Introduction to Western Literature and Arts
Reading: Ovid's Metamorphoses and the illustrations by Sandys and Bauer
Books 4, 5, 6 (Perseus Cycle)
pp110-122
( Look at the images: bauer1703b5p45-p48)
Books 7, 8, (Theseus Cycle) pp179-186,
( Look at the images: bauer1703b8p74-p75)
Books 9 (Hercules Cycle) pp203-210.
Ovid did not depict the 12 labors of Hercules in details.
Please read the following note in GGGM.
( Look at the image: sandys1640b9p1, bauer1703b9p83-p85)
What
is a hero (by Laurel Bowman)
Heroic
Pattern (by Laurel Bowman)
A
diagram of "heroic cycle" based on Joseph Campbell
| Name | Image | Notes |
| Gryphon, Griffin, or Grifon |
|
The hound of Zeus. But, never barked. Attributes: half-eagle, half-lion. They guarded the gold of the north. |
| Chimera |
|
Attributes: Fire-bearing. Three parts: the head of a lion, the body of a
goat, and the tail of a serpent. Bellerophon, with the help of Pegasus, the winged horse, slayed the monstrous Chimera. |
| Centaur |
|
Attributes: half-man, half-horse. Hercules shot a wise Centaur (Chiron) involuntarily with his poisoned arrows. Chiron renounced immortality in favor of Prometheus. Hercules killed another Centaur--an evil one called Nessus, who caught Hercules' bride, Deianira. Hercules' arrow pierced him in the back. In return, Nessue dipped his shirt with his poisonous blood and the blood of the Hydra and presented it to Deianira, deceiving her that that garment was a magic charm to win man's heart. Hercules died for this poisonous garment. |
| Hydra |
|
A offspring of Typhone and Echidna.A serpent-like monster, with 9 heads
(some sources say with countless heads). Only one head is immortal. Hercules, in his 2nd labor, chopped all its heads and buried the immortal head of Hydra under a rock. |
| Minotaur | Attibutes: the head of a bull and the body of a man.
Born by the Cretan king Mono's wife, Pasiphae and a magnificent white bull. It was housed
in the labyrinth built by Daedalus. It was fed by human flesh. Theseus, with the help of Ariadne, killed Minotaur in the Minoan labyrinth. |
|
| Medusa |   |
Attributes: One of the Gorgons, daughters of Phorcys
and Ceto. Among them, Euryale and Stheno were immortal. Medusa was mortal, but was most
horrible.The eyes of the Gorgons has the power of killing or turning the onlookers into
stone. Perseus, with the help of Athene and Hermes, cut Medusa's head. |
Some Webpages on Monsters:
Monsters
Pages in GGGM
Some Beastry Links:
Children of Io
1. Family Trees of the Family of Io
Io's Family Tree
|
Cadmus's Family Tree
|
Belus's Family Tree
|
|
Perseus's Family Tree
|
Hercules's Family Tree
|
Theseus's Family Tree
|
Webpages on
Hercules:
The 12 Labors of Hercules
HERACLIDES
(Table and Text) in Greek Mythology Link
LABORS OF HERCULES (images
and texts) in the "Perseus Project"
Hercules:
Greece's Greatest Hero (Perseus) - An illustrated overview of the Hercules
myths
Heracles in Ancient Art - Links to vase paintings
in Perseus the adventures of Hercules.
Images of Hercules (For
interest only)
Heracles in Ancient Arts
