Augean Stables
conceptThe fifth labour of Heracles: cleaning the stables of King Augeas, which held 3,000 cattle and had not been cleaned in thirty years.
The Myth
He cleaned thirty years of manure in a single day — by rerouting two rivers through the stables. King Augeas of Elis owned divine cattle that never sickened, so their dung had accumulated for three decades. Eurystheus assigned this deliberately humiliating task. Heracles diverted the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to flood through the stables, washing them clean in hours. Augeas had promised one-tenth of his cattle as payment but refused when he learned it was a labour for Eurystheus. Heracles later returned with an army and killed Augeas. The labour established one of myth's most enduring metaphors — an Augean task means an overwhelmingly filthy or corrupt situation requiring radical action.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The phrase Augean stables is still used in English to describe any overwhelmingly corrupt situation needing a clean sweep.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
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