Herakles Β - Herakles and the Vultures

Herakles is said to have thought vultures the kindliest of all animal. This seems a bizarre affinity for our Theban friend to have but his logic behind it is sterling. Many different phrasings and fragments have trickled down but they basically boil down to- vultures are the kindliest animals because they hurt no living thing to eat while rendering a service to all other creatures (carrying them into death.) There are a great many versions of the latter part of that (i.e what’s the service?) but I personally subscribe to the service being to carry them into death, into the afterlife. Herakles β tells his story through the vehicle of that final meaning

Herakles and the Vultures

Time has come to pay my debts

Nessus laughs in corrupt contempt

The venom burns ever through and yet

I gaze skywards,  to the vultures

I remember days of youth and yore

Where Hera fed mother every fruit of scorn

Her cries shook Olympus to its core

And even then they circled, the vultures

Megaera and our babes went that way

And somewhere past forever and a day

There was nothing Deinaira nor I could say

We too are to be embraced, by the vultures

The vulture is the kindliest of all creatures

Because it hurts not all that draws breath

And it ferries all (and it ferries all)

Unto the grasp of death