by Joe Corcoran
the woods with Hercules in pursuit.
Once again the hind soon outpaced Hercules, but once again Hercules was able to track the animal by reading the small signs she had left as she ran through the forest. The job was harder now that it was night, but the moon was bright, and just before dawn, Hercules caught up with his quarry. This time the hind had settled down to sleep, and Hercules took off his shoes and prepared his rope. He even checked the wind to make sure the hind would not smell him as he approached. Then he began to creep slowly forwards. He was sure that he would be able to reach the animal before it awoke, but this was a magical creature, and its senses were keener than any living deer. Before Hercules had crossed half the distance, the hind’s eyes flicked open. Hercules sprinted forward, threw the rope, and it would have landed round the hind’s neck, but she was up and off with lightning speed, and the lasso landed on the leaves of the forest floor.
Days passed, with the same pattern repeating itself again and again. Hercules would track the deer and it would escape. He would come close, but never quite manage to get a rope around the animal’s neck. All the time the hero and the hind were getting more and more tired. They were both strong and determined, but neither could go on forever without enough sleep or enough food. Who would have to stop first? Hercules was afraid it might be him, until the day came when he saw, rising above the trees, the peak of Mount Artemisium. The sight of his sister’s mountain gave him hope, and it also gave him an idea. He started to drive the hind towards the mountain. It took three more days and three more nights, but then they were on the mountain. The trees grew thinner and then stopped altogether as they went higher. Now the hind could not hide, but she was still faster than Hercules, always staying just out of reach as he chased her round the mountain top. Eventually, on the fourth day, Hercules had had enough.
“This ends now,” he bellowed, “I admit that I am not as good a hunter as Artemis - not by a long way. But I do have my talents, nevertheless.” So saying, he drew his bow and fired.
It seemed as if heaven itself held its breath as the arrow flew through the air. Had Hercules not taken a solemn oath to capture this animal unharmed? This was a gift from Zeus himself and here he was shooting an arrow into it. Had he been driven to madness again?
The arrow hit its target. The hind fell to the ground, and the world seemed to start again, as Hercules rushed forward.
But the deer was not dead. No, not even hurt. So skillfully had Hercules shot the arrow that it had passed cleanly through both forelegs of the deer, pinning them together but not drawing even one single drop of blood. Hercules dropped the rope over the head of the hind, then bent and broke the arrow in two, removing each half from each leg. Immediately the hind climbed back to her feet completely unharmed, just as Hercules had promised. She bowed her head to Hercules, acknowledging that she had been beaten and was now his servant. He in turn removed the rope from her neck and led the way back down the mountain to find the ford where he had asked Iolaus to wait.
The young man had waited and waited in the agreed place, despite his friend having taken much longer than he had expected. Maybe he would have waited there forever, such was his loyalty, but of course he was delighted, and not a little relieved, when he saw a familiar figure descending from the mountain. However, the delight soon turned to shock when he saw how Hercules had been changed by this challenge. The hero seemed smaller, as well as thinner, and his eyes were sunken in his grey, tired face. The hind, although tall, also looked to have been ravaged by her experience during the chase. Fortunately, Iolaus was very resourceful and thoughtful. He had prepared for this moment and, after greeting his friend and saying hello to the hind, he served a light stew for Hercules and some fresh hay for the deer. Once they had eaten their fill, both the man and the animal lay on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
For two more days they remained at the camp site by the ford. Iolaus tended to both Hercules and the hind, his nourishing food restoring their strength, and long hours of sleep building up their stamina. Although more rest would have been good, Hercules insisted that they start back to Troezen on the third day. The hind allowed Iolaus to harness her to the chariot, she had come to trust the young man just as Hercules himself had done, and the three were now the best of friends. With the hind doing the pulling, the horses were able to trot along behind the chariot, with only the lightest of loads to carry. At first they thought that they were having a holiday, but then the hind showed her speed and strength. Soon the horses were having to gallop to keep up, the sweat foaming on their flanks, and Iolaus had to ease up on the reins so that they wouldn’t get left behind. In less than two days they were back at Troezen, where Pittheus was waiting, and he was not pleased.
The Fourth Challenge: The Erymanthian Boar
As Hercules and Iolaus approached Troezen, they saw a group of horsemen riding out to meet them. Once the two parties got closer together, they could see that the lead rider was none other than King Pittheus himself. Hercules felt a chill of uncertainty pass through his body and Iolaus was grimly silent as they both knew that the king would not have left the city on a minor matter. Indeed, as he rode up to the chariot his face was stern and his eyes were serious.
“Last night,” began Pittheus without any pleasantries or greeting, “there was a terrible thunderstorm over the city. Lightning struck many buildings, and in some places this started fires that, mercifully, the citizens were able to control. When the storm died down, and we were finally able to sleep, the great god Zeus appeared to me in my dreams.” Hercules looked worried and Iolaus looked concerned as Pittheus continued, “Zeus said that he was displeased by the way in which you captured the hind. The weapons and practice of war, he said, had led you to madness and put the whole world at risk. The fact that you could not complete this last challenge without using your bow shows how little you have learnt and how much of the journey is left ahead.”
“What would Zeus have me do,” growled Hercules, “I have captured the hind and completed the challenge. I used the skills that I have and solved the problem in my own way, what’s wrong with that?” Then he looked past Pittheus to the city and saw that, here and there, trails of smoke could still be seen hanging above the places where fires had burnt. Maybe they marked the destroyed remains of houses, maybe one was the house of the boy who had mistaken him for a lion. “Was anyone hurt?” he asked softly.
“There were some slight burns, one man had his arm broken, but on the whole we were very lucky,” said the captain of the guard, who had ridden out with his king.
“We were lucky,” cut in Pittheus, “this time. Now it is time we made our own luck.” He fixed Hercules with his piercing gaze. “Hercules, although I don’t hold you responsible for our ill fortune, I cannot let you enter the city. Many of the citizens think that it would bring the wrath of Zeus down upon us once more and, who knows, they might be right.” Hercules nodded, his face showing nothing, but inside his stomach was churning. He had come to love Troezen almost as much as his own city of Thebes. More importantly, he had begun to think of the citizens as friends, and now it felt like they might be rejecting him.
“What must I do?” was all that he said.
“Your fourth challenge,” announced Pittheus, “is to capture the Erymanthian Boar and to do so without the use of weapons. You must return the boar to Troezen, unharmed, and we will make a home for it in the city parks.”. Hercules rubbed his thumb and forefinger along his chin, thinking about this. The Erymanthian Boar was said to be a fearsome creature, almost supernatural in strength and unrivalled in ferocity. Many brave men had hunted the boar, none had succeeded and only the lucky ones had escaped with their lives. He very much doubted that the king would want this creature anywhere near his city, once he had seen it at close quarters.
“May I enter the city?” asked Iolaus, interrupting Hercules’ thoughts, “I would like to gather provisions for our journey.” Then, when Pittheus had given his permission, Iolaus said to Hercules, “Let me take
the chariot and go to the city. You start off and I’ll catch you up.”
“Not this time,” replied Hercules, although he did step down from the chariot, leaving it to Iolaus, “I’ve had enough of stumbling around the woods looking for animals. This time I’m going to get some help. My friends the centaurs will know where to find this boar. They know all the forests and woods in this part of the world. However, they do not take kindly to strangers, so you should go straight to Erymanthus, while I go and meet the centaurs.”
Now, Iolaus had heard of centaurs. Half man and half horse, huge and strong, wise but wild. He longed to see them for himself, but he knew better than to argue with Hercules. Instead, he went off once more to prepare the chariot and load it with provisions, as Hercules set off on foot to find the centaurs. However, when he set off from the city towards Erymanthus, the temptation was too great for Iolaus. He did not stick to the road but swerved off into the woods. Leaving the chariot under the care of the hind, he followed the tracks that Hercules had left.
It did not take Hercules long to find the centaurs. He remembered that, at this