Hercules & Andromeda

Mythology, of course, had influence on many aspects of astronomy other than the naming of the constellations. Hercules was perhaps the greatest and most known hero in all mythology. His constellation was found between Lyra and Bootes; although it's huge (fifth largest in the sky), his constellation is rather dim--which is ironic to the size and myth of Hercules himself. It shows Hercules wearing the skin of the Nemean Lion while holding his club and Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Hecules rests his foot atop the head of Draco the dragon.

Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and was hounded all his life by Juno. Juno, unhappy with Jupiter's infidelity, saw Hercules as a living symbol of her shame. This is ironic because in original Greek myths Junos is named Hera and Hercules is Hercales--meaning "glory of Hera". She delayed his

birth, and when Hercules was just born, she put two snakes into the crib he shared with his mortal half-twin Iphicles. Hercules ended up killing both of the snakes with his bare hands, marking the beginning of his career as a monster-killer.

10) He stole the man-eating cattle of Geryon.

Some topics in this essay:
Jupiter Neptune, Cassiopeia Andromeda's, Cretan Bull, Hercules Andromeda, Lernaean Hydra, Golden Fleece, Neptune Andromeda's, Thebes Juno, Andromeda Hercules, Nemean Lion, sea monster, cassiopeia andromeda's, nemean lion, chained rock, hero mythology, fed human flesh, human flesh, fed human, monster andromeda,