10th The cattle of Gergones

His tenth job was to get the cattle of Gergones, an enormous monster with three heads, three bodies and six arms. He lived in an island of the Spanish coast and had a big herd of cattle that was watched after by a shepherd and a big dog with two heads. Gergones had also three brothers sons of the king of Spain and commanders of his army.

Heracles gathered an army and left to Spain through Libya, where he killed the giant Antaros. In the south border of Spain they met three brothers, who had heard about the enterprise and were waiting there with the whole army. In the battle that started the leaders were killed and Heracles and his soldiers managed to conquer almost all Spain. Then they crossed over to the island, killed the shepherd and the dog and, before they could run away with the cattle, the Gergones found them and started another hard fight with Heracles. Hera hurried up to help the giant, but Heracles wounded her and she had to flee.

Finally Heracles managed to succeed and he took all the horses to Mycenae trough Italy. With this he had fulfilled his ten task, but Eurytheus did not want to recognize two of them. In exchange, he gave him two new more tasks with which he expected to finally kill the hero, who in the mean time was known for his deeds further than Greece.

11th. The apples of Hespriden

For the wedding of Hera and Zeus, Gaia gave them a tree with golden apples which she set at the end of the world sea. This is what Heracles was supposed to bring to Eurystheus. However, the closest information people had was that the tree was “somewhere” at the end of the world. But Heracles would not stop so he started his next adventure. This time he had to fight with the giant Termeros and also met the river God Nereus, who showed him the way. After, he ran also into Prometheus and liberated him from his agony.

He finally arrived to the land where Atlas stood holding the vault of heaven. There the four daughters of Atlas watched the tree of Hespriden, also guarded by a dragon. Heracles persuaded Atlas to ask his daughters if he could get the apples while he hold the Earth for a while. Of course, Atlas agreed, slept the dragon and came back with the apples. But then he thought he could now stop holding the Earth, so he threw the apples to Heracles feet and started to leave. Just on time, Heracles found a good excuse and asked Atlas if he could please hold the Earth just one moment so he could have a last look at it for the last time… and then he took the apples and left.

12th and last. Cerberus the hound of hell

In the meantime Heracles had become the hero of the humans and almost everywhere there were celebrations. Eurystheus received him for the last time with fear and gave him an apparently impossible job. His last task was to bring the hound of hell up from the underworld, a hound with snake hairs and three heads from whose mouths dripped poisonous slaver. The priests instructed Heracles about the underworld and then he left to Pylon, in Elis, where the entrance was.

From there he crossed the river of Styx somehow convincing the driver Charon to let him pass, and arrived to the city of Hades. But in the entrance he met the king, who would not let him enter. Heracles shoot him with an arrow on the shoulder and then the king let him in on condition that he didn’t use any weapons inside. As soon as he saw the dog he jumped on him and strangled him until he gave up. Heracles arrived to Mycenae carrying Cerberus on his shoulder. There, the frightened Eurystheus let the beast free, which returned to Hades.

After this, Eurystheus gave up to get rid of this hated son of Zeus.