Oechalia, Delphi, and Omphale

Abstract

This chapter examines some of Heracles’ praxeis that are all connected to the Panhellenic shrine of Delphi—the sack of Oechalia, the struggle for the Delphic tripod and his enslavement to Omphale. At Oechalia, Heracles sacks the city, kills Eurytus and his son, Iphitus, and takes his daughter Iole. While at Delphi, attempting to be purified, Heracles is denied an oracle by the Pythia and so attempts to steal the Delphic tripod. Heracles and Apollo fight over control of the tripod until Zeus intervenes. Finally, Heracles’ enslavement to Omphale is also an act of expiation that the hero must perform, in accordance with an oracle from Delphi.