12 Labors of Hercules

1) The Nemean Lion - In the valley of Nemea dwelt a monstrous lion whose skin was so tough it could not be pierced
by any weapon. It was one of Echidna’s (half woman, half serpent) dreadful offspring. Hercules chased it out of
his lair, seized it in his bare hands, and choked it to death. Then, he skinned the lion and slung the huge carcass
on his back and carried it to Mycenae. The king became afraid of Hercules and forbade him from entering through
the gates of the city. Furthermore, Eurystheus had a large bronze jar made and buried partway in the earth where
he could hide from Hercules if need be. After that, Eurystheus sent his commands to Hercules through a herald,
refusing to see the powerful hero face to face.
2) The Lernean Hydra - In the swamps of Lerna, lived a nine-headed Hydra. The Hydra attacked with poisonous
venom. Nor was this beast easy prey, for one of the nine heads was immortal and the others, when chopped, two
grow instead. However, he was helped by his nephew and charioteer, Iolaus by holding a torch to the headless
tendons of the neck. The flames prevented the growth of replacement heads, and finally, Hercules had the better
of the beast. Once he had removed and destroyed the eight mortal heads, Hercules chopped off the immortal
head. This he buried under a heavy rock. Hercules dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s venomous blood making them
poisonous and deadly.
3) The Hind of Cerynia - He was sent to bring back alive one of the sacred hinds of Artemis. This was a special deer,
because it had golden horns and hoofs of bronze. Hercules hunted it a whole year before he was able to catch the
deer and bring it safely to Mycenae.
4) The Erymanthian Boar - Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the Erymanthian boar alive who lives on the
slopes of Mt. Erymanthus. With loud yells, Hercules chased the boar out of its lair and drove it ahead of him into
deep snow to make it easy for him to catch it.
5) The Augean Stables - For the fifth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to clean up King Augeas' stables in a single
day. King Augeas had huge herds and his stables and barnyards hadn’t been cleaned out for years. Hercules, with
tremendous strength, changed the course of two rivers. The waters flooded through the stables and washed them
clean in less than a day.
6) The Sytmphalian Birds - For the sixth Labor, Hercules was to drive away an enormous flock of birds called the
Stymphalian birds whose dung was highly toxic. They gathered at a lake near the town of Stymphalos. They had
feathers of brass so sharp that when one of them fell to the ground, it killed whomever it hit. They were sacred to
Ares. The goddess Athena came to his aid, providing a pair of bronze krotala made by Hephaestus. Climbing a
nearby mountain, Hercules clashed the krotala loudly, scaring the birds out of the trees, then shot them as they
took flight.
7) The Cretan Bull - Eurystheus sent Hercules south to catch the fierce and savage bull on the island of Crete. The
Cretans, who were great bullfighters couldn’t catch the bull but Hercules seized the bull by the horns, flung it to
the ground, and brought it to Mycenae.
8) The Horses of Diomedes - Eurystheus sent him to get the four man-eating mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace and
bring them back to him in Mycenae. Hercules slew Diomedes and threw him to his own mares. The mares became
tame that they let Hercules drive them to the gates of Mycenae but Eurystheus set them free.
9) The Belt of Hippolyta - Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the belt/golden girdle of Hippolyta which was
given to her by Ares, her father for being the best warrior of the Amazons. Hippolyta was queen of the Amazons,
a tribe of women warriors. The girdle was for his daughter, Admete. When Hercules got off the boat, Hippolyta
kindly met him and asked why he had come, and when he told her, she promised to give him the belt. Hera
disguised herself as an Amazon warrior and spread the rumor that Hercules had come to carry off the queen. The
Amazon warriors charged down to the ship but when Hercules saw that they were wearing their armor and were
carrying their weapons, he knew that he was under attack. Thinking fast, he drew his sword and killed Hippolyta.
Then he undid her belt and took it away from her. Hercules fought the rest of the Amazons in a great battle.
Hercules returned to Mycenae, and he gave the belt to Eurystheus.
10) Geryon’s Cattle - Eurystheus ordered the hero to bring him the cattle of Geryon, a monster with three bodies on
one/three pairs of legs. Geryon lived on an island called Erythia. On this island, Geryon kept a herd of red cattle
guarded by Cerberus’ brother, Orthus, a two-headed hound, and the herdsman Eurytion. Hercules set off on for
 Erythia and he came to the place where Libya met Europe. Here, Hercules built two massive mountains, one in
Europe and one in Libya, to commemorate his extensive journey. These mountains became known as the Gates
or Pillars of Hercules. Hercules reached the island of Erythia and began at once to load the herd of red cattle.
Orthus attacked Hercules, so Hercules bashed him with his club. Eurytion followed, with the same result. Just as
Hercules was escaping with the cattle, Geryon attacked him. Hercules shot him dead with his arrows. Hercules
made it to the edge of the Ionian Sea, with the end of his journey finally in sight. Hera, however, was not about to
let the hero accomplish this labor. She sent a swarm of gadflies to attack the cattle, and the herd scattered far and
wide. Now, Hercules had to run around Thrace gathering the escaped cows. Finally, he regrouped the herd and
brought the cattle of Geryon to Eurystheus, who sacrificed the herd to Hera.
11) The Apples of Hesperides - For his eleventh labor, Hercules was sent to find Hera’s secret garden of the Hesperides
and pick three golden apples from the little apple tree that Mother earth had given Hera for her wedding gift.
Nereus, the Old Grey Man of the Sea, was the only one on earth who knew where the garden was but he wouldn’t
reveal the secret. When Hercules seized him to squeeze the secret out of him, Nereus tried to escape by changing
himself into all kinds of animals but Hercules held on to him and at last Nereus had to tell that the garden of
Hesperides lay west of the setting sun, not far from where the Titan Atlas stood, holding up the sky. On his way to
the garden, Hercules heard the groans of the titan Prometheus who was chained to the Caucasus Mountains.
Hercules took time off to tear apart his chains and in gratitude, Prometheus warned Hercules not to pick the
golden apples himself or he would die for they were apples of immortality. Heracles traveled over land and sea,
and at last he came to the garden of Hesperides. Nearby stood the Titan Atlas and Hercules offered to hold up the
sky for him if he would pick three golden apples from Hera’s tree. Atlas said he would be glad to be rid of his heavy
burden for a while but he feared the dragon Ladon which lay under the tree watching it with all the eyes of his
hundred heads. He drew his bow and arrow and shot it. Then he took the sky on his shoulders and Atlas reached
out and picked the apples. The three little Hesperides, nymphs who tended the tree, wept but they could not stop
Atlas now that the watchful dragon was dead. When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told Hercules he
would take them to Eurystheus himself, and asked Hercules to stay there and hold the heavy load for the rest of
time. Hercules slyly agreed, but asked Atlas whether he could take it back again, just for a moment, while the hero
put some soft padding on his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky and the earth. Atlas put the apples
on the ground, and lifted the burden onto his own shoulders. And so Hercules picked up the apples and quickly
ran off, carrying them back, uneventfully, to Eurystheus. On his way, Hercules was stopped by Antaeus, the giant
wrestler. He was a son of Mother Earth and forced all travelers to wrestle with him. He could not die as long as
his feet touches Mother Earth. Hercules seized him and held him in the air until he choked him to death. Hercules
hurried to Mycenae and gave Eurystheus the golden apples. After all the trouble Hercules went through to get
them, he had to return them to Athena, who took them back to the garden.
12) Cerberus - Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to the Underworld and kidnap the beast called Cerberus. Cerberus
was a vicious beast that guarded the entrance to Hades and kept the living from entering the world of the dead.
Cerberus was a strange mixture of creatures: he had three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a tail, and
heads of snakes all over his back. Cerberus' parents were the monster Echinda (half-woman, half-serpent) and
Typhon (a fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and serpents. Before going, he went to Eleusis (or Athens) to
be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Through a deep, rocky cave, Hercules made his way down to the
Underworld. He met Theseus and Pirithous who had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to obtain
Persephone. When Hercules pulled Theseus, some of his thigh stuck to the bench which explains the lean thighs
of Athenians. When he tried to pull Pirithous, the earth shook because he was doomed to stay behind for his
insult. He found Hades and asked the god for Cerberus. The lord of the Underworld replied that Hercules could
indeed take Cerberus with him, but only if he overpowered the beast with nothing more than his own brute
strength. Undaunted, the hero threw his strong arms around the beast, grasping all three heads at once, and
wrestled Cerberus into submission. Cerberus had to submit to the force of the hero, and Hercules brought
Cerberus to Eurystheus. Unlike other monsters that crossed the path of the legendary hero, Cerberus was
returned safely to Hades, where he resumed guarding the gateway to the Underworld. This was the last labor.
Pithos – the jar where Eurystheus hides

Krotala – clappers

End – Hercules became a god

Danaus had 50 daughters & Aegyptus had fifty sons. Lynceus and Hypermnestra were the only ones who married and later
became king and queen of Argos. Their son, Abas became king after them. Abas had 2 sons, Acrisius and Proetus. Acrisius
had no son but only a beautiful daughter named Danae. The prophecy told that his daughter’s son would kill him so he
placed Danae in a chamber so no suitor would see her. Zeus, being a god, saw the maiden through the roof’s opening.
Danae became Zeus’ wife. Acrisius heard the infant’s cry and was about to kill it but learned that it was Zeus’ so he didn’t
dare touch the boy but instead, he put them in a chest and threw them at sea so he wouldn’t be blamed for the death.
Perseus married Andromeda, a princess from Ethiopa whom he rescued. Heracles’ was the son of Princess Alcmene, the
granddaughter of Perseus and Andromeda, and son of Zeus. Alcmene was the last mortal mistress of Zeus.
Enter Medea with the Nurse from the house.

Medea

Medea
Women of Corinth, I have come out of the house [215] lest you find some fault with me. For I know that though
many mortals are haughty both in private and in public, others get a reputation for indifference to their
neighbors from their retiring manner of life. There is no justice in mortals' eyes [220] since before they get sure
knowledge of a man's true character they hate him on sight, although he has done them no harm. Now a foreigner
must be quite compliant with the city, nor do I have any words of praise for the citizen who is stubborn and
causes his fellow-citizens pain by his lack of breeding. [225] In my case, however, this sudden blow that has
struck me has destroyed my life. I am undone, I have resigned all joy in life, and I want to die. For the man in
whom all I had was bound up, as I well know—my husband—has proved the basest of men.

[230] Of all creatures that have breath and sensation, we women are the most unfortunate. First at an exorbitant
price we must buy a husband and master of our bodies. [This misfortune is more painful than misfortune.] [235]
And the outcome of our life's striving hangs on this, whether we take a bad or a good husband. For divorce is
discreditable for women and it is not possible to refuse wedlock. And when a woman comes into the new customs
and practices of her husband's house, she must somehow divine, since she has not learned it at home, [240] how
she shall best deal with her husband. If after we have spent great efforts on these tasks our husbands live with us
without resenting the marriage-yoke, our life is enviable. Otherwise, death is preferable. A man, whenever he is
annoyed with the company of those in the house, [245] goes elsewhere and thus rids his soul of its boredom
[turning to some male friend or age-mate]. But we must fix our gaze on one person only. Men say that we live a
life free from danger at home while they fight with the spear. [250] How wrong they are! I would rather stand
three times with a shield in battle than give birth once.

Enter Medea with the Nurse from the house.

Medea

Medea
Women of Corinth, I have come out of the house [215] lest you find some fault with me. For I know that though
many mortals are haughty both in private and in public, others get a reputation for indifference to their
neighbors from their retiring manner of life. There is no justice in mortals' eyes [220] since before they get sure
knowledge of a man's true character they hate him on sight, although he has done them no harm. Now a foreigner
must be quite compliant with the city, nor do I have any words of praise for the citizen who is stubborn and
causes his fellow-citizens pain by his lack of breeding. [225] In my case, however, this sudden blow that has
struck me has destroyed my life. I am undone, I have resigned all joy in life, and I want to die. For the man in
whom all I had was bound up, as I well know—my husband—has proved the basest of men.

[230] Of all creatures that have breath and sensation, we women are the most unfortunate. First at an exorbitant
price we must buy a husband and master of our bodies. [This misfortune is more painful than misfortune.] [235]
And the outcome of our life's striving hangs on this, whether we take a bad or a good husband. For divorce is
discreditable for women and it is not possible to refuse wedlock. And when a woman comes into the new customs
and practices of her husband's house, she must somehow divine, since she has not learned it at home, [240] how
she shall best deal with her husband. If after we have spent great efforts on these tasks our husbands live with us
without resenting the marriage-yoke, our life is enviable. Otherwise, death is preferable. A man, whenever he is
annoyed with the company of those in the house, [245] goes elsewhere and thus rids his soul of its boredom
[turning to some male friend or age-mate]. But we must fix our gaze on one person only. Men say that we live a
life free from danger at home while they fight with the spear. [250] How wrong they are! I would rather stand
three times with a shield in battle than give birth once.