Hercules Tree

This giant sequoia tree had a room carved into it around the turn of the century by a local rancher, Jesse Hoskins. It is still alive and growing in Mountain Home State Forest, CA.

Émile Cohl & Les Douze Travaux d'Hercule

Émile Cohl (January 4, 1857 – January 20, 1938), born Émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet, was a French caricaturist of the largely-forgotten Incoherent Movement, cartoonist, and animator, called "The Father of the Animated Cartoon" and "The Oldest Parisian".

Cohl made "Fantasmagorie" from February to May or June 1908. This is considered the first fully animated film ever made. It was made up of 700 drawings, each of which was double-exposed, leading to a running time of almost two minutes.
For the first time, Cohl used découpé paper in his film Les 12 travaux d'Hercule, in 1910.

Film Le fatiche di Ercole

Title: Le fatiche di Ercole
Production: Spain - Italy 1958
Protagonist: Hercules
Actors: Steve Reeves and Sylva Koscina
Director: Pietro Francisci

Genre: Adventure

The film is taken from The Argonauts of Apollonius Rhodius. Hercules arrives on the island of Iolco to be the mentor of Iphitus, son of King Pelias. Just arrived, however, he is hopelessly in love with the beautiful and sweet daughter of the sovereign. But before he can obtain her hand, he has to solve twelve labours, with the help of Jason and the Argonauts. The film inaugurated the series of mythological postwar Italian moovies and obtained the first place in the collections of the 1957-58 season. It was exported all over the world.

Rallie Les 12 Travaux d'Hercule

The rally of the 12 labours of Hercules was born in 1968 from a group of friends who wanted to organize an event after the birth of the SAA AUGIAS in 1967. Initially, this rally was cartographique, with a route that participants had to realize with a fairly high hourly average. Such rallies included parts opened to traffic and other closed from 1 to 2 km.
This rally is located around Cherveux and le Chapelle Bâton, in the Deux-Sèvres département of western France.

Les douze Travaux...d'Asterix

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (Les Douze travaux d'Astérix) is an animated feature film based on the Asterix comic book series. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the creators of the series, wrote the story and directed the film themselves; with co-direction by Pierre Watrin and the screenplay co-written by Pierre Tchernia, a friend of Goscinny and Uderzo.

After a group of legionaries is once again beaten up by the gauls, they imagine: "With such huge strength, they can't be human... they must be gods". Julius Caesar is informed, and laughs. He makes a decision with his council and goes to Armorica, to speak with Vitalstatistix. He gives the Gauls a series of 12 tasks, inspired by Hercules (but new ones, since the 12 Labours are outdated). Vitalstatistix assembles their best warriors, Asterix and Obelix, to do the job. The Roman Caius Tiddlus is sent along with them to guide them and check they complete each task.

Hercule et les 12 Travaux

In this French blog you can find innumerable artistic representations of our hero.

Enjoy Them!

Phaedrus, Fab.3.17: Arbores in deorum tutela

Olim quas vellent esse in tutela sua,

Divi legerunt arbores. Quercus Iovi

Et myrtus Veneri placuit, Phoebo laurea,

Pinus Cybebae, populus celsa Herculi.

Minerva admirans, quare steriles sumerent

Interrogavit. Causam dixit Iuppiter:

Honorem fructu ne videamur vendere.

At mehercules narrabit quod quis voluerit,

Oliva nobis propter fructum est gratior.

Tunc sic deorum genitor atque hominum sator:

O nata, merito sapiens dicere omnibus!

Nisi utile est quod facimus, stulta est gloria.

Nihil agere quod non prosit fabella admonet.

(Translation into English, by Christopher Smart, 1913)

The gods took certain trees (th' affair

Was some time since) into their care.

The oak was best approved by Jove,

The myrtle by the queen of love;

The god of music and the day

Vouchsafed to patronise the bay;

The pine Cybele chanced to please,

And the tall poplar Hercules.

Minerva upon this inquired

Why they all barren trees admired ?

" The cause," says Jupiter, "is plain,

Lest we give honour up for gain.""

Let every one their fancy suit,

I choose the olive for its fruit.

"The sire of gods and men replies,

" Daughter, thou shalt be reckon'd wise

By all the world, and justly too;

For whatsover things we do,

If not a life of useful days,

How vain is all pretence to praise !

"Whate'er experiments you try,

Have some advantage in your eye.

Labours of Hercules coins

Gibraltar has always had a strong connection with the myths of Hercules; one of his famous "Twelve Labors" describes how he erects two rock pillars, one in Europe, and one in Africa - hence the Rock of Gibraltar, now known as one of the "Pillars of Hercules". This mythological hero has been featured on Gibraltar's circulating 5 pound coinage since 1988 and was only introduced to the 2 pound coin with this series that was issued in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. These coins all include the new effigy of Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth II, designed and sculpted by Ian Rank-Broadley F.R.B.S., F.S.N.A.D.
These 2 pound coins are all from Gibraltar, and are dated 1997, 1998 or 1999. These Uncirculated coins are made from "Bi-metal base metal", and appear two tone. The center section is the typical silver color of Copper-Nickel, and the outer ring is a gold tone.

Hercules for Sport on ...

... a stamp from Città del Vaticano, who is part of a series that celebrates Olympic Games in their Centenary.

Italian stamps with Hercules

La Jeunesse d'Hercule...from Saint-Säens

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor, and pianist, known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, Samson and Delilah, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and his Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony).
As a composer, Saint-Saëns was often criticized for his refusal to embrace romanticism and at the same time, rather paradoxically, for his adherence to the conventions of 19th-century musical language.
For the last of his symphonic poems, in 1877, Saint-Saëns returned to the legend of Hercules. The fable relates that Hercules on his entrance upon life saw two roads lie open before him -- that of pleasure and that of virtue. Insensible to the seductions of nymphs and bacchantes, the hero chooses the paths of struggle and combats, at the end of which he catches a glimpse of the reward of immortality, through the flames of the funeral pyre.

Mickey helping Hercules

Mickey à travers les siècles (Mickey Through the Centuries) was a French comic strip series published in the early 1970s featuring Mickey Mouse as a time traveller. In one such adventure (Hercule et les travauz d'Hercule), he assisted Heracles in his twelve tasks. Here again, when they clean out the Augean stables, Augeas hesitates in paying them, so Heracles contents himself with giving the double-dealer a spanking.

The Augean Stables

The Augean Stables is a weblog dedicated to exploring the many aspects of our MSM’s problem, not only those concerned with the Middle East problem, but more broadly with the many ways in which our media’s errors and our media’s extraordinary resistance to admitting their errors, have contributed and continue to contribute to the serious problems that plague our globe in this young 21st century.
You can read this blog clicking here

Twelve labours, ...twelve stamps

Seneca's Hercules furens

Seneca’s Hercules furens is written on the model of Euripidean Heracles: the jealous Juno, working through Eurystheus, has imposed twelve mighty and destructive tasks on Hercules, her hated stepson. But these, even to the last and worst, the bringing of Cerberus to the upper world, he has triumphantly accomplished. Abandoning her plan of destroying him by tools like these, she will turn his hand against himself to accomplish his destruction. When he comes back from hell, she brings a madness on him, and so precipitates the tragedy which forms the action of the play. The hero kills his wife and children. When he is again conscious, he wants to commit suicide, but he changes idea and goes to Athens to purify himself.
Hercules’madness is an example of terribile horror. Seneca modifies the Euripidean model following a different interpretation of reality: human impotence in front of divine hostility is not enough to justify the loss of reason. Seneca goes further and finds it in the complex personality of Hercules, the real heart of madness.

Iustinus narrated that ...

Heracleae urbis initia, ut Iustinus tradit, admirabilia fuerunt. Nam quia gravis pestilentia Boeotiae incolas vexabat nullumque inveniebatur remedium, contione advocata, Beotii statuerunt ut Delphos legati mitterentur oraculum consulturi de morbi causa. Interrogantibus oraculum morbi causam non patefecit sed imperavit ut fines suos, morbo corruptos, relinquerent, omnia sua secum auferrent, in Ponti regionem se transferrent et apud Pontum Euxinum coloniam Herculi sacram conderent. Oraculi responso cognito, Boeotii, paratis omnibus rebus suis, cum senibus, mulieribus puerisque domos agrosque reliquerunt et post longam peri****samque navigationem in Pontum pervenerunt, ubi ab Herculis nomine urbem Heracleam condiderunt.

Stater coin from Lucanian Heraclia

You can admire this stater coin in the Archeological Museum of Naples. This silver stater coin is from the mint of Heraclia, dates in the Late Classical period, between 400 and 330 B.C., and presents Greek inscriptions. It shows the following imagines:
D/ ATHANAS; head of Athena with crested helmet, on which there is a depiction of Scylla throwing a rock with her left hand; R/ HERAKLEION; Hercules stands naked, with his lionskin on his head, fighting the lion Nemeus; in the background on the left is the god’s club and bow.
The mint of Heraclia is constantly identified by the types of Athena and Hercules, the hero of the city; the weight is that of the “nomos italiotikos" (= 7.76 grams) which, from the mid-fifth century B.C. onwards, characterised the issues of the Italiot cities. Silver coinage is recorded from the arrival of Pyrrus.

Heraclea (Policoro) - History

Heraclea ('Ηράκλεια in greek) was an ancient city of Magna Grecia, located near Policoro in Lucania, that takes its name from Herakles. It was founded by settlers from Tarentum and Thurii around 434 B.C. on a hill between the rivers Agri and Sinni on the ruins of the city of Siris, and in 374 BC was chosen as the capital of the Italiot League instead of Thurii that had fallen into the hands of the Lucanian. In 280 B.C. the city was the scene of the Battle of Heraclea between Rome and Tarentum. Always around 280 B.C. Heraclea became a confederate city of Rome. This is also the period of the tables of Heraclea, now preserved at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. They are bronze plates with texts in greek on the public and constitutional order of the city. On the back of these the Lex Iulia Municipalis is transcribed. At the end of the war between Rome and Tarentum, Heraclea fell under Roman control. In 212 B.C. the city was besieged and conquered by Hannibal. Later he became again a flourishing city and its inhabitants were described as Nobiles Homines by Cicero in Pro Archie, the defense of the poet Archie, a citizen of Heraclea. In 89 B.C. the inhabitants of Heraclea had Roman citizenship with Lex Plautia Papiria. During the Republican period, Heraclea was troubled by social unrest, with the passage of Spartacus in 72 B.C. The people then took refuge in the upper part of the city. In the imperial age its decline began. Today you can visit its ruins in the National Museum of Siritide in Policoro. You can see also the rests of the Temple of Athena and the Temple of Demeter. Remains of the ancient Acropolis were preserved. In the south and west part there are the necropolis.

Porto Ercole (Grosseto, Tuscany)

Porto Ercole is a charming seaside resort situated on the promontori of the Argentario (Grosseto). The first inhabitants of Porto Ercole were fishermen and you can still see them repairing fishing nets. The heart of the town is collected inside the walls at the feet of the Spanish fortress. There are streets, squares that overlook the sea and steps that will lead you to the church and to the Spanish Rocca. The town has developed along the natural bay that forms the port: here you can instead take a walk along the seafront, where you can find bars and restaurants with terraces on the sea and shops. At the end of the promenade you can still observe the sites dedicated to the repair work on boats, and landing of fish from fishing vessels in return. The charm of Porto Ercole derives also from the impressive Spanish forts that were built in the sixteenth century. A curiosity to conclude: Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio) died in Porto Ercole in July 1610, in still mysterious circumstances.

Earth-Hercules 2300

Real Name: Earth-Hercules 2300
Type:Alternate (potential future Earth)
Core Continuum Designation: Earth-829Environment: Earth-like
Usual means of access: Vibrational attunement;Time travel
Dominant Life Forms: Ciegremites, Denicierans, Gegku, Humanity, Kawa, Nymeneans, Pheragots, Rigellians, Skrulls, Talbosians,Wilameanis; numerous extra-terrestrial races
Significant Inhabitants: Mentor, Akooti, Alpo, Aram, Arimathes, Assassins' Guild, Parnal Banak, Captain Bauer, B'Mak, Ceefer, Clide, Deen, Brother Doowish, Duluka, Eros, Mallax Fortnite, Galactus, Golden One, Har, Hercules, Hmorrie, Lt. Iberi, Count Igwannus, ISAAC, J'Webb, Mr. Koppalo, Significant Locations: Arago-7, Bomb Crater Cafe, Ciegrem-7, Deniciere, Earth, Mt. Olympus, Omacran System, Port Anteris, Planet,Starharbor, Starstation Raga, Talbos, Titan, Wilamean
First Appearance: Hercules I#1 (September,1982)

History: (Hercules II#1) - By the 24th Century, mankind had constructed great floating cities, traveled by advanced spacecraft, and hadlearned to manipulate objects by the power of thought alone.

Hercules displeased Zeus, who wished him to learn humility. Rather than send him to Earth,where he was a god, he sent him into space, where he would be a puny creature. He was given Apollo's chariot and steeds, on which he could travel through space. Arriving in the Andromeda Galaxy, he encountered the Colonizers of Rigel, who were impressed with him and sent along with him to record his exploits. They first stopped at Starharbor, where Hercules offended everyone by trying to pick a fight with a large Pheragot, not realizing that he was from a race of pacifists. Herc redeemed himself by saving everyone when a ship crashed into the harbor, but he did remember his earlier lesson and not try to impart"the gift" of combat on the next guy who bumped into him.

Richard Sandrack, Little Hercules

Richard Sandrak, also known as Little Hercules (born April 15, 1992) is a Ukrainian-born, American bodybuilder, martial artist and actor, renowned for his physique at an extremely young age. He is probably best known for his appearance in the documentary The World's Strongest Boy, which has been shown on several TV channels across the world, and for his dedication to bodybuilding.