Myths about the gods and their struggle with giants and titans are set out mainly in Hesiod's poem "Theogony" (The Origin of the Gods). Some legends are also borrowed from the poems of Homer "Iliad" and "Odyssey" and the poem of the Roman poet Ovid "Metamorphoses" (Transformations).

In the beginning, there was only eternal, boundless, dark Chaos. In it was the source of the life of the world. Everything arose from the boundless Chaos - the whole world and the immortal gods. From Chaos came the goddess Earth - Gaia. It spread wide, mighty, giving life to everything that lives and grows on it. Far under the Earth, as far as the vast, bright sky is from us, in the immeasurable depth, the gloomy Tartarus was born - a terrible abyss, full of eternal darkness. From Chaos, the source of life, a mighty force was born, all animating Love - Eros. The world began to form. Boundless Chaos gave birth to the Eternal Darkness - Erebus and the dark Night - Nyukta. And from Night and Darkness came the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful bright Day - Hemera. Light spread over the world, and night and day began to replace each other.

The mighty, fertile Earth gave birth to the boundless blue sky- Uranus, and the sky spread over the Earth. The high Mountains, born of the Earth, proudly rose to him, and the eternally noisy Sea spread wide.

Mother Earth gave birth to Heaven, Mountains and the Sea, and they have no father.

Uranus - Sky - reigned in the world. He took the blessed Earth as his wife. Six sons and six daughters - mighty, formidable titans - were Uranus and Gaia. Their son, the titan Ocean, flowing around like a boundless river, the whole earth, and the goddess Thetis gave birth to all the rivers that roll their waves to the sea, and sea goddesses - oceanides. Titan Gipperion and Theia gave children to the world: the Sun - Helios, the Moon - Selena and the ruddy Dawn - pink-fingered Eos (Aurora). From Astrea and Eos came all the stars that burn in the dark night sky, and all the winds: the stormy north wind Boreas, the eastern Eurus, the humid southern Noth and the gentle western wind Zephyr, carrying clouds abundant with rain.

In addition to the titans, the mighty Earth gave birth to three giants - Cyclopes with one eye in the forehead - and three huge, like mountains, fifty-headed giants - hundred-armed (hekatoncheirs), so named because each of them had one hundred hands. Nothing can stand against their terrible strength, their elemental strength knows no limit.

Uranus hated his giant children, he imprisoned them in deep darkness in the bowels of the goddess Earth and did not allow them to come out into the light. Their mother Earth suffered. She was crushed by this terrible burden, enclosed in her depths. She called her children, the titans, and urged them to rebel against their father Uranus, but they were afraid to raise their hands against their father. Only the youngest of them, the treacherous Kronos, overthrew his father by cunning and took power away from him.

The Goddess Night gave birth to a whole host of terrible substances as punishment for Kron: Tanata - death, Eridu - discord, Apatu - deceit, Ker - destruction, Hypnos - a dream with a swarm of gloomy, heavy visions, Nemesis who knows no mercy - revenge for crimes - and many others. Horror, strife, deceit, struggle and misfortune brought these gods into the world, where Kron reigned on the throne of his father.

The picture of the life of the gods on Olympus is given according to the works of Homer - the Iliad and the Odyssey, glorifying the tribal aristocracy and the basileus leading it as the best people standing far above the rest of the population. The gods of Olympus differ from aristocrats and basileus only in that they are immortal, powerful and can work miracles.

Birth of Zeus

Kron was not sure that power would forever remain in his hands. He was afraid that the children would rise up against him and find him the same fate that he condemned his father Uranus to. He was afraid of his children. And Kron ordered his wife Rhea to bring him newborn children and mercilessly swallowed them. Rhea was horrified when she saw the fate of her children. Cron has already swallowed five: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades (Hades) and Poseidon.

Rhea did not want to lose her last child. On the advice of her parents, Uranus-Heaven and Gaia-Earth, she retired to the island of Crete, and there, in a deep cave, was born to her younger son Zeus. In this cave, Rhea hid her son from a cruel father, and gave him a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead of his son. Kron did not suspect that he was deceived by his wife.

Meanwhile, Zeus grew up in Crete. The nymphs Adrastea and Idea cherished the little Zeus, they fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. Bees carried honey to little Zeus from the slopes of the high mountain Dikty. At the entrance to the cave, young Kuretes struck shields with swords whenever little Zeus cried, so that Kron would not hear his cry and Zeus would not suffer the fate of his brothers and sisters.

Zeus overthrows Kron. The struggle of the Olympian gods with the titans

The beautiful and mighty god Zeus grew up and matured. He rebelled against his father and forced him to bring back the children he had devoured into the world. One by one, the monster from the mouth of Kron spewed his children-gods, beautiful and bright. They began to fight with Kron and the titans for power over the world.

This struggle was terrible and stubborn. The children of Kron established themselves on the high Olympus. Some of the titans also took their side, and the first were the titan Ocean and his daughter Styx and their children Zeal, Power and Victory. This struggle was dangerous for the Olympian gods. Mighty and formidable were their opponents the titans. But Zeus came to the aid of the Cyclopes. They forged thunder and lightning for him, Zeus threw them into the titans. The struggle had been going on for ten years, but the victory did not lean to either side. Finally, Zeus decided to free the hundred-armed hecatoncheir giants from the bowels of the earth; he called them for help. Terrible, huge as mountains, they came out of the bowels of the earth and rushed into battle. They tore off entire rocks from the mountains and threw them at the titans. Hundreds of rocks flew towards the titans when they approached Olympus. The earth groaned, a roar filled the air, everything shook around. Even Tartarus shuddered from this struggle.

Zeus threw one fiery lightning after another and deafening roaring thunders. Fire engulfed the whole earth, the seas boiled, smoke and stench shrouded everything in a thick veil.

Finally, the mighty titans faltered. Their strength was broken, they were defeated. The Olympians bound them and cast them into the gloomy Tartarus, into eternal darkness. At the indestructible copper gates of Tartarus, hundred-armed hecatoncheirs stood guard, and they guard so that the mighty titans do not break free again from Tartarus. The power of the titans in the world has passed.

Zeus fighting Typhon

But the fight didn't end there. Gaia-Earth was angry with the Olympian Zeus because he acted so harshly with her defeated children-titans. She married the gloomy Tartarus and gave birth to the terrible hundred-headed monster Typhon. Huge, with a hundred dragon heads, Typhon rose from the bowels of the earth. With a wild howl he shook the air. The barking of dogs, human voices, the roar of an angry bull, the roar of a lion were heard in this howl. Stormy flames swirled around Typhon, and the earth shook under his heavy steps. The gods shuddered in horror, but Zeus the Thunderer boldly rushed at him, and the battle caught fire. Again, lightning flashed in the hands of Zeus, thunder rumbled. The earth and the vault of heaven shook to their foundations. The earth flared up again with a bright flame, as it had during the struggle with the titans. The seas boiled at the mere approach of Typhon. Hundreds of fiery arrows-lightnings of the Thunderer Zeus rained down; it seemed that from their fire the very air was burning and dark thunderclouds were burning. Zeus burned all of Typhon's hundred heads to ashes. Typhon collapsed to the ground; such heat emanated from his body that everything around him melted. Zeus raised the body of Typhon and cast it into the gloomy Tartarus, which gave birth to him. But even in Tartarus, Typhon threatens the gods and all living things. He causes storms and eruptions; he gave birth with Echidna, a half-woman half-snake, the terrible two-headed dog Orff, the hellish dog Cerberus, the Lernean hydra and the Chimera; Typhon often shakes the earth.

The Stymphalian birds were the last offspring of monsters in the Peloponnese, and since the power of Eurystheus did not extend beyond the Peloponnese, Hercules decided that his service to the king was over.

But the mighty strength of Hercules did not allow him to live in idleness. He longed for exploits and even rejoiced when Koprey appeared to him.

"Eurystheus," said the herald, "orders you to clear the stables of the king of Elis, Avgius, from manure in one day."

King Perseus and Queen Andromeda ruled the golden Mycenae for a long time and gloriously, and the gods sent them many children. The eldest of the sons was named Electrion. Electrion was no longer young when he had to take the throne of his father. The gods did not offend Electrion with their offspring: Electrion had many sons, one better than the other, and only one daughter - the beautiful Alcmene.

It seemed that there was no kingdom in all Hellas more prosperous than the kingdom of Mycenae. But once the country was attacked by the Tafians - ferocious sea robbers who lived on the islands at the very entrance to the Gulf of Corinth, where the Aheloy River flows into the sea.

This new sea, unknown to the Greeks, breathed into their faces with a wide-noisy rumble. It stretched out like a blue desert before them, mysterious and formidable, deserted and stern.

They knew: somewhere out there, on the other side of its seething abyss, lie mysterious lands inhabited by wild peoples; their customs are cruel, their appearance is terrible. There, somewhere along the banks of the full-flowing Istra, terrible people with dog-like muzzles are barking - cynocephals, dog-headed. There, beautiful and ferocious Amazon warriors rush along the free steppes. There, eternal darkness thickens further, and in it, like wild animals, inhabitants of the night and cold - Hyperboreans roam. But where is it all?

Many misadventures awaited brave travelers on the road, but they were destined to come out with glory from all of them.

In Bithynia, the country of the Bebriks, their invincible fist fighter, King Amik, a terrible murderer, detained them; without pity and shame, he threw every foreigner to the ground with a blow of his fist. He also challenged these new aliens to battle, but the young Polideuces, brother of Castor, son of Leda, defeated the mighty one, breaking his temple in a fair fight.

Moving away from the familiar shores, the ship "Argo" for many days cut the waves of the calm Propontis, that sea, which people now call the Sea of ​​Marmara.

The new moon had already come, and the nights turned black, like pitch, with which the ship's sides would be pitched, when the vigilant Linkei was the first to point out to his comrades the mountain towering ahead. Soon a low shore glimmered in the fog, fishing nets appeared on the shore, a town at the entrance to the bay. Deciding to rest on the way, Typhius sent the ship to the city, and a little later the Argonauts stood on solid ground.

A well-deserved rest awaited the Argonauts on this island. The Argo entered the harbor of Theakia. Tall ships stood in countless rows everywhere. Dropping anchor at the pier, the heroes went to the palace to Alcinous.

Looking at the Argonauts, at their heavy helmets, at the strong leg muscles in shiny greaves, and at the tanned brown faces, the peace-loving Phaeacians whispered to each other:

It must be Ares with his militant retinue marching to the house of Alcinous.

The sons of the great hero Pelops were Atreus and Thyestes. Pelops was once cursed by the charioteer of King Oenomaus Myrtilus, who was treacherously killed by Pelops, and doomed the whole family of Pelops with his curse to great atrocities and death. The curse of Myrtilus also weighed on Atreus and Fiesta. They have committed a number of evil deeds. Atreus and Thyestes killed Chrysippus, the son of the nymph Axion and their father Pelops. It was the mother of Atreus and Fiesta Hippodamia who persuaded Chrysippus to kill. Having committed this atrocity, they fled from the kingdom of their father, fearing his wrath, and took refuge with the king of Mycenae Sthenelus, the son of Perseus, who was married to their sister Nikippe. When Sthenelus died and his son Eurystheus, captured by Iolaus, died at the hands of the mother of Hercules Alcmene, he began to rule over the Mycenaean kingdom of Atreus, since Eurystheus left no heirs. Atreus was jealous of his brother Fiesta and decided to take away power from him by any means.

Sisyphus had a son, the hero Glaucus, who ruled in Corinth after his father's death. Glaucus also had a son, Bellerophon, one of the great heroes of Greece. Beautiful as a god was Bellerophon and courage equal to the immortal gods. Bellerophon, when he was still a youth, suffered a misfortune: he accidentally killed a citizen of Corinth and had to flee from his native city. He fled to the king of Tiryns, Proyt. With great honor, the king of Tiryns accepted the hero and cleansed him of the filth of the blood shed by him. Bellerophon did not stay long in Tiryns. Captivated by his beauty, the wife of Proyta, the goddess Anteia. But Bellerophon rejected her love. Then Queen Anteia flared up with hatred for Bellerophon and decided to destroy him. She went to her husband and said to him:

Oh king! Bellerophon heavily offends you. You must kill him. He haunts me, your wife, with his love. That's how he thanked you for your hospitality!

Grozen Borey, god of the indomitable, stormy north wind. He frantically rushes over the lands and seas, causing with his flight all-destroying storms. Once Boreas, flying over Attica, saw the daughter of Erechtheus Orithyia and fell in love with her. Boreas begged Orithyia to become his wife and allow him to take her with him to his kingdom in the far north. Orithia did not agree, she was afraid of a formidable, stern god. Denied Boreas and Orithyia's father, Erechtheus. No requests, no pleas from Boreas helped. The terrible god was angry and exclaimed:

I deserve such humiliation myself! I forgot about my formidable, violent power! Is it proper for me to humbly beg anyone? Only force should I act! I drive thunderclouds across the sky, I raise waves on the sea like mountains, I uproot, like dry blades of grass, centuries-old oaks, I scourge the earth with hail and turn water into ice, hard as a stone - and I pray, as if powerless mortal. When I fly in a furious flight above the earth, the whole earth trembles and trembles even the underworld of Hades. And I pray to Erechtheus as if I were his servant. I must not beg to give me Orithia as a wife, but take her away by force!

Freed from the service of King Eurystheus, Hercules returned to Thebes. Here he gave his wife Megara to his faithful friend Iolaus, explaining his act by saying that his marriage to Megara was accompanied by unfavorable omens. In fact, the reason that prompted Hercules to part with Megara was different: between the spouses were the shadows of their common children, whom Hercules killed many years ago in a fit of insanity.

In the hope of finding family happiness, Hercules began to look for a new wife. He heard that Eurytus, the same one who taught the young Hercules the art of owning a bow, offers his daughter Iola as a wife to someone who will surpass him in accuracy.

Hercules went to Eurytus and easily defeated him in the competition. This outcome annoyed Evrit immensely. Having drunk a fair amount of wine for greater confidence, he said to Hercules: “I won’t trust my daughter to such a villain as you. Or didn’t you kill your children from Megara? In addition, you are a slave of Eurystheus and deserve only beatings from a free man.”

Works are divided into pages

Ancient myths and legends of Ancient Greece

They were created more than two thousand centuries ago and the famous scientist Nikolai Kuhn adapted them at the beginning of the 20th century, but the attention of young readers from all over the world does not fade away even now. And it doesn’t matter in the 4th, 5th or 6th grade they study the myths of ancient Greece - these works of ancient folklore are considered cultural heritage all over the world. The moralizing and vivid stories about the ancient Greek gods have been studied far and wide. And now we read online to our children about who the heroes of the legends and myths of Ancient Greece were and trying to express summary the meaning of their actions.

This fantastic world is surprising in that, despite the horror of an ordinary mortal in front of the gods of Mount Olympus, sometimes ordinary inhabitants of Greece could enter into an argument or even fight with them. Sometimes short and simple myths express very deep meaning and can explain to the child the rules of life in an accessible way.

A brief excursion into history

Greece has not always been called that. Historians, in particular, Herodotus, single out even more ancient times in those territories that were later called Hellas, the so-called Pelasgian.

This term comes from the name of the tribe of Pelasgians ("storks") who came to the mainland from the Greek island of Lemnos. According to the conclusions of the historiographer, the then Hellas was called Pelasgia. There were primitive beliefs in something unearthly, saving for people - cults of fictional creatures.

The Pelasgians united with a small Greek tribe and adopted their language, although they never developed from barbarians into a nationality.

Where did the Greek gods and myths about them come from?

Herodotus assumed that the Greeks adopted from the Pelasgians the names of many gods and their cults. At least, the veneration of the lower deities and Kabirs - the great gods, with their unearthly power, rid the earth of troubles and dangers. The sanctuary of Zeus in Dodona (a city near the present Ioannina) was built much earlier than the Delphic one, which is still famous. From those times came the famous "troika" of Kabirs - Demeter (Axieros), Persephone (Axiokersa, in Italy - Ceres) and her husband Hades (Axiokersos).

In the Pontifical Museum in the Vatican, a marble statue of these three kabirams is installed in the form of a triangular pillar by the sculptor Scopas, who lived and worked in the 4th century BC. e. At the bottom of the pillar are carved miniature images of Mitra-Helios, Aphrodite-Urania and Eros-Dionysus as symbols of an inseparable chain of mythology.

From there, the names of Hermes (Camilla, Latin "servant"). In the History of Athos, Hades (Hell) is the god of the other world, and his wife Persephone gave life on earth. Artemis was called Caleagra.

The new gods of Ancient Hellas descended from the "storks", took away their right to reign. But they already had a human appearance, although with some exceptions left over from zoomorphism.

The goddess, the patroness of the city named after her, was born from the brain of Zeus, the main god of the third stage. Therefore, before him, the heavens and the earthly firmament were ruled by others.

The first ruler of the earth was the god Poseidon. During the capture of Troy, he was the main deity.

According to mythology, he ruled both the seas and the oceans. Since Greece has a lot of island territories, the influence of Poseidon and his cult also applied to them. Poseidon was the brother of many new gods and goddesses, including such famous ones as Zeus, Hades and others.

Further, Poseidon began to stare at the continental territory of Hellas, for example, at Attica, a huge part to the south of the central mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and to the Peloponnese. He had a reason for this: in the Balkans there was a cult of Poseidon in the form of a fertility demon. Athena wanted to deprive him of such influence.

The goddess won the dispute over the land. Its essence is this. Once there was a new alignment of the influence of the gods. At the same time, Poseidon lost the right to land, he was left with the seas. The sky was intercepted by the god of thunder and lightning. Poseidon began to challenge the rights to certain territories. He hit the ground during a dispute on Olympus, and water came out from there, and

Athena gave Attica an olive tree. The gods decided the dispute in favor of the goddess, considering that the trees would be more useful. The city was named after her.

Aphrodite

When the name of Aphrodite is pronounced in modern times, her beauty is mostly revered. In ancient times, she was the goddess of love. The cult of the goddess first originated in the colonies of Greece, its current islands, founded by the Phoenicians. Worship similar to Aphrodite was then reserved for two other goddesses, Asherah and Astarte. In the Greek pantheon of gods

Aphrodite was more suited to the mythical role of Ashera, a lover of gardens, flowers, a resident of groves, the goddess of spring awakening and voluptuous pleasure with Adonis.

Reincarnating as Astarte, the "goddess of heights", Aphrodite became impregnable, always with a spear in her hand. In this guise, she protected family fidelity and doomed her priestesses to eternal virginity.

Unfortunately, in later times the cult of Aphrodite split into two, if I may so express the differences between the various Aphrodites.

Myths of Ancient Greece about the gods of Olympus

They are the most common and most cultivated in both Greece and Italy. This supreme pantheon of Mount Olympus included six gods - the children of Kronos and Hera (the Thunderer himself, Poseidon and others) and nine descendants of the god Zeus. Among them are the most famous Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite and others like them.

In the modern interpretation of the word "Olympian", except for the athletes participating in the Olympiads, it means "calmness, self-confidence, outward greatness." And earlier there was also the Olympus of the gods. But at that time, these epithets applied only to the head of the pantheon - Zeus, because he fully corresponded to them. We talked about Athena and Poseidon in detail above. Other gods of the pantheon were also mentioned - Hades, Helios, Hermes, Dionysus, Artemis, Persephone.

Prologue

The ruler of Olympus, the formidable and omnipotent Zeus knew that, by the will of fate, in the upcoming battle of the Olympians with mortal giants, they could only win if a hero fought on the side of the gods. And he decided that this mortal should be his son from an earthly woman. Turning his gaze to the ground, Zeus was struck by the beauty of Alcmene, the wife of Amphitrion, who ruled in Thebes.

The lovely Alcmene was faithful and loving wife. Even Zeus himself could not expect that she would voluntarily agree to become the mother of his son. So he went to the trick.

After waiting, when Amphitryon went to war, Zeus took on his appearance and appeared before Alcmene, surrounded by soldiers. Faithful Alcmene saw her beloved husband returning from the war, and joyfully rushed to meet him.

When the due time passed, Alcmene gave birth to twin boys. One, named Alcides, was the son of Zeus, the other, Iphicles, the son of Amphitrion. The couple loved both equally, making no distinction between them.

Zeus triumphed - his son, born of Alcmene, was destined to become an unprecedented hero; he intended to make him ruler of Mycenae.

However, the wife of Zeus, Hera, was offended by her husband's betrayal with a mortal woman, she hated Alkid and decided to destroy him.

And then one day, when the happy Alcmene rejoiced, admiring her sons, a voice came from heaven:

“Alcmene, you have angered the queen of heaven and you will be severely punished for this. Your husband will die in battle, your children will die, and you yourself will go to Hades in the realm of the dead. But you can avoid this fate if you take Alcides to a deserted place and leave him there alone.

Shedding bitter tears, Alcmene fulfilled the will of Hera. However, Zeus vigilantly followed Alcides and, seeing that his son was in danger of death, sent his true friend- winged Hermes, instructing him to bring a son. When Hermes delivered the child to Zeus, he ordered to secretly attach it to the divine breast of the sleeping Hera. Alkid began to eagerly suck milk, but Hera woke up.

Realizing what had happened, she wanted to kill the hated baby. But he had already managed to get immortality along with her milk.

The legend says that when Hera tore Alcides from her breast, milk splashed from her nipple, and from its drops a star path formed in the sky, called the Milky Way.

The vindictive Hera made another attempt to destroy the son of Alcmene. One night, when the twin brothers were sleeping peacefully, Hera sent two monstrous snakes. When they crawled up to them, the bedroom was suddenly brightly lit, and the children woke up. Iphicles, seeing the reptiles, ran away in fear, and Alcides grabbed the snakes wrapped around his body with strong arms by the neck and strangled them.

Surprised by his strength and courage, Amphitrion and Alcmene decided to turn to the soothsayer Tiresias to find out what future awaited their Alcides.

The answer they received amazed and delighted them: their son would be celebrated as the most courageous of heroes; he will immortalize his name by performing twelve feats, and will defeat many different monsters; he will overcome many famous warriors, and then he will ascend to the starry dome of the sky and will be accepted on Olympus.

Upon learning that his son was destined for the future of a warrior, Amphitryon decided to send him to learn how to master all types of weapons, fight and win, hunt and drive a chariot.

Alkid studied with joy and diligence and very soon surpassed Amphitrion himself in the art of war.

But Hera set a trap for Alcides again. By that time he was already married to the beautiful Megara, daughter of King Creon, and they had three glorious son who brought a lot of joy to parents with their children's games and fun.

Hera, who saw their joy, burned with malicious jealousy. She sent madness to Alcides, in the attack of which he killed Megara and his sons, who seemed to him cyclops. Waking up and realizing what he had done, the unfortunate Alcides sobbed over the bodies of the dead and decided to drown himself in the sea, but the goddess Athena came down to him from Olympus and told him that the atrocity he had committed was not his fault, but the result of the insidious plan of Hera.

Purified according to ancient custom from the filth of the murder he had unwittingly committed, Alkid went to the Delphic oracle, a servant of the god Apollo. He ordered him to follow to the homeland of his ancestors, to Tiryns, and remain in the service of King Eurystheus, to be with him, at the behest of the gods, in the position of a slave. From the mouth of the Pythia, Alcides learned that he was given a new name and from now on he would be called Heracles, that he would have to make twelve commands of his master in atonement for guilt, and that only after that would he find forgiveness for the shed blood of innocent victims. So Hercules became the servant of the weak and cowardly king of Mycenae. He was afraid of him, did not let him into the city and transmitted all orders through his herald Koprey.

Feat One: Hercules and the Nemean Lion

King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go to Nemea and kill the bloodthirsty lion that lived in the vicinity of this city. Many local residents and travelers were eaten by this lion, and not a single hero has yet been able to defeat him, since the evil beast was the offspring of the monster Typhon and the evil Echidna, who endowed him with extraordinary strength and invulnerability.

Arriving in Nemea, Hercules immediately found the cave of the Nemean lion, but the beast was not in it. Then the hero hid and waited.

And so, when it got dark, a lion appeared: he was returning from hunting, having had his fill of a herd of sheep and their shepherd. Seeing Hercules, the beast bristled, its ferocious eyes filled with anger, and the lion's roar shook the area, reaching the limits of Olympus.

But the formidable roar and saber fangs did not frighten Hercules. He raised his bow, drew back the string, and fired an arrow. However, hitting the skin of a lion, the arrow flew off to the side, without causing any harm to the giant, because his skin was enchanted, and therefore invulnerable.

When Hercules had used up all the arrows, the lion jumped at him, but was met with a blow from a club of such force that it split in two. The lion trembled, the magic skin helped him to resist. However, the beast hastened to hide in its lair. The fearless Hercules followed him and saw in pitch darkness two glowing, like burning torches, the eyes of his enemy. The fight continued with renewed vigor.

No one knows, for an hour or two, or maybe a day, two or even three, the struggle continued, but, finally, Hercules firmly grabbed the monster by the throat, squeezed it with an iron grip and held it until the lion died.

Hercules, knowing that he had to perform eleven more feats, one more dangerous than the other, decided that it would be nice to remove his wonderful skin from the lion in order to defend himself from the sword and arrows.

However, this was not easy to do: the knife with which Hercules tried to act did not cut through the skins. Then our hero realized that since the skin is invulnerable to the attacker, it means that you can’t take it with a knife and sword, and only the giant lion’s own claws can rip it open. Hercules skinned the lion with his own claws and put on the skin like a cloak. In addition, in order to save the head in the future, he removed the skull from the lion and made a helmet out of it.

Having defeated the giant Nemean lion and having accomplished his first feat, Hercules set off on his way back to Mycenae, for a new assignment from King Eurystheus.

Feat Two: Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra

The terrible Nemean lion had a monstrous sister - the Lernean Hydra, born from the same Typhon and the half-snake-half-woman Echidna. She lived in the swampy environs of the city of Lerna, exterminating everyone who wandered into her domain - both people and livestock.

This hydra had nine huge hideous dragon heads, one of which, the largest, was immortal. Moreover, in place of each cut head, two new ones could grow. For this reason, it was impossible to cope with it, and the number of victims of the gluttonous creature grew and multiplied.

The cowardly king Eurystheus knew about all this and had almost no doubt that, having entered into a fight with the Lernean monster, Hercules was doomed to death. And therefore, as soon as the rumor reached him that Hercules had defeated the Nemean lion and was standing under the walls of Mycenae, waiting for a new task, he ordered his herald Koprey to run to the hero and give him the order to immediately go to Lerna and kill the hydra.

But before continuing the story of the new feat of Hercules, a few words should be said about Iolaus from the city of Tiryns, the nephew of Hercules, the son of his brother Iphicles. He loved his uncle and was his faithful companion. Upon learning that Hercules was sent to Lerna, the boy fervently begged to take him with him, offering to ride in a chariot.

Hercules and Iphicles, realizing what mortal dangers the campaign to Lerna is fraught with, resolutely refused him, but the persistent Iolaus broke the resistance of the brothers and persuaded his father to let him go, and his uncle to take him with him. Iolaus harnessed the horses to the chariot, and very soon she delivered them to the abode of the Lernean Hydra.

The swamps of Lerna were terrible. Poisonous fumes drifted over them in a bluish fog, and all approaches to the hydra's lair were strewn with the remains of its victims. There were so many of them that the monster did not have time to devour them, and the bodies spread a terrible stench.

Hercules and Iolaus crept closer to the lair with large armfuls of hay and firewood. Having dumped them in a heap, they lit a fire. Hercules heated the tips of his arrows on fire and began to send them one after another into the swamp monster.

Feeling the injections, the hydra woke up from a dream, rose from the stinking mud and turned to its offender. It was a terrible sight: nine huge vile hissing heads with long snake-like tongues sprayed poisonous saliva, swayed in the air.

Hercules ran up to the monster and cut off one of its heads, but two others immediately grew in place of the cut one. The hero cut them down as well, but instead of the two that flew off, four new ones grew, cut down these four, and in return received eight. Soon the Lernean Hydra threatened the hero with fifty heads. Hercules realized that this enemy could not be defeated by force alone. Then he ordered Iolaus to cauterize the fresh wounds of the hydra with burning firebrands, and the heads did not grow again.

Finally, the last, largest, immortal remained. He also cut her down, and she, falling to the ground, continued to emanate poisonous bile and tried to grab the hero with her terrible fangs. Hercules dug it into the ground and rolled it with a huge stone.

Having cut the body of the Lernean Hydra, the far-sighted Hercules soaked the points of his arrows with poisonous bile, after which he and Iolaus went to Tiryns.

Feat Three: Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds

When Hercules arrived from Tiryns to Mycenae and the news of his victory over the Lernean hydra reached the ears of King Eurystheus, the latter was mortally frightened: of course, Hercules managed to defeat two hitherto invincible monsters - the Nemean lion and the Lernean hydra! As before, not allowing the victorious hero to reach him, he sent Koprey to him and ordered him to immediately set off again and exterminate the Stymphalian birds.

These monstrous birds lived on the swampy shores in the vicinity of the seaside city of Stymphal and practically turned them into a desert, destroying people and livestock. As tall as a man, with large copper beaks and claws, they swoop down from above, pecking to death and tearing their victims with their claws. In addition, in flight, they threw hard feathers from their bronze wings, which fell like arrows and destroyed all life. Not a single hero has yet managed to cope with the witching flock, and all the land in the area was littered with human bones. King Eurystheus hoped that Hercules would share the fate of these unfortunates. But the cowardly ruler did not rely on monstrous birds alone. He also counted on the cruel god of war Ares, who guarded the feathered killers.

And Hercules, obedient to his vow, heaved two tympanums on his back and boldly set off for Stimfal.

People who knew about the treachery of Eurystheus warned the brave man about the death trap set for him by the king, talked about the merciless Ares and advised him to return, but Hercules would not have been the son of the almighty Zeus if he had chickened out and refused to fight. Many volunteered to go with him, but Hercules, realizing that these brave people were doomed to death, rejected their proposals.

Arriving at the seashore, Hercules climbed a hill that towered over the swamps and began to beat the tympanum. From their deafening thunder, the birds of prey soared into the sky, and soon the sky turned black from their mourning plumage. Ares' favorites circled the ground, their shrill cries shaking the air. According to legend, that noise even reached Mycenae, and the cowardly Eurystheus rejoiced, hoping that Hercules would not return alive from Stimfal.

And the hero, sheltered from the deadly bronze feathers that fell on him with a cloak made of the skin of the Nemean lion and protected by a helmet from his skull, pulled out a bow from behind his back and began to smash the Stymphalian birds with arrows. That's when the poisonous bile of the Lernaean Hydra came in handy! The arrows poisoned by her killed the birds on the spot, and they fell to the ground, covering it with their huge carcasses. Hercules slew them with arrows, pierced them with a spear, chopped with a sword and crushed them with a club until only a small flock remained. And this flock, frightened, forever left the swampy shores of Stymphal and flew away to an island in the Euxine Sea, which, at the request of the bloodthirsty Ares, raised from the bottom of the sea Tethys.

Ares, who went berserk from the death of his favorites and inflamed with burning hatred for Hercules, grabbed his sword and stood in the way of the brave hero. But the stern, courageous look of Hercules shook Ares's confidence in his strength, he trembled and retreated, vowing, however, to support Hera in everything in her intrigues against Hercules, who exterminated the Stymphalian birds.

Hercules, as proof of his feat, put the carcass of one of the defeated birds on his back and went to Tiryns.

And on the way he was met by joyful people and thanked him for delivering their land from winged killers.

Fourth feat: Hercules and Artemis' doe

Arriving in Mycenae, Hercules did not stay there for a day. King Eurystheus hurried to get rid of him and ordered without delay to go to the mountains of Arcadia in order to catch the swift-footed doe of the goddess Artemis there. The beautiful doe, with golden horns and copper legs, at the behest of the goddess of hunting Artemis, dissatisfied with the meager sacrifices to her temple, rushed through the fields and gardens, devastating crops, destroying fruit trees and trampling pastures.

The deer was faster than arrows, faster than the wind, and to catch her seemed unthinkable. King Eurystheus expected that Hercules would not be able to do this task, and he, Eurystheus, would finally render a service to the goddess Hera and gain her favor and patronage.

But the name and glory of Hercules did not fade over the centuries because he never backed down from dangers and boldly accepted any challenge, not being afraid to anger even the gods. Without hesitation, he went to the Arcadian mountains, went through them completely, looking for the refuge of a wonderful fallow deer, and finally found it. But as soon as he had only a glimpse of the fleet-footed miracle, the doe broke off and, like the wind, flew away.

Doe rushed through the mountains and valleys, not knowing fatigue. She ran farther and farther north. Having reached the country of the Hyperboreans, the doe stopped, but did not give into the hands of the hero, but turned south.

For a whole year, Hercules pursued the deer and overtook her in Arcadia, at the blue river Ladon, behind which stood the temple of the goddess Artemis. A little more - and the deer will hide within it, and then - under the protection of Artemis - it will already be inaccessible.

Hercules was not going to use his bow, hoping to catch the fugitive with his hands, but he realized that the prey was escaping from him, and therefore he pulled the bowstring, aimed at the doe and hit her with an arrow in the leg. Hercules grabbed the fugitive by the golden horns, took an arrow out of his leg, wrapped a belt around the legs of the doe, put it on his back and got ready to go back.

But then the goddess Artemis stood in his way. Appearing on the top of a high cliff, she ordered to let her pet go.

“Hercules,” she said, “you have already incurred the wrath of Hera and Ares, and now you want to experience my anger too! ..

But Hercules refused to let go of the doe and said that he was fulfilling the will of the goddess Hera, transmitted to him through the king Eurystheus, and therefore the demand was not from him, but from Eurystheus.

“But I,” he said, “delivered people from the devastating raids of this fallow deer and am very glad about it.

And, not listening to the shouts and threats of the goddess Artemis, he went with his prey to King Eurystheus.

Fifth feat: Hercules and the Erymanthian boar

The cowardly Eurystheus hoped that after fights with the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra and the fight with the Stymphalian birds, as well as a whole year of chasing the Artemis doe, Hercules was completely exhausted and his strength was running out. And as soon as they had time to report to him that Hercules was standing in front of the gates of Mycenae, he ordered Kopreus to run to the hero and convey the order to immediately set off on a new feat: to catch and bring a ferocious boar from Mount Erymanthus, which rampages in the forests of Psophida, devastating villages and destroying people.

And Hercules again hurried on the road, in order, having fulfilled the command of Hera and Eurystheus, to earn forgiveness for his involuntary sin of murder. And his path again lay through Arcadia, from where he had just come.

On the way, Hercules visited his old friend, the centaur Fall. This centaur was gentle in disposition and kind in heart, so he greeted his friend cordially and unsealed a barrel of glorious wine in honor of the guest.

When the fragrance of fine wine reached the other centaurs (and it must be said that the wine was common property), they rushed to the dwelling of Fola. Seeing in whose honor the keg was opened, they vied with each other to scold Fol, reproaching him for giving divine wine to the contemptible slave. When they armed themselves with stones and tree trunks, Hercules gave them a fitting rebuff and partly killed them, and put the survivors to flight. In this battle, the friends of Hercules Foul and Chiron accidentally died, in whose dwelling the centaurs pursued by the hero took refuge.

Disappointed, Hercules continued on his way to Erimanf and, having entered the mountain, began to look for a terrible boar. Soon he discovered him in the forest thicket. The beast was huge, its tusks reached human height. Artemis managed to warn the Erymanthian boar of the danger, and he was on the alert. Seeing Hercules, he immediately uprooted a huge oak tree and tried to knock the hero down with it. But Hercules dodged and himself wanted to kill the boar with the trunk of this tree, but in time he remembered the order of Eurystheus to bring him the beast alive. Throwing stones at the boar, Hercules began to drive him upstairs, to where deep snow lay. When the beast got stuck in them and was unable to move, the hero overtook him and stunned him with a blow to the head. After that, Hercules put a huge carcass on his back and carried it to Mycenae. Upon learning that Hercules not only remained safe and sound, but was still dragging a monstrous boar on his back, King Eurystheus was so horrified that he immediately hid in a bronze vessel buried in the ground - a pithos.

"Kill him now!" he shouted from there to Hercules. - Or let go on all four sides. I do not need him. Fulfill the order! Or have you forgotten that you are my slave and I am your master?!

And Hercules replied:

- I agreed to be your slave in order to wash off the spilled blood of my relatives and friends from my conscience! And know, Eurystheus: I do all this not for you, but for people! And this boar is also in their honor.

The boar was beaten, skinned, impaled on a spit and fired under it. Only the aroma of fried meat calmed the wild fear of King Eurystheus, and he agreed to get out of the pithos. However, infinitely angry, he ordered Hercules to immediately go to Elis, to King Avgiy, the son of the sun god Helios.

Feat Six: Hercules and the Augean Stables

King Augeus, the son of the radiant Helios, owned a huge herd of wonderful bulls: some of them were white-footed, others white, like swans (they were dedicated to the sun god), and red like purple. The most beautiful of the bulls of Augeia - Phaethon - shone like a star.

For a hundred years the stables of Augius had not been cleaned; for a hundred years manure had accumulated there. The king many times gave the order to his slaves to clean the stables, but they could not cope, and Avgiy killed them every time for this. Many slaves died without being able to clean the stables, and now Hercules was sent to Avgiy.

Eurystheus rejoiced, arguing as follows: it is one thing to fight monsters, and another thing to clear manure from manure in a year that cannot be cleared even in a lifetime. The cowardly and treacherous king hoped that Hercules would not cope and Avgiy would kill him.

Upon learning that Hercules arrived only for a year, Avgiy burst out laughing:

“It won’t take you a year, ten years to clear my stables, and perhaps your whole life. However, although your end is clear to me, you must get to work. And if you fail to do it within the allotted time, you will be immediately killed.

But the hero did not flinch, knowing that a person is strong not only with the strength of the body, but also with the strength of the mind.

- No, Avgiy, - he answered, - I have no time to stretch this work for a year, I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'll clean the stables for you in one day.

- Yes, you're crazy! Augius laughed. - It is unthinkable to clean up in a day what they have not been able to clean out for decades. For such a feat, I would give you three hundred of my best bulls! Yes, just do not see them as your own ears!

But Hercules nevertheless insisted on his own and took a word from Avgii that he would fulfill his promise: he would give him three hundred of the best bulls if the stables were cleaned in one day. After that, Hercules proceeded to perform the sixth feat.

First, with a powerful club, he broke through the walls of the stables from opposite ends. Then he dug deep ditches to the nearest rivers - Alpheus and Peneus. When everything was ready, Hercules directed the rivers along a new channel, and the river water rushed in a powerful stream to a gap in the wall of the stables and carried centuries-old deposits of manure and other sewage through another gap. Not a day had passed before the Augean stables were cleaned and washed. After that, Hercules closed up the gaps in the walls, dug up the dug ditches and returned the rivers to their former channels, so that there were no traces left.

Augeas marveled a lot at the result of Heracles' work, realizing that he had lost the argument. But he was not going to give the promised bulls to Hercules, and he considered it possible to break the word given to the slave. So he said to Hercules and advised him to get out as well as he could.

“All right,” Hercules replied, “but remember: soon I will be back again.” a free man and I will definitely come back here to punish you for your perjury.

Hercules kept his promise and took revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later he returned with an army, defeated the army of Augeas and killed him with a deadly arrow. Hercules personally planted olives on the plain and dedicated them to the goddess Athena. And then he made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which were held on the sacred plain.

Labor seventh: Hercules and the Cretan bull

Having cleaned out the stables of King Avgii, Hercules received a new task: to catch and deliver alive to Mycenae the Poseidon bull that had been rampaging in Crete.

This bull was sent to the king of Crete Minos by the sea lord Poseidon, so that he would sacrifice the animal to him. But Minos kept the bull for himself, and sacrificed one of his bulls. Enraged, Poseidon sent rabies on the bull, and now the bull rushed around the island, exterminating people and cattle, trampling fields with heavy hooves, breaking garden trees with strong sides, destroying houses and outbuildings, and bringing a lot of other troubles. The inhabitants of the island, including the king himself, were afraid to go beyond their homes. Seeing the terrible monster, everyone fled in fear.

Knowing that the bull must be brought to Mycenae alive, Hercules wove a large and strong network from a thin copper thread. Blocking the way of the bull, he began to tease him, shout and throw stones at him.

The bull roared, his eyes filled with blood, and, putting out terrible horns, he rushed at Hercules. However, the bull fell into the spread net and became entangled in it, and the mighty Hercules grabbed him by the horns and bent the bull's head to the ground. The terrible Poseidon bull was tamed.

The inhabitants of Crete came out to Hercules, warmly thanking him for deliverance and praising his courage and strength. King Minos also came out to him with gratitude, freed from forced seclusion in his palace. And Hercules, having said goodbye to the islanders, sat on the back of a tamed bull and sailed on it on his way back from Crete to the Peloponnese. Stepping on the ground, he threw a lasso on his horns and led him to Mycenae.

When King Eurystheus was informed that Hercules had returned, brought the monstrous Cretan bull on a leash and locked him in the royal stables, the cowardly ruler again hid in a bronze pithos and ordered the terrible bull to be released. The bull sensed the will, rushed north, ran to Attica and began to devastate the fields in the vicinity of Marathon. He was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

Feat Eight: Hercules and Diomedes' Horses

After Hercules miraculously defeated the Nemean lion, coped with the Lernean hydra, caught the Artemis doe, defeated the Erymanthian boar, exterminated the Stymphalian birds, cleaned out the Augean stables and tamed the Poseidon bull, King Eurystheus thought hard. He gave Hercules such tasks that no mortal could do; Hercules entered into a duel with such monsters, which it was not possible to defeat. Nevertheless, the hero with honor came out of all the tests, showing miracles of courage and ingenuity. What new task could Eurystheus give him, so that it turned out to be beyond the strength of the hero? Having failed to come up with anything, he turned to his patroness Hera with a request to invent a new test for Hercules.

Hera remembered that in distant Thrace one of the sons of Ares, Diomedes, lives and rules the Bistonian people, and that Diomedes has unprecedented horses in strong copper-walled stables, all completely black, swift as the wind, and gluttonous as cannibals. They ate human flesh, and Diomedes fed them foreigners who got into his country. It seemed that even Hercules could not overcome these monstrous horses. Eurystheus hoped that Hercules would not be able to accomplish this feat and would die without getting rid of his guilt for the shed blood of innocent victims.

Hercules listened with dignity to the new order of Eurystheus, asked the king for a ship to place a herd in it, and sailed from Argolis.

On the way, the ship of Hercules caught a terrible storm, and he had to land on the shores of Thessaly in order to wait out the bad weather. There, in Ferah, he reigned good friend- Admet, and Hercules decided to visit him.

In those days, Admet experienced great grief. Shortly before the arrival of Hercules, Hades, the ruler of the kingdom of the dead, set out to take him to him. The messenger Thanatos, the god of death, sent from him, conveyed to Admet the will of Hades: “Admet, get ready! I will pick you up! However, I can let you live a little longer if one of the people agrees to descend into my kingdom instead of you. Admet understood that no one would agree to go instead of him to the kingdom of the dead. However, there was one person who loved Admet so much that without hesitation he agreed to give his life for him - his kind and beautiful wife Alcestis! Without saying a word to anyone, she persuaded Thanatos to take her instead of Admet, and the god of death drew his formidable sword, cut off a lock of hair to the lovely Alcestis, after which she died, thereby prolonging the life of Admet. And so he lost his beloved wife and now was in mourning.

However, seeing a friend on the threshold, Admet did not show Hercules his grief, but kissed the dear guest and ordered a feast to be held in his honor. But the insightful Hercules noticed that the owner of the house was very sad and could hardly hold back his tears. Secretly from him, Hercules interrogated the servants and found out the cause of his friend's grief.

“Dear Admet,” he thought, “you hide your suffering, not wanting to upset your friend. So know this: I will return your Alcestis to you!

Hercules knew that on the first night after the death of a person, Thanatos should come for his shadow and that no one should be near the deceased. Therefore, when everyone fell asleep, our hero crept into the chambers of Alcestis and took refuge there, lying in wait for the god of death. At night, barely hearing the rustle of the black wings of Thanatos, Hercules jumped out of his hiding place and grabbed him with strong hands. Their duel continued all night, and at dawn Hercules knocked the winged god to the ground and tied him tightly. After that, threatening to break the sword of Thanatos, Hercules made God swear that he would return Alcestis to the kingdom of the living and leave Admet alive. Thanatos was forced to take an oath and fulfill it.

So Hercules defeated the god of death Thanatos. After waiting for the storm to subside on the sea, he sailed from the Thessalian coast and continued on his way to the country of the bloodthirsty Diomedes.

By the time Hercules set foot on the land of the Bistonians, King Diomedes had already been warned by the god Ares about the arrival of the hero. Therefore, as soon as he went ashore, a hundred Diomede warriors attacked him. Hercules fought with them for a long time until he killed them all, and then he went to the Diomedes stables, tightly entangled his terrible horses with chains, wrapped their faces securely and drove them to his ship. At this time, Diomedes attacked Hercules with a team of warriors, but after three days of battle, the Bistonians were defeated. The god Ares was terribly angry with Hercules, but did not dare to measure his strength with him and retreated.

After that, the ship of Hercules lay down on the return course and after the allotted time arrived in Mycenae. Hercules drove the bloodthirsty Diomedes horses into the Eurystheus stables and went to the king for a new task.

And Eurystheus, terrified to death, again hid in his bronze vessel and ordered to immediately open the gates of the stables and let the horses out. His order was carried out, and when the freed horses rushed to the dense forests of Olympus, Zeus sent wolves to them, who pulled them all to the bone.

Hercules, on the other hand, received a new task from Eurystheus: to go and get Hippolyta's belt for him.

Labor Ninth: Hercules and Hippolyta's Belt

The brave warrior Hippolyta and her beautiful sister Antiope were the daughters of the god Ares and jointly ruled the country of the Amazon warriors on the far Euxine coast. Hippolyta had a magic belt, a symbol of royal power, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get it and bring it to Mycenae.

The famous heroes Theseus, Peleus and Telamon, having heard that Hercules would have to fight the brave Amazons, wished to go with him to support him in the battle. Hercules did not refuse help - the friends met in the city of Argos and sailed on a ship to the farthest shores of the Euxine Pontus.

Many days passed before their ship reached the wide sandy shores of the land of the Amazons. As soon as they went ashore, the heroes found themselves surrounded by beautiful female warriors who confidently handled bows and spears. Hippolyta commanded them. She was quite surprised by the unexpected visit of four glorious warriors.

Who are you and what do you need? she asked them. Did you come with peace or with war?

Hercules bowed to the beautiful queen and answered:

“My name is Hercules, and these are Theseus, Peleus and Telamon. I was sent here by order of King Eurystheus of Mycenae to deliver your wonderful belt to him. I am forced to ask you for it by the will of the goddess Hera, whose priestess is the daughter of Eurystheus. Will you give it up willingly, or will I have to take it by force?

Queen Hippolyta had no desire to fight the beautiful foreigners, so she replied that she would give them the belt voluntarily. But the vengeful Hera, eavesdropping on their conversation, was furious at Hippolyta's compliance. She turned into an Amazon, approached the queen and began to embarrass and intimidate her, claiming that Hercules was a deceiver and did not come for a belt, but to kidnap Hippolyta. Hera's eloquence confused Hippolyta and angered the Amazons. Having lost their mind, the warriors attacked the heroes, a battle ensued. But how could they resist Hercules and his friends?! Soon, the warlike Amazons were defeated, and the beautiful Antiope and the leader of the Amazon troops, Melanippe, were captured.

Hippolyta, who adored Melanippe, trembled when she saw her beloved captive, and gave Hercules her belt, asking for freedom for Melanippe. Hercules released this captive, and Antiope went to Theseus, who took her away with him.

Feat tenth: Hercules and Gerion's herd

Hercules accomplished his tenth feat at the very edge of the earth: he drove a herd of cows belonging to the giant Gerion to Mycenae.

Gerion was the son of the giant Chrysaor and the oceanid Kalliroi. He lived on the island of Eritheia, on the western edge of the earth. The gods gave him a herd of fiery red cows, which Hercules had to steal on the orders of Eurystheus.

On the seashore, Hercules cut down a large tree, made a raft out of it and sailed on it to the coast of Africa. There he went through the whole desert of Libya and

reached the end of the world, where the strait between Europe and Africa is located. Here Hercules decided to make a stop and, in memory of the exploits and hardships that fell to his lot, erected two giant stone pillars on both sides of the strait. They still rise there and are called the Pillars of Hercules.

After resting, Hercules began to think about how to get to Eritheia. There were no trees nearby, there was nothing to build a raft from. Helios was already descending to the waters of the ocean, and his rays blinded and scorched Hercules. He, in anger, directed his deadly bow at the god, but Helios, struck by such courage of a mortal, stopped him and said:

“Lower your bow, Hercules. I am Helios, the god of the sun, which warms the earth and all life on it. I know you need to get to Eritheia. Take my round boat, forged from gold and silver by the god Hephaestus, and sail on it to the island. But know: to defeat Gerion will not be easy; he has three torsos, fused at the waist, three heads and three pairs of arms and legs. When fighting, he shoots three arrows at once and throws three spears.

But the son of Zeus was not afraid of meeting with such an opponent. He thanked Helios, sat down in a round boat and sailed to Eritheia.

Having reached the island of the terrible Geryon and going ashore, Hercules began to look out for the owner of these places, but first he met the huge shepherd Eurytion. His two-headed dog Orff rushed at the hero with a bark, but fell from the blow of a heavy club.

Hercules also coped with the giant shepherd and drove the cows to the shore. Geryon heard the lowing of the cows and went to the herd. The battle with the multi-armed giant was very difficult, but Hercules defeated him and loaded the cows onto the boat. Having crossed from the island, he returned the boat to Helios, and placed the herd of Gerion on the ship.

Having reached the coast of Europe, Hercules drove the cows to Mycenae. He went through the Pyrenees, all of Gaul, and then Italy. In Italy, one cow strayed from the herd and sailed to the island of Sicily, where Poseidon's son Erike herded her into his barnyard. To return the fugitive, Hercules crossed to Sicily.

There he killed Eriks, returned with the cow to the herd and drove the animals on.

On the shore ionian sea Hera sent rabies on the cows, and they fled into different sides. Again Hercules had to look for them. Finally, he drove the herd to Mycenae, where Eurystheus sacrificed cows to the goddess Hera.

Labor Eleventh: Hercules and Hades Kerberos

Hercules had to complete two feats, and King Eurystheus was beside himself with despair and fear, wondering what other monster to send Hercules to so that he finally found his death? How to lime the hated hero and thereby please the goddess Hera? Eurystheus was never able to come up with anything and, in desperation, turned to his patroness with a request to find such a test for Hercules that would be unbearable and fatal for him.

“Do not despair, Eurystheus,” Hera answered, “I did not make you king so that you would tremble before your slave. And I will not allow Hercules to continue to win victories. We will send it to a place of no return. Tell him to go down to Hades and bring the watchdog Cerberus from there! He won't be able to come back alive!

Eurystheus was unspeakably delighted and, having thanked Hera, ordered to convey to Hercules his will: to bring him the Hades dog alive!

Kerberos had three heads, snakes wriggled around his neck, and at the end of his tail was a dragon's head with a huge mouth. Having received the task, Hercules went to look for the entrance to the underworld of Hades and soon found a deep cave leading there. On the way to the kingdom dead hero I had to overcome many obstacles posed by evil spirits and various monsters. At the very gates of the kingdom of Hades, Hercules saw his friend Theseus, who accompanied him on a campaign for the belt of Hippolyta. Theseus and Pirithous were punished for trying to kidnap Hades' wife Persephone and sat chained to a stone bench. Hercules freed them and showed them the way to earth.

After that, Hercules went to the throne of Hades and told him that he had come for Cerberus.

"Don't stop me," he said, "I'll take him anyway!"

“Take it,” said Hades, “but only without weapons, with bare hands.”

Hercules threw down all his weapons and, jumping up to the monstrous Cerberus, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him into the air. The snakes hissed, writhing at the dog's neck, all three heads scary dog spun from side to side, trying to bite him, but Hercules tightly squeezed his throat, and the half-strangled Kerberos could not resist.

Hercules put the guard of the dead on his back and set off on his way back. While the hero carried his terrible burden, poisonous saliva dripped from the mouths of Cerberus, and poisonous sweat dripped from his body. They say that where this saliva fell, poisonous plants grew - hemlock, belladonna and many others.

And King Eurystheus, having heard the terrible news that Hercules was bringing the monstrous guardian of the kingdom of Hades to his palace, again hid in a bronze pithos. He humbly begged Hercules to return his terrible dog to Hades.

Hercules laughed at the cowardice of the king, returned to the entrance to the kingdom of the dead, left Kerberos there and went to Eurystheus for the last task.

Feat 12: Heracles and the Apples of Hesperides

The last of the twelve labors of Hercules was the most difficult.

To accomplish it, the hero had to go through many trials and accomplish many valiant deeds, win many military victories, proving to the gods and mortals that he, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, is not only strong in body, mind and spirit, but also has a good heart.

This time he was instructed to bring three golden apples growing in the garden of the Hesperides, daughters of the titan Atlas.

“I don’t know where this garden is, and I don’t want to know!” said the heartless Eurystheus. “But you must deliver golden apples from it!” If you bring it, I'll let you go free, but if you don't bring it, you'll perish!

Calmly listening to the order of the cowardly Eurystheus, Hercules began to think about how to find this garden.

The goddess Athena told him that the location of the magical garden is known only to the sea god Nereus. However, the old man voluntarily did not reveal that secret to anyone. It was only possible to force him to tell where the garden was.

Thanking Athena, Hercules went to the seashore and, hiding, began to wait for Nereus. It took a long time to wait, but finally the old man Nereus appeared from the sea and went ashore to bask in the sun.

As soon as he lay down on the sand, Hercules jumped on his back and tied him tightly. Trying to escape, Nereus changed his appearance, turning into a dog, then a ram, then a bull, then a horse, but he failed to lead Hercules. For the sake of gaining freedom, he had to indicate the place where the garden with golden apples is located.

It turned out that the garden is located on the very edge of the earth, where Atlas holds the sky on his mighty shoulders, and the garden of the Hesperides and the guard-monster Ladon with a single, but very keen eye, guard.

Hercules knew about Prometheus (the father of the human race, the son of the titan Napet), who, sacrificing himself, stole fire from the Olympian gods and gave it to people.

As punishment for this and for the challenge thrown to the gods, Zeus chained Prometheus to Elbrus, sentenced to eternal suffering. For many thousands of years he endured great torment. Every day, Zeus's favorite, an eagle, flew to him and pecked at his liver. However, Prometheus steadfastly endured the torment and did not ask for mercy. Hercules revered the hero and had long wanted to free him.

Having learned from Nereus that Elbrus is in Colchis, Hercules resolutely walked in that direction.

The hero had to go through many countries and seas in order to get to Elbrus, he had to endure many trials. One day, the giant Antaeus, the son of the goddess of the earth, Gaia, stood in his way.

Antaeus loved to measure strength with travelers, invariably defeated them and mercilessly killed them. No one knew that mother earth herself nourishes his strength, helping to cope with any opponent, and therefore Antaeus remained invincible.

Having met Hercules, he invited him to a duel and said that the vanquished - death! Two strong men met in a stubborn fight. It was not possible to defeat Antaeus, but soon Hercules noticed that as soon as he lifts the enemy above the ground, he noticeably weakens, and once on the ground, he regains strength. Then Hercules grabbed Antaeus tighter, lifted him into the air and held until he finally completely exhausted and gave up.

So, overcoming obstacles, Hercules reached Colchis and soon saw Elbrus, and on it - Prometheus chained in chains.

Seeing an unfamiliar warrior, Prometheus was surprised and asked who he was and why he had come.

“My name is Hercules, I am the son of a mortal woman, and in gratitude from all mortals to whom you have obtained warmth and light, I will free you. I fear neither Zeus nor the wrath of the Olympians!

Just at that time, the rustle of mighty wings and a piercing scream were heard: a huge red-eyed eagle flew from Olympus, preparing to plunge an iron beak into Prometheus's liver.

Not afraid of the envoy of Zeus, Hercules pulled the string of his bow and fired a deadly arrow towards the eagle. The eagle struck by her uttered a piercing cry and fell like a stone into the sea.

Then Hercules rested his foot on the rock, pulled the chain with which Prometheus was bound, and broke it, after which he pulled out a metal crutch from the hero’s chest and freed him.

At that moment, a terrible hurricane rose, the sky turned black, huge waves crashed against the rocks, and hailstones the size of a chicken egg fell from the sky. Then Olympus was angry and Zeus raged. The almighty lord of the gods wanted to immediately exterminate Hercules, but the wise Athena intervened, reminding him that Hercules should participate on the side of the Olympians in their battle with the giants and that their success in this battle depended on it. Zeus had to subdue his anger, but in order not to violate his will, Prometheus must still be chained to a stone. Athena advised Zeus to order Hephaestus to forge a ring from the link of his chain and set a stone into it. The goddess said that she would give this ring to Prometheus, he would remain chained to the stone. Zeus did just that. They say that since then the custom has gone to wear rings with gems set in them.

And Prometheus told Hercules how to get to the garden of the Hesperides as soon as possible, and went to rest on a secluded island, where the god Uranus lived apart.

Having overcome a considerable distance, Hercules found himself in front of Atlant. He stood with his feet in the sea and propped up the vault of heaven with his mighty shoulders, and behind him a wonderful garden was visible, where golden apples shone in golden foliage, exuding a delicate aroma.

Hercules gave Atlanta his name, explained the purpose of his appearance here and asked to bring him three apples. Atlas replied that he would gladly fulfill his request if the guest would briefly replace him and hold the sky. Hercules agreed. This burden was heavy! The strong bones of Hercules crackled, the muscles tensed and swelled, sweat streamed down his mighty body in streams, but the son of Zeus held the firmament. Atlas went into the garden, picked apples and, returning to Hercules, offered him to hold the vault of heaven while you take the apples to Eurystheus.

But Hercules figured out his trick. When the insidious Atlas was about to leave, Hercules told him:

“I agree to hold the firmament, but my shoulders hurt. Let me put on this lion's skin to ease the pain. Hold a little vault...

The foolish Atlas again shouldered the firmament, and the quick-witted Hercules raised his bow and quiver of arrows, took the club and golden apples of the Hesperides and walked away, saying that he did not intend to stay there forever.

Epilogue

So the valiant Hercules accomplished his last, twelfth feat, and King Eurystheus had no choice but to announce in front of all the people that Hercules had coped with all twelve feats, and therefore is now free.

But the misadventures of Hercules did not end there. The goddess Hera pursued him for a long time. By her evil will, our hero killed his friend Ifit, for which he was sold into slavery for three years to the evil and absurd queen Omphale. During this time, he suffered incalculable suffering and bullying, lost his loving wife Dejanira, who decided (at the suggestion of Hera) that Hercules had stopped loving her, and pierced herself with an arrow. Hercules had to fight and defeat many monsters and gods. He fought with the god Apollo, defeated the river god Achelous in battle, killed the centaur Nessus, punished King Laomendont, helped his father Zeus in the battle with the giants...

© OOO "Philological Society" SLOVO "", 2009

© LLC Astrel Publishing House, 2009

The beginning of the world

Once upon a time, there was nothing in the Universe but dark and gloomy Chaos. And then the Earth appeared from Chaos - the goddess Gaia, mighty and beautiful. She gave life to everything that lives and grows on it. And since then everyone calls her their mother.

The Great Chaos also gave birth to the gloomy Darkness - Erebus and the black Night - Nyukta and ordered them to guard the Earth. It was dark on Earth at that time and gloomy. So it was until Erebus and Nyukta got tired of their hard, permanent work. Then they gave birth to the eternal Light - Ether and the joyful shining Day - Hemera.

And so it went from then on. Night guards peace on Earth. As soon as she lowers her black veils, everything is plunged into darkness and silence. And then a cheerful, shining Day comes to replace it, and it becomes light and joyful around.

Deep under the Earth, as deep as one can imagine, the terrible Tartarus was formed. Tartarus was as far from the Earth as the sky, only on the other side. Eternal darkness and silence reigned there...

And above, high above the Earth, stretches the infinite Sky - Uranus. God Uranus began to reign over the whole world. He took as his wife the beautiful goddess Gaia - the Earth.

Gaia and Uranus had six daughters, beautiful and wise, and six sons, mighty and formidable titans, and among them the majestic titan Ocean and the youngest, the cunning Kron.

And then six terrible giants were born to Mother Earth at once. Three giants - Cyclopes with one eye in their foreheads - could frighten anyone who just looked at them. But the other three giants looked even scarier, real monsters. Each of them had 50 heads and 100 hands. And they were so terrible in appearance, these hundred-armed hecatoncheir giants, that even the father himself, mighty Uranus, feared and hated them. So he decided to get rid of his children. He imprisoned the giants deep in the bowels of their mother Earth and did not allow them to come out into the light.

Giants rushed about in deep darkness, they wanted to break out, but did not dare to disobey the order of their father. It was also hard for their mother Earth, she suffered greatly from such an unbearable burden and pain. Then she called her children-titans and asked them to help her.

“Rise up against your cruel father,” she urged them, “if you don’t take away his power over the world now, he will destroy us all.”

But no matter how Gaia persuaded her children, they did not agree to raise a hand against their father. Only the youngest of them, the ruthless Cronus, supported his mother, and they decided that Uranus should no longer reign in the world.

And then one day Kron attacked his father, wounded him with a sickle and took away his power over the world. Drops of the blood of Uranus that fell to the ground turned into monstrous giants with snake tails instead of legs and vile, disgusting Erinyes, who instead of hair on their heads writhed snakes, and in their hands they held lit torches.

These were terrible deities of death, discord, revenge and deceit.

Now the mighty implacable Kron, the god of Time, reigned in the world. He took the goddess Rhea as his wife.

But in his kingdom, too, there was no peace and harmony. The gods quarreled among themselves and deceived each other.

Gods war

For a long time, the great and powerful Kron, the god of Time, reigned in the world, and people called his kingdom the golden age. The first people were then only born on Earth, and they lived without knowing any worries. The Fertile Land itself fed them. She gave bountiful harvests. Bread grew by itself in the fields, wonderful fruits ripened in the gardens. People only had to collect them, and they worked as much as they could and wanted.

But Kron himself was not calm. A long time ago, when he was just beginning to reign, his mother, the goddess Gaia, predicted to him that he, too, would lose power. And one of his sons will take it from Kron. That's Kron and worried. After all, everyone who has power wants to reign as long as possible.

Kron also did not want to lose power over the world. And he commanded his wife, the goddess Rhea, to bring her children to him as soon as they were born. And the father ruthlessly swallowed them. Rhea's heart was torn with grief and suffering, but she could not help it. It was impossible to persuade Kron. So he swallowed already five of his children. Another child was soon to be born, and the goddess Rhea, in desperation, turned to her parents, Gaia and Uranus.

“Help me save my last baby,” she begged them with tears. - You are wise and all-powerful, tell me what to do, where to hide my dear son so that he can grow up and avenge such villainy.

The immortal gods took pity on their beloved daughter and taught her what to do. And now Rhea brings to her husband, the ruthless Kron, a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes.

“Here is your son Zeus,” she told him sadly. - He was just born. Do with him what you want.

Kron grabbed the bundle and, without unwrapping it, swallowed it. In the meantime, Rhea, delighted, took her little son, crept into Dikta in the black dead night and hid him in an inaccessible cave on the wooded Aegean mountain.

There, on the island of Crete, he grew up surrounded by kind and cheerful Kuret demons. They played with little Zeus, brought him milk from the sacred goat Amalthea. And when he cried, the demons began to rumble their spears against the shields, danced and drowned out his cry with loud cries. They were very afraid that the cruel Kron would hear the cry of the child and realize that he had been deceived. And then no one can save Zeus.

But Zeus grew very quickly, his muscles filled with extraordinary strength, and soon the time came when he, mighty and omnipotent, decided to fight with his father and take away his power over the world. Zeus turned to the titans and invited them to fight with him against Kron.

And a great dispute broke out among the titans. Some decided to stay with Kron, others sided with Zeus. Filled with courage, they rushed into battle. But Zeus stopped them. At first, he wanted to free his brothers and sisters from the womb of his father, so that later he would fight against Kron together with them. But how do you get Kron to let his kids go? Zeus understood that by force alone he could not defeat a powerful god. You have to think of something to outsmart him.

Then the great titan Ocean came to his aid, who in this struggle was on the side of Zeus. His daughter, the wise goddess Thetis, prepared a magic potion and brought it to Zeus.

“O mighty and all-powerful Zeus,” she told him, “this miraculous nectar will help you free your brothers and sisters. Just make Kron drink it.

The cunning Zeus figured out how to do it. He sent Kron a luxurious amphora with nectar as a gift, and Kron, suspecting nothing, accepted this insidious gift. He drank the magical nectar with pleasure and immediately spewed out of himself, first a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, and then all his children. One by one they came into the world, and his daughters, the beautiful goddesses Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and sons - Hades and Poseidon. During the time they sat in the womb of their father, they were already quite adults.

All the children of Kron united, and a long and terrible war them with their father Kron for power over all people and gods. New gods established themselves on Olympus. From here they waged their great battle.

Omnipotent and formidable were the young gods, the mighty titans supported them in this struggle. The Cyclopes forged for Zeus formidable rumbling thunders and fiery lightning. But on the other hand, there were powerful opponents. The powerful Kron was not at all going to give up his power to the young gods and also gathered formidable titans around him.

This terrible and cruel battle of the gods lasted for ten years. No one could win, but no one wanted to give up either. Then Zeus decided to call for help from the mighty hundred-armed giants who were still sitting in a deep and gloomy dungeon. Huge terrible giants came to the surface of the Earth and rushed into battle. They tore off entire rocks from the mountain ranges and threw them at the titans besieging Olympus. The air was torn apart by a wild roar, the Earth groaned in pain, and even distant Tartarus shuddered from what was happening above. From the heights of Olympus, Zeus threw fiery lightning down, and everything around blazed with a terrible flame, the water in the rivers and seas boiled from the heat.

Finally, the Titans wavered and retreated. The Olympians chained them up and threw them into the gloomy Tartarus, into the deaf eternal darkness. And at the gates of Tartarus, formidable hundred-armed giants stood guard so that the mighty titans could never break free from their terrible captivity.

But the young gods did not have to celebrate the victory. The goddess Gaia was angry with Zeus because he treated her sons-titans so cruelly. As punishment for him, she gave birth to the terrible monster Typhon and sent him to Zeus.

The Earth itself trembled, and huge mountains reared up when the huge Typhon emerged into the light. All his hundred dragon heads howled, roared, barked, shouted to different voices. Even the gods shuddered in horror when they saw such a monster. Only Zeus was not taken aback. He waved his mighty right hand - and hundreds of fiery lightning fell on Typhon. Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed with an unbearable brilliance, water boiled in the seas - a real hell was happening on Earth at that time.

But here the lightnings sent by Zeus reached the goal, and one after another flashed with a bright flame of the head of Typhon. He fell heavily to the wounded Earth. Zeus raised a huge monster and threw it into Tartarus. But even there Typhon did not calm down. From time to time he begins to run amok in his terrible dungeon, and then terrible earthquakes happen, cities collapse, mountains split, cruel storms sweep away all life from the face of the earth. True, Typhon's rampage is now short-lived, he will throw out his wild forces - and calm down for a while, and again everything on earth and in heaven goes on as usual.

This is how the great battle of the gods ended, after which new gods reigned in the world.

Poseidon, lord of the seas

Deep at the very bottom of the sea, the brother of the mighty Zeus Poseidon now lives in his luxurious palace. After that great battle, when the young gods defeated the old ones, the sons of Kron cast lots, and Poseidon got power over all the elements of the sea. He went down to the bottom of the sea, and so he remained there to live forever. But every day Poseidon rises to the surface of the sea to go around his boundless possessions.

Majestic and beautiful, he rushes on his mighty green-maned horses, and obedient waves part before their master. Zeus himself is not inferior to Poseidon in power. Still would! After all, as soon as he waves his formidable trident, a violent storm rises on the sea, huge waves rise to the sky itself and with a deafening roar fall down into the very abyss.

The mighty Poseidon is terrible in anger, and woe to the one who finds himself at such a time at sea. Like weightless chips, huge ships rush along the raging waves until, completely broken and mangled, they collapse into the depths of the sea. Even marine life - fish and dolphins - try to get deeper into the sea in order to wait out the wrath of Poseidon there in safety.

But now his anger passes, majestically he raises his sparkling trident, and the sea calms down. Unprecedented fish rise from the depths of the sea, attach themselves to the chariot of the great god from behind, and cheerful dolphins rush after them. They tumble in the waves of the sea, entertain their mighty master. The beautiful daughters of the sea elder Nereus are splashing in merry flocks in the coastal waves.

One day, Poseidon, as always, raced across the sea in his fleeting chariot and saw a beautiful goddess on the coast of the island of Naxos. It was Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea elder Nereus, who knows all the secrets of the future and gives wise advice. Together with her Nereid sisters, she rested in a green meadow. They ran and frolicked, holding hands, led cheerful round dances.

Poseidon immediately fell in love with the beautiful Amphitrite. He had already sent mighty horses to the shore and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite was frightened by the frantic Poseidon and eluded him. Slowly she made her way to the titan Atlas, who holds the vault of heaven on his powerful shoulders, and asked him to hide her somewhere. Atlas took pity on the beautiful Amphitrite and hid her in a deep cave at the bottom of the Ocean.

Poseidon searched for Amphitrite for a long time and could not find her in any way. Like a fiery whirlwind he rushed across the sea; all this time the fierce storm did not subside on the sea. All the inhabitants of the sea: both fish, and dolphins, and all underwater monsters - went in search of the beautiful Amphitrite in order to calm their raging master.

Finally, the dolphin managed to find her in one of the remote caves. He sailed quickly to Poseidon and showed him the refuge of Amphitrite. Poseidon rushed to the cave and took his beloved with him. He did not forget to thank the dolphin who helped him. He placed it among the constellations in the sky. Since then, the dolphin has been living there, and everyone knows that there is a constellation Dolphin in the sky, but not everyone knows how it got there.

And the beautiful Amphitrite became the wife of the powerful Poseidon and lived happily with him in his luxurious underwater castle. Since then, fierce storms rarely occur at sea, because gentle Amphitrite is very good at taming the wrath of her powerful husband.

The time has come, and a son, the handsome Triton, was born to the divine beauty Amphitrite and the ruler of the seas, Poseidon. How handsome the son of the ruler of the seas, so playful. As soon as he blows into the shell, the sea will immediately become agitated, the waves will rustle, a formidable storm will fall on the unlucky sailors. But Poseidon, seeing the pranks of his son, immediately raises his trident, and the waves subside as if by magic and, gently whispering, serenely splashing, caressing the transparent, clean sea sand on the shore.

The sea elder Nereus often visits his daughter, and her cheerful sisters sail to her. Sometimes Amphitrite goes with them to play on the seashore, and Poseidon is no longer worried. He knows that she will no longer hide from him and will definitely return to their wonderful underwater palace.

dark kingdom

Deep underground lives and reigns the third brother of the great Zeus, severe Hades. He got the underworld by lot, and since then he has been the sovereign master there.

Dark and gloomy in the kingdom of Hades, not a single ray of sunlight breaks through the thickness there. Not a single living voice breaks the sad silence of this gloomy kingdom, only the plaintive groans of the dead fill the entire dungeon with a quiet, indistinct rustle. There are more dead here than living on earth. And they keep coming and coming.

The sacred river Styx flows on the borders of the underworld, on its banks and the souls of the dead fly after death. Patiently and meekly they wait for the carrier Charon to sail for them. He loads his boat with silent shadows and carries them to the other side. He only carries everyone in one direction, his boat always sails back empty.

And there, at the entrance to the realm of the dead, a formidable guard sits - the three-headed dog Kerberos, the son of the terrible Typhon, vicious snakes hiss and writhe on his neck. Only he guards the exit more than the entrance. Without delay, he passes the souls of the dead, but not one of them will come back.

And then their path lies to the throne of Hades. In the middle of his underworld, he sits on a golden throne with his wife Persephone. Once he kidnapped her from the earth, and since then Persephone lives here, in this luxurious, but gloomy and bleak underground palace.

Every now and then Charon brings new souls. Frightened and trembling, they flock together in front of the formidable ruler. Feel sorry for them Persephone, she is ready to help them all, to calm them down and console them. But no, she can't! Here, the inexorable judges Minos and Rhadamanth sit next to each other. They weigh unfortunate souls on their terrible scales, and it immediately becomes clear how much a person has sinned in his life and what fate awaits him here. It is bad for sinners, and especially for those who themselves spared no one during their lifetime, robbed and killed, mocked the defenseless. The inexorable goddesses of vengeance Erinia will not give them a moment of peace now. They rush all over the dungeon after criminal souls, chasing them, waving formidable scourges, hideous snakes writhing on their heads. There is nowhere for sinners to hide from them. How they would like, at least for a second, to find themselves on earth and say to their loved ones: “Be kinder to each other. Don't repeat our mistakes. A terrible retribution awaits everyone after death. But from here there is no way to land. There is only here from the earth.

Leaning on his formidable smashing sword, in a wide black cloak, the terrible god of death Tanat stands near the throne. As soon as Hades waved his hand, Tanat took off from his place and on his huge black wings flies to the bed of the dying man for a new victim.

But now, as if a bright beam swept through a gloomy dungeon. This is the beautiful young Hypnos, the god who brings sleep. He came down here to greet Hades, his master. And then he will rush to the ground again, where people are waiting for him. It happens badly for them if Hypnos lingers somewhere.

He flies above the earth on his light, openwork wings and pours sleeping oil from his horn. He gently touches the eyelashes with his magic wand, and everything sinks into a sweet dream. Neither people nor immortal gods can resist the will of Hypnos - he is so powerful and omnipotent. Even the great Zeus obediently closes his menacing eyes when the beautiful Hypnos waves his wonderful wand.

Hypnos is often accompanied in flights by the gods of dreams. They are very different, these gods, like people. There are kind and cheerful, and there are gloomy and unfriendly. And so it turns out: to whom which god flies, a person will see such a dream. Someone will have a joyful and happy dream, and someone will have an anxious, joyless dream.

Also, the terrible ghost of Empusa with donkey legs and the monstrous Lamia roam the underworld, who loves to sneak into children's bedrooms at night and drag little children away. The terrible goddess Hecate rules over all these monsters and ghosts. As soon as night falls, this whole terrible company comes out to earth, and God forbid anyone to meet them at this time. But with the dawn they again hide in their gloomy dungeon and sit there until dark.

This is what it is - the kingdom of Hades, terrible and bleak.

Olympians

The most powerful of all the sons of Cronus - Zeus - remained on Olympus, he got the sky by lot, and from here he began to reign over the whole world.

Below, on Earth, hurricanes and wars rage, people grow old and die, but here, on Olympus, peace and tranquility reign. There is never winter and frost here, it does not rain and winds do not blow. Golden radiance spreads around day and night. In the luxurious golden palaces that the master Hephaestus built for them, the immortal gods live here. They feast and rejoice in their golden halls. But do not forget about the cases, because each of them has its own responsibilities. And now Themis, the goddess of law, has called everyone to the council of the gods. Zeus wanted to discuss how best to manage people.

The great Zeus sits on a golden throne, and in front of him in a spacious hall are all the other gods. Near his throne, as always, is the goddess of peace, Eirene, and the constant companion of Zeus, winged Nike, the goddess of victory. Here is the fleet-footed Hermes, the messenger of Zeus, and the great warrior goddess Pallas Athena. The beautiful Aphrodite shines with her heavenly beauty.

Late always busy Apollo. But here he flies up to Olympus. The three beautiful Horas that guard the entrance to the high Olympus have already opened a thick cloud in front of him to clear the way for him. And he, shining with beauty, strong and powerful, throwing his silver bow over his shoulders, enters the hall. Joyfully rises to meet him his sister - the beautiful goddess Artemis, a tireless hunter.

And then the majestic Hera enters the hall, in luxurious clothes, a beautiful, fair-haired goddess, the wife of Zeus. All the gods rise and respectfully greet the great Hera. She sits next to Zeus on her luxurious golden throne and listens to what the immortal gods are talking about. She also has her own constant companion. This is the light-winged Irida, the goddess of the rainbow. At the first word of her mistress, Irida is ready to fly to the most remote corners of the Earth in order to fulfill any of her instructions.

Today Zeus is calm and peaceful. Calm and other gods. So, everything is in order on Olympus, and things are going well on Earth. Therefore, today the immortals have no grief. They joke and have fun. But it also happens differently. If the mighty Zeus gets angry, he will wave his formidable right hand, and immediately a deafening thunder will shake the whole Earth. One after another, he throws dazzling fiery lightning. It is bad for someone who somehow did not please the great Zeus. It happens that the innocent becomes at such moments an unwitting victim of the unbridled anger of the ruler. But there's nothing you can do about it!

And there are two mysterious vessels at the gates of his golden palace. Good is in one vessel, and evil is in the other. Zeus scoops up from one vessel, then from another and throws handfuls on the Earth. All people should get equally good and evil. But it also happens that someone gets more good, and one evil pours on someone. But no matter how much Zeus sends from his vessels of good and evil to Earth, he still cannot influence the fate of people. This is done by the goddesses of fate - moira, who also live on Olympus. The great Zeus himself depends on them and does not know his fate.