Hercules and the Cattle of Geryon - The Labours of Hercules - Greek Mythology Stories

The King Eurystheus wanted to see Hercules as far as possible and, as his tenth labor, the hero would have to steal the cattle of the giant Gerion. The giant lived on the mythical island of Eretria, near the Iberian Peninsula. The journey was quite long and no Greek had ever traveled so far. Hercules sailed for a long time, until he reached an immense mountain, which separated the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, but not even a huge mountain would stop the son of Zeus. Hercules used all his strength to split the mountain in two and pulled the two halves apart. With that, the hero connected the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and proceeded his journey. The two big hills created by the hero would be known as the Pillars of Hercules, and nowadays, this place is known as the Strait of Gibraltar. Hercules finally arrived in the island of Eretria. No Greek had ever dared to approach the bulls of the giant son of Chrysao, since Gerion was a horrible creature that had several bodies in one. The giant also had a two-headed guard dog called Orthos, the brother of Cerberus, the infernal dog. Hercules fought against the dog, killing it with his powerful mace. Stealthily, Hercules started to lead the cattle, but was detected by Gerion, who started an attack. The fight between Hercules and Gerion was intense, and this time, it appeared that Hercules was about to be defeated. But the hero realized that the goddess Hera, the enemy of Hercules, was hidden and helping the Hercules shot an arrow against the goddess. Wounded, she flew back to Olympus. The demigod picked one of his arrows, soaked with the poisonous Hydra's blood, and shot it against Gerion. The giant had been killed, and now, Hercules could finally return to Greece, leading the famous bulls of Gerion.