The Twelve Labours of Hercules: A Mythological Epic
In Greek mythology, Hercules (or Heracles in Greek) is one of the most renowned heroes, known for his extraordinary strength and courage. His most famous exploits are the Twelve Labours, a series of seemingly impossible tasks he was compelled to complete as penance for a grave misdeed. This blog post delves into Hercules's fascinating story, origins, and the legendary Twelve Labors that have captivated audiences for millennia.
The Origins of Hercules
Hercules' story begins even before his birth, rooted in the complex web of Greek mythology. He was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Alcmene, a mortal woman. This divine parentage made Hercules a demigod, blessed with superhuman strength and abilities.
However, Hercules' birth was not without controversy. Zeus, known for his numerous affairs, disguised himself as Alcmene's husband, Amphitryon, to seduce her. This deception led to the conception of Hercules, alongside his mortal twin brother Iphicles, who was fathered by the real Amphitryon.
This unusual circumstance of Hercules' birth set the stage for the following turbulent life. From his very infancy, he was marked by both divine favour and divine animosity, particularly from Hera, Zeus' wife, who resented Zeus' infidelity and the child born from it.
Hera's Wrath and Hercules' Madness
Hera's hatred for Hercules manifested in various attempts to harm or hinder him throughout his life. One of her earliest attempts was sending two serpents to kill the infant Hercules in his crib. However, demonstrating his godly strength even as a baby, Hercules strangled the serpents with his bare hands.
Despite this early triumph, Hera's most devastating attack came later in Hercules' life. After he had married Megara and fathered several children, Hera inflicted him with a bout of temporary madness. In this state of insanity, Hercules tragically killed his own wife and children, mistaking them for enemies.
When he regained his senses and realized what he had done, Hercules was overwhelmed with grief and sought purification for his terrible deed. This quest for atonement led him to consult the Oracle of Delphi, who directed him to serve King Eurystheus of Tiryns for twelve years.
The Twelve Labors
It was King Eurystheus who, at Hera's urging, devised the Twelve Labors - tasks so difficult they were deemed impossible. These labours were designed not just as punishment but as a test of Hercules' strength, courage, and cleverness. Each labour pushed Hercules to his limits, requiring him to overcome both physical and mental challenges.
1. The Nemean Lion
The first labour was to slay the Nemean Lion, a monstrous beast with an impenetrable hide. Hercules quickly learned that no weapon could pierce the lion's skin. Undeterred, he used his immense strength to strangle the beast with his bare hands. After killing the lion, Hercules used its own claws to skin it, creating an invulnerable cloak for himself. He brought the body of the lion to Eurystheus, who, after witnessing Hercules’ strength, refused to allow him back into the city and instead sent him on another labour from a distance.
2. The Lernaean Hydra
For his second labour, Hercules was sent to defeat the Lernaean Hydra, a nine-headed serpent whose heads would regenerate if cut off. Hercules devised a clever strategy: as he cut off each head, his nephew Iolaus would cauterize the wound with a torch, preventing regrowth. For the immortal central head Hercules buried it under a massive rock.
3. The Ceryneian Hind
The third labor required Hercules to capture the Ceryneian Hind, a sacred deer with golden antlers, alive. This task took Hercules a full year to complete, as he had to chase the incredibly swift creature across Greece. He finally managed to capture it without harming it, demonstrating not just strength but also patience and skill. In this version of the myth, Artemis is furious when he kills her deer and goes to take the deer away from him. However, before Artemis strikes him, Hercules explains he is doing only what the Oracle told him. Understanding the influence and power of the Oracle, Artemis lets go of her anger, revives the deer, and allows Hercules to take the deer with him if it remains alive.
4. The Erymanthian Boar
Hercules' fourth labour was to capture the Erymanthian Boar, a massive beast terrorizing the region of Mount Erymanthos. Every day, the boar would come crashing down from his lair on the mountain, attacking men and animals all over the countryside, gouging them with its tusks, and destroying everything in its path.
On his way to hunt the boar, Hercules stopped to visit his friend Pholus, who was a centaur who lived in a cave near Mount Erymanthus. Pholus fed Hercules but didn’t offer him any wine. When Hercules asked for some wine, he was told the wine belonged to all the centaurs, and it wasn’t Pholus’ decision to share it with him. Being rather arrogant, Hercules opened the wine for himself, but the centaurs smelled the wine and came charging to the cave, armed with rocks and branches. Hercules took burning logs from the fire and fought off the centaurs. He then used his club and arrows to shoot down the rest. Hercules chased the rest of the centaurs away into the mountains, and whilst he was gone, Pharos, his centaur friend, pulled an arrow from the body of a dead centaur. Now, this is where it gets a bit weird. As he pondered over how such a small weapon could kill such a huge beast, the arrow slipped from his hand and somehow pierced his hoof and killed him on the spot.
When HErcules returns and sees his dear friend dead, he buries him and then carries on his journey to hunt down the boar. The boar was easy to find; it was a loud, large, grunting animal snorting and stomping around the mountains. Hercules cleverly drove the boar into deep snow, exhausting it before capturing it with a net. This labour showcased Hercules' tactical thinking alongside his physical prowess.
5. The Augean Stables
The fifth labour was perhaps more grotesque and humiliating than dangerous: cleaning the Augean Stables, which housed thousands of cattle and hadn't been cleaned in 30 years.
Hercules went to King Augeas and, without saying anything about Eurystheus, said that he would clean out the stables in one day if Augeas would give him a tenth of his fine cattle. Augeas was delighted and agreed, and Hercules even brought Augeas’ son with him to watch. First, Hercules tore a big opening in the wall of the cattle yard where the stables were. Then, he made another opening in the wall on the opposite side of the yard. Next, he dug wide trenches to two rivers that flowed nearby and turned the course of the rivers into the yard. With this, the rivers rushed through the stables, flushing them out, and all the mess flowed out the hole in the wall on the other side of the yard.
However, though Hercules completed the task, once Augeas learned the task was Eurystheus’s orders, he refused to pay Hercules what he had promised. Hercules needed payment from Augeas to prove to Eurystheus that he had completed the task, so he took Augeas to a judge and called Augeas’ son as a witness to testify to his labour and the deal. The boy didn’t lie to the judge, and furious at the betrayal and loss, Augeas banished both Hercules and his son from his kingdom. Sadly, without payment, Hercules failed the task.
6. The Stymphalian Birds
For his sixth labor, Hercules had to drive away the Stymphalian Birds, man-eating birds with bronze beaks and sharp metallic feathers. With the help of a pair of bronze krotala (noise-making clappers) given by Athena, Hercules scared the birds into flight and then shot them down with his bow and arrows.
7. The Cretan Bull
The seventh labour took Hercules to Crete, where he had to capture a mad bull ravaging the island. This bull was the same one that had sired the Minotaur. When Hercules got to Crete, he easily wrestled the bull to the ground and took it back to Eurystheus alive. Eurystheus actually let the bull go free, and it terrorised people all around Greece and even ended up in Marathon near Athens, where Theseus eventually slew it.
8. The Mares of Diomedes
Hercules' eighth labour was to steal the man-eating mares of Diomedes, the king of Thrace. These horses were fed human flesh and were incredibly savage. Hercules sailed with a band of volunteers across the Aegean to Bistonia. When they arrived, they overpowered the grooms who were tending the horses and drove them to the sea.
When the Bistones realized what had happened, they sent soldiers to recapture the animals. Hercules thus needed to fight the Bistones, but he needed to free himself from holding onto the mares, so he entrusted them to a youth named Abderos.
Sadly, the mares were too powerful for Abderos and dragged him around until he was killed. Meanwhile, Hercules fought the Bistones, killed Diomedes, and made the rest flee. In honour of the Abderos, Hercules founded the city of Abdera. Once he returned with the mares, Eurystheus, once again, set them free, and the mares wandered around until they eventually found their way onto Mount Olympus where they were eaten by wild beasts.
9. The Belt of Hippolyta
The ninth labour sent Hercules to obtain the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. This belt was a leather belt that had been given to her by Ares, the war god, because she was the best warrior of all the Amazons. Initially, Hippolyta was willing to give Hercules the belt, but Hera intervened, stirring up conflict. Disguised as an Amazon warrior, Hera went up and down the army and told each woman that the strangers who had arrived would kidnap the queen, so the Amazons put on their armour and prepared for war. In the ensuing battle, Hercules killed Hippolyta and took the belt from her corpse.
10. The Cattle of Geryon
For his tenth labour, Hercules had to steal the cattle of Geryon, a monster with three bodies. This labour involved a long journey to the far West, during which Hercules set up the Pillars of Hercules in the Strait of Gibraltar by splitting a mountain in two.
Sailing in a goblet, which the Sun gave him in admiration, Hercules reached the island of Erythia. Not long after he arrived, Orthus, the two-headed dog guarding the cattle (and brother of Cerberus), attacked Hercules, but Hercules defeated him with his club.
Hercules rounded up the herd, but just as he escaped, he was attacked by Geryon, who Hercules killed with arrows. Capturing the cattle was easy enough, but getting the cattle home was a task in itself. On his way home, Hercules had to kill two sons of Poseidon who tried to take the cattle from him, and then one of the bulls escaped and swam all the way to Sicily, where it was picked up by another one of Poseidon’s sons, Eryx.
Hercules, searching for the runaway bull, found it in Eryx's herd, but the king would only return it if Hercules could beat him in a wrestling contest, which he did, three times, and then he just killed the king and took the bull back. Then bloody Hera decides to have another go. She sent a gadfly to attack the cattle, and the herd scattered far and wide, so Hercules had to go and chase them all across Thrace. When he finally brought them back, Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.
11. The Apples of the Hesperides
The eleventh labour required Hercules to retrieve the golden apples of the Hesperides. 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 named Ladon but also by the Hesperides, nymphs who were daughters of Atlas.
Hercules journeyed through Libya, Egypt, Arabia, and Asia. He was stopped by Kyknos, the son of the war god, Ares, who demanded that Hercules fight him. After a thunderbolt broke up the fight, Hercules continued to Illyria, where he seized the sea god Nereus, who knew the garden's secret location. Nereus transforms himself into all kinds of shapes, trying to escape, but Hercules holds him tight and doesn't release Nereus until he gets the information he needs.
Then, Hercules bumped into more of Poseidon’s sons. First, he meets Antaeus, who also challenges Hercules to fight. Antaeus is an interesting opponent because whenever he touches the ground, he becomes stronger, so Hercules defeats him by lifting him off the ground and crushing him to death.
After that, Hercules met Busiris, another of Poseidon's sons, who captured Hercules and led him to an altar to be a human sacrifice. But Hercules escaped, killed Busiris, and journeyed on. Then Hercules came to the rock on Mount Caucasus where Prometheus was chained.
Prometheus was chained there by the gods as punishment for giving mortals the secret of fire. Every day, a monstrous eagle came and ate his liver. After the eagle flew off, Prometheus' liver grew back, and the next day he had to endure the eagle's painful visit all over again. This went on for 30 years until Heracles showed up and killed the eagle.
In gratitude, Prometheus told Hercules the secret to getting the apples. He would have to send Atlas after them instead of going himself. Atlas hated holding up the sky and the earth so much that he would agree to the task of fetching the apples to pass his burden over to Hercules. So, Heracles held up the sky while Atlas went to get the apples.
When Atlas returned with the golden apples, he told Hercules he would take them to Eurystheus himself, and asked Hercules to stay there and hold the heavy load for the rest of time. Hercules slyly agreed, but asked Atlas whether he could take it back again, just for a moment, while the hero put some soft padding on his shoulders to help him bear the weight of the sky and the earth. Atlas put the apples on the ground, and lifted the burden onto his own shoulders. Hercules picked up the apples and quickly ran off, carrying them back to Eurystheus, leaving Atlas to return to his fate. Because the apples belonged to the gods, Eurystheus couldn’t keep them so he had to return them to Athena, who took them back to the garden.
12. Cerberus
The final and most dangerous labour was to capture Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld.
Before going to Hades, Hercules decided to take extra precautions; after all, he might not be allowed to leave again. So, he went to Eleusis and saw Eumolpus, a priest who created the Eleusinian Mysteries. The mysteries were sacred religious rites that celebrated the myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone and it was believed that those who knew the mysteries would find happiness in the underworld. Once he learned the mysteries, Hercules went down to the underworld.
When Heracles found Cerberus, he threw his strong arms around the beast, perhaps grasping all three heads, and wrestled Cerberus into submission. The dragon in Cerberus's tail bit Heracles, but that did not stop him. Eventually, Cerberus submitted to the hero's force, and Hercules brought Cerberus to Eurystheus.
The Legacy of Hercules' Labours
The completion of the Twelve Labors marked the end of Hercules' servitude to Eurystheus and his atonement for the killing of his family. These labours showcased not only Hercules' incredible strength and courage but also his intelligence and resourcefulness. Each task required him to think creatively and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The Twelve Labors of Hercules have left an indelible mark on Western culture. They have been retold countless times in literature, art, and popular media, serving as a source of inspiration and moral lessons. The labors represent the triumph of human will and ingenuity over adversity and the potential for redemption even after grave mistakes.
Moreover, the geographical span of Hercules' journeys during these labors helped to define the known world for ancient Greeks, with places like the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar) becoming important landmarks in Mediterranean geography and trade.
Conclusion
The story of Hercules and his Twelve Labors is more than just a tale of superhuman feats. It's a narrative that explores themes of guilt, redemption, perseverance, and the complex relationship between mortals and gods. Hercules, despite his divine parentage, is portrayed as deeply human in his struggles and flaws, making his story resonate across millennia.
As we reflect on these ancient myths, we can see how they continue to offer insights into the human condition. The Labors of Hercules remind us that even the mightiest heroes face challenges, make mistakes, and must work to redeem themselves. They teach us about the importance of perseverance, ingenuity, and courage in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
In our modern world, where we face our own set of challenges and 'labours,' the story of Hercules continues to inspire and remind us of the potential for greatness that lies within each of us. Whether we're battling our personal demons or striving to achieve difficult goals, the legend of Hercules and his Twelve Labors encourages us to push our limits and overcome the obstacles in our path.
