Editing Geryon (section)

===The Tenth Labour of Heracles===
[[File:Heracles on the sea in the bowl of Helios.jpg|thumb|left|Heracles on the sea in the bowl of Helios. Roma, [[Vatican Museums#Museo Gregoriano Etrusco|Museo Gregoriano Etrusco]], n. 205336.]]
In the fullest account in the ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheke]]'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus,<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus. ''Bibliotheke'', 2.5.10.</ref> [[Heracles]] was required to travel to [[Erytheia]], in order to obtain the Cattle of Geryon (Γηρυόνου βόες) as his [[The Twelve Labours|tenth labour]]. On the way there, he crossed the [[Ancient Libya|Libya]]n desert<ref group=Note>''Libya'' was the generic name for [[North Africa]] to the Greeks.</ref> and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at [[Helios]], the Sun. Helios "in admiration of his courage" gave Heracles the golden cup he used to sail across the sea from the west to the east each night. Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of the [[black-figure pottery|vase-painters]]. 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]]. 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.

[[File:Euphronios ARV 16 17 young rider - Herakles and Geryoneus (06).jpg|thumb|Herakles fighting the three-bodied Geryon; the shepherd Eurytion and the dog Orthros are already dead. Kylix in the [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]], Munich]]
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 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".<ref group=Note>[[Stesichorus]], fragment, translated by Denys Page.</ref> <!--what sources does this follow?With a shrill, despairing groan, Geryon swayed, then fell, nevermore to rise. In some versions, Heracles tore Geryon's bodies into three separate pieces.In yet another version Hercules shot Geryon through all three of his bodies.-->

Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to [[Eurystheus]]. 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]]. 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 (mythology)|Caca]], Cacus' sister, told Heracles where he was. Heracles then killed Cacus, and according to the Romans, founded an altar where the [[Forum Boarium]], the cattle market, was later held.

To annoy Heracles, [[Hera]] sent a [[gadfly (mythology)|gadfly]] to bite the cattle, irritate them and scatter them. 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.

In the ''Aeneid'', [[Vergil]] may have based the triple-souled figure of [[Erulus]], king of [[Praeneste]], on Geryon<ref>P.T. Eden, ''A [[Commentary (philology)|Commentary]] on Virgil:'' Aeneid'' VII'' (Brill, 1975), p. 155 [https://books.google.com/books?id=B7cfAAAAIAAJ&dq=Erulus+Aeneid+OR+Vergil+OR+Virgil+OR+Evander&pg=PA155 online.]</ref> and Hercules' conquest of Geryon is mentioned in Book VIII. The [[Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano]] features a three-headed representation of Geryon.<ref>''Signes gravés sur les églises de l'Eure et du Calvados'' by [[Asger Jorn]], Volume II of the Bibliotehéque Alexandrie, published by the [[Scandinavian Institute of Comparative Vandalism]], 1964, p. 198</ref>