Monday, April 10, 2017

H is for Hercules

We are rapidly moving through the alphabet with this year’s A-Z Challenge.  In my blog, we’re looking at heavenly bodies (those in the sky, not on the pages of certain magazines).  Today, we’re at the letter H.  There are a handful of constellations that begin with H:  Horologium, Hydra and, of course our choice for today, Hercules. 

Hercules was superman before superman.  He’s one of the largest constellations in the sky.  If Orion is the bad dude of the winter sky, Hercules is the tough man that hangs upside down in the summer sky.  Sadly, Hercules does not have the bright stars of Orion, but if you can pick out a few constellations in the summer sky, Hercules isn’t hard to find.  It’s just to the east of Cygnus the Swan and Lyra with its bright star, Vega.  To the east of Hercules is the soup bowl of the summer sky (that’s my description), Corona Borealis.  The Big Dipper and Draco is to the north of Hercules.



According to legend, Hercules father was Jupiter and his mother the beautiful Alcmene, wife of Amphytrion, a military leader of Thebes.  Jupiter spotted Alcmene and seduced her.  She gave birth to Hercules, who as an infant had amazing strength.  Jupiter’s wife, Juno, decided to do away with this latest consequence to her husband’s unfaithfulness and sent snakes to kill the infant.  Hercules, still in diapers, rung the necks of the snakes.  As a man, he met two women, Pleasure and Virtue.  Pleasure offered him a fun life, while Virtue offered a difficult life, but one he would ultimately claim glory.  Choosing the latter, Hercules found he had to atone for some of his misdeeds and was placed under the control of King Eurystheus, who told Hercules he’d have to accomplish twelve feats before he could be free.  Each feat was harder, but Hercules prevailed and now he reigns in the summer sky. 



10 comments:

  1. I'm enjoying revisiting the myths in your AtoZ posts this year. That Zeus/Jupiter got around didn't he?

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  2. For me, star-gazing is almost like cloud-watching. It's all in the eyes of the beholder!

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  3. It seems right somehow that Hercules prevailed and reigns over the summer sky. I am enjoying the myths behind the constellations too.

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  4. Flashbacks to the Disney cartoon of baby Herc beating up snakes... And a great primer on astrology and star gazing!

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  5. You are a good teacher as you point out where we can find the constellations. Thanks

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  6. Those Greek and Roman gods weren't happy unless they had attractive mortals to seduce.

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  7. I'll have to watch for that one. I can always find Orion and the dippers so I should be able to find my way there.
    Discarded Darlings - Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction

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  8. I like your description of the "soup bowl" haha. Mythology is fun. It seems like Juno taking revenge on all of Jupiter's conquests was a full time job for her. ;)

    A to Z 2017: Magical and Medicinal Herbs

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  9. I'm glad Hercules prevailed ...

    All the best Jan

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  10. I might have chosen pleasure! LOL Have a great weekend, my friend!

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