The Labors of Hercules summarized
Labor 1: the Nemean Lion – Hercules’ first task was to bring King Eurystheus the skin of an invulnerable lion. Hercules’ arrows were useless on the lion, so he choked it to death. He skinned the lion with its own claw and wore the headdress and skin.
Labor 2: The Lernean Hydra – Iolaus accompanied Hercules to Lerna to find the nine-headed hydra. Hercules discovered that if he smashed one head of the hydra, two more would grow back in its place, so he had Iolaus help him. When Hercules smashed a mortal head of the hydra, Iolaus would hold a torch to the head, preventing anything from growing back. After the 8 mortal heads were dead, Hercules chopped off the ninth immortal head. He buried the corpse of the hydra and dipped his arrows in the venomous blood.
Labor 3: The Hind of Ceryneia – Hercules 3rd labor was to bring back the hind of a special deer with golden horns and hoofs of bronze. It also belonged to the goddess Artemis (Diana). He hunted it for a whole year, until the deer became weary, and he shot her. Diana was angry that Hercules shot her deer, but after Hercules explained his predicament, she healed the deer and let Hercules bring it to the king.
Labor 4: The Erymanthean Boar – Hercules’ next labor was to kill a boar that killed men and animals. On his way to kill the boar, Hercules saw his friend Pholus, the centaur, who gave him food and drink. The other centaurs were angered by Pholus’ generosity, and Hercules shot them with his poison-tipped arrows. Pholus was killed by one of these arrows accidentally. Hercules later found the bull, trapped it and carried it to the king.
Labor 5: The Augean Stables – Hercules 5th task was to clean the Augean stables in one day. Hercules went to Augeas and told him that he would clean the stable in one day. Augeas promised a tenth of his cattle for the job. Hercules tore a big opening in the stables and dug wide trenches to two rivers which flowed nearby. The rivers rushed through the stables, flushing them out. Augeas refused to pay, but a judge ruled otherwise. Eurystheus said that this labor didn’t count because Hercules was paid for the work.
Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds – Hercules sixth labor was to drive away an enormous flock of birds near Stymphalos. Athena came to his aid by giving him a pair of bronze krotala, or noise makers, that were made by Hephaestus. Hercules scared the birds with the krotala and shot them down.
Labor 7: The Cretan Bull –Poseidon had given a bull to King Minos for sacrifice to the Gods. Minos refused to sacrifice the beautiful animal, so Poseidon made King Minos’ wife fall in love with the bull and give birth to the Minotaur. Hercules’ task was to bring the bull back to King Eurystheus. Hercules wrestled the bull and returned it to the king. The Minotaur was captured and put in the Labyrinth, which Theseus destroyed in another myth.
Labor 8: the Horses of Diomedes – Hercules next task was to capture the man-eating horses of Bistonia and bring them back to the king. He sailed across the sea, overpowered the grooms who were tending the horses and drove them to the sea. A band of soldiers tried to capture the horses, so Hercules fought the Bistones, and left the mares with Abderos. The mares dragged Abderos to his death. Hercules brought the horses to Eurystheus. The king released the horses, where they wandered around Mt. Olympus and were eaten by wild beasts.
Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyte – His next task was to acquire the belt of Hippolyte, who was the queen of the Amazons. Eurystheus wanted the belt for his daughter. Hercules sailed to the Amazon tribe and talked Hippolyte into giving him the belt. When Hera heard this she rallied the Amazons against Hercules and his friends. Hercules killed Hippolyte and brought the belt back to Eurystheus.
Labor 10: Geryon’s Cattle –Hercules had to journey to the end of the world to bring back the cattle of the monster Geryon, son of Chrysaor. The cattle were guarded by Orthus, brother of Cerberus. Along the way, Hercules built two mountains which became known as the Gates of Hercules. Sailing in a goblet which the Sun had given him in admiration, Hercules reached Erythia and bashed in the head of Orthus. Geryon attacked Hercules, and Hercules fought with him and shot him dead with his arrows. Getting the bulls back was a challenge. Two of Poseidon’s sons tried to steal the cattle. Another of the bulls escaped and Hercules had to wrestle one of Poseidon’s sons to get it back. Hera sent a gadfly to scatter the herd, and Hercules had to gather the herd before returning them to Eurystheus.
Labor 11: the Apples of the Hesperides – His next task was to bring back the Golden apples of Zeus, which had been a wedding gift from Hera. The apples were guarded by a dragon and nymphs, who were daughters of Atlas. Hercules went to Atlas and asked him to get the apples for him. Hercules agreed to hold the sky while Atlas was away. Atlas did not want to take the burden of sky back so when he returned, he told Hercules he wanted to deliver the apples to Eurystheus himself. Hercules seeing through Atlas’ plan, asked Atlas to hold the sky for a moment so that he could put a pad on his shoulders to ease the pressure. Atlas did so, and Hercules picked up the apples and left.
Labor 12: Cerberus – Hercules became a member of the mysteries so that he could return to the living after his descent to the underworld. Hades told Hercules that he could take Cerberus if he used no weapons to take him. Hercules wrestled Cerberus into submission and took him to Eurystheus. Cerberus was returned safely to the underworld.