A Comprehensive Overview of the 12 Labours of HerculesHave you heard about the heroic feats completed by Hercules as part of his 12 labours? Learn all about them with this comprehensive overview!
For centuries, the twelve labours of Hercules have been celebrated for their heroic, near-impossible deeds. These legendary tasks, which Hercules completed as a penance for killing his wife Megara and their children, are divided into categories such as thefts, massacres, and deeds involving animals. Read on to discover more about the incredible feats of strength and courage performed by Hercules in his twelve labours!
Introduction to the 12 Labours of Hercules
Tall tales and folklore have been spun about Hercules, son of Zeus and the most famous mythical Greek hero. The twelve labours of Hercules symbolize him overcoming great odds to succeed in heroic deeds. It shows that with willpower and strength, fictional or otherwise, one can make a world of difference!
Hera, Zeus' wife, was envious of Hercules from the beginning. She attempted everything to kill him, including bringing two large snakes into his cradle. Hercules smashed those snakes in an instant! Even as a baby, Hercules possessed incredible strength!
Zeus adored his infant son. He reasoned that Hera would eventually find a means to kill little Hercules. Zeus sent his tiny son to Earth to live with a mortal family to keep him safe from harm. Hercules grew up to be adored and honourable. But he didn't fit in anywhere on Earth. He was far too large and powerful. His Earth father once informed him he was a half-god.
Eurystheus was Hercules' cousin (Eury for short). Eury ruled over a small town in the city-state of Argos. Eury was a bad man. Everyone, especially Hercules, he thought, sought to usurp his throne. Hera devised a plan to assassinate Hercules one day while conversing with Eury about their shared dislike for Hercules. She was confident that this one would work.
Hera, who had tried to assassinate Hercules since he was born, drove him insane, causing him to murder his wife Megara and their children. Hercules then proceeded to the Oracle of Delphi to make amends, where he appealed to the god Apollo for wisdom. Hercules was assigned to serve Eury for ten years. During this period, he was assigned to a series of rigorous acts known as labours.
Hera assisted Eury in the creation of 12 Labours (missions or undertakings) for Hercules to fulfil. Hercules was supposed to acquire immortality after completing the 12 Labours, or so Hera promised.
Hercules was no fool. He asked the Oracle at Delphi who agreed. The oracle had said, "If you complete 12 Labours, immortality will be yours." Being an oracle, she never explained what she meant by "immortality" - would he live forever in legend or for real? Hercules never asked. She would not have told him anyway.
The 12 Labours of Hercules
The Labours of Hercules are as follows:
Slay the Nemean Lion
The first of Hercules' twelve labours was to slay the Nemean lion. The fierce, enormous beast roamed the countryside and many innocent people had suffered from its ferocity. Hercules tracked down the lion in its cave and eventually defeated it, using his strength and wits. He skinned the lion for protection, earning his first labour accomplished!
Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
The second Labour tasked to Hercules was to slay the Lernaean Hydra - a nine-headed serpent which resided in the swamps of Lake Lerna. Whenever one head was cut off, two more would grow back in its place. It took Hercules' strength and cunning to eventually defeat the creature. He dipped his arrows into the Hydra's poisonous blood and thus rendered them impossible to regenerate. Finally, Hercules had done it!
Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis
The third Labour Hercules was ordered to complete was to capture the Ceryneian Hind, which had golden antlers and bronzed hooves. It lived within the forests at Mount Artemis and was sacred to the goddess Diana, so Hercules knew he had to be extra careful in approaching and capturing it without killing it. He eventually managed to restrict its feet and drove it back to Tiryns, though this labour took him a whole year before completion.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar
The fourth labour Hercules was commanded to complete was the capture of the fierce Erymanthian Boar. This violent creature enjoyed ravaging Arcadia and terrorising its residents, so could not be allowed to remain free any longer. Hercules tracked it through rain and snow, finally cornering it in a deep snowdrift where he managed to wrestle it into submission and return it as a gift for King Eurystheus.
Clean the Augean stables in a single day
The sixth task was to clean King Augeas' stables. Because these holy livestock were immortal and produced a massive amount of manure, this duty was meant to be both embarrassing and unattainable. Almost 1,000 cattle lived in the Augean stables, which had not been cleaned in over 30 years. Hercules, on the other hand, was successful in washing away the pollution by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus.
Slay the Stymphalian Birds
The sixth task was to battle the Stymphalian birds, who were man-eating birds with bronze beaks and sharp metallic feathers that they could launch at their victims. Ares, the god of war, revered them. Their faeces were also extremely poisonous. They had relocated to Arcadia's Lake Stymphalia, where they quickly reproduced and overran the land, devouring local crops, fruit trees, and citizens. Hercules couldn't venture too deep into the swamp since it couldn't hold his weight. When Athena saw the hero's predicament, she offered him a rattle that Hephaestus had crafted particularly for the occasion. Hercules shook the rattle, scaring the birds into flight. Hercules then shot a large number of them with his arrows. The rest flew away, never to return.
Capture the Cretan Bull
The seventh labour was to catch the Cretan Bull, the Minotaur's father. Hercules sailed to Crete, where King Minos permitted him to take the bull and even offered him help (which Hercules declined, plausibly because he did not want the labour to be discounted as before). The bull had caused devastation on Crete by destroying crops and levelling orchard walls. Hercules crept up behind the bull and throttled it (stopping before it was killed), then shipped it back to Tiryns.
Steal the Mares of Diomedes
Hercules was dispatched by King Eurystheus to steal the Mares from Diomedes as the eighth of his labours. The mares' insanity was ascribed to their unusual diet, which consisted of the flesh of unwary island guests or outsiders. The Mares, the fear of Thrace, were chained to a bronze manger in the now-defunct city of Tirida and named Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the yellow), and Deinos (the terrible).
Hercules, who was visiting the island, stayed awake to avoid having his throat cut by Diomedes in the middle of the night and cut the chains that bound the horses once everyone was asleep. Hercules immediately dug a hole through the peninsula, filling it with water and flooding the low-lying plain after scaring the horses onto the high ground of a knoll. Hercules murdered Diomedes and his men with an axe and fed Diomedes' carcass to the horses to calm them down.
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
Admete, Eurystheus' daughter, desired the Belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, which was a gift from her father Ares. Eurystheus assigned Hercules to collect the belt as his ninth labour to please his daughter.
Hippolyta, pleased by Hercules' deeds, agreed to give him the belt and would have done so if Hera hadn't disguised herself and travelled among the Amazons sowing seeds of suspicion. She stated the foreigners were trying to kidnap the Amazon queen. Alarmed, the women mounted their horses and rode off to confront Hercules. When Hercules saw them, he assumed Hippolyta had been planning such treachery all along and had never intended to give up the belt, so he killed her, took the belt, and returned to Eurystheus.
Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon
The tenth labour was to obtain the cattle of Geryon, the three-headed monster. Hercules had to travel to the far western island of Erytheia to retrieve the livestock. As Hercules arrived in Erytheia, he was met by Orthrus, the two-headed dog. Hercules killed Orthrus with a single strike from his olive-wood club. Eurytion, a herdsman, arrived to help Orthrus, but Hercules treated him in the same manner.
Geryon hurried into action when he heard the disturbance, bearing three shields, three spears, and three helmets. In the River Anthemus, he attacked Hercules but was killed by one of Hercules' poisoned arrows.
Steal the apples of the Hesperides
After Hercules finished the first 10 labours, Eurystheus added two more, stating that fighting the Hydra did not count (since Iolaus assisted Hercules) and that cleaning the Augean Stables did not count either (either because he was paid for the job or because the rivers did the work).
The first extra task was to steal three golden apples from the Hesperides' garden. Hercules initially captured the Old Man of the Sea, the shape-shifting sea god, to learn the location of the Garden of the Hesperides.
At the beginning of this task, Hercules encounters Antaeus, who is unstoppable so long as he is in contact with his mother, Gaia, the Earth. Hercules gripped Antaeus in a bear hug and crushed him, killing him.
After some time, Hercules arrived at the Garden of the Hesperides, where he came across Atlas carrying the heavens on his shoulders. Hercules offered to temporarily support the skies instead of Atlas in exchange for him going after the three golden Apples. When Atlas came back, he changed his mind and offered to deliver the apples himself instead of taking the heavens back. But, Hercules fooled him by volunteering to take Atlas' place in exchange for the god's temporary help while Hercules adjusted his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Hercules broke his word and took the apples instead.
Capture and bring back Cerberus
The twelfth and last labour was capturing Cerberus, the canine with several heads who served as the gatekeeper to the underworld. Hercules travelled to Eleusis (or Athens) to undergo initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries to get ready for his journey into the Underworld. Hermes and Athena served as his guides when he entered the Underworld.
Hercules found Hades and requested his permission to bring Cerberus to the surface. In exchange for Hercules' ability to tame the monster without the aid of weapons, Hades granted his request. Cerberus was subdued by Hercules using only his hands before being slung over his back. He delivered Cerberus to Eurystheus after bringing it out of the Underworld through a cave passage in the Peloponnese. Eurystheus urged Hercules to send him back to the Underworld, promising to relieve him of all future labours in exchange.
