Chapter 6 The Story of Hercules-6

Before the birth of Hercules, Zeus had announced at the meeting of the gods that the first grandson of Perseus would dominate all other descendants of Perseus.He intended to give this honor to a son by himself and Alcmene.But Hera was very jealous that this kind of honor should go to the son of her rival, so she used a trick to let another grandson of Perseus, Eurystheus, be born earlier than Heracles.Thus Eurystheus became king of Mycenae, and Hercules, born later, became his subject.The king, noticing the great reputation of his young brother, summoned him as if he were a subject, and set him a host of difficult tasks.Hercules refused to obey.But Zeus was unwilling to violate his own rules, so he ordered his son to carry out the king's orders.Unwilling to be the servant of mortals, the half-god hero left home and went to Delphi to ask the oracle.The oracle said: Eurystheus cheated the throne due to Hera's trick, and the gods will correct it, but Heracles must complete ten tasks assigned by the king.After these tasks are completed, he can be promoted to God.

When Hercules heard the oracle, he was depressed and fell into deep sorrow.Serving someone who is less than himself is really degrading his dignity and lowering his own status.But he did not dare to disobey the will of his father Zeus.Hera still hated Hercules despite his aid to the gods in their battle against the giants.She seized the opportunity to turn Hercules' melancholy into a savage frenzy.Hercules couldn't control himself, he even wanted to kill his cherished nephew Iolaus.The nephew was taken aback and ran away in a hurry.In a fit of rage, Hercules shot dead his children by Megara with arrows, imagining that he was shooting giants with arrows.It took him a long time to get out of his madness.He saw himself in great trouble, and plunged into deeper sorrow and misery.He shut himself up and saw no one.As time passed, the pain in his heart lessened.He regained his strength and was determined to complete the task assigned by Eurystheus.