Hello, this is Richard, and I’m here to tell you about a hero from ancient times. I’m pretty sure you will have heard of him before. The Greeks called him Heracles, and the Romans changed his name slightly to Hercules. He is most famous for performing 12 impossible labours on behalf of mankind. He had so many adventures, that his story is a long one – and for that reason, I’m going to tell it to you in several parts. This is the first:
Long ago, two twin baby boys were asleep in a nursery. The door was open onto the veranda to let the cool breeze waft into the room. However it was not just the air that could enter the room. First one, and then a second snake slithered in through the gap. They had been sent by the goddess Hera, Queen of Heaven. It’s hard to understand how anyone, even a goddess, could hold anything against innocent children, but her immortal heart was filled with hatred for the twins. Their mother was a human woman, but their father was none other than Zeus, Lord of Heaven, and husband of Hera. In short, she was jealous. The snakes slid towards the bed. The larger of the two children stretched and yawned. The viper who was out in front stuck out his tongue and hissed. It reared its head to see if it could reach the top of the mattress. That was the last thing it did, because the boy shot out his hand and grabbed it by the neck. The other snake slid swiftly across the floor towards him, but the child grabbed that one too and began to shake it violently. The nurse heard the commotion came rushing into the nursery, but it was too late – for the snakes. The boy, whose name was Heracles, had killed them both.
The boy grew into a teenager, and he was without doubt the strongest human who had ever walked on the face of the Earth. Still young, he was a formidable sight, with his towering height and his rippling muscles. Oh how the Theban girls loved him! And how he loved the girls of Thebes. When other Greeks attacked the City of Thebes, Heracles sent the enemies packing. As a reward, Kreon, King of Thebes, married Heracles to his daughter, Megara.
Though he had every reason to be happy, Heracles was miserable, and strangely fearful. He spent most of his days asleep in his room. Megara consulted the Oracle of Delphi, and she explained that Hera had planted the seeds of madness inside the mind of her husband. To free himself of the curse, he must perform ten impossible labours in the service of mankind. Some people say that Heracles became insaner still, before he undertook his heroic cure – that he was hot-tempered and cruel to his family. I am not sure that those rumours are true, but I will mention a famous saying about Heracles at this time of his life. It comes from the Greek playwright Euripides and it goes:
“He whom the gods wish to destroy, they first drive mad.”
What is clear, is that Heracles took the cure that was prescribed by the Oracle. He presented himself to Eurystheus, king of Tiryns in Mycenae, who was to set his ten impossible tasks. The sharp-eared among you will have noticed that earlier I said Heracles performed twelve tasks – I didn’t make a mistake – he was supposed to do ten, but he ended up doing twelve. You’ll hear about that later.
Eurystheus told Heracles about a lion that was the cause of suffering in the land of Nemea. It was attacking not only animals, but people. Heracles' first task was to hunt and kill the Nemean Lion.
The strongman travelled to Nemea, and the local shepherds soon pointed him in the direction of the lion’s cave. He hid behind a boulder, and waited for it to come out. Towards evening the lion emerged. It was indeed a tremendous beast that would strike fear into most mens’ hearts. Heracles pulled an arrow from his quiver, and set it in his bow. It was a powerful weapon, and it took immense strength just to pull back the string and flex it ready to fire. Heracles took aim and let loose the arrow. It flew towards the lion and caught it in the chest – but instead of piercing his skin, the arrow merely bounced off. Heracles quickly shot another arrow, and it was just as useless as the one before. Now he understood why the task was all but impossible. The hide of the Nemean Lion was impervious to weapons. The lion looked with curiosity at his bold attacker. Who was this fellow? No ordinary human for sure. Seeing that Heracles was as strong and fierce as himself, he decided to err on the side of caution. He retreated into his cave.
The Nemean lion was not only strong, but he was cunning as well
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