The Routledge Handbook O GREEK MYTHOLOGY Based on H.J.Rose's Handbook of Greck Mythology ROBIN HARD Also available as a printed book see title verso for ISBN details
CHAPTER EIGHT THE LIFE OF HERAKLES AND RETURN OF THE HERAKLIDS THE BIRTH OF HERAKLES AND HIS EARLY LIFE AT THEBES Alkmene arrives in Thebes with Alkmene,and mounts a campaign against the Teleboans lthough Herakles was an Argive of Perseid stock by descent,he was born abroad in Thebes after his putarive ather AMPHTRYON departediniwith his mother ALKMENE.As was described at the end of the last chapter,Amphitryon was exiled by his uncle Sthenelos for having killed another uncle,Elektryon,king of Mycenae (by accident in the usual account);and Alkmene,the daughter of Elektryon,who was already betrothed to him,accompanied him to his new home, as did Likymnios,her only surviving brother.Her other brothers had all been killed by Teleboan raiders shortly before the death of her father (see p.244 for the circumstances).Kreon,the current ruler of Thebes,purified Amphitryon of the man- slaughter and welcomed him to his city.Although Amphitryon now pressed Alkmene to marry him (or to consummate their marriage if they were already married),she declared that she would not accept him into her bed until he had exacted vengeance on the Teleboans for the death of her brothers.!So he made imme- diate preparations for a campaign against the Teleboans,who lived in a group of islands just outside the entrance of the Corinthian Gulf;and his forthcoming absence would provide Zeus with an ideal opportunity to approach Alkmene to father his great son Herakles. When Amphitryon asked Kreon to assist him on the expedition,the king promised to fight as his ally if he would first rescue the Thebans from the depredations of the TEUMESSIAN FOX,a large and ferocious vixen which had established its lair on Mt Teumessos,about five miles north-east of Thebes;it had been sent by the gods to ravage the land and presented an exceptionally difficult problem because it was fated never to be caught.Knowing that Kephalos,son of Deion,owned a dog that was fated always to catch its prey (see p.372 for its origin),Amphitryon visited him at his home in Attica,and asked him to allow it to be used against the fox in return for a share of the spoils from the forthcoming war.Or in another version,Kephalos 246
THE LIFE OF HERAKLES AND RETURN OF THE HERAKLIDS THE BIRTH OF HERAKLES AND HIS EARLY LIFE AT THEBES Alkmene arrives in Thebes with Alkmene, and mounts a campaign against the Teleboans Although Herakles was an Argive of Perseid stock by descent, he was born abroad in Thebes after his putative father AMPHITRYON departed into exile with his mother ALKMENE. As was described at the end of the last chapter, Amphitryon was exiled by his uncle Sthenelos for having killed another uncle, Elektryon, king of Mycenae (by accident in the usual account); and Alkmene, the daughter of Elektryon, who was already betrothed to him, accompanied him to his new home, as did Likymnios, her only surviving brother. Her other brothers had all been killed by Teleboan raiders shortly before the death of her father (see p. 244 for the circumstances). Kreon, the current ruler of Thebes, purified Amphitryon of the manslaughter and welcomed him to his city. Although Amphitryon now pressed Alkmene to marry him (or to consummate their marriage if they were already married), she declared that she would not accept him into her bed until he had exacted vengeance on the Teleboans for the death of her brothers.1 So he made immediate preparations for a campaign against the Teleboans, who lived in a group of islands just outside the entrance of the Corinthian Gulf; and his forthcoming absence would provide Zeus with an ideal opportunity to approach Alkmene to father his great son Herakles. When Amphitryon asked Kreon to assist him on the expedition, the king promised to fight as his ally if he would first rescue the Thebans from the depredations of the TEUMESSIAN FOX, a large and ferocious vixen which had established its lair on Mt Teumessos, about five miles north-east of Thebes; it had been sent by the gods to ravage the land and presented an exceptionally difficult problem because it was fated never to be caught. Knowing that Kephalos, son of Deion, owned a dog that was fated always to catch its prey (see p. 372 for its origin), Amphitryon visited him at his home in Attica, and asked him to allow it to be used against the fox in return for a share of the spoils from the forthcoming war. Or in another version, Kephalos CHAPTER EIGHT 246
-The life of Herakles- was already in Thebes,having come there to be purifed after accidentally killing his wife Prokris,and had brought the dog with him.He agreed to Amphitryon's request in any case,and a paradoxical situation arose when a beast that was fated to catch its prey was set in pursuit of another that was fated never to be caught.Zeus was obliged to intervene,and resolved the problem very neatly by turning both animals to stone, so that the dog never fails in the hunt and the fox is never caught.2 Or in a later version from the astronomical literature that rather spoils the story,he turned the fox to stone but transferred the dog to the sky to become the constellation of the Great Dog (Canis Major).3 After winning Kreon's support by this means,Amphitryon collected together further allies,including Kephalos,Panopeus (from Phocis,see p.565)and Heleios, the youngest son of Perseus,4 and sailed away with them to attack the Teleboans. Although he ravaged most of their islands with little difficulty,he was initially unable to capture Taphos,the island of PTERELAOS,the king of the Teleboans, because Poseidon had implanted a golden hair in his head which rendered him immortal as long as it remained in place.As we saw in the last chapter(see p.244), Pterelaos was descended from Poseidon,as his grandson in the usual account.The assailants finally received help from an unexpected quarter when KOMAITHO,the daughter of the king,fell in love with Amphitryon (or Kephalos in one account) after seeing him at a distance,and tried to win his favour by pulling the magical hair from her father's head.When Pterelaos died as a consequence,Amphitryon was able to complete his conquest;but instead of repaying Komaitho as she would have wished,he killed her in horror at her unfilial act of treachery.>For a very similar story set in Megara,see p.340. The conception and birth of Herakles As soon as the spoils had been gathered together,Amphitryon set sail for Boeotia, eager to prove his success to his beloved and win his way into her bed.Shortly before he arrived,however,Zeus forestalled him by assuming his guise to seduce Alkmene.On being assured that vengeance had been executed against the Teleboans as she had demanded,and receiving a magnificent cup from the spoils by way of proof,Alkmene welcomed the disguised god into her arms;and he extended the time of their love-making by lengthening the night to three times its usual length. Later in the same night or on the next night,her true husband arrived home to report his triumph and so claim his promised reward.Surprised and disappointed to find that her welcome was none too passionate,he questioned her about the matter;and when she protested that she had received him warmly enough a very short time before,he consulted the seer Teiresias,who informed him of Zeus's decep- tion.He made love with her on that night all the same,and she became pregnant with twin sons of contrasting nature,HERAKLES,a mighty hero and future god as her child by Zeus,and IPHIKLES (or Iphiklos),a hero of no very exceptional stature as her child by Amphitryon.6 It was not only on account of her beauty that Zeus set out to seduce Alkmene, but also because he wanted to father a very great hero by her who would bring benefit to the human race,and even to the gods themselves by helping them in 247
was already in Thebes, having come there to be purified after accidentally killing his wife Prokris, and had brought the dog with him. He agreed to Amphitryon’s request in any case, and a paradoxical situation arose when a beast that was fated to catch its prey was set in pursuit of another that was fated never to be caught. Zeus was obliged to intervene, and resolved the problem very neatly by turning both animals to stone, so that the dog never fails in the hunt and the fox is never caught.2 Or in a later version from the astronomical literature that rather spoils the story, he turned the fox to stone but transferred the dog to the sky to become the constellation of the Great Dog (Canis Major).3 After winning Kreon’s support by this means, Amphitryon collected together further allies, including Kephalos, Panopeus (from Phocis, see p. 565) and Heleios, the youngest son of Perseus,4 and sailed away with them to attack the Teleboans. Although he ravaged most of their islands with little difficulty, he was initially unable to capture Taphos, the island of PTERELAOS, the king of the Teleboans, because Poseidon had implanted a golden hair in his head which rendered him immortal as long as it remained in place. As we saw in the last chapter (see p. 244), Pterelaos was descended from Poseidon, as his grandson in the usual account. The assailants finally received help from an unexpected quarter when KOMAITHO, the daughter of the king, fell in love with Amphitryon (or Kephalos in one account) after seeing him at a distance, and tried to win his favour by pulling the magical hair from her father’s head. When Pterelaos died as a consequence, Amphitryon was able to complete his conquest; but instead of repaying Komaitho as she would have wished, he killed her in horror at her unfilial act of treachery.5 For a very similar story set in Megara, see p. 340. The conception and birth of Herakles As soon as the spoils had been gathered together, Amphitryon set sail for Boeotia, eager to prove his success to his beloved and win his way into her bed. Shortly before he arrived, however, Zeus forestalled him by assuming his guise to seduce Alkmene. On being assured that vengeance had been executed against the Teleboans as she had demanded, and receiving a magnificent cup from the spoils by way of proof, Alkmene welcomed the disguised god into her arms; and he extended the time of their love-making by lengthening the night to three times its usual length. Later in the same night or on the next night, her true husband arrived home to report his triumph and so claim his promised reward. Surprised and disappointed to find that her welcome was none too passionate, he questioned her about the matter; and when she protested that she had received him warmly enough a very short time before, he consulted the seer Teiresias, who informed him of Zeus’s deception. He made love with her on that night all the same, and she became pregnant with twin sons of contrasting nature, HERAKLES, a mighty hero and future god as her child by Zeus, and IPHIKLES (or Iphiklos), a hero of no very exceptional stature as her child by Amphitryon.6 It was not only on account of her beauty that Zeus set out to seduce Alkmene, but also because he wanted to father a very great hero by her who would bring benefit to the human race, and even to the gods themselves by helping them in 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 11115 16 17 18 19 11120 21 22 23 24 25111 26 27 28 29 11130 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 11140 41 42 43 44 45 11146 — The life of Herakles — 247
-The life of Herakles- their war against the Giants.He originally intended,furthermore,that this son of his should be a mighty ruler in Argos,but this part of his plan was foiled by Hera. As the story is recounted in the Iliad,Zeus boasted of his intentions to the other gods,telling them that Eileithuia,the goddess of childbirth,would bring a man to birth on that day who would be king over all who lived around him (i.e.in Argos), and would be born from the race of those who came from Zeus's blood (i.e.from the Perseids,who were descended from Perseus,son of Zeus).By making this ill- advised declaration,he alerted Hera,who resented all her husband's illegitimate children and immediately plotted to rob this one of his intended inheritance.She happened to know that Alkmene was not the only woman who was expecting a child of Perseid descent since the wife of Sthenelos,king of Mycenae,was also heavily pregnant.So she persuaded Zeus to swear formally that the son of his stock who would be born on that day would enjoy the destiny that he had announced;and she then instructed the Eileithuiai (goddesses of childbirth)to delay Alkmene's delivery,while she herself hurried down from Olympos to ensure that the wife of Sthenelos should bring her child to birth at once in the seventh month of her preg- nancy.As a consequence,Eurystheus,the son of Sthenelos,was born on that day instead of Herakles,and Zeus was therefore obliged by his oath to grant him the inheritance that he had been planning to grant to Herakles.?This meant that Eurystheus became the great king of Mycenae (in succession to his father,see p.245),while Herakles never had a kingdom of his own.Herakles was therefore destined to spend most of his life outside his ancestral homeland,and to be sub- ordinate to Eurystheus even while he was there. According to a tale first recorded in the Hellenistic era,the birth of Herakles was finally expe- dited through the ingenuity of a servant or friend of Alkmene.In the familiar version by Ovid,the goddess of childbirth,here appearing under her Latin name of Lucina,delayed the hero's birth by seven days and nights by sitting outside Alkmene's bedroom door with her legs crossed and her fingers intertwined(gestures of enclosure that would achieve their effect by a form of sympathetic magic).Alkmene had a clever servant-maid,however,who noticed the attitude of the goddess and recognized why she had adopted it.So this maid, GALANTHIS,suddenly ran out to her and cried,'You must congratulate my mistress because she has given birth to a child!',prompting the goddess to leap up in astonishment and unlock her fingers and uncross her legs.The charm was undone as a consequence,and Herakles could be born at last.Angered by the girl's deception and by her subsequent laughter,the goddess turned her into a weasel,a beast that runs around the house much as Galanthis had done as a busy maidservant (for weasels-or more strictly,ferrets,i.e.domesticated polecats-were kept in the house in antiquity to keep down pests,much like cats in modern times).8 Or in a Greek version ascribed to the Hellenistic poet Nicander,Galinthias,as she is called here,was of high birth as a daughter of Proitos(a prominent Theban who gave his name to the Proitidian gates of the city),and was thus a friend and former playmate of Alkmene rather than a servant of hers.The story is much the same as in Ovid,except that the Moirai(Fates)assisted the goddess of childbirth in her task,and it was they who turned Galinthias into a weasel.This Greek account refers to an important matter,however,which is passed over by Ovid,the cultic implications of the myth.For we are told that Hekate made the weasel her attendant out of pity for Galinthias,and that Herakles later commem- orated her services to him by erecting an altar to her outside his house at Thebes and offering sacrifices on it,hence the sacrifices that the Thebans used to offer to Galinthias before their 248
their war against the Giants. He originally intended, furthermore, that this son of his should be a mighty ruler in Argos, but this part of his plan was foiled by Hera. As the story is recounted in the Iliad, Zeus boasted of his intentions to the other gods, telling them that Eileithuia, the goddess of childbirth, would bring a man to birth on that day who would be king over all who lived around him (i.e. in Argos), and would be born from the race of those who came from Zeus’s blood (i.e. from the Perseids, who were descended from Perseus, son of Zeus). By making this illadvised declaration, he alerted Hera, who resented all her husband’s illegitimate children and immediately plotted to rob this one of his intended inheritance. She happened to know that Alkmene was not the only woman who was expecting a child of Perseid descent since the wife of Sthenelos, king of Mycenae, was also heavily pregnant. So she persuaded Zeus to swear formally that the son of his stock who would be born on that day would enjoy the destiny that he had announced; and she then instructed the Eileithuiai (goddesses of childbirth) to delay Alkmene’s delivery, while she herself hurried down from Olympos to ensure that the wife of Sthenelos should bring her child to birth at once in the seventh month of her pregnancy. As a consequence, Eurystheus, the son of Sthenelos, was born on that day instead of Herakles, and Zeus was therefore obliged by his oath to grant him the inheritance that he had been planning to grant to Herakles.7 This meant that Eurystheus became the great king of Mycenae (in succession to his father, see p. 245), while Herakles never had a kingdom of his own. Herakles was therefore destined to spend most of his life outside his ancestral homeland, and to be subordinate to Eurystheus even while he was there. According to a tale first recorded in the Hellenistic era, the birth of Herakles was finally expedited through the ingenuity of a servant or friend of Alkmene. In the familiar version by Ovid, the goddess of childbirth, here appearing under her Latin name of Lucina, delayed the hero’s birth by seven days and nights by sitting outside Alkmene’s bedroom door with her legs crossed and her fingers intertwined (gestures of enclosure that would achieve their effect by a form of sympathetic magic). Alkmene had a clever servant-maid, however, who noticed the attitude of the goddess and recognized why she had adopted it. So this maid, GALANTHIS, suddenly ran out to her and cried, ‘You must congratulate my mistress because she has given birth to a child!’, prompting the goddess to leap up in astonishment and unlock her fingers and uncross her legs. The charm was undone as a consequence, and Herakles could be born at last. Angered by the girl’s deception and by her subsequent laughter, the goddess turned her into a weasel, a beast that runs around the house much as Galanthis had done as a busy maidservant (for weasels – or more strictly, ferrets, i.e. domesticated polecats – were kept in the house in antiquity to keep down pests, much like cats in modern times).8 Or in a Greek version ascribed to the Hellenistic poet Nicander, Galinthias, as she is called here, was of high birth as a daughter of Proitos (a prominent Theban who gave his name to the Proitidian gates of the city), and was thus a friend and former playmate of Alkmene rather than a servant of hers. The story is much the same as in Ovid, except that the Moirai (Fates) assisted the goddess of childbirth in her task, and it was they who turned Galinthias into a weasel. This Greek account refers to an important matter, however, which is passed over by Ovid, the cultic implications of the myth. For we are told that Hekate made the weasel her attendant out of pity for Galinthias, and that Herakles later commemorated her services to him by erecting an altar to her outside his house at Thebes and offering sacrifices on it, hence the sacrifices that the Thebans used to offer to Galinthias before their — The life of Herakles — 248
-The life of Herakles- festival of Herakles.It would seem that Galinthias was a heroine who had been honoured at Thebes from an early period and that someone was inspired to devise this transformation myth as an aetiology for the cult because her name was reminiscent of that of a weasel (gale in Greek).9 Pausanias records another version of the deception story in which the Pharmakides (Witches),the beings who were sent by Hera to delay the birth,were tricked by Historis, a daughter of Teiresias;there is no mention here of any transformation.0 The childhood and education of Herakles,and his murder of Linos When Herakles was eight or ten months old,or even newly born,two huge snakes were sent by Hera to attack him and his half-brother in their cradle;but the infant hero seized them by their necks,one in each hand,and choked them to death.In the two fullest accounts of the episode by Pindar and Theocritus,the seer Teiresias was summoned to comment on the marvel,and took this as an opportunity to foretell the extraordinary destiny that lay in wait for Herakles,predicting that he would finally be received among the gods after overcoming many such dangers.1 In an alternative version,the snakes were not sent by the goddess but by Amphitryon,who introduced them into the children's cradle to enable him to discover which of them was his son; when Herakles stayed to confront the snakes while Iphikles tried to escape,he recog- nized at once that Herakles was the child with divine blood in him.12 A further tale of the hero's infancy tells how Hera was deceived into suckling him.In the most familiar version of the story,Hermes took the baby Herakles up to Olympos and applied him to Hera's breast while she was asleep (or without revealing his true identity to her);and when she awoke (or learned who he was), 25 望高7@ Figure 8.I The baby Herakles strangles the serpents sent by Hera. Red-figure column krater.Perugia,Museo Nazionale;mus nat 73. 249
festival of Herakles. It would seem that Galinthias was a heroine who had been honoured at Thebes from an early period and that someone was inspired to devise this transformation myth as an aetiology for the cult because her name was reminiscent of that of a weasel (galee¯ in Greek).9 Pausanias records another version of the deception story in which the Pharmakides (Witches), the beings who were sent by Hera to delay the birth, were tricked by Historis, a daughter of Teiresias; there is no mention here of any transformation.10 The childhood and education of Herakles, and his murder of Linos When Herakles was eight or ten months old, or even newly born, two huge snakes were sent by Hera to attack him and his half-brother in their cradle; but the infant hero seized them by their necks, one in each hand, and choked them to death. In the two fullest accounts of the episode by Pindar and Theocritus, the seer Teiresias was summoned to comment on the marvel, and took this as an opportunity to foretell the extraordinary destiny that lay in wait for Herakles, predicting that he would finally be received among the gods after overcoming many such dangers.11 In an alternative version, the snakes were not sent by the goddess but by Amphitryon, who introduced them into the children’s cradle to enable him to discover which of them was his son; when Herakles stayed to confront the snakes while Iphikles tried to escape, he recognized at once that Herakles was the child with divine blood in him.12 A further tale of the hero’s infancy tells how Hera was deceived into suckling him. In the most familiar version of the story, Hermes took the baby Herakles up to Olympos and applied him to Hera’s breast while she was asleep (or without revealing his true identity to her); and when she awoke (or learned who he was), 1111 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11110 11 12 13 14 11115 16 17 18 19 11120 21 22 23 24 25111 26 27 28 29 11130 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 11140 41 42 43 44 45 11146 — The life of Herakles — 249 Figure 8.1 The baby Herakles strangles the serpents sent by Hera. Red-figure column krater. Perugia, Museo Nazionale; mus nat 73