Alebion attackedHeracles with Dercynus when he passed through their country, Liguria in North-Western Italy, on his way back toMycenae fromIberia having obtained the Cattle ofGeryon as histenth labour.[6] The battle that followed was fierce; Albion and Dercynus (or Bergion) were supported by a numerous army. Heracles and his army were in a difficult position so he prayed to his fatherZeus for help. With the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle, and both brothers were killed.[7] It was this kneeling position of Heracles, when he prayed to his father Zeus, that gave the nameEngonasin (Ἐγγόνασιν, derived from ἐν γόνασιν), meaning "on his knees" or "the Kneeler" toHercules' constellation. The story is also alluded to inHyginus,[8]Dionysius[9] andStrabo.[10]
^Schmitz, Leonhard (1867)."Albion". InWilliam Smith (ed.).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston:Little, Brown and Company. p. 94. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01.
Tzetzes, John,Histories or Chiliades unedited translation by Ana Untila (Book I), Gary Berkowitz (II-IV), Konstantinos Ramiotis (V-VI), Vasiliki Dogani (VII-VIII), Jonathan Alexander (IX-X), Muhammad Syarif Fadhlurrahman (XI), and Nikolaos Giallousis (XII-XIII), with translation adjustments by Brady Kiesling affecting about 15 percent of the total . These translations are based on the 1826 Greek edition of Theophilus Kiesslingius.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Alebion".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. on page94