by Amanda Brack
Second Labor
Heracles was ready to perform his second labor. This time, he was told to slay the Lernaean Hydra, which had been raised by Hera for the very purpose of killing Heracles. The hydra was a monstrous serpent that lived in a swamp and had three heads. Two of her heads were mortal and therefore could be killed. The middle head was deathless, which posed a problem for Heracles.
Heracles road on his chariot to seek out the Hydra.
When he finally found the terrifying beast, he lured her to him by shooting his arrows.
The fight grew perilous. The Hydra snapped at his legs, biting him. In return, he bashed her head off with his club.
But for every time he did this, two new heads sprouted up.
Heracles set the forest ablaze and burned the Hydra’s heads before more could sprout back.
He climbed atop the great beast and began attacking the immortal head.
Heracles severed the immortal head from the Hydra’s body.
Knowing that the head would not die, he buried it deep in the ground and rolled a massive bolder and many rocks over the spot.
Heracles saw the Hydra’s venomous blood pool around the serpent’s dead body. He dipped his arrowheads into the blood, coating them with the venom so that all those he shot with his arrows would be poisoned.
Third Labor
Heracles’s third task was to capture the elusive Golden Hind of Artemis.
He followed the sacred deer on Mount Cerynea for over a year, and every time Heracles came close to capturing her, she slipped from his grasp.
Until the day when Heracles saw the hind drink from the river bank. She lapped up the cool water and was not paying attention.
Heracles scooped her up but injured the hind in the process. This was the only way she would not run off.
Having accomplished this third task, Heracles returned to Erymanthus with the hind in his arms.
Fourth Labor
The fourth test on Heracles’s great quest was to capture the Erymanthian boar and bring him back to the king.
The boar roamed the great Erymanthus mountains and would attack travelers and other animals.
While Heracles ventured off to defeat the boar, he visited his friend Pholus, who was a centaur.
Pholus and Heracles dined together, but Heracles got thirsty and asked for wine. The only wine that Pholus had to offer was a bottle that was meant to be shared amongst the centaurs only.
Heracles insisted, urging Pholus to break his promise so they could drink the wine together.
In the end, he relented, and Pholus and Heracles drank up the wine.
This was a big mistake, because the god Dionysus had given the sacred wine to the centaurs and told them not to drink it for four generations.
The other centaurs discovered what had transpired and became enraged. They armed themselves with boulders and heavy fir branches.
Heracles fended them off, shooting arrows at the group of centaurs.
Heracles struck Chiron, not realizing that the two had been childhood friends.
Chiron was doomed to suffer, for the arrowhead had been soaked in the poisoned blood of the Hydra.
Pholus came along and saw what had happened. He removed the poisoned arrow and examined it, marveling at how the tiny arrowhead could kill such a great and strong centaur.
He lost his grip and dropped the arrow, which pierced his foot.
Pholus died instantly.
Heracles left the centaurs’ home and continued to look for the boar. He tracked it all across the mountainside.
He found the boar on a snowy peak and cornered him. He shot the boar with an arrow to slow him down.
And Heracles was able to tie up and capture the great beast.
Heracles returned to Mycenae with the wild boar and presented it to the king.
Fifth Labor
Eurystheus decreed that Heracles’s fifth labor must be to clean out the Augean stables. This infuriated Heracles, as he thought very highly of himself and did not want to be doing filthy labor.
The Augean stables were massive, holding thousands of animals of all kinds. The stables had been there for many generations, so the task of cleaning them out was quite daunting.
Heracles approached Augeas and offered to clean the stables but did not tell him that he had been ordered to do so by Eurystheus.
Augeas was delighted and promised to give Heracles a tenth of his cattle if he finished the job.
Heracles built a vast trench alongside the stables and filled it with water.
The trench carried away all of the filth from the stable stalls, and ensured that the stables would continue to stay clean.
After he finished, Augeas discovered that Heracles had lied to him and refused to give him the reward.
They went to court to determine whether or not Augeas owed Heracles the livestock for doing the work in the stables.
Augeas’s son testified against him, telling the truth that Augeas had made the promise to Heracles.
Augeas flew into a rage and banished his son and Heracles before the verdict could be delivered.
Heracles returned to Mycenae, and Eurystheus declared that Heracles had behaved ignobly and the labor did not count.
Sixth Labor
Setting back out on his quest, Heracles was tasked to kill the Stymphalian birds.
These were massive, man-eating birds that had sharp bronze beaks and slashing metallic feathers that could be used as weapons. They were owned by Ares, the god of war.
They lived by a lake that was difficult to get to.
Heracles was intimidated and didn’t know how to gain an advantage over the birds.
Athena noticed the difficulty that Heracles was having and decided to help him. She gave him a large bronze rattle that had been forged by Hephaestus, the smith god.
Heracles took the rattle nearer to the birds and began to vigorously shake it.
The birds became scared by the unknown noise and flew from the safety of their trees.
Heracles took advantage of his opportunity and drew out his bow.
One by one . . .
Heracles aimed his poisoned arrows at the great flying beasts . . .
and tore them from the sky.
Victoriously, he killed them all. He was now half way through his labors.
Seventh Labor
Heracles was then sent to capture the Cretan bull. This was not very difficult, as King Minos already had the bull. He offered the bull to Heracles.
Because of his pride, Heracles refused the help and wanted to conquer the bull on his own.
He came upon the bull and prepared to lasso the creature.
The Cretan bull was now his prisoner.
Heracles brought him back to King Eurystheus, who wanted to sacrifice the bull to Hera.
Hera refused because she did not want to honor Heracles, so they let the bull free and it continued on its rampage toward the city of Marathon.
Eighth Labor
The next task was to capture the mares of Diomedes, who was a strong and powerful giant and the King of Thrace.
The mares were beautiful and wild, but they had a flaw. They devoured human flesh.
Upon his arrival, Heracles immediately overpowered Diomedes and chained him.
He went to the stables where the mares lived and beat away the guards.
He gave the mares a snack, and Diomedes was no longer.
The remaining soldiers under Diomedes fought back, trying to regain control of the stables.
Heracles told his friend Abderos, who was the son of Hermes, to look after the mares while he fought the soldiers.
Heracles went off to fight the soldiers, defeating them one by one.
Meanwhile, the mares got hungry and ate Abderos.
Heracles won his battle, which now gave him control of the stables and the mares.
He returned to check on Abderos and found his friend dead.
Forlorn about the loss of his friend, but victoriou
s nonetheless, Heracles brought the mares of Diomedes back with him to Mycenae.
Eurystheus dedicated the horses to Hera, who looked after them and their offspring.
Ninth Labor
Heracles’s next task was to obtain the girdle of Hippolyte on behalf of Eurystheus’s daughter, Admeta.
Hippolyte was Queen of the Amazons, a tribe of fierce and beautiful warrior women. These women only raised their female children, and no men were allowed in their society.
The girdle symbolized Hippolyte’s status as Queen and premier warrior and was a special gift from her father, Ares, the god of war.
Heracles formed a band of men together to assist him with his task. They traveled across the Black Sea to reach the Amazonian women.
When they arrived, Hippolyte offered to give Heracles the girdle as a gift,
because even though she was a great fighter, she was also kind and diplomatic.
Hera witnessed this easy transaction and became upset. She greatly wished for Heracles’s downfall, so she disguised herself as one of the Amazon women and spread rumors that Heracles was plotting to abduct their Queen.
The fierce Amazon women collected their weapons and went to face Heracles.
They attacked, and so began a devastating and bloody battle.
But Heracles managed to kill even the most ferocious of fighters.
He captured the strongest of the fighters, a warrior named Melanippe, and brought her to Hippolyte.
Hippolyte reluctantly surrendered her girdle to Heracles, thus ending the battle and the ninth labor.
Tenth Labor
After bringing Hippolyte’s girdle to Eurystheus, Heracles was sent to fetch the Cattle of Geryon. Geryon was a beastly giant who lived on the island of Erytheia.
The island was protected by Geryon’s brother, Orthus, and his ferocious dog.
Along his journey to Erytheia, Heracles came across many ferocious animals that threatened to slow him down. But Heracles was strong and swift, and he was able to continue on his trek.
He passed through a beautiful valley and stopped to build the city of Hecatompylos.
He encountered the giant rock mountain where Perseus had turned Atlas to stone. Because it was in his way, Heracles smashed clear through the mountain, creating the rock of Gibraltar and one of the North African peaks.
Water from the sea flowed through it, connecting both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Heracles arrived at the island of Erytheia, and right away encountered Orthus’s vicious dog.
Taking his mighty club, Heracles crushed the dog.
Orthus saw what happened and attacked Heracles. Swift with his heavy weapon, Heracles repeated his blows and killed Orthus.
Heracles was now free to steal the horses, but Geryon saw him.
Geryon was much stronger than his brother and a trying battle ensued.
Eventually, Heracles broke out his bow and arrows and shot Geryon, killing the giant.
But the struggle was not over. As Heracles was leaving with the prized animals, two sons of Poseidon blocked his way.
Heracles killed them both.
At Rhegium, one of the horses broke loose and swam its way to Sicily.
Another of Poseidon’s sons, Eryx, found the horse and kept it as his own.
Heracles discovered the animal and that Eryx had taken him. Eryx told Heracles that if he could beat him in a wrestling match, then he could keep the animal.
Heracles agreed and quickly defeated Eryx.
Victorious, he returned to Mycenae with all of the animals, which were promptly slaughtered by Hera in sacrifice.
Eleventh Labor
Feeling as if Heracles had cheated his way through the Hydra and the Augean stables, Eurystheus decided to add an additional two tasks. The eleventh labor was to steal Zeus’s golden apples, which had been a wedding present from Gaia, the mother of the earth.
The apples were guarded by four nymphs, called the Hesperides. They were the daughters of Atlas, a Titan who held up the sky.
The apples were so precious that they were also protected by Ladon, a giant and ferocious dragon.
Heracles was unsure where to find the Garden of Hesperides, so he wandered around the deserts and vast lands of Africa, Arabia, and parts of Asia, which were often treacherous.
Termerus would smash his forehead against the heads of other travelers, taking great delight in killing them.
Heracles traveled through Thessaly, coming across an evil giant named Termerus.
When the giant attempted to serve the same fate to Heracles, he met an ugly end.
Termerus shattered into pieces as soon as his skull collided with Heracles’s strong brow.
Heracles continued his trek, making his way to the river Echedorus. There he met Cycnus, a malevolent son of Ares.
Heracles kindly asked Cycnus how to get to the garden, but the cruel man refused and challenged him to a fight.
Naturally, Heracles swiftly killed him.
Ares was so upset by his son’s demise that he appeared to Heracles to fight him himself.
Zeus intervened, because as the father of both Ares and Heracles, he did not want either to perish. He flashed a lightning bolt between the dueling men and separated them.
Moving on, Heracles traveled through Illyria and met lovely nymphs, who were also the daughters of Zeus.
They told him that the man he needed to see was Nereus, an old river god and a seer. The nymphs instructed Heracles to bind the god while he slept.
Heracles did exactly as they said, and Nereus told him where to go.
Along the way, Heracles passed Prometheus, who was chained to a rock. Every day, a bird would come and eat his liver as punishment for giving fire to mankind.
Heracles killed the bird that pecked away at Prometheus.
He unchained him, and Prometheus was forever grateful. He warned Heracles that stealing Zeus’s apples was very dangerous, for the wrath of Zeus was great.
He told Heracles that he was better off asking Atlas to do the job for him.
Heracles came upon Atlas, who was holding up the sky.
He asked the great Titan if he could steal the golden apples for him, and in return he would hold up the sky for him for a little while.
Atlas agreed and went off to the garden.
When he arrived, he put the dragon to sleep by playing music for him.
While the dragon slept, Atlas killed him.
Atlas arrived at the tree and outwitted the nymphs who guarded it.
He stole the golden apples and returned to where Heracles waited.
Atlas realized how much he enjoyed not bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he told Heracles that he planned to leave him there.
But Heracles was very cunning. He slyly asked Atlas to hold the sky up for a minute while Heracles better adjusted himself to hold the sky. Atlas complied, and Heracles ran away with the apples.
Heracles returned to give the golden apples to Eurystheus.
Athena returned the apples to the Garden of Hesperides, knowing that was where they truly belonged.
Eurystheus was angry that Heracles had been so successful in his tasks, so he plotted to give him one that would be utterly impossible.
Twelfth Labor
Eurystheus issued the final, most difficult labor for Heracles’s punishment for killing his own children. He instructed Heracles to go to the depths of the Underworld, where no mortals could leave, and capture Cerberus, the vicious, three-headed hellhound.
The trip was so daunting, that Heracles journeyed to Eleusis to seek the guidance of Eumpolpuc and be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This would teach Heracles how to go down to the Underworld and return alive.
The priest proclaimed the sacred religious rites, providing good luck to Heracles.
Heracles traveled Taenarum, a city where there was a gateway to the Underworld.
Entering the gates, he journeyed to the depths below, preparing for
the tests that would meet him along the way.
He first encountered a terrifying ghost.
Heracles’s initial instinct was to fight the ghost, but Hermes intervened and explained that he was just a fantasma—a figment that could not harm Heracles.
