§4.17.1Εὐρυσθέως δὲ προστάξαντος ἆθλον δέκατον τὰς Γηρυόνου βοῦς ἀγαγεῖν, ἃς νέμεσθαι συνέβαινε τῆς Ἰβηρίας ἐν τοῖς πρὸς τὸν ὠκεανὸν κεκλιμένοις μέρεσιν, Ἡρακλῆς θεωρῶν τὸν πόνον τοῦτον μεγάλης προσδεόμενον παρασκευῆς καὶ κακοπαθείας, συνεστήσατο στόλον ἀξιόλογον καὶ πλῆθος στρατιωτῶν ἀξιόχρεων ἐπὶ ταύτην τὴν στρατείαν.
Eurystheus having commanded as a tenth labor to bring the cattle of Geryon, which happened to graze in those parts of Iberia sloping towards the ocean, Heracles, seeing that this labor required great preparation and hardship, assembled a noteworthy fleet and a multitude of worthy soldiers for this expedition.
§4.17.2διεβεβόητο γὰρ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅτι Χρυσάωρ ὁ λαβὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ πλούτου τὴν προσηγορίαν βασιλεύει μὲν ἁπάσης Ἰβηρίας, τρεῖς δʼ ἔχει συναγωνιστὰς υἱούς, διαφέροντας ταῖς τε ῥώμαις τῶν σώματων καὶ ταῖς ἐν τοῖς πολεμικοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἀνδραγαθίαις, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ὅτι τῶν υἱῶν ἕκαστος μεγάλας ἔχει δυνάμεις συνεστώσας ἐξ ἐθνῶν μαχίμων· ὧν δὴ χάριν ὁ μὲν Εὐρυσθεὺς νομίζων δυσέφικτον εἶναι τὴν ἐπὶ τούτους στρατείαν, προσετετάχει τὸν προειρημένον ἆθλον.
For it had been voiced abroad throughout the whole inhabited world that Chrysaor, who received this name from his wealth, ruled over all Iberia, and had three sons as fellow-combatants, who excelled in the strength of their bodies and their bravery in warlike contests, and furthermore that each of the sons had great forces composed of warlike nations; for which reasons Eurystheus, thinking that an expedition against them would be difficult to achieve, had commanded the aforementioned labor.
§4.17.3ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς ἀκολούθως ταῖς προκατειργασμέναις πράξεσι τεθαρρηκότως ὑπέστη τοὺς κινδύνους.
And Heracles, consistently with his previously accomplished deeds, courageously underwent the dangers.
καὶ τὰς μὲν δυνάμεις ἤθροισεν εἰς Κρήτην, κεκρικὼς ἐκ ταύτης ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὁρμήν· σφόδρα γὰρ εὐφυῶς ἡ νῆσος αὕτη κεῖται πρὸς τὰς ἐφʼ ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην στρατείας.
And he gathered his forces in Crete, having decided to make his start from there; for this island lies very advantageously for expeditions against the whole inhabited world.
πρὸ δὲ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς τιμηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων μεγαλοπρεπῶς, καὶ βουλόμενος τοῖς Κρησὶ χαρίσασθαι, καθαρὰν ἐποίησε τὴν νῆσον τῶν θηρίων.
And before his departure, being honored magnificently by the inhabitants, and wishing to show favor to the Cretans, he cleared the island of wild beasts.
διόπερ ἐν τοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις οὐδὲν ἔτι τῶν ἀγρίων ζῴων ὑπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ, οἷον ἄρκτων, λύκων, ὄφεων ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων.
Therefore, in later times, none of the wild animals existed any longer on the island, such as bears, wolves, snakes, or others of such kind.
ταῦτα δʼ ἔπραξεν ἀποσεμνύνων τὴν νῆσον, ἐν ᾗ μυθολογοῦσι καὶ γενέσθαι καὶ τραφῆναι τὸν Δία.
This he did to glorify the island, in which they mythologize that Zeus was both born and brought up.
§4.17.4ποιησάμενος οὖν τὸν ἐκ ταύτης πλοῦν κατῆρεν εἰς τὴν Λιβύην, καὶ πρῶτον μὲν Ἀνταῖον τὸν ῥώμῃ σώματος καὶ παλαίστρας ἐμπειρίᾳ διαβεβοημένον καὶ τοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ καταπαλαισθέντας ξένους ἀποκτείναντα προκαλεσάμενος εἰς μάχην καὶ συμπλακεὶς διέφθειρεν.
Having made his voyage from there, therefore, he landed in Libya; and first, having challenged to battle Antaeus, who was famed for his bodily strength and skill in wrestling and who killed the strangers defeated by him in wrestling, and having grappled with him, he slew him.
ἀκολούθως δὲ τούτοις τὴν μὲν Λιβύην πλήθουσαν ἀγρίων ζῴων, πολλὰ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον χώραν χειρωσάμενος, ἐξημέρωσεν, ὥστε καὶ γεωργίαις καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις φυτείαις ταῖς τοὺς καρποὺς παρασκευαζούσαις πληρωθῆναι πολλὴν μὲν ἀμπελόφυτον χώραν, πολλὴν δʼ ἐλαιοφόρον· καθόλου δὲ τὴν Λιβύην διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν κατὰ τὴν χώραν θηρίων ἀοίκητον πρότερον οὖσαν ἐξημερώσας ἐποίησε μηδεμιᾶς χώρας εὐδαιμονίᾳ λείπεσθαι.
Consistently with these deeds, as Libya was full of wild beasts, having subdued many of them in the desert region, he tamed the land, so that a large territory planted with vines and a large one bearing olives were filled with agriculture and other plantations producing fruits; in general, having tamed Libya, which was formerly uninhabited due to the multitude of wild beasts throughout the country, he made it second to no land in prosperity.
§4.17.5ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοὺς παρανομοῦντας ἀνθρώπους ἢ δυνάστας ὑπερηφάνους ἀποκτείνας τὰς πόλεις ἐποίησεν εὐδαίμονας.
Likewise also, having slain lawless men or arrogant dynasts, he made the cities prosperous.
μυθολογοῦσι δʼ αὐτὸν διὰ τοῦτο μισῆσαι καὶ πολεμῆσαι τὸ γένος τῶν ἀγρίων θηρίων καὶ παρανόμων ἀνδρῶν, ὅτι παιδὶ μὲν ὄντι νηπίῳ συνέβη τοὺς ὄφεις ἐπιβούλους αὐτῷ γενέσθαι, ἀνδρωθέντι δὲ πεσεῖν ὑπʼ ἐξουσίαν ὑπερηφάνου καὶ ἀδίκου μονάρχου τοῦ τοὺς ἄθλους προστάττοντος.
And they mythologize that he hated and made war upon the race of wild beasts and lawless men for this reason, because when he was a helpless child it happened that snakes plotted against him, and when he became a man he fell under the authority of an arrogant and unjust monarch who commanded his labors.