THE FIRST THREE LABORS OF HERACLES
The first labor the king imposed on him was that Heracles should bring him the skin of the Nemean lion, who lived on the Peloponnesus, in the region of Argolis, in the forests between Cleonae and Nemea. This lion could not be harmed by the weapons of men. Some said he was the son of the giant Typhon and the serpent Echidna, others that he had dropped down to earth from the moon. Against this lion Heracles now set out, his quiver on his back, his bow in one hand, in the other a club made of the trunk of a wild olive tree he had found on Helicon and torn out by the roots. When he entered the woods of Nemea, Heracles looked sharply on all sides to discover the beast before it caught sight of him. It was noon, and nowhere could he find a trace of the lion nor ask the path leading to his lair, for he met no one, either with the herds in the fields or felling trees in the forest. All had fled to their houses, far from the haunts of the lion, and locked themselves in for fear.
Throughout the afternoon Heracles roved through the thickets, determined to prove his strength the instant he saw the lion. But it was evening before the beast came loping down a woodland trail, returning from the hunt to rest in a ravine. He had sated himself with flesh. His head, his mane, and his breast dripped with blood, and with his tongue he licked up the drops oozing from his jaws. Heracles, who saw him from afar, took refuge behind a wall of dense bushes, waited until he approached, and aimed an arrow at his flank between the ribs and the haunch. His dart did not pierce the flesh but rebounded, as though from a stone, and fell on the moss-covered ground. The animal raised his bloodstained head, turned his eyes questioningly in all directions, and bared his terrible teeth. And now he was facing toward the demigod, who launched a second arrow at his breast, at the very seat of his life breath. This time too the missile did not even prick the skin, but glanced off and fell at the lion’s feet. Heracles was just about to fit a third shaft to his string when the monster saw him. He drew his long tail forward to the hollows of his legs. His neck swelled with rage. His mane bristled, a roar rumbled in his throat, and his back arched like a bow. Intent on the kill he sprang at his enemy. Heracles let the arrows drop from his hand, cast off his lion’s skin, and with his right hand swung his club over the head of the beast and struck his neck so that he crashed to earth, his leap arrested in mid-air, and then rose on unsteady feet, his head rolling from the shock. Before he could catch his breath, Heracles rushed at him. But this time he flung aside his bow and his quiver to have his hands free, approached the lion from behind, wound his arms around his neck, and choked him to death, so that his hideous soul sped back to Hades. For a long time Heracles tried to skin his victim, but the hide resisted both iron and stone. Finally he hit on a method of skinning the beast with its own claws, and this proved successful. Later he made himself a cuirass out of the magnificent skin and used the jaws for a new helmet. But for the time being, he gathered up the hide and the arms with which he had come, slung the skin of the Nemean lion over his shoulder, and started back to Tiryns. When King Eurystheus saw him coming with the hide of the dreadful beast, he was so terrified at the divine strength of Heracles that he crawled into a brazen cauldron. From this time on he refused to see Heracles and had Copreus, a son of Pelops, communicate his commands to the demigod beyond the walls of the city.
The second labor of Heracles was to slay the Hydra, who was also a child of Typhon and Echidna. She had grown up in Argolis, in the swamps of Lerna, and it was her custom to crawl ashore to tear the cattle limb from limb and lay waste the fields. She was not only fierce, but vast in size, a water snake with nine heads, eight of which were mortal, while the ninth, the middle one, was deathless. For this venture, too, Heracles prepared with high courage. He mounted a chariot, took with him as charioteer Iolaus, his inseparable companion, the son of his half brother Iphicles, and flew over the ground to Lerna until they caught sight of the Hydra on a hill near the springs of Amymone. Here Iolaus stopped the horses. Heracles leaped from the chariot and with arrows routed the snake from her hiding-place. Hissing she lashed out and reared her nine heads, which swayed like the boughs of a tree in a storm. Heracles went up to her unafraid, seized her in his mighty grip, and held her fast. But she twined herself around one of his feet, without attempting to battle him more directly. Now he began to smash her heads with his club, but this was of no avail, for whenever he crushed one head, two new ones grew out in its stead. Besides, the Hydra had an ally, a giant crab, which hurt Heracles by clawing at his feet. He killed it with his club and then called to Iolaus for help. The boy was holding a torch in readiness. He set part of the nearby wood afire, and with the brands seared the new heads the instant they budded forth, so that they were thus prevented from attaining their full size. This freed the hero of these constant fresh menaces, and now he cut off the Hydra’s deathless head, buried it by the wayside, and rolled a heavy stone upon the grave. He split the trunk of the snake in two and dipped his arrows in her blood, which was full of venom. Ever thereafter he dealt wounds which would not heal.
The third labor imposed on him by Eurystheus was to take alive the hind of Mount Cerynea. This was a beautiful creature with golden horns and brazen hooves, who dwelt on one of the hills of Arcadia. She was one of the five hinds through which Artemis had first proved her skill in hunting, and the only one she had allowed to run free in the woods again, since Fate had decreed that one day Heracles should weary in the chase of her. For a whole year he pursued her, and in his wanderings came to the Hyperborei and to the source of the Ister. At last he caught up with the hind on the bank of the river Ladon not far from the city of Oenoe, near the mountain of Artemis. But the only way he could capture the animal was to lame her with a shaft and carry her through Arcadia on his shoulders. Here he met the goddess Artemis with Apollo, her brother. She upbraided him for planning to kill a creature sacred to her and even prepared to rob him of his quarry.
“Great goddess,” said Heracles to justify himself to her, “it was not idle sport which prompted me to do this, but sheer necessity. For how else could I fulfill the wish of Eurystheus?” These words calmed her anger, and he brought the hind alive to Mycenae.
THE FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH LABORS OF HERACLES
Almost immediately he undertook his fourth quest. It consisted of delivering unharmed to the king a creature also sacred to Artemis, the Erymanthian Boar, who laid waste the region of the Erymanthus Mountains. On his journey to those mountains, he stopped with Pholus, the son of Silenus. He, like all centaurs half man and half horse, received his guest hospitably and set before him roast meat, while he ate his own share of it raw. But when Heracles asked for a good draught to accompany this tasty fare, Pholus said: “Dear guest, there is, indeed, a jar in my cellar, but it belongs to all of my people in common, and I hesitate to have it opened, since I know how little regard centaurs have for strangers.”
“Open it without misgivings,” Heracles answered. “I promise to defend you against any attack. I am thirsty.”
Now Dionysus, the god of wine, had himself given this jar to a centaur and ordered him not to open it until, after four generations had passed, Heracles should visit this region. Pholus then went into the cellar, but hardly had he opened the jar when the centaurs caught the fragrance of that strong old wine. They gathered and thronged around the cave of Pholus, armed with boulders and trunks of pine. The first who dared enter Heracles thrust back with firebrands. The rest he pursued with arrows even to the promontory of Malea, where his old friend Chiron lived. Chiron’s brother centaurs took refuge with him. Heracles aimed his bow at them and launched a shaft which grazed the arm of one of his foes, but unluckily it sped on and into Chiron’s knee, where it stuck fast. Only now did Heracles recognize one who had befriended him in his childhood. He ran to him in grave concern, drew out the arrow, and applied those remedies which Chiron, well versed in the art of medicine, had once given him. But the wound was drenched with the Hydra’s venom and could not be healed. So the centaur had them carry him to
his cave where he wanted to die in the arms of his friend. Alas! how vain a wish! Poor Chiron had forgotten that he was immortal and that his agony would last forever. Heracles bade him farewell with many tears and promised to send Death, the liberator, to him, no matter at what cost. From the story of Prometheus we know that he kept his word. When Heracles returned to Pholus, he found his gentle host dead in his cave. He had drawn an arrow from the body of one of his brothers, and as he weighed it in his hand, marvelling that so small a thing could fell such mighty creatures, the poisoned dart had slipped from him, grazed his foot, and killed him on the instant. Sorrowfully Heracles gave him an honorable burial. He laid him under the mountain which from that time on was called Pholoe.
Then the hero continued on his way to the boar. With ringing shouts he drove him out of the thick underbrush, followed him up the snowy slopes, caught the weary animal with a noose, and brought it to Mycenae alive, as he had been bidden.
After this King Eurystheus sent him off to his fifth labor, which was, indeed, unworthy of a hero. He was to clean the stables of Augeas in a single day. Augeas was king of Elis and had countless herds of cattle. According to the custom of the ancients, he kept his beasts in a great enclosure in front of the palace. Three thousand cattle had been living there for a long time, and so, in the course of years, great piles of dung had accumulated. These Heracles was to clean out in a single day, a task which was humiliating for one thing, and almost impossible for another.
When the demigod stood in the presence of Augeas and offered to perform this service, without however mentioning that it was at the command of Eurystheus, the king measured this stalwart youth in his lion’s skin and could hardly suppress laughter at the thought that so noble a warrior could wish to do the task of a common servant. But he said to himself that the love of gain had already tempted many a brave man and that perhaps this one wanted to enrich himself at the king’s expense; that, moreover, it would not hurt to promise him a substantial reward for cleaning the stables in a day, since there was no doubt whatsoever that he could not accomplish this feat. Therefore he said confidently:
“Stranger, if you can, indeed, clear out all this dung in a day, I shall give you a tenth of all my cattle.”
Heracles accepted the conditions, and the king thought he would at once begin to ply the shovel. But after the hero had called Phyleus, the son of Augeas, to witness the agreement, he trenched the ground of the cattle yard on one side, and let the streams Alpheus and Peneus, which flowed close by, run in through a canal and out through another opening, bearing away with them the entire mass of filth. In this way he carried out a disgraceful order without degrading himself to a service which would have been unworthy of an immortal. When Augeas learned that Heracles had done this thing at the command of Eurystheus, he not only refused to pay the reward but denied ever having promised it. However, he agreed to let a court decide the matter. When the judges were assembled, Phyleus appeared at Heracles’ demand, bore witness against his own father, and declared that it was true he had promised Heracles a reward. Augeas did not wait to hear judgment. In high dudgeon he bade both the stranger and his son leave his kingdom on the instant.
After other adventures, Heracles returned to Eurystheus, who declared that the labor he had just performed did not count, because he had asked for payment. The king at once sent him forth on a sixth quest: to drive away the Stymphalian birds. These were birds of prey as large as cranes and armed with iron wings, beaks, and claws. They nested around Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia, and had the power of launching their feathers like shafts and piercing even a brazen cuirass with their beaks. Throughout that region they had destroyed countless men and beasts. It was they that had troubled the heroes on the Argo. After a short journey, Heracles reached the lake, which lay in the shadow of tall trees. A large flock of the birds had just fled to these woods for fear of becoming the prey of wolves. Heracles stood there helplessly, wondering how he could master a foe which appeared in such vast numbers, when suddenly he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and turning, saw the majestic form of Pallas Athene. She gave him two enormous rattles of bronze which Hephaestus had made for her, instructed him to use them against the Stymphalian birds, and vanished from his sight. Heracles climbed a hill near the lake and frightened the birds by shaking the giant rattles. Not for long could they endure the strident noise. Stricken with terror they flew out from the shelter of the trees, and Heracles gripped his bow and shot one after another in flight. The rest left that region, never to return.
THE SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND NINTH LABORS OF HERACLES
Minos of Crete had promised Poseidon to sacrifice to him whatever first emerged from the depths of the sea, for the king had claimed that no creature in his possession was worthy to offer so great a deity. The god caused a beautiful bull to rise up through the waters. But the king was so enchanted by the splendid animal that he secretly mingled it with his herds and substituted another bull for the offering. This angered the sea-god, and as a penalty he afflicted the beast with madness, so that he wrought confusion and destruction on the island of Crete. Heracles’ seventh labor was to tame him and bring him to Eurystheus.
He travelled to Crete, and when he told Minos of his purpose the king was greatly pleased at the prospect of ridding his country of so dangerous a creature, and he even helped Heracles catch him. The demigod then tamed the raging bull so well that he was able to ride him to the shore, whence he was to depart for the Peloponnesus, and his gait was as easy as a ship sailing a smooth sea.
Eurystheus was satisfied with this achievement, but after he had looked over the captured animal with delight, set it free again. The moment the bull no longer felt the restraining hand of Heracles, his madness returned. He roamed through all of Laconia and Arcadia, crossed the isthmus to Marathon in Attica, and here laid waste the region, just as he had once ravaged Crete. It was not until much later that Theseus succeeded in mastering him.
Heracles’ eighth labor was to bring to Mycenae the mares of Diomedes of Thrace. Diomedes was the son of Ares and king of the warlike people of the Bistones. His mares were so strong and so savage that they had to be shackled to their brazen troughs with chains of iron. And they did not feed on oats! Any strangers who were so unfortunate as to seek out the city of Diomedes were cast into their mangers, that the mares might eat their flesh. When Heracles came, his first act was to capture the cruel king, overpower the guards in the stables, and serve Diomedes up to his own mares. After this meal the creatures grew gentle, and he drove them down to the shore of the sea. But the Bistones armed and pursued him, so that he had to turn back and fight them. He put the mares in charge of his dearest friend and constant companion, Abderus, the son of Hermes, but with Heracles gone, they were again seized with the lust for human flesh, and when he returned, after putting the Bistones to flight, he found that they had torn Abderus limb from limb. Heracles mourned his death deeply and in his honor founded the city of Abdera. Then he again tamed the mares and brought them safely to Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to Hera. They bore young, and their race multiplied through the years. It is even said that Alexander of Macedon rode one of their descendants. When Heracles had accomplished this labor, he joined Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the golden fleece. But the tale of this expedition to Colchis has already been told.
After long wanderings, the hero set out against the Amazons, in order to achieve his ninth labor: to bring the girdle of Hippolyte, their queen, to Eurystheus. The Amazons lived in the region around the river Thermodon in Pontus. They were a nation of women who plied the trades of men and reared only those of their children who were girls. Often they marched to wars with all their forces. In token of her majesty, their queen Hippolyte wore the girdle Ares himself had given her.
Heracles asked for volunteers to aid him in this quest and assembled them on a ship. After many adventures he entered the Black Sea, came to the mouth of the Thermodon, and rowed into the harbor of Themiscyra, the city of the Ama
zons. Hippolyte met the strangers and was struck by the strength and beauty of the demigod. When she learned the cause of his coming, she promised to give him her girdle. But Hera, who persisted in her hatred of Heracles, assumed the shape of an Amazon, mingled with the others, and spread the rumor that an alien and savage man was about to abduct their queen. Instantly all mounted their horses and attacked Heracles outside the city, where he had pitched camp. The common Amazons fought his men, but the noblest confronted the hero himself. The first to fight him was Aella, the tempest, so named because she could run with the speed of a gale. But Heracles was swifter of foot than she. Aella was forced to retreat, and though she raced like the wind, he overtook and slew her. A second Amazon fell at the first stroke, and after her a third, Prothoë, who seven times had won in single combat. After her, he brought down eight others, three of whom were chosen companions in the chase of Artemis and had always cast their spears straight at the mark. But this time they missed and though they tried to take cover under their shields the darts of Heracles found them out. Alcippe, who had sworn to remain unwed all her days, also fell. Her oath was indeed kept, but her days were cut short. When Melanippe, the dauntless leader of the Amazons, was taken captive, the rest fled wildly in all directions, and Hippolyte surrendered the girdle she had promised even before there was any thought of battle. Heracles accepted it as a ransom for Melanippe, to whom he gave back her liberty.
Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece Page 18
