Seventh Labor: The Cretan Bull

"Capture the Cretan Bull," ordered Eurystheus, "and bring it back alive."

This was no ordinary bull. It was the same sacred bull Poseidon had given King Minos, the bull tied to the birth of the Minotaur. Now, driven mad, it terrorized the whole island of Crete, breathing fire, trampling crops, and attacking the people.

Hercules sailed there, and King Minos was glad to see him.

"Please, rid us of this plague," the king begged.

Hercules found the bull, immense, with enormous horns, snorting fire from its nostrils. The animal charged, Hercules dodged, and the two struggled for hours. At last, Hercules seized the horns and, with his divine strength, tamed the creature, which grew gentle in his hands. Then, riding on the bull's back, he crossed the Aegean Sea itself, galloping over the waves to Greece.

Eurystheus was terrified of the animal and ordered it released. The bull wandered Greece for years, until it was defeated by another hero, Theseus.

Eighth Labor: The Mares of Diomedes

"Steal the Mares of Diomedes," ordered Eurystheus, "and bring them to me."

Diomedes was a cruel king of Thrace who owned four wild mares with a terrible habit: they ate human flesh. The king fed the animals with unsuspecting travelers, thrown alive into the stable.

Hercules came to Thrace with a few companions, among them his friend Abderus. During the night he broke into the stable. The mares were ferocious, wild-eyed and sharp-toothed, but Hercules overpowered all four and tied them fast.

But Diomedes and his soldiers discovered them and attacked. While Hercules fought them off, he left Abderus watching the mares. The ropes came loose, though, and the animals attacked poor Abderus, who did not survive.

When Hercules returned and found his friend's body, a great fury rose in him. He captured Diomedes and, in a terrible act of justice, gave the tyrant king to his own mares — the same fate he had given so many innocents. Strangely, after that, the mares became calm and gentle, and Hercules was able to bring them to Eurystheus.

Before leaving, Hercules founded a city on the spot where his friend fell, and named it Abdera, in memory of Abderus. Some friendships deserve a whole city.

Ninth Labor: The Belt of Hippolyta

"Bring me the magic belt of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons," ordered Eurystheus, who wanted the belt as a gift for his daughter.

The Amazons were legendary warriors, an entire society of strong women trained for battle from childhood. Their queen, Hippolyta, wore a magic belt, a gift from Ares, the god of war, and the symbol of her power.

Hercules sailed to the land of the Amazons with several companions, Theseus among them. When they arrived, something surprising happened: Hippolyta was impressed by Hercules and received him with honor.

"Hero Hercules," said the queen, "I know your stories. You defeated the unbeatable lion and the Hydra. In recognition of your courage, I will give you my belt of my own free will."

It seemed too easy. And it was. From Olympus, Hera saw it all and would not accept that Hercules should succeed without suffering. Disguised as an Amazon warrior, she came down and spread a rumor: Hercules had come to kidnap the queen, and it was all a trap.

The Amazons believed it. They took up bows, spears, and shields and attacked Hercules' ship. He, in turn, thought Hippolyta had betrayed him, and in the confusion of battle he fought the warriors. It was a fierce combat, and in it, tragically, Hippolyta died.

Hercules took the belt, but with a heavy heart. This was not how he had wanted it to end. Once again, Hera had turned a victory into sorrow.

Tenth Labor: The Cattle of Geryon

The next labor took Hercules to the ends of the earth: to steal the cattle of the giant Geryon, a creature with three bodies, three heads, and six arms. Hercules defeated him and drove the cattle across all of Europe, facing bandits and monsters along the way.

It was on this journey that he raised the Pillars of Hercules, the mountains that marked the end of the known world — the place we now call the Strait of Gibraltar.

Eleventh Labor: The Golden Apples

"For your next-to-last labor," said Eurystheus, "bring me the Golden Apples of the Hesperides."

Those apples were the wedding gift the goddess Gaia had given to Hera. They grew in a magical garden at the far western edge of the world, guarded by the nymphs called the Hesperides and by Ladon, a dragon with a hundred heads. No mortal knew where the garden lay.

Hercules traveled far, asking everyone. At last he caught the old sea-god Nereus, who kept changing shape to escape, and held him fast until he revealed the way. Near the garden, Hercules found Atlas, the Titan condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders forever.

"Atlas," said Hercules, "you are the father of the Hesperides. You could fetch the apples for me. Meanwhile, I will hold the sky in your place."

Atlas agreed at once: finally, a rest from his eternal punishment. Hercules took his place, and Atlas laid the vault of heaven upon his shoulders.

The weight was beyond imagining. The whole sky, with its stars, its clouds, the sun and the moon, all pressing down on Hercules' shoulders. Even with his divine strength, he felt his legs tremble.

Atlas went to the garden, overcame the dragon Ladon, and picked three golden apples. But when he came back, a treacherous idea occurred to him.

"You know, Hercules," he said with a smile, "I'm enjoying walking about without the sky on my back. I think I'll carry the apples to Eurystheus myself. You can stay there... forever."

Hercules thought fast. He could not fight: if he let go of the sky, everything would come crashing down.

"All right, Atlas, you win," he said calmly. "I will stay here forever. Just do me one small favor first: I need a cushion for my shoulders. Hold the sky for a moment while I settle it in place."

Atlas, who was not very bright, decided one moment could do no harm. He took the sky back. In that instant, Hercules snatched up the apples and ran.

"Thank you, Atlas! Very kind of you!"

"Come back here!" roared the Titan.

But Hercules was already far away. That time, brains had beaten brawn.

Twelfth Labor: Cerberus, the Hound of the Underworld

Eurystheus was desperate. Hercules had survived everything. For the last labor, he chose the most impossible task of all.

"Go down to the World of the Dead, to the realm of Hades. And bring me Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates."

It was the same as ordering Hercules to die, for no living soul entered the realm of the dead and came back. Even so, Hercules accepted. First he went to the Mysteries of Eleusis, to be purified and to learn the secrets of death. Then he traveled to Cape Taenarum, where a cavern led down into the world below. And down he went, down and down.

The World of the Dead was a gray, silent place, crossed by the black waters of the river Styx. Charon, the ferryman of the dead, was astonished to see a living man.

"You cannot pass. Only the dead may pass."

Hercules fixed him with a gaze so steady that Charon, trembling, ferried him across. Hercules walked through fields of spirits sighing softly. He saw heroes he had known in life, now only shadows. He saw the shade of Medusa, and he saw Meleager, who spoke to him of his sister Deianira. At last he came to the palace of Hades, god of the dead, and Persephone, his queen.

"Hades," said Hercules with respect, "I ask your leave to take Cerberus to the world of the living."

Hades, impressed by such courage, replied:

"You may take him... if you can master him without any weapon. With your hands alone."

Hercules found Cerberus, the giant three-headed dog, each head lined with rows of sharp teeth, its tail a living serpent. The three mouths snarled all at once. Protected only by the pelt of the Nemean Lion, Hercules advanced. The heads snapped, the serpent-tail lashed, but he wrapped the dog's neck in a crushing embrace and would not let go.

Little by little, Cerberus understood that it could not win, and it yielded. Hercules had mastered the guardian of the Underworld with his bare hands.

"Impressive," said Hades. "Take him. But bring him back afterward."

Hercules carried Cerberus, still growling, up to the world of the living. When they came out of the cavern, the sunlight struck the infernal hound, and from the drops of its slaver that fell to the ground sprang aconite, a poisonous plant.

In Tiryns, when Eurystheus saw the hound of the Underworld, he fainted from fear inside his jar. When he woke, he shouted from within:

"All right, all right! You have completed all the labors! Take that thing away!"

Hercules returned Cerberus to Hades, as he had promised. And at last, after twelve impossible labors, he was free. His debt was paid, and his soul was purified.

Hercules' adventures did not end there. He lived many more, married again, had more children, fought in wars, and freed the titan Prometheus, slaying the eagle that tormented him. But at the end of his life he was poisoned by mistake: his wife Deianira was deceived and, without knowing it, gave him a tunic soaked in venom.

Dying in great pain, Hercules ordered a pyre of wood built and climbed onto it. The flames consumed his mortal body. But the divine part of him, the son of Zeus, could not die.

Zeus came down from the heavens in his chariot and carried Hercules up to Olympus. There he became an immortal god, and the Oracle's prophecy was fulfilled. Even Hera, in the end, made peace with him, and gave him her daughter Hebe, the goddess of youth, in marriage.

Hercules, who had begun his journey carrying guilt and shame, ended it among the gods. His name became another word for strength, courage, and perseverance. Even today, when someone completes an enormous task, we say it was a labor of Hercules.