The Story of Hercules
Hercules was one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology. Although he was not a god, he still had lots of power! His father was Zeus, the king of the gods, and his mother was Alcmene, the granddaughter of another famous hero named Perseus. Because Zeus was married to Hera, the queen of the gods, Hera was mad that Zeus had a child with a different woman. Because of this, Hera hated Hercules and tried over and over to make his life miserable.
After Hercules was born, Hera sent two snakes to kill him. However, Hercules was not an ordinary human, as he was strangely fearless and exceptionally strong even from a young age. Hercules easily killed the two snakes that tried to assassinate him. In his early years, Hercules was trained and taken care of by Chiron, a wise centaur (a half-man half-horse being). Hercules was also approached by two mysterious women: Kakia and Arete. Kakia said that she would spoil him with endless riches if he went with her. On the other hand, Arete said that she could give him the greatest glory only after a lifelong struggle. Hercules, a noble and good man, chose Arete.
a statue of the brave baby Hercules defeating the two snakes
Meanwhile, Hera grew madder that Hercules survived. So, when Hercules got married and had a family, Hera cast a spell on Hercules that made him kill his wife and kids. After the spell had passed, Hercules realized what he had done and grew sad. He went to the Oracle at Delphi (a woman who was believed to be the voice of the gods) and asked how he could make up for what he had done. Legend has it that Apollo, the god of truth, was communicating through the Oracle to advise Hercules. He told him to go to King Eurystheus and obey whatever he demanded. What could the king possibly ask him to do?
Hercules’ Twelve Labors
Hera was determined to end Hercules’ life. She told the king to assign Hercules twelve impossible tasks for him to complete, as she believed that Hercules would die trying to finish them. These were Hercules’ tasks:
1. Kill the Nemean Lion - First, Hercules was sent to the town of Nemea, where an invincible lion was ravaging the town. Hercules needed to kill the lion and retrieve its skin. Eventually, he used his strength and cleverness to outsmart and beat the lion.
2. Kill the Lernean Hydra - Next, Hercules had to go to the town of Lerna, where a nine-headed serpent called the Hydra lived in the swamp’s town. The Hydra even had a head that could not be killed. Hercules defeated the monster with the help of his nephew Iolaus.
3. Capture the Golden Deer - Then, Hercules was tasked with capturing a golden deer that lived in the town of Ceryneia. Since the deer was protected by Artemis, the goddess of hunting, Hercules did not want to kill it. Hercules could not catch it for a long time until one day he decided to finally shoot it. Artemis and Apollo confronted him on his way home and let him take the deer after hearing about his situation with the king.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar - The king asked for a wild boar from the mountain of Erymanthos. Hercules herded the boar into the snow, where he caught it with a net and brought it back to the king.
an illustration of Hercules and the Nemean Lion by Yaroslav Radetskyi
5. Clean the Stables of King Augeas - King Augeas had over a thousand cattle in his stable. When Hercules was tasked to clean the entire building, he used his cleverness to think of a plan. Hercules offered to clean the stables, in return asking for a tenth of the king’s cows. The king thought it was an impossible task and agreed. However, Hercules used the water of two nearby rivers to flush and clean out the entire stable.
6. Get Rid of the Stymphalian Birds - Eurystheus noticed an infestation of man-eating birds in the town of Stymphalos and tasked Hercules to get rid of them. Since they were so dangerous and there were so many of them, Hercules couldn’t fight them head-on. Instead, he used a noise instrument he got as a gift from Athena to scare the birds away. As some began to fly, Hercules used his bow and arrow to shoot at them, eventually scaring the whole flock away.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull - Hercules then had to capture a bull that was destroying the city of Crete. He wrestled and defeated the bull, taking it back to Eurystheus.
8. Retrieve the Horses of Diomedes - Another king named Diomedes ruled over the region of Thrace. The evil king was known for training man-eating horses. Hercules brought along a friend named Abderus. However, he was killed by one of the horses. Hercules buried his friend and built a city named Abdera in his name. Then, the hero killed Diomedes, calmed the horses, and brought them back to Eurystheus.
9. Retrieve the Belt of Hippolyta - Queen Hippolyta, the leader of a tribe of warriors named the Amazons and the best warrior among them, was gifted a leather belt by Ares, the god of war. Eurystheus wanted the belt to give to his daughter and instructed Hercules to retrieve it. Hercules went to the Amazons and asked Hippolyta for the belt, explaining his situation. Although Hippolyta agreed, Hera, disguised as one of the warriors, told the tribe that Hercules was there to kidnap Hippolyta. Hercules saw the tribe storm at him with weapons and assumed that Hippolyta had secretly sent her people to kill him. Therefore, Hercules killed the queen and took the belt back to Eurystheus.
10. Retrieve the Cattle of Geryon - Hercules was tasked with retrieving the cattle on the island of Erytheia. He defeated many monsters on his journey. On his way back, some of the cattle got loose, and Hercules had to herd them back. Eventually, he made it back to the king.
11. Retrieve the Golden Apples of Hesperides - Since Hercules received help and guidance on some of his tasks, Eurystheus disqualified two of them. Therefore, the 11th and 12th tasks were added. The king commanded Hercules to steal apples from the garden of Hesperides. At first, Hercules could not find the apples, but Prometheus (the Titan god of fire) told him to ask Atlas (a Titan who was forced to hold up the sky for eternity) for help. While Atlas went to steal the apples, Hercules held up the sky in the meantime. After Atlas found them, he asked if he could give them to Eurystheus himself. Hercules agreed and asked Atlas to hold up the sky for a brief moment while he adjusted his clothing. When Atlas was back to holding up the sky, Hercules took the apples and returned to Eurystheus, tricking Atlas back into his labor.
12. Capture Cerberus - Hercules’ final task was to capture Cerberus, a three-headed dog who stood guard at the gate to the underworld to keep living creatures out. Hercules couldn’t go through this entrance and instead found a different one through a deep cave. He battled many monsters to reach Hades, the god of the underworld. Hercules asked Hades if he could take Cerberus to Eurystheus, and Hades agreed only if Hercules could do so with his own bare hands. Hercules was able to return to the king, and the king immediately told him to return Cerberus to the underworld, as he only wanted to test Hercules, not to keep the beast.
These labors proved how strong, clever, and determined Hercules really was. Despite him not being a god, he sure has the power of one!