The myth of Hercules begins with his unusual birth. The thunder god Zeus had a penchant for earthly women. He liked the beautiful Alcmene, the wife of the king of Mycenae. Zeus, with gentle speeches, tried to convince her to cheat on her husband. But Alcmene was adamant. Then the Thunderer decided to cheat. He drove all the animals of Hellas into the forest where the king of Mycenae was hunting. Carried away by hunting, he did not return home to spend the night. And Zeus in the form of a husband appeared to Alcmene.
On the day when Hercules was to be born, the Thunderer swore in the presence of the gods that the boy would become the ruler of Mycenae. But Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, realized that we were talking about an illegitimate child. She pushed back Alcmene's birth by a day. At the hour appointed by Zeus, Eurystheus was born. It was he who became the ruler of Mycenae, in whose service Hercules accomplished famous feats.
Myths about Hercules: 12 labors
Hera, having learned about the birth of the future hero, vowed to kill him. She sent two poisonous snakes into the cradle. But Hercules showed strength and agility from birth. He strangled the reptiles with his hands.
The myth of Hercules tells that Hera later sent madness to the hero. The man's mind became confused as he played with his sons. He mistook the children for monsters. When the attack of madness passed, Hercules was horrified by his own action. Full of remorse, he decided to go to overseas countries.
Hercules sailed with the Argonauts on a ship to distant Colchis for the Golden Fleece. But his journey did not last long - the god Hermes appeared to the hero near the very shores of Greece. He conveyed the will of the gods: let Hercules humble himself and go into the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.
Jealous Hera, in a desire to get rid of the illegitimate son of Zeus, entered into an agreement with Eurystheus. She advised the ruler of Mycenae to choose the most difficult and dangerous tasks for the hero. The myths about the exploits of Hercules, one might say, appeared thanks to Hera. She herself, unwittingly, contributed to the hero’s centuries-long glory.
First feat
Eurystheus gave the first task to Hercules - to destroy the Nemean lion. The monster was born from the giant Typhon and Echidna, a huge snake. The lion amazed with its size and bloodthirstiness. Its durable skin withstood the blows of swords, and arrows dulled on it.
A lion lived in the vicinity of the city of Nemea, destroying all living things in its path. For a whole month Hercules searched for his lair. Finally he discovered a cave that served as a refuge for the Nemean Lion. Hercules blocked the exit from the lair with a huge boulder, and he himself prepared to wait at the entrance. Finally there was a loud roar and a monster appeared.
The myth of Hercules tells that the hero's arrows bounced off the skin of a lion. The sharp sword did not harm him. Then Hercules grabbed the monster by the throat with his bare hands and strangled him.
The hero returned victoriously to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the defeated lion, he was afraid of the incredible strength of Hercules.
Second feat
Let's try to retell the second myth about Hercules briefly. Hera came up with a new deadly task for the hero. A terrible monster was lurking in the poisonous swamp - the Lernaean Hydra. She had the body of a snake and nine heads.
The Lernaean hydra lived near the entrance to the world of the dead. She crawled out of her lair and devastated the surrounding area. Being the sister of the Nemean Lion, she had a huge advantage - one of her nine heads was immortal. Therefore, it was impossible to kill the Lernaean Hydra.
Iolaus offered his help to Hercules - he took the hero to the poisonous swamp on his chariot. The hero fought the hydra for a long time. But, having struck down one head of the monster, Hercules saw two new ones appear in its place.
Assistant Iolaus set fire to a nearby grove and began to cauterize the severed heads of the hydra. When Hercules cut off the last, immortal head, he buried it deep in the ground. He laid a huge rock on top so that the monster could never appear on earth again.
Hercules soaked the arrowheads with the poisonous blood of the hydra. And then he returned to Mycenae, where Eurystheus’ new task awaited him.
Third feat
Myths about the exploits of Hercules indicate his strength, agility, and speed. For more than a year the hero chased the Kerynean doe in order to catch it - this was a new task for the ruler of Mycenae.
A beautiful fallow deer appeared in the vicinity of the Kerenean Mountains. Her horns sparkled with gold, and her hooves shone with copper. The animal's skin sparkled in the sun. The Kerynean fallow deer was created by the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. She did this as a reproach to people who exterminated flora and fauna.
The doe ran faster than the wind - she rushed, running away from Hercules, through Attica, Thesprotia, Boeotia. For a whole year the hero tried to catch up with the beautiful fugitive. In desperation, Hercules took out his bow and shot the animal in the leg. Throwing a net over the prey, he carried it to Mycenae.
Artemis appeared in front of him in anger. Ancient myths about Hercules say that the hero bowed to her. He explained how the will of the gods forced him to serve Eurystheus. That he was not chasing the beautiful doe for himself. Artemis had mercy and allowed Hercules to take the animal to Mycenae.
Fourth feat
And Eurystheus has already prepared a new task for the hero. Which one? The fourth myth about Hercules will tell us about this. Its brief content allows us to find out that a wild boar appeared in Arcadia. The Erymanthian boar used its huge tusks to destroy livestock, forest animals, and travelers...
On the way, Hercules visited his acquaintance, the centaur Pholus. They opened the wine, had fun, sang songs. Other centaurs, attracted by the aroma of the wine, armed themselves with stones and stakes and declared that the wine was a gift to the entire community. A fight ensued. Hercules put the centaurs to flight with his poisonous arrows.
Continuing his journey, the hero soon saw the Erymanthian boar. But the blows of the sword did not frighten the animal. Then Hercules raised his shield high. When the sun was reflected in it, the hero directed the beam directly into the eyes of the beast. Then he began to hit the shield with his sword. Blinded, the animal was frightened by the loud noise. He rushed high into the mountains, where he got stuck in deep snow. Then Hercules tied the boar, put it on his shoulders and brought it to Mycenae.
The inhabitants rejoiced at their deliverance from the formidable monster. Eurystheus, seeing the size of the boar, was so frightened that he hid in a bronze pithos.
Fifth feat
King Augeas was famous for his herds and stables. He fenced off the barnyard with a high fence, because he was in fear around the clock that the bulls and horses might be kidnapped. All day long Augeias tried to count the number of horses in the stables. But the herd was in motion, the horses moved, and the count had to start over.
The accumulated sewage from the horses filled all the stables. The smell from them permeated the whole of Arcadia, says the 5th myth. Hercules sent Eurystheus to clear the Augean stables of manure. The king thought that a strong and brave hero would disdain such a task.
Hercules realized that it was necessary to make a hole in the fence. He broke the fence surrounding the stables on both sides. The water flow of the mountain river immediately washed away all the impurities.
The myth of Hercules briefly reports that after this feat, the hero made a sacrifice to the river god for the unpleasant work. Then he restored the fence and returned to Mycenae for a new assignment.
The sixth feat
One day, two huge birds appeared near the city of Stymphalus, the myths about Hercules are told. They had copper beaks and bronze feathers. The Stymphalian birds multiplied over time and formed a flock. They destroyed seedlings in the fields. They dropped their bronze feathers like arrows on everyone who came near them.
Hercules, before entering into battle, studied the habits of the creatures for a long time. He realized that, having shed their feathers, birds become defenseless until new ones grow. The warrior goddess Athena appeared to Hercules and presented him with copper rattles as a gift. Hercules was delighted with the help and made a loud noise with the instrument.
The Stymphalian birds flew up in fear and began to shed their sharp feathers. Hercules took refuge under a shield from their onslaught. After the birds dropped all their feathers, the hero shot them with a bow. And those that I didn’t manage to hit flew away from these places.
Seventh feat
What does the seventh myth about Hercules tell about? The summary indicates that there are no more monstrous animals and birds left in Arcadia. But Eurystheus came up with an idea where to send Hercules - to the island of Crete.
The sea god Poseidon gave King Minos a wonderful bull so that the ruler would sacrifice it to the gods. But the king liked the Cretan bull so much that he hid it in his herd. Poseidon found out about the king's deception. In anger, he struck the bull with madness. The monster ran around for a long time, killing people in a frenzy and scattering herds.
Eurystheus, at the behest of Hera, wished to see the Cretan bull alive. Hercules realized that only force can pacify the animal. He went out to fight, grabbed the bull by the horns, and bent his head to the ground. The animal sensed that the enemy was stronger. The Cretan bull stopped resisting. Then Hercules saddled him and drove him into the sea. So, riding on an animal, the hero returned to Arcadia.
The bull did not even try to throw Hercules off, he calmly entered the stall of King Eurystheus. When the hero, tired after a new feat, went to bed, the ruler was afraid to keep a maddened bull and in fear released him into the wild.
So the bull wandered around the outskirts of Arcadia until he was defeated by another hero of Hellas, Theseus.
Eighth feat
The myths about Hercules also tell about the demonic horses of Diomedes. These carnivorous monsters devoured lost travelers. Shipwrecked sailors were killed. When Hercules and his assistant arrived in the country, he immediately went in search of carnivorous horses. By neighing, he realized where the stables of King Diomedes were.
With a blow to the head, he subdued the first horse and threw a bridle around its neck. When the entire herd was bridled, Hercules and his assistant drove him to the ship. And then King Diomedes and his army stood in the way. Hercules defeated everyone, and when he returned to the shore, he saw that the horses had torn his assistant to pieces and fled.
The hero fed the body of King Diomedes to his own horses, drove them onto a ship and took them to Mycenae. The cowardly Eurystheus, at the sight of the carnivorous horses, in horror, ordered them to be released into the forest. There wild animals dealt with them.
Ninth feat
The 12 myths about Hercules are extremely interesting. They all talk about the strength and courage of the son of Zeus, about the amazing adventures that befell him. The ninth tells about Hippolyta's belt. Eurystheus's daughter Admeta wanted to get it. She heard that the belt was given to the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, by Ares himself, the god of war.
Hercules went on a journey with his companions. The Amazons greeted them friendly and asked about the purpose of the trip. Hercules honestly told Queen Hippolyta about how Eurystheus’s daughter wanted to receive her belt as a gift.
Hippolyta agreed to give the jewelry to Hercules. But the goddess Hera interfered. She didn’t like the peaceful solution to the issue - after all, she wanted to destroy the hero. Hera, transforming into one of the Amazons, spread the rumor that Hercules wanted to sell them into slavery.
The militant women believed the evil slander, and a battle ensued. Hercules and his companions defeated the Amazons. The son of Zeus completed this task with a heavy heart. Hercules, the hero of myth, did not want to fight with women, even if they were warriors.
Tenth feat
Our story continues with the tenth myth about Hercules. King Eurystheus thought for a long time before giving the hero a new task. He wanted to send his hated half-brother to a distant country, so distant that it would take a month or more to sail there.
Hercules traveled a long way. He defeated the son of the god Vulcan - the monster Kakus. Later, the city of Rome was founded on the site of their battle.
On the green meadows of Erythia, the cows of Geryon, a giant with three bodies, three heads and three pairs of arms and legs, grazed. They were guarded by a two-headed dog. At the sight of Hercules, he growled and rushed at him. The hero quickly defeated the dog, but then the giant shepherd woke up. The goddess Athena doubled the strength of Hercules, and he knocked the giant down with several blows of his club. The hero won another victory.
Having sailed by ship to Iberia, Hercules lay down to rest, letting the herd go to graze. At first light, he decided to drive the herd overland. Cows traveled through Iberia, Gaul, and Italy. Near the sea, one of them rushed to the water and swam. She ended up on the island of Sicily. The local ruler Eryx did not want to give the cow to Hercules. I had to defeat him too.
The hero returned with the fugitive to the herd and led it to King Eurystheus. The latter sacrificed cows to Hera, hoping to get rid of Hercules.
Eleventh feat
And again a long road awaited the hero. Eurystheus sent Hercules to fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides. They gave immortality and eternal youth. In the garden of the Hesperides, only nymphs guarded the apples. And the garden itself was located at the edge of the earth, where Atlas held the firmament on his shoulders.
On the way to the end of the world, Hercules freed Prometheus in the Caucasus Mountains. He fought with the son of the land of Gaia - Antaeus. Only by tearing the giant off the ground could the hero defeat him. Having reached Atlas, Hercules told him about the purpose of his journey. They agreed that the hero would hold the heavens on his shoulders, and Atlas would ask the nymphs for apples.
Hercules was already exhausted under the weight of the arch, and Atlas returned. The giant really didn’t want to take on an exorbitant burden on his shoulders again. The cunning man invited Hercules to hold the sky for a while until he himself reached Mycenae and gave the apples to the king. But our hero is not so stupid. He agreed, but on the condition that the giant would hold up the heavens, and in the meantime Hercules would make himself a grass pillow - the burden was too heavy. Atlas believed and took his place, and the hero took the apples and returned home.
Twelfth labor
The last task of Eurystheus was the most difficult, says the 12th myth. The Labors of Hercules (a brief summary of them is presented in this article) takes the reader into the amazing world of the mythology of Ancient Greece, a world full of amazing adventures, powerful and treacherous gods and strong, brave heroes. But we digress. So, 12 labors. Hercules had to descend into the kingdom of the dead and kidnap the dog Cerberus. Three heads, a tail in the shape of a snake - at the sight of this fiend of hell, the blood froze in my veins.
Hercules went down to Hades and fought with Cerberus. Having defeated the dog, the hero brought him to Mycenae. The king did not allow the gates to be opened and shouted for Hercules to release the terrible monster back.
But the myths about Hercules do not end there. The 12 feats that the hero performed in the service of Eurystheus glorified him for centuries. Later, he distinguished himself in military campaigns and arranged his personal life.
The Thirteenth Labor and Death of Hercules
Legends of Hellas say that there is also a 13th labor of Hercules. The myth has brought to this day the story of King Thespia. Hercules stayed in his house while hunting the Lion of Cithaeron. Thespius was worried that his daughters would choose unsightly grooms and give birth to ugly grandchildren. The king invited Hercules to impregnate his 50 daughters. So the hero hunted a lion during the day, and spent the night with the king’s daughters.
Many years later, Hercules married Deianira. They had many children. One day the couple were crossing a fast river. Dejanira was transported by the centaur Nessus. He was seduced by the beauty of the woman and wanted to take possession of her. Hercules struck him with a poisonous arrow. Experiencing terrible torment, Ness decided to take revenge on the hero. He persuaded Deianira to draw his blood. If Hercules stops loving her, all he has to do is soak his clothes in the blood of the centaur, and then the husband will not look at any woman again.
Dejanira kept the bottle with Nessus' gift. Returning from a military campaign, Hercules brought a young captive princess to the house. In a fit of jealousy, Dejanira soaked her husband's clothes in blood. The poison quickly took effect and began to cause Hercules severe pain, and it was impossible to remove his clothes. The eldest son carried his father in his arms to Mount Etu, where he made a funeral pyre. When the flame flared up, a huge cloud covered Hercules. So the gods decided to accept the hero to Olympus and grant him immortal life.
One day, the evil Hera sent a terrible illness to Hercules. The great hero lost his mind, madness took possession of him. In a fit of rage, Hercules killed all his children and the children of his brother Iphicles. When the fit passed, deep sorrow took possession of Hercules. Cleansed from the filth of the involuntary murder he committed, Hercules left Thebes and went to the sacred Delphi to ask the god Apollo what he should do. Apollo ordered Hercules to go to the homeland of his ancestors in Tiryns and serve Eurystheus for twelve years. Through the mouth of the Pythia, the son of Latona predicted to Hercules that he would receive immortality if he performed twelve great labors at the command of Eurystheus. Hercules settled in Tiryns and became the servant of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus...
First Labor: Nemean Lion
Hercules did not have to wait long for the first order of King Eurystheus. He instructed Hercules to kill the Nemean lion. This lion, born of Typhon and Echidna, was of monstrous size. He lived near the city of Nemea and devastated all the surrounding areas. Hercules boldly set out on a dangerous feat. Arriving in Nemea, he immediately went to the mountains to find the lion's lair. It was already midday when the hero reached the slopes of the mountains. There was not a single living soul to be seen anywhere: neither shepherds nor farmers. All living things fled from these places in fear of the terrible lion. For a long time Hercules searched for the lion's lair along the wooded slopes of the mountains and in the gorges; finally, when the sun began to lean towards the west, Hercules found a lair in a gloomy gorge; it was located in a huge cave that had two exits. Hercules blocked one of the exits with huge stones and began to wait for the lion, hiding behind the stones. Just in the evening, when dusk was already approaching, a monstrous lion with a long shaggy mane appeared. Hercules pulled the string of his bow and shot three arrows one after another at the lion, but the arrows bounced off his skin - it was hard as steel. The lion roared menacingly, his roar rolled like thunder across the mountains. Looking around in all directions, the lion stood in the gorge and looked with his eyes burning with rage for the one who dared to shoot arrows at him. But then he saw Hercules and rushed with a huge leap at the hero. The club of Hercules flashed like lightning and fell like a thunderbolt on the lion’s head. The lion fell to the ground, stunned by a terrible blow; Hercules rushed at the lion, grabbed him with his powerful arms and strangled him. Having lifted the dead lion onto his mighty shoulders, Hercules returned to Nemea, made a sacrifice to Zeus and established the Nemean Games in memory of his first feat. When Hercules brought the lion he had killed to Mycenae, Eurystheus turned pale with fear as he looked at the monstrous lion. The king of Mycenae realized what superhuman strength Hercules possessed. He forbade him even to approach the gates of Mycenae; when Hercules brought evidence of his exploits, Eurystheus looked at them with horror from the high Mycenaean walls.
Second Labor: Lernaean Hydra
After the first feat, Eurystheus sent Hercules to kill the Lernaean hydra. It was a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. Like the Nemean lion, the hydra was generated by Typhon and Echidna. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and, crawling out of its lair, destroyed entire herds and devastated the entire surrounding area. The fight with the nine-headed hydra was dangerous because one of its heads was immortal. Hercules set off on a journey to Lerna with Iphicles’ son Iolaus. Arriving at a swamp near the city of Lerna, Hercules left Iolaus with his chariot in a nearby grove, and he himself went to look for the hydra. He found her in a cave surrounded by a swamp. Having heated his arrows red-hot, Hercules began to shoot them one after another into the hydra. The arrows of Hercules enraged the Hydra. She crawled out, wriggling a body covered with shiny scales, from the darkness of the cave, rose menacingly on her huge tail and was about to rush at the hero, but the son of Zeus stepped on her torso with his foot and pressed her to the ground. The hydra wrapped its tail around the legs of Hercules and tried to knock him down. Like an unshakable rock, the hero stood and, with swings of a heavy club, knocked off the heads of the hydra one after another. The club whistled in the air like a whirlwind; The hydra's heads flew off, but the hydra was still alive. Then Hercules noticed that in the hydra, in place of each knocked-down head, two new ones grew. Help for the hydra also appeared. A monstrous cancer crawled out of the swamp and dug its pincers into Hercules’ leg. Then the hero called his friend Iolaus for help. Iolaus killed the monstrous cancer, set fire to part of the nearby grove and, with burning tree trunks, burned the hydra's necks, from which Hercules knocked off the heads with his club. The hydra has stopped growing new heads. She resisted the son of Zeus weaker and weaker. Finally, the immortal head flew off the hydra. The monstrous hydra was defeated and fell dead to the ground. The victor Hercules buried her immortal head deeply and piled a huge rock on it so that it could not come out into the light again. Then the great hero cut open the body of the hydra and plunged his arrows into its poisonous bile. Since then, the wounds from Hercules' arrows have become incurable. Hercules returned to Tiryns with great triumph. But there a new assignment from Eurystheus was waiting for him.
Third labor: Stymphalian birds
Eurystheus instructed Hercules to kill the Stymphalian birds. These birds almost turned the entire environs of the Arcadian city of Stymphalus into a desert. They attacked both animals and people and tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. But the worst thing was that the feathers of these birds were made of solid bronze, and the birds, having taken off, could drop them, like arrows, on anyone who decided to attack them. It was difficult for Hercules to fulfill this order of Eurystheus. The warrior Pallas Athena came to his aid. She gave Hercules two copper tympani, they were forged by the god Hephaestus, and ordered Hercules to stand on a high hill near the forest where the Stymphalian birds nested, and strike the tympani; when the birds fly up, shoot them with a bow. This is what Hercules did. Having ascended the hill, he struck the timbrels, and such a deafening ringing arose that the birds in a huge flock took off above the forest and began to circle above him in horror. They rained down their feathers, sharp as arrows, onto the ground, but the feathers did not hit Hercules standing on the hill. The hero grabbed his bow and began to strike the birds with deadly arrows. In fear, the Stymphalian birds soared into the clouds and disappeared from the eyes of Hercules. The birds flew far beyond the borders of Greece, to the shores of the Euxine Pontus, and never returned to the vicinity of Stymphalos. So Hercules fulfilled this order of Eurystheus and returned to Tiryns, but he immediately had to go to an even more difficult feat.
Fourth labor: Kerynean hind
Eurystheus knew that a wonderful Kerynean doe lived in Arcadia, sent by the goddess Artemis to punish people. This doe devastated the fields. Eurystheus sent Hercules to catch her and ordered him to deliver the doe alive to Mycenae. This doe was extremely beautiful, her horns were golden and her legs were copper. Like the wind, she rushed through the mountains and valleys of Arcadia, never knowing fatigue. For a whole year, Hercules pursued the Cerynean doe. She rushed through the mountains, across the plains, jumped over chasms, swam across rivers. The doe ran further and further north. The hero did not lag behind her, he pursued her without losing sight of her. Finally, Hercules, in pursuit of the pad, reached the far north - the country of the Hyperboreans and the sources of Istra. Here the doe stopped. The hero wanted to grab her, but she escaped and, like an arrow, rushed back to the south. The chase began again. Hercules only managed to overtake a doe in Arcadia. Even after such a long chase, she did not lose strength. Desperate to catch the doe, Hercules resorted to his never-missing arrows. He wounded the golden-horned doe in the leg with an arrow, and only then did he manage to catch her. Hercules put the wonderful doe on his shoulders and was about to carry it to Mycenae, when an angry Artemis appeared before him and said: “Didn’t you know, Hercules, that this doe is mine?” Why did you insult me by wounding my beloved doe? Don't you know that I don't forgive insults? Or do you think that you are more powerful than the Olympian gods? Hercules bowed with reverence before the beautiful goddess and answered: “Oh, great daughter of Latona, do not blame me!” I have never insulted the immortal gods living on bright Olympus; I have always honored the inhabitants of heaven with rich sacrifices and never considered myself equal to them, although I myself am the son of the thunderer Zeus. I did not pursue your doe of my own free will, but at the command of Eurystheus. The gods themselves commanded me to serve him, and I do not dare disobey Eurystheus! Artemis forgave Hercules for his guilt. The great son of the thunderer Zeus brought the Cerynean doe alive to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.
Fifth feat: Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs
After hunting the copper-legged fallow deer, which lasted a whole year, Hercules did not rest for long. Eurystheus again gave him an assignment: Hercules had to kill the Erymanthian boar. This boar, possessing monstrous strength, lived on Mount Erymanthes and devastated the surroundings of the city of Psofis. He gave no mercy to people and killed them with his huge fangs. Hercules went to Mount Erymanthus. On the way he visited the wise centaur Fol. He accepted the great son of Zeus with honor and arranged a feast for him. During the feast, the centaur opened a large vessel of wine to treat the hero better. The fragrance of wonderful wine spread far away. Other centaurs also heard this fragrance. They were terribly angry with Pholus because he opened the vessel. Wine belonged not only to Fol, but was the property of all centaurs. The centaurs rushed to the dwelling of Pholus and surprised him and Hercules as the two of them were happily feasting, adorning their heads with ivy wreaths. Hercules was not afraid of the centaurs. He quickly jumped up from his bed and began throwing huge smoking brands at the attackers. The centaurs fled, and Hercules wounded them with his poisonous arrows. The hero pursued them all the way to Malea. There the centaurs took refuge with Hercules' friend, Chiron, the wisest of the centaurs. Following them, Hercules burst into the cave. In anger, he pulled his bow, an arrow flashed in the air and pierced the knee of one of the centaurs. Hercules did not defeat the enemy, but his friend Chiron. Great sorrow gripped the hero when he saw who he had wounded. Hercules hurries to wash and bandage his friend’s wound, but nothing can help. Hercules knew that a wound from an arrow poisoned with hydra bile was incurable. Chiron also knew that he was facing a painful death. In order not to suffer from the wound, he subsequently voluntarily descended into the dark kingdom of Hades. In deep sadness, Hercules left Chiron and soon reached Mount Erymantha. There, in a dense forest, he found a formidable boar and drove it out of the thicket with a cry. Hercules chased the boar for a long time, and finally drove it into deep snow on the top of a mountain. The boar got stuck in the snow, and Hercules, rushing at him, tied him up and carried him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the monstrous boar, he hid in a large bronze vessel out of fear.
Sixth labor: Animal Farm of King Augius
Soon Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to clear the entire farmyard of Augeas, king of Elis, son of the radiant Helios, from manure. The sun god gave his son innumerable wealth. Augeas' herds were especially numerous. Among his herds were three hundred bulls with legs as white as snow, two hundred bulls were red like Sidonian purple, twelve bulls dedicated to the god Helios were white like swans, and one bull, distinguished by its extraordinary beauty, shone like a star. Hercules invited Augeas to cleanse his entire huge cattle yard in one day if he agreed to give him a tenth of his herds. Augeas agreed. It seemed impossible to him to complete such work in one day. Hercules broke the wall surrounding the barnyard on two opposite sides and diverted the water of two rivers, Alpheus and Peneus, into it. The water of these rivers in one day carried away all the manure from the barnyard, and Hercules again built the walls. When the hero came to Augeas to demand a reward, the proud king did not give him the promised tenth of the herds, and Hercules had to return to Tiryns with nothing. The great hero took terrible revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later, having already been freed from service with Eurystheus, Hercules invaded Elis with a large army, defeated Augeas in a bloody battle and killed him with his deadly arrow. After the victory, Hercules gathered an army and all the rich booty near the city of Pisa, made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which have since been celebrated by all Greeks every four years on the sacred plain, planted by Hercules himself with olive trees dedicated to the goddess Athena-Pallas. The Olympic Games are the most important of the pan-Greek festivals, during which universal peace was declared throughout Greece. A few months before the games, ambassadors were sent throughout Greece and the Greek colonies inviting people to the games in Olympia. The games were held every four years. Competitions took place there in running, wrestling, fist fighting, discus and javelin throwing, as well as chariot racing. The winners of the games received an olive wreath as a reward and enjoyed great honor. The Greeks kept their chronology by the Olympic Games, counting those that took place first in 776 BC. e. The Olympic Games existed until 393 AD. e., when they were banned by Emperor Theodosius as incompatible with Christianity. Thirty years later, Emperor Theodosius II burned the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and all the luxurious buildings that adorned the place where the Olympic Games took place. They turned into ruins and were gradually covered by the sand of the Alpheus River. Only excavations carried out at the site of Olympia in the 19th century. n. e., mainly from 1875 to 1881, gave us the opportunity to get an accurate idea of the former Olympia and the Olympic Games. Hercules took revenge on all of Augeas’s allies. The king of Pylos, Neleus, paid especially. Hercules, coming with an army to Pylos, took the city and killed Neleus and his eleven sons. Neleus’s son Periclymenus, who was given the gift of turning into a lion, snake and bee by the ruler of the sea, Poseidon, did not escape either. Hercules killed him when, having turned into a bee, Periclymenes sat on one of the horses harnessed to Hercules' chariot. Only Neleus' son Nestor survived. Nestor subsequently became famous among the Greeks for his exploits and great wisdom.
Seventh labor: Cretan bull
To fulfill Eurystheus' seventh order, Hercules had to leave Greece and go to the island of Crete. Eurystheus instructed him to bring a Cretan bull to Mycenae. This bull was sent to the king of Crete Minos, son of Europa, by the shaker of the earth Poseidon; Minos had to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon. But Minos felt sorry for sacrificing such a beautiful bull - he left it in his herd, and sacrificed one of his bulls to Poseidon. Poseidon was angry with Minos and sent the bull that came out of the sea into a frenzy. A bull rushed all over the island and destroyed everything in its path. The great hero Hercules caught the bull and tamed it. He sat on the broad back of a bull and swam on it across the sea from Crete to the Peloponnese. Hercules brought the bull to Mycenae, but Eurystheus was afraid to leave Poseidon's bull in his herd and let him go free. Sensing freedom again, the mad bull rushed across the entire Peloponnese to the north and finally ran to Attica to the Marathon field. There he was killed by the great Athenian hero Theseus.
Eighth labor: Horses of Diomedes
After taming the Cretan bull, Hercules, on behalf of Eurystheus, had to go to Thrace to the king of the Bystons, Diomedes. This king had horses of marvelous beauty and strength. They were chained with iron chains in the stalls, since no fetters could hold them. King Diomedes fed these horses with human meat. He threw to them all the foreigners who, driven by the storm, came to his city to be devoured. It was to this Thracian king that Hercules appeared with his companions. He took possession of Diomedes' horses and took them to his ship. On the shore, Hercules was overtaken by Diomedes himself with his warlike bistons. Having entrusted the guard of the horses to his beloved Abdera, the son of Hermes, Hercules entered into battle with Diomedes. Hercules had few companions, but Diomedes was still defeated and fell in battle. Hercules returned to the ship. How great was his despair when he saw that wild horses had torn to pieces his favorite Abdera. Hercules gave a magnificent funeral to his favorite, built a high hill on his grave, and next to the grave he founded a city and named it Abdera in honor of his favorite. Hercules brought the horses of Diomedes to Eurystheus, and he ordered them to be released. The wild horses fled to the mountains of Lykeion, covered with dense forest, and were torn to pieces by wild animals there.
Hercules at Admetus
Based mainly on Euripides' tragedy "Alcestis"
When Hercules sailed on a ship across the sea to the shores of Thrace for the horses of King Diomedes, he decided to visit his friend, King Admetus, since the path lay past the city of Fer, where Admetus ruled.
Hercules chose a difficult time for Admet. Great grief reigned in the house of King Fer. His wife Alcestis was supposed to die. Once upon a time, the goddesses of fate, the great Moirai, at the request of Apollo, determined that Admetus could get rid of death if, in the last hour of his life, someone agreed to voluntarily descend in his place to the dark kingdom of Hades. When the hour of death came, Admetus asked his elderly parents that one of them would agree to die in his place, but the parents refused. None of the inhabitants of Fer agreed to die voluntarily for King Admet. Then the young, beautiful Alcestis decided to sacrifice her life for her beloved husband. On the day when Admetus was supposed to die, his wife prepared for death. She washed the body and put on funeral clothes and jewelry. Approaching the hearth, Alcestis turned to the goddess Hestia, who gives happiness in the house, with a fervent prayer:
- Oh, great goddess! For the last time I kneel here before you. I pray to you, protect my orphans, because today I must descend into the kingdom of dark Hades. Oh, don’t let them die like I am dying, untimely! May their life be happy and rich here in their homeland.
Then Alcestis went around all the altars of the gods and decorated them with myrtle.
Finally, she went to her chambers and fell in tears on her bed. Her children came to her - a son and a daughter. They wept bitterly on their mother's chest. Alcestis's maids also cried. In despair, Admet hugged his young wife and begged her not to leave him. Alcestis is already ready for death; Tanat, the god of death, hated by gods and people, is already approaching the palace of King Fer with silent steps to cut off a strand of hair from Alcestis’s head with a sword. The golden-haired Apollo himself asked him to delay the hour of death of the wife of his favorite Admetus, but Tanat was inexorable. Alcestis feels the approach of death. She exclaims in horror:
- Oh, Charon’s two-oared boat is already approaching me, and the carrier of the souls of the dead, driving the boat, shouts menacingly to me: “Why are you delaying? Hurry, hurry! Time is running out! Don’t delay us. Everything is ready! Hurry!” Oh, let me go! My legs are getting weaker. Death is approaching. Black night covers my eyes! Oh children, children! Your mother is no longer alive! Live happily! Admet, your life was dearer to me than my own life. Let it be better for you, and not for me, to shine. Admet, you love our children no less than me. Oh, don’t take a stepmother into their house so that she doesn’t offend them!
The unfortunate Admetus suffers.
- You take all the joy of life with you, Alcestis! - he exclaims, - all my life now I will grieve for you. Oh gods, gods, what a wife you are taking away from me!
Alcestis says barely audibly:
- Goodbye! My eyes have already closed forever. Goodbye children! Now I am nothing. Farewell, Admet!
- Oh, look at least once again! Don't leave your children! Oh, let me die too! - Admet exclaimed with tears.
Alcestis's eyes closed, her body grew cold, she died. Admet weeps inconsolably over the deceased and bitterly complains about her fate. He orders a magnificent funeral to be prepared for his wife. For eight months he orders everyone in the city to mourn Alcestis, the best of women. The whole city is full of sorrow, since everyone loved the good queen.
They were already preparing to carry the body of Alcestis to her tomb, when Hercules came to the city of Thera. He goes to Admetus's palace and meets his friend at the palace gates. Admet greeted the great son of the aegis-power Zeus with honor. Not wanting to sadden the guest, Admet tries to hide his grief from him. But Hercules immediately noticed that his friend was deeply saddened, and asked about the reason for his grief. Admet gives an unclear answer to Hercules, and he decides that Admet’s distant relative died, whom the king sheltered after the death of his father. Admetus orders his servants to take Hercules to the guest room and arrange a rich feast for him, and to lock the doors to the women’s quarters so that the groans of sorrow do not reach Hercules’ ears. Unaware of the misfortune that befell his friend, Hercules happily feasts in the palace of Admetus. He drinks cup after cup. It is difficult for the servants to serve the cheerful guest - after all, they know that their beloved mistress is no longer alive. No matter how hard they try, by order of Admetus, to hide their grief, Hercules nevertheless notices tears in their eyes and sadness on their faces. He invites one of the servants to feast with him, says that the wine will give him oblivion and smooth out the wrinkles of sadness on his brow, but the servant refuses. Then Hercules realizes that a grave grief has befallen the house of Admetus. He starts asking the servant what happened to his friend, and finally the servant tells him:
- Oh, stranger, the wife of Admetus descended today to the kingdom of Hades.
Hercules was saddened. It pained him that he had feasted in a wreath of ivy and sung in the house of a friend who had suffered such great grief. Hercules decided to thank the noble Admetus for the fact that, despite the grief that befell him, he still received him so hospitably. The great hero quickly decided to take away his prey - Alcestis - from the gloomy god of death Tanat.
Having learned from the servant where the tomb of Alcestis is located, he hurries there as soon as possible. Hiding behind the tomb, Hercules waits for Tanat to fly in to drink at the grave of sacrificial blood. Then the flapping of Tanat’s black wings was heard, and a breath of grave cold blew in; the gloomy god of death flew to the tomb and greedily pressed his lips to the sacrificial blood. Hercules jumped out of the ambush and rushed at Tanat. He grabbed the god of death with his mighty arms, and a terrible struggle began between them. Straining all his strength, Hercules fights with the god of death. Tanat squeezed the chest of Hercules with his bony hands, he breathes on him with his chilling breath, and from his wings the cold of death blows on the hero. Nevertheless, the mighty son of the thunderer Zeus defeated Tanat. He tied up Tanat and demanded that the god of death bring Alcestis back to life as a ransom for freedom. Thanat gave Hercules the life of Admetus's wife, and the great hero led her back to her husband's palace.
Admetus, returning to the palace after his wife’s funeral, bitterly mourned his irreplaceable loss. It was hard for him to stay in the empty palace. Where should he go? He envies the dead. He hates life. He calls death. All his happiness was stolen by Tanat and taken to the kingdom of Hades. What could be harder for him than the loss of his beloved wife! Admet regrets that she did not allow Alcestis to die with her, then their death would have united them. Hades would have received two souls faithful to each other instead of one. Together these souls would cross the Acheron. Suddenly Hercules appeared before the mournful Admetus. He leads a woman covered with a veil by the hand. Hercules asks Admetus to leave this woman, who he got after a difficult struggle, in the palace until his return from Thrace. Admet refuses; he asks Hercules to take the woman to someone else. It’s hard for Admet to see another woman in his palace when he lost the one he loved so much. Hercules insists and even wants Admetus to bring the woman into the palace himself. He does not allow Admetus' servants to touch her. Finally, Admetus, unable to refuse his friend, takes the woman by the hand to lead her into his palace. Hercules tells him:
- You took it, Admet! So protect her! Now you can say that the son of Zeus is a true friend. Look at the woman! Doesn't she look like your wife Alcestis? Stop being sad! Be happy with life again!
- Oh, great gods! - Admetus exclaimed, lifting the woman’s veil, “my wife Alcestis!” Oh no, it's just her shadow! She stands silently, she didn’t say a word!
- No, it’s not a shadow! - Hercules answered, - this is Alcestis. I obtained it in a difficult struggle with the lord of souls, Thanat. She will remain silent until she frees herself from the power of the underground gods, bringing them atoning sacrifices; she will remain silent until night gives way to day three times; only then will she speak. Now farewell, Admet! Be happy and always observe the great custom of hospitality, sanctified by my father himself - Zeus!
- Oh, great son of Zeus, you gave me the joy of life again! - Admet exclaimed, - how can I thank you? Stay as my guest. I will command that your victory be celebrated in all my domains, I will command that great sacrifices be made to the gods. Stay with me!
Hercules did not stay with Admetus; a feat awaited him; he had to fulfill the order of Eurystheus and get him the horses of King Diomedes.
Ninth labor: Hippolyta's Belt
The ninth labor of Hercules was his trip to the land of the Amazons under the belt of Queen Hippolyta. This belt was given to Hippolyta by the god of war Ares, and she wore it as a sign of her power over all the Amazons. The daughter of Eurystheus Admet, a priestess of the goddess Hera, definitely wanted to have this belt. To fulfill her wish, Eurystheus sent Hercules for the belt. Gathering a small detachment of heroes, the great son of Zeus set off on a long journey on only one ship. Although the detachment of Hercules was small, there were many glorious heroes in this detachment, including the great hero of Attica, Theseus.
The heroes had a long journey ahead of them. They had to reach the farthest shores of the Euxine Pontus, since there was the country of the Amazons with the capital Themiscyra. Along the way, Hercules landed with his companions on the island of Paros, where the sons of Minos ruled. On this island the sons of Minos killed two companions of Hercules. Hercules, angry at this, immediately began a war with the sons of Minos. He killed many of the inhabitants of Paros, but drove others into the city and kept them under siege until the besieged sent envoys to Hercules and asked him to take two of them instead of the killed companions. Then Hercules lifted the siege and took the grandchildren of Minos, Alcaeus and Sthenelus instead of those killed.
From Paros, Hercules arrived in Mysia to King Lycus, who received him with great hospitality. The king of the Bebriks unexpectedly attacked Lik. Hercules defeated the king of the Bebriks with his detachment and destroyed his capital, and gave the entire land of the Bebriks to Lika. King Lycus named this country Hercules in honor of Hercules. After this feat, Hercules went further, and finally arrived at the city of the Amazons, Themiscyra.
The fame of the exploits of the son of Zeus has long reached the land of the Amazons. Therefore, when Hercules’ ship landed at Themiscyra, the Amazons and the queen came out to meet the hero. They looked with surprise at the great son of Zeus, who stood out like an immortal god among his heroic companions. Queen Hippolyta asked the great hero Hercules:
- Glorious son of Zeus, tell me what brought you to our city? Are you bringing us peace or war?
This is how Hercules answered the queen:
- Queen, it was not of my own free will that I came here with an army, having made a long journey across a stormy sea; Eurystheus, the ruler of Mycenae, sent me. His daughter Admeta wants to have your belt, a gift from the god Ares. Eurystheus instructed me to get your belt.
Hippolyta was unable to refuse Hercules anything. She was ready to voluntarily give him the belt, but the great Hera, wanting to destroy Hercules, whom she hated, took the form of an Amazon, intervened in the crowd and began to convince the warriors to attack the army of Hercules.
“Hercules is telling a lie,” Hera said to the Amazons, “he came to you with insidious intent: the hero wants to kidnap your queen Hippolyta and take her as a slave to his home.”
The Amazons believed Hera. They grabbed their weapons and attacked the army of Hercules. Aella, fast as the wind, rushed ahead of the Amazon army. She was the first to attack Hercules, like a stormy whirlwind. The great hero repelled her onslaught and put her to flight. Aella thought to escape from the hero by quick flight. All her speed did not help her; Hercules overtook her and struck her with his sparkling sword. Protoya also fell in battle. She killed seven heroes from among the companions of Hercules with her own hand, but she did not escape the arrow of the great son of Zeus. Then seven Amazons attacked Hercules at once; they were companions of Artemis herself: no one was equal to them in the art of wielding a spear. Covering themselves with shields, they launched their spears at Hercules. but the spears flew past this time. The hero struck them all down with his club; one after another they burst onto the ground, sparkling with their weapons. The Amazon Melanippe, who led the army into battle, was captured by Hercules, and Antiope was captured with her. The formidable warriors were defeated, their army fled, many of them fell at the hands of the heroes pursuing them. The Amazons made peace with Hercules. Hippolyta bought the freedom of the mighty Melanippe at the price of her belt. The heroes took Antiope with them. Hercules gave it as a reward to Theseus for his great courage.
This is how Hercules obtained Hippolyta’s belt.
Hercules saves Hesione, daughter of Laomedon
On the way back to Tiryns from the land of the Amazons, Hercules arrived on ships with his army to Troy. A difficult sight appeared before the eyes of the heroes when they landed on the shore near Troy. They saw the beautiful daughter of King Laomedon of Troy, Hesione, chained to a rock near the seashore. She was doomed, like Andromeda, to be torn to pieces by a monster emerging from the sea. This monster was sent by Poseidon as punishment to Laomedon for refusing to pay him and Apollo a fee for the construction of the walls of Troy. The proud king, whom, according to the verdict of Zeus, both gods had to serve, even threatened to cut off their ears if they demanded payment. Then, the angry Apollo sent a terrible pestilence to all the possessions of Laomedon, and Poseidon sent a monster that devastated the surroundings of Troy, sparing no one. Only by sacrificing the life of his daughter could Laomedon save his country from a terrible disaster. Against his will, he had to chain his daughter Hesione to a rock by the sea.
Seeing the unfortunate girl, Hercules volunteered to save her, and for saving Hesione he demanded from Laomedon as a reward those horses that the thunderer Zeus had given to the king of Troy as a ransom for his son Ganymede. He was once kidnapped by the eagle of Zeus and carried to Olympus. Laomedont agreed to Hercules' demands. The great hero ordered the Trojans to build a rampart on the seashore and hid behind it. As soon as Hercules hid behind the rampart, a monster swam out of the sea and, opening its huge mouth, rushed at Hesione. With a loud cry, Hercules ran out from behind the rampart, rushed at the monster and plunged his double-edged sword deep into its chest. Hercules saved Hesione.
When the son of Zeus demanded the promised reward from Laomedon, the king felt sorry to part with the wondrous horses; he did not give them to Hercules and even drove him out of Troy with threats. Hercules left the possessions of Laomedont, hiding his anger deep in his heart. Now he could not take revenge on the king who had deceived him, since his army was too small and the hero could not hope to soon capture impregnable Troy. The great son of Zeus could not stay near Troy for a long time - he had to rush to Mycenae with Hippolyta’s belt.
Tenth labor: Cows of Geryon
Soon after returning from a campaign in the land of the Amazons, Hercules set out on a new feat. Eurystheus instructed him to drive the cows of the great Geryon, the son of Chrysaor and the oceanid Callirhoe, to Mycenae. The path to Geryon was long. Hercules needed to reach the westernmost edge of the earth, those places where the radiant sun god Helios descends from the sky at sunset. Hercules went on a long journey alone. He passed through Africa, through the barren deserts of Libya, through the countries of savage barbarians and finally reached the ends of the earth. Here he erected two giant stone pillars on both sides of a narrow sea strait as an eternal monument to his feat.
After this, Hercules had to wander a lot more until he reached the shores of the gray Ocean. The hero sat down in thought on the shore near the ever-noisy waters of the Ocean. How could he reach the island of Erythea, where Geryon grazed his flocks? The day was already approaching evening. Here the chariot of Helios appeared, descending to the waters of the Ocean. The bright rays of Helios blinded Hercules, and he was engulfed in unbearable, scorching heat. Hercules jumped up in anger and grabbed his formidable bow, but the bright Helios did not get angry, he smiled welcomingly at the hero, he liked the extraordinary courage of the great son of Zeus. Helios himself invited Hercules to cross to Erythea in a golden canoe, in which the sun god sailed every evening with his horses and chariot from the western to the eastern edge of the earth to his golden palace. The delighted hero boldly jumped into the golden boat and quickly reached the shores of Erythea.
As soon as he landed on the island, the formidable two-headed dog Orfo sensed it and barked at the hero. Hercules killed him with one blow of his heavy club. Ortho was not the only one who guarded Geryon's herds. Hercules also had to fight with the shepherd of Geryon, the giant Eurytion. The son of Zeus quickly dealt with the giant and drove the cows of Geryon to the seashore, where the golden boat of Helios stood. Geryon heard the lowing of his cows and went to the herd. Seeing that his dog Ortho and the giant Eurytion had been killed, he chased the herd thief and overtook him on the seashore. Geryon was a monstrous giant: he had three torsos, three heads, six arms and six legs. He covered himself with three shields during the battle, and he threw three huge spears at once at the enemy. Hercules had to fight such and such a giant, but the great warrior Pallas Athena helped him. As soon as Hercules saw him, he immediately fired his deadly arrow at the giant. An arrow pierced the eye of one of Geryon's heads. After the first arrow, a second one flew, followed by a third. Hercules waved his all-crushing club menacingly, like lightning, struck the hero Geryon with it, and the three-body giant fell to the ground as a lifeless corpse. Hercules transported Geryon's cows from Erythea in the golden shuttle of Helios across the stormy Ocean and returned the shuttle to Helios. Half of the feat was over.
Much work still lay ahead. It was necessary to drive the bulls to Mycenae. Hercules drove cows across all of Spain, through the Pyrenees Mountains, through Gaul and the Alps, through Italy. In the south of Italy, near the city of Regium, one of the cows escaped from the herd and swam across the strait to Sicily. There King Eryx, son of Poseidon, saw her and took the cow into his herd. Hercules looked for a cow for a long time. Finally, he asked the god Hephaestus to guard the herd, and he himself crossed to Sicily and there he found his cow in the herd of King Eryx. The king did not want to return her to Hercules; Relying on his strength, he challenged Hercules to single combat. The winner was to be rewarded with a cow. Eryx was unable to cope with such an opponent as Hercules. The son of Zeus squeezed the king in his mighty embrace and strangled him. Hercules returned with the cow to his herd and drove it further. On the shores of the Ionian Sea, the goddess Hera sent rabies through the entire herd. Mad cows ran in all directions. Only with great difficulty did Hercules catch most of the cows already in Thrace and finally drive them to Eurystheus in Mycenae. Eurystheus sacrificed them to the great goddess Hera.
Pillars of Hercules, or Pillars of Hercules. The Greeks believed that Hercules placed the rocks along the shores of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The eleventh feat. The abduction of Cerberus.
There were no more monsters left on earth. Hercules destroyed everyone. But underground, guarding the domain of Hades, lived the monstrous three-headed dog Cerberus. Eurystheus ordered him to be delivered to the walls of Mycenae.
Hercules had to descend into the kingdom from where there is no return. Everything about him was terrifying. Cerberus himself was so powerful and terrible that his very appearance chilled the blood in his veins. In addition to three disgusting heads, the dog had a tail in the form of a huge snake with an open mouth. Snakes also wriggled around his neck. And such a dog had to not only be defeated, but also brought out alive from the underworld. Only the rulers of the kingdom of the dead Hades and Persephone could give consent to this.
Hercules had to appear before their eyes. For Hades they were black, like coal formed at the site of burning the remains of the dead, for Persephone they were light blue, like cornflowers in arable land. But in both of them one could read genuine surprise: what does this impudent man want here, who violated the laws of nature and descended alive into their dark world?
Bowing respectfully, Hercules said:
Do not be angry, mighty lords, if my request seems impertinent to you! The will of Eurystheus, hostile to my desire, dominates me. It was he who instructed me to deliver to him your faithful and valiant guard Cerberus.
Hades's face fell with displeasure.
Not only did you come here alive, but you intended to show the living someone whom only the dead can see.
Forgive my curiosity,” Persephone intervened. “But I would like to know how you think about your feat.” After all, Cerberus has never been given to anyone.
“I don’t know,” Hercules admitted honestly. “But let me fight him.”
Ha! Ha! - Hades laughed so loudly that the vaults of the underworld shook. - Try it! But just fight on equal terms, without using weapons.
On the way to the gates of Hades, one of the shadows approached Hercules and made a request.
“Great hero,” said the shadow, “you are destined to see the sun.” Would you agree to fulfill my duty? I still have a sister, Deianira, whom I did not have time to marry.
“Tell me your name and where you’re from,” Hercules responded.
“I am from Calydon,” answered the shadow. “There they called me Meleager.” Hercules, bowing low to the shadow, said:
I heard about you as a boy and always regretted that I could not meet you. Stay calm. I myself will take your sister as my wife.
Cerberus, as befits a dog, was in his place at the gates of Hades, barking at souls who were trying to approach Styx in order to get out into the world. If earlier, when Hercules entered the gate, the dog did not pay attention to the hero, now he attacked him with an angry growl, trying to gnaw the hero's throat. Hercules grabbed two of Cerberus' necks with both hands, and struck the third head with a powerful blow with his forehead. Cerberus wrapped his tail around the hero's legs and torso, tearing the body with his teeth. But Hercules’ fingers continued to squeeze, and soon the half-strangled dog went limp and wheezed.
Without allowing Cerberus to come to his senses, Hercules dragged him to the exit. When it began to get light, the dog came to life and, throwing up his head, howled terribly at the unfamiliar sun. Never before has the earth heard such heartbreaking sounds. Poisonous foam fell from the gaping jaws. Wherever even one drop fell, poisonous plants grew.
Here are the walls of Mycenae. The city seemed empty, dead, since everyone had already heard from afar that Hercules was returning victorious. Eurystheus, looking at Cerberus through the crack of the gate, yelled:
Let him go! Let go!
Hercules did not hesitate. He released the chain on which he was leading Cerberus, and the faithful dog Hades rushed to his master with huge leaps...
The twelfth feat. Golden apples of the Hesperides.
On the western tip of the earth, near the Ocean, where day met Night, lived the beautiful-voiced nymphs of the Hesperides. Their divine singing was heard only by Atlas, who held the vault of heaven on his shoulders, and by the souls of the dead, sadly descending into the underworld. The nymphs were walking in a wonderful garden where a tree grew, bending its heavy branches to the ground. Golden fruits sparkled and hid in their greenery. They gave everyone who touched them immortality and eternal youth.
Eurystheus ordered these fruits to be brought, and not in order to become equal to the gods. He hoped that Hercules would not fulfill this order.
Throwing a lion's skin on his back, throwing a bow over his shoulder, taking a club, the hero walked briskly towards the Garden of the Hesperides. He is already accustomed to the fact that the impossible is achieved from him.
Hercules walked for a long time until he reached the place where heaven and earth converged on Atlanta, like on a giant support. He looked in horror at the titan holding an incredible weight.
“I am Hercules,” the hero responded. “I was ordered to bring three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides.” I heard that you can pick these apples alone.
Joy flashed in Atlas's eyes. He was up to something bad.
“I can’t reach the tree,” said Atlas. “And, as you can see, my hands are full.” Now, if you hold my burden, I will willingly fulfill your request.
“I agree,” Hercules answered and stood next to the titan, who was many heads taller than him.
Atlas sank, and a monstrous weight fell on Hercules’ shoulders. Sweat covered my forehead and entire body. The legs sank up to the ankles into the ground trampled by Atlas. The time it took the giant to get the apples seemed like an eternity to the hero. But Atlas was in no hurry to take back his burden.
If you want, I’ll take the precious apples to Mycenae myself,” he suggested to Hercules.
The simple-minded hero almost agreed, fearing to offend the titan who had rendered him a favor by refusing, but Athena intervened in time - she taught him to respond with cunning to cunning. Pretending to be delighted by Atlas's offer, Hercules immediately agreed, but asked the Titan to hold the arch while he made a lining for his shoulders.
As soon as Atlas, deceived by the feigned joy of Hercules, shouldered the usual burden on his weary shoulders, the hero immediately raised his club and bow and, not paying attention to the indignant cries of Atlas, set off on the way back.
Eurystheus did not take the apples of the Hesperides, obtained by Hercules with such difficulty. After all, he didn’t need apples, but the death of the hero. Hercules gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to the Hesperides.
This ended the service of Hercules to Eurystheus, and he was able to return to Thebes, where new exploits and new troubles awaited him.
3416a75f4cea9109507cacd8e2f2aefc
Hercules is a legendary hero, his physical strength was admired both in heaven and on earth. Hercules' father was Zeus. Zeus' wife Hera, offended by her unfaithful husband, decided to punish his son. Hercules had to spend a long time in the service of Eurystheus, his insignificant and cowardly relative. Hercules can only be freed from Hera's curse if he completes ten great feats within a decade. The Oracle told Hercules about this condition.
Even when Hercules was a baby, two snakes crawled to his cradle to kill him on the orders of Hera. But the hero grabbed them and strangled them without much difficulty.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the skin of a special Nemean lion. The animal could not be killed with any weapon. Hercules was able to stun the lion with a club, and then strangle and skin it. After he put the skins on himself, he became invulnerable. The next feat of Hercules was the battle with the nine-headed snake Lernaean hydra. The hero cuts off her heads, but they grow back. He is helped by his nephew Iolaus, who, to prevent the heads from growing back, he cauterizes the places where they are cut off. The hero was able to cut off the immortal head. Hydra is defeated.
The third and fourth feats of the legendary hero are the capture of the Cerynean fallow deer and the Erymanthian boar. The next feat of Hercules was associated with cleaning the stables of King Augeas. He was able to channel the two rivers into the stables, and the water carried away the sewage. As a reward, Hercules asked Augeas for cattle. But the king refused, for which Hercules killed him. Eurystheus did not count this feat to the hero, since he demanded a reward.
In his sixth labor, Hercules destroys man-eating birds in the Stymphalian swamp.
Hercules then travels to the island of Crete, where King Minos' bull savagely lays waste to the island. The hero was able to tame the rabid animal and even swim across the sea with it on its back.
By order of Eurystheus, Hercules, thanks to his next feat, brings Diomedes to a relative of the captured mares.
The time for a new feat is coming. Hercules steals the belt of the war god Ares, which was in the possession of Queen Hippolyta and the militant Amazons.
After some time, Hercules was able to kill the giant Geryon, who had three heads and bodies.
Then the hero finds himself in a garden belonging to the Hesperides and steals from there special apples that bring eternal youth. Eurystheus refuses to take them, as he is afraid of angering Hera.
The final feat of Hercules was associated with the dog Cerberus, guarding the gate to the kingdom of the dead. Eurystheus ordered the hero to bring the dog to him. Hercules managed to strangle Cerberus. But then the hero let him go. The hero's deeds are completed. He takes Princess Deniyara as his wife. The centaur Nessus tried to kidnap her when they wanted to cross the river. Hercules shot him with an arrow containing the poison of the Lernaean hydra. Before his death, Ness whispered to the girl that she could preserve the hero’s eternal love if she soaked her husband’s clothes with his blood. One day Deniyara, in a fit of jealousy, took this advice, not knowing that the centaur’s blood was poisoned. Hercules is poisoned to avoid excruciating pain; he throws himself into the fire of a lit fire and receives immortality. The gods let him into Olympus, the only one and heroes.
Hercules (lat. Heracles, Hercules, in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene (Amphitryon’s wife). When Amphitryon (who fought against the tribes of TV fighters) was absent, Zeus took his form and appeared to Alcmene. After the return of her husband, Alcmene gave birth at the same time sons - Iphicles from her husband and Hercules from Zeus.
Hercules performed 12 labors while he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.
The First Labor of Hercules (Strangling of the Nemean Lion)
First of all, he obtained the skin of a Nemean lion. Because the lion was invulnerable to arrows, Hercules managed to defeat him only by strangling him with his hands. When he brought the lion to Mycenae, Eurystheus was so frightened that Hercules ordered Hercules not to enter the city in the future, but to show the prey in front of the city gates. Eurystheus even built himself a bronze pithos in the ground, where he hid from Hercules and communicated with him only through the herald Copreus.
Second Labor of Hercules (Killing the Lernaean Hydra)
Wearing the skin of a Nemean lion, Hercules set out to carry out the second command of Eurystheus - to kill the Lernaean hydra, which was stealing cattle and devastating the lands in the vicinity of Lerna. She had nine heads, one of them was immortal. When Hercules cut off one head, two grew in its place. Karkin, a huge crayfish, crawled out to help the hydra and grabbed Hercules’ leg. But Hercules trampled him and called for help from Iolaus (his nephew, who from that time became his faithful companion), who began to cauterize the fresh wounds of the hydra with burning brands, so that the heads could no longer grow back.
Having cut off the last, immortal head, the winner buried it in the ground, pressing it with a heavy stone. Having cut the hydra's body, the hero plunged the tips of his arrows into its deadly bile. Eurystheus refused to include this feat among the 10 assigned to Hercules because Iolaus helped him.
The Third Labor of Hercules (Extermination of the Stymphalian Birds)
The third labor of Hercules was the expulsion of the Stymphalian birds with sharp iron feathers, which were found in a forest swamp near the city of Stymphalus (in Arcadia) and devoured people. Having received copper rattles made by Hephaestus from Athena, Hercules scared away the birds with noise and then killed them; according to another version of the myth, some of the birds were able to fly to an island in Pontus Euxine, from where the Argonauts then drove them away with a scream.
The Fourth Labor of Hercules (Capture of the Kerenean Hind)
The doe that belonged to Artemis had golden horns and copper hooves. Hercules pursued her for a whole year, reaching the land of the Hyperboreans, and caught her, wounding her with an arrow. Apollo and Artemis wanted to take the doe from him, but Hercules, citing the order of Eurystheus, took the doe to Mycenae.
Fifth Labor of Hercules (Taming of the Erymanthian Boar)
Then Eurystheus began to demand the Erymanthian boar from Hercules. On the way to Erymanthus (in Northern Arcadia), Hercules stopped at the centaur Pholus, who began to cordially treat Hercules. Attracted by the smell of wine, other centaurs moved towards Fola's cave, armed with stones and tree trunks. In the battle, the centaurs came to the aid of their mother, the goddess of the clouds Nephele, who cast down streams of rain to the ground, but Hercules still partially killed and partially dispersed the centaurs. At the same time, Chiron and Pholus died by accident; Pholus, surprised by the deadly power of the arrows, pulled one of them from the body of the deceased centaur and accidentally dropped it on his leg, and the hydra’s poison instantly killed him. Hercules was able to catch the Erymanthian boar, driving it into deep snow, and carried it bound to Mycenae.
The sixth labor of Hercules (Cleaning the Augean stables)
The sixth labor of Hercules was the cleansing of manure from the huge barnyard of King Augeas of Elis. Hercules, having previously negotiated with Augeas a tenth of his cattle as payment, made holes in the walls of the room where the cattle were located, and diverted the waters of the rivers Alpheus and Peneus there. The water washed through the stalls. However, when Augeas found out that Hercules was carrying out the order of Eurystheus, he did not want to pay him, and Eurystheus, in turn, declared this feat not counted because Hercules performed it for payment.
The Seventh Labor of Hercules (Taming of the Cretan Bull)
Then the king ordered Hercules to bring the Cretan bull, which was distinguished by its unusual ferocity. With the permission of King Minos, Hercules was able to overpower the bull and delivered it to Eurystheus. Afterwards, Hercules released the bull, and it, having reached Attica, began to devastate the fields in the vicinity of Marathon.
The Eighth Labor of Hercules (The Stealing of the Horses of Diomedes)
Hercules was ordered to bring the fierce mares of the Thracian king Diomedes, who had them chained with iron chains to copper stalls and which he fed with human flesh. Hercules killed Diomedes and drove the mares to Eurystheus.
The Ninth Labor of Hercules (The Stealing of Hippolyta's Belt)
After the request of his daughter Admeta, Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get the belt of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta agreed to give the belt to Hercules, who arrived on the ship, but Hera, taking the guise of one of the Amazons, frightened the others with the news that strangers wanted to kidnap Hippolyta. with weapons, jumping on horses, they rushed to the aid of their queen. Hercules, deciding that the attack was insidiously staged by Hippolyta, killed her, took possession of the belt and, repelling the attack of the Amazons, boarded the ship.
Sailing near Troy, Hercules saw the daughter of King Laomedon Hesion chained to a rock and given to a sea monster to be eaten by a sea monster. He promised Laomedon to save the princess, demanding a reward for this, divine horses. Hercules killed the monster (option: by jumping into its throat, he ripped open its liver, but at the same time lost his hair from the fire coming from the insides of the beast), but Laomedontne gave the promised horses. Having threatened retribution, Hercules sailed to Mycenae, where he gave Hippolyta's belt to Eurystheus.
The Tenth Labor of Hercules (The Stealing of the Cows of the Giant Geryon)
The tenth feat was to bring Geryon's cows to Mycenae from the island of Erithia, located far to the west in the ocean. Having reached Tartessus, Hercules placed on the northern and southern shores of the strait separating Europe from Africa, two stone steles, the so-called Pillars of Hercules (option: he moved apart the mountains that blocked the exit to the ocean, creating the Strait of Gibraltar. Suffering from the scorching rays of the sun during the campaign, he sent his bow on Helios himself, and he, admiring the courage of Hercules, provided him with his golden goblet for traveling across the ocean.
After arriving on Erithia, Hercules killed the shepherd Eurytion, and then shot Geryon himself, who had three heads and three fused torsos, with a bow. He loaded the cows into Helios' cup, swam across the ocean, returned his cup to Helios, and drove the cows further overland, overcoming many obstacles along the way. In Italy, the robber Kak was able to steal some of his cows, which he drove into a cave. Hercules could not find them and had already driven the others further, but one of the stolen cows mooed; Hercules killed Kaka and took the stolen cows. Following through Scythia, Hercules met a half-maiden, half-snake and entered into a marriage with her; The sons born from this union became the ancestors of the Scythians. When he drove the cows to Mycenae, the king sacrificed them to Hera.
The Eleventh Labor of Hercules (The Stealing of Golden Apples from the Garden of the Hesperides)
Then the king ordered Hercules to bring golden apples from the Hesperides. To find out the way to the Hesperides, Hercules went to the Eridanus (Po) River to the nymphs, daughters of Zeus and Themis, who advised him to find out the way from the omniscient sea god Nereus. Hercules captured Nereus sleeping on the shore, tied him up and, although he took on different guises, did not let him go until Nereus agreed to show him the way to the Hesperides.
The road initially led through Tartessus to Libya, where Hercules had the opportunity to engage in single combat with Antaeus. To defeat Antaeus, Hercules tore him off the ground and strangled him in the air, because he remained invulnerable as long as he was in contact with the ground. Tired of the struggle, Hercules fell asleep and was attacked by pygmies. Waking up, he gathered them all into his lion skin. In Egypt, he was captured and carried to the altar of Zeus to be stabbed, because by order of King Busiris, all foreigners were sacrificed. But Hercules was able to break the shackles and kill Busiris.
Having crossed to the Caucasus, he freed Prometheus, killing the eagle that was tormenting him with a bow. Only after this did Hercules, through the Riphean Mountains (Ural), arrive in the country of the Hyperboreans, where Atlas stood supporting the firmament. On the advice of Prometheus, Hercules sent him for the apples of the Hesperides, taking the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Atlas brought three apples and wanted to take them to Eurystheus, so that Hercules would remain to hold the sky.
But Hercules was able to outwit Atlas: he agreed to hold the firmament, but said that he wanted to put a pillow on his head. Atlas took his place, and Hercules took the apples and took them to Eurystheus (option: Hercules himself took the apples from the Hesperides, killing the dragon who was guarding them). Eurystheus gave the apples to Hercules, but Athena returned them to the Hesperides.
The Twelfth Labor of Hercules (Taming the Dog Cerberus)
The last, 12th labor of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was a journey to the kingdom of Hades for the guardian of the underworld, Cerberus. Before this, Hercules received initiation into the mysteries at Eleusis. He descended underground into the kingdom of the dead through the entrance, which was located near Cape Tenar in Laconia; near the entrance, Hercules saw Theseus and Pirithous rooted to the rock, punished for Pirithous’ attempt to kidnap Persephone (Theseus took part in the abduction out of friendship with Pirithous).
Hercules tore Theseus from the stone and returned him to the earth, but when he tried to free Pirithous, the earth shook and Hercules was forced to retreat. The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, allowed Hercules to take Cerberus away, if only he could defeat him, without weapons. Hercules grabbed Cerberus and began to strangle him. Despite the fact that the poisonous snake that Cerberus had instead of a tail bit Hercules, he was able to tame Cerberus and brought him to Eurystheus, and then, at his command, took him back.
All the labors of Hercules
1 - The First Labor of Hercules: The Nemean Lion
2 - The Second Labor of Hercules: The Lernaean Hydra briefly
3 - The Third Labor of Hercules: Birds of Stymphalian
4 - The Fourth Labor of Hercules: Kerynean Hind
5 - The fifth labor of Hercules: Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs
6 - The Sixth Labor of Hercules: The Animal Farm of King Augeas
7 - The Seventh Labor of Hercules: The Cretan Bull
8 - The Eighth Labor of Hercules: Horses of Diomedes
9 - The Ninth Labor of Hercules: Hippolyta's Belt
10 - The Tenth Labor of Hercules: The Cows of Geryon
11 - The eleventh labor of the eleventh Hercules - The Abduction of Cerberus
12 -
The Twelfth Labor of Hercules - Golden Apples of the Hesperides
Even briefly about the exploits of Hercules:
- Even before his birth, this amazing boy attracted special attention.
The goddess of justice Hera, having once again learned that her husband had cheated on her, and, moreover, that an ordinary woman of non-divine origin was expecting a child from her Zeus, became seriously angry and decided that it was necessary, at all costs, to make life a random offspring unbearable.
Now a little more about the great achievements of the hero themselves.
During the first labor of Hercules strangled a huge Nemean lion. At first, the son of Zeus fired arrows, but they only scared the beast a little. Then the lion was stunned with a club, and soon strangled by Hercules with his own hands. With Hercules in mind, he founded the Nemean Games, named after the slain lion; subsequently, this event was widely celebrated in the ancient Peloponnese every few years, with an interval of 1 year.
This event was very significant, as it became the 1st of the 12 labors of Hercules.
Next feat (second feat) was that it was necessary to destroy a huge hydra, a monster with the body of a snake and the heads of a dragon. Hydra killed people and livestock, and therefore everyone was afraid of it. Hercules did not immediately manage to deal with this monster.
The hero cut off one head at a time, but each time two new ones appeared in place of each severed part. And this continued until the fire was used to burn the hydra’s necks.
The third feat is associated with the Stymphalian birds. They terrorized just like the hydra and killed people and livestock with their copper claws and sharp beak. They also threw their metal feathers from a great height, which, like arrows, were capable of killing in one second. The goddess of war gifted the hero by giving him two special musical instruments, the sounds of which made the birds fly away.
Hercules shot a little more than half of the flock with a bow, and the surviving birds, under pain of death, left their original habitat and never returned to Hellas.
What awaited our hero next? Then a fallow deer appeared on nearby lands. Of course, not a simple one, but with hard copper claws and golden horns. The question arises, where did she come from there? It turns out that the goddess of the hunt was angry with the people and sent them this doe as punishment. For days on end, the deer ran around the nearby territory and destroyed forests and fields. The fourth labor of Hercules was precisely to pacify this very doe. After a year of unsuccessful attempts and pursuit of the animal, Hero overtook her and shot her. Then he took it and went to Eurystheus, presenting him with the carcass of the killed animal as a trophy.
What awaited Hercules in his fifth labor? It turned out that one of the representatives of the animal world, the owner of unreal physical strength, the wild boar, instilled fear in everyone. This is what Hercules had to deal with. Having discovered the boar, the hero dealt with it, driving it into a snowdrift. Hercules tied up the beast and brought it to Eurystheus, who, at the sight of the huge boar, got scared and hid.
King Augeas had large herds of bulls, which were kept in a fairly large cattle yard, which included stables. Augeas launched his farm strongly. It turned out that no one had cleaned there for almost 30 years. Hercules kindly invited the king to clean out his stables, saying that he would do it in just one day, asking for a considerable part of his bulls from the general herd, if his plan was successful. Augeas considered that Hercules would not keep his promise, the task was too overwhelming, and agreed to the adventure. However, Hercules, as you know, is not so easy; if he takes on something, he is firmly confident in his own abilities. With the help of a dam, he blocked the nearby rivers and directed their waters to the court of Augeas. The stables were thus cleared in due time.
Only the indecently greedy and greedy King Augeas did not want to give Hercules what he promised as payment for the business. Therefore, after a certain number of years, having finally freed himself from Eurystheus’s oppression, Hercules gathered an army, defeated Augeas in a fair fight and killed the king. After this event, as the myths say, he established the Olympic Games we all know.
The king of the island of Crete, Minos, disobeyed Poseidon and did not carry out the sacrifice and did not provide him with a bull. The enraged god of the water element sent the bull into a frenzy. The animal began to run all over Crete, simultaneously destroying everything around, as if not noticing the obstacles in its path. Hercules acted as follows: he managed to calm the bull and with its help crossed the sea surface to the Peloponnese. Eurystheus decided not to accept this heroic feat and ordered the bull to be released. The animal, in turn, again getting out of control, rushed to the north of Hellas, where it was killed by Theseus. This is the story of the seventh labor of Hercules, which he accomplished almost without difficulty.
In order to accomplish his other feat, Hercules went to the king of Thrace, Diomedes. This king was distinguished by cruelty and composure. He had horses of unprecedented beauty and unsurpassed strength, but so violent that they could only be held by tight iron chains. The king used human meat as food for his pets, after first killing the foreigners who arrived in his domain. Hercules, with the help of his great strength, took the horses from Diomedes. Of course, Diomedes resisted, but the brave Hercules defeated him.
For ninth labor Eurystheus came up with a more difficult problem. The daughter of Eurystheus wished for permanent use the belt of the Amazon Hippolyta, who kept and protected this belt as a sign of her power, having received it from Ares. To do this, Hercules and his squad went to the habitat of the Amazons. Hippolyta was ready to give up the belt of her own free will, but the other Amazons rebelled, as a result of which Hercules had to fight with the strongest and most cunning warriors, seven of whom were killed, the rest chose to flee. As a result, Hippolyta gave Hercules the belt as a ransom for the Amazon, who was captured by the hero.
Then, at the direction of Eurystheus, Hercules went on his tenth labor. He needed to deliver the giant Geryon's herds of cows to the king. The matter was not at all simple. The giant had only three: three whole heads, three whole torsos, and three pairs of arms and legs, for a total of six. Although the long journey to get the cows in itself was already a real feat, because Geryon lived on the distant island of Erithia, the hero’s task was different. To somehow cope with it, Hercules needed help, and none other than Helios, the very embodiment of the sun, helped him. He lent him his horses and a golden chariot, the same one on which God himself flies across the sky every day, warning him that driving the cart is very difficult. One awkward move, and the structure will immediately fall down and break on the ground.
Hercules, having reached his destination, killed Geryon's guards, captured the cows and led them towards the sea. But Geryon did not want to give up and began to resist Hercules. Only Hercules was not at a loss and killed the giant, using his trusty bow and well-aimed arrows, and transported the cows on Helios’ raft to Mycenae. But the troubles didn't end there. Hera once again decided to show her hatred towards the illegitimate heir of her husband, and therefore sent rage. With great difficulty, Hercules still managed to pacify them and re-gather them into a single herd. The cattle were subsequently offered to the goddess of marriage as sacrifices.
Once again, on behalf of Eurystheus, Hercules went to fulfill his penultimate eleventh feat.
This time he needed to get to the great titan Atlas, or as he was also called, Atlas, who all his life carried out one important task, independently held the firmament, and was at the very end of the earth. Eurystheus wished Hercules to deliver him three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlas garden. Throughout the hero's journey, difficulties were expected, which he bravely dealt with and reached the final goal. Atlas agreed that he himself could get to his own and bring the golden apples, but only Hercules at this time had to replace him at his post and hold the firmament on his shoulders, just as the titan did, because otherwise he would fall down . But not everything was so simple, in fact, Atlas wanted to trick Hercules. He offered to personally take the apples to Eurystheus while Hercules continued to carry out his duties. But the hero, having figured out the not too sophisticated, but still quite cunning plan of the titan, did not succumb to his tricks and did not fall for anything. Hercules asked Atlas to hold the sky for a few minutes to rest, and in the meantime he took the apples and ran away. This is how the last of the many labors of Hercules was accomplished.
Thus, Hercules came to the end of his 12 labors.
To do this, he had to get to the dark kingdom of Hades, but the descent itself was not a feat; Hercules had a much more difficult task. He needed to deliver from there to Mycenae the main guard and faithful companion of Hades, a three-headed dog named Cerberus, who, among other things, had the head of a dragon on his tail. The God of the Dead personally gave Hercules permission to take Cerberus to the earthly world, but the hero was obliged to calm him down on his own. Having found the monster, Hercules began to tame it. He practically strangled the dog, when the animal finally calmed down, Hercules was able to take him to the earth’s surface and took him to Mycenae. The cowardly Eurystheus showed his worthlessness not for the first time. As soon as he looked at the terrible beast, he wished that Hercules would return the terrible dog back to Hades, and, of course, the hero did just that.
As soon as all the exploits were finished, Hercules was finally freed from the oppression of Eurystheus forever. No obstacles prevented the hero from achieving his goal; even the supreme goddess Hera herself could not do anything. Hercules was so strong and smart that he didn’t care about anything.
In addition, he knew how to quite easily find an assistant, including one of divine origin. This, of course, made his task much easier, but it is still unlikely that the hero would have managed it, even with the support of the gods, if he had not actually been so exceptional.
The order of the 12 labors of Hercules can be interpreted in different ways, very often the 11th and 12th labors are swapped, but this doesn’t really change the essence, Hercules is another real hero that antiquity gave us. And it really is impossible to argue with this.