Hercules' face when he was told about the Isle of Hercules.
(that patented slow talk) "I have a what????"
Hi and welcome to the Isle of Hercules. I'm Salmoneus, your host and for just a small handful of dinars, you can relive the magic that is HERCULES.
The Real Legend of Hercules
Hercules was born from a mortal mother but had a god as his father. And not just any god, but the King of the Gods, Zeus. Zeus was well known throughout Mt Olympus and the rest of Greece as a philandering god, seducing women and goddesses without a second thought. Hercules' mother, Almcene was a very young and beautiful woman who was married. It was her beauty that caught the powerful god's eyes who had no qualms seducing married women to satisfy his lustfulness.
Hercules grew up knowing he was the son Zeus and had an amazing amount of strength. Even as a baby he was abnormally strong. While resting in his crib, two snakes slithered in and Hercules just grabbed the both of them, squeezing the life from them. Some say Hera, Zeus' wife, sent the serpents to destroy Zeus' son and others say it was Zeus himself who sent them, to find out which was his son. Hercules was born as a twin. His brother was Iphicles. Though they shared the same mother, Iphicles' father was mortal whereas Hercules' was immortal.
Hercules eventually married Megara and had children but Hera still carried her hatred for him. Hera didn't really have a good reason to hate Hercules, he just represented the infidelity of her husband. Hera was known to be a jealous and cruel goddess. Hera caused Hercules to go temporarily insane. This insanity caused Hercules to slay his wife and children. As punishment, the Delphic Oracle instructed Hercules to go to King Eurystheus and serve him for 12 years. Hercules was given 12 labours to complete. Each task, tested Hercules strength of body and of mind.
1. Kill the fierce lion of Nemea, whose body was impervious to steel weapons.
2. Slay the Hydra of Lerna (with help from his nephew, Iolaus).
3. Capture the huge boar of Erymanthus.
4. Capture the golden-horned Arcadian stag.
5. Drive away a flock of savage birds, (which could shoot arrows) from the woods to the Lake Stymphalus.
6. Clean the stables of King Augeus.
7. Capture the bull of King Minos.
8. Bring the man-eating horses of King Diomedes of Thrace to Eursytheus.
9. Obtain the girdle the Amazon Queen, Hippolyta.
10. Capture the cattle from the monster of Geryon.
11. Steal a Golden Apple of the Tree of Life, guarded by the Hesperides (daughters of Atlas).
12. Capture Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld and bring him to the upper world.
Hercules was also involved in a number of other adventures. He was part of the Argonauts, in the quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece; he out wrestled Death, freed Prometheus from his eternal punishment; and overcame the giant Antaeus, who received his strength from contact with his mother Earth, Hercules just held him above the ground until Anteus weakened. During one of his labours, Hercules held the world beneath his shoulders, which was Atlas' punishment. Hercules almost had to do it forever but he tricked Atlas into showing him how it was done.
After his 12 Labours, Hercules married a princess called Deianira. A centaur called Nessus also loved the princess and tried to press his affections onto her. When she refused, Nessus tried to rape her but Hercules shot him with a poisoned arrow. As Nessus was dying, he told Deianira that his blood would win back Hercules' love if she ever needed too, by smearing his blood on a robe of Hercules. After a while, Hercules fell in love with another princess (like father, like son). Taking Nessus' advice, Deianira gave Hercules a robe dipped in the centaur's blood. But instead of returning his love for Deianira, the robe burned Hercules. He became his own funeral pyre, his body consumed by poisoned flames. Zeus took him to Mount Olympus, home of the gods. Hercules became a god and married the goddess Hebe(he sure gets around, doesn't he), a daughter of Zeus and Hera who was the cupbearer to gods and goddesses.
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