Nemean lion

Lyrnean hydra

Stymphalian birds

Kerinean fallow deer

Erymanth boar

Augean stables

Cretan bull

Horses of diomedes

Hippolyta's Belt

Geryon's cows

Cerberus

Apples of the Hesperides

Two nymphs (Depravity and Virtue) offered our hero, when he was still young, a choice between a pleasant, easy life or a hard, but glorious and full of exploits, and Hercules chose the latter. One of the first tests was arranged for him by King Thespius, who wanted the hero to kill a lion on Mount Kiferon. As a reward, the king offered him to impregnate each of his 50 daughters, which Hercules accomplished in one night (sometimes referred to as the 13th feat).

Later, the hero married Megara. sent him a fit of madness, as a result of which Hercules killed Megara and his children. Our hero went to the Delphic oracle to find out his fate. The Oracle was ruled by Hera, which he had no idea about. Following the prediction received, the hero went to serve King Eurystheus, fulfilling any of his orders for 12 years. Many victories were won in this service, their description is collected in the book "The Twelve Deeds of Hercules", whether this is myth or truth, each reader has the right to decide for himself. The heroic deeds brought great fame and fame to the hero. After all, just think, Hercules is known and remembered to this day, after many millennia!

Briefly twelve labors of Hercules will be described below.

Feat 1. Nemean Lion

The first task given to Hercules by Eurystheus (the hero's cousin) is to kill and bring his skin. It was believed that Leo was a descendant of Typhon and Echidna. He controlled the lands around Nemea and had such a thick hide that it was impenetrable by any weapon. When Hercules first tried to kill the beast, any of him and arrows, the club from which he pulled right out of the ground, and a bronze sword) turned out to be ineffective. Finally, the hero threw back his weapon, attacked Leo with his bare hands and strangled him (in some versions, he broke Leo's jaw).

Hercules had already lost faith in the ability to complete the task, since he could not skin the beast. However, the goddess Athena helped him, saying that the best tool for this is the claws of the animal itself. The twelve labors of Hercules were not accomplished without the help of the skin of the Nemean Lion, which was used for protection purposes.

Feat 2. Lernean Hydra

The second feat was the destruction of a sea creature with many heads and poisonous breath. The monster had so many heads that the ancient artist, painting on a vase, could not depict all of them. Arriving at a swamp in the area of ​​Lake Lerna, Hercules covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect them from the toxic fumes. He then shot red-hot arrows at the monster's lair to get its attention. Hercules attacked Hydra with a sickle. But, as soon as he cut off her head, he discovered that two more heads had grown in her place. Then our hero called his nephew, Iolaus, for help. Iolaus (possibly inspired by Athena) suggested using fire embers after they chop off Hydra's head. The animal's own poisonous blood was thus used to burn the heads so they could not grow back. When Eurystheus learned that Hercules was being helped by his nephew, he said that the feat was not counted for him.

Feat 3. Kerinean Doe

Eurystheus was very indignant that Hercules managed to avoid death by completing the two previous tasks, so he decided to spend more time thinking about the third test, which must certainly bring death to the hero. The third task was not related to the killing of the beast, since Eurystheus thought that Hercules could cope with even the most formidable opponents. The king sent him to capture the Kerinean Doe.

There were rumors about this animal that it runs so fast that it can outrun the flight of any arrow. Hercules noticed the Lan by the golden sheen of her horns. He pursued her for a year in the vastness of Greece, Thrace, Istria, Hyperborea. Our hero caught Doe when she was exhausted and could not continue to run. Eurystheus gave Hercules this difficult task also because he hoped to provoke the anger of the goddess Artemis for the desecration of the sacred animal. When the hero was returning with Lanya, he faced Artemis and Apollo. He asked the goddess for forgiveness, explaining his act by the fact that he had to catch the animal in order to atone for his guilt, but promised to return it. Artemis forgave Hercules. But, having arrived with Lanya to the court, he learned that the animal should remain in the royal menagerie. Hercules knew that he must return the Doe, as promised to Artemis, so he agreed to give it only on condition that Eurystheus himself went out and took the animal. The king left, and at the moment when our hero passed the Doe to the king, she fled.

Feat 4. Erymanthian Boar

The twelve labors of Hercules continues the fourth - the capture of the Erymanthian Boar. On the way to the place of the feat, the hero visited Fola, a kind and hospitable centaur. Hercules dined with him and then asked for wine. Fol had only one jug, a gift from Dionysus, but the hero convinced him to open the wine. The scent of the drink attracted other centaurs, who got drunk with the undiluted wine and attacked. Hercules shot them with his poison arrows, forcing the survivors to retreat to Chiron's cave.

Foul, interested in the arrows, took one and dropped it on his leg. The arrow also struck Chiron, who was immortal. Hercules asked Chiron how to catch the Boar. He replied that he needed to drive him into deep snow. Chiron's pain caused by an arrow wound was so strong that he voluntarily renounced immortality. Following his advice, Hercules caught the Boar and brought it to the king. Eurystheus was so frightened by the formidable appearance of the animal that he climbed into his chamber pot and asked Hercules to get rid of the beast. Twelve labors of Hercules, pictures and descriptions of the next labors, see below.

Feat 5. Augean stables

The story "The Twelve Labors of Hercules" continues with the cleansing of the Augean stables in one day. Eurystheus gave the hero such a task to humiliate him in the eyes of people, because the previous exploits glorified Hercules. The inhabitants of the stables were a gift from the gods, and therefore they never got sick or died, it was considered impossible to cleanse them. However, our hero succeeded, he came up with the idea to change the channels of the rivers Alfey and Peny, which washed all the dirt.

Augeas was angry because he had promised Hercules a tenth of his cattle if the work was done within 24 hours. He refused to keep his promise. Hercules killed him after completing the task, and transferred control of the kingdom to the son of Augeus, Philaeus.

Feat 6. Stymphalian birds

"The Twelve Labors of Hercules" the author continues with the next heroic deed. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to kill birds that feed on people. They were pets of Ares and were forced to fly to Stymphalia to avoid being pursued by a pack of wolves. These birds multiplied rapidly, invading the countryside and destroying local crops and fruit trees. The forest they lived in was very dark and dense. Athena and Hephaestus helped Hercules by forging huge copper rattles that frightened flying birds and helped the hero shoot them down with arrows. The surviving Stymphalian birds never returned to Greece.

Feat 7. Cretan bull

Hercules' seventh task was to travel to the island of Crete, where the local king Minos allowed him to take the bull, as he was wreaking havoc on the island. Hercules defeated the bull and sent him back to Athens. Eurystheus wanted to sacrifice the bull to the goddess Hera, who continued to be angry with the hero. She refused to accept such a gift, since it was obtained as a result of the victory of Hercules. The bull was released and went to wander around the Marathon. According to another version, he was killed near this city.

Feat 8. Horses of Diomedes

Hercules had to steal the horses. In different versions of the books "The Twelve Labors of Hercules", the titles of the exploits vary slightly, and the plot also changes somewhat. For example, according to one of the versions, the hero took his friend Abder and other men with him. They stole their horses and were pursued by Diomedes and his assistants. Hercules did not know that the horses were cannibals, and it was impossible to tame them. He left Abder to look after them, while he went to fight Diomedes. Abder was eaten by animals. In retaliation, Hercules fed Diomedes to his own horses.

According to another version, the hero gathered animals on a hill of the peninsula and quickly dug a trench, filling it with water, thus forming an island. When Diomedes arrived, Hercules killed him with the ax used to create the trench and fed his body to the horses. The meal made the horses calmer, and the hero took advantage of this to gag them and send them to Eurystheus. Then the horses were freed and began to roam in the vicinity of Argos, having calmed down forever. The twelve exploits of Hercules are portrayed by ancient artists in a very picturesque way.

Feat 9. Belt of Hippolyta

The ninth task of Hercules was to receive, at the request of Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheus, the belt of Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. The belt was a gift from Ares, the god of war. So the hero got to the land of the Amazons, a famous tribe of women warriors who lived on the banks of the Fermodont River, which flowed through the northeast of Asia Minor and emptied into the Black Sea.

According to one legend, in order to save their men, to leave them at home, the Amazons killed the arms and legs of male babies, making them unfit for war. According to another legend, they killed all the male babies. The Amazons' left chests were either exposed or cut off so as not to interfere with their use of a bow or throwing spears.

Hippolyta was so fascinated by the muscles and the lion's skin of the hero that she herself gave him the belt without a fight. But Hera, who continued to follow Hercules, took the form of an Amazon and spread among them a rumor that Hercules wanted to kidnap the queen. The Amazons rushed to the enemy. In the battle that followed, the hero killed Hippolyta and received a belt. Then he and his companions defeated the Amazons and returned with a trophy.

Feat 10. Geryon's Herd

Hercules had to travel to Erithea to receive Geryon's herd. On the way there, he crossed the Libyan desert and was so annoyed by the heat that he shot an arrow at the sun. The luminary was delighted with his exploits and gave him a golden boat, which it used every night to swim across the sea from west to east. Hercules reached Eritea by boat. As soon as he set foot on this land, he encountered a two-headed dog, Orff. With one blow, our hero killed the watchdog. The shepherd came to the aid of Orff, but Hercules dealt with him in the same way.

Hearing the noise, Geryon himself went to the hero with three shields, three spears and three helmets. He pursued Hercules on the Antemus River, but fell victim to an arrow dipped in the poisonous blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The arrow was fired with such force that the hero pierced Geryon's forehead with it. The herd was sent to Eurystheus.

To annoy Hercules, Hera sent a gadfly, which stung the animals, forcing them to scatter. It took the hero a year to gather the herd. Then Hera made a flood, raising the level of the river so that Hercules, along with the herd, could not cross it. Then our hero threw stones into the water and made the water level lower. Eurystheus sacrificed the flock to the goddess Hera.

Feat 11. Apples of the Hesperides

Eurystheus did not count two exploits for Hercules, since they were accomplished with the help of others or bribery, so he assigned the hero two additional tasks. The first was to steal apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Hercules first caught Nereus, the sea-wave god, and asked him where the garden was. Then he tricked Atlas by promising him some golden apples if he agreed to hold the sky for a while. When the hero returned, Atlas decided that he would not want to hold more of the sky, and offered to deliver the apples himself. Hercules again deceived him, agreeing to take his place on the condition that he would hold the sky for a while so that the hero could straighten his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Hercules left and never returned.

On the way back, our hero had to go through many adventures. In Libya, he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Gaia and Poseidon, who loved to fight his guests to the point of exhaustion, and then kill them. As they fought, Hercules realized that the giant's strength and energy were renewed every time he fell to the ground, since the Earth was his mother. Then the hero lifted the giant high into the air and crushed him with his hands.

Arriving in the Caucasus Mountains, he met the titan Prometheus, who was chained to a rock for 30,000 years. Taking pity on him, Hercules killed the eagle, who feasted on the titan's liver every day for all these years. Then he went to the wounded centaur Chiron, see feat 4 ("The Twelve Feats of Hercules", summary), who begged him to be relieved of pain.

When the hero finally brought Eurystheus, the king immediately gave him the fruits back, since they belonged to Hera and could not remain outside the garden. Hercules handed them over to Athena, who returned the apples to their place.

Feat 12. The Taming of Cerberus

The twelve labors of Hercules are closed by the taming of Cerberus from the underworld of Hades. Hades was the god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld. The hero went first to Eleusis to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries and to be able to enter the underworld and return from there alive, and at the same time to absolve himself of the guilt for killing the centaurs. Athena and Hermes helped him find the entrance to the underworld.

Hercules walked past Charon, the shadow carrier, with the help of Hermes. In hell, he freed Theseus, but when he tried to free his friend Pirithous, an earthquake began, and the hero was forced to leave him in the underworld. Both friends were imprisoned for trying to kidnap Persephone, Hades' wife, and were magically chained to a stone. The magic spell was so strong that when Hercules freed Theseus, part of his thighs remained on the stone.

The hero appeared before the throne of Hades and Persephone and asked permission to take Cerberus. The gods agreed, but on condition that he did not harm him. According to one version, Persephone gave her consent because Hercules was her brother. Then our hero took the dog Eurystheus, passing through the cave at the entrance to the Peloponnese. When he returned with Cerberus to the palace, Eurystheus was so frightened by the formidable beast that he jumped into a large vessel to escape from it. The first poisonous plants, including aconite, grew from the dog's saliva that fell to the ground.

You have read the "Twelve Labors of Hercules" summary. A whole book is devoted to these exploits. The collection "The Twelve Feats of Hercules" Kuhn compiled, bringing together all the exploits of the hero. Another option was suggested by a Russian writer. In the book "The Twelve Feats of Hercules," Ouspensky set out his vision no less interesting.

The cinema also did not stay away from these fascinating myths. The film "Twelve Feats of Hercules" exists in many versions in different countries of the world, there are even series dedicated to these events.

Feats of Hercules- a cycle of adventures of the Thunderer's son, without which it is difficult to imagine and reflect the full completeness of ancient Greek mythology. Today they are not only included in general education textbooks, but are also the property of the people. They reflect the essence of many phenomena and concepts. In Ancient Greece, Hercules was a hero who was not afraid to go against the will of his father Zeus and managed to prove to everyone that willpower is the main tool in performing the most difficult, sometimes unimaginable tasks. To this day, based on the 12 exploits of Hercules, they create films and write books. Ready to find out a summary of each one?

The story begins as follows. Hera decides to teach Zeus a lesson for treason, and while Hercules is to be born, Heracles forces the Thunderer to promise the following: a child born at this hour will become a king. Hera specifically influenced the birth of Hercules' mother. As a result, the fragile and vile king Ephrysheus, who was born at that hour, received all power. Further, the ruler, together with the Hero, decide to get rid of the threat forever. Thus, an argument took place, within which Hercules had to complete 12 difficult tasks. How this happened, read on.

Myths about the twelve labors of Hercules (Briefly)

The first of the twelve labors of Hercules begins with a confrontation between the demigod and the invincible Nemean lion. The thick-skinned monster has never been defeated. He cannot be wounded by any weapon. The inhabitants of Nemia have long suffered from the attacks of the monster. The king decided to send the most brave warrior to the battle with the left. Of course, not without dastardly intentions. Fortunately, Hercules possessed no less monstrous strength. He strangled the lion and became the hero of Nemia, among whom he found many friends and allies.

The second feat of Hercules took place on the territory of the Lernean swamp, where the son of Zeus had to fight a mythical creature called the Lernean hydra. Whenever a demigod chopped off her head, two new ones appeared at the site of the wound. Then Hercules called his ally from Nemia, who managed to cauterize the wound with a torch. Thus, after the felling of the head, new ones ceased to grow. Having defeated the hydra, Hercules covered it with sand, and moistened his arrows with blood. Thus, he obtained poisonous arrows, for which no one had an antidote ...

Realizing that in the battles of Hercules there is no equal, Ephrisfeus decided to go for a trick. He offered the most outstanding race. As part of the third feat, Hercules was forced to fight in a race with the fastest animal of ancient Greek mythology. The uniqueness of this mission of the 12 labors of Hercules lies in the complexity of the task. Doe cannot be killed. And it's almost impossible to catch. For a long time, the son of Zeus hunted an animal. As a result, he managed to drive her along a narrow path to a dead end. Then Iolaus came to him and threw a rope over the doe. On the way down, the heroes met Artemis, the daughter of Zeus, and gave the Lan to her. But Hercules fulfilled the mission.

Another interesting myth of the 12 labors of Hercules is the battle of Hercules with the Erymanthian boar. For a long time, the huge animal made it difficult for the hunter to get food for their families. Allegedly with noble goals, Ephrysi pointed out to Hercules the need to destroy the enemy. The difficulty was that the boar lived high in the mountains. Only thanks to the help of Artemis, Hercules managed to climb the hills and defeat the monster. Slowly but surely, the son of the Thunderer gained fame, destroying all the cunning plans of Hera. And then...

Realizing all the power of Hercules, the king decided to go for another meanness. In ancient Greek mythology, the god of war, Ares, had his own legion of dangerous warriors - the Stimphalia birds. Only by their appearance, they prompted hundreds of thousands of soldiers to lower their weapons. This flock lived in the depths of a mountain gorge, where Hercules went.
This feat of Hercules of the 12 known, is one of the most interesting and impressive. It was only thanks to joint efforts with Iolaus that he managed to defeat all the predators. To complete this mission, he needed the skin of a lion from the first feat. And, of course, the accuracy of Iolaus's faithful assistant.

Tired of the king trying to defeat Hercules with the danger and power of ancient Greek creatures. Then he decided to give him an simply impracticable mission, providing for the manifestation of completely different qualities, not military ones.
As part of the 6 feat of Hercules, the hero had to go to a proud king named Augeas. He instructed Hercules:

• keep track of three hundred horses;
• feed two hundred red horses;
• catch twelve white horses;
• and another important part of the 12 labors of Hercules is to prevent the loss of one horse with a shining star in its forehead.

Of course, not without effort, he managed to cope with this goal. After that, the king instructed him to clean the stables, promising a tenth of the state. He did it. Then Augeas became angry that he could not fulfill the instructions of Ephrisfei and deceived Hercules, for which he lost his head.

7 feat of Hercules provides for the battle on the island of Crete. In this place, King Minos saved his people from the curse of Poseidon for a long time. Once he promised the god of water an amazing bull with golden horns, but later decided to deceive the patron saint of the seas and stole the fleece from him. Then Poseidon turned the bull into a real monster. Hercules fought with the demon for a long time, but managed to defeat him with the help of huge shackles and chains.

A truly interesting and instructive feat of Hercules from 12 famous adventures. Tells about the most unpleasant mission for a demigod. This time, the king ordered him to steal horses, which attracted even the gods. Hercules was angry for a long time, but did not go against the will of the king.

To get horses in an honest way, Hercules went to the kingdom of the dead, from where he brought the king his deceased wife. Thus, he was able to offer a compromise and deliver valuable horses to his dastardly king.

Now is the time to consider 9 of the 12 adventures of Hercules. For a long time, Ephrisfei's daughter asked for the belt of Hippolyta herself. So I decided to remember the vile enemy of Hercules about the request of his daughter. Then he decided to send his son Zeus to an island where only women lived. Perhaps you will now learn more about the history of the Amazons. In this place lived women who were given the belt by the god of war himself - Ares. Hercules had to fight the best warriors in history for a long and painful time. But he managed to get a belt, which Admeta did not dare to put on herself.

- a cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus. Each feat of Hercules is a separate, unlike all others, history. The hero of Ancient Greece had to go through many trials, incomprehensible to a mere mortal.

The fourth feat of Hercules (summary)

The Erimanthian boar (boar), possessing monstrous strength, terrified all the surroundings. Hercules, on the way to fight with him, visited his friend, the centaur Fall. There he had a quarrel with the other centaurs over the wine that Foul had treated him to. In pursuit of the centaurs, Hercules burst into Chiron's cave and accidentally killed him with an arrow. Finding the Erymanthian boar, Hercules drove him into deep snow, where he got stuck. The hero took the tied boar to Mycenae, where, at the sight of this monster, the frightened Eurystheus hid in a large jug.

The fifth feat of Hercules (summary)

The sixth feat of Hercules (summary)

However, the greedy Augeas did not give the promised payment for the work to Hercules. Having already freed himself from service with Eurystheus, a few years later Hercules gathered an army, defeated Augeus and killed him. After this victory, the hero established the famous Olympic Games in Elis, near the city of Pisa.

Seventh feat of Hercules (summary)

The tenth feat of Hercules (summary)

On the westernmost edge of the earth, on the island of Erythia, the giant Geryon grazed, with three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs. Hercules, on the orders of Eurystheus, went after these cows. Having killed the guards of Geryon - the giant Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orff, and then Geryon himself, Hercules transported the cows on the boat of Helios across the Ocean. Eurystheus, having received Geryon's cows, sacrificed them to Hera.

Eleventh feat of Hercules (summary)

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to take three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlanta garden. Atlas held the firmament on his shoulders. He promised to go for apples himself, if Hercules would hold the firmament at that time.

Bringing apples, Atlas offered to take them to Eurystheus himself. But Hercules, realizing the deception, asked Atlant to change him under the sky for a short rest, and he took the apples and left.

The twelfth feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules descended on the orders of Eurystheus into the dark kingdom of the god of the dead, Hades, in order to take away his guard from there - the three-headed dog Cerberus. The lord of the underworld, Hades, himself allowed Hercules to take Cerberus away - but only if the hero is able to tame him. Having found Cerberus, Hercules began to fight him. He half-strangled the dog, pulled him out of the ground and brought him to Mycenae. At one glance at the terrible dog, the cowardly Eurystheus began to beg Hercules to take her back, which he did.

Myths about the exploits of Hercules

Nemean lion - the first feat of Hercules

Hercules had to bring the skin of a Nemean lion, which came from the fire-breathing monster Typhon and the gigantic serpent Echidna and lived in the valley between Nemea and Cleans. Back in Cleans, Hercules went to one poor man, Molarch, who was going to make a sacrifice to Zeus at that time. Hercules persuaded him to postpone the sacrifice for thirty days, for he wished, upon returning from a dangerous hunt, to bring with him a sacrifice to the savior of Zeus; if Hercules had not returned from the hunt, then Molarch was supposed to calm his shadow with a sacrifice. Hercules went into the forest and looked for a lion for several days, finally found him and threw an arrow at him; but the lion was not wounded: the arrow bounced off him like a stone. Then Hercules raised his club to the lion; the lion ran away from him into a cave that had two exits. The hero blocked one exit, and the other approached the beast. In an instant, the lion jumped on his chest. Hercules grabbed the lion with his mighty arms and strangled him, then put him on his shoulders and carried him to Mycenae. He came to Molarch on the thirtieth day after his departure and found him about to bring the funeral sacrifice for Hercules. Here both made a sacrifice to Zeus the savior and thus laid the foundation for the Nemean games. When Hercules brought the lion to Mycenae, Eurystheus, at the sight of a powerful hero and a terrible beast, was terrified and gave the following order: from now on, Hercules will show evidence of his exploits from the city gates.

Lernean hydra - the second feat of Hercules

Hercules had to kill another Lernaean hydra, a terrible snake with nine heads: eight were mortal, the middle one is immortal. Hydra was also the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. She grew up in the Lernaean swamp, near the source of Amimone, and from there attacked the herds and devastated the country. With courage in his heart, Hercules went to this fight in a chariot ruled by Polai, the courageous son of Iphicles. When he arrived in Lerna, he left Iolaus with the chariot behind him and began to look for the enemy. He found the hydra in a cave that was in one rock, and drove her out of there with his arrows; it came to a dangerous fight. The beast rushes madly at him; but Hercules steps on him and holds him under him; while the hydra knocked his other leg down with her long tail, Hercules with his club boldly began to strike the monster on the hissing heads. But Hercules could not kill the monster; instead of every broken head, two others grew out of the body. In addition, another enemy appeared: a huge sea cancer, pinching the legs of Hercules. Hercules crushed him and called for help against the hydra of Iolaus. Iolaus occupied a part of the nearest forest and burned the wounds with hot brands so that new heads could not grow from them. Finally, only one undying head remained: Hercules took it off and buried it near the road under a heavy rock. Then he cut open the body of the monster and dipped his arrows into its poisonous liver. Since then, Hercules began to inflict incurable wounds with his arrows.

Capturing the Kerinean fallow deer - the third feat of Hercules

The third feat of Hercules was the delivery of the Kerinean fallow deer to Mycenae alive. It was a beautiful golden-horned and copper-footed doe dedicated to Artemis, tireless and incredibly fast. Since Hercules did not want to kill or injure her, he chased her for a whole year to the Hyperborean country and the springs of Istria, and then drove her back to Arcadia; finally, tired of a long hunt, Hercules shot at the doe while she wanted to cross the Ladon River, wounded her in the leg and, grabbing her, put her on his shoulders and carried her to Mycenae. Artemis met him with her brother Apollo, began to reproach him for having caught her sacred doe, and wanted to take it away from him, Hercules made excuses and blamed Eurystheus, whose command he obeyed, and Artemis calmed down. So he brought the fallow deer alive to Mycenae.

The Erymanthian Boar - the fourth feat of Hercules

When Hercules brought the doe to Mycenae, Eurystheus instructed him to catch the Erymanthian boar. This boar lived on Mount Erymanth, between Arcadia, Elis and Achaia, and often invaded the area of ​​the city of Psophis, where he devastated fields and destroyed people. On the way to this hunt, Hercules crossed the high wooded mountains of Folos, in which some centaurs have lived since they were driven out of Thessaly by Lapith. Tired, hungry Hercules came to the cave of the centaur Fola and was cordially received by him, for, although Foul was also half-human and half-horse, like other centaurs, he was not, like Chiron, as rude and brutally savage as they were. He treated Hercules to boiled meat, while he ate his portion raw. Hercules, who loved to drink good wine after work and cares at a meal, expressed a desire to drink; but the owner was afraid to open the vessel with wine, a precious gift to the centaurs from Dionysus, who was in his custody: he was afraid that the centaurs would come and break the hospitality in their wild anger. Hercules encouraged him and opened the vessel himself; they both drink merrily in full bowls, but soon the centaurs appear: having heard the sweet aroma of wine, they rush from all sides to the cave of Fol, in a wild rage armed with rocks and pine trunks and attacked Hercules. He repels the attack, throws hot bunt in their chests and face and chases them out of the cave. Then he pursues them with his arrows and drives the last remaining ones to Cape Maley, where they seek refuge with Chiron, driven here from the Pelion mountains. While they, seeking refuge, crowd around him, the arrow of Hercules hits him in the knee. Only then did the hero recognize his old friend; with great sorrow, he ran to him, applied the healing herbs given to him by Chiron himself to the wounds, and bandaged them, but the wound inflicted by the poisoned arrow is incurable, therefore Chiron subsequently voluntarily accepted death for Prometheus, Hercules returned to the cave of Fol and, to to his great grief, he found him dead: Foul took an arrow from the wound of one killed centaur and, looking at it, wondered how such a small thing could put such a giant down dead; suddenly an arrow fell out of his hand, wounded him in the leg, and immediately he fell dead. Hercules sadly buried his master and went to find the Erymanthian boar. With a cry, he drove him out of the thicket and chased him to the very top of the mountain, where the boar settled in deep snow. The hero got to him, fettered him and brought him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the terrible beast, he was so scared that he hid in a copper tub.

The extermination of the Stymphalian birds is the fifth feat of Hercules.

Stymphalian birds lived in a deep wooded valley near the lake, near the Arcadian city of Stymphala. It was a huge flock of terrible birds of prey, the size of a crane; they had brass wings, claws and beaks, and they could throw their feathers like arrows. It was unsafe from them in the whole region, they attacked people and animals and ate them. Hercules fulfilled the order, drove them out. When he came to the valley, flocks of these birds scattered through the forest. Hercules stood on one hill and frightened them with the terrible noise of two copper rattles given to him for this purpose by Athena, so that he could better overtake them in the air with his arrows. But he could not kill everyone: some of them flew far away to the island of Aretia, to the Euxine Pontus, where they were later met by the Argonauts.

Augean stables - the sixth feat of Hercules

Hercules cleared the Augean stall in one day - this was his sixth feat. Augeas was the son of the radiant sun god Helios and the king of Elis. He became famous for his immense wealth, which he owed to his loving father. Countless as the clouds of heaven were his flocks of bulls and sheep. The three hundred bulls had hair on their legs like snow; two hundred were purple; twelve bulls, dedicated to the god Helios, were white as swans, and one, named Phaethon, shone like a star. In the large stockyard where all these animals were collected, over time, so much dung accumulated that it seemed impossible to clean it out. When Hercules appeared, he proposed to Augius to clear the court in one day, if the king would give him a tenth of his flocks. Augeas willingly accepted the condition, for he doubted the feasibility of this matter. Hercules called the son of Augeas to witness the treaty, took Alpheus and Penae to the side of the river and, breaking the wall of the barnyard in two places, led these rivers through it; the pressure of water in one day carried away all the impurities from the yard, and Hercules did his job. But Augeas does not give the contractual payment and locks himself even in his promise. He is even ready to conduct business in court.

The court was assembled, and Philip began to testify against his father.

Then Augeas, before the decision of the court took place, expels Philaeus and Hercules from his country. Philae went to the island of Dulilichy and settled there; Hercules returned to Tiryns.

Subsequently, when Hercules freed himself from the service of Eurystheus, he took revenge on Augius: he gathered a large army and attacked Elis. But the nephews of Augean, the twins, the sons of Actor and Molyon, who are therefore called Actorides and Molyonides, ambushed his army and defeated it. Hercules himself at this time was sick. Soon then he himself trapped the Molionides at the Cleons while they were leaving for the Isthmian Games, and interrupted them. Then he again went to Elis and gave her over to fire and sword. Finally he killed Avgius with his arrow. And when he gathered all his army in Pis and brought rich booty there, he measured out a sacred piece of land to his father Zeus and planted olive trees on it. Then he made a sacrifice to the twelve Olympic gods and the god of the river Alphea and established the Olympic Games. After the elite of his troops had tested their strength in various competitions, in the evening, with a charming moonlight, they celebrated a wondrous feast and sang victory songs.

From Elis, Hercules went to Pylos against King Neleus, who gave Augius assistance in the war against Hercules. In Pylos, it came to a terrible battle, in which the gods also took part. The mighty hero fought against Ares and Hera and with his club struck the trident of Poseidon and the scepter of Hades, with which he drives the dead into his kingdom. Hercules even resisted the powerful Apollo's silver bow. With the help of Zeus and Athena, Hercules won the victory; after conquering the city of Pylos, he destroyed it and killed Neleus and his eleven beautiful young sons. Of these, he most of all fiddled with Pericles, who received the gift of transformations from Poseidon. He appeared to Hercules in the form of a lion, an eagle, a snake and a bee, when, intending to attack the hero, he, turning like a fly, sat on his chariot, Athena opened her hero's eyes, and he saw the true image of his enemy and shot him from a bow ... Of the entire family of Neleus, only Nestor remained, the youngest of the twelve sons. At this time, he was in Herenia, and that is why later he was nicknamed: Herenian.

Cretan bull - the seventh feat of Hercules

The Cretan bull was given by Poseidon to the king of Crete Minos so that he would sacrifice this bull to him. But Minos kept a beautiful and strong bull in his herd and killed another. For this, Poseidon infuriated the bull, and he made devastation throughout the island. Eurystheus instructed Hercules to catch this bull and deliver it to Mycenae. With the help of Minos, Hercules caught the bull and tamed it with a mighty hand. Then he sailed on a bull to Mycenae and brought him to Eurystheus. He released the bull and, furious, he began to wander throughout the Peloponnese and finally came to Attica; here he reached the country of Marathon, where Theseus caught him.

The mares of Diomedes - the eighth feat of Hercules

Hercules had to bring the horses of the Thracian king Diomedes to Mycenae. These horses were so wild and strong that they had to be chained to the manger with strong iron chains. They ate human flesh: the fierce Diomedes, whose fortified palace was on the seashore, threw strangers to them, who were washed ashore by the sea. Hercules went there on the ship, took the horses and their watchmen and led them to the ship. At the seashore, Diomedes met him with his warlike Thracians, and a bloody battle broke out here, in which Diomedes was killed; Hercules threw his body to be devoured by horses. During the battle, Hercules gave the horses to be preserved to his favorite Abder, but, returning from the battle, he did not find him: the beautiful youth was torn apart by horses. Hercules mourns for him, buries him and erects a beautiful mound over his grave. At the place where Abder died, Hercules established games in honor of the young man and founded the city, which he named Abdera. Eurystheus dismissed the horses, and on the Lycea mountains, in Arcadia, they were torn to pieces by wild beasts.

Hippolyta's Belt - the ninth feat of Hercules

The once warlike people of the Amazons were ruled by Queen Hippolyta. A sign of her royal dignity was the belt presented to her by the god of war Ares. Eurystheus' daughter Admet wished to have this belt, and Hercules instructed Eurystheus to get it. Hercules sailed along the Euxine Pontus to the capital of the Amazons, Themiscira, at the mouth of the Fermodont River, and camped near it. Hippolyta came to him with her Amazons and asked about the purpose of his arrival.

The majestic appearance and noble origin of the hero disposed Hippolyta in his favor: she willingly promised to give him the belt. But Hera, wishing to destroy the hated Hercules, took the form of an Amazon and spread a rumor that the stranger wanted to kidnap the queen. Then the Amazons took up arms and attacked the camp of Hercules. A terrible battle began, in which the most famous and brave Amazons competed with Hercules. Before the others, Aela attacked him, nicknamed "Whirlwind" for her wondrous speed. But in Hercules she found an even faster adversary. Defeated, Aela sought salvation in flight, but Hercules caught up with her and killed her. Protoya also fell, seven times remaining the winner in single combat. Three maidens, Artemis's friends and her hunting companions, who never missed their hunting spears, attacked the hero together, but this time did not hit the target and fell under the blows of the enemy, hiding behind their shields, to the ground. Many other warriors were put to death by Hercules, he also filled their brave leader Melanipa; Then the Amazons fled, and many of them perished in this flight. Hercules gave the captured Antiope as a gift to his friend and companion Theseus, while Melanippe was released on promise - for the belt that Hippolyta gave him before the battle.

The bulls of Geryon is the tenth feat of Hercules.

From the distant eastern countries, Hercules arrived in the far west. Eurystheus ordered him to drive to Mycenae the herds of the three-headed giant Geryon, grazing on the island of the western ocean of Erythia. The purple, shiny bulls were guarded by the giant Eurytion and the terrible dog Orth. Before Erythia, Hercules lay a long and difficult path through Europe and Libya, through barbaric countries and deserts. Having reached the strait separating Europe from Libya, Hercules, in memory of this most distant journey, placed on both sides of the strait on a pillar-like rock - and since then these rocks are called “the pillars of Hercules”. Soon then he arrived at the ocean shore, but Erifia, the goal of the journey, was still far away: how to reach it, how to swim across the world's ocean-river? Not knowing what to do, tormented by impatience, until the evening Hercules sat on the shore of the ocean, and now he sees: on his radiant chariot, Helios is rolling towards the ocean from the high sky. It was hard for the hero to look at the close sun, and in anger he pulled his bow over the radiant god. The god of the brave man's courage marveled, but did not get angry with him, even yielded to him his cuboid canoe, on which every night he bypassed the northern half of the earth. On this boat Hercules arrived on the island of Erifia. Here the dog Orth immediately rushed at him, but the hero killed him with his club. He killed Eurytion and drove the herds of Geryon. But Menetius, who was grazing the flocks of Hades not far away, saw what was stolen and told Geryon about it. The giant chased after the hero, but was killed by his arrow. Hercules put the bulls on the boat of the sun and sailed back to Iberia, where he again handed the ship to Helios. And he drove his flocks through Iberia and Gaul, through the Pyrenees and the Alps. Having overcome many dangers, Hercules arrived at the Tiber River, to the place where Rome was later built.

Stopping in the beautiful valley of the Tiber, Hercules carelessly indulged in sleep, while two of the most beautiful bulls from the herd were kidnapped by the fire-breathing giant Kak, who lived in the cave of the Aventine Mountain and made terrible devastation throughout the surrounding country. The next morning, Hercules wanted to drive further his bulls, but noticed that not the whole herd was whole. And he followed the trail of the lost bulls and reached a cave, closed by a huge, heavy rock. The heads and smoldering bones of the killed people were hung on the rock at the entrance and scattered on the ground. Hercules wondered if the inhabitant of the suspicious cave had stolen his bulls, but - a wonderful thing! - the trail led not into the cave, but out of it. This he could not understand and hastened with his flock from an inhospitable country. Then one of the bulls of Hercules roared, as if complaining about the remaining ones, and the same roar was heard in response to him from the cave. Full of anger, Hercules returns to Kaka's dwelling, rolls off the heavy stone of the entrance with his mighty shoulders and bursts into the cave. The giant throws fragments of rocks and tree trunks at him, but he can neither frighten nor deter the enemy. Like a volcano, with a terrible roar, he spews smoke and flame at it, but this will not frighten the angry hero. Jumping over the stream of flame, he struck Kaka three times in the face, and the terrible monster fell to the ground and gave up his ghost.

While in gratitude for the victory Hercules sacrificed a bull to Zeus, the surrounding inhabitants came to him, and among others - Evander, who moved from Arcadia and here laid the first principles of higher culture. They all welcomed Hercules as their deliverer and benefactor. Evander, recognizing Hercules as Zeus's son, erected an altar for him, made a sacrifice and eternally established him a cult at the site of the last feat of Hercules - a place that the Romans later considered sacred.

When Hercules arrived at the Strait of Sicily, one of his bulls fell into the sea and sailed to Sicily, where King Eric took him over. Having instructed Hephaestus to guard the remaining bulls, Hercules went after the lost. He agreed to give the bull to Erica only if Hercules defeated him in single combat; Hercules overpowered and killed him. On the shores of the Ionian Sea, Hercules suffered a new setback. Hera brought his bulls into a rage, scattered them, and it cost the hero a lot of work to collect them. Finally he collected most of them and drove them to Mycenae, where Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.

Apples of the Hesperides - the eleventh feat of Hercules

Hercules was carried away to the far west by his eleventh feat. Here, on the edge of the earth, on the ocean shore, there was a wondrous, golden-fruited tree, which was once grown by the Earth and presented to Hera during her marriage to Zeus. The tree was in the fragrant garden of the Atlantean-bearer; the nymphs of Hesperides, the daughters of the giant, followed him, and the terrible dragon Ladon guarded him, whose eyes were never closed by sleep. Hercules had to bring three golden apples from a wonderful tree: a difficult matter, especially since Hercules did not know in which direction the tree of the Hesperides was. Overcoming incredible difficulties, for a long time Hercules wandered across Europe, Asia and Libya and finally arrived in the far north, to the nymphs of the Eridanus River. The nymphs advised him to sneak up on the old man of the sea, the seer god Nereus, attack her and find out from him the secret of the golden apples. So Hercules did: he bound the sea god and then only released him, he learned from him the way to the Hesperides. The path went through Libya, and there Hercules attacked the son of the Earth, the giant Antaeus and challenged him to fight. While Antaeus touched mother Earth with his feet, his strength was irresistible: but when Hercules, embracing Antaeus, raised him from the ground, all the giant's power disappeared: Hercules defeated him and killed him. From Libya, Hercules arrived in Egypt. At that time, Busiris ruled Egypt, sacrificing all foreigners to Zeus. When Hercules arrived in Egypt, Busiris fettered him and led him to the altar: but the hero broke the chains and killed Busiris along with his son.

Finally, Hercules at Atlanta, who held the firmament on his shoulders. Atlas promised to get Hercules the apples of the Hesperides; but the hero had to hold the sky for him for this time. Hercules agreed and threw the vault of the sky onto his mighty shoulders. Returning with golden apples, Atlas offered the hero to hold the weight for some more time, he himself undertook to deliver the golden fruits to Mycenae. “I agree,” Hercules answered him, “just let me make a pillow; I will put it on my shoulders: the firmament is pressing me too much. " Atlas believed; but when he returned to his former place, crushed by a heavy burden, Hercules raised his bow, arrows and apples from the ground and said goodbye to the deceived giant. The hero gave the apples to Eurystheus, but, having received them back as a gift, sacrificed to Pallas Athena; the goddess returned them to their original place.

The dog Cerberus - the twelfth feat of Hercules

The most difficult and most dangerous feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was the latter. The hero had to descend into the gloomy tartare and get the terrible dog Cerberus from there. Kerber was a terrible, three-headed beast, whose tail had the appearance and ferocity of a living dragon; all kinds of snakes swarmed on the mane of the beast. Before performing the feat, Hercules visited Eleusis, and there the priest Eumolpus consecrated him to the Eleusinian mysteries, which liberated man from the fear of death. Then the hero arrived in Laconia, from where, through one gloomy crevice, lay the way to the underworld. On this dark path, Hermes - the guide of the dead - led Hercules. Shadows fled in horror at the sight of a mighty husband: only Meleager and Medusa did not budge. Hercules had already raised a sword on Medusa, but Hermes stopped him, saying that this was no longer a terrible petrifying gorgon, but only a shadow deprived of life. The hero had a friendly conversation with Meleager and, at his request, promised to marry his sister Dianira. Near the gates of Hades' dwelling, Hercules saw Theseus and Pirithous, rooted to the rock for daring to descend into the underworld in order to kidnap the majestic wife of Hades Persephone from there. And they stretched out their hands to the hero, begging to tear them off the rock, to save him from torment. Hercules gave Theseus his hand and freed him; but when he wanted to take Pirithous from the rock, the earth trembled, and Hercules saw that the gods did not want to free this criminal. To revive the lifeless shadows with blood, the hero killed one of the cows of Hades, which Menettius grazed.

They had a fight over the cow: Hercules hugged Menetius and broke his ribs.

Hercules finally reached Pluto's throne. As initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries, the god of the underworld graciously accepted him and allowed him to take a dog with him to earth, if only he could defeat him without weapons. Covered with a shell and a lion's skin, the hero went out to the monster, found him at the mouth of the Acheron and immediately attacked him. With his mighty hands, Hercules grabbed the triple neck of the terrible dog, and although the dragon, which served as the tail of the monster, stabbed him unbearably, the hero strangled Kerber until, defeated, trembling with fear, he fell at his feet. Hercules fettered him and brought him to earth. The dog of hell was horrified when he saw the light of day: poisonous foam poured onto the ground from his triple mouth, and from this foam a poisonous fighter grew up. Hercules hastened to take the monster to Mycenae and, showing him to the horror of Eurystheus who came, took him back to the region of Hades.

Hercules performed his twelve labors. Filled with surprise at the mighty hero who disarmed death itself, Eurystheus freed him from serving himself. Hercules went to Thebes, where the faithful Megara, during the long absence of her husband, looked after his house. From that time on, Hercules could already freely dispose of himself.

Let us briefly recall the biography of Hercules, the illegitimate son of Zeus - the main god of Greece, the leader of the Olympians. The goddess Hera, a very spiteful, wayward and jealous wife of the Thunderer, disliked the stepson. Jera's jealousy manifested itself in the behavior of her husband, who had dozens of illegitimate children. They also suffered from the willfulness of their "stepmothers" for their origins. Since Hercules was his father's favorite, he got more than others. And then read the 12 labors of Hercules in full in order.
In this regard, the hero went to Delphi to the soothsayer of the god Apollo, to ask him: what to do next? Apollo recommended leaving Thebes and going to his brother Eurystheus for twelve years of hard work. The 12 labors of Hercules are read online in full below.

Victory one: death of the Nemean lion

Nemean lion

The current location of the Greek Nemea is the northwest of the Peloponnese. There, in ancient times, this huge mythical monster destroyed everything around it. When Hercules went in search of him to destroy, there were no animals or people, even the birds were silent. Shepherds and farmers were afraid to leave their homes.

The lion was enormous in size and descended from a dragon with a hundred heads of Typhon and an anthropomorphic (half beautiful woman and half snake) Echidna. Day after day, the son of Zeus was looking for a lion's den and one evening he discovered a cave with two exits in the rock. The hero quickly filled one exit with stones.

And then, against the background of the darkening sky, a huge shadow of a shaggy beast appeared, which then approached the cave.
Hercules shot several arrows at him. But the lion's skin was so strong that the arrowheads bounced off the beast like a stone.
Finally, Hercules fell into the field of lion's sight. The jump, which followed with lightning speed, almost knocked him down. With his club, Hercules knocked the monster on its back, then strangled him with his hands and brought the carcass to Erisfei, frightening him even more.

Second victory: the Lernaean hydra has lost its heads

Lernean Hydra

This mythical hydra also lived in the Peloponnese. Near one lake there were karst sinkholes in the ground, in which there was an entrance to the underground kingdom. It was guarded by the Lernaean monster, which had to be exterminated.
The hydra crawled out of the den, destroyed herds of animals and ravaged the fields of farmers. Our hero found her and immediately attacked with fiery arrows. She knocked Hercules down, grabbing his legs in her rings. But the brave hero stubbornly held on, knocking down all the snake's heads with a huge club. Finally he got to a very dangerous head and blew it off. The monster slumped and collapsed at his feet.

The last head was deeply buried and covered with rock. Then Hercules dipped his arrows in the bile of the hydra, which inflicted mortal wounds on further campaigns.

Victory three: birds with steel feathers

Each bird is a real bow! They threw down their arrow-feathers of durable metal and killed anyone who attacked on the move.
Hercules felt that this task would be difficult to complete. He called for help the deity of war and at the same time wisdom Pallas Athena. She suggested that these birds are scary, but fearful, afraid of even the slightest noise. Hercules Pallas Athena presented two metal plates - tympanes. If you bang them against each other, you can make an incredible noise. Near the nesting place of birds, he struck his timpani. Stymphalian birds in fear flew into the sky in a huge flock and sent their weapon - feather-arrows to the rock. But they did not get Hercules. In response, he began to kill the bloodthirsty birds with his arrows. Many birds died, and the living flew away from this land in an instant, and even from Greece. They did not appear here again.

Victory four: the Kerinean doe wounded

Kerinean fallow deer

Eurystheus sent Hercules to Arcadia, where the swift deer lived. The illegitimate daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo sent her cult animal here. She took revenge on both people and her brother.

For twelve months, Hercules ran after a beautiful and fast animal. It never got tired. The fallow deer turned fertile fields into deserts, people were starving. But Hercules did not lose sight of her and constantly pursued her. The fallow deer was close to capture in the far north, in the country of the Hyperboreans. As soon as the young man tried to capture the doe, she turned sharply south. Hercules almost caught up with the nimble animal in the same Arcadia, from where the chase began.
And here he nevertheless decided to take up arms and wounded the doe in the leg.

Victory five: the battle with the Erymanth boar

Erymanthian Boar

The new mission was difficult and dangerous. On the lands of Arcadia, no one was given rest by the malignant Erythman wild boar. He destroyed everything in his path. Whoever was caught was torn to shreds with fangs.

The son of the Thunderer Olympus came to the indicated mountain. There he drove the boar out of the rookery and chased him for a long time until he was exhausted at the top of the mountain. Hercules tied him alive and took him to the city to Eurystheus. Seeing the terrible boar, albeit tightly bound, the king, out of fear, managed to climb into the neck of the metal barrel.

Victory six: cleaning the Augean stables

Augean stables

On this campaign, Hercules for the first time did not take his traditional weapon with him. Because he received a purely economic task: to clear the premises for the bulls of King Augeus, who was also the son of one of the main mythical gods of Greece, from the accumulated manure. Therefore, Hercules could not refuse the dirty work.

Hercules promised Augustus to make the courtyard clean in just a day. But for this he asked for payment - tithes from the flock. The king agreed, because the work here, he thought, would be enough for months. Hercules did not need a shovel, otherwise he would really have to work for many months. Therefore, he turned the waters of the nearby rivers into the courtyard. They washed all the manure in the evening.

But the cunning tsar did not pay for the work, as agreed. So the son of Zeus avenged Augustus for breaking the agreement when he left Eurystheus. He went with an army to Aegis, and the battle came to an end to Augia.

Seventh victory: taming the Cretan bull

Cretan bull

It was an overseas mission. It took Hercules a long time to get to the island of Crete, where he had to tame a rabid animal. There was such a clever and wise interweaving here: according to the myth, one owner sends this bull to another. Next, the animal must be sacrificed back to the owner. But the first one felt sorry to part with a bull of an amazing constitution, so he replaced the Cretan bull with his usual bull, which he sacrificed. The one to whom the sacrifice was intended took offense and sent a mad bull to Crete.
The bull ran across the island, sweeping away everything in the way with its hooves. Hercules tamed a rabid animal. Together they crossed the sea from the island to the Peloponnese. The bull was released into the field here. He ran free until he was killed by someone else.

Victory Eight: Diomedes' Man-Eating Horses

Horses of diomedes

The son of the Thunderer was supposed to complete the next task in the region in the east of the Balkans. King Diomedes had beautiful and hardy horses there. But they constantly stood in fetters in the stable, since no fetters were holding them. These were man-eating horses, which were fed with the corpses of foreigners approaching the capital.

Hercules was able to successfully lead the horses out of the stable and drove them to the ship, but they were overtaken by the pursuit. Leaving the horses under the guard of an assistant, Hercules began the battle. He won the battle. But, returning to the ship, he learned that the man-eating horses had torn apart Abder's assistant. He was buried with honors.
Further, the horses were no longer needed by anyone and scattered around the neighborhood.

Victory nine: Amazon's belt obtained

Hippolyta's Belt

One domineering woman wished to get Hippolyta's belt - a symbol of dominion. According to mythology, this was the queen of the Amazons, who lived somewhere on the far coast of the Black Sea. After a long sea voyage, Hercules' detachment reached this land.