Study Questions for Chapter 9 Perseus, Chapter 10 Theseus, Chapter 11 Hercules, and Chapter 12 Atalanta

Whom did Atalanta marry, and how did he win her?

As stated previously, Atalanta said that she would only marry someone who could beat her in a foot race, but no one ever did. But at last one came who used his head as well as his heels. He knew he was not as good as runner as she, but he had a plan. By the favor of Aphrodite this ingenious young man, whose name was either Melanion (Milanion) or Hippomenes, got possession of three wondrous apples, all of pure gold, beautiful as those that grew in the garden of he Hesperides. No one alive could see them and not want them. As the race started, Atalanta went flying swift as an arrow; she was out-stripping him when he rolled one of the apples directly in front of her. It needed but a moment for her to stoop and pick the lovely thing up, but that brief pause brought him abreast of her. A moment more and he threw the second, this time a little to the side. She had to swerve to reach it and he got ahead of her. Almost at once, however, she had caught up with him and the goal was now very near. But then the third golden sphere flashed across her path and rolled fat into the grass beside the course. She saw the gleam through the green, she could not resist it. As she picked the apple up, her lover touched the goal. She was his.

What was the Minotaur, and how did Theseus kill it?

The Minotaur was a monster (half bull and half human), and he was the offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphae and a wonderfully beautiful bull given to Minos by Poseidon. When the Minotaur was born Minos did not kill him; instead he had Daedalus to construct the Labyrinth, where escape was impossible. Because of a transgression between Aegeus and Minos (in which Aegeus was at fault), 14 Athenians (7 maidens and 7 youths) were to be sacrifice to the Minotaur in penance for the crime Aegeus committed. This time, however, Theseus volunteered to be one of the 14 Athenians, so that he could kill the Minotaur. Once he arrived in Crete, the princess Ariadne fell in love with him and begged Daedalus for a way to save Theseus. The answer was a ball of string that Theseus used to back track to the beginning of the Labyrinth after he beheaded the Minotaur while he slept.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (8)

The eighth labor was to get the man-eating mares of king Diomedes of Thrace. Hercules slew Diomedes first and then drove off the mares unopposed.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (9)

The ninth labor was to bring back the girdle of Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. When Hercules arrived she met him kindly and told him she would give him the girdle, but Hera stirred up trouble. She made the Amazons think that Hercules was going to carry off their queen, and they charged down on his ship. Hercules, without a thought of how kind Hippolyta had been, without any thought at all, instantly killed her, taking it for granted that she was responsible for the attack. He was able to fight off the others and get away with the girdle.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (2)

The second labor was to go to Lerna and kill a creature with nine heads called the Hydra which lived in a swamp there. This was exceedingly hard to do, because one of the heads was immortal and the others almost as bad, inasmuch as when Hercules chopped off one, two grew up instead. However, he was helped by his nephew Iolaus who brought hi a burning brand with which he seared the neck as he cut each head off so that it could not sprout again. When all had been chopped off he disposed of the one that was immortal by burying it securely under a great rock.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (7)

The seventh labor was to got to Crete and fetch from there the beautiful savage bull that Poseidon had given Minos. Hercules mastered him, put him in a boat, and brought him to Eurystheus.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (6)

The sixth labor was to drive away the Stymphalian birds, which were a plague to the people of Stymphalus because of their enormous numbers. He was helped by Athena to drive them out of their coverts, and as they flew up he shot them.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (10)

The tenth labor was to bring back the cattle of Geryon, who was a monster with three bodies living on Erythia, a western island. On his way there Hercules reached the land at the end of the Mediterranean and he set up as a memorial of his journey two great rocks, called the pillars of Hercules (now Gibraltar and Ceuta). Then he got the oxen and took them to Mycenae.

What was the Medusa, and how did Perseus kill it?

Medusa was a Gorgon with hair made of snakes and wings; her stare turned mortals into stone. However, out of the three gorgons, she was the only mortal one. Perseus, with the help of Hermes and Athena, tracked down the cave the gorgons were living in. He snuck up on them as they slept, and he cut her head off.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (3)

The third labor was to bring back alive a stage with horns of gold, sacred to Artemis, which lived in the forests of Cerynitia. He could have killed it easily, but to take it alive was another matter and he hunted it a whole year before he succeeded.

How did Perseus use Medusa's head to help his mother?

Upon returning home, Perseus found out that his mother and Dictys were on the run from the King, Polydectes. When Perseus learned that Polydectes was holding a banquet, he showed up and brought the head of Medusa. Once he entered the hall, he held up the head of Medusa and turned the cruel King and his servile courtiers into stone.

Whom did Atalanta tell her father she would marry?

After Atalanta reconciled with her parents and went to live with them, she had a great many suitors. As a way of disposing of them easily and agreeably she declared that she would marry whoever could beat her in a foot race, knowing well that there was no such man alive. She had a delightful time. Fleet-footed young men were always arriving to race with her and she always outran them.

Theseus was raised in a city away from his father, King Aegeus of Athens. How did the King know that Theseus was his son when they finally met?

Before Theseus was born, Aegeus went back to Athens, but first he placed in a hollow a sword and a pair of shoes and covered them with a great stone. He did this with the knowledge of his wife and told her hat whenever the boy - if it was a boy - grew strong enough to roll away the stone and get the things beneath it, she could send the boy to Athens to claim him as his father. Once Theseus found the items and arrived in Athens (he did not come by ship because this was not adventurous enough for him), Aegeus did not know that Theseus was his son and he was terrified that Theseus would take his kingdom. So Aegeus and Medea (Jason's ex-wife from the quest for the golden fleece) had a plan devised to kill Theseus; this plan was for Theseus to be poisoned. However, before Theseus could drink the poison, Aegeus recognized the sword and stopped Theseus from taking the poison.

Why did Hercules perform his twelve labors?

Hercules was the product of an affair between Zeus and Alcmena. Because of this affair, Hera directed her anger onto Hercules, and she tried to kill him and destroy his life on many occasions. One of these occasions was when Hera made him go mad and kill his wife Megara and their three sons. After he awoke from this madness, Hercules wanted to kill himself but was saved by Theseus and his "adoptive" father Amphitryon. After Theseus offered Hercules a stay in Athens, he consulted the oracle at Delphi who told him that he would be purified by his cousin Eurystheus (the King of Mycenae). Eurystheus gave Hercules these twelve labors to purify him.

Who was the strongest man on earth, and the great hero of Greece except for Athens?

Hercules was the strongest man on earth. He was also the great hero of Greece (except for Athens) because he embodied what the rest of Greece most valued. His qualities were those the Greeks in general honored and admired.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (11)

The eleventh labor was the most difficult of all so far. It was to bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, and he did not know where they were to be found. Atlas, who bore the vault of heaven upon his shoulders, was the father of the Hesperides, so Hercules went to him and asked him to get the apples for him. Along the way to find Atlas, Hercules came to the Caucasus, where he freed Prometheus, slaying the eagle that preyed on him. Once Hercules found Atlas, he offered to take upon himself the burden of the sky while Atlas was away. Atlas, seeing a chance of being relieved forever from his heavy task, gladly agreed. He came back with the apples, but he did not give them to Hercules. He told Hercules he could keep on holding up the sky, for Atlas himself would take the apples to Eurystheus. On this occasion Hercules had only his wits to trust to; he had to give all his strength to supporting that mighty load. He was successful, but because of Atlas' stupidity rather than his own cleverness. He agreed to Atlas' plan but asked him to take the sky back for just a moment so that Hercules could put a pad on his shoulders to ease the pressure. Atlas did so, and Hercules picked up the apples and went off.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (5)

The fifth labor was to clean the Augean stables in a single day. Augeas had thousands of cattle and their stalls had not been cleared out for years. Hercules diverted the courses of two rivers and made them flow through the stables in a great flood that washed out the filth in no time at all.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (1)

The first labor was to kill the lion of Nemea, a beast no weapons could wound. That difficulty Hercules solved by choking the life out of him. Then he heaved the huge carcass up on his back and carried it into Mycenae.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (4)

The fourth labor was to capture a great boar which had its lair on Mount Erymanthus. He chased the beast from one place to another until it was exhausted; then he drove it into deep snow and trapped it.

Briefly describe one of the twelve labors of Hercules. (12)

The twelfth labor was the worst of all. It took him down to the lower world, and it was then that he freed Theseus from the Chair of Forgetfulness. His task was to bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog, up from Hades. Pluto gave him permission provided Hercules used no weapons to overcome him. He could use his hands only. Even so, he forced the terrible monster to submit to him. He lifted him and carried him all the way up to the earth and on to Mycenae. Eurystheus very sensibly did not want to keep him and made Hercules carry him back. This was his last labor.

How did Theseus change the government when he became King of Athens?

Theseus declared to the people of Athens that he did not wish to rule over them; he wanted a people's government where all would be equal. He resigned his royal power and organized a commonwealth, building a council hall where the citizens should gather an vote. The only office he kept for himself was that of Commander in Chief. Thus Athens became, of all earth's cities, the happiest and most prosperous, the only true home of liberty, the one place in the world where the people governed themselves.