Top 10 Greek Mythology Stories

The Best Stories From Greek Mythology
The myths and stories of the ancient Greeks are some of the most well-known stories in the world. Here are my top 10 stories from Greek mythology.
Heracles and the 12 laborsPrometheus and the theft of fireNarcissus and EchoSisyphusPerseus and MedusaOrpheus and EurydiceTheseus and the LabyrinthIcarusOedipusTrojan WarHeracles (Hercules) and the Twelve Labors
The greatest of the divine heroes in Greek mythology, Heracles, known in the west by his Roman name Hercules, was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Alceme. There are many stories of Heracles' strength and heroism but the most well-known one centers around the twelve labors he was forced to perform. Driven mad by the goddess Hera, Heracles slew his own children and to atone for his crimes he had to perform ten tasks or labors set by his archenemy Eurystheus, who eventually raised the number to twelve.
The Twelve Labors of HeraclesSlay the Nemean Lion: With his bare hands, Heracles kills the lion that was attacking the city of Nemea, wearing the fur as a cloak to demonstrate his victory.Slay the Hydra: A fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion and nine serpent heads, the Hydra was considered unbeatable. Heracles, along with Iolaus, was able to kill it, but it was not easy. Every time they cut off a head, another two would grow in its place. Eventually, Heracles and Iolaus cut off all of the heads and sealed the wounds with fire, preventing the Hydra from regenerating.Capture the Golden Hind: Instead of killing the hind, Heracles had to capture it alive and present it to Eurystheus.Capture the Erymanthian Boar: A wild and powerful boar was on the loose and had to be captured and brought to Mycenae, with Heracles successfully capturing the beast.Clean the Augean Stables in one day: King Augeas had a stable of divine cattle whose feces was poisons and voluminous. By rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, Heracles was able to clean the stables.Slay the Stymphalian Birds: Sacred to Ares, the Stymphalian Birds had beaks of bronze and were incredibly violent, overrunning Arcadia. Since the birds had migrated into a swamp, Heracles had to get creative, utilizing a rattle given to him by Hephaestus to scare the birds into the air, shooting them down with his bow and arrow.Capture the Cretan Bull: A wild bull was causing havoc on the island of Crete and Heracles was tasked him capturing the beast. With his bare hands, he wrestled the bull to the ground, successfully capturing it and sending it back to the mainland.Steal the Mares of Diomedes: King Diomedes of Thrace had trained his horses to eat human flesh and Heracles was tasked with bringing back these mares. Heracles headed to Thrace and stayed awake all night until Diomedes fell asleep before cutting the bronze manger the horses were tied to. Heracles chased the mares to the end of the peninsula before digging a ditch around them, creating an island. Eventually, Diomedes appeared and Heracles slew him, feeing him to the mares and calming them down so that he could sew their mouths shut and take them back to Eurystheus.Obtain the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons: Next Heracles was tasked with retrieving the belt of the Queen of the Amazons, a fearsome group of warrior women. Hippolyta was impressed with the exploits of Heracles and was ready to give him the belt. However, Hera, who despised Heracles, had appeared before the Amazons, saying that someone wanted to steal the queen away. The Amazons confronted Heracles, who then believed this had all been a plot by Hippolyta to kill him. Heracles killed the Amazons, including Hippolyta, and took the belt.Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon:Heracles traveled west to steal the cattle from the massive giant Geryon. The giant attacked Heracles but it was no match for his skills at archery, with one of his arrows piercing Geryon's forehead. Heracles obtained the cattle and despite more interference from Hera, he was able to take the cattle to Eurystheus.Steal the apples of the Hesperides: Eurystheus claimed that slaying the Hydra (because Iolaus helped him) and cleaning the Augean stables (because the rivers did the work) did not count and gave Heracles two more labors. Heracles was tasked with stealing the apples of the evening nymphs, the Hesperides. After finding the garden of the Hesperides, Heracles found the god Atlas there holding up the heavens. Since Heracles could not reach the apples himself, he asked Atlas to grab them while he held up the heavens. Atlas agreed and got the apples, however, he then decided that he did not want to return to holding up the heavens. Heracles tricked Atlas into giving him the apples, saying that he would remain to hold up the heavens but first he needed Atlas to hold the heavens while he adjusted his cloak.Capture and bring back Cerberus: For the final labor, Heracles was tasked with bringing back the three-headed dog, Cerberus, who guarded the gates of the underworld. Heracles asked Hades if he could bring Cerberus with him and the god agreed if Heracles could subdue the beast with only his bare hands. Heracles was successful and slung Cerberus on his back, before walking back from the underworld and presenting the beast to Eurystheus.Prometheus and the Theft of Fire