Who after his death killed Hercules. Why did Hercules perform his labors? Add your price to the base Comment

1. Hercules and Dejanira

Hercules lived in the Arcadian Phenea for four years. He would have stayed here longer, but the news came that the king of Aetolia, Oineus (), was marrying his daughter Dejanira. “This is by the way! Hercules said to himself. - It's time to start a family and children! Not a century for me to be a bachelor! And he went to Calydon. The city hummed like a disturbed beehive. From all over Greece, grooms came here. After all, Deianira was a beautiful girl, and a considerable dowry was given to her! But how to choose the most worthy of the many applicants? The king announced that he would give his daughter to one of the princes who would win in the struggle of all rivals. He alone could make her happy! Having learned about the decision of Oinei, the suitors were confused. And not easy! The most powerful and huge among them was the river god Aheloy. His muscles bulged under his skin, and if he wished, he could double-knot a bronze poker. Try to challenge this one to a duel! True, Dejanira did not like him at all. “I don’t want to marry Achelous! she told her father. “His beard is green, like mud, and it drips all the time like wet laundry.” - "Nonsense! Oine replied. - But he is a god and can turn into a large spotted snake. And not only in the snake! He can turn into a bull, you just have to want to. Well, where will you find yourself another such husband? But his arguments did not make any impression on the princess. She sat locked in her chambers and did not want to show herself to her betrothed.

Such things were going on in Calydon when Hercules came there. “I will fight Achelous! he proclaimed. - Even if I myself am not a god, but through me you can intermarry with Zeus himself. Everyone knows that I am his son!” - “Ho-ho,” answered Aheloy, “it has long been known: the more insignificant the rogue, the more kinship he is called! How do you know who your father is? From your mom? So she could come up with something else!” Hercules frowned. “I see you are a master of tongue-lashing, Aheloy,” he said sternly. “As for me, I’m used to relying more on my hands!” The hero rushed at the opponent and wanted to lay him on the ground. But there it was! Huge Aheloy stood as unshakable as a rock. Hercules unsuccessfully attacked him three times, and finally managed to grab the enemy from behind. Then came the turn of Achelous to sound the alarm. Caught in the mighty embrace of the son of Zeus, he could not even move a finger. Hercules pressed him lower and lower to the ground, and in order not to be defeated, Aheloy turned into a huge snake. This cunning trick could confuse anyone, but not Hercules! "Bravo, Aheloy! he shouted. You couldn't think of a better gift for me! Even in the cradle, I learned to fight snakes!” He grabbed the enemy by the throat and squeezed him like a pincer. Aheloy realized that he had not found the best way out, and immediately turned into a powerful, steep bull. However, in this guise, he did not frighten Hercules at all. We remember that among his past exploits was the victory over the Cretan bull (), and this meant a lot! The hero with such force bent the opponent to the ground that he broke one of his horns. The unlucky god had to admit his defeat. Oeneus was not very pleased with the outcome of the duel, but Dejanira liked the new groom much more than the old one. She willingly agreed to marry him, and a merry wedding was played a few days later.

Having married Dejanira, Hercules lived in retirement in Calydon. It seemed that far-flung wanderings and dangerous adventures were gone forever. Hercules dreamed of children, grandchildren and a peaceful old age, but everything turned out differently. Once, during a feast, a boy serving at the table poured water on his hands, in which other guests had washed their feet before. "Open your eyes, you fool! the hero shouted to him. “Don’t you see, it’s slop!” He gave the boy a slap in the face and, without calculating his strength, killed him. Because of this involuntary crime, he again had to go into exile.

Dejanira did not want to leave her husband and followed him to a foreign land. Together they reached the river Even. It was spring. From the melt waters, the river overflowed its banks and spread widely over the plain. How to proceed here? Looking around, Hercules noticed a centaur nearby, wiping his wet sides with a lion's skin. The name of this centaur was Nessus, and he transported travelers across the river for a fee. “You are what I need! The son of Zeus rejoiced. - Take my wife to the other side. If you deliver it without getting your feet wet, I will pay you double!” The centaur agreed. Hercules seated Dejanira on his back, then threw his club, bow and arrows across the river and jumped into the cold water. Although he was very strong, the crossing was not easy for him. However, no one else would have coped with such a stormy course! As soon as the hero stepped on land, he heard the loud cries of his wife. What? Looking around, Hercules saw Nessus, who, embracing Dejanira, was rapidly moving away from the coast. “So that's it! - Angrily exclaimed the son of Zeus. “Not otherwise this half-horse wants to rob me!” And he was not wrong! The insidious centaur fell in love with the beautiful Dejanira at first sight and decided to kidnap her. To his misfortune, he did not realize with whom he was dealing, and it cost him dearly. Without a moment's hesitation, Hercules pulled his bow and launched a deadly arrow after the thief. And although there was a decent distance between them, she hit right on target - she stuck Ness between the shoulder blades and, passing through his body, came out of his chest! The centaur felt that he was dying, released Dejanira and fell to the ground in front of her. "Gorgeous! - he said. - Let's forget the insults! I acted badly, but your husband has already gotten even with me! You were the last person I got across the river, and I want to do you a favor. Collect my blood and save it! If ever Hercules stops loving you, soak his clothes with this blood, and you will return his feeling again. With these words, Nessus expired. Dejanira took out a travel jug from her bag, filled it with blood flowing from the wound, sealed it and hid it among her belongings.

2. Hercules and Aegimius

Hercules and his wife found shelter in the Thessalian Trakhina with King Keikos. Here, one after another, their children were born: four sons - Gill, Ctesippus, Glen, Onit - and a daughter Macarius. Now Hercules has become much more hospitable, and not as willingly as he used to embark on adventures. But still he had to participate in several military campaigns.

Once, the king of the Dorians Egimius () turned to the son of Zeus for help. The kingdom of Egimius was very tiny, and things went very badly, because two warlike sovereigns took up arms against him at once - the king of the Lapiths Coron and the king of the dryops Leogor. War with such powerful rivals did not bode well. Egimius could only hope for a miracle, so he went to Trakhina to Hercules. “I don’t know what you expect from me,” Hercules coldly answered the Dorian king. “It is not easy to defeat the Lapiths, and there is no reason for me to get involved in this risky business.” - "I do not think so! Egimius objected. “Firstly, by supporting the weak and unjustly offended, you will commit a charitable act, and secondly, this matter concerns you much more closely than you think” - “Why is that?” Hercules asked. “You know that I have no heirs,” the king explained, “so I am ready to adopt any of your sons even now. May he inherit the throne after my death!”

Hercules thought hard. "Well! he said at last. “That changes things. I will be your ally!" And he really gave Egimius the most active support. Having recruited a small army in Arcadia and united with the Dorians, Hercules first fought the Lapiths and defeated them in a stubborn battle. King Coron and many of his subjects fell on the battlefield. Then the son of Zeus suddenly attacked Leogor and killed him along with his sons while he was feasting in the temple of Apollo. Egimius returned his possessions, and from that time on the people of the Dorians began to rapidly increase their power.

3. The death of a hero

“There is one insult that I cannot forget!” Hercules once confessed to his eldest son Gill. "Are any of your enemies still alive?" he asked. “Yes, I swear by Olympus! the hero exclaimed. - Eurytus, the king of Oichaliya, smokes the sky to this day! Two decades ago, I defeated him in a fair competition. He should have called me his son-in-law, but instead he expelled me from the palace like the last rogue! ()” “I have heard about this heinous act,” said Gill. “And since you and I remember, it means that others also remember him,” said Hercules. “I can’t go to the grave without washing away this shame!”

The hero sent messengers to his friends among the Arcadians and Locrians, urging them to march on Euboea. Nobody answered him with a refusal. Gathering troops, Hercules approached Oichalia and, after a short siege, took possession of it. Eurytus, his sons, henchmen and advisers - all were killed. After all, if the son of Zeus started a war, he never fought at half strength! What about Iola? The unfortunate woman knew that the bitter fate of a slave awaited her and threw herself down from the high city wall. However, she did not crash and remained alive thanks to the skirts, which swelled from the wind and softened the blow. “Take the princess to Trakhina and keep your eyes on her! Hercules said. But don't hurt her! I know how to arrange her future fate!

The prisoners were taken to Trakhina. Together with them, Hercules sent the messenger Lichas. “Tell my wife that I am offering sacrifices to the gods on Cape Keney,” he said. “Let him send a festive shirt and a cloak there!” Lichas came to Dejanira and informed her of her husband's command. But she had her own thoughts in her mind. “What is the name of that beautiful woman who was brought to my house along with other captives? Dejanira asked. "She's not a slave, is she?" - “Of course not! Lichas answered. - This is Iola, daughter of Eurytus! Hercules was looking for her hands shortly before he wooed you! Because of her, he started this war! Now the poor thing is dying and crying, but soon she will be comforted! I myself heard Hercules promise to arrange her fate!

Thus chattered the garrulous Lichas, and with his speeches aroused an alarming suspicion in Dejanira's soul. And any other woman in her place would feel uncomfortable! “Hercules was in love with Iola! thought Oinea's daughter. - Only Eurytus prevented their marriage then! But now that all obstacles have been removed, my husband will certainly marry her!” From these thoughts, Dejanira became bitter and hurt. But she did not give in to despair for long, because she remembered the jar of blood of the centaur Ness, carefully preserved by her all these years. "Here's what will help me! thought Oinea's daughter. - Nessus said: if you smear this potion on your husband's clothes, it will return his love to me. It's time to find out if he told the truth." Poor Dejanira! No one explained to her how dangerous it is to trust the treacherous centaurs, especially when they are obsessed with revenge! The blood of Nessus, mixed with the bile of the Lernean hydra, had long since turned into a terrible poison and, of course, did not bring with it anything but a painful death. Not realizing this, Dejanira dipped a piece of wool in a jug, and then rubbed her husband's shirt and cloak with blood. Putting things in a luxurious casket, she handed it to Lichas with the words: “Hurry to Euboea and give this box to Hercules. Here is everything he asked for!” Lichas immediately set off on his return journey. When he left, the daughter of Oinea accidentally cast a glance at that corner of the paved courtyard, where she had dropped a used piece of wool before. "Gods Almighty, what is it?" she cried. There was something to be horrified! Under the influence of the heat of the sun, the wool decayed and turned to ashes, as if burned by fire, and poisonous foam appeared between the stones! Alarmed, Dejanira rose to her rest, but could not take on anything - all things fell out of her hands. Every minute her heart beat faster and more anxiously. Finally, she could not stand it, called Gill and with tears confessed to him what she had done. "Son! Dejanira exclaimed. “Take the fastest horses and ride after Lichas!” Shirt and cloak are fraught with danger to life! Father shouldn't wear them!" Gill didn't make him repeat the request twice. Jumping on the chariot, he rushed at full speed to the seashore. His horses flew like an arrow, driven by a whip and a loud cry, but, alas, if they rushed at least twice as fast, they were not allowed to catch up in time!

In the meantime, preparations were underway for a grandiose sacrifice at Cape Keney. Hercules built twelve huge altars from stones - according to the number of the main Olympian gods. On each of them stood a pile of brushwood. The bulls and other animals selected for the sacrifice stood right there. It was only for a festive cloak and shirt. But then Lichas appeared and handed over to the master the casket sent by his wife. Dressed in sacred clothes, Hercules lit the fires and slaughtered twelve mighty bulls one after the other. Then he began to slaughter and burn smaller cattle, pour expensive wine on the altars and throw incense into the fire. Such plentiful sacrifices have not been offered to the gods for a long time! Excited by the work and the heat of the fires, Hercules continually wiped sweat from his face and suddenly felt a burning sensation in his whole body - this was the poison of the hydra that had penetrated his skin!

Now nothing could save the hero! The pain grew with every moment and finally became unbearable. Convulsions and terrible convulsions began. Falling to the ground, Hercules, screaming, rolled between the altars. He tore at his clothes, but she did not come off, as if she had grown to him. Together with the cloth, the son of Zeus tore off his skin in patches, and this suffering made him completely unbearable. "Lichas! Hercules shouted, “where did you get this cloak?” The unlucky messenger wanted to explain what was happening, but the hero, without listening to the end, grabbed him by the leg and hit the ground so hard that it immediately ended. And it cannot be said that his death was completely undeserved! Chatter Lichas is smaller, you see, no trouble would have happened. After that, no one dared to approach the unfortunate man. Finally Gill galloped up and hugged his wailing father. "I'm dying, son! exclaimed Hercules. “Your mother poisoned me!” “No, father,” the young man answered with tears, “she is only to blame for trusting the villain!” And he told about the insidious trick of Nessus. “So that's it! Hercules sighed. “Now I understand the meaning of an old prophecy. Once the Pythia predicted that I would die from the machinations of a dead enemy. It turns out that this enemy is Ness! That's when his revenge got me."

Gill ordered his father to be put on a wagon and taken to the foot of Mount Eta near Trakhina. In this place, Hercules wished to part with his life. However, no matter how much they were in a hurry, driving the horses, the news of the hero’s fatal illness reached the city earlier. Pale as death, Dejanira silently listened to the messenger, went up to the bedroom and pierced her chest with a sword. Gill and Hercules learned of her death as they drove up to the city. The young man could not restrain his mournful sobs, and the dying hero sadly said: “Poor Dejanira! She judged herself too harshly. But let everyone know that I don't blame her for my death."

They soon reached Eta. Hercules ordered to build a huge fire on its top. His torments were so terrible that death by fire seemed like a sweet deliverance. "Son! - he said. “Promise me that you will marry Iola.” “How can you ask me about this, father? Gill exclaimed. “This woman is to blame for all our misfortunes!” “Don't argue with me, my boy! asked Hercules. You know that she's not to blame for anything. And by your refusal, you only increase my suffering.” Gill agreed to fulfill his father's last will. Hercules climbed onto a pile of brushwood, spread a lion skin over the logs, put a club under his head and ordered his son to set fire to firewood. “To do what you ask is to become your killer! the young man objected. "Don't ask me to do something I can never do!" The hero began to ask others for this service, but no one dared to bring a deadly fire to his fire. "Gods Almighty! Hercules then exclaimed. "Tell these stubborn people that I'm begging them for help!" Really, after so many years of hard work, deeds and battles, I didn’t deserve what every mortal has - a peaceful death! But no! These people, who call themselves my friends, will quietly watch as the poison torments my insides! None of them will lift a finger to put me out of my misery!” At this time, a prince from Melibea by the name of Philoctetes happened to be on the top of Eta. Hercules turned to him with the same prayer. And so that he would not hesitate, he promised a bow as a reward and, in addition, his famous poisoned arrows. Philoctetes, seduced by the reward, threw a lit torch into a pile of brushwood. Dry firewood caught fire. Flames engulfed the hero’s body from all sides and, after a short time, turned him into ashes…

Heroic Age

Hercules, in Greek mythology, the greatest of the heroes, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus needed a mortal hero to defeat the giants, and he decided to give birth to Hercules. The best mentors taught Hercules various arts, wrestling, archery. Zeus wanted Hercules to become the ruler of Mycenae or Tiryns, the key fortresses on the approaches to Argos, but the jealous Hera upset his plans. She struck Hercules with madness, in a fit of which he killed his wife and three of his sons. To atone for a heavy guilt, the hero had to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, after which he was granted immortality.

Hercules at the crossroads
Virtue and Vice,
Pompeo Batoni, 1765

Francois Lemoine,
1725

The most famous is the cycle of legends about the twelve labors of Hercules. The first feat was to obtain the skin of a Nemean lion, which Hercules had to strangle with his bare hands. Having defeated the lion, the hero dressed his skin and wore it as a trophy. The next feat was the victory over the hydra, the sacred nine-headed snake of Hera. The monster lived in a swamp near Lerna, not far from Argos. The difficulty was that instead of the head cut off by the hero, the hydra immediately grew two new ones. With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules mastered the fierce Lernean hydra - the young man burned the neck of each head cut off by the hero. True, the feat was not counted by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew.

Gustave Moreau, 1876

Boris Vallejo, 1988

The next feat was not so bloody. Hercules should have caught the Kerinean doe, the sacred animal of Artemis. Then the hero caught the Erymanthian boar, which was devastating the fields of Arcadia. At the same time, the wise centaur Chiron accidentally died. The fifth feat was the cleaning of the Augean stables from manure, which the hero did in one day, directing the waters of the nearest river into them.

The last of the feats performed by Hercules in the Peloponnese was the expulsion of Stymphalian birds with pointed iron feathers. The ominous birds were frightened by the copper rattles made by Hephaestus and given to Hercules by the goddess Athena, who was favorable to him.

The seventh feat was the capture of a ferocious bull, which Minos, king of Crete, refused to sacrifice to the god of the sea, Poseidon. The bull copulated with Minos' wife Pasiphae. who gave birth from him to the Minotaur, a man with a bull's head.

Hercules performed the eighth feat in Thrace, where he subjugated the cannibal mares of King Diomedes to his power. The remaining four feats were of a different kind. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the warlike Amazons. Then the hero kidnapped and delivered to Mycenae the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon. After that, Hercules brought Eurystheus the golden apples of the Hesperides, for which he had to strangle the giant Antaeus and deceive Atlas, holding the sky on his shoulders. The last feat of Hercules - a journey to the kingdom of the dead - was the most difficult. With the assistance of the queen of the underworld, Persephone, the hero was able to bring out and deliver to Tiryns the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), the guardian of the underworld.

The end of Hercules was terrible. The hero died in terrible agony, wearing a shirt that his wife Dejanira, on the advice of the centaur Nessus, who was dying at the hands of Hercules, soaked with the poisonous blood of this half-man-half-horse. When the hero with his last strength ascended the funeral pyre, a crimson lightning struck from heaven and Zeus accepted his son into the host of immortals.

Some of the exploits of Hercules are immortalized in the names of the constellations. For example, the constellation Leo - in memory of the Nemean lion, the constellation Cancer recalls the huge cancer Karkina, sent by Hera to help the Lernean hydra. In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.

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

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

12 Labors of Hercules

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

Strangulation of the Nemean Lion
Killing the Lernaean Hydra (not counted due to Iolaus' help)
Extermination of Stymphalian birds
Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer
Taming the Erymanthian Boar
Cleaning the Augean Stables (not counted due to fee requirement)
Taming the Cretan Bull
The abduction of the Horses of Diomedes, the victory over King Diomedes (who threw strangers to be eaten by his horses)
The Abduction of the Girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
The abduction of the cows of the three-headed giant Gerion
The theft of golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides
Taming of the guardian Hades - the dog Cerberus

The first feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The second feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The third feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The fourth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The fifth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The sixth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

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

The seventh feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The eighth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The ninth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The tenth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

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

Eleventh feat of Hercules (summary)

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

The twelfth feat of Hercules (summary)

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

Further, Hercules participates in gigantomachy, when Gaia gives birth to giants against the Olympians. Wild chthonic forces break out, which Hercules pacifies. And the most interesting thing for us, connected with Hercules, is, of course, his death. The story of the death of Hercules begins with the fact that he is once again expelled, and with the “soft”, “compliant”, “delicate” character of Hercules, it is not at all surprising that somewhere they did not want to endure him as a neighbor and were regularly expelled. And now, once again, he is expelled, he goes with his wife to look for a new home. They drive up to the river, where the carrier is located - the centaur Ness, who offers to transfer Dejanira, the wife of Hercules, on his back. Hercules agrees, Ness puts Dejanira on his back and instead of transferring her, he tries to kidnap her. Hercules grabs his bow with poisoned arrows, shoots at Nessus, kills him. But Ness, wanting to avenge Hercules for his death, advises Deianira to collect his blood in a special vessel, and when Hercules decides to change Deianira, she can rub Hercules' clothes with his blood in order to bewitch Hercules again. What Dejanira does. A number of years pass, Hercules wants to marry another - a captive captured in battle, at the same time a princess. Dejanira remembers the advice of Nessus, takes this vessel, rubs the blood of Nessus, mixed with the poison of the Lernean Hydra, into Hercules' clothes, sends him a poisoned tunic. Under the rays of the sun, blood and poison foam, everything begins to stick to the body of Hercules. He tears off this tunic from himself along with pieces of skin, the poison ulcerates his body. Poor dying Hercules orders himself alive to lay down a funeral pyre, ascends to it still alive, tormented by this poison. In the fire of the fire, he goes to Olympus, is accepted by Zeus among the gods. In the future, Hercules one way or another becomes a god. In ancient Greece, not so much, but in Rome the cult of Hercules was extremely widespread. And there he was closely associated with various rural gods - the gods who were worshiped in villages, estates. But we are not now interested in the cult of Hercules. We are now interested in the mass of logical inconsistencies (supposedly inconsistencies) in this legend. Just Oldie is also very ironic about this. Dejanira, wearing ox-skin gloves, was she rubbing this same blood into her tunic? Hercules dies from putting on a chiton rubbed with blood. But beforehand, Dejanira herself rubbed the robe with this blood, that is, she touched this blood. Meanwhile, no death threatens her, nothing happens to her. Upon learning that she had unwittingly killed her husband, she committed suicide. But this is herself. Why didn't Dejanira die? This is the first question. Second question. Very nice outdoor picture. Hercules orders a funeral pyre to be built for himself while still alive, and ascends to it. Is it not easier, not faster, to throw himself at the sword? Why is there a bonfire motif? Why does the image of Hercules appear, burning alive? Two questions. If we approach Greek myths the way the Greeks approached them (all these are people, and everything must be explained according to the laws of human psychology), then these two questions remain unanswered, and these two episodes turn out to be absurd. If, however, we approach this according to the laws of mythological thinking, then there will be no exaggerations here and everything will turn out to be strictly logical. Who kills the poison of the Lernaean Hydra? Now he threatened Helios, then Apollo. It is a poison capable of killing immortals. In Hercules, as we know, two-thirds of divine blood, and accordingly, the poison in the Lernaean Hydra kills the divine component in Hercules. But since Hercules is not a god, but a man, this poison cannot finally kill him. In Hercules there is also mortal flesh, which is not subject to this poison. And so poor Hercules is tormented, suffering from this poison, but he cannot die. Further about the circumstances of burning alive. For all the formal illogicality, the motive of self-immolation is internally, emotionally extremely convincing. And as an artistic image, he absolutely does not raise any objections. Why? Because the concepts of Hercules and rage are absolutely inseparable concepts. We said that for mythological thinking there are no abstract concepts, there are only concrete representations. Therefore, rage must be concretely materialized. And indeed, this materialization is in a huge number of legends. In all archaic epic tales of any peoples we know (and even partly this "slips" into the classics), rage is fire. In the Irish legend, in the legends of the peoples of Siberia, at the moment of rage, the body is engulfed in fire, and sometimes more than one: the head is surrounded by a scarlet flame, tongues of blue flame fly from somewhere white, and so on. Not a hero, but a walking firework. Jokes are jokes, but the spectacle is very impressive. In the Buddhist iconography of Tibet, the body of angry deities is engulfed in flames. Since Hercules is the embodiment of rage, then his death, like other extreme manifestations of rage (he burned the children alive and the palace), death through the flames is not just a logical death, but the only possible death. Why does he order a funeral pyre to be built for himself? Why doesn't he do it himself? Apparently, because, although, as we have already said, death for the heroic hero is directly or indirectly suicide, but, apparently, the human in Hercules must be killed, as the divine is killed in him, and must be killed precisely by people. Therefore, a fire is built for him. On such a powerful chord, on such a vivid image, the biography of Hercules ends.