Heracles' journeys

Heracles, the legendary hero of Greek mythology, was, at it seems, a frequent visitor of the “west”.

The cattle of Geryon

In his tenth labour Heracles is commanded by Eurystheus to fetch the kine of Geryon from Erythia, an island near the ocean [ Appolodorus, Library 2.5 ].

“So journeying through Europe to fetch the kine of Geryon he destroyed many wild beasts and set foot in Libya, and proceeding to Tartessus he erected as tokens of his journey two pillars over against each other at the boundaries of Europe and Libya. But being heated by the Sun on his journey, he bent his bow at the god, who in admiration of his hardihood, gave him a golden goblet in which he crossed the ocean” [ Appolodorus, Library 2.5 and Athenaeus 11.928 ]

So, Heracles crossed the Ocean in order to reach Erytheia, a fact that is also clearly mentioned by Hesiod :

“Him [Geryon] mighty Heracles slew in sea-girt Erythea by his shambling oxen on that day when he drove the wide-browed oxen to holy Tiryns, and had crossed the ford of Ocean and killed Orthus and Eurytion the herdsman in the dim stead out beyond glorious Ocean” [ Hesiod, Theogony 290 ]

But where was Erytheia? The following hints provide conclusive evidence on the location of the island:

Erytheia means “red coloured” in Greek.

Geryon's “kine” was of red colour [ Appolodorus, Library 2.5 ] and are also described as “εἰλίποδες” and “ εὐρυμέτωποι ” [ Hesiod, Theogony 290-91 ], clearly hinting to walrus according to this story of the series.

These two, combined, strongly point to today's Magdalen island , with its dominant reddish colour and a habitat of walrus populations , the island where Odysseus's comrades slaughtered the “cattle of Helios” .

The apples of the Hesperides

In his eleventh labour Heracles is commanded by Eurystheus to bring the “golden apples” from the Garden of the Hesperides.

But first, Heracles had to find out how to reach the “garden” and this would involve a long journey. In the end, he learned the secret location of the garden from Nereus , the “old man of the sea”, who probably was the only one who knew the way [ Pherecydes Fragmenta 33 , Appolodorus Library 2.5 ].

Although there is disagreement among writers on the nature of the “apples” [ Diodorus Bibliotheca Historica 4.26.2 ] and the location of the “garden” [ Appolodorus Library 2.5 ], the dominant version places it in the far west (“Hesperides” literally translates “of the west”), to a place close to where Atlas lived.

So Heracles again reaches Libya (ancient name for Africa) and crosses the Ocean on a “golden goblet” given to him by Helios [ Pherecydes Fragmenta 33 ].

Given that the garden was near to where Atlas lived, presumably in the region of Atlantis , and that it was guarded by the nymphs Aegle, Erythia (of red colour), Hesperia, and Arethusa, the garden was most probably located in Prince Edward Island , which even today is called the “ Garden of the Gulf ”, and bears the reddish colour that would justify the name of the nymph Erythia.

The Cerberus of Hades

In his twelfth labour Heracles is commanded by Eurystheus to bring the “Cerberus”, the monstrous, three-headed dog which guarded the entrance to Hades to prevent souls from leaving.

Prior to the journey, Heracles went first to Eleusis and asked to be initiated into the Eleusenian Mysteries [ Diodorus Bibliotheca Historica 4.25.1 , Appolodorus Library 2.5 ]. Interestingly, part of the initiation process was the transfer of knowledge of the sea routes .

After the initiation he sailed for the great adventure to Hades. For the presumed location of the place, refer to this and this stories of the series.

Accompanying the Argonauts

In between of his labours, Heracles participated in the Argonauts' expedition and was chosen as their general because of his courage [ Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica 4.4.1.3 ].

In this journey which is discussed in another story of this series, Heracles takes for one more time the trans-Atlantic trip.

At Troy

During his journey with the Argonauts, Heracles visited Troy and saved the city from a “sea monster” that was sent by sea-god Poseidon, with a reward of the mares that Zeus had given the king of Troy, Laomedon [ Appolodorus Library 2.5.9 , Diodorus Bibliotheca Historica 4.42 ].

The “sea monster” was presumably the high tides of the Bay of Fundy , which affect the area of today's Truro, flooding the plane. Heracles rescue, was probably the building of anti-flood walls, as is implied by Homer:

“So saying, the dark-haired god [Poseidon] led the way to the heaped-up wall of godlike Heracles, the high wall that the Trojans and Pallas Athene had builded for him, to the end that he might flee thither and escape from the monster of the deep, whenso the monster drave him from the seashore to the plain” [ Iliad 20.144 ]

But as king Laomedon did not keep his word regarding the award, Heracles sacked the city, killed Laomedon and appointed one of his sons, Priamus, as the new king [ Appolodorus Library 2.6.4 , Diodorus Bibliotheca Historica 4.49.6 ].

Founder of the Greek colonies

In his “De facie quae in orbe lunae apparet” Plutarch attributes the establishment of the Greek colonies in the area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (depicted in red) first to Heracles and next to Cronus:

“These people consider and call themselves continentals inhabitants of this land because the sea flows around it on all sides; and they believe that with the peoples of Cronus there mingled at a later time those who arrived in the train of Heracles and were left behind by him and that these latter so to speak rekindled again to a strong, high flame the Hellenic spark there which was already being quenched and overcome by the tongue, the laws, and the manners of the barbarians. Therefore Heracles has the highest honours and Cronus the second”