Hercules (known in Greek as Heracles or Herakles) is one of the best-known heroes in Greek and Roman mythology. His life was not easy–he endured many trials and completed many daunting tasks–but the reward for his suffering was a promise that he would live forever among the gods at Mount Olympus. Hercules had a complicated family tree. According to legend, his father was Zeus, ruler of all the gods on Mount Olympus and all the mortals on earth, and his mother was Alcmene, the granddaughter of the hero Perseus. (Perseus, who was also said to be one of Zeus’ sons, famously beheaded the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa.)

Did you know? The constellation Hercules is the fifth-largest one in the sky.

Hera’s Revenge

Hercules had enemies even before he was born. When Zeus’ wife Hera heard that her husband’s mistress was pregnant, she flew into a jealous rage. First, she used her supernatural powers to prevent the baby Hercules from becoming the ruler of Mycenae. (Though Zeus had declared that his son would inherit the Mycenaean kingdom, Hera’s meddling meant that another baby boy, the feeble Eurystheus, became its leader instead.) Then, after Hercules was born, Hera sent two snakes to kill him in his crib. The infant Hercules was unusually strong and fearless, however, and he strangled the snakes before they could strangle him.

But Hera kept up her dirty tricks. When her stepson was a young adult, she cast a kind of spell on him that drove him temporarily insane and caused him to murder his beloved wife and their two children. Guilty and heartbroken, Hercules tracked down Apollo, the god of truth and healing (and another of Zeus’ sons), and begged to be punished for what he had done.

According to the ancient Greeks, the demigod Heracles (or Hercules, as the Romans called him) was the son of a mortal woman named Alcmene and the supreme god Zeus. Zeus' lawful wife Hera hated the child born out of wedlock, and sent two snakes to kill the baby. However, the young boy killed the animals. Heracles became a strong warrior, but Hera struck him with madness, and he killed his own children.

When he had recovered, he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which ordered him to serve his relative Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, who would order him to perform "the twelve labors".

The Heroic Labors of Hercules

Apollo understood that Hercules’ crime had not been his fault—Hera’s vengeful actions were no secret—but still he insisted that the young man make amends. He ordered Hercules to perform 12 “heroic labors” for the Mycenaen king Eurystheus. Once Hercules completed every one of the labors, Apollo declared, he would be absolved of his guilt and achieve immortality.

Later in his life, Hercules had a number of other adventures—rescuing the princess of Troy, battling for control of Mount Olympus—but none were as taxing, or as significant, as the labors had been. When he died, Athena carried him to Olympus on her chariot.