Heracles' Corner

L.A Noire Ps3 Review

2011-06-26T12:05:00.006+07:00

After finishing the game for quite some time here are my review for Rockstar's latest L.A Noire.

We will look at five categories to review which are the presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay and the lasting appeal of the game.

Presentation

The first thing you'll notice from playing the game will be: The characters. Well, the main characters to be exact. Since the developers spent a lot of time to scanned the actors' lines and motions you will feel like you are 'playing' a movie story with a noir feeling (hence the title). The background characters however, are generic. I saw one guy drunken outside a bar, then he's in an office and then in the prison (maybe something happened off the story, but I didn't notice). Too bad we couldn't really interact with the background characters like we did in GTA: SA last time. The look and feel of the characters are so natural unlike some cg made characters who have the stiffness in their motions and such. The main story consist of the progression of a young war hero rookie cop who's slowly becoming a hotshot in crime solving named Cole Phelps. Phelps is probably the only goody two shoes character in Rockstar's world (although not entirely an angel). The setting were created quite accurately they said to resemble the City of Angels in the 40's. The city is quite big, however it didn't entice me to explore all the parts of the city. Additionally, if you want you could even play the game in black and white so as to experience the proper 40's story.

Presentation: 8/10

Graphics
The graphics in L.A Noire are very good. The characters are well made (however some of the hairs looked stiff and not natural), the city, the cars, the evidences, the building are all good looking. Other than some of the hairs of the characters I have no complaints about the graphics of L.A Noire. I noticed some small bugs with the Ai but luckily it was just the background characters so it didn't matter much.

Graphics 8/10

Gameplay

Although Rockstars games are usually well known for its free-roaming, guns shooting, driving game, the usual formula took a little turn in this game. Although you are free to roam the cities (it even give you easter eggs to collect scattered around the city), the game is quite linear. It'll take you 20+ hours to finish the main story. Every case you finished will be marked according to your performance in the case, how many evidences you gathered, the statements you got right, the damages you did to the city (yes, it matters now! you'll be playing as a cop after all). You're still free to hijack any car you please (or commandeer in this case) and drive to the missions, but if you don't feel like it just ask your partner to drive it! You'll be assigned to your default car based on your rank in the police force. Yes you'll be assigned to a partner in every rank, and you'll be able to interact with them and even becoming your own GPS in case you get lost in the big city of Los Angeles (or again, ask them to drive the car for you!). In other words, quite useful your partner (not much when the shooting situation arises). You could even skip the shooting and fighting parts if you wish.

The main things you're going to do in the game is investigating by getting the right answers from suspects or witness. Call on them when they're lying, hiding something from you or telling the truth. You do this from looking at the witness/suspects face, their cues or the way they talk and getting the evidence to back up your actions. Fail to do this and the game moves on. It would just make it a bit harder for you to finish the case and probably earned you some bad ratings when the case does finish (you could re-play the finished case if you wish).

During evidence gathering you will be helped with some vibrations and music to tell you if you've got the right ones. However, these features could be turned off if you're confident in your sleuthing skills. You could also use intuition points to help you get something you want. If you're online, you could ask the community to help you as well. However, since the PSN was down in the time of my playing I didn't get to try this feature. So, give it a go and let me know how it goes. You will be assigned five intuition point. To recover them, you need to do some side mission which consists of gunning, chasing, and fighting suspects which will add your experience points.

There is one thing that bugs me in L.A Noire. It feels disjointed every time I drive to the allocated location with a car. When we reach our destination, it usually followed with a cut scene when we are suddenly out of the car. It wasn't as smooth as the latest Episodes of Liberty City GTA or Red Dead Redemption where we get off of our vehicles (or horses) and walk down to the destination and then we take control. Also the way we never bag the evidences we found. But these are minor problems and it didn't distract me much from enjoying the game.

Gameplay 8.5/10

Lasting Appeal
You could re-play the case where you didn't finish well, some film reels to collect, landmarks to views (they're quite essential actually), cars to drive and not mentioning the dlcs. There are no online multiplaying but it make sense.

Lasting Appeal 7.5/10

In short L.A Noire is a great experience. You get to play as detective solving crimes and murders. The setting was great and the story was referenced from some movies that I know like Chinatown or L.A Confidential. It's got interesting characters and cases. It looks and plays good. It's not perfect but it's one fine game. Play it.

Total 80/100

The World Cup Finals

2010-07-10T10:40:00.003+07:00

After reading an article from Goal.com I realised something, the World Cup finals is just like an Champions League Finals! Let me elaborate:

Looking at the players, I realised most of them are graduates from the famed academy of Ajax Amsterdam and FC Barcelona. Throughout the years Ajax have produced talents like Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert and Frank De Boer to name a few. In the current Holland squad there are Stekelenburg (who currently plays for Ajax), Van Der Wiel, Heitinga, Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Huntelaar, Elia, De Jong and Babel. Although most of them are now playing for different clubs, they have all graduated from Ajax. Therefore, it is like an reunion to them.

Whereas Spain has players mostly from Barcelona. Also most of the players in the squad are Catalans, not Spanish. Those who graduated from the Barcelona academy are: Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Gerrard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez. Another Catalans is Juan Capdevilla the left back of Villareal. Even the World Cup top scorer is an Barcelona player in David Villa.

Now the difference between the two sides is that the current Spanish side has bigger Barcelona influence because they still all play in the same club. In the match against Germany there were 7 starters who are from Barcelona plus Casilas, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid) and Juan Capdevilla (Villareal). Because they still play together this make them know their teammates better than those who have separated to play for different clubs.

Key Players to watch in the finals:

Xavi Hernandez (Spain): This player is the maestro of Barcelona and Spain. He is essentially pulling the strings of his team mates. His key abilities include quick thinking, very accurate passing, excellent vision, ability to keep the ball well, deadly on dead balls situation. He could even have a pop from outside the penalty box when the opportunity arises. Although he hasn't scored yet, Xavi has always perform well in all the matches he plays. On average the passing that he made is around 100 passes. On club level he has won anything any footballer ever dreamed of. Minus the personal recognition. A candidate for Balloon d' Or. It is said to stop Spain/Barcelona one needs to stop Xavi..

Wesley Sneijder (Holland): 2010 is the year of Sneijder. Well, almost. Dumped by Real Madrid, Sneijder showed his class by winning a treble for his new club, Inter Milan. He is the current playmaker for both Inter and Holland. All attacks have to go through him. He is a bit similar with Xavi however his position is more advanced, allowing him to score some goals as well. With David Villa, he is the current top scorer in the tournament. Deadly on the free kicks as well. 2010 would've been the year of Sneijder indeed if he won the World Cup.

Favorites to win the World Cup? I've always thought it's gonna be Spain right from the start. Even when they lost the opening game. I believe the current Spain squad, which are the reigning European Champions are just too strong for the young solid Holland squad.

My prediction? Spain 2 - Holland 0.

Adriano

2010-06-13T12:08:00.004+07:00

His name is Adriano Leite Ribeiro. He is the Emperor or L'Imperatore. As a Roma fan through and through I would like to write my thoughts about this latest transfer coup. It will be about why Adriano is a great signing for Roma.

Adriano is a man on a mission. He went to serie A as a youngster with lots of potential. He literally took Serie A by storm, until it all went wrong for him on 2009. He suffers depression after his father's death. And so, being unable to perform at his capacities, he went back to the Brazilian league to discover happiness again.

He did so. He joined Flamengo and helped them winning the league and finished the league as top scorer. Now that he regained his form, then came the opportunity to prove that he still has what it takes to be a success in a big club.

AS Roma are seriously interested in bringing Adriano back to the Serie A. It may seem like a gamble for some. But Adriano himself are very sure he is ready to prove his worth for Roma. And now the signing is complete and I cannot wait to see him don the number 8 shirt for Roma!

Okay, maybe I haven't said anything on why I think Adriano will be a success. It will be for his records and ability. As it stands, Adriano is still the current top scorer for Inter in the European Cup with 18 goals in 30 games. As great Totti and Vucinic are domestically, they are unable to match Adriano's proven record in the Champions League. This will be an important element for us next season in Europe.

He still has that deadly left foot. So when things go bad then 'pop' a goal might come out of nowhere. Therefore, besides Totti, Vucinic and De Rossi now there is Adriano who could be the one to rely for spectacular goals.

I think that Adriano is the missing link that Roma are missing so far. Roma needs a strong centre forward who are strong physically and the kind of 'fox in the box' type. They had it with Gabriel Batistuta (when they became champions) and now I'm convinced that Adriano is the man to fill that link that Luca Toni failed to produce last season.

Therefore, let us say this to Adriano: L'Imperatore e indietro! In Boca Il Lupo!

Faith

2010-06-07T21:39:00.008+07:00

I want to discuss a little bit about faith. Can faith become a dangerous weapon for us humans? Let's say if you are made to believe that if you kill someone, you could go to heaven for it what would you do? Re-evaluate this promise, or just do it because your faith said it's okay to do so? Sadly most people chose the latter to this day.

Wars have been waged in the name of religion for centuries. I find this so sad, because the concept of religion were actually made so that people would fear the laws that are made by their so called 'Gods' and so that people wouldn't dare to break them. However, people would have to choose sides and if they picked a side, they will be promised 'Heaven' and 'Hell' for those who chooses the others (except maybe for Buddhism I believe, who believes that everyone has the right to reach Nirvana). Ironically, we do know that rules are made to be broken. And so some people would take advantage of this loop. They would just re-phrase the laws then use it to their own advantage. These people doesn't have to be smart, just convincing enough to preach and then flocks of people would just believe whatever this person said. Truly, the concept of faith can be dangerous if it falls to type of persons like this.

Now, I'm not saying that having a faith is bad. It's quite good actually. If people always think and act in the name of good faith then the world will actually be a better place to live in. Sadly, this is not the reality we live in. Maybe I just need to have a little faith that a better world will happen someday.

My thoughts on Ibra

2010-05-22T07:39:00.002+07:00

Celebrating scoring a rare goal for Sweden.

Why does everyone seems to think Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a great striker? I don't. He doesn't deserve to play in a big club like FC Barcelona. His biggest achievements are only winning the league titles everywhere he goes, but always a failure on the european matches (look at Ajax, Juve, Inter and now Barca).

He even didn't perform well in the World Cup or any international matches. Let's see him join Arsenal (to make way for Cesc re-joining Barca finally). Maybe he will be the player to help them winning their league title finally, with a cost in the champs league. Or maybe I wanna see him join AS Roma (his favoured choice before Juve and Inter stole him anyway) and bring them as both Serie A champions AND Champions league winner then maybe he'll convinced me.

As for now, though. I think Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the most overrated striker in the world. Inter got a great buy in Eto'o. Look at them, they are on course of winning the treble! Barcelona even has realized their mistake. They bought David Villa to replace him swiftly. Let us see where will Ibra go next season. My bet is on Arsenal.

John Lennon is a Genius, a Visionary

2010-05-16T06:33:00.005+07:00

I always loved John Lennon. A little backstory about him: He was one of the main song writers for the most popular 'little ol' band in the world in The Beatles.

His main songwriting partner was Paul McCartney. Even as a child I always loved Lennon's writings. While McCartney's I felt mostly wrote ballad, or love songs for the ladies (however I love Hey Jude).

After quitting the Beatles, I thought Lennon has gone insane. He became a bold person, he speaks nonsense mostly, I didn't understand it. Until today.. I TOTALLY gets what he meant now. I understand that he was suppressing all his feelings and then when he quit the Beatles finally, he let it all out. I'm going to show you his brilliant songs to understand what He and I think alike about. Enjoy the lyrics from the great mind of John Lennon. If you want you could hear the tune from Youtube while reading the lyrics. That's just how I roll, baby.

Imagine by John Lennon

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

God by John Lennon

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I'll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,

I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that's reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dream weaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.

Questions, kids?

Why I Changed My Mind About Clash of the Titans

2010-05-14T03:55:00.004+07:00

First, I would like to make an apology. To the filmmakers of the remake of Clash of the Titans. I think I may have a hand on spreading a bad word about the movie. It turns out I know the real reason why I didn't like the movie. It was all about religion. And I will explain.

As some of you know, I'm having my crisis of faith right now. I began believeing that "Is there such a thing as a perfect person? No one is perfect. People have flaws.." So, I chose to defy my Gods.

Now what is the connection between Clash of the Titans? Here's why, first I was still pissed off that they changed the story around. It was suppose to be the adventures of Perseus winning Andromeda's hand in marriage, while battling monsters such as the Gorgon Medusa and a Sea Monster.

In the movie, however. It was a personal battle against Perseus and a God. He was Hades. In real life Hades is a neutral figure. Now I understood the message of the movie. Perseus chose to defy the Gods with all his humanness with him. Although he still have the support from his beloved father Zeus, Perseus chose to take down Hades, Zeus' older brother once and for all. He FOUGHT a God. At first I thought that this is bullshite. But that was before my crisis. Now I think, "this is exactly the same thing I am feeling.." And so, I become more connected with the movie.

Lastly, another apology for misleading my loyal readers of my distorted view of the movie. I assure you it is more than a pop corn flick. Catch it later on dvd perhaps? No, not the pirated ones...

Clash of the Titans (2010): 7/10 *updated score.

2010 - The Death of World Cup?

2010-05-13T09:57:00.005+07:00

World Cup usually excites a lot of people. People who usually didn't watch football, watched. It's that kind of magic. However, I think this year the trends are showing that's it's going to be one-boring-results-based-football. Why do you think? Let's analyse..

Marcello Lippi, Carlos Dunga, Raymond Domenech what do they have in common? Sure they are football managers. But when I saw the announcement of the provision squads for the World Cup, I was shocked to the least.

Firstly, Lippi. Lippi of Italy didn't called up flair based players like: Cassano, Totti (don't want him to go anyway), Miccolli, or even Balotelli. Why is this important? This means the squad will be based on robot-types of football. There's no element of unpredictability amongst them. They will score 1 and then they will sit back and soak up the pressure a la Mourinho. Worrying?

Secondly, Dunga. He also left out Ronaldinho. One of the creatives. Sure they still have Kaka and Robinho. But who's their options if they didn't play well in a match? None worth mentioning. And Brazil have been playing boringly since Dunga took control.

Thirdly, Domenech the French manager. He left out Benzema, Nasri and Menez was his biggest crime. Sure Benzema is not considered a starter in Real Madrid. But the kid's got skills. Worrying trends indeed.

However people, there is still hope for football after all. Spain will be the most exciting team to watch. They have exciting players like, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres and finally David Villa. I hope they will make it to the final squad and wins the world cup to show the cowards how football is played properly. Viva La Espana!!

My Goals in 5 Years.

2010-05-11T20:19:00.006+07:00

An anonymous special someone asked me to draw my goals in the next 5 years. They will be my family, goals, finance, faith and health. This is for myself to read everyday and for you to know ;)

Family : In 5 years I see myself as a head of a family with a beautiful and lovely wife who will be the mother of my childrens. I want 4 children by this time :P. Their names will be: Francesco, Totti, Gabriel, Roberto.
Goals : In 5 years I see myself living in a land of dream, which is not Indonesia. And finding myself in a big games company like: Santa Monica Studios, EA Sports, Konami Sports, Bethesda and my dream job: Rockstar North. I will be making a top high benchmark action adventure game. This is one of my passion. Gaming.
Finance : I will be financially freed of my parents, while taking care of them so that they would have they're 2nd, 3rd or 4th honeymoon. I will have a finance consultant to manage my hefty accounts.
Faith : In 5 years I hope I will be able to finally make peace with the Gods. And become faithful and grateful to the church. To my beloved AS Roma as well.
Health : In 5 years I want to be a very fit young man. I will be a member in a classy gym clubs, whilst maintaining my healty sex life and my personal life properly.

There are my goals in this 5 years. I ask for your support and prayers that I would reach my goals in 5 years time. Let's look forward to it.

Claudio Ranieri : Julius Caesar?

2010-05-10T20:10:00.005+07:00

Did you know about Julius Caesar? Let me tell you a little story. Caesar was a famous general from the Republic of Rome. He idolizes Alexander the Great.

It was said that he wept at Alexander's tomb seeing he was 32 at the time and haven't done anything drastic. Alexander conquered the world at the age of 25.

He finally oust his partner, Pompeus and drove him out of Rome. Which resulted that Pompeus was killed. Caesar has a trusted right hand man in Marc Anthony who was a fearsome general himself.

Caesar finally ruled as a lifetime dictator in the republic of Rome. Whilts installing Mark Antony in the senate to help him instilling fear in the senate.

Caesar's rule finally ended when he was brutally murdered in the senate, when Mark Antony was being held outside. Caesar installed his great Nephew, Gaius Octavian as his heir.

There were civil war after Caesar's rule ended. The protagonists were Octavian, who has changed his name to Augustus Caesar against Marc Antony and Cleopatra the queen of Egypt.

Augustus Caesar defeated them and rule Rome republic. His rule was long and prosperous until its downfall after JC was born.

Caesar however was famous as the foundation of the Rome Republic. Although his rule was not that long, his biggest achievements was crushing the Gauls. To ensure Rome's stability.

Now onto Claudio Ranieri. Claudio is the current manager of my beloved AS Roma.

His reputation is the 'likeable loser'. But I think this title didn't do him justice and let me tell you why.

Claudio's main achievements were building the foundations for AC Parma, Valencia CF, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea FC, and now finally AS Roma. He didn't win any major achievements during his reign. But he managed to built a strong team, but let's the next guys got their glory.

People who benefited the most from his reigns were Rafa Benitez @ Valencia and Jose Mourinho @ Chelsea. Ranieri even made better purchases than Mourinho. He bought, Frank Lampard the free scoring midfielder, Joe Cole, Petr Cech and even Arjen Robben! Mou's greatest was only Drogba.

So now do you see the comparison between Julius Caesar and Claudio Ranieri. If you still didn't realize this than there must be something wrong with you. They both were father foundations of the next guys who will take all the glory!

So, if he's caesar, who's the Marc Anthony? Simple really, It's Francesco Totti. Who else?

Do you want another examples for the connections? How about the Gauls who were they? It's simple: Internazionale FC. This season Roma v Inter the result was as follows, Roma won once, drew once, and lost once. The Gauls proves to be a formidable enemy for Rome. They kept coming back despite Caesar has crushed them several times.

Are you entertained?

Why Heracles? part 2

2010-05-09T17:55:00.003+07:00

Due to popular demand I will start with Heracles' twelve labour journeys.

First Labour

The cowardly king orders Heracles to kill the Nemean Lion. While also hoping that Heracles would be killed by it. But you and me know that Heracles isn't that weak. He killed two snakes as a baby! By the Gods! Here's the catch, the Lion is invulnerable to all weapons. So he had to kill it with his bare hands. And guess what? He did it. He even skinned the Lion and wear it at all times as his cloak.

When he returned to the king, he was so terrified at Heracles' appearances so he hid.

Second Labour.

Heracles had to kill the Hydra as shown as this picture over here. Do you think he made it? What were you thinking? Of course he did! But how? You and me know that when Hydra's head was dismembered two will grow at its place. So Heracles had a little help. After dismembering one of its head, his follower Iolaus managed to burn the wounds with fire so it won't grow again. So, Heracles managed to chop off its head one by one until he reaches its original head. Hydra's venom is universally fatal for all. So Heracles then dipped his arrows to its blood to gain... Poison arrow! When he returned of course the king was shocked again Heracles managed to survive. But he refuses to count this labour as heracles had help. So he gets an extra one labour to do.

Third Labour.

The third labour, he needed to fetch the Cerynitian hind that lived at Oinoe or the forest of Cerynitia, and was sacred to the goddess Artemis.

Heracles chased it all the way up north. Here, Heracles came upon the land of Hyperboreans, where he found himself in the lovely grove of olive trees. The hero liked the trees so much that he brought them back with him, planting the olive trees around the race course in Olympia.

This labour should have been easy, but it took Heracles over a year to capture the hind. Heracles brought down the hind with an arrow aimed at its hoof, without killing the creature.

As Heracles was returning to Tiryns with the hind, Artemis spotted the hero carrying off her favourite animal. Artemis would have attacked the hero, but Heracles explained to the angry goddess of his task: how he had not wanted to harm the creature. Heracles brought the Cerynitian hind to Tiryns, alive and unharmed, at the goddess' request.

The Fourth Labour.

The fourth labour, Heracles needed to fetch Erymanthian Boar. On this trip, he visited a Centaur, named Pholus. Pholus had some wine with odour to attract the boar. Unfortunately this wine attracted the other Centaurs around the mountain.

The angry Centaurs attacked Heracles. Heracles had to kill some of the Centaurs and drove the rest of them away. Heracles would later meet two Centaurs, later in his life – Eurytion and Nessus. His host, Pholus, accidentally dropped the poisoned arrow on his hoof and died.

Another friendly Centaur named Cheiron also died. Cheiron was another of Heracles' friend. Cheiron was a wise Centaur who taught many heroes hunting and combat skills, including Jason and Achilles. Heracles accidentally wounded Cheiron. Cheiron being immortal couldn't die, but he suffered great agony from the Hydra's venom. Cheiron later gave up his immortality to the Titan, Prometheus and went to Hades.

Later, Heracles captured the boar and delivered it alive to Eurystheus. Eurystheus was such a coward that he hid inside a bronze jar. Heracles released it at Eurystheus' request. Eurystheus ordered Heracles that he would show him his successes of his labours on the other side of the city wall.

The Fifth Labour.

During this time Heracles ran off with a group of heroes called the Argonauts. It was lead by the hero Jason. They went to search to golden fleece (Kratos' deflective shield in the gow game!). Heracles managed to kill several Monsters. However Heracles was somehow got separated with his companion and lover Hylas. So Argonauts then left him behind.

After the Quest, Heracles was said to established the Olympian Games in honour of Zeus, for their homecoming. Heracles had also suggested that any hero should not among themselves and to come to the aid of a former Argonaut, who needed help. This contradicts most myths, where Heracles had killed Calais and Zetes, who had abandoned him in Mysia (he had bad temper remember).

Angry at Heracles for running off seeking new adventure with the Argonauts, Eurystheus the cowardly king decided that the fifth labour would be the most humiliating of his tasks: cleaning the Augeian stables in single day.

Augieas was the king of Elis and owned the largest herd of cattle. Heracles wanted a tenth of the cattle as payment for cleaning the stable. Augeia readily agreed, not believing that it was possible to so in a single day.

The task was enormous, because of the number of stalls of the stable, as well as the sheer size of building. Heracles completed this task by diverting the water on the rivers Alpheius and Peneius to flow the stable.

Augeias, however, refused to honour his bargain, because the king had found out that the hero was performing one of the labours for Eurystheus. Only Phyleus, Augeias' eldest son, supported Heracles, asking his father to not break his promise to the hero. Augeias angrily banished son from Elis. Phyleus left the city Elis, and settled in Dulichium.

Angry at being cheated of his payment that was promised to him, Heracles vowed to make war upon Elis, when he is released from his services with Eurystheus. Augeias realising he had made powerful enemy, allied himself with the general Amarynceus and the Moliones, Augeias' nephews.

Again, Eurystheus refused to count this as a labour. Eurystheus told Heracles, he must do any labour without payment. Therefore, Heracles had to do another extra task.

Dexamenus, king of Olenus entertained Heracles as his guest. While he was at court in Olenus, the Centaur Eurotyon tried to force Mnesimache, daughter of Dexamenus, to marry him. Heracles repaid his host, by killing Eurytion.

The sixth labour.

The sixth labour, Heracles was required to chase away some mythological birds that were ravaging the countryside around the lake called Stymphalus, in north-eastern Arcadia.

The Stymphalian birds were so numerous that Heracles was at loss on how to drive the birds away. He knew that he would not have enough arrows and javelins to kill all the birds.

Athena, again, came to his aid, and gave a rattle that should frighten the birds into flight.

Heracles used the rattle to make loud noise from the mountain that frightened the birds into flight. Heracles shot down a number of birds, before driving the rest away.

They may have been the same birds that infested the barren island, sacred to Ares. The Argonauts encountered these birds, where Oileus was wounded by one of the deadly feathers. Amphidamas of Arcadia, had remembered how Heracles drove away the Stymphalian Birds, with loud noises.

The Seventh Labour.

The seventh labour, Heracles needed to fetch the Cretan Bull, the bull that belonged to Minos king of Crete. This bull was sacred to Poseidon, and had the ability to walk and run on the surface of the sea.

When Minos had gained the bull from Poseidon, but failed to sacrifice the bull to the sea god. To punish Minos for his broken promise, Poseidon caused Pasiphae, the daughter of Helius, to fall in love with beast. So the Cretan Bull had fathered upon Pasiphaë, the monster Minotaur.

Embarrassed from the offspring and union between his wife and the bull, Minos no longer wanted the Cretan Bull. So Heracles had Minos' consent to take the bull. The only problem was that the bull would not go aboard a ship.

So Heracles rode on its back, while the bull crossed the sea, from Cnossus, in Crete, all the way back to Greece.

Heracles released the bull after showing the creature to Eurystheus. The Cretan bull left the Peloponessus, and roamed all the way to Marathon, in Attica. The Cretan bull then became known as Marathonian bull.

The Marathonian bull continued to ravage the country on the plain of Marathon, until Theseus killed the bull.

The Eighth Labour.

The eighth labour was to fetch flesh-eating mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was the king of the Bistones, in Thrace, who feeds human flesh to his horses. Heracles threw Diomedes to the mares, which they killed and ate the king.

There was a youth named Abderus, who was a son of Hermes. He was a squire (and possibly lover) to Heracles. Heracles set Abderus to guard the mares. When Heracles had returned, he found that the mares had devoured the youth. Heracles built a Thracian city called Abdera, named after Abderus.

Admetus and Alcestis

Admetus was the king of Pherae and husband of Alcestis, daughter of Pelias.

When the sun god Apollo had to serve Admetus for one year as his servant, Admetus had treated the god well, because Admetus was known for being the most pious ruler in Greece. Apollo was been punishment for killing a Cyclop who made thunderbolt for Zeus. Apollo had killed the Cyclops because Zeus had killed his son, Asclepius.

Due to his kindness, Apollo helped Admetus in winning Alcestis' hand in marriage, where he successfully harnessed wild animals, a lion and a wild boar, to a chariot; it was a task set by Pelias.

Apollo also rewarded him by telling that his death would come soon. Admetus could avoid his fate, if he could find someone willing to die in his place. None of his advisors or subjects were willing to die for him. Neither of his aged parents, because they value their lives.

Alcestis, daughter of Pelias, realising how much her husband wanted to live, told him that she was willing to die in his place, because of her love for Admetus.

I'm not sure if Heracles was journeying north or coming back home with the mares, when Heracles decided to visit Admetus in Thessaly. Heracles was unaware that Alcestis would die that night. Admetus allowed Heracles to enjoy feast, while Admetus was secretly mourning for his wife in the other room.

When Heracles realised he had been enjoying himself during funeral of his friend's wife; Heracles went to the tomb and wrestled with Thanatos, while the god was trying to carry Alcestis' shade away from the tomb. Heracles overpowered Thanatos, until the god of death gave up Alcestis. Heracles happily restored Alcestis to her husband.

The ninth Labour.

The ninth labour required him to go to Amazons land to fetch Hippolyte's belt, for Eurystheus' daughter, Admeta or Admete. Heracles either went there alone or with the heroes Theseus and Thelamon.

The Amazon queen, named Hyppolite, ruled in the city of Themiscyra on the mouth of the River Thermodon. The belt had belonged to Ares, and symbolised the power of leadership.

The Queen warmly received Heracles, but Hera stirred the Amazons against Heracles. Disguised as an Amazon warrior, Hera spread rumour that Heracles had come to abduct their queen. The Amazons armed themselves and attacked Heracles' ship. Thinking that Hippolyte was secretly plotting against him, Heracles killed the queen and took her belt.

On his return home, he found a Trojan princess, Hesione, about to be sacrifice to a sea monster, sent by Poseidon and Apollo. Heracles agreed to save Laomedon's daughter in return for the king's immortal horses or the gold vine as his reward. But after killing the monster, Laomedon refused to pay. Again, Heracles vowed vengeance upon another king. He would return later with an army to destroy Laomedon.

As he continued his journey home, Polygonus & Telegonus, the two sons of Proteus challenged Heracles into a wrestling match. Heracles killed the two brothers.

The tenth Labour.

The tenth labour, Heracles was required to fetch cattle of Geyron. Geryon was the king of Erytheia (Cadiz), in Spain.

The cattle were guarded by Geryon's herdsman and the two-headed hounded, called Orthus.

The journey was uneventful, until he reached the Strait of Gibraltar. Heracles began piling rocks on the European side and African sides of the straits. The erection of these rocks became known as the Pillars of Hercules.

The work was long and hard, so Heracles became overheated from the sun. Heracles pointed his arrow at the sun, threatening to shoot the sun. Helius, the god of the sun, was far from offended by the impetuous hero. In fact, Helius so admired the hero's boldness that the sun-god gave Heracles the Sun-cup made of gold. This gold cup was large enough for Heracles to sail past the Pillars of Hercules and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Arriving at Erytheia, Heracles had to kill the herdsman, Eurytion and the two-headed hound Orthus with his club, near the peak of Mount Abas. Menoetes, herdsman of Hades, witnessed all this, and went to Geryon with news of Heracles raiding his cattle. Geryon, who had three heads, was also killed when he pursued the hero to River Anthemus. Heracles then tried to make his home.

Passing through Abderia, the south of Spain, Heracles then entered the land of the Ligurians. Near Massalia (modern Marseille), Ialebion and Dercynus, the sons of Poseidon, who wanted to steal the cattle, attacked him. Heracles killed them, but he was wounded, fighting the Ligurian army. Zeus sends a shower of stone, which Heracles used to pelt his enemies.

The giant Cacus also stole some of the cattle in Italy. Heracles had to leave the rest of cattle behind, to search for the missing cattle and kill Cacus.

At Rhegion, one of his bulls left the other cattle, jumped and swam across the Strait of Messina. Heracles asked the locals if they seen the missing bull, and they told him where it had gone off. The locals referred to the bull as italus, so Heracles called the entire Italian peninsula, Italy. The missing bull was the finest of the stock, so Heracles left the rest of cattle behind to fetch the one in Sicily.

When he found the bull, he found them among the herd of a notorious boxer named Eryx , in Eryx, Sicily. Eyrx had the habit of challenging a traveller into boxing match in which would kill his opponent. Eryx would only agree to return the bull to the hero, if Heracles could defeat him in a boxing match. Eryx, however, was no match for Heracles and was killed during their bout.

Heracles recovered his bull and returned to the other cattle. New problem arose, upon reaching Greece. Hera sent gadfly that stung the cattle, dispersing them out in all direction, but most of the cattle fled to the Thracian mountains. Heracles was forced to pursue, and have managed to recover some of the cattle. Those left behind became wild. He brought the rest to Eurystheus, who offered sacrifice to Hera.

There is another person stole and hid the cattle from Heracles.

As Heracles travelled back to Greece with the cattle of Geryon, Celtine, daughter of Bretannus, saw and fell in love with the hero. One day, she hid the cattle, and would not tell Heracles their whereabout until he made love to her. Heracles slept with her, and Celtine became the mother of Celtus, ancestors of the Celts.

The eleventh labour.

The eleventh labour, Heracles had to fetch the golden apples of Hesperides. The Hesperides ("Daughters of the Evening Star") were the daughters of the Titan Atlas and Hesperis (Evening Star). They cared for the grove of trees that bore the golden fruits. The trees were guarded by a serpent or dragon with a hundred heads, known as Ladon , offspring of Typhon and Echidna.

On his journey, at Caucasus Mountains, he killed the Caucasian Eagle that fed on Prometheus' liver and freed the Titan from his bond. Prometheus told him that the tree and apples were guarded by Ladon, a dragon or serpent. The Titan advised him to let his brother Atlas to fetch the apples, to avoid Ladon.

He then continued his journey south, travelling through Phoenica and Palestine. Heracles killed Busiris, king of Egypt, who was sacrificing foreign travellers. Some says that Heracles also killed Emathion, king of Arabia, son of Eos and Tithonus, and brother of Memnon.

In Libya, Heracles wrestled and killed Antaeus, the son of Poseidon and Gaea, who remained invincible as long as he has contact with earth. Antaeüs would often let his opponent to throw him on the ground, only to spring up, even stronger than before. Heracles had to keep Antaeüs off the ground before crushing his opponent to death.

Finally he arrived where the Titan Atlas bore the weight of heaven on his shoulder. Heracles asked Atlas where the fruit were. Atlas told the hero that he would fetch the golden apples for him, if Heracles would carry the heaven on his shoulder. Heracles agreed and carrying the sky for Atlas.

Atlas returned with apples but did not want to bear the burden of heaven on his shoulders, and told the hero he will take the apples to Eurystheus for the hero, trapping Heracles - to bear the burden of heaven.

But Heracles was by far clever than the Titan. Heracles cunningly told Atlas that he was willing to carry the heaven, provided that the Titan would hold the heaven for a moment. Heracles told the Titan he wished to roll his lion cloak as a cushion for his shoulders. So while Atlas was holding the sky once again, Heracles walked away with apples.

After showing the apples to Eurystheus in Tiryns, Heracles gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to garden of Hesperides, since they really belonged to Hera.

Then finally the twelfth labour.

The twelfth labour, Heracles needed to go to Hades and fetch the Cerberus. Cerberus was the three-headed hound with snake's head at the end of its tail. The dreaded hound guarded the gates of Hades, to keep the dead in the Underworld. Cerberus was an offspring of Typhon and Echidna.

To enter the world of dead, Heracles had to undergo the Mysteries rites, performed by Eumoplus at Eleusis. Heracles then has to travel to Tainaron in Laconia, where there was an entrance to the Underworld.

Heracles met Hermes, who offered to guide him into the Underworld. Most of the shades (souls) fled from Heracles, all except the hero Meleager and the Gorgon Medusa. Heracles would have attack Medusa with his sword, but Hermes reassured the hero that the Gorgon was harmless here.

Heracles also rescued his friend and cousin Theseus, by pulling him off the Chair of Forgetfulness. Hades had set a trap for Theseus and his friend, Peirithoüs, when they planned to abduct Persephone, Hades' consort. Heracles could not save Peirithoüs; Heracles had to leave Peirithoüs behind.

He wrestled with Menoetes, the cowherd of the Hades' cattle, when Heracles killed one of the cows. Heracles had wanted to use the cow's blood to talk to the dead. Menoetes' ribs could be heard cracking between Heracles' arms. Heracles would have killed Menoetes had Persephone not asked the hero to spare her husband's cowherd.

With Hades' permission, Heracles was allowed to take Cerberus, provided that he did so without the use of weapon. Heracles had to wrestle and drag the hound to the world of the living, and to Tiryns before Eurystheus. Eurystheus terrified by the hell-hound and seeing his cousin complete all his tasks, gave one last command to the hero: to send the hound back to the Underworld.

After his twelve labour journeys, Heracles managed to waged some wars. The most famous one was the war against Troy where he was finally injured and when he helped the Gods in the War of the Giants.

While the god healed him, he was brought to Phlegra, in Thrace (some say in Sicily), where the gods were warring against the Giants (Gigantes), and sprawned by blood of the castrated Uranus that fell to the earth Gaea. In order to defeat the Giants, the gods, required by the oracle, the help of a mortal hero.

Heracles killed Alcyoneus by shooting the giant with his lethal arrow, before dragging its body outside of Pallene, where the giant was mortal. Apollo and Heracles each shot one eye of Ephialtes, with their arrows.

Athena killed Pallas and flayed the giant, using its hide for her shield. Athena also killed Enceladus, who had fled west. She crushed Enceladus by throwing the island of Sicily on top of him. Poseidon did the same thing to Polybotes, crushing the giant with the island of Nisyrus.

With Zeus' help, Heracles even killed Porphyrion, who tried to rape Hera; the same goddess who had incessantly persecuted him evens before his birth.

The twelve labours Heracles had performed and aiding the gods in this war, Heracles had earned his place among the gods in Olympus.

Next he still managed to wage wars and most notably in one of the wars he managed to injured the God of War Ares.

After some time Heracles then stayed in court of King Oeneus in Calydon; he fell in love with Deianeira, the king's daughter.

Deïaneira was the sister of the hero, Meleager. When Heracles went to the Underworld to fetch Cerberus, he met the shade of Meleager, one of two ghosts who didn't fear Heracles' presence. Heracles and Meleager were former companions, who had sailed with Jason. Heracles promised the shade Meleager that he would marry Deïaneira.

Deïaneira had many suitors, but none of them would want to compete against the hero, except the river-god Acheloüs (Achelous). Heracles had to fight one of his rivals, the river-god Acheloüs (Achelous), also a suitor of Deïaneira. Neither god nor hero would back down on wanting to marry the Calydonian princess. Acheloüs would not back down to a mortal rival; otherwise he would be disgraced as a coward. So they fought one another in a wrestling match.

The god has the ability to change his shape, and during the wrestling match, Acheloüs had changed himself into a man with head of a bull (minotaur), and then snake. With each transformation, Heracles overcame Acheloüs. Finding that he losing the contest to a mortal, the river-god changed himself into a bull. Heracles defeated Acheloüs when he broke the horn from the god's head.

Acheloüs surrendered to Heracles, in return for getting his broken horn back. Acheloüs exchanged this with the horn of Amaltheia that was filled with endless supply of fruit and drink of all sorts, which was known as Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty).

Heracles then married Deïaneira.

While living in Calydon, Heracles helped Oeneus in his wars against their neighbours. Heracles took the city of Ephyra in Thesprotia (part of Epirus). King Phylas had a daughter, named Astyoche, whom the hero slept with. Astyoche bored the hero a son named Tlepolemus.

It was said that at this time, Heracles had sent three of his sons from the daughters of King Thespius to the city of Thebes, seven were to remain in Thespiae with their grandfather (Thespius), but the rest (40) migrated to the island of Sardinia.

Returning to Calydon, a victory banquet was held in honour of the hero. Heracles accidentally killed the king's cupbearer and young relative, named Eunomus, the son of Architeles.

Though the king and the father forgave the hero, because it was an accident, Heracles could not forgive himself. Since, Oeneus was unwilling to punish the hero, so Heracles took matter into his own hands, and decided to go into exile, leaving Calydon with his wife.

During their journey, they encountered a Centaur named Nessus, who offered to ferry Deïaneira across the river of Evenus. As Deïaneira reached the other side of the river on Centaur's back, he tried to rape her. Heracles was still in the middle of the river, when he heard his wife's scream.

Heracles shot down Nessus with his poisoned arrow. As Nessus, lay there dying, the Centaur told Deïaneira to use his blood as love potion on Heracles, so that he would never leave her. Deïaneira knowing that Heracles liked to seduce beautiful maiden, collected the Centaur's blood, unaware that the blood was contaminated with the Hydra's deadly venom.

His last adventure began, when he went to war against Eurityus, whom he never forgave for refusing him his daughter Iole, whom he had won fairly in archery contest. Leaving Deianeira in Trachis, he raised an army and defeated Eurytus, taking Iole as his concubine.

Heracles may have killed Eurytus and his sons in the war, but according to Homer, Apollo killed Eurytus, when the king challenged the god in an archery contest. Eurytus' son Iphitus gave the bow to Odysseus. Odysseus had used this very bow to kill Penelope's suitors in the palace.

Observing rites of sacrifice for the victory in war, he sent his herald Lichas to get a fresh tunic at home. Deïaneira realising that Heracles may discard her in favour of Iole as his wife, Deïaneira smeared Nessus' supposed love charm on to his tunic.

When Heracles put the tunic on, the Hydra's venom began searing his skin and flesh. In agony, he tore it off, killing the innocent Lichas, who gave him the shirt. Dying, Heracles returned home to Trachis. Learning what she had done to her husband, Deïaneira killed herself.

Building a pyre for himself on Mount Oeta, Heracles asked his son Hyllus to set it alight. But neither his son, nor other mourners would do so, until either Poeas or his son Philoctetes, set the fire to pyre. He rewarded him with his powerful bow, which would later be used by Philoctetes, in the Trojan War. Lightning struck the pyre and when the fire died down; the mourners could not find the great hero's remains.

It was Athena who brought Heracles from the funeral pyre at Mount Oeta to Olympus, home of the gods.

Heracles became a god, living in Olympus, because he had performed the twelve labours and aiding the gods in their war against the Giants. Since he saved Hera from being rape by the giant Porphyrion. Hera had little choice but to reconcile with Heracles. Hera allowed the hero to marry her daughter, Hebe, goddess of youth, and Heracles became father of Alexiares and Anicetus.

When Iolaus defended Heracles' children (Heraclids) against Eurystheus' persecution, Heracles and Hebe helped Iolaüs to win the battle. To read some more about Heracles' children, see Heraclids.

Heracles had also visited Philoctetes and persuaded the archer to rejoin the Greeks forces in the war against Troy. Philoctetes, at first, was reluctant, because Odysseus and Agamemnon were responsible for abandoning him on the island of Lemnos, when he was bitten by snake. For nine years, he had lived on the island, alone, and bitterly resented those who had left him behind. Odysseus had gone back to bring him back, because Heracles had given the bow to him, before he died. The Greek seer, Calchas had foretold that Troy can never be taken without the bow of Heracles. Philoctetes would have shot down and kill Odysseus, had the god Heracles not intervened.

When Odysseus went to the Underworld, Heracles was the last shade to speak to him. While his immortal soul went to Olympus, his mortal half went to the Underworld. He was also placed amongst the stars in the sky as a constellation Engonasin ("Kneeler", but this constellation is now called Hercules).

The cloak from the lion's pelt he had always wore, helped to identify Heracles in the classical art, with the hood over his head. He was normally depicted carrying either his club or bow and arrows.

The story is a bit similar to Kratos' in the God of War game. It even resembles one of the most famous jew magician in the history. Can you guess who? Hint: His initials' JC. Take a wild guess. Why? Basically they both suffered in the world and then finally re-joins their heavenly father and became one of them. Ironically this person finally defeats Zeus and became one of the major religions in the world. Thoughts?

Interesting Revelations

2010-05-09T17:22:00.005+07:00

By: Albertus Rai Gunawan Putra

He is one of the smartest guy I know. We had so many discussions together. Here are the transcript of one of our interesting topic of conversations. I merely wants to encourage him to start writing again. Here's how it goes:

Imagine you have a company that heavily taxed by gov..

and you refused to give up and still in business

of course you have to make profitt and that profit could not be lower because of the tax..

otherwise your investors will run right?

so common sense kicks in...

gov should not taxed tobacco heavily..

it just makes things worse..

either taxed accordingly or banned completely..

right

5:19pmAlbertus

reduce cost..

how to reduce a cost where most of the productions are already handled by robots anyway..

5:19pmMe

you should put this in your blog

5:19pmAlbertus

you need to use a cheaper tobacco right..

you can put it in your blog..

but...

a cheaper tobacco wil not give the same flavour..

so you will add chemicals to create the Full Flavour back...

the ciggie companies called it as The Special Sauce or Blend..

whatever makes you happy..

the result..

more lung cancer..

more disease and stuff..

common sense, more chemical, more things into your health...

if tobacco by itself is bad...

why fidel ol' castro has not died..

he smokes cigar.. which is wrapped by a full tobacco leaf.. and no filters..

how on earth if tobacco is bad... that thing has not killed him long long time ago>??

strange??

well it is...

The truth is.. Tobacco is not for everyone..

But this ciggie company makes tobacco into different flavours and blend so it could be smoke by everyone..

if you choke and dislike the taste of a Cigar... it means that you can't

cope with tobacco..

Means that if you can't even take a pure tobacco because you body rejecting it, than you should not take those even flavoured one..

it just kills you...

Make sense kan explanation gua..

5:28pmMe

Indeed

napa tadi?

5:28pmAlbertus

Bukti nyata selain fidel castro..

opah gua paru2nya sehat2 aja..

padahal smokes till his death..

5:28pmMe

kalo yg passive smoker itu gimana man?

5:29pmAlbertus

passive smoker emank nasib...

tapi ada good news.

menurut gua, passive smoker as long as ngga continously in dense smoke..

dia ngga kenapa2.. soalnya pretty much it is just like another pollution and they are just inhaling a light air of tobacco..

filter itu yg gua rasa berbahaya...

and the active smoker is the worst affected..

Gini dech..

Kalo misalnya passive smoker is worst off..., mesinya banyakan yg mati people in majority donk...

tapi kan ngga..

but..

5:31pmMe

betul2

5:31pmAlbertus

emank sue nya jadi passive smoker.. loe bisa kena lung cancer padahal ngga ngokar.. kan betenya seubun2...

5:32pmMe

haha iya bete abis!

so....

let's smoke together or not at all..

but if you do smoke.. make sure it is the top notch quality...

at least you will make it until as old as Fidel

not that bad after all..

who finds you attractive anyway when you are 80 something...

5:33pmMe

mesti cuban cigars donk ya

5:33pmAlbertus

yoi2..

Interesting topic? Me thinks so. Catch you guys later with more love for Heracles. Next: Claudio Ranieri : Julius Caesar? and then.. Alexander The Great! Stay tuned.

God of War - The Story so far..

2010-05-09T02:38:00.006+07:00

Inspired by the video game with the same name. This is the story. For you Putri. My loyal reader :)

P.s. Massive Spoilers if you haven't finished the game!! Read at your own peril.

Part 1

Kratos was an young and brave spartan general

one day he faced death against a barbarian king

so he asked the god of war, Ares for help

Ares granted his wish

Ares gave Kratos Blades of Chaos as a form of help.

he killed the barbarian king

and become Ares' tool

he became power hungry and bloodthirsty

in the end Ares wants him to kill his family

so he wouldn't have anymore feelings and become ares' full time right hand man

after killing his own family, he realized what he had done

he asked for Athena for atonement

Athena said if you help me defend athens against Ares, I will forgive your sins

Kratos finaly kills Ares with a little help of Pandora's box and from the Gods who have enough of Ares' rash actions. Which was Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hades and even Zeus himself

legend says that when you open pandora's box, all the evil things in the world will be released

but there will also be hope

for mankind

after killing Ares, Kratos killed himself by jumping off a cliff

but athena took pity of him

because the god of war position is vacant, Kratos was then forgiven and became...

the new God of War

Part 2

Kratos was ever more war hungry then Ares

one day Spartan was attacked, so the god of war himself went to war to help his spartans

Athena warned kratos that she won't be able to cover for him anymore

the reason why kratos keeps waging war was because he still has nightmares of his killings of his family

when Kratos was slaying his enemies

there was an eagle

the eagle then took away Kratos' size so he became human-sized

he still has the godly powers

the eagle then gave power to a collosus statue of Hellios the sun god

the statue attacks Kratos

finally Zeus offered help, he grants Kratos the Blade of Olympus

it is said that the blade ends the Titans war where Zeus was victorius

but in order to use the blade, Kratos has to transfer his godly powers into the blade

he did that and managed to defeat the collosus statue

but during its collapse, its hands crushed Kratos

and he began to bled internally

he had lost his godly powers

as Kratos weakend and dying

Zeus came down

it appears it was Zeus all along

Zeus was the eagle

eagle is always the symbol of Zeus

he tricked Kratos to transfer his godly power to the blade

and then he killed kratos with the blade

he said "the cycle ends here"

Zeus was consume with fear

a little backstory

Zeus had a titan father

he was Cronos

cronos heard from an oracle that one day his son will overtake him as king of the gods

by then whenever his wife gave birth, he devours the children

In his stomach were Zeus' brothers and sisters such as: Hera, Hades, Poseidon, etc

finally Cronos' wife, Rhea had enough

she tricked Cronos to save her last son, Zeus

she exhanged the baby for a rock

cronos took the bait and Zeus was saved

he was raised by Gaia, the mother earth

when he became adults he learned of his brothers and sisters' fate

and vowed to rescue them

he did, and then with his brothers and sisters he waged war with the titans

Gaia was betrayed by Zeus

the reason Zeus killed Kratos

it's because he was afraid that Kratos would overtake him to rule mt. olympus

gaia = zeus' grandmother

mother earth gave birth to the titans

anyway when Kratos was in Hades' underworld because he died

Gaia managed to devised a plan to rescue him

she said if Kratos managed to reach the sisters of fate

Kratos would be able to change his fate

to the time before Zeus tried to kill him

he did so, he killed the sisters of fate and went back to time

and when he finally confronts Zeus, Athena steps in and was killed

she explained that if Zeus was killed mt. olympus will not survived

Kratos was shocked but undeterred

he vowed vengeance to Zeus

by then athena said "Zeus..... is your father..."

and then she died.

end of part 2

Part 3

Kratos went back to time again this time during the Titans wars

Gaia on the edge of defeat, recognizes Kratos

Kratos tells the titan army "Let's defeat Zeus in my time. He's weak"

So they then went back to Kratos' time and launched a full scale attack to Mt. Olympus.

Even in this time the Titans was slaughtered. The Gods in olympus managed to put their differences behind to unite against a trembling army.

First came Poseidon. Zeus' big bro. The God of the seas and horses. He managed to halt Kratos' progress but was then killed brutally by Kratos.

During this time Gaia then betrayed Kratos. She said he was just a tool for her own vengeance.

She then threw Kratos away to the Styx river. Hades' territory. Kratos killed Charon earlier. Also Persephone, Hades' wife.

Kratos continues his journey. He encounters three Greek Kings statue, meeting Hephaestus, God of smith, son of Zeus and Hera. And learned some terrible secrets about Pandora, Zeus and Mt. Olympus. He then proceeds to Hades' palace.

Hades was totally pissed off at Kratos. Kratos killed his nephew (athena), his wife (persephone), his ferryman (charon), his dogs (cerberus) and Kratos managed to get away from the underworld several times. Hades is a normally neutral figure.

He just didn't like it if someone shove their fist in his ass. I mean when someone tried to get away from his underworld kingdom. Thrice!

Kratos then battles Hades. Hades was killed brutally as well. Kratos has killed Zeus' brothers.

Kratos took Hades' weapon. Without this weapon the dead would be able to finally rebel against Hades. Kratos also took Hades' soul.

Kratos then met with the spirit of Athena. She said she would help him this time. Kratos was cautious about Athena's change of heart.

Kratos renews his journey up along Olympus except that he now faces both the Titans and the Gods - he 'amputates' the legs of Hermes, mercilessly beats his own half-brother Heracles to death with his own weapons, rips-off Hellios' head, breaks Hera's neck after she insults Pandora, a small child-like creation of Hephaestus who is the key to extinguishing the Flame of Olympus and revealing its contents, encountering a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess's chamber, and finally arriving at the Flame's chamber with Pandora, only to be interrupted by Zeus himself.

Kratos then duels Zeus. Only to be interrupted by Gaia. The battle was fierce. They then Battled near Gaia's heart. Kratos finally managed to kill both Zeus and Gaia. Ironically with the Blade of Olympus.

But Zeus even in spirit form manages to attacks Kratos and drained his willpower, his anger, and instead fills him with fear and a sense of loss whilst throwing him on the verge of death.

Before dying, Kratos shares a last-minute mental journey with the guide of Pandora, whose spirit lives on within him, and begins abolishing the various things that torment his soul - the very things that the Astral Zeus is using to kill his mind, similar to what Ares once did.

Overcoming these hurtles with a feeling of Hope, Kratos destroys Zeus's astral spirit with a final series of blows, ending the reign of the Olympians once and for all as it seems...

Athena arrives to congratulate Kratos on his victory and requests that he turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, but he reveals that there was nothing inside.

Athena claims he is lying, because when the evils of the Titanomachy were first sealed into the box, as a safety measure, she placed into the box the "most powerful weapon in the world", hope, to counteract the evils.

She demands Kratos return this power he obtained from the box that rightfully belongs to her, for now that the world is cleansed by chaos, she will rebuild it under her rule with the power of hope.

Athena realizes, however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, as the evils infected and took hold of the gods of Olympus, especially Zeus, the power of hope infused itself into Kratos.

Hope had been buried deep beneath the anger, need for vengeance, and guilt, and when Kratos had finally learned to forgive himself for his past, he had released the power.

Athena again demands Kratos give her the power, but Kratos refuses, and impales himself on the Blade of Olympus.

Which then, a large ray of blue light releases itself into the sky, giving all mankind the power of Hope.

Athena becomes furious, claiming that man will not know what to do with Hope.

She departs, telling Kratos that she is disappointed by his actions.

In his dying breath Kratos then proceeds to throw himself off a cliff. Again.

Will he stay there for good this time? What will happen to mankind? Only you know the story to that.

End. For now.

Why Heracles?

2010-05-07T22:22:00.000+07:00

For my first official post, I will tell you why I chose Heracles as my alias.

I love greek mythology. Heracles which means "Glory of Hera" was a great hero at his time. I truly admire this person. He was a demi god because he is the bastard son of Zeus with an virgin mortal woman named Alcmene. Heracles was the symbol for the ultimate masculinity. I will try to tell the story with a little help from timeless myths.

While Alcmene's husband was away on duty, Zeus being the horn dog he is chose to resemble the husband who then impregnate her with his godly seed. When the real husband returned they made love as well. Alcmene probably thought "By the Gods is he happy today or what?" but the husband was disappointed because he left his wife a virgin and she isn't anymore. After the mystery cleared, she then was pregnant with twins. By this time Zeus predicted that one day he will have another mortal son who would become a king like his previous famous bastard son, Perseus. So, his wife Hera then tricked Zeus into holding this promise whilst devising a plan.. During birth, Hera being the Goddess of birth and marriage made another woman gave birth to a mortal son, while holding Heracles back so he would not become king. Zeus was furious but he had to kept his promise. So he made the other son king, Alcmene's maiden saw that there was trouble in the birthing process, she then tricked Hera into thinking that Heracles has been borne, and so Heracles was then born with another twin by his side. During birth he was named Alcaeus.

Furious at being tricked by mortals Hera then sent two snakes to kill the infants in the cribs. The family panicked at the situation. But Alcaeus even so mighty from as a baby, killed the snakes as he mistook its as toys. The family was stunned, they realised this child is a son of God indeed.. Alcmene fearing Hera's wrath, abandoned her infant in the woods. Athena rescued the infant and brought the baby to Hera. Athena managed to persuade or dupe Hera into nursing the infant. Hera allowed the baby (Heracles) to suckle on one of her breasts, until the child bit very hard on her nipple. The goddess pushed the baby away from her nipple, spilling her milk across the heaven, forming the Milky Way. (So that was how this galaxy was created!)

The goddess told Athena to give the baby back to her mother to nurse. Athena returned child back to Alcmene, telling the mother to rear her own child. The irony of this situation is that Hera had actually saved her hated stepson's life by breast feeding him from her own breast.

Alcaeus grew into a very strong young man. But had bad temper. He was trained in the art of chariots, fencing, archery, music and two of the messenger God Hermes' sons taught him wrestling and boxing. By this time he was renamed as Heracles, which further enrages Hera. When one of his music teacher struck him for discipline, Heracles retaliates by giving a blow to his head which killed him instantly. His father had to send him away to tend some sheep to calm things down.
While tending the sheep, Heracles killed a lion with his bare hands. A Spartan king managed to hear of this feat and was very impressed. He gave Heracles a total of fifty days to impregnated all his 50 daughters. Heracles duly obliged. And had a total of 51 sons from the daughters. That was why Spartan kings tends to say that they are the direct descendant from Heracles..

During this time Heracles managed to raised an army to help the king of Thebes. As a reward, he hands his daughter Megara to Heracles for marriage. Megara bore him three sons. Hera, still angry at Heracles managed to drive him insane, which resulted him killing all his family. Athena managed to made some sense to Heracles but it was too late.. Heracles was so shocked at what he had done to his own family. That ladies and gents are what you call a Greek Tragedy. Heracles distraught by his sins sets to atone it. He consults with an oracle which told him that he needs to serve his cowardly cousin king. The king then sent him to do 10 highly impossible labours.

To be continued..

Welcome to my blog.

2010-05-07T21:03:00.000+07:00

Welcome, you are in for a treat. My name is Arie, Heracles is my alias. and I will be writing mostly about my hobbies and interests which are: Football (AS Roma), Video Games, Movies and Music and probably some personal projects. I hope you will enjoy reading it just like I enjoyed writing it. Grazie and Bueno Serra.