Hercules, son of the Greek god Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, was one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology. He is known for his super strength and the many adventures he has had. When Hercules was born, Hera was angry that her husband had fathered another child with a mortal. Hera punished Hercules by casting a spell on him that drove him mad. While Hercules was under the spell, he massacred his wife and six children. After Hercules' sanity returned, he deeply regretted the actions he had taken. To pay for the crimes of murder he had committed, Hercules was sent to the land of Tirin, where he was sentenced to perform 12 years of labors assigned to him. The first three labors performed by Heracles include; Killing the Nemean Lion, killing the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, and capturing the golden hind of Artemis. "The first task that Eurystheus gave to Heracles was to destroy the Nemean lion." (Page 121) This creature, which was brought to the Nemean land by Hera, could not be killed by anything because of its golden fur. Heracles brought with him arrows and a club to use to kill the creature. “Realizing that no weapon could kill this monster, he got rid of them and fought the monster with his bare hands.” (The Twelve Labors) The only way for Heracles to kill the Nemean lion was to fight against his death. He managed to grab the lion in his arms and suffocate it to death. After managing to kill the beast, Heracles brought the corpse of the Nemean lion back to Eurystheus. “Eurystheus now sent Heracles on a more complicated mission, to slay the Lernaean Hydra.” (Page 123) The hydra was a powerful nine-headed water serpent that had poisonous breath. The difficult part of this task was that the hydra only had…half the card…to please his father by helping Heracles. “Persephone told Heracles that he could bring Cerberus to the world of the living if he could do it with his bare hands.” (Page 131) With no weapons allowed, Heracles had to use his famous grappling moves on Cerberus. Heracles managed to defeat Cerberus, and the three-headed dog was soon brought to the surface. Cerberus did not stay long in the upper lands as the king was terrified of the beast. Hercules went to great lengths to pay for his sins. He faced many challenges, from killing creatures to taking different objects. All these labors performed by him were not simple and each task could have been the end of Heracles. As the 12 years of work passed, each of the tasks was completed. Through these labors, he paid for the sins he had committed and was given the gift of immortality.