Chapter 23 The Tale of Hercules - 23

After Heracles made many heroic deeds in the Peloponnese Peninsula, he came to Aetolilai and Calydon to find King Onius.Deianira, the daughter of Onius, was so beautiful and charming that the suitors came to her, and she was stalked by a nasty suitor.Before she came to Calydon she dwelt in Pelo-Uron, another city in her father's kingdom.The river god Achelous admired Deianira's beauty and came to propose marriage.But he was ugly and frightening.He took the form of a bull at first, then a dragon with a shining tail, and finally, although he took the form of a minotaur, a stream of water flowed from under his shaggy jaw.Deianila was very frightened when he saw this grotesque suitor, and prayed desperately to the gods, asking for his death.But the river god pressed harder and harder, and her father was not unwilling to marry his daughter to Achelous, because the river god was a descendant of a god.At this moment, Hercules came to propose marriage.As early as when he was in the underworld, he had already heard his friend Meleageros talk about his sister's beauty.He knew that such a beautiful girl could not be obtained without a fierce struggle.The river god with horns on his head saw Hercules coming to compete for his beloved, and was so angry that he tried to confront Hercules with his horns.King Onius, seeing the fierce rivalry between the two suitors, did not want to hinder them, and he declared that he would give his daughter in marriage to the one who was victorious.

In the presence of the king, queen and their daughter Deianira, the two suitors fought valiantly.Hercules rushed from left to right, but failed for a long time. The huge bull head of the river god always avoided the opponent's blows again and again, looking for opportunities to push him to the ground with the bull's horns.Finally, they wrestled and fought hand-to-hand, arms twisting, feet stumbling, sweat pouring down their brows and bodies, and they were panting from exhaustion.In the end, the son of Zeus prevailed.He threw the river god violently and knocked him to the ground.The river god suddenly turned into a long snake. Hercules took a step forward and grabbed the snake's head.If the snake hadn't turned into a bull again, it would have really killed Hercules.Heracles would not let him slip away, he grabbed a horn and threw the bull as hard as he could, but one of the horns was broken in two. suitors.Later, Amarya, the sea nymph, poured various fruit juices, such as pomegranates and grapes, into the severed horns of Achelous, which healed his wounds and allowed him to grow new horns.

Hercules married Deianira, but the marriage did not change his way of life.He was always roaming and adventuring, as always.Once, he returned to his wife.However, he accidentally killed a page boy, so he had to flee again.The thing is like this: There is a servant boy named Oyunomos.When he hosted a banquet for distinguished guests at King Onius, due to his negligence, he did not invite the guests.Hercules wanted to teach him a little lesson, so he slapped him lightly, but the hero's hand was so strong that he killed the page on the spot.Although the king spared him, he had to go into exile, accompanied by his young wife and his youngest son, Hylos.