Eurystheus knew that a wonderful Kerynean doe lived in Arcadia, sent by the goddess Artemis to punish people. This doe devastated the fields. Eurystheus sent Hercules to catch her and ordered him to deliver the doe alive to Mycenae. This doe was extremely beautiful, her horns were golden and her legs were copper. Like the wind, she rushed through the mountains and valleys of Arcadia, never knowing fatigue. For a whole year, Hercules pursued the Cerynean doe. She rushed through the mountains, across the plains, jumped over chasms, swam across rivers. The doe ran further and further north. The hero did not lag behind her, he pursued her without losing sight of her. Finally, in pursuit of the doe, Hercules reached the far north - the country of the Hyperboreans and the sources of the Istra. Here the doe stopped. The hero wanted to grab her, but she escaped and, like an arrow, rushed back to the south. The chase began again. Hercules only managed to overtake a doe in Arcadia. Even after such a long chase, she did not lose strength. Desperate to catch the doe, Hercules resorted to his never-missing arrows. He wounded the golden-horned doe in the leg with an arrow, and only then did he manage to catch her. Hercules put the wonderful doe on his shoulders and was about to carry her to Mycenae, when an angry Artemis appeared before him and said:
“Didn’t you know, Hercules, that this doe is mine?” Why did you insult me by wounding my beloved doe? Don't you know that I don't forgive insults? Or do you think that you are more powerful than the Olympian gods?
Hercules bowed with reverence before the beautiful goddess and answered:
- Oh, great daughter of Latona, don’t blame me! I have never insulted the immortal gods living on bright Olympus; I have always honored the inhabitants of heaven with rich sacrifices and never considered myself equal to them, although I myself am the son of the thunderer Zeus. I did not pursue your doe of my own free will, but at the command of Eurystheus. The gods themselves commanded me to serve him, and I do not dare disobey Eurystheus!
Artemis forgave Hercules for his guilt. The great son of the thunderer Zeus brought the Cerynean doe alive to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru