The Immortality of Hercules

in the Gardens of Villa d´Este

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and Internet

Music

Dr. Guillermo Calvo Soriano

Gardens of Villa d´Este
Villa d´Este Palace
,Hércules is represented in the Garden under three aspects
,three statues that, situated on its Main Axis
.evoke his Triple Nature : Body, Soul and Spirit
 On the Terrace that overlooks
,the Fountain of the Dragons
he carries his young son Telefo
.in his arms
Infant exhibited by his mother
Augé on a Mountain in Arcadia,
saved by a Stag before
being picked up by Shepherds:
Allegory of the Human Body
of Hercules
blossoming in his Offspring

Hércules and Telefo

 Going to the Ends of the
World, Hercules bears witness
to the proximity between the
Cosmos and Chaos, the
Incessant Fight against the
Primitive Forces. He occupies
the Central Niche of the
Fountain of Dragons where
he appears under the Colossal
Aspect of himself. Taking
the Mace from him, he
illustrates the Permanent
Struggle that, in the Sublunar
World, the Forces
of Integration and Civilization
must wage against the Power of
chaotic dissemination
.of the Monstrous Powers
 ,In the Fountain of the Dragons
a Colossus with his Club in his hand,
represents the Hero triumphant
over the Chaotic Forces of the World,
the Forces of Nature and the Passions.
He imposes on them his civilizing
,desire for Integration
o overcome dissensions in a perspective
,of Harmony and Peace
,both civil and internal
aspiring to Advance towards
.the Unity of the Whole

,Hércules Colossus
is no longer located here
 It illustrates
the Battles of the Soul
in its incessant effort
to detach itself from the Body
to rise and join its Principle:
,allegory of the idol, Eidolon
of the Soul linked to the Body,
but fighting it tirelessly
to dominate it and rediscover
the rational part
.that constitutes it

Dragons Fountain
 .Hercules reclining
Currently in the Gregorian Museum

,Finally, in the Niche above the Fountain of the Dragons

he appears in the position of a Guest who participates
in a Symposium: Allegory of the Hero's Rational Soul converted
once again into a pure Intelligible Spirit and henceforth invited
.to the Immortality Festivities of the Gods, in the Empyrean
These Three Statues that represent the Body, the Soul and the Spirit
of Hercules, which were initially placed in the Heart of the Garden,
refer to a long Neoplatonic Tradition on some verses of The Odyssey
.where Homer underlines the Double Soul of Hercules
 There is speculation about the difference between a Divine part
,of the Soul, a Pure Spirit formed only by the Intelligible
and a darker part that internally vivifies the Body, the Idol, Eidolon,
.and lives its Passions animating it
 The Duality of the Soul
of Hercules, that of his Idol,
,”Eidolon, his “Shadow
the Simulacrum of his Body
that still inhabits the
Underworld and his Pure
Spirit that is in the Company
of the Gods, allows speculation
:Yvonne Verniere
If Homer seems to have been,“
when writing these verses,
,”“inspired by Heaven
it is because he knew how
to dissociate the image
of Hercules, Eidolon, from
,his Real person, Antos
that is to say from his Spirit ,
.”only deified
 Homeric
Anthropology
does not perceive
,it that way
but Neopythagorean
and Neoplatonic
thinkers would take
it up like this
for several centuries.
It appears in Ficino,
who differentiates
the purely
Reasonable Soul, the
Pure Intelligence, of its Sensitive image, which holds “the Power to 
vivify and govern the Bodies, which nourishes the Body in the Body,
feels the Corporeal things by means of the Bodies, sets the Body
in motion through Space and directs it in Space, the Power that the
.”Platonians call Idol, the Sensitive Image of the Reasonable Soul
 The Spirit, Soul and Body of Hercules occupy the Hearth
of this Garden and testify to the Metamorphosis of this Heroic Man
who became a God. The Fountain of the Dragons looks like
an Armillary Sphere, Emblem of the Soul of the World
.and the Harmony of the Spheres in Plato's Timaeus
 Power symbolized
by the figure of the Chaotic
,Hundred-Headed Dragon
take place whose mouths
.spit Water violently
spreading throughout
the World, allegory
,of Typhoon who
joining Echidna,
engendered all the Monsters
that Hercules had to face,
from the Nemean Lion
,to the Lernaean Hydra
from the Chimera
.to Cerberus and Orthros
They illustrate the Four Elements, Fire, Air, Water and Earth that,
“in the state of rough sketches, disorderly rolled in a release
of Forces without law or measure” before the intervention
of the Demiurge, who inscribed the schemes of the intelligible
on this material primitive made of heterogeneous elements driven
,only by the Laws of Necessity, and orders it into a rational
.orderly and harmonious whole
 That was how the Divine
Craftsman mastered Necessity.
But, once entrusted to the Soul
of the World responsible for
perpetuating the Initial Order
,of him, the Universe
he created the best possible
for the Demiurge, but fell prey
to disorder again. In its most
fragile part, the Sublunar World,
inscribed in the circles
of the Four Elements governed
,by Becoming and Time
once again
,fell under the Yoke of Chance
Fortune and Violence, Violence
that is symbolized in the Source
.by the presence of Ares
 They place it on the same plane as the Conflagration of the Soul
dragged by the Desire for Ideal Beauty. The Active Virtuous Life and
the Contemplative Life, dedicated to the Search for Beauty, Kindle
.the same Ardor and the same Fire in Man
A Model of Heroes of this World, in turn of a Man who aspire
To Immortality. Model
,of Celestial Ascension
,the Spirit of Hercules
,Pure Igneous Breath
has joined the Pythagorean
Ether and returns
,to the Principle that
according to the supporters
of Pythagoreanism, gave Life,
,that is, the Sun
Pure Intelligence, which takes
the Spirit that gives
the World spreading it
.on the Wings of Light

Hercules
 Continuing the Divine Work of Dominion of the Primordial Powers,
.Hercules, Solar Hero, travels the World from East to West, twice
To face the Dragon of the Garden of the Hesperides and Descend into
Hell, he crosses the River-Ocean to go from the East to the Far West,
to the Ends of the Night, the Fabulous Land of the Setting Sun where
.the Star comes into Contact with the Darkness
Hercules Casting down these Chaotic
Powers, the Hero who conquers
the Monsters continues the Work
,of Zeus Fighting with Typhon
the last episode of his Fight
.against the Titans
Born from the union of Gaia,
,Earth, and Tartarus
Typhoon symbolizes the extreme
danger of the Approach between
Chaos and Cosmos that, coupled,
generated the greatest
,Destructive Power that Zeus
,the Orderer of the Universe
.had to face
If we straighten the Central Axis
of the Garden virtually
to attribute symbolic value
to the Axis of the World crossing
the Armillary Sphere to point
,towards the Pole Star
the Source of Nature is effectively
transposed into a symbolic West
situated Beyond a Celestial
Ocean given by the Fish Pond
,Hub and Neptune's Fountain
.the Celestial Quarry
Particular space in which
Cosmic Levels are combined,
from Hell to Earth and Heaven,
,Beyond the Ocean
Country of the Hesperides
.and Atlas
 Frontier Territory“
where there is
both a Chaotic Space
and Sources
.”of Immortality

In the Mythical Topology of the Garden, the Source of Nature 

,communicates the Cosmic Levels. Eccentric World Center
familiar to Mythology, makes the Western Pole, Governed by Atlas,
the Column of the World, the Territory of the Frontiers that gives
Access to the Beyond. Our oneiric vision of the Garden Space
is completed, a space controlled by this Crossing of Axes
that go from Earth to Heaven through the Symbolic Figures
.of the Garden of the Simple Ones, the Earth
 The place where
the Cosmic Levels
meet is the Source
of Nature
at the Far West,
the point
where Heaven
and Hell
.mysteriously meet

Crossing the Threshold of Atlas, Hercules arrives at this Center

of the World, in this umbilical space where the Mystery
of the relationship between Chaos and Cosmos, Mythical Space
in which they exchange their value in an Endless Cycle, Chaos being
the Matrix that houses the Seeds of the Cosmos, sinking it
.into it at the end of its own destruction to regenerate there
 In this Infernal and Solar
Region where the Sun
completes its course
and disappears
,into the Land of Night
,there are Hell, Earth
the Sea and the Starry Sky
allegorically represented
,by the Fountain of Nature
an emblematic illustration
of this Far West
that dominates
.the Gates of the Atlas
 Represented here
by the Four Atlanteans,
Columns that support the Sky
and at the same time Separate
and Unite the Cosmic Levels,
,where the Hesperides
Nymphs of the Evening,
Guardians of the Garden
of the Gods and Daughters
of the Primordial Night
.also watch over
Evenings, they inhabit
this Fabulous Space
.where Opposites coincide
 Hercules

Garden of the Hesperides

,In this Red Land of Eritia, Beyond the Gates of Atlas

in which Heaven, Earth and Hell, Above and Below, combine and
make Opposites Communicate, the Starry Sky and Black Tartarus,
.the Cosmos and Chaos, along an Original Gap
 May I reach the Shores where the Golden Oranges“
of the Singing Hesperides grow, where the King of the Dark Sea stops
,pointing out the Route to the Sailors
 ”.!and fixes the August End of the Sky that supports the Atlas

The Quest for the Golden Oranges Metamorphoses the Soul

,of the Hero, just as it metamorphoses the Soul of the Sage
the Hero of this World, in a sustained catharsis on his journey
.along the Paths of Knowledge, from Purification to Enlightenment
 Solar Hero : He arrives at the Center of the World, at the End of
the Earth, where the Mystery of the relationship between Chaos and
Cosmos is knotted, he seizes the Golden Apples, the Golden Fruits
.of the Garden of the Gods, Promises of Immortality

Golden and Luminous Fruits

that will burn in the Pyre lit
,in the Heart of the Garden
like the Pyre of Hercules lighting
,up on Mount Eta
.at the moment of its Apotheosis
Hercules Hercules approaches
the “Wonderful Land that
nurtures the Happiness
of the Gods”, after having
taken the Golden Oranges
of the Hesperides during his
stay in the Ends of the World.
,Oranges of Gold
Promise of Immortality sing
by the Women of the Choir,
,transformed into Birds
.in Euripides' Hippolytus
Above the Doors of the Great Hall, the Motto of Hippolytus forms
a recurring motif: “Ab insomni non custodita Dracone”. The fruits,
the Golden Apples of the Garden of the Hesperides entrusted
,”to the care of a Dragon that did not know how to sleep“
.Ovid, Metamorphoses
 ,Hippolytus d'Este
,the “Hero” of this Garden
like Hercules, is in search
of “the Apples of Immortality”,
Redeemed Fruits of his Soul,
Fruits removed from
the vigilant attention
.of the Dragon of Passions
He will see his Soul
Transformed into one
,of these Golden Fruits
,Objects of Perfection
which will join The Golden Apples“
the Garden of the Gods ”of Immortality
.from which they came
 Marc-Antoine de Muret,
Latinist and wise
:mythographer, wrote
The Golden Oranges“
Cardinal
that Hercules snatches
Hippolytus d'Este
from the sleeping Dragon,
Hippolytus d'Este
.possesses today
Work did not defeat“
Hercules, nor sweet pleasure
to the Soul
.of Chaste Hippolytus
For Love of these
,two Virtues
Hippolytus d'Este
dedicates these Gardens
”.to Hercules and Hippolytus
 In the Hall of Hercules, the theme is Virtuous Courage, fighting
against the ravages of Fortune. The figure of this Hero is magnified.
The space is prepared for a symbolic tripartition: Corinthian
pilasters support a fake architrave, on which the space of the vaults
.forms an aerial transition with that of the ceiling
.The walls house landscapes, an allegory of the earth
 .The surface of the Vaults is divided into compartments
Eight on white backgrounds, represent the Exploits of Hercules
fighting his monstrous adversaries: the Lion of Nemea
and the Hydra of Lerna, in the Eastern vault; the Dog Cerberus
and the Centaur Eurytion to the North; the Cretan Bull
.and the Birds of Lake Stymphalus to the South
 The Western vault, dedicated to the expedition of Hercules
to the Western Frontiers, illustrates the erection of the Columns
of Gades, Gibraltar and Ceuta and their encounter with Atlas
.who offered to support the World

A scene in the west vault shows the young Hercules massacring

his children. Hercules is driven mad by Hera who avenges Zeus'
,Adultery with Alcmene, her mother. To expiate this madness
.the Hero consults the Pythia
 The Pythia orders him
to submit to the Servitude
of Eurystheus, as
a punishment and test, and
gratifies him with the Name of
Heracles “the Glory of Hera”,
revealing that his subjection
to her will will lead him along
.the Path of Immortality
With all Consciousness,
Hercules submits to the Trials
of Fortune embodied
by Eurystheus and inspired
by Hera, to fulfill his Destiny,
he will reveal in himself
the Divine and Immortal Part
bequeathed to him
.by his Father, Zeus
 These scenes are finished off with grotesque decorations where
the motifs of the stay in the aerial Hades reappear, with the presence
of Erotes, psychic Geniuses, Demons and numerous Bird-Souls
,evolving in the Atmosphere. In the center of the vaults
,dark surfaces, delimited by stucco frames
.stage oval medallions revealed by other Erotes
 In the center of the vaults, the Path of the Hero, in his Ascent
through the Degrees of Being, is exalted by the presence, on the Oval
Medallions, of Pots of Fire surrounded by Geniuses
who play Trumpets, Heralds of Victory, celebrate the last purging
.of the Hero by Fire symbolized by the Bonfire of Mount Eta
 Hipólito's Shields take
an intimate part in these
Metamorphoses, to remind
us that according
,to their motto
,”their “Golden Fruits
that is, the Divine
and Immortal Part
of their Soul Purified
by their Virtues, are no
longer guarded by the
Dragon always awake
by their Passions, but who,
carried by the White Eagle
to the Ends of Heaven,
travel the same Path
as the Hero's Soul
.towards the Empyreans
 By fighting Monsters, surpassing himself in Superhuman
Achievements, Hercules fights against his own Passions and Awakens
,the Divine Part of him. From Hero of Physical Strength
.he becomes Hero of Moral Greatness and Model of Virtue
 From the Fountain of the Dragons, whose Central Jet of Water
bursts loudly in a syncopated way playing with the violent
,confrontation of Air and Water, to the Fountain of Nature follows
to the Harmonious Music of the Spheres, a strident Deluge
of powerful Jets , colliding vertically, Chaos and Harmony mix,
,attack each other in a permanent rivalry
.in an incessant proximity that makes them exchange their Value
 .The Border between Order and Disorder is fragile
All the Allegories evoked stage the Conflict Opposed
.by the Primordial Powers to Harmony, Necessity and Beauty
 ,The south vault represents the last episode of the Hero's life
the rape of Nessus: Hercules, wanting to cross the river Acheloos,
entrusted his wife Déjanira to the care of the Centaur Nessus,
Ferryman of the river. During the journey, he tried to seduce her,
but ended up under the Hero's arrows. Before dying, Nessus tricked
.Dejanira with a Love Potion made from her poisoned blood
 She, jealous of Iolé, a rival, impregnated the robe of Hercules
with this magical ointment
which turned out to be
a terrible poison: heating
in the Sun, the blood of Nessus
transformed the Hero into
a Living Fire. Hercules then
,built a stake on Mount Eta
lay down there and
disappeared. Hero of Fire par
excellence, the Man converted
into God for the Pythagoreans,
he symbolizes
the Metamorphosis of
the Human Becoming from
the Terrestrial to the Celestial,
when Ignite in the Fire
.of the Final Purge
By consuming his Earth Body, the Hero releases the fiery portion
,of his Soul. He will emerge at the same time as from the Bonfire
,the Fiery Breath that rises towards Heaven to join the Ether
.seat of the Essential Fire of which the Sun is the Principle
 Hercules dies at the Bonfire of Eta, due to the serene attitude
of the Host “stretched out before a Feast, with his forehead girded
with a Crown, between glasses full of pure wine”, as Ovid
describes him in The Metamorphoses, Wine and Fire combining
.his Principle Igneous in the Apotheosis of an Eternal Drunkenness
 Immortality comes to crown
a life consecrated to the Deeds
,and the Service of Men
to the Struggle to prune the land
of the parasitic forces born
from the offspring of Echidna,
emblematic struggle
,of this Island of the Wise
which strives to purge his Body,
from his passes to better power
him up and reveal
the Celestial Part
of his Hero Soul
.in Fighting Monsters
 Here is the Bonfire in which, according to the Poets, Hercules
,Burned on the Top of Mount Eta, to become, after his Death
thanks to this conflagration, Divine and Immortal. The Virtues
and Love are the Vehicles of the Return of the Soul to his Homeland.
In a Final Conflagration, they will make her identify
.with the Pure Fire of the Ether, with the Stellar Fire of his Origins
 Hercules, after having burned
his Material Body in the Fire
of Mount Eta, as well as
the Vegetative Soul that is linked
to him, Man converted into God,
becomes a Model of the Soul having
fully recovered the Rational part
of him. Under the Protection
of Athena, Wisdom, in the company
of Artemis, Demeter, Dionysos
and Apollo, illustrating the
,Becoming of the Soul
its dispersion in the Bodies
and then its Reunification in
.the Spirit under the Sign of Apollo
Fire of Mount Eta
Soul nailed to the Body and to the senses finally rips his Divine Soul
from his material gang, to reveal the Rational Part of him
.and Lead it back to its Original Source, the Spirit
A Divine Cloud Elevated him to the Empyrean, Olympus where,
.welcomed by Hera, He now sits in the Company of the Gods
 It is this Spiritual Conflagration that transforms the Soul into
a Living Pearl, the last Degree of its Purification, which is exalted
by the Feast given in Honor of Hercules on the ceiling of the Hall,
.the Reception of Hercules on Olympus
,On the roof, Hercules sits in the company of the Olympian Gods
:in an Assembly that is not that of the canonical Twelve Gods
some are absent, while others rarely appear there. We note
the presence of Athena, Tutelary Genius of the Hero, of Artemis
and Demeter, of Hera and the three Brothers: Zeus, Poseidon
.and Hades. Aphrodite is accompanied by Ares and Eros
.Apollo and Dionysos face Hercules, seen from behind
 Hercules is with
the Immortal Gods
,in the Joy of Festivals
and he has for wife Hebe
,of fair ankles
Daughter of the Great Zeus,
and Hera
.with golden sandals
 According to Macrobius, Hercules is linked to Saturnalia
for having carried out a Civilizing Work, teaching Men to honor
,“Saturn's Laurels, not with Human Sacrifices
but with Lighted Candles”, in Homage to this god
.of Pure Intelligence, Astral God, of Sublime Contemplation
 ,Hercules image of the Soul that
no longer set on fire by the Fire
,of Love but by that of Virtue
is consumed in the Bonfire
,of Mount Eta
the final purge of a Heroic Life
dedicated to the Fight
against the Passions
.of the World and of the Body

Hercules
 ,Hercules became, in the eyes of the Pythagoreans
a Hero of Moral Greatness, having chosen, at the Crossroads of Vice
and Virtue, the Virtuous Path that, in the conflagration of Catharsis,
.leads him to become Divine and Immortal
 ,Deification of the Hero
Model for all the Souls that
having recovered their Rational
Part after having burned
their Body, their Material Part
and their Vegetative Soul linked
to it in the Fire of Mount Eta,
Purifying Fire that transformed
their Rational Soul
,into a Pure Spirit
into a Flame of Light
capable of rejoining
.the Starfire of the Origins
Hercules, Cosmic Hero, joins the Great Gods: Hera, who has tested
;him and led him along the Path of Celestial Glory for her
.Zeus, Neptune and Hades, the Three Brothers
Giovanni Pico de la Mirandola says: In the Trinity
,of the Principal Gods, Zeus gives Substance
.Neptune gives Life and Hades Conversion
 These Gods illustrate the Becoming of the Soul in the World
Governed by the Dynamics of Love and Beauty, Eros and Aphrodite,
.in their incessant struggle with Hate, Ares
 For the Orphics and Neoplatonists, they symbolize the Division
of the World according to Three Celestial Levels, Zeus, Mundane,
Neptune and Infernal, Hades, and illustrate Substance, Life
,and Conversion, manifesting the “Trinitarian Unity” of Saturn
.the First Intelligence
 All these Divinities, wrapped in their symbols, welcome the Hero
in the World of Saturn to whom the Neoplatonic Tradition confers
the Virtue of the Spirit, of Pure Intelligence, of Celestial and Eternal
Life, Saturn, to whom the Neoplatonic Academy of Florence
.made his protective deity, at the time of Lorenzo the Magnificent
 ,The Apotheosis of Hercules
his Deification, constitutes
a Model for all the Souls who,
wishing to Return
,to their Celestial Origin
will persist in the Paths
of Purification and will in turn
sink into this Fire
that will Consume them
to make them Relive
.in the Beatitude of the Blessed
”The Heart burns by dying when it believes the heart burns“
says Girolamo Benivieni in his Love Poem, words that
Pico de la Mirandola comments: “The Heart dies
,from burning in the Fire of Love and, thanks to this Death
.”it Regenerates into a Most Sublime Life
Baldassare Castiglione echoes this Celebration of Fire to exalt it
,in turn: “That is why, just as Material Fire refines Gold
so this Most Holy Fire destroys and consumes in Souls what
,is Mortal in them, and Enlivens and It beautifies the Celestial
,a part that before, in them
”.was mortified and buried by the Senses
 ,Hercules
,Hero deified
,Initiate of Eleusis
Model of Catharsis
having purged the Passions
.from him
Cosmic: Conqueror
,of Monsters
destroying Monsters
.and Demons
.Master of Primordial Powers

Hercules
The Platonists of the Renaissance
praise the Purifying Fire
that opens the Gates
of Celestial Eternity, according
to the Virtuous Teaching
.of Hercules
Hero of Physical Strength
transformed into Hero
,of Moral Greatness
of Virtuous Courage in the Fight
.against the Assaults of Fortune

Hercules
I will sing to HERCULES, Son of ZEUS, Courage of Leon,“
The Best of those who live in the Land of Thebes,
Of beautiful Dances, whom Alcmene bore,
Joining with the Chronid of Shadow Cloud.
HERCULES once executed Extraordinary Works,
Eminent Actions, roaming the Wonderful Land and the Sea,
 As commanded by Lord Eurystheus or Goddess HERA,
But he now he is in the Beautiful Seat of Snowy Olympus
And he owns HEBE “the one with Beautiful ankles”
Rejoice Lord, Son of ZEUS!
Give Us VIRTUE and HAPPINESS! ” Homer
Λεοντόθυμον Ἡρακλέα Εἲς
ἄριστον μέγ᾽ ὃν ,ἀείσομαι ,υἱόν Διὸς ,Ἡρακλέα
καλλιχόροισιν ἔνι Θήβῃς ἐπιχθονίων γείνατ᾽
:Κρονίωνι κελαινεφέι μιχθεῖσα Ἀλκμήνη
θάλασσαν ἠδὲ ἀθέσφατον γαῖαν κατὰ μὲν πρὶν ὃς
ἄνακτος Εὐρυσθῆος ὕπ᾽ πομπῇσιν πλαζόμενος
:ἀνέτλη δ᾽ πολλὰ ,ἀτάσθαλα ἔρεξεν αὐτὸς μὲν πολλὰ
Ὀλύμπου νιφόεντος ἕδος καλὸν κατὰ ἤδη δ᾽ νῦν
.Ἥβην καλλίσφυρον ἔχει καὶ τερπόμενος ναίει
.ὄλβον καὶ τε ἀρετήν δ᾽ δίδου :υἱέ Διὸς ,ἄναξ ,χαῖρε
 a

Hercules in the Eternity oh his Gardens of Villa d´Este

 Bibliography
”Gérard Desnoyers “La Villa d´Este a Tivoli -
ou “Le Songe d´Hippolyte”, Paris 2002