Twelve_Labors$of_Heracles TWLEVE LABORS OF HERACLES

MYTH

1. THE TWELVE LABORS OF HERACLES

2. INTRODUCTION
•Heracles was the son of Zeus
•Denied right to be king and his birthright was given to his
cousin Eurystheus.
•Hated by Hera
•In a fit of rage, sent by Hera, Heracles killed his wife and three
children
•In order to repent this sin he must complete 12 impossible tasks
for Eurystheus.
•These tasks became known as the twelve labors of Heracles

3. TASK 1:
KILL THE NEMEAN LION
•Lion was supernatural, because its
hide could not be pierced by
arrows.
•Heracles blocked the exit to its
cave and crawled in the entrance
•Heracles throttles the lion in hand-
to-hand combat
•Heracles skins the animal and
from then on all statues of
Heracles depict him with the
Lion’s hide.

4. TASK 2:
KILL THE LERNA HYDRA
•Eurystheus was so scared of his
cousin that when he saw
Heracles coming with Lion’s hide,
he hid in a jar and issued the
next task
•The Hydra’s breath was
poisonous
•With the help of Iolaus, his
nephew, he cut off and burned
the heads of the Hydra, killing it.
•Dips arrows in Hydra’s blood
making poison arrows

5. TASK 3:
THE CERYNITIAN HIND
•Deer was sacred to Artemis and
had golden horns
•Heracles hunted the animal for a
year before he was able to shoot
the animal between the tendons
and bones of its front two forelegs.
•Artemis is angry but Heracles
blames Eurystheus his task
master.

6. TASK 4:
THE ERYMANTHIAN BOAR
•Had to bring back the animal alive
•Chased it into a snow bank on
Mount Erymanthus and threw the
creature over his shoulder and
took it back to Eurystheus.
•Eurystheus was hiding in a
storage jar as usual.

7. TASK 5:
THE AUGEAN STABLES
•King Augeas had several thousand
cattle and the produced so much
manure over the years that the
island permeated with the scent.
•Eurystheus sent Heracles to clean
the stables in one day.
•Instead of using a shovel and a
bucket like Eurystheus intended,
Heracles diverted two great rivers
to wash out the stables.

8. TASK 6:
THE STYMPHALIAN BIRDS
•The sixth Labor pitted Heracles
against the Stymphalian birds,
who inhabited a marsh near Lake
Stymphalus.
•The birds had feathers of brass
which they would shoot at people
and kill them with.
•Heracles could not get close to
them so he shot them with his
arrows.

9. TASK 7:
THE CRETAN BULL
•The same bull that was the father
of the Minotaur.
•Belched flames and fire.
•King Minos wanted to be rid of it.
•Heracles overpowered it and
shipped it back to mainland
Greece.

10. TASK 8:
THE MARES OF DIOMEDES
•The King Diomedes had four
mares which he trained to eat
human flesh.
•Diomedes would give his enemies
to the horses.
•Heracles feed Diomedes to his own
horses, thus pacifying them as he
took them to Eurystheus.

11. TASK 9:
HIPPOLYTE'S GIRDLE
•Heracles had to travel to the land
of the Amazons to retrieve the belt
of their leader for Eurystheus'
daughter.
•Hippolyte gave Heracles the belt
with no trouble, but Hera spread a
rumor that he had killed
Hippolyte.
•Heracles had to fight off the
Amazons to escape with his life
and the belt.

12. TASK 10:
THE CATTLE OF GERYON
•Geryon was a monster with three
heads and three bodies.
•His cattle was the most beautiful
in all the world
•To find Geryon’s island Heracles
makes the Strait of Gibraltar (The
Pillars of Heracles).
•Heracles killed Geryon with his
club and returned to Greece with
the cattle.

13. TASK 11:
THE APPLES OF THE HESPERIDES
•The apples were given to Hera as a
wedding present. They were kept on an
island and guarded by a many headed
dragon.
•In his search for the island he comes
across Atlas.
•Atlas agreed to get the apples if Heracles
would hold the world.
•Heracles held the world while Atlas went
to get the apples, when he returned Atlas
did not want to hold the world again.
•Heracles told Atlas to hold it long enough
for him to fetch a cushion for his
shoulders. When Atlas took the world
back, Heracles took the apples and ran.

14. TASK 12:
THE CAPTURE OF CERBERUS
•Eurystheus ordered Heracles to go to
Hades and return with Cerberus.
•Heracles intimidated Charon to take
him across the river Styx.
•Heracles then asked permission from
Hades to take Cerberus.
•Hades agrees on the condition that
Heracles has to beat the creature in
hand to hand combat.
•Heracles is victorious and takes the
animal back to Eurystheus.
•Thus ends his twelve labors and his
penance.