HERACLES

Kristiana Marie B. Arellano

Grade 10 - Science
Family Tree of Heracles
 Hercules
 Known as the greatest hero of Greece
 When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent 2 serpents into his cradle but little Heracles simply grasped them
and squeezed the life out of them.
 Hercules banged his lyre over Linus’ (music teacher) head in a fit of fury for being scolded.
 He married Megara and they had two children.
 Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules that put him into so great a rage, he murdered Megara and the
children. When Hercules regained his senses and saw the horrible thing that he had done, he went to the
oracle of Delphi to learn what he must do to atone for his crime. He was told that in order to purify
himself for the spilling of his family's blood, he had to perform 10 heroic labors (this number would soon
be increased to 12). The priestess declared that he had to go to the city of Mycenae/Tiryns. The king of
Mycenae/Tiryns was Eurystheus, his cousin. The hero had to serve Eurystheus for 12 years while he
performed the Labors (Labors of Hercules).
 1. The Nemean Lion

In the valley of Nemea dwelt a monstrous lion whose

skin was so tough it could not be pierced by any weapon. It
was one of Echidna’s dreadful offspring. Hercules chased it out
of his lair, seized it in his bare hands, and choked it to death.
Then, he skinned the lion and slung the huge carcass on his
back and carried it to Mycenae. The king became afraid of
Hercules and forbade him from entering through the gates of
the city.
 2. The Lernean Hydra

In the swamps of Lerna, lived a nine-headed Hydra.

The Hydra attacked with poisonous venom. Hercules was
helped by his nephew and charioteer, Iolaus by holding a
torch to the headless tendons of the neck. The flames
prevented the growth of replacement heads, and finally,
Hercules had the better of the beast. Once he had removed
and destroyed the eight mortal heads, Hercules chopped off
the immortal head. This he buried under a heavy rock.
Hercules dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s venomous blood
making them poisonous and deadly.
 3. The Hind of Cerynia

He was sent to bring back alive one of the sacred

hinds of Artemis. This was a special deer because it had
golden horns and hoofs of bronze. Hercules hunted it a whole
year before he was able to catch the deer and bring it safely to
Mycenae.
 4. The Erymanthean Boar

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the

Erymanthian boar alive who lives on the slopes of Mt.
Erymanthus. With loud yells, Hercules chased the boar out of
its lair and drove it ahead of him into deep snow to make it
easy for him to catch it.
 5. The Augean Stables

For the fifth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to

clean up King Augeas' stables in a single day. King Augeas had
huge herds and his stables and barnyards hadn’t been cleaned
out for years. Hercules, with tremendous strength, changed the
course of two rivers. The waters flooded through the stables
and washed them clean in less than a day.
 6. The Stymphalian Birds

For the sixth Labor, Hercules was to drive away an

enormous flock of birds called the Stymphalian birds which
gathered at a lake near the town of Stymphalos. The goddess
Athena came to his aid, providing a pair of bronze krotala.
Climbing a nearby mountain, Hercules clashed the krotala
loudly, scaring the birds out of the trees, then shot them as
they took flight.
 7. The Cretan Bull

Eurystheus sent Hercules south to catch the fierce and

savage bull on the island of Crete. The Cretans, who were great
bullfighters couldn’t catch the bull but Hercules seized the bull
by the horns, flung it to the ground, and brought it to
Mycenae.
 8. The Horses of Diomedes

Eurystheus sent him to get the four man-eating mares

of Diomedes, king of Thrace and bring them back to him in
Mycenae. Hercules slew Diomedes and threw him to his own
mares. The mares became tame that they let Hercules drive
them to the gates of Mycenae but Eurystheus set them free.
 9. The Belt of Hippolyta

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the

belt/golden girdle of Hippolyta.
When Hercules got off the boat, Hippolyta kindly met him and
asked why he had come, and when he told her, she promised to
give him the belt. Hera disguised herself as an Amazon warrior and
spread the rumor that Hercules had come to carry off the queen.
The Amazon warriors charged down to the ship but when Hercules
saw that they were wearing their armor and were carrying their
weapons, he knew that he was under attack. Thinking fast, he
drew his sword and killed Hippolyta. Then he undid her belt and
took it away from her. Hercules fought the rest of the Amazons in
a great battle. Hercules returned to Mycenae, and he gave the belt
to Eurystheus.
 10. Geryon’s Cattle

Geryon lived on an island called Erythia. On this island, Geryon kept

a herd of red cattle guarded by Cerberus’ brother, Orthus, a two-headed
hound, and the herdsman Eurytion. Hercules set off on for Erythia and he came
to the place where Libya met Europe. Here, Hercules built two massive
mountains, one in Europe and one in Libya, to commemorate his extensive
journey. These mountains became known as the Gates or Pillars of Hercules.
Hercules reached the island of Erythia and began at once to load the herd of
red cattle. Orthus attacked Hercules, so Hercules bashed him with his club.
Eurytion followed, with the same result. Just as Hercules was escaping with the
cattle, Geryon attacked him. Hercules shot him dead with his arrows. Hercules
made it to the edge of the Ionian Sea, with the end of his journey finally in
sight. Hera, however, was not about to let the hero accomplish this labor. She
sent a swarm of gadflies to attack the cattle, and the herd scattered far and
wide. Now, Hercules had to run around Thrace gathering the escaped cows.
Finally, he regrouped the herd and brought the cattle of Geryon to Eurystheus,
who sacrificed the herd to Hera.
 11. The Apples of the Hesperides

Hercules was sent to find Hera’s secret garden of the

Hesperides and pick three golden apples from the little apple tree
that Mother earth had given Hera for her wedding gift. Heracles
traveled over land and sea, and at last he came to the garden of
Hesperides. Nearby stood the Titan Atlas and Hercules offered to
hold up the sky for him if he would pick three golden apples from
Hera’s tree. When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told
Hercules he would take them to Eurystheus himself, and asked
Hercules to stay there and hold the heavy load for the rest of time.
Hercules slyly agreed, but asked Atlas whether he could take it back
again, just for a moment, while the hero put some soft padding on
his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky and the earth.
Atlas put the apples on the ground, and lifted the burden onto his
own shoulders. And so Hercules picked up the apples and quickly
ran off, carrying them back, uneventfully, to Eurystheus.
 On his way, Hercules was stopped by Antaeus, the
giant wrestler. He could not die as long as his feet touches
Mother Earth. Hercules seized him and held him in the air until
he choked him to death. Hercules hurried to Mycenae and gave
Eurystheus the golden apples.
 12. Cerberus

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to the

Underworld and kidnap the beast called Cerberus. He found
Hades and asked the god for Cerberus. The lord of the
Underworld replied that Hercules could indeed take
Cerberus with him, but only if he overpowered the beast
with nothing more than his own brute strength. Undaunted,
the hero threw his strong arms around the beast, grasping
all three heads at once, and wrestled Cerberus into
submission. Cerberus had to submit to the force of the hero,
and Hercules brought Cerberus to Eurystheus.
Hercules and Queen Omphale of
Lydia
Hercules bringing Queen
Alcestis back to King Admetus
Hercules, Deianera, and the
Centaur Nessus
Athena rescuing Hercules from the
pyre to be brought to Olympus as a
god