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Immortal Journey
The Tales of Heracles, Leo, Cancer,
Sagittarius, Centaurus, Draco, Sagitta and Cerberus
Chapter 10: The Girdle of Hippolyte
"Your ninth labor, is to obtain a belt called
the Girdle of Hippolyte. Hippolyte is the Queen of the Amazons,"
Copreus said. "Eurystheus' daughter, Admete, wants it, so you will
bring it for her. This will be difficult, for the Amazons are a
tribe of warrior women born to Ares, the god of war, and the nymph
Harmonia. They live far away by the Thermodon river, and they prize
this belt. Eurystheus has again arranged for your ship. It is in
the harbor and your army will be there to accompany you.
"Their belt originally belonged to Ares and the god of war gave
it to his daughter Amazons to bestow upon their fiercest fighter,
to show she was their leader. For many years stories of the Amazon
nation have frightened men for very few have gone there and fewer
still have returned. There are many stories about these women. Some
say they mate with men who venture into their territory, and after
the women are impregnated, they kill the men. Some people say that
when babies are born there, only girls are kept and when they reach
puberty, their right breasts are squeezed off so they can throw
spears easily, keeping only the left breasts for nursing. Of course,
these are stories and they may not be true.
"Theseus was one of the few who returned. He spent time with the
Amazons and had a son with their queen, Antiope. After he left,
the Amazons followed him to Athens and declared war upon the city
although the Amazons were defeated and Antiope was killed. Theseus
took his son and gave him the name Hippolytus and a few years later
Hippolytus was killed. Hippolytus' story is a sad one, perhaps you
will hear of it sometime.
"Since Theseus returned victorious and you are stronger than he
was, I'm sure that you will return." Copreus wished him luck and
Heracles left for the harbor where his ship and band of volunteers
waited.
Checking their charts, they set sail for their first stop at the
island of Crete, where two of the men went ashore for provisions
and information. Heracles and his crew waited for two days but the
men never returned, so a group of volunteers gathered and when darkness
fell they went ashore to look for the vanished men. As they carefully
stole into town, it wasn't long until their question was answered.
"Look," one of the men said, pointing to two dead bodies hanging
from a wall. "There they are!" The men quickly returned to the ship
to put on their armor and collect their weapons, then, with the
rest of the army, they planned their attack.
When morning came, the people leaving their houses found their city
surrounded by iron-clad men whose plumed helmets came down in a
strip across their noses and made them look like warrior gods. "Who
are you and what do you want from us?" the people called out.
"I am Heracles," he answered. "You have killed my men and you will
die."
"Oh no," said an old man who had intended to go to his vineyard
that morning, "none of us killed anyone. Your men were killed by
four of King Minos' sons; their names are Eurymedon, Chryses, Nephalion
and Philolaus, and they live in the palace," he said pointing at
it, "not here in the village. You said your name was Heracles?"
the old man asked, as Heracles nodded. "Aren't you the one who captured
the Cretan Bull?" Heracles nodded again. "We certainly have no quarrel
with the one who ridded us of that terrible bull."
"Let's leave these people alone and finish our business with Minos'
sons," Heracles said. With that, the old man continued toward his
vineyard and Heracles and his men left to kill Eurymedon, Chryses,
Nephalion and Philolaus.
When evening arrived, the people of the village sent an emissary
to Heracles. "I have come to offer you any two men from the island
to replace the two who were killed," he said. Heracles thought this
was very practical and he chose Alcaeus and Sthenelus, sons of Prince
Androgeos and grandsons of King Minos, to join them on their journey.
Their next stop was the island of Mysia, home of King Lycus. "We're
happy to see you," the king said warmly as he ordered his household
to prepare rooms for the visitors. "There will be a feast in your
honor tonight," said Lycus.
That night, while they were all enjoying the meal, Lycus said to
Heracles, "I need your help. Mygdon, king of the Bebryces, declared
war upon us. My guards are no match for King Mygdon's troops. Please
help me fight them." Heracles agreed, and he and his men set out
for battle the next day. It didn't take the band long to achieve
victory. They killed many of the Bebryces, including King Mygdon
as well, and they claimed a large section of Bebrycian land for
their host, who named it Heracleia in their honor. Energized by
their victory and without even a day to rest, they sailed on to
the objective of their mission, the harbor of Themiscyra, home of
the Amazons.
Heracles was unarmed and he disembarked alone. All day he sat upon
the beach and he felt eyes watching from the bushes. When night
approached, he built a fire both to warm himself and to announce
that he was there in peace. Through the night he sat by the fire,
staring into the flames as he had so long ago in Delphi. In the
flames he saw a belt of gold and silver and lizard skins. Armies
stood upon it as though it were the earth itself. Its metals sparkled,
sending lightning bolts between the armies and its lizard skins
came to life as dragon heads with tongues of flame which licked
away everything standing in their paths. The dragons devoured everyone,
then turned their angry mouths upon themselves until their fragile
ashes crumbled into a molten metal sea.
"Why have you come?" asked a woman's voice beyond the flames.
Sparks reflected off a gold and silver and lizardskin belt embracing
a voluptuous apparition. He reached out to touch the shadow hiding
behind a golden outline lit by fire. It was soft. "Why have you
come?" the voice breathed in his ear.
He ran his palms across the shadow's invisible definitions until
his fingers knew where she began and darkness ended. Her fire darting
tongue kissed his eyes and when he opened them again he could see
her complete in splendor. "I have come for your belt," he said.
"And I will give it to you," she said, "only to you."
Eating figs while propped alone upon the pillows of her Olympian
bed, Hera watched jealously. Losing no time, she donned Amazon armor
and transported herself to the village of women warriors. "Women
of the Amazon," her voice rang out, "on the beach there is a man
who will take your queen away. We must save her from his vile hands."
The women armed themselves. Their horses swiftly sped to battle
as Hera watched and evilly smiled.
Guards were watching from the ship when they saw clouds of dust
rise with the sun. Arming themselves they came to shore ahead of
the rising cloud. "They're coming," Alcaeus said as he threw a spear
near Heracles' feet where he and his warrior queen lay upon the
sand. "You'll need this. It's a trap." He left to join the others
to wait in ambush farther down the beach.
Heracles rose and took the spear. The first ray of morning sun glinted
off its edge as though sharpening the deadly point. Heracles picked
up the belt where it lay loose near the fire. He stood tall above
her and Hippolyte looked up into his eyes. She saw the spear descend
to her throat. The disgust in her eyes was louder than any words
escaping her lips could have been as he plunged the point within
her.
"Quick, go to the ship," Heracles called down the beach to his men.
Amid a volley of arrows, the men escaped to the safety of a quiet
sea. Their unfurled sails filled with a favorable wind and it carried
them to Troy.
Nearing the Trojan harbor, a storm escorted them to shore. Tied
upon the rocks, a windblown maiden sat and waited for her fate to
come by sea. "Who is that young woman?" Heracles asked of the Trojan
fisherman who helped the men tie up against the angry waves.
"She is Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon, and she is being sacrificed
because her father failed to honor a contract with the gods. A number
of years ago, Apollo and Poseidon came to earth in human form and,
for a price, offered to build an impenetrable wall around the city
of Troy. King Laomedon agreed to their terms but, when they finished
their work, the king refused to pay. Apollo and Poseidon were angry
and told the king that he would be a fool to dishonor his contract.
But Laomedon said that he now had a wall that would protect him
even from the gods themselves and he hadn't had to pay anything
for it. Then he further insulted them by saying, 'Who do you think
looks like the fool?'
"The gods were livid with the king's treachery and insults and,
through the past years they have tried to make him pay for his words.
First, Apollo sent a plague which killed scores of the poor people
of Troy. But, unfortunately, the king seemed to be immune. Then
Poseidon summoned a monster from the ocean and the creature rode
upon floodwaters, swallowing the farmers who lived upon the plains.
The people were afraid and went to the oracle to ask what could
be done, and the oracle said we would be released if Laomedon sacrificed
his daughter to the monster. After much deliberation, the king finally
agreed and tied Hesione to those rocks," the fisherman said. "Since
there is a storm coming, it must mean that the monster is near."
Heracles paid the man to take him to Laomedon, and the king made
yet another bargain. If Heracles saved his daughter, in exchange
he would be given the famous Trojan storm-gray horses that Zeus
had given to King Tros when he abducted his son, Prince Ganymede.
"Agreed," said the king.
Heracles took Apollo's golden arrows and his bow and readied himself
on the rocks, eyes intent on the horizon. Raging waves reached for
him, but he held firm. Finally, a high breaker rolled toward shore.
A dark body hid below the whitecapped wave. As he watched, its eyes
stared back at him. Heracles aimed and shot arrow after arrow until
the body rolled like a sinking ship. It crashed into the rocks and,
belly upturned, washed onshore.
Heracles cut her tethers and Hesione ran to her father's side. "Bring
the horses, for we sail with the tide," Heracles called out to the
king, who stood by the monster's dead body. But Laomedon did not
call for his horses. Instead he called for his guards, who surrounded
him instantly.
"You will indeed sail with the tide," snarled the king as his armies
stood poised for battle.
Boarding his ship, Heracles turned his eyes a final time upon the
king and all his troops. "You will fall at the hands of Greece!"
Heracles spat out at Laomedon, and at Troy.
The return with the belt was a route traced in blood. On Aenus,
Heracles killed Poseidon's son, Sarpedon. At Thasos, he killed the
islanders and gave the island to the sons of Androgeos. Finally
on Torone, Polygonus and Telegonus, grandsons of Poseidon and sons
of Proteus, challenged him to wrestle. He killed them both before
returning to Tiryns. The belt of war continued its mission of death.
He handed it to Copreus.
Tales of
the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl
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