eonia (greek mythology)

01. eurystheus was being an ass

the twelve labours of herakles

------

Herakles, known son of Zeus, was the distant cousin of the descendant of the great hero Perseus, Eurystheus, who was also ruler of Tiryns. But, being the son of Zeus, naturally, Hera despised his very existence. 

So, she turned him mad, and he killed his wife and child, and only realised what he had done after he had done it, and so as a punishment, he was forced to serve Eurystheus for 10 years, but the ruler later extended it to 12. 

But the rest of the Gods, they still loved Herakles, and so they provided him with armour and weaponry and other things. Poseidon gave him a team of horses, Hermes a sword, Apollo a bow, Hephaestus a well-forged breastplate, Athena a woven robe, and his father Zeus have him a shield embossed with scenes from earlier mythology, and the heads of twelve snakes that snapped when he went into battle. 

the first labour: the nemean lion

The Nemean Lion was the offspring of Selene, the Titaness of the Moon. Herakles was to kill and get the pelt of the monstrous lion. It lived in a cave and was terrorising the land Nemea, a place between Tiryns and Corinth. 

It had a hide that was invulnerable to javelins and arrows, but Herakles thought that perhaps Apollo's arrows would work, but they failed to pierce the skin of the lion. So, when the lion pounced on the son of Zeus, the hero dropped all his weapons and wrapped his arms around the lion's neck, until the monster slumped to the ground, lifeless. 

He carried the dead lion all the way home to Tiryns, and there he flayed the beast with it's own claw, and brought it to Eurystheus, who was obviously terrified, which was no surprise. 

the second labour: the hydra of lerna

The Hydra; it was a massive, nine-headed beast that lived in Lerna. The heads were those of a snake, and it's body that of a dog. It was the epitome of bad morning breath, except the breath lasted all day and could kill those that got too close to it, no wonder it never dated or had kids. 

Herakles managed to cut off all the heads, but they grew right back, shocking him and his nephew Iolaus, who had been helping him with this task. But, Athena, who was the goddess that liked the young man the most, decided to step in and help. She told him that cauterising the stumps would stop them from growing back. 

And so, Herakles went back to the Hydra and as he cut the heads off, Iolaus cauterised the stumps with his burning torch. One of the heads was immortal, and so Herakles simply buried it under some rocks, where it could do no harm. 

He dipped his arrowheads in the Hydra's bile, knowing it was a poison that none could survive. 

the third labour: the ceryneian hind

This Hind was a deer sacred to Artemis, as she managed to evade capture, when the rest of the deer had been capture in order to drag the maiden goddess' chariot. But luckily, Herakles needed only to capture it, and there was no need to kill it. 

He chased after the Hind for a year, until finally, the deer tired and was leaning against a tree. Herakles threw a net on it, carried it on his shoulders and began the journey back home. Once Eurystheus saw the Hind, Herakles let it go free. 

the fourth labour: the erymanthian boar

Now, Herakles was sent to capture this monstrous boar that lived on Mount Erymanthus in northwest Arcadia. He simple pursued the beast, and when it tired, he shouldered it and headed back to Tiryns.