Metamorphoses · Chapter
Story of Achelous and Hercules explained
Achelous recounts to Theseus his contest with Hercules for the hand of Dejanira.
What happens
Achelous recounts to Theseus his contest with Hercules for the hand of Dejanira. After a fierce wrestling match, Achelous transforms into a snake and then a bull, but Hercules defeats him and tears off his horn, which the Naiads fill with fruits and flowers as a symbol of plenty.
Themes in this chapter
Transformation and Metamorphosis
Achelous changes into a snake and a bull during the fight, and his horn is transformed into a cornucopia.
Violence and Revenge
The brutal wrestling match and the tearing of Achelous's horn exemplify violent conflict over a bride.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Ungrateful is the tale, for who can bear, When conquer’d, to rehearse the shameful war? Yet I’ll the melancholy story trace; So great a conqueror softens the disgrace”
Achelous finds it painful to recount his defeat, but the greatness of his conqueror makes the shame easier to bear.
Achelous introduces his story with reluctant humility.
“Thus have I seen two furious bulls engage, Inflamed with equal love and equal rage, Each claims the fairest heifer of the grove, And conquest only can decide their love”
Their struggle is compared to two bulls fighting over a heifer, with victory determining who wins the beloved.
Simile comparing the contest to bulls vying for a mate.
“From my maim’d front he tore the stubborn horn; This, heap’d with flowers and fruits, the Naiads bear, Sacred to plenty, and the bounteous year.”
Hercules tore off Achelous's horn, which the Naiads later filled with fruits and flowers, making it a symbol of abundance.
The horn becomes the cornucopia, a symbol of harvest and plenty.