Hercules' Twelve Labours

According to legend, Hercules received twelve tasks from King Eurystheus. These included the killing of the nine-headed Hydra and the expulsion of the Stymphalic birds. To drive the birds out, goddess Athena gave him two metal rattles, with which he frightened the animals and then shot them with his arrows. Hercules even had to kill a real lion as one of his tasks, whose fur he wore afterwards as a cape. It made him almost invincible. The Kerynite hind hunted Hercules for a year before he could catch it. The doe had golden antlers and was so fast that it could even dodge arrows. Since it was sacred, Hercules was not allowed to kill it, but had to catch it alive. The Erymanthian Boar devastated the area around Mount Erymanthos, so Hercules was sent to stop his rage. Hercules drove the boar into a snow field where it quickly tired, caught it and brought it to Mycenae. As a seventh task the hero tamed the Cretan bull, brought it to Eurystheus and then released it. The play set represents seven of the twelve works of Hercules and contains the mythical figure of Hercules, a lion, a three-headed snake, a bull, a boar, a hind with golden antlers and a golden apple.