Characters in Heracles (Hercules): The Twelve Labors

Characters in Heracles (Hercules): The Twelve Labors

Meet the Cast

Heracles (Hercules)

Think of the biggest, hunkiest dude that you've ever laid eyes on. Now multiply that by the biggest number you can imagine. There you go: Heracles. He wasn't just a hero to the ancient Greeks, he w...

Hera (Juno)

The queen of the gods absolutely despises Heracles, because he is yet another reminder of her husband Zeus' cheating, philandering ways. Though she gave most of Zeus' illegitimate kids a hard time,...

Eurystheus

Eurystheus is the wimpy king of Argos, who is in charge of assigning all twelve of Heracles' labors. Heracles was actually supposed to be the king of Argos instead of Eurystheus, but Hera interfere...

Megara

The future must've looked rosy for Megara when she first married Heracles. Her hubby was already a famous hero and was sure to take over the throne of Thebes from her father, Creon. When Hera makes...

Iolaus

Iolaus was Heracles' nephew, constant companion, and eromenos or boy-lover. (This sort of relationship between an older male and a teenage boy was common in ancient Greek culture.) Iolaus is most f...

The Nemean Lion

Heracles kills this creature as his first labor. The beast is said to be gigantic, and it has a hide so thick that no spears or swords can penetrate it. This is no big deal for Heracles, who just s...

The Lernean Hydra

The Hydra is a huge venomous snake with anywhere from nine to a hundred heads, depending on which version of the myth you're reading. With the help of Iolaus, Heracles kills this awful beast as his...

The Erymanthian Boar

A giant tusked boar that Heracles has to capture alive as his third labor. When he brings the Boar back to Eurystheus, the king is so afraid he hides in a jar.

The Cerynitian Hind

A super fast deer with golden antlers that Heracles captures as his fourth labor.

Augeus and His Cattle

A lazy king with a herd of immortal cattle that he never once bothered to clean up after. For Heracles' fifth labor, he has to clean the mountain of horse poop from dirty old Augeas' stable.

The Stymphalian Birds

Yikes! Man-eating birds that plagued the Stymphalian lake. Heracles gets rid of these birds as his sixth labor. Some say he does this by creating a bronze rattle, which he shakes to scare them off....

The Cretan Bull

This bull is said to be the father of the Minotaur, which the hero Theseus defeats. As his seventh labor, Heracles captures this giant bull on the island of Crete and rides on its back across the s...

Diomedes and His Horses

Diomedes is a king who was in the habit of feeding humans to his horses. For his eighth labor, Heracles turns the tables on Diomedes and feeds him to his own man-hungry mares.

Hippolyte (Hippolyta)

Hippolyte was the Queen of the Amazons, a race of warrior women. As his ninth labor, Heracles has to fetch her belt. According to some, Hippolyte is totally cool about it, but then Hera disguises h...

Geryon and His Cattle

Geryon is a giant with three upper bodies and three sets of legs all connected at the hip. He has a heard of cattle colored red by the sunset, which Heracles captures as his tenth labor.

The Hesperides

The Hesperides are nymphs that are considered the goddesses of the sunset. It is their job to guard the golden apples that Gaia gave to Hera as a wedding present. It's sometimes said that the sunse...

Atlas

Atlas is a Titan, the race of gods that ruled the universe before Zeus and his Olympians. After the War of the Titans, in which Zeus lead a rebellion against the older gods, Zeus doomed Atlas to fo...

Cerberus

Cerberus is the three-headed hound that guarded the gates of the underworld. He has three heads, a main of snakes, and lion's claws. (Yeah, so you probably won't find a pooch like him in your local...