The Boar of Erymanthus

Story

The Fourth Labor of Heracles (Hercules in Roman tradition) was the capture of the Erymanthian Boar, a massive and ferocious beast that lived on Mount Erymanthus in Arcadia.

Eurystheus commanded Heracles to bring the boar back alive. This was no small feat—the animal was huge, powerful, and terrified the countryside, ravaging fields and attacking anyone who came near.

On his way to hunt the boar, Heracles visited the wise centaur Pholus. During the visit, Heracles opened a jar of wine that belonged to all the centaurs. The strong scent drew other centaurs, leading to a violent clash. In the ensuing battle, Heracles drove them away with his poisoned arrows. Tragically, Pholus was accidentally killed when he dropped one of Heracles’s arrows on his foot, and the great centaur Chiron was also wounded, beginning his long tale of suffering.

Continuing on his mission, Heracles pursued the Erymanthian Boar through the thick snow of Mount Erymanthus. Using the terrain to his advantage, he chased and exhausted the beast until it fell into a snowdrift. Heracles then bound it with chains and carried it back alive.

When Eurystheus saw Heracles approaching with the massive, snarling boar, he was so terrified that he hid inside a bronze jar (or storage pithos) and refused to come out until the animal was gone.

This labor shows Heracles’s skill and cunning in subduing nature’s fury without killing it, unlike many of his other tasks. It also intertwines with the tragic story of the centaurs, reminding us that his strength often brought unintended consequences.