-The life of Herakles- she pushed him away in such violent haste that some milk spilled out of her breast to form the Milky Way.She conferred immortality on him by her involuntary action, or the episode prefigured his future apotheosis at least.13 As would be expected,the hero's education was traditionally said to have been entrusted to the most celebrated experts.He learned the art of bowmanship from Eurytos of Oichalia,who was a grandson of Apollo(see p.412)and a skilled archer like his divine ancestor,as were all the male members of his family.In one form of his legend,indeed,Eurytos was eventually killed by Apollo because he dared to chal- lenge the god to an archery contest;but it was more commonly said that he died at the hand of his greatest pupil,Herakles himself(see p.283).Autolykos instructed Herakles in the art of wrestling;so great a trickster(see p.431)was presumably a past master of all the wiles of the ring.Herakles learned the art of chariot-driving from his father,and the art of war from Kastor.14 Music was less to his taste,however, and less suited to his natural abilities.His music-teacher,LINOS,became so exas- perated by his slowness that he eventually lost patience and struck him,to the great indignation of his young pupil,who struck back in anger with his lyre or plectrum, with fatal effect.Although Herakles escaped prosecution by citing a law of the great Cretan law-maker Rhadamanthys(see p.351)that justified retaliation in self-defence, his father decided that it would be prudent to cut his education short at this point, and sent him out into the countryside to tend the family herds.15 There are three separate bodies of myth associated with musicians called Linos,the other two relating to figures of that name who would have lived at an earlier period in mythical history.The idea on which all these stories are founded,namely that there had once been a young musician called Linos who had met a premature and pitiable death,was inspired by the existence of an ancient reaping-song known as the Linos-song',which had a refrain of ailinon which could be interpreted as meaning 'alas for Linos!'(although it was in fact a word of foreign origin). According to Argive tradition,Apollo fathered a son Linos by a princess of that land, Psamathe,who was the daughter of an early Argive ruler called Krotopos.She sent the child out to be exposed for fear of her father's anger,but the shepherd who was supposed to perform the task reared him as his own son instead,until the child happened to be torn apart by his dogs.On hearing of this,Psamathe was so distressed that she told the whole story to her father,who refused to believe that she had really borne the child to a god and ordered that she should be put to death.When Argos was struck by a plague as a conse- quence through the anger of Apollo,the citizens were advised by an oracle to appease the dead mother and child,and achieved this by means of prayers and laments(hence the origin of the Linos-song).Or in a rather different version,the infant Linos was torn apart by the king's sheep-dogs after he was exposed,and Apollo reacted by sending Poine (Vengeance personified)against Argos.Poine snatched the children of the city from their mothers until she was killed by a hero called Koroibos.When a plague broke out afterwards,Koroibos visited the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to discover how he could atone for the killing,and was instructed to take a tripod from the sanctuary and raise a temple to Apollo wherever he first dropped it.The tripod slipped from his hands on Mt Gerania in the Megarid;and the tomb of Koroibos could be seen nearby at the market-place at Megara.6 A Boeotian tradition suggested that Linos was borne to a certain Amphimaros,son of Poseidon,by the Muse Ourania.As befitted the child of a Muse,he grew up to become the finest of musicians,but soon provoked his own death at the hand of Apollo by claiming to 250she pushed him away in such violent haste that some milk spilled out of her breast to form the Milky Way. She conferred immortality on him by her involuntary action, or the episode prefigured his future apotheosis at least.13 As would be expected, the hero’s education was traditionally said to have been entrusted to the most celebrated experts. He learned the art of bowmanship from Eurytos of Oichalia, who was a grandson of Apollo (see p. 412) and a skilled archer like his divine ancestor, as were all the male members of his family. In one form of his legend, indeed, Eurytos was eventually killed by Apollo because he dared to chal￾lenge the god to an archery contest; but it was more commonly said that he died at the hand of his greatest pupil, Herakles himself (see p. 283). Autolykos instructed Herakles in the art of wrestling; so great a trickster (see p. 431) was presumably a past master of all the wiles of the ring. Herakles learned the art of chariot-driving from his father, and the art of war from Kastor.14 Music was less to his taste, however, and less suited to his natural abilities. His music-teacher, LINOS, became so exas￾perated by his slowness that he eventually lost patience and struck him, to the great indignation of his young pupil, who struck back in anger with his lyre or plectrum, with fatal effect. Although Herakles escaped prosecution by citing a law of the great Cretan law-maker Rhadamanthys (see p. 351) that justified retaliation in self-defence, his father decided that it would be prudent to cut his education short at this point, and sent him out into the countryside to tend the family herds.15 There are three separate bodies of myth associated with musicians called Linos, the other two relating to figures of that name who would have lived at an earlier period in mythical history. The idea on which all these stories are founded, namely that there had once been a young musician called Linos who had met a premature and pitiable death, was inspired by the existence of an ancient reaping-song known as the ‘Linos-song’, which had a refrain of ailinon which could be interpreted as meaning ‘alas for Linos!’ (although it was in fact a word of foreign origin). According to Argive tradition, Apollo fathered a son Linos by a princess of that land, Psamathe, who was the daughter of an early Argive ruler called Krotopos. She sent the child out to be exposed for fear of her father’s anger, but the shepherd who was supposed to perform the task reared him as his own son instead, until the child happened to be torn apart by his dogs. On hearing of this, Psamathe was so distressed that she told the whole story to her father, who refused to believe that she had really borne the child to a god and ordered that she should be put to death. When Argos was struck by a plague as a conse￾quence through the anger of Apollo, the citizens were advised by an oracle to appease the dead mother and child, and achieved this by means of prayers and laments (hence the origin of the Linos-song). Or in a rather different version, the infant Linos was torn apart by the king’s sheep-dogs after he was exposed, and Apollo reacted by sending Poine (Vengeance personified) against Argos. Poine snatched the children of the city from their mothers until she was killed by a hero called Koroibos. When a plague broke out afterwards, Koroibos visited the oracle of Apollo at Delphi to discover how he could atone for the killing, and was instructed to take a tripod from the sanctuary and raise a temple to Apollo wherever he first dropped it. The tripod slipped from his hands on Mt Gerania in the Megarid; and the tomb of Koroibos could be seen nearby at the market-place at Megara.16 A Boeotian tradition suggested that Linos was borne to a certain Amphimaros, son of Poseidon, by the Muse Ourania. As befitted the child of a Muse, he grew up to become the finest of musicians, but soon provoked his own death at the hand of Apollo by claiming to — The life of Herakles — 250