The Twelve Labors of Herakles

In this activity, you will:

• Read about the tasks that Herakles completed as a punishment
• Reflect on the importance of the retelling of Herakles’ story

• 30 – 60 mins

Read About the Twelve Labors of Herakles

Herakles was one of the most famous heroes in all of ancient history, known across multiple civilizations by different names. You may already know this hero by another name: Hercules. That is simply the Roman version of his name, used after the Romans adopted Greek mythology into their own culture and renamed many of the gods and heroes. He was the son of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, and a mortal woman named Alkmene, making him a demigod with superhuman strength. The queen of the gods, Hera, despised Herakles because he was a reminder that her husband Zeus had been unfaithful, and she spent most of his life making things harder for him. Her cruelest act was casting a spell to drive him temporarily insane, which caused him to tragically kill his own wife and children. As punishment, Herakles was ordered to serve the cowardly King Eurystheus, who assigned him twelve seemingly impossible tasks called “labors.” If he completed all twelve, he would be forgiven. Read about each of the twelve labors below.

1. The Lion of Nemea

A monstrous lion was terrorizing the hills of Nemea, and the worst part was that its hide was so tough that no weapon could pierce it. Herakles figured out that the only way to kill it was with his bare hands, so he chased it into its cave and strangled it. He then used one of the lion’s own razor-sharp claws to skin it, since nothing else was strong enough to cut through the hide. From that day on, he wore the pelt as a cloak, a warning to every enemy of what he was capable of.

2. The Hydra of Lerna

The Hydra was a massive, serpent-like monster living in the swamps of Lerna, and it had a horrifying trick: every time one of its many heads was cut off, two more grew back in its place. Herakles brought his nephew Iolaos along, and together they came up with a solution. Every time Herakles sliced off a head, Iolaos immediately burned the stump with a torch, stopping the new heads from regrowing. Working as a team, they defeated the monster that no single warrior could have beaten alone.

3. The Hind of Keryneia

The Hind of Keryneia was a magical deer with golden horns, sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Herakles was ordered to capture it without causing it any harm. For an entire year he chased it across mountains and rivers before finally cornering it and scooping it up gently in a net. On his way back, Artemis appeared and confronted him, furious that her sacred animal had been taken. Herakles calmly explained he was following orders and promised to return the deer, and the goddess let him pass.

4. The Boar of Mount Erymanthos

A gigantic wild boar was rampaging across Mount Erymanthos, and King Eurystheus made things even harder by demanding it be brought back alive. Herakles tracked it into the deep mountain snow, where he chased it until it sank exhausted into a snowdrift, then bound it with ropes and hauled it back to the palace. When Eurystheus saw the enormous, thrashing animal, he completely lost his nerve and dove headfirst into a giant storage jar until it was gone. It became one of the most embarrassing moments of the king’s life, and people laughed about it for generations.

5. The Birds of Lake Stymphalos

Lake Stymphalos had been overrun by a flock of vicious birds with bronze beaks, bronze claws, and feathers they could launch like arrows. Herakles was sent to kill them. He could not simply wade in after them because the swampy ground was too soft to walk on. So, the goddess Athena gave him a solution: a pair of giant bronze castanets forged by Hephaistos, god of the forge. Herakles climbed a hill and shook them with all his might, sending a bone-rattling noise across the lake that sent the birds exploding into the sky in a panic. As they filled the air, he picked them off one by one with his bow until the lake was finally quiet.

6. The Stables of King Augeas

King Augeas owned thousands of cattle, and his stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years, leaving a mountain of filth that was spreading disease across the land. Eurystheus ordered Herakles to muck out the entire mess in a single day, which seemed completely impossible. Rather than picking up a shovel, Herakles knocked holes in the stable walls and redirected two nearby rivers straight through the buildings. The rushing water blasted out decades of filth in hours, and the stables were spotless by sunset.

7. The Bull of Crete

A magnificent but terrifying bull had been rampaging across the island of Crete, destroying everything in its path and leaving King Minos powerless to stop it. Herakles sailed to the island, turned down the king’s offer of soldiers, and went after the bull alone. After a tremendous wrestling match, he overpowered the beast, bound it, and sailed it back to Greece as ordered. Eurystheus then made the baffling decision to release the bull, and it ran loose until another hero, Theseus, eventually had to deal with it all over again.

8. The Man-Eating Mares of Diomedes

In the land of Thrace, a cruel king named Diomedes kept a herd of horses he had trained to eat human flesh, turning them into savage, dangerous monsters. Herakles was sent to capture them, and when Diomedes chased after him with an army to take the mares back, Herakles defeated the king in battle and, in a moment of grim justice, fed Diomedes to his own horses. Some stories say that eating their cruel master finally took the savagery out of the mares, and they became calmer afterward. Herakles delivered them to Eurystheus, completing one of his most unsettling labors.

9. The Girdle of Hippolyta

Hippolyta was the queen of the Amazons, a powerful nation of warrior women. She owned a magical belt given to her by Ares, god of war, as a symbol of her authority. Herakles was sent to claim it, and Hippolyta was charmed by his reputation and agreed to hand it over peacefully. But Hera, always working against Herakles, disguised herself and spread a rumor through the Amazon camp that he was planning to kidnap their queen, turning the friendly exchange into a battle. Herakles fought his way out and escaped with the girdle, a labor that could have ended easily if not for his jealous stepmother’s interference.

10. The Cattle of Geryon

At the far western edge of the world lived Geryon, a warrior monster with three bodies, three heads, and six arms, who owned a prized herd of red cattle. Herakles was sent to get Geryon’s herd of cattle. To reach him, Herakles made an epic ocean crossing. He then battled Geryon’s herdsman, his two-headed guard dog, and finally Geryon himself, defeating all three before claiming the herd. The real challenge was getting the cattle home: the journey back across the world was filled with thieves, monsters, and disasters at every turn. After months of struggles, he finally delivered the herd to Eurystheus, completing one of his longest and most grueling labors.

11. Cerberus

For this labor, Herakles had to travel somewhere no living person was meant to go—the Underworld, the shadowy realm of the dead ruled by the god Hades. He descended into the darkness, walked past the souls of the dead, and boldly asked Hades himself for permission to borrow Cerberus, the massive three-headed dog that guarded the entrance. Hades agreed on one condition: Herakles could take the dog only if he overpowered it without using any weapons. Herakles wrestled all three snapping heads with his bare hands until Cerberus submitted, then dragged the beast up to the land of the living to show Eurystheus, before honorably returning it to Hades as promised.

12. The Golden Apples of the Hesperides

The Golden Apples of the Hesperides grew in a magical garden at the very edge of the world, guarded by maidens and a serpent named Ladon that never slept. Herakles had to fetch the apples to gain immortality. To get them, Herakles struck a deal with the Titan Atlas, who normally held the sky on his shoulders. Herakles would carry the sky while Atlas fetched the apples. Atlas, enjoying his freedom, tried to trick Herakles into holding the sky forever, but Herakles outsmarted him by pretending he needed to adjust his grip and handing the weight back to the Titan. He returned to Greece with the golden apples, completing his twelve labors and proving himself the greatest hero the ancient world had ever seen.

Questions

Write or discuss your responses.

• Look at the image at the top of this page. Which of the twelve labors is represented? Look for each of the details described in the story.
• Herakles is famous for his strength, but some labors required brains over brawn. Which labors couldn’t be solved by strength alone, and which version of Herakles do you find more impressive?
• Herakles killed his family while under a curse he didn’t choose. Was it fair to punish him for something he couldn’t control? Why or why not?
• Which labor do you think was the most difficult, and why? Consider physical, mental, and emotional challenges, not just size or danger.
• Using evidence from at least three labors, write your own definition of what makes Herakles a hero. Are there moments where he falls short of that definition?