Calling for a Hero II Heracles (Hercules) Part 2 the Twelve Labors

Putting up from Part 1 
To expiate the crime, Heracles was required to carry out ten labors set by his archenemy, Eurystheus, who had become king in Heracles' place. If he succeeded, he would be purified of his sin.
The First Labor was the killing of the Nemean Lion. This big cat was invulnerable to all weapons and the son of Echidna, Mother of All Monsters. Heracles trapped the lion in a cave near Nemea. Since all the weapons were ineffective against the lion, Heracles decided to tackle the beast, unarmed. After an intense struggle, Heracles strangled the lion with his bare hand. Heracles skinned the lion and used the pelt or hide as a cloak. The hide of the Nemean Lion act as armor for Heracles

The Second Labor was the Killing of the Hydra. The Hydra was an ancient nameless serpent-like creature had many heads. The number of heads varied depending on the authors. Usually there were nine heads. One of the heads was immortal. The other heads were more deadly: when the head was cut off, two heads would grow in its place. Beneath the waters of its lair, the Lerna, was an entrance to the Underworld, and the Hydra was its guardian.With the help of his nephew and companion, Iolaus whenever Heracles cut off one of its head, Iolaus would use the burning brand to cauterize the neck, to prevent some more heads to sprout out.The immortal head was more easily to dispose. Heracles then buried the immortal head under a huge boulder. The venom from the Hydra was universally fatal to any victim. Heracles coated Hydra's blood on to his arrows. (This venom would later cause his own death.) Eurystheus, however, refused to count this labor because he had help from Iolaus. Heracles was required to do an extra labor.

The Third Labor, he needed to fetch the Cerynitian hind that lived at Oinoe or the forest of Cerynitia, and was sacred to the Goddess Artemis. The Cerynitian hind had golden antlers and brazen hooves. This labor should have been easy, but it took Heracles over a year to capture the hind. Heracles brought down the hind with an arrow aimed at its hoof, without killing the creature. As Heracles was returning to Tiryns with the hind, Artemis spotted the hero carrying off her favorite animal. Artemis would have attacked the hero, but Heracles explained to the angry goddess of his task: how he had not wanted to harm the creature. Heracles brought the Cerynitian hind to Tiryns, alive and unharmed, at the goddess' request. 

The Fourth Labor, Heracles needed to fetch Erymanthian Boar. On this trip, he visited a Centaur, named Pholus, who lived in Mount Pholoe, which was named after the Centaur. Pholus had some wine with odor to attract the boar. Unfortunately this wine attracted the other Centaurs around the mountain. Centaurs are naturally attract to wine and other form alcohols if you possess this item be prepare to fight. The Centaurs attacked Heracles. Heracles had to kill some of the Centaurs and drove the rest of them away. His host, Pholus, accidentally dropped the poisoned arrow on his hoof and died. Later, Heracles captured the boar and delivered it alive to Eurystheus. Eurystheus was such a coward that he hid inside a bronze jar. Heracles released it at Eurystheus' request. Eurystheus ordered Heracles that he would show him his successes of his labors on the other side of the city wall. Hearing news that Jason gathering a crew to fetch the Golden Fleece, Heracles joined the Argonauts. During this adventure, a tribe of six-armed, earthborn giants, known as the Gegenees, attacked the ship, near Bear Mountain. Heracles killed several the Gegenees. But the hero was later abandoned at Mysia, while he searched for his missing squire and lover, Hylas. follow the story at http://warriors-of-fantasy.blogspot.com/2009/04/barbarians-of-war.html

Angry at Heracles for running off seeking new adventure with the Argonauts, Eurystheus decided that the fifth labor would be the most humiliating of his tasks: cleaning the Augeian stables in single day.

Augeias was the king of Elis and owned the largest herd of cattle. Heracles wanted a tenth of the cattle as payment for cleaning the stable. Augeia readily agreed, not believing that it was possible to so in a single day.

The task was enormous, because of the number of stalls of the stable, as well as the sheer size of building. Heracles completed this task by diverting the water on the rivers Alpheius and Peneius to flow the stable.

Again, Eurystheus refused to count this as a labor. Eurystheus told Heracles, he must do any labor without payment. Therefore, Heracles had to do another extra task.

The sixth labor, Heracles was required to chase away Stymphalian Birds that were ravaging the countryside around the lake called Stymphalus.

The seventh labor, Heracles needed to fetch the Cretan Bull, the bull that belonged to Minos, king of Crete. 

The eighth labor was to fetch flesh-eating mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was the king of the Bistones, in Thrace, who feeds human flesh to his horses. Heracles threw Diomedes to the mares, which they killed and ate the king.

There was a youth named Abderus, who was a son of Hermes. He was a squire and lover to Heracles. Heracles set Abderus to guard the mares. When Heracles had returned, he found that the mares had devoured the youth. Heracles built a Thracian city called Abdera, named after Abderus.

The ninth labor required him to go to Amazons land to fetch Hippolyta’s belt, for Eurystheus' daughter, Admeta or Admete. Heracles either went there alone or with the heroes Theseus and Telamon. The Queen warmly received Heracles, but Hera stirred the Amazons against Heracles. Disguised as an Amazon warrior, Hera spread rumor that Heracles had come to abduct their queen. The Amazons armed themselves and attacked Heracles' ship. Thinking that Hippolyta was secretly plotting against him, Heracles killed the queen and took her belt. Antiope, the sister of Hippolyta, fell in love with Theseus. Antiope betrayed the Amazons and the city of Themiscyra. Antiope helped Heracles and his followers to fight his way out of the Amazon country. 

The tenth labour, Heracles was required to fetch cattle of Geryon. The work was long and hard, so Heracles became overheated from the sun. Heracles pointed his arrow at the sun, threatening to shoot the sun. Helios, the Titan God of the sun, was far from offended by the impetuous hero. In fact, Helios so admired the hero's boldness that the sun-god gave Heracles the Sun-cup made of gold. This gold cup was large enough for Heracles to sail past the Pillars of Hercules and into the Atlantic Ocean. Heracles had to kill the herdsman, Eurytion and the two-headed hound Orthus with his club, near the peak of Mount Abas. Menoetes, herdsman of Hades, witnessed all this, and went to Geryon with news of Heracles raiding his cattle. Geryon, who had three heads, was also killed when he pursued the hero to River Anthemus. Heracles then tried to make his home.

The Eleventh Labor, Heracles had to fetch the golden apples of Hesperides. The Hesperides ("Daughters of the Evening Star") were the daughters of the Titan Atlas and Hesperis (Evening Star). They cared for the grove of trees that bore the golden fruits in the Garden of Hesperides, property of Hera. The trees were guarded by a serpent or dragon with a hundred heads, known as Ladon, offspring of Typhon and Echidna.

On his journey, at Caucasus Mountains, he killed the Caucasian Eagle that fed on Prometheus' liver and freed the Titan from his bond. Prometheus told him that the tree and apples were guarded by Ladon, a dragon or serpent. The Titan advised him to let his brother Atlas to fetch the apples; to avoid Ladon and mortals can’t pick the apple. He arrived where the Titan Atlas bore the weight of heaven on his shoulder. Heracles asked Atlas where the fruit were. Atlas told the hero that he would fetch the golden apples for him, if Heracles would carry the heaven on his shoulder. Heracles agreed and carrying the sky for Atlas.

Atlas returned with apples but did not want to bear the burden of heaven on his shoulders, and told the hero he will take the apples to Eurystheus for the hero, trapping Heracles - to bear the burden of heaven. But Heracles was by far clever than the Titan. Heracles cunningly told Atlas that he was willing to carry the heaven, provided that the Titan would hold the heaven for a moment. Heracles told the Titan he wished to roll his lion cloak as a cushion for his shoulders. So while Atlas was holding the sky once again, Heracles walked away with apples.After showing the apples to Eurystheus in Tiryns, Heracles gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to garden of Hesperides, since they really belonged to Hera. 

The Twelfth and FINAL Labor, Heracles needed to go to the Underworld and fetch the Cerberus.  The dreaded three-headed hound guarded the gates of Hades, to keep the dead in the Underworld. Cerberus was an offspring of Typhon and Echidna. To enter the world of dead, Heracles had to undergo the Mysteries rites, performed by Eumoplus at Eleusis. Heracles then has to travel to Tainaron in Laconia, where there was an entrance to the Underworld. Heracles met Hermes, who offered to guide him into the Underworld. Most of the shades (souls) fled from Heracles, all except the hero Meleager and the Gorgon Medusa. Heracles would have attack Medusa with his sword, but Hermes reassured the hero that the Gorgon was harmless here. Heracles also rescued his friend and cousin Theseus, by pulling him off the Chair of Forgetfulness. Hades had set a trap for Theseus and his friend, Peirithoüs, when they planned to abduct Persephone, Hades' consort. Because Hades knew that it was Peirithoüs who planned to abduct his wife. Heracles could not save Peirithoüs; Heracles had to leave Peirithoüs behind. With Hades' permission, Heracles was allowed to take Cerberus, provided that he did so without the use of weapon. Heracles had to wrestle and drag the hound to the world of the living, and to Tiryns before Eurystheus. Eurystheus terrified by the hell-hound and seeing his cousin complete all his tasks, gave one last command to the hero: to send the hound back to the Underworld.