In Rank's book The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, this section precedes the one on interpretation. The introduction to myths illustrates his theories about the nature of hero myths. Because of the complexity of Rank's ideas, we thought presenting the theory first (a deductive method) would be clearer to readers unfamiliar with psychiatry and Rank's inductive method. We can compare what we have read concerning the "family romance" to the ancient stories that illustrate the ideas.

	Sargon
Sargon founded Babylonia in the 24th century BC, and destroyed the walls of Uruk, whose construction is celebrated in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In it, the epithet for Uruk is "of the strong walls."	36. Probably the oldest transmitted hero myth in our possession is derived from the period of the foundation of Babylonia (about 2800 BC) and concerns the birth history of its founder, Sargon the First. The literal translation of the report--according to the mode of rendering, it appears to be an original inscription by King Sargon himself--is as follows:
The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which flow through present-day Iraq, is very fertile and ideally suited for traders' traffic. Several great ancient civilizations grew up in this area. "my mother, the vestal"-Vestals are virgins dedicated to the service of a diety. See the section on Attenuation type 3, p.xx. "Akki, the water carrier" - the lowly father rescues and rears the hero.	37. Sargon, the mighty king, King of Agade, am I. My mother was a vestal, my father I knew not, while my father's brother dwelt in the mountains. In my City Azuripani, which is situated on the bank of the Euphrates, my mother, the vestal, bore me. In a hidden place she brought me forth. She laid me in a vessel made of reeds, closed my door with pitch, and dropped me down into the river, which did not drown me. The river carried me to Akki, the water carrier. Akki the Water Carrier lifted me up in the kindness of his heart, Akki the water carrier raised me as his own son, Akki the water carrier made of me his gardener. In my work as a gardener I was beloved, by Ishtar, I became king for forty-five years I held kingly sway.
	Moses
"throw into the river all sons that were born to Hebrews" - This parallels Herod's order in the New Testament to kill all of the Isrealite boys under two years of age. "fear of the overfertility of the Israelites" - Pharoah's fear is not directed towards a particular future threat, but is more general.	38. The biblical birth history of Moses, which is told in the second chapter of Exodus, presents the greatest similarity to the Sargon legend, even an almost literal correspondence of individual traits. Already the first chapter (22) relates that Pharaoh commanded his people to throw into the river all sons that were born to Hebrews, while the daughters were permitted to live; the reason for this order is given as fear of the overfertility of the Israelites. The second chapter continues as follows:
"the house of Levi" - Levi's family, or "house" was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. They had fled to Egypt from their homeland, but were then captives of Pharoah. "an ark of bulrushes" - Like the typical Rank hero, Moses is put into a container and set in the water. Moses' sister brings their mother as nurse for the child. The female role as helper is the opposute of Rank's tyrants who are often male relatives. Moses. . . "because I drew him out of the water"- This might make the Moses story even more closely related to the Sargon legend. Pharoah's daughter's action parallels Akki's in the Sargon tale.	39. And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bore a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the gags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him and said, this is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water."
Rank shows how auxiliary myths grow up around the central one as people explain for themselves the events in the main story. The myth described here portrays a prophecy about Moses and lays down the reasons for Pharoah's acions. Miriam, Moses' sister, predicts his role as liberator of his people and so, in a way, sets the stage for his conception and birth. "an extraordinary luminous radiance" - The light illuminating the entire house signifies that Moses is a very special child. Such visible signs of specialness also occur in the story of the birth of Jesus.	40. This account is ornamented by rabbinical mythology with an account of the events preceding Moses' birth. In the sixtieth year after Joseph's death, the reigning Pharaoh saw in a dream an old man who held a pair of scales; all the inhabitants of Egypt lay on one side, with only a suckling lamb on the other, but nevertheless this outweighed all the Egyptians. The startled king at once consulted the wise men and astrologers, who declared the dream to mean that a son would be born to the Israelites who would destroy all Egypt. The king was frightened, and at once ordered the death of all newborn children of the Israelites in the entire country. On account of this tyrannical order, the Levite Amram, who lived in Goshen, decided to separate from his wife Jochebed, so as not to foredoom to certain death the children conceived through him. But this resolution was opposed later on by his daughter Miriam, who foretold with prophetic assurance that precisely the child suggested in the king's dream would come forth from her mother's womb, and would become the liberator of his people. Amram therefore rejoined his wife, from whom he had been separated for three years. At the end of three months, she conceived, and later on bore a boy at whose birth the entire house was illuminated by an extraordinary luminous radiance, suggesting the truth of the prophecy.
"He then delivered a strange child" - Compare this substitution with that in the Cyrus myth, p. xx. "God permitted him to suck milk from a finger of the right hand" - God himseelf intervenes to nourish the special child.	41. Similar accounts are given of the birth of the ancestor of the Hebrew nation, Abraham. He was a son of Terah-Nimrod's captain-and Amtelai. Prior to his birth, it was revealed to King Nimrod from the stars that the coming child would overthrow the thrones of powerful princes and take possession of their lands. King Nimrod planned to have the child killed immediately after its birth. But when the boy was requested from Terah, he said, "Truly a son was born to me, but he has died." He then delivered a strange child, concealing his own son in a cave underneath the ground, where God permitted him to suck milk from a finger of the right hand. In this cave, Abraham is said to have remained until the third year of his life.
"In the next generation" - Keepers of the myth aim to make the logic most coherent. Isaac, another special child from the same family, is rescued by God. This is a variant on life-giving, as portrayed in the Abraham story, wher God suckles the infant.	42. In the next generation, in the story of Isaac, the same mythological motifs appear. Prior to his birth, King Abimelech is warned by a dream not to touch Sarah, as this would cause woe to betide him. After a long period of barrenness, she finally bears her son, who after having been destined to be sacrificed by his own father, Abraham, is ultimately rescued by God. But Abraham casts out his elder son Ishmael, with Hagar, the boy's mother.
	Oedipus
For the version of the Oedipus story by Sophocles, see ch.x. For an example of interpretation of the myth, see the analysis of Levi-Strauss, p.x. In this version, Oedipus is exposed in the river. This reverses the usual event in the Hero-Myth in which the child is placed in the water for protection.	43. The parents of Oedipus, King Laius and his queen, Jocasta, lived for a long time in childless wedlock. Laius, who longs for an heir, asks the Delphic Apollo for advice. The oracle answers that he may have a son if he so desires; but fate has ordained that his own son will kill him. Fearing the fulfillment of the oracle, Laius refrains from conjugal relations, but being intoxicated one day he nevertheless procreates a son, whom he causes to be exposed in the river Cithaeron, barely three days after his birth. In order to be quite sure that the child will perish, Laius orders his ankles to be pierced. According to the account of Sophocles, which is not the oldest, however, the shepherd who has been entrusted with the exposure, surrenders the boy to a shepherd of King Polybus, of Corinth, at whose court he is brought up. Others say that the boy was exposed in a box on the sea, and was taken from the water by Periboa, the wife of King Polybus, she was rinsing her clothes by the shore. Polybus brought him up as his own son.
	44. Oedipus, on hearing accidentally that he is a foundling, asks the Delphian oracle about his true parents, but receives only the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In the belief that this prophecy refers to his foster parents, he flees from Corinth to Thebes, but on the way unwittingly kills his father Laius. By solving a riddle, he frees the city from the plague of the Sphinx, a man-devouring monster, and in reward is given the hand of Jocasta, his mother, as well as the throne of his father. The revelation of these horrors and the subsequent misfortune of Oedipus were a favorite subject for spectacular display among the Greek tragedians.
The legend of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus in the New Testament, has themes closely related to the Oedipus story: Parents are warned that child will do evil deed. Parents expose child. Childless royal couple rear him as their son. Child kills his father and marries his mother. On learning the truth, the child is horrified and repents.	45. An entire series of Christian legends have been elaborated on the pattern of the Oedipus myth, and the summarized contents of the Judas legend may serve as a paradigm of this group. Before his birth, his mother, Cyboread, is warned by a dream that she will bear a wicked son, to the ruin of his people. The parents expose the boy in a box on the sea. The waves cast the child ashore on the Isle of Scariot, where the childless queen finds him, and brings him up as her son. Later on, the royal couple have a son of their own, and the foundling who feels himself slighted, kills his foster brother. As a fugitive from the country, he takes service at the court of Pilate, who makes a confidant of him and places him above his entire household. In a fight, Judas kills a neighbor, without knowing that he is his father. The widow of the murdered man--his own mother--then becomes his wife. After the revelation of these horrors, he repents and seeks the Savior, who receives him among his apostles. His betrayal of Jesus is known in from the Gospels.
	Gilgamesh
	46. Claudius Aelian, who lived about 200 AD., relates in his "Animal Stories" the history of a boy who was saved by an eagle:
For the version of the Epic of Gilgamesh found written on clay tablets dating from the seventh century BC, see ch.x. This story seems only very loosely related to that on the tablets. "the guardians threw the child down" - Although the king himself did not throw the child from the heights, his guards were acting in his place. This puts him in the role of Rank's father as tyrant. The eagle saves the child and brings it to the overseer--the lowly parent who rears the child-hero.	47. Animals have a characteristic fondness for man. An eagle is known to have nourished a child. I shall tell the entire story, in proof of my assertion. When Senechoros reigned over the Babylonians, the Chaldean fortunetellers foretold that the son of the king's daughter would take the kingdom from his grandfather; this verdict was a prophecy of the Chaldeans. The king was afraid of this prophecy, and he watched over his daughter with the greatest severity. But his daughter, fate being wiser than the Babylonian, conceived secretly from an inconspicuous man. For fear of the king, the guardians threw the child down from the acropolis, where the royal daughter was imprisoned. The eagle, with his keen eyes, saw the boy's fall, and before the child struck the earth, he caught it on his back, bore it into a garden, and set it down with great care. When the overseer of the place saw the beautiful boy, he was pleased with him and raised him. The boy received the name Gilgamesh, and became the king of Babylonia.
	Cyrus
	48. The myth of Cyrus the Great, which the majority of investigators place in the center of this entire mythical circle, --without entirely sufficient grounds, it would appear-has been transmitted to us in several versions. According to the report of Herodotus (about 450 BC), who states that among four renderings known to him, he selected the least "glorifying" version, the story of the birth and youth of Cyrus is as follows:
Astyages' first dream In ancient times, it was common practice to consult special people who interpreted dreams or foretold the future. Tiresius, in the Oedipus myth, is a typical "seer." Astyages marries his daughter Mandane to a socially inferior man in order to prevent the portent that her offspring would overpower all Asia. Astyages' second dream Astyages plans to kill his grandson. Rank calls this attenuation, because the tyrant is not the child's father, but a step removed. (See p. xx for Rank's explanation of attenuation.) Cyrus' father has no part in the evil. Harpagos is typical of the faithful servant who is sent out to kill the child and who spares it. This happens also with Oedipus and with xx in the Grimms' tale xx., p. xx.	49. Royal sway over the Medes was held, after Cyaxares, by his son Astyages, who had a daughter named Mandane. Once he saw, in a dream, so much water passing from her as to fill an entire city and inundate all Asia. He related his dream to the dream interpreters among the magicians, and was in great fear after they had explained it all to him. When Mandane had grown up, he gave her in marriage, not to a Mede, his equal in birth, but to a Persian, by name of Cambyses. This man came of a good family and led a quiet life. The king considered him of lower rank than a middle-class Mede. After Mandane had become the wife of Cambyses, Astyages saw another dream-vision in the first year. He dreamed that a vine grew from his daughter's lap, and this vine overshadowed all Asia. After he had again related this vision to the dream interpreters, he sent for his daughter, who was with child, and after her arrival from Persia, he watched her, because he meant to kill her offspring. For the dream interpreter among the magicians had prophesied to him that his daughter's son would become king in his place. In order to avert this fate, he waited until Cyrus was born, and then sent for Harpagos, who was his relative and his greatest confidant among the Medes, and whom he had placed over all his affairs. Him he addressed as follows: "My dear Harpagos, I shall charge thee with an errand which thou must conscientiously perform. But do not deceive me, and let no other man attend to it, for all might not go well with thee. Take this boy, whom Mandane has brought forth, carry him home, and kill him.
The faithful servant decides to spare the child. This is a variant of the motif -- the servant spares the child for selfish reasons. It is significant here that Harpagos is a relative of Cyrus.   Mithradates is a herder; and his wife, Spako, was a slave -- they become the "lowly parents."	50. Afterwards thou canst bury him, how and in whatsoever manner thou desirest. But Harpagos made answer: "Great King never hast thou found thy servant disobedient, and also in future I shall beware not to sin before thee. If such is thy will, it behooves me to carry it out faithfully." When Harpagos had thus spoken, and the little boy with all his ornaments had been delivered into his hands, for death, he went home weeping. On his arrival he told his wife all that Astyages had said to him. But she inquired, "What art thou about to do?" He made reply: "I shall not obey Astyages, even if he raved and stormed ten times worse than he is doing. I shall not do as he wills, and consent to such a murder. I have a number of reasons: in the first place, the boy is my blood relative; then, Astyages is old, and he has no male heir. Should he die, and the kingdom go to his daughter, whose son he bids me kill at present, would I not run the greatest danger? But the boy must die, for the sake of my safety. However, one of Astyages' men is to be his murderer, not one of mine." Having thus spoken, he at once despatched a messenger to one of the king's cattle herders, by name Mithradates, who, as he happened to know, was keeping his herd in a very suitable mountain pasturage, full of wild animals. The herder's wife was also a slave of Astyages', by name Spako ("a bitch") in the Median language. When the herder hurriedly arrived, on the command of Harpagos, the latter said to him: "Astyages bids thee take this boy and expose him in the wildest mountains, that he may perish as promptly as may be, and the King has ordered me to say to thee: If thou doest not kill the boy, but let him live, in whatever way, thou art to die a most disgraceful death. And I am charged to see to it that the boy is really exposed."
Mithradates has learned that the child is Astyages' grandson.	51. When the herder had listened to this, he took the boy, went home, and arrived in his cottage. His wife was with child, and was in labor the entire day, and it happened that she was just bringing forth, when the herder had gone to the city. They were greatly worried about each other. But when he had returned and the woman saw him again so unexpectedly, she asked in the first place why Harpagos had sent for him so hurriedly. But he said: "My dear wife, would that I had never seen what I have seen and heard in the city, and what has happened to our masters. The house of Harpagos was full of cries and laments. This startled me, but I entered, and soon after I had entered, I saw a small boy lying before me, who struggled and cried and was dressed in fine garments and gold. When Harpagos saw me, he bid me quickly take the boy, and expose him in the wildest spot of the mountains. He said Astyages had ordered this, and added awful threats if I failed to do so. I took the child and went away with it, thinking that it belonged to one of the servants, for it did not occur to me whence it had come. But on the way, I learned the entire story from the servant who led me from the city, and placed the boy in my hands. He is the son of Mandane, daughter of Astyages, and Cambyses, the son of Cyrus; and Astyages has ordered his death. Behold, here is the boy."
Spako and Mithradates will exchange their stillborn child for the doomed one.             Spako rears Cyrus as her own. Compare Rank's outline of the standard hero myth: the child is suckled by a humble woman (p. xx).	52. Having thus spoken, the herder uncovered the child and showed it to her, and when the woman saw that he was a fine strong child, she wept, and fell at her husband's feet, and implored him not to expose it. But he said he could not do otherwise, for Harpagos would send servants to see if this had been done; he would have to die a disgraceful death unless he did so. Then she said again: "If I have failed to move thee, do as follows, so that they may see an exposed child: I have brought forth a dead child; take it and expose it, but the son of the daughter of Astyages we will raise as our own child. In this way, thou wilt not be found a disobedient servant, nor will we fare ill our-selves. Our stillborn child will be given a kingly burial, and the living child's life will be preserved." The herder did as his wife had begged and advised him to do. He placed his own dead boy in a basket, dressed him in all the finery of the other, and exposed him on the most desert mountain. Three days later he announced to Harpagos that he was now enabled to show the boy's cadaver. Harpagos sent his most faithful body guardians, and ordered the burial of the cattle herder's son. The other boy, however, who was known later on as Cyrus, was brought up by the herder's wife. They did not call him Cyrus, but gave him another name.
"The boys played king"--This motif plays a role in other Asian myths, such as the Hindu saga of Candragupta. Thy boy acts as a genuine king: demanding, commanding, and punishing.                     Cyrus behaves in a confident manner, as his heritage would dictate.	53. When the boy was twelve years old the truth was revealed, through the following accident. He was playing on the road, with other boys of his own age, in the village where the cattle were kept. The boys played "King," and elected the supposed son of the cattle herder. But he commanded some to build houses, others to carry lances; one he made the king's watchman, the other was charged with the bearing of messages; briefly, each received his appointed task. One of the boy's playmates, however, was the son of Artembares, a respected man among the Medes, and when he did not do as Cyrus ordained, the latter made the other boys seize him. The boys obeyed, and Cyrus chastised him with severe blows. After they let him go, he became furiously angry, as if he had been treated improperly. He ran into the city and complained to his father of what Cyrus had done to him. He did not mention the name of Cyrus for he was not yet called so, but said the cattle herder's son. Artembares went wrathfully with his son to Astyages, complained of the disgraceful treatment, and spoke thus: "Great king, we suffer such outrageous treatment from thy servant, the herder's son," and he showed him his own son's shoulders. When Astyages heard and saw this, he wished to vindicate the boy for the sake of Artembares, and he sent for the cattle herder with his son. When both were present, Astyages looked at Cyrus and said: "Thou, a lowly man's son, hast had the effrontery to treat so disgracefully the son of a man whom I greatly honor?" But he made answer: "Lord, he has only received his due. For the boys in the village, he being among them, were at play, and made me their king, believing me to be the best adapted thereto. And the other boys did as they were told, but he was disobedient, and did not mind me at all. For this he has received his reward. If I have deserved punishment, here I am at your service."
Therefore, he is recognized as noble.                   The herder behaves "un-nobly" and betrays Harpagos.             Astyages acts treacherously and plans his revenge	54. When the boy spoke in this way, Astyages knew him at once. For the features of the face appeared to him as his own, and the answer was that of a highborn youth; furthermore, it seemed to him that the time of the exposure agreed with the boy's age. This smote his heart, and he remained speechless for a while. Hardly had he regained control over himself when he spoke to get rid of Artembares, so as to be able to question the cattle herder without witnesses "My dear Artembares," he said, "I shall take care that neither thou nor thy son shall have cause for complaint." Thus he dismissed Artembares. Cyrus, however, was led into the palace by the servants, on the command of Astyages, and the cattle herder had to stay behind. When he was all alone with him, Astyages questioned him whence he had obtained the boy and who had given the child into his hands. But the herder said that he was his own son, and that the woman who had borne him was living with him. Astyages remarked that he was very unwise, to look out for most cruel tortures, and he beckoned the swordbearers to take hold of him. As he was being led to torture, the herder confessed the whole story, from beginning to end, the entire truth, finally beginning to beg and implore forgiveness and pardon. Meanwhile Astyages was not so incensed against the herder, who had revealed to him the truth, as against Harpagos; he ordered the sword-bearers to summon him, and when Harpagos stood before him, Astyages asked him as follows: "My dear Harpagos, in what fashion hast thou taken the life of my daughter's son, whom I once delivered over to thee?" Seeing the cattle herder standing near, Harpagos did not resort to untruthfulness, for fear that he would be refuted at once, and so he proceeded to tell the truth. Astyages concealed the anger which he had aroused in him, and first told him what he had learned from the herder; then he mentioned that the boy was still living, and that everything had turned out all right. He said that he had greatly regretted what he had done to the child, and that his daughter's reproaches had pierced his soul. "But as everything has ended so well, send thy son to greet the newcomer, and then come to eat with me, for I am ready to prepare a feast in honor of the Gods who have brought all this about."
Astyages' revenge -- He butchers Harpagos' son and has him served for dinner.       The earlier substitution of children is reversed in a sense. Mithradates' dead son was substituted for Cyrus; now Harpagos' son is killed instead of Cyrus. This is an odd twist of the "eye-for-an-eye" sense of justice. Because Harpagos did not kill Astyages' grandson, Astyages kills Harpagos' son.	55. When Harpagos heard this, he prostrated himself on the ground before the king, and praised himself for his error having turned out well, and for being invited to the king's table, in commemoration of a happy event. So he went home, and when he arrived there, he at once sent off his only son, a boy of about thirteen years, telling him to go to Astyages, and to do as he was bid. Then Harpagos joyfully told his wife what had befallen him. But Astyages butchered the son of Harpagos when he came, cut him to pieces, and roasted the flesh in part; another portion of the flesh was cooked, and when everything was prepared he kept it in readiness. When the hour of the meal had come, Harpagos and the other guests arrived. A table with sheep's meat was arranged in front of Astyages and the others, but Harpagos was served with his own son's flesh, without the head, and without the choppings of hands and feet, but with everything else. These parts were kept hidden in a basket. When Harpagos seemed to have taken his fill, Astyages asked him if the meat had tasted good to him, and when Harpagos answered that he had enjoyed it, the servants, who had been ordered to do so, brought in his own son's covered head, with the hands and feet, stepped up to Harpagos, and told him to uncover and take what he desired. Harpagos did so, uncovered the basket, and saw the remnants of his son. When he saw this, he did not give way to his horror, but controlled himself. Astyages then asked him if he knew of what game he had eaten; and he replied that he knew it very well, and that whatever the king did was well done. Thus he spoke, took the flesh that remained, and went home with it, where he probably meant to bury it together.
Rank's father/tyrant role extends here to the hero's (Cyrus') grandfather, Astyages. Advisors tell Astyages that Cyrus' being made king in the game would fulfill the prophecy.   Astyages speaks kindly to Cyrus as he sends him away.	56. This was the revenge of Astyages upon Harpagos. Concerning Cyrus, he took counsel, and summoned the same magicians who had explained his dream, then he asked them how they had at one time interpreted his vision in a dream. But they said that the boy must become a king, if he remained alive, and did not die prematurely. Astyages made reply: "The boy is alive, and is here, and as he was staying in the country, the boys of the village elected him for their king. But he did everything like the real kings, for he ordained to himself as the master, sword-bearers, gatekeepers, messengers, and everything. How do you mean to interpret this?" The magicians made reply: "If the boy is alive and has been made king without the help of anyone, thou canst be at ease so far as he is concerned, and be of good cheer, for he will not again be made king. Already several prophecies of ours have applied to insignificant trifles, and what rests upon dreams is apt to be vain." Astyages made reply: "Ye sorcerers, I am entirely of your opinion that the dream has been fulfilled when the boy was made king in name, and that I have nothing more to fear from him. Yet counsel me carefully as to what is safest for my house and for yourselves." Then the magicians said: "Send the boy away, that he may get out of thy sight, send him to the land of the Persians, to his parents." When Astyages had heard this, he was greatly pleased. He sent for Cyrus, and said to him: "My son, I have wronged thee greatly, misled by a deceitful dream, but thy good fortune has saved thee. Now go cheerfully to the land of the Persians, I shall give thee safe conduct.
Cyrus is joyfully received by his birth parents. "The 'bitch' (Spako) played the principal part in his conversation."--This is a good example of how stories develop with retelling.	57. There wilt thou find a very different father and a very different mother than the herders, Mithradates and his wife." Thus spake Astyages, and Cyrus was sent away. When he arrived in the house of Cambyses, his parents received him with great joy when they learned who he was, for they believed him to have perished at that time, and they desired to know how he had been preserved. He told them that he had believed himself to be the son of the cattle herder, but had learned everything on the way from the companions whom Astyages had sent with him. He related that the cattle herder's wife had saved him, and praised her throughout. The "bitch" (Spako) played the principal part in his conversation. The parents took hold of this name, so that the preservation of the child might appear still more wonderful, and thus was laid down the foundation of the myth that the exposed Cyrus was nursed by a bitch.
"Cyrus, on the instigation of Harpagos"--Harpagos crries out his revenge on Astyages indirectly. Herodotus was a famous Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC. The Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great and ruled by him between 550 and 529 BC, was conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 BC.	58. Later on, Cyrus, on the instigation of Harpagos, stirred up the Persians against the Medes. War was declared, and Cyrus, at the head of the Persians, conquered the Medes in battle. Astyages was taken prisoner alive, but Cyrus did not harm him, and kept him with him until his end. Herodotos' report concludes with the words: "But from that time on the Persians and Cyrus reigned over Asia. Thus was Cyrus born and raised, and made a King."
	Tristan
Gottfried von Strassburg composed a German version of the Tristan epic about 1200AD. He followed the French version, which in turn goes back to Celtic origins. King Riwalin and Blancheflure, King Mark's sister, are Tristan's noble parents. Tintagel is the supposed birthplace of King Arthur. Typical motifs in the child/hero story: 1. disguise 2. faithful servant 3. death of parents 4. child is protected by faithful servant 5. child is found and cherished by foster parents 6. child/hero's nobility is revealed 8. hero avenges father Tristan is derived from the French "triste" meaning "sorrow."	59. The myth of the birth of the hero is pursued in the Tristan saga, as related in the epic poem by Gottfried von Strassburg. This is especially evident in the prologue of the Tristan saga, which is repeated later on in the adventures of the hero himself (duplication). Riwalin, king of the land of the Parmenians, in an expedition to the court of Mark, King of Cornwall and England, had become acquainted with the latter's beautiful sister, Blancheflure, and his heart was aflame with love for her. While assisting Mark in a campaign, Riwalin was mortally wounded and was to Tintajole. Blancheflure, disguised as a beggar maid, hastened to his sickbed, and her devoted love saved the king's life. She fled with her over to his native land (obstacles) and was there proclaimed as his consort. But Morgan attacked Riwalin's country for the sake of Blancheflure, whom the king entrusted to his faithful retainer Rual, because she was carrying a child. Rual placed the queen for safekeeping in the castle of Kaneel. Here she gave birth to a son and died, while her husband fell in the battle against Morgan. In order to protect the king's offspring from Morgan, Rual spread the rumor that the infant had been born dead. The boy was named Tristan, because he had been conceived and born in sorrow. Under the care of his foster parents, Tristan grew up, equally straight in body and mind, until his fourteenth year, when he was kidnapped by Norwegian merchants, who then put him ashore in Cornwall because they feared the wrath of the gods. Here the boy was found by the soldiers of King Mark, who was so well pleased with the brave and handsome youth that he promptly made him master of the chase (career), and held him in great affection. Meanwhile, faithful Rual had set forth to seek his abducted foster son, whom he found at last in Cornwall, where Rual had come begging his way. Rual revealed Tristan's descent to the king, who was delighted to see in him the son of his beloved sister, and raised him to the rank of knight. In order to avenge his father, Tristan proceeded with Rual to Parmenia, vanquished Morgan, the ursurper, and gave the country to Rual as leige, while he himself returned to his uncle Mark.
Joseph Campbell interprets the dragon of medieval Western stories as a representative of greed, of evil. Slaying the dragon signifies the triumph of good. The potion had been ordered to insure Isolde's love for Mark. Whoever drank it would fall eternally in love with the first person he or she saw. Tristan and Isolde drank together, and thus became enchanted to each other.	60. The actual Tristan saga goes with a repetition of the principal themes. In the sevice of Mark, Tristan kills Morald, the bridegroom of Isolde, and being wounded unto death he is saved by Isolde. He asks her hand in marriage on behalf of his uncle Mark. When he fulfills the condition of killing a dragon, she accompanies him reluctantly to Cornwall, to which they travel by ship. On the journey they partake unwittingly of the disastrous love potion which binds them together in frenzied passion; they betray King Mark, On the wedding night, Isolde's faithful maid, Brangane, represents the queen, and sacrifices her virginity to the king. Next follows the banishment of Tristan, his several attempts to regain his beloved, although he had meanwhile married another Isolde--"Isolde of the White Hand," of Brittany, who resembled his love "Isolde the Fair." At last he is again wounded unto death, and Isolde arrives too late to save him.
	Romulus
Mommsen- Theodor Mommsen reconstructed the last narrative of Fabius from the preserved reports of Dionysius and of Plutarch towards the end of the 19th century.	61. The original version of the story of Romulus and Remus - as told by the most ancient Roman annalist Quintus Fabius Pictor - is rendered as follows by Mommsen:
Amulius is Numitor's brother, and the twins are his great-nephews. As with Cyrus, this is an example of Rank's first type of attenuation: the tyrant is not the child's father, but is a close relative. Many items in Rank's outline (p.xx) apply here: 1. Heroes are children of distinguished parents (royalty and deity). 4. Babies are put into the water in a container 5. They are saved by an animal. 6. They are nursed by it. woodpecker guards the children--birds are oftenhelpers, as in the Edda (p. xx) and "Cinderella" (p. xx). "The father was providing for his sons"- This is an aberration of Rank's thesis and might have to do with Quintus' awareness of his audience's sensibilities concerning Mars.           This substituting of the child/hero for a dead child of the lowly prents also occurs in the story of Cyrus.	62. The twins borne by Ilia, the daughter of the preceding king Numitor, from the embrace of the war-god Mars, were condemned by King Amulius, the present ruler of Alba, to be cast into the river. The king's servants took the children and carried them from Alba as far as the Tiber on the Palatine Hill; but when they tried to descend the hill to the river, to carry out the command, they found that the river had risen, and they were unable to reach its bed. The tub with the children was therefore thrust by them into the shallow water at the shore. It floated for a while; but the water promptly receded, and knocking against a stone, the tub capsized, and the screaming infants were upset into the river mud. They were heard by a she-wolf who had just brought forth and had her udders full of milk; she came and gave her teats to the boys, to nurse them, and as they were drinking she licked them clean with her tongue. Above them flew a woodpecker, which guarded the children, and also carried food to them. The father was providing for his sons: for the wolf and the woodpecker are animals consecrated to father Mars. This was seen by one of the royal herdsmen, who was driving his pigs back to the pasture from which the water had receded. Startled by the spectacle, he summoned his mates, who found the she-wolf attending like a mother to the children, and the children treated her as their mother. The men made a loud noise to scare the animal away; but the wolf was not afraid; she left the children, but not from fear, slowly, without heeding the herdsmen, she disappeared into the wilderness of the forest, at the holy site of Faunus, where the water gushes from a gully of the mountain. Meanwhile the men picked up the boys and carried them to the chief swineherd of the king, Faustulus, for they believed that the gods did not wish the children to perish. But the wife of Faustulus had just given birth to a dead child, and was full of sorrow. Her husband gave her the twins, and she nursed them; the couple raised the children, and named them Romulus and Remus.
Explaining how places were named to commemorate events is common in the Edda (see p. xx)	63. After Rome had been founded, later on, King Romulus built himself a house not far from the place where his tub had stood. The gully in which the she-wolf had disappeared has been known since that time as the Wolfs Gully, the Lupercal. The image in ore of the she-wolf with the twins was subsequently erected at this spot, and the she-wolf herself, the Lupa, was worshipped by the Romans as a divinity.
Livy's massive history of Rome tells us much about ancient Roman cultures. He died in 17 AD.	64. The Romulus saga later on underwent manifold transmutations, mutilations, additions, and interpretations. It is best known in the form transmitted by Livy (I, 3ff.), where we learn something about the antecedents and subsequent fate of the twins:
"[Amulius] deprives [Rhea Silvia] of the hope of progeny" - This is an example of the second type of attenuation described by Rank (see. p. x): both the heroes and their parent are persecuted by the tyrant.	65. King Proca bequeaths the royal dignity to his firstborn son, Numitor. But his younger brother, Amulius, pushes him from the throne, and becomes king himself. So that no scion from Numitor's family may arise, as the avenger, he kills the male descendants of his brother. Rhea Silvia, the daughter, he elects as a vestal, and thus deprives her of the hope of progeny, through perpetual virginity as enjoined upon her under the semblance of a most honorable distinction. But the vestal maiden was overcome by violence, and having brought forth twins, she named Mars as the father of her illegitimate offspring, be it from conviction, or because a god appeared more creditable to her as the perpetrator of the crime.
"Some believe that Larentia was called Lupa ('she-wolf')" - This confusion of name and person (or animal) affects the story of Cyrus in the same way.	66. The narrative of the exposure in the Tiber goes on to relate that the floating tub, in which the boys had been exposed, was left on dry land by the receding waters, and that a thirsty wolf, attracted from the neighboring mountains by the children's cries, offered them her teats. The boys are said to have been found by the chief royal herder supposedly named Faustulus, who took them to the homestead of his wife, Larentia, where they were raised. Some believe that Larentia was called Lupa ("she-wolf') by the herders because she offered her body, and that this was the origin of the wonderful saga.
"the bird oracle" - When the Romans sought advice from the gods, they often interpreted what they considered to be the answers in the patterns made by the flight of birds.	67. Grown to manhood, the youths Romulus and Remus protect the herds against the attacks of wild animals and robbers. One day Remus is taken prisoner by the robbers who accuse him of having stolen Numitor's flocks. But Numitor, to whom he is surrendered for punishment, was touched by his tender age, and when he learned of the twin brothers, he suspected that they might be his exposed grandsons. While he was anxiously pondering the resemblance with the features of his daughter, and the boy's age as corresponding to the time of the exposure, Faustulus arrived with Romulus, and a conspiracy was hatched when the descent of the boys had been learned from the herders. The youths armed themselves for vengeance, while Numitor took up weapons to defend his claim to the throne he had usurped. After Amulius had been assassinated, Numitor was reinstituted as the ruler, and the youths resolved to found a city in the region where they had been exposed and brought up. A furious dispute arose upon the question of which brother was to be the ruler of the newly erected city, for neither twin was favored by the right of primogeniture, and the outcome of the bird oracle was equally doubtful. The saga relates that Remus jumped over the new wall, to deride his twin, and Romulus became so much enraged that he slew his brother. Romulus then usurped the sole mastery, and the city was named Rome after him.
	Hercules
Hercules is the Latin name for the Greek hero Herakles. See p. x for Hesiod's version of the Hercules myth.   Zeus has the power to transform himself into persons and objects. He often does so to trick sexual partners. The results of these unions are very often monsters. (See W.B. Yates' "Leda and the Swan" in ch. x for a modern partrayal of such a disastrous result.) Hera is often jealous of the objects of Zeus' attention. Here, she directs that jealousy not only against Alcmene, but against Zeus himself, who has predicted extreme power for this child, the fruit of his union with Alcmene. Hercules and Iphicles are not twins: Alcmene bore Heracles as the son of Zeus; and Iphicles as the son of Amphytrion. Eurystheus, the first-born, bcomes king; and Hercules as "later-born" is his subject. For other examples of the importance of primo-geniture, see ch.xx.	68. After the loss of his numerous sons, Electryon betroths his daughter, Alcmene, to Amphitryon, the son of his brother, Alcaeus. However, Amphitryon, through an unfortunate accident, causes the death of Electryon, and escapes to Thebes with his affianced bride. He has not enjoyed her love, for she has solemnly pledged him not to touch her until he has avenged her brothers on the Thebans. An expedition is therefore started by him, from Thebes, and he conquers the king of the hostile people, Pterelaos, with all the islands. As he is returning to Thebes, Zeus in the form of Amphitryon betakes himself to Alcmene, to whom he presents a golden goblet as evidence of victory. He rests with the beauteous maiden during three nights, according to the later poets, holding back the sun one day. In the same night, Amphitryon arrives, exultant in his victory and aflame with love. In the fullness of time, the fruit of the divine and the human embrace is brought forth, and Zeus announces to the gods his son, as the most powerful ruler of the future. But his jealous spouse, Hera, knows how to obtain from him the pernicious oath that the first-born grandson of Perseus is to be the ruler of all the other descendants of Perseus. Hera hurries to Mycenae, to deliver the wife of Perseus' third son, Sthenelos, of the seven-months child, Eurystheus. At the same time she hinders and endangers the confinement of Alcmene, through all sorts of wicked sorcery, precisely as at the birth of the god of light, Apollo. Alcmene finally gives birth to Hercules and Iphicles, the latter in no way the former's equal in courage or in strength, but destined to become the father of his faithful friend, Iolaos. In this way Eurystheus became the king in Mycenae, in the land of the Argolians, in conformity with the oath of Zeus, and the laterborn Hercules was his subject.
Alcmene exposes Hercules in the wilderness to protect him from Hera. This is a twist of the exposure motif, since it usually describes the intended death of the child.               Irony--Milk from Hera's breast makes Hercules immortal, so her attempts to kill him are doomed to fail. Hercules is raised by herders, surrogate "lowly" parents. The stories of Cyrus, Romulus and Remus, and Amphion and Zethus are similar.	69. The old legend related the raising of Hercules on the strength-giving waters of the Fountain of Dirce, the nourishment of all Theban children. Later on, however, another version arose. Fearing the jealousy of Hera, Alcmene exposed the child she had borne in a place that for a long time after was known as the Field of Hercules. About this time, Athena arrived in company with Hera. She marveled at the beautiful form of the child, and persuaded Hera to put him to her breast. But the boy took the breast with far greater strength than his age seemed to warrant; Hera felt pains and angrily flung the child to the ground. Athena, however, carried him to the neighboring city and took him to Queen Alcmene, whose maternity was unknown to her, as a poor foundling, whom she begged her to raise for the sake of charity. This peculiar accident is truly remarkable! The child's own mother allows him to perish, disregarding the duty of maternal love, and the stepmother, who is filled with natural hatred against the child, saves her enemy without knowing it. Hercules had drawn only a few drops from Hera's breast, but the divine milk was sufficient to endow him with immortality. An attempt on Hera's part to kill the boy, asleep in his cradle, by means of two serpents, proved a failure for the child awakened and crushed the beasts with a single pressure of his hands. As a boy, Hercules one day killed his tutor, Linos, being incensed over an unjust chastisement. Amphitryon, fearing the wildness of the youth, sent him to tend his ox-herds in the mountains with the herders, among whom he is said by some to have been raised entirely, like Amphion and Zethus, Cyrus, and Romulus. Here he lives from the hunt, in the freedom of nature.
	Jesus
	70. The Gospel according to Luke (1:2-35) relates the prophecy of the birth of Jesus, as follows:
The story of Jesus in the New Testament contains many of the elements of Rank's theory of myths of the birth of the hero.       Jesus is conceived miraculously--not through the union of two humans. Like Hercules, Jesus is hailed as a future king.       The angel makes it clear that Jesus' conception is due to "the power of the Highest" and that "he shall be called the Son of God."	71. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail! thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shalt give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
In an explanation not included here, Rank notes that he has "rearranged the corresponding paragraphs in the Gospels" in order to "demonstrate the entire identity of the birth and early history of Jesus with the other hero myths."	72. This report is supplemented by the Gospel according to Matthew (1:1-25), in the narrative of the birth and childhood of Jesus:
"the angel of the Lord"- a supernatural being- explains the special circumstances of Jesus' conception.	73. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But, while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 74. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
	Here we interpolate the detailed account of the birth of Jesus, from Gospel of Luke (2:4-20):
They "laid him in a manger"- Here we see Mary and Joseph as lowly parents whose child is born in a stable. The "lowly" child's presence is announced by God's messengers.	75. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David: ) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things which they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
	We now continue the account after Matthew, in the second chapter:
"there came wise men from the east"- the importance of the hero is recognized.           King Herod fears the power of the child who is "King of the Jews." Such fear is the usual reason for persecution of the child/hero.       The tyrant Herod is no relative of the hero Jesus. Thus, this story contains Rank's final stage of attenuation. The person trying to accomplish the hero's death is not his father, or grandfather, but a stranger.                           Herod has all children slain who could possibly be Jesus, the hero. This behavior is typical of the father/tyrant, who fears that the child/hero will overpower him.	N76. ow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 77. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 78. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 79. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 80. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life, And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."