When you consider of Hercules , traits like strength , bravery and manliness ( hearsay has it hefathered more than 50 childrenby the clock time he was 19 ) might follow to mind . What you may have missed in the popular , Disney - fied versionof Hercules ( theRomanversion of theGreekhero Herakles ) is the tale of his 12 labors , a series of seemingly unacceptable feats which he had to perform as penance for murdering his family . permit ’s take out that .
Hercules was born a superman — the son ofZeus , the king of all gods , and the mortal princess , Alcmene . While that may vocalise like an idyllic domestic unit , Zeuswas actually espouse to someone else : Hera , the goddess of cleaning lady . Hera was n’t super thrilled with her husband ’s unfaithfulness , and since Hercules reminded her of Zeus ' indiscretions , she did everything she could to eliminate the freakishly strong half - god ( in the public of superhuman beingness , this includedsending snake into his pony ) .
" Zeus one time had declare that whichever boy of his was going to be born on that mean solar day would reign over everything , " saysRichard P. Martin , Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek prof in Classics at Stanford University . " Hera , who was jealous and angered by her husband ’s extramarital crack , trickily delayed the parturition of Heracles , his son - to - be by the deathly cleaning lady Alcmene , so that Eurystheus ' female parent would give parentage first . Hercules arrive second — the next mean solar day — and lost out . Even after his nativity and youth , Herakles was always hounded by Hera . It ’s a surprise then that his name means ' Glory of Hera ' — but then again , without her unceasing prodding and terror , he would not have reach his own gloriole . "
None of Hera ’s endeavor to off Hercules worked out , so , playing the long game , she hold off until he was happily married with child and then used her powers to make him murder his get laid ones in a fit of madness . When he come to his senses , he was so overcome with grief that he expect Apollo , the graven image of healing , for some steering . Apollo tell apart Hercules he could make up for his frightening crimes , but he ’d have to do it by serving his first cousin , Eurystheus , business leader of Tiryns . In one last - ditch drive to put down Hercules , Hera suggest to Eurystheus that he force the demigod to complete 12 unfeasible labors .
" Several of his labor need trips to the far grasp of the known macrocosm , including at least two to the Far West , " Martin say . " Because he was thought to have expire farther than any mortal in that direction , the stony promontories at the pass of Gibraltar ( where the Mediterranean assemble the Atlantic Ocean ) were called the Pillars of Heracles — that ’s how far he traveled . "
Here are those 12 labors and how they go :
1. Slay the Nemean Lion
The town of Nemea was being terrorise by an invincible lion , so , naturally , Eurystheus demanded Hercules ruin him and make for back his skin . He nailed it . Heracles choked the feline to destruction and deliver his pelt to the business leader . " It is interesting that his first labor was another place associate with a well - love acrobatic event , the district of Nemea in the Northeast Peloponnese , " Martin enunciate . " The University of California and a Greek team is still excavating this authoritative competition and fete internet site , with its bowl , running track and all . Herakles vote down a sullen Panthera leo there , and thereafter wore its peel as an invulnerable aegis . "
2. Slay the Nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
Eurystheus then require Hercules to take on another beast terrorizing a local town . " The same sort of strategic intelligence is on display when he does away with the Hydra ( ' body of water serpent ' ) of the swamp near Lerna , a monster that grew two head every meter you cut off one , " Martin enjoin . " With the help of his companion Iolaus , Herakles [ Hercules ] accept a great mullein and cauterize the neck - like soapbox like a shot after each decapitation — all the while being chase and twinge at by a expectant crab that Hera post to rag him . "
3. Capture the Ceryneian Hind
Hercules was then task with accept down a sanctified distaff deer ( cognise as a hind ) in the Hellenic town of Ceryneia . " Another surprising affair is that many of his Labour involve a kind of catch - and - dismission tactic , " Martin says . " He does not stamp out the beast , but brings it back animated to his first cousin , who is often depicted as being terrorise — on some ancient vase - painting of the instalment , Eurystheus desperately hides in a big pot as Heracles go up him with the Erymanthian Sus scrofa or the three - headed cad ofHades , name Cerberus . He drive back a bull from Crete , alive , in this way . Same narration with the Ceryneian hind which was sanctified to the goddess Artemis and so fast that it could outrun an pointer - shot . "
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar
In the mountains of Erymanthos lived a wild boar that Eurystheus envision Hercules could never capture . But Hercules visited his centaur supporter , Pholos , and when they ate and pledge together , their festivity attracted other centaurs to the cave . Hercules shot the Centaur with his arrow , Pholos accidentally poisoned himself to death and finally Hercules captured the wild boar . That one is a bit of a farseeing , distorted tale , but the point is , he nailed another task .
5. Clean the Augean Stables in One Day
King Augeas had a stable that domiciliate an insane amount of cattle , so cleaning up the hole in a day was another abysmal undertaking Erymanthos ascribe to Hercules . He accomplish it , of course — all he had to do was bore openings in the stalls and reroute the two main rivers , Alpheus and Peneus , to rush through the horse barn and flush out all the dust . " When he cleansed the stable of the king Augeas by redirecting the course of action of two rivers to wash the accumulated dung of 3,000 cows , Heracles was showing off that kind of ' cunning intelligence ' ( mêtis ) yet again , " Martin says .
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds
" Hercules is not just a brutal Orion or killer whale when it comes to the animate being he faces , " Martin says . " He is also a clever strategian . For model , when some magic birds were destroying the crops of people who live near Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia ( fundamental part of the Peloponnese ) , and were in the habit of firing off their brass feathers against people , Hercules used a bronze tongue ( give to him by Athena ) to scare the bird and then shoot them on the wing . "
7. Capture the Cretan Bull
King Minos of Crete give Hercules permit to take forth a strapper that was destroying the city and wreaking mayhem on residents . Hercules wrestled the fauna to the ground and play him back to Eurystheus .
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes
King Diomedes of Thrace had an interesting habit of preparation maria to eat human material body , and Hercules was tasked with lift the shuddery brute . He take along his friend , Abderus , who was killed in the process . Hercules inter Abderus and established the metropolis of Abdera in his honor , killed King Diomedes , and just gave the mares some snacks to satisfy their hungriness so he could bring them back to Eurystheus .
9. Obtain the Girdle of Hippolyte
Hercules ' ninth labor involved retrieving the belt ( or girdle ) of Hippolyte , pansy of the Amazons . The leather slice of armor was gifted to the faggot by the god of warfare , Ares , for her victory in conflict . Hippolyte was n’t really willing to lend out her prized possession , so she commanded the army to charge Hercules on horseback . He drew his brand , killed Hippolyte , and snatched the belt for Eurystheus to give to his daughter .
10. Obtain the Cattle of the Monster Geryon
" On the western trip that chair to his reaching Gibraltar , Hercules make a herd of sacred cows from their ternary - bodied giant defender make Geryon , " Martin says . steal the cattle was n’t about as unmanageable asgetting to the islandof Erythea , near the boundary of Europe and Libya . Along the way , he run across and killed a form of wild beasts , was attacked by a two - head wiener , and come up against other acute obstacle . Once he got the cattle , he made it all the way to the sharpness of the Ionian Sea before Hera sent a gadfly to attack them so as to impede his winner . Hercules , however , manage to garner the spook cows and brought them back to Eurystheus .
11. Steal the Apples of the Hesperides
" His other major western journeying was to fetch the Apples of the Sun from the girl of Night call the Hesperides ( the name is tie in to a Greek word for ' even ' which has a Latin equivalent , ' vesper ' — that ’s where we get ' vespers ' meaning ' entreaty at evening ' ) , " Martin says . " He kills a dragon guarding the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and brings the fruit back home . "
12. Capture and Bring Back Cerberus
As you might ask , Eurystheus saved the toughened task for last , ordering Hercules to the Scheol to kidnap a three - maneuver wiener called Cerberus who guarded the gates of Hades . After battling a long list of beasts and monster to get to the Scheol , Hercules asked Hades if he could take Cerberus back with him . Hades harmonise as long as Hercules could do it without artillery . Spoiler alert : he did it .
