Chapter 11 The Tale of Hercules-11

King Eurystheus gave a fifth task.He was sent to do what a hero would seem to disdain to do, namely, to clear Augeas' cowshed in a day.Augeas was the king of Elis and had a large number of cattle.His herds of cattle are all locked in the cowshed in front of the palace according to the ancient custom, and there are more than 3,000 head of cattle in it.It has been filled with cow dung over the years.Hercules didn't know what to do to get rid of the dung in just one day. Hercules came to King Augeas and was willing to clean the cowshed for him, but he did not say that this was the task entrusted to him by Eurystheus.Augeas looked at the burly man in lion skin in front of him, and couldn't help laughing when he thought that such a noble warrior was willing to do a job like a servant's.But he thought again, selfish desires are alluring, maybe this warrior is greedy for huge profits, and he wants me to give him a big reward.If he can clean the cowshed in one day, I will give him a big reward, but how can so much cow dung be cleaned in one day?It is impossible for anyone to do this.Thinking of this, the king said confidently, "Listen, stranger, if you can clean the cowshed in front of the palace in one day, I will give you a tenth of the cows."

Hercules accepted the condition.The king thought he was about to clean it up, but Hercules called Philoius, the son of Augeas, to be a witness, and then he dug a ditch on the side of the cowshed, and Alpheus And the water of the Penaeus River was brought in and flowed through the cowshed to wash away the pile of cow dung inside. As a result, he completed the task without even getting his hands dirty. Augeas then heard that Heracles had been ordered by Eurystheus to do this, and wanted to renege on the debt, denying his promise, refusing to pay Hercules anything, and saying , If Hercules refuses to accept, they can go to court.When the judge tried, Philoius, the son of Augeas, testified that it was true, and his father promised to reward Heracles with a large reward.Augeas was furious, and without waiting for a sentence, he ordered his son and the stranger to leave his kingdom at once.