Heracles ( the greek mythlogy)
Zeus was the chief of all gods. Although he was married to the goddess Hera, he still loved other women. Among them was Alcmene, who became the mother of Heracles. The jealous Hera hated Heracles from the moment he was born. To destroy him she sent two snakes to his cradle. But Heracles was already so strong that he strangled them. Alcmene was told by a prophet that her son would be the hero of all humankind, & she did not doubt this.
After Heracles performed a heroic deed for the people of the city of Thebes, they rewarded him with a princess, whose h& was given to him in marriage. Heracles loved his wife & they had three sons together. But Hera had not forgotten about Heracles. Determined to harm him, she caused him to become momentarily insane. During his madness Heracles killed his wife & children. As soon as the madness passed, he realized what he had done. Horrified & overcome with grief, he planned to kill himself. But his friend Theseus, another great hero, convinced him not to do so, telling him that he should be strong.
Heracles went to Athens to live in Theseus's house, but he could not forgive himself for the terrible things he had done. A prophet told him that if he wanted to purify his soul, he should visit Eurystheus, a king, & do whatever was asked of him. Heracles followed the advice. Eurystheus was being influenced by Hera, however. When Heracles presented himself in service, the king came up with 12 seemingly impossible tasks.
Heracles was ordered to (1) slay a fierce lion, (2) kill the nine-headed serpent Hydra, (3) retrieve a sacred stag with golden horns, (4) capture a ferocious boar, (5) wash stables that had not been cleaned in 30 years, (6) slay the Stymphalian birds, a terrible nuisance to the people, (7) bring back the Cretan bull, a savage beast, (8) seize the untamed, man-eating horses belonging to Diomedes, (9) obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, (10) capture the cattle belonging to the monster Geryon, (11) steal the four golden apples guarded by the sister nymphs, who were daughters of the Titan Atlas, & (12) capture the three-headed dog Cerberus, who guarded the gates of Hades, the underworld.
Heracles was not brilliant, but he was determined & strong. He accomplished all 12 tasks, even showing great cleverness at times. For example, to clean the filthy stables, he changed the paths of two rivers, which washed the stables in a single day.
With the labors done, Heracles had paid for his wrongs. But he was still not satisfied. He continued to perform amazing deeds throughout his life. At one point Heracles saved his second wife, Deianeira, from being carried off by the centaur Nessus. As Nessus was dying, he told Deianeira to save some of his blood & use it as a love charm if Heracles ever fell in love with another woman. When Heracles fell in love with another maiden, Deianeira sent him a robe soaked in Nessus' blood. Heracles put it on & was poisoned. He fled to Mount Oeta, built a funeral fire, & threw himself on it to die.
Heracles grew up to become the strongest man on Earth. He was confident & believed that no matter who was against him, he could not be overpowered. He considered himself equal to the gods.
Stories describe Heracles as more emotional than smart. Capable of great feeling, he was also quick to anger. This quality is dangerous in a person so powerful. Heracles possessed great courage, but he also had a strong dislike for wrongdoing. He was willing to do anything to set things right. This is where the story of the Labors of Heracles begins.The most famous hero in ancient Greek & Roman mythology was Heracles. Called Hercules by the Romans, he was said to have completed 12 great tasks known as the Labors of Heracles.
