Heracles

The Greek hero Heracles was son of Zeus and the mortal  Alcmena, who the god seduced in the shape of her husband Amphitryon, king of Thebes. He also had a twin brother, Iphicles, who was one night younger then him and was the natural son of Amphitryon.
His constant persecutor was Hera, who crazed with jealousy of her husbands liaison with Heracles' mother caused the hero many troubles. While Heracles was just a baby in the cradle, she sent two snakes which the child strangled, one in each hand. She also made him insane for a while, which made him murder his children with Megara.
Besides these Hera induced frenzies, Heracles was a very brutal character. He killed his music teacher with his lyre in a fit of anger. When he was only eighteen he killed a lion on the mountain Kithairon which decimated the herds of Amphitryon , and for the rest of his life he would carry its skin.

When he was still a child, his adoptive father Amphitryon taught him to drive a chariot, Rhadamanthys enriched his knowledge, Linos taught him music, Autolycus, the son of Hermes taught him to fight and Kastor taught him the use of weapons.
According another legend, Hercules was sitting at a crossroads and he saw two beautiful girls passing, the one was the Evil and the other was the Virtue. Virtue suggested him to follow a narrow and difficult path full of sharp stones and thorns, which will be crossed with difficulty, but in the end he would win the love and recognition. The evil one suggested him to follow the easy path, wide and straight where he will enjoy life and wealth, but he would be commit iniquities and injustices. Hercules eventually followed the path of Virtue that gave him glory and recognition for his good deeds.

Heracles was one of the most popular heroes of Greek mythology, and his many feats were constantly retold in art and literature. All over Greece he was worshipped as either a god or a hero. He was the protector of athletics and according to one myth he was the founder of the Olympic Games. He was believed to ward off evil.

There are many stories about Heracles. Thanks to him the gods defeated the giants, since they could only beat them if a mortal would fight with them. As a youth he defeated the enemies of Thebes, and as a reward king Creon of Thebes gave him his daughter Megara. His constant follower was Iolaus,
who was also his nephew.

The most famous stories about Heracles are about his twelve labours. Ready to commit suicide after killing his sons, he was told not to do so by the oracle in Delphi and to purify himself by serving his cousin king Eurystheus of Mycenae and to do whatever the king told him.

The first labour was to kill the Nemean lion, which he did with his bare hands. This frightened the king so much that he would not let Heracles inside Mycenae walls, the hero had to show his trophy outside the walls.

The second labour was to fight the Hydra, an immortal monster with nine heads. If a head was cut off, two new would grow out in its place. Heracles defeated the Hydra with the help of his friend Iolaus. Each time a head would be cut off, Iolaus burnt the neck with fire, and so no new heads could grow out. When all the heads were off they buried the monster under a pile of stones. Heracles dipped his arrows in the Hydra's blood, making them lethal.

The third labour was the capture of the the deer of Kyrenia, which had feet of brass and horns of gold, he chased it for a whole year and brought it alive to Eurystheus in Mycenae.

The fourth labour was the capture of a terrible wild boar which lived on the mountain Erymanthos in North Arcadia.

The fifth labour was to clean king Augeias' stable in Elia on the Peloponnese. The stable was huge and full of dung, and Heracles cleaned it by leading two rivers into it.