The first labour: The Nemean Tiger
Herakles arrived in Mycenae, where Eurytheus had his first task ready. It was to skin the Nemean tiger, which lived in the valley of Nemea, and to bring back its skin as proof of his deed. The moon goddess had created this tiger herself, and no mortal man would have been able to stand up against it. Its claws were as sharp as metal and no mortal weapon could pierce through its skin.

Herakles spent many days looking for the creature, and he finally found it sleeping. He used a tree to hit the creature's nose, one of the few vulnerable areas on the creature. The creature was taken aback, and Herakles quickly grabbed the creature around its neck with his arm, and strangled the tiger. However, try as he might, he was not able to skin the tiger, for its skin was too hard. Finally, he used the tiger's sharp claws to cut its skin, for only its claws were sharp enough to do so. With that done, Herakles returned to Eurytheus for his next task.

The second labour: The Hydra
The next task given to Herakles was to kill the Hydra. The Hydra had the tail of a dragon, and had nine heads on long necks. It often terrorised the people of Argos and no one was able to kill it, for it had an immortal head making it impossible to kill. Furthermore, when one of its heads was severed, two more grew to replace it.The Hydra's breath was poison, and it alone was enough to kill any assailant.

To kill the Hydra, Herakles held his breath for as long as he needed to kill it. At one point, Hera sabotaged him by sending a giant crab to knock him off his balance. Luckily for him, Herakles servant, Lolaus, had come along. He saved Herakles, and eventually, Herakles managed to come out unscathed. Herakles managed to subdue the Hydra by burning its mortal heads before new ones could grow. He then sliced the immortal head from the creature's body, before dismembering the body, and burying its immortal head under a large rock. He then dipped an arrow into the blood of the Hydra, to prove that his task was done.

The third labour: The Keryneian Hind
Once the hydra was dead, Eurytheus had something different for Herakles to do. He requested Herakles to catch a deer, known as the Keryneian Hind. The deer had hooves made of bronze, and antlers made of gold and it was able to run faster than any living creature. Eurytheus wanted the deer back alive.

Herakles ended up chasing the deer for almost a year, in a chase across the world. When the deer finally thought it had shaken Herakles off, it stopped for a rest. Once it stopped, Herakles caught up with the deer. He sneaked up on it and pounced upon it, catching it, before tying it up so it may be presented to Eurystheus.

Next: The next three labours >>