Hercules was one of the sons of Zeus, and is often noted for his chivalrous character and strong, courageous demeanor. Because of this, it’s important to recognize the difference between punishment and penance: punishment essentially serves to impose a penalty on the offender for his or her offence, whilst penance is often inflicted upon ourselves, and bears a meaningful level of suffering and pain that should prove more effective in preventing the offender from committing the same wrongdoing again – something which is evident in the story of Hercules and his 12 Healing Labors.
Similarly, when we do something wrong, most of us immediately feel guilty and try to make up for it. In modern psychology, we’re often told that the best ways in which to communicate our negative feelings is to release them through more positive means such as creativity, exercise, and other therapeutic tasks which often involve hard work and intense physical exertion. Hercules and his 12 Healing Labors teaches us to differentiate typical punishment from penance
AGE MYTHOLOGY GET CREATIVE FREE
Some philosophers and theologians argue that today, just like Phaethon, humans have deluded themselves into believing that they're able to take advantage of their free will and control the 'reins' of nature, even if it means polluting the earth to such a point of destruction. The gods have managed to spare the earth from further disaster, and the planet’s slow road towards recovery had begun…so they said. Ultimately, when news of Phaeton’s misdemeanor reached Helios’ brother Zeus, he angrily struck a lightning bolt into the sky, which hit Phaeton in the chest and sent him hurling down towards Earth and into the river Eridanus. This caused the horses to go wild, and he eventually lost control of the sun chariot, which inevitably caused havoc in the sky and the earth. Blinded by excessive pride and quick hold of the reins, Phaeton disobeyed his father, and used the whip anyway. He advised him against all the risks and dangers, and most importantly, to never use the whip. Phaeton didn’t hold back from demanding he be given the chance to drive the sun chariot across the sky for a day – a request his father scorned at first, but against his son’s stagnant stubbornness, eventually fulfilled anyway. Helios decided to meet his father for the first time, who was so delighted to see him he promised to grant him his first wish. The story goes that Phaeton, who had lived with his mother, swore to prove to his peers that his father was Helios, by driving the sun chariot across the sky – an act that even the gods were uncapable of. The myth of Phaeton, son of the god Helios, seems like an eerie prophecy of our current climate crisis, and bears a striking resemblance to reality. The narrative of this particular myth stands out more than any other when it comes to our most perilous modern issue: climate change and global warming.