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Appearance: Handsome, well-built, vigorous young man.

Symbol or Attribute:Wooden club.

Strengths: Brave, strong, determined.

Weaknesses: Lustful and gluttonous.

Birthplace: Son of Zeus by Alcmena or Alcmene, born at the Greek city of Thebes. His (second) stepfather and mentor was Radamanthes, the just and law-giving brother of King Minos of Crete.

Spouse: Megara; after his deification after death, Hebe, Olympian goddess of health.

Children: Many; supposedly had a child by each of the fifty daughters of Thespius; some accounts claim that was only one night's worth. His three sons by Megara are Thersimachus, Creontidas, and Deicoon.

Some Major Temple Sites: There is a small ruined temple to Hercules at Dodona in northwestern Greece, where his Dad, Zeus, is very popular.

Basic Story: The mythological stories associated with Hercules are extremely numerous. The Labors of Hercules vary in number, most often ten, and depending on the source, the labors include different tasks. He was set on these labors by the Delphic Oracle, possibly to expiate his guilt over killing his wife and children in a fit of madness sent by the goddess Hera, and the labors were part of his service to King Eurytheseus.

1. Conquer and deliver the Nemean Lion, a monstrous feline.
2. Kill the multiheaded Hydra.
3. Bring back, dead or alive, the Cerynitian Hind, a ravaging deer.
4. Catch the Erymanthian Boar.
5. Clean out the massive stables of Augeas, perhaps the most famous of the Labors.
6. Scare off and kill the metal-feathered Stymphalian birds.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull.
8. Do something about those pesky man-eating Mares of Diomedes (he moved them and released them.)
9. Get the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons (she gave it to him peacefully, which enraged Hera, who arranged for the rest of the Amazons to attack Hercules; in the mess that followed, Hippolyta was killed by Hercules.)
10. Steal the cattle of Geryon.

11. Bring back the Golden Apples of the Hesperides.
12. Go down to the Underworld and bring back multi-headed Cerberus, chief Hound of Hades.

Hercules enjoyed dozens of other adventures and was beloved by the Greeks. His worship later spread to Rome and the rest of Italy. The popular TV series took him on many more, increasingly unlikely adventures, but even in ancient times Hercules was an inexhaustible source of entertaining tales, so they're not that far off.

Interesting Fact: Hercules' name means "Glory of Hera" though Hera is his implacable enemy. The goddess Athena, on the other hand, regards him kindly, as does his father, Zeus.

Frequent Misspellings: Hercales, Heracules, Herkules More Fast Facts on Greek Gods and Goddesses:

Olympian Gods and Goddesses - Greek Gods and Goddesses at Home - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Athena - Demeter- Hades - Hephaestus- Hera - Hercules - Hermes - Pan- Persephone - Zeus.

Planning your trip to Greece? Find and compare hotel rates at many locations in Greece: Hotels in Greece

Compare airfares to Greece here: Find Greek Airfares

You can also pre-book tours in and around Athens: [link urlhttp://gogreece.about.com/od/athenssightseeing1/tp/athenstours.htm]Athens Tours you can Book Direct[/link]