1 Thebes days
1.1 Birth of Heracles
Arriving at Thebes from Plataea in Boeotia, passing through the Electran Gate, on the left was the house of Amphitryon, the son of Alcaeus. [1]
There, in 1275 BC, Amphitryon's wife Alcmena gave birth to a son.
The boy was named Alcides, or Alcaeus, which was also his grandfather's name. [2]
Later, when the priestess of Delphi gave oracles, se called it Heracles, and from then on it came to be called by that name. [3]
1.1.1 Heracles' grandfather Alcaeus
Heracles' father Amphitryon was the son of Alcaeus, son of Perseus. [4]
There are various theories about Amphitryon's mother, but given the close connection between Amphitryon and Thebes, it is thought that she was Hipponome, the daughter of Menoeceus of Thebes. [5]
In 1305 BC, Amphitryon was born to Alcaeus, king of Tiryns, and Hipponome. [6]
1.1.2 Heracles' father Amphitryon
Amphitryon had no known siblings, but a sister, Perimede (or Anaxo), who married Licymnius. [7]
In 1287 BC, Amphitryon married Laonome, daughter of Guneus, a strongman of Pheneus in Arcadia, and they had a son, Iphicles. [8]
When Iphicles was born, Amphitryon's wife Laonome supposedly died in exchange for her son's life. It is assumed that Iphicles was raised by Buphagus and his wife Promne, a resident of Pheneus, who is believed to be Laonome's brother and sister. [9]
In 1278 BC, Amphitryon migrated from Tiryns to Thebes at the invitation of the Sparti of Thebes. [10]
The Sparti who invited Amphitryon was probably Menoeceus, Amphitryon's grandfather.
The lineage from Menoeceus to Creon, Haemon, and Maeon was that of Sparti. [11]
1.1.2.1 Expedition to northwest Greece
In 1277 BC, Amphitryon led an expedition to the Teleboans land in northwestern Greece. [12]
This expedition was planned by Amphitryon's uncle, Helius (or Heleus), the youngest son of Perseus.
Helius had built Helos in Argolis, but it seems that he was not satisfied with that and sought a new land. [13]
Helius enlisted the help of his brother Electryon and his nephew Amphitryon. Amphitryon invited Cephalus, son of Pandion, who had fled from Thoricus in Attica to Thebes, pursued by Aegeus, to join his expedition. [14]
The expedition expelled the Teleboans from islands in the Ionian Sea west of Acarnania and colonized them. Amphitryon returned to Thebes and dedicated the spoils to the temple. [15]
Cephalus colonized the largest island in the Ionian Sea and called it Cephallenia. [16]
Helius settled the Echinades Islands. [17]
Then Taphius, the son of Helius, expelled the Teleboans from the islands north of Cephallenia, founded one of them the town of Taphos, and called the island Taphos. [18]
The founder of the Teleboans who were chased out by them is thought to be Teleboas, the son of Therapne, daughter of Lelex who settled in Laconia from Egypt in 1430 BC. [19]
During the expedition, Electryon and his sons were killed in a battle with the Teleboans. [20]
Taking in Electryon's orphaned daughter Alcmena and Licymnius, the only surviving son of Electryon, to Thebes, and Amphitryon married Alcmena. [21]
1.1.2.2 Iphicles, son of Amphitryon
Heracles' half-brother Iphicles took as his wife Automedusa, daughter of Alcathous, son of Pelops, from Pisa of Eleia. [22]
Alcathous marries Euaechme, the granddaughter of King Nisus of Megara, and succeeds him as king of Megara. However, Iphicles' wife Automedusa was not the daughter of Euaechme, but the daughter of Alcathous' previous wife Pyrgo. [23]
Iphicles' stepmother Alcmena's mother Eurydice (or Lysidice) was the sister and brother of Automedusa's father Alcathous, and Iphicles and Automedusa were cousins. A son, Iolaus, was born to Iphicles and Automedusa. [24]
Although Iolaus was eight years younger than Heracles and was Heracles' nephew, he always acted with Heracles as if he was his younger brother. Heracles loved Iolaus more than his sons. [25]
Neither the exploits of Heracles nor the return of the Heracleidae to Peloponnesus would have been possible without Iolaus.
Besides Iolaus, Iphicles had a daughter, Iope, who married Theseus of Athens. [26]
After Heracles' death, when no towns would accept Heracles' children due to the threat to Eurystheus, only Athens accepted them.
This was because Theseus, king of Athens, was the brother-in-law of Iolaus, the guardian of the children of Heracles.
1.1.2.3 Laonome, daughter of Amphitryon
Heracles also had a sister, Laonome, who was born to the same mother, Alcmena. [27]
Laonome married Euphemus, son of Theiodamas, who lived in Doris. [28]
Euphemus had a younger brother, Hylas. [29]
Hylas is participating in the Argonauts' expedition from Oechalia. [30]
Oechalia was located in Trachis near Mount Oeta. [31]
Heracles settled at the end of his life in Ceyx of Trachis, which was also close to the marriage of his sister Laonome. [32]
1.2 Heracles' Boyhood
Heracles became a one-year priest in the service of the Ismenian Apollo, a role only a boy of good family background and good looks could take. Amphitryon dedicated a bronze quill to the temple of Apollo in Ismenias. [33]
When Heracles was 13 years old, he was sent to a cattle farm. [34]
In 1258 BC, Chalcodon from Chalcis in Euboea invaded Boeotia. Amphitryon took up arms near the Proetidian gate northeast of Thebes and marched against Chalcodon. Amphitryon fought Chalcodon near Teumessus, about 10 km from Thebes in the direction of Aulis, and killed him. [35]
Some time before this, the son of Crius of Euboea ravaged the area around Delphi and was slain. [36]
Around this time, a drought-induced famine struck all of Greece, and Chalcodon likely invaded Boeotia for similar reasons. [37]
It is unknown whether Heracles, who was estimated to be 17 years old at the time, was involved in the exploits of his father Amphitryon.
The cattle station where Heracles worked was near Thespiae, west of Thebes.
A lion came down from the Cithaeron mountains and attacked the cattle of Amphitryon and the cattle of Thespius of Thespiae. Heracles, now 18 years old, was welcomed by Thespius and killed the lion. [38]
After this, Heracles traveled with his father Amphitryon to the Peloponnesus peninsula and visited the house of Pittheus at Troezen on the east coast of Argolis. Theseus, son of Aethra, daughter of Pittheus, and later king of Athens, while still a child, saw Heracles sitting on a lion's skin. [39]
Pittheus was the brother of Heracles' maternal grandmother Eurydice (or Lysidice), and Theseus was Heracles' maternal cousin.
1.3 Battle with Minyans
In 1256 BC, while Amphitryon and Heracles were traveling, there was a battle between Thebans and the Minyans of Orchomenus, about 50 km northwest of Thebes.
Clymenus, king of the Minyans, was slain at Onchestus, about halfway with Thebes, by Perieres, the charioteer of Menoeceus, son of Creon of Thebes. Thebes was attacked and defeated by Erginus, son of Clymenus, and was forced to pay tribute for 20 years. [40]
Amphitryon and Heracles, returning from their journey, fought Erginus and attacked Orchomenus, ending the battle in a short time. [41]
Heracles lost his father Amphitryon in a battle with the Minyans, but behaved generously towards Erginus. [42]
Corinth also came to support Thebes in this battle, and the battle was well-prepared. [43]
Oedipus rushed from Corinth with his sons, and his two sons, Phrastor and Laonytus, were killed in battle. [44]
Also, some time before this, Rhadamanthus, brother of Minos, who lived at Ocaleae near Hariartos, joined the Thebes after the battle between Minos and Athens. [45]
Heracles dedicated a stone statue of a lion in the temple of Artemis at Thebes to celebrate his victory in the battle against Erginus. [46]
Creon of Thebes gave his daughter Megara to Heracles, a distinguished man in battle, and gave Megara's sister to Heracles' half-brother Iphicles. [47]
Megara was the daughter of Creon, the estranged brother of Heracles' paternal grandmother Hipponome, and a cousin of Amphitryon.
Iphicles had previously lived in Pheneus of Arcadia, but before the war with the Minyans he had come and lived in Thebes with his son Iolaus. Iolaus was 11 years old at this time, not yet old enough to be a warrior.
Alcmena, now a widow, remarried Rhadamanthys of Ocaleae. [48]
When Alcmena left Thebes, she was honored by Thebans. [49]
1.4 Farewell to Megara
After the battle with the Minyans, Heracles lived in peace in Thebes and had children with his wife Megara. The number of children has been variously reported, ranging from two to eight. [50]
All of Heracles' children died in a fire, probably caused by a misfire. Heracles, realizing that his marriage to Megara was not blessed by God, divorced her and married Iolaus. [51]
This event estranged the relationship between Heracles and Creon, and between Heracles and Thebes. Heracles then changed his residence to avoid Thebes.
The deaths of the children of Heracles took place in Thebes, and the tombs of Amphitryon and the children of Heracles were in Thebes. [52]
2 Tiryns days
2.1 Emigration to Tiryns
In 1251 BC, Heracles emigrated from Thebes to Tiryns, the former territory of his father Amphitryon. [53]
Mycenae was inherited from its founder Perseus to Sthenelus, and then to Eurystheus. Eurystheus's rivalry with Argos, which had been going on since the time of Perseus, had not been resolved, and Eurystheus' sons were young, and there was no one nearby to help him.
It seems likely that Eurystheus left Tiryns in charge of Heracles, the son of his cousin Amphitryon. Alternatively, Heracles may have moved to Tiryns of his own volition due to a feud with Creon in Thebes.
Even the ancient poets, unable to understand Heracles' motive for moving to Tiryns, attribute it to his oracle. [54]
2.2 The labors of Heracles
Many of the twelve labors that Eurystheus is said to have ordered Heracles to perform are farcical and fictitious.
However, the Centaurs of Arcadia, who appear in the fourth labor, and the Augeas of Elis, who appear in the fifth labor, seem to be based on historical facts. [55]
However, Heracles' involvement with both was not during his time in Tiryns, but much later.
Furthermore, Geryon of Erytheia, who appears in the Tenth Labor, is thought to have been a real person. Norax, grandson of Geryon, was a little earlier than Iolaus and was about the same generation as Heracles, and if Geryon also lived a long time, he was contemporary with Heracles and was a real person.
However, the legend that Heracles traveled to Erytheia in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula is a myth. Geryon and the region in which he lived were associated with Heracles, but not Heracles, son of Amphitryon, but Heracles, also called Egyptian Heracles or Phoenician Heracles. Heracles was Maceris, a man of Canopus in Egypt, who died on the Iberian Peninsula. [56]
2.3 Activities in Asia Minor
2.3.1 Three years at Lydia
In 1248 BC, Heracles in an unfortunate incident killed Iphitus, the son of Eurytus of Oechalia, who came to Tiryns. [57]
There is a tradition that Oechalia was a town in Euboea, but it was also a town in Messenia. Before Iphitus' father Eurytus was chased by Tyndareus and emigrated from Messenia to Euboea, Iphitus was living in Oechalia in Messenia. [58]
At that time, there was a law that those who killed someone through negligence were required to serve someone else for a certain period of time. [59]
Heracles served under Omphale of Lydia. [60]
Omphale probably lived at the foot of Mount Timolus, where the Hyllus River of Lydia flows, near what later became Sardis. [61]
During the three years that Heracles served under Omphale, there were the expedition of Argonauts and the Calydonian Boar hunt. [62]
2.3.2 Expedition to Ilium
In 1245 BC, Heracles completed his ministry under Omphale and returned to Tiryns. [63]
After his return, Heracles went with Iolaus to Iolcus in Thessaly, and took part in the funerary games held by Acastus, son of Pelias, on the death of Pelias, son of Cretheus. [64]
After this, Heracles is said to have made an expedition to Ilium. [65]
It is said that Oecles, father of Amphiaraus of Argos, who participated in the expedition and was guarding the ship, was attacked and killed in battle by Laomedon, son of Ilus, and Telamon, son of Aeacus, married Hesione, daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy. [66]
However, Oecles' expedition with Heracles was not aimed at Troy, but against Elis's Augeas. [67]
Also, the marriage between Telamon and Hesione seems to be an anecdote designed to make Telamon's son Teucer the heir to the Trojan royal family. Later, Teucer founded Salamis in Cyprus, where many of its inhabitants were Trojans. [68]
Teucer's descendants appear to have spread stories about themselves as descendants of the royal family of Troy in order to keep the inhabitants of Salamis in line. [69]
2.3.3 Expedition to Cos
Legend has it that Heracles was washed away and stopped at Cos on his way back from Ilium. [70]
If this is not a fabrication, it is presumed that it was as follows.
At that time, Cos was ruled by Merops, who, being chased by Eurypylus, the husband of his daughter Clytia, asked Heracles for help. Heracles attempts to bring Merops back, but Eurypylus thwarts him, and a battle ensues. Heracles was wounded in battle with Chalcodon (or Chalcon), son of Eurypylus. [71]
Merops is presumed to be a descendant of Neandrus, son of Macareus, who migrated from Lesbos to Cos. [72]
Heracles had a son, Thessalus (or Thettalus), by Chalciope, daughter of Eurypylus of Cos. Thessalus' two sons, Pheidippus (or Phidippus) and Antiphus, led the people of Cos on an expedition to Troy, and both were slain by Hector. [73]
Their descendants continued to live on Cos, and Hippocrates, the father of medicine in the early 4th century BC, was the 20th descendant of Heracles. [74]
Podalirus, the son of Asclepius (or Aesculapius), who served as a surgeon for the Trojan expedition led by Agamemnon, wandered through Asia Minor after the fall of Troy. Podalirus married Syrna, daughter of Damaethus, of Bybastus, in the region of Caria, ruled by Damaethus, who was probably the son of Staphylus, son of Ariadne, daughter of Minos. Podalirus founded Syrnus, named after his wife. [75]
Cos is located near Syrnus, and it is assumed that a descendant of Thessalus, son of Heracles, who lived in Cos, married a descendant of Podalirus, son of Asclepius, from Syrnus. [76]
2.3.4 Heracles's actions based on Hittite records
Heracles was active in Asia Minor for three years from 1248 BC and again in 1244 BC.
According to Hittite texts, during this period the Hittites suppressed Piyama-Radu's rebellion in Lukka (Lycia) and demanded his extradition after fleeing to Ahhiyawa. [77]
Piyama-Radu is presumed to be Celaeneus, the brother of Alcmena, mother of Heracles, and Heracles is presumed to have gone to Asia Minor to support his uncle Celaeneus.
Celaeneus was also Eurystheus' uncle, and Heracles may have gone to Asia Minor on Eurystheus' orders.
2.4 First Elis attack
In 1243 BC, Heracles prepared to attack Elis. [78]
According to legend, Heracles' attack on Elis was caused by Augeas of Elis not paying Heracles the promised reward. However, the historical fact seems to have been as follows. [79]
Augeas' mother was Nausidame, daughter of Amphidamas of Arcadia. Nausidame's sister Antibia was Eurystheus' stepmother, and Augeas and Eurystheus were step-cousins through each other's wives. [80]
Due to this marital relationship, Elis and Mycenae were on good terms before the birth of Eurystheus. However, the relationship between Elis and Mycenae deteriorated when Eurystheus' father Sthenelus married Pelops' daughter Nicippe (or Archippe) for a second time and Eurystheus was born to them. [81]
After Pelops' death, Elis took control of Olympia in place of Pisa and held competitions, and the relationship between Pisa and Elis deteriorated. Eurystheus is presumed to have sent Heracles to attack Elis at the request of Pisa, his mother's birthplace. [82]
The 2nd century AD travel writer Pausanias reports that Pylus and Pisa participated in the defense of Elis, which was attacked by Heracles. However, Pisa was the mother town of Eurystheus and the town of Heracles' maternal grandmother. It is unlikely that Pisa took part in the battle against Heracles. [83]
Pausanias tells us that Heracles did not attack Pisa because he received the following oracle from Delphi: [84]
My father cares for Pisa, but to me in the hollows of Pytho.
The shrine maiden of Delphi speaks for the god Apollo, and it is interpreted to mean something like, “My father (Zeus) is concerned about Pisa and I (Apollo) am concerned about Delphi,” and it seems to be a warning not to interfere with Pisa, the sacred place of Zeus.
However, this oracle seems to have been created by figures such as Pindar and Herodotus in the 5th century BC, who equated Pisa with Olympia. [85]
Augeas learned of Heracles' movements and appointed two sons of Actor, Cteatus and Eurytus, as generals, who ruled Hyrmina west of Elis. [86]
Actor was the son of Hyrmina, daughter of Epeius, son of Endymion, and was a cousin of Augeas, son of Eleius, son of Eurycyda, daughter of Endymion. [87]
Heracles attacked Elis, but was defeated repeatedly by the sons of Actor, who were brave warriors, and before a battle could be fought, Heracles fell ill and called a truce. [88]
However, Actor's sons, knowing that Heracles was sick, attacked him, and many were killed on Heracles' side. [89]
Among the dead was Heracles' half-brother Iphicles, who had been wounded by the sons of Actor, and died of his wounds at Pheneus in Arcadia. [90]
Some legends say that Iphicles died in battle at Lacedaemon. However, the tradition that Iphicles was Pheneus and died under the care of Buphagus and his wife Promne is more detailed and true. [91]
Heracles, who had broken his promise of a truce and had his relatives killed, attacked and killed two sons of Actor, Cteatus and Eurytus, at Cleonae, who were on their way from Hyrmina to Isthmus. [92]
It is said that many Cleonaeans who joined Heracles were killed in this attack. However, it is said that the mother of the murdered brothers, Molione, was looking for the perpetrator, so it appears that the attack was an ambush by a small group of people. [93]
Cleonae at that time had just been founded by Atreus, the son of Pelops, and it is thought that Atreus assisted Heracles in his raids. [94]
When Elis, at Molione's complaint, asked for the punishment of the assailants, Eurystheus did not punish Heracles or hand him over to Elis, but forced him to leave Tiryns. [95]
3 Pheneus days
3.1 Battle with Centaurs
Heracles, accompanied by his mother Alcmena and his nephew Iolaus, moved to Pheneus in the northeastern part of Arcadia. [96]
Prior to this, Alcmena had remarried Rhadamanthys and resided in Ocaleae, but widowed, she lived with Heracles in Tiryns. [97]
Heracles, who moved to Pheneus, was asked by Cepheus of Tegea to cooperate in an operation to wipe out the Centaurs. The Centaurs lived near Mount Pelion in Thessaly, but were forced out of their home by the Lapiths, led by Peirithous, son of Ixion, of Larissa. Some of the Centaurs lived around Mount Pholoe in the northwest of Arcadia and practiced banditry. The Centaurs are said to be half-man and half-beast, but they were a people who rode horses as one. [98]
Heracles was able to destroy the Centaurs who lived in Arcadia and acquire many Arcadians as a force with a collaborator named Cepheus. [99]
3.2 Second Elis attack
In 1241 BC, Heracles, with renewed strength, once again prepared the Elis Expeditionary Force. In addition to the Arcadians, the expedition included Thebans, Argives, and Epeians. [100]
The Thebans are believed to have been the people who fought with Erginus in Orchomenus and migrated from Thebes to Tiryns with Heracles. [101]
The Argives appear to be the people of Argos, led by Oecles, son of Mantius, son of Melampus. Some time before this, Oecles, who had been exiled to Calydon, pursued by his brother Abas, returned to Argos with his father and son Amphiaraus. They expelled those who had expelled them from Argos, and the only descendants of Melampus and Bias remained in the city, the family of Oecles. [102]
There is no blood relationship between Oecles and Heracles, and it is unknown why Oecles joined Heracles. When Oecles returned to Argos, Heracles was in Lydia.
Eurystheus of Mycenae may have helped Oecles return. Alternatively, Heracles may have had contact with Oecles after his return to Tiryns. [103]
Both Eurystheus and Heracles, descendants of Perseus, held grudges against the descendants of Megapenthes, son of Proetus, who killed Perseus. However, it appears that they were not at odds with the descendants of Melampus and Bias, whom Anaxagoras, son of Argeus, son of Megapenthes, invited as co-residents of Argos. [104]
The Epeians were the descendants of those who, when Aetolus, son of Endymion of Elis, was chased from Salmoneus and migrated to Aetolia, he did not cross the strait and remained in Dyme of Achaia. [105]
In 1240 BC, Heracles led an expeditionary force from Pheneus and attacked Elis. Augeas defended himself with reinforcements from Pylus, but Elis, without the sons of Actor, was defeated by Heracles and the town was captured. [106]
Heracles summoned Augeas' eldest son, Phyleus, from Dulichium in Acarnania, where he had migrated. Heracles granted Phyleus' request, pardoned Augeas, and gave him back his captives. [107]
3.3 Pylus attack
Heracles attacked Neleus in Pylus, and all of Neleus's twelve sons, except Nestor, the youngest, were killed, and Pylus was destroyed and left in ruins. [108]
Pylus, where Neleus lived, is said to have been located in Messenia, but it was located up the Peneius River from Elis in Eleia, and a little further up the Ladon River, a tributary. [109]
Earlier, Nestor and his brothers fought against the Arcadians for possession of Chaa in southern Eleia, and it is said that the youngest Nestor fought in single combat. Therefore, by the time of the battle with Heracles, Nestor should have already reached the age of a warrior. [110]
Nestor was probably in Gerenia, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Messenia, to evacuate and protect his brother's children and the herds of cattle that were a symbol of Neleus' wealth. [111]
After capturing Pylus, Heracles is said to have marched on to Gerenia and exchanged vows with the children of Neleus at Stenyclerus in Messenia. It seems likely that in exchange for sparing Nestor's life and granting him possession of Pylus, he would be required to hand it over to Heracles' descendants at any time if requested. [112]
Penthilus, the son of Neleus' eldest son Periclymenus, also appears to have taken part in this pledge.
His great-grandson Melanthus was king of the Messenians at the time of the return of the Heracleidae, but at the request of the Heracleidae he surrendered Messenia and moved to Athens. [113]
On his way from Pylus to Messenia, Heracles killed Lepreus, ruler of Lepreus in southern Eleia. [114]
Lepreus was a paternal cousin of Actor's sons, and sided with Augeas during Heracles' attack on Elis.
3.4 Immigrant Group of Evander
After the battle, Heracles' expedition encountered Evander's immigrant group.
A battle broke out in Pallantium (near present-day Palantio), located about 8 km west of Tegea in Arcadia, and Evander, the son of Themis, who lost the battle, was on a journey to find a new world. [115]
Evander enlisted the Epeians of Dyme of Achaia and the Arcadians of Pheneus of Arcadia to join the emigrant group, who volunteered to join. Evander set out on a voyage from Elis' outer port, Cyllene, to seek new world. [116]
Evander's emigrants sailed clockwise around the Italian peninsula, up the Tiber River in the central western part of the peninsula, and landed in what would become Rome. They settled near a hill previously called Velia and later named Palatium. [117]
3.5 Organizing Olympia competitions
In 1239 BC, Heracles held athletic competitions at Olympia. [118]
Before Heracles, it was held by Augeas of Elis, who also ruled Olympia.
Earlier it was held by Aethlius, Endymion, Epeius of Elis, Oenomaus of Pisa, Alexinus (probably another name for Alector, son of Salmoneus), Pelops of Pisa, Amythaon, Neleus of Pylus and Pelias.
The organizer was a person in a dominant position in Eleia. Heracles' holding of the Olympia competitions caused Eurystheus of Mycenae to feel a great deal of alarm. [119]
3.6 Lacedaemon attack
Heracles then attacked Hippocoon of Lacedaemon.
The reason for the attack is said to be because Hippocoon sided with Neleus when Heracles attacked Pylus, but there is no connection between Hippocoon and Neleus. [120]
There seems to be no doubt that the battle between Heracles and Hippocoon occurred after Elis' troops had been disbanded. The forces of Heracles and Cepheus of Tegea participate in the battle. Heracles' battles often began with requests or petitions from others, and in this case too, it seems that Heracles did not receive aid from Cepheus, but rather that Heracles responded to Cepheus's request for aid. In later times there may have been a conflict between Hippocoon of Lacedaemon and Cepheus of Tegea, just as Sparta was conflicted with Tegea.
Cepheus' brother Amphidamas was the father of Eurystheus' wife Antimache, and Eurystheus may have asked Heracles to help Cepheus.
Heracles fought Hippocoon at Amyclae and Sparta, defeated him, and captured the town. In this battle Cepheus and all but three of his twenty sons were killed. [121]
Tyndareus' brother Icarius is said to have emigrated to Aetolia with Tyndareus.
However, Icarius emigrated to Acarnania after the battle between Heracles and Hippocoon, and Tyndareus returned from Aetolia to Sparta.
After Icarius emigrated, he married Polycaste (or Polyboea), the daughter of Lygaeus, a powerful Acarnanian. Icarius had previously married Ortilochus' daughter Dorodoche. [122]
Dorodoche was the daughter of Ortilochus, son of Telegon, daughter of Pharis, who founded Pharae near the mouth of the river Nedon, which flows into the Gulf of Messenia. [123]
Pharis, just south of Sparta, was a town of people who had moved from Pharae in Messenia with Dorodoche, who was married to Icarius. Pharis was also called Pharae. [124]
4 Calydon days
4.1 Emigration to Calydon
In 1238 BC, Heracles crossed the strait from Pheneus in Arcadia and migrated to Calydon in Aetolia. Heracles probably left the Peloponnesus peninsula on his own, fearing that Eurystheus would consider him a hostile force, as he was accompanied by many Arcadians. [125]
Alternatively, Eurystheus may have approached Lycurgus, king of Arcadia, to force Heracles to leave Pheneus. Lycurgus was the grandfather of Antimache, the wife of Eurystheus. [126]
Heracles chose Calydon as his next destination, probably because he had heard about Calydon from Oecles, the son of Mantius, who died during the attack on Elis. [127]
Oecles fled from Argos with his father Mantius and lived in Calydon for over twenty years. Calydon was one of the popular settlements for the people of the time. [128]
4.2 Battle with Achelous
Shortly after Heracles lived in Calydon, Achelous, the husband of Sterope, daughter of Parthaon of Pleuron, attacked Calydon, but was defeated by Heracles. [129]
This attack of Achelous may not have been against Oeneus of Calydon, but against Heracles himself. The sons of Molione, whom Heracles attacked and killed, were second cousins of Sterope, the wife of Achelous. [130]
4.3 Marriage with Deianeira
After the battle with Achelous, Heracles took Oeneus' daughter Deianeira as his wife. [131]
Heracles was 37 years old and Deianeira was 17 years old. [132]
Deianeira was the woman Heracles officially married after he divorced Megara, daughter of Creon of Thebes. Deianeira became the mother of her eldest son, Hyllus, who became the progenitor of the most powerful of the Heracleidae. [133]
4.4 Achelous Irrigation
Heracles created a large irrigated area of the Achelous River. This was done both to train the Arcadians who followed him and to give back to the region he was indebted to. [134]
Heracles likely irrigated a flooded area near the mouth of the Achelous River called Paracheloitis. [135]
The Achelous River flowed further west of the lands of Pleuron and Curetes on the west side of Calydon. Calydon and Pleuron had been in conflict for many years, evidence that Oeneus' control extended as far as the Achelous River.
4.5 Expedition to Thesprotia
In 1237 BC, Heracles campaigned against the Thesprotians and captured Ephyra, about 180 km north-west of Calydon. It was a huge expedition that took about seven days each way. It is unlikely that there was a conflict of interest between Calydon and Ephyra, which are far apart. It is not known what the purpose of this expedition was. [136]
4.5.1 Purpose of the expedition
Shortly before the Trojan War, Odysseus, son of Laertes, visits Ilus, son of Mermerus, in Ephyra, seeking poison for his arrows. [137]
This Mermerus was the son of Jason, who led the expedition of the Argonauts, and Meda, the daughter of Aeetes. Ilus, the son of Mermerus, seems to have learned the art of making poison from his grandmother Meda, who was famous for making poisons. [138]
In his later years, Jason settled on Scheria in the Ionian Sea west of Dodona, and it is said that the island became known as Corcyra, after his wife. [139]
From the above, it appears that the purpose of the expedition was to colonize Jason. Heracles, who lived in Calydon, appears to have assisted Jason in his expedition to Thesprotia.
It is assumed that Jason's motive for migrating was to obtain information about the richness of northwestern Greece from Sphinx, which had been captured after pillaging Boeotia. The Sphinx invaded Boeotia and were repulsed by Oedipus, who led the Corinthians. At that time, Corinth was ruled by Jason, who also participated in the battle against Sphinx. [140]
Also, it seems that it was the death of his wife Medea that made Jason decide to move to a new place. Jason was accompanied by his sons, Mermerus and Pheres, whom Medea bore. [141]
4.5.2 Expedition participants
Heracles had the Arcadians from the Peloponnesus peninsula and the Calydonians under Oeneus of Calydon. However, it was difficult to conquer Ephyra with such a strong force. Ephyra was the central town of the Thesprotians, who occupied Thessaly 50 years later. [142]
In addition to those led by Jason and Heracles, the following people participated in this expedition:
Dulichians led by Phyleus, son of Augeas
Lacedaemonians led by Icarius, son of Oebalus
Corinthians led by Ornytion, son of Sisyphus
Taphians led by Taphius, son of Helius
Cephallenians led by Arcesius (or Arcisius), son of Cephalus
Polyidus, son of Coeranus
4.5.2.1 Phyleus, son of Augeas
Homer describes a breastplate that Phyleus, son of Augeas, brought back from Ephyra, and further tells us that the breastplate was a gift from Euphetes, king of the land. [143]
The Ephyra mentioned by Homer is also interpreted to have been Eleia, but it was the Ephyra of Thesprotia. [144]
Heracles granted Phyleus' wishes and treated Augeas generously when he captured Elis, and Phyleus' participation in the expedition was his return for the favor. [145]
Phyleus led the Dulichians from Dulichium (or Dulichia, later Paleis) in Cephallenia, and accompanied Heracles on an expedition to Ephyra. [146]
After this expedition Meges, the son of Phyleus, emigrated to the Echinades and took possession of the largest island, which he called Dulichium, the same as his native land.
Meges led the people of Dulichium and the Echinades of Cephallenia, as well as Cyllene of Eleia, in the expedition to Troy. [147]
4.5.2.2 Icarius, son of Oebalus
Icarius participated in Heracles' expedition to Thesprotia, leading Lacedaemonians who wished to emigrate there. [148]
Icarius settled in Acarnania, and his two sons, Alyzeus and Leucadius, founded a town named after them. [149]
The Teleboans, who lived in Acarnania, migrated to the west coast of central Italy, led by Oebalus, son of Telon, and founded Capreae on an island near Neapolis. [150]
Lygaeus' daughter Polycaste (or Polyboea), whom Icarius married after his campaign, is presumed to have been a prisoner of war. From Polycaste was born Penelope, who later became Odysseus' wife. [151]
4.5.2.3 Ornytion, son of Sisyphus
Joining Jason on the expedition and leading the Corinthians was Ornytion, son of Sisyphus, who later became ruler of Corinth.
On this expedition, Ornytion took as his wife Peirene, the daughter of Oebalus, son of Telon, who lived near the river Achelous in Acarnaia. [152]
Their sons were Leches and Cenchrias, from whom Corinth's two outer ports, Lechaeum on the Corinthian gulf and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf, are named. [153]
4.5.2.4 Taphius, son of Helius
Taphius joined the expedition in return for his father Helius being able to colonize the Echinades with the help of Heracles' father Amphitryon. [154]
Taphius migrated northwest from the Echinades and founded the town of Taphos, which became known as Taphos. [155]
4.5.2.5 Arcesius (or Arcisius), son of Cephalus
Arcesius, like Taphius, took part in the expedition in return for Amphitryon, father of Heracles, and expanded his settlement from Cephallenia to Ithaca.
During Amphitryon's expedition, Cephalus expelled the Teleboans from Cephallenia, and the Teleboans migrated to Ithaca. [156]
At that time Cephalus married Euryodeia, daughter of Pterelas of Teleboan, and they had a son, Arcesius. [157]
Arcesius took as his wife Chalcomedusa, presumed to be the daughter of Ithacus, during his battle with the Teleboans of Ithaca. [158]
Strabo notes that residents of Ithaca and Taphos are close.
This is probably because both of them took part in Heracles' expeditions and because they both settled in the area at the same time with the help of Heracles' father Amphitryon. [159]
After this expedition, Laertes, son of Arcesius, captured Nericus, on the isthmus of the Leucas peninsula. [160]
4.5.2.6 Polyidus, son of Coeranus
Coeranus, son of Abas, son of Melampus, was one of those who left the city in the internal strife in Argos that led to the exile of Adrastus, son of Talaus, from Argos to Sicyon.
At the time of the expedition, Polyidus, son of Coeranus, lived in Corinth. [161]
The Athenian mythologist Pherecydes of the 5th century BC tells us that Polyidus married Eurydameia, the daughter of Phyleus of Dulichium in Acarnania. [162]
At that time, Polyidus and Eurydameia were of marriageable age, and it is presumed that Polyidus' participation in this expedition was what made Corinth and Dulichium's long-distance marriage possible. [163]
4.5.3 Sons of Heracles and Astyoche, daughter of Phyleus
A son, Tlepolemus (or Tleptolemus), was born to Heracles and Astyoche, the daughter of Phyleus, who was taken prisoner at Ephyra. [164]
This Tlepolemus later returned briefly to Argos as a member of the Heracleidae, and from there migrated to Rhodes. He then took part in an expedition to Troy, where he was reportedly defeated by Sarpedon of Lycia. [165]
Heracles and Astyoche had another son, Dexamenus, whose son Ambrax became ruler of Ambracia near Ephyra. [166]
Dexamenus had sons named Pheidippus and Haimon, who led the Thesprotians against and captured Thessaly. Residents of Thessaly either remained as slaves, known as penestai, or emigrated to other lands. [167]
In 1126 BC, Thessalus, son of Aeatus, son of Pheidippus, became a penestai and drove out the remaining Boeotians in the Arne, and the region became known as Thessaliotis. [168]
4.5.4 Colonizing Sardinia
While staying in Ephyra, Heracles instructed Iolaus to take the sons of Thespius' daughters and colonize Sardinia, to the west of the Italian peninsula. [169]
There were 51 sons, reportedly descended from 50 daughters of Heracles and Thespius. Regardless of whether it is true or not, it seems likely that Heracles, who had been consulted by Thespius, who had many grandchildren, instructed Iolaus to colonize the Italian peninsula. [170]
In ancient historical sources, when it is difficult to understand the true meaning of an action, it is often said to do so “by an oracle,” and Heracles at this time is also said to have sent a colony “by an oracle.” [171]
The people of Ephyra had learned of Sardinia's wealth from people who stopped by Dodona to seek oracles, and Heracles likely learned about Sardinia from them. [172]
In 1236 BC, Iolaus left Athens with a colony. The colony of Iolaus is said to have been the first in Athens to send people outside of Greece. Like the second Ionian colony led by Neileus son of Codrus, it appears to have been a formal emigrant group that set out from Prytaneum in Athens. [173]
4.6 Emigration from Calydon
Heracles lived a peaceful life in Calydon, and his first son, Hyllus, was born to Deianeira. [174]
In the third year of his marriage to Deianeira, Heracles is said to have decided to leave Calydon because he had negligently killed Ennomus (or Eurynomus), son of Architeles, a relative of Oeneus. [175]
However, the migration of Heracles at this time seems to have been influenced by the will of Eurystheus of Mycenae, who feared that Heracles would further expand his influence in Calydon. It is presumed that it was Oecles' son Amphiaraus who conveyed Eurystheus' will to Oeneus. Amphiaraus was born in Calydon, and Oecles and Oeneus were brothers-in-law through their respective wives. [176]
4.7 Battle against the remnants of the Centaurs
In 1235 BC, Heracles left Calydon where he lived for three years. Along the way, he is said to have killed the Centaur Nessus, who had attempted to assault his wife Deianeira, at the Evenus River on the east side of Calydon. [177]
However, this is a fabrication that also connects it with the later death of Heracles.
In reality, it was a battle between Nessus and Heracles, the survivors of the Centaurs who were engaged in banditry in key areas leading from Aetolia to the Phocis region and Thessaly. [178]
The tombs of Nessus and other Centaurs are located on the Taphiassus hill, about 10 km east of the Evenus River, where the battle took place. [179]
After this, Heracles headed east, with the Gulf of Corinth on his right, inland from Cirrha, the outer port of Delphi, and north across the plains of Crisa into Amphissa. [180]
Deianeira's sister Gorges was married to Amphissa and welcomed Heracles. [181]
Continuing north from Amphissa, we arrived at Trachis through Dryopis, which is located in the upper reaches of the Cephissus River and is sandwiched between Mount Oeta (2,152m above sea level) to the north and Mount Parnasus (2,457m above sea level) to the south. [182]
5 Trachis days
5.1 Genealogy of Ceyx
Trachis was ruled by Heracles' friend Ceyx. [183]
Although Ceyx's parentage is speculative, it is assumed that he is a descendant of Cletor.
Cletor appears to have been the son of Aeolus, son of Hippotes, who lived in Arne of Thessaly, and Protogenia, daughter of Deucalion, who lived in Locris. [184]
The Cletor settled in a land called Paracheloitae, on the banks of the Achelaus River, which ran from Arne south of Thessaly towards the north-west of the Maliac Gulf, near what later became Lamia. Cletor's daughter Eurymedusa married a man who owned a fief in Phthia on the north coast of the Maliac Gulf, and they had a son, Myrmidon. [185]
Myrmidon succeeded his father as ruler of Phthia.
Myrmidon married Pisidice, daughter of Aeolus, son of Lapithus, son of Aeolus, and they had two sons, Antiphus and Actor, and a daughter, Eupolemeia. [186]
Ceyx is the son of Actor and appears to be the brother of Menoetius, father of Patroclus, a close friend of Heracles. [187]
Ceyx migrated from Phthia to the foothills of Mount Oeta, across the Spercheius River towards Dryopis, and founded Trachis. Trachis was a town of the Myrmidons. [188]
After the migration of Ceyx, the Aenianians who lived on the plains of Dotium in Thessaly fled to the area around Mount Oeta, chased by the Lapiths. [189]
It is believed that the Melians, a branch of the Aenianians, settled near Trachis, and the daughter of the leader of the Melians married Ceyx, who then became the leader of the Melians. [190]
5.2 Battle against Dryopians
In 1231 BC, Iolaus led a group of immigrants to Sardinia and returned to Trachis. [191]
Heracles' first five years in Trachis were peaceful. From Deianeira were born his sons Gleneus, Hodites, and Ctesippus, and his daughter Macaria. [192]
In 1230 BC, Phylas, who lived in Dryopes near Delphi, disrespected the temple of Delphi. Heracles led the Melians, the inhabitants of Trachis, against the Dryopes, killed Phylas, and expelled the Dryopians. [193]
The exiled Dryopians crossed to the Peloponnesus peninsula and, with assistance from Eurystheus of Mycenae, founded three towns in Argolis named Aine, Hermione, and Eion. [194]
Dryopes was a town founded by Dryopes, grandfather of Phylas, near Lycoritae, higher than Delphi, near Mount Parnasus. [195]
Phylas' daughter Meda and Heracles had a son, Antiochus. [196]
In the 6th century BC, Christhenes of Athens changed the system from four tribes to ten, one of which was named after Antiochus, the son of Heracles. [197]
5.3 Battle against Lapiths
5.3.1 The Fall of Iolcus
In 1236 BC, the Minyans living in Iolcus of Thessaly and the surrounding towns revolted, Acastus, son of Pelias, was killed, and Iolcus was destroyed. [198]
The Minyans were driven out of Thessaly by Peleus of Phthia and migrated to Lemnos. [199]
Iolcus was such a prosperous town that Pelias, son of Cretheus of Iolcus, appears as the king who ordered the expedition in the story of the expedition of Argonauts, but it fell into ruin in the third generation after its founding.
5.3.2 Expansion of Lapiths
The fall of Iolcus affected the power relations within Thessaly, and stimulated the movements of the Lapiths, who lived in Gyrton and Larissa in the lower reaches of the Peneius River in the north of Thessaly.
In 1420 BC, Doris (later part of Hestiaeotis) on the Peneius River was inhabited by Dorus, son of Hellen, who migrated to Dryopia near Mount Parnassus. [200]
In 1390 BC, the Pelasgians living in Thessaly were driven out and the Lapiths invaded the land they left behind. The Lapiths then advanced to Hestiaeotis, and Mopsus, son of Ampycus, lived in Oechalia, and Aesculapius, son of Ischys, lived in Tricca. The Dorians, who lived near Gyrton, also gradually came under pressure from Coronus, son of Caeneus. [201]
5.3.3 Battle against Coronus
The Dorians of Hestiaeotis remained related to the descendants of Dorus, even after Hellen's son Dorus migrated to Dryopia.
In 1227 BC, the Dorians of Hestiaeotis, driven from their home by Coronus, son of Caeneus, asked for help from Aegimius, son of Dorus, king of the Dorians in Dryopia. Aegimius rushes to Hestiaeotis, but is chased back by Coronaus. Aegimius asked Heracles of Trachis for help, promising him land. Heracles led the Arcadians and Melians of Trachis on an expedition to Hestiaeotis. Heracles fought and defeated Coronus, who had occupied the lands of the Dorians, and drove out the Lapiths. [202]
5.3.4 Battle against Laogoras
Additionally, Heracles killed Laogoras, a Dryopian who had sided with Lapiths. [203]
Laogoras was the brother of Phylas, who had disrespected the temple of Delphi, and after his defeat in battle with Heracles had fled to Coronus of Gyrton. Laogoras was on the side of Coronaus, who was trying to drive out the Dorians living in Hestiaeotis. [204]
5.3.5 Battle against Cycnus
Not all the Lapiths cooperated with Coronaus of Gyrton, and Aesculapius, son of Ischys of Tricca, did not participate.
After this, Heracles marched to fight the Lapiths, who had sided with Coronus, from Gyrton to Itonus on the west coast of the Pagasetic Gulf. [205]
Cycnus of Itonus was a Lapith, son of Aethalides, son of Cercaphus, son of Aeolus, son of Periphas, son of Lapithus. [206]
Heracles fought Cycnus at Itonus and slew him. [207]
5.3.6 Battle against Ormenius
After this, Heracles attacked the newly founded Ormenion to the east of the destroyed Iolcus. According to legend, the cause of the battle was that Heracles tried to marry Astydameia, the daughter of the town's ruler Ormenius, but she refused, or that his passage was blocked. [208]
Ormenius, however, was the son of Cercaphus, son of Aeolus, son of Periphas, son of Lapithus, and was a Lapith, and was thought to have been attacked by Heracles because he had joined Coronus. [209]
In the battle with Heracles, Ormenius and his son Amyntor were slain. Phoenix, the son of Amyntor, had some time before this gone to Peleus of Phthia, on account of a rift with his father, and had been given the province of Dolopia. [210]
Phoenix's father Amyntor's father Ormenius' father Cercaphus' wife Eupolemeia's brother Actor's son Aeacus' son was Peleus. In other words, Peleus was Phoenix's father's step-cousin. [211]
Phoenix became the foster parent of Achilles, the son of Peleus, and went to Troy, where he commanded the Fourth Corps as one of Achilles' five generals. [212]
5.3.7 Battle against Eurytus
In 1224 BC, Heracles' next destination was Oechalia, where Eurytus lived.
5.3.7.1 Location of Oechalia
There are various theories about the location of Oechalia, which Heracles attacked.
Pausanias notes that Messenia, where the remains of Eurytus are said to be, is likely. [213]
The 5th century BC historian Hecataeus tells us that it was a town in the region of Scius in the territory of Eretria in Euboea. [214]
Creophylus, a poet of Samos who was a contemporary of Hormer, is also said to have lived in Euboea. [215]
Oechalia, the home of Melaneus' son Eurytus, is discussed in the writings of the early 1st century AD geographer Strabon. However, Strabon asserts that Oechalia, which was destroyed by Heracles, was within the territory of Eretria in Euboea. [216]
This confusion was caused by the fact that Melaneus and his son Eurytus changed their place of residence but did not change the name of the town.
Melaneus, the father of Eurytus, went to Perieres, the son of Aeolus, who ruled Andania in Messenia, and founded Oechalia on the land allotted to him. Melaneus and Perieres were related. [217]
Perieres' father, Aeolus, is presumed to be the son of Lapithus, the son of Aeolus, the son of Hippotes, and Perieres and Melaneus was brother, based on the date and place of residence of his descendants. [218]
Looking at it in chronological order, it is estimated that it was as follows.
In 1310 BC, Melaneus founded the first Oechalia a short distance up the River Ion, which flows into the River Peneius. [219]
In 1305 BC, Melaneus moved to Messenia at the request of his brother Perieres and founded a second Oechalia near Andania. [220]
In 1239 BC, Tyndareus returned to Sparta from Aetolia, where he had migrated. [221]
In 1237 BC, Eurytus was driven from Messenia by Tyndareus, moved to Euboea, and founded the third Oechalia. [222]
5.3.7.2 Battle against Eurytus
It is said that Heracles attacked Eurytus at the request of the Euboeans, who were forced to pay tribute to Eurytus. [223]
However, this battle was the last one against the Lapiths, who joined Gyrton's Coronaus. Before this, the Lapiths, who had been forced from their homes in the battle with Heracles, may have taken refuge with Eurytus. The battle was fiercer than any previous battle.
On Heracles' side, Hippasus, son of Ceyx of Trachis, and Argius and Melas, sons of Heracles' mother's half-brother Licymnius, were killed in battle. [224]
On Eurytus' side, Eurytus himself and his sons, Toxeus, Molion and Clytius, were killed in battle, and his daughter Iole was taken prisoner. [225]
The Arcadians, the Melians led by Ceyx of Trachis, and the Epicnemidian Locrians took part in this battle, as well as the Cyliks of the Lydians. [226]
The mother city of the Epicnemidian Locris was Opus, ruled by Menoetius, son of Actor, a friend of Heracles, who may have also taken part in the expedition. [227]
Patroclus, son of Menoetius, did not take part in the battle, as he was still a boy, but Abderus, son of Menoetius, who was a favorite of Heracles, may have taken part. [228]
After burying his dead, Heracles departed from Oechalia, built an altar to Zeus at Cape Cenaeum on the northwest tip of Euboea, and performed a sacrificial ceremony before returning to Trachis. [229]
6 Founding of Heraclea
Cyliks, who came to Heracles from Lydia, lived in a group some distance from Trachis, but they became bandits and terrorized the surrounding people. Heracles destroyed their settlement, founded a town called Heraclea, and let them live there. [230]
The Cyliks (Kylikranoi) continued to live in Heraclea, and 112 years later they took part in an expedition of the Heracleidae to the Peloponnesus peninsula, led by Hegeleos, descendant of Heracles and Omphale. [231]
7 Death of Heracles
Heracles was seriously ill at least twice, once before going to Omphale in Lydia and again during his first attack on Elis. After founding Heraclea, Heracles was attacked by a deadly disease. [232]
Upon his death, Heracles made a will to his eldest son, Hyllus, to marry Iole, the daughter of Eurytus, when he came of age. [233]
After his father's death, Hyllus took Iole as his wife according to his father's orders, and his son Cleodaeus and daughter Euaichme were born to him. [234]
Heracles' final resting place appears to have been Heraclea, near Mount Oeta. [235]
Aegimius, king of the Dorians, who was helped by Heracles, adopted his eldest son Hyllus, in gratitude to Heracles. [236]
The care that Aegimius gave to the children of Heracles led to the Dorians becoming rulers of the Peloponnesus peninsula.
Heracles died before Hyllus, born in 1237 BC, came of age and after a battle with Eurytus in 1224 BC.
Clemens of Alexandria, a 2nd century AD theologian, and Jerome, a 5th century AD theologian, give Heracles' age of death as 52 years old. [237]
Heracles is estimated to have died in 1223 BC at the age of 52.
The early 2nd century AD historian Arrian of Nicomedia estimates that he was contemporary with Heracles and Oedipus, son of Laius, who died in the same year. [238]
8 Alcmena, mother of Heracles
After the death of Heracles, Alcmena and her grandson Hyllus briefly returned to her native Midea in Argolis, but she died in Megara while retreating from the Peloponnesus with the Heracleidae. Alcmena died in 1214 BC at the age of 78. [239]
A dispute arose over whether her burial place in Alcmena should be at Argos, where her ancestors were buried, or at Thebes, where the tombs of her husband, her Amphitryon, and the children of Heracles were. She was eventually buried beside the tomb of her second husband Rhadamanthys at Ocaleae in Boeotia. [240]
At that time, Thebes was ruled by Creon, father of Megara whom Heracles had divorced, and she could not be buried next to the tombs of Amphitryon and Heracles' children. [241]
In the 4th century BC, the tomb of Alcmena was reburied in Sparta by the Spartan king Agesilaus. [242]
In the tomb of Alcmena there was a bronze tablet inscribed with an ancient script similar to the Egyptian script, and Agesilaus entrusted a copy of the inscription on the bronze tablet to Eudoxus of Cnidos, who sent it to Nectanabis, king of Egypt. The Egyptian priest Chonuphis deciphered the inscription over three days. [243]
The inscription contained religious information. The ancient script appears to be Cretan hieroglyphs, written by priests who migrated from Crete to Ocaleae with Rhadamanthys. [244]
9 Human image of Heracles
As a boy, Heracles was so good-looking that he was chosen to become a priest, a position that only good-looking boys could become, and his body was extraordinarily large, strong, and athletic. [245]
The 2nd century AD writer Apollodoros reports that when Heracles was 13 years old, he was 4 cubits (about 185 cm) tall. [246]
However, the lyric poet Pindar of the 5th century BC and the philosopher Dicaearchus of the 4th century BC say that Heracles was short. [247]
Also, Hieronymus and the 4th century BC philosopher Dicaearchus say that Heracles was a dark-skinned man with a strong body, a hooked nose, sharp eyes, and long, straight hair. [248]
Contrary to exaggerated folklore, Heracles was not ferocious or cruel, but rather compassionate.
This is shown in his treatment of Erginus in the battle against the Minyans, who lost Amphitryon, and Augeas, in the battle with Elis, who lost Iphicles. [249]
Moreover, Heracles was not an ambitious person. If Heracles had had human ambition, it is likely that he would have brought all of Greece under his control. Eurystheus saw that Heracles had no ambition, and took no action while Heracles was alive. But in the generation of his sons, Eurystheus attacked the sons of Heracles, trying to nip any fears in the bud lest his position be reversed. [250]
Heracles recognized Eurystheus as Perseus's rightful successor and was careful not to disobey his authority. Eurystheus did not respond to Elis's request for Heracles' extradition, and sent him out of Tiryns to protect him. [251]
However, it seems that Eurystheus did not anticipate Heracles' subsequent activities, and his sense of crisis gradually increased. [252]
Also, Heracles had no desire for control. He never fought to dominate others. He listened to the requests of those who had been unreasonably forced out of their positions or who were being unfairly attacked, and he sided with them. Heracles listened to those whose safe passage on the roads was threatened and did his best to restore public order.
It is said that during the three years that Heracles was in Lydia, evil flourished in Greece and evil deeds were rampant. [253]
After his death, Heracles was added to the ranks of the gods, and the fact that many people who were called sons of Heracles appeared, shows just how great Heracles' reputation was from that time.
10 Ancient historical materials that convey the true image of Heracles
Although many of the ancient historical sources in which Heracles appears include wild fictions, it is Diodorus Siculus, a historian who lived in the mid-1st century BC, who tells the story of Heracles' life in detail and in chronological order.
His source was Matris, a Theban who wrote a hymn to Heracles. [254]
11 Finally
Many people think of Heracles as a mythical figure who never existed, but I think of him as a historical figure.
As we have seen, Heracles' life can be tracked in years.
There is no contradiction when compared with the traditions of Theseus, king of Athens, and many other figures.
End
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