. Oedipus, on a trip to Delphi, in order to ask the name of his real father, he was given the answer, that he was destined to kill his father and it would be better, not to return to his country.
He left Delphi and followed the road towards Boeotia and Phokis and at the spot, where the road forked leading to these two countries, he met his father Laios and after a quarrel, he killed him.
Oedipus later solved the riddle of the Sphinx, a monster with the face of a woman, wings and tail, which she was terrorizing the country, eating anyone who would not answer correctly. After the correct answer of Oedipus, the Sphinx killed herself. For reward, Oedipus was made king of Thebes and without knowing, he married his mother, queen Iokaste, which later hanged herself, when the gods made known, that she married her son.
Oedipus married again, with Euryganeia, and had four children with her, Eteokles, Polyneikes, Antigone and Ismene. He later blinded himself and went into exile, accompanied by Antigone and Ismene. He died in Athens, at Kolonos.
Eteokles - Polyneikes
After the death of Oedipus, the two brothers agreed to rule Thebes for one year, in turn. At the end of the first year, Polyneikes ought to take the reign, but Eteokles refused. Polyneikes was forced in exile and went to king Adrastos of Argos. Upon his arrival, he quarreled with Tydeus of Aitolia, another fugitive. Adrastos parted them and married them with his daughters, fulfilling an oracle, which had been given to him, that he would marry his daughters with a lion and a boar. Indeed the shields of the two exiles, carried a lion and a boar. In order to reinstate Polyneikes to the throne, Adrastos opened war against Thebes. The seven chiefs were Adrastos, Amphiaraos, Kapaneus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeos, Tydeus and Polyneikes.
With auxiliaries from Arcadia, Messene and other cities from Peloponnese marched towards Thebes. There was a battle near the Ismenian hill with the Thebans, who were assisted by the Phokians and the Phlegyae. Adrastos won the battle and the Thebans were forced within the walls. Adrastos then attacked the city, each chief selecting one of the seven gates of the city, to fight. Thebes was in great danger and was probably saved from the prophet Teiresias, who made the prophesy "that the city would be saved if Menoekeos, son of Kreon, would give his life to God Ares". When this was learned from the youth, he went out from the gate and slew himself, giving his life without a second thought. That gave courage to Thebans, who fought with great enthusiasm
When Parthenopaeos was killed by a stone from Periklymenos, Adrastos ordered his troops back. It was the turn of Thebans now to attack, when Eteokles challenged in combat his brother Polyneikes, from which the outcome of the war would have decided. Unfortunately for the armies, both slew each other and the war started again.
The sons of Astakos of Thebes fought bravely, Melanippos killed Tydeus, his other son Leades killed Eteoklus and Amphidikos killed Hippomedon.
Amphiaraos in his turn, in order to avenge the death of Tydeus, killed Melanippos. It was close to be pierced by the spear of Periklymenos, when the ground opened under him and took him together with his chariot and horses.
The spot, on which the event happened, was shown to the days of Pausanias. Amphiaraos worshipped as god at Thebes, Oropos and Argos and for many centuries was giving prophetic answers to peoples questions.
When Adrastos lost Amphiaraos, "the eye of his army", and all the other chiefs had been killed, he was forced to leave and he was saved thanks to his horse Arion, the offspring of Poseidon.
The Epigonoi
Ten years later, Adrastos returned to Thebes with the sons of the slain chiefs. These were, Aigialeos, his son, Thersander, the son of Polyneikes, Alkmaeon and Amphilochos, sons of Amphiaraos, Diomedes, the son of Tydeus, Sthenelos son of Kapaneus, Promachos son of Parthenopaeos and Euryalos son of Mekistos.
Arcadia, Messene, Corinth and Megara, they all helped the Epigonoi. They met Thebans in the river Glisas and there was a battle, in which the Theban army was destroyed, though the son of Eteokles, Laodamas, killed the son of Adrastos, Aigialeos. The defeated Thebans were driven inside the walls, by Alkmaeon.
The Thebans then consulted the prophet Teiresias, who told them that everything had been lost and the Gods had decided. The words of Teiresias were listened and the Thebans offered to surrender the city. They fled with their wives and children, under the command of Laodamas, to the Illyrians. The Epigonoi entered the city and put to the throne Thersander, the son of Polyneikes.
Adrastos, who was praised in the epic for his soft voice and persuasive eloquence, having lost his son, died from grief, in his way home. He was worshiped as hero at Sikyon and Argos. Sikyonians build a Heroon in the public Agora and his exploits and sufferings were celebrated in lyric tragedies.
Boeotian league
The Archaic Thebes had always good relations with Athens. That was the case until Plataea, one of the main cities of Boeotia being dissatisfied with the league, asked protection from the king of Sparta, Kleomenes, who refused and advised them cunningly to ask help from the Athenians. Plataeans, in order to force their case, chose a day where public sacrifice was taking place in Athens and surrendered the city to them. Not much time passed after this event and Thebes invaded Plataea in 519 BC.
An Athenian force marched against them and the battle would had started soon, if Corinth had not interposed. Anyway the terms of the mediation were not accepted by the Thebans, who attacked the Athenians, but the result was a catastrophe for them, loosing completely the fight. Thebes, after this humiliation, tried to summon allies from all parts of Peloponnese to attack again, but never telling them the purpose of it. When they had prepared and the purpose of the expedition was made known, many of the allies refused to take part, especially the Corinthians, who had friendly relations at that time with Athens, withdrew their forces. Boeotians and Chalkidians invaded Attica from three sides but the Athenians in the strait of Euripos they attacked the Boeotians, winning a complete victory. Thousands were killed and 700 Boeotians were taken prisoners.
On the same day Athenians attacked the Chalkidians in Euboea and had an even greater victory. Boeotians and Chalkidians were brought in chains in Athens and thus the war ended.
Theban Olympic Victors
Victor | Event | Year |
Pagondas (or Pagon) | Tethrippon | 680 BC |
Kleondas (or Kleonidas) | Stadion | 616 BC |
name unknown | Tethrippon |
520 BC
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Teiresias
Teiresias, the most famous soothsayer of Greece, was born at Thebes. He was the son of Eueres and Chariclo, descendant of Udaeus of Sparti.
He was blind and there are many stories for the cause of his blindness. The most wide accepted tradition was that at age seven the Gods blinded him, because he revealed certain things, men ought not to know.
According to another tradition, he was blinded after he saw goddess Athena taking bath. Athena threw water in his eyes and thus blinded him. His mother, after the event, begged the goddess to restore her son's sight, but Athena was unable to do this and instead gave him a staff, which made him walk like having vision. She also gave him knowledge of the language of birds.
Another story made Hera responsible for his blindness, when in a dispute between her and Zeus, he went against her. In order to compensate him, Zeus gave him a longer life (seven or nine times greater than the usual life of men) and the gift of prophecy. Hesiod says also to have been changed for seven years into a woman.
Teiresias played a very important part in the legends of Thebes. In Seven against Thebes, he told the people that the city would be saved, only if Menoekeus, son of Kreon, would give his life. The youth rushed and slew himself in front of the gate and indeed after this, Thebes was saved.
In the war of the Epigonoi, he advised Thebans to come into negotiations and get out of the city, because there was nothing that would change the decision of the Gods.
Teiresias was captured by the Epigonoi, together with his daughter Manto, a prophetess, and they were placed to serve Apollo, at Delphi. He died at Aliartos, at the spring Tilphousa, and was buried there.
The legend says, that after his death, Persephone made an exception and let him have his intellect and memory unimpaired in Hades.
In Homer's Odyssey, he is pictured in the underworld, with his golden staff, still having the power of prophecy and it is to him that Odysseus goes, in order to find his way home.
In Thebes they honored him by a cenotaph and in Orchomenos they had an Oracle, where people went to receive prophecies.
Hesiod
Hesiod, the epic poet second only to Homer in importance, was born at Ascra in Boeotia, near the mount Hellikon. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it is estimated around 800 BC. Since this is a mere estimation, it is probable that his poems are contemporary of Homer's.
Three poems of Hesiod have been preserved, though in the ancient times many others bore his name.
The poems are: Work and days, highly valued by the ancients for its ethical teaching, the Theogony, where a lot of information about the local traditions of Gods and the origin of the world is given and the Shield of Herakles, an epic combat between the hero Herakles and his adversary Kyknos.
His works, though not on a par to Homer, kept teaching Greeks for centuries and contain the sperms of lyric, iambic and elegiac poetry. There are many stories about his death. His tomb was displayed at Orchomenos.
Pindar
Pindar, the greatest of the lyric poets and the voice of Delphi for more than forty years, was born at Kynoskephalae, a village near Thebes, around 518 BC.
He was the son of Daiphantos, who belonged to the ancient and noble family of Aigidae. He was taught music early in his age by his father, who was famous flute player and by the eminent musicians Agathocles and Apollodoros, at Athens. He lived most of his life at Thebes and Delphi, where the oracle arranged to pronounce hymns to Gods.
Pindar wrote an enormous number of poems, which the Alexandrian scholars divided in seventeen books. His poetry included dithyrambs, paeans, scholia, encomia, prosodia, treni, parthenia, and epinicia, the last being the only surviving work of his, from the others we have only few fragments.
Epinicia were songs celebrating the victors of games and they were sang by a chorus usually at the scene of the victory or during the feast given after the victor had returned home. The epinicia contained 14 Olympian, 12 Pythian, 11 Nemean and 8 Isthmian odes.
The poetry of Pindar is characterized by sublimity of thought and magnificence and they include warm religious sentiments. Expression, metre and harmonious thought characterize also his poems.
Herakles (Hercules)
Herakles was the greatest and most celebrated hero in ancient Greece. He was born at Thebes and was the child of Zeus and Alkmene. Before his birth, Zeus announced to the gods, that a descendant of Perseus would be born, a hero destined to rule over the Perseides. Hera, the wife of Zeus, hating the unborn, delayed his birth and hastened the birth of Eurystheus, who inherited the throne of Perseus. Later when Herakles was born, she sent two snakes to his crypt, which Herakles struggled them.
When Herakles reached manhood, he waged war against the kingdom of Orchomenos in Boeotia, to whom Thebes was paying heavy tributes. Herakles won the war and in gratitude king Creon of Thebes gave him his daughter, Megara. For many years Herakles lived happily with his wife and had three children with her, but in a fit of madness, which Hera sent to him, he killed them all.
To expiate himself from this horrible act, he visited Delphi and God Apollo ordered him to go to the king of Tiryns, Eurystheus and perform ten heroic feats. When his last labor ended (he actually made twelve), Apollo declared that he would be immortal.
Herakles had many other adventures and among them was the battle of Giants, in which he helped his father Zeus to defeat the Giants, in the battle for the control of mount Olympus.
Herakles married again later, with the beautiful Deianira, keeping the promise to her brother Meleager, when he met him in Hades. Deianira, afraid that she might loose him, smeared a cloak she had weaved, with the blood of centaur Nessus, who had given her before he was killed by Herakles, with the promise that whoever wears it, he would love her for ever.
When Herakles wore the cloak Deianira gave him, the balm burnt his flesh and in order to end his suffering, he ordered his friend to prepare a big pile of wood, on top of the mount Oete. He went by himself in his funeral pyre, when a cloud with lightning descended from the sky and Athena with her chariot carried him to Olympus, where he was welcomed as one of the immortals.
The twelve labors of Herakles (Hercules)
First labor: The Lion of Nemea
In the first labor, king Eurystheus ordered Herakles to kill the enormous lion of Nemea, which was killing men and animals and terrorized the people of Nemea and Cleonae. His pelt was so strong, that even the iron weapons could not penetrate it.
The arrows, which Herakles used at first, proved unable to kill the lion and so Herakles took his club and followed the lion in a cave, which had two entrances. He closed with stones the one entrance and from the other went to find the lion. Without using his club, he twisted and broke the lion's neck, with the supernatural strength of his arms. In Cleonae Herakles made a new club, from a big branch of wild olive tree, a weapon that he never separated.
To commemorate his feat, Herakles altered the Nemeian games to a celebration in honor of Zeus. Afterwards Herakles brought the lion to Eurystheus. From the lion's pelt, he made his famous panoply. |
Second labor: The Lernean Hydra
In the second labor, Herakles was ordered to kill the Lernean Hydra, a monstrous serpent with nine heads living in the lake of Lernea.
With the help of his nephew, Iolaus, son of his brother Iphikles, Herakles found and fought the creature, in the spring of Amemone. Using a sharp sickle started cutting its heads, but in the place of a lost head, two new ones grew.
Herakles told his nephew Iolaus to light a torch, and burn the flesh immediately, after the cutting of the head. His idea worked and no more heads grew.
When finally cut the ninth head, which was in the middle and immortal, Herakles buried it deep in the earth and put on top an enormous stone and then in the bile of the monster, which was poisonous, he dipped his arrows.
King Eurystheus did not accept this feat to count, with the excuse that he was helped by his nephew Iolaus. |
Third labor: The Hind of Keryneia (Ceryneia)
In the third labor, Herakles was assigned to bring alive the hind of Keryneia, a beloved animal by Artemis, with golden horns and bronze hoofs, which was living on the mount Artemision, fifty miles distance from Mykenae.
Herakles was trying to catch the deer for one full year, without success. Finally, he wounded her near a stream, with his arrow and caught her.
The goddess Artemis initially was angry, but Herakles explained to her, that he had no purpose to hurt the sacred animal and he was only following the orders of king Eurystheus. Heracles explanation appeased the goddess and she let him carry the hind to Mykenae. |
Fourth labor: The Boar of the mount Erymanthus
In the fourth labor, Herakles was ordered to bring alive the wild boar living in the mount of Erymanthus, which was attacking the people and killing them.
Herakles visited his friend centaur Pholus. Upon Herakles insistence, Pholus offered him the wine belonging to the whole community of the centaurs. When the centaurs found out, they became angry and a fierce fighting started, in which Herakles killed many of them and wounded the centaur Chiron.
After the incident Herakles chased the boar, which fall into a deep patch of snow and trapped the animal with a net. |
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Fifth labor: The cleansing of the stables of Augeias
In the fifth labor, Eurystheus imposed upon Herakles the task of cleansing the stables of Augeias, in a single day.
Augeias had a herd of three thousand oxen, but his stables had not been cleansed for thirty years. When Herakles arrived at the stables, he did not tell Augeias that he was ordered by king Eurystheus and made an agreement with him, to take one tenth of his cattle, if he succeeded to clean the stables.
Herakles completed the task by digging a deep ditch and turning the waters of the rivers Alpheius and Peneius to pass through the yard. Augeias refused to give him his promised reward, because he had learned that Herakles was acting from orders of Eurystheus.
Some time later Herakles returned and slew Augeias and his sons and soon after went to Olympia and renew the Olympic Games.
This labor too was not accepted by Eurystheus. |
Sixth labor: The wild birds of lake Stymphalus
In the sixth labor, Herakles was ordered to destroy the voracious birds, who had been brought by Ares at the lake of Stymphalus, in Arcadia. These man eating birds had claws, wings and beaks of brass and their feathers could be shot like arrows.
Herakles with the help of Athena, who provided him with a pair of brazen rattles (krotala) making loud noise, frighten them away and shot them with his arrows, killing many of them. The majority was driven away to the island of Aretias, in the black sea, where they were found by the Argonauts, who also frightened away from there, after a hard fight. |
Seventh labor: The Cretan bull
In the seventh labor, the task of Herakles was to bring alive in Mykenae the mad bull who was ravaging the island of Crete. This bull had been sent by Poseidon from the sea to king Minos, in order to sacrifice him. King Minos charmed by his beauty kept the animal and sacrificed another one in his place. Poseidon, in order to punish Minos for his disobedience, drove the bull mad.
Herakles caught the bull, but when he came back to Peloponnese, he set him free.
Later the bull was killed by Theseus, at Marathon. |
Eighth labor: The mares of Diomedes
In the eight labor, Herakles was ordered to bring alive the mares of Diomedes, king of Bistones at Thrace, who were fed with human flesh. Herakles, with the company of friends, seized the animals and entrusted them to his friend Abderos, who was unfortunate and eaten by them.
Herakles build the town of Abdera, to honor his friend.
There was a battle between Herakles and king Diomedes of Bistones. Herakles won the battle and the body of Diomedes was thrown to be eaten by his mares.
When the mares ate their master, became tame and Herakles set them free.
Later they were killed by wild beasts in the mount Olympus. |
Ninth labor: The girdle of Hyppolyte
In the ninth labor, Herakles was commanded by king Eurystheus to bring the girdle of Hyppolyte, queen of the Amazons, in order to make it a present to his daughter Admete.
After many adventures, Herakles found the queen at Themiscyra and Hippolyte promised to give him the girdle, but Hera spread the rumor to the rest of Amazons, that their queen was in danger. There was a fierce battle between Herakles with the Amazons, in which Herakles slew Hyppolyte and many others.
On his return, he landed first in Troas and rescued Hesione from the sea monster, which had been sent against her by Poseidon. Her father, king Laomedon, failed to keep his promise to Herakles, to give the Zeus horses, which had been given to Laomedon, as a compensation for Ganymedes. Herakles threatened him to make war against Troy. |
Tenth labor: The oxen of Geryon
In the tenth labor, Herakles was ordered to bring the red cattle of Geryon's, a giant with three human bodies joined at the waist, living in the island of Erytheia, near the Ocean stream in the West (according to others the island of Gades or the Baleario islands).
The red cattle were watched by the shepherd Eurytheion and his dog Orthos, with two heads and a serpent's tail, the son of Typhon and Echidna.
After many adventures, Herakles arrived at the frontiers of Africa and Europe, where he erected two pillars, Calpe in Libya and Abyla in Europe (the well known Pillars of Hercules).
Annoyed there by the heat, Herakles shot an arrow on the Sun, who in return gave him a golden cup or a boat as present, admiring his boldness, and with it, he sailed to Erytheia, where he found Eurytheion and his dog Orthos, as well as Geryon and killed them.
Herakles with the cattle sailed to Tartessus and return the golden cup to Helios. From there he sailed through Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, Thrace and had many other adventures.
Finally he succeeded to bring the oxen to king Eurystheus, who sacrificed them to the goddess Hera. |
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Eleventh labor: The golden apples of Hesperides
In the eleventh labor, Herakles was ordered to bring the golden apples of Hesperides, the same apples that goddess Hera had received at her wedding as a gift from Gaia (Earth) and which now were kept by Hesperides and the dragon Ladon, on the mount Atlas, in the country of Hyperboreans.
Herakles not knowing where the gardens of Hesperides were, he asked the help of the nymphs, who were dwelled by the river Epidamnus. The nymphs advised him to take the answer from Nereus, the god of the sea.
Herakles traveled through Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia and had many adventures slaying Andaeus, Bousiris and Emathion and then crossed to Asia, passing through Caucasus, where he unchained Prometheus and went to the land of Hyperboreans, where he found the mount Atlas and following the advise of Prometheus, he sent Atlas to bring the apples and took his place in carrying the heavens in his shoulders.
When Atlas returned with the apples, he declined to take the heavens in his shoulders again and said that he would carry himself the apples to Eurystheus. Herakles then tricked Atlas and told him to carry for a moment the heavens in order to adjust a pillow on his head. Instead he took the apples and left.
When Herakles returned to Mykenae, Eurystheus gave him the apples as present and in return Herakles offered them to the goddess Athena, who returned them back to their former garden. |
Twelfth labor: The Kerberos (Cerberus)
In the twelfth labor and most difficult one, Herakles was ordered to bring from Hades (lower world) the dog Kerberos (Cerberus), a creature with three heads, a serpent for a tail and snakes all over his body, which was guarding the entrance to Hades.
Herakles went to Eleusis and met with the priest Eumolpus, who initiated him into the Eleusinian Mysteries, the religious celebrations in honor of goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone.
After that accompanied by Athena and Hermes, he descended into Hades at the promontory of Taenarum, in Laconia. There, he set Theseus and Ascalaphus free from their torments and took permission from the god of the underworld, Pluto, to take kerberos to the upper world, provided that he would use only his hands.
Herakles encountered Kerberos near the gate of Achaeron, one of the five rivers of Hades and by the mere strength of his arms seized him and carried him to Eurystheus, who immediately sent him back to Hades. |
Map of Herakles labors in Peloponnese.
Resumed from: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Thebes,_Greece and http://www.sikyon.com/Thebes/thebes_eg.html
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