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Long long ago, in the age
before television, Hercules was pleased with himself. He had
completed over half of his assigned ten tasks and was eager to
complete the rest. Eurystheus wasted no time and immediately sent
Hercules to capture the Cretan Bull. Crete was an island in the
Mediterranean sea ruled by King Minos. Being an island nation that
depended on the sea Minos worshiped Poseidon, god of the sea. When
Minos first became king he prayed to Poseidon for support and as a
sign asked for a snow white bull to appear. Poseidon granted Minos'
request and the bull came out of the sea. The priests of Poseidon
told Minos that he should sacrifice it to Poseidon however Minos
became greedy and kept the bull for himself. Poseidon grew angry at
Minos and cursed him. The originally calm and gentle bull became
violent and destructive. It would uproot and destroy crops, knock
over fences and buildings, and trample anyone that got in it's way.
Hercules had heard about this beast and felt it would not be a
challenge for him and was eager to get underway. He took his horse to
the port city of Argo where he took a ship to Crete. Hercules met
with Minos who was more then happy to be rid of the bull that was
devastating his kingdom. He offered to provide Hercules with whatever
help he needed but Hercules declined saying he could handle anything
by himself. Finding the bull was not too difficult, Hercules just
followed the path of destruction, and it wasn't long before he met it
face to face. On seeing Hercules the bull snorted, put down it's
head, and started pawing the ground. Needing to capture it alive
Hercules tossed aside his sword and club and braced himself. With a
bellow the bull charged, Hercules just smiled. As the bull ran up he
punched it right in the head. The crash of the blow resounded all
over the island. The bull staggered back a little bit, Hercules shook
his head in pain. The bull was so strong and powerful that even
Hercules couldn't knock it out. He knew he could easily kill it with
his weapons but he wasn't certain he could knock it out alive. It's
head was harder then his fists but if Hercules used even his club he
would probably kill it before knocking it out and of course his sword
and arrows were even worse choices. Hercules didn't really have any
time to think about it as the bull quickly shook it's head and
charged again. Hercules didn't have time dodge and the bull knocked
him over. It started trampling Hercules with it's hooves and despite
his armor Hercules was badly hurt. The bull eventually got bored of
trampling on Hercules and thinking he was dead continued it's
destruction of the city. Hercules wasn't dead, he was more badly hurt
and bruised then he could ever remember being in his life but his
armor and divine nature kept him alive. Hercules stood up and
carefully followed the bull's path. He knew he needed a plan and
stayed out of sight so he could spy on the bull. The bull was
rampaging through a farm. He saw that the bull would spot something
standing upright, like a wall or a tree, and it would quickly charge
at it and bash it with it's head. It would then look around until it
saw something else then bash it next. Hercules noticed that the bull
had to see something to know it was there and could only attack by
charging forward. Hercules came up with a plan, he tossed rock as a
distraction nearby. The bull saw the movement and charged towards
where the rock had landed. Hercules then jumped out of hiding from
behind the bull and jumped on it's back. The bull reared up to throw
him off but Hercules threw his arms around the bulls neck and
squeezed. With his arms around the bulls neck he was easily able to
hold on as it tried to buck him off. Hercules squeezed tighter and
carefully started choking the bull. He didn't choke it enough to kill
it but to cut off it's air enough to make it go to sleep. Once asleep
he tied it up and carried it back to Minos. Minos was amazed that
Hercules managed to subdue the bull and thought his troubles were
over. Hercules took the bull onto a ship, sailed back to the
mainland, and eventually carried it back to Eurystheus. Eurystheus,
decided he would sacrifice it to Hera. Hera refused the sacrifice
since it would just glorify Hercules. Since Hercules had no use for
the bull he just let it go, it wandered to the city of Marathon where
it was kept by some priests. Minos' troubles however were not over,
Poseidon was furious that the bull had been captured and cursed Minos
further. Minos' wife soon gave birth to the Minotaur, a half-bull,
half-human monster that fed on human flesh. Both the Cretan Bull and
the Minotaur were encountered by the hero Theseus, but that is a
different story for another time.
Continued in
The Mares of Diomedes