Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Augeas (or Augeias, , grc-gre, Αὐγείας), whose name means "bright", was king of

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

and father of Epicaste. Some say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts.

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammati ...

, ''Fabulae'
14
/ref> He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned, until the time of the great hero

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

Family

Augeas's lineage varies in the sources: he was said to be either the son of Helios either by

Nausidame In Greek mythology, Nausidame was the daughter of Amphidamas. She consorted with Helius and became mother of Augeas, king of Elis.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'14/ref> Otherwise, the latter was called the son of the Epeian King Eleios,Pausanias, 5.1.9 or Po ...

or Iphiboe, or of Eleios, or of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

, or of

Phorbas In Greek mythology, Phorbas (; Ancient Greek: Φόρβας ''Phórbās'', gen. Φόρβαντος ''Phórbantos'' means "giving pasture"), or Phorbaceus , may refer to: * Phorbas of Elis, son of Lapithes and Orsinome, and a brother of Periphas. ...

and

Hyrmine In Greek mythology, Hyrmine (; ) or Hyrmina was an Elean princess. The town of Hyrmine, named after her, was founded by her son Actor. Family Hyrmina was the daughter of Neleus, Nycteus, or, according to others, of Epeius and Anaxiroe, an ...

. Apollodorus, 2.88 In the latter account, Augeas was probably the brother of

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, Tiphys and Diogeneia. His children were Epicaste, Phyleus, Agamede, Agasthenes, and Eurytus.

Mythology

The fifth Labour of Heracles (

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) was to clean the Augean () stables.

Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Fami ...

intended this assignment both as humiliating (rather than impressive, like the previous labours) and as impossible, since the livestock were divinely healthy (

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

) and therefore produced an enormous quantity of dung (). These stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years, and 3,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth. Augeas reacted angrily because he had promised Heracles one tenth of his cattle if the job was finished in one day. He refused to honor the agreement, and Heracles killed him after completing the tasks. Heracles gave his kingdom to Phyleus, Augeas' son, who had been exiled for supporting Heracles against his father. According to the odes of the poet

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

, Heracles then founded the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

: Eurystheus discounted the success of this labour because the rushing waters had done the work of cleaning the stables and because Heracles was paid. Stating that Heracles still had seven labours to do, Eurystheus then sent Heracles to defeat the Stymphalian Birds.

Classical literature sources

Augeas

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for Augeas: * Homer, ''Iliad'' 2. 615 ff (trans. Murray) (Greek epic poetry C8th BC) * Homer, ''Iliad'' 2. 625 ff * Homer, ''Iliad'' 11. 696 ff * Homer, ''Iliad'' 11. 737 ff * Telegony ''Fragment 1'' (''Hesiod the Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' trans. Evelyn-White 1920) (Greek epic poetry C8th or 6th BC) * Pindar, ''Olympian Ode'' 10. 28 ff (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric poetry C5th BC) * Pindar, ''Olympian Ode'' 10. 33ff * Theocritus, ''Idylls'' 25. 1 ff (trans. Banks) (Greek bucolic poetry C3rd BC) * Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 3. 367 ff (trans. Coleridge) (Greek epic poetry C3rd BC) * Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 3. 432 ff * Callimachus, Uncertain Location Fragment 69 (216) (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Scholiast on Callimachus, Uncertain Location Fragment 69 (216) (''Callimachus and Lycophron Aratus'' trans. Mair 1921 p. 261) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 69. 2 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 13. 3 * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 33. 1-4 * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 187 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 8. 3. 9 (trans. Jones) (Greek geography C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 10. 2. 19 * Philippus of Thessalonica, ''The Twelve Labors of Hercules'' (''The Greek Classics'' ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigram C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 247 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1889 ff (trans. Miller) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 1. 9. 16 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 5 * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 11 * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 7. 2-3 * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 7. 8 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 2. 15. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 1. 8-3. 4 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 4. 2 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 8. 1-3 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 6. 20. 15-16 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 8. 14. 9 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 14 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 30 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 157 * Aelian, ''Historical Miscellany'' 1. 24 (trans. Wilson) (Greek rhetoric C2nd to 3rd AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 258 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Servius, ''In Vergilii Carmina Commentarii'' 8. 300 ff (trans. Thilo) (Greek commentary C4th AD to 5th AD) * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 242 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 278-290 (trans. Untia) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD)

Stables of Augeas

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for the Stables of Augeas: * Callimachus, Uncertain Location Fragment 69 (216) (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Scholiast on Callimachus, Uncertain Location Fragment 69 (216) (''Callimachus and Lycophron Aratus'' trans. Mair 1921 p. 261) * Lycophron, Alexandra 648 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Scholiast on Lycophron, Alexandra 648 ff (''Callimachus and Lycophron Aratus'' trans. Mair 1921 p. 548 * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 13. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 33. 1-4 * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 187 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 247 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD): * Seneca ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1889 ff * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 5 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 11 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 30 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 258 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Servius, ''In Vergilii Carmina Commentar''ii 8. 300 ff (trans. Thilo) (Greek commentary C4th AD to 5th AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 278-290 (trans. Untila) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Historie''s 2. 497 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 8. 268 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Historie''s 12. 248

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Diodorus Siculus, '' The Library of History'' translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
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