Hercules

Hercules battled gods, men and monsters in a lifetime of violence and destruction. Today, Hercules is best known for his ‘twelve labours’, a series of near-impossible tasks assigned to him as punishment for the killing of his wife and children. During those tasks, he slew the multi-headed hydra, wrestled with Cerberus, hound of the underworld, and stole the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Yet even when his labours were done, his adventures continued. Hercules led armies, sacked cities, fought against the gods, and then joined forces with the gods in the great war known as ‘The Gigantomachy’. This book tells the complete story of this legendary warrior, including information on the classical sources, his deification and cult, and his continuing popularity as a character in film, television and comic books. 
Contents 
Introduction 
What’s in a Name 
Classical Sources 
Chapter I: Price of Thebes 
The Birth of Heracles 
The Wrath of Hera 
Exile 
The Minyan Horse 
Divine Madness 
Chapter II: The Twelve Labors 
The Nemean Lion 
The Lernaean Hydra 
The Ceryneian Hind 
The Erymanthian Boar 
The Augean Stables 
The Stymphalian Birds 
The Cretan Bull 
The Mares of Diomedes 
The Girdle of Hippolyta 
The Cattle of Geryon 
The Apples of the Hesperides 
The Hound of Hades 
Chapter III: The Living Legend 
Revenge on Augeas 
God vs. God 
Gigantomachy 
Winning Deianeira 
The Shirt of Nessus 
Apotheosis