In ancient Greek mythology, there was a class of characters called "heroes". Heroes differed from the gods in that they were mortal. More often they were the descendants of a god and a mortal woman, less often - a goddess and a mortal man. Heroes, as a rule, possessed exceptional or supernatural physical abilities, creative talents, etc., but did not possess immortality.

Achilles (Achilles).
The son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the sea goddess Thetis. During the long siege of Ilion, Achilles repeatedly launched raids on various neighboring cities. Achilles is the main character in Homer's Iliad. Achilles joined the campaign against Troy at the head of 50 or even 60 ships, taking with him his tutor Phoenix and childhood friend Patroclus. Having slain many enemies, Achilles in the last battle reached the Skean gates of Ilion, but here an arrow shot from the bow of Paris by the hand of Apollo himself hit him in the heel, and the hero died. Achilles was buried in a golden amphora, which Dionysus presented to Thetis.

Heracles.
Son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, daughter of the Mycenaean king. Numerous myths have been created about Hercules, the most famous is the cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.
There are also many legends about the death of Hercules. According to Ptolemy Hephaestion, having reached the age of 50 and finding that he could no longer draw his bow, he threw himself into the fire. Hercules ascended to heaven, was accepted among the gods, and Hera, reconciled with him, marries her daughter Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, to him. Happily lives on Olympus, and his ghost is in Hades.

Odysseus.
The son of Laertes and Anticlea, the husband of Penelope, the grandson of Autolycus and the father of Telemachus, who became famous as a participant in the Trojan War, was an intelligent and quirky orator. One of the key characters in the Iliad, the protagonist of the Odyssey.

Perseus.
Son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos. He defeated the monster Gorgon Medusa, was the savior of the princess Andromeda. Perseus is mentioned in Homer's Iliad.

Theseus.
son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra, daughter of the king of Troezen Pettheus. The central figure of Attic mythology and one of the most famous characters in all of Greek mythology. Mentioned already in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Jason.
Son of King Iolk Aeson and Polymede (Alkimede). A hero, a participant in the Calydonian hunt, the leader of the Argonauts who set off on the Argo ship to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. Mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. According to one version, Jason committed suicide by hanging himself, or he died with Glaucus, or was killed in the sanctuary of Hera in Argos, according to another version, he lived to old age and died under the wreckage of the dilapidated Argo, falling asleep in its shadow.

Hector.
The bravest leader of the Trojan army, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad. He was the son of the last Trojan king Priam and Hecuba (the second wife of King Priam). According to other sources, he was the son of Apollo. His wife was Andromache. He killed Patroclus, a friend of Achilles, and was himself killed by Achilles, who several times dragged his body around the walls of Troy with his chariot and then gave it to Priam for a ransom.

Bellerophon.
Nickname of Hippo. Son of Glaucus and Eurymede (or Poseidon and Eurynome). After he killed the Corinthian Bellaire, he became known as the "killer of Bellaire". In the myths about this, the heroes described quite a few exploits.

Orpheus.
The legendary singer and musician - a lyre performer, whose name personified the power of art. Son of the Thracian river god Eagra and the muse Calliope. Participated in the campaign of the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece. He did not revere Dionysus, but worshiped the Sun-Apollo, ascending Mount Pangea towards sunrise.

Pelops.
Son of Tantalus and Euryanassa (or Dione), brother of Niobe, king and national hero Phrygia and then the Peloponnese. The oldest mention of PELOP is contained in Homer's Iliad.

Phoroneus.
Son of Inach and Melia. King of all the Peloponnese, or the second king of Argos. Phoroneus was the first to unite people in society, and the place where they gathered was called the city of Phoronikon, after Hermes translated the languages ​​​​of people, and discord began between people.

Aeneas.
Hero of the Trojan War from the royal family of Dardani. In the Iliad he killed 6 Greeks. According to Gigin's calculations, he killed 28 soldiers in total. Companions of Aeneas in his wanderings, described in Latin by the ancient Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid.

(or their descendants) and mortal people. Heroes differed from the gods in that they were mortal. More often they were the descendants of a god and a mortal woman, less often - a goddess and a mortal man. Heroes, as a rule, possessed exceptional or supernatural physical abilities, creative talents, etc., but did not possess immortality. The heroes were supposed to fulfill the will of the gods on earth, to bring order and justice into people's lives. With the help of their divine parents, they performed all sorts of feats. Heroes were highly revered, legends about them were passed down from generation to generation.
Heroes of old Greek myths were Achilles, Heracles, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, Jason, Hector, Bellerophon, Orpheus, Pelops, Phoroneus, Aeneas.
Let's talk about some of them.

Achilles

Achilles was the bravest of heroes. He participated in the campaign against Troy led by the Mycenaean king Agamemnon.

Achilles. Greek antique bas-relief
Author: Jastrow (2007), from Wikipedia
Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and the sea goddess Thetis.
There are several legends about the childhood of Achilles. One of them is the following: Thetis, wanting to make her son immortal, immersed him in the waters of Styx (according to another version, in fire), so that only the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable; hence the proverb "Achilles' heel" that exists to this day. This saying denotes someone's weak side.
As a child, Achilles was called Pyrrisius ("Ice"), but when the fire burned his lips, he was called Achilles ("lipless").
Achilles was raised by the centaur Chiron.

Chiron teaching Achilles to play the lyre
Another teacher of Achilles was Phoenix, a friend of his father Peleus. The centaur Chiron returned Phoenix's sight, which was taken from him by his father, who was falsely accused by a concubine.
Achilles joined the campaign against Troy at the head of 50 or even 60 ships, taking with him his tutor Phoenix and childhood friend Patroclus.

Achilles bandaging the hand of Patroclus (picture on the bowl)
The first shield of Achilles was made by Hephaestus, this scene is also depicted on vases.
During the long siege of Ilion, Achilles repeatedly launched raids on various neighboring cities. By existing version he wandered the Scythian land for five years in search of Iphigenia.
Achilles is the main character in Homer's Iliad.
Having slain many enemies, Achilles in the last battle reached the Skean gates of Ilion, but here an arrow shot from the bow of Paris by the hand of Apollo himself hit him in the heel, and the hero died.

Death of Achilles
But there are later legends about the death of Achilles: he appeared in the temple of Apollo in Fimbra, near Troy, to marry Polyxena, the youngest daughter of Priam, where he was killed by Paris and Deiphobes.
Greek writer of the first half of the 2nd century AD. e. Ptolemy Hephaestion tells that Achilles was killed by Helen or Penthesilea, after which Thetis resurrected him, he killed Penthesilea and returned to Hades (the god of the underworld of the dead).
The Greeks erected a mausoleum for Achilles on the banks of the Hellespont, and here, in order to pacify the shadow of the hero, they sacrificed Polyxena to him. For the armor of Achilles, according to the story of Homer, Ajax Telamonides and Odysseus Laertides argued. Agamemnon awarded them to the latter. In the Odyssey, Achilles is in the underworld, where Odysseus meets him.
Achilles was buried in a golden amphora, which Dionysus presented to Thetis.

Hercules

A. Canova "Hercules"
Author: Lucius Commons - foto scattata da me., from Wikipedia
Hercules is the son of the god Zeus and Alkmena, the daughter of the Mycenaean king.
Numerous myths have been created about Hercules, the most famous is the cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Hercules when he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus.
The cult of Hercules was very popular in Greece, from where it spread to Italy, where he is known by the name of Hercules.
The constellation Hercules is located in the northern hemisphere of the sky.
Zeus took the form of Amphitryon (husband of Alcmene), stopped the sun, and their night lasted three days. On the night when he was to be born, Hera made Zeus swear that today's newborn would be the supreme king. Hercules was from the Perseid family, but Hera delayed the birth of his mother, and his cousin Eurystheus was the first to be born (premature). Zeus concluded an agreement with Hera that Hercules would not be under the rule of Eurystheus all his life: after ten labors performed on behalf of Eurystheus, Hercules would not only be freed from his power, but even receive immortality.
Athena tricks Hera into breastfeeding Hercules: having tasted this milk, Hercules becomes immortal. The baby hurts the goddess, and she tears him from her breast; the splashed stream of milk turns into Milky Way. Hera was the adoptive mother of Hercules.
In his youth, Hercules accidentally killed Lin, brother of Orpheus, with a lyre, so he was forced to retire to the wooded Kiteron, into exile. There, two nymphs appear to him (Depravity and Virtue), who offer him a choice between the easy road of pleasures and the thorny path of labors and exploits. Virtue convinced Hercules to go his own way.

Annibale Carracci "The Choice of Hercules"

12 Labors of Hercules

1 Strangling the Nemean Lion
2. Killing the Lernaean Hydra
3. Extermination of Stymphalian birds
4. Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer
5. Taming the Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs
6. Cleaning the Augean stables.
7. Taming the Cretan Bull
8. The abduction of the horses of Diomedes, the victory over King Diomedes (who threw strangers to be eaten by his horses)
9 The Abduction Of The Girdle Of Hippolyta, Queen Of The Amazons
10. The abduction of the cows of the three-headed giant Gerion
11. Theft of golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides
12. Taming the guardian of Hades - the dog Cerberus

Antoine Bourdelle "Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds"
Stymphalian birds are birds of prey that lived near the Arcadian city of Stymphalus. They had copper beaks, wings and claws. They attacked people and animals. Their most formidable weapons were feathers, which the birds poured on the ground like arrows. They devoured crops in the area or ate people.
Hercules performed many other feats: with the consent of Zeus, he freed one of the titans - Prometheus, to whom the centaur Chiron gave his gift of immortality for the sake of liberation from torment.

G. Fuger "Prometheus brings fire to people"
During his tenth labor, he places the Pillars of Hercules on the sides of Gibraltar.

Pillars of Hercules - Rock of Gibraltar foreground) and the mountains of North Africa (on the back)
Author: Hansvandervliet – own work, from Wikipedia
Participated in the campaign of the Argonauts. Defeated the king of Elis Avgii and established the Olympic Games. On the Olympic Games won the pankration. Some authors describe the struggle of Hercules with Zeus himself - their contest ended in a draw. He established the Olympic stages 600 feet long. In running, he overcame stages without taking a breath. Accomplished many other feats.
There are also many legends about the death of Hercules. According to Ptolemy Hephaestion, having reached the age of 50 and finding that he could no longer draw his bow, he threw himself into the fire. Hercules ascended to heaven, was accepted among the gods, and Hera, reconciled with him, marries her daughter Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, to him. Happily lives on Olympus, and his ghost is in Hades.

Hector

The bravest leader of the Trojan army, the main Trojan hero in the Iliad. He was the son of the last Trojan king Priam and Hecuba (the second wife of King Priam). According to other sources, he was the son of Apollo.

Return of Hector's body to Troy

Perseus

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. He defeated the monster Gorgon Medusa, was the savior of the princess Andromeda. Perseus is mentioned in Homer's Iliad.

A. Canova "Perseus with the head of the Gorgon Medusa." Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Author: Yucatan - Own work, from Wikipedia
Gorgon Medusa - the most famous of the three Gorgon sisters, a monster with woman's face and snakes instead of hair. Her gaze turned a man to stone.
Andromeda is the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus and Cassiopeia (had divine progenitors). Cassiopeia once boasted that she surpassed the beauty of the Nereids (sea deities, daughters of Nereus and the oceanids of Dorida, resembling Slavic mermaids in appearance), the angry goddesses turned to Poseidon with a request for revenge, and he sent sea ​​monster, which threatened the death of Kefey's subjects. The oracle of Ammon announced that the wrath of the deity would be tamed only when Cepheus sacrificed Andromeda to the monster, and the inhabitants of the country forced the king to decide on this sacrifice. Chained to a cliff, Andromeda was left to the mercy of the monster.

Gustave Doré "Andromeda Chained to a Rock"
In this position, Perseus saw her. He was struck by her beauty and promised to kill the monster if she agreed to marry him (Perseus). Andromeda's father Kefey gladly agreed to this, and Perseus accomplished his feat by showing the face of the Gorgon Medusa to the monster, thereby turning him into stone.

Perseus and Andromeda
Not wanting to reign in Argos after the accidental murder of his grandfather, Perseus left the throne to his kinsman Megapenthus, and he himself went to Tiryns ( ancient city on the Peloponnese). Founded Mycenae. The city got its name due to the fact that Perseus lost the tip (mike) of the sword in the vicinity. It is believed that among the ruins of Mycenae, the underground spring of Perseus has been preserved.
Andromeda bore Perseus a daughter, Gorgofon, and six sons: Perseus, Alcaeus, Sthenelus, Eleus, Mestor, and Electryon. The eldest of them, Persian, was considered the ancestor of the Persian people.

Ancient Greece is one of the richest sources of myths about the gods, ordinary people and
the mortal heroes who protected them. Over the centuries, these stories have been created
poets, historians and simply "witnesses" of the legendary deeds of fearless heroes,
having the powers of demigods.

1

Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, was famous for special honor among the heroes.
Alcmene. The most famous myth of all can be considered a cycle of 12 exploits,
which the son of Zeus performed alone, being in the service of King Eurystheus. Even
in the celestial constellation you can see the constellation Hercules.

2

Achilles is one of the bravest Greek heroes who undertook a campaign against
Troy led by Agamemnon. Stories about him are always full of courage and
courage. No wonder he is one of the key figures in the writings of the Iliad, where he
given more honor than any other warrior.

3

He was described not only as an intelligent and brave king, but also as
great speaker. He was the main key figure in the story "The Odyssey".
His adventures and return to his wife Penelope found an echo in the hearts
of many people.

4

Perseus was no less key figure in ancient Greek mythology. He
is described as the winner of the monster Gorgon Medusa, and the savior of the beautiful
princess Andromeda.

5

Theseus can be called the most famous character throughout Greek mythology. He
most often appears not only in the Iliad, but also in the Odyssey.

6

Jason is the leader of the Argonauts who went to search for the golden fleece in Colchis.
This task was given to him by his father's brother Pelius in order to destroy him, but it
brought him eternal glory.

7

Hector in ancient Greek mythology appears before us not only as a prince
Troy, but also the great commander who died at the hands of Achilles. He is placed on a par with
many heroes of that time.

8

Ergin is the son of Poseidon, and one of the Argonauts who set off for the Golden Fleece.

9

Talai is another of the Argonauts. Honest, fair, smart and reliable -
as described by Homer in his Odyssey.

10

Orpheus was not so much a hero as a singer and musician. However, his
the image can be "meet" in many paintings of that time.

FOREWORD

Many, many centuries ago, a people settled on the Balkan Peninsula, who later became known as the Greeks. Unlike modern Greeks, we call that people ancient Greeks, or Hellenes, and their country Hellas.

The Hellenes left a rich legacy to the peoples of the world: majestic buildings that are still considered the most beautiful in the world, beautiful marble and bronze statues and great works of literature that people read even now, although they are written in a language that no one has spoken on earth for a long time. . These are the Iliad and the Odyssey - heroic poems about how the Greeks besieged the city of Troy, and about the wanderings and adventures of one of the participants in this war - Odysseus. These poems were sung by itinerant singers and were written about three thousand years ago.

From the ancient Greeks we have their traditions, their ancient legends - myths.

The Greeks have come a long way in history; it took centuries before they became the most educated, the most cultured people ancient world. Their ideas about the structure of the world, their attempts to explain everything that happens in nature and in human society are reflected in myths.

Myths were created when the Hellenes did not yet know how to read and write; developed gradually, over several centuries, passed from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation and were never written down as a single, whole book. We already know them from the works of the ancient poets Hesiod and Homer, the great Greek playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and writers of later eras.

That is why the myths of the ancient Greeks have to be collected from a variety of sources and retold.

According to individual myths, you can recreate a picture of the world, as the ancient Greeks imagined it. Myths say that at first the world was inhabited by monsters and giants: giants who had huge snakes wriggling instead of legs; hundred-armed, huge as mountains; ferocious cyclopes, or cyclops, with one sparkling eye in the middle of the forehead; formidable children of Earth and Heaven - mighty titans. In the images of giants and titans, the ancient Greeks personified the powerful elemental forces of nature. Myths say that later these elemental forces of nature were curbed and subdued by Zeus - the deity of the sky, the Thunderer and the Cloudbreaker, who established order in the world and became the ruler of the universe. The titans were replaced by the kingdom of Zeus.

In the view of the ancient Greeks, the gods were like people and the relationship between them resembled the relationship between people. The Greek gods quarreled and reconciled, constantly interfered in people's lives, took part in wars. Each of the gods was engaged in some kind of his own business, "managed" a certain "economy" in the world. The Hellenes endowed their gods with human characters and inclinations. From people - "mortals" - Greek gods differed only in immortality.

As each Greek tribe had its own leader, commander, judge and master, so among the gods the Greeks considered Zeus the leader. According to the beliefs of the Greeks, the family of Zeus - his brothers, wife and children shared power over the world with him. The wife of Zeus, Hera, was considered the guardian of the family, marriage, home. The brother of Zeus, Poseidon, ruled over the seas; Hades, or Hades, ruled over the underworld of the dead; Demeter, the sister of Zeus, the goddess of agriculture, was in charge of the harvest. Zeus had children: Apollo - the god of light, the patron of sciences and arts, Artemis - the goddess of forests and hunting, Pallas Athena, born from the head of Zeus, - the goddess of wisdom, the patroness of crafts and knowledge, lame Hephaestus - the god of the blacksmith and mechanic, Aphrodite - the goddess love and beauty, Ares - the god of war, Hermes - the messenger of the gods, the closest assistant and confidant of Zeus, the patron of trade and navigation. Myths say that these gods lived on Mount Olympus, always closed from the eyes of people by clouds, ate the “food of the gods” - nectar and ambrosia, and decided all matters at the feasts of Zeus.

People on earth turned to the gods - to each according to his "specialty", erected separate temples for them and, in order to propitiate them, brought gifts - sacrifices.

Myths tell that, besides these main gods, the whole earth was inhabited by gods and goddesses who personified the forces of nature.

Nymphs Naiads lived in rivers and streams, Nereids lived in the sea, Dryads and Satyrs with goat legs and horns on their heads lived in the forests; the nymph Echo lived in the mountains.

Helios reigned in the sky - the sun, who traveled around the whole world every day on his golden chariot drawn by fire-breathing horses; in the morning his departure was announced by the ruddy Eos - dawn; at night, Selena, the moon, was sad above the earth. The winds were personified by different gods: the northern formidable wind - Boreas, warm and soft - Zephyr. The life of a person was controlled by three goddesses of fate - Moira they spun a thread human life from birth to death and could cut it off whenever they wanted.

In addition to myths about gods, the ancient Greeks had myths about heroes. Ancient Greece was not a single state, it all consisted of small city-states that often fought among themselves, and sometimes entered into an alliance against a common enemy. Every city, every region had its own hero. The hero of Athens was Theseus, a brave young man who defended his native city from conquerors and defeated the monstrous bull Minotaur in a duel, to which Athenian youths and girls were given to be devoured. The hero of Thrace was the famous singer Orpheus. Among the Argives, the hero was Perseus, who killed Medusa, one glance of which turned a person into stone.

Then, when the unification of the Greek tribes gradually took place and the Greeks began to recognize themselves as a single people - the Hellenes, the hero of all Greece appeared - Hercules. A myth was created about the journey, in which the heroes of various Greek cities and regions participated, about the campaign of the Argonauts.

The Greeks have been navigators since ancient times. The sea washing the shores of Greece (Aegean) was convenient for swimming - it is dotted with islands, calm for most of the year, and the Greeks quickly mastered it. Moving from island to island, the ancient Greeks soon reached Asia Minor. Gradually, Greek sailors began to explore the lands that lay north of Greece.

The myth of the Argonauts is based on the memories of many attempts by Greek sailors to get into the Black Sea. Stormy and without a single island on the way, the Black Sea frightened the Greek sailors for a long time.

The myth about the campaign of the Argonauts is interesting for us also because it deals with the Caucasus, Colchis; the Phasis river is the present Rion, and gold was indeed found there in ancient times.

Myths say that, together with the Argonauts, he went on a campaign for the Golden Fleece and great hero Greece - Hercules.

Hercules is the image of a folk hero. In the myths about the twelve labors of Hercules, the ancient Greeks tell about the heroic struggle of man against the hostile forces of nature, about the liberation of the earth from the terrible domination of the elements, about the appeasement of the country. The embodiment of indestructible physical strength, Hercules is at the same time a model of courage, fearlessness, military courage.

In the myths about the Argonauts and Hercules, the heroes of Hellas stand before us - brave sailors, discoverers of new paths and new lands, fighters who free the earth from the monsters with which it was inhabited by the primitive mind. The images of these heroes express the ideals of the ancient world.

In ancient Greek myths, "childhood human society”, which in Hellas, according to Karl Marx, “developed most beautifully and has eternal charm for us.” In their myths, the Greeks showed a wonderful sense of beauty, an artistic understanding of nature and history. myths Ancient Greece for many centuries inspired poets and artists around the world. In the poems of Pushkin and Tyutchev, and even in the fables of Krylov, we will often find images from the myths of Hellas. If we didn't know ancient Greek myths, much in the art of the past - in sculpture, painting, poetry - would be incomprehensible to us.

The images of ancient Greek myths are preserved in our language. We do not believe now that mighty giants ever existed, whom the ancient Greeks called titans and giants, but we still call great deeds gigantic. We say: "torments of Tantalus", "Sisyphean labor" - and without knowledge of Greek myths, these words are incomprehensible.

HEROES

HEROES

ancient mythology

Achilles
Hector
Hercules
Odysseus
Orpheus
Perseus
Theseus
Oedipus
Aeneas
Jason

Achilles -
one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology,
son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis.
Zeus and Poseidon wanted to have a son from the beautiful Thetis,
but the titan Prometheus warned them,
that the child will surpass the greatness of his father.
And the gods prudently arranged the marriage of Thetis with a mortal.
Love for Achilles, as well as the desire to make him invulnerable and
to give immortality forced Thetis to bathe the child in the river Styx,
flowing through Hades, the land of the dead.
Since Thetis was forced to hold her son by the heel, t
this part of the body remained defenseless.
Achilles was mentored by the centaur Chiron, who fed him
entrails of lions, bears and wild boars, taught to play the cithara and sing.
Achilles grew up a fearless warrior, but his immortal mother, knowing
that participation in the campaign against Troy will bring death to the son,
she dressed him up as a girl and hid him among the women in the palace of Tsar Lykomed.
When the leaders of the Greeks became aware of the prediction of the priest Kalhant,
the grandson of Apollo, that without Achilles the campaign against Troy is doomed to failure,
they sent the cunning Odysseus to him.
Arriving at the king under the guise of a merchant, Odysseus laid out before the assembled
women's jewelry interspersed with weapons.
The inhabitants of the palace began to consider jewelry,
but suddenly, at the sign of Odysseus, an alarm sounded -
the girls fled in fright, and the hero grabbed his sword, betraying himself with his head.
After being exposed, Achilles willy-nilly had to sail to Troy,
where he soon quarreled with the Greek leader Agamemnon.
According to one version of the myth, this happened because,
wanting to provide the Greek fleet
favorable wind, Agamemnon secretly from the hero,
under the pretext of marriage with Achilles, summoned to Aulis
his daughter Iphigenia and sacrificed her to the goddess Artemis.
Angered, Achilles retired to his tent, refusing to fight.
However, his death true friend and brother of Patroclus
at the hands of the Trojan Hector forced
Achilles to immediate action.
Having received armor as a gift from the blacksmith god Hephaestus,
Achilles slew Hector with a blow of a spear and twelve days
mocked his body near the tomb of Patroclus.
Only Thetis was able to convince her son to give the remains of Hector to the Trojans.
for funeral rites
the sacred duty of the living towards the dead.
Returning to the battlefield, Achilles slew hundreds of enemies.
But his own life was coming to an end.
Arrow of Paris, aptly directed by Apollo,
inflicted a fatal wound on the heel of Achilles,
the only vulnerable spot on the hero's body.
Thus perished the valiant and presumptuous Achilles,
the ideal of the great commander of antiquity, Alexander the Great.

1. Teaching Achilles
Pompeo Batoni, 1770

2.Achilles at Lycomedes
Pompeo Batoni, 1745

3. Ambassadors of Agamemnon to Achilles
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
1801, Louvre, Paris

4. The centaur Chiron returns the body
Achilles by his mother Thetis
Pompeo Batoni, 1770

HECTOR -
in ancient Greek mythology, one of the main characters of the Trojan War.
The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy.
Hector had 49 brothers and sisters, but among the sons of Priam it was he who was famous
with his strength and courage. According to legend, Hector struck the first Greek to death,
who set foot on the land of Troy, - Protesilaus.
The hero became especially famous in the ninth year of the Trojan War,
challenging Ajax Telamonides to battle.
Hector promised his enemy not to desecrate his bodies
in case of defeat and not to take off his armor and demanded the same from Ajax.
After a long struggle, they decided to stop the fight and as a sign
mutual respect exchanged gifts.
Hector hoped to defeat the Greeks despite Cassandra's prediction.
It was under his leadership that the Trojans broke into the fortified camp of the Achaeans,
approached the navy and even managed to set fire to one of the ships.
The legends also describe the battle between Hector and the Greek Patroclus.
The hero defeated his opponent and removed the armor of Achilles from him.
The gods took a very active part in the war. They split into two camps
and helped each of his favorites.
Hector was patronized by Apollo himself.
When Patroclus died, Achilles, obsessed with revenge for his death,
tied the defeated dead Hector to his chariot and
dragged him around the walls of Troy, but the body of the hero was not touched by decay,
not a bird, since Apollo protected him in gratitude for
that Hector during his lifetime helped him more than once.
Based on this circumstance, the ancient Greeks concluded that
that Hector was the son of Apollo.
According to myths, Apollo persuaded Zeus at the council of the gods
hand over Hector's body to the Trojans,
to be buried with honor.
The supreme god ordered Achilles to give the body of the deceased to his father Priam.
Since, according to legend, the tomb of Hector was in Thebes,
the researchers suggested that the image of the hero is of Boeotian origin.
Hector was a very revered hero in ancient Greece,
which proves the existence of his image
on ancient vases and antique plastic.
Usually they depicted scenes of Hector's farewell to his wife Andromache,
the battle with Achilles and many other episodes.

1. Andromache at the body of Hector
Jacques Louis David
1783, Louvre, Paris

]

HERCULES -
in ancient Greek mythology, the greatest of the heroes,
son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene.
Zeus needed a mortal hero to defeat the giants,
and he decided to give birth to Hercules.
The best mentors taught Hercules various arts, wrestling, archery.
Zeus wanted Hercules to become the ruler of Mycenae or Tiryns, the key fortresses on the approaches to Argos,
but jealous Hera upset his plans.
She struck Hercules with madness, in a fit of which he killed
wife and three of their sons.
To atone for a heavy guilt, the hero had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years,
king of Tiryns and Mycenae, after which he was granted immortality.
The most famous is the cycle of legends about the twelve labors of Hercules.
The first feat was to obtain the skin of a Nemean lion,
whom Hercules had to strangle with his bare hands.
Having defeated the lion, the hero dressed his skin and wore it as a trophy.
The next feat was the victory over the hydra, the sacred nine-headed snake of Hera.
The monster lived in a swamp near Lerna, not far from Argos.
The difficulty was that instead of the head cut off by the hero, the hydra
immediately grew two new ones.
With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules mastered the fierce Lernean hydra -
the young man burned the neck of each head cut off by the hero.
True, the feat was not counted by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew.
The next feat was not so bloody.
Hercules should have caught the Kerinean doe, the sacred animal of Artemis.
Then the hero caught the Erymanthian boar, which was devastating the fields of Arcadia.
At the same time, the wise centaur Chiron accidentally died.
The fifth feat was the cleaning of the Augean stables from manure,
what the hero did in one day, directing the waters of the nearest river at them.
The last of the feats performed by Hercules in the Peloponnese was
expulsion of Stymphalian birds with pointed iron feathers.
Sinister birds were afraid of copper rattles,
made by Hephaestus and given to Hercules
favored by the goddess Athena.
The seventh feat was the capture of a fierce bull, which Minos, king of Crete,
refused to sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon.
The bull copulated with the wife of Minos Pasiphae, who gave birth from him to the Minotaur, a man with a bull's head.
Hercules performed the eighth labor in Thrace,
where he subjugated the cannibal mares of King Diomedes to his power.
The remaining four feats were of a different kind.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get the girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the warlike Amazons.
Then the hero kidnapped and delivered to Mycenae the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon.
After that, Hercules brought Eurystheus the golden apples of the Hesperides, for which he had to
strangle the giant Antaeus and deceive Atlas, holding the firmament on his shoulders.
The last feat of Hercules is a journey to realm of the dead— was the most difficult.
With the assistance of the queen of the underworld, Persephone, the hero was able to bring out
and deliver the three-headed dog Kerberos (Cerberus), the guardian of the underworld, to Tiryns.
The end of Hercules was terrible.
The hero died in terrible agony, wearing a shirt that his wife Dejanira,
on the advice of the centaur Ness, dying at the hands of Hercules,
soaked this half-man-half-horse with poisonous blood.
When the hero of the last strength climbed the funeral pyre,
purple lightning struck from heaven and
Zeus accepted his son into the host of immortals.
Some of the exploits of Hercules are immortalized in the names of the constellations.
For example, the constellation Leo is in memory of the Nemean lion,
the constellation of Cancer reminds of the huge cancer Karkina,
sent by the Hero to help the Lernean hydra.
In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.

1. Hercules and Kerberos
Boris Vallejo, 1988

2. Hercules and Hydra
Gustave Moreau, 1876

3. Hercules at the Crossroads
Pompeo Batoni, 1745

4. Hercules and Omphala
François Lemoine, ca.1725

ODYSSEUS -
"angry", "angry" (Ulysses). In Greek mythology, the king of the island of Ithaca,
one of the leaders of the Achaeans in the Trojan War.
He is famous for his cunning, dexterity and amazing adventures.
The brave Odysseus was sometimes considered the son of Sisyphus, who seduced Anticlea
even before marriage with Laertes,
and according to some versions, Odysseus is the grandson of Autolycus, "the perjurer and thief", the son of the god Hermes,
inherited their mind, practicality and enterprise.
Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, had high hopes for the ingenuity and intelligence of Odysseus.
Together with the wise Nestor, Odysseus was instructed to persuade the great warrior
Achilles to take part in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks,
and when their fleet was stuck in Aulis, it was Odysseus who tricked his wife
Release Agamemnon Clytemnestra to Aulis Iphigenia
under the pretext of her marriage to Achilles.
In reality, Iphigenia was intended to be a sacrifice to Artemis,
who otherwise disagreed
ensure Greek ships favourable wind.
It was Odysseus who came up with the idea with the Trojan horse, which brought victory to the Achaeans.
The Greeks pretended to lift the siege from the city, and went to sea,
leaving a huge hollow horse on the shore,
inside the body of which a detachment of soldiers hid under the leadership of Odysseus.
The Trojans, rejoicing at the departure of the Achaeans, dragged the horse into the city.
They decided to present the statue as a gift to Athena and provide the city with the patronage of the gods.
At night, armed Achaeans poured out of the horse through a secret door,
killed the guards and opened the gates of Troy.
Hence the ancient saying: "Fear the Achaeans (Danaans) who bring gifts," and
expression "Trojan horse".
Troy fell, but the brutal massacre perpetrated by the Greeks
caused the strongest wrath of the gods, especially Athens,
after all, the favorite of the gods, Cassandra, was raped in her sanctuary.
The wanderings of Odysseus were a favorite story of the Greeks and Romans,
who called him Ulysses.
From Troy, Odysseus headed for Thrace,
where he lost many people in the battle with the Kikons.
Then a storm carried him to the land of lotophages ("lotus eaters"),
whose food made the aliens forget about their homeland.
Later, Odysseus fell into the possession of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes),
being a prisoner of the one-eyed Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon.
However, Odysseus and his companions managed to avoid certain death.
On the island of the lord of the winds, Aeol, Odysseus received a gift - fur,
filled fair winds,
but the curious sailors loosened the fur and the winds scattered in all directions,
stop blowing in the same direction.
Then the ships of Odysseus were attacked by the Laestrigons, a tribe of cannibal giants,
but the hero managed to get to the island of Eya, the possession of the sorceress Circe (Kirki).
With the help of Hermes, Odysseus was able to force the sorceress to return
human appearance to members of his team,
whom she turned into pigs.
Further, on the advice of Kirka, he visits the underworld of the dead,
where the shadow of the blind soothsayer Tiresias warns the brave Odysseus
about the dangers ahead.
Leaving the island, the ship of Odysseus sailed past the coast,
where sweet-voiced sirens with their marvelous singing
lured sailors to sharp rocks.
The hero ordered his companions to cover their ears with wax and tie themselves to the mast. Happily passing the wandering rocks of Plankta,
Odysseus lost six men who were dragged away and devoured by the six-headed Sketa (Scylla).
On the island of Trinacia, as Tiresias predicted, hungry travelers
seduced by the fat herds of the sun god Helios.
As punishment, these sailors died from a storm sent by Zeus at the request of Helios.
The surviving Odysseus was almost swallowed by the monstrous whirlpool of Charybdis.
Exhausted from exhaustion, he was washed up on the island of the sorceress Calypso,
who married him and proposed marriage.
But even the prospect of immortality did not seduce Odysseus,
rushing home, and seven years later the gods forced
the nymph in love to let the traveler go.
After another shipwreck, Odysseus, with the help of Athena, took the form
poor old man, returned home, where long years his wife Penelope was waiting for him.
Besieged by noble suitors, she played for time, announcing that she would marry,
when he finishes weaving a shroud for his father-in-law Laertes.
However, at night Penelope unraveled what was woven during the day.
When the servants revealed her secret, she agreed to marry the one
who can draw the bow of Odysseus.
The test was passed by an unknown beggar old man, who, throwing off his rags,
turned out to be a mighty Odysseus.
After twenty years of separation, the hero embraced his faithful Penelope,
which Athena before the meeting awarded with a rare beauty.
According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus, unrecognized, fell at the hands of Telegon,
his son from Circe (Kirki), according to others -
died peacefully at an advanced age.

1. Odysseus in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus
Jacob Jordaens, 1630

2. Odysseus and Sirens
John William Waterhouse, 1891

3. Circe and Odysseus
John William Waterhouse 1891

4. Penelope waiting for Odysseus
John William Waterhouse, 1890

ORPHEUS -
in ancient Greek mythology, a hero and a traveler.
Orpheus was the son of the Thracian river god Eagra and the muse Calliope.
He was known as a talented singer and musician.
Orpheus took part in the campaign of the Argonauts, with his game on the forming
and by his prayers he calmed the waves and helped the rowers of the Argo.
The hero married the beautiful Eurydice, and when she suddenly died from a snakebite,
followed her to the underworld.
Guardian underworld, the evil dog Cerberus,
Persephone and Hades were enchanted magic music young men.
Hades promised to return Eurydice to earth on the condition that
that Orpheus will not look at his wife until he enters his house.
Orpheus could not restrain himself and looked at Eurydice,
as a result, she remained forever in the realm of the dead.
Orpheus did not treat Dionysus with due respect, but honored Helios,
whom he named Apollo.
Dionysus decided to teach the young man a lesson and sent a maenad at him,
who tore the musician to pieces and threw him into the river.
Parts of his body were collected by the Muses, who mourned the death of a beautiful youth.
The head of Orpheus floated down the river Gebr and was found by the nymphs,
then she got to the island of Lesbos, where she was received by Apollo.
The musician's shadow fell into Hades, where the couple were reunited.

1. Orpheus and Eurydice
Frederic Leighton, 1864

2. Nymphs and the head of Orpheus
John Waterhouse, 1900

PERSEUS -
in Greek mythology, the ancestor of Hercules, the son of Zeus and Danae,
daughter of the king of Argos Acrisius.
Hoping to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy about the death of Acrisius at the hands of his grandson,
Danae was imprisoned in a copper tower, but the almighty Zeus penetrated there,
turning into a golden rain, and conceived Perseus.
The terrified Acrisius seated the mother and child
into a wooden box and threw it into the sea.
However, Zeus helped his beloved and son safely
get to Serif Island.
The matured Perseus was sent by the local ruler Polydectes,
who fell in love with Danae, in search of the Gorgon Medusa,
with a glance that turns all living things into stone.
Fortunately for the hero, Athena hated Medusa and, according to one of the myths,
out of jealousy, she rewarded the once beautiful gorgon with deadly beauty.
Athena taught Perseus what to do.
First, the young man, following the advice of the goddess, went to the old women-grays,
three of them had one eye and one tooth.
By cunning, having taken possession of the eye and tooth, Perseus returned them to the grays in exchange
to indicate the way to the nymphs who gave him a cap of invisibility,
winged sandals and a Medusa head bag.
Perseus flew to the western end of the world, to the Gorgon's cave, and,
looking at the reflection of the mortal Medusa in his copper shield, cut off her head.
Putting it in a bag, he sped off in an invisibility cap,
unnoticed by the snake-haired sisters of the monster.
On the way home, Perseus saved the beautiful Andromeda from the sea monster.
and married her.
Then the hero went to Argos, but Acrisius,
having learned about the arrival of his grandson, he fled to Larissa.
And yet he did not escape fate - during the festivities in Larissa,
participating in competitions, Perseus threw a heavy bronze disk,
hit Acrisius in the head and struck him to death.
The grief-stricken inconsolable hero did not want to rule in Argos
and moved to Tiryns.
After the death of Perseus and Andromeda, the goddess Athena raised the spouses to heaven, turning them into constellations.

1. Perseus and Andromeda
Peter Paul Rubens, 1639

2. The sinister head of the Gorgon
Edward Burne-Jones, 1887

THESEUS -
("strong"), in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra.
The childless Aegeus received advice from the Delphic oracle - not to untie
your wineskin until you return home. Aegeus did not guess the prediction, but the Troesen king Pittheus,
with whom he was visiting, he realized that Aegeus was destined to conceive a hero. He got the guest drunk and put him to bed
with his daughter Ephra. On the same night, Poseidon also approached her.
Thus was born Theseus, the great hero, the son of two fathers.
Before leaving Ephra, Aegeus led her to a boulder, under which he hid his sword and sandals.
If a son is born, he said, let him grow, mature,
and when he can move the stone,
then send it to me. Theseus grew up, and Ephra discovered the secret of his birth.
The young man easily took out his sword and sandals, and on the way to Athens he dealt
with the robber Sinis and the Crommion pig.
Theseus was able to defeat the monstrous Minotaur, the bull-man,
only with the help of the princess Ariadne, who fell in love with him, who gave him a guiding thread.
In Athens, Theseus learned that fifty sons of his cousin Pallas claimed the throne of Aegeus,
and Aegeus himself fell under the power of the sorceress Medea,
abandoned by Jason, who hoped that her son Med would receive the throne.
Theseus hid his origin, but Medea, knowing who he was,
persuaded Aegeus to give the stranger a bowl of poison.
Theseus was saved by the fact that his father recognized his sword, with which the hero cut meat.
Theseus performed the following feats for the benefit of Athens.
He dealt with the sons of Pallas and the marathon
bull that ravaged the fields, defeated the bull-man Minotaur.
The monster that lived in the labyrinth was given to be eaten by young Athenians
as an atoning sacrifice for the death of the king's son in Athens.
When Theseus volunteered to fight the Minotaur, his old father fell into despair.
They agreed that if Theseus escaped death, then, returning home,
change the sail from black to white.
Theseus, having killed the monster, got out of the labyrinth thanks to the daughter of Minos, Ariadne, who fell in love with him,
following the thread tied at the entrance (the guiding "thread of Ariadne").
Theseus and Ariadne then secretly fled to the island of Naxos.
Here Theseus left the princess and fate punished him.
Returning home, Theseus forgot to change the sail as a sign of victory.
Theseus' father Aegeus, seeing the black cloth, threw himself off the cliff into the sea.
Theseus accomplished a number of other feats. He captured the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta,
who gave birth to his son Hippolyta, gave shelter to the outcast Oedipus and his daughter Antigone.
True, Theseus was not among the Argonauts;
at this time he helped the king of the Lapiths Pirithous
kidnap the mistress of Hades Persephone.
For this, the gods decided to forever leave the daredevil in Hades,
But Theseus was saved by Hercules.
However, grief again knocked on his house when the second wife, Phaedra,
longed for his son Hippolytus, who was horrified to keep silent about her passion.
Humiliated by the refusal, Phaedra hanged herself,
in a suicide note accusing her stepson of trying to dishonor her.
The young man was expelled from the city,
and he died before his father knew the truth.
In his old age, Theseus impudently kidnapped the twelve-year-old daughter of Zeus Helen,
declaring that only she is worthy of being his wife,
but Helen's brothers, the Dioscuri, rescued their sister and expelled Theseus.
The hero died on the island of Skyros at the hands of the local king, who,
fearing the still mighty Theseus, he pushed the guest off the cliff.

1. Theseus and the Minotaur
Vase 450g. BC.

2. Theseus
with Ariadne and Phaedra
B. Jennari, 1702

3. Theseus and Ephra
Lovren de la Hire, 1640

OEDIPUS -
a descendant of Cadmus, from the Labdakid clan, the son of the Theban king Laius and Jocasta, or Epicaste,
beloved hero of Greek folk tales and tragedies, due to the multitude of which
it is very difficult to imagine the myth of Oedipus in its original form.
According to the most common legend, the oracle predicted Lai
about the birth of a son who will kill him himself,
marries his own mother and brings disgrace upon the entire Labdakid household.
Therefore, when Lai's son was born, the parents, piercing his legs
and tying them together (why they swelled up),
sent him to Cithaeron, where Oedipus was found by a shepherd,
sheltered the boy and then brought him to Sicyon,
or Corinth, to King Polybus, who raised the adopted child as his own son.
Having once received a reproach at a feast for doubtful origin,
Oedipus asked for clarification
to the oracle and received advice from him - to beware of patricide and incest.
As a result, Oedipus, who considered Polybus his father, left Sicyon.
On the road he met Lai, started a quarrel with him, and in his temper
killed him and his retinue.
At this time in Thebes the monster Sphinx was devastating,
asking for several years in a row
to each a riddle and devouring all those who did not guess it.
Oedipus solved this riddle
(what creature walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon,
and in the evening at three? The answer is man
as a result of which the Sphinx threw herself off a cliff and died.
In gratitude for delivering the country from a long disaster, the Theban citizens
made Oedipus their king and gave him the widow of Laius, Jocasta -
his own mother.
Soon the double crime committed by Oedipus out of ignorance was revealed,
and Oedipus gouged out his eyes in despair, and Jocasta took her own life.
According to an ancient legend (Homer, Odyssey, XI, 271 et seq.)
Oedipus remained to reign in Thebes and died,
pursued by the Erinyes.
Sophocles tells about the end of Oedipus' life differently:
when the crimes of Oedipus were revealed, the Thebans with the sons of Oedipus:
Eteocles and Polynices at the head expelled the aged and blind king from Thebes,
and he, accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigone, went to the place of Colon
(in Attica), where in the sanctuary of Erinyes,
who at last, through the intervention of Apollo, subdued their anger,
ended his life of misery.
His memory was considered sacred, and his grave was one of the palladiums of Attica.
How actor, Oedipus is bred in the tragedies of Sophocles "Oedipus Rex" and
"Oedipus in Colon" (both tragedies are available in poetic Russian translation
D. S. Merezhkovsky, St. Petersburg, 1902),
in the tragedy of Euripides "Phoenician women"
(poetic Russian translation by I. Annensky, "The World of God", 1898, No. 4)
and in Seneca's tragedy Oedipus.
There were many other poetic works dealing with the fate of Oedipus.

1. Bookplate by Sigmund Freud.
The ex-libris depicts Oedipus the King talking to the Sphinx.

2. Oedipus and the Sphinx
J.O.Ingres

3. Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864
Gustave Moreau

4. Oedipus the Wanderer, 1888
Gustave Moreau

AENEAS -
in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of the handsome shepherd Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus),
participant in the defense of Troy during the Trojan War, a glorious hero.
A brave warrior, Aeneas participated in decisive battles with Achilles and escaped death
only through the intercession of his divine mother.
After the fall of devastated Troy, at the behest of the gods, he left the burning city
and together with the old father,
wife Creusa and young son Askaniy (Yul),
capturing images of the Trojan gods,
accompanied by satellites on twenty ships went in search of new homeland.
Having survived a series of adventures and a terrible storm, he reached the Italian city of Kuma,
and then ended up in Latium, a region in Central Italy.
The local king was ready to give for Aeneas (widowed along the way) his daughter Lavinia
and give him land to found a city.
Having won in a duel Turnn, the leader of the warlike tribe of rutuls
and pretender to the hand of Lavinia,
Aeneas settled in Italy, which became the successor to the glory of Troy.
His son Askaniy (Yul) was considered the progenitor of the Yuliev clan,
including the famous emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus.

1. Venus giving Aeneas armor made by Vulcan, 1748
Pompeo Batoni

2. Mercury appearing to Aeneas (fresco), 1757
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

3. The battle of Aeneas with the harpies
Francois Perrier, 1647

Jason -
("healer"), in Greek mythology, the great-grandson of the god of the winds Eol, the son of King Iolk Aeson and Polymede.
Hero, leader of the Argonauts.
When Pelias overthrew his brother Aeson from the throne, he, fearing for the life of his son,
gave him under the care of the wise centaur Chiron, who lived in the Thessalian forests.
The Delphic oracle predicted to Pelias that a man in one sandal would destroy him.
This explains the fear of the king when the matured Jason returned to the city,
lost his sandal along the way.
Pelias decided to get rid of the impending threat and promised to recognize Jason as the heir if he, risking his life, would get the golden fleece in Colchis.
Jason and his team on the Argo ship, having experienced many adventures, returned to their homeland with a wonderful rune.
With their success - victory over the dragon and formidable warriors,
sprouting from his teeth,
they were largely obliged to the Colchis princess Medea, since Eros,
at the request of Athena and Hera, who patronized Jason,
instilled in the heart of the girl love for the hero.
Upon their return to Iolk, the Argonauts learned
that Pelias killed Jason's father and all his relatives.
According to one version, Pelias dies from the spell of Medea, whose name means "insidious."
According to another, Jason resigned himself to exile, lived happily with Medea for ten years.
and they had three children.
Then the hero married Princess Glauca; in
in revenge, Medea killed her and killed her sons from Jason.
Years passed. The aged hero eked out his days, until one day he wandered onto the pier,
where the famous "Argo" stood.
Suddenly, the mast of the ship, rotten from time, gave way
and fell on Jason, who fell dead.

1. Jason and Medea
John William Waterhouse, 1890

2. Jason and Medea
Gustave Moreau, 1865