SUMMARY

• Zeus has a child with a mortal
• This child is named Hercules and has incredible strength
• Hera causes Hercules to become insane and he kills his family
• Hercules then has to do 12 impossible labors to seek penance
• Hercules wife poisons but does not kill him, but he is in great pain and kills himself

QUEST

• Hercules' quest is his 12 labors
• He completes the 12 labors thinking he will receive penance for killing his family
• Completing these 12 labors will purify him

ACTION

• As a child Hercules strangled 2 snakes that snuck into his nursery
• He strangles the Lion of Nimea, a lion that can't be damaged by weapons
• He uses a sword to chop off the 9 heads of hydra and burn the stump with a torch before they could grow back

HISTORY

• The story of Hercules takes place in times way before Ancient Greece during a time called the heroic age
• This age in Greek mythology is described as the heroic age, a time when all heroes were direct descendants of gods
• The location takes place all around the Mediterranean

Hero
HERCULES IS A VULNERABLE HERO, THIS REFLECTS HOW THE GREEKS VALUED HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS IN THEIR HEROES.

Villain
Hera is the main villain of the myth. The villain is someone who opposes the hero and makes their quest difficult. Hera is the main villain because of how she made Her uses hurt his family.

EXTENDED QUESTION

• Hercules was an incredibly mighty Greek hero. Despite all his great power, he did not know his own strength. His greatest strength was also his greatest weakness. Flaws like this are extremely common in Greek heroes. This reflects how the Greeks greatly valued humanity in their mythical characters.

EXTENDED QUESTION

• This reveals that humans are, by nature, imperfect. Greek myths like this suggest that it is these imperfections that define humanity.