The Athenian army entered the city in triumph, and Iolaus reverted to his old appearance, and he brought Eurystheus, bound hand and foot, to Hercules' mother. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info "You're finally here! When the old woman saw Eurystheus, she angrily rebuked him, "The punishment of the gods has finally fallen on you. Look up at your opponent! It is you who have tormented my son with heavy labor and insults for many years.

You sent him to catch the vipers and beasts, and you wanted to kill him. Didn't you drive him into the underworld so that he would never return to the world? You also drove his mother and all his children out of Greece. But this time you miscalculated, and you met someone who is not afraid of your obscenity! It's a free city! Now that you are dead, you should rejoice that you will die immediately, because your sin is enough to make people slowly torture you to death! “

Eurystheus cheered up and pretended to be calm, "It doesn't matter if I die, but I have to say a few words to defend myself." I did not make Hercules an enemy out of personal **, it was the goddess Hera who commanded me to do so, and she told me to torture him forever. I regarded this giant and demigod as my enemy, and I had to force him to be at peace.

After his death, I was forced to expel his descendants, because I believed that among his descendants there must be enemies, and there must be those who avenge him! Alright, now leave it to you to deal with me! I don't ask for death, but death doesn't grieve me either. “

When Eurystheus finished speaking, he looked very calm, as if he was ready to die.

Hyros interceded for Eurystheus, and the citizens of Athens demanded leniency for their defeated enemies, according to the city's custom of leniency. But Hercules' mother, Alcmene, refused to forgive him. She remembered the suffering of her son when he was forced into the slave of this tyrant, she remembered the death of her granddaughter, who was willing to give her life to defeat Eurystheus, and she imagined the fate of her and her children and grandchildren, who would have been taken prisoner by Eurystheus.

"Nope! He deserves to die. Alcmene cried out, "Can't forgive him!" “

Eurystheus turned to the Athenians and said, "Thank you, thank you for interceding for me, my death will not bring disaster to you." If you give me a tomb and bury me next to the temple of Athena, then I will guard your land as a courteous guest, and will not allow any army to cross the border. Remember that the children of Hercules, who are now supported and protected by you, will one day come against you. They will take revenge and destroy your good life. At that time, I, the generational enemy of Hercules, will be your savior. After saying these words, he calmly went to die.

The sons and grandsons of Hercules swore to their protector Demophon that they would always be grateful for his help. Then they left the city of Athens under the leadership of Hyros and Iolaus. They encountered the Confederates everywhere and marched all the way to the Peloponnese, their father's hereditary domain. It took them a whole year to conquer all the cities except Argos.

At this time, there was an epidemic of plague throughout the peninsula, which could not be prevented. The sons and daughters of Hercules learned from an oracle that they were the cause of the plague, as they had returned to the Peloponnese before the appointed time. So, they hurriedly withdrew and returned to the Attica region, where they lived on the plain of Marathon. In accordance with his father's wishes, he married the beautiful girl Iol. Hercules had proposed to her that year. Now Xu Ross is obsessed with reclaiming his father's territory. He went to Delphi again and prayed for an oracle, and received the answer: "When the third harvest is ripe, you will return successfully." Xu Ross understood it to mean that it was the time of the autumn harvest of the third year. He waited patiently, and after the summer of the third year had passed, he invaded the Peloponnese.

After the death of Eurystheus, Atreus became king in Mykenny. Atreus was the grandson of Tantalus and the son of Pelops. When he saw that Xuros was leading an army to invade, he united with the city of Tegea and other cities to organize an army to meet the enemy. Soldiers from both sides set up camp near the Corinthian Isthmus and confronted each other. In order not to devastate Greece by the war, he still offered to fight alone, and he wanted the two sides to sign an oath:

If he wins, then the kingdom of Eurystheus will be ruled by the sons of Hercules, and if he fails, then the sons of Hercules will not be allowed to enter the Peloponnese for fifty years.

When the word reached the opposing stronghold, King Eukermos, of Tegua, immediately accepted the challenge. After the two faced each other, they fought wits and courage, and they were inseparable. In the end, Xu Ross was unfortunately defeated. As he lay dying, he still painfully remembered the obscure oracle. The sons and grandsons of Hercules, in keeping their oath, retreated from the vicinity of the Corinthian Isthmus and lived in the area of Marathon.

Fifty years have passed. The sons and grandsons of Hercules had never defaulted on their territory before this, and had no intention of retaking their territory, and now the son of Hyros and Iol, Cleotes, was fifty years old. Since the agreed period had expired and he could no longer be bound, he joined the other grandsons of Hercules in an invasion of the Peloponnese. By that time thirty years had passed since the Trojan War. But he was not luckier than his father, and he and his men were all killed in the war.

After another twenty years, the son of Clevothes, the grandson of Hyros, and the great-grandson of Hercules, Aristomarcus, re-established his army. The king who ruled the Peloponnese at this time was Tisamenos, the son of Orestes. Aristomarcus also misunderstood an oracle. The oracle said, "Cross the narrow path, and you will be victorious." "So he invaded from the Corinthian Isthmus, only to be defeated, and like his father and grandfather, he died.

Another thirty years have passed, eighty years after the Trojan War. The three sons of Aristomarcus, Themenos, Chrysphontes, and Aridotomos, led an army to seize their ancestral territory. Despite the vagueness of the meaning of the oracles in the past, they did not lose their faith in the oracles.

So they came to Delphi and asked the priestess about the prospect of war, but the answer was exactly the same as what their forefathers had received. The eldest brother Termenos complained: "My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather obeyed this oracle, but they all failed!" "At last the priestess took pity on them and explained to them the meaning of the oracle through the mouth of the priestess." The misfortunes of your ancestors," she said, "are self-inflicted, for they do not understand the true meaning of the oracle!" The gods are not referring to the third harvest of the earth, but to the third harvest of the seed of your race. The first was Clevorteos, the second was Aristomachus, and the third was the generation that prophesied victory. As for the so-called narrow path, it is also misunderstood. It does not refer to the Corinthian Isthmus, but to the Kozhinkos Strait opposite. Now you understand what the oracle really means. How you do it, then it is up to the gods to help! “

It dawned on Themenos. Immediately united with his brother, armed a powerful army, and built warships at Clory. From then on, the place was called Nopaktos, meaning shipyard. Of course, this campaign was not an easy task for the descendants of Hercules. They put in a lot of hard work and tears. Just as the troops were gathering and preparing to set off, the youngest brother, Arisdotmos, was suddenly struck by lightning.

They buried their brothers, and the ship was about to leave the shore when suddenly an astrologer came. He was arranged by the will of God to say the oracle in his mind. In their hectic confusion, they invariably regarded him as a sorcerer, and even as a spy sent by the Peloponnesians. Hippertus threw a javelin at him, stabbing him to death on the spot. The gods were so angry with the sons of Hercules that they sent disaster upon them, and a storm wrecked the ships and many soldiers drowned in the water. The army on land was also starved, and the soldiers were starved of food and food, and soon the army also collapsed.

After one calamity after another, Temenos prayed to the oracle, to which the oracle replied: You have killed innocent prophets, and that is why you have suffered misfortune. In addition, a man with three eyes must be put in command of the army. The first part of the oracle was quickly executed. Hippertus was driven out of the army and went into exile. But the second part was a dilemma for the children of Hercules. Where do they find someone with three eyes? With devotion to the gods, they tirelessly searched everywhere. One day, they stumbled upon Hemon's son, Oxheros, a descendant of the royal family of Aetoria. While the sons and grandsons of Hercules were entering the Peloponnese, Oxheros was forced to flee from Etolia for murder and to escape the small Peloponnese kingdom of Eris.

After some time, he missed his homeland, so he rode back to his homeland on a donkey, and met the children of Hercules on the way. Oxheros had only one eye, and the other eye had been blinded by an arrow as a young man, so he rode on a donkey, and together he had three eyes.

The sons and daughters of Hercules thought that the oracle had been fulfilled. So they chose Oxheros as their leader. They regrouped their army, built warships, attacked the enemy, and finally killed the Peloponnese's military chieftain Tisamonos.

The sons and grandsons of Hercules, after tireless efforts and conquests, finally conquered the Peloponnese. They set up three altars to the patriarch Zeus and held sacrifices. Then they drew lots to divide the cities on the peninsula. The first sign was for Argos, the second for Rasi Timon, and the third for Mesonia. Here's how the lot is drawn: each person casts the lot in a crockpot filled with water and has his name written on it.

The twins of Themenos and Arisdotmos, Eurystones and Perloclus, both threw stones with their names written on them into the crockpot. The cunning Chrysfontes wanted to get Mesonia, so he picked a piece of soil and threw it into the water, and the clod of earth was instantly dissolved.

After throwing the stones, they decided that the first stone to be thrown out would be Argos. The result was a stone with the name of Temenos written on it. The second was to draw out the Terasitimon, and it turned out to be a stone with the name of the twin sons of Arisdotemos, and then they felt no need to draw a third stone. Thus, Chrysfontes got his wish and got Mesonia.

After dividing up the territory, they each went to the altar to offer sacrifices to the gods. Suddenly, they saw strange signs, and each of them found an animal on the altar of his sacrifice: a toad was found by those who were assigned to Argos, a snake by those who were divided into Rasitimon, and a fox by those who were divided into Mesonia. Suspicious, they consulted the local soothsayers, and the reply was: "Whoever sees a toad would better stay at home, because the toad is easily injured, and the one who goes out without protection and sees the serpent coiled around the altar is the greatest aggressor, and there is no need to fear that those who cross their borders and see foxes will neither attack nor defend, and their weapons to defend the land are tricks." “

Later, these three animals became markings on the shields of the Argosians, Spartans, and Mesonians. The sons and grandsons of Hercules certainly did not forget the one-eyed Oxheros. They gave him the kingdom of Eris as a token of gratitude for his assistance. Today, only the mountains of Arcadia in the Peloponnese have not yet been occupied by the sons of Hercules. Of the three kingdoms established on the peninsula, only Sparta lasted for a longer period of time. In Argos, Themenos betrothed his beloved daughter Hirnash to Daefontes, a great-grandson of Hercules. He obeyed Daefontes, and it was suspected that he wanted to pass on the throne to the beloved daughter and son-in-law. His sons were dissatisfied, united against their father, and killed him. Although the Argos still regarded the king's eldest son as king, they valued liberty and equality more, so they tried to limit the king's power so that the king and his descendants would only retain the name of a king, and could not hold actual power.

King Chrysphontes, the king of Mesonia, also suffered many hardships, and his fate was not much better than that of Themenos.

He married Molobert and had many children, the youngest of whom was Ebitos. Melober was the daughter of King Koopserus of Agadia. Chrysfontes built himself and his children an ornate palace. But he did not enjoy much happiness in the palace for long, for he was a wise monarch who was especially willing to help the common people. This made many of the rich men angry, and they gathered together and killed the king and his sons. Only the youngest son, Ebitos, escaped, and his mother hid him in Arcadia, leaving him to quietly live and be educated with his maternal grandfather, Kupseros.

Another son of Hercules, Polyphontes, usurped the throne of Mesonia. He forcibly married Molobert, and when he heard that Chrysfontes had an heir alive, he offered a large reward for his head. But no one wanted to, and no one could get the bounty, because no one knew exactly where the heir was hiding.

When Ebitos grew up, he quietly left his grandfather's palace to not let anyone know his purpose, and came to Mesonia alone, and Ebitos had already heard about the bounty offered for his head. He plucked up his courage and disguised himself as a stranger and came to the palace of King Polyphontes, without even recognizing him from his mother. In the presence of the king and queen, he said, "Ah, king, I have come to tell you, I want to receive the bounty for the purchase of the little prince's head. As the rightful heir of Chrysfontes, he does threaten your throne. I knew him as well as I knew myself. I am willing to deliver him into your hands and leave him at your disposal. “

Hearing this, Molobert's face turned white with fright. She hurried to find a faithful old servant. The old servant had helped her to save Ebitos, and because he was afraid of the new king, he lived in seclusion far from the palace. Melopus sent him to Arcadia secretly to warn her son to be careful, or to bring him to Mesonia, where he could lead the people who hated the faint king against Polyphontes and reclaim the throne.

The old servant came to Arcadia and met King Kupseros and the rest of the royal family. They are all worried, because Ebitos is missing, and no one knows what happened to him. The old servant hurried back to Mesonia and told the queen everything. Both men believed that the stranger who had come to the king must have murdered Abytos in Arcadia and brought his body to Mesonia. They didn't think much about it, and wanted to kill the strangers who were already living in the palace. That night the queen, armed with a sharp axe, with the help of her faithful old servant, sneaked into the stranger's room and tried to hack him to death while he slept. The young man slept peacefully and peacefully.

The moonlight shone on his face. Melober raised his axe and was about to cut it down, when the old servant suddenly screamed and hurriedly took hold of the queen's arm. "Stop!" He shouted, "The person you are going to kill is your own son Ebitos!" “

Hearing this, Molobert hung his arm and threw the axe to the ground. She threw herself on top of her son, who woke up. The two hugged each other. The son told his mother that he had come back to punish the murderers, to free his mother from the marriage she hated, and to return to the throne with the help of the townspeople. The three discussed a way to take revenge, and then went their separate ways. Dressed in mourning clothes, Meloper came to the king and told him that she had just received the sad news that her youngest son had indeed died, and that she was determined to make peace with her husband and forget all the misfortunes of the past. This tyrant has fallen into a trap.

He was very happy that he had been relieved of his troubles. He also promised to offer sacrifices to the gods to celebrate the destruction of all his enemies. He summoned the citizens to the square to participate in the ceremony. They reluctantly came to the square, still remembering the former king Crefontes and mourning his son Ebitos. While the king was making a sacrifice, Ebitos rushed out of the crowd and stabbed the king in the chest with a sharp sword. Melober also walked up to the crowd with his servants and announced to the townspeople that the stranger was Epitos, the rightful heir to the throne. The crowd erupted in cheers. Ebitos succeeded to the throne on the same day, and then punished the murderers of his father and brother, and he won the respect of the Mesonians and enjoyed such high prestige that his descendants were no longer called descendants of Hercules, but descendants of Ebytos. To be continued.