(Apollodorus, 'The Library,' 11; IV, 8-VII, 7)
Now it came to pass that after the battle with the Minyans Hercules was driven mad through
the jealousy of Hera and flung his own children, whom he had by Megara, and two children of
Iphides into the fire; wherefore he condemned himself to exile, and was purified by Thespius,
and repairing to Delphi he inquired to the god where he should dwell. The Pythian priestess
then first called him Hercules, for hitherto he was called Alcides. And she told him to dwell in
Tiryns, serving Eurystheus for twelve years and to perform the ten labours imposed on him, and
so, she said, when the tasks were accomplished, he would be immortal.
When Hercules heard that, he went to Tiryns and did as he was bid by Eurystheus. First,
Eurystheus ordered him to bring the skin of the Nemean lion; now that was an invulnerable beast
begotten by Typhon. . . . And having come to Nemea and tracked the lion, he first shot an arrow
at him, but when he perceived that the beast was invulnerable, he heaved up his club and made
after him. And when the lion took refuge in a cave with two mouths, Hercules built up the one
entrance and came in upon the beast through the other, and putting his arm round its neck held it
tight till he had choked it, so laying it on his shoulders he carried it to Cleonae. . . .
As a second labour be ordered him to kill the Lernaean hydra. That creature, bred in the
swamp of Lerna, used to go forth into the plain and ravage both the cattle and the country. Now
the hydra had a huge body, with nine heads, eight mortal, but the middle one immortal. So
mounting a chariot driven by Iolaus, he came to Lerna, and having halted his horses, he
discovered the hydra on a hill beside the springs of the Amymone, where was its den. By pelting
it with fiery shafts he forced it to come out, and in the act of doing so he seized and held it fast.
But the hydra wound itself about one of his feet and clung to him. Nor could he effect anything
by smashing its heads with his club, for as fast as one head was smashed there grew up two. A
huge crab also came to the help of the hydra by biting his foot. So he killed it, and in his turn
called for help on Iolaus who, by setting fire to a piece of the neighbouring wood and burning
the roots of the heads with the brands, prevented them from sprouting. Having thus got the
better of the sprouting heads, he chopped off the immortal head, and buried it, and put a heavy
rock on it, beside the road that leads through Lerria to Elaeus. But the body of the hydra he slit
up and dipped his arrows in the gall. However, Eurystheus said that this labour should not be
reckoned among the ten because he had not got the better of the hydra by himself, but with the
help of Iolaus.
As a third labour he ordered him to bring the Cerynitian hind alive to Mycenae. Now the hind
was at Oenoe; it had golden horns and was sacred to Artemis; so wishing neither to kill nor
wound it, Hercules hunted it for a whole year. But when, weary with the chase, the beast took
refuge on the mountain called Artemisius, and thence passed to the river Ladon, Hercules shot it
just as it was about to cross the stream, and catching it put it on his shoulders and hastened
through Arcadia. But Artemis with Apollo met him, and would have wrestled the hind from
him, and rebuked him for attempting to kill her sacred animal. Howbeit, by pleading necessity
and laying the blame on Eurystheus, he appeased the anger of the goddess and carried the beast
alive to Mycenae.
As a fourth labour he ordered him to bring the Erymanthian boar alive; now that, animal
ravaged Psophis, sallying from a mountain which they call Erymanthus. . . .
The fifth labour he laid on him was to -carry out the dung of the cattle of Augeas in a single
day. Now Augeas was king of Elis; some say that he was a son of the Sun, others that he was a
son of Poseidon, and others that he was a son of Phorbas; and he had many herds of cattle.
Hercules accosted him, and without revealing the command of Eurystheus, said that he would
carry out the dung in one day, if Augeas would give him the tithe of the cattle. Augeas was
incredulous, but promised. Having taken Augeas's son Phyleus to witness, Hercules made a
breach in the foundations of the cattle-yard, and then, diverting the courses of the Alpheus and
Peneus, which flowed near each other, he turned them into the yard, having first made an outlet
for the water through another opening. . . .
The sixth labour he enjoined on him was to chase away the Stymphalian birds. Now at the city
of Stymphalus in Arcadia was the lake called Stymphalian, embosomed in a deep wood. To it
countless birds had flocked for refuge, fearing to be preyed upon by the wolves. So when
Hercules was at a loss how to drive the birds from the wood, Athena gave him brazen castanets,
which she had received from Hephaestus. By clashing these on a certain mountain that
overhung the lake, he scared the birds. They could not abide the sound, but fluttered up in a
fright, and in that way Hercules shot them.
The seventh labour he enjoined on him was to bring the Cretan Bull. Acusilaus says that this
was the bull that ferried across Europa for Zeus; but some say it was the bull that Poseidon sent
up from the sea when Minos promised to sacrifice to Poseidon what should appear out of the
sea. And they say that when he saw the beauty of the bull he sent it away to the herds and
sacrificed another to Poseidon; at which the god was angry and made the bull savage. To attack
this bull Hercules came to Crete, and when, in reply to his request for aid, Minos told him to
fight and catch the bull for himself, he caught it and brought it to Eurystheus, and having shown
it to him he let it afterwards go free. But the bull roamed to Sparta and all Arcadia, and
traversing the Isthmus arrived at Marathon in Attica and harried the inhabitants.
The eighth labour he enjoined on him was to bring the mares of Diomedes the Thracian to
Mycenae. . . .
The ninth labour he enjoined on Hercules was to bring the belt of Hippolyte. She was queen of
the Amazons, who dwelt about the river Thermodon, a people great in war; for they cultivated
the manly virtues, and if ever they gave birth to children through intercourse with the other sex,
they reared the females; and they pinched off the right breasts that they might not be trammelled
by them in throwing the javelin, but they kept the left breasts, that they might suckle. Now
Hippolyte had the belt of Ares in token of her superiority to all the rest. Hercules was sent to
fetch this belt because Admete, daughter of Eurystheus, desired to get it. So taking with him a
band of volunteer comrades in a single ship he set sail and put it to the island of Paros, which
was inhabited by the sons of Minos, to wit, Eurymedon, Chryses, Nephalion, and Philolaus. . . .
Having put in at the harbour of Themiscyra, he received a visit from Hippolyte, who inquired
why he was come, and Promised to give him the belt. But Hera in the likeness of an Amazon
went up and down the multitude saying that the strangers who had arrived were carrying off the
queen. So the Amazons in arms charged on horseback down on the ship. But when Hercules
saw them in arms, he suspected treachery, and killing Hippolyte stripped her of her belt. And
after fighting the rest he sailed away and touched at Troy. . . .
As a tenth labour he was ordered to fetch the kine of Geryon from Erythia. Now Erythia was an
island near the ocean; it is now called Gadira. This island was inhabited by Geryon, son of
Chrysaor by Callirrhoe, daughter of Ocean. He had the body of three men grown together and
joined in one at the waist, but parted in three from the flanks and thighs. He owned red kine, of
which Eurytion was the herdsman and Orthus, the two-headed hound, begotten by Typhon on
Echidna, was the watch-dog. So journeying through Europe to fetch the kine of Geryon he
destroyed many wild beasts and set foot in Libya, and proceeding to Tartessus be erected as
tokens of his journey two pillars over against each other at the boundaries of Europe and Libya.
But being heated by the Sun on his journey, he bent his bow at the god, who in admiration of his
hardihood, gave him a golden goblet in which he crossed the ocean. And having reached Erythia
he lodged on Mount Abas. However the dog, perceiving him, rushed at him; but he smote it
with his club, and when the herdsman Eurytion came to the help of the dog, Hercules killed him
also. But Menoetes, who was there pasturing the kine of Hades, reported to Geryon what had
occurred, and he, coming up with Hercules besides the river Anthemus, as he was driving away
the kine, joined battle with him and was shot dead. And Hercules, embarking the kine in the
goblet and sailing across to Tartessus, gave back the goblet to the Sun. . . .
When the labours had been performed in eight years and a month, Eurystheus ordered
Hercules, as an eleventh labour, to fetch golden apples from the Hesperides, for he did not
acknowledge the labour of the cattle of Augeas nor that of the hydra. These apples were not, as
some have said, in Libya, but on Atlas among the Hyperboreans. They were presented by Earth
to Zeus after his marriage with Hera, and guarded by an immortal dragon with a hundred heads,
offspring of Typhon and Echidna, which spoke with many and divers sorts of voices. With it the
Hesperides also were on guard, to wit, Aegle, Erythia, Hesperia, and Arethusa. . . .
And passing by Arabia he slew Emathion, son of Tithonus, and journeying through Libya to the
outer sea he received the goblet from the Sun. And having crossed to the opposite mainland he
shot on the Caucasus the eagle, offspring of Echidna and Typhon, that was devouring the liver of
Prometheus, and he released Prometheus, after choosing
for himself the bond of olive, and to Zeus he presented Chiron who, though immortal, consented
to die in his stead.
Now Prometheus had told Hercules not to go himself after the apples but to send Atlas, first
relieving him of the burden of the sphere; so when he was come to Atlas in the land of the
Hyperboreans, he took the advice and relieved Atlas. But when Atlas had received three apples
from the Hesperides, he came to Hercules, and not wishing to support the sphere he said that he
would himself carry the apples to Eurystbeus, and bade Hercules hold up the sky in his stead.
Hercules promised to do so, but succeeded by craft in putting it on Atlas instead. For at the
advice of Prometheus he begged Atlas to hold up the sky till he should put a pad on his head.
When Atlas heard that, he laid the apples down on the ground and took the sphere from
Hercules. And so Hercules picked up the apples and departed. But some say that he did not get
them from Atlas, but that he plucked the apples himself after killing the guardian snake. And
having brought the apples he gave them to Eurystheus. But he, on receiving them, bestowed
them on Hercules, from whom Athena got them and conveyed them back again; for it was not
lawful that they should be laid down anywhere.
A twelfth labour imposed on Hercules was to bring Cerberus from Hades. Now this Cerberus
had three heads of dogs, the tail of a dragon, and on his back the heads of all sorts of snakes.
When Hercules was about to depart to fetch him, he went to Eumolpus at Eleusis, wishing to be
initiated. However it was not then lawful for foreigners to be initiated, since he proposed to be
initiated as the adoptive son of Pylius. But not being able to see the mysteries because he had
not been cleansed of the slaughter of the centaurs, he was cleansed by Eumolpus and then
initiated. And having come to Taenarum in Laconia, where is the mouth of the descent to
Hades, he descended through it. But when the souls saw him, they fled, save Meleager and the
Gorgon Medusa. And Hercules drew his sword against the Gorgon, as if she were alive, but he
learned from Hermes that she was an empty phantom. And being come near to the gates of
Hades he found Theseus and Pirithous, him who wooed Persephone in wedlock and was
therefore bound fast. And when they beheld Hercules, they stretched out their hands as if they
should be raised from the dead by his might. And Theseus, indeed, he took by the hand and
raised up, but when he would have brought up Pirithous, the earth quaked and he let go. And he
rolled away also the stone of Ascalaphus. And wishing to provide the souls with blood, he
slaughtered one of the kin of Hades. But Menoetes, son of Ceuthonymus, who tended the kine,
challenged Hercules to wrestle, and, being seized round the middle, had his ribs broken;
howbeit, he was let off at the request of Persephone. When Hercules asked Pluto for Cerberus,
Pluto ordered him to take the animal provided he mastered him without the use of the weapons
which he carried. Hercules found him at the gates of Acheron, and, cased in his cuirass and
covered by the lion's skin, he flung his arms round the head of the brute, and though the dragon
in its tail bit him, he never relaxed his grip and pressure till it yielded. So he carried it off and
ascended through Troezen. But Demeter turned Ascalaphus into a short-eared -owl, and
Hercules, after showing Cerberus to Eurystheus, carried him back to Hades. . . .
. . . And having - come to Calydon, Hercules wooed Deianira, daughter of Oeneus. He wrestled
for her hand with Achelous, who assumed the likeness of a bull; but Hercules broke off one of
his horns. So Hercules married Deianira. . . . And taking Deianira with him, he came to the river
Evenus, at which the centaur Nessus sat and ferried passengers across for hire, alleging that he
had received the ferry from the gods for his righteousness. So Hercules crossed the river by
himself,,but on being asked to pay the fare he entrusted Deianira to Nessus to carry over. But
he, in ferrying her across, attempted to violate her. She cried out, Hercules heard her, and shot
Nessus to the heart when he emerged from the river. Being at the point Of death, Nessus called
Deianira to him and said that if she would have a love-charm to operate on Hercules she should
mix the seed he had dropped on the ground with the blood that flowed from the wound inflicted
by the barb. She did so and kept it by her. . . .
On his arrival at Trachis he mustered an army to attack Oechalia, wishing to punish Eurytus.
Being joined by Arcadians, Melians from Trachis, and Epienemidian Locrians, he slew Eurytus
and his sons and took the city. After burying those of his own side who had fallen, to wit,
Hippasus, son of Ceyx, and Argius and Melas, the sons of Licymnius, he pillaged the city and led
Iole captive. And having put in at Cenaeum; a headland of Euboea, he built an altar of Cenaean
Zeus. Intending to offer sacrifice, he sent the herald Lichas to Trachis to fetch fine raiment.
From him Deianira learned about Iole, and fearing that Hercules might love that damsel more
than herself, she supposed that the spilt blood of Nessus was in truth a love-charm, and with it
she smeared the tunic. So Hercules put it on and proceeded to offer sacrifice. But no sooner
was the tunic warmed than the poison of the hydra began to corrode his skin; and on that he
lifted Lichas by the feet, hurled him down from the headland, and tore off the tunic, which
clung to his body, so that his flesh was torn away with it. In such a sad plight he was carried on
shipboard to Trachis: and Deianira, on learning what had happened, hanged herself. But
Hercules, after charging Hyllus his elder son by Deianira, to marry Iole when he came of age,
proceeded to Mount Oeta, in the Trachinian territory, and there constructed a pyre, mounted it,
and gave orders to kindle it. When no one would do so, Poeas, passing by to look for his flocks,
set a light to it. On him Hercules bestowed his bow. While the pyre was burning, it is said that a
cloud passed under Hercules and with a peal of thunder wafted him up to heaven. Thereafter he
obtained immortality, and being reconciled to Hera he married her daughter Hebe, by whom he
had sons, Alexiares and Anicetus.
