Heracles.
     The fourth labor of Heracles (Hercules) was to capture the Ceryneian hind (also known as the Arcadian Stag). A deer with golden horns and bronze feet, the animal was sacred to Artemis (Diana) and could not be harmed without incurring the goddess’s wrath. Heracles tracked the hind for a year, finally catching up with it by the bank of the river Ladon. There, he grazed it with an arrow and slung it on his back, preparing to carry it back to Tiryns. On his way he met Artemis, who demanded the return of her sacred beast. Her wrath was appeased, however, when Heracles put the blame for his misdeeds on Eurystheus and promised to release the hind after showing it in Tiryns.
     Pindar set his version of this tale in the land of the Hyperboreans and said that the deer’s golden horn was stamped with the name of Artemis. This story is often linked to that of Heracles’ eleventh labor, obtaining the Apples of the Hesperides, and in some classical vase paintings the hind is depicted beside the tree of the Hesperides.

Further Reference:
Galinsky, G. Karl. 1972. The Herakles Theme: The Adaptations of the Hero in Literature from Homer to the Twentieth Century. Totowa, N.J., Rowman & Littlefield.


Listings for Heracles' Labors are arranged under the following headings:
Heracles Labors, General List
The Nemean Lion
The Lernean Hydra
The Erymanthian Boar
The Ceryneian Hind
The Stymphalian Birds
The Stables of Augeas
Heracles and Antaeus
The Cretan Bull
The Mares of Diomedes
The Girdle of Hippolyta
The Cattle of Geryon
The Apples of the Hesperides
Cerberus

For Heracles entries generally:
Heracles