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| Hercules was fathered by the mighty god Zeus and the mortal Alcmene out of wedlock. Infuriated by her husband's romantic meanderings, Hera became vehemently hostile to Hercules, even in his infancy, and her hostility never ceased. after his marriage she drove him into an anger which caused him to kill his own children. For that rash act The Oracle at Delphi decreed that he should do penance by serving Eurystheus, King of Mycenae, and performing twelve tasks of superhuman difficulty. Amon those twelve assignments were slaying the Nemean lion, subduing the wildhorses of Diomedes, returning the oxen of Geryon, destroying the Stymphalian birds, and bringing back the three-headed dog Cerberus from the underworld. See: Hercules the Archer - Hercules and Cacus - Hercules and Diomedes - Farnese Hercules, and Caeratan Hydria. These tales of strength and valor were well known to the ancient world. We still refer to an assignment of great proportions as an "herculean task." |
