Lemurian66

Barry Fell

Hi; quick note: I almost reverted your addition to the Barry Fell article, but instead can I ask you to revisit your numbers? There were only 340 "codeable responses" to the survey so your numbers don't tally. Cheers (and welcome to WP). Keri (talk) 16:11, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

thanks for point this out, I misread itLemurian66 (talk) 16:34, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

No problem, I guessed this was the case.Keri (talk) 16:40, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

The Geryones Myth

The Geryones Myth Geryones was a mythical creature, a three-headed, three-bodied giant living in the island of Erytheia, 49 which was situated at the western end of the world. 46 The story of the Heracles and the cattle of Geryones (but not the episode with Cacus) is first attested in the following Greek sources: 1) Hesiod’s Theogony 287–294, 982–983; 2) Stesichorus’ Geryoneis (PMGF frs. 181–186 S7–S87); 3) early mythographers such as Agias and Dercylus of Argos (FGrHist 305 F 1 = EGM fr. 1), Hecataeus of Miletos (FGrHist 1 F26 = EGM fr. 26), Hellanicus of Lesbos (FGrHist 4 F 111 = EGM fr. 111), and Pherecydes of Athens (FGrHist 3 F 18b = EGM fr. 18b). 47 In Hesiod’s Theogony (287–294 and 979–983) Heracles kills Geryones and drives his cattle away from Eirytheia to Tiryns after crossing the straits of Oceanus and slaughtering Orthus and Eurytion in their dark stable (σταθμῷ ἐν ἠερόεντι). See also Apollodorus’ Library II 106–112. For an exhaustive treatment of Heracles’ journey to the western end of the world, see Jourdain- Annequin 1989:475–515. 48 See Enciclopedia Virgiliana II, s.v. Gerione 698–699 and Enciclopedia Oraziana, s.v. Gerione 383– 384. For Geryones, see also Der Neue Pauly, s.v. Geryoneus; RE 7.1286–1296, s.v. Geryoneus; LIMC, IV.1:186–190 s.v. Geryones. The myth of Cacus, on the other hand, does not become a favored subject of iconography during the Augustan period (namely when this theme is used as polit- ical propaganda in support of Roman origins and ancient victories against locals in the Italian peninsula), but begins to be iconographically represented from the Antonine era onwards. See LIMC III.1, 177–178, s.v. Cacus [Arce]. For the myth of Geryones, see also Adam 1985:577–609 with interesting observations on local Italic traditions of three-headed monsters. Blazquez Martínez 1983:21–38 is basically informative, whereas Brize 1980 examines iconographic representations of Stesichorus’ Geryoneïs in early Greek art (mainly iconography). 49 The localization of Erytheia was a matter of speculation and controversy in antiquity. Hecataeus (FGrHist 1 F 26) thought Erytheia was in Ambracia in Epirus, whereas Herodotus (IV Chapter Eight 174 He was the son of Chrysaor (who is mythologically connected to the Sun) and Callirhoë, daughter of Oceanus. Geryones’ sacred cattle were protected by the herdsman, Eurytion, with the help of the two-headed watchdog, Orthus. Hercules, after killing both Eurytion and Orthus, drove Geryones’ cattle away with the aim of bringing them to Eurystheus at Argos or Tiryns. Of special importance for our investigation is the meeting between Helios and Heracles. Heracles, after being insulted by Helios, obtains an outstanding means of trans- port, Helios’ own golden cup, with which he travels through the sky. Heracles uses this cup twice: first, on his own when he crosses the Ocean and arrives at Erytheia and, second, with the stolen cattle after Geryones’ death, on his way back to Tartessos, where he meets Helios and returns it. 50 Burkert 51 has drawn our attention (by adopting a Proppian 52 model of analysis) both to the motifematic patterns and to the wealth of local traditions with which this myth has been associated. 53 The Geryones myth is mainly related to the western end of the world (probably due to the location of the place where the Sun sets). Cacus 54 was associated with the underworld, so stealing the sacred cows could be a metaphor for a threat against the regular order of the universe, alluding to a potential release of the dead. This brings us, surprisingly close to Helios’ 8 et aliter) believed it was Gadeira itself (modern Cadiz in Spain). On the other hand, Ptolemy identified it with Mauritania. 50 This account of the Heracles-Geryon myth is taken from Apollodorus’ Library II 5.10. It is believed that this account reflects Stesichorus’ Geryoneïs. See Page 1973:144, who owes this observation, as he says, to an unpublished lecture entitled Stesichorus and the story of Geryon, given by W. S. Barrett at a meeting of the Hellenic and Roman Societies at Oxford in September 1968 (138n1). 51 Burkert 1979:84. 52 See Propp 1975 2Lemurian66 (talk) 17:58, 3 December 2015 (UTC)