The
Twelve Labors of Hercules
Hercules performed
twelve labors given him by King
Eurystheus of
Tiryns. For twelve years, he traveled all over to complete
these incredible tasks.
One:
Kill the Nemean Lion
- The lion’s skin was so tough that no
arrow could
pierce it.
- Hercules stunned it with
his club and then strangled it
with his bare hands.
- He skinned the
lion and ever after wore its hide.
Two:
Kill the Lernean Hydra
- The Hydra had nine heads. If one was
cut off, two
would grow in its place.
- Hercules quickly sliced
off the heads, while his
charioteer, Iolaus, sealed the wounds with a torch so they
couldn’t grow back.
- Afterwards, he made
his arrows poisonous by dipping them in
the Hydra's blood.
Three:
Capture the Cerynian Hind
- The goddess Artemis loved and protected this
stubborn
little deer, which had gold horns. Hercules found it a
challenge to capture the delicate hind without hurting it (and making
Artemis angry). After following the hind for an entire year,
he safely carried it away.
Four:
Capture the Erymanthian Boar
- The people of Mount Erymanthus lived in fear of
this deadly
animal. Hercules chased the wild boar up the mountain and
into a snowdrift. He then took it in a net and brought it to
King Eurystheus, who was so frightened of the beast that he hid in a
huge bronze jar.
Five:
Clean the Augean Stables
- Thousands of cows lived in these stables
belonging to King
Augeas.
- They had not been cleaned in 30 years,
but Hercules 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.
Six:
Kill the Stymphalian Birds
- These murderous birds lived around Lake
Stymphalos .
- Their claws and beaks were sharp as
metal and their
feathers flew like darts.
- Hercules scared them
out of their nests with a rattle and
then killed them with the poison arrows he had made from the Hydra's
blood.
Seven:
Capture
the Cretan
Bull
- This savage bull, kept by King Minos of Crete ,
was said to
be insane and breathe fire.
- Hercules 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.
Eight:
Capture the Horses of Diomedes
- King Diomedes, leader of the Bistones, fed his
bloodthirsty
horses on human flesh. Hercules and his men fought and killed
King Diomedes and fed the king to his horses. This made the
horses tame, so that Hercules was able to lead them to King Eurystheus.
Nine:
Take the Girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyte
- Hercules went to the land of the Amazons, where
the queen
welcomed him and agreed to give him her girdle for Eurystheus's
daughter. But Hera spread the rumor that Hercules came as an
enemy. In the end, he had to conquer the Amazons and steal
the golden belt.
Ten:
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. Hercules
killed Geryon, the giant, and the dog and brought the cattle to King
Eurystheus.
Eleven:
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 struck a bargain with Atlas, who held up the
earth. Hercules shouldered the earth while Atlas, the nymphs'
father, fetched the apples.
Twelve:
Capture Cerberus
- Hercules was ordered to capture Cerberus, the
three-headed
guard dog of the underworld, without using weapons. Hercules
wrestled down the dog's wild heads, and it agreed to go with him to
King Eurystheus. Cerberus was soon returned unharmed to the
underworld.
Copyright
2003 by Mark
Spreitzer