The 12 Labours of Hercules Mystery Cache

The Twelve Labours of Hercules are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Hercules, the greatest of the Greek heroes. They were accomplished over 12 years at the service of King Eurystheus.

Driven mad by Hera (queen of the gods), Hercules slew his son, daughter, and wife Megara. After recovering his sanity, Hercules deeply regretted his actions; he was purified by King Thespius, then traveled to Delphi to inquire how he could atone for his actions. Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, advised him to go to Tiryns and serve his cousin King Eurystheus for twelve years, performing whatever labors Eurystheus might set him; in return, he would be rewarded with immortality. Hercules despaired at this, loathing to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, yet fearing to oppose his father Zeus. Eventually, he placed himself in service of Eurystheus.

Eurystheus originally ordered Hercules to perform ten labours. Hercules accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus refused to recognize two: the slaying of the Lernaean Hydra, as Hercules' charioteer Iolaus had helped him; and the cleansing of the Augeas, because the rivers did the work. Eurystheus set two more tasks (fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing Cerberus), which Hercules also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve.

• 1st Labor: Nemean Lion
  • After chasing the lion back to it's cave near Nemean, Hercules managed to block off one of the entrances.  After cornering the beast in it's cave, Hercules stunned the Nemean Lion with his club before using his immense strength to strangle it to death. 
• 2nd Labor: Lernean Hydra
  • Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna, Hercules fired a flaming arrow into the Hydra's lair to lure it out.  Hercules faced the Hydra but for each head he cut off, two grew back.  Calling on his friend Iolaus for help, the two were able to slay the foul beast.  As Hercules cut off each head, Iolaus cauterized the open stumps.
• 3rd Labor: Ceryneian Hind
  • Hercules searched for a short while before spotting the Ceryneian Hind, a creature so fast that it could outrun an arrow.  Hercules then chased the hind on foot for a full year through Greece, Trace, Istria and the land of the Hyperboreans before he was able to capture it while the creature slept.
• 4th Labor: Erymanthian Boar
  • Hercules was able to easily capture this dangerous boar by following the advice of his centaurian friend, Chiron.  Hercules drove the boar into thick snow, caught it, bound it and carried it back to Eurystheus.
• 5th Labor: Augean Stables
  • These stables had not been cleaned in over 30 years and over 1,000 cattle lived there.  Hercules made quick work of this task by re-routing the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth.  Eurystheus considered this solution cheating and added two more labors to Hercules list.
• 6th Labor: Stymphalian Birds
  • These man-eating birds had beaks made of bronze and could launch sharp metallic feathers at their victims.  Hercules shook the rattle of Hephaestus and frightened the birds into the air where he was easily able to pick them off with arrows.  Few survived the encounter and those that did few far away, never to return.
• 7th Labor: Cretan Bull
  • Hercules sailed to Crete where he received the permission from King Minos to take the bull away.  Hercules snuck up behind the bull and used his hands to throttle the bull unconscious.  Hercules shipped the bull back to Tiryns where Eurystheus tried in vain to sacrifice the bull to Hera.
• 8th Labor: Mares of Diomedes
  • These ghastly Mares had been trained to eat human flesh by King Diomedes.  Hercules found the Mares engaged with local youth.  The horses calmed down while eating human flesh and Hercules took the opportunity to bind their mouths shut before taking them back to Eurystheus
• 9th Labor: Belt of Hippolyta
  • The Belt of Hippolyta belonged to the queen of the Amazons.  After being impressed with Hercules and his exploits, Hippolyta agreed to give Hercules her belt.  Unfortunately, Hera created distrust by spreading lies and rumors among the amazons.  Hippolyta confronted Hercules so he killed her and took the belt to Eurystheus.
• 10th Labor: Cattle of Geryon
  • Geryon the herdsman, sprang into action carrying three shields, three spears and wearing three helmets.  Hercules shot and arrow so forcefully that it pierced Geryons forehead. While spending the next year herding the sheep back, Hera flooded a river which Hercules then filled with rocks so the herd could cross to Eurystheus.
• 11th Labor: Golden Apples of the Hesperides
  • Once entering the Garden of the Hesperides, Hercules encountered Atlas holding up the heavens on his shoulders.  Hercules persuaded Atlas to get some of the golden apples for him by offering to hold up the heavens in his place. Atlas refused to hold the heavens aloft again but Hercules tricked Atlas and walked away with the Golden Apples
• 12th Labor: Cerberus
  • Hades gave permission for Hercules to bring Cerberus to the surface, if Hercules could subdue the beast without using weapons.  Hercules overpowered Cerberus with his bare hands and then slung the beast over his back.  Eurystheus begged Hercules to return Cerberus to the Underworld and released him from further labors.