Интересный материал о подвигах Геракла. Изображения подвигов на греческих вазах.
The Twelve Labors are a series of archaic episodes connected by a
later continuous narrative, concerning a penance carried out by
Hercules, the greatest of the Greek heroes.
The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose
his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and
children.
When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and
upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and
the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of
Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders.
As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats
so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the
help of Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when he
really needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a
doubt, Greece's greatest hero.
His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks
called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which
would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.
The traditional order of the labors is:
1. Slay the Nemean Lion and bring back its skin.
