Eurystheus and Hera were greatly angered to find that Heracles had managed to escape from the claws of the Nemean Lion and the fangs of the Lernaean Hydra, and so decided to spend more time thinking up a third task that would spell doom for the hero.

The third task did not involve killing a beast, as it had already been established that Heracles could overcome even the most fearsome opponents, so Eurystheus decided to make him capture the Ceryneian Hind, as it was so fast it could outrun an arrow.

Eurystheus and Hera were greatly angered to find that Hercules had managed to escape from the claws of the Nemean Lion and the fangs of the Lernaean Hydra, and so decided to spend more time thinking up a third task that would spell doom for the hero.

The third task did not involve killing a beast, as it had already been established that Hercules could overcome even the most fearsome opponents, so Eurystheus decided to make him capture the Ceryneian Hind, as it was so fast it could outrun an arrow.

Hera, after requesting Zeus to swear an oath to that effect, descended from Olympus to Argos and made the wife of Sthenelus ( a son of Perseus ) give birth to Eurystheus after only seven months, while at the same time preventing Alcmene from delivering Heracles.

This resulted in the fulfilment of Zeus's oath by Eurystheus rather than Heracles.

It is said that after Heracles was apotheosised, Hyllus, having pursued and killed Eurystheus, cut off Eurystheus ' head and gave it to Alcmene, who gouged out the eyes with weaving pins.

One of the tasks imposed upon Heracles by Eurystheus was to obtain possession of the girdle of the Amazonian queen Hippolyta.

Their descendants ruled Mycenae from Electryon down to Eurystheus, after whom Atreus attained the kingdom, and would also include the great hero Heracles.

An ancient Etruscan vase from Caere ( ca 525 BC ) depicting Heracles presenting Cerberus to Eurystheus.

Capturing Cerberus, without using weapons, was the final labour assigned to Heracles ( Hercules ) by King Eurystheus, in recompense for the killing of his own children by Megara after he was driven insane by Hera, and therefore was the most dangerous and difficult.

Heracles was able to overpower Cerberus and proceeded to sling the beast over his back, dragging it out of the underworld through a cavern entrance in the Peloponnese and bringing it to Eurystheus.

Eurystheus hiding in a Pithos | storage jar as Heracles brings him the Erymanthian boar.

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus ( pronounced, meaning " broad strength " in folk etymology and pronounced ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos: Sthenelus was his father and the " victorious horsewoman " Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus, as was his opponent Heracles.

In the contest of wills between Hera and Zeus over whose candidate would be hero, fated to defeat the remaining creatures representing an old order and bring about the reign of the Twelve Olympians, Eurystheus was Hera's candidate and Heracles — though his name implies that at one archaic stage of myth-making he had carried " Hera's fame " — was the candidate of Zeus.

The arena for the actions that would bring about this deep change are the Twelve Labors imposed on Heracles by Eurystheus.

Heracles ' human stepfather Amphitryon was also a grandson of Perseus, and since Amphitryon's father ( Alcaeus ) was older than Eurystheus ' father ( Sthenelus ), he might have received the kingdom, but Sthenelus had banished Amphitryon for accidentally killing ( a familiar mytheme ) the eldest son in the family ( Electryon ).

When, shortly before his son Heracles was born, Zeus proclaimed the next-born descendant of Perseus should get the kingdom, Hera thwarted his ambitions by delaying Alcmene's labour and having her candidate Eurystheus born prematurely.

Eurystheus was so scared by Heracles ' fearsome guise that he hid in a subterranean bronze winejar, and from that moment forth all labors were communicated to Heracles through a herald, Copreus.

When Eurystheus found out that Heracles ' nephew had helped him he declared that the labour had not been completed alone and as a result did not count towards the ten labours set for him.

Heracles knew that he had to return the hind, as he had promised, to Artemis, so he agreed to hand it over on the condition that Eurystheus himself come out and take it from him.

Eurystheus did come out, but the moment Heracles let the hind go, she sprinted back to her mistress, and Heracles departed, saying that Eurystheus had not been quick enough.

When Heracles returned with the Erymanthian Boar, Eurystheus was frightened and hid again in his jar and begged Heracles to get rid of the beast ; Heracles obliged.

To extend what may have once been ten Labours to the canonical dozen, it was said that Eurystheus didn't count the Hydra, as he was assisted, nor the Augean stables, as Heracles received payment for his work.

He was directed to serve King Eurystheus for ten years and perform any task Eurystheus required of him.

To expiate the crime, Heracles was required to carry out ten labors set by his archenemy, Eurystheus, who had become king in Heracles ' place.

When Eurystheus, the agent of ancient Hera who was assigning The Twelve Labors to Heracles, found out that it was Heracles ' nephew Iolaus who had handed him the firebrand, he declared that the labor had not been completed alone and as a result did not count towards the ten labours set for him.

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to perform ten labours.

After Hercules completed his first ten Labours, Eurystheus gave him two more claiming that neither the Hydra counted ( because Iolaus helped Hercules ) nor the Augean stables ( either because he received payment for the job or because the rivers did the work ).

According to Greek mythology adopted by the Etruscans and Romans, when Hercules had to perform twelve labours, one of them was to fetch the Cattle of Geryon of the far West and bring them to Eurystheus ; this marked the westward extent of his travels.

The first of Heracles ' twelve labours, set by King Eurystheus ( his cousin ) was to slay the Nemean lion.

Eurystheus forbade him ever again to enter the city ; in future he was to display the fruits of his labours outside the city gates.

The first of Hercules ' twelve labours, set by his cousin King Eurystheus, was to slay the Nemean lion.

Eurystheus forbade him ever again to enter the city ; in future he was to display the fruits of his labours outside the city gates.

The Association is known as THE HERCULES CLUB, whose Eurystheus is Historic Truth and whose appointed labours are to clear this field for the historian of the future.

After the death of Heracles, his children, after many wanderings, found refuge from Eurystheus at Athens.

Accordingly, after three years, Hyllus marched across the isthmus of Corinth to attack Atreus, the successor of Eurystheus, but was slain in single combat by Echemus, king of Tegea.

After the death of Heracles, his children, after many wanderings, found refuge from Eurystheus at Athens.

Accordingly, after three years, Hyllus marched across the isthmus of Corinth to attack Atreus, the successor of Eurystheus, but was slain in single combat by Echemus, king of Tegea.

Eurystheus had meant for their stewardship to be temporary, but it became permanent after his death in battle.

Even after Heracles's death, King Eurystheus pursues his lifelong vendetta against the hero by hunting down his children.

The other descendants ruled Mycenae from Electryon down to Eurystheus, after whom Atreus got the kingdom.

Capturing Cerberus alive, without using weapons, was the final labour assigned to Hercules by Eurystheus, in recompense for the killing of his own children by Megara after he was driven insane by Hera, and therefore was the most dangerous and difficult.