Theban and Pylian Queens

24“And after her I saw Antiope,
The daughter of Asopus —her who made
A boast that she had slumbered in the arms
Of Zeus. Two sons she bore —Amphion one,
The other Zethus —and they founded Thebes
With its seven gates, and girt it round with towers;
For, valiant as they were, they could not dwell
Safely in that great town unfenced by towers.

25“And after her I saw Amphitryon’s wife,
Alcmena, her who brought forth Heracles,
The dauntless hero of the lion-heart —
For she had given herself into the arms
Of mighty Zeus. I also saw
Megara there, a daughter of the house
Of haughty Creion. Her Amphitryon’s son,
Unamable in strength, had made his wife.

26“The mother, too, of Oedipus I saw,
Beautiful Epicaste, who in life
Had done unwittingly a heinous deed —
Had married her own son, who, having slain
Her father first, espoused her; but the gods
Published abroad the rumor of the crime.
He in the pleasant town of Thebes bore sway
Over the Cadmeians; yet in misery
He lived, for so the offended gods ordained.
And she went down to Hades and the gates
That stand forever barred; for, wild with grief,
She slung a cord upon a lofty beam
And perished by it, leaving him to bear
Woes without measure, such as on a son
The furies of a mother might inflict.

27“And there I saw the dame supremely fair,
Chloris, whom Neleus with large marriage-gifts
Wooed, and brought home a bride; the youngest she
Among the daughters of Iasus’ son,
Amphion, ruler over Orchomenus,
The Minyeian town, and over the realm
Of Pylos. Three illustrious sons she bore
To Neleus —Nestor, Chromius, and a chief
Of lofty bearing, Periclymenus.
She brought forth Pero also, marvellous
In beauty, wooed by all the region round;
but Neleus would bestow the maid on none
Save him who should drive off from Phylace
The beeves, broad-fronted and with crooked horns,
Of valiant Iphicles —a difficult task.
One man alone, a blameless prophet, dared
Attempt it; but he found himself withstood
By fate, and rigid fetters, and a force
Of rustic herdsmen. Months and days went by,
And the full year, led by the hours, came round.
The valiant Iphicles, who from the seer
Had heard the oracles explained, took off
The shackles, and the will of Zeus was done.