The first of these labors was to kill a vicious lion that terrorized the area around Nemea in the Peloponnesos. According to some literary accounts, the Greek god Apollo instructed Herakles to atone for his crime by performing labors for Eurystheos, king of Mycenae. Yet even as a baby Herakles’ strength was legendary, and he saved himself from Hera’s serpents by grasping one in each hand and strangling them ( 25.28).Īfter Herakles married the Theban princess Megara, Hera afflicted the hero with madness, and he murdered his wife and all their children. And she sent two snakes to destroy the infant Herakles as he slept in his cradle. Thus, the vengeful Hera ensured that Eurystheos inherited the throne. Homer describes how Hera, wife of Zeus, delayed the birth of Herakles until the day after his cousin Eurystheos was born. However, on the day Herakles was to be born, Zeus boasted that his son would rule over Greece. Thus, he visited the mortal woman Alkmene in Thebes, where they conceived Herakles. According to Greek mythology, Zeus desired to sire a son who would be the guardian of mortals and immortals. Herakles, the Greek hero of superhuman strength, was the son of the Greek god Zeus and Alkmene ( 28.77 11.55).
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