Heracles then went back to Argos to receive instructions from Eurystheus about his two additional tasks. For his 11th labor he had to travel to the western extremity of the world and bring back some golden apples. The tree on which they grew was tended by the Hesperides, daughters ofAtlas. They had been set to look after the tree by Hera, who had been given it by Gaia as a wedding present. The golden apples of the Hesperides were guarded by Ladon, an immortal dragon with a hundred heads. Heracles traveled across northern Africa on his way to Mount Atlas. At some point during this journey, he met up with Prometheus and freed him from his captivity, during which he had been constantly gnawed by Zeus’s eagle. In Libya Heracles encountered the giant Antaeus (see box, page 130), who wrestled and killed everyone he met. Antaeus was invincible so long as he was attached to the earth. Heracles lifted him on his shoulders and choked him to death.
Some ancient writers recount that on his way to the garden Heracles visited Atlas and agreed to hold up the sky while the Titan went to retrieve the apples. When Atlas
Heracles in Art
The oldest surviving artistic depictions of Heracles date from the ninth century BCE. Hundreds of vases and bowls of the period depict the hero's everyday life as well as his 12 labors.
In many of the scenes showing Heracles fighting the Nemean lion, Athena is in the background to reassure the viewer of the hero's ultimate victory. Although the beast was supposedly invulnerable to weapons, Heracles is often shown attacking it with a club.
Another commonly depicted labor is the theft of the girdle of Hippolyte. There are nearly 400 examples, in some of which Heracles is killing the Amazon queen. The 11th labor is usually represented, not by the theft of the golden apples, but by Heracles seated before Atlas asking for his help.
Most of the images relating to the fourth labor show Heracles presenting the Erymanthion boar to Eurystheus, who is hiding in a vase.
Returned, he decided that he wanted to take the apples to Eurystheus himself, and so refused to take the sky back on his shoulders. Heracles pretended to agree to this plan, and asked only that Atlas hold up the sky while he shifted his shoulders into a more comfortable position. When Atlas held the sky once more, Heracles grabbed the apples and promptly departed. Other accounts say that Heracles found the garden, slew the dragon, and retrieved the apples by himself. After Heracles showed the apples to Eurystheus, Athena returned them to the garden of Hera.
For the 12th labor Heracles had to descend into the underworld and bring out Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld. In the underworld Heracles came across the imprisoned Theseus and Peirithous, two heroes who had tried to kidnap Persephone, the queen of the underworld. The goddess permitted Heracles to free Theseus, who was stuck in the chair of forgetfulness, but not Peirithous. Then Heracles grabbed Cerberus and dragged him up to Eurystheus. When Eurystheus saw the dog, he again took fright and jumped into his clay pot for safety. The dog was then returned to its master, Hades.
World History
