Heroes Every Child Should Know

in the far-off land o

young couple whose n

ryon, the husband, own

Alcmene, who was King

as the cause of much trouble, for Amphitryon fell to quarreling with the father of his wife about his po

settled at Thebes, where were born to them two boys

en-from the boy's very birth Zeus loved Hercules. But when Hera, wife of Zeus, who shared his honours, saw this l

oft blankets which Alcmene and the maids of the house had woven at their looms. Forward toward this shield the huge snakes were creeping, and just as they lifted their open mouths above the rim, and were making ready to seize them, the twins opened their eyes. Iphicles screamed with fright. His cries

how to play upon the lyre; and Eumolpus, grandson of the North Wind, drilled him in singing. Thus time passed to his eighteenth year when, so great already had become his strength and knowledg

nt to the great shrine of the god Apollo at Delphi to ask whither he should go and where settle. The Pythia, or priestess in the temple, desired him to settle at Tiryns, to serve as bondman to Eurystheus, who ruled

R-WRESTLING WIT

. Hercules set forth armed with bow and quiver, but paused in the outer wood of Nemea long enough to cut himself his famous club. There too he fell in with an honest countryman who pledged him to make a s

the animal unharmed. Then he tried another shot, aiming at the heart. Again the arrow failed. But the lion was by this time roused, and his eyes shot fiery glances, and the heavy roar from his throat made the woods most horribly resound. Then the devoted Hercules seized his heavy wooden club, and rushing forwa

d his search, that he did not find the good man till the last of the thirty days. There he stood just on the point of offering a sheep to Hercules, supposin

f Eurystheus was so great that he had a jar or vessel of brass secretly constructed underground which he might use as a safe retreat in case of danger. This "jar" was probably a chamber and its walls covered within with plates o

UR-DESTROYING T

rsh of Lerna, a small lake near Mycenae. The body of this snake was large and from its

took up the reins. The way to Lerna was pleasant. In spring-time crocuses and hyacinths sprang by the roadside, and in earl

hydra had retired. Into this he shot fiery arrows. The arrows discomforting the snake it crawled forth and, darting at him furiously, endeavoured to twine itself

inch from the spot. And now an enormous crab came from the water out of friendship for t

e hero, as fast as Hercules cut off a head of the hydra he seared the neck with a flaming brand. The searing prevented the heads from growing again. When all the eight mortal heads had thus been dispatched Hercules struck off the one sai

stroyed the monster alone, but only with the assistance of Iolaus. All the people, however, rejoiced greatly, and they

UR-CAPTURING T

g meadow-sides from which rose every now and then the roof of a hunter's cottage or a shepherd's hutch. It was a country also peculia

known from all other deer and her life thus preserved. For no good Hellen, or Greek, would slay for food any animal sacred to a god. This beautif

nd always dancing before him were the golden tips of horns of the hind-near enough to be seen, too far to be seized. At last tired with the pursuit the lovely beast one day took refuge upon a mountain side, and there as

, and mountains were high, and while Hercules was pursuing his way and bearing his meek-eyed burden, he on

untress," answered Hercules, "this hind I know is thine. A twelve-month have I chased and at last caught her. But the god Necessity forced me! Oh

her anger, and sent him forward with kind words, and thus he bro

R-CAPTURING THE

this range wandered also a wild beast, but unlike the lovely hind he was fierce and terrible of aspect and deadly in encounter. He was known as the b

of a mountain. Now the centaurs were, of all the dwellers of that distant land, most unlike us modern folks. For report has it that they were half that noble creature man, and half that noble creature horse: that is to say, they were men as far as the waist, and then came the body of the horse with it

also thirsty, and the sparkling water from the mountain spring seemed not to satisfy him. He asked the centaur for wine. "Ah, wine, my guest-friend Hercules," answered Pholus, "I have none of my own.

as made from grapes that grew under the fair skies of Arcadia and its fragrance was like a scent of lilies or of roses, and when the soft winds entered

nd all were armed with stones and staves which they had seized as they hastened onward. When they first entered with raging cries and threatening gesture Hercules grasped the brands burning on the hospitable hearth and drove them back. As others pressed behind them the hero drew forth his arrow

aiming at another, hit the noblest of the centaurs. Grief seized Hercules when he saw what he had done and he ran and drew out the arrow and applied a soft ointment w

tark dead. He had drawn an arrow from the body of one who had died from its wound, and, while examining it and wondering how so

nds and afterward departing from the unhappy

creature, and following patiently finally reached his lair. There the boar stood, his tusks pointe

ar that he ran into the vast snowdrift standing near by. Thereupon the hero seized and bound him with a wild g

the animal on his shoulders he took to the brazen underground chamber, which he had built, when Hercules came in with the body of the Nemean lio

-CLEANSING THE S

ay of stables where numerous cattle had been confined for many years. These noisome stalls belonged to Augeas, a King of Elis and a man rich in herds-so rich indeed that as the years passed and his cattle increased he could not

cattle and the evil condition of their housing. "The moon-eyed kine will do better in clean stables," said the wise Hercules, "and if thou wilt pledge me a tenth of thy herds I will clea

end. Then with his own mighty hands he dug channels and canals and led the waters of the upper swift-flowing river into the heavily littered floor of the stalls. And the waters rose and pushed the litter before them and made one channel into the lower river, and then another and another and so, working through the hours of the day, the

t, he denied he had promised anything, and offered to lay the matter before judges. The cause therefore was tried, and at the trial the young son of the King, who had witnessed the pact, testified to the truth of Hercules' claim. This so enraged his father that in

R-SHOOTING THE

by us in our day, as Lake Stymphalus. It is a lake of pure sweet water and it lies, as such waters lie in our own c

me by wolves, who alone were hungrier and more destructive than they. These fowls had claws of iron, and every feather of theirs was sharper than a barbed arrow, and so strong and fierce and ravenous they were that they would dart from th

s, and again as he fared the spring sun shone above, and the birds sang welcome, and the narcissus lifted its golden cup, and as he went his heart rejoiced in his life, whatever the

ggested to his mind that he should scare the fowl from their retreat by brazen rattles. The goddess did even more than put the notion of using a ratt

nd the very trees quivered with the horrid sound. And the man-eating birds? Not one remained hidden. Each and eve

terrible man- eaters, till at last he had slain every one. Or, if indeed, any of the tribe had escaped, they had flown far

sixth labou

BOUR-CAPTURING

clouds, so Posidon was King of the sea. With his queen, Amphitrite, he lived far down unde

g ago in the days when Hercules laboured, a King, whose name was Minos, ruled over this land. The island is long and

he creature had come to the rocky coast and made land, its side shone with such beauty, and its ivory-white horns garlanded with lilies set so like a crown above its graceful head that Minos and all the people who saw it marvelled that anywhere could have grown such a bull. And a

ull wild and furious, so that no herdsman dared approach to feed or care for it. For

he hero came to Minos' court. "I have come, sire," said Hercules, "for the mad bull that terrifies thy herdsmen and is rumoured beyond capture." "Ay, young man," cried the king, "thou hast c

d so having made it powerless he lifted it to his shoulders and carried it to the shore. A swift black ship was just spreading sail from Crete, and entering upon it the hero soon ended his journey and laid his capture before Eurystheus.

f the Amazons-an exceedingly difficult labour, for the Amazons were a nation of women-warriors renowned for valour. For the tenth task Eurystheus demanded the purple oxen of a famous giant who dwelt on an island far out in the ocean. The eleventh task was to bring apples from the garden of the Hesperides-golden apple

by the priestess at Delphi many years before, Hercules worked many a noble deed and finally in reward for his much enduri