Heracles (Labours)
heroHeracles performed twelve seemingly impossible labours as penance for killing his family in a madness sent by Hera — the most famous cycle of heroic tasks in mythology.
The Myth
Driven mad by Hera, Heracles killed his own children. The Delphic oracle commanded him to serve King Eurystheus of Mycenae for twelve years. The labours: 1) Nemean Lion 2) Lernaean Hydra 3) Ceryneian Hind 4) Erymanthian Boar 5) Augean Stables 6) Stymphalian Birds 7) Cretan Bull 8) Mares of Diomedes 9) Hippolyta's Girdle 10) Cattle of Geryon 11) Apples of the Hesperides 12) Cerberus. After completion, he was freed and eventually deified.
Children
Many, including Hyllus
Symbols
Fun Fact
"Herculean" — meaning requiring enormous strength or effort — is one of the most common mythological adjectives in English.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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placeThe most important oracle in ancient Greece, where the Pythia delivered Apollo's prophecies. The...
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