1138-1159

Hercules wakes up from his rampage, disoriented and unaware of what he has done. He begins to describe the scene of devastation in his house but thinks he may still be in the Underworld. Still confused, he calls out for his family members and demands to know what has happened to his weapons. He assumes he has been defeated by a greater opponent and desires to meet him. The insistently repeated question words (quis, quae, ubi, an, etc.) convey his confusion.

Act 5 Essay

After a few exchanges with Amphitryon and Theseus, Hercules comes to recognize that he is in his palace and notices the blood on his hands which confirms that he has murdered his own family. He accepts responsibility for the murders, and his thoughts immediately turn to exile or suicide as appropriate punishment for his crime. The problem with exile is that the whole world knows him because of the fame of his Labors, and so he would still be recognized even in the world’s most remote places. Over the remainder of the Act, Amphitryon successfully talks Hercules down from suicide by arguing that he would be unable to survive if his son Hercules died. Theseus offers Hercules refuge in Athens, which was a sanctuary for family murderers such as Orestes and Oedipus in Greek mythology.

1138 locus … regiō … plaga: supply est.

1139 ortū sōlis: i.e., the east. cardine: “the (north) pole” (LS cardo I.B.2).

1140 glaciālis Ursae: Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, a poetic way of referring to the north.

1140–41: Prose order: numquid extrēma tellūs dat hunc modum Ōceanō Hesperiī maris? “Can it be that the farthest land places this limit on the Ocean of the western sea?” Hercules thinks he might have traveled west all the way to the limit of the ocean that surrounds the inhabited world—a place he was familiar with, since his Labors took him to the far west and gave the name “Pillars of Hercules” to the Strait of Gibraltar. numquid: introduces a question where a negative answer is anticipated: “Is it really possible that …?” “Surely …. not.”

1142 quās trahimus aurās: “what air do I breathe?” i.e., “what land am I in?” We recall that he has traveled the entire world. fessō subest: dative with a compound verb, “lies under this tired man.”

1143 redîmus: a contraction of the perfect rediimus (pf. indic.). The subject is Hercules (a poetic plural). prōstrātā domō: ablative absolute (AG 419).

1145 simulācra … īnferna: accusative plural. Hercules wonders whether he is seeing reality or an Underworld vision. post reditūs quoque: “even after my return.”

1146 oculīs … meīs: “before my eyes,” locative ablative (AG 429.4).

1147 pudet: an impersonal verb that governs a complementary infinitive (AG 454): “it is shameful [for me] to confess.”

1149 grege: depending on the adjective animosa: “proud of her flock.”

1151 spoliō: ablative of separation (AG 400) after vacat. quōnam: “where on earth?” abît: = abī(v)it, pf. indic. > abeō.

1152 īdem ... mollis … torus: his lion skin served as both defensive armor and a bed. somnō … Herculeō: “for Hercules’ sleep.” Latin poets often use an adjective in place of a genitive, for metrical reasons and to elevate the style.

1153 ubi … ubi: as in line 1138, supply the relevant forms of esse. vivō mihi: dative of separation, “from me while I [still] live.”

1155 ipsumque ... somnum: “and even the sleep.”

1156 libet ... vidēre: an impersonal verb that governs a complementary infinitive (AG 454): “I wish to see.”

1157 exsurge, virtūs: Hercules assumes that some new hero (another son of Jupiter) has stolen his weapons, and stirs up his courage to meet the man. pater: Jupiter.

1157–58 caelō … relictō: ablative absolute.

1158–59 cuius in fētū: Hercules refers to his own conception, when Jupiter extended the night to triple its length. He assumes a more powerful son of Jupiter would require an even longer night.