The Twelve Labors of Hercules: a book club kit

Where it comes from. The Greeks told of Hercules for well over two thousand years, and Thomas Bulfinch gathered the labors into one book in 1855.

In short (for the leader; it gives the ending away). Hercules, son of Zeus, is the strongest man in the world. To make up for a terrible wrong, he must do twelve impossible jobs for his cousin, King Eurystheus. He defeats the Nemean lion and the nine-headed Hydra, cleans a huge stable with two rivers, tricks the giant Atlas, and carries the three-headed dog Cerberus up from the Underworld.

The lesson, in one line. Strength does the most good when it works with patience and a cool head.

Reading plan, by the story's parts. Meeting 1: Part One, “The Strongest Baby” and Part Two, “The Lion and the Hydra”, pages 1–6 (about 5 minutes aloud); Meeting 2: Part Three, “The Deer and the Stables” and Part Four, “The Sky on His Shoulders” and Part Five, “The Dog with Three Heads”, pages 7–15 (about 7 minutes aloud). Each stop's own questions, which never give away what comes next: The Twelve Labors of Hercules by chapter.

Questions to talk about

1. What were the twelve labors of Hercules?
   The story's answer: In the usual order, they were the Nemean lion, the Hydra, the golden-horned deer, the Erymanthian boar, the stables of Augeas, the Stymphalian birds, the Cretan bull, the horses of Diomedes, the belt of the Amazon queen, the cattle of Geryon, the golden apples of the Hesperides, and Cerberus.
2. Why did Hercules have to do the twelve labors?
   The story's answer: In the myth, the goddess Hera tricked him into doing a terrible wrong. The oracle at Delphi told him to make up for it by serving King Eurystheus and doing whatever jobs the king set.
3. How did Hercules trick Atlas?
   The story's answer: Atlas fetched the golden apples but wanted Hercules to keep holding the sky. Hercules asked him to hold it for a moment while he made a cushion for his shoulders, then walked away with the apples.
4. Is Hercules Greek or Roman?
   The story's answer: He is a hero of Greek myth, where his name is Heracles. The Romans told the same stories and called him Hercules, and that is the name most English books use.
5. What does this myth explain, or try to explain?
   Listen for: Many myths explain how something came to be: a season, an animal, a name.
6. Was the main character right or wrong? Was the ending fair?
   Listen for: Myths are often hard on people; let the group disagree.

Did you know?

• Hercules is the Roman name; the Greeks called him Heracles.
• In the myth, Hercules does the labors for his cousin, King Eurystheus.
• A Herculean task means a job that takes enormous strength or effort.

Activity: Make a new myth

Each reader explains something they see every day (why cats purr, why puddles dry up) with a short made-up myth of their own, told round the circle in three sentences.