Birth and education of Hercules. Myths and legends of Ancient Greece. Life and exploits of Hercules

HERCULES 01 BIRTH AND RAISING

In Mycenae (1), King Electrion ruled. He was stolen by the teleboys (2), under the leadership of the sons of the king Pterelai, the herd. The TV fighters killed the sons of Electrion when they wanted to recapture the stolen goods. Tsar Electrion then announced that he would give the hand of his beautiful daughter Alcmene to the one who would return his flocks and avenge the death of his sons. The hero Amphitryon managed to return the herds to Electrion without a fight, since the king of the teleboys, Pterelai, instructed the king of Elis (3) Polyxenus to guard the stolen herds, and he gave them to Amphitryon. Amphitryon returned to Electrion his herd and received the hand of Alcmene. Amphitryon did not stay long in Mycenae. During a wedding feast, in a dispute over the flocks, Amphitryon killed Electrion, and he and his wife Alcmene had to flee from Mycenae. Alcmene followed her young husband to a foreign land only under the condition that he would take revenge on the sons of Pterelai for the murder of her brothers. Therefore, arriving in Thebes, to the king Creon, with whom Amphitryon found a refuge for himself, he set out with an army against the TV battle. In his absence, Zeus, captivated by the beauty of Alcmene, came to her, taking the form of Amphitryon. Soon Amphitryon returned. And from Zeus and Amphitryon, two twin sons were to be born to Alcmene.

On the day when the great son of Zeus and Alcmene was supposed to be born, the gods gathered on high Olympus. Rejoicing that a son would soon be born to him, the aegis Zeus said to the gods:

Hear, gods and goddesses, what I say to you: my heart commands me to say! A great hero will be born today; he will rule over all his relatives, who descend from my son, the great Perseus.

But the wife of Zeus, the royal Hera, angry that Zeus took the mortal Alcmene as his wife, decided by cunning to deprive the son of Alcmene of power over all the Perseids - she already hated the son of Zeus before birth. Therefore, hiding her cunning in the depths of her heart, Hera said to Zeus:

You are not telling the truth, great thunderer! You will never fulfill your word! Give me the great unbreakable oath of the gods that the one who is born today, the first of the Perseid line, will command his relatives.

The goddess of deception Ata took possession of the mind of Zeus, and, not suspecting the cunning of Hera, the thunderer took an indestructible oath. Hera immediately left the bright Olympus and rushed to Argos on her golden chariot. There she hastened the birth of a son to the godlike wife of the Perseid Sfenela, and on this day a weak, sick child, the son of Sfenela, Eurystheus, was born in the family of Perseus. Hera quickly returned to light Olympus and said to the great cloud-exterminator Zeus:

Oh, Father Zeus throwing lightning, listen to me! Now the son of Eurystheus was born in glorious Argos to the Perseid Sfenelus. He was the first to be born today and must command all the descendants of Perseus.

The great Zeus was saddened, now he only understood all the insidiousness of Hera. He was angry at the goddess of deception Atu, who possessed his mind; in anger, Zeus grabbed her by the hair and threw her from the bright Olympus. The lord of gods and people forbade her to appear on Olympus. Since then, the goddess of deception Ata has lived among people.

Zeus eased the fate of his son. He concluded an indestructible agreement with the Hero that his son would not be under the rule of Eurystheus all his life. He will perform only twelve great deeds on behalf of Eurystheus, and after that he will not only free himself from his power, but even receive immortality. The Thunderer knew that his son would have to overcome many great dangers, so he ordered his beloved daughter Pallas Athena to help Alcmene's son. Then Zeus often had to grieve when he saw how his son was carrying out great labors in the service of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus, but he could not break the oath he had given to Hera.

On the same day with the birth of the son of Sfenel, twins were born to Alcmene: the eldest is the son of Zeus, named Alcides at birth, and the youngest is the son of Amphitryon, named Iphicles. Alcides was the greatest son of Greece. He was later named the soothsayer Pythia Hercules. Under this name he became famous, received immortality and was accepted into the host of the light gods of Olympus.

Hera began to persecute Hercules from the very first day of his life. Upon learning that Hercules was born and lies wrapped in swaddling clothes with her brother Iphicles, she sent two snakes to destroy the newborn hero. It was already night when the snakes crept in, with sparkling eyes, into the rest of Alcmene. They quietly crawled to the cradle where the twins lay, and already wanted, wrapped around the body of little Hercules, to strangle him, when the son of Zeus woke up. He stretched out his little hands to the snakes, grabbed them by the necks and squeezed them with such force that he immediately strangled them. In horror, Alcmene jumped up from her bed; Seeing the snakes in the cradle, the women who were alone cried out loudly. All rushed to the cradle of Alcides. At the cry of the women, Amphitryon came running with a drawn sword. They surrounded the cradle and saw an extraordinary miracle: the little newborn Hercules was holding two huge strangled snakes, which were still weakly writhing in his tiny hands. Struck by the strength of his adopted son, Amphitryon summoned the soothsayer Tiresias and asked him about the fate of the newborn. Then the prophetic elder told how many great deeds Hercules would accomplish, and predicted that he would achieve immortality at the end of his life.

Having learned what great glory awaits the eldest son of Alcmene, Amphitryon gave him an upbringing worthy of a hero. Amphitryon not only cared about the development of the strength of Hercules, he also cared about his education. He was taught to read, write, sing and play the cithara. But Hercules did not show such successes in the sciences and music as he showed in wrestling, archery and the ability to wield weapons. Often the music teacher, brother of Orpheus Lin, had to be angry with his student and even punish him. Once during a lesson, Lin hit Hercules, annoyed by his unwillingness to learn. Angry Hercules grabbed the cithara and hit Lin on the head with it. Young Hercules did not calculate the forces of the blow. The hit of the cithara was so strong that Lin fell dead on the spot. Hercules was called to court for this murder. Justifying himself, the son of Alcmene said:

Indeed, Radamanth, the fairest of the judges, says that anyone who is hit can return blow for blow.

The judges of Hercules were acquitted, but his stepfather Amphitryon, fearing that something like this would not happen yet, sent Hercules into the wooded Kyferon to graze the flocks.

(1) One of the oldest cities in Greece, located in Argolis in the Peloponnese.

(2) A tribe living in the west of central Greece, in Akarnania.

(3) Region in the northwest of the Peloponnese.

Hercules

The birth of a hero
When the time came for Hercules to be born, there was a feast of the gods on Olympus. The ruler of the world Zeus announced to the gods that at this hour on earth among people the greatest hero will be born, who will be gifted with mighty power, accomplish great deeds and will be glorified for all time.

He will be my beloved son, I will give him power over all of Greece, and other heroes will serve him! - said Zeus.

Hera, the wife of Zeus, was offended that Zeus wants to give such power and glory to the son of a mortal woman. Instantly, she had an insidious plan. She told Zeus:

Swear that the one who is the first to be born at this hour will receive power over all of Greece and other heroes will have to serve him!

If Zeus had looked at that moment at his divine wife, he would have understood that she was thinking something unkind, because no one on earth and in heaven could have secrets from the ruler of the world either in deeds or in thoughts. But at that moment Ata, the goddess of deception, distracted his attention, and Zeus did not notice Hera's cunning. He raised his golden cup and said:

I swear! It will be so!

Two women on earth were expecting a child at that hour: in Thebes the queen Alcmene, whom Zeus chose as the mother of the great hero, and in Mycenae, the queen of Argos. Then Hera with her power delayed the birth of one and hastened the appearance of the second. And at first the frail and weak Argos prince Eurystheus was born with a mournful cry, and only after him the son of Alcmene. As soon as Eurystheus was born, Hera announced to Zeus:

Rejoice, Thunderer: now on earth was born the one whom you promised to make the master of all Greece!

Zeus understood Hera's evil trick. His face darkened with anger. All were silent, expecting a thunderstorm.

Then the Thunderer fell upon the goddess of deception Atu. He threw her from Olympus to the ground and forever forbade her to appear among the gods in his bright heavenly home. Since then, the goddess of deception has lived among people on earth and with her evil inventions sows enmity between them.

Then the ruler of the world turned to Hera and said to her:

I know that now you will pursue the son of Alcmene, expose him to many dangers. But he will withstand all trials, overcome all obstacles, and your efforts to prevent him will only increase his fame. He will accomplish feats that no one has performed before him, and will win many glorious victories. And when he finishes his earthly affairs, I will raise him to Olympus, and you yourself will take him into the circle of immortals. And let his name be Hercules, which means "glorified Hero."

Hera wants to destroy Hercules
Amphitryon, king of Thebes, returned from a campaign and rested from military labors. His sharp sword hung peacefully on the wall above the bed. And in his deep shield, as in a cradle, Iphicles and Hercules, two young sons of Alkmena, slept. She covered the shield with a silky curly white ram hide so that the children could sleep softly.

It was a warm, quiet night, and the moon was shining through the half-open door. Everyone was asleep in the palace - the king, and the queen, and the maids, and the soldiers of the king.

At midnight there was a rustle on the stone slabs of the terrace, and two snakes quietly crept into the bedroom from the garden - the evil messengers of the goddess Hera. They crawled past the queen's bed and swung the shield in which the children slept. Round serpentine heads rose above the edge of the shield, serpentine eyes lit up, the whole room filled with a greenish glow. With a slight whistle, snakes swayed over the sleeping children, sticking out their long black tongues.

The boys suddenly woke up. Iphicles was frightened, screamed, threw himself over the edge of the shield and crawled away, crying and calling for his mother. The snakes did not touch him; they crawled into the cradle and wrapped cold slippery rings around little Hercules. Hercules laughed, stretched out his arms, as if playing, and grabbed the snake by the neck. Evil reptiles wriggled in the hands of the child, trying to sting him, and he squeezed them tighter until he strangled them completely. The hiss died down, and the light in the serpentine eyes dimmed.

The cry of Iphicles awakened Alcmene. She jumped out of bed in fear and called for help. Amphitryon grabbed his sword and ran to the queen's room. Servants and soldiers ran up, brought lamps and saw them in the light: little Hercules was lying unharmed in his cradle, holding strangled snakes in his hands, and laughing.

Hercules was not more than a year old at that time,

Choosing a path
When Hercules grew up a little. Amphitrion began to teach him everything that a warrior should be able to and know: shoot a bow, wield a sword, throw a spear, fight on fists, control horses. The king also wanted Hercules to grow up as an enlightened person and know a lot about the arts and sciences. But Hercules was not diligent in this, and often his teachers were unhappy with him.

One day a music teacher got angry with Hercules and hit him. The boy flew into a rage and with such force threw a kifara at the teacher that he fell down dead.

Amphitryon was angry and ordered to judge Hercules. But young Hercules fiercely defended himself:

He hit me first! A blow must be answered with a blow. I didn't want to kill him. I didn’t know that there was such power in my blow.

Then Amphitryon began to fear the power of Hercules and, so that he would not do any more troubles, he sent him to the mountains to graze the flock. There, in the high mountain meadows and in the forest, Hercules spent several years, lived like a simple shepherd, toiling and tempering his health.

By the age of twenty, he returned to Thebes, ready for exploits and eager to test his strength.

Meanwhile, in Mycenae, in Argos, prince Eurystheus was growing up, having outstripped Hercules by birth. He was not gifted with beauty, intelligence, strength, or courage. But according to the word of Zeus, stolen by the Hero, he was supposed to receive power over all Greece, intended for Hercules, and Hercules himself had to serve him.

When Eurystheus was twenty years old, his father died, and Eurystheus became king in Mycenae.

His patroness Hera immediately ordered him to summon Hercules.

The messenger Eurystheus went to Thebes and said that his master demands that Hercules, obeying the will of the gods, appear to serve him. Twelve times Hercules must do what Eurystheus orders him to do - then the king promises to let him go.

Friends of Hercules, with whom he spent days, persuaded him not to obey Eurystheus and stay in Thebes.

Hercules knew that it was impossible to force him to serve Eurystheus, but the thought of the feats that he could accomplish worried him.

In deep thought, full of doubts, he returned home one day and on the road saw two women walking towards him from both sides.

One was dressed in plain white clothes, with a sleek comb. Her eyes looked clearly and directly, all movements were calm and free. Unhurriedly, with dignity, she walked to Hercules and, stopping in front of him, greeted him in a friendly way.

The other woman was very beautiful. A bright, colorful outfit emphasized her beauty. Her face was whitewashed and rouged, her eyebrows were drawn in and her lips were tinted, her hair was braided in many small braids and slyly styled on her head. Gold bracelets tinkled on the woman's bare arms, and she walked as if she were dancing.

She easily ran up to Hercules, took him tenderly by the hands and said, looking into his eyes:

You doubt and reflect, your face is gloomy, your eyebrows are frowned ... Come on, do not bother yourself with thoughts, look at me and smile soon! Life is beautiful, and there are so many joys in it! Live for yourself. Life is a fun holiday, and the only concern is to get as much pleasure as possible: eat deliciously, sleep well, dress up beautifully and not tire yourself with anything. Happy is he who can live his whole life as a guest at a feast: without labor and worries! Come with me and you will be happy!

So spoke the beauty and pulled Hercules along.

Fascinated, embarrassed, he was about to follow her, but another woman stopped him.

Be ashamed! she said contemptuously. “The gods gave you mighty strength, and you want to sit back and feast, using the labors of others like a helpless child. The strong man disposes of life, like a master, he himself makes it beautiful - he fights evil and cleans the earth of monsters and enemies. Strength and intelligence are given to man to fight. The stronger a person is, the more difficult his life is.

Do you hear? - said Hercules, laughing, the beauty. - Follow her, and you will not know joy, you will have neither peace nor rest.

Rest is good after work, - objected the first woman, - peace gives a person a calm conscience. And the greatest joy for the hero is to know that you did something good and did not live on earth in vain.

Listen to me friend! Today is a holiday, tomorrow is a feast - and the soul of a person is emptied, boredom wanders through the house. From plentiful food, the desire to eat disappears, from excess sleep a person becomes relaxed and lethargic. Sad is the fate of a person who all his life is only a guest at someone else's feast. Someday the feast will end, the servants will drive out those who have sat up, and he will be left alone on an empty street. Who will need it, who will take care of it? Only those who worked hard in their youth will earn honor and a carefree old age. In battles, in campaigns, on distant roads, in single combat with monsters, in battles with enemies, the happiness of a hero!

At these words, the woman's face shone with an extraordinary light, and Hercules, leaving the beauty, exclaimed:

Goddess, I am coming for you!

Both women instantly disappeared from the eyes, not even a trace remained on the dusty road, as if Hercules had dreamed it all. But now he hastened home gaily and decisively - he knew what to do.

I'm going to Mycenae, ”he said the next morning to family and friends. - I must fulfill the will of the gods and perform twelve labors, which Eurystheus will require of me.

No one dared to dissuade him, and his closest friend, Iolaus, volunteered to accompany him.

Hercules made himself a bow and arrows, broke a strong club in the forest and went to King Eurystheus.
First feat. Hercules kills the Nemean lion.
For a long time, the inhabitants of Nemea complained that it was impossible to graze cattle in the meadows near the forest, that it was impossible to walk or drive in the forest, and even in houses it was impossible to sleep peacefully: a huge lion lived in the middle of the Nemean forest, and every day either a sheep from the flock, or a child, or the peaceful traveler disappeared from the road without a trace.

Even a brave warrior with a sword and shield did not come out alive from the Nemean forest, because the weapon was powerless against the fierce lion - neither a spear nor arrows could pierce his skin, and a sharp sword did not harm him.

Woe to us! - said the Nemean peasants. - Soon our whole land will be devastated.

The goddess Hera, the conqueror of King Eurystheus, taught him to demand from Hercules to kill the Nemean lion.

Hercules came to Nemea and began to ask the people who lived near the forest whether the lion's lair was far away and how to find it.

But no one wanted to show him the way, no one dared to see him off.

The lion himself will find you, as soon as you enter the forest, - people said and looked at the young hero with pity - they did not believe that he could defeat the terrible beast.

Hercules went to the forest alone. Tall trees surrounded him on all sides, shaking their tops in surprise, bushes clung to him to detain him, birds screamed to frighten him, but he went ahead and looked for traces of the beast on the ground.

He did not walk for long and suddenly he heard a deaf roar of a lion nearby and went straight at him. The lion also sensed the enemy and, roaring so that the whole forest trembled, in several leaps he found himself in front of Hercules. He stopped majestically in front of the hero, wagging his eyes angrily, striking himself with his tail on the sides with force and growling wildly. Hercules was not embarrassed and, raising his bow, quickly shot an arrow directly into the lion's eye. The lion shook his head in annoyance and flicked the arrow away with his paw like a straw. Then, crouching like a cat, he jumped with his paw raised, ready to crush the daredevil. Hercules dodged and with a heavy club with all his might hit the lion on the shaggy head. But the club bounced off without harming the lion, and fell out of the hands of Hercules. The lion shook his head again, yawned long and loudly, and suddenly, as if bored, turned, ran back into the thicket of the forest and disappeared.

Hercules followed him.

Soon he saw the entrance to the cave and, throwing away his bow and arrows, entered it. It was dark in the cave, and he groped his way forward. Suddenly the lion jumped on his chest and wanted to tear him to pieces, but Hercules grabbed the beast's throat with both hands, squeezed its neck, like an iron ring, and strangled it.

The lion's carcass was so large and heavy that Hercules could not lift it.

Then he tore off the lion's skin along with his head, put it on himself and went to Mycenae.

People scattered screaming at the sight of Hercules with a lion's head on his shoulders. King Eurystheus himself hid from him in the far corner of the palace.

So I brought the skin of the Nemean lion to the king, - said Hercules.

But the cowardly Eurystheus was afraid even of a dead lion and did not dare to look at his skin.

Let Hercules take it for himself, - ordered the king.

Thank you, - said Hercules and took the lion's skin with him.

He began to wear it as a cloak, and it covered him well, because neither sword nor arrows could pierce it.

Covering himself with the skin of a Nemean lion, Hercules set off to carry out the second order of King Eurystheus.

Second feat. Hercules destroys the Lernaean hydra.
Not far from Argos was the vast Lernaean swamp.

Here, a clean and fresh spring flowed out of the ground, but a weak stream could not make its way to the river or to the sea and spread around in the lowland. The water stagnated, overgrown with moss and marsh grasses, and the huge valley turned into a swamp. The bright green that always covered the swamp beckoned the weary traveler, but as soon as he stepped onto the green lawn, a nine-headed monster, a hydra, crawled out of the bog with hiss and whistles. She wrapped her snake tail around a man, pulled him into the swamp and devoured him.

In the evening, when the hydra, having had enough, fell asleep, the poisonous breath of its nine mouths rose up in fog over the swamp and poisoned the air. Anyone who breathed this air fell ill, was ill for a long time and died. Therefore, people tried not to approach the swamp and were afraid to settle near this terrible place.

And so King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to destroy the Lernean hydra.

Hercules went to Lerna in a chariot driven by his friend Iolaus. Having reached the swamp, Hercules left Iolaus with the chariot by the road, and he himself lit a torch and bravely walked towards the swamp.

Hydra at that hour was full and dozing. Hercules began to shoot burning arrows at her, lighting their ends with a torch. Having teased the hydra, he made her crawl out of the swamp. With a cold, slippery tail, she twisted the left leg of Hercules, and all nine heads hissed around him. Hercules wrapped himself more tightly in a lion's skin, a reliable protector from both animal teeth and a snake's sting, took out his sword and began to chop one after another the terrible heads of the hydra.

But as soon as black blood flowed from the wound, two others grew in place of the severed head, even angrier, even more terrible. Soon Hercules was surrounded like a living bush of hissing heads, and they all reached out to him, opening their bloody mouths.

He could not budge - his leg was in the ring of a snake's tail, his hand was tired of chopping off more and more heads of the hydra. Suddenly he felt pain in his right leg and, bending down, saw a cancer, which dug into his heel with a claw.

Hercules laughed:

Two against one? It's not fair! The fight is unequal. Now I have the right to call a friend for help!

And he called Iolaus, who was waiting by the chariot. Hercules gave him a torch and ordered him to burn the wound with fire as soon as the sword took off the hydra's head. And where the fire touched the monster, new heads no longer grew. Soon the last head of the hydra rolled into the swamp. But she did not want to die even after she was severed, and, lying on the grass covered in blood, turned her evil eyes and opened her mouth in silent rage. Hercules had to take her out of the swamp and bury her in the ground so that she would not harm anyone.

In the black blood of the Lernaean hydra, Hercules moistened the ends of his arrows, and they became deadly - no power could heal the one who was struck by such an arrow.

Third feat. Hercules catches up with the Kerinean doe.
Lumberjacks, gathering brushwood in the woods on the slopes of the Arcadian mountains, once saw a beautiful fallow deer with golden horns. She stood high on a steep cliff and, at the sight of people, rushed away like a whirlwind, only the branches of the trees swayed and silver hooves rang over the stones.

The rumor about the wonderful fallow deer spread through the villages, and many hunters went to look for it more than once. But, barely seeing them, the doe instantly hid in the mountain forest. The forest was dense, impassable, the mountain seemed inaccessible to people. The hunters returned to the valley and said that there was no person in the world who could track down and catch up with this doe.

For the third time, Eurystheus called Hercules and ordered him to catch the Kerinean doe and bring it alive to Mycenae.

Hercules with his friend Iolaus went to the Arcadian mountains. He left his bow and poison arrows at home, and instead of weapons he took with him an ax, a shovel and a knife.

They cut openings in the dense forest, knocked steps on rocky steep slopes, trampled paths in the tall grass. Having cut down trees, the heroes threw them with a bridge over streams and mountain rivers and tied them with branches and strong bark. On these suspension bridges they crossed the abyss, along the steps and paths they climbed higher and higher into the mountains. Sometimes the doe would appear in front of them for a moment; shining with golden horns and as if beckoning them to follow her, she went farther and farther. Hercules and Iolaus patiently followed in her footsteps. They passed over mountain peaks covered with snow, descended into gorges, wade streams and rivers. Snow avalanches, sliding along the steep slopes, showered them with icy dust, mountain thunderstorms rushed over them with a roar. They met the sunrise on the peaks, spent the night in the hollows of large trees and in dense bushes, ate berries, nuts, sweet roots, drank water from mountain springs - and tirelessly, hour after hour, climbed higher and higher and conquered the inaccessible mountains.

The doe more and more often showed herself in front of them, as if she was beginning to get used to people - she stopped and looked at them without fear and ran away not as swiftly as before. Now it would have been easy to kill her, but they had to take the doe alive - that was the order of the king.

Finally they managed to drive the fallow deer to the top and bypass. Iolaus was waiting for her on a narrow path above the abyss. Seeing him, the doe turned, wanted to run back, but then Hercules blocked her path. She darted about, not knowing where to run, and suddenly froze on the edge of the abyss. At that moment, Hercules threw a rope woven from creeping plants over her horns and held tight until Iolaus approached. Together they led the caught deer along the already beaten path down the mountain.

Suddenly, at a bend in the path, in the forest, a beautiful woman in short, light clothes, with a hunting bow in her hands, with a quiver over her shoulders, appeared in front of them. Her face was angry, her eyes sparkled. With a commanding gesture, she stopped the hunters, and the doe immediately ran up to her and began rubbing her head against her hands.

The young hunter stroked her and said:

O greedy people! Are the roads and fields not enough for you in the wide valleys below? Why did you break the silence of my mountain forest? Never before has a human foot set foot here ... Now you have shown the way to people here, and an ax and a shovel will rumble on my reserved heights, and the arrows of hunters will scare away my animals and birds. Why did you do this?

Hercules recognized the daughter of Zeus - Artemis the hunter.

Don't be angry with us, goddess! - he answered her. - We came here at the behest of your father, the great Zeus, who sent us to serve people. We have paved the way to the peaks, because the whole earth must become the property of man. But only the brave and the strong will be able to climb here. Let the brave follow us to these heights. It is beautiful here, here you can breathe freely, and from here you can see everything around. Here the air is clean, and the person himself, having climbed here, becomes cleaner and better.

The goddess's gaze softened. She patted the beautiful doe with her hand and said to her:

Go! You will be back to me soon! - and disappeared between the trees.

Their return journey was faster and easier, because they followed their own footsteps and notches. They soon descended to the foot of the mountain. Hercules went to Mycenae and brought a wonderful doe to the palace of Eurystheus.

But the king, fearing Artemis, gave the doe to Hercules. Hercules remembered the words of the beautiful hunter: "You will return to me!" To fulfill the goddess's wish, he returned the doe to Artemis.

Fourth feat. Hercules rid the earth of the Erimanth boar.
And in summer and autumn, when vegetables and bread ripen in the fields, the peasants who lived near Mount Erimanth looked anxiously around their fields in the morning and every time here and there they found traces of terrible devastation: the earth was dug, crops trampled, uprooted and many fruits needed by people were crushed without benefit by someone's brute force.

People said that a wild boar lived in an oak grove on the mountain slopes, which at night came down from the mountain and devastated the fields. But his fangs and hooves were so terrible that no one dared to go into the forest and kill the evil predator.

King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go hunting for the Erymanthian boar.

Surprised that until then there was no well-aimed shooter in the village, because killing the boar was not such a difficult matter, the hero went alone to Mount Erymanth.

Climbing up the steep slope, he heard a horse stomp, and suddenly a herd of wild horses rushed past him into the valley. But, looking more closely, Hercules saw that these were not horses. As if half a man had grown together with half a horse - on a horse rump a human body with a head and arms.

From a distance it seemed that the fierce horsemen were racing on fast horses.

Centaurs! - Hercules exclaimed.

Like a storm, the centaurs swept past Hercules, breaking everything in their path, and rushed straight to the village located under the mountain.

"This is worse than a wild boar!" - thought Hercules and now understood why Eurystheus sent him here to hunt.

Hercules boldly approached him and said in a friendly manner:

I am the royal hunter. The king ordered me to track down and kill the wild boar that lives here on the mountain. Can you show me how to find it?

The centaur answered willingly:

This boar is very annoying for us, the inhabitants of this forest. Because of him, I must guard the cave so that he does not empty our dwelling. It's good if you kill him. I will show you the trail of him. But first, be my guest.

And he led Hercules into the cave, lit a fire in the hearth and began to treat the hunter with meat and fruits.

I used to drink wine with food, - said Hercules, - but you probably have no wine.

No matter how it is! shouted the centaur boastfully. - Dionysus himself, the god of wine and fun, recently gave us a whole barrel of young wine. So be it, I will treat you, but let my comrades not know about it.

And he opened the coveted barrel, scooped up wine for himself and Hercules, and they drank and rejoiced.

Suddenly the sound of hooves was heard near the cave - the smell of wine attracted the centaurs, and they galloped away, tormented by thirst. Upon learning that someone else had entered their home and was drinking their wine, they became furious and with wild cries approached the cave.

Hercules from the depths of the cave began to throw burning brands from the hearth at them. Frightened by the fire, they fled.

Hercules got out of the cave and wanted to go into the forest. But the centaurs guarded him and, seeing that he was alone, took courage and attacked him again. Then he began to shoot arrows at them, poisoned by the blood of the Lernaean hydra, and one by one they fell to the ground dead.

At this time, a young centaur came out of the cave, treating Hercules, and looked with surprise at the corpses of centaurs lying around.

How! Does this little piece of wood strike you to death? - he asked. - Can this thin stick kill?

And he took out an arrow from the body of one of the dead.

Carefully! - shouted Hercules.

But it was too late: the centaur dropped the arrow from his hands, and it stuck in his leg. Without gasping, without shouting, he fell down dead.

Hercules carried the bodies of the killed centaurs into the cave, filled it with a large stone, like a tomb, and went on.

He easily tracked down a boar in the forest, wounded him in the leg, tied him up and, having loaded him on his shoulders, returned to Mycenae and appeared at the palace of Eurystheus.

The wild boar roared throughout the palace, and King Eurystheus, out of fear, climbed into a large copper vat for water that stood in the courtyard.
Hercules still tracked him down. But as soon as the king saw the terrible face of a boar over the edge of the vat, he waved his hands and shouted in a thin voice:

Go away, go away soon!

Hercules laughed, left and ordered to slaughter the boar and arrange a treat for the people.

Fifth feat. Hercules scatters the Stymphalian birds.
The god of war Ares had a flock of wild birds. Their claws and beaks were iron, and their copper feathers, falling out of the body, flew down with terrible force and killed like arrows. The birds lived in the mountains, in the depths of the gorge near Lake Stimfalskogo. The waters from this lake flowed into an underground cave and sent the stream deep into the earth, into the kingdom of the dead. The lake was uninhabited and surrounded by bare rocks. Only on the island in the middle of the lake did a tall reed grow, and the birds of the god of war lived in it. They ate human flesh and flew out in a flock on a bloody hunt.

King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to Lake Stimphal and drive the birds of Ares far beyond the sea.

Hercules called Iolaus with him, took his bow with poisonous arrows and went to the mountains. For a long time they wandered along the steep slopes, finally came to a gorge, at the bottom of which Stimfalskoye Lake lay.

Everything around was deserted and wild: bare stones, no grass, no flower, no tree. The wind did not stir the smooth surface of the lake with ripples, the fish did not splash out of the water, the lizard did not bask in the sun between the stones. Dead silence stood over the lake. Hercules and Polay sat down on stones near the water and looked at the motionless lake. Melancholy attacked them, fatigue constrained the body, it became difficult to breathe.

Something is wrong with me, - Hercules said to his friend, - it's hard to breathe, my heart stops, and the bow falls out of my hands ...

A magical dream took possession of them.

Then huge red birds rose from the islet in the middle of the lake with a ringing one after another. In a line, one after another, they circled over the lake, over the gorge, and soon, like a cloud, covered the entire palate, and a crimson shadow fell on the water.

Suddenly something fell near the sleeping Hercules, rattling against the stones, and he woke up.

Near him lay a simple wooden rattle, with which the peasants chase the birds out of their orchards. She was sent to the hero by the goddess Athena, a wise mentor and helper of people.

Hercules jumped up, woke Iolaus, gave him a rattle and told him to shake it. It crackled and thundered over the sleeping lake, and the mountain echo multiplied the noise a hundredfold. Frightened by the unusual sounds, the birds rushed from side to side and scattered in disarray, dropping their feathers. Hercules grabbed a bow and shot arrow after arrow at the birds. The killed birds fell into the lake, and the heavy plumage pulled them to the bottom.

Covering himself with the skin of the Nemean lion, which no arrows could pierce, Hercules fiercely struck the terrible Stimphalian birds. Many of them drowned in the black waters of the lake. Now it was no longer calm: the water in it swirled and bubbled, white steam rose to the sky.

The surviving birds rose high above the lake, gathered in a flock and flew away. They left Greece and sank far, far away, on a deserted island in a stormy sea.

Hurry away from here, - said Hercules, - until we were seized by a death dream. - And, having thrown Athena's rattle into the boiling water, the friends left the dead lake.

Sixth feat. Hercules cleans the Augean stables.
The king of Elis, Augeas, was indescribably rich. Countless herds of his oxen and sheep and herds of horses grazed in the fertile valley of the Alphea River. He had three hundred horses with feet as white as snow, two hundred as red as copper; twelve horses were all white as swans, and one of them had a star in its forehead.

Augius had so many cattle that the servants did not have time to clean the barns and stables, and for many years manure accumulated in them to the very roofs.

King Eurystheus, wanting to make Augeas happy and humiliate Hercules, sent the hero to clean the Augean stables.

Hercules came to Elis and said to Augius:

If you give me a tenth of your horses, I will clear the stables in one day.
Augeas laughed: he thought they could not be cleansed at all. Therefore, the king said to Hercules:

I will give you a tenth of my horses if you cleanse my stables one day.

Then Hercules demanded that they give him a shovel, and Augeas, grinning, ordered to bring it to the hero.

How long will you have to work with this shovel! - he said.

Only one day, - said Hercules and went to the coast of Alpheus.

He worked diligently with a shovel for half a day. The earth took off from under it and lay down as a high shaft. Hercules dammed the river bed and took it straight to the royal stables. The waters of Alfey quickly flowed through them, taking with them manure, stalls, feeders, even dilapidated walls.

Leaning on a shovel, Hercules watched how quickly the river worked, and only sometimes came to her aid. By sunset, the stables were cleared.

Do not seek, king, - said Hercules, - I cleared your stables not only from manure, but also from everything that was old and rotted long ago. I have done more than I promised. Now you give me what you promised.

But the greedy Augeas argued, began to scold and refused to give Hercules horses. Then Hercules flew into a rage, entered into battle with Avgius and killed him in a duel.
Seventh feat. Hercules tames the Cretan bull.
Six times Hercules has already appeared in Mycenae and, by order of King Eurystheus, set off on a dangerous and difficult path. He did six glorious deeds: he killed the Nemean lion, destroyed the Lernaean hydra, caught the Kerinean doe, brought the Erymanthian boar to Mycenae, drove the Stimphalian birds out of Greece and in one day cleared the Augean stables. And so again Eurystheus summoned the hero and ordered him to sail across the sea to the island of Crete and tame the ferocious bull, which none of the Cretans could cope with.

This bull once sailed to the island of Crete, and the Cretan king Minos promised the god of the seas Poseidon to sacrifice the bull to him. But Minos liked the snow-white bull with golden horns so much that the king kept it for himself, and sacrificed another bull to Poseidon. The god of the sea became angry and sent fury to the handsome bull. The bull flew into a rage, escaped from the stall, fled from the royal court and became a thunderstorm for the entire island.

Hercules went to the seashore, boarded a Phoenician ship and sailed to Crete. A storm came, carried the ship along the stormy sea for a long time, finally crashed it, and the waves threw the wreckage onto the shore of a foreign, unfamiliar country.

Here trees grew that looked like bunches of large feathers: thick stems emerged right from the trunk, on which leaves swayed, so large that a person could hide under everyone.

Hercules and his surviving companions rested in the shade of these trees and walked along the coast along the hot yellow sand. They walked for a long time and finally came to a large city by the sea. There were many ships in the harbor, and high stone palaces and temples stood on the shore.

You are in Egypt, - said the inhabitants, hurrying to the temple for the holiday, - and Egypt is ruled by the great Buziris, a mighty and formidable king.

Hercules asked to take them to the king. But as soon as the strangers entered the palace, they were seized and chained.

You came on time, - the cruel ruler of Egypt told them, - today is a holiday in Egypt, and I will sacrifice you to the gods.

The gods do not accept human sacrifice, - said Hercules.

But Buziris laughed and answered:

But we will check! You will be the first to be stabbed by the priest - let's see if you are pleasing to the gods. - And he ordered to lead the captives to a large temple in the middle of the city.

Hercules and his companions were brought to a temple full of people. But as soon as they lit the fire at the altar and the old priest took his sharp and long knife, Hercules strained his muscles with all his might and broke the chain with which he was tied. With a piece of chain, he struck the priest and killed him. Then, in anger, he threw away the royal guard, took away the sword from Buziris and stabbed the evil king. Struck by the strength of the hero, the Egyptians did not dare to touch him. He freed his comrades and hastened with them to the seashore. There they found a ship that could take them to Crete.

They quickly reached the shores of Crete. Hercules said goodbye to his companions and walked alone along the coast. Soon he saw a mad bull. Rattling with a broken chain and growling ferociously, with bloodshot eyes, a bull rushed at him. White foam fell in clumps from the open mouth. Hercules hid behind a tree and waited. The bull stopped, bent his head and began to dig the ground with his feet. Then Hercules grabbed the end of the chain, dragging along the ground, and jumped onto the bull's back. The bull trembled, began kicking, trying to throw off an unexpected burden from his back. But Hercules wrapped a chain around his horns and held it tightly. The bull roared pitifully and rushed to the sea. He threw himself into the waves and swam. In the sea, the rage left him, he became as humble as a working ox in the field, and obediently sailed with Hercules to Mycenae.

Hercules himself took him to the cattle yard of King Eurystheus. But the shepherds were afraid of the fierce bull and could not keep him in the stable. He ran away from them and began to walk throughout the Peloponnese, not giving in to anyone, until he was caught by Hercules' friend Theseus and sacrificed to the gods.

Eighth feat. Hercules gets the horses of Diomedes.
Again Eurystheus ordered Hercules to set off on a long journey - to get the horses of the Thracian king Diomedes.

For the first time during his service to the king, Hercules was embarrassed. He was not afraid of a lion, or a hydra, or long wanderings, or hard work, or a bloody battle, or human treachery. But the business to which the king was now sending him seemed to him unworthy of a hero. To get from another that which belongs to him by right meant to take away by force or steal away, and Hercules did not want to be either a robber or a thief.

With a heavy heart, he set off on the road, deciding that the path to Thrace was long and he would have time to think about what to do.

He came to Thessaly, to the city of Fera, where the happy and good king Admet, the favorite of the god Apollo, reigned.

The god of light once committed murder in anger, and for this Zeus ordered him to serve man for a whole year.

Apollo came to King Admet and grazed his flocks for a whole year. And happiness came to Admet: the land gave him a generous harvest, his flocks multiplied without number, peace and contentment reigned in Ferah and in the king's palace.

But better than wealth and more expensive than prosperity was the young queen Alkesta, whom Apollo helped Admetus get for his wife.

Her father, Pelius, announced that he would give his daughter only to someone who would be able to harness a lion and a bear together in a chariot and come to them for a bride. Apollo tamed the wild beasts, they obediently harnessed to Admet's chariot and took him to Alcesta's father. Alkesta became the wife of Admet; they lived happily and had children.

When the service life of Apollo Admetus ended, the god of light, leaving, wanted to do something else good for the king. At the request of Apollo, Moira, the goddess of fate, who held the thread of every human life in their hands, agreed to postpone Admet's death, if at the hour of his death there is a person who wants to replace him.

And now the hour has come when the lord of the kingdom of the dead sent Death for Admet, and the Moiraes asked:

Who wants to replace Admet and die instead?

Neither friends, nor faithful servants, nor even the old parents of the king - no one wanted to part with his life and die for another. Then the beautiful Alkesta said to her husband:

My dear, I will gladly go to my death for you. All the same, I can't live in the world without you. Let me die, you live. I only ask you about one thing: do not bring another woman into our house. Promise me this and I will die in peace.

Admet promised never to bring another wife into the house.

Alkesta put on clean clothes, lay down on the bed and waited for Death, which was to fly for her. The children, her husband and all those close to her stood silently around her and looked at her sadly for the last time. And now a black shadow fell on the queen's face, her eyes closed, her breath stopped.

Crying and groans filled the palace and the city. The people of Fehr cut their hair and the manes of their horses short as a sign of sadness. A magnificent tomb was built outside the city and the day of the funeral was appointed.

Just at this time, Hercules, knowing nothing, came to the palace of Admet and, like a traveler, asked to spend the night. Admet, although he was saddened by the death of his wife, could not deny Hercules hospitality; kindly received him, ordered him to prepare a room in the palace and treat the hero well, and he himself went to Alkesta's funeral.

Tired Hercules rested with pleasure in a cool and clean room, and having had enough and drinking wine, he cheered up, began to make noise and was annoyed that he did not have an interlocutor at the table.

The old servant who served him the food looked at him sternly and could not hide his sadness.

Hercules was angered by his gloomy appearance.

Why are you looking at me so sternly? - he asked. - Your master has accepted me as a friend, and a good servant greets those whom the owner kindly welcomes. Come to me, have a drink with me so that I won't get bored drinking alone. Drink with me and have fun!

But the old servant shook his head reproachfully and said:

It is not good to laugh and drink when there is grief in the house.

Grief? - asked the surprised Hercules. - What happened in this happy house?

And he heard in response that Admet's wife had died and at that hour they were burying her.

Hercules' heart flared up, and he decided on an unprecedented business.

He quickly threw his cloak over his shoulders and hurried to the tomb of the queen. He stopped at a distance and waited.

When the relatives, friends and fellow citizens of poor Alkesta dispersed in sorrow, Hercules went to the grave and hid behind a tree at the entrance. And as soon as Death appeared at the grave to carry the pale shadow of the deceased to the underworld, Hercules emerged from an ambush and rushed into battle with Death. With such force he attacked her that Death was embarrassed and dropped his sword to the ground. Hercules grabbed Death by the shoulders with his mighty hands and did not let her go until she agreed to give him Alcesta.

Admet sat alone in his empty house. Suddenly Hercules entered, noisily and cheerfully, leading a woman under a long veil.

Enough, Admet, - said Hercules to the king, - why do you grieve? Console yourself! Look, I brought this woman to you. I got it for you in a duel. She will comfort you. Cheer up and be happy as before!

Admet answered Hercules:

I promised my beloved that I would never take another wife for myself. Get this woman out of my house: I don't want to look at her.

Then Hercules took off the veil from the woman, and Admet saw Alcesta. He rushed to her and stopped in a terrible fright: after all, she died, he buried her himself!

Do not be afraid, - Hercules reassured him, - she is alive, Death gave her to me, and I am returning your friend to you. Live and be happy for many years!

The king and queen happily threw themselves into each other's arms.

The wonderful news instantly spread throughout the palace and throughout the city.

Gaiety gave way to sadness, the inhabitants of Fehr covered their shaved heads, luxuriously decorated their horses and made a merry feast.

When he reached the sea, he boarded a ship and sailed to Thrace. Sailors who wander around the world and know more than other people told Hercules everything they knew about the Thracian king Diomedes and his horses.

This king was fierce and cruel and did not like foreigners. He built a fortress by the sea with high stone walls and a deep moat around and lived there, surrounded by his soldiers.

When an unfamiliar ship was shown off the coast, Diomedes sent his servants to invite visitors to visit. He treated them to his palace and boasted of his horses to them.

King Diomedes had four wild horses. No one could bridle them or harness them to a chariot. They were chained to the stalls with iron chains. Fire and smoke flew out of their mouths. They ate not grass, not grain, but fresh human meat. But Diomedes did not tell the guests this. When the guests expressed a desire to look at the wonderful horses, the king took the strangers to the stable and gave them to his favorites to eat.

This is what the sailors told Hercules.

Now all the doubts of Hercules were dispelled: to rid the world of the terrible monster horses and the cruel king Diomedes was a deed worthy of a hero.

Sailing to the Thracian land, Hercules gathered the most daring of the sailors and, going ashore, demanded from King Diomedes his horses. The king sent an army against Hercules, but Hercules and his comrades defeated him, killed Diomedes and gave the body of the evil king to be torn apart by man-eating horses.
Then he loaded the horses onto a ship and took them to King Eurystheus. Eurystheus ordered the horses to be taken to Arcadia, to the Lyceum mountains, and released into the forest. There they were torn to pieces by wild animals.

Ninth feat. Hercules conquers Hippolyta's belt.
King Eurystheus had a young daughter, Admet. One day she came to her father and said:

They say there is a kingdom far to the east where women rule. There, a woman is the head and support of the family and the mistress in the house. Women there rule cities, trade and judge, make sacrifices to the gods in temples and decide the affairs of the state. Armed, they ride on war horses and bravely fight the enemies.

They call themselves Amazons, despise men, and boast of their invincibility. My patroness Hera, the wife of the great Zeus, revealed to me that all the strength of the warlike Amazons is in a leather belt, which the god of war Ares gave to Queen Hippolyta. As long as she wears this belt, no one can defeat her, and with her, all the Amazons. Father! I want to be invincible, like this woman, and to reign, not sharing power with anyone. I want to get Hippolyta's belt!

The king ordered Hercules to go to the country of the Amazons and get the belt of Queen Hippolyta.

The kingdom of the Amazons was far to the east, in Asia Minor.

Hercules equipped the ship, invited his faithful friends with him - Iolaus, the Athenian prince Theseus and others. They sailed the way that was open to all seafarers by the brave Argonauts. They sailed for a long time; finally, along the stormy Black Sea, they sailed to the river Fermodont, went upstream and reached the city of Themiscira, the capital of the Amazons.

There were armed women at the gate; they wore leather helmets, short shirts and tight, long ankle-length pants; the Amazons had shields in the shape of the moon over their shoulders, and in their hands they held axes with two blades.

The guards did not let Hercules and his comrades into the city, and they were forced to settle on the banks of the river that flowed near the city wall.

Soon Queen Hippolyta herself rode on a magnificent horse with a detachment of armed girls. Among them was the beautiful Antiope, the beloved friend of the queen.

Her beauty once nearly killed the Amazons. For a long time the Amazons had been planning a campaign to Greece, and now, having crossed the sea, they appeared under the walls of Athens and laid siege to the beautiful city. The Athenians were not ready for a siege. A little more, and the city would be in the hands of warlike women. But among the Athenian warriors, Antiope saw Prince Theseus, and love for him flared up in her heart. Theseus, too, took a fancy to the beautiful Amazon; with her help, he hoped to save his hometown. At night, he made a secret visit to the Amazon camp to see Antiope.

Hippolyta guessed about the love of her friend and, fearing treason, ordered to immediately lift the siege. The Amazons retreated from Athens and returned to their country. Antiope was separated from Theseus. But she did not forget him, and now, having seen Theseus among the comrades of Hercules, she was delighted, and her love flared up even more.

Theseus also recognized her, imperceptibly approached her and arranged a secret meeting.

Hippolyta asked Hercules why he had come to the land of the Amazons.

Hercules replied that he was ordered to get the belt of Queen Hippolyta.

Only in battle, only to the winner will I give my belt, - said the queen. - Fight with us, and if you win, the belt will be yours!

So said Hippolyta, knowing that as long as the belt was on her, no one could defeat her.

Both detachments dispersed to prepare for battle. The Amazons rushed to the city, and the companions of Hercules settled down for the night in their camp by the river.

Theseus was out of the camp all night. In the morning he appeared triumphant and gave Hercules a magic belt.

How! Did you get it without a fight? - Hercules was surprised.

Antiope kidnapped him from the queen and gave him to me, ”said Theseus.

Hercules did not want to take advantage of the spoil received by deception, and the battle began.

On a wild horse, fast as the wind, Aela, the most impetuous of the Amazons, rushed to Hercules. Hercules at full gallop knocked the ax out of her hands. She wanted to flee, and the horse rushed her away, but the arrow of Hercules caught up with her and struck her to death. And another Amazon, Protoe, seven times the winner in duels, was killed by Hercules.

Then three girls came forward, three magnificent hunters, whom the goddess Artemis herself took with her on a hunt - they had no equal in javelin throwing. Immediately, all together, they swiftly threw their spears, but missed. And the spear of Hercules, whistling, broke the hands of all three.

Fear fell upon the Amazons at the defeat of their finest warriors.

Woe to us! Woe to us! Where is your belt, Hippolyta? they shouted.

Longing squeezed the heart of Antiope, who had betrayed her friends, but in the crowd of Hellenes she saw Theseus, and love won all other feelings in her.

Formidable in appearance, with despair in soul, Ippolita rode forward. Only she and Antiope knew that the magic belt was in the hands of the enemy. The warlike queen did not want to betray her friend to the fierce Amazons and decided it would be better to die in battle.

She bravely threw herself into the most dangerous places of the battle, she herself was looking for death and suddenly fell, mortally wounded by an arrow.

Seeing the death of their queen, the Amazons were embarrassed and fled. Many of them were taken prisoner, others were killed.

Hercules gave the captive Antiope to Theseus, and Theseus made her his wife.

Hercules returned to Mycenae, to King Eurystheus, and brought him the belt of Hippolyta. The king gave it to his daughter, but she did not dare to wear it and gave it to the temple of Hera as a gift to the goddess.
Tenth feat. Hercules opens the way to the ocean and brings Geryon's flock.
Eurystheus sent Hercules further and further. When the hero returned from a campaign to the land of the Amazons, the king ordered him to go to the end of the world, where the sun sets, to the Crimson Island in the middle of the ocean, where the three-headed giant Geryon herd a herd of red bulls. The king ordered Hercules to drive these bulls to Mycenae. Hercules went to the sunset.

He went all over Greece, walked for a long time to different countries, rested by the Eridani River, finally approached the high mountains at the end of the earth and began to look for an outlet to the ocean. But the mountains stood in a solid, impassable ridge. Then Hercules loosened two huge rocks and pushed them apart. Water gushed between them, and it was ocean water.

The sea, which lay in the middle of the earth and which people call the Mediterranean, joined the ocean. And they still stand there on the shores of the strait, like two stone guards, huge Pillars of Hercules.

Hercules crossed the mountains and saw the boundless waters of the ocean washing the earth. There, somewhere in the middle of the ocean, lay an island - the purpose of his journey. But how to swim across the ocean?

The whole day Hercules sat on the shore in thought. The heat began to subside, and the wind from the ocean brought coolness to the land. Suddenly he saw Hercules very close to the fiery chariot of Helios, the sun god, descending from the sky. Hercules jumped up and waited for the approach of Helios. The surface of the ocean sparkled with a golden sheen, and at the very shore, Hercules saw a golden, round, like a bowl, boat, in which the sun god, leaving his chariot, swam across the ocean every day. Then Hercules thought that Helios could transport him in his boat to the Crimson Island. The hero waved his hand and shouted to Helios:

Stop, or I'll shoot! And, pulling the string of his bow, he waited. But Helios did not turn around.

Then Hercules got angry and shouted again:

I'm not joking, and my arrows are deadly! Helios smiled, stopped the horses and, getting off the chariot, asked:

Who are you, cocky, and what do you want from me?

Hercules told him who he was, where and why he was sent, and asked Helios to transport him to the Crimson Island.

Grinning, Helios took the hero into his golden boat. They swam across the ocean. Night darkness covered the land. Every evening Helios swam from west to east, so that, having rested in his high house in the east, he would reappear in the sky in the morning.

When they were already halfway, something blacked out ahead - it was the desired island.

The golden boat approached the shore. Hercules left, and the sun god wished the hero good luck.

It was dark, and Hercules could not distinguish anything around him. Satisfied that he had achieved his goal, he lay down under the rock, wrapped himself in a lion's skin and fell fast asleep.

In the morning he was awakened by a prolonged and hoarse barking. Hercules woke up and saw that he was really on the Crimson Island: everything around was red - rocks, sand, road. And even the huge shaggy dog ​​that stood in front of the hero and barked fiercely at him was also crimson-red.

Seeing that Hercules woke up, the dog rushed at him, grabbed his teeth with his clothes. Hercules grabbed his club, hit the dog, and he, screeching, rolled to the ground with his head pierced.

Then a huge red shepherd came running from the edge of a crimson forest that grew not far away: his hair, beard, face, and clothes - everything he had was fiery red. Waving his shepherd's stick and shouting incomprehensible words, he pounced on Hercules.

Hercules quickly knocked the stick out of the hands of the red shepherd and hit the giant in the chest so hard that he laid him down next to the killed dog.

Hercules went to the forest and saw two herds at the edge of the forest: one red, like everything on the island, the other black, like night, and a black shepherd in black clothes, with black hair and a black face guarded him.

At the sight of Hercules, the black shepherd fled into the forest with a cry. Then a terrible triple roar was heard from the forest, and the giant Geryon appeared from behind the trees. Three bodies, fused together, walked on six legs, three heads looked menacingly at Hercules, six arms threatened him. Hercules raised his bow - an arrow whistled and pierced the giant's chest. Immediately one head bowed powerlessly, two arms hung like whips along the body, two legs stopped moving and dragged behind the others, interfering with them. But the giant was already so close that Hercules did not have time to shoot again. He raised his club and hit Geryon on the other head. And this one went down too, and two more hands dropped, and already four legs dangled from below and prevented Geryon from walking. Then Hercules threw the club away and grappled with the giant hand-to-hand. He grabbed him with mighty arms, and they began to fight. Two dead bodies interfered with the giant, the extra arms dangled powerlessly at the sides, the extra legs pushed between the legs - and Geryon soon came to an end.

Now Hercules could lead the red herd. The black shepherd fled, the red shepherd was killed, and the giant himself was lying on the ground in a huge dead block. But the herd did not want to obey the hero, the bulls did not move. Hercules began to look around for how to drive them, and found a red shepherd's pipe near the killed shepherd. He put it to his lips, the pipe sang, and the red bulls obediently got up from the ground and followed Hercules. Surrounded by a red herd, Hercules stood on the shore of the ocean and waited.

In the evening, a golden round boat sailed, and Hercules began to ask Helios to transport him with the herd to land.

What will people say when they see the sun coming back? - said Helios.

But the brave hero liked the sun god, he gave him his boat, and he himself stayed overnight on the island.

In the golden boat of Helios, Hercules brought the red herd to the end of the earth and drove it through the mountains, through foreign countries - to Greece.

Many adventures happened to them on the way. At the Tiber River the giant How stole several bulls from him. Hercules had to fight him, and the hero killed the giant.

Then one bull fell into the sea; the waves carried him to Sicily, and Hercules had to, leaving the herd in the care of Hephaestus, sail to the island and fight the king of Sicily, who did not want to return the bull.

Finally, not far from Argos, Hera, who tried in every possible way to prevent Hercules, frightened the bulls, and they fled. With difficulty Hercules collected all the bulls and brought them to Mycenae. And King Eurystheus gave the whole red flock to his patroness Hera.

Eleventh feat. Hercules reaches the end of the world and takes out the apples of the Hesperides.
Long ago, when the gods celebrated the wedding of Zeus and Hera on the bright Olympus, Gaia-Earth gave the bride a magic tree on which golden apples grew. These apples had the property of returning youth to a person, and those who could get them would never grow old.

But none of the people knew where the garden was where the wonderful apple tree grew.

While Hercules, by order of the king, walked the earth and fought with monsters, Eurystheus grew old in his palace and became weaker and cowardly every day. He was already beginning to fear that Hercules, having defeated the whole world, would stop obeying him and would himself want to become king over all of Greece. Eurystheus decided to send Hercules so far so that he would not come back. The king ordered the hero to get three golden apples from the tree of youth.

Hercules went around the world to look for golden apples. He again went all over Greece from end to end, visited the cold, northern country of the Hyperboreans and came to the river Eridani, where he had already been once. The nymphs recognized him, took pity on him and taught him to turn for advice to the sea king Nereus, who saw everything that was hidden from the eyes of people.

Hercules went to the sea and began to call the king of the sea. The waves rushed to the shore, and on the frisky dolphins the merry Nereids, the daughters of the sea king, floated upward, and behind them appeared in the distance old Nereus with a long gray beard. Hercules lured him to the shore, grabbed him with his mighty arms and said that he would not release him until he discovered where Hera's magic apple tree grows. Nereus suddenly turned into a big fish, and it slipped out of the hands of Hercules. He quickly stepped on her tail - the fish hissed and became a snake. The hero grabbed the snake and wanted to strangle it - the snake turned into fire. Hercules scooped water from the sea and wanted to pour fire - fire turned into water, water flowed into the sea. The hero blocked her path and dug a hole with his club - the water rose from the hole and became a tree. Hercules pulled out his sword and wanted to cut down the tree - it turned into a white bird. In anger, Hercules grabbed his bow and already pulled the bowstring. Then Nereus took his original form and told Hercules that the tree of youth grows at the end of the world, in the garden of the nymphs of the Hesperides, the daughters of the titan Atlas, that a hundred-eyed dragon guards him, and the Hesperides make sure that he does not fall asleep either day or night, and that the way to the end of the world lies across the Libyan desert. Hercules demanded that Nereus take him across the sea to Libya, and went to look for the end of the world.

For a long time he wandered along the loose sands of the desert and met a giant as tall as a ship's mast.

Stop! shouted the giant. - What do you need in my desert?

I go to the end of the world, looking for the garden of the Hesperides, where the tree of youth grows, - answered Hercules.

Here I am the master, said the giant. - I am Antaeus, son of the Earth. I don't let anyone pass through the desert; you have to fight me. If you defeat me, you will move on. If not, you will stay here. And he pointed to a pile of skulls and bones, half buried in sand.

Nothing to do, Hercules had to fight the son of the Earth.

At first they circled around each other like animals, then they attacked each other at once, clasped their hands and squeezed each other with all their might. Antaeus was huge, heavy and strong as a stone, but Hercules was stronger - he knocked the giant to the ground. Antaeus immediately jumped up and pounced on Hercules. Again they fought, and the second time Hercules knocked over Antaeus. And again, touching the ground, Antaeus quickly got up and with a laugh reflected the blows of Hercules. The third time the hero knocked down the giant, and Antaeus again easily rose, as if he was gaining strength from the fall ...

Hercules was surprised at the giant's strength. Suddenly he remembered that Antaeus is the son of the Earth, and realized that the Earth-mother supported her son and every time he touched her, gave him new strength. Then Hercules swiftly attacked Antaeus, grabbed him, lifted him up and held him above the ground - and immediately lost his strength Antaeus suffocated in the hero's mighty arms.

Finally he reached the end of the world, where the sky descends to the earth. There, at the very edge, stood the titan Atlas and held the firmament on his shoulders. He stood like this for many years, because the ruler of the world Zeus appointed him to this job and no one has replaced him all the time.

Who are you and why did you come to the ends of the world? - Atlas asked Hercules.

I need three golden apples from the tree of youth that grows in the garden of the Hesperides, answered Hercules.

You can't get these apples. They are guarded by a hundred-eyed dragon, he does not sleep day or night and does not allow anyone to approach the tree, - said Atlas. “But I can help you: the Hesperides are my daughters.

Hercules was delighted and began to ask the titan to help him.

Become in my place, - said Atlas, - and hold the sky, and I will go to the garden of the Hesperides and bring you three golden apples.

Hercules put his weapon and lion's skin on the ground, stood next to the titan and put his shoulders under the firmament. Atlas straightened his tired back and went to the garden of the Hesperides. And while he went for apples, Hercules stood at the end of the earth and held the sky on his shoulders. Finally Atlas returned and brought three golden apples.

Hercules began to thank him, but the titan said:

Who should give these apples? Tell me I'll go and give it up. I want to walk on the ground. I'm tired of standing still here, at the edge of the world, and holding this heavy sky. I'm glad I found myself a replacement. Goodbye!

And he wanted to leave.

Wait, - said Hercules. - Let me just put a lion's skin on my shoulders so that the firmament does not rub my neck. Put the apples on the ground and take the sky for a minute while I get comfortable.

Atlas put the golden apples on the ground and again heaved the sky onto his back. Hercules raised his bow and quiver from the ground, took three golden apples, wrapped himself in a lion's skin, bowed to Atlanta and left.

He walked quickly and never looked back. But the stars were falling like rain, and he guessed that Atlas was angry and was shaking the sky in anger.

Hiding golden apples on his chest under his cloak, Hercules hurried to Mycenae, rejoicing that he had fulfilled this demand of the king.

So I brought you the apples of the Hesperides - now you can become young again! - said Hercules to Eurystheus.

But the king was so amazed to see Hercules in front of him safe and sound that he did not take the golden apples from him and drove him out of his eyes.

Hercules went home and on the way thought about what to do with the golden apples. Suddenly, the goddess of reason and wisdom Athena appeared before him.

"Wisdom is more valuable than youth," thought Hercules and gave Athena three golden apples.

And she returned them to the garden of the Hesperides on the Hera tree.

Twelfth feat. Hercules descends into the realm of the dead and defeats Cerberus.
Hercules walked around the whole earth from sunrise to sunset, fought and worked, fought with monsters and evil people, paved the way to the top of the mountains, swam across the ocean with the Sun, reached the end of the world - and returned victorious.

Then, in despair, Eurystheus decided to send Hercules to where none of the mortals had ever come back - to the land of the dead, to the underworld of Hades.

At the copper gates of Tartarus - at the entrance to the kingdom of the dead - the terrible three-headed dog Kerber is dozing on guard. Instead of wool, black snakes curl around his neck, his tail is a living dragon, and three tongues of flames protrude from his gaping mouths. When the gates open and the pale shadow of a man enters the realm of death, Kerber wags his tail affably and, in fierce amusement, tries to lick the stranger with his fiery tongues. But woe to those who want to return! ..

For the last time, King Eurystheus called Hercules to him and said to him:

Bring Cerberus from the kingdom of Hades to me, and this will be your last service to me!

Hercules said nothing and hit the road.

He found Tenara's cave, from where it was necessary to descend into the depths of the earth along the bed of an underground river.

It is terrible for the living to leave at will to the kingdom of death!

Hercules stopped at the entrance to the cave, looked at the blooming land, at the blue sea, at the whole warm, sunny world, and he became sad and scared. But he overcame the longing and fear and bravely stepped into the darkness. And immediately I heard light steps behind me. It was caught up with Hermes, the winged messenger of Zeus, whom the ruler of the world sent to escort Hercules to Hades. Hermes took the hero by the hand, and together they began to descend into the underworld.

Soon a high rock turned white in the gloom: beneath it, a quiet river was barely audible, sleepily flowing, overgrown with tall grass, colorless and odorless.

Hercules bent down to the river and wanted to get drunk.

Do not drink, - Hermes stopped him, - this is Lethe, the river of Oblivion. Whoever drinks water from it will forget everything in the world.

Then they went, and Hercules saw his old teacher and his young friend, who had died on the campaign. Hercules happily rushed to them, stretching out his hands to them, but they looked at him with lifeless eyes, not recognizing, as if not seeing him, and, like shadows, glided past.

They don't recognize you, ”Hermes said. “They drank from the River of Oblivion and forgot everything.

But one of the shadows suddenly stopped and approached. Hercules recognized the Calydonian king Meleager.

Hercules, - said the king's shadow quietly, - help me. On earth I left my sister Deianira, young and defenseless. The thought of her worries me here too. I ask you: take her to your house, marry her - she will be your faithful wife. And I will calm down forever. And Hercules promised to fulfill the request of his friend. Lower and lower they descended into the depths of the earth and suddenly saw a man dragging a huge, heavy stone to the steepness of an underground mountain. Covered in sweat and dust, straining all his forces, with both hands he diligently rolled up the stone, propping it up with his whole body. Only one step remained for him to the top of the mountain, but a stone suddenly burst from his weakened hands and rolled down with a crash. The man hastily descended after him to the foot of the mountain and again dragged his heavy burden. And again, not reaching the top, a stone fell and fell from a height, and again went down and without rest, a man pulled it up without stopping.

Hercules stopped and looked at this hard and fruitless work.

It was Sisyphus from Corinth, condemned to forever carry this heavy stone - for greed, for the fact that during his lifetime he appropriated other people's wealth, for having lived on earth without working.

Then Hercules went with his companion Hermes and saw a man standing in a transparent and clean river. The water reached his shoulders, but as soon as he bent down to quench his thirst, moisten his dry, black lips, the water instantly fell off, disappeared, went all into the ground. Branches full of ripe fruits leaned towards the man from the shore, the amber bunch of grapes almost touched his face. But as soon as he stretched out his hand to pick a ruddy apple or a juicy pomegranate, the branches left him, rose high, high, and the hungry one could not reach them.

Hercules recognized the man who had been punished so cruelly.

It was Tantalus, the king of Sipila, once the favorite of the gods and the happiest of mortals, forever condemned by the ruler of the world Zeus for deceiving the gods, for treachery, for exorbitant, indomitable envy.

With a heavy heart, Hercules walked past the terrible visions of the underworld. Finally, he came to the banks of the underground river Acheront. A black boat was waiting by the shore. The gloomy and silent carrier Charon stood with an oar in his hand at the stern, and the shadows of the dead timidly handed him a coin, which caring relatives put into the mouth of the deceased during burial.

Old Charon was surprised to see alive in the kingdom of the dead, but Hermes ordered him to let Hercules into the boat. The boat sailed across the black, motionless river. The shadows of the dead looked back in despair, as if they wanted to see for the last time what they had left on earth. The boat sailed through Acheron, and soon the deserted coast began to approach. Hercules and Hermes were the first to go ashore and moved with the crowd to the copper gates of Hades' kingdom. The heavy gates were wide open, and near them Hercules saw Kerberus. The dog lazily waved his terrible tail and walked away, letting the hero pass.

He still does not know why you came here, - the companion told Hercules, - otherwise he would have met you differently.

With a plaintive groan, the shadows of the dead entered the wide gates and headed towards the palace of the underground king.

There, in a vast and gloomy room, before the throne of Hades sat strict and incorruptible judges of the dead kingdom: Radamant, Eak and Minos. They judged everyone for his life, for his earthly deeds, and assigned a punishment or reward to everyone according to their merits.

Seeing a living person in the palace of the lord of the dead, the judges and servants of Hades were surprised. And Hercules calmly stood in front of the throne of the underworld king, with a lion's skin on his shoulders, holding his club in his hands, and asked Hades to allow him to bring Cerberus into the light to show him to King Eurystheus.

I will allow you, - Hades told him, - to take my dog ​​with you to the ground for a while, if he lets you out of here and if you manage to take him without wounding, without a sword and without arrows, with your own hands.

Hercules thanked Hades and went back to the copper gate. They were now closed, and Kerberus slept in front of them, resting all three heads on the black road. Hearing the steps of Hercules, he woke up, jumped up, growled angrily, and the dragon at the end of its tail opened its mouth menacingly.

Hercules quickly approached Cerberus and, putting forward his left hand, wrapped in a lion's skin, grabbed the dog by the neck with his right hand. The dog howled; his wild howl spread throughout the underworld. He grabbed the teeth of all three heads into the hero's left hand, licked it with fiery tongues, all the snakes on his back dug into the lion's skin, but she was invulnerable, and Hercules did not feel pain. He tightly squeezed the dog's neck and dragged him along with him, to the river bank, to the ferry. Finally, the half-strangled Kerberos staggered, weakened and lay down in front of Hercules. The hero threw a chain around his neck and dragged him along, and the terrible dog of the underworld obediently dragged after the winner.

Charon was horrified to see Hercules and Kerberos, but did not dare to restrain them and transported them to the other side.

When they approached the exit to the ground, Kerber began to squeal pitifully and almost crawled after Hercules. And when they came out of the darkness into the free space of the earth, the sunlight blinded the underground watchman; he trembled, began to clog, yellow foam dripped from his mouths, and wherever it fell to the ground, poisonous grass grew.

Hercules brought Cerberus to Mycenae and made Eurystheus look at him. But Eurystheus covered his face with his hands and in horror began to ask Hercules to quickly take the terrible dog back.

Well, run, go back and wait for the king at the gate, - said Hercules and took off the chain from Kerber.

And the dog in an instant rushed off to the kingdom of the dead.

Thus ended the service of Hercules to Eurystheus, and the king dismissed the hero.

Hercules in captivity
After finishing his service with Tsar Eurystheus, having completed twelve labors, Hercules returned home. Here new tests awaited him.

Straightforward and kind, Hercules was often impatient, hot-tempered and, in a fit of anger, did not remember himself.

One day a servant boy gave him water prepared for washing to drink. Hercules got angry, hit him and killed him by accident. Then, in order to teach the hero patience, Zeus sent him a long, painful illness. The brave hero, not afraid of wild animals, monsters, or enemy troops, could not patiently endure pain. He could not resist, turned to Apollo and demanded that the god of light, who knows the future of people, tell him when the disease will end and deliverance will come. Apollo did not want to reveal this secret to the hero. Hercules flew into a rage and raised his hand to the god of light. The Thunderer became angry, sent a cloud to separate the fighting and ordered Hermes to punish the rebellious hero.

The crafty god of trade sold Hercules to the Lydian queen Omphale for three copper coins for three years into slavery.

The cheerful queen Omphale did not send Hercules on long campaigns and did not demand heroic deeds and victories from him. She took away the hero's weapon - his sword and bow and arrows, took off his lion's skin from his shoulders, dressed Hercules in a woman's dress and amused herself, forcing him, like a servant, to serve her.

She sat him down at the spinning wheel with the women and amused herself, listening, like fairy tales, to his stories about distant wanderings, difficult campaigns and formidable battles.

This captivity at Omphale was more difficult for the hero than the most cunning assignments of Eurystheus. And often Hercules was so longing and languishing that, bored with his gloomy appearance, the queen gave him a bow and arrows and let him go for a walk around the surroundings.

Once, having left Omphale, Hercules went far, to the country next to Lydia, tired, lay under a tree and fell asleep. Through a dream, he felt some kind of fuss around him, as if little animals were running over his body. He woke up, held out his hand, caught one. It was not an animal, but a funny dwarf - a kekrop.

Many of them fiddled around the hero on the ground - they liked the bow of Hercules, and they were going to take him away. Hercules began to catch them, tying them by the hands, by the legs, then strung them on a long stick and carried them to Lydia.

The Cecrops were not afraid: they jumped on a stick, trying to free themselves, squeaked loudly and so threatened Hercules and scolded him that he laughed all the way.

Looking at this brave little people, Hercules amused.

Having reached the border of their kingdom, he untied his tiny captives and set them free, while he himself returned to Omphale and began to demand freedom for himself. And Omphale finally released him.

Hercules frees Prometheus
Many more feats were accomplished by Hercules, and his name became famous throughout Greece.

When Jason built the fast ship "Argo" and summoned the heroes of Greece to sail across the three seas, to Colchis, to get the golden fleece, the mighty Hercules set off on a campaign with the brave Argonauts.

But on the way, at one of the "Argo" stops near the coast of an unknown land, Hercules went far into the coastal forest, did not return to the ship in time, and the Argonauts sailed without him. And Hercules went by dry route into the interior of the country and soon came to the mountains.

A wild and majestic land opened before him. High mountains rose along the ridge, at the foot overgrown with frequent forest, and on the peaks covered with eternal snow. The higher the hero climbed, the more severe and inaccessible the mountains were; Finally he climbed a bare rock that fell off the sea.

Hercules recognized Prometheus - the son of Themis, the goddess of justice, and the titan Iapetus, from whom the human race began on earth.

Once upon a time, in ancient times, there were few people on earth. Like animals, they wandered through the forests, chasing prey, eating raw meat, wild fruits and roots, covered with animal skins and hiding from the weather in caves and hollows of trees. Their intelligence was like that of small children; they were helpless in organizing their lives and defenseless against predatory animals and formidable forces of nature.

Prometheus took pity on people and wanted to help them.

He went to his friend Hephaestus, son of Zeus, divine blacksmith and master. On the island of Lemnos, in the depths of a fire-breathing mountain, there was a workshop of Hephaestus. The sacred fire burned hotly in a huge furnace, without which no art and skill is possible. Three one-eyed giants - Cyclops - worked in the workshop of Hephaestus. Two statues, which he himself cast from gold, moved as if alive in the workshop, and the lame blacksmith god leaned on them while walking.

Prometheus found Hephaestus at work - the blacksmith god forged fiery bolts of lightning for Zeus the Thunderer. Prometheus stood and looked at the skillful work of Hephaestus. When the Cyclops began fanning the fire in the furnace with their furs and sparkling sparks scattered throughout the workshop, Prometheus caught the sacred spark and hid it in an empty reed, which he held in his hand. Prometheus brought this reed with a spark of sacred fire to people, and people lit fires, hearths and forges from it everywhere on the earth. People have learned to fight nature, to mine and process copper and iron, gold and silver hidden in the bowels of the earth, and to make household items, weapons and jewelry out of them. People began to build themselves dwellings of wood and stone and ships, winged with sails, to sail on rivers and seas. People tamed wild animals and forced a horse to carry a man, and a goat and a cow to feed him, and they began to take warm and durable wool from the sheep for clothing. The light from the sacred fire clarified the thoughts of people, awakened their dormant mind, ignited the desire for happiness in their hearts.

And Prometheus taught people a lot more with the help of the sacred fire. He taught them to cook the healing sap of plants, which helps with diseases and wounds, and people got rid of the constant fear of death. Prometheus opened the science of numbers to them and taught them to write down words with signs in order to convey their thoughts to those who live far away.

Prometheus watched with pride as people became stronger, wiser and more skillful in any work.

But the ruler of the world Zeus was angry with Prometheus and decided to severely punish the thief of the sacred fire. The king of the gods sent his servants Force and Power to seize Prometheus and take him to the end of the world, to a desolate mountainous land, and Hephaestus ordered to chain the titan to the mountain. It was bitter for Hephaestus to do this - after all, Prometheus was his friend, but such was the will of Zeus. Hephaestus bound the arms and legs of Prometheus in iron rings, chained him to the stone mass with an unbreakable chain, pierced his chest with a sharp diamond wedge, nailing him to the rock.

And Zeus commanded that forever, forever and ever, Prometheus remained chained to this rock.

Centuries have passed. Much has changed on earth. But the torment of Prometheus did not stop. The sun burned his withered body, the icy wind showered him with thorny snow. Every day, at the appointed hour, a huge eagle flew in, tore the titan's body with its claws and pecked at its liver. And at night the wounds healed again.

But it was not for nothing that he bore the name “Prometheus”, which means “foreseeing”: he knew that the time would come, and a great hero would appear among the people on earth, who would perform many deeds to cleanse the earth of evil, and would come to free him.

And finally, Prometheus heard the steps of a man walking through the mountains and saw the hero he had been waiting for all the time.

Hercules approached the shackled Prometheus and had already raised his sword to knock off the shackles from the titan, but an eagle cry resounded high in the sky: this Promethean eagle was hurrying to his bloody feast at the appointed hour. Then Hercules grabbed his bow, threw an arrow at the flying eagle and killed him. A dead eagle fell from a height into the sea under a rock, and the waves carried it away.

Hercules broke the chain that bound Prometheus, and took out a diamond point from his chest, with which he was nailed to the rock. And the freed Prometheus straightened up, sighed with all his chest and with enlightened eyes looked at the earth and at the hero who brought him freedom and peace with the gods.
Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a ring from a link of the Promethean chain and insert a stone into it - a fragment of the rock to which the titanium was chained. Zeus ordered Prometheus to put this ring on his finger and always wear it as a sign that the word of the ruler of the world has not been broken and Prometheus is forever chained to a rock.
The end of Hercules
In battles, in campaigns, in wanderings around the world, the life of Hercules passed. He traveled all over Greece, visited many cities, but did not live anywhere for a long time, and for many years he did not have a family or a home. But one day he remembered that in the kingdom of the dead he promised his friend Meleager to marry his sister Deianira, and went to Calydon, where she lived.

In Calydon at this time there were competitions of suitors - many sought the beautiful Deianira. Suddenly, the river god Aheloy appeared among them - a monster with bull horns on his head, with a green beard, along which water flowed. Seeing such a rival, all the suitors fled. Deianira wept bitterly with fear.

Hercules came to her aid, entered into single combat with Aheloy and broke one of his horns. Then Aheloy admitted himself defeated, begged Hercules back for his horn, and in return gave Deianira a wonderful Cornucopia filled with flowers and fruits that were never translated into it.

Hercules married Deianira and went with his wife to the city of Trachin, where they were going to build their house. On the way, they had to cross the river. Then they met the centaur Nessus, who, for a fee, carried passers-by across the river on his broad horse back. Hercules put his wife on the back of the centaur and walked forward. He was already in the middle of the river, when suddenly he heard Deianira's cry and, looking back, saw that the centaur was galloping along the bank, carrying away the kidnapped beauty. Hercules quickly grabbed his bow, and a well-aimed arrow instantly caught up with the centaur.

The dying Nessus decided to take revenge on Hercules and said to Deianira:

My blood flows from a mortal wound. Collect and save it - there is a miraculous power in it. If Hercules ever stops loving you, rub his clothes with my blood - and his love will return to you.

Deianira believed the centaur, collected his blood and conjugated.

Hercules and Deianira settled in Trakhin, lived in harmony. Soon they had a son.

The years passed. The son has grown. Hercules often left home to fight. Once he did not return from a campaign for a long time, and Deianira was very worried. She was about to send her son to look for her father, but a messenger from Hercules appeared, said that the hero is alive and well, returns home and sends ahead prisoners taken in a foreign country. Among the prisoners, Deianira saw a girl of extraordinary beauty and asked the messenger who she was. The messenger answered slyly that this was not a simple captive, but the daughter of the defeated king, whom Hercules once wanted to marry.

Deianira saw that the princess was younger and more beautiful, and thought that Hercules would now stop loving her and leave her alone. She remembered the dying advice of the centaur Ness: with his caked blood she rubbed the new, festive clothes, which she herself weaved for her husband, and sent her with a messenger to meet Hercules.

Hercules accepted his wife's gift and wanted to put it on immediately. But as soon as the clothes touched the body, the poison from the blood of Ness penetrated into him and as if fire began to burn him. Hercules tore off his cursed clothes, but she adhered to the body and caused unbearable pain. He went into a rage, rushed about, shouted and suffered inexpressibly. When they came to tell Deianir about this, the unfortunate woman understood the centaur's cunning.

In despair that she had killed her husband, she threw herself on the sword with her chest and died.

Upon learning of the death of his wife, Hercules stopped moaning and rushing about, gathered his last strength, broke branches in the forest, laid a high fire on the hill and covered it with a lion's skin. Then he lay down on her, called his son and asked to light the fire.

But neither the son nor his comrades dared to fulfill his request.

Suddenly a large black cloud covered the sun, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled. Lightning from the cloud hit the fire and lit it. The fire flared up, thick smoke rose above him to the sky.

Then, invisible in this smoky cloud, a golden chariot descended from the sky, and the wise Pallas Athena sped away her hero to Olympus. There the goddess Hera met Hercules with a smile of reconciliation, took him by the hand and led him to the feast of the gods.

Birth and education of Hercules Legends and myths of Ancient Greece

The myths about Hercules are based on the tragedies of Sophocles ("The Trachines") and Euripides ("Hercules"), as well as the legends mentioned in the "Description of Hellas" by Pausanias.

King Electrion ruled in Mycenae. He was stolen by the teleboys (a tribe that lived in the west of central Greece, in Acarnania), under the leadership of the sons of king Pterelaus, a herd. The TV fighters killed the sons of Electrion when they wanted to recapture the stolen goods. Tsar Electrion then announced that he would give the hand of his beautiful daughter Alcmene to the one who would return his flocks and avenge the death of his sons. The hero Amphitrion managed to return the herds to Electrion without a fight, since the king of the TV fighters Pterelai instructed the king of Elis Polixenus to guard the stolen herds, and he gave them to Amphitrion. Amphitryon returned to Electrion his herd and received the hand of Alcmene. Amphitryon did not stay long in Mycenae. During a wedding feast, in a dispute over the flocks, Amphitryon killed Electrion, and he and his wife Alcmene had to flee from Mycenae. Alcmene followed her young husband to a foreign land only under the condition that he would take revenge on the sons of Pterelai for the murder of her brothers. Therefore, arriving in Thebes, to the king Creon, with whom Amphitryon found a refuge for himself, he set out with an army against the TV battle. In his absence, Zeus, captivated by the beauty of Alcmene, came to her, taking the form of Amphitryon. Soon Amphitryon returned. And from Zeus and Amphitryon, two twin sons were to be born to Alcmene.
On the day when the great son of Zeus and Alcmene was supposed to be born, the gods gathered on high Olympus. Rejoicing that a son would soon be born to him, the aegis Zeus said to the gods:
- Hear, gods and goddesses, what I tell you: my heart commands me to say! A great hero will be born today; he will rule over all his relatives, who descend from my son, the great Perseus.
But the wife of Zeus, the royal Hera, angry that Zeus took the mortal Alcmene as his wife, decided to cunningly deprive the son of Alcmene of power over all the Perseids - she already hated the son of Zeus before birth. Therefore, hiding her cunning in the depths of her heart, Hera said to Zeus:
- You are not telling the truth, great thunderer! You will never fulfill your word! Give me the great unbreakable oath of the gods that the one who is born today, the first of the Perseid line, will command his relatives.
The goddess of deception Ata took possession of the mind of Zeus, and, not suspecting the cunning of Hera, the thunderer took an unbreakable oath. Hera immediately left Olympus of light and rushed to Argos in her golden chariot. There she hastened the birth of a son to the godlike wife of the Perseid Sfenela, and on this day a weak, sick child, the son of Sfenela, Eurystheus, was born in the family of Perseus. Hera quickly returned to light Olympus and said to the great cloud-exterminator Zeus:
- Oh, Zeus-father throwing lightning, listen to me! Now the son of Eurystheus was born in glorious Argos to the Perseid Sfenelus. He was the first to be born today and must command all the descendants of Perseus.
The great Zeus was saddened, now he only understood all the insidiousness of Hera. He was angry at the goddess of deception Atu, who possessed his mind; in anger, Zeus grabbed her by the hair and threw her from the bright Olympus. The lord of gods and people forbade her to appear on Olympus. Since then, the goddess of deception Ata has lived among people.
Zeus eased the fate of his son. He concluded an indestructible agreement with the Hero that his son would not be under the rule of Eurystheus all his life. He will perform only twelve great deeds on behalf of Eurystheus, and after that he will not only free himself from his power, but even receive immortality. The Thunderer knew that his son would have to overcome many great dangers, so he ordered his beloved daughter Pallas Athena to help Alcmene's son. Then Zeus often had to grieve when he saw how his son was carrying out great labors in the service of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus, but he could not break the oath he had given to Hera.
On the same day with the birth of the son of Sfenel, twins were born to Alcmene: the eldest is the son of Zeus, named Alcides at birth, and the youngest is the son of Amphitryon, named Iphicles. Alcides was the greatest son of Greece. He was later named the soothsayer Pythia Hercules. Under this name he became famous, received immortality and was accepted into the host of the light gods of Olympus.
Hera began to persecute Hercules from the very first day of his life. Upon learning that Hercules was born and lies wrapped in swaddling clothes with her brother Iphicles, she sent two snakes to destroy the newborn hero. It was already night when the snakes crept in, with sparkling eyes, into the rest of Alcmene. They quietly crawled to the cradle where the twins lay, and already wanted, wrapped around the body of little Hercules, to strangle him, when the son of Zeus woke up. He stretched out his little hands to the snakes, grabbed them by the necks and squeezed them with such force that he immediately strangled them. In horror, Alcmene jumped up from her bed; Seeing the snakes in the cradle, the women who were alone cried out loudly. All rushed to the cradle of Alcides. At the cry of the women, Amphitryon came running with a drawn sword. They surrounded the cradle and saw an extraordinary miracle: the little newborn Hercules was holding two huge strangled snakes, which were still weakly writhing in his tiny hands. Struck by the strength of his adopted son, Amphitryon summoned the soothsayer Tiresias and asked him about the fate of the newborn. Then the prophetic elder told how many great deeds Hercules would accomplish, and predicted that he would achieve immortality at the end of his life.
Having learned what great glory awaits the eldest son of Alcmene, Amphitryon gave him an upbringing worthy of a hero. Amphitryon not only cared about the development of the strength of Hercules, he also cared about his education. He was taught to read, write, sing and play the cithara. But Hercules did not show such successes in the sciences and music as he showed in wrestling, archery and the ability to wield weapons. Often the music teacher, brother of Orpheus Lin, had to be angry with his student and even punish him. Once during a lesson, Lin hit Hercules, annoyed by his unwillingness to learn. Angry Hercules grabbed the cithara and hit Lin on the head with it. Young Hercules did not calculate the forces of the blow. The hit of the cithara was so strong that Lin fell dead on the spot. Hercules was called to court for this murder. Justifying himself, the son of Alcmene said:
- After all, Radamanth, the fairest of the judges, says that anyone who is hit can return blow for blow.
The judges of Hercules were acquitted, but his stepfather Amphitryon, fearing that something like this would not happen yet, sent Hercules into the wooded Kyferon to graze the flocks.

Will rule over all relatives. Hera, having learned about this, hastened the birth of the wife of Perseid Sfenel, who gave birth to a weak and cowardly Eurystheus. Zeus involuntarily had to agree that Hercules, born after this Alcmene, obey Eurystheus - but not all his life, but only until he performs 12 great deeds in his service.

Hercules from early childhood was distinguished by tremendous strength. Already in the cradle, he strangled two huge snakes sent by the Hero to destroy the baby. Hercules spent his childhood in Boeotian Thebes. He freed this city from the rule of neighboring Orchomenes, and in gratitude the Theban king Creon gave his daughter, Megara, for Hercules. Soon Hera sent a fit of madness to Hercules, during which he killed his children and the children of his half-brother Iphicles (according to the tragedies of Euripides ("") and Seneca, Hercules also killed his wife Megara). The Delphic oracle, in atonement for this sin, commanded Hercules to go to Eurystheus and perform, according to his orders, the 12 labors that were destined for him.

The first feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules kills the Nemean lion. Copy from the statue of Lysippos

The second feat of Hercules (summary)

The second feat of Hercules is the fight against the Lernean hydra. Painting by A. Pollaiolo, approx. 1475

The third feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds. Statue of A. Bourdelle, 1909

The fourth feat of Hercules (summary)

The fourth feat of Hercules - the Kerineys doe

The fifth feat of Hercules (summary)

The Erymanthian boar, possessing monstrous strength, terrified all the surroundings. On the way to fight him, Hercules visited his friend, the centaur Fall. He treated the hero with wine, angering the rest of the centaurs, since the wine belonged to all of them, and not to Foul alone. The centaurs rushed at Hercules, but with archery he forced the attackers to hide near the centaur Chiron. In pursuit of the centaurs, Hercules burst into the cave of Chiron and accidentally killed this wise hero of many Greek myths with an arrow.

Hercules and the Erymanthian boar. Statue of L. Tuayon, 1904

The sixth feat of Hercules (summary)

The king of Elis, Augeas, the son of the sun god Helios, received from his father numerous herds of white and red bulls. His huge stockyard has not been cleaned for 30 years. Hercules suggested to Augeas to clear the stall in a day, asking in return for a tenth of his flocks. Considering that the hero could not cope with the work in one day, Augeas agreed. Hercules dammed the rivers Alpheus and Penae and diverted their water to the cattle yard of Avgia - all the manure was washed off from it in a day.

Sixth feat - Hercules cleans the stables of Avgius. Roman mosaic III century. by R.H. from Valencia

Seventh feat of Hercules (summary)

Seventh feat - Hercules and the Cretan bull. Roman mosaic III century. by R.H. from Valencia

Eighth feat of Hercules (summary)

Diomedes devoured by his horses. Painter Gustave Moreau, 1865

The ninth feat of Hercules (summary)

The tenth feat of Hercules (summary)

On the westernmost edge of the earth, the giant Geryon, who had three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs, grazed cows. On the orders of Eurystheus, Hercules went after these cows. The very long journey to the west was already a feat, and in memory of him Hercules erected two stone (Hercules) pillars on both sides of a narrow strait near the shores of the Ocean (modern Gibraltar). Geryon lived on the island of Erythia. So that Hercules could reach him, the sun god Helios gave him his horses and a golden canoe, on which he himself daily floats across the sky.

The eleventh feat of Hercules (summary)

Eleventh Feat of Hercules - Cerberus

The twelfth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The struggle of Hercules with Antaeus. Artist O. Coude, 1819

Photo - Jastrow

The sequence of the 12 main feats of Hercules differs in different mythological sources. The eleventh and twelfth labors are especially often interchanged: the descent to Hades for Cerberus is considered by a number of ancient authors to be the last accomplishment of Hercules, and the journey to the garden of the Hesperides is the penultimate.

Other exploits of Hercules

After completing 12 feats, Heracles, freed from the power of Eurystheus, won the shooting competition for the best archer in Greece, Eurythus, the king of Euboean Oikhalia. Evritus did not give Hercules the promised reward for this - his daughter Iola. Hercules then married in the city of Calydon to Deianir, the sister of Meleager, whom he met in the kingdom of Hades. Seeking the hand of Deianira, Hercules withstood a difficult duel with the river god Aheloy, who during the fight turned into a snake and a bull.

Hercules and Deianira went to Tiryns. On the way, Deianiru tried to kidnap the centaur Nessus, who offered to transport the couple across the river. Hercules killed Ness with arrows soaked in the bile of the Lernaean hydra. Before his death, Nessus, secretly from Hercules, advised Deianira to collect his blood poisoned by the poison of the hydra. The centaur assured that if Deianira rubbed Hercules' clothes with it, then no other woman would ever like him.

In Tiryns, during a fit of madness again sent by the Hero, Hercules killed his close friend, the son of Evritus, Iphit. Zeus punished Hercules for this with a serious illness. Trying to find out a remedy for her, Hercules raged in the Delphic temple and fought with the god Apollo. Finally it was revealed to him that he must sell himself for three years into slavery to the Lydian queen Omphale. For three years Omphale subjected Hercules to terrible humiliation: she forced him to wear women's clothing and spin, and she herself wore the lion's skin and the hero's club. However, Omphale allowed Hercules to take part in the campaign of the Argonauts.

Freed from slavery by Omphale, Hercules took Troy and avenged her king, Laomedont, for the previous deception. Then he participated in the battle of the gods with the giants. The mother of giants, the goddess Gaia, made these children of hers invulnerable to the weapons of the gods. Only a mortal could kill giants. During the battle, the gods plunged the giants to the ground with weapons and lightning, and Hercules finished off to death with his arrows.

Death of Hercules

Following this, Hercules set out on a campaign against the king Evrita, who had offended him. Having smashed Evrita, Hercules captured his daughter, the beautiful Iola, whom he should have received after the previous competition with her father in archery. Upon learning that Hercules was going to marry Iola, Deianira, in an attempt to return her husband's love, sent him a cloak soaked in the blood of the centaur Nessus soaked in the poison of the Lernaean hydra. As soon as Hercules put on this cloak, it stuck to his body. The poison penetrated the hero's skin and began to inflict terrible torment. Deianira, learning about her mistake, committed suicide. This myth became the plot of the tragedy of Sophocles, Demophon. The army of Eurystheus invaded Athenian land, but was defeated by an army led by Hercules' eldest son, Gill. Heraclides became the ancestors of one of the four main branches of the Greek people - the Dorians. Three generations after Gill, the Dorian invasion of the south ended with the conquest of the Peloponnese, which the Heraclids considered the legitimate legacy of their father, cunningly taken from him by the cunning of the goddess Hera. In the news of the capture of the Dorians, legends and myths are already mixed with memories of true historical events.

King Electrion ruled in Mycenae. He was kidnapped by the teleboys, under the leadership of the sons of the king Pterelai, the herd. The TV fighters killed the sons of Electrion when they wanted to recapture the stolen goods. Tsar Electrion then announced that he would give the hand of his beautiful daughter Alcmene to the one who would return his flocks and avenge the death of his sons. The hero Amphitrion managed to return the herds to Electrion without a fight, since the king of the TV fighters Pterelai instructed the king of Elis Polixenus to guard the stolen herds, and he gave them to Amphitrion. Amphitryon returned to Electrion his herd and received the hand of Alcmene. Amphitryon did not stay long in Mycenae. During a wedding feast, in a dispute over the flocks, Amphitryon killed Electrion, and he and his wife Alcmene had to flee from Mycenae. Alcmene followed her young husband to a foreign land only under the condition that he would take revenge on the sons of Pterelai for the murder of her brothers. Therefore, arriving in Thebes, to the king Creon, with whom Amphitryon found a refuge for himself, he set out with an army against the TV battle. In his absence, Zeus, captivated by the beauty of Alcmene, came to her, taking the form of Amphitryon. Soon Amphitryon returned. And from Zeus and Amphitryon, two twin sons were to be born to Alcmene.

On the day when the great son of Zeus and Alcmene was supposed to be born, the gods gathered on high Olympus. Rejoicing that a son would soon be born to him, the aegis Zeus said to the gods:

Hear, gods and goddesses, what I say to you: my heart commands me to say! A great hero will be born today; he will rule over all his relatives, who descend from my son, the great Perseus.

But the wife of Zeus, the royal Hera, angry that Zeus took the mortal Alcmene as his wife, decided by cunning to deprive the son of Alcmene of power over all the Perseids - she already hated the son of Zeus before birth. Therefore, hiding her cunning in the depths of her heart, Hera said to Zeus:

You are not telling the truth, great thunderer! You will never fulfill your word! Give me the great unbreakable oath of the gods that the one who is born today, the first of the Perseid line, will command his relatives.

The goddess of deception Ata took possession of the mind of Zeus, and, not suspecting the cunning of Hera, the thunderer took an unbreakable oath. Hera immediately left Olympus of light and rushed to Argos in her golden chariot. There she hastened the birth of a son to the godlike wife of the Perseid Sfenela, and on this day a weak, sick child, the son of Sfenela, Eurystheus, was born in the family of Perseus. Hera quickly returned to light Olympus and said to the great cloud-exterminator Zeus:

Oh, Father Zeus throwing lightning, listen to me! Now the son of Eurystheus was born in glorious Argos to the Perseid Sfenelus. He was the first to be born today and must command all the descendants of Perseus.

The great Zeus was saddened, now he only understood all the insidiousness of Hera. He was angry at the goddess of deception Atu, who possessed his mind; in anger, Zeus grabbed her by the hair and threw her from the bright Olympus. The lord of gods and people forbade her to appear on Olympus. Since then, the goddess of deception Ata has lived among people.

Zeus eased the fate of his son. He concluded an indestructible agreement with the Hero that his son would not be under the rule of Eurystheus all his life. He will perform only twelve great deeds on behalf of Eurystheus, and after that he will not only free himself from his power, but even receive immortality. The Thunderer knew that his son would have to overcome many great dangers, so he ordered his beloved daughter Pallas Athena to help Alcmene's son. Then Zeus often had to grieve when he saw how his son was carrying out great labors in the service of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus, but he could not break the oath he had given to Hera.

On the same day with the birth of the son of Sfenel, twins were born to Alcmene: the eldest is the son of Zeus, named Alcides at birth, and the youngest is the son of Amphitryon, named Iphicles. Alcides was the greatest son of Greece. He was later named the soothsayer Pythia Hercules. Under this name he became famous, received immortality and was accepted into the host of the light gods of Olympus.

Hera began to persecute Hercules from the very first day of his life. Upon learning that Hercules was born and lies wrapped in swaddling clothes with her brother Iphicles, she sent two snakes to destroy the newborn hero. It was already night when the snakes crept in, with sparkling eyes, into the rest of Alcmene. They quietly crawled to the cradle where the twins lay, and already wanted, wrapped around the body of little Hercules, to strangle him, when the son of Zeus woke up. He stretched out his little hands to the snakes, grabbed them by the necks and squeezed them with such force that he immediately strangled them. In horror, Alcmene jumped up from her bed; Seeing the snakes in the cradle, the women who were alone cried out loudly. All rushed to the cradle of Alcides. At the cry of the women, Amphitryon came running with a drawn sword. They surrounded the cradle and saw an extraordinary miracle: the little newborn Hercules was holding two huge strangled snakes, which were still weakly writhing in his tiny hands. Struck by the strength of his adopted son, Amphitryon summoned the soothsayer Tiresias and asked him about the fate of the newborn. Then the prophetic elder told how many great deeds Hercules would accomplish, and predicted that he would achieve immortality at the end of his life.

Having learned what great glory awaits the eldest son of Alcmene, Amphitryon gave him an upbringing worthy of a hero. Amphitryon not only cared about the development of the strength of Hercules, he also cared about his education. He was taught to read, write, sing and play the cithara. But Hercules did not show such successes in the sciences and music as he showed in wrestling, archery and the ability to wield weapons. Often the music teacher, brother of Orpheus Lin, had to be angry with his student and even punish him. Once during a lesson, Lin hit Hercules, annoyed by his unwillingness to learn. Angry Hercules grabbed the cithara and hit Lin on the head with it. Young Hercules did not calculate the forces of the blow. The hit of the cithara was so strong that Lin fell dead on the spot. Hercules was called to court for this murder. Justifying himself, the son of Alcmene said:

Indeed, Radamanth, the fairest of the judges, says that anyone who is hit can return blow for blow.

The judges of Hercules were acquitted, but his stepfather Amphitryon, fearing that something like this would not happen yet, sent Hercules into the wooded Kyferon to graze the flocks.

Hercules in Thebes
Heracles grew up in the forests of Kiferon and became a mighty youth. In height, he was a whole head taller than everyone, and his strength far exceeded that of a man. At first glance, one could recognize him as the son of Zeus, especially by his eyes, which shone with some extraordinary, divine light. No one was equal to Hercules in dexterity in military exercises, and he mastered the bow and spear so skillfully that he never missed. While still a young man, Hercules killed the formidable Kiferon lion who lived on the tops of the mountains. Young Hercules attacked him, killed and skinned him. He put this skin on himself, threw it like a cloak on his mighty shoulders, with his paws he tied it on his chest, and the skin from the lion's head served as his helmet. Hercules made himself a huge club from an ash tree, hard as iron, which he had torn out from the roots in the Nemean grove. Hermes gave a sword to Hercules, a bow and arrows - Apollo, Hephaestus made him a golden shell, and Athena herself weaved clothes for him.

Having matured, Hercules defeated the king of Orchomenus Ergin, to whom Thebes paid a large tribute every year. He killed Ergin during the battle, and imposed a tribute on the Minyan Orchomenes, which was twice as much as that paid by Thebes. For this feat, the king of Thebes, Creon, gave Hercules his daughter Megara to wife, and the gods sent him three beautiful sons.

Hercules lived happily in the seven-fold Thebes. But the great goddess Hera still burned with hatred for the son of Zeus. She sent a terrible illness 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 seizure passed, deep sorrow seized Hercules. Having cleansed himself of the filth of his involuntary murder, 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 lips of the Pythia, the son of Latona predicted to Hercules that he would receive immortality if he performed twelve great feats at the behest of Eurystheus.
GERMAN LION (FIRST FEAT)

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 the Echidna, was monstrous in size. He lived near the city of Nemea and devastated all the surrounding area. Hercules boldly set out on a dangerous feat. Arriving at Nemea, he immediately went to the mountains to find the lion's den. It was already noon when the hero reached the slopes of the mountains. Not a single living soul was seen anywhere: neither shepherds nor farmers. All living things fled from these places in fear of the terrible lion. For a long time Hercules searched for on the wooded slopes of the mountains and in the gorges of the lion's lair, finally, when the sun began to lean to the west, Hercules found a lair in a gloomy gorge; it was in a huge cave that had two exits. Hercules filled one of the willows with huge stones and waited for the lion, hiding behind the stones. Toward evening, when dusk was already approaching, a monstrous lion with a long shaggy mane appeared. Hercules pulled the string of his bow and fired three arrows one after the other at the lion, but the arrows bounced off his skin - it was as hard as steel. The lion roared menacingly, its roar rolled like thunder over the mountains. Looking around in all directions, the lion stood in the gorge and looked with burning fury eyes for the one who dared to shoot arrows at him. But then he saw Hercules and threw himself with a huge jump on the hero. Like lightning, the club of Hercules flashed and fell with a thunderous blow on the lion's head. The lion fell to the ground, stunned by a terrible blow; Hercules threw himself on the lion, grabbed him with his mighty arms and strangled him. Having shouldered the slain lion on his mighty shoulders, Hercules returned to Nemea, sacrificed to Zeus and instituted 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. The king of Mycenae realized what superhuman strength Hercules possesses. He forbade him even to approach the gate of Mycenae; when Hercules brought evidence of his exploits, Eurystheus looked at them with horror from the high Mycenaean walls.

LERNEY HYDRA (SECOND FEAT)

After the first feat, Eurystheus sent Hercules to kill the Lernean hydra. It was a monster with the body of a snake and nine dragon heads. Like the Nemean lion, the hydra was born of Typhon and the Echidna. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and, crawling out of their lair, destroyed whole herds and devastated all the surroundings. The fight against the nine-headed hydra was dangerous because one of its heads was immortal. Hercules set off 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 went to look for the hydra. He found her in a cave surrounded by a swamp. Having red-hot his arrows, Hercules began to shoot them one after another into the hydra. The hydra was enraged by the arrows of Hercules. She crawled out, writhing a body covered with shiny scales, from the darkness of the cave, rose menacingly on her huge tail and was about to rush at the hero, but the son of Zeus stepped on her body and pressed her to the ground. With its tail, the hydra wrapped around the legs of Hercules and tried to knock him down. Like an unshakable rock, the hero stood and, with the waves of a heavy club, one after another knocked down the heads of the hydra. A club whistled in the air like a whirlwind; the heads of the hydra flew off, but the hydra was still alive. Then Hercules noticed that at the hydra, in place of each knocked off head, two new ones grow. Help came to the hydra. A monstrous cancer crawled out of the swamp and dug its ticks into the leg of Hercules. Then the hero called his friend Iolaus for help. Iolaus killed a monstrous crayfish, lit part of a nearby grove and burned the hydra's necks with burning tree trunks, from which Hercules knocked heads with his club. New heads have ceased to grow at 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 fell dead to the ground. The victor Hercules buried her immortal head deeply and piled a huge rock on her so that she 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 commission from Eurystheus awaited him.

STYMPHALIAN BIRDS (THE THIRD FEAT)

Eurystheus instructed Hercules to kill the Stymphalian birds. All the surroundings of the Arcadian city of Stymphala almost turned 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 of solid bronze, and the birds, flying up, could drop them, like arrows, at anyone who would try 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 tympans, they were forged by the god Hephaestus, and ordered Hercules to stand on a high hill near the forest where the Stymphalian birds nested, and hit the tympans; when the birds take off, shoot them with a bow. And so Hercules did. Ascending the hill, he struck the tympans, and there was such a deafening ringing that the birds flew in a huge flock over the forest and began circling in terror over it. They rained down their feathers, sharp as arrows, on the ground, but the feathers did not fall into Hercules, who stood on the hill. The hero grabbed his bow and began to shoot the birds with deadly arrows. In fear, the Stymphalian birds soared up behind the clouds and disappeared from the eyes of Hercules. The birds flew 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 immediately he had to go on an even more difficult feat.

THE KERINEAN DOE (FOURTH FEAT)

Eurystheus knew that a wonderful Kerinean doe lived in Arcadia, sent by the goddess Artemis to punish people. This fallow deer devastated the fields. Eurystheus sent Hercules to catch her and ordered him to deliver the deer alive to Mycenae. This doe was extraordinarily beautiful, its horns were golden and its 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, across the plains, jumped over precipices, swam across rivers. Farther and farther north the deer was running. The hero did not lag behind her, he pursued her, not losing sight of her. Finally, Hercules reached the far north in pursuit of the Padua - the country of the Hyperboreans and the sources of Istria. Here the doe stopped. The hero wanted to grab her, but she escaped and, like an arrow, rushed back to the south. The pursuit began again. Hercules managed to overtake the doe only in Arcadia. Even after such a long chase, she did not lose her strength. Desperate to catch the doe, Hercules resorted to his arrows that did not miss. He wounded the golden-horned doe with an arrow in the leg, and only then did he manage to catch her. Hercules put 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 wounding my beloved doe? Do you not 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 replied:

Oh, great daughter of Latona, do not blame me! I have never insulted the immortal gods living on the bright Olympus; I have always honored the celestials with rich victims and never considered myself equal to them, although I myself am the son of the thunderer Zeus. Not of my own free will I pursued your doe, but at the behest 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 doe alive to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.

ERIMANTHIAN KABAN AND THE BATTLE WITH THE CENTAURS

(FIFTH FEAT)

After the hunt for the copper-footed doe, which lasted a whole year, Hercules did not rest for long. Eurystheus again gave him an order: Hercules was to kill the Erymanthian boar. This boar, possessing monstrous strength, lived on Mount Erimanth and devastated the surroundings of the city of Psophis. He did not give people mercy and killed them with his huge fangs. Hercules went to Mount Erimanth. On the way, he visited the wise centaur Fall. Foul 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 the wondrous wine spread far away. Other centaurs also heard this fragrance. They were terribly angry with Fool for opening the vessel. Wine belonged not only to Fall, but was the property of all centaurs. The centaurs rushed to Fall's dwelling and attacked him and Hercules by surprise as the two feasted merrily with ivy wreaths on their heads. 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 chased them all the way to Maleya. There the centaurs took refuge with a friend of Hercules, Chiron, the wisest of the centaurs. Hercules followed them into the cave. In anger he drew his bow, an arrow flashed in the air and plunged into the knee of one of the centaurs. Hercules did not hit the enemy, but his friend Chiron. Great sorrow gripped the hero when he saw who he had wounded. Hercules is in a hurry to wash and bandage his friend's wound, but nothing can help. Hercules knew that a wound from an arrow poisoned by the bile of a hydra was incurable. Chiron also knew that he was facing a painful death. In order not to suffer from a wound, he subsequently voluntarily descended into the dark 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 chased the boar for a long time, and finally drove him into deep snow at the top of the mountain. The boar got stuck in the snow, and Hercules, rushing at him, tied him up and took him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the monstrous boar, he hid in a large bronze vessel out of fear.
THE CATTLE YARD OF KING AUGIA (THE SIXTH FEAT)

Soon Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to cleanse the entire cattle yard of Augeus, the king of Elis, the son of the radiant Helios, from the manure. The sun god gave his son incalculable riches. The herds of Avgius were especially numerous. Among his herds were three hundred bulls with legs as white as snow, two hundred bulls were red like Sidonian purple, twelve bulls dedicated to the god Helios were white like swans, and one bull, distinguished by extraordinary beauty, shone like a star. Hercules proposed to Augius to cleanse his entire huge cattle yard in one day, if he agreed to give him a tenth of his flocks. Augeas agreed. It seemed to him impossible to do such a job in one day. Hercules, on the other hand, broke the wall that surrounded the stockyard on two opposite sides, and took 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 folded the walls. When the hero came to Augius to demand a reward, the proud king did not give him the promised tenth of the flocks, and Heracles had to return to Tiryns with nothing.

The great hero took revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later, having already freed himself from service with 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 have been held since then by all Greeks every four years on a sacred plain, planted by Hercules himself with olives dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena.

Hercules took revenge on all the allies of Avgius. The king of Pylos, Neleus, paid in particular. Hercules, having come with an army to Pylos, took the city and killed Neleus and his eleven sons. Neleus' son Periklimenes, who was given the gift of the ruler of the sea, Poseidon, to turn into a lion, a snake and a bee, was not saved either. Hercules killed him when, turning into a bee, Periklimenes 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.

CRETE BULL (SEVENTH FEAT)

To fulfill the seventh order of Eurystheus, Hercules had to leave Greece and go to the island of Crete. Eurystheus instructed him to bring the Cretan bull to Mycenae. This bull was sent by the earth-shaker Poseidon to the king of Crete Minos, the son of Europe; Minos had to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon. But Minos is sorry to sacrifice such a beautiful bull - he left him in his flock, 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 ran 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 Poseidon's bull in his herd and set him free. Sensing freedom again, the mad bull rushed through the entire Peloponnese to the north and finally came running to Attica on the Marathon field. There he was killed by the great Athenian hero Theseus.

HORSES OF DIOMEDES (EIGHTH FEAT)

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 in stalls with iron chains, as no bonds could hold them. King Diomedes fed these horses with human meat. He threw them to devour all the strangers who, driven by the storm, pestered his city. It was to this Thracian king that Hercules came with his companions. He took possession of the horses of Diomedes and took them to his ship. On the shore, Diomedes himself overtook Hercules with his warlike beastones. Having entrusted the protection of the horses to his beloved Abder, the son of Hermes, Hercules fought with Diomedes. Hercules had few companions, but still Diomedes was defeated and fell in battle. Hercules returned to the ship. How great was his despair when he saw that wild horses had torn apart his favorite Abder. Hercules arranged a magnificent funeral for his pet, made a high hill on his grave, and next to the grave he founded a city and named it after his pet Abdera. Hercules brought the horses of Diomedes to Eurystheus, who ordered them to be released. Wild horses fled to the mountains of Lyceion, covered with dense forest, and were torn to pieces by wild beasts there.

HERCULES AT ADMET

Mainly based on the tragedy of Euripides "Alkestida"

When Hercules sailed on a ship on 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 Fer, where Admet ruled.

Hercules chose a difficult time for Admet. Great sorrow reigned in the house of King Fer. His wife Alkestida was about to die. Once the goddesses of fate, the great moiraes, at the request of Apollo, determined that Admet could get rid of death if at the last hour of his life someone agreed to voluntarily descend instead of him into the dark kingdom of Hades. When the hour of death came, Admet asked his elderly parents that one of them would agree to die in his place, but his parents refused. Not one of the inhabitants of Fer agreed to die voluntarily for the king Admet. Then the young, beautiful Alkestida decided to sacrifice her life for her beloved husband. On the day Admet was to die, his wife prepared for death. She washed the body and put on funeral garments and ornaments. Approaching the hearth, Alkestida turned to the goddess Hestia, who gives happiness in the house, with a fervent prayer:

Oh great goddess! 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, prematurely! May their life be happy and rich here, in their homeland.

Then Alcestis went around all the altars of the gods and decorated them with myrtle.

Finally, she went to her chambers and fell in tears on her bed. Her children came to her - a son and a daughter. They sobbed bitterly on their mother's chest. The maids of Alkestida also cried. In despair, Admet embraced his young wife and begged her not to leave him. Already ready for the death of Alkestides; already approaching with inaudible steps to the palace of king Fer, the god of death, hated by the gods and people, Thanat, in order to cut off a lock of hair from the head of Alkestiis 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 relentless. Alkestida senses 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 is threateningly shouting to me, ruling the boat: “Why are you delaying? Oh, let me go! My legs are getting weak. Death is approaching. 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. Better to let the sun shine on you, not on me. Admet, you love our children no less than me. Oh, do not take your stepmother into their house, so that she does not offend them!

The unfortunate Admet suffers.

You take all the joy of life with you, Alkestida! - he exclaims, - all my life now I will grieve for you. Oh, gods, gods, what kind of wife are you taking from me!

Alkestida says a little audibly:

Goodbye! My eyes have already closed forever. Goodbye children! Now I am nothing. Goodbye Admet!

Oh, take another look! Don't leave your children! Oh, let me die too! - Admet exclaimed with tears.

Alkestida's eyes closed, her body grows cold, she died. Admet weeps inconsolably over the deceased and bitterly laments his fate. He orders a magnificent funeral for his wife. For eight months he orders everyone in the city to mourn Alkestida, the best of women. The whole city is full of sorrow, because everyone loved the good queen.

They were already preparing to carry the body of Alkestida to her tomb, when Hercules comes to the city of Fera. He goes to Admet's palace and meets his friend at the palace gates. Admet met with honor the great son of the aegis Zeus. Not wanting to sadden the guest, Admet tries to hide his grief from him. But Hercules immediately noticed that his friend was deeply grieved, and asked about the reason for his grief. Admet gives an unclear answer to Hercules, and he decides that a distant relative who was sheltered by the king after the death of his father died. 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 the groans of sorrow do not reach Hercules' ears. Unaware of what misfortune befell his friend, Hercules is having a merry feast in Admet's palace. He drinks goblet after goblet. It is hard for the servants to serve a cheerful guest - after all, 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, Hercules nevertheless 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 sorrow on his brow, but the servant refuses. Then Hercules guesses that a grave grief befell the house of Admet. He begins to question the servant what happened to his friend, and finally the servant tells him:

O stranger, Admet's wife descended today into the kingdom of Hades.

Hercules was saddened. It hurt him that he was feasting in an ivy wreath and singing at the house of a friend who had 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 great hero's decision quickly ripened to take away from the gloomy god of death Thanat his prey - Alkestida.

Having learned from the servant where the tomb of Alkestida is, he hurries there sooner. Hiding behind the tomb, Hercules waits for Thanat to arrive to drink at the grave of the sacrificial blood. Then the flapping of the black wings of Thanat was heard, a burial chill blew; 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 Thanat. He seized the god of death with his mighty arms, and a terrible struggle began between them. Straining all his strength, Hercules fights with the god of death. He squeezed the chest of Hercules Thanat with his bony hands, he breathes his icy breath on him, and the cold of death blows from his wings to the hero. Yet the mighty son of the thunderer Zeus defeated Thanat. He tied Thanat and demanded as a ransom for freedom to bring the god of death back to life Alcestis. Thanat 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 his wife's funeral, bitterly mourned his irreplaceable loss. It was hard for him to stay in the empty palace, Where should he go? He envies the dead. He hates life. He calls for death. All his happiness was stolen by Thanat and taken to the kingdom of Hades. What could be more difficult for him than the loss of his beloved wife! Admet regrets that she did not allow Alkestides to die with her, then death would have united them. Hades would receive two loyal souls instead of one. Together these souls of Acheron would swim across. Suddenly Hercules appeared before the mournful Admet. He leads a woman, covered by a veil, by the hand. Hercules asks Admet to leave this woman, which he inherited after a hard struggle, in the palace until his return from Thrace. Refuses Admet; 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 the woman into the palace himself. He does not allow Admet's servants 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 her, 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 Alkestida? Stop longing! Be happy with life again!

Oh great gods! - Admet exclaimed, lifting the veil of the woman, - my wife Alkestida! Oh no, it's just her shadow! She stands silently, she has not uttered a word!

No, this is not a shadow! - answered Hercules, - this is Alkestida. I obtained it in a difficult struggle with the Lord of Souls Thanat. She will be silent until she is freed from the power of the underground gods, bringing them atoning sacrifices; she will be silent until three times change from night to day; only then will she speak. Now goodbye, Admet! Be happy and always observe the great custom of hospitality, consecrated by my father, Zeus!

Oh, great son of Zeus, you gave me the joy of life again! - Admet exclaimed, - how can I thank you? Stay with me as a guest. I will command in all my possessions to celebrate your victory, I will command you to bring great sacrifices to the gods. Stay with me!

Hercules did not stay with Admet; feat awaited him; he had to fulfill the order of Eurystheus and get him the horses of King Diomedes.