The Greek Hero's To-do List 

Heracles (also known as Hercules) is probably the most well-known hero of ancient Greek mythology, most likely because of the Disney movie based upon his adventures. However, the movie isn't very accurate to the actual myth, where Heracles performs twelve tasks for the king Eurystheus.

1. Heracles's first task was to kill the Nemean lion, that had an inpenetrable hide. Some stories say he strangled the lion, others say he hit it with a club. Some stories also say he took the lion's hide to wear.

2. Heracles's next task was to kill the Hydra, a monster that regrew two heads for every one that was cut off of it. Heracles's companion, Iolaus, would seal up the wound of a cut-off head for Hercules using a torch. The fire would keep more heads from regrowing. The blood of the creature was poisonous, so Heracles decided to keep a little.

3. His third task was to capture the Cerynian hind, a deer with beautiful golden horns. However, it was one of Artemis's five golden-horned deer (the other four pulled her chariot), so it was very important for Heracles to capture it without harming it. He tracked the deer for a year before he finally caught it.

4. Heracles's fourth task was to capture the Erymanthian boar alive. The boar was a vicious creature that terrorized the people of Mount Erymanthus. When Heracles brought it back to King Eurystheus, the king was so scared of it that he hid in a bronze jar.

5. Heracles's fifth task was to clean the stables of King Augeas in a single day. The stables were vast, and home to thousands of animals. They also hadn't been cleaned in decades. Heracles bent two rivers' paths through the stables so all the filth was washed away.

6. His sixth task was to kill the birds of Stymphalos lake. The birds were incredibly dangerous, with impossibly sharp beaks and talons, as well as feathers that they could shoot like darts. Heracles felled them with darts that were tipped with the Hydra's poisonous blood.

7. Heracles's seventh task was to capture the Cretan bull (which happened to be the Minotaur's father). The bull was completely insane, not to mention that it breathed fire. Heracles wrestled the bull and captured it. Yet, for whatever reason, Eurystheus let it free.

8. His eighth task was to capture Dinomedes's horses. This was a lot harder than it seemed; the horses ate people. Heracles took down Dinomedes and fed him to his own horses. Oddly enough, this tamed them and made them more normal.

9. Task number nine was to get the girdle of Hippolytes, the queen of the Amazons. Hippolytes had agreed to give him the girdle in exchange for Dinomedes's daughter. However, Hera had convinced the queen that Heracles was an enemy, so there was no way she would give up her girdle willingly. Heracles had to conquer the Amazons to get the girdle.

10. Heracles's tenth task was to capture Geryon's cattle. Geryon was a flying, three-bodied giant who also had help from a cowherd named Euryton and two-headed dog, Orthros, in guarding it. Heracles slayed all three before he could take the cattle.

11. Heracles's eleventh task was to take the golden apples of the Hesperides, who were nymphs. They guarded the apples along with Ladon, a hundered-headed dragon. To get the apples, Hercules struck a deal with Atlas, who held the sky on his shoulders. Heracles held up the sky for Atlas while Atlas got the apples. Heracles had to trick Atlas to get him to retake the burden of the sky.

12. The last task of Heracles was to capture Cerberus, the three-headed dog of the Underworld, without any weapons. Hercules wrestled all three of Cerebus's heads to the ground, and Cerberus agreed to go with Heracles if he could return home without harm. In some stories, Persephone was the one who let Cerberus go.

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