Augean Stables. In Greek mythology, Augeas, whose name means bright, was king of Elis and father of Epicaste.
Some say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts. He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned, until the time of the great hero Heracles.
Augeas's lineage varies in the sources: he was said to be either the son of Helios and Nausidame or of Eleios, king of Elis, and Nausidame, or of Poseidon, or the son of Phorbas and Hyrmine. His children were Epicaste, Phyleus, Agamede Agasthenes, and Eurytus.
The fifth Labour of Heracles was to clean the Augean stables. Eurystheus intended this assignment both as humiliating and as impossible, since the livestock were divinely healthy and therefore produced an enormous quantity of dung.
These stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years, and 3,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth. Augeas reacted angrily because he had promised Heracles one tenth of his cattle if the job was finished in one day. He refused to honor the agreement, and Heracles killed him after completing the tasks. Heracles gave his kingdom to Phyleus, Augeas' son, who had been exiled for supporting Heracles against his father. According to the odes of the poet Pindar, Heracles then founded the Olympic Games: the games whic
Some say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts. He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned, until the time of the great hero Heracles.
Augeas's lineage varies in the sources: he was said to be either the son of Helios and Nausidame or of Eleios, king of Elis, and Nausidame, or of Poseidon, or the son of Phorbas and Hyrmine. His children were Epicaste, Phyleus, Agamede Agasthenes, and Eurytus.
The fifth Labour of Heracles was to clean the Augean stables. Eurystheus intended this assignment both as humiliating and as impossible, since the livestock were divinely healthy and therefore produced an enormous quantity of dung.
These stables had not been cleaned in over thirty years, and 3,000 cattle lived there. However, Heracles succeeded by rerouting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to wash out the filth. Augeas reacted angrily because he had promised Heracles one tenth of his cattle if the job was finished in one day. He refused to honor the agreement, and Heracles killed him after completing the tasks. Heracles gave his kingdom to Phyleus, Augeas' son, who had been exiled for supporting Heracles against his father. According to the odes of the poet Pindar, Heracles then founded the Olympic Games: the games whic
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