Heracles and the slaying of the Stymphalian birds

Heracles -- Mythological Hero

Heracles Mythological Hero

Heracles-Mythological Hero

About a Mythological Hero

Heracles, also known as Hercules, was a great mythological hero, who was considered as the son of God. His strength, valor, courage and supernatural characteristic were seen from his very childhood. The biggest turn in his life occurred when he murdered his wife and children, and was thus compelled to fulfill twelve challenging labors in order to purify himself. This article presents one of his twelve labors, which involved slaying away the Stymphalian birds. Several art works including pottery paintings and canvas art work, depict several instants linked with the heroic acts of Heracles.

Adventures of Heracles

Heracles had a wide variety of adventures and his twelve labors done in order to purify himself are considered one of his popular and great adventures. This paper will highlight one of the twelve labors achieved by Heracles, which was linked in driving out the Stymphalian birds from the marshes surrounding lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. Several sources have confused the reason behind which Heracles was sent. Whether he was sent by Eurystheus to kill or get rid of the birds is unclear. Some sources refer that he was sent to "destroy" Stymphalian birds while others say he was just sent for driving them out. Moreover, sources also differ with regard to the origin of Stymphalian birds. Some sources say that there was an annual migration from places unstated, and others believe that they fled from wolves. The favorable living conditions at the lake made the birds thrive and multiply into countless numbers. Some versions of the adventure suggested that the Stymphalian birds were vicious man-eaters, while other sources described the birds as equal to lions or leopards in their fierceness.

The arrival of Heracles at the swamp, made him perplexed with the idea of dealing with those fierce Stymphalian birds. Killing those birds was an impossible task for any normal or common man. During the expedition, he was visited by Athena who gave him a special gift forged by Hephaestus. The gift was a special nose maker, to scare the Stymphalian Birds in to the air and keep Heracles safe from the fierce creatures. The noise was such that the birds were forced to fly up and away, never to be seen again. Some sources say that he killed them, while others say that some of them were killed with poisoned arrows.

Artwork Description

The twelve labors of Heracles have been carved and printed on pottery, like vases, clay pots etc. And several canvas artworks and paintings also depicts some heroic acts and stunts done by the legendary hero. The adventure of slaying the Stymphalian birds is also depicted on images painted on ancient pottery depicting slings and catapults. The figure below demonstrates pottery having the image of the heroic man -- Heracles, who is trying to slay away the birds using his bows and arrows.

The artwork below clearly depicts a linkage between the strength and valor of Heracles and his heroic stunts depicted in slaying away the furious Stymphalian birds as one of his twelve labors required in purifying himself.

Pottery depicting Hercules fighting with the Stymphalian birds (Theoi Greek Mythology, 2007)