Mythology, Greek; Trojan War -- Literature and the war; Troy (Extinct city) -- Legends
Then the sons of the North Wind were angry, and bade them set sail
without him, and sail they did, leaving the strong man behind. Long
afterward, when the Fleece was won, Heracles met the sons of the North
Wind, and slew them with his arrows. And he buried them, and set a great
stone on each grave, and one of these is ever stirred, and shakes when
the North Wind blows. There they lie, and their golden wings are at
rest.
Still they sped on, with a west wind blowing, and they came to a country
whose king was strong, and thought himself the best boxer then living,
so he came down to the ship and challenged anyone of that crew; and
Polydeuces, the boxer, took up the challenge. All the rest, and the
people of the country, made a ring, and Polydeuces and huge King Amycus
stepped into the midst, and put up their hands. First they moved round
each other cautiously, watching for a chance, and then, as the sun shone
forth in the Giant's face, Polydeuces leaped in and struck him between
the eyes with his left hand, and, strong as he was, the Giant staggered
and fell. Then his friends picked him up, and sponged his face with
water, and all the crew of 'Argo' shouted with joy. He was soon on his
feet again, and rushed at Polydeuces, hitting out so hard that he would
have killed him if the blow had gone home. But Polydeuces just moved his
head a little on one side, and the blow went by, and, as the Giant
slipped, Polydeuces planted one in his mouth and another beneath his
ear, and was away before the Giant could recover.
There they stood, breathing heavily, and glaring at each other, till the
Giant made another rush, but Polydeuces avoided him, and struck him
several blows quickly in the eyes, and now the Giant was almost blind.
Then Polydeuces at once ended the combat by a right-hand blow on the
temple. The Giant fell, and lay as if he were dead. When he came to
himself again, he had no heart to go on, for his knees shook, and he
could hardly see. So Polydeuces made him swear never to challenge
strangers again as long as he lived, and then the crew of 'Argo' crowned
Polydeuces with a wreath of poplar leaves, and they took supper, and
Orpheus sang to them, and they slept, and next day they came to the
country of the unhappiest of kings.
His name was Phineus, and he was a prophet; but, when he came to meet
Jason and his company, he seemed more like the ghost of a beggar than a
crowned king. For he was blind, and very old, and he wandered like a
dream, leaning on a staff, and feeling the wall with his hand. His limbs
all trembled, he was but a thing of skin and bone, and foul and filthy
to see. At last he reached the doorway of the house where Jason was, and
sat down, with his purple cloak fallen round him, and he held up his
skinny hands, and welcomed Jason, for, being a prophet, he knew that now
he should be delivered from his wretchedness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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