The Labors of Hercules

The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him lose his mind.
In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children.

When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset
by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle
told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for
twelve years, in punishment for the murders.

As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that
they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of Hermes and Athena,
sympathetic deities who showed up when he really needed help. By the end of these
Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero.

His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea the Greeks
called pathos, the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering which would lead to
fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.
The Twelve Labours of Heracles were a number of tasks that the mythical hero Heracles was told
to complete by King Eurystheus. It all started when Hera, who loathed Heracles for he was a living
example of her husband's infidelities, drove the hero mad, making him kill his wife Megara and his
children. When he realised what he had done, he deeply regretted it and went to the Oracle
of Delphi to ask for penance. There, he was told to serve Eurystheus, king of Tiryns, for twelve
years; if he completed all tasks he would be given, he would become immortal.
Although Heracles did not like this as he considered Eurystheus to be a lesser person than himself,
he decided to follow the Oracle's advice.
When he arrived in Tiryns, Eurystheus initially asked Heracles to perform ten labours. These ten
labours were:

1. to kill the Nemean Lion,

2. to kill the Lernaean Hydra,
3. to capture the Ceryneian Hind,
4. to capture the Erymanthian Boar,
5. to clean the stables of Augeas in one day,
6. to kill the Stymphalian Birds,
7. to capture the Cretan Bull,
8. to steal the Mares of Diomedes,
9. to steal the girdle of the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, and,
10. to steal the cattle of the monster Geryon.
11. Labour one: slaying the Nemean Lion
12. The Nemean lion was a terrible monster that roamed in the region of Nemea, capturing
women as hostages and luring brave men to save them. When someone entered the lion's
den and tried to free the woman, she would turn into the lion and eat the warrior alive.
When Heracles arrived in a town of the region, he met a boy who asked him to kill the lion.
He also told him that if Heracles killed the lion within a month, a lion would be sacrificed
to Zeus; otherwise, the boy would sacrifice himself.
13. Heracles eventually found the lion roaming, and shot many arrows against it. Only then did
he realise that the lion's skin was impenetrable, and that his arrows would be of no use. So,
he decided to follow it to its den. There, he blocked one of the two entrances to the cave and
entered through the other. Fumbling in the dark, Heracles managed to find the lion; he stun
it with his club and then he strangled it with his bare hands.
14. After he had killed it, he thought of taking the impenetrable skin of the lion and use it as an
armour. So, he managed to skin it with the help of the goddess Athena, who advised him to
use the lion's claw to remove the pelt. Wearing the lion skin, Heracles entered the city on the
thirtieth day. Upon seeing him, Eurystheus was initially horrified, for he feared the lion was
roaming in the streets of the city.
15. Labour two: slaying the Lernaean Hydra
16. The Lernaean Hydra was a fearsome monster that lived in the swamp of the lake Lerna. It
had been specifically raised by Hera to kill Heracles. The Hydra had nine heads, one of
which was immortal and the rest were mortal.
17. The swamp was covered in a poisonous mist, so upon his arrival, Heracles put a cloth on his
mouth and nose. To lure the Hydra out of its lair, the hero shot flaming arrows, achieving his
intent. However, when he chopped one of the Hydra's heads, he realised in horror that two
new heads would spring back.
18. At that point, the hero felt hopeless, so he asked for the help of his nephew, Iolaus. Iolaus,
probably advised by the goddess Athena who favoured the hero, thought of an idea and put
it in action; as soon as Heracles would chop one of the monster's heads, Iolaus would
cauterise the stump with a firebrand. The plan was successful; no more heads would
appear. Hera, angry that her side was losing the battle, sent a huge crab to
distract Heracles, which he simply squashed under his foot. When it was time for the
immortal head to be cut off, Heracles took a golden sword that Athena gave him, and using
the same technique, the two heroes managed to kill the monster.
19. Before Heracles left, he dipped his arrows in the poisonous blood of the Hydra, one of which
he later used to kill the centaur Nessus; this would later become Heracles' doom, as
the hero died due to the Shirt of Nessus which was smeared in the centaur's blood
containing some of Hydra's poison. Hera turned her slain monster into the constellation of
the same name, while she transformed the crab into the constellation Cancer.
20. Eurystheus did not count the success of killing the hydra as one of the labours, using as an
excuse the fact that Heracles was helped by Iolaus.
21. Labour three: capturing the Ceryneian Hind
22. In their effort to mark an end to Heracles' successes, Eurystheus and Hera decided that the
next task Heracles should do would be to capture the Ceryneian Hind. This was a sacred
deer belonging to the goddess Artemis, and had golden antlers and hooves of bronze. It
was believed that it was so fast that it could outrun a flying arrow.
23. Heracles made a real effort to track the animal. When he saw it, he followed it for a whole
year through the lands of Greece, Thrace, Istria and the land of Hyperboreans. According to
one version of the myth, he managed to capture the hind while it was sleeping. On his way
back, Artemis and her twin brother Apollo appeared in front of Heracles. This task was
given by Eurystheus, thinking that Heracles would cause the anger of the goddess and that
she would punish him. However, when she appeared in front of him, Heracles asked for
forgiveness, explaining to her that this was part of his penance for killing his wife and
children. He also told her he would return the hind to her as soon as he showed it
to Eurystheus. Artemis accepted his apology and let him go.
24. When he returned to the king's court, Eurystheus told Heracles that the animal now
belonged to him. Not forgetting his promise to the goddess, Heracles tricked Eurystheus by
telling him he should take the animal himself and bring it to the palace.
When Eurystheus came out to take the deer, the hero let it go and the animal ran back
to Artemis. Heracles simply replied to Eurystheus that he was not been quick enough.
25. Labour four: capturing the Erymanthian Boar
26. The Erymanthian Boar was a giant animal living on Mount Erymanthos, which was dedicated
to the goddess Artemis as well. Eurystheus thought that capturing this beast would be the
perfect task that would lead to the hero's death. Heracles set forth on his journey to the
mountain, but decided to stop by his friend's place, Pholus, a kind centaur. After eating
together, Heracles asked his friend to open a jug of wine that he had, which attracted the
other centaurs to Pholus' dwelling. Not knowing that wine was supposed to be watered
down before being consumed, the centaurs quickly became drunk and attacked Heracles.
The hero killed most of them by shooting his poisonous arrows against them;
the centaurs that remained fled to Chiron's cave.
27. Pholus did not understand why these arrows were so lethal. Out of curiosity, he picked one
up but it fell on his foot and poisoned him as well. Another version has it that one of the
arrows mistakenly hit Chiron as well; although Chiron, being immortal, did not die, he could
still feel an insufferable pain. Not able to withstand it, the wise centaur asked to be rid of the
pain, exchanging his immortality as well as take the place of the Titan Prometheus, who
was bound on the top of a mountain and his liver was being eaten daily by an
eagle. Zeus accepted the exchange. Heracles then killed the eagle with one of his arrows,
stopping the torture for Chiron.
28. Chiron advised Heracles how to catch the Erymanthian Boar; he told him that it would be
very easy if the hero lured the boar into thick snow. Heracles followed Chiron's advice and
captured the boar in no time. He then returned to Eurystheus, who upon seeing the creature
was so scared that he hid himself in a large jar and asked Heracles to get rid of the animal.
29. Labour five: cleaning the stables of Augeas
30. King Augeas of Elis had a large number of cattle in his stables. All of them were blessed with
perfect health and immortality, and being so lively, created a huge amount of dung. The
stables of Augeas had never been cleaned in thirty years,
and Eurystheus asked Heracles to clean them within a day. This task was set to
stain Heracles' reputation as it was quite humiliating.
31. When Heracles reached Augeas' court, he asked for one tenth of the cattle if he managed to
clean the stables in a day; the king agreed. The hero managed to complete the task by
diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to pass through the stables and wash them out.
Augeas refused to pay Heracles, and the hero took him to court, where he managed to win
his claim, backed by Augeas' son, Phyleus. However, Phyleus and Heracles were both
banished by Augeas before the court had ruled. Furious, Heracles returned to Elis, killed
Augeas and handed the throne to Phyleus. This is when he was said to have founded the
Olympic Games.
32. Although Heracles was successful, Eurystheus did not count it as a success, saying that it
was the rivers that had done the work for him, and that he accepted payment for it.
33. Labour six: slaying the Stymphalian Birds
34. Eurystheus' next task to Heracles was to kill the Stymphalian birds, large
flying monsters that ate humans with their bronze beaks; their wings were made of metallic
feathers that could be thrown against their prey, while their dung was highly poisonous. They
belonged to the god of war, Ares, and lived in the area of the lake Stymphalia, where they
destroyed all the surrounding area and the towns.
35. Heracles was unable to go too deep into the swamp as he would eventually
drown. Athena helped him by providing him with a rattle; the sound the rattle produced
scared the birds and made them fly from their hiding place. While in the air, they were an
easy target for Heracles, who shot many of them down with his poisonous arrows. The
remaining birds flew away to plague other lands; in fact, they were later encountered by
the Argonauts.
36. Labour seven: capturing the Cretan Bull
37. The seventh task Eurystheus gave to Heracles was to capture the Cretan Bull. This was a
legendary creature that wreaked havoc on the island of Crete, destroying crops and land.
After getting permission from King Minos, Heracles managed to catch the bull with his bare
 hands and sent it back to Eurystheus' court. Upon seeing the creature, Eurystheus hid in
his jar and decided to sacrifice the animal to Hera. The goddess rejected the offer, as this
would glorify Heracles' success even more. Instead, the animal was left free and went to the
area of Marathon, getting the name Marathonian Bull. It was later caught by Theseus and
was sacrificed to Athena and Apollo.
38. Labour eight: stealing the Mares of Diomedes
39. The Mares of Diomedes were fearsome animals that had been trained to eat human flesh.
They were owned by Diomedes, king of Thrace. It was believed that due to their unnatural
diet, the horses were seized with madness, uncontrollable and sometimes they even
breathed fire. According to one source, Heracles brought a number of young men with him
to help him with his task. After they managed to steal the animals, they were all chased by
Diomedes and his army. Heracles told his companion Abderus to take care of the horses,
while he was fighting Diomedes. Upon his return, Heracles realised that Abderus was
devoured by the mares. Overcome with anger, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses,
and later founded the city of Abdera in memory of his friend. After the horses were fed, they
became calm and Heracles seized the opportunity to bind their mouths shut. He brought
them back to Eurystheus, who either sacrificed them to Hera or left them roam free, as they
had now become permanently calm.
40. Labour nine: stealing the girdle of Hippolyta
41. Admete, the daughter of Eurystheus, learned that Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, had
been given a girdle as a gift from her father, Ares, and wanted it for herself.
So, Eurystheus decided to make this the ninth labour that Heracles would have to
complete.
42. Heracles took some friends with him and set sail for the region of Themiscyra, where
the Amazons dwelled. On their way there, they stopped at the island of Paros, where the
sons of king Minos of Crete killed two of Heracles' friends. Furious, Heracles killed the sons
of Minos and demanded that two of the inhabitants replace his dead comrades. Thus, two
of Minos' grandsons joined the band, and they all set sail again.
43. After a brief stop at the court of Lycus, a friend of Heracles, they eventually reached the land
of the Amazons. Hippolyta had heard of the glorious feats that Heracles had performed,
and impressed, she immediately agreed to give her girdle. Heracles asked her to have lunch
together on the ship and Hippolyta eagerly followed. At the same time, however, a
disguised Hera went to the Amazons and started spreading rumours
about Heracles wanting to abduct their queen. The Amazons decided to
confront Heracles and rode towards the ship. Upon seeing them, Heracles thought that this
had all been set up by Hippolyta and that she had no intention of handing over the girdle;
so, he killed her, took the belt and set sail back to Tiryns.
44. Labour ten: stealing the cattle of Geryon
45. The tenth labour of Heracles was to steal the cattle of Geryon, who lived on the island of
Erytheia, somewhere in the west. Heracles went on his quest, and he first had the cross the
desert of Libya. At some point, having been so frustrated at the heat, he shot an arrow at
the sun. Helios, the sun god, was so impressed by Heracles' courage, that he decided to
help him by offering him his own golden chariot with which he sailed across the sea from
west to east every night. Heracles hopped on the chariot and reached Erytheia overnight.
46. There, his first obstacle was the two-headed dog Orthrus, brother of Cerberus, the three-
headed dog and guardian of the Underworld. One blow with Heracles' club was enough to
kill Orthrus. Eurytion, the herdsman, heard what happened and when he tried to
confront Heracles, he was killed in the same way. Geryon immediately grabbed his three
shields and three spears, while wearing three helmets and attacked the hero. However, a
powerful shot of an arrow from Heracles' bow was enough to pierce Geryon's forehead and
sent him to his demise.
47. Bringing the cattle back to Tiryns was another task on its own. According to
the Roman version of the story, Heracles took the road over the Aventine Hill where Rome
 would later be built on. There, a giant named Cacus stole some of the cattle, but they were
later retrieved, called out by the animals remaining in the possession of Heracles. As an
extra obstacle, Hera sent a gadfly to irritate the animals and scatter
them. Heracles managed to get them back within a year. Before he reached Tiryns,
though, Hera caused a flood that raised the level of a river so much that it could not be
crossed. So, Heracles started piling stones into the river, and bridged the two riverbanks. He
eventually reached Tiryns, where the cattle were sacrificed to the goddess.
48. Upon finishing the tenth labour, Eurystheus told Heracles that he considered two of the
labours invalid; the Hydra was not slain by Heracles alone but was helped by Iolaus, while
he accepted payment for the cleaning of the Augean Stables. So, two more labours had to
be completed. These were:
49.        11. to steal the Hesperidean Apples,
50.        12. to capture Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld.
51. Labour eleven: stealing the apples from the garden of Hesperides
52. The Hesperides were nymphs of the sunset that tended a garden somewhere in the far
western corner of the world. Heracles managed to capture the Old Man of the Sea, a
shape-shifting sea deity, in order to find out the exact location of the garden. During this
quest, Heracles also confronted the half-giant Antaeus, who was invincible by
drawing power from his mother, Gaea (the earth), as long as he touched it. To kill
him, Heracles held him high so his feet wouldn't touch the ground, and crushed him with his
hands.
53. There are two versions on how Heracles managed to acquire the apples. One version has it
that he reached the Hesperidean Garden, where he killed Ladon, the dragon guardian of the
apples, and took the apples. According to another version, he came across Atlas, the Titan
god who was condemned to hold the heavens on his shoulders. Atlas was also the father of
the Hesperides, and thus had access to the garden at any
time. Heracles persuaded Atlas to change places for a while, so that Atlas would fetch
some of the apples. Atlas agreed and indeed took some of the apples. However, on his
return, he decided he did not want to take the heavens back on his
shoulders. Heracles tricked him and he said he would be keeping the heavens but wanted to
adjust his cloak first. Atlas agreed to take the heavens back momentarily,
but Heracles walked away taking the apples with him.
54. Labour twelve: capturing Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld
55. The final labour that Heracles had to complete was to capture Cerberus, the three-headed
dog and guardian of the Underworld. Before going to the Underworld, Heracles decided to
be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries, so that he would be taught how to travel alive from
the world of the living to the realm of the dead and vice versa. He then went to Tanaerum,
where one of the entrances to the Underworld lay, and was helped there
by Athena and Hermes. The goddess Hestia also helped him with negotiating with Charon,
the boatman that guided the souls over the river Acheron towards the Underworld.
56. Once he reached the Underworld, he met Theseus and Pirithous, the two heroes that had
been incarcerated in the Underworld by Hades for attempting to steal Persephone.
According to one version of the story, snakes coiled around their legs and then turned into
stone. A different version has it that the god of the Underworld feigned hospitality and invited
them to a feast. However, the chairs on which the heroes were seated magically caused
forgetfulness, thus keeping them there. Heracles pulled Theseus from his chair, managing
to save him; however, part of his thigh was stuck to it, thus providing an explanation of the
supposedly lean thighs of Athenians. When the hero tried to save Pirithous, though, the
earth started trembling; it seems that because he desired Persephone for himself, it was so
insulting that he was not allowed to leave.
57. Heracles found Hades and asked him to take Cerberus to the surface. The god agreed on
the condition that no weapons should be used to achieve it. Heracles managed to subdue
the dog with his hands and brought it on his back to Tiryns. Eurystheus fled in horror into his
 jar and asked Heracles to take the monster back to the Underworld, releasing him from any
other labours.
58. After the Twelve Labours were complete, Heracles decided to join Jason and
the Argonauts in their attempt to obtain the Golden Fleece.