Ἡρακλεῖδαι
Children of Heracles
Euripides · Date unknown, c. 430 BC
Hunted from city to city by Eurystheus, the children of Heracles and old Iolaus take refuge at Marathon. Athens goes to war to protect them.
Persons, in order of appearance
- Ιο.Iolaus
- Κη.Copreus
- Χο.Chorus
- Δη.Demophon
- Πα.Macaria
- Θε.Servant
- Αλ.Alcmene
- Αγ.Messenger
- Ευ.Eurystheus
Translations
- E. P. Coleridgeprose · 1891 · aligned by line · with Diggle's Greek
- A. S. Wayverse · 1912 · aligned by speech · with Diggle's Greek
Full synopsis (tells the ending)
After Heracles' death his children and his old companion Iolaus are hunted from city to city by Eurystheus, king of Argos. They reach the altar at Marathon, and Demophon, king of Athens, agrees to defend them though it means war. An oracle demands that a girl of noble birth be sacrificed for the victory, and a daughter of Heracles offers herself. Athens wins; old Iolaus, made young for a day, captures Eurystheus. Heracles' mother Alcmene has him killed, against Athenian custom, and he promises that his grave will protect Attica.
Drawing: Line drawing after the 1843 plate of a black-figure amphora (Gerhard, Auserlesene griechische Vasenbilder II, Taf. XCVII, 1): Heracles brings the boar to Eurystheus, who hides in a storage jar, with a nymph and Iolaos at the left and Athena and Hermes at the right; retraced.