Hercules was considered the greatest hero in Greece known for his immense strength. He completed twelve difficult labors assigned to him by Eurystheus as penance for killing his family in a fit of madness induced by Hera. These labors included slaying various monsters and beasts. Despite completing the labors, Hercules continued having many adventures and misadventures, battling various giants and beasts and rescuing people. After a life of great endeavors, Hercules finally died, achieved reconciliation with Hera, and was married to Hebe in the heavens.

1. Hercules

2. Hercules
• Known as the greatest hero in Greece.
• Most admired by all of the Greeks except
Athens
• Strongest man on Earth and has a supreme
self-confidence due to his strength

3. Hercules
• Considered himself to be equal to the gods
(being able to help them against the Giants)
• Strong up to the point that know one could
beat him unless a supernatural force is applied
• His intellect is not strong though his
feelings/emotions are.

4. Hercules
• Born in Thebes and was held to be the son of
Amphitryon, a distinguished general
• Son of Zeus who had visited Amphitryon’s wife,
Alcmena in the shape of her husband
• Alcmena bore two children, one of Zeus’
(Hercules) and the other of Amphitryon (Iphicles)

5. Hercules
• Hera, Zeus’s wife, as always was so furious
about Zeus having a child with another woman
so she was determined to kill Hercules.
• Teiresias, the blind prophet, told Alcmena that
Hercules would be famous and“shall be the
hero of mankind”.

6. Hercules
• Great care was taken with his education as he
grew up
• He was taught music (which he personally
didn’t like) ,and fencing, wrestling and driving.

7. Hercules
• By the time he was eighteen, he was able to
kill a full grown Thespian lion, Cithaereon, all
by himself.

8. Adventures of Hercules

9. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– Minyans: Exacts a burdensome tribute from the
Thebans
– Reward when accomplished: Princess Megara
– Hercules was very much devoted to her but their
marriage brought sorrow to their family.

10. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– When Megara bore three sons, Hercules went
mad due to Hera’s wrath. Hercules killed his
children and wife as she tried to protect the
youngest.
– After this incident, he regained his sanity and
found himself covered with the blood of his
beloved family.

11. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– After having regained his consciousness, the
terrified people saw that his madness was over
and Amphitryon dared to approach him.
– Amphitryon told Hercules what happened and
made Hercules want to kill himself to avenge his
family members’ death

12. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– Hercules was stopped by Theseus from killing
himself through his words of wisdom.
– His guilt kept on attacking him until he reached
Athens with Theseus. He went to a priestess and
told her that he needs to be purified.
– The priestess told him to go to her cousin,
Eurystheus.

13. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– Eurystheus was intelligent indeed. He made
Hercules his slave the moment the hero arrived at
his place. He devised a series of penances of
unimaginable difficultly.
– Eurystheus was being helped and urged by Hera.

14. Adventures of Hercules
• Conquering of Minyans
– Eurystheus gave him tasks known as the
Labors of Hercules

15. Labors of Hercules

16. Labor of Hercules
• Labors of Hercules
– Given by Eurystheus
– Twelve different labors
– Each one was all but impossible

17. Labor of Hercules
• 1st Labor
– Kill the lion of Nemea, a beast no weapons could
wound
– Hercules killed it by strangling it to death
– Eurystheus, being cautious, didn’t allow him to get
in the city. He gave Hercules his orders from afar.

18. Labor of Hercules
• 2nd Labor
– To go to Lerna and to kill a creature with nine
heads called the Hydra
• Hydra: a beast with nine heads; one of these heads is
immortal and when you cut one head, two heads grow
in its place

19. • 2nd Labor
– Accomplished the labor with the help of his
nephew who gave him a burning brand with which
he seared the neck as he cut each head off so that
it could not sprout again.
– He cut all the heads leaving the immortal one
buried securely under a huge rock.

20. Labors of Hercules
• 3rd Labor
– To bring back alive a stag with horns of gold which
lives in the forests of Cerynitia
– He succeeded after one year of hunting it

21. Labors of Hercules
• 4th Labor
– Capture a great boar which had its lair on Mount
Erymanthus
– Hercules chased the beast until it was exhausted
then cornered it into the deep snow.

22. Labors of Hercules
• 5th Labor
– Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
• Augean Stables: owned by Augeas. Augeas has
thousands of cattles and the stables weren’t cleaned
for years.

23. • 5th Labor
– Hercules diverted the courses of two rivers and
made them flow through the stables. This washed
away all the dirt in just a short span of time.

24. Labors of Hercules
• 6th Labor
– To drive away the Stymphalian birds, which were
a plague to the people of Stymphalus because of
their enormous numbers
– He was helped by Athena to drive these birds out
of their places and as they flew up, he shot them
one by one.

25. Labors of Hercules
• 7th Labor
– To go to Crete and fetch from there a beautiful
savage bull given by Poseidon to Minos.
– Hercules mastered the bull, transported it through
a boat and brought it to Eurystheus

26. Labors of Hercules
• 8th Labor
– To get the man-eating mares of King Diomedes of
Thrace.
– Hercules slew Diomedes first and then drove off
the mares unopposed

27. Labors of Hercules
• 9th Labor
– To bring back the girdle of Hippolyta, the Queen
of the Amazon
– When Hercules arrived she met him kindly and
Hippolyta told Hercules that she would give him
the girdle.
– Hera started a new trouble. omg

28. • 9th Labor
– Hera made the Amazons think that Hercules will
carry Hippolyta off and they attacked him down
on his ship.
– Hercules, without a single thought on how kind
Hippolyta is, killed her in an instant and then held
back the other, allowing him to escape with the
girdle.

29. Labors of Hercules
• 10th Labor
– To bring back the cattle of Geryon, who was a
monster with three bodies living on Ertyhia, a
island located in the west
– On his way, he arrived at an island at the end of
Mediterranean and he set up pillars as a memorial
of his journey. He then got the oxen and brought
it to Mycenae

30. Labors of Hercules
• 11th Labor
– Most difficult labor so far
– To bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides,
without Hercules knowing where to find these apples
– He asked Atlas, who bore the vault of heaven upon
his shoulders and the father of Hesperides to get the
apples for him.

31. • 11th Labor
– Hercules offered Atlas to take upon himself the
burden of carrying the heavy load while Atlas was
away.
– Atlas, seeing the chance of being relieved forever,
went to gather the apples but he didn’t give them
to Hercules when he came back. He told Hercules
to keep holding up the sky for Atlas himself would
bring the apples to Eurystseus. Hercules used his
strength to support the sky.

32. • 11th Labor
– Now Hercules only has his wits to depend on.
Because of his cleverness when he asked Atlas to
carry the sky for a moment because he needed to
put a pad on his shoulders, he was able to get
away with the apples at hand.

33. Labors of Hercules
• 12th Labor
– Worst Labor of all
– Took him down to the Underworld
– Task: to bring Cerberus, the three headed-dog, up
from Hades
– Hades gave him the permission provided that
Hercules shan’t use any weapons

34. • 12th Labor
– He used his hands and he lifted the dog all the
way up to Mycenae. Eurystheus obviously didn’t
want to keep it so he told Hercules to bring it back
to the Underworld.
– This is Hercules’ last labor

35. Labors of Hercules
• When all the labors were completed and had
fully repented for his “sins”, he would seem to
have earned ease
• But it was not so
• He lived a life full of endeavors and obstacles

36. Misadventures of Hercules

37. Misadventures
• To fight to Antaeus, a giant and mighty
wrestler who forced the strangers to wrestle
with him on the condition that if he would win
he would kill them
• If Antaeus is touching the Earth he will be
invincible. Hercules lifted him up and
strangled him.

38. Misadventures
• Fought with the river-god Achelous because
Achelous was in love with the woman Hercules
is now wanting to marry.
• Achelous had no desire to fight him which made
Hercules madder.
• Achelous assumed a bull form and attacked
Hercules fiercely. Hercules being used to bulls
easily defeated him.

39. Misadventures
• Rescued a maiden in the same plight as
Andromeda waiting on a shore to be
devoured by a sea monster
• Came to Caucasus, where he freed
Prometheus, slaying the eagle preying for it
• Bringing back Alcestis, his friend’s wife back
from the dead
• and many more *wink wink*

40. • Hercules seized a city, and killed a King.
However the king was avenged thorugh
Hercules’ death.
• Hercules died when he wore the robe covered
by blood. He suffered unimaginable pain but
lived. His wife, knowing what her gift had
done committed suicide. Hercules then asked
to build a great pyre and for him to be carried
to it.

41. • AND FINALLY HE DIED.
He got reconciled to Hera and married her
daughter Hebe.
The End!

42. • Bibliography
Hamilton, Edith; The Classic Best Seller
Mythology Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes;
Grand Central Publishing 1942,1969; Date
Accessed: November 7, 2012