Taken from Coe College Classical Mythology Notes - Edmund Burke

Herakles was a child of Zeus and the mortal, Alcmena. Alcmena was married to the hero, Amphitryon, and was made love to by Zeus in the guise of her husband. Before the birth of Herakles, Zeus proclaimed that a child of his would rule over the neighborhood of his birth, intending that Herakles would become king of the Argolid.

Hera, in jealousy of Zeus' unfaithfulness, hastened the birth of Eurystheus, also a descendent, though a distant one, of Zeus. Thus, Herakles of Tiryns was permanently a vassal to Eurystheus, and was required by Eurystheus, through the urging of Hera, to perform a series of labors. Herakles' name means 'glory of/from Hera.'

The Labors:

A. Subjugation of Tiryns and Mycenae (the Argolid):

1.The invulnerable Lion of Nemea: Herakles was unable to kill the savage and destructive lion with his bow, but was able to trap it in a cave and squeeze it to death. He then skinned it with his bare hands and subsequently wore the skin and head of the beast across his shoulders and on his own head.

2. Hydra of Lerna: The deadly water snake/serpent with multiple heads (from 5 to 100) which regrew when cut off. Thus, the monster could not be killed. Herakles succeeded by cutting off the heads and cauterizing the wounds, thereby preventing regrowth. He then dipped his arrows in the hydra's blood, thus making deadly any wounds caused by them.

3. Boar of Mt. Erymanthus in Arcadia: The wild and savage animal was to be caught alive and returned to Eurystheus, and so Herakles drove the beast into a snowdrift, captured it with his net, and carried it back to Eurystheus on his shoulders.

4. Ceryneian Hind, sacred to Artemis: The hind was a deer with golden antlers and hooves of bronze. The animal was pursued by Herakles for over a year, and finally was tracked down in the land of the Hyperboreans, captured, and was led back to Eurystheus.

5. Stymphalian Birds: These monstrous birds lived in a dense wood near a lake in Arcadia, possessed metal claws and feathers which were deadly to those they attacked. Herakles drove them from their sanctuary with clappers and then shot them.

6. Augean Stables: Augeus, King of Elis, reneged on his promise to provide cattle as a reward to Herakles for having cleaned his enormous stables by the redirection of rivers. In anger, Herakles killed him, and in compensation / commemoration established the Olympic Games.

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