Hercules is offspring of Zeus, king of gods and a woman of earth. It is said that Hera, Zeus' green-eyed wife tried to do way with him when he was only an infant. Hera sent a couple of serpents to slay him. Nevertheless, serpents landed in little but powerful hands of Hercules only to meet their fate. When Hercules was born to Alcmene, she named him Herakles. But in Roman, Herakles is pronounced Hercules, which is name we use for Hercules to this day. Hercules in Greek mythology is a great figure of valor and muscle strength. Hercules bravery earned him a place among gods. After he left mortal world, he found a position on Mount Olympus, gods' dwelling place.
Zeus, King of gods was an unfaithful husband. He had a weakness for worldly pleasures. He fell in love with Alcmene, wife of Amphitryon. In a short time, Alcmene conceived Hercules. This angered Hera and she tried to kill Hercules. Hercules survived his first fatal assault with a miracle.
When Hercules reached adulthood he became a famous warrior. He also fell in love with a beautiful woman called Megara. Megara became mother of Hercules' children and together they made a happy family. However, things were to be different. Hera took a vow to irritate Hercules during his lifetime. She tricked Hercules into a wild rage. In his rage, mortal god Hercules killed his family. This was exactly what Hera wanted!
When Hercules returned to his normal state of mind, he saw things were beyond remedy. He prayed to Apollo to get rid of his crime. Apollo was sun god who could read into future. We find in Greek Mythology that Hercules requested his advice. Apollo assigned him ten important tasks (later it was turned to twelve) as way of purifying his soul.
The Delphic oracle sent him to Tiryns where king Eurystheus ruled. Hercules was expected to serve him as laborer for twelve years of his life. However, difficult service was not fruitless. Apollo promised him immortality. He was to become a god. However, great Hercules of greek mythology had one problem, Hera. She actually kept her promise to make Hercules' life as wretched as she could. Nevertheless, with assistance of Hermes and Athena, Hercules pulled off his term of twelve years with excellence. In addition, he became greatest mortal on earth to become a god.
Hercules In Greek Mythology – What Made Him So Special?
The honorable penance of Hercules and his eventual success is what makes him so special. His success brought him immortality, which would have been unthinkable for ordinary mortals. Hercules' first task was to peel off skin of horrifying Nemean Lion after capturing one. His next task was to kill The Lernean Hydra. The Lernean Hydra was a serpent with nine heads, which never gave peace to lives of those around it. The third task for him was to bring a Hind (a sacred red deer) from Ceryneia to king. The deer was pet of Diana, Moon goddess.
The fourth task for Hercules was to bring a live Erymanthian Boar. It was very dangerous to men and animals living around mountain Erymanthus. Then Hercules was asked to clean up King Augeas' stables in one day. Are you thinking what is so great about it? King Augeas had an awesome amount of cattle of cows, bulls, goats, sheep and horses. Hercules proposed to King Augeas that he would clean stable only if he rewarded Hercules with a tenth of his cattle.