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mediasinfluencealicia · 5 years ago

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Media’s Portrayal of Africa

Alicia Pereira - Student No. 100275824

When I ask you think of Africa what are the first things that come to mind? Most would say something along the lines of poverty, lack of development, conflict, famine, but simultaneously the exotic wildlife, nature and safaris. It can be argued that this is a very one-sided, biased view of the entire continent of Africa, but where do these stereotypes originate from?

What we know about Africa comes from many different sources, as Hawk (1992) highlights: consisting of school textbooks, news media, church missionaries, and the entertainment industry. However, when it comes to the generation we are living in - the media holds vital power, as it is where most individuals come to be informed. With this comes the fabrication of poverty porn - a media discourse that exploits the poor in Africa (Stavinoha, 2019) for sympathy and promotion of non-profits. Keep in mind: media discourses sometimes do not accurately represent the world, they construct ‘social reality’ - warranting, yet constricting our knowledge of the globe.

1: Poverty Porn - Perpetuating Stereotypes and Denying Real Activism.

Arguably, the issue with poverty porn, as Nathalie Dortonne mentions in a CNN special (2016), is that it is a tactic used by nonprofits to gain contributions. Showing exploitative images leaves many of us feeling ‘uncomfortable, disconnected and guilty’. The image above shows photographers illustrating a picture which may not necessarily be the case, it can be argued that they may be manoeuvring poses and angles to make the child appear more desperate than he may be. Another query that arises is if the child is truly in need, why aren’t the photographers helping? This has connotations to the colonial past where Africa was dubbed a human zoo. Perhaps it is time to change the visual conversation from stereotypes to something more innovative.

Poverty porn defines poverty as ‘observable suffering’ (Dortonne, N. 2016) stemming from the lack of material resources, whilst completely ignoring governmental injustices, political issues and economic debates. Hence, it is fair to say that poverty porn, as a social construction of reality, could be denying real activism.

Effects

Furthermore, a Guardian article written by Remi Adekoya (2013) accentuates how the media’s portrayal of Africa affects her and other Africans. She describes all the images of poverty in Africa as ‘embarrassing’, but simultaneously (as a journalist) acknowledges that negative coverage ‘sells’ better than positive. Another interesting mentioned is how she knows people with African roots living abroad in Europe who are constantly being underestimated in their workplace because of assumptions that they ‘grew up and went to school in a poor, backward environment’ - which can seem demeaning and humiliating. She states ‘that there are many different... stories to be told from Africa’s 54 diverse countries, yet we only hear the same repeated lines’ (Adekoya, R. 2013). This, from my perspective, highlights the Invisibility of Africa.

2: Massawa, Eritrea’s Red Sea Port

3: Lake Chad - seen to be drying up

Above are two images of Eritrea and Chad to represent said Invisibility of Africa, of all the countries in Africa - these are the ones with the least media coverage. Most Eritrean citizens are lacking basic human rights. Children do not have access to proper education - instead, the government utilises the school system to funnel these kids into army camps, and national service jobs. Moreover, there are plenty of restrictions on freedom of speech, expression, association, and finally: the government fails to recognise the different religions present in Eritrea - deposing religions they do not agree with by putting people under house arrest. Yet, the media is silent.

Lake Chad - a natural resource that enables survival for millions across Africa is drying up, it has shrunk by nine-tenths due to climate change, overpopulation and irrigation (Ross, W. 2018). Yet, apart from a few articles - the media is quiet.

So the question we need to ask ourselves is why can it be proposed that the media only want to propel a one-sided, extremely biased view of Africa whilst ignoring other ongoing issues? Africa is a massive continent - surely there should be millions of brilliant, positive stories? Portraying one aspect by projecting poverty porn to generate money should not be the focal point of the media, instead they should be more inclusive to social and environmental stories.

In conclusion, this clip accentuates and summaries my arguments incredibly well - it mentions how ‘media is used as a propaganda tool to put down and destroy the African brand’ (2nacheki, 2018). Overall, change is demanded from the media to portray a better, wholesome perspective of the continent of Africa.

Bibliography

2nacheki, (Youtube Uploader - 2018) Africa True Story: Western Media war against Africa / Youtube. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT0Ndu-gemc>. (Accessed: 22 February 2020)

Adekoya, R. (2013) Why Africans worry about how Africa is portrayed in Western Media / The Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/28/africans-worry-how-africa-portrayed-western-media>. (Accessed: 21 February 2020)

Davey, S. (2018) Everything You Need to Know about Poverty Porn / Oaktree. Available at: <https://www.oaktree.org/poverty_porn_101>. (Accessed: 20 February 2020)

Dortonne, N. (2016) The Dangers of Poverty Porn / CNN. Available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/08/health/poverty-porn-danger-feat/index.html>. (Accessed: 20 February 2020)

Hawk, B. G. (1992) Africa’s media image /. Praeger. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat07845a&AN=uea.24701722&site=eds-live&scope=site (Accessed: 19 February 2020).

Redmayne, N. (2018) Eritrea / The Independent. Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/africa/eritrea-holiday-visit-africa-asmara-italy-architecture-ethopia-a8668156.html>. (Accessed: 22 February 2020)

Ross, W. (2018) Lake Chad: Can the vanishing lake be saved? / BBC. Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43500314>. (Accessed: 22 February 2020)

Stavinoha, L. (2019) UEA Module Outline / Lecture Slides / UEA Blackboard. Available at: <https://learn.uea.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_128190_1&content_id=_2726963_1&mode=reset>. (Accessed: 20 February 2020)

Unknown, Colourful Picture of Africa, / Available at: <https://www.google.com/search?q=africa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUsfaZmNvnAhXZUhUIHXmjDGMQ_AUoAnoECBQQBA&biw=615&bih=711#imgrc=3mkpCadgD69erM>. (Accessed: 19 February 2020)

Unknown, Poverty Porn Image, Source: Fair Development Consulting. Available at: <https://www.verveup.com/shesaid/poverty-porn-perpetuating-stereotypes-and-denying-real-activism>. (Accessed: 19 February 2020)

Unknown, (2019) Chad / Unknown. Available at: <https://www.google.com/search?q=chad&tbm=isch&chips=q:chad,g_1:country:3yJ7vzxA45Y%3D&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiphsGpnuDnAhUIXxoKHR9YAUsQ4lYoAHoECAEQFA&biw=1440&bih=740#imgrc=plva29Cuf9nS9M>. (Accessed: 22 February 2020)

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, January 18). Human zoo. / In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Human_zoo&oldid=936382075>. (Accessed: 21 February 2020)

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thefourthbranch · 5 years ago

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5/8/2020 The Questions All Should be Asking the 'Experts' of the Coronavirus Response Team? If I was a member of the White House Press Corps these are just a few of the questions I would ask the coronavirus response team: Dr. Fauchi, how can I trust someone who's entire position is based upon a flawed premise? For if you believe the flawed premise to be sound, how can I trust your judgment? On the other hand, if you know the premise is flawed, how can I trust your intent? For would not your intent be to deceive? And if your intent is to deceive does it not stand to reason that it is for the purpose of exploitation and subjugation? From the beginning, the flawed premise presented by Dr. Fauchi and his merry band of 'experts' has been that we should determine mortality rates by dividing the number of deaths by the number of reported cases. Never in history has this been done. In every instance before this, the mortality rate has been determined by dividing the number of deaths by the total population of the nation. The next logical question is: Dr. Fauchi, why have you changed the mathematical equation? To answer that question I must first point out that long before Hegel presented to the world the Hegelian Dialectic, the governments of man had been engaging in a pattern of behavior that always resulted in the imposition of some level of tyranny. In the Hegelian Dialectic, Hegel simply documented that pattern of behavior which he summed up with three words: problem - reaction - solution. Simply put, government creates a problem, which then motivates the citizenry to react emotionally and demand that the government provide a solution. Under such manufactured circumstance who could expect any self-respecting aspiring tyrant not to rise to the demand of the citizenry? To say the least they always have been, and always will be, more than happy to do so. For every opportunity such as this provides them the opportunity to concentrate power and wealth into their own hands at the expense of the citizenry. The infancy of the manufactured Coronavirus crisis occurred in China when the Chinese communists attached the words "potential Pandemic" to their reports regarding the Coronavirus. The western media, champions of centralized governmental power, seized upon this opportunity and dropped the word "potential" from the narrative. Ever since their entire focus has been on the word Pandemic. A word that strikes fear into the hearts of the citizenry. Now, given that words mean things, it is important to take a moment and focus on the definition of the word Pandemic: "A disease prevalent over the whole of a country or continent, or over the whole world." (The Oxford Universal Dictionary on Historical Principles) First, the word pandemic is not defined by speculative and deceptive estimates regarding degrees of mortality. All that is required is that it cover a wide geographical area. Second, every year the world suffers a pandemic flu. Cancer is a pandemic that has existed since the beginning of time. AIDS is a pandemic that has afflicted the world for decades. Yet, never in the history of the world has the entire world economy been shut down to deal with any of these or any other Pandemic. This brings us back around to the original question: why have the 'experts' completely changed their mathematical evaluation with regard to this Pandemic? And why, for the first time in history, have they proposed that the solution is to shut down the world economy? The change in the mathematical equation was intended to create hysteria by convincing the citizenry that unless we surrendered our Liberty and our livelihood 5 out of every 100 of us will die. The 'experts' want us to continue to focus on their narrative that tells us that We the People are benefiting from their 'solution'. But are we? In my last blog post I showed that Sweden has proven this to be a false premise. To reiterate the point, as of today if you divide the number of deaths in Sweden and the United States by the total population of each country the mortality rate for the United States is 0.00023 and it is 0.0003 for Sweden. That is a difference of 0.00007 If you multiply 0.00007 x 330 million Americans you will find that had we followed Sweden's path of Liberty we would have experienced an additional 23,100 deaths. You can find daily updates of Coronavirus statistics at: worldometers.info > Coronavirus Now, of course, the narrative of the virtue signalling 'experts' provides the predictable question: "Don't those 23,100 lives matter?" That question is designed to deflect attention from the real issue by putting the bearer of truth on the defensive. But I will not be reduced to such a state. I will answer that question with this far more important question: are those 23,100 lives more important turn the 33 million lives who have been added to the unemployment line along with an average of two family members who also rely upon that lost income? 100 million Americans are suffering economically from the imposition of Marshall Law. Alcoholism and drug addiction are on the rise because of this draconian approach. How many lives will be lost from the disease of addiction in order to save those 23,100 lives? Now, let's consider this. The headline read: "UN Warns Coronavirus Fallout Will Lead to the Next Pandemic – Gobal Starvation" (By Hollie McKay - Fox News - 4/29/20) McKay reported: "Ian Bradbury, CEO of the Canada-based humanitarian organization 1st NAEF, told Fox News: "We can expect more global deaths due to secondary impacts of COVID-19 than the virus itself — the UN World Food Program currently estimates that 265 million will be on the brink of starvation by the end of the year." https://insight.wfp.org/covid-19-will-almost-double-people-in-acute-hunger-by-end-of-2020-59df0c4a8072 Again, to answer the virtue signaling question: "don't the 23,100 lives matter?" - I ask: do those 23,100 lives matter more than the millions of lives who will now be lost due to starvation as a direct result of world government's self-serving impositions? It is time for We the People to stop focusing on the 'benefits' that the 'experts' assert they are bestowing upon us with their draconian Marshall Law. It is time for us to turn our focus to the ways in which the 'experts' of government are benefiting from their 'solution'. Let's begin with the Chinese Communists. They have benefited because it has derailed President Trump's economy that was crushing them. And they have benefited because their hope to dominate the world by 2040 has been resurrected. The Socialists and Communists of the world are benefiting because the move toward nationalism that was sweeping the world, and with good reason, has been reversed and we are firmly back on the path to a One World Socialist Government. The un-elected bureaucratic 'experts' of the Deep State are benefiting because, once again, we are back on the path of concentrating power in Washington DC and in the capital cities of the states where the lust for power is insatiable. The central bankers are benefiting because in a little over a month we have added three trillion dollars to the national debt. The aspiring tyrants are benefiting because they have now established the precedent of imposing Marshall Law based upon nothing more than speculation about a virus. And we all know how aspiring tyrants love to cite precedent of previous tyranny to justify their next tyrannical imposition. The Chinese communists, the Socialists and Communists of the world, the un-elected bureaucratic 'experts' of the Deep State, the central bankers and the aspiring tyrants will all benefit greatly if their intent to bring about the defeat of President Trump in the fall election is successful. And let there be no doubt, that has been their intent behind this entire charade from the beginning. As for the so-called medical 'experts' who have been driving this draconian Marshall Law 'solution', I would ask: Dr. Fauchi, how well have you lived up to the Hippocratic Oath that you took when you became a doctor? The Hippocratic Oath demands that you do no harm. Do the millions who are being driven to addiction, and the tens of millions who are going to die from starvation, have the justifiable right to feel that you have harmed them? Last, but certainly not least, how many tens of millions will suffer harm due to deprivation, starvation and death in a worldwide depression that will surely result if we continue to allow ourselves to be subjugated by your imposed 'solutions'? Will not every single one of them be able to look at you, Dr. Fauchi, and legitimately declare that you have caused them harm? For further insight into Dr. Fauchi, I encourage to scroll down to by Blog post for 4/23/20, entitled: "The Most Dangerous Man in the World" where I ask you to click on a link that will take you to the Videos page of this website. There you can watch the "Banned Video by Greg Reese at Infowars.com." https://www.newswars.com/shocking-historian-exposes-bill-gates-ties-to-nazis-and-more/ You will then want to view - Plandemic Movie - A Documentary on Medical Corruption - PLANDEMIC Documentary_ Part 1 - Dr Judy Miko. This video is not yet available on our Videos page but if you copy and paste the following link to your favorite search engine you will find the answer to the question I pose in my 4/23/20 blog - "how is it possible that Dr. Fauci knew that there was going to be a surprise pandemic virus during the Trump presidency --- three years before it happened?" https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7tr4qq&ved=2ahUKEwiq8IPCmaPpAhUbV80KHcrtA6QQFjAIegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw0rmin5h-xTgyuqmuSk18k2 With each passing day I am more convinced that Dr. Fauchi is in perhaps the most ruthless and notorious white collar criminal in all of human history. The Coronavirus is the classic example of what I address in my book, We of Mind and Reason, that turning to government should be the last resort of the citizenry when confronted by any problem except dealing with criminals or foreign military aggression. The reason, is that those who govern are generally incompetent and all to often looking for the slightest opportunity to impose offensive, tyrannical law. Both incompetency and tyranny are present in this crisis that , without government involvement, would be no crisis at all. Please go to the home page of this website and purchase a copy of We of Mind and Reason. Please join the ranks of We of Mind and Reason, The Constitutional Patriots of America, and become a voice for history's greatest instrument of Liberty, the Constitution of the United States. Thank you, and God bless America! Rick Chase The FourthBranch.Biz

#drfauci #deepstate #coronahoax #wethepeople #fakenews

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finalyearlareb-qawwali-blog · 7 years ago

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Research: Sufi Poet; Siraj Aurangabadi

سراج اورنگ آبادی‬‎

A mystic poet, from Aurangabad Maharashtra India known for his many ghazals (a poem fixed with a number of verses and a repeated rhyme - typically on the theme of love) as well as being known for his ghazals Siraj also gained popularity due to his masnavi. Masnavi being, a series of six books of poetry rounded up to an amount of 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It’s considered a spiritual text which teaches Sufis how to reach the goal of truly being in love with God.

Siraj was influenced by many Persian poets like Hafiz. Siraj gave ghazal a new feeling/ mystical experience. His ghazals have two layers- mystical and metaphysical (a form of philosophy) and the other layer being secular and physical. Siraj lived a life of isolation, but was in constant presence of ‘students’ younger poets and admirers who gathered at his home for poetic instruction and religious improvement. Being one of the two front ranking poets who actually led a life of mystic and Sufism.

One of his most popular works is “Khabar E Tahayyur E Ishq Sun” been sung by many famous qawwali artists such as Abida Parveen, Ustad Farid Ayaz and Ustad Abu Muhammad.

View Below:

youtube

The poem’s title is translated to: “News of loves bewilderment” and it’s lyrics can be roughly translated as such:

“Hear news of love's bewilderment: no beauty remains, no feverish madness

no you remains, no I remains - all that remains is unselfconsciousness

A wind blew in from the unseen world, scorching the garden of appearances

On pain's bare branch, just one bud - call it the heart - remains in greenness

Just now, the king of oblivion has bestowed upon me nakedness's royal robe

No stitch of discernment's propriety remains, no veil-rending insanity's lewdness

With what tongue can I express complaint against my beloved's negligent gaze?

Take from my heart's wine-vat a hundred cups - it remains brimming in fullness

Your beauty's power stirs up bewildering tumult here to such extent that the mirror reflects no charred devotee, no idol - its face remains imageless.”

The lyrics as translated above, though could never do the original justice are a rough translation of what is being sung in the above video of Ustad Farid Ayaz and Ustad Abu Muhammad performing the Siraj ghazal ‘Khabar E Tahayyur E Ishq Sun’

As the poem is sung, you can see the emphasis on certain lines/ phrases sung by Ustad Farid Ayaz there is a constant repetition of certain lines/ words this being to enhance its meaning and importance to not only Siraj’s students but the current audience that Ayaz is singing to.

i.e. “With what tongue can I express complaint against my beloved's negligent gaze?”

One of the core principles of Islam has always been that Allah, the most just is final. His decisions are ones that we cannot fathom to understand. So as someone who a fellow Muslim my first thought of what this lyric could mean is Sarij exclaiming his love for Allah, for how wonderful he is. That he is unable to question one thing of his creation, as he is the almighty. Proclaiming that his opinion of the work of the almighty is unworthy as he refers to his voice as a ‘tongue’

The lyrics are crucial for devotional listeners/ followers of Sufism- understanding the lyrics or the poem is a dimension of learning, much like how Siraj would break down his learning of religion and his love for God for his fellow students. As Qawwali derives from written poetry, Siraj’s ‘Khabar E Tahayyur E Ishq Sun’ is a perfect example of how an artist has taken teachings from the holy book, in this case, the Qur’an and drawn metaphors from sources such as such, hadith and other Sufi literature.

Bibliography:

Articles:

1. Kugle, S. 2007, "Qawwali Between Written Poem and Sung Lyric, Or . . . How a Ghazal Lives", The Muslim World, vol. 97, no. 4, pp. 571-610.

Internet:

1. En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Siraj Aurangabadi. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siraj_Aurangabadi [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

2. Hartford Seminar. (2018). The Muslim World Journal. [online] Available at: https://www.hartsem.edu/macdonald-center/the-muslim-world-journal/ [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Books:

1. Google Books. (2018). When Sun Meets Moon. [online] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KMo3CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32&dq=Hear+news+of+love%27s+bewilderment:+no+beauty+remains,+no+feverish+madness&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit6K2B0svZAhVBB8AKHUbMCeEQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=Hear%20news%20of%20love's%20bewilderment%3A%20no%20beauty%20remains%2C%20no%20feverish%20madness&f=false [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

Video:

1. YouTube. (2016). Qawwali - Khabar e Tahayyur e Ishq Sun - Ghazal by Siraj Aurangabadi. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5XaLXZ2iM [Accessed 2 Mar. 2018].

#qawwali #siraj #sufi #sufism #music #lyrics #poetry #analysis #breakdown #ustad abu muhammad #ustad farid ayaz #abida parveen #pakistan

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unccdramaturgy-blog · 7 years ago

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The Legend of Herakles

In order to understand exactly the type of person Herakles is, especially in this adaptation of his death, you must know exactly what this man did in his life. Herakles was born a twin after Zeus had impregnated his mother on the same night his mortal father had also done so. Zeus, being Zeus, bragged about his affair saying that this son would be the ruler of rulers, same as his father. Hera, Zeus’ wife, didn’t like this obviously and stalled Heracles’ birth in favor of his cousin, Eurystheus. With Zeus’ prediction already underway, Eurystheus, not Herakles, became a great ruler while Herakles was forced to serve him. Years down the line, after many feats by the young Herakles, including strangling snakes as a baby, slaying a lion in his teens, and… killing his music teacher, Herakles decides he is ready for marriage and settles down with Megara, the daughter of the king. Herakles was happy and content with his life, but Hera wasn’t, and so she sent a fit of madness to Herakles causing him to murder Megara and his children. Having committed this crime, Herakles went to the Oracle at Delphi in order to cleanse his sin. He was told to go serve his cousin again by doing anything he commanded. This is where the famous Twelve Labors come in. Fun Fact: There are actually far more than twelve labors during this time, but the twelve that are most popular (or favored for economic purposes) were selected to be placed on the temple of Zeus in Olympia, where there were only twelve available slots. Below are the twelve ‘famous’ labors of Herakles:

1. The Nemean Lion

Much like Herakles’ early accomplishments, he simply was challenge with slaying a lion that was terrorizing sheep nearby. Herakles decided the best course of action was to snap a large branch off a tree and hit the lion to death… this worked. Herakles then stripped the skin off the lion and wore this, and nothing else, for the rest of his days. The branch from the tree become his iconic weapon, the club.

2. The Lernean Hydra

In this case, Herakles was tasked with slaying a beast with nine heads and whenever one was defeated, two more would grow back. Herakles was struggling in this fight and employed his nephew to help defeat the hydra. Hera, constantly watching Herakles’ actions decided to throw an added challenge in and sent a giant crab down to attack Herakles and his nephew as well. This being Herakles and his nephew, they easily defeated both beasts, casting the crab into the stars where it would become the constellation Cancer. Herakles took this time to dip all of his arrows into the blood of the hydra which was known for being highly poisonous.

3. The Cerynean Hind

Continuing the theme of animals/beasts, Herakles was tasked to hunt and capture a sacred Hind, or Stag, of Artemis (The Goddess of the Hunt). Herakles tracked the Hind for a full year before being able to capture and return it to Eurystheus who, being the courageous leader he was, hid inside a pot until the Hind was released.

4. The Erymanthian Boar

Herakles captured a boar. Eurystheus hid in a pot again. That’s all.

5. The Augean Stables

Here, Herakles was tasked with cleaning out the stables of Augeas, the king of Elis, which were filthy and near impossible to clear out. With the guidance of Athena, because Herakles was not known for brains, he diverted two nearby rivers to flow through the stables, easily clearing them out. This is the weirdest story included and for the greatest reason. The people of Elis, a city nearby Olympia, were asked to design and build the temple of Zeus. In the process of deciding which stories of Herakles to put on the temple, they decided to include a legend of their own taking place in their city. This would cause visitors in Olympia to visit a famous location where Herakles once diverted two rivers into one. Basically, it was all a giant ad.

6. Stymphalian Birds

Birds with extremely sharp beaks. Herakles shot them all. That’s it.

7. Cretan Bull

Herakles traveled to the island of Crete in order to capture the father of the Minotaur, a sacred bull of Poseidon. Herakles brought the bull back to Greece where it was released into a completely different myth that has nothing to do with Herakles. That bull gets around a lot.

8. Mares of Diomedes

Herakles was sent to collect the Man-Eating horses of Diomedes. Diomedes refused to let his horses go and the horses devoured him. Herakles brought the horses back to Euystheus and released them into the wild. I repeat.. Herakles RELEASED MAN-EATING HORSES INTO THE WILD.

9. Girdle of Hippolyta

Herakles traveled into modern day Turkey in order to obtained the Girdle, or Warbelt, of Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, a society of warrior women who used men only for procreation. When Herakles showed up and asked for the Girdle, Hippolyta said ‘sure’ and started to hand it over… That was easy. Hera didn’t like easy and sent a madness to all of the Amazons, forcing Herakles to kill most of them. This is where he would meet his future wife, Deianira.

10. Cattle of Geryon (Ger-i-on)

Herakles traveled the farthest he had ever gone on this journey, all the way to an island past modern day Spain. He was told to kill Geryon and bring back his huge group of cattle. On his way, he decided to travel through the desert of North Africa. In the sweltering heat, Herakles become angry and began shooting at the sun in hopes it would go away. Apollo, the god of the sun, was amused by this act and gave Herakles a giant cup that he could use to float through the Mediterranean. On arrival, Herakles discovered Geryon was a three-bodied creature, meaning he was three humanoids combined together, not as one, but almost as if stitched together. Herakles defeated Geryon, of course, and brought the cattle back to Eurystheus.

11. Apples of Hersperides

There are a few versions of this story, though the basic idea is the same across all of them; Herakles must get apples from the trees in the garden of the Hersperides, the goddess-nymphs of sunset and daughters of the titan Atlas. The most popular of the stories involves Herakles going directly to Atlas and asking him to retrieve the apples for him. Atlas, after Zeus had overthrown his father, Cronus, was forced to hold up the world on his shoulders. Atlas agreed to retrieve the apples if Herakles would take his place. Both agreed to this and Herakles, along with help from Athena, took on the burden of the world. Atlas soon returned and refused to take the world back. Herakles submitted to this and simply asked that Atlas help him get a more comfortable position. Atlas took some of the weight off of Herakles, allowing him to get out, leaving the world back on Atlas’ shoulders.

12. Cerberus

Shockingly, a really short one again. He goes down into Hades and steals Cerberus. Brings him to Eurystheus, who is afraid, and then returns the beast to Hades.

(Deinaria)

Finally the Labors are over! From here, the story of the Women of Trachis takes over. All in all, Herakles wasn’t really the smartest and required help from various others in order to get his labors done. He also made split-second decisions that were not the best, such as releasing dangerous beasts into the mainland of Greece instead of killing them and saving lives. He also ran into danger without question, making him less courageous and more ignorant.

Pictures Sited:

http://writingthepastblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-tragedy-of-herakles.html

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/index.html

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiyv93ltefWAhWC4iYKHV5KC8wQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F83035186850232611%2F&psig=AOvVaw3isnNccJlO7A-qA7WDltRO&ust=1507771785736810

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