Then Jupiter told his son that he must be ready to overcome every evil thing sent against him, and to rid the earth of many terrible monsters that preyed upon mankind, and that, later on, he would have to serve as a slave a certain greedy and powerful king, Eurystheus of Mycenae, for twelve years, and to perform whatever seemingly-impossible tasks his royal master might choose to set him but the stout heart of Hercules never quailed for an instant at the prospect before him. "Tell me what I must do, oh my father, and I will not be afraid to obey thy will." "I wish for the best, and will gladly give of my best," cried young Hercules. Thou hast the mightiest strength and greatest powers of endurance of all my children and if thou wouldst become one of the gods of Olympus, thou must perform many severe tasks, and not be afraid." Jupiter also greatly desired that his noble son should join the immortals in Olympus and knowing of the earnest wish of Hercules, he said to him in his early youth: "It is within thine own power to become as one of the gods, my son, but only by going through much pain and tribulation for the way to greatness and glory is not easy, and he who would attain to the best must give of his best. He was not at first a god, and, therefore, entitled to immortality by birth, for though his father was Jupiter, the mighty King of Olympus, his mother, Alcmene, was only a mortal maiden of the earth but he longed from his earliest days to dwell forever in Olympus, and to be worshipped as the mighty god of strength, who had secured immortality by means of his own great deeds. The greatest and most famous of all the Greek heroes was Hercules, the strongest man who had ever lived upon the earth, whose mighty deeds are even now looked upon as being symbolic of the tremendous difficulties which beset the path of all seekers after true greatness, which can only be achieved by battling with, and overcoming, the giants and terrible monsters of vice and wickedness.īy means of his mighty strength and power to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Hercules, by his own efforts, actually attained to divinity. “The Labours of Hercules” from Wonder Tales from the Greek & Roman Myths by Gladys Davidson, 1920. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs. Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value.
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