Read Little Legends of Ancient Greece. Various myths and legends of ancient Greece

Myths of Ancient Greece- ancient legends, which reflect the idea of ​​the ancient Greeks about the structure of the world, about all the processes taking place in society and in nature. In a word, their worldview and understanding of the world.

Why do we need to know myths?

After all, you can decide that this is useless, second-rate knowledge. In our time of exact knowledge, the most important thing seems to be the ability to create machines and control them. And myths are a ballast that I impose on us out of habit, according to an outdated tradition that has lost all meaning. This knowledge cannot be put into practice. The myth of Hercules will not help build high-rise buildings, factories, hydroelectric power stations, and the Odyssey will not tell you where to look for oil. But such reasoning, in the end, will lead to the rejection of literature and art in general. Literature and art originated in the depths of mythology and simultaneously with mythology. Man, creating legends about gods and heroes, performed the first act of creativity and took the first step towards self-knowledge. Literature and art have come a long way since those ancient times. In order to understand this path and its results, each person must go through it again: it is impossible to take the next steps without taking the first step.

And therefore "every educated European should have a sufficient understanding of the immortal creations of majestic antiquity."

This is exactly what A. S. Pushkin thinks.

In ancient Rome, slaves were called "instrumentum vocals" - "talking tool". The slave knew nothing but his wheelbarrow or oar. He did not become this way of his own free will; violence made him that way. In our time, a person who is content only with utilitarian, technological knowledge, voluntarily becomes a "talking instrument", and the fact that he chains himself not to a wheelbarrow, but to a computer, does not change anything. The computer is just a sign of the new times. Such a "techie" remains convinced that Hercules is just oatmeal, Orpheus is the name of cigarettes, and Orion is a hardware store.

Why is ancient Greek mythology the best?

We call myths fairy tales. However, for the ancients, they were the most serious attempts to explain the world, its origin, place and role of man in it. Every nation has and had myths, but it was Greek mythology, like no other, that had a deep, formative and enduring influence on the development of European culture, literature and art.

Why did it happen?

Greek mythology was not the most ancient. The myths of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Hurrians were much older.

Greek mythology was not the most common. The Greeks never tried to spread it, to impose their beliefs on other peoples. Their gods were primarily hearth gods, hostile to all outsiders. At the same time, non-aggressive, completely non-belligerent Greek mythology makes amazing and completely bloodless conquests. With good will, they will submit to it, the Romans will recognize it as their own and will smash it to the most remote borders of the vast Roman Empire. But even later, after a thousand years of oblivion, it will be revived and will conquer not just one people, but the whole of Europe.

Greek mythology was called the most beautiful, but after all, for each nation, their myths are still closer and more understandable. Aesthetic virtues, of course, played a big role in the spread of ancient Greek mythology, but they were not decisive, but ethical and moral qualities.

Man in antiquity could not yet explain and understand with his still poor mind all the phenomena of nature, all the events of the surrounding world. He did not know how to think in abstractions, and everything he saw and knew was beaten either by objects of dead nature, or by plants and animals, or by himself. Therefore, all mythical monsters are formed either by arithmetic building up of body parts (Cerberus the dog with three heads, the Lernaean Hydra already has nine heads, and the hecantocheirs have a whole hundred hands), or by combining several creatures together: a man and a snake, a man and a bird, a man and a horse .

Man already knew that he was stronger and smarter than objects and animals, and if so, then all dangerous and beneficent forces must have the appearance of a man.

The Hellenes likened the gods to people because they learned that no one can be so kind, noble and beautiful as a person; they likened the gods to people because they saw that no one can be so cruel and terrible as a man; they likened the gods to people because no one can be as complex, contradictory and unsolved as a person.

Almost all mythologies come to anthropomorphism. But in no other does it reach such amazing realism, concreteness, almost naturalism.

“There are many amazing things in the world, but there is nothing more amazing than a person.” Sophocles will say so in his Antigone only in the 5th century BC. e. But the Hellenes, many centuries before Sophocles, still not being able to express this thought with such force and accuracy, put it into their first creation - mythology, which was a reflection of the relations that had developed on earth.

The greatness of the Greeks is not that they likened the gods to people, but that they fearlessly peered into the nature of man, transferred to God.

The ancient Hellenic is an unconditional realist. His thinking is purely concrete. And although he worships his gods, he is inquisitive, curious to the point of indiscretion, impudent and self-willed in his relations with the Olympians, not to mention the gods of secondary importance. Having made the gods similar to people, he goes in this assimilation to the end and endows the gods with all human qualities.

The gods did not arise on their own, from an empty place, they are born. They get tired and sleep, they need to eat and drink, they suffer from pain. The gods are immortal, they cannot be killed, but they can be injured. They are consumed by the same passions and vices: they are envious and vain, they fall in love and are jealous. The Greek gods are boastful and vindictive, on occasion they can lie and deceive, they are cowardly and simply cowardly.

How did the Greek gods differ from people? Are they stronger? Yes, of course, but they are far from omnipotent. More than once it happened that people let them feel their strength. Hercules wounds Pluto, enters the fight with Apollo, and it was enough for him to squeeze the god of death Thanatos tighter and intimidate him to retreat. Diomedes wounds Aphrodite and Ares himself so that he, howling in a voice not his own, hides on Olympus. Are they prettier? But even among mortals there were those who could compare with the gods in their beauty.

The gods of the ancient Greeks were far from ideal. But even from people the Greeks did not invent ideal heroes, models and role models. They were not afraid of the truth, and the truth is that a person can be great and insignificant, lofty aspirations and shameful weaknesses, a heroic spirit and vices, the noblest and the most base, contemptible traits coexist in him.

And if a man, an ordinary mortal, with all his shortcomings and weaknesses, is capable of nobility and self-sacrifice, of breathtaking heroism, which are unknown to either the gods or other living beings except man, if he relies less and less on a miracle, and more on himself himself, if a person's thought is fearless and unstoppable, if he is able to rebel even against the gods - for him there are no limits to progress, his self-improvement is limitless.

This mythology, loving man, believing in man, glorifying man, could not but be reborn to a new life, cleansed of religious content in the Renaissance. It has become an organic part of humanism (from the Latin "humanus" - human). Since then, century after century, artists, composers, sculptors, playwrights, poets and even politicians have been falling for this inexhaustible source, drawing inspiration from it, finding inaccessible samples.

Myths of the ancient Greeks

The myths of Ancient Greece are myths about the pantheon of gods, about the life of titans and giants, about the exploits of other mythical (and often historical) heroes.
Traditionally, there are two main types of myths:

• cosmogonic;
• heroic.

Creation myths

Gods

In the beginning there was Chaos. No one can say exactly what Chaos is. Someone saw in him a divine being that did not have a specific form. Others (and they were the majority) represented Chaos as a great abyss, full of creative forces and divine seed. The abyss was seen as a single chaotic mass, dark and heavy, a mixture of water, earth, fire and air. It contained all the germs of the future world, and from this filled abyss the first pair of gods appeared - Uranus - Heaven and Gaia - Earth. From their matrimonial connection came hundred-armed giants - hecantocheirs and one-eyed cyclops. Then Uranus and Gaia gave birth to a great race of titans. The eldest of them was Ocean, the god of the mighty river, which encircled the whole earth with a wide blue ring. The children of Uranus, who were either ugly or ferocious, caused fear and disgust in their father. Expecting neither respect for his paternal power nor gratitude from the children, Uron threw them into the bottomless abysses of Tartarus.
Gaia heard the groans of the titans coming from the bottomless depths of the earth. She plotted against the cruel power of the criminal father. The youngest of the titans - Kronos, who was still at large, succumbed to the persuasion of his mother. He lay in wait for Uranus, armed with a steel sickle, and shamefully mutilated him (castrated).
The blood flowing out of the wound of the defeated god gave birth to three terrible goddesses of revenge - Erinnius, with snakes instead of hair. Uranus, hidden by the azure sky, has left the stage of the history of the gods.
Together with the gods, the world was born. From Chaos, the earth stood out as a solid dry land. A young sun shone above her, and heavy rains fell from the clouds. Gradually, everything began to take on a familiar look. The first forests rose up, and now the earth was covered with a huge noisy thicket. A few roamed the unknown heights. Lakes have chosen convenient hollows, springs have found their grottoes, a snowy ridge has been outlined against the blue sky. In the dark expanses of the night the stars sparkled, and when they paled, the birds greeted the dawn with a salutatory song.
The world was ruled by Kronos together with his wife Rhea. He was afraid that his son would take power from him, so he swallowed every child that Rhea gave birth to him. So he swallowed five children. Instead of a sixth child, Rhea slipped a stone wrapped in diapers to her husband. Thinking it was a child, Kronos swallowed the stone, and Rhea descended to earth, where she left the baby in a cave in the care of mountain nymphs. The boy was named Zeus. The goat Amalthea nursed him with her milk. The child loved this goat very much. When Amalthea broke the horn, Zeus took it into his divine hands and blessed it. This is how the cornucopia appeared, which was filled with whatever its owner wished.
Time passed, Zeus grew up and came out of hiding. Now he had to fight with his father. He advised his mother to give Kronos an imperceptible emetic. In terrible agony, Kronos regurgitated the swallowed children. These were young beautiful gods: daughters - Hera, Demeter and Hestia and sons Hades and Poseidon.
At this time, the good goat Amalthea died. She did her pet another favor even in death. Zeus made a shield out of her skin that no weapon could penetrate. This is how the aegis appeared - a wonderful shield with which Zeus did not part in battles.
And the first was the battle with the father. Other titans took the side of Kronos. For ten years the war, which was called the Titanomachy, continued without any result. Finally, Zeus freed the Cyclopes and Hecantocheirs from Tartarus, whose help decided the outcome of the battle.
Like Uranus before, now Kronos fell into the abyss of oblivion. The new gods settled on Olympus.
The new generation of gods did not enjoy the fruits of their victory for long. A race of giants, the sons of Gaia - the Earth, rebelled against them. Some giants were like huge people, while others had monster bodies ending in coils of snakes. To get to Olympus, the giants, throwing mountains, erected barricades.
Zeus struck enemies with lightning, he was helped by other gods. The Giants didn't give up. The lightning didn't harm them. The rocks thrown by them fell like hail, and when they fell into the sea, they turned into islands. Zeus learned by looking into the Book of Predestinations that only a mortal man can defeat the giants. And then Athena brought Hercules.
The decisive day of the battle arrived. The gods and goddesses rallied around Hercules. The hero put an arrow into the bow every second and sent it into the midst of the attackers. Then Dionysus arrived in time with a detachment of his satyrs on donkeys. These animals, struck by the wild appearance of the gigantic figures and the noise of the battle itself, raised such a terrifying cry that a mad, overwhelming fear seized the enemy. It was already easy to finish off the fugitives in the confusion. Only one giant remained - the beautiful Alcyoneus. He was the son of the Earth and laughed at all the blows, because it was enough for him to touch the place where he was born, as the wounds instantly healed, and new forces poured into him. Hercules grabbed him, tore him off the ground - the source of strength, took him far beyond the borders of his homeland and killed him there.
The giants were the children of Gaia. The aged goddess could not forgive such cruel treatment of her offspring. Determined to take revenge, she gave birth to the most terrible monster that the sun has ever seen. It was Typhon.

He had a huge human body from head to hips, and coils of snakes coiled instead of legs. Bristle-like hair stuck out on the head and chin, the rest of the body was overgrown with feathers. He surpassed the height of the highest mountains and reached the stars. When he spread his arms, his right hand plunged into the darkness of the far west, and the fingers of his left hand touched the place from where the sun rises. Like balls, he threw giant rocks. Fire shot out of this monster's eyes, and boiling resin flowed from its mouth. It flew through the air, filling it with screams and hisses.

When the gods saw this monster at the heavenly gates, they were seized with fear. So that He would not recognize them, the gods fled to Egypt and there turned into animals. Only one Zeus entered the fight against Typhon, using a sickle as a weapon, with which Kronos once crippled his father Uranus. He managed to wound Typhon, and the wounded giant bled so much that the Thracian mountains turned red, and since that time they have been called Hemos - Bloody Mountains. Finally, Typhon was completely exhausted, and Zeus was able to pin him down with the island of Sicily. Whenever Typhon tries to break free from his imprisonment, the land of Sicily trembles, and fire erupts from the mouth of the defeated monster through the crater of Etna.

People

People were already on earth when Zeus entered the heavenly throne, and before their frightened eyes, the battles of the gods for dominance over the world took place. There were various legends about where people came from. Some argued that people came directly from the bosom of the earth, the common mother of all things; others believed that forests and mountains created people, like trees and rocks; still others thought that humans were descended from the gods. But the most popular was the legend of the four ages of mankind.

Here is what she says:

First there was a golden age. Kronos ruled the world. The earth gave birth to everything in abundance, not forced to do so by the work of the farmer. The rivers flowed with milk, the sweetest honey oozed from the trees. People lived like celestials - without labor, without worries, without sorrow. Their body never aged, and they spent their lives in endless fun and conversations. The golden age ended with the fall of Kronos, and the then people turned into divine spirits.

The next century was silver, which means much worse. People developed very slowly, their childhood lasted for a hundred years, in adulthood their life was short and full of hardships. They were swaggering and evil, they did not want to honor the gods, as it was supposed to, and make sacrifices to them. Zeus destroyed them all.

A rude, war-loving tribe lived in the Bronze Age. People with the strength of giants had hearts like stone. They did not know iron and made everything from bronze - utensils, weapons, houses, and city walls. It was a heroic period. Then lived the brave Theseus and the great Hercules, the heroes of Troy and Thebes. They performed such extraordinary feats that were not repeated in the next Iron Age, and the Iron Age continues to this day.

Other legends said that one of the titans, Prometheus, created people, molding them from clay mixed with tears. He gave them a soul from heavenly fire by stealing a few sparks from the solar forge.

The man created by Prometheus was naked and weak. In figure he was like the image of the gods, but he lacked their strength. The fragile nails of people could not withstand the claws of predatory animals. People wandered like sleepy ghosts, helpless before the forces of nature, which they did not understand. All their actions were disorderly and meaningless.

Taking pity on the people, Prometheus again crept into the treasury of heavenly fire and brought the first smoldering coals to the people on earth. Hearths blazed in the dwellings of people, scaring away predatory animals and warming the inhabitants. Prometheus taught people crafts and art.

Zeus didn't like it. He still kept the memory of the recent battle with the giants and was afraid of everything that comes from the earth. He ordered Hephaestus to create a woman of wonderful beauty on the model of the immortal goddesses. Each of the gods awarded this woman with some special quality - beauty, attractiveness, charm, the ability to persuade, flattering character. She was dressed in gold, crowned with flowers and named Pandora, which means "all gifted." As a dowry, she received a tightly sealed vessel, the contents of which no one knew.

The messenger of the gods Hermes brought Pandora to earth and left Prometheus in front of the house. But the wise titan immediately sensed a catch. He sent the woman away and advised everyone else to do the same. Only his brother Epimetheus did not obey the titan. He was captivated by the beauty of the woman and immediately married her. No longer able to fix this, Prometheus advised his brother not to open the vessel that the gods had given Pandora. But the curious woman could not resist and slightly opened the lid of the vessel. At the same moment, all sorrows, worries, need, illnesses flew out into the world and surrounded unfortunate humanity. And at the bottom of the vessel was hope. Pandora immediately slammed the lid shut, and hope remained inside. This is where the idiom "Pandora's box" came from.

Prometheus decided to repay the gods with a trick for a trick. He killed the bull and divided it into two parts: he wrapped the meat in a skin and put it separately, and in the other part he folded the bones, which he covered with fat on top. Then he turned to Zeus: "What part you take, that from then on will be dedicated to the gods." Of course, Zeus chose the part where there was a thick layer of fat, being sure that the most tender pieces of meat lay under the fat. When the supreme god realized his mistake, nothing could be changed. Since then, it is these parts of animals that have been sacrificed to the heavenly gods.

Zeus brutally took revenge on Prometheus. The titan was chained to a rock in the Caucasus mountains by his order. A hungry eagle flew every day and pecked out the liver of Prometheus, which grew back. The unanswered moans of the titanium burned by the hot rays of the sun fell into the mountain gaps like dead stones.

People, having lost the guidance of the wise Prometheus, became vicious and evil. Once on earth, the gods encountered neglect and insults. The gods believed that the criminal blood of the giants, which soaked the earth from which Prometheus molded people, was to blame for this. It was decided to destroy humanity with a flood.

From everywhere the winds drove the clouds. Big rains started. Rivers and seas burst their banks. The boundary between sky and sea has disappeared. The man floated through the fields, which he had recently walked behind the plow. Tired of flying, the birds, unable to find support for themselves, fell into the abyss. All living things turned into a disorderly flight. The land was engulfed in desolation and silence. On the heights of Mount Olympus, the gods heard only the breath of the boundless sea.

Hidden the highest mountains. Only the top of Parnassus in Boeotia towered above the waves. A single miserable boat swayed in the boundless ocean. In it, two old men trembled with fear - Deucalion and Pyrrha. Their boat landed after nine days and nights of wandering to the top of Parnassus. The water began to subside. Slowly, hills were exposed, then elevated plains, then lowlands filled with silt, in which the corpses of people and animals lay.

The old people turned to the Delphic oracle to find out how to repopulate the earth. From the things of the cave, they received the answer: "Go, cover your face, and throw your mother's bones over your head." Pyrrha was horrified by the advice, but the wise Deucalion correctly understood the divination: the common mother of all living things is the earth, and the bones are its stones.

The couple covered their faces with veils and threw stones behind their backs in an open field, and the stones turned into people. From the stones thrown by Deucalion, men arose, from those thrown by Pyrrha, women. They worked for a long time, and tired, they sat down to rest.

The world around was reborn. Plants, animals and birds were born from the earth fertilized by heavy rains. Timidly and slowly, the first rare settlements appeared. They were built by a tribe born of stone, and this tribe was more viable, hardened in suffering and work.

Deucalion, as a patriarch, walked among his children and taught them the things necessary in life, planted the veneration of the gods and erected temples.

Zeus saw from the windows of the Olympic Palace as the world rises to new destinations. He soon became convinced that people did not remember the punishment that befell their predecessors, in any case, did not become better, but no longer sent a flood on them.

Ancient Greek society has come a long way of development from the darkest, archaic period to a developed civilization. Along with the development of society, the myths that expressed its worldview also changed.

The myths of Ancient Greece are myths about the pantheon of gods, about the life of titans and giants, about the exploits of other mythical (and often historical) heroes.

Gods in the myths of ancient Greece

Heroes of Ancient Greece

Characters of Greek myths

Bellerophon, the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus, having killed one Corinthian, was forced to flee from his native city to the king of Tiryns Proyt. But, unfortunately, Proytes' wife, Anthea, fell in love with Bellerophoites. When he rejected her, she became furious and told her husband that Bellerophon had allegedly molested her. In anger, Proyt wanted to kill Bellerophon, but did not dare to raise his hand against the guest. Proyt sent him with a letter to the king of Lycia, Iobates, in which he asked him to take revenge on the young man for the insult. Iobates, having read the letter, sent Bellerophon to certain death, ordering him to kill the Chimera - a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a snake instead of a tail.

Once every 9 years, the Athenians paid a heavy tribute to Minos - 14 boys and girls went to Crete, where they were devoured by the Minotaur - a monster imprisoned in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. Theseus, son of the Athenian king Aegeus. decided to sail to Crete along with the doomed Athenians to kill the Minotaur. He told his father that if they were successful, their ship would have white sails on its way home. Ordinary black sails will be a signal that Theseus is dead. In Crete, the daughter of King Minos, Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus. She gave him a sword to kill the Minotaur and a ball of thread to find his way out of

The most interesting and instructive stories, fascinating stories and adventures gave the world Greek mythology. The narrative immerses us in a fairy-tale world where you can meet heroes and gods, scary monsters and unusual animals. The myths of Ancient Greece, written many centuries ago, are currently the greatest cultural heritage of all mankind.

What are myths

Mythology is an amazing separate world in which people opposed the deities of Olympus, fought for honor and resisted evil and destruction.

However, it is worth remembering that myths are works created exclusively by people using fantasy and fiction. These are stories about gods, heroes and exploits, unusual natural phenomena and mysterious creatures.

The origin of legends is no different from the origin of folk tales and legends. The Greeks invented and retold unusual stories that mixed truth and fiction.

It is possible that there was some truth in the stories - a life case or an example could be taken as a basis.

Source of the myths of ancient Greece

How do modern people know the myths and their plots for certain? It turns out that Greek mythology was preserved on the tablets of the Aegean culture. They were written in Linear B, which was deciphered only in the 20th century.

The Crete-Mycenaean period, to which this type of writing belongs, knew most of the gods: Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, and so on. However, due to the decline of civilization and the emergence of ancient Greek mythology, mythology could have its gaps: we know it only from the latest sources.

Various plots of the myths of Ancient Greece were often used by writers of that time. And before the onset of the Hellenistic era, it became popular to create their own legends based on them.

The largest and most famous sources are:

1. Homer, Iliad, Odyssey
2. Hesiod "Theogony"
3. Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Library"
4. Gigin, "Myths"
5. Ovid, "Metamorphoses"
6. Nonnus, "Acts of Dionysus"

Karl Marx believed that the mythology of Greece was a vast repository of art, and also created the ground for it, thus fulfilling a dual function.

ancient greek mythology

Myths did not appear overnight: they took shape over several centuries, passed from mouth to mouth. Thanks to the poetry of Hesiod and Homer, the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, we can get acquainted with the stories at the present time.

Each story has value, keeping in itself the atmosphere of antiquity. Specially trained people - mythographers - began to appear in Greece in the 4th century BC.

These include the sophist Hippias, Herodotus of Heracles, Heraclitus of Pontus and others. Dionysius of Samoia, in particular, was engaged in compiling genealogical tables and studied tragic myths.

There are many myths, but the most popular are stories related to Olympus and its inhabitants.

However, the complex hierarchy and history of the origin of the gods can confuse any reader, and therefore we propose to understand this in detail!

With the help of myths, it becomes possible to recreate the picture of the world in the view of the inhabitants of Ancient Greece: the world is inhabited by monsters and giants, among which are giants - one-eyed creatures and Titans.

Origin of the gods

Eternal, boundless Chaos enveloped the Earth. It contained the world source of life.

It was believed that it was Chaos that gave birth to everything around: the world, the immortal gods, the goddess of the Earth, Gaia, who gave life to everything growing and living, and the mighty force that animates everything - Love.

However, a birth also took place under the Earth: the gloomy Tartarus was born - an abyss of horror filled with eternal darkness.

In the process of creating the world, Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness, called Erebus, and the dark Night, named Nikta. As a result of the union of Nikta and Erebus, Ether was born - the eternal Light and Hemera - the bright Day. Thanks to their appearance, the light filled the whole world, and day and night began to replace each other.

Gaia, a powerful and gracious goddess, created the immense blue Sky - Uranus. Spread over the Earth, he reigned throughout the world. High Mountains proudly stretched towards him, and the noisy Sea spread over the whole Earth.

Goddess Gaia and her Titan children

After Mother Earth created the Sky, Mountains and Sea, Uranus decided to take Gaia as his wife. From the divine union came 6 sons and 6 daughters.

Titan Ocean and the goddess Thetis created all the rivers that rolled their waters to the sea, and the goddesses of the seas, called oceanides. Titan Gipperion and Theia gave the world Helios - the Sun, Selena - the Moon and Eos - the Dawn. Astrea and Eos gave birth to all the stars and all the winds: Boreas - the north, Eurus - the east, Notus - the south, Zephyr - the west.

The overthrow of Uranus - the beginning of a new era

The goddess Gaia - the mighty Earth - gave birth to 6 more sons: 3 cyclops - giants with one eye in the forehead, and 3 fifty-headed hundred-armed monsters called Hekantocheirs. They possessed boundless power that knew no limits.

Struck by the ugliness of his giant children, Uranus renounced them and ordered them to be imprisoned in the bowels of the Earth. Gaia, being a Mother, suffered, weighed down by a terrible burden: after all, her own children were imprisoned in her bowels. Unable to stand it, Gaia called her children-titans, persuading them to rebel against their father - Uranus.

Battle of the gods with the titans

Being great and powerful, the titans were still afraid of their father. And only Kronos, the youngest and most treacherous, accepted his mother's offer. Having outwitted Uranus, he overthrew him, seizing power.

As a punishment for the deed of Kronos, the goddess Night gave birth to death (Tanat), discord (Eris), deceit (Apata),

Kronos devouring his child

destruction (Ker), nightmare (Hypnos) and vengeance (Nemesis) and other terrible gods. All of them brought horror, discord, deceit, struggle and misfortune to the world of Kronos.

Despite his cunning, Kronos was afraid. His fear was built on personal experience: after all, the children could overthrow him, as he once overthrew Uranus - his father.

Fearing for his life, Kronos ordered his wife Rhea to bring him born children. To Rhea's horror, 5 of them were eaten: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon.

Zeus and his reign

Heeding the advice of her father Uranus and her mother Gaia, Rhea fled to the island of Crete. There, in a deep cave, she gave birth to her youngest son, Zeus.

Hiding the newborn in it, Rhea tricked the hard Kronos into swallowing a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of her son.

As time went. Kronos did not figure out his wife's deceit. Zeus grew up while in Crete. His nannies were nymphs - Adrastea and Idea, instead of mother's milk, he was fed with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea, and industrious bees carried honey to baby Zeus from Mount Dikta.

If Zeus began to cry, the young Curetes, who stood at the entrance to the cave, struck their shields with their swords. Loud sounds drowned out the crying so that Kronos would not hear it.

The myth of the birth of Zeus: feeding the milk of the divine goat Amalthea

Zeus grew up. Having defeated Kronos in battle with the help of the Titans and the Cyclopes, he became the supreme deity of the Olympian Pantheon. The lord of heavenly forces commanded thunders, lightnings, clouds and showers. He dominated the universe, giving people laws and protecting order.

Views of the Ancient Greeks

The Greeks believed that the gods of Olympus are like people, and the relationship between them is comparable to human. Their lives were also filled with quarrels and reconciliations, envy and interference, resentment and forgiveness, joy, fun and love.

In the views of the ancient Greeks, each deity had its own occupation and sphere of influence:

• Zeus - lord of the sky, father of gods and people
• Hera - the wife of Zeus, the patroness of the family
• Poseidon - the sea
• Hestia - family hearth
• Demeter - agriculture
• Apollo - light and music
• Athena - wisdom
• Hermes - trade and messenger of the gods
• Hephaestus - fire
• Aphrodite - beauty
• Ares - war
• Artemis - hunting

From the earth, people each turned to their god, according to their destiny. Temples were built everywhere to propitiate them, and gifts were offered instead of sacrifices.

In Greek mythology, not only Chaos, the Titans and the Olympian Pantheon mattered, there were other gods.

• Nymphs Naiads who lived in streams and rivers
• Nereids - nymphs of the seas
• Dryads and Satyrs - nymphs of the forests
• Echo - nymph of mountains
• Goddesses of fate: Lachesis, Clotho and Atropos.

The rich world of myths was given to us by ancient Greece. It is filled with deep meaning and instructive stories. Thanks to them, people can learn ancient wisdom and knowledge.

How many different legends exist at the moment, do not count. But believe me, every person should get acquainted with them after spending time with Apollo, Hephaestus, Hercules, Narcissus, Poseidon and others. Welcome to the ancient world of the ancient Greeks!

Prologue

The ruler of Olympus, the formidable and omnipotent Zeus knew that, by the will of fate, in the upcoming battle of the Olympians with mortal giants, they could only win if a hero fought on the side of the gods. And he decided that this mortal should be his son from an earthly woman. Turning his gaze to the ground, Zeus was struck by the beauty of Alcmene, the wife of Amphitrion, who ruled in Thebes.

The lovely Alcmene was a faithful and loving wife. Even Zeus himself could not expect that she would voluntarily agree to become the mother of his son. So he went to the trick.

After waiting, when Amphitryon went to war, Zeus took on his appearance and appeared before Alcmene, surrounded by soldiers. Faithful Alcmene saw her beloved husband returning from the war, and joyfully rushed to meet him.

When the due time passed, Alcmene gave birth to twin boys. One, named Alcides, was the son of Zeus, the other, Iphicles, the son of Amphitrion. The couple loved both equally, making no distinction between them.

Zeus triumphed - his son, born of Alcmene, was destined to become an unprecedented hero; he intended to make him ruler of Mycenae.

However, the wife of Zeus, Hera, was offended by her husband's betrayal with a mortal woman, she hated Alkid and decided to destroy him.

And then one day, when the happy Alcmene rejoiced, admiring her sons, a voice came from heaven:

“Alcmene, you have angered the queen of heaven and you will be severely punished for this. Your husband will die in battle, your children will die, and you yourself will go to Hades in the realm of the dead. But you can avoid this fate if you take Alcides to a deserted place and leave him there alone.

Shedding bitter tears, Alcmene fulfilled the will of Hera. However, Zeus vigilantly followed Alcides and, seeing that his son was in danger of death, sent his faithful friend, the winged Hermes, to the baby, ordering him to bring his son. When Hermes delivered the child to Zeus, he ordered to secretly attach it to the divine breast of the sleeping Hera. Alkid began to eagerly suck milk, but Hera woke up.

Realizing what had happened, she wanted to kill the hated baby. But he had already managed to get immortality along with her milk.

The legend says that when Hera tore Alcides from her breast, milk splashed from her nipple, and from its drops a star path formed in the sky, called the Milky Way.

The vindictive Hera made another attempt to destroy the son of Alcmene. One night, when the twin brothers were sleeping peacefully, Hera sent two monstrous snakes. When they crawled up to them, the bedroom was suddenly brightly lit, and the children woke up. Iphicles, seeing the reptiles, ran away in fear, and Alcides grabbed the snakes wrapped around his body with strong arms by the neck and strangled them.

Surprised by his strength and courage, Amphitrion and Alcmene decided to turn to the soothsayer Tiresias to find out what future awaited their Alcides.

The answer they received amazed and delighted them: their son would be celebrated as the most courageous of heroes; he will immortalize his name by performing twelve feats, and will defeat many different monsters; he will overcome many famous warriors, and then he will ascend to the starry dome of the sky and will be accepted on Olympus.

Upon learning that his son was destined for the future of a warrior, Amphitryon decided to send him to learn how to master all types of weapons, fight and win, hunt and drive a chariot.

Alkid studied with joy and diligence and very soon surpassed Amphitrion himself in the art of war.

But Hera set a trap for Alcides again. By that time, he was already married to the beautiful Megara, the daughter of King Creon, and they had three glorious sons, who brought much joy to their parents with their children's games and amusements.

Hera, who saw their joy, burned with malicious jealousy. She sent madness to Alcides, in the attack of which he killed Megara and his sons, who seemed to him cyclops. Waking up and realizing what he had done, the unfortunate Alcides sobbed over the bodies of the dead and decided to drown himself in the sea, but the goddess Athena came down to him from Olympus and told him that the crime he had committed was not his fault, but the result of the insidious plan of Hera.

Purified according to ancient custom from the filth of the murder he had unwittingly committed, Alkid went to the Delphic oracle, a servant of the god Apollo. He ordered him to follow to the homeland of his ancestors, to Tiryns, and remain in the service of King Eurystheus, to be with him, at the behest of the gods, in the position of a slave. From the mouth of the Pythia, Alkid learned that he was given a new name and from now on he would be called Heracles, that he would have to make twelve commands of his master in atonement for guilt, and that only after that would he find forgiveness for the shed blood of innocent victims. So Hercules became the servant of the weak and cowardly king of Mycenae. He was afraid of him, did not let him into the city and transmitted all orders through his herald Koprey.

Feat One: Hercules and the Nemean Lion

King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to Nemea and kill the bloodthirsty lion that lived in the vicinity of this city. Many local residents and travelers were eaten by this lion, and not a single hero has yet been able to defeat him, since the evil beast was the offspring of the monster Typhon and the evil Echidna, who endowed him with extraordinary strength and invulnerability.

Arriving in Nemea, Hercules immediately found the cave of the Nemean lion, but the beast was not in it. Then the hero hid and waited.

And so, when it got dark, a lion appeared: he was returning from hunting, having had his fill of a herd of sheep and their shepherd. Seeing Hercules, the beast bristled, its ferocious eyes filled with anger, and the lion's roar shook the area, reaching the limits of Olympus.

But the formidable roar and saber fangs did not frighten Hercules. He raised his bow, drew back the string, and fired an arrow. However, hitting the skin of a lion, the arrow flew off to the side, without causing any harm to the giant, because his skin was enchanted, and therefore invulnerable.

When Hercules had used up all the arrows, the lion jumped at him, but was met with a blow from a club of such force that it split in two. The lion trembled, the magic skin helped him to resist. However, the beast hastened to hide in its lair. The fearless Hercules followed him and saw in pitch darkness two glowing, like burning torches, the eyes of his enemy. The fight continued with renewed vigor.

No one knows, for an hour or two, or maybe a day, two or even three, the struggle continued, but, finally, Hercules firmly grabbed the monster by the throat, squeezed it with an iron grip and held it until the lion died.

Hercules, knowing that he had to perform eleven more feats, one more dangerous than the other, decided that it would be nice to remove his wonderful skin from the lion in order to defend himself from the sword and arrows.

However, this was not easy to do: the knife with which Hercules tried to act did not cut through the skins. Then our hero realized that since the skin is invulnerable to the attacker, it means that you can’t take it with a knife and sword, and only the giant lion’s own claws can rip it open. Hercules skinned the lion with his own claws and put on the skin like a cloak. In addition, in order to save the head in the future, he removed the skull from the lion and made a helmet out of it.

Having defeated the giant Nemean lion and having accomplished his first feat, Hercules set off on his way back to Mycenae, for a new assignment from King Eurystheus.

Feat Two: Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra

The terrible Nemean lion had a monstrous sister - the Lernean Hydra, born from the same Typhon and the half-snake-half-woman Echidna. She lived in the swampy environs of the city of Lerna, exterminating everyone who wandered into her domain - both people and livestock.

This hydra had nine huge hideous dragon heads, one of which, the largest, was immortal. Moreover, in place of each cut head, two new ones could grow. For this reason, it was impossible to cope with it, and the number of victims of the gluttonous creature grew and multiplied.

The cowardly king Eurystheus knew about all this and had almost no doubt that, having entered into a fight with the Lernean monster, Hercules was doomed to death. And therefore, as soon as the rumor reached him that Hercules had defeated the Nemean lion and was standing under the walls of Mycenae, waiting for a new task, he ordered his herald Koprey to run to the hero and give him the order to immediately go to Lerna and kill the hydra.

But before continuing the story of the new feat of Hercules, a few words should be said about Iolaus from the city of Tiryns, the nephew of Hercules, the son of his brother Iphicles. He loved his uncle and was his faithful companion. Upon learning that Hercules was sent to Lerna, the boy fervently begged to take him with him, offering to ride in a chariot.

Hercules and Iphicles, realizing what mortal dangers the campaign to Lerna was fraught with, resolutely refused him, but the persistent Iolaus broke the resistance of the brothers and persuaded his father to let him go, and his uncle to take him with him. Iolaus harnessed the horses to the chariot, and very soon she delivered them to the abode of the Lernean Hydra.

The swamps of Lerna were terrible. Poisonous fumes drifted over them in a bluish fog, and all approaches to the hydra's lair were strewn with the remains of its victims. There were so many of them that the monster did not have time to devour them, and the bodies spread a terrible stench.

Hercules and Iolaus crept closer to the lair with large armfuls of hay and firewood. Having dumped them in a heap, they lit a fire. Hercules heated the tips of his arrows on fire and began to send them one after another into the swamp monster.

Feeling the injections, the hydra woke up from a dream, rose from the stinking mud and turned to its offender. It was a terrible sight: nine huge vile hissing heads with long snake-like tongues sprayed poisonous saliva, swayed in the air.

Hercules ran up to the monster and cut off one of its heads, but two others immediately grew in place of the cut one. The hero cut them down as well, but instead of the two that flew off, four new ones grew, cut down these four, and in return received eight. Soon the Lernean Hydra threatened the hero with fifty heads. Hercules realized that this enemy could not be defeated by force alone. Then he ordered Iolaus to cauterize the fresh wounds of the hydra with burning firebrands, and the heads did not grow again.

Finally, the last, largest, immortal remained. He also cut her down, and she, falling to the ground, continued to emanate poisonous bile and tried to grab the hero with her terrible fangs. Hercules dug it into the ground and rolled it with a huge stone.

Having cut the body of the Lernean Hydra, the far-sighted Hercules soaked the points of his arrows with poisonous bile, after which he and Iolaus went to Tiryns.

Feat Three: Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds

When Hercules arrived from Tiryns to Mycenae and the news of his victory over the Lernean Hydra reached the ears of King Eurystheus, the latter was mortally frightened: of course, Hercules managed to defeat two hitherto invincible monsters - the Nemean lion and the Lernean hydra! As before, not allowing the victorious hero to reach him, he sent Koprey to him and ordered him to immediately set off again and exterminate the Stymphalian birds.

These monstrous birds lived on the swampy shores in the vicinity of the seaside city of Stymphal and practically turned them into a desert, destroying people and livestock. As tall as a man, with large copper beaks and claws, they swoop down from above, pecking to death and tearing their victims with their claws. In addition, in flight, they threw hard feathers from their bronze wings, which fell like arrows and destroyed all life. Not a single hero has yet managed to cope with the witching flock, and all the land in the area was littered with human bones. King Eurystheus hoped that Hercules would share the fate of these unfortunates. But the cowardly ruler did not rely on monstrous birds alone. He also counted on the cruel god of war Ares, who guarded the feathered killers.

And Hercules, obedient to his vow, heaved two tympanums on his back and boldly set off for Stimfal.

People who knew about the treachery of Eurystheus warned the brave man about the death trap set for him by the king, talked about the merciless Ares and advised him to return, but Hercules would not have been the son of the almighty Zeus if he had chickened out and refused to fight. Many volunteered to go with him, but Hercules, realizing that these brave people were doomed to death, rejected their proposals.

Arriving at the seashore, Hercules climbed a hill that towered over the swamps and began to beat the tympanum. From their deafening thunder, the birds of prey soared into the sky, and soon the sky turned black from their mourning plumage. Ares' favorites circled the ground, their shrill cries shaking the air. According to legend, that noise even reached Mycenae, and the cowardly Eurystheus rejoiced, hoping that Hercules would not return alive from Stimfal.

And the hero, sheltered from the deadly bronze feathers that fell on him with a cloak made of the skin of the Nemean lion and protected by a helmet from his skull, pulled out a bow from behind his back and began to smash the Stymphalian birds with arrows. That's when the poisonous bile of the Lernaean Hydra came in handy! The arrows poisoned by her killed the birds on the spot, and they fell to the ground, covering it with their huge carcasses. Hercules slew them with arrows, pierced them with a spear, chopped with a sword and crushed them with a club until only a small flock remained. And this flock, frightened, forever left the swampy shores of Stymphal and flew away to an island in the Euxine Sea, which, at the request of the bloodthirsty Ares, raised from the bottom of the sea Tethys.

Ares, who went berserk from the death of his favorites and inflamed with burning hatred for Hercules, grabbed his sword and stood in the way of the brave hero. But the stern, courageous look of Hercules shook Ares' confidence in his strength, he trembled and retreated, vowing, however, to support Hera in everything in her intrigues against Hercules, who exterminated the Stymphalian birds.

Hercules, as proof of his feat, put the carcass of one of the defeated birds on his back and went to Tiryns.

And on the way he was met by joyful people and thanked him for delivering their land from winged killers.

Fourth feat: Hercules and Artemis' doe

Arriving in Mycenae, Hercules did not stay there for a day. King Eurystheus hurried to get rid of him and ordered without delay to go to the mountains of Arcadia in order to catch the swift-footed doe of the goddess Artemis there. The beautiful doe, with golden horns and copper legs, at the behest of the goddess of hunting Artemis, dissatisfied with the meager sacrifices to her temple, rushed through the fields and gardens, devastating crops, destroying fruit trees and trampling pastures.

The deer was faster than arrows, faster than the wind, and to catch her seemed unthinkable. King Eurystheus expected that Hercules would not be able to do this task, and he, Eurystheus, would finally render a service to the goddess Hera and gain her favor and patronage.

But the name and glory of Hercules did not fade over the centuries because he never backed down from dangers and boldly accepted any challenge, not being afraid to anger even the gods. Without hesitation, he went to the Arcadian mountains, went through them completely, looking for the refuge of a wonderful fallow deer, and finally found it. But as soon as he had only a glimpse of the fleet-footed miracle, the doe broke off and, like the wind, flew away.

Doe rushed through the mountains and valleys, not knowing fatigue. She ran farther and farther north. Having reached the country of the Hyperboreans, the doe stopped, but did not give into the hands of the hero, but turned south.

For a whole year, Hercules pursued the deer and overtook her in Arcadia, at the blue river Ladon, behind which stood the temple of the goddess Artemis. A little more - and the deer will hide within it, and then - under the protection of Artemis - it will already be inaccessible.

Hercules was not going to use his bow, hoping to catch the fugitive with his hands, but he realized that the prey was escaping from him, and therefore he pulled the bowstring, aimed at the doe and hit her with an arrow in the leg. Hercules grabbed the fugitive by the golden horns, took an arrow out of his leg, wrapped a belt around the legs of the doe, put it on his back and got ready to go back.

But then the goddess Artemis stood in his way. Appearing on the top of a high cliff, she ordered to let her pet go.

“Hercules,” she said, “you have already incurred the wrath of Hera and Ares, and now you want to experience my anger too! ..

But Hercules refused to let go of the doe and said that he was fulfilling the will of the goddess Hera, transmitted to him through the king Eurystheus, and therefore the demand was not from him, but from Eurystheus.

“But I,” he said, “delivered people from the devastating raids of this fallow deer and am very glad about it.

And, not listening to the shouts and threats of the goddess Artemis, he went with his prey to King Eurystheus.

Fifth feat: Hercules and the Erymanthian boar

The cowardly Eurystheus hoped that after fights with the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra and the fight with the Stymphalian birds, as well as a whole year of chasing the Artemis doe, Hercules was completely exhausted and his strength was running out. And as soon as they had time to report to him that Hercules was standing in front of the gates of Mycenae, he ordered Kopreus to run to the hero and convey the order to immediately set off on a new feat: to catch and bring from Mount Erymanf a ferocious boar that rampages in the forests of Psophida, ruining villages and destroying people.

And Hercules again hurried on the road, in order, having fulfilled the command of Hera and Eurystheus, to earn forgiveness for his involuntary sin of murder. And his path again lay through Arcadia, from where he had just come.

On the way, Hercules visited his old friend, the centaur Fall. This centaur was gentle in disposition and kind in heart, so he greeted his friend cordially and unsealed a barrel of glorious wine in honor of the guest.

When the fragrance of fine wine reached the other centaurs (and it must be said that the wine was common property), they rushed to the dwelling of Fola. Seeing in whose honor the keg was opened, they vied with each other to scold Fol, reproaching him for giving divine wine to the contemptible slave. When they armed themselves with stones and tree trunks, Hercules gave them a fitting rebuff and partly killed them, and put the survivors to flight. In this battle, the friends of Hercules Foul and Chiron accidentally died, in whose dwelling the centaurs pursued by the hero took refuge.

Disappointed, Hercules continued on his way to Erimanf and, having entered the mountain, began to look for a terrible boar. Soon he discovered him in the forest thicket. The beast was huge, its tusks reached human height. Artemis managed to warn the Erymanthian boar of the danger, and he was on the alert. Seeing Hercules, he immediately uprooted a huge oak tree and tried to knock the hero down with it. But Hercules dodged and himself wanted to kill the boar with the trunk of this tree, but in time he remembered the order of Eurystheus to bring him the beast alive. Throwing stones at the boar, Hercules began to drive him upstairs, to where deep snow lay. When the beast got stuck in them and was unable to move, the hero overtook him and stunned him with a blow to the head. After that, Hercules put a huge carcass on his back and carried it to Mycenae. Upon learning that Hercules not only remained safe and sound, but was still dragging a monstrous boar on his back, King Eurystheus was so horrified that he immediately hid in a bronze vessel buried in the ground - a pithos.

"Kill him now!" he shouted from there to Hercules. - Or let go on all four sides. I do not need it. Fulfill the order! Or have you forgotten that you are my slave and I am your master?!

And Hercules replied:

- I agreed to be your slave in order to wash off the spilled blood of my relatives and friends from my conscience! And know, Eurystheus: I do all this not for you, but for people! And this boar is also in their honor.

The boar was beaten, skinned, impaled on a spit and fired under it. Only the aroma of fried meat calmed the wild fear of King Eurystheus, and he agreed to get out of the pithos. However, infinitely angry, he ordered Hercules to immediately go to Elis, to King Avgiy, the son of the sun god Helios.

Feat Six: Hercules and the Augean Stables

King Augeus, the son of the radiant Helios, owned a huge herd of wonderful bulls: some of them were white-footed, others white, like swans (they were dedicated to the sun god), and red like purple. The most beautiful of the bulls of Augeia - Phaethon - shone like a star.

For a hundred years the stables of Augius had not been cleaned; for a hundred years manure had accumulated there. The king many times gave the order to his slaves to clean the stables, but they could not cope, and Avgiy killed them every time for this. Many slaves died without being able to clean the stables, and now Hercules was sent to Avgiy.

Eurystheus rejoiced, arguing as follows: it is one thing to fight monsters, and another thing to clear manure from manure in a year that cannot be cleared even in a lifetime. The cowardly and treacherous king hoped that Hercules would not cope and Avgiy would kill him.

Upon learning that Hercules arrived only for a year, Avgiy burst out laughing:

“It won’t take you a year, ten years to clear my stables, and perhaps your whole life. However, although your end is clear to me, you must get to work. And if you fail to do it within the allotted time, you will be immediately killed.

But the hero did not flinch, knowing that a person is strong not only with the strength of the body, but also with the strength of the mind.

- No, Avgiy, - he answered, - I have no time to stretch this work for a year, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'll clean the stables for you in one day.

- Yes, you're crazy! Augius laughed. - It is unthinkable to clean up in a day what they have not been able to clean out for decades. For such a feat, I would give you three hundred of my best bulls! Yes, just do not see them as your own ears!

But Hercules nevertheless insisted on his own and took a word from Avgii that he would fulfill his promise: he would give him three hundred of the best bulls if the stables were cleaned in one day. After that, Hercules proceeded to perform the sixth feat.

First, with a powerful club, he broke through the walls of the stables from opposite ends. Then he dug deep ditches to the nearest rivers - Alpheus and Peneus. When everything was ready, Hercules directed the rivers along a new channel, and the river water rushed in a powerful stream to a gap in the wall of the stables and carried centuries-old deposits of manure and other sewage through another gap. Not a day had passed before the Augean stables were cleaned and washed. After that, Hercules closed up the gaps in the walls, dug up the dug ditches and returned the rivers to their former channels, so that there were no traces left.

Augeas marveled a lot at the result of Heracles' work, realizing that he had lost the argument. But he was not going to give the promised bulls to Hercules, and he considered it possible to break the word given to the slave. So he said to Hercules and advised him to get out as well as he could.

“Okay,” Hercules replied, “but remember: soon I will be a free man again and will definitely return here to punish you for breaking your oath.”

Hercules kept his promise and took revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later he returned with an army, defeated the army of Augeas and killed him with a deadly arrow. Hercules personally planted olives on the plain and dedicated them to the goddess Athena. And then he made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which were held on the sacred plain.

Labor seventh: Hercules and the Cretan bull

Having cleaned out the stables of King Avgii, Hercules received a new task: to catch and deliver alive to Mycenae the Poseidon bull that had been rampaging in Crete.

This bull was sent to the king of Crete Minos by the sea lord Poseidon, so that he would sacrifice the animal to him. But Minos kept the bull for himself, and sacrificed one of his bulls. Enraged, Poseidon sent rabies on the bull, and now the bull was rushing around the island, exterminating people and cattle, trampling fields with heavy hooves, breaking garden trees with strong sides, destroying houses and outbuildings, and bringing a lot of other troubles. The inhabitants of the island, including the king himself, were afraid to go beyond their homes. Seeing the terrible monster, everyone fled in fear.

Knowing that the bull must be brought to Mycenae alive, Hercules wove a large and strong network from a thin copper thread. Blocking the way of the bull, he began to tease him, shout and throw stones at him.

The bull roared, his eyes filled with blood, and, putting out terrible horns, he rushed at Hercules. However, the bull fell into the spread net and became entangled in it, and the mighty Hercules grabbed him by the horns and bent the bull's head to the ground. The terrible Poseidon bull was tamed.

The inhabitants of Crete came out to Hercules, warmly thanking him for deliverance and praising his courage and strength. King Minos also came out to him with gratitude, freed from forced seclusion in his palace. And Hercules, having said goodbye to the islanders, sat on the back of a tamed bull and sailed on it on his way back from Crete to the Peloponnese. Stepping on the ground, he threw a lasso on his horns and led him to Mycenae.

When King Eurystheus was informed that Hercules had returned, brought the monstrous Cretan bull on a leash and locked him in the royal stables, the cowardly ruler again hid in a bronze pithos and ordered the terrible bull to be released. The bull sensed the will, rushed north, ran to Attica and began to devastate the fields in the vicinity of Marathon. He was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Feat Eight: Hercules and Diomedes' Horses

After Hercules miraculously defeated the Nemean lion, coped with the Lernean hydra, caught the Artemis doe, defeated the Erymanthian boar, exterminated the Stymphalian birds, cleaned the Augean stables and tamed the Poseidon bull, King Eurystheus thought hard. He gave Hercules such tasks that no mortal could do; Hercules entered into a duel with such monsters, which it was not possible to defeat. Nevertheless, the hero with honor came out of all the tests, showing miracles of courage and ingenuity. What new task could Eurystheus give him, so that it turned out to be beyond the strength of the hero? Having failed to come up with anything, he turned to his patroness Hera with a request to invent a new test for Hercules.

Hera remembered that in distant Thrace one of the sons of Ares, Diomedes, lives and rules the Bistonian people, and that Diomedes has unprecedented horses in strong copper-walled stables, all completely black, swift as the wind, and gluttonous as cannibals. They ate human flesh, and Diomedes fed them foreigners who got into his country. It seemed that even Hercules could not overcome these monstrous horses. Eurystheus hoped that Hercules would not be able to accomplish this feat and would die without getting rid of his guilt for the shed blood of innocent victims.

Hercules listened with dignity to the new order of Eurystheus, asked the king for a ship to place a herd in it, and sailed from Argolis.

On the way, the ship of Hercules caught a terrible storm, and he had to land on the shores of Thessaly in order to wait out the bad weather. There, in Fera, his good friend Admet reigned, and Hercules decided to visit him.

In those days, Admet experienced great grief. Shortly before the arrival of Hercules, Hades, the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, set out to take him to him. The messenger Thanatos, the god of death, sent from him, conveyed to Admet the will of Hades: “Admet, get ready! I will pick you up! However, I can let you live a little longer if one of the people agrees to descend into my kingdom instead of you. Admet understood that no one would agree to go instead of him to the kingdom of the dead. However, there was one person who loved Admet so much that without hesitation he agreed to give his life for him - his kind and beautiful wife Alcestis! Without saying a word to anyone, she persuaded Thanatos to take her instead of Admet, and the god of death drew his formidable sword, cut off a lock of hair to the lovely Alcestis, after which she died, thereby extending the life of Admet. And so he lost his beloved wife and now was in mourning.

However, seeing a friend on the threshold, Admet did not show Hercules his grief, but kissed the dear guest and ordered a feast to be held in his honor. But the insightful Hercules noticed that the owner of the house was very sad and could hardly hold back his tears. Secretly from him, Hercules interrogated the servants and found out the cause of his friend's grief.

“Dear Admet,” he thought, “you hide your suffering, not wanting to upset your friend. So know this: I will return your Alcestis to you!

Hercules knew that on the first night after the death of a person, Thanatos should come for his shadow and that no one should be near the deceased. Therefore, when everyone fell asleep, our hero crept into the chambers of Alcestis and took refuge there, lying in wait for the god of death. At night, barely hearing the rustle of the black wings of Thanatos, Hercules jumped out of his hiding place and grabbed him with strong hands. Their duel continued all night, and at dawn Hercules knocked the winged god to the ground and tied him tightly. After that, threatening to break the sword of Thanatos, Hercules made God swear that he would return Alcestis to the kingdom of the living and leave Admet alive. Thanatos was forced to take an oath and fulfill it.

So Hercules defeated the god of death Thanatos. After waiting for the storm to subside on the sea, he sailed from the Thessalian coast and continued on his way to the country of the bloodthirsty Diomedes.

By the time Hercules set foot on the land of the Bistonians, King Diomedes had already been warned by the god Ares about the arrival of the hero. Therefore, as soon as he went ashore, a hundred Diomede warriors attacked him. Hercules fought with them for a long time until he killed them all, and then he went to the Diomedes stables, tightly entangled his terrible horses with chains, wrapped their faces securely and drove them to his ship. At this time, Diomedes attacked Hercules with a team of warriors, but after three days of battle, the Bistonians were defeated. The god Ares was terribly angry with Hercules, but did not dare to measure his strength with him and retreated.

After that, the ship of Hercules lay down on the return course and after the allotted time arrived in Mycenae. Hercules drove the bloodthirsty Diomedes horses into the Eurystheus stables and went to the king for a new task.

And Eurystheus, terrified to death, again hid in his bronze vessel and ordered to immediately open the gates of the stables and let the horses out. His order was carried out, and when the freed horses rushed to the dense forests of Olympus, Zeus sent wolves to them, who pulled them all to the bone.

Hercules, on the other hand, received a new task from Eurystheus: to go and get Hippolyta's belt for him.

Labor Ninth: Hercules and Hippolyta's Belt

The brave warrior Hippolyta and her beautiful sister Antiope were the daughters of the god Ares and jointly ruled the country of the Amazon warriors on the far Euxine coast. Hippolyta had a magic belt, a symbol of royal power, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get it and bring it to Mycenae.

The famous heroes Theseus, Peleus and Telamon, having heard that Hercules would have to fight the brave Amazons, wished to go with him to support him in the battle. Hercules did not refuse help - the friends met in the city of Argos and sailed on a ship to the farthest shores of the Euxine Pontus.

Many days passed before their ship reached the wide sandy shores of the land of the Amazons. As soon as they went ashore, the heroes found themselves surrounded by beautiful female warriors who confidently handled bows and spears. Hippolyta commanded them. She was quite surprised by the unexpected visit of four glorious warriors.

Who are you and what do you need? she asked them. Did you come with peace or with war?

Hercules bowed to the beautiful queen and answered:

“My name is Hercules, and these are Theseus, Peleus and Telamon. I was sent here by order of King Eurystheus of Mycenae to deliver your wonderful belt to him. I am forced to ask you for it by the will of the goddess Hera, whose priestess is the daughter of Eurystheus. Will you give it up willingly, or will I have to take it by force?

Queen Hippolyta had no desire to fight the beautiful foreigners, so she replied that she would give them the belt voluntarily. But the vengeful Hera, eavesdropping on their conversation, was furious at Hippolyta's compliance. She turned into an Amazon, approached the queen and began to embarrass and intimidate her, claiming that Hercules was a deceiver and did not come for a belt, but to kidnap Hippolyta. Hera's eloquence confused Hippolyta and angered the Amazons. Having lost their mind, the warriors attacked the heroes, a battle ensued. But how could they resist Hercules and his friends?! Soon, the warlike Amazons were defeated, and the beautiful Antiope and the leader of the Amazon troops, Melanippe, were captured.

Hippolyta, who adored Melanippe, trembled when she saw her beloved captive, and gave Hercules her belt, asking for freedom for Melanippe. Hercules released this captive, and Antiope went to Theseus, who took her away with him.

Feat tenth: Hercules and Gerion's herd

Hercules accomplished his tenth feat at the very edge of the earth: he drove a herd of cows belonging to the giant Gerion to Mycenae.

Gerion was the son of the giant Chrysaor and the oceanid Kalliroi. He lived on the island of Eritheia, on the western edge of the earth. The gods gave him a herd of fiery red cows, which Hercules had to steal on the orders of Eurystheus.

On the seashore, Hercules cut down a large tree, made a raft out of it and sailed on it to the coast of Africa. There he went through the whole desert of Libya and

reached the end of the world, where the strait between Europe and Africa is located. Here Hercules decided to make a stop and, in memory of the exploits and hardships that fell to his lot, erected two giant stone pillars on both sides of the strait. They still rise there and are called the Pillars of Hercules.

After resting, Hercules began to think about how to get to Eritheia. There were no trees nearby, there was nothing to build a raft from. Helios was already descending to the waters of the ocean, and his rays blinded and scorched Hercules. He, in anger, directed his deadly bow at the god, but Helios, struck by such courage of a mortal, stopped him and said:

“Lower your bow, Hercules. I am Helios, the god of the sun, which warms the earth and all life on it. I know you need to get to Eritheia. Take my round boat, forged from gold and silver by the god Hephaestus, and sail on it to the island. But know: to defeat Gerion will not be easy; he has three torsos, fused at the waist, three heads and three pairs of arms and legs. When fighting, he shoots three arrows at once and throws three spears.

But the son of Zeus was not afraid of meeting with such an opponent. He thanked Helios, sat down in a round boat and sailed to Eritheia.

Having reached the island of the terrible Geryon and going ashore, Hercules began to look out for the owner of these places, but first he met the huge shepherd Eurytion. His two-headed dog Orff rushed at the hero with a bark, but fell from the blow of a heavy club.

Hercules also coped with the giant shepherd and drove the cows to the shore. Geryon heard the lowing of the cows and went to the herd. The battle with the multi-armed giant was very difficult, but Hercules defeated him and loaded the cows onto the boat. Having crossed from the island, he returned the boat to Helios, and placed the herd of Gerion on the ship.

Having reached the coast of Europe, Hercules drove the cows to Mycenae. He went through the Pyrenees, all of Gaul, and then Italy. In Italy, one cow strayed from the herd and sailed to the island of Sicily, where Poseidon's son Erike herded her into his barnyard. To return the fugitive, Hercules crossed to Sicily.

There he killed Eriks, returned with the cow to the herd and drove the animals on.

On the shores of the Ionian Sea, Hera sent rabies on the cows, and they fled in different directions. Again Hercules had to look for them. Finally, he drove the herd to Mycenae, where Eurystheus sacrificed cows to the goddess Hera.

Labor Eleventh: Hercules and Hades Kerberos

Hercules had to complete two feats, and King Eurystheus was beside himself with despair and fear, wondering what other monster to send Hercules to so that he finally found his death? How to lime the hated hero and thereby please the goddess Hera? Eurystheus was never able to come up with anything and, in desperation, turned to his patroness with a request to find such a test for Hercules that would be unbearable and fatal for him.

“Do not despair, Eurystheus,” Hera answered, “I did not make you king so that you would tremble before your slave. And I will not allow Hercules to continue to win victories. We will send it to a place of no return. Tell him to go down to Hades and bring the watchdog Cerberus from there! He won't be able to come back alive!

Eurystheus was unspeakably delighted and, having thanked Hera, ordered to convey to Hercules his will: to bring him the Hades dog alive!

Kerberos had three heads, snakes wriggled around his neck, and at the end of his tail was a dragon's head with a huge mouth. Having received the task, Hercules went to look for the entrance to the underworld of Hades and soon found a deep cave leading there. On the way to the realm of the dead, the hero had to overcome many obstacles set by evil spirits and various monsters. At the very gates of the kingdom of Hades, Hercules saw his friend Theseus, who accompanied him on a campaign for the belt of Hippolyta. Theseus and Pirithous were punished for trying to kidnap Hades' wife Persephone and sat chained to a stone bench. Hercules freed them and showed them the way to earth.

After that, Hercules went to the throne of Hades and told him that he had come for Cerberus.

"Don't stop me," he said, "I'll take him anyway!"

“Take it,” said Hades, “but only without weapons, with bare hands.”

Hercules threw down all his weapons and, jumping up to the monstrous Cerberus, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him into the air. The snakes writhing on the dog's neck hissed, all three heads of the terrible dog spun from side to side, trying to bite him, but Hercules tightly squeezed his throat, and the half-strangled Kerber could not resist.

Hercules put the guard of the dead on his back and set off on his way back. While the hero carried his terrible burden, poisonous saliva dripped from the mouths of Cerberus, and poisonous sweat dripped from his body. They say that where this saliva fell, poisonous plants grew - hemlock, belladonna and many others.

And King Eurystheus, having heard the terrible news that Hercules was bringing the monstrous guardian of the kingdom of Hades to his palace, again hid in a bronze pithos. He humbly begged Hercules to return his terrible dog to Hades.

Hercules laughed at the cowardice of the king, returned to the entrance to the kingdom of the dead, left Kerberos there and went to Eurystheus for the last task.

Feat 12: Heracles and the Apples of Hesperides

The last of the twelve labors of Hercules was the most difficult.

To accomplish it, the hero had to go through many trials and accomplish many valiant deeds, win many military victories, proving to the gods and mortals that he, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, is not only strong in body, mind and spirit, but also has a good heart.

This time he was instructed to bring three golden apples growing in the garden of the Hesperides, daughters of the titan Atlas.

“I don’t know where this garden is, and I don’t want to know!” said the heartless Eurystheus. “But you must deliver golden apples from it!” If you bring it, I'll let you go free, but if you don't bring it, you'll perish!

Calmly listening to the order of the cowardly Eurystheus, Hercules began to think about how to find this garden.

The goddess Athena told him that the location of the magical garden is known only to the sea god Nereus. However, the old man voluntarily did not reveal that secret to anyone. It was only possible to force him to tell where the garden was.

Thanking Athena, Hercules went to the seashore and, hiding, began to wait for Nereus. It took a long time to wait, but finally the old man Nereus appeared from the sea and went ashore to bask in the sun.

As soon as he lay down on the sand, Hercules jumped on his back and tied him tightly. Trying to escape, Nereus changed his appearance, turning into a dog, then a ram, then a bull, then a horse, but he failed to lead Hercules. For the sake of gaining freedom, he had to indicate the place where the garden with golden apples is located.

It turned out that the garden is located on the very edge of the earth, where Atlas holds the sky on his mighty shoulders, and the garden of the Hesperides and the guard-monster Ladon with a single, but very keen eye, guard.

Hercules knew about Prometheus (the father of the human race, the son of the titan Napet), who, sacrificing himself, stole fire from the Olympian gods and gave it to people.

As punishment for this and for the challenge thrown to the gods, Zeus chained Prometheus to Elbrus, sentenced to eternal suffering. For many thousands of years he endured great torment. Every day, Zeus's favorite, an eagle, flew to him and pecked at his liver. However, Prometheus steadfastly endured the torment and did not ask for mercy. Hercules revered the hero and had long wanted to free him.

Having learned from Nereus that Elbrus is in Colchis, Hercules resolutely walked in that direction.

The hero had to go through many countries and seas in order to get to Elbrus, he had to endure many trials. One day, the giant Antaeus, the son of the goddess of the earth, Gaia, stood in his way.

Antaeus loved to measure strength with travelers, invariably defeated them and mercilessly killed them. No one knew that mother earth herself nourishes his strength, helping to cope with any opponent, and therefore Antaeus remained invincible.

Having met Hercules, he invited him to a duel and said that the vanquished - death! Two strong men met in a stubborn fight. It was not possible to defeat Antaeus, but soon Hercules noticed that as soon as he lifts the enemy above the ground, he noticeably weakens, and once on the ground, he regains strength. Then Hercules grabbed Antaeus tighter, lifted him into the air and held until he finally completely exhausted and gave up.

So, overcoming obstacles, Hercules reached Colchis and soon saw Elbrus, and on it - Prometheus chained in chains.

Seeing an unfamiliar warrior, Prometheus was surprised and asked who he was and why he had come.

“My name is Hercules, I am the son of a mortal woman, and in gratitude from all mortals to whom you have obtained warmth and light, I will free you. I fear neither Zeus nor the wrath of the Olympians!

Just at that time, the rustle of mighty wings and a piercing scream were heard: a huge red-eyed eagle flew from Olympus, preparing to plunge an iron beak into Prometheus's liver.

Not afraid of the envoy of Zeus, Hercules pulled the string of his bow and fired a deadly arrow towards the eagle. The eagle struck by her uttered a piercing cry and fell like a stone into the sea.

Then Hercules rested his foot on the rock, pulled the chain with which Prometheus was bound, and broke it, after which he pulled out a metal crutch from the hero’s chest and freed him.

At that moment, a terrible hurricane rose, the sky turned black, huge waves crashed against the rocks, and hailstones the size of a chicken egg fell from the sky. Then Olympus was angry and Zeus raged. The almighty lord of the gods wanted to immediately exterminate Hercules, but the wise Athena intervened, reminding him that Hercules should participate on the side of the Olympians in their battle with the giants and that their success in this battle depended on it. Zeus had to subdue his anger, but in order not to violate his will, Prometheus must still be chained to a stone. Athena advised Zeus to order Hephaestus to forge a ring from the link of his chain and set a stone into it. The goddess said that she would give this ring to Prometheus, he would remain chained to the stone. Zeus did just that. They say that since then the custom has gone to wear rings with gems set in them.

And Prometheus told Hercules how to get to the garden of the Hesperides as soon as possible, and went to rest on a secluded island, where the god Uranus lived apart.

Having overcome a considerable distance, Hercules found himself in front of Atlant. He stood with his feet in the sea and propped up the vault of heaven with his mighty shoulders, and behind him a wonderful garden was visible, where golden apples shone in golden foliage, exuding a delicate aroma.

Hercules gave Atlanta his name, explained the purpose of his appearance here and asked to bring him three apples. Atlas replied that he would gladly fulfill his request if the guest would briefly replace him and hold the sky. Hercules agreed. This burden was heavy! The strong bones of Hercules crackled, the muscles tensed and swelled, sweat streamed down his mighty body in streams, but the son of Zeus held the firmament. Atlas went into the garden, picked apples and, returning to Hercules, offered him to hold the vault of heaven while you take the apples to Eurystheus.

But Hercules figured out his trick. When the insidious Atlas was about to leave, Hercules told him:

“I agree to hold the firmament, but my shoulders hurt. Let me put on this lion's skin to ease the pain. Hold a little vault...

The foolish Atlas again shouldered the firmament, and the quick-witted Hercules raised his bow and quiver of arrows, took the club and golden apples of the Hesperides and walked away, saying that he did not intend to stay there forever.

Epilogue

So the valiant Hercules accomplished his last, twelfth feat, and King Eurystheus had no choice but to announce in front of all the people that Hercules had coped with all twelve feats, and therefore is now free.

But the misadventures of Hercules did not end there. The goddess Hera pursued him for a long time. By her evil will, our hero killed his friend Ifit, for which he was sold into slavery for three years to the evil and absurd queen Omphale. During this time, he suffered incalculable suffering and bullying, lost his loving wife Dejanira, who decided (at the suggestion of Hera) that Hercules had stopped loving her, and pierced herself with an arrow. Hercules had to fight and defeat many monsters and gods. He fought with the god Apollo, defeated the river god Achelous in battle, killed the centaur Nessus, punished King Laomendont, helped his father Zeus in the battle with the giants...

Greece and myths- the concept is inseparable. It seems that everything in this country - every plant, river or mountain - has its own fairy tale story, passed down from generation to generation. And this is no coincidence, since the myths in allegorical form reflect the whole structure of the world and the philosophy of life of the ancient Greeks.

And the name Hellas () itself also has a mythological origin, because. the progenitor of all Hellenes (Greeks) is considered the mythical patriarch Hellenes. The names of the mountain ranges that cross Greece, the seas washing its shores, the islands scattered in these seas, lakes and rivers are associated with myths. As well as the names of regions, cities and villages. About some stories that I really want to believe, I will tell you. It should be added that there are so many myths that even for the same toponym there are several versions. Since myths are oral art, they have come down to us already recorded by ancient writers and historians, the most famous of which is Homer. I'll start with the name Balkan Peninsula on which Greece is located. The current "Balkans" is of Turkish origin, meaning simply "mountain range". But earlier the peninsula was named after Aemos, the son of the god Boreas and the nymph Orithinas. The sister and at the same time the wife of Amos was called Rhodope. Their love was so strong that they addressed each other by the names of the supreme gods, Zeus and Hera. For their insolence, they were punished by turning into mountains.

The history of the origin of the toponym Peloponnese, a peninsula on a peninsula, no less brutal. According to legend, the ruler of this part of Greece was Pelops, the son of Tantalus, who in his youth was offered by his bloodthirsty father as a supper to the gods. But the gods did not begin to eat his body, and, having resurrected the young man, they left him on Olympus. And Tantalus was doomed to eternal (tantalic) torment. Further, Pelops himself descends to live with people, or is forced to flee, but later becomes the king of Olympia, Arcadia and the entire peninsula, which was named after him. By the way, his descendant was the famous Homeric king Agamemnon, the leader of the troops that besieged Troy.

One of the most beautiful islands in Greece Kerkyra(or Corfu) has a romantic story of the origin of its name: Poseidon, the god of the seas, fell in love with the young beauty Korkyra, the daughter of Asop and the nymph Metope, kidnapped her and hid her on a hitherto unknown island, which he named after her. Korkyra eventually turned into Kerkyra. Another story about lovers remained in the myths of the island Rhodes. This name was borne by the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite (or Aphrodite), who was the beloved of the sun god Helios. It was on this newly born island of foam that the nymph Rhodes was married to her beloved.

origin of name Aegean Sea many people know thanks to a good Soviet cartoon. The story is this: Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, went to Crete to fight the monster there - the Minotaur. In case of victory, he promised his father to raise white sails on his ship, and in case of defeat, black ones. With the help of the Cretan princess, he slew the Minotaur, and went home, forgetting to change the sails. Seeing his son's mourning ship in the distance, Aegeus, out of grief, threw himself off a cliff into the sea, which was named after him.

ionian sea bears the name of the princess and at the same time the priestess Io, who was seduced by the supreme god Zeus. However, his wife Hera decided to take revenge on the girl by turning her into a white cow, and then kill the giant Argos with her hands. With the help of the god Hermes, Io managed to escape. She found refuge and human form in Egypt, for which she had to cross the sea, which is called the Ionian.

Myths of Ancient Greece they also tell about the origin of the universe, the attitude to the divine and human passions. For us, they are of interest, primarily because they give us an understanding of how European culture was formed.