Chapter 17 The Tale of Hercules - 17

Long ago, when Zeus married Hera, all the gods gave them gifts.Gaia, the goddess of the earth, was no exception, and brought from the west coast a large tree with luxuriant foliage, full of golden apples.The four daughters of Night, named Hesperides, were assigned to guard the sacred garden where the tree was planted.Helping them guard is Radon, a hundred-headed dragon born of Phorcus, the father of all monsters, and Keto, the daughter of the earth, who never sleeps.As it walked, it made a deafening noise all the way, because its hundred mouths made a hundred different sounds.According to the order of Eurystheus, Hercules must pluck the golden apple of Hesperides from the dragon.

Hercules embarked on a long and difficult journey.He walked aimlessly, and went wherever he went, by luck and chance, for he did not know where the Hesperides lived.He first came to Thessaly, where the giant Termeros lived.He has a hard head, and when he encounters a passing passenger, he will catch up with it and smash it to death with his head.But this time his head hit Hercules' head and was shattered.Heracles continued on his way, and when he came to the river Exiduros, he encountered a monster, Cyclonos, the son of Ares and Polyne.Hercules didn't know his background and asked him where the holy garden of Hesperides was.He didn't answer, and challenged Hercules, who was killed on the spot.

At this time, Ares, the god of war, rushed to avenge his dead son.Hercules had to fight.But Zeus did not want to see one of them bleed, because they were both his sons.He separated them with a bolt of lightning.Hercules went on, through Illyria, across the Eridanus, and came before a group of nymphs.They are the daughters of Zeus and Themis and live on the banks of the Eridanus River.Hercules asked them the way. "Go to Nereus, the old river-god," answered the goddesses. "He is a seer who knows everything. Assault him in his sleep, tie him up, and he will tell You are sincere."

Although the river god is very capable and can change into various forms, Hercules subdued the river god according to the goddess's suggestion.Hercules did not let him go until he found out where to find the golden apples of the Hesperides. Later, he traveled through Libya and Egypt.The king who ruled there was Poseidon, the god of war, and Posiles, the son of Lucy Anasa.After a nine-year drought, a Cyprus seer proclaimed a cruel oracle: only by sacrificing an outlander to Zeus every year would the land become fertile.In gratitude for the oracle he spoke, King Posiles killed him as the first sacrifice.Later, the barbaric king took such interest in this annual cruelty that all the foreigners who came to Egypt were killed.Hercules was also arrested, bound and sent to the altar dedicated to Zeus.Hercules broke loose and killed King Posiles, his sons and priests.

Hercules went on, and encountered many dangers along the way.He released the bound Prometheus on the Caucasus Mountain, and followed the direction shown by the liberated Titan to the place where Atlas carried the blue sky on his back.Near there is the sacred garden where the Hesperides guarded the golden apples.Prometheus advised Hercules not to pick the golden apples himself, but to send Atlas to complete the task. Hercules was right, and agreed to bear the sky himself while Atlas was gone.Atlas carried the burden of the sky to Heracles, and then went to the sacred garden.He tried to lure the dragon to fall asleep, and killed it with a knife. He also tricked the guard fairies, picked three golden apples, and happily returned to Hercules.

"However," he said to Hercules, "my shoulders have tasted enough of carrying the sky, and I feel the lightness of being unburdened, and I don't want to carry it any more." With that, he threw the golden apple on Heracles. On the grass in front of Les' feet, let him stand there with the heavy blue sky on his shoulders.Hercules devised a plan to get rid of the burden on his shoulders. "Hey, I want a cushion to rest on my head," he said to Atlas, "or else this burden will blow my head off." Atlas thought this was a reasonable request and agreed to carry it on his behalf for a while.He took the burden, and if he had to wait for Hercules to take his place, he would have had to wait for a long time, for Hercules had already picked up the golden apples from the meadow and hurried away.

Hercules brought the golden apples to King Eurystheus.To the King's dismay, this time Hercules came back alive, who he had hoped would die trying to pick the golden apples.In fact, he didn't like golden apples, so he gave them to Hercules.He offered it on the altar of Athena.The goddess sent these sacred fruits back to the original place, and let Hesperides continue to take care of them.