Heraklesova krivda in služenje Omfali

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Heraklesova krivda in služenje Omfali

1. After his labors, Heracles came to Thebes and gave Megara in marriage to Iolaus. Wishing to marry again himself, he learned that Eurytus, ruler of Oechalia, had offered the hand of his daughter Iole as a prize to anyone who could defeat him and his sons in archery. So he went to Oechalia and proved himself their superior with the bow, but did not win the bride. Iphitus, the eldest of the sons, urged that Iole be given to Heracles, but Eurytus and the others refused, saying they feared that if he fathered children, he would once again kill them.

2. Not long afterward, when Autolycus stole some cattle from Euboea, Eurytus believed that Heracles was responsible. Iphitus, however, did not believe it and went to see Heracles. He met him on his return from Pherae, where he had rescued Alcestis from death and restored her to Admetus, and asked him to help search for the cattle. Heracles agreed and welcomed him as a guest, but then, seized once more by madness, hurled him from the walls of Tiryns. Wishing to be purified of the murder, he went to Neleus, the ruler of Pylos. Neleus turned him away because of his friendship with Eurytus, so Heracles went to Amyclae and was purified by Deiphobus, son of Hippolytus. But a terrible illness afflicted him because of the murder of Iphitus, and he went to Delphi to ask how he might be freed from it. When the Pythia refused to give him an oracle, he set about plundering the temple and carried off the tripod, intending to establish an oracle of his own.

Apollo fought with him, but Zeus hurled a thunderbolt between them. When they had been parted in this way, Heracles received an oracle declaring that he would be freed from his illness if he were sold into slavery, served for three years, and gave the purchase price to Eurytus as compensation for the murder.

3. After this oracle had been given, Hermes put Heracles up for sale. He was bought by Omphale, daughter of Iardanus, queen of the Lydians, to whom her husband Tmolus had left the kingdom at his death. Eurytus refused to accept the purchase money when it was brought to him. While serving Omphale, Heracles captured and bound the Cercopes near Ephesus. At Aulis he killed Syleus, who forced passing strangers to dig in his vineyard, together with his daughter Xenodoce, and burned the vines, roots and all. Putting in at the island of Doliche, he saw the body of Icarus being washed ashore and buried it, renaming the island Icaria instead of Doliche. In return for this, Daedalus made a lifelike statue of Heracles at Pisa. Coming upon it at night and failing to recognize it, Heracles took it for a living creature and struck it with a stone.

It is said that during the time he served Omphale, the voyage to Colchis and the hunt for the Calydonian boar took place, and Theseus came from Troezen and cleared the Isthmus of its evildoers.

4. After his servitude, now freed from his illness, Heracles gathered a force of valiant men who volunteered for the expedition and sailed against Ilium with eighteen fifty-oared ships.

On reaching Ilium, he left Oicles to guard the ships and advanced against the city with the other champions. Laomedon came down to the ships with his forces and killed Oicles in battle, but was driven back by Heracles’ men and besieged. While the siege was in progress, Telamon breached the wall and was the first to enter the city, followed by Heracles. When Heracles saw that Telamon had entered first, he drew his sword and rushed at him, unwilling that anyone should be thought his superior. Realizing this, Telamon began gathering stones that lay nearby. When Heracles asked what he was doing, he said he was building an altar to Heracles the Glorious Victor. Heracles approved. After taking the city and shooting down Laomedon and all his sons except Podarces, he gave Laomedon’s daughter Hesione to Telamon as a prize for valor, and allowed her to take whichever of the captives she wished. She chose her brother Podarces, but Heracles said that he must first become a slave, and only then could she give something in exchange for him and take him away. So, when he was put up for sale, she took the veil from her head and gave it as his ransom. Hence Podarces came to be called Priam.