Heroic Labors Not Involving Childbirth Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. For his first labor, Hercules faced a creature in a cave near Nemea. This evil thing lured prey to its lair using a woman's shape and voice. Heroes would charge in to help the damsel only to be eviscerated and dismembered. What type of creature did Hercules overcome in Nemea?

Answer: Lion

The Nemean Lion was a formidable foe. As Hercules found, its fur was impenetrable against arrows and other weapons. Hercules finally strangled the beast. He then skinned the lion and is shown wearing its pelt in many classical depictions. (See Antonio el Palloiolo's painting (c. 1475) of a very buff Hercules wearing his iconic lion skin.)

2. This is a very confusing myth involving Hercules, the Goddess Hera, the King Eurystheus and Artemis (Goddess of the Hunt). Hercules was tasked to capture the famous animal of Ceryneia. It had antlers of gold, hooves of bronze and could outrun any arrow. In the myth, what was its correct name? (The Ceryneian....?)

Answer: Hind

Hinds are female deer and do not have antlers; the fact that this one does shows that this animal was special to the Goddess of the Hunt. Hercules chased the hind and captured it without injury. By returning it to Artemis, he completed this challenge.

Rabbits are cute, a stag is a male deer with antlers, and a chupacabra is a legendary goat-sucking vampire creature that lives in Central America. (OK, s silly answer, but I made you laugh!)

3. In the throes of a snowy winter, Hera tasked Hercules to capture a favorite of the gods. Living on the bitterly cold peak of Mt. Erymanthos, this beast was considered to be the "hit-animal" of the Immortals. Used to punish those who were not pious, what is this creature?

Answer: Boar

This was an easy task for Hercules. After asking advice from his friend, Pholus (a friendly centaur), Hercules simply chased the large boar into the snow, tied it up and presented it to King Eurystheus. (Evidently, the King was so frightened at this that he jumped into a storage container called a pithos to save himself. Brave much, Mr. King?)

The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is a marvelous creature that lives primarily within the Arctic Circle. They are classified as a "vulnerable species" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to hunting and global warming.

Despite my ardent wishes, the amazingly beautiful Snow Leopard does not hang around my home in Nebraska, USA (not even for vacations.) Its home is the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia including the countries of Tibet, Nepal, India and beyond.

The Yeti (described as an alleged ape-like, hairy bipedal cryptid from Nepal and Tibet) and Bigfoot (his North American cousin) only occasionally appear at my family reunions, so don't be too intimidated if you receive an invitation.

4. In his labors, Hercules also encountered creatures sporting bronze facial features, metallic projectile pinna and poisonous poo(!). Sacred to Ares (God of War), they inhabited the Greek lake area of Stymphalia until called to service. What are these creatures that Hercules encountered?

Answer: Birds

Although he could not approach their lair in the swamp, Hercules still managed to defeat the Stymphalian birds. Artemis again came to his assistance with a special rattle that he used to raise the birds to air, which enabled him to shoot enough of them with his poison arrows to ensure that they never appeared in Arcadia again.

Evidently, Hercules was very successful because the lovely area around Lake Stymphalos in Greece has no toxic birds. It does have quite a population of cute frogs, weasels and the occasional velociraptor (not!).

5. King Eurystheus sent Hercules on his next labor. He was to capture a monster that had been "wreaking havoc on Crete by uprooting crops and leveling orchard walls." Hercules obtained King Minos' permission to intervene and then proceeded to sneak up and throttle the thing. What was it?

Answer: Bull

Hercules overcame the Cretan Bull then sent it (alive) back to King Eurystheus who, when faced with the bull, jumped (again) into his pithos. (He had a habit of hopping in a large storage container when anything scary happened.) The bull was eventually released and later appeared in a tale involving Theseus - but that's another myth entirely...

6. King Eurystheus sent Hercules on a mission to steal the four pets of the savage King Diomedes of Thrace. Diomedes (the son of the god Ares) was a giant who ruled the tribe of Bistones. What were the pets that Hercules was charged to steal?

Answer: Mares

Wow...do not visit King Diomedes. He enjoys feeding strangers and prisoners to his mares. Podargos (the Swift), Lampon (the Shining), Xanthos (the Yellow) and Deinos (the Terrible) were kept tethered to a bronze manger because of their mad desire for human flesh. Short story, Hercules killed Diomedes with an ax, fed his body to the mares, subdued them and delivered them as requested.

For an interesting interpretation of the battle between "Hercules and Diomedes",
PLEASE check out Vincenzo de'Rossi's sculpture - the 16th century original is still in public view in Florence. (Trust me...it's worth the time! All I can say is Ouch, Ouch, and Ouch.)

7. "Daddy, oh Daddy! I simply need that accessory for my new outfit!" King Eurystheus could not deny his daughter Admete's request for this bauble. Which item did he send Hercules to obtain?

Answer: The Belt of Hippolyta

Hercules was ultimately successful in this quest, but at a terrible cost. Many of his friends and foes were killed in this worthless pursuit. Hippolyta was Queen of the Amazons and had many faithful female warriors. Herucles obtained her belt using various wiles with a terrible cost to both sides.

8. For his tenth labour, Heracles was tasked by Eurystheus to retrieve certain things owned by a fearsome giant who lived on the far-flung island of Erytheia. What was he to obtain?

Answer: The Cattle of Geryon

The Tenth Labor of Hercules was a very convoluted story in which he crossed the Libyan desert, got angry, shot an arrow at Helios (the sun god), who admired his gumption and so gave Hercules a golden cup in which he sailed from west to east each night.

Eventually he landed on the island of the nasty giant Geryon. After killing his dog, Orthrus, and dealing with the giant, Hercules took the cattle back to King Eurystheus who promptly sacrificed them to Hera. (Lots of effort for not much return, I say.)

9. After many labors, Hercules should have been able to sit awhile and enjoy fruit salad (fiber is so important to keep a hero regular; they must also remember to hydrate!) Instead, King Eurtstheus challenged him with another quest. What was he to obtain from the Garden of Hesperides?

Answer: Apples

The Golden Apples of Immortality were grown in Hera's "Garden to the West" (Hesperides was thought to be located west of Greece). Hera, being Hera, ensured that no one invaded her special place by emplacing Lagon, a never-sleeping, 100-headed dragon to protect her land. Herucles overcame this obstacle, as usual.

Much later, some thinkers reinvented this myth to assume that the "golden apples" were actually oranges, thus creating the Greek botanical name "hesperidoids" for the citrus fruit family.

(OK...I can't stand it! Hesperidoids should not only be fruit - instead, with adding an "r" after the first "d" in this word, they become a friendly, citrus-smelling robotic race from the "Star Wars" saga.)

10. What is my name? I am the monster that Hercules faced in his twelfth labor. (Hint: I have three heads of wild dogs, a dragon/serpent for a tail, heads of snakes adorn my back and I live in the underworld.)

Answer: Cerberus

Cerberus is the correct answer. My mom, Echidna, was half-woman and half-serpent and my dad, Typhon, was a fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and serpents. Follow my adventures in the Greek mythos, as I have many!

(Speaking of the canine-headed, we have the honor of hosting Jade's residence in our home. Her Sheltiness is also known as "The Demon Growley.")

Source: Author Jinxgirl

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Herakles (or Hercules) is a Greek hero born of the god Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Hercules performed twelve labors but achieved only ten by himself. The "individual labors" are described here. (Hercules is the spelling used in this quiz.)

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