Written by Eurystheus sent Heracles ever farther. When the hero returned from his Amazonian campaign, the king commanded him to journey to the world’s edge—where the sun sets—to Erytheia, the Crimson Isle amid Oceanus’ waters, where three-headed giant Geryon kept his herd of red cattle. Heracles was to bring these bulls to Mycenae.
The hero traveled westward through Greece and beyond, resting by the river Eridanus until he reached the towering mountains marking earth’s boundary. Finding no passage to Oceanus, Heracles wrenched apart two colossal cliffs, creating a strait where waters surged forth—joining the Mediterranean Sea with the outer Ocean. To this day, the Pillars of Heracles stand as stone sentinels guarding this gateway.
Upon crossing the mountains, Heracles beheld Oceanus’ endless expanse. There, midwaters, lay his destination. But how to cross? As dusk cooled the air, Helios’ fiery chariot descended. Seizing opportunity, Heracles threatened the sun god with his bow until Helios, amused, granted passage in his golden solar cup.
By midnight, they reached Erytheia. At dawn, a crimson hound—Orthrus—attacked Heracles but fell to his club. Next came Geryon’s herdsman, Eurytion, whose scarlet form matched the isle’s rubicund rocks. A single blow felled him.
Then emerged Geryon himself: three torsos fused, six arms brandishing weapons, three heads snarling. Heracles’ arrow pierced one heart, his club crushed a second skull, and in close combat, the hero throttled the last life from the giant.
The red cattle resisted until Heracles discovered Eurytion’s enchanted flute. Its melody compelled obedience. Driving the herd homeward, he overcame thieves like Cacus at the Tiber and recovered a bull lost to Sicilian waves. Near Argos, Hera scattered the herd, but Heracles persevered, delivering them to Eurystheus—who promptly dedicated the cattle to Hera herself.