****+Appendix+1.1

__HERCULES __ According to the Greeks, Hercules was the greatest Hero of Greece and the only human to earn his way to immortality. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Zeus wanted to create a human hero capable of fighting with the Olympian gods in their upcoming battle against the Giants. The goddess Hera was jealous, because Zeus was her husband and she didn't want him to have children with other women. This jealousy caused her to send two serpents to kill the baby Hercules, but he strangled them. Growing to manhood, Hercules was recognised everywhere as the strongest human being. His success in life seemed certain until he provoked the anger of Hera again, when she sent Lyssa (the demon of madness) to him. He became temporarily insane and, in his rage, killed his own wife and children. So that the Gods would forgive him, he had to perform twelve heroic deeds. By the end of performing these deeds, for his bravery, strength and help in defeating giants who threatened Greece, the Gods asked Hercules to join their ranks on Mount Olympus.