In oral and written speech, the expression "Augean stables" is often found. It means a mess, the elimination of which requires a lot of time and effort. But not everyone knows the origin of winged expression. The barnyard of King Avgius is the place where Hercules performed one of his famous feats.
Before you talk about who Augeus is, it’s worth telling the story of a mythological character symbolizing strength and power.
The birth of a hero
The parents of Hercules are the omnipotent Zeus and Alcmene. Everyone knows about the main god of ancient Greek legends. But recall: Zeus, according to the Hellenes, led all living things on earth. In addition, divine beings feared him.
Zeus is a loving character. He has several wives, and even more lovers. As a result, the Thunderbolt has many children, among whom the so-called heroes make up a special group. That is, the gods are only half. The list of heroes is quite extensive. But we are interested in only one of them, namely Hercules.
Alkmena was married to Amphitrion, she remained faithful to her husband. But once Zeus took the form of the blessed Alkmena. She, unaware of the deception, honestly fulfilled her conjugal duty. And so Hercules was born, who would later accomplish a great deed, being in the barnyard of Tsar Avgius.
The choice of Hercules
Alkmena’s son spent his childhood in the palace. Amphitrion did not even suspect who the father of Hercules really was, and if he did, he would only be glad. But once the life of a lad completely changed. This happened after the nymphs appeared to him. Beautiful creatures did not visit Heracles for an idle purpose. The son of Zeus had to choose between a life full of pleasure and a thorny path to glory. Hercules preferred the latter.
Feats
Before being in the barnyard of Tsar Augius, Hercules did a lot of useful and interesting things. In order to prove his strength, he had to perform a series of feats. Ancient Greek poets and philosophers argued a little about the number of acts of the hero. But in the end they agreed that there were twelve of them.
At first, Hercules took the life of the Nemean lion, which had been reputed to be invincible. He then dealt with the Lernean Hydra, a serpentine monster with poisonous breathing. By that time, mere mortals sucked out of power, devising ways to save themselves from the terrible Symphali birds. None of them helped. Birds with a copper beak attacked both humans and animals. Until Hercules came to the aid of the afflicted, cunningly and deftly, but not without the help of Athena Pallas, expelling them from Greece.
Thus the son of Zeus and Alkmena completed three feats. But the story that happened in the barnyard of King Auggius, a summary of which is set out below, was still far away. Before, he had to catch the Cyrene deer and the Eriman boar. However, Hercules coped with it effortlessly. And then he went to the barnyard of Tsar Avgius.
The character traits of Hercules are dexterity, cunning, perseverance. And, of course, an extraordinary power, thanks to which the hero, even in infancy, managed to strangle several snakes without difficulty. Of the twelve exploits, two were not counted, including that committed in the barnyard of Tsar Avgius. A summary of the five acts of the hero outlined above. It's time to go on to describe the sixth feat.
Who is Augeus?
This is the king of epics. But, like Hercules, is also not a mere mortal. Father Avgius - Helios. This character is nothing more remarkable. Is that what is mentioned in the "Iliad" of Homer. But, of course, he is known for his stables, which were brought to such a terrible state that I had to call for help from Hercules. The following is a summary of one of the famous ancient Greek myths.
Barnyard of King Auggius
So, Hercules delivered people from the Stimphalian birds. By the way, he did this not only to boast of his strength and ingenuity. Hercules was for a long time in the service of King Eurystheus. When the fifth feat was complete, it was possible to rest.
However, the hero could not live in idleness. And so everyone was waiting for messengers from Eurystheus. When one of them appeared and reported: “The tsar orders you to clean the Augean stables from stinking manure!” He rejoiced indescribably. Hercules heart beat in joyful anticipation. After all, he knew that the barnyard of King Avgius had not been harvested for 30 years. And this meant that the hero has a place to send his tireless boldness. In order to hide his joy (the hero did not have to do the dirty work of a cowherd), Hercules made a grimace and went to Augeus.
Promise of Augius
Before starting work, Hercules, secretly from Eurystheus, set the condition for the owner of the farmyard. He demanded from Aggius a tenth of the total number of horses that are kept in his stables. The owner of numerous herds has long waved his hand at the conditions in which his animals are kept. He did not believe that the manure, the volumes of which terrified even those who saw species of cattle, could be brought into a divine form. Even the one who managed to tame the boar and strangle a giant lion.
Augeus easily accepted the offer of Heracles. The cunning king hoped that the hero would fulfill the task partially. And in this case, there can be no talk of any reward.
But Hercules in the sixth feat showed ingenuity. He demolished the wall that surrounded the farmyard. Thus he directed the water from the rivers Alfei and Penea to the very source of stench and dirt. The Augean stables were cleared, and, therefore, another deed of Hercules was completed. Hero managed to free the animal farm of Tsar Avgia from manure in just half a day. But the owner of the stables deceived Hercules' expectations: he did not keep his promise and did not pay a tenth. The son of Zeus had no choice but to harbor anger and go to commit new feats.