References - www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constelations.html AND www.perseus.tufts.edu/herakles/labors.html

Hello, my name is Proffessor Sinistra. I am here to teach you about astronomy. In these lessons we will be learning about the stars. We will study different constellations every few lessons This lesson's constellation is Hercules. Hercules's Abbreviation is Her.      Hercules is very well known as a greek god more than being a constellation. Many people have seen the Disney Movie Hercules. Hercules defeated Leo the lion, Hydra the many headed beast, and Cancer the crab. Here is a small portions of Hercules's Story.      The goddess Hera was not very kind to Hercules, and she made Hercules lose his mind. Hercules, in insanity, killed his wife and children. After this temporary insanity he felt horrible for what he had done and prayed to the God Apollo for guidance. Apollo told him that he must serve Eurytheus, king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years as a punishment.      Hercules had to perform twelve labors as a part of his punishment. These were feats so difficult that many said they were not possible. But Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena who helped him when he needed it. The Twelve Labors 1. Bring the King the skin of an invulnerable lion called Nemean Lion (Leo) 2. Hercules was ordered to kill Lernean Hydra (Hydra), a sea serphent with nine heads (one of which was immortal and indestructable) 3. Bring the king the Hind of Ceryneia. Hind is a red female deer. Ceryneia is a town in Greece. The Hind of Ceryneia was the Diana's(the goddes of hunting and moon) special pet. 4. Bring the king the Erymanthian Boar alive. The boar was extremely dangerous. 5. Ordered to clean the Augean Stables (King Augian had the most cattle in Greece) in one day. 6. Drive away the Stymphalean Birds. An enormous flock of birds that gathered at a lake. 7. To dispose of the Cretan Bull. 8. To take the Man Eating Horses of Diomedes back to Eurytheus. 9. Take Hypolyte's belt and fight the Amazons (woman warriors) 10. Bring the king the Cattle of the monster Geryon 11. Bring the king the Apples of Hesperides, the golden apples given to Zeus by Hera as a wedding present. 12. Kidnap the beast of the underworld, Cerberus. If you are interested about how Hercules performed the labors you can go to www.perseus.tufts.edu/herakles/labors.html Hercules is best seen in July at 9:00 p.m The Stars in Hercules are Rasalgethi (Alpha 1 Her), Kornephoros (Beta Her), Sarin (Delta Her), Marfik (Kappa Her), Maasym (Lambda Her), Kajam(Omega Her)

Homework Lessson 1 Answer these questions. 1. Who made trouble for Hercules? 2. Name 3 of the 12 labors. 3. Who helped Hercules at times? Extra Credit- 5 points Go to the second link under refrences and in a few sentences tell me how Hercules drove the birds away in the Sixth Labor. Homework Lesson 2 Name the stars in Hercules. What did Apollo tell Hercules to do after the murders? EXTRA CREDIT- 3 Points Did Hercules become immortal?