HERCULES
Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. As Juno was always hostile to the offspring of her husband by mortal mothers, she declared war against Hercules from his birth. She sent two serpents to destroy him as he lay in his cradle, but the precocious1 infant strangled them with his own hands. He was, however, by the arts of Juno rendered subject to Eurystheus and compelled to perform all his commands. Eurystheus enjoined2 upon him a succession of desperate adventures, which are called the “Twelve Labors4 of Hercules.” The first was the fight with the Nemean lion. The valley of Nemea was infested5 by a terrible lion. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the skin of this monster. After using in vain his club and arrows against the lion, Hercules strangled the animal with his hands. He returned carrying the dead lion on his shoulders; but Eurystheus was so frightened at the sight of it and at this proof of the prodigious6 strength of the hero, that he ordered him to deliver the account of his exploits in future outside the town.
His next labor3 was the slaughter7 of the Hydra8. This monster ravaged9 the country of Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone. This well had been discovered by Amymone when the country was suffering from drought, and the story was that Neptune10, who loved her, had permitted her to touch the rock with his trident, and a spring of three outlets11 burst forth12. Here the Hydra took up his position, and Hercules was sent to destroy him. The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal13. Hercules struck off its heads with his club, but in the place of the head knocked off, two new ones grew forth each time. At length with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaus, he burned away the heads of the Hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock.
Another labor was the cleaning of the Augean stables. Augeas, king of Elis, had a herd14 of three thousand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed15 for thirty years. Hercules brought the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them, and cleansed them thoroughly16 in one day.
His next labor was of a more delicate kind. Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheus, longed to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go and get it. The Amazons were a nation of women. They were very warlike and held several flourishing cities. It was their custom to bring up only the female children; the boys were either sent away to the neighboring nations or put to death. Hercules was accompanied by a number of volunteers, and after various adventures at last reached the country of the Amazons. Hippolyta, the queen, received him kindly17, and consented to yield him her girdle, but Juno, taking the form of an Amazon, went and persuaded the rest that the strangers were carrying off their queen. They instantly armed and came in great numbers down to the ship. Hercules, thinking that Hippolyta had acted treacherously18, slew19 her, and taking her girdle made sail homewards.
Another task enjoined him was to bring to Eurystheus the oxen of Geryon, a monster with three bodies, who dwelt in the island Erytheia (the red), so called because it lay at the west, under the rays of the setting sun. This description is thought to apply to Spain, of which Geryon was king. After traversing various countries, Hercules reached at length the frontiers of Libya and Europe, where he raised the two mountains of Calpe and Abyla, as monuments of his progress, or, according to another account, rent one mountain into two and left half on each side, forming the straits of Gibraltar, the two mountains being called the Pillars of Hercules. The oxen were guarded by the giant Eurytion and his two-headed dog, but Hercules killed the giant and his dog and brought away the oxen in safety to Eurystheus.
The most difficult labor of all was getting the golden apples of the Hesperides, for Hercules did not know where to find them. These were the apples which Juno had received at her wedding from the goddess of the Earth, and which she had intrusted to the keeping of the daughters of Hesperus, assisted by a watchful20 dragon. After various adventures Hercules arrived at Mount Atlas21 in Africa. Atlas was one of the Titans who had warred against the gods, and after they were subdued22, Atlas was condemned23 to bear on his shoulders the weight of the heavens. He was the father of the Hesperides, and Hercules thought might, if any one could, find the apples and bring them to him. But how to send Atlas away from his post, or bear up the heavens while he was gone? Hercules took the burden on his own shoulders, and sent Atlas to seek the apples. He returned with them, and though somewhat reluctantly, took his burden upon his shoulders again, and let Hercules return with the apples to Eurystheus.
Milton, in his “Comus,” makes the Hesperides the daughters of Hesperus and nieces of Atlas:
“. . . amidst the gardens fair
Of Hesperus and his daughters three,
That sing about the golden tree.”
The poets, led by the analogy of the lovely appearance of the western sky at sunset, viewed the west as a region of brightness and glory. Hence they placed in it the Isles25 of the Blest, the ruddy Isle24 Erythea, on which the bright oxen of Geryon were pastured, and the Isle of the Hesperides. The apples are supposed by some to be the oranges of Spain, of which the Greeks had heard some obscure accounts.
A celebrated26 exploit of Hercules was his victory over Ant?us. Ant?us, the son of Terra, the Earth, was a mighty27 giant and wrestler29, whose strength was invincible30 so long as he remained in contact with his mother Earth. He compelled all strangers who came to his country to wrestle28 with him, on condition that if conquered (as they all were) they should be put to death. Hercules encountered him, and finding that it was of no avail to throw him, for he always rose with renewed strength from every fall, he lifted him up from the earth and strangled him in the air.
Cacus was a huge giant, who inhabited a cave on Mount Aventine, and plundered31 the surrounding country. When Hercules was driving home the oxen of Geryon, Cacus stole part of the cattle, while the hero slept. That their footprints might not serve to show where they had been driven, he dragged them backward by their tails to his cave; so their tracks all seemed to show that they had gone in the opposite direction. Hercules was deceived by this stratagem32, and would have failed to find his oxen, if it had not happened that in driving the remainder of the herd past the cave where the stolen ones were concealed33, those within began to low, and were thus discovered. Cacus was slain34 by Hercules.
The last exploit we shall record was bringing Cerberus from the lower world. Hercules descended35 into Hades, accompanied by Mercury and Minerva. He obtained permission from Pluto36 to carry Cerberus to the upper air, provided he could do it without the use of weapons; and in spite of the monster’s struggling, he seized him, held him fast, and carried him to Eurystheus, and afterwards brought him back again. When he was in Hades he obtained the liberty of Theseus, his admirer and imitator, who had been detained a prisoner there for an unsuccessful attempt to carry off Proserpine.
Hercules in a fit of madness killed his friend Iphitus, and was condemned for this offence to become the slave of Queen Omphale for three years. While in this service the hero’s nature seemed changed. He lived effeminately, wearing at times the dress of a woman, and spinning wool with the hand-maidens of Omphale, while the queen wore his lion’s skin. When this service was ended he married Dejanira and lived in peace with her three years. On one occasion as he was travelling with his wife, they came to a river, across which the Centaur38 Nessus carried travellers for a stated fee. Hercules himself forded the river, but gave Dejanira to Nessus to be carried across. Nessus attempted to run away with her, but Hercules heard her cries and shot an arrow into the heart of Nessus. The dying Centaur told Dejanira to take a portion of his blood and keep it, as it might be used as a charm to preserve the love of her husband.
Dejanira did so and before long fancied she had occasion to use it. Hercules in one of his conquests had taken prisoner a fair maiden37, named Iole, of whom he seemed more fond than Dejanira approved. When Hercules was about to offer sacrifices to the gods in honor of his victory, he sent to his wife for a white robe to use on the occasion. Dejanira, thinking it a good opportunity to try her love-spell, steeped the garment in the blood of Nessus. We are to suppose she took care to wash out all traces of it, but the magic power remained, and as soon as the garment became warm on the body of Hercules the poison penetrated39 into all his limbs and caused him the most intense agony. In his frenzy40 he seized Lichas, Who had brought him the fatal robe, and hurled41 him into the sea. He wrenched42 off the garment, but it stuck to his flesh, and with it he tore away whole pieces of his body. In this state he embarked43 on board a ship and was conveyed home. Dejanira, on seeing what she had unwittingly done, hung herself. Hercules, prepared to die, ascended44 Mount ?ta, where he built a funeral pile of trees, gave his bow and arrows to Philoctetes, and laid himself down on the pile, his head resting on his club, and his lion’s skin spread over him. With a countenance45 as serene46 as if he were taking his place at a festal board he commanded Philoctetes to apply the torch. The flames spread apace and soon invested the whole mass.
Milton thus alludes47 to the frenzy of Hercules:
“As when Alcides,[18] from ?chalia crowned
With conquest, felt the envenomed robe, and tore,
Through pain, up by the roots Thessalian pines
And Lichas from the top of ?ta threw
Into the Euboic Sea.”
The gods themselves felt troubled at seeing the champion of the earth so brought to his end. But Jupiter with cheerful countenance thus addressed them: “I am pleased to see your concern, my princes, and am gratified to perceive that I am the ruler of a loyal people, and that my son enjoys your favor. For although your interest in him arises from his noble deeds, yet it is not the less gratifying to me. But now I say to you, Fear not. He who conquered all else is not to be conquered by those flames which you see blazing on Mount ?ta. Only his mother’s share in him can perish; what he derived48 from me is immortal. I shall take him, dead to earth, to the heavenly shores, and I require of you all to receive him kindly. If any of you feel grieved at his attaining49 this honor, yet no one can deny that he has deserved it.” The gods all gave their assent50; Juno only heard the closing words with some displeasure that she should be so particularly pointed51 at, yet not enough to make her regret the determination of her husband. So when the flames had consumed the mother’s share of Hercules, the diviner part, instead of being injured thereby52, seemed to start forth with new vigor53, to assume a more lofty port and a more awful dignity. Jupiter enveloped54 him in a cloud, and took him up in a four-horse chariot to dwell among the stars. As he took his place in heaven, Atlas felt the added weight.
Juno, now reconciled to him, gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage.
The poet Schiller, in one of his pieces called the “Ideal and Life,” illustrates55 the contrast between the practical and the imaginative in some beautiful stanzas56, of which the last two may be thus translated:
“Deep degraded to a coward’s slave,
Endless contests bore Alcides brave,
Through the thorny57 path of suffering led;
Slew the Hydra, crushed the lion’s might,
Threw himself, to bring his friend to light,
Living, in the skiff that bears the dead.
All the torments58, every toil59 of earth
Juno’s hatred60 on him could impose,
Well he bore them, from his fated birth
To life’s grandly mournful close.
“Till the god, the earthly part forsaken61,
From the man in flames asunder62 taken,
Drank the heavenly ether’s purer breath.
Joyous63 in the new unwonted lightness,
Soared he upwards64 to celestial65 brightness,
Earth’s dark heavy burden lost in death.
High Olympus gives harmonious66 greeting
To the hall where reigns67 his sire adored;
Youth’s bright goddess, with a blush at meeting,
Gives the nectar to her lord.”
—S. G. B.
HEBE AND GANYMEDE
Hebe, the daughter of Juno, and goddess of youth, was cup-bearer to the gods. The usual story is that she resigned her office on becoming the wife of Hercules. But there is another statement which our countryman Crawford, the sculptor68, has adopted in his group of Hebe and Ganymede, now in the Athen?um gallery. According to this, Hebe was dismissed from her office in consequence of a fall which she met with one day when in attendance on the gods. Her successor was Ganymede, a Trojan boy, whom Jupiter, in the disguise of an eagle, seized and carried off from the midst of his playfellows on Mount Ida, bore up to heaven, and installed in the vacant place.
Tennyson, in his “Palace of Art,” describes among the decorations on the walls a picture representing this legend:
“There, too, flushed Ganymede, his rosy69 thigh70
Half buried in the eagle’s down,
Sole as a flying star shot through the sky
Above the pillared town.”
And in Shelley’s “Prometheus” Jupiter calls to his cup-bearer thus:
“Pour forth heaven’s wine, Id?an Ganymede,
And let it fill the D?dal cups like fire.”
The beautiful legend of the “Choice of Hercules” may be found in the “Tatler,” No. 97.
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1
precocious
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| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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9
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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Neptune
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| n.海王星 | |
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outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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12
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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cleansed
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| 弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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treacherously
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| 背信弃义地； 背叛地； 靠不住地； 危险地 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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21
atlas
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| n.地图册，图表集 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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23
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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24
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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wrestler
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| n.摔角选手，扭 | |
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30
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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31
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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33
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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34
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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35
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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Pluto
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| n.冥王星 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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centaur
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| n.人首马身的怪物 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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40
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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41
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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42
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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43
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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44
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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49
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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50
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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52
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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54
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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illustrates
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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stanzas
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| 节，段( stanza的名词复数 ) | |
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thorny
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| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
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torments
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| （肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人] | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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63
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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