Ceryneian Hind

Named for the Arcadian locality of Ceryneia (Keryneia) and the river Cerynites, the Ceryneian Hind is presented in Greek myth as a unique cervid dedicated to Artemis. It appears in the corpus as the object of Heracles' third labour: a sacred animal whose capture (rather than wanton killing) is required by the king Eurystheus. Narrative variants record that the hind bore an inscription indicating a dedication to Artemis ("Taygete dedicated [me] to Artemis"), that Artemis yoked several such hinds to her golden chariot in some traditions, and that Heracles was obliged to explain or propitiate Artemis (and Apollo in some accounts) after seizing or wounding the animal.

Ancient summaries describe the hind as enormous — reportedly "larger than a bull" in some accounts — with golden antlers (often rendered as "golden horns"), hooves of bronze or brass, and a dappled or variegated hide. Sources vary in gender and species-labeling (hind, doe, stag, hart), and classical commentators and images sometimes show antlered females; one modern summary also records a rare note that the animal "snorted fire." Exceptional swiftness and endurance are repeatedly emphasized in descriptions of its form and movement.

The hind's chief attributes in the tradition are extraordinary speed and stamina: Heracles is said to have hunted it for more than a year and to have pursued it across wide regions (a cited pursuit runs "from Oenoe to Hyperborea" in Pindar's phrasing) before finally capturing it near the river Ladon. Behaviorally, the hind is presented as sacred and affiliated with Artemis — in some traditions yoked to her chariot — while other versions depict it as causing agricultural nuisance (chasing farmers from vineyards). Narrative variants record differing interactions with humans: Heracles captured it alive and brought it to Eurystheus after propitiating the offended gods in some accounts; other traditions say he slew it and later propitiated Artemis, or that he captured it with nets, ran it down, or maimed it with an arrow just before it crossed the Ladon.