World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Twelve Labors of Hercules
赫拉克勒斯的十二项任务
The Twelve Labors of Hercules (赫拉克勒斯的十二项任务, Hèlākèlèsī de shí'èr xiàng rènwu) is a legend, retold in simple Mandarin as an 8-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 3 (Intermediate).
Retold from Greek myth: the strongest man alive must finish twelve impossible tasks for a king who is more afraid of Hercules than of any monster, and who keeps hiding in a jar.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — The warm storyteller who opens and closes scenes.
- Hercules · 赫拉克勒斯 — The strongest man alive, kind and quick to laugh.
- King Eurystheus · 欧律斯透斯 — A nervous king who keeps changing the rules and hiding in a jar.
- Iolaus · 伊俄拉俄斯 — Hercules's cheerful young friend who carries the fire.
- Hera · 赫拉 — The proud goddess who wants Hercules to fail.
- Atlas · 阿特拉斯 — A giant who has held the sky for years and is tired.
- Hades · 哈迪斯 — The serious, fair king of the underworld.
- Cerberus · 刻耳柏洛斯 — A three-headed dog who only needs a gentle hand.
- Augeas · 奥革阿斯 — A lazy, greedy owner of three thousand cows.
- Hippolyta · 希波吕忒 — The proud, kind queen of the Amazons.
- The Hydra · 九头蛇 — A swamp serpent with nine heads that grow back.
- The Nemean Lion · 尼米亚狮子 — A huge sleepy lion whose skin no weapon can cut.
- Athena · 雅典娜 — The wise goddess who helps Hercules with a bronze rattle.
- Old Traveler · 老爷爷 — An old traveler who knows where to find Atlas.
- Old Farmer · 老农 — An old farmer who tells Hercules where the animals live.
- King Diomedes · 狄奥墨得斯 — A greedy king whose horses are wild.
- The King's Daughter · 公主 — Eurystheus's spoiled daughter who wants a golden belt.
8 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Lion of Nemea
第一项任务
A frightened king sends the strongest man alive after a lion no weapon can hurt. Hercules wins with his bare hands, but the king hides in a jar and thinks up something worse.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Nine-Headed Snake
九头蛇
A nine-headed swamp snake grows two new heads for every one Hercules cuts off. Iolaus has a fiery idea, but the king has a rule that changes everything.
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Chapter 3: The Golden Deer and the Wild Boar
金鹿和野猪
Hercules runs after a golden deer for a whole year, then chases a huge wild boar through the snow. The king takes one look at the boar and dives for his jar.
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Chapter 4: The Dirty Stables and the Iron Birds
牛圈和铜鸟
Hercules has one day to clean a stable that hasn't been washed in thirty years, then meets a marsh full of bronze birds. The king finds a new rule to cancel one of them.
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Chapter 5: The Bull and the Wild Horses
公牛和野马
Hercules rides a fire-nosed bull home from Crete and tames four wild horses without a fight. But the king's spoiled daughter has just found something she wants even more.
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Chapter 6: The Golden Belt and the Red Cattle
金腰带
The Amazon queen gives Hercules her golden belt as a gift, but Hera is watching and starts a lie. Then she sends a swarm of bugs after the red cattle.
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Chapter 7: The Golden Apples and the Sky
金苹果
Nobody knows where the golden apples grow except a giant who holds up the sky. Hercules offers to help him, but the giant may never want the sky back.
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Chapter 8: The Dog of the Dead
三头狗
For the last labor Hercules goes down to the land of the dead to ask its king for a three-headed dog. One rule: no weapons.
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Key words in The Twelve Labors of Hercules
Behind the story
The twelve labors of Hercules come from ancient Greek myth. In the Roman world he was called Hercules; the Greeks called him Heracles. The tasks were a punishment and a road to freedom: after Hera made him lose his mind, he had to serve his cousin, King Eurystheus, and only twelve labors could clear his name.
In Chinese the hero is 赫拉克勒斯 (his name is written by sound), and Greek myths are often read in schools as "外国神话". Like the Monkey King in Chinese stories, Hercules is a strong hero whose great power has to be joined with patience and kindness.
Did you know?
- The labors are usually listed as twelve: the lion, the Hydra, the golden deer, the boar, the stables, the birds, the bull, the horses, the belt, the cattle, the apples and Cerberus.
- In some tellings the king cancelled two labors because Hercules had help or was paid, which is why the number grew from ten to twelve.
- The word "herculean" in English means needing very great strength or effort.