. Alcldes or Alcaeus (from his grandfather,Alceus or Alcaeus, the father of Amphitryon)—and ordered him to live at Tiryns, and to serveEurystheus for the space of twelve years, afterwhich he should become immortal. Heraclesaccordingly went to Tiryns, and executed thetwelve labours which Eurystheus ordered himto perform.—The number twelve is not found inthe older writers, and the complete cycle is madeup by later additions. It is probably of Phoeni-cian origin, and is borrowed from the twelve signsof the Zodiac in connexion with the w
. Alcldes or Alcaeus (from his grandfather,Alceus or Alcaeus, the father of Amphitryon)—and ordered him to live at Tiryns, and to serveEurystheus for the space of twelve years, afterwhich he should become immortal. Heraclesaccordingly went to Tiryns, and executed thetwelve labours which Eurystheus ordered himto perform.—The number twelve is not found inthe older writers, and the complete cycle is madeup by later additions. It is probably of Phoeni-cian origin, and is borrowed from the twelve signsof the Zodiac in connexion with the worship ofMelkart or of the sun-god Baal [see below].In literature the whole twelve labours firstappear in the Heraclea of Pisander, about , and are similarly given by Euripides(H. F. 347 ff.), but Sophocles {Track. 1092 ft.)mentions only six. Ten appear on the so-calledTheseum at Athens; twelve were shown on thetemple of Zeus at Olympia (of which fragmentshave been discovered) and on the Heracleum atThebes (Paus. v. 10, 9, ix. 11,4). The only one. I. HeracleB and Nemean Lion. (From a Roman lamp.) of the twelve labours mentioned by Homer ishis descent into the lower world to carry offCerberus, but he speaks of them in the plural(II. v. 395, viii. 366, xv. 639; Od. xi. 623). We also find in Homer his expedition to Troy, to fetchthe horses which Laomedon had refused him ;and his war against the Pylians, when hedestroyed the whole family of their king, Ne-leus, with the exception of Nestor (II. v. 638;Od. xxi. 14). Hesiod mentions several of thefeats of Heracles distinctly, but knows nothingof their number twelve. They are ? usually ar-ranged in the following order.—1. The fightwith the Nemean lion. The valley of Nemea,between Cleonas and Phlius, was inhabited bya monstrous lion, the offspring of Typhon Eurystheus ordered Heracles tobring him the skin of this monster. Afterusing in vain his club and arrows against thelion, he strangled the animal with his
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