Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video we’re going to be discussing
Hercules: more specifically, his 12 labors, ranking them from least
to most dangerous. Before we jump into the list, though, we’re going to quickly touch
on why it was that Hercules had to complete 12 nigh-impossible, death-defying labors.
Hera could be vicious and vindictive. She had good reason, to be sure: Zeus was a
lecher and a serial-offender in the adultery department. That said, perhaps the victims of
Hera’s wrath were unfairly chosen, for are the children begot from infidelity not blameless?
Of all Zeus’ bastards, none was more doggedly targeted by Hera than Hercules. Hera attempted
to thwart, ruin, and kill Hercules at every turn, but her most malicious attack was when she cursed
Hercules with a spell of madness. In this state - his mind not his own - Hercules murdered his three
sons and even his wife, Megara, who tried in vain to protect her children from her crazed husband.
Hercules, seeking to atone for the atrocities he had committed, looking to cleanse himself of
the sins of his past, traveled to Delphi where he consulted the resident oracle, who told Hercules
that he needed purification, that a great penance was needed. Hercules was instructed to seek his
cousin Eurystheus, King of Myceanae, and to submit himself to whatever was tasked of him.
Eurystheus was cunning and opportunistic, and he was very concerned about not being supplanted by
Hercules, who would have been the rightful king had it not been for a contrivance from Hera
that had Eurystheus born prematurely so to be older than Hercules.
The labors devised by Eurystheus - encouraged by Hera - were diabolical in the degree of difficulty
and danger entailed in them. His motivations for subjecting Hercules to such labors were two fold:
to fully exploit and profit from having the strongest man on earth
compelled to satisfy his every whim, and to eliminate a potential rival for his throne.
With that covered, let’s dive into our list,
starting with Hercules’ fifth labor, which was to clean the Augean Stables.
King Auges was the owner of thousands of cattle, and their stables had not been cleaned in many
years. You can imagine the mountain of dung that must have accumulated over this time.
Hercules brokered a deal with king Augeas that granted him one tenth of the king's
cattle if he managed to clean out the stables in a single day. He managed to complete this
task quickly by diverting two rivers, harnessing the great flow of water to do the work for him.
At number 11 we have the Cretan Bull, which was Hercules’ 7th labor
We’re going to start this entry off by taking a quick look at the Cretan Bull’s backstory.
King Minos prayed to the god Poseidon, who gifted the king with a snow-white bull
with the understanding that Minos was to sacrifice this animal in Poseidon’s honor;
but the animal was so beautiful that Minos decided to keep it for himself and sacrifice another
in its stead. This betrayal incited Poseidon’s wrath. Poseidon bewitched Minos’ wife so that she
became enamored with the bull, falling madly in love with it. She mated with the animal,
and the offspring begot by their perverse coupling was the minotaur.
Hercules arrived in Crete, and when he expressed his intentions of capturing and taking the bull,
king Minos was amenable to the idea - an understandable reaction
given his history with the animal - and even offered Hercules assistance,
though Hercules would decline the king’s offer, resolved to complete this task alone.
The bull was wrestled into submission by the mighty hero and then promptly shipped away.
Our number 10 spot goes to the Erymanthian Boar, which was Hercules’ fourth labor
Hercules pursued the boar in the winter season,
eventually driving the animal into a deep snow bank where the animal became incapacitated,
allowing hercules to caputure it when it was more or less immobilized.
This labor ended up being more dangerous than it looked on paper, for Hercules became embroiled
in a situation in which he was forced to slay many drunk centaurs who attacked him.
At number 9 we have the Stymphalian birds, which was Hercules’ sixth labor.
These birds were not to be trifled with. Their droppings were toxic; their beaks were made of
bronze; and their sharp feathers could be shot as projectiles. A flock of them roosted in a
thick grove of trees, and they were a scourge to the people who lived in the surrounding area,
ravaging the countryside, destroying crops, and even killing people. Hercules was tasked with
eradicating them or permanently driving them away. Athena gifted Hercules a bronze rattle,
which the hero used to startle the birds out of their dwelling.
A barrage of arrows was unleashed by Hercules, who shot the birds mid-flight.
Our number 8 spot goes to the Ceryneian Hind, which was Hercules’ third labor.
The Ceryneian Hind was a huge female deer with golden antlers. Hercules was tasked
with running the animal down, capturing it alive, and then bringing it before Eurystheus.
Ostensibly, this was a task that posed relatively little danger to Hercules,
who had already overcome both the Nemean Lion and the lernaean Hydra by this time;
However, in some versions, this task was fraught with danger of a more subtle and
insidious sort. You see, the animal was sacred to the goddess Artemis, so if Hercules had killed it,
he would have brought down Artemis’ wrath upon himself, which was Eurystheus’ hope. So while
this task didn’t appear too dangerous at first glance, it was actually fraught with danger,
for if handled incorrectly, it could have potentially spelled disaster for Hercules.
In the end, Hercules pursued the Ceryneian Hind for a year,
eventually capturing it alive and, thus, remaining in Artemis’ good graces.
At number seven we have the Belt of Hippolyta, which was Hercules’ ninth labor
Hercules was tasked with retrieving the girdle of Hippolyta, who was the queen of
the Amazons. At first Hippolyta graciously received Hercules, and she even offered to
give her girdle to the hero. However, what would transpire wasn’t so smooth or simple,
for Hera intervened and sowed conflict between the two. She deceived the Amazons, making them think
the girdle was a pretense and that Hercules’ true purpose was to abduct their queen.
The Amazons attacked Hercules’ ship. Hercules, thinking Hippolyta was behind the attack,
killed the queen, fought off the rest of the amazons, and then sailed away girdle in hand.
Our number 6 spot goes to the Mares of Diomedes, which was Hercules' eighth labor.
Hercules was tasked with stealing the Mares of Diomedes. These animals were carnivorous horses,
and their madness was attributed to their unconventional diet, which consisted of
human flesh. These mares were tethered to a bronze manger, which is a feeding troth, by iron chains.
Their names were Xanthos (the yellow), Deinos (the terrible),
and Podargos (the swift). There are many versions of this labor,
but they mostly feature Hercules fighting Diomedes and his men and feeding Diomedes
to his own horses, which pacificies the animals and allows them to be shipped away.
At number 5 we have the Cattle of Geryon, which was Hercules’s tenth labor.
Geryon and his cattle resided on an island far to the West. Hercules’ journey there took him across
the Libyan desert. The heat was so intolerable that Hercules aimed his bow into the sky
and shot an arrow at the sun. The audacity of this act impressed Helios, who conferred
a boon upon Hercules in the form of a great golden cup so that Hercules could sail across
the sea. When Hercules landed on the shore of the island, Orthus, a savage two-headed dog met him.
The beast would prove to be but a minor annoyance, for Hercules easily made quick work of it, killing
it with but a single blow from his club. Hercules was next confronted by Eurytion, the herdsman,
but he was dispatched in much the same way as the dog. The next foe to assail Hercules was much
more formidable: Geryon was a giant with three bodies, and as such, his armaments included three
breastplates, three helmets, three shields, and three spears. Hercules pulled an arrow from his
quiver, one that was dipped in the Learnean Hydra’s poison, and he shot with such force
that the arrow pierced one of Geryon’s foreheads, killing him. Now, having overcome every enemy
on the island that would face him, Hercules wrangled the cattle and brought them to Mycenae.
Our number 4 spot goes to the Nemean Lion, which was Hercules’ first labor.
The Nemean Lion was much greater in size than a normal lion, and its pelt was impenetrable, making
it impervious to any weapon that could be wielded against it. No sword could cut it, no arrow
could pierce it, and no spear could impale it. Killing this beast was thought to be impossible,
which is why Hercules was tasked with killing it. Eurystheus was fearful of Hercules supplanting
him. He thought that sending the Hero against such a formidable foe would be a death sentence,
eliminating a potential rival for his throne. And this desire to see Hercules fail or perish
persisted throughout the remaining 11 labors, sending Hercules on the most impossible tasks
that Eurystheus’ spiteful and jealous mind could conjure. But even the most perilous tasks would be
to no avail, for Hercules would triumph again and again, no matter the danger. Such was Hercules’
strength that he found success in his endeavor to slay the Nemean Lion. Where weapons failed,
he used his incredible strength, throttling the lion and then strangling it to death.
At number 3 we have the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, which was Hercules’ 11th labor.
The location of the garden in which the Apples of the Hesperides could be found
wasn’t common knowledge. Hercules had to first discover the location of this garden,
so he turned to the River Nymphs, who instructed him to seek out the sea god Nereus, who had many
powers, shapeshifting and prophecy among them. Hercules came upon Nereus while the god slept
and held him close in a crushing embrace. Coercion was necessary because Nereus would
only use his prophetic abilities for others when compulsed. Guided by what Nereus revealed to him,
Hercules set off to find the secret garden. His journey brought him upon the titan Prometheus,
whom he freed from torment. Deeply grateful to have been freed from perpetual torture,
Prometheus advised Hercules to ask Atlas, the titan condemned to hold the sky aloft for all
eternity and the neighbour of the Hesperides, to retrieve the apples for him. Hercules took this
advice to heart, and when he later encountered Atlas, he asked that the titan bring the apples
to him in exchange for the hero temporarily holding up the heavens in the interim, temporarily
alleviating the titan from his eternal burden. Atlas promptly fetched the apples, but upon his
return, he realized that he quite liked not having the weight of the heavens bearing down on him.
He refused to resume his punishment, but his freedom didn’t last long; for he was outwitted.
Hercules feigned resignation to his plight, asking only that Atlas hold the heavens
for a brief moment while he found something to cushion his shoulders with
to make his situation more bearable. Of course, this was only a trick.
Atlas was left holding up the heavens, and Hercules left with the golden apples he needed
to complete his labor. An alternative telling of this labor has Hercules retrieve the apples
himself. To do this he had to slay Landon, the dragon that guarded the apples. Landon was said
to have 100 heads and to never sleep. His power and vigilance made him the perfect protector.
This labor was ranked third because Hercules had to coerce a god, and he either had to slay
a dragon or hold the heavens upon his shoulders, the latter almost for the rest of his life.
Our number 2 spot goes to Cerberus, which was Hercules’ 12th and final labor.
Hercules was tasked with the capture of Cerberus (also called the hound of Hades) that guarded
the underworld. Guided by Athena and Hermes, Hercules entered the underworld. Here he met
Theseus and Pirithous, both imprisoned by Hades for their attempted abduction of Persephone.
Hades allowed Hercules to free Theseus, but Pirithous’ fate was sealed. Hercules,
intrepid as ever, braved the darkness of the underworld, journeying deeper until
he found Hades, of whom he asked permission to capture Cerberus and carry him to the surface.
Hades agreed, but only if Hercules was able to overpower and subdue the beast
without the use of any weapons. Hercules proved too much for Cerberus, who was overcome and
then slung over Hercules’ shoulders and carried forth to the land of the living. Hercules bore
Cerberus on his shoulders until the beast could be presented before Eurystheus, who both begged
Hercules to return Cerberus to death’s domain and released Hercules from his service to him.
Taking the top spot is the lernaean Hydra, which was Hercules’ 2nd labor.
The lernaean Hydra was among the most dangerous monsters in all of Greek mythology, perhaps only
surpassed by Medusa and her petrifying gaze. (to qualify this statement, I’m not including
monsters with god-like power, such as Typhon or the Hecatonchires). The lernaean Hydra was a giant
serpent with a multitude of heads - usually nine, but other accounts have that number at 50 or even
100. This alone would have placed this labor near the top of this list, but the Hydra’s huge size
and many strangling heads are just the tip of the iceberg. Each time a head was severed, two
would grow back; Its venom was incredibly lethal; and the center head was immortal, meaning it was
unkillable. Just imagine it: a nest of writhing snakes surmounting a huge serpentine body, each
head possessing enough venom to kill a group of men with a single bite, each head lightning-fast,
each head empowered with the crushing strength to turn a man’s bones to dust. The strength and speed
that Hercules must have needed to overcome this monster almost defies comprehension.
Hercules traveled to the marshes of Lerna, which was where the hydra dwelled. At first
Hercules was lopping off heads one at a time, but this approach quickly proved counterproductive:
it didn't take long for there to be more heads than there were at the beginning.
To make matters worse, a giant crab emerged from the murky depths of the swamp
and ambushed hercules so that the hero was forced to fight the hydra and fend off the crab at the
same time. Hercules smashed the crab - a nice appetizer - and then returned to the main course.
Iolaus, Hercules’ nephew, had the idea to cauterize the stumps after the heads were cut off.
This worked, and the number of heads started to dwindle, until only the central,
immortal head remained. This final head was eventually severed, but unlike the others,
it didn’t die once decapitated. It was immortal, so the best Hercules could do
was bury it. Hercules then dipped his arrows in the monster's Venom, imbuing them with a
lethality that would prove indispensable in many of the subsequent challenges.
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