The labours of Heracles

PAULA P. and JON G. 4E

12 LABOURS of HERACLES

• The twelve labours of Heracles or Hercules are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later Romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished over 12 years at the service of King Eurystheus.

A traditional order of the labours found in the Bibliotheca is:

1- Slay the NemeanLion.

2- Slay the nine-headed LernaeanHydra.

3- Capture the Ceryneian Hind.4- Capture the Erymanthian Boar.5- Clean the Augean stables in a

single day.6- Slay the Stymphalian Birds.

7- Capture the Cretan Bull.8- Steal the Sea of Diomedes.9- Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta,

Queen of the Amazons.10- Obtain the cattle of the monster

Geryon.11- Steal the apples of the

Hesperides.12- Capture and bring back

Cerberus.

https://youtu.be/E3aZwB27GsM

Slay the

Nemean Lion. The first labour was to slay the Nemean lion.

The Nemean lion was a vicious monster in Greek mythology that lived at Nemea. It was eventually killed by Heracles. It could not be killed with mortals' weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack. Its claws were sharper than mortals' swords and could cut through any armor.

Capture and bring back Cerberus.

In Greek mythology Cerberusis the monstrous multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. Cerberus was the offspring of the monsters Echidna and Typhon, and usually is described as having three heads, a serpent for a tail, and snakes protruding from parts of his body.

Pandora’s box

• Pandora’s box:

A long time ago, there were two brothers named Epimetheus and Prometheus. They were good gods. One day, Prometheus got in trouble with Zeus. Angry over something or other, Zeus had declared that man did not deserve fire. Because he had a kind heart, and he knew how much man needed fire for food and warmth, Prometheus gave man the secret of fire even though Zeus had told all the gods not to do that. Zeus was furious that his order had been ignored. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock for many years. But that was not enough punishment, not for Zeus. First, Zeus ordered the gods Hephaestus to make Zeus a daughter. Hephaestus made a woman out of clay, a beautiful woman. He brought her to life, and then brought her to Zeus. Zeus named his lovely new daughter Pandora.

Zeus knew that Epimetheus was lonely. Zeus told Epimetheusthat his brother, Hephaestus, had to be punished and that's why he was chained to a rock, but he felt sorry that this punishment left Epimetheus without the company of his brother. That's why Zeus had decided to give Pandora in marriage to Epimetheus. It was not the truth of course.Epimetheus was kind-hearted and gentle-man but he was no fool. He knew that Zeus was up to something. But he loved Pandora at first sight.Zeus gave the newlyweds a gift. Some people say it was a jar. Some people say it was a box. Whatever it was, it was locked. It came with a note. The note said: "DO NOT OPEN." Attached to the note was a key. It was all very curious. It was Pandora whose curiosity got the better of her.

One day, she used the key to open the box. Epimetheus heard her weeping. He came running. Pandora opened the box to show him it was empty. He gave Pandora a big smile in thanks for his freedom and flew away. That tiny bug was named Hope. And Hope made all the difference in the world.

https://youtu.be/LGTTAfwHugY