The Poems of Hesiod

by Hesiod

  of all mortals, surely Amphitryon offended the blessed immortals,

  who live on Olympos, when he came to well-fortified Thebes,

  leaving TIRYNS, that well-founded city, after killing Elektryon

  because of some wide-browed cattle. And he came to Kreon

  and long-robed Heniochê,75 who welcomed him and offered him

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  all kinds of things, as is right for suppliants, and they honored

  him in their hearts even more. He lived rejoicing in the fine-ankled

  daughter of Elektryon, his wife.

  “Presently, as the years rolled along,

  we were born, unlike in body and mind, I and your father.

  Zeus took away his good sense and he went off, leaving behind

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  his house and our parents, to do honor to the wicked Eurystheus

  —cruel man!82 Surely he groaned bitterly later on, enduring

  his mad folly, but it cannot be taken back. But for me some god

  has ordained harsh contests.

  “Come, my friend, quickly take the scarlet

  reins of the swift-footed horses! Magnify greatly the boldness

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  in your heart, and guide straight the fast chariot and the strong,

  swift-footed horses. Do not fear at all the din of mankilling

  Ares, who now rages, shouting around the sacred woods of Phoibos

  Apollo, the far-darting king. Though he is strong, he shall have

  his fill of war!”

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  Then the faultless Iolaos answered him: “My friend,

  surely the father of men and gods does you great honor,

  and so does the bull-like Shaker of the Earth92 as well,

  who holds the battlements of Thebes and protects the city—

  so strong and powerful is this man whom they bring into

  your hands so that you may win great glory. But come,

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  put on your armor of war so that we can wage battle,

  as quickly as possible bringing together the chariot of Ares

  and our own. For Kyknos shall not frighten the fearless son

  of Zeus, nor the son of Iphiklês, but I think that he will flee

  the two descendants of blameless Alkidês100 who are near

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  to him, longing to raise up the cry of war, which they love

  more than a feast.”

  So he spoke, and the powerful Herakles

  smiled, taking pleasure in his heart; for he had spoken to him

  words most pleasing. And he spoke words in reply that went

  like an arrow: “O Iolaos, hero, nurtured of Zeus, the savage

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  fight is not far off ! Even as you were valorous before, so now

  wheel about in every direction the great horse, dark-maned

  Arion,108 and help me as much as you are able.”

  So speaking,

  he placed his shinguards of shining mountain-bronze, a famous

  gift of Hephaistos, around his shins. Then he put his breastplate

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  around his chest—beautiful, golden, fancily wrought,

  which Pallas Athena, the daughter of Zeus, had given him

  when he was first about to set out on his trying contests.

  Around his shoulders the terrible man placed the iron

  that defends against ruin. Across his chest he cast behind

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  him a hollow quiver. There were many arrows in it, shivery,

  the givers of speechless destruction. In front they held death,

  trickling with tears. The shafts were smooth and very long,

  and at their ends they were covered by the feathers of a reddish-brown

  eagle. He took up his mighty spear, sharpened with a shining

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  bronze point, and he placed a well-made helmet on his powerful head,

  cunningly made of steel,122 that guarded the head of godlike Herakles.

  He took up in his hands his shield, all glittering,

  nor could anyone break through it or crush it by a blow—a marvel

  to see! The whole thing shone in a circle with alabaster

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  and white ivory and electrum. It was brilliant with shining gold

  and there were plates of lapis lazuli set into it.

  In the middle

  was unspeakable Fear, made of steel, glaring backwards with eyes

  shining with fire. His mouth was filled with teeth glowing white

  —terrible, monstrous!—and over his shaggy brow flew terrible Strife,130

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  marshaling the throng of men, savage, who takes away the mind

  and the senses of men who wage war against the son of Zeus.

  Their breath-souls pass away beneath the earth, and their bones,

  when the skin around them is rotted, decay on the black earth

  beneath parching Sirius.135

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  Upon it were also embossed Pursuit

  and Rally, and Din, and Murder, and Mankilling blazed forth.

  Strife also, and Clamor were dashing about. Through the fight Deadly

  Fate, holding them by the feet, dragged this one alive, though recently

  wounded, and that one without any wounds, and another dead.

  Around her shoulders she wore a cloak dark with the blood

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  of men, glaring terribly and roaring with a rasping sound.

  There were the heads of savage snakes, unspeakable,

  twelve of them that put to flight the tribes of men upon the earth,

  whoever made war face-to-face against the son of Zeus.

  There was a gnashing of teeth whenever the son of Amphitryon

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  made war, and these wondrous deeds shone brightly forth.

  Something like spots appeared on the terrible serpents, blue

  along the backs, and their jaws were black.

  There were hordes

  of wild boars, and lions staring one at another, angry and aggressive.

  The boars were arranged in rows, and neither side trembled, but both

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  bristled on their necks. Already a great lion lay between them,

  and there were two boars on either side deprived of life,

  and from them dark blood dripped down to the ground.

  They lay with their necks outstretched, killed by the shaggy

  lions. Both sides were roused still more to fight in anger,

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  the wild boars and the bright-eyed lions.

  There was the battle

  of the Lapith spearmen gathered around King Kaineus,

  and Dryas and Peirithoös and Hopleus and Exadios and Phaleros

  and Prolochos and Mopsos son of Ampykê of Titaros, the offspring

  of Ares, and Theseus the son of Aegeus, like unto the gods.160 They

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  were made of silver, with golden armor protecting their bodies.

  On the other side, opposite them, were gathered the centaurs

  around great Petraios and Asbolos, the bird-seer, and Arktos,

  and Oureos, and black-haired Mimas, and the two sons of Peukeus,

  Perimedes and Dryalos, made of silver, holding fir trees of gold

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  in their hands.166 They pressed against one another as if they were

  alive and stabbed in the hand-to-hand with spears and boughs of fir.

  Figure 20. The Lapith Kaineus being destroyed by a centaur. On the left the centaur, half horse and half man, long-haired, and bearded, attacks with a tree branch, the centaur’s standard weapon. Kaineus, whose name is written above him, holds an inverted shield decorated with a snake(?) to parry the blow. He wears a helmet and breastplate and is armed with a sword. The ground line runs through his knees because the centaur is pounding him into the ground. Athenian oil
jar, ca. 500–490 B.C. Musée du Louvre, Paris (Photo: Bibi Saint-Pol; 15 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaineus_Kentauros_Louvre_CA2494_n1.jpg)

  And on the shield stood the swift horses of grim Ares,

  made of gold, and death-dealing Ares himself, who wears

  the spoils, holding a spear in his hands and urging on the fighters,

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  red with blood as if he were killing living men, standing

  in his chariot. Next to him stood Fear and Panic, longing

  to plunge into the war of men.

  There too stood Tritogeneia,173

  leader of the host, the daughter of Zeus, looking like one

  who is eager to prepare for battle, holding a spear in her hands

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  and a golden helmet, with the goatskin fetish wrapped around

  her shoulders. She was heading toward the dread conflict.

  And there was the sacred company of the deathless ones.

  In the middle, the son of Zeus and Leto played pleasantly

  on his golden lyre. And there was the holy seat of the gods,

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  Olympos, and their assembly, and boundless riches were spread

  around in the gathering of the deathless ones. Goddesses began

  the song, the divine Muses of PIERIA, like singers of pure voice.

  And on it was a harbor, safe haven from the resistless sea,

  made of refined tin in a circle, seemingly with turbulent waves.

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  There were many dolphins in its middle, rushing here and there,

  fishing, as if they were swimming. Two dolphins made of silver

  were spouting and eating the scaly fish. Beneath, fish made

  of bronze fled in fear from them, but on the shore sat a fisherman,

  watching. He had a net for fish in his hands, seeming

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  as if he were about to cast it out.

  Figure 21. A centaur tries to carry off Hippodameia (here called Laodameia) at her wedding to the Lapith king Peirithoös. On the left, Peirithoös, in “heroic nudity,” a cloak over his shoulders, draws his sword. Laodameia/Hippodameia, dressed in a wedding gown with necklace and tiara, looks for help to the groom, Peirithoös, while the centaur, holding his tree-branch weapon, holds her by the arm and shoulder. The centaur wears a leopard skin around his shoulders and a crown of ivy leaves in his hair. To the far right, the Athenian hero Theseus raises his club against the beast. To the far left, a bridesmaid flees. The figures are labeled. South Italian red-figure wine-mixing bowl, ca. 350–340 B.C. British Museum, London (Photo: Jastrow; https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Perithoos_Hippodameia_BM_VaseF272.jpg)

  There too was the son

  of Danaê of the beautiful hair, the horseman Perseus, nor did

  his feet touch the shield, though they were not far from it,

  a great marvel to relate, because he was nowhere supported.

  For thus did the famous Lame One195 make him of gold with

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  his hands. On his feet he had winged sandals. Around his shoulder

  he wore a black-sheathed sword suspended from a bronze strap.

  He flew like a thought. The head of a terrible monster covered

  all of his back, the Gorgon. A pouch ran around it, a marvel

  to see, made of silver. Bright tassels of gold hung down from it.

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  The fearful helmet of Hades covered the temples of the king,

  having the dread darkness of night.202 Perseus himself, the son

  of Danaê, was stretched out, looking like one who hastens

  and shudders. The Gorgons rushed on after him, not to be approached,

  unspeakable, longing to take hold of him. And as they ran

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  on the pale steel, the shield rang out with a great clanging,

  sharp and clear. Two snakes hung down from their girdles,

  their heads arched forward. They flickered with their tongues,

  and their teeth gnashed with strength, and their eyes glared fiercely.

  On the terrible heads of the Gorgons great Fear was quaking.210

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  Above them, men were fighting in their warlike armor,

  some warding off destruction on behalf of their city and their parents,

  others anxious to sack the city. Many lay on the ground, but more,

  still engaged in the conflict, fought on. The women on the well-built

  towers, made of bronze, were crying shrilly, and they tore at their

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  cheeks like living beings—the work of famous Hephaistos!

  The men who were elders, on whom old age had taken its grip,

  were gathered in groups outside the gates. They held up their hands

  to the blessed gods in fear for their sons, who were engaged in battle.

  Figure 22. In one of the earliest representations of myth in Greek pottery, a Gorgon pursues Perseus after his murder of her sister, Medusa. (The beheaded Medusa and another Gorgon are on the other side of the pot, followed by Hermes and Athena; in front of Perseus is a yoked chariot in a disconnected scene of two hoplites fighting.) The Gorgon wears magic sandals, is winged, and has a wide-open mouth, a pug nose, staring deadly eyes, and snakes for hair. Perseus too wears magic sandals and a cap perhaps meant to represent the helmet of Hades. He carries a sword slung from his shoulder. Usually in such representations Medusa’s head is shown in a pouch, but not here. Black-figure wine-mixing bowl from Etruria, ca. 580 B.C.; Musée du Louvre, Paris (Photo: Bibi Saint-Pol; https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Dinos_Gorgon_Painter_Louvre_E874.jpg)

  The black Fates were with them—grinding their white teeth,

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  with ferocious eyes, awful, reeking of blood, unapproachable

  —and they were struggling for those who were falling, for they all desired

  to drink their black blood. When they first caught a man lying

  on the ground, or falling freshly wounded, one of them clasped her huge

  claws around him, and his breath-soul would go down to Hades,

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  to cold Tartaros.

  When they had satisfied their hearts with a man’s blood,

  and they threw him behind them, they would rush again into the tumult

  and the fray. Klotho and Lachesis stood over them. Atropos was

  of a smaller size, not a large god, but nonetheless she was superior

  to the others, and the oldest. All of them made a fierce fight over

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  one man, glaring evilly at one another with angry eyes, and they

  equaled one another with their claws and their vicious hands.

  Beside them stood Death Mist233—gloomy and dread, pale,

  dried up, collapsed from hunger, with fat knees. Long nails grew

  from her hands, snot ran from her nose, and blood dripped from

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  her cheeks to the ground. She stood there with a monstrous grin.

  Mounds of dust soaked with tears were piled on her shoulders.

  Beside that was a city of men with fine towers. Seven towers

  made of gold, fitted to the lintels, guarded it.239 The men took their

  pleasure in festivals and dances. Some brought a bride to her husband

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  in a wagon with fine wheels, and the bridal song rose high.

  From afar rolled the blaze of burning torches in the hands of female

  slaves, and they went ahead, taking delight in the revelry.

  After them came the chorus of dancers. The men sent forth

  their song from tender mouths accompanied by shrill panpipes,

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