Herculean Tasks Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nemean

Nemea was an ancient city not very far from Corinth. The lion was roaming the hills around the town and was terrorising the local population. Herakles was ordered to kill the lion and bring back the lion's skin. At first Herakles tried to kill the lion using arrows but he discovered that the arrows just bounced off the lion. Chasing the lion, he forced it to go into a cave that had two ways inside.

He blocked the one and then he entered the cave wrestled with the lion and managed to choke it to death with his bare hands.

Answer: Lerna

Lerna was an area near the city of Argos. The area was swampy and had a lot of natural springs. Hydra was a monstrous serpent with nine heads, one of which was immortal. Herakles shot flaming arrows in the area where the Hydra was hiding. When the serpent came out in the open, Herakles tried to smash the heads of the serpent with his club. To his amazement, for each smashed head, two more were sprang up. With the help of his nephew Iolaus, who would burn with a torch the smashed head thus preventing new growth, Herakles managed to smash the eight heads and then severed the ninth with his sword and buried it deep in the ground.

Answer: Hind

Ceryneia was a town in North Peloponnese. The hind was a female deer. The hind was dedicated to Artemis and had golden horns and hooves made of bronze. He could not kill the hind because he was afraid that he would make the Goddess very angry. He chased the hind for over a year and finally managed to capture it.

He put the hind on his shoulders and returned to Mycenae and presented it to the king.

Answer: Boar

Erymanthus is a mountain in Arcadia in Central Peloponnese. The boar was very wild and had tusks that were sharp and deadly. The boar was the terror for both people and animals. Herakles chased the boar around the mountain and finally trapped the boar with the use of a net and carried it back to Mycenae.

Answer: Stymphalia

Stymphalia is a village near Corinth with a lake nearby. A flock of vicious birds had taken over the wetlands of Stymphalia. With the help of a pair of krotala, clappers that could make a lot of noise, Herakles managed to scare the birds into flight and shot them down using his bow and arrows.

Answer: Crete

The Cretan bull was the animal that carried Europa to the island and was the father of the Minotaur. The bull was not a problem for Herakles, who captured easily it and presented to the king.

Answer: Horses

The four man-eating horses belonged to the king of Thrace. Herakles wrestled and killed Diomedes and fed the body to the horses. This had a calming effect on the horses and Herakles managed to capture them.

Answer: Cattle

Geryon was a monster with three heads, three bodies, six hands and six feet. The cattle was guarded by Eurythion and the two-headed watch-dog Orthrus. Herakles had to kill the guards and their master, and then drove the herd all the way from Gibraltar to Greece.

Answer: Apples

The apples were in a garden and guarded by Hesperides, who were nymphs of the evening, and a hundred-headed dragon called Ladon. The Hesperides were the daughters of the titan Atlas, who was holding the sky on his shoulders. In order to get the apples, Herakles swapped places with Atlas who went and fetched the apples. On his return Atlas declared that he would take the apples to Eurystheus.

Herakles appeared to agree, but he asked Atlas to hold the sky for a little so he could place a pillow on his shoulders. Atlas handed the apples to Herakles and held the sky again.

Herakles thanked him and left!

Answer: Belt

Hippolyte was the queen of the Amazons (the warrior women). Hippolyte wore the belt across her chest and it was used as a holder for her sword and spear. Heracles killed the queen and took the belt away.