Hercules and Antaeus
Hercules had to fight a very strong man named Antaeus. But Antaeus had a special magic. Whenever he touched the ground, he could draw strength out of the ground and get stronger. Hercules kept throwing him down to the ground, but Antaeus kept getting stronger.
(Hercules was an enemy of Hera, and Hera is an Earth goddess, and so whenever Antaeus hit the ground, Hera was able to pour more power into him).
Finally Hercules figured out what to do. He held Antaeus up in the air while they wrestled, and so Antaeus got weaker until Hercules was able to kill him.
To find out more about Hercules, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Twelve Labors of Hercules (Step into Reading, Step 3), by Marc Cerasini. Very easy, for beginning readers.
The Story of Hercules (Dover Children's Thrift Classics), by Robert Blaisdell (1997). For kids, very cheap.
Hercules, by Nancy Loewen (1999). Still for kids, but more sophisticated, with a look at how the myth was passed on and what it meant to people, as well as the story itself.
D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, by Edgar and Ingri D'Aulaire. (Look under Heracles).
The Myths of Herakles in Ancient Greece, by Mark W. Padilla (1998). By a specialist, for adults.
Why did people want to punch Socrates?
Where did Egyptians bury your liver?
How old are the Rocky Mountains?
What does a half-timbered house look like?
How do you spin wool?
(a project)
Back to Hercules
