and she saw him win in very holy Pytho . Laying my hand on the earth, I make this declaration: never in any contest has he been fouled by the dust of faster horses as he strained toward the finish-line. In force he is like Boreas; obeying his rider, he speeds a new victory and new applause to hospitable Hieron. Prosperous is he to whom a god has given a share of fine things, and a rich life to live out with enviable luck. For no man on earth was born to be fortunate in everything. So it was, they say, that the gate-destroying unconquerable son Heracles. of Zeus of the flashing thunderbolt went down to the halls of slender-ankled Persephone to bring up into the light from Hades the razor-toothed dog, Cerberus. son of the fearsome Echidna. There he saw the souls of miserable mortals by the streams of Cocytus, like leaves swirled by the wind along the sheep-pasturing headlands of shining Ida. Among them, the shade of Porthaon's bold, spear-wielding descendant Meleager. Porthaon is his grandfather; his father is Oineus. stood out. When the marvellous hero, son of Alcmene, Heracles. Alcmene is his mother. saw him shining in his armor, he stretched the clear-sounding bowstring onto his bow, and opened the lid of his quiver and drew out a bronze-tipped arrow. But the soul of Meleager appeared in front of him and spoke to him, knowing him well: Son of great Zeus, stand where you are, and calm your spirit— Do not shoot a harsh arrow from your hands in vain against the souls of those who have perished. You have no need to fear. So he spoke. And the son of Amphitryon Heracles has both a divine father (Zeus) and a nominal mortal father (Amphitryon). was astonished, and said, What god or mortal raised such a fine young plant as you? In what land? Who killed you? No doubt Hera with her beautiful belt will soon send that killer after me. But that must be the concern of golden-haired Pallas. And Meleager answered him, in tears, It is hard for men on earth to sway the minds of the gods; for otherwise my father, horse-driving Oineus, would have appeased the anger of holy, white-armed Artemis with her garland of buds, when he entreated her with sacrifices of many goats and red-backed cattle. But the maiden goddess' anger was unconquerable; she sent an immensely violent boar, a ruthless fighter, to Calydon, the place of lovely choruses; there, his strength raging like a flood, he cut down vine-rows with his tusk, and slaughtered flocks, and whatever mortals came across his path. We, the best of the Hellenes, fought hard to sustain the hateful battle against him, for six days continuously. But when some god gave the upper hand to the Aetolians, we buried those whom the loud-roaring boar had killed in his violent attacks: Ancaeus, and Agelaus, the best of my dear brothers, whom Althaea bore in the far-famed halls of Oineus. Ruinous fate destroyed There is a gap of two or three words in the papyrus here (lines 120-23). For not yet did the hostile goddess, the savage daughter of Leto, [stop] her anger. We fought hard for the beast's fiery hide with the Couretes, steadfast in battle. Then I killed, among many others, Iphiclus and noble Aphares, my mother's swift brothers; for strong-spirited Ares does not discern a friend in battle—shafts fly blindly from the hands against the souls of the enemy, and bring death to whomever the god wishes. My mother, the hostile daughter of Thestius, did not take this into account; she brought about my evil fate, the fearless woman, and planned my destruction. She took the log of my swift doom out of the ornate chest, and burned it. Fate had marked off that this should be the boundary of my life. I happened to be slaying Clymenus, Daïpylus' valiant son, whose body was flawless; I had overtaken him in front of the towers. The others were fleeing to the well-built ancient city