Met. 9.273Sēnsit Atlās pondus.—Neque adhūc Sthenelēius īrās
solverat Eurystheus odiumque in prōle paternum
275exercēbat atrōx.Atlas felt the weight. — Nor yet had Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, laid aside his anger, and fiercely he pursued against the son the hatred he had felt for the father. Met. 9.275At longīs ānxia cūrīs
Argolis Alcmēnē, questus ubi pōnat anīlēs,
cui referat nātī testātōs orbe labōrēs,
cuive suōs cāsūs, Iolēn habet.But Argive Alcmena, troubled by long cares, has Iole to whom to bring an old woman's complaints, to whom to tell of her son's labours, witnessed by the world, or of her own misfortunes. Met. 9.278Herculis illam
imperiīs thalamōque animōque recēperat Hyllus
280inplēratque uterum generōsō sēmine, cum sīc
incipit Alcmēnē: "Faveant tibi nūmina saltem
conripiantque morās, tum cum mātūra vocābis
praepositam timidīs parientibus Īlīthyiam,
quam mihi difficilem Iūnōnis grātia fēcit.Her Hyllus, at Hercules' command, had received into his bed and his heart, and had filled her womb with noble seed, when Alcmena begins thus: 'May the gods at least favour you and cut short delays when, your time come, you call on Ilithyia, who presides over fearful women in labour, whom Juno's favour made hard for me.
Met. 9.285Namque labōriferī cum iam nātālis adesset
Herculis et decimum premerētur sīdere signum,
tendēbat gravitās uterum mihi, quodque ferēbam,
tantum erat, ut possēs auctōrem dīcere tēctī
ponderis esse Iovem.For when the birthday of toil-bearing Hercules was already at hand, and the tenth sign was pressed by the sun, the weight stretched my womb, and what I carried was so great that you could tell that Jove was the author of the hidden burden. Met. 9.289Nec iam tolerāre labōrēs
290ulterius poteram: quīn nunc quoque frīgidus artūs,
dum loquor, horror habet, parsque est meminisse dolōris.And I could no longer bear my labour: indeed even now, as I speak, a cold shudder holds my limbs, and remembering is part of the pain. Met. 9.292Septem ego per noctēs, totidem cruciāta diēbus,
fessa malīs tendēnsque ad caelum bracchia magnō
Lūcīnam Nīxōsque parēs clamōre vocābam.For seven nights, tortured for as many days, worn out with suffering and stretching my arms to the sky, I called with a great cry on Lucina and the twin Birth-gods. Met. 9.295Illa quidem vēnit, sed praecorrupta meumque
quae dōnāre caput Iūnōnī vellet inīquae.She came indeed, but bribed beforehand, and wishing to give my life to unjust Juno.
Met. 9.297Utque meōs audit gemitūs, subsēdit in illā
ante forēs ārā dextrōque ā poplite laevum
pressa genū digitīs inter sē pectine iūnctīs
300sustinuit partūs.And when she hears my groans, she sat down on that altar before the doors, and, with her left knee pressed upon her right leg, and her fingers joined together like a comb, she held back the birth. Met. 9.300Tacitā quoque carmina vōce
dīxit, et inceptōs tenuērunt carmina partūs.She said spells too in a silent voice, and the spells held back the birth once begun. Met. 9.302Nītor et ingrātō faciō convīcia dēmēns
vāna Iovī cupiōque morī mōtūraque dūrōs
verba queror silicēs.I strain, and, out of my mind, hurl vain reproaches at ungrateful Jove, and long to die, and utter complaints that would move hard flints. Met. 9.304Mātrēs Cadmēidēs adsunt
305vōtaque suscipiunt exhortanturque dolentem.The Cadmean matrons are at hand, take up vows and encourage me in my pain. Met. 9.306Ūna ministrārum, mediā dē plēbe, Galanthis,
flāva comās, aderat, faciendīs strēnua iussīs,
officiīs dīlēcta suīs.One of my maids, of the common folk, Galanthis, golden-haired, was there, energetic in carrying out orders, loved for her services.
Met. 9.308Ea sēnsit inīquā
nesciō quid Iūnōne gerī, dumque exit et intrat
310saepe forēs, dīvam residentem vīdit in ārā
bracchiaque in genibus digitīs cōnexa tenentem,
et "quaecumque es," ait "dominae grātāre: levāta est
Argolis Alcmēnē potīturque puerpera vōtō."She sensed that something was being done by unjust Juno, and while she went out and in through the doors again and again, she saw the goddess sitting on the altar, holding her arms on her knees with fingers linked, and said, "Whoever you are, congratulate my mistress: Argive Alcmena is relieved, and as a mother has her wish." Met. 9.314Exsiluit iūnctāsque manūs pavefacta remīsit
315dīva potēns uterī: vinclīs levor ipsa remissīs.The goddess who rules the womb leapt up in alarm and let go her joined hands: with the bonds released, I myself am relieved. Met. 9.316Nūmine dēceptō rīsisse Galanthida fāma est:
rīdentem prēnsamque ipsīs dea saeva capillīs
trāxit, et ē terrā corpus relevāre volentem
arcuit inque pedēs mūtāvit bracchia prīmōs.The story is that Galanthis laughed at the deceived goddess: as she laughed, the cruel goddess seized her by her very hair and dragged her, and as she tried to lift her body from the ground, held her down and changed her arms into forefeet.
Met. 9.320Strēnuitās antīqua manet, nec terga colōrem
āmīsēre suum: fōrma est dīversa priōrī.Her old energy remains, nor has her back lost its colour: her form is different from before. Met. 9.322Quae quia mendācī parientem iūverat ōre,
ōre parit nostrāsque domōs, ut et ante, frequentat."Because she had helped a woman in labour with a lying mouth, she gives birth through her mouth, and haunts our houses as before.'