Heroes: Mortals And Monsters, Quests And Adventures Quotes
"King Acrisius will have no sons, but his grandson will kill him."
"To conquer Danaë he had to come up with something better than the usual bulls, bears, boars, stallions, eagles, stags, and lions."
"A shower of golden rain streamed down through the narrow slit of the skylight one night, poured itself into Danaë’s lap and penetrated her."
"The murder of one’s kin would provoke the Furies to rise up from the underworld and pursue him to the ends of the earth, scourging him with their iron whips until the very skin was flayed from his body."
"Who dared break into your chamber? Tell me his name and I shall have him gelded, tortured and strangled with his own intestines."
"If that brat doesn’t stop screaming I’ll smother him with this cushion."
"The people there make flour from acorns that drop from oaks sacred to Zeus."
"I’ve always been at home in the water. Just swam underneath him with my blade up to slice through his belly."
"The next child born of the house of Perseus will rule all Argolis."
"I proclaim before you that the next child to be born in the line of Perseus shall rule the Argolid."
"The more Zeus thought about it, the more he liked the idea."
"The goddess herself appeared before them and blessed them."
"Your next task is to rid Lake Stymphalia of its infestation of birds."
"The Cretan Bull? Ox. Steer. Male Cow. Crete. Island. Fetch."
"A great white bull had charged out of the sea onto the shores of Crete."
"Minos and his wife Pasiphae were so enchanted by the creature’s beauty that they hadn’t the heart to slaughter it."
"Heracles, so different in approach, as we shall see, from his younger cousin Theseus, had no technique other than confidence in his own strength and inexhaustible stamina."
"The idea had been to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon once his brothers accepted this proof."
"Heracles, shouting at the bull, maddened it and planted himself in its way."
"Finally, the battered and exhausted beast lay down in the dust beneath him and submitted its will to his."
"Mounting the creature, Heracles rode it over the waves from which it had been born all the way back to the Peloponnese."
"If Eurystheus had called out from the jar ‘Sacrifice it to the gods’, the whole history of the world might be different."
"Zeus had accepted their arguments and struck Asclepius down with a thunderbolt."
"Apollo approached the problem differently. He invited the Moirai – the three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos – up to Olympus and got them very drunk."
"You can’t control others if you cannot control yourself."
"Those who most understand their own limitations have the fewest."
"In a fight, do not do what you want to do, but what you judge your enemy least wants you to."
"Remember the first time they felt the sweeping rush of love? Love came to peasants, kings and even gods. Love made all equal."
"The moment his hands touched the strings everyone present knew that they were going to hear something entirely new."
"Heracles led the strongest of the Argonauts out to meet them. By the time he had finished, the giants all lay dead."
"Mindful of the time they had wasted on Lemnos, Jason thanked them but insisted that regretfully they had better get going."
"I do think, Jason said to the figurehead and Idmon the Seer, that you might have warned us."
"There was a storm howling about our heads. Waves higher than the ship were tossing us about like leaves in the wind. How could I have asked?"
"Could have raised your voice, couldn't you? said the figurehead."
"Where are we sailing to now? You can at least tell me that."
"Thrace, said Tiphys, while Idmon and the figurehead ummed, ahhed and tutted."
"Anything we should look out for, especially? enquired Jason."
"Harpies, Hylas and Heracles, explained Idmon."
"He was needed in the dead calm that followed the storm that had propelled them back to the Dolionians and the tragedy that had ensued there."
"Strange thing is, there's no wild animals for miles around, said Heracles."
"They can wait, said Heracles, who was as strong-willed as he was strong-muscled."
"The Argo must not turn back! he commanded."
"We must return! said Telamon, Heracles' closest friend amongst those still on board."
"Pull, you bastards, pull! yelled Orpheus."
"So began the tradition, which has lasted to the present day, of a victorious rowing crew throwing its cox into the water."
"She rose to the surface, sang to him, seduced him and eventually lured him in."
"Come Talos, come! Come to me, come to me! said Medea, standing up high on the foredeck, calling out her incantations."
"And so the human baby girl grew to be a shy, wild and swift forest creature."
"For this one short day forget your children, and mourn tomorrow."
"It is only because I fear committing a blood crime like yours that I let you leave unharmed! she yelled after them."
"You are an angel, Jason kissed her on both cheeks. Knew you'd understand."
"Men! It's not that they're brutish, boorish, shallow and insensitive – though I dare say many are. It's just that they're so damned blind. So incredibly stupid."
"My ships will escort you until you can be sure of your way home, said the king."
"The hour for embarkation and departure could not come quickly enough."
"But arm yourself, my heart. Why hesitate to do these tragic, yet necessary, evils?"
"But let me deal with that, darling, said Medea. He's your kinsman and it wouldn't be right for you to be seen to end his life."
"I'll grant you may have a reasonable eye and quick hands, but this boar is fierce and strong. A mere woman could never hope to –"
"Let us see, said Atalanta, and at the sound of her dark, throbbing, yet commanding voice Meleager falls even more deeply in love."
"It's political, he replied. If I marry into Creon's family then one day our children might rule Corinth and Iolcos."
"By the gods, this ointment better work, he muttered to himself, as the bulls galloped towards him."
"He was as strong-willed as he was strong-muscled."
"They must die and since they must I, who brought them into the world, will kill them."
"We must sail through the narrow strait they call the Symplegades, the Clashing Rocks."
"What a good idea, said Medea, looking back at the smoke, steam and spray raising from the reefs. Can we have another go?"
"It was Hera, Queen of Heaven, said Jason. She guided us through. When next we make landfall, we must sacrifice a great heifer to her."
"I have determined to do the deed at once, to kill my children and leave this land, and not to falter or give my children over to let a hand more hostile murder them."
"You're an unhappy hand of mine, take the sword take it, move to the dismal turning point of life."
"When next we make landfall, we must sacrifice a great heifer to her."
"It's working, the plan is working! said Meleager, as the boar headed towards the barn."
"So you try it. Don't forget to move your hands exactly like this … She repeated the mystical gestures she had made over the pot."
"It was a sound and sight to put the fear of Hades into anyone."
"But let me first say this. Make it known that whoever dares house or protect the killer of Laius will be punished."
"I’m burning! I’m burning! Help me, mother! Help me!"
"The gods put you into my hands and guided you to Corinth."
"The greater the distance he put between himself and Corinth, the better."
"The truth can always be uncovered if you go about it systematically."
"You were a breech birth. They had to pull you out of my womb with pincers."
"The son of Laius and Jocasta shall kill his father."
"I am not young, certainly, but I still have my wits."
"What walks on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon and three in the evening?"
"No one can match you in a foot race, even if you give them a half stadion start."
"Now come back home to Corinth with me, my boy, and rule as our king."
"You don’t fight like a man, you dance like a girl."
"You see, now I can stretch you. They say that is very good for the muscles."
"The honour of the kill must go to the house of Thestios."
"You were adopted, mate. You’re no more a royal prince than I am."
"You can meet some nasty customers on the way."
"It’s no good me keeping you. Plain country people don’t treat babies this way."
"The killer of Laius is in this very room."
"You were sold it because you are ugly and lame."
"It's called 'intelligence'. Now let me try one out on you."
"You were an unhappy hand of mine, take the sword take it, move to the dismal turning point of life."
"Being childless (as he and the world thought) his brother PALLAS’s fifty sons – yes, fifty – all expected a share in the throne when he was gone."
"Medea looked at the young man now standing before her with such false modesty and fake charm. She was not fooled for an instant."
"‘The villagers over near Marathon have been complaining about some terrifying bull that is rampaging around the plain. Terrible – from Crete originally, they tell me.'"
"‘I am not so sure,’ said Medea. ‘I shall make a fire and look into the flames. There’s something about that boy …’"
"‘No!’ To the astonishment of all present King Aegeus suddenly leaned forward and violently struck the cup from Theseus’s hands."
"‘I’ll tell you what we can do,’ said Theseus rising angrily from his couch. ‘We can act less like frightened goats and more like true Athenians!’"
"‘See here …’ Medea showed him a small crystal phial. ‘In there is a quantity of wolf’s bane …’"
"‘This young man bodes nothing but ill for us, my husband.’"