How many labors did Heracles complete?

Heracles completed twelve labors, the famous sequence of trials imposed by King Eurystheus.

The cycle began after Hera drove Heracles into a fit of madness in which he killed his wife Megara and their children. Seeking purification, he consulted the oracle at Delphi and was ordered to serve Eurystheus. The tasks included defeating the Nemean Lion, killing the Lernaean Hydra, capturing the Ceryneian Hind, obtaining the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, and bringing Cerberus from the Underworld.

Eurystheus originally assigned ten labors, but he rejected two of Heracles’ accomplishments. He discounted the Hydra because Heracles received help from his nephew Iolaus, and he rejected the cleaning of the Augean stables because Heracles had expected payment. Two additional tasks were therefore added, producing the canonical total of twelve.

The exact order and some details vary among ancient authors, especially in accounts associated with Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, and Euripides. That variation does not change the standard answer. Heracles is the Greek name; Hercules is the later Roman form.