Heracles, Part 1 - Mythillogical Podcast

Signup for your FREE trial to The Great Courses Plus here:
ow.ly/kEFM30rnq41
This time, Charles and Crofty travel to Ancient Greece, to chronicle the early life of one of their most enduring heroes, Heracles, and the beginning of his famous labours.
Alternative title: Come visit scenic Greece!
#Heracles #Hercules #AncientGreece
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @thehistocrat
Help support us elsewhere at:
/ thehistocrat
/ the_histocrat
bsky.app/profi...
Mythillogical logo by Ettore Mazza. You can find more of Ettore's excellent artwork below:
/ ettore.mazza
/ ettoremazza
“Suonatore di Liuto” by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...) Artist: incompetech.com/

[@Robert.Stole.the.Television]

Another two parter, god, I wish I had a friend interested in talking history and mythology with me like you guys.

[@louisecook6483]

Me too, I have no one to talk history with either, or politics or anything that needs much thinking, logic and focus.

[@IslandGirlKelly]

@@louisecook6483 Add me to that list as well. I'm 55 and still searching for that elusive person to share thoughts with.

[@louisecook6483]

@wulpurgis I am from the UK, I stayed at school and completed my exams, I also have A levels in Psychology, English Literature and English Language. I was not lucky enough to go to university as my Father was made redundant due to ill health so it fell on my shoulders to work and support our ever growing family. (Mother, Father, Myself and 5 younger children).

[@louisecook6483]

If anyone wants to chat all these things with someone , I would be more than happy to engage and discuss the various topics. I am on Facebook - Louise Bailey-Edwards Live in Rugby , England.

[@Thumbs81]

Who needs friends when you have mythology

[@miradfalco251]

1:02 - Ah yes, a favorite statue of mine "Heracles trying to give his cat a pill."

[@meg2249]

Truly a Herculean effort as every cat owner knows.

[@enragedkaiser237]

>2 hours >Part 1 oh yes

[@absoluteaficionado515]

You know, I really like that you openly admit to your mistakes even though you could have easily covered them up! I think this indicates a number of virtues in your character and I highly respect that :)

[@enscroggs]

The very best, repeat, THE VERY BEST portrayal of Heracles (Hercules) in pop culture is the character in the 1963 film "Jason and the Argonauts". Enacted by Nigel Green, this movie Heracles is sympathetic, but often heedless and impulsive, which is true to the figure of mythology. Everyone who hasn't seen this classic film with some of Ray Harryhausen's best animation is cheating himself of a real treat.

[@dalpaengi]

lol as an adult fan of the corny fox kids series I’m ready to go find this and graduate to a more age appropriate portrayal. thanks!

[@giovannidipierfrancescodim3058]

Such a great movie, Heracles was great

[@travisgray8376]

Great film

[@sarawest7075]

One of my all time favorite movies

[@tishainess9339]

I LOVE that movie used to watch it with my dad also Sinbad the sailor and Conan. I'm not saying these are the same, I'm saying these were favorites of my childhood shared with pops.

[@TheHistocrat]

You can also find this episode on Spotify, iTunes and Stitcher! You can find it at the links below: Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/14LfwiDJmkke72SPn009m3 iTunes - podcasts.apple.com/gh/podcast/heracles-part-1/id1514656609?i=1000518362084 Stitcher - www.stitcher.com/show/mythillogical-podcast/episode/heracles-part-1-83415566

[@matthewkerr1948]

Please keep your history of Britain and History of civilization going. I'm an Oxford history student and I have to say that your series is the absolute top tier of youtuber made documentaries.

[@noahdixon885]

Why do we assume that heros must be these perfect beings? Everyone sins, and more than others. The greeks understood this. That's why they were able to acknowledge that someone can be a hero (a person who saves others) and still be a flawed person. That doesn't mean you celebrate their flaws, or even pretend that they don't exist. We should celebrate the good things they do or did, and acknowledge the flaws that come along with them. It's like now a days people have this idea that people are somehow inherently good, so when someone does something bad, then that means they must be an inherently evil person. This isn't true in the slightest.

[@dalpaengi]

I agree. also when will my afro grow to be the size of yours?! assuming that’s you in the up.

[@cccwolfturkccc]

Hey man we get it too , ie. . VENOM 😁🤣🤷🏻‍♂️

[@nowhereman6019]

I blame Jesus.

[@TrevorStruthers]

Tellem kanye

[@ashurean]

"Sin" is a delusional concept meant to guilt people into feeling that they're inherently evil or wrong, when the reality is that humans behave in certain ways depending on needs that are or are not being met. It tries to conflate arbitrarily determined moral failings with actual criminal acts that result in actual harm.

[@enriquehartmann8642]

Y'all are awesome-sauce ! THANK YOU !

[@tatianazal]

Thank you for the content. It helps me fall asleep easily, and in the morning I remember everything I heard before switching off.

[@matthewhall1467]

Step aside, Druids. I’ve got 2 hours of Heracles education to Jam through now

[@sundijohnson2486]

It's amazing how these tales, stories and legends from antiquity are still being told to this day in books and film.

[@enragedkaiser237]

By the way, if someone is interested in all of the Greek myths, i recommend Robert Graves' "The Greek Myths". It's a great overview of greek mythology with commentary that uses actual ancient sources. Every myth is described in detail along with alternative versions, so i can't recommend it enough.

[@elfboy29]

It's great but a new reader should be aware of his mother goddess emphasis that informs the note parts after the main descriptions.

[@rosiehawtrey]

Didn't Graves top himself?

[@elfboy29]

@@rosiehawtrey No, and what if he had?

[@algernoncalydon3430]

One of the two good teachers in my high school was a Canadian who went to public school in England. We used Graves Greek Myths, and boy if you wanted to piss the teacher off call him Hercules.

[@theknave4415]

Robert Graves is a Must Read.

[@megarakadmea]

Herc also retains a division between his deified and mortal sides because at his death, he split in two. His mortal half went to Elysium while his godly half went to Olympus.

[@cathyruoff347]

Thank you for another deep dive. I love your format and the pace of these episodes. I always feel inspired to do a bit of digging myself.

[@highrhino]

You guys really do not know how to pick short topics that don't require multiple parts do you? Not complaining though, that is actually part of why I enjoy it so much :)

[@izamanaick]

>apollo-dorus >apple-odourous ah wonderful

[@JoeyVol]

You guys are in the league of a FEW others in that you actually cite your sources. Good work.

[@murphy9924]

1 hour and 600 plus views. Youre doing something right.

[@amymonroe9328]

Yes!!! I have been waiting for another episode!

[@ericksonfedor4765]

I’m sure they will soon come out with another interesting episode

[@N0rmandy]

I get so excited when you upload

[@stevehall729]

I love this channel so much. Thanks for another banger!

[@anuo587]

" Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?" Has Greek Gods and hero depicting exactly like this.

[@Sinsteel]

A lot of the basis behind these myths and also the thing about chasing immortal glory...those can be traced much further back than Ancient Greece, to the people who spoke Proto-Indo-European. It was developed through epic poetry and feasting, raiding neighbours cattle. This immortal glory through death in battle is present in all Western Indo-European descended cultures from (very early) Greece to the naked screaming Celtic warriors who fear nothing because they believe they'll be reborn, and Viking berserkers searching for immortality through death in battle.

[@chengducat]

Great. Love the banter of you two gentlemen.

[@baldwintheanchorite]

ooo i am on vacation and its like u knew, you guys knew didnt you? you guys planned this for my vaykay?

[@baldwintheanchorite]

OOO SPONSORS WE FANCY

[@baldwintheanchorite]

its the amygdala. The sexual aggression ocmbined with temper, fasicinating. like they didnt have the science to understand the brain so the wrote myths about the manifestations of its symptoms in a persona.

[@timothyhilditch]

Thanks for all the visuals.

[@robyn1525]

Can you make some videos about ancient Ireland? Before colonisation/the Celts/vikings? It’s super interesting and seems to get overlooked a lot! Especially places like Newgrange which is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids!

[@matiburg1]

Was anyone else just listening to the audio and being mightily confused regarding ring seals (the animal) and seals on rings?

[@velvetgoldmine4300]

I'm so happy that there really was an Iolaus in the Heracles story! Now, if only there had been a Xena, Gabby, and Joxer! Great episode, like always :)

[@miamivicemami]

Hercules(Heracles) is one of my favorite Disney movies. Though they really cleaned up the ending and deviated from the source material. Demigod story’s in mythology are so interesting

[@dalpaengi]

young hercules fox kids live action is cute too. young ryan gosling stars in it!

[@susanmcdonald9088]

It truly is, all things considered, a tribute to the vigor of Greek myth, that Hercules is a household word, remarkable, millinia later!

[@CarayMay]

I also got to know Heracles through the Disney movie. It really is all over the place . However, I do believe that oversimplification of complex stories does not necessarily undermine the original. It's a way of getting to know things and catching a glimpse of relevant works of fiction. Shame that a studio with so many resources couldn't make a better Heracles retelling. I always sort of thought of him as a goofy dude because of Hercules, so it's awesome getting to know the myth better in here.

[@cheetahdolcini2526]

You guys are killing me! I am dying to hear you take on the Mahabarata Purana & Ramayana Purana, with all the Sanskrit names & terms. While I don't know of any English translations that give a phrase by phrase translation of either (they are quite long), but there are a number of very good English translations coming from various sampradayas & traditions.

[@mariovillarreal8647]

Lately great strides have been made where a Sanskrit translator has chosen the easiest routes of translation reasoning that the ancient Sanskrit writings were not meant to be so complicated making a much more flowing text of said writings. This should pave the way for complete word for word translations to English . I hope the Indian people take advantage of this new system and try to build a Vimana instead of some foreign aerospace engineering company.But whoever follow the instructions with this new method of translation I hope we soon see a "new" ancient mode of clean aerial transportation.

[@govsgonewild]

Second this!

[@gwanael34]

I went to a private school and we read a lot of mythology for reading comprehension instead of random books.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

lucky

[@IslandGirlKelly]

Many thanks guys, this is fantastic. Will finish the second hour this evening. Hapoy Tuesday everyone. 🙋🏼‍♀️

[@ericksonfedor4765]

You are welcome gorgeous. How are you Kelly?

[@mariovillarreal8647]

The way he's portrayed in the circular seal choking out the Lion is reminiscent of the depictions of him as a baby choking out the King Cobra.

[@miamivicemami]

Did anyone else read that giant yellow book of Greek mythology in elementary school?

[@folkloreofbeing]

I think I have a copy of that on my shelf right now.

[@muscle2714]

@@folkloreofbeing what's the name of the book

[@folkloreofbeing]

@@muscle2714 Gods, Men & Monsters - Peter Lowe

[@muscle2714]

@@folkloreofbeing thank you

[@folkloreofbeing]

@@muscle2714 You're welcome. The illustrations in it are lush too. :)

[@justing1474]

Another fantastic listen 🙏 thanks 🙏

[@benjamintrejo9307]

Helllllll yeah, 2 hours? Epic.

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

I'm from Finland and can confirm yes we have reindeer.

[@johnnyexponential7229]

'Heracles: Never knowingly on the handle'

[@fandyus4125]

I'd love to see a Mythillogical episode on early biblical mythology, the origins of Yahweh and things like such.

[@susanmcdonald9088]

Nah. You can get that history in churches/synagogues on every street corner, on television, everywhere. What's needed are the pagan mythologies, practically destroyed by these lunatics of history & head bangers on a wall built by Romans, not the original temple...

[@fandyus4125]

@@susanmcdonald9088 actually, the rabbit hole goes so deep I think even a lot of pastors or other small scale religious leaders won't necessarily know that much about it or perhaps shrug it off. But I might be wrong. Even if it's easily available, I'd love to hear a retelling by these two chaps.

[@travisgray8376]

Hercules is the GOAT of Greek mythology

[@kevindavis7161]

Ear buds are in and I'm ready to be educated in the truth,quality piece lads.

[@dab9513]

another long episode... fantastic!

[@khaj4352]

Man, Will you put it on Spotify someday? Like as a podcast? I love your shows btw.

[@WitchyWhispersASMR]

They have it now

[@awesomeatronik]

I have read some recounts of Chiron the centaur having taught herc archery or hunting.

[@josh7720]

i really like these videos, but could you do some volume leveling? crofty is about 30% lower than charles in almost every one, it makes it difficult to listen to at night, since if i want to hear crofty, my speakers blare charles' voice

[@johngnosistarot4959]

Thanks guys!

[@aqualuxx]

Story starts around 21 minutes for anyone wants to skip the gibber gabber Relevant gibber gabber starts around 15 min

[@delphinazizumbo8674]

1:02:20 this is WHY Heracles is my hero player gotta play

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

the PIE gods are the trunk from which most recorded civilizations branched out

[@0xdbaeffbaa]

finally some good fing content

[@j946atFIVEFOUR88AA]

Can you upload these to Apple Podcasts pls! Love the content

[@HolographicSweater]

myth is the truest form of storytelling

[@Silvertestrun]

Ty

[@ThursonJames]

Why is Heracles going for a front headlock, when a rear naked choke is called “lion killer” in Portuguese? This is the importance of breadth of knowledge…

[@davidd6171]

Your channel is amazing! Great work guys!

[@TheDarkZeroGame]

remember my friend, quality over quantity.

[@j-henry7391]

By the way I'd love if you guys did a podcast on Dionysus he is absolutely fascinating

[@susanmcdonald9088]

BBC RADIO 4 In Our Time, The BACCHAE, fabulous interview of classicists on Euripedes' play, and of course, Dionysus! (KZbin) I became a HERMES fan after watching a long, 2-hour documentary: HERMES THE IMMORTAL GUIDE, Lugh channel on KZbin, absolutely detailed & remarkable, you might find this god as fascinating as Dionysus, truly! Called the most human of the 12 Olympians, and rated 3rd in the number of ancient statues recovered, Herakles being first, then Athena and 3rd, Hermes, most of his temples found in Gaul! In Greece he was everywhere like Hestia, worshipped in groves, etc. yet not as represented in archeology, strange but powerful & revered.

[@trevorrex7210]

I honestly did accidentally read it as Hercules at the start. Still not disappointed however.

[@theknave4415]

imo, other than a few chaos and creation gods, the ancient pantheons are primarily mythologized accounts of ancient royal families and other 'influencers'. If you dig deep enough, you will learn that Euhemerus was correct. see: deification of ancestors, god kings, et al. ;)

[@warrior-in-the-rose]

If one were to consider another origin for the hero, it plausibly reconciles the divergent character expressed in Greek myth. The name transmitted by the Greeks and commonly known today is Horus, was indigenously known as Heru. In one of his epithets “of the Two Horizons” he is 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑢 𝑒𝑚 𝐴𝑎𝑘ℎ𝑢𝑡𝑖(phonetic similarity). He is also known as 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑢 𝑠𝑎 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑡, son of Auset (Isis), much as the Greek hero was the glory of Heru. Heru was conceived magically by Auset drawing Asar’s seed from his body as by this point Asar was no longer of this world. Heru was however nursed by his aunt, Neb-het, the darkness to Auset’s brilliance, and raised in the house of his uncle Set. Heru is destined to reclaim his father’s throne from Set, and this struggle prepares Heru for his ultimate ascension. The four neter oppose and complement each other in pairs, and each have a hand in bringing Heru forth, placing him symbolically as the perfect harmony of the four forces in one. Also his consort is Het-Her (Hathor) connected to the cow as enbodiment of fertility and fecundity. I’d need to re-reference this next bit but Im getting sleepy so best shot. Sekhmet is the purifying fire of Ra, ferociously eradicating undoers of Maat and was represented as the Lioness. And just like fire can’t regulate itself when it begins to burn, Sekhmet killed. This is the fuzzy part, I think it was Heru’s duty to end the killing spree. He took some of her fire and in doing so he created the Wadjet (eye of ra or horus) and Bastet . The Wadjet seems analogous to the Lion hide, holding the magical aspect of the ‘Lion’ by holding an intrinsic part of its self. There’s a lot more but my eyes are heavy. How do you feel about it? I’ve read that Miletus, Pythagoras, and Plato were contemporaneously mentioned to have studied in Kemet/Egypt.

[@BitcoinProphet]

Thank you great work magnificent

[@dustinmayle9337]

Any recommendations for books on the actual gods? Specifically Poseidon? Would also love to see future videos on each god. Love the content!

[@MadMax-bq6pg]

3:00 am.... really should go to bed.... WAIT! There’s a Mythillogical....MUST WATCH!

[@TheSuperDerp]

WHO PUTS THE GLAD IN GLADIATOR HERACLES

[@alienmozart9902]

thanks, magnificent feat!

[@skjaldulfr]

Of course reindeer live in Finland! . . . that's one of the few things Finland is known for.

[@j-henry7391]

There are a few stories wherein Dionysus is depicting as being killed and then resurrected much like Osiris or Jesus, you can find this in the book of Greek myths by Robert Graves, a very professional scholar I know, but it does include extensive citation so you can find the actual sources. So Dionysus too is sometimes depicted as having died and been resurrected just like Heracles

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

I enjoy the stories of the gods/goddesses

[@lynxoffinland]

Do you have any more speculation on Hyperborea? Obviously, being a finn, the subject is fachianting to me. In my own speculations, there may be found some similarities between the stories of Greek mythology of their god of poetry flying away to Hyperborea. Where as - meanwhile in Finnish mythology - appears Väinämöinen, the master of poetry and song, with his finnish harp. And he was just as keen on shagging around as any greek god. So maybe he was the greek god of poetry, relocated? These are my musings. =)

[@chrisnewbury3793]

No doubt there are connections. Finnisians.

[@chellybub]

I played that Hercules PSX game too... It took me aaaages to realise that he was saying "Herculaide" as in Hercules-Lemonaide... I dunno I thought he was saying Hercules in a really campy voice for some reason 😂 But I was only like 9-10 or something so whatever lol Also Danny DeVito saying "he's gotta do it on his own" is burnt into my brain... He just kept saying it and saying it in the second level of the game. I can't believe I can remember this junk memory. Keep up the great work guys, always love your vids especially the less formal podcasts like this one 💜

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

min 29:00 why do you differenciate between indo-europeans and the Middle East?

[@a_m5115]

The mythology of indo-european cultures shares some characteristics which point to a common ancestral origin. However they also have a lot of influence from middle eastern cultures, Sumeria, Babylonia, Persia...

[@sicilianupazzu5374]

British people need to talk about their own history, and leave everyone alone.

[@ronforrestjr2493]

Thx for sharing

[@basilbrushbooshieboosh5302]

Did you not source Robert Graves " Greek Mythology"?

[@usergiodmsilva1983PT]

RED DWARF name drop at 41:00!

[@petrming9055]

This is godly! Thank you!

[@murphy9924]

Who down voted and why? I'm interested to hear the reasoning.

[@Lord_Humungus]

It wasn't me

[@DianaStevens42]

Did Frazer talk about Hercules’ club?

[@hojoinhisarcher]

sit back and let the evening go.....

[@abaddon3k]

Man, Crofty sure sounds like a certain Rimworld streamer

[@shroud1390]

Crofty is the woman. Calling him on the anniversary date!

[@deborahthomas3794]

I rely on closed caption but unfortunately the text is obscured.

[@wendychavez5348]

I'm more from the academic snob side of mythology, since I became interested in 5th grade(I was in a program for gifted children) and never lost interest. You both know plenty more than I, though, cuz I rarely delve into secondary sources.

[@alessiorenzoni5586]

🇮🇹🤓Hercules was not a divinity of Greek origin, but of Canaanite origin, that is Phoenician (as the Greeks called this people)!

[@yurisuika]

Actually Steve Reeves was the original Hercules.

[@vrikey]

sighhhhh...still waiting

[@VinylTavia94]

I could listen to you guys talk for hours. And I have! I'm always looking forward to new content

[@mariovillarreal8647]

A long ,strong pure love making might have actually made a stronger baby from Zeus in those days who knows; especially considering he was a "god". That notion may be right. Another spot on presentation thank you both so much . Good job. Mario SIrSirReal Villarreal. Wasn't it strange how Hera was his chief enemy but he seems to be named after her? I think she fell in love with him.

[@chrisnewbury3793]

Heir, hair, air, and the prefix her...all mean high, as in high born. And the rest of the name means Eagle. Herr Achilles. High Eagle. Hera"s name has the same prefix. Her Ia. High goddess.

[@maherhaobsh1975]

Herakles is taken from the sumarian ur gal and it means the high man of Ur meaning the famous Galgamish .

[@maureenoneill2387]

Hypasteus says grouping shops say block reeny by works shops where she possibly orienting pottery like willow plates examples

[@farkasmactavish]

wtf are you using TempleOS for this shit

[@dogeclark2265]

So basically Chiron gets fisherkinged?

[@momonohomo150]

hello from Vietnam

[@sarahmarshall2474]

Could you make a video/series on Odysseus? 🙏

[@danprotheroe]

the galvaston giant. maybe he got called etheopian somewhere but that wasn't his nickname.

[@bjellison905]

How about a break down on orestes

[@novalone3211]

Godd bless

[@isprobablyjobhunting]

Personal time stamp 1:35:38