Hercules, son of the Greek god Zeus and mortal Alcmene, was one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology. He is known for his super strength and the many adventures he has had. When Hercules was born, Hera became furious that her husband had fathered another child with a mortal. Hera punished Hercules by casting a spell on him that made him mad. While Hercules was under the spell, he massacred his own wife and six children. After Hercules' sanity returned, he deeply regretted the actions he had taken. To pay for the crimes of murder he had committed, Hercules was sent to the land of Tyrinus, where he was sentenced to complete 12 years of the labors assigned to him. The first three labors performed by Heracles include: Killing the Nemean Lion, Killing the Nine-Headed Lernaean Hydra, and Capturing the Golden Doe of Artemis. “The first task that Eurystheus gave to Heracles was to destroy the Nemean lion.” (Page 121) This creature, which was brought to the land of Nemea by Hera, could not be killed by anything because of its golden fur. Heracles had brought arrows and a club to kill the creature. “Realizing that no weapon could kill this monster, he got rid of it and fought the monster with his bare hands.” (The Twelve Labors) The only way Heracles could kill the Nemean Lion was to fight death. He was able to grab the lion in his arms and choke it until it died. After successfully killing the beast, Heracles brought the corpse of the Nemean lion to Eurystheus. “Eurystheus has now sent Heracles on a more delicate mission: to kill the Lernaean Hydra.” (Page 123) The hydra was a powerful nine-headed water serpent that had venomous breath. The most difficult part of this task was that the hydra only had middle of paper...... to please his father by helping Heracles. "Persephone told Heracles that he could take Cerberus to the world of the living, if he could do it with his bare hands." (Page 131) With no weapons allowed, Heracles had to use his famous wrestling moves on Cerberus. Heracles managed to defeat Cerberus and the three-headed dog was soon brought to the surface. Cerberus did not stay long in the upper lands because the king was terrified of the beast. Hercules performs many labors to pay for his sins. He has faced many challenges, ranging from killing creatures to taking different items. All these jobs he did were not simple and each task could have been the end of Heracles. Over the 12 years of work, each task has been accomplished. Through these works he paid for the sins he had committed and received the gift of immortality..