Labor 6 - The Stymphalian Birds: Athena helps Hercules in the course of the 6th Labor.
Getting help from a goddess is not the same thing as getting help from one's nephew (Iolaus), whose help in the 2nd labor invalidated Hercules' decommissioning of the Lernaean Hydra. Thus, when in the completion of the 3rd labor, Hercules had to prevail upon Artemis to let him take the Cerynitian hind to his master, Eurystheus, the labor counted as Hercules' alone. Of course, Artemis didn't exactly help.
She just didn't hinder him further.
In the course of the 6th labor, the chasing away of the Stymphalian birds, Hercules was at a loss, until that goddess-who-helps-heroes, Athena, came to his assistance. Imagine Hercules in the woods, surrounded by a great cacophany of frightened birds cawing and screeching at each other and at him, trying to drive him away -- or at least mad. They almost succeeded, too, until Athena gave him advice and a gift. The advice was to scare the birds using the gift, Hephaestus-forged brazen castanets, and then, pick the Stymphalian Birds off with his bow and arrows, as they emerged from their sheltering forest in Arcadia. Hercules followed the advice, and so completed the sixth task set forth by Eurystheus.
Birds removed, Hercules was halfway finished with his 10 tasks in 12 years, as set forth by the Pythian.
Read: Apollodorus Labor 6
Getting help from a goddess is not the same thing as getting help from one's nephew (Iolaus), whose help in the 2nd labor invalidated Hercules' decommissioning of the Lernaean Hydra. Thus, when in the completion of the 3rd labor, Hercules had to prevail upon Artemis to let him take the Cerynitian hind to his master, Eurystheus, the labor counted as Hercules' alone. Of course, Artemis didn't exactly help.
She just didn't hinder him further.
In the course of the 6th labor, the chasing away of the Stymphalian birds, Hercules was at a loss, until that goddess-who-helps-heroes, Athena, came to his assistance. Imagine Hercules in the woods, surrounded by a great cacophany of frightened birds cawing and screeching at each other and at him, trying to drive him away -- or at least mad. They almost succeeded, too, until Athena gave him advice and a gift. The advice was to scare the birds using the gift, Hephaestus-forged brazen castanets, and then, pick the Stymphalian Birds off with his bow and arrows, as they emerged from their sheltering forest in Arcadia. Hercules followed the advice, and so completed the sixth task set forth by Eurystheus.
Birds removed, Hercules was halfway finished with his 10 tasks in 12 years, as set forth by the Pythian.
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