Editing Geryon

{{Short description|Giant in Greek mythology}}
{{Redirect|Geryones|the genus of hydrozoans|Geryonia{{!}}''Geryonia''}}
{{For|the genus of crabs|Geryon (crab){{!}}''Geryon'' (crab)}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2017}}
[[File:Géryon (L 1).jpg|thumb|upright|A [[statuette of Geryon]] at the [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]]]] 

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Geryon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|r|i|ə|n}} {{respell|GHERR|ee|ən}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Geryon "Geryon"]. ''[[Collins English Dictionary]]''</ref> {{langx|grc|Γηρυών}}, [[genitive case|genitive]] {{lang|grc|Γηρυόνος}}), also '''Geryone''' ({{langx|grc|Γηρυόνης|Gēryónēs|links=no}}, or {{langx|grc|Γηρυονεύς|Gēryoneús|label=none}}), son of [[Chrysaor]] and [[Callirrhoe (Oceanid)|Callirrhoe]], the grandson of [[Medusa]] and the nephew of [[Pegasus]], was a fearsome [[Giants (Greek mythology)|giant]] who dwelt on the island [[Erytheia]] of the mythic [[Hesperides]] in the far west of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with [[Tartessos]] in southern [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]].<ref group="Note">The early third-century ''[[Apollonius of Tyana|Life of Apollonius of Tyana]]'' notes an ancient [[tumulus]] at [[Cádiz|Gades]] raised over Geryon as for a Hellenic hero: "They say that they saw trees here such as are not found elsewhere upon the earth; and that these were called the trees of Geryon. There were two of them, and they grew upon the mound raised over Geryon: they were a cross between the [[spruce]] and the pine, and formed a third species; and blood dripped from their bark, just as gold does from the [[Heliad poplar]]" (v.5).</ref> Geryon was often described as a monster with either three bodies and three heads, or three heads and one body, or three bodies and one head. He is commonly accepted as being mostly humanoid, with some distinguishing features (such as wings, or multiple bodies etc.) and in mythology, famed for his cattle.

==Appearance==
[[File:Heracles Geryon Louvre F55.jpg|thumb|right|[[Heracles]] fighting Geryon, amphora by the E Group, ca.&nbsp;540 BC, [[Louvre]]]]
According to [[Hesiod]]<ref group=Note>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' "the triple-headed Geryon".</ref> Geryon had one body and three heads, whereas the tradition followed by [[Aeschylus]] gave him three bodies.<ref group=Note>Aeschylus, ''Agamemnon'': "Or if he had died as often as reports claimed, then truly he might have had three bodies, a second Geryon, and have boasted of having taken on him a triple cloak of earth, one death for each different shape."</ref> A lost description by [[Stesichoros]] said that he has six hands and six feet and is winged;<ref>[[Scholium|Scholiast]] on Hesiod's ''Theogony'', referring to Stesichoros' ''Geryoneis'' ([http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/GiganteGeryon.html noted at TheoiProject]).</ref> there are some mid-6th century BC [[Chalcis|Chalcidian]] vases portraying Geryon as winged. Some accounts state that he had six legs as well while others state that the three bodies were joined to one pair of legs. Apart from these bizarre 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 named [[Eurytion]] (son of [[Erytheia (mythology)|Erytheia]]).<ref group=Note>Erytheia, "sunset goddess" and nymph of the island that has her name, is one of the [[Hesperides]].</ref>

== Mythology ==

===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>

===Stesichorus' account===
{{further|Geryoneis}}

The poet [[Stesichorus]] wrote a poem "[[Geryoneis]]" (Γηρυονηΐς) in the sixth century BC, which was apparently the source of this section in ''Bibliotheke''; it contains the first reference to [[Tartessus]]. From the fragmentary [[papyri]] found at [[Oxyrhyncus]]<ref>[[Denys Page]] 1973:138-154 gives the fragmentary Greek and pieces together a translation by overlaying the fragments with the account in ''Bibliotheke''. Additional details concerning Geryon follow Page's account.</ref> it is possible (although there is no evidence) that Stesichorus inserted a character, Menoites, who reported the theft of the cattle to Geryon. Geryon then had an interview with his mother Callirrhoe, 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 began in the mid-sixth century and suggests that Stesichorus' "Geryoneis" provided the impetus.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

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 what he believed to be their proper positions.

===Pausanias' account===
In his work ''Description of Greece'', [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] mentions that Geryon had a daughter, Erytheia, who had a son with [[Hermes]], [[Norax]], the founder of the city of Nora in [[Sardinia]].<ref group="Note">Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+10.17.5 10.17.5]</ref>

==In Dante's Inferno==
[[File:Inferno Canto 17 verse 117.jpg|thumb|200px|A wood engraving by [[Gustave Doré]] of Geryon for Dante's ''Inferno'']]

The Geryon of [[Dante]]'s 14th century epic poem ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' bears no resemblance to any previous writings. Here, Geryon has become the Monster of Fraud, a beast with the paws of a [[bear]] or [[lion]], the body of a [[wyvern]], and a [[scorpion]]'s poisonous sting at the tip of his tail, but with the face of an "honest man" (similar to a [[manticore]]). He dwells somewhere in the shadowed depths below the cliff between the seventh and eighth circles of Hell (the circles of violence and simple fraud, respectively); Geryon rises from the pit at [[Virgil]]'s call and to Dante's horror Virgil requests a ride on the creature's back. They then board him, and Geryon slowly glides in descending circles around the waterfall of the river [[Phlegethon]] down to the great depths to the Circle of Fraud.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Inferno|url=https://archive.org/details/inferno00dant_1|url-access=limited|last=Alighieri|first=Dante|date=2002|publisher=Anchor Books|others=Hollander, Robert and Hollander, Jean|isbn=0385496982|edition= 1st Anchor Books|location=New York|oclc=48769969|page=[https://archive.org/details/inferno00dant_1/page/312 312]–325}}</ref>

==In medieval Iberian culture==
[[File:Escudo de A Coruña.svg|thumb|200px|Coat of arms of [[Coruña]]. Since 1448, it features Geryon's skull at the base of the tower.]]
The myth of Geryon is linked to the [[Spanish nationalism|building of the nations of Spain]] and [[County of Portugal|Portugal]], since he was considered an inhabitant of the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref name="ib">{{cite journal |last1=Moreira Fernandes |first1=José Sílvio |title=Estrutura e função do mito de Hércules na ''Monarquia Lusitana'' de Bernardo de Brito |journal=Ágora. Estudos Clássicos em Debate |date=2007 |issue=9 |pages=119–150 |url=http://www2.dlc.ua.pt/classicos/hercules.pdf |access-date=10 October 2021 |language=pt |issn=0874-5498 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010191419/http://www2.dlc.ua.pt/classicos/hercules.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Medieval authors such as the bishop of Girona [[Joan Margarit i Pau]] (1422–1484) or the bishop of Toledo [[Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada]] tried to legitimate the resistance of Geryon against the Greek invader.<ref name="ib"/>

The {{lang|osp|[[Estoria de España]]}} of [[Alfonso X of Castile]] tells how Hercules killed the giant Geryon, cut his head off and ordered a tower built on it marking his victory. The [[Tower of Hercules]] in Coruña, Spain, is actually a working lighthouse rebuilt on a Roman lighthouse.<ref name="Turismo">{{cite web |title=Tower of Hercules |url=https://turismocoruna.com/web/corTurServer.php?idSecweb=321&idFicha=41&id_secPadre=260&idCategoria=176&idSecDescendencia=316 |website=turismocoruna.com |access-date=10 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The Portuguese friar [[Bernardo de Brito]] considers the monster a historical invader, ruling despotically over the descendants of [[Tubal]].<ref name="ib"/>

==See also==
* The [[Cádiz Memorial]] is a London monument displaying a captured Napoleonic mortar mounted on a dragon inspired by Geryon.
*[[List of Hercules (1998 TV series) episodes#Syndication (1998–99)|"Hercules and the Jilt Trip"]]
*'' [[Autobiography of Red]], ''by [[Anne Carson]], a modern re-creation of the myth.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* M.M. Davies, “Stesichoros' Geryoneis and its folk-tale origins”. ''Classical quarterly'' NS 38, 1988, 277–290.
* [[Anne Carson]], ''[[Autobiography of Red]]''. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. A modern retelling of Stesichoros' fragments.
* P. Curtis: Steschoros's ''Geryoneis'', Brill, 2011.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Geryon}}
*[http://www.theoi.com/Gigante/GiganteGeryon.html Theoi Project – "Geryon"]

{{Labours of Heracles}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greek giants]]
[[Category:Labours of Hercules]]
[[Category:Legendary creatures with supernumerary body parts]]
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[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Avian humanoids]]
[[Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy]]