After killing his wife and children in a fit of madness sent by Hera, Heracles had to serve his cousin Eurystheus, king of Tiryns and Mycenae. At first there were to be ten labours, but Eurystheus refused to count two, because Heracles had been helped or paid, and added two more. Eurystheus was so afraid of the hero that he gave his orders from afar and hid in a bronze jar whenever Heracles returned with his prizes.
| No. | Labour | Where | What Heracles did |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Nemean lion | Peloponnese | strangled it, as its hide was invulnerable |
| 2 | The Lernaean Hydra | Peloponnese | cut off the heads and seared the necks with Iolaus's help |
| 3 | The Ceryneian hind | Arcadia | chased it for a whole year and caught it alive |
| 4 | The Erymanthian boar | Arcadia | drove it into the snow and caught it |
| 5 | The Augean stables | Elis | cleaned them in a day by diverting two rivers |
| 6 | The Stymphalian birds | Arcadia | scared them with rattles and shot them |
| 7 | The Cretan bull | Crete | tamed it and brought it to Greece |
| 8 | The mares of Diomedes | Thrace | captured the man-eating mares |
| 9 | Hippolyta's belt | land of the Amazons | took the belt of the Amazon queen |
| 10 | The cattle of Geryon | the far west | stole the herd of the three-bodied giant |
| 11 | The apples of the Hesperides | the ends of the earth | had Atlas pick them while he held up the sky |
| 12 | Cerberus | the underworld | brought the three-headed dog to earth and then returned it |
1. The Nemean lion
A huge lion whose hide no weapon could pierce terrorised the valley of Nemea. Heracles's arrows bounced off: so he fought it bare-handed and strangled it. Using the lion's own claws he skinned it and from then on wore the hide as invulnerable armour.
2. The Lernaean Hydra
In the swamp of Lerna lived the Hydra, a serpent with many heads: for each one cut off, two grew back. Heracles was helped by his nephew Iolaus, who seared the stumps with a torch. The immortal head was buried under a rock. Heracles dipped his arrows in the monster's poisonous blood. Eurystheus did not count this labour because the hero had help.
3. The Ceryneian hind
The hind with golden antlers was sacred to Artemis. Heracles was not to wound it: he chased it for a whole year, as far as the land of the Hyperboreans, and caught it when it stopped to drink, barely grazing it. He won the goddess's forgiveness.
4. The Erymanthian boar
He had to capture alive a gigantic boar on Mount Erymanthus. He drove it with his shouts into deep snow, where it got stuck. When Heracles brought it to Mycenae, Eurystheus hid terrified in his jar.
5. The Augean stables
King Augeas owned thousands of cattle and his stables had not been cleaned for thirty years. Heracles had to clean them in a single day: he broke two gaps in the walls and diverted the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them, washing everything away. This labour was not counted either, because Augeas had promised payment.
6. The Stymphalian birds
On Lake Stymphalia lived man-eating birds with bronze feathers they shot like arrows. Athena gave Heracles rattles (krotala) forged by Hephaestus: their din made the birds take flight, and he shot them down.
7. The Cretan bull
This was the white bull Poseidon had sent to Minos, father of the Minotaur, which had gone mad. Heracles tamed it, carried it to Greece on his shoulders or swimming on its back, and let it go; the bull roamed to Marathon, where it was later killed by Theseus.
8. The mares of Diomedes
The Thracian king Diomedes fed his mares on human flesh. Heracles captured them and fed them their own master: the mares calmed down and could be led to Mycenae.
9. Hippolyta's belt
Eurystheus wanted for his daughter the belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, a people of warrior women. The queen was willing to give it, but Hera, disguised as an Amazon, spread the rumour that Heracles meant to kidnap her: a battle broke out in which Hippolyta was killed.
10. The cattle of Geryon
At the western edge of the world, on the island of Erytheia, lived the giant Geryon, with three bodies joined at the waist, owner of a herd of red cattle. On the way Heracles set up the Pillars of Hercules on the strait between Europe and Africa. He killed Geryon and the two-headed dog Orthrus and drove the herd back to Greece through Spain, Gaul and Italy.
11. The golden apples of the Hesperides
He had to fetch the golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides, guarded by the dragon Ladon. On Prometheus's advice he asked the Titan Atlas to pick them while he held up the sky in his place. Atlas came back with the apples but did not want the burden back: Heracles pretended to agree and asked him to hold the sky for a moment while he put a cushion on his shoulders. As soon as Atlas took it, Heracles left with the apples.
12. Cerberus
The last and hardest labour: bring to earth Cerberus, the three-headed dog guarding the entrance to the underworld. Guided by Hermes and Athena, Heracles went down to the kingdom of the dead and got permission from Hades, on condition he used no weapons. He wrestled the monster bare-handed, dragged it to Mycenae, where Eurystheus hid in his jar again, and then took it back to the underworld. See the underworld and monsters.