Classical mythology

Unless otherwise stated, these questions are about Greek (as opposed to Roman) mythology.

See also The Olympians, The Titans, Greek and Roman Gods, Graces etc, and Homer.

The twelve labours of Heracles (Hercules)

As a punishment for slaying his own wife and children (after being driven temporarily mad by Hera), Heracles was advised by the Oracle of Delphi to serve his cousin Eurystheus, king of Tyrins, for twelve years, and perform whatever labours Eurystheus might set him; in return, he would be rewarded with immortality. Hercules loathed to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, but he complied, fearing to oppose his father Zeus. Hera, who was allied to Eurystheus, did her best to prevent Heracles from succeeding.

There were originally only ten labours; Eurystheus added the last two later as he didn't accept task 2 (because Heracles had been helped by his cousin Ioloas) or task 5 (because Heracles intended to accept payment for it).

The following table lists the labours as in the Biblioteca, a compendium of Greek myths and legends that dates from the first and second centuries AD. The fourth column (the first of the two blank ones) gives a clue to each task (or, more specifically, its target) which you can use as a clue – or not, if you prefer!

1	Kill the		(vicious beast that lived at a sanctuary on the Peloponnese)		Nemean Lion
2	Destroy the		(multi–headed serpentine water monster that lived at Lerna, which was said to be an entrance to Hades)		Hydra
3	Capture the		(enormous golden beast, sacred to Artemis, that lived at Keryneia)		Keryneian Hind
4	Capture the		(giant fear–inspiring creature of the wilds that lived on Mount Erymanthos)		Erymanthine Boar
5	Clean the		(place where Augeas, King of Elis, kept the single greatest number of cattle in the country – which had never been cleaned)		Augean Stables
6	Kill the		(man–eating creatures that were kept as pets by Ares, the god of War)		Stymphalian Birds
7	Capture the		(snow white beast that was a gift from Poseidon to Minos, king of Crete, which fathered the Minotaur with Minos's wife Pasiphae)		Cretan Bull
8	Round up the		(four man–eating beasts that belonged to the king of Thrace, on the Black Sea)		Mares of Diomedes
9	Steal the		(magical belt given by Ares, god of War, to his daughter, who was queen of the Amazons)		Girdle of Hippolyta
10	Herd the		(beasts belonging to a fearsome giant who dwelt on an island of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean)		Cattle of Geryon
11	Fetch the		(fruit from the gardens of the nymphs of the evening and of the golden light of sunset)		Apples of Hesperides
12	Capture		(the monstrous multi–headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld)		Cerberus

Other

Theban hero, trained (like Achilles in a later generation) by the centaur Chiron: changed into a stag by Artemis, and torn apart by his own hunting dogs, after he accidentally saw her bathing		Actaeon
Killed by a boar after Aphrodite fell in love with him; she then caused the anemone to grow from his blood		Adonis
King of Colchis, gave the Golden Fleece to Jason (in return for Jason sowing the dragon's teeth – they grew into an army of warriors)		Aeetes
Keeper of the Winds		Aeolus
Suckled Zeus as a she–goat		Amalthea
Brutal, aggressive tribe of female warriors whose capital was Themiscyra, on the banks of the Thermodon River (modern Terme, now in Turkey); notable among their queens are Penthesilea, who participated in the Trojan War, and her sister Hippolyta, whose magical girdle, given to her by her father Ares, was the object of one of the labours of Heracles		Amazons
Food of the gods – often said to confer longevity or immortality on anyone who ate it (see also Nectar)		Ambrosia
Daughter of Cepheus (king of the Phoenician kingdom of Ethiopia) and his wife Cassiopeia, who chained her to a rock as a sacrifice to the sea monster Cetus, to appease Poseidon's wrath at her mother's bragging; rescued by Perseus (whom she later married) and turned into a constellation after her death		Andromeda
Flower that sprang from (or was turned red by) the blood of Adonis after he was killed by a wild boar		Anemone
Daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta – buried alive by Jocasta's brother Creon		Antigone
Roman slave who removed a thorn from the paw of a lion (in what Wikipedia refers to as "a common folktale")		Androcles
God of unrequited love, given to Eros as a brother and playmate		Anteros
Wife of Hephaestos and mother of Eros – said to have grown from Uranus's genitals after Cronos cut them off and threw them into the sea; sprang from the foam of the sea, and came ashore on Cyprus on a scallop shell. Alternatively, the daughter of Thalassa (the sea) and Zeus		Aphrodite
Son of Zeus and Leto, born on Delos; twin brother of Artemis; the ideal of the beardless youth, 'the brightest and most complex creation of polytheism'. God of oracles, healing, archery, music and arts, sunlight, knowledge, herds and flocks, and protection of the young (according to Wikipedia). Sometimes said to be the only major god with the same name in both the Greek and Roman traditions – but this may be an over–simplification		Apollo
Expert weaver, turned into a spider after challenging Athena to a weaving contest (there are many versions of the story; in some she wins the contest, in others she loses)		Arachne
Jason's ship		Argo
Band of heroes who accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece, and named after his ship; included Bellerophon, Calais, Castor, Polydeuces (Pollux), Heracles (Hercules), Laertes, Laocoon, Orpheus and Telamon		Argonauts
Fabulous beast of 100 eyes, placed by Hera to guard Io from the attentions of Zeus; slain by Hermes; Hera transferred his eyes to the tail of the peacock		Argus
Daughter of King Minos: put in charge of the Labyrinth by her father, she fell in love with Theseus and gave him the ball of thread by which he found his way out; she then eloped with him, but he abandoned her on the beach on Naxos, where she was found by Dionysus (as depicted in a famous painting by Titian) who then married her		Ariadne
Ram which produced the Golden Fleece		Aries
Twin sister of Apollo; turned Actaeon into a stag after he watched her bathing		Artemis
Formidable, beautiful but coy virgin huntress, who declared that whoever would marry her must first defeat her in a foot race; married Hippomenes after he tricked her by dropping golden apples in her path to distract her (as advised by Aphrodite); according to some versions of the story, the only female Argonaut		Atalanta
Born from the head of Zeus, who had swallowed her mother Metis, when he asked Hephaestus to crack open his skull		Athena
Legendary island described by Plato as lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" – said to have sunk into the sea in "a single day and night of misfortune"		Atlantis
Condemned by Zeus to hold up the heavens on his back as a punishment, after he led the Titans in their unsuccessful battle with the Olympians; fetched the Golden Apples while Hercules took over his burden; father of the Pleiades		Atlas
Corinthian hero who rode the winged horse Pegasus and killed the Chimera		Bellerophon
The north wind and bringer of cold winter air (to the Greeks; Aquilon in Latin)		Boreas
Daughter of Lycaon, King of Arcadia: a nymph, and a follower of Artemis (Diana to the Romans), in whose guise Zeus (Jupiter) appeared to seduce her; she became pregnant and was expelled from Artemis's group, after which a furious Hera (Juno), the wife of Zeus, transformed her into a bear; later set among the stars as Ursa Major (the Great Bear); gave her name to the second largest moon of Jupiter		Callisto
Pilot of Menlaus's ship: gave his name to the second brightest star in the night sky		Canopus
Vain and arrogant wife of King Cepheus of Ethiopia, and mother of Andromeda: placed in the heavens by Poseidon as a punishment for claiming that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the Nereids		Cassiopeia
Twin sons of Leda, conceived when she was raped by Zeus as a swan; brothers of Helen (of Troy) and Clytemnestra		Castor and Pollux
Torso, head & arms of a man; body & legs of a horse		Centaur
Three–headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades – captured by Hercules as his 12th labour		Cerberus
The original dark void from which everything else emerged: Gaia (Earth), Eros (love), Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (night), followed by their children Aether (the sky and heaven), Hemera (day) and Nemesis (retribution)		Chaos
Ferryman who rowed the dead souls across the Styx		Charon
Kindly Centaur – tutor of Apollo, Achilles and Jason – traded his immortality with Prometheus after being wounded by Heracles		Cheiron
Monstrous fire–breathing creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat (or the other way round) and a snake (or serpent) for a tail; defeated by Bellerophon, with the help of Pegasus; its name has come to denote any hybrid mythical or fictional animal, or anything that's composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling		Chimera
The personification of time (Greek) – not to be confused with the Titan Cronus (Kronos), the father of Zeus (also of Hades and Poseidon)		Chronos
Kingdom on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in modern Georgia, where Jason and the Argonauts sought and found the Golden Fleece		Colchis
One of Amalthea's horns broke off and became		Cornucopia
Father of Icarus; built Icarus's wings, and also built the Labyrinth on Crete		Daedalus
Excessively flattering courtier to Dionysius II of Syracuse; (unknowingly) ate a banquet under a sword suspended by a single horse's hair, after Dionysius offered to swap places with him for a day – a ploy by Dionysius to demonstrate the constant fear in which he lived		Damocles
Mother of Perseus, who was conceived when she was raped by Zeus as a shower of golden rain		Danaë
Nymph changed into a laurel bush to save her from Apollo		Daphne
Artemis and Apollo were born on		Delos
The Maenads (MEE–nads) were female followers of (Greek god of wine–making, etc.)		Dionysus
Tree nymph or wood nymph – actually (originally) the nymph of an oak tree		Dryad
Monster that was half woman and half snake, and lived alone in a cave: the mate of the fearsome monster Typhon, and the mother of many of the most famous monsters of Greek myth; gave her name to a creature that was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles		Echidna
Beautiful mountain–nymph, fond of her own voice; used to distract Hera by telling her stories while Zeus consorted with other nymphs. Eventually Hera discovered the trick and made her unable to speak except in answer to another voice; she fell in love with Narcissus, but he spurned her and fell in love with his own reflection		Echo
Beautiful young shepherd, loved by the Moon goddess Selene: kissed into eternal sleep, guarded by Artemis; subject of a poem by Keats		Endymion
Phoenician princess: gave birth to King Minos, after being seduced and carried to Crete by Zeus as a bull		Europa
Name used for at least seven Greek goddesses, including the wife of Orpheus – who died after being bitten by a serpent that she stood on, but was released from the Underworld after Orpheus softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone (or sent Cerberus to sleep) with his music; but she was taken back after he looked back just a moment too soon		Eurydice
Creature of Roman mythology, with the upper body of a man and the legs of a goat – borrowing their appearance from the Greek god Pan; with similarities to the satyrs of Greek mythology		Faun
Name given (in post–classical times) to the statue that Pygmalion sculpted and then fell in love with; also the name of the Nereid (sea–nymph) who transformed her mortal lover Acis into an immortal river spirit after he was killed by the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus		Galatea
Mortal who was carried to Olympus by an eagle, to be cupbearer to Zeus		Ganymede
Sought by Jason and the Argonauts; found hanging from a tree in a sacred grove in Colchis		Golden Fleece
(Greek) name for the Underworld – originally its king, later renamed Pluto		Hades
Female birds with women's faces, who personified storm winds: stole food from their victims as they ate, and carried evildoers to the Fates; name means 'snatchers'		Harpies
Husband of Aphrodite; made her a girdle that made men fall in love with her		Hephaestus
Commanded by Zeus to create Pandora, the first mortal woman, to punish the human race after Prometheus gave them the gift of fire
Greatest of the Greek heroes: son of Zeus by the mortal woman Alcmene; named Alcides by his parents, renamed later to mollify Hera who resented his being the mortal offspring of her husband. At the age of a few months, throttled two snakes sent to his cot by Hera. Eventually driven mad by Hera, he slew his own children and was set ten (later expanded to twelve) labours by his arch–enemy Eurystheus		Heracles (Hercules)
Priestess of Aphrodite whom Leander swam the Hellespont every night to court		Hero
Nymphs of the sunset, who tended a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, where they grew golden apples, three of which were given to Hippomenes by the goddess Aphrodite		The Hesperides
Queen of the Amazons, daughter of Ares; had a magic girdle (given to her by her father) – to steal it was one of the Twelve Labours of Heracles		Hippolyta
Fell in love with Atalanta, the beautiful but coy virgin huntress, who declared that whoever would marry her must first defeat her in a foot race; prayed to Aphrodite, who gave him three apples of the Hesperides, which he dropped on the track one by one to distract Atalanta, and so beat her		Hippomenes (a.k.a. Melanion)
The only thing left in Pandora's box after she opened it		Hope
Beloved of Apollo, Boreas and Zephyr , killed by a discus thrown by Apollo; flower sprang from his blood		Hyacinthus
Grew two heads every time one was cut off; destroyed by Herakles (Hercules) as the second of his original ten labours		Hydra
Son of Daedalus, who fell into the sea and drowned because his artificial wings melted when he flew too close to the Sun		Icarus
The blood ('blood–like essence') of the gods		Ichor
Priestess of the Goddess Hera – a mortal woman – seduced by Zeus and then transformed by him into a heifer to escape detection by Hera (his wife)		Io
Messenger of the Gods, who travelled to Earth along the rainbow (originally the personification of the rainbow)		Iris
Two–faced god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings, after whom January is named		Janus
Mythical founder of Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia; his second wife Glauce (glor–see) was murdered on her wedding day by his first wife, the sorceress Medea		Jason
Mother and wife of Oedipus		Jocasta
Dragon of 100 heads, slain by Hercules		Ladon
Young man who swam the Hellespont every night to court Hero		Leander
Queen of Sparta, raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan, thus conceiving Helen of Troy, Castor and Pollux, and Clytemnestra		Leda
River of Hades, whose name means 'forgetfulness' or 'concealment'		Lethe
Daughter of (Titans) Coeus and Phoebe: lover of Zeus, and mother of Apollo and Artemis		Leto
Father of Romulus and Remus		Mars
Enchantress, wife of Jason		Medea
Atlas was turned into a mountain after he looked at the severed head of		Medusa
King of Phrygia, granted his wish that everything he touched should turn to gold; given the ears of an ass by Apollo because he preferred Pan's music to Apollo's		Midas
Mythical king of Crete – gave his name to the pre–Hellenic civilisation on the island		Minos
Bull–headed monster, housed in the Labyrinth on Crete; Minos demanded an annual payment of seven young men and seven maidens from Athens, to feed to it (to pay for the death of his son Androgeus)		Minotaur
Subject of a Roman 'mystery religion' (i.e. one based on a complex system of initiation rites) of the first four centuries AD: originally Persian; the centrepiece of the cult's temples is of him hunting and killing a bull – the so–called 'tauroctomy'		Mithras
The Oreads (e.g. Echo) were nymphs associated with		Mountains
Rejected the love of the beautiful wood–nymph Echo, and fell in love with his own reflection		Narcissus
Drink of the gods (in Homer; may originally have been synonymous with Ambrosia)		Nectar
The 50 daughters of Doris		Nereids
Daughter of Tantalus, turned to stone as she wept for her children slain by Artemis and Apollo		Niobe
Deucalion was the Greek equivalent of (Biblical character)		Noah
King of Thebes who fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family		Oedipus
Giant huntsman whom Zeus placed among the stars as a constellation		Orion
Chief representative of the art of song; descended into Hades to retrieve his wife Eurydice, but lost her because he looked back too soon		Orpheus
Bird held sacred to the goddess Athena		Owl
Ears, horns and hind legs of a goat		Pan
The first mortal woman, in Greek mythology – name means 'all–giving' or 'all–gifted'; created by Hephaestos, at the command of Zeus, to punish the human race after Prometheus gave them the gift of fire		Pandora
Mountain in central Greece, sacred to Apollo and the home of the Muses		Parnassus
Immortal winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa		Pegasus
Only child of Zeus and Demeter, abducted by Hades to be his wife and Goddess of the Underworld; he tricked her into eating some pomegranate seeds, which meant she had to spend the winter months each year in his domain; hence the pomegranate is one of her symbols		Persephone
Proserpina (a.k.a. Proserpine) was the Roman equivalent of
Founder of Mycenae, conceived when his mother (Danaë) was raped by Zeus as a shower of gold; killed the Gorgon Medusa by cutting off her head; also rescued Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, and made her his wife		Perseus
Son of Helios: drove his father's chariot for a day, but failed to control it and was killed by Zeus to prevent disaster; gave his name to a horse–drawn carriage		Phaët(h)on
The seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, transformed into a star cluster after their deaths		Pleiades
Third son of Cronos and Rhea (brother of Zeus and Rhea), giver or possessor of riches (originally called Hades Pluto)		Pluto
God of Wealth – portrayed as a boy bearing a cornucopia		Plutus
Son of Zeus and Aphrodite, rejected by Aphrodite because of his enormous phallus		Priapus
Killed victims by stretching them or cutting off their legs to fit into his bed		Procrustus
Titan who created mankind and was its greatest benefactor: stole fire from Olympus and gave it to man		Prometheus
Spirit of the soul; beautiful maiden (according to Apuleius) beloved of Eros		Psyche
King of Cyprus who fell in love with a statue made by himself		Pygmalion
Dragon or serpent that guarded the Delphic Oracle (believed to be the centre of the Earth) – killed by Apollo		Python
Twin brothers who founded the city of Rome (according to tradition)		Romulus and Remus
Mother of Romulus and Remus		Rea Silvia
Young humans with the lower limbs of a goat: associated with Dionysus and Pan, and with male sexual appetite; cf. Faun		Satyrs
Orion was killed by		Scorpio
Two or three "bird–women" who lived on an island (exact identity not consistently identified) and lured sailors onto the rocks by their singing; Odysseus escaped by having all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast		Sirens
Founder and first king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth): punished for his belief that he was more clever than Zeus himself, by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and repeat for eternity.		Sisyphus
River that had to be crossed by the souls of the dead; Achilles was dipped in it by his mother (Thetis), hoping to make him immortal		Styx
Punished by being made to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink it, under fruit that moved away if he reached for it		Tantalus
Wife of the sea god Oceanus: gave her name to the fifth largest satellite of the planet Saturn, and the ocean or sea that was formed when Pangaea split to form Laurasia and Gondwanaland		Tethys
City in central Greece: founded, according to legend, by Cadmus, the first Greek hero; site of the myths of Oedipus, Dionysus and Heracles (among others); shares its name with a city in ancient Egypt		Thebes
Founder–king of Athens; son of two fathers (one of whom was Poseidon; the other was Aegeus, the goat–man, king of Athens); performed six labours on his way to Athens to claim his birthright; also (more famously) killed the Minotaur		Theseus
Symbol of Poseidon: a weapon with which he struck the ground to create springs		Trident
Anyone who looked into the eyes of Medusa		Turned to stone
Monoceros: Greek name for the		Unicorn
Usually considered to be the mother of Cupid, in Latin literature		Venus
Guarded the temple of the Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family		Vestal Virgins
Son of Zeus and Hera, husband of Venus		Vulcan
The west wind, and bringer of light breezes in spring and early summer (to the Greeks; Favonius in Latin)		Zephyr

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23