Labours of Heracles
The labours of Heracles are a cycle of trials carried out under Eurystheus' command. In ancient tradition they show not only physical strength, but also purification, service, encounters with the borders of the world and victory over monstrous chaos.
Hercules and the Amazons. Attic black-figure vase. Around 530 BC.Greek Heracles and Roman Hercules
Romans actively adopted Heracles as Hercules. He became not only a hero of myth, but also a figure of cult, strength, roads, commerce and victory.
Additional sources and visual checks
The labours of Heracles are best read as a series of local stories, not as one variant-free fixed list. The gallery adds vase-painting, fresco and object images to show both stability and variation.
For source checks: - Perseus Digital Library - Beazley Archive - LIMC online
Related topics
Hercules and the Amazons. Attic black-figure vase. Around 530 BC.
Falera with Hercules. National Archaeological Museum of Sofia. Diameter-8 cm. 4th century BC
Amphora with the image of Hercules and Athena. Black-figure Attic painting. 520-510 BC
Detail from the fresco "Allegories of Hercules". Fresco from Herculaneum,National Archaeological Museum,Naples. 1st century AD
Ring grip. Archer Heracles,a figure from the eastern pediment of the temple of Athena-Athaia (Greek).VAός αφαίας). 490-480 BC Greece
Silver plate with Hercules. Found in Rogozen 1985-6. Vratsa Regional History Museum. 4th century BCInterested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions. Reenactment
