The Trials of
Hercules Story
There are few heroes more legendary be impossible. Hercules would need to
than Hercules. With the god Zeus as his fight monsters and show more strength
father and a human mother, Hercules than he had ever shown before. This is
was a demigod. This granted him great the story of how he completed his tasks,
powers, including his superhero strength known as the labours of Hercules.
and courage. But he had a dark and
The Nemean Lion
tragic past. Hera, Zeus’ wife, hated to be
The Nemean Lion was a huge and
reminded that her husband was not loyal,
ferocious lion, with skin that could not be
and had children with other women. Hera
cut with swords. Any hero who had tried
wanted to take her revenge and punish
to defeat the lion was killed, their swords
Hercules.
failing to hurt it. Hercules had the same
As Hercules grew to be a man, he met problem, before finding a solution. He
a woman he loved. Soon, they married, wrapped his arms around the lion’s neck
had children, and started to live a happy and strangled the animal.
life. But still, Hera wanted her revenge on Once it was dead, he used its claws to
Hercules. She cast a spell on him, driving remove its skin and wore it in future
him to madness. Under this spell, Hercules fights to protect him.
killed his entire family. When the spell
lifted, he saw what had happened. How
could he live with himself, knowing he
killed the people he loved the most?
He became deeply sad and could not
forget what he had done. He visited an
oracle, who told him he must work to
redeem himself. The oracle told him to
visit King Eurystheus and complete ten
tasks for him.
None of these tasks would be simple. In
fact, for any normal person, they would
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The Trials of Hercules Story
The Lernaean Hydra The Erymanthian Boar
The Hydra was known for its nine heads, Combining the skills he learned in the
each of which had a large set of sharp previous tests, for the fourth labour
teeth. At first, Hercules sliced off the Hercules needed to capture a giant boar
heads with his sword, hoping to kill the that terrorised the people living near it.
monster that way. But soon he realised He tracked the animal through dense
this would not work – the Hydra’s heads forests before using a rope to catch it.
would soon grow back. To overcome He brought the animal back to the
the Hydra, Hercules asked for help from king, alive.
his nephew, Iolaus. Once Hercules had
The Augean Stables
removed a head, Iolaus used fire to burn
The fifth labour tasked Hercules with
the neck. After this, the heads would not
cleaning the notoriously filthy Augean
grow back, and the beast eventually died.
Stables, owned by King Augeas. In the
The Ceryneian Hind stables lived a massive number of cows,
The first two trials had tested Hercules’ and the area had not been cleared for
ability to fight, so the king chose a very years, making the task seem impossible.
different task for his third. The Ceryneian Hercules only had one day to complete
Hind was a beautiful deer with golden this task, so he came up with a clever
antlers, who was faster than any human. plan. He diverted two rivers through the
Hercules needed to capture the animal, stables, which washed everything away.
but he was not allowed to hurt it. For a For this, King Augeas gave him some
year, Hercules pursued the animal. During money – something Hercules would later
that time, he deeply respected it and regret.
never used violence. Eventually, he was
The Stymphalian Birds
able to corner it and bring it to the
Hercules’ fighting skills were again tested
king unharmed.
within the sixth labour, against a flock
of human-eating birds with sharp, metal
feathers. Hercules asked his friend, a
craftsman, to create a rattle for him,
which he used to make a noise that
scared the birds. Once in the air, Hercules
could use his bow and arrow to shoot
them from the sky.
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The Trials of Hercules Story
The Cretan Bull The Cattle of the Monster Geryon
The next labour had Hercules going to For what he believed to be his last labour,
the island of Crete, where he needed to Hercules was asked to steal red cows
capture the mighty Cretan Bull. A giant belonging to the giant Geryon, who
beast, and the child of a god, the Cretan has six arms and three heads. Hercules
Bull was a destructive animal, destroying travelled many miles to reach Geryon’s
towns and killing people. Hercules needed home and defeated him in combat. He
to capture it alive, so he wrestled with the then brought the cows back, which was a
beast, using his power to force the animal difficult task as the distance was so far.
to surrender.
Ten Labours?
The Mares of Diomedes
Hercules believed the tenth labour would
The cruel King Diomese kept a group
be his last, as this was the number he
of horses so ferocious that they ate
was told to complete. But King Eurystheus
humans. These horses ran across the
wanted to make Hercules work some more
countryside, preying on innocent people.
and found an excuse. Because Hercules
To defeat them, Hercules used his skill
needed his nephew’s help to defeat the
as a horseman to calm the animals.
Hydra, and because he received money
Eventually, the animals submitted to
for cleaning the stables, the King claimed
him, and he could bring them to King
Hercules only completed eight labours.
Eurystheus.
The other two did not count. As a result,
The Belt of Hippolyta the King made Hercules do two more.
For the next labour, Hercules needed to
retrieve the belt of Hippolyta, the queen
of the Amazons. The Amazons were a
tribe of only women, and the belt was a
sign of leadership. Hercules spoke with
the queen and explained why he needed
the belt, and she agreed he could have it.
However, Hera, dressed as an Amazonian,
told lies about Hercules. She claimed he
wanted to steal their queen. This caused a
fight, and Hercules fought against many
Amazonians. With his strength, he could
win the fight and eventually explain the
situation to the queen. She understood
and let him have the belt.
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The Trials of Hercules Story
The Apples of the Hesperides The Capture of Cerberus
For his next labour, Hercules needed to For his last labour, Hercules had to
collect some well-guarded golden apples. capture the three-headed dog that
Upon arriving, he met with Atlas, a Titan guarded the gates to the Underworld,
that held up the sky on his shoulders. He called Cerberus. Hercules headed into the
told Hercules he would help him to collect Underworld, and wrestled the giant dog
the apples, but that Hercules needed to to the floor, getting a chain around its
hold the sky while he did so. Hercules neck. Once defeated, Hercules brought
used his strength to keep the sky up while Cerberus back through the Underworld
Atlas collected the apples. However, Atlas and presented it to the king. He was
changed his mind – he wanted to keep terrified of the beast and commanded
the apples, and he didn’t want to hold up Hercules to return it at once.
the sky anymore. Using his intelligence,
Twelve Labours Complete
Hercules said he would continue to
hold up the sky but needed to relax his With the completion of the final labour,
arms for a few seconds to become more Hercules had proved to the world he was
comfortable. When Atlas held the sky for a true hero. As a reward, he was finally
him, he took the apples and returned to made a god, and he could live with the
King Eurystheus, having tricked Atlas. other gods and his father Zeus.
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The Trials of Hercules Story
Vocabulary Questions:
1. What does the word "demigod" mean in the text?
A. A human with special powers
B. A child of a god and a human
C. A legendary hero
D. A mythical creature
2. What does the word "revenge" mean in the text?
A. Kindness and forgiveness
B. A feeling of sadness and regret
C. A desire to harm someone because they did something to you
D. A state of madness and confusion
3. What does the word "ferocious" mean in the text?
A. Fearful or timid
B. Extremely fierce or violent
C. Gentle and kind-hearted
D. Skilled and powerful
4. What does the word "wrestle" mean in the text?
A. A fight or struggle, without weapons
B. To communicate and negotiate peacefully
C. To perform acrobatic movements and tricks
D. To hunt and capture wild animals
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The Trials of Hercules Story
5. What does the word "trick" mean in the text?
A. A difficult or challenging task
B. A clever action to outsmart someone
C. A valuable reward or prize
D. A significant achievement or accomplishment
Reading Questions:
1. Why did Hera want to take revenge on Hercules?
2. What did the oracle tell Hercules to do in order to redeem himself?
3. How did Hercules defeat the Nemean Lion?
4. How did Hercules clean the Augean Stables?
5. What was the outcome of Hercules' twelve labours?
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The Trials of Hercules Story
Writing Questions:
1. What qualities and abilities did Hercules demonstrate throughout his labours?
2. In your opinion, what were the most challenging and impressive tasks Hercules had to
complete? Why?
3. If this story was about a modern-day Hercules, what labours would he be asked
to complete?
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Answers
Vocabulary Answers:
1. What does the word "demigod" mean in the text?
b) A child of a god and a human
2. What does the word "revenge" mean in the text?
c) A desire to harm someone because they did something to you
3. What does the word "ferocious" mean in the text?
b) Extremely fierce or violent
4. What does the word "wrestle" mean in the text?
a) A fight or struggle without weapons
5. What does the word "trick" mean in the text?
b) A clever action to outsmart someone
Reading Comprehension:
1. Why did Hera want to take revenge on Hercules?
Hera wanted to take revenge on Hercules because he was Zeus' son from
another woman.
2. What did the oracle tell Hercules to do in order to redeem himself?
The oracle told Hercules to visit King Eurystheus and complete ten tasks, known as
the labours, in order to redeem himself.
3. How did Hercules defeat the Nemean Lion?
He defeated the lion by wrapping his arms around its neck and strangling it.
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Answers
4. How did Hercules clean the Augean Stables?
He cleaned the stables by diverting two rivers through them. The rushing water
washed away the filth and cleared the stables.
5. What was the outcome of Hercules' ten labours?
He had proved himself as a true hero and was made a god, allowing him to live with
the other gods and his father Zeus.
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