As a punishment for the murder of his own children, Heracles was told by the Pythia that he had to perform twelve tasks for Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns. Eurystheus was also king of Mycenae. Eurystheus had inherited the throne of Mycenae from his father, Sthenelos, who had usurped it from Amphitryon, Heracles’ mortal father. Therefore, Heracles should really have been king of Mycenae instead of Eurystheus. Heracles had to perform any twelve tasks that Eurystheus set for him, even though Eurystheus had usurped Heracles’ throne and he was neither as strong nor as brave as Heracles. This subordinate relationship to Eurystheus was humiliating for Heracles, and that was obviously part of the punishment. While the first six of Heracles’ labours took place in the Peloponnese, the last six labours took place throughout the Greek world.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, Book 2 (trans. J. G. Frazer, adapted by L. Zhang and P. Rogak)
Greek mythography, 2nd century CE
[content warning for the following source: infanticide (2.4.12), sexual assault (2.7.6), graphic description of death (2.7.7), suicide (2.7.7)]
This section from Pseudo-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca is the most comprehensive account of Heracles’ twelve labours and other myths about Heracles.
[2.4.8] But before Amphitryon reached Thebes, Zeus came in the night and, prolonging the one night so that is seemed like three, he assumed the appearance of Amphitryon and slept with Alcmene, relating to her what had happened concerning the Teleboans. But when Amphitryon arrived and saw that he was not welcomed by his wife, he inquired about the cause; and when she told him that he had come the night before and slept with her, he learned from Teiresias how Zeus had slept with her. And Alcmene bore two sons: Heracles, whom she had by Zeus and who was the elder by one night, and Iphicles, whom she had by Amphitryon. When the child [Hercules] was eight months old, Hera wished to destroy him, and sent two huge serpents to the bed. Alcmene called Amphitryon to her help, but Hercules arose and killed the serpents by strangling them with both his hands. However, Pherecydes says that it was Amphitryon who put the serpents in the bed, so that he would know which of the two children was his, and that when Iphicles fled, and Hercules stood his ground, he knew that Iphicles was begotten of his body.
[2.4.9] Hercules was taught to drive a chariot by Amphitryon, to wrestle by Autolycus, to shoot with the bow by Eurytus, to fence by Castor, and to play the lyre by Linus. This Linus was a brother of Orpheus; he came to Thebes and became a Theban, but was killed by Hercules with a blow of the lyre; for being struck by him, Hercules flew into a rage and slew him. When he was tried for murder, Hercules quoted a law of Rhadamanthys, who laid it down that whoever defends himself against a wrongful aggressor shall go free, and so he was acquitted. But fearing he might do the like again, Amphitryon sent him to the cattle farm; and there he was nurtured and outdid all in stature and strength. Even by the look of him it was plain that he was a son of Zeus; for his body measured four cubits, and he flashed a gleam of fire from his eyes; and he did not miss, neither with the bow nor with the javelin.
While he was with the herds and had reached his eighteenth year he slew the lion of Cithaeron, for that animal, coming from Cithaeron, plagued the cattle of Amphitryon and of Thespius.
[2.4.10] Now this Thespius was king of Thespiae, and Hercules went to him when he wished to catch the lion. The king entertained him for fifty days, and each night, as Hercules went forth to the hunt, Thespius made one of his daughters sleep with Hercules (fifty daughters having been borne to him by Megamede, daughter of Arneus); for he was anxious that all of them should have children by Hercules. Thus Hercules, though he thought that his bed-fellow was always the same, had intercourse with them all. And having vanquished the lion, he dressed himself in the skin and wore the scalp as a helmet.
[2.4.11] As he was returning from the hunt, he met heralds sent by Erginus to receive the tribute from the Thebans. Now, the Thebans paid tribute to Erginus for the following reason: Clymenus, king of the Minyans, was wounded by a stone thrown by a charioteer of Menoeceus, named Perieres, in a precinct of Poseidon at Onchestus. And, while being carried dying to Orchomenus, with his last breath he tasked his son Erginus to avenge his death. So Erginus marched against Thebes, and after slaughtering many of the Thebans, he concluded a treaty with them, confirmed by oaths, that they should send him tribute for twenty years, a hundred cattle every year. Falling in with the heralds on their way to Thebes to demand this tribute, Hercules outraged them; he cut off their ears and noses and hands, and having fastened them by ropes from their necks, he told them to carry that tribute to Erginus and the Minyans. Indignant at this outrage, Erginus marched against Thebes. But Hercules, having received weapons from Athena and taken the command, killed Erginus, put the Minyans to flight, and compelled them to pay double the tribute to the Thebans. And it chanced that in the fight Amphitryon fell fighting bravely. And Hercules received from Creon his eldest daughter Megara as a prize of valor, and by her he had three sons, Therimachus, Creontiades, and Deicoon. But Creon gave his younger daughter to Iphicles, who already had a son Iolaus by Automedusa, daughter of Alcathus. And Rhadamanthys, son of Zeus, married Alcmene after the death of Amphitryon, and dwelt as an exile at Ocaleae in Boeotia.
Having first learned from Eurytus the art of archery, Hercules received a sword from Hermes, a bow and arrows from Apollo, a golden breastplate from Hephaestus, and a robe from Athena; for he had himself cut a club at Nemea.
[2.4.12] Now it came to pass that after the battle with the Minyans, Hercules was driven mad through the jealousy of Hera and flung his own children, whom he had by Megara, and two children of Iphicles into the fire; he thus he condemned himself to exile, and was purified by Thespius, and appealing to Delphi he inquired of the god [ Apollo ] where he should dwell. The Pythian priestess then first called him Hercules, for before this point he was called Alcides. And she told him to dwell in Tiryns, serving Eurystheus for twelve years, and to perform the ten labours imposed on him, and so, she said, when the tasks were accomplished, he would be immortal.
[2.5.1] When Hercules heard that, he went to Tiryns and did as Eurystheus commanded. First, Eurystheus ordered him to bring the skin of the Nemean lion, an invulnerable beast begotten by Typhon. On his way to attack the lion he came to Cleonae and lodged at the house of a day-laborer, Molorchus; and when his host would have offered a victim in sacrifice, Hercules told him to wait for thirty days, and then, if he had returned safe from the hunt, to sacrifice to Saviour Zeus, but if he were dead, to sacrifice to him as to a hero. And having come to Nemea and tracked the lion, he first shot an arrow at it, but when he perceived that the beast was invulnerable, he heaved up his club and made after it. And when the lion took refuge in a cave with two mouths, Hercules built up the one entrance and came in upon the beast through the other, and putting his arm round its neck held it tight till he had choked it; so laying it on his shoulders he carried it to Cleonae. And finding Molorchus on the last of the thirty days about to sacrifice the victim to him as to a dead man, he sacrificed to Saviour Zeus and brought the lion to Mycenae. Amazed at his manhood, Eurystheus forbade him from then on to enter the city, but ordered him to exhibit the fruits of his labours before the gates. They say, too, that in his fear he had a bronze jar made for himself to hide in under the earth, and that he sent his commands for the labours through a herald, Copreus, son of Pelops the Elean. This Copreus had killed Iphitus and fled to Mycenae, where he was purified by Eurystheus and took up his abode.
[2.5.2] As a second labour he [ Eurystheus ] ordered him to kill the Lernaean hydra. That creature, bred in the swamp of Lerna, used to go forth into the plain and ravage both the cattle and the country. Now the hydra had a huge body, with nine heads, eight mortal, but the middle one immortal. So, mounting a chariot driven by Iolaus, he came to Lerna, and having halted his horses, he discovered the hydra on a hill beside the springs of the Amymone, where its den was. By pelting it with fiery arrows, he forced it to come out, and in the act of doing so he seized and held it fast. But the hydra wound itself about one of his feet and clung to him. Nor could he achieve anything by smashing its heads with his club, for as fast as one head was smashed, two grew back. A huge crab also came to the help of the hydra by biting his foot. So he killed it, and in his turn called for help on Iolaus who, by setting fire to a piece of the neighboring wood and burning the roots of the heads with the brands, prevented them from sprouting. Having thus got the better of the sprouting heads, he chopped off the immortal head, and buried it, and put a heavy rock on it, beside the road that leads through Lerna to Elaeus. But the body of the hydra he sliced up, and he dipped his arrows in the gall. However, Eurystheus said that this labour should not be counted among the ten because he had not defeated the hydra by himself, but with the help of Iolaus.
[2.5.3] As a third labour he ordered him to bring the Cerynitian hind alive to Mycenae. Now the hind was at Oenoe; it had golden horns and was sacred to Artemis; so wishing neither to kill nor wound it, Hercules hunted it a whole year. But when, weary with the chase, the beast took refuge on the mountain called Artemisius, and from there passed to the river Ladon, Hercules shot it just as it was about to cross the stream. He caught it and put it on his shoulders and hastened through Arcadia. But Artemis and Apollo met him, and would have wrested the hind from him, and rebuked him for attempting to kill her sacred animal. However, by pleading necessity and laying the blame on Eurystheus, he appeased the anger of the goddess and carried the beast alive to Mycenae.
[2.5.4] As a fourth labour he ordered him to bring the Erymanthian boar alive; now that animal ravaged Psophis, descending from a mountain which they call Erymanthus. So passing through Pholoe he was entertained by the centaur Pholus, a son of Silenus by a Melian nymph. He set roast meat before Hercules, while he himself ate his meat raw. When Hercules called for wine, he said he feared to open the jar, which belonged to the centaurs in common. But Hercules, bidding him be of good courage, opened it, and not long afterwards, scenting the smell, the centaurs arrived at the cave of Pholus, armed with rocks and firs. The first who dared to enter, Anchius and Agrius, were repelled by Hercules with a shower of brands, and the rest of them he shot and pursued as far as Malea. There they took refuge with Chiron, who, driven by the Lapiths from Mount Pelion, lived at Malea. As the centaurs cowered around Chiron, Hercules shot an arrow at them, which, passing through the arm of Elatus, stuck in the knee of Chiron. Distressed at this, Hercules ran up to him, drew out the shaft, and applied a medicine which Chiron gave him. But the hurt proved incurable, and Chiron retired to the cave. He wished to die there, but he could not, for he was immortal. However, Prometheus offered himself to Zeus to be immortal in his stead, and so Chiron died. The rest of the centaurs fled in different directions, and some came to Mount Malea, and Eurytion to Pholoe, and Nessus to the river Evenus. The rest of them Poseidon received at Eleusis and hid in a mountain. But Pholus, drawing the arrow from a corpse, wondered that so little a thing could kill such big fellows; however, it slipped from his hand and landed on his foot killed him on the spot. So when Hercules returned to Pholoe, he saw Pholus dead; and he buried him and proceeded to the boar hunt. And when he had chased the boar with shouts from a thicket, he drove the exhausted animal into deep snow, trapped it, and brought it to Mycenae.
[2.5.5] The fifth labour he laid on him was to carry out the dung of the cattle of Augeas in a single day. Now Augeas was king of Elis; some say that he was a son of the Sun, others that he was a son of Poseidon, and others that he was a son of Phorbas; and he had many herds of cattle. Hercules accosted him, and without revealing the command of Eurystheus, said that he would carry out the dung in one day, if Augeas would give him the tithe of the cattle. Augeas was incredulous, but promised. Having taken Augeas‘s son Phyleus to witness, Hercules made a breach in the foundations of the cattle-yard, and then, diverting the courses of the Alpheus and Peneus [rivers], which flowed near each other, he turned them into the yard, having first made an outlet for the water through another opening. When Augeas learned that this had been accomplished at the command of Eurystheus, he would not pay the reward; furthermore, he denied that he had promised to pay it, and on that point he professed himself ready to submit to arbitration. The arbitrators having taken their seats, Phyleus was called by Hercules and bore witness against his father, affirming that he had agreed to give him a reward. In a rage Augeas, before the voting took place, ordered both Phyleus and Hercules to leave Elis. So Phyleus went to Dulichium and lived there, and Hercules went to Dexamenus at Olenus. He found Dexamenus on the point of betrothing his daughter Mnesimache to the centaur Eurytion, and being called upon by him for help, he slew Eurytion when that centaur came to fetch his bride. But Eurystheus would not admit this labour either among the ten, alleging that it had been performed for hire.
[2.5.6] The sixth labour he enjoined on him was to chase away the Stymphalian birds. Now at the city of Stymphalus in Arcadia was the lake called Stymphalian, in the midst of a deep wood. To it countless birds had flocked for refuge, fearing to be preyed upon by the wolves. So when Hercules was at a loss how to drive the birds from the wood, Athena gave him bronze castanets, which she had received from Hephaestus. By clashing these on a mountain that overhung the lake, he scared the birds. They could not tolerate the sound, but fluttered up in a fright, and in that way Hercules shot them.
[2.5.7] The seventh labour he enjoined on him was to bring the Cretan bull. Acusilaus says that this was the bull that ferried across Europa for Zeus; but some say it was the bull that Poseidon sent up from the sea when Minos promised to sacrifice to Poseidon what should appear out of the sea. And they say that when he saw the beauty of the bull he sent it away to the herds and sacrificed another to Poseidon; at which the god was angry and made the bull savage. To attack this bull Hercules came to Crete, and when, in reply to his request for aid, Minos told him to fight and catch the bull for himself, he caught it and brought it to Eurystheus, and having shown it to him he let it afterwards go free. But the bull roamed to Sparta and all Arcadia, and traversing the Isthmus arrived at Marathon in Attica and bothered the inhabitants.
[2.5.8] The eighth labour he enjoined on him was to bring the mares of Diomedes the Thracian to Mycenae. Now this Diomedes was a son of Ares and Cyrene, and he was king of the Bistones, a very warlike Thracian people, and he owned man-eating mares. So Hercules sailed with a band of volunteers, and having overpowered the grooms who were in charge of the mangers, he drove the mares to the sea. When the Bistones in arms came to the rescue, he entrusted the mares to the guardianship of Abderus, who was a son of Hermes, a native of Opus in Locris, and a minion of Hercules; but the mares killed him by dragging him after them. But Hercules fought against the Bistones, slew Diomedes and compelled the rest to flee. And he founded a city Abdera beside the grave of Abderus who had been killed, and bringing the mares he gave them to Eurystheus. But Eurystheus let them go, and they came to Mount Olympus, as it is called, and there they were destroyed by the wild beasts.
[2.5.9] The ninth labour he enjoined on Hercules was to bring the belt of Hippolyte. She was queen of the Amazons, who dwelt by the river Thermodon, a people great in war. They cultivated the manly virtues, and if ever they gave birth to children through intercourse with the other sex, they raised the females; and they pinched off the right breasts that they might not be hindered by them when throwing javelins, but they kept the left breasts, so that they could suckle. Now Hippolyte had the belt of Ares to show her superiority over all the others. Hercules was sent to fetch this belt because Admete, daughter of Eurystheus, wanted to have it. So taking with him a band of volunteer comrades in a single ship, he set sail and put in to the island of Paros, which was inhabited by the sons of Minos: Eurymedon, Chryses, Nephalion, and Philolaus. But it happened that two of those in the ship landed and were killed by the sons of Minos. Indignant at this, Hercules killed the sons of Minos on the spot and besieged the rest, until they sent envoys to request that in the place of the murdered men he would take two of them, whomever he wanted. So he ended the siege, and taking on board Alcaeus and Sthenelus, the sons of Androgeus son of Minos, he came to Mysia, to the court of Lycus, son of Dascylus, and was entertained by him; and in a battle between him and the king of the Bebryces, Hercules sided with Lycus and slew many, amongst others King Mygdon, brother of Amycus. And he took much land from the Bebryces and gave it to Lycus, who called it all Heraclea.
Having put in at the harbor of Themiscyra, he received a visit from Hippolyte, who inquired why he had come, and promised to give him the belt. But Hera, in disguise as an Amazon, went up and down the multitude saying that the strangers who had arrived were carrying off the queen. So the Amazons in arms charged on horseback down on the ship. But when Hercules saw them in arms, he suspected treachery, and killing Hippolyte stripped her of her belt. And after fighting the rest he sailed away and landed at Troy.
But it happened that the city was then in distress, as a result of the wrath of Apollo and Poseidon. Because, wanting to put the wantonness of Laomedon to the test, Apollo and Poseidon assumed the appearance of men and undertook to fortify Pergamum for wages. But when they had fortified it, he [ Laomedon ] would not pay them their wages. Therefore Apollo sent a pestilence, and Poseidon a sea monster, which, carried up by a flood, snatched away the people of the plain. But as oracles foretold deliverance from these disasters if Laomedon would expose his daughter Hesione to be devoured by the sea monster, he exposed her by fastening her to the rocks near the sea. Seeing her exposed, Hercules promised to save her, on the condition that he would receive from Laomedon the mares that Zeus had given in compensation for the rape of Ganymede. When Laomedon‘s promised that he would give them, Hercules killed the monster and saved Hesione. But when Laomedon would not give the promies reward, Hercules set out to sea, after threatening to make war on Troy.
And he landed at Aenus, where he was hosted by Poltys. And as he was sailing away he shot and killed on the Aenian beach a rude man, Sarpedon, son of Poseidon and brother of Poltys. And he came to Thasos and subjugated the Thracians who lived on the island, then gave it [Thasos] to the sons of Androgeus to dwell in. From Thasos he proceeded to Torone, and there, being challenged to wrestle by Polygonus and Telegonus, sons of Proteus, son of Poseidon, he killed them in the wrestling match. And he brought the belt to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.
[2.5.10] As a tenth labour he was ordered to fetch the cattle of Geryon from Erythia. Now Erythia was an island near the ocean; it is now called Gadira. This island was inhabited by Geryon, son of Chrysaor by Callirrhoe, daughter of Ocean. He had the body of three men grown together and joined in one at the waist, but separated in three from the hips and thighs. He owned red cattle, of which Eurytion was the herdsman and Orthus, the two-headed hound, begotten by Typhon and Echidna, was the watchdog. So journeying through Europe to fetch the cattle of Geryon, he destroyed many wild beasts and set foot in Libya. Proceeding to Tartessus, he erected as tokens of his journey two pillars over against each other at the boundaries of Europe and Libya. But being heated by the Sun on his journey, he aimed his bow at the god, who in admiration of his boldness, gave him a golden goblet in which he crossed the ocean. And having reached Erythia he camped on Mount Abas. However the dog, perceiving him, rushed at him; but he struck it with his club, and when the herdsman Eurytion came to help the dog, Hercules killed him also. But Menoetes, who was there pasturing the cattle of Hades, reported to Geryon what had occurred. He [ Geryon ], coming up to Hercules beside the river Anthemus, as he was driving away the cattle, joined battle with him and was shot dead. And Hercules, embarking the cattle in the goblet and sailing across to Tartessus, gave back the goblet to the Sun.
And passing through Abderia he came to Liguria, where Ialebion and Dercynus, sons of Poseidon, attempted to rob him of the cattle, but he killed them and went on his way through Tyrrhenia. But at Rhegium a bull escaped, and hastily plunging into the sea swam across to Sicily, and having passed through the neighboring country since called Italy after it, for the Tyrrhenians called the bull italus, came to the plain of Eryx, who reigned over the Elymi. Now Eryx was a son of Poseidon, and he joined the bull with his own herds. So Hercules entrusted the cattle to Hephaestus and hurried away in search of the bull. He found it in the herds of Eryx, and when the king refused to surrender it unless Hercules should beat him in a wrestling match, Hercules beat him three times, killed him in the wrestling, and took the bull and drove it with the rest of the herd to the Ionian Sea. But when he came to the creeks of the sea, Hera afflicted the cows with a gadfly, and they dispersed among the skirts of the mountains of Thrace. Hercules went in pursuit, and having caught some, drove them to the Hellespont; but the remainder were from then on wild. Having with difficulty collected the cows, Hercules blamed the river Strymon, and while it had been navigable before, he made it unnavigable by filling it with rocks; and he conveyed the cattle and gave them to Eurystheus, who sacrificed them to Hera.
[2.5.11] When the labours had been performed in eight years and a month, Eurystheus ordered Hercules, as an eleventh labour, to fetch golden apples from the Hesperides, for he did not acknowledge the labour of the cattle of Augeas nor that of the hydra. These apples were not, as some have said, in Libya, but on Atlas among the Hyperboreans. They were presented <by Earth> to Zeus after his marriage with Hera, and guarded by an immortal dragon with a hundred heads, offspring of Typhon and Echidna, which spoke with many and diverse sorts of voices. With it the Hesperides Aegle, Erythia, Hesperia, and Arethusa were also on guard. He journeyed and came to the river Echedorus. And Cycnus, son of Ares and Pyrene, challenged him to single combat. Ares championed the cause of Cycnus and marshalled the combat, but a thunderbolt was hurled between the two and parted the combatants. And going on foot through Illyria and hastening to the river Eridanus, he came to the nymphs, the daughters of Zeus and Themis. They revealed Nereus to him, and Hercules seized him while he slept, and though the god turned himself into all kinds of shapes, the hero bound him and did not release him until he had learned from him where the apples and the Hesperides were. With this information, he travelled across Libya. That country was then ruled by Antaeus, son of Poseidon, who used to kill strangers by forcing them to wrestle. Being forced to wrestle with him, Hercules hugged him, lifted him aloft, broke and killed him; for when he touched earth he grew stronger, for which reason some said that he was a son of Earth.
After Libya he travelled through Egypt. That country was then ruled by Busiris, a son of Poseidon by Lysianassa, daughter of Epaphus. This Busiris used to sacrifice strangers on an altar of Zeus in accordance with an oracle. For Egypt was visited with shortages for nine years, and Phrasius, a wise seer who had come from Cyprus, said that the shortages would end if they slaughtered a stranger in honour of Zeus every year. Busiris began by slaughtering the seer himself and continued to slaughter the strangers who landed. So Hercules also was seized and hauled to the altars, but he burst his bonds and killed both Busiris and his son Amphidamas.
And travelling across Asia he landed at Thermydrae, the harbor of the Lindians. And he freed one of the bullocks from the cart of a cowherd and he sacrificed it, and feasted. But the cowherd, unable to protect himself, stood on a mountain and cursed. For this reason, to this day, when they sacrifice to Hercules, they do it with curses.
And passing by Arabia he killed Emathion, son of Tithonus, and journeying through Libya to the outer sea he received the goblet from the Sun. And having crossed to the opposite mainland he shot on the Caucasus the eagle, offspring of Echidna and Typhon, that was devouring the liver of Prometheus, and he released Prometheus. He chose for himself the crown of olive branches, and to Zeus he presented Chiron, who, though immortal, agreed to die in his place.
Now Prometheus had told Hercules not to go after the apples himself, but to send Atlas, first relieving him of the burden of the sphere; so when he had come to Atlas in the land of the Hyperboreans, he took the advice and relieved Atlas. But when Atlas had received three apples from the Hesperides, he came to Hercules, and not wishing to support the sphere <he said that he would himself carry the apples to Eurystheus, and asked Hercules hold up the sky in his stead. Hercules promised to do so, but succeeded by trickery in putting it on Atlas instead. At the advice of Prometheus, he begged Atlas to hold up the sky so that he could> put a pad on his head. When Atlas heard that, he laid the apples down on the ground and took the sphere from Hercules. And so Hercules picked up the apples and departed. But some say that he did not get them from Atlas, but that he plucked the apples himself after killing the guardian snake. And he brought the apples and gave them to Eurystheus. But he, on receiving them, gave them back to Hercules, who gave them to Athena to bring back to the garden; for it was not lawful that they should be laid down anywhere.
[2.5.12] A twelfth labour imposed on Hercules was to bring Cerberus from Hades. Now this Cerberus had three heads of dogs, the tail of a dragon, and on his back the heads of all sorts of snakes. When Hercules was about to depart to fetch him, he went to Eumolpus at Eleusis, wishing to be initiated [into the Eleusinian cult]. However it was not lawful for foreigners to be initiated, so he proposed to be initiated as the adoptive son of Pylius. But he was not able to see the mysteries because he had not been cleansed of the slaughter of the centaurs, and so he was cleansed by Eumolpus and then initiated. And he came to Taenarum in Laconia, where the mouth of the descent to Hades is, and he descended through it. But when the souls saw him, they fled, except for Meleager and the Gorgon Medusa. And Hercules drew his sword against the Gorgon, thinking she was alive, but he learned from Hermes that she was an empty phantom. And as he approached the gates of Hades, he found Theseus and Pirithous, him who courted Persephone when she was already married and was therefore imprisoned. And when they saw Hercules, they stretched out their hands as if they would be raised from the dead by his might. And Theseus, indeed, he took by the hand and raised up. But when he would have brought up Pirithous, the earth quaked and he let go. And he also rolled away the stone of Ascalaphus. And wishing to provide the souls with blood, he slaughtered one of the cattle of Hades. But Menoetes, son of Ceuthonymus, who tended the king, challenged Hercules to wrestle, and, being seized around the middle, had his ribs broken; however, he was let off at the request of Persephone. When Hercules asked Pluto for Cerberus, Pluto ordered him to take the animal, on the condition that he master it without the use of the weapons which he carried. Hercules found it at the gates of Acheron, and, armoured in his cuirass and covered by the lion’s skin, he flung his arms round the head of the brute, and though the dragon in its tail bit him, he never relaxed his grip and pressure until it yielded. So he carried it off and ascended through Troezen. But Demeter turned Ascalaphus into a short-eared owl, and Hercules, after showing Cerberus to Eurystheus, carried him back to Hades.
[2.6.1] After his labours, Hercules went to Thebes and gave Megara to Iolaus. And, wishing to marry, he ascertained that Eurytus, prince of Oechalia, had proposed the hand of his daughter Iole as a prize to whoever vanquished himself and his sons in archery. So he went to Oechalia, and though he proved himself better than them at archery, he did not get the bride; for while Iphitus, the elder of Eurytus‘ sons, said that Iole should be given to Hercules, Eurytus and the others refused, and said they feared that, if he got children, he would again kill his offspring.
[2.6.2] Not long after, some cattle were stolen from Euboea by Autolycus, and Eurytus supposed that it was done by Hercules; but Iphitus did not believe it and went to Hercules. And meeting him, as he came from Pherae after having saved the dead Alcestis for Admetus, he [ Iphitus ] invited him [Hercules] to seek the cattle with him. Hercules promised to do so and entertained him; but going mad again he threw him from the walls of Tiryns. Wishing to be purified of the murder he went to Neleus, who was prince of the Pylians. And when Neleus rejected his request on the score of his friendship with Eurytus, he went to Amyclae and was purified by Deiphobus, son of Hippolytus. But being afflicted with a dire disease on account of the murder of Iphitus, he went to Delphi and inquired how he might be rid of the disease. As the Pythian priestess did not answer him with oracles, he wanted to plunder the temple, and, carrying off the tripod, to establish an oracle of his own. But Apollo fought him, and Zeus threw a thunderbolt between them. When they had thus been parted, Hercules received an oracle, which declared that the remedy for his disease was for him to be sold, and to serve for three years, and to pay compensation for the murder to Eurytus.
[2.6.3] After the delivery of the oracle, Hermes sold Hercules, and he was bought by Omphale, daughter of Iardanes, queen of Lydia, who had become head of state at the death of her husband. Eurytus did not accept the compensation when it was presented to him, but Hercules served Omphale as a slave, and in the course of his servitude he seized and bound the Cercopes at Ephesus; and as for Syleus in Aulis, who compelled passing strangers to dig, Hercules killed him with his daughter Xenodoce, after burning the vines with the roots. And having put in to the island of Doliche, he saw the body of Icarus washed ashore and buried it, and he called the island Icaria instead of Doliche. In return Daedalus made a portrait statue of Hercules at Pisa, which Hercules mistook at night for living and threw a stone and hit it. And during the time of his servitude with Omphale it is said that the voyage to Colchis and the hunt of the Calydonian boar took place, and that Theseus on his way from Troezen cleared the Isthmus of malefactors.
[2.6.4] After his servitude, having gotten rid of his disease, he mustered an army of noble volunteers and sailed for Ilium with eighteen ships of fifty oars each. And having come to port at Ilium, he left the guard of the ships to Oicles, while he and the rest of the champions set out to attack the city. However, Laomedon marched against the ships with an army and slew Oicles in battle, but the troops of Hercules drove him back and besieged him. Once the siege was set, Telamon was the first to breach the wall and enter the city, and after him Hercules. But when he saw that Telamon had entered it first, he drew his sword and rushed at him, not wanting anybody to be seen as a better man than he. Perceiving that, Telamon collected stones that lay to hand, and when Hercules asked him what he was doing, he said he was building an altar to Hercules the Glorious Victor. Hercules thanked him, and when he had taken the city and shot down Laomedon and his sons, except Podarces, he assigned Laomedon‘s daughter Hesione as a prize to Telamon and allowed her to take with her whicher of the captives she wanted. When she chose her brother Podarces, Hercules said that he must first be a slave and then be bought by her. So when he was being sold she took the veil from her head and gave it as a ransom; and so Podarces was called Priam.
[2.7.1] When Hercules was sailing from Troy, Hera sent terrible storms, which angered Zeus so much that he hung her from Olympus. Hercules sailed to Cos, and the Coans, thinking he was leading a squadron of pirates, tried to prevent his approach with a shower of stones. But he forced his way in and took the city by night, and killed the king, Eurypylus, son of Poseidon by Astypalaea. And Hercules was wounded in the battle by Chalcedon; but Zeus snatched him away, so that he was not harmed. And having laid waste Cos, he came through Athena‘s agency to Phlegra, and sided with the gods in their victorious war on the giants.
[2.7.2] Not long afterwards he collected an Arcadian army, and being joined by volunteers from the first men in Greece he marched against Augeas. But Augeas, hearing of the war that Hercules was preparing for, appointed Eurytus and Cteatus as generals of the Eleans. They were like two men in one, who surpassed all of that generation in strength and were sons of Actor by Molione, though their father was said to be Poseidon; Actor was a brother of Augeas. But it came to pass that on the expedition Hercules fell sick; so he made a truce with the Molionides [sons of Molione]. But afterwards, learning of Hercules’ illness, they [the Molionides] attacked the army and killed many. On that occasion, therefore, Hercules retreated; but afterwards at the celebration of the third Isthmian festival, when the Eleans sent the Molionides to take part in the sacrifices, Hercules waylaid and killed them at Cleonae, and marched on Elis and took the city. And having killed Augeas and his sons, he restored Phyleus and gave him the kingdom. He also celebrated the Olympian games and founded an altar of Pelops, and built six altars of the twelve gods.
[2.7.3] After the capture of Elis, he marched against Pylus, and having taken the city he killed Periclymenus, the most valiant of the sons of Neleus, who used to change his shape in battle. And he killed Neleus and his sons, except Nestor; for he was a youth and was being brought up among the Gerenians. In the fight he also wounded Hades, who was siding with the Pylians.
Having taken Pylus he marched against Lacedaemon, wishing to punish the sons of Hippocoon, because he was angry with them, both because they fought for Neleus, and because they had killed the son of Licymnius. For when he [the son of Licymnius ] was looking at the palace of Hippocoon, a Molossian hound ran out and rushed at him, and he threw a stone and hit the dog, which prompted the Hippocoontids to dart out and kill him with blows of their cudgels. It was to avenge his death that Hercules mustered an army against the Lacedaemonians. And having come to Arcadia he begged Cepheus to join him with his twenty sons. But fearing that, if he left Tegea, the Argives would march against it, Cepheus refused to join the expedition. But Hercules had received from Athena a lock of the Gorgon‘s hair in a bronze jar and gave it to Sterope, daughter of Cepheus, saying that if an army advanced against the city, she was to hold up the lock of hair three times from the walls, and that, as long as she did not look in front of her, the enemy would be turned to flight. That being so, Cepheus and his sons took the field, and in the battle he and his sons perished, and besides them Iphicles, the brother of Hercules. Having killed Hippocoon and his sons and subjugated the city, Hercules restored Tyndareus to power and entrusted the kingdom to him.
[2.7.4] Passing by Tegea, Hercules slept with Auge, not knowing her to be a daughter of Aleus. And she gave birth to her baby secretly and deposited it in the precinct of Athena. But when the country was ravaged by a pestilence, Aleus entered the precinct and on investigation discovered his daughter’s motherhood. So he exposed the babe on Mount Parthenius, and by the providence of the gods it was preserved: for a doe that had just cast her fawn gave it milk, and shepherds took up the baby and called it Telephus. And her father gave Auge to Nauplius, son of Poseidon, to sell far away in a foreign land; and Nauplius gave her to Teuthras, the prince of Teuthrania, who made her his wife.
[2.7.5] And having come to Calydon, Hercules courted Deianira, daughter of Oeneus. He wrestled for her hand with Achelous, who assumed the appearance of a bull; but Hercules broke off one of his horns. So Hercules married Deianira, but Achelous recovered the horn by giving the horn of Amalthea as a trade. Now Amalthea was a daughter of Haemonius, and she had a bull’s horn, which, according to Pherecydes, had the power of supplying meat or drink in abundance, whatever one wanted.
[2.7.6] And Hercules marched with the Calydonians against the Thesprotians, and having taken the city of Ephyra, of which Phylas was king, he had intercourse with the king’s daughter Astyoche, and became the father of Tlepolemus. While he stayed among them, he sent word to Thespius to keep seven of his sons, to send three to Thebes and to send the remaining forty to the island of Sardinia to plant a colony. After these events, as he was feasting with Oeneus, he killed with a blow of his knuckles the son of Architeles, when the boy was pouring water on his hands; the boy was a relative of Oeneus. Seeing that it was an accident, the boy’s father pardoned Hercules; but Hercules wished, in accordance with the law, to suffer the penalty of exile, and resolved to depart to Ceyx at Trachis. And taking Deianira with him, he came to the river Evenus, at which the centaur Nessus sat and ferried passengers across for hire, alleging that he had received the ferry from the gods for his righteousness. So Hercules crossed the river by himself, but when he was asked to pay the fare, he entrusted Deianira to Nessus to carry over. But he, in ferrying her across, attempted to rape her. She cried out, Hercules heard her, and shot Nessus in the heart when he emerged from the river. On the verge of death, Nessus called Deianira to him and said that if she would have a love charm to operate on Hercules she should mix the seed he had dropped on the ground with the blood that flowed from the wound inflicted by the arrow. She did so and kept it by her.
[2.7.7] As he was travelling through the country of the Dryopes, Hercules had a shortage of food. Hercules met Thiodamas driving a pair of bullocks; so he released and slaughtered one of the bullocks and feasted. And when he came to Ceyx at Trachis he was hosted by him and conquered the Dryopes.
And afterwards setting out from there, he fought as an ally of Aegimius, king of the Dorians. For the Lapiths, commanded by Coronus, were at war with him in a dispute about the boundaries of the country; and being besieged he called in the help of Hercules, offering him a share of the country. So Hercules came to his help and slew Coronus and others, and handed the whole country over to Aegimius free. He killed also Laogoras, king of the Dryopes, with his children, as he was banqueting in a precinct of Apollo; for the king was a violent person and an ally of the Lapiths. And as he passed by Itonus he was challenged to single combat by Cycnus a son of Ares and Pelopia; and closing with him Hercules killed him also. But when he came to Ormenium, king Amyntor took arms and prevented him from marching through; but because he would have hindered his passage, Hercules killed him also.
On his arrival at Trachis he mustered an army to attack Oechalia, wishing to punish Eurytus. Being joined by Arcadians, Melians from Trachis, and Epicnemidian Locrians, he slew Eurytus and his sons and took the city. After burying those of his own side who had fallen, to wit, Hippasus, son of Ceyx, and Argius and Melas, the sons of Licymnius, he pillaged the city and led Iole captive. And having put in at Cenaeum, a headland of Euboea, he built an altar of Cenaean Zeus. Intending to offer sacrifice, he sent the herald Lichas to Trachis to fetch fine garments. From him Deianira learned about Iole, and fearing that Hercules might love that damsel more than her, she supposed that the spilt blood of Nessus was really a love-charm, and she smeared the tunic with it. So Hercules put it on and proceeded to offer sacrifice. But no sooner was the tunic warmed than the poison of the hydra began to corrode his skin; and on that he lifted Lichas by the feet, hurled him down from the headland, and tore off the tunic, which clung to his body, so that his flesh was torn away with it. In such a sad plight he was carried on shipboard to Trachis: and Deianira, on learning what had happened, hanged herself. But Hercules, after charging Hyllus his elder son by Deianira, to marry Iole when he came of age, proceeded to Mount Oeta, in the Trachinian territory, and there constructed a pyre, mounted it, and gave orders to kindle it. When no one would do so, Poeas, passing by to look for his flocks, set a light to it. Hercules gave his bow to him. While the pyre was burning, it is said that a cloud passed under Hercules and with a peal of thunder wafted him up to heaven. Thereafter he obtained immortality, and being reconciled to Hera he married her daughter Hebe, by whom he had sons, Alexiares and Anicetus.
Taken from: https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus2.html#4
Eurystheus first told Heracles to kill the lion that had been terrorizing the area of Nemea. This lion was no ordinary lion; it was the offspring of Typhoeus (see chapter 5). Heracles tracked the Nemean Lion to its cave, blocked off the entrance, and tried to kill the lion by shooting it with his bow and arrows. But the arrows bounced right off the lion’s hide, doing the animal no harm. Undeterred, Heracles used brute force to strangle the beast and brought the lion back to Tiryns for Eurystheus. Eurystheus, surprised that Heracles had survived the adventure, became very fearful of Heracles. Because Eurystheus did not want the lion, Heracles skinned it and used the hide as a cloak, with the lion’s head serving as a sort of helmet. The lion’s skin became Heracles’ trademark, and he wore it on all his future endeavors.
Next, Eurystheus sent Heracles to kill the Hydra. The Hydra was a sea-monster (its name comes from hydōr [ὕδωρ] which means “water” in Greek), that had many snake-like heads. The Hydra lived in a swampy area near Lerna, and Heracles came to its den. He engaged the Hydra by grabbing one of the heads and hacking at it with his sword until the head was severed from the body. But as soon as Heracles had cut off the Hydra’s head, two more heads grew in its place. At this point, Heracles realized that simply cutting off the Hydra’s heads was not going to work. He also realized that he could not kill the Hydra alone, so he called Iolaus, his charioteer and nephew, to bring a burning brand so he could cauterize the neck after Heracles cut off each head, to prevent new heads from growing back. Heracles and Iolaus managed to destroy each head and burn the neck for all the Hydra’s heads until just one head, which was immortal, survived. They buried this head beneath a giant rock. The Hydra’s blood was a deadly poison, so Heracles dipped his arrows in the blood to make sure that anyone he hit would die of his wound. Heracles would one day regret that the Hydra’s blood was so deadly.
Eurystheus then sent Heracles to capture the Cerynitian Hind, a deer with golden horns which was sacred to the goddess Artemis. Since the deer was sacred to Artemis, Heracles could not kill it; he had to capture it alive. For a year he tracked the deer around the forests of the Peloponnese which was not an easy task since it was the fastest deer in the world, . He finally captured it in Arcadia when it had paused for a little rest by creeping up behind it and surprising it. On his way back to Tiryns, Heracles encountered Apollo and Artemis hunting. Artemis was not happy to find her sacred deer so constrained, but after he explained his task, Artemis allowed Heracles to take the deer as long as it remained unharmed and it would be released after he was finished with it.
When the Cerynitian Hind had been released, Heracles now had to capture the Erymanthian Boar, which was ravaging the countryside around Mount Erymanthus and doing a lot of damage to the crops. On his way to find the Erymanthian Boar, Heracles met Pholus, a centaur who, unlike his fellow centaurs, was quite well mannered. Pholus hosted Heracles like a proper guest and offered him some wine. This wine was noticed by the other centaurs, however, who are known for loving wine but also for being unable to hold their liquor. When the centaurs smelled the wine, they went into a frenzy and started attacking Heracles and Pholus in order to steal it. The two successfully drove the centaurs away, but in the process, Pholus dropped one of Heracles’ arrows on his foot and, unfortunately, the Hydra’s poison caused him to die in agony. After this unfortunate incident, Heracles caught up with the Erymanthian Boar and trapped it by driving it into deep snow. He brought the boar back alive to Tiryns to show to Eurystheus, but Eurystheus was so frightened of the enormous beast that he hid in a large storage jar (called a pithos) and only peeked out a little so he could verify that Heracles had completed his task.
At this point, word had spread throughout Greece that Jason was looking for the greatest Greek heroes to go with him on an expedition for the Golden Fleece. Heracles took a break from his labours to join the crew. However, he did not make the entire journey to Colchis. The Argonauts left Heracles behind in Mysia while he searched for his lover Hylas. Unable to find Hylas, Heracles returned to Tiryns for his next labor.
The next task Eurystheus had for Heracles was to clean the Augean stables in one day. Augeas was king of Elis, and he had massive stables which had never been cleaned, and so were filled with many years’ worth of horse dung. Heracles came to Augeas and told him that he could clean out the stables in one day if he paid the right sum, one tenth of his cattle. Augeas agreed and Heracles set to work. He diverted the courses of two rivers so they flowed right through the stables and washed away the years of filth. Augeas had not believed that Heracles could perform the task, so he refused to pay the outrageous sum. Heracles was livid, but at this point there was nothing he could do, so he went back to Tiryns.
Next Heracles was sent to clear away the Stymphalian birds. Lake Stymphalus was overrun by a flock of man-eating birds. Heracles decided that a loud noise would be enough to accomplish this task, so he crashed a few shields together to scare the birds into taking flight. As the birds few into the air, he picked them off one by one with his arrows.
In some versions of this myth, he receives the help of Athena to complete this task. Athena gives Heracles a set of bronze castanets made by Hephaestus, which he uses to make noise and frighten the Stymphalian Birds out of hiding.
Heracles was next sent to capture the Cretan bull. Bulls appear in many significant myths of Crete, and this particular bull was also the father of the Minotaur (see chapter 22). Heracles trapped the bull and brought it back to Tiryns alive. Eurystheus did not want it, so Heracles let the bull go. The bull wandered up to the area around Athens, and Theseus later killed it as one of his heroic feats.
The eighth labor was to retrieve the mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was a Thracian king and he had man-eating mares. Heracles, with the help of his lover Abderus, stole the mares from their stable and herded them down to the sea-shore. Diomedes’ men were in hot pursuit, so he left Abderus to take care of the mares while he dispatched with Diomedes and routed his men. When Heracles came back, however, he found that the mares had eaten most of Abderus. Heracles was upset at the death of his lover, and he carefully buried Abderus’ remains. He then gathered the mares into his ship and took them back to Eurystheus. Again, Eurystheus did not want the terrible creatures in his city, so Heracles let the mares loose. They were eventually eaten by wild animals as they wandered on Mount Olympus.
For his next labor, Heracles had to retrieve the belt of the Amazon queen, Hippolyte. Heracles was joined on this expedition by his friend Theseus and they set off together. When they reached Themiscyra, Hippolyte came aboard their ship to meet them. She agreed to give them her belt with no fight. However, Hera was not about to allow this labor to be easy, so she came down from Olympus, disguised as an Amazon. Hera told the Amazons that Heracles was kidnapping their queen, and she roused them to fight the heroes. Growing angry because he believed the whole thing had been a set-up, Heracles killed Hippolyte and he and Theseus left taking Hippolyte’s sister, Antiope, and the belt. Other versions say that Hippolyte was not killed at all, but that she was the one whom Theseus took with him to Athens, where she became the mother of Theseus’ son Hippolytus (see chapter 22).
Next, Heracles was sent to steal the cattle of Geryon, the King of Erytheia (which is modern day Cadiz in Spain). Geryon had three heads and three upper bodies, as well as six arms and six legs. Furthermore, his cattle were guarded by a two-headed watch dog named Orthus. Heracles decided to go through Africa to make his way to Spain. As he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, he set up large rocks on either side, called the Pillars of Heracles, to show how far he had come across the world. The sun beat down upon him, greatly annoying Heracles, so he drew his bow and pointed it at the sun, chastising it. Helios, the sun god, was amused by this little stunt, so he lent his golden cup to Heracles to use as a boat to take him the rest of his way to Erytheia. When he arrived, Heracles dispatched of Geryon and Orthus.
Nearly done with his labours, Heracles now went to retrieve the apples of the Hesperides. The Hesperides were nymphs who lived in Libya near the mountains where Atlas held up the world (now called the Atlas Mountains) and tended a garden growing golden apples. On his way there, Heracles passed by the Caucasus Mountains and shot the eagle that had long tortured Prometheus, freeing him from his bonds. Grateful for his help, Prometheus gave Heracles some advice as to how to retrieve the apples. Prometheus told Heracles to ask Atlas, who happened to be Prometheus’ own brother, to go get the apples for him.
Heracles heeded Prometheus’ advice and asked Atlas to get the apples while he held up the world. Atlas was happy to retrieve the apples, but he had no intention of returning to his post. When he returned with the apples, Atlas offered to take them to Eurystheus for Heracles, intending to never return. But Heracles knew what Atlas was planning. He made a show of agreeing to Atlas’ plan, but he asked the Titan to hold the world just for a minute so he could place a pad on his shoulders to made the task more bearable. Atlas took the world onto his shoulders again and Heracles picked up the apples and went back to Tiryns. After he had shown them to Eurystheus, he gave them to Athena, and she, in turn, returned them to the Hesperides.
Heracles’ final labor was to bring Cerberus back from Hades; and, of course, he could not kill the three-headed dog in the process. Heracles began this labor by being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, a mystery cult of Demeter at Eleusis (see chapter 10). Then Hermes led him down into the Underworld. In Hades, Heracles saw his friends, Theseus and Pirithous, stuck to chairs and they begged Heracles to set them free. Heracles managed to pry Theseus loose and began to move on to Pirithous, but the earth began to shake, and Heracles desisted. Heracles and Theseus were allowed to leave, but Hades insisted that Pirithous remain.
When Heracles came to Hades’ palace, he asked the ruler of the Underworld if he could take Cerberus with him. Hades agreed as long as Heracles did not use weapons to capture him. Heracles grabbed the hell-hound and dragged him all the way to Tiryns. Eurystheus hid as soon as he saw Cerberus, and, from his hiding place, ordered that he be taken back to Hades and Heracles obliged. With all the labours completed, Heracles was now free to go about his life as he wished. He was also promised that he would become immortal upon his death.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}