“Without the will of heaven none is blest, none curst, I do maintain; nor doth the same house for ever tread the path of bliss; for one kind of fortune follows hard upon another; one man it brings to naught from his high estate, another though of no account it crowns with happiness.”
~ ‘Heracleidae’ by Euripides (Edward P. Coleridge translation. GB5 - p. 253)
After Heracles’ death, his family is forced to flee their homeland since Eurystheus seeks to kill them. They (Heracles’ friend, Iolaus, his mother, Alcmena and his children) seek refuge in an altar in Athens. Eurystheus’ herald, Copreus, arrives and seeks to forcibly take the refugees back to Argos. Demophon, Theseus’ son, who rules over the place, gives them refuge in spite of Copreus’ threats. Due to this, the Argives launch an attack on Athens.
An oracle states that Athens needs to sacrifice a maiden of noble birth to ensure victory. Demophon is unwilling to sacrifice his own daughter or ask any of the Athenian citizens to do so. Heracles’ daughter Macaria comes forward to sacrifice herself. Iolaus, though an old man, goes to war along with Hyllus Heracles’ son and fights like a young man. They bring victory to Athens and capture Eurystheus.