Tales of the Greek Heroes

“Then, later, when minstrels travelled from place to place, and writing became more common, and people began to meet those from other parts of the Greek world, they found that many of the stories did not agree.”

As in many ancient civilizations, myths in ancient Greece were initially part of an oral tradition. This resulted in diverse and sometimes conflicting versions of stories, which evolved with every performance. After their transition to the written word, the stories became more codified. Green, writing from the perspective of a 20th-century text-based culture, frames this shift as progress, referring to the prior multiplicity of stories as a “trouble.”

“Swear the oath, son Hermes, and give the lyre to Apollo. Then shall he be the Lord of Music and of all sweet songs, and the Nine Muses shall follow him and do him honour. And you, Hermes, shall be our Messenger, right welcome in the golden halls of Olympus, and kindly disposed to the mortals upon earth.”

The story recounting Hermes and Apollo’s relationship reflects the power dynamics between gods and their hierarchical differences. Zeus’s agency resolves the tension between the two brothers by granting them different divine duties: Apollo becomes the god of music and Hermes the gods’ messenger. As a myth, the story emphasizes the power of brotherly bonds and the importance of reconciliation.

“I must give Fire to mankind, the last and greatest of gifts. But if I do so, I shall incur the terrible wrath of Zeus…Yet even that I will endure—for so it is ordained.”

As humanity’s benefactor and a symbol of progress and defiance, Prometheus is the first heroic figure the book presents. Prometheus assumes the important task of teaching people arts and crafts, thus facilitating the development of Greek civilization. In doing so, he provokes Zeus’s wrath, who forbade the use of fire by people. Western tradition often treats Prometheus as an example of hubris, but Green here emphasizes his humility. Prometheus accepts his eternal torment, as his love for humanity prevails over his reverence for the gods, yet the text also suggests he has little choice in this matter. That even a Titan is bound by fate highlights the theme of Free Will and the Limitations on Human Agency.

“And I am certain that you will not destroy mankind, when I tell you that a man—your son, born of a mortal woman—will save you and all of you who dwell in Olympus on that future day when Earth will bring forth the Giants meaning to be revenged for the overthrow of the Titans.”

This quotation contains Prometheus’s prophecy, a symbol of divine guidance and knowledge in Greek myth, which foreshadows Heracles’s character. Prometheus’s words also build conflict, emphasizing Zeus’s challenging battle with the forces of chaos in the universe. Highlighting the necessity of a semi-mortal hero, the text indicates The Complex Relationship Between Gods and Humans, as the immortals depend on people’s agency to maintain their power. The prophecy is also an example of how Green has threaded various disparate stories together into a single, overarching narrative, while the framing of Heracles as a long-foretold messianic figure lends the story vaguely Christian overtones.

“So one day when he was out, Pandora crept quietly to the golden casket and lifted the lid. Then with a rush and a cry out came all the ills which beset mankind—diseases, and sorrows, hate, jealousy, lies, theft, cheating, and a hundred others.”

This quotation refers to the classical story of Pandora’s Box. While Green emphasizes Pandora’s destructive force as the archetypal first woman, suggesting parallels to Eve in Abrahamic religions, the myth is ambiguous. Her name translates to “all gifts,” suggesting that despite the troubles of humanity, there is also hope. Ultimately, the box represents the human condition—a balance between despair and hope.

“So Zeus planned, hoping that the greatest Hero of all would be born in time to help him. The Heroic Age lasted until the contemporaries of the youngest son of that Hero had grown old and died, and among them was Odysseus, the last of the Heroes who fought at Troy.”

Green retells the Heroic Age in Greek mythology, employing Heracles as the central character even as he touches on and alludes to other figures, like Odysseus. This provides the book with a narrative structure, binding together the diverse stories, while also allowing Green to craft an adventure that can inspire young readers. His withholding of Heracles’s name in this passage builds suspense in anticipation of his arrival, as does Zeus’s hope and anxiety—reminders that even Zeus is not all-powerful.

“Meanwhile Dionysus grew to manhood in the cave on Mount Nysa, and made friends with Silenus and the Satyrs, who vowed to follow him wherever he went. For Dionysus discovered how to make wine out of the grapes which grew on Mount Nysa, and the Satyrs were the first creatures to taste this new and wonderful drink, and to grow intoxicated by it.”

Dionysus, as the god of wine, represents a “transgressive” form of the divine that connects to pleasure and sensual freedom. The Satyrs, as his followers, further emphasize this; their half-animal form symbolizes the primal instincts that drive them, though Green, writing for children, largely depicts them as harmless tricksters. In classical myth, both Dionysus and the satyrs are more ambivalent figures. Wine, for instance, can bring joyful ecstasy, but it can also lead to rage and “divine madness” with negative repercussions.

“But the hissing of the snakes on Medusa’s head woke the other two Gorgons, who could not be killed, and they sprang up, eager to avenge their sister.”

Green primarily frames Medusa as a monster and Perseus’s antagonist. In some versions of the myth, however, Medusa’s monstrosity is a result of her mistreatment by the gods—specifically, her rape by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. In this quotation, the gorgons’ willingness to avenge their sister hints at a female bond that defies this patriarchal abuse.

“Yet it had to be done, for the Hero must be born, to free mankind from many evils, and the Immortals from the unconquerable Giants.”

This quotation foreshadows Heracles’s character, again painting him as a messianic figure. This appeals to archetypal notions of heroism, as Heracles is anticipated as a larger-than-life figure by both mortals and immortals, and his agency is crucial for the narrative. More specifically, Green posits Heracles as a positive force against the antagonistic giants, reinforcing the motif of good versus evil and developing the theme of The Significance of Heroism in Greek Mythology.

“‘Be of good cheer, granddaughter of Perseus,’ answered the old prophet solemnly, ‘for your son is destined to be the most famous mortal who ever trod the soil of Greece. He shall rid the land of monsters, and do many labours of which poets will tell in song and story for ever. Many things shall he suffer also and the long enmity of Hera, Queen of the Immortals, who sent those serpents against him. But in the end he shall stand beside the Immortals in their direst need, and afterwards shall become one of them and sit on Olympus for ever.’”

This quotation describes Heracles’s character arc and delineates the hero’s journey. Heracles is born with a specific dramatic goal: to save the Olympians from destruction and humanity from disorder. To achieve his goal, the hero must confront and overcome external forces that threaten his journey. Zeus’s favor, however, ensures his successful character arc and his final transition to immortality. As in many passages describing Heracles, Green borrows biblical phrasing (e.g., “be of good cheer”) to underscore Heracles’s messianic role.

“As for my companion, who is called Vice and Folly and other such names, do not be misled by her: there is no pleasure and no happiness like those which you earn by strife and labour and with the sweat of your brow.”

The myth of Heracles’s choice between Virtue and Vice carries moral teachings that reflect the values of ancient Greek society, suggesting that an easy life of pleasure does not guarantee prosperity and happiness. Rather, a good life, one characterized by virtue and honor, requires endeavor, hardship, and perseverance against adversity.

“When the beast was dead, and he had rested and recovered from the battle, Heracles flung the body across his shoulders and strode off towards Tiryns. On the way he found the shepherd getting ready the sacrifice, which he was quite certain would need to be offered to the ghost of the dead hero.”

In this quotation, Green uses vivid imagery to paint Heracles’s accomplishment of his first feat. Heracles’s carrying of the lion is symbolic of his triumph over immense obstacles, highlighting his unwavering and courageous spirit. The shepherd’s belief that Heracles must have died in the fight with the lion further emphasizes Heracles’s status as a superhuman character.

“But Heracles had him round the waist, and his mighty arms closed tighter and tighter until he felt Death’s ribs cracking in his grip. At last Death admitted himself beaten and departed to his own place, moaning direfully. But Alcestis sat up in the tomb, and when Heracles took her by the hand she stepped out and followed him, walking like one in a dream.”

Heracles’s victory over Death emphasizes his divine qualities and foreshadows his immortality. Similarly, his resurrection of Alcestis characterizes him as a savior who can free humanity from suffering and ruin. While Heracles does not destroy Death, he confronts and batters Death through his heroic qualities.

“The Amazons needed no second summons. Out they came like bees when their hive is disturbed, and with fierce cries rushed down to the shore and attacked Heracles and his companions.”

Although Green emphasizes the masculine ideal of heroism throughout the book, Greek mythology also contains representations of female heroes, some of whom adhere to the male ideal. The Amazons, for example, are fierce female warriors who challenge traditional notions of gender and heroism. Although the simile likening them to bees represents them as disorderly and alien, they simultaneously interrogate traditional Greek values and ideologies.

“Then Heracles cried to Zeus for help and, drawing his sword, leapt straight into the Serpent’s mouth, just avoiding the three rows of razor-sharp teeth, and charged down its throat, hacking and hewing with his sword.”

The motif of monsters persists throughout Heracles’s journey, emphasizing the terrifying nature of his endeavors. The quotation uses vivid imagery to depict Heracles’s raw efforts to overcome Hera’s obstacles, the word choice—“leapt,” “charged,” etc.—underscoring his courage and agency.

“Your hand shall strike down the Giants and save Olympus from ruin. But that you would come to set me free, I did not know, for a prophet cannot foretell his own future. But come, strike off my fetters and let me girdle my finger with the ring; and in memory of my sufferings I declare that mankind shall ever after wear rings in token of this day.”

Heracles releases Prometheus from bondage, reflecting Zeus’s growing mercy and compassion. Prometheus demonstrates his foresight, recognizing Heracles as the hero he anticipated. The ring, intended to humble Prometheus, becomes a symbol of Prometheus’s love for humanity, representing his lasting impact and people’s debt to the gods.

“So Heracles returned to the bank of the Styx, and Cerberus rushed at him, since he was there to prevent the souls of the dead from leaving the Realm of Hades. Cerberus had three mighty heads with lion-like manes bristling with snakes; and in place of a tail a serpent writhed and hissed.”

Heracles’s descent to the Underworld to retrieve Cerberus represents his final labor that paves the way for his immortality. Throughout his journey, Heracles experiences all kinds of challenges on earth, and now he must navigate the realm of the dead. This foreshadows both his tragic death and his subsequent triumph over his mortal nature, emphasizing his heroic status.

“Again and again he did this, until at last the creature began to weaken. Finally Theseus seized it by the horns and forced back its head, back and back until with a mighty crack the neck broke, and the Minotaur lay dead.”

The quotation indicates the pervasiveness of monsters in Greek myth. In this excerpt from Theseus’s story, the legendary hero defeats the Minotaur, mirroring Heracles’s feats. The Minotaur, half-human and half-animal, represents the darker aspects of human consciousness that the hero must navigate and tame to emerge victorious.

“Fiercely the battle raged, and the Argonauts (as those who sailed in the Argo were called) proved victorious. But what was their grief and horror to find when the day dawned that it was the land of kind King Cyzicus to which they had returned without knowing, and that he and many of his warriors lay dead at their hands.”

The quotation foreshadows Jason’s demise, as wrongful murder and unnecessary violence mar his honorable quest for the Golden Fleece. This illustrates the complex interplay between divine guidance and human action, as the gods’ favoritism does not stop Jason from inflicting harm. Ultimately, this event leads to Jason’s guilt and sorrow, which precipitate his downfall.

“But Jason became an outcast, and in his wanderings he returned to where the old ship Argo was drawn up on the beach. ‘You are my only friend,’ he said sadly as he sat down to rest in the shade of the ship. There he fell asleep, and while he slept the front of the ship, grown rotten with age, fell suddenly on his head and killed him.”

This quotation portrays Jason as a tragic or anti-hero. He’s cast out, shunned by the gods, and abandoned by his friends. The Argo is a lingering reminder of his lost glory that ultimately kills him, symbolizing the cost of heroic endeavors and human fallibility. Jason’s ambiguity makes him a foil for Heracles, who in Green’s telling is a more straightforwardly heroic archetype, and interrogates the nature of heroism itself.

“Why trouble you to spin and measure? As soon as that brand on the hearth yonder is consumed to ashes, I must cut the thread with my shears, and Meleager’s life will be ended!”

The theme of free will and its limitations is evident in this quotation, uttered by one of the Fates. As independent deities, the Three Fates define human existence and destiny by predetermining the course of people’s lives. The Fates foreshadow Meleager’s tragic end, who exercises his free will but whose fate ultimately affirms their words.

“Heracles surrounded Troy and settled down to besiege it. But on this occasion the siege did not last long, for the walls, although built by the Immortals Poseidon and Apollo, were not themselves immortal since they had been helped in their work by a mortal, Aeacus, the father of Peleus and Telamon.”

Green emphasizes that Heracles was the first Greek to besiege Troy, foreshadowing the future fall of the city to the Greeks; in particular, Green’s remark that Heracles’s siege “did not last long” alludes to the Trojan War, which lasted 10 years. The personification of the walls as “mortal” further emphasizes this idea, reflecting the city’s vulnerability to the Greeks, whose power Heracles represents.

“They camped on the volcanic plain of Phlegra, and the first thing they did was to capture the golden-horned cattle of the Sun-Titan, Helios, and carry them off for food. The leader of the Giants was called Alcyoneus, and he was immortal so long as he stayed in the land of Phlegra. And at first they attacked Olympus, hurling huge rocks and burning oak-trees.”

Green uses vivid imagery to describe the fierceness of the battle of the giants, creating an apocalyptic scene. The giants appear as a threat to the cosmic order, inflicting violence and destruction. This scene builds tension during the story’s climax, raising the stakes regarding the Olympians’ fate.