3 Heracles

CHAPTER 3 Heracles Heracles was the strongest man who ever lived. His father was the god Zeus and his mother was a human. When he was just a baby, two poisonous snakes slithered into Heracles's crib. But was he scared? Heracles was not. Instead, he grabbed each snake with a chubby fist. He tossed them out the window. Then he laughed and giggled in his crib. Everyone knew that Heracles was bound for great things. And everyone loved him, except for Hera, queen of the gods.

When Heracles was a grown man, Hera decided to throw trouble his way. She convinced her cousin King Eurystheus to send Heracles on a quest to complete impossible tasks. Heracles would have to prove that he was the strongest man in the world. He could not turn the king down. His pride was too great. Heracles agreed to the quest. Hera's hope was that Heracles would not be able to complete the tasks. "First, you must kill the lion of Nemea. It is a beast that no weapons can wound," the king told Heracles. "As you wish, King," Heracles said. Heracles hunted down the great lion. He strangled the beast with his bare hands. Then he returned to the kingdom. "What is my next task?" asked Heracles. "You must kill the nine-headed Hydra," said the king.

"As you wish, King," said Heracles. Killing the Hydra was a most difficult job. It was also very dangerous. One of the Hydra's heads was immortal and could never die. But the other eight heads were worse. If one was chopped off, two more grew back in its place! Each of its nine mouths spewed deadly, poisonous breath. But Heracles set out for the adventure anyway. His strength and smarts were endless. Along the journey, Heracles figured out a way to kill the nine-headed Hydra. After a long and harsh voyage to the lake of Lerna, Heracles met the terrible Hydra. True to legend, it breathed terrible poison. Its nine heads darted and snapped at Heracles. But the strongest man alive was prepared. Heracles cut off each of the Hydra's nine heads with a mighty sword. He buried the immortal head under the earth

and covered it with a heavy rock. Then he sealed each headless neck with a hot iron poker. This prevented the Hydra from growing any heads back. When Heracles returned to the king, he asked, "Have I proven myself worthy yet?" "No. Not yet. Next you must tame the wild white deer with golden horns. Bring her to me. She lives in the forest of Artemis, the goddess of hunting," the king demanded. It took Heracles a year to find the white deer. It ran faster than any other creature. This made it almost impossible to capture. But of course, Heracles was able to do it. Under his hand, the wild deer became meek. As requested, he brought the deer back to the king. "Here is your white deer," Heracles said to the king. "I have tamed it. It is gentle as can be." "Now bring me the great boar from

Mount Erymanthos," the king commanded. Heracles went out to perform this task. He went up to the mountain and searched for the beast. Once he found the boar, Heracles chased it up the mountain. He was able to drive the beast into the deep snow at the top of the mountain. There he trapped the creature and brought it back to the king. But the king was not done giving Heracles missions. Hera made the king continue Heracles's quest. There were to be twelve tasks in all. Each one was equally difficult, or humiliating, or painful. Each time Heracles set out to complete a task, he was successful. The last part of the quest was the worst of all. "Bring me Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Hades. I want him brought to me alive. Then you will have finally proven yourself to be the strongest man in the world," the king

said. Heracles bravely went down into the underworld. No mortal ever dared to go there. The trip was horrible. It was difficult for a person to enter and exit the underworld alive. The gods Athena and Hermes helped Heracles travel safely. When Heracles arrived at the entrance to Hades's lair, he could barely see anything. But he heard a growl in the darkness. It sounded like three growls in one. This must be Cerberus, Heracles thought. He began to speak to the god of the underworld. He knew that Hades would be standing close to his three-headed dog. "Hades, hear me. I am Heracles, sent by King Eurystheus. I must bring him your dog, Cerberus, in order to be released from my horrible quest. Will you allow it?" Heracles called into the darkness.