§31ἀλλʼ ὦ φίλτατε Ἡράκλεις σέ γε ἐπαινεῖν ἄθλων ὁ ἥδιστος· πάντως δὲ πολυύμνητος εἶ.
But, O dearest Heracles, to praise you is the sweetest of labors; in any case, you are much-sung.
πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ οἱ καταλογάδην ᾁδοντες τὰ σὰ, πολλὰ δὲ ποιηταὶ κατὰ πάντας τρόπους ὑμνήκασι· μέγιστον δὲ ὁ καθʼ ἡμέραν ὑπὸ πάντων ἔπαινος ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς παραπιπτούσης προφάσεως ἀεὶ γιγνόμενος.
For many are those who sing of your deeds in prose, and many things have poets sung in praise of you in every manner; but greatest is the daily praise by all people, which always occurs on every occasion that presents itself.
καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδὲν τοσοῦτον τῆς ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως ὑπερᾶραι ᾧ πατὴρ μὲν τὰ πρῶτα τῶν ὄντων, μήτηρ δὲ ἣν ἐκεῖνος ἐξ ἁπασῶν προὔκρινε.
And it is no wonder that he rose so far above human nature, he whose father was the first of existing things, and mother she whom that one preferred out of all women.
τοσαύτην δὲ ἔσχε τὴν σπουδὴν εἰς τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ ὥστε τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ νύκτας ἑξῆς, ὥς φασι, συνῆν αὐτῇ, βουλόμενος τῆς αὑτοῦ φύσεως ὅτι πλεῖστον καὶ ἀκριβέστατον εἰς τὰς γονὰς καταθέσθαι.
And he had such great concern for his birth that for three days and nights in succession, as they say, he was with her, wishing to deposit as much as possible and the most exact portion of his own nature into the seed.
ἦν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅλων ἡ βουλὴ, ὅπως κοσμηθείη τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράγματα καὶ γῆ καὶ θάλαττα ἐνεργὰ κατασταίη.
For his plan was for the sake of the whole universe, so that the affairs of men might be ordered and both land and sea might become active.
καὶ γίγνεται δὴ οὕτως Ἡρακλῆς συνεργὸς τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὕπαρχος τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν τῆς σελήνης πόλον, καὶ τὰ σημεῖα εὐθὺς ἠκολούθησεν.
And thus indeed Heracles became a helper to his father and ruler of the things beneath the pole of the moon, and signs immediately followed.
ἐπελθόντας γὰρ αὐτῷ τοὺς δράκοντας ἐπὶ τὰ σπάργανα ἀντʼ ἄλλης κινήσεως τῆς χειρὸς διεχρήσατο· παῖς δʼ ἔτʼ ἦν καὶ Θηβαίους ἀντʼ ἄλλης παιδιᾶς ἠλευθέρωσε τοῦ δασμοῦ, ὃν ἐκεῖνοι συχνὸν ἤδη χρόνον Ὀρχομενίοις §32ἔφερον.
For when the serpents came upon him in his swaddling clothes, instead of any other movement of his hand he destroyed them; and he was still a boy when, instead of any other play, he freed the Thebans from the tribute which they for a long time already were paying to the Orchomenians.
ἀρξάμενος δὲ ἀφʼ ἑστίας ἐκάθηρε τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὸ κοινὸν γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πάντας ἐφεξῆς ἐπιὼν, τούς τε ἐν ταῖς νήσοις καὶ τοὺς κατʼ ἤπειρον, οὐδὲν τῶν εἰς εὐεργεσίαν φερόντων ἐλλείπων, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν θηρία χειρούμενος, ὧν ὑπὸ πλήθους καὶ μεγέθους ἀοίκητα ἦν τὰ πολλὰ τῆς χώρας, τοὺς δὲ τυράννους ἀναιρῶν ὃν ἑκάστους αὐτῶν προσῆκε τρόπον, τὰς δὲ πόλεις σωφρονίζων τὰς μὲν τοῖς νόμοις, τὰς δὲ τοῖς ὅπλοις, λῃστὰς δὲ χερσαίους τε καὶ θαλαττίους καὶ πάντας ὅσοι ῥώμῃ σώματος θαρροῦντες ὕβριζον εἰς τοὺς ἐλάττους πανωλεθρίᾳ διαφθείρων, ὁμοίως ἔν τε τῇ Ἑλλάδι καὶ τῇ βαρβάρῳ.
And starting from the hearth he cleansed Greece, and then also the common race of men, visiting all in succession, both those in the islands and those on the mainland, leaving out nothing of what leads to beneficence, but subduing wild beasts, because of whose multitude and size most of the land was uninhabitable, and destroying tyrants in the manner that was fitting for each of them, and bringing cities to their senses, some by laws, others by arms, and utterly destroying land and sea bandits, and all who, trusting in physical strength, committed outrages against the weaker, both in Greece and in barbarian lands alike.
πάντα γὰρ τὰ τῇ φύσει πολέμια ἐχθρὰ ἡγήσατο ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ μόνος τῶν εἰς γῆν ἐλθόντων εἰς κοινὸν ἅπασιν ἐνομοθέτησεν, οὐ μόνον ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ θηρίοις ὡς εἰπεῖν, ὅς γε καὶ τὰς ὄρνις τὰς περὶ Στύμφηλον διαφθειρούσας τὰ πολλὰ τῆς Ἀρκαδίας εὗρεν ὅπως ἐκβάλῃ, ὥσπερ οὐ μόνον γῆν καὶ θάλατταν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἀέρα αὐτῷ προσῆκον ἐλευθεροῦν.
For he considered all things naturally hostile to be his own enemies, and he alone of those who came upon the earth legislated for all in common—not only for men, but also, so to speak, for beasts, seeing that he even found a way to expel the birds around Stymphalus which were destroying most of Arcadia, as if it befitted him to free not only land and sea, but also the air.
καὶ μὴν ὅσα μὲν ποταμῶν ῥεύμασιν ἢ λίμναις ἐπιέζετο, γῆν καθίστη ξηρὰν, ὅσα δʼ αὖ τῆς ἐξ ὕδατος καθάρσεως ἐδεῖτο, τοὺς ποταμοὺς ἐφιεὶς οὐ μόνον φορητὰ ἰδεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνεργὰ ἀπέφαινε.
Moreover, whatever lands were oppressed by currents of rivers or lakes, he made dry land, and whatever conversely needed cleansing by water, by letting in the rivers he made them not only tolerable to look at, but also productives.
καὶ οὕτω δὴ κατειργάσατο γῆν καὶ θάλατταν καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ λίμνας καὶ ἀέρα καὶ πέτρας καὶ ἄνδρας καὶ πόλεις, τοὺς νόμους τοῖς ὅπλοις συγκεραννὺς, ὥστε τῆς ἐκείνου δυναστείας μηδὲν εἶναι μήτε λαμπρότερον μήτε λυσιτελέστερον χρήσασθαι.
And thus indeed he subdued land and sea and rivers and lakes and air and rocks and men and cities, mixing laws with arms, so that nothing of his sovereignty was either more glorious or more profitable to experience.
βίᾳ μὲν γὰρ ἀρρήκτῳ οὐδὲν αὐτὸν ἐξέφυγε τῶν ἐγχειρισθέντων, δικαιοσύνης δὲ ὑπερβολῇ πάντʼ ἐγίγνετο ἐπʼ ὠφελείᾳ τοῦ κοινοῦ γένους.
For by unbreakable strength nothing of what was entrusted to him escaped him, and by an excess of justice everything was done for the benefit of the common race.
ἐκ δὲ τούτων ποιηταὶ Προμηθέας τε ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ λυομένους συνέθεσαν, ὡς καὶ ὅσα δήσειεν ὁ Ζεὺς, ταῦτʼ ἐξὸν Ἡρακλεῖ λῦσαι, καὶ τὸν Ἄτλαντα ὡς ἀπέπαυσε διαδεξάμενος καὶ ἀνασχὼν τὸν οὐρανὸν αὐτὸς, καὶ τὸν Κέρβερον ὡς ἀνήγαγεν ἐξ Ἅιδου καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ Θησέα τὸν τῶν Ἐρεχθειδῶν, καὶ ὡς Πλούτωνα καὶ Ἥραν τρώσειε, καὶ τοὺς Γίγαντας ὡς χειρώσαιτο ἐπίκουρος τοῖς θεοῖς γενόμενος· τὰ δʼ οἶμαι
And from these things, poets composed stories of Prometheuses being freed by him, as though even whatever Zeus had bound, it was permitted to Heracles to loose, and how he relieved Atlas, taking his place and himself holding up the heaven, and how he brought up Cerberus from Hades, and with him Theseus, the descendant of Erechtheus, and how he wounded Pluto and Hera, and how he subdued the Giants, becoming an ally to the gods; and the rest, I think...