Are you noticing a trend, here? Hercules’ tenth labor was another bovine adventure. This time he was expected to steal the special red oxen of Geryon, a terrible giant who lived in the area that we now know as Spain. Opinions vary as to what Geryon looked like; some say he had three heads and one body, others say that he had three bodies , and still others say that he had wings and six legs! No matter what he looked like, he was a fierce warrior. Hercules was only able to defeat him by using his arrows which, as you’ll remember, had been dipped in the poisonous blood of the Hydra. His work was far from over, though. As Hercules was herding the oxen back to King Eurystheus, Hera saw another opportunity to make his life miserable. She summoned a gadfly, a nasty biting insect, and sent it after the oxen. The oxen panicked and tried to flee from the fly, in the process becoming scattered all across the countryside. While Hera laughed from high Olympus, Hercules spent days getting them all back together. It truly was Hera who had the last laugh; upon receiving the oxen from Hercules, King Eurystheus promptly sacrificed them to the Queen of the gods!
The eleventh labor of Hercules was also his most famous. He was ordered to bring back the legendary golden apples of the Hesperides. The Hesperides were the daughters of the Titan Atlas, and they guarded the golden apples in a far-away garden. Only mighty Atlas, whose job it was to hold up the sky, knew the location of their garden, so Hercules set off to find him. He travelled far to the west and appealed to Atlas for assistance. The Titan would not tell Hercules where the garden was, but offered him a trade: if Hercules agreed to hold up the sky for a while, he would go and get the golden apples from his daughters. Hercules readily agreed, taking the massive weight literally from Atlas’ shoulders. Atlas soon returned with the apples, but found that he enjoyed being free from the burden of holding up the sky and decided to leave poor Hercules with the titanic weight. Thinking quickly, the son of Zeus agreed to the Titan’s demand, but on one condition. Hercules asked that Atlas take back the sky for just a moment so that he could wrap the pelt of the Nemean lion around his shoulders, to act as a buffer between his skin and the sky. The slow-thinking Titan agreed, and as soon as Atlas had the sky back on his shoulders, Hercules ran off with the Golden Apples.
Hercules’ twelfth and final labor required him to do the unthinkable: journey to the Underworld and bring back Cerberus, a gigantic three-headed dog and favorite pet of Hades. Hades was one of the most powerful of the Greek gods, the brother of Zeus and King of the Underworld. He was known for his cleverness, and once one entered his kingdom, very seldom did they leave. Mighty Hercules made his way to the Underworld and stood before dread Hades. He explained the task that had been set before him, and Hades made him a deal: if Hercules could overpower Cerberus without using any weapons, he could take the beast back to King Eurystheus. Using his brains and his brawn, he was able to subdue Cerberus and take him back to the surface world. Upon seeing the monstrous dog, the King took off for his favorite hiding spot—another giant jar! He pleaded with Hercules to take Cerberus back to the Underworld, and agreed to release him from his servitude. At long last, Hercules had completed his labors and redeemed himself for his crime. Zeus declared that after his mortal life expired, Hercules would become immortal and live on Olympus. Even Hera, Hercules bitter enemy, forgave him after seeing his skill and tenacity and allowed him to marry her daughter, the beautiful goddess Hebe. They were together on Olympus and, as they say, lived happily ever after.
The seventh labor took Hercules across the sea to the island of Crete, home to the famous King Minos. Mighty Poseidon, god of the sea and shaker of the earth, had given Minos a huge bull, which he assumed the king would sacrifice to him. King Minos decided to keep the bull for himself instead, and Poseidon punished him by driving the creature insane. Fueled by his madness, the bull rampaged across the island of Crete and destroyed many farms and homes. Hercules captured the bull and carried it on his back all the way across the sea, delivering it to wicked King Eurystheus’ door.
Hercules’ eighth labor was one of his most dangerous endeavors by far. Eurystheus sent him to capture the infamous mares of Diomedes, the king of Thrace. However, the mares of Diomedes were no ordinary horses; they were terrible beasts who feasted on human flesh. Nor was Diomedes an ordinary king; he was a giant, and the son of Ares, the much-feared god of war. Hercules, with his great strength, was able to capture the mares and defeat Diomedes and his soldiers in battle. To add insult to injury, Hercules fed King Diomedes to his horses before bringing them back to Eurystheus.
By the time his fourth task came, it seems that Hercules was in the mood to have some fun. Cruel King Eurystheus ordered him to capture a wild boar that was terrorizing the countryside near Mount Erymanthus. On his way to the mountain, Hercules stopped off for a party with some friendly centaurs, the half-men, half-horse creatures of legend. After leaving the centaurs, Hercules made quick work of the Erymanthian boar, but decided that he’d take it back to King Eurystheus as a kind of ancient Greek gag gift. Upon seeing the menacing boar, Eurystheus ran away and hid himself in a giant storage jar! For all his cruelty, he was a coward king.
Hercules’ fifth task was one of his least pleasant experiences. He was tasked with cleaning the stables of a neighboring king named Augeias. King Augeias owned thousands and thousands of cattle and kept them in giant stables, which he had not bothered to have cleaned for many years. As you can imagine, the stables were filthy, piled high with dirt and manure. As if this wasn’t bad enough, Hercules was ordered to clean all of the stables in one day! Fortunately, Hercules was more than simply the strongest man on earth; he was also very clever. Using his muscle and his mind, he blocked off two rivers with boulders so that their waters would flow directly through the stables, washing away the accumulated filth in a matter of minutes. No one could believe that Hercules was able to accomplish such a monumental task, and his labors continued.
The Stymphalian Birds
The first of Hercules’ twelve tasks was to obtain the skin of the mighty Nemean Lion. This lion’s hide was impervious to spears and arrows, and he ravaged the countryside unchecked. Hercules tried to shoot the lion with his bow and arrow, but his arrows simply fell to the ground without leaving so much as a scratch. Thinking quickly, Hercules grappled the lion with his bare hands and was able to strangle it. He took the lion’s skin and made it into a cloak so that he could be as immune to spears and arrows as the once-terrible Nemean Lion.
Hercules’ second task would require even more ingenuity than the first. He was sent to Lerna to save the locals from the Hydra, a nine-headed serpent with poisonous breath. This time Hercules brought along some help in the form of his friend Iolaus; this turned out to be one of his wisest decisions. Hercules, assuming that his great strength would get the job done, leapt in and attacked the beast, severing many of its heads. However, for each head he cut off, two more would grow back in its place! Realizing that only through cunning would he win the battle, he had Iolaus take a torch and burn the serpent’s wounds so that new heads would be unable to grow. At last, the monster was put down and could not recover. Hercules left to tackle his next task, but not before dipping his arrows in the blood of the slain Hydra so that they would be as poisonous to his enemies as the vicious creature’s breath had been to the people of Lerna.
The next labor put Hercules in danger of upsetting another one of the mighty Olympian goddesses. Eurystheus sent him to catch the Hind, a special deer sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt and wild places and sister of Apollo. The Hind had hooves of bronze and horns of gold, and was the special pet of the goddess. Hercules pursued the Hind for more than a year, doing his best not to harm the creature for fear of Artemis’ divine retribution. The deer finally grew weary of the pursuit, and tried to make its way to a river to rest. Hercules finally reached his breaking point and fired an arrow at the beast, wounding it. Artemis appeared with her brother Apollo, intent on punishing Hercules for his crime. Hercules apologized and explained to her that he had been compelled by the oracle to follow the commands of King Eurystheus. The goddess surprised Hercules by forgiving him, and another of his labors was completed.
Tuesday -- 3:00pm-4:00pm
