by Daisy Dunn
Intelligence being brought that Erginus with an army approached the city, Hercules set upon him in a strait passage (where a multitude was of little use) and killed Erginus, and cut off almost his whole army. He fell likewise suddenly upon the city of the Orchomenians, entering unexpectedly, and burnt the palace of the Minyae, and razed the city to the ground.
The fame of this notable exploit was presently noised over all Greece, while such a sudden 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 Eurystheus, king of Argos (jealous of Hercules’s growing greatness, sent for him to perform the labours he was to impose upon him, which he refusing, Jupiter commanded him to obey king Eurystheus; whereupon Hercules went to Delphos, and inquired of the oracle concerning this matter, who answered him—That it was the pleasure of the gods, that he should perform twelve labours at the command of Eurystheus, and that when he had finished them, he should receive the reward of immortality. Hereupon Hercules became exceeding sad and melancholy; for he judged 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 discomfiture of his mind, become distracted, and by the growth of his distemper altogether a madman, he designed to murder Iolaus, who saving himself by flight, he fell upon his own children by Megaera, 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 pitied by every body), and shut himself up in his own house a long time from the converse and society of men.
At length, time moderating his grief, resolving to undergo all the difficulties that were enjoined him, he went to Eurystheus, who in the first place commanded him to kill the lion in the forest of Nemaea4, which was of a monstrous bigness, not to be pierced or wounded by sword, spear, or stones, and therefore not to be dealt with but by mere force and strength of hand. His walks were commonly between Mycenae and Nemaea, near the mountain (from what happened to it) called Tretos5. For at the foot of this hill there was a den, in which this monster used to lurk. Hercules here meeting with him, laid hold of him, whereupon the beast beginning to fly to his den, he resolutely pursued him, (having before stopped up one of the mouths of the den), and so both closed, where he got the lion by the throat, and strangled him with his arms. Then he clothed himself with his skin, (which was big enough to cover his whole body, and ever after wore it as a defence in all conflicts.
His second task was to kill the hydra of Lerna. This monster had a hundred necks rising out of one body, and upon every neck a serpentine head, and when one of these was cut off, two others grew up in its stead; and therefore this monster was accounted invincible, and not without good reason, for, from the part that was lost, arose a double assistance in its room. Against this difficulty he invented this stratagem; he commanded Iolaus to sear the part that was cut off with a firebrand, that thereby the blood might be stopped, by which means the beast was killed, and he dipped the points of his darts in the monster’s gall, that wherever they struck, the wound might be incurable.
The third command was, that he should bring the Erymanthean boar (which roved about in the plains of Arcadia) to him alive. This seemed to be a most difficult task: for he that fought with this beast ought to be so subtle as diligently to watch the exact time and fittest opportunity in the management of the conflict; for if he should let him go while he was in his full strength, the champion was in danger to be rent in pieces with his tushes; and if he wounded him too sore, and so killed him, his labour was lost, and his victory imperfect. However, he so prudently managed the combat, that he brought the boar alive to Eurystheus, who was so terrified to see him come hurrying with the boar upon his shoulders, that he hid himself in a brazen hogshead.
In the mean time Hercules subdued the centaurs, upon this occasion: there was one Pholus among the centaurs, from whom the neighbouring mountain was called Pholoe; this same having entertained Hercules as his guest, took up an hogshead of wine that had for a long time been buried in the earth: for it is reported, that this wine was antiently deposited in the hands of a certain centaur by Bacchus, who commanded that it should be broached at that very time when Hercules came thither; who now happening to be there, the fourth age after, Pholus, remembering Bacchus’s command, opened the hogshead; whereupon, the wine being old, and exceeding strong, the flavour of it reached to the neighbouring centaurs, and struck them all with a fit of fury and madness; whereupon they all came in troops, and in a terrible tumult assaulted Pholus’s house, to carry away the prey, insomuch that Pholus, in a great fright, hid himself.
But Hercules unexpectedly set upon the aggressors; for he was to fight with those who from the mother partook of the nature of the gods, were as swift as horses, as strong as double-bodied beasts, and were endued with the understanding and prudence of men.
Some of these centaurs assailed him with fir-trees plucked up by the roots, others with huge and massy stones, some with lighted firebrands, and others with axes, with whom he undauntedly entered the list, and fought with that bravery as was agreeable to the glory of his former actions.
Their mother Nephele6 assisted them by a violent storm of rain, which was no prejudice to them that were four-footed, but he, that had but two, had by this means a troublesome and slippery standing: however Hercules, with wonderful valour, overcame them that had so many and great advantages above him, killing most of them, and putting the rest to flight. Of those that were slain, the most remarkable were Daphnis, Argeus, Amphion, Hippotion, Oreus, Isoples, Melanchetes, Thereus, Dupo, and Phrixus: and every one of those that fled came afterwards to condign punishment; for Homadus (because he ravished, in Arcadia, Atalcyona, the sister of Eurystheus) was slain by Hercules, for which his generosity was greatly admired: for, though he hated his enemy upon his own private account, yet he judged it a commendable piece of humanity to have compassion on a woman in her afflicted condition, upon the account of her dishonour and disgrace.
Somewhat remarkable likewise happened to Pholus, Hercules’s friend: for, burying the centaurs that were killed, (upon the account of his kindred and relation to them) plucking a dart out of one of them, he chanced with the point mortally to wound himself, of which he died, whom Hercules with great pomp and state buried at the foot of the mount, which fell out to be far more glorious than the most stately monument; for the mountain being called Pholoe, preserves the memory of him buried there, not by characters and inscriptions, but by similitude of name. In the same manner he killed Chiron7 (eminent for his art in physic) by chance, with the throwing of a dart. But this that has been said of the centaurs shall suffice.
Afterwards Hercules received a further command, that he should take the swift hart that had golden horns, and bring him to the king. This he performed more by art and subtlety, than strength of body: for some say he took her in a net, others by tracing her to the place where she rested, and there laying hold of her when she was asleep; but others say that he ran her down, and so gained her by swiftness of foot. However it were, it is certain he performed this labour not by force or any hazard, but by art and skill.
Being next commanded to drive away the birds that were about the Stymphalian lake, by art and contrivance he easily performed this: for there were an innumerable number of birds in those places, which destroyed and ate up all the fruits in the neighbourhood, and they were so numerous, that no force could prevail to get rid of them. Being, therefore, there was need of art and contrivance in this matter, he invented a brazen pan, and, by the mighty sound it made, by striking upon it, frighted the birds, and by the continual noise drove them at length quite away, so t
hat the lake was never infested with them afterwards.
This labour being now at an end, Eurystheus, in contempt of him, commanded him, without any assistant, to cleanse Augias’s stable, in which were vast heaps of muck and dirt, which had been gathering together for many years. Hercules, therefore, to avoid the ignominy of this contempt cast upon him, scorned to carry out the muck and dung upon his shoulders, but in one day’s time, without any disgrace to himself, cleansed the stable, by turning the course of the river Peneus through it; in which thing the ingenuity of Hercules is admirable, who so executed the proud command of his domineering master as to avoid every thing that was base and unbecoming the glory of his immortal honour.
Next was imposed upon him the bringing the bull out of Crete, with which (they say) Pasiphae fell in love. To this end, therefore, he sailed into the island, and, by the assistance of king Minos, transported the beast (for which he had made so long a voyage) into Peloponnesus.
Having performed this task, he instituted the Olympic games, and for that purpose chose out a place he judged most convenient for the reception of such a pompous assembly, which were the fields all along the banks of the river Alpheus. Here he ordered the solemnity of these games to the honour of his father Jupiter, and appointed to the victors a crown for a reward, minding the general good and benefit of mankind, without taking any advantage to himself. In every exercise he was victor, without any opposition; for, by reason of his remarkable strength and valour, none durst contend with him, although the contests were of a contrary and different nature one from another: for it is a hard matter even for a mighty champion in combat always to win the prize in a course, and as difficult for those that are usually victors in small contentions to prevail against them that are eminent in greater contests. Hercules, therefore, prevailed in all these games, carrying away the prize from the chiefest among them.
And here we are not to omit giving an account of the rewards given to him by the gods for his virtue; for, when he retired himself from wars, and betook himself to his ease and quietness, and to follow sports, panegyrics, and festivals, every one of the gods presented him with their several gifts.
Minerva gave him an embroidered hood, Vulcan a club and a breast-plate; and between these two was a contest who should excel in their several arts, whilst the one wrought and bestowed what was for pleasure and ornament in time of peace, and the other what was for defence in time of war. Neptune presented him with horses. Mercury with a sword, Apollo a bow, and taught him the art of archery. And Ceres, to expiate the slaughter of the centaurs, instituted in honour of Hercules some small mysteries. But concerning the birth of this god, this is remarkable; for the first woman upon earth that Jupiter lay with was Niobe, the daughter of Pharoneus, and the last was Alcmena, who was in the sixteenth age after Niobe, as the mythologists say. From the time of her ancestors, he began to beget men, and at length ended in this Alcmena, and would never after have any thing to do with any mortal, or beget any issue, never expecting to beget a more excellent offspring.
Afterwards, when the giants fought with the immortal gods at Pallene, Hercules aided the gods, and, after a great slaughter made by him of those sons of the earth, he became greatly renowned. For Jupiter called those only gods of Olympus who assisted him in the war, by this title of honour to distinguish the courageous from the coward; which surname he gave to Bacchus and Hercules, though their mothers were mortals, not only because they were the offspring of Jove, but likewise for that they were like him in virtuous qualifications, doing good generally to all mankind.
But Prometheus, because he stole fire from heaven, and handed it to men, was clapped in chains by Jupiter, who caused an eagle to seize and feed continually upon his liver; but Hercules, seeing that he suffered so much for his kindness to mankind, shot the bird with an arrow, and then, having pacified Jove, freed this common benefactor from all further trouble.
Afterwards he was enjoined to bring away Diomedes king of Thrace’s mares, which were kept in stalls of brass, and (by reason of their strength and fierceness) tied up in iron chains. Their provender was not from the product of the earth, but they were fed with the flesh of miserable strangers that came thither, cut in small pieces for that purpose. Hercules, to gain possession of them, laid their own master Diomedes before them, who, satiating their hunger by his flesh who had wickedly taught them to feed upon flesh, thereby became tame and manageable. Eurystheus, when they were brought to him, dedicated them to Juno, and their breed continued to the time of Alexander the Great. When he had performed this labour, he sailed with Jason to Colchis, to bring away the golden fleece by force of arms. But of this we shall speak when we come to the expedition of the Argonauts.
Then he was commanded to strip Hippolyta the Amazon of her belt. Hereupon, resolving upon a war against the Amazons, he sailed into Pontus, from him called Euxinus8, and, arriving at the mouth of the river Thermodon, he encamped near the city Themiscyra, the seat-royal of the Amazons; and first he demanded the belt to be delivered to him, which being refused, he joined battle with them.
The choice and most noble of the Amazons were drawn up against Hercules, the rest of the army opposed the other ordinary troops, so that there was a very sharp engagement. The first that fought hand to hand with him was Aella, so called from her swiftness; but she found her enemy swifter than herself: the second was Philippis, who upon the first onset received a mortal wound, and fell down dead. Then Prothoe entered the list, who, they say, seven times baffled her enemy in single combat; but she being at length slain, he killed the fourth, called Eribea. She was so confident in her strength and feats of arms, that she used to boast she needed none to second her; but, meeting with one stronger than herself, she presently experienced the vanity of her boasting.
After these Celaenus, Eurysea, and Phoebe, companions with Diana in hunting, (who never used to miss their mark, yet now could none of them hit one), in defending one another, were all killed together upon the spot. Then he overcame Deianita, Asteria, Marpes, Tecmessa, and Alcippe. The last mentioned had vowed perpetual virginity, and kept their oaths, but could not preserve their lives. Melanippe also, the queen of the Amazons, (who was famous and highly admired every where for her valour), then lost her kingdom. The chief of the Amazons being thus cut off, he forced the rest to fly, and killing most of them in the pursuit, wholly destroyed and rooted up that nation. Of the prisoners he gave Antiope to Theseus, but Melanippe he discharged, having first taken from her her belt.
After this, a tenth labour was imposed upon him by Eurystheus, and that was to drive away the oxen of Gerion that pastured in Iberia near to the ocean. Hercules, perceiving he could not perform this task without much trouble and great preparation, set forth a brave fleet, and manned it with such a number of seamen and soldiers as such an expedition justly required: for it was noised abroad through the whole world, that Chrysaor (so called from his riches) king of Iberia9, had three sons10, strong bodied men, and famous for martial affairs, and that each of them had great armies of valiant men constantly at hand attending upon them, which was the reason Eurystheus imposed this task upon him, conceiving this expedition was greater than he was ever able to perform: but Hercules undertook this with as much confidence as he had done those before, and commanded forces to be raised in Crete, whence he resolved to set forth, this island being the most convenient port from whence to make any expedition into any part of the world. Before he set sail, mighty honours were conferred upon him by the inhabitants; in grateful return for which favours he freed the island from wild beasts, so that no hurtful creatures, such as bears, wolves, serpents, and such like, remained there ever after. He did these things in reverence to the island, because it was reported that Jupiter was bred and born there. Loosing thence, he arrived at Libya. Here, in the first place, he challenged and slew Antaeus (famous for his great strength and skill in wrestling), who was used to kill the strangers he wrestled with, after he had mastered them. Then he destroyed the wild beasts in the deserts,
and made Africa so quiet and improveable, (which was before full of hurtful creatures), that every part was fit for tillage, and planting of fruit-trees; the whole country productive of wine and oil. In short, he so improved Libya, (which, by reason of the multitude of wild beasts, was before uninhabitable), that no country in the world afterwards exceeded it for fertility and richness of soil. In like manner he so purged the nation from wicked men and insolent tyrants, that he put all the cities into a flourishing state and condition. It is therefore reported that he was prosecuted with the hatred and opposition of all sorts of dreadful wild beasts, and of wicked men; for, when he was an infant in his cradle, he was assaulted by serpents, and, when he was a man, he was vexed and perplexed with the commands of a proud and unjust tyrant.
After the killing of Antaeus, he went into Egypt, where he slew the tyrant Busiris, who murdered all strangers that landed there. After he had passed over the sandy deserts of Libya, he found a fertile and well watered country, in which he built an extraordinary great city, from the number of its gates called Hecatompylon11, which continued in a flourishing condition till of latter times that the Carthaginians, with a great army, (commanded by eminent captains), took it.
Hercules having passed through a great part of Africa, arrived in the ocean near Gades12, where he erected two pillars, one on each side the strait upon the continent.
Thence (with his fleet sailing along with him) he passed over into Iberia, where he found the sons of Chrysaor with three mighty armies. These at a distance he challenged to a single combat, and having at length slain the three generals, he gained Iberia, and drove away those remarkable herds of cattle.
In the mean time, as he travelled through Spain, he was magnificently entertained by a petty prince in the country, (who was a pious and just man), in return for which, he bestowed upon him some of the cattle; and he again consecrated them all to Hercules, and every year sacrificed to him one of the fairest bulls that were bred of them, some of which sacred breed remain in Iberia to this day.
