R Con R Cigarro

Melissa Lambert
Hercules in Greek Mythology

Hercules was one of the greatest of all heroes in Greek mythology. He was the strongest man on Earth. He had tremendous physical strength, greatself-confidence, and considered himself equal to the gods. Hercules was not very intelligent, but his bravery made up for any lack of cunning. He was easily angered and his sudden outbursts of rage oftenharmed innocent bystanders. When the fury passed, though, Hercules was full of sorrow and guilt for what he had done and ready to accept any punishment for his misdeeds. His bravery earned him a placeamong the gods.He was one of the only two figures with half-mortal, half-immortal parentage that became fully immortals and were worshiped as gods. Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the wifeof Amphitryon. One night while Amphitryon was away, Zeus came to Alcmene disguised as her husband. In a short time, Alcmene conceived Hercules. When Hera, Zeus’ wife, found out about this, she wasvery angry and tried to kill Hercules by putting two poisonous snakes in his crib one night. However, baby Hercules strangled them. Hera kept making Hercules suffer throughout his life. Later in hislife, Hercules fell in love with Megara, married her and had children. One day, Hera struck Hercules with a fit of madness, during which he killed his wife and children. Full of sorrow and devastationfor what he had done, he went to an oracle to ask how he could pay for his actions. The oracle told him to go to King Eurystheus of Tiryins and submit to any punishment asked of him. The oracle alsotold him that if he completed the tasks set before him, he would become immortal. King Eurystheus gave Hercules a series of 12 difficult and dangerous tasks known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Thesewere his most famous feats. He married another woman called Deianeira. Some years later, she thought Hercules had fallen in love with another woman, so she put a terrible potion on Hercules’ robe....