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87-468: Glaucus's parentage is different in the different traditions: (i) Nereus ; (ii) Copeus ; (iii) Polybus , son of Hermes , and Euboea , daughter of Larymnus ; (iv) Anthedon and Alcyone ; or Poseidon and the nymph Naïs . The story of Glaucus's apotheosis was dealt with in detail by Ovid in Metamorphoses and briefly referenced by many other authors. According to Ovid, Glaucus began his life as

174-603: A Pre-Greek (pre-Indo-European) origin, as is suggested by the suffix ‑εύς ,   ‑eús . Another view is that of Apostolos Athanassakis (1983), who suggested an Illyrian origin for the name, and compared it to the Albanian word njeri ' man ' . According to August Fick (1890), the closest Indo-European relative of Nereus, as well as the Nereids, is the Lithuanian verb nérti ' to dive ' ; also,

261-519: A bear hug. Herodotus claims that Heracles stopped in Egypt , where King Busiris decided to make him the yearly sacrifice, but Heracles burst out of his chains. Heracles finally made his way to the garden of the Hesperides, where he encountered Atlas holding up the heavens on his shoulders. Heracles persuaded Atlas to get the three golden apples for him by offering to hold up the heavens in his place for

348-463: A beast so fast it could outpace an arrow. After a long search, Heracles awoke one night and laid eyes on the elusive hind, which was only visible due to the glint of moonlight on its antlers. He then chased the hind on foot for a full year through Greece , Thrace , Istria , and the land of the Hyperboreans . How Heracles caught the hind differs depending on the telling; in most versions, he captured

435-504: A derivation from Ἔρις Eris ' Discord ' with the negative prefix νη‑ ne‑ added to it; namely Ne-Eris ' Not-Discord ' , which evolved to Νηρεύς (< νη-ερ(ι)-ευς ). Furthermore, Hesiod also played with the verbal likeness between Nereus and his last daughter Νημερτής Nemertes ' Unerring ' , whose name also bears the negative prefix νη‑ . Another possible etymology could be from νηρόν , nerón ' (fresh) water or fish ' , which

522-514: A feast, inviting them to sit; they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were permanently ensnared. When Heracles had pulled Theseus first from his chair, some of his thigh stuck to it (this explains the supposedly lean thighs of Athenians), but the Earth shook at his attempt to liberate Pirithous, whose desire to have the goddess for himself was so insulting he was doomed to stay behind. Heracles found Hades and asked permission to bring Cerberus to

609-408: A lion to Zeus, but if he did not return within 30 days or if he died, the boy would sacrifice himself to Zeus. Another version claims that he met Molorchos, a shepherd who had lost his son to the lion, saying that if he came back within 30 days, a ram would be sacrificed to Zeus. If he did not return within 30 days, it would be sacrificed to the dead Heracles as a mourning offering. While searching for

696-463: A little while. Atlas could get the apples because, in this version, he was the father or otherwise related to the Hesperides. When Atlas returned, he decided that he did not want to take the heavens back and instead offered to deliver the apples himself, but Heracles tricked him by agreeing to remain in place of Atlas on the condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily while Heracles adjusted his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Heracles reneged and walked away with

783-471: A man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, yet fearing to oppose his father, Zeus. Eventually, Heracles placed himself at Eurystheus's disposal. Of the twelve labours performed by Heracles, six were located in the Peloponnese , culminating with the rededication of Olympia . Six others took the hero farther afield, to places that were, according to Ruck and Staples, "all previously strongholds of Hera or

870-452: A many-headed snake which Hera had raised with the sole purpose of slaying Heracles. Upon reaching the swamp near Lake Lerna , where the hydra dwelt, Heracles attacked the hydra's several heads, but each time one of its heads was removed, a new head (or two) would grow back. Additionally, during the fight, a giant crab came to assist the Hydra by biting Heracles on the foot. Heracles was able to kill

957-540: A mortal fisherman living in the Boeotian city of Anthedon . He found a magical herb which could bring the fish he caught back to life, and decided to try eating it. The herb made him immortal, but also caused him to grow fins instead of arms and a fish's tail instead of legs (though some versions say he simply became a merman -like being), forcing him to dwell forever in the sea. Glaucus was initially upset by this side-effect, but Oceanus and Tethys received him well and he

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1044-764: A naval battle between the Argonauts and the Etruscans , he fell into the sea and by the will of Zeus became a sea god. Alexander of Aetolia , cited in Athenaeus, related that the magical herb grew on the island Thrinacia sacred to Helios and served as a remedy against fatigue for the sun god's horses. Aeschrion of Samos informed that it was known as the "dog's-tooth" and was believed to have been sown by Cronus . Athenaeus, referring to Aristotle 's non-extant Constitution of Delos , related that Glaucus settled in Delos together with

1131-592: A single ship, while Herodotus states that there were three, and in a late account there were nine. Apollodorus relates that on the way to Themiscyra , where the Amazons lived, he and his crew stopped at the island of Paros , where several of the sons of Minos lived; when these sons killed two of Heracles' companions, he retaliated by murdering them. When he began threatening others, he was offered two of Minos' grandchildren, Alcaeus and Sthenelus , whom he took into his crew. Continuing on their voyage, they next arrived at

1218-478: A snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them on his cot as if they were toys. Astonished, Amphitryon sent for the seer Tiresias , who prophesied an unusual future for the boy, saying he would vanquish numerous monsters. Heracles married Megara, eldest daughter of King Creon of Thebes . However, in a fit of madness induced by Hera, Heracles killed Megara and their children. According to Euripides 's play Herakles , however, it

1305-411: A spring and rubbed it with a bunch of grass that was growing about. The herb brought the hare back to life. Glaucus then tasted it himself and fell into a state of "divine madness", in which state Zeus made him fling himself into the stormy sea. Athenaeus also informs that in yet another version followed by Possis of Magnesia, Glaucus (rather than Argus ) was the builder and the pilot of Argo . During

1392-456: A staff of authority. He was also shown in scenes depicting the flight of the Nereides as Peleus wrestled their sister Thetis. In Aelian 's natural history, written in the early third century, Nereus was also the father of a watery consort of Aphrodite and lover of Poseidon named Nerites who was transformed into "a shellfish with a spiral shell, small in size but of surpassing beauty." Nereus

1479-461: A stone and even tried using the stone itself. Finally, Athena, noticing the hero's plight, told Heracles to use one of the lion's own claws to skin the pelt. Others say that Heracles' armor was, in fact, the hide of the Lion of Cithaeron . When he returned on the 30th day carrying the carcass of the lion on his shoulders, King Eurystheus was amazed and terrified. Eurystheus forbade him to ever again to enter

1566-411: A terrible monster with twelve feet and six heads. Euanthes and Theolytus of Methymna also recorded an affair between Glaucus and Ariadne : according to Athenaeus who cites these authors, Glaucus seduced Ariadne as she was abandoned by Theseus on Dia ( Naxos ). Dionysus then fought Glaucus over Ariadne and overpowered him, binding his hands and feet with grape vines; he, however, released Glaucus when

1653-548: Is a contraction of the Greek adjective νεαρός , nearós ' new, fresh, young ' . It is commonly believed that the contraction of νεαρός to νηρός happened later than Hesiod; however, the contraction of ε and α to η is quite old, and is widespread over many Greek dialects. The name could also be related to the Hesychian glosses νηρίδας ' hollow rocks ' or νηρόν ' low-lying ' . Robert S. P. Beekes (2010) favors

1740-409: Is much less important than his daughters, mentioning that Herodotus offered "the Nereids, not Nereus, as an example of a divine name not derived from Egypt". In Hesiod's Theogony , which is where the name was first attested, Nereus is presented in immediate juxtaposition to Eris ; something that also extends to their children. First of all, there exists a feminine-masculine opposition. Also, Eris

1827-601: Is not known whether the name Nereus was known to Homer or not, but the name of the Nereids is attested before it, and can be found in the Iliad. Since Nereus only has relevance as the father of the Nereids, it has been suggested that his name could actually be derived from that of his daughters; while the derivation of the Nereids from Nereus, as a patronymic, has also been suggested. According to Martin Litchfield West (1966), Nereus

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1914-420: Is the oldest and most important child of Nyx , while Nereus is Pontus 's oldest and most important son. Another example is Hesiod's choice of verbs and adjectives used to describe Nereus in juxtaposition to Eris's children; such as ἀ-ψευδέα ' does-not-lie ' and ἀ-ληθέα ' does-not-forget ' , as opposed to Ψευδέα ' Lies ' and Λήθη ' Forgetfulness ' . This has prompted scholars to propose

2001-519: The Black Sea . Sources vary on who came with him: Hellanicus states that he was accompanied by all of the Argonauts , while Pindar mentions that Peleus came on the voyage, Philochorus considered Theseus to have been his companion, and an early Corinthian vase shows Iolaus and another figure named Pasimelon by his side. The number of ships they leave in also varies: Apollodorus says they went in

2088-477: The Hesperides and capturing Cerberus ), which Heracles also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve. In his labours, Heracles was sometimes accompanied by a male companion (an eromenos ), according to Licymnius and others, such as Iolaus , his nephew. Several of the labours involved the offspring (by various accounts) of Typhon and his mate Echidna , all overcome by Heracles. The order of

2175-551: The Mares of Diomedes from their owner . The mares' madness was attributed to their unnatural diet which consisted of the flesh of unsuspecting guests or strangers to the island. Some versions of the myth say that the mares also expelled fire when they breathed. The Mares, which were the terror of Thrace, were kept tethered by iron chains to a bronze manger in the now vanished city of Tirida and were named Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the yellow) and Deinos (or Deinus,

2262-499: The Nereids and would give prophecies to whoever asked for them. He also mentions, this time with reference to Nicander, that Apollo was believed to have learned the art of prophecy from Glaucus. An encounter of Glaucus with the Argonauts was described by Diodorus Siculus and Philostratus the Elder . When the Argonauts were caught in a storm, Orpheus addressed the Cabeiroi with prayer;

2349-548: The Old Man of the Sea is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named. He was never more manifestly the Old Man of the Sea than when he was described, like Proteus , as a shapeshifter with the power of prophecy, who would aid heroes such as Heracles who managed to catch him even as he changed shapes. Nereus and Proteus (the "first") seem to be two manifestations of the god of

2436-471: The Oracle of Delphi to atone, where he prayed to the god Apollo for guidance. Heracles was told to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, for ten years. During this time, he was sent to perform a series of difficult feats, called labours. Heracles was the son born by the mortal woman Alcmene after her affair with Zeus , the king of the gods, who had disguised himself as her husband Amphitryon . Alcmene, fearing

2523-605: The 'Goddess' and were entrances to the Netherworld". In each case, the pattern was the same: Heracles was sent to kill or subdue, or to fetch back for Eurystheus (as Hera's representative) a magical animal or plant. A famous depiction of the labours in Greek sculpture is found on the metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia , which date to the 460s BC. Eurystheus originally ordered Heracles to perform ten labours. Heracles accomplished these tasks, but Eurystheus refused to recognize two:

2610-514: The Amazons sowing seeds of distrust. She claimed the strangers were plotting to carry off the queen of the Amazons. Alarmed, the warrior women set off on horseback to confront Heracles. According to Diodorus Siculus , Aella was the first Amazon to charge Heracles. Her name, meaning "stormswift," signified her remarkable speed and agility, but even she could not withstand Heracles and was ultimately defeated. Believing that Hippolyta had betrayed him, Heracles, now convinced of treachery, killed her, took

2697-448: The Hydra's (here nine) heads—the middle one—was immortal, so when Heracles cut off this head, Heracles buried it and placed a great rock on top of it. Later, Heracles used one of his poisonous arrows to kill the centaur Nessus ; and Nessus's tainted blood was applied to the Tunic of Nessus , by which the centaur had his posthumous revenge. Both Strabo and Pausanias report that

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2784-506: The Lithuanian noun nėrõvė ' mermaid ' has been associated with the Nereids. Papachristophorou (1998) supported a derivation from the aforementioned Lithuanian verb, citing Pierre Chantraine (1968), while Tsantsanoglou (2015) considered the relation plausible. The name of the Nereids has survived in modern Greek folklore as νεράιδες , neráides ' fairies ' . In the Iliad ,

2871-528: The River Anthemus, but was slain by one of Heracles' poisoned arrows. Heracles shot so forcefully that the arrow pierced Geryon's forehead, "and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding its petals all at once." Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus. In Roman versions of the narrative, Heracles drove the cattle over the Aventine Hill on

2958-573: The Underworld, Heracles went to Eleusis to be initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries . He entered the Underworld with Hermes and Athena as his guides. While in the Underworld, Heracles met Theseus and Pirithous . The two companions had been imprisoned by Hades for attempting to kidnap his wife, Persephone . One tradition tells of snakes coiling around their legs, then turning into stone. Another says that Hades feigned hospitality and prepared

3045-454: The apples. According to an alternative version, Heracles slew Ladon , the dragon who guarded the apples, instead. Eurystheus was furious that Heracles had accomplished something that Eurystheus thought could not possibly be done. The twelfth and final labour was the capture of Cerberus , the multi-headed dog that was the guardian of the gates of the Underworld . To prepare for his descent into

3132-444: The belt, and returned to Eurystheus. The tenth labour was to obtain the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon . In Apollodorus' account, Heracles had to go to the island of Erytheia in the far west. On the way he became so frustrated at the heat that he aimed an arrow at the Sun . The sun-god Helios , impressed by his audacity, gave Heracles the golden cup that Helios used to sail across

3219-401: The centaur devoured his meat raw) and asked for wine. Pholus had only one jar of wine, a gift from Dionysus to all the centaurs on Mount Erymanthos. Heracles convinced him to open it, and the smell attracted the other centaurs. They did not understand that wine needs to be tempered with water, became drunk, and attacked Heracles. Heracles shot at them with his poisonous arrows, killing many, and

3306-429: The centaurs retreated all the way to Chiron 's cave. Pholus was curious why the arrows caused so much death. He picked one up but dropped it, and the arrow stabbed his hoof, poisoning him. One version states that a stray arrow hit Chiron as well. He was immortal, but he still felt the pain. Chiron's pain was so great that he volunteered to give up his immortality and take the place of Prometheus , who had been chained to

3393-404: The charge of his favored companion, Abderus , while he left to fight Diomedes. Upon his return, Heracles found that the boy was eaten. As revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes to his own horses and then founded Abdera next to the boy's tomb. In another version, Heracles, who was visiting the island, stayed awake so that he didn't have his throat cut by Diomedes in the night, and cut the chains binding

3480-460: The city; from then on he was to display the fruits of his labours outside the city gates. Eurystheus would then tell Heracles his tasks through a herald, not personally. Eurystheus even had a large bronze jar made for him in which to hide from Heracles if need be. Eurystheus then warned him that the tasks would become increasingly difficult. Heracles' second labour was to slay the Lernaean Hydra ,

3567-456: The combination of ἅλιος γέρων and Πρωτεύς ' Proteus ' . Besides Nereus and Proteus, the descriptive "Old Man of the Sea" was also used for other water deities in Greek mythology , who share several traits; such as Phorcys , Glaucus , and perhaps Triton . It is suggested that the "Old Man of the Sea" had at one time played a cosmogonic role comparable to that of Oceanus , and could have received different names in different places. It

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3654-451: The condition that Eurystheus himself come out and take it from him. The King came forth, but the moment that Heracles let the hind go, it sprinted back to its mistress with unparalleled swiftness. Before taking his leave, Heracles commented that Eurystheus had not been quick enough, outraging the King. Eurystheus was disappointed that Heracles had overcome yet another creature and was humiliated by

3741-578: The court had ruled. Heracles returned, slew Augeas, and gave his kingdom to Phyleus. The success of this labour was ultimately discounted as the rushing waters had done the work of cleaning the stables, and because Heracles was paid for doing the labour; Eurystheus determined that Heracles still had seven labours to perform. The sixth labour was to defeat the Stymphalian birds , man-eating birds with beaks made of bronze and sharp metallic feathers they could launch at their victims. They were sacred to Ares ,

3828-520: The court of Lycus in Mysia ; in a battle between Lycus and King Mygdon of Bebryces , Heracles killed the rival king and gained land from the Bebryces , and gifted it to Lycus, who named it Heraclea. All would have gone well for Heracles had it not been for Hera. Hippolyta, impressed with Heracles and his exploits, agreed to give him the belt and would have done so had Hera not disguised herself and walked among

3915-472: The court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera. After Heracles completed the first ten labours, Eurystheus gave him two more, claiming that slaying the Hydra did not count (because Iolaus helped Heracles) and neither did cleaning the Augean Stables (either because he was paid for the job or because the rivers did the work). The first additional labour was to steal three of the golden apples from

4002-440: The crab, but realizing that he could not defeat the hydra alone, he called on his nephew Iolaus (who had come with Heracles) for help. Working in tandem, once Heracles had removed a head (with his sword or club), Iolaus burned the stumps with a firebrand, preventing them from growing back. In such a way Heracles was able to kill the hydra, after which he dipped his arrows in the Hydra's poisonous blood. According to Apollodorus, one of

4089-408: The filth. Before starting on the task, Heracles had asked Augeas for one-tenth of the cattle if he finished the task in one day, and Augeas agreed, but afterwards Augeas refused to honour the agreement on the grounds that Heracles had been ordered to carry out the task by Eurystheus anyway. Heracles claimed his reward in court and was supported by Augeas' son Phyleus . Augeas banished them both before

4176-534: The first of the non- Peloponneisan labours, was to capture the Cretan Bull , father of the Minotaur . According to Apollodorus, Heracles sailed to Crete , asked King Minos for help, but Minos told Heracles to capture the bull himself, which he did. After showing the bull to Eurystheus, Heracles released the bull which ended up at Marathon . As the eighth of his labours Heracles was sent by King Eurystheus to steal

4263-498: The future site of Rome . The giant Cacus , who lived there, stole some of the cattle as Heracles slept, making the cattle walk backwards so that they left no trail, a repetition of the trick of the young Hermes . According to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past the cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In other versions, Cacus' sister Caca told Heracles where he was. Heracles then killed Cacus and set up an altar on

4350-448: The garden of the Hesperides . Heracles first caught the Old Man of the Sea , the shapeshifting sea god, to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located. In some variations, Heracles, either at the start or at the end of this task, meets Antaeus , who was invincible as long as he touched his mother, Gaia , the Earth. Heracles killed Antaeus by holding him aloft and crushing him in

4437-453: The god of war. Furthermore, their dung was highly toxic. They had migrated to Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia , where they bred quickly and took over the countryside, destroying local crops, fruit trees, and townspeople. Heracles could not go too far into the swamp, for it would not support his weight. Athena, noticing the hero's plight, gave Heracles a rattle which Hephaestus had made especially for

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4524-404: The hind as part of his penance, but promised to return it to the wild soon thereafter. Convinced by Heracles' earnestness, Artemis forgave him, foiling Eurystheus' plan. After bringing the hind to Eurystheus, Heracles was informed that it was to become part of the King's menagerie . Knowing that he must return the hind to the wild as he had promised Artemis, Heracles agreed to hand it over only on

4611-417: The hind while it slept, rendering it lame with a trapping net. Eurystheus commanded Heracles to catch the hind in the hope that it would enrage Artemis and lead her to punish the hero for his desecration of the sacred animal. As he was returning with the hind to present it to Eurystheus, Heracles encountered Artemis and her brother Apollo . He begged the goddess for forgiveness, explaining that he had snared

4698-415: The hind's escape, so he assigned Heracles another dangerous task. By some accounts, the fourth labour was to bring the fearsome Erymanthian Boar back to Eurystheus alive (there is no single definitive telling of the labours). On the way to Mount Erymanthos where the boar lived, Heracles visited Pholus ("caveman"), a kind and hospitable centaur and old friend. Heracles ate with Pholus in his cavern (though

4785-422: The horses once everyone was asleep. Having scared the horses onto the high ground of a knoll, Heracles quickly dug a trench through the peninsula, filling it with water and thus flooding the low-lying plain. When Diomedes and his men turned to flee, Heracles killed them with an axe (or a club ), and fed Diomedes' body to the horses to calm them. In yet another version, Heracles first captured Diomedes and fed him to

4872-533: The horses to Hera . In some versions, they were allowed to roam freely around Argos , having become permanently calm, but in others, Eurystheus ordered the horses taken to Olympus to be sacrificed to Zeus, but Zeus refused them, and sent wolves, lions, and bears to kill them. Roger Lancelyn Green states in his Tales of the Greek Heroes that the mares' descendants were used in the Trojan War , and survived even to

4959-464: The infant back to his mother, and he was subsequently raised by his parents. The child was originally given the name Alcides by his parents; it was only later that he became known as Heracles in an unsuccessful attempt to mollify Hera, with Heracles meaning Hera's "pride" or "glory". He and his mortal twin, Iphicles , were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his twin brother grabbed

5046-505: The jealousy of Zeus's wife Hera , exposed her infant son, who was taken by either Zeus or his daughter Athena (the protectress of heroes) to Hera, who did not recognize Heracles and nursed him out of pity. Heracles sucked so strongly that he caused Hera pain, and when she pushed him away, her milk sprayed across the heavens, forming the Milky Way . But with divine milk, Heracles had acquired supernatural strength. Either Zeus or Athena brought

5133-469: The labours given by the mythographer Apollodorus is: Diodorus Siculus gives a similar sequence of the labours, though the orders of the third and fourth, fifth and sixth, and eleventh and twelfth labours are swapped. Heracles wandered in the area until he came to the town of Cleonae . There he met a boy who said that if Heracles slew the Nemean lion and returned within 30 days, the town would sacrifice

5220-491: The latter disclosed his own name and origin. According to Mnaseas , cited by Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae , Glaucus named the island of Syme after his wife , when they settled the island; according to Aeschrion of Samos, Glaucus was the lover of the semi-historical Hydne . Glaucus was reported to have had male lovers as well: Nicander in Europia mentioned Nereus as one, while Hedylus of Samos (or Athens) wrote that it

5307-411: The lion, Heracles fletched some arrows to use against it, not knowing that its golden fur was impenetrable. When he found and shot the lion, firing at it with his bow, Heracles discovered the fur's protective property as the arrow bounced harmlessly off the creature's thigh. After some time, Heracles made the lion return to his cave. The cave had two entrances, one of which Heracles blocked; he then entered

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5394-517: The mares before releasing them. Only after realizing that their King was dead did his men, the Bistonians , attack Heracles. Upon seeing the mares charging at them, led in a chariot by Abderus, the Bistonians turned and fled. In all versions the horses are calmed by eating human flesh, giving Heracles the opportunity to bind their mouths shut and easily take them back to King Eurystheus, who dedicated

5481-510: The occasion. Heracles shook the rattle and frightened the birds into the air. Heracles then shot many of them with his arrows. The rest flew far away, never to return. In some versions of this story instead of the Augean stables being discounted it was the Stymphalian Birds labour for getting the help of Athena. The Argonauts would later encounter them. The seventh labour, also categorised as

5568-407: The other. In those dark and confined quarters, Heracles stunned the beast with his club and, using his immense strength, strangled it to death. During the fight the lion bit off one of his fingers. Others say that he shot arrows at it, eventually shooting it in the unarmored mouth. After slaying the lion, he tried to skin it with a knife from his belt, but failed. He then tried sharpening the knife with

5655-423: The point when Telamon quarreled with Jason over Heracles and Polyphemus being left behind on the coast of Bithynia where Hylas had been lost. Glaucus reconciled the two by letting them know that it had been ordained for Heracles to return to Eurystheus 's court and complete his Twelve Labours , and for Polyphemus to found Cius , while Hylas had been abducted by a nymph and married her. Cf. also above for

5742-474: The sea from west to east each night. Heracles took the cup and rode it to Erytheia. When Heracles landed at Erytheia, he was confronted by the two-headed dog Orthrus . With one blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed Orthrus. Eurytion the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way. On hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields and three spears, and wearing three helmets. He attacked Heracles at

5829-506: The sea who was supplanted by Poseidon when Zeus overthrew Cronus . The earliest poet to link Nereus with the labours of Heracles was Pherekydes , according to a scholion on Apollonius of Rhodes . During the course of the 5th century BC, Nereus was gradually replaced by Triton , who does not appear in Homer, in the imagery of the struggle between Heracles and the sea-god who had to be restrained in order to deliver his information that

5916-466: The service of King Eurystheus . The episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. The establishment of a fixed cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem , now lost, written by Peisander (7th to 6th centuries BC). Having tried to kill Heracles ever since he was born, Hera induced a madness in him that made him kill his wife and children. Afterwards, Heracles went to

6003-461: The slaying of the Lernaean Hydra , as Heracles' nephew and charioteer Iolaus had helped him; and the cleansing of the Augean stables , because Heracles accepted payment for the labour (in other versions it was the Stymphalian Birds that were discounted instead of the Augean stables, for the help of Athena giving Heracles bronze rattles). Eurystheus thus set two more tasks (fetching the golden apples of

6090-402: The spot, later the site of Rome's Forum Boarium (the cattle market). To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them, and scatter them. Within a year, Heracles retrieved them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much that Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached

6177-556: The stench of the river Anigrus in Elis , making all the fish of the river inedible, was reputed to be due to the Hydra's venom, washed from the arrows Heracles used on the centaur. Angered by Heracles' success against the Nemean Lion and the Lernaean Hydra , Eurystheus (advised by Hera) devised an altogether different task for the hero, commanding Heracles to capture the Ceryneian Hind ,

6264-404: The task because his daughter Admete wanted to have the belt for herself. In earlier sources, however, the purpose of the labour was seemingly for Heracles to overcome the Amazons, with Eurystheus requiring the belt as evidence of his success. Accompanied by a group of companions, Heracles set sail for the land of Amazons, which was generally believed to be along the shore at the southern end of

6351-412: The terrible). Although very similar, there are slight variances in the exact details regarding the mares' capture. In one version, Heracles brought a number of volunteers to help him capture the giant horses. After overpowering Diomedes' men, Heracles broke the chains that tethered the horses and drove the mares down to sea. Unaware that the mares were man-eating and uncontrollable, Heracles left them in

6438-556: The time of Alexander the Great. After the incident, Eurystheus sent Heracles to bring back Hippolyta's Girdle . As his ninth labour, Heracles travelled to the land of the Amazons to bring back the Belt of Hippolyta , the queen of the Amazons . According to Apollodorus, the belt was gifted to Hippolyta by her father Ares , as an emblem of her position as queen. In his account, Eurystheus set Heracles

6525-441: The top of a mountain to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle . Prometheus' torturer, the eagle, continued its torture on Chiron, so Heracles shot it dead with an arrow. It is generally accepted that the tale was meant to show Heracles as being the recipient of Chiron's surrendered immortality. However, this tale contradicts the tradition that Chiron later taught Achilles . The tale of the centaurs sometimes appears in other parts of

6612-428: The twelve labours, as does the freeing of Prometheus. Heracles had visited Chiron to gain advice on how to catch the boar, and Chiron had told him to drive it into thick snow, which sets this labour in mid-winter. Heracles caught the boar, bound it, and carried it back to Eurystheus, who was frightened of it and ducked down in his half-buried storage pithos , begging Heracles to get rid of the beast. The fifth labour

6699-468: The version that made Glaucus an Argonaut himself. In Euripides 's play Orestes , Glaucus appeared in front of Menelaus on the latter's voyage home, announcing to him the death of his brother Agamemnon by the hand of Clytaemnestra . According to Ovid and Hyginus , Glaucus fell in love with the beautiful nymph Scylla and wanted her for his wife, but she was appalled by his fish-like features and fled onto land when he tried to approach her. He asked

6786-522: The waves." Nereus was known for his truthfulness and virtue: But Pontos, the great sea, was father of truthful Nereus who tells no lies, eldest of his sons. They call him the Old Gentleman because he is trustworthy, and gentle, and never forgetful of what is right, but the thoughts of his mind are mild and righteous. The Attic vase-painters showed the draped torso of Nereus issuing from a long coiling scaly fishlike tail. Bearded Nereus generally wields

6873-559: The wind ceased, and Glaucus appeared. He followed the Argo for two days and prophesied to Heracles and the Dioscuri their future adventures and eventual deification. He addressed other members of the crew individually as well, especially noting that he was sent to them thanks to Orpheus's prayer, and instructing them to further pray to the Cabeiroi. In Apollonius Rhodius 's version, Glaucus appeared at

6960-446: The witch Circe for a potion to make Scylla fall in love with him, but Circe fell in love with him instead. She tried to win his heart with her most passionate and loving words, telling him to scorn Scylla and stay with her. But he replied that trees would grow on the ocean floor and seaweed would grow on the highest mountain before he would stop loving Scylla. In her anger, Circe poisoned the pool where Scylla bathed, transforming her into

7047-474: Was employed by the vase-painters, independent of any literary testimony. In a late appearance, according to a fragmentary papyrus , Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climacteric battle of Issus (333 BC), and resorted to prayers, "calling on Thetis , Nereus and the Nereids, nymphs of the sea, and invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into

7134-442: Was father to Thetis , one of the Nereids, who in turn was mother to the great Greek hero Achilles , and Amphitrite , who married Poseidon . Twelve Labours The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( Ancient Greek : ἆθλοι , âthloi Latin : Labores ) are a series of tasks carried out by Heracles , the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised as Hercules . They were accomplished in

7221-646: Was not until after Heracles had completed his labours and on his return from the Underworld that he murdered Megara and his children. After recovering his sanity, Heracles deeply regretted his actions; he was purified by King Thespius , then traveled to Delphi to inquire how he could atone for his actions. Pythia , the Oracle of Delphi, advised him to go to Tiryns and serve his cousin, King Eurystheus of Mycenae, for twelve years, performing whatever labours Eurystheus might set him; in return, he would be rewarded with immortality. Heracles despaired at this, loathing to serve

7308-632: Was out of love for Melicertes that Glaucus threw himself into the sea. Yet according to Nicanor of Cyrene 's Change of Names , Glaucus and the deified Melicertes were one and the same. It is not known if Glaucus had any children, but Pausanias mentions Glaucus of Carystus as an alleged descendant of Glaucus the sea god. Virgil seems to indicate the Cumaean Sibyl , Deiphobe, as a daughter of Glaucus. Nereus In Greek mythology , Nereus ( / ˈ n ɪər i ə s / NEER -ee-əs ; Ancient Greek : Νηρεύς , romanized :  Nēreús )

7395-455: Was quickly accepted among the deities of the sea, learning from them the art of prophecy . John Tzetzes adds to the above story that Glaucus became "immortal, but not immune to aging". In an alternate, non-extant version cited in Athenaeus (with reference to Nicander 's Aetolian History ), Glaucus chased a hare on Mount Oreia until the animal fell down almost dead, then carried his prey to

7482-604: Was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea ) and Gaia ( the Earth ), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids ) and a son ( Nerites ), with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea . The name Nereus is absent from Homer 's epics; the god's name in the Iliad is the descriptive ἅλιος γέρων ' Old Man of the Sea ' , and in the Odyssey

7569-413: Was to clean the stables of King Augeas . This assignment was intended to be both humiliating and impossible, since these divine livestock were immortal, and had produced an enormous quantity of dung. The Augean ( / ɔː ˈ dʒ iː ə n / ) stables had not been cleaned in over 30 years, and over 1,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out

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