© Shutterstock

Who was Hercules? -

Hercules, or Heracles as he was known in the times of the Ancient Greeks, was one of Greek and Roman mythology's most celebrated heroes. From birth, he exhibited exceptional physical prowess, and fit neatly into the ancient hero archetype.

© Getty Images

The birth of Hercules -

Hercules was the product of an affair between Zeus (pictured), king of the gods, and a mortal princess named Alcmene. While the traits inherited from his father made Hercules capable of superhuman feats, the circumstances of his birth earned him the scorn and hatred of Zeus' wife, Hera.

© Getty Images

Hera's wrath -

Hera was known for seeking revenge against her husband's illegitimate children, but seemed to harbor a particularly strong hatred for Hercules, and tried to kill the child on numerous occasions. Once, Hera sent snakes to baby Hercules' bed, but even as an infant he was able to strangle the snakes and emerge unharmed.

© Getty Images

Hercules' madness -

Later in life, after Hercules was married with children, Hera once again sought to destroy him, this time by cursing Hercules with a temporary madness that led him to kill his beloved wife and children. Once he came to his senses, Hercules realized he had destroyed what he loved most in his life.

© Getty Images

Hercules consults the oracle -

Lost, broken, and needing to atone for his atrocities, Hercules traveled to consult the legendary oracle of Delphi for guidance. The oracle told Hercules to pray to Apollo. Apollo, in turn, told Hercules that in his quest for atonement he must put himself at the service of King Eurystheus. Unbeknownst to Hercules. Eurystheus was under the influence of Hera, who told the king to assign Hercules a series of tasks that seemed impossible for any mortal to survive. Today, these are known as the 12 Labors of Hercules.

© Getty Images

One: The Nemean lion -

The first task of Hercules was to battle with and slay the fearsome Nemean lion. As proof of his victory, Hercules was told to bring back the lion's skin.

© Getty Images

One: The Nemean lion -

The Nemean lion, known to every Ancient Greek to be ferocious and supposedly invincible, did prove a formidable opponent, but Hercules was able to complete his first labor by famously strangling the beast. According to some legends, Hercules wore the lion's golden pelt as his only armor for the rest of his life.

© Getty Images

Two: The Lernean hydra -

The next task involved slaying an even more ferocious monster, the hydra of Lerna. This terrifying, nine-headed sea monster had allegedly been bred by Hera for the single goal of besting Hercules.

© Public Domain

Two: The Lernean hydra -

Killing the hydra proved much more difficult than slaying the Nemean lion. Eight of the hydra's nine heads regenerated any time Hercules cut them off, and the ninth head was immortal. To finally win, Hercules cauterized each head stump immediately after decapitation to make sure they couldn't grow back. For the final immortal head, Hercules used a golden sword that was gifted to him by the goddess Athena.

© Getty Images

Three: The golden hind -

The third challenge conjured up by Hera and Eurystheus relied more on cunning than brute strength, since strength seemed to come easily for Hercules. Instead of slaying a mighty beast, Hercules was told to capture the legendary golden hind, a deer-like creature so fast it could outrun a flying arrow.

© Getty Images

Three: The golden hind -

Hercules' challenge had barely begun once he located the hind. As the chase began, Hercules and the hind were in hot pursuit for a full year, until the hero finally surprised the hind as it was sleeping and captured it in a net.

© Getty Images

Four: The Erymanthian boar -

After capturing the golden hind, Hercules was tasked with capturing the legendary and fearsome Erymanthian boar and bringing it back to Eurystheus alive.

© Getty Images

Four: The Erymanthian boar -

With the help of Chiron, leader of the centaurs, Hercules was easily able to catch the beast and bring it to the king. The king, however, was immediately and inconsolably frightened by the boar, and begged Hercules to get rid of it. Regardless, one more labor had been completed on Hercules' road to redemption.

© Getty Images

Five: The stables of King Augeas -

Once more trying a different approach, Hera suggested to Eurystheus that he task Hercules with the humiliating and daunting job of cleaning all of the cow dung out of the stables belonging to King Augeas.

© Public Domain

Five: The stables of King Augeas -

Apparently the stables, which housed more than 1,000 cattle, hadn't been cleaned in 30 years. In a stroke of genius, Hercules didn't try to clean the stables by hand, but instead physically rerouted two nearby rivers to wash away all of the stables' filth.

© Getty Images

Six: The Stymphalian birds -

The sixth labor of Hercules brought the hero to Arcadia, where he was tasked with slaying the Stymphalian birds. These birds, pets of the war god Ares, had beaks of bronze, metal feathers, and toxic droppings.

© Public Domain

Six: The Stymphalian birds -

After entering the swamp where the birds resided, Hercules scared the birds into the air using a rattle gifted to him by Athena, and proceeded to shoot the birds out of the air one by one with his bow and arrow.

© Getty Images

Seven: The Cretan bull -

The first labor to take place outside of Pelopponesia took Hercules to Crete, where he set out to find and conquer the Cretan bull, said to be the father of the legendary Minotaur, the half-bull, half-human creature who lurked the halls of the Labyrinth.

© Getty Images

Seven: The Cretan bull -

Hercules was able to sneak up behind the violent bull and choke it into submission. Hercules brought the bull back to Eurystheus, but the king let it loose soon afterwards in the city of Marathon, where it became known as the Marathonian bull.

© Getty Images

Eight: The mares of Diomedes -

Hercules' eighth labor took him to Thrace, where he was tasked with stealing the giant, man-eating horses of King Diomedes.

© Public Domain

Eight: The mares of Diomedes -

Bringing a small army with him, Hercules quickly bested the Thracian army, and led the horses down to the sea. After one of the horses ate a close friend of Hercules, the hero brought Diomedes to the shore and fed him to his own horses.

© Getty Images

Nine: The belt of Hippolyta -

The next task was more of an errand than anything else. Eurystheus's daughter, Admete, had grown fond of the belt worn by Hippolyta, daughter of Ares with the queen of the Amazons. Wanting to please his daughter, Eurystheus sent Hercules to retrieve the belt.

© Getty Images

Nine: The belt of Hippolyta -

Hippolyta, a fan of Hercules who respected his strength and bravery, had initially agreed to gift him the belt without conflict. However, Hera infiltrated the Amazonian ranks and convinced Hippolyta's armies to attack Hercules and his men, believing they meant to kidnap Hippolyta. A bloody battle followed, and Hercules was forced to slay Hippolyta in order to get the belt.

© Getty Images

Ten: The cattle of Geryon -

For the hero's 10th trial, Eurystheus sent Hercules to the faraway land of Erytheia to capture the cattle of the three-headed giant Geryon. The journey across the desert was half of the battle during the 10th labor, and Hercules was eventually helped by the sun god Helios in order to reach his destination in one piece.

© Getty Images

Ten: The cattle of Geryon -

After slaying Geryon's guard dog and shepherd with one swing of his club each, Hercules faced Geryon himself. It was a tough battle, but Hercules was eventually able to pierce Geryon's forehead with an arrow poisoned by the blood of the hydra.

© Getty Images

Eleven: The golden apples of Hesperides -

Originally, Hercules was told there were only 10 labors to complete, as neither Hera nor King Eurystheus thought it possible the hero would survive this long. In a last-ditch effort to defeat Hercules, they gave him two final challenges.

© Public Domain

Eleven: The golden apples of Hesperides -

The 11th labor tasked Hercules with stealing the famed golden apples of the Hesperides, also known as the Western Nymphs. It was impossible for Hercules to enter the garden of the Hesperides, so he tricked the god Atlas, father of the nymphs, to fetch the apples for him.

© Getty Images

Twelve: Cerberus -

The final labor of Hercules was the most dangerous of all. Hercules's 12th labor took him out of the world of the mortals and into the land of the dead, where he was sent to capture Cerberus, the ferocious guardian of the Underworld.

© Getty Images

Twelve: Cerberus -

Weary to make an enemy of Hades, Hercules first asked for the god of the Underworld's permission to bring Cerberus to the surface. Hades agreed on the condition that Hercules didn't use any weapons. With Hades' blessing, Hercules subdued Cerberus, led the beast out of the underworld, and finally achieved his atonement.

Sources: (Tufts University) (Theoi Project) (Britannica)

See also: Amazing creatures from ancient Greek mythology

© Getty Images