Hercules was forced to perform 12 labors by King Eurystheus as punishment for killing his wife and children under the influence of Hera, the jealous goddess.
Hera, the wife of Zeus, was far from a fan of her husband's infidelity stories. When Zeus had a son named Hercules with Alcmene, a mortal, Hera took it very badly. Furious and jealous, she decided to make Hercules’ life unbearable from birth, even sending two snakes to kill him when he was a baby. It didn’t work: baby Hercules dealt with them quickly. But Hera doesn’t give up. She continues to torment him, even provoking uncontrollable fits of madness throughout his life, one of which leads to a tragedy, directly resulting in the famous twelve labors.
Hercules, struck by a fit of madness caused by Hera, commits the unthinkable: he brutally kills his wife, Megara, and their children. When he regains his senses, the horror of his actions plunges him into overwhelming guilt. Tormented by remorse, he seeks a way to atone for this terrible sin before the gods. This immense and sincere guilt is what drives Hercules to accept such difficult challenges, the famous twelve labors.
After losing his mind and committing a horrible crime under the influence of Hera, Hercules wishes to atone for his fault. He turns to the oracle of Delphi to ask how he could repair his mistake. The oracle imposes a penance on him: Hercules must become the servant of King Eurystheus for twelve years. Eurystheus, not really a fan of Hercules and influenced by Hera, takes advantage of the situation to impose twelve difficult, dangerous, and even impossible tasks on him in the hope of causing his downfall. This is the beginning of the famous 12 Labors of Hercules, meant to allow him to purge his fault and regain his honor in the eyes of the gods and men.
The twelve labors are not just impressive challenges to make the legend look good. In reality, they serve to purify Hercules of his faults. After committing a heinous crime under the influence of madness, Hercules carries a deep sense of guilt. Each feat symbolizes a step toward moral and spiritual healing. He must confront his own demons through monstrous creatures or impossible missions. Each success is like an inner cleansing: the hero gradually frees himself from the weight of his past. In the end, Hercules emerges transformed, ready to fully embrace his destiny and free from his debt to the gods.
The number 12 is not insignificant: in ancient Greece, it often symbolized fullness and accomplishment. This significant number is found in the 12 Olympian gods and the 12 months of the lunar year.
During his exploits, Hercules visits almost everyone known to the Greeks, thereby symbolizing his status as a universal hero, capable of fighting evil both in Greece itself and in its farthest regions.
Each task imposed on Hercules symbolizes a struggle against a specific form of chaos or evil, thus representing the triumph of order and civilization over destructive forces.
Originally, there were only ten labors, but Eurystheus refused to count two of them because he believed Hercules had received help or had cheated. This explains why the hero ultimately had to complete twelve feats instead of ten.
Yes, some of Hercules' deeds have inspired astronomical constellations. For example, the Nemean Lion is represented in the constellation of Leo, and the Lernaean Hydra in the constellation of Hydra. Through his mythical exploits, Hercules has also left a mark in the starry sky.
Although Eurystheus, king of Tiryns and cousin of Hercules, is responsible for imposing these labors, he acts under the influence of Hera, who constantly seeks to complicate Hercules' life. Thus, these particularly perilous tasks owe much of their extreme difficulty to the vindictive will of the goddess.
These works symbolize primarily the idea of purification and self-overcoming. Each trial represents a moral or psychological challenge to confront, allowing Hercules to rise spiritually, regain his dignity, and ultimately earn immortality.
Among the famous twelve labors are: defeating the Nemean lion, killing the Lernaean hydra, capturing the Ceryneian hind, capturing the Erymanthian boar, cleaning the stables of Augeas, eradicating the birds of Lake Stymphalus, capturing the Cretan bull, taming the man-eating mares of Diomedes, obtaining the belt of the queen of the Amazons, capturing the cattle of Geryon, bringing back the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides, and capturing Cerberus in the underworld.
The twelve labors are imposed by King Eurystheus at the command of the Oracle of Delphi, to atone for the terrible crime committed by Hercules under the influence of Hera, the jealous goddess who manipulates his reason and leads him to kill his family. These twelve tasks, difficult to the point of being impossible, serve to purify his soul and restore his honor.
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