Herakles Coloring Pages
Welcome to our Greek Hero Herakles coloring pages section.
Herakles was the strongest of all mortals, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. His cousin, King Eurystheus, gave him twelve tasks known as the Twelve Labours. He fought monsters, captured wild beasts, and solved problems that seemed impossible. Here they are in order, with a coloring page for each one we have.
Hercules is the Roman version of the same hero. I made the decision to make the Greek Herakles a bit more of a teen coloring page and the Roman Hercules set to be more appropriate for younger kids because, in Rome, Hercules became a bit of a celebrity so I thought little kids then would be fans!
The Twelve Labours of Herakles
Labor 1: The Nemean Lion
A giant lion terrorized the forest of Nemea, and no weapon could pierce its golden hide. Herakles made himself a club from an olive tree, knocked the lion down, and wrestled it. He wore the lion's skin as a cloak for the rest of his life.
Labor 2: The Lernaean Hydra
The Hydra was a many-headed water serpent that lived in a swamp. Every time Herakles cut off one head, two more grew back! His nephew Iolaus helped by burning each stump with a torch so the heads couldn't regrow. Herakles then dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood, which made them deadly.
Labor 3: The Golden Hind
The hind was a deer with golden antlers, and it belonged to Artemis. It was so fast that Herakles chased it for a whole year before he caught it. He had to bring it back alive and unharmed, which was harder than any fight.
Labor 4: The Erymanthian Boar
Herakles had to catch a huge wild boar living on Mount Erymanthus. He chased it into deep snow until it was too tired to run, then carried it back on his shoulders. Eurystheus was so scared of the boar that he hid in a giant jar.
Labor 5: The Augean Stables
King Augeas had thousands of cattle and a stable that hadn't been cleaned in years. Herakles was told to clean it in a single day. Instead of using a shovel, he moved boulders to turn two rivers so they rushed through the stables and washed everything clean.
Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds
A flock of man-eating birds with metal feathers lived near a lake. Athena gave Herakles a noisy bronze rattle. The birds took off in fright, and he shot them down with his arrows.
Labor 7: The Cretan Bull
A wild bull was causing trouble on the island of Crete. Herakles wrestled it, tied it up, and carried it back to Greece alive.
Labor 8: The Mares of Diomedes
Diomedes, a king of Thrace, owned four man-eating horses. Herakles defeated Diomedes and tamed the mares, then brought them to Eurystheus.
Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyta
Hippolyta was queen of the Amazons, a nation of warrior women, and she wore a beautiful belt that had been a gift from Ares. Herakles was sent to bring it back. Hippolyta liked him and offered him the belt, but Hera disguised herself and told the Amazons that Herakles had come to kidnap their queen. The Amazons attacked, and Herakles, thinking he'd been tricked, fought back.
In most versions Hippolyta was killed in the fight, but in some she survived and handed over the belt herself.
Labor 10: The Cattle of Geryon
Geryon was a giant with three bodies who lived on an island far to the west, guarding a herd of red cattle. Herakles traveled a very long way, defeated the giant, and drove the whole herd back to Greece.
Labor 11: The Golden Apples of the Hesperides
Hera's golden apples grew in a faraway garden guarded by a dragon, and nobody knew exactly where it was. On the way, Herakles freed the Titan Prometheus from his chains. Then he met Atlas, the Titan who holds up the sky. Herakles held the sky while Atlas fetched the apples. Atlas didn't want to take the sky back, so Herakles tricked him into holding it for just a moment, and then walked away with the apples.
Labor 12: Cerberus
The last and hardest labor was to go into the underworld and bring back Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards its gates. Hades said Herakles could take him if he didn't use any weapons. Herakles wrestled the dog with his bare hands, showed him to Eurystheus, and then returned him to the underworld.
Beyond the Twelve Labours - Other Stories of Herakles
Herakles and the Trojan War
Heracles is mentioned in the Iliad, but he is not a character participating in the Trojan War itself. Homer treats him as a legendary hero of an earlier generation whose deeds are already famous. Before the Trojan War over Helen of Troy, Heracles had already attacked and captured an earlier Troy ruled by King Laomedon.
Herakles and Hades
In some stories, as part of Herakles' twelfth labour, a portion with a show down between Herakles and Hades is included.
When Herakles gets down to the underworld, Hades himself blocks the way. Herakles shoots him in the shoulder with one of his arrows. This is the first time the god ever felt the kind of pain mortals feel.
Herakles' Weapons
Hercules - the Roman Hero
Disney has confused us all a little bit with their Hercules movie by making us think that "Hercules" was the Greek mythology hero but they weren't the first. I think maybe the word "Hercules" is easier for English speakers to pronounce and identify with than the Greek version Heracles/Herakles.
Anyways! The Greek mythological heroes name is Heracles. When the Romans conquered the area, they kept many of the stories, gods and heroes but changed their names. In this case, Herakles became Hercules.
There wasn't a huge difference in the stories when Roman mythology adopted the character from the Greeks. The biggest shift was likely popularity. During Greek times, Heracles was one of many heroic stories told. During Roman times, Hercules became a rock star, lol. He had a cult following including Roman Emperors like Commodus who called himself the Roman Hercules, wore a lion skin and reenacted his labours in the colliseums.
If you're trying to stay true to Greek mythology then Heracles/Herakles is the name you should be using but if you just want to enjoy the stories as mythology Hercules is the name that the ancients used when the stories were most popular.
Herakles and the Nemean Lion
The forest of Nemea was green and still, but despite its peaceful appearance the people who lived near it had stopped going in. A lion lived there and it was larger than any lion they had ever seen, with a coat the color of dry grass. Every week it carried off cattle and sometimes even people.
Hunters and the king's woodsmen had tried to kill it but none of them came home.
Herakles was the strongest man in Greece. His cousin, a king who envied him, had given him a set of tasks to perform, and the lion was the first. Herakles confidently set out for Nemea when the king challenged him to deal with the lion.
The villagers met him on the road. They told him how many had failed before him and warned that he would not return alive.
"This challenge is mine and it's only the first," said Herakles. "I'll finish it."
He walked into the forest and followed the signs until he found the lion's den. Then he waited. When the lion came out, he drew his bow and shot. The arrows struck its golden hide and fell to the ground broken. They didn't draw a single drop of blood.
Herakles put down his bow, grabbed the club he'd crafted from an olive tree and swung it. The mighty blow knocked the lion to the ground. Before it could rise, Herakles seized it by the throat and held on with all his strength until the lion went still.
Herakles knelt beside the animal. It was said that no blade could cut that hide but with Herakles great strength he tugged and pulled and in time the pelt was off. He wrapped the tawny skin around his shoulders like a cloak and set the lion's head on his shoulder. The skin that had turned away every arrow would now protect him.
Then he walked to the palace to report to the king.
The king looked out and saw a man in a lion's skin coming up the road. The king's face went pale... he hadn't expected Herakles to survive the battle with the mighty lion. So he hid himself inside the palace and sent a message to Herakles that he was grateful but that Herakles should leave for his next trial now. From then on, the king would send his orders through a messenger.
Herakles wore the lion's skin for the rest of his life. Later, the people of Greece held games in the forest where it had all begun, the Nemean Games, in his honor.
Print the Herakles and the Nemean Lion story and coloring pages (PDF)