Labor V

Abstract

Heracles’ cleaning of the Augean stables is the least glamorous of his Labors: we see a paradigmatic hero reduced to the menial task of mucking out animals. As a result, the number of extant accounts and images of this Labor is relatively small. The texts and images that include this narrative often downplay Heracles’ contact with the object of his task by focusing on his supernatural ability to redirect the river he uses to clear the dung. Nevertheless, the very fact that Heracles is acting as a servant to Augeas under the orders of Eurystheus means that he is necessarily in a subservient position. Each of the versions of this Labor deals differently with the complex relationship between heroism, status, money, and violence that results from Heracles’ position in this myth.