From the Cyclopean citadel of Tiryns, the seat of King Eurystheus, Heracles set out on each labour and returned to report his success. It was at Tiryns that he was sentenced to the twelve labours as penance.
In the marshes of Lerna lurked the Lernaean Hydra, which sprouted two heads for every one cut off. With his nephew Iolaus searing each wound, Heracles slew the monster and dipped his arrows in its venom — the second labour.
In the forests around Ancient Nemea prowled the Nemean Lion, a beast no weapon could pierce. Heracles strangled it with his bare hands and ever after wore its hide as armour — the first labour.
At Lake Stymphalia massed the Stymphalian Birds, man-eaters with feathers of bronze. Heracles startled them into the air with bronze rattles and shot them down one by one — the sixth labour.
For a whole year Heracles chased the golden-horned Ceryneian Hind, a creature sacred to Artemis, through the mountains of Achaea. He caught it alive without harming it — the third labour.
In Elis, Heracles cleansed King Augeas's vast stables in a single day by diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them — the fifth labour. In memory of his triumph he is said to have founded the Olympic Games here.
Knossos, the palace of King Minos: on Crete, Heracles subdued the raging Cretan Bull that was ravaging the island — the very bull that sired the Minotaur of the Labyrinth. He carried it alive back to the Peloponnese — the seventh labour.
At Cape Tainaron, the southernmost point of mainland Greece, a cave was believed to open into the Underworld. From here Heracles descended to Hades and brought up the three-headed Cerberus alive — the twelfth and most fearsome labour.