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The Twelve Labours of Herakles, are a series of stories connected by a continuous narrative, concerning a penance carried out by Herakles.

The narrative

Zeus, having made Alcmene pregnant with Herakles, proclaimed that the next son born of the house of Perseus would become king. Hera, Zeus' consort, hearing this, caused Eurystheus to be born two months early as he was of the house of Perseus, while Herakles, also of the house, was three months overdue. When he found out what had been done, Zeus was furious; however, his rash proclamation still stood.

In a fit of madness, induced by Hera, Herakles slew his wife and children; the fit then passed. Realising what he had done, he isolated himself, going into the wilderness and living alone. He was found (by his brother Iphicles) and convinced to visit the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle told him that as a penance he would have to perform a series of ten tasks set by King Eurystheus,the man who had taken Herakles' birthright, the man he hated the most.

The labours vary in order (usually only mildly) between versions of the myth. A common order is

• 1 - Slay the Nemean Lion and bring back its skin.
• 2 - Slay the Lernaean Hydra.
• 3 - Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
• 4 - Capture the Cerynian Hind.
• 5 - Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
• 6 - Clean the Augean stables in one day.
• 7 - Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
• 8 - Capture the Cretan Bull.
• 9 - Obtain the Girdle of Hippolyte.
• 10 - Obtain the Cattle of Geryon
• 11 - Steal the Apples of the Hesperides
• 12 - Capture Cerberus

In his labours, Heracles was often accompanied by his friend, according to some, Licymnius, or by others Iolaus, his boyfriend (an eromenos) and nephew. Although he was only supposed to perform ten labours, this assistance led to him suffering two more. Eurystheus didn't count the Hydra, because Iolaus helped him, or the Augean stables, as he received payment for his work (in other versions it is because the rivers did the work).

Inner meaning

Behind its outer meaning, Greek religion often hid an inner mystical tradition, and thus the labours could be interpreted as a symbolization of the spiritual path. This is particularly evident in an analysis of the eleventh, in which Hercules travels to a garden in which grows an apple tree with magical fruit, guarded by a snake - a clear parallel to the biblical legend of the garden of Eden. The last 3 labours (10-12) of Herakles are generally considered metaphors about death.

Geographic locations

Pointing to a possible location for their origin, or at least their formalisation, is the fact that most of the geographic locations, are all located in, or on the borders of Arcadia.

• the town of Nemia, close by, and west of, Argo (the capital of Arcadia).
• lake Lerna to the south (which is now dry)
• the mountain Erymanthos, currently also called Olonos. Nearby is the mountain Pholus (which has the name of an incidental character in the story of the Erymanthian Boar). Pholus is nearer to Argo, and would be passed on the way.
• the town Ceryneia, in the far North West of the Peloponnese, 55 from Argo
• lake Stymphalia, close by, and west of, Nemia. In ancient times it was marshy.
• the river Alphaeus (in the Augean Stable myth) feeds the bay at Argo. It drains the mountains but runs mostly underground, thus was seen as having been diverted.
• the city of Sparta to the south west. It features as the entrance to the underworld in the labour involving Cerberus, which may be a satirical comment on Spartan culture.

The other named locations have their own reasons for featuring.

• Crete is the setting for the legend of the Minotaur, particularly also associated with Argo. Herakles battled the bull which fathered the Minotaur, also said to have been situated on Crete.
• Thrace is the location given for king Diomedes, the son of Ares (god of War). In other parts of greek mythology, a king of Argo, and a hero of the Trojan War, is called Diomedes. Diomedes of Argo was said to have fought Ares, who had been fighting for the opposition.

According to the myth of Herakles' labour, King Diomedes of Thrace owned horses which were stolen by a hero of Argo (Herakles), wheras according to the trojan war epics, King Diomedes the hero of Argo stole horses from Thrace. It is quite possible that since Herakles was the hero of Argo, and since Diomedes (of Argo) was percieved as already owning the horses, Diomedes was changed into the Thracian owner of the horses, and thus one of the enemies of Argo, a place originally occupied by King Rhesus (of Thrace).

• Erythia is an invented symbolic location, described as being west, beyond the pillars of herakles (Cadiz and Gibralter). By being west of the world (since the Atlantic counted as the edge of the world), the direction the sun goes to set in, it is symbolic of the heavens and of the afterlife.

Connection to the Zodiac

The labours also have a strong connection to the constellations encountered by the transit of the sun through the year, many being connected to the zodiac. most of them having an association with one constellation, and as a whole, representing the passage of the sun (personified as Herakles) through the year and the zodiac. Starting at the zodiac contellation of leo, and passing through each zodiac sign in the order the sun passes through them,

Leo

Leo was said by the greeks to have been the The Nemean Lion, placed in the sky after Herakles' slaying of it.

Virgo

When the sun is in the sign of Virgo, the constellation Hydra finally sets. The greeks considered that the hydra and the crab, of the Lernaean Hydra story, were put into the sky after Herakles slew them (the crab as the constellation Cancer).

The crab is thought to be a later addition to the story to associate it with the constellation of Cancer, and thus this story equally can take place in the sign of Cancer, where the dragon (the constellation Draco, which was originally joined to the constellation Hydra) sets.

Libra

When the sun is in the sign of Libra, the constellation Centaurus finally sets. The greeks considered that the centaur Chiron, who was accidentally poisoned and died due to Herakles, while herakles took a detour from hunting the Erymanthian Boar, was put in the sky as a mark of pity. The greeks did not consider Libra as a seperate constellation (considering it part of Scorpio), it is uncertain as to what took its place, but it may have been Centaurus, since it is a large constellation in the approximate area.

The constellation Lupus is next after Centaurus in the sun's transit, also setting in Libra, and was to the Greeks an arbitrary hunted animal (Therion)- it became a wolf under the Romans. Centaurus appears to have fired an arrow, the constellation Sagitta, towards Aquila, the eagle that tortured Prometheus, thus appearing to release Prometheus from his torment. Centaurus is also under the ecliptic, and thus considered to be in the underworld.

Scorpio

When the sun is in the sign of Scorpio, the constellation Hercules rises. The greeks referred to the constellation of Hercules as the Stag (hind is another word for stag), the identification of the constellation with Hercules was made by the Romans.

Immediately next to the constellation Hercules, is the constellation Sagitta, the arrow, the owner of which varies amongst the various versions of each part of greek mythology. Artemis (to whom the Cerynthian Stag was sacred, causing her to draw an arrow at Herakles), is a key player in the myth discussing the origin of Scorpio and death of Orion.

Sagittarius

When the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius, the constellations Lyra, Aquila, and Cygnus, rise. Aquila is an eagle, and Cygnus is a swan, wheras Lyra is a lyre, but originally Lyra was a vulture, gaining the lyre over time, and eventually becoming it. At this time of year (i.e. during Sagittarius), the evenings darken, and thus the bird constellation were considered evil. Also around this time, the rain season in Greece starts, creating swampland from previously drier areas.

To the Greeks, Sagittarius (the constellation) had various different interpretations, including as a rattle, but not including a whole archer (which was the interpretation of the Romans). Also, the next constellation on the sun's transit after the birds is Delphinus, whose myth concerns the saving of Arion, a court musician, by a dolphin. Herakles scared off the Symphalian Birds (who lived in a swamp) with noise.

Capricorn

The Romans gave the constellation of Capricorn its name, taking it from part of a myth also concerning Pisces. To the Greeks, it was called the Augean Stable, since the sun appears goes to rest (i.e. stable) there during winter, and the sun appears heading towards the North West at this time (where Augeas was living).

Since this time was so dark, early greek religious ideas were that the darkness of the sky was due to the accumulation of sin throughout the year, thus the stable is extremely dirty and never cleaned before that year. These sins were said to be washed away as the sun arose again, and the next sign of the Zodiac is Aquarius, who is implicated in greek mythology as causing a great flood.

Aquarius

When the sun is in the constellation of Aquarius, the constellation Pegasus rises. Pegasus in early greece was considered to contain 4 very bright stars, making a square, it was only in later times that the 4th star (Alpheratz) was considered part of Andromeda. By reassigning the 4th star, Pegasus changed from being a horse with a square body, into being a horse with a wing (the square body changing into a triangular wing), giving rise to the winged horse myth.

Bright stars were considered to be malevolent and wild, thus leading to the earlier pegasus square being considered 4 evil horses (the animals being horses due to the overall shape assigned to the constellation). Pegasus, as a whole, appears to be feeding, in particular, it aims its head towards Aquarius, a man, suggesting a man-eating nature. Since the horses rise in Aquarius, they cannot be said to have died, and thus must have been caught, since the sun is able to pass them.

Pisces

Aries

When the sun is in the constellation of Aries, the constellation Andromeda sets. Andromeda, having an apparant long skirt, is considered by greek mythology, to be female. It also has three bright close stars forming a line, leading to the impression of a belt (as do the three in Orion). Girdle is just another word for belt.

The full constellation appears to have something long attached to its upper body, in the greek myth of the Boast of Cassiopeia, it is identified as a chain. Other tales identify it as a sword (discarding parts of the chain from being part of the constellation), implying that the constellation is an amazon warrior. The queen of the amazons was given the name Hippolyte in greek mythology.

Heading in the direction of the sun's transit moves next after Andromeda to the Pleiades, considered in Greek mythology to be the seven sisters. After Herakles obtained the girdle from Hippolyte, he had to face a band of women (more amazons).

Taurus

When the sun has reached the constellation of Taurus, it has passed over an area that the ancients referred to as the sea - the region from Capricorn to the region containing Aries. It was referred to as the sea due to the high concentration of constellations identified as sea creatures within it, Aries being identified as a flying ram who flew over the sea.

Apart from being a bull, Taurus contains a very bright and red star, meaning that many took it to be evil. Some forms of Greek mythology associated the constellation with the tame white bull, in some versions Zeus in disguise, that seduced Europa and took her to Crete (Minos), wheras others associate it with the white bull that fathered the Minotaur. The bull which fathered the Minotaur was originally calm and sent from Poseidon, but the king (Minos) whom it was sent to fell out of favour with Poseidon, and so in some versions of the story, Poseidon made the bull angry.

The myth of Poseidon sending the bull (which seduced Minos' wife) may simply be an earlier version of the myth of Zeus seducing Europa, as in earlier Mycenean times, Poseidon had significantly more importance than Zeus. The change of gods was due to the replacement of the Mycenean culture and religion, with a later one favouring Zeus. Poseidon and Zeus, which have the same etymological origin (Poseidon deriving from Posei-Deion which means Lord God, and Zeus deriving from Deus which also means God), may be the result of the parallel evolution of the same original God in seperate cultures, one (Poseidon - who is also associated with horses) becoming associated more with the sea (due to change in the main source of trade), and thus eventually becoming noticably different.

Gemini

Cancer

Other Mythic Elements

The Worm Archetype

Mythology about fighting snakes, that are invincible, appear to be a general archetype in reference to a solid extensive battle line with an indefatigable opposing army, (e.g. the Lambton worm represents the mediaeval Scottish army's raids into England). Since Lerna is in the direction of Sparta, the most war-like of all nations, tales of Sparta's might (from the point of view of a victim) may have formed such a snake myth, merging into the Herakles myth of the hydra. It is uncertain as to what the cauterising of the snake heads means, but it could be indicative of setting fire to parts of the enemy (possibly the corpses) so as to disperse them.