[4\7: Allusions in the Iliad and Odyssey presuppose the existence of an old poem on the journey to Hades of Herakles: how he was commissioned by Eurystheus, conducted by Athene (and Hermes), went down below and wounded Hades himself and carried off the dog of Hades. Many hands must subsequently have taken part in filling in the details of the adventure: we cannot, however, definitely name the poet who gave its final form and character to the whole. As far as the individual features of the poem are known to us (esp. from the survey given in [Apollod.], 2, 12. _Myth. Gr._, 2, 122 ff. W., combining both early and late mythological characteristics), they are rather the features of a vigorous story of heroic adventure, full of movement and tending to the gruesome and the extravagant--not of a static or {244} tranquil narrative that would allow of the calm reception of pictures illustrating the quiet ordinary life and events of frequent occurrence in the mysterious world of darkness. In this respect the ~kata/basis~ of Herakles in its traditional form must have differed noticeably from the Nekyia in ~l~, as well as from the Minyas. In fact, not one of the fabulous details current in later times about Hades can be traced back to a description in the Herakles adventure (even "Kerberos" seems to have got his name elsewhere.] [5\7: Hyperides, _Epit._ § 35-9 = p. 92 f. (Blass^3): Leosthenes will meet ~en Ha/idou~ the Heroes of the Trojan war, the Persian war, and also Harmodios and Aristogeiton. This is a stereotyped rhetorical idea: cf. Pl., _Ap._ 41 A-C. An epigram from Knossos on a Cretan who has distinguished himself in a cavalry battle (_BCH._ 1889, p. 60, ll. 1-2, after Simon., _Ep._ 99, 3-4 Bgk.), ll. 9-10: ~tou/neka/ se phthime/nôn kath' homê/gurin ho kluto\s Ha/dês i/se polissou/chô| su/nthronon Idomenei=~.]