The last week of Hercules' Myth Monday month is on the topic most people are familiar with -- The 12 Labors. For a quick refresher on the 12 Labors of Hercules, look at the Hercules 12 Labors FAQ.
For those looking for something beyond the basics, see Sources for the 12 Labors, where you'll see that the 12 Labors weren't always 12. They may have been 9-10 at an earlier period, and even three in some of the archaic age literary sources and vases.
That Hercules was offered pay (by Augeas for cleaning the stables by diverting rivers) and help for some of his tasks meant they didn't count and so is one reason the number of labors may have been increased.
According to the popular story, Hercules was being punished and needed to do the punishment on his own. The incentive of pay, even though it wasn't forthcoming, meant it was work rather than punishment, probably atonement for murdering family members while deluded by his temporary, goddess-provided insanity. For the Greeks, it didn't matter that it wasn't Hercules' fault, but Hera's. Hercules still had to pay for the actions of his divine malefactor.
See Madness of Hercules and Atonement.
Next Month: Dionysus, the Twice-Born
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