Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations are considered the cradle of European culture. The literature of that time, preserved in myths and tales, handwritten scrolls and retold lists, was vividly reflected in almost all forms of art - painting, sculpture, architecture, music, cinema. Especially popular is Greek and Roman mythology. And Hercules, aka Hercules, the undaunted strong man, became a household figure at all!
Hero's biography
The Greeks themselves were very fond of retelling each other the exploits of Hercules. Summary (myths of Ancient Greece and other sources) they can be found in various written documents of subsequent eras. The main character of these stories is a complex face. He is the son of the god Zeus himself, the supreme ruler of Olympus, the thunderstorm and lord of all other deities and ordinary mortals. And his mother is an ordinary woman. The offspring of such unions were called heroes. After all, they were endowed with tremendous physical strength, military valor and, most importantly, immortality. And about how you can use all this, we can tell the exploits of Hercules (summary). Myths of Ancient Greece say that he had to commit them at the behest of the jealous wife of Zeus, Hera. After all, it was she who ganged up on the illegitimate offspring of her unfaithful husband and ordered him to be in the service of the cowardly and stupid Euphrasius. 12 difficult tasks the hero was obliged to fulfill for his release.
Myth content
The story of them is included in the concept of "the exploits of Hercules." Summary (myths of Ancient Greece - the main source of information) they are such.
- In the Kiferon mountains, a ferocious cannibal lion roams with such a strong skin that it is impossible to break through anything. Hercules managed to trick the beast into a trap, strangle him, and the hero began to use the skin taken from the Nemean lion as his main clothing.
- The reprisal with the Lernean hydra in a vivid episode is included in the exploits of Hercules. Summary (the myths of Ancient Greece, by the way, explain where the constellation Cancer and Hydra came from in the sky!) It is very interesting. Hydra - a monstrous species, a many-headed snake, devouring all living things or poisoning with its poison (bile). When Hercules fought with her, he was supported by all the inhabitants of land, water and sky. Only the cancer crawled out of its hole and bit the hero. For which he was crushed. However, the magnanimous giant threw him high into the sky, and the Shrew became a constellation.
- Enumerating the exploits of Hercules, a brief summary of them, it is worth mentioning the victory over the birds with steel feathers, sharp as arrows - at Stimphalia. And the cleaning of the Augean stables, the extraction of the magic apples of the Hesperides, for which our hero had to stay in the role of Atlant, the taming of the mighty boar from Erimphania and the same terrible bull from the island of Crete - all this also added fame and honor to the strength and courage of Hercules!
... and other stories
What else is more interesting about the exploits of Hercules? The content of myths brought us such stories: the hero caught the favorite of Artemis, the Cyrene clan; he dealt with Diomedes himself, the cruel king who fed foreign travelers to his wild horses; stole the belt from Hippolyta herself, the leader of the Amazons - wayward warrior virgins. And even the cows of the three-headed Gerion - a terrible kind of giant - managed to steal! In total, the hero counts about 50 wonderful feats. No wonder in Greece there was even a cult of Hercules! Here he is - a popular character of myths!
In Russian, the content of most myths of the ancient Greeks was most fully described by the historian-writer B. Kun.