Apollodorus Library 2.5.1
Ella Perry /
- Created on 2024-11-06 17:47:32
- Modified on 2024-11-18 14:21:58
- Translated by R.S. Smith and S.M. Trzaskoma 2007
- Aligned by Ella Perry
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
τοῦτο ἀκούσας ὁ Ἡρακλῆς εἰς Τίρυνθα ἦλθε , καὶ τὸ προσταττόμενον ὑπὸ Εὐρυσθέως ἐτέλει . πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἐπέταξεν αὐτῷ τοῦ Νεμέου λέοντος τὴν δορὰν κομίζειν · τοῦτο δὲ ζῷον ἦν ἄτρωτον , ἐκ Τυφῶνος γεγεννημένον . πορευόμενος οὖν ἐπὶ τὸν λέοντα ἦλθεν εἰς Κλεωνάς , καὶ ξενίζεται παρὰ ἀνδρὶ χερνήτῃ Μολόρχῳ . καὶ θύειν ἱερεῖον θέλοντι εἰς ἡμέραν ἔφη τηρεῖν τριακοστήν , καὶ ἂν μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς θήρας σῶος ἐπανέλθῃ , Διὶ σωτῆρι θύειν , ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ , τότε ὡς ἥρωι ἐναγίζειν . εἰς δὲ τὴν Νεμέαν ἀφικόμενος καὶ τὸν λέοντα μαστεύσας ἐτόξευσε τὸ πρῶτον · ὡς δὲ ἔμαθεν ἄτρωτον ὄντα , ἀνατεινάμενος τὸ ῥόπαλον ἐδίωκε . συμφυγόντος δὲ εἰς ἀμφίστομον σπήλαιον αὐτοῦ τὴν ἑτέραν ἐνῳκοδόμησεν εἴσοδον , διὰ δὲ τῆς ἑτέρας ἐπεισῆλθε τῷ θηρίῳ , καὶ περιθεὶς τὴν χεῖρα τῷ τραχήλῳ κατέσχεν ἄγχων ἕως ἔπνιξε , καὶ θέμενος ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἐκόμιζεν εἰς Κλεωνάς . καταλαβὼν δὲ τὸν Μόλορχον ἐν τῇ τελευταίᾳ τῶν ἡμερῶν ὡς νεκρῷ μέλλοντα τὸ ἱερεῖον ἐναγίζειν , σωτῆρι θύσας Διὶ ἦγεν εἰς Μυκήνας τὸν λέοντα . Εὐρυσθεὺς δὲ καταπλαγεὶς αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀνδρείαν ἀπεῖπε τὸ λοιπὸν αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσιέναι , δεικνύειν δὲ πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἐκέλευε τοὺς ἄθλους . φασὶ δὲ ὅτι δείσας καὶ πίθον ἑαυτῷ χαλκοῦν εἰσκρυβῆναι ὑπὸ γῆν κατεσκεύασε , καὶ πέμπων κήρυκα Κοπρέα Πέλοπος τοῦ Ἠλείου ἐπέταττε τοὺς ἄθλους . οὗτος δὲ Ἴφιτον κτείνας , φυγὼν εἰς Μυκήνας καὶ τυχὼν παρʼ Εὐρυσθέως καθαρσίων ἐκεῖ κατῴκει .
After
Heracles
heard
this
,
he
went
to
Tiryns
and
did
Eurystheus’
bidding
.
First
,
he
commanded
him
to
bring
back
the
skin
of
the
Nemean
Lion
.
This
animal
,
Typhon’s
offspring
,
was
invulnerable
.
When
he
was
going
after
the
lion
,
he
came
to
Cleonai
and
was
put
up
as
a
guest
by
Molorchos
,
a
poor
man
.
When
Molorchos
wanted
to
sacrifice
a
victim
,
Heracles
told
him
to
hold
off
for
thirty
days
:
if
he
returned
from
his
hunt
safe
and
sound
,
he
told
Molorchos
to
make
a
sacrifice
fit
for
a
god
to
Zeus
Soter
;
if
he
died
,
he
told
Molorchos
to
make
a
sacrifice
to
himself
fit
for
a
hero
.
When
he
got
to
Nemea
and
tracked
down
the
lion
,
he
first
shot
it
with
his
bow
.
When
he
found
that
it
was
invulnerable
,
he
brandished
his
club
and
pursued
it
.
When
it
fled
into
its
two-mouthed
cave
,
Heracles
blocked
up
one
entrance
and
went
after
the
beast
through
the
other
.
Getting
it
in
a
headlock
,
he
held
on
,
squeezing
until
he
choked
it
.
He
put
it
across
his
shoulders
and
brought
it
back
to
Cleonai
.
He
found
Molorchos
on
the
last
of
the
thirty
days
about
to
offer
the
victim
to
Heracles
in
the
belief
that
he
was
dead
.
Instead
,
Heracles
sacrificed
it
to
Zeus
Soter
and
then
took
the
lion
to
Mycenae
.
Terrified
by
Heracles’
demonstration
of
manly
courage
,
Eurystheus
forbade
Heracles
from
entering
the
city
in
the
future
and
ordered
him
to
display
his
labors
before
the
gates
of
the
city
.
They
say
that
out
of
fear
Eurystheus
also
had
a
bronze
storage
jar
installed
under
the
ground
for
him
to
hide
in
,
and
he
sent
a
herald
,
Copreus
,
the
son
of
Pelops
the
Eleian
,
to
command
Heracles
to
do
his
labors
.