Athens Overview

Athens, the Greek capital, ascended cultural status and peaked in the 5th and 6th century. The territory of Attica, near the Saronic Gulf,  became a hub of literature, culture, and politics.

Athenian Boasts:
1. Autocthonous (auto "self" + cthon "land): claimed they were the true original inhabitants form the earth itself. Athenian heroes have a certain "snaky" characteristic to them, as snakes were believed to have been born from the earth.
2. Descendants from Cecrops: A mortal half-king half-serpent responsible for delivering civilization (city building, arts, burial, monogamy, eradication of human sacrifice) to the citizens of Cecropia.
3. Descendants from Athena: claimed that the contest between Athena and Poseidon somehow integrated Athena's bloodline into their lineages.

Ericthonius (Eri "very" + chthon "earthy"), son of Hephaestus and Athena (Wait... wasn't she a virgin? Well apparently Hephaestus pursued her to no avail, but managed to ejaculate on her leg which, once wiped off, grew into Ericthonius) was given to the Cecropids with the warning not to look at him. Naturally, their curiosity gets the best of them are driven mad at the site of the snaky thing. They manage to throw themselves off the Acropolis, leaving Erichtonius as the only heir.
He is recovered by Athena and raised by the Goddess to ascend the throne at manhood. During his rule, he set up the cult image of Athena on the Acropolis by installing the Panthenaea. Ericthonius has a grandson, Erechtheus (same etymology) who is the third king to ascend the throne.

The lineage of Athenian Kings are rumoured to be avatars of Poseidon, a manifestation of the god in human form, hence the prevalence of hybrid worship between Athena and Poseidon, earth and sea.
     - The temple adjacent to the Parthanon, the Erectheum, holds the Panthenaia, a wooden status
     of Athena, as well as the tomb of Erectheus, and a salt spring.
    - Historically, the location was site of bull worship, a common sea-god sacrifice, but was in
    part dedicated to Athena Polias, "she of the city".

Theseus (Ch 23)

Etymology:
Geographical Association: Athenian hero, ascends cultural status with the rise of Athens, the territory of Attica near the Sardonic gulf.
Genaelogy: Augeus + Aethra.
Claim to Fame: Pint-size Heracles, completes half the labours.
Literature: ?

Myth

I. Birth: The childless King of Athens, Augeus, consults the Delphic Oracle on how to attain a heir. Her cryptic message "not to open the wineskin" is lost on him, so he visits his friend King Pittheus in Troezen for advice. The wily King instead betroths his daughter Aethra to Augeus, after getting him drunk (told you not to open the wineskin...). Augeus accidentally impregnates her, but orders her to tell no one and raise it in secret. He mandates that only the son of Augeus could lift the boulder that he places his sandals and sword under.
After Augeus departs for Athens, Aethra has a dream that Poseidon is demanding sacrifice on a nearby island. She wakes and visits it the same night, and has a secret tryst with the god = dual paternity of Theseus.

II. Manhood: When Theseus is grown, he easily moves the boulder and obtains his mortal fathers sandals and sword. Instead of sailing his way to Athens, he vows to take the more heroic overland route, in which he completes 6 Labours:
1. Periphetes/Corynetes ("Club Man") @ Epidaurus: Known for bashing his victims, Theseus bashes this robber with his own club.
2. Sinis/Pityocamptes ("Pine Bender") @ Isthmus of Corinth: Known for bending two pines, tying his victim to them, then having them snap apart, Sinus suffers the same fate at the hands of Theseus.
3. Monsterous Sow @ Northern point of Isthmus, village Cromyon: He slays the carnivorous of a mean old woman
4. Sciron @ Megara: Known for leading his victims to a cliff and getting them to wash his feet, only to boot them off towards his man-eating turtle, once again he suffers the same fate at the hands of Theseus.
5. Cercyon @ Elusius: Known for his wrestling ability, Theseus out wrestles the wrestler and escapes his own death. He kills the local hero instead, eclipsing his status.
6. Procrustes ("stretcher") b/t Eluseus and Athens: Known for measuring out his victims and proportioning to proper size (either with a hammer and stretcher, or a large axe), Theseus defeats him, although it is unknown if Procrustes was too short or too tall.

III. Arrival at Athens: Having completed his 6 labours, Theseus is received in Athens as is any other stranger/hero. His step-mother, the sorceress Medea who has married Augeus, views Theseus as a threat to her son Medus and attempts to poison him with drink. Augeus, discovering the strangers identity at the last second, prevents him from consuming the poison. To escape punishment, Medea flees eastward on a dragon-drawn chariot.
In the meantime, Theseus meets the Bull of Marathon, the Cretan Bull that Heracles rescued from Minos and delivered to the mainland. He manages to subdue it and sacrifice it to Apollo Delphinius.

IV. The Minotaur: Minos (son of Zeus and Europa) , King of Crete, was unable to sacrifice a sacred bull from Poseidon. Angry, the vengeful God strikes his wife Pasiphae with irrevocable desire for the creature. In order to avoid embarassment, Pasiphae asks Daedalus, an Athenian engineer to build a hollow wooden cow for her to occupy. She is impregnated by the bull, and delivers forth the Minotaur.
The man-eating monstrosity is hidden in a labyrinth (also built by Daedalus) and fed on human flesh.
In the meantime, Prince Androgeus is killed by some Athenians after his successful participation in some athenian athletic events. In response, Crete attacks Athens, but they come to a settlement whereby each year 7 young princes and 7 young princesses are shipped off to Crete and fed to the Minotaur.
In reponse to this injustice, Theseus offers to go, vowing to slay the monster and relenquish the obligation to Crete. He tells his father on the return journey he will raise white sails if he succeeds (versus the black sails of mourning).
Ariadnes, daughter of Minos, falls in love at first sight with Theseus. She betrays her family by giving him a clue ("ball of wool") for the labyrinth, which Theseus uses to navigate his escape after he slaughters the Minotaur. Along with saving the 14 youth, he rescues Ariadne from her father as they sail home (Unfortunately she's abandoned on the island of Naxos/Dia where she is rescued and married to Dionysus)
Theseus forgets to hoist the white sails, so Augeus is stricken with grief at the loss of his son, and throws himself into the sea. Theseus arrives to Athens as the new king, and immediately conducts a series of reforms which unify Athenian villages into one metropolis, and reinstitute the Isthmian Athletic gmes.

V. Other Myths:
-Theseus joined Heracles on his 9th labour to the Amazon. Whereas Heracles kills his lover Hippolytus, Theseus abducts Antiope after an epic battle with the enraged women.
-Pirithous, King of Lapiths, is married one day and Theseus is the best man. Unfortunately, as the vino is uncorked a tribe of centaurs attack. Although the two kings triumph, their guests have been slain (including the bride). Pirithous asserts the only bride equivalent to the one he lost is Persephone, and convinces Theseus to descend to Hades with him. They get stuck, of course, but Heracles comes to the rescue, only to save Theseus.

Heracles (Ch23)

Etymology
"Glory of Hera": named to appease his implacable nemesis Hera.
"Master of Animals": numerous man vs. beast exploits

Geographical Associations
Peloponnesus (Mycenae, Tiryns, Argos) for Labours 1-6; transcends to panhellenic heroic status (Boeotia, Trachis, Thessaly, etc.) due to Labours 7-12 and Parergon (Par "side" + erga "work").

Origin: Born in Thebes. Hybrid Greek/Near East culture figure due to sheer abundance of myths. Zeus + Alcmena.

• Local: Prince of Tiryns, vassal of the Mycanean King Eurysthesus (always mighty, never the ruler ie. Ajax)
• Imported: Near East mythologic themes parallel the Gilgamesh Epic (ie. man vs. wild, man vs. manufacture). Imported "primitive" qualities: brute strength, use of outdated weapons (ie. club, bow), dons lionskin, prefers physical conquest over intellectual.

Claim to Fame: Greatest of all heroes in that he ascends Olympus and achieves immortal status among Gods. Completion of 12 "impossible" labours.
Literature: ?

Birth 

1. Miraculous Conception

• Alcmena (granddaughter of Perseus, wife of Amphitryon, King of Mycenae) + Zeus = 
• "Heterofraternal Superfecundation", different fathers for fraternal twins: Heracles (f. Zeus) and Iphicles (f Amphitryon, King of Mycenae). 
• Amphitryon is cuckolded on his wedding night while he is away at war, returns to find his wife is pregnant (ref. Plautus's Amphitruo, Roman comedic play on the situation)

2. Imminent Threat at Birth

•  Zeus's boast, that his child born that day will rule all men, angers Hera to force Elethuia to hasten the birth of Eurystheus, Heracles' cousin. 
• In an effort to appease her, Zeus offers Heracles to Hera to suckle, in which he bites off her nipple = creation of Galaktos ("milky way"). 
• Hera unleashes two deadly serpents upon the sleeping child, but Heracles throttles them while still in the crib.

3. Prophecy for Life

•  Seer Tiresias foretells that Heracles will gain numerous victories and rewards for humankind, attain a glorified death, and be the only hero to ascend Mt. Olympia and reside with the gods.

Midlife

Numerous mentors teach him charioteering, wrestling, archery and music (Linus, Mt. Citharon, is accidentally killed by his own lyre). Heracles is exiled to Boeotia, where he saves the town of Thespia from a lion and is given the Megara, Princess of Thebes, hand in marriage. Just as his family is growing happily, Hera strikes Heracles with a fit of madness, causing him to murder his own wife and children in his own home. He seeks the Oracle at Delphi to expiate his crimes, whereby the Pythia orders him to serve his cousin Eurystheus for 12 years and perform his labours.

The 12 Athloi ("Labours")

The 12 Athloi, "labours" or "contests with a prize at the end", depicted on the 12 Metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. They are completed mostly single-handedly, but are assisted by gods or mortals at times. Several incidental Parergon are completed in addition to attest to Heracles might.

Peloponnesian Labours (1-6): centrally located in Mycanea, feature mostly Man vs. Beast.

1. Nemean Lion:

- NW of Mycenae

- Required to fight lion [barehanded/club/bow] and return its [impenetrable] skin. Had to strangle it, since its skin is invulnerable, and then skin it with its own claws.

- Symbolism: iconography of club and lionskin has primitive artistic implications.

2. Lernaean Hydra:

- SE of Mycenae

- Required to defeat the Hydra ("water serpent"), which has 8 mortal heads and 1 immortal head (whereby for every head severed 2 replace it) as well as a giant crab sent by Hera. Iolaus (nephew) aids Heracles by cauterizing the severed stumps while Heracles pins the beast underneath a boulder.

- The defeated crab is preserved by Hera as the constellation Cancer; Heracles dips his arrows in poisonous Hydra blood (future implications).

- Symbolism: Hydra, a never-ending puzzle.

3. Cerynean Hind:

- Arcadia (C. Peloponnesus)

- Required to capture the sacred deer of Artemis, as characterized by its golden antlers, and return it unscathed to Eurystheus to prevent the wrath of the goddess. He tracks it for an entire year until it yields due to exhaustion.

- Hind is returned to Artemis and Heracles is forgiven.

- Symbolism: Pindarian Variation states that Heracles tracked the hind all the way to the land of the Hyperboreans (beyond the North Wind), a journey symbolic of a conquest over death.

4. Erymanthian Boar:

- Mt. Erymanthos (Arcadia)

- The boar is trapped with a net, presented to his cousin, then released.

- Parergon: meets Pholus (centaur) who entertains him with wine (symbol of mans conquest over nature), but the other centaurs attack them for this betrayal. Chiron (re: tutor of Oedipus) is wounded by one of Heracles' poison arrow, and then offers his immortality to Prometheus because he cannot bear to live with the pain.

5. Augean Stables:

- Elis (area of Mt. Olympia)

- Required to clean the filthy stables of King Augeas (son of Helius) who keeps vast herds of enormous cattle. If he succeeds, he is promised 1/10th of the wealth. With the help of Athena, Heracles diverts rivers Alpheus and Peneus to flow through the stables and completes the deed, but Augeaus renegs on the agreement, earning his own death by Heracles' wrath.

- Parergon: Said to have established the first Olympian games during his stay.

6. Stymphalian Birds:

- Lake Stymphalus (Arcadia)

- A flock of carnivorous predatory birds is flushed out by casanets donated by Athena, then shot with the [sling/bow] of Heracles.

Non-Peloponnessian Myths (7-9): Completed in outlying areas of Greece, which add to the claim of his imported origin. Most feats now tend to combine intellect with strength.

7. Cretian Bull:
- Crete (S of Greece)
- Required to catch the bull that King Minos failed to sacrifice to Poseidon. Once overpowering it, he rides it back to the Greek mainland, where it is presented and then released.
- The Bull escapes through an isthmus and resides in the fields of Marathon where it is eventually caught by Theseus.
8. Mares of Diomedes:
- Thrace (N of Greece)
- Required to capture the man-eating herds of King Diomedes (son of Ares). Heracles feeds their king to the horses, then returns to Eurystheus where they are released and dedicated to Hera.
- Parergon: Alcestes (wife of Admetus, King of Thrace) is mourned because she takes her own life for her husband (wish of Apollo granted), so Heracles wrestles Thanatos ("Death") to recover the Queen.
9. Girdle of Hippolyta:
- Amazon (E of Greece)
- Required to deliver the girdle Queen of the Amazons Hippolyta ("Hippo" horse + lyta "tamer"), which is surrendered willingly. Hera gets the Amazons up in arms to attack Heracles on the claim he has come to rape their Queen. Heracles kills the Queen and defeats the army.
- Parergon: rescues the damsel Hesione from the sea monster at Troy upon the request of wealth from King Laomedon. After another deal is reneged upon, he returns, sacks troy, and replaces the throne with King Priam.
- Symbolism: Girdle (chastity) is given as willingly as her life.

Western Labours of Death (10-12): Non-peloponnesian in nature, symbolically and/or literally represent Heracles triumph over death because they take place in the land that is both beyond the understanding of the Greeks. (Also, sun sets in the west, blood red skies, etc.)
10. Cattle of Geryon:
- Erythea ("red land", far west of Greece), is aided by Helius who transports him by Golden Cup.
- Required to capture the cattle of Geryon ("three bodied monster"; son of Callirhoe = Phorcys + Ceto and Chrysaor = Medusa + Poseidon) as supervised by the giant Eurytion and his two-headed watchdog Orth[r]us.  He defeats all three then drives the cattle home.
- Parergon: When he stops in the outcrops of Spain of Morrocco (strait where Med sea meets Atlantic), he sets up the Pillars of Heracles to symbolize the boundary of the known and the unknown world.
11. Apples of Hesperides:
- Far West
- Required to bring back the golden apples from the tree of life (wedding present of Zeus to Hera), as guarded by the three Hesperides ("daughters of evening") and the serpent Ladon.
- The sea monster Nereus is wrestled into submission by Heracles, and is forced to reveal where the location is. In Eurepides' version, Ladon is killed and Heracles returns the apples alone. In the version on the Metopes on the Temple of Zeus, Atlas trades places with Heracles, and is tricked back into upholding the heavens after he obtains the apples.
- Parergon: Busirus, King of Egypt, and his court is slaughtered after violating guest/host relations by sacrificing visiting strangers to Zeus; Antaeus (giant of Libya, son of Poseidon and Earth), is crushed in mid air to death by Heracles in a wrestling match, after it is determined that he gains strength when he touches the earth; Prometheus is freed from his chains, after Heracles kills Zeus' eagle.
12. Cerberus:
- Underworld
- Required to capture the hell-hound of the underworld and present to Eurystheus.
- Hermes and Athena assist Heracles's descent into Hades, where he encounters and frees the hero Theseus, and promises the marry Deianira ("man eater"), sister of Meleager.

Miscellaneous Labours

After receiving expiation for the sin of murdering his wife and family, Heracles encounters a number of "contests" later in life.
- Cercopes (pair of dwarves) are about to be killed for their attempt to rob Heracles, but their joking of his burned-buttocks earns a more humourous mood as well as their lives. Later turned into [apes/stones] by Zeus.
- Deianira (2nd wife) is won by wrestling the shape-shifting river god Acheolus and breaking off one of his magical horns, which is traded for the Cornucopia of Amalthea. On the way back, the centaur Nessus  offers to carry his wife across the flooding river Evenus, but he attempts to rape her, earning him a swift herculean poisoned arrow and a painful death. Before he expires, he tells Deianira to collect his blood on the claim it will prevent Heracles from loving any other women, without taking into consideration the mixing of poisoned Hydra blood with his own.
- Iole, a mortal on the island of Euboea, is refused from a smitten Heracles, who retaliates by throwing her brother off the acropolis. Once more, Heracles seeks expiation for his sins at the Delphic Oracle, who refuses to answer him. When he attempts to make off with her tripod and set up his own oracle, Apollo intervenes, and Zeus commands him that he must serve as a slave for one year to Omphale, Queen of Lydia (cross-dressing, weaving ensues)

Death of Heracles

After learning of her husbands infatuation with Iole, Deinira smears her husbands shirt with Nessus' blood and sents it to be worn at the sacrifice to Zeus. The flames from the offering fused the shirt to Heracles' flesh, burned off his mortal part, and the immortal part ascended Olympus in a chariot sent by Zeus. Only then is he reconciled with Hera, who gives him Hebe ("Youth") as a wife.
Deineria commits suicide on the funeral pyre on Mt. Oeta, lit by a flaming arrow shot by Poeus (Philoctetes Father) from Hercules' bow.
Odyssey, Book 11: Met by Odysseus in the Underworld, some debate of mortality.

Bellerophon

Etymology: "Slayer by shaft"
Origin: Grandson of [death cheating/boulder pushing] Sisyphus. Son of Glaucus,  King of Corinth.
Claim to Fame: Slayer of the Chimera, hybrid fire-breathing lion/serpent/goat monster located in Lycia, Asia Minor.
Literature: Homer's Illiad, Euripedes Bellerophontus

After accidentally killing his brother, he is exiled from Corinth but finds expiation as a suppliant of King Proteus (brother of Acrisius) in Tiryns. The Queen Sthenboea, however, takes a liking to him, and when her seductive charms are rejected she accuses Bellerophon of rape (Potiphar's Wife Motif). In order to find a way to honor Xenia (Greek Guest/Host relations) Proteus orders Bellerophon to take a letter to his father-in law in Lycia (Far East) inscripted with the message to "kill the bearer of the letter". The father-in-law, also unwilling to violate Xenia in fear of the wrath of the Erinyes, instructs Bellerophon to defeat the monsterous Chimera to relieve the dishonor of his accusation.
Bellerophon seeks the aid of Athena, who gives him a golden bridal of which he can use to tame the mythological steed Pegasus. He succeeds in slaying the Chimera through suffocation, and returns to the Greek mainland a hero.

Later on, Bellerophon attempts to ascent Mt. Olympus on Pegasus. For his Hubris, Zeus sends a gadfly to aggravate Pegasus into bucking him off. While Pegasus is captured by Zeus, Bellerophon falls from grace (literally and metaphorically), and lives out the rest of his days as a cripple.

Perseus (Ch 21)

Etymology: N/a.
Geographic Associations: Are of Argos, Mycenae and Tiryns, centre of Greek mainlans.
Origin: Central Greek culture figure. Son of Zeus + Danae.
Claim to Fame: Slaying the Gorgon Medusa, rescuing Andromeda, founder of Mycanae
Literature: Herodontus

Birth: Danae (daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos) + Zeus (Golden Shower)
1. Prophecy for Life: Son of Danae will overthrow King Acrisius.
2. Miraculous Conception: Danae is imprisoned in a brazen [underground chamber/tower] by her father to preserve her virtue. Zeus appears as a shower of sparks to impregnate her.
3. Imminent Threat at Birth: Acrisius denies divine parentage, and casts his daughter and grandson out to the Aegean sea in a chest. Rescued by Dictys ("net man") rescues the pair and delivers them to his brother Polydectes, King of Seriphos, who falls for Danae much to her resistance.
4. Quest: Polydectes orders the young men of the island to bring the throne a horse each. Perseus one ups his peers by boasting he can bring him the head of a Gorgon.

• With the assistance of Athena, he is directed to the Graiai ("Grey Ones", daughters of Phorcys + Ceto) where he steals their single eye and tooth to obtain the whereabouts of the nymphs. 
• From the nymphs, Perseus obtains the Cap of Invisibility, Winged Sandals, and a leather Kibisis ("pouch"). Later variants add in the Scimitar and Polished Shield of Hermes. He then seeks to find the Gorgons Stheno (i.), Euryale (i.), and Medusa (m.).
•  Using the polished shield to prevent petrification, Perseus beheads Medusa and places it in the Kibisis. From her decapitated body springs her two offspring from a tryst with Poseidon, Pegasus (winged horse) and Chrysaor ("he of the Golden Sword"). 
• On his return journey, Perseus saves Andromeda (daughter of Cassiopia + Cepheus, King of Ethiopia) from being sacrificed to Poseidon's sea monster for her mothers hubristic claim she is more ceautiful than the Neriads (Egyptian Oracle of Zeus Ammon symbolizes Greek/African fusion). He then defeats Andromeda's bethrothed, Phineus, by transforming him to stone, and then takes her hand in marriage. 
• On his return to the Island of Seriphos, Perseus avenges his mothers harassment by turning Polydectes to stone, elevating Dictys to crowned ruler.
• While participating in the funeral games in Thessaly, he accidentally kills Acrisius with a stray discus throw. Since he cannot return to Argos with blood on his hands, he becomes king of Tiryns and with Andromeda creates the generations before the family of Atreus.

5. Afterward and Etiology: The Gorgon head is given to Athena for her [breastplate/shield] called the Gorgoneion, while the Sandals, Kibisis, and Cap are given to Hermes. Perseus and Danae form a family and have a son, Perses, that inherits the kingdom of Cepheus and fathers the Perseid Dynasty (ancestors of Heracles).

• Athena invents the flute in imitation of the lamentations of the two surviving Gorgons.
• On his escape, Pegasus strikes Mr Helicon in passing, and from it the Hippocrene fountain emerges, spouting artistic inspiration for generations to come.
• As Perseus flew over Libya, the Gorgon blood dripped through the Kibisis = poisonous snakes.
• As Perseus passed Atlas he was refused hospitality, so he turned Atlas to stone = Atlas mountains.