LP0046 - Cerberus and Apples - 11th & 12th Labors, from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History

Legendary Passages #0046 - Cerberus and Apples -
11th & 12th Labors, from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History.

Last time Theseus fought with amazons and was imprisoned in Hades. This time Heracles must also go to Hades and complete his own labors.

But first an overview of Orpheus, master of melodies. He was an Argonaut who, after he lost his wife, went to Hades to try to bring her back to life. His son induced Heracles into the Eleusinian Mysteries and he descended into the underworld. Hercules was welcomed by his half-sister Persephone, who gave him Ceberus and also released Theseus.

His last labor was to retrieve the so-called "Golden Apples" of the Hesperides. Here the author speculates that they might have been gold-colored sheep, guarded by a shepherd named 'Dracon'.

The Hesperides were the beautiful daughters of Atlas and Hesperis. King Bisuris had pirates kidnap them, but Heracles killed the pirates and then the King. As a reward Atlas taught him the science of astrology.

Lastly, the Amazons and Scythians invaded Attica to rescue Princess Antiope. Though she died in battle, the Athenians prevailed, and the Amazons forsake their homeland and retreated to Scythia.

Next time we review the Amazons, Geryon, Hesperides, and Cerberus in Labor's End.

http://www.theoi.com/Text/DiodorusSiculus4B.html#10

Cerberus and Apples,
a Legendary Passage,
from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History,
translated by C. H. Oldfather.

[4.25.1] -  [4.31.1]

And now that he had performed the tenth Labour he received a Command from Eurystheus to bring Cerberus up from Hades to the light of day. And assuming that it would be to his advantage for the accomplishment of this Labour, he went to Athens and took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries, Musaeus, the son of Orpheus, being at that time in charge of the initiatory rites.

ORPHEUS

Since we have mentioned Orpheus it will not be inappropriate for us in passing to speak briefly about him. He was the son of Oeagrus, a Thracian by birth, and in culture and song- music and poetry he far surpassed all men of whom we have a record; for he composed a poem which was an object of wonder and excelled in its melody when it was sung. And his fame grew to such a degree that men believed that with his music he held a spell over both the wild beasts and the trees.

And after he had devoted his entire time to his education and had learned whatever the myths had to say about the gods, he journeyed to Egypt, where he further increased his knowledge and so became the greatest man among the Greeks both from his knowledge of the gods and for their rites, as well as for his poems and songs.

He also took part in the expedition of the Argonauts, and because of the love held for his wife he dared the amazing deed of descending into Hades, where he entranced Persephonê by his melodious song and persuaded her to assist him in his desires and to allow him to bring up his dead wife from Hades, in this exploit resembling Dionysus; for the myths relate that Dionysus brought up his mother Semelê from Hades, and that, sharing with her his own immortality, he changed her name to Thyonê.

But now that we have discussed Orpheus, we shall return to Heracles.

HERACLES LABOUR 11: CERBERUS

Heracles, then, according to the myths which have come down to us, descended into the realm of Hades, and being welcomed like a brother by Persephonê brought Theseus and Peirithoüs back to the upper world after freeing them from their bonds. This he accomplished by the favour of Persephonê, and receiving the dog Cerberus in chains he carried him away to the amazement of all and exhibited him to men.

HERACLES LABOUR 12: APPLES OF HESPERIDES

The last Labour which Heracles undertook was the bringing back of the golden apples of the Hesperides, and so he again sailed to Libya. With regard to these apples there is disagreement among the writers of myths, and some say that there were golden apples in certain gardens of the Hesperides in Libya, where they were guarded without ceasing by a most formidable dragon, whereas others assert that the Hesperides possessed flocks of sheep which excelled in beauty and were therefore called for their beauty, as the poets might do, “Golden apples,” just as Aphroditê is called “golden” because of her loveliness.

There are some, however, who say that it was because the sheep had a peculiar colour like gold that they got this designation, and that Dracon (“dragon”) was the name of the shepherd of the sheep, a man who excelled in strength of body and courage, who guarded the sheep and slew any who might dare try to carry them off. But with regard to such matters it will be every man’s privilege to form such opinions as accord with his own belief.

At any rate Heracles slew the guardian of the apples, and after he had duly brought them to Eurystheus and had in this wise finished his Labours he waited to receive the gift of immortality, even as Apollo had prophesied to him.

ATLAS AND THE HESPERIDES

But we must not fail to mention what the myths relate about Atlas and about the race of the Hesperides. The account runs like this: In the country known as Hesperitis there were two brothers whose fame was known abroad, Hesperus and Atlas. Thse brothers possessed flocks of sheep which excelled in beauty and were in colour of a golden yellow, this being the reason why the poets, in speaking of these sheep as mela, called them golden mela.

Now Hesperus begat a daughter named Hesperis, whom he gave in marriage to his brother and after whom the land was given the name Hesperitis; and Atlas begat by her seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother, Hesperides. And since these Atlantides excelled in beauty and chastity, Busiris the king of the Egyptians, the account says, was seized with the desire to get the maidens into his power; and consequently he dispatched pirates by sea with orders to seize the girls and deliver them into his hands.

About this time Heracles, while engaged in the performance of his last Labour, slew in Libya Antaeus, who was compelling all strangers to wrestle with him, and upon Busiris in Egypt, who was sacrificing to Zeus the strangers who visited his country, he inflicted the punishment which he deserved. After this Heracles sailed up the Nile into Ethiopia, where he slew Emathion, the king of the Ethiopians, who had made battle with him unprovoked, and then returned to the completion of his last Labour.

Meanwhile the pirates had seized the girls while they were playing in a certain garden and carried them off, and fleeing swiftly to their ships had sailed away with them. Heracles came upon the pirates as they were taking their meal on a certain strand, and learning from the maidens what had taken place he slew the pirates to a man and brought the girls back to Atlas their father; and in return Atlas was so grateful to Heracles for his kindly deed that he not only gladly gave him such assistance as his Labour called for, but he also instructed him quite freely in the knowledge of astrology.

For Atlas had worked out the science of astrology to a degree surpassing others had had ingeniously discovered the spherical nature of the stars, and for that reason was generally believed to be bearing the entire firmament upon his shoulders. Similarly in the case of Heracles, when he had brought to the Greeks the doctrine of the sphere, he gained great fame, as if he had taken over the burden of the firmament which Atlas had borne, wince men intimated in this enigmatic way what had actually taken place.

THESEUS AND THE AMAZONS

While Heracles was busied with the matters just described, the Amazons, they say, of whom there were some still left in the region of the Thermodon river, gathered in a body and set out to get revenge upon the Greeks for what Heracles had done in his campaign against them. They were especially eager to punish the Athenians because Theseus had made a slave of Antiopê, the leader of the Amazons, or, as others write, of Hippolytê.

The Scythians had joined forced with the Amazons, and so it came about that a notable army had been assembled, with which the leaders of the Amazons crossed the Cimmerian Bosporus and advanced through Thrace. Finally they traversed a large part of Europe and came to Attica, where they pitched their camp in what is at present called after them “the Amazoneum.”

When Theseus learned of the oncoming of the Amazons he came to the aid of the forces of his citizens, bringing with him the Amazon Antiopê, by whom he already had a son Hippolytus. Theseus joined battle with the Amazons, and since the Athenians surpassed them in bravery, he gained the victory, and of the Amazons who opposed him, some he slew at the time and the rest he drove out of Attica.

And it came to pass that Antiopê, who was fighting at the side of her husband Theseus, distinguished herself in the battle and died fighting heroically. The Amazons who survived renounced their ancestral soil, and returned with the Scythians into Scythia and made their homes among that people.
 
But we have spoken enough about the Amazons, and shall return to the deeds of Heracles.

http://www.theoi.com/Text/DiodorusSiculus4B.html#10