One of the best and most famously known hero of Greek and Roman Mythology was Hercules. The Greeks knew him by the name of Heracles and the Romans called him Hercules. The name Hercules means glorious gift. There are many myths about him in which he helped humans in battle and saved them from dangerous monsters. The hero was best known for his strength, anger, courage, his struggles with Hera, and was admired for completing the Twelve Labors of Eurystheus. Hercules was born a demigod, meaning one parent was a god and the other was mortal. His father Zeus, the god of the sky, came down from Olympus, and he tricked Alcmene into having an affair with him. Because Hera was angry that her husband was cheating on her, she kept Alcmene in labor as long as possible. According to Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, “The first twin born was Hercules, followed by his brother, Iphicles,” (Riordan 264). Although Iphicles was Hercules’s twin, his father was Amphitryon whereas Hercules’ father was Zeus. When Hercules was born, he had great strength and strangled two vipers Hera had sent to kill Hercules. One might think that since Hercules was the son of a god, he would be favored by Alcmene, but instead she tried to get rid of him. Hercules had many issues with Hera throughout his life. The…show more content… According to Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, the oracle said to him, “the gods want you to serve your cousin Eurystheus,” (Riordan 272). The tasks he would have to do for Eurystheus became known as the the Twelve Labors. The Twelve Labors Hercules had to successfully accomplish were to kill the Nemean lion, hydra, Erymanthian boar, Ceryneian hind, Stymphalian birds, Stables in Elis, Cretan bull, Thracian mares, Amazon Queen’s belt, Iberian cows, to collect the golden apples, and to finally slay the Cerebus. Because he completed all the tasks, he was forgiven of all the atrocities he had
