The Twelve Labors of Heracles

The Twelve Labors of Heracles (Roman: Hercules) are the most famous of all the Greek hero myths. They were supposedly performed by the hero Heracles, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, in the service of King Eurystheus of Tiryns, as a kind of penance for having killed his own wife and children in a fit of madness sent by the jealous goddess Hera. The Twelve Labors were celebrated in art and literature throughout the ancient Greek world, and they remained a central theme of Western art from the Archaic period to the Baroque. Heracles himself was the most popular of the Greek heroes, and he was eventually worshipped as a god.

This page is a complete guide to the Twelve Labors. It explains who Heracles was, what the Labors were, and what the myths about them were. It links back to the Greek Mythology cluster, the Twelve Olympians page, and the Iliad and Odyssey long-tails.

Heracles

Heracles was the greatest of the Greek heroes. He was born in Thebes, the son of Zeus (who had taken the form of Amphitryon, the husband of Alcmene) and Alcmene herself. He was famous from infancy for his strength: as a baby, he strangled two serpents that Hera had sent to kill him. He was raised by the centaur Chiron, married the princess Megara, and had several children. Hera, however, was determined to destroy him, and she drove him mad, causing him to kill his own wife and children. As a penance, the Oracle at Delphi told him to serve King Eurystheus of Tiryns for ten years, and to perform whatever tasks the king set him. The Twelve Labors were the tasks that Eurystheus assigned.

The Twelve Labors are famous for their difficulty, their variety, and their mythological resonance. Each Labor was a confrontation with a monster, a journey to the edge of the known world, or a test of the hero’s strength, courage, and intelligence. The Labors established Heracles as the greatest of the Greek heroes, and they were the subject of countless works of art, including the famous metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

The Twelve Labors

1. The Nemean Lion

The first Labor was to kill the Nemean Lion, a fearsome beast that lived in a cave near the city of Nemea. The lion’s hide was impervious to weapons, so Heracles had to strangle it with his bare hands. He then skinned the lion with the lion’s own claws (the only thing sharp enough to do the job) and wore the hide as armor.

2. The Lernaean Hydra

The second Labor was to kill the Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed water serpent that lived in the swamp of Lerna. Each time Heracles cut off one of the Hydra’s heads, two more grew in its place. Heracles solved the problem by cauterizing each stump with a burning brand, and by calling on his nephew Iolaus to help. Hera sent a giant crab to distract Heracles, but he crushed it. He then dipped his arrows in the Hydra’s poisonous blood, which would later prove to be the cause of his death.

3. The Ceryneian Hind

The third Labor was to capture the Ceryneian Hind, a sacred deer with golden antlers and bronze hooves, dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Heracles chased the deer for a full year, finally catching it as it was about to cross the river Ladon. He brought the deer back to Eurystheus, who set it free as a gift to Artemis.

4. The Erymanthian Boar

The fourth Labor was to capture the Erymanthian Boar, a huge wild boar that lived on Mount Erymanthos. Heracles chased the boar into deep snow, where it became trapped, and then carried it back to Eurystheus.

5. The Augean Stables

The fifth Labor was to clean the Augean Stables in a single day. The stables, owned by King Augeas of Elis, had not been cleaned for years and were home to thousands of cattle. Heracles solved the problem by diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stables.

6. The Stymphalian Birds

The sixth Labor was to drive away the Stymphalian Birds, a flock of man-eating birds with bronze beaks and sharp metal feathers, which lived in the marsh of Stymphalos. Heracles used a rattle given to him by Athena to frighten the birds, then shot them with his arrows.

7. The Cretan Bull

The seventh Labor was to capture the Cretan Bull, the bull that had carried Europa across the sea to Crete. The bull was wild and fierce, but Heracles subdued it, carried it on his back across the sea, and presented it to Eurystheus.

8. The Horses of Diomedes

The eighth Labor was to capture the man-eating horses of Diomedes, king of Thrace. The horses were kept on a diet of the flesh of strangers and guests. Heracles killed Diomedes and fed him to his own horses, which became calm when their master was dead.

9. The Belt of Hippolyta

The ninth Labor was to obtain the belt of the Amazon queen Hippolyta, the daughter of Ares. Hippolyta was so impressed by Heracles that she gave him the belt willingly, but Hera spread a rumor that the Greeks were planning to abduct the queen, and a battle broke out in which Hippolyta was killed.

10. The Cattle of Geryon

The tenth Labor was to steal the cattle of Geryon, a monster with three heads and three bodies who lived on the island of Erytheia, at the western edge of the known world. Heracles sailed across the Ocean, killed Geryon, and drove the cattle back to Greece.

11. The Apples of the Hesperides

The eleventh Labor was to obtain the golden apples of the Hesperides, which grew in a garden at the western edge of the world, guarded by a dragon and the Hesperides, the daughters of the evening. Heracles persuaded the Titan Atlas to fetch the apples while he held up the sky. Atlas then tried to keep the apples, but Heracles tricked him into taking the sky back.

12. The Capture of Cerberus

The twelfth Labor was the most difficult of all: to capture Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld. Heracles descended into the underworld, found Hades, and asked permission to take Cerberus. Hades agreed, on the condition that Heracles subdue the beast without using weapons. Heracles did so, and brought Cerberus to Eurystheus.

The Death of Heracles

After the Twelve Labors, Heracles went on to perform many other feats. He joined the Argonauts, fought the Trojans, helped the gods in their war against the Giants, and married Deianeira. His death, however, was caused by the poisoned arrows from the Lernaean Hydra. He gave his cloak to his wife Deianeira, who had been told by the centaur Nessus that the cloak would preserve her husband’s love. The cloak was actually soaked in the Hydra’s blood, and when Heracles wore it, it burned his skin. Heracles, in agony, built a funeral pyre on Mount Oeta, lay on it, and ordered it set on fire. The mortal part of Heracles was burned; the divine part ascended to Olympus, where he married Hebe, the cupbearer of the gods.

The Legacy of Heracles

Heracles was the most popular of all the Greek heroes. His cult was widespread throughout the ancient Mediterranean, and he was eventually worshipped as a god in his own right. The Romans identified him with their own hero Hercules, who became the divine patron of the city of Rome and of the emperor Commodus (who fancied himself a reincarnation of Hercules). The Twelve Labors have been a central theme of Western art, from the Archaic period to the present day. The famous Farnese Hercules, the Roman marble copy of a Greek original by Lysippos, is one of the most famous ancient sculptures in the world. The Twelve Labors are still the subject of movies, television series, video games, and novels.