HERCULES

The Birth of Hercules Hercules was the son of the King of the gods, Zeus, & a mortal princess, Alcmene. He was the greatest Greek hero. Hercules’ father, Zeus

Jealous Hera Zeus’ wife, the goddess Hera, was jealous of Alcmene which made her also hate Hercules. When Hercules was only a baby, Hera sent two snakes to kill him. As he was already so strong, he strangled the two snakes.

Why Hercules embarked on his labours? After Hercules was older and had a family, Hera sent him mad one night. He thought his family were cows that were attacking him. As a result he killed his wife, Megara, & their three children. Hercules felt so awful, that he went to Delphi to ask the oracle what he should do. The oracle told him to go to the land of Tiryns & serve its king, Eurystheus, for 12 years.

The Oracle of Apollo “He [Eurystheus] will set you TEN labours, and when you have completed them, you will be immortal.”

Labour 1: The Nemean Lion Labour 1: Hercules had to kill the Nemean Lion which had impenetrable skin. Having trapped it in its cave Hercules strangled the lion. Afterwards, Hercules wore the lion’s skin as a cloak & its strong jaws as a helmet.

King Eurystheus was so surprised and scared of Hercules that he hid in a storage jar.

Labour 2 The Hydra Labour 2: to kill the nine-headed Hydra, one of which was immortal. When Hercules found the Hydra, he drove it back with arrows, but when he cut off one head, two more grew back. Hercules asked his nephew Iolaus for help. When Hercules cut off a head, Iolaus burned the stump. At last, Hercules lopped off the immortal head & buried it deep beneath a rock.

Hercules also dipped his arrows in the poisonous Hydra blood. Anyone or anything hit by Hercules’ arrows would suffer a painful death. Unfortunately this is indirectly how Hercules himself later dies.

Labour 3 The Cerynitan Hind Labour 3: to capture the Cerynitan hind, a fast female deer sacred to the goddess Artemis. Therefore Hercules couldn’t wound it. He fired an arrow between the tendons and bones of its two forelegs. Artemis was still angry with Hercules for doing this, but she blamed it on King Eurystheus.

Labour 4: The Erymanthian Boar Labour 4: – Hercules was to bring back the enormous Erymanthian boar. After finding it, he threw the boar into a snowdrift to immobilise it. He flung it on his back & brought it to Eurystheus who was still hiding from Hercules in the jar.

Labour 5 The Augean Stables Labour 5: to clean the stables of King Augeas in a single day. Augeas owned many cattle & so his stables were full of manure. Instead of using a shovel & basket, as Eurystheus thought he would, Hercules diverted two rivers through the stables by placing some boulders up stream. He took one tenth of the cattle in payment.

Labour 6 The Stymphalian Birds Labour 6: to kill the Stymphalian birds who lived in a marsh near the town of Stymphalos. Some said the birds ate human flesh and others that they killed by shooting down brass feathers. The ground was too swampy though to carry Hercules’ weight, so Athena gave him some bronze krotala (castanets), with which he caused a racket. This made the birds take wing enabling Hercules to shoot them down.

Labour 7: The Cretan Bull Labour 7: to bring back the Cretan bull. King Minos of Crete had been given a bull by Poseidon for a sacrifice, but Minos decided to keep it instead. As a result an angry Poseidon made the bull ravage the Cretan countryside. Hercules overpowered the bull and shipped it to Eurystheus.

Labour 8 The Mares of Diomedes Labour 8: to bring back the mares of Diomedes. These horses ate the flesh of travellers, who had accepted Diomedes’ hospitality. Hercules captured the horses by feeding them their owner Diomedes, as when they were now not hungry, Hercules could transport them to King Eurystheus.

Labour 9 Hippolyte’s Belt Labour 9: to retrieve the belt of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, the fearsome tribe of women warriors. The queen willingly gave Hercules her belt, but Hera stirred up the Amazons with a rumour that the Hercules and his friends intended to kidnap Hippolyte. Then when the Amazons attacked, Hercules killed Hippolyte. Hercules managed to run off with the belt and sadly he presented it to King Eurystheus.

Labour 10 The Cattle of Geryon Labour 10: to capture the cattle of Geryon. Geryon was a three-headed monster who lived at the edge of the known world beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the straits of Gibralter). Hercules killed Geryon with a single arrow through his three heads & then led the cattle back to Eurystheus.

Two more labours ! Hercules had help from Iolaus for task 2 and he had received payment for task 5, therefore Eurystheus added two more labours.

Labour 11 The Apples of Hesperides Labour 11: to bring back the apples of the Hesperides, located in the Western Mountains, where the god Atlas held the world on his shoulders. Hercules asked Atlas to help him retrieve the apples. Atlas agreed and told Hercules to hold the world while he went for the apples. Atlas returned with the fruit, but liked not having the world on his shoulders. Hercules asked Atlas to hold it just a while so he could get a cushion for his shoulders. Atlas agreed and Hercules rushed back off with the apples.

Labour 12 The Capture of Cerberus Labour 12: to capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the gates of the Underworld. Hercules reached Hades, the ruler of Underworld & gained his permission, as long as he used no weapons. Hercules wrestled the three heads of Cerberus into submission, despite being bitten by its dragon tail, taking it back to Eurystheus who accepts this as the final labour. Don’t worry Cerberus was released back to Hades.

The death of Hercules After completing the labours, Hercules married princess Deinira. When the couple were travelling, a centaur called Nessos attacked Deinira and Hercules killed Nessos with one of his poisoned arrows. Before Nessos died, he told Deinira to keep some of his blood as a love potion. She used it on Hercules to keep him faithful, not knowing it contained Hydra poison. Hercules died in great agony. But he was taken up to Mount Olympus, where he ruled as one of the gods.