Hercules in Dorset (England)? The Cerne Abbas Geoglyph

The Cerne Abbas giant is a chalk hillside figure or geoglyph of uncertain origins known as "The Giant" or "The Cerne Giant".

One of the principal ideas concerning the age of the giant and who he could represent, is that he is from the time of the Roman occupation of Britain, because  he looks like the Roman god Hercules.

A 1996 study discovered that originally the figure had a cloak or cape in his left arm, which was corroborated in 2008.

The cloak or robe could be an animal skin, giving credibility to the theory that he was hunter, or alternatively Hercules with the skin of the Nemean lion over his arm.

The Cerne Abbas Giant is located just outside the small village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, about 48 kilometres west of Bournemouth and 26 kilometres north of Weymouth. The figure is about 55 metres (180 ft) high and 51 metres (167 ft) wide. It is carved into the white chalk rock.

A Demi or Semi God: Hercules (Herakles)

The Labours of Hercules
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Herakles in a Greek vase painting, ca. 460–450 BC

Hercules is the divine protector of humankind the god of athletes and the guardian of the gates of Olympia,

Athena his sister helped him when he had to work on  the 12 labours.

He was 7 feet tall or 2,13 meters tall, carried a club of olive tree,  was an expert in the bow and arrow and dressed with the skin of the Nemea´s lion which was impenetrable!

There is a constellation, the fifth largest, that honors him:

 

During July, look for the pattern of stars representing the famous strongman of mythology practically directly overhead by around 10 or 11 P.M. 

"Hercules and the Corona Borealis" London, 1825 by Jehoshaphat Aspin 

 

 And what is a constellation?

 







The Gift of Athena to Greece

Discover the Greek Gods

At the top of the Acropolis in Athens  (Greece), is an olive tree that is a symbol of reverence and gratitude to the goddess Athena, founder of the city

The legend says, that Zeus proposed a contest between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Athens. Poseidon raised up his  trident, smashed it upon the hard rock of the Acropolis and out a salt spring sprang.

 

Athena  produced an olive tree, with its branches full of fruits. This event between the two powerful  gods was immortalized in stone, on the West pediment sculptures of the Parthenon.

Athenians chose Athena’s gift: the leaves were used  to crown the heads of victorious athletes, generals and kings, the wood used to construct houses and boats, as fuel to lamps and it was applied to the skin of Olympic athletes.

  

A Temple to Athena Polias (‘of the city’) was built c.525BC housing a cult statue inside made from olive wood and a reserved area created for Athena’s sacred olive tree.

Nowadays in Athens, Greece...