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InGreek mythology,Geryon (/ˈɡɛriən/;[1]Ancient Greek:Γηρυών,genitiveΓηρυόνος), alsoGeryone (Ancient Greek:Γηρυόνης,romanized: Gēryónēs, orΓηρυονεύς,Gēryoneús), son ofChrysaor andCallirrhoe, the grandson ofMedusa and the nephew ofPegasus, was a fearsomegiant who dwelt on the islandErytheia of the mythicHesperides in the far west of theMediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region withTartessos in southernIberia.[Note 1] 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.
According toHesiod[Note 2] Geryon had one body and three heads, whereas the tradition followed byAeschylus gave him three bodies.[Note 3] A lost description byStesichoros said that he has six hands and six feet and is winged;[2] there are some mid-6th century BCChalcidian 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-headedhound namedOrthrus, which was the brother ofCerberus, and a herd of magnificent red cattle that were guarded by Orthrus, and a herder namedEurytion (son ofErytheia).[Note 4]
In the fullest account in theBibliotheke of Pseudo-Apollodorus,[3]Heracles was required to travel toErytheia, in order to obtain the Cattle of Geryon (Γηρυόνου βόες) as histenth labour. On the way there, he crossed theLibyan desert[Note 5] and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow atHelios, the Sun. Helios "in admiration of his courage" gave Heracles the golden cup he used to sail across the sea from the west to the east each night. Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of thevase-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.
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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 theLernaean 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".[Note 6]
Heracles then had to herd the cattle back toEurystheus. In Roman versions of the narrative, on theAventine Hill inItaly,Cacus 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 youngHermes. 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 theForum Boarium, the cattle market, was later held.
To annoy Heracles,Hera sent agadfly 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 theAeneid,Vergil may have based the triple-souled figure ofErulus, king ofPraeneste, on Geryon[4] and Hercules' conquest of Geryon is mentioned in Book VIII. TheHerculean Sarcophagus of Genzano features a three-headed representation of Geryon.[5]
The poetStesichorus wrote a poem "Geryoneis" (Γηρυονηΐς) in the sixth century BC, which was apparently the source of this section inBibliotheke; it contains the first reference toTartessus. From the fragmentarypapyri found atOxyrhyncus[6] 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 began in the mid-sixth century and suggests that Stesichorus' "Geryoneis" provided the impetus.[citation needed]
The fragments are sufficient to show that the poem was composed in twenty-six line triads, ofstrophe,antistrophe andepode, repeated in columns along the originalscroll, 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.
In his workDescription of Greece,Pausanias mentions that Geryon had a daughter, Erytheia, who had a son withHermes,Norax, the founder of the city of Nora inSardinia.[Note 7]
The Geryon ofDante's 14th century epic poemInferno bears no resemblance to any previous writings. Here, Geryon has become the Monster of Fraud, a beast with the paws of abear orlion, the body of awyvern, and ascorpion's poisonous sting at the tip of his tail, but with the face of an "honest man" (similar to amanticore). 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 atVirgil'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 riverPhlegethon down to the great depths to the Circle of Fraud.[7]
The myth of Geryon is linked to thebuilding of the nations of Spain andPortugal, since he was considered an inhabitant of theIberian Peninsula.[8]
Medieval authors such as the bishop of GironaJoan Margarit i Pau (1422–1484) or the bishop of ToledoRodrigo Jiménez de Rada tried to legitimate the resistance of Geryon against the Greek invader.[8]
TheEstoria de España ofAlfonso X of Castile tells how Hercules killed the giant Geryon, cut his head off and ordered a tower built on it marking his victory. TheTower of Hercules in Coruña, Spain, is actually a working lighthouse rebuilt on a Roman lighthouse.[9]
The Portuguese friarBernardo de Brito considers the monster a historical invader, ruling despotically over the descendants ofTubal.[8]
