Heracles fighting Geryon, amphora by the E Group, ca.  540 BC, Louvre

In Greek mythology, Geryon (Geryones, Geyron), son of Chrysaor and Callirhoe and grandson of Medusa was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance In Greek mythology, Chrysaor ( Greek: Χρυσάωρ Khrusaōr; English translation: "He who has a golden armament " the In Greek mythology, Callirrhoe (often written Callirrhoë) was a naiad. In Greek mythology, Medusa ( Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa "guardian protectress" was a monstrous Chthonic female character gazing upon In Greek mythology, the Hesperides ( Greek:) are Nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world located near the Atlas mountains In Greek mythology, the Hesperides ( Greek:) are Nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world located near the Atlas mountains A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern Iberia. Tartessos (also Tartessus) was a harbor city and its surrounding culture on the south coast of the ^[1] Geryon was often described as a monster with human faces. Geryon had three heads and three bodies with a total of six arms. Some accounts state that he had six legs as well while others state that the three bodies were joined to one pair of legs. Only a papyrus fragment of Stesichorus' epic poem, Geryoneïs, portrays Geryon with bat like-wings. ^[2]Apart from these weird features, his appearance was that of a warrior. He owned a two-headed hound named Orthrus, which was the brother of Cerberus, and a herd of magnificent red cattle that were guarded by Orthrus, and a herder Eurytion, son of Erytheia. A hound is a type of Dog that assists Hunters by tracking or chasing the animal being hunted. For the genus of Jumping spiders, see Orthrus. In Greek mythology, Orthrus (also called Orthros, Orthos In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos ( Greek Κέρβερος Kérberos) the ker or Daimon of In Greek mythology Eurytion (or alternatively Eurythion) "widely-honoured" was a name attributed to six individuals In Greek mythology, the Hesperides ( Greek:) are Nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world located near the Atlas mountains ^[3]

The Tenth Labour of Heracles

In the fullest account in the Bibliotheke of Pseudo-Apollodorus (2. The Bibliotheca (in English: Library) in three books provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic Legends 5. 10) Heracles was required to travel to Erytheia, in order to obtain the Cattle of Geryon as his tenth labour. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or The Twelve Labours of Hercules (Greek Δωδεκαθλος, dodekathlos) age a series of archaic episodes connected by a later continuous narrative concerning On the way there, he crossed the Libyan desert^[4] and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun. Ancient Libya was the region west of the Nile Valley. It corresponds to what is now generally called Northwest Africa. In Greek mythology the Sun was personified as Helios (ˈhiliˌɑs ( Ἥλιος Latinized as Helius) Helios "in admiration of his courage" gave Heracles the golden cup he used to sail across the sea from west to east each night. Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of the vase-painters. The black-figure pottery ( Greek, ' μελανόμορφαmelanomorpha) technique is a style of ancient Greek pottery painting in which the decoration appears Such a magical conveyance undercuts any literal geography for Erytheia, the "red island" of the sunset.

When Heracles reached Erytheia, no sooner had he landed than he was confronted by the two-headed dog, Orthrus. For the genus of Jumping spiders, see Orthrus. In Greek mythology, Orthrus (also called Orthros, Orthos With one huge blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed the watchdog. Eurytion the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way. In Greek mythology Eurytion (or alternatively Eurythion) "widely-honoured" was a name attributed to six individuals

On hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields, three spears, and wearing three helmets. He pursued Heracles at the River Anthemus but fell a victim to an arrow that had been dipped in the venomous blood of the Lernaean Hydra, shot so forcefully by Heracles that it pierced Geryon's forehead, "and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding its petals all at once"^[5] With a shrill, despairing groan, Geryon swayed, then fell, nevermore to rise. In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra ( Greek: ( was an ancient nameless serpent -like Chthonic water beast that possessed numerous In some versions, Heracles tore Geryon's bodies into three separate pieces.

Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus. In Greek mythology, Eurystheus was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father In Roman versions of the narrative, on the Aventine hill in Italy, Cacus stole some of the cattle as Heracles slept, making the cattle walk backwards so that they left no trail, a repetition of the trick of the young Hermes. The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest In Roman mythology, Cacus was a fire-breathing monster and the son of Vulcan. Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and According to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past a cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In others, Caca, Cacus' sister, told Heracles where he was. In Roman mythology, Caca is the sister of Cacus, the son of Hephaestus. Heracles then killed Cacus, and according to the Romans, founded an altar where the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, was later held. The Forum Boarium was the Cattle ''forum venalium'' of Ancient Rome and the oldest forum that Rome possessed

To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them and scatter them. In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hera (ˈhɪərə or /ˈhɛrə/ Greek) or Here ( in Ionic and Homer The hero was within a year able to retrieve them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much, Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera.

Stesichorus' Geryoneïs

The poet Stesichorus wrote a song of Geryon (Geryoneïs) in the sixth century BC, which was apparently the source of this section in Bibliotheke; it contains the first reference to Tartessus. Stesichorus ( Ancient Greek:, English translation: "he who sets up the chorus" was a Greek lyric poet from Himera in Tartessos (also Tartessus) was a harbor city and its surrounding culture on the south coast of the From the fragmentary papyri found at Oxyrhyncus^[6] it is possible (although there is no evidence) that Stesichorus inserted a character, Menoites, who reported the theft of the cattle to Geryon. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus Oxyrhynchus (Ὀξύρρυγχος "sharp-nosed" ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic Geryon then had an interview with his mother Calirrhoa, who begged him not to confront Heracles. They appear to have expressed some doubt as to whether Geryon would prove to be immortal. The gods met in council, where Athena warned Poseidon that she would protect Heracles against Poseidon's grandson Geryon. Denys Page observes that the increase in representation of the Geryon episode in vase-paintings increased from the mid-sixth century and suggestes that Stesichorus' Geryoneïs provided the impetus. Sir Denys Lionel Page (born 11 May 1908 in Reading died 6 July 1978 in Tarset) was a British Classical scholar at This assumes the improbability that the vases and the poem are related.

The fragments are sufficient to show that the poem was composed in twenty-six line triads, of strophe, antistrophe and epode, repeated in columns along the original scroll, facts that aided Page in placing many of the fragments, sometimes of no more than a word, in their proper positions. Strophe ( Greek στροφή, turn bend twist, see also Phrase) is a concept in versification which properly Antistrophe ( Greek αντιστροφή, turn back) is the portion of an Ode sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east Epode, in verse, is the third part of an Ode, which followed the Strophe and the Antistrophe, and completed the movement A scroll is a roll of Papyrus, Parchment, or Paper which has been written drawn or painted upon for the purpose of transmitting information or using as

A Gustave Doré wood engraving of Geryon for The Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy

Catholic associations

Geryon is sometimes identified as a chthonic death-demon, mainly because of the association with the extreme western direction. Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος khthonios "of the earth" from khthōn "earth" pertaining to the Earth; earthy subterranean In Dante's Divine Comedy Geryon has become a winged beast with the tail of a scorpion but the face of an honest man. The Divine Comedy Scorpions are eight-legged Carnivorous Arthropods They are members of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. He dwells at the cliff between the seventh and eighth circles of Hell (the circles of violence and fraud, respectively). Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering

In popular culture

"Geryon the Timesteed" is a boss in the Playstation 2 game Devil May Cry 3, based on The Inferno. Devil May Cry 3 Dante's Awakening, released in Japan as Devil May Cry 3, is an Action game that was developed by Capcom Production It is a large warhorse who formerly belonged to a great demon-slayer, but swallowed too much demonic essence and was corrupted. It draws a funeral carriage equipped with spikes and missile launchers. It is likely that the designers confused Beowulf with Geryon, as the boss named "Beowulf the Lightbeast" has many of the characteristics of Dante's depiction of Geryon, while the Beowulf of mythology would be very similar to the previous owner of the Timesteed. Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between

Notes

Further reading

• M. M. Davies, “Stesichoros' Geryoneis and its folk-tale origins”. Classical quarterly NS 38, 1988, 277-290.
• Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red. Anne Carson ( June 21, 1950) is a Canadian Poet, Essayist Translator, and a Professor of Classics New York: Vintage Books, 1998. A modern retelling of Stesichoros' fragments.