Οὐδὲν Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύο
not even Herakles (can fight) against two
Translated by Wm. Blake Tyrrell19 Sep 2005Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
They say that Herakles, after founding the Olympic games and having relied on his strength, in the first Olympiad and boxed against two men, Kteatos and Eurytos, the sons of Poseidon and Molione, and slew them.1 But on the second Olympiad, he again in the same way boxed against two and was defeated.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Οὐδὲν Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύο· φασὶν Ἡρακλέα θέντα τὸν Ὀλυμπιακὸν ἀγῶνα πιστεύσαντά τε τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει τῇ προτεραίᾳ πενταετηρίδι πυκτεῦσαι πρὸς δύο, Κτέατον καὶ Εὔρυτον, τοὺς Ποσειδῶνος καὶ Μολιόνης παῖδας, καὶ ἀνελεῖν αὐτούς· τῇ δευτέρᾳ δὲ πάλιν ὁμοίως πρός τινας δύο πυκτεύσαντα ἡττηθῆναι.
Betacode
*ou)de\n *(hraklh=s pro\s du/o: fasi\n *(hrakle/a qe/nta to\n *)olumpiako\n a)gw=na pisteu/santa/ te th=| e(autou= duna/mei th=| proterai/a| pentaethri/di pukteu=sai pro\s du/o, *kte/aton kai\ *eu)/ruton, tou\s *poseidw=nos kai\ *molio/nhs pai=das, kai\ a)nelei=n au)tou/s: th=| deute/ra| de\ pa/lin o(moi/ws pro/s tinas du/o pukteu/santa h(tthqh=nai.
Notes (1)
- See already omicron 780 (and again pi 2622). The proverb expresses as a truism that one man cannot successfully compete against two. Plato illustrates its use when Socrates, pointing out that Herakles was not a match for the Hydra and the Crab, admits a fortiori that he is no match for the brothers Dionysodoros and Euthydemos (Plato, Euthydemos 297B-C, at web address 1; cf Phaedo 89C, at web address 2). For the proverb see Zenobius 5.49 in Leutsch & Schneidewin 1.140-141 and the scholiast on Plato, Phaedo 89C (Greene).
- 1For the Molionidai, sons of their mother Molione, also known as Aktoriones, sons of their reputed father Aktor, whom, according to the usual story, Herakles slays by ambush on the road to the Isthmian Games, see Robert 2.538-543; Frazer, 2.248-249; Gantz 424-426. ↩
References
James George Frazer. Apollodorus: The Library. 2 vols. London and Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967. Reprint: 1921
Timothy Gantz. Early Greek Myth. 2 vols. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993
William Chase Greene. Scholia Platonica. Philological Monographs 8. Haverford, PA: Haverford College, 1938. Reprint, American Philological Association, 1981
E.L. von Leutsch and F.G. Schneidewin. Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum. Vol. 1. Hildescheim: Georg Olms, 1958
Carl Robert. Die griechische Heldensage. Vol. 2: Die Nationalheroen. Dublin and Zurich: Weidmann, 1967
Timothy Gantz. Early Greek Myth. 2 vols. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993
William Chase Greene. Scholia Platonica. Philological Monographs 8. Haverford, PA: Haverford College, 1938. Reprint, American Philological Association, 1981
E.L. von Leutsch and F.G. Schneidewin. Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum. Vol. 1. Hildescheim: Georg Olms, 1958
Carl Robert. Die griechische Heldensage. Vol. 2: Die Nationalheroen. Dublin and Zurich: Weidmann, 1967
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
- Web address 2 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from1 entry
Neighbouring entries
ο792Οὐδὲν ἦλθε ῥαψαμένη σκύτινον καθειμένονshe came having sewn to herself nothing leather and danglyο793Οὐδὲν ἦν παρά τ' ἄλλα πλὴν ὁ χρυσόςcompared to the rest the gold was nothingο794Οὐδὲν Ἡρακλῆς πρὸς δύοnot even Herakles (can fight) against twoο795Οὐδὲν ἧττονno lessο796Οὐδεναιόςin-no-way-a-lifetime-old
Revision history6 revisions · last 1 Aug 2013
- upgraded links — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Augmented notes, added web address — Tony Natoli
- tweaked headword; augmented notes; modified keywords — David Whitehead
- Modified headword; added italics; added link; set status — Elizabeth Vandiver
- Translated — Wm. Blake Tyrrell