But the king was so taken with the noble appearance of the animal that he secretly placed it among his own herds and offered another to Neptune. Angered by this, the god had caused the animal to become mad, and it was bringing great destruction to the island of Crete. To capture this animal, master it, and bring it before Eurystheus, was the seventh labor of Hercules. When the hero came to Crete and with this intention stepped before Minos, the king was not a little pleased over the prospect of ridding the island of the bull, and he himself helped Hercules to capture the raging animal. Hercules approached the dreadful monster without fear, and so thoroughly did he master him that he rode home on the animal the whole way to the sea. With this work Eurystheus was pleased, and after he had regarded the animal for a time with pleasure, set it free. No longer under Hercules' management, the ox became wild again, wandered through all Laconia and Arcadia, crossed over the isthmus to Marathon in Attica and devastated the country there as formerly on the island of Crete. Later it was given to the hero Theseus to become master over him. The Legend of the Seventh Labor of Hercules, the Cretan Bull
Seventh Labor of Hercules, the Cretan Bull - The 12 Labors of Hercules
The twelve labors of Hercules, or Heracles, involved dangerous tasks relating to the Nemean lion, the Hydra, the Ceryneian Hind, the Erymanthian Boar, the Augean stables, the Stymphalian Birds, the Cretan Bull, the Mares of Diomedes, the Belt of Hippolyta, the Cattle of Geryon, the Apples of the Hesperides and Cerberus. The mythical story of each of the 12 Labors of Hercules can be discovered via the following articles: |
