1. Chapters 11-12 MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS & HEROES

2. THE LABORS OF HERCULES

3. Heracles (Hercules)  Son of Zeus and Alcmene (mortal)  Persecuted throughout his life by Hera who is jealous of Zeus’s affair with Alcmene  Born “Alcides” but renamed “Heracles” (glory of Hera) to appease Hera  Sends snakes to kill him in his crib when he is a baby

4. Hera’s Revenge  Hercules married Megara, daughter of the King of Thebes  They had three sons together  Hera found the family and struck Hercules with a fit of madness  Hercules killed his three sons and his wife because he thought they were beasts  Athena knocks out Hercules with a rock  When he recovers, he realizes what he’s done

5. Hercules’ Penance  Feeling guilty for murdering his family, Hercules consults the Oracle at Delphi  He is ordered to accomplish ten tasks given to him by King Eurystheus  Completing these “labors” would purify him and earn him immortality  Although he was supposed to complete ten, he was made to perform 12 since he got help completing two of them

6. 1. Kill the Nemean Lion  Lion had hide so thick it could not be pierced by arrows or knife  Hercules wrestled the lion to the ground and strangled it

7. 2. Kill the Hydra of Lerna  Hydra is a huge serpent with many heads  Each time he cut off a head, two more grew in its place  So, when he cut off a head, Iolaus cauterize the stump, preventing the new heads from growing.  Hydra had one immortal head, which Hercules buried  Didn’t get credit for this one because Iolaus helped him

8. 3. Capture the Cerynitian Hind  The deer with the golden antlers was sacred to Artemis  Hercules had to capture it unharmed  Took him one year to catch it  Finally caught it in a huge net while it slept

9. 4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar  The boar had plagued the countryside for a long time  Hercules called it out and led it straight into a snow drift.  Caught the boar in chains

10. 5. Clean the Augean Stables  This task was intended to humiliate him and it seemed impossible  The stables belonging to King Augeus contained thousands of cattle and hadn’t been cleaned in thirty years  He had to complete the task in one day  Diverted the courses of two rivers to make them run through the stables and wash away the dung

11. 6. Drive out Stymphalian Birds  These man-eating birds had taken over a forest in Arcadia  Hercules got rid of them by using a giant rattle made by Hephaestus  Rattle’s noise scared them away  Because Hephaestus helped him, he did not get credit for this one.

12. 7. Capture the Cretan Bull  Beautiful bull given to Minos by Poseidon  Hercules subdues the bull after a long struggle

13. 8. Captures the Mares of Diomedes  Dangerous man-eating horses  Hercules rounds up the horses  Diomedes attacks Hercules  Hercules defeats Diomedes and feeds him to his own horses  The horses then become tame

14. 9. Fetch Hippolyte’s Girdle  Belt/sash owned by the Queen of the Amazons  Hercules asks for the girdle and the Queen simply gives it to him.

15. 10. Steal the Cattle of Geryon  Hercules first has to kill a two- headed watch dog  Encounters many other obstacles along the way to completing the task

16. 11. Fetch the Golden Apples  These apples belonged to Atlas’s daughters.  Hercules convinces Atlas to fetch the apples for him while he holds the world on his shoulders for Atlas  Atlas returns with the apples but refuses to take the world back on his shoulders  Hercules tricks Atlas

17. 12. Fetch Cerberus from Hades  Three-headed guard dog of the Underworld  Gets guidance from Athena, Hermes, and Hestia  Wrestles Cerberus bare- handed because he promised Hades not to use weapons

18. Death and Immortality  Hercules finally “purified”  He was given immortality, but he would first have to die.  A dying centaur tricked Hercules’ wife (Deianeira) into killing him with a poison shirt  His mortal body was burned alive at his request  He ascends to Mount Olympus