Classical Mythology

(^544) THE GREEK SAGAS: GREEK LOCAL LEGENDS
Hercules Victor (The Farnese Hercules), by Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617). Engraving 1589;
published 1617. Goltzius's engraving shows the overmuscled body of the hero from the
rear, clutching the Apples of the Hesperides in his right hand. The two contemporary ob-
servers emphasize the vastness of his body silhouetted against the sky. The Latin iambic
lines (to the left and right of the caption) say: "I, Hercules, terror of the world, rest, weary
after subduing the three-formed king [Geryon] of further Spain and after taking the apples
from the turning-point of Hesperus, where the never-sleeping serpent had guarded them
in gardens of gold." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Henry Walters, 1917.)
In this version, Iolaiis killed Eurystheus, and his body, rather than that of
Eurystheus, protected the foreign land that had welcomed him—in this case
Thebes (which was Pindar's own city).
Alcmena herself also became associated with a cult. In one version, she died
in Thebes and was transported by Hermes to the Elysian Fields, where she mar-