Chapter 18 The Tale of Hercules - 18

Eurystheus has never been able to get rid of his hated rival, but has helped him win greater honor.Many people are grateful to Hercules because he spared people a lot of suffering.And now the cunning king conceived one last adventure, beyond the power of any heroic power, to fight the dogs of hell and bring back Cerberus, the watchdog of Hades. .This dog has three heads. The dog's mouth is dripping with poisonous saliva, and its lower body has a dragon's tail. The hair on the head and back are all coiled poisonous snakes. To prepare for this terrible adventure, Hercules came to the city of Eleusis in Attica, where priests were versed in the secret ways of the Yin and Yang worlds.He first washed away the sin of killing the Centauros in this sacred place, and then the priest Oyu Morpeth taught the secret way.Hercules gained mystical powers and no longer feared the horrors of hell.In the city of Tenaron at the southern tip of the Peloponnese Peninsula, legend has it that there is an entrance to hell.He came here, led by Hermes, the god of the dead, descended into the abyss, and came to King Pluton, the capital of Hades.There are many sad ghosts wandering around in front of the city gate. When they see a flesh and blood person, they are frightened and run away.Only the spirits of the gorgons Medusa and Meleager dared to face the living.Just as Hercules swung his sword to kill Gorgon, Hermes grabbed his arm and told him that the soul of a dead man is an empty shadow and cannot be cut by the sword.Hermes also had a friendly conversation with the spirit of Meleager, and promised to send kind greetings to his sister Daeanira when he returned to the underworld.

As he approached the gates of Hades, Hercules saw his friends Theseus and Pirithous.Pirithous accompanied Theseus to the Underworld to woo Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.Both of them were chained by Pluton to the stone on which they sat and rested, for this insane idea.Seeing their old friend Hercules passing by, the two reached out to his rescue.They hope to return to the world through the power of Hercules.Hercules took Theseus by the hand and freed him from the chains.When he again tried to free Pirithous, he failed, because the earth began to shake violently under his feet.Further on, Hercules recognized Askaraphus again.He once slandered Persephone for stealing Hades' pomegranate, so he was turned into an owl by Persephone's mother Demeter.Demeter, angry at him for having damaged her daughter, threw a large stone on Askaraphus.Hercules removed the stone for him.In order to make the thirsty ghost drink a mouthful of bull's blood, Hercules killed one of Pluto's bulls, but this offended the shepherd Menoitius.He challenged Hercules to wrestle with him.Hercules hugged him and broke his ribs.Persephone, the queen of the underworld, hurried out to intercede, and he let Menotius go.

Pluto, king of the underworld, stood at the gate of the dead city and stopped Hercules, preventing him from entering.Hercules shot an arrow and hit Pluto on the shoulder, causing him to jump and scream like a mortal in pain.After he had tasted the bitterness, so when Hercules asked him to hand over the hell dog Cerberus, he did not refuse, but only put forward a condition: no weapons.Hercules agreed.He wore only a breastplate and a lion's skin, and went to hunt vicious dogs.At the mouth of the River Styx he saw the three-headed dog. It raised its three heads and barked wildly, echoing like thunder.He clamped three of the dog's heads between his legs, and threw his arms around the dog's neck to prevent it from escaping, but the dog's tail, which was quite a living dragon, tried to whip him and bite him.Hercules still held the dog's neck tightly, and finally subdued the vicious dog.He lifted the dog and took it out of Hades, and returned to the underworld by another exit near Tritzen in Argolis.When the hell dog Cerberus saw the sun, he was so scared that he spat out poisonous saliva and dripped it on the ground, so poisonous aconitum grew on the ground.Hercules chained Cerberus, brought him to Tiryns, and handed him over to Eurystheus.Eurystheus was so amazed that he could hardly believe his eyes.Only now did he believe that it was impossible for him to get rid of this son of Zeus.He had no choice but to resign himself to the arrangement of fate, and told Hercules to send the hell dog back to the underworld to its master.