The Labors of Heracles Intro to Myth

Birth Heracles was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmena He had a twin brother named Iphicles who was the son of Alcmena and her husband Amphitryon Zeus had seduced Alcmena by taking the shape of her husband while Amphitryon was away At 8 months old, Heracles strangled two snakes that Hera sent to kill him

1 st Marriage Heracles was given Princess Megara of Thebes as reward for saving the city They had 3 sons Hera caused Heracles to go crazy and kill his wife and children

Reason for the Labors Some say the labors were given to Heracles because of deal between Zeus and Hera  When Heracles refused to do the labors, she made him go mad and kill his family Others say Heracles chose to do the labors as penance for killing his family  An oracle told him to go to King Eurystheus for directions, and if he followed them all, he would become immortal

Role of Theseus Theseus and Heracles were best friends Theseus kept Heracles from killing himself after the death of his family

Nemean Lion Nemean lion could not be harmed by any weapon Heracles choked it to death and skinned it with its own claws When Heracles returned to King Eurystheus, the king was so afraid that he would not let Heracles into the city

Hydra The hydra was a 9-headed monster who lived in the swamp of Lerna One head was immortal and the others re- grew two heads for every one that was destroyed Heracles’ nephew Iolas helped him seal the heads and bury the immortal head Eurystheus said this labor did not count because Heracles had help

Golden-horned Deer Heracles hunted the deer for a whole year He captured the deer without harming it so he wouldn’t anger Artemis

Erymanthian Boar Heracles chased the boar into the mountains where it was slowed by the deep snow He took it alive back to King Eurystheus

Augean Stables Heracles was ordered to clean the stable of King Augeus in one day He told King Augeus that he would clean the stables in return for some cattle Heracles diverted two rivers to wash the stables clean King Eurystheus would not accept this labor because Heracles had tried to get paid for it

Stymphalian Birds Athena gave Heracles a rattle to frighten the birds Heracles shot them down as they flew away

Bull in Crete Heracles traveled to Crete to get the bull of Poseidon (father of the Minotaur, remember?) He brought it back to Tiryns and set it free

Man-eating Mares King Diomedes trained his horses to eat human flesh Heracles killed Diomedes and fed him to his own horses Heracles also rescued his friend’s wife, Alcestis, by wrestling Death for her and winning

Belt of Hippolyte Hippolyte was the queen of the Amazons She was willing to give her belt to Heracles without a fight Hera made the other Amazons attack Heracles Heracles killed Hippolyte and escaped with her belt

Cattle of Geryon Geryon had a triple body and a two- headed dog Heracles killed the dog with his club and then killed Geryon with one arrow As he was returning to Tiryns, a fire- breathing giant named Cacus tried to steal the cattle Heracles strangled him to death

Golden Apples of Hespiredes The golden apples belonged to Atlas’ daughters and were guarded by a dragon Heracles killed Antaeus on the way by strangling him in the air He also freed Prometheus, who advised him to get Atlas to help Heracles held the sky while Atlas got the apples and then tricked Atlas into taking the sky back

Cerberus Cerberus is the 3-headed dog of Hades Hades allowed Heracles to “borrow” Cerberus if he could capture him without any weapons While Heracles was in the Underworld, he freed Theseus from the chair of forgetfulness

2 nd Marriage Heracles fought a river god and won the princess Deianira At one point, she and Heracles needed a Centaur to ferry them across the river Heracles ended up killing the Centaur, but the centaur told Deianira to take his blood as a love potion

Death Deianira started to worry that Heracles had fallen for another woman She took the centaur’s blood and put it on a robe The robe burned Heracles, and he wanted to die He convinced Philoctetes to burn him on a funeral pyre and gave him his bow as reward Heracles was then taken to live with the gods