Hercules' Labors by collin and nathan

First Labor: The Nemean Lion. Hercules was challenged to kill the Nemean Lion. The lions parentage was supernatural and it was more of a monster than an ordinary lion. Its skin couldn't be penetrated by arrows. Hercule blocked off the entrances to the cave, crawled into it, where he would have to go face to face with it and fight with his bare hands. He choked it to death, then wore the lions skin as a cloak and the jaw as a helmet.
Second Labor: The Hydra. Hercules was to seek out and destroy the many headed hydra. Some say the hydra had 8 or 9 heads, while others claimed it had over 10,000. It was agreed that after one head was beaten down or chopped off, two more grew in its place. The hydras breathe was very lethal and smelling its footprints was strong enough to kill any mortal. He sought out the monster in its lair and brought it out into the open with flaming arrows. The hydra called an ally, which was a huge crab, that also lived in the swamp. The crab bit Hercules' heel and furthered his attack. Hercules' nephew Iolaus, ran towards Hercules with a burning torch and every time Hercules heads, Iolaus seared the wounded neck with flame. Finally Hercules' chopped of the head that was supposedly immortal and buried under a rock.
Third Labor: The ceryneian hind is a fleet footed female beast that had golden horns. It was sacred to Artemis so hercules dare not wound it. He searched for it for an entire year before running it down in Arcadia. Taking careful aim, he fired an arrow between the tendons and bones of the two front legs, pinning it to the ground without drawing blood. Artemis was displeased, but Hercules dodged her and blamed it on Eurystheus.
Fourth Labor: The erymanthian boar was an enormous beast that lived near Arcadia. Hercules was challenged to bring it back to life. When he was tracking the boar down, he visited the centaur Pholus. When Pholus was examining one of Hercules' arrows, he dropped it on his foot. Since it had been soaked in Hydra venom, he immediately died. Hercules finally found the boar on Mount Erymanthus and drove it into a snow bank which caused it to be temporarily paralyzed. He brought it back to Eurystheus.
Fifth Labor: The Augean Stables. Hercules was told to clean out the stables of King Augeas in a single day. Eurystheus was sure that this would humiliate his heroic cousin. Augeas owned lots of cattle and the stables had not been cleaned out in many years. Instead of using a shovel and a basket, as Eurystheus had thought, Hercules used two rivers and ran them through the stables. Since Hercules demanded pay, Eurystheus refused to count it as a labor.
Sixth Labor: The Stymphalian Birds were located near lake Stympahlus in Arcadia. It is unknown whether these birds feasted on human flesh, killed men by shooting them with feathers or brass, or were merely a nuisance because of their number. Hercules couldn't get to the birds because the ground was swampy, so he used castanets, which were given to him by Athena. He made a lot of noise which caused the birds to fly out. He brought them down in dozens with his arrows.
Seventh Labor: The Cretan Bull was created when Queen Pasiphae had been inspired to fall in love with a bull, which caused a minotaur to be born. Pasiphae's husband was eager to get rid of the bull, which was destroying the Cretan country side. Although the bull burped flames, Hercules overpowered it and shipped it back to the mainland. After he shipped it back, it ended up near Athens. Theseus then had to deal with it.
Eighth Labor: The Mares of Diomedes were horses the dined on the flesh of travelers who made the mistake of accepting Diomedes' hospitality. Hercules pacified the beasts by feeding them their own master Diomedes. Hercules soon rounded them up and herded them to the sea, where they embarked for tiryns. Once he had shown them to Eurystheus, he released them and they were eaten by wild animals on Mount Olympus.
Ninth Labor: Hippolytes Belt was located in the land of the Amazons. The belt belonged to their queen. The Amazons were a race of warrior women who were great archers and had invented the art of fighting from horseback. Hercules recruited a number of heroes to accompany him, including Theseus. The Amazon Queen, Hippolyte, willingly gave Hercules her belt but Hera would not let them get away so easily. The Goddess caused the Amazons to be very angry. A great battle soon erupted. Hercules got away with the belt and Theseus kidnapped an Amazon princess because why not.
Tenth Labor: The Cattle of Geryon are three headed and or three separate bodies from the waist down cattle that Hercules had to steal. This labor took place in Spain. The watch dog Orthrus chased Hercules as he was getting away with the cattle. The hero killed him with a single blow from a wooden club. Hercules drove the herd back to Greece, taking a long turn passing through Italy.
Eleventh Labor: The Apples of Hesperides. These were apples that were trusted to nymphs by Hera. They were kept in a grove surrounded by large walls and guarded by a many headed dragon named Laedon. The grove was located in the mountains named for Atlas, a titan or first generated god. Atlas had sided with one of his brothers in a war against Zeus and as punishment he was forced to hold the weight of heavens on his shoulders. Hercules was told he would never get the apples without the aid of Atlas. The titan was happy to help and he told the hero to hold the heavens while he went to get the fruit. First, Hercules had to kill the dragon with an arrow over the wall. Atlas returned with the fruit but realized how nice it was to not hold the heavens for the rest of his life. Hercules lied to Atlas asking him to hold the pillars long enough for him to get a pillow for the titans shoulders. The titan agreed and Hercules left with no return.
Twelfth Labor: The Capture of Cerberus. Cerberus was a hellhound owned by Hades. The fist barrier to the souls journey was the styx. This is the most famous river in The Underworld. Here, the newly dead wait for passage from Charon the strange boat man. Charon would only take people across only if they paid a bribe of a coin under the corpses' tongue and they must be dead. Hercules met neither condition but he simply looked fiercely at Charon and he took him across. Cerberus was a hellhound that had razor sharp teeth, three heads, a venomous snake for a tail, and many snakes growing out of his back. The snakes lashed on Hercules while Cerberus lunged to bite his throat. Luckily, Hercules was wearing the lion skin which was impenetrable by anything except a thunderbolt from Zeus. Hercules choked Cerberus and dragged him to Tiryns.
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