20/03/2025
The Labour of Hercules and the Noise of the Times
In one of his twelve labors, Hercules was tasked with defeating the Stymphalian Birds, terrifying creatures that plagued the lake of Stymphalia. These birds, with sharp metallic feathers, would descend in swarms, disrupting the environment and terrorizing the people. They were not just birds; they symbolized chaos, destruction, and an overwhelming force that could not be tackled one by one. Their screeches filled the air, their droppings poisoned the land, and their very presence destroyed the peace.
For context, the earlier labors of Hercules were about his personal journey. He had to confront his own flaws and demons — the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra, and the Erymanthian boar. These were struggles with tangible, singular enemies. But the Stymphalian Birds? They were something else entirely.
The Stymphalian Birds were too numerous to be defeated individually. And in the world today, we are now faced with the same overwhelming challenge — confronting the noise, the chaos, and the destruction of forces that threaten our collective well-being.
Think of the swirling chaos of many political regimes, where rhetoric and division seemed to pervade everything.
There is a sense that we, as individuals, cannot take on such a large force alone. The noise is deafening.
But Hercules found a solution that we, too, can learn from. The key wasn’t to fight the birds head-on but to use noise as a weapon. In various versions of the myth, Hercules uses cymbals or castanets to create a cacophony so loud that the birds are forced to flee. The noise overwhelmed them. They couldn’t remain in a place filled with such a force.
So, what can we take from this myth?
The individual versus the collective battle is one we face daily. In an era of overwhelming noise — from social media to political rhetoric to the challenges we face globally — it is often hard to see how one person can make a difference. But perhaps the solution lies in the noise we make together.
We may not be able to defeat the chaos and destruction piece by piece. But if we come together, and create our own noise — whether through our voices, our actions, or our collective resistance — we can push back against the forces that threaten our world.
The Stymphalian Birds were defeated not by force but by the power of sound. The world today can be the same.
Let’s make some noise.
