What century did Hercules live in? Hercules is the strongest man on earth

Hercules lived for many years in Trakhin with his wife and children, but he could not lag behind his former way of life and constantly wandered around different countries: either he would go to punish someone, then he would help someone out, save someone from death. So he finally went with his army on a campaign against Eurytus, who had once expelled him from his house in disgrace. A year and five more months had passed since the departure of Hercules, and Dejanira had no news of him and did not know where he was and what had become of him. In the old days, when the hero went on some enterprise, he left home cheerful and cheerful, in the firm belief that he would soon return victorious, and Dejanira parted with him without any care and sadness; this time, from the very departure of her husband, she was constantly twisted and languished with fear about his fate. And the hero himself was embarrassed by a sad foreboding of something unkind. He left a tablet to his wife, on which the prediction of the Dodona oracle was inscribed, which once predicted: if Hercules ever stays in a foreign land, away from his home, for more than a year and three months, he will either suffer death, or - if it does not happen to him in this time of no misfortune - he, returning under the roof of his house, will spend the rest of his life peacefully and carelessly, among people close to him. Believing in the prediction of the oracle, Hercules divided the land between his children in advance, which was the property of their ancestors, and determined which part of his property should be inherited by Dejanira.

Tormented by longing, Dejanira communicated all her fears to her eldest son Gill and inspired him to go in search of his father himself. While Gill was already ready to go, one of his slaves hurriedly approached the house of Hercules and informed Dejanira that her husband was alive and would soon return home, crowned with victory. The slave heard this outside the city from the lips of Lichas, sent by Hercules to tell Dejanira the joyful news of his return. That the messenger has not yet appeared before Dejanira, the reason for this is the joy and curiosity of the people, who surrounded him in close crowds and demanded from him the most accurate and detailed information about all the adventures that were with Hercules.

Heracles kills Eurytus and his sons. Painting on an antique vase

Finally, Lichas himself arrives with good news. Hercules destroyed the enemy strongholds and put to death the arrogant king with all his children; so punished the hero Eurytus for the insult that he once inflicted on his guest. Hercules sent with Lichas to Dejanira the best of the captives taken in last war; he himself remained on the banks of Euboea, near Mount Keneyskaya - here he intended to bring, according to a vow, a solemn sacrifice to Zeus in gratitude for the granted victory. With sadness and compassion, Deianira looks at the captives, at these unfortunate virgins who no longer have any family or homeland, doomed to eternal slavery in a foreign land. Of the entire crowd of captives, one especially attracts the attention of Dejanira with her marvelous beauty and regal appearance. “Unfortunate,” Dejanira said, turning to her, “how sorry I am for you, how hard your bitter fate! Tell me, who are you and who are your parents? Your appearance shows that you come from a noble family. Who is she, Lichas? Tell me me; the unfortunate woman can only weep, and I do not want to provoke the sorrows of her heart with questions. Is she not from the blood of Eurytus?" “How can I know,” Lichas answered with a sly look, “I don’t know either her name or her origin; she must be from some famous family.” Dejanira asked no more questions, and ordered that the captives be taken into the house and treated kindly.

As soon as Lichas had time to leave with the captives brought, the slave who first brought her the news of the arrival of the messenger from Hercules approached Dejanira, and began to speak such speeches: “Do not believe the messenger sent to you from your husband: he hides the truth from you. I myself , from his own lips, in the presence of many witnesses, I heard that your husband, because of this virgin, went to war against Eurytus, because of her he killed him and destroyed his city. This captive is Iola, the daughter of Eurytus; Hercules once sought her hands and to this day has love for her. He did not send her here to make her a slave: she will be your husband's concubine. The speeches of the slave struck Dejanira: she did not soon come to her senses. She called Lichas, who was already preparing to return to Euboea, and began to question him again. "You lied to me when I asked you about the origin and fate of the captive you brought; now tell me the whole truth, without hiding. I know - this is Iola, Hercules loves her. I conjure you by the great Zeus, do not hide the truth from me. Or do you think "What can I be angry with my husband for the fact that love, which has power over all living things, has also conquered his heart? Or do you consider me capable of hating this unfortunate maiden, who has never done me anything wrong? I looked at her with sadness and compassion; beauty her happiness ruined her and her homeland plunged into slavery! Lichas finally revealed the truth and added that until now he had not told the truth because he was afraid to embarrass the queen. Outwardly calm, Dejanira sent Lichas away from her and ordered him to postpone his departure to Euboea: in gratitude for the captives sent to her, she wanted to send Hercules a gift from her work.

Dejanira's heart was crushed with heavy grief. From that time on, she no longer possessed the undivided love of Hercules, she was no longer a complete mistress in his house; she had a rival - a young, blooming beauty, and Dejanira was already close to the time when beauty begins to fade and fade: how could she not be afraid that she would soon have to be the wife of Hercules only in name, but his love would turn to another ? Could not bear this Dejanira. And then she remembered the talisman given to her once by Ness, and with joy she takes up this remedy, which, as she believed, will return her husband's love forever. She takes out the magic ointment, which she kept secret for so long, away from the fire and daylight, and with this ointment she rubs the magnificent clothes appointed by her as a gift to her husband. She carefully folded her clothes, put them in a box and gave them to Lichas. "Take these clothes to my husband - this is my gift to him, I worked it myself. So that none of the mortals touches it, so that neither the ray of the sun nor the brilliance of fire touches it - until Hercules, clothed in it, does not he will come solemnly, before all the people, to the altar of the gods and will not offer his sacrifice on it. Such a vow I made - to make him magnificent clothes by the time when, on his return from the war, he will appear before the altar of the gods to offer thanksgiving. And that this gift from my hands - let this seal convince him of this, with which I will seal the sent casket. Lichas promised to carry out exactly the orders of his mistress and hurried to Euboea; carefree and full of joyful hopes, Dejanira began to wait for the return of her husband.

Only Dejanira's calmness was short-lived, and her joy was soon replaced by great grief. When Dejanira accidentally entered the room where she was preparing clothes for her husband, she did not find woolen cotton, with which she rubbed the fabric with magic ointment; this cotton, as if it was no longer needed, she threw it on the floor: warmed by the rays of the sun, the wool decayed and disintegrated into dust; in the place where the cotton lay, some kind of poisonous and foamy moisture swelled and hissed. Doubt and fear took possession of the soul of Dejanira: what misfortune would not have happened to Hercules from her gift! And could a centaur give her good advice - the same centaur who, because of her, was put to death by her husband? In confusion, with longing in her heart, she waited for the news of her husband.

Suddenly Gill appears, who, not being able to wait at home for the arrival of his father, went to him on Euboea; Gill brought terrible news to the embarrassed Dejanira.

“Oh, mother!” he exclaimed, full of anger and horror. “It would be better for you not to be born into the world, it would be better for you not to be my mother! You took my father away from me, you killed your husband!” - "What did you say, my son! - Exclaimed Dejanira. - Who inspired you that I am the culprit of misfortune?" “I didn’t hear from others, I saw it myself, with my own eyes,” continued the young man. to Euboea and Lichas with your gift, with deadly clothes. The father rejoiced at the expensive gift and, at your request, put on the clothes sent to him and began to offer sacrifice in it. But at that moment, as he, full of proud rapture of the victory won, calmly raised his hands to heaven, his body was suddenly covered with a terrible sweat, all his bones shuddered: as if he had been struck by the sting of a poisonous viper. the messenger could not say anything in response except that he received these clothes from you, and he barely had time to imagine the answer, when Hercules, tormented by unbearable pain and convulsions, grabbed the unfortunate, innocent slave by the leg and wild, insane fury hit him on the coastal rock; the waves swallowed the mutilated corpse of the unfortunate. All those present at this terrible event let out a cry of condolence about the fate of the dead slave, and no one dared to approach the raging Hercules. He was either bent to the ground, or thrown high up, and he uttered terrible cries and groans: and these groans were echoed by the echo of the mountains. When, finally, exhausted from pain, he fell and, rolling on the ground, began to loudly curse his marriage with you, the marriage that brought him untimely death, his gaze accidentally fell on me: shedding bitter tears, I stood not far from him. "Come to me, my son!" he said to me, "don't leave me in Hard time; take me away from this country, don’t let me die in a foreign land! ”Here we carried him to the ship and sailed with him to the shores of Hellas; the path was difficult for the sufferer: tormented by terrible torments, he trembled and continuously uttered groans and cries. The ship will arrive soon and, perhaps, you will still see the unfortunate man alive; but most likely he has already expired. Mother! This is your business; may the vengeful Erinyes punish you: the best of the men of Hellas died an inglorious death from you.

Dejanira did not say a word in response to her son's reproaches. Struck by grief and despair, she silently retired to the inner chambers and wandered like a shadow around the deserted house for a long time, finally, sobbing, threw herself on the bed, unfastened the golden buckles on her clothes, untied her belt and bared her chest. One of the servants, who followed Dejanira into the interior of the house and watched her actions, seeing what her mistress was thinking, was horrified and rushed to call her son to her. When Gill and the maid entered Dejanira's bedchamber, they found her already lifeless, swimming in blood: she hit herself in the chest with a double-edged sword and plunged that sword into her heart. Shedding bitter tears, the son threw himself on the corpse of his mother and bitterly mourned that he had so thoughtlessly accused her of a terrible crime; late, he already learned from the household about how Dejanira was deceived by the treacherous centaur and how she became the involuntary cause of Hercules' death.

Gill was still covering his mother's corpse with kisses, as the steps of some strangers were heard in the yard. These were the people who brought Hercules on the bed. Gill's moaning awakened him from oblivion, and again he began to be tormented by unbearable torment. “Where are you, my son?” Hercules exclaimed. “Have pity on me, take a sword and plunge it into my chest; save me from torment! Oh, ungrateful children of Hellas! Is it possible that none of you will put an end to my torment with a sword or fire? And how much I suffered, how many feats I accomplished, how much labor I endured for the good of Hellas! my muscles, the blood in my veins dried up and the marrow in my bone dried up! And it was not the spear of an armed enemy that struck me, not the army of giants, not the monster of the desert - the hand of a woman killed me. Oh, bring her, my son! I will strike her with a terrible execution !"

Death of Hercules on a funeral pyre. Painting by G. Reni, 1617-1619

Here Gill told his father what he himself had only recently learned from the household: Dejanira’s guilt was involuntary, she was seduced by a centaur who handed her, before her death, an imaginary talisman - blood from her wound, mixed with the poison of the Lernean hydra; with this magical, bewitching ointment, she rubbed the clothes sent to her husband, believing that by this means he would again attract his love to her. The story of the son softened the anger of the hero, and he saw that his end was near: the oracle once predicted that none of the living would ever deprive Hercules of life - only a dead man could kill him. Here only the hero understood this divination. Having hastily betrothed his son Gill to Iola, he ordered to carry himself to the top of Eta: he wanted to die on this mountain, and not in another place. Here, by his order, a huge fire was erected; Hercules lay down on the fire and asked his son and all those around him to ignite the fire. No one, however, dared to fulfill the requests. Then Philoctetes, a friend of Hercules, the ruler of a neighboring region, approached the fire; Persuaded by the hero, Philoctetes agreed to light a fire and, as a reward for this, received the deadly arrows of Hercules, who did not know the miss. When the fire blazed, its flame was intensified by the lightning that struck it; a thick cloud descended from the sky, and Hercules, overshadowed by a cloud, with thunder, was raptured to the top of Olympus: the flame devoured a mortal, mortal nature in the hero, and he, deified and already immortal, ascended to the dwelling of the gods. On Olympus, Pallas Athena accepted the transformed hero and led him to her father Zeus and to Hera, who pursued Hercules throughout his difficult earthly life, but now reconciled with him. Zeus and Hera combined the deified Hercules with their daughter Hebe, eternally young and eternally beautiful, and Hebe gave birth to Hercules two divine sons: Aniket and Alexiad, "invincible" and "abominable troubles."

Hercules, V ancient Greek mythology a hero, a demigod with great power.

Family and environment

Numerous myths about future fate Hercules, after being released from service, basically come down not to victories over monsters, but to campaigns, the capture of cities and the birth of numerous children, whose descendants reigned in the city-states of Greece.

Herodotus writes that when Hercules passed through Scythia, he met a half-maiden-half-snake and entered into a marriage relationship with her. The sons from this connection became the ancestors of the Scythians.

Hercules also participated in the campaign of the Argonauts along with Hylas. According to one version, he was not just a participant, but a leader.

Hercules was also placed in the sky as a constellation. There are different versions of which constellation represents Hercules. Or it is the Kneeling One, which displays the victory of the hero over the dragon at the Hesperides. Or Ophiuchus, since he strangled the snake near the river Sagaris in Lydia. Either he became the constellation Gemini along with Theseus or Apollo.

Name, epithets and character

At birth, Hercules was named Alcides. The very name "Hercules" most likely means "the glorified Hero" or "thanks to Hera." This etymology was already known to the ancient authors, who tried to reconcile the apparent contradiction between the meaning of the name Hercules and Hera's hostile attitude towards him. In different parts of Greece, Hercules was revered under different names. The Eritheans revered him as Ipokton, as he exterminated the worms that undermine the vine.

Cornopion is revered by the Eteans for delivering them from the locust, which they call "corn dog". In Iberia, his epithet is Pevkei, in Thebes, Promach.

Another epithet of Hercules is Melampig, which is also the name of the rock at Thermopylae. According to Hesychius, this epithet means "brave, daring".

A few more epithets found in different sources- Keraminth, Mekistey, Musaget and Palemon.

The Greeks identified Hercules with the Phoenician god-patron of navigation Melkart, the Celts revered him as the patron of writing and the art of the bards. They followed the tradition that Heracles was the Idean Dactyl, whom they called Ogmios.

The descendants of Hercules were called Heracleides. In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.

Cult and symbolism

The cult of Hercules was widespread throughout Greek world, and sacrifices were performed in some cases according to the ritual adopted for the gods, in others - according to the ritual customary for heroes. According to Diodorus, the cult of Hercules as a god first arose in Athens. Hercules was revered as the patron saint of gymnasiums, palestras and thermae, often as a healer and averter of all sorts of troubles. Sometimes he was revered along with Hermes, the patron of trade.

Hercules very early turned into a general Greek hero, and the details of the legends that connected him, probably originally with some particular locality or Greek tribe, were erased. However, all attempts to link the origin of the myths about Hercules to one particular place (either with Thebes or Argos) or to consider Hercules as a specifically Dorian hero are unconvincing. The exploits of Hercules quite clearly fall into three cultural and historical types: curbing monsters, military exploits epic hero, godlessness.

In Sikyon, Thebes and other cities, festivities were held in honor of Hercules - Heraclea. They were established to commemorate the death of a hero and were held on the second day of the month of metageitnion (approximately August-September).

In Phocis there was a sanctuary of Hercules the Misogynist, whose priest was not supposed to sleep with a woman for a year.

Ovid writes that Hercules' birthday was celebrated on the winter solstice, as were the birthdays of Zeus, Apollo, and other gods. According to Theocritus, Alcmene gave birth to Hercules on the day of the vernal equinox, when the Italians, Babylonians and other peoples celebrated New Year. The fourth day of the month was dedicated to Hercules as the founder Olympic Games, he also owned every fourth year.

A temple dedicated to Hercules stood in Thespiae, its attendant was a virgin priestess. In Thebes, the sanctuary of Hercules the Binder of the Horses was established.

The veneration of Hercules was spread throughout Macedonia, whose kings were venerated by his descendants.

The indispensable attributes of Hercules were the skin of the Nemean lion, which served as his armor, and a club made of oak (or ash, or olive).

In culture and art

Euripides writes about Hercules in the tragedies Furious Hercules, Alcestis and Heraclides, Sophocles in the tragedy Trachinian, Pausanias in the Description of Hellas, Hesiod in The Shield of Hercules and many other authors. The 15th hymn of Homer and the 12th Orphic hymn are dedicated to him.

The variety of myths about this Hero and the presence of similar characters in the myths of other peoples prompted ancient philologists to think that Hercules is a collective image and several heroes bore this name. The Roman scholar Varro believes that there were 24 Hercules, and John Leads counts 7 of them.

Hercules was depicted as a child strangling snakes, young men resting after a feat or performing a feat, powerful bearded man, armed with a club and dressed in the skin of the Nemean lion he killed.

From ancient times to modern times, the myths about Hercules never cease to be of interest to writers, sculptors and artists.

One of the most interesting works in painting paintings by Paolo Veronese "The Choice of Hercules" (c. 1580), Reni Guido "Hercules and the Lernean Hydra" (1620), Annibale Carracci "Choice of Hercules" (c. 1596). Francisco de Zurban created a whole series of ten canvases dedicated to exploits, it is interesting that each of his paintings depicts a club, it either lies on the ground and is in the hands of the hero. The Symbolist Gustave Moreau illustrated Heracles' battles with the Lernaean Hydra and the Stymphalian Birds. The image of the hero was no less popular in the Rococo era, the most interesting is the work of Francois Boucher "Omphala and Hercules", where the latter appears as a hero-lover surrounded by cupids and a romantic interior. It is no surprise that stories about this hero are so popular in contemporary art, one of the most strange pictures is Salvador Dali's painting "Hercules raises the surface of the sea and asks Venus to wait to wake Cupid", written in 1963, what exactly the author wanted to say by this is completely unclear.

Of the works of sculpture, it is worth paying attention to Hercules by the Farnese sculptor Lysippus (an ancient Roman copy from the Greek original), Hercules from the Bull Forum and Hercules the Archer from the pediment of the temple of Athena in Aegina.

From famous sculptors of a later time, Antonio Pollaiolo "Hercules and Antaeus", "Hercules and the Hydra" (1478), Giambologna "Hercules and Antaeus", "Hercules and Ness" and others, William Brodie "Hercules and the firmament" were taken for plots about Hercules (1850) and so on.

The myths about Hercules also inspired the composers Bach, Cavalli, Vivaldi and Saint-Saens.

In modern times

Not many people know that the name Hercule of the character of the famous detective Hercule Poirot of the writer Agatha Christie is the French version of the name "Hercules". And in 1947, she wrote the book "The Labors of Hercules", which is 12 short stories, titled in honor of a feat, where Poirot solves another riddle.

Hercules or Hercules is often found in modern cinema, as a character in a movie, TV series or cartoon. In 1997, Disney even filmed full-length cartoon"Hercules", and a little later the animated series based on it.

The industry did not bypass the Hero computer games. Here are some games where Hercules is found - Rise of the Argonauts, God of War III, Gods of the Arena and others.

In honor of Hercules, one of the largest asteroids of the main belt (532) Herculinus, discovered on April 20, 1904 by the German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidenberg Observatory, was named.

A well-marked impact crater in the northern part of the visible side of the Moon is called "Hercules". The constellation of the northern hemisphere of the sky, visible throughout Russia, bears the same name, originally it was called "Kneeling", but in the 5th century. BC. The Greeks begin to call him "Hercules". If you connect the stars with dashes, then the constellation looks like a figure of a man, bending one knee and raising a club above his head.

The Greeks called Hercules Hercules. He was not endowed with great intelligence, but his courage overshadowed any lack of cunning. Hercules was easily annoyed by outbursts of rage at innocent passers-by, and then regretted, felt guilty for what he had done and was ready to accept any punishment. Only supernatural powers could defeat him. In Greek mythology, only two figures - Hercules and Dionysus from ordinary people became completely immortal and were worshiped as gods.

Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Alcmene had a husband Amphitrion, an outstanding Greek warrior and heir to the throne of Tiryns. One night, when Amphitrion was on a campaign, Zeus appeared to Alcmene disguised as her husband. When Amphitryon returned, the blind prophet Tiresias told him that Alcmene would give birth to a child who would become a great hero.

Hercules fighting the Nemean lion

Alcmene gave birth to twin boys Hercules and Iphicles. When the goddess Hera discovered that Zeus had seduced Alcmene and Hercules was born from him, she was furious. Hera was jealous of Zeus and tried to kill the baby by sending two poisonous snakes to him. The child strangled the snakes in his crib. Although Hera failed to kill Hercules, she pursued him throughout her life and brought him much suffering and punishment.

Lessons from Hercules

Like most Greek youths, Hercules attended music lessons. Once Linus, his mentor, taught Hercules to play the lyre. Hercules, disappointed with his game, became furious and broke the lyre on Linus's head. Linus died instantly, and Hercules was shocked and very sorry. He didn't want to kill his teacher. He simply did not know his strength and did not learn to control it.

The Miraculous Acquisition of Immortality

At a time when Hercules was very young, he went to fight the Minyan king Ergin, to whom Thebes paid tribute. As a reward for liberation from tribute, the king of Thebes gave Hecules the hand of his daughter Megara. Hercules and Megara had three children. One day, Hercules was returning home from a trip, and Hera sent him into a fit of madness, during which he killed his wife and children. When Hercules came to his senses, he was horrified by his act. Heartbroken, he went to Delphi to the oracle to find out how he can atone for his guilt. The oracle told him to go to the king of Tiryns, Eurystheus, and follow any of his orders. The oracle also said that if Hercules completed all the tasks assigned to him, he would become immortal.

The Twelve Labors of Hercules

King Eurystheus gave Hercules 12 difficult and dangerous tasks. They became known as the twelve labors of Hercules.

The hero's first task was to kill the Nemean Lion, a beast that terrorized a certain area and could not be killed by any weapon. Hercules strangled the beast with his strong arms, without using any weapons, and from his skin he built himself a cape, which made him invulnerable.

12 labors of Hercules on ancient coins

The second task was to destroy the Lernaean Hydra, a creature with nine heads that lives in the swamp. One of the hydra's heads was immortal, while the others grew back after being cut off. Hercules went to fight the hydra with his friend Iolaus. Hercules cut off the heads one by one, and Iolaus, with the help of a torch, burned them with fire so that new ones would not grow. The last ninth head of the hydra remained alive, and Hercules had to bury it under a pile of stones.

The next task was to catch the golden-horned Kerinean deer, which the goddess Artemis considered sacred. She rushed through the fields, devastating them. Hercules hunted her whole year, finally wounded and brought to Tiryns. Artemis demanded that the sacred animal be returned to her. Hercules promised that the doe would remain alive.

The fourth feat of Hercules was to catch the Erimanthian boar, which terrified the lands around Mount Eriman. Pursuing the animal from its lair, Hercules drove it so that the strength of the beast ran out, the hero easily coped with it and brought the bound boar to Eurystheus.

The fifth labor of Hercules is known as cleaning the Augean stables in one day. The son of the sun god Helios, King Augeus had huge herds of cattle, the stables of which had not been cleaned for many years. Hercules offered to do this work in one day in exchange for a tenth of the herd. Avgiy agreed, realizing that no one could do such a thing in a day. Hercules filled up the riverbed, she turned her waters towards the stables, and in one day all the manure was washed away.

The sixth feat was the fight against Stymphalian birds, with iron claws, beaks and wings, which attacked people and terrorized the countryside. The goddess Athena helped Hercules to frighten away the birds, forcing them to fly out of their nests, and Hercules shot them with a bow.

The seventh task was to bring the Cretan bull to Tiryns alive. This bull was presented by the god Poseidon to the king of the island of Crete Minos. For the fact that Minos did not sacrifice this bull, but replaced it with another, Poseidon sent rabies on the bull, and it destroyed everything in its path. Hercules caught him and swam across the sea on him.

The eighth task Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the horses of Diomedes. The king of Thrace, Diomedes, had beautiful but wild horses, which he fed on human meat. Hercules led away herds of horses. Diomedes set off in pursuit of him, and Hercules was forced to kill him, and tamed his horses and brought him to Eurystheus.

The ninth challenge was to get the girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyta. When the Amazons attacked Hercules, thinking he was going to kidnap their queen, Hercules was forced to kill them. Hippolyta, as a ransom for one of the Amazons taken prisoner by Hercules, gave him a belt.

The tenth task was to bring Geryon's cows. Geryon was a monster with three bodies, three heads and three pairs of arms and legs. The journey to Gerion to the west was difficult, it was necessary to overcome the desert and the sea. The sun god Helios gave Hercules his boat, on which he got to Gerion, killed him and took away his cows.

Hercules defeats the Hydra

The eleventh task that Eurystheus gave to Hercules was to bring three fruits from the garden of Atlas, which held the sky. Atlas had a golden apple tree in the garden, from which three fruits had to be picked. Hercules ambushed the god Nereus to help him find his way to the Atlas. While Atlas went to his garden for apples, Hercules had to hold the sky instead. According to other sources, Hercules got the fruits by killing a dragon that stood guard over a tree with golden apples.

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A comment

Hercules - in ancient Greek mythology, a hero, the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene - the wife of the hero Amphitryon. Among the numerous myths about Hercules, the most famous is the cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus. The cult of Hercules was very popular in Greece, through the Greek colonists it spread early to Italy, where Hercules was revered under the name of Hercules.

One day, the evil Hera sent a terrible disease to Hercules. Lost my mind great hero, madness took hold of him. In a fit of rage, Hercules killed all his children and the children of his brother Iphicles. When the attack passed, deep grief seized Hercules. Purified from the filth of the involuntary murder he had committed, Hercules left Thebes and went to the sacred Delphi to ask the god Apollo what to do. Apollo ordered Hercules to go to the homeland of his ancestors in Tiryns and serve Eurystheus for twelve years. Through the mouth of the Pythia, the son of Latona predicted to Hercules that he would receive immortality if he performed the twelve great labors at the command of Eurystheus. Hercules settled in Tiryns and became a servant of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus... In the service of Eurystheus, Hercules performed his 12 legendary feats, for which he needed all his strength, as well as ingenuity and good advice from the gods.

12 Labors of Hercules

The canonical scheme of 12 labors was first established by Pisander of Rhodes in the poem "Hercules". The order of exploits is not the same for all authors. In total, the Pythia ordered Hercules to perform 10 labors, but Eurystheus did not count 2 of them. I had to complete two more and it turned out 12. In 8 years and one month, he accomplished the first 10 feats, in 12 years - all.

1. Strangulation of the Nemean Lion
2. Killing the Lernaean Hydra (not counted due to Iolaus' help)
3. Extermination of Stymphalian birds
4. Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer
5. Taming the Erymanthian Boar
6. cleaning Augean stables(not counted due to fee requirement)
7. Taming the Cretan Bull
8. The abduction of the Horses of Diomedes, the victory over King Diomedes (who threw strangers to be eaten by his horses)
9. The Abduction of the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
10. The abduction of the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon
11. The theft of golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides
12. Taming of the guardian Hades - the dog Cerberus

The first feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules strangled the huge Nemean lion, who was born by the monsters Typhon and Echidna and devastated the Argolis. The arrows of Hercules bounced off the thick skin of a lion, but the hero stunned the beast with a club and strangled it with his hands. In memory of this first feat, Hercules established the Nemean Games, which were celebrated in the ancient Peloponnese every two years.

The second feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules killed the Lernean hydra, a monster with a snake body and 9 dragon heads that crawled out of a swamp near the city of Lerna, killed people and destroyed entire herds. In place of each hydra's head cut off by the hero, two new ones grew, until Hercules' assistant, Iolaus, began to burn the necks of the hydra with burning tree trunks. He also killed a giant cancer that crawled out of the swamp to help the hydra. In the poisonous bile of the Lernean hydra, Hercules soaked his arrows, making them deadly.

The third feat of Hercules (summary)

Stymphalian birds attacked people and cattle, tearing them apart with copper claws and beaks. In addition, they dropped from a height, like arrows, deadly bronze feathers. The goddess Athena gave Hercules two tympanums, with the sounds of which he frightened the birds. When they flew up in a flock, Hercules shot some of them with a bow, and the rest flew away in horror to the shores of Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea) and never returned to Greece.

The fourth feat of Hercules (summary)

The Kerinean doe with golden horns and copper legs, sent to punish people by the goddess Artemis, never knowing fatigue, rushed around Arcadia and devastated the fields. Hercules pursued the deer for a year, reaching the sources of Istra (Danube) in pursuit of her. far north and then returning back to Hellas. Here Hercules wounded the doe with an arrow in the leg, caught it and brought it alive to Eurystheus in Mycenae.

The fifth feat of Hercules (summary)

The Erymanthian boar, possessing monstrous strength, terrified all the surroundings. On the way to battle with him, Hercules visited his friend, the centaur Fall. He treated the hero to wine, angering the rest of the centaurs, since the wine belonged to them all, and not to Foul alone. The centaurs rushed at Hercules, but he forced the attackers to hide from the centaur Chiron with archery. Pursuing the centaurs, Hercules broke into the cave of Chiron and accidentally killed this wise hero of many Greek myths with an arrow. Finding the Erymanthian boar, Hercules drove him into deep snow, and he got stuck there. The hero took the bound boar to Mycenae, where the frightened Eurystheus, at the sight of this monster, hid in a large jug.

The sixth feat of Hercules (summary)

The king of Elis, Avgiy, the son of the sun god Helios, received from his father numerous herds of white and red bulls. His huge barnyard has not been cleared for 30 years. Hercules offered to clear the stall for a day for Augeas, asking for a tenth of his herds in return. Considering that the hero could not cope with the work in one day, Avgiy agreed. Hercules blocked the rivers Alpheus and Peneus with a dam and diverted their water to the barnyard of Avgii - all the manure was washed away from it in a day.

Greedy Avgiy did not give Hercules the promised payment for the work. A few years later, already freed from the service of Eurystheus, Hercules gathered an army, defeated Avgii and killed him. After this victory, Hercules established the famous Olympic Games in Elis, near the city of Pisa.

The seventh feat of Hercules (summary)

God Poseidon gave Cretan king Minos a beautiful bull to sacrifice himself. But Minos left a wonderful bull in his herd, and sacrificed another to Poseidon. The angry god sent rabies on the bull: he began to rush all over Crete, destroying everything along the way. Hercules caught the bull, tamed it and swam across the sea from Crete to the Peloponnese on his back. Eurystheus ordered the bull to be released. He, again enraged, rushed from Mycenae to the north, where he was killed in Attica by the Athenian hero Theseus.

The eighth feat of Hercules (summary)

The Thracian king Diomedes owned horses of marvelous beauty and strength, which could only be kept in a stall with iron chains. Diomedes fed his horses with human meat, killing strangers who came to him. Hercules led the horses by force and defeated Diomedes, who rushed in pursuit, in battle. During this time, the horses tore to pieces the companion of Hercules, Abder, who guarded them on the ships.

The ninth feat of Hercules (summary)

The queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, wore a belt given to her by the god Ares as a sign of her power. The daughter of Eurystheus, Admet, wished to have this belt. Hercules with a detachment of heroes sailed to the kingdom of the Amazons, to the shores of Pontus Euxinus (Black Sea). Hippolyta, at the request of Hercules, wanted to give the belt voluntarily, but other Amazons attacked the hero and killed several of his companions. Hercules slew the seven strongest warriors in battle and put their army to flight. Hippolyta gave him the belt as a ransom for the captured Amazon Melanippe. On the way back from the country of the Amazons, Hercules saved Hesiona, the daughter of the Trojan king Laomendont, at the walls of Troy, doomed, like Andromeda, to sacrifice sea ​​monster. Hercules killed the monster, but Laomedon did not give him the promised reward - the horses of Zeus belonging to the Trojans. For this, Hercules a few years later made a trip to Troy, took it and killed the whole family of Laomedont, leaving only one of his sons, Priam, alive. Priam ruled Troy during the glorious Trojan War.

The tenth feat of Hercules (summary)

At the very western edge of the earth, the giant Gerion, who had three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs, grazed cows. By order of Eurystheus, Hercules went after these cows. The long journey to the west itself was already a feat, and in memory of him Hercules erected two stone (Hercules) pillars on both sides of a narrow strait near the shores of the Ocean (modern Gibraltar). Geryon lived on the island of Erithia. So that Hercules could reach him, the solar god Helios gave him his horses and a golden boat, on which he himself swims daily through the sky.

Having killed the guards of Geryon - the giant Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orfo - Hercules captured the cows and drove them to the sea. But then Gerion himself rushed at him, covering his three bodies with three shields and throwing three spears at once. However, Hercules shot him with a bow and finished him off with a club, and he transported the cows on the boat of Helios across the Ocean. On the way to Greece, one of the cows ran away from Hercules to Sicily. To free her, the hero had to kill the Sicilian king Eriks in a duel. Then Hera, hostile to Hercules, sent rabies to the herd, and the cows that fled from the shores of the Ionian Sea were barely caught in Thrace. Eurystheus, having received the cows of Geryon, sacrificed them to Hera.

Eleventh feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules had to find a way to the great titan Atlas (Atlanta), who holds the vault of heaven on his shoulders at the edge of the earth. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to take three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlas garden. To find out the way to the Atlas, Hercules, on the advice of the nymphs, guarded the sea god Nereus on the seashore, grabbed him and held him until he showed the right way. On the way to the Atlas through Libya, Hercules had to fight the cruel giant Antaeus, who received new powers by touching his mother, Earth-Gaia. After a long fight, Hercules lifted Antaeus into the air and strangled him without lowering him to the ground. In Egypt, King Busiris wanted to sacrifice Hercules to the gods, but the angry hero killed Busiris along with his son.

The twelfth feat of Hercules (summary)

By order of Eurystheus, Hercules descended through the abyss of Tenar into the gloomy kingdom of the god of the dead Hades in order to take away his guard from there - the three-headed dog Cerberus, whose tail ended in the head of a dragon. At the very gates of the underworld, Hercules freed the Athenian hero Theseus, who had grown up to the rock, whom the gods punished together with his friend, Perifoy, for trying to steal his wife Persephone from Hades. IN realm of the dead Hercules met the shadow of the hero Meleager, whom he promised to become the protector of his lonely sister Dejanira and marry her. Lord underworld, Hades, he himself allowed Hercules to take Cerberus away - but only if the hero manages to tame him. Finding Cerberus, Hercules began to fight him. He strangled the dog, pulled him out of the ground and brought him to Mycenae. The cowardly Eurystheus, at one glance at the terrible dog, began to beg Hercules to take her back, which he did.

Hercules (among the Romans - Hercules) was the son of Zeus. His mother Alcmene and stepfather Amphitryon belonged to the glorious Argive family of the Perseids, and both were grandchildren of the great hero Perseus. Hercules himself was the greatest of the heroes of antiquity, the husband great power, invincible courage, who set himself the task of being invariably obedient to the will of his father Zeus and advocating for the good of people with everything unclean and evil, even if this is combined with labors and dangers. Heracles - in the highest degree an honest nature, he is worthy of the happiest fate, but an evil fate haunts him from his very birth, and only after living a life full of the greatest efforts and suffering is he rewarded for his exploits with immortality and communion with blessed gods. The misfortunes of Hercules begin from his very birth. He was born in a foreign land, in exile. His stepfather Amphitrion accidentally killed his father-in-law Electryon and for this he was expelled by his brother Sthenel from Argos - his homeland. Together with his wife, he sought refuge with his maternal uncle, the Theban king Creon, who received him in a friendly manner and washed away his grave crime. In Thebes, at the place of exile of his stepfather, Hercules was born; but his father Zeus decided to give him dominion over the land of Argos - the kingdom of the Perseids. On the day of his birth on Olympus in the assembly of the gods, full of the brightest expectations, Zeus said: "Listen to me, all the gods and goddesses! Now one will be born who will rule over all the offspring of Perseus and over all Argos." The wife of Zeus Hera, who jealously guarded her marital rights, was angry at her husband’s boast and slyly replied: “You lie, Kronion; your word. Good, swear to me with an unfalse oath that the one who is born today in the Perseid family will reign over Argos, over the Perseids descended from your blood." Zeus did not notice his wife's cunning and uttered an oath. Then Hera rushed from the top of Olympus to Argos, where - as she knew, Sthenel's wife was soon to give birth. Hera, as the goddess of childbirth, ordered that Sthenel's wife give birth to a living child before the term, and at the same time slowed down the birth of Alcmene. The goddess returned to Olympus and said to Zeus: "Listen to me , father Zeus: born Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, from your family; he will rule over all the Argives. "Cronion was saddened, angry that Ate had deceived him (the personification of foolishness, obscuration of the mind); and he grabbed Ate by the hair in anger and threw her from Olympus, and she fell to the ground among people; and Zeus swore a terrible oath that Ate would never return to the council of the gods. Hercules, however, was born on the same day; but the birthright gave Eurystheus dominion over the whole family, it became - over him. So the strong was subject to the dominion of the weak; and subsequently Zeus, seeing how his son languished, serving Eurystheus, more than once repented of his fatal haste.But he turned this mistake for the benefit of his son by concluding an agreement with Hera, according to which Hercules, having completed twelve labors that Eurystheus will assign to him, will become involved in immortality. And so that Hercules would not be exhausted from his difficult exploits, he sends him his daughter Athena Pallas as a good assistant in his labors. Together with Hercules, Iphicles, the son of Amphitrion, was born. As soon as Hera found out that two children were born into the world and lie in swaddling clothes, prompted anger, she sent two huge snakes to destroy the little ones. Quietly they crept through open doors into the bedroom of Alcmene and were ready to grab the babies with their gluttonous mouth, but Hercules raised his head and tested his strength in the first struggle. With both hands he grabbed the snakes by the neck and strangled them: terrible monsters became lifeless. Horror seized the servants at the bedroom of Alcmene; naked, without memory, they rush from their beds to stop the monsters. Quickly, at their cry, a crowd of Cadmean knights in copper armor fled; Amphitrion also comes running in fear with a drawn sword.

Amazed, he stopped, full of fear and at the same time full of joy: he saw unheard-of courage and strength in his son. Then he ordered to call his neighbor, the great Zeus prophet Tiresias, and he predicted to him and the whole assembly the fate of the baby: how many wild animals he would destroy on land and at sea, how many wild and arrogant people he would put to death. Even when the gods begin to fight the giants on the Phlegraean field, and then many brilliant heads will be thrown into the dust with his arrows. Finally, he will enjoy eternal peace in peace - a worthy reward for his great labors. In the halls of the gods, he will marry the blooming Hebe, and Zeus, Kronos' son, will have a wedding feast, and he will enjoy a blessed life. With these few words, the prophet outlined the whole fate of our hero.

Baby Hercules strangling snakes

Amphitryon was convinced of the great destiny of his pet and gave him an upbringing worthy of a hero. He instructed the most excellent experts in the field to teach Hercules the art of war. Archery was taught to him by Eurytus, the most famous archer of his time; martial arts - the cunning and skillful Autolycus, the son of Hermes, the grandfather of the cunning Odysseus; to wield heavy weapons - Castor, one of the Dioscuri. Amphitrion himself taught him to drive a chariot: he was especially experienced in this art. Then the warrior needed the ability to drive a chariot, since in battles they fought from war chariots. In addition to this physical and military education, the boy's spirit was to be developed by the arts and sciences. But it seems that the young Hercules did not make the desired success in them. At least the teacher often had reason to censure and punish him. Once he hit Hercules, which caused him to become very angry and hit the teacher on the head with a cithara. The blow was so strong that Lin fell dead on the spot. The boy was brought to trial for murder; but he justified himself with the saying of Rhadamanthus: the struck must return the blow, and he was acquitted.

Amphitrion was afraid that the boy would not do any more such tricks in the future tense, removed him from the city and sent him to his herds on the Kiferon mountains. Here he grew up as a strong young man and surpassed everyone both in size and strength. From the first time it was possible to recognize in him the son of Zeus. He was six feet tall and had powerful limbs. His eyes shone with a fiery gleam. In archery and javelin throwing, Hercules was so skilled that he never missed.

While Hercules was on Cithaeron, still an eighteen-year-old youth, he killed the terrible Cithaeron lion, which often, descending into the valley, strangled his father's bulls. Hercules threw the skin of the slain lion over himself so that it descended from his back, with his front paws tied at his chest, while his mouth served as a helmet. This was the first feat performed by Hercules for the benefit of people. When Hercules was returning from this hunt, he met the ambassadors of the Orchomenian king Ergin, who were going to Thebes to collect tribute, which the Thebans were supposed to hand over to them. For the fact that one Theban killed the father of Ergin Klimen, the Orchomenian king went to war against Thebes and forced them to pay 100 bulls annually for twenty years. When Hercules met the ambassadors, he began to torment them: he cut off their noses and ears, and, tying their hands behind their backs, sent them with this tribute to Orchomenus to the king.

This insult led, of course, to a war between Orchomenus and Thebes. Ergin set out with a large army, but Hercules, in marvelous, brilliant armor, presented to him by his assistant and friend Athena, became the head of the Theban army, defeated the enemy army and killed the king with his own hand. With this victory, Hercules not only freed the Thebans from the shameful tribute, but also forced the Orchomenians to pay (the Thebans) a double tribute. Amphitryon fell in battle. He distinguished himself with courage in the same way as Hercules' brother Iphicles. Both brothers were rewarded by the grateful King Creon for their heroic deeds. He gave Heracles in marriage eldest daughter his Megara, Iphicle, the youngest daughter.

When Hercules celebrated his marriage to Megara, the celestials descended from Olympus and took part in a brilliant festival, as in old time at the wedding feast of Cadmus and Harmonia, and gave the hero the most excellent gifts. Hermes gave him a sword, Apollo - a bow and arrows, Hephaestus - a golden shell. Athena - beautiful clothes. Heracles later cut down his club for himself in the Nemean grove.