Heracles Mad

Euripides treats the legend of Heracles differently than other dramatists, focusing on his disgrace and misery. The play quickly turns to the assassination of Creon by Lycus, who usurps the kingship of Thebes, where Heracles’ family lives. Lycus seeks to destroy all of Creon’s heirs, including Heracles’ three sons. Heracles’ father, Amphitryon, and wife, Megara, keep the children in Zeus’ temple as long as possible.

In the temple, Amphytrion curses Zeus for allowing his grandchildren, Heracles’ sons, to be murdered by Lycus. The chorus then recites the twelve mighty deeds Heracles has wrought, including: killing a lion, a race of centaurs, and a hind; taming Diomede’s man-eating horses; executing Cycnus and the dragon that guarded the golden apples; supporting the heavens on his shoulders; stealing the girdle of the Amazon queen; slaying the Hydra and a three-bodied shepherd monster; and entering the underworld alive. Meanwhile, Megara believes that Heracles has died trying to carry out the twelve tasks demanded of him by Eurystheus, his old enemy, so she prays for Heracles’ ghost to come and scare Lycus away. As she is praying, Heracles himself returns, having finished his twelve tasks, the last one being to descend into Hades alive and return again to the world of the living. He explains that he was delayed because he stayed longer in Hades in order to free his friend, Theseus.

Heracles, along with his wife and father, set a trap for Lycus. When Lycus comes to murder Heracles’ sons, he is caught by surprise and killed by Heracles. But as soon as he has freed Thebes of the usurper, Hera sends Iris and Madness to punish Heracles for killing his grandfather in the course of completing his twelve tasks. While purifying himself to make an offering to Zeus, Heracles goes mad, and foaming at the mouth he hallucinates, thinking he is attacking his old enemy Eurystheus and his sons while in actuality he kills his three sons and his wife. He is knocked unconscious by Athena’s messenger before he can kill his father. The people of Thebes tie Heracles up so he can’t do any more harm.

When Heracles awakens, he thinks he is back in Hades when he sees all the carnage. When he realizes that he was the one who killed his wife and sons, he vows to commit suicide. However, Theseus comes to console him and talks him out of killing himself. He invites Heracles to return with him to Athens and he does.


I was reminded how often we, like Heracles’ father, complain to God for allowing evil to befall us without waiting patiently for his salvation. The Greeks also had a profound sense of retribution for evil actions, even when those actions were not intended. Heracles was punished by Hera for killing a relative, just like Orestes was put on trial for killing his mother and Oedipus was cursed for unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother. Hubris and evil are punished by the gods, and Heracles was no exception.

Heracles also had to suffer the wrath of Hera because his mother conceived him by mating with Zeus. Many Greek heros had to suffer the jealousy and revenge of the gods. Fortunately, in Christ, there is no condemnation since the wrath of God has been propitiated by Christ’s death on the cross. While God will still discipline us for acts of hubris and sin, He does not seek revenge, but pardons us when we repent.

Heracles’ love for his friend Theseus drove him to put himself in danger in order to rescue him from the underworld. Because he risked his own life to save Theseus from Hades, Theseus was there to console him and keep him from committing suicide. So Heracles’ good deed was instrumental in the preservation of his own life. We should do good to all men, especially to those who are our brothers in Christ, not to get a reward, but realizing that by helping others we are also helping ourselves.

The Greeks also believed that the greater a man was the greater his sorrow would be. Greek tragedy abounds with examples of men, like Heracles, who do mighty deeds and exhibit superhuman character and then suffer incredible pain and loss. Those who desire to live godly lives in Christ will also be persecuted and suffer as Christ did.

The Color of Law

The Color of Law, Mark Gimenez’s first novel, follows in the style of John Grisham. Gimenez has the same grasp of the law and the moral dilemmas faced by lawyers. Gimenez is grittier than Grisham and tends to be a little preachy, yet he has a readable style that balances vivid detail with action and suspense.

Scott Fenny is a wealthy lawyer in the biggest law firm in Dallas. Scott has succeeded by being creative with the law, doing whatever he has to in order to win. He is living the perfect life, living in a $3 million mansion, drives a $200,000 Ferrari, wears thousand dollar suits, dines at the most exclusive dinner clubs, and is envied by many. But Scott is selfish, self-centered, arrogant, uncaring and shallow, just like all the other successful people around him, but he doesn’t know it.

Then into his perfect life falls a bomb. The federal judge appoints him as a public defender for a heroin-addicted prostitute charged in the murder of senator McCall’s son. Senator McCall is one of the most powerful men in Texas and is running for president, and he pressures Scott’s boss to keep his son’s wild and violent past out of the trial. Scott chafes at being told to lose the case and refuses to withhold the evidence.

Within days his perfect life has been completely unraveled. He loses his Ferrari, his mansion, his exclusive club memberships, and his wife, who walks out on him. Finally, he loses his main client and then his job. Completely devastated, Scott is forced to search his soul to find out what is most important. He chooses to defend the prostitute to the best of his ability; to discover the truth and not simply win. As a result, his life is completely changed and Scott becomes a caring, compassionate, man who thinks of other’s needs and not just his own.

Several quotes from the story are profound:

First, Scott’s boss tells him, “The color of the law is not black and white; it’s not about race. The color of law is green; money is what the law is all about. The law is for making and protecting rich men’s money.”

Second, Scott’s boss recounts what his first boss told him about success as a lawyer, in order to convince Scott to lose the case and move on. He said, “Early in your career you must decide whether you want to do ‘good’ or do ‘well.’ If you do ‘good’ you will never do ‘well’; you’ll never be successful. How does a lawyer become successful? By doing his job. Which is making rich people richer. And we get paid very well for doing our job. You have to ask yourself, ‘Do you want to make money or do you want to make the world a better place? Do you want to drive a Cadillac or a Chevrolet? Do you want to send your kids to private schools or public schools? Do you want to be a rich lawyer or a poor lawyer?’ If you want to do good, go work for the legal aid and help the little people battle their landlords, the utility companies and the police, and feel good about it. But don’t have regrets twenty years later when your classmates are driving new cars and taking vacations in Europe. And you will have to tell your kids that they can’t go to an Ivy League school because you did ‘good’.”


Gimenez is very cynical about lawyers and clearly shows the moral dilemma a lawyer must face. A lawyer, according to Gimenez, is merely someone who gets paid to lie. And the better you are at lying the more successful you will be as a lawyer. A lawyer will never be successful if he is concerned about truth and justice. While this may be hyperbole, anyone who desires to become a lawyer should wrestle with this dilemma before he even considers going to law school. For the rest of us, it is important to remember that a lawyer doesn’t have your best interest in mind; all he cares about is the bottom line.


Third, when Scott’s main client drops him, Scott asks him why he isn’t being loyal to him as a friend, since he took him on as a client eleven years ago when he was just a struggling land developer. The client retorts, “I am only loyal to my friends. All you wanted was my money, so that is all I ever gave you. You over billed me and took as much money from me as you could, and I didn’t complain; that was my payment to you in full. You are not my friend because you didn’t want to be my friend. And because you are not my friend, you don’t deserve my loyalty.”

Gimenez portrays the loneliness of a life lived only for success, money, status and all the things that go with it. There is no love, no intimacy, no transparency, no friendship between anyone, not even his wife. The only person Scott even gets close to is his nine-year old daughter. Everyone else is using him and being used by him, making love and true friendship impossible. Everyone needs to consider the cost of such a life and determine if it is truly “success.”

Two Noble Kinsmen

William Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy/comedy, The Two Noble Kinsmen, first performed in 1612, was one of his last plays and was based on the Knight’s Tale of Chaucer. The two main protagonists, Palamon and Arcite, are both princes of Thebes, best friends and cousins. When Athens attacks Thebes, both are taken prisoner where they pledge their undying loyalty and affection for each other.

No sooner have they eloquently declared their eternal friendship that Arcite, through the prison window, sees Emilia, a beautiful princess of Athens and falls instantly in love. Upon hearing of her beauty, Palamon looks through the prison bars and falls for her as well. Immediately they begin fighting over her, each declaring the right to marry her. Their friendship turns into bitter rivalry and they both vow to kill the other in order to wed the beautiful princess.

Arcite is released from prison and sent away from Athens. He returns to Athens in disguise and in a contest wins the right to be Emilia’s attendant. Meanwhile, the jailor’s daughter falls in love with Palamon and helps him escape from prison, believing he will surely marry her after her daring rescue. Palamon, however, spurns her love in favor of pursuing Emilia, and she goes mad.

Arcite finds Palamon on the run and helps him remove his chains. He provides Palamon with food and armor and allows him to regain his strength so they can duel to the death to see who has the right to wed Emilia. While they are engaged in battle, the king of Athens stops their fight and commands them to engage in a public contest.

Before the tournament, Arcite prays to the gods that he may win the battle; Palamon prays that he may marry Emilia; Emilia prays that she may be wed to the one who loves her best. Each prayer is granted: Arcite wins the contest, but is then thrown from his horse and dies, leaving Palamon to wed Emilia.

South Sea Tales

Jack London is one of the best writers of the twentieth century. In his collection of short stories, South Sea Tales, he is at his best, weaving compelling stories with incredible detailed descriptions of the life and geography of the South Pacific in the late 1800’s. Here are the titles of the short stories:

    The House Of Mapuhi
    The Whale Tooth
    Mauki
    Yah! Yah! Yah!
    The Heathen
    The Terrible Solomons
    The Inevitable White Man
    The Seed Of McCoy


Each short story is a masterpiece. While reading them I felt as if I were actually there, living among the cannibals and other natives. London spells out the tenuous relationship between the white man and the black man, revealing much of western man’s arrogance and ignorance while also revealing the savagery of both the blacks and whites. London paints the beauty of the islands with his words, but also the horrors of living through a hurricane, shark attacks, and being chased, killed and eaten by cannibals.

In the story, “The Heathen,” the narrator, Charley, saves Otoo’s life, a native of Bora-bora, during a shipwreck and he is in turn nursed back to health by the Otoo after they wash up on shore. As is the native’s custom, they become blood brothers by taking each other’s name. Charley is a young man, and his character and life are changed as he and Otoo spend the next 17 years together. He says:

“I never had a brother; but from what I have seen of other men's brothers, I doubt if any man ever had a brother that was to him what Otoo was to me. He was brother and father and mother as well. And this I know: I lived a straighter and better man because of Otoo. I cared little for other men, but I had to live straight in Otoo's eyes. Because of him I dared not tarnish myself. He made me his ideal, compounding me, I fear, chiefly out of his own love and worship and there were times when I stood close to the steep pitch of hell, and would have taken the plunge had not the thought of Otoo restrained me. His pride in me entered into me, until it became one of the major rules in my personal code to do nothing that would diminish that pride of his.”

This story caused me to think of two things: first, how important friendships are and how having the right friend can change your life for the better. It is rare to have a friend like Otoo who would willingly give his life for you, and who constantly looks out for your best interest, even when you don’t.

The second is, how Christ has bound himself to man in much the same way through the cross. By becoming a man, the Son identified with us and took our name upon himself, bearing our sin to the cross. In exchange, he has given us his name, calling us brothers, so that we partake in the divine nature and share in all of his heavenly blessings. When we appropriate this relationship through faith, we realize that we dare not tarnish his name, and realizing that he loves us and is looking out for our best interest, we can be motivated to live in a way that is pleasing to him.

In the story, “The House Of Mapuhi” we see how greed can destroy lives as several white traders take advantage of Mapuhi, a pearl diver, who has just found the largest, most perfect pearl ever. In “The Whale Tooth” London points out the ignorance and folly of a missionary who failed to learn the culture of the South Pacific islanders and ended up being killed and eaten by the people he was trying to convert. In “Mauki” we meet a young man forced into slavery, who is severely treated after many escape attempts. He finally escapes with the head of his master and returns to his island to rule as chief. The head of the most feared white man gives him power over all the other tribes who fear him. In “Yah! Yah! Yah!” London explains why the natives now feared the white man even though they outnumbered them and had successfully killed them in the past. In “The Seed of McCoy” we meet the great-grandson of the leader of the mutiny of the Bounty. Each tale is a treasure in itself and all taken together paint a compelling picture of life in the South Pacific.