《古希腊文明演绎（Greek Classics）》课程教学资源（GREEK MYTHOLOGY）story of Heracles（THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY）

-The life of Herakles- she pushed him away in such violent haste that some milk spilled out of her breast to form the Milky Way.She conferred immortality on him by her involuntary action, or the episode prefigured his future apotheosis at least.13 As would be expected,the hero's education was traditionally said to have been entrusted to the most celebrated experts.He learned the art of bowmanship from Eurytos of Oichalia,who was a grandson of Apollo(see p.412)and a skilled archer like his divine ancestor,as were all the male members of his family.In one form of his legend,indeed,Eurytos was eventually killed by Apollo because he dared to chal- lenge the god to an archery contest;but it was more commonly said that he died at the hand of his greatest pupil,Herakles himself(see p.283).Autolykos instructed Herakles in the art of wrestling;so great a trickster(see p.431)was presumably a past master of all the wiles of the ring.Herakles learned the art of chariot-driving from his father,and the art of war from Kastor.14 Music was less to his taste,however, and less suited to his natural abilities.His music-teacher,LINOS,became so exas- perated by his slowness that he eventually lost patience and struck him,to the great indignation of his young pupil,who struck back in anger with his lyre or plectrum, with fatal effect.Although Herakles escaped prosecution by citing a law of the great Cretan law-maker Rhadamanthys(see p.351)that justified retaliation in self-defence, his father decided that it would be prudent to cut his education short at this point, and sent him out into the countryside to tend the family herds.15 There are three separate bodies of myth associated with musicians called Linos,the other two relating to figures of that name who would have lived at an earlier period in mythical history.The idea on which all these stories are founded,namely that there had once been a young musician called Linos who had met a premature and pitiable death,was inspired by the existence of an ancient reaping-song known as the Linos-song',which had a refrain of ailinon which could be interpreted as meaning 'alas for Linos!'(although it was in fact a word of foreign origin). According to Argive tradition,Apollo fathered a son Linos by a princess of that land, Psamathe,who was the daughter of an early Argive ruler called Krotopos.She sent the child out to be exposed for fear of her father's anger,but the shepherd who was supposed to perform the task reared him as his own son instead,until the child happened to be torn apart by his dogs.On hearing of this,Psamathe was so distressed that she told the whole story to her father,who refused to believe that she had really borne the child to a god and ordered that she should be put to death.When Argos was struck by a plague as a conse- quence through the anger of Apollo,the citizens were advised by an oracle to appease the dead mother and child,and achieved this by means of prayers and laments(hence the origin of the Linos-song).Or in a rather different version,the infant Linos was torn apart by the king's sheep-dogs after he was exposed,and Apollo reacted by sending Poine (Vengeance personified)against Argos.Poine snatched the children of the city from their mothers until she was killed by a hero called Koroibos.When a plague broke out afterwards,Koroibos visited the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to discover how he could atone for the killing,and was instructed to take a tripod from the sanctuary and raise a temple to Apollo wherever he first dropped it.The tripod slipped from his hands on Mt Gerania in the Megarid;and the tomb of Koroibos could be seen nearby at the market-place at Megara.6 A Boeotian tradition suggested that Linos was borne to a certain Amphimaros,son of Poseidon,by the Muse Ourania.As befitted the child of a Muse,he grew up to become the finest of musicians,but soon provoked his own death at the hand of Apollo by claiming to 250

she pushed him away in such violent haste that some milk spilled out of her breast to form the Milky Way. She conferred immortality on him by her involuntary action, or the episode prefigured his future apotheosis at least.13 As would be expected, the hero’s education was traditionally said to have been entrusted to the most celebrated experts. He learned the art of bowmanship from Eurytos of Oichalia, who was a grandson of Apollo (see p. 412) and a skilled archer like his divine ancestor, as were all the male members of his family. In one form of his legend, indeed, Eurytos was eventually killed by Apollo because he dared to chal￾lenge the god to an archery contest; but it was more commonly said that he died at the hand of his greatest pupil, Herakles himself (see p. 283). Autolykos instructed Herakles in the art of wrestling; so great a trickster (see p. 431) was presumably a past master of all the wiles of the ring. Herakles learned the art of chariot-driving from his father, and the art of war from Kastor.14 Music was less to his taste, however, and less suited to his natural abilities. His music-teacher, LINOS, became so exas￾perated by his slowness that he eventually lost patience and struck him, to the great indignation of his young pupil, who struck back in anger with his lyre or plectrum, with fatal effect. Although Herakles escaped prosecution by citing a law of the great Cretan law-maker Rhadamanthys (see p. 351) that justified retaliation in self-defence, his father decided that it would be prudent to cut his education short at this point, and sent him out into the countryside to tend the family herds.15 There are three separate bodies of myth associated with musicians called Linos, the other two relating to figures of that name who would have lived at an earlier period in mythical history. The idea on which all these stories are founded, namely that there had once been a young musician called Linos who had met a premature and pitiable death, was inspired by the existence of an ancient reaping-song known as the ‘Linos-song’, which had a refrain of ailinon which could be interpreted as meaning ‘alas for Linos!’ (although it was in fact a word of foreign origin). According to Argive tradition, Apollo fathered a son Linos by a princess of that land, Psamathe, who was the daughter of an early Argive ruler called Krotopos. She sent the child out to be exposed for fear of her father’s anger, but the shepherd who was supposed to perform the task reared him as his own son instead, until the child happened to be torn apart by his dogs. On hearing of this, Psamathe was so distressed that she told the whole story to her father, who refused to believe that she had really borne the child to a god and ordered that she should be put to death. When Argos was struck by a plague as a conse￾quence through the anger of Apollo, the citizens were advised by an oracle to appease the dead mother and child, and achieved this by means of prayers and laments (hence the origin of the Linos-song). Or in a rather different version, the infant Linos was torn apart by the king’s sheep-dogs after he was exposed, and Apollo reacted by sending Poine (Vengeance personified) against Argos. Poine snatched the children of the city from their mothers until she was killed by a hero called Koroibos. When a plague broke out afterwards, Koroibos visited the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to discover how he could atone for the killing, and was instructed to take a tripod from the sanctuary and raise a temple to Apollo wherever he first dropped it. The tripod slipped from his hands on Mt Gerania in the Megarid; and the tomb of Koroibos could be seen nearby at the market-place at Megara.16 A Boeotian tradition suggested that Linos was borne to a certain Amphimaros, son of Poseidon, by the Muse Ourania. As befitted the child of a Muse, he grew up to become the finest of musicians, but soon provoked his own death at the hand of Apollo by claiming to — The life of Herakles — 250

-The life of Herakles- rival the god as a singer.When grief for his death then spread through the world,the Linos- song was devised as a lament for him.This Linos,who is also described as a son of Apollo himself,was said to have been buried at Thebes.17 As in the case of legendary musicians such as Orpheus and Mousaios,Linos'name came to be attached to apocryphal poems in historical times. The lion of Kithairon,the daughters of Thespios, and a first campaign When Herakles reached the age of eighteen,he embarked on his first adventure, setting off to confront the lion of Kithairon,a ferocious beast that haunted the mountain-range of that name on the southern borders of Boeotia.Since it was preying not only on Amphitryon's cattle but also on those of THESPIOS,the eponymous ruler of Thespiai in south-western Boeotia,Herakles stayed at his court for fifty nights while trying to track the beast.Now the king had fifty daughters,and he was so impressed by the young hero's strength that he wanted to ensure that each of his daughters should conceive a child to him.He achieved this in one account by introducing a different daughter into his bed each night,so that Herakles slept with each in turn in the fond belief that he was sleeping with the same girl on each occasion.18 Or in versions which savour more of folklore,Herakles enjoyed the favours of all fifty in seven nights,or of forty-nine of them in a single night.19 In the latter account,one of them refused to have anything to do with him,and he paid her back by forcing her to serve as his virgin priestess (a story that explained why the temple of Herakles at Thespiai was served by a virgin priestess who remained in that post until her death).This episode of the daughters of Thespios, which has its comical side as so often with Herakles,has no inherent connection with that of the lion-hunt.Diodorus tells it,indeed,as a separate story,stating that Thespios invited the young Herakles to a sacrifice and feast for the specific purpose of ensuring that all his daughters would bear children to him.20 Each of his daugh- ters bore a son to Herakles in any case,apart from the eldest (and the youngest too in one account)who bore him twins instead.The children were known as the THES- PIADES after their grandfather.Herakles sent most of them to Sardinia when they grew up to found a colony under the leadership of his nephew Iolaos,except for a few who remained behind,seven at Thespiai and one or two at Thebes,to become founders of noble families in the province of their birth.21 As for the myth of the lion-hunt,it was cast wholly into the shade by the more diverting story of the daughters of Thespios,and nothing is recorded of it beyond the fact that Herakles eventually killed the beast.22 Apollodorus is exceptional in suggesting that Herakles took his lionskin cloak from this lion;in other accounts,he took it from the Nemean lion(see p.257),which was invulner- able and would therefore have an impenetrable hide.According to a conficting legend,the lion of Kithairon was killed by Alkathoos,son of Pelops,rather than by Herakles(see further 0nP.567).23 As Herakles was travelling back from the hunt,he happened to run across some heralds who had been sent by ERGINOS,king of Orchomenos,to collect an annual 25I

rival the god as a singer. When grief for his death then spread through the world, the Linos￾song was devised as a lament for him. This Linos, who is also described as a son of Apollo himself, was said to have been buried at Thebes.17 As in the case of legendary musicians such as Orpheus and Mousaios, Linos’ name came to be attached to apocryphal poems in historical times. The lion of Kithairon, the daughters of Thespios, and a first campaign When Herakles reached the age of eighteen, he embarked on his first adventure, setting off to confront the lion of Kithairon, a ferocious beast that haunted the mountain-range of that name on the southern borders of Boeotia. Since it was preying not only on Amphitryon’s cattle but also on those of THESPIOS, the eponymous ruler of Thespiai in south-western Boeotia, Herakles stayed at his court for fifty nights while trying to track the beast. Now the king had fifty daughters, and he was so impressed by the young hero’s strength that he wanted to ensure that each of his daughters should conceive a child to him. He achieved this in one account by introducing a different daughter into his bed each night, so that Herakles slept with each in turn in the fond belief that he was sleeping with the same girl on each occasion.18 Or in versions which savour more of folklore, Herakles enjoyed the favours of all fifty in seven nights, or of forty-nine of them in a single night.19 In the latter account, one of them refused to have anything to do with him, and he paid her back by forcing her to serve as his virgin priestess (a story that explained why the temple of Herakles at Thespiai was served by a virgin priestess who remained in that post until her death). This episode of the daughters of Thespios, which has its comical side as so often with Herakles, has no inherent connection with that of the lion-hunt. Diodorus tells it, indeed, as a separate story, stating that Thespios invited the young Herakles to a sacrifice and feast for the specific purpose of ensuring that all his daughters would bear children to him.20 Each of his daugh￾ters bore a son to Herakles in any case, apart from the eldest (and the youngest too in one account) who bore him twins instead. The children were known as the THES￾PIADES after their grandfather. Herakles sent most of them to Sardinia when they grew up to found a colony under the leadership of his nephew Iolaos, except for a few who remained behind, seven at Thespiai and one or two at Thebes, to become founders of noble families in the province of their birth.21 As for the myth of the lion-hunt, it was cast wholly into the shade by the more diverting story of the daughters of Thespios, and nothing is recorded of it beyond the fact that Herakles eventually killed the beast.22 Apollodorus is exceptional in suggesting that Herakles took his lionskin cloak from this lion; in other accounts, he took it from the Nemean lion (see p. 257), which was invulner￾able and would therefore have an impenetrable hide. According to a conflicting legend, the lion of Kithairon was killed by Alkathoos, son of Pelops, rather than by Herakles (see further on p. 567).23 As Herakles was travelling back from the hunt, he happened to run across some heralds who had been sent by ERGINOS, king of Orchomenos, to collect an annual 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 — 251

-The life of Herakles- tribute that the Thebans were obliged to pay to him.This tribute had come to be imposed on them in the following circumstances.Some years earlier,Klymenos, the father of Erginos,had visited Onchestos,a town that lay between Orchomenos (a powerful city in north-eastern Boeotia,see p.558)and Thebes,to attend a festival of Poseidon;and in the course of the celebrations,he had been murdered by some Thebans as the result of some trivial quarrel,or had been fatally wounded by a stone hurled by the charioteer of Kreon's father Menoikeus.After hearing of his father's death (or after receiving a direct order from his dying father),Erginos had waged a successful campaign against the Thebans,and had forced them to agree to send him an annual tribute of a hundred cattle for twenty years.Herakles was so angered by this imposition and by the arrogant behaviour of the heralds that he cut off their noses,ears and hands,and hung them around their necks on cords,telling them to take these to their king by way of tribute.Erginos responded by launching a second expedition against Thebes;but Herakles was available to command the Thebans on this occasion,and he soon killed Erginos and put his followers to flight.He then forced the Orchomenians to pay tribute to the Thebans,demanding that they should send twice as much as they had been receiving.24 In a Hellenistic account recorded by Diodorus,Erginos had taken precautions against a future revolt by depriving the Thebans of their weapons.So when he demanded that Herakles should be surrendered for having assaulted his heralds,Kreon was ready to yield to his superior power.Herakles procured arms for the Thebans,however,by stripping their temples of all the weapons that had been dedicated in them,and persuaded the young men of the city to strike for their freedom.On hearing that Erginos was advancing against the city, Herakles attacked him and his troops on narrow ground to deprive him of the advantage of his superior numbers,and killed him along with much of his army.He was then able to attack Orchomenos unexpectedly and burn it to the ground.25 Some said that he destroyed the power of Orchomenos forever (see further on p.558) Herakles founds a family in Thebes with Megara,but kills their children in a fit of madness Kreon rewarded Herakles for his services in the war by granting him his daughter MEGARA as a wife.He lived happily with her at Thebes for some years,fathering several children by her(from two to eight in varying accounts),until Hera finally intervened by inspiring him with a fit of homicidal madness.While in this state, he murdered his children,either by throwing them into a fire or by shooting them down with his arrows;and in some accounts,he also killed some or all of the chil- dren of his half-brother Iphikles.Apollodorus follows Pherecydes in stating that he threw his children into a fire,and adds that he inflicted the same fate on two chil- dren of Iphikles.26 Or in Diodorus'version,he first tried to kill his nephew Iolaos, but shot his own children when Iolaos managed to escape.27 Or in another account by Nicolaus of Damascus (a writer associated with the court of Herod the Great), Herakles killed two of the children of Iphikles and then his own children,tearing the last from his mother's breast;and he would have killed Megara too if she had not been rescued by Iphikles,who also saved his own eldest son Iolaos.28 According to a local tradition at Thebes,Herakles would have killed his aged father too,an 252

tribute that the Thebans were obliged to pay to him. This tribute had come to be imposed on them in the following circumstances. Some years earlier, Klymenos, the father of Erginos, had visited Onchestos, a town that lay between Orchomenos (a powerful city in north-eastern Boeotia, see p. 558) and Thebes, to attend a festival of Poseidon; and in the course of the celebrations, he had been murdered by some Thebans as the result of some trivial quarrel, or had been fatally wounded by a stone hurled by the charioteer of Kreon’s father Menoikeus. After hearing of his father’s death (or after receiving a direct order from his dying father), Erginos had waged a successful campaign against the Thebans, and had forced them to agree to send him an annual tribute of a hundred cattle for twenty years. Herakles was so angered by this imposition and by the arrogant behaviour of the heralds that he cut off their noses, ears and hands, and hung them around their necks on cords, telling them to take these to their king by way of tribute. Erginos responded by launching a second expedition against Thebes; but Herakles was available to command the Thebans on this occasion, and he soon killed Erginos and put his followers to flight. He then forced the Orchomenians to pay tribute to the Thebans, demanding that they should send twice as much as they had been receiving.24 In a Hellenistic account recorded by Diodorus, Erginos had taken precautions against a future revolt by depriving the Thebans of their weapons. So when he demanded that Herakles should be surrendered for having assaulted his heralds, Kreon was ready to yield to his superior power. Herakles procured arms for the Thebans, however, by stripping their temples of all the weapons that had been dedicated in them, and persuaded the young men of the city to strike for their freedom. On hearing that Erginos was advancing against the city, Herakles attacked him and his troops on narrow ground to deprive him of the advantage of his superior numbers, and killed him along with much of his army. He was then able to attack Orchomenos unexpectedly and burn it to the ground.25 Some said that he destroyed the power of Orchomenos forever (see further on p. 558) Herakles founds a family in Thebes with Megara, but kills their children in a fit of madness Kreon rewarded Herakles for his services in the war by granting him his daughter MEGARA as a wife. He lived happily with her at Thebes for some years, fathering several children by her (from two to eight in varying accounts), until Hera finally intervened by inspiring him with a fit of homicidal madness. While in this state, he murdered his children, either by throwing them into a fire or by shooting them down with his arrows; and in some accounts, he also killed some or all of the chil￾dren of his half-brother Iphikles. Apollodorus follows Pherecydes in stating that he threw his children into a fire, and adds that he inflicted the same fate on two chil￾dren of Iphikles.26 Or in Diodorus’ version, he first tried to kill his nephew Iolaos, but shot his own children when Iolaos managed to escape.27 Or in another account by Nicolaus of Damascus (a writer associated with the court of Herod the Great), Herakles killed two of the children of Iphikles and then his own children, tearing the last from his mother’s breast; and he would have killed Megara too if she had not been rescued by Iphikles, who also saved his own eldest son Iolaos.28 According to a local tradition at Thebes, Herakles would have killed his aged father too, an — The life of Herakles — 252

-The life of Herakles- even graver crime in Greek eyes,if it had not been for the prompt action of Athena, who stunned him by hurling a stone at him;this stone,which was known as the sopbronister (i.e.stone of wisdom or restraint),could be seen in the city in historical times.29 Megara is mentioned in the Odyssey among the famous women of earlier times who were seen by Odysseus in the Underworld;the poet tells us nothing about her except that she was a daughter of Kreon and the wife of Herakles.30 This story of the murder of her chil- dren was recounted by Stesichorus in the first half of the sixth century BC.31 In referring to the cult of the eight dead sons of Herakles at the Elektran gates of Thebes,Pindar calls them bronze-armoured (or -armed,chaleoarai),32 which would imply that they were grown up at the time of their death.The poet or his source may have altered the story to make it less shameful for Herakles,by representing his victims as having been more than defence- less children. According to Apollodorus,Kreon offered his younger daughter to Iphikles at the same time as he offered Megara to Herakles;but Iphikles had already fathered his only signifi- cant son,Iolaos,by a previous wife,Automedousa,daughter of Alkathoos.33 In his surviving play on the episode,the Madness of Herakles,Euripides provides a peculiar account apparently of his own devising.While Herakles was away fetching Kerberos from Hades as his final labour,a certain Lykos (who was descended from the famous Lykos whose Theban career will be described in Chapter 9)killed Kreon to seize power at Thebes;and Megara found herself under threat,and sought refuge at the altar of Zeus with her children. On returning to find that Lykos had been planning to burn them to death,Herakles came to their rescue and killed the usurper;but was then driven mad by Hera,who sent Lyssa(Manic Fury personified)against him,causing him to slaughter his wife and children.Having heard rumours that Herakles was under threat from Lykos,Theseus arrived at Thebes after the hero had returned to his senses,and invited him back to Athens to be purified. Herakles is instructed to perform twelve labours for Eurystheus When Herakles recovered his sanity and realized what he had done,he went into voluntary exile,first visiting his former host Thespios,who agreed to purify him in accordance with the formal demands of Greek religion;and he then went to Delphi to ask where he should settle in the future.The Pythian priestess told him to go to Tiryns in the Argolid,where he was to live for ten years while he performed a series of labours that would be imposed on him by Eurystheus,king of Mycenae; and at the same time,she was able to give him the more welcome message that he would win immortality as the fruit of his toils and humiliations.34 Or in the version offered by Nicolaus of Damascus,Eurystheus invited him to come to Tiryns when he went into exile,and he accepted the offer,remembering that Amphitryon had once received an oracle saying that Herakles would have to serve Eurystheus and would win glory as a result.35 Or in Diodorus'account,Eurystheus had summoned him to perform the labours before his madness,but he had paid no attention until Zeus had let him know by some means that he would have to do so;he had then consulted the Delphic oracle,which gave him the same message as in the initial account above;and while he was still pondering on the matter (for he was under- standably depressed at the thought that he would be subjected to a man who was 253

even graver crime in Greek eyes, if it had not been for the prompt action of Athena, who stunned him by hurling a stone at him; this stone, which was known as the so¯ phroniste¯r (i.e. stone of wisdom or restraint), could be seen in the city in historical times.29 Megara is mentioned in the Odyssey among the famous women of earlier times who were seen by Odysseus in the Underworld; the poet tells us nothing about her except that she was a daughter of Kreon and the wife of Herakles.30 This story of the murder of her chil￾dren was recounted by Stesichorus in the first half of the sixth century BC. 31 In referring to the cult of the eight dead sons of Herakles at the Elektran gates of Thebes, Pindar calls them bronze-armoured (or -armed, chalkoarai),32 which would imply that they were grown up at the time of their death. The poet or his source may have altered the story to make it less shameful for Herakles, by representing his victims as having been more than defence￾less children. According to Apollodorus, Kreon offered his younger daughter to Iphikles at the same time as he offered Megara to Herakles; but Iphikles had already fathered his only signifi- cant son, Iolaos, by a previous wife, Automedousa, daughter of Alkathoos.33 In his surviving play on the episode, the Madness of Herakles, Euripides provides a peculiar account apparently of his own devising. While Herakles was away fetching Kerberos from Hades as his final labour, a certain Lykos (who was descended from the famous Lykos whose Theban career will be described in Chapter 9) killed Kreon to seize power at Thebes; and Megara found herself under threat, and sought refuge at the altar of Zeus with her children. On returning to find that Lykos had been planning to burn them to death, Herakles came to their rescue and killed the usurper; but was then driven mad by Hera, who sent Lyssa (Manic Fury personified) against him, causing him to slaughter his wife and children. Having heard rumours that Herakles was under threat from Lykos, Theseus arrived at Thebes after the hero had returned to his senses, and invited him back to Athens to be purified. Herakles is instructed to perform twelve labours for Eurystheus When Herakles recovered his sanity and realized what he had done, he went into voluntary exile, first visiting his former host Thespios, who agreed to purify him in accordance with the formal demands of Greek religion; and he then went to Delphi to ask where he should settle in the future. The Pythian priestess told him to go to Tiryns in the Argolid, where he was to live for ten years while he performed a series of labours that would be imposed on him by Eurystheus, king of Mycenae; and at the same time, she was able to give him the more welcome message that he would win immortality as the fruit of his toils and humiliations.34 Or in the version offered by Nicolaus of Damascus, Eurystheus invited him to come to Tiryns when he went into exile, and he accepted the offer, remembering that Amphitryon had once received an oracle saying that Herakles would have to serve Eurystheus and would win glory as a result.35 Or in Diodorus’ account, Eurystheus had summoned him to perform the labours before his madness, but he had paid no attention until Zeus had let him know by some means that he would have to do so; he had then consulted the Delphic oracle, which gave him the same message as in the initial account above; and while he was still pondering on the matter (for he was under￾standably depressed at the thought that he would be subjected to a man who 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 — 253

-The life of Herakles- much inferior to him),Hera sent him mad,causing him to kill his children,and he finally embarked on his labours after a long period of mourning.36 It was sometimes claimed that the priestess at Delphi first gave the hero his name of Herakles when telling him of his forthcoming labours,and that he had originally been named Alkaios (or Alkeides)after his putative grandfather;in that case,Apollo is supposed to have given him the name Herakles because he would win imperishable glory,kleos,by doing favours, cra,to men,ie.through his labours(noa yae av0 OuLφQwv x，入eosdφ0 TOV EEELS).37 It is certainly true that his name,which really means 'Glory of Hera',seems inappropriate for a hero who received nothing but hostility from Hera(at least until his apotheosis).Other mythographers devised varied explanations,suggesting,for instance,that the Argives conferred the name on him after his first exploit in strangling the pair of snakes as a baby, to indicate that he had gained glory,eleos,through Hera(who had sent the snakes with the intention of killing him!).38 THE LABOURS OF HERAKLES The cycle of labours At some stage in the development of the mythology of Herakles,perhaps as late as the fifth century BC,a canonic list came to be established of the tasks that he was supposed to have performed for Eurystheus.These were known to the Greeks as the atbloi,a term generally rendered as labores in Latin,hence our modern expression, 'the labours',although neither of these translations quite catches the flavour of the original;an atblos was literally a contest,especially for a prize,and by extension a struggle or ordeal that involves toil and trouble.The term could therefore be applied most appropriately to describe the arduous tasks that were performed by Herakles for Eurystheus,all the more so since he was thought to have won immortality as the ultimate reward for his labours.Homer already uses the word (though not as yet with the latter suggestion)when referring to the harsh labours,chalepous aetblous, that were imposed on the hero by Eurystheus.39 There is no reason to suppose, however,that Homer knew of any ordered cycle of labours.Although some of the exploits that were later included in the canonic cycle are recorded as early as the eighth century BC in works of art,and all but one-the clearing of the Augeian stables-are attested by the sixth century,it is not known when they came to be classed together as the cycle of labours that he performed for Eurystheus.The full canonic sequence first appears in a series of carvings for the metopes for the temple of Zeus at Olympia,which can be dated to c.460 BC.Some have argued that these sculptures played a decisive role in establishing the canonic list,and that the stan- dard number was thus determined by architectural considerations;or else the sequence may have imposed itself through an earlier epic account,perhaps in the Heraeleia of Herodotus'uncle Panyasis;but this remains a matter for conjecture. According to a classification that was devised by the early Greek mythographers, the exploits of Herakles could be divided into three main classes.These atbloi,or labours,were distinguished on the one hand from the parerga,or incidentals,the chance adventures that befell the hero while he was performing his labours,and on 254

much inferior to him), Hera sent him mad, causing him to kill his children, and he finally embarked on his labours after a long period of mourning.36 It was sometimes claimed that the priestess at Delphi first gave the hero his name of Herakles when telling him of his forthcoming labours, and that he had originally been named Alkaios (or Alkeides) after his putative grandfather; in that case, Apollo is supposed to have given him the name Herakles because he would win imperishable glory, kleos, by doing favours, era, to men, i.e. through his labours (ρα γρ νθρπ ισι φρων κλ ς φθιτ ν !"εις).37 It is certainly true that his name, which really means ‘Glory of Hera’, seems inappropriate for a hero who received nothing but hostility from Hera (at least until his apotheosis). Other mythographers devised varied explanations, suggesting, for instance, that the Argives conferred the name on him after his first exploit in strangling the pair of snakes as a baby, to indicate that he had gained glory, kleos, through Hera (who had sent the snakes with the intention of killing him!).38 THE LABOURS OF HERAKLES The cycle of labours At some stage in the development of the mythology of Herakles, perhaps as late as the fifth century BC, a canonic list came to be established of the tasks that he was supposed to have performed for Eurystheus. These were known to the Greeks as the athloi, a term generally rendered as labores in Latin, hence our modern expression, ‘the labours’, although neither of these translations quite catches the flavour of the original; an athlos was literally a contest, especially for a prize, and by extension a struggle or ordeal that involves toil and trouble. The term could therefore be applied most appropriately to describe the arduous tasks that were performed by Herakles for Eurystheus, all the more so since he was thought to have won immortality as the ultimate reward for his labours. Homer already uses the word (though not as yet with the latter suggestion) when referring to the harsh labours, chalepous aethlous, that were imposed on the hero by Eurystheus.39 There is no reason to suppose, however, that Homer knew of any ordered cycle of labours. Although some of the exploits that were later included in the canonic cycle are recorded as early as the eighth century BC in works of art, and all but one – the clearing of the Augeian stables – are attested by the sixth century, it is not known when they came to be classed together as the cycle of labours that he performed for Eurystheus. The full canonic sequence first appears in a series of carvings for the metopes for the temple of Zeus at Olympia, which can be dated to c. 460 BC. Some have argued that these sculptures played a decisive role in establishing the canonic list, and that the stan￾dard number was thus determined by architectural considerations; or else the sequence may have imposed itself through an earlier epic account, perhaps in the Herakleia of Herodotus’ uncle Panyasis; but this remains a matter for conjecture. According to a classification that was devised by the early Greek mythographers, the exploits of Herakles could be divided into three main classes. These athloi, or labours, were distinguished on the one hand from the parerga, or incidentals, the chance adventures that befell the hero while he was performing his labours, and on — The life of Herakles — 254