No other legend in Greek mythology is as famous as the labors of Hercules but some say that the first six were different from the rest. From slaying beasts to doing dirty work, it tells the fascinating tale of how this all started. What were the first six labors of Hercules?
The first six labors of Hercules were to slay the Nemean Lion, the Lernean Hydra, the Ceryntian Hind, the Erymanthian Boar, the Stymphalian Birds, and to clean the Augean Stables. These were all beasts of an age-long past that wandered around the area of the Peloponnese, terrorizing the people.
This is where the legend of Hercules starts which would eventually immortalize him in everyone’s hearts as the epitome of Greek mythology. The hero was given his first six labors as a form of atonement for the sins of his past which he tried desperately to wipe off his hands…
Where Did Hercules Perform The First Six Labors?
The first six labors of Hercules were performed in the area of Peloponnese, which was a peninsula located in the southern area of Ancient Greece. It was the area that was believed to be the birthplace of Greek mythology as many of the myths were believed to have happened here.
Throughout the entire peninsula, archeologists have found multiple ruins of what was once areas of worship of many of the Gods in the Greek pantheon including Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Asclepius, and even the Greek hero, Hercules.
Numerous stories from the mythos have been told to have started from Peloponnese with some of the most legendary mortals being born in this area. Even the ancient Amazonnomachy and the Centauromachy were said to have been held here in this area.
The most celebrated hero from Peloponnese was without a doubt the legendary Hercules who was also depicted with his famous lion-skin cloak, bow and arrow, and a wooden club. He was known as the hero who served the first six of his twelve labors in the Peloponnese…
The First Six Labors of Hercules
King Eurystheus gave the hero, Hercules, ten labors initially as a way for him to redeem himself for the murder of his children. The first six labors were all performed in the area of Peloponnese according to the myths and this was where the legend started…
The Nemean Lion
This was the first beast that Hercules slew and was also the first labor that started it all. It all started when King Eurystheus asked his cousin, Hercules, to slay the dreaded Nemean lion which has been terrorizing the city of Nemea for a very long time.
The problem was that this lion was not any other lion. This beast was said to be the child of the Titan avenger, Typhoeus, and had immense strength and impenetrable skin.
It was a daunting task even for the hero, Hercules, to slay it. Hercules tracked the Nemean lion to its den and tried to slay the lion by shooting it with his trusty bow and arrow.
Alas, the lion’s impenetrable skin simply bounced the hero’s arrows off as if they were nothing but rubber bullets. Frustrated by the fact that no weapon could harm the lion, Hercules resolved to use brute strength to end the beast’s life.
He strangled the beast until it breathed its last breath and Hercules came out victorious from the struggle. The hero brought the lion back to King Eurystheus who was surprised by his cousin’s survival from the fight.
Knowing the potential of the hero, King Eurystheus grew weary and afraid of the hero’s full strength. King Eurystheus himself didn’t want the lion’s carcass and simply tossed it back to Hercules.
Amazed by the beast’s skin’s invulnerability, Hercules skinned the lion and wore the hide like a cloak while using its head as a helmet for protection. This easily became Hercule’s trademark as the hero wore it for the rest of his adventures and endeavors.
The Lernean Hydra
After the hero’s amazing feat of defeating the invulnerable Nemean lion, King Eurystheus gave him his second labor which also involved slaying another beast of a time long past.
The next beast was the Lernean Hydra which was a sibling of the Nemean lion and a child of Typhoeus. The Hydra was a sea monster that was serpent-like but had multiple heads attached to it.
It lived in a swamp near Lerna where the hero traveled to find the beast’s den. The hero met with the beast and tried to end the battle by grasping onto one of its heads, lopping it off.
After several attempts to do so, the hero finally sliced one of its many heads off but oddly enough, two more heads grew in place of the original one. It was at this moment that the hero knew that it wouldn’t be so simple to deal with the Hydra.
Knowing that he couldn’t do this alone, he called upon the help of his charioteer, Iolaus, to bring him a burning brand so that he may cauterize the stumps to prevent the Hydra’s regeneration. Both managed to cut off every single head and sealed the wound, saved for one.
This head was the main head and was completely immortal. It survived the slaughter but Hercules dealt with it by burying it under a rock.
No longer was the beast able to terrorize the people but Hercules soon found something interesting about its blood. The Hydra’s blood was extremely poisonous and could kill even the strongest beings with excruciating pain.
Hercules saw this as a way to ensure the death of his enemies but he will soon regret dipping his arrows into the blood. This blood would eventually cause the death of the hero which is covered here instead.
The Cerynitian Hind
The next labor given to Hercules by King Eurystheus was to capture the Cerynitian Hind. It was a deer that kept chasing farmers out of vineyards in the area of Ceryneia.
The only reason this deer was not to be killed was that it was sacred to the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. It took the hero a whole year to track the deer down due to its unreachable speed, known as the fastest deer in Peloponnese.
Hercules finally managed to pin it down in the city of Arcadia where the deer had paused for a short rest. Hercules slowly crept up upon the deer as it rested and surprised it from behind.
The hero captured the deer and planned to bring it back to King Eurytheus as usual but was stopped during his triumphant return. The hero encountered the Gods, Artemis and Apollo, who were hunting in the area at that time.
They were not pleased when they saw that Artemis’ sacred deer was being captured like a beast by the hero. Hercules explained to the Gods that he didn’t do it out of harm but out of necessity instead as he told them about his labors.
The Gods then agreed to let Hercules constrain the deer so as long as he fulfilled one condition. The deer was to be in perfect health and no harm would come to it no matter what.
After he had shown his success to the King, he was to release the deer back into nature. The hero agreed and the rest is history.
The Erymanthian Boar
After bringing the Ceryntian Hind back to King Eurytheus, the King yet again sent Hercules out on another labor to capture another beast. He was to find and bring back the Erymanthian boar which has been terrorizing the countryside, razing the crops of the land.
During his journey to find the boar, Hercules met with Pholus, who was a well-mannered centaur unlike most of his kind. Pholus hosted Hercules as his honored guest and offered him some wine as a gesture of kindness.
Unknown to them both, the wine was quickly noticed by the other centaurs who were known for their uncontrollable love for wine but also their horrible ability to hold their liquor. The centaurs around them started to tackle Hercules and Pholus to try and steal the wine from their hands.
Both of them managed to drive the centaurs away but unfortunately, Pholus was accidentally hit by one of Hercules’ poisoned arrows. The centaur was immortal but still felt the full effects of the poison and it caused it immense pain.
After his unfortunate incident, Hercules managed to find the Erymanthian boar and trapped it by driving it into the deep snow, immobilizing it. Hercules managed to bring the ferocious animal back to King Eurytheus but the king was extremely terrified of the beast.
The King then hid the boar in a large storage jar known as a pithos and only took a small peek to verify that the hero had indeed brought back the Erymanthian boar.
It was after this that the Greek hero took a break from his labors to join Jason and the Argonauts on their expedition for the Golden Fleece. After their journey, the Argonauts left Hercules in Mysia to find his lover Hylas. The hero couldn’t find his love and returned to Tiryns after…
The Augean Stables
The next labor was a fairly odd one as it didn’t involve any beast or creature but instead required the hero to do hard labor for a King. Hercules was to clean the Augean stables in one day for Augeias, the King of Elis.
The King’s stables were said to be massive and had never been cleaned, filled with years of horse dung. Hercules told the King confidently that he could clean the stables in one day for the right payment, which was one-tenth of the King’s cattle.
The King agreed and Hercules quickly went to work. With his divine strength, Hercules changed the course of two rivers nearby towards the stables and the flow of water quickly cleaned the stables of years of filth instantly.
King Augeias couldn’t believe his eyes and was so befuddled that he refused to pay the hero his due. Hercules was outraged but there wasn’t much he could do so he quickly returned to Tiryns for his next task.
The Stymphalian Birds
During his next labor, Hercules was dispatched by King Eurytheus to deal with a flock of man-eating birds known as the Stymphalian Birds.
They occupied an area called Lake Stymphalus where the hero quickly dealt with the menace. The hero used his wits to lure the birds out of hiding by clashing a few shields together, causing enough noise to startle the birds.
As the bird took flight from the noise, all Hercules had to do was shoot them down one by one. This was by far one of the easiest labors that Hercules had to deal with throughout his story.
Conclusion
Hercules and his twelve labors began when King Eurytheus sent the hero around the peninsula of the Peloponnese to repent for his sins of killing his daughter. The first six were all done within the peninsula and started the hero’s journey to redemption and Godhood.
No other legend in the entirety of Greek mythology was as legendary and as well-known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules and his first six already dealt with the vilest and most powerful monsters known to man during that time.
He was a God among men and showed everyone that if someone as divine as he had to go through hardships in life, no other mortal should complain about their minor issues.
