The Story of Hercules

“How could he do this to me again?” The goddess, Queen Hera, sobbed when she discovered her
husband, Zeus, had had yet another love affair with a mortal woman. The King of the Gods had
fallen in love with another earthly beauty: her name was Alcmene and Zeus thought she was the
most beautiful woman in all of Greece.
Hera was distressed because she had learnt that a child was due to be born of this love affair and
being Zeus’s son, he was sure to be a half god. She became even angrier when she heard Zeus
boasting of his child’s birth on Mount Olympus.
“A son of mine will be born today and he will be a hero: a protector of men and gods,” Zeus told
anyone who would listen. “He will be called Hercules and I will crown him King.” Annoyed by his
behaviour, Hera decided to play a trick on her unfaithful husband.
“So you agree that a child born today will be made king?” she asked. Zeus agreed happily.
Hera was sly and used her powers to delay the birth of Hercules. His cousin, Eurystheus, was born
on that day instead. Zeus had no choice but to keep his word: he had to make Eurystheus king. A
day later, Hercules was eventually born and Hera was pleased the boy would not rule.
Zeus was furious with his wife’s deception. He knew Hercules was destined to be a great hero and
tried to reason with his wife about his future.
“I will make a deal with you,” Hera suggested. “If your precious little Hercules can complete twelve
special challenges, I will allow him to become a god and join us on Mount Olympus. I will not
choose the tasks. That will be the job of the new King, Eurystheus.” She knew that she was wise to
do this. The King would surely choose gruelling tasks for the boy to complete which would certainly
lead to his end.
As Hercules grew, he became strong and powerful. When he was just a small child, Hera tried yet
again to see the boy’s death. She sent two terrible snakes with rippling green scales and razor sharp
fangs to the infant’s bed chamber in the depths of night.
In the morning, Alcmene found Hercules smiling with contentment, dangling the dead serpents from
the edge of his cot. He must have strangled them with his bare hands.
Hercules continued to grow and became a strong and fearless man. He was extremely tall with
blonde hair, which looked like spun silk, and eyes the colour of the Aegean Sea. He became a
master of many weapons like the sword and spear, but he loved to fight with his club most of all.
He had shaped it himself from the wood of an old olive tree. Eventually, Hercules reached the age
where he would face the dreaded twelve challenges.
King Eurystheus intended the tasks to be impossible and smiled as he explained the first challenge.
“This first task will also be your last! There is no way you will survive.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you,” Hercules replied in a defiant tone.
“Your first challenge is to kill the Nemean lion and bring me back its hide.”
Everyone knew that the Nemean lion was a fearsome beast whose skin was impenetrable. But before
he could attempt to kill it, he had to find the creature. He tracked the beast for days by following
the trail of devoured bodies the lion left behind.
Eventually, he tracked it down to its lair and lay in wait for it to return. Soon the lion sauntered
back; its mane splattered with the blood of its latest victim.
Being a skilled archer, Hercules shot the lion with an arrow, but it bounced straight off. Next he
tried his sword, but it bounced back every time he went to strike the animal.

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Finally, he wrapped his powerful hands around the lion’s throat and strangled it until it lay dead on
the ground.
Hercules returned to Eurystheus, wearing the lion’s skin, and the king shook in fear and surprise. He
knew the next task needed to be even more difficult than the last.
“Next, you need to defeat the evil Hydra.”
Hercules knew this was almost impossible. The Hydra was a many-headed serpent and every time
one of its heads was cut off, two more would grow in its place. People doubted Hercules’s skill, but
somehow he managed to defeat the beast as easily as the lion.
So Eurystheus set other challenges of a similar nature. He was asked to hunt and kill many animals
and find objects which were difficult to obtain, all of which Hercules did with ease.
“Why don’t you set a real challenge, Eurystheus?” Hercules teased. This time Eurystheus decided to
set Hercules a task that would test his determination and will.
“I want you to clean out the stable of my friend, King Angeous.” The king and his friends all
laughed heartily at this for they knew this was truly an impossible task. The stables had never once
been cleaned and was filled with heaps of dung and dirt.
“He will not be able to complete this task in a hundred years.” Eurytheus laughed.
But Hercules was not daunted. He knew he would have to use his mind as well as his strength to
solve this challenge. He had an interesting idea.
“I will have this done in just one day,” he shouted.
Hercules worked hard to divert a nearby river so that it would run straight through the stables
clearing away all of the dirt and debris. Soon the stables were cleaned by the force of the water.
“Done!” he cried proudly.
The next challenge was to collect a golden apple from the magical Garden of Hespeides. It was
hidden in a distant location and protected by a fierce dragon who coiled around its branches. But
yet again, Hercules was successful. He tricked the Titan Atlas to retrieve the apple for him and he
returned to the king for his final task.
“One task left, Eurystheus,” Hercules called. The king knew this challenge had to be the trickiest of
all. Hercules must not survive.
“You must descend into the Underworld and bring me Cerberus, the guard dog of hell.” The dog had
three heads and teeth that could tear a living man to shreds. Its job was to keep the living out and
the dead in.
When Hercules entered the Underworld, he saw the faces of many of his friends and family who
were long dead. He saw the faces of heroes from days gone by who encouraged him in his final task.
“Welcome, Hercules.” It was Hades, God of the Underworld, who was accompanied by his wife,
Persephone. “The dog is yours, if you can take him from here,” he said.
Hercules had to gather all his courage and threw his arms around the dog’s neck, strangling it as he
had done the Nemean lion. He dragged the beast into the living world and took it straight to
Eurystheus. That was the last of the tasks and Hercules was victorious.
When Hercules came to the end of his mortal life, his ghost wandered the halls of the Underworld
with Hades, but the immortal part of the man became a god, just as Hera had promised, and he was
given the job of protecting the gates of the Heavens.

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 The Story of Hercules – Follow-Up Work

Put these events in the right order.

1. Cerberus is brought to King Eurystheus.
2. Hercules becomes a god.
3. Hera tried to kill Hercules by placing two snakes in his cot.
4. Hercules, the son of Zeus, is born.
5. Hercules kills the Hydra.
6. King Eurystheus gives Hercules his first challenge.

Why is Hera so upset about Hercules’s birth?

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What was Hercules’s favourite weapon?

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The Nemean lion is described as having ‘impenetrable’ skin. What does this phrase mean?

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How do you think Hercules felt after completing the challenges?

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Which task shows that Hercules is wise as well as strong?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the word ‘determination’.

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Give some examples of evidence from the text that shows Hercules is determined.

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Which words and phrases show that the challenges set for Hercules were difficult?

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Circle the word that best describes Hercules.

• fuming

• valiant

• feeble

• fainthearted

How do you think Queen Hera feels at the end of the story?

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This story is a ‘myth’. What clues in the text show this?

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If you could ask Hercules one question what would it be?

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What is your favourite part of the story? Explain your answer.

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 The Story of Hercules – Vocab 1

Write the meaning of each of these words.

distressed ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

boasting _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

unfaithful ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

defiant ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

deception ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

gruelling _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

contentment _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

fearsome _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

impenetrable ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

devoured ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

sauntered ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

determination ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

daunted ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

divert __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

debris __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

descend _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

victorious ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

immortal _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 The Story of Hercules – Vocab 2

Unscramble the words below and find them in the word search.

naedutd aoersfem ormlmtia

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

tuinlfahfu iadtefn icsriovuto

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

srtdesdise eptondeci rliugelgn

_____________________ _____________________ _____________________

u a n o i t p e c e d b

n c e f m t n a i f e d

f i a g m b r y a e g e

a j n n o d h o m a t s

i w x i r c u o n r u s

t p i l t a d k s s h e

h r s l a l z p n o u r

f a b e l s i a u m i t

u d a u n t e d g e a s
l e n r o a m o q u d i
v n o g h r s u c f e d

o v i c t o r i o u s p

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 The Story of Hercules – SPAG

Use the clues to fill the crossword with conjunctions.

e s

Complete the sentences using a conjunction.

Hercules was very strong _____________________________________ he trained hard everyday.

He was given difficult challenges, _____________________________________ he managed to complete each one.

Hercules completed the challenges _____________________________________ Hera was furious.

He was a strong warrior _____________________________________ he was a wise thinker.

Use each of these conjunctions in sentences of your own.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Story of Hercules – Oral Teacher Questions

Put these events in the right order.

1. Cerberus is brought to King Eurystheus. 5
2. Hercules becomes a god. 6
3. Hera tried to kill Hercules by placing two snakes in his cot. 2
4. Hercules, the son of Zeus, is born. 1
5. Hercules kills the Hydra. 4
6. King Eurystheus gives Hercules his first challenge. 3

Why is Hera so upset about Hercules’s birth? Hercules was born from a love affair between Zeus,
Hera’s husband, and a mortal woman.

What was Hercules’s favourite weapon? A club made from the wood of an olive tree.

The Nemean lion is described as having ‘impenetrable’ skin. What does this phrase mean? The lion
has a skin which cannot be pierced by any weapon.

How do you think Hercules felt after completing the challenges? Satisfied to have completed the
challenges and happy to prove King Eurystheus wrong.

Which task shows that Hercules is wise as well as strong? Clearing out the stables of Angeous
because he was unable to complete the task using strength alone.

Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the word ‘determination’. To continue to do something even
though it is difficult.

Give some examples of evidence from the text that shows Hercules is determined. Hercules succeeds
in every task he is given. Phrases such as ‘Hercules was not daunted’ and ‘I will have it done in just
one day’.

Which words and phrases show that the challenges set for Hercules were difficult? Gruelling tasks,
fearsome beast, almost impossible, many-headed serpent, difficult to obtain.

Circle the word that best describes Hercules.

• fuming
• valiant
• feeble
• fainthearted

How do you think Queen Hera feels at the end of the story? She keeps her word by accepting that
Hercules has completed the challenges, but she is surprised and irritated that he succeeded.

This story is a ‘myth’. What clues in the text show this? It is set in the past and has royalty, gods
and goddesses, creatures, a challenge or quest and conflict.

If you could ask Hercules one question what would it be? Personal response.

What is your favourite part of the story? Explain your answer. Personal response.

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 The Story of Hercules – Vocab 1

Write the meaning of each of these words.

distressed – upset or worried

boasting – to speak too proudly about something

unfaithful – having a relationship with someone behind a partner’s back

defiant – to refuse to back down

deception – hiding the truth

gruelling – extremely tiring and difficult

contentment – being pleased with a situation

fearsome – frightening

impenetrable – impossible to go through

devoured – to eat something eagerly and in large amounts

sauntered – walking in a slow and relaxed way

determination – the continue trying even though something is difficult

daunted – feeling frightened or worried about something

divert – to cause something to change direction

debris – broken pieces of something larger

descend – to go down or travel downwards

victorious – to win and be successful

immortal – living forever

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 The Story of Hercules – Vocab 2

Unscramble the words below and find them in the word search.

naedutd aoersfem ormlmtia

daunted fearsome immortal

tuinlfahfu iadtefn icsriovuto

unfaithful defiant victorious

srtdesdise eptondeci rliugelgn

distressed deception gruelling

u a n o i t p e c e d b

n c e f m t n a i f e d

f i a g m b r y a e g e

a j n n o d h o m a t s

i w x i r c u o n r u s

t p i l t a d k s s h e

h r s l a l z p n o u r

f a b e l s i a u m i t

u d a u n t e d g e a s
l e n r o a m o q u d i
v n o g h r s u c f e d

o v i c t o r i o u s p

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 The Story of Hercules – SPAG

Use the clues to fill the crossword with conjunctions.

t h e r e f o r e
o
w
b e c a u s e
v n o
e d
r

Complete the sentences using a conjunction.

Hercules was very strong because he trained hard everyday.

He was given difficult challenges, however he managed to complete each one.

Hercules completed the challenges therefore Hera was furious.

He was a strong warrior, and he was a wise thinker.

Use each of these conjunctions in sentences of your own.

Personal response.

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