The Twelve Labors Of Hercules Explained

Hercules, or Heracles, is one of the most famous figures of Greco-Roman mythology. After all, when you've had several movies, television shows, and one Disney animated film, you've got to be famous. What made him famous? It was his "Twelve Labors."

So, what happened?

According to the ancient writer Apollodorus, Hercules had gotten on the wrong side of the goddess Hera because his Zeus (her husband) was bragging about his son. Hercules was begot by Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Well, Hera didn't like any of that. She made Hercules insane, and he then killed his own children. When Hercules came to his senses and realized what he'd done, he went to the Oracle of Delphi to see how he might repent. The Oracle told him that he needed to go to Mycenae and serve King Eurystheus for 12 years. If Hercules performed 10 labors for Eurystheus, his penance would be complete, and he would become immortal. King Eurystheus, for his part, hated Hercules. According to "Who's Who in Classical Mythology," Eurystheus was jealous of him and his power and would do his best to dispose of Hercules, who he viewed as a challenge to his own power.

Yes, that's right, Hercules was tasked to complete 10 labors — but we'll get to that as we explain the legendary Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Eurystheus decided that he had to give Hercules something harder to do, so he sent him to slay the Lernean Hydra. This dragon-like serpent dwelt in a cave by the swamps near the city of Lerna. According to "Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins," the monster was huge, with up to nine heads, and breathed poison. The central head was immortal, and the Hydra had the ability to regenerate any head that was lopped off with two more.

To hunt the beast, Hercules brought with him his nephew Iolaus. According to the Perseus Project, they found the cave of the Hydra, and Hercules drew out the monster using fire arrows. Hercules charged in and grappled with the monster as it coiled about him. Hercules discovered how every time he removed one of the monster's heads, two sprung up in its place. Meanwhile, a large crab attacked Hercules' foot — something the hero quickly dispatched. (This crab would later be commemorated in the constellation Cancer.) To get out of the situation, Iolaus took a fiery torch and cauterized the severed neck each time Hercules removed a head. This prevented more heads from generating. Finally, Hercules took off the last, immortal head. He buried it on the roadside and covered with a boulder.

When Eurystheus learned of the deed, he said that this didn't count as one of the ten labors. Why? Hercules had received help from Iolaus.

Maybe Eurystheus was just unimaginative, but for the fourth labor, he sent Hercules again to capture a fierce monster. This one was the Erymanthian Boar. As explained by "Mythology in Our Midst," while on the long journey, Hercules encountered a centaur who gave him food and wine. As described by "Jason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica," the wine resulted in a fight, with the centaurs being on the losing end of Hercules' wrath. However, before he killed the centaurs, he did receive advice on how to handle the fabled boar. 

Hercules realized the boar's vicious tusks would murder him if he went head-on at the monster. Instead, following the centaur's advice, the hero made a din which startled the boar into flight. It ran up Mount Erymanthus, where it became trapped in snow. This allowed Hercules to grab the boar and carry it upside down to Mycenae. When he returned, he could not find Eurystheus, so, seeing a half-buried jar in the ground, he stowed the angry boar there. Little did he realize that the king was hiding there in fright of Hercules. In a rather awkward moment, both boar and Eurystheus were extracted.

For his next labor, Hercules had to travel to Lake Stymphalus, where, as described by "Birds in the Ancient World," there was a flock of vampiric birds that had been tormenting the area. In other accounts, as detailed by "Mythematics," the birds were merely there because they had been chased there by wolves. Nobody knows really what species of birds they were, but the book "Stymphalos" says they were supposedly about the size of a crane, with straight bills. Either way, Hercules' job was to get rid of the Stymphalian Birds.

Now, this seemed like an impossible task since there was no single monster to fight. Hercules, therefore, turned to the goddess Athena, who had helped him out in the past. She gave to him, as described by the Perseus Project, divine castanets called krotola, which had been crafted by Hephaistos. Hercules used these to make such a noise that it scared the birds into flight. He then shot them with his arrows — any survivors got the hint and flew away.

Eurystheus then ordered Hercules to capture not one beast but four. The mares of Diomedes were, as detailed in the American Journal of Educational Research, uncontrollable horses that had developed a taste for human flesh. These mares, named Podagras (the fast), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the blond), and Deinos (the terrible), lived, according to "A Bestiary of Monsters in Greek Mythology," in Thrace, where King Diomedes ruled over the Bistones. Diomedes was the son of the war god Ares and was himself a warlike king who fed the flesh of those he conquered to the horses, which were kept chained in iron while their bronze mangers dripped with blood. Thus, it was through Diomedes actions that the mares had become monstrous. 

There are two versions of how Hercules captured the mares. One was that he went alone, and another was that he brought a group of companions. In this second version, Hercules seized the horses and entrusted them to his companion Abderus, who was, unfortunately, killed and dismembered by the horses. Meanwhile, Hercules and his men fought and killed Diomedes and his army. The horses were then brought back to Mycenae, where they were set free. They were later eaten by wild animals.

For the tenth labor, Eurystheus directed Hercules to bring to him the Cattle of Geryon. According to "Dragon: Fear and Power," these gorgeous red cattle lived far in the Western Mediterranean, upon the island of Erytheia, which was viewed by the Greeks as the end of the world. These cattle were guarded by Geryon, a three-headed monster who was the grandson of Medusa. The American Journal of Educational Research describes how Hercules crossed the deserts of northern Africa. In frustration with the heat, the hero shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun itself. Helios, admiring Hercules' cheek, gifted him with a magical golden cup which he used to help him cross the seas. When Hercules arrived on Erytheia, he was attacked by the two-headed dog Orthus. Hercules clubbed the dog to death and dispatched the herder Eurytion in the same manner. Hercules nabbed the cattle, but before he could escape, Geryon came at him in full armor. However, Hercules shot the monster with an arrow that had been poisoned with the bile of the Hydra.

Hercules also had considerable trouble on the return journey, since Hera scattered the cattle and then caused other issues. It took the hero a year to regroup them and bring them back to Eurystheus. According to the Perseus Project, it was during this labor that Hercules built two massive mountains that formed the strait of Gibraltar. These became known as the Pillars of Hercules.

Eurystheus decided to go for broke since he had only one last chance to get rid of Hercules. As described by "The Mythology of the Night," he sent the hero to capture Cerberus, the three-headed (sometimes more) dog who guarded the entrance to Hades, the underworld. Cerberus also had a tail like a biting serpent as well as serpents coming from its mane, and Hercules needed to capture the dog bare-handed. 

To do this, the American Journal of Educational Research tells how Hercules relied on Athena and Hermes to get into the entrance and even helped him convince Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx, to transport him. He then wrestled with Cerberus and was protected by the Nemean Lion's skin. After choking the beast unconscious, he returned from Hades with the help of Athena and Hermes to Eurystheus. He then presented the beast, which snarled back to life. Eurystheus hid in his jar screaming and demanded that Hercules return it to the Underworld. This Hercules did, completing his penance. Zeus rewarded the hero with immortality and created a constellation in his honor. Thus, the legend of Hercules was cemented in mythology forever.