Heracles and the Erymanthian Boar: The Hero’s Fourth Labor

King Eurystheus tasked Heracles with capturing the Erymanthian Boar for his fourth labor after successfully capturing the Ceryneian Hind. The gigantic boar was causing trouble for the farmers and citizens of Psophis in the Peloponnese. To capture the elusive beast, Heracles sought advice from his old friend Pholus, the wise centaur. During his stay, an incident occurred between Heracles and the centaur herd, which would have disastrous consequences for the hero years later. Keep reading to learn about Heracles’ encounter with the centaurs and how he captured the Erymanthian Boar.

King Eurystheus stood outside the city gates, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger, as he watched the Ceryneian Hinds disappear into the wilderness. The King had failed to take the Hind’s reins from Heracles. The crowd remained unconvinced despite the King’s insistence that Heracles had tricked him. They did not see Heracles’ subtle maneuver to free the sacred animal but rather the King’s fumbling attempts to grab the deer’s reins.

Eurystheus, along with Hera – the Queen of Olympus, had always wished for Heracles to fail in the impossible tasks they set for him. In her cunning, Hera had carefully designed the last task to exploit Heracles’ weaknesses. The capture of the Ceryneian Hind was intended to test his wit and speed rather than his strength. Yet, the resourceful Heracles had once again accomplished the impossible and emerged victorious. This success led Eurystheus to assign him his fourth and hopefully final task: to capture and deliver the Erymanthian Boar alive. This new task would exploit all the same weaknesses as the last — but Heracles’ prey would fight back this time.

What Was the Erymanthian Boar?

Despite its seemingly ordinary nature, the Erymanthian Boar was a colossal creature whose sheer weight would challenge even Heracles’ mighty strength. Its aggression was unmatched, with a thick, shaggy hide and tusks that could pierce the toughest armors.

While it lacked supernatural abilities, its aggressive behavior made it a formidable adversary. Unlike other animals that stay in the safety of glens and forests, this Boar would come down from the mountains to delight in destroying the local farms and harassing the poor people of Psophis.

Although the Erymanthian Boar lacked the agility, supernatural speed, and divine protection of the Ceryneian Hind, it proved to be just as tricky for Heracles to trap and capture. Unlike the Hind, which was easy to locate due to its golden horns, the boar’s shaggy hide allowed it to blend into the wilderness and remain hidden. Unlike the Hind, the Erymanthian Boar also had a reputation for being aggressive and was more likely to attack Heracles than flee.

Killing the Erymanthian Boar would have been manageable, but Heracles was required to capture it alive. He realized that he would need to devise a plan to capture the boar without directly confronting it. Heracles knew that if he were to confront the boar directly, only one of them would survive due to the beast’s endless ferocity.

Heracles accepted his new task from Eurystheus without any objections and left Tiryns to search for his latest target. According to most versions of the myth, during Heracles’ fourth labor, the hero took a slight detour on his way to the boar’s den at Mount Erymanthos. Rather than staying in the Peloponnese region where the boar was located, Heracles decided to travel north towards Mount Pelion in Thessaly.

Mount Pelion was the dwelling place of the centaur Pholus, an old friend of Heracles. Centaurs were mythical creatures that had human upper bodies and horse lower bodies. In Greek mythology, centaurs symbolized the duality between the civilized and untamed aspects of human nature. Although centaurs were generally considered wild, uncivilized, and prone to impulsive behavior, there were a few exceptions. For instance, Chiron, the well-known healer, and mentor of heroes such as Achilles, Jason, and Asclepius, personified the peak of civilized thought and education.

According to myth, the unruly and untamed centaur people share the same ancestry. The origins of centaurs began with the sinful King Ixion’s union with Nephele, a cloud nymph who looked identical to the goddess Hera. Zeus created Nephele to test Ixion’s morality, but Ixion failed the test by sleeping with Nephele.

As a punishment, Ixion was sent to Tartarus and bound on a fiery wheel. Meanwhile, Nephele went on to give birth to their son, Centaurus. Unfortunately, Centaurus was shunned by civilized communities due to his hunchback and unappealing appearance. To escape societal rejection, Centaurus fled to the wilderness of Mount Pelion. There, he mated with Magnesian mares, and their offspring became the first herds of wild and untamed centaurs.

Due to their unique origins, Chiron and Pholus were considered more civilized than other centaurs. Chiron, the first centaur to exist, was known for his wisdom and just nature. Unlike his unruly brethren, he was immortal and the child of the Titan Cronos and Philyra, an Oceanid. Similarly, Pholus also had different parents from the majority of centaurs. He was the offspring of the ash tree nymph Melia and the satyr Silenus, a minor god of wine and Dionysus’ companion and tutor.

In Greek mythology, Chiron is often depicted as a wise and supportive mentor, while Pholus is notable only for his encounter with Heracles. It is unclear how Heracles and Pholus became friends, and the reason Heracles sought Pholus’ advice varies in different versions of the myth. Some versions suggest that Heracles visited Pholus to take a break and rest while searching for the Boar. Others do not explain why the hero went out of his way to seek his friend’s guidance. Nevertheless, their meeting would define Heracles’ future and inevitable demises many years later.

As a civilized centaur, Pholus extended exceptional hospitality to Heracles when the hero arrived at his cave on Mount Pelion. Pholus prepared a delectable feast for Heracles, who never declined a good meal. While they dined, Heracles shared his most recent challenge with his old friend and asked Pholus for advice on capturing the Erymanthian Boar alive.

Pholus came up with a plan to help Heracles capture the boar. The plan involved trapping the boar from a distance and forcing it into the deep snow of its home mountain, Erymanthos. Pholus suggested that Heracles chase the boar by shouting and throwing rocks from a hidden position. This would enable Heracles to drive the Boar towards the snowy peaks of Mount Erymanthos.

The idea was to gradually tire the animal by making it run through the deep mounds of mountain snow. Eventually, the Boar would become too exhausted and get stuck in the deep snowy mounds. This tactic would allow Heracles to approach the Boar and bind it with thick metal chains, confident that it would not resist or escape.

Heracles thanked Pholus for the wise advice and decided to begin his journey towards Mount Erymanthos the following day. As the success of Pholus’ plan relied on the snow that would soon melt in the warm summer air, Heracles knew he had to complete his task quickly. However, before leaving, Heracles thought it would be nice to celebrate with his friend. During their conversation, Heracles had his eye on a large wine jar at the back of the cave, which would be perfect for the occasion.

Unknown to Heracles, the casket of wine was not an ordinary one. It was a gift to Pholus from Dionysus, the god of wine. Blessed and created by Dionysus, this rare vintage was one of the finest wines in the world. When Heracles asked for a glass, Pholus hesitated. Pholus, being a civilized centaur, understood that providing his friend with a drink was demanded by the laws of hospitality. Yet, doing so could cause problems.

Mount Pelion was the home of a large group of centaurs, including the legendary Chiron. Although Dionysus gave the jar of wine to Pholus, it was not his personal possession. Instead, it belonged to the entire centaur community on Mount Pelion. The sweet aroma of the wine would attract other centaurs, who tended to become dangerously reckless and impulsive in the presence of wine.

Pholus warned Heracles about the danger of the wine, but Heracles, tempted by its alluring scent, urged Pholus to pour them a glass. After a few sips of the wine, Heracles started feeling its intoxicating effects. As the jar was now open, the other centaurs were able to catch a whiff of the wine and started making their way towards the cave. These centaurs were not like Chiron or Pholus. They were wild and reckless, and the mere aroma of the wine caused them to become intoxicated and frenzied. A centaur named Nessus led the charge as they all rushed into the cave and ferociously sought the wine.

As the frenzied centaurs charged towards the cave, Heracles, slightly inebriated, jumped up to stop them. The hero heard their rowdy approach and took it as a sign of trouble. The charging centaurs did nothing to discourage his belief as they pelted each other and Heracles with stones and attacked with tree branches. The all-consuming rage that had tormented Heracles throughout his life overcame him at that moment. Wielding his mighty club, Heracles forcefully drove the centaurs out of the cave while deflecting their wild and haphazard attacks. Pholus pleaded for peace amid the chaos, but neither the centaurs nor Heracles heard him.

After being forced out of the cave, Heracles dropped his club and drew his bow to shoot the centaurs with arrows coated in lethal hydra venom. The venom-coated arrows instantly killed any centaur unlucky enough to be hit by Heracles. Within minutes, many centaurs lay dead outside the cave, and the remaining few scattered as Heracles chased after them.

In some versions of the myth, Chiron was one of the unlucky centaurs who got hit by Heracles’ venomous arrows, but because he was immortal, he did not die. Instead, he endured unbearable pain and prayed for the gods to end his immortality so he could die and be free of the agony. The gods answered his prayers and transformed Chiron into the constellation Centaurus. However, these versions of the myth confuse the mythological timeline, as Chiron had yet to mentor Achilles a generation later.

Pholus emerged from his cave and witnessed the disastrous aftermath of the battle as Heracles, fuelled by rage, drunkenly chased after Nessus and the surviving centaurs. He was confused about how quickly his fellow centaurs had died from a single arrow wound. Pholus was unaware that the arrows were poisoned. He tried to remove one to examine it more closely but accidentally dropped it, and it pierced his hoof.

After calming down and getting tired of chasing the remaining centaurs, Heracles returned to the cave of his old friend Pholus. As he approached the cave, his heart suddenly stopped, and he let out a roar of grief. Amid the lifeless bodies, Heracles spotted his beloved friend Pholus lying dead with an arrow protruding from his front hoof.

The next day, Heracles buried all the dead and held an honored funeral for his host and close friend, Pholus. He buried him at the base of the mountain that would go on to bear his name. In many versions of the story, as a gesture of appreciation for Pholus’ exceptional hospitality, the gods elevated him to the heavens as the Centaurus constellation instead of Chiron.

After the battle with Heracles, the surviving centaurs did not return to Mount Pelion and instead scattered across Greece. Nessus, who had led the charge, fled to the south and became a ferryman on the Euenos River. Nessus never forgot what Heracles had done to his people and spent his days thinking of ways to take revenge against the great hero. Many years later, when Heracles had gained much fame and found a semblance of happiness and peace, he would need to cross the Euenos River. Then, Nessus enacted his revenge, leading to the downfall of the great hero, Heracles.

After searching for a while, Heracles finally found the Erymanthian Boar. The hero successfully led the boar up the mountain with Pholus’ brilliant strategy, and eventually, the boar became trapped in the deep snow on the snowy peaks. Once the beast could not resist, Heracles bound it in heavy metal chains and carried it on his shoulders.

Heracles faced a long and demanding journey back to Tiryns after his fourth labor and he was pushed to his limits carrying the enormous Erymanthian Boar. The journey took weeks, and although the boar was bound, it fiercely struggled against its restraints. Upon arriving at Tiryns, Heracles’ back was covered in blood as the boar had slashed him while trying to break free from its bindings.

The capture of the Erymanthian Boar had been a sad and monotonous challenge for Heracles. He had lost his dear friend and had to endure weeks of pain while carrying the massive and temperamental animal.

Despite this, there was a silver lining. Upon Heracles’ arrival at the city gates, King Eurystheus grew terrified at the sight of the enormous boar. Eurystheus leaped into a large jar, which he had ordered to hold any prizes that Heracles had brought him. With the Erymanthian Boar still wriggling on his back, Heracles approached the jar and asked the trembling king what he wanted to do with the massive animal. Eurystheus, petrified, raised his gaze and saw an amused Heracles and the grunting boar staring back at him.

With a panicked squeal, Eurystheus commanded Heracles to dispose of the beast immediately. Heracles smiled faintly as he hurled the enormous boar into the sea with all his strength. Some say the boar swam westward until it reached Italy, where it spent the rest of its days. As the Erymanthian Boar swam away, Heracles peeked back into the large jar to await instructions for his fifth labor: Cleaning the Augean stables in a single day.