ALCES TIS
Chorus
You cannot master his horses. Not without a fight.
Heracles
It is my work, and I cannot refuse.
Chorus
You must
kill him before you come back; or be killed and stay.
Heracles
If I must fight, it will not be for the first time.
Chorus
What good will it do you if you overpower their master? 490
Heracles
I will take the horses home to Tiryns and its king.
Chorus
It is not easy to put a bridle on their jaws.
Heracles
Easy enough, unless their nostrils are snorting fire.
Chorus
Not that, but they have teeth that tear a man apart.
Heracles
Oh no! Mountain beasts, not horses, feed like that. 495
Chorus
But you can see their mangers. They are caked with
blood.
Heracles
And the man who raises them? Whose son does he claim
he is?