The gods of Olympus, as you know, behave like people: they love, they are jealous, they participate in campaigns and wars. And people do the same thing, with the only difference that they are mortal, and also that for more than two thousand years they have been attracting, delighting, and educating entire generations. And Hercules, and Theseus, and Meleager, performing great feats, and Orpheus, descending into the kingdom of Hades, and Icarus, ascending to the sun, are eternal examples of the heights of courage, love and spirit that a person can achieve. Even if they are all hostages of the gods. Translation by V. I. Pokrovsky, P. A. Medvedev