Legendary Passages #0005x - The Labours of Heracles -
The first 8 labours, from E. M. Berens' Handbook of Mythology.
Last time we heard how Heracles killed and skinned the Nemean Lion. This time we hear a summary of that tale, plus the Hydra in the swamps of Lerna; the golden Hind, sacred to Artemis; the Eyrmantian Boar and the battle with the centaurs; the flooding of the stables of King Augeus; the deadly birds of Lake Styphalis; the white bull of Crete, sire of the Minotaur; and the man-eating mares of King Diomedes.
Next time we shall hear of these tales in greater detail, and how Heracles founded The First Olympics.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page238
The Labours of Heracles,
a Legendary Passage,
from the Myths & Legends of Greece & Rome,
written by E. M. Berens.
1. The Nemean Lion.
His first task was to bring to Eurystheus the skin of the much-dreaded Nemean lion, which ravaged the territory between Cleone and Nemea, and whose hide was invulnerable against any mortal weapon.
Heracles proceeded to the forest of Nemea, where, having discovered the lion's lair, he attempted to pierce him with his arrows; but finding these of no avail he felled him to the ground with his club, and before the animal had time to recover from the terrible blow, Heracles seized him by the neck and, with a mighty effort, succeeded in strangling him.
He then made himself a coat of mail of the skin, and a new helmet of the head of the animal. Thus attired, he so alarmed Eurystheus by appearing suddenly before him, that the king concealed himself in his palace, and henceforth forbade Heracles to enter his presence, but commanded him to receive his behests, for the future, through his messenger Copreus.
2. The Hydra.
His second task was to slay the Hydra, a monster serpent (the offspring of Typhon and Echidna), bristling with nine heads, one of which was immortal. This monster infested the neighbourhood of Lerna, where she committed great depredations among the herds.
Heracles, accompanied by his nephew Iolaus, set out in a chariot for the marsh of Lerna, in the slimy waters of which he found her. He commenced the attack by assailing her with his fierce arrows, in order to force her to leave her lair, from which she at length emerged, and sought refuge in a wood on a neighbouring hill. Heracles now rushed forward and endeavoured to crush her heads by means of well-directed blows from his tremendous club; but no sooner was one head destroyed than it was immediately replaced by two others.
He next seized the monster in his powerful grasp; but at this juncture a giant crab came to the assistance of the Hydra and commenced biting the feet of her assailant. Heracles destroyed this new adversary with his club, and now called upon his nephew to come to his aid.
At his command Iolaus set fire to the neighbouring trees, and, with a burning branch, seared the necks of the monster as Heracles cut them off, thus effectually preventing the growth of more. Heracles next struck off the immortal head, which he buried by the road-side, and placed over it a heavy stone. Into the poisonous blood of the monster he then dipped his arrows, which ever afterwards rendered wounds inflicted by them incurable.
3. The Horned Hind.
The third labour of Heracles was to bring the horned hind Cerunitis alive to Mycenæ. This animal, which was sacred to Artemis, had golden antlers and hoofs of brass.
Not wishing to wound the hind Heracles patiently pursued her through many countries for a whole year, and overtook her at last on the banks of the river Ladon; but even there he was compelled, in order to secure her, to wound her with one of his arrows, after which he lifted her on his shoulders and carried her through Arcadia.
On his way he met Artemis with her brother Phœbus-Apollo, when the goddess angrily reproved him for wounding her favourite hind; but Heracles succeeded in appeasing her displeasure, whereupon she permitted him to take the animal alive to Mycenæ.
4. The Erymantian Boar.
The fourth task imposed upon Heracles by Eurystheus was to bring alive to Mycenæ the Erymantian boar, which had laid waste the region of Erymantia, and was the scourge of the surrounding neighbourhood.
On his way thither he craved food and shelter of a Centaur named Pholus, who received him with generous hospitality, setting before him a good and plentiful repast. When Heracles expressed his surprise that at such a well-furnished board wine should be wanting, his host explained that the wine-cellar was the common property of all the Centaurs, and that it was against the rules for a cask to be broached, except all were present to partake of it. By dint of persuasion, however, Heracles prevailed on his kind host to make an exception in his favour; but the powerful, luscious odour of the good old wine soon spread over the mountains, and brought large numbers of Centaurs to the spot, all armed with huge rocks and fir-trees.
Heracles drove them back with fire-brands, and then, following up his victory, pursued them with his arrows as far as Malea, where they took refuge in the cave of the kind old Centaur Chiron. Unfortunately, however, as Heracles was shooting at them with his poisoned darts, one of these pierced the knee of Chiron. When Heracles discovered that it was the friend of his early days that he had wounded, he was overcome with sorrow and regret. He at once extracted the arrow, and anointed the wound with a salve, the virtue of which had been taught him by Chiron himself. But all his efforts were unavailing. The wound, imbued with the deadly poison of the Hydra, was incurable, and so great was the agony of Chiron that, at the intercession of Heracles, death was sent him by the gods; for otherwise, being immortal, he would have been doomed to endless suffering.
Pholus, who had so kindly entertained Heracles, also perished by means of one of these arrows, which he had extracted from the body of a dead Centaur. While he was quietly examining it, astonished that so small and insignificant an object should be productive of such serious results, the arrow fell upon his foot and fatally wounded him. Full of grief at this untoward event, Heracles buried him with due honours, and then set out to chase the boar.
With loud shouts and terrible cries he first drove him out of the thickets into the deep snow-drifts which covered the summit of the mountain, and then, having at length wearied him with his incessant pursuit, he captured the exhausted animal, bound him with a rope, and brought him alive to Mycenæ.
5. Cleansing the Stables of Augeas.
After slaying the Erymantian boar Eurystheus commanded Heracles to cleanse in one day the stables of Augeas.
Augeas was a king of Elis who was very rich in herds. Three thousand of his cattle he kept near the royal palace in an inclosure where the refuse had accumulated for many years. When Heracles presented himself before the king, and offered to cleanse his stables in one day, provided he should receive in return a tenth part of the herds, Augeas, thinking the feat impossible, accepted his offer in the presence of his son Phyleus.
Near the palace were the two rivers Peneus and Alpheus, the streams of which Heracles conducted into the stables by means of a trench which he dug for this purpose, and as the waters rushed through the shed, they swept away with them the whole mass of accumulated filth.
But when Augeas heard that this was one of the labours imposed by Eurystheus, he refused the promised guerdon. Heracles brought the matter before a court, and called Phyleus as a witness to the justice of his claim, whereupon Augeas, without waiting for the delivery of the verdict, angrily banished Heracles and his son from his dominions.
6. The Stymphalides.
The sixth task was to chase away the Stymphalides, which were immense birds of prey who, as we have seen (in the legend of the Argonauts), shot from their wings feathers sharp as arrows. The home of these birds was on the shore of the lake Stymphalis, in Arcadia (after which they were called), where they caused great destruction among men and cattle.
On approaching the lake, Heracles observed great numbers of them; and, while hesitating how to commence the attack, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking round he beheld the majestic form of Pallas-Athene, who held in her hand a gigantic pair of brazen clappers made by Hephæstus, with which she presented him; whereupon he ascended to the summit of a neighbouring hill, and commenced to rattle them violently. The shrill noise of these instruments was so intolerable to the birds that they rose into the air in terror, upon which he aimed at them with his arrows, destroying them in great numbers, whilst such as escaped his darts flew away, never to return.
7. The Cretan Bull.
The seventh labour of Heracles was to capture the Cretan bull.
Minos, king of Crete, having vowed to sacrifice to Poseidon any animal which should first appear out of the sea, the god caused a magnificent bull to emerge from the waves in order to test the sincerity of the Cretan king, who, in making this vow, had alleged that he possessed no animal, among his own herds, worthy the acceptance of the mighty sea-god.
Charmed with the splendid animal sent by Poseidon, and eager to possess it, Minos placed it among his herds, and substituted as a sacrifice one of his own bulls. Hereupon Poseidon, in order to punish the cupidity of Minos, caused the animal to become mad, and commit such great havoc in the island as to endanger the safety of the inhabitants. When Heracles, therefore, arrived in Crete for the purpose of capturing the bull, Minos, far from opposing his design, gladly gave him permission to do so.
The hero not only succeeded in securing the animal, but tamed him so effectually that he rode on his back right across the sea as far as the Peloponnesus. He now delivered him up to Eurystheus, who at once set him at liberty, after which he became as ferocious and wild as before, roamed all over Greece into Arcadia, and was eventually killed by Theseus on the plains of Marathon.
8. The Mares of Diomedes.
The eighth labour of Heracles was to bring to Eurystheus the mares of Diomedes, a son of Ares, and king of the Bistonians, a warlike Thracian tribe. This king possessed a breed of wild horses of tremendous size and strength, whose food consisted of human flesh, and all strangers who had the misfortune to enter the country were made prisoners and flung before the horses, who devoured them.
When Heracles arrived he first captured the cruel Diomedes himself, and then threw him before his own mares, who, after devouring their master, became perfectly tame and tractable. They were then led by Heracles to the sea-shore, when the Bistonians, enraged at the loss of their king, rushed after the hero and attacked him. He now gave the animals in charge of his friend Abderus, and made such a furious onslaught on his assailants that they turned and fled.
But on his return from this encounter he found, to his great grief, that the mares had torn his friend in pieces and devoured him. After celebrating due funereal rites to the unfortunate Abderus, Heracles built a city in his honour, which he named after him. He then returned to Tiryns, where he delivered up the mares to Eurystheus, who set them loose on Mount Olympus, where they became the prey of wild beasts.
It was after the performance of this task that Heracles joined the Argonauts in their expedition to gain possession of the Golden Fleece, and was left behind at Chios, as already narrated. During his wanderings he undertook his ninth labour, which was to bring to Eurystheus the girdle of Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page238
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0005-labors-of-hercules.html
Greek and Roman mythology from the original sources, from Atlantis to Hercules to the Trojan War. Email: LegendaryPassages@gmail.com
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
LP0004a - The Nemean Lion - Heracles' 1st Labor, from The Idylls of Theocritus
Legendary Passages #0004a - The Nemean Lion -
Heracles' 1st Labor, from The Idylls of Theocritus.
Last time we reviewed the early adventures of Heracles. This time Heracles himself reveals how he accomplished his first labor: slaying the Nemean Lion.
This passage is a continuation of episode 29, where Heracles went to the Augean Stables. Anyway, Augeas' son Phyleus pesters the hero with rumors about him, and how he won his lion-skin.
The Lion had been ravaging the countryside, killing flocks and citizens alike. Heracles set out after it, armed with bow and arrows, and a massive club. Soon he finds the beast, still bloody from its latest kill.
Heracles shoots an arrow, and it bounces off the lion's invincible hide. It roars and pounces upon him, and Heracles shoves his quiver in its face and smashes with his club, which snaps in two.
The lion is merely dazed so, weapons useless, Heracles climbs upon the lion's back and strangles its neck, just like when he crushed the snakes in his crib. He skinned it with its own claws, and wore that impervious pelt ever after.
Next time we shall hear even more Labors of Heracles.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXV
The Nemean Lion,
a Legendary Passage,
from The Idylls of Theocritus,
translated by C. S. Calverley.
IDYLL XXV.
Then townwards, leaving straight that rich champaign,
Stout Heracles his comrade, Phyleus fared;
And soon as they had gained the paven road,
Making their way hotfooted o'er a path
(Not o'er-conspicuous in the dim green wood)
That left the farm and threaded through the vines,
Out-spake unto the child of Zeus most high,
Who followed in his steps, Augéas' son,
O'er his right shoulder glancing pleasantly.
"O stranger, as some old familiar tale
I seem to cast thy history in my mind.
For there came one to Argos, young and tall,
By birth a Greek from Helicè-on-seas,
Who told this tale before a multitude:
How that an Argive in his presence slew
A fearful lion-beast, the dread and death
Of herdsmen; which inhabited a den
Or cavern by the grove of Nemean Zeus.
He may have come from sacred Argos' self,
Or Tiryns, or Mycenæ: what know I?
But thus he told his tale, and said the slayer
Was (if my memory serves me) Perseus' son.
Methinks no islander had dared that deed
Save thee: the lion's skin that wraps thy ribs
Argues full well some gallant feat of arms.
But tell me, warrior, first--that I may know
If my prophetic soul speak truth or not--
Art thou the man of whom that stranger Greek
Spoke in my hearing? Have I guessed aright?
How slew you single-handed that fell beast?
How came it among rivered Nemea's glens?
For none such monster could the eagerest eye
Find in all Greece: Greece harbours bear and boar,
And deadly wolf: but not this larger game.
'Twas this that made his listeners marvel then:
They deemed he told them travellers' tales, to win
By random words applause from standers-by."
-
Then Phyleus from the mid-road edged away,
That both might walk abreast, and he might catch
More at his ease what fell from Heracles:
Who journeying now alongside thus began:--
"On the prior matter, O Augéas' child,
Thine own unaided wit hath ruled aright.
But all that monster's history, how it fell,
Fain would I tell thee who hast ears to hear,
Save only whence it came: for none of all
The Argive host could read that riddle right.
Some god, we dimly guessed, our niggard vows
Resenting, had upon Phoroneus' realm
Let loose this very scourge of humankind.
On peopled Pisa plunging like a flood
The brute ran riot: notably it cost
Its neighbours of Bembina woes untold.
And here Eurystheus bade me try my first
Passage of arms, and slay that fearsome thing.
So with my buxom bow and quiver lined
With arrows I set forth: my left hand held
My club, a beetling olive's stalwart trunk
And shapely, still environed in its bark:
This hand had torn from holiest Helicon
The tree entire, with all its fibrous roots.
And finding soon the lion's whereabouts,
I grasped my bow, and on the bent horn slipped
The string, and laid thereon the shaft of death.
And, now all eyes, I watched for that fell thing,
In hopes to view him ere he spied out me.
But midday came, and nowhere could I see
One footprint of the beast or hear his roar:
And, trust me, none appeared of whom to ask,
Herdsman or labourer, in the furrowed lea;
For wan dismay kept each man in his hut.
Still on I footed, searching through and through
The leafy mountain-passes, till I saw
The creature, and forthwith essayed my strength.
Gorged from some gory carcass, on he stalked
At eve towards his lair; his grizzled mane,
Shoulders, and grim glad visage, all adrip
With carnage; and he licked his bearded lips.
I, crouched among the shadows of the trees
On the green hill-top, waited his approach,
And as he came I aimed at his left flank.
The barbèd shaft sped idly, nor could pierce
The flesh, but glancing dropped on the green grass.
He, wondering, raised forthwith his tawny head,
And ran his eyes o'er all the vicinage,
And snarled and gave to view his cavernous throat.
Meanwhile I levelled yet another shaft,
Ill pleased to think my first had fled in vain.
In the mid-chest I smote him, where the lungs
Are seated: still the arrow sank not in,
But fell, its errand frustrate, at his feet.
Once more was I preparing, sore chagrined,
To draw the bowstring, when the ravenous beast
Glaring around espied me, lashed his sides
With his huge tail, and opened war at once.
Swelled his vast neck, his dun locks stood on end
With rage: his spine moved sinuous as a bow,
Till all his weight hung poised on flank and loin.
And e'en as, when a chariot-builder bends
With practised skill his shafts of splintered fig,
Hot from the fire, to be his axle-wheels;
Flies the tough-rinded sapling from the hands
That shape it, at a bound recoiling far:
So from far-off the dread beast, all of a heap,
Sprang on me, hungering for my life-blood. I
Thrust with one hand my arrows in his face
And my doffed doublet, while the other raised
My seasoned cudgel o'er his crest, and drave
Full at his temples, breaking clean in twain
On the fourfooted warrior's airy scalp
My club; and ere he reached me, down he fell.
Headlong he fell, and poised on tremulous feet
Stood, his head wagging, and his eyes grown dim;
For the shrewd stroke had shattered brain and bone.
I, marking him beside himself with pain.
Fell, ere recovering he should breathe again,
At vantage on his solid sinewy neck,
My bow and woven quiver thrown aside.
With iron clasp I gripped him from the rear
(His talons else had torn me) and, my foot
Set on him, forced to earth by dint of heel
His hinder parts, my flanks entrenched the while
Behind his fore-arm; till his thews were stretched
And strained, and on his haunches stark he stood
And lifeless; hell received his monstrous ghost.
Then with myself I counselled how to strip
From off the dead beast's limbs his shaggy hide,
A task full onerous, since I found it proof
Against all blows of steel or stone or wood.
Some god at last inspired me with the thought,
With his own claws to rend the lion's skin.
With these I flayed him soon, and sheathed and armed
My limbs against the shocks of murderous war.
Thus, sir, the Nemean lion met his end,
Erewhile the constant curse of beast and man."
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXV
http://www.blackcatpoems.com/t/heracles_the_lion_slayer.html
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0004-nemean-lion.html
Heracles' 1st Labor, from The Idylls of Theocritus.
Last time we reviewed the early adventures of Heracles. This time Heracles himself reveals how he accomplished his first labor: slaying the Nemean Lion.
This passage is a continuation of episode 29, where Heracles went to the Augean Stables. Anyway, Augeas' son Phyleus pesters the hero with rumors about him, and how he won his lion-skin.
The Lion had been ravaging the countryside, killing flocks and citizens alike. Heracles set out after it, armed with bow and arrows, and a massive club. Soon he finds the beast, still bloody from its latest kill.
Heracles shoots an arrow, and it bounces off the lion's invincible hide. It roars and pounces upon him, and Heracles shoves his quiver in its face and smashes with his club, which snaps in two.
The lion is merely dazed so, weapons useless, Heracles climbs upon the lion's back and strangles its neck, just like when he crushed the snakes in his crib. He skinned it with its own claws, and wore that impervious pelt ever after.
Next time we shall hear even more Labors of Heracles.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXV
The Nemean Lion,
a Legendary Passage,
from The Idylls of Theocritus,
translated by C. S. Calverley.
IDYLL XXV.
Then townwards, leaving straight that rich champaign,
Stout Heracles his comrade, Phyleus fared;
And soon as they had gained the paven road,
Making their way hotfooted o'er a path
(Not o'er-conspicuous in the dim green wood)
That left the farm and threaded through the vines,
Out-spake unto the child of Zeus most high,
Who followed in his steps, Augéas' son,
O'er his right shoulder glancing pleasantly.
"O stranger, as some old familiar tale
I seem to cast thy history in my mind.
For there came one to Argos, young and tall,
By birth a Greek from Helicè-on-seas,
Who told this tale before a multitude:
How that an Argive in his presence slew
A fearful lion-beast, the dread and death
Of herdsmen; which inhabited a den
Or cavern by the grove of Nemean Zeus.
He may have come from sacred Argos' self,
Or Tiryns, or Mycenæ: what know I?
But thus he told his tale, and said the slayer
Was (if my memory serves me) Perseus' son.
Methinks no islander had dared that deed
Save thee: the lion's skin that wraps thy ribs
Argues full well some gallant feat of arms.
But tell me, warrior, first--that I may know
If my prophetic soul speak truth or not--
Art thou the man of whom that stranger Greek
Spoke in my hearing? Have I guessed aright?
How slew you single-handed that fell beast?
How came it among rivered Nemea's glens?
For none such monster could the eagerest eye
Find in all Greece: Greece harbours bear and boar,
And deadly wolf: but not this larger game.
'Twas this that made his listeners marvel then:
They deemed he told them travellers' tales, to win
By random words applause from standers-by."
-
Then Phyleus from the mid-road edged away,
That both might walk abreast, and he might catch
More at his ease what fell from Heracles:
Who journeying now alongside thus began:--
"On the prior matter, O Augéas' child,
Thine own unaided wit hath ruled aright.
But all that monster's history, how it fell,
Fain would I tell thee who hast ears to hear,
Save only whence it came: for none of all
The Argive host could read that riddle right.
Some god, we dimly guessed, our niggard vows
Resenting, had upon Phoroneus' realm
Let loose this very scourge of humankind.
On peopled Pisa plunging like a flood
The brute ran riot: notably it cost
Its neighbours of Bembina woes untold.
And here Eurystheus bade me try my first
Passage of arms, and slay that fearsome thing.
So with my buxom bow and quiver lined
With arrows I set forth: my left hand held
My club, a beetling olive's stalwart trunk
And shapely, still environed in its bark:
This hand had torn from holiest Helicon
The tree entire, with all its fibrous roots.
And finding soon the lion's whereabouts,
I grasped my bow, and on the bent horn slipped
The string, and laid thereon the shaft of death.
And, now all eyes, I watched for that fell thing,
In hopes to view him ere he spied out me.
But midday came, and nowhere could I see
One footprint of the beast or hear his roar:
And, trust me, none appeared of whom to ask,
Herdsman or labourer, in the furrowed lea;
For wan dismay kept each man in his hut.
Still on I footed, searching through and through
The leafy mountain-passes, till I saw
The creature, and forthwith essayed my strength.
Gorged from some gory carcass, on he stalked
At eve towards his lair; his grizzled mane,
Shoulders, and grim glad visage, all adrip
With carnage; and he licked his bearded lips.
I, crouched among the shadows of the trees
On the green hill-top, waited his approach,
And as he came I aimed at his left flank.
The barbèd shaft sped idly, nor could pierce
The flesh, but glancing dropped on the green grass.
He, wondering, raised forthwith his tawny head,
And ran his eyes o'er all the vicinage,
And snarled and gave to view his cavernous throat.
Meanwhile I levelled yet another shaft,
Ill pleased to think my first had fled in vain.
In the mid-chest I smote him, where the lungs
Are seated: still the arrow sank not in,
But fell, its errand frustrate, at his feet.
Once more was I preparing, sore chagrined,
To draw the bowstring, when the ravenous beast
Glaring around espied me, lashed his sides
With his huge tail, and opened war at once.
Swelled his vast neck, his dun locks stood on end
With rage: his spine moved sinuous as a bow,
Till all his weight hung poised on flank and loin.
And e'en as, when a chariot-builder bends
With practised skill his shafts of splintered fig,
Hot from the fire, to be his axle-wheels;
Flies the tough-rinded sapling from the hands
That shape it, at a bound recoiling far:
So from far-off the dread beast, all of a heap,
Sprang on me, hungering for my life-blood. I
Thrust with one hand my arrows in his face
And my doffed doublet, while the other raised
My seasoned cudgel o'er his crest, and drave
Full at his temples, breaking clean in twain
On the fourfooted warrior's airy scalp
My club; and ere he reached me, down he fell.
Headlong he fell, and poised on tremulous feet
Stood, his head wagging, and his eyes grown dim;
For the shrewd stroke had shattered brain and bone.
I, marking him beside himself with pain.
Fell, ere recovering he should breathe again,
At vantage on his solid sinewy neck,
My bow and woven quiver thrown aside.
With iron clasp I gripped him from the rear
(His talons else had torn me) and, my foot
Set on him, forced to earth by dint of heel
His hinder parts, my flanks entrenched the while
Behind his fore-arm; till his thews were stretched
And strained, and on his haunches stark he stood
And lifeless; hell received his monstrous ghost.
Then with myself I counselled how to strip
From off the dead beast's limbs his shaggy hide,
A task full onerous, since I found it proof
Against all blows of steel or stone or wood.
Some god at last inspired me with the thought,
With his own claws to rend the lion's skin.
With these I flayed him soon, and sheathed and armed
My limbs against the shocks of murderous war.
Thus, sir, the Nemean lion met his end,
Erewhile the constant curse of beast and man."
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXV
http://www.blackcatpoems.com/t/heracles_the_lion_slayer.html
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0004-nemean-lion.html
Sunday, June 5, 2016
LP0003x - The Son of Amphitryon - A summary of Heracles from E. M. Berens' Handbook of Mythology
Legendary Passages #0003x - The Son of Amphitryon -
A summary of Heracles from E. M. Berens' Handbook of Mythology.
Last time we reviewed the origin of Heracles. This time we would be covering an alternate translation of the Library of Apollodorus, but as it happens, none could be found. So instead we shall cover a public domain mythology book covering the early days of Heracles.
First the text covers events from last episode. Heracles is born and abandoned, nursed by Hera, and strangles snakes.
Growing up, Heracles has many tutors. Once, he made a mistake and Linus, his music teacher, smacked him. Angry, he killed him, and was sent away into the countryside.
Alone in the forest, two young women named Vice and Virtue approached him. Later, he killed the Cithaeron Lion and took up its mantle.
After killing Erginus, King of the Minyans, Heracles learned that his father Amphitryon had died in the battle.
Lastly we come to Eurystheus. As Heracles' mother went into labor, Zeus announced that the next grandson of Perseus to be born would inherit his kingdom. So Hera delayed his birth, and Eurystheus was born next, and grew up to became High King. When Eurystheus ordered his cousin to perform labors, Heracles fell into depression, and then madness, killing his own children. Having nothing left to lose, we went to work for Eurystheus.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page234
The Son of Amphitryon,
a Legendary Passage,
from the Myths & Legends of Greece & Rome,
written by E. M. Berens.
PART II.—LEGENDS. Heracles, 234
Heracles, the most renowned hero of antiquity, was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the great grandson of Perseus.
At the time of his birth Alcmene was living at Thebes with her husband Amphitryon, and thus the infant Heracles was born in the palace of his stepfather.
Aware of the animosity with which Hera persecuted all those who rivaled her in the affections of Zeus, Alcmene, fearful lest this hatred should be visited on her innocent child, entrusted him, soon after his birth, to the care of a faithful servant, with instructions to expose him in a certain field, and there leave him, feeling assured that the divine offspring of Zeus would not long remain without the protection of the gods.
Soon after the child had been thus abandoned, Hera and Pallas-Athene happened to pass by the field, and were attracted by its cries. Athene pityingly took up the infant in her arms, and prevailed upon the queen of heaven to put it to her breast; but no sooner had she done so, than the child, causing her pain, she angrily threw him to the ground, and left the spot. Athene, moved with compassion, carried him to Alcmene, and entreated her kind offices on behalf of the poor little foundling. Alcmene at once recognized her child, and joyfully accepted the charge.
Soon afterwards Hera, to her extreme annoyance, discovered whom she had nursed, and became filled with jealous rage. She now sent two venomous snakes into the chamber of Alcmene, which crept, unperceived by the nurses, to the cradle of the sleeping child. He awoke with a cry, and grasping a snake in each hand, strangled them both. Alcmene and her attendants, whom the cry of the child had awakened, rushed to the cradle, where, to their astonishment and terror, they beheld the two reptiles dead in the hands of the infant Heracles. Amphitryon was also attracted to the chamber by the commotion, and when he beheld this astounding proof of supernatural strength, he declared that the child must have been sent to him as a special gift from Zeus. He accordingly consulted the famous seer Tiresias, who now informed him of the divine origin of his stepson, and prognosticated for him a great and distinguished future.
When Amphitryon heard the noble destiny which awaited the child entrusted to his care, he resolved to educate him in a manner worthy of his future career. At a suitable age he himself taught him how to guide a chariot; Eurytus, how to handle the bow; Autolycus, dexterity in wrestling and boxing; and Castor, the art of armed warfare; whilst Linus, the son of Apollo, instructed him in music and letters.
Heracles was an apt pupil; but undue harshness was intolerable to his high spirit, and old Linus, who was not the gentlest of teachers, one day corrected him with blows, whereupon the boy angrily took up his lyre, and, with one stroke of his powerful arm, killed his tutor on the spot.
Apprehensive lest the ungovernable temper of the youth might again involve him in similar acts of violence, Amphitryon sent him into the country, where he placed him under the charge of one of his most trusted herdsmen. Here, as he grew up to manhood, his extraordinary stature and strength became the wonder and admiration of all beholders. His aim, whether with spear, lance, or bow, was unerring, and at the age of eighteen he was considered to be the strongest as well as the most beautiful youth in all Greece.
-
Heracles felt that the time had now arrived when it became necessary to decide for himself how to make use of the extraordinary powers with which he had been endowed by the gods; and in order to meditate in solitude on this all-important subject, he repaired to a lonely and secluded spot in the heart of the forest.
Here two females of great beauty appeared to him. One was Vice, the other Virtue. The former was full of artificial wiles and fascinating arts, her face painted and her dress gaudy and attractive; whilst the latter was of noble bearing and modest mien, her robes of spotless purity.
Vice stepped forward and thus addressed him: "If you will walk in my paths, and make me your friend, your life shall be one round of pleasure and enjoyment. You shall taste of every delight which can be procured on earth; the choicest viands, the most delicious wines, the most luxuriant of couches shall be ever at your disposal; and all this without any exertion on your part, either physical or mental."
Virtue now spoke in her turn: "If you will follow me and be my friend, I promise you the reward of a good conscience, and the love and respect of your fellowmen. I cannot undertake to smooth your path with roses, or to give you a life of idleness and pleasure; for you must know that the gods grant no good and desirable thing that is not earned by labour; and as you sow, so must you reap."
Heracles listened patiently and attentively to both speakers, and then, after mature deliberation, decided to follow in the paths of virtue, and henceforth to honour the gods, and to devote his life to the service of his country.
-
Full of these noble resolves he sought once more his rural home, where he was informed that on Mount Cithæron, at the foot of which the herds of Amphitryon were grazing, a ferocious lion had fixed his lair, and was committing such frightful ravages among the flocks and herds that he had become the scourge and terror of the whole neighborhood. Heracles at once armed himself and ascended the mountain, where he soon caught sight of the lion, and rushing at him with his sword succeeded in killing him. The hide of the animal he wore ever afterwards over his shoulders, and the head served him as a helmet.
As he was returning from this, his first exploit, he met the heralds of Erginus, king of the Minyans, who were proceeding to Thebes to demand their annual tribute of 100 oxen. Indignant at this humiliation of his native city, Heracles mutilated the heralds, and sent them back, with ropes round their necks, to their royal master.
Erginus was so incensed at the ill-treatment of his messengers that he collected an army and appeared before the gates of Thebes, demanding the surrender of Heracles. Creon, who was at this time king of Thebes, fearing the consequences of a refusal, was about to yield, when the hero, with the assistance of Amphitryon and a band of brave youths, advanced against the Minyans.
Heracles took possession of a narrow defile through which the enemy were compelled to pass, and as they entered the pass the Thebans fell upon them, killed their king Erginus, and completely routed them. In this engagement Amphitryon, the kind friend and foster-father of Heracles, lost his life. The hero now advanced upon Orchomenus, the capital of the Minyans, where he burned the royal castle and sacked the town.
After this signal victory all Greece rang with the fame of the young hero, and Creon, in gratitude for his great services, bestowed upon him his daughter Megara in marriage. The Olympian gods testified their appreciation of his valour by sending him presents; Hermes gave him a sword, Phœbus-Apollo a bundle of arrows, Hephæstus a golden quiver, and Athene a coat of leather.
-
And now it will be necessary to retrace our steps. Just before the birth of Heracles, Zeus, in an assembly of the gods, exultingly declared that the child who should be born on that day to the house of Perseus should rule over all his race. When Hera heard her lord's boastful announcement she knew well that it was for the child of the hated Alcmene that this brilliant destiny was designed; and in order to rob the son of her rival of his rights, she called to her aid the goddess Eilithyia, who retarded the birth of Heracles, and caused his cousin Eurystheus (another grandson of Perseus) to precede him into the world. And thus, as the word of the mighty Zeus was irrevocable, Heracles became the subject and servant of his cousin Eurystheus.
When, after his splendid victory over Erginus, the fame of Heracles spread throughout Greece, Eurystheus (who had become king of Mycenæ), jealous of the reputation of the young hero, asserted his rights, and commanded him to undertake for him various difficult tasks. But the proud spirit of the hero rebelled against this humiliation, and he was about to refuse compliance, when Zeus appeared to him and desired him not to rebel against the Fates. Heracles now repaired to Delphi in order to consult the oracle, and received the answer that after performing ten tasks for his cousin Eurystheus his servitude would be at an end.
Soon afterwards Heracles fell into a state of the deepest melancholy, and through the influence of his inveterate enemy, the goddess Hera, this despondency developed into raving madness, in which condition he killed his own children.
When he at length regained his reason he was so horrified and grieved at what he had done, that he shut himself up in his chamber and avoided all intercourse with men. But in his loneliness and seclusion the conviction that work would be the best means of procuring oblivion of the past decided him to enter, without delay, upon the tasks appointed him by Eurystheus.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page234
http://www.argonauts-book.com/heracles.html
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0003-son-of-amphitryon.html
A summary of Heracles from E. M. Berens' Handbook of Mythology.
Last time we reviewed the origin of Heracles. This time we would be covering an alternate translation of the Library of Apollodorus, but as it happens, none could be found. So instead we shall cover a public domain mythology book covering the early days of Heracles.
First the text covers events from last episode. Heracles is born and abandoned, nursed by Hera, and strangles snakes.
Growing up, Heracles has many tutors. Once, he made a mistake and Linus, his music teacher, smacked him. Angry, he killed him, and was sent away into the countryside.
Alone in the forest, two young women named Vice and Virtue approached him. Later, he killed the Cithaeron Lion and took up its mantle.
After killing Erginus, King of the Minyans, Heracles learned that his father Amphitryon had died in the battle.
Lastly we come to Eurystheus. As Heracles' mother went into labor, Zeus announced that the next grandson of Perseus to be born would inherit his kingdom. So Hera delayed his birth, and Eurystheus was born next, and grew up to became High King. When Eurystheus ordered his cousin to perform labors, Heracles fell into depression, and then madness, killing his own children. Having nothing left to lose, we went to work for Eurystheus.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page234
The Son of Amphitryon,
a Legendary Passage,
from the Myths & Legends of Greece & Rome,
written by E. M. Berens.
PART II.—LEGENDS. Heracles, 234
Heracles, the most renowned hero of antiquity, was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the great grandson of Perseus.
At the time of his birth Alcmene was living at Thebes with her husband Amphitryon, and thus the infant Heracles was born in the palace of his stepfather.
Aware of the animosity with which Hera persecuted all those who rivaled her in the affections of Zeus, Alcmene, fearful lest this hatred should be visited on her innocent child, entrusted him, soon after his birth, to the care of a faithful servant, with instructions to expose him in a certain field, and there leave him, feeling assured that the divine offspring of Zeus would not long remain without the protection of the gods.
Soon after the child had been thus abandoned, Hera and Pallas-Athene happened to pass by the field, and were attracted by its cries. Athene pityingly took up the infant in her arms, and prevailed upon the queen of heaven to put it to her breast; but no sooner had she done so, than the child, causing her pain, she angrily threw him to the ground, and left the spot. Athene, moved with compassion, carried him to Alcmene, and entreated her kind offices on behalf of the poor little foundling. Alcmene at once recognized her child, and joyfully accepted the charge.
Soon afterwards Hera, to her extreme annoyance, discovered whom she had nursed, and became filled with jealous rage. She now sent two venomous snakes into the chamber of Alcmene, which crept, unperceived by the nurses, to the cradle of the sleeping child. He awoke with a cry, and grasping a snake in each hand, strangled them both. Alcmene and her attendants, whom the cry of the child had awakened, rushed to the cradle, where, to their astonishment and terror, they beheld the two reptiles dead in the hands of the infant Heracles. Amphitryon was also attracted to the chamber by the commotion, and when he beheld this astounding proof of supernatural strength, he declared that the child must have been sent to him as a special gift from Zeus. He accordingly consulted the famous seer Tiresias, who now informed him of the divine origin of his stepson, and prognosticated for him a great and distinguished future.
When Amphitryon heard the noble destiny which awaited the child entrusted to his care, he resolved to educate him in a manner worthy of his future career. At a suitable age he himself taught him how to guide a chariot; Eurytus, how to handle the bow; Autolycus, dexterity in wrestling and boxing; and Castor, the art of armed warfare; whilst Linus, the son of Apollo, instructed him in music and letters.
Heracles was an apt pupil; but undue harshness was intolerable to his high spirit, and old Linus, who was not the gentlest of teachers, one day corrected him with blows, whereupon the boy angrily took up his lyre, and, with one stroke of his powerful arm, killed his tutor on the spot.
Apprehensive lest the ungovernable temper of the youth might again involve him in similar acts of violence, Amphitryon sent him into the country, where he placed him under the charge of one of his most trusted herdsmen. Here, as he grew up to manhood, his extraordinary stature and strength became the wonder and admiration of all beholders. His aim, whether with spear, lance, or bow, was unerring, and at the age of eighteen he was considered to be the strongest as well as the most beautiful youth in all Greece.
-
Heracles felt that the time had now arrived when it became necessary to decide for himself how to make use of the extraordinary powers with which he had been endowed by the gods; and in order to meditate in solitude on this all-important subject, he repaired to a lonely and secluded spot in the heart of the forest.
Here two females of great beauty appeared to him. One was Vice, the other Virtue. The former was full of artificial wiles and fascinating arts, her face painted and her dress gaudy and attractive; whilst the latter was of noble bearing and modest mien, her robes of spotless purity.
Vice stepped forward and thus addressed him: "If you will walk in my paths, and make me your friend, your life shall be one round of pleasure and enjoyment. You shall taste of every delight which can be procured on earth; the choicest viands, the most delicious wines, the most luxuriant of couches shall be ever at your disposal; and all this without any exertion on your part, either physical or mental."
Virtue now spoke in her turn: "If you will follow me and be my friend, I promise you the reward of a good conscience, and the love and respect of your fellowmen. I cannot undertake to smooth your path with roses, or to give you a life of idleness and pleasure; for you must know that the gods grant no good and desirable thing that is not earned by labour; and as you sow, so must you reap."
Heracles listened patiently and attentively to both speakers, and then, after mature deliberation, decided to follow in the paths of virtue, and henceforth to honour the gods, and to devote his life to the service of his country.
-
Full of these noble resolves he sought once more his rural home, where he was informed that on Mount Cithæron, at the foot of which the herds of Amphitryon were grazing, a ferocious lion had fixed his lair, and was committing such frightful ravages among the flocks and herds that he had become the scourge and terror of the whole neighborhood. Heracles at once armed himself and ascended the mountain, where he soon caught sight of the lion, and rushing at him with his sword succeeded in killing him. The hide of the animal he wore ever afterwards over his shoulders, and the head served him as a helmet.
As he was returning from this, his first exploit, he met the heralds of Erginus, king of the Minyans, who were proceeding to Thebes to demand their annual tribute of 100 oxen. Indignant at this humiliation of his native city, Heracles mutilated the heralds, and sent them back, with ropes round their necks, to their royal master.
Erginus was so incensed at the ill-treatment of his messengers that he collected an army and appeared before the gates of Thebes, demanding the surrender of Heracles. Creon, who was at this time king of Thebes, fearing the consequences of a refusal, was about to yield, when the hero, with the assistance of Amphitryon and a band of brave youths, advanced against the Minyans.
Heracles took possession of a narrow defile through which the enemy were compelled to pass, and as they entered the pass the Thebans fell upon them, killed their king Erginus, and completely routed them. In this engagement Amphitryon, the kind friend and foster-father of Heracles, lost his life. The hero now advanced upon Orchomenus, the capital of the Minyans, where he burned the royal castle and sacked the town.
After this signal victory all Greece rang with the fame of the young hero, and Creon, in gratitude for his great services, bestowed upon him his daughter Megara in marriage. The Olympian gods testified their appreciation of his valour by sending him presents; Hermes gave him a sword, Phœbus-Apollo a bundle of arrows, Hephæstus a golden quiver, and Athene a coat of leather.
-
And now it will be necessary to retrace our steps. Just before the birth of Heracles, Zeus, in an assembly of the gods, exultingly declared that the child who should be born on that day to the house of Perseus should rule over all his race. When Hera heard her lord's boastful announcement she knew well that it was for the child of the hated Alcmene that this brilliant destiny was designed; and in order to rob the son of her rival of his rights, she called to her aid the goddess Eilithyia, who retarded the birth of Heracles, and caused his cousin Eurystheus (another grandson of Perseus) to precede him into the world. And thus, as the word of the mighty Zeus was irrevocable, Heracles became the subject and servant of his cousin Eurystheus.
When, after his splendid victory over Erginus, the fame of Heracles spread throughout Greece, Eurystheus (who had become king of Mycenæ), jealous of the reputation of the young hero, asserted his rights, and commanded him to undertake for him various difficult tasks. But the proud spirit of the hero rebelled against this humiliation, and he was about to refuse compliance, when Zeus appeared to him and desired him not to rebel against the Fates. Heracles now repaired to Delphi in order to consult the oracle, and received the answer that after performing ten tasks for his cousin Eurystheus his servitude would be at an end.
Soon afterwards Heracles fell into a state of the deepest melancholy, and through the influence of his inveterate enemy, the goddess Hera, this despondency developed into raving madness, in which condition he killed his own children.
When he at length regained his reason he was so horrified and grieved at what he had done, that he shut himself up in his chamber and avoided all intercourse with men. But in his loneliness and seclusion the conviction that work would be the best means of procuring oblivion of the past decided him to enter, without delay, upon the tasks appointed him by Eurystheus.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22381/22381-h/22381-h.htm#page234
http://www.argonauts-book.com/heracles.html
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0003-son-of-amphitryon.html
LP0002a - The Birth of Hercules - Tales of his youth from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History
Legendary Passages #0002a - The Birth of Hercules -
Tales of his youth from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History.
Last time, the little Hercules strangled the snakes in his crib. This time, we review his origins and his life before his labors.
After a long preamble about the unlikely life of this hero turned god, the author give his lineage, from Jupiter to Perseus (of Pegasus fame) to Electryo to Alcmenes, mother of Hercules. Jupiter disguised himself as Alcmenes husband Amphytriyo, and fathered Hercules. This lineage made him more god than man, and the last and greatest mortal son of Jove.
Alcmenes feared the wrath of Juno, so she left him in a field to die. Juno was tricked into nursing him (causing the Milky Way when he pinched her) and in revenge she sent the serpents.
Hercules grew up in Thebes, a city conquered and disarmed by King Erginus of the Menyans. When the Menyans demanded taxes and tribute, Hercules brutally maimed them and sent them home empty-handed. When King Erginus demanded that he be turned over, Hercules raided the temples for old weapons, revolted, killed King Erginus, and razed the Menyan's city to the ground.
Free of the tyrant, Creon gave him his own daughter Megara in marriage. It seemed like happily ever after, but Juno drove Hercules to madness, and he slew his own children.
Next time we review more early stories of the son of Amphitryo.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A36034.0001.001/1:10.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext
The Birth of Hercules,
a Legendary Passage,
from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History,
translated by George Booth Esq.
[4.8.1] - [4.11.2]
...[W]e shall now bend our Discourse to the things done by Hercules.
I am not ignorant that those that write of the Actions of the Ancients, especially of the Acts of Hercules, meet with many Difficulties; for of all the great Actions that ever were done in the World, those of Hercules far exceed all that ever have been recorded. A most difficult Task therefore it is to give such an Account of what this Hero did, as may be agreeable to the Worth and Dignity of his Actions, or to frame such a Discourse as may equalize the Greatness of them, for which he attain'd to a State of Immortality.
For in as much as things that are ancient and unusual are judg'd incredible by most, its absolutely necessary, though with the Diminution of this God's Glory, to omit some of his Acts, lest by relating all, the whole History be rejected as fabulous. For some unreasonably expect as clear Evidence for things that are ancient, as for those done in our own Age, and judge of the Greatness of Actions (which makes them seem incredible) according to the Rule of things done in the present time; and judge of the Strength of Hercules according to the weak Measure of Mens Strength now.
And so by reason of the Greatness and Strangeness of things related, History suffers in its Credit and Reputation. But in old Stories the Truth ought not to be search'd into too critically and punctually: For in the Plays and Theaters, tho' we do not believe for certain that there ever were such Creatures as Centaurs, or Creatures of a double Nature of several Species's, nor such a one as Geryon, that had three Bodies, yet we favourably receive and entertain those Fables, and with a general Applause advance the Honour of the God. How unjust is it then that Men should forget the Labours of Hercules while he was here upon Earth? Whereby he did Good to all the World, and instead of rendring him his due Praises, to calumniate him, whom our Ancestors with unanimous Consent for his eminent Virtue honour'd with divine Honours.
And what can be more impious, than not to preserve and defend that Religious Respect to this God, which they by their Example have recommended to us? But letting these things pass; we shall relate the things done by him from the beginning, according as the Poets and the most ancient Mythologists have handed them down to us.
-
Perseus (they say) was the Son of Jupiter by Danae, the Daughter of Acrisius, and that Perseus begat Electryo of Andromeda, the Daughter of Cepheus, and that Electryo begat Alcmenes of Eurydice the Daughter of Pelops, and that Jupiter (deceiving Alcmenes) lay with her and begat Hercules: So that by this Genealogy Hercules descended from the chiefest of the Gods, both immediately by his Mother, and more remotely by his Great-Grand-Father Perseus.
His Virtue and Valour were not only evident from his Acts, but might be concluded and foreseen by what happen'd before he was born: For when Jupiter lay with Alcmenes, he lengthen'd the Night threefold, so that spending so much time in procreating this Child, was a Sign how extraordinary strong he was like to be. They say that Jupiter lay not with her out of any amorous Pang of Love, as with other Women, but meerly for Procreation sake: And therefore willing that his Embraces at this time should be lawful, he forbore all Violence; and knowing that the Woman's Chastity was such, that no Arguments would prevail with her, he deceiv'd her by taking upon him the Shape of Amphitryo.
And now the Time of her Delivery drew nigh, when Jupiter full of thoughts concerning the Birth of Hercules, in the presence of all the Gods declar'd, that he would make him King of the Persians, who was to be born that that day. Whereupon Juno inrag'd with Jealousie, with the assistance of Ilithyia her Daughter, gave a Check to the delivery of Alcmenes, and brought forth Eurystheus before his full time.
But though Jupiter was thus outwitted by Juno, yet that he might perform his Promise, he took care to preserve the Honour and Reputation of Hercules. And therefore its reported that he prevail'd with Juno to consent, that Eurystheus being made King according to his Promise, Hercules (who should be subject to him) performing Twelve Labours (such as Euristheus should impose upon him) should be taken into the Society of the Immortal Gods.
Alcmenes being deliver'd (out of fear of Juno's Jealousie) expos'd the Child in a place which is now from him call'd Hercules's his Field. About which time Minerva, together with Juno, walking Abroad, found the Infant, and much admiring his Beauty, Minerva persuaded Juno to give it suck: The Child drawing the Breast with more violence than at his Age was usual, Juno not able to indure the pain, cast away the Infant; whom Minerva took up, and brought Home to his Mother to be nurs'd by her. The Accident here seems very strange and remarkable. For the Mother, who ow'd a natural Affection to her own Child, expos'd him to Destruction; but she who hated him, as a Stepmother (unknowingly) preserv'd her natural Enemy.
Afterwards Juno sent two Serpents to devour the Child: But he took them with both his Hands by their Throats and strangl'd them. Upon which account the Argives (coming to understand what was done) call'd him Hercules, because Juno was the Occasion of his Glory and Fame; for he was before call'd Alcaeus. Others are nam'd by their Parents, but he gain'd his Name by his Valour.
-
In After-times it happen'd that Amphitrio, being banish'd from Tyrinthe, settl'd himself in Thebes; here Hercules was educated, here he was instructed and greatly improv'd in all laudable Exercises, in so much as he excell'd all others in Strength of Body, and also in the excellent Endowments of his Mind.
Being now grown up to Man's Estate, he first freed Thebes from tyrannical Slavery, and thereby made a grateful Return to the Country where he was bred. The Thebans at that time were under the Tyranny of Erginus, King of the Menyans, who every year exacted Tribute from them, not without Scorn and Contempt. Hercules therefore not at all discourag'd with the Greatness of the Bondage they labour'd under, attempted a glorious Piece of Service.
For when those who were sent from the Menyae to collect the Tribute, carry'd it insolently towards the People, he cut off their Ears, and cast them out of the City, whereupon Erginus demanded the Delivery up of the Malefactor, and Creon the Prince of Thebes (dreading the Potency of Erginus) resolv'd to deliver him up; But Hercules stirr'd up the young Men of the City to arm themselves, in order to recover the Liberty of their Country, and to that end took away all the Arms that were in the Temples, formerly dedicated to the Gods by their Ancestors, of the Spoyls of their Enemies. For none of the Citizens had any Arms of their own, by Reason the Menyans had disarm'd the City; so that the Thebans had not the least Thought of a Revolt.
Intelligence being brought that Erginus with an Army approach'd the City, Hercules set upon him in a strait Passage (where a Multitude was of little Use) and kill'd Erginus, and cut off almost his whole Army. He fell likewise suddainly upon the City of the Orchomenians, entring unexpectedly, and burnt the Palace of the Menyae, and raz'd the City to the Ground.
The Fame of this notable Exploit was presently nois'd over all Greece, while such a suddain and unexpected Achievement was the Subject of every Man's Admiration, and Creon the King (wonderfully taken with the Valour of the young Man) gave him his Daughter Megaera to Wife, and committed to him the Care and Charge of the City as if he had been his own Son.
-
But Euristheus King of Argos (jealous of Hercules his growing Greatness) sent for him to perform the Labours he was to impose upon him, which he refusing, Jupiter commanded him to obey King Euristheus; whereupon Hercules went to Delphos, and inquir'd of the Oracle concerning this Matter, who answer'd him, That it was the Pleasure of the Gods, that he should perform twelve Labours at the Command of Euristheus, and that when he had finish'd them, he should receive the Reward of Immortality.
Hereupon Hercules became exceeding sad and melancholy; for he judg'd it very much below him to be at the Beck of his inferior; and to disobey his Father Jupiter a second time he concluded was both unprofitable and impossible.
While he was in this Perplexity Juno struck him with Madness; being therefore through the Discomposure of his Mind become distracted, and by the Growth of his Distemper altogether a mad Man, he design'd to murder Iolaus, who saving himself by Flight he fell upon his own Children by Megara, who were next in his Way, and struck them through with his Darts, as if they had been his Enemies.
As soon as he came again to himself, and understood his Error, he almost sunk under the Weight of his Misery (being pity'd by every Body) and shut up himself in his own House a long time from the Converse and Society of Men.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A36034.0001.001/1:10.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0002-birth-of-heracles.html
Tales of his youth from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History.
Last time, the little Hercules strangled the snakes in his crib. This time, we review his origins and his life before his labors.
After a long preamble about the unlikely life of this hero turned god, the author give his lineage, from Jupiter to Perseus (of Pegasus fame) to Electryo to Alcmenes, mother of Hercules. Jupiter disguised himself as Alcmenes husband Amphytriyo, and fathered Hercules. This lineage made him more god than man, and the last and greatest mortal son of Jove.
Alcmenes feared the wrath of Juno, so she left him in a field to die. Juno was tricked into nursing him (causing the Milky Way when he pinched her) and in revenge she sent the serpents.
Hercules grew up in Thebes, a city conquered and disarmed by King Erginus of the Menyans. When the Menyans demanded taxes and tribute, Hercules brutally maimed them and sent them home empty-handed. When King Erginus demanded that he be turned over, Hercules raided the temples for old weapons, revolted, killed King Erginus, and razed the Menyan's city to the ground.
Free of the tyrant, Creon gave him his own daughter Megara in marriage. It seemed like happily ever after, but Juno drove Hercules to madness, and he slew his own children.
Next time we review more early stories of the son of Amphitryo.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A36034.0001.001/1:10.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext
The Birth of Hercules,
a Legendary Passage,
from Diodorus Siculus' Library of History,
translated by George Booth Esq.
[4.8.1] - [4.11.2]
...[W]e shall now bend our Discourse to the things done by Hercules.
I am not ignorant that those that write of the Actions of the Ancients, especially of the Acts of Hercules, meet with many Difficulties; for of all the great Actions that ever were done in the World, those of Hercules far exceed all that ever have been recorded. A most difficult Task therefore it is to give such an Account of what this Hero did, as may be agreeable to the Worth and Dignity of his Actions, or to frame such a Discourse as may equalize the Greatness of them, for which he attain'd to a State of Immortality.
For in as much as things that are ancient and unusual are judg'd incredible by most, its absolutely necessary, though with the Diminution of this God's Glory, to omit some of his Acts, lest by relating all, the whole History be rejected as fabulous. For some unreasonably expect as clear Evidence for things that are ancient, as for those done in our own Age, and judge of the Greatness of Actions (which makes them seem incredible) according to the Rule of things done in the present time; and judge of the Strength of Hercules according to the weak Measure of Mens Strength now.
And so by reason of the Greatness and Strangeness of things related, History suffers in its Credit and Reputation. But in old Stories the Truth ought not to be search'd into too critically and punctually: For in the Plays and Theaters, tho' we do not believe for certain that there ever were such Creatures as Centaurs, or Creatures of a double Nature of several Species's, nor such a one as Geryon, that had three Bodies, yet we favourably receive and entertain those Fables, and with a general Applause advance the Honour of the God. How unjust is it then that Men should forget the Labours of Hercules while he was here upon Earth? Whereby he did Good to all the World, and instead of rendring him his due Praises, to calumniate him, whom our Ancestors with unanimous Consent for his eminent Virtue honour'd with divine Honours.
And what can be more impious, than not to preserve and defend that Religious Respect to this God, which they by their Example have recommended to us? But letting these things pass; we shall relate the things done by him from the beginning, according as the Poets and the most ancient Mythologists have handed them down to us.
-
Perseus (they say) was the Son of Jupiter by Danae, the Daughter of Acrisius, and that Perseus begat Electryo of Andromeda, the Daughter of Cepheus, and that Electryo begat Alcmenes of Eurydice the Daughter of Pelops, and that Jupiter (deceiving Alcmenes) lay with her and begat Hercules: So that by this Genealogy Hercules descended from the chiefest of the Gods, both immediately by his Mother, and more remotely by his Great-Grand-Father Perseus.
His Virtue and Valour were not only evident from his Acts, but might be concluded and foreseen by what happen'd before he was born: For when Jupiter lay with Alcmenes, he lengthen'd the Night threefold, so that spending so much time in procreating this Child, was a Sign how extraordinary strong he was like to be. They say that Jupiter lay not with her out of any amorous Pang of Love, as with other Women, but meerly for Procreation sake: And therefore willing that his Embraces at this time should be lawful, he forbore all Violence; and knowing that the Woman's Chastity was such, that no Arguments would prevail with her, he deceiv'd her by taking upon him the Shape of Amphitryo.
And now the Time of her Delivery drew nigh, when Jupiter full of thoughts concerning the Birth of Hercules, in the presence of all the Gods declar'd, that he would make him King of the Persians, who was to be born that that day. Whereupon Juno inrag'd with Jealousie, with the assistance of Ilithyia her Daughter, gave a Check to the delivery of Alcmenes, and brought forth Eurystheus before his full time.
But though Jupiter was thus outwitted by Juno, yet that he might perform his Promise, he took care to preserve the Honour and Reputation of Hercules. And therefore its reported that he prevail'd with Juno to consent, that Eurystheus being made King according to his Promise, Hercules (who should be subject to him) performing Twelve Labours (such as Euristheus should impose upon him) should be taken into the Society of the Immortal Gods.
Alcmenes being deliver'd (out of fear of Juno's Jealousie) expos'd the Child in a place which is now from him call'd Hercules's his Field. About which time Minerva, together with Juno, walking Abroad, found the Infant, and much admiring his Beauty, Minerva persuaded Juno to give it suck: The Child drawing the Breast with more violence than at his Age was usual, Juno not able to indure the pain, cast away the Infant; whom Minerva took up, and brought Home to his Mother to be nurs'd by her. The Accident here seems very strange and remarkable. For the Mother, who ow'd a natural Affection to her own Child, expos'd him to Destruction; but she who hated him, as a Stepmother (unknowingly) preserv'd her natural Enemy.
Afterwards Juno sent two Serpents to devour the Child: But he took them with both his Hands by their Throats and strangl'd them. Upon which account the Argives (coming to understand what was done) call'd him Hercules, because Juno was the Occasion of his Glory and Fame; for he was before call'd Alcaeus. Others are nam'd by their Parents, but he gain'd his Name by his Valour.
-
In After-times it happen'd that Amphitrio, being banish'd from Tyrinthe, settl'd himself in Thebes; here Hercules was educated, here he was instructed and greatly improv'd in all laudable Exercises, in so much as he excell'd all others in Strength of Body, and also in the excellent Endowments of his Mind.
Being now grown up to Man's Estate, he first freed Thebes from tyrannical Slavery, and thereby made a grateful Return to the Country where he was bred. The Thebans at that time were under the Tyranny of Erginus, King of the Menyans, who every year exacted Tribute from them, not without Scorn and Contempt. Hercules therefore not at all discourag'd with the Greatness of the Bondage they labour'd under, attempted a glorious Piece of Service.
For when those who were sent from the Menyae to collect the Tribute, carry'd it insolently towards the People, he cut off their Ears, and cast them out of the City, whereupon Erginus demanded the Delivery up of the Malefactor, and Creon the Prince of Thebes (dreading the Potency of Erginus) resolv'd to deliver him up; But Hercules stirr'd up the young Men of the City to arm themselves, in order to recover the Liberty of their Country, and to that end took away all the Arms that were in the Temples, formerly dedicated to the Gods by their Ancestors, of the Spoyls of their Enemies. For none of the Citizens had any Arms of their own, by Reason the Menyans had disarm'd the City; so that the Thebans had not the least Thought of a Revolt.
Intelligence being brought that Erginus with an Army approach'd the City, Hercules set upon him in a strait Passage (where a Multitude was of little Use) and kill'd Erginus, and cut off almost his whole Army. He fell likewise suddainly upon the City of the Orchomenians, entring unexpectedly, and burnt the Palace of the Menyae, and raz'd the City to the Ground.
The Fame of this notable Exploit was presently nois'd over all Greece, while such a suddain and unexpected Achievement was the Subject of every Man's Admiration, and Creon the King (wonderfully taken with the Valour of the young Man) gave him his Daughter Megaera to Wife, and committed to him the Care and Charge of the City as if he had been his own Son.
-
But Euristheus King of Argos (jealous of Hercules his growing Greatness) sent for him to perform the Labours he was to impose upon him, which he refusing, Jupiter commanded him to obey King Euristheus; whereupon Hercules went to Delphos, and inquir'd of the Oracle concerning this Matter, who answer'd him, That it was the Pleasure of the Gods, that he should perform twelve Labours at the Command of Euristheus, and that when he had finish'd them, he should receive the Reward of Immortality.
Hereupon Hercules became exceeding sad and melancholy; for he judg'd it very much below him to be at the Beck of his inferior; and to disobey his Father Jupiter a second time he concluded was both unprofitable and impossible.
While he was in this Perplexity Juno struck him with Madness; being therefore through the Discomposure of his Mind become distracted, and by the Growth of his Distemper altogether a mad Man, he design'd to murder Iolaus, who saving himself by Flight he fell upon his own Children by Megara, who were next in his Way, and struck them through with his Darts, as if they had been his Enemies.
As soon as he came again to himself, and understood his Error, he almost sunk under the Weight of his Misery (being pity'd by every Body) and shut up himself in his own House a long time from the Converse and Society of Men.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A36034.0001.001/1:10.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0002-birth-of-heracles.html
Thursday, June 2, 2016
LP0001a - The Little Heracles - An alternate translation from The Idylls of Theocritus
Legendary Passage #0001a - The Little Heracles -
An alternate translation from The Idylls of Theocritus.
My thanks to my father who recorded our new intro music, his own take on the ancient Seikilos Epitaph.
For the next six episodes we shall be hearing alternate translations of our first six passages, after which we'll move on to new material once again.
This passage begins with Heracles and his twin brother Iphicles who are less than a year old. Their mother Alcmena rocks them to sleep in a bronze shield, won by their father Amphitryon.
After everyone goes to bed, the goddess Hera sends two venomous snakes to kill the bastard son of Zeus in his crib, but even as a babe he is too strong, and strangles the serpents with his bare hands.
His brother Iphicles cried out, and their mother Alcmena told her husband hurry and check on the babes, for there was a strange light in the house. Amphitryon grabs his sword and shouts his servants awake as he sprints towards his children. But all are astonished when they find dead snakes in little Heracles hands.
The next morning, Alcmena calls for the seer Tireseus to hear why the gods want her son dead, and what his fate is to be. Tireseus tells her that her son, after many labors and hardships, will become a god, and marry a goddess.
Lastly, he tells her how to dispose of the serpents and purify the house. The passage continues in episode 29 with the childhood of Heracles.
Next time, we shall hear of the origins and the birth of Heracles.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXIV
The Little Heracles,
a Legendary Passage,
from The Idylls of Theocritus,
translated by C.S. Caverley.
IDYLL XXIV. THE INFANT HERACLES
Alcmena once had washed and given the breast
To Heracles, a babe of ten months old,
And Iphicles his junior by a night;
And cradled both within a brazen shield,
A gorgeous trophy, which Amphitryon erst
Had stript from Ptereläus fall'n in fight.
She stroked their baby brows, and thus she said:
"Sleep, children mine, a light luxurious sleep,
Brother with brother: sleep, my boys, my life:
Blest in your slumber, in your waking blest!"
She spake and rocked the shield; and in his arms
Sleep took them. But at midnight, when the Bear
Wheels to his setting, in Orion's front
Whose shoulder then beams broadest; Hera sent,
Mistress of wiles, two huge and hideous things,
Snakes with their scales of azure all on end,
To the broad portal of the chamber-door,
All to devour the infant Heracles.
They, all their length uncoiled upon the floor,
Writhed on to their blood-feast; a baleful light
Gleamed in their eyes, rank venom they spat forth.
But when with lambent tongues they neared the cot,
Alcmena's babes (for Zeus was watching all)
Woke, and throughout the chamber there was light.
Then Iphicles--so soon as he descried
The fell brutes peering o'er the hollow shield,
And saw their merciless fangs--cried lustily,
And kicked away his coverlet of down,
Fain to escape. But Heracles, he clung
Round them with warlike hands, in iron grasp
Prisoning the two: his clutch upon their throat,
The deadly snake's laboratory, where
He brews such poisons as e'en heaven abhors.
They twined and twisted round the babe that, born
After long travail, ne'er had shed a tear
E'en in his nursery; soon to quit their hold,
For powerless seemed their spines. Alcmena heard,
While her lord slept, the crying, and awoke.
"Amphitryon, up: chill fears take hold on me.
Up: stay not to put sandals on thy feet.
Hear'st thou our child, our younger, how he cries?
Seest thou yon walls illumed at dead of night,
But not by morn's pure beam? I know, I know,
Sweet lord, that some strange thing is happening here."
She spake; and he, upleaping at her call,
Made swiftly for the sword of quaint device
That aye hung dangling o'er his cedarn couch:
And he was reaching at his span-new belt,
The scabbard (one huge piece of lotus-wood)
Poised on his arm; when suddenly the night
Spread out her hands, and all was dark again.
Then cried he to his slaves, whose sleep was deep:
"Quick, slaves of mine; fetch fire from yonder hearth:
And force with all your strength the doorbolts back!
Up, loyal-hearted slaves: the master calls."
Forth came at once the slaves with lighted lamps.
The house was all astir with hurrying feet.
But when they saw the suckling Heracles
With the two brutes grasped firm in his soft hands,
They shouted with one voice. But he must show
The reptiles to Amphitryon; held aloft
His hands in childish glee, and laughed and laid
At his sire's feet the monsters still in death.
Then did Alcmena to her bosom take
The terror-blanched and passionate Iphicles:
Cradling the other in a lambswool quilt,
Her lord once more bethought him of his rest.
Now cocks had thrice sung out that night was e'er.
Then went Alcmena forth and told the thing
To Teiresias the seer, whose words were truth,
And bade him rede her what the end should be:--
'And if the gods bode mischief, hide it not,
Pitying, from me: man shall not thus avoid
The doom that Fate upon her distaff spins.
Son of Eueres, thou hast ears to hear.'
Thus spake the queen, and thus he made reply:
"Mother of monarchs, Perseus' child, take heart;
And look but on the fairer side of things.
For by the precious light that long ago
Left tenantless these eyes, I swear that oft
Achaia's maidens, as when eve is high
They mould the silken yarn upon their lap,
Shall tell Alcmena's story: blest art thou
Of women. Such a man in this thy son
Shall one day scale the star-encumbered heaven:
His amplitude of chest bespeaks him lord
Of all the forest beasts and all mankind.
Twelve tasks accomplished he must dwell with Zeus;
His flesh given over to Trachinian fires;
And son-in-law be hailed of those same gods
Who sent yon skulking brutes to slay thy babe.
Lo! the day cometh when the fawn shall couch
In the wolfs lair, nor fear the spiky teeth
That would not harm him. But, O lady, keep
Yon smouldering fire alive; prepare you piles
Of fuel, bramble-sprays or fern or furze
Or pear-boughs dried with swinging in the wind:
And let the kindled wild-wood burn those snakes
At midnight, when they looked to slay thy babe.
And let at dawn some handmaid gather up
The ashes of the fire, and diligently
Convey and cast each remnant o'er the stream
Faced by clov'n rocks, our boundary: then return
Nor look behind. And purify your home
First with sheer sulphur, rain upon it then,
(Chaplets of olive wound about your heads,)
Innocuous water, and the customed salt.
Lastly, to Zeus almighty slay a boar:
So shall ye vanquish all your enemies."
Spake Teiresias, and wheeling (though his years
Weighed on him sorely) gained his ivory car.
And Heracles as some young orchard-tree
Grew up, Amphitryon his reputed sire.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXIV
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0001littleheracles.html
An alternate translation from The Idylls of Theocritus.
My thanks to my father who recorded our new intro music, his own take on the ancient Seikilos Epitaph.
For the next six episodes we shall be hearing alternate translations of our first six passages, after which we'll move on to new material once again.
This passage begins with Heracles and his twin brother Iphicles who are less than a year old. Their mother Alcmena rocks them to sleep in a bronze shield, won by their father Amphitryon.
After everyone goes to bed, the goddess Hera sends two venomous snakes to kill the bastard son of Zeus in his crib, but even as a babe he is too strong, and strangles the serpents with his bare hands.
His brother Iphicles cried out, and their mother Alcmena told her husband hurry and check on the babes, for there was a strange light in the house. Amphitryon grabs his sword and shouts his servants awake as he sprints towards his children. But all are astonished when they find dead snakes in little Heracles hands.
The next morning, Alcmena calls for the seer Tireseus to hear why the gods want her son dead, and what his fate is to be. Tireseus tells her that her son, after many labors and hardships, will become a god, and marry a goddess.
Lastly, he tells her how to dispose of the serpents and purify the house. The passage continues in episode 29 with the childhood of Heracles.
Next time, we shall hear of the origins and the birth of Heracles.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXIV
The Little Heracles,
a Legendary Passage,
from The Idylls of Theocritus,
translated by C.S. Caverley.
IDYLL XXIV. THE INFANT HERACLES
Alcmena once had washed and given the breast
To Heracles, a babe of ten months old,
And Iphicles his junior by a night;
And cradled both within a brazen shield,
A gorgeous trophy, which Amphitryon erst
Had stript from Ptereläus fall'n in fight.
She stroked their baby brows, and thus she said:
"Sleep, children mine, a light luxurious sleep,
Brother with brother: sleep, my boys, my life:
Blest in your slumber, in your waking blest!"
She spake and rocked the shield; and in his arms
Sleep took them. But at midnight, when the Bear
Wheels to his setting, in Orion's front
Whose shoulder then beams broadest; Hera sent,
Mistress of wiles, two huge and hideous things,
Snakes with their scales of azure all on end,
To the broad portal of the chamber-door,
All to devour the infant Heracles.
They, all their length uncoiled upon the floor,
Writhed on to their blood-feast; a baleful light
Gleamed in their eyes, rank venom they spat forth.
But when with lambent tongues they neared the cot,
Alcmena's babes (for Zeus was watching all)
Woke, and throughout the chamber there was light.
Then Iphicles--so soon as he descried
The fell brutes peering o'er the hollow shield,
And saw their merciless fangs--cried lustily,
And kicked away his coverlet of down,
Fain to escape. But Heracles, he clung
Round them with warlike hands, in iron grasp
Prisoning the two: his clutch upon their throat,
The deadly snake's laboratory, where
He brews such poisons as e'en heaven abhors.
They twined and twisted round the babe that, born
After long travail, ne'er had shed a tear
E'en in his nursery; soon to quit their hold,
For powerless seemed their spines. Alcmena heard,
While her lord slept, the crying, and awoke.
"Amphitryon, up: chill fears take hold on me.
Up: stay not to put sandals on thy feet.
Hear'st thou our child, our younger, how he cries?
Seest thou yon walls illumed at dead of night,
But not by morn's pure beam? I know, I know,
Sweet lord, that some strange thing is happening here."
She spake; and he, upleaping at her call,
Made swiftly for the sword of quaint device
That aye hung dangling o'er his cedarn couch:
And he was reaching at his span-new belt,
The scabbard (one huge piece of lotus-wood)
Poised on his arm; when suddenly the night
Spread out her hands, and all was dark again.
Then cried he to his slaves, whose sleep was deep:
"Quick, slaves of mine; fetch fire from yonder hearth:
And force with all your strength the doorbolts back!
Up, loyal-hearted slaves: the master calls."
Forth came at once the slaves with lighted lamps.
The house was all astir with hurrying feet.
But when they saw the suckling Heracles
With the two brutes grasped firm in his soft hands,
They shouted with one voice. But he must show
The reptiles to Amphitryon; held aloft
His hands in childish glee, and laughed and laid
At his sire's feet the monsters still in death.
Then did Alcmena to her bosom take
The terror-blanched and passionate Iphicles:
Cradling the other in a lambswool quilt,
Her lord once more bethought him of his rest.
Now cocks had thrice sung out that night was e'er.
Then went Alcmena forth and told the thing
To Teiresias the seer, whose words were truth,
And bade him rede her what the end should be:--
'And if the gods bode mischief, hide it not,
Pitying, from me: man shall not thus avoid
The doom that Fate upon her distaff spins.
Son of Eueres, thou hast ears to hear.'
Thus spake the queen, and thus he made reply:
"Mother of monarchs, Perseus' child, take heart;
And look but on the fairer side of things.
For by the precious light that long ago
Left tenantless these eyes, I swear that oft
Achaia's maidens, as when eve is high
They mould the silken yarn upon their lap,
Shall tell Alcmena's story: blest art thou
Of women. Such a man in this thy son
Shall one day scale the star-encumbered heaven:
His amplitude of chest bespeaks him lord
Of all the forest beasts and all mankind.
Twelve tasks accomplished he must dwell with Zeus;
His flesh given over to Trachinian fires;
And son-in-law be hailed of those same gods
Who sent yon skulking brutes to slay thy babe.
Lo! the day cometh when the fawn shall couch
In the wolfs lair, nor fear the spiky teeth
That would not harm him. But, O lady, keep
Yon smouldering fire alive; prepare you piles
Of fuel, bramble-sprays or fern or furze
Or pear-boughs dried with swinging in the wind:
And let the kindled wild-wood burn those snakes
At midnight, when they looked to slay thy babe.
And let at dawn some handmaid gather up
The ashes of the fire, and diligently
Convey and cast each remnant o'er the stream
Faced by clov'n rocks, our boundary: then return
Nor look behind. And purify your home
First with sheer sulphur, rain upon it then,
(Chaplets of olive wound about your heads,)
Innocuous water, and the customed salt.
Lastly, to Zeus almighty slay a boar:
So shall ye vanquish all your enemies."
Spake Teiresias, and wheeling (though his years
Weighed on him sorely) gained his ivory car.
And Heracles as some young orchard-tree
Grew up, Amphitryon his reputed sire.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11533/11533-h/11533-h.htm#IDYLL_XXIV
http://legendarypassages.blogspot.com/2015/01/lp0001littleheracles.html
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