Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, the Ceryneian hind ( ''Kerynitis elaphos'', Latin: ''Elaphus Ceryniti''s), was a creature that lived in Ceryneia,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and took the form of an enormous female

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

, larger than a bull, with golden antlers like a stag, hooves of bronze or brass, and a "dappled hide", that "excelled in swiftness of foot", and snorted fire. To bring it back alive to

Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; , ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos. Family Eurysthe ...

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; ; or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines, Greece, Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos; and sou ...

was the third labour of Heracles. Other names and descriptions for it were: doe with the golden horns, golden-horned hind, Ceryneia hind, Cerynitian hind, beast with golden antlers, Parrhasian hind, nimble hind of

Maenalus Maenalus could refer to: * Maenalus (town), a town of ancient Arcadia * Maenalus (mythology), an Arcadian prince, son of Lycaon (king of Arcadia) * Mainalo Mainalo (, ; ) is the tallest mountain in the Menalon highlands of the Peloponnese, an ...

and beast of Maenalus. Frazer says that the hind took its name from the river Cerynites, "which rises in Arcadia and flows through

Achaia Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

into the sea". One tradition says that

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

found a mighty herd of five Ceryneian hinds playing on the base of Parrhasian hill far away from the banks of the "black-pebbled Anaurus" where they always herded. Artemis was so impressed by the hinds that she yoked four of them to her golden chariot with golden bridles, but purposely let one escape to the Ceryneian hill to be a future labour for

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

. Whilst in Ceryneia, the hind chased farmers from vineyards. The Ceryneian hind was sacred to Artemis. "The hind is said to have borne the inscription '

Taygete In Classical Greek mythology, Taygete , , ) was a nymph, one of the Pleiades according to the '' Bibliotheca'' (3.10.1) and a companion of Artemis, in her archaic role as '' potnia theron'', "Mistress of the animals", with its likely roots in pr ...

dedicated eto Artemis'." Because of its sacredness, Heracles did not want to harm the hind and so hunted it for more than a year, from Oenoe to

Hyperborea In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans (, ; ) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the Ecumene, known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas (god), Boreas" (the God of the north wind). Some schol ...

, to a mountain called Artemisius, (a range which divides

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

from the plain of Mantinea) before finally capturing the hind near the river Ladon.

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

says Heracles slew the hind and brought it to Artemis for

propitiation Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. It is related to the idea of atonement and sometime mistakenly conflated with expiation. The discussion here encompa ...

. Another tradition says he captured it with nets while it was sleeping or that he ran it down, while another says he shot and maimed it with an arrow just before it crossed the river Ladon. Once Heracles captured the hind, and only after explaining to Artemis and

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

("who would have wrested the hind from him") that he had only hurt the sacred hind out of necessity, was he allowed to take it alive to

, thus completing his third labour. Corinthian helmet Cdm Paris BB2013 n2

Art

File:Athenian plate with Heracles and Apollo fighting over the Keryneian hind.jpg, Athenian plate, c. 560 BC File:DSC00179 - Ercole abbatte la cerva di Cerinea - Fontana romana, sec. I a.C. - Foto di G. Dall'Orto.jpg, Roman bronze, 1st century BC, probably a copy from

Lysippus Lysippos (; ) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period In classical a ...

File:Herakles hind Staatliche Antikensammlungen SL54.jpg, Roman-era bronze, 1st–2nd centuries AD File:Mosaico Trabajos Hércules (M.A.N. Madrid) 03.jpg, Mosaic from

Roman Spain Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Bae ...

, 3rd century AD File:Heracles captura la cierva de Cerinia.jpg, Statuette by J. M. Félix Magdalena (b. 1941)

Stag or Hind or female deer

"Pindar says that in his quest of the hind with the golden horns Hercules had seen "the far-off land beyond the cold blast of Boreas. [

]" Hence, as the reindeer is said to be the only species of deer of which the female has antlers, Sir William Ridgeway argues ingeniously that the hind with the golden horns was no other than the reindeer." A doe bearing antlers was unknown in Greece, but the story of the hind is suggestive of

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

, which, unlike other deer, can be harnessed and whose females bear antlers. The myth relates to the

, which may have been the archaic origin of the myth itself, as

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

thought. Authoritative primary source translations say the creature was a: * doe * hind * deer * hart * stag plus Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae 30'', (trans. Grant) * beast

Classical Literature Sources

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for the Ceryneian Hind: * Pindar, ''Olympian Odes III'' 28 ff. (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric poetry C5th BC) * Euripides, ''The Madness of Hercules'' 375 ff. (trans. Way) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Callimachus, ''Hymn 3 to Artemis'' 98 ff. (trans. Mair) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Diodorus of Sicily, ''Library of History'' 4. 12. 13 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Virgil, ''Aeneid'' 6. 801 ff (trans. Dewey) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC) * Philippus of Thessalonica, ''The Twelve Labors of Hercules'' (''The Greek Classics'' ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigrams C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 222 ff. (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Agamemnon'' 833 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1237 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 3-4 (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Aelian, ''On the Characteristics of Animals'' 7. 39 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd AD): * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae 30'' (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 223 ff. (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 223 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD) * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 242 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 265 ff (trans. Untila et al.) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'' 2. 495 ff

References

External links

{{Labours of Heracles Labours of Hercules Greek legendary creatures Mythological deer Deeds of Artemis

Art

Stag or Hind or female deer

Classical Literature Sources

See also

References

External links