Ancient Greek Mythology, Heracles

A detailed Summary of Ancient Greek Mythology, Heracles

Heracles was the greatest of Greek hero's. After living a life that ranged from suffering, to victory, then to defeat, he was brought to Olympus and was turned into a god. Heracles is the son of Alcmena and Zeus. He had a twin brother Iphicles. Iphicles father was Amphitryon. When Hera learned that Zeus was the father to the twin Heracles she was very angry. She attempted to kill the baby by having two serpents sent to the cradle. Heracles right from the start showed a remarkable strength. He immediately strangled both of the serpents as soon as they were placed next to him.

Even though Heracles possessed these amazing strengths he was never destined to become king. Quite the opposite was the outcome of Heracles life. He became slave to his cousin Eurystheus. The way this ended up happening was that Heracles killed his wife Megara and their three sons'. The main cause of Heracles going mad was believed to be Hera. After dong this horrible deed he went to the oracle at Delphi. The oracle told him to leave Thebes and travel to Tiryns, his parents home, where he is to serve his cousin Eurystheus. This is where the twelve labors come in.

At the command of Eurystheus, Heracles was ordered to do twelve labors. They

The second labor was the Learnaean Hydra. This labor entailed killing an enormous water serpent with many heads that lived near a swamp. Heracles drove the monster from its lair with a bow and flaming arrows. Next he got in close with his sword and chopped the heads off one by one. Every time he cut a head off, two more would grow in its place. Eventually he cauterized the stumps so no more could grow. Then he cut the center immortal head off and buried it under a rock. Afterwards he dipped his sword into the blood of the beast. This blood was extremely deadly. One drop could kill the strongest of men.

The third labor was the Cerneian Deer. The deer was to be brought back alive. The key features of the deer were that the antlers were golden and the hoofs brazen. He wounded the animal so he could catch it and then carry it back to show Eurystheus. On the journey home he ran into Artemis and Apollo. Heracles apologized for capturing the deer but he told them that he was under strict orders and that he will release it once it has been showed to Eurystheus.

The eight labor was the Horses of Diomedes. The horses dinned on human flesh, this was one of the key things that Heracles had to over come. He feeds the horse's Diomedes flesh, their master, and is able to capture them while dinning.

were the Nemean lion, the Learnaean Hydra, the Cerneian Deer, the Erymanthian Boar, the Augean Stables, the Stymphalian Birds, the Cretan Bull, the Horses of Diomedes, the Girdle of Hippolyta, the Cattle of Geryon, the Apples of Hesperides, and lastly Cerberus.

The twelfth labor was Cerberus. Cerberus was a many headed dog that lived in the under world. Heracles traveled to Hades and asked permission to take the beast. He was allowed to do so as long as he did not injure it. Heracles managed to pass a chain around it's neck and drag it from the under world.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Amphitryon Hera, Finally Heracles, Cerberus Cerberus, Apples Heserides, Learnaean Hydra, Geryon Geryon, Arcadia Heracles's, Nemea Heracles, Chiron Chiron, Hippolyta Hippolyta, kill lion, killed wife, world heracles, cerneian deer, erymanthian boar, learnaean hydra, cattle geryon, horses diomedes, lion eurystheus, girdle hippolyta,

Approximate Word count = 1453
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English