Culhwch's Quests or Hercules Labor List

When reading through the long list of demands given to Culhwch by the Ysbaddaden Chief Giant it made me think about the twelve labors that Hera gave to Hercules. Although Hercules's list is much shorter in comparison to the forty-one demands that Ysbaddaden gave to Culhwch it is easy to make the comparison here. In both cases, the heroes were supposed to be unable to complete any of the tasks, but they both found a way to succeed. The difference being that Culhwch had major help given to him by Arthur to finish all of the tasks. 

This made me wonder if subtly they are trying to compare Arthur to Hercules, especially since the Greeks were prior to this time period. If Culhwch had been on his own, I don’t believe he would have been able to complete the tasks. Even Ysbaddaden attributes Culhwch’s success to Arthur, “Instead thank Arthur, the man who made it happen for you” (Loomis, 57). This again shows how without Arthur and his men, Culhwch would have been left cursed and unable to ever wed someone. By making it clear to everyone that he needed Arthur’s help it shows the strength and power that Arthur has. The comparison that I was able to draw even makes it seem like he is immortal and should be celebrated. I believe that this is a conclusion many people around this time period would have drawn as well, especially since the Greeks were said to have been memorable many folks could have seen the similarities.