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The Epitome of the Divine Institutes

Lactantius

Chapter 7

About this work

A condensed presentation of Lactantius’s apologetic project, summarizing his case against pagan worship and his account of divine providence, true religion, justice, and Christian hope.

Author: Lactantius
Date: Early 4th century
Origin: Nicomedia or Gaul
Genre: Apology

Chap. VII.—Of the Wicked Life and Death of Hercules.

But though almost all nations are persuaded that

‹ Chapter 6 Chapter 8 ›

they

are

gods

,

yet

their

actions

,

as

by

poets

and

historians

,

declare

that

they

were

men

.

Who

is

ignorant

of

the

times

in

which

Hercules

lived

,

since

he

both

sailed

with

the

Argonauts

on

their

expedition

,

and

having

stormed

Troy

,

slew

Laomedon

,

the

father

of

Priam

,

on

account

of

his

perjury

?

From

that

time

rather

more

than

fifteen

hundred

years

are

reckoned

.

He

is

said

not

even

to

have

been

born

honourably

,

but

to

have

been

sprung

from

Alcmena

by

adultery

,

and

to

have

been

himself

addicted

to

the

vices

of

his

father

.

He

never

abstained

from

women

,

or

males

,

and

traversed

the

whole

world

,

not

so

much

for

the

sake

of

glory

as

of

lust

,

nor

so

much

for

the

slaughter

of

beasts

as

for

the

begetting

of

children

.

And

though

he

was

unvanquished

,

yet

he

was

triumphed

over

by

Omphale

alone

,

to

whom

he

gave

up

his

club

and

lion’s

skin

;

and

being

clothed

in

a

woman’s

garment

,

and

crouching

at

a

woman’s

feet

,

he

received

his

task

to

execute

.

He

afterwards

,

in

a

transport

of

frenzy

,

killed

his

little

children

and

his

wife

Megara

.

At

last

,

having

put

on

a

garment

sent

by

his

wife

Deianyra

,

when

he

was

perishing

through

ulcers

,

being

unable

to

endure

the

pain

,

he

constructed

for

himself

a

funeral

pile

on

Mount

Œta

,

and

burnt

himself

alive

.

Thus

it

is

effected

,

that

although

on

account

of

his

excellence

he

might

have

been

believed

to

be

a

god

,

nevertheless

on

account

of

these

things

be

is

believed

to

have

been

a

man

.

Notes

1
Pensa quæ faceret. “Pensum” properly signifies the wool daily weighed out and given to each servant.
2
Ob virtutem.