One day, the evil Hera sent a terrible disease to Hercules. The great hero lost his mind, madness took possession of him. In a fit of rage, Hercules killed all his children and the children of his brother Iphicles. When the attack passed, deep grief seized Hercules. Purified from the filth of the involuntary murder he had committed, Hercules left Thebes and went to the sacred Delphi to ask the god Apollo what to do. Apollo ordered Hercules to go to the homeland of his ancestors in Tiryns and serve Eurystheus for twelve years. Through the mouth of the Pythia, the son of Latona predicted to Hercules that he would receive immortality if he performed the twelve great labors at the command of Eurystheus. Hercules settled in Tiryns and became the servant of the weak, cowardly Eurystheus...

First Labor: Nemean Lion

Hercules did not have to wait long for the first order of King Eurystheus. He instructed Hercules to kill the Nemean lion. This lion, begotten by Typhon and Echidna, was of monstrous size. He lived near the city of Nemea and devastated all the surroundings. Hercules boldly set out on a dangerous feat. Arriving in Nemea, he immediately went to the mountains to find the lion's lair. It was already noon when the hero reached the slopes of the mountains. There was not a single living soul to be seen anywhere: neither shepherds nor farmers. All living things fled from these places in fear of the terrible lion. Hercules searched for a long time on the wooded slopes of the mountains and in the gorges of the lion's lair, finally, when the sun began to lean towards the west, Hercules found the lair in the gloomy gorge; it was in a huge cave, which had two exits. Hercules blocked one of the exits with huge stones and began to wait for the lion, hiding behind the stones. Towards evening, when dusk was already approaching, a monstrous lion with a long shaggy mane appeared. Hercules pulled the string of his bow and shot three arrows at the lion one after another, but the arrows bounced off his skin - it was hard as steel. The lion roared menacingly, his growl rolled like thunder through the mountains. Looking around in all directions, the lion stood in the gorge and searched with eyes burning with rage for the one who dared to shoot arrows at him. But then he saw Hercules and rushed at the hero with a huge jump. Like lightning, the club of Hercules flashed and fell like a thunderbolt on the head of a lion. The lion fell to the ground, stunned by a terrible blow; Hercules rushed at the lion, grabbed him with his mighty arms and strangled him. Having shouldered a dead lion on his mighty shoulders, Hercules returned to Nemea, sacrificed to Zeus and established the Nemean games in memory of his first feat. When Hercules brought the lion he had killed to Mycenae, Eurystheus turned pale with fear, looking at the monstrous lion. King Mycenae realized what superhuman strength Hercules possesses. He forbade him even to approach the gates of Mycenae; when Hercules brought evidence of his exploits, Eurystheus looked at them with horror from the high Mycenaean walls.

Second Labor: Lernaean Hydra

After the first feat, Eurystheus sent Hercules to kill the Lernean hydra. It was a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. Like the Nemean lion, the hydra was spawned by Typhon and Echidna. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and, crawling out of its lair, destroyed entire herds and devastated all the surroundings. The fight against the nine-headed hydra was dangerous because one of its heads was immortal. Hercules set out on his journey to Lerna with Iphicles' son Iolaus. Arriving at the swamp near the city of Lerna, Hercules left Iolaus with a chariot in a nearby grove, and he himself went to look for the hydra. He found her in a cave surrounded by a swamp. Having red-hot his arrows, Hercules began to let them go one by one into the hydra. The hydra was enraged by the arrows of Hercules. She crawled out, wriggling her body covered with shiny scales, from the darkness of the cave, rose menacingly on her huge tail and already wanted to rush at the hero, but the son of Zeus stepped on her body with his foot and crushed her to the ground. With its tail, the hydra wrapped itself around the legs of Hercules and tried to knock him down. Like an unshakable rock, the hero stood and, with a wave of a heavy club, knocked down the heads of the hydra one after another. Like a whirlwind, a club whistled through the air; the heads of the hydra flew off, but the hydra was still alive. Then Hercules noticed that in the hydra, two new ones grow in place of each knocked down head. The help of the hydra also appeared. A monstrous cancer crawled out of the swamp and dug its tongs into Hercules' leg. Then the hero called his friend Iolaus for help. Iolaus killed the monstrous cancer, set fire to a part of the nearby grove and burned the necks of the hydra with burning tree trunks, from which Hercules knocked down their heads with his club. New heads have ceased to grow from the hydra. Weaker and weaker she resisted the son of Zeus. Finally, the immortal head flew off the hydra. The monstrous hydra was defeated and collapsed dead to the ground. The conqueror Hercules buried her immortal head deeply and piled a huge rock on it so that it could not come out into the light again. Then the great hero cut the body of the hydra and plunged his arrows into her poisonous bile. Since then, the wounds from the arrows of Hercules have become incurable. With great triumph Hercules returned to Tiryns. But there, a new assignment from Eurystheus awaited him.

Third Labor: The Stymphalian Birds

Eurystheus instructed Hercules to kill the Stymphalian birds. Almost all the neighborhoods of the Arcadian city of Stimfal turned these birds into the desert. They attacked both animals and people and tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. But the most terrible thing was that the feathers of these birds were made of hard bronze, and the birds, having taken off, could drop them, like arrows, on the one who would take it into his head to attack them. It was difficult for Hercules to fulfill this order of Eurystheus. The warrior Pallas Athena came to his aid. She gave Hercules two copper tympanums, the god Hephaestus forged them, and ordered Hercules to stand on a high hill near the forest where the Stymphalian birds nested and strike the tympanums; when the birds take off - shoot them with a bow. So did Hercules. Climbing the hill, he struck the tympanum, and such a deafening sound arose that the birds flew over the forest in a huge flock and began to circle in horror over it. They rained down their feathers, sharp as arrows, on the ground, but the feathers did not fall into Hercules standing on the hill. The hero grabbed his bow and began to strike the birds with deadly arrows. In fear, the Stymphalian birds soared beyond the clouds and disappeared from the eyes of Hercules. The birds flew away far beyond the borders of Greece, to the shores of the Euxine Pontus, and never returned to the vicinity of Stymphalus. So Hercules fulfilled this order of Eurystheus and returned to Tiryns, but he immediately had to go on an even more difficult feat.

Fourth feat: Keriney doe

Eurystheus knew that a wonderful Kerinean doe lives in Arcadia, sent by the goddess Artemis to punish people. This deer devastated the fields. Eurystheus sent Hercules to catch her and ordered him to deliver the doe to Mycenae alive. This deer was extraordinarily beautiful, her horns were golden, and her legs were copper. Like the wind, she rushed through the mountains and valleys of Arcadia, never knowing fatigue. For a whole year, Hercules pursued the Kerinean doe. She rushed through the mountains, through the plains, jumped over the abyss, swam across the rivers. Farther and farther north ran the doe. The hero did not lag behind her, he pursued her, not losing sight of her. Finally, Hercules reached the extreme north in pursuit of the pad - the country of the Hyperboreans and the sources of Istra. Here the deer stopped. The hero wanted to grab her, but she slipped away and, like an arrow, rushed back to the south. The chase began again. Hercules managed only in Arcadia to overtake a doe. Even after such a long chase, she did not lose her strength. Desperate to catch a doe, Hercules resorted to his arrows that did not know a miss. He wounded the golden-horned doe with an arrow in the leg, and only then did he manage to catch it. Hercules shouldered a wonderful doe on his shoulders and was about to carry it to Mycenae, when an angry Artemis appeared before him and said: “Didn’t you know, Hercules, that this doe is mine? Why did you insult me ​​by hurting my beloved doe? Don't you know that I do not forgive insults? Or do you think that you are more powerful than the Olympian gods? With reverence, Hercules bowed before the beautiful goddess and answered: - Oh, the great daughter of Latona, do not blame me! I have never offended the immortal gods living on the bright Olympus; I always honored the celestials with rich sacrifices and never considered myself equal to them, although I myself am the son of Zeus the Thunderer. I did not pursue your doe of my own free will, but at the command of Eurystheus. The gods themselves commanded me to serve him, and I dare not disobey Eurystheus! Artemis forgave Hercules for his guilt. The great son of the Thunderer Zeus brought the Kerinean fallow deer alive to Mycenae and gave it to Eurystheus.

Fifth feat: Erymanthus boar and the battle with the centaurs

After hunting for a copper-footed doe, which lasted a whole year, Hercules did not rest long. Eurystheus again gave him a commission: Hercules was supposed to kill the Erymanthian boar. This boar, possessing monstrous strength, lived on Mount Erimanthe and devastated the surroundings of the city of Psofis. He did not give mercy to people either and killed them with his huge fangs. Hercules went to Mount Erimanfu. On the way, he visited the wise centaur Fall. Phol accepted the great son of Zeus with honor and arranged a feast for him. During the feast, the centaur opened a large vessel of wine to treat the hero better. The fragrance of marvelous wine wafted far away. Heard this fragrance and other centaurs. They were terribly angry with Phol because he opened the vessel. Wine belonged not only to Foul, but was the property of all centaurs. The centaurs rushed to Fall's dwelling and attacked him and Hercules by surprise, when the two of them were feasting merrily, decorating their heads with wreaths of ivy. Hercules was not afraid of the centaurs. He quickly jumped up from his bed and began to throw huge smoking brands at the attackers. The centaurs fled, and Hercules wounded them with his poisonous arrows. The hero pursued them all the way to Malea. There the centaurs took refuge with a friend of Hercules, Chiron, the wisest of the centaurs. Following them, Hercules burst into the cave. In anger, he pulled his bow, an arrow flashed in the air and pierced the knee of one of the centaurs. Hercules did not strike the enemy, but his friend Chiron. Great grief seized the hero when he saw whom he had wounded. Hercules hurries to wash and bandage his friend's wound, but nothing can help. Hercules knew that the wound from the arrow, poisoned by the bile of the hydra, was incurable. Chiron also knew that he was in danger of a painful death. In order not to suffer from a wound, he subsequently voluntarily descended into the gloomy kingdom of Hades. In deep sadness, Hercules left Chiron and soon reached Mount Erimanth. There, in a dense forest, he found a formidable boar and drove him out of the thicket with a cry. Hercules pursued the boar for a long time, and finally drove him into deep snow on the top of the mountain. The boar got stuck in the snow, and Hercules, rushing at him, tied him up and carried him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the monstrous boar, he hid in a large bronze vessel out of fear.

The sixth feat: Animal farm of king Avgiy

Soon, Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to clear the entire barnyard of Avgius, the king of Elis, the son of the radiant Helios, from manure. The sun god gave his son innumerable riches. The flocks of Avgeas were especially numerous. Among his herds there were three hundred bulls with snow-white legs, two hundred bulls were red like Sidon purple, twelve bulls dedicated to the god Helios were white like swans, and one bull, distinguished by its extraordinary beauty, shone like a star. Hercules suggested that Augeas clean up his entire vast barnyard in one day, if he agrees to give him a tenth of his herds. Augius agreed. It seemed impossible for him to do such a job in one day. Hercules, on the other hand, broke the wall that surrounded the barnyard from two opposite sides, and diverted the water of two rivers, Alpheus and Peneus, into it. The water of these rivers in one day carried away all the manure from the barnyard, and Hercules again laid down the walls. When the hero came to Avgiy to demand a reward, the proud king did not give him the promised tenth of the herds, and Heracles had to return to Tiryns with nothing. The great hero took terrible revenge on the king of Elis. A few years later, already freed from the service of Eurystheus, Hercules invaded Elis with a large army, defeated Avgius in a bloody battle and killed him with his deadly arrow. After the victory, Hercules gathered an army and all the rich booty near the city of Pisa, made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which since then have been celebrated by all Greeks every four years on the sacred plain, lined by Hercules himself dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena. The Olympic Games are the most important of all Greek festivities, during which universal peace was declared throughout Greece. A few months before the games, ambassadors were sent throughout Greece and the Greek colonies, inviting them to the games at Olympia. Games were held every four years. There were competitions in running, wrestling, fisticuffs, discus and spear throwing, as well as chariot races. The winners of the games received an olive wreath as a reward and enjoyed great honor. The Greeks kept track of the Olympic Games, considering the first to take place in 776 BC. e. There were Olympic Games until 393 AD. e., when they were banned by the emperor Theodosius as incompatible with Christianity. After 30 years, Emperor Theodosius II burned the temple of Zeus at Olympia and all the luxurious buildings that adorned the place where the Olympic Games took place. They turned into ruins and were gradually covered by the sand of the Alfea River. Only excavations carried out at the site of Olympia in the 19th century. n. e., mainly from 1875 to 1881, gave us the opportunity to get an accurate idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe former Olympia and the Olympic Games. Hercules took revenge on all the allies of Avgii. The king of Pylos, Neleus, paid especially. Hercules, having come with an army to Pylos, took the city and killed Neleus and his eleven sons. The son of Neleus, Periklimen, was not saved either, to whom Poseidon, the ruler of the sea, gave the gift of turning into a lion, a snake and a bee. Hercules killed him when, turning into a bee, Periclymenes mounted one of the horses harnessed to Hercules' chariot. Only Neleus' son Nestor survived. Subsequently, Nestor became famous among the Greeks for his exploits and great wisdom.

Seventh feat: Cretan bull

To fulfill the seventh order of Eurystheus, Hercules had to leave Greece and go to the island of Crete. Eurystheus instructed him to bring a Cretan bull to Mycenae. This bull was sent to the king of Crete by Minos, the son of Europe, Poseidon, the shaker of the earth; Minos was supposed to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon. But Minos is sorry to sacrifice such a beautiful bull - he left him in his herd, and sacrificed one of his bulls to Poseidon. Poseidon was angry with Minos and sent rabies on the bull that came out of the sea. A bull rushed all over the island and destroyed everything in its path. The great hero Hercules caught the bull and tamed it. He sat on the broad back of a bull and swam on it across the sea from Crete to the Peloponnese. Hercules brought the bull to Mycenae, but Eurystheus was afraid to leave the bull of Poseidon in his herd and set him free. Sensing freedom again, a mad bull rushed through the entire Peloponnese to the north and finally ran to Attica on the Marathon field. There he was killed by the great Athenian hero Theseus.

Eighth Labor: Horses of Diomedes

After taming the Cretan bull, Hercules, on behalf of Eurystheus, had to go to Thrace to the king of the bistones, Diomedes. This king had marvelous beauty and strength of horses. They were chained with iron chains in their stalls, since no fetters could hold them. King Diomedes fed these horses with human flesh. He threw them to be eaten by all the foreigners who, driven by the storm, stuck to his city. It was to this Thracian king that Hercules appeared with his companions. He took possession of the horses of Diomedes and took them to his ship. Diomedes himself overtook Hercules on the shore with his warlike bistones. Entrusting the protection of the horses to his beloved Abder, the son of Hermes, Hercules entered into battle with Diomedes. Hercules had few companions, but Diomedes was still defeated and fell in battle. Hercules returned to the ship. How great was his despair when he saw that the wild horses had torn to pieces his beloved Abder. Hercules arranged a magnificent funeral for his favorite, poured a high hill on his grave, and next to the grave he founded a city and named it Abdera in honor of his favorite. Hercules brought the horses of Diomedes to Eurystheus, and he ordered them to be released into the wild. The wild horses fled to the mountains of Lycaion, covered with dense forest, and were there torn to pieces by wild beasts.

Hercules at Admetus

Mainly based on the tragedy of Euripides "Alcestis"
When Hercules sailed on a ship across the sea to the shores of Thrace for the horses of King Diomedes, he decided to visit his friend, King Admet, since the path lay past the city of Ther, where Admet ruled.
Hercules chose a difficult time for Admetus. Great grief reigned in the house of King Fer. His wife Alcestis was to die. Once the goddesses of fate, the great moiras, at the request of Apollo, determined that Admet could get rid of death if, in the last hour of his life, someone agreed to voluntarily descend instead of him into the gloomy kingdom of Hades. When the hour of death came, Admet asked his elderly parents that one of them agreed to die in his place, but the parents refused. None of the inhabitants of Fer agreed to die voluntarily for King Admet. Then the young, beautiful Alcestis decided to sacrifice her life for her beloved husband. On the day when Admet was to die, his wife prepared for death. She washed the body and put on burial clothes and ornaments. Approaching the hearth, Alcestis turned to the goddess Hestia, who gives happiness in the house, with an ardent prayer:
- Oh, great goddess! For the last time I kneel here before you. I pray you, protect my orphans, because today I must descend into the kingdom of gloomy Hades. Oh, do not let them die, as I die, untimely! May their life here, at home, be happy and rich.
Then Alcestis went around all the altars of the gods and decorated them with myrtle.
Finally, she went to her chambers and fell into tears on her bed. Her children came to her - a son and a daughter. They sobbed bitterly at their mother's breasts. The maids of Alcestis also wept. In desperation, Admet embraced his young wife and begged her not to leave him. Already ready for the death of Alcestis; the god of death Tanat, hated by the gods and people, is already approaching with inaudible steps to the palace of Tsar Fer, to cut a lock of hair from the head of Alcestis with a sword. The golden-haired Apollo himself asked him to postpone the hour of death of the wife of his beloved Admet, but Tanat is inexorable. Alcestis feels the approach of death. She exclaims in horror:
“Oh, the two-oared boat of Charon is already approaching me, and the carrier of the souls of the dead shouts menacingly to me, driving the boat: “Why are you delaying? Hurry, hurry! Don’t wait for time! Don’t delay us. Everything is ready! Oh let me go! My legs are getting weak. Death is coming. Black night covers my eyes! Oh children, children! Your mother is no longer alive! Live happily! Admet, your life was dearer to me than my own life. Let the sun shine on you, not on me. Admet, you love our children as much as I do. Oh, do not take a stepmother into their house, so that she does not offend them!
The unfortunate Admet suffers.
- You take all the joy of life with you, Alcestis! - he exclaims, - all my life now I will grieve for you. Oh, gods, gods, what a wife you are taking from me!
Alcestis says in a barely audible voice:
- Goodbye! My eyes have already closed. Farewell, children! Now I am nothing. Farewell, Admet!
- Oh, look again at least once! Don't leave the kids! Oh, let me die too! Admet exclaimed with tears.
Alcestis' eyes closed, her body grows cold, she died. Weeps inconsolably over the dead Admet and bitterly complains about his fate. He tells his wife to prepare a magnificent funeral. For eight months he orders everyone in the city to mourn for Alcestis, the best of women. The whole city is full of sorrow, as everyone loved the good queen.
They were already preparing to carry the body of Alcestis to her tomb, as Hercules comes to the city of Thera. He goes to the palace of Admetus and meets his friend at the gates of the palace. With honor Admet met the great son of the auspicious Zeus. Not wanting to sadden the guest, Admet tries to hide his grief from him. But Hercules immediately noticed that his friend was deeply saddened, and asked about the reason for his grief. Admet gives an unclear answer to Hercules, and he decides that Admet's distant relative died, whom the king sheltered after the death of his father. Admet orders his servants to take Hercules to the guest room and arrange a rich feast for him, and lock the doors to the female half so that groans of grief do not reach Hercules' ears. Unaware of the misfortune that befell his friend, Hercules feasts merrily in the palace of Admetus. He drinks cup after cup. It is hard for servants to wait on a cheerful guest - because they know that their beloved mistress is no longer alive. No matter how hard they try, on the orders of Admet, to hide their grief, yet Hercules notices tears in their eyes and sadness on their faces. He calls one of the servants to feast with him, says that the wine will give him oblivion and smooth out the wrinkles of sadness on his forehead, but the servant refuses. Then Hercules guesses that grievous grief befell the house of Admet. He starts asking the servant what happened to his friend, and finally the servant tells him:
- Oh, stranger, Admet's wife descended today into the kingdom of Hades.
Heracles was saddened. It hurt him that he feasted in a wreath of ivy and sang in the house of a friend who suffered such great grief. Hercules decided to thank the noble Admet for the fact that, despite the grief that befell him, he nevertheless received him so hospitably. The decision quickly matured in the great hero to take away from the gloomy god of death Tanat his prey - Alcestis.
Having learned from the servant where the tomb of Alcestis is located, he hurries there as soon as possible. Hiding behind the tomb, Hercules is waiting for Tanat to fly in to get drunk at the grave of sacrificial blood. Here the flapping of the black wings of Tanat was heard, there was a breath of grave cold; the gloomy god of death flew to the tomb and greedily pressed his lips to the sacrificial blood. Hercules jumped out of the ambush and rushed to Tanat. He seized the god of death with his mighty hands, and a terrible struggle began between them. Straining all his strength, Hercules fights with the god of death. Tanat squeezed the chest of Hercules with his bony hands, he breathes on him with his chilling breath, and from his wings the cold of death blows on the hero. Nevertheless, the mighty son of the Thunderer Zeus defeated Tanat. He tied Tanat and demanded as a ransom for freedom that the god of death be returned to life by Alcestis. Tanat gave Hercules the life of Admet's wife, and the great hero led her back to her husband's palace.
Admet, returning to the palace after the funeral of his wife, bitterly mourned his irreplaceable loss. It was hard for him to stay in the deserted palace, Where should he go? He envies the dead. He hates life. He calls death. Tanat stole all his happiness and took him to the kingdom of Hades. What could be harder for him than the loss of his beloved wife! Admet regrets that she did not allow Alcestis to die with her, then their death would have united them. Hades would have received two faithful souls instead of one. Together these souls of Acheron would have crossed. Suddenly, Hercules appeared before the mournful Admet. He leads by the hand a woman covered with a veil. Hercules asks Admet to leave this woman, which he inherited after a hard struggle, in the palace until he returns from Thrace. Admet refuses; he asks Hercules to take the woman to someone else. It is hard for Admet to see another woman in his palace when he lost the one he loved so much. Hercules insists and even wants Admet to bring a woman into the palace himself. He does not allow the servants of Admet to touch her. Finally, Admet, unable to refuse his friend, takes the woman by the hand to lead her into his palace. Hercules tells him:
- You took it, Admet! So protect her! Now you can say that the son of Zeus is a true friend. Look at the woman! Doesn't she look like your wife Alcestis? Stop mourning! Be happy with life again!
- Oh, great gods! - Admet exclaimed, lifting the woman's veil, - my wife Alcestis! Oh no, it's only a shadow of her! She stands silently, she did not say a word!
- No, it's not a shadow! - answered Hercules, - this is Alcestis. I got it in a hard fight with the lord of souls Tanat. She will be silent until she is freed from the power of the underground gods, bringing them redemptive sacrifices; she will be silent until night changes day three times; Only then will she speak. Now farewell, Admet! Be happy and always observe the great custom of hospitality, consecrated by my father himself - Zeus!
- Oh, great son of Zeus, you gave me the joy of life again! - exclaimed Admet, - how can I thank you? Stay my guest. I will order in all my possessions to celebrate your victory, I will order great sacrifices to be made to the gods. Stay with me!
Hercules did not stay with Admet; a feat awaited him; he had to fulfill the order of Eurystheus and get him the horses of King Diomedes.

Labor 9: Hippolyta's Belt

The ninth feat of Hercules was his campaign in the country of the Amazons for the belt of Queen Hippolyta. This belt was given to Hippolyta by the god of war Ares, and she wore it as a sign of her power over all the Amazons. The daughter of Eurystheus Admet, the priestess of the goddess Hera, wanted to have this belt without fail. To fulfill her desire, Eurystheus sent Hercules for the belt. Having gathered a small detachment of heroes, the great son of Zeus set off on a long journey on a ship alone. Although the detachment of Hercules was small, there were many glorious heroes in this detachment, I was in it the great hero of Attica Theseus.
The heroes have a long way to go. They had to reach the farthest shores of the Euxine Pontus, since there was a country of the Amazons with the capital Themyscira. On the way, Hercules landed with his companions on the island of Paros, where the sons of Minos ruled. On this island, the sons of Minos killed two companions of Hercules. Hercules, angry at this, immediately began a war with the sons of Minos. He killed many of the inhabitants of Paros, while others, having driven into the city, kept under siege until the besieged ambassadors were sent to Heracles and began to ask him to take two of them instead of the dead companions. Then Hercules lifted the siege and instead of the dead he took the grandsons of Minos, Alcaeus and Sthenelus.
From Paros, Hercules arrived in Mysia to King Lycus, who received him with great hospitality. The king of the Bebriks unexpectedly attacked Lik. Hercules defeated the king of the Bebriks with his detachment and destroyed his capital, and gave all the land of the Bebriks to Lik. King Lik named this country in honor of Heracles Heraclea. After this feat, Hercules went on, and finally arrived at the city of the Amazons, Themyscira.
The fame of the exploits of the son of Zeus has long reached the country of the Amazons. Therefore, when the ship of Hercules landed at Themyscira, the Amazons came out with the queen to meet the hero. They looked with surprise at the great son of Zeus, who stood out, like an immortal god, among his fellow heroes. Queen Hippolyta asked the great hero Hercules:
- Glorious son of Zeus, tell me what brought you to our city? Do you bring us peace or war?
So Hercules answered the queen:
- Queen, it was not of my own free will that I came here with an army, having made a long journey across a stormy sea; I was sent by the ruler of Mycenae, Eurystheus. His daughter Admet wants to have your belt, a gift from the god Ares. Eurystheus instructed me to get your belt.
Hippolyta was unable to refuse anything to Hercules. She was already ready to voluntarily give him the belt, but the great Hera, wanting to destroy the hated Hercules, took the form of an Amazon, intervened in the crowd and began to convince the warriors to attack the army of Hercules.
“Hercules is not telling the truth,” Hera said to the Amazons, “he came to you with insidious intent: the hero wants to kidnap your queen Hippolyta and take her as a slave to his house.
The Amazons believed Hera. They grabbed their weapons and attacked the army of Hercules. Ahead of the Amazon army rushed Aella, fast as the wind. She attacked Hercules first, like a stormy whirlwind. The great hero repulsed her onslaught and put her to flight, Aella thought to escape from the hero with a quick flight. All her speed did not help her, Hercules overtook her and struck her with his sparkling sword. Fell in battle and Protoya. She slew seven heroes from among the companions of Hercules with her own hand, but she did not escape the arrow of the great son of Zeus. Then seven Amazons attacked Hercules at once; they were companions of Artemis herself: no one was equal to them in the art of wielding a spear. Covering themselves with shields, they launched their spears at Hercules. but the spears flew past this time. All of them were slain by the hero with his club; one after another they burst to the ground, flashing their weapons. The Amazonian Melanippe, who led the army into battle, was captured by Hercules, and together with her captured Antiope. The formidable warriors were defeated, their army fled, many of them fell at the hands of the heroes pursuing them. The Amazons made peace with Hercules. Hippolyta bought the freedom of the mighty Melanippe with the price of her belt. The heroes took Antiope with them. Hercules gave it as a reward to Theseus for his great courage.
So Hercules got the girdle of Hippolyta.

Heracles rescues Hesione, daughter of Laomedon

On the way back to Tiryns from the country of the Amazons, Hercules arrived on ships with his army to Troy. A heavy sight appeared before the eyes of the heroes when they landed on the shore near Troy. They saw the beautiful daughter of the king of Troy, Laomedont, Hesion, chained to a rock near the seashore. She was doomed, like Andromeda, to be torn to pieces by a monster emerging from the sea. This monster was sent as a punishment to Laomedon by Poseidon for refusing to pay him and Apollo a fee for the construction of the walls of Troy. The proud king, who, according to the verdict of Zeus, had to serve both gods, even threatened to cut off their ears if they demanded payment. Then, the angry Apollo sent a terrible pestilence to all the possessions of Laomedont, and Poseidon - a monster that devastated, sparing no one, the surroundings of Troy. Only by sacrificing the life of his daughter could Laomedon save his country from a terrible disaster. Against his will, he had to chain his daughter Hesion to a rock by the sea.
Seeing the unfortunate girl, Hercules volunteered to save her, and for the salvation of Hesion, he demanded from Laomedont as a reward for those horses that the Thunderer Zeus gave to the king of Troy as a ransom for his son Ganymede. He was once kidnapped by the eagle of Zeus and carried to Olympus. Laomedon agreed to Hercules' demands. The great hero ordered the Trojans to build a rampart on the seashore and hid behind it. As soon as Hercules took cover behind the rampart, a monster emerged from the sea and, opening its huge mouth, rushed at Hesion. With a loud cry, Hercules ran out from behind the shaft, rushed at the monster and plunged his double-edged sword deep into his chest. Heracles saved Hesiona.
When the son of Zeus demanded the promised reward from Laomedont, it became a pity for the king to part with the marvelous horses, he did not give them to Hercules and even drove him away with threats from Troy. Hercules left the possession of Laomedont, holding his anger deep in his heart. Now he could not take revenge on the king who had deceived him, since his army was too small and the hero could not hope to soon capture impregnable Troy. The great son of Zeus could not stay under Troy for a long time - he had to rush with Hippolyta's belt to Mycenae.

Tenth feat: Cows of Gerion

Shortly after returning from a campaign in the country of the Amazons, Hercules set off on a new feat. Eurystheus instructed him to drive to Mycenae the cows of the great Geryon, the son of Chrysaor and the Oceanid Kalliroi. Far was the way to Gerion. Hercules had to reach the westernmost edge of the earth, those places where the radiant sun god Helios descends from the sky at sunset. Hercules went on a long journey alone. He passed through Africa, through the barren deserts of Libya, through the countries of wild barbarians, and finally reached the ends of the earth. Here he erected two giant stone pillars on both sides of the narrow sea strait as an eternal monument to his feat.
After this, Hercules had to wander a lot more, until he reached the shores of the gray Ocean. In thought, the hero sat on the shore near the ever-noisy waters of the Ocean. How was it possible for him to reach the island of Eritheia, where Geryon pastured his herds? The day was already drawing to a close. Here appeared the chariot of Helios, descending to the waters of the Ocean. The bright rays of Helios blinded Hercules, and an unbearable, scorching heat enveloped him. Hercules jumped up in anger and grabbed his formidable bow, but bright Helios did not get angry, he smiled affably at the hero, he liked the extraordinary courage of the great son of Zeus. Helios himself invited Hercules to cross to Eritheia in a golden boat, in which the sun god sailed every evening with his horses and chariot from the western to the eastern edge of the earth to his golden palace. The delighted hero boldly jumped into the golden boat and quickly reached the shores of Eritheia.
As soon as he landed on the island, the formidable two-headed dog Orfo sensed him and rushed at the hero with barking. Hercules killed him with one blow of his heavy club. Not only Orfo guarded the herds of Geryon. Hercules also had to fight with the shepherd of Gerion, the giant Eurytion. The son of Zeus quickly coped with the giant and drove the cows of Gerion to the seashore, where the golden boat of Helios stood. Gerion heard the lowing of his cows and went to the herd. Seeing that his dog Orfo and the giant Eurytion were killed, he chased after the stealer of the herd and overtook him on the seashore. Gerion was a monstrous giant: he had three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs. He covered himself with three shields during the battle, he immediately threw three huge spears at the enemy. Hercules had to fight with such a giant, but the great warrior Pallas Athena helped him. As soon as Hercules saw him, he immediately shot his deadly arrow at the giant. An arrow pierced the eye of one of Gerion's heads. The first arrow was followed by the second, followed by the third. Hercules waved menacingly with his all-destroying club, like lightning, the hero Geryon struck it, and the three-bodied giant fell to the ground like a lifeless corpse. Hercules transported the cows of Geryon from Eritheia in the golden boat of Helios across the stormy Ocean and returned the boat to Helios. Half of the feat was over.
Much work lay ahead. It was necessary to drive the bulls to Mycenae. Through all of Spain, through the Pyrenees, through Gaul and the Alps, through Italy, Hercules drove the cows. In southern Italy, near the city of Rhegium, one of the cows escaped from the herd and swam across the strait to Sicily. There, King Eriks, the son of Poseidon, saw her, and took the cow into his herd. Hercules searched for a cow for a long time. Finally, he asked the god Hephaestus to guard the herd, and he crossed over to Sicily and there he found his cow in the herd of King Eriks. The king did not want to return her to Hercules; hoping for his strength, he challenged Hercules to single combat. The winner was to be rewarded with a cow. Eriks could not afford such an opponent as Hercules. The son of Zeus squeezed the king in his mighty arms and strangled him. Hercules returned with a cow to his herd and drove him further. On the shores of the Ionian Sea, the goddess Hera sent rabies to the whole herd. The mad cows ran in all directions. Only with great difficulty Hercules caught most of the cows already in Thrace and finally drove them to Eurystheus in Mycenae. Eurystheus sacrificed them to the great goddess Hera.
Pillars of Hercules, or Pillars of Hercules. The Greeks believed that the rocks along the shores of the Strait of Gibraltar were placed by Hercules.

Eleventh move. Cerberus kidnapping.

There were no more monsters left on the earth. Heracles destroyed them all. But underground, guarding the possessions of Hades, lived the monstrous three-headed dog Cerberus. Eurystheus ordered him to be delivered to the walls of Mycenae.

Hercules had to descend into the kingdom of no return. Everything about him was terrifying. Cerberus himself was so powerful and terrible that the very sight of him chilled the blood in his veins. In addition to three disgusting heads, the dog had a tail in the form of a huge snake with an open mouth. The snakes also writhed around his neck. And such a dog had to be not only defeated, but also brought alive from the underworld. Only the lords of the kingdom of the dead, Hades and Persephone, could give their consent to this.

Hercules had to appear before their eyes. At Hades, they were black, like coal, formed at the site of the burning of the remains of the dead, at Persephone they were light blue, like cornflowers on arable land. But one could read genuine surprise in both of them: what does this impudent man need here, who violated the laws of nature and descended alive into their gloomy world?

Bowing respectfully, Hercules said:

Do not be angry, mighty lords, if my request seems bold to you! The will of Eurystheus, hostile to my desire, dominates me. It was he who instructed me to deliver to him your faithful and valiant Cerberus guardian.

Hades' face twitched with displeasure.

Not only did you yourself come here alive, you set out to show the living someone whom only the dead can see.

Forgive my curiosity, - Persephone intervened. - But I would like to know how you think about your feat. After all, Cerberus has not yet been given into the hands of anyone.

I don’t know, Hercules admitted honestly. But let me fight him.

Ha! Ha! - Hades laughed so loudly that the vaults of the underworld shook. - Try it! But just fight on equal terms, not using weapons.

On the way to the gates of Hades, one of the shadows approached Hercules and made a request.

Great hero, said the shadow, you are destined to see the sun. Will you agree to do my duty? I have left my sister Dejanira, whom I did not have time to marry.

Tell me your name and where you come from, - said Hercules.

I am from Calydon, the shadow replied. There they called me Meleager. Hercules, bowing low to the shadow, said:

I heard about you as a boy and always regretted that I could not meet you. Stay calm. I myself will take your sister as a wife.

Cerberus, as befits a dog, was in his place at the gates of Hades, barking at the souls who tried to approach Styx in order to get out into the world. If earlier, when Hercules entered the gate, the dog did not pay attention to the hero, now he attacked him with an evil growl, trying to gnaw through the hero's throat. Hercules grabbed two necks of Cerberus with both hands, and struck a powerful blow on the third head with his forehead. Cerberus wrapped his tail around the legs and torso of the hero, tearing the body with his teeth. But Hercules' fingers continued to tighten, and soon the half-strangled dog went limp and wheezed.

Not allowing Cerberus to recover, Hercules dragged him to the exit. When it began to get light, the dog came to life and, throwing up his head, howled terribly at the unfamiliar sun. Never before has the earth heard such heartbreaking sounds. Poisonous foam fell from the gaping mouths. Wherever even one drop of it fell, poisonous plants grew.

Here are the walls of Mycenae. The city seemed deserted, dead, since already from a distance everyone heard that Hercules was returning with a victory. Eurystheus, looking at Cerberus through the crack in the gate, yelled:

Let him go! Let go!

Hercules did not hesitate. He released the chain on which he led Cerberus, and the faithful dog Hades rushed to his master with huge leaps...

The twelfth feat. Golden apples of the Hesperides.

At the western extremity of the earth, near the Ocean, where the day converged with the Night, the beautiful-voiced nymphs of the Hesperides lived. Their divine singing was heard only by Atlas, holding on his shoulders the vault of heaven and the souls of the dead, sadly descending into the underworld. Nymphs walked in a wonderful garden, where a tree grew, bending heavy branches to the ground. Golden fruits sparkled and hid in their greenery. They gave everyone who touches them immortality and eternal youth.

These are the fruits that Eurystheus ordered to bring, and not in order to be equal to the gods. He hoped that Hercules would not fulfill this assignment.

Throwing a lion's skin over his back, throwing a bow over his shoulder, taking a club, the hero walked briskly to the garden of the Hesperides. He's used to getting the impossible done.

Hercules walked for a long time until he reached the place where heaven and earth converged on Atlanta, as on a giant support. With horror, he looked at the titan holding an incredible weight.

I am Hercules, - the hero answered. - I was ordered to bring three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. I heard that you alone can pick these apples.

Joy flashed in Atlanta's eyes. He was up to something bad.

I can't reach the tree, - Atlas said. - Yes, and my hands, as you can see, are busy. Now, if you hold my burden, I will gladly fulfill your request.

I agree, ”Hercules answered and stood next to the titan, who was many heads taller than him.

Atlas sank, and a monstrous weight fell on the shoulders of Hercules. Sweat covered his forehead and all over his body. Legs went ankle-deep into the ground trampled down by Atlanta. The time it took the giant to get the apples seemed like an eternity to the hero. But Atlant was in no hurry to take back his burden.

If you want, I myself will take the precious apples to Mycenae, ”he suggested to Hercules.

The simple-hearted hero almost agreed, fearing to offend the titan who had rendered him a service, but Athena intervened in time - it was she who taught him to respond with cunning to cunning. Pretending to be pleased with Atlas's offer, Hercules immediately agreed, but asked the titan to hold the vault while he made a lining under his shoulders.

As soon as Atlas, deceived by the feigned joy of Hercules, shouldered the usual burden on his overworked shoulders, the hero immediately raised his club and bow and, ignoring the indignant cries of Atlas, set off on his way back.

Eurystheus did not take the apples of the Hesperides, obtained by Hercules with such labor. After all, he needed not apples, but the death of a hero. Hercules gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to the Hesperides.

This ended the service of Hercules to Eurystheus, and he was able to return to Thebes, where new exploits and new troubles awaited him.

- a cycle of legends about 12 exploits performed by Herculeswhen he was in the service of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus. Each feat of Hercules is a separate story, unlike all the others. The hero of Ancient Greece had to go through many trials, incomprehensible to a mere mortal.

The fourth feat of Hercules (summary)

Possessing monstrous power, the Erymanthian boar (boar) terrified all the surroundings. Hercules, on the way to battle with him, visited his friend, the centaur Fola. There he had a quarrel with other centaurs because of the wine that Foul treated him to. While chasing the centaurs, Hercules broke into Chiron's cave and accidentally killed him with an arrow. Finding the Erymanthian boar, Hercules drove him into deep snow, where he got stuck. The hero took the bound boar to Mycenae, where, at the sight of this monster, the frightened Eurystheus hid in a large jug.

The fifth feat of Hercules (summary)

The sixth feat of Hercules (summary)

However, the greedy Avgiy did not give the promised payment for the work to Hercules. Already freed from the service of Eurystheus, a few years later Hercules gathered an army, defeated Avgii and killed him. After this victory, the hero established the famous Olympic Games in Elis, near the city of Pisa.

The seventh feat of Hercules (summary)

The tenth feat of Hercules (summary)

On the westernmost edge of the earth, on the island of Erithia, the giant Gerion grazed, who had three bodies, three heads, six arms and six legs. Hercules, on the orders of Eurystheus, went after these cows. After killing the guards of Geryon - the giant Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orff, and then Gerion himself, Hercules transported the cows on the boat of Helios across the Ocean. Eurystheus, having received the cows of Geryon, sacrificed them to Hera.

Eleventh feat of Hercules (summary)

Eurystheus ordered Hercules to take three golden apples from the golden tree of the garden of Atlanta. Atlas held the vault of heaven on his shoulders. He promised to go for apples himself if Hercules would hold the vault of heaven at that time.

Bringing the apples, Atlas offered to take them to Eurystheus himself. But Hercules, realizing the deception, asked Atlas to change him under the sky for a short rest, and he took the apples and left.

The twelfth feat of Hercules (summary)

Hercules descended on the orders of Eurystheus to the gloomy kingdom of the god of the dead Hadesto take away his guard from there - the three-headed dog Cerberus. The lord of the underworld, Hades, himself allowed Hercules to take Cerberus away - but only if the hero manages to tame him. Finding Cerberus, Hercules began to fight him. He half strangled the dog, pulled him out of the ground and brought him to Mycenae. At one glance at the terrible dog, the cowardly Eurystheus began to beg Hercules to take her back, which he did.

Myths about the exploits of Hercules

Nemean lion - the first feat of Hercules

Hercules was supposed to bring the skin of the Nemean lion, which descended from the fire-breathing monster Typhon and the gigantic snake Echidna and lived in the valley between Nemea and Cleanae. Even in Cleani, Hercules went to one poor man, Molarchus, who at that time was about to make a sacrifice to Zeus. Hercules persuaded him to postpone the sacrifice for thirty days, because he wanted, upon returning from a dangerous hunt, to bring with him a sacrifice to the savior Zeus; in the event that Hercules had not returned from the hunt, then Molarch had, according to the condition, to calm his shadow with a sacrifice. Hercules went into the forest and searched for a lion for several days, finally found him and threw an arrow at him; but the lion was not wounded: the arrow rebounded from him as from a stone. Then Hercules raised his club to the lion; the lion ran away from him into a cave that had two exits. The hero blocked one exit, and approached the beast with another. In an instant, the lion jumped on his chest. Hercules grabbed the lion with his mighty arms and strangled him, then he put him on his shoulders and carried him to Mycenae. He came to Molarchus on the thirtieth day after his departure and found him about to offer a funeral sacrifice for Hercules. Here both made a sacrifice to Zeus the Savior and thus laid the foundation for the Nemean games. When Hercules brought the lion to Mycenae, Eurystheus, at the sight of a powerful hero and a terrible beast, was horrified and gave the following order: from now on, Hercules will show evidence of his exploits from the city gates.

Lernean hydra - the second feat of Hercules

Hercules had to kill the Lernean hydra, a terrible snake with nine heads: eight were mortal, the middle one was immortal. The Hydra was also the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. She grew up in the Lernean swamp, near the spring of Amimone, and from there she attacked the herds and devastated the country. With courage in his heart, Hercules went to this fight in a chariot, which was ruled by Polay, the courageous son of Iphicles. When he arrived at Lerna, he left behind him Iolaus with his chariot and began to look for the enemy. He found the hydra in a cave that was in one rock, and drove her out of there with his arrows; it came to a dangerous struggle. The beast rushes furiously at him; but Hercules steps on him with his foot and holds him under him; while the hydra knocked down his other leg with its long tail, Hercules boldly began to strike the monster with hissing heads with his club. But Hercules could not kill the monster; instead of any broken head, two others grew out of the torso. In addition, another enemy appeared: a huge sea cancer, pinching the legs of Hercules. Hercules crushed him and called to his aid against the hydra Iolaus. Iolaus occupied part of the nearest forest and burned the wounds with hot brands so that new heads could not grow from them. Finally, only one undying head remained: Hercules removed it and buried it near the road under a heavy rock. Then he cut open the monster's body and dipped his arrows into its poisonous liver. Since then, Hercules began to inflict incurable wounds with his arrows.

The capture of the Kerinean fallow deer - the third feat of Hercules

The third feat of Hercules was the delivery of the Kerinean fallow deer to Mycenae alive. It was a beautiful golden-horned and copper-footed doe dedicated to Artemis, tireless and incredibly fast. Since Hercules did not want to either kill her or injure her, for a whole year he chased her to the Hyperborean country and the sources of Istra, and then drove her back to Arcadia; finally, tired of a long hunt, Hercules shot at a doe while she wanted to cross the Ladon River, wounded her in the leg and, grabbing her, put her on her shoulders and carried her to Mycenae. Artemis came across him with her brother Apollo, began to reproach him for having caught her sacred doe, and wanted to take it away from him, Hercules justified himself and blamed Eurystheus, whose command he obeyed, and Artemis calmed down. So he brought the doe alive to Mycenae.

Erymanthian boar - the fourth feat of Hercules

When Hercules brought the doe to Mycenae, Eurystheus instructed him to catch the Erymanthian boar. This boar lived on Mount Erymanthus, between Arcadia, Elis and Achaia, and often invaded the region of the city of Psofis, where he devastated the fields and killed people. On the way to this hunt, Hercules crossed the high wooded mountains of Tholos, in which some centaurs lived since they were expelled from Thessaly by Lapith. Tired, hungry Hercules came to the cave of the centaur Fol and was cordially received by him, for although Fol was also half-man and half-horse, like other centaurs, he was not, like Chiron, as rude and brutally wild as they are. He treated Hercules to boiled meat, while he ate his portion raw. Hercules, who loved to drink good wine at a meal after labors and worries, expressed a desire to drink; but the owner was afraid to open a vessel with wine, a precious gift to the centaurs from Dionysus, who was in his custody: he was afraid that the centaurs would come and break hospitality in their wild anger. Hercules encouraged him and opened the vessel himself; they both drink merrily with full bowls, but soon the centaurs appear: having heard the sweet aroma of wine, they rush from all sides to the cave of Fola, in a wild fury they arm themselves with rocks and pine trunks and attack Hercules. He repels the attack, throws hot brands into their chest and face and drives them out of the cave. Then he pursues them with his arrows and drives the last remaining ones to the Cape Malea, where they seek refuge at Chiron, who was driven here from the Pelion Mountains. While they, seeking shelter, crowd around him, an arrow of Hercules hits him in the knee. Only then did the hero recognize his old friend; with great sorrow, he ran to him, applied healing herbs to the wounds given to him by Chiron himself, and bandaged them, but the wound inflicted by a poisoned arrow is incurable, so Chiron subsequently voluntarily accepted death for Prometheus, Hercules returned to the cave of Fola and, to to his great grief, he also found him dead: Fall took an arrow from the wound of one killed centaur and, looking at it, marveled at how such a small thing could lay dead such a giant; suddenly an arrow fell out of his hand, wounded him in the leg, and immediately he fell dead. Hercules sadly buried his master and went to look for the Erymanthian boar. With a cry, he drove him out of the forest thicket and pursued him to the very top of the mountain, where the boar sat down in deep snow. The hero got to him, chained him and brought him alive to Mycenae. When Eurystheus saw the terrible beast, he was so frightened that he hid in a copper tub.

The destruction of the Stymphalian birds is the fifth labor of Hercules.

Stymphalian birds lived in a wooded deep valley near a lake, near the Arcadian city of Stymphalus. It was a huge flock of terrible birds of prey, the size of cranes; they had copper wings, claws and beaks, and they could throw their feathers like arrows. From them in the whole region it was not safe, they attacked people and animals and ate them. Hercules fulfilled the order, drove them out. When he came to the valley, flocks of these birds scattered through the forest. Hercules stood on one hill and frightened them with a terrible noise of two copper rattles given to him by Athena for this purpose - in order to better overtake them in the air with his arrows. But he could not kill everyone: some of them flew far to the island of Aretia, to the Euxinus Pontus, where the Argonauts subsequently met them.

Augean stables - the sixth feat of Hercules

Hercules cleared the Augean stall in one day - this was his sixth labor. Avgiy was the son of the radiant sun god Helios and the king of Elis. He became famous for his immense wealth, which he owed to his loving father. Countless as the clouds of heaven were his herds of bulls and sheep. Three hundred bulls had wool on their legs like snow; two hundred were purple; twelve bulls, dedicated to the god Helios, were white as swans, and one, named Phaethon, shone like a star. In the large barnyard where all these animals were collected, so much manure had accumulated over time that it seemed impossible to clean it out. When Hercules appeared, he suggested that Augeas clear the courtyard in one day if the king would give him a tenth of his herds. Augeas willingly accepted the condition, for he doubted the feasibility of this matter. Hercules called the son of Avgiev to witness the contract, took Alpheus and Peneus to the side of the rivers Alpheus and Peneus and, having broken the wall of the barnyard in two places, passed these rivers through him; the pressure of water in one day carried away all the impurities from the yard, and Hercules did his job. But Augeas does not pay the contractual payment and locks himself even in his promise. He is even ready to take the matter to court.

A court was held, and Filey began to testify against his father.

Then Avgiy, before the decision of the court took place, expels Phileaus and Hercules from his country. Philaeus went to the island of Dulilihy and settled there; Hercules returned to Tiryns.

Subsequently, when Hercules was freed from the service of Eurystheus, he took revenge on Augeas: he gathered a large army and attacked Elis. But the nephews of Augean, the twins, the sons of Actor and Molion, who are therefore called Aktorides and Molionides, ambushed his army and defeated it. Hercules himself was ill at that time. Soon afterwards, he himself ambushed the Molionides at the Cleons, while they were going to the Isthmian games, and killed them. Then he again went to Elis and betrayed her to fire and sword. Finally, with his arrow, he killed Avgeas as well. And when he gathered all his army in Pisa and brought rich booty there, he measured out to his father Zeus a sacred piece of land and planted olive trees on it. Then he made a sacrifice to the twelve Olympic gods and the god of the river Alfea and established the Olympic Games. After the best of his troops had tested their strength in various competitions, in the evening, under the charming moonlight, they celebrated a wonderful feast and sang victorious songs.

From Elis, Hercules went to Pylos against King Neleus, who gave Avgius help in the war against Hercules. In Pylos, it came to a terrible battle, in which the gods also participated. The mighty hero fought against Ares and Hera and with his club struck the trident of Poseidon and the scepter of Hades, with which he drives the dead into his kingdom. Hercules resisted even the silver bow of the powerful Apollo. With the help of Zeus and Athena, Heracles was victorious; having conquered the city of Pylos, he destroyed it and killed Neleus and his eleven beautiful young sons. Of these, he was most busy with Periklymen, who received the gift of transformation from Poseidon. He appeared to Hercules in the form of a lion, an eagle, a snake and a bee, when, intending to attack the hero, he, turning into a fly, sat on his chariot, Athena opened her eyes to her hero, and he saw the true image of his enemy and shot him with a bow . Of the whole family of Neleus, only Nestor remained, the youngest of twelve sons. At that time he was in Gerenia and that is why he subsequently had a nickname: Gerenian.

Cretan bull - the seventh feat of Hercules

The Cretan bull was handed over by Poseidon to the king of Crete Minos so that he would sacrifice this bull to him. But Minos kept the beautiful and strong bull in his herd and killed another. For this, Poseidon enraged the bull, and he made devastation throughout the island. Eurystheus instructed Hercules to catch this bull and deliver it to Mycenae. With the help of Minos, Hercules caught the bull and tamed it with a mighty hand. Then he sailed on a bull to Mycenae and brought him to Eurystheus. He released the bull and, mad, he began to wander all over the Peloponnese and finally came to Attica; here he reached the country of Marathon, where Theseus caught him.

Mares of Diomedes - the eighth feat of Hercules

Hercules was also to bring the horses of the Thracian king Diomedes to Mycenae. These horses were so wild and strong that they had to be chained to the manger with strong iron chains. They ate human meat: the ferocious Diomedes, whose fortified palace was on the seashore, threw them strangers who were washed ashore by the sea. Hercules went there on the ship, took the horses and their guards, and led them to the ship. At the seashore, Diomedes met him with his warlike Thracians, and a bloody battle flared up here, in which Diomedes was killed; Hercules threw his body to be eaten by horses. During the battle, Hercules gave the horses to his favorite Abder for preservation, but, returning from the battle, he did not find him: the beautiful young man was torn apart by the horses. Hercules mourns him, buries him, and erects a beautiful mound over his grave. At the place where Abder died, Hercules established games in honor of the young man and founded the city, which he named Abdera. Eurystheus released the horses, and on the Lycaean mountains, in Arcadia, they were torn to pieces by wild animals.

Belt of Hippolyta - the ninth feat of Hercules

The once warlike people of the Amazons were ruled by Queen Hippolyta. A sign of her royal dignity was a belt given to her by Ares, the god of war. The daughter of Eurystheus Admet wished to have this belt, and Hercules instructed Eurystheus to get it. Hercules sailed along the Euxine Pontus to the capital of the Amazons, Themiscyra, at the mouth of the Fermodon River, and camped near it. Hippolyta came to him with her Amazons and asked about the purpose of his arrival.

The majestic appearance and noble origin of the hero placed Hippolyta in his favor: she willingly promised to give him the belt. But Hera, wanting to destroy the hated Hercules, took the form of an Amazon and spread a rumor that a stranger wants to kidnap the queen. Then the Amazons took up arms and attacked the camp of Hercules. A terrible battle began, in which the most famous and brave Amazons competed with Hercules. Before others, Aela attacked him, nicknamed "Whirlwind" for her wondrous speed. But in Hercules she found an even faster opponent. Defeated, Aela sought refuge in flight, but Hercules caught up with her and killed her. Pala and Protoja, seven times the winner in single combat. Three virgins, friends of Artemis and her hunting companions, who never missed their hunting spears, attacked the hero together, but this time they missed the target and fell under the blows of the enemy, hiding behind their shields, to the ground. Many other warriors were betrayed by Hercules to death, he also captivated their brave leader Melanippe; Then the Amazons turned to flight, and many of them perished in this flight. Hercules gave the captive Antiope as a gift to his friend and companion Theseus, while Melanippe was released on the promise - for the belt that Hippolyta handed him before the battle.

The bulls of Geryon are the tenth labor of Hercules.

From the distant eastern countries, Hercules arrived in the extreme west. Eurystheus ordered him to drive to Mycenae the herds of the three-headed giant Geryon, who were grazing on the island of the western ocean of Erifia. Purple, shiny bulls were guarded by the giant Eurytion and the terrible dog Ort. Before Erifia, Hercules had a long and difficult path through Europe and Libya, through barbarian countries and deserts. Having reached the strait separating Europe from Libya, Hercules, in memory of this farthest journey, placed a pillar-shaped rock on both sides of the strait - and since then these rocks have been called "pillars of Hercules." Soon afterwards he arrived at the ocean shore, but Erifia, the destination of the journey, was still far away: how to reach it, how to cross the world's ocean-river? Not knowing what to do, tormented by impatience, Hercules sat on the ocean shore until evening, and now he sees: on his radiant chariot, Helios is rolling towards the ocean from the high sky. It was hard for the hero to look at the near sun, and in anger he pulled his bow on the radiant god. The god marveled at the courage of the wondrous husband, but was not angry with him, even gave him his cuboid boat, on which every night he went around the northern half of the earth. On this canoe, Hercules arrived on the island of Erifia. Here the dog Ort immediately rushed at him, but the hero killed him with his club. He killed Eurytion and drove the flocks of Gerion. But Menetius, who was tending the flocks of Hades not far off, saw what was stolen and told Geryon about it. The giant chased the hero, but died from his arrow. Hercules placed the bulls on the boat of the sun and sailed back to Iberia, where he again handed the ship over to Helios. And he drove his herds through Iberia and Gaul, through the Pyrenees and the Alps. Having overcome many dangers, Hercules arrived at the Tiber River, to the place where Rome was subsequently built.

Stopping in the beautiful valley of the Tiber, Hercules carelessly indulged in sleep, and at that time the two most beautiful bulls from the herd were kidnapped by the fire-breathing giant Kak, who lived in the cave of the Aventian mountain and made terrible devastation throughout the surrounding country. The next morning, Hercules already wanted to drive further his bulls, but he noticed that not all of the herd was intact. And he followed the trail of the lost bulls and reached the cave, pushed back by a huge, heavy rock. The heads and smoldering bones of the slain people were hung on the rock at the entrance and scattered on the ground. Hercules thought if the inhabitant of a suspicious cave had stolen his bulls, but - a wonderful thing! - the trail did not lead into the cave, but out of it. He could not understand this and hurried with his flock from an inhospitable country. Then one of the bulls of Hercules roared, as if lamenting about the rest, and the same roar was heard in response to him from the cave. Full of anger, Hercules returns to Kaka's dwelling, with mighty shoulders rolls off the heavy stone of the entrance and breaks into the cave. The giant throws fragments of rocks and tree trunks at him, but can neither frighten nor hold the enemy. Like a volcano, with a terrible roar, he spews smoke and flame at him, but this will not frighten the angry hero. Leaping over a stream of flame, he hit Kaka three times in the face, and a terrible monster fell to the ground and expired.

While, in gratitude for the victory, Hercules sacrificed a bull to Zeus, the surrounding inhabitants came to him, and among others - Evander, who migrated from Arcadia and laid the first principles of higher culture here. All of them hailed Hercules as their deliverer and benefactor. Evander, recognizing Zeus's son in Hercules, erected an altar to him, made a sacrifice and established a cult for him forever and ever on the site of the last feat of Hercules - a place that the Romans later considered sacred.

When Hercules arrived at the Strait of Sicily, one of his bulls fell into the sea and sailed to Sicily, where King Erica appropriated him. Instructing Hephaestus to guard the remaining bulls, Hercules went for the lost one. Erica agreed to give the bull only if Hercules defeated him in single combat; Hercules overpowered and killed him. On the shores of the Ionian Sea, a new failure befell Hercules. Hera brought his bulls into a rage, scattered them, and it cost the hero a lot of work to collect them. Finally, he collected most of them and drove them to Mycenae, where Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.

Apples of the Hesperides - the eleventh feat of Hercules

Hercules was carried away to the far west by his eleventh feat. Here, on the edge of the earth, on the shore of the ocean, there was a marvelous, golden-fruited tree, which the Earth had once grown and presented to Hera during her marriage to Zeus. That tree was in the fragrant garden of Atlas the sky-bearer; the nymphs of the Hesperides, the daughters of the giant, followed him, and the terrible dragon Ladon guarded him, whose eye never closed with sleep. Hercules was supposed to bring three golden apples from a wonderful tree: a difficult matter, especially since Hercules did not know which side the Hesperides tree was on. Overcoming incredible difficulties, for a long time Hercules wandered around Europe, Asia and Libya and finally arrived in the far north, to the nymphs of the Eridanus River. The nymphs advised him to sneak up on the old man of the sea, the seer god Nereus, attack her and find out from him the secret of golden apples. So did Hercules: he forged the god of the sea and only then released, as he learned from him the path to the Hesperides. The path went through Libya, and there Hercules attacked the son of the Earth, the giant Antaeus, and challenged him to fight. While Antaeus touched Mother Earth with his feet, his strength was irresistible: but when Hercules, embracing Antaeus, lifted him from the ground, all the power of the giant disappeared: Hercules defeated him and killed him. From Libya, Hercules arrived in Egypt. Egypt was ruled at that time by Busiris, who sacrificed all foreigners to Zeus. When Hercules arrived in Egypt, Busiris chained him and led him to the altar: but the hero broke the shackles and killed Busiris along with his son.

Finally, Hercules is at Atlanta, holding the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Atlas promised to get Hercules the apples of the Hesperides; but the hero had to hold the sky for him for this time. Hercules agreed and heaved the vault of heaven onto his mighty shoulders. Returning with golden apples, Atlas offered the hero to hold the weight for some more time, and he himself undertook to deliver the golden fruits to Mycenae. “I agree,” Hercules answered him, “just let me make a pillow; I will put her on my shoulders: the vault of heaven is too pressing on me. Atlas believed; but when he stood in his former place, crushed by a heavy burden, Hercules raised his bow, arrows and apples from the ground and friendly said goodbye to the deceived giant. The hero gave the apples to Eurystheus, but, having received them back as a gift, he sacrificed them to Pallas Athena; the goddess returned them to their former place.

Dog Cerberus - the twelfth labor of Hercules

The most difficult and most dangerous feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was the last. The hero had to descend into the gloomy tartar and get the terrible dog Kerber from there. Kerberos was a terrible, three-headed beast, whose tail had the appearance and ferocity of a living dragon; on the mane of the beast, all kinds of snakes swarmed. Before performing the feat, Hercules visited Eleusis, and there the priest Eumolpus initiated him into the Eleusinian mysteries, which freed a person from the fear of death. Then the hero arrived in Laconia, from where, through one gloomy crevice, lay the path to the underworld. On this gloomy path, Hermes - the guide of the dead - and led Hercules. Shadows fled in horror at the sight of a mighty husband: only Meleager and Medusa did not budge. Hercules had already raised a sword at Medusa, but Hermes stopped him, saying that this was no longer a terrible petrifying gorgon, but only a shadow devoid of life. The hero had a friendly conversation with Meleager and, at his request, promised to marry his sister Dianira. Near the gates of Hades' dwelling, Hercules saw Theseus and Pirithous, rooted to a rock for daring to descend into the underworld in order to kidnap the majestic wife of Hades, Persephone. And they stretched out their hands to the hero, praying to tear them off the rock, to save them from torment. Hercules gave Theseus his hand and freed him; but when he wanted to take Pirithous from the rock, the earth trembled, and Hercules saw that the gods were not pleased to release this criminal. To revive the lifeless shadows with blood, the hero killed one of the cows of Hades, which Menetius pastured.

They fought because of the cow: Hercules hugged Menetius and broke his ribs.

Hercules finally reached the throne of Pluto. As an initiate in the Eleusinian secrets, the god of the underworld graciously accepted him and allowed him to take the dog with him to earth, if he could only defeat him without weapons. Covered with a shell and a lion's skin, the hero went out to the monster, found him at the mouth of Acheron and immediately attacked him. With mighty hands, Hercules grabbed the triple neck of the terrible dog, and although the dragon, which served as the tail of the monster, unbearably painfully stung him, the hero strangled Kerber until, defeated, trembling with fear, he fell at his feet. Hercules chained him and brought him to earth. The dog of hell was horrified when he saw the light of day: poisonous foam poured onto the ground from his triple mouth, and from this foam a poisonous wrestler grew. Hercules hurried to take the monster to Mycenae and, showing him in horror to the coming Eurystheus, took him back to the region of Hades.

Hercules completed his twelve labors. Filled with surprise at the mighty hero, who disarmed death itself, Eurystheus freed him from serving himself. Hercules went to Thebes, where the faithful Megara, during the long absence of her husband, guarded his house. From that time on, Hercules could already freely dispose of himself.

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, based on the 12 labors of Hercules, films are being created and books are being written. Ready to find out a summary of each of them?

The story starts like this. Hera decides to teach Zeus a lesson for treason, and while Hercules is due to be born, she 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 Ephristheus, who was born at that hour, received all power. Further, the ruler, together with the Hero, decide to get rid of the threat forever. Thus, a dispute took place, in which Hercules had to complete 12 difficult tasks. How this happened, read on.

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 can't 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 most courageous warrior to the battle with the left. Of course, not without despicable intentions. Fortunately, Hercules possessed no less monstrous strength. He strangled the lion and became the hero of Nemia, among whom he found many friends and allies.

The second feat of Hercules took place on the territory of the Lernean swamp, where the son of Zeus had to fight a mythical creature called the Lernean Hydra. Whenever a demigod cut off her head, two new ones would appear at the site of the wound. Then Hercules called his ally from Nemia, who managed to cauterize the wound with a torch. Thus, after the felling of the head, new ones stopped growing. Having defeated the hydra, Hercules covered her with sand, and moistened her with his arrows with blood. Thus, he obtained poisonous arrows for which no one had an antidote...

Realizing that in the battles Hercules has no equal, Ephrystheus decided to go for a trick. He proposed the most outstanding run. As part of the third feat, Hercules was forced to fight in the race with the fastest animal in ancient Greek mythology. The uniqueness of this mission of the 12 labors of Hercules lies in the complexity of the task. You can't kill 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 up to him and threw a rope around the doe. On the way down, the heroes met Artemis, the daughter of Zeus, and gave Lan to her. But Hercules completed the mission.

Another interesting myth from the 12 labors of Hercules is the battle of Hercules with the Erymanthian boar. A huge animal for a long time prevented hunters from getting food for their families. Allegedly with noble goals, Efriseus 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, Hercules managed to climb the hills and slay the monster. Slowly but surely, the son of the thunderer gained fame, destroying all the cunning plans of Hera. And then...

Realizing all the power of Hercules, the king decided to go to another meanness. In ancient Greek mythology, Ares, the god of war, had his own legion of dangerous warriors - Stymphalian birds. By their looks alone, they induced 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 thanks to the joint efforts with Iolaus, he managed to hit all the predators. To complete this mission, he needed the skin of a lion from the first feat. And, of course, the accuracy of the faithful assistant Iolaus.

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, involving the manifestation of completely different qualities, not military ones.
As part of the 6 feat of Hercules, the hero had to go to the proud king named Avgiy. 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 - to prevent the loss of one horse with a brilliant star in its forehead.

Of course, not without effort, he managed to cope with the goal. After that, the king instructed him to clean the stables, promising a tenth of the state. He did it. Then Avgiy was angry that he could not fulfill the instructions of Ephrystheus and deceived Hercules, for which he lost his head.

The 7th feat of Hercules provides for a battle on the island of Crete. In this place, King Minos saved his people from the curse of Poseidon for a long time. Once 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 really interesting and instructive feat of Hercules from 12 famous adventures. Talks about the most unpleasant mission for a demigod. This time, the king told him to steal the horses, which attracted even the gods. Hercules was angry for a long time, but did not go against the will of the king.

In order to get horses in an honest way, Hercules went to the kingdom of the dead, from where he brought his late wife to the king. Thus, he managed to offer a compromise and deliver valuable horses to his dastardly king.

It is time to consider the 9 feat of the 12 adventures of Hercules. For a long time, Ephrystheus' daughter asked for the belt of Hippolyta herself. So I decided to remember the vile enemy of Hercules about the request of his daughter. Then he decided to send his son Zeus to the 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 the belt by the god of war - 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 did not dare to put on herself.

Continuation of the review of the largest telescopes in the world, begun in

The diameter of the main mirror is over 6 meters.

See also the location of the largest telescopes and observatories on

Multimirror Telescope

The tower of the Multimirror Telescope with Comet Hale-Bopp in the background. Mount Hopkins (USA).

Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT). Located in the observatory "Mount Hopkins" in the state of Arizona, (USA) on Mount Hopkins at an altitude of 2606 meters. The mirror diameter is 6.5 meters. Started working with the new mirror on May 17, 2000.

In fact, this telescope was built in 1979, but then its lens was made of six mirrors of 1.8 meters each, which is equivalent to one mirror with a diameter of 4.5 meters. At the time of construction, it was the third most powerful telescope in the world after BTA-6 and Hale (see previous post).

Years passed, technology improved, and already in the 90s it became clear that by investing a relatively small amount of money, it was possible to replace 6 separate mirrors with one large one. Moreover, this will not require significant changes in the design of the telescope and tower, and the amount of light collected by the lens will increase by as much as 2.13 times.

Multiple Mirror Telescope before (left) and after (right) reconstruction.

This work was completed by May 2000. A 6.5 meter mirror was installed, as well as systems active and adaptive optics. This is not a solid, but a segmented mirror, consisting of precisely fitted 6-angle segments, so the name of the telescope did not have to be changed. Is that sometimes they began to add the prefix "new".

The new MMT, in addition to seeing 2.13 times fainter stars, has a 400 times larger field of view. So, the work was clearly not in vain.

Active and adaptive optics

System active optics allows using special drives installed under the main mirror to compensate for the deformation of the mirror during the rotation of the telescope.

Adaptive optics, by tracking the distortion of the light of artificial stars in the atmosphere created using lasers, and the corresponding curvature of auxiliary mirrors, compensates for atmospheric distortions.

Magellan telescopes

Telescopes of Magellan. Chile. Located at a distance of 60 m from each other, they can work in the interferometer mode.

Magellan Telescopes- two telescopes - "Magellan-1" and "Magellan-2", with mirrors of 6.5 meters in diameter. Located in Chile, at the observatory "Las Campanas" at an altitude of 2400 km. In addition to the common name, each of them also has its own name - the first, named after the German astronomer Walter Baade, began work on September 15, 2000, the second, named after Landon Clay, an American philanthropist, went into operation on September 7, 2002.

Las Campanas Observatory is located two hours by car from the city of La Serena. This is a very good place for the location of the observatory, both due to the relatively high altitude above sea level, and due to the remoteness from settlements and sources of dust. Two twin telescopes "Magellan-1" and "Magellan-2", operating both separately and in the interferometer mode (as a whole) are currently the main instruments of the observatory (there are also one 2.5-meter and two 1- meter reflectors).

Giant Magellanic Telescope (GMT). Project. The implementation date is 2016.

On March 23, 2012, the construction of the Giant Magellanic Telescope (GMT) began with a spectacular explosion of the top of one of the nearest mountains. The top of the mountain has been demolished to make way for a new telescope due to start operating in 2016.

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) will consist of seven mirrors of 8.4 meters each, which is equivalent to one mirror with a diameter of 24 meters, for which it has already been nicknamed "Seven Eyes". Of all the projects for huge telescopes, this one (as of 2012) is the only one that has moved from the planning stage to practical construction.

Gemini telescopes

Gemini North telescope tower. Hawaii. Volcano Mauna Kea (4200 m). Gemini South. Chile. Mount Serra Pachon (2700 m).

Also two twin telescopes, only each of the "brothers" is located in a different part of the world. The first - "Gemini North" - in Hawaii, on top of an extinct volcano Mauna Kea (height 4200 m). The second - "Gemini South", is located in Chile on Mount Serra Pachon (height 2700 m).

Both telescopes are identical, their mirror diameters are 8.1 meters, they were built in 2000 and belong to the Gemini Observatory, operated by a consortium of 7 countries.

Since the telescopes of the observatory are located in different hemispheres of the Earth, the entire starry sky is available for observation by this observatory. In addition, telescope control systems are adapted for remote operation via the Internet, so astronomers do not have to travel far from one telescope to another.

North Gemini. View inside the tower.

Each of the mirrors of these telescopes is made up of 42 hexagonal pieces that have been soldered and polished. The telescopes use systems of active (120 drives) and adaptive optics, a special mirror silvering system, which provides a unique image quality in the infrared range, a multi-object spectroscopy system, in general, “full stuffing” of the most modern technologies. All this makes the Gemini Observatory one of the most advanced astronomical laboratories to date.

Subaru telescope

Japanese telescope "Subaru". Hawaii.

"Subaru" in Japanese means "Pleiades", the name of this beautiful star cluster is known to everyone, even a beginner, lover of astronomy. Subaru Telescope belongs Japan National Astronomical Observatory, but located in Hawaii, on the territory of the Observatory mauna kea, at an altitude of 4139 m, that is, next to the northern "Gemini". The diameter of its main mirror is 8.2 meters. "First Light" saw in 1999.

Its main mirror is the world's largest single mirror telescope, but it is relatively thin - 20 cm, it weighs "only" 22.8 tons. This allows you to effectively use the most accurate active optics system of 261 drives. Each drive transmits its force to the mirror, giving it a perfect surface in any position, which allows you to achieve almost the highest image quality today.

A telescope with such characteristics is simply obliged to "see" hitherto unknown miracles in the universe. Indeed, with its help, the most distant galaxy known to date (a distance of 12.9 billion light years), the largest structure in the universe, an object 200 million light years long, probably the embryo of a future cloud of galaxies, 8 new satellites of Saturn .. This telescope also "particularly excelled" in the search for exoplanets and photographing protoplanetary clouds (in some pictures even clusters of protoplanets are visible).

Hobby-Eberle Telescope

Observatory McDonald. Hobby-Eberle Telescope. USA. Texas.

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET)- located in the USA McDonald Observatory. The observatory is located on Mount Folks, at an altitude of 2072 m. Started work - December 1996. The effective aperture of the main mirror is 9.2 m. (Actually, the mirror has a size of 10x11 m, but the light-receiving devices located in the focal point cut off the edges to a diameter of 9.2 meters.)

Despite the large diameter of the main mirror of this telescope, Hobby-Eberle can be classified as a low-budget project - it cost only 13.5 million US dollars. This is not much, for example, the same Subaru cost its creators about 100 million rubles.

It was possible to save the budget thanks to several design features:

• Firstly, this telescope was conceived as a spectrograph, and for spectral observations a spherical rather than a parabolic primary mirror is sufficient, which is much simpler and cheaper to manufacture.
• Secondly, the main mirror is not solid, but composed of 91 identical segments (since its shape is spherical), which also greatly reduces the cost of construction.
• Thirdly, the main mirror is at a fixed angle to the horizon (55°) and can only rotate 360° around its own axis. This eliminates the need to supply the mirror with a complex shape correction system (active optics), since its angle of inclination does not change.

But despite such a fixed position of the main mirror, this optical instrument covers 70% of the celestial sphere due to the movement of the 8-ton light receiver module in the focal region. After aiming at the object, the main mirror remains stationary, and only the focal node moves. The time of continuous tracking of the object is from 45 minutes at the horizon to 2 hours in the upper part of the sky.

Due to its specialization (spectrography), the telescope is successfully used, for example, to search for exoplanets or to measure the speed of rotation of space objects.

Large South African Telescope

Large South African Telescope. SALT. SOUTH AFRICA.

Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)- located in South Africa South African Astronomical Observatory 370 km northeast of Cape Town. The observatory is located on the dry Karoo plateau, at an altitude of 1783 m. The first light is September 2005. The dimensions of the mirror are 11x9.8 m.

The government of the South African Republic, inspired by the cheapness of the HET telescope, decided to build its analogue in order to keep up with other developed countries in the study of the universe. By 2005, the construction was completed, the entire project budget amounted to 20 million US dollars, half of which went to the telescope itself, the other half to the building and infrastructure.

Since the SALT telescope is almost a complete analog of the HET, everything that was said above about the HET applies to it as well.

But, of course, some modernization was not done without - it mainly touched on the correction of the spherical aberration of the mirror and an increase in the field of view, thanks to which, in addition to working in the spectrograph mode, this telescope is capable of obtaining excellent photographs of objects with a resolution of up to 0.6″. This device is not equipped with adaptive optics (probably the South African government did not have enough money).

By the way, the mirror of this telescope, the largest in the southern hemisphere of our planet, was made at the Lytkarino Optical Glass Plant, that is, at the same one as the mirror of the BTA-6 telescope, the largest in Russia.

The largest telescope in the world

Great Canary Telescope

Tower of the Great Canary Telescope. Canary Islands (Spain).

The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC)- located on top of the extinct volcano Muchachos on the island of La Palma in the north-west of the Canary archipelago, at an altitude of 2396 m. The diameter of the main mirror is 10.4 m (area - 74 sq.m.).

The observatory is called Roque de los Muchachos. Spain, Mexico and the University of Florida took part in the creation of the GTC. This project cost US$176 million, of which 51% was paid by Spain.

The mirror of the Large Canary Telescope with a diameter of 10.4 meters, composed of 36 hexagonal segments - the largest existing in the world today(2012). Made by analogy with Keck telescopes.

..and it looks like GTC will hold the lead in this parameter until a telescope with a mirror 4 times larger in diameter is built in Chile on Mount Armazones (3,500 m) - “Extremely Large Telescope”(European Extremely Large Telescope), or the 30-meter telescope will not be built in Hawaii(Thirty Meter Telescope). Which of these two competing projects will be implemented faster is unknown, but according to the plan, both of them should be completed by 2018, which looks more doubtful for the first project than for the second.

Of course, there are also 11 meter mirrors of the HET and SALT telescopes, but as mentioned above, out of 11 meters, only 9.2 m are effectively used.

Although this is the largest telescope in the world in terms of mirror size, it cannot be called the most powerful in terms of optical characteristics, since there are multi-mirror systems in the world that surpass the GTC in their vigilance. They will be discussed further.

Large Binocular Telescope

Tower of the Large Binocular Telescope. USA. Arizona.

(Large Binocular Telescope - LBT)- located on Mount Graham (height 3.3 km.) in Arizona (USA). Belongs to the International Observatory Mount Graham. Its construction cost 120 million dollars, money was invested by the United States, Italy and Germany. LBT is an optical system of two mirrors with a diameter of 8.4 meters, which is equivalent in light sensitivity to one mirror with a diameter of 11.8 m. In 2004, LBT "opened one eye", in 2005 a second mirror was installed. But only since 2008 it has been working in binocular mode and in interferometer mode.

Large Binocular Telescope. Scheme.

The centers of the mirrors are at a distance of 14.4 meters, which makes the resolution of the telescope equivalent to 22 meters, which is almost 10 times greater than that of the famous Hubble Space Telescope. The total area of ​​the mirrors is 111 square meters. m., that is, as much as 37 sq. m more than the GTC.

Of course, if we compare LBT with multi-telescope systems, such as Keck or VLT telescopes, which can operate in the interferometer mode with larger baselines (distance between components) than LBT and, accordingly, give even higher resolution, then the Large Binocular Telescope will be inferior to them in terms of this indicator. But comparing interferometers with ordinary telescopes is not entirely correct, since they cannot provide photographs of extended objects at such a resolution.

Since both LBT mirrors send light to a common focus, that is, they are part of one optical device, unlike telescopes, which will be discussed later, plus this giant binoculars have the latest active and adaptive optics systems, it can be argued that The Large Binocular Telescope is the most advanced optical instrument in the world today.

Telescopes by William Keck

Telescope towers by William Keck. Hawaii.

Keck I and Keck II- Another pair of twin telescopes. Location - Hawaii observatory Mauna Kea, on the top of the Mauna Kea volcano (height 4139 m), that is, in the same place where the Japanese telescope "Subaru" and "Gemini North". The first Keck was inaugurated in May 1993, the second in 1996.

The diameter of the main mirror of each of them is 10 meters, that is, each of them individually is the second largest telescope in the world after the Great Canary, quite slightly inferior to the latter in size, but surpassing it in "vigorance", thanks to the ability to work in pairs, and also higher above sea level. Each of them is capable of giving an angular resolution of up to 0.04 arcseconds, and working together, in the interferometer mode with a base of 85 meters, up to 0.005″.

The parabolic mirrors of these telescopes are composed of 36 hexagonal segments, each of which is equipped with a special computer-controlled support system. The first photograph was taken back in 1990, when the first Keck had only 9 segments, it was a photograph of the spiral galaxy NGC1232.

Very Large Telescope

Very Large Telescope. Chile.

Very Large Telescope (VLT). Location - Mount Paranal (2635 m) in the Atacama Desert in the mountain range of the Chilean Andes. Accordingly, the observatory is called Paranalskaya, it belongs to European Southern Observatory (ESO), including 9 European countries.

VLT is a system of four telescopes of 8.2 meters each, and four additional 1.8 meters each. The first of the main instruments came into operation in 1999, the last one - in 2002, and later - auxiliary ones. After that, for several more years, work was carried out to adjust the interferometric mode, the instruments were first connected in pairs, then all together.

At present, telescopes can operate in the coherent interferometer mode with a baseline of about 300 meters and a resolution of up to 10 microarcseconds. Also, in the mode of a single incoherent telescope, collecting light into one receiver through a system of underground tunnels, while the aperture ratio of such a system is equivalent to one device with a mirror diameter of 16.4 meters.

Naturally, each of the telescopes can work separately, taking photographs of the starry sky with an exposure of up to 1 hour, which show stars up to the 30th magnitude.

The first direct photo of an exoplanet, near the star 2M1207 in the constellation of Centaurus. Received on VLT in 2004.

The material and technical equipment of the Paranal Observatory is the most advanced in the world. It is more difficult to say which instruments for observing the universe are not here than to list which ones are. These are spectrographs of various types, as well as radiation receivers from the ultraviolet to the infrared range, as well as all possible types.

As mentioned above, the VLT system can work as a whole, but this is a very expensive mode, so it is rarely used. More often, to work in the interferometric mode, each of the large telescopes is paired with its 1.8-meter assistant (Auxiliary Telescope - AT). Each of the auxiliary telescopes can move along the rails relative to its "boss", taking the most advantageous position for observing this object.

All this makes VLT is the most powerful optical system in the world, and ESO is the most advanced astronomical observatory in the world, it is a real paradise for astronomers. A lot of astronomical discoveries were made on the VLT, as well as previously impossible observations, for example, the world's first direct image of an exoplanet was obtained.