Cerna sources - Iovan Iorgovan (Hercules) legend

The Cerna River is a river in Romania. The Cerna has its source on the south-east side of the Godeanu Mountains and flows into the Danube. The upper reach of the river is sometimes called Cernişoara River. With a basin of 1433 square km and a length of 84 km, it carves an erosive tectonic valley with numerous gorges, quite deep sometimes. There is a man-made lake on it (Tierna), just before it crosses the Băile Herculane spa.

Iovan Iorgovan (Hercules) legend:

Iovan Iorgovan is a character in Romanian mythology, similar in some ways with Hercules (some writers consider him to be the same person). The legend is present in the Cerna valley of south-western Romania. In the legend, Iovan is named "fiu de rămlean" which can be translated as "son of a Roman."

In the middle of Cerna, Romanian folk traditions tell us, a colossal simulacrum of Hercules once existed, an ancient monument, which our heroic songs connect with the legend of a beautiful maiden who dwelt in a cave in the Cerna mountains.

Iorgovan, a great strongman from the eastern parts, comes, either to hunt deer in the Carunti mountains (Cerna mountains), or, according to other versions, in the Vergii or Covergii, Sovergii mountains, or to look for a beautiful girl in the Mountains of Gold.

Arriving at the river Cerna on a Thursday morning, Iorgovan rides up the river, armed with bow and arrows, and having with him hawks from Bogaz (the Danube mouths) and hounds from Provaz, while ahead of him runs his clever bitch, Vija.

But Cerna was in those times a big river, wild and with black waters. Its waves were high like church steeples and it flew with a frightening roar. Cerna had killed all the brave men (the old heroes) who had gone up the river.

Iorgovan, finding no ford to cross to the other bank, calls to Cerna, asking her to calm her waves, to stop her roar, to show him the ford, not to kill him, but instead to tell him where he can cross, because he had travelled and he had arrived, according to his predestination, to find here and take with him, a wild girl, handsome and strong. At his pleading, Cerna answers him to go upriver until he will get tired and will reach the three young maple trees - at the round hill and the dugout bank - where, after crossing to the other side, he will find a stone mossy wall, where is gone, and where is hidden, the wild girl, handsome and strong.

Iorgovan does as Cerna said, and riding up the river he reaches the three young maple trees, then, crossing the ford, arrives at last at the stone, upraised mossy wall.

Here, under this stone wall, in deep shade, the beautiful hidden maiden, face like the moon, golden hair falling on her shoulders, sits weeping with a beautiful voice and a caressing tone.

As soon as he sees her Iorgovan tells her that the love of her had bitterly punished him on this earth, that he had travelled the world in length and in width, and had found no other like her, whom he would marry. But she answers him, to well remember that once they both had served a proud queen, and that he had kissed her and had left her pregnant; but, because of his fame, of her mother’s anger and her father’s shame, she had punished herself, had secluded herself and gone into exile, and here she had come, in a deep valley, under stone walls, unbeaten by wind, unseen by anybody, where she had became wild.

Because the young maiden does not want to come out of the cave, Iorgavan, losing his mind, incites against this unhappy girl, the hawks, hounds and the bitch Vija, to dig under the rock and pull her out in the daylight. They listen to his order, rush into the cave and start scratching the white face, unbeaten by wind and unseen by people, of the unhappy maiden.

In vain cries the girl, and pleads with Iorgovan to call back his hawks and his hounds, which bite and scratch her, while her baby is crying. He, getting even madder, wants now to kill her.

Then, in her suffering and despair, she curses Iorgovan. (See the original article)

Film made by Dan Alexoae