Hercules was born in Thebes to Alcmene and Zeus. At the direction of the father, the child who was born was to rule every earthly people. Then Hera made it so that the grandson of Perseus, Eurystheus, was born before the son of Alcmene. Hercules was forced to serve Eurystheus, but the hero was able to get rid of this duty by performing a series of feats . He had to show not only strength, but also ingenuity. We briefly list all 12 labors of Hercules.
In contact with
Prince Hercules ordered to go to the temple of Zeus in Nemea to defeat a huge lion, who terrified all the inhabitants.
Attention! Throughout his life, Prince Eurystheus received care and love. He had power, but he was neither smart nor distinguished.
Hercules went to the deserted lands, walked for a long time along the gorges and slopes. Suddenly, the growl of a giant lion was heard from the cave. The hero managed to hit the monster on the head with a club just before the jump, and then squeezed his neck, and the beast stopped breathing. It was feat number 1.
The winner dressed in the skin of a lion. People fled in horror from him, Eurystheus hid in a far corner and shouted to the hero to leave, and he would receive orders from the herald.
2 feat of Hercules was no less brilliant. The next day, the hero had to go to the swamp, where the Hydra lived with ten heads. Iolaus went with him. The hydra wrapped its necks around accidentally wandering travelers, pulled them into its lair and ate them. When Hercules and Iolaus reached the cursed swamp, the monster was asleep. Having teased the Hydra, Hercules lured her out and began to cut off their heads. one after another, but in their place two new ones grew. The hero asked Iolaus for help, and he began to burn the place of the severed head with a torch. So the monster was defeated. The hero dipped the arrowheads in Hydra's blood, and they turned into a deadly weapon.
A whole year passed without campaigns, the hero participated in competitions and was engaged in hunting. Then Hercules received a new punishment from Eurysteus - bring him a live doe, whose hooves are copper and the horns are gold. So far no one has been able to catch her. This was the 3rd labor of Hercules. The heroes went to impregnable wild mountains, and one day they saw a sacred doe, which they were hunting for. Hercules rushed after her and pursued her for several days. Finally, the fugitive gave up, but then he met Artemis, who promised that the animal would soon return to her. Upon returning to Mycenae, Eurystheus told the hero to do what he liked with her, and Hercules sacrificed her to Artemis.
Erymanthian boar
The inhabitants near Mount Erimanth suffered from a monstrous boar - at night it devastated all their fields, trampled down crops, and rummaged through the lands. Then Eurystheus ordered Hercules to catch the monster. It was surrounded by centaurs.
Attention! The once-living king Ixion killed his father-in-law and asked for help from Zeus, who brought the killer closer to him. Then Ixion decided to seek the location of Hera. Zeus wanted to test the limit of Ixion's dishonor and gave Cloud-Nefele the appearance of Hera. Their union gave rise to the centaurs.
4 the feat of Hercules was accomplished in this way. He went to the mountain, and in the cave he saw the middle-aged centaur Fall. He invited him and treated him to wine. Other centaurs saw the intruder and became furious. Then the hero began to throw poisoned arrows at them and killed a lot of centaurs, but suddenly he accidentally hit the oldest of them, who did not participate in the battle. It was Chiron who forgave the repentant Hercules for the involuntary murder. The hero easily caught the boar, brought it to Mycenae, fried it and treated the people, but Eurystheus did not appear out of fear.
Stymphalian birds
Hercules was shocked by the death of Chiron. He spent many days talking with Iolaus about what is truth and what is the meaning of life. He said that truth lies in living life, in its endless struggle with death, and in a dead life there is no truth - it is filled with oblivion.
One day the herald of the king appeared and said that kill the Stymphalian birds. Their strength lay in copper feathers, with which the birds destroyed people by eating their flesh. The 5th feat of Hercules began. They reached the lake with Iolaus and felt a strange languor seize them. It turned out that about zero envelops travelers with poisonous haze, giving oblivion and death.
Then Athena sent a wooden rattle to help - Iolaus shook it, and suddenly a sound, amplified by the echo, swept over the lake and woke up the monstrous birds. They started up, took off and began to throw their feathers at the travelers, but the hero covered himself and Iolaus with the skin of a lion and began to hit the birds with poisoned arrows. Many of them died, and miraculously the survivors flew away and never showed up again.
Augean stables
The herald, who came by order of Eurystheus, punished clear the stables of King Augeas, which were filled with manure, had not been cleaned for many years, and the walls, feeders and stalls had long since rotted away. The hero promised the king that the stalls would be cleared by morning, but in return the ruler had to give him a tenth of the horses. Augeas was greedy, but easily agreed, as he thought it was impossible to do so. The hero, with the help of only a shovel, diverted the course of the river to the stables, and its stream washed away the manure and everything rotten. Thus ended the 6 feat of Hercules.
However, the king did not want to share the promise, so he ordered his nephews to kill the hero, but they themselves fell at his hands. Then Hercules killed Augeas and the throne was taken by his honest and innocent son. AND The inhabitants of Hellas were ordered every 4 years to hold, and as long as they go, all will be calm in the world.
A new order came from the king - deliver him a snow-white Cretan bull with horns of gold and a rebellious character that terrified the entire island of Crete. 7 the feat of Hercules began. He boarded a Phoenician ship, but suddenly a strong storm broke out and smashed the ship on the shore. The hero went to the king, but was captured by the locals and taken to the ruler, who said that he would sacrifice his uninvited guest and his friends to the gods.
Then Hercules easily broke the heavy chains, hit the priest and stabbed the king. After that, he left the palace and easily subdued the Cretan bull, who now obeyed only his tamer, and upon arrival to King Eurystheus broke free.
Another order of Eurystheus - go to King Diomedes and take away his bloodthirsty horses, which the ruler feeds travelers. The 8 feat of Hercules happened like this. On the way, he stopped at King Admet. He received the guest, punished him well to feed, but he himself went to other chambers. The old servant said that Admetus suffered the greatest grief: by agreement with the gods, he could stay alive if there was someone who wanted to die instead of him.
When the hour of death struck, no one volunteered to sacrifice their lives, except for Admet's wife, Alcesta, who was dearer to him than anything in the world. So the demon of death took the beautiful girl. The hero decided to wrest her from the hands of the dead and fought Thanatos, who took Alcesta. The revived wife returned to Admet and there was no happier person in the world.
Hercules went further, to fulfill the order of the king. Diomedes sent a huge army against him, but the hero easily coped with everyone, and gave the king himself to be eaten by his own horses. The bloodthirsty animals were delivered to Eristheus, and he ordered them to be taken to the forest, where the horses were destroyed by wild animals.
Eurystheus had a daughter, Admeta, who heard that somewhere in the world women rule - fearless Amazons. They have arrows and war horses, they are not afraid of any enemy, and all because their leader Hippolyta has a leather belt in which strength is hidden. Then Eurystheus ordered the ancient Greek hero to get this magic belt for him.. The 9 feat of Hercules also ended in success:
- He arrived with his comrades to the Amazons, and their queen announced a fight to the uninvited guests.
- But among the women there was the beautiful Antiope, who immediately fell in love with the hero. At night, she stole the belt from Hippolyta and took it to the men's tent.
- So the Amazons were defeated, and the belt was delivered to Eurystheus. However, his daughter returned the magical gift to the gods.
Herd of Gerion
10 labors of Hercules. Eurystheus punished his subordinate get magical purple cows that the giant Gerion with three heads pastured. Helios-Sun helped him to get to the desired island by boat. The hero coped with the huge dog, and with the shepherds, and with the giant Gerion himself. However, the most difficult was ahead - to deliver the entire herd to Mycenae.
Some cows escaped, others were captured, and one day the whole herd disappeared, frightened by a cloud of gadflies sent by the goddess Hera. Helped Echidna - half a girl, half a snake - but in exchange for the fact that the hero will become her husband for the night and help conceive three children. According to the instructions of Hercules, one of them who can bend his bow and gird himself in the same way as his father will rule these lands. Scyth became such a son. The herd was brought to Mycenae cows were sacrificed to Hera.
11 labors of Hercules. Eurystheus was aging and was afraid of losing power. Then he punished get golden apples that gave youth. The hero set off on his journey, reached the sea elder Nereus and asked him for help. The elder wanted to deceive, turning:
- fish,
- brook,
- snake,
- fire,
- seagull.
However, the hero still turned out to be more agile. Nereus surrendered, showed the way and even helped to cross to the other side of the sea. Met on the way Atlas, who held the firmament and agreed to help the traveler get golden apples, but if for a while he would take his place. Atlas wanted to leave the hero under the weight of the vault, but he outwitted him: he promised to give a golden skin, and when Atlas raised the firmament, he left him. He returned to Mycenae, but Eurystheus did not even want to look at the golden apples, and then Athena took them.
Taming Kerberos
12 labors of Hercules. When Eurystheus ordered the hero to go to the realm of the dead and bring him the dog Kerberos with three heads, guarding the underworld, then the hero agreed, but on the condition that after that he would receive freedom. On the way, he met the herald of Zeus - Hermes, who promised to be a guide, showed the traveler the realm of the dead: the river of oblivion, Sisyphus, endlessly raising a giant stone to the top of the mountain, which fell down, distraught with thirst, Tantalus, who stood almost completely in the water, but did not could get drunk.
Hades agreed to give Cerberus to the hero, but only if he could take it with his bare hands. The condition was fulfilled and the dog was brought to Eurystheus. He was frightened and let his subordinate go home - so his service with the king ended.
Labors of Hercules. "Animal Farm of King Avgiy"
Labors of Hercules. Apples of the Hesperides
Conclusion
Difficult tasks Eurystheus prepared for Hercules, we outlined a summary of them. Each feat subsequently turned into myth, which was passed from mouth to mouth. The greatest hero of Greece is of interest today. Animated and feature films have been made about the exploits of Hercules.
Two nymphs (Virtue and Virtue) offered our hero, when he was still young, the choice between a pleasant, easy life or a hard, but glorious and full of deeds, and Hercules chose the latter. One of the first trials was given to him by King Thespius, who wanted the hero to kill a lion on Mount Cithaeron. As a reward, the king offered him to impregnate each of his 50 daughters, which Hercules accomplished in one night (sometimes referred to as the 13th labor).
Later, the hero married Megara. sent him a fit of insanity, as a result of which Hercules killed Megara and his children. Our hero went to the Delphic oracle to find out his fate. The oracle was controlled by Hera, which he did not know about. Following the prediction received, the hero went to serve King Eurystheus, fulfilling any of his instructions for 12 years. Many victories were won in this service, their description is collected in the book "The Twelve Labors of Hercules", whether this is myth or truth, each reader has the right to decide for himself. The exploits brought the hero great fame and fame. After all, just think, Hercules is known and remembered to this day, after many millennia!
Briefly, the twelve labors of Hercules will be described below.
Feat 1. Nemean Lion
The first task given to Hercules by Eurystheus (the hero's cousin) is to kill and bring his skin. It was believed that Leo was a descendant of Typhon and Echidna. He controlled the lands around Nemea and had a skin so thick that it was impenetrable by any weapon. When Hercules first tried to kill the beast, any of it and arrows, the club from which he pulled straight out of the ground, and a bronze sword) turned out to be ineffective. Finally, the hero threw away the weapon, attacked the Lion with his bare hands and strangled him (in some versions, he broke the Lion's jaw).
Hercules had already lost faith that he could complete the task, because he could not remove the skin from the beast. However, the goddess Athena helped him, saying that the best tool for this is the claws of the animal itself. The twelve labors of Hercules were accomplished with the help of the skin of the Nemean Lion, which was used for protection.
Feat 2. Lernaean Hydra
The second feat was the destruction of a sea creature with many heads and poisonous breath. The monster had so many heads that the ancient artist, painting on a vase, could not depict them all. Arriving in a swamp near Lake Lerna, Hercules covered his mouth and nose with a cloth to protect them from poisonous fumes. He then fired hot arrows into the monster's lair to get its attention. Hercules attacked the Hydra with a sickle. But as soon as he cut off her head, he discovered that two more heads had grown in its place. Then our hero called his nephew, Iolaus, for help. Iolaus (possibly inspired by Athena) suggested using burning firebrands after they cut off the Hydra's head. The animal's own poisonous blood was thus used to burn off the heads so that they could not grow back. When Eurystheus found out that his nephew was helping Hercules, he declared that the feat did not count for him.
Feat 3. Kerinean Doe
Eurystheus was very indignant that Hercules managed to avoid death by completing the two previous tasks, so he decided to spend more time thinking about the third test, which must certainly bring death to the hero. The third task did not involve killing the beast, as Eurystheus thought that Hercules could handle even the most formidable opponents. The king sent him to capture the Kerinean Doe.
There were rumors about this animal that it runs so fast that it can overtake the flight of any arrow. Hercules noticed Doe by the golden sheen of her horns. He pursued her for a year in the expanses of Greece, Thrace, Istria, Hyperborea. Our hero caught Lan when she was exhausted and could not continue to run. Eurystheus gave Hercules this difficult task also because he hoped to provoke the wrath of the goddess Artemis for defiling a sacred animal. As the hero was returning with Lan, he encountered Artemis and Apollo. He asked the goddess for forgiveness, explaining his act by saying that he had to catch the animal in order to atone for his guilt, but promised to return it. Artemis forgave Hercules. But, having arrived with Lanyu to the court, he learned that the animal should remain in the royal menagerie. Hercules knew that he must return the Doe, as promised to Artemis, so he agreed to give it up only on the condition that Eurystheus himself come out and take the animal. The king came out, and at the moment when our hero was handing Lan over to the king, she fled.
Feat 4. Erymanthian Boar
The twelve labors of Hercules are continued by the fourth - the capture of the Erymanthian Boar. On the way to the place of the feat, the hero visited Fall, a kind and hospitable centaur. Hercules dined with him and then asked for wine. Pholus had only one jar, a gift from Dionysus, but the hero convinced him to open the wine. The smell of the drink attracted the other centaurs, who got tipsy from the undiluted wine and attacked. Hercules fired his poisonous arrows at them, forcing the survivors to retreat to Chiron's cave.
Foul, interested in the arrows, took one and dropped it on his foot. The arrow also struck Chiron, who was immortal. Hercules asked Chiron about how to catch the Boar. He replied that it was necessary to drive him into deep snow. Chiron's pain caused by the arrow wound was so strong that he voluntarily gave up immortality. Following his advice, Hercules caught the Boar and brought it to the king. Eurystheus was so frightened by the formidable appearance of the animal that he climbed into his chamber pot and asked Hercules to get rid of the beast. The twelve labors of Hercules, pictures and descriptions of the following labors, see below.
Feat 5. Augean stables
The story "The Twelve Labors of Hercules" continues with the cleansing of the Augean stables in one day. Eurystheus gave the hero such a task in order to humiliate him in the eyes of people, because the previous exploits glorified Hercules. The inhabitants of the stables were a gift from the gods, and therefore they never got sick or died, it was considered impossible to clean them. However, our hero succeeded, he came up with the idea of changing the channels of the rivers Alfei and Penei, which washed away all the dirt.
Augeas was angry because he promised Hercules a tenth of his cattle if the work was done within 24 hours. He refused to keep his promise. Hercules killed him after he completed the task and handed over the administration of the kingdom to Augeas' son, Philaeus.
Feat 6. Stymphalian birds
"The Twelve Labors of Hercules" the author continues with the following feat. Eurystheus ordered Heracles to kill the birds that feed on humans. They were pets of Ares and were forced to fly to Stymphalia to avoid being pursued by a pack of wolves. These birds multiplied rapidly, taking over the countryside and destroying local crops and fruit trees. The forest in which they lived was very dark and dense. Athena and Hephaestus helped Hercules by forging huge brass rattles that frightened the flying birds and helped the hero shoot them down with arrows. The surviving Stymphalian birds never returned to Greece.
Feat 7. Cretan bull
The seventh task of Hercules was to go to the island of Crete, where the local king Minos allowed him to take the bull, as he wreaked havoc on the island. Hercules defeated the bull and sent him back to Athens. Eurystheus wanted to sacrifice the bull to the goddess Hera, who continued to be angry with the hero. She refused to accept such a gift, since it was obtained as a result of the victory of Hercules. The bull was released and went to wander in the vicinity of Marathon. According to another version, he was killed near this city.
Feat 8. Horses of Diomedes
Hercules had to steal the horses. In different versions of the books "The Twelve Labors of Hercules", the names of the labors vary slightly, and the plot also changes somewhat. For example, according to one version, the hero took his friend Abder and other men with him. They stole horses and were pursued by Diomedes and his assistants. Hercules did not know that horses were cannibals and could not be tamed. He left Abder to look after them, while he himself went to fight Diomedes. Abder was eaten by animals. In revenge, Hercules fed Diomedes to his own horses.
According to another version, the hero gathered the animals on the high ground of the peninsula and quickly dug a trench, filling it with water, thus forming an island. When Diomedes arrived, Hercules killed him with the ax used to create the trench and fed his body to the horses. The meal made the horses calmer, and the hero took advantage of this to tie their mouths and send them to Eurystheus. Then the horses were released and began to roam in the vicinity of Argos, having calmed down forever. The twelve labors of Hercules are depicted very picturesquely by ancient artists.
Feat 9. Belt of Hippolyta
The ninth task of Hercules was to receive, at the request of Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheus, the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. The belt was a gift from Ares, the god of war. So the hero came to the land of the Amazons, a famous tribe of female warriors who lived on the banks of the Fermodont River, which flowed through the northeast of Asia Minor and flowed into the Black Sea.
According to one legend, in order to keep their men, to leave them at home, the Amazons broke the arms and legs of male babies, making them unfit for war. According to another legend, they killed all male babies. The left breast of the Amazons was either exposed or cut off so as not to interfere with their use of a bow or throwing spears.
Hippolyta was so fascinated by the hero's muscles and lion skin that she herself gave him the belt without a fight. But Hera, who continued to follow Hercules, took on the appearance of an Amazon and spread a rumor among them that Hercules wanted to kidnap the queen. Amazons rushed to the enemy. In the ensuing battle, the hero killed Hippolyta and received the girdle. He and his companions then defeated the Amazons and returned with the trophy.
Feat 10. Herd of Gerion
Hercules had to go to Erythea to get Gerion's herd. On the way there, he crossed the Libyan desert and was so annoyed by the heat that he shot an arrow at the Sun. The luminary was delighted with his exploits and gave him a golden boat, which he used every night to cross the sea from west to east. Hercules reached Erythea on a boat. As soon as he set foot on this land, he encountered a two-headed dog, Orff. With one blow, our hero killed the watchdog. The shepherd came to the aid of Orph, but Hercules dealt with him in the same way.
Hearing the noise, Gerion himself went out to the hero with three shields, three spears and three helmets. He pursued Hercules on the Antemus River, but fell victim to an arrow dipped in the poisonous blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The arrow was fired with such force that the hero pierced Geryon's forehead with it. The herd was sent to Eurystheus.
To annoy Hercules, Hera sent a gadfly that stung the animals, forcing them to scatter. It took the hero a year to gather the herd. Then Hera made a flood, raising the level of the river so that Hercules, along with the herd, could not cross it. Then our hero threw stones into the water and made the water level lower. Eurystheus sacrificed the flock to the goddess Hera.
Feat 11. Apples of the Hesperides
Eurystheus did not count two feats to Hercules, since they were accomplished with the help of others or by bribery, so he assigned two additional tasks to the hero. The first of these was to steal apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Hercules first caught Nereus, the god who took the form of a wave of the sea, and asked him where the garden was located. Then he deceived Atlas, promising him some golden apples if he agreed to hold the sky for a while. When the hero returned, Atlas decided that he did not want to hold the sky any longer, and offered to deliver the apples himself. Hercules again deceived him, agreeing to take his place on the condition that he hold the sky for a while so that the hero could straighten his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Hercules left and never returned.
On the way back, our hero had to endure many adventures. In Libya, he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Gaia and Poseidon, who loved to fight his guests to the point of exhaustion and then kill them. As they fought, Hercules realized that the giant's strength and energy is renewed each time he falls to the ground, as the Earth was his mother. Then the hero lifted the giant high into the air and crushed him with his hands.
Arriving in the Caucasus Mountains, he met the titan Prometheus, who was chained to a rock for 30,000 years. Taking pity on him, Hercules killed the eagle feasting on the liver of a titan every day for all these years. Then he went to the wounded centaur Chiron, see feat 4 ("The Twelve Labors of Hercules", summary), who begged him to release him from pain.
When the hero finally brought Eurystheus, the king immediately gave him the fruits back, since they belonged to Hera and could not remain outside the garden. Hercules gave them to Athena, who returned the apples to their place.
Feat 12. Taming Cerberus
The twelve labors of Hercules are closed by the taming of Cerberus from the underworld of Hades. Hades was the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. The hero first went to Eleusis in order to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries and be able to enter the underworld and return from there alive, and at the same time to absolve himself of guilt for the murder of centaurs. Athena and Hermes helped him find the entrance to the underworld.
Hercules passed Charon, the transporter of shadows, with the help of Hermes. In hell, he freed Theseus, but when he tried to free his friend Pirithous, an earthquake began, and the hero was forced to leave him in the underworld. Both friends were imprisoned for trying to kidnap Persephone, the wife of Hades, and were magically chained to a stone. The magic spell was so strong that when Hercules freed Theseus, part of his thighs remained on the stone.
The hero appeared before the throne of Hades and Persephone and asked permission to take Cerberus. The gods agreed, but on the condition that he did not harm him. According to one version, Persephone gave her consent because Hercules was her brother. Then our hero took the dog Eurystheus, passing through a cave at the entrance to the Peloponnese. When he returned with Cerberus to the palace, Eurystheus was so frightened of the formidable beast that he jumped into a large vessel to escape from him. From the saliva of a dog that fell to the ground, the first poisonous plants grew, including aconite.
You have read "The Twelve Labors of Hercules", a summary. An entire book is devoted to these exploits. The collection "The Twelve Labors of Hercules" Kuhn compiled, bringing together all the exploits of the hero. Another option was proposed by a Russian writer. In the book "The Twelve Labors of Hercules," Ouspensky outlined his vision no less interesting.
Cinema has not been left out of these exciting myths either. The film "The Twelve Labors of Hercules" exists in many versions in different countries of the world, there are even series dedicated to these events.
All the labors of Hercules
1 - The First Labor of Hercules: The Nemean Lion
2 - The Second Labor of Hercules: The Lernaean Hydra briefly
3 - The Third Labor of Hercules: The Stymphalian Birds
4 - The fourth feat of Hercules: the Kerinean doe
5 - The Fifth Labor of Hercules: The Erymanthian Boar and the Battle of the Centaurs
6 - The sixth feat of Hercules: Animal farm of King Augeas
7 - The seventh feat of Hercules: the Cretan bull
8 - The Eighth Labor of Hercules: Horses of Diomedes
9 - The ninth feat of Hercules: Belt of Hippolyta
10 - The Tenth Labor of Hercules: The Cows of Geryon
11 - The Eleventh Labor Eleventh of Hercules - The Abduction of Cerberus
12 -
The twelfth feat of Hercules - Golden apples of the Hesperides
Even more briefly about the exploits of Hercules:
- Even before his birth, this amazing boy attracted special attention.
The goddess of justice, Hera, once again learning that her husband had cheated on her, and, especially since an ordinary woman of non-divine origin was expecting a child from her Zeus, was seriously angry, and decided that it was necessary, by all means, to make life accidental offspring intolerable.
Now a little more about the great achievements of the hero themselves.
During the the first labor of Hercules strangled a huge Nemean lion. At first, the son of Zeus fired arrows, but they only frightened the beast a little. Then the lion was stunned with a club, and soon he was strangled by Hercules with his own hand. In memory of Hercules, he founded the Nemean Games, named after the slain lion, subsequently this event was widely celebrated in the ancient Peloponnese every few years, with an interval of 1 year.
This event was very significant, as it became the most 1 of the 12 labors of Hercules.
Next feat (second feat) consisted in the fact that it was necessary to destroy the huge hydra, a monster with the body of a snake and the heads of a dragon. Hydra killed people and cattle, and therefore everyone was afraid of her. Hercules did not immediately manage to deal with this monster.
The hero chopped off one head at a time, but each time two new ones appeared in place of each severed part. And so it continued until the fire was used, which burned the necks of the hydra.
The third feat is connected with the Stymphalian birds. They terrorized like the hydra and killed people and livestock with their copper claws and sharp beak. And they also threw their metal feathers from a great height, which, like arrows, were capable of killing in one second. The goddess of war gifted the hero by giving him two special musical instruments, the sounds of which made the birds fly apart.
Hercules shot a little more than half of the flock with a bow, and the surviving birds, on pain of death, left their original habitat and never returned to Hellas.
What awaited our hero next? Further, a fallow deer appeared on the nearby lands. Of course, not simple, but with hard copper claws and golden horns. The question is where did she come from. It turns out that the goddess of hunting was angry with people and sent them this doe as a punishment. For days on end, the deer ran around the nearby territory, and destroyed forests and fields. The fourth feat of Hercules was precisely to pacify this very doe. After a year of unsuccessful attempts and persecution of the animal, the Hero overtook her and shot her. Then he took it and went to Eurystheus, giving him the carcass of the killed animal, like a trophy.
What awaited Hercules in his fifth feat? It turned out that one of the representatives of the animal world, the owner of unreal physical strength, the boar, instilled fear in everyone. Hercules had to deal with him. Finding a wild boar, the hero dealt with it, driving it into a snowdrift. Hercules tied the beast and delivered it to Eurystheus, who, at the sight of a huge boar, was frightened and hid.
King Avgiy had large herds of bulls, which were kept in a rather large cattle yard, which included stables. Avgiy launched his economy strongly. It turned out that almost 30 years no one cleaned there. Hercules kindly offered the king to clean his stables, saying that he would do it in just one day, while asking for a considerable part of his bulls from the common herd, if he succeeded in his plan. Avgiy, however, considered that Hercules would not keep his promise, the task was too overwhelming, and agreed to the adventure. However, Hercules, as you know, is not so easy, if he undertakes something, he is firmly confident in his own strength. With the help of a dam, he blocked the nearby rivers and directed their waters to the courtyard of Avgii. The stables were thus cleared in due time.
Only now, the obscenely greedy and greedy king Avgiy did not want to give Hercules what he promised as payment for the cause. Therefore, after a certain number of years, having finally freed himself from the oppression of Eurystheus, Hercules gathered an army, defeated Avgii in a fair duel and killed the king. After this event, as the myths say, he established the well-known Olympic Games for all of us.
The king of the island of Crete, Minos, disobeyed Poseidon and did not perform a sacrifice, did not provide him with a bull. The enraged god of the water element sent rabies to the bull. The animal began to run all over Crete, simultaneously destroying everything around, as if not noticing the obstacles in its path. Hercules acted as follows: he managed to calm the bull and crossed with his help across the sea surface to the Peloponnese. Eurystheus decided not to accept this feat of the hero and ordered the bull to be released. The animal, in turn, again out of control, rushed to the north of Hellas, where he was killed by Theseus. This is the story of the seventh feat of Hercules, which he accomplished almost without difficulty.
In order to carry out his other feat, Hercules went to the king of Thrace Diomedes. This king was distinguished by cruelty and composure. He had horses of unprecedented beauty and unsurpassed strength, but so violent that only tight iron chains could hold them. The king used human meat as food for his pets, first killing foreigners who arrived in his possessions. Hercules, with the help of his great strength, took the horses from Diomedes. Of course, Diomedes resisted, but the brave Hercules defeated him.
For ninth feat Eurystheus came up with a more difficult task. The daughter of Eurystheus wished for permanent use the belt of the Amazonian Hippolyta, who kept and protected this belt as a sign of her power, having received it from Ares. To do this, Hercules with his squad went to the habitat of the Amazons. Hippolyta was ready to give the belt of her own free will, only the other Amazons rebelled, as a result of which Hercules had to fight with the strongest and most cunning warriors, seven of whom were killed, the rest preferred to flee. As a result, Hippolyta gave the belt to Hercules as a ransom for the Amazon, who was captured by the hero.
Then, at the direction of Eurystheus, Hercules went on his tenth feat. He needed to deliver the cow herds of the giant Geryon to the king. The matter was by no means simple. The giant had only three: three whole heads, three whole bodies, and three pairs of arms and legs, which is a total of six. Although in itself the long journey behind the cows was already a real feat, because Gerion lived on the distant island of Erifia, the hero's task was different. To somehow cope with it, Hercules needed help, and none other than Helios, the very embodiment of the sun, helped him. He lent him his horses and a golden chariot, the same one on which God himself flies through the sky every day, warning that it was very difficult to drive the cart. One awkward movement, and the structure will immediately collapse down and break on the ground.
Hercules, having reached his destination, killed the guards of Geryon, captured the cows and led them towards the sea. But Geryon did not want to give up and began to resist Hercules. Only now Hercules did not lose his head and killed the giant, using his faithful bow and well-aimed arrows for this, and transported the cows on the raft of Helios to Mycenae. But the troubles didn't end there. Hera once again decided to show her hatred towards her husband's illegitimate heir, and therefore sent fury. Hercules, with great difficulty, but still managed to pacify them and again gather them into a single herd. The cattle were subsequently brought to the goddess of marriage as a sacrifice.
Once again, on behalf of Eurystheus, Hercules went to fulfill his penultimate eleventh feat.
This time he needed to get to find the great titan Atlas, or as he was also called, Atlanta, who had been fulfilling one important task all his life, independently holding the sky, and was at the very end of the earth. Eurystheus wished Heracles to bring him three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlas garden. Along the way, the hero faced difficulties, with which he courageously coped and reached the final goal. Atlas agreed that he himself could get to his own and bring golden apples, but only Hercules at that time had to change him at his post, and hold the firmament on his shoulders, just as the titan did, because otherwise he would collapse down . But not everything was so simple, in fact, Atlas wanted to take Hercules. He offered to personally take the apples to Eurystheus while Hercules continued to fulfill his duties. But the hero, having figured out the not too sophisticated, but still rather cunning plan of the titan, did not succumb to his tricks and did not fall for anything. Hercules asked Atlas to hold the sky for a few minutes to rest, while he himself took the apples and fled. And so the last of the many labors of Hercules was accomplished.
So, Hercules came to the end of his 12 labors.
To do this, he had to get to the dark kingdom of Hades, but the descent itself was not a feat, Hercules had a much more difficult task. He needed to deliver from there to Mycenae the chief guard and faithful companion of Hades, a three-headed dog named Cerberus, who, in addition to everything else, had a dragon's head on his tail. The god of the dead personally gave permission to Hercules to take Cerberus to the earthly world, but the hero had to calm him down on his own. Finding the monster, Hercules began to tame him. He practically strangled the dog, when the animal finally calmed down, Hercules was able to take him to the earth's surface and delivered him to Mycenae. Cowardly Eurystheus, not for the first time showed his worthlessness. Barely looking at the terrible beast, he wished Hercules to return the terrible dog back to Hades, and, of course, the hero did just that.
As soon as all the exploits were over, Hercules was finally freed from the oppression of Eurystheus forever. No obstacles prevented the hero from reaching his goal, even the supreme goddess Hera herself could not do anything. Hercules was so strong and smart that he couldn't care less.
In addition, he knew how to quite easily find an assistant, including those of divine origin. This, of course, greatly facilitated his task, but still the hero would hardly have coped, albeit with the support of the gods, if he had not actually been so exceptional.
The order of the 12 labors of Hercules can be interpreted in different ways, very often the 11 and 12 labors are interchanged, but this does not really change the essence, Hercules is another real hero that antiquity gave us. And it's really impossible to argue with that.
One day, the evil Hera sent a terrible disease to Hercules. The great hero lost his mind, madness took possession 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 the servant of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus...
First Labor: Nemean Lion
Hercules did not have to wait long for the first order of King Eurystheus. He instructed Hercules to kill the Nemean lion. This lion, begotten by Typhon and Echidna, was of monstrous size. He lived near the city of Nemea and devastated all the surroundings. Hercules boldly set out on a dangerous feat. Arriving in Nemea, he immediately went to the mountains to find the lion's lair. It was already noon when the hero reached the slopes of the mountains. There was not a single living soul to be seen anywhere: neither shepherds nor farmers. All living things fled from these places in fear of the terrible lion. Hercules searched for a long time on the wooded slopes of the mountains and in the gorges of the lion's lair, finally, when the sun began to lean towards the west, Hercules found the lair in the gloomy gorge; it was in a huge cave, which had two exits. Hercules blocked one of the exits with huge stones and began to wait for the lion, hiding behind the stones. Towards evening, when dusk was already approaching, a monstrous lion with a long shaggy mane appeared. Hercules pulled the string of his bow and shot three arrows at the lion one after another, but the arrows bounced off his skin - it was hard as steel. The lion roared menacingly, his growl rolled like thunder through the mountains. Looking around in all directions, the lion stood in the gorge and searched with eyes burning with rage for the one who dared to shoot arrows at him. But then he saw Hercules and rushed at the hero with a huge leap. Like lightning, the club of Hercules flashed and fell like a thunderbolt on the head of a lion. The lion fell to the ground, stunned by a terrible blow; Hercules rushed at the lion, grabbed him with his mighty arms and strangled him. Having shouldered a dead lion on his mighty shoulders, Hercules returned to Nemea, sacrificed to Zeus and established the Nemean games in memory of his first feat. When Hercules brought the lion he had killed to Mycenae, Eurystheus turned pale with fear, looking at the monstrous lion. King Mycenae realized what superhuman strength Hercules possesses. He forbade him even to approach the gates of Mycenae; when Hercules brought evidence of his exploits, Eurystheus looked at them with horror from the high Mycenaean walls.
Second Labor: Lernaean Hydra
After the first feat, Eurystheus sent Hercules to kill the Lernean hydra. It was a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. Like the Nemean lion, the hydra was spawned by Typhon and Echidna. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and, crawling out of its lair, destroyed entire herds and devastated all the surroundings. The fight against the nine-headed hydra was dangerous because one of its heads was immortal. Hercules set out on his journey to Lerna with Iphicles' son Iolaus. Arriving at the swamp near the city of Lerna, Hercules left Iolaus with a chariot in a nearby grove, and he himself went to look for the hydra. He found her in a cave surrounded by a swamp. Having red-hot his arrows, Hercules began to let them go one by one into the hydra. The hydra was enraged by the arrows of Hercules. She crawled out, wriggling her body covered with shiny scales, from the darkness of the cave, rose menacingly on her huge tail and already wanted to rush at the hero, but the son of Zeus stepped on her body with his foot and crushed her to the ground. With its tail, the hydra wrapped itself around the legs of Hercules and tried to knock him down. Like an unshakable rock, the hero stood and, with a wave of a heavy club, knocked down the heads of the hydra one after another. Like a whirlwind, a club whistled through the air; the heads of the hydra flew off, but the hydra was still alive. Then Hercules noticed that in the hydra, two new ones grow in place of each knocked down head. The help of the hydra also appeared. A monstrous cancer crawled out of the swamp and dug its tongs into Hercules' leg. Then the hero called his friend Iolaus for help. Iolaus killed the monstrous cancer, set fire to a part of the nearby grove and burned the necks of the hydra with burning tree trunks, from which Hercules knocked down their heads with his club. New heads have ceased to grow from the hydra. Weaker and weaker she resisted the son of Zeus. Finally, the immortal head flew off the hydra. The monstrous hydra was defeated and collapsed dead to the ground. The conqueror Hercules buried her immortal head deeply and piled a huge rock on it so that it could not come out into the light again. Then the great hero cut the body of the hydra and plunged his arrows into her poisonous bile. Since then, the wounds from the arrows of Hercules have become incurable. With great triumph Hercules returned to Tiryns. But there, a new assignment from Eurystheus awaited him.
Third Labor: The Stymphalian Birds
Eurystheus instructed Hercules to kill the Stymphalian birds. Almost all the neighborhoods of the Arcadian city of Stimfal turned these birds into the desert. They attacked both animals and people and tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. But the most terrible thing was that the feathers of these birds were made of hard bronze, and the birds, having taken off, could drop them, like arrows, on the one who would take it into his head to attack them. It was difficult for Hercules to fulfill this order of Eurystheus. The warrior Pallas Athena came to his aid. She gave Hercules two copper tympanums, the god Hephaestus forged them, and ordered Hercules to stand on a high hill near the forest where the Stymphalian birds nested and strike the tympanums; when the birds take off - shoot them with a bow. So did Hercules. Climbing the hill, he struck the tympanum, and such a deafening sound arose that the birds flew over the forest in a huge flock and began to circle in horror over it. They rained down their feathers, sharp as arrows, on the ground, but the feathers did not fall into Hercules standing on the hill. The hero grabbed his bow and began to strike the birds with deadly arrows. In fear, the Stymphalian birds soared beyond the clouds and disappeared from the eyes of Hercules. The birds flew away far beyond the borders of Greece, to the shores of the Euxine Pontus, and never returned to the vicinity of Stymphalus. So Hercules fulfilled this order of Eurystheus and returned to Tiryns, but he immediately had to go on an even more difficult feat.
Fourth feat: Keriney doe
Eurystheus knew that a wonderful Kerinean doe lives in Arcadia, sent by the goddess Artemis to punish people. This deer devastated the fields. Eurystheus sent Hercules to catch her and ordered him to deliver the doe to Mycenae alive. This deer was extraordinarily beautiful, her horns were golden, and her legs were copper. Like the wind, she rushed through the mountains and valleys of Arcadia, never knowing fatigue. For a whole year, Hercules pursued the Kerinean doe. She rushed through the mountains, through the plains, jumped over the abyss, swam across the rivers. Farther and farther north ran the doe. The hero did not lag behind her, he pursued her, not losing sight of her. Finally, Hercules reached the extreme north in pursuit of the pad - the country of the Hyperboreans and the sources of Istra. Here the deer stopped. The hero wanted to grab her, but she slipped away and, like an arrow, rushed back to the south. The chase began again. Hercules managed only in Arcadia to overtake a doe. Even after such a long chase, she did not lose her strength. Desperate to catch a doe, Hercules resorted to his arrows that did not know a miss. He wounded the golden-horned doe with an arrow in the leg, and only then did he manage to catch it. Hercules shouldered a wonderful doe on his shoulders and was about to carry it to Mycenae, when an angry Artemis appeared before him and said: “Didn’t you know, Hercules, that this doe is mine? Why did you insult me by hurting my beloved doe? Don't you know that I do not forgive insults? Or do you think that you are more powerful than the Olympian gods? With reverence, Hercules bowed before the beautiful goddess and answered: - Oh, the great daughter of Latona, do not blame me! I have never offended the immortal gods living on the bright Olympus; I always honored the celestials with rich sacrifices and never considered myself equal to them, although I myself am the son of Zeus the Thunderer. I did not pursue your doe of my own free will, but at the command of Eurystheus. The gods themselves commanded me to serve him, and I dare not disobey Eurystheus! Artemis forgave Hercules for his guilt. The great son of the Thunderer Zeus brought the Kerinean fallow deer alive to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.
Fifth feat: Erymanthus boar and the battle with the centaurs
After hunting for a copper-footed doe, which lasted a whole year, Hercules did not rest long. Eurystheus again gave him a commission: Hercules was supposed to kill the Erymanthian boar. This boar, possessing monstrous strength, lived on Mount Erimanthe and devastated the surroundings of the city of Psofis. He did not give mercy to people either and killed them with his huge fangs. Hercules went to Mount Erimanfu. On the way, he visited the wise centaur Fall. Phol accepted the great son of Zeus with honor and arranged a feast for him. During the feast, the centaur opened a large vessel of wine to treat the hero better. The fragrance of marvelous wine wafted far away. Heard this fragrance and other centaurs. They were terribly angry with Phol because he opened the vessel. Wine belonged not only to Foul, but was the property of all centaurs. The centaurs rushed to Fall's dwelling and attacked him and Hercules by surprise, when the two of them were feasting merrily, decorating their heads with wreaths of ivy. Hercules was not afraid of the centaurs. He quickly jumped up from his bed and began to throw huge smoking brands at the attackers. The centaurs fled, and Hercules wounded them with his poisonous arrows. The hero pursued them all the way to Malea. There the centaurs took refuge with a friend of Hercules, Chiron, the wisest of the centaurs. Following them, Hercules burst into the cave. In anger, he pulled his bow, an arrow flashed in the air and pierced the knee of one of the centaurs. Hercules did not strike the enemy, but his friend Chiron. Great grief seized the hero when he saw whom he had wounded. Hercules hurries to wash and bandage his friend's wound, but nothing can help. Hercules knew that the wound from the arrow, poisoned by the bile of the hydra, was incurable. Chiron also knew that he was in danger of a painful death. In order not to suffer from a wound, he subsequently voluntarily descended into the gloomy kingdom of Hades. In deep sadness, Hercules left Chiron and soon reached Mount Erimanth. There, in a dense forest, he found a formidable boar and drove him out of the thicket with a cry. Hercules pursued the boar for a long time, and finally drove him into deep snow on the top of the mountain. The boar got stuck in the snow, and Hercules, rushing at him, tied him up and carried him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the monstrous boar, he hid in a large bronze vessel out of fear.
The sixth feat: Animal farm of king Avgiy
Soon, Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to clear the entire barnyard of Avgius, the king of Elis, the son of the radiant Helios, from manure. The sun god gave his son innumerable riches. The flocks of Avgeas were especially numerous. Among his herds there were three hundred bulls with snow-white legs, two hundred bulls were red like Sidon purple, twelve bulls dedicated to the god Helios were white like swans, and one bull, distinguished by its extraordinary beauty, shone like a star. Heracles suggested that Avgius clean up his entire vast barnyard in one day, if he agrees to give him a tenth of his herds. Augius agreed. It seemed impossible for him to do such a job in one day. Hercules, on the other hand, broke the wall that surrounded the barnyard from two opposite sides, and diverted the water of two rivers, Alpheus and Peneus, into it. The water of these rivers in one day carried away all the manure from the barnyard, and Hercules again laid down the walls. When the hero came to Avgiy to demand a reward, the proud king did not give him the promised tenth of the herds, and Hercules had to return to Tiryns with nothing. The great hero took terrible revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later, already freed from the service of Eurystheus, Hercules invaded Elis with a large army, defeated Avgius in a bloody battle and killed him with his deadly arrow. After the victory, Hercules gathered an army and all the rich booty near the city of Pisa, made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which since then have been celebrated by all Greeks every four years on the sacred plain planted by Hercules himself dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena. The Olympic Games are the most important of all Greek festivities, during which universal peace was declared throughout Greece. A few months before the games, ambassadors were sent out all over Greece and the Greek colonies, inviting them to the games at Olympia. Games were held every four years. There were competitions in running, wrestling, fisticuffs, discus and spear throwing, as well as chariot races. The winners of the games received an olive wreath as a reward and enjoyed great honor. The Greeks kept track of the Olympic Games, considering the first to take place in 776 BC. e. There were Olympic Games until 393 AD. e., when they were banned by the emperor Theodosius as incompatible with Christianity. After 30 years, Emperor Theodosius II burned the temple of Zeus at Olympia and all the luxurious buildings that adorned the place where the Olympic Games took place. They turned into ruins and were gradually covered by the sand of the Alfea River. Only excavations carried out at the site of Olympia in the 19th century. n. e., mainly from 1875 to 1881, gave us the opportunity to get an accurate idea of \u200b\u200bthe former Olympia and the Olympic Games. Hercules took revenge on all the allies of Avgii. The king of Pylos, Neleus, paid especially. Hercules, having come with an army to Pylos, took the city and killed Neleus and his eleven sons. The son of Neleus, Periclimen, was not saved either, to whom Poseidon, the ruler of the sea, gave the gift to turn into a lion, a snake and a bee. Hercules killed him when, turning into a bee, Periclymenes mounted one of the horses harnessed to Hercules' chariot. Only Neleus' son Nestor survived. Subsequently, Nestor became famous among the Greeks for his exploits and great wisdom.
Seventh feat: Cretan bull
To fulfill the seventh order of Eurystheus, Hercules had to leave Greece and go to the island of Crete. Eurystheus instructed him to bring a Cretan bull to Mycenae. This bull was sent to the king of Crete by Minos, the son of Europe, Poseidon, the shaker of the earth; Minos was supposed to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon. But Minos is sorry to sacrifice such a beautiful bull - he left him in his herd, and sacrificed one of his bulls to Poseidon. Poseidon was angry with Minos and sent rabies on the bull that came out of the sea. A bull rushed all over the island and destroyed everything in its path. The great hero Hercules caught the bull and tamed it. He sat on the broad back of a bull and swam on it across the sea from Crete to the Peloponnese. Hercules brought the bull to Mycenae, but Eurystheus was afraid to leave the bull of Poseidon in his herd and set him free. Sensing freedom again, a mad bull rushed through the entire Peloponnese to the north and finally ran to Attica on the Marathon field. There he was killed by the great Athenian hero Theseus.
Eighth Labor: Horses of Diomedes
After taming the Cretan bull, Hercules, on behalf of Eurystheus, had to go to Thrace to the king of the bistones, Diomedes. This king had horses of wondrous beauty and strength. They were chained with iron chains in their stalls, since no fetters could hold them. King Diomedes fed these horses with human meat. He threw them to be eaten by all the foreigners who, driven by the storm, stuck to his city. It was to this Thracian king that Hercules appeared with his companions. He took possession of the horses of Diomedes and took them to his ship. Diomedes himself overtook Hercules on the shore with his warlike bistones. Entrusting the protection of the horses to his beloved Abder, the son of Hermes, Hercules entered into battle with Diomedes. Hercules had few companions, but Diomedes was still defeated and fell in battle. Hercules returned to the ship. How great was his despair when he saw that the wild horses had torn to pieces his beloved Abder. Hercules arranged a magnificent funeral for his favorite, poured a high hill on his grave, and next to the grave he founded a city and named it Abdera in honor of his favorite. Hercules brought the horses of Diomedes to Eurystheus, and he ordered them to be released into the wild. The wild horses fled to the mountains of Lycaion, covered with dense forest, and were there torn to pieces by wild beasts.
Hercules at Admetus
Mainly based on the tragedy of Euripides "Alcestis"
When Hercules sailed on a ship across the sea to the shores of Thrace for the horses of King Diomedes, he decided to visit his friend, King Admet, since the path lay past the city of Ther, where Admet ruled.
Hercules chose a difficult time for Admetus. Great grief reigned in the house of King Fer. His wife Alcestis was to die. Once the goddesses of fate, the great moiras, at the request of Apollo, determined that Admet could get rid of death if, in the last hour of his life, someone agreed to voluntarily descend instead of him into the gloomy kingdom of Hades. When the hour of death came, Admet asked his elderly parents that one of them agreed to die in his place, but the parents refused. None of the inhabitants of Fer agreed to die voluntarily for King Admet. Then the young, beautiful Alcestis decided to sacrifice her life for her beloved husband. On the day when Admet was to die, his wife prepared for death. She washed the body and put on burial clothes and ornaments. Approaching the hearth, Alcestis turned to the goddess Hestia, who gives happiness in the house, with an ardent prayer:
- Oh, great goddess! For the last time I kneel here before you. I pray you, protect my orphans, because today I must descend into the kingdom of gloomy Hades. Oh, do not let them die, as I die, untimely! May their life here, at home, be happy and rich.
Then Alcestis went around all the altars of the gods and decorated them with myrtle.
Finally, she went to her chambers and fell into tears on her bed. Her children came to her - a son and a daughter. They sobbed bitterly at their mother's breasts. The maids of Alcestis also wept. In desperation, Admet embraced his young wife and begged her not to leave him. Already ready for the death of Alcestis; the god of death Tanat, hated by the gods and people, is already approaching with inaudible steps to the palace of Tsar Fer, in order to cut a lock of hair from the head of Alcestis with a sword. The golden-haired Apollo himself asked him to postpone the hour of death of the wife of his beloved Admet, but Tanat is inexorable. Alcestis feels the approach of death. She exclaims in horror:
“Oh, the two-oared boat of Charon is already approaching me, and the carrier of the souls of the dead shouts menacingly to me, driving the boat: “Why are you delaying? Hurry, hurry! Don’t wait for time! Don’t delay us. Everything is ready! Oh let me go! My legs are getting weak. Death is coming. Black night covers my eyes! Oh children, children! Your mother is no longer alive! Live happily! Admet, your life was dearer to me than my own life. Let the sun shine on you, not on me. Admet, you love our children as much as I do. Oh, do not take a stepmother into their house, so that she does not offend them!
The unfortunate Admet suffers.
- You take all the joy of life with you, Alcestis! - he exclaims, - all my life now I will grieve for you. Oh, gods, gods, what a wife you are taking from me!
Alcestis says in a barely audible voice:
- Goodbye! My eyes have already closed. Farewell, children! Now I am nothing. Farewell, Admet!
- Oh, look again at least once! Don't leave the kids! Oh, let me die too! Admet exclaimed with tears.
Alcestis' eyes closed, her body grows cold, she died. Weeps inconsolably over the dead Admet and bitterly complains about his fate. He tells his wife to prepare a magnificent funeral. For eight months he orders everyone in the city to mourn for Alcestis, the best of women. The whole city is full of sorrow, as everyone loved the good queen.
They were already preparing to carry the body of Alcestis to her tomb, as Hercules comes to the city of Thera. He goes to the palace of Admetus and meets his friend at the gates of the palace. With honor Admet met the great son of the auspicious Zeus. Not wanting to sadden the guest, Admet tries to hide his grief from him. But Hercules immediately noticed that his friend was deeply saddened, and asked about the reason for his grief. Admet gives an unclear answer to Hercules, and he decides that Admet's distant relative died, whom the king sheltered after the death of his father. Admet orders his servants to take Hercules to the guest room and arrange a rich feast for him, and lock the doors to the female half so that groans of grief do not reach Hercules' ears. Unaware of the misfortune that befell his friend, Hercules feasts merrily in the palace of Admetus. He drinks cup after cup. It is hard for servants to wait on a cheerful guest - because they know that their beloved mistress is no longer alive. No matter how hard they try, on the orders of Admet, to hide their grief, yet Hercules notices tears in their eyes and sadness on their faces. He calls one of the servants to feast with him, says that the wine will give him oblivion and smooth out the wrinkles of sadness on his forehead, but the servant refuses. Then Hercules guesses that grievous grief befell the house of Admet. He starts asking the servant what happened to his friend, and finally the servant tells him:
- Oh, stranger, Admet's wife descended today into the kingdom of Hades.
Heracles was saddened. It hurt him that he feasted in a wreath of ivy and sang in the house of a friend who suffered such great grief. Hercules decided to thank the noble Admet for the fact that, despite the grief that befell him, he nevertheless received him so hospitably. The decision quickly matured in the great hero to take away from the gloomy god of death Tanat his prey - Alcestis.
Having learned from the servant where the tomb of Alcestis is located, he hurries there as soon as possible. Hiding behind the tomb, Hercules is waiting for Tanat to fly in to get drunk at the grave of sacrificial blood. Here the flapping of the black wings of Tanat was heard, there was a breath of grave cold; the gloomy god of death flew to the tomb and greedily pressed his lips to the sacrificial blood. Hercules jumped out of the ambush and rushed to Tanat. He seized the god of death with his mighty hands, and a terrible struggle began between them. Straining all his strength, Hercules fights with the god of death. Tanat squeezed the chest of Hercules with his bony hands, he breathes on him with his chilling breath, and from his wings the cold of death blows on the hero. Nevertheless, the mighty son of the Thunderer Zeus defeated Tanat. He tied Tanat and demanded as a ransom for freedom that the god of death be returned to life by Alcestis. Tanat gave Hercules the life of Admet's wife, and the great hero led her back to her husband's palace.
Admet, returning to the palace after the funeral of his wife, bitterly mourned his irreplaceable loss. It was hard for him to stay in the deserted palace, Where should he go? He envies the dead. He hates life. He calls death. Tanat stole all his happiness and took him to the kingdom of Hades. What could be harder for him than the loss of his beloved wife! Admet regrets that she did not allow Alcestis to die with her, then their death would have united them. Hades would have received two faithful souls instead of one. Together these souls of Acheron would have crossed. Suddenly, Hercules appeared before the mournful Admet. He leads by the hand a woman covered with a veil. Hercules asks Admet to leave this woman, which he inherited after a hard struggle, in the palace until he returns from Thrace. Admet refuses; he asks Hercules to take the woman to someone else. It is hard for Admet to see another woman in his palace when he lost the one he loved so much. Hercules insists and even wants Admet to bring a woman into the palace himself. He does not allow the servants of Admet to touch her. Finally, Admet, unable to refuse his friend, takes the woman by the hand to lead her into his palace. Hercules tells him:
- You took it, Admet! So protect her! Now you can say that the son of Zeus is a true friend. Look at the woman! Doesn't she look like your wife Alcestis? Stop mourning! Be happy with life again!
- Oh, great gods! - Admet exclaimed, lifting the woman's veil, - my wife Alcestis! Oh no, it's only a shadow of her! She stands silently, she did not say a word!
- No, it's not a shadow! - answered Hercules, - this is Alcestis. I got it in a hard fight with the lord of souls Tanat. She will be silent until she is freed from the power of the underground gods, bringing them redemptive sacrifices; she will be silent until night changes day three times; Only then will she speak. Now farewell, Admet! Be happy and always observe the great custom of hospitality, consecrated by my father himself - Zeus!
- Oh, great son of Zeus, you gave me the joy of life again! - exclaimed Admet, - how can I thank you? Stay my guest. I will order in all my possessions to celebrate your victory, I will order great sacrifices to be made to the gods. Stay with me!
Hercules did not stay with Admet; a feat awaited him; he had to fulfill the order of Eurystheus and get him the horses of King Diomedes.
Labor 9: Hippolyta's Belt
The ninth feat of Hercules was his campaign in the country of the Amazons for the belt of Queen Hippolyta. This belt was given to Hippolyta by the god of war Ares, and she wore it as a sign of her power over all the Amazons. The daughter of Eurystheus Admet, the priestess of the goddess Hera, wanted to have this belt without fail. To fulfill her desire, Eurystheus sent Hercules for the belt. Having gathered a small detachment of heroes, the great son of Zeus set off on a long journey on a ship alone. Although the detachment of Hercules was small, there were many glorious heroes in this detachment, I was in it the great hero of Attica Theseus.
The heroes have a long way to go. They had to reach the farthest shores of the Euxine Pontus, since there was a country of the Amazons with the capital Themyscira. On the way, Hercules landed with his companions on the island of Paros, where the sons of Minos ruled. On this island, the sons of Minos killed two companions of Hercules. Hercules, angry at this, immediately began a war with the sons of Minos. He killed many of the inhabitants of Paros, while others, having driven into the city, kept under siege until the besieged ambassadors were sent to Heracles and began to ask him to take two of them instead of the dead companions. Then Hercules lifted the siege and instead of the dead he took the grandsons of Minos, Alcaeus and Sthenelus.
From Paros, Hercules arrived in Mysia to King Lycus, who received him with great hospitality. The king of the Bebriks unexpectedly attacked Lik. Hercules defeated the king of the Bebriks with his detachment and destroyed his capital, and gave all the land of the Bebriks to Lik. King Lik named this country in honor of Heracles Heraclea. After this feat, Hercules went on, and finally arrived at the city of the Amazons, Themyscira.
The fame of the exploits of the son of Zeus has long reached the country of the Amazons. Therefore, when the ship of Hercules landed at Themyscira, the Amazons came out with the queen to meet the hero. They looked with surprise at the great son of Zeus, who stood out, like an immortal god, among his fellow heroes. Queen Hippolyta asked the great hero Hercules:
- Glorious son of Zeus, tell me what brought you to our city? Do you bring us peace or war?
So Hercules answered the queen:
- Queen, it was not of my own free will that I came here with an army, having made a long journey across a stormy sea; I was sent by the ruler of Mycenae, Eurystheus. His daughter Admet wants to have your belt, a gift from the god Ares. Eurystheus instructed me to get your belt.
Hippolyta was unable to refuse anything to Hercules. She was already ready to voluntarily give him the belt, but the great Hera, wanting to destroy the hated Hercules, took the form of an Amazon, intervened in the crowd and began to convince the warriors to attack the army of Hercules.
“Hercules is not telling the truth,” Hera said to the Amazons, “he came to you with insidious intent: the hero wants to kidnap your queen Hippolyta and take her as a slave to his house.
The Amazons believed Hera. They grabbed their weapons and attacked the army of Hercules. Ahead of the Amazon army rushed Aella, fast as the wind. She attacked Hercules first, like a stormy whirlwind. The great hero repulsed her onslaught and put her to flight, Aella thought to escape from the hero with a quick flight. All her speed did not help her, Hercules overtook her and struck her with his sparkling sword. Fell in battle and Protoya. She slew seven heroes from among the companions of Hercules with her own hand, but she did not escape the arrow of the great son of Zeus. Then seven Amazons attacked Hercules at once; they were companions of Artemis herself: no one was equal to them in the art of wielding a spear. Covering themselves with shields, they launched their spears at Hercules. but the spears flew past this time. All of them were slain by the hero with his club; one after another they burst to the ground, flashing their weapons. The Amazonian Melanippe, who led the army into battle, was captured by Hercules, and together with her captured Antiope. The formidable warriors were defeated, their army fled, many of them fell at the hands of the heroes pursuing them. The Amazons made peace with Hercules. Hippolyta bought the freedom of the mighty Melanippe with the price of her belt. The heroes took Antiope with them. Hercules gave it as a reward to Theseus for his great courage.
So Hercules got the girdle of Hippolyta.
Heracles rescues Hesione, daughter of Laomedon
On the way back to Tiryns from the country of the Amazons, Hercules arrived on ships with his army to Troy. A heavy sight appeared before the eyes of the heroes when they landed on the shore near Troy. They saw the beautiful daughter of the king of Troy, Laomedont, Hesion, chained to a rock near the seashore. She was doomed, like Andromeda, to be torn to pieces by a monster emerging from the sea. This monster was sent as a punishment to Laomedon by Poseidon for refusing to pay him and Apollo a fee for the construction of the walls of Troy. The proud king, who, according to the verdict of Zeus, had to serve both gods, even threatened to cut off their ears if they demanded payment. Then, the angry Apollo sent a terrible pestilence to all the possessions of Laomedon, and Poseidon - a monster that devastated, sparing no one, the surroundings of Troy. Only by sacrificing the life of his daughter could Laomedon save his country from a terrible disaster. Against his will, he had to chain his daughter Hesion to a rock by the sea.
Seeing the unfortunate girl, Hercules volunteered to save her, and for the salvation of Hesion, he demanded from Laomedont as a reward for those horses that the Thunderer Zeus gave to the king of Troy as a ransom for his son Ganymede. He was once kidnapped by the eagle of Zeus and carried to Olympus. Laomedon agreed to Hercules' demands. The great hero ordered the Trojans to build a rampart on the seashore and hid behind it. As soon as Hercules took cover behind the rampart, a monster emerged from the sea and, opening its huge mouth, rushed at Hesion. With a loud cry, Hercules ran out from behind the shaft, rushed at the monster and plunged his double-edged sword deep into his chest. Heracles saved Hesiona.
When the son of Zeus demanded the promised reward from Laomedont, it became a pity for the king to part with the marvelous horses, he did not give them to Hercules and even drove him away with threats from Troy. Hercules left the possession of Laomedont, holding his anger deep in his heart. Now he could not take revenge on the king who had deceived him, since his army was too small and the hero could not hope to soon capture impregnable Troy. The great son of Zeus could not stay under Troy for a long time - he had to rush with Hippolyta's belt to Mycenae.
Tenth feat: Cows of Gerion
Shortly after returning from a campaign in the country of the Amazons, Hercules set off on a new feat. Eurystheus instructed him to drive to Mycenae the cows of the great Geryon, the son of Chrysaor and the Oceanid Kalliroi. Far was the way to Geryon. Hercules had to reach the westernmost edge of the earth, those places where the radiant sun god Helios descends from the sky at sunset. Hercules went on a long journey alone. He passed through Africa, through the barren deserts of Libya, through the countries of wild barbarians, and finally reached the ends of the earth. Here he erected two giant stone pillars on both sides of the narrow sea strait as an eternal monument to his feat.
After this, Hercules had to wander a lot more, until he reached the shores of the gray Ocean. In thought, the hero sat on the shore near the ever-noisy waters of the Ocean. How was it possible for him to reach the island of Eritheia, where Geryon pastured his flocks? The day was already drawing to a close. Here appeared the chariot of Helios, descending to the waters of the Ocean. The bright rays of Helios blinded Hercules, and an unbearable, scorching heat enveloped him. Hercules jumped up in anger and grabbed his formidable bow, but bright Helios did not get angry, he smiled affably at the hero, he liked the extraordinary courage of the great son of Zeus. Helios himself invited Hercules to cross to Eritheia in a golden boat, in which the sun god sailed every evening with his horses and chariot from the western to the eastern edge of the earth to his golden palace. The delighted hero boldly jumped into the golden boat and quickly reached the shores of Eritheia.
As soon as he landed on the island, the formidable two-headed dog Orfo sensed him and rushed at the hero with barking. Hercules killed him with one blow of his heavy club. Not only Orfo guarded the herds of Gerion. Hercules also had to fight with the shepherd of Gerion, the giant Eurytion. The son of Zeus quickly coped with the giant and drove the cows of Gerion to the seashore, where the golden boat of Helios stood. Gerion heard the lowing of his cows and went to the herd. Seeing that his dog Orfo and the giant Eurytion were killed, he chased after the stealer of the herd and overtook him on the seashore. Gerion was a monstrous giant: he had three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs. He covered himself with three shields during the battle, he immediately threw three huge spears at the enemy. Hercules had to fight with such a giant, but the great warrior Pallas Athena helped him. As soon as Hercules saw him, he immediately shot his deadly arrow at the giant. An arrow pierced the eye of one of Gerion's heads. The first arrow was followed by the second, followed by the third. Hercules waved menacingly with his all-destroying club, like lightning, the hero Geryon struck it, and the three-bodied giant fell to the ground like a lifeless corpse. Hercules transported the cows of Geryon from Eritheia in the golden boat of Helios across the stormy Ocean and returned the boat to Helios. Half of the feat was over.
Much work lay ahead. It was necessary to drive the bulls to Mycenae. Through all of Spain, through the Pyrenees, through Gaul and the Alps, through Italy, Hercules drove the cows. In southern Italy, near the city of Rhegium, one of the cows escaped from the herd and swam across the strait to Sicily. There, King Eriks, the son of Poseidon, saw her, and took the cow into his herd. Hercules searched for a cow for a long time. Finally, he asked the god Hephaestus to guard the herd, and he crossed over to Sicily and there he found his cow in the herd of King Eriks. The king did not want to return her to Hercules; hoping for his strength, he challenged Hercules to single combat. The winner was to be rewarded with a cow. Eriks could not afford such an opponent as Hercules. The son of Zeus squeezed the king in his mighty arms and strangled him. Hercules returned with a cow to his herd and drove him further. On the shores of the Ionian Sea, the goddess Hera sent rabies to the whole herd. The mad cows ran in all directions. Only with great difficulty Hercules caught most of the cows already in Thrace and finally drove them to Eurystheus in Mycenae. Eurystheus sacrificed them to the great goddess Hera.
Pillars of Hercules, or Pillars of Hercules. The Greeks believed that the rocks along the shores of the Strait of Gibraltar were placed by Hercules.
Eleventh move. Cerberus kidnapping.
There were no more monsters left on the earth. Heracles destroyed them all. But underground, guarding the possessions of Hades, lived the monstrous three-headed dog Cerberus. Eurystheus ordered him to be delivered to the walls of Mycenae.
Hercules had to descend into the kingdom of no return. Everything about him was terrifying. Cerberus himself was so powerful and terrible that the very sight of him chilled the blood in his veins. In addition to three disgusting heads, the dog had a tail in the form of a huge snake with an open mouth. The snakes also writhed around his neck. And such a dog had to be not only defeated, but also brought alive from the underworld. Only the lords of the kingdom of the dead, Hades and Persephone, could give their consent to this.
Hercules had to appear before their eyes. At Hades, they were black, like coal, formed at the site of the burning of the remains of the dead, at Persephone they were light blue, like cornflowers on arable land. But one could read genuine surprise in both of them: what does this impudent man need here, who violated the laws of nature and descended alive into their gloomy world?
Bowing respectfully, Hercules said:
Do not be angry, mighty lords, if my request seems bold to you! The will of Eurystheus, hostile to my desire, dominates me. It was he who instructed me to deliver to him your faithful and valiant Cerberus guardian.
Hades' face twitched with displeasure.
Not only did you yourself come here alive, you set out to show the living someone whom only the dead can see.
Forgive my curiosity, - Persephone intervened. - But I would like to know how you think about your feat. After all, Cerberus has not yet been given into the hands of anyone.
I don’t know, Hercules admitted honestly. But let me fight him.
Ha! Ha! - Hades laughed so loudly that the vaults of the underworld shook. - Try it! But just fight on equal terms, not using weapons.
On the way to the gates of Hades, one of the shadows approached Hercules and made a request.
Great hero, said the shadow, you are destined to see the sun. Will you agree to do my duty? I have left my sister Dejanira, whom I did not have time to marry.
Tell me your name and where you come from, - said Hercules.
I am from Calydon, the shadow replied. There they called me Meleager. Hercules, bowing low to the shadow, said:
I heard about you as a boy and always regretted that I could not meet you. Stay calm. I myself will take your sister as a wife.
Cerberus, as befits a dog, was in his place at the gates of Hades, barking at the souls who tried to approach Styx in order to get out into the world. If earlier, when Hercules entered the gate, the dog did not pay attention to the hero, now he attacked him with an evil growl, trying to gnaw through the hero's throat. Hercules grabbed two necks of Cerberus with both hands, and struck a powerful blow on the third head with his forehead. Cerberus wrapped his tail around the legs and torso of the hero, tearing the body with his teeth. But Hercules' fingers continued to tighten, and soon the half-strangled dog went limp and wheezed.
Not allowing Cerberus to recover, Hercules dragged him to the exit. When it began to get light, the dog came to life and, throwing up his head, howled terribly at the unfamiliar sun. Never before has the earth heard such heartbreaking sounds. Poisonous foam fell from the gaping mouths. Wherever even one drop of it fell, poisonous plants grew.
Here are the walls of Mycenae. The city seemed deserted, dead, since already from a distance everyone heard that Hercules was returning with a victory. Eurystheus, looking at Cerberus through the crack in the gate, yelled:
Let him go! Let go!
Hercules did not hesitate. He released the chain on which he led Cerberus, and the faithful dog Hades rushed to his master with huge leaps...
The twelfth feat. Golden apples of the Hesperides.
At the western extremity of the earth, near the Ocean, where the day converged with the Night, the beautiful-voiced nymphs of the Hesperides lived. Their divine singing was heard only by Atlas, holding on his shoulders the vault of heaven and the souls of the dead, sadly descending into the underworld. Nymphs walked in a wonderful garden, where a tree grew, bending heavy branches to the ground. Golden fruits sparkled and hid in their greenery. They gave everyone who touches them immortality and eternal youth.
These are the fruits that Eurystheus ordered to bring, and not in order to be equal to the gods. He hoped that Hercules would not fulfill this assignment.
Throwing a lion's skin over his back, throwing a bow over his shoulder, taking a club, the hero walked briskly to the garden of the Hesperides. He's used to getting the impossible done.
Hercules walked for a long time until he reached the place where heaven and earth converged on Atlanta, as on a giant support. With horror, he looked at the titan holding an incredible weight.
I am Hercules, - the hero answered. - I was ordered to bring three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. I heard that you alone can pick these apples.
Joy flashed in Atlanta's eyes. He was up to something bad.
I can't reach the tree, - Atlas said. - Yes, and my hands, as you can see, are busy. Now, if you hold my burden, I will gladly fulfill your request.
I agree, ”Hercules answered and stood next to the titan, who was many heads taller than him.
Atlas sank, and a monstrous weight fell on the shoulders of Hercules. Sweat covered his forehead and all over his body. Legs went ankle-deep into the ground trampled down by Atlanta. The time it took the giant to get the apples seemed like an eternity to the hero. But Atlant was in no hurry to take back his burden.
If you want, I myself will take the precious apples to Mycenae, ”he suggested to Hercules.
The simple-hearted hero almost agreed, fearing to offend the titan who had rendered him a service, but Athena intervened in time - it was she who taught him to respond with cunning to cunning. Pretending to be delighted at Atlas's offer, Hercules immediately agreed, but asked the titan to hold the vault while he made a lining under his shoulders.
As soon as Atlas, deceived by the feigned joy of Hercules, shouldered the usual burden on his overworked shoulders, the hero immediately raised his club and bow and, ignoring the indignant cries of Atlas, set off on his way back.
Eurystheus did not take the apples of the Hesperides, obtained by Hercules with such labor. After all, he needed not apples, but the death of a hero. Hercules gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to the Hesperides.
This ended the service of Hercules to Eurystheus, and he was able to return to Thebes, where new exploits and new troubles awaited him.