Herakles' Furry, Scaly and Dangerous Animal Labors Quiz

Answer: Nemean lion

After slaying his own wife and children in a fit of madness, Herakles was forced to serve King Eurystheus for twelve years and had to fulfill seven tasks. As the King turned out to be fussy, Herakles needed twelve tasks to say "αντίο", or farewell.

That dangerous lion had a golden fur and sword-like claws. As often in myths, the story about how he was killed in the end differs. One story is that our hero trapped the lion in his cave, stunned him with his famous club and strangled the helpless animal. He skinned the lion with the help of a lion claw, which he took from the dead lion. He kept the fur as a clothing item. PETA wasn't around at that time.

"Wimoweh" -aka "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is a catchy song written in 1939. One famous version was done by the Tokens in 1961. Lions are not animals of the jungle (as claimed in the song)- but roam the savanna. "Panthera leo europaea" - the European lion- became extinct about 100 BCE in Greece.

Answer: Lernaean Hydra

The hydra -something resembling a snake- had the strange ability to grow two new heads, when just one was amputated. The middle head was even immortal. It was raised by Hera, especially as a treat for Herakles. Up until then, the creature was a nuisance in the neighborhood. To say it mildly.

Our hero used a cloth against the poisonous fumes the animal omitted. He cut off the heads with a sickle, and his nephew scorched the stumps with firebrands. The last, the immortal head, was chopped up with a special sword (a gift from Athena) and was placed under a rock. In the end he dipped arrows in the poisonous blood- for further use....

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich sung their swinging serpent song, "Snake in The Grass", in 1969.

Answer: Ceryneian Hind

King Eurystheus ordered Herakles to capture a very special animal - one that belonged to the goddess of hunt, Artemis, who could turn very nasty if something happened to her favorites. For a hind - a female therefore - having antlers alone was something unusual in that part of Europe. It is a male thing to sport them. Adding to this, the antlers (or horns) were golden, and she had bronze hooves. Looking that glamorous, it was a necessity that she could outrun a flying arrow, and to run like the wind.

There are different stories how Herakles captured her, one telling that he just caught her napping, after following her for over a year. He had promised Artemis to release the hind, but Eurystheus decided that he wanted to keep her, so he had to find a quick solution. The solution was really quick: he just released the hind a bit too early for Eurystheus to get hold of her. At least he had seen her.

"Run Like the Wind" was written in 1979 by Mike Batt, who released it on "Tarot Suite", sung by Roger Chapman.

Answer: Erymanthian Boar

The boar was a wild and mighty one, causing havoc around Mount Erymanthos.
Herakles was ordered to catch it alive. His centaur friend, Chiron, gave the hint to lure the wild pig into thick snow and hinder its movements that way. It worked, and he could bring it down. Eurystheus panicked when he saw what Herakles had for him: he hid in a big jar and didn't want to keep the boar. Herakles threw it (the boar, not the jar) into the sea and the creature swam to Italy. I wonder if they made salsiccias out of it over there? They are very delicious sausages.

You surely recognized the Beatles song "With a little help from my friends". I don't think they thought about Chiron, though.

Answer: Augean's stabled cattle

King Augeas of Elis was the proud owner of 3.000 pieces of immortal cattle. Sadly, nobody had cleaned the stables from their impressive immortal dung for thirty years. Phew. Anyway, Eurystheus thought it would be a good idea that Herakles could do something humiliating instead of something heroic. Herakles tried to make the best of it and made a deal with Augeas: he would do the job in one day and get a tenth of the cattle.

Herakles rerouted two nearby rivers and the task was finished in time. Augeas denied payment, which angered Herakles. This let to a quick succession of Augeas' son Phyleus on the throne, after a royal funeral for his father. Eurystheus didn't accept this challenge as completed because Herakles had done it for payment, and because the work was done by water-power and not by manpower.

"Muddy River" was released in 1969 by Johnny Rivers. The two misused rivers were more than muddy after they left the stables. It must have been an antique ecological disaster. The people living close to these rivers must have loathed Herakles.

PS: It is usually talked about the Augean stables. As the quiz is about the animals in the Herakles' myth, I've got them in the answer.

Answer: Stymphalian birds

If you think Hitchcock's "Birds" frightening, think twice. The birds Herakles had to deal with at Lake Stymphalia were gigantic and had bronze beaks. They had metallic feathers, which they used as weapons, and they loved to eat humans. As the area surrounding the lake was marshy, Herakles used a rattle -ordered by Athena - which was made by the god Hephaestus, and shot them down with his poisoned arrows. These he had produced recently with the blood of the hydra. Some birds got away and were a nuisance for the Argonauts on their task.

"Poison Arrow" was released in 1982 by British band ABC. The song was about love - not birds. Not even love birds - but a lovely song with some people dressed in ancient Greek style and a golden garment in the video. I am not kidding!

Answer: Cretan Bull

Once upon a time, on the beautiful island of Crete, there was a mighty bull. This bull did a lot of damage on this isle, including fathering a child- the Minotaur- with the local queen. The Minotaur would grow into a young man with the head of a bull. But that is another story.

Back to his father: Herakles was sent to catch the bull. King Minos of Crete happily agreed. I suspect the queen wasn't asked. Herakles captured the animal with his bare hands, and brought it to King Eurystheus, who once again didn't like what he had asked for. In the end, the bull was released and ended up in a place called Marathon.

"Wooly Bully" is a happy tune back from 1965. It was done by Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs.

Answer: Mares of Diomedes

Believe me, Mick Jagger: these wild horses would have dragged you away in order to eat you!

Diomedes, a giant and king of Thrace, called four very special mares his own: Deinos (terrible), Lampon (shining), Podargos (swift) and Xanthos (yellow)- all harnessed to a bronze manger. They were wild and furious and lived off human flesh. There are different stories how Herakles got hold of them; one is that he dug a trench, cornered them, fed Diomedes to them and brought them to Eurystheus.

The Rolling Stones rode their "Wild Horses" in 1971.

Answer: Geryon's cattle

King Eurystheus had an interest in the beautiful cattle belonging to the giant Geryon, who lived on the island Erytheia. After a long travel to reach this place, crossing deserts and seas, Herakles killed first a two-headed guard-dog with his club, and another deadly blow hit the herdsman of the cattle. Geryon was killed by one of Herakles' poisoned arrows. Nowadays it would be considered armed robbery. Ah well, the good old days of past.

Toby Keith told the world that he "Should've Been A Cowboy" in 1993. As Herakles did drive a herd of cattle, he was something like an ancient cowboy.

Answer: Hades' Cerberus

Breeding standards for the hell hound group: three heads, serpent tail and a mane of snakes. Now that is cute.

After Herakles learned how to travel to hell without having to stay there, he talked to the dog's owner, Hades. Yes, he could take Cerberus for a stroll. But Herakles had to persuade the dog without the use of weapons, something that was quite unusual for our hero. He managed to wrestle Cerberus down, and, thus, the last task was done.

And therefore this quiz!

Pattie Page craved for a doggie in 1952, as a gift to her loved one in the song, "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" What would he have said to a doggie with a waggly serpent tail? Which head to pat first? That's why I prefer my one- headed cat.