§33βούλεται λέγειν διʼ ὑπερβολῆς ὅτι Ἡρακλῆς πᾶσαν μὲν γῆν, πᾶσαν δὲ θάλατταν διηρευνήσατο, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντας ὅρους καὶ πάσας ἐσχατιὰς ἀφίκετο, καὶ οὐδὲ τῶν κάτω γῆς ἄρα ἠμέλησεν, οὐδὲ τῶν μέχρι οὐρανοῦ, ἀλλʼ οὕτω σφόδρα ἐν καιρῷ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐγένετο ὥστε καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς Ἡρακλέους ἐδέησε πρὸς τὸ καταστήσασθαι τὰ ἑαυτῶν πράγματα.
(The poets) wish to say by way of hyperbole that Heracles searched out all the land and all the sea, and reached all boundaries and all extremities, and did not neglect even the things below the earth, nor those up to heaven, but became so very timely a help to all men that even the gods had need of Heracles to establish their own affairs.
δοκεῖν δέ μοι καὶ τὴν ἔξω θάλατταν πρὸς τὴν εἴσω πρῶτος ὡρίσατο, προμνώμενος τοῖς Ἕλλησι πάντα τοῦτον τὸν τόπον ὡς οἰκεῖον οἰκίζειν, καὶ τῶν στηλῶν τοῦτʼ εἶναι τὸ βούλημα, ἃς ἔτι νῦν Ἡρακλέους ὀνομάζομεν.
And it seems to me that he was also the first to define the outer sea in relation to the inner, preparing in advance this whole place for the Greeks to inhabit as their own; and this is the intention of the pillars which even now we call the Pillars of Heracles.
οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῖς ὑφʼ Ἑλλήνων λεγομένοις ἀκολουθῶν ἄν τις γνοίη τὴν ἐκείνου φύσιν καὶ ὅτι κρείττων ἢ κατʼ ἀνθρώπους ἐγένετο, ἀλλʼ ἴσμεν Αἰγυπτίους ὅσον τινὰ ἄγουσι θεὸν Ἡρακλέα καὶ Τυρίους ὅτι πρῶτον σέβουσι θεῶν.
And not only by following what is said by the Greeks would one know his nature and that he became greater than human, but we know how great a god the Egyptians hold Heracles to be, and that the Tyrians worship him as the first of the gods.
καίτοι εἰ μὲν ἅπαντες τὸν αὐτὸν νομίζοντες οὕτω τιμῶσι, τί μεῖζον ἂν εἴποι τις σύμβολον τῆς δυνάμεως;
And yet, if all of them honor him thus, considering him to be the same, what greater token of his power could one state?
εἰ δʼ οἱ μὲν ὡς ἕνα τῶν πρεσβυτάτων θεῶν νομίζουσιν, ἡμεῖς δʼ ὡς ὅμοιον ἐκείνῳ τοῦτον τῆς αὐτῆς ἠξιώκαμεν τιμῆς, καὶ οὕτω κρείττων ἢ κατʼ ἄνθρωπον γεγονὼς δείκνυται.
But if some consider him to be one of the oldest gods, while we have deemed this Heracles worthy of the same honor as being similar to that one, even so he is shown to have become greater than human.
δῆλα δὲ καὶ ταῖς τοῦ θεοῦ μαντείαις.
This is also clear from the oracles of the god.
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπῆλθεν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων Ἡρακλῆς καθαρθεὶς ὃν λέγεται τρόπον, εὐθὺς ἐξηγεῖτο νεώς τε Ἡρακλέους ἱδρύεσθαι καὶ θύειν ὡς θεῷ· καὶ ταῦτα μέντοι πρὸς τὴν τῶν Ἀθηναίων φράζων πόλιν, ἣ καὶ πρεσβυτάτη τῶν Ἑλληνίδων καὶ τῆς εἰς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν σπουδαιοτάτων ὥσπερ ἡγεμὼν τοῖς ἅπασιν ὑπῆρχεν.
For when Heracles departed from men, having been purified in the manner that is said, the oracle immediately directed that temples of Heracles be established and that sacrifices be made to him as a god; and this indeed it declared to the city of the Athenians, which was both the oldest of the Greek cities and existed as a leader, so to speak, for all in piety toward the gods and in other most serious matters.
ἔτι δʼ αὐτῇ καὶ φιλίας συμβόλαια πρὸς Ἡρακλέα πάμπολλα ὑπῆρχεν ἄλλα τε καὶ ὅτι πρῶτον ξένον ἐμύησεν, ἕως ἦν ἐν ἀνθρώποις.
Moreover, there were very many other tokens of friendship toward Heracles belonging to it, especially that it initiated him as the first foreigner, while he was still among men.
καὶ τοσοῦτόν γε τὸ ἐναργὲς τῆς σπουδῆς ἐγένετο καὶ οὕτω σφόδρα τῆς κρείττονος μοίρας ἐκρίθη τὸ ἐκείνου πρᾶγμα ὥστε καὶ ὅσα Θήσεια ἦν κατὰ δήμους, ἅπαντα μετεσκεύασαν καὶ κατέστησαν Ἡράκλεια ἀντὶ Θησείων, νομίσαντες Θησέα μὲν ἄριστον εἶναι τῶν πολιτῶν, Ἡρακλέα δὲ ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπου φύσιν.
And so great did the manifest evidence of their devotion become, and so strongly was his case judged to belong to the better portion, that they remodeled all the shrines of Theseus that were in the demes and established them as shrines of Heracles instead of Theseus, considering Theseus to be the best of the citizens, but Heracles to be beyond human nature.
§34τί δʼ ἄν τις τὰ πολλὰ λέγοι;
But why should one say many things?
ἔτι γὰρ καὶ νῦν ἐναργὴς ἡ κίνησις τοῦ θεοῦ.
For even now the movement of the god is manifest.
τοῦτο μὲν, ὡς ἀκούομεν, περὶ Γάδειρα θαυμαστὰ οἷα ἐργάζεται καὶ νομίζεται δεύτερος οὐδενὸς τῶν πάντων θεῶν, τοῦτο δὲ ἐν Μεσσήνῃ τῆς Σικελίας νόσων τε ἁπασῶν ἐκλύεται καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ κινδύνους οἱ διαφυγόντες ἐξ ἴσου Ποσειδῶνί τε καὶ Ἡρακλεῖ τὴν εὐεργεσίαν λογίζονται.
On the one hand, as we hear, around Gadeira he performs wonders of what sort, and is considered second to none of all the gods; on the other hand, in Messene in Sicily he releases people from all diseases, and those who escape dangers in the sea attribute the benefit equally to Poseidon and to Heracles.
πολλὰ δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλα ἔχοι τις χωρία καὶ ἱερὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καταλέγειν καὶ δυνάμεις ἐμφανεῖς.
And one could list many other places and temples of the god and manifest powers.
ἀλλὰ τί δεῖ τὰ πόρρω λέγειν;
But why is it necessary to speak of things far off?
ἀλλὰ τὸ στρατήγιον ἡμῖν Ἡράκλειον ἔοικεν εἶναι.
Our own headquarters seems to be a Herakleion.
κἀν τούτῳ πολλάκις ἤδη παίζων ὤφθη σφαίραις τισὶν Ἡρακλείοις.
And in this place he has already often been seen playing with certain Heraklean spheres.
αὗται δέ εἰσι λίθοι στρογγύλοι σταθμὸν ἄγοντες οὐκ ὀλίγον.
These are round stones carrying no small weight.
τούτων κτύπος τε ἀκούεται καὶ αὐτοὺς ἑτέρωθεν ἑτέρωθι φέρων τίθησι.
A noise from these is heard, and he carries and places them from one spot to another.
θαυμαστὰ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἄλλης ἐπιφανείας· ὥστε καίπερ οὕτω κοινὸν ὂν τὸ στρατήγιον ταῖς ἀκριβείαις ταῖς περὶ τὸν θεὸν ἀντʼ ἀδύτου καθέστηκε.
And the circumstances of his other manifestation are also wonderful; so that, although the headquarters is so public, because of the strict observances concerning the god, it has been established as a sanctuary.
τί δʼ ἂν εἴποις·
And what might one say?
τὴν περιβόητον κλῆσιν ἔν τε δὴ κωμῳδίαις καὶ τραγῳδίαις καὶ πᾶσι λόγοις, ἔτι καὶ νῦν παντὸς ὡς εἰπεῖν ὦ Ἡράκλεις βοῶντος ἐπὶ ἅπαντι τῷ χρείας ἱσταμένῳ, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ Σοφοκλέους, ἆρʼ οὐ μέγιστον ὑπόμνημα καὶ σύμβολον εἶναι τῆς ἐκείνου δικαιοσύνης καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ ὡς τῆς ἀνθρωπείας προὔστη φύσεως πάντας ἄγων πρὸς τὸ βέλτιστον;
That famous calling upon him both in comedies and tragedies and in all speeches, even now with virtually everyone shouting "O Heracles!" in every pressing need, this very thing of Sophocles, is it not the greatest memorial and token of his justice and power, and of how he stood protectively before human nature, leading everyone toward the best?
διʼ ἃ δὴ καὶ οἱ κατʼ αὐτὸν ὄντες τότε ἐκάλουν εἰς ἅπαντα, καὶ νῦν ἐμμεμένηκε τὸ ῥῆμα ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχαίας συνηθείας.
Because of which indeed those who were contemporary with him at that time called upon him in everything, and now the phrase has remained from the ancient habit.
αἱ τοίνυν ἐπωνυμίαι καλλίνικός τε καὶ ἀλεξίκακος ἡ μὲν μόνῳ θεῶν, ἡ δʼ ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις δέδοται.
Therefore, the epithets Kallinikos and Alexikakos are given, the former to him alone of the gods, and the latter among the first.
Κῶοι δὲ, ὡς ἐγὼ μέμνημαι, καὶ ἄλεξιν τὸν Ἡρακλέα νομίζουσι.
And the Coans, as I remember, also regard Heracles as Alexis (helper).
καὶ αὐτοῖς ἕστηκεν Ἡρακλῆς ἐκ θεοπροπίου ἐπηρμένος τῷ νώτῳ τὸ ῥόπαλον ὡς κύριος ὢν καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰς συμμετρίαν ἄγειν.
And a statue of Heracles stands among them from an oracle, with his club raised upon his back as if he were master also of bringing the heaven into symmetry.
οὐ τοίνυν τοσαῦτʼ ἄν τις ἔχοι μόνον εἰπεῖν περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὧν τὰ μὲν, ἡνίκʼ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἦν, τὰ δὲ καὶ νῦν ἔτι φαίνεται πράττων αὐτὸς ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ.
Not only so many things, therefore, could one say about the god, of which some he did when he was among men, and others he is seen doing even now by himself.
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ τῶν παίδων γένεσις ἐν πρώτοις ἂν εἴη· οὓς ἐκεῖνος ἐποιήσατο σωτῆρας κοινοὺς τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ
But also the birth of his children would be among the first; whom he made common saviors of Greece and of his own...