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{{Short description|Series of feats carried out by Heracles}}
{{about|the Greek myth|the short story collection by Agatha Christie|The Labours of Hercules}}
[[File:Twelve Labours Altemps Inv8642.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|[[Ancient Roman sculpture|Roman]] [[relief sculpture|relief]] (3rd century AD) depicting a sequence of the Labours, representing from left to right the [[Nemean lion]], the [[Lernaean Hydra]], the [[Erymanthian Boar]], the [[Ceryneian Hind]], the [[Stymphalian birds]], the [[Girdle of Hippolyta]], the [[Augean stables]], the [[Cretan Bull]] and the [[Mares of Diomedes]]]]
[[File:LLÍRIA (SPAIN) MOSAIC OF THE LABORS OF HERACLES.jpg|thumb|Mosaic of Llíria (Valencia, Spain)]]

The '''Labours of Hercules''' or '''Labours of Heracles''' ({{langx|grc|[[wikt:ἆθλος|ἆθλοι]]}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|âthloi}},<ref>[[A Greek–English Lexicon|LSJ]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*a%3Aentry+group%3D41%3Aentry%3Da%29%3Dqlos ἆθλος].</ref> {{langx|la|Labores}}) are a series of tasks carried out by [[Heracles]], the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later [[romanization|romanised]] as [[Hercules]]. They were accomplished in the service of King [[Eurystheus]]. The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative.

The establishment of a fixed cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an [[epic poem]], now lost, written by [[Peisander]] (7th to 6th centuries BC).<ref>''[[Brill's New Pauly]]'', [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/peisander-e911920 s.v. Peisander (6)].</ref>

Having tried to kill Heracles ever since he was born, [[Hera]] induced a madness in him that made him kill his wife and children. Afterwards, Heracles went to the [[Pythia|Oracle of Delphi]] to atone, where he prayed to the god Apollo for guidance. Heracles was told to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, for ten years. During this time, he was sent to perform a series of difficult feats, called labours.<ref name="p. 253">Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA253 p. 253].</ref>

==Background==
[[File:P. Oxy. XXII 2331.jpg|thumb|The [[Heracles Papyrus]], a fragment of a 3rd-century Greek manuscript of a poem about the Labours of Heracles ([[Oxyrhynchus Papyrus]] 2331)]]
[[File:Jacopo Tintoretto - The Origin of the Milky Way - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Origin of the Milky Way]]'' by [[Jacopo Tintoretto]], 1575]]

[[Heracles]] was the son born by the mortal woman [[Alcmene]] after her affair with [[Zeus]], the king of the gods, who had disguised himself as her husband [[Amphitryon]].<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA247 p. 247]; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html#9.1 4.9.1&ndash;3]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.8 2.4.8].</ref> Alcmene, fearing the jealousy of Zeus's wife [[Hera]], [[Infant exposure|exposed]] her infant son, who was taken by either Zeus or his daughter [[Athena]] (the protectress of heroes) to Hera, who did not recognize Heracles and nursed him out of pity. Heracles sucked so strongly that he caused Hera pain, and when she pushed him away, her milk sprayed across the heavens, forming the [[Milky Way]]. But with divine milk, Heracles had acquired supernatural strength. Either Zeus or Athena brought the infant back to his mother, and he was subsequently raised by his parents. The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera, with Heracles meaning Hera's "pride" or "glory". He and his mortal twin, [[Iphicles]], were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his twin brother grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them on his cot as if they were toys. Astonished, Amphitryon sent for the seer [[Tiresias]], who prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he would vanquish numerous monsters.

Heracles married Megara, eldest daughter of King [[Creon (king of Thebes)|Creon of Thebes]]. However, in a fit of madness induced by Hera, Heracles killed Megara and their children.<ref>Kerényi, p. 186.</ref> According to [[Euripides]]'s play ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'', however, it was not until after Heracles had completed his labours and on his return from the Underworld that he murdered Megara and his children.<ref name="p. 253"/>

After recovering his sanity, Heracles deeply regretted his actions; he was purified by King [[Thespius]], then traveled to [[Delphi]] to inquire how he could atone for his actions. [[Pythia]], the Oracle of Delphi, advised him to go to [[Tiryns]] and serve his cousin, King [[Eurystheus]] of Mycenae, for twelve years,<ref name="Hsu2021">{{cite book |last1=Hsu |first1=Katherine Lu |editor1-last=Ogden |editor1-first=Daniel |title=The Oxford Handbook of Heracles |year=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-065098-8 |page=15 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zy0zEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 |chapter=The Madness and the Labors}}</ref> performing whatever labours Eurystheus might set him; in return, he would be rewarded with immortality. Heracles despaired at this, loathing to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, yet fearing to oppose his father, Zeus. Eventually, Heracles placed himself at Eurystheus's disposal.

==The twelve labours==
[[File:Map_of_Heracles's_Early_Labors.jpg|thumb|Heracles's first six labours were located in the [[Peloponnese]].]]

Of the twelve labours performed by Heracles, six were located in the [[Peloponnese]], culminating with the rededication of [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]].<ref name="ruck">{{cite book | last = Ruck | first = Carl | author2=Danny Staples | year = 1994 | pages = 169 | title = The World of Classical Myth | location = Durham, North Carolina| publisher = Carolina Academic Press}}</ref> Six others took the hero farther afield, to places that were, according to Ruck and Staples, "all previously strongholds of Hera or the 'Goddess' and were entrances to the Netherworld".<ref name="ruck"/> In each case, the pattern was the same: Heracles was sent to kill or subdue, or to fetch back for Eurystheus (as Hera's representative) a magical animal or plant.

A famous depiction of the labours in Greek sculpture is found on the [[metope (architecture)|metopes]] of the [[Temple of Zeus at Olympia]], which date to the 460s BC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fourth metope from the west façade of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia |url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/fourth-metope-west-facade-temple-zeus-olympia |website=Louvre Museum Official Website|access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>
<!-- 
there are no "fixed" number of metopes: in the Archaic period, it may actually have been the labours' display on the twelve available metopes on temples which led to their being counted as twelve in number.
-->

Eurystheus originally ordered Heracles to perform ten labours. Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus refused to recognize two: the slaying of the [[Lernaean Hydra]], as Heracles' nephew and charioteer [[Iolaus]] had helped him; and the cleansing of the [[Augean stables]], because Heracles accepted payment for the labour<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA255 p. 255]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.4.12 2.4.12], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.11 2.5.11].</ref> (in other versions it was the [[Stymphalian Birds]] that were discounted instead of the Augean stables, for the help of Athena giving Heracles bronze rattles). Eurystheus thus set two more tasks (fetching the golden apples of the [[Hesperides]] and capturing [[Cerberus]]), which Heracles also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve.

In his labours, Heracles was sometimes accompanied by a male companion (an ''[[eromenos]]''), according to [[Licymnius]]{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} and others, such as [[Iolaus]], his nephew. Several of the labours involved the offspring (by various accounts) of [[Typhon]] and his mate [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]], all overcome by Heracles.

The order of the labours given by the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] is:''<ref>Gantz, p. 383; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.1 2.5.1–2.5.12].</ref>
# Slaying the [[Nemean lion]]
# Slaying the nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]]
# Capturing the [[Ceryneian Hind]]
# Capturing the [[Erymanthian Boar]]
# Cleaning the [[Augeas|Augean]] stables in a single day
# Slaying the [[Stymphalian birds]]
# Capturing the [[Cretan Bull]]
# Stealing the [[Mares of Diomedes]]
# Obtaining the belt of [[Hippolyta]], queen of the [[Amazons]]
# Obtaining the cattle of the three-bodied giant [[Geryon]]
# Stealing three of the golden apples of the [[Hesperides]]
# Capturing and bringing back [[Cerberus]]

[[Diodorus Siculus]] gives a similar sequence of the labours, though the orders of the third and fourth, fifth and sixth, and eleventh and twelfth labours are swapped.<ref>Gantz, p. 383; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html#11 4.11&ndash;26].</ref>

===First: Nemean lion===
[[File:Heracles_and_the_Nemea_Lion_Pieter_Paul_Rubens.jpg|left|thumb|''Hercules' fight with the Nemean lion'', [[Pieter Paul Rubens]].]]
[[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_01.jpg|thumb|Heracles wrestling the [[Nemean lion]]. Detail of a Roman mosaic from [[Lliria, Spain|Llíria]] (Spain).]]
Heracles wandered in the area until he came to the town of [[Cleonae (Argolis)|Cleonae]]. There he met a boy who said that if Heracles slew the [[Nemean lion]] and returned within 30 days, the town would sacrifice a lion to Zeus, but if he did not return within 30 days or if he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus. Another version claims that he met Molorchos, a shepherd who had lost his son to the lion, saying that if he came back within 30 days, a ram would be sacrificed to Zeus. If he did not return within 30 days, it would be sacrificed to the dead Heracles as a mourning offering.

While searching for the lion, Heracles fletched some arrows to use against it, not knowing that its golden fur was impervious to projectiles. When he found and shot the lion, firing at it with his bow, Heracles discovered the fur's protective property as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the creature's thigh. After some time, Heracles made the lion return to his cave. The cave had two entrances, one of which Heracles blocked; he then entered the other. In those dark and confined quarters, Heracles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. Others say that he shot arrows at it, eventually shooting it in the unarmored mouth. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. He then tried sharpening the knife with a stone and even tried using the stone itself. Finally, Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told Heracles to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt. Others say that Heracles' armor was, in fact, the hide of the [[Lion of Cithaeron]].

When he returned on the 30th day carrying the carcass of the lion on his shoulders, King Eurystheus was amazed and terrified. Eurystheus forbade him to ever again enter the city; from then on he was to display the fruits of his labours outside the city gates. Eurystheus would then tell Heracles his tasks through a herald, not personally. Eurystheus even had a large bronze jar made for himself in which to hide from Heracles if need be. Eurystheus then warned him that the tasks would become increasingly difficult.

===Second: Lernaean Hydra===
[[File:Gustave Moreau - Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra - 1964.231 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg|left|thumb|Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra (1964) by [[Gustave Moreau]]]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 02.jpg|thumb|Heracles slaying the Lernaean Hydra]]
Heracles' second labour was to slay the [[Lernaean Hydra]], a many-headed snake which Hera had raised with the sole purpose of slaying Heracles. Upon reaching the swamp near [[Lerna|Lake Lerna]], where the hydra dwelt, Heracles attacked the hydra's several heads, but each time one of its heads was removed, a new head (or two) would grow back. Additionally, during the fight, a giant crab came to assist the Hydra by biting Heracles on the foot. Heracles was able to kill the crab, but realizing that he could not defeat the hydra alone, he called on his nephew Iolaus (who had come with Heracles) for help. Working in tandem, once Heracles had removed a head (with his sword or club), Iolaus burned the stumps with a firebrand, preventing them from growing back. In such a way Heracles was able to kill the hydra, after which he dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood. According to Apollodorus, one of the Hydra's (here nine) heads&mdash;the middle one&mdash;was immortal, so when Heracles cut off this head, Heracles buried it and placed a great rock on top of it.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA258 p. 258]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.2 2.5.2].</ref>

Later, Heracles used one of his poisonous arrows to kill the centaur [[Nessus (mythology)|Nessus]]; and Nessus's tainted blood was applied to the [[Tunic of Nessus]], by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge. Both [[Strabo]] and [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] report that the stench of the river [[Anigrus]] in [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra's venom, washed from the arrows Heracles used on the centaur.<ref>Strabo, viii.3.19, [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], v.5.9; Grimal 1987:219.</ref>

===Third: Ceryneian Hind===
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Herkules und die Hirschkuh der Diana (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum).jpg|thumb|Heracles capturing the Ceryneian Hind|left]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 03.jpg|thumb|Heracles capturing the Ceryneian Hind]]
Angered by Heracles' success against the [[Nemean lion|Nemean Lion]] and the [[Lernaean Hydra]], Eurystheus (advised by Hera) devised an altogether different task for the hero, commanding Heracles to capture the [[Ceryneian Hind]], a beast so fast it could outpace an arrow.

After a long search, Heracles awoke one night and laid eyes on the elusive hind, which was only visible due to the glint of moonlight on its antlers. He then chased the hind on foot for a full year through [[Greece]], [[Thrace]], [[Istria]], and the land of the [[Hyperboreans]]. How Heracles caught the hind differs depending on the telling; in most versions, he captured the hind while it slept, rendering it lame with a trapping net.

Eurystheus commanded Heracles to catch the hind in the hope that it would enrage [[Artemis]] and lead her to punish the hero for his desecration of the sacred animal. As he was returning with the hind to present it to Eurystheus, Heracles encountered Artemis and her brother [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]]. He begged the goddess for forgiveness, explaining that he had snared the hind as part of his penance, but promised to return it to the wild soon thereafter. Convinced by Heracles' earnestness, Artemis forgave him, foiling Eurystheus' plan.

After bringing the hind to Eurystheus, Heracles was informed that it was to become part of the King's [[menagerie]]. Knowing that he must return the hind to the wild as he had promised Artemis, Heracles agreed to hand it over only on the condition that Eurystheus himself come out and take it from him. The King came forth, but the moment that Heracles let the hind go, it sprinted back to its mistress with unparalleled swiftness. Before taking his leave, Heracles commented that Eurystheus had not been quick enough, outraging the King.

===Fourth: Erymanthian Boar===
[[File:Heracles and the Erymanthian Boar.jpg|thumb|left|Heracles and the Erymanthian Boar]]
[[File:Mosaico de los trabajos de Hércules, Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid, España, 2016 07.jpg|thumb|Heracles slaying the Erymanthian Boar]]
Eurystheus was disappointed that Heracles had overcome yet another creature and was humiliated by the hind's escape, so he assigned Heracles another dangerous task. By some accounts, the fourth labour was to bring the fearsome [[Erymanthian Boar]] back to Eurystheus alive (there is no single definitive telling of the labours). On the way to Mount Erymanthos where the boar lived, Heracles visited [[Pholus (mythology)|Pholus]] ("caveman"), a kind and hospitable [[centaur]] and old friend. Heracles ate with Pholus in his cavern (though the centaur devoured his meat raw) and asked for wine. Pholus had only one jar of wine, a gift from [[Dionysus]] to all the centaurs on Mount Erymanthos. Heracles convinced him to open it, and the smell attracted the other centaurs. They did not understand that wine needs to be tempered with water, became drunk, and attacked Heracles. Heracles shot at them with his poisonous arrows, killing many, and the centaurs retreated all the way to [[Chiron]]'s cave.

Pholus was curious why the arrows caused so much death. He picked one up but dropped it, and the arrow stabbed his hoof, poisoning him. One version states that a stray arrow hit Chiron as well. He was immortal, but he still felt the pain. Chiron's pain was so great that he volunteered to give up his immortality and take the place of [[Prometheus]], who had been chained to the top of a mountain to have his liver eaten daily by an [[eagle]]. Prometheus' torturer, the eagle, continued its torture on Chiron, so Heracles shot it dead with an arrow. It is generally accepted that the tale was meant to show Heracles as being the recipient of Chiron's surrendered immortality. However, this tale contradicts the tradition that Chiron later taught [[Achilles]]. The tale of the centaurs sometimes appears in other parts of the twelve labours, as does the freeing of Prometheus.

Heracles had visited Chiron to gain advice on how to catch the boar, and Chiron had told him to drive it into thick snow, which sets this labour in mid-winter. Heracles caught the boar, bound it, and carried it back to Eurystheus, who was frightened of it and ducked down in his half-buried storage ''[[pithos]]'', begging Heracles to get rid of the beast.

{{clear}}

===Fifth: Augean stables===
[[File:Hercules cleans the Augean stables by redirecting the rive.jpg|thumb|Heracles cleans the Augean stables by redirecting the river|left]]
[[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_05.jpg|right|thumb|250x250px|Heracles rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, to clean out the Augean stables]]
The fifth labour was to clean the stables of King [[Augeas]]. This assignment was intended to be both humiliating and impossible, since these divine livestock were immortal, and had produced an enormous quantity of dung. The Augean ({{IPAc-en|ɔː|ˈ|dʒ|iː|ə|n}}) stables had not been cleaned in over 30 years, and over 1,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers [[Alfeios River|Alpheus]] and [[Pineios River (Peloponnese)|Peneus]] to wash out the filth.

Before starting on the task, Heracles had asked Augeas for one-tenth of the cattle if he finished the task in one day, and Augeas agreed, but afterwards Augeas refused to honour the agreement on the grounds that Heracles had been ordered to carry out the task by Eurystheus anyway. Heracles claimed his reward in court and was supported by Augeas' son [[Phyleus]]. Augeas banished them both before the court had ruled. Heracles returned, slew Augeas, and gave his kingdom to Phyleus.

The success of this labour was ultimately discounted as the rushing waters had done the work of cleaning the stables, and because Heracles was paid for doing the labour; Eurystheus determined that Heracles still had seven labours to perform.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://olympusfd.gr/images/Maps/map_us.pdf|title=Maps of Mount Olympus|access-date=2019-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921212448/http://www.olympusfd.gr/images/Maps/map_us.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Sixth: Stymphalian birds===
[[File:Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds.png|thumb|left|Heracles and the Stymphalian birds]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 06.jpg|thumb|Heracles and the Stymphalian birds]]
The sixth labour was to defeat the [[Stymphalian birds]], man-eating birds with beaks made of [[bronze]] and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims. They were sacred to [[Ares]], the god of war. Furthermore, their dung was highly toxic. They had migrated to [[Lake Stymphalia]] in [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], where they bred quickly and took over the countryside, destroying local crops, fruit trees, and townspeople. Heracles could not go too far into the swamp, for it would not support his weight. Athena, noticing the hero's plight, gave Heracles a rattle which [[Hephaestus]] had made especially for the occasion. Heracles shook the rattle and frightened the birds into the air. Heracles then shot many of them with his arrows. The rest flew far away, never to return. In some versions of this story instead of the Augean stables being discounted it was the [[Stymphalian Birds]] labour for getting the help of Athena. The [[Argonauts]] would later encounter them.

===Seventh: Cretan Bull===
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 07.jpg|thumb|Heracles capturing the Cretan Bull]]
The seventh labour, also categorised as the first of the non-Peloponneisan labours,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morford, Mark P. O., 1929- |title=Classical mythology |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |others=Lenardon, Robert J., 1928- |isbn=0-19-515344-8 |edition=7th |location=New York |oclc=49421755}}</ref> was to capture the [[Cretan Bull]], father of the [[Minotaur]]. According to Apollodorus, Heracles sailed to [[Crete]], asked King [[Minos]] for help, but Minos told Heracles to capture the bull himself, which he did. After showing the bull to Eurystheus, Heracles released the bull which ended up at [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]].<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA261 p. 261]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.7 2.5.7].</ref>

===Eighth: Mares of Diomedes===
[[File:Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre - Diomedes King of Thrace Killed by Hercules and Devoured by his own Horses, 1752.jpg|thumb|left|Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre – ''Diomedes King of Thrace Killed by Heracles and Devoured by his own Horses'', 1752]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 08.jpg|thumb|Heracles before capturing the Mares of Diomedes]]
As the eighth of his labours Heracles was sent by [[Eurystheus|King Eurystheus]] to steal the [[Mares of Diomedes]] from [[Diomedes of Thrace|their owner]]. The mares' madness was attributed to their unnatural diet which consisted of the flesh<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Papakostas, Yiannis G. Daras, Michael D. Liappas, Ioannis A. Markianos, Manolis|title=Horse madness (hippomania) and hippophobia|journal=History of Psychiatry |year=2005 |volume=16 |issue=Pt 4 (no 64) |pages=467–471 |doi=10.1177/0957154X05051459 |pmid=16482685|s2cid=2721386 |oclc=882814212|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00570821/file/PEER_stage2_10.1177%252F0957154X05051459.pdf }}</ref> of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page234|title=Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome.|website=www.gutenberg.org|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> Some versions of the myth say that the mares also expelled fire when they breathed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Monsters/Mares_of_Diomedes/mares_of_diomedes.html|title=Mares of Diomedes|website=www.greekmythology.com|language=en|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> The Mares, which were the terror of Thrace, were kept tethered by iron chains to a bronze manger in the now vanished city of Tirida<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Graves, Robert, 1895-1985|title=The Greek myths : the complete and definitive edition|date=28 September 2017|isbn=978-0-241-98235-8|edition=Complete and definitive|location=[London], UK|oclc=1011647388}}</ref> and were named Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the yellow) and Deinos (or Deinus, the terrible).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Heros/DiomedesThrakios.html|title=DIOMEDES - Thracian King of Greek Mythology|website=www.theoi.com|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> Although very similar, there are slight variances in the exact details regarding the mares' capture.

In one version, Heracles brought a number of volunteers to help him capture the giant horses.<ref name=":1" /> After overpowering Diomedes' men, Heracles broke the chains that tethered the horses and drove the mares down to sea. Unaware that the mares were man-eating and uncontrollable, Heracles left them in the charge of his favored companion, [[Abderus]], while he left to fight Diomedes. Upon his return, Heracles found that the boy was eaten. As revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses and then founded [[Abdera, Thrace|Abdera]] next to the boy's tomb.<ref name=":0" />

In another version, Heracles, who was visiting the island, stayed awake so that he didn't have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night, and cut the chains binding the horses once everyone was asleep. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a knoll, Heracles quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water and thus flooding the low-lying plain. When Diomedes and his men turned to flee, Heracles killed them with an axe (or a club<ref name=":1" />), and fed Diomedes' body to the horses to calm them.

In yet another version, Heracles first captured Diomedes and fed him to the mares ''before'' releasing them. Only after realizing that their King was dead did his men, the [[Bistones|Bistonians]],<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> attack Heracles. Upon seeing the mares charging at them, led in a chariot by Abderus, the Bistonians turned and fled.

In all versions the horses are calmed by eating human flesh, giving Heracles the opportunity to bind their mouths shut and easily take them back to King Eurystheus, who dedicated the horses to [[Hera]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rose, H. J. (Herbert Jennings), 1883-1961.|title=A handbook of Greek mythology : including its extension to Rome|date=1958|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=1-4286-4307-9|location=[Whitefish, Montana]|oclc=176053883}}</ref> In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around [[Ancient Argos|Argos]], having become permanently calm, but in others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus, but Zeus refused them, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leeming, David Adams, 1937-|title=Mythology : the voyage of the hero|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-802810-9|edition=3rd|location=New York|oclc=252599545}}</ref> [[Roger Lancelyn Green]] states in his ''Tales of the Greek Heroes'' that the mares' descendants were used in the [[Trojan War]], and survived even to the time of Alexander the Great.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Godfrey, Linda S.|title=Mythical creatures|date=2009|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|others=Guiley, Rosemary.|isbn=978-0-7910-9394-8|location=New York|oclc=299280635}}</ref> After the incident, Eurystheus sent Heracles to bring back [[Hippolyta|Hippolyta's Girdle]].

===Ninth: Belt of Hippolyta===
[[File:The magic girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.jpg|thumb|The magic girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons]]
As his ninth labour, Heracles travelled to the land of the Amazons to bring back the Belt of [[Hippolyta]], the queen of the [[Amazons]]. According to Apollodorus, the belt was gifted to Hippolyta by her father [[Ares]], as an emblem of her position as queen.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA263 p. 263]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.9 2.5.9].</ref> In his account, Eurystheus set Heracles the task because his daughter [[Admete]] wanted to have the belt for herself.<ref>Gantz, p. 399; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.9 2.5.9].</ref> In earlier sources, however, the purpose of the labour was seemingly for Heracles to overcome the Amazons, with Eurystheus requiring the belt as evidence of his success.<ref>Gantz, p. 398.</ref>

Accompanied by a group of companions, Heracles set sail for the land of Amazons, which was generally believed to be along the shore at the southern end of the [[Black Sea]].<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA263 p. 263].</ref> Sources vary on who came with him: [[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]] states that he was accompanied by all of the [[Argonauts]],<ref>Mayor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1c1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 p. 126]; [[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA193 fr. 106 Fowler, p. 193] [= Scholia on [[Pindar]]'s ''Nemean'' 3.64b].</ref> while [[Pindar]] mentions that [[Peleus]] came on the voyage,<ref>Gantz, p. 398; [[Pindar]], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pindar-fragments/1997/pb_LCL485.407.xml fr. 172 Race, pp. 406, 407] [= Scholia on [[Euripides]]' ''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]'', 796.</ref> [[Philochorus]] considered [[Theseus]] to have been his companion,<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA357 p. 357]; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0328.bnjo-2-tr1-eng:f110 328 F110].</ref> and an early Corinthian vase shows [[Iolaus]] and another figure named Pasimelon by his side.<ref>Amyx, p. 557; Gantz, p. 397.</ref> The number of ships they leave in also varies: Apollodorus says they went in a single ship,<ref name="2.5.9">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.9 2.5.9].</ref> while [[Herodotus]] states that there were three, and in a late account there were nine.<ref>Mayor, [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1c1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 p. 126].</ref> Apollodorus relates that on the way to [[Themiscyra (Pontus)|Themiscyra]], where the Amazons lived, he and his crew stopped at the island of [[Paros]], where several of the sons of [[Minos]] lived; when these sons killed two of Heracles' companions, he retaliated by murdering them. When he began threatening others, he was offered two of Minos' grandchildren, [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]] and [[Sthenelus]], whom he took into his crew. Continuing on their voyage, they next arrived at the court of [[Lycus (mythology)|Lycus]] in [[Mysia]]; in a battle between Lycus and King [[Mygdon of Bebryces]], Heracles killed the rival king and gained land from the [[Bebryces]], and gifted it to Lycus, who named it Heraclea.<ref name="2.5.9"/>

All would have gone well for Heracles had it not been for Hera. Hippolyta, impressed with Heracles and his exploits, agreed to give him the belt and would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among the Amazons sowing seeds of distrust. She claimed the strangers were plotting to carry off the queen of the Amazons. Alarmed, the warrior women set off on horseback to confront Heracles. According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], [[Aella (Amazon)|Aella]] was the first Amazon to charge Heracles. Her name, meaning "stormswift," signified her remarkable speed and agility, but even she could not withstand Heracles and was ultimately defeated.<ref>Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'', 4.16.3</ref> Believing that Hippolyta had betrayed him, Heracles, now convinced of treachery, killed her, took the belt, and returned to Eurystheus.<ref name="Mayor2021">Mayor, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1c1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 127], [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1c1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 132].</ref>

===Tenth: Cattle of Geryon===
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Herkules und die Rinder des Geryones (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum).jpg|thumb|Heracles and the Cattle of Geryones]]
The tenth labour was to obtain the cattle of the three-bodied giant [[Geryon]]. In Apollodorus' account, Heracles had to go to the island of Erytheia in the far west. On the way he became so frustrated at the heat that he aimed an arrow at the [[Sun]]. The sun-god [[Helios]], impressed by his audacity, gave Heracles the golden cup that Helios used to sail across the sea from west to east each night. Heracles took the cup and rode it to Erytheia.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA258 p. 264]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.10 2.5.10].</ref>

When Heracles landed at Erytheia, he was confronted by the two-headed dog [[Orthrus]]. With one blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed Orthrus. [[Eurytion]] the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way.

On hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields and three spears, and wearing three helmets. He attacked Heracles at the River Anthemus, but was slain by one of Heracles' poisoned arrows. Heracles shot so forcefully that the arrow pierced Geryon's forehead, "and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding its petals all at once."<ref>[[Stesichorus]], fragment, translated by Denys Page.</ref>

Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus. In [[Roman mythology|Roman]] versions of the narrative, Heracles drove the cattle over the [[Aventine Hill]] on the future site of [[Rome]]. The giant [[Cacus]], who lived there, stole some of the cattle as Heracles slept, making the cattle walk backwards so that they left no trail, a repetition of the trick of the young [[Hermes]]. According to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past the cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In other versions, Cacus' sister [[Caca (mythology)|Caca]] told Heracles where he was. Heracles then killed Cacus and set up an altar on the spot, later the site of Rome's [[Forum Boarium]] (the cattle market).

To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a [[Gadfly (mythology)|gadfly]] to bite the cattle, irritate them, and scatter them. Within a year, Heracles retrieved them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much that Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera.

===Eleventh: Golden apples of the Hesperides===
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Herkules raubt die Äpfel der Hesperiden (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum).jpg|thumb|Heracles stealing the apples from the Hesperides]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 11.jpg|thumb|Hercules stealing the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides]]
After Heracles completed the first ten labours, Eurystheus gave him two more, claiming that slaying the Hydra did not count (because Iolaus helped Heracles) and neither did cleaning the Augean Stables (either because he was paid for the job or because the rivers did the work).

The first additional labour was to steal three of the golden apples from the garden of the [[Hesperides]]. Heracles first caught the [[Old Man of the Sea]], the shapeshifting sea god,<ref>Kerenyi, ''The Heroes of the Greeks'', 1959, p.172, identifies him in this context as [[Nereus]]; as a shapeshifter he is often identified as [[Proteus]].</ref> to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located.<ref>In some versions of the tale, Heracles was directed to ask [[Prometheus]]. As payment, he freed Prometheus from his daily torture. This tale is more usually found as part of the story of the [[Erymanthian Boar]], since it is associated with [[Chiron]] choosing to forgo immortality and taking Prometheus' place.</ref>

In some variations, Heracles, either at the start or at the end of this task, meets [[Antaeus]], who was invincible as long as he touched his mother, [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], the Earth. Heracles killed Antaeus by holding him aloft and crushing him in a bear hug.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.10 2.5.10]; [[Hyginus (Fabulae)|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' 31.</ref>

[[Herodotus]] claims that Heracles stopped in [[Egypt]], where King [[Busiris (king of Egypt)|Busiris]] decided to make him the yearly sacrifice, but Heracles burst out of his chains.

Heracles finally made his way to the garden of the Hesperides, where he encountered [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] holding up the heavens on his shoulders. Heracles persuaded Atlas to get the three golden apples for him by offering to hold up the heavens in his place for a little while. Atlas could get the apples because, in this version, he was the father or otherwise related to the Hesperides. When Atlas returned, he decided that he did not want to take the heavens back and instead offered to deliver the apples himself, but Heracles tricked him by agreeing to remain in place of Atlas on the condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily while Heracles adjusted his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Heracles reneged and walked away with the apples. According to an alternative version, Heracles slew [[Ladon (mythology)|Ladon]], the dragon who guarded the apples, instead. Eurystheus was furious that Heracles had accomplished something that Eurystheus thought could not possibly be done.

===Twelfth: Cerberus===
[[File:Hercules and Cerberus.jpg|thumb|Heracles and Cerberus|left]]
[[File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 12.jpg|thumb|Hercules and Cerberus]]
The twelfth and final labour was the capture of [[Cerberus]], the multi-headed dog that was the guardian of the gates of the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]]. To prepare for his descent into the Underworld, Heracles went to [[Eleusis]] to be initiated in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. He entered the Underworld with Hermes and Athena as his guides.

While in the Underworld, Heracles met [[Theseus]] and [[Pirithous]]. The two companions had been imprisoned by [[Hades]] for attempting to kidnap his wife, [[Persephone]]. One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs, then turning into stone. Another says that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared a feast, inviting them to sit; they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the Earth shook at his attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the goddess for himself was so insulting he was doomed to stay behind.

Heracles found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to the surface, which Hades agreed to if Heracles could subdue the beast without using weapons. Heracles overpowered Cerberus with his bare hands and slung the beast over his back. He carried Cerberus out of the Underworld through a cavern entrance in the [[Peloponnese]] and brought it to Eurystheus, who again fled into his ''[[pithos]]''. Eurystheus begged Heracles to return Cerberus to the Underworld, offering in return to release him from any further labours when Cerberus disappeared back to his master.

==Aftermath==
After completing the twelve labours, one tradition says that Heracles joined [[Jason]] and the [[Argonauts]] in their quest for the [[Golden Fleece]]. However, [[Herodorus]] (c. 400 BC) disputed this and denied that Heracles ever sailed with the Argonauts. According to a separate tradition (e.g., ''[[Argonautica]]'') Heracles accompanied the Argonauts but did not travel with them as far as [[Colchis]].

According to Euripides's play ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'', it is at this point after his labours are completed and he is returning home to meet his wife and family that Heracles is driven mad and kills them, after which he is exiled from Thebes and leaves for Athens.

Other versions tell the epilogue of Hercules becoming the general of an army, and conquering and pillaging various cities, one of which he was able to obtain a princess (versions vary on her name). Hercules' wife, thinking he would have an affair with her, was so desperate as to believe that a centaur's blood was a love potion and dipped Hercules' clothes with it. As it was truly poison, Hercules screamed in agony and begged his cousin (the one who helped him in killing the Lernaean Hydra) to burn him on a funeral [[pyre]].

==Allegorical interpretation==
Some ancient Greeks found allegorical meanings of a moral, psychological or philosophical nature in the Labours of Heracles. This trend became more prominent in the Renaissance.<ref>Brumble, H. David. ''Classical Myths and Legends in the Middle Ages and Renaissance: A Dictionary of Allegorical Meanings''. Routledge, 2013.</ref>  For example, [[Heraclitus (commentator)|Heraclitus the Grammarian]] wrote in his ''Homeric Problems'':
{{Blockquote 
|text=
I turn to Heracles. We must not suppose he attained such power in those days as a result of his physical strength. Rather, he was a man of intellect, an initiate in heavenly wisdom, who, as it were, shed light on philosophy, which had been hidden in deep darkness. The most authoritative of the Stoics agree with this account.... The (Erymanthian) boar which he overcame is the common incontinence of men; the (Nemean) lion is the indiscriminate rush towards improper goals; in the same way, by fettering irrational passions he gave rise to the belief that he had fettered the violent (Cretan) bull. He banished cowardice also from the world, in the shape of the hind of Ceryneia. There was another "labor" too, not properly so called, in which he cleared out the mass of dung (from the Augean stables) — in other words, the foulness that disfigures humanity. The (Stymphalian) birds he scattered are the windy hopes that feed our lives; the many-headed hydra that he burned, as it were, with the fires of exhortation, is pleasure, which begins to grow again as soon as it is cut out.
|author=Donald Andrew Russell, David Konstan
|source=''Heraclitus: Homeric Problems'' 33 (2005)<ref>Russell, Donald Andrew; Konstan, David (trs.). Heraclitus: Homeric Problems. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.</ref>
}}

==See also==
* [[Angim]]
* [[Copreus of Elis]]
* [[Rostam's Seven Labours]]
* [[The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]]
* [[Apples of the Hesperides]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Amyx, D. A., ''Corinthian Vase-Painting of the Archaic Period'', Berkeley, University of California Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-520-03166-0}}.
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca Historica|Library of History]], Volume II: Books 2.35-4.58'', translated by [[Charles Henry Oldfather|C. H. Oldfather]], [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 303, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1935. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99334-1}}. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online version by Bill Thayer].
* [[Robert Fowler (academic)|Fowler, R. L.]], ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 1: Text and Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0198147404}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC Google Books].
* [[Timothy Gantz|Gantz, Timothy]], ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004, {{ISBN|9780415186360}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC Google Books].
* [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Carl]], ''The Heroes of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1959.
* Mayor, Adrienne, "The Girdle of the Amazon Hippolyte", in ''The Oxford Handbook of Heracles'', pp.&nbsp;124&ndash;34, edited by Daniel Ogdon, Oxford University Press, 2021. {{ISBN|978-0-190-65101-5}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1c1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA123 Google Books].
* [[Pindar]], ''Nemean Odes. Isthmian Odes. Fragments'', edited and translated by William H. Race, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 485, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99534-5}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL485/1997/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].

==External links==
{{Commons category|Twelve Labours}}
* [https://www.livius.org/articles/mythology/heracles/ Heracles] at the [[Livius Picture Archive]]
* [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/labors.html The Labors of Hercules] at the [[Perseus Digital Library]]

{{Labours of Heracles}}
{{Hercules media}}
{{Greek religion}}

[[Category:Labours of Hercules| ]]
[[Category:12 (number)]]
[[Category:Hercules]]
[[Category:Folklore featuring impossible tasks]]