The first six labors had taken place in the Peloponnese area of mainland Greece. The final six took Herakles far afield.

Herakles would eventually die, having been poisoned by a robe dipped in the blood of the centaur Nessus. But even death could not contain this hero. As his body burned in a huge funeral pyre, he ascended to heaven, where he was reconciled with Hera and given her daughter Hebe in marriage.