Mythological heroes and their exploits. Heroes of ancient myths
Heroes were born from marriages of Olympian gods with mortals. They were endowed with superhuman capabilities and enormous strength, but did not have immortality. Heroes performed all sorts of feats with the help of their divine parents. They were supposed to fulfill the will of the gods on earth, to bring justice and order into people's lives. Heroes were highly revered in Ancient Greece, legends about them were passed down from generation to generation.
The concept of a heroic act did not always include military valor. Some heroes, indeed, are great warriors, others are healers, others are great travelers, others are just husbands of goddesses, others are ancestors of nations, others are prophets, etc. Greek heroes are not immortal, but their posthumous fate is unusual. Some heroes of Greece live after death on the Isles of the Blessed, others on the island of Levka or even on Olympus. It was believed that most heroes who fell in battle or died as a result of dramatic events were buried in the ground. The tombs of heroes - heroons - were places of their worship. Often, there were graves of the same hero in different places in Greece.
Read more about the characters from Mikhail Gasparov’s book “Entertaining Greece”
In Thebes they talked about the hero Cadmus, the founder of Cadmeia, the winner of the terrible cave dragon. In Argos they talked about the hero Perseus, who, at the end of the world, cut off the head of the monstrous Gorgon, from whose gaze people turned to stone, and then defeated the sea monster - Whale. In Athens they talked about the hero Theseus, who freed central Greece from evil robbers, and then in Crete killed the bull-headed cannibal Minotaur, who was sitting in a palace with intricate passages - the Labyrinth; he did not get lost in the Labyrinth because he held on to the thread that was given to him by the Cretan princess Ariadne, who later became the wife of the god Dionysus. In the Peloponnese (named after another hero, Pelops), they talked about the twin heroes Castor and Polydeuces, who later became the patron gods of horsemen and fighters. The hero Jason conquered the sea: on the ship “Argo” with his Argonaut friends, he brought to Greece from the eastern edge of the world the “golden fleece” - the skin of a golden ram that came down from heaven. The hero Daedalus, the builder of the Labyrinth, conquered the sky: on wings made of bird feathers, fastened with wax, he flew from captivity in Crete to his native Athens, although his son Icarus, flying with him, could not stay in the air and died.
The main hero, the real savior of the gods, was Hercules, the son of Zeus. He was not just a mortal man - he was a forced mortal man who served a weak and cowardly king for twelve years. On his orders, Hercules performed twelve famous labors. The first were victories over monsters from the outskirts of Argos - a stone lion and a multi-headed hydra snake, in which, instead of each severed head, several new ones grew. The last were victories over the dragon of the Far West, who guarded the golden apples of eternal youth (it was on the way to him that Hercules dug the Strait of Gibraltar, and the mountains on its sides began to be called the Pillars of Hercules), and over the three-headed dog Cerberus, who guarded the terrible kingdom of the dead. And after that he was called to his main task: he became a participant in the great war of the Olympians with the rebellious younger gods, the giants - in the Gigantomachy. The giants threw mountains at the gods, the gods struck the giants, some with lightning, some with a rod, some with a trident, the giants fell, but not killed, but only stunned. Then Hercules hit them with arrows from his bow, and they did not get up again. Thus, man helped the gods defeat their most terrible enemies.
But gigantomachy was only the penultimate danger that threatened the omnipotence of the Olympians. Hercules also saved them from the last danger. In his wanderings to the ends of the earth, he saw chained Prometheus on a Caucasian rock, tormented by Zeus's eagle, took pity on him and killed the eagle with an arrow. In gratitude for this, Prometheus revealed to him the last secret of fate: let Zeus not seek the love of the sea goddess Thetis, because the son that Thetis gives birth to will be stronger than his father - and if it is the son of Zeus, he will overthrow Zeus. Zeus obeyed: Thetis was married not to a god, but to a mortal hero, and they had a son, Achilles. And with this began the decline of the heroic age.
Famous heroes of the ancient world
Agamemnon is one of the main characters of the ancient Greek epic, the son of the Mycenaean king Atreus and Aeropa, the leader of the Greek army during the Trojan War.
Amphitryon is the son of the Tirinthian king Alcaeus and the daughter of Pelops Astydamia, the grandson of Perseus. Amphitryon took part in the war against the TV fighters who lived on the island of Taphos, which was waged by his uncle, the Mycenaean king Electryon.
Achilles is one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology, the son of King Peleus, the king of the myrmidons and the sea goddess Thetis, the grandson of Aeacus, the main character of the Iliad.
Ajax is the name of two participants in the Trojan War; both fought at Troy as suitors for Helen's hand. In the Iliad they often appear hand in hand and are compared to two mighty lions or bulls.
Bellerophon is one of the main characters of the older generation, the son of the Corinthian king Glaucus (according to other sources, the god Poseidon), the grandson of Sisyphus. Bellerophon's original name was Hipponou.
Hector is one of the main heroes of the Trojan War. The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy. According to legend, he killed the first Greek to set foot on the soil of Troy.
Hercules is the national hero of the Greeks. Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Gifted with mighty strength, he performed the most difficult work on earth and accomplished great feats. Having atoned for his sins, he ascended Olympus and achieved immortality.
Diomedes is the son of the Aetolian king Tydeus and the daughter of Adrasta Deipila. Together with Adrastus, he took part in the campaign and destruction of Thebes. As one of Helen's suitors, Diomedes subsequently fought at Troy, leading a militia on 80 ships.
Meleager is the hero of Aetolia, the son of the Calydonian king Oeneus and Alphea, the husband of Cleopatra. Participant of the Argonauts' campaign. Meleager's greatest fame came from his participation in the Calydonian hunt.
Menelaus is the king of Sparta, the son of Atreus and Aerope, the husband of Helen, the younger brother of Agamemnon. Menelaus, with the help of Agamemnon, gathered friendly kings for the Ilion campaign, and he himself deployed sixty ships.
Odysseus - “angry”, king of the island of Ithaca, son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope. Odysseus is a famous hero of the Trojan War, also famous for his wanderings and adventures.
Orpheus is the famous singer of the Thracians, the son of the river god Eager and the muse Calliope, the husband of the nymph Eurydice, who set trees and rocks in motion with his songs.
Patroclus is the son of one of the Argonauts Menoetius, a relative and ally of Achilles in the Trojan War. As a boy, he killed his friend while playing dice, for which his father sent him to Peleus in Phthia, where he was raised with Achilles.
Peleus is the son of the Aeginean king Aeacus and Endeis, the husband of Antigone. For the murder of his half-brother Phocus, who defeated Peleus in athletic exercises, he was expelled by his father and retired to Phthia.
Pelops is the king and national hero of Phrygia, and then the Peloponnese. Son of Tantalus and the nymph Euryanassa. Pelops grew up on Olympus in the company of the gods and was the favorite of Poseidon.
Perseus is the son of Zeus and Danae, daughter of the Argive king Acrisius. The winner of the Gorgon Medusa and the savior of Andromeda from the claims of the dragon.
Talthybius - a messenger, a Spartan, together with Eurybates, was Agamemnon’s herald, carrying out his instructions. Talthybius, together with Odysseus and Menelaus, gathered an army for the Trojan War.
Teucer is the son of Telamon and the daughter of the Trojan king Hesione. The best archer in the Greek army at Troy, where over thirty defenders of Ilion fell at his hands.
Theseus is the son of the Athenian king Aeneas and Ethera. He became famous for a number of exploits, like Hercules; kidnapped Elena along with Peirifoy.
Trophonius was originally a chthonic deity, identical with Zeus the Underground. According to popular belief, Trophonius was the son of Apollo or Zeus, the brother of Agamedes, and the pet of the earth goddess Demeter.
Phoroneus is the founder of the Argive state, the son of the river god Inachus and the hamadryad Melia. He was revered as a national hero; Sacrifices were performed at his grave.
Thrasimedes is the son of the Pylos king Nestor, who arrived with his father and brother Antilochus near Ilion. He commanded fifteen ships and took part in many battles.
Oedipus is the son of the Finnish king Laius and Jocasta. Killed his father and married his mother without knowing it. When the crime was discovered, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself. Died pursued by the Erinyes.
Aeneas is the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, a relative of Priam, a hero of the Trojan War. Aeneas, like Achilles among the Greeks, is the son of a beautiful goddess, the favorite of the gods; in battles he was protected by Aphrodite and Apollo.
Jason, the son of Aison, on behalf of Pelias, set out from Thessaly for the Golden Fleece to Colchis, for which he prepared a campaign for the Argonauts.
The Encyclopedia of Mythology website contains more than two hundred and fifty articles about famous heroes and legendary personalities of the ancient world, which can be found in our mythological dictionary.
A hero is the son or descendant of a deity and a mortal man. In Homer, a hero is usually called a brave warrior (in the Iliad) or a noble man with glorious ancestors (in the Odyssey). For the first time, Hesiod calls the “kind of heroes” created by Zeus “demigods” (h m i q e o i, Orr. 158-160). In the dictionary of Hesychius of Alexandria (VI century) the concept hero explained as “powerful, strong, noble, significant” (Hesych. v. h r o z). Modern etymologists give different interpretations of this word, highlighting, however, the function of protection, patronage (root ser-, variant swer-, wer-, cf. Lat. servare, “protect”, “save”), and also bringing it closer to the name of the goddess Hera - H r a).
The history of the heroes belongs to the so-called classical or Olympian period of Greek mythology (2nd millennium BC, flourishing in the 2nd millennium BC), associated with the strengthening of patriarchy and the rise of Mycenaean Greece. The Olympian gods, who overthrew the Titans, in the fight against the pre-Olympic world of monstrous creatures of mother earth - Gaia, create generations of heroes by marrying into the mortal race. There are so-called catalogs of heroes indicating their parents and place of birth (Hes. Theog. 240-1022; frg. 1-153; Apoll. Rhod. I 23-233). Sometimes the hero does not know his father, is raised by his mother and goes on a quest, performing feats along the way.
The hero is called upon to carry out the will of the Olympians on earth among people, ordering life and introducing justice, measure, and laws into it, despite the ancient spontaneity and disharmony. Usually the hero is endowed with exorbitant strength and superhuman capabilities, but he is deprived of immortality, which remains the privilege of a deity. Hence the inconsistency and contradiction between the limited capabilities of a mortal being and the desire of the heroes to establish themselves in immortality. There are known myths about the attempts of the gods to make heroes immortal; Thus, Thetis tempers Achilles in fire, burning out everything mortal in him and anointing him with ambrosia (Apollod. III 13, 6), or Demeter, patronizing the Athenian kings, tempers their son Demophon (Hymn. Hom. V 239-262). In both cases, the goddesses are hindered by unreasonable mortal parents (Peleus is the father of Achilles, Metanira is the mother of Demophon).
The desire to disrupt the original balance of the forces of death and the immortal world is fundamentally unsuccessful and is punished by Zeus. Thus, Asclepius, the son of Apollo and the mortal nymph Coronis, who tried to resurrect people, that is, to grant them immortality, was struck by the lightning of Zeus (Apollod. III 10, 3-4). Hercules stole the apples of the Hesperides, which bestow eternal youth, but then Athena returned them to their place (Apollod. II 5, 11). Orpheus's attempt to bring Eurydice back to life is unsuccessful (Apollod. I 3, 2).
The impossibility of personal immortality is compensated in the heroic world by exploits and glory (immortality) among descendants. The personality of the heroes is mostly of a dramatic nature, since the life of one hero is not enough to realize the plans of the gods. Therefore, myths reinforce the idea of the suffering of a heroic person and the endless overcoming of trials and difficulties. Heroes are often persecuted by a hostile deity (for example, Hercules is pursued by Hera, Apollod II 4, 8) and depends on a weak, insignificant person through whom the hostile deity acts (for example, Hercules is subordinate to Eurystheus).
It takes more than one generation to create a great hero. Zeus marries mortal women three times (Io, Danae and Alcmene), so that after thirty generations (Aeschylus “Chained Prometheus”, 770 next) Hercules is born, among whose ancestors were Danaus, Perseus and other sons and descendants of Zeus. Thus, there is an increase in heroic power, reaching its apotheosis in the myths about pan-Greek heroes, such as Hercules.
Early heroism - the exploits of heroes destroying monsters: the fight of Perseus with the gorgon, Bellerophon with the chimera, a series of labors of Hercules, the pinnacle of which is the fight with Hades (Apollod. II 7, 3). Late heroism is associated with the intellectualization of heroes, their cultural functions (the skilled craftsman Daedalus or the builders of the Theban walls Zet and Amphion). Among the heroes are singers and musicians who have mastered the magic of words and rhythm, tamers of the elements (Orpheus), soothsayers (Tiresias, Kalkhant, Trophonius), riddle solvers (Oedipus), cunning and inquisitive (Odysseus), legislators (Theseus). Regardless of the nature of heroism, the exploits of heroes are always accompanied by the help of a divine parent (Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon) or a god whose functions are close to the character of a particular hero (wise Athena helps smart Odysseus). Often, the rivalry of the gods and their fundamental difference from each other affects the fate of the hero (the death of Hippolytus as a result of a dispute between Aphrodite and Artemis; violent Poseidon pursues Odysseus in defiance of the wise Athena; Hera, the patroness of monogamy, hates Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene).
Often heroes experience a painful death (self-immolation of Hercules), die at the hands of a treacherous villain (Theseus), or at the will of a hostile deity (Hyakinthos, Orpheus, Hippolytus). At the same time, the exploits and sufferings of the heroes are considered as a kind of test, the reward for which comes after death. Hercules gains immortality on Olympus, having received the goddess Hebe as his wife (Hes. Theog. 950-955). However, according to another version, Hercules himself is on Olympus, and his shadow wanders in Hades (Hom. Od. XI 601-604), which indicates the duality and instability of the deification of heroes. Achilles, killed near Troy, then ends up on the island of Levka (analogous to the islands of the blessed), where he marries Helen (Paus. III 19, 11-13) or with Medea in the Champs Elysees (Apoll. Rhod. IV 811-814), Menelaus ( son-in-law of Zeus), without experiencing death, is transferred to the Elysian Fields (Hom. Od. IV 561 -568). Hesiod considers it obligatory for most heroes to move to the islands of the blessed (Orr. 167-173). The son of Apollo, Asclepius, killed by the lightning of Zeus, is thought of as a hypostasis of Apollo, acquires the divine functions of a healer, and his cult even supplants the cult of his father Apollo in Epidaurus. The only hero is the demigod Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele, who becomes a deity during his lifetime; but this transformation of him into a god is prepared by the birth, death and resurrection of Zagreus - the archaic hypostasis of Dionysus, the son of Zeus of Crete and the goddess Persephone (Nonn. Dion. VI 155-388). In the song of the Elean women, the god Dionysus is addressed as Dionysus the Hero. (Anthologia lyrica graeca, ed. Diehl, Lips., 1925, II p. 206, frg. 46). Thus, Hercules was the model for the concept of the hero-god (Pind. Nem. III 22), and Dionysus was considered a hero among the gods.
The development of heroism and independence of heroes leads to their opposition to the gods, to their insolence and even crimes, which accumulate over generations of heroic dynasties, leading to the death of heroes. There are known myths about the ancestral curse experienced by the heroes of the end of the classical Olympian period, corresponding to the time of the decline of Mycenaean rule. These are the myths about the curses weighing down on the family of Atrides (or Tantalids) (Tantalus, Pelops, Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Orestes), Cadmids (children and grandchildren of Cadmus - Ino, Agave, Pentheus, Actaeon), Labdacids (Oedipus and his sons), Alcmaeonids. Myths are also created about the death of the entire family of heroes (myths about the war of seven against Thebes and the Trojan War). Hesiod views them as wars in which the heroes destroyed each other (Orr. 156-165).
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The cult of deceased heroes, completely unfamiliar to Homeric poems, but known from the Mycenaean royal burials, became widespread. The cult of heroes reflected the idea of divine reward after death, the belief in the continuation of the intercession of heroes and the patronage of their people. Sacrifices were made at the graves of heroes (cf. sacrifices to Agamemnon in Aeschylus’s “Choephori”), sacred areas were assigned to them (for example, Oedipus in Colonus), singing competitions were held near their burials (in honor of Amphidamantus in Chalkis with the participation of Hesiod, Orr. 654-657 ). Laments (or phren) for heroes, glorifying their exploits, served as one of the sources of epic songs (cf. “glorious deeds of men” sung by Achilles, Homer “Iliad”, IX 189). The pan-Greek hero Hercules was considered the founder of the Nemean Games (Pind. Nem. I). Sacrifices were made to him in different temples: in some as an immortal Olympian, in others as a hero (Herodot. II 44). Some heroes were perceived as hypostases of god, for example Zeus (cf. Zeus - Agamemnon, Zeus - Amphiaraus, Zeus - Trophonius), Poseidon (cf. Poseidon - Erechtheus).
Where the activities of heroes were glorified, temples were built (the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus), and an oracle was consulted at the site of his disappearance (the cave and oracle of Trophonius, Paus. IX 39, 5). In the VII-VI centuries. BC. with the development of the cult of Dionysus, the cult of some ancient heroes - eponyms of cities - lost its significance (for example, in Sikyon, under the tyrant Cleisthenes, the veneration of Adrastus was replaced by the veneration of Dionysus, Herodot. V 67). Religious and cult heroism, sanctified by the polis system, played an important political role in Greece. Heroes were thought of as defenders of the polis, a mediator between gods and people, and a representative for people before God. After the end of the Greco-Persian War (as Plutarch reports), at the behest of the Pythia, the remains of Theseus were transferred from the island of Skyros to Athens. At the same time, sacrifices were made to heroes who died in battles, for example at Plataea (Plut. Arist. 21). Hence the deification after death and the inclusion of famous historical figures among the heroes (Sophocles after his death became a hero named Dexion). Outstanding commanders received the honorary title of hero after their death (for example, Brasidas after the Battle of Amphipolis, Thuc. V 11, 1). The cult of these heroes was influenced by the ancient veneration of mythological characters, who began to be perceived as ancestors - patrons of the family, clan and polis.
The hero, as a universal category of characters that is found in any mythology, can rarely be defined terminologically as clearly as in Greek mythology. In archaic mythologies, heroes are very often classified together with great ancestors, and in more developed ones they turn out to be legendary ancient kings or military leaders, including those bearing historical names. Some researchers (S. Autran, F. Raglan, etc.) directly trace the genesis of mythological heroes to the phenomenon of the sorcerer king (priest), described by J. Fraser in The Golden Bough, and even see in the heroes a ritual hypostasis of a deity (Raglan). However, such a view is not applicable to the most archaic systems, which are characterized by the idea of the hero as the first ancestor participating in creation, inventing the “kitchen” fire, cultivated plants, introducing social and religious institutions, and so on, that is, acting as a cultural hero and demiurge.
Unlike gods (spirits), who are able to create cosmic and cultural objects purely magically, by naming them verbally, and “extract” them one way or another from themselves, heroes for the most part find and obtain these objects ready-made, but in remote places, other worlds , overcoming various difficulties, taking or kidnapping them (like cultural heroes) from the original guardians, or heroes make these objects like potters, blacksmiths (like demiurges). Typically, the creation myth schema includes, as a minimum set of “roles,” the subject, the object, and the source (the material from which the object is extracted/made). If the role of the subject of creation instead of the deity is played by a hero-provider, this usually leads to the appearance of an additional role of an antagonist.
Spatial mobility and numerous contacts of heroes, especially hostile ones, contribute to the narrative development of the myth (up to its transformation into a fairy tale or heroic epic). In more developed mythologies, heroes explicitly represent the forces of the cosmos in the struggle against the forces of chaos - chthonic monsters or other demonic creatures that interfere with the peaceful life of gods and people. Only in the process of the beginning “historicization” of myth in epic texts do heroes acquire the appearance of quasi-historical characters, and their demonic opponents can appear as heterodox foreign “invaders”. Accordingly, in fairy-tale texts, mythical heroes are replaced by conventional figures of knights, princes and even peasant sons (including younger sons and other heroes who “do not show promise”), defeating fairy-tale monsters by force, or cunning, or magic.
Mythical heroes appear on behalf of the human (ethnic) community before gods and spirits, and often act as intermediaries (mediators) between different mythical worlds. In many cases, their role is vaguely comparable to that of shamans.
Heroes sometimes act on the initiative of the gods or with their help, but they, as a rule, are much more active than the gods, and this activity constitutes, in a certain sense, their specificity.
The activity of heroes in developed examples of myth and epic contributes to the formation of a special heroic character - brave, frantic, prone to overestimating their own strengths (cf. Gilgamesh, Achilles, heroes of the German epic, etc.). But even within the class of gods, active characters can sometimes be identified who perform the function of mediation between parts of the cosmos, defeating demonic opponents in the struggle. Such hero gods are, for example, Thor in Scandinavian mythology, Marduk in Babylonian mythology. On the other hand, heroes even of divine origin and endowed with “divine” power can sometimes quite clearly and even sharply confront the gods. Gilgamesh, characterized in the Akkadian poem "Enuma Elish" as a being two-thirds divine and superior to the gods in many qualities, still cannot be compared with the gods, and his attempt to achieve immortality ends in failure.
In some cases, the frantic nature of the heroes or the consciousness of internal superiority over the gods leads to fighting against God (cf. the Greek Prometheus and similar heroes of the mythology of the Caucasian-Iberian peoples of Amirani, Abrskil, Artavazd, and also Batradz). To perform feats, heroes need supernatural strength, which is only partly inherent in them from birth, usually due to divine origin. They need the help of gods or spirits (later this need of the heroes decreases in the heroic epic and increases even more in the fairy tale, where miraculous helpers often act for them), and this help is mostly acquired through a certain skill and tests such as initiation tests, that is initiation practiced in archaic societies. Apparently, the reflection of initiation rites is obligatory in the heroic myth: the departure or expulsion of the hero from his society, temporary isolation and wanderings in other countries, in heaven or in the lower world, where contacts with spirits take place, the acquisition of helping spirits, the fight against some demonic opponents. A specific symbolic motif associated with initiation is the swallowing of the young hero by a monster and subsequent release from his womb. In many cases (and this precisely indicates a connection with initiation), the initiator of the tests is the divine father (or uncle) of the hero or the leader of the tribe, who gives the young man “difficult tasks” or expels him from the tribe.
Exile (difficult tasks) is sometimes motivated by the hero's misdeed (breaking a taboo) or the danger he poses to the father (chief). The young hero often violates various prohibitions and even often commits incest, which at the same time signals his heroic exclusivity and achieved maturity (and perhaps also the decrepitness of his father-leader). Trials in myth can take the form of persecution, attempts at extermination by god (father, king) or demonic creatures (evil spirits), the hero can turn into a mystery victim passing through temporary death (departure/return - death/resurrection). In one form or another, trials are an essential element of heroic mythology.
The story about the miraculous (at least unusual) birth of the hero, his amazing abilities and early attainment of maturity, his training and especially preliminary tests, the various vicissitudes of heroic childhood form an important part of the heroic myth and precede the description of the most important feats of general significance for society.
The biographical “beginning” in the heroic myth is, in principle, similar to the cosmic “beginning” in the cosmogonic or etiological myth. Only here the ordering of chaos is related not to the world as a whole, but to the formation of an individual who turns into a hero who serves his society and is able to further support cosmic order. In practice, however, the preliminary trials of the hero in the process of his social education and the main actions are often so intertwined in the plot that it is difficult to clearly separate them. A heroic biography sometimes also includes the story of the hero’s marriage (with corresponding competitions and trials on the part of the wonderful bride or her father; these motifs receive especially rich development in the fairy tale), and sometimes the story of his death, interpreted in many cases as a temporary departure to another life. peace while maintaining the prospect of return/resurrection.
Heroic biography correlates quite clearly with the cycle of “transitional” rites that accompany birth, initiation, marriage and death. But at the same time, the heroic myth itself, due to the paradigmatic function of the myth, should serve as a model for the performance of transitional rites (especially initiation) during the social education of full members of a tribe, religious or social group, as well as during the entire life cycle and normal generational change. myth is the most important source of formation of both heroic epics and fairy tales.
Myths and legends of the peoples of the world. Ancient Greece / A.I. Nemirovsky.- M.: Literature, World of Books, 2004
Greek myths, which tell of gods, goddesses and heroes, date back to the Bronze Age, a time of oral tradition. They were first recorded at the beginning of the 6th century. BC. and have continued to live in Western literature ever since. Myths were closely related to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks and interpreted the secrets of nature. They told about the creation of the world about the deeds of the deities, about the golden age of ancient Greek society, about the age of heroic demigods such as Theseus and Hercules, whose exploits inspired ordinary people. The Greeks imagined the gods as ideal people who possessed all the feelings characteristic of humans. The gods lived on Mount Olympus. The supreme god Zeus was considered the father of many Olympians. Each member of the Olympic family was assigned a divine role.
Zeus- the father of gods and people, ruled them from Mount Olympus.
Eris goddess of discord.
Klymene, mother Promethea who gave fire to people.
Hera Zeus's wife was very jealous.
Athena emerged from the head of Zeus in full battle garb, in Greek mythology she was the goddess of wisdom, strategy and war.
Poseidon, god of the seas, one of the brothers of Zeus. The symbol of his power is the trident. Myths bring to us stories about Poseidon's infidelity to his wife, the sea goddess Amphitrite, who was the goddess of the sea in Greek mythology. This statue is kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Paris must award the golden apple to the most beautiful of goddesses. Paris's dog helped him graze his flocks on Mount Ida, where the prince grew up.
Dionysus, the god of viticulture and wine, Zeus gave birth from his thigh.
Hades And Persephone ruled the kingdoms of the dead and the souls of the dead. Hades kidnapped Persephone from her mother Demeter, the goddess of fertility. Angry, Demeter sent a famine to the earth, and then Zeus decided that Persephone would live with her mother for part of the year.
Artemis, maiden goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo. She is armed with a bow and arrows. The eternally young goddess is surrounded by dogs and nymphs. Having taken a vow of chastity, she was nevertheless also the goddess of childbirth.
Hermes was a messenger of the gods.
Aphrodite, goddess of love, was born from the foam of the sea.
Apollo, son of Zeus and brother of Artemis, god-healer and soothsayer, patron of the arts, was unusually handsome.
Labors of Hercules. Hercules(among the Romans - Hercules) - the greatest of the Greek heroes, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Endowed with superhuman strength, he achieved success and immortality by completing 12 tasks of the Mycenaean king Eurystheus, which seemed impossible.
First he defeated the Nemean Lion, whose skin he always wore on himself from then on.
The second labor of Hercules was the victory over the Lernaean Hydra. The severed heads of this poisonous monster, raised by Hera, immediately grew back. As in his other exploits, Hercules was helped by Athena.
Then the huge boar that was ravaging Mount Erymanth was caught. Hercules delivered him to King Eurystheus alive. The king was so frightened that he hid in a large jug.
The sixth feat was the extermination of the Stymphalian birds. Hercules saved Lake Stymphalia from man-eating birds with copper beaks: having scared the birds with bronze rattles, he killed them with stones fired from a sling.
HEROES
Ancient mythology
Achilles
Hector
Hercules
Odysseus
Orpheus
Perseus
Theseus
Oedipus
Aeneas
Jason
ACHILLES
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in Greek mythology one of the greatest heroes,
son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis.
Zeus and Poseidon wanted to have a son from the beautiful Thetis,
but the titan Prometheus warned them,
that the child will surpass his father in greatness.
And the gods wisely arranged the marriage of Thetis with a mortal.
Love for Achilles, as well as the desire to make him invulnerable and
to give immortality they forced Thetis to bathe the child in the River Styx,
flowing through Hades, the land of the dead.
Since Thetis was forced to hold her son by the heel, t
This part of the body remained defenseless.
Achilles' mentor was the centaur Chiron, who fed him
the entrails of lions, bears and wild boars, taught him to play the cithara and sing.
Achilles grew up to be a fearless warrior, but his immortal mother, knowing
that participation in the campaign against Troy would bring death to his son,
dressed him up as a girl and hid him among the women in the palace of King Lycomedes.
When the leaders of the Greeks became aware of the prediction of the priest Kalkhant,
grandson of Apollo, that without Achilles the campaign against Troy is doomed to failure,
they sent the cunning Odysseus to him.
Arriving at the king disguised as a merchant, Odysseus laid out in front of those gathered
women's jewelry mixed with weapons.
The inhabitants of the palace began to look at the jewelry,
but suddenly, at a sign from Odysseus, an alarm sounded -
the girls ran away in fright, and the hero grabbed his sword, giving himself away completely.
After being exposed, Achilles, willy-nilly, had to sail to Troy,
where he soon quarreled with the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon.
According to one version of the myth, this happened because,
wanting to provide the Greek fleet
favorable wind, Agamemnon secretly from the hero,
under the pretext of marriage with Achilles, summoned to Aulis
his daughter Iphigenia and sacrificed her to the goddess Artemis.
The angry Achilles retired to his tent, refusing to fight.
However, the death of his faithful friend and brother-in-arms Patroclus
forced by the Trojan Hector
Achilles to immediate action.
Having received armor as a gift from the blacksmith god Hephaestus,
Achilles killed Hector with a spear and twelve days
mocked his body near the grave of Patroclus.
Only Thetis was able to convince her son to give the remains of Hector to the Trojans
for funeral rites -
sacred duty of the living towards the dead.
Returning to the battlefield, Achilles defeated hundreds of enemies.
But his own life was coming to an end.
The arrow of Paris, well aimed by Apollo,
inflicted a mortal wound on Achilles' heel,
the only weak spot on the hero's body.
Thus died the valiant and arrogant Achilles,
the ideal of the great ancient commander Alexander the Great.
1.Training Achilles
Pompeo Batoni, 1770 
2. Achilles at Lycomedes
Pompeo Batoni, 1745 
3.Agamemnon's ambassadors to Achilles
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
1801, Louvre, Paris 
4. Centaur Chiron returns the body
Achilles to his mother Thetis
Pompeo Batoni, 1770 
HECTOR
-
in ancient Greek mythology, one of the main heroes of the Trojan War.
The hero was the son of Hecuba and Priam, the king of Troy.
Hector had 49 brothers and sisters, but among the sons of Priam it was he who was famous
with your strength and courage. According to legend, Hector struck the first Greek to death,
who set foot on the land of Troy - Protesilaus.
The hero became especially famous in the ninth year of the Trojan War,
challenging Ajax Telamonides to battle.
Hector promised his enemy not to desecrate his body
in case of defeat and not to remove his armor and demanded the same from Ajax.
After a long struggle, they decided to stop the fight and, as a sign
gifts were exchanged of mutual respect.
Hector hoped to defeat the Greeks, despite Cassandra's prediction.
It was under his leadership that the Trojans broke into the fortified camp of the Achaeans,
approached the navy and even managed to set fire to one of the ships.
The legends also describe the battle between Hector and the Greek Patroclus.
The hero defeated his opponent and took off Achilles' armor.
The gods took a very active part in the war. They split into two camps
and each helped their favorites.
Hector was patronized by Apollo himself.
When Patroclus died, Achilles, obsessed with revenge for his death,
tied the defeated dead Hector to his chariot and
dragged him around the walls of Troy, but the hero’s body was not touched by any ashes,
not a bird, since Apollo protected him in gratitude for
that Hector helped him several times during his lifetime.
Based on this circumstance, the ancient Greeks concluded that
that Hector was the son of Apollo.
According to myths, Apollo persuaded Zeus at the council of the gods
hand over Hector's body to the Trojans,
to be buried with honor.
The Supreme God ordered Achilles to give the body of the deceased to his father Priam.
Since, according to legend, Hector's grave was in Thebes,
researchers have suggested that the image of the hero is of Boeotian origin.
Hector was a highly revered hero in Ancient Greece,
which proves the fact of the presence of his image
on antique vases and in antique plastic.
They usually depicted scenes of Hector’s farewell to his wife Andromache,
the battle with Achilles and many other episodes.
1. Andromache at Hector’s body
Jacques Louis David
1783, Louvre, Paris 
]
HERCULES
-
in ancient Greek mythology, the greatest of heroes,
son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene.
Zeus needed a mortal hero to defeat the giants,
and he decided to give birth to Hercules.
The best mentors taught Hercules various arts, wrestling, and archery.
Zeus wanted Hercules to become the ruler of Mycenae or Tiryns, key fortresses on the approaches to Argos,
but jealous Hera upset his plans.
She struck Hercules with madness, in a fit of which he killed
wife and his three sons.
To atone for his grave guilt, the hero had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years,
king of Tiryns and Mycenae, after which he was granted immortality.
The most famous is the cycle of tales about the twelve labors of Hercules.
The first feat was to obtain the skin of the Nemean lion,
whom Hercules had to strangle with his bare hands.
Having defeated the lion, the hero tanned its skin and wore it as a trophy.
The next feat was the victory over the Hydra, the sacred nine-headed snake of Hera.
The monster lived in a swamp near Lerna, not far from Argos.
The difficulty was that instead of the hero’s severed head, the hydra
two new ones immediately grew.
With the help of his nephew Iolaus, Hercules overpowered the ferocious Lernaean hydra -
the young man burned the neck of each head severed by the hero.
True, the feat was not counted by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew.
The next feat was not so bloody.
Hercules had to catch the Cerynean doe, the sacred animal of Artemis.
Then the hero caught the Erymanthian boar, which was devastating the fields of Arcadia.
In this case, the wise centaur Chiron accidentally died.
The fifth feat was cleaning the Augean stables from manure,
what the hero did in one day, sending the waters of the nearest river into them.
The last of the labors performed by Hercules in the Peloponnese was
expulsion of Stymphalian birds with pointed iron feathers.
The ominous birds were afraid of the copper rattles,
made by Hephaestus and given to Hercules
the goddess Athena, who was favorable to him.
The seventh labor was the capture of a fierce bull, which Minos, king of Crete,
refused to sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon.
The bull copulated with Minos' wife Pasiphae, who gave birth to the Minotaur, a man with a bull's head.
Hercules performed the eighth labor in Thrace,
where he subjugated the man-eating mares of King Diomedes to his power.
The remaining four feats were of a different kind.
Eurystheus ordered Hercules to obtain the belt of the queen of the warlike Amazons, Hippolyta.
Then the hero kidnapped and delivered the cows of the three-headed giant Geryon to Mycenae.
After this, Hercules brought Eurystheus the golden apples of the Hesperides, for which he had to
strangle the giant Antaeus and deceive Atlas, who holds the firmament on his shoulders.
The last labor of Hercules - the journey to the kingdom of the dead - was the most difficult.
With the assistance of the queen of the underworld Persephone, the hero was able to bring
and deliver to Tiryns the three-headed dog Kerberus (Cerberus), the guardian of the underworld.
The end of Hercules was terrible.
The hero died in terrible agony, wearing the shirt that his wife Deianira,
on the advice of the centaur Nessus, dying at the hands of Hercules,
soaked this half-man, half-horse with the poisonous blood.
When the hero, with his last strength, ascended the funeral pyre,
crimson lightning struck from the sky and
Zeus accepted his son into the host of immortals.
Some of the labors of Hercules are immortalized in the names of constellations.
For example, the constellation Leo - in memory of the Nemean lion,
the constellation Cancer is reminiscent of the huge cancer Karkina,
sent by Hera to help the Lernaean hydra.
In Roman mythology, Hercules corresponds to Hercules.
1.Hercules and Cerberus
Boris Vallejo, 1988 
2.Hercules and Hydra
Gustave Moreau, 1876 
3.Hercules at the crossroads
Pompeo Batoni, 1745 
4.Hercules and Omphale
Francois Lemoine, About 1725 
ODYSSEUS
-
"angry", "wrathful" (Ulysses). In Greek mythology, the king of the island of Ithaca,
one of the leaders of the Achaeans in the Trojan War.
He is famous for his cunning, dexterity and amazing adventures.
The brave Odysseus was sometimes considered the son of Sisyphus, who seduced Anticlea
even before his marriage to Laertes,
and according to some versions, Odysseus is the grandson of Autolycus, “an oathbreaker and thief,” the son of the god Hermes,
inherited their intelligence, practicality and enterprise.
Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, had high hopes for the ingenuity and intelligence of Odysseus.
Together with the wise Nestor, Odysseus was tasked with persuading the great warrior
Achilles to take part in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks,
and when their fleet got stuck in Aulis, it was Odysseus who tricked his wife into
Agamemnon releases Clytemnestra to Iphigenia in Aulis
under the pretext of her marriage to Achilles.
In reality, Iphigenia was intended to be sacrificed to Artemis,
who otherwise did not agree
provide the Greek ships with a fair wind.
It was Odysseus who came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse, which brought victory to the Achaeans.
The Greeks pretended to lift the siege of the city and went out to sea,
leaving a huge hollow horse on the shore,
inside whose body a detachment of warriors led by Odysseus hid.
The Trojans, rejoicing at the departure of the Achaeans, dragged the horse into the city.
They decided to present the statue as a gift to Athena and provide the city with the patronage of the gods.
At night, armed Achaeans poured out of the horse through a secret door,
killed the guards and opened the gates of Troy.
Hence the ancient saying: “Fear the Achaeans (Danaans), who bring gifts,” and
expression "Trojan horse".
Troy fell, but the brutal massacre committed by the Greeks
caused the severe wrath of the gods, especially Athena,
after all, the favorite of the gods, Cassandra, was raped in her sanctuary.
The wanderings of Odysseus were a favorite story of the Greeks and Romans,
who called him Ulysses.
From Troy Odysseus headed for Thrace,
where he lost many people in the battle with the Kikons.
Then a storm carried him to the land of lotus eaters ("lotus eaters"),
whose food made the newcomers forget about their homeland.
Later Odysseus fell into the possession of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes),
finding himself a prisoner of the one-eyed Polyphemus, son of Poseidon.
However, Odysseus and his companions managed to avoid inevitable death.
On the island of the lord of the winds, Aeolus, Odysseus received a gift - fur,
filled with fair winds,
but the curious sailors untied the fur and the winds scattered in all directions,
stopped blowing in the same direction.
Then Odysseus' ships were attacked by the Laestrygonians, a tribe of cannibal giants,
but the hero managed to get to the island of Eya, the possession of the sorceress Circe (Kirka).
With the help of Hermes, Odysseus was able to force the sorceress to return
human appearance to the members of his team,
which she turned into pigs.
Further, on the advice of Kirka, he visits the underground kingdom of the dead,
where the shadow of the blind soothsayer Tiresias warns the brave Odysseus
about upcoming dangers.
Having left the island, Odysseus's ship sailed past the coast,
where are the sweet-voiced sirens with their wondrous singing
lured sailors onto sharp rocks.
The hero ordered his companions to cover their ears with wax and tie himself to the mast. Having happily passed the wandering rocks of Plankta,
Odysseus lost six men, who were dragged away and devoured by the six-headed Scyta (Scylla).
On the island of Thrinacia, as Tiresias predicted, hungry travelers
were tempted by the fat herds of the sun god Helios.
As punishment, these sailors died from a storm sent by Zeus at the request of Helios.
The surviving Odysseus was almost swallowed by the monstrous whirlpool Charybdis.
Exhausted from exhaustion, he washed up on the island of the sorceress Calypso,
who came out to him and proposed marriage.
But even the prospect of immortality did not seduce Odysseus,
eager to return to his homeland, and seven years later the gods forced
the nymph in love to let the traveler go.
After another shipwreck, Odysseus, with the help of Athena, took on the form
a poor old man, returned home, where his wife Penelope had been waiting for him for many years.
Besieged by noble suitors, she played for time, announcing that she would get married,
when he finishes weaving a shroud for his father-in-law Laertes.
However, at night Penelope unraveled the day's woven fabric.
When the maids revealed her secret, she agreed to marry the one
who can string the bow of Odysseus?
The test was passed by an unknown beggar old man, who, throwing off his rags,
turned out to be the mighty Odysseus.
After twenty years of separation, the hero hugged his faithful Penelope,
whom Athena awarded with rare beauty before the meeting.
According to some versions of the myth, Odysseus, unrecognized, fell at the hands of Telegonus,
his son from Circe (Circa), according to others -
died peacefully in old age.
1.Odysseus in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus
Jacob Jordaens, 1630 
2.Odysseus and the Sirens
John William Waterhouse, 1891 
3.Circe and Odysseus
John William Waterhouse 1891 
4.Penelope waiting for Odysseus
John William Waterhouse, 1890 
ORPHEUS
-
in ancient Greek mythology, a hero and traveler.
Orpheus was the son of the Thracian river god Eagra and the muse Calliope.
He was known as a talented singer and musician.
Orpheus took part in the campaign of the Argonauts, with his playing of the forming
and with prayers he calmed the waves and helped the rowers of the Argo ship.
The hero married the beautiful Eurydice and, when she suddenly died from a snake bite,
followed her into the afterlife.
Guardian of the underworld, evil dog Cerberus,
Persephone and Hades were enchanted by the young man's magical music.
Hades promised to return Eurydice to earth on condition that
that Orpheus will not look at his wife until he enters his house.
Orpheus could not restrain himself and looked at Eurydice,
As a result, she remained forever in the kingdom of the dead.
Orpheus did not treat Dionysus with due respect, but he revered Helios,
whom he called Apollo.
Dionysus decided to teach the young man a lesson and sent maenads to attack him,
who tore the musician to pieces and threw him into the river.
Parts of his body were collected by the muses, who mourned the death of the beautiful young man.
The head of Orpheus floated down the Hebrus River and was found by nymphs,
then she ended up on the island of Lesbos, where Apollo accepted her.
The musician's shadow fell into Hades, where the couple were reunited.
1.Orpheus and Eurydice
Frederic Leighton, 1864 
2.Nymphs and the head of Orpheus
John Waterhouse, 1900 
PERSEUS
-
in Greek mythology, the ancestor of Hercules, the son of Zeus and Danae,
daughter of the Argive king Acrisius.
Hoping to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy about the death of Acrisius at the hands of his grandson,
Danae was imprisoned in a copper tower, but the almighty Zeus penetrated there,
turning into golden rain, and conceived Perseus.
Frightened Acrisius sat down the mother and child
into a wooden box and threw it into the sea.
However, Zeus helped his beloved and son safely
get to the island of Serif.
The matured Perseus was sent by the local ruler Polydectes,
who fell in love with Danae, in search of the gorgon Medusa,
with her gaze turning all living things into stone.
Fortunately for the hero, Athena hated Medusa and, according to one of the myths,
out of jealousy, she awarded the once beautiful gorgon with deadly beauty.
Athena taught Perseus what to do.
First, the young man, following the advice of the goddess, went to the old gray women,
who among the three had one eye and one tooth.
Having captured an eye and a tooth by cunning, Perseus returned them to the Grays in exchange
to indicate the way to the nymphs who gave him the invisibility cap,
winged sandals and a bag for Medusa's head.
Perseus flew to the western edge of the world, to the cave of the Gorgon, and
looking at the reflection of the mortal Medusa in his copper shield, he cut off her head.
Having put it in his bag, he rushed off wearing an invisibility cap,
unnoticed by the monster's snake-haired sisters.
On the way home, Perseus saved the beautiful Andromeda from a sea monster.
and married her.
Then the hero headed to Argos, but Acrisius,
Having learned about the arrival of his grandson, he fled to Larisa.
And yet he did not escape his fate - during the festivities in Larisa,
participating in the competition, Perseus threw a heavy bronze disk,
hit Acrisius in the head and killed him.
The inconsolable hero, stricken with grief, did not want to rule in Argos
and moved to Tiryns.
After the death of Perseus and Andromeda, the goddess Athena raised the spouses to heaven, turning them into constellations.
1.Perseus and Andromeda
Peter Paul Rubens, 1639 
2.Ominous Gorgon Head
Edward Burne-Jones, 1887
THESEUS
-
(“strong”), in Greek mythology, a hero, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Efra.
Childless Aegeus received advice from the Delphic oracle - when going from guests not to untie
your bottle of wine until you return home. Aegeus did not guess the prediction, but the Troezen king Pittheus,
with whom he was visiting, he realized that Aegeus was destined to conceive a hero. He gave the guest a drink and put him to bed
with his daughter Ephra. That same night Poseidon also became close to her.
This is how Theseus was born, the great hero, the son of two fathers.
Before leaving Efra, Aegeus led her to a boulder, under which he hid his sword and sandals.
If a son is born, he said, let him grow up, mature,
and when he can move the stone,
then send him to me. Theseus grew up, and Ephra discovered the secret of his birth.
The young man easily took out his sword and sandals, and on the way to Athens he dealt
with the robber Sinis and the Crommion pig.
Theseus was able to defeat the monstrous Minotaur, the man-bull,
only with the help of Princess Ariadne, who loved him, who gave him a guiding thread.
In Athens, Theseus learned that fifty sons of his cousin Pallant laid claim to the throne of Aegeus,
and Aegeus himself fell under the power of the sorceress Medea,
abandoned by Jason, who hoped that her son Med would receive the throne.
Theseus hid his origin, but Medea, knowing who he was,
persuaded Aegeus to give the stranger a cup of poison.
Theseus was saved by the fact that his father recognized his sword, with which the hero cut meat.
Theseus performed the following feats for the benefit of Athens.
He dealt with the sons of Pallant and Marathon
with a bull that ravaged the fields, he defeated the man-bull Minotaur.
Young Athenians were given to the monster that lived in the labyrinth to be devoured.
as an atoning sacrifice for the death of the king's son in Athens.
When Theseus volunteered to fight the Minotaur, his old father became desperate.
They agreed that if Theseus escaped death, then, returning home,
will change the sail from black to white.
Theseus, having killed the monster, got out of the labyrinth thanks to the daughter of Minos, Ariadne, who fell in love with him,
following the thread tied at the entrance (Ariadne's guiding thread).
Theseus and Ariadne then fled secretly to the island of Naxos.
Here Theseus left the princess and fate punished him.
Returning home, Theseus forgot to change the sail as a sign of victory.
Theseus's father Aegeus, seeing the black cloth, threw himself off the cliff into the sea.
Theseus performed a number of other feats. He captured the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta,
who bore him a son, Hippolytus, gave shelter to the outcast Oedipus and his daughter Antigone.
True, Theseus was not among the Argonauts;
at this time he helped the Lapith king Pirithous
kidnap the queen of Hades, Persephone.
For this, the gods decided to leave the daredevil in Hades forever,
but Theseus was saved by Hercules.
However, grief came knocking on his house again when his second wife, Phaedra,
she desired his son Hippolytus, who remained silent in horror about her passion.
Humiliated by the refusal, Phaedra hanged herself,
in a suicide note accusing her stepson of trying to dishonor her.
The young man was expelled from the city,
and he died before his father knew the truth.
In his old age, Theseus boldly abducted the twelve-year-old daughter of Zeus Helen,
declaring that only she is worthy to be his wife,
but Helen's brothers, the Dioscuri, rescued their sister and expelled Theseus.
The hero died on the island of Skyros at the hands of the local king, who,
fearing the still mighty Theseus, he pushed the guest off the cliff.
1.Theseus and the Minotaur
Vase 450g. BC. 
2.Theseus
with Ariadne and Phaedra
B. Zhennari, 1702 
3.Theseus and Ephra
Lovren de la Hire, 1640 
OEDIPUS
-
descendant of Cadmus, from the Labdacid family, son of the Theban king Laius and Jocasta, or Epicasta,
favorite hero of Greek folk tales and tragedies, due to the multitude of which
it is very difficult to imagine the myth of Oedipus in its original form.
According to the most common legend, the oracle predicted Laius
about the birth of a son who will kill himself,
marries his own mother and covers the entire house of Labdacids with shame.
Therefore, when Lai's son was born, his parents pierced his legs
and tying them together (which made them swollen),
they sent him to Kiferon, where Oedipus was found by a shepherd,
sheltered the boy and then brought him to Sicyon,
or Corinth, to King Polybus, who raised his adopted son as his own son.
Having once received a reproach at a feast for his dubious origins,
Oedipus asked for clarification
to the oracle and received advice from him - to beware of parricide and incest.
As a result, Oedipus, who considered Polybus his father, left Sicyon.
On the road he met Lai, started a quarrel with him and, in a temper,
killed him and his retinue.
At this time, the Sphinx monster was wreaking havoc in Thebes,
asked for several years in a row
a riddle for everyone and devouring everyone who did not guess it.
Oedipus managed to solve this riddle
(what creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon,
and in the evening at three? The answer is man)
as a result of which the Sphinx threw itself from a cliff and died.
In gratitude for delivering the country from a prolonged disaster, the Theban citizens
made Oedipus their king and gave him Laius's widow, Jocasta, as his wife -
his own mother.
Soon the double crime committed by Oedipus out of ignorance was revealed,
and Oedipus, in despair, gouged out his eyes, and Jocasta took her own life.
According to an ancient legend (Homer, Odyssey, XI, 271 et seq.)
Oedipus remained to reign in Thebes and died,
pursued by the Erinyes.
Sophocles tells about the end of Oedipus' life differently:
When the crimes of Oedipus were revealed, the Thebans with the sons of Oedipus:
Eteocles and Polyneices led the expulsion of the aged and blind king from Thebes,
and he, accompanied by his faithful daughter Antigone, went to the town of Colon
(in Attica), where in the sanctuary of Erinyes,
who finally, thanks to the intervention of Apollo, subdued their anger,
ended his life full of suffering.
His memory was considered sacred, and his grave was one of the palladiums of Attica.
As a character, Oedipus is depicted in Sophocles' tragedies "Oedipus the King" and
"Oedipus at Colonus" (both tragedies are available in Russian poetic translation
D. S. Merezhkovsky, St. Petersburg, 1902),
in Euripides' tragedy "The Phoenician Women"
(poetic Russian translation by I. Annensky, “The World of God”, 1898, No. 4)
and in Seneca's tragedy "Oedipus".
There were many other poetic works that dealt with the fate of Oedipus.
1. Bookplate of Sigmund Freud.
The bookplate depicts King Oedipus talking to the sphinx. 
2.Oedipus and the Sphinx
J.O.Ingres 
3.Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864
Gustave Moreau 
4. Oedipus the Wanderer, 1888
Gustave Moreau 
AENEAS
-
in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of the handsome shepherd Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus),
participant in the defense of Troy during the Trojan War, a most glorious hero.
A brave warrior, Aeneas took part in decisive battles with Achilles and escaped death
only through the intercession of his divine mother.
After the fall of devastated Troy, at the behest of the gods, he left the burning city
and together with the old father,
wife Kreusa and young son Askanius (Yul),
capturing images of the Trojan gods,
accompanied by companions on twenty ships, set off in search of a new homeland.
Having survived a series of adventures and a terrible storm, he reached the Italian city of Cuma,
and then came to Latium, a region in Central Italy.
The local king was ready to give his daughter Lavinia for Aeneas (who was widowed along the way)
and provide him with land to found a city.
Having defeated Turnus, the leader of the warlike Rutul tribe, in a duel
and a contender for Lavinia's hand,
Aeneas settled in Italy, which became the successor to the glory of Troy.
His son Askanius (Yul) was considered the progenitor of the Julius family,
including the famous emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus.
1.Venus giving Aeneas armor made by Vulcan, 1748
Pompeo Batoni 
2.Mercury appearing to Aeneas (fresco), 1757
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 
3. Battle of Aeneas with the harpies
Francois Perrier, 1647 
JASON
-
("healer"), in Greek mythology, the great-grandson of the god of the winds Aeolus, the son of King Iolcus Aeson and Polymede.
Hero, leader of the Argonauts.
When Pelias overthrew his brother Aeson from the throne, he, fearing for the life of his son,
gave him under the tutelage of the wise centaur Chiron, who lived in the Thessalian forests.
The Delphic oracle predicted to Pelias that he would be killed by a man wearing only one sandal.
This explains the king’s fear when the matured Jason returned to the city,
lost a sandal on the way.
Pelias decided to get rid of the impending threat and promised to recognize Jason as heir if he, risking his life, obtained the Golden Fleece in Colchis.
Jason and his crew on the ship "Argo", having experienced many adventures, returned to their homeland with a wonderful fleece.
With his success - victory over the dragon and formidable warriors,
growing from his teeth -
they owed a lot to the Colchian princess Medea, since Eros,
at the request of Athena and Hera, who patronized Jason,
instilled love for the hero in the girl’s heart.
Upon returning to Iolcus, the Argonauts learned
that Pelias killed Jason's father and all his relatives.
According to one version, Pelias dies from the spell of Medea, whose name means “insidious.”
According to another, Jason resigned himself to exile and lived happily with Medea for ten years
and they had three children.
Then the hero married Princess Glavka; V
In revenge, Medea killed her and killed her sons by Jason.
Years passed. The elderly hero dragged out his days until one day he wandered onto the pier,
where the famous Argo stood.
Suddenly the mast of the ship, rotten from time to time, broke.
and fell on Jason, who fell dead.
1. Jason and Medea
John William Waterhouse, 1890 
2. Jason and Medea
Gustave Moreau, 1865 
