First Labor: THE Nemean Lion

Hercules arrived in the region of Nemea, and what he saw shocked him.

Entire villages empty! Abandoned houses! Uncultivated fields!

An old man told him: "Flee while you can, stranger! The Lion devours anyone it finds! Our weapons are useless against it!"

"Where is the beast?" asked Hercules.

"In a cave in the mountains! But no one who goes there returns alive!"

Hercules climbed the mountain. And there it was: the Nemean Lion - the size of a bull, with claws long as swords and teeth that gleamed in the sun.

Hercules shot an arrow! Ting! The arrow bounced off the lion's skin as if it were stone!

He shot another! Another! All bounced off!

The lion roared and Attacked! Hercules dodged at the last second!

"If weapons don't work," thought Hercules, "I'll use my hands!"

When the lion attacked again, Hercules grabbed it by the neck with divine strength.

The lion struggled! Scratched! Bit! But Hercules didn't let go!

Using all his strength, Hercules strangled the lion! Minutes passed! The lion fought! But gradually, it became weak... then still... then dead!

Hercules had killed the invincible with his own hands.

But how to carry the body back? The skin was impenetrable - not even his knife could cut it.

Then Hercules had an idea: he used the lion's own claws to cut its skin! They were the only things sharp enough!

Hercules wore the lion's skin as a cape! The lion's head became his helmet!

From that day on, Hercules would always wear the Nemean Lion's skin - making him practically invulnerable.

Second Labor: THE Lernaean Hydra

Eurystheus was terrified when he saw Hercules return alive! And wearing invulnerable skin!

"Your next labor," stammered Eurystheus, "is to kill the Lernaean Hydra! And this time you'll surely die!"

The Hydra lived in a poisonous swamp in Lerna! It was a gigantic serpent with Nine heads! And each head spat deadly poison!

Worse still: if you cut off one head, TWO would grow in its place.

Hercules took his nephew Iolaus to help him! They arrived at the stinking swamp!

"UNCLE! THERE!" shouted Iolaus!

The Hydra emerged from the water! Nine heads hissing! Fangs dripping poison! Evil eyes in each head!

Hercules attacked with his club (made from the hardest olive tree)! Whack! Cut off one head!

But immediately, TWO new heads grew in its place.

Whack! Cut off another! TWO grew!

The more Hercules fought, the more heads the Hydra gained.

"Uncle! It's not working!" shouted Iolaus!

And then Iolaus had an idea! "What if we burn the necks before the heads can grow?"

"Brilliant!" shouted Hercules!

Iolaus lit torches! From then on, each time Hercules cut off a head, Iolaus Burned the neck immediately! The fire cauterized the wound - no new head grew!

One by one, they eliminated the heads.

But the central head was immortal! It couldn't be killed!

Hercules cut it off and buried it under a giant rock! Then he dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood!

From that day on, Hercules' arrows were deadly poisonous - a single wound meant certain death.

Third Labor: THE Ceryneian Hind

"Capture the Ceryneian Hind," ordered Eurystheus, "alive and without harming it!"

This seemed like a simple mission! A hind is just a female deer!

But this was no ordinary hind! It had golden antlers and bronze hooves! It was sacred to the goddess Artemis! And it was faster than any arrow!

Hercules pursued it! He ran after it through hills, valleys, mountains!

The hind was impossible to catch! When Hercules got close, it ran faster!

One month passed! Two! Three!

Hercules pursued the hind for A Whole Year! Through all of Greece! To the distant lands of the Hyperboreans in the north!

Finally, exhausted, Hercules did what he didn't want to: he shot an arrow.

But his aim was perfect! The arrow went through the hind's legs between bone and tendon - pinning it without causing injury or bleeding!

But when Hercules picked up the hind, the goddess Artemis appeared furious.

"YOU DARE TOUCH MY SACRED ANIMAL?"

"Goddess Artemis," said Hercules respectfully, "forgive me! Eurystheus ordered me! I didn't harm your hind! Look - not a drop of blood!"

Artemis examined the hind! It was truly unharmed!

"Very well," said Artemis. "You are skillful AND respectful! Take it to Eurystheus, but then release it!"

Hercules did so! He showed the hind to Eurystheus (who almost fainted from fear of it), then released it in the mountains!

This labor taught that strength isn't everything - patience and respect also matter.

Fourth Labor: THE Erymanthian Boar

"Capture the Erymanthian Boar," ordered Eurystheus, "ALIVE!"

This boar was gigantic! The size of a bull! With tusks that could impale a man! It terrorized Mount Erymanthus, destroying villages!

Hercules climbed the snow-covered mountain! The boar was wild and fierce!

Hercules couldn't simply kill it - he had to capture it alive.

So he had a plan! He shouted and made noise, making the boar run! Hercules chased it, pushing it to where the snow was deepest!

Finally, the boar got stuck in the deep snow! It couldn't move!

Hercules tied the boar with strong chains! Then he carried it on his back - alive and furious - back to Tiryns!

When Eurystheus saw Hercules arriving with the giant growling boar on his back, he was SO terrified that he jumped into a bronze jar and hid.

"GET THAT THING OUT OF HERE!" shouted Eurystheus from inside the jar!

Hercules laughed! The coward who gave him impossible orders was trembling with fear inside a jar!

From then on, Eurystheus would always hide in the jar when Hercules returned! He would just shout orders from inside it!

Fifth Labor: THE Stymphalian Birds

"Free Lake Stymphalos from the killer birds!" ordered Eurystheus's voice from inside the jar!

Hercules traveled to Lake Stymphalos! What he found was terrifying!

Thousands of giant birds with:

- Bronze beaks that could pierce armor.

- Feathers sharp as knives that they shot like arrows.

- Poisonous talons.

- Toxic droppings that poisoned the land.

They had turned the region into a nightmare! They ate people and animals!

But there were so many! If Hercules shot arrows, it would take years to kill them all!

The goddess Athena appeared to help! She gave Hercules a pair of magical castanets made by Hephaestus!

"Play these instruments!" said Athena. "The noise will scare the birds!"

Hercules shook the castanets! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound was so loud and terrible that the birds flew out in panic - taking flight from the lake in dark clouds.

As they flew, Hercules shot his arrows poisoned with Hydra blood.

Each arrow killed a bird! Dozens fell! Hundreds!

The birds that survived fled forever, never returning.

Lake Stymphalos was free! People could live in peace again!

Sixth Labor: THE Augean Stables

Eurystheus smiled maliciously from inside his jar! This labor would be different - no glory! No epic battle! Just... humiliation!

"Clean King Augeas's Stables," ordered Eurystheus, "in ONE SINGLE DAY!"

Augeas was a wealthy king who had 3,000 cattle! But his stables hadn't been cleaned in Thirty Years!

The accumulated manure was mountains high! The smell was unbearable! Flies covered everything like black clouds!

"Cleaning this in one day is impossible!" said Augeas laughing when Hercules arrived!

"I can do it," said Hercules confidently. "But if I succeed, you'll give me a tenth of your cattle!"

"Deal!" laughed Augeas, certain Hercules would fail!

Hercules didn't use a shovel! Didn't use a broom!

Instead, he used his intelligence.

He noticed that two rivers - the Alpheus and the Peneus - ran near the stables.

Hercules walked to the rivers! Using his divine strength, he:

1. Felled giant trees

2. Moved enormous rocks

3. Created channels to divert the rivers

4. Directed the waters through the stables.

Whoooosh.

The force of two rivers flowing together passed through the stables like a powerful flood.

In a few hours, all the dirt from thirty years was washed away! The stables were completely clean!

Hercules had completed the impossible - using brain AND brawn.

But Augeas refused to pay! "You used the rivers! It doesn't count! And Eurystheus ordered you to do it anyway!"

Hercules was furious! But he couldn't do anything yet - he still had labors to complete!

(Note: Years later, Hercules returned and conquered Augeas's kingdom in revenge!)

Eurystheus Also refused to count this labor, saying Hercules did it for payment, not for service.

Thus, two of the labors "didn't count" - meaning Hercules would have to do more extra labors!

But Hercules didn't complain! He was on the path to redemption! He would do as many labors as necessary!