Stories and Myths for Kids about the clever, creative, amazing Hercules, the 12 Labors and Many More

The famous myths about The 12 Labors of Hercules are a bunch of little stories that together tell the tale of how the half-man, half god Hercules used clever tricks and great courage to rid the world of some really nasty critters, and lived to tell about it.

Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the gods, had two children, Ares - the god of war, who loved to destroy things, and Hephaestus, god of forge, fire, and volcanoes, who loved to build things. But Zeus also had other children. One of those kids was named Heracles, also known as Hercules, also known by his nickname, Herc.

Zeus loved his little son, Hercules. But Hera, Zeus' wife, was very jealous. She was jealous of all of Zeus' other kids, but she especially hated Hercules, possibly because Zeus was so very proud of him. Because Hera was not very nice sometimes, actually most of the time according to ancient Greek myth, she tried all kinds of ways to kill Hercules, including sending a couple of big snakes into his crib. Hercules crushed those snakes in a flash! Hercules was incredibly strong, even as a baby!

This troubled Zeus, but he loved his wife, Hera. To keep his small son safe from attack, Zeus sent him to live with a mortal family on earth in the ancient Greek city-state of Argos. Hercules grew up noble and loved. He married and had a couple of kids. He was happy, and very big and very strong. He was hard to miss. Hera soon discovered his location. That's when the trouble started.

The Terrible Mistake: Time had passed, but Hera had not changed. She still wanted Hercules gone, as in dead. One day, while Hera was thinking up ways to kill Hercules, she came up with an idea that might not kill him, but it would certainly devastate him. Using an evil magic spell, she made Hercules fall into a fit of madness. While under this spell, he butchered his wife and children. As the spell passed and his vision cleared, Hercules saw what he had done. He knew it was a mistake. He knew he had been bewitched, but he was filled with guilt. He wanted to find some way to atone for his terrible mistake, only he had no idea what to do. In desperation, he visited the most powerful wizard of his day, the Oracle at Delphi, and asked for her help.

The Oracle at Delphi: The Oracle believed Hercules would never have butchered his family unless he had been in the grip of an evil spell. She had no doubt that the evil spell was cast by Hera. She also knew that Hercules would never forgive himself unless first he was punished. She told Hercules exactly what he needed to do to atone. She whispered that he had to visit his cousin, King Eurystheus, who would give him 12 labors (tasks) that Hercules must successfully complete. Once all 12 tasks were accomplished, Hercules would be forgiven.

"Are you sure that such a simple thing will atone for my mistake?" Hercules asked her.

The Oracle answered: "If you complete 12 Labors, immortality will be yours." Being an oracle, she never explained what she meant by "immortality" - would he live forever in legend or for real? Hercules never asked. (She would not have told him anyway.) Hercules could barely hear her, her whisper was that soft, yet somehow, Hera's spies discovered what the Oracle had told him.

The Fury of Eury: Before Hercules could arrive at his cousin's palace, Hera got there first. Eurystheus (Eury for short) was the king of a little village in the city-state of Argos. Hera convinced Eury that Hercules was coming to steal his crown! It was not enough that Hercules had killed his family, she told Eury, without mentioning that Hera herself had put Hercules under an evil spell. Now, she told Eury, he wanted to be a king! Eury believed her. First Eury became quite nervous, and then quite angry. No one was going to take his crown, not if he had anything to say about it! Taking advantage of his fury, Hera suggested that Eury challenge Hercules to 12 labors (missions or tasks), each so difficult that Hercules would surely die, probably on the very first task. Hera and Eury put their heads together and came up with 12 impossible labors.

When Hercules arrived, Hera hid. If Hercules had spotted her, he might have been suspicious, but possibly not even then. Hercules was not interested in Eury's crown. He was interested in atoning for his terrible mistake. He immediately accepted the challenge as Hera knew he would.

The 12 Labors: That's how the 12 Labors of Hercules came about. Sadly for Hera and Eury, the great Hercules not only solved each of the 12 Labors, but along the way, had great adventures, discovered true friends, and rid the world of some really nasty critters. Here are the famous 12 Labors of Hercules, each myth told in the form of a very short story.

VIDEOS: Click here to find the 12 Labors of Hercules in cartoon video form created by our son!

The 12 Labors of Hercules in text format, retold by Lin Donn:

1. The Nemean Lion

2. The Lernaean Hydra

3. The Wild Boar of Erymanthus

4. The Stag of Artemis

5. The Stymphalian Birds

6. The Augean Stables

7. The Cretan Bull

8. The Girdle of Hippolyta

9. The Cattle of Geryon

10. The Mares of King Diomedes

11. The Golden Apples of the Hesperides

12. The Capture of Cerberus

But that was not the end of the story .... In fact, it was only the beginning.

Hercules had a lot of fun solving the 12 Labors, but he wasn't paid for his work. Like everyone in ancient Greece, he needed a job, a paying job. Hercules thought and thought and came up with one of his very best ideas. He would open a detective agency - the Hercules Detective Agency - to help the Greek people solve their problems, especially problems the gods had thrust upon them, just as he had solved the 12 Labors. He would charge a small fee of food or blankets or something else that he needed. That would solve everything! Hercules was very pleased with himself for thinking of such a brilliant solution.

The first thing he did was to create a rather large sign. He hung it on the outside wall of his hut. The sign said: The Hercules Detective Agency, Founded to Help the Greek People, No Problem Too Large or Too Small, Reasonable Fees, Proprietor Hercules (Roman name), also known as Heracles (Greek name), also known as Herc (Nickname)

After admiring his sign for a considerable amount of time, Hercules began to worry that although his sign was very nice, it did not seem to be working. Hercules knew he was famous. Just about everyone in ancient Greece, both gods and mortals, knew he had solved the 12 Labors. But that was in the past. How to get the word out that he was open for business in the present? Once again, Hercules thought and thought, but this time no brilliant solution occurred to him. As it turned out, there was no need to worry. Word spread like wild fire that Hercules was open for business. Soon, people began bringing their impossible problems to his door. Since Hercules kept finding solutions to their problems, it was not long before the Hercules Detective Agency soon became nearly as famous as Hercules himself.

It all started one evening with a knock on the door of his hut.

"Herc! Open up! I need your help!" shouted a harmless looking individual with tousled hair and very worried eyes.

That's how the Hercules Detective Agency found its first client, case file: (1) The Misunderstood Minotaur and, no matter what you might have heard, how Hercules and the Minotaur became the best of friends.