Hercules Labours — Simonida Perica Uth

12 Hercules Labours

Labors of Hercules according to Simonida©. Artist personal translation from the Greek and illustration in print work: etching & aquatint (for the purchase of individual prints please send an inquiry via contact).

Simonida has translated from the original greek "Labors of Hercules"
(δωδέκαθλον, dodekathlon) to her native Serbian language and interpreted the stories with her art.
The English translation of Simonida's text was done by Anaid Pantelich to whom Simonida is deeply grateful.

These stories where "encapsulated" for posterity using symbolism common at the time in which they were created. The stories of Hercules (Greek, Heracles) extend earlier than the time of Greek civilization and most likely they evolved from the stories of ancient Sumer in which the hero's name was Gilgamesh, the first superhero.

The Gilgamesh story was depicted in twelve clay tablets written in cuneiform. The parallel of the twelve labours of Hercules is more than coincidence. The twelve labors represent the life cycle every human being. The amazing thing is that today the story of human spiritual development is the same as it was 10,000 years ago. This is a story where modern and ancient meet.

© 2012. All material in this document is, unless otherwise stated, the property of Simonida Uth, Copyright and other intellectual property laws protect these materials. Reproduction or retransmission of the materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, is a violation of copyright law.

1.   The first labour, like the others, represents eternal dualism between good and evil.

Human being and time are the ones that change the places of these two forces.

Who is Hercules and who is Nemean lion? It is spoken about.

Every struggle is the rite through which one becomes powerful.

The defeated loses his contents and becomes a mask, a talisman by which the winner shields himself: the legend is born.

2.   The second labour, like the others, was ordered to Hercules by Eurystheus, the one who pursues: forcing strongly back far and wide.

The Lernean hydra represents the negative side of Hercules personality, whose breath has the speed of hurricane and whose product of thought is venom; the result of a duel between two personalities in oneself represents the new birth of freedom.

Peaceful ceremony.

3.   The third labour,  the introduction of Hercules to the compromises of life.

Having transformed his agrressiveness in to the long predominated game he conceived mercy.

Instinct for resolving a situation creates the idea of compromise. Living creatures transform all those essential situations which should neither involve brutality nor an end, into primeval play of questioning and contest.

The Ceryneian hind remained alive. it was the ally of the gods, harmless sage, onlooker.

4.   The fourth labour, represents that vital search for fate in ourselves and in others. Hercules is seeking with his torch-like-look and with sound of shouting, him who divines by lots.

The power of the great water and its foam, out of which love was born, took from the Erymanthian boar his look to the distance.

The boar did not divine and understand the future any more, he understood the meaning of the infinity and he experienced death.

5.   The fifth labour tells about the night which fell when the day was to be born. then, the over-saturated stench of unencessity took over the rule of the world.

Hercules, the divine descendent of Zeus, dug the canal with the vigor of his idea and life: and the primeval chastity flowed over and washed away the place the depths of which were reigned by bright ray.

All this happened on the Elean night* during the reign of Augeas (Augeas).

* Elean night is referance to the origin of the Olympic Games: comes from te Tenth Olympian Ode of the poet Pindar. He tells the story of how Herakles, on his fifth labor, had to clean the stables of King Augeas of Elis. Herakles approached Augeas and promised to clean the stables for the price of one-tenth of the king's cattle. Augeas agreed, and Herakles rerouted the Kladeos and Alpheos rivers to flow through the stables. Augeas did not fulfill his promise, however, and after Herakles had finished his labors he returned to Elis and waged war on Augeas. Herakles sacked the city of Elis and instituted the Olympic Games in honor of his father, Zeus. It is said that Herakles taught men how to wrestle and measured out the stade, or the length of the footrace. 2* Elean night The historical origins of the Ancient Olympic Games are lost in the fog of time, but ... The Athenian writer Xenophon in 364 BC gives a contemporary record of an Elean attack during the Pentathlon final of the Games themselves, as the Pisans were again in control. The Eleans pushed the defenders almost to the altar before retreating due to missiles being thrown at them from the porticos. During that night the defending Arcadians constructed defensive palisades, and the next morning on seeing the strength of the defence the Elians retreated.

6.   The sixth labour, depicts the marshy regions to which the herd of wolves hunts down the human being, leaving him there as the victim to the cult of homosexuality, the one that kills with technology.

Hercules uttered a number of tingling, high-pitched sounds with the simplicity of his fingers; horrified at the unworthiness of the movement and at the uncultivated sounds, the fearful Stymphalian birds* flew away.

In that way fear and flight came into existence.

* Stymphalian birds refer to the soldiers in full armor, like the birds of pray....

7.   The seventh labour, the hole, black principle in Hercules or that integral part of each notion of manliness femininity. 

That entirely delicate attainment of the balance of the soul, thought and unconsciousness is the prime skill, and yet already with their birth, all bear it in a certain darkness within themselves.

The introvert universe. the evil force of gravitation of confirmation, insistence, wanted to spoil Hercules skill, therefore the Cretan bull in the path of life represents the higher level, the style of personality.

8.   The eighth labour,represents Hercules campaign against four subjects of divine wisdom that dwells in the space of glow and clarity.

The four subjects named instability, arrogance, malice and lust represent the possibilities, chaos, the punishment for those who cannot feel.

Diomedes stallions divided the son of the fight to four cardinal points and took him away.

Hercules defeated them by wisdom of his experience, without much effort, ignoring them.

9.   The ninth labour, represents the offering; giving from self.

Hercules wanted and give, wanted and took the power from the woman who belonged to the moon.

The light of emotion spread out and refracted in to the particles of ego, for an instant the way to perfection came into view.

Than, a fateful chance, on the horse, took away the queen Hipolita and from that time on her love for hercules wanders forever around the world.

10.   The tenth labour, took place at the point where the sun sets and where the soil is red.

In that country and at that point there was immense wealth, fertility.

Hercules took a little from the herd of fertility for himself and for others, from geryon, the great crane, the ruler of particularity.

11.   The eleventh labour, represents the fight against those who are as strong as hundreds of man, against those who endanger by their innocence.

The offspring of the clouds that darken sky, the centaurs from afforested mountains and valleys, wild, they belong to the essential imagination, they represent the only amusement to the human being idleness.

They were so many times expelled and brought back;

The already endangered imagination will perish.the surrogate is found.

12.   The twelfth labour, represents the final rite of life. far on the west the door of the mysteries of life open to Hercules, the dream which remained at the shore of the passing time, ushers him in;

He moves toward the demon of the subterranean cave; that is the way to reach the divine praise.

If he wins he will become god,  and god always returns to his machine, to sun and to life.

That which remains of the human being is his ego and his echo, hope.