Ninth Labor - Hercules (Heracles - Herakles)
Apollodorus Labor 9 - Belt of Hippolyte
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The following is a retelling of Apollodorus' version of the ninth of twelve labors the Greek hero Hercules performed for Eurystheus. Unlike some of the labors, there was a point to this one. Someone actually wanted the belt.Eurystheus' daughter Admete wanted the belt of Hippolyte, a gift to the queen of the Amazons from the war god Ares.
Taking a band of friends with him, Hercules set sail, stopping at the island of Paros, which was inhabited by some of Minos' sons. These killed two of Hercules' companions, an act which set Hercules on a rampage. He killed two of Minos' sons and threatened the other inhabitants until he was offered two men to replace his fallen companions. Hercules agreed and took two of Minos' grandsons, Alcaeus and Sthenelus. They continued their voyage and landed at the court of Lycus, whom Hercules defended in a battle against the king of the Bebryces, Mygdon. After killing King Mygdon, Hercules gave much of the land to his friend Lycus. Lycus called the land Heraclea. The crew then set off for Themiscyra where Hippolyte lived.
All would have gone well for Hercules had it not been for his nemesis, Hera. Hippolyte agreed to give him the belt, and would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among the Amazons sowing seeds of distrust. She claimed the strangers were plotting to carry off the queen of the Amazons. Alarmed, the women set off on horseback to confront Hercules. When Hercules saw them, he thought Hippolyte had been plotting such treachery all along and had never meant to hand over the belt, so he killed her and took the belt.
The men set off to Troy where they found the people suffering the consequence of their leader Laomedon's failure to pay promised wages to two laborers. The laborers had been gods in disguise, Apollo and Poseidon, so when Laomedon reneged, they sent a pestilence (Apollo) and a sea monster (Poseidon). An oracle told the people the way out of their troubles was to serve up Laomedon's daughter (Hermione) to the sea monster, so they had done so, by fastening her on the rocks by the sea.
Hercules volunteered to rectify the situation and rescue Hermione on condition that Laomedon give him the mares which Zeus had given him to compensate for Ganymede's abduction. Hercules then killed the sea monster, rescued Hermione and asked for his mares. The king, however, hadn't learned his lesson, so Hercules, unrewarded, threatened to wage war on Troy.
Hercules encountered a few more trouble makers, including Sarpedon and the sons of Proteus, whom he easily killed, and then proceeded safely to Eurystheus with the belt of Hippolyte given by Ares.
