Summary of long prescribed sources

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Hercules

Achelous wrestles with Hercules

Theseus asks Achelous why one of his horns is missing, Achelous says he’ll tell him cause he can’t be ashamed of losing a fight to such a famous victor like Hercules…

All these suitors have come to try marry Deianira. Hercules says he’d be a great husband because of his labours and survived Juno’s wrath. Achelous’ argument is: he’s a God, a local, and Juno doesn’t hate him. Achelous shames Hercules and calls his mother a cheater. Hercules gets real mad and says how he may not be able to beat him with words he can beat him up.

FIGHT FIGHT!

Hercules starts strangling him, Hercules keeps trying to push him over (how to win wrestling). After Hercules is on top of him and Achelous is struggling he turns into a snake. Hercules laughs at him and is like “I beat up a snake when I was a baby, and I’ve defeated the Lernean Hydra”. So Hercules again starts to strangle him, struggling still Achelous turns into a bull, Hercules ends up ripping of his horn and winning the fight, taking Deianira as his new wife. The Naiades took his horn and made it into a cornucopia.

The Shirt of Nessus

Hercules is on his way home with Deianira when they come to the flooded River Eunus, Nessus the centaur offers to carry Deianira for Hercules. Hercules easily crosses the river and hears Deianira scream, he looks back at Nessus with his wife and tells him not to cross him. As Nessus is running away with Deianira, Hercules shoots a poison arrow into his back, as he’s dying he gives the blood soaked shirt to Deianira and tells her if you think Hercules is going to cheat on you give him the shirt to revive their love.

time passes…

There’s a rumour that Hercules was in love with the daughter of Eurytus. Scared to lose her husband, Deianira gives the shirt to servant Lichas to present to Hercules.

The agony of Hercules

Hercules puts on the shirt and it starts to dissolve his flesh, he can’t take it off without ripping his skin. He starts reciting his achievements and labours and basically prepares for death.

The death and transformation of Hercules

Hercules prepares a funeral pyre for himself, lights it on fire and lies on it. It burns the rest of his mortal body and leaves him wholly immortal, he then ascends up to Mount Olympus.

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Orpheus & Eurydice

Orpheus and Eurydice are about to get married, but Hymen (God of Marriage ceremonies) lights a torch, which provides a poor flame showing bad luck. A snake bites Eurydice on her ankle, killing her.

Orpheus is really upset, so he goes down to the underworld to get her back. He sings with his Lyre trying to convince Pluto and Proserpina to let Eurydice come back alive. As he sung: Tantalus stopped reaching for water, Ixion’s wheel stopped spinning, vultures stopped plucking Tityus’s liver, Sisyphus stopped rolling his rock, the Furies cried.

Pluto and Proserpina agree to release Eurydice IF: he walks back up to the upper world without looking behind him to see if she’s there. Just as Orpheus is near the end of the path he gets nervous and looks behind him, Eurydice instantly drops back to the underworld.

Orpheus returns to the upper world and writes sad love poems, later getting ripped apart by Maenads

Virgil, Aeneid - Hercules and Cacus

Hercules is passing Rome with the cattle of Geryon. Cacus sneakily steals 4 bulls and takes the to his cave backwards, Hercules doesn’t notice until one of the bulls yell. Hercules goes to find the lost bulls, Cacus ran to his cave and shut it with a giant rock.

Hercules circled the Aventine Hill 3 times and then just tore a piece out of it. Hercules went to attack Cacus, in defense Cacus breathed fire to create smoke so Hercules couldn’t see him. Hercules finds him and chokes him. Hercules gets back his cattle and the people are happy Cacus is dead.

Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Persephone was playing in a flower field with the daughters of Oceanus when Hades rose out of a hole in the ground and took her on his golden chariot. (Zeus set this whole kidnapping up). Persephone screamed, but only Hecate heard her and Helios saw her.

Demeter got really upset not knowing where she is, she asked everyone what happened but no one would say anything.

After 9 days of not eating any ambrosia, or drinking nectar, Hecate came to visit her…

Hecate says she only heard Persephone but Helios would’ve seen her

They both go to visit Helios…

Helios tells them that Zeus gave Persephone to Hades as a bride, he tries to comfort Demeter by saying Hades is a good son-in-law.

Out of anger towards Zeus, Demeter left Olympus and went to Eleusis, she ignored her duties and didn’t let the plants grow causing famine…

Zeus first sent Iris to try convince Demeter to come back, none of the Gods could convince her.

So Zeus sent Hermes to get Persephone from the underworld, as she was leaving Hades secretly gave her a pomegranate seed to eat.

Demeter and Persephone finally reunite, but they can’t stay together because she ate the seed so they come up with a deal that 3 parts of the year she’’ll be with Hades, the other 2 parts she’ll be with her mother.

So when they’re together Demeter allows food to grow, when they’re apart, nothing would grow.

Plutarch, Comparison of Theseus and Romulus

Chapter 1 - Motivation

Theseus:

• achieved greatly out of his own personal choice

• defeated multiple monsters - 7 labours

• defeated villains to help others

• Ariadne issue - not his fault, Dionysus wanted her as a wife, Hera made them fall in love

Romulus:

• became brave out of fear, his accomplishments were out of necessity as he had to escape slavery and beat a tyrant

• only defeated one tyrant - Amulius

• defeated villains to save himself

Chapter 2 - Leadership

Theseus:

• introduced democracy - favouring people

Romulus:

• favoured tyranny

Chapter 3 - Murder

Theseus:

• killed his son + dad(ageus) - overcome by love and false accusations

Romulus:

• killed his brother - overreaction

Chapter 4 - Leadership

Theseus:

• destroyed cities - burnt council halls in Attica to unite it

Romulus:

• rose from low beginnings - born as slaves

• saved family

• found his own land without taking someone’s

Chapter 5 - Family

Theseus:

• killed his dad from neglect - however in one version Aegeus tripped and fell

Romulus:

• saved his mother and grandfather

• killed his brother

Chapter 6 - Women

Theseus:

• snatched Ariadne, Antiope, and Anaxo

• raped Helen - a child

• done out of lust and hedonism

Romulus:

• snatched 800 women to repopulate his land

• established marriage