Mythology: What were the 12 labors of Hercules?

One of the best known characters in Greek mythology was the tragic myth of Hercules, son of the Greek god Zeus and a man of enormous strength.
In a fit of madness he killed his own children. To atone for his crime he was forced to serve King Eurystheus, who set him the tasks that are known as the twelve labours of Hercules.
In summary , these twelve tasks were as follows:
1) First task was to kill the Nemean lion, a monstrous beast that terrified the country of Nema.
2) His second task was to kill the Hydra, a terrible nine-headed water serpent
3) Thirdly he had to capture, alive, the Arcadian stag
4) His fourth task was the capture of the Erymanthian boar
5) Then he had to clean the Augean stables. Labor Five.King Augeus had a herd of 3,000 oxen and the stables had not been cleaned for 30 years.
6) His sixth labour was the slaying of the Stymphian birds, which fed on human flesh
7) Hercules had to capture the Cretan bull sent by Neptune to the king of Crete for sacrifice.
8) Task number eight was the capture of the mares of Diomedes.
9) The ninth labor was to obtain the the girdle (belt) of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons.
10) Then he had to capture the oxen of Geryon, a monster of with three bodies
11) His eleventh exploit was to obtain the golden apples of the Hesperides
12) His final task was the bringing up of Ceberus from the underworld.

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MYTHOLOGY: Ceres, Goddess of Agriculture (Demeter)

The protector of all the fruits of the earth was known as Demeter in Greek mythology, and known to the Romans as Ceres.
The early Greeks were much struck by the changing of the seasons. Fruitful summer seasons would turn into desolate grey and bleak winter seasons and questions were asked as to what caused this transition from bountiful times to times of need.
They found their answer in the stories of the goddess of Agriculture, Ceres or Demeter.
She was the sister of Zeus (Jupiter), king of the gods, and was one of their greatest deities.
At first, according to these stories, there was no winter. The earth was always green and lush with an abundance of produce. It was everlasting summer.
Then one day while Ceres’ daughter was out at play with her playmates collecting flowers, the earth opened up and Pluto, the god of the dead, appeared and carried her off into the depths of the earth to be his wife.
Ceres was inconsolable; with torch in hand she searched the whole earth for her missing daughter. During her search she did not allow the earth to produce any of her fruits until such time as her daughter had been found.
For a year the earth did not produce a grain of wheat, and mankind was facing starvation. At this point Zeus intervened and persuaded Pluto to let Ceres’ daughter free. There was one condition, and that was that Persephone, Ceres’ daughter must not have had anything to eat during her stay in the underworld. She had however eaten a pomegranate seed, and therefore could not stay away forever.
An arrangement was made that she would spend 9 summer months of the year with her mother and the gods, and the remaining 3 winter months of the year would be spent with Pluto in the world of the dead.
Her 3-month stay in the world of the dead related to the winter months when seeds are dormant. When she returns to her mother she is the corn rising from the earth.
The word cereal originated from her Roman name
Source: Book of Knowledge
Update 17 November 2008
Ceres was absent so long that Zeus sent Iris ) Messenger of the gods to look for her and to instruct her to return.
" First Zeus sent golden-winged Iris to call rich-haired Demeter, lovely in form(to return to the gods on Olympos). So he commanded."
" ..and there finding dark-cloaked Demeter in her temple spake to her and uttered winged words: 'Demeter, father Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, calls you to come join the tribes of the eternal gods: come therefore, and let not the message I bring from Zeus pass unobeyed"
HOMERIC HYMN 2

Greek Mythology: Oedipus, the Tragic Hero

Oedipus, the most tragic hero in Greek mythology.
The first written references to Oedipus appear in the 7th-8th century B.C.
His father, Laius learned from an oracle ( prophecy) that he would die by his son’s hand. So when his son was born he bound and pierced his feet and left him to his fate on a mountain.
A shepherd found him and named him “Oedipus” which means “ swollen foot”.
The King of Corinth, having no heir, raised him as his own. Oedipus, after reaching manhood, learned from another oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He believed that the King and Queen of Corinth were his mother and father, and to escape this terrible fate, he left home.
While on his travels he came across a chariot with an old man and an attendant. For some or other reason an argument ensued an Oedipus killed both men. The first part of the oracle was fulfilled, as the old man was his father, Laius.
Continuing his journey to Thebes he came upon the Sphinx. To pass her one had to answer a riddle. Those who failed to answer correctly were eaten. To rid themselves of this monster the Thebeans offered the vacant throne and the hand of Queen Jocasta of Thebes to the person who killed the Sphinx.
The Sphinx asked Oedipus the following riddle:
“ What animal walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three at night?”
Oedipus correctly answered:
“ Man, for in the morning, the infancy of his life, he creeps on all fours, at noon, in his prime, he walks on two feet: and when the darkness of old age comes over him, he uses a stick for better support as a third foot”.
The Sphinx threw herself over a cliff and perished.
He married Jocasta and became King. The country was then devastated by a plague. To rid the Kingdom of the plague the murderer of Laius had to be banished. Oedipus then found out that he had killed his father and married his mother.
His mother hanged herself, and Oedipus “put out his own eyes” and wandered away with his daughter, Antigone.
It would appear as though he later died in battle.
Sigmund Freud used the name The Oedipus complex to explain the origin of certain neuroses in childhood. It is defined as a male child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of his mother. This desire includes jealousy towards the father and the unconscious wish for that parent's death. : Wikipedia
None of these emotions, as used by Freud, are evident from the old writings

Greek Mythology: Medusa, the Ugly One

Medusa was the ugly one. Hair of Serpents and a face so ugly that the mere sight of her would turn a man into stone. (I had a Mother-in-Law who could do that without looking ugly).
Anyhow, she was one of three sisters, and was a mortal. All accounts are that she was born a very beautiful woman, but was transformed into an ugly person. There are two versions as to how this transformation came about.
The first one states that she lived Far up “North” where the sun did not shine. Wanting to go to places more tropical, she had to ask the Goddess Athena for permission. Athena, for reasons unknown, declined to give her permission, which pissed Medusa off, seriously. So, she used the “I am prettier than you insult” and told Athena she would not let her go as she was more attractive than Athena herself. Athena, understandably did not take to this insult, and, having more powers, turned her into the ugly woman.
Another version is that Medusa was caught having a bit of hanky panky with Poseidon in the temple. Athena did not like this and turned her into an ugly woman.
Now to her demise. Athena, despite turning her into something ugly, wanted her dead. This was a bit difficult, as anybody who gazed upon her was turned into stone. So with the help of a bunch of other Deities, they commissioned Perseus to do the dirty deed. They provided him with a sword to cut her head off and a cap that made him invisible. So, now he could approach her without her knowing it, and could chop her head off. To get past the turning into stone barrier he was given a polished shield. By looking at her image in the shield he avoid looking at her directly
From her severed torso Pegasus and Chrysaor sprang forth.
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