The birth of Hercules and the cunning of Hera. The wife of the hero Amphitryon, named Alcmene, was famous for her beauty throughout Hellas. She was so beautiful that Zeus himself drew attention to her. Once, when Amphitryon was on a long campaign, the thunderer appeared to her under the guise of her husband. Alcmena did not suspect anything, and soon she gave birth to two twin boys. One of them was the son of Zeus, the other was Amphitryon.

Shortly before they were born, Zeus gathered the gods on Olympus and said: “A great event will happen on earth today! A hero will be born who will surpass all mortals in his glory; he will be strong and noble, and I will give him the power to command other heroes! ”

The jealous Hera heard these words and realized that not an ordinary child would be born, but the son of Zeus; he cheated on her again with a mortal woman! She decided to outwit Zeus and demanded an oath from her husband that he would do exactly as he had promised. Zeus, not suspecting anything, confirmed his words with an oath. Then Hera hurried to Thebes, where Amphitryon and Alcmene lived, and by magic delayed the birth of Alcmene's children. At the same time in Mycenae, she hastened the birth of the frail and sickly Eurystheus, the son of King Sphenel.

As if nothing had happened, she came to Zeus and exclaimed: “Rejoice, thunderer! Everything happened at your word! The great Eurystheus was born, whom the rest of the heroes of Hellas will serve! " Zeus came to indescribable anger when he realized that he had been deceived.

Zeus tries to make Hercules immortal. Zeus could not break his oath, and therefore decided that only twelve years his son would serve Eurystheus, and then he would receive freedom and at the end of his earthly existence he would be included among the Olympian gods. Zeus wanted to make his son immortal, and for this the child had to drink Hera's milk. Unbeknownst to Alcmene, Zeus took the child, carried him to Olympus and put it to the sleeping Hera's breast. The goddess woke up and pushed the boy away from her; her milk splashed across the sky, forming on it a white road, clearly visible at night, - the Milky Way. The son of Zeus did not receive immortality, and his earthly parents gave the boy the name Hercules, which means “The Glorified Hero”. Hercules' brother was named Iphicles.

Baby Hercules and the snakes. When Hercules was nine months old, Hera sent two huge snakes to Amphitryon's house to destroy the boy. The doors opened for them by themselves, snakes crawled across the marble floor into the nursery; flames burst from their eyes, deadly poison dripped from their teeth. Hercules and Iphicles slept quietly in the bronze shield of Amphitryon, which served as their cradle. But Zeus woke them up when the snakes approached. Iphicles wept loudly, and Hercules, laughing, grabbed the snakes and strangled them. Amphitrion ran into the children's bedroom with a drawn sword in his hand and saw that the danger had passed. Proudly threw Hercules at his feet as strangled snakes.

Hercules

Education of Hercules. When Hercules grew up a little, Amphitryon began to teach him everything that a true hero should know and be able to do. The best mentors showed him how to wield weapons, how to win in fistfights, how to shoot accurately from a bow; Amphitryon himself taught him how to drive a chariot. Hercules was taught to sing and play musical instruments, recognize the stars, and reason wisely about divine and human affairs. Hercules learned a lot, he became beautiful physically, noble in soul. Nobody could compare with him. Hercules was neat in his clothes and moderate in food, he always preferred to sleep on the street in the open air, and not in a stuffy house. He never used his immense strength for evil and did not attack first until he was insulted; always ready to provide help to those who needed it.

Gifts of the gods to Hercules. People loved Hercules, he was pleased with the Olympian gods, they gave him everything he needed: from Hermes the hero received a sword, from Apollo - a bow and arrows with eagle feathers. Hephaestus gave Hercules a shell, and Athena weaved beautiful clothes. Even Zeus and Poseidon honored him with their gifts: Poseidon presented a team of swift horses, and Zeus gave him a magnificent indestructible shield. With gratitude, Hercules accepted these gifts, but he rarely used them - he preferred a simple club, bow and arrows to any weapon.

Hera sends madness to Hercules. Only Hera alone still hated Hercules. For fear of the anger of Zeus, she did not dare to destroy the young man, but harmed him as best she could. Hercules had already married, his sons were born, he dearly loved his wife and children. But Hera sent madness to him - and in madness, thinking that he was destroying his enemies, Hercules killed his children and his wife. When the veil of madness fell from his eyes, and he realized what he had done, he locked himself in a dark room and did not appear to people for many days. Only the servants heard the mighty hero crying there.

Hercules at the pythia. When the pain of loss subsided a little, Hercules went to Delphi to ask the Pythia how to atone for a terrible, albeit involuntary, atrocity. The pythia answered him: “You must go to Mycenae, to the king Eurystheus, you will perform ten deeds in his service, which he will command, and by this you will atone for your crime; having accomplished feats, you will be numbered among the Olympian gods. "

Hercules sighed heavily. He heard about Eurystheus, knew that this king was weak and cowardly, which in many ways surpasses Eurystheus himself, but nothing can be done, Hercules had to submit to the will of the immortal gods. He went to Mycenae. Hera was delighted: now she will be able to find a feat that Hercules will not be able to do! Since then, she looked for a task more difficult than the other, and Eurystheus sent Hercules to fulfill them.

Hercules Hercules - in the myths of the ancient Greeks, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. The newly born baby Hercules immediately struck everyone with his extraordinary strength when he strangled two monstrous snakes sent to his cradle by the jealous Hero. Zeus selected the best teachers for Hercules, who taught him various arts, wrestling, archery, playing the cithara, and more. At the age of eighteen, Hercules killed the Kytheron lion on Mount Kiferon, which devastated the surroundings. Serving the Tiryns king Eurystheus, Hercules became famous for 12 exploits: he got the skin of a Nemean lion; killed the Lernaean hydra; caught the Kerinean doe; caught an Erymanth boar; cleared the Augean stables (a huge stockyard); drove out the monstrous Stymphalian birds; brought a fierce Cretan bull to Eurystheus; drove the mares of Diomedes; got the belt of the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta; drove Geryon's cows from the far West. To deliver these cows, Hercules had to sail to the distant island of Erythia; on the way, he placed two stone steles on the northern and southern shores of the strait separating Europe from Africa - the so-called. Pillars of Hercules; got and brought to Tiryns the golden apples of the Hesperides; kidnapped the guardian of the underworld of Cerberus. Was accepted into the host of immortal gods. Hera reconciled with Hercules, and he married her daughter - the goddess of youth Hebe. The cult of Hercules was widespread throughout the Greek world. With the spread of the cult of Hercules in Italy, he began to be worshiped under the name Hercules.

Historical Dictionary. 2000 .

See what "Hercules" is in other dictionaries:

See Hercules. (Source: "A Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities." M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition of A. Suvorin, 1894.) HERCULES (Ήρακλής), in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene (wife of Amphitryon). In the absence of… … Encyclopedia of mythology

Hercules- destroys Stimphalia birds. Fragment of painting on an amphora. Mid-6th century BC NS. London, British Museum Hercules destroys the Stymphalian birds. Fragment of painting on an amphora. Mid-6th century BC NS. London, British Museum Hercules in the myths of the ancients ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"

Hercules- HERCULES, a, m (or dried Hercules, dried Hercules). Iron. an appeal to a person who unreasonably considers himself physically strong. Put the weight down, dried hercules, or now the snot will go off your ears (otherwise you will burst out). From own. "Hercules" is a hero ... ... Dictionary of Russian argo

And husband.; old. Erakl, A. Rep .: Geraklovich, Geraklovna; colloquial Geraklych. Derivatives: Hera. Origin: (In ancient mythology: Hercules is a popular Greek hero, who is credited with performing many feats. From the Greek. Hera Hera and kleos glory.) ... ... Dictionary of personal names

- (Hercules) the hero of Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Endowed with extraordinary strength, Hercules performed many feats; the most famous is the cycle of legends about the 12 exploits of Hercules; besides, Hercules freed Prometheus, defeated ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

One of the favorite figures of Greek folklore, a repulser of evil, overpowering wild beasts, monsters and demons, gaining a place among the gods by exploits. The entire image of Hercules bears the stamp of creativity of the lower classes: uncouth, rustic ... ... Literary encyclopedia

- (Hercules), in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Endowed with extraordinary strength, Hercules strangled 2 snakes with a baby. Serving with Eurystheus, he became famous for 12 exploits: he obtains the skin of a Nemean lion; kills the Lernaean hydra; ... ... Modern encyclopedia

From ancient Greek mythology. Hercules (Rom. Hercules) is the most popular hero of Ancient Greece and Rome, the son of the head of the Olympian gods Zeus and the mortal woman, Queen Alcmene. He was endowed with tremendous physical strength: while still a baby lying in ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Hercules, Melkart Dictionary of Russian synonyms. hercules noun, number of synonyms: 8 bugay (27) hercules ... Synonym dictionary

At the crossroads. See Hercules at the Crossroads (HERCULES). Dried Hercules (dried, dried). Spread. Iron. About a person who unreasonably considers himself physically strong. Zaykovskaya, 40; Elistratov 1994, 87; Maximov, 83 ... A large dictionary of Russian sayings

Books

• Hercules, Saberhagen Fred. The legendary Greek hero performed 12 feats, the grandeur of which could well be compared with the gods! It turns out that Hercules was not only capable of waving his club and tearing apart the carcass of a lion! He was…

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

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

Francois Lemoine,
1725 year

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

Gustave Moreau, 1876

Boris Vallejo, 1988

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

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

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 Minos' wife Pasiphae. who gave birth to the Minotaur from him, a man with a bull's head.

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

The end of Hercules was terrible. The hero died in terrible agony, putting on a shirt, which his wife Deianira, on the advice of the centaur Nessus dying at the hands of Hercules, soaked the poisonous blood of this half-man-half-horse. When the hero, with the last of his strength, ascended the funeral pyre, a crimson lightning struck from heaven and Zeus took 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 Cancer is reminiscent of the huge cancer Karkin, sent by the Hero to help the Lernaean hydra. In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.

The message about Hercules for children can be used in preparation for the lesson. The story about Hercules for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Report on Hercules

Hercules is a mythological hero, whose father was the great Zeus, the main one among the main ones. His mother was a mere mortal. Zeus had to deceive Alcmene, and in the guise of a husband, he appeared to the beauty in the middle of the night. Nine months later, Zeus had an illegitimate son - Hercules.

When Hera, who was the legal wife of the God of Olympus, found out about her husband's betrayal, she decided to destroy that child. The goddess was the patroness of marriage bonds, and tried to protect the legal marriage with Zeus, so she had to fight with the illegitimate children of her husband.
Two monstrous snakes were sent by her to the lullabies of Hercules and his brother. But the baby, who had the power, managed to get rid of them. He strangled them. Then everything was like everyone else - Hercules studied, performed several feats, got married and had offspring. But Hera could not calm down. She sent an attack of madness to Hercules, as a result of which his own children and beloved brother were killed.

In atonement for this, according to the Delphic Pythia, he must perform ten labors. But he did 12 of them - and the whole world heard about them.

Feats of Hercules

1. Smothering the Nemean Lion
2. Lernaean Hydra Kill (not credited due to Iolaus' help)
3. Extermination of Stymphalian birds
4. Capture of the Kerinean fallow deer
5. Taming the Erymanth Boar
6. Cleaning of the Augean Stables (not credited due to fee requirement)
7. The taming of the Cretan bull
8. Abduction of the Horses of Diomedes, victory over King Diomedes (who threw foreigners to be devoured by his horses)
9. The Abduction of the Belt of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
10. The kidnapping of the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon
11. Stealing golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides
12. The taming of the guardian of Hades - the dog of Cerberus

Hercules' life was eventful, but the journey was not so long, he died at fifty. And there are different versions of his death. The most likely next option: Hercules realized that his forces were leaving him, and he could not pull the string of his own bow. And then he decides to end his journey at the stake. This is a worthy end to the hero's life.

Origin of Hercules: son of Alcmene. - Jealousy of the Goddess Hera: Descendants of Perseus. - Hera's Milk: The Myth of the Milky Way. - Baby Hercules and the snake. - Hercules at a crossroads. - Frenzy of Hercules.

Hercules origin: son of Alcmene

Hero Hercules(in Roman mythology - Hercules) came from the glorious family of the hero. Hercules is the greatest hero of Greek myths and the beloved national hero of the entire Greek people. According to the myths of ancient Greece, Hercules represents the image of a person with great physical strength, invincible courage and tremendous willpower.

Performing the most difficult work, obeying the will of Zeus (Jupiter), Hercules, with the consciousness of his duty, humbly endures the cruel blows of fate.

Hercules fought and conquered the dark and evil forces of nature, fought against untruth and injustice, as well as against the enemies of social and moral orders established by Zeus.

Hercules is the son of Zeus, but the mother of Hercules is mortal, and he is a real son of the earth and mortal.

Despite his strength, Hercules, like mortals, is subject to all the passions and delusions inherent in the human heart, but in the human and therefore weak nature of Hercules lies the divine source of kindness and divine magnanimity, which makes him capable of great deeds.

Just as he defeats giants and monsters, so Hercules defeats all evil instincts in himself and achieves divine immortality.

Tell the next myth of the origin of Hercules... Zeus (Jupiter), the lord of the gods, wished to give the gods and people a great hero who would protect them from various troubles. Zeus descended from Olympus and began to look for a woman worthy to become the mother of such a hero. Zeus' choice fell on Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon.

But since Alcmene loved only her husband, Zeus took the form of Amphitryon and entered his house. The son born of this union was Hercules, who in mythology is called either the son of Amphitryon or the son of Zeus.

And that is why Hercules has a dual nature - a man and a god.

Such an incarnation of a deity in a person did not in the least shock popular beliefs and feelings, which, however, did not prevent the ancient Greeks and Romans from noticing and laughing at the comic side of this incident.

One antique vase has a picturesque depiction of an ancient caricature. Zeus is depicted there disguised and the owner of a large belly. He carries a ladder, which he is going to attach to Alcmene's window, and she watches from the window everything that happens. The god Hermes (Mercury), disguised as a slave, but recognizable by the caduceus, stands in front of Zeus.

Jealousy of the Goddess Hera: Descendants of Perseus

When it's time to be born son of Alcmene, the lord of the gods could not resist boasting in the assembly of the gods that on this day a great hero would be born in the family, called to rule over all peoples.

The goddess Hera (Juno) made Zeus confirm these words with an oath and, as the goddess of childbirth, arranged so that not Hercules, but the future king Eurystheus, also a descendant of Perseus, was born on that day.

And thus, in the future, Hercules had to obey King Eurystheus, serve him and perform various difficult tasks at the behest of Eurystheus.

Hera's milk: the myth of the Milky Way

When the son of Alcmene was born, the god (Mercury), wanting to save Hercules from the persecution of Hera, took him, carried him to Olympus and put him in the arms of the sleeping goddess.

Hercules bit Hera's chest with such force that milk poured out of it and formed the Milky Way in the sky, and the awakened goddess with anger threw away Hercules, who nevertheless tasted the milk of immortality.

In a museum in Madrid, there is a painting by Rubens depicting the goddess Juno breastfeeding a baby Hercules. The goddess sits on a cloud, next to her is a chariot drawn by peacocks.

Tintoretto in his painting interprets this mythological plot in a slightly different way. With him, Jupiter himself gives Juno a son - Hercules.

Infant Hercules and the snake

Together with Hercules, his brother Iphicles was born. The vengeful goddess Hera sent two snakes that climbed into the cradle to kill the children. Baby Hercules grabbed Hera's snake and strangled it right in his cradle.

The Roman writer Pliny the Elder mentions a painting by the ancient Greek artist Zeuxis, depicting the myth of the infant Hercules strangling a snake.

The same mythological plot is depicted in an antique fresco, a bas-relief and a bronze statue discovered in Herculaneum.

Of the newest works on the same theme, paintings by Annibale Carracci and Reynolds are known.

Hercules at a crossroads

The young hero Hercules received the most thorough education.

In academic subjects, Hercules was instructed by the following teachers:

• Amphitryon taught Hercules to drive a chariot,
• - shoot a bow and carry weapons,
• - wrestling and various sciences,
• musician Lin - playing the lyre.

But Hercules turned out to be little capable of arts. Hercules, like all people whose physical development prevailed over mental development, found it difficult to learn music and more willingly and more easily pulled the bowstring of the bow, rather than fingered the gentle strings of the lyre.

Angry with his teacher Lin, who decided to make him a comment about his game, Hercules killed him with a blow of his lyre.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from ancient Greek and Latin; all rights reserved.