This is the last installment in my series of posts on the Twelve Labors of Hercules in Why Myths Still Matter (see Parts 1 and 2). Here we consider the final five Herculean labors and their possible ...

Hercules (aka Herakles or Heracles) is perhaps the greatest of mythic Greek heroes. His courage, strength, skill and cunning are literally legendary, and were revered in ancient Greek culture.

These days, the mythological figure of Hercules—son of Zeus, slayer of hydras, cleaner of famously filthy stables—is associated with heroic demonstrations of strength. But for a good part of the past ...