12 labors of Hercules description of each labor. Legends and myths: who is Hercules
Labors of Hercules- a cycle of adventures of the son of the Thunderer, without which it is difficult to imagine and reflect the fullness of ancient Greek mythology. Today they are not only included in general education textbooks, but are also the property of the people. They reflect the essence of many phenomena and concepts. In Ancient Greece, Hercules was a hero who was not afraid to go against the will of his father Zeus and managed to prove to everyone that willpower is the main tool in performing the most difficult, sometimes unimaginable tasks. To this day, films and books are written based on the 12 labors of Hercules. Ready to find out a brief summary of each of them?
The story begins as follows. Hera decides to teach Zeus a lesson for treason and, just as Hercules is about to be born, forces the Thunderer to promise the following: a child born at this hour will become king. Hera specifically influenced the birth of Hercules' mother. As a result, the fragile and vile King Ephrystheus, who was born at that hour, received all power. Next, the ruler and Hero decide to get rid of the threat forever. Thus, a dispute took place in which Hercules had to complete 12 difficult tasks. Read on to see how this happened.
Myths about the twelve labors of Hercules (Briefly)
The first of the twelve labors of Hercules begins with the confrontation of the demigod with the invincible Nemean lion. The thick-skinned monster never knew defeat. He cannot be hurt by any weapon. The inhabitants of Nemia suffered for a long time from the attacks of the monster. The king decided to send the bravest warrior to battle with the left. Of course, not without vile intentions. Fortunately, Hercules had no less monstrous strength. He strangled the lion and became the hero of Nemia, among whom he found many friends and allies.
The second labor of Hercules took place on the territory of the Lernaean swamp, where the son of Zeus had to fight a mythical creature called the Lernaean Hydra. Every time the demigod cut off her head, two new ones appeared at the site of the wound. Then Hercules called his ally from Nemia, who managed to cauterize the wound with a torch. Thus, after cutting down the heads, new ones stopped growing. Having defeated the hydra, Hercules covered it with sand and moistened his arrows with its blood. Thus, he acquired poisonous arrows, for which no one had an antidote...
Realizing that Hercules had no equal in battles, Ephrystheus decided to use cunning. He offered the most outstanding run. As part of the third labor, Hercules was forced to compete in a race with the fastest animal in ancient Greek mythology. The uniqueness of this mission from the 12 labors of Hercules lies in the complexity of the task. You can't kill a doe. And it's almost impossible to catch. For a long time, the son of Zeus hunted the animal. As a result, he managed to drive her along a narrow path to a dead end. Then Iolaus came to him and threw a rope over the doe. On the way down, the heroes met Artemis, the daughter of Zeus, and gave the Hind to her. But Hercules completed his mission.
Another interesting myth from the 12 labors of Hercules is the battle of Hercules with the Erymanthian boar. For a long time, the huge animal prevented hunters from getting food for their families. Supposedly with noble goals, Ephriseus pointed out to Hercules the need to destroy the enemy. The difficulty was that the boar lived high in the mountains. Only thanks to the help of Artemis did Hercules manage to climb the hills and defeat the monster. Slowly but surely, the son of the Thunderer gained fame, destroying all the cunning plans of Hera. And then...
Having realized all the power of Hercules, the king decided to commit another meanness. In ancient Greek mythology, the god of war Ares had his own legion of dangerous warriors - the Stymphalian birds. Just by their looks they encouraged hundreds of thousands of warriors to lower their weapons. This flock lived in the depths of a mountain gorge, where Hercules went.
This feat of Hercules, of the 12 known, is one of the most interesting and impressive. Only through joint efforts with Iolaus did he manage to defeat all the predators. To complete this mission, he needed the skin of a lion from his first labor. And, of course, the accuracy of Iolaus’s faithful assistant.
The king was tired of trying to defeat Hercules with the danger and power of ancient Greek creatures. Then he decided to give him a simply impossible mission, which required the manifestation of completely different qualities, not military ones.
As part of the 6th Labor of Hercules, the hero had to go to a proud king named Augeas. He instructed Hercules:
- keep track of three hundred horses;
- feed two hundred red horses;
- catch twelve white horses;
- and another important part of the 12 labors of Hercules is to prevent the loss of one horse with a shining star in its forehead.
Of course, not without effort he managed to achieve his goal. After this, the king instructed him to clean the stables, promising a tenth of his fortune. He managed it. Then Augeas became angry that he could not carry out the instructions of Ephrystheus and deceived Hercules, for which he lost his head.
The 7th labor of Hercules involves the battle on the island of Crete. In this place, King Minos saved his people from the curse of Poseidon for a long time. One day he promised the god of water an amazing bull with golden horns, but later decided to deceive the patron of the seas and stole the fleece from him. Then Poseidon turned the bull into a real monster. Hercules fought with the demon for a long time, but managed to defeat him with the help of huge shackles and chains.
A truly interesting and instructive labor of Hercules from 12 famous adventures. Talks about the most unpleasant mission for a demigod. This time, the king ordered him to steal horses, which even attracted the gods. Hercules was angry for a long time, but did not go against the will of the king.
To get horses honestly, Hercules went to the kingdom of the dead, from where he brought his late wife to the king. Thus, he was able to offer a compromise and deliver valuable horses to his vile king.
It's time to consider the 9th labor of the 12 adventures of Hercules. For a long time, Ephrystheus’s daughter asked Hippolyta herself for the belt. So the vile enemy of Hercules decided to remember his daughter’s request. Then he decided to send his son Zeus to an island where only women lived. Perhaps now you will learn more about the history of the Amazons. In this place lived women who were given a belt by the god of war himself, Ares. For a long time and painfully, Hercules had to fight with the best warriors in history. But he managed to get a belt, which Admeta never decided to put on herself.
Hercules, also known as Hercules, is one of the most famous heroes of ancient Greek myths. His father was Zeus, and his mother was a simple mortal woman named Alcmene.
Life before exploits
The young man was a full head taller than the tallest of men, and possessed strength that surpassed human strength. More as a child he strangled two snakes, sent to him by the vengeful Hero.
Hera, the wife of Zeus, was angry with her husband for betrayal, and pursued Hercules, sending all sorts of misfortunes. Deciding to take revenge, Hera sent a curse on Hercules - she made him insane. When the hero came to his senses, he realized that in a fit of madness he had killed his children.
When Hercules realized what he had done, he left the city of Thebes and went to Apollo.
God Apollo commanded the young hero to go to Tiryns, enter the service of King Eurystheus for 12 years and perform 12 labors.
Hercules was told that at the end of his service to the king he would become immortal. King Eurystheus (who was Hercules' cousin) was cowardly and dishonest, but Hercules complied with Apollo's will and became his servant.
12 labors of Hercules
Total about a hundred feats are known, committed by Hercules, but these twelve are considered the main ones in the myths of Ancient Greece:
- Strangulation of a lion.
- Killing the Hydra.
- Expulsion of the Stymphalian birds.
- Kerynean fallow deer.
- Capture of the Erymanthian boar.
- Cleaning the stables.
- Taming of the Cretan Bull.
- Stealing horses and defeating Diomedes.
- Victory over the Amazons.
- Construction of the Pillars of Hercules.
- Taming the dog Cerberus with three heads.
- Victory over Antaeus and golden apples.
Nemean lion was huge and dangerous, often attacked Argolid (the city ruled by Eurystheus). Hercules tried to kill the lion by shooting him with a bow, but the arrows could not wound the lion's thick skin. Then Hercules began to fight and strangled the predator with his hands. After this feat, the hero of ancient Greek myths established the festive Nemean Games, which took place in the Peloponnese.
Gigantic Lernaean Hydra- a creature with a snake body and nine dragon heads, killed all living things in the vicinity of the city of Lerna. It was very difficult to kill the hydra, because instead of a severed head, it grew two. In the battle, Hercules was helped by his assistant Iolaus, who guessed to burn the neck after beheading.
Huge Stymphalian birds with copper claws and bronze feathers they attacked livestock and people, killing them with their claws. Athena helped Hercules by giving him two tympani (a musical instrument like a tambourine). The sounds of the tympanum scared the birds away and they left Greece forever.
Kerynean fallow deer- a large and fast animal that Artemis sent to Earth. The fallow deer destroyed the fields of Arcadia. Hercules tried to catch up with her for a whole year, and having caught up, he easily wounded her with a shot from a bow. He brought the animal to his owner Eurystheus.
Erymanthian boar possessed enormous power and terrified local residents. Hercules was able to catch him and deliver him to Eurystheus. While hunting a boar, Hercules accidentally killed the centaur Chiron, his former mentor and friend.
Augeas was an Elis king who owned huge herds of amazing red and white bulls. Augean stables, where the bulls lived had not been cleaned for 30 years. Hercules said that he could clear them in a day if Augeas gave him part of the herds. Augeas agreed, Hercules kept his promise, cleaning the stables with the waters of the rivers Alpheus and Peneus. Augeas deceived Hercules, after a while the hero returned and killed the dishonest Augeas. In honor of his victory, he established.
Poseidon gave the king of Knossos Minos a large bull, which had to be sacrificed on Crete. But the king deceived the master of the seas and kept the bull for himself. The angry god sent the bull into a frenzy, and he began to destroy everything around him. Hercules caught the Cretan bull and delivered it to his owner.
King Diomedes kept wonderful horses in his stables, but fed them with human meat. Hercules stole Diomedes' horses. The owner tried to stop the hero, but he fought with Diomedes and won.
Admet, daughter of Eurystheus, wanted to get the belt worn by Hippolyta, leader of the Amazons. Hippolyta did not want war and gave up the belt, but her Amazons attacked the hero and his friends. In battle, Hercules captured one of the Amazons, Hippolyta ransomed her subject, again giving the hero the belt. On the way back, he saved Hesion, the daughter of the Trojan king, from a sea monster, chained to a rock.
Eurystheus wanted to take possession of the cows that were herded by Geryon, a monster with several heads and bodies. To do this, the hero had to go on a long, dangerous journey. In honor of him Hercules two stone pillars were erected, called Hercules. believed that Atlantis was located immediately behind the pillars. Hercules stole the cows, but he had to fight with the owner of the animals. The hero defeated him and set off on his way back. Later, Hera sent rabies to the cows, and one of them fled to Thrace. Hercules caught her and delivered her to his king.
Hercules went to Hades (the kingdom where the dead live) to tame Cerberus, a dog with three heads. On the way, Theseus freed the hero from Ancient Rome walled up in a rock. Hercules tamed Cerberus and delivered it to the owner, but he, frightened, ordered the monster to be taken back.
A Titan named Atlas held on his shoulders the vault of the sky, on which a magical garden was located. Golden apples did not grow. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring three fruits. Hero Antaeus defeated and came to Atlas. He resorted to cunning so as not to give away the apples, but Hercules turned out to be more cunning and got golden apples.
Hero's death, ascension and deification
The hero lived for about 50 years. There are two versions of the death of Hercules. According to the first, when the hero realized that he could no longer draw the bow, he threw himself into the fire. The second legend says that Hercules was accidentally poisoned by his wife Dejanira, and, unable to withstand the torment, he himself threw himself into the fire.
After death, the hero ascended to heaven. As the myths tell, Hercules began to live on Mount Olympus among other gods, reconciled with Hera and married her daughter, the goddess Hebe. And in the kingdom of the dead, Hades, lives the ghost of this great hero of Ancient Greece.
If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you
All the labors of Hercules
1 - The First Labor of Hercules: The Nemean Lion
2 - The Second Labor of Hercules: The Lernaean Hydra briefly
3 - The Third Labor of Hercules: Birds of Stymphalian
4 - The Fourth Labor of Hercules: The Kerenean Hind
5 - The fifth labor of Hercules: Erymanthian boar and the battle with the centaurs
6 - The Sixth Labor of Hercules: The Animal Farm of King Augeas
7 - The Seventh Labor of Hercules: The Cretan Bull
8 - The Eighth Labor of Hercules: Horses of Diomedes
9 - The Ninth Labor of Hercules: Hippolyta's Belt
10 - The Tenth Labor of Hercules: The Cows of Geryon
11 - The eleventh labor of the eleventh Hercules - The Abduction of Cerberus
12 -
The Twelfth Labor of Hercules - Golden Apples of the Hesperides
Even briefly about the exploits of Hercules:
- Even before his birth, this amazing boy attracted special attention.
The goddess of justice Hera, having once again learned that her husband had cheated on her, and, moreover, that an ordinary woman of non-divine origin was expecting a child from her Zeus, became seriously angry and decided that it was necessary, at all costs, to make life a random offspring unbearable.
Now a little more about the great achievements of the hero themselves.
During the first labor of Hercules strangled a huge Nemean lion. At first, the son of Zeus fired arrows, but they only scared the beast a little. Then the lion was stunned with a club, and soon strangled by Hercules with his own hands. With Hercules in mind, he founded the Nemean Games, named after the slain lion; subsequently, this event was widely celebrated in the ancient Peloponnese every few years, with an interval of 1 year.
This event was very significant, as it became the 1st of the 12 labors of Hercules.
Next feat (second feat) was that it was necessary to destroy a huge hydra, a monster with the body of a snake and the heads of a dragon. Hydra killed people and livestock, and therefore everyone was afraid of it. Hercules did not immediately manage to deal with this monster.
The hero cut off one head at a time, but each time two new ones appeared in place of each severed part. And this continued until the fire was used to burn the hydra’s necks.
The third feat is associated with the Stymphalian birds. They terrorized just like the hydra and killed people and livestock with their copper claws and sharp beak. They also threw their metal feathers from a great height, which, like arrows, were capable of killing in one second. The goddess of war gifted the hero by giving him two special musical instruments, the sounds of which made the birds fly away.
Hercules shot a little more than half of the flock with a bow, and the surviving birds, under pain of death, left their original habitat and never returned to Hellas.
What awaited our hero next? Then a fallow deer appeared on nearby lands. Of course, not a simple one, but with hard copper claws and golden horns. The question arises, where did she come from there? It turns out that the goddess of the hunt was angry with the people and sent them this doe as punishment. For days on end, the deer ran around the nearby territory and destroyed forests and fields. The fourth labor of Hercules was precisely to pacify this very doe. After a year of unsuccessful attempts and pursuit of the animal, Hero overtook her and shot her. Then he took it and went to Eurystheus, presenting him with the carcass of the killed animal as a trophy.
What awaited Hercules in his fifth labor? It turned out that one of the representatives of the animal world, the owner of unreal physical strength, the wild boar, instilled fear in everyone. This is what Hercules had to deal with. Having discovered the boar, the hero dealt with it, driving it into a snowdrift. Hercules tied up the beast and brought it to Eurystheus, who, at the sight of the huge boar, got scared and hid.
King Augeas had large herds of bulls, which were kept in a fairly large cattle yard, which included stables. Augeas launched his farm strongly. It turned out that no one had cleaned there for almost 30 years. Hercules kindly invited the king to clean out his stables, saying that he would do it in just one day, asking for a considerable part of his bulls from the general herd, if his plan was successful. Augeas considered that Hercules would not keep his promise, the task was too overwhelming, and agreed to the adventure. However, Hercules, as you know, is not so easy; if he takes on something, he is firmly confident in his own abilities. With the help of a dam, he blocked the nearby rivers and directed their waters to the court of Augeas. The stables were thus cleared in due time.
Only the indecently greedy and greedy King Augeas did not want to give Hercules what he promised as payment for the business. Therefore, after a certain number of years, having finally freed himself from Eurystheus’s oppression, Hercules gathered an army, defeated Augeas in a fair fight and killed the king. After this event, as the myths say, he established the Olympic Games we all know.
The king of the island of Crete, Minos, disobeyed Poseidon and did not carry out the sacrifice and did not provide him with a bull. The enraged god of the water element sent the bull into a frenzy. The animal began to run all over Crete, simultaneously destroying everything around, as if not noticing the obstacles in its path. Hercules acted as follows: he managed to calm the bull and with its help crossed the sea surface to the Peloponnese. Eurystheus decided not to accept this heroic feat and ordered the bull to be released. The animal, in turn, again getting out of control, rushed to the north of Hellas, where it was killed by Theseus. This is the story of the seventh labor of Hercules, which he accomplished almost without difficulty.
In order to accomplish his other feat, Hercules went to the king of Thrace, Diomedes. This king was distinguished by cruelty and composure. He had horses of unprecedented beauty and unsurpassed strength, but so violent that they could only be held by tight iron chains. The king used human meat as food for his pets, after first killing the foreigners who arrived in his domain. Hercules, with the help of his great strength, took the horses from Diomedes. Of course, Diomedes resisted, but the brave Hercules defeated him.
For ninth labor Eurystheus came up with a more difficult problem. The daughter of Eurystheus wished for permanent use the belt of the Amazon Hippolyta, who kept and protected this belt as a sign of her power, having received it from Ares. To do this, Hercules and his squad went to the habitat of the Amazons. Hippolyta was ready to give up the belt of her own free will, but the other Amazons rebelled, as a result of which Hercules had to fight with the strongest and most cunning warriors, seven of whom were killed, the rest chose to flee. As a result, Hippolyta gave Hercules the belt as a ransom for the Amazon, who was captured by the hero.
Then, at the direction of Eurystheus, Hercules went on his tenth labor. He needed to deliver the giant Geryon's herds of cows to the king. The matter was not at all simple. The giant had only three: three whole heads, three whole torsos, and three pairs of arms and legs, for a total of six. Although the long journey to get the cows in itself was already a real feat, because Geryon lived on the distant island of Erithia, the hero’s task was different. To somehow cope with it, Hercules needed help, and none other than Helios, the very embodiment of the sun, helped him. He lent him his horses and a golden chariot, the same one on which God himself flies across the sky every day, warning him that driving the cart is very difficult. One awkward move, and the structure will immediately fall down and break on the ground.
Hercules, having reached his destination, killed Geryon's guards, captured the cows and led them towards the sea. But Geryon did not want to give up and began to resist Hercules. Only Hercules was not at a loss and killed the giant, using his trusty bow and well-aimed arrows, and transported the cows on Helios’ raft to Mycenae. But the troubles didn't end there. Hera once again decided to show her hatred towards the illegitimate heir of her husband, and therefore sent rage. With great difficulty, Hercules still managed to pacify them and re-gather them into a single herd. The cattle were subsequently offered to the goddess of marriage as sacrifices.
Once again, on behalf of Eurystheus, Hercules went to fulfill his penultimate eleventh feat.
This time he needed to get to the great titan Atlas, or as he was also called, Atlas, who all his life carried out one important task, independently held the firmament, and was at the very end of the earth. Eurystheus wished Hercules to deliver him three golden apples from the golden tree of the Atlas garden. Throughout the hero's journey, difficulties were expected, which he bravely dealt with and reached the final goal. Atlas agreed that he himself could get to his own and bring the golden apples, but only Hercules at this time had to replace him at his post and hold the firmament on his shoulders, just as the titan did, because otherwise he would fall down . But not everything was so simple, in fact, Atlas wanted to trick Hercules. He offered to personally take the apples to Eurystheus while Hercules continued to carry out his duties. But the hero, having figured out the not too sophisticated, but still quite cunning plan of the titan, did not succumb to his tricks and did not fall for anything. Hercules asked Atlas to hold the sky for a few minutes to rest, and in the meantime he took the apples and ran away. This is how the last of the many labors of Hercules was accomplished.
Thus, Hercules came to the end of his 12 labors.
To do this, he had to get to the dark kingdom of Hades, but the descent itself was not a feat; Hercules had a much more difficult task. He needed to deliver from there to Mycenae the main guard and faithful companion of Hades, a three-headed dog named Cerberus, who, among other things, had the head of a dragon on his tail. The God of the Dead personally gave Hercules permission to take Cerberus to the earthly world, but the hero was obliged to calm him down on his own. Having found the monster, Hercules began to tame it. He practically strangled the dog, when the animal finally calmed down, Hercules was able to take him to the earth’s surface and took him to Mycenae. The cowardly Eurystheus showed his worthlessness not for the first time. As soon as he looked at the terrible beast, he wished that Hercules would return the terrible dog back to Hades, and, of course, the hero did just that.
As soon as all the exploits were finished, Hercules was finally freed from the oppression of Eurystheus forever. No obstacles prevented the hero from achieving his goal; even the supreme goddess Hera herself could not do anything. Hercules was so strong and smart that he didn’t care about anything.
In addition, he knew how to quite easily find an assistant, including one of divine origin. This, of course, made his task much easier, but it is still unlikely that the hero would have managed it, even with the support of the gods, if he had not actually been so exceptional.
The order of the 12 labors of Hercules can be interpreted in different ways, very often the 11th and 12th labors are swapped, but this doesn’t really change the essence, Hercules is another real hero that antiquity gave us. And it really is impossible to argue with this.
Origin of Hercules: son of Alcmene. - Jealousy of the goddess Hera: descendants of Perseus. - Milk of Hera: the myth of the Milky Way. - Baby Hercules and snakes. - Hercules at the crossroads. - Rabies of Hercules.
Origin of Hercules: son of Alcmene
Hero Hercules(in Roman mythology - Hercules) came from a glorious family of heroes. Hercules is the greatest hero of Greek myth and the beloved national hero of the entire Greek people. According to the myths of ancient Greece, Hercules represents the image of a man with great physical strength, invincible courage and enormous 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 defeated 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 Hercules' mother is mortal, and he is a true son of the earth and a 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 generosity, making him capable of great feats.
Just as he defeats giants and monsters, so Hercules conquers all the bad instincts in himself and achieves divine immortality.
They tell the following myth of the origin of Hercules. Zeus (Jupiter), the ruler of the gods, wanted 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 of becoming the mother of such a hero. Zeus chose 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 from this union was Hercules, who in mythology is called either the son of Amphitryon or the son of Zeus.
And this is why Hercules has a dual nature - man and god.
This incarnation of deity in man did not at all 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 preserves a picturesque image of an ancient caricature. Zeus is depicted there in disguise and with a large belly. He is carrying a ladder, which he is going to put against Alcmene’s window, and she is watching everything that is happening from the window. The god Hermes (Mercury), disguised as a slave but recognizable by his caduceus, stands before Zeus.
Jealousy of the Goddess Hera: Descendants of Perseus
When it's time to be born son of Alcmene, the ruler of the gods could not resist boasting in the assembly of the gods that on this day a great hero would be born into the family, destined to rule over all nations.
The goddess Hera (Juno) forced Zeus to confirm these words with an oath and, as the goddess of childbirth, arranged it so that on this day not Hercules was born, but the future king Eurystheus, also a descendant of Perseus.
And thus, in the future, Hercules had to obey King Eurystheus, serve him and perform various difficult works at the command of Eurystheus.
Hera's Milk: The Myth of the Milky Way
When the son of Alcmene was born, god (Mercury), wanting to save Hercules from the persecution of Hera, took him, carried him to Olympus and laid him in the arms of the sleeping goddess.
Hercules bit Hera's breast with such force that milk poured out of her and formed the Milky Way in the sky, and the awakened goddess angrily threw Hercules away, who nevertheless tasted the milk of immortality.
In a museum in Madrid there is a painting by Rubens depicting the goddess Juno breastfeeding the infant Hercules. The goddess sits on a cloud, and next to her stands a chariot drawn by peacocks.
Tintoretto interprets this mythological plot somewhat differently in his painting. Jupiter himself gives Juno a son, Hercules.
Baby Hercules and snakes
His brother Iphicles was born with Hercules. The vengeful goddess Hera sent two snakes that climbed into the cradle to kill the children. The baby Hercules grabbed the snakes of Hera and strangled him 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 snakes.
The same mythological plot is depicted on an ancient fresco, on a bas-relief and a bronze statue discovered in Herculaneum.
Of the newest works on the same topic, paintings by Annibale Carracci and Reynolds are known.
Hercules at the crossroads
The young hero Hercules received the most careful education.
Hercules was instructed in academic subjects by the following teachers:
- Amphitryon taught Hercules how 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 the arts. Hercules, like all people whose physical development prevailed over mental development, had difficulty mastering music and would more willingly and easily pull the string of a bow than pluck the delicate strings of the lyre.
Angry with his teacher Lin, who decided to reprimand him about his game, Hercules killed him with a blow of the 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.
When Alcmene was about to give birth to Hercules and his brother Iphicles, Zeus gathered the gods on Olympus and said that on this day his son, a warrior who would command all the descendants of Perseus, should be born. His jealous wife tricked him into swearing an oath that the first child born would become the ruler of the Perseus family. She accelerated the birth of another woman, and the sickly and weak King Eurystheus was born first. Zeus was angry with his wife and Atu’s deception and entered into an agreement with Hera, according to which Hercules would be under the authority of Eurystheus until he completed twelve labors.
