Read this excerpt from “The Myth of Hercules.” Hercules was the son of the great god Zeus and a human woman named Alcmene. The goddess Hera did not like Alcmene and vowed to destroy Hercules when he was born. Hera sent two snakes to kill the baby as he lay in his crib, but Hercules was strong and strangled the snakes with his tiny hands before they could bite him with their sharp fangs.

The details of Hercules’s backstory in the excerpt connect to a theme about

greed.

strength.

dishonesty.

love.