When he was still a youth, being overwhelmed by a
madness sent upon him by one of the goddesses, he slew the
children of his brother Iphicles. Then, coming to know what he
had done, sleep and rest went from him: he went to Delphi, to the
shrine of Apollo, to be purified of his crime.
At Delphi, at the shrine of Apollo, the priestess purified him,
and when she had purified him she uttered this prophecy: "From
this day forth thy name shall be, not Alcides, but Heracles. Thou
shalt go to Eurystheus, thy cousin, in Mycenae, and serve him in
all things. When the labors he shall lay upon thee are
accomplished, and when the rest of thy life is lived out, thou
shalt become one of the immortals." Heracles, on hearing these
words, set out for Mycenae.
He stood before his cousin who hated him; he, a towering man,
stood before a king who sat there weak and trembling. And
Heracles said, "I have come to take up the labors that you will
lay upon me; speak now, Eurystheus, and tell me what you would
have me do."
Eurystheus, that weak king, looking on the young man who stood as
tall and as firm as one of the immortals, had a heart that was
filled with hatred. He lifted up his head and he said with a
frown:
"There is a lion in Nemea that is stronger and more fierce than
any lion known before. Kill that lion, and bring the lion's skin
to me that I may know that you have truly performed your task."
So Eurystheus said, and Heracles, with neither shield nor arms,
went forth from the king's palace to seek and to combat the dread
lion of Nemea.
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