On the island of Euboea, in the city of Oichalia, King Eurytus ruled. The fame of Eurytus as the most skilled archer spread far throughout Greece. The archer Apollo himself was his teacher, even giving him a bow and arrows. Once upon a time, in his youth, Hercules also learned to shoot a bow from Eurytus. It was this king who announced throughout Greece that he would give his beautiful daughter Iola as a wife to the hero who would defeat him in an archery competition. Hercules, having just completed his service with Eurystheus, went to Oichalia, where many heroes of Greece had gathered, and took part in the competition. Hercules easily defeated King Eurytus and demanded that he give him his daughter Iola as his wife. Eurytus did not fulfill his promise. Forgetting the sacred custom of hospitality, he began to mock the great hero. He said that he would not give his daughter to the one who was the slave of Eurystheus. Finally, Eurytus and his arrogant sons kicked out Hercules, who was drunk during the feast, from the palace and even from Oichalia. Hercules left Oikhalia. Full of deep sadness, he left Euboea, because the great hero fell in love with the beautiful Iola. Having harbored anger in his heart against Eurytus, who had insulted him, he returned to Tiryns.
After some time, the most cunning of the Greeks, Autolycus, the son of Hermes, stole the herd from Eurytus. Eurytus blamed Hercules for this theft. The king of Oikhalia thought that the hero stole his herds, wanting to take revenge for the insult. Only Iphitus, the eldest son of Eurytus, did not want to believe that the great Hercules could steal his father’s herds. Iphit even volunteered to find the herds, just to prove the innocence of Hercules, with whom he had the closest friendship. During the search, Iphit came to Tiryns. Hercules warmly received his friend. One day, when the two of them were standing on the high walls of the fortress of Tiryns, built on a high rock, Hercules was suddenly overcome by a furious anger sent to him by the great goddess Hera. In anger, Hercules remembered the insult that Eurytus and his sons inflicted on him; no longer able to control himself, he grabbed Ifit and threw him from the wall of the fortress. The unfortunate Ifit fell to his death. With this murder, committed against his will, Hercules angered Zeus, since he violated the sacred custom of hospitality and the sanctity of the bonds of friendship. As punishment, the great Thunderer sent a serious illness to his son.
Hercules suffered for a long time, and finally, exhausted by illness, he went to Delphi to ask Apollo how to get rid of this punishment of the gods. But the soothsayer Pythia did not give him an answer. She even expelled Hercules from the temple as having defiled himself by murder. Enraged by this, Hercules stole from the temple the tripod from which the Pythia gave divinations. This angered Apollo. The golden-haired god appeared to Hercules and demanded that he return the tripod, but Hercules refused him. A fierce struggle ensued between the sons of Zeus - the immortal god Apollo and the mortal - the greatest of heroes, Hercules. Zeus did not want Hercules to die. He threw his brilliant lightning from Olympus between his sons and, separating them, stopped the fight. The brothers were reconciled. Then the Pythia gave the following answer to Hercules:
“You will only receive healing when you are sold into slavery for three years.” Give the money received for you to Eurytus as a ransom for his son Iphitus, who you killed.
Again Hercules had to lose his freedom. He was sold into slavery to Queen Lydia, daughter of Jordan, Omphale. Hermes himself took the money received for Hercules to Euryta. But the proud king of Oichalia did not accept them; he remained as before the enemy of Hercules.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru