The saga of the tenth labor of Heracles begins in the court of Tiryns, where King Eurystheus sat upon his throne, brooding over the hero's continued successes. Heracles had already conquered the most terrifying beasts of the Peloponnese, but Eurystheus believed that if he sent the hero to the very ends of the known world, he might never return. The king commanded Heracles to fetch the cattle of Geryon. This was no simple rustling of livestock; the cattle were held on the mythical island of Erytheia, which lay beyond the Pillars of Hercules in the Hesperides' realm, where the sun sets in a blaze of crimson light. The island’s name itself, 'the Red One,' spoke of its position at the edge of the world, bathed in the eternal glow of the evening sky.
Heracles set out on his journey, traveling through the vast and unforgiving landscapes of North Africa. As he marched through the Libyan desert, the sun god Helios beat down upon him with such ferocity that the hero’s patience finally snapped. In a moment of divine audacity, Heracles drew his great bow and aimed an arrow at the sun itself, threatening to shoot Helios out of the sky. Rather than striking the hero down for his insolence, Helios was moved by the man's incredible boldness. Recognizing the hero's desperation and his divine lineage as a son of Zeus, Helios descended and offered Heracles a gift: a massive golden cup, or bowl, in which the sun traveled from the west back to the east each night across the Great Ocean. Using this divine vessel, Heracles was able to sail across the Atlantic waters, bypassing the treacherous currents that guarded the western reaches.
Upon reaching the island of Erytheia, Heracles landed his golden boat and prepared for battle. The island was a place of surreal beauty, but it was guarded by the most savage creatures imaginable. The first to sense his presence was Orthrus, the two-headed hound of Geryon. Orthrus was a beast of terrible pedigree, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and the brother of the three-headed Cerberus who guarded the underworld. As the two-headed dog lunged at him with bared fangs, Heracles swung his heavy olive-wood club with a force that could shatter mountains. A single, crushing blow ended the life of the guardian dog. However, the noise of the struggle alerted Eurytion, the herdsman and son of the god Ares. Eurytion rushed to defend his charges, but he too fell before the overwhelming might of the son of Zeus.
Finally, the master of the island appeared. Geryon was a monster of unique and terrifying biology. According to the ancient accounts, he possessed three heads and three bodies, all joined at the waist, supported by six legs and wielding six arms. This triple-man was a warrior of immense skill, and he came at Heracles armored in three sets of bronze gear, carrying three shields and three spears. The battle between the hero and the giant was a clash of titans that shook the very foundations of Erytheia. Geryon’s triple-strength allowed him to strike from multiple angles at once, but Heracles was a master of the long-range kill. Drawing a bowstring seasoned by many battles, Heracles loosed an arrow that had been dipped in the venomous blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The arrow flew true, piercing Geryon through his side where his three bodies met. The poison, so potent that it could kill even the most resilient of monsters, spread through Geryon’s veins, and the giant collapsed like a massive oak tree falling in a silent forest.
With Geryon defeated, Heracles gathered the magnificent red cattle and began the arduous journey home. This return trip, however, proved to be as difficult as the theft itself. He drove the herd through the wild lands of Iberia and reached the Pyrenees Mountains. Here, the myths tell of his encounter with Pyrene, the daughter of King Bebryx. The two shared a brief and tragic romance, and when Pyrene perished after being attacked by wild animals, Heracles was so overcome with grief that he piled stones over her grave until they formed the great mountain range that still bears her name. Leaving the mountains, he continued through Gaul, fighting off local tribes who attempted to steal the divine cattle.
As he reached the shores of Italy, near the future site of Rome, Heracles faced one of his most cunning adversaries: the fire-breathing giant Cacus. While Heracles slept, Cacus stole eight of the finest cattle, dragging them backward into his cave on the Aventine Hill so that their hoofprints would lead away from his lair. When Heracles woke and found his animals missing, he was initially deceived by the false tracks. However, as he led the remainder of the herd past Cacus’s cave, one of the stolen cows lowed in response to its companions. Realizing the trickery, Heracles tore the roof off the cave and strangled the fire-breathing monster in a brutal struggle, reclaiming his prize.