Eurystheus
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Greek The king of Argos and
Mycenae who imposed the Twelve Labors upon
his cousin, Heracles. Eurystheus was the son of
Sthenelus, a descendant of the hero Perseus, and
Nicippe. Eurystheus became king because of the
wiles of Hera, the angry and jealous wife of the
god Zeus. On the day that Heracles was to be born,
Zeus proclaimed before the Olympian Gods that
the descendant of Perseus born on that day would
become ruler of Greece. Zeus fully expected that
his son with Alcmene, to be named Heracles, would
qualify for the role of ruler. But Hera, knowing that
Nicippe was about to give birth, caused her child,
Eurystheus, to be born ahead of Heracles. Thus it
was Eurystheus, not Heracles, who became ruler of
Greece.
The chagrined Zeus decreed that if Heracles
could perform the Twelve Labors imposed by Eurystheus
he would become a god.