All About the 12 Labors of Hercules

It is not going to make much sense reading about the 12 Labors of Hercules if you do not know who he is. Hercules is the Latin name. The Greeks' version -- and he was a Greek hero -- is Herakles or Heracles. His name means "the glory of Hera," which is worth noting because of the trouble the queen of the gods inflicted on Hercules, her stepson.

• The Birth of Hercules

That Hercules was the stepson of Hera meant that he was the son of Zeus (Roman Jupiter). Hercules' mother was the mortal Alcmene, granddaughter of the Greek hero Perseus and Andromeda. Hera was not just Hercules' stepmother, but also, according to one legend, his nurse. Despite this intimate connection, Hera tried to kill the baby shortly after he was born. How Hercules dealt with the threat (sometimes attributed to his cuckolded foster-father) showed that even from the moment of birth, he had amazing strength.

Hercules had lots of adventures and at least a couple of marriages. Among the heroic myths about him, it is told that Hercules went to the Greek Underworld and traveled with the Argonauts on their voyage to collect the Golden Fleece. Were these part of his labors?

Hercules went to the Underworld or towards the Underworld more than once. There is debate about whether he faced Death within or outside the confines of the Underworld. Twice Hercules rescued friends or the wife of a friend, but these excursions were not parts of the assigned labors.

• How Many Trips Did Hercules Make to the Underworld?

The Argonaut adventure was not connected with his labors; nor were his marriages, which may or may not include his transvestite stay with the Lydian queen Omphale.

In this article, you will find links to a description of each of the 12 labors -- the seemingly impossible tasks Hercules performed for King Eurystheus, providing further links to translated passages from ancient writers on the labors, and pictures illustrating each of the 12 labors.

Here are some other descriptions of the 12 labors by more modern writers:

• The Life and Labors of Hercules, by Padraic Colum
• Thomas Bulfinch on the 12 Labors of Hercules

People today might never forgive a man who did what Hercules did, but the great Greek hero survived the stigma of his horrific acts and became even greater in their aftermath. The 12 Labors may have been not so much a punishment as a way to atone for the crime Hercules committed while mad. It did not matter that the madness came from a divine source. Nor was a plea of temporary insanity an option to get Hercules out of trouble.

• People in the Life of Hercules
• Quiz on the 12 Labors
• Epilepsy

The general story of the 12 labors includes two extras performed because, according to King Eurystheus, Hercules violated the terms of the original punishment, which consisted of 10 labors to be performed with no remuneration or help.

We do not know when the number of labors assigned to Hercules (Heracles/Herakles), by Eurystheus, was fixed at 12. Nor do we know if the list we have of the Labors of Hercules contains all the labors ever included, but those we do consider the 12 canonical Labors of Hercules were carved into stone between 470 and 456 B.C.

There is an amazing amount of material of Hercules even from an early age. Herodotus writes about a Hercules in Egypt, but that doesn't mean the 12 Labors we know about were a standardized part of the literary tradition. Our information on what the ancients considered the 12 labors increases through time, with relatively little information coming from the Archaic Age, monumental evidence during the Classical Age, and the canonical list written in the Roman Era.

Hercules' 12 labors have inspired visual artists for about 3 millennia. It is worth noting that even without his head, archeologists can recognize Hercules by certain traditional traits and objects. Here are some sculptures, mosaics, and other artwork showing Hercules at his labors, with commentary. Also see: How Do You Recognize Hercules?.