Myths about the heroes of Prometheus summary. The Legend of Prometheus. Another version of the myth

The Greeks have a myth about Prometheus. Prometheus was a titan. At one time, he helped Zeus gain power on Olympus, but then he stole fire from Olympus and gave it to people. For this act, Zeus became very angry with his former ally.

Prometheus fell in love with people, he began to try to make their life easier. He took the gift of foresight from people, leaving it only to a select few, he began to teach people everything that he himself knew. By teaching people to build ships, Prometheus showed them how wide the world is. Prometheus also taught people to write and read. Zeus did not know the secret of Prometheus.

The fact is that in the first years of his reign, Zeus was a very cruel god, he built his power on unquestioning obedience. Everyone was afraid of the god of thunder Zeus.

Prometheus told Zeus that the day would come and the son of Zeus would overthrow his father from Olympus. The Thunderer demanded that the titan tell him the name of the woman from whom he would have a son, but the proud Prometheus refused.

Then the faithful servants of Zeus, Strength and Power, in the Scythian country led Prometheus to the rock. The gloomy god Hephaestus, who was also the son of Zeus, trailed behind Power and Power. Prometheus was his great friend, so Hephaestus suffered very much from what he had to accomplish. And his mission was to shackle Prometheus to a rock, to drive an iron rod into his chest, which would have chained the titan more tightly. Despite the fact that Prometheus was a friend of Hephaestus, fear of his father's rage prevailed in Hephaestus.

The chained titan, when everyone was gone, turned to the ocean, sun and sky with a supplication. He called them to witness what Zeus did to him.

The oceanids, his cousins, arrived at the voice of Prometheus. It hurt them to watch their cousin suffer, but there was nothing they could do. Then the Ocean itself came to Prometheus. He invited Prometheus to yield to Zeus. The ocean said that he himself would immediately set off on a journey to Olympus to Zeus. But the proud titan dissuaded Ocean from this act.

Io, the daughter of the river god Inach, who was turned into a cow by Zeus, came to Prometheus. Io was chased by a gadfly and constantly stung her, so Io's body was bloody. Io, with a cry in her voice, turned to Prometheus: when will my suffering end? The wise titan told her that Io would still go a long way, she would visit many countries, but in the end she would be restored to her appearance. And she will become the mother of a whole line of heroes.

The Thunderer God could not calm down in any way and sent Prometheus even greater suffering. Zeus made the rock, to which the titan Prometheus was chained, collapsed into the abyss. But the titan was not afraid of that either. Then Zeus sent the most terrible torment. Every morning an eagle flew to Prometheus, tore at the titan's flesh and peck at his liver. In the evening, the eagle flew away, and during the night the liver of Prometheus grew again. In the morning the same thing was repeated again.

No matter how painful it was to Prometheus, he did not succumb to torture and still did not give his secret to Zeus. He knew that the time would come, along with which his savior, the greatest hero of all time, would come.

And such a time has come. Hercules came to the aid of Prometheus. He broke the chains holding the titan, pulled the steel bar out of his chest, and killed the eagle that was pecking at his liver. And only then did Prometheus reveal his prediction.

The Titan knew that a mortal would come for him, who would free him. But someone had to go to the underworld of the dead instead of Prometheus. This fate was chosen for himself by the wisest centaur Chiron, to whom Hercules inflicted an incurable wound.

2. The myth of the exploits of Hercules

And who was Hercules? This mythical hero was the son of Zeus and an ordinary woman. In Rome, he is better known as Hercules; in the mythology of other countries, there are also stories about such heroes.

According to legend, a tribe called Teleboi from the Mycenaean king Electrion stole herds. Trying to get them back, all the sons of Electrion died. The king of Mycenae became desperate and said that whoever would return his flocks would receive the beautiful Alcmene as his wife. Soon a man was found who returned the stolen goods. His name was Amphitrion.

But the young couple did not live long in Mycenae. During the wedding feast, Amphitryon killed the king Electrion and was forced to flee to Thebes. Alcmene was eager to take revenge on the TV fighters for the murdered brothers. And her husband went to fulfill her wish. While Amphitryon was not at home, Zeus saw Alcmene. God liked the young woman very much, and he appeared to her at night in the guise of her husband. Alcmene and Amphitryon were to have two boys, one of whom was the son of Zeus. God the Thunderer knew about this and was very proud of it. To all the gods of Olympus, he announced that a glorious hero from the Perseus clan would soon be born, who would later rule the entire Perseus clan.

Zeus's wife, the goddess Hera, was very angry. She, with the help of the goddess of deception Ata, demanded that Zeus swear in his words, which he did. Then Hera made sure that on this day the wife of the Perseid Sfenela had a son. The boy was born very weak, later he became very cowardly. Hera returned to Zeus and recalled his oath. Only now Zeus realized that he was deceived. Then he grabbed the goddess of deception Ata and threw her from Olympus to the people, ordering her never to return. Since then, Ata has lived among people. With the Hero, he entered into another agreement, according to which the son of Zeus gained complete independence from Eurystheus (son of Sfenel) and immortality. For this, he had to perform twelve labors, which Eurystheus would instruct him to accomplish.

Alcmene and Amphitryon soon had two sons: Alcides, who later became known as Hercules, and Iphicles. Hercules grew up as a physically strong child. The goddess Hera, violating the agreement, sent two poisonous snakes to his cradle, but the boy strangled them with ease.

Amphitryon and Alcmene wanted Alcides to grow up comprehensively. They hired a teacher for him, who was Lin, Orpheus's brother. But the boy did not like these activities, and once Lin, angry, hit him, and Hercules hit him back. Lin was killed, and Hercules was tried, but acquitted. Amphitryon sent Hercules to graze the flock.

Many years later. Hercules fell into the service of Eurystheus. Eurystheus himself did not personally meet with the son of God, but passed all orders through his messenger.

The first feat of Hercules. For a short time, Hercules lived a calm and measured life. Eurystheus ordered him to kill the Nemean lion. This lion settled in the vicinity of the city of Nemea and constantly attacked herds and people. Hercules, with great difficulty, but still found the lair of the Nemean lion in the mountains. It was even more difficult for him to wait for him there.

The owner of the lair was a very terrible beast. The Nemean lion was much larger and stronger than any other lion, his parents were Echidna and Typhon. The lion's huge fangs were frightening, and his skin was so strong that three arrows of Hercules flew away from her. But the hero was not frightened, he hit the lion on the head with his club. The beast, not expecting this, fell, and Hercules grabbed him by the neck and strangled him.

Hercules brought the body of his slain enemy to the city of Nemea. He also arranged the Nemean Games in this city, which were held every two years and were dedicated to Zeus. At the time of the Nemean Games, wars stopped throughout Greece.

The second feat of Hercules. The next feat of Hercules was to go to the city of Lerna. In the swamps located near the city, another brainchild of Echidna and Ti-fon, the hydra, settled. Have Lernean hydra there was a snake body and nine dragon heads. One of these heads was immortal. The hero did not go to battle alone. He took with him Iolaus, the son of Iphicles.

Approaching the swamps, Hercules ordered Iolaus to wait for him here, and he went ahead. He fired many arrows at the hydra, which angered her. Having got out of her hiding place, she wanted to straighten up to her full height, but Hercules did not let her do this: he pressed her to the ground and began to chop off the hydra's heads. But all his labors were in vain, because two new ones grew in place of the severed head. Hydra, realizing that she could not defeat Hercules alone, called for help from a huge cancer. Cancer, coming out of the grove, grabbed Hercules by the legs with his claws. The hero could not resist, but Iolaus came to his aid. Iolaus killed the cancer, and then he set fire to the thicket. Hercules continued to chop off the hydra's heads. The hero figured out how to defeat his opponent. He ordered Iolaus to cauterize the neck from which the head had just been cut off. Finally, that one immortal head was also severed.

So that the hydra could never get out again, Hercules buried it, and put a huge rock on the "burial place". Further, the son of Zeus cut into pieces the body of the hydra and lowered his arrows into her poison. Now the arrows of Hercules have become fatal, the wounds from them have become incurable.

The third feat of Hercules. Eurystheus did not allow Hercules to rest for a long time. Immediately after his arrival, Hercules is sent back on the road. On an even more difficult and dangerous mission.

Terrible birds began to nest in the forests of Stymphala. Cruel and bloodthirsty, they attacked both animals and people. Have stimfali birds there were copper claws with which they tore flesh. And their feathers were an even more terrible weapon. The feathers of the Stymphalian birds were made of bronze, they could freely rise upward and begin the "bombardment". The feathers seemed to become arrows, and they struck on the spot.

Zeus ordered the goddess Pallas Athena to help Hercules in every possible way. It was this goddess who gave the son of the god of thunder two copper tympanes, which Hephaestus forged. Hercules stood on a high hill (next to the forest where these birds nested) and, with the help of the gifts of the goddess, made a terrible noise. Frightened birds rose up and went to attack Hercules, but were killed by his deadly arrows. The remaining birds flew to the Black Sea coast and never returned.

The fourth feat of Hercules. The goddess Artemis created a beautiful Kerinean doe, which was sent as punishment to people. This doe destroyed all crops in its path, but it was very beautiful. Her horns were made of gold and her legs were made of copper. The doe never knew fatigue; it was constantly in motion. That is why Eurystheus wanted to get her. He ordered Hercules to get the Kerinean fallow deer and bring it alive.

Hercules searched for her for a long time, and then for a whole year he pursued the deer throughout all the lands. Having reached the Danube, the doe ran in the opposite direction. Hercules, who could not catch her by the river, again set off in pursuit of her. Then he drew his arrow, drew the bowstring and wounded the Kerinean doe in the leg. Then the goddess Artemis immediately appeared. She was very angry with Hercules, said that it was her doe and he did not dare to touch her. Then Hercules knelt before the beautiful goddess and said that he worships all the gods of Olympus, including Artemis, but he does not consider himself equal to the gods, although his father is Zeus. The gods themselves, Hercules said, ordered me to serve Eurystheus and carry out all his orders. It was by his order that he, Hercules, had to catch the Kerinean doe. Artemis, hearing such words from Hercules, had mercy and forgiven him.

The fifth feat of Hercules. A little time passed, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to hit the road again. This time the path of the glorious hero lay in the vicinity of the city of Psofis, where a monstrous boar lived on Mount Erimanth. This boar killed everyone who got in his way.

A friend of Hercules lived not far from this city. This friend's name was Centaur Foul. Foul was so delighted at the appearance of Hercules that he opened a vessel with a wonderful wine for him. The centaur's main mistake was that he opened this vessel without the permission of the other centaurs. The other centaurs, smelling the scent of the fine wine, got angry and attacked Fall's house. Taken by surprise, Hercules began to defend himself. He began to throw flaming brands at the attacking centaurs and put them to flight. Hercules began to chase after them.

The centaurs took refuge in the house of another friend of Hercules - the centaur Chiron. Hercules was in a terrible rage. Therefore, having burst into the dwelling of Chiron, he released one of the arrows, smeared with the poison of the hydra. He wanted to hit the enemy, but hit Chiron. Hercules immediately came to his senses and began to help the centaur wash the wound, although both knew that it was useless. Chiron did not want to suffer for a long time and voluntarily (instead of Prometheus) descended into the kingdom of the dead.

Hercules, angry with himself, immediately went to carry out his task. He found the boar's den and drove it out. For a long time the boar tried to run away from the hero, but got stuck in deep snow. Then Hercules tied him up and took him to Mycenae alive. The king of Mycenae Eurystheus, seeing the boar, was so frightened that he climbed into a bronze vessel.

Sixth feat of Hercules. King Mycenae Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to King Augeas. King Augeas possessed great treasures. He was especially famous for having a large stockyard. Augius had three hundred bulls that had white legs, two hundred red bulls, twelve white bulls (which were dedicated to the god Helios) and one special, most beautiful bull.

Hercules made the following deal with Augeas: he, Hercules, cleans out the whole stockyard in one day, and Augeas gives him a tenth of his flocks. The king thought that it was impossible to do this, that is, to clean out the entire stockyard in one day, and therefore agreed.

Hercules dismantled two walls in the fence that surrounded the stockyard, and then changed the direction of the flow of the waters of two rivers: Alfea and Penae. King Augeas deceived Hercules and did not fulfill his promise. For this, Hercules took revenge on him. When he, Hercules, freed himself from the power of the Mycenaean king, he gathered a huge army and defeated the army of Augean. He himself killed Avgius.

Seventh feat of Hercules. The god Poseidon gave the king of Crete Minos a beautiful bull. The king of Crete was supposed to sacrifice him to Poseidon, but he felt sorry for such a beautiful bull. He, hoping that Poseidon would not solve the deception, sacrificed another bull. Poseidon was simply furious with Minos. He sent him a curse in the form of a bull that came out of the sea. The Cretan bull ran all over the island and destroyed everything in its path. It was for this bull that Eurystheus sent Hercules.

The hero was able to sit on the back of the bull and swam across the sea on it. Arriving in Mycenae, Hercules gave the Cretan bull to Eurystheus. But the Mycenaean king was afraid to keep such a terrible beast in his herd and set him free. The Cretan bull again began to destroy everything in its path. In the end, he reached the Marathon Field, where he was killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Eighth feat of Hercules. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get King Diomedes. The path of Hercules lay through the country ruled by his friend, King Admet.

Hercules did not know what a difficult time he had come for Admet. Once upon a time, Apollo told Admet that his life would be extended if instead of him someone else voluntarily descended into the kingdom of Hades. Sensing the approach of death, Admet began to make an appropriate request to all people. But no one was willing to give his life for his king. Even the elderly parents refused. But there was a woman who agreed. It was the beloved wife of Admet - Alkestida.

Before her death, Alkestida said goodbye to everyone, and Admet, killed by the impending loss, asked her to change her mind. But the woman loved her husband too much. The time came when Alcestis died. Admet ordered everyone to mourn for eight months. And it is at this time that Hercules comes. Admet says nothing to him and arranges a real feast for the hero. But Hercules sees that something is wrong with his friend, and asks to tell everything. Admetus speaks in a confused and unclear way, from which Hercules concludes that a distant relative of Admetus died.

During the feast, Hercules asks for a servant to join him, but he refuses. Noticing the sad expression on the servant's face, Hercules asks to tell about what happened after all.

When Hercules heard the whole truth, he felt very ashamed - while his friend was experiencing the death of his wife, he was feasting in his house. The hero sees only one way to atone for his guilt - to save Alkestida. Hercules secretly makes his way to the tomb with Alkestida and waits there for Thanat, who is about to fly in for his victim. When the god Thanat arrives, Hercules grabs and binds him. The knots were so strong that the god could not loosen. And then Hercules offered to make a deal - in exchange for his freedom, Thanat must return Alkestida. And God agrees.

Thus, Hercules returns happiness and love to the house of his friend Admet.

Ninth feat of Hercules. The ninth task of Hercules was to get the belt of the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. This belt was presented to Hippolyta by the god of war Ares, and he, the belt, liked the daughter of the king of Mycenae, Admete. Hercules gathered a small but strong army. This army included many glorious heroes, one of which was Theseus. The glory of Hercules also reached the lands of the Amazons, so when the heroes came to them, Hippolyta wanted to voluntarily give up her belt.

But this was prevented by Hera. Hercules' stepmother took the form of an Amazon and began to slander those who had arrived: they had arrived, she said, to take Hippolyta hostage. The Amazon believers grabbed their arms. The battle was terrible, but the army of Hercules won. Then Hippolyta exchanged her belt for one of the Amazons, which Hercules captured. Another Amazon, whose name was Antiloa, Hercules gave as a reward to Theseus.

Tenth feat of Hercules. King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to drive the herd of Geryon to him. The hero, without delay, went on a solitary journey. He had to reach the westernmost lands. Hercules traveled a long way to the Ocean, and when he reached it, he wondered how he could reach the island of Erifeia, where Geryon's herds graze. Then the sun god came to his aid. Helios invited Hercules to use his chariot. The delighted hero at the moment reached the desired island.

But the herds were guarded by the two-headed dog Orfo and the giant Eurytion. Hercules easily defeated both. When he drove the flocks to the chariot, Geryon himself appeared. It was a huge giant with three heads, three bodies, six arms and six legs. Geryon threw three spears at once and covered himself with three shields, but Hercules fired his arrow, which hit the giant in the eye, and then the second and third arrows flew. Geryon was defeated.

Having ferried the herd to the other side, Hercules thanked Helios and went home. But when he drove the herd across Italy, one of the cows sailed to Sicily. Hercules left the herd to Hephaestus and went in search of the escaped cow.

King Erica, son of Poseidon, drew attention to this cow. He challenged Hercules to a duel. The winner received a cow. Hercules easily killed Eriks and took the cow to her herd.

But Hera made the herd sick with rabies and scattered. Most of the cows Hercules never found, and those that were found, he drove to Mycenae, where King Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.

Eleventh feat of Hercules. Eurystheus ordered Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Hades, to be brought to him. Hercules had to go down to the kingdom of the dead, where he saved the captive Theseus. Hercules reached the throne of Hades, brother of Zeus, and said why he went down to him. Hades agreed to give up his dog on condition that Hercules finds him and defeats him. The hero searched for the dog for a long time, but still found him. Hercules grabbed the dog by the neck and began to strangle him. The dog gave up.

Hercules took him to Mycenae, but Eurystheus was frightened by the formidable dog and asked Hercules to return Cerberus to Hades, which the hero did.

Twelfth feat of Hercules. The king of Mycenae ordered Hercules to bring him golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. The difficulty was that no one knew the way there. Nobody, except the sea elder Nereus, from whom Hercules learned the way.

While Hercules went for apples, he had to fight with the son of the goddess Gaia Antaeus. The giant invited everyone to fight him and always won. Antaeus killed his opponents, and no one knew the secret of the giant's strength. But Hercules learned this secret: Antaeus was given strength by his mother Gaia, while Hercules simply raised the giant above the ground and strangled him.

Arriving in the garden for apples, Hercules saw the titan Atlas, who held the firmament on his shoulders. Atlas asked Hercules to take his place while he went for apples, and Hercules agreed. Atlas, returning with the apples, decided to get rid of his burden by cunning: he offered Hercules to support the firmament for now, while he would take the apples to Mycenae for now. Hercules figured out this trick and said: "Okay, I agree, but let me first make myself a pillow that I will put on my shoulders." The Titan again took the firmament on his shoulders, and Hercules went home.

3. Mythology of the ancient Slavs

Our ancestors, the ancient Slavs, like all other peoples of the world, had their own idea of ​​the world and the place of man in this world. Myths are primarily an expression of a point of view on many philosophical and eternal problems. Attempts to give a motivated and the only correct answer to these questions have been made and will be made for a long time, until this answer is found.

We inherited from the ancient Slavs many beautiful myths and legends that tell how the ancient gods lived and, of course, how the Universe and man appeared.

The Slavs argued that at the very beginning of time, the whole world was in deep darkness. But then the Golden Egg appeared, from which the Rod hatched - the parent of everything that now exists. With the help of the power of Love (Lada-mother, which Rod himself gave birth to), he managed to destroy his shell. As a result, the Universe appeared with its countless number of stellar worlds, including our earthly world. Here we see some similarities with the Big Bang theory.

The Slavs also referred to the "merits" of the Clan that he separated Reality (ie, the real world) and Novi (ie, the spiritual world), and also separated Truth from Krivda (from falsehood, untruth).

Then Rod took up the fact that he began to appoint the gods to "positions": for example, the thundering Thunder was established in a fiery chariot. Numerous children of the Rod also took their places: the sun god Ra, who, according to legend, came out of the face of his father Rod, took a place in a golden boat, and the Moon in a silver one. Rod gave up from its lips the Spirit of God - the Mother bird, with the help of the Spirit of God Rod then gave birth to the Heavenly Father - Svarog. Svarog was destined to complete the "construction" of the world. When he finished doing this, he became the ruler of the world. Svarog also approved 12 pillars that support the firmament.

Rod also gave birth to the god Barma, who constantly whispered prayers and recounted the Vedas. Then the waters of the World Ocean were created, it was in them that the World Duck appeared, which gave birth to many other gods. Rod gave birth to Cow Zemun and Goat Sedun, who created the Milky Way. Rod whipped up the Milky Way with the Alatyr stone, and from the butter obtained after churning, the Mother of Cheese Earth was created.

The myth of the Alatyr stone. What kind of stone is this, Alatyr? According to ancient Slavic legend, Alatyr appeared at the beginning of time. He lay at the bottom of the Ocean, from where he was raised by the World Duck. Since the stone was very small, she decided to hide it in her beak. But Svarog did not allow this. He spoke the magic word and the stone began to grow. It got bigger and bigger. Eventually the World Duck dropped it. The Alatyr stone fell, continuing to grow.

The Slavs called Alatyr Elbrus, there was also Alatyr in the Urals, the Alatyr Mountains were also called the Altai Mountains. If we assume that Alatyr is still Elbrus, then to some extent its ancient names become clear: Bel-Alabyr, Belaya Gora, Belitsa. The White River flows from Elbrus, and the White City was located at the foot of the mountain. In fact, the Baksan River flows down from Elbrus. Until about IV century. n. NS. it was called Altud, or Alatyrka. The root "alt" means "gold" (hence the word "altyn").

The Alatyr stone has a philosophical meaning, it is neither heavy, nor light, nor large, nor small; it is a sacred stone, it is the concentration of the Knowledge of the Vedas.

Tradition says that Svarog, with his hammer blows on Alatyr, knocked sparks out of him. And from these sparks the gods were born. Mythical creature Kitovras (like the ancient Greek centaurs) built a temple of the Most High on this mountain. It follows that Alatyr is also a stone for sacrifices. It is on it that the Almighty sacrifices himself.

Alatyr, as is known from legend, fell from the sky. The laws of Svarog were carved on it. Thus, this sacred stone "connected" the two worlds: the heavenly and the earthly.

Alatyr had his own mediators, who also acted as his symbols - it was the book of the Vedas that fell from the sky, as well as the magic bird Gamayun.

Alatyr is a triune system: it is the true path (the path of Rule) between Reality and Navu. The Alatyr stone unites all the worlds, therefore it is one.

The legend about Svarog, Semargl and the Great Black Snake. As mentioned above, Svarog hit the Alatyr stone with his hammer and struck sparks from it. From these sparks the gods were born, including the Fiery god Semargl. There was a horse with a golden mane under Semargl. The banner of this god was smoke, and fire became his horse.

A strong wind arose from Semargl - this is how the wind god Stribog was born, who fanned the flames of Svarog and Svarozhich (this was also called Semargl).

The World Duck by this time gave birth to the Great Black Serpent, who began to envy Svarog. The serpent also decided to hit Alatyr with his hammer. But when he hit him, black sparks flew from the stone, from which the forces of evil, evil demons, were born.

Brave Semargl began to fight the Black Serpent, but lost. The Black Serpent captured the entire earth, the Sun went out, complete darkness fell. Semargl did not want to give up, he ascended to heaven to his father Svarog for help. The Black Serpent got scared and decided to fly after the god of fire and secretly enter the heavenly forge of Svarog. The serpent was able to pierce the three heavenly vaults with his tongue, but Svarog and Semargl grabbed him and harnessed him to the plow. Having plowed the whole land, they divided it into two parts: Yav and Nav. In Yavi, they began to rule themselves, and in Navi, the Black Serpent began to rule.

Svarog was worshiped not only by the Slavs. It is known that in India he was called Tvashtar (in Slavic Tvastyr - Creator). Tvashtar was revered in India, his image merged with the image of Lord Shiva himself, and the so-called brahmanists identified the Word of Svarog with Brahma.

A little later, in the popular mind, the place of Svarog and Semargl was taken by Boris-Gleb and Nikita Kozhemyaka. It was said that they were blacksmiths. Their smithy was spread out in the sky for 12 versts, it had 12 doors. They also had 12 assistants.

The legend about the god Perun and the Skiper-Beast. Perun was the god of princes and warriors. He also descended from the god Svarog. According to legend, the mother of Perun was Mother Sva. When Perun was still very young, the evil Skipper-Beast came to earth. He destroyed everything in his path. However, his family was written to die at the hands of Perun. Therefore, the Skipper-Beast kidnapped the baby, put him to sleep with eternal sleep and hid him in a dungeon. Three hundred years have passed. The brothers of Perun decided to find him. To this end, they turned into birds: Veles turned into Sirin's bird, Khors turned into Alkonost, and Stribog became Stratim. For a very long time they were looking for their brother. To find out where he is after all, the gods made a dangerous journey to the very Skipper-Beast. However, he decided to deceive them, but Veles, Khors and Stribog did not succumb to tricks.

After some time, they found Perun. However, it was not easy to revive him - they needed living water. The brothers asked the magic bird of Gamayun to fly after her. They explained to the bird where to find it: near the Ripean Mountains, across the East Sea. Gamayun brought them Surya, that is, living water.

The awakened Perun, straightening his shoulders and straightening his long beard, immediately began to prepare for a campaign against the Skipper-Beast.

Having received the blessing of Mother Lada, Perun went to the Dark Kingdom. It was very difficult to get there, because on the way there were serious, for many insurmountable obstacles.

So, the first obstacle that Perun met was the forest. Mighty roots and branches intertwined together so that no one could pass through this wall. Perun, however, was not afraid and threatened the forest that if he did not part, then he, Perun, would break all the trees into small chips. The forest got scared and let the god of warriors and princes pass. The next obstacle that Perun met was the rivers. The currents in these rivers were very fast and the banks were very steep. From the shore, stones were constantly falling into the water, but Perun ordered the rivers to part. The rivers were very frightened and parted. The third obstacle that Perun met was the steep mountains. Perun ordered them to disperse to the sides, and the mountains obediently let the god through.

Perun continued his campaign. Then Perun met the bird Magur (Indra's bird). A huge bird perched on twelve oak trees, and in its claws it held a wonder-yudo fish-whale. Magur knew how to whistle like a snake and growl like a beast. Leaves fell from the trees at her voice, and the grass pressed to the ground. But this bird turned out to be very weak: Perun shot her right wing, and she, having fallen from her perch, fled away.

Following on, Perun found his own sisters. The Beast Skipper kidnapped them three hundred years ago, and since then they have been herding fire-breathing snakes. The enemy greatly disfigured the beautiful sisters: instead of skin they now had bark, and instead of hair - grass. Perun ordered his sisters (Zhiva, Marena and Lele) to go to the Ripean mountains. There they had to find a milk river, and then a sour cream lake. To get rid of the Skiper-Beast spell, they had to first swim in the milk river, and then in the sour cream lake.

Perun himself continued on his way. He soon found the lair of the Skipper Beast. The monster's palace was made of human bones, and the entire tyn was hung with skulls. The Skipper-Beast was not afraid of Perun, because he did not know that Veles, Khors and Stribog had found their brother and revived him. When Perun killed his enemy, he raised his body high above his head and threw him to the ground. The ground could not stand, and the body of the Skipper-Beast fell to the bottom. And Perun filled up the formed gorge with the Caucasus Mountains.

Perun and Diva. Once, walking in a beautiful garden, Perun met a beautiful girl Diva. Diva was the daughter of the god Dyya, the god of the night sky, and the goddess Livia, the goddess of the moon. Perun at first sight fell in love with the beautiful daughter of the gods, but she was very capricious and unapproachable. Perun did not wait long and invited Diva to play a wedding. But, having heard the proposal of Perun, the girl just burst into tears and ran away. Perun nevertheless decided to achieve his goal and went to the Diva's father - the god of the night sky Dyu, but he did not go empty-handed. Perun wanted to appease the god of the night sky with his gifts. It should be said that Perun nevertheless married his chosen one. And a significant role in this was played by the Pallet Tsar of the Black Sea Serpent.

While Perun was at Dyya, Diva took a liking to the Black Sea Serpent, who was the King of the Pallets. The serpent also did not postpone his matchmaking and immediately went to his chosen one. Having made an offer to Diva, the Black Sea Serpent received a sharp and categorical answer - Diva refused to marry him.

The Black Sea Serpent got angry and, as the legend says, turned into a three-headed serpent. One of his heads showered sparks, the other head "breathed" the icy wind, and the third loudly demanded that Diva be immediately married to him.

The Black Sea Serpent was soon pacified, since the god Dyj flew to the aid of his daughter, together with his future son-in-law Perun. Dyi and Perun turned into huge eagles. They began to fight the Serpent, began to throw lightning at him. At first, the Black Sea Serpent rebuffed its opponents, but then all the Svarozhichi flew to the aid of Dyu and Perun. Then the Black Sea Serpent got very scared and, as the legend says, dived back into the Black Sea.

Then only Diva agreed to marry Perun. They played a magnificent and cheerful wedding and it was then that Veles fell in love with Diva. He began to persuade Diva to run with him. The young wife refused, saying that Veles would anger Rod with this proposal. But much later, Diva still fell in love with Beles. By the way, it will also be said about who the god Veles was. Veles was the son of the Cow Zemun. He was the god of wealth, the god of all livestock. Along with this, he was also assigned the role of a guide to the afterlife. According to another point of view, Velez was the god of wisdom. He was most revered in Southern Russia. He was cast out of heaven. Later, Tempest Yaga, the goddess of death, became his wife. According to legend, her hut stood on the border of two worlds. God Veles played an important role in Sadko's life (this will be discussed below). It should also be said that Veles in Northern Russia was one of the supreme heavenly gods.

Perun and Devan. A daughter was born to Perun and Diva. Legend says that the girl inherited the beauty of her mother and the power of her father. In Roman mythology, she corresponds to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. According to legend, Devan was able to turn into a forest animal, swim in water like a fish, and fly like a Magur bird.

Once Dewana was riding in a clear field, two huge wolves were running in front of her, a bird sat on each shoulder: a falcon on the right, and a gyrfalcon on the left. The god Veles rode after her and tried to draw Devan's attention to himself: he shouted like an animal, whistled like a nightingale. But it was all in vain: she did not even turn in his direction.

The god Dazhbog rode to meet Devan (he was the god of the entire Universe, it was from him that all Russian people descended, it was he who defeated Koshchei). Dazhbog was also the son of Perun, he was delighted to meet Devanoy and hurried to ask her where she was heading. Devan replied that she was going to Iriy (paradise among the ancient Slavs, which was located in the mythical Ripesky mountains and in which Svarog ruled) and that she wanted to take the throne of Svarog. Dazhbog hurried to Perun. He wanted to warn his father about what he wanted to do Devan. Perun, as soon as he heard about it, immediately tried to stop his daughter. The heart of a loving father worried about his daughter. But verbal persuasion did not work on her, and then Perun was forced to fight with his own daughter.

Dewana was armed; since her path was far ahead, she was amused by the fact that she threw her mace hundreds of miles ahead, and then picked it up and threw it forward again.

When the spears and maces of Devan and Perun were broken, then Devan turned into a Lioness, and Perun turned into a Lion. The result of this terrible battle was that the Lion defeated the Lioness. But Devan did not give up and turned into a Magur bird, and Perun became an Eagle. And again Perun defeated his daughter, but Devan continued to resist. She turned into Whitefish. Then Perun called for help Makosh (goddess of fate) and her two assistants: Dolya and Nedolya. Share wove a happy fate, and Nedolya an unhappy one. Makosh, together with his assistants, tied up a frequent seine. It was with his help that Devanu was caught. And only now the unreasonable daughter of Perun realized her mistake. She understood that everyone should take his place, and also bowed with special gratitude to her father, the god Perun. In connection with this myth, the saying comes to mind: "It is not a place that paints a person, but a person is a place."

Sadko. Sadko lived in the most beautiful city of those times - Tsare-grad. This city stood out for its architecture: beautiful and tall temples, wide squares, white stone towers. Sadko was a simple guslar. Once he decided to go down to Ilmen Lake and play there. Sadko played very cheerfully, so cheerfully that he could not even bear it and the god Ilm Ozerny came out to him from Lake Ilmen. Ilm thanked Sadko, said that he had not had such fun for a long time. Ilm told Sadko to argue with all the merchants in the city for all the goods in the shops. According to this dispute, Sadko was supposed to catch a fish with a golden feather in Lake Ilmen. The merchants argued with Sadko: after all, there are no fish with feathers in nature, especially with gold ones. But Ilm Ozerny helped, and Sadko won the argument. Overnight, he turned from a guslar into the richest merchant.

Sadko decided to go into trade. Veles himself helped him in this. In gratitude for this, Sadko built a beautiful temple in honor of Veles in Constantinople. Sadko traveled a lot around the world for his trade affairs. According to legend, he had thirty equipped ships. Sadko visited the paradise island - Berezan, another paradise island Buyan and many other places. He was returning home along the Black Sea, and suddenly a violent storm arose. Only here the sailors remembered that for all their long journey they had never paid tribute to the god Chernomorets. Panic already began to rise on the merchant ships, when everyone saw a miracle: a fiery boat was sailing towards them, and in it were the servants of Chernomorets. When the servants of Chernomorets swam up, they demanded not tribute for themselves, but Sadko himself. Sadko decided to sail with them.

They sailed to Chernomorets itself. It turned out that the Sea King was having a real feast. Therefore, Sadko was ordered to play the harp. Hearing the sounds of gusli, Chernomorets began to dance. Then the god Veles appeared in front of Sadko, who said that the harder Chernomorets danced, the stronger the storm at sea became and the more people died. Then Sadko broke his gusli. Chernomorets thanked the guslar by giving him his daughter Ilmar as his wife. They played a merry wedding, and Sadko and his young wife went to bed. Waking up in the morning, Sadko found that he was lying at the walls of Constantinople, and his ships were approaching the city.

Some historians claim that on the basis of the legend about Sadko, legends about Odysseus and Sinbad the sailor appeared. As for the Greek legend of Odysseus, historians say that he accomplished the same feats as Sadko. Odysseus also sailed in the Black Sea, but then for some reason he was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea.

Veles. According to legend, the god Veles was born several times. The Heavenly Cow Zemun gave birth to him for the first time, and his father was the god Rod. Legend claims that they tried to steal the newborn Veles. This attempt was made by the son of Viy, the god of the underworld, Pan. According to legend, Pan lifted the cradle with the newborn Beles and carried him. Pan carried the baby over the ocean, but suddenly Veles began to grow and grow heavier. In the end, Pan did not restrain him and dropped him down. Veles fell down into the blue waters of the ocean. His cradle nailed to the shores of the island of Tavrida. Here he fought with the Kite and thereby saved the Azovushka, the Swan Princess, who was the spirit of the Sea of ​​Azov. Veles and Azovushka fell in love and got married. According to legend, they began to live in a beautiful palace on the Buyan Island, and next to the palace there were magical oak and spruce trees. This legend was reflected in one of his works by the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Only his hero's name was not Veles, but Guidon. And this work is called "The Tale of Tsar Saltan".

Some time passed, the god Dyi imposed an unbearable tribute on people. Then Veles stood up for the people. He managed to defeat Dyya, as well as destroy his palace, which was entirely built of eagle feathers. Dy himself was thrown to the very bottom - to the underworld, to Viy.

Then people began to glorify their savior Veles, but Dyi was not at Viy for long. He managed to get back to earth and have a feast. This feast was specially conceived. Dy invited Veles to the feast, telling him that he wanted to make up. In fact, Dyi wanted to give Veles a glass of poison. Velez did not suspect a trick and came to the feast. And he drank this glass.

Thus, Veles himself was visiting Via. But the power of love is very great: Azovushka herself descended into the underworld, to Viy. She managed to persuade the underground god to let Veles go. And Viy agreed. Then the lovers Azovushka and Veles went to look for a way out of the numerous underground halls. After some time, they found a gate that led outside, but it turned out that only Azovushka could get out. Velez lost his physical body, and therefore he could only get out by being born again. But even then Azovushka did not leave her beloved - she began to wait with him. Veles died and was born many times, he was also Taurus (that's why the island, to which the cradle with the baby Beles was nailed, was called Taurida; “Taurus” means bull, so Veles was also called Veles Bykovich). Azovushka also died and was born many times.

Veles was also born to the sister of his mother, the Heavenly Cow, Zemun Amelfa. He had a sister named Altynka. As the legend says, when Veles and Altynka were small, Amelfa sent them to learn to read and write. Reading the book, the brother and sister learned that Svarozhichi and Dyevichi once freed from captivity Viy clouds - cows (their mother's sisters). But then it turned out that the Svarozhichi took the whole herd for themselves.

The brother and sister were very indignant and decided to accomplish the feat: to return the clouds - the cows. And they succeeded. All the Svarozhichi were extremely angry at this, and Dazhbog rushed in pursuit. But Veles in his new life learned from other gods to play the harp. When Dazhbog heard Veles playing the psaltery, he immediately forgot why he was catching up with them, and exchanged the whole herd for Veles's psaltery.

Some more time passed. Veles asked Svarog to forge a plow and give him an iron horse. When he got what he wanted, he began to teach people various sciences. Namely: how to plow the land, how to sow, how to reap, how to brew beer, etc. Also, the legend claims that it was Veles who gave people the first laws and the first calendar, and also divided people into estates. Moreover, in educating people, Veles was not ashamed to use his strength, especially he did not like those who did not listen to him.

In the end, people complained to Amelfa about her son, and she called him to her and scolded him. But what child would like to be scolded for what he believes to be a just cause? Therefore, Veles did not pay attention to this complaint, but arranged a feast with his squad. Later, the vigilantes offered to arrange a competition: who is stronger. Gradually, the competitors staged a real battle.

Veles, seeing this, tried to separate his warriors, but then someone hit him in the ear. God got angry, gathered his squad and began to fight with ordinary men. Then the men ran for the second time to complain about Veles Amelfe. Amelfa sent her youngest daughter Altynka for Beles. Veles loved his little sister and therefore followed her to her mother. The mother, realizing that her words did not affect her son, locked him in the cellar. And the battle continued. The men began to defeat the vigilantes. Altynka saw this, she took pity on her brother.

She secretly from her mother ran to the cellar, where Veles was locked, and released her brother. Veles, breaking free, rushed to the aid of his squad. Legend claims that Veles uprooted a century-old elm that grew near the cellar and ran to help with him.

The men lost that battle, obeyed Veles. They brought gold and silver to God, and Veles drank a glass with them and concluded a peace treaty.

As the legend says, when Diva rejected Veles, he went where his eyes were looking. I went to the bank of the Smorodina River. In the forest near this river he met three giants: Dubynya, Gorynya and Usynya. Dubynya uprooted age-old trees; Gorynya moved huge mountains; His son-in-law caught sturgeons in the river with his mustache. Veles made friends with them, and then they went together. So they reached the river bank, and on the other side there is the Buri-Yaga hut. Veles knew that Tempest Yaga was his wife in one of his past lives.

The hostess was not at home, and the travelers settled down for the night. In the morning they left Gorynya alone in the hut, and they themselves went hunting. Storm Yaga flew to her home, saw that there was someone in her hut on chicken legs, and went into the hut. She went into the hut and killed Gorynya. She cooked dinner from his corpse and ate it, and then flew away again on her business.

The hunters returned home in the evening, and Gorynya was killed. His brothers and Veles were very upset, but nothing can be done about it. The next morning, only Dubynya remained in the hut, but the fate of Gorynya also met him. And on the third day, the same fate befell Usynya.

On the fourth day, Veles himself met with Tempest-Yaga, and a battle began between them. Then Tempest Yaga recognized her husband Don in Veles (one of the incarnations of Veles), and Veles recognized her as his ex-wife Yasunya Svyatogorovna in her. They made up and decided to live together as husband and wife.

But such a daughter-in-law did not like Amelfa. She locked Storm Yaga in a bathhouse, where she killed her. She put the body of her daughter-in-law in a coffin-deck, which was allowed to float on the sea. Veles managed to find and revive his wife, but he could not marry her, since the law did not allow marriage without parental blessing.

In general, Veles never sat at home. He wandered around the world, and also fought with the god Dyem, his descendants and those who worshiped them. But the supporters of Dyya did not decrease, and Veles saw the meaning of his struggle in the struggle itself.

But the time came when he decided to ask for the forgiveness of his sins. To do this, he had to get to the Alatyr stone in the Irian garden. He could get to him in two ways. A short way: in just 7 weeks you could get to the place, but you had to sail along the Pa-river and Smorodna, past Buyan. But this road was guarded by giants - they threw stones at passing ships and drowned them. It was necessary to sail along the other road for two hundred years: from one ocean to another, from one sea to another, etc. Therefore, Veles decided to sail a short way. When they swam to the place that the giants guarded, Veles went ashore and found Gorynya on the top of the Sarachinskaya mountain. But before that, he met a black skull. Veles kicked this skull, in response he heard that it was a fellow not weaker than Veles himself. Then he saw the Black Stone. It was written on the stone that the one who will amuse himself and have fun near this stone, namely, jump over this stone, will forever remain here. But Veles was not up to it. He told Goryna why he was going to the Irian Garden. The giant god let him through, taking from Veles a promise to pray for them - who remained here forever.

When Veles reached Alatyr, he began to fervently pray for forgiveness. After his prayer, he bathed in the Milk River, and then went back. The way back again lay past the same Black Stone. Veles went ashore, went up to the stone and began to amuse himself: jump over the stone. Then the prediction, written on the stone, came true: Veles became one of the keepers of the Currant River, as well as the Ra River and the Black Stone itself.

Conclusion

Concept theory modern natural science is a very multifaceted science. It cannot be said that it is independent, since it depends on history, physics, chemistry, biology, biophysics, biochemistry and a number of other sciences. Studying these sciences in aggregate, we also study the theory of the concept of modern natural science.

Famous and outstanding personalities who have made discoveries in the field of physics, chemistry, biology, biophysics, biochemistry and a number of other sciences are the founders of the concept of modern natural science. Therefore, the role of man in science and art should not be belittled; he "acts" on a par with the laws of nature. It is human thought that pushes science forward, to new achievements, helps humanity to develop.

It is the whole set of natural sciences (physics, anthropology, chemistry, astronomy, biology) that provides the most complete scientific picture of the world. In the theory of the concept of modern natural science, three features of science are distinguished:

1) construction of a mathematical object of the object under study, the expression of the phenomenon under investigation in mathematical expression;

2) obtaining empirical material;

3) mental generalization of physical and mathematical types.

Thus, the concept of modern natural science is a whole set of natural sciences that give a person an idea of ​​his origin, structure, his place in the Universe and his cultural and historical development. Studying this course, it is impossible not to get in touch with the secrets of the universe. Many peoples explained the creation of the Universe in their own way, but in these stories there are many similar descriptions.

Ancient Greek mythology contains few references to the opponents of the lord of Olympus. The Greeks believed they were invincible. The only one who dared to contradict the Almighty is the titan Prometheus. A decisive strategist and skillful manipulator managed to deceive the Thunderer. True, the retribution for the deception turned out to be cruel and tedious.

History of creation

The description of the titan himself and his exploits gives researchers a reason to assert that Prometheus is a symbiosis of the beliefs of the Balkan peoples and the Minoan civilization. The image of the titan includes the features of the pre-Greek patron saint of the common people, but at the same time he is endowed with kinship with the Olympic gods.

In the biography of Prometheus, the transformation of the deity is clearly traced. The hero alienates himself from relatives and adheres to new deities, while pitying and reassuring the losing (that is, actually his own) side. Prometheus retains positive qualities in the new system: wisdom, cunning and generosity. But Olympic mythology cannot have two leaders at once, therefore, over time, Prometheus is opposed to Zeus.

It would seem that the Greeks should honor the martyr who represents the titan in myths no less than the Thunderer. But the cult of Prometheus was not widely spread. The altar to the great hero was installed in Athens and the grove of the Academy. The statue of a titan in the city of Panopea is no less famous, but there were no holidays and festivals in honor of the immortal.

The explanation for the phenomenon is simple - in addition to fire, Prometheus gave people the ability to cheat and deceive. The ancient Greeks did not consider such abilities to be glorified.

Prometheus in myths

Prometheus is a member of the second generation of titans. The parents of a brave man are Iapet and Klymene (according to other sources - Themis). Prometheus is not the only son of a famous couple, the titan has brothers: Atlas, Menetius, Epimetheus.

From birth, a powerful god is endowed with the gift of foreseeing the future, therefore, during the war of Zeus (his own cousin) and the titans (the man's siblings) he went over to the side of the Thunderer.

Thanks to the tactical skills and knowledge of Prometheus, the new ruler of Olympus won the centuries-old battle. But the long-awaited event only worsened the relationship between the Thunder God and the devoted titan. From that moment on, the main god stopped trusting his own ally.

Having come to power, Zeus decided to restore the scorched lands and populate the planet with living creatures. The Thunderer entrusted the responsible mission with Prometheus and. The Titan created people from water and mud, and the goddess infused life into the resulting creatures. After the completion of the work, a deplorable sight opened before the eyes of the hero. People did not know how to build houses, did not grow cereals and did not use utensils.

Wanting to help the weak and infirm, Prometheus taught the inhabitants of Greece crafts and brought a gift to mankind - fire, which the man borrowed from the forge of Hephaestus. The new patron taught the ancient people to mine gold, collect medicinal herbs and gave them hope for a brighter future.

Such actions angered and interested the gods. If earlier people were not of particular value, then from that moment the inhabitants of Olympus received gifts and gifts from humanity.

In order to coexist peacefully on the planet, the gods have assembled a council - it is necessary to determine the rights and obligations of people. Prometheus also came to the meeting, suspecting that Zeus was planning to destroy the human race.

One of the questions raised by the gods at the council was sacrifice. Wanting to help people, Prometheus personally killed the bull and cut the carcass into two heaps. In one he folded the meat and covered the pieces with a hide, in the other he put bones and shiny, deliciously smelling fat. Having placed the offerings in front of Zeus, the titan invited the ruler to choose what people would give to the gods.

The myth claims that Zeus understood the cunning trick of Prometheus, but, wanting to besiege and punish the naughty titan, chose bones. For deception, the Thunderer deprived the men of fire from the men under his charge and sent Pandora to earth. The immortal's response was a new abduction of the spark of life. For such a daring offense, Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus Mountains so that the titan could watch how humanity suffers, punished because of the intercession of a stubborn man.

The immortal who rebelled against Zeus did not ask Zeus for pardon. Foreseeing the future, Prometheus loudly announced that the reign of the lord of Olympus would soon end. Impudent prophecies angered the Thunderer, and he sent a mighty eagle to the titan. The bird's duty was to torment a man chained to a rock - every day to peck out a man's liver. During the night, the organ grew again, so the torment continued forever.

Saved the titan from incessant torture. The brave hero killed the bird and destroyed the chains, for which Prometheus showed the man the way to the garden of the Hesperides. True, the killing of the eagle was nevertheless agreed with Zeus, who was tired of constant enmity and wanted to know his own future.

The liberated Prometheus, famous for his wisdom and rationality, went to reconciliation with his cousin. Soon the titan married the oceanid Hesione. Since then, there have been no high-profile disputes between relatives, and Zeus treated people more humanely.

Rumor has it that after a while Prometheus left Olympus and descended to Earth, where he lost his own immortality. The generous and implacable hero was buried in the city of Argos (according to other sources - in Opous).

• There is a theory that the fault of Prometheus' imprisonment was not stubbornness, but Athena. Allegedly, the titan fell in love with the daughter of Zeus, which the latter did not like. The poet Euphorion argued that the anger of Zeus was caused by the genealogy of the man, since the titan is the illegitimate son of Hera and Eurymedon. For the misdemeanor of the Thunderer's wife, Prometheus's father was killed, and his son was tortured.

• During the struggle for the human race, Prometheus managed to become a father twice. The man had a son, Deucalion, and a daughter, Io.
• The meaning of the name Prometheus is forward thinking, predicting.
• The history of the titan is detailed in the cartoon "Prometheus" (1974). The voice of the decisive man was presented by a Soviet actor.

There was a time when man did not exist on earth and only animals inhabited it. The mope was full of fish, the joyful chirping of birds filled the air every time before the morning dawn, the growls and roars of various animals only at night ceased to be heard in the thickets. And there was only one person missing.

And so the titan Prometheus, a descendant of an ancient family of gods, once overthrown by Zeus from Olympus, once descended to the wild, lush green land. He knew that the seeds of heaven were buried in the earth's soil, and he wanted to revive them. Taking a piece of raw clay, he created from it a shape similar to the images of the beautiful gods. To revive this, still lifeless, piece of clay, he took from animals their evil and good feelings and put them in the chest of his creation. Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom, breathed his soul into him.

This is how the first people happened. For a long time they were pitiful and weak, like little children; they did not know how to move their members, the divine spark embedded in them went out, not illuminating anything in the darkness that surrounded them. They opened their eyes, but could not see anything, sounds reached their ear, but did not say anything to them, and so they lived, wandering aimlessly on the ground, as if immersed in a deep sleep. Crafts and arts were unknown to them: they did not know how to hew a stick or a stone, did not know how to build even the most inferior hut, did not know how to burn tiles or mold a pot. For them, there was neither spring nor winter, for they did not know how to distinguish one from the other, and there was no order or meaning in what they did. Like ants, they ran, weak and pitiful, on the ground, constantly colliding with each other.

But Prometheus loved them with the ardent love of the creator for his creation and did not leave without help for a minute. He gradually taught them to build dwellings, yoke animals, sail across seas and rivers in boats. He also taught them the art of counting and observing the movement of heavenly bodies. None of the people knew what kind of food is good and what is bad; he taught them to distinguish useful from harmful, and at the same time showed them several medicinal herbs from which they could make medicine. He revealed to them the properties of gold, iron and silver, and taught them to find them. In a word, he looked after them as if they were children, and gradually taught them everything.

Zeus reigned in heaven at that time with his children, shortly before that overthrew his father Kronos and the old family of gods, to which Prometheus belonged. The young gods looked with surprise and curiosity at the newly appeared inhabitants of the earth. Interested, they began to patronize them, but for this they demanded that they honor and worship them. Wanting to precisely define the rights and responsibilities of people, the gods gathered in a council, which should have been attended by mortals.

Prometheus also came there, afraid that the gods would put too much hard work on the weak human race and give it too little joy. And all his mind, all his cunning, the titan used to outwit the gods and protect people from excessive encroachments on their part.

The bull was brought to the council so that the gods would choose those parts of it that the person was to sacrifice to them. Promethenes stabbed the bull, and, dividing it into pieces, put them in two heaps. One pile, the smaller one, contained meat and tasty edible entrails; from above it was covered with skin and useless parts of a bull. In another pile, larger in size, Prometheus folded the bones, but on the outside he beautifully covered them with a layer of fat. The all-seeing Zeus penetrated the deception and said to the titan with a laugh:

However, you split the bull very unevenly!
- Almighty Zeus! - Prometheus objected with a sly smile, - choose the part that is most pleasing to your heart!

Zeus was enraged at his cunning, but deliberately chose a large pile. Pulling off the layer of fat that covered her. and finding bones under him, he looked menacingly at the titan and said with anger, addressing him:
“However, son of Iapetus, now I can clearly see that you are a great adept at deceiving and cunning!

And the revenge of the Thunderer was not slow to fall on the heads of the people for whom the titan was trying. He refused them the gift that they now needed most of all. He gave them no fire. Then Prometheus came to the rescue again. Zeus' anger did not frighten him, and he, full of love for people, decided to once again stand up to protect them against the gods. He secretly stole a spark of sacred fire from heaven and brought it to people in a reed. And here on the ground the first piece of wood blazed, and a bright warming flame soared up to the sky.

Fierce anger gripped Zeus when he saw a column of smoke rising from the ground, and he invented a terrible punishment for the people and their protector, the titan.

Skilled Hephaestus, at his command, forged a statue of a beautiful girl for him. Athena covered her with a shiny veil and breathed the breath of life into her chest. Aphrodite endowed her with divine beauty, and Hermes gave her the gift of speech. She was given the name Pandora, which means "gifted to all," and Zeus sent her to earth. At the same time, he handed her a golden box, which contained all the misfortunes and diseases that had ever tormented people.

Pandora descended to earth and, wandering aimlessly around it, soon reached the dwelling of the young Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. The Titan, fearing the revenge of the gods, forbade him to accept any gifts from them; but when the beautiful young Pandora appeared with her golden box on the threshold of his hut, he forgot all the instructions of his brother and joyfully greeted her.

At the request of Epimetheus, Pandora opened the brought box, and the host of misfortunes imprisoned there instantly spread throughout the earth. At the very bottom of the vessel was a hope that warms the hearts of people in moments of sorrow, but Pandora, at the sign of the Thunderer, slammed the lid, preventing it from flying out.

And all sorts of disasters quickly filled the earth. Diseases began to rush day and night among people, striking and tormenting them. And no one heard their approach, for Zeus did not give them a voice, and they silently glided along the ground. Violent, debilitating fevers appeared everywhere, and the cold breath of death slowly flying around the earth began to claim thousands of victims ...

With deep bitterness and pain, the son of the titan looked at these calamities, and his proud, rebellious heart invented new plans for revenge on the gods.

But Zeus did not forget him, and soon the wrath of the Thunderer fell upon Prometheus. He gave the stubborn fire god Hephaestus; by order of Zeus, Hephaestus chained the titan to the Caucasian rock with strong chains, and, in addition, nailed it to it with a diamond wedge, driving it into the chest of Prometheus. With reluctance and against his will, Hephaestus carried out the order of Zeus, but he did not dare to disobey the almighty God.

In proud silence, Prometheus endured a terrible excruciating pain, and only when Hephaestus left, loud groans announced the air ... His mother, Themis, came to the sufferer and, comforting him, advised him to reconcile himself to the almighty Zeus. She predicted new executions that the thunderer was preparing, but the titan proudly rejected her proposal.
- The will of Fate must be fulfilled, - he said, - and the husband, who has cognized the power of necessity, will not run away from it!

And Zeus had already sent him a new execution. The mighty eagle of the Thunderer descended to the sufferer and, tearing his body with its claws, began to peck at his liver.

The titan's loud moans echoed over the ground, making everyone who heard them shudder. Having done its bloody deed, the bird flew away, but only in order to return again. The torn liver quickly grew again and on the third day the eagle again descended from heaven and again tormented the healed body.

And so thousands of years passed ... Every third day a gigantic shadow of a bird of prey appeared over the gloomy rock of the Caucasus. Like a stone, she threw herself down on her victim, and loud groans announced to the world about the terrible torments of the fighter for human happiness. By evening, the bird flew away.

Storms and thunderstorms swept over the rock, and powerful thunderclaps, reflected in the mountain gorges, sang a hymn in honor of the proud invincible power of the great sufferer and in honor of his great love for humanity ...

But the stream of passing times brought with it liberation. The greatest hero of antiquity, Hercules, came to the titan rock. With his arrow, not knowing a mistake, he killed the terrible bird at the moment when it descended to the rock: with the blows of the club, he broke the chains, and they fell with a clang at the feet of the sufferer. One link of the chain with a piece of rock remained on Prometheus's hand, and he can never free himself from it. For the unyielding will of Zeus, who decided that Prometheus will be forever linked by an indissoluble chain with the rock of the Caucasus, must come true. And people in memory of this to this day wear rings with stones on their hands.

Ancient Greek myths tell about many gods, heroes and strange creatures, their lives and heroic deeds. Prometheus is one of the most significant heroes, whose fate the readers empathize with and admire his feat for the good of all mankind.

The myth of Prometheus tells of a titan, the king of the Scythians, who was not afraid to challenge the supreme god and protected people. The name of Prometheus means "foreseeing", "thinking before", and reflects his ability to see the future. In the legends, he will remain as a hero who gave people fire and suffered painful punishment for his deed.

Now you can already see both photos and videos about the chained titanium, since the main theme of the myth does not lose its relevance now.

If we talk briefly about the content of the myth, it should be noted that Prometheus, who helped Zeus gain power over the gods, stole fire from Olympus and took it to people. Titan empathized with the common man and wanted to make his life easier. He also taught people, for example, to build ships, write and read. Consequently, the torch from Olympus became not so much a fire that gives warmth, but a light that pushes the darkness over the unknown. Therefore, the phrase "Promethean fire" is now a phraseological unit and means - the striving of the human soul for knowledge, goal achievement, for new scientific discoveries for the benefit of society.

The punishment for treason to Zeus was painful. The supreme god invented the most cruel punishments for the titan. The purpose of the torture was to find out from the seer who would give birth to a son to Zeus, who would overthrow his father. But even the chained titan would not agree to tell his tormentor what he wanted. An eagle flew to Prometheus every morning, pecking out his liver, and the doomed titan could not even resist. The iron rod hammered into his chest by Hephaestus did not allow him to defend himself or hide from the unbearable pain. The liver grew back and the eagle came back again and again.

Although people were worried about their benefactor, only the demigod Hercules was able to free the tormented hero. The shackles were broken, a rod was torn from his chest, the eagle, which had tormented Prometheus for so long, was killed.

Prometheus 1974

The Tale of Prometheus contains basic information about this hero.

A short story about Prometheus

Prometheus is a second generation titanium. Gave people fire and craft

Once people lived in dark caves, did not know fire, did not engage in agriculture and crafts. The grandson of the goddess of the earth, the mighty titan Prometheus, saved people from death, he taught them to build houses, plow fields. Prometheus stole fire from the forge of Hephaestus and brought it to the people.

He also taught people the arts, gave them knowledge, taught them counting, reading and writing. He introduced them to metals, taught them how to extract and process them in the bowels of the earth.

Prometheus humbled a wild bull for mortals and put a yoke on it so that people could use the power of bulls to cultivate their fields. Prometheus harnessed his horse to a chariot and made him obedient to man.

The wise titan built the first ship, equipped it and spread a linen sail on it, so that the ship would quickly carry a man across the boundless sea.

Previously, people did not know medicines, they did not know how to cure diseases, people were defenseless against them, but Prometheus discovered the power of medicines for them, and they humbled diseases with them, He taught them everything that eases the sorrows of life and makes it happier and more joyful.

With this he angered Zeus, for this he was severely punished by the thunderer. He ordered Hephaestus to chain Prometheus to a rock. Every day the eagle pecked out the liver of Prometheus, and during the night it grew back. Prometheus saved his prophetic gift, it was he who predicted to Zeus that the son, born of the goddess Thetis, would deprive the king of Olympus of power. At the will of Zeus, Hercules killed the eagle and freed the sufferer. And Thetis married King Peleus and gave birth to the greatest hero of Greece, Achilles.