Herakles (Hercules) was a demigod (half human, half god) within the mythological pantheon of ancient Greece (and later, Rome) and illegitimate son of Zeus. Off to a bad start, he was the target of assassination attempts by Zeus's wife Hera, who was appalled at her husband's insatiable lusting after mortal women. But Heracles' sheer strength and naïve determination saw him evade these threats and roam the countryside, ridding the local kingdom of monsters to the great celebration of both kings and peasants. Outraged by his celebrity, Hera caused him to mistake his wife and children for monsters and slay them, before revealing their true identities to his great horror, and outrage of locals, who thought he had simply gone mad. Distraught, and contemplating suicide, he was instead convinced to submit to servitude to his jealous cousin, in the traditional manner of expiating his sins; who, in league with Hera, contrived to humiliate Herakles, and have him killed, but time after time, Herakles completed the now famous 12 Herculean labours, frustrating all attempts to make him fail, and thus lose all possibility of seeing his family in the afterlife. Throughout his life, Hercules demonstrated incredible commitment and tenacity in completing his assigned duties, demonstrating the super-human and awe-inspiring power of the divine half of his nature. But time after time, he lapsed into selfish, childish and ignorant behaviours that highlighted his all-too-human vulnerabilities, that caused him nothing but grief and despair for much of his time on Earth. In typical Greek fashion, Herakles was a blended portrayal of both the vices and virtues of men and gods. His story highlights the often brutal and helpless nature of existence; yet the possibility of redemption from even the most despairing circumstances, through the exercise of patience, forbearance and tenacity, and so his story acts as instructive on the seductions of power, frailty of existence, and the virtues of fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds. #hercules, #herakles, #greekmyths, #greekhero For an audio-narration only version of this video, Please visit the Heroes and Legends Documentary Channel Podcast, through Spotify and other leading broadcasters. If you enjoy my content, leave your suggestions and comments below, and please consider making a donation via PayPal or sign up as a Patreon supporter to help me continue making these unfunded educational videos: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4D958V58PAVDU https://www.patreon.com/heroesandlegends https://buymeacoffee.com/infoQh For resources, links to my other videos, merchandise, the latest social media posts and podcast links, please visit my Heroes and Legends Website: www.heroesandlegends.com.au ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWR0Y8_wDZ8

Joan of Arc; the Maid of Orleans; Jeanne D'Arc, Jehanne la Pucelle: she goes by many names. A provincial French peasant girl, barely in her teens, living in relative poverty, illiteracy and complete subordination during a time of total war and medieval brutality. Imagine this traumatised though deeply pious child having visions of angels and saints, and being commanded by them to seek out the dauphin (the French word for Crown Prince) and convince him to let her lead his demoralised army and liberate their kingdom from a powerful enemy. Most people then, as now, would have thought her at best, mentally ill. But so determined was she to carry out her mission, that no amount of opposition, discrimination or humiliation was going to stand in her way. Never taking NO for an answer, she eventually got her audience with the dauphin, she also got her army, and with it, proceeded to blaze her way across France, inspiring troops and civilians alike to fight on against overwhelming odds and turn the tide of war against England finally in their favour; always leading from the front and being herself seriously wounded on multiple occasions. This naïve teenager would soon wipe out the celebrated army of English longbowmen that had so humiliated her country at Crecy and Agincourt, such that it would take a generation for them to appear in force again on any battlefield. She would live to see her king, Charles VII crowned, only to suffer capture, a show trial and a horrible demise at the hands of the English; based entirely on her being a woman daring to participate in a man’s world. #joanofarc, #jeannedarc, jehannedarc, #hundredyearswar, #orléans, #orleans, #history, #documentary, #heroesandlegends, #girlpower All footage used in this montage remains the property of its respected creators, and is gratefully acknowledged in the end credits. ERRATUM / CORRIGENDUM: 1. in the video i mention the French revolution starting in 1798. Of course I really meant to say 1789. oops! For a longer, audio-narration only version of this video that includes an extra summary of the Hundred Years War, Please visit the Heroes and Legends Documentary Channel Podcast, via Spotify, Itunes or other leading broadcasters. If you enjoy my content, leave your suggestions and comments below, and please consider making a donation via the heart-shaped Thanks link on your Youtube screen; via PayPal; or why not sign up as a Patreon supporter to help me continue making these unfunded educational videos: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4D958V58PAVDU https://www.patreon.com/heroesandlegends https://buymeacoffee.com/infoQh For resources, links to my other videos, merchandise, the latest social media posts and podcast links, please visit my Heroes and Legends Website: www.heroesandlegends.com.au Some of the ambient music in the video attributed to: The Evening of Departure by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBcpOmex8_Y

Australian history is replete with strange stories of both heroes and rascals, sacrifice and bravery, triumph and failure. None more so than that of the struggle of indigenous Aboriginals to resist their displacement by a rapidly expanding colonization by Europeans. In this tragic landscape, strange alliances were often made, between desperate convict escapees (many of whom were political prisoners rather than petty criminals) and the outgunned indigenous people. This excerpt is from our video on Pemulwuy, the Aboriginal guerrilla warrior who almost broke the British. You can view the entire video here: https://youtu.be/euqzzoECwF4 #pemulwuy #irish #convict #australia #aboriginal ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6005KKLGc6Y

Most people are unaware that before his voyages of Pacific exploration, James Cook served as Master aboard a Naval vessel during the British assault on Quebec, and cut his teeth as a cartographer in the dangerous waters of Newfoundland. In this excerpt, we look at Cook's role in the assault on Quebec and the reputation he began to make for himself as a competent and invaluable commander in the Royal Navy. You can watch the full length video on Captain James Cook here: https://youtu.be/H6Fz88l2vlo #captaincook #jamescook #7yearswar #newfoundland #canada #wolfe If you enjoy my content, leave your suggestions and comments below, and please consider making a donation via PayPal or sign up as a Patreon supporter to help me continue making these unfunded educational videos: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4D958V58PAVDU https://www.patreon.com/heroesandlegends https://buymeacoffee.com/infoQh For resources, links to my other videos, merchandise, the latest social media posts and podcast links, please visit my Heroes and Legends Website: www.heroesandlegends.com.au ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHx40_2WewU