him. Pelias having been killed by
his daughters, his son Acastus pursued them to the court of Admetus,
who, refusing to deliver up Alcestis, of whom he was enamoured, was
taken prisoner in an engagement, and was delivered by that princess,
who herself offered to be his ransom. Hercules being then in
Thessaly, he took her away from Acastus, who was about to put her to
death, and returned her to Admetus. This, probably, was the
foundation of the fable which stated, that he had recovered her from
the Infernal Regions, after having vanquished death, and bound him
in chains.

The Amazons were a nation of great celebrity in the time of
Hercules, and their frequent victories had rendered them very
formidable to their neighbours. Eurystheus ordered him to go and
bring away the girdle of Hippolyta, or, in other words, to make war
upon them, and to pillage their treasures. Embarking on the Euxine
Sea, Hercules arrived on the banks of the Thermodon, and, giving
battle to the female warriors, defeated them; killing some, and
putting the rest to flight. He took Antiope, or Hippolyta, prisoner,
whom he gave to Theseus; but her sister, Menalippa, redeemed herself
by giving up the famous girdle, or, in other words, by paying a
large ransom. It is very probable, that in that expedition, he slew
Diomedes, the barbarous king of Thrace, and brought away his mares,
which were said to have been fed by him on human flesh. In returning
by way of Thessaly, he embarked in the expedition of the Argonauts;
but, leaving them soon afterwards, he went to Troy, and delivered
Hesione from the monster which was to have devoured her; but not
receiving from Laomedon, the king, the recompense which had been
promised him, he killed that prince, sacked the city, and brought
away Hesione, whom he gave to Telamon, who had accompanied him on
the expedition.

This is probably the extent of the labours of Hercules in Greece,
Thrace, and Phrygia. The poets have made him engage in many other
laborious undertakings in distant countries, which most probably
ought not to be attributed to the Grecian Hercules. Among other
stories told of him, it is said, that having set out to fight with
Geryon, the king of Spain, he was so much incommoded by the heat of
the sun, that his wrath was excited against the luminary, and he
fired his arrows at it, on which, the Sun, struck with admiration at
his