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The Labors of Hercules

The goddess Hera, determined to make trouble for Hercules, made him

lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife andchildren.

When he awakened from his "temporary insanity," Hercules wasshocked and upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serveEurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, inpunishment for the murders.

As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats sodifficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the helpof Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who showed up when hereally needed help. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without adoubt, Greece's greatest hero.

His struggles made Hercules the perfect embodiment of an idea theGreeks called pathos , the experience of virtuous struggle and sufferingwhich would lead to fame and, in Hercules' case, immortality.



The Nemean LionInitially, Hercules was required to complete ten labors, not twelve. KingEurystheus decided Hercules' first task would be to bring him the skin of an invulnerable lion which terrorized the hills around Nemea.

Nemea, Temple of Zeus and landscapeOverall view from SW

Photograph courtesy of the Department of Archaeology, Boston University, Saul S. Weinberg Collection

Setting out on such a seemingly impossible labor, Hercules came to atown called Cleonae, where he stayed at the house of a poor workman-for-hire, Molorchus. When his host offered to sacrifice an animal to prayfor a safe lion hunt, Hercules asked him to wait 30 days. If the heroreturned with the lion's skin, they would sacrifice to Zeus, king of thegods. If Hercules died trying to kill the lion, Molorchus agreed tosacrifice instead to Hercules, as a hero.



Hercules wrestling the Nemean LionPhiladelphia L-64-185, Attic red figure stamnos, ca. 490 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum

When Hercules got to Nemea and began tracking the terrible lion, hesoon discovered his arrows were useless against the beast. Herculespicked up his club and went after the lion. Following it to a cave whichhad two entrances, Hercules blocked one of the doorways, thenapproached the fierce lion through the other. Grasping the lion in hismighty arms, and ignoring its powerful claws, he held it tightly until he'dchoked it to death.

Hercules wrestling the Nemean lionMississippi 1977.3.62, Attic black figure neck amphora, ca. 510-500 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University Museums, University of Mississippi



Hercules returned to Cleonae, carrying the dead lion, and foundMolorchus on the 30th day after he'd left for the hunt. Instead of sacrificing to Hercules as a dead man, Molorchus and Hercules wereable to sacrifice together, to Zeus.

When Hercules made it back to Mycenae, Eurystheus was amazed thatthe hero had managed such an impossible task. The king became afraidof Hercules, and forbade him from entering through the gates of the city.Furthermore, Eurystheus had a large bronze jar made and buried partwayin the earth, where he could hide from Hercules if need be. After that,Eurystheus sent his commands to Hercules through a herald, refusing tosee the powerful hero face to face.

Hercules wearing the lion skinBoston 99.538, Attic bilingual amphora, ca. 525-500 B.C.

Photograph courtesy,Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. H. L. Pierce Fund

Many times we can identify Hercules in ancient Greek vase paintings or sculptures simply because he is depicted wearing a lion skin. Ancientwriters disagreed as to whether the skin Hercules wore was that of theNemean lion, or one from a different lion, which Hercules was said tohave killed when he was 18 years old. The playwright Euripides wrotethat Hercules' lion skin came from the grove of Zeus, the sanctuary at



Nemea: First he cleared the grove of Zeus of a lion, and put its skin uponhis back, hiding his yellow hair in its fearful tawny gaping jaws.

The Lernean HydraThe second labor of Hercules was to kill the Lernean Hydra. From themurky waters of the swamps near a place called Lerna, the hydra wouldrise up and terrorize the countryside. A monstrous serpent with nineheads, the hydra attacked with poisonous venom. Nor was this beasteasy prey, for one of the nine heads was immortal and thereforeindestructible.

LernaAerial view of site and bay, from E

Photograph by Raymond V. Schoder, S.J., courtesy of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Hercules set off to hunt the nine-headed menace, but he did not go alone.His trusty nephew, Iolaus, was by his side. Iolaus, who shared manyadventures with Hercules, accompanied him on many of the twelve

labors. Legend has it that Iolaus won a victory in chariot racing at theOlympics and he is often depicted as Hercules' charioteer. So, the pair drove to Lerna and by the springs of Amymone, they discovered the lair of the loathsome hydra.



Munich 1416, Attic black figure amphora, ca. 510-500 B.C.Side A: scene at left, Hercules and Iolaos in chariot

Photograph copyright Staatl. Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, München

First, Hercules lured the coily creature from the safety of its den byshooting flaming arrows at it. Once the hydra emerged, Hercules seizedit. The monster was not so easily overcome, though, for it wound one of its coils around Hercules' foot and made it impossible for the hero toescape. With his club, Hercules attacked the many heads of the hydra,but as soon as he smashed one head, two more would burst forth in itsplace! To make matters worse, the hydra had a friend of its own: a hugecrab began biting the trapped foot of Hercules. Quickly disposing of thisnuisance, most likely with a swift bash of his club, Hercules called on

Iolaus to help him out of this tricky situation.

Each time Hercules bashed one of the hydra's heads, Iolaus held a torchto the headless tendons of the neck. The flames prevented the growth of replacement heads, and finally, Hercules had the better of the beast.Once he had removed and destroyed the eight mortal heads, Hercules



chopped off the ninth, immortal head. This he buried at the side of theroad leading from Lerna to Elaeus, and for good measure, he covered itwith a heavy rock. As for the rest of the hapless hydra, Hercules slitopen the corpse and dipped his arrows in the venomous blood.

Malibu 83.AE.346, Caeretan hydria, c. 525 B.C.Main panel: Hercules slaying the Lernean hydra

Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California

Eurystheus was not impressed with Hercules' feat, however. He said thatsince Iolaus had helped his uncle, this labor should not count as one of the ten. This technicality didn't seem to matter much to anyone else: theancient authors still give Hercules all of the credit. Even so, Pausaniasdid not think that this labor was as fantastic as the myths made it out tobe: to him, the fearsome hydra was just, well, a big water snake.

At the source of the Amymone grows a plane tree, beneath which, theysay, the hydra (water-snake) grew. I am ready to believe that this beastwas superior in size to other water-snakes, and that its poison had

something in it so deadly that Heracles treated the points of his arrowswith its gall. It had, however, in my opinion, one head, and not several. Itwas Peisander of Camirus who, in order that the beast might appear morefrightful and his poetry might be more remarkable, represented the hydrawith its many heads. ---Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.37.4



The Hind of CeryneiaDiana's Pet Deer

For the third labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the Hindof Ceryneia. Now, before we go any further, we'll have to answer twoquestions: What is a hind? and, Where is Ceryneia?

Ceryneia is a town in Greece, about fifty miles from Eurystheus' palacein Mycenae.

Map of Southern Greece showing Ceryneia and Mycenae

A hind is simply a female red deer.



Deer pursued by huntersHarvard 1960.390, Boeotian black figure kantharos, ca. 560-550 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art Museums

You'd think it would have been easy for a hero like Hercules to go shoota deer and bring it back to Eurystheus, but a few problems made thingscomplicated. This was a special deer, because it had golden horns andhoofs of bronze. Not only that, the deer was sacred to the goddess of hunting and the moon, Diana; she was Diana's special pet. That meantthat Hercules could neither kill the deer nor hurt her. He couldn't risk

getting Diana angry at him; he was already in enough trouble with Hera.

Hercules with the hind of Ceryneia and the goddess AthenaToledo 1958.69a+b, Attic black figure pointed amphora, ca. 510 B.C.Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art



Hercules set out on this adventure, and he hunted the deer for a wholeyear. At last, when the deer had become weary with the chase, shelooked for a place to rest on a mountain called Artemisius, and thenmade her way to the river Ladon. Realizing that the deer was about toget away, Hercules shot her just as she was about to cross the stream. Hecaught the deer, put her on his shoulders and turned back to Mycenae.As Hercules hurried on his way, he was met by Diana and Apollo.

Diana was very angry because Hercules tried to kill her sacred animal.She was about to take the deer away from Hercules, and surely shewould have punished him, but Hercules told her the truth. He said thathe had to obey the oracle and do the labors Eurystheus had given him.

Diana let go of her anger and healed the deer's wound. Hercules carriedit alive to Mycenae.

Diana with a deer Mississippi 1977.3.117, Attic red figure, white ground lekythos, ca. 480-470 B.C.




The Erymanthian BoarFor the fourth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him theErymanthian boar alive. Now, a boar is a huge, wild pig with a badtemper, and tusks growing out of its mouth.

Dewing 2440, silver stater from Lycia in Asia Minor, c. 520-500 B.C.Obverse: the forepart of a boar.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Dewing Numismatic Foundation

This one was called the Erymanthian boar, because it lived on amountain called Erymanthus. Every day the boar would come crashingdown from his lair on the mountain, attacking men and animals all over the countryside, gouging them with its tusks, and destroying everythingin its path.

Malibu 86.AE.154, Attic black figure Siana cup, c. 580-570 B.C.A boar hunt.




On his way to hunt the boar, Hercules stopped to visit his friend Pholus,who was a centaur and lived in a cave near Mount Erymanthus.Everyone knows that centaur is a human from his head to his waist, anda horse for the rest of his body and his legs. Hercules was hungry andthirsty, so the kindly centaur cooked Hercules some meat in thefireplace, while he himself ate his meat raw.

London B 226, Attic black figure neck amphora, c. 530-510 B.C.Hercules and the centaur Pholos shaking hands.Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

When Hercules asked for wine, Pholus said that he was afraid to openthe wine jar, because it belonged to all the centaurs in common. ButHercules said not to worry, and opened it himself.

Soon afterwards, the rest of the centaurs smelled the wine and came toPholus's cave. They were angry that someone was drinking all of their wine. The first two who dared to enter were armed with rocks and fir trees.



RISD 22.215, Apulian red figure calyx krater, c. 430-420 B.C.A centaur holds a rock, poised to attack Hercules.

Photograph by Brooke Hammerle, courtesy of the Museum of Art, RISD, Providence, RI

Hercules grabbed burning sticks from the fireplace and threw them at thecentaurs, then went after them with his club.

Malibu 88.AE.24, Attic black figure amphora, c. 530-520 B.C.Hercules rauses his club, about to hit a centaur.




He shot arrows at the rest of them and chased after them for abouttwenty miles. The rest of the centaurs fled in different directions. One of the centaurs, Chiron, received a wound that no amount of medicinewould heal...but what happened to Chiron is another story.

While Hercules was gone, Pholus pulled an arrow from the body of oneof the dead centaurs. He wondered that so little a thing could kill such abig creature. Suddenly, the arrow slipped from his hand. It fell onto hisfoot and killed him on the spot. So when Hercules returned, he foundPholus dead. He buried his centaur friend, and proceeded to hunt theboar.

It wasn't too hard for Hercules to find the boar. He could hear the beastsnorting and stomping as it rooted around for something to eat. Herculeschased the boar round and round the mountain, shouting as loud as hecould. The boar, frightened and out of breath, hid in a thicket. Herculespoked his spear into the thicket and drove the exhausted animal into adeep patch of snow.

Harvard 1960.314, Attic black figure neck amphora, c. 510-500 B.C.Hercules grabs the boar's head and raises his club to strike it. On the right, the god Hermes offers assistance.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art Museums

Then he trapped the boar in a net, and carried it all the way to Mycenae.Eurystheus, again amazed and frightened by the hero's powers, hid in hispartly buried bronze jar.



Mississippi 1977.3.63, Attic black figure neck amphora, c. 540-520 B.C.Hercules brings the boar to Eurstheus, carrying it on his shoulder. He rests his foot on the rim of the pithos, where

Eurystheus cowers.Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University Museums, University of Mississippi

The Augean StablesHercules Cleans Up

For the fifth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to clean up KingAugeas' stables. Hercules knew this job would mean getting dirty andsmelly, but sometimes even a hero has to do these things. ThenEurystheus made Hercules' task even harder: he had to clean up after thecattle of Augeas in a single day.

Now King Augeas owned more cattle than anyone in Greece. Some saythat he was a son of one of the great gods, and others that he was a sonof a mortal; whosever son he was, Augeas was very rich, and he hadmany herds of cows, bulls, goats, sheep and horses.



An aerial view of Olympia in Elis, where Augeas ruled his kingdom.Photograph by Raymond V. Schoder, S.J., courtesy of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

Every night the cowherds, goatherds and shepherds drove the thousandsof animals to the stables.

Boston 13.195, Attic red figure lekythos, c. 530-500 B.C.People leading cows.

From Caskey & Beazley, plate IV. With permission of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Hercules went to King Augeas, and without telling anything aboutEurystheus, said that he would clean out the stables in one day, if

Augeas would give him a tenth of his fine cattle.



Munich 2412, Attic red figure stamnos, c. 440-430 B.C.A bull drinking water from a basin.

From Furtwängler & Reichhold, pl. 19

Augeas couldn't believe his ears, but promised. Hercules broughtAugeas's son along to watch. First the hero tore a big opening in the wallof the cattle-yard where the stables were. Then he made another openingin the wall on the opposite side of the yard.

Next, he dug wide trenches to two rivers which flowed nearby. Heturned the course of the rivers into the yard. The rivers rushed throughthe stables, flushing them out, and all the mess flowed out the hole in thewall on other side of the yard.



Mount Holyoke 1925.BS.II.3, Attic black figure skyphos, c. 500 B.C.Hercules takes a break. The goddess Athena pours him a cup of wine.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum

When Augeas learned that Eurystheus was behind all this, he would notpay Hercules his reward. Not only that, he denied that he had evenpromised to pay a reward. Augeas said that if Hercules didn't like it, hecould take the matter to a judge to decide.

The judge took his seat. Hercules called the son of Augeas to testify. Theboy swore that his father had agreed to give Hercules a reward. Thejudge ruled that Hercules would have to be paid. In a rage, Augeasordered both his own son and Hercules to leave his kingdom at once. Sothe boy went to the north country to live with his aunts, and Herculesheaded back to Mycenae. But Eurystheus said that this labour didn'tcount, because Hercules was paid for having done the work.



The Stymphalian BirdsAfter Hercules returned from his success in the Augean stables,Eurystheus came up with an even more difficult task. For the sixthLabor, Hercules was to drive away an enormous flock of birds whichgathered at a lake near the town of Stymphalos.

Arriving at the lake, which was deep in the woods, Hercules had no ideahow to drive the huge gathering of birds away. The goddess Athenacame to his aid, providing a pair of bronze krotala, noisemaking clapperssimilar to castanets. These were no ordinary noisemakers. They hadbeen made by an immortal craftsman, Hephaistos, the god of the forge.

Dancer with krotala , flute case, and walking stick Philadelphia MS2445, Attic red figure kylix, ca. 480 B.C.


Climbing a nearby mountain, Hercules clashed the krotala loudly,scaring the birds out of the trees, then shot them with bow and arrow, or

possibly with a slingshot, as they took flight.



Hercules and the Stymphalian birdsLondon B 163, Attic black figure amphora, ca. 560-530 B.C.

Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

Some versions of the legend say that these Stymphalian birds werevicious man-eaters. The 2nd century A.D. travel writer, Pausanias,trying to discover what kind of birds they might have been, wrote thatduring his time a type of bird from the Arabian desert was called"Stymphalian," describing them as equal to lions or leopards in their

fierceness. He speculated that the birds Hercules encountered in thelegend were similar to these Arabian birds.

These fly against those who come to hunt them, wounding and killingthem with their beaks. All armor of bronze or iron that men wear is

pierced by the birds; but if they weave a garment of thick cork, the beaksof the Stymphalian birds are caught in the cork garment... These birds are

of the size of a crane, and are like the ibis, but their beaks are morepowerful, and not crooked like that of the ibis.

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.22.5

Pausanias also saw and described the religious sanctuary built by theGreeks of Stymphalos and dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Hereported that the temple had carvings of the Stymphalian birds up near



its roof. Standing behind the temple, he saw marble statues of maidenswith the legs of birds.

The Cretan BullAfter the complicated business with the Stymphalian Birds, Herculeseasily disposed of the Cretan Bull.

At that time, Minos, King of Crete, controlled many of the islands in theseas around Greece, and was such a powerful ruler that the Athenianssent him tribute every year. There are many bull stories about Crete.Zeus, in the shape of a bull, had carried Minos' mother Europa to Crete,and the Cretans were fond of the sport of bull-leaping, in whichcontestants grabbed the horns of a bull and were thrown over its back.

Bull fresco from the Palace of Minos in KnossosPhotograph courtesy of the Department of Archaeology, Boston University, Saul S. Weinberg Collection



Minos himself, in order to prove his claim to the throne, had promisedthe sea-god Poseidon that he would sacrifice whatever the god sent himfrom the sea. Poseidon sent a bull, but Minos thought it was toobeautiful to kill, and so he sacrificed another bull. Poseidon was furiouswith Minos for breaking his promise. In his anger, he made the bullrampage all over Crete, and caused Minos' wife Pasiphae to fall in lovewith the animal. As a result, Pasiphae gave birth to the Minotaur, amonster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. Minos had toshut up this beast in the Labyrinth, a huge maze underneath the palace,and every year he fed it prisoners from Athens.

When Hercules got to Crete, he easily wrestled the bull to the ground

and drove it back to King Eurystheus. Eurystheus let the bull go free. Itwandered around Greece, terrorizing the people, and ended up inMarathon, a city near Athens.

Hercules ropes the Cretan BullMississippi 1977.3.61a and b, Attic black figure neck amphora, ca. 530-520

B.C.Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University Museums,

University of Mississippi



The Athenian hero Theseus tied up some loose ends of this story. Hekilled the Cretan Bull at Marathon. Later, he sailed to Crete, found hisway to the center of the Labyrinth, and killed the Minotaur.

Theseus fighting the Minotaur RISD 25.083, Attic black figure amphora, ca. 550-530 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Museum of Art, RISD, Providence, RI



The Man-Eating Horses of DiomedesAfter Hercules had captured the Cretan Bull, Eurystheus sent him to getthe man-eating mares of Diomedes, the king of a Thracian tribe calledthe Bistones, and bring them back to him in Mycenae.

Warrior approaching grazing horsePhiladelphia MS4873, fragment of an Attic black figure amphora, ca. 540 B.C.


According to Apollodorus, Hercules sailed with a band of volunteersacross the Aegean to Bistonia. There he and his companionsoverpowered the grooms who were tending the horses, and drove themto the sea. But by the time he got there, the Bistones had realized whathad happened, and they sent a band of soldiers to recapture the animals.To free himself to fight, Hercules entrusted the mares to a youth namedAbderos.



Horse and groomTampa 86.29, Attic black figure neck amphora, ca. 490-480 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art

Unfortunately, the mares got the better of young Abderos and draggedhim around until he was killed.

Fallen archer trampled by horsesTampa 86.41, Attic black figure oinochoe, ca. 510 B.C.Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art

Meanwhile Hercules fought the Bistones, killed Diomedes, and made therest flee. In honor of the slain Abderos, Hercules founded the city of Abdera.



AbderaOverall view of city gate from outside, from NW

Photograph by Beth McIntosh and Sebastian Heath

The hero took the mares back to Eurystheus, but Eurystheus set themfree. The mares wandered around until eventually they came to MountOlympos, the home of the gods, where they were eaten by wild beasts.

Euripides gives two different versions of the story, but both of themdiffer from Apollodorus's in that Hercules seems to be performing thelabor alone, rather than with a band of followers. In one, Diomedes has

the four horses harnessed to a chariot, and Hercules has to bring back thechariot as well as the horses. In the other, Hercules tames the horsesfrom his own chariot:

He mounted on a chariot and tamed with the bit the horses of Diomedes,that greedily champed their bloody food at gory mangers with unbridledjaws, devouring with hideous joy the flesh of men.

Euripides, Hercules, 380



Hippolyte's BeltHercules Fights the Amazons

For the ninth labor, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the belt of Hippolyte [Hip-POLLY-tee]. This was no ordinary belt and no ordinarywarrior. Hippolyte was queen of the Amazons, a tribe of womenwarriors.

Mississippi 1977.3.57, Attic black figure neck amphora, c. 530-520 B.C.Side A: Amazon on left, detail


These Amazons had nothing to do with the Amazon river in SouthAmerica. Their name comes from a Greek word meaning "missing onebreast." This is because an Amazon's right breast got in the way whenshe threw a spear.

The Amazons lived apart from men, and if they ever gave birth tochildren, they kept only the females and reared them to be warriors likethemselves.

Queen Hippolyte had a special piece of armor. It was a leather belt thathad been given to her by Ares, the war god, because she was the bestwarrior of all the Amazons. She wore this belt across her chest and used



it to carry her sword and spear. Eurystheus wanted Hippolyte's belt as apresent to give to his daughter, and he sent Hercules to bring it back.

Hercules' friends realized that the hero could not fight against the whole

Amazon army by himself, so they joined with him and set sail in a singleship.

London B 436, Attic black figure kylix, c. 540-500 B.C.A warship with mast and sail. Its prow is in the form of a boar's head, and it has a high fore-deck, steering oars and alanding ladder at the stern. Eight figures can be seen rowing the upper set of oars (there are at least as many peopleon the lower deck) and the sail is fully extended, giving the impression that the boat is moving "full speed ahead."

Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

After a long journey, they reached the land of the Amazons and put in atthe harbor. When Hercules and the Greeks got off the boat, Hippolytecame down to visit them .



Malibu 77.AE.11, Attic red figure volute krater, c. 490 B.C.Amazons arming.


The women warriors charged on horseback down to the ship.

Mississippi 1977.3.243, Attic red figure white ground pyxis, c. 460-450 B.C.Amazon on horseback.


But when Hercules saw that they were wearing their armor and werecarrying their weapons, he knew that he was under attack. Thinking fast,he drew his sword and killed Hippolyte.



Tampa 82.11.1, Attic black figure neck amphora, c. 510-500 B.C.Hercules battles the Amazons. The Amazon has fallen to one knee, supported by the shield on her left arm. A

wrapped object at her waist may represent the prized belt.Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California

Then he undid her belt and took it away from her.

Hercules and the Greeks fought the rest of the Amazons in a great battle.

Malibu 77.AE.11, Attic red figure volute krater, c. 490 B.C.Hercules fighting the Amazons.




When the enemy had been driven off, Hercules sailed away. After astopover at the city of Troy, Hercules returned to Mycenae, and he gavethe belt to Eurystheus.

The Cattle of GeryonTo accomplish his tenth labor, Hercules had to journey to the end of theworld. Eurystheus ordered the hero to bring him the cattle of the monster Geryon. Geryon was the son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe. Chrysaor hadsprung from the body of the Gorgon Medusa after Perseus beheaded her,and Callirrhoe was the daughter of two Titans, Oceanus and Tethys.With such distinguished lineage, it is no surprise that Geryon himself

was quite unique. It seems that Geryon had three heads and three sets of legs all joined at the waist.

And the daughter of Ocean, Callirrhoe... bore a son who was the strongestof all men, Geryones, whom mighty Heracles killed in sea-girt Erytheafor the sake of his shambling oxen.

Hesiod, Theogony, 980

Harvard 1972.42, Attic black figure amphora, c. 550-530 B.C.



Side A: GeryonPhotograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of Harvard University Art Museums

Geryon lived on an island called Erythia, which was near the boundaryof Europe and Libya. On this island, Geryon kept a herd of red cattleguarded by Cerberus's brother, Orthus, a two-headed hound, and theherdsman Eurytion. Hercules set off on for Erythia, encountering andpromptly killing many wild beasts along the way, and he came to theplace where Libya met Europe. Here, Apollodorus tells us, Herculesbuilt two massive mountains, one in Europe and one in Libya, tocommemorate his extensive journey. Other accounts say that Herculessplit one mountain into two. Either way, these mountains became knownas the Gates or Pillars of Hercules. The strait Hercules made when he

broke the mountain apart is now called the Strait of Gibraltar, betweenSpain and Morocco, the gateway from the Mediterranean Sea to theAtlantic Ocean.

Sailing in a goblet which the Sun gave him in admiration, Herculesreached the island of Erythia. Not long after he arrived, Orthus, the two-headed dog, attacked Hercules, so Hercules bashed him with his club.Eurytion followed, with the same result. Another herdsman in the areareported these events to Geryon. Just as Hercules was escaping with thecattle, Geryon attacked him. Hercules fought with him and shot himdead with his arrows.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/cerberus.html

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/cerberus.html



Munich 2620, Attic red figure kylix, c. 510-500 B.C.Side A: Hercules, Geryon, the dog Orthros

Photograph copyright Staatl. Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, München

The stealing of the cattle was not such a difficult task, compared to thetrouble Hercules had bringing the herd back to Greece. In Liguria, twosons of Poseidon, the god of the sea, tried to steal the cattle, so he killedthem. At Rhegium, a bull got loose and jumped into the sea. The bullswam to Sicily and then made its way to the neighboring country. Thenative word for bull was "italus," and so the country came to be namedafter the bull, and was called Italy.

The escaped bull was found by a ruler named Eryx, another of Poseidon's sons, and Eryx put this bull into his own herd. Meanwhile,Hercules was searching for the runaway animal. He temporarilyentrusted the rest of the herd to the god Hephaestus, and went after thebull. He found it in Eryx's herd, but the king would return it only if thehero could beat him in a wrestling contest. Never one to shy away fromcompetition, Hercules beat Eryx three times in wrestling, killed the king,

took back the bull, and returned it to the herd.



RISD 26.166, Apulian red figure rhyton (drinking cup), c. 400-300 B.C.Drinking cup in the shape of a bull's head.

Photograph by Brooke Hammerle, courtesy of the Museum of Art, RISD, Providence, RI

Hercules made it to the edge of the Ionian Sea, with the end of hisjourney finally in sight. Hera, however, was not about to let the heroaccomplish this labor. She sent a gadfly to attack the cattle, and the herdscattered far and wide. Now, Hercules had to run around Thracegathering the escaped cows. Finally, he regrouped the herd and, blaminghis troubles on the river Strymon in Thrace, he filled the river withrocks, making it unnavigable. Then, he brought the cattle of Geryon toEurystheus, who sacrificed the herd to Hera. The ancients don't tell us

how long either Hercules or Europe took to recover from this eventfuljaunt.

Possible return route of Hercules with the cattle of Geryon.



The Apples of the HesperidesPoor Hercules! After eight years and one month, after performing tensuperhuman labors, he was still not off the hook. Eurystheus demandedtwo more labors from the hero, since he did not count the hydra or theAugean stables as properly done.

Eurystheus commanded Hercules to bring him golden apples whichbelonged to Zeus, king of the gods. Hera had given these apples to Zeusas a wedding gift, so surely this task was impossible. Hera, who didn'twant to see Hercules succeed, would never permit him to steal one of her prize possessions, would she?

These apples were kept in a garden at the northern edge of the world,and they were guarded not only by a hundred-headed dragon, namedLadon, but also by the Hesperides, nymphs who were daughters of Atlas, the titan who held the sky and the earth upon his shoulders.

The Hesperides in the garden. Here the apples are on a tree, and the dragon Ladon looks more like a single-headedserpent.

London E 224, Attic red figure hydria, ca. 410-400 B.C.Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

Hercules' first problem was that he didn't know where the garden was.He journeyed through Libya, Egypt, Arabia, and Asia, having

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Hercules wrestling AntaeusTampa 86.29, Attic black figure neck amphora, ca. 490-480 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art

Hercules came to the rock on Mount Caucasus where Prometheus waschained. Prometheus, a trickster who made fun of the gods and stole thesecret of fire from them, was sentenced by Zeus to a horrible fate. Hewas bound to the mountain, and every day a monstrous eagle came andate his liver, pecking away at Prometheus' tortured body. After the eagleflew off, Prometheus' liver grew back, and the next day he had to endurethe eagle's painful visit all over again. This went on for 30 years, untilHercules showed up and killed the eagle.



Eagle with wings outstretched.Philadelphia MS553, Corinthian alabastron, ca. 620-590 B.C.

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University of Pennyslvania Museum

In gratitude, Prometheus told Hercules the secret to getting the apples.He would have to send Atlas after them, instead of going himself. Atlashated holding up the sky and the earth so much that he would agree tothe task of fetching the apples, in order to pass his burden over toHercules. Everything happened as Prometheus had predicted, and Atlaswent to get the apples while Hercules was stuck in Atlas's place, with theweight of the world literally on his shoulders.



CerberusThe most dangerous labor of all was the twelfth and final one.Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to the Underworld and kidnap thebeast called Cerberus (or Kerberos). Eurystheus must have been sureHercules would never succeed at this impossible task!

The ancient Greeks believed that after a person died, his or her spiritwent to the world below and dwelled for eternity in the depths of theearth. The Underworld was the kingdom of Hades, also called Pluto, andhis wife, Persephone. Depending on how a person lived his or her life,they might or might not experience never-ending punishment in Hades.

All souls, whether good or bad, were destined for the kingdom of Hades.

Cerberus was a vicious beast that guarded the entrance to Hades andkept the living from entering the world of the dead. According toApollodorus, Cerberus was a strange mixture of creatures: he had threeheads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a tail, and heads of snakes allover his back. Hesiod, though, says that Cerberus had fifty heads anddevoured raw flesh.

. . . A monster not to be overcome and that may not be described,Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-

headed, relentless and strong.Hesiod, Theogony 310

Cerberus' parents were the monster Echinda (half-woman, half-serpent)and Typhon (a fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and serpents).Even the gods of Olympus were afraid of Typhon.

Among the children attributed to this awful couple were Orthus (or Othros), the Hydra of Lerna , and the Chimaera. Orthus was a two-headed hound which guarded the cattle of Geryon. With the Chimaera,Orthus fathered the Nemean Lion and the Sphinx. The Chimaera was athree-headed fire-breathing monster, part lion, part snake, and part goat.





Hercules seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with this family: hekilled Orthus, when he stole the cattle of Geryon , and strangled theNemean Lion . Compared to these unfortunate family members, Cerberuswas actually rather lucky.

Louvre F 204Side A: Kerberos

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Musée du Louvre

Before making the trip to the Underworld, Hercules decided that heshould take some extra precautions. This was, after all, a journey fromwhich no mortal had ever returned. Hercules knew that once in thekingdom of Hades, he might not be allowed to leave and rejoin theliving. The hero went to Eleusis and saw Eumolpus, a priest who beganwhat were known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The mysteries weresacred religious rites which celebrated the myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The ancients believed that those who learned thesecrets of the mysteries would have happiness in the Underworld. After the hero met a few conditions of membership, Eumolpus initiated

Hercules into the mysteries.Hercules went to a place called Taenarum in Laconia. Through a deep,rocky cave, Hercules made his way down to the Underworld. Heencountered monsters, heroes, and ghosts as he made his way throughHades. He even engaged in a wrestling contest! Then, finally, he found

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Pluto and asked the god for Cerberus. The lord of the Underworldreplied that Hercules could indeed take Cerberus with him, but only if heoverpowered the beast with nothing more than his own brute strength.

A weaponless Hercules set off to find Cerberus. Near the gates of Acheron, one of the five rivers of the Underworld, Hercules encounteredCerberus. Undaunted, the hero threw his strong arms around the beast,perhaps grasping all three heads at once, and wrestled Cerberus intosubmission. The dragon in the tail of the fierce flesh-eating guard dog bitHercules, but that did not stop him. Cerberus had to submit to the forceof the hero, and Hercules brought Cerberus to Eurystheus. Unlike other monsters that crossed the path of the legendary hero, Cerberus was

returned safely to Hades, where he resumed guarding the gateway to theUnderworld. Presumably, Hercules inflicted no lasting damage onCerberus, except, of course, the wound to his pride!

Louvre E 701Main panel: Hercules and Kerberos

Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Musée du Louvre



Woman juggling apples.Toledo 1963.29, Attic red figure, white ground pyxis, ca. 470-460 B.C.Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art

When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told Hercules he wouldtake them to Eurystheus himself, and asked Hercules to stay there andhold the heavy load for the rest of time. Hercules slyly agreed, but askedAtlas whether he could take it back again, just for a moment, while thehero put some soft padding on his shoulders to help him bear the weightof the sky and the earth. Atlas put the apples on the ground, and liftedthe burden onto his own shoulders. And so Hercules picked up theapples and quickly ran off, carrying them back, uneventfully, toEurystheus.

There was one final problem: because they belonged to the gods, theapples could not remain with Eurystheus. After all the trouble Herculeswent through to get them, he had to return them to Athena, who took them back to the garden at the northern edge of the world.



Hercules in the garden of the Hesperides.

Sometimes the hero is portrayed in the garden, even though the story we have from Apollodorus is that he sent Atlasthere instead of going himself.

London E 224, Attic red figure hydria, ca. 410-400 B.C.Photograph courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London

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