The Twelve Labours of Hercules

by Joe Corcoran

himself for not having been quicker at the other challenges. If only he had been more willing to listen to Iolaus’ good advice in the past maybe he would still have time to get to the surface now. Wait … maybe it wasn’t listening he should have done more of, maybe it was watching. When Iolaus was saying goodbye, why did he stare so obviously at the ground? Hercules went over to where his friend had been standing, and what he saw made hope leap in his heart. There, in the dust, Iolaus had drawn a map. A map that showed the secret way by which Hades had brought him to Tartarus. A back way, a secret way, a way that didn’t involve crossing the River Styx. This bit was clear, but next to it was a picture of a boot, which made no sense at all to Hercules. Still, one thing at a time. For the moment there wasn’t a second to waste. Cerberus was waking up, so Hercules collected his things, memorised the map as quickly as he could, took hold of the chain and started to lead the dog back to the surface.

  Although the secret way was meant to be a short cut, the journey up and out of Tartarus seemed quite long to Hercules. Cerberus was sulky and disobedient, and sometimes it felt like he had to be dragged along. The air was hot and dry. It burnt Hercules’ throat, reminding him that he had left his water bottle back with the chariot and the Ceryneian Hind. The hind would have to be rescued, of course, but it would have to wait until Cerberus was safely delivered to the surface. Up and up they went, and then into a set of tunnels almost too small for the dog to squeeze along, until at last Hercules recognised that they were approaching the exit. Rounding one final corner, dragging Cerberus behind him, Hercules finally found himself starting at … a solid rock wall.

  How could this be! Had he not memorised the map properly? Had Iolaus been wrong? Hercules frantically searched the rock face, looking for a door, or some sort of secret mechanism. He was sure that his last minutes of time were running out, and as if to confirm this, his search was interrupted by the unmistakable rumble of an earthquake which shook the tunnel and made dust fall from the ceiling. Their journey had taken too long and now Alcyoneus was heaving against his chains, starting to break free, and causing the whole world to shake. The quake stopped suddenly, but then started again, stronger than before. The low rumbling was now drowned out by a huge cracking sound that echoed like thunder round the tunnel walls. Hercules saw that a split had opened up in the rock wall, and through it he could see daylight - the sun had not yet set and there was still hope. With renewed strength, Hercules threw himself at the rock, and tried to pull apart the split with his bare hands. When this didn’t work he jammed in one end of his club and used this as a lever. Although the wood bent and creaked, slowly the gap widened until it was big enough to allow them to escape. Hercules dragged Cerberus out into the open air, and as the last of the sun disappeared over the horizon he looked to the sky and shouted, “Zeus, I summon you. Come and claim what is yours.”

  At first nothing happened. The rumbling and shaking of the earth continued and Hercules was afraid that he was too late. Then, abruptly, the tremors stopped, and with a flash of lightning, Zeus appeared. The father of the gods paced backwards and forwards in silence, examining both Cerberus and Hercules, with a stern expression on his face. Cerberus seemed not to like Zeus. He lunged forward with his middle head, intending to take a bite out of him. Zeus calmly raised his spear and sent a small bolt of lightning, no more than a spark really, right into the dog’s open mouth. Cerberus recoiled, coughed several times, and shook all three heads at once. After that, he was much more respectful.

  “You have done well,” said Zeus, suddenly turning his full attention to Hercules. “In completing the challenges, you have demonstrated the various virtues, and weaknesses, of humanity. You have proved that you are a man, not a god, and that the prophesy is fulfilled. The spikes that anchor Alcyoneus to the rock are secure, and now that the magic is complete, he will never be able to break free.”

  “So what now?” asked Hercules.

  “For my part,” answered Zeus, “I will return to Olympus and I will take Cerberus with me. He will become my guard dog, although I will have to do something about his breath and maybe give him a bath. For you,” Zeus paused slightly before continuing, “anything you want. You are a man, maybe an exceptional man, but a man nevertheless. You will remain here and live amongst men, until it is time for you to join me in Olympus. Maybe you could make yourself their emperor. You have shown me that this iron race of men is stronger and more noble than I might have thought, but they will still need someone to show them the way.”

  “Then I shall lead them by my example,” said Hercules, “not through tyranny or enslavement.”

  Zeus sighed, shaking his head.

  “An odd way to do things, but it is your choice. I will go now, and I will not see you again, until you return to Olympus.”

  Zeus took Cerberus’ chain and made ready to leave.

  “Wait,” cried Hercules, “what about Iolaus? Will you not help me rescue him?”

  “Ah yes,” said Zeus, “I have my pet and you want yours. He was brave and clever, for a mortal. A shame he had to die, but you never would have succeeded otherwise. Still, I’m surprised that you of all people would ask for my help in this. Don’t men always have to pay their own debts.”

  And with that, Zeus and Cerberus disappeared in a blaze of white light and a crackle of electricity.

  Now that his father had gone, Hercules could just make out the outline of a body lying in the grass nearby. He rushed over, and was both happy and sad to find that it was Iolaus. Thank goodness Cerberus hadn’t stepped on him, he was so vulnerable just lying there in the open. Checking over the body, Hercules found no injuries, wounds or other marks. Nevertheless, Iolaus gave no response when shaken, pinched or prodded. Although he looked just as if he were in a deep sleep, he was cold to the touch and did not appear to be breathing. It was true then, and not an illusion. His spirit had left his body and was being held in the Underworld by Hades.

  Hercules felt like crying. His friend had sacrificed his life, and he couldn’t think of any way to bring him back. But Hercules didn’t cry, and he didn’t give up. Instead he tried to think back to anything he had seen or heard that would help him to help his friend. A man always pays his own debts, Zeus had said. A debt means something that you owe someone, for something they have given or you have taken. What did Iolaus say before he left with Hades? He said that he had something that belonged to Hades. How could that possibly be? Iolaus’ body was here and Hercules couldn’t see anything that his friend had apart from his own clothes. Wait, there was something else, something that had confused Hercules when he saw it in the dust of Tartarus. A picture that Iolaus had drawn. A picture of a boot. With a surge of excitement Hercules bent down and felt inside Iolaus’ left boot, then he gently took it off and searched inside. Nothing, so he did the same with the right boot. Again, nothing. Of course, Hercules had been right. He had put the pieces of the puzzle together correctly and had come to the right conclusion. How was he to know that the emerald had dropped out of Iolaus’ boot when the young man had fallen to the ground. The emerald was green, the grass was green and the sun had gone down.

  The jewel might have lain unseen forever if, just at that moment, there had not been a flash of lightning. The emerald glinted, and Hercules saw it. In triumph he snatched it from the grass. Recognising it instantly as one of the jewels from the Underworld, Hercules knew what he had to do. He stood, and started back to where he had forced his exit from the Underworld. As he moved, a patch of darkness that was thicker than the rest moved to follow him, heading to block his path to the tunnel. Hercules broke into a run, but the darkness was faster. Just before he reached the split in the rock, Hades appeared - blocking his path.

  “Get out of my way,” growled Hercules.

  “What, and lose my new servant? I don’t think so,” said Hades, “besides, I think you have something of mine and that means that I can take something of yours.”

  Hades started to reach forward with one hand, and Hercules clen
ched his fists ready for a fight. To his surprise, he found that he was holding his bow in his left hand. By instinct he must have unslung it as he was running. The emerald was held in his right hand, hidden from Hades, and this gave Hercules an idea, but he needed time. If Hades touched him then he would lose his spirit, and then he would be trapped in Tartarus, just like Iolaus.

  “Stop, unless you want to suffer,” he shouted.

  Hades was so shocked at being spoken to in this way that he paused in his advance.

  “Meleager told me all about you,” Hercules continued, “he said that in your own realm you are invincible.”

  “That’s true,” replied Hades, “you cannot defeat me.”

  “But you’re not in your realm,” said Hercules, drawing an arrow with his right hand, “you’re in my world now.”

  Quick as a flash, Hercules raised his bow and fired the arrow straight at Hades. For an instant the Lord of the Underworld was taken by surprise, but he was also fast. He snapped the helmet of darkness back over his head, and the arrow passed right through his body as it dissolved into a dark mist.

  “You cannot harm me,” he cackled, “I am a god.”

  “I