(I) Hera Zeus' Habitual Marital Infidelities Are an Old Theme in Greek Mytholo• Gy
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APPENDIX 1WO ORIGINS OF THE STEPMOTHER MYTHS 1. Stepmothers Prior to the 5th Century (i) Hera Zeus' habitual marital infidelities are an old theme in Greek mytholo gy. In the famous passage from Iliad 14 where Hera's seduction of her husband is described, Zeus, with superb lack of tact, offers a catalogue of previous amours (and their products) in order to make the point that he has never known such passion as he feels on the present occasion (lines 313ff.). Although no reference is made here to jealousy on Hera's part, the enmity of the goddess towards her most famous 'stepson' Heracles, is well-established elsewhere in the poem. Apart from general allusions (e.g. at 18.119 the thought that no one can escape death is illustrated by the fact that even mighty Heracles was laid low by Fate and the XOA0s"Hp11s ('wrath of Hera'), there are references to specific incidents: Hera's attempts to delay Alcmena's delivery (19.90ft), the tale of Hera sending Heracles off in a tempest to Cos, where he had to be rescued by an irate Zeus (15.24ff), and the stories of Hera's punishment for her treatment of Heracles. Other manifestations of Hera's malevolence towards Heracles, however, are known only from literature of a later date: for instance, her attack on him in the cradle is first alluded to by Pindar (Nern. l.33ff.), while her role in driving Heracles to the mad ness that resulted in his murdering his wife and children, is first found in Euripides' Herac/,es. 1 As to the famous labours, traditionally im posed upon Heracles by Eurystheus, Hera is made indirectly responsi ble for these as early as Iliad 19 in the sense that by accelerating the birth of Eurystheus (and thus enabling him to become ruler of both Mycenae and Tiryns), she prepares the way for Heracles' future enslavement to the king. Though Hesiod (Theog. 314f.) mentions that Hera reared the Lemean Hydra for Heracles, it is not until the time 1 Since, however, the theme of Heracles' madness was mentioned by earlier poets (e.g. Stesichorus, PMG fr.230, Panyassis, EGF fr.20), it is possible, if not likely, that the madness was attributed to Hera before Euripides. 240 APPENDIX 1WO of Ovid (Ars 2.217) that the goddess is said to have sent monsters directly against the hero. Of Hera's plots against other 'stepchildren', the only example for which there is early evidence is her attempt to obstruct the birth of Apollo and Artemis, a story that is first told in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo, dated to the 7th century. Note that in this earliest account Leto's wanderings are attributed not to Hera, but rather to the fact that no land has the courage to give birth to Apollo: Hera merely tries to prevent Ilithyia aiding Leto after she has finally ar rived on Delos. The version of the myth used by Callimachus in his 4th Hymn, where Hera herself is made responsible for Leto's wan derings, is possibly his own addition. In the case of Dionysus, Hera's enmity towards him must have been introduced early, since the story of the revenge taken on Athamas and Ino for the latter's nursing of the infant Dionysus appears in the Hesiodic Catalogue. On the other hand, the first mention of Hera in connection with the consumption by lightning of Semele is in Euripides, 2 likewise we have no evidence earlier than Euripides of Hera mistreating the god himself. It has been suggested, in fact, that the attribution to Hera of Dionysus' madness, alluded to by Euripides in the Cyclops (line 3), was invented to explain the description µaw6µEvos ('in a frenzy') at Iliad 6.132. 3 The first definite mention of the story in which Zeus hides Elare, pregnant with Tityos, under the earth, is in Pherecydes (5th cen tury). Although the description in Homer of Tityos as 'earth born' might be an allusion to this myth, it is equally likely that Pherecydes' story is a later invention to explain the Homeric epithet. Finally, the attribution of the death of Lamia's children to Hera may be no earlier than Duris (4-3rd cent.), while the tale of Epaphus, son of lo, is known only from accounts in Apollodorus and Hyginus. Hera, then, is portrayed in our earliest texts as indulging in stepmotherly behaviour, though many of the details were apparently added at a later date. She appears more stepmotherly over a period of time, as stories of her malevolence proliferate, and she acquires an ever-increasing number of 'stepchildren'. In view of her reputation, it is surprising that Hera is not, as far as we know, referred to as µTjTpuLa before the middle of the 4th 2 Though it is possible that Hera tempted Semele to her destruction in the lost Semel£ of Aeschylus: see Dodds ( 1960) Introduction xxx. 3 See Dodds (1960) 84. .