Scared that his stepson might kill someone else, Amphitryon sent Herakles away to a cattle ranch, where he then grew to be about 8 feet tall and the stongest man in the world, a fact he demonstrated by single-handedly killing a lion that had been attacking the cattle of King Thespius. Thespius was so impresses with the young Herakles, he decided that all 50 of his daughters should have Herakles Baby. He sent a different daughter to Herakles every night, and Herakles never noticed the difference.
The tasks were as follows
2 - Kill the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra
3 - Capture the Ceryneian Hind
4 - Kill the wild Erymanthian Boar
5 - Clean the Augeas Stables
6 - Kill the carnivourous birds of the Stymphalian Marsh
7 - Capture the fire-breathing Cretan Bull
8 - Catch the man-eating Mares of King Diomedes
9 - Steal the Hippolyte Girdle
10 - Capture the Cattle of Geryon
Herakles had performed ten labors in eight years, but Eurystheus insisted that Herakles still owed him two more labors, as two of them didn't count.
Which were:
11 - Steal the Golden Apples from the Garden of Hesperides
12 - Bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Hades, to the surface world
At last he was purified of his crime, and free from Eurysteus's service.
But Herakles didn't stay out of trouble for long. He thought his first marriage was unlucky because he had murdered his children, so he gave his wife, Megara ,to his nephew Iolaus and went looking for a new bride
Prince Eurytus had promised his daughters hand in marriage to anyone who could him and his sons in an archery match. Hercules accepted the challenge and won. But Eurytus would not let Herakles marry his daughter Iole, as he was scared that Herakles might lose his mind again. Herakles was soon to prove him right.
He unknowingly bought some cattle that had been stolen from Eurytus, and when Iphitus (the Kings Son), Went to discuss the theft with Herakles, He once again went insane and threw Iphitus from the highest tower in Tiryins. So, once again, Herakles was a murderer, and once again he wanted to be purified. He went back to the Oracle who had helped him before, but this time she could not help him. Herakles then went insane again and tore her shrine to pieces. Angry at this, Apollo attacked Herakles, and they fought unti Zeus intervened and made them shake hands. Herakles put the shrine back together and the Oracle told him that this time he could be purified by becoming a slave for three years. He was then sold to Queen Omphale of Lydia, where he was made to dress like and do the chores of women. After the three years, Herakles left and returned to his adventures.
Eventually Herakles again married, this time to Deianeira, daughter of Dionysus. One day herakles paid the centaur Nessus to take his wife across the river. But Nessus tried to rape Deianeira and Herakles shot him. Before Nessus died, he told Deianeira how to make a love potion from his blood. She saved the potion until Herakles had finally conqurered Oechalia and taken Iole as his mistress. Then Deianeira made a shirt, soaked it in the potion and sent it to Herakles, thinking that it would cause him to abandon Iole for her.
But Nessus had tricked Deianeira. His blood actually contained Hydra poison from Herakles arrow. When Herakles put the shirt on, it burned his flesh and made his blood boil. He jumped into a stream, but that made it worse. He tried to tear his shirt off, but parts of his body came with it. Enraged, he found the man who had delivered the shirt, and killed him. He the boarded a ship and headed home to Deianeira. But she had saved him the trouble by already killing herself.
Unable to stand the pain any longer, Herakles built hinself a funeral pyre, climbed onto it , and asked his friends to set fire to him. The only one to do so was his friend Philoctetes. Proud of his son for dying so bravely, Zeus than made him immortal. Zeus even managed to convince Hera to let herakles marry Hebe, and Herakles became the porter of Olympus.
