Heracles and Prometheus
In the previous post, we explored the events that led Prometheus to be trapped on Mount Caucasus, having his liver eaten by a giant eagle. So, you can say that he got in one hell of a pickle. But would he ever get out of this? Fortunately for him, he would ultimately escape thanks to the demigod Heracles (or the famous Hercules for the Romans). All you need to know about him is that he is a demigod son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. He had a happy life until Hera's had a tantrum, suddenly he found himself on a quest to complete a bunch of impossible tasks to redeem himself.
Heracles
The latest was travelling to find the Golden Apples as one of his Twelve Labours. They were given by Hera to Zeus as a wedding gift, something she probably regretted doing. And to answer the question that may be burning your lips, as to what was the biggest mistake? Well, in fact, it was probably both giving him such a powerful present as the Golden Apples to a cheating husband and therefore marrying him!Now let's get back to Heracles’ quest. He travelled to many countries because he had no clue of the location of the garden containing the Golden Apples, and lived many adventures on the way, as you may expect from the all-mighty Heracles. Along the way, many other demigods challenged him, to show off for sure. After all of those challenges, Heracles managed to capture his target, a sea-god named Nereus. It is unknown what the god told Heracles. But since he directly went to seek for Prometheus afterward, we can presume that it had something to do with the Titan’s abilities and knowledge.
Meeting Prometheus
He finally arrived at Mount Caucasus, Prometheus’ prison. He killed the eagle tormenting the Titan. Depending on the version, Heracles either turned the bird into a Porcupine with his bow or pancaked it with his club. This is where you really come to appreciate books and libraries: no more confusion on mythological facts. Then he requested Titan's help for his quest. Prometheus pledged to help Heracles at the condition that the latest freed him from his rock. Hercules, being a man of his word and honour, wanted to free the Titan but wished to have his father's approval first. Zeus at first, wasn't too thrilled with the idea of freeing Prometheus, as he was the one that put him there in the first place. Eventually, he agreed because his son was in a desperate need of the Titan's help, what wouldn’t he do for him! He also concluded that the punishment of the Titan had been long enough.
Helping the Demigod
Prometheus, quite thankful toward Heracles freeing him from eternal agony, agreed to help him find the garden he was searching for. After all, he too was a man, or rather Titan of words. The Titan told the demigod where to find the Golden Apples and provided him with valuable advice on getting them when he’d be there.In fact, Ladon, a dragon with a hundred heads no less, and the Hesperides, nymphs and daughters of the Titan Atlas, guarded the coveted apples. Handling Ladon was no big deal for Heracles. After all, he had already slain many monsters as dangerous as the dragon.
However, Prometheus warned him that to get past the Hesperides, he would need the help of their father, Atlas himself. In the first post of this series, we acknowledged that Atlas was Prometheus' brother. Surely, he would be more inclined to help Heracles with this quest. Right? What happens to Heracles after this will be for another series of posts. After all, Prometheus is the main character here. Do you agree that the greek legends are an endless source of unfolding adventures? After this unexpected salvage, we don't know what really became of our hero. All we need to know is that Zeus pardoned him on the condition that he wore a shackle, a ring made from the chains that held him on the Mount Caucasus, as a reminder of his past misdeeds. He probably kept a low profile to avoid further troubles because there was no sign of his tales after that in the Greek mythology.
