Heracles & The Ceryneian Hind: The 12 Labours Of Heracles EP.3 | Greek Mythology

Irritated by Heracles' first two successful labors, Eurystheus thought of a way to punish him. Assigning him his third task, he sent Heracles to capture the Cyrenian hind, a sacred animal of Artemis. His thoughts were that the hero would kill the animal, thereby drawing the ire of the goddess, who would then punish him severely. The Cyrenian hind was a deer with golden horns, bronze hooves, and the speed of lightning. Well aware it was the favorite pet of Artemis, Heracles knew better than to hurt the animal. He tracked and chased after it, but the swift hind continuously eluded him for about a year. At last, when it lay sleeping one day, Heracles snuck up on it and captured it. But as he turned to head back to Tyrens, Artemis and Apollo appeared before him. He pleaded with the goddess that his actions were part of his penance for murdering his wife and children, and promised that the animal would suffer no harm, that as soon as he showed it to Eurystheus, he would let it go. With this, Artemis allowed the young hero to continue on his journey. And so, Heracles returned to the royal court, where Eurystheus wanted to have the deer as his. Knowing he could not break his promise to Artemis, the hero simply asked Eurystheus to come get it himself, and set the animal on the ground. The second the deer was set on the ground, it spirited away, back to the goddess, to the utter dismay of Eurystheus.