On Tour with Hercules

Hercules in North Africa

11^th Herculean Labour: Apples of Hesperides

Well, I bet you thought we’d forgotten about our trusty hero.  No!  Hercules had been set a labour that involved travel to the Atlas Mountains.  (Atlas was the god who held the world on his shoulders.)  He was to search for golden apples.  Some say it was tangerines.  Some say he travelled to Libya (which is close enough to Morocco after all).  However, this is where the Atlas Mountains are located and as we know, Atlas was the lucky lad who got to hold the world upon his shoulders.

As we made our way through the Rif, Middle Atlas, High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains we saw no sign of Hercules.  However, in Volubilis (once capital of Mauretania Tingitana) as we made our way through Roman ruins, there in  mosaic , was a record of our hero's famous labours.  So, merely a case of right place, wrong century!!

Possibly the 7th Labour - The Cretan Bull - mosaic floor in Volubilis, Morocco