The Youth of Heracles (Hercules)
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The Youth of HeraclesHera never gave up her attempts to destroy Alcides, the future Heracles, even in the very first days of his life. When he and his brother lay in their cradle, she sent two serpents against him. They slithered into the room with the infants at night and tried to strangle the son of Zeus. But Heracles woke in time and caught both of them in his powerful, if still childlike, hands, and strangled them. Alcmene woke at the noise, saw the serpents, and was terrified. The servants came running at her cries, along with Amphitryon, but when they gathered around the cradle, they beheld a wonder — the infant held the strangled serpents in his hands, utterly unafraid.
Heracles defeats the serpentsStruck by the child's strength, his adoptive father Amphitryon consulted the seer Tiresias. Tiresias told Amphitryon of the many labors his son would have to perform, and that in the end he would become immortal. Learning of this, Amphitryon resolved to give Alcides an upbringing worthy of a hero, tending not only to the development of his physical skills but to his education as well. The young Heracles was taught to read, write, sing, dance, and even play the kithara.
The training of HeraclesSo the young hero grew and studied. But not everything came to him as easily as he wished. He did not excel equally in every discipline as he did in archery and the handling of weapons. Music lessons in particular were unbearable for him, and his teacher was constantly forced to grow angry with Alcides and even punish him. And then, one day, the teacher lost his patience once again and struck Heracles for refusing to learn. The young hero flew into a rage, seized the kithara, and struck the teacher with such force that he died on the spot.
Music lessonsAfter this, Heracles was put on trial, but he was acquitted on the grounds that anyone who is struck may answer a blow with a blow. Though he was found innocent, Amphitryon grew afraid that such a tragedy might happen again. As a result, he decided to send the young hero to the wooded slopes of Mount Cithaeron to herd cattle.
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