Welcome to the fourth installment of our Labors of Hercules challenge. Are you up for it? Read on and find everything about this new challenge awaiting you.
Labor 4: Capture the Erymantian boar
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| Paramount pictures: Hercules movie Hercules fighting the Erymanthian boar |
This one was called the Erymanthian boar, because it lived on a mountain called Erymanthus. Every day the boar would come crashing down from his lair on the mountain, attacking men and animals all over the countryside, gouging them with its tusks, and destroying everything in its path.
On his way to hunt the boar, Hercules stopped to visit his friend Pholus, who was a centaur and lived in a cave near Mount Erymanthus. Everyone knows that centaur is a human from his head to his waist, and a horse for the rest of his body and his legs. Hercules was hungry and thirsty, so the kindly centaur cooked Hercules some meat in the fireplace, while he himself ate his meat raw. When Hercules asked for wine, Pholus said that he was afraid to open the wine jar, because it belonged to all the centaurs in common. But Hercules said not to worry, and opened it himself. Soon afterwards, the rest of the centaurs smelled the wine and came to Pholus's cave. They were angry that someone was drinking all of their wine. The first two who dared to enter were armed with rocks and fir trees.
Hercules grabbed burning sticks from the fireplace and threw them at the centaurs, then went after them with his club.He shot arrows at the rest of them and chased after them for about twenty miles. The rest of the centaurs fled in different directions. One of the centaurs, Chiron, received a wound that no amount of medicine would heal...but what happened to Chiron is another story.
While Hercules was gone, Pholus pulled an arrow from the body of one of the dead centaurs. He wondered that so little a thing could kill such a big creature. Suddenly, the arrow slipped from his hand. It fell onto his foot and killed him on the spot. So when Hercules returned, he found Pholus dead. He buried his centaur friend, and proceeded to hunt the boar.
It wasn't too hard for Hercules to find the boar. He could hear the beast snorting and stomping as it rooted around for something to eat. Hercules chased the boar round and round the mountain, shouting as loud as he could. The boar, frightened and out of breath, hid in a thicket. Hercules poked his spear into the thicket and drove the exhausted animal into a deep patch of snow.
Then he trapped the boar in a net, and carried it all the way to Mycenae. Eurystheus, again amazed and frightened by the hero's powers, hid in his partly buried bronze jar.
Hercules trapped the Erymantian boar and carried it all the way to Mycenae. This is quite a labor and will be the theme of this labor. This labor will teach your perseverance. To start a new challenge, find your way and to keep moving forwards even with a big weight upon your shoulders. This is how tough men are built, be a winner not a quitter.
My labor:
So I thought about how I could recreate this labor the best and came upon an idea. First I made my Erymantian boar. I took a few big plastic garbage bags and put one into another. Then I filled them up with sand untill I was at 50kg. (not the same weight as a full grown boar but nevertheless a big weight to carry upon your shoulders. I reinforced the garbage bags using duct tape. Then I set of with my Erymantian boar upon my shoulders in nature. I walked for what seemed an eternity but in reality was around 20km's. #laborcompleted
Remember scale this challenge to your own bodyweight, make sure the weight is high but not too much for your body to handle. As always be careful and good luck!
1. Slay the Nemean Lion
4. Capture the Erymantian Boar
6. Slay the Stymphalean birds
7. Capture the Cretan bull
8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes
9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon
11. Steal the Apples of Hesperides
12. Capture and bring back Cerberus
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