For the murder of Iphitus, Hercules was sold into slavery to Queen Lydia Omphale. Never before had Hercules experienced such hardships as in the service of the proud Lydian queen. The greatest of heroes suffered constant humiliation from her. It seemed that Omphale found pleasure in mocking the son of Zeus. Dressing Hercules in women's clothing, she forced him to spin and weave with her maids. The hero who struck the Lernaean hydra with his heavy club, the hero who brought the terrible Cerberus from the kingdom of Hades, strangled the Nemean lion with his hands and held the weight of the firmament on his shoulders, the hero, at whose very name his enemies trembled, had to sit, bent over, at a loom or spin wool with hands accustomed to wielding a sharp sword, pulling the string of a tight bow and striking down enemies with a heavy club. And Omphale, having put on the lion skin of Hercules, which covered her completely and dragged behind her along the ground, in his golden shell, girded with his sword and with difficulty shouldering the heavy club of the hero, stood in front of the son of Zeus and mocked him - her slave. Omphale seemed to set out to extinguish in Hercules all his invincible strength. Hercules had to endure everything, because he was in complete slavery to Omphale, and this was supposed to last three long years.
Only occasionally did Omphale release the hero from her palace. One day, after leaving the palace of Omphale, Hercules fell asleep in the shade of a grove in the vicinity of Ephesus. During his sleep, the Kerkopi dwarfs crept up to him and wanted to steal his weapon from him, but Hercules woke up just at the time when the Kerkops grabbed his bow and arrows. The hero caught them and tied their hands and feet. Hercules passed a large pole between the cerkopes' bound legs and carried them to Ephesus. But the Cerkopes made Hercules laugh so much with their antics that the great hero let them go.
During his slavery to Omphale, Hercules came to Aulis, to King Sileus, who forced all the foreigners who came to him to work like slaves in the vineyards. He also forced Hercules to work. The angry hero tore out all the vines from Sileus and killed the king himself, who did not honor the sacred custom of hospitality. During his slavery to Omphale, Hercules took part in the campaign of the Argonauts. But finally, the period of punishment ended, and the great son of Zeus was free again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru