Page:Greek and Roman Mythology.djvu/128

 114 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY the she-goat Amalthea, i.e. the horn of plenty, from which issues a stream of nourishment and blessing. Yet this horn properly belongs to Hercules himself as the dis- penser of fruitfulness, in which capacity he was much worshiped, especially in the country. A counterpart of the battle with the river god is furnished by the wrest- ling match (usually introduced in connection with the Hesperides adventure) with Hallos Geron, the old man of the sea, who afterwards is called Nereus or Triton. 147. On his journey back to Trachis Hercules killed the Centaur Nessus (this being a counterpart of his battle with the Centaurs on Mount Pholoe), who at- tempted to offer violence to De'ianira while carrying her on his back across the ford of the river Evenus. The dying Centaur advised her to catch up and take with her the blood streaming from his wound, saying that it would act as a love charm. Some time later, hear- ing that after the capture of Oechalia Hercules had made the beautiful lole his prisoner, De'ianira rubbed this blood upon a garment and sent it by Lichas to her husband on his way home. Hercules had scarcely put it on before the poison of Nessus pierced through his body. In fury at his torment he flung Lichas into the sea, but could not remove the garment, which clung to his limbs and tore the flesh off with it. De'ianira killed herself in pure desperation; but Hercules charged his son Hyllus to marry lole, mounted a funeral pyre erected on the summit of Mount Oeta, and by the gift of his bow and arrows persuaded Poeas, the father of Philoctetes, or, according to another account, Philoctetes himself, to apply the torch. Amid thunder and lightning he as- cended to heaven, being thus purified by fire, and became