Editing Labours of Hercules (section)

===Fifth: Augean stables===
[[File:Hercules cleans the Augean stables by redirecting the rive.jpg|thumb|Heracles cleans the Augean stables by redirecting the river|left]]
[[File:Mosaico_Trabajos_Hércules_(M.A.N._Madrid)_05.jpg|right|thumb|250x250px|Heracles rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, to clean out the Augean stables]]
The fifth labour was to clean the stables of King [[Augeas]]. This assignment was intended to be both humiliating and impossible, since these divine livestock were immortal, and had produced an enormous quantity of dung. The Augean ({{IPAc-en|ɔː|ˈ|dʒ|iː|ə|n}}) stables had not been cleaned in over 30 years, and over 1,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers [[Alfeios River|Alpheus]] and [[Pineios River (Peloponnese)|Peneus]] to wash out the filth.

Before starting on the task, Heracles had asked Augeas for one-tenth of the cattle if he finished the task in one day, and Augeas agreed, but afterwards Augeas refused to honour the agreement on the grounds that Heracles had been ordered to carry out the task by Eurystheus anyway. Heracles claimed his reward in court and was supported by Augeas' son [[Phyleus]]. Augeas banished them both before the court had ruled. Heracles returned, slew Augeas, and gave his kingdom to Phyleus.

The success of this labour was ultimately discounted as the rushing waters had done the work of cleaning the stables, and because Heracles was paid for doing the labour; Eurystheus determined that Heracles still had seven labours to perform.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://olympusfd.gr/images/Maps/map_us.pdf|title=Maps of Mount Olympus|access-date=2019-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921212448/http://www.olympusfd.gr/images/Maps/map_us.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>