Heracles, the strongest man in Greece, marries a princess, and is tricked into slaughtering her and their children. Grieved by his crime, he seeks the oracle, who tells him to “serve Eurystheus for twelve years” to be forgiven (33). Later, the goddess Athena and the titan Atlas help guide Heracles and carry out some of his tasks. Heracles, at the will of Eurystheus, skins a vicious lion, kills the Hydra, traps a silver stag belonging to Artemis, cleans a barn that is home to 30,000 cattle, destroys the birds of Stymphalus, captures a mad bull, brings Eurystheus man-eating mares, steals the Amazon queen’s belt, takes custody of oxen belonging to a three-headed man, and finds the Golden Apples of Hesperides. As his final task, Heracles enters