Author: Nathan

Chiron is a hero not like other Greek heroes. First, he isn’t human. He’s a centaur. But unlike, most Greek centaurs who are wild, unpredictable, and dangerous; Chiron is wise and patient. Second, Chiron doesn’t go on his own adventures. Instead, he trains other heroes and makes them ready for their own. Many of Greek mythology’s most famous heroes were Chiron’s students. This episode covers Chiron, some of his less well-known students, and what he taught them. 

The end of the famous 12 Labours was not the end of Heracles’s heroic career. He went on plenty of other exploits afterwards. The event that triggered the Labours was when Heracles went into an insane rage – sometimes according to the will of the goddess Hera – and killed his newly formed family. The Labours allowed him to gain forgiveness in the eyes of gods and men. With his tasks complete, you might think Heracles had learned a lesson, matured, and changed for the better. HE DID NOT. Heracles continued to make many of the same mistakes. He completed many more glorious quests, but those mistakes eventually lead to his demise. 

Continuing on with the Labours of Heracles, Eurystheus was determined to ensure the hero failed. Previous Labours occurred in the regions of Greece near Mycenae, but it was time to send Heracles further away and hope he never returned. These next Labours took Heracles to places on the fringes of the ancient Greek civilization, to the ends of the earth, and even beyond. The hero would face off against fabulous creatures and powerful enemies. 

This episode covers the last 6 of the Labours of Heracles. 

– Capturing the Cretan Bull

– Seizing the man-eating Mares of Diomedes

– Acquiring the Belt of the Amazonian Queen Hippolyta

– Cattle-rustling the herds of the giant Geryon

– Going on a treasure hunt for the Golden Apples of the Hesperides

– Fetching Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld

What do you do when you accidentally murder your entire family? Well, when Heracles went to the Oracle of Delphi to ask that very same question, he was instructed to go to his relative, King Eurystheus of Mycenae, and complete a series of terrible tasks. This episode covers the first 6 Labours of Heracles. 

– Slaying the Nemean Lion

– Killing the multi-headed Hydra

– Capturing the Cerynitian Hind, a large magical deer

– Trapping the Erymanthian Boar

– Scaring away the Stymphalian Birds

– Cleaning the poop-filled Stables of Augeus

This episode begins a multi-parter on the Greek hero Herakles, and this first part deals with the hero’s legendary origins. First, I cover the adventures of the less well-known hero Amphitryon, his exile from his homeland, and the series of quests he goes on to marry his love. That ends with Zeus’s seduction of the beautiful Alkmene and the birth of two hero twins. In Herakles’ early years, his exploits hint at a dangerous rage hiding below the surface, and a divine enemy in the form of Hera. Both of those came together in Heracles’s tragic murder of his own family.

Minos of Crete was a powerful king in Greek mythology. He was sometimes considered the first king to build a navy, and used this fleet to make himself master of the sea. Minos ruled according to the will of Zeus and listened to him when making laws, meaning he was a favourite of Zeus and a man who honoured the gods. But maybe, perhaps just like the king of the universe, the king of Crete was sometimes viewed as a tyrant. Some of his myths – such as the most famous one involving the Minotaur – show him in that way.

Bellerophon or Bellerophontes as he was also known, was one of the most celebrated heroes in Greek myth. He was a son of the god Poseidon and a human woman named Eurynome. He is the famous Greek hero who rides the winged horse Pegasus. On first glance, he is a classic hero – he rides a magic horse and is most famous for slaying a monster. But there are some deeper darker layers to Bellerophon that hint at a more nuanced heroism.

The focus of this episode is the Gorgon Perseus killed two episodes back. In that story, the Gorgon Medusa was presented as a threatening monster. In this episode I drill down a bit more into the mythology of Medusa and how conceptions of the Gorgons changed over time, discussing what’s said in different literary sources and appearances in art. 

Last episode the hero Perseus travelled to a faraway land to kill the Gorgon Medusa. With that complete, he wasn’t ready to return to Greece just yet. With Hermes’ winged sandals still in his possession, Perseus was free to go on some more adventures. The most important of these was when he travelled to Aethiopia and rescued the princess Andromeda from a sea serpent. I also cover how Perseus was considered a legendary founding figure and how he fulfilled a deadly prophecy. 

One mark of a hero is being born under mysterious circumstances. One of the strangest examples is Perseus who was born when drops of liquid gold fell on his imprisoned mother Danae. Several years later, Perseus was grown up, and a cruel king tricked him into undertaking an impossible task – to bring back the severed head of a terrible monster living. To be successful, Perseus would need a little help from the gods Hermes and Athena, and some divine treasures.