Hercules was the greatest of the mythological Greek heroes
he was famous for his incredible strength courage and intelligence
Hercules is actually his Roman name the Greeks called him Heracules
he was a demigod actually which means that he was half god and half human
his father was Zeus the king of the gods and his mother was Alcmene II a human
Hercules was very strong even as a baby when Hera Zeus's wife came to know of her husband's illegitimate child
she wanted to kill the baby Hera sent two large snakes into the crib
the snakes slit towards the bed the Viper who was out in front stuck out his tongue and hiss
it reared its head that was the last thing it did because the boy shot out his hand and grabbed it by the neck
the other snake slid swiftly across the floor towards him but the child grabbed that one too
and began to shake it violently the nurse heard the commotion and came rushing into the nursery
but it was too late for the snakes Hercules had killed them both
Hercules grew into a fine teenager and he was without doubt the strongest man on earth
one day he met the Oracle of Delphi to get some advice
the Oracle told Hercules that he must serve King Eurystheus for ten years and do any task the king asked of him
Hercules obeyed and met King Eurystheus the king was jealous of Hercules and did not like him at all
so the king gave Hercules 12 impossible tasks to do hoping that Hercules would fail
task 1: Eurystheus told Hercules about a lion that was the cause of suffering in the land of Nemea
it was attacking not only animals but people as well
Hercules his first task was to hunt and kill the Nemean lion
Hercules traveled to Nemea the local people showed him in the direction of the lions cave
when Hercules reached the cave he hid behind a boulder and waited for the lion to come out
he waited and waited but the lion didn't show up when it was evening the lion yawn and walked out of the cave
the Nemean lion had huge teeth and skin so tough that it could not be pierced by arrows
everyone in the land of Nemea was scared of it many hunters had tried to kill the beast but no one had succeeded
Hercules took aim and shot him him it flew towards the lion and caught in the chest
but instead of piercing his skin the arrow merely bounced off
the lion looked with curiosity at his bold attacker who was this fellow no ordinary human for sure
seeing that Heracles was as strong and fierce as himself he decided to retreat into his cave
Hercules uprooted a tree and sealed the entrance so that the lion may not escape
once he was inside the cave he saw the gleaming green eyes of the lion waiting to attack him
the lion was strong but Hercules was stronger than
Hercules pounced on the lion he grappled and wrestled with the man-eating beast
and finally defeated it killing it with his bare hands
and that's how Hercules completed his first task if you have ever seen a picture of Hercules you will
know that he liked to wear a lion skin over his shoulders and this was the skin of the Nemean lion
King Eurystheus was not very happy when he saw Hercules walking into his palace wearing the lion skin
Hercules had completed his second labor by killing the Nemean lion
so this time he decided to give Hercules a tougher task
Hercules was given the task to fight another terrible creature known as the lernaean hydra
the Hydra was a big snake a very big one and it had nine heads
Task two the lernaean hydra
the king knew that anyone who approached the monsters den in the swamp would be killed by the snakes poisonous breath
also if anyone tried to cut off any of its heads two more would grow in its place
the Hydra was indeed a fierce opponent even Hercules did not think he could fight this monster on his own
he enlisted the help of his nephew a olace
Hercules was very clever too when they reached the swamp he could sense the poisonous air inside the den
they realized the danger and did not enter the den they lured the monster out of the swamp instead
Hercules did not waste any time and he jumped into action
Hercules fought the Hydra fiercely and each time he chopped off one of its heads Iolace spurned it before another set of head sprouted out
ercules and I olace clubbed off the monsters nine heads but one head refused to die
so Hercules crushed that head and buried it deep in the ground
he returned to Eurystheus with the news of his victory but the king was not satisfied
you did not fight Hydra on your own he said and so the Labour does not count
Hercules his next task was to bring the sacred deer of Artemis which had iron feet and golden horns
task three the Tsarina and hind
the Tsarina and hind was not a beasts like them to me and lion or the Hydra it was a noble creature with
iron feet and golden horns that could outrun an arrow
the sacred hind belonged to Artemis goddess of wilderness
Hercules set out to hunt down and capture the golden stag of Artemis
Hercules spent almost a year wandering the forest in search of the hide
finally one night while the stag was sleeping Hercules crept up to the sleeping animal
and caught it by throwing a net over the sleeping animal
at once Artemis appeared before Hercules even though Artemis was a goddess she feared the
strength of the son of Zeus she brought Apollo her twin brother along for moral support
Hercules apologized for his deeds he then explained how he needed to capture the deer for completing the task given to him
Artemis consulted with her brother and agreed on a compromise
Hercules was allowed to take the secret deer to Eurystheus alive but then he must let it go Hercules agreed
he returned to the city gates with the deer he knew if the deer didn't return safely Artemis would hurt him
so thinking fast Hercules agreed to give the king the deer under one condition
that the king come outside the city gates and get the deer himself
the king agreed and arrived at the city gates just as the king was about to take them out
Hercules let it go and the deer sprinted back to Artemis
Eurystheus was furious but Hercules told the king that he was not fast enough and that's why the hind escaped
and that's how mighty Hercules completed his third labor