Discover Greek Mythology With Your Kids – Learn About Hercules and His 12 Labors With These Worksheets

Greek mythology is a historical topic that really captures kids’ imaginations. With so many cool gods and goddesses, it’s like a Marvel superhero movie come to life!

There are many deities you can learn about, but Hercules is one that kids particularly love – especially if they’ve seen the animated movie.

Here’s how to teach your kids all about Hercules and his 12 labors in a fun and engaging way.

Who was Hercules in Greek mythology?

Hercules, also called Heracles, was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods. His mother, Alcmene, was a human, so Hercules was a demi-god, known for his incredible strength and stamina.

He was hated by Hera, queen of the gods, because of her husband Zeus’ infidelity. The fact that Hercules was half-human and suffered human emotions meant that he was seen as much more relatable than any of the other gods—he was like a super-strong everyman!

The story of Hercules is quite a wild journey. Hera spent a lot of time trying to destroy him—including sending snakes to kill him when he was an infant, but Hercules strangled them with little effort.

When he was an adult, Hera eventually sent Hercules into a fit of madness, causing him to kill his own children. To repent, he fled and spent a decade trying to atone for his crimes by completing 12 challenging tasks. It was said that once he completed these impossible labors, he would be purified of his sins and be granted immortality.

The 12 Labors of Hercules

After killing his children, Hercules consulted the Oracle of Delphi for advice on how to atone for his sins. Hera guided the Oracle to instruct Hercules to serve his sworn enemy, King Eurystheus, for ten years and to complete any task that was set to him.

The king set him a dozen immensely difficult tasks, known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules. These tasks included slaying mythical monsters, such as:

1. Kill the Nemean Lion, a beast that was immune to weapons. Hercules trapped the lion in a cave and strangled it with his bare hands, then wore its skin as a cloak.

2. Slay the nine-headed Hydra, who would re-grow two new heads for each one that was cut off. He worked with his nephew to cut off each head and sear the neck with a torch to stop it growing back.

3. Capture the Ceryneian Hind, a golden-antlered deer sacred to the goddess Artemis. He spent a year trying to catch it alive and finally succeeded by shooting an arrow through its foot.

4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar from the land of the Centaurs, who attacked Hercules en masse. Despite being outnumbered, the demi-god killed many of them and captured the boar alive.

5. Clean the Stables of Augeius in a day, which were so huge they would take a month to clean entirely. Hercules completed the labor by diverting a river to flow through the stables, leaving them clean.

6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds that were ruining the countryside of Greece. He startled them from the trees using a rattle from the goddess Athena, then shot the birds with his bow and arrow.

7. Capture the Cretan Bull, belonging to King Minos, which was sacred and could allegedly walk on water. King Minos happily gave the bull to Hercules because his wife, the queen, was so in love with the creature.

8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes, a pack of vicious horses. Hercules fed King Diomedes to the horses and easily delivered them to Eurystheus.

9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. This belt was a symbol of Hippolyta’s right to rule, so it was guarded fiercely. Hercules kidnapped the queen’s sister and ransomed her for the belt, then left peacefully.

10. Obtain the cattle of King Geryon in Spain. After accomplishing the near-impossible task of rounding up the herd and returning them to Greece, Hera sent insects to sting the beasts causing them to scatter. Hercules had to round them all up again, at which point a princess saw the demi-god, fell in love with him, and stole the herd. He finally got all the cattle back and brought them to King Eurystheus.

11. Find the Golden Apples of Hesperides. For this task, he was helped by the god Atlas, who held the earth and heavens on his shoulders. Hercules had to shoulder the universe while Atlas retrieved the apples – quite the task!

12. Capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog who was the guardian of the underworld. Hercules had to travel through Hades where he had many adventures with other gods and heroes. He was eventually permitted to take the dog back to King Eurystheus.

When Hercules completed this final task, the king was so scared of Cerberus that he ordered Hercules to return the dog, and then all his labors would be complete. Instead of retiring to a peaceful life, Hercules continued completing quests and embarking on adventures.

How to teach kids about Hercules

Our 22-page worksheet bundle has everything your kids need to know about Hercules and his incredible adventures and achievements. It has great in-depth information about his labors, his family, and even has a mini-lesson on the Greek language!

One of the hands-on activities has students draw their own comic strip based on one of Hercules’ labors. The stories in Greek mythology lend themselves well to comics—you could even follow this worksheet up by finding a graphic novel about Hercules that your kids could read.

Another worksheet encourages kids to summarize the facts they’ve learned about Hercules’ mortal death and ascension to god status into a short narrative. This is a great way to ensure they’ve understood everything they’ve learned.

Hercules might be the most fascinating of all the Greek gods, so it’s worth doing an in-depth exploration of his life and everything he achieved. Our worksheet pack is a great place to start before branching off into other aspects of Ancient Greek history.

Want to learn more about the other gods of the ancient world? We’ve got you covered, check out our database of worksheet bundles on Greek and Roman gods.