Hercules

Question 1

Birth Story

Answer 1

• Zeus fell in love with Alcmene and pretend to be her husband (Amphitrion) while they slept together
• Alcmene gave birth to twins, one was Zeus’ and the other was Amphitrion
• Hera sent snakes to kill Heracles but he killed them

Question 2

12 Tasks of Hercules

Answer 2

1. Kill the Nemean lion
2. Kill the Lernaean Hydra
3. Capture the Ceryneian Deer
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar
5. Clean the Augean stables
6. Defeat the Stymphalian birds
7. Capture the Cretan Bull
8. Steal the man eating horses of Diomedes
9. Get the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of Amazons
10. Steal a herd of Geryon’s magic cattle
11. Get the golden apples from the Garden of Nymphs
12. Bring Cerberus dog back from the underworld

Question 2

Madness and Repayment

Answer 2

• Hera, jealous of her husband’s infidelity, make Heracles go crazy and kill his wife, Megara, and their kids
• To make up for his sins, he was sent to his cousin Eurystheus to do 10 tasks to make up for it

Question 3

Kill the Nemean lion

Answer 3

• First task
• Kill the Nemean lion with impenetrable fur, weapons were useless so he strangled it
• Returned to the palace wearing the pelt of the lion, scaring his cousin

Question 3

Kill the Nemean lion

Answer 3

• First task
• Kill the Nemean lion with impenetrable fur, weapons were useless so he strangled it
• Returned to the palace wearing the pelt of the lion, scaring his cousin Eurystheus into hiding in a pot

Question 4

Kill the Lernaean Hydra

Answer 4

• Second task
• He tried to kill the hydra, but several heads grew back every time it was decapitated
• Hercules’ nephew thought to use fire so the heads don’t grow back and they defeated the beast
• Eurystheus said this task didn’t count because he received outside help

Question 5

Capture the Ceryneian Deer

Answer 5

• Third task
• He spent more than a year tracking down the very fast doe
• He kidnapped it, then was confronted by Artemis/Diana, who let him on after he explained himself
• He didn’t kill the deer, just brought it to Eurystheus and then let it go

Question 5

Capture the Erymanthian Boar

Answer 5

• Fourth task
• He lured the boar into heavy snow, and it grew fatigued and he was able to capture it
• He brought it back to the king, who got scared and hid in a jar again

Question 6

Centaur Incident

Answer 6

• Happened between third and fourth task
• Hercules visited his friend Pholus and they opened a bottle of wine, attracting the alcohol loving centaurs
• They went crazy from the smell of the wine and tried to kill Hercules, so he killed them all with his hydra-poison arrows
• Cairon picked up an arrow to see how they were poisonous and died, a tragedy for Hercules

Question 7

Clean the Augean stables

Answer 7

• Fifth task
• Had to clean out the manure from the Augean stables, so he used the river water
• Hercules asked for 10% of the cattle if he did it in one day, which he did using river water
• Eurystheus said this task didn’t count because he shouldn’t have asked for profit

Question 8

Defeat the Stymphalian birds

Answer 8

• Sixth task
• Had to defeat the flesh-eating Stymphalian birds which had bronze beeks and metal feathers
• They were sacred to Ares, but Athena helped him out
• He use annoying loud rattles to startle the birds and shot them with arrows as they left the swamp

Question 9

Capture the Cretan Bull

Answer 9

• Seventh task
• The bull lived in Crete under King Minos (golden hands guy) and was the father of the Minotaur
• He threw it on the ground, tied it up and shipped it back to

Question 9

Capture the Cretan Bull

Answer 9

• Seventh task
• The bull lived in crete under King Minos (golden hands guy) and was the father of the Minotaur
• He threw it on the ground, tied it up and shipped it back to Eurystheus

Question 10

Steal the man eating horses of Diomedes

Answer 10

• Eighth task
• Heracles met the king and threw him to the horses who ate him
• The horses were more calm after being eaten, and he easily led them back to Eurystheus

Question 10

Get the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of Amazons

Answer 10

• Ninth task
• Hippolyta agreed to give him the belt without bloodshed
• Hera disguised herself as a an Amazon and told the other that Heracles was actually there to kidnap the Queen
• They attacked and after much blood shed, Hippolyta died and Heracles walked away with the belt
• On his way back, he saved Hesione who was about to be eaten by a sea monster

Question 11

Steal a herd of Geryon’s magic cattle + Sun Incident

Answer 11

• Tenth task
• While trekking to get to the the cattle, the heat frustrated Heracles, who shot an arrow at the sun
• Helios, amused by his audacity, helped him out
• Geryon was a three headed giants with a two-headed pet dog, which Heracles killed
• Hera sent a fly to scare the cows but Heracles found them after a while and brought them to Eurystheus

Question 12

Get the golden apples from the Garden of Nymphs + Prometheus Incident

Answer 12

• Eleventh task (makeup)
• On his way, he freed Prometheus from having his organs continuously devoured by an eagle
• Heracles took the sky on his back while Atlas went and got the apples, and tricked him into taking it back

Question 13

Bring Cerberus dog back from the underworld

Answer 13

• Twelfth task (makeup)
• He went to the underworld and asked Hades permission Cerberus, who agreed as long as he didn’t use violence
• He successfully did and brought the three headed dog back to Eurystheus, who declared him finished with his tasks

Question 14

Death

Answer 14

• When Heracles and his wife Deianaera were crossing a river, a centaur named Nessos tried to kidnap and rape his wife
• Heracles killed Nessos, but with his dying breath, he gave Deianaera his blood, which he claimed would ensure Heracles love Deianaera forever
• When Heracles became interested in Iole, she put the blood on his shirt, which was poison, and suffocated and killed Heracles in an agonizing way

Question 15

Immortality

Answer 15

After his death, Zeus made him immortal