The Labors of Hercules

The goddess Hera, determined

to make trouble for Hercules,

made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state,

he killed his own wife and children.

When he awakened from his “temporary insanity,” Hercules was shocked and upset by what he’d done.

He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance,

and the god’s oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae,

for twelve years, in punishment for the murders.

As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform

twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. Fortunately, Hercules had the help of

Hermes and Athena, sympathetic deities who

showed up when he really needed help. By the end

of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt,

Greece’s greatest hero.

His struggles made Hercules the perfect

embodiment of an idea the Greeks called pathos,

the experience of virtuous struggle and suffering

which would lead to fame and, in Hercules’ case, immortality.

To read more about Eurystheus and the reasons for Hercules’ Labors, see Further Resources.

• Labor 1: The Nemean Lion
• Labor 2: The Lernean Hydra
• Labor 3: The Hind of Ceryneia
• Labor 4: The Erymanthean Boar
• Labor 5: The Augean Stables
• Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds
• Labor 7: The Cretan Bull
• Labor 8: The Horses of Diomedes
• Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyte
• Labor 10: Geryon’s Cattle
• Labor 11: The Apples of the Hesperides
• Labor 12: Cerberus

This exhibit is a subset of materials from the Perseus Project and is copyrighted. Please send us your comments.