Labours of Hercules,

Traditionally, Hercules was the son of Zeus, the chief deity among the Greek gods, and Alcmene, a mortal
princess whom Zeus tricked into sleeping with him. Hercules married Megara, daughter of the king
of Thebes, with whom he had children. Driven mad by Zeus’s vindictive wife, the goddess Hera, Hercules
killed Megara and their children. To atone, he consulted the oracle at Delphi and was told to become the
servant of King Eurystheus.
Eurystheus had inherited the throne of Mycenae from his father, Sthenelos, who had usurped it from
Amphitryon, Heracles’ mortal father [see Heracles], so Heracles should really have been king of Mycenae
instead of Eurystheus. Heracles had to perform any twelve tasks that Eurystheus set for him even though
Eurystheus had usurped Heracles’ throne and was neither as strong or as brave as Heracles was. This
subordinate relationship to Eurystheus was humiliating for Heracles, and that was no doubt part of the
punishment. The first six of Heracles’ labors take place in the Peloponnese. The last six labors take place
throughout the Greek world.
According to some accounts, after Hercules had completed the first 10 tasks, King Eurystheus declared
that the second and fifth tasks did not count, either because he had assistance or because he received
payment. He then demanded that Hercules complete two more tasks, which are the 11th and 12th
labours.

It was Eurystheus who imposed upon Hercules the famous Labours, later arranged in a cycle of 12,

Hercules’ First Labor: Kill the Nemean Lion

The first task was traveling to Nemea and slaying the Nemean Lion, a fierce beast terrorizing the
countryside. This monster of a lion had a hide that was so tough that no arrow could pierce it.

Heracles stunned the beast with his olive wood club and then strangled it with his bare hands. Athena
urged him to skin the lion, using the lion's own sharp claws, and then wore its hide as his primary
garment afterward.
When he returned on the 30th day carrying the carcass of the lion on his shoulders, King Eurystheus was
amazed and terrified. Eurystheus forbade him to ever again to enter the city; from then on he was to
display the fruits of his labours outside the city gates. Eurystheus would then tell Heracles his tasks
through a herald, not personally. Eurystheus even had a large bronze jar made for him in which to hide
from Heracles if need be. Eurystheus then warned him that the tasks would become increasingly
difficult.

Hercules’ Second Labor: Kill the Lernaean Hydra

Dwelling in Lerna, the evil, snakelike Hydra had nine heads. If one immortal head got hurt, two new
heads would grow in its place.

But Heracles was fast on his feet and an even quicker thinker. Mid-battle, he swiftly sliced off the heads,
while his charioteer, Iolaus, sealed the wounds with a torch. When the Hydra was dead, Heracles made
his arrows poisonous by dipping them in the Hydra's venomous blood — and these same arrows would
later come in handy with another labor and his later battle with Nessus, a centaur in Elis.
Hercules’ Third Labor: Capture the Ceryneian Hind

The goddess of the hunt and woodlands, Artemis, loved and protected this stubborn little deer, which
had gold antlers. Heracles found it a challenge to capture the delicate hind without hurting it (and
making Artemis angry). But after following the hind for an entire year, he safely carried it away, and the
powerful goddess was placated.

Hercules’ Fourth Labor: Capture the Erymanthian Boar

The people of Mount Erymanthus lived in fear of this deadly animal. Heracles chased the wild boar up
the mountain and into a snowdrift. He then took it in a net and brought it to the king of Tiryns, who was
so frightened of the beast that he hid in a huge bronze jar.

Hercules’ Fifth Labor: Clean the Augean Stables

Thousands of cows lived in these stables belonging to King Augeas. They had not been cleaned in 30
years, but Heracles was told to clean them completely in a single day. To do so he made two rivers bend
so that they flowed into the stables, sweeping out the filth.

Hercules’ Sixth Labor: Kill the Stymphalian Birds

These murderous birds lived around Lake Stymphalos in Arcadia. Their claws and beaks were sharp as
metal and their feathers flew like darts. Heracles scared them out of their nests with a rattle and then
killed them with the poison arrows he had made from the blood of the Hydra's heads.

Hercules’ Seventh Labor: Capture the Cretan Bull

This savage bull, kept by King Minos of Crete, was said to be insane and breathe fire. It was also the
father of the famed Minotaur, which would feature in a later Greek myth with Theseus and the labyrinth.

Heracles wrestled the mad beast to the ground and brought it back to King Eurystheus. Unfortunately,
the king set it free, and it roamed Greece, causing terror wherever it went.

Hercules’ Eighth Labor: Capture the Mares of Diomedes

King Diomedes, leader of the Bistones, fed his bloodthirsty horses on human flesh. Heracles and his men
fought and killed King Diomedes and fed the king to his man-eating horses in an ironic twist. This made
the horses tame so that Heracles was able to lead them to King Eurystheus.

Hercules’ Ninth Labor: Take the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons

Heracles went to the land of the Amazons, where the queen Hippolyta (or Hippolyte) welcomed him and
agreed to give him her girdle, gifted to her by Ares, the god of war, for Eurystheus's daughter. But Hera,
continuing in her campaign against the hero, spread a rumor that Heracles came as an enemy. In the
end, he had to conquer the Amazons and steal the golden belt to be successful.

As for the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta’s end varies according to the version of the story. In one, she
is slain by Hercules to get the belt. In another, she is captured by Hercules’ companion and abducted.

Hercules’ Tenth Labor: Capture the Cattle of Geryon

Geryon, a winged monster with three human bodies, had a herd of beautiful red cattle. He guarded his
prized herd with the help of a giant and a vicious two-headed dog named Orthrus, reminiscent of
Cerberus, who Hercules would later face.

After crossing the Libyan desert and an ocean with the help of Helios, the sun god, and his chariot,
Heracles killed Geryon, the giant, and the dog, and captured the cattle. However, as he rested, the giant
Cacus attempted to steal them by using an old trick of Hermes: walking the cattle backward to confuse
the tracker.

As you can guess, the ruse failed, as Hercules defeated Cacus and brought the cattle to King Eurystheus
— where they were sacrificed to Hera to try and win her favor. We’ll let you decide if Hercules was
successful in that!

Hercules’ Eleventh Labor: Take the Golden Apples of the Hesperides

The Hesperides were nymphs. In their garden grew golden apples protected by Ladon, a dragon with a
hundred heads.

Hercules sought the advice of Prometheus, the man famed for defying the gods and bringing fire to the
world of mortals, on how to enter the garden safely. On his word, the hero struck a bargain with Atlas,
the titan who held up the earth. Heracles then shouldered the earth while Atlas, who was also the
nymphs' father, fetched the apples from Erytheia, one of the islands of the Hesperidies.

Hercules’ Twelfth Labor: Capture Cerberus

Heracles was ordered to capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the gates of the underworld,
without using weapons — a feat previously thought impossible. Heracles wrestled down the dog's wild
and frothing heads, and it eventually agreed to willingly go with him to King Eurystheus. However, once
this task had been completed, Cerberus was soon returned unharmed to Hades and his home in the
underworld.

Source: Getty Images

Hercules: The Greatest of the Greek Heroes

What happened to one of the most powerful demigods and popular heroes after he completed these
labors? Well, it depends on which source you read.

For example, in the “Argonautica” by Apollonius of Rhodes, Hercules supposedly joined Jason’s crew and
sailed with them for further adventures pursuing the Golden Fleece, happy with his successful
atonement. But if you turn to “Herakles”, a tragic play by Euripides, the hero returned home to Thebes
after his tasks, went mad again, and was finally exiled to Athens in shame and without his atonement.