Hercules’ Crime

Hercules was born of Zeus and a mortal woman. Zeus’ queen, Hera, was jealous of Hercules, and sent serpents into his crib to kill him. Hercules strangled the two serpents, proving he had superhuman strength. But as he was growing up, Hera drove Hercules mad, and in a frenzy, he killed his own two children.
Hercules was assigned 12 tasks (Labors) to make up for his crime.

Here are all 12 of the tasks Hercules was told to complete in order to atone for his crime, along with a brief explanation for each.

     1. Nemean Lion – The lion Hercules was sent to kill by his cousin King Eurystheus was not ordinary, it was a monster, in that its parentage was supernatural. Its skin couldn’t be penetrated by spears or arrows. Hercules crawled into the cave in a spot where they would have to fight face to face. He killed the lion with his bare hands and wore its skin as a cloak and head as a helmet. When Eurystheus saw Hercules come home wearing the lion, he became scared and hid in a storage jar. From there, he ordered the next Labor.

     2. Hydra – Hercules was to kill the many headed Hydra, who lived in the swamps of Lerna. Some said it had 8-9 heads, and some say 10,000. All agreed that when one head was taken off, two more grew in its place. Hydra’s breath was lethal, even its footprints could kill a mortal. Hercules found the Hydra and brought it into the open with lit arrows. Hercules was being tangled up by the Hydra, and his nephew came in to help with a torch. Hercules would chop off a head, and Iolaus would burn the spot so no heads could grow. Hercules cut off the “immortal head”, buried it, and defeated the hydra.

     3. Cerynitian Hind – Hercules was to capture the Cerynitian Hide. It was a female deer, but still had golden horns. It was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, so Hercules wouldn’t wound it. He hunted it for a whole year and finally ran it down on the banks of the River Ladon in Arcadia. He hit the deer between the tendons and bones of the two forelegs, pinning it down without drawing blood. Artemis was displeased, but Hercules blamed it on Eurystheus.

     4. Erymanthian Boar – Took Hercules back to Arcadia in quest of a huge boar, and he must bring it back alive. Hercules located the boar on Mount Erymanthus and drove it into a snow bank. Flinging it onto his shoulder, he carried it back to Eurystheus, who went back into his storage jar.