What is The Labors of Herakles?
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}} [[File:HerculesCladwithLionSkin.jpg|thumb|Herakles carries his olive wood club and wears a lion skin]] '''The Labors of Herakles''' is a series of tasks performed by the Greek hero [[Herakles]] ({{lang-la|Hercules}}) as a [[penance]] for a terrible crime he committed. These tasks required great strength and [[courage]]. For the most part, they involved killing fierce animals and horrible monsters. The Labors were said to have been devised by [[Hera]], the goddess of marriage. She hated Herakles because he was a [[bastard]] son of her husband [[Zeus]]. She hoped these tasks would kill him. Herakles however performed them with great success, and, in the process, became very famous. The Labors of Herakles probably had their origin in the religious and magical practices of prehistoric man. They are the subject of ancient and modern art. == Background == Mortals die, but gods live forever. Herakles was part mortal, part god. His father was the god [[Zeus]] and his mother was the mortal [[Alkmene]]. Zeus' wife [[Hera]] was the goddess of marriage. She hated Herakles because he was one of her husband's [[bastard]]s. She tried many times to kill him, even when he was a baby. He lived in spite of Hera's [[persecution]] and hatred, and did many great deeds as a young man. Herakles married Megara, the daughter of a king. They became the parents of several children. Hera caused Herakles to go mad and to kill his family. The priestess of [[Delphi]] ordered Herakles to serve his cousin King Eurystheus of Tiryns as a [[penance]] for this crime. Eurystheus would present a series of tasks to Herakles. These tasks were said to have been designed by Hera herself in the hope that they would kill Herakles. == Labors of Herakles == There is no definite order for the Labors. Most of the time, however, the order is: Nemean Lion, Lernean Hydra, Cerynitian Hind, Erymanthian Boar, Augean Stables, Stymphalian Birds, Cretan Bull, Mares of Diomedes, Girdle of Hippolyta, Cattle of Geryon, Apples of the Hes