Читать книгу Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O'Shanters - Martin Hannan - Страница 36

The Greek mythological figure Heracles (Latin version Hercules) almost had it all. Semi-divine, stronger and more athletic than any man alive, but perhaps not the brightest spark in the Olympian pantheon. According to the ancient myths, he annoyed the Goddess Hera simply by being the son of a beautiful mortal and her husband Zeus, and she eventually drove Heracles mad, so that he killed his own children. To earn redemption, he was forced to undertake his famous 12 labours, including the cleaning of the Augean stables – they had 1,000 horses and had not been cleaned for 30 years – which he accomplished by diverting a couple of rivers through them. Heracles had many other adventures, including seeking the Gold Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts, and generally went about fighting and killing and having women trouble, not least with Hera, because he was definitely more passionate than intellectual. It is because of his 12 labours that we speak of someone facing a Herculean task.