Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
''

Collins English Dictionary The ''Collins English Dictionary'' is a printed and online dictionary of English. It is published by HarperCollins in Glasgow. The edition of the dictionary in 1979 with Patrick Hanks as editor and Laurence Urdang as editorial director, wa ...

'' also Geryone; grc-gre, Γηρυών,Also Γηρυόνης (''Gēryonēs'') and Γηρυονεύς (''Gēryoneus''). ''

genitive In grammar, the genitive case ( abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can a ...

'': Γηρυόνος), son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, the grandson of Medusa and the nephew of Pegasus, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, the Titan At ...

in the far west of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...

.The early third-century ''

Life of Apollonius of Tyana ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' ( grc-gre, Τὰ ἐς τὸν Τυανέα Ἀπολλώνιον), also known by its Latin title , is a text in eight books written in Ancient Greece by Philostratus (c. 170 – c. 245 AD). It tells the story of A ...

'' notes an ancient

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or '' kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones ...

at Gades raised over Geryon as for a Hellenic hero: "They say that they saw trees here such as are not found elsewhere upon the earth; and that these were called the trees of Geryon. There were two of them, and they grew upon the mound raised over Geryon: they were a cross between the spruce and the pine, and formed a third species; and blood dripped from their bark, just as gold does from the Heliad poplar" (v.5). Geryon was often described as a monster with either three bodies and three heads, or three heads and one body, or three bodies and one head. He is commonly accepted as being mostly humanoid, with some distinguishing features (such as wings, or multiple bodies etc.) and in mythology, famed for his cattle.

Appearance

According to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

Hesiod, ''Theogony'' "the triple-headed Geryon". Geryon had one body and three heads, whereas the tradition followed by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

gave him three bodies.Aeschylus, ''Agamemnon'': "Or if he had died as often as reports claimed, then truly he might have had three bodies, a second Geryon, and have boasted of having taken on him a triple cloak of earth, one death for each different shape." A lost description by

Stesichoros Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abo ...

said that he has six hands and six feet and is winged; there are some mid-6th century BC Chalcidian vases portraying Geryon as winged. Some accounts state that he had six legs as well while others state that the three bodies were joined to one pair of legs. Apart from these bizarre features, his appearance was that of a warrior. He owned a two-headed hound named Orthrus, which was the brother of Cerberus, and a herd of magnificent red cattle that were guarded by Orthrus, and a herder Eurytion, son of Erytheia.Erytheia, "sunset goddess" and nymph of the island that has her name, is one of the

Mythology

The Tenth Labour of Heracles

Heracles on the sea in the bowl of Helios

In the fullest account in the '' Bibliotheke'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus,

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

was required to travel to Erytheia, in order to obtain the Cattle of Geryon (Γηρυόνου βόες) as his tenth labour. On the way there, he crossed the

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

n desert''Libya'' was the generic name for

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

to the Greeks. and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at

Helios In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

, the Sun. Helios "in admiration of his courage" gave Heracles the golden cup he used to sail across the sea from west to east each night. Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of the vase-painters. Such a magical conveyance undercuts any literal geography for Erytheia, the "red island" of the sunset. When Heracles reached Erytheia, no sooner had he landed than he was confronted by the two-headed dog, Orthrus. With one huge blow from his olive-wood club, Heracles killed the watchdog. Eurytion, the herdsman, came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way. Euphronios ARV 16 17 young rider - Herakles and Geryoneus (06)

Euphronios ARV 16 17 young rider - Herakles and Geryoneus (06)

On hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields, three spears, and wearing three helmets. He pursued Heracles at the River Anthemus but fell victim to an arrow that had been dipped in the venomous blood of the Lernaean Hydra, shot so forcefully by Heracles that it pierced Geryon's forehead, "and Geryon bent his neck over to one side, like a poppy that spoils its delicate shapes, shedding its petals all at once". Stesichorus, fragment, translated by Denys Page. Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus. In Roman versions of the narrative, on the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth '' rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the so ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Cacus In Roman mythology, Cacus ( grc, Κάκος, derived from κακός, meaning bad) was a fire-breathing giant and the son of Vulcan (Plutarch called him son of Hephaestus). He was killed by Hercules after terrorizing the Aventine Hill before the ...

stole some of the cattle as Heracles slept, making the cattle walk backwards so that they left no trail, a repetition of the trick of the young

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...

. According to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past a cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In others, Caca, Cacus' sister, told Heracles where he was. Heracles then killed Cacus, and according to the Romans, founded an altar where the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, was later held. To annoy Heracles,

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them and scatter them. The hero was within a year able to retrieve them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much, Heracles could not cross with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera. In the ''Aeneid'',

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

may have based the triple-souled figure of Erulus, king of Praeneste, on Geryon and Hercules' conquest of Geryon is mentioned in Book VIII. The Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano features a three headed representation of Geryon.

Stesichorus' account

The poet Stesichorus wrote a poem "

Geryoneis The "Geryoneis" is a fragmentary poem, written in Ancient Greek by the lyric poet Stesichorus. Composed in the 6th century BC, it narrates an episode from the Heracles myth in which the hero steals the cattle of Geryon, a three-bodied monster w ...

" (Γηρυονηΐς) in the sixth century BC, which was apparently the source of this section in ''Bibliotheke''; it contains the first reference to Tartessus. From the fragmentary

papyri Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

found at

Oxyrhyncus Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cair ...

it is possible (although there is no evidence) that Stesichorus inserted a character, Menoites, who reported the theft of the cattle to Geryon. Geryon then had an interview with his mother Callirrhoe, who begged him not to confront Heracles. They appear to have expressed some doubt as to whether Geryon would prove to be immortal. The gods met in council, where Athena warned Poseidon that she would protect Heracles against Poseidon's grandson Geryon. Denys Page observes that the increase in representation of the Geryon episode in vase-paintings increased from the mid-sixth century and suggests that Stesichorus' "Geryoneis" provided the impetus. The fragments are sufficient to show that the poem was composed in twenty-six line triads, of strophe,

antistrophe Antistrophe ( grc, ἀντιστροφή, "a turning back") is the portion of an ode sung by the chorus in its returning movement from west to east, in response to the strophe, which was sung from east to west. Characteristics Usage as a li ...

and epode, repeated in columns along the original scroll, facts that aided Page in placing many of the fragments, sometimes of no more than a word, in what he believed to be their proper positions.

Pausanias' account

In his work ''Description of Greece'', Pausanias mentions that Geryon had a daughter, Erytheia, who had a son with

, Norax, the founder of the city of Nora in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

.Pausanias,
10.17.5
/ref>

The Inferno

The Geryon of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

's 14th century epic poem '' Inferno'' bears no resemblance to any previous writings. Here, Geryon has become the Monster of Fraud, a beast with enormous dragon-like wings with the paws of a bear or

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

, the body of a

wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, U ...

, and a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

's poisonous sting at the tip of his tail, but with the face of an "honest man", bull, ram,

, or an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

(similar to a manticore). He dwells somewhere in the shadowed depths below the cliff between the seventh and eighth circles of Hell (the circles of violence and simple fraud, respectively); Geryon rises from the pit at

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's call and to Dante's horror Virgil requests a ride on the creature's back. They then board him, and Geryon slowly glides in descending circles around the waterfall of the river Phlegethon down to the great depths to the Circle of Fraud.

Classical literature sources

Chronological listing of classical literature sources for Geryon: * Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 287 ff (''Hesiod the Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' trans. Evelyn-White 1920) (Greek epic poetry C8th or C7th BC) * Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 979 ff * Pindar, ''Isthmian Ode'' 1. 13 ff (trans. Sandys) (Greek lyric poetry C5th BC) * Scholiast on Pindar, ''Isthmian Ode'' 1. 13(15) (''The Odes of Pindar'' trans. Sandys 1915 p. 439) * Pindar, Fragment 169 (trans. Sandys) * Herodotus, ''Histories'' 4. 8. 1 ff (trans. Godley) (Greek history C5th BC) * Aeschylus, ''Agamemnon'' 869 ff (trans. Buckley) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Aeschylus, Hrakleidai Fragment 37 Scholiast on Aristeides (codex ''Marcianus'' 423) (''Aeschylu''s trans. Weir Smtyh, 1926 Vol. II) * Aeschylus, ''Prometheus Unbound'' Fragment 112 (trans. Weir Smyth) * Scholiast on Aeschylus, ''Prometheus Unbound'' Fragment 112 (''Aeschylus'' trans. Weir Smyth 1926 Vol II p. 447) * Euripides, ''The Madness of Hercules'' 421 ff (trans. Way) (Greek tragedy C5th BC) * Euripides, ''The Madness of Hercule''s 1271 ff * Plato, ''Gorgias'' 484b ff (trans. Lamb) (Greek philosophy C4th BC) * Plato, ''Euthydemus'' 299c ff (trans. Lamb) * Plato, ''Laws'' 7. 795c ff (trans. Bury) * Scholiast on Plato, ''Timaeus'' 24E (''Platon Samtliche Dialoge'', Vol 6 trans. Apelt Hildebrandt Ritter Schneider 1922 p. 148) * Aristotle, ''Meteorologica'' 2. 3 359a 26 ff (ed. Ross trans. Webster) (Greek philosophy C4th BC) * Aristophanes. ''Acharnians'' 1080 ff (trans. Anonymous) (Greek comedy C4th BC) * Isocrates, ''Archidamus'' 6. 19 ff (trans. Norlin) (Greek philosophy C4th BC) * Isocrates, ''Helen'' 24 ff (trans. Norlin) (Greek philosophy C4th BC) * Pseudo-Aristotle, ''De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus'', 843b 133 (ed. Ross trans. Dowdall) (Greek rhetoric C4th to 3rd BC) * Pseudo-Aristotle, ''De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus'', 844a * Lycophron, ''Alexandra'' 648 ff (''Callimachus and Lycophron Aratus'' trans. Mair 1921 p. 548 with the scholiast) (Greek poetry C3rd BC) * Lycophron, ''Alexandra'' 1345 ff (''Callimachus and Lycophron Aratus'' trans. Mair 1921 p. 606 with the scholiast) * Plautus, ''Aulularia, or The Concealed Treasure'', 3. 10 (trans. Riley) (Roman comedy C3rd to C2nd BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 8. 4 ff (trans. Oldfather) (Greek history C1st BC) * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 17. 1 ff * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4.18. 2 ff * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 4. 24. 2 ff * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 5. 4. 2 ff * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 5. 17. 4 ff * Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'' 5. 24. 3 ff * Lucretius, ''Of the Nature of Things'' 5 Proem 1 (trans. Leonard) (Roman philosophy C1st BC) * Parthenius, ''Love Romances'' 30 (trans. Gaselee) (Greek poetry C1st BC) * Virgil, ''The Aeneid'' 6. 285 ff (trans. Hamilton Bryce) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC) * Virgil, ''The Aeneid'' 7. 662 ff * Virgil, ''The Aeneid'' 8. 201 ff * Horace, ''The Odes'' 2. 14 ff (trans. Conington) (Roman lyric C1st BC) * Propertius, ''Elegies'' 3. 22. 7 ff (trans. Butler) (Latin poetry C1st BC) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 3. 2. 11 (trans. Jones) (Greek geography C1st BC to C1st AD) * Strabo, ''Geography'' 3. 5. 4 * Strabo, ''Geography'' 3. 2. 13 * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 9. 185 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''The Heroide''s 9. 92 ff (trans. Showerman) (Roman poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Fasti'' 1. 543-586 (trans. Frazer) (Roman epic poetry C1st BC to C1st AD) * Ovid, ''Fasti'' 5. 645 ff (trans. Frazer) * Ovid, ''The Tristia'' 4. 7. 16 (trans. Riley) (Roman epigram C1st BC to C1st AD) * Scholiast on Ovid, ''The Tristia'' 4. 7. 16 (''Ovid The Fasti, Tristia, Pontic Epistles, Ibis, and Halieuticon'' trans. Riley 1851 p. 335) * Livy, ''The History of Rome'' 1. 7 ff (trans. Spillan) (Roman history C1st BC to C1st AD) * Livy, ''The History of Rome'' 60 (trans. M'Devitte) * Fragment, Homerica, The War of The Titans 7 (''Hesiod the Homeric Hymns and Homerica,'' trans. Evelyn-White 1920) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Alcman, 815 Geryoneis (''Greek Lyric'' trans. Campbell 1991 Vol 3) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Stesichorus, The Tale of Geryon, 5 (''Lyra Graeca'', trans. Edmond 1920 Vol II) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Stesichorus, The Tale of Geryon 6 * Fragment, Stesichorus, The Tale of Geryon 8 * Fragment, Stesichorus, The Tale of Geryon 10 * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 10 (P. Oxy. 2617) (trans. Theoi.com) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 11 (P. Oxy. 2617 frr. 13 (a) + 14 +15) (''Under the Seams Runs the Pain'' trans. Carmel 2013) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 12 (P. Oxy. 2617 fr. 19 col. ii) (trans. Theoi.com) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 13 (P. Oxy. 2617 fr. 11) (trans. Carmel 2013) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 14 (P. Oxy. 2617 fr. 3) (trans. Theoi.com) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 15 (P. Oxy. 2617 fr. 4) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Fragment, Stesichorus, Geryoneis S. 17 (P. Oxy. 2617) * Fragment, Ibycus, 282A (''Greek Lyric'' trans. Campbell Vol 3) (Greek commentary C1st BC to C1st AD) * Philippus of Thessalonica, ''The Twelve Labors of Hercules'' (''The Greek Classics'' ed. Miller Vol 3 1909 p. 397) (Greek epigrams C1st AD) * Pliny the Elder, ''Natural History'' 4. 120 (trans. Rackham) (Roman history C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 231 ff (''Seneca's Tragedies,'' trans. Miller Vol 1 1917 p. 21 with the scholiast) (Roman tragedy C1st AD) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 486 ff (trans. Miller) * Seneca, ''Hercules Furens'' 1170 ff * Seneca, ''Agamemnon'' 837 ff (trans. Miller) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 23 ff (trans. Miller) * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1203 ff * Seneca, ''Hercules Oetaeus'' 1900 ff * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', The Roman Questions, 267E-F (trans. Babbitt) (Greek philosophy C1st AD to C2nd AD) * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', Parallel Stories, 315C ff * Plutarch, ''Moralia'', Precepts of Statecraft, 819D ff (trans. Fowler) * Ptolemy Hephaestion, ''New History'' Bk2 (trans. Pearse) (summary from Photius, ''Myriobiblon'' 190) (Greek mythography C1st to C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''The Library'' 2. 5. 10 ff (trans. Frazer) (Greek mythography C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 1. 35. 7-8 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd AD) * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 3. 18. 13 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 4. 36. 3 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 10. 2. 9 ff * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 5. 19. 1 * Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' 10. 17. 5 * Aelian, ''On Animal''s 12. 11 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd AD) * Suetonius, ''Tiberius'' 14 (trans. Thomson) (Roman history C2nd AD) * Lucian, ''Hercules'' 2 ff (trans. Harmon) (Assyrian satire C2nd AD) * Lucian, ''The Ignorant Book-collector'' 14 ff * Lucian, ''The Runaways'' 31 ff * Lucian, ''Toxaris, or Friendship'' 62 ff * Lucian, ''The Dance'' 56 ff * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 0 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythography C2nd AD) * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 30 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 151 * Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Hygini Astronomica'', Liber Secundus, VI Engonasin 10 ff (trans. Bunte) * Oppian, ''Cynegetica'' 2. 109 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C2nd AD) * Athenaeus, ''The Banquet of the Learned'' 8. 38 ff (trans. Yonge) (Greek rhetoric C2nd AD to C3rd AD) * Athenaeus, ''The Banquet of the Learned'' 8. 68 ff * Athenaeus, ''The Banquet of the Learned'' 9. 10 ff * Athenaeus, ''The Banquet of the Learned'' 11. 16 ff * Athenaeus, ''The Banquet of the Learned'' 11. 101 ff * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' 5. 4 (trans. Conyreare) (Greek sophistry C3rd AD) * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' 5. 5 * Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' 6. 10 * Philostratus, ''Lives of the Sophists'' 1. 505 ff (trans. Wright) * Hippolytus, ''Philosophumena'' 5 The Ophite Heresies 25 ( ''Philosophumena'' trans. Legge 1921 Vol 1 p. 172) (Christian theology C3rd AD) * Quintus Smyrnaeus, ''Fall of Troy'' 6. 249 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic poetry C4th AD) * Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Ammianus Marcellinus'' 15. 9. 5 ff (trans. Rolfe) (Roman history C4th AD) * Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Ammianus Marcellinus'' 15. 10. 9 ff * Servius, ''In Vergilii Carmina Commentarii'' 8. 299 ff (trans. Thilo) (Greek commentary C4th AD to 5th AD) * Eunapius, ''Lives of the Philosopher''s, 487 ff (trans. Wright) (Greek sophistry C4th to C5th AD) * Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 236 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD) * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 242 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic poetry C5th AD) * Nonnos, ''Dionysiaca'' 25. 543 ff * Suidas s.v. ''Boulei diamachesthai Geruoni tetraptiloi'' (trans. Suda online) (Greco-Byzantine Lexicon C10th AD) * Suidas s.v. ''Geryones'' * Suidas s.v. ''Trikephalos'' * First Vatican Mythographer ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 68 Geryon et Hercules (ed. Bode) (Greco-Roman mythography C9th AD to C11th AD) * Second Vatican Mythographer ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 132 Geryon (ed. Bode) (Greco-Roman mythography C11th AD) * Second Vatican Mythographer ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 153 Evander 6 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'', Concerning Heracles 2.4 (Story 36) 320-340 (trans. Untila et al.) (Greco-Byzantine history C12 AD) * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Historie''s, Concerning Heracles 2.4 (Story 36) 500 * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Historie''s, Concerning the Trees of Geryon 4.18 (Story 136) 350 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Histories'', An Epistle to Sir John Lachanas, 686 ff * Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' or ''Book of Historie''s, Concerning Cacus 5.5 (Story 21) 99 ff * Third Vatican Mythographer, ''Scriptores rerum mythicarum'' 13. 6 ff (ed. Bode) (Greco-Roman mythography C11th AD to C13th AD)

In medieval Iberian culture

The myth of Geryon is linked to the building of the nations of Spain and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, since he was considered an inhabitant of the Iberian peninsula. Medieval authors such as the bishop of Girona

Joan Margarit i Pau Joan Margarit i Pau, or in Spanish Juan Margarit y Pau (died 21 November 1484), was a prominent Catalan prelate, a bishop of Girona and a cardinal. Biography Joan Margarit i Pau was born in Girona, around 1424, the son of an aristocratic famil ...

(1422-1484) or the bishop of Toledo

Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last V ...

tried to legitimate the resistance of Geryon against the Greek invader. The of Alfonso X of Castile tells how Hercules killed the giant Geryon, cut his head off and ordered a tower built on it marking his victory. The

Tower of Hercules The Tower of Hercules ( es, Torre de Hércules) is the oldest existent lighthouse known. It has an ancient Roman origin on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the 20th century, it was known as ...

in Coruña, Spain, is actually a working lighthouse rebuilt on a Roman lighthouse. The Portuguese friar Bernardo de Brito considers the monster a historical invader, ruling despotically over the descendants of

Tubal Tubal ( he, תֻבָל, ''Ṯuḇāl'', ), in Genesis 10 (the "Table of Nations"), was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah. He is known to be the father of the Caucasian Iberians (ancestors of the Georgians) according to primary sources. ...

Notes

References

External links

Theoi Project – "Geryon"
{{Authority control Greek giants Labours of Hercules Legendary creatures with supernumerary body parts Galician mythology Helios in mythology Characters in Greek mythology Deeds of Hera Avian humanoids