Ceryneian Hind Terracotta Heracles from BabylonĮurystheus now sent Heracles to Cerynia, where he had to catch a hind that was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. After the battle, Heracles dipped his arrowheads in the monster's poisonous gall. Finally, he cut off the last, immortal head, and buried it alive. However, Heracles' friend Iolaus burned down a tree, and the hero used the blazing branches to sear the roots of the new heads. This was difficult, because it had nine heads, and every time Heracles cut off one of these, three new heads grew in its place. Heracles' second labor was to kill the hydra (water snake) of Lerna, another town near Tiryns. Several now almost forgotten labors were still well-known in the fifth century. Until then, the number of works had varied nor was there agreement about the tasks. The first to write a systematic account of Heracles' Twelve Labors was probably Diodorus of Sicily, note, which was written c. There was no distinction between Heracles and other heroes (Theseus, the Argonauts), so that many episodes have duplicates. Map of Heracles' first laborsĪfter this labor, Heracles had to perform many other tasks, which were haphazardly described by many ancient poets. Lions were extinct in Greece as early as the Mycenean age the story may have come from the east, or may be extremely old.

It is an interesting question where this story comes from. The Greeks celebrated Heracles' victory every two years at the Nemean Games. From now on, he wore the lion's invulnerable pelt as armor. It was resistant against all weapons, but Heracles strangled it. Heracles' first task was to kill the lion of nearby Nemea, a terrible beast. When he had recovered, he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which ordered him to serve his relative Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, who would order him to perform 'the twelve labors'. Heracles became a strong warrior, but Hera struck him with madness, and he killed his own children. However, the young boy killed the animals. Zeus' lawful wife Hera hated the child born out of wedlock, and sent two snakes to kill the baby.

Youth Heracles and the snakesĪccording to the ancient Greeks, the demigod Heracles (or Hercules, as the Romans called him) was the son of a mortal woman named Alcmene and the supreme god Zeus. Several dynasties, like the twin royal houses of Sparta and the Argeads of Macedonia, claimed to descend from this son of Zeus. Heracles (Latin: Hercules): most important of the Greek demigods.

Hercules The Son of Zeus