-The life of Herakles- their war against the Giants.He originally intended,furthermore,that this son of his should be a mighty ruler in Argos,but this part of his plan was foiled by Hera. As the story is recounted in the Iliad,Zeus boasted of his intentions to the other gods,telling them that Eileithuia,the goddess of childbirth,would bring a man to birth on that day who would be king over all who lived around him (i.e.in Argos), and would be born from the race of those who came from Zeus's blood (i.e.from the Perseids,who were descended from Perseus,son of Zeus).By making this ill- advised declaration,he alerted Hera,who resented all her husband's illegitimate children and immediately plotted to rob this one of his intended inheritance.She happened to know that Alkmene was not the only woman who was expecting a child of Perseid descent since the wife of Sthenelos,king of Mycenae,was also heavily pregnant.So she persuaded Zeus to swear formally that the son of his stock who would be born on that day would enjoy the destiny that he had announced;and she then instructed the Eileithuiai (goddesses of childbirth)to delay Alkmene's delivery,while she herself hurried down from Olympos to ensure that the wife of Sthenelos should bring her child to birth at once in the seventh month of her preg- nancy.As a consequence,Eurystheus,the son of Sthenelos,was born on that day instead of Herakles,and Zeus was therefore obliged by his oath to grant him the inheritance that he had been planning to grant to Herakles.?This meant that Eurystheus became the great king of Mycenae (in succession to his father,see p.245),while Herakles never had a kingdom of his own.Herakles was therefore destined to spend most of his life outside his ancestral homeland,and to be sub- ordinate to Eurystheus even while he was there. According to a tale first recorded in the Hellenistic era,the birth of Herakles was finally expe- dited through the ingenuity of a servant or friend of Alkmene.In the familiar version by Ovid,the goddess of childbirth,here appearing under her Latin name of Lucina,delayed the hero's birth by seven days and nights by sitting outside Alkmene's bedroom door with her legs crossed and her fingers intertwined(gestures of enclosure that would achieve their effect by a form of sympathetic magic).Alkmene had a clever servant-maid,however,who noticed the attitude of the goddess and recognized why she had adopted it.So this maid, GALANTHIS,suddenly ran out to her and cried,'You must congratulate my mistress because she has given birth to a child!',prompting the goddess to leap up in astonishment and unlock her fingers and uncross her legs.The charm was undone as a consequence,and Herakles could be born at last.Angered by the girl's deception and by her subsequent laughter,the goddess turned her into a weasel,a beast that runs around the house much as Galanthis had done as a busy maidservant (for weasels-or more strictly,ferrets,i.e.domesticated polecats-were kept in the house in antiquity to keep down pests,much like cats in modern times).8 Or in a Greek version ascribed to the Hellenistic poet Nicander,Galinthias,as she is called here,was of high birth as a daughter of Proitos(a prominent Theban who gave his name to the Proitidian gates of the city),and was thus a friend and former playmate of Alkmene rather than a servant of hers.The story is much the same as in Ovid,except that the Moirai(Fates)assisted the goddess of childbirth in her task,and it was they who turned Galinthias into a weasel.This Greek account refers to an important matter,however,which is passed over by Ovid,the cultic implications of the myth.For we are told that Hekate made the weasel her attendant out of pity for Galinthias,and that Herakles later commem- orated her services to him by erecting an altar to her outside his house at Thebes and offering sacrifices on it,hence the sacrifices that the Thebans used to offer to Galinthias before their 248their war against the Giants. He originally intended, furthermore, that this son of his should be a mighty ruler in Argos, but this part of his plan was foiled by Hera. As the story is recounted in the Iliad, Zeus boasted of his intentions to the other gods, telling them that Eileithuia, the goddess of childbirth, would bring a man to birth on that day who would be king over all who lived around him (i.e. in Argos), and would be born from the race of those who came from Zeus’s blood (i.e. from the Perseids, who were descended from Perseus, son of Zeus). By making this ill￾advised declaration, he alerted Hera, who resented all her husband’s illegitimate children and immediately plotted to rob this one of his intended inheritance. She happened to know that Alkmene was not the only woman who was expecting a child of Perseid descent since the wife of Sthenelos, king of Mycenae, was also heavily pregnant. So she persuaded Zeus to swear formally that the son of his stock who would be born on that day would enjoy the destiny that he had announced; and she then instructed the Eileithuiai (goddesses of childbirth) to delay Alkmene’s delivery, while she herself hurried down from Olympos to ensure that the wife of Sthenelos should bring her child to birth at once in the seventh month of her preg￾nancy. As a consequence, Eurystheus, the son of Sthenelos, was born on that day instead of Herakles, and Zeus was therefore obliged by his oath to grant him the inheritance that he had been planning to grant to Herakles.7 This meant that Eurystheus became the great king of Mycenae (in succession to his father, see p. 245), while Herakles never had a kingdom of his own. Herakles was therefore destined to spend most of his life outside his ancestral homeland, and to be sub￾ordinate to Eurystheus even while he was there. According to a tale first recorded in the Hellenistic era, the birth of Herakles was finally expe￾dited through the ingenuity of a servant or friend of Alkmene. In the familiar version by Ovid, the goddess of childbirth, here appearing under her Latin name of Lucina, delayed the hero’s birth by seven days and nights by sitting outside Alkmene’s bedroom door with her legs crossed and her fingers intertwined (gestures of enclosure that would achieve their effect by a form of sympathetic magic). Alkmene had a clever servant-maid, however, who noticed the attitude of the goddess and recognized why she had adopted it. So this maid, GALANTHIS, suddenly ran out to her and cried, ‘You must congratulate my mistress because she has given birth to a child!’, prompting the goddess to leap up in astonishment and unlock her fingers and uncross her legs. The charm was undone as a consequence, and Herakles could be born at last. Angered by the girl’s deception and by her subsequent laughter, the goddess turned her into a weasel, a beast that runs around the house much as Galanthis had done as a busy maidservant (for weasels – or more strictly, ferrets, i.e. domesticated polecats – were kept in the house in antiquity to keep down pests, much like cats in modern times).8 Or in a Greek version ascribed to the Hellenistic poet Nicander, Galinthias, as she is called here, was of high birth as a daughter of Proitos (a prominent Theban who gave his name to the Proitidian gates of the city), and was thus a friend and former playmate of Alkmene rather than a servant of hers. The story is much the same as in Ovid, except that the Moirai (Fates) assisted the goddess of childbirth in her task, and it was they who turned Galinthias into a weasel. This Greek account refers to an important matter, however, which is passed over by Ovid, the cultic implications of the myth. For we are told that Hekate made the weasel her attendant out of pity for Galinthias, and that Herakles later commem￾orated her services to him by erecting an altar to her outside his house at Thebes and offering sacrifices on it, hence the sacrifices that the Thebans used to offer to Galinthias before their — The life of Herakles — 248