![]() Who was this fellow? No ordinary human for sure. The lion looked with curiosity at his bold attacker. The hide of the Nemean Lion was impervious to weapons. Now he understood why the task was all but impossible. Heracles quickly shot another arrow, and it was just as useless as the one before. It flew towards the lion and caught it in the chest – but instead of piercing his skin, the arrow merely bounced off. Heracles took aim and let loose the arrow. It was a powerful weapon, and it took immense strength just to pull back the string and flex it ready to fire. Heracles pulled an arrow from his quiver, and set it in his bow. It was indeed a tremendous beast that would strike fear into most mens’ hearts. He hid behind a boulder, and waited for it to come out. The strongman travelled to Nemea, and the local shepherds soon pointed him in the direction of the lion’s cave. Heracles' first task was to hunt and kill the Nemean Lion. It was attacking not only animals, but people. You’ll hear about that later.Įurystheus told Heracles about a lion that was the cause of suffering in the land of Nemea. The sharp-eared among you will have noticed that earlier I said Heracles performed twelve tasks – I didn’t make a mistake – he was supposed to do ten, but he ended up doing twelve. He presented himself to Eurystheus, king of Tiryns in Mycenae, who was to set his ten impossible tasks. What is clear, is that Heracles took the cure that was prescribed by the Oracle. “He whom the gods wish to destroy, they first drive mad.” It comes from the Greek playwright Euripides and it goes: I am not sure that those rumours are true, but I will mention a famous saying about Heracles at this time of his life. Some people say that Heracles became insaner still, before he undertook his heroic cure – that he was hot-tempered and cruel to his family. To free himself of the curse, he must perform ten impossible labours in the service of mankind. Megara consulted the Oracle of Delphi, and she explained that Hera had planted the seeds of madness inside the mind of her husband. He spent most of his days asleep in his room. Though he had every reason to be happy, Heracles was miserable, and strangely fearful. As a reward, Kreon, King of Thebes, married Heracles to his daughter, Megara. When other Greeks attacked the City of Thebes, Heracles sent the enemies packing. Oh how the Theban girls loved him! And how he loved the girls of Thebes. Still young, he was a formidable sight, with his towering height and his rippling muscles. The boy grew into a teenager, and he was without doubt the strongest human who had ever walked on the face of the Earth. The boy, whose name was Heracles, had killed them both. The nurse heard the commotion came rushing into the nursery, but it was too late – for the snakes. The other snake slid swiftly across the floor towards him, but the child grabbed that one too and began to shake it violently. That was the last thing it did, because the boy shot out his hand and grabbed it by the neck. It reared its head to see if it could reach the top of the mattress. The viper who was out in front stuck out his tongue and hissed. ![]() The larger of the two children stretched and yawned. Their mother was a human woman, but their father was none other than Zeus, Lord of Heaven, and husband of Hera. ![]() It’s hard to understand how anyone, even a goddess, could hold anything against innocent children, but her immortal heart was filled with hatred for the twins. They had been sent by the goddess Hera, Queen of Heaven. First one, and then a second snake slithered in through the gap. However it was not just the air that could enter the room. The door was open onto the veranda to let the cool breeze waft into the room. Long ago, two twin baby boys were asleep in a nursery. He had so many adventures, that his story is a long one – and for that reason, I’m going to tell it to you in several parts. He is most famous for performing 12 impossible labours on behalf of mankind. The Greeks called him Heracles, and the Romans changed his name slightly to Hercules. I’m pretty sure you will have heard of him before. Hello, this is Richard, and I’m here to tell you about a hero from ancient times. Adapted by Bertie (mostly following Apollodorus). The 12 Labours of Heracles (Hercules)Īs Hercules has such an action packed life, we are presenting his biography in two parts. The goddess Hera (wife of Zeus) hated him, and made him perform 12 impossible tasks - impossible for anyone but Hercules. Heracles was a favourite hero of both the Greeks and the Romans (the Romans called him Hercules). ![]()
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