The Mythology Book

75

to be uncontrollable, and Herakles’s

companion Abderus had previously

been eaten by them. Herakles

killed the king to avenge Abderus,

and fed Diomedes’s flesh to his

horses. This briefly satisfied their

hunger, making them calm enough

for Herakles to bind their muzzles,

put the horses in harness, and lead

them back to Mycenae.

The ninth labor turned out

to be the easiest. Herakles had to

steal the belt of Hippolyta, Queen of

the Amazons—a tribe of ferocious

women warriors who lived in the

Greek town of Themiscyra. Queen

Hippolyta was so charmed by

Herakles that she offered him her

girdle of her own free will, but

then Hera intervened. Determined

to pursue her grudge against

Herakles, the vengeful goddess

stirred up hostility among the

Amazons, forcing Herakles to kill

Hippolyta in order to escape.

Further burdens

Herakles’s next labor took him to

the very edge of the western ocean,

to the island of Erytheia, near Libya.

There, he had to steal the red cattle

of Geryon, the three-headed giant.

He also killed Geryon’s herdsman

Eurytion and his dog Orthrus—a

two-headed monster with a

writhing snake for a tail. Then,

with great difficulty, he drove

Geryon’s cattle home to Greece.

For his eleventh task, Herakles

headed west again to obtain the

apples of the Hesperides: nymphs

of the setting sun. Mysteriously

unable to pick the apples himself,

he convinced Atlas to do so in his

ANCIENT GREECE

place. The Titan agreed—as long

as Herakles would hold up the

heavens for him. Atlas returned

with the apples, but threatened

to leave Herakles there for good.

Herakles asked him to take the

strain just for a moment and—

when Atlas unthinkingly agreed—

escaped with his prize.

Back in Mycenae, Herakles was

given his final task: to go down

deep into the earth and bring back

Hades’s many-headed watchdog,

Cerberus. Herakles could have the

dog, Hades said, only if he could

capture him without using any of

his weapons—so Herakles swept

the hell hound up inside his

lionskin cloak. Herakles had atoned

for his sins and, redeemed, was

finally released from his oath to

serve Eurystheus. ■

The 12 labors of Herakles

1. Slay the
   Nemean lion.


2. Capture the
   Ceryneian hind.


3. Slay the
   Hydra.


4. Capture the
   Erymanthian boar.


5. Capture the
   mares of Diomedes.


6. Slay the
   Stymphalian birds.


7. Capture the
   Cretan bull.


8. Clean the
   Augean stables.


9. Steal
   Hippolyta’s belt.


10. Steal the
    apples of the
    Hesperides.


11. Capture
    Geryon’s cattle.


12. Capture
    Cerberus.

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