Hercules 12 Labors Study Guide

Part I : Eurystheus and Hercules
Introduction to the Labors
There are many basic stories of Hercules (Greek: Heracles/Herakles) and many versions. One of the most common variations on the story of the 12 Labors is that Hercules undertook them to atone for the crime of murder. Within that variation the order of the labors changes.

Part II : The Sources

Canonical Labors

Those we consider the 12 canonical Labors of Hercules were carved into stone -- literally -- between 470 and 456 B.C. on the metopes of the Doric Temple to Zeus at Olympia.

Chronology

Archaic Age

Not all the canonical labors are attested in the Archaic Age.

Classical Period

None of the extant literary sources from this period lists all twelve, although the carvings on the metopes of Temple of Zeus at Olympia show them. It isn't until later, in the Roman period, that we find the complete list.

Roman Era

In his Bibliotheca, the historian Diodorus Siculus (fl. 49 B.C.) provides the earliest preserved literary account containing all 12 of the labors of Hercules.

The Labors

Labor 1
Labor 2
Labor 3
Labor 4
Labor 5
Labor 6
Labor 7
Labor 8
Labor 9
Labor 10
Labor 11
Labor 12

Apollodorus on the Labors
Index of Names and Places

Apollodorus Labor 1
Apollodorus Labor 2
Apollodorus Labor 3
Apollodorus Labor 4
Apollodorus Labor 5
Apollodorus Labor 6
Apollodorus Labor 7
Apollodorus Labor 8
Apollodorus Labor 9
Apollodorus Labor 10
Apollodorus Labor 11
Apollodorus Labor 12