The Twelve Labours of Heracles

Classical Stories · No. 35 — Twelve impossible tasks for the strongest man alive.

• Classical Stories
• 46 min
• Ages 8–13
• 6 chapters

About this audiobook

Heracles, strongest of all mortals, is set twelve labours as penance — each one meant to be impossible. He strangles the Nemean lion whose skin no weapon can pierce and wears its hide ever after; he burns the Hydra's necks so its heads cannot regrow; he cleans the vast Augean stables in a single day by turning a river through them; he captures monsters and steals golden apples and, at the last and worst, descends alive into the land of the dead to bring back its guard dog, Cerberus. Twelve times the impossible is done — never by strength alone.

Why it's worth a listen

The greatest strongman in myth is set twelve tasks no one could survive: a lion whose hide no blade can cut, a many-headed monster that grows two heads for each you take, a river of stables to clean in a day, and finally the three-headed dog that guards the dead. A grand tour of Greek monsters — with a hero who wins as often by cleverness as by muscle.

A question to keep

Can strength alone make a hero — or is it what you do with it, and why, that counts?

Based on the book by A tale from Ancient Greece, published by Emma's Library original retelling

Chapters

1. The Shadow and the Bronze Jar
2. The Hide of the Lion and the Breath of the Hydra
3. Rivers, Hooves, and Wings
4. To the Edge of the World
5. The Darkest Gate
6. A Question to Keep