The 12 Labors
Hercules 1st labor was to skin a lion and give it to king Eurystheus. The lion was invulnerable which terrorized the hills around Nemea. Hercules stayed at a poor workman-for-hire, Molorchus. Molorchus offered to kill or sacrifice an animal for him. Hercules told Molorchus to wait for 30-days and if he came back with the lion’s skin then they would sacrifice the animal to Zeus the lightning god. If he didn’t come back Molorchus would sacrifice himself for Hercules. Hercules brought with him a-bow-and-arrow. Also he brought with him a club. When was tracking the wild beast he noticed that the bow-and-arrow wouldn’t stop the beast. So Hercules pulled out his club and went after the lion into a cave. The entrance had to doors Hercules closed one and blocked the other door. Hercules found the beast and approached it. When he got close enough he made his hands around the lion and choked it not minding the painful claws against his body he choked it to death. Hercules came back on the 30th day of when he left. Molorchus and Hercules sacrificed an animal together for Zeus. When he came back to king Eurystheus he was surprised that Hercules had managed an impossible duty.
Hercules 2nd labor was to kill the nine headed snake. He did not go alone. He went with his nephew, Iolaus. Iolaus helped Hercules on the 12 labors. Iolaus and Hercules set off to their adventure. They found the nine headed snake also known as the hydra. Hercules brought it out by shooting fire arrows at it. After it came out Hercules stopped it. The hydra wrapped its coaly hand around Hercules’s foot. The hydra’s head was snapping at Hercules so with one big hard swing Hercules smashed its head, but the hydra had a crab friend which started to bite Hercules’s foot. That is when he called his nephew to help. After he bashed the hydra’s head two more grew back. Iolaus had to burn the head so it wouldn’t grow back. Finally he sliced the eighth head and Iolaus burned it, and then Hercules sliced the 9th head. He buried it by the side of the road. Then Hercules covered the hydra up with boulders.
Hercules’s 3rd labor was to catch a hind. Do you know what a hind is? No, well a hind is a red female deer. Hercules thought that it would be easy to do that but then he noticed that it was the Dianna’s pet. Dianna was the moon god. Hercules had been chasing the hide for a year. He finally caught it because the hind went to rest at a mountain slop. Then Hercules almost lost it going to the riverbank. Finally when he had the chance to catch it he killed it. Then he carried back to king Eurytheus. On his way he saw Dianna the moon god. She was very angry. So Hercules told the truth. Dianna’s anger was gone. She healed the hind. So Hercules carried the hind alive back to Eurytheus.
Hercules’s 4th labor was to catch a wild boar. The king asked him to do that because the boar would terrorize the people, and destroy anything in its way. On Hercules’s way to kill the boar, he stopped over his old fiends house Phil. Hercules was hungry and very thirsty. So Phil cooked for Hercules. Hercules rested for one night. It wasn’t hard for Hercules to find the boar. Hercules could hear snorting and stomping from the boar. Hercules chased the boar around the mountain. The boar was tired and ran into a thicket. Hercules poked around the thicket with his spear and finally it came out. Hercules trapped it and caught with a net, and brought it back to the king.
Hercules’s 5th labor was to clean up Augean stables. To make things harder Hercules had to clean up all of the after materials from the cattle in one day. Augean owned more cattle than anyone in Greece. Hercules agreed to clean the stables in one day only if Augean would give Hercules one tenth of his cattle to Hercules, without telling anything about king Eurytheus. Augean was shocked to hear that but he agreed to. So Augean’s son went with him to watch. Hercules made two holes both on the some wall opposite side. Then he dug a wide trench to a river flowing by. He turned the river into a yard, and then the water flushed all of the after materials from the cattle away, but Augean didn’t know about Hercules’s deal he had made. So he did not give Hercules the reward.
The 6th labor was for Hercules to get rid of a flock of birds at a lake near by a town called Stymphalos. Hercules had to go deep into the woods to find the lake. Hercules didn’t know what to do to make them go away. So the goddess Athena gave Hercules a pair of krotala. A krotala is a noise maker that will drive the birds away. These krotala were made by an immortal crafts man. That god was Hephaistos. Hercules carefully sneaked close to them then made noise with the krotala. Then the flock of birds got scared and flew away, but Hercules shot them all with his bow-and-arrow. Then Hercules returned to the king for his next labor.
The 7th labor Hercules had to do was kill a Minotaur. A king named Athens wanted to sacrifice anything the water god would give him. So Poseidon the water god gives him a bull to sacrifice to him. The king didn’t want to because the bull was beautiful. So Athen sacrificed another bull. Poseidon was angry. Athens wife gave birth to a bull and it was a Minotaur which is a bull head and human body. So Athens wife put him in a maze and only feeding him Athens prisoners. So Hercules went in the maze found the Minotaur and wrestled it down to the ground. Hercules brought it back to Eurytheus. Eurytheus let it go and the Minotaur went back to Crete and terrorized the place.
Hercules’s 8th labor was to kill the Bistones. The man eating horses. Hercules killed one Bistone and took the rest to Eurytheus. After Hercules brought the Bistones back to the king. The king let the Bistones go. Shortly later the Bistones went to mountain Olympus then the bastions got eaten by wild wolves.
The next labor which is the 9th labor was for Hercules to bring the king Hippolyte’s belt. This wasn’t a regular belt or just a warrior. This person was queen of the Amazon. Amazon was a tribe of women warriors. The women had to stay away from the men, and if they did have children they would only keep the girls. Hippolyte had a special piece of armor that was a leather belt. The belt was given to her by the god of was, which was Ares. Hercules knew he couldn’t beat the Amazon tribe. So Hercules got some of his friends to go with him. When Hercules reached the island Hippolyte asked them why they were here. Hercules told her he needs the belt. The goddess Hera knew Hercules was coming. So she told the tribe Hercules was going to take their queen. So the tribe went to the ship going after their queen. Hercules saw the warriors coming with their armor and swords. So Hercules killed Hippolyte. Then Hercules undid the belt and left, and gave it to Eurytheus.
The 10th labor was for Hercules to bring some cattle, which was the end of the world. The cattle were being guarded by Cerberus’s brother Orthus. Orthus was a two headed hound. Hercules set off in his journey and ended up Libya met Europe. There Hercules split a mountain in two, and made it the gates of Hercules. Finally Hercules made it to Erythia were the cattle was at. When Hercules got their Orthus started to attack Hercules. So Hercules pulled out his club and smashed their heads. Just as Hercules was about to leave with the cattle he had got someone named Geryon caught Hercules with the cattle. Hercules tried to shot arrows at him but he missed. Finally Hercules hit Geryon as hard as he could against Geryon’s shield. Then broke the shield and Geryon ran away. Although stealing the cattle was easy Hercules had a lot of trouble getting them back to the king.
The 11th labor was for Hercules to find three golden apples which were Zeus’s. They were given to him as wedding gifts. Zeus’s apples were kept in a garden that was protected by a 100 headed dragon and Atlas the god that holds the earth up. The problem was that Hercules didn’t know where the garden was at. Hercules was looking everywhere. While Hercules was looking the god Kynos god of war wanted to fight Hercules in order to let him pass on. The fight was over by a lightning bolt. So Hercules passed on. Hercules was stopped by the sea-god Nerous. Nerous knew where the garden was. So Hercules grabbed on to Nerous as hard as he could. Nerous tried to escape, but Hercules wouldn’t let go until Nerous told him were it was. Hercules found Atlas and told him that he would hold the earth if he would get the apples so he did and Hercules got the three golden apples.
The last labor is for Hercules to kill Cerberus. This was the most dangerous one to do. Cerberus was Hades three headed hound. Cerberus guarded the door to Hades and kept living people from entering the underworld. Hercules found the gates of the hell in Taenarum. Hercules made his way down to hell. Hercules saw heroes, monsters, and ghosts. He finally found Hades and asked him where Cerberus was. Hades said he could fight him only if he killed it with his strength. So Hercules agreed to do that. Hercules choked all three of the heads at the same time. Cerberus bit Hercules, Hercules didn’t stop. Finally he brought Cerberus to Eurystheus. Cerberus was brought home safely. That is all of the 12 labors.
