The Labors of Hercules

The Son of Zeus—Hercules

Princess Alcmene was so beautiful and kind that every man who saw her fell immediately in love with her. Even Zeus, king of all the gods, looked down at Alcmene from his throne in the sky and fell deeply in love with her beauty. Zeus wished to take her as his bride, so he visited her one night and they were secretly married. Later Alcmene gave birth to a son and named him Hercules. Since Hercules was the son of Zeus, his strength was greater than any other man's.

Hera was Zeus' wife in Olympus the land of the gods. She knew how much her husband liked beautiful women, and was jealous of Princess Alcmene. Hera wanted greatly to see her die, but Zeus ordered her not to hurt Alcmene, and Hera feared Zeus' anger. Instead Hera decided to get her revenge on Alcmene through her son, Hercules. When Hercules was just a baby, Hera sent two huge snakes into his nursery. Hercules wrestled with the two snakes and killed them. Even as a baby, his strength was great.

During his life, Hera did many things to try and hurt Hercules. After Hercules was married and had two children, Hera decided it was a good time to take her revenge. She made Hercules think that his wife had been sleeping with another man and that his children were not his own. Hercules became so crazy with anger that he broke his wife's neck and threw his children into a fire. When he realized the terrible deed that he had done, he was so filled with sadness that he left his city and lived alone in a small cave in the mountains.

For many months, Hercules stayed in the mountain cave and did not leave to see anyone. He thought about what he had done and prayed to the gods to end his terrible sadness. The gods met together to decide what to do with Hercules. They were angry about his violent act, but they also felt that he had done some great things in his life and should receive a second chance. The gods finally decided that Hercules would be forgiven if he used his strength for good.

Apollo, the messenger of the gods, flew to Hercules' cave and delivered this message:

"Powerful Hercules, you must travel to Argos and complete twelve tasks for your cousin Eurystheus. Once you have completed these tasks, the gods will forgive you and your sadness can end." Hercules bowed to Apollo and thanked the gods for their wisdom and for giving him a second opportunity. He then left for Argos to see his cousin Eurystheus.

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