Editing Heracles (section)

===Labours of Heracles===
{{Main|Labours of Hercules}}
[[File:Mosaic with the Labors of Hercules, 3rd century AD, found in Lliria (Valencia), National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid (15457108142).jpg|thumb|All 12 labours of Heracles, Mosaic of Llíria (Valencia, Spain)]]
In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Heracles killed his children and Megara. After his madness had been cured with [[hellebore]] by Antikyreus, the founder of [[Anticyra|Antikyra]],<ref>Pausanias Χ 3.1, 36.5. [[Ptolemy|Ptolemaeus]], ''[[Geography|Geogr. Hyph.]]'' ΙΙ 184. 12. Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. "Ἀντίκυρα"</ref> he realized what he had done and fled to the [[Delphi|Oracle of Delphi]]. Unbeknownst to him, the Oracle was guided by Hera. He was directed to serve King [[Eurystheus]] for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him. Eurystheus decided to give Heracles ten labours, but after completing them, Heracles was cheated by Eurystheus when he added two more, resulting in the Twelve Labors of Heracles. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin and, as myth says, he would become a god, and be granted immortality.

Other traditions place Heracles's madness at a later time and relate the circumstances differently.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography And Mythology|publisher=Little, Brown, and Company|year=1870|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=W.|location=Boston|pages=393–394|id=ark:/13960/t9f47mp93}}</ref> In some traditions, there was only a divine reason for Heracles's twelve labours: Zeus, in his desire not to leave Heracles the victim of Hera's jealousy, made her promise that, if Heracles executed twelve great works in the service of Eurystheus, he should become immortal.<ref name=":3" /> In the play ''[[Herakles (Euripides)|Herakles]]'' by [[Euripides]], Heracles is driven to madness by Hera and kills his children after his twelve labours.

Despite the difficulty, Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus in the end did not accept the success the hero had with two of the labours: the cleansing of the Augean stables, because Heracles was going to accept pay for the labour; and the killing of the Lernaean Hydra, as Heracles's nephew, [[Iolaus]], had helped him burn the stumps of the multiplying heads.

Eurystheus set two more tasks, fetching the Golden Apples of Hesperides and capturing [[Cerberus]]. In the end, with ease, the hero successfully performed each added task, bringing the total number of labours up to twelve.

Not all versions and writers give the labours in the same order. The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' (2.5.1–2.5.12) gives the following order:

;1. Slay the [[Nemean lion|Nemean Lion]]: Heracles defeated a lion that was attacking the city of [[Nemea]] with his bare hands. After he succeeded he wore the skin as a cloak to demonstrate his power over the opponent he had defeated.
;2. Slay the nine-headed [[Lernaean Hydra]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_02.jpg|thumb|Heracles slaying the Lernaean Hydra]]A fire-breathing monster with multiple serpent heads. When one head was cut off, two would grow in its place. It lived in a swamp near [[Lerna]]. Hera had sent it in hopes it would destroy Heracles's home city because she thought it was invincible. With help from his nephew [[Iolaus]], he defeated the monster and dipped his arrows in its poisoned blood, thus envenomizing them.
;3. Capture the [[Ceryneian Hind|Golden Hind of Artemis]]: [[File:Palermo-Museo-Archeologico-bjs-08.jpg|thumb|Heracles and Ceryneian Hind by [[Lysippos]]]]Not to kill, but to catch, this hind that was sacred to [[Artemis]]. A different, but still difficult, task. It cost time, but, having chased it for a year, Heracles wore out the Hind. Artemis intervened, but as soon as Heracles explained the situation to her, she allowed him to take it, and he presented it alive to [[Eurystheus]].
;4. Capture the [[Erymanthian Boar]]: A fearsome marauding boar on the loose. Eurystheus set Heracles the Labour of catching it, and bringing it to [[Mycenae]]. Again, a time-consuming task, but the tireless hero found the beast, captured it, and brought it to its final spot. Patience is the heroic quality in the third and fourth Labours.
;5. Clean the [[Augeas|Augean]] stables in a single day: The Augean stables were the home of 3,000 cattle with poisoned faeces which Augeas had been given by his father [[Helios]]. Heracles was given the near impossible task of cleaning the stables of the diseased faeces. He accomplished it by digging ditches on both sides of the stables, moving them into the ditches, and then diverting the [[Alfeios|rivers Alpheios]] and [[Pineios (Peloponnese)|Pineios]] to wash the ditches clean.
;6. Slay the [[Stymphalian birds|Stymphalian Birds]]: These aggressive man-eating birds were terrorizing a forest near [[Lake Stymphalia]] in northern Arcadia. Heracles scared them with a rattle given to him by Athena, to frighten them into flight away from the forest, allowing him to shoot many of them with his bow and arrow and bring back this proof of his success to Eurystheus.
;7. Capture the [[Cretan Bull]]: The harmful bull, father of the [[Minotaur]], was laying waste to the lands round [[Knossos]] on [[Crete]]. It embodied the rage of [[Poseidon]] at having his gift (the Bull) to [[Minos]] diverted from the intention to sacrifice it to himself. Heracles captured it, and carried it on his shoulders to Eurystheus in [[Tiryns]]. Eurystheus released it, when it wandered to [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] which it then terrorized, until killed by [[Theseus]].
;8. Steal the [[Mares of Diomedes]]: Stealing the horses from [[Diomedes of Thrace|Diomedes]]'s stables that had been trained by their owner to feed on human flesh was his next challenge. Heracles's task was to capture them and hand them over to Eurystheus. He accomplished this task by feeding King Diomedes to the animals before binding their mouths shut.
;9. Obtain the belt of [[Hippolyta]], Queen of the [[Amazons]]: Hippolyta was an Amazon queen and she had a belt given to her by her father [[Ares]]. Heracles had to retrieve the belt and return it to Eurystheus. He and his band of companions received a rough welcome because, ordered by Hera, the Amazons were supposed to attack them; however, against all odds, Heracles completed the task and secured the belt for Eurystheus.
;10. Obtain the cattle of the monster [[Geryon]]: The next challenge was to capture the herd guarded by a two-headed dog called [[Orthrus]], which belonged to Geryon; a giant with three heads and six arms who lived in [[Erytheia]]. While travelling to Erytheia, he passed through the Libyan desert and was so annoyed by the heat he shot an arrow at Helios, the sun. Helios, impressed, lent him his giant cup which Heracles used to find Orthrus, the herdsman Erytion and the owner, Geryon. He killed the first two with his club and the third with a poisoned arrow. Heracles then herded the cattle and, with difficulty, took them to Eurystheus.
;11. Steal the golden apples of the [[Hesperides]]: [[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_11.jpg|thumb|Hercules stealing the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides]]These sacred fruits were protected by Hera who had set [[Ladon (mythology)|Ladon]], a fearsome hundred-headed dragon as the guardian. Heracles had to first find where the garden was; he asked [[Nereus]] for help. He came across [[Prometheus]] on his journey. Heracles shot the eagle eating at his liver, and in return he helped Heracles with knowledge that his brother would know where the garden was. His brother [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]] offered him help with the apples if he would hold up the heavens while he was gone. Atlas tricked him and did not return. Heracles returned the trickery and managed to get Atlas taking the burden of the heavens once again, and returned the apples to Mycenae.
;12. Capture and bring back [[Cerberus]]: His last labour and undoubtedly the riskiest. Eurystheus was so frustrated that Heracles was completing all the tasks that he had given him that he imposed one he believed to be impossible: Heracles had to go down into the underworld of [[Hades]] and capture the ferocious three-headed dog Cerberus who guarded the gates. He used the souls to help convince Hades to hand over the dog. He agreed to give him the dog if he used no weapons to obtain him. Heracles succeeded and took the creature back to Mycenae, causing Eurystheus to be fearful of the power and strength of this hero.