The Great Labors of Hercules
"Hercules was one of many distinguished heros in Greek mythology. He was both the most famous hero of ancient times an the most beloved. There are more stories based on Hercules than any other hero and he was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome. He has been the subject of many stories, television shows, and movies. He can also be seen in the sky as one of our star constellations. His story is of a man who was courageous and strong, who endured many hardships, and whose deeds were legendary. After his death, Hercules ascended to Mount Olympus to live among the gods. The following paragraphs is a short summary of Hercules.

Hercules was the son of Alcmene, a mortal, and Zeus, the supreme ruler of the gods. Zeus was the most powerful god of them all and had the power to do as he pleased. 

Zeus fell in love with the mortal Alcemene (Alk-ME-ne), a very beautiful Greek woman. When her husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant with Hercules. This angered Hera, Zeus' wife and queen of the gods, so much that she tried to prevent Hercules from being born. Alcmene had the baby and named him Herakles (the Romans pronounced the name "Hercules".) which meant "glorious gift to Hera" in Greek and that got Hera even more upset. Hera then tried to kill Hercules by sending snakes into his crib. But baby Hercules was strong and he strangled the snakes before they could harm him.

Hera was still very upset and wondered how she could exact her revenge. Hera knew she was no match for Hercules in the strength department and she wasn't powerful enough to prevent Zeus from doing what he wanted, so Hera decided to make Hercules' life as miserable as possible.

Hercules grew up to be a great warrior and he soon married Megara, the daughter of King Kreon. The happy couple had two children, both sons. Unfortunately, Hera was still quite upset and made Hercules temporarily insane. He was so insane that he murdered Megara, his children, two children of his half-brother, his friend Iphicles, and a man named Lykos.

Hercules was cured of his insanity and saw the horrendous crime he had committed. He was so sad and ashamed that he asked the god Apollo how he could make amends. Apollo commanded Hercules to do certain tasks as a punishment for his crimes so that he could vindicate himself and cleanse his spirit of that evil.

Hercules went to the temple where Apollo dwelled. It was in the town of Delphi and called the Delphic oracle. Apollo said that in order to purify himself for killing his family, he had to perform 12 Labors. He gave Hercules the good news and the bad news.

First, the bad news: Apollo said that Hercules had to go to the city of Tiryns. The king of that city was Eurystheus (You-RISS-theus). Eurystheus had a reputation of being ruthlessly mean and Hercules knew that the king would not be merciful on him. Hercules was Eurystheus' servant for 12 years while he underwent his 12 nearly impossible tasks. 

Now the good news: When Hercules completed his tasks, Apollo said that Hercules would attain immortality. Instead of dying and going to the Underworld of Hades like the rest of the mortals, Hercules would become a god. These tasks became known as The 12 Labors, which is a very important part of this lesson.

After he completed the 12 Labors, Hercules embarked on many more adventures. For example: He had to rescue the princess of Troy from a sea-monster. He also helped his father Zeus to defeat the Giants in a war for control of Mount Olympus.

Hercules did marry a second time. This was to the very beautiful woman, Deianira (Day-an-EE-ra). When Hercules returned from his last adventure, Deianira gave him a homecoming gift. This was a cloak that she had made herself. Deianira had a magical potion which a centaur had given her. The centaur told Deianira that this potion would make anyone love her forever. The potion was really a poison and this poison was smeared on the cloak by Deianira. 

Hercules put on the cloak and immediately his body began to burn. He tried to pull the cloak off but the pain was tremendous and it burned deeper. Hercules figured that death would be the best alternative. As he was in great pain, Hercules told his friends to build a huge pile of wood on top of Mount Oeta. This would be known as Hercules' funeral pyre. He laid down on to the pyre and told his friends to light it. Hercules is burned alive. Zeus then sent Athena to take Hercules from the pyre. Athena did so and brought Hercules back to Olympus on her chariot."
(http://www.k12.hi.us/~skiyonag/Herculeslife.html)
"
Picture

    Comments!