Re: Hercules

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

Do you think the "ancients" were worried about such a minor detail?

This is the story I found:


Atlas was a Titan, which is to say a member of the

first generation of gods, born of Earth. One of his

brothers was Cronus, father of Zeus. Atlas made the

mistake of siding with Cronus in a war against Zeus.

In punishment, he was compelled to support the

weight of the heavens by means of a pillar on his

shoulders.


Heracles had been told that he would never get the

apples without the aid of Atlas. The Titan was only

too happy to oblige, since it meant being relieved of

his burden. He told the hero to hold the pillar while

he went into the garden of the Hesperides to retrieve

the fruit. But first, Heracles would have to do

something about the noisily vigilant dragon, Ladon.


This was swiftly accomplished by means of an arrow

over the garden wall. Then Heracles took the pillar

while Atlas went to get the apples. He was successful

and returned quickly enough, but in the meantime he

had realized how pleasant it was not to have to strain

for eternity keeping heaven and earth apart. So he

told Heracles that he'd have to fill in for him for an

indeterminate length of time. And the hero feigned

agreement to this proposal. But he said that he

needed a cushion for his shoulder, and he wondered

if Atlas would mind taking back the pillar just long

enough for him to fetch one. The Titan graciously

obliged, and Heracles strolled off, omitting to return.


(There is another story about elephants and turtles)

Jim Green wrote:

> In the Greek myth Hercules is holding up the Earth.  What is he standing on?
>
> Jim Green
> mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
> http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen