Hercules is one of the most famous heroes in Greek mythology, mostly due to his abnormal strength. He was the son of Zeus, the ruler of gods on Mount Olympus and humans on earth, and his mother was Alcmene, the granddaughter of Perseus, who famously slayed Medusa.
Zeus’ wife Hera became extremely jealous after hearing that her husband’s mistress was pregnant and used her powers to stop Hercules from becoming Mycenae’s ruler. She did this by sending two snakes to kill the baby in his crib, but infant Hercules was already strong and fearless, so he strangled the snakes. She also and put a spell on Hercules when he was a young adult that made him temporarily crazy and caused him to kill his wife, Megara, and their two kids. Once he recovered from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done. Hercules sought out Apollo and asked him to be punished for his crimes, the god's oracle told him he would have to perform 12 heroic labors for the Mycenaean king Eurystheus. Apollo said that after he completed the labors, Hercules would be cleared of his guilt and become immortal
Hercules's 12 Heroic Labors:
The lion
Hercules went to the hills of Nemea to kill a lion that was terrifying and harming the Nemean people.
The Hydra
Hercules went to Lerna to kill the nine-headed Hydra, which was a poisonous, snake-like, underwater guard of the entrance to the Underworld.
The Hind
Hercules went to capture the goddess Diana’s pet, a red deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves. Eurystheus made Hercules do this because he thought Diana would kill anyone who tried to take her pet.
The Boar
Hercules snared the petrifying, murderous wild boar of Mount Erymanthus with a giant net.
The Stables
Hercules had to clean out King Augeas’ enormous stables. He did this by flooding them.
The Birds
Hercules had to drive away the large flock of carnivorous birds in the trees of Stymphalos. The goddess Athena gave Hercules a pair of magical bronze noisemakers. Hercules used the noisemakers to scare away the birds.
The Bull
Hercules traveled to Crete to seize a rampaging bull that had impregnated the island’s queen, who later gave birth to a Minotaur. Hercules drove the bull to Eurystheus, who let it loose in the streets of Marathon.
The Horse
Hercules had to capture the Thracian king Diomedes’ four man-eating horses. Hercules brought the horses to Eurystheus, who devoted them to Hera and released them.
The Belt
Hercules needed to steal the Amazon queen Hippolyte’s armored belt. Initially, Hippolyte agreed to give Hercules the belt. Then, Hera disguised herself as an Amazon warrior and said that Hercules was going to kidnap the queen. The women wanted to protect Hippolyte so they attacked Hercules’ fleet. Following the attack, Hercules killed the queen and took the belt from her corpse.
The Cattle
Hercules had to go almost all the way to Africa to steal the three-headed, six-legged monster Geryon’s cattle. Hercules was able to return to Mycenae with the cattle despite Hera’s best efforts to stop him.
The Apples
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to steal Hera’s wedding gift to Zeus. The Hesperides, a group of nymphs, guarded the gift of golden apples. With the assistance of Prometheus and the god Atlas, Hercules was able to steal the apples, show them to Eurystheus, and return them to the gods’ garden.
Cerberus
Hercules’s last task was to kidnap Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guarded the gates of Hades. Hercules used his incredible strength to wrestle Cerberus to the ground and capture him.
After the 12 Labors, Hercules went on to go on more heroic journeys, though none were as challenging or important as the 12 labors. These adventures include: rescuing the princess of Troy from a sea-monster and helping Zeus defeat the Giants battling for control of Olympus.
Hercules got married a second time, to a woman named Deianira. His wife acquired a magical balm from a centaur that told her anyone who put on the balm would always love her. Deianira wove Hercules a cloak and smeared the balm onto it. However, the centaur had lied and the balm actually contained a poison. When Deianira gave Hercules the cloak as a gift, he put it on and it burned with unbearable pain. Hercules could not take off the cloak because it just made the pain worse, so instead, Hercules had his friends make him a funeral pyre because he thought death would be better than this pain. Hercules laid on the pyre and asked his friends to light it, burning him alive. Meanwhile, Zeus told Hera that Hercules had been through enough suffering, to which she agreed and stopped her anger. Zeus had Athena take Hercules from the pyre to Olympus. Hercules spent the rest of eternity with the gods.
Zeus’ wife Hera became extremely jealous after hearing that her husband’s mistress was pregnant and used her powers to stop Hercules from becoming Mycenae’s ruler. She did this by sending two snakes to kill the baby in his crib, but infant Hercules was already strong and fearless, so he strangled the snakes. She also and put a spell on Hercules when he was a young adult that made him temporarily crazy and caused him to kill his wife, Megara, and their two kids. Once he recovered from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done. Hercules sought out Apollo and asked him to be punished for his crimes, the god's oracle told him he would have to perform 12 heroic labors for the Mycenaean king Eurystheus. Apollo said that after he completed the labors, Hercules would be cleared of his guilt and become immortal
Hercules's 12 Heroic Labors:
The lion
Hercules went to the hills of Nemea to kill a lion that was terrifying and harming the Nemean people.
The Hydra
Hercules went to Lerna to kill the nine-headed Hydra, which was a poisonous, snake-like, underwater guard of the entrance to the Underworld.
The Hind
Hercules went to capture the goddess Diana’s pet, a red deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves. Eurystheus made Hercules do this because he thought Diana would kill anyone who tried to take her pet.
The Boar
Hercules snared the petrifying, murderous wild boar of Mount Erymanthus with a giant net.
The Stables
Hercules had to clean out King Augeas’ enormous stables. He did this by flooding them.
The Birds
Hercules had to drive away the large flock of carnivorous birds in the trees of Stymphalos. The goddess Athena gave Hercules a pair of magical bronze noisemakers. Hercules used the noisemakers to scare away the birds.
The Bull
Hercules traveled to Crete to seize a rampaging bull that had impregnated the island’s queen, who later gave birth to a Minotaur. Hercules drove the bull to Eurystheus, who let it loose in the streets of Marathon.
The Horse
Hercules had to capture the Thracian king Diomedes’ four man-eating horses. Hercules brought the horses to Eurystheus, who devoted them to Hera and released them.
The Belt
Hercules needed to steal the Amazon queen Hippolyte’s armored belt. Initially, Hippolyte agreed to give Hercules the belt. Then, Hera disguised herself as an Amazon warrior and said that Hercules was going to kidnap the queen. The women wanted to protect Hippolyte so they attacked Hercules’ fleet. Following the attack, Hercules killed the queen and took the belt from her corpse.
The Cattle
Hercules had to go almost all the way to Africa to steal the three-headed, six-legged monster Geryon’s cattle. Hercules was able to return to Mycenae with the cattle despite Hera’s best efforts to stop him.
The Apples
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to steal Hera’s wedding gift to Zeus. The Hesperides, a group of nymphs, guarded the gift of golden apples. With the assistance of Prometheus and the god Atlas, Hercules was able to steal the apples, show them to Eurystheus, and return them to the gods’ garden.
Cerberus
Hercules’s last task was to kidnap Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guarded the gates of Hades. Hercules used his incredible strength to wrestle Cerberus to the ground and capture him.
After the 12 Labors, Hercules went on to go on more heroic journeys, though none were as challenging or important as the 12 labors. These adventures include: rescuing the princess of Troy from a sea-monster and helping Zeus defeat the Giants battling for control of Olympus.
Hercules got married a second time, to a woman named Deianira. His wife acquired a magical balm from a centaur that told her anyone who put on the balm would always love her. Deianira wove Hercules a cloak and smeared the balm onto it. However, the centaur had lied and the balm actually contained a poison. When Deianira gave Hercules the cloak as a gift, he put it on and it burned with unbearable pain. Hercules could not take off the cloak because it just made the pain worse, so instead, Hercules had his friends make him a funeral pyre because he thought death would be better than this pain. Hercules laid on the pyre and asked his friends to light it, burning him alive. Meanwhile, Zeus told Hera that Hercules had been through enough suffering, to which she agreed and stopped her anger. Zeus had Athena take Hercules from the pyre to Olympus. Hercules spent the rest of eternity with the gods.