Hercules
The Strong Hero, Son of Zeus
Rasalgethi - "head of the kneeling one" 
Kornephoros - "club-bearer"
Marfik - "wrist"
Kajam - "club"

The Labors of Hercules
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. 

Hercules' twelve labors are:
Labor 1: The Nemean Lion 
Labor 2: The Lernean Hydra 
Labor 3: The Hind of Ceryneia 
Labor 4: The Erymanthean Boar 
Labor 5: The Augean Stables 
Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds 
Labor 7: The Cretan Bull 
Labor 8: The Horses of Diomedes 
Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyte 
Labor 10: Geryon's Cattle 
Labor 11: The Apples of the Hesperides 
Labor 12: Cerberus