Mount Caucasus, where Prometheus groaned in unceasing agony. It was at this
time that Heracles (as already related) shot the eagle which had so long
tortured the noble and devoted friend of mankind. Full of gratitude for his
deliverance, Prometheus instructed him how to find his way to that remote
region in the far West where Atlas supported the heavens on his shoulders,
near which lay the Garden of the Hesperides. He also warned Heracles not to
attempt to secure the precious fruit himself, but to assume for a time the
duties of Atlas, and to despatch him for the apples.
{249}
On arriving at his destination Heracles followed the advice of Prometheus.
Atlas, who willingly entered into the arrangement, contrived to put the
dragon to sleep, and then, having cunningly outwitted the Hesperides,
carried off three of the golden apples, which he now brought to Heracles.
But when the latter was prepared to relinquish his burden, Atlas, having
once tasted the delights of freedom, declined to resume his post, and
announced his intention of being himself the bearer of the apples to
Eurystheus, leaving Heracles to fill his place. To this proposal the hero
feigned assent, merely begging that Atlas would be kind enough to support
the heavens for a few moments whilst he contrived a pad for his head. Atlas
good-naturedly threw down the apples and once more resumed his load, upon
which Heracles bade him adieu, and departed.
When Heracles conveyed the golden apples to Eurystheus the latter presented
them to the hero, whereupon Heracles placed the sacred fruit on the altar
of Pallas-Athene, who restored them to the garden of the Hesperides.
12. CERBERUS.--The twelfth and last labour which Eurystheus imposed on
Heracles was to bring up Cerberus from the lower world, believing that all
his heroic powers would be unavailing in the Realm of Shades, and that in
this, his last and most perilous undertaking, the hero must at length
succumb and perish.
[Illustration]
Cerberus was a monster dog with three heads, out of whose awful jaws
dripped poison; the hair of his head and back was formed of venomous
snakes, and his body terminated in the tail of a dragon.
After being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, and
{250} obtaining
from the priests certain information necessary for the accomplishment of
his task, Heracles set out for Tænarum in Lacolia, where there was an
opening which led to the under-world. Conducted by Hermes, he commenced his
descent into the awful gulf, where myriads of shades soon began to appear,
all of whom fled in terror at his approach, Meleager and Medusa alone
excepted. About to strike the latter with his sword, Hermes interfered and
stayed his hand, reminding him that she was but a shadow, and that
consequently no weapon could avail against her.
Arrived before the gates of Hades he found Theseus and Pirithöus, who had
been fixed to an enchanted rock by Aïdes for their presumption in
endeavouring to carry off Persephone. When they saw Heracles they implored
him to set them free. The hero succeeded in delivering Theseus, but when he
endeavoured to liberate Pirithöus, the earth shook so violently beneath him
that he was compelled to relinquish his task.
Proceeding further Heracles recognized Ascalaphus, who, as we have seen in
the history of Demeter, had revealed the fact that Persephone had swallowed
the seeds of a pomegranate offered to her by her husband, which bound her
to Aïdes for ever. Ascalaphus was groaning beneath a huge rock which
Demeter in her anger had hurled upon him, and which Heracles now removed,
releasing the sufferer.
Before the gates of his palace stood Aïdes the mighty ruler of the lower
world, and barred his entrance; but Heracles, aiming at him with one of his
unerring darts, shot him in the shoulder, so that for the first time the
god experienced the agony of mortal suffering. Heracles then demanded of
him permission to take Cerberus to the upper-world, and to this Aïdes
consented on condition that he should secure him unarmed. Protected by his
breastplate and lion's skin Heracles went in search of the monster, whom he
found at the mouth of the river Acheron. Undismayed by the hideous barking
which proceeded from his three heads, he seized the
{251} throat with one
hand and the legs with the other, and although the dragon which served him
as a tail bit him severely, he did not relinquish his grasp. In this manner
he conducted him to the upper-world, through an opening near Troezen in
Argolia.
When Eurystheus beheld Cerberus he stood aghast, and despairing of ever
getting rid of his hated rival, he returned the hell-hound to the hero, who
restored him to Aïdes, and with this last task the subjection of Heracles
to Eurystheus terminated.
MURDER OF IPHITUS.--Free at last Heracles now returned to Thebes; and it
being impossible for him to live happily with Megara in consequence of his
having murdered her children he, with her own consent, gave her in marriage
to his nephew Iolaus. Heracles himself sought the hand of Iole, daughter of
Eurytus, king of Oechalia, who had instructed him when a boy in the use of
the bow. Hearing that this king had promised to give his daughter to him
who could surpass himself and his three sons in shooting with the bow,
Heracles lost no time in presenting himself as a competitor. He soon proved
that he was no unworthy pupil of Eurytus, for he signally defeated all his
opponents. But although the king treated him with marked respect and honour
he refused, nevertheless, to give him the hand of his daughter, fearing for
her a similar fate to that which had befallen Megara.
Iphitus, the eldest
son of Eurytus, alone espoused the cause of Heracles, and essayed to induce
his father to give his consent to the marriage; but all to no purpose, and
at length, stung to the quick at his rejection, the hero angrily took his
departure.
Soon afterwards the oxen of the king were stolen by the notorious thief
Autolycus, and Heracles was suspected by Eurytus of having committed the
theft. But Iphitus loyally defended his absent friend, and proposed to seek
out Heracles, and with his assistance to go in search of the missing
cattle. {252}
The hero warmly welcomed his staunch young friend, and entered cordially
into his plan. They at once set out on their expedition; but their search
proved altogether unsuccessful. When they approached the city of Tiryns
they mounted a tower in hopes of discovering the missing herd in the
surrounding country; but as they stood on the topmost summit of the
building, Heracles became suddenly seized with one of his former attacks of
madness, and mistaking his friend Iphitus for an enemy, hurled him down
into the plain below, and he was killed on the spot.
Heracles now set forth on a weary pilgrimage, begging in vain that some one
would purify him from the murder of Iphitus. It was during these wanderings
that he arrived at the palace of his friend Admetus, whose beautiful and
heroic wife (Alcestes) he restored to her husband after a terrible struggle
with Death, as already related.
Soon after this event Heracles was struck with a fearful disease, and
betook himself to the temple of Delphi, hoping to obtain from the oracle
the means of relief. The priestess, however, refused him a response on the
ground of his having murdered Iphitus, whereupon the angry hero seized upon
the tripod, which he carried off, declaring that he would construct an
oracle for himself. Apollo, who witnessed the sacrilege, came down to
defend his sanctuary, and a violent struggle ensued.
Zeus once more
interfered, and, flashing his lightnings between his two favourite sons,
ended the combat. The Pythia now vouchsafed an answer to the prayer of the
hero, and commanded him, in expiation of his crime, to allow himself to be
sold by Hermes for three years as a slave, the purchase-money to be given
to Eurytus in compensation for the loss of his son.
HERACLES BECOMES THE SLAVE OF OMPHALE.--Heracles bowed in submission to the
divine will, and was conducted by Hermes to Omphale, queen of Lydia. The
three talents which she paid for him were given {253} to Eurytus, who,
however, declined to accept the money, which was handed over to the
children of Iphitus.
Heracles now regained his former vigour. He rid the territory of Omphale of
the robbers which infested it and performed for her various other services
requiring strength and courage. It was about this time that he took part in
the Calydonian boar-hunt, details of which have already been given.
When Omphale learned that her slave was none other than the renowned
Heracles himself she at once gave him his liberty, and offered him her hand
and kingdom. In her palace Heracles abandoned himself to all the enervating
luxuries of an oriental life, and so completely was the great hero
enthralled by the fascination which his mistress exercised over him, that
whilst she playfully donned his lion's skin and helmet, he, attired in
female garments, sat at her feet spinning wool, and beguiling the time by
the relation of his past adventures.
But when at length, his term of bondage having expired, he became master of
his own actions, the manly and energetic spirit of the hero reasserted
itself, and tearing himself away from the palace of the Mæonian queen, he
determined to carry out the revenge he had so long meditated against the
treacherous Laomedon and the faithless Augeas.
HERACLES EXECUTES VENGEANCE ON LAOMEDON AND AUGEAS.--
Gathering round him
some of his old brave companions-in-arms, Heracles collected a fleet of
vessels and set sail for Troy, where he landed, took the city by storm, and
killed Laomedon, who thus met at length the retribution he had so richly
deserved.
To Telamon, one of his bravest followers, he gave Hesione, the daughter of
the king, in marriage. When Heracles gave her permission to release one of
the prisoners of war she chose her own brother Podarces, whereupon she was
informed that as he was already a prisoner of war she would be compelled to
ransom him. {254} On hearing this Hesione took off her golden diadem, which
she joyfully handed to the hero. Owing to this circumstance Podarces
henceforth bore the name of Priamus (or Priam), which signifies the
"ransomed one."
Heracles now marched against Augeas to execute his vengeance on him also
for his perfidious conduct. He stormed the city of Elis and put to death
Augeas and his sons, sparing only his brave advocate and staunch defender
Phyleus, on whom he bestowed the vacant throne of his father.
HERACLES AND DEIANEIRA.--Heracles now proceeded to Calydon, where he wooed
the beautiful Deianeira, daughter of Oeneus, king of Ætolia; but he
encountered a formidable rival in Achelous, the river-god, and it was
agreed that their claims should be decided by single combat. Trusting to
his power of assuming various forms at will, Achelous felt confident of
success; but this availed him nothing, for having at last transformed
himself into a bull, his mighty adversary broke off one of his horns, and
compelled him to acknowledge himself defeated.
After passing three happy years with Deianeira an unfortunate accident
occurred, which for a time marred their felicity.
Heracles was one day
present at a banquet given by Oeneus, when, by a sudden swing of his hand,
he had the misfortune to strike on the head a youth of noble birth, who,
according to the custom of the ancients, was serving the guests at table,
and so violent was the blow that it caused his death.
The father of the
unfortunate youth, who had witnessed the occurrence, saw that it was the
result of accident, and therefore absolved the hero from blame. But
Heracles resolved to act according to the law of the land, banished himself
from the country, and bidding farewell to his father-in-law, set out for
Trachin to visit his friend King Ceyx, taking with him his wife Deianeira,
and his young son Hyllus.
In the course of their journey they arrived at the river Evenus, over which
the Centaur Nessus was in the habit {255} of carrying travellers for hire.
Heracles, with his little son in his arms, forded the stream unaided,
intrusting his wife to the care of the Centaur, who, charmed with the
beauty of his fair burden, attempted to carry her off.
But her cries were
heard by her husband, who without hesitation shot Nessus through the heart
with one of his poisoned arrows. Now the dying Centaur was thirsting for
revenge. He called Deianeira to his side, and directed her to secure some
of the blood which flowed from his wound, assuring her that if, when in
danger of losing her husband's affection, she used it in the manner
indicated by him, it would act as a charm, and prevent her from being
supplanted by a rival. Heracles and Deianeira now pursued their journey,
and after several adventures at length arrived at their destination.
DEATH OF HERACLES.--The last expedition undertaken by the great hero was
against Eurytus, king of Oechalia, to revenge himself upon this king and
his sons for having refused to bestow upon him the hand of Iole, after
having fairly won the maiden. Having collected a large army Heracles set
out for Euboea in order to besiege Oechalia, its capital. Success crowned
his arms. He stormed the citadel, slew the king and his three sons, reduced
the town to ashes, and carried away captive the young and beautiful Iole.
Returning from his victorious expedition, Heracles halted at Cenoeus in
order to offer a sacrifice to Zeus, and sent to Deianeira to Trachin for a
sacrificial robe. Deianeira having been informed that the fair Iole was in
the train of Heracles was fearful lest her youthful charms might supplant
her in the affection of her husband, and calling to mind the advice of the
dying Centaur, she determined to test the efficacy of the love-charm which
he had given to her. Taking out the phial which she had carefully
preserved, she imbued the robe with a portion of the liquid which it
contained, and then sent it to Heracles.
The victorious hero clothed himself with the garment,
{256} and was about
to perform the sacrifice, when the hot flames rising from the altar heated
the poison with which it was imbued, and soon every fibre of his body was
penetrated by the deadly venom. The unfortunate hero, suffering the most
fearful tortures, endeavoured to tear off the robe, but it adhered so
closely to the skin that all his efforts to remove it only increased his
agonies.
In this pitiable condition he was conveyed to Trachin, where Deianeira, on
beholding the terrible suffering of which she was the innocent cause, was
overcome with grief and remorse, and hanged herself in despair. The dying
hero called his son Hyllus to his side, and desired him to make Iole his
wife, and then ordering his followers to erect a funeral pyre, he mounted
it and implored the by-standers to set fire to it, and thus in mercy to
terminate his insufferable torments. But no one had the courage to obey
him, until at last his friend and companion Philoctetes, yielding to his
piteous appeal, lighted the pile, and received in return the bow and arrows
of the hero.
Soon flames on flames ascended, and amidst vivid flashes of lightning,
accompanied by awful peals of thunder, Pallas-Athene descended in a cloud,
and bore her favourite hero in a chariot to Olympus.
Heracles became admitted among the immortals; and Hera, in token of her
reconciliation, bestowed upon him the hand of her beautiful daughter Hebe,
the goddess of eternal youth.
BELLEROPHON.
Bellerophon, or Bellerophontes, was the son of Glaucus, king of Corinth,
and grandson of Sisyphus. In consequence of an unpremeditated murder
Bellerophon fled to Tiryns, where he was kindly received by King Proetus,
who purified him from his crime. Antea, the wife of Proetus, was so charmed
with the comely youth that she fell in love with him; but Bellerophon did
not return her affection, and she, in revenge, slandered him to the king by
a gross misrepresentation of the facts. {257}
The first impulse of Proetus, when informed of the conduct of Bellerophon,
was to kill him; but the youth, with his gentle and winning manners, had so
endeared himself to his host that he felt it impossible to take his life
with his own hands. He therefore sent him to his father-in-law, Iobates,
king of Lycia, with a kind of letter or tablet which contained mysterious
signs, indicating his desire that the bearer of the missive should be put
to death. But the gods watched over the true and loyal youth, and inclined
the heart of Iobates, who was an amiable prince, towards his guest. Judging
by his appearance that he was of noble birth, he entertained him, according
to the hospitable custom of the Greeks, in the most princely manner for
nine days, and not until the morning of the tenth did he inquire his name
and errand.
Bellerophon now presented to him the letter intrusted to him by Proetus.
Iobates, who had become greatly attached to the youth, was horror-struck at
its contents. Nevertheless he concluded that Proetus must have good reasons
for his conduct, and that probably Bellerophon had committed a crime which
deserved death. But as he could not make up his mind to murder the guest he
had grown to esteem, he decided to despatch him upon dangerous enterprises,
in which he would in all probability lose his life.
[Illustration]
He first sent him to kill the Chimæra, a monster which was at this time
devastating the country. The fore part of its body was that of a lion, the
centre of a goat, and the hind part of a dragon; whilst out of its jaws
issued flames of fire.
Before starting on this difficult task Bellerophon invoked the protection
of the gods, and in answer to his prayer they despatched to his aid the
immortal-winged horse Pegasus, the offspring of Poseidon and Medusa. But
the divine animal would not suffer himself to be {258}
caught, and at last,
worn out with his fruitless exertions, Bellerophon fell into a deep sleep
beside the sacred spring Pirene. Here Pallas-Athene appeared to him in a
dream, and presented him with a magic bridle for the purpose of capturing
the divine steed. On awaking Bellerophon instinctively put out his hand to
grasp it, when, to his amazement, there lay beside him the bridle of his
dream, whilst Pegasus was quietly drinking at the fountain close by.
Seizing him by the mane Bellerophon threw the bridle over his head, and
succeeded in mounting him without further difficulty; then rising with him
into the air he slew the Chimæra with his arrows.
[Illustration]
Iobates next sent him on an expedition against the Solymans, a fierce
neighbouring tribe with whom he was at enmity.
Bellerophon succeeded in
vanquishing them, and was then despatched against the much-dreaded Amazons;
but greatly to the astonishment of Iobates the hero again returned
victorious.
Finally, Iobates placed a number of the bravest Lycians in ambush for the
purpose of destroying him, but not one returned alive, for Bellerophon
bravely defended himself and slew them all. Convinced at length that
Bellerophon, far from deserving death, was the special favourite of the
gods, who had evidently protected him throughout his perilous exploits, the
king now ceased his persecutions.
Iobates admitted him to a share in the government, and gave him his
daughter in marriage. But Bellerophon having attained the summit of earthly
prosperity became intoxicated with pride and vanity, and incurred the
displeasure of the gods by endeavouring to mount to heaven on his winged
horse, for the purpose of gratifying his idle curiosity.
Zeus punished him
for his impiety by sending {259} a gadfly to sting the horse, who became so
restive that he threw his rider, who was precipitated to the earth. Filled
with remorse at having offended the gods Bellerophon fell a prey to the
deepest melancholy, and wandered about for the remainder of his life in the
loneliest and most desolate places.
After death he was honoured in Corinth as a hero, and an altar was erected
to him in the grove of Poseidon.
THESEUS.
Aegeus, king of Athens, being twice married, and having no children, was so
desirous of an heir to his throne that he made a pilgrimage to Delphi in
order to consult the oracle. But the response being ambiguous, he repaired
to Troezen to consult his wise friend Pittheus, who reigned over that city,
by whose advice he contracted a secret marriage with his friend's daughter
Aethra.
After passing some time with his bride, Aegeus prepared to take his
departure for his own dominions; but before doing so he led Aethra to the
sea-shore, where, after depositing his sword and sandals under a huge rock,
he thus addressed her: "Should the gods bless our union with a son, do not
reveal to him the name and rank of his father until he is old enough to
possess the strength requisite for moving this stone.
Then send him to my
palace at Athens bearing these tokens of his identity."
A son was born to Aethra, whom she called Theseus, and who was carefully
trained and educated by his grandfather Pittheus. When he had developed
into a strong and manly youth his mother conducted him to the spot where
the rock had been placed by Aegeus, and at her command he rolled away the
stone, and took possession of the sword and sandals which had lain there
for sixteen years, and which she now desired him to convey to his father
Aegeus, king of Athens.
His mother and grandfather were anxious that the youth should travel by the
safe sea route, the road between Troezen and Athens being at this time
infested {260} with robbers of great ferocity and enormous strength. But
feeling within himself the spirit of a hero, Theseus resolved to emulate
the deeds of Heracles, with whose fame all Greece resounded, and therefore
chose the more dangerous journey by land, as calculated to afford him an
opportunity of distinguishing himself by feats of valour.
His first adventure occurred at Epidaurus, where he met Periphetes, a son
of Hephæstus, who was armed with an iron club, with which he killed all
travellers. Having received from his grandfather a full description of this
savage, Theseus at once recognized him, and rushing upon him with his
sword, succeeded after a desperate encounter in killing him. He
appropriated the club as a trophy of his victory, and proceeded on his
journey without hinderance until he arrived at the Isthmus of Corinth.
Here the people warned him to beware of Sinnis the robber, who forced all
travellers to bend with him one of the branches of a tall pine-tree. Having
dragged it to the ground, the cruel Sinnis suddenly released his hold,
wh