Whichever of these bulls was meant by the Cretan Bull, Hercules was sent by Eurystheus to capture it. When Atlas takes the sky back, Heracles says, "See ya!" She sends two snakes to kill Hercules in his crib, but the infant strangles the serpents with ease. Eurystheus set Hercules on the extra task of fetching the golden apples of the Hesperides that had been given to Zeus as a wedding gift and were guarded by a dragon with 100 heads, offspring of Typhon and Echidna. Eurystheus tells Heracles that he has to perform ten labors for him. In those days there was a beast living in the swamps of Lerna that ravaged the countryside devouring cattle. The Typhon was one of the giants who rose up against the gods after they had successfully suppressed the Titans. "No worries," says Heracles. That's right... King Diomedes is in the habit of feeding his horses the flesh of people that get on his nerves. Hercules immediately kills his teacher.
They called the Atlantic "Oceanus" and thought of it as a giant river that encircled the world.). The Fourth Labor. "Okey doke," says Heracles, "What do you want me to do?". Having dispatched with the head, Hercules dipped his arrows in the gall of the beast. To capture this creature, Hercules pursues it for a whole year.
Walters Art Museum/Wikimedia Commons/CC by 1.0. Nicolo Van Aelst/Wikimedia Commons/CC by 1.0. calls the 12 labors the hero undertook a means to Hercules' apotheosis (deification). The story goes that Theseus had pretty stupidly agreed to help his buddy, Pirithous, try to woo Persephone, Hades' wife. When he comes back with the apples, however, he suggests that Heracles keep the sky on his shoulders while Atlas delivers the apples to Eurystheus. Wrestling with the beast proved difficult because, while trying to attack one head, another would bite Hercules' leg with its fangs.
Atlas, who is seriously sick of holding up the sky, agrees. Hippolyte agreed to give him the belt and would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among the Amazons sowing seeds of distrust. (He would eventually rue the day he thwarted Hercules.) Our hero goes to the Oracle of Delphi to figure out how to atone for the damage he's done. As a child, Hercules is taught by Rhadamanthus, who one day punishes the child for misdeeds. "Capturing Horses," you say, "That doesn't seem too hard.". For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. In Liguria, sons of Poseidon tried to rob him of the prize, but he killed them. He is killed and his body fed to his own beasts. Burning up from the wound, but unable to die, Chiron was in agony until Prometheus stepped in and offered to become immortal in Chiron's place. N.S. He manages this with the help of King Minos of Crete, and travels back to Greece on the back of the bull as it swims across the Mediterranean.
Hercules' concern is assuaged by Admetus' statements, so he takes the opportunity to indulge his passions for food, drink, and song, but the staff is appalled by his lighthearted behavior. There Admetus tells him the mourning Hercules sees around him is for just some member of the household who has died; not to worry about it.
Imagine Hercules in the woods, surrounded by a great cacophony of frightened birds cawing and screeching at each other and at him, trying to drive him away—or at least mad. While in the palace, Heracles comes across his fellow Greek hero, Theseus, and another dude name Pirithous with their butts stuck to a bench. Hercules begins the battle but discovers that for every head he severs from the monster two more appear. To overcome the hydra, a multi-headed monster who emits poisonous fumes from its body.... eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question.
In his defense, Augeas had an excuse. Heracles pulls with all his might and yanks Theseus from the bench, leaving only a thin layer of his bottom on bench. In the eighth labor Hercules, with a few companions, heads to the Danube, to the land of the Bistones in Thrace.
After the melee, Hercules, saddened and angered by the deaths of his friends Chiron and Pholus, continued on his mission. Now, this Cerberus had three heads of dogs, the tail of a dragon, and on his back the heads of all sorts of snakes. He also destroys families, including his own. (Ouch.). Next, Eurystheus orders Heracles to capture a giant boar and bring it back alive. He ordered the hero henceforth to deposit his offerings and to keep himself beyond the city limits. While he became an example of virtue, Hercules also made serious errors. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Labor #6: Chasing Away the Stymphalian Birds, Labor #10: Fetch the Red Cattle of Geryon, Labor #11: Golden Apples of the Hesperides, Mythical Creatures: The Monsters from Greek Mythology, Why Hercules Had to Perform the 12 Labors, The Centaur: Half Human, Half Horse of Greek Mythology, The 10 Greatest Heroes of Greek Mythology, How Many Trips Hercules Made to the Underworld, The Minotaur: Half Man, Half Bull Monster of Greek Mythology, M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota. Got it. This meal cures the mares of their taste for human flesh. One of the arrows grazed the Chiron's knee. Hercules has to meet the Lernaean hydra. Some say that he does this by making a bronze rattle, which he shakes and shakes until they're scared away. To get the apples, Heracles enlists the help of the Titan Atlas, who is doomed by Zeus to hold the sky up on his back.
Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers.