Taking of OekhaliaTaking of Oechalia

The Taking of Oekhalia is one of the fragmentary remains of the Homerica.

There are too few fragments to tell the story in a poetic fashion but the plot and outcome have been pieced together from extant artwork; the prince of Oekhalia, Eurytus, was seeking a manly husband for his daughter, Iole; Eurytus devised an archery competition in which the winner would marry the fair Iole; Herakles (Heracles), as subtle with his bow as he was brutal with his club, entered the contest and won; Eurytus must have known that Herakles was presumed to have murdered his first wife, Megara, so it’s difficult to blame Eurytus when he refused to allow Iole to marry Herakles; with no hesitation, Herakles killed Eurytus and his sons and, to add to Iole’s dishonor and sorrow, Herakles took her as his mistress instead of his wife.

For the complete translations of what remains of the Homerica, I recommend the Loeb Classical Library volume 57, ISBN 0674990633; you can sometimes find this book at the library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.