Note to The Taming of the Shrew, 1.2.256: "Alcides' twelve"


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The Taming of the Shrew,
Act 1, Scene 2, line 256.
Alcides' twelve: i.e., the twelve labors of Hercules (the descendant of Alcaeus), who is the only one capable of conquering Katharina.
Image Source: www.perseus.tufts.edu
Labor 1: The Nemean Lion
Labor 2: The Lernean Hydra
Labor 3: The Hind of Ceryneia
Labor 4: The Erymanthean Boar
Labor 5: The Augean Stables
Labor 6: The Stymphalian Birds
Labor 7: The Cretan Bull
Labor 8: The Horses of Diomedes
Labor 9: The Belt of Hippolyte
Labor 10: Geryon's Cattle
Labor 11: The Apples of the Hesperides
Labor 12: Cerberus