How many labors did Heracles have to complete?

The story behind the answer

12. King Eurystheus assigned Heracles a series of “impossible” tasks as penance after Hera drove him mad and he killed his family. Though the list began as ten, Eurystheus refused to count two: the Lernaean Hydra (because Heracles had help from his nephew Iolaus) and the Augean Stables (because he accepted payment for the job). To make up for these, two more were added—bringing the total to twelve.

These Twelve Labors became a greatest-hits tour of Greek myth: slaying the Nemean Lion, capturing the Ceryneian Hind and the Erymanthian Boar, fetching Cerberus from Hades, and more. Memory tip: think “the heroic dozen”—twelve epic feats to match Heracles’ unmatched strength and endurance.