In Greek mythology, the Stymphalian Birds were birds with claws of brass and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims, and also they were Ares' pets. As if that wasn't enough, their dung was highly toxic. They had migrated to Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia to escape a pack of wolves, and bred quickly and took over the countryside, destroying local crops and fruit trees. Ridding the land of these birds was one of Heracles' Twelve Labors, and some sources claim the Stymphalian birds were the same avians that attacked the Argonauts. Greek mythology consists of an extensive collection of narratives detailing the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, which were first envisioned and disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... Statue of Heracles In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Heraklês (glory of Hera, Ηρακλης) was a divine hero, the demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene, and stepson of Alcmenes rightful husband and great-grandson of Perseus. ... Hercules and the Hydra by Antonio Pollaiuolo The Twelve Labours (Greek: dodekathlos) of Herakles (Latin: Hercules) are a series of archaic episodes connected by a later continuous narrative, concerning a penance carried out by Herakles, the greatest of the Greek heroes. ... In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. ...

The forest around Lake Stymphalus was very dense, making it so dark as to impair vision. Athena and Hephaestus aided Heracles by forging for him huge bronze clappers, which scared the birds into flight. Heracles shot them down with his arrows, or according to other versions, a catapult. The birds that survived never returned to Greece. Athena from the east pediment of the Afea temple in Aegina After a sculpture of Athena at the Louvre. ... Hephaestus, Greek god of forging, riding an ass; Greek drinking cup (skyphos) made in the 5th century B.C. Hephaestus (World Book «hih FEHS tuhs») (Greek: Ἡφαιστος Hêphaistos) is the Greek god whose approximate Roman equivalent is Vulcan; he is the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy... Replica catapult at Château des Baux, France Catapults are siege engines using an arm to hurl a projectile a great distance. ...

Origin

When the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, the constellations Lyra, Aquila the Eagle, and Cygnus the Swan, rise. (Lyra is now considered a lyre, but originally it was a vulture; eventually the vulture was imagined as holding a lyre, and eventually the entire constellation became one). At this time of year (i.e. during Sagittarius) the evenings darken and the rain season in Greece starts, creating swampland from previously drier areas. Thus the bird constellations gained negative connotations. Sagittarius (the constellation) had various interpretations, especially as an archer but also as a rattle. In the later story, Heracles scared off the Stymphalian Birds (who lived in a swamp) with noise, and firing an arrow at them (the constellation Sagitta, an arrow, is aiming towards Aquila). The noise, archery, and sinister birds associated with the constellations may reflect the origin of the myth. Sagittarius (Latin for Archer, symbol , Unicode ♐) is a constellation of the zodiac, commonly depicted as a centaur drawing a bow. ... Lyra (Latin for Lyre) is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. ... Aquila (Latin for Eagle), is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy and is now also part of the list of 88 constellations acknowledged by the IAU. It lies roughly at the celestial equator. ... Genera Several, see below. ... For the software company, see Cygnus Solutions. ... Genera Cygnus Coscoroba Swans are large water birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. ... A lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity. ... A Nubian Vulture Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. ... Sagitta, being Latin for Arrow, is the third-smallest of all constellations (only Equuleus and Crux are smaller). ...