In Greek mythology, Augeas (also Augeias; Ancient Greek: Αὐγείας), whose name means "bright," was king of Elis and keeper of vast herds whose cattle-yard — the Augean stables — had never been cleaned. Clearing the dung in a single day became the fifth Labour of Heracles, who succeeded by diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the yard. Some authors count Augeas among the Argonauts. From the proverbially filthy stables the adjective "augean" came to denote a daunting task of cleaning or reform.
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I.Family
Augeas's lineage varies across the ancient sources. He was said to be a son of Helios (by Nausidame or by Iphiboe), or of Eleios, or of Poseidon, or of Phorbas and Hyrmine. In the last account he was probably brother of Actor, Tiphys, and Diogeneia. Apollodorus records the Helios, Poseidon, and Phorbas alternatives side by side without choosing among them.
His children include Epicaste, Phyleus, Agamede, Agasthenes, Eurytus, and Ambracia. Phyleus is the son who sides with Heracles in the dispute over the promised reward and is driven into exile at Dulichium; Agasthenes appears in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships as a leader of the Epeians.
II.The Fifth Labour of Heracles
Eurystheus ordered Heracles to carry out the dung of Augeas's cattle in a single day — a task meant to be both humiliating and impossible, since the livestock were divinely healthy and produced an enormous quantity of dung. Tradition gives the herd some three thousand head and says the yard had not been cleaned in over thirty years.
In Apollodorus' account Heracles approached Augeas without revealing Eurystheus' command and offered to clean the yard in one day if paid a tenth of the cattle. Augeas, incredulous, promised. Taking Phyleus as witness, Heracles breached the foundations of the cattle-yard, diverted the nearby Alpheus and Peneus into it, and made an outlet for the flood, washing the filth away.
When Augeas learned the work had been done at Eurystheus' order he refused the reward and denied the promise. At arbitration Phyleus testified for Heracles; Augeas, enraged, expelled both from Elis before a verdict could be given. Eurystheus refused to count the labour among the ten, alleging it had been performed for hire — and because the rivers, not Heracles alone, had done the cleaning.
III.Aftermath and the Olympic Games
Later tradition holds that Heracles returned, made war on Elis, and killed Augeas, installing the loyal Phyleus as king. Pindar connects Heracles' victory over Augeas and his sons Cleatus and Eurytus with the founding of the Olympic Games by the tomb of Pelops.
Roman mosaics and later art often show Heracles rerouting the rivers through the stables — a third-century AD mosaic is a well-known example — fixing the labour as a scene of ingenuity rather than brute strength.