Wednesday, 7 April 2021

THE LABORS OF HERACLES # 09: HIPPOLYTE'S BELT

 

Heracles when driven mad by the goddess Hera

Murdered his three children and his wife Megara

The Delphic oracle punished him for the murders

By ordering him to perform the Twelve Labors

The labors were set by king Eurystheus his cousin

The ninth Labor took Him to the land of the Amazon

To retrieve the belt of the amazon queen Hippolyte

A magical girdle for which he must probably fight

A race of fierce warrior women and great archers

Who were the first people to use mounted fighters

To get the belt as a gift for the daughter of Eurystheus

Heracles used other heroes among them Theseus

But as it turned out, the Amazon queen Hippolyte

Willingly gave Hercules her belt perhaps to be polite

But Hera was not about to let the hero off so easily

The goddess stirred up the Amazons very cleverly

With a rumor Heracles had captured their queen

And a great battle then ensued to vent their spleen 

But Heracles made off with the belt of Hippolyte

And Theseus an Amazon princess to their delight

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