s
of Erginus, king of the Minyans, who were proceeding to Thebes to demand
their annual tribute of 100 oxen. Indignant at this humiliation of his
native city, Heracles mutilated the heralds, and sent them back, with ropes
round their necks, to their royal master.

Erginus was so incensed at the ill-treatment of his messengers that he
collected an army and appeared before the gates of Thebes, demanding the
surrender of Heracles. Creon, who was at this time king of Thebes, fearing
the consequences of a refusal, was about to yield, when the hero, with the
assistance of Amphitryon and a band of brave youths, advanced against the
Minyans.

Heracles took possession of a narrow defile through which the enemy were
compelled to pass, and as they entered the pass the Thebans fell upon them,
killed their king Erginus, and completely routed them. In this engagement
Amphitryon, the kind friend and foster-father of Heracles, lost his life.
The hero now advanced upon Orchomenus, the capital of the Minyans, where he
burned the royal castle and sacked the town.

After this signal victory all Greece rang with the fame of the young hero,
and Creon, in gratitude for his great services, bestowed upon him his
daughter Megara in marriage. The Olympian gods testified their appreciation
of his valour by sending him presents; Hermes gave him a sword,
Phoebus-Apollo a bundle of arrows, Hephaestus a golden quiver, and Athene a
coat of leather.

HERACLES AND EURYSTHEUS.--And now it will be necessary to retrace our
steps. Just before the birth of Heracles, Zeus, in an assembly of the gods,
exultingly declared that the child who should be born on that day to the
house of Perseus should rule over all his race. When Hera heard her lord's
boastful announcement she knew well that it was for the child of the hated
Alcmene that this brilliant destiny was designed; and in order to rob the
son of her rival of his rights, she called to her aid the goddess
Eilithyia, who retarded the birth of {238} Heracles, and caused his cousin
Eurystheus (another grandson of Perseus) to precede him into the world. And
thus, as the word of the mighty Zeus was irrevocable, Heracles became the
subject and servant of his cousin Eurystheus.

When, after his splendid victory over Erginus, the fame of Heracles spread
throughout Greece, Eurystheus (who had become king of Mycenae), jealous of
the reputation of the young hero, asserted his rights, and commanded him to
undertake