Atlas gladly placed the heavy firmament on Herakles’ shoulders and took his way to the Garden. There he contrived to put the many-headed dragon to sleep and then slay him. Taking possession of the Golden Apples, he returned with them to Herakles.
“I thank thee very much, friend Atlas,” said Herakles. “Take thy place again and give me the apples.”
“Nay, I have borne the weight of the heavens for a long time,” answered Atlas. “Thou hadst better keep my place and I will carry the Golden Apples to Eurystheus.”
Herakles was taken aback at this reply and began to consider how he might escape from this unexpected dilemma. At last he spoke. “Very well, I will willingly remain in thy place, friend Atlas,” he said. “One thing only I must first ask of thee. Take the heavens back just for a moment while I get a pad to put on my head so that the weight may not hurt it. Otherwise the heavens will fall and crush us both.”
Poor, simple old Atlas agreed to this, and putting the Golden Apples on the ground he again took the firmament on his shoulders. Herakles picked up the apples and went off saying, “We must not bear malice toward each other, friend Atlas. Good-by.”
With this he departed and hastened back to Mykenæ.
CHAPTER XIV
THE TWELFTH LABOR—HERAKLES FETCHES CERBERUS OUT OF HADES
According to the terms of the doom that was laid upon Herakles, the performance of the last task was to free him from Eurystheus. Eleven were now fulfilled and the tyrant’s heart failed him when he thought of what he might expect at the hands of the hero he had used so ill when once he was free from his power.
Cowards always fear those whom they have ill-treated, so he determined to send Herakles on an errand from which he thought he could not possibly return. He had come back unharmed from every known and unknown country on the face of the earth, but who was ever known to return alive from the land of the dead? So Eurystheus as a last task ordered him to go down to Hades and bring out alive Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the lower world, feeling sure that Herakles would remain forever in Hades.
Cerberus was a terrible monster. Besides having three heads, he had a tail which ended in a serpent’s head, and all along his spine he had serpents’ heads instead of hair. His duty was to see that no dead should escape from Hades after once entering its gates.