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THE HERCULES CHRONICLES: Poisoned Arrows and a Great Mistake

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

During his second labor–slaying the Hydra–Hercules dips his arrows in the dead monster’s blood. His arrows become super-weapons. The slightest scratch means instant death.

Years later, he finds himself in the cave of Pholus, an old centaur. Although “never trust a centaur” is an adage Hercules usually follows, in Pholus’ case, Hercules decides to stay and dine. He asks for wine along with the meat.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Pholus shakes his head. “I’ve got it, but can’t open it.”

“Why not?” growls Hercules.

“The other centaurs. They’ll smell it. Go mad with the smell of wine. Come here. Kill you.”

“If they try that, they’ll regret it. Besides, they’ll never smell it. Open the wine, Pholus.” As usual, Hercules is traveling with his lion’s skin, his club and his arrows poisoned with Hydra blood.

Scared, Pholus opens the wine and soon the thunder of hoofs approaches the cave. Centaurs charge in and attack Hercules and Pholus cries, “No! Run you fools! It’s Hercules! He’ll kill you all! Run!”

But they’ve gone mad and Hercules reluctantly clubs many to death, and shoots others with his arrows. Astounded that arrows can kill a centaur instantly, Pholus picks one up.

“Don’t touch that, Pholus! It’s Hydra blood!”

Startled, the old centaur drops the arrow and it scratches his leg. He gives Hercules a look he can never forget and then crumples down and dies.

Hercules doesn’t yet know it, but in the end, the blood of the Hydra will kill him, too.

Join Odds Bodkin this coming Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 pm EST and hear this episode, along with many others, from his award-winning telling, HERCULES IN HELL. The show is live and the storyteller will stay after the show to answer your questions. If you don’t have Zoom, the download is free.

Here’s an audio sample from the show:

HERCULES IN HELL

A ZOOM adult concert

Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 pm EST

Tickets: $15 per screen

 

Sponsored by Grendel’s Den in Cambridge, MA.

 

THE HERCULES CHRONICLES: The Birds Who Hurl Feathers Like Arrows

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

During his Twelve Labors, Hercules constantly wonders why the gods create such hideous monsters, many of which he is commanded to capture or slay. Among them are giant, brass-feathered eagles that infest a forest and regularly carry off village children. Their most deadly defense is to hurl their feathers like razor-sharp arrows.

To drive them off, Hercules travels to Stymphalos with a giant round shield, a spear, his poisoned arrows and a brass bell. When a lone eagle first attacks him in a field, Hercules shoots a poisoned arrow, but it bounces off the eagle’s metal feathers. It angrily hurls three feathers back at Hercules’ shield as he crouches beneath it. The hero instantly knows how he will drive off the flock, which number in the hundreds.

To find out how Hercules does it, set aside an hour on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 pm EST for Odds Bodkin’s Zoom performance of HERCULES IN HELL. If you don’t have Zoom, the download is free. There’s a full score on 12-string guitar for added drama, which Odds plays as he tells. With his HD Zoom sound, this guitar thunders with mythic boldness.

Hear a sample:

This is an adult storytelling sponsored by Grendel’s Den. Children 12 and up are welcome.

HERCULES IN HELL on Zoom with Odds Bodkin

Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 pm EST

TICKETS are $15 per screen.

 

THE HERCULES CHRONICLES: The Glory of Hera? No, Just the Opposite

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

“Herakles” translates to “the glory of Hera”, an ironic name indeed for the hero who came to be known as Hercules, since the Queen of Olympus does everything in her power to ruin his life. As Hercules relates it in Odds Bodkin’s live story performance HERCULES IN HELL, when Hera hears that Zeus, her philandering husband, has fathered yet another child with a mortal woman, her jealousy knows no bounds. She conceives an animus for Hercules that will last his entire lifetime.

During her first attempt at his murder, when he’s an infant, she sends two serpents to bite him in his cradle, but instead, just by playing with them, the young demigod strangles them.

None too pleased, but biding her time, Hera waits until Hercules is married with a young family; he’s a prince on his way to becoming king. She then sends what Hercules calls “a storm of blood”, a madness that tears out his senses and plunges him into hallucinations. Attacking him from all sides come monsters, lions, centaurs and enemies, and so in his survival rage he fights back, destroying them all.

It’s only after the madness passes that he finds his wife and children dead at his feet. Their blood is on his hands. He can’t remember doing it. Always too strong, he has now murdered those he loves most. Drowning in guilt and unaware that Hera sent the madness, Hercules fears the insanity will return, and so he flees to the wilderness to live on squirrels and berries, filthy in his solitude.

Still, no matter where he is, the guilt eats at his soul. He cannot sleep. His dead family appears in his dreams every night. Finally, he journeys to the Oracle of Delphi and learns of his unwelcome fate. Zeus and the Fates have decreed that until he completes Labors for the King of Mycenae, Hercules will never be free of his guilt.

And so he journeys to the Court of King Eurystheus of Mycenae, puts himself under the thumb of his weak cousin, and his Labors begin.

Initially, Zeus and the Fates decreed ten labors, but because Eurystheus finds reasons to deny two of them, they end up twelve.

 

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Join Odds Bodkin via Zoom on Sunday, Oct 18 at 5 pm EST for his epic telling of the life story of Hercules. The camera is up close and the sound and video are HD, so you can watch the instrumental work on 12-string guitar as a master storyteller enacts his characters.

A solid and entertaining lesson in epic Greek mythology, one you’ll never forget. Not recommended for children under 12.

 

HERCULES IN HELL

Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 at 5 pm on Zoom

Tickets: $15

THE HERCULES CHRONICLES: The Golden Stag of Artemis/Coming Up Sunday!

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt, owns a supernatural stag. With hoofs of brass and antlers of gold, it’s a glowing creature that hunters are afraid to mistake for game. If they threaten it, Artemis will surely appear and kill them. Legend says the Ceryneian Stag can run at full speed for a year.

When King Eurystheus, Hercules’ petulant cousin, says to bring it to him, Hercules is shocked. “But Eurystheus,” he moans, “it is a sacred beast!”

“Zeus said I could,” his cousin retorts from his throne. “It’s my command! So do it!”

Knowing he’ll have to chase it for a year, Hercules finally spots the stag in the woods. The ancient hero begins to chase it…

To find out how Hercules completes this astonishing labor, with gentleness and honor—including a confrontation with the young goddess herself–grab your $15 ticket for Odds Bodkin’s upcoming Zoom concert, HERCULES IN HELL.

Log in and Odds will appear on full screen for the hour-long storytelling show. Voices for characters and continuous music on 12-string guitar make this an unforgettable experience. You’ll learn more Greek mythology in one hour than you’ve ever known.

HERCULES IN HELL

An Adult Storytelling by Odds Bodkin

Oct. 18, 2020 at 5pm EST on Zoom

Tickets: $15

 

If you don’t have Zoom, the download is free!

This Zoom concert is sponsored by Grendel’s Den in Cambridge, MA.

HERCULES IN HELL for Teens and Adults at Auburn Public Library June 25th

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Join Master Storyteller and Musician Odds Bodkin as he performs HERCULES IN HELL for teens and adults on June 25th at 1 pm in Auburn, ME. This gripping, feature-length performance on 12-string guitar with a host of character voices is a no-holds-barred exploration of the mythic Hercules from Greek mythology. Anything but a kind do-gooder, this Hercules kills his family in a madness and is haunted by guilt. He’s driven to perform amazing labors to free himself.

He’s the strongest man in the world, but he’s commanded by the weakest man in the world. The irony is not lost on him.

HERCULES IN HELL

June 25, 2019 at 1 pm

Auburn Public Library, Auburn ME

 

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storytelling Collections for Families

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

 

LIKE A BOX FULL OF CD’S IN EVERY ONE!

CLICK AN IMAGE FOR ALBUM TITLES

 

“a modern-day Orpheus”–Billboard Magazine

“one of the great voices in American storytelling”–Wired

 

Madness, Murder, Monsters, Secret Weapons and Heartbreak…Tonight!

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

HERCULES IN HELL performed by Storyteller and Musician Odds Bodkin begins at 7 pm tonight at the Riverwalk Cafe and Music Bar in Nashua, NH. Thunderous 12-string guitar and character voices bring this feature-length adult storytelling event to life. Along with sound effects that help you see all the action in your mind’s eye.

“a consummate storyteller” — The New York Times

“a modern-day Orpheus” — Billboard

“one of the great voices in American storytelling” — Wired

 

Tickets $13 in advance, $13 at the door.

Adult Storytelling a Week Away!

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Adult Storytelling a Week Away!

Sunday night, July 29th at 7 pm at the Riverwalk Music Bar in Nashua, NH storyteller and musician Odds Bodkin performs HERCULES IN HELL, his feature-length performance piece based on the Greek myth of Hercules. With hypnotic 12-string guitar scoring the tale, you’ll be “mesmerized” as a woman in the audience said she felt when Bodkin last did this show.

Plus you’ll learn about Hercules’ youth, madnesses and murders and his Twelve Labors of Expiation, not to mention his bizarre death from a love charm.

So grab your imagination and a friend and delve deep into some Greek mythology you never knew!

TICKETS $13 for best seating, $13 at the door.

Hard-Hitting Adult Storytelling Sunday July 29th in New Hampshire

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Hard-Hitting Adult Storytelling Sunday July 29th in New Hampshire

If you want to grab some elemental Greek mythology, tragic and beautiful, told for adults, mark your calendar for Sunday, July 29th. The tale you’ll hear, much like Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, won the hearts of 200 convicts in a California prison one afternoon, so much so that I actually signed autographs on scraps of paper and napkins afterwards for a half an hour. As an audio, this 100-minute epic won the national Golden Headset Award from Audiofile Magazine, among other awards.

With so much violence afoot in our culture today, it’s more relevant than ever.

It’s called Hercules in Hell, and it just might break your heart.

I’ll be performing it with my 12-string guitar at 7:00 pm at the Riverwalk Music Bar in Nashua, New Hampshire on Sunday evening in two weeks’ time. One of the more interesting features of this work, other than the full, moment-to-moment guitar score, is that unlike in most of my storytellings, I don’t narrate. I never appear. Only Hercules does.

Tickets are $13 in advance for good seating, and $13 at the door.

 

 

 

For Father’s Day: Odds Bodkin’s $174.95 MASTER DRIVE on sale for $99!

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

For Father’s Day: Odds Bodkin’s $174.95 MASTER DRIVE on sale for $99!

For you dads out there, a one-day-only sale of Odds Bodkin’s complete works.

25 hours of storytelling for all ages. Original music. Plus Odds’ 555-page epic work of high fantasy in verse, The Water Mage’s Daughter.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

THE MYTHIC CAR TRIP SALE: 50% OFF ODDS BODKIN’S EPIC ADVENTURES (TEN HOURS OF STORYTELLING)

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Become lost in classic myths and legends told by Master Storyteller Odds Bodkin. Pre-teens to adults will enjoy The Odyssey, Beowulf (NEW), Hercules, Sir Percival, Viking Myths, The Iliad: Book I (video) and David and Goliath, all told with unforgettable characters and music. Find out more here!

It’s No Fun To Wake Up in the Underworld

Posted on by Odds Bodkin

Hercules is not pleased. He’s just been burned alive on a funeral pyre he himself ordered. Expecting to wake up on Mt. Olympus, instead he’s standing before Hades and Persephone, King and Queen of the Dead. He’s been diverted to the Underworld. Why? Because Persephone craves news of the living and won’t let Hercules go until he tells his life story. Furious at this trick, Hercules makes empty threats until he reluctantly agrees, and so begins his epic, tragic tale.

 

This is Odds Bodkin’s approach to the Greek myth of Hercules. With a surging score on 12-string guitar and voices for Hercules, Hades, Persephone and other characters, Bodkin offers this evening’s entertainment this coming Sunday, June 25th in an intimate setting at the Riverwalk Café and Music Bar in Nashua, NH. Bring a friend and get ready for some adult imagination.

 

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Great food and cocktails, too.