Robert Graves starts the story of Heracles in an interesting place: a scene with cowmen fighting about rustled cattle.
Electryon, king of Mycenae, lost eight sons and his cattle in a big raid. He asked his nephew Amphitryon to mind the store while he got revenge. Electryon told Amphitryon he could marry his daughter Alcmene if he did a good job.
While Electryon was chasing rustlers, the king of Elis sent word that he’d recovered the cattle. Amphitryon had to pay a ransom to get them back.
When Electryon came back, he blew up and dressed Amphitryon down, asking sarcastic questions about the wisdom of paying thieves to return stolen cattle. Amphitryon, frustrated, threw his club at the nearest cow. It ricocheted off her horns and killed Electryon.
What has that to do with Heracles?
Amphitryon was banished. Alcmene went with him but wouldn’t let him touch her until he avenged her eight brothers. While Amphitryon was away, Zeus … well, the ancient Greeks conceived the god as a rascal and the father of Heracles.
Graves says Heracles was a peg on which people from all over the Greek world hung contradictory stories.
He pictures the original Heracles as a Dorian cattle king, the kind of fellow who grew up eating cornbread, as they say in Texas. When more sophisticated folks adopted him as a hero, he became versed in the humanities. As you might guess, I like the rustic guy.
• Robert Graves, The Greek Myths: 2; Penguin Books, 1968, pp. 84-90.
No comments:
Post a Comment