Hercules completed his ninth labour
and laid the belt of Queen Hippolyta at the feet of King Eurystheus
but the king gave him no rest and assigned his next task immediately
obtaining the cattle of geryon from Eurasia was Hercules tenth task
these cattle were magnificent beasts with coats made red by the red light of the sunset
the danger in this task though was the fact that the cattle were owned by Geryon
Geryon himself was enormous
he had three bodies three heads six arms and six feet
Geryon was the son of Callirhoe
who was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys
which made Geryon the grandson of the Tethys
on his Island Geryon kept a herd of red cattle
guarded by Cereberus brother Orthus a two-headed hound
and the fierce herdsmen Eurasian
Task Ten cattle of Geryon
Hercules set off on for Eurasia
encountering and promptly killing many wild beasts along the way
after long wandering through desert country
he came at last to a fruitful land
through which great streams flowed
here he founded a city of vast size
which he named Hecate Apollo's which means city of a hundred gates
when Hercules reached the most Western point of his journey
he split a mountain in half creating the Strait of Gibraltar
these mountains were later known as The Pillars of Hercules
Hercules then crossed the Libyan desert
After travelling through the desert for three days and three nights
Hercules was so hot and thirsty by now
he got so angry that he shot an arrow at the Sun
Helios were the Sun God was not mad at Hercules his failed attempt to kill him
instead Helios admired Hercules his courage
and granted him a golden cup
this wasn't a cup for drinking
for you see it was a cup that would allow the last leg of Hercules journey
it was a special cup that Hercules was going to sail in to the island of Erytheia
the golden bucked allowed Hercules to quickly sail to Erytheia
and on the island shoreline the hero landed
not long after he arrived Orthus the two headed dog attacked Hercules
so Hercules bashed him with his club killing him in a single stroke
he also killed the giant herdsmen who came to help the dog
just as Hercules was hurrying away with the cattle
he was confronted by Geryon himself
Hercules exhausted from his travels took out an arrow
and dipped it in the poisonous blood from the Lernaean hydra
and shot Jerry on in each of his three heads killing him instantly
Hera however was not about to let the hero accomplish this labour
when Hercules reached Thrace
Hera sent a swarm of gadflies to bite the cattle
when the gadfly's started biting the cattle
they got scared and scattered all over the island
it took Hercules a whole year to gather back all the cattle and continue his journey
Hera then caused the river Strymon to flood to make it impassable
the flood was only a minor set back
Hercules threw rocks into the river until it was shallow enough for the cattle to safely cross it
eventually Hercules returned to the court of King Eurystheus
driving the cattle of Geryon before him
once again Eurystheus was disappointed by the fact
that Hercules had not died in the attempting of the task
taking the cattle from the hero
Eurystheus sacrificed all of the herd to his benefactor Hera
Eurystheus wasted no time
and he summoned Hercules to give him his next labour
for the final and most difficult labour
King Eurystheus asked Hercules to bring him Cerberus from the underworld
to prove his strength and fearlessness
to Eurystheus this seemed an impossible task
Task 12 captures Cerberus
Cerberus was a vicious beast that guarded the entrance to Hades
and kept the living from entering the world of the dead
according to some legends Cerberus was a strange mixture of creatures
he had three heads of wild dogs
a dragon for a tail and heads of snakes all over his back
Hercules was not daunted
before making the trip to the underworld
Hercules decided that he should take some extra precautions
this was after all a journey from which no mortal had ever returned
Hercules decided to be initiated in the Eleusinian mysteries
so that he would be taught how to travel alive
from the world of the living to the realm of the dead and vice versa
the ancients believed that those who learned the secrets of the mysteries
would have happiness in the underworld
after the hero met a few conditions of membership
the priests initiated Hercules into the mysteries
then with strength to meet the horrors of the underworld
Hercules travelled on to the Laconian city of Taenarus
which contained the opening to the underworld
through a deep rocky cave
Hercules made his way down to the underworld
he encountered monsters, arrows and ghosts as he made his way through
the first barrier to the souls journey beyond the grave was the River Styx
one could cross this river only with the help of Sharan the boatman's ferryboat
Sharan accepted only those who were dead
and whose corpses had gold coins under their tongues
Hercules met neither condition
suddenly goddess Hestia appeared
and she helped him negotiate with Sharan
Sharan agreed and helped Hercules cross the Styx
Hercules then found the entrance to the underworld
but instead of attacking Cerberus
he went straight to Hades to ask permission to take his beloved hell hound
Hades was impressed by the respect shown by Hercules
in coming to him first before going to his hound
Hades was so impressed in fact that he allowed Hercules to try his luck
but only on a few conditions
Hercules could not kill or seriously injure Cerberus
this meant no weapons could be used
he found the dog camping near the dwelling of Acheron
without paying any attention to the bellowing of the three heads
which was like the echo of fearful resounding thunder
he seized the dog by the legs
put his arms around his neck and would not let him go
the dragon tail of the animal kept biting him in his cheek
but Hercules held the dog even stronger
Cerberus had to submit to the force of the hero
and Hercules left the underworld
the king who thought this was a suicide mission was shocked
dismayed and frightened
when he saw Hercules with Cerberus cowering behind his throne
he gave Hercules due credit for this final labour
Hercules then went on to return the dog to its master
Hades made an appearance in front of Eurystheus
demanding to know why he would want his favourite pup as a trophy
Eurystheus almost fainted
begging Hades forgiveness and asking that he spare him
Eurystheus revealed that he received orders for all
of Hercules as labourers from Hera herself
the tale goes that a none too happy Hades visited Hera
and warned her if she ever sent Hercules on any such err and again
she would have to deal with him
thus did the labours of Hercules come to an end