THIS FABULOUS PICTURE IS OF HERCULES WITH HIS FRIEND SLAYING THE LERNEAN HYDRA. WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK IS HERCULES? (answer below)
a)
Pauló post iússus est ab Eurystheó Hydram necáre. Hóc autem mónstrum erat cui novem erant capita. Herculés igitur cum amícó Ioláó profectus est ad palúdem Lernaeam, in quá Hydra habitábat. Mox mónstrum invénit, et quamquam rés erat mágní perículí, collum éius sinistrá prehendit. Tum dextrá capita novem abscídere coepit; quotiéns tamen hóc fécerat, nova capita exoriébantur. Diú frústrá labórábat; tandem hóc cónátú déstitit. Deinde arborés succídere et ígnem accendere cónstituit. Hóc celeriter fécit, et postquam lígna ígnem comprehendérunt, face árdente colla adússit, unde capita exoriébantur. Nec tamen sine mágnó labóre haec fécit; vénit enim auxilió Hydrae cancer ingéns, quí, dum Herculés capita abscídit, crúra éius mordébat. Postquam mónstrum tálí modó interfécit, sagittás suás sanguine éius imbuit, itaque mortiferás reddidit.
b)
Some words have been selected for special consideration and are listed below. For the words not included in this list please refer to the WORDLIST in PAGES TOP RIGHT SIDE BAR.
Paulo post – a little while later, after a little while.
Hóc - You might have expected this to be haec, feminine, referring to Hydram, but a demonstrative pronoun often takes the gender of the predicate noun, in this case monstrum and is therefore neuter.
Cui erant – means literally to which (dative) there were (erant) but we will translate ‘which had’. This is an example of the use of the verb sum with a dative pronoun to indicate possession. Other examples are mihi est – ‘I have’; tibi est – ‘you have’ etc.
Capita – neuter plural of caput, head.
Cum amico Iolao – Notice cum when meaning ‘with’, takes ablative, Iolao being ablative of Iolaus..
Profectus est – perfect tense of proficiscor, deponent verb, therefore active in meaning.
In qua – ‘in which’, ablative of place in which using the feminine relative pronoun to agree with paludem (from palus, paludis, feminine third declension noun).
Invenit – ‘he found’, perfect tense.
Res – again this popular word is tricky to translate. Literally it means ‘the affair/matter was of great danger’ (genitive singular). You might say ‘although there was great danger’, or ‘although it was very dangerous’, or ‘although the situation was one of great danger’.
Collum eius – 'his, her or its neck' when we are not talking about the subject of the sentence; suum collum would mean he grabbed his own neck.
Sinistra – this means left but in this context it means ‘left hand’ as manus is feminine (4th declension noun) it is ablative to signify ‘with his left hand’ just as ‘dextra’ means in the following line ‘with his right hand’.
Coepit – he began.
Quotiens – adverb meaning how many or as often as, as.
Exoriebantur – not passive but imperfect of a deponent verb which looks passive but is active in meaning. The verb is exorior, -oriri, -ortus, spring up, arise from. It is imperfect because they kept springing up, repeated action in the past.
Hoc conatu – ablative of separation after stopping doing something.
Postquam comprehenderunt - Postquam is often followed by the perfect or present Indicative but we usually translate it with a pluperfect i.e. ‘they had caught fire’.
Adussit – perfect tense of aduro, -urere, -ussi, -ustus, to set fire to, burn, scorch, sear.
Face – ablative of fax, facis noun feminine of the third declension, ‘with a torch, or with a burning brand’.
auxilió Hydrae – we have two datives here, auxilio the dative of purpose, in order to give help to, and Hydrae the dative of reference which means the person receiving the help.
Dum … abscidit – remember that when dum means 'while,' or 'as,' it is followed by the present indicative, even when used of past events. We would translate with an imperfect, ‘while or as he was cutting off … etc.
Crura – plural of crus, cruris n, leg.
Mordebat – kept biting, notice again the imperfect for repeated action.
Tali modo – same as hoc modo, is ablative of manner ‘in this way’, ‘by this method’.
c)
Note: This section is not translated into idiomatic English but is intended, together with the notes, to give you the gist of the meaning; you can then come up with your own improved translation.
Pauló post iússus est ab Eurystheó Hydram necáre.
After a little while he was commanded by Eurystheus to kill the Hydra.
Hóc autem mónstrum erat cui novem erant capita.
This monster however had nine heads.
Herculés igitur cum amícó Ioláó profectus est
Hercules thereore set out with his friend Iolaus
Ad palúdem Lernaeam, in quá Hydra habitábat.
Towards the Lernean swamp, in which the Hydra lived.
Mox mónstrum invénit, et quamquam rés erat mágní perículí,
Soon he found the monster, and although it was very dangerous
collum éius sinistrá prehendit.
He grasped its neck with his left hand.
Tum dextrá capita novem abscídere coepit;
Then with his right hand he began to cut off the nine heads;
quotiéns tamen hóc fécerat, nova capita exoriébantur.
As soon as he did this however, new heads sprang up.
Diú frústrá labórábat; tandem hóc cónátú déstitit.
He worked for a long time in vain; at last, he gave up the attempt.
Deinde arborés succídere et ígnem accendere cónstituit.
Then he cut down trees and deciced to light a fire.
Hóc celeriter fécit, et postquam lígna ígnem comprehendérunt,
This he quickly did, and after the pieces of wood had caught fire,
face árdente colla adússit,
With a burning brand he scorched the necks,
unde capita exoriébantur.
From where the heads were springing up
Nec tamen sine mágnó labóre haec fécit;
He did not do this however without much hard work;
vénit enim auxilió Hydrae cancer ingéns,
for a huge crab came to the aid of the Hydra,
quí, dum Herculés capita abscídit,
which, when Hercules cut off the heads,
crúra éius mordébat.
Kept biting his legs.
Postquam mónstrum tálí modó interfécit,
After he killed the monster in this way,
sagittás suás sanguine éius imbuit,
He dipped his arrows in its blood,
itaque mortiferás reddidit.
And so he rendered them deadly.
d) The following section is as a) but without the macrons for you to copy and: i) to see if you can put the macrons in; ii) provide your own translation.
Paulo post iussus est ab Eurystheo Hydram necare. Hoc autem monstrum erat cui novem erant capita. Hercules igitur cum amico Iolao profectus est ad paludem Lernaeam, in qua Hydra habitabat. Mox monstrum invenit, et quamquam res erat magni periculi, collum eius sinistra prehendit. Tum dextra capita novem abscidere coepit; quotiens tamen hoc fecerat, nova capita exoriebantur.
Answer: Do you remember this from last week's post?: Tum clava magna quam semper gerebat leonem percussit. Hercules always carries his club so he must be the one on the left.
