The Labors of Hercules Trivia Quiz

Answer: Twelve years

Unbeknownst to Hercules, the goddess Hera was the mother of Eurystheus, and together they forced Hercules to perform ten labors for his penance. However, during those labors, he had some help from his nephew, Iolaus, and Eurystheus and Hera voided out those labors that Hercules did not perform by himself. So Hera added additional labors that Hercules had to complete.

Answer: A lion

Orthus, who is the offspring of Echidna, half-woman/half-serpent, and Typhon, a fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and serpents, and Chimaera spawned the Nemean lion, which was Hercules' first labor, and the Lernean Hydra, which Hercules disposed of for his second labor.
King Eurystheus sent Hercules forth to slay the invincible terror that was plaguing the countryside of Nemea, and told Hercules that he wanted the skin of the Nemean lion. During his travels to Nemea, Hercules entered the town of Cleonae, and came upon Molorchus, a workman that hired himself to anyone who could pay him. He would perform tasks for them that they ordinarily could not do for themselves. As Hercules and Molorchus talked, the workman offered to sacrifice a small animal so that Hercules would have a successful hunt for the elusive predator. Hercules asked Molorchus to hold off on the sacrifice for thirty days, and when he was successful they would sacrifice the small animal in honor of Zeus, and Molorchus agreed.
Hercules soon left the workman's lodgings and traveled to Nemea, where he searched and found the vicious lion, and discovered that his arrows posed no threat to the lion. After he herded the lion into its cave dwelling and discovered two entrances, Hercules blocked one entrance with a large rock that he rolled down from a nearby cliff. Now the lion only had one entrance, Hercules entered the cave and cornered the mighty beast. Rather than use his club, which he knew would be of little or no help to him, he grabbed the lion by its legs and proceeded to wrestle the animal into a position for strangulation, and after what felt like hours to him, the vicious beast was no more.
Hercules picked up the lion, and draped him over his shoulders, and brought the lion back to Cleonae, where he found Molorchus. On the thirtieth day, Molorchus and Hercules sacrificed a small animal in Zeus' name. It was at Molorchus' home that Hercules skinned the lion that had been terrorizing Nemea.
He then proceed back to Mycenae, to give the skin to Eurystheus, but the King of Mycenae was now terrified of Hercules. Eurystheus thought that he would never return from killing the mighty beast, and refused to allow him to enter Mycenae.
Eurystheus was so petrified of Hercules and his strength, that he had an oversized jar made, and buried it half way in the earth. He climbed into the jar, and sent forth his orders to Hercules through a messenger, and would only emerge from the enormous jar when Hercules left each time for his labors.

Answer: Venom

For this labor, Hercules enlisted the assistance of his nephew, Iolaus. Little did Hercules know that because he had assistance, that this labor would not count. Hera and Eurystheus never told Hercules that he could not have assistance.
Hercules and Iolaus set out to search for the Hydra, and found it near the watering springs of Amymone, on the outskirts of Lerna.
Hercules enticed the monster to leave its murky waters, and once the Hydra was on solid ground, he grabbed the oversized snake that had nine heads. He soon realized that he was in trouble when the serpent coiled itself around him, making breathing nearly impossible. As the coils rested on Hercules' foot, he fought hard with the Hydra and used his club in constant succession to try to kill the beast, but for every head of the Hydra that he pummeled, two more grew in its place. During the struggle Hercules realized that he was feeling a strange sensation on his left foot -- as it turned out, the Hydra had a few friends, but one in particular was a giant crab that kept clawing and biting at Hercules' foot. With all of his strength and energy, Hercules used his club to smash the giant crab into little pieces.
Hercules was starting to weaken from his battle with the mighty beast, and decided to call to Iolaus, who had been watching from a safe distance. Iolaus, using a torch that was adorned with fire, a gift given to Hercules by Zeus, and each time that Hercules clubbed one of the heads of the Hydra, Iolaus would burn the empty space so that another head could not grow in its place.
With its remaining heads missing, the Hydra could now be defeated, but still the serpent fought hard with Hercules, until finally Hercules could stand it no more and took his sword and lopped off the only surviving head of the hydra.
After killing the dreaded serpent, Hercules, buried the head on the road leading from Lerna to Elaeus, and set a large boulder in the place where he had buried the head. He then proceeded to slit the body of the giant snake, and the blood that flowed forth he used to make his arrows poisonous. There would be no cure for anyone who was hit with his arrows, because the serpent was venomous.
Eurystheus learned from Hera, who had been spying on Hercules, that his nephew Iolaus had assisted him with his task -- and through his messenger informed Hercules that this labor did not count.

Answer: A red female deer

According to the Greek legends, a Hind is a red female deer, and the Hind of Ceryneia was the beloved pet of the hunting and moon goddess, Artemis.
Eurystheus only wanted Hercules to capture the animal and bring it to him, but the King of Tiryns and Mycenae was secretly hoping that Artemis would harm Hercules when he attempted to capture her Hind.
Hercules had to figure out a way to capture the animal without angering Artemis. Unbeknownst to Hercules, Eurystheus wanted the Hind for its golden horns and bronzed hoofs.
It took Hercules an entire year to corner the elusive Hind of Ceryneia, which had become drained from the chase. While Artemis' special friend rested on Mount Artemisius, the animal gained strength and attempted to escape. This was not what Hercules was hoping for, he rather hoped that he would be able to capture the animal without much incident, but luck would not be on his side.
Becoming desperate, Hercules took his spear and lunged it towards Artemis' Hind. The beautiful animal succumbed to its injuries, but was not dead. Hercules then picked up the elegant animal and draped it over his shoulders and started back to Mycenae. However, he could get no further than a few feet when he was met by Artemis and Apollo.
Artemis was very angry, and wanted to kill Hercules for maiming her beloved pet. Hercules seeing Artemis' anger, decided the best course of action would be to tell her the truth, and that is exactly what he did. Upon hearing of Hercules' plight, Artemis healed the Hind of its near fatal wound, and allowed him to take the Hind to Eurystheus. Hercules thanked Artemis and proceeded with his journey back to Mycenae.
With every labor that Hercules completed Eurystheus became more and more terrified of Hercules and feared for his life. With Hercules' next labor, which Eurystheus thought to be an impossible task, he thought that would be the end of Hercules. However, Eurystheus never realized how determined Hercules could be.

Answer: The Erymanthean Boar

Hercules was told by Eurystheus' messenger that his next labor would be to capture and bring back the Boar of Mount Erymanthus. As everyone knows a boar is a wild pig, which can be extremely nasty and has large tusks growing out of its mouth, tusks which could kill a mere mortal. However, Hercules was no mere mortal, being the son Zeus, he was considered to be half-god and half-mortal.
It was rather easy for Hercules to find and track his elusive prey, as it resided on Mount Erymanthus. The vicious beast destroyed everything in its path, and would terrorize the people that lived in the area, and kill the animals of the farming community. As he approached the mountain, he could hear the beast grunting and rushed forth from his hiding place. He shouted as he chased the animal, and it became frightened by the loud sounds and as it started to grow weak, found a bush in which to hide.
Not to be outsmarted by the enormous animal, Hercules watched exactly where the beast had hid, and removed his spear from its sheath, and poked the spear through the bush until the animal fell into a pile of snow that surrounded the mountain. He then netted the boar and dragged it back to Eurystheus. Now Eurystheus was becoming really frightened, but decided to continue to try to rid himself of Hercules by sending him on yet another labor.

Answer: King Augeas

King Augeas was the largest land owner in of all Greece, and he had many herds of cattle, horses, goats, and pigs. He was also a very unkempt person, and kept his animals and their stables in much the same way. The Augean Stables were a sore spot for King Eurystheus, because one could smell the stables from miles away. Eurystheus figured that the stables would take years to clean, and thought that he would be rid of Hercules. It seems that Eurystheus always underestimated him, which was something that he would continue to do.
Upon hearing from Eurystheus' messenger that he was to clean the Augean Stables, Hercules did not hear how long the messenger said he had in which to clean them, so he asked, and the messenger said that Eurystheus wanted the stables cleaned in one day. Hercules believed that Eurystheus was going mad. One day? How on Earth could he possibly clean those smelly things in a single day? Not one to give in and quit, Hercules accepted the challenge and set out to visit King Augeas.
Upon seeing the disastrous condition of the stables, and by observing his surroundings, he noticed a large entrenched water source close by to the proximity of the stables. Hercules had a plan, since Eurystheus and never said if he could receive payment for performing any labors, he decided to approach King Augeas and inform him that he would clean his stables in a single day, if the King would give him, as payment, half of his herds.
King Augeas, laughed so hard at Hercules' statement...that he would clean his stables in one day. Augeas thought about it, and engaged Hercules in his task. He gave Hercules permission to try to clean them in one day, and if he succeeded, he would receive, as payment, half of Augeas' herds.
It took Hercules longer to reach the Augean Stables than it did for him to break open the encased trenches of the surrounding water supply and let the waters flow fast and furious into the stables, cleaning the filth that had been allowed to fester for years. Needless to say, King Augeas was furious that he had been duped by Hercules. As it turned out, while Hercules was opening the trenches and heading them towards the stables, Hera had paid King Augeas a visit and told him of Eurystheus' order that Hercules was to perform, for free, labors of good deed so that his murderous ways could be forgiven. So, when Hercules returned to King Augeas and told him that the stables were cleaned, he refused to give Hercules half of his cattle because he lied to him and never told him of his mission.
Now as one can imagine the terrible misfortune of Hercules, not only was he being used by Hera and Eurystheus, but now King Augeas was refusing to pay him and even lied and said that he had never agreed to such a condition, but unbeknownst to Augeas, his son had been listening and had helped Hercules dig the trenches.
Hercules decided to have the matter brought before a judge. The judge, upon hearing from King Augeas' son that his father had lied, decreed that the arrangement between Hercules and Augeas was valid, and Augeas had to pay Hercules half of his herds. The judge also ruled, that because Augeas' son betrayed his father, that he had to leave his father's kingdom, never to return.
Hercules was on a path bound for Mycenae, and upon his arrival was informed by Eurystheus' messenger that since he had received payment, and had assistance with the labor that it did not count -- now Hercules was starting to show just how angry he could become. He attempted to pull Eurystheus from his encased dwelling in the earth, but the king's guards held swords and spears to the throat of Hercules, so he decided to back off -- for the time being.

Answer: A pair of bronze krotala

Athena offered Hercules the use of her sacred instruments, bronzed krotalas, which were made from either wood or ivory, and extended on two pieces of metal that enabled the user to make loud clapping or clanging sounds. Hercules thanked Athena, and went to find the huge birds.

He heard loud screeching coming from the lake area, and knew he found the large carnivorous birds of prey. Hercules looked at the trees that loomed above him, and saw the red gleaming eyes of a man eating birds, but the birds did not pay attention to the items that Hercules held.

He proceeded to raise the krotalas above his head, and the rain of noise frightened the birds so much that they flew from the safety of the trees. As the birds flew from their haven, Hercules used a few of his poisonous arrows on the escaping birds, and killed the remaining ones with his sling. With his sixth labor now complete, Eurystheus grew angry because it seemed to him that Hercules was indeed favored by the gods.

Answer: Crete

This is the legend of the Cretan Bull. King Minos, who ruled Crete and controlled the majority of the islands that surrounded Greece. King Minos was believed to be such a powerful and forceful leader, that modern day Athenians honor him each year. There are many stories about the city of Crete and its encounters with bulls. But this is the one that I remember from my fifth grade history teacher, whose favorite topic was Greek Mythology -- In order for King Minos to take his rightful place on the throne, he had to sacrifice whichever animal that the god Poseidon, guardian of the sea, sent forth. Poseidon sent to the land a giant bull, but King Minos thought the bull to be too beautiful and wanted to keep it for himself, and so Minos decided to sacrifice a different bull, hoping that Poseidon would not know the difference. Poseidon, being a very observant god, knew exactly what King Minos was up to, and decided to punish the entire city of Crete. Poseidon put a great and ravenous rage into the bull's soul, and the bull caused havoc and destruction in the Cretan city.
Capturing the bull was to become Hercules' seventh labor. It is not too hard to imagine Hercules overpowering the bull, and using a whip that held metal spikes at its ends, to drive the bull back to the city of Mycenae, where King Eurystheus hid in his glass jar.
Upon the arrival of Hercules and the bull to the city of Mycenae, Eurystheus' messenger released the bull close to the Grecian City of Athens.

Answer: Aegean Sea

Eurystheus' messenger informed Hercules that he was to travel to Bistonia, and retrieve the carnivorous female horses from their owner, Diomedes, who was leader of a Thracian tribe that called themselves Bistones. Realizing that this would be more dangerous than his other tasks, he asked Eurystheus' messenger if he would be able to bring a crew with him to travel by boat through the Aegean Sea into Bistonia. Having been granted Eurystheus' favor, the messenger readily agreed.
Hercules assembled a crew of men to travel with him, and they started on their journey. Upon arriving in Bistonia, Hercules and his companions quickly captured the men that cared for the dangerous horses. Hercules, armed with whips, drove the horses towards the Aegean Sea and the awaiting boat. However, Hercules did not count upon Diomedes sending forth soldiers to retrieve his horses. Now Hercules was tangled in a deadly battle and realizing that he could not leave the horses to continue the fight, he entrusted the wild mares to Abderos.
It soon became obvious to Abderos that he could not control the mares, and they trapped him. The rope that was wrapped at his waist, was used by the dangerous mares to drag him to his death. Meanwhile, Hercules was deep in battle with Diomedes and his soldiers, and eventually Diomedes was killed by the hands of Hercules and so were most of his soldiers, the remaining soldiers feared for their lives and fled. Upon returning to where he had left the dangerous mares with Abderos, he discovered that the horses had killed him, and in honor of the murdered boy, Hercules decreed that the nearby town should be called Abdera.
Hercules and his men rounded up the mares and drove them onto the boat. Once everything was ready, they sailed back to Mycenae, so that Eurystheus could see that he had succeeded in his eighth labor. Once Eurystheus had seen the horses, he ordered that they be released near Mount Olympus, were the dangerous animals were eaten by the predators that lived on the mountains.

Answer: The Belt of Hippolyte

King Eurystheus wanted the belt that held the sword and spear of the mighty female warrior, Hippolyte, which was given to her by the god of war, Ares. Eurystheus sent Hercules to get the belt from the powerful Hippolyte, so that it could be given to his daughter. Keep in mind that the Amazon warrior that Hercules was sent to find had nothing to do with the Amazons that lived in rain forests of the Brazilian jungle. The term Amazons, which is used to reference Hippolyte and her murderous warriors, comes from the Greek word meaning warriors that are missing one breast. According to Greek legends, Hippolyte and her warriors lopped off their right breast to enable them to throw a spear more accurately and for a longer distance.
The same men that accompanied Hercules on his journey across the Aegean Sea, went with him to fight off the Amazon Queen's warriors, because they knew that he might not be able to do battle with the entire group of warriors by himself.
In the Greek legends, the location of these Amazon warriors was never mentioned, so one must assume that as with his other labors, Hercules had to travel a great distance to and from.
Pictures that adorn Greek museums show Hercules and his crew sailing a great ship with large sails and massive oars.
After traveling for approximately two years, Hercules and his men reached the secret place of the Amazon Queen and her monstrous warriors. Once Hercules and his men came ashore, Hippolyte greeted them personally. Hercules decided that the best course of action would be to come right out and ask her for her special belt, and Hippolyte readily agreed.
Unbeknownst to Hercules, Hera was at it again. She disguised herself as one of Hippolyte's warriors, and while Hercules and the mighty Amazon Queen were talking, Hera told the Queen's warriors that the stranger and his men were going to carry off their leader.
From a distance, Hercules heard a thunderous sound, and to his horror, it was the sound of Hippolyte's warriors on horseback and dressed in their fighting armor. Hercules knew he and his men were in serious trouble, and doing the only thing that he could think of, he drew his sword and killed the mighty Amazon Queen. With Hippolyte dead, the belt that she had readily agreed to give to him was removed from her waist.
Hercules and his men fought the remaining warriors in a glorious and fierce battle, which they won. Once the warriors were driven back, Hercules and his men sailed for Mycenae. Hercules gave the belt to Eurystheus' messenger, so that it could be given to the King's daughter.

Answer: Gorgon Medusa

Geryon's father, Chrysaor, is the son of Medusa, who had once been a beautiful maiden, but she went around telling everyone that she was more beautiful than the goddess Athena, also known by the Romans as Minerva. Athena cursed Medusa with a face that would turn anyone who looked at her to stone, and turned her golden tresses into serpents. By order of King Polydictes, Perseus was ordered to bring him the head of Medusa. Athena helped Perseus with his task by giving him a reflecting shield that would enable him to see the ugly maiden without looking directly into her face, because if he did, then he too would be turned to stone. Perseus found Medusa on the Isle of Nymph, and secretly accessed her cave dwelling, and waited for her. Then, using the reflector, he lopped off Medusa's head. As the blood spurted forth from the headless stump, Medusa's blood gave birth to Chrysaor, the father of Geryon. Since Geryon was birthed from the blood of the once beautiful maiden, who had been cursed, he was born with three heads and three sets of legs that combined into one waist. This enormous creature and his cattle would become one of Hercules' labors.
After Eurystheus' messenger sent word to Hercules that he was to bring to the king Geryon's Cattle, Hercules realized that he would have difficulties with this task. Because in order to get to the isle of Erythia, which was located near the border of Libya, one had to travel around an enormous mountain range. Hercules, who started out on the labor by foot, was so distraught about having to travel by land to the isle of Erythia.
First, how was he going to get past an enormous mountain that blocked his path? According to the Greek legends, Hercules split the mountain in two and pushed the two halves to each side, thus becoming known as The Pillars of Hercules, and the water that burst forth became known as the Strait of Gibraltar.
Now that Hercules had a waterway in which to travel thru, he used a boat to reach the isle of Erythia. Once on the isle, he realized he would have to get past Orthus, who had two heads that resembled hounds, and guarded the giant red cattle. Hercules did not have to look hard for Orthus, because the herdsman found him first and attacked him. Hercules quickly grabbed his club, and a fierce battle ensued with the giant beast and he pummeled the two heads of Orthus until there was no more movement. With the herdsman out of the way, Hercules proceeded to drive the cattle together, but was attacked by the people of Erythia. As Hercules was deep in battle with the people of the island, a junior herdsman informed Geryon of Hercules' arrival. Geryon as one can imagine was not pleased, and he rushed towards the place where his cattle was. Hercules wanting more than anything to complete this task and return to Mycenae, realized that he would have to kill Geryon if he ever expected to leave with the cattle. Thinking fast, Hercules picked up one of his poisonous arrows, and hit the crazed monster, and with a last gurgling breath Geryon was dead.
Compared to what he had gone through on the island, Hercules thought that getting the bulls back to Mycenae would be easy...he was never so wrong.
In Liguria, two sons of Poseidon the god of water, attempted to steal the herd from Hercules, but he was not about to let anyone get in his way after what he went through in getting the herd. So he pulled an arrow from the pouch around his waist, and with one shot, was able to kill both sons of Poseidon. While he was rounding up the herd once more, one of the bulls escaped, ran towards the sea, jumped in, and began swimming towards Sicily. When the bull reached the shores of Sicily, it was found by the ruler of Sicily, Eryx, who was the youngest son of the water god Poseidon.
Hercules was dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed, a bull swimming in water? Who would ever believe it? While the bull was safely on land across the way, Hercules realized he could not get the stray bull back without leaving the herd, and was in a quandary as to what he was going to do. As Hercules was becoming frantic, the god Hephaestus arrived and suggested that Hercules retrieve the bull while he watched the remaining herd. Hercules agreed, and jumped into the raging waters and swam towards Sicily. Once in Sicily, it did not take Hercules long to find the stray bull, as it was mixed in with Eyrx's herds! Because Eryx would not return the bull to Hercules, the ruler of Sicily challenged Hercules to a wrestling competition. Hercules accepted Eryx's offer, as he was never one to walk away from a challenge. If Hercules could defeat Eryx in three wrestling matches, Hercules could have the bull. According to the Greek legends, Hercules defeated Eryx in those matches, and then strangled Eryx with his bare hands. With Eryx dead, Hercules quickly grabbed the stray bull, and drove it back across the water to the remaining herd.
Now one would think that Hercules would have no more trouble in getting the herd to Mycenae, but Hera interfered yet again. Because Hera could not stand the thought of Hercules completing his task, she sent horseflies, botflies, and warbleflies to scatter the herd again when Hercules brought the animals to the Ionian Sea. He had to chase the beasts around the entire city of Thrace, before he finally gathered the entire herd together. Hercules, believing that the Strymon River in Thrace was the reason for his difficult time with this task, placed giant rocks to stop the flow of water and dry the riverbed. He then asked the gods to make the remainder of his journey easy, and he had no more troubles during the remainder of the trip.
He arrived in Mycenae and presented the herd of Geryon to Eurystheus, who ordered the herd sacrificed in honor of Hera.

Answer: Hera

When Eurystheus' messenger told Hercules that he had to bring back golden apples that belonged to Zeus (however, he failed to tell Hercules that the apples belonged to Hera, and they were a gift from her grandmother, Gaia, NOT Zeus), Hercules thought Eurystheus had indeed lost his mind, because the apples were given to Zeus as a wedding present by Hera! Because Hercules knew that nymphs helped protect the apples, and because he knew that they were the daughters of Atlas, the man who held the weight of the world on his shoulders, Hercules had a very bad feeling about this labor, more so because the apples were fiercely guarded by a one hundred headed dragon.
Not knowing where the garden of the Hesperides (nymphs) was located, he traveled through Egypt, Arabia, Asia Minor, and Illyria, where he met up with Nereus, who knew the exact location of the garden, and a battle ensued between Nereus and Hercules. Since Nereus was able to take on many different forms, from birds to sea creatures, Hercules put him in a strangulation hold and did not let go until Nereus told him the secret location of the garden. After learning the secret location, Hercules traveled on and came to Mount Caucasus where Prometheus was chained. Zeus had Prometheus chained to the mountain and sentenced to death, because he had stolen the secret of fire from the gods. Prometheus' death sentence was to have a vulture would swoop down everyday and eat through his flesh, to get to his liver. Zeus made the punishment last by having Prometheus' liver grow back so that he could endure the pain for the rest of his life. That is what should have happened until Hercules showed up and killed the vulture with his sling shot. Prometheus, ever so grateful, told Hercules how he could get the apples from the secret garden. He told Hercules that he would have to send Atlas to retrieve the golden apples.
Hercules did not think that Atlas would take Zeus' apples, but Prometheus insisted that Atlas would do anything to be relieved of the burden of holding up the world. Although Hercules didn't think it was likely to work, he went to visit Atlas and explained his situation, and just like Prometheus predicted, Atlas said he would do it. However, there was a condition, in exchange for Atlas retrieving the apples, Hercules had to hold the weight of the world for him. As soon as Hercules agreed, Atlas handed over the problem of the world to him and went off to get the apples. When Atlas returned, he told Hercules that he would bring the apples to Eurystheus. Hercules said that would be fine, but could Atlas do him a favor and hold the world so he could put some padding on his shoulders, and Atlas readily agreed. Much to Atlas' surprise, as soon as the world was back on his shoulders, Hercules fled with the apples!
When Hercules returned to Mycenae with the apples, Eurystheus told him that he had to return them, because the apples belonged to the gods. After all of the aggravation that he went through to get them, Hercules had to return them to the garden. For this task he asked Athena to return the apples and she readily agreed.

Answer: Fifty

This is how Hesiod described Cerberus, "A monster not to be overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong" -- Hesiod, Theogony 310

Later authors described him with varying number of heads, with Pindar's 100 the most. Eventually the number three became the most commonly used for his heads, and that is the description that is probably most familiar to the casual student of Greek mythology.

The fifty headed beast belonged to Pluto, the god of the Underworld. Ancient Greeks believed that all souls, whether they were good or bad, joined Pluto in that dreaded place. If one led a peaceful existence, then Pluto would allow you some pleasures in the Underworld. But if you were an evil person, Pluto gave you no pleasures and made your soul pay for the deeds that it caused when the person was alive. Cerberus, also referred to by the Romans as Kerberos, was the offspring of Echinda, half-woman-half-serpent, and Typhon, a fire-breathing giant covered with dragons and serpents. Cerberus' siblings were Hydra of Lerna and the Nemean Lion, both of whom Hercules had killed on previous labors.

Eurystheus' messenger had informed Hercules that the king wanted the mighty beast, and he wanted him alive. Hercules could not believe what he was hearing! Eurystheus wanted the fifty headed guardian to the Underworld? He thought Eurystheus must truly be crazy. But then the realization penetrated through Hercules' mind, and he realized that no living person had ever entered Hades and came back to the world of the living.

Hercules was informed by Athena that before he entered the treacherous Underworld, he would need to join a group known as Eleusinians, the group was controlled by the high priest Eumolpus. After several months of service, Hercules was shown a series of prayers that were taught to the Eleusinians. They believed that if these prayers were memorized then a person could enter Hades and still return to the world of the living. The only problem was that prior to Hercules, no one had ever done so. Hercules completed the series of prayers and was inducted in the group of the Eleusinians, and was then able to enter the darkness of Hades!

Located in Laconia and hidden deep in the empty town of Taenarum, Hercules found the place were Hades met the world of the gods, and located the entrance to the most feared of all places, and was surprised at how easy it was to enter into Hades. During his travels downward to the bottom of the dark and frightful cavern, he encountered many monsters, gods, and heroes. Eventually, Hercules found Pluto and brazenly asked the Lord of the Underworld if he could bring Cerberus to King Eurystheus. To his surprise, Pluto agreed, but said that would only happen if Hercules was able to overpower Cerberus with his bare hands. Hercules agreed, and left his weapons with Pluto.

Hercules found Cerberus by the gates of the River Acheron, one of the rivers that allowed entrance into the Underworld, and advanced on the fifty headed canine. He reached his arms around the neck of the massive beast and applied pressure until the canine succumbed.

After Hercules defeated Cerberus, he brought him, with Pluto's blessing so to speak, to Eurystheus. Unlike his siblings, Cerberus was lucky, and was released back to the protection of Pluto. Now Hercules was able to rest, his labors were completed.

Answer: True

There are many Greek legends that tell the tale of Hercules and his labors, but the most common one is that if he served King Eurystheus for twelve years, Apollo and Zeus would grant him immortality. Even though he had to perform the tasks as penance for the murder of his wife and children, Zeus agreed that if he performed all the tasks that he would grant Hercules immortality. Thus, Hercules would have the final laugh, as it were, over Hera.

Answer: True

According to the Greek legends, Hera had forced a promise from Zeus that Eurystheus, when he was eventually born, would be ruler of two kingdoms, providing he was born first. However, at the same time, Zeus was awaiting the arrival of his son, Hercules, and Hera caused Hercules' mother to have trouble with her pregnancy, thus making Eurystheus born first.
Although the ancient Greek legends refer to them as cousins, they were half brothers because they both shared Zeus as a father, but Hera was Eurystheus' mother and Alcmene was Hercules' mother.
All of the information contained in the above questions came from notes that had been taken while I was in school. My Greek mythology teacher, Mr. Grossi, made the Greek legends so exciting that everyone in the class could not wait for fourth period, because we knew that the class was always interesting. Mr. Grossi knew how to capture the attention of his students, he made going to school so much fun, and for that I am very glad to have been one of his students.
To support my class notes, I referred to http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/labors.html, when I needed information that was not held within my notes.
I hope that you enjoyed this quiz. Thanks.