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Long long ago, in the age
before television, Hercules was proud of the tasks he had completed
so far. Angered at Hercules' boasting of the previous tasks
Eurystheus decided Hercules' next task would be something
humiliating. He sent Hercules to clean the augean stables. Not only
would Hercules have to wade through and shovel a pile of filth to do
it but it was also considered to be impossible to do. King Augeas
owned 1000 magic horses and their stables had not been cleaned in 30
years. The workers hadn't even tried cleaning the stables in that
time because the horses were divinely healthy and produced dung
faster then the workers could shovel it. Hercules wasn't thrilled
about the task but he set aside his weapons and armor, picked up a
shovel, and went to King Augeas' palace. King Augeas laughed when he
heard that Hercules had been tasked to clean the stables. King Augeas
had heard of Hercules' power and said even he would take years to
accomplish the task if he could even do it. Hercules made a bet with
King Augeas that he could clean the stables in a single day. King
Augeas laughed and said that if Hercules could get the stables clean
in a single day he would give him 100 of his horses. King Augeus was
so certain Hercules couldn't do it he even made the bet a sacred vow
before Zeus. Confident, Hercules left the palace with his shovel but
didn't even go towards the stables. Instead he went towards the
nearby river Alpheus. On reaching the river he started digging a
channel away from the river and towards the stables. The dirt he dug
out he put into the river to form a dam. The dam and the channel
diverted the course of the entire river which flowed towards stables
and flushed out all the filth in the stables. It took quite a few
hours but eventually the water flowing out of the stables was clean
and pure. Hercules then took down the dam and filled up the channel
to put the river back into it's proper course. He left offerings for
the river spirits and then returned back to King Augeas. King Augeas
was furious that Hercules had won the bet and cleaned the stables
already. He declared that Hercules had cheated on the bet and refused
to pay Hercules the horses that were promised. Because King Augeus
had made the bet a sacred bow to Zeus, Zeus struck down Augeus for
breaking it. Augeus' son, Phyleus, then became king and promptly paid
Hercules the promised horses. Pleased that he had completed another
task without having to wade through the muck and filth that
Eurystheus had hoped would happen, Hercules returned home with his
horses.
Continued in
The Stymphalian Birds