Date of creation: -.

Genre: myth.

Topic: -.

Idea: -.

Issues. -.

Main heroes: Hercules, Augius.

Plot. The tenth task of Eurystheus for Hercules was the cleaning of the barnyard, which belonged to the king of Elis - Avgiy. He was the son of the god Helios. The powerful father gave Avgius incredible wealth. Among them stood out a huge herd, consisting of three hundred bulls with snow-white legs and two hundred red bulls. Twelve white bulls were considered the main decoration of the herd. One animal possessed incredible beauty, which was compared to the radiance of a star. There were ten times more cows in the herd. Every year the herd gave a generous offspring. Augeas is obsessed with his bulls. He constantly tried to count them, but got lost. During this time, the barnyard began to literally drown in manure, but no one undertook this titanic work. Eurystheus learned about this from an unpleasant smell that spread throughout the Greek peninsula. The king has long appreciated the strength and wisdom of Zeus, who coped with any assignments. Having ordered to "fight" with manure, Eurystheus wanted to humiliate the hero.

Hercules appeared before Avgiy and offered him the following condition. If the son of Zeus can do all the work in one day, then in return he will receive a tenth of a large herd. Augeas did not imagine that one person could clean up his household in such a short time, so he gladly agreed.

Hercules broke the barnyard fence and dug a deep canal. Water from the rivers Alfea and Peneia rushed through this channel. A powerful double water stream quickly picked up all the manure and carried it away with it. Hercules had only to wall up the holes in the wall. When the son of Zeus reported to Augius about the work done, the king did not believe him at first. Arriving at the barnyard and seeing the canal, Avgiy declared that it was dishonest. He said that water "worked" instead of Hercules and refused to issue a reward. The cunning hero had to be returned to Mycenae empty-handed.

Review of the product. In our time, the sixth feat of the son of Zeus looks rather strange. The fact is that in ancient Greece, cattle breeding played a huge role in economic life. Even illustrious warriors in peacetime were not at all shy about doing the dirtiest work. Therefore, cleaning the vast barnyard in the eyes of the ancient Greek was really a great feat.

FROM THE DEEP OF THE CENTURIES

ANIMAL FARM OF KING AUGIA

You already know that the most beloved hero of the ancient Greeks was Hercules, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Traditionally, he was depicted as tall, powerful, dressed in a lion skin and armed with a huge club. The myths tell that the cowardly and arrogant king Eurystheus, wishing the death of Hercules, gave him all sorts of incredible tasks. Fulfilling them, Hercules carried out twelve labors, in particular, he defeated a giant lion and a nine-headed hydra, caught a golden-horned doe and tamed a cannibal boar. You will learn about these and other exploits of the most famous hero of Hellas by reading the myths about Hercules.

MYTHS ABOUT HERCULES

(sixth feat)

Soon, Eurystheus gave a new assignment to Hercules. He had to clear the entire barnyard of Avgius, king of Elis2, 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 were three hundred bulls with snow-white legs, two hundred bulls were faceted, 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. Heracles suggested that Avgius 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 Hercules had to return to Tiryns with nothing.

1 Hydra is a snake-like monster with poisonous breath that lived in underground waters.

2 Elis is an ancient region in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula (Greece).

Lysippos. Heracles fighting a lion (IV BC)

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 Games1, which have been held since then by all Greeks every four years on the sacred plain planted by Hercules himself dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena.

Hercules took revenge on all the allies of Avgius. 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, Periclymen sat on 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.

Retelling of Nikolai Kun

Read, think, discuss...

1. Tell us how Hercules managed to clear the barnyard of King Augeas in one day.

2. Do you agree that this act of Hercules can be called a feat? Justify your thought.

3. For what did Hercules subsequently avenge the king of Elis?

4. What is the mythical origin of the Olympic Games? How does this tradition develop in the modern world?

The Olympic Games are the most important of the all-Greek festivals, during which universal peace was declared throughout the state. A few months before the games, ambassadors were sent out all over 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 riding. The winners received an olive wreath as a reward and enjoyed great honor. The tradition, born in Ancient Greece, went beyond the borders of one country. The modern Olympic Games are international competitions that bring together athletes from all over the world.

5. What new about the character of the famous hero of Hellas did you learn thanks to this myth?

6. Read the material under the heading “Readers of the 21st century for a note”. Why do you think the phrase “Augean stables” has become a catch phrase?

Note to 21st century reader

From the glyphs, a lot of winged layers and expressions came to us, which are still quite often used in both Russian and Ukrainian. As if on wings, they flew from one country to another, from antiquity to the present. Some of them are connected with the myths about Hercules, So, when it comes to the terrible pollution of the place or the extreme neglect of the business, the expression Shavgius stables comes to the rescue. Why the stables? As you noticed, in the retelling of the glyph you read, we are talking about the barnyard. However, there are other versions of this story, in which King Augeas is presented as the owner not of a herd of bulls, but of a huge taboo on horses.

And why some people are said to be evil, like Kerberos, ”you will find out by reading the following myth.

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“The Animal Farm of King Avgiy” is the sixth feat of Hercules, about which the myths of ancient Greece tell us. In order to get to know the sixth feat of Hercules, which is called the "Animal Farm of King Avgiy", we offer a summary for your consideration.

The feat of Hercules, the barnyard of King Avgiy

So, Hercules was entrusted with another task, to which he was sent by Eurystheus. Now Hercules was entrusted with the dirty work, because he was ordered to clean the barnyard of the king of Elis, Avgii. Augeus is the son of Helios, who kept a large number of cattle. In their number he calculated his wealth. There were so many animals that they did not have time to remove the manure, but he also did not want to part with the bulls. The whole barnyard was covered with manure, one can only imagine what aromas hovered in the area. So Hercules had to clean and clean everything.

When he came to Avgiy and offered his services, saying that he would put everything in order in a day, Augius, in joy, promised to give Hercules a tenth of the bulls. But he gave his promises only because he was sure that Hercules could not cope. But Hercules was savvy. He removed the opposite walls of the barnyard, directing the course of two rivers into the courtyard, which washed everything away with their water. Hercules had only to lay the walls, which he did. However, when Avgiy saw the result of the work, he refused to give up the bulls, explaining that it was not Hercules who removed everything, but the rivers were all cleared. Hercules had to return home without the promised reward, but the offense remained.

After a while, when the service with Eurystheus ended, Hercules took revenge on the son of Helios, returning to the possessions of Avgii with an army. Here Hercules kills Avgii, and having collected the booty, he sacrificed to the gods of Olympia, after which he became the founder of the Olympic Games. By the way, revenge did not bypass the allies of the king of Elis, among whom was Neleus, the king of Pylos. Hercules did not spare either him or his sons, except for Nestor, who remained to live, later glorifying his name with his exploits.

The exploits of Hercules and a brief retelling of the sixth feat “Animal Farm of King Augeas” introduces you to the plot and will help you in the future in literature lessons.

Establishment of competition among athletes
The last monsters that Hercules destroyed were the Stymphalian birds. The reign of Eurystheus did not extend to the entire Peloponnese, and even more so to the whole of Hellas. The hero decided that his service with the king was over. But he could no longer live without adventure. Therefore, he was very pleased with the arrival of the herald. Koprey announced a new task to him. Hercules needed to clean the Augean stables of manure. These stables belonged to the king of Elis, Avgii.

Iolaus, a friend of Hercules, considered that this task was simply insulting for a hero who fought monsters. Hercules himself did not foresee anything offensive in the task, but on the contrary decided that there was some kind of catch in the task.

Augeas was the owner of a very large number of horses. The stables were located in the valley of the Alpheus River and horses grazed in the meadows there. The stables of Avgeas had never been cleaned in their lives and were overflowing with manure.
Arriving in Elis, the son of Zeus promised the ruler that he would clean the stables in a day. For his work, Augius demanded a tenth of his horses. Avgiy laughed at Hercules, but accepted his offer. The king was very greedy. Agreeing to give a tenth of his herd, he believed that the task was impossible. And if Hercules can not cope, then all the horses will remain with him.

The hero took the shovel that he demanded from the king and began to work hard with the shovel. He worked half a day: he diverted the waters of the river to the stables, having previously dammed up its bed. Water gushed, precisely into the stables, carrying away manure, feeders, stalls and even rotten walls. After the premises were cleared, Hercules went to Avgiy, to report on the work done and to receive the promised. Avgiy, not wanting to fulfill his promise, ordered his nephews to kill the hero. But how could ordinary people cope with the son of Zeus. Even the trap they set up didn't help. Relatives of Avgiy were killed by Hercules.

The son of the Thunderer, angry with the iniquity of the king of Elis, went to him and challenged him to a duel. In a fair duel, Hercules took the life of the king.

The people of Elis asked Hercules to become their ruler. He did not accept the proposals of the people of Elis. Explaining that he fought against injustice, not for power. At the same time, he recalled that they have a legitimate ruler - the son of Avgiy.

Hercules left the kingdom of Elis. He sacrificed to Zeus and organized sports games in his honor.
The gods of ancient Greece were considered the Olympian gods. The Greeks thought that the gods lived on Mount Olympus.
The first Olympic Games were first held in the eighth century BC (776). They went to Olympia and were dedicated to the Greek gods. These games were both religious festivals and sports competitions.

At the time of the games it was forbidden to perform military operations. The country that violated the truce was forbidden to participate in the games for a long time. So Sparta, violating the ban, attacked the neighboring state. For this, she was deprived of the right to participate in sports for 20 years. The Olympic Games were held every four years. They competed in various sports: chariot racing, pentathlon, javelin and discus throwing. The first Olympic champions, in ancient Greece, was a resident of the city of Elis. But there is one caveat that only men could attend the competition.

Eurystheus soon 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. Heracles suggested that Avgius 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 Hercules 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 planted by Hercules himself dedicated to the goddess Pallas Athena.

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.

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