12 labours of hercules 4 level 4.5 puzzle pieces

The first task was traveling to Nemea and slaying the Nemean Lion, a fierce beast terrorizing the countryside. Source: Getty Images Hercules’ First Labor: Kill the Nemean Lion The Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the AmazonsĮach of these beasts and objects of lore was famously difficult to capture, defeat, or acquire, which is why the jealous Hera selected them for Hercules to attempt - and hopefully, for him to fail.The dozen impossible tasks that were set for Hercules revolved around the most dangerous, volatile, or difficult mythological figures in the ancient world. What Were the 12 Labors of Hercules in Order? It is important to note that because different Ancient Greek poets gave their own accounts of Hercules's labors, some details may vary, but the following Herculean tasks are generally agreed upon by scholars. But Hercules was unaware, and for twelve years, he traveled all over the ancient world to complete these incredible tasks. However, Hera influenced the Oracle’s decree, choosing the most difficult tasks for the hero. He asked the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi how he could atone and was told to travel to Tiryns and do the tasks asked of him by King Eurystheus (who was his cousin through his mortal mother, Alcmene). In a fit of madness spurred by Hera, Hercules killed his wife Megara and his children. They began with Hera, the queen of the gods and Olympus, who was continuously jealous of her godly husband Zeus, his dalliances, and his illegitimate offspring - such as Hercules.

The most famous of all Hercules’ myths are the Twelve Labors. Many of the great families of Greece and Rome traced their ancestry back to Heracles and set up temples to the hero. Unlike most demigods, Heracles was eventually elevated to be a Greek god, and later, a Roman deity. He is one of the most famous demigods of legend, as his father was a god and his mother was a mortal woman known for her beauty, and his feats were virtually unbeatable from a young age. He also traveled with Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece, was tricked into holding up the world by Atlas, freed the titan Prometheus from his bonds (bound by Zeus for giving fire to man), and more.Heracles, (also Herakles, or Hercules to the Romans) appears in countless myths in Greek mythology. The twelve labors are only the beginning of a very impressive list of deeds and tales that Hercules completed over his life. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.Clean the Augean stables in a single day.In return for his service, Hercules would be rewarded with immortality.ĭuring his time working for King Eurystheus, Hercules initially performed ten labors, but after completing them, Eurythesus declared he had cheated on two of them by getting help from others and added two more, resulting in the final Twelve Labors of Heracles.Ī traditional order of the labors found in the Bibliotheca, a compendium of myths and heroic legends from the first and second century AD, includes Hercules’s successful attempts to: The oracle commanded Hercules to serve King Eurystheus of Tyrins for twelve years. Hercules strangled them in his crib, saving both his own life and the life of his twin brother Iphicles (whose father was a mortal, the husband of Hercules’ mother whom Zeus seduced.)Īfter regaining his sanity Hercules went to the oracle at Delphi to learn how he could atone for his actions.

Hera had one before unsuccessfully tried to kill Hercules, proof of her husband’s infidelity, when he was 8 months old by sending two snakes to poison him. They were, in fact, his penance for killing his wife Megara and six children after being driven mad by the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus and Hercules’ father.

But the twelve labors were not active acts of fame seeking. Those twelve labors took him around the known world, performing impossible tasks that no one but the son of Zeus could have ever completed. The twelve labors of Hercules (Heracles is Greek mythology), also known as the dodekathlon, are how Hercules gained much of his mythological fame as a demi-god.

12 labours of hercules 4 level 4.5 puzzle pieces