(Ebook) Mythematics: Solving The Twelve Labors of Hercules by Michael Huber ISBN 9781400831906 No Waiting Time
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mythematics
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Mythematics
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Michael Huber
vii
viii contents
bibliography 167
index 171
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list of figures
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xiii
xiv list of figures
Introduction
Hercules (or, Herakles, as he was known to Greeks) is a hero well
known for his strength and ingenuity. According to The Oxford Classical
Dictionary, he shared the characteristics of, on the one hand, a hero
(both cultic and epic) and, on the other hand, a god. He is arguably the
greatest and most famous of the classical Greek heroes. The mythology
surrounding Hercules has been a part of human culture for over 2500
years. Many students get a glimpse of Hercules long before they go
to high school or college. Whether it is from a civilizations history
course, a literature course, or watching a Disney movie, most of us
know who Hercules is and we sometimes wonder if such a hero really
existed. A walk through a famous museum, such as the Louvre in Paris
or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will reveal an
abundance of vases, sculptures, and paintings of Hercules performing
one of his famous labors. Did you ever wonder how he accomplished
them?
I decided to research the Twelve Labors of Hercules to develop
problems in a wide variety of mathematical settings. What jumped out
at me was the notion that many of the more famous labors of Hercules
could fit into my mathematics courses. I have therefore endeavored to
develop problems with varying levels of mathematical skill. I also hope
xv
xvi foreword
this becomes a source book for both students and teachers to link the
interdisciplinary aspects of mythology and mathematics. Some of the
tasks that I created for the labors seem to have a nice fit with differential
and integral calculus, both single-variable and multi-variable. Others
require some understanding of ordinary differential equations,
introductory matrix algebra, statistics, or physics. Still others just need
a bit of logic or geometry. Mathematicians build a toolbox with the
various mathematical tools at their disposal. My purpose became one
of applying the use of these tools, motivating mathematics through
applied word problems. I adapted applications problems in calculus to
fit some of the Hercules scenarios. Not all of the labors give rise to
great mathematics problems, however. Some are trivial, and in those
instances, I used a bit of poetic license to create what I hope are more
interesting problems. Others are not so trivial, such as when Hercules
wrestles with Antaeus (in the Eleventh Labor), and they require a better
foundation in material beyond calculus, such as differential equations
and Laplace transforms. In digging through the myriad of Hercules
information available, I was able to discover quite a few problems
from about 2000 years ago buried in the writings of ancient Greek
writers, such as The Greek Anthology, a collection of epigrams, poems,
and riddles. Several of the mathematical puzzles were written down
by Metrodorus, who was probably a grammarian living in the time of
Constantine the Great (306 to 337). There are 150 such problems and
puzzles, and supposedly, they “can be easily solved by algebra.”
To convey the story of Hercules in an accurate manner, I consulted
as many sources as possible, using library reference books, online
web pages, personal conversations with classics scholars, and even
Hollywood sources (yes, I watched many old Hercules films, plus Ray
Harryhausen’s Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans
(1981), hoping that the fantastic special effects might provide some
insight—okay, I just like watching those two movies...). The Perseus
Project (see the Bibliography) is a great place to start if you want
more information about Hercules or other classical Greek mythological
legends. However, as one classics professor told me, “the myth of the
labors of Herakles is just that—a myth,” which accounts for the struggle
to obtain any consistent facts surrounding the stories. Hence the name
of this book: Mythematics.
foreword xvii
There are at least four authors from classical times who wrote in
significant detail about Hercules and his labors: Apollodorus, Diodorus,
Hyginus, and Euripides. Each of these four authors tells the tale of
Hercules and 12 labors, but not all are the same. For more details
on the authors of the Hercules myths, see Appendix C. I chose the
Apollodorus version, as his treatise, The Library, is deemed by many to
be the authority. The work quoted in the following chapters is taken
verbatim from Apollodorus’ The Library, from the English translation
by Sir James George Frazer. Apollodorus, in Frazer’s translation, uses
“Hercules” instead of “Herakles”, so I will, too.
To set up the story, we need to understand why Hercules performed
the labors. The following is taken from Apollodorus:
Now it came to pass that after the battle with the Minyans
Hercules was driven mad through the jealousy of Hera and flung
his own children, whom he had by Megara, and two children
of Iphicles into the fire; wherefore he condemned himself to
exile, and was purified by Thespius, and repairing to Delphi he
inquired of the god where he should dwell. The Pythian priestess
then first called him Hercules, for hitherto he was called Alcides.
And she told him to dwell in Tiryns, serving Eurystheus for
twelve years and to perform the ten labours imposed on him,
and so, she said, when the tasks were accomplished, he would be
immortal.
Format
Mythematics is laid out in a simple fashion. I list each task at the
beginning of each chapter, in case you wish to read the task and
solve it on your own before reading my solution. Each of the Twelve
xviii foreword
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank several people for their help. First, I must thank
Vickie Kearn at Princeton University Press, who listened to my ideas
and was totally supportive from our first meeting. Equal thanks go to
Anna Pierrehumbert, my associate editor. Both Vickie and Anna have
been extremely positive, motivated, and helpful throughout this project.
Thank you to Dimitri Karetnikov and Anne Karetnikov for producing
the figures in this book. Wow! I especially appreciate the comments and
suggestions from John Quintanilla and Tim Chartier. I am grateful to
Laura Taalman from Brainfreeze Puzzles, Inc., for the sudoku puzzles
at the end of the Eighth and Twelfth Labors. Special thanks go to
Jen Fellman and Lisa Perfetti for their assistance in translating the
editor’s comments from a 1776 Leonhard Euler paper which I used
in the Ninth Labor. Merci! I also would like to express my gratitude to
my colleagues at Muhlenberg College, especially Bill Dunham, Penny
Dunham, and Dave Nelson.
I have dedicated this book to my parents; they truly have always
been my heroes. I also want to thank my wife and family. To Terry; to
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