Notes

1

While still a young man, Hercules went to fight the Minyans, a people who had been forcing Thebes to pay tribute. As a reward for conquering the Minyans, the king of Thebes gave Hercules the hand of his daughter, Megara. Hercules was devoted to Megara and the three children she bore him.

2

King Eurystheus gave Hercules a series of 12 difficult and dangerous tasks. Known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules, these were his most famous feats. The hero's first task was to kill the Nemean Lion, a monstrous beast that terrorized the countryside and could not be killed by any weapon. Hercules strangled the beast with his bare hands and made its skin into a cloak that made him invulnerable.

3
When Hercules was an infant, Hera sent two serpents to kill him. However, Hercules strangled the snakes.

4
He also restored Alcestis, the wife of King Admetus, to life by outwrestling Death.

5

One day Linus, his music master, was teaching Hercules to play the lyre. Hercules became frustrated, flew into a rage, and banged the lyre down on Linus's head. The blow killed Linus instantly. Hercules was shocked and very sorry. He had not meant to kill his teacher. He just did not know his own strength.

john m wickerson

6

But Hera in her jealousy drove Heracles mad, and in this state he killed his own children as well as those of his brother Iphicles by flinging them into the fire. Condemning himself to exile, he went to Thespius, who purified him of the killings. Then he went to Delphi to ask the god where he should live. The Pythia, or priestess, instructed him to dwell in Tiryns, where he should serve Eurystheus for 12 years, performing 10 tasks that Eurystheus would assign him, and when the tasks were completed, he would become immortal. She also addressed him for the first time as Heracles, for his given name was Alcides.

Hansen, William. "Heracles." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2016. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.


6 v2

When he came to his senses, Hercules was horrified by what he had done. Devastated with sorrow and guilt, the hero went to the oracle at Delphi to ask how he could atone for his misdeed. The oracle told him to go to King Eurystheus of Tiryns and submit to any punishment asked of him. The oracle also announced that if Hercules completed the tasks set before him, he would become immortal.

john m wickerson