Heracles, A Son of the Sun

Heracles
A Son of the Sun

Archer (Herakles) from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina c.490 BC.

The Temple of Peace, Circa 1930, by Arild Rosenkrantz.

-"In former times it was the initiates who were the great leaders of humanity, those who were taken up to the final stage of initiation in the sacred mysteries. It was these men who approached the gate of death, who had been immersed in the elements, had remained for three days outside their bodies and during these three days were in the super-sensible worlds.

Then they were brought back again into their bodies and became thereafter emissaries, ambassadors from the super-sensible worlds. It was always those initiates who had become initiates by means such as these who were the great leaders of mankind."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/19120920p01.html "

-"The Indian initiate is the Bodhisattva, then come the Rishis, later in Greece we get ‘the sons of the sun’, such as Hercules and Achilles..."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA092/English/UNK2003/19041021p01.html

-"Heracles was the archetype of the life experience of the Hellenic man. Every Hellene who strove for immortality was considered an offspring of Heracles....all the Greeks considered themselves children of Heracles; and the Dorians who, through their migration ushered in the history of Hellas, were called the returning Heraclidae."

- Friedrich Hiebel, The Gospel of Hellas, P 55.

Preface

One of the most important foundational myths of Greece and the Western world is the 12 Trials of Herakles ("Herakles" or "Heracles" in Greek / "Hercules" in Latin-Roman). Like all of the Greek myths, the tale of this legendary ancient hero is clothed in mysterious symbols, relationships, events, mythical beasts, challenges, and journeys. There is no rational explanation to the strange situations and nuances of this myth in modern times, thus it is often dismissed as a fantasy folk-tale from the ancient world.

The reality, however, is that the Greek myths were intentionally designed using images and symbols to illustrate facts and realities of an inner, spiritual nature. Over time, the myths have been recorded, told, and retold. By the time of the Romans, the Greek myths had been embellished at times, but the essential nature of the tales remained intact.

The myths of the Greeks were conveyed by those who had passed through advanced training and education at centers of spiritual development that have faded into the past. These centers of learning where the Greek myths originated and were passed along to the public are referred to as "Mystery Centers" in Anthroposophical texts. Examples of Mystery Centers in Greece included Delphi, Eleusis, Samothrace, and Ephesus. Those who successfully passed through years of training where they could be expand their consciousness to a very high degree were "initiates." These individuals developed bridges to the spiritual worlds and became messengers and emissaries through a mature and waking form of direct supersensible vision.

When observed through Dr. Rudolf Steiner's works, the tale of Heracles and other Greek myths can be deciphered and appreciated - at least in part - in their true light as a historical account of an individual on a great spiritual quest that can serve as a model for others. To be sure, this is summary is an incomplete little study, but perhaps it can provide some clues using Dr. Rudolf Steiner's works as a foundation.

Not all of the Labors were discussed in Dr. Steiner's works, but symbols used in the myths and religious texts and their true meaning were extensively discussed. Thus, where direct information is lacking, the author here tried to provide correlations and insights. The terms "Heracles", "Herakles", and "Hercules" are derivations of the same name and are used interchangeably.

Introduction

"Happy are those who have experienced the Mysteries.

They know the beginning and the end of life."

-Pindar

The tale of Heracles occurs during the middle of the Greek Bronze Age in the area of Mycenae, Greece. It has inspired the lives of almost every Greek and some of the world's most influential historical leaders including Alexander the Great. A constellation bears his name, warships have been christened in his honor, and geographic monuments, such as the Pillars of Hercules, bear his namesake. Coins and countless artworks are extant that remind us of his mighty and mythic deeds. Very few people, however, have dared to liken themselves to the mighty Herakles and, perhaps, come close to this lofty goal. Fewer have unraveled the mystery of the historical Heracles.

Sometimes referred to simply as the "Labors", the 12 Trials of Heracles represent the challenges and obstacles overcome by a great hero: brave, tragic, and enduring. The myth of Heracles is conveyed by way of symbolic imagery including mythic beasts, journeys to foreign lands, riddles, and peculiar situations; all of which have a deeper significance. This is because the tale of Herakles was not the innovation of an ancient writer's imagination as envisaged today. It has a foundation in reality based on INNER experiences. To follow in the path of Heracles, is to seek the spirit and to pursued the deeper questions of life, death, and immortality.

Heracles was indeed a historical personality; this person did exist. But rather than be the stuff of mere fairy tales to entertain children, the Labors of Heracles describe the trials and challenges of a candidate on the path of spiritual initiation in the ancient Greek world. While this individual may have traveled to foreign lands and had adventures connected with his destiny, the journeys and challenges described in the 12 Labors occurred primarily in a higher and expanded state of consciousness. They were spiritual journeys.

Herakles' victories and failures were dangerous and heroic soul-spiritual journeys of one who had to face himself, his karma, his shadow, the residual echoes of his prior deeds in his current and prior lifetimes (this residual imprint is referred to as "samskara" in the Indian religions), thoughts, and feelings that impacted himself, others, and the world. It is often a painful and difficult purging process that occurs as an intensified spiritual and physical experience. One's prior sins and lower dispositions brought forward from the past often have a dark and heavy aspect. Exposing one's flaws and correcting for them requires courage, assistance, and endurance.

Confronting and shedding them is a difficult battle and can only be accomplished gradually with renewed forces of the will, education, and resiliency. This ongoing task can require many lifetimes. Just like today, self-improvement - whether it be diet, exercise, positive thinking, or something else - is the journey of transforming ourselves into something greater than we were before. It is about establishing a new way of thinking, feeling, and engaging in the world reinforced by the will to do so. Interwoven within the most challenging of tasks of initiation - at all levels and regardless of if we are aware of where we are in the process - is the enduring commitment of service to humanity and a higher cause.

If the path is pursued in the right spirit, and continued effort, what follows is health, awareness, transformation, accountability, accomplishment, and freedom. These refinements lead to greater challenges to help the world forward. Thus, the central themes of Heracles are heroic journeys, bravery, virtue, and courage. Hercules is always journeying to some far-off land to vanquish some strange foe or achieve some daunting feat. During the process, he becomes an informed healer, influencer, and guide. Herakles, like all others who pursue the path of initiation, had to confront and transform the darkness within himself and change it into Light.

The initiates of old such as Heracles, regardless of their location in the world and the moment of history and the culture in which they lived, are referred to as the "Sons of the Sun" in the Mysteries. In the ancient Grecian Mysteries, sometimes these heroes of old were referred to as "Sons of Zeus" or the "Sons of Apollo." Other cultures where these leaders existed, including Mesopotamia and Persia, referred to these leaders as the "Sons of Light."

"The twelve labors imposed on Hercules are seen in a higher light when one reflects that before the last and most difficult one he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. At the command of King Eurystheus of Mycenae, he was to fetch Cerberus, the hound of hell, from the nether world, and take him back there again. To be able to undertake a journey into the nether world, Hercules had to be an initiate.

The Mysteries led man through the death of the transitory and thus into the nether world; through initiation, they wished to save the eternal element in him from destruction. As a mystic, he could overcome death. Hercules overcame the dangers of the nether world as a mystic. This justifies the interpretation of his other deeds as stages of the inner development of the soul." -Rudolf Steiner, Christianity as Mystical Fact, GA 8, 4. Mystery Wisdom and Myth, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/RPC1961/GA008_c05.html

To approach the working principle of spiritual initiation, of which the tale of Hercules is the theme, a reader should become acquainted with the spiritual/esoteric meaning of the symbols utilized in the myth. The central premise of initiation is transformation of the soul which is predicated upon the fact that higher stages of consciousness are within reach of the human being. Entering into this alternate stage of awareness, which lay beyond the boundaries of basic waking consciousness, enable a person while incarnate in physical form to become a bridge and engage in the spiritual spheres. During these spiritual journeys, the aspirant is confronted by beings, images, ideas, and feelings that move through the astral and physical planes in a mental-spiritual way. These beings consist of both incarnate and discarnate individualities.

Most candidates upon entrance in the ancient Mysteries had experienced higher states of vision on the path of life prior to their entrance. In life, waking consciousness is very different from dream consciousness, and so are stages of inner, expanded awareness. The initiate, having sought the path to purge his or her lower self - or at least was well on the way to doing so - attained a higher form of perception, memory, and consciousness. He or she therefore does not sleep in a confused and cloudy way as most people do today.

Attaining to a higher state of consciousness requires sacrifice, mental effort, moral discipline, self-renunciation, and informed education. Higher faculties are nurtured very gradually in the Mysteries through meditation, direction, and divine oversight - whether we are aware of it or not. Initiation makes us aware of these realities. In the ancient world, one was often guided by a mentor, master, or hierophant who had attained a higher stage of initiation and could guide them properly. This effort was accompanied by guides in the spiritual worlds who offered to help and assist the individual on the challenging quest.

In the Egyptian Mysteries, these guides were referred to as "Thesmaphores." They aided and guided the candidate from the spiritual worlds because, as a mission in the Mysteries that continues that beyond death and into future lifetimes, they had pursued the difficult struggle and were assisting others to do the same. In Latin, the esoteric term that describes this gradual ascension to the "higher self", and initiation, is "Gradalis." When translated to English, it is the quest for the "Holy Grail."

The sculptures and art of the ancient world that survive today of Heracles in ancient Greece were depictions of his inner-spiritual being and countenance. The initiate is the most mature, developed, and transformed of individuals. The Greeks - who were in deeply touch with spiritual principles - portrayed the physical forms of the great heroes and the Gods as perfected - healthy, lean, powerful, athletic, and well-formed. The Greeks artisans who created these sculptures, which were copied throughout the ancient world, did so in light of the eternal in the human being when viewed through a spiritual lens.

So it is, that to properly consider the Labors of Hercules, one must look to the Mysteries for insights that confront a candidate on the path of spiritual initiation and the higher development of the human soul. There, we learn that all of the aspects of Hercules' journeys have a spiritual component behind them. Some correlate to inner soul experiences, some to outer journeys that had a spiritual aspect, while others correlate to world and cosmic cadences.

For example, there are 12 Trials of Hercules. This sacred number correlates to the 12 Houses of the Zodiac. In the West, these constellations portray individuals from the Greek myths including Perseus and Andromeda, as well as mythic animals that have a spiritual aspect. The sacred number 12 correlates to the 12 aspects of the human being; a mystery principle that is portrayed as a Platonic solid as the 12-sided Dodecahedron. There are 12 months of the year, the 12 Apostles, the 12 Gods of Olympus, the 12 Days of Christmas, the 12 Tribes of Israel, etc. Observations such as these are as valid today as they were in ancient times. They reveal spiritual principles and cadences that characterize the world in which we live.

This brief study provides some insights on, but certainly not all, the inner meaning of the myth of Herakles' soul-spiritual journey on his path to becoming an initiate. This summary relies on the insights provided by Dr. Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy, the myths, and history. In light of a modern genuine initiate's insights through Dr. Steiner, Heracles was a mystic, initiate, and spiritual leader in the ancient Greek world.

While reliving the Trials of Herakles, we should remember that it is the journey of the human soul in the ancient world who fought through bitter, difficult, and personal trials of the soul and spirit on the path of life. The confrontation with the lower self, and one's prior deeds from past incarnations, is a difficult experience. The initiate attains so only with the refined, tested, and masterful powers of the will which leads to control of one's thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The initiate can perceive the hidden source of thoughts and the origins of events and situations in the world through a higher form of vision and wisdom achieved only through tremendous sacrifices, guidance, and effort.

Herakles' Labors hold true today as much they did then, although the disposition and circumstances of the world in which we live have changed. The term "hero", in the Greek myths, refers to someone who is on the path of initiation; a person dedicated to genuine service, the Gods, and the health and well-being of his/her fellow human beings. The initiates of old, like today, were both men and women. Thus gender, or cultural, politics has no place on the path of the Holy Grail - or spiritual initiation - the greatest quest of discovery for the human being. It is the quest of the human soul, spirit, and heart.

And best of all, the Mysteries are open to everyone. For he who seeks, shall find. For he who knocks, the door shall be opened...

Examples of Keys

Below is a partial list of esoteric keys that may assist a reader to decipher the ancient Greek myths.

(1) "...the three higher forces of man: Wisdom (Gold), Beauty (Silver), and Strength (Bronze). As long as man lives in his lower nature, these three forces are in him disordered and chaotic." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Articles/GA035/English/Singles/SSBoGW_index.html

(2) "...a mortal descending to the infernal regions...meant the conquest of the perishable and the awakening of the Eternal in the soul."-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/AP1947/GA008_c05.html This is an abridged quote.

(3) "A being half-animal, half-human, a centaur, is obliged to sacrifice itself to redeem man. The centaur is man himself, half-animal, half-spiritual. He must die in order that the purely spiritual man may be delivered." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/AP1947/GA008_c05.html *The centaur is mentioned in the Greek myths and a tale of Heracles. It is intellectual and yet frequently succumbs to the uncontrolled passions of the lower self. Thus, the centaur was never trusted in the myths, even though they could be approached and even helpful at times.

(4) Brass Jars/Jugs: There is a theme in the Heracles myth about putting things - typically forces or animals - in "brass jars" or "brass turns" that are stored in a temple upon completing a task. This may refer to Heracles observing and capturing living forces within himself that are preserved in the soul. Brass is a hard metal that is sustainable and strong. It is a debased metal made of copper and zinc to strengthen it. It was used for shields, helmets, etc. in the ancient world. Therefore, it implies strength and permanence. Perhaps, in the Heracles myth, forces and living aspects that have become conquered, and managed, are stored in this way so they can preserved, transformed, and strengthened for future purposes.

The myth begins when Hercules was born as an illegitimate son of Zeus; king of the Gods whose symbol is the eagle, lightning, and light. Thus, he is born as a "Son of Zeus." This implies that Heracles - before he was Heracles - has attained the lofty task of initiation in a prior lifetime. However, as is the way of rebirth, all souls are required to pursue the path of life in a new form at a different moment of history as the world as transformed.

Some say Heracles was born in Thebes, taken there to escape the wraith of Zeus's jealous wife, the Goddess Hera. In Thebes, Heracles grew into adulthood in anonymity protected by his mother and "married" a certain King Creon’s daughter Megara. Tales of Heracles as a hero-child can be found throughout the myths.

The spiteful Hera found Heracles and induced a fit of madness and as a result, he "killed" his children. The legend continues that Heracles fled in a fit of anguish to the Oracle of Delphi. Delphi is one of the homes to the Mysteries in the ancient world and where candidates for initiation were educated and trained. His madness was later cured by way of a toxic plant called "Hellebore."

Delphi, like Eleusis, was a Mystery Center dedicated to the sacred purpose of guiding students in their spiritual initiation. At its apex, it was a cultural and spiritual center for all of Greece. There committed students, or "chelas", learned how to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual worlds in a mature way. Later, Delphi was home to a seer or prophetess known as the "oracle" or "pythia" who would provide guidance and insights to patrons who made the journey into the mountains especially during times of crisis. I believe that the Temple in Delphi may have been used interchangeably with the Temple of Eleusis by those who edited and retold the myths of Heracles. It could also be that Delphi was founded as an extension of Eleusis.

The ancient and sacred city of Eleusis is located about 15 miles west of Athens and opposite the island of Salamis; the location of a great naval battle between the Greeks and the Persians in 480 BC. Eleusis was an independent city until the 7th century BC when Athens annexed her and recognized the Eleusinian Mysteries as a center for an Athenian spiritual-religious festival. In addition to being an pilgrimage sport, the location hosted annual celebrations, festivals, and games.

Eleusis & Mycenae

Lion's Gate at Entrance to the ruins of the city of Mycenae, Greece.

A frieze from Eleusis showing Demeter, the goddess of harvest, agriculture and fertility of the earth, and her daughter Persephone, wife of Hades and queen of the underworld; a central theme of initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Remains of Eleusis today - home of the Eleusian Mysteries - where Herakles may have lived and began his journey as a candidate for initiation. History and Anthroposophy mentions two homes of Herakles; Eleusis and Mycenae.

Ruins of Acropolis at Mycenae where Herakles may have lived.

During the Bronze Age, Mycenae was the home to some of the most powerful and wealthy of the Greek Kings including Agamemnon from the myth of the Trojan War. Eleusinian Mysteries were practiced in Mycenae and other parts of Greece. Mycenae, at the time of Herakles, was a cultural and spiritual center of ancient Greece that had homes, temples, monuments, festivals, events, and a theatre that hosted the mystery dramas - such as those written by Sophocles and Aeschylus - that were reenacted for the public.

Eleusis, like Delphi, was home to initiates and seekers of the Grecian Mysteries. Until about the 3-4th centuries AD, this important center of spiritual activity served as a leading Mystery Center alongside Ephesus, Samothrace, and Delphi and was home to candidates, students, and seekers on the path of the initiation. Dr. Steiner informed us:

"Before the Greeks placed a single hero on the stage in a work of art, the priests had sought, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, for example, to portray human fate in general before men’s eyes. A sacred way led from Athens to Eleusis. Cryptic signs placed along this road were intended to raise the soul to loftier levels. In the Temple at Eleusis priestly families carried out divine worship.

The Festivals which were celebrated here gave presentations of the great world drama. The Temple was erected in honour of Demeter, the daughter of Kronos, who had borne Zeus, before his marriage with Hera, a daughter, Persephone. ...The Mysteries were to present the values of the eternal, the lasting, against the earthly and transitory."

At Delphi, or perhaps Eleusis, the journey of Hercules began when a certain "King Eurystheus of Mycenae" assigned Hercules 12 tasks to complete to atone for the "murder" of his wife Megara and their children during a fit of madness. The term "king" in the Mysteries denotes someone who has attained his or her spiritual initiation.

"Fleeing" to Delphi - another Mystery Center in Ancient Greece, may imply that Heracles looked back upon a sin from a prior lifetime after achieving a higher transformation of his Etheric Body - perhaps centuries after the fact - and sought out the Mysteries and a higher path with a sense of hope and regret. When prior sins come to life through past-life vision of the would-be initiate on the path, the seer - and really anyone who has a conscience - feels pain, terror, regret and overwhelming mission to repair and redeem it. Perhaps a better term for Heracles fleeing to Delphi, or Eleusis if the terms were used interchangeably, is "seeking" or "looking" as one cannot "flee" into the Mysteries and initiate. Initiate predicates itself upon facing one's deepest imperfections and karma all revealed and faced as living images, symbols, and pictures from the past. These realities - which we sometimes call the "dragon", manifest before the aspirant through meditations, visions, and dreams.

Delphi

The Athena main temple complex at Delphi. In the background is the Pleistos River Valley.

The Charioteer of Delphi, 478 or 474 BC, Delphi Museum

The Amphitheater at Delphi where the Mystery Dramas were performed and events for the msytery festivals were held.

The reconstructed Treasury of the Athenians, built to commemorate the victory at the Battle of Marathon of the Greeks over the Persians in 490BC. Buildings were dedicated across the site, built by the Greek city-states to commemorate victories and thank the Oracle for her advice which contributed to their success.

King Eurystheus is sometimes referred to as a "sworn enemy" of Heracles which represents, perhaps, a prior disposition of Heracles where he rejected the realities of the spiritual worlds. This "King" could the higher spiritual self of Heracles or his master-teacher who was initiating him from the spiritual worlds. The resistance to soul transformation is a disposition that many people carry deep within us. It comes to light and conscious once one pursues the path of initiation. It occurs when a candidate turns away from those aspects of life that one's soul has become accustomed to which leads to error and redemptive karma.

It can also lead to cynicism and arrogance. In his Esoteric Lessons lecture series, Rudolf Steiner referred to three grotesque spiritual forms that were created by each human being over many lifetimes that each candidate for initiation must confront at the threshold that occurs only in a higher state of clairvoyant consciousness. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA270/English/eLib2018a/FstCs1_index.html

"Murder" in the ancient Mysteries can refer to a number of transgressions in symbolic terms, including a lie or some other spiritually destructive deed that must be atoned for before one can pass through the door of initiation. This reference to a prior sin may have been a trespass against Herakles' higher self which is always portrayed as the quest for the pure feminine in the ancient Mysteries (i.e. the Princess and the Frog, Odysseus seeking Penelope, etc.).

This reference could also point to a unique prior sin that may have been a spiritual misdeed as a carry-over from a prior lifetime that Heracles had to atone for. Genuine Mystery Centers in the ancient world who guided people on the path of initiation demanded that a candidate must seek out, apologize, and atone to transgressions before he or she could proceed forward. Most of the time, this requires many lifetimes as karma weaves the pattern of our destiny. Dr. Steiner informs us:

"In occultism there is a saying which can now be made known: In the astral world, every lie is a murder. The full significance of this saying can be appreciated only by someone who has knowledge of the higher worlds. ...No proverb is more untrue than the one which says: “You don't have to pay for your thoughts. If we speak the truth about our neighbour, we are creating a thought which the seer can recognise by its colour and form, and it will be a thought which gives strength to our neighbour.

Any thought containing truth finds its way to the being whom it concerns and lends him strength and vigor. If I speak lies about him, I pour out a hostile force which destroys and may even kill him. In this way every lie is an act of murder.”

-Rudolf Steiner, At the Gates of Spiritual Science, GA 95, 2. The Three Worlds, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA095/English/RSPAP1986/19060823p01.html . This is an abridged quote.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Bronze Age kingdom of Mycenae, and other kingdoms in the region such as Knossos and Sparta, collapsed during an earthquake that shook the Greek world sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries BC. However, the precise date of the life of Hercules is unknown. I believe that this individual, who was one the spiritual founders of ancient Greece, lived sometime between 1300-1600 BC, when Troy was perceived as a growing threat to the Greek world. Historians and archaeologists believe that the final chapter of the Trojan War, which lasted at least 10 years, occurred sometime between 1100-1200BC.

Some parenthetical tales of Heracles - which may have been used for propaganda purposes after his life concluded - speak of an agreement he made with Troy to save it from a monster - an agreement the Trojans dishonored - which invoked the wraith of the hero. Just like today, it certainly was not above the Bronze Age kings of Greece to supplant an existing myth with elements that suited their political purposes and justify a war against Troy.

On Hellebore & Homeopathy

In the ancient world, this toxic 5-petal plant/herb was used to treat illnesses. It was cultivated and diluted into a potion. However, if taken the wrong dosage - just like any medication or substance today - it was poisonous and potentially fatal. It was the ancient and sacred art of potentization that enabled a toxic plant to be diluted and blended in such a way as to unlock healing forces. Hellebore is sometimes referred to as the "Winter Rose" and was alleged to cure the "madness" of others according to Greek myths. In the ancient world, and the myths, the term "madness" can mean many things including seizures, depression, an inner-spiritual condition, illusions, or perhaps even true mental illness.

"Dr. Ernst Lehrs, one of Steiner’s closest pupils, has given a short description of Homeopathy and the process of potentizing which may help the reader who is unfamiliar with these concepts:

The method in question is associated with the school of medicine known as Homeopathy, founded by the German doctor, Hahnemann. The word ‘Homeopathy’ means healing through like; the basic principle is to treat disease symptoms with highly diluted substances which produce similar symptoms if ingested in normal quantity. Experience has in fact shown that the physiological of a substance taken from external nature is reversed when the substance is highly diluted." -Trevor Ravenscroft, The Spear of Destiny, Chapter 24, The Ashes

The symbol of the 5-petalled Hellebore, however, also has a spiritual aspect. All illness is the result of a disruption of the flow of healthy energy forces in the human being. This energy body - or form - that every human being possesses follows a current that moves along five points in the shape of 5-pointed star.

One legend of Hellebores dates back to the birth of the Jesus. It goes that as the three wise men journeyed to Bethlehem following the Christmas star, they encountered a poor shepherdess named Madelon. Hearing their mission as they passed, she also wanted to travel to Bethlehem but had no money to buy a gift. Following the wise men's caravan, she searched in vain for worthy present. In desperation she finally collapsed and wept when an Angel came upon her. This angel brushed aside the snow revealing Hellebores beneath. Overjoyed, she picked the "Winter Rose" and gifted the bundle to Jesus.

In light of Anthroposophy, the Christmas Star, or Star of Bethlehem, is the five-pointed star that corresponds to the Energy or Etheric Body of the human being. The five points follow the flow of spiritual energy currents that are perpetually in motion and circulation but are invisible to those without vision. This vital aspect of human existence was saved and transformed forever at the Event of Golgotha by the deed of Christ-Jesus on the path of human spiritual evolution.

The initiate skillfully masters the flow of energy gradually over time and how to optimize and regulate it. The Etheric or Energy Body is also the source of spiritual memory, clairvoyance, and vision which enables a person to look back upon their past lives and be a living bridge between two worlds. A method was developed in the 20th century a method to capture a picture of this living energy field. It is called "Kirlian Photography." This energy field can be seen in minerals, plants, animals, adn people. The method in question sends a harmless electric charge through a person sometimes attached to a plate and a picture is taken in total darkness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirlian_photography ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(paranormal)#Aura_photography

Thus, the healing of the Etheric Body for Heracles may have been - at least in part - the result of the consumption of a special diluted substance that was effectively potentized homeopathically; a method that can only effectively be overseen by an initiate or someone with inner vision who can observe the effects and processes at work in the physical and spiritual form.

The Serpent in the Mysteries

Above: A 2nd century AD Roman sculpture depicting the infant Hercules strangling the snake put into his cradle by Hera, jealous of her husband Zeus's infidelity with Alkmene; the mortal mother of Hercules. Capitoline Museums, Rome. An individual holding the serpent in this fashion indicates one who is attained a stage of initiation in the Mysteries.

Left: An Assyrian Palace Relief (713–706 BC), from Dur-Sharrukin, now held in the Louvre believed to be of Gilgamesh; a great hero and initiate of the Babylonian-Chaldean myths.Note, Gilgamesh is also portrayed with a Lion in the left arm and a snake in his right; the symbol of an initiate who has mastered his physical forces. The lion and the serpent are symbols seen in the ancient mysteries.

180px-mannequin_of_tutankhamun_edited.jp

Above: The "Uraeus". The raised symbol of the snake in the Egyptian mysteries was the symbol of the initiate who awakened the "kundalini" forces which, when raised up the spine, appear as a upraised serpent to the spiritual eye.

Hera, the envious wife of Zeus, tried to do away with Alcides - Heracles' given name - when he was born. This complex myth tell us that Alcides was born with a mortal twin named Iphicles. Fearful of Hera’s revenge, Alcides' mother hid his true identity, but he was discovered by Hera. Athena, the guardian of Greek heroes, intervened. Athena disguised him, and escorted the child to Hera and the vengeful Goddess then nursed him out of compassion not realizing who he was.

Through Athena and Hera, Heracles acquired supernatural powers. Athena then returned him back to his parents who raised him. One story goes that when Heracles and Iphicles were eight months old, Hera sent two giant serpents to murder them. Heracles, even at a young age was able to grab and strangle the snakes.

In light of the Mysteries, the symbol of the serpent is the sign of the initiate. It symbolizes he or she who has mastered - to a large extent - their lower forces. In addition, in the Mysteries the initiates of old were born with given names and typically changed them on the path of initiation which correlated to their true spiritual identity and mission. This is an old tradition that has followed across the world in all cultures.

Thus, Alcides became Heracles. This is the shedding of one "skin" and the growth into another on the quest of spiritual transformation. This principle can also be viewed in light of reincarnation where one identity in the physical world is exchanged for another after rebirth...

“…after the manner of the ancient Mystery initiation, only chosen individuals could perceive the divine-spiritual world. In ancient times there was a technical expression for this. Those who could look into the divine-spiritual world and could become witnesses of it were called “serpents.” Those men of ancient times who were initiated into the Mysteries in this way were “serpents.” The “serpents” were the forerunners of the deed of Christ Jesus.” -Steiner, Rudolf. The Gospel of John, GA 103, VI. The “I AM”, 25 May 1908, Hamburg.

“…for the gnostics, the serpent was not in fact a symbol of evil but a symbol for the spiritual guidance of humanity. The wise individual who was the guide was known as ‘the serpent.’ That was the name given to someone who guided humanity to insight.” -Steiner, Rudolf. The Christian Mystery, GA 97, XV. Lucifer, Bearer of light—The Christ, Bringer of Love, 30 March 1906, Düsseldorf.

The Choice

"The Choice of Hercules" by Annibale Carracci (1560-1609). Hercules, as a youth, facing the dilemma that all people face; the road between vice and virtue. For the candidate on the path of initiation, the quandary can become greatly amplified as living forces as an astral experience in a higher state of consciousness. The test of Parsifal and the Flower Maidens is a evolution of this theme.

Above: Le Chevalier aux Fleurs (1894) by Georges Rochegrosse. Portrayed here is the Grail Hero Parsifal during his test in the garden of the Flower Maidens in search of the Holy Grail.

“Hercules, we are told, once felt himself to be in the presence of two female forms, one beautiful and seductive who promised him pleasure, good fortune and happiness, the other plain and serious, who promised him hard work, weariness and renunciation. The two forms represent vice and virtue, and the story tells us quite rightly how the two natures appeared to Hercules in the astral, one urging him to evil, the other to good.

In the mirror-picture they appear as the forms of two women with opposite qualities— vice as beautiful, voluptuous and fascinating, virtue as ugly and repulsive. All such images appear in the astral world reversed.”

-Steiner, Rudolf. At the Gates of Spiritual Science, GA 95, 2. The Three Worlds, 23 August 1906, Stuttgart. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA095/English/RSPAP1986/19060823p01.html

As Heracles grew to adulthood, his path became clear. He eventually faced a life- choice as someone on the higher path of spiritual initiation who could perceive influences and individualities beyond the boundary of physical perception alone. He was presented a test of temptation the result of which would characterize the duration of his life. This confrontation took place in a higher stage of consciousness during the early years of Heracles when his vital forces were at their height. These forms appeared through a higher perception that the would-be initiate-hero cultivated and possessed.

Dr. Steiner referred to this choice of Heracles as an "astral" experience. This means that it occurred in a higher state of awareness - most likely during period of meditation and inner reflection - through his third eye. The astral plane - or lower spiritual plane - is a field of constant activity and movement. It is vast. In order for a student to pierce it, he or she must be at rest and still so that the spiritual world can open her doors and approach them. If stirring or in movement, the doors remain closed although windows may open from time to time.

Just like people, those who inhabit the astral plane possess both lower and higher qualities. They are not incarnate, but just as real nonetheless. They influence the world and people, in myriads of ways. I believe that this decision point most likely occurred after Herakles was admitted to the Eleusinian Mysteries as a candidate on the path of initiation.

He felt, and perceived the real living forces of two individualities on his soul as feelings and ideas; one pleasurable and the other which led to renunciation for a higher cause which can feel like isolation and loneliness. The feelings, and awareness, of one who has expanded into an astral form of awareness is greatly amplified. Will you be of greater service to humanity by renunciation of your self-interest and egotism on the quest of initiation, or pursue a life of self-centered pursuits and self-aggrandizement?

All human beings face this decision at some point during our lives - perhaps repeatedly - but it reaches its height on the quest of initiation when the soul is hollowed out by renunciation, and every nuance and weakness is sought, observed, and transformed by the guardians who protect the Mysteries. One must be willing to sacrifice the self and egotism to pursue a higher cause.

The great hero Herakles heard the cries of the lonely voices in the wilderness; of the countless souls in the world who need the Light. Thus, to help his fellows in the world, he chose the path of service and renunciation in order to serve a higher cause on behalf of humanity...the path of spiritual initiation.

1. First Labor: The Nemean Lion

Before Hercules could approach the threshold to the spiritual worlds on his quest to become an initiate, he had to master his physical forces. According to the myth, the hero accomplished this by traveling to the land of Nemea; an ancient city on the northeastern part of the Peloponnese in Greece.

In the Mysteries, and as reflected in Greek myths, the Lion represents the physical forces of the human being that relies on our physical nature. This includes the senses, but in particular the the symbol of the lion, in esoteric terms, represents impulses of the heart, courage, and breathing (the lungs). If untamed, the unbridled forces of the heart and Lion within us are a pathway to the lower self that leads to folly and illusion. The lion is courageous, but it also possesses a predatorial instinct. This lower element must be purified so that the Lion can become a protector and liberator. The lion's predatorial aspect, whether it be of the outer world as primal forces or of the heart, especially in terms of emotions and human relationships, must be tamed.

Hercules conquers his inner lion by confronting and "strangling" it; a method that implies the mastery of the breathing forces within us. All ancient initiates, including the Yogis of the East, mastered the science of the breath as a means of channeling one's thoughts, feelings, and exercises that enabled firm physical control of the body and its forces. Dr. Steiner informs us that:

"Hercules overcame the dangers of the nether world as a mystic. This justifies the interpretation of his other deeds as stages of the inner development of the soul. He overcame the Nemean lion and brought him to Mycenae. This means that he became master of the purely physical force in man; he tamed it." -Rudolf Steiner, Christianity as Mystical Fact, GA 8, 4. Mystery Wisdom and Myth, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/RPC1961/GA008_c05.html

2: Second Labor - The Lernaean Hydra

The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna, more often known simply as the Hydra, is a massive serpent demon that lived in a lake. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid. Lerna, as passed down in the myths, is the physical location reputed to be an entrance to the Underworld. Archaeology has established it as a sacred site older than Mycenaean Argos. This places its origins long before the fall of Mycenae, which occurred after the Trojan War which ended between 1100-1200 BC.

According to the 8th BC poet and historian Hesiod who lived at about the same time as Homer, the Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna; immortal beings who were the offspring of the Gods and took on a serpentine appearance. They were the parents of many of the monsters of the Greek myths.

The hydra had poisonous breath and blood so lethal that its scent was deadly. This "scent" is sin, brought forth in the soul from prior and current lifetimes. It still pollutes the soul-spirit body when the would-be initiate first approaches the gateway, or threshold, to the spiritual worlds. In the myths, the spiritual worlds are always depicted by water; as a river, lake, sea, or ocean. In the case of Hercules, the threshold is at a lake. The Hydra possessed many heads, the exact number of which varies according to the source. Some have postulated nine or as many as 50 heads, however, Dr. Rudolf Steiner confirmed that the number is 9.

"Next he (Hercules) slew the nine-headed Hydra. He overcame it with firebrands, dipping his arrows in its gall so that they would never miss their mark. This means that he overcame lower knowledge, the knowledge of the senses, through the fire of the spirit, and out of what he had gained from this lower knowledge he drew the strength to see the lower world in the light belonging to the spiritual eye." -Rudolf Steiner, Christianity as Mystical Fact, GA 8, 4. Mystery Wisdom and Myth, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/RPC1961/GA008_c05.html

The Hydra is a depiction of the lower self; the inner demons which appear before one at the Threshold. As a candidate for initiation approaches the spiritual worlds in full rational consciousness, induced by meditation but fully conscious, he or she is forced to confront an outer manifestation of one's lower self. This thing, which takes on many forms and is unique to the individual, was created and carried forward by each of us along the long course of human history over many lifetimes.

"In the course of the stage in the Christian initiation known as the Crowning with Thorns, there arises the phenomenon known as the Guardian of the Threshold—the appearance of the lower double of man. The spiritual being of man, composed of his impulses of will, his desires and his thoughts, appears to the Initiate in visible form. It is a form that is sometimes repugnant and terrible, for it is the offspring of his good and bad desires and of his karma—it is their personification in the astral world, the Evil Pilot of the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

This form must be conquered by man before he can find the higher Self. The Guardian of the Threshold which has been a phenomenon of astral vision from times immemorial, is the origin of all the myths concerning the struggles of Heroes with monsters, of Perseus and Hercules with the Hydra, of St. George and Siegfried with the dragon.

The premature appearance of the astral world and the sudden apparition of the Double or Guardian of the Threshold may lead a man who is not fully prepared or who has not taken all the precautions necessary for the disciple, to madness and insanity. " -Steiner, Rudolf. An Esoteric Cosmology, GA 94, VIII. The Christian Mystery. https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA094/English/SGP1978/19060601p01.html

3: Third Labor - The Ceryneian Hind / Doe

Hercules's third task was to capture and cut off the golden antlers of a Hind that lived in Ceryneia, Greece and took the form of an enormous female deer, larger than a bull, with golden antlers, and hooves of bronze or brass that was very swift. Some say that the stag snorted fire. Hercules was to capture this mythic animal and bring it back to King Eurystheus in Mycenae; his master-teacher who was an initiate and guide. Some have suggested that the hind derived its name from the river Cerynites which flows into the sea.

The stag, or golden fleece in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, represents the eternal good in human nature that must be sought and reattained by the candidate for initiation. It is fleeting from human mortal thoughts and must be deliberately sought. Rational, intellectual thinking is not thinking permeated by genuine and higher spiritual ideas and thoughts; the candidate must sift through what is a mortal fleeting thought - or an idea polluted by lower impulses - and what is a true, eternal and free as spiritual fact.

"Hercules caught the doe of Artemis. The latter (Artemis) is the goddess of the chase. Hercules hunted down what the free nature of the human soul can offer...

...A similar interpretation is possible for the voyage of the Argonauts. Phrixus and his sister Helle, children of a Boeotian king, suffered greatly at the hands of their stepmother. The gods sent a ram with a golden fleece to them, which carried them away through the air. As they crossed the straits between Europe and Asia, Helle was drowned. Hence the straits are called the Hellespont. Phrixus reached the king of Colchis on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. He sacrificed the ram to the gods and presented the fleece to the King Aetes. The latter had it hung in a grove and guarded by a frightful dragon.

...The fleece is something belonging to man, something of infinite value to him; in ancient times it was separated from him and its recapture involves the overcoming of terrible powers. So it is with the eternal in the human soul. It belongs to man. But he finds himself separated from it. His lower nature separates him from it. Only when he overcomes this lower nature, puts the latter to sleep, can he regain it."

- Steiner, Rudolf, Christianity as Mystical Fact, GA 8, 4. Mystery Wisdom and Myth. https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/RPC1961/GA008_c05.html *This is an abridged quote

4: Fourth Labor - The Erymanthian Boar

The fourth task of Hercules was to capture a large and dangerous boar on Mount Erymanthos. This perilous snow-covered mountain is located in the north of the Peloponnese, Greece. Eurystheus ordered Herakles to capture this boar and bring it back to him. In spiritual terms. this boar - or lower creature of primal impulses in the myths - is unique to Herakles and is his alone.

Heracles traveled there and on Mount Erymanthos where he forced the boar from the woods with his shouts. In other words, he using a"word" that enabled him to compel and subdue it. He then jumped on its back. He put the boar in chains, placed it on his shoulders, and took it to Eurystheus. Herakles left the boar in the market square of Tiryns; an acropolis in the Bronze Age Greek kingdom of Mycenae.

In today's world, boars are looked upon as a invasive creature, but for those on the spiritual path, they look upon animals from a higher lens and with a sense of compassion. In the Grecian Mysteries, however, the symbol of the boar is yet another living symbol of the lower animal passions in the human soul. Boars are ravenous and in the wild can be very aggressive. They reproduce their offspring in copious numbers. The boar represents uncontrolled primal forces in the human being that must be restrained. The myth tells us that King Eurystheus was so terrified by what Herakles returned with on his spiritual campaign to capture the boar - which his teacher observed in astral-spiritual terms - that he turned away from it.

Herakles then put his boar in a brass jar for safekeeping. In other words, the lower primal forces of the soul, including sexuality and lower appetites, were spiritually transformed and preserved in a brass jar. The concept of brass in the mysteries is relevant as a substance of defense from hostile powers. One is reminded of David being armed in a brass helmet to do battle with Goliath (Samuel 17:5). Herakles could not kill the boar as no one can destroy energy in the spiritual sense including those that are of a lower nature; they can only be transformed. In the East, these forces are also referred to as "sexual energy" or "kundalini" forces that can only be transformed through great effort and sacrifice.

These lowers forces were subdued, to some degree, by Herakles after climbing a mighty mountain; the mystery-symbol for an experience that occurs in a higher/spiritual state of consciousness in the same vein as Moses when he climbed the mountain of Sinai and had a vision of the burning bush and received the ten commandments.

5: Fifth Labor - The Augean stables

The fifth peculiar task of Hercules was to "clean" the Augean Stables in a single day.

Augeas was the king of Elis - a popular region in Greece where the Olympic Games were celebrated every four years at the sanctuary of Olympia, on the north bank of the Alpheus River. Augeas had a daughter named Epicaste. One legend states that she bore Heracles son; Thestalus. Augeas means "bright” or “bright one.” This is an allusion to an initiate.

One myth suggests that Augeas was one of Jason’s Argonauts. This King - or initiate - was known for his stables that housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country. These stables had not been cleaned in some 30 years, that is until Heracles was assigned the task. In other words, the task was Heracles’ alone and no other. It was intended for HIM. Otherwise, someone else would have done the job.

Some think that King Eurystheus intended this assignment as a humbling exercise for our great hero, but that is a superficial assessment. That is not the task of an initiate, although humility confronts all of us on the path of life and it is a requirement for one who crosses the threshold of initiation. I believe the intent was to cleanse something left behind in the same manner as a waste product.

In the Grecian Mysteries, a reference to cattle, a bull, or a cow has several meanings. One meaning was the symbol of the lower forces of the human being associated with reproduction and digestion. However, it may also refer to the deeper secrets associated with the “Bull Mysteries.” These are also referred as the "Mithraic Mysteries" that were in existence throughout the Mediterranean areas of the ancient world.

On the Bull-Mithra Mysteries

-"The Mithraic disciple was brought so far that he drank in the greatness of Cosmic Thought, and thereby his soul also became strong and courageous. A knowledge of the dignity and value of a human being was gained, and with it a feeling for truth and fidelity; the disciple learned to recognize that man must always hold himself under control during his earthly existence." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA069c/English/Singles/19111004p01.html

-"This description represents human life as it lived in the consciousness of the men of that time. Man had reached the point of looking within himself for redemption, for the third divine principle that could lead him beyond evil, reconciling evil with good. Evil here consisted of the passions that drag man down to earth, symbolized by the Bull.

The Mediator who killed the lower nature by thrusting the sword into the side of the bull appeared as the immortal in man that can raise him to his higher self. Thus, during the time of the third post-Atlantean period a divine trinity appeared as mediator between good and evil, and mankind came to comprehend what is called in theosophy, atman, buddhi, and manas. At the moment the mediator appeared, the mystical secret was accomplished; the trinity had been awakened in man's consciousness." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/SignSymbols/19041219p01.html

-“Those initiated, for example, in such a way that the spiritual beings appeared to them in the form of Bull spirits were informed principally concerning the secrets connected with man's glandular system, with what pertains to the etheric principle. And there is still another branch of the nature of man into which they were initiated: the human properties that are firmly attached to the earth—welded to it, as it were. All this was grasped by those initiated in the Bull Mysteries.” -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA112/English/AP1948/19090701p02.html

Thus, it could be that Heracles was performing a task connected with cleansing residual waste products that still lived within his glandular system observable only from a spiritual perspective. It was also connected with the regulating and controlling his lower forces connected to the physical world. We must remember, that this experiences were taking place in an astral state of consciousness in the spiritual spheres beyond the confines of the physical world were physical processes were observable and transformed.

The bull could have a dual meaning that refers to an astronomical principle. The Age of Taurus spans approximately between 2200-4400 BC. This period of time may coincide with the life of the historical Heracles or shortly thereafter. It is the age defined by the Sun being in the constellation of Taurus on the spring equinox.

-“The sun travels through the whole zodiac in a period of 25,920 years. At one time the sun rose in spring in the Ram, earlier in the sign of the Bull. The vernal point was always moving, going through the sign of the Bull, and so on. About 747 BC the sun again entered into the Ram; in our time it rises in the sign of the Fish. -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA106/English/AP1971/19080910p01.html

It could be that Heracles had to go to HIS stables to cleanse a byproduct of HIS existence as HE – as an individual – had passed from one lifetime to the next whereby his thoughts, deeds, and feelings left behind astral remnants. These were spiritual or karmic footprints (or sins) that must be revealed, confronted, and transformed.

The stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years. In Anthroposophy, this correlates to one spiritual year that aligns with the orbit of the planet Saturn around the sun (about 29.55 years). This could also allude to one zodiacal epoch; the sign of the Bull which had passed into the sign of the Aries which lasted until the time of the birth of Jesus, at about the year 1 AD.

Some 3,000 cattle lived in the stables. I feel this number is symbolic of some hidden aspect of the spiritual-glandular system. However, Dr. Steiner informs us that it is also connected to a mystery principle connected to the reconciliation of the human soul the male and female principle.

"Every time [a human being incarnates] the earth must have changed so much that he meets a situation that he has not encountered before in his earlier incarnations.

A male and female incarnation [together] are occultly reckoned as one incarnation. Between two such connected incarnations lie 2,600 to 3,000 years. The experience, which men undergo during this present stage of earthly evolution are so different in man and woman that it is most necessary for this to be so." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA093/English/RSP1985/19051021p01.html

To accomplish this task, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus (in esoteric literature, the substance of water represents the spiritual worlds or spiritual forces) to cleanse the filth. Alpheus is an actual river in the region of Elis and Peneus also has a geography. In spiritual terms, they may correlate to higher spiritual forces that flow through the spiritual worlds and into the human being.

Augeas reacted angrily, as he had promised Heracles one-tenth of his cattle if the job was finished in one day and attempted to dishonor the pledge. In response, Heracles killed the King after completing the tasks. This could mean that he purged some prior disposition, or connection to any ancient Mystery stream from the past, deliberately in the same manner as the war between the Greek Titans and the Gods.

Heracles gave the kingdom of King Augeas to the son of Augeus, Phyleus who had been exiled for supporting Heracles against his father. Heracles then returned to King Erymanthos.

6: Sixth Labor - The Stymphalian Birds

This task is not described in the Rudolf Steiner Archives that I have found, so let us speculate using what we can discern from esoteric symbols. The ancient historian Pausanias tells us that The Stymphalian Birds were man-eating predators with beaks made of Bronze which had sharp metallic feathers that they could project at their victims.

These birds attack anyone who attempts to hunt them, wounding and killing them with their beaks. All armor made of bronze or iron that men wear is pierced by the birds. However, if they weave a garment of thick cork, the beaks of the Stymphalian birds are caught in the cork garment just as the wings of small birds stick in birdlime. These birds are of the size of a crane like an ibis.

The Bird Symbol

The raven in the mysteries is a symbol of initiation. The Swan is a symbol of a Grail initiate. The Eagle is a symbol of one who predominantly channels the flow of forces that are connected with thinking. The Eagle is also associated with Zeus. This particular kind of bird for Heracles, however, is predatorial and venomous, thus it must pertain to something negative associated with the power of thought, and soul forces, that must be brought under strict control by the initiate.

"...the eagle actually corresponds to the head of man, and how those forces which give rise to thoughts in the human head give rise in the eagle to his plumage. So that the sun-irradiated forces of the air, the light-imbued forces of the air, are actually working in the eagle's plumage." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA230/English/RSP1970/19231021p01.html

The esoteric student - so Dr. Steiner informs us - must guard his thoughts and ideas carefully as they take on new powers invigorated by spiritual forces unleashed by the human soul. If a true candidate on the path of initiation sends out negative thoughts, even accidentally, they carry powerful forces and will return to the seeker as poison and can cause illness, corruption, and even death. All thoughts have an effect on others, when viewed spiritually, but the thoughts of an initiate radiate with purified power; they can do great harm to others if not careful.

On Cork

Cork is an insulator made from bark of a tree; specifically an OAK tree. What is the oak the symbol of in the mysteries? The oak is the term used for "Druid" in the old Northern European mysteries; one who has become a high priest or initiate. The initiate possesses a mature and evolved spiritual form, transformed gradually over time, that acts as a shield against any hostile spiritual forces.

These attacks are presented in many ways in the Greek myths including daggers, spears, darts, beaks, and the like. Achilles, for example, was an initiate but he had one weakness in his spiritual form; his heel which made him susceptible to attack. The goal of the initiate in Heracles, and those that followed him, was to be immune to any such weaknesses.

"The ashes that a thought leaves strengthen bones, and so people with rickets do better if they think abstractly. Our sympathy or antipathy works on the etheric body. We can easily see this through ordinary observation. We know that the etheric body controls glands. A gourmet drools when he sees good food. The glands in our body dry out and become like the bark of a tree that protects the interior to the extent that we learn to control ourselves and to bring our sympathy or antipathy into harmony.

Saps rise and fall in a plant, and in winter it dies because it has no protection from the cold. Whereas a tree allows its outer side to dry out and become bark; this protects it from the cold and storms. That's the way an initiate is; his life body doesn't die from one incarnation to the next. That's the way Druids were, and “Druid” means oak—the strongest tree." -https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA266/English/UNK1998/19080314e01.html

Thus, the cork is a "sheath" that follows the initiate from one lifetime to the next as a shield. This is what Heracles wore that preserved his soul forces from the forces of decay, harm, and illness. Perhaps, Heracles was doing battle with his own thoughts that had returned to haunt him from his current or perhaps prior lifetimes. Perhaps, these fleeting things were projections from those who would do harm to Heracles and others either deliberately or incidentally, that had to be dissipated. These living constructs, which flow through the ethers, were confronted in a spiritual way by Heracles through his expanded powers of clairvoyance alongside the task of mastery of his thoughts.

7: Seventh Labor - The Cretan Bull

In the Greek myths, Minos was a King of Crete. In order to confirm his right to rule, in preference to his brothers, he prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull as a sign. Poseidon sent Minos a sacred bull, with the understanding that the bull would be sacrificed to the god. Thus, this bull was given to Minos out of the spiritual spheres from a God. Deciding that Poseidon's bull was too fine of a specimen to kill, Minos decided to save the full for himself and substituted it for another, inferior bull as a sacrifice.

Enraged, Poseidon had Aphrodite curse Pasiphaë, the wife of Minos, causing her to "fall in love" with the bull. Obviously she did not mate with a bull, but surrendered to her lower "bull" forces which may also be a symbol for 0the fading powers of the old clairvoyance connected with the Mithraic Mysteries. She subsequently gave birth to the half-man/half-bull, the Minotaur.

Poseidon passed on his rage to the sacred bull, causing him to lay waste to the land. After consulting the oracle at Delphi, Minos had Daedalus construct a Labyrinth to hold the Minotaur. Only someone with the powers of thought - in problem solving - can solve the riddle of the labyrinth. These symbolic labyrinths can be seen in different locations throughout Greece especially in Crete and the Minoan culture.

This labor correlates to the myth of the great friends Gilgamesh and Enkidu when they did battle with the "great bull of Heaven" that was sent in retaliation for Gilgamesh's refusal to the proposal of an amorous goddess when she tried to entice Gilgamesh. When he refused, it ravaged the countryside. Ultimately, the great bull was defeated, but Enkidu died in the process and Gilgamesh wept bitter tears. Dr. Steiner confirmed that Gilgamesh was a great initiate-hero in the Mesopotamian mysteries sometime around 3000 BC.

Here, Heracles’ seventh task was to capture the sacred bull and send it back to the King Erymanthos. But, based on the tale of Gilgamesh, we can infer that the bull is deadly if it not slain. Dr. Steiner informs us:

The Bull

-"The lion is under the influence of the heart, and the eagle is under the sway of the upper forces. When you observe cows after they have been grazing, you can sense how they and their kind are completely governed by their intestines. When they are digesting, they experience great well-being, so the ancients called the section of man that constitutes the digestive system, “bull.” https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA348/English/AP1981/19221129p01.html

-"...the sun rises in a particular constellation in the zodiac in spring, today essentially in the Fishes. The astronomers still give the Ram. This is wrong, however, for in reality it is the Fishes. For a long time, a period of 2,000 years, the sun would rise in the constellation of the Ram, and before that in the Bull.

And people would then say to themselves: ‘In the spring, when things begin to grow, the sun always rises in the Bull’ and they quite rightly connected the principle that above all has to do with growth in the human body—not in the head, but in the rest of the body—with the fact that the sun's rays change, and that behind this is the constellation of the Bull. And so they would say: 'If we want to refer to the animal human being, we have to draw a bull, with the actual human being, who is governed by his head, sitting on the bull.' The bull thus represents the lower, animal human being, and the one who is sitting up there, wearing his Phrygian cap, represents the higher human being." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA350/English/RSP2000/19230910p02.html

In light of Gilgamesh, this task is necessary for all initiates on the path including Heracles. After wrestling the bull and gaining command of his lower forces, Hercules "sailed" to Crete (water that is the symbol of the spiritual worlds in the mysteries) where Heracles gave the bull to King Eurystheus in Tiryns. King Eurystheus then sends Heracles to bring back the "man-eating mares" of Diomedes.

8: Eighth Labor - The Mares/Horses of Diomedes

As the eighth of his Twelve Labors, Heracles was sent by King Eurystheus to capture the man-eating mares of Diomedes. The mares’ madness was attributed to their unnatural diet - induced by some evil influence - which consisted of the flesh of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island.

Pseudo-Apollodorus recounts in his Library that these mares belonged to King Diomedes, a King of the Bistones tribe, “a very war-like, Thracian people.” Thrace included the northeastern part of modern Greece, southeastern Bulgaria, and western Turkey. It was considered by sophisticated, ancient Greeks as a wild place; home of barbarians and primal tribes.

Diomedes was a son of Ares; God of War. Thus, he was a war-like personality; predatorial, brave, and aggressive. He owned man-eating mares; an allusion perhaps to an unnatural condition that was against the natural state of a horse which is also the symbol of the intellect in the Grecian Mysteries. So, an unnatural circumstance existed that had to be resolved. Dr. Steiner informs us:

The Horse

-"...a horse is taken as a symbol for a spiritual power of man. I will only remind you of Plato, who speaks of a horse led by a bridle when he is using a symbol for certain human capacities that are still bestowed from above and have not been developed by man from his own inmost self."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA114/English/RSP1964/19090916p01.html

-" If you observe the customs of ancient peoples who were still clairvoyant such as, for instance, the old Germans, and notice how they placed horse-skulls in front of their houses, this leads you back to the fact that these people were aware that man has grown beyond the unintelligent condition by separating out this form. There was a profound consciousness that the acquisition of cleverness is connected with it. You need only remember the Odyssey and the wooden horse of Troy.

Such legends contain deep wisdom, much deeper than our science contains. Not without reason is such a type as the horse employed in legend. Man has grown out of a form which once contained within it that which is now embodied in the horse; and in the form of the centaur, art still represented man as connected with this animal in order to remind him of the stage of development out of which he had grown, from which he had struggled free in order to become the present human being."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA104/English/APC1958/19080621p01.html

The Bistones attacked Heracles who was accompanied by a friend named Abderus; a son of the god Hermes whom he placed in charge of the horses. Dr. Steiner informs us that the historical Hermes is the founder of the Egyptian Mysteries and a great initiate. He was considered the "Messenger" of the Gods in the Greek mythos. All initiates are viewed as "messengers" of the divine. Thus, a "Son of Hermes"- in the same vein as the Son of Apollo in the Grecian Mysteries - was a son of the Hermes-Egyptian Mysteries.

This reference to Abderus could imply that Heracles had turned back to a prior disposition that followed from an older Mystery Wisdom in the Egyptian Mysteries that could no longer be utilized against the mares. Perhaps Heracles was an initiate in the early Egyptian Mysteries, and was relying an old disposition that was no longer valid for the time period in which he lived. This tactic failed and the mares killed Abderus.

Heracles subdued the mares on his own; meaning he applied his abilities of the time in which he lived and won the battle. He then took the mares back to King Eurystheus. Variations of what occurs next exist. Pseudo-Apollodorus tell us that Heracles killed Diomedes causing the Bistones to flee, and founded a city named Abdera near the spot where his friend had died. Diodorus, tells us that Heracles fed Diomedes to his own mares.

Once this gruesome task was done, the horses were restored to their normal condition. In the ancient mysteries, the horse is the symbol of the intellect, cleverness, and thinking. The fact that these mares were consuming the flesh of human beings may be a symbol of the untransformed thoughts of Heracles that were doing damage to himself or others either through vibrations, feelings, inner states of consciousness, or actual deeds.

The thoughts of the initiate which are tied to powerful spiritual forces must be strictly observed and controlled. Thoughts arise within the human being from hidden places, including deep soul impulses and dispositions carried forward from the past. They must be mastered otherwise, they give rise to sin and wrongful outcomes. After Heracles had subdued the horses, he returned once again to the King in Eleusis. In other words, he performed a spiritual task in an expanded state of consciousness, and returned to his physical form to await his next challenge.

9: Ninth Labor - The Belt of Hippolyta

Heracles' ninth labor was acquire the "Belt" of the Queen of the Amazons; a woman named Hippolyta. According to Apollodorus, the belt was a gift to Hippolyta by her father Ares, the God of War, as a symbol of her position as queen. It is peculiar that he does not give her crown, but rather a belt. King Eurystheus gave Heracles the task to collect the belt on behalf of his daughter, Admete. In other sources, the purpose of the labor was for Heracles to overcome the Amazons with King Eurystheus requiring the belt as evidence of his success.

The Amazons were a primitive group of feminine warriors who lived in barbaric lands. They were brave hunters. Their tribe was a culture where the feminine gender dominated. Thus, there is a theme here about attaining something in the naval area of a feminine nature where the belt is symbol of something important. The belt is, perhaps, connected with the sign of the chakra in the location of the Solar Plexus, or some other aspect that is central to that part of the human-spiritual organism. It is also important to note that we are dealing with a woman who is a "queen" which could portray the higher self of Hercules. In the mysteries and ancient myths, the higher self is usually portrayed in the feminine. Dr. Steiner informs us that the belt had significant meaning in the ancient world, unlike today:

"People originally wore belts to show that this was a special area. The belt was used to express this. Later on, people saw the belt, say that the person was divided at that point; they then made this division themselves using a belt. Instead of expressing something, the belt often made women's garments such that they did not express something but tremendously compressed the liver and the stomach and all kinds of things here.

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA352/English/RSP1998/19240213p02.html

-"...the development of our earth along with the animal kingdom would in a certain respect come to an end. The animal kingdom, as it is, would then have been a kind of final stage, it could not have progressed. All the group-souls of the animals which live around us would not be able to carry their development over into subsequent incarnations of our earth. That would be a remarkable thing.

These group-souls of the animals would be in the position (pardon the comparison, but it will make it clear to you what is meant) of a community of Amazons where never a man was allowed, which would of necessity die out as a community of human beings. It is true that it would not die out spiritually, for its soul would pass over into other realms, but as a community of Amazons, this would be its fate."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA155/English/RSPC1946/19120524p01.html

*In the above quote, Dr. Steiner discussed the concept of a group-soul which pertains primarily to animals. In distant times past, human beings identified themselves heavily by their group-soul families; in tribes, communities, and languages. That impulse has slowly died away and is being replaced by a strong sense of ego or "I" consciousness; the path of freedom and individuality. As a "Son of the Sun" at a time when this new evolution in human consciousness was occurring through the Greek impulse, Heracles would have been a forerunner and leader of that stream of activity. Dr. Steiner referred to Heracles as one of those who was a forerunner of Christ Jesus preparing for the future mission of Christianity. Therefore, a group of Amazons consisting entirely of women may refer to a homogeneous group-soul construct which had to be purged from the consciousness of Heracles.

Accompanied by a group of companions Heracles set sail for the land of Amazons - a region of homogeneity where the belt signifies a dividing line between the lower and the higher in the female physical form - which was generally believed to be along the shore at the southern end of the Black Sea. Hellanicus states that Heracles was accompanied by Jason and the Argonauts while Pindar mentions that Peleus came on the voyage (father of Achilles). Philochorus considered Theseus (a great hero who slew the Minotaur and freed Athenian captives) to have been his companion. Other variations exist.

All would have gone smoothly for Heracles, except that once again Hera intervened. Hippolyta was impressed with Heracles and his exploits and surprisingly agreed to give him the belt. She would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among the Amazons sowing seeds of distrust.

Hera claimed the strangers were plotting to carry off the queen of the Amazons. Alarmed, the warrior women set off on horseback to confront Heracles. When Heracles saw them, he thought Hippolyta had been plotting and never intended to hand over the belt, so he slew her and took the belt anyways returning it to King Eurystheus.

Thus, it could be that the symbol of the group-soul impulse that once characterized humanity and was fading into the past, was the belt of the Queen of the Amazons which Heracles separated somehow from himself, or others, and carried his mission of initiation in the Greek world forward as a part of a new stream of activity and evolution of the individual; the quest of the the intellect, thinking, and the "I" which would lead to inner individual freedom.

10: Tenth Labor - The Pillars of Hercules & The Cattle of Geryon

10th-labor-of-hercules-the-cattle-of-gyr

The tenth labor is the third stage of spiritual initiation according to Rudolf Steiner. Through this task, Hercules was to capture the cattle of a three-bodied giant named "Geryon." In order to do this, he had to pass beyond the Pillars of Hercules which today guard the Straits of Gibraltar. On this journey, Heracles had to travel to the island of Erytheia in the "far west."

On the way he became so frustrated by the heat that he was compelled to take aim and shoot an arrow at the Sun. The sun-god Helios (not to be confused with Apollo) was impressed by his audacity and gave Heracles a "golden cup" that Helios used to sail across the sea from west to east each night. Heracles took the cup and it enabled him to go to Erytheia. In order to accomplish this task, Heracles had to cross the Pillars of Hercules, which guard the Straits of Gibraltar.

In the mysteries, the term "far west" refers to a crossing of the threshold of the spiritual worlds. The fact that Helios used a cup to "sail across the sea" each night indicates a journey back and forth between the spiritual worlds. The "cup" is a "chalice." A symbol of Heracles's purification in the same vein as the Holy Grail. The chalice is a gift of the Gods earned through sacrifice, commitment, and transformation. In the mystery of the Holy Grail, it is the symbol of the Christ and resurrection and cannot be self-bestowed.

-"For the mystic, especially the mystic in that time of which I am now speaking, the Pillars of Hercules are the experience through which a man goes out of himself more completely than through the four elements or the planets. He enters the outer spiritual world, whose concrete beings reveal themselves only at the third stage of initiation." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA187/English/AP1984/19181229p01.html

- "The metamorphoses of life are expressed in the sheath that covers the region of the senses externally. It lies in front of the senses and we must consciously pass through it. Also today, the human being passes through the regions of the senses, the temperaments, the elements, and the planets. Then, however, before he goes through the Pillars of Hercules into the open ocean of spirituality, he confronts a barrier. Here, something stands in the way...

Metamorphosis of life
- Senses
- Temperaments
- Elements
- Planets
- Instrument for orientation (Compass)
- Ocean

This is not easy to describe because, of course, these things belong to intimate and subtle realms of human experience. Yet perhaps it may be done by referring again to Brunetto Latini. Latini experienced, as the first sign of his guidance by a spiritual being, the information that his native city was ruined. That was, to be sure, an event that affected Latini's inner being; nevertheless, it was external as to the facts involved. It invaded him from the outer world.

It shocked him so greatly that his soul-and-spirit being left his physical body. Later he described the event as something that entered his life, something that happened in his life. We may say that he described it, though not consciously, as an event of destiny that came to him. Such an event, or a similar one, must be experienced today in full consciousness by anyone undergoing initiation."

-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA187/English/AP1984/19181229p01.html

When Heracles landed at Erytheia, he was confronted by a two-headed dog named Orthus. With one blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed Orthrus. Eurytion the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way. On hearing the commotion, Geryon arose carrying three shields, three spears, and wearing three helmets. He attacked Heracles at the River Anthemus but was slain by one of Heracles' poison arrows.

Heracles shot so forcefully that the arrow pierced Geryon's forehead (the home of the "third eye", the organ of spiritual perception), "and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes shedding its petals all at once (the third eye consists of two "petals" and each chakra has its own number of petals which contribute something unique in the spiritual-physical organism of the human being).

Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to King Eurystheus. In Roman versions of the narrative, Heracles drove the cattle over the Aventine Hill on the future site of Rome. To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them, and scatter them. Within a year, Heracles retrieved them. Hera then sent a flood (water, or spiritual forces) which raised the level of a river so high that Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of King Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera.

From Dr. Steiner

-"In all occult writings Lucifer is pictured as a serpent, Ahriman as a hound." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA124/English/RSP1985/19101218p02.html *Ahriman is the anti-spirit of time; he is the God of materialism who tries to lure mankind into all things physical, dry, three-dimensional, and prosaic empty of any inner meaning or spirit. According to Dr. Steiner, the modern conception of the devil is more closely envisaged to Ahriman rather than Lucifer.

-"The Sphinx (daughter of Chimaera and her son the hound Orthus)—a monster with the body of a hound, a woman's head, lion's claws, dragon's tail and wings—was sent to Thebes where she dealt out death and destruction by means of a riddle." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA093a/English/RSP1982/19050928p01.html

-"The Sphinx is really the being who has us by the throat, who strangles us. When the ether-body expands as a result of the force of the breathing, a Luciferic being appears in the soul. In such an ether-body there is then not the human, but the Luciferic form, the form of the Sphinx. The Sphinx is the being who brings doubts, who torments the soul with questions." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA158/English/RSPC1948/19141120p01.html

"...an olive leaf, the emblem of peace." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA266/English/UNK1999/19101105e01.html

-"In the world of the olive tree the rustle and movement, the whisper and gesture, are not the same as in the world of the oak or the ash or the yew. And if we want to grasp the connection of the Earth-nature with human beings, we need to pay attention to such peculiar facts as this—the fact that Paul carries his message just as far over the Earth as the domain of the olive tree extends. The world of Paul is the world of the olive tree." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA149/English/RSP1963/19131229p01.html

-On the Recurrence of the Number 3: "The grandeur of this ancient world view was limited by what we may think of as a predisposition in favor of events that recur and are timeless. And when this world view comes to a conclusion, trinities confront us everywhere, and fundamentally these represent the clairvoyant perception of what lies behind coming into being, passing away, and renewal."-Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA139/English/AP1986/19120920p01.html

11: Eleventh Labor - Golden Apples of the Hesperides

After Heracles completed the first ten labors, King Eurystheus gave him two more, claiming that slaying the Hydra did not count because Heracles had assistance. Neither was Heracles' approach to the cleaning of the Augean Stables ultimately successful, thus he had to finish the task. This was due to the fact that either Heracles had received payment when the task was supposed to be given over for free on behalf of humanity, or because the method of the rivers were not fully successful for spiritual-scientific reasons.

The first additional labor was to steal three of the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides; the nymphs or evening and golden light of sunsets, who were known as the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". Heracles made contact with the God known as the "Old Man of the Sea" by Homer - the shapeshifting sea god - to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located. In other words, Heracles entered into the spiritual spheres and made contact with a higher being, who provided information on how to acquire three special apples. We see the symbol of the Trinity again in the number 3 and the symbol of the apple.

-"...the goddess Eris, the goddess of discord...tosses an apple, discord, into human nature. By so doing she was the sole cause of the first war in the fifth root-race which took place with full human responsibility. In the Trojan War the mythical comes to expression. Before that, strife was determined by instinct." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA092/English/UNK2003/19041028p01.html

-"The most beautiful apple is said to be the Eris apple. The three goddesses, Hera, Pallas Athene and Aphrodite—that is to Say, all that earlier was divine soul—disagree among themselves, for the three goddesses signify different stages of soul-life on the higher, spiritual plane." -Rudolf Steiner,https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA092/English/UNK2003/19041028p01.html

-"Apples intensify the urge to dominate in some people and often lead to rudeness and brutality. The high iron content in cherries and strawberries isn't good for everyone." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA266/English/UNK1998/19090000e01.html

-"Christian tradition indicates very precisely the moment when this soul became incarnated in the body through the Fall into sin, the eating of the apple in Paradise. The real “sin” or transgression of the ego is designated by the term “evil”. Evil therefore is the defect or transgression of the fourth lower principle. Only the ego can succumb to evil, which arose through the eating of the apple. In Latin, “malum” means both evil and apple." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA097/English/Singles/19070204p01.html

It could be that the 3 purified apples, sought by Heracles, represent three aspects of the human soul that are purified; a final stage of initiation for the would-be initiate. The golden apple in the Greek Myths represents the purified ego that was corrupted during the Fall from Paradise and had been cleansed and transformed.

Heracles finally made his way to the garden of the Hesperides, where he encountered the God Atlas holding up the heavens on his shoulders. Heracles persuaded Atlas to obtain the three golden Apples for him by offering to hold up the heavens in his place for a little while, thus giving him a rest. Atlas could acquire the apples because he was the father or a relative to the Hesperides.

When Atlas returned, he decided that he did not want to take the burden of holding up the heavens anymore, and instead offered to deliver the apples himself to Eleusis but Heracles tricked him. He convinced Atlas to take over temporarily so that Heracles could "adjust" his cloak. Atlas agreed, then Heracles simply walked away with the apples. Heracles "outwitted" the old ways through the intellect or cleverness. According to an alternative version, Heracles slew Ladon the dragon - the symbol of the lower self - who guarded the apples.

Some versions state that King Eurystheus was furious at this success, thinking it impossible. This element feels contrived after the fact to embellish the story and add some drama. However, the power of THOUGHT can be seen in the tactic of Heracles to outwit Atlas; a symbol of moving away from the old and inherited methods of clairvoyance and into the new sphere of thought and the intellect. The mission of the Greek Mysteries was a forerunner of the pivotal impulse in human evolution; the Event of Golgotha that gave humanity the possibility of spiritual freedom.

12: Twelfth Labor - Hound of Cerberus

-"Let us consider the legend of Heracles. The twelve labors imposed upon Heracles appear in a higher light when we remember that before the last and most difficult of these he seeks initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries. He is commissioned by King Eurystheus of Mycenae to bring the hell-hound Cerberus from the infernal regions and take it back there again.

In order to undertake the descent into hell, Heracles had to be initiated. The Mysteries conducted the neophyte through the death of perishable things, that is, into the nether world; and through initiation they rescued his eternal principle from perdition. As an initiate he could vanquish death; as an initiate he overcomes the dangers of the nether-world." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Books/GA008/English/AP1947/GA008_c05.html

The twelfth and final labor was to capture the hound "Cerberus", a multi-headed dog that was the guardian of the gates of the Underworld. To prepare for his descent into the Underworld - which is to say the spiritual worlds - Heracles returned to the small settlement of Eleusis where his "temple sleep" experience was undertaken. This experience occurred over a three-day period when Heracles - or any initiate in the ancient world - was induced into a deep sleep. During that time, the soul was compelled out of its physical form by supersensible means.

"Whoever descended to the underworld was an initiate, for the descent into the underworld is a technical term denoting initiation. This journey to the underworld is attributed to Heracles, Odysseus and to all who are initiates who wish to lead man of his epoch to the source of primeval wisdom, to a life of the spirit." -Rudolf Steiner, The Temple Legend I, GA 93, 1. Whitsuntide—Festival of the Liberation of the Human Spirit I-1. I-1. Whitsuntide—Festival of the Liberation of the Human Spirit - Vol. 93. The Temple Legend (1985) - Rudolf Steiner Archive

With the help of a master-initiate and divine guides - such as one's guardian angel - the candidate was led through a journey into the eternal spheres of the astral plane to complete a series of tasks and have experiences with higher beings who oversee and influence human evolution. During this dangerous process, Heracles soul and form were transformed and permeated by purified and powerful spiritual forces to serve a special purpose. Sometimes these forces are referred to as "mana" or "prana" in the mysteries. These forces are real currents and flow through living things, and the universe, at different vibrations and intensities. Some have referred to these forces as "spiritual electricity."

The physical and spiritual form of a candidate had to be "tuned" to a very high degree gradually, over time before undertaking the temple sleep period. When he or she returned from their 3-day journey, they possessed abilities that others were incapable of attaining otherwise. The purpose was a sacred and divine one. The door was closed to the corrupted - really for their own good and the good of others - and those who had not traveled the long path of education, redemption, and transformation. If someone had gaps or "vexations" in their constitution, powerful forces that flowed through a person from the spiritual worlds could be fatal or corruptive.

In the later Egyptian Mysteries, sometimes an elixir was used to induce an astral form of spiritual sleep. During that period, the candidate was usually housed in a crypt or sarcophagus which imitated the path of the soul after death. The use of a mind-expanding substance, however, was never a rule but was put into use out of necessity later on as the human being "hardened." This path was horribly abused in the 20th century with the onslaught of illegal and elicit drug usage in the 1960s. It opened many unwitting people to genuine spiritual experiences that they could not understand and for which they were unprepared. Some suffered emotional trauma because of it.

Later in the ancient world as he Greek mysteries faded, this method was abused by the Romans and dubious persons who used shortcuts for those not prepared for such an endeavor. A terrible fate awaited such persons. This is what happened to the Persian tyrant Cambyses II (died 522 BC) when he invaded Egypt and demanded entrance into the Mysteries (refer to Edouard Schure's work From Sphinx to Christ, Book VI, Chapter III: The Death Of Cambyses And The Sun Of Osiris). There, he allowed himself to be artificially induced through an elixir- substance into a temple sleep period. I believe that historical figures such as Cambyses, Caligula, and Nero are examples of people who passed through premature experiences in the mysteries with no formal training by a false path that led to disastrous consequences.

Upon returning from the spiritual worlds after three days, the initiate was a messenger and a bridge to the divine imbued with powerful inner forces. As a Greek initiate, Heracles originated from and returned to Eleusis - a central Mystery Center in ancient Greece - where he was induced into a 3-day temple sleep period and entered the "Underworld" with Hermes and Athena as his guides.

The candidate was not just guided by a master in the physical world who watched over him, but also by spiritual guides. Whether or not the "Hermes" mentioned here is the same Hermes mentioned by Dr. Steiner as the founder of the Egyptian Mysteries and was a student of Zarathustra, or is a general title used to describe an initiate who was a "Son of Hermes", is unclear.

While in the spiritual worlds, Heracles met with the deceased initiate-heroes of Thesus and Pirithous who had known each other during their lifetimes. The two companions had been "imprisoned" by Hades for attempting to kidnap his wife Persephone. The Persephone Mystery is the central theme of the Mysteries of Eleusis. Dr. Steiner informs us:

-"The Mysteries were to present the values of the eternal, the lasting, against the earthly and transitory. Thus in the Persephone legend the upper world represented the heavenly region in which Persephone is immortal and the underworld is an emblem of the Earth. In the beginning the soul came forth from heavenly regions, but from time to time it is incarnated on Earth. Here it enjoys the fruit of the Earth (the pomegranate) and must therefore always return again and again.

This means that the soul desires what is of the Earth, and therefore is always impelled towards new incarnations. The soul of the Earth, Demeter, would like to give to her daughter immortality, and for this reason Demeter tries to refine through fire the child that has been entrusted to her, to heal it from mortality." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Articles/GA034/English/Singles/AristotleMystDrama.html

-"...The Mystery of Eleusis draws attention to an important natural wonder... Persephone, who represents the ancient clairvoyant forces of the human soul, is carried off by Pluto (Hades), the god of the underworld...This rape of Persephone has in fact been going on from the earliest times right up to our own day; the old clairvoyant culture has vanished. But nothing in the world ever really disappears, things are really only transformed." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA129/English/RSP1963/19110819p02.html

-"...Persephone is Demeter's daughter...in Demeter we have a still older ruler, both of the forces of external Nature and of the forces of the human soul...Demeter is a figure of Greek mythology whom we associate with the kind of clairvoyant vision which belongs to the very oldest endowment of wisdom of Atlantean humanity." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA129/English/RSP1963/19110819p02.html

-"In olden times man could not yet speak of an intellectual ego, as we do today, but he was aware of something which arose in him as a result of the co-operation of the Zeus forces in his astral body with the Persephone forces. What came about in him through the union of these two, Zeus and Persephone, that was his very self. He was something only one aspect of which was bestowed upon him by Zeus; to this there had to be added the other thing, upon which Zeus as such had no direct influence.

...Persephone as the daughter of Demeter was...connected with the forces of the Earth itself. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, a divine Being whose relationship with Zeus was regarded as that of a sister. Persephone was a soul who had gone through a different evolution from Zeus, she was connected with the Earth, and out of the Earth had an influence upon man and thereby upon the formation of his ego-consciousness." -Rudolf Steiner, https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA129/English/RSP1963/19110822p02.html

The quandary of the deceased initiates Thesus and Pirithous whom Heracles confronted in the Underworld could mean several things. It could mean that they were tied to an old form of clairvoyance that had yet to be transformed. It could be that they had to release themselves from a purgatorial condition that tied them to the earth. It could be they had yet to relieve their "thirst" or desire for physical life that often accompanies those who have died and can be a long transition. It is not quite clear. The heroes were chained by Hades for trying to "kidnap" Persephone ties back to the Grecian Mystery of Eleusis.

One tradition speaks of snakes coiling around the lost heroes legs, then turning into stone. The serpent is the sign of the initiate. Turning to "stone" could indicate an initiate whose faculties had become corrupted or harmed in some way and needed to be healed. It could also indicate a part of the soul that has become atrophied; for example in not being able to release one's feet from the ground or earth existence.

Another derivation of the myth states that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast inviting the lost heroes to sit; they unknowingly sat in chairs out of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it, but the Earth shook at the attempt to liberate Pirithous whose desire to have the goddess for himself was so insulting, that he was doomed to remain. This may imply again that the hero had not yet purged his "thirst" or "desire" for physical life during his purgatorial time in the afterlife and was unwilling to let go.

Heracles eventually found Hades - or Pluto - and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Heracles could subdue the beast without using weapons. in other words, it could only be subdued by the purified and strengthened forces of the will, the soul, and the being of a person. There are not tools to use; only one's wit, mind, and ability. Heracles overpowered Cerberus with his hands - the symbol of his will forces and activity - and slung the beast over his shoulders. He carried Cerberus out of the Underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese and brought it to King Eurystheus.

Once received, King Eurystheus asked Heracles to return Cerberus to the Underworld and released him from any further labors when Cerberus disappeared back to his master; Hades. Heracles returned to the hound to his master, and continued his mission.

Heracles had accomplished the lofty task of initiation, but this was surely not the end. Life continues and the universe is filled with endless journeys, transformations, and challenges to overcome. Everything we accomplish, or fail to accomplish, carries forward into the future as a disposition, fulfillment, or redemptive karma.

The challenges and conditions of initiation change from one century to the next and the initiates, including Herakles, continue their missions into the future for service to the world and humanity. It is an absolute certainty that the soul that was Herakles - wherever he may be today - has continued forward as a leader and inspirer of others on the path of spiritual transformation and the maturation of consciousness.

It is a certainty that the Herakles soul who inspired the Greeks, Romans, and countless souls since his myth was documented and shared repeatedly over time continues to inspire, and lead, humanity today.

Final Thoughts

This little study on Heracles is by no means comprehensive. Symbols and motifs are an essential part of the spiritual and religious manuscripts created at different points of time in the ancient world, and tell us a great deal about things. The ancients did not view, feel, or perceive the world the same way as people do today. Today, things are much more direct, defined, and technical.

From a historical perspective, the deeds of the remainder of the life of Heracles are a mystery. He surely continued on his mission and lived to a certain point, but as to what his role was in the Grecian world outside of this struggle for initiation - which culminated only after repeated lifetimes of experience, decisions, and outcomes - and the forces he brought to humanity through his initiation are unknown. He certainly helped to found the ancient Grecian Mysteries, as did others including Orpheus who was also a historical personality who followed the path of the mysteries and initiation. Herakles was an inspirer of the peoples to lead heroic, good, and excellent lives.

Many questions remain open. Whatever the case may be, Heracles has surely continued his spiritual-historical mission over time and is with humanity today helping us in one form or another. This is the way of things, as the Mysteries reveal that all souls are on a long and continued path of evolution through a process of repeated lifetimes; each building upon the other as time continues.

Those who have passed through the Mysteries are committed to helping humanity. The myths of Heracles show us that anyone can follow the path as long as they are willing to stick with it; commitment, education, courage, sacrifice, intelligence, and wisdom are the sources of those successes. His victories, like the accomplishments of those who follow the path, have helped many people over time and will continued to do so as humanity evolves and faces new challenges and struggles on the long path of the journey to spiritual maturity and civility.

End.

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