The Monsters of Herakles' Labors

The Twelve Labors of Herakles symbolically express deeper meanings. The ancient Greeks gave elements of the natural world human names and human form to help understand events that occurred in both the natural world and human society. Through symbolism and analogies people learn to understand not only their personal life but their society as a whole.  As you view the Twelve Labors, consider the use of symbolism and analogy to interpret the deeper message or meaning that was being expressed by the early Greek culture. (Links are to the Perseus Project’s Herakles page.) 

Labor I: Nemean Lion
Herakles’ first task assigned by Eurystheus was to defeat the Nemean Lion. Herakles tracked the lion to its den and finding that club and arrows proved unless fought the lion bare handed, choking it to death.  Hesiod names Hera as the deity who raised the Nemean lion, who was a child of Echidna, who in turn was an offspring of Gaia. 

Labor II: The Lernaian Hydra
The Hydra of Lerna
by most ancient accounts was the second challenge that was given to Herakles. Like the Nemean Lion, the Hydra was said by Hesiod to have been raised by Hera. Since Herakles’ nephew Iolaus assisted in defeating the Hydra, Eurystheus did not allow this task to be counted toward the completion of the labors.   

Labor III: The Keryneian/Kerynitian Hind
The Keryneian (Kerynetian) Hind is also known also as Taugete the daughter of Atlas.  The Hind was a rare female deer that possessed golden antlers and bronze hoofs.  There are various versions of this labor.  Some authors wrote that the Hind was finally captured, others that it was turned loose at Mycenae, and others that Herakles actually killed the beast.
 

Labor IV: The Erymanthian Boar
The Boar hunt was one of many labors in which the hunted animal was captured but other monsters were killed.  In this labor, the Centaurs were the defeated foe.  The Centaurs were the children of Kronos or Typhoeus, while the Centaur Pholos was the child of Silenos. Cheiron, the grand old Centaur, was believed to be the son of Silenos or Kronos.  The boar was finally taken to Eurystheus as a prize of the labors.

Labor V: The Stables of Augeias
The fifth labor was placed on Herakles to make him undignified and servile.  The legendary hero was told to clean out the cattle stables, in one day.  There had been years of accumulating cattle waste.  Herakles did not come forward to explain to Augeas, the owner of the stables, that he had been ordered to clean the stables.  Instead, he offered his services in exchange for a fee of some cattle.  When the task was complete Augeas discovered that the chore was an assigned labor and reneged on the original agreement.  Herakles eventually sought revenge and in doing so he killed, The Moliones, Kteatos and Eurytos, who were said to be the children of Poseidon. Poseidon, the god of  the ocean, was the father or ancestor of several monsters, and some of his other children ran afoul of  Herakles.

Labor VI: The Stymphalian Birds
This labor has many variations among ancient authors. Diodoros and Apollodorus say that Herakles did not kill these birds, but put down his normal weapons and used a bronze rattle to scare them away.  Pherekydes & Hellanikos state that Herakles did kill the birds as they flew away and freed the lands from despair. The artistic evidence follows the tradition that the birds were killed (Gantz 394).  No other known deaths or attacks made on monsters occurred during this particular labor.
 

Labor VII: The Kretan Bull
The Kretan Bull who was in the bloodlline of Inachos & Io was the target of Herakles seventh task.  Unlike his other labors, this one was straightforward and easy. Herakles went to Minos to ask for the Kretan Bull and when permission was granted he took the bull back to Eurystheus.  It is said that the Kretan Bull was later called the Marathonian Bull and that the Athenian hero Theseus killed it.
 

Labor VIII: The Mares of Diomedes
The most morbid of all of the labors of Herakles was the capture of the carnivorous Mares of Dionedes.  In order to capture the wild man-eating beasts, Herakles fed them  Diomedes, the rightful owner of the Mares who was also a son of Poseidon.  Another monster that was killed during the eighth labor was Thanatos (Death), who was a child of Nyx (Night).
 

Labor IX: The Belt of Hippolyte
In this labor, Herakles dealt with a multitude of different events and challenges that were not part of the actual labor itself.  Hippolyte (a child of Erechthonios or Gaia) was the queen of the Amazons.  Herakles was ordered by Eurystheus to bring back the girdle that she wore back to him because his daughter wanted the girdle.  When Hera realized that Hippolyte was going to freely give Herakles the belt, she started a fight in which the queen of the Amazons was killed (Apollodorus 2.5.9).  During this labor Herakles also killed the sea-monster Scylla, who was causing a crisis at Troy.
 

Labor X: The Cattle of Geryoneus
Geryoneus
(the triple-bodied monster who was the grandchild of Medusa) owned the cattle that Herakles was ordered to retrieve.  Eurytion, herdsmen for Geryoneus, and Ortho  his two-headed hound, were killed by Herakles while he was going to obtain the cattle.  While taking the cattle Herakles was attacked by Geryoneus but Herakles easily defeated him, and during many subsequent adventures, Herakles killed Ialebion & Derkymos, two sons of Poseidon, while returning the cattle to Eurystheus.
 

Labor XI: The Garden of Hesperides
The eleventh labor challenged Herakles’ intellect when he confronted Atlas in search of the golden apples of Hesperides.  After killing the monstrous Eagle that was pestering Prometheus, Herakles found the apples tree filled with golden apples.  In one version, Herakles killed the monster dragon, Ophis / Ladon, the child of Phorkys, and took the apples himself. In another version,  Herakles held up the world while Atlas got the apples, then cleverly persuaded Atlas to return to his task of holding the world on his shoulder after he first refused.  Herakles also killed Eryx, a monster child of the Gaia bloodline during this labor of wits over brute strength.
 

Labor XII: Kerberos
The last labor sent Herakles to the land of Hades, a land from which no ordinary mortal had ever returned.  His task was to retrieve the dog of Hades, Cerberus and bring him back to Eurystheus.  Like many of the myths of Herakles there have been many interpretations of the twelfth labor.  In the end, Herakles did bring Cerberus back to Eurystheus.  As in many of the labors of Herakles challenged or was challenged by various monsters of the land.  During the Twelfth labor, he killed many other monsters.  They were: Antaeus the son of Poseidon; Boursiris the son of Poseidon and the two sons of Boursiris, Iphidamas and Amphidamas; other monsters, who were related to Gaia through one of her offspring, were Chalbes and Emathion.  Interestingly, Kerberos the child of Typhoeus & Gaia was the only notable monster not killed in the twelfth labor. (JR)