Part 4: Herculean Task
A herculean task is one requiring a lot of strength, power, or intelligence to complete.
For example, "landing the Perseverance Rover on the surface of Mars was a herculean task" or "Lifting a 200kgs bag of cereals is a herculean task."
Hercules is the Roman name of the Greek hero Heracles. He is famous for his strength, stamina, and ability to perform amazing feats.
He was the son of Zeus, the Greek God of Gods. Zeus was married to Hera, the Goddess of Marriage and Birth, but he slept around a lot. One day, he impersonated the husband of a mortal woman named Alcmene, made love to her, and Hercules was conceived.
Hera knew Hercules was her husband's illegitimate son, so she wanted to destroy him. She sent two witches to prevent his birth, but one of his mother's servants sent them to the wrong room. She later sent two serpents to kill him in his cradle, but he strangled both of them.
His stepfather brought him up, and he grew up to be a strong and brave man. Later in life, he helped the Theban army defeat Minyan warriors, and King Creon of Thebes gave him his daughter, Megara, in appreciation. They bore three sons.
Hera was envious of Hercules' success, so she sent him a madness that made him kill his wife and children. When he realised what he had done, he wanted to kill himself, but his cousin Theseus advised him against it and convinced him to find a way of atoning his sins. So he consulted the Oracle of Delphi, who told him that his atonement could only come through Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae - and a close friend of Hera.
Eurystheus wanted to humiliate Hercules by assigning him 12 impossible tasks, but Hercules surprised everyone when he completed them successfully.
Slay the Nemean lion
Eurystheus requested that Hercules bring him the skin of a ferocious lion that terrorised the highlands of Nemea.
When Hercules arrived in Nemea, he found that his arrows were useless against the beast. So he took up his club and charged at the lion, forcing it into a cave where he strangled it with his strong arms, ignoring the lion's deadly claws.
Slay the Lernaean Hydra
Hercules' second task was to slay the Hydra, a serpent with nine heads. When he cut off one of its heads, two more would grow in its place, so he enlisted the help of his nephew Lolas. As soon as Hercules cut off a head, Lolas used a flame to burn the wound to prevent another head from developing.
Capture the Hind of Ceryneia
Ceryneia is a Greek city, and a hind is a female deer. It was a pet of Diana, the goddess of hunting and the moon, so Hercules was supposed to capture it without killing or hurting it.
Hercules chased the hind for a whole year and captured it while it slept after lightly hurting it using a trap net.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar
The Erymanthian Boar was a wild pig that lived on Erymanthus Mountain. It had a bad temper and terrorised the people and animals in the countryside.
Hercules pursued the pig around the mountain, drove the exhausted beast into a deep patch of snow, and trapped it in a net.
Clean King Augeas' stables
Eurystheus asked Hercules to wash King Augeas' stables in one day.
The king owned many cows, but he had not cleaned his stables in thirty years. They were, therefore, filthy and smelly.
Hercules diverted nearby rivers into the stables, and they flushed out the mess in a few minutes.
Drive Away the Stymphalian Birds
These were a vicious man-eating flock of birds gathered at a lake near Stymphalos.
Hercules built a percussion instrument, and when he played it near the lake, its sound scared away the birds.
Capture the Cretan Bull
Eurystheus asked Hercules to capture the Cretan Bull.
It was a prized possession of King Minos of Crete, but it had destroyed crops.
Hercules went to Crete and acquired the permission of King Minos, who was happy to get rid of it.
Capture the Mares Diomedes
Eurystheus sent Hercules to capture the Mares Diomedes, four man-eating horses owned by Diomedes, the ruler of Thrace.
Hercules pushed the horses on a peninsula, constructed a tunnel, and filled it with water, thereby turning the peninsula into an island. Before seizing the horses, Heracles killed Diomedes and fed him to them to calm them down.
Seize Hippolyta's Belt
Eurystheus sent Hercules to seize Hippolyta's belt.
Hippolyta was the young and beautiful queen of the Amazons, a tribe of women warriors.
Hercules told her his sad story, so she felt sorry for him and agreed to give up her belt.
Capture the Cattle of Geryon
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to retrieve the cattle of Geryon. Geryon was a giant with three heads and one body who lived on the island of Erytheia.
Hercules killed the Geryon with his bow and arrow and apprehended the cattle.
Steal the Apples of the Hesperides
Eurystheus ordered Heracles to bring him the golden apples hidden in the garden of the Hesperides. The apples gave immortal life to anyone who ate them.
It took Hercules several months to reach the land of the Hesperides. Finally, he killed the dragon defending the garden gate and walked right up to the apples hanging from the apple tree at the centre of the garden.
Kidnap Cerberus
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to kidnap Cerberus, a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. The Underworld was the home of the powerful god, Hades, and Cerberus job is to prevent the dead from leaving.
Hercules asked Hades' permission to capture Cerberus briefly. Hades didn't think Hercules could capture Cerberus because he knew he was tough, but he allowed him to try as long as he didn't use any weapons.
Hercules used his bare hands. He scooped all three heads up at once and strangled Cerberus until he was unconscious. Then, he gently carried the dog off to Eurystheus.
