During Hercules’ labor involving Geryon’s cattle, Hercules killed the herdsman Eurytion.
Eurytion guarded Geryon’s red cattle together with Orthrus, a two-headed watchdog. Hercules first killed Orthrus and then Eurytion before driving the herd away. He eventually defeated Geryon himself, the three-bodied giant who owned the cattle.
Eurytion is easy to confuse with Orthrus because both served as guardians of the herd. Orthrus was the monstrous dog, while Eurytion was the human or giant herdsman. Geryon was the cattle’s owner, not its herdsman, and Eurystheus was the king who imposed the labor.
The cattle were kept in the far western world, traditionally associated with Erytheia. To reach them, Hercules crossed the ocean in the golden cup lent by Helios, a detail that connects this labor with several other famous episodes in the cycle.