Various myths about the origin of the world. World creation. Creation myths. Who are the Magi

Dear readers!
In November 2012, I published an essay "Hercules - Classics of Mythology or Mythology of Classics?", which aroused great interest from readers and a sharp reaction from the authorities, represented by TV 3. And this is not surprising, since "my Hercules" turned from a legendary hero into Antihero. But I affirm that Hercules is an Anti-Hero, a cold-blooded, maniacal killer of not only warriors, but also women and children, a thief, a robber and a robber. Who needed to make a Hero out of Hercules? The answer to this question can be found in the history of ancient Greece. Hercules was turned into a Hero and mythologized by the Dorians - the conquerors of ancient Greece. Their new Hero, Hercules, had to "justify" the countless brutal crimes of the Dorians. And for the defeated Achaeans (one of the main ancient Greek tribes), Hercules was a cruel conqueror who ruined dozens of cities and killed many warriors, kings, women, children and the elderly.
These are the anti-heroes-Hercules in our days appeared in Ukraine, on the Maidan. And it's scary that the US and Europe are doing everything to turn these killers into new "Hercules-Hercules ..."
That's why, I decided to remind everyone about Hercules the Anti-Hero, in a new, edited version of my essay. (Published in the anthology "Swan" No. 704 of March 23, 2014, USA, Boston)

HERCULES ANTI-HERO

Is there any other mythological hero as fundamental, as majestic, as revered, as authoritative and as indisputable as Hercules? Probably not. Hercules is a classic of ancient Greek mythology. Hercules is a modern classic, since the “glorious deeds” of Hercules have survived to this day, they are studied in literature classes in the sixth grade of all Russian schools. Teachers of the "highest category" develop manuals and lesson plans for the study of the exploits of Hercules, so that our children absorb the spirit of the hero, learn life from his actions.
But heroes, just like anti-heroes, are created by people. People put heroes on a pedestal, people, on the other hand, overthrow heroes from a pedestal. And this is the same classic of the genre.
The author is not going to rewrite classical mythology, and even more so, to overthrow Hercules from his pedestal. Today, this is (unfortunately) impossible. Hercules - Hero for the Ages (?) But no one deprived the author of the possibility of a creative approach to established views on classical historical mythology. Having carefully studied the life path of Hercules, the author realized that irony, sarcasm and even disrespect towards the legendary “hero” are acceptable and justified. Moreover, the author takes the liberty of asserting that Heracles, the Hero, erected on a pedestal, is in fact an Anti-Hero. Are you ready for this take on the classic Hero? By the way, Hercules simply means "hero". Our "hero" from birth had the name Alkid, which he later abandoned (more on that below), becoming simply Hercules.
If you carefully (as a researcher) study the life path and description of the exploits of Hercules, known to us from the legends and myths of ancient Greece, according to Homer and Ovid, you can find amazing things. The three main virtues of Hercules are clearly revealed.
First virtue. Resigned servility to King Ephristheus, who hired Alkid-Hercules for the service, giving him the nickname "Hercules". But why did the son of Zeus begin to serve the cowardly and insignificant king Ephrystheus? He had a very good reason for this. After the murder of his wife and children (three sons) in Fifa, and, at the same time, his nephews (mythology explains this by an attack of madness sent down on him by the Goddess Hero), Hercules fled from justice to Mycenae, where his cousin Efristheus ruled. The king of Mycenae knew what a terrible crime Hercules had committed and, having taken him into service, openly and with impunity mocked him. As soon as King Eurystheus did not mock Hercules, he did not give him any absurd instructions. Hercules endured everything humbly and meekly performed, if only to avoid justice. What is the 11th feat of Hercules worth when Eurystheus sent him to the underworld of Hades, for the terrible dog Kerberos (Cerberus), and only to order Hercules to take Cerberus back to hell. And the eighth feat? Was it worth sailing to distant lands for the horses of Diomedes, stealing horses, killing a bunch of people there, including King Diomedes, so that King Eurystheus would immediately release the horses to freedom? Well, would a self-respecting hero endure such bullying? But Hercules endured, and it is understandable why - to avoid justice for the murder of his family. And remember the story of the slavery of Hercules to Queen Lydia Omphala, to whom he was profitably sold by Ephrystheus for three whole years. And all three years the queen openly mocked Hercules. All three years, the hero Hercules walked in a woman's dress and sat at the loom! But Hercules, like a slave, meekly endured these humiliations.
Second virtue. Tendency to theft and robbery. Hercules stole the horses of Diomedes. He stole the cows of the giant Gerion (the 10th feat of Hercules, in which Helios the Sun helped him!). It should be noted that if any of the Greek kings lost their cattle, then everyone immediately accused Hercules of stealing. Such was the glorious reputation of Hercules! And the story of Hippolyta's belt (9th feat)? In fact, Hercules went to the country of the Amazons in order to either steal the belt or kill all the Amazons and take possession of the belt. From mythology it is clear that Hercules killed the Amazons. Is it heroism to fight women? But in ancient Greece, such deeds were considered "feats", because then all of Greece lived in robberies, robberies and wars.
Third virtue. Manic vindictiveness and cruelty, developed into a manic passion for murder. This is perhaps the main feature of the nature of Hercules. This "virtue" manifested itself in Hercules from childhood. Remember how the boy Hercules hit his music teacher with a cithara (something like a lyre) on the head and killed him. Why did he kill? And for the fact that the teacher dared to punish the capricious student. Well, how do you like this "innocent" childish prank that went unpunished?
We already know that as a young man, in his first marriage to Megara, Hercules, in a fit of rage, killed his children - three sons, and then, at the same time, killed the children of his brother Iphicles. This sick propensity to kill children manifested itself in Hercules and in his third marriage with Deinira. A little boy poured water on Hercules' hands to wash his feet. The retribution for the mistake was cruel. Hercules hit the boy so hard that the baby fell dead. And this cold-blooded murder went unpunished.
Remember why Hercules killed King Augeas? Only for not receiving the promised payment from him for cleaning the stables. Carefully reread the sixth feat of Hercules, and you will see that the waters of the rivers, which cleansed the stables, at the same time destroyed them. And do you have to pay for this kind of work? And for refusing to pay - it is necessary to kill? Do you remember how you killed? In a "fair" battle - with a poisoned deadly arrow! Hercules at the same time dealt with all the allies of Avgiy. He killed King Neleus of Pylos and eleven of his sons. The most amazing thing is that in honor of his "glorious victories" Hercules established the Olympic Games! Those same Olympic Games that are held on our planet every four years.
What about the assassination of King Diomedes? King Ephrystheus ordered Hercules to steal the famous horses devouring people from King Diomedes. Stealing, robbing, killing - this was to the liking of the "hero" Hercules. The horses are stolen, and Poor Diomedes fell under the sword of Hercules, only because he tried to recapture his wonderful horses, which Hercules stole from him. What about the fate of King Leomedont? The king did not want to give the horses to Hercules, which he liked so much, and the hero harbored a terrible anger at the king. After some time, Hercules specifically attacked Troy in order to kill King Leomedont - and killed! And the poor Sicilian king Eriks? Why did he die at the hands of Hercules? And because he did not want to return to the hero one cow, which had strayed from the herd of cows stolen by Hercules from the giant Geryon! And the twelfth feat of the hero? When Hercules went to the gardens of the Hesperides to steal the golden apples belonging to Hera herself, the wife of Zeus (!), On his way he met the prophetic old man Nereus. Only Nereus knew the way to the gardens of the Hesperides, but he did not want to reveal this secret to Hercules. Well, in vain. He made it worse for himself. Hercules so wrung the old man, tormented and tortured him so much that the poor old man split. Truly a heroic deed! Once, in a fit of rage, Hercules killed his best friend Ifit. How Hercules killed the good old centaur Chiron, you remember - with a poisoned arrow, drunk with wine. In fact, poisoned arrows were Hercules' favorite "tool". You can kill anyone and without problems. The main thing is to become a winner! Even mythological plots do not whitewash the "cowardice" of Hercules. So, the king of Lydia, Lik, argued that Hercules was a coward, avoiding a fair fight and preferring to kill rivals with his poisoned arrows.
But modern ideologists from history and mythology have their own view on the murders committed by Hercules, and this view, which should be “the only true one”, they convey to the people through the TV 3 channel (12/26/2012 “Battles of the Gods. Hercules”) . What is worth only their statement that the first (and almost the only) person whom Hercules killed was King Diomedes, from whom Hercules stole horses. At the same time, it was especially emphasized that the “FIRST MAN” whom Hercules killed was Diomedes. "Smart and honest" ideologists completely forgot about the early murders of Hercules: King Avgiy; King Neleus and his eleven sons; kings Leomedont and Eryx; a little boy who poured water on the hands of Hercules, intended for washing his feet, and several dozen more soldiers who defended their kings ... Not a word about this!
What confuses me the most is that Hercules killed his compatriots right and left. He did not defend Greece from enemies, like the Russian Hero Ilya Muromets, he terrorized Greece, but entered History as the greatest ancient Greek hero. Why is that? There is a historical explanation for this. Such a great hero was needed by the Dorians, one of the main ancient Greek tribes. At the turn of the XIII-XII centuries BC, the Dorians invaded the territory of Central Greece ("Dorian invasion"), which was the beginning of the colonization of Greece. At this time, the mythologization of Hercules by the Dorians took place, as a glorious and invincible hero. And for the defeated Achaeans (one of the main ancient Greek tribes), Hercules was a cruel conqueror who ruined dozens of cities and killed many warriors, kings, women, children and the elderly.
I'm already tired of listing all the murders of Hercules. Yes, to be honest, I just don't like it. The fact that Hercules had a seriously disturbed psyche is beyond doubt. medical fact. Even Hercules himself was aware that he was being attacked by fits of madness. It would be naive to believe that the mind of Hercules was overshadowed by the wrath of the Goddess Hera. This was the “normal”, natural behavior of a warrior, a “hero” in the conditions of continuous wars and robberies. Today, Hercules would be recognized as a maniac murderer, extremely dangerous to society, but by no means a hero worthy of imitation.
And now, let's briefly analyze the exploits of Hercules and try to objectively assess his heroism. The first feat - strangled the Nemean lion. Credited. Hero.
The second feat is the Lernaean Hydra. In place of each severed head, the hydra immediately grew two new ones. Hercules was exhausted to fight the hydra. In addition, he was grabbed by the leg by a monstrous cancer. And Hercules could not stand it, and called for help from his friend Iolaus. Iolaus killed cancer. And then he began to burn the hydra's necks, from which Hercules knocked their heads off. This is how the hydra was defeated. I think that Iolaus showed real heroism and ingenuity, and the glory went to Hercules. Any objective judge would not have attributed this victory to Hercules.
The third feat is the Stymphalian birds. Monstrous birds of copper and bronze that shoot deadly feathered arrows. Remember how Pallas Athena helped Hercules? She gave Hercules two copper tympanums. Their roar frightened the birds so much that they flew away somewhere forever. (There is a version that they flew to Georgia. That is why Zurab Tsereteli loves working with bronze so much). Well, who is the hero: Hercules or Pallas Athena?
The fourth feat is the Kerinean doe. An amazing animal with golden horns. Probably the only copy in the Red Book. Hercules did not regret, neither an arrow, nor a doe, for the sake of another "feat".
The fifth feat is the Erymanthian boar and the centaurs. Well, Hercules killed the boar. At the same time, he killed his friend the centaur Chiron with a poisoned arrow. Feat? The sixth feat is the barnyard of King Avgiy. With this "feat" we have already figured out. Lots of shit...dung, lots of blood, brutal murders by Hercules, plus the Olympics. And thanks for that.
The seventh feat is the Cretan bull. Hercules sailed from Crete to Greece on a rabid bull. His king, Eurystheus, released the bull to freedom, and the mad bull began to rush throughout Greece! I really don’t know, maybe in Greece swimming on a rabid bull is really considered a feat?
The eighth feat is the horses of Diomedes. Already sorted out. One can only add that the cannibal horses ate Hercules' beloved friend Abdera, the son of Hermes. Horse theft. The murder of Diomedes. The death of a friend. Feat? A crime! But mythology is trying to whitewash Hercules: he supposedly "was forced to kill the villain Diomedes, who feeds people to his terrible horses." So Hercules delivered people from two evils at once. You have to be very naive to perceive this act of Hercules as a heroic feat.
The ninth feat is the belt of Hippolyta. If anyone believes that killing women is a feat, then count this "feat" to Hercules.
The tenth feat is the cows of Gerion. Hercules stole a herd of cows from the giant Gerion, and “courageously” killed the giant himself with a poisoned deadly arrow. A little later, Hercules killed the Sicilian king Eriks, for having appropriated one cow. Remarkable "feat". Theft and murder went unpunished.
The eleventh feat is Cerberus. This has already been mentioned. Hercules pulled Cerberus out of Hell and then brought him back to Hell. A dubious feat for the sane, but "unparalleled heroism and fearlessness" for those who cultivated the image of the hero Hercules.
The twelfth feat is the theft of the apples of the Hesperides. All that impresses in this "feat" of Hercules is his torture of the old man Nereus, from whom he beat out the road to the Hesperides.
I wonder how many exploits of Hercules you counted? More than one?
What do you now think of the classics of the mythology genre? Do you still see Hercules as an indisputable hero? Do you want to be like Hercules? But our children at literature lessons in schools are presented with Hercules as a hero from whom we must take an example ...
In conclusion, it is absolutely necessary to dwell on the last minutes of the life of Hercules. How did he die? This question was answered 2500 years ago by the Athenian playwright and tragedian Sophocles (496-406 BC) in his tragedy The Trachian Women. Let me remind you the plot of this Sophocles tragedy in my brief verse presentation:

"THRACHYANKS"
Tragedy of Sophocles, Athenian playwright and tragedian (496-406 BC)

Who are the "trachians"? So the girls from the city of Fuck "in were called,
that lived in this small, remote place.
Here the hero Hercules ended his life,
It all happened, as Sophocles says, something like this:
When, in the service of Ephrystheus, the insignificant king,
Hercules did his exploits (only wasting his strength in vain),
he met the powerful agra in the kingdom of the dead Mele,
who celebrated the exploits of our hero with dignity
and Dejan "Ira, his sister, offered Heracles as a wife.
Hercules went to Dejan "Ira to take her as his wife,
but the river god of Ahela decided to take away the “daughter-in-law”.
Between them the battle took place, in which Hercules won
and without much difficulty he got Dejanira as his wife.
When Hercules and his wife were already returning home,
a mighty centaur met him at the crossing.
The centaur liked Dejanira very much,
and he decided that he would get her by force.
But Hercules had arrows with deadly poison.
The centaur was unlucky to be nearby.
Hercules hit the centaur with a poisoned arrow.
(I didn’t want to fight him, I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough strength.
How can one not remember what King Lik said about Hercules:
“Hercules is not a hero, but a coward. Will see only the danger, in a moment
slays the enemy with a poisoned arrow,
but he does not know the fair rules of the duel).
The centaur, dying, gave his blood to Dejanira
and thus he said to her:
“If Hercules suddenly loves another,
smear his clothes with my blood, and he will forget the other.
Once, Hercules was visiting Echalia and spent time there not in vain.
The young girl Iola Hercules liked - the daughter of the king.
Hercules demanded to give his daughter as a concubine,
but the son of the king did not allow his sister to be taken away:
“You, miserable slave, who so meekly served the tsar for 12 years,
you are the daughter of the king, my sister, you did not deserve!
Hercules was offended and he threw the king's son off the wall.
Killed of course. How not to admit your guilt.
And again he fell into slavery for three years
(for some reason, no one in Trakhin found out about this).
And a faithful wife waits for her husband patiently, doomed,
embroidering her husband's clothes with enthusiasm.
Three years have passed. Hercules became free.
Revenge! Revenge! And he killed everyone in Echalia. Like this!
And he captivated young women (they will fit into concubines
and as slaves, of course, come in handy!).
He sent concubines to Trakhina,
and he told the wife with the messenger,
that he will return very soon,
that's just the sacrifice will celebrate the heavens.
And one of the newly sent slaves told his wife,
that among the captives there is Iola, which Hercules has already tasted.
Then in the heart of Dejanira jealousy flared up,
she sent a messenger with a cloak to Hercules,
and the cloak of the slain centaur was irrigated with blood,
and so that Hercules did not stop loving her, she asked Heaven.
I did not know that the blood was poisoned with a deadly poison,
but only thought about Hercules being there.

Hercules kindled a fire for sacrifices,
when a messenger with a cloak from the house rode to him.
Our hero threw a cloak over his naked torso,
the poison came to life from the fire of the fire, penetrated the hero and knocked him to the ground.
And then Hercules realized that the poison of his arrow had returned to him,
turned into a cruel, unbearable pain.
A monstrous pain burns him,
in cruel agony our hero suffers,
can't take the pain anymore,
and he ordered his friends on the sacrificial fire to burn himself.

This is how our hero died.
Upon learning of this, the wife committed suicide.
And the son of Hercules took the young Iola as his wife,
so before his death, Hercules ordered his son ....

Here is such a completely non-heroic death, "left us" Hercules. This episode is also reflected in the mythology of Hercules (“The Death of Hercules”, “The Poisoned Cloak of Hercules” and captured in the paintings of great artists (for example, the painting by Francisco de Subaran “The Death of Hercules”, Museo del Prado)

We open N.A. Kun’s book “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” (1957 edition) on page 167 and read: “Hercules, having erected an altar, was already preparing to make sacrifices to the gods and, above all, to his father Zeus, when Lichas came with a cloak. The son of Zeus put on a cloak and proceeded to the sacrifice. .. The fire, burning hot on the altars, warmed the body of Hercules ... and a poisoned cloak stuck to the body of Hercules. Convulsions ran through the body of Hercules, and he felt terrible pain ... ". The cloak was poisoned with a deadly poison. Hercules experienced inhuman torment, and begged his friends to kill him. It is better to die quickly than to suffer endlessly painfully. Friends fulfilled the will of Hercules and burned him at the stake. Here's what really happened. Hercules was not going to die and perform the ritual of self-immolation. He was going to live and live forever! The brutal poisoning of Hercules is an accident.
But modern ideologists from history are trying to present the death of Hercules as the greatest, courageous act of Hercules, as a conscious act of self-immolation. Like, Hercules could no longer carry his cross of the murderer of the family, children, innocent people, and therefore he made a courageous decision to commit an act of self-immolation in order to cleanse himself of filth, of his sins. And this frank ideological concoction was devoted to a special program on TV 3 (12/26/2012 at 20:45 documentary "Battle of the Gods. Hercules"). Who really needs, for educational, ideological purposes, of course, that Hercules looked like a vivid example to follow, like a "Hero of the Soviet Union." When mythology becomes an instrument of ideology, it begins to be rewritten. Perhaps, the book by N.A. is already being prepared for reprinting. Kuhn's "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece", in which the necessary ideological adjustments will be made?
P.S. Don't you think that today in Ukraine, on the Maidan, new "heroes" like Hercules are being born?

19.11.2012 - 05.11.2014

And now, when the reader has seen the new Hercules, I offer nine funny tales about the exploits of the hero Hercules. I think that the author (I) has every reason and, of course, the creative right to treat the exploits of Hercules with humor and irony.

Yours Alexey Leonidovich Gorshkov

TALES ABOUT THE FEATS OF THE HERCULES HERCULES

Childhood of Hercules

A long time ago, so long ago that one can hardly remember, in one small country called Greece, there lived a Bogatyr named Hercules. He was so strong from childhood that his peers were afraid to even approach him. Yes, try it, come on. You’ll get it right on the head, so, just in case, so that everyone knows how strong Hercules is. Hercules didn't go to school. What for? The power is there - the mind is not needed. Here he showed his strength to everyone. As a child, they tried to teach him to write, read, sing and play the cithara, but little Hercules preferred to master the bow and sword. Once, during a music lesson, his music teacher Lin, the brother of the famous Orpheus, punished Hercules, irritated by his unwillingness to learn. Little Hercules flew into a rage, grabbed a kithara and hit Lin on the head with it. The blow was so strong that poor Lin fell down dead. The court acquitted Heracles because he was the underage illegitimate son of Zeus.
For days on end, the boy disappeared somewhere, and returned home hungry, like a wolf, and ate so much of everything that even ten adults would not have been able to do. Very soon, his poor parents were no longer able to feed the hero. And then Hercules thought, how to continue to live with an empty stomach?
And that very night, as he thought about it, he had a dream. He dreams that he lies on the green grass in the forest, enjoys strawberries. Suddenly, a beautiful young girl in translucent clothes comes up to him and says: “Hercules! Life is a holiday! Live like a guest at a feast. Eat well, sleep well, have fun with friends and girlfriends. Come with me and I will turn your life into sweet bliss! By the way, my name is Nega. But then another young woman comes up to Hercules, on whom the armor of a warrior sparkled, and says: “Rest can be appreciated only after hard work. Sad is the fate of a man who lives as a guest at someone else's feast. Nobody likes overstayed guests and loafers. People love heroes! I am the invincible Athena. If you want to be a hero, follow my path."
After this dream, Hercules left his parental home and went for a walk around Greece. For days on end I ran around my little Greece, and gave such cuffs to the back of the head to everyone who came to hand that the poor fellows scattered across the numerous islands neighboring Greece. It is said that the Greeks settled in this way on the islets, which, later, were annexed to Greece. Maybe this was the first feat of Hercules?
Well, so the glorious hero Hercules lived and grew up until he was sixteen years old. By this time, he had already traveled all over Greece, hit everyone on the back of the head, and reached Mycenae, where there was the residence of the Greek king Eurystheus, who was a relative of Hercules. And the king, of course, had heard a lot about the heroic strength of Hercules and about his exploits. The king was frightened - as if he did not have to move to some small island. The king did not want this at all. He and on the royal throne was nowhere better. And, since the king went to school as a child and gained a little mind, he decided to outwit the hero Hercules. King Eurystheus called the hero Hercules to his throne and said to him:
- I heard about your heroic strength, but I just don’t believe that you are the strongest in the world.
Hercules was offended, clenched his fists and shouted:
- Yes, right now, as soon as I give you a slap, you will fly first class all the way to Rhodes!
King Eurystheus did not want to fly anywhere at all, so he hastened to reassure the hero.
- Well, hush, hush, hush ... do not boil! But whether you are stronger than everyone in the world, this still needs to be checked.
- So check it out! Yes, hurry up! And then eat hunting!
Then the king said to him:
- To test your strength, I will give you the first task. An unseen monster appeared in the mountains of Nemea. Huge lion. This lion is the size of an elephant. And evil and strong, like a thousand lions. No one has been able to handle it so far. Go ahead and kill this lion. And if you kill, you will receive a royal reward. If you fail, you will become my slave.
- Yes, I will beat this mangy cat with one left! - Hercules said arrogantly, and went to the mountains of Nemea, to look for a mangy cat.

THE FIRST LABOR OF HERCULES

nemean lion

Hercules approached the Nemean mountains and began to look for the Lion. I searched all day, and only in the evening I found a huge cave where Lev lived. Here we should remember that in those distant times people did not have such weapons as they have now. There were no rifles. There were no pistols. There were no grenades. Well, there was nothing that could kill such a monster. All that Hercules had was a bow with arrows, a spear and a club.
Hercules approached the cave and shouted loudly:
- Well, come out, Lyova from Mogilev! Right now, I'll tear your head off!
A huge lion reluctantly emerged from the cave and roared so that the trees bent, and all the leaves crumbled from them.
Who dares to wake me up? Is that you, you wretched little man?
- Now you will understand who woke you up, fat hippopotamus! exclaimed Hercules.
He took his bow and fired three arrows at the Lion, one after the other. But the arrows bounced off the skin of the Lion. Hercules threw his spear. But the spear broke on the skin of the Lion. Then Hercules launched his mighty club at the Lion. But the Lion opened his huge mouth and swallowed the club like a fly.
And then a huge lion rushed at Hercules, and, of course, would have crushed him like a cockroach, if the hero had not had time to jump aside. And as he jumped away, he rushed to run away with all his legs. The lion is behind him. Hercules from him. The monster attacks - the hero retreats. And so the lion managed to drive Hercules to the edge of the abyss. Hercules at the very time to read some prayer, but he does not know a single one. Hercules looked around, he sees a huge bird flying in the sky. The hero took out a grilled chicken from the bag, which he was going to have a bite to eat after he dealt with the Lion, and threw it up. A huge bird saw a small bird, albeit fried, and swooped down. And a huge lion, with huge leaps, is approaching Hercules. Yes, the hero managed to jump and grab onto the tail of a huge bird. Well, this mighty bird carried Hercules right out of the mouth of the Lion. And the huge lion ran so far that its braking distance was insufficient to stop at the edge of the abyss, and it crashed down from the cliff into the abyss.
And Hercules ordered the huge Eagle to land if he did not want something torn off from him. The eagle, of course, immediately landed, and Hercules let him go, and even left him a roast bird - as a bonus. Hercules found the dead Lion, cut off his head, chopped off all four paws and tore off his skin. From the lion's paws, the shoemaker sewed two pairs of strong sandals - Hercules ran in them for a hundred years, they didn’t have any demolition. From the skin of a lion, a furrier sewed a pair of capes for Hercules, which no arrow could pierce. Why not body armor?! And Hercules brought the head of a lion to King Eurystheus. The cunning king then put this head up for auction at Sotheby's. They say that the head of the Nemean lion was bought for a huge amount of money by some anonymous buyer from Russia.
So Hercules accomplished his first feat. I'm not sure that it was a feat, but the Greeks insist on it. I won't argue.

THE SECOND LABOR OF HERCULES

Lernaean Hydra

When Hercules brought King Eurystheus his first combat trophy - the head of a huge lion, the king questioned the feat of the hero. Were there any witnesses? Oh, they weren't! So you can't prove it was you who killed the lion? No, brother. Will not work. If you want to get into the Guinness Book of Records, you must provide documentary evidence of your feat, and even a bunch of witnesses. So, my friend, I'm giving you one more chance. Go and kill the Lernaean Hydra that lives three kilometers from the city of Lerna. Ask my secretary for the exact address.
And the cunning Eurystheus sent Hydra to kill Hercules because he was very fond of cranberries in sugar. And cranberries grew only in that swamp and nowhere else. And as the terrible Hydra started up in that swamp, they stopped collecting cranberries. Who wants to die for the royal whim?
Hercules had to go to fight the Hydra. He found her in a huge swamp two and a half kilometers from Lerna. Hercules approached the paradise of the swamp and shouted loudly:
- Hey, Hydra-Mydra! Get out! Let's measure strength!
At his cry, a huge snake head, the size of a barrel, poked out of the swamp. Behind her is the second. Next is the third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. Seventh. Eighth. Ninth! Although Hercules did not know how to count, because he did not study at school, he realized that the Hydra had many heads. So, it's going to be a tough job.
And all the nine heads of the Hydra, as they saw Hercules, hissed with a terrible hiss, from one sound of which one can die with fear:
"So it's you, you little man!" It's you, Hercules, the killer of my own brother, the Nemean lion! Now I will tear you to pieces!
- Let's see who will defeat whom, swamp creature! - exclaimed the hero.
Hercules grabbed the club and, well, let's hit the hydra on the heads. Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! Bach! He knocked off all the heads, but only he sees that in place of the cut heads, new ones immediately grew. Hercules began waving his club again. And again all the heads of the Hydra grew back. Hercules fought for three hours without a break, but he just couldn’t defeat the Hydra. Yes, his friend Iolaus helped him here, whom Hercules took with him as a witness, so that he could apply for a feat in the Guinness book. While Hercules brandished his club, Iolaus dragged a barrel of gunpowder to the swamp, which he took with him - just in case. Iolaus inserted a wick into the barrel, set fire to it, and threw the barrel into the swamp. And he shouts to a friend: “Take off your feet, Hercules! Now, how fucking!” Hercules barely managed to get out of the swamp.
This is where it exploded. Tore the hydra into a thousand pieces, and scattered these pieces all over Greece. Since then, in every swamp in Greece, the hydra has been sitting. Now you understand why there are no cranberries in Greece? Now the Greeks buy cranberries in Russia.
Hercules found a pair of severed Hydra heads in a swampy swamp, and, as a trophy, brought them to King Eurystheus. And Tsar Eurystheus again does not believe him. Did you only bring two heads? Hydra had nine of them. Yes, and you have only one witness, I told you that there should be a whole bunch of witnesses. So, my friend, here's another challenge for you. Go and kill all the Stymphalian birds. They do not give life to people and animals. And no one can deal with them. So you prove that you are the strongest of all!
And you ask: where did the two heads of the hydrina go? That's right - right there. At Sotheby's auction.

THE THIRD LABOR OF HERCULES

Stymphalian birds

For two days and two nights, Hercules walked to the city of Stimfal, in the vicinity of which terrible birds ruled. Their beaks and claws were of copper and bronze. Their huge carcasses were covered with copper and bronze feathers. It was these feathers that flew like swift arrows, killing all living things. A huge flock of these birds settled in a dense forest at the foot of a high hill. Moreover, one half of the flock was copper, and the other was bronze.
Hercules thought about how to deal with these birds? There are thousands of them, and he only has fifty arrows. And then Athena-Palada appeared to him and said: “Take this iron mouthpiece and go to the top of the hill. At night, when the birds are sleeping, take the mouthpiece and yell at it with all your might! The birds will get scared and start fighting each other.”
Hercules took an iron mouthpiece and went to the hill. He approached the hill and saw that the whole hill was surrounded by a high fence, and at the closed iron gate, there was a watchman's booth, and a sign on it: “Private territory. No entry!" And a little lower, in clumsy handwriting, it says: "Entrance - 1000 drachmas." Well, since Hercules was illiterate (he didn’t go to school), he couldn’t read the inscription, but simply knocked out the iron gate with a kick of his left foot and climbed to the top of the hill. The hero hid behind a huge boulder, and sat in the shelter until the night, satisfying his hunger with his favorite grilled chicken. And when night came, Hercules began to yell into an iron mouthpiece with all his might: “I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone! I’m tearing off everyone’s heads!” Here in the forest such a din rose! You can't see anything, but you can only hear the ringing of copper and bronze. Here and in the direction of Hercules, bird arrows flew. He managed to hide behind a boulder, but several arrows hit him, but the skin of the Nemean lion saved him.
In the morning, Hercules sees that the whole huge flock of birds has gathered at the watering hole - a small lake on the edge of the forest. “Here you are! thought Hercules. “I can’t handle these birds.” He went down the hill, went to the watchman's booth, and in it the watchman was fast asleep. Doesn't look like a Greek. It looks not like a Kyrgyz, not like an Uzbek, not like an African. Hercules woke him up and asked:
- And you, how are you not like us, why are you sleeping so calmly? Are you afraid of birds?
- Not afraid. They are afraid of me, - the watchman answers.
- And why are they afraid of you, such a shibzika? Hercules was surprised.
“They are afraid because they know that I can kill them all,” the watchman answers calmly.
- Kill??? Hercules did not believe.
- Very simple. I'll cast a spell on a dead rat, and they'll kill each other.
- Well, so conjure, come on! Hercules ordered.
- I can not. I need their feathers, - the watchman answers.
Hercules pulled out of the lion's skin two feathers stuck in it - copper and bronze - and handed them to the watchman.
- Here you are. Witch, come on!
The watchman - either a Kirghiz, or an Uzbek, or an African - thought a little and said:
- It is better not to conjure on a rat, but on dead birds. Bring me a couple. Red and bronze.
And on the lawn, after a night fight of birds, there were about a dozen dead birds. Hercules brought copper and bronze birds and gave them to the watchman. Well, then proceeded to the rite of witchcraft. He took the carcass of a bronze bird and stuck a copper feather into it. He stuck a bronze feather into a copper bird. And he began to mutter something, do not understand what. And then, as he waved his hands, as he cried out, - then it all began.
The whole flock of birds rose into the air and immediately split in half. On one side are copper birds, and on the other, bronze ones. And a deadly battle began between them. Birds fought all day, and by evening the bronze ones began to overcome the red ones. The Reds could not stand it and flew away from the battlefield. And the bronze ones also flew somewhere from these parts, and never returned.
Hercules was surprised at the witchcraft of the watchman, and as a token of gratitude he put in place the iron gate, which he demolished the other day. Then the hero picked up a couple of dead birds and headed to the palace of Eurystheus. And the king again did not credit Hercules with his feat, citing the fact that half of the birds had scattered somewhere. And there was an order - to kill everyone!
They say that a flock of bronze birds has found a haven somewhere in the mountains of the Caucasus. And so many of them divorced there that Zurab Tsereteli still has no problems with bronze. And the red birds reached distant Russia, where, after many centuries, they caused such riots that the whole great country turned red for as much as 74 years.
Here is such a story.

THE FOURTH LABOR OF HERCULES

kerinean fallow deer

After a six-month vacation, which King Eurystheus presented to Hercules, the king summoned the hero to his place and ordered to get ready for a new campaign. He ordered Hercules to catch a doe with golden horns and deliver it alive to his palace. The king knew that this doe was listed in the Red Book, and therefore ordered not to kill her, but to bring her alive. Seeing Hercules on the road, the king joked: they say, for you, hero, the winner of the Nemean lion, the Lernean hydra and bronze birds, this task of mine will be simple fun.
Hercules went to the mountains of Arcadia, where this wonderful doe lived. After many days of searching, he finally saw a doe. Hercules chased her, but the doe ran faster than the wind, and it was impossible to catch up with her. It's much easier these days. He got into a helicopter with some governor and prosecutor, and in no time caught up with any doe and any other goat from any Red Book. And Hercules had to run after the doe on his own two feet. Good - the sturdy sandals saved his feet from the sharp rocks. Hercules chased a doe for a whole year. Completely out of strength. Lost ten kilos. And the deer seems to be playing with him. Lets go and quickly disappears. Stop and wait again. Hercules could not stand such mockery, and one day he shot an arrow into this nasty doe. The arrow hit the doe's leg. The poor animal was lame and could no longer run. Here Hercules caught a doe. He put her on his shoulders and headed back.
Suddenly he sees a beautiful maiden in the form of a ranger walking towards him. She approached Hercules and introduced herself:
- Artemis. Reserve security service.
And Hercules says to her:
- I have no time to talk, beauty. I hasten to King Eurystheus with a trophy. If you want, leave an address. When I'm free, we'll chat.
And Artemis says to him in a stern, stern voice:
- You are a young man, wounded the rarest animal, which is listed in the Red Book. There is no other such doe on earth - this is the only one. You have committed a crime and now you are in prison."
Hercules did not want to sit in prison at all, especially since he had heard a lot about the inclinations of the prisoners. And he began to beg Artemis to let him go. Artemis took pity on him and forgave him. And Hercules, before saying goodbye, says to her:
- Listen, Artemis. Do me a favor. Give me a document confirming that I caught a golden doe.
“No problem,” Artemis replied and handed him a piece of paper with a seal.
Hercules was delighted that now he has documentary evidence of his feat. So, soon his name will be recorded in the Guinness book forever.
When Hercules returned to the palace of Eurystheus, the first thing he did was to hand the king a document with a seal.
- What is it? Was the king surprised? - Where is the doe?
- I caught the doe, but the ranger Artemis took it from me. And instead of a doe, I gave this document with a seal, confirming my feat, ”Hercules proudly declared.
The king read the document and angrily exclaimed:
- Moron! It's a penalty ticket! I have to pay a fine of one hundred thousand drachmas or I'm going to jail!
Hercules immediately backed away to the door, and the king shouted after him:
- Such idiots will ruin my Greece, in the end! Get out of my sight!
For three whole months, Hercules hid in some kind of wilderness, fearing the wrath of the king. And for the first time the hero regretted that he did not go to school.

22.10.2012
THE FIFTH LABOR OF HERCULES
Erymanthian boar
While Hercules was hiding from the royal wrath, his peasants living near Mount Erimanf came to King Eurystheus with a request to save them from the wild boar, which destroyed all their crops. The king summoned the minister of the interior grandfather to him and ordered him to find Hercules and hand him the royal order - to find and kill the wild boar. The detectives of the minister quickly found Hercules and handed him the royal order. Hercules began to gather on the road. And his friend Iolaus says to him: take me with you - I will come in handy.
While Hercules and Iolaus were walking to Mount Erimanf, Iolaus told that the rookery of a wild boar was guarded by evil and ruthless centaurs - horses with human bodies and heads. And among all these centaurs, only two - Phol and Chiron - are friendly to people.
On the way of Hercules and Iolaus, they met a large cave in which the kind, old centaur Foul lived. Foul sat all day alone and was terribly bored. And when he saw two travelers, he was very happy and invited them to visit. Phol began to treat Hercules and Iolaus with the best wine, the aroma of which spread throughout the district. The smell of wine reached the centaurs as well, and enraged them. “With whom is Foul for three drinking our wine?” After all, this wine belonged not only to Fall, but to all of them. And the centaurs galloped to the cave of Fola. And when they rode, they saw Hercules and Iolaus and offered them to surrender without a fight.
The Greeks don't give up! - exclaimed Hercules and began to throw arrows at the centaurs from his bow. The centaurs were frightened by the poisoned arrows and rushed to run in all directions. Yes, that's the trouble. Drunk, Hercules fired one arrow at the old, gray-haired, wise, kind centaur Chiron, and mortally wounded him. The arrow was poisoned from which there was no escape. Foul ran up to his friend Chiron, pulled the arrow out of his wound, and dropped it by negligence. An arrow pierced Fall's leg and he died instantly.
Hercules carried the bodies of Chiron and Foul into a cave, blocked the entrance to it with stones, and went to the forest where the boar lived. And the centaur Fall managed to open the way to the boar when they drank wine. Hercules found the boar's lair. A boar jumped out of his lair and swiftly rushed at Hercules. Hercules barely had time to jump aside, otherwise the boar would have torn his stomach open with his huge fangs. And the boar ran so hard into a pine tree that it broke the tree, and died from a terrible blow. Hercules brought a dead boar to King Eurystheus, but he again did not count his feat. Drunken "exploits" are not considered feats. 22.10.2012
THE SIXTH LABOR OF HERCULES
Augean stables

The king of Elis Avgiy had huge herds of horses, and since no one wanted, even for good money, to clean the stables from manure, then over time, the stables were crammed with horse goodness nowhere further. Even the horses themselves refused to enter their stables, and even more so, to sleep in them. Here you go. Since Avgiy did not have his own regular sewer, he turned to the neighboring king, Eurystheus, with a request to help in this dirty business. Eurystheus immediately remembered how Hercules framed him for a hundred thousand drachmas, and ordered him to go to Avgius and clean out his stables. Hercules got to Avgii, saw his countless herds of horses and filthy stables, and says:
- That's it, King Avgiy. I will clean your stables in one day, but on condition that I get one tenth of your horses for the work.
Augius understood that it was impossible to clear all the stables of manure in one day, and therefore willingly agreed to this condition.
“Give me a shovel,” Hercules demanded.
- Bring the shovel to the hero! - ordered Avgiy.
Hercules set to work. First of all, he broke the walls of the stables from the spirit of the sides. Then he began to work diligently with a shovel. He began to destroy a large dam that protected the city from the destructive floods of two rivers - Alfea and Peneya. The hero worked hard for half a day until he destroyed the dam. A swift stream instantly cleared the stables of manure, demolished all the stables and half the city at the same time. When Hercules demanded a well-deserved reward from King Augius, the greedy Augius refused to pay. “They say, you, Hercules, destroyed half the city for me. So - you have to pay me, not I you. The hero Hercules terribly took revenge on the king of Elis for such an insult. He killed him in a fair duel with a poisoned arrow from a bow. And after that, he made sacrifices to the Olympic gods and established the Olympic Games, which have been held since then every four years.
This was probably the first work of Hercules, which he completed on his own - without anyone's help. Who would have thought that Hercules had such a talent as a sewer! Maybe that was his calling?
We should be grateful to Hercules for establishing the Olympic Games. True, I must admit, I could not even think that, in order to establish the Olympic Games, it was necessary to get rid of a heap of manure and from the king.
22.10.2012
THE SEVENTH LABOR OF HERCULES
Cretan bull

Once a snow-white bull with golden horns sailed to the coast of Crete. The king of Crete, Minos, was so amazed by this event that he promised to sacrifice this bull to the god of the seas, Poseidon. But then Minos felt sorry for this unusually beautiful bull, and he sacrificed another bull to Poseidon. But the gods, that's what the gods are for, that they see everything and know everything. Poseidon was angry with Minos and sent rabies on the white bull. The mad bull rushed all over the island and destroyed everything in its path.
It was then that King Minos turned to King Eurystheus with a request to catch a mad bull. You have already guessed that Eurystheus entrusted this action to Hercules. Hercules arrived in Cyprus on the next line flight of the Onassis ship company, and as soon as he landed on the coast of Cyprus, he immediately asked: “Well, where is the rabid bull?” When he learned that a rabid bull was running all over the island, the first thing he did was vaccinate himself against rabies, have a snack, and he himself began to run all over the island. Do not get used! Finally, he came face to face with a rabid bull. Without hesitation, Hercules punched the bull in the nose with his fist, and while he was shaking his head in pain, he jumped on his back and shouted menacingly: “Come on, go ahead! Otherwise, yay ... I'll tear it off! Although the bull was rabid, he understood what was threatening him - if you lose your eggs ... then the cows will no longer be interesting. Therefore, the bull did not resist. He ran to the sea, threw himself into the water and swam towards Greece. And when the bull swam to Greece, he ran away again, and now began to rush all over Greece. But what was the fault of Hercules? He did his job. The bull was delivered to Greece. But the feat was again not counted. What a feat is it - to swim on a rabid bull in the sea?

22.10.2012
THE EIGHTH LABOR OF HERCULES
Horses of Diomedes

The king of Thrace, Diomedes, had horses of marvelous beauty and incredible strength. Since childhood, they have been chained to the stalls with triple chains. Because all the time they were eager for freedom, not wanting to serve anyone. And these marvelous horses never ate the usual horse food: grass, hay, oats. They ate only human flesh.
King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get to Thrace, steal the horses of Diomedes and bring them to Mycenae. Hercules sailed to Thrace on a ship, along with his beloved friend Abderu. Hercules came to King Diomedes and said to him:
- Sell, king, your horses. I will pay you thirty thousand drachmas for them.
- Yes, my horses are not worth a million drachmas! Diomedes laughs.
- Well, since they are worth nothing, give it away just like that, - says Hercules.
- You're out of your mind, my friend! Where is it seen that priceless horses were given to some stranger at his first request? Maybe you're drunk? So go and sleep!
Hercules was terribly offended at the words of King Diomedes, and harbored a deadly rage at him. At night, Hercules and his companions sneaked into the stables of Diomedes and took his horses to his ship. Diomedes with his soldiers rushed in pursuit of Hercules. A battle began, in which Hercules emerged victorious, killing King Diomedes and his soldiers. When Hercules boarded the ship, he was horrified to see how the horses of Diomedes devour his beloved friend Abdera.
Hercules arranged a magnificent funeral for his beloved friend. Near his grave he founded a city which he named Abdera. When Hercules brought the horses to Eurystheus, he ordered them to be released into the wild. The horses fled to the mountains, covered with dense forest, where they were torn to pieces by wild animals with pleasure.
Such is the story of the eighth labor of Hercules. Although, to be honest, I don’t understand in any way - what was the feat? Hercules stole horses and lost a beloved friend. He killed King Diomedes, who was protecting his horses. Somehow the language does not turn to call it a feat. But the Greeks insist on it. Well, okay, the Greeks know better.

THE NINTH LABOR OF HERCULES

Belt of Hippolyta

Where the river Fermodont flows into the waters of the Eucine Sea, there is the city of Themiscyra - the main city of the country of the Amazons. This country is dominated by warlike Amazon women. They despise men and pride themselves on their invincibility. And the Amazons are ruled by the mighty Hippolyta. The god of war Ares gave Hippolyta a leather belt, and as long as she wears this belt, no one can defeat her and the Amazons.
The young, but wayward and capricious daughter of Tsar Eurystheus Admet found out about this. She came to her father and demanded that he take out Hippolyta's leather belt and give it to her for her birthday. Eurystheus immediately ordered Hercules to bring him Hippolyta's belt.
Hercules gathered a small detachment of warriors and set off on a long journey on one ship. On the path of Hercules was the island of Paros, where the hero was going to replenish food and water. Unexpectedly, the sons of the ruler of the island of Minos killed two companions of Hercules. Enraged, Hercules killed half the inhabitants of Paros, and drove the survivors into the city, and threatened to starve everyone to death. The inhabitants of Paros were frightened and gave Hercules, instead of two of his soldiers killed, the grandchildren of Miros - Alkey and Sthenelus.
Hercules sailed on, not forgetting to shed the blood of those he did not like along the way. At last he sailed to Themiscyra. Hercules went ashore with his detachment, and on the shore he was met by Hippolyta herself and many Amazons. At first, the Amazons wanted to kill the detachment of Hercules, but the queen stopped them. She was attracted by the mighty hero Hercules, and she invited him and his warriors to a feast. The Amazons and their guests feasted all day, and at night the Amazons led the guests to their bedrooms. And for one warrior from the detachment of Hercules, there were ten Amazons. And Hercules spent this night and many subsequent nights with fifty Amazons and with their queen Hippolyta. Hercules and his warriors stayed for almost a whole year in the hospitable land of the Amazons. And when it was time to return home, Queen Hippolyta presented Hercules with her leather belt.
It is said that shortly after the departure of Hercules, children were born to the Amazons. And fifty boys, when they began to talk, said - we will not go to school!
Hercules returned to Mycenae and gave Hippolyta's belt to King Eurystheus. The king presented the belt to his beloved daughter Admeta. But Admeta was afraid to own this belt and transferred it to the temple of the goddess Hera.
Well, was it worth Hercules to embark on such dangerous adventures? Although it was probably worth it. Perhaps this is the greatest feat of Hercules. What do you think?
22.10.2012

You can see the beginning of this thread here:

Let's continue to get acquainted with various myths about the creation of the world.

Chinese.

Scandinavians.

Greeks.

Zoroastrians.

Arikara Indians.

Huron Indians.

Mayan Indians.

Disputes between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory do not subside to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more). In this article we will talk about the ten most unusual myths of antiquity.

10. The myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth can be called the myth of Pan-gu, a giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.

According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and he lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one day he got tired of such a life, and, waving a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts subsequently became Heaven and Earth. He was unimaginably tall - about fifty kilometers long, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.

Unfortunately for Pan-gu, and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it - Pan-gu decayed really cool: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became Cosmos. So, his death gave life to our world.

9. Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. He tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one solid sea around, Belobog decided to create land by sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.

Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, there was one small problem: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.

Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth in order to find out from Chernobog how to stop this business. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiations. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, it is necessary to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - “enough”. What Belobog did.

To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting to take revenge, he cursed Belobog, and cursed him in a very original way - for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces all his life. However, Belobog did not lose his head, and made the bee feces sweet, like sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared ... The main thing is that there is honey.

8. Armenian duality

Armenian myths are reminiscent of Slavic ones, and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created, it only explains how everything around is arranged. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.

So, here is a summary: Heaven and Earth are husband and wife separated by the ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when he shakes his horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.

There is also an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan swims around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites his own tail, life on Earth will end and the apocalypse will come. Have a nice day.

7 Norse Myth Of The Ice Giant

It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim, the realms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the merging of two opposite elements, Ymir was born.

And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It's strange, yes, we understand this - well, that's how they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Bor, and Bor had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed not enough to them, and they decided to kill Ymir's great-grandfather, making the world out of him.

Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; from the skull of the unfortunate brothers created the vault of heaven, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and they made clouds out of the torn brains of poor Ymir.

This new world Odin and the company immediately decided to populate: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man out of ash, and a woman out of alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

6. Greek myth about balls

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only continuous Chaos around. There was no sun, no moon - everything was dumped into one big pile, where things were inseparable from each other.

But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and set to work: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from the clear day, and all that sort of thing.

Then he set about the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: it was very hot at the equator, extremely cold at the poles, but between the poles and the equator - just right, you can’t imagine more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.

And then they tore it in two, making a man and a woman out of it - the future of us.

SourcePhoto 5The Egyptian God Who Loved His Shadow Very Much

In the beginning there was a great ocean whose name was "Nu", and this ocean was Chaos, and there was nothing else besides it. It was not until Atum, by an effort of will and thought, created himself from this Chaos. Yes, the man had balls. But further - more and more interesting. So, he created himself, now it was necessary to create the earth in the ocean. Which he did. Having wandered around the earth and realizing his total loneliness, Atum became unbearably bored, and he decided to plan more gods. How? And so, with an ardent, passionate feeling for his own shadow.

Thus fertilized, Atum gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, spitting them out of his mouth. But, apparently, he overdid it, and the newborn gods were lost in the ocean of Chaos. Atum grieved, but soon, to his relief, he nevertheless found and regained his children. He was so happy about the reunion that he wept for a long, long time, and his tears, touching the earth, fertilized it - and people grew out of the earth, many people! Then, while people were fertilizing each other, Shu and Tefnut also had coitus, and they gave birth to other gods - more gods to the god of gods! - Gebu and Nutu, who became the personification of the Earth and the sky.

There is another myth in which Atum replaces Ra, but this does not change the main essence - there, too, everyone fertilizes each other en masse.

4. The myth of the Yoruba people is about the Sands of Life and the chicken

There is such an African people - the Yoruba. So, they also have their own myth about the origin of all things.

In general, it was like this: there was one God, his name was Olorun, and one fine day the thought came to his mind - that the Earth should be arranged somehow (then the Earth was one continuous wasteland).

Olorun did not really want to do this himself, so he sent his son, Obotalu, to Earth. However, at that time, Obotala had more important things to do (in fact, a chic party was planned in heaven then, and Obotala simply could not miss it).

While Obotala was having fun, all the responsibility was thrown on Odudawa. With nothing at hand but chicken and sand, Odudawa nevertheless set to work. His principle was as follows: he took sand from a cup, poured it on the Earth, and then let the chicken run along the sand and trample it well.

Having carried out several such simple manipulations, Odudava created the land of Lfe or Lle-lfe. This is where the story of Odudava ends, and Obotala reappears on the stage, this time completely drunk - the party was a success.

And so, being in a state of divine alcoholic intoxication, the son of Olorun set about creating us humans. It went out of his hands badly, and he made invalids, dwarfs and freaks. Having sobered up, Obotala was horrified and quickly corrected everything, creating normal people.

According to another version, Obotala never recovered, and Odudava also made people, simply lowering us from the sky and at the same time assigning himself the status of the ruler of mankind.

3. Aztec "War of the Gods"

According to the Aztec myth, no original Chaos existed. But there was a primary order - an absolute vacuum, impenetrably black and endless, in which, in some strange way, the Supreme God - Ometeotl lived. He had a dual nature, having both a feminine and a masculine beginning, was kind and at the same time evil, was both warm and cold, truth and falsehood, white and black.

He gave birth to the rest of the gods: Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe-Totec, who, in turn, created giants, water, fish and other gods.

Tezcatlipoca ascended to heaven, sacrificing himself and becoming the Sun. However, there he encountered Quetzalcoatl, entered into battle with him and lost to him. Quetzalcoatl threw Tezcatlipoc from the sky and became the Sun himself. Then, Quetzalcoatl gave birth to humans and gave them nuts to eat.

Tezcatlipoka, still holding a grudge against Quetzalcoatl, decided to take revenge on his creations by turning people into monkeys. Seeing what happened to his first people, Quetzalcoatl fell into a rage and caused a powerful hurricane that scattered vile monkeys around the world.

While Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc were at enmity with each other, Tialoc and Chalchiuhtlicue also turned into suns in order to continue the cycle of day and night. However, the fierce battle of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca also affected them - then they, too, were thrown from heaven.

In the end, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoc ended the enmity, forgetting past grievances and creating new people, the Aztecs, from the dead bones and blood of Quetzalcoatl.

2. Japanese "World Cauldron"

Japan. Chaos again, again in the form of an ocean, this time as dirty as a swamp. Magical reeds (or reeds) grew in this ocean swamp, and from this reed (or reeds), like our children from cabbage, the gods were born, there are a great many of them. All together they were called Kotoamatsukami - and this is all that is known about them, for, as soon as they were born, they immediately hurried to hide in the reeds. Or in reeds.

While they were hiding, new gods appeared, including Ijinami and Ijinaga. They began to stir the ocean until it thickened and formed the land - Japan. Ijinami and Ijinaga had a son, Ebisu, who became the god of all fishermen, a daughter, Amaterasu, who became the Sun, and another daughter, Tsukiyomi, who turned into the Moon. They also had one more son, the last - Susanoo, who, for his violent temper, received the status of the god of wind and storms.

1. Lotus flower and "Om-m"

Like many other religions, Hinduism also features the concept of the emergence of the world from the void. Well, as from the void - there was an endless ocean in which a giant cobra swam, and there was Vishnu, who slept on the cobra's tail. And nothing more.

Time passed, days succeeded each other one after another, and it seemed that it would always be like this. But one day, a sound that had never been heard before - the sound of "Om-m" - sounded all around, and the previously empty world was overwhelmed with energy. Vishnu awakened from his sleep, and Brahma appeared from the lotus flower at his navel. Vishnu ordered Brahma to create the world, and in the meantime he disappeared, taking with him a snake.

Brahma, sitting in a lotus position on a lotus flower, set to work: he divided the flower into three parts, using one to create Heaven and Hell, another to create Earth, and a third to create heaven. Then Brahma created animals, birds, people and trees, thus creating all living things.

MYTHS ABOUT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE FIRST PEOPLE

Egypt childish mythology
The Egyptians believed that people and their Ka (soul) were fashioned from clay by the ram-headed god Khnum. He is the main creator of the world. He sculpted the whole world on a potter's wheel and in the same way he created people and animals.

The myth of the ancient Indians
The progenitor of the world was Brahma. People appeared from the body of Purusha - the primordial man whom the gods sacrificed at the beginning of the world. They threw him, like a sacrificial animal, on straw, doused him with oil, surrounded him with firewood. From this sacrifice, divided into parts, hymns and chants, horses, bulls, goats and sheep were born. From his mouth priests arose, his hands became warriors, farmers were created from his thighs, and the lower class was born from his feet. From Purusha's mind arose a month, from an eye - the sun, fire was born from his mouth, and from his breath - the wind. The air came from his navel, the sky came from his head, the cardinal points were created from his ears, and the earth became his feet. Thus, from a great sacrifice, the eternal gods created the world.

Greek mythology
According to Greek mythology, Prometheus, the son of the titan Iapetus, the cousin of Zeus, fashioned people from earth and water. Prometheus created people looking at the sky, in the likeness of the gods.
According to some myths, people and animals were created by the Greek gods in the depths of the earth from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods instructed Prometheus and Epimetheus to distribute abilities between them. Epimetheus is to blame for the defenselessness of people, since he spent all the abilities for life on earth on animals, so Prometheus had to take care of people (gave them fire, etc.).

The myth of the peoples of Central America
The gods molded the first people from wet clay. But they did not justify the hopes of the great gods. Everything would be fine: they are both alive and able to speak, but how can clay blockheads even turn their heads? They stare at one point and goggle their eyes. And then they will begin to crawl, sprinkle them with a little rain. But worst of all - they came out soulless, brainless ...
The gods got down to business a second time. "Let's try to make people out of wood!" they agreed. No sooner said than done. And the earth was inhabited by wooden idols. But they had no heart, and they were foolish.
And the gods decided once again to take up the creation of people. “In order to create people from flesh and blood, we need a noble material that will give them life, strength, and intelligence,” the gods decided. They found this noble material - white and yellow maize (corn). They threshed the cobs, kneaded the dough, from which they blinded the first reasonable people.

Myth of the North American Indians
Once it was such a hot summer that the reservoir in which the turtles lived dried up. Then the turtles decided to look for another place to live and hit the road.
The fattest tortoise, to make it easier for himself, took off his shell. So she walked without a shell until she turned into a man - the ancestor of the Turtle family.

The myth of the North American Acoma tribetells that the first two women learned in a dream that people live underground. They dug a hole and freed the people.

The myth of the Inca people
In Tiahuanaco, the creator of all things created the tribes there. He made one person of each tribe out of clay and drew the dress they were to wear; those who should be with long hair, he sculpted with long hair, and those who should be shorn, with short ones; and every nation was given its own language, and its own songs, and cereals, and food.
When the creator finished this work, he breathed life and soul into every man and woman and ordered them to go underground. And each tribe went out where it was ordered.

Myth of the Indians of Mexico
When everything was ready on Earth, Nohotsakyum created people. The first were the kalsia, that is, the monkey people, then the koha-ko, the boar people, then the kapuk, the jaguar people, and finally the chan-ka, the pheasant people. So he created different nations. He made them out of clay - men, women, children, fit their eyes, noses, arms, legs and everything else, then put the figures in a fire, on which he usually baked tortillas (corn cakes). From the fire, the clay hardened, and people came to life.

Australian myths
In the beginning, the Earth was covered by the sea, and at the bottom of the dried up primeval ocean and on the slopes of the rocks protruding from the waves, there were already ... lumps of helpless creatures with glued fingers and teeth, closed ears and eyes. Other similar human "larvae" lived in the water and looked like shapeless balls of raw meat, in which the rudiments of parts of the human body were only guessed. A flycatcher bird separated human embryos from each other with a stone knife, cut through their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, fingers ... She taught them how to make fire by friction, cook food, gave them a spear, a spear thrower, a boomerang, each one provided him with a personal churing-goy (guardian of the soul).
Different Australian tribes consider kangaroo, emu, opossum, wild dog, lizard, crow, bat as their ancestors.

There once lived two brothers, two twins - Bunjil and Palian. Bunjil could turn into a falcon, and Palian into a raven. One brother made mountains and rivers on the earth with a wooden sword, and the other made salt water and fish that live in the sea. Once Bunjil took two pieces of bark, put clay on them and began to knead it with a knife, sculpting legs, torso, arms and head - this is how he created a man. He also made a second one. He was pleased with his work and performed a dance with joy. Since then, people have existed, since then they have been dancing for joy. To one man he attached wood fibers like hair, and to another too - the first had curly hair, the second straight. Since then, men of some genera have curly hair, while others have straight hair.

Scandinavian mythology
Having created the world, Odin (the supreme deity) and his brothers decided to populate it. One day, on the seashore, they found two trees: an ash and an alder. The gods cut them down and made a man out of ash and a woman out of alder. Then one of the gods breathed life into them, another gave them intelligence, and a third gave them blood and rosy cheeks. So the first people appeared, and they were called: the man - Ask, and the woman - Embla.

Creation myths

Traditions about the creation of the world are numerous and varied. But the main myth that underlies them belongs to the deepest antiquity. The Slavs imagined the world as being born from water. Such a belief is based on the actual, gradual emergence of land from under the waters that covered it.

According to the pagan traditions of our people, pure and impure forces participated in the creation of the visible world. The first did everything perfectly, and the second spoiled everything. Both deities participate in the creative activity of nature: the dark one - as a representative of the cloudy demons that darken the sky and close the rains, and the light one - as a thunderer of clouds, bringing down rain streams to the earth and enlightening the sun.

At the heart of the myth lies the idea of ​​the spring renewal of nature, of the creation of world life from that deadness and apparent non-existence into which winter plunges it. The same thought lies in the Slavic traditions. At the beginning of spring, the awakened Perun rides on a fiery chariot, in all his formidable grandeur, to the great work of creativity - he strikes crowds of demons with thunderous arrows and, scattering the fruitful seed of rain, sows the earth with various cereals.

At the same time, he brings heavenly bodies out of thick clouds and fogs and, as it were, creates them from those semi-precious stones that until now have been hidden by the demons of winter and darkness at the bottom of the airy, cloudy ocean.

Bringing out the bright, spring sun, he creates white light, i.e., according to the basic meaning of this expression, he gives the world clear days, and according to a broader meaning, he creates the universe.

The sun's rays melt ice and snow, transforming their dead masses into noisy, high-water streams, and only then does earthly life begin with all its luxury and diversity, when the earth finally emerges from under the waters of the spring flood and is fanned by southerly winds.

It was from here that the myth arose that the earth is born from water and floats out of its abyss by the power of a divine breath. According to ancient belief, the earth, by the will of God, emerged from the abyss of the sea, in which, before the beginning of the world, it was immersed along with the sun, moon, stars, lightning and winds.

Life itself on earth originated from the moment when a fire flared up inside it, that is, when the rays of the spring sun warmed the frozen earth and awakened the power of fertility in it.

There was a belief that the universe was created by the king-fire and the queen-water, that is, lightning and rain, the heavenly fire of the sun and the living water of spring floods. It is remarkable that the word "create" points to water as an essential element of creativity. A "mortar" is a mixture of water and something dry.

In all mythologies, the deity of spring thunderstorms, as the fertilizer of the earth and the bearer of crops, is endowed with creative power. From his breath came winds, from his words - thunders, from tears - rains, from thick hair - clouds and clouds.

All these legends are rooted in one of the oldest myths. Two elemental forces act for the great feat of creating the world: light and dark. Despite the obvious desire of folk fantasy to build an ancient myth to the latest Christian views, the whole setting of the legend indicates that we are talking about the thunder god (Perun) and the demon of gloomy clouds:

“At the beginning of the world, God was pleased to push the earth forward. He called the devil, told him to dive into the abyss of water in order to get a handful of earth from there and bring it to him. “All right, Satan thinks, I will make the same earth myself!” He dived, took out the earth in his hand and stuffed his mouth with it. He brought it to God and gives it back, but he himself does not utter a word ...

Wherever the Lord throws the earth - it suddenly appears so even, even, that you stand at one end - then at the other you can see everything that is happening on the earth. Satan is watching... he wanted to say something and choked. God asked: what does he want? The devil coughed and ran out of fright. Then thunder and lightning struck the fleeing Satan, and wherever he lies down, hillocks and hills will move forward; where he coughs, a mountain will grow; And so, running all over the earth, he dug it up: he made hillocks, hills, mountains and lofty mountains.

The creation of the world in Slavic mythology is also associated with the name of Svarog - the god of heaven and heavenly fire, the spiritual ruler of our universe. He is the husband of Lada, the father of Dazhdbog - the progenitor of the Russians, the ancestor of most of the Slavic gods.

According to some legends, Svarog found the magic stone Alatyr, cast a spell, and the stone became a huge white-combustible stone. God foamed the ocean for them. The thickened moisture became the first land. Mother Earth Cheese appeared. In Slavic mythology, Alatyr-stone is the father of all stones, a sacred rock in the center of the world, in the middle of the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan. And on it stands the world tree - the tree of life, the axis of the world. The lower part of the tree (roots) is connected with the underworld, the middle (trunk) - with the earth, and the upper (branches) - with the heavenly, higher. It serves as the throne of all the supreme gods.

According to other legends, before the birth of light, the world was shrouded in darkness. Only Rod was in the darkness. Rod is the spring of the universe, the father of the gods. Rod gave birth to Love - Mother Lada. Rod suffered for a long time, he pushed for a long time. And he gave birth to the kingdom of heaven, and under it he created the heavenly. He cut the umbilical cord with a rainbow, separated the Ocean - the blue sea from the heavenly waters with a firmament of stone. He erected three vaults in heaven, divided Light and Darkness, Truth from Falsehood. Rod then gave birth to Mother Earth, and the Earth went into the dark abyss, she was buried in the Ocean. The sun then came out of his face - the very Kind of heaven, the progenitor and father of the gods! A bright moon - from his chest; frequent stars - from his eyes; clear dawns - from his eyebrows; dark nights - yes from his thoughts; violent winds from his breath; rain and snow and hail from his tears; his voice became thunder and lightning - the very Kind of heaven, the progenitor and father of the gods!

Pavel Bryullov. Landscape with a river

Rod gave birth to Svarog heavenly. Svarog began to pave the way for the Sun across the firmament, so that the horse-days raced across the sky, after the morning, so that the day would begin, and the night would come to replace the day. Svarog began to look around his possessions. He sees - the Sun rolls across the sky, the bright moon sees the stars, and under it the Ocean spreads and worries, foams with foam. He looked around his possessions, did not notice only Mother Earth.

Where is Mother Earth? he was sad. Then I noticed: something in the Ocean-Sea is turning black. This is a gray duck swimming, generated by sulfur foam.

Do you know where the Earth lies? - Svarog asked the gray duck.

“Under the water, the Earth,” the duck answered, “is buried deep in the Ocean ...

The duck said nothing, dived into the Ocean-Sea, hid in the abyss for a whole year. As the year ended, it rose from the bottom.

- I didn’t have enough spirit a little bit, I didn’t swim to the Earth a bit. I didn’t swim all the hair ...

Help us, Rod! - Svarog called here. Then violent winds rose, the blue sea roared ... Rod blew strength into the duck with the wind. And Svarog said to the gray duck:

- At the behest of the Heavenly Family, at the desire-desire of the welder, you get the Earth from the depths of the sea!

The duck did not say anything, dived into the Ocean-Sea and hid in the abyss for two years. As the term was over, it rose from the bottom.

- I didn’t have enough spirit a little bit, I didn’t swim to the Earth a bit. I did not swim half a hair ...

Help, father! Svarog screamed here. Then violent winds rose, and menacing clouds went across the sky, a great storm broke out, Rod's voice - thunder - shook the heavens, and lightning struck the duck. Rod breathed that great strength into a formidable storm into the gray duck. And again Svarog cursed the gray duck:

- At the behest of the Heavenly Family, at the desire-desire of the welder, you get the Earth from the depths of the sea!

The duck said nothing, dived into the Ocean-Sea and hid in the abyss for three years. As the term was over, it rose from the bottom. She brought a handful of earth in her beak.

Svarog took a handful of earth, began to crush in his palms.

- Warm up, Red Sun, light up, Bright moon, help, violent winds! We will sculpt from the damp earth the Earth-mother mother-nurse. Help us, Rod! Lada, help!

Svarog crushes the earth - the Sun warms, the Moon shines and the winds blow. The winds blew the earth from the palm, and it fell into the blue sea. The Red Sun warmed her - the Cheese-Earth baked on top with a crust, then cooled her Light Moon. So Svarog created Mother Earth Three underground vaults he established in it - three underground, infernal kingdoms. And so that the Earth would not go into the sea again, Rod gave birth to powerful Yusha under it - a wondrous, powerful snake. It is hard for him to keep Mother Earth for many thousands of years. Thus, Mother Earth Cheese was born. So on the Serpent she rested. If Yusha-Snake moves, Mother Earth-Cheese will turn.

And here is a legend recorded in Northern Russia already in Christian times: “Two goldeneyes floated on the ocean-sea: the first was a white goldeneye, and the other was a black goldeneye. And those two gogols swam the Lord Almighty himself and Satan. By God's command, by the blessing of the Mother of God, Satan pulled out a handful of earth from the bottom of the blue sea. From that handful, the Lord created flat places and pathy fields, and Satan made impenetrable abysses, awls (gorges) and high mountains.

And the Lord struck with a hammer and created his army, and a great war began between them. At first, the army of Satan prevailed, but in the end, the power of heaven took over. And Michael the Archangel overthrew the satanic army from heaven, and it fell to the ground in different places, which is why water, goblin and brownies appeared.

A similar tradition is found in the apocryphal literature. “Before the creation of the world, the Lord of hosts sat in three chambers in the air, and the light from his face was seventy-seven times brighter than this light, his garments were whiter than snow, brighter than the sun. There was then no sky, no earth, no sea, no clouds, no stars, no dawn, no days, no nights.

And the Lord said: wake up the crystal sky and wake up the dawn, and clouds, and stars! And he blew the winds from his bowels, and planted paradise in the east, and the Lord himself sat in the east in the beauty of his glory, and the thunder is the voice of the Lord, it is confirmed in the chariot of fire, and the lightning is the word of the Lord, it comes from the mouth of God.

Then the Lord created the sea of ​​Tiberias, boundless, and down to the sea through the air ... and the sight of the goldeneye floating on the sea, and that is the recommended Satan - entangled in the mud of the sea. And the Lord said to Satanail, as if not knowing him: Who are you for a man? And Satan said to him: I am a god. - And what do you call me? And Satan answered, You are God of God and Lord of the Lord. If Satan had not spoken like this to the Lord, the Lord would have immediately crushed him on the Sea of ​​Tiberias. And the Lord said to Satanail: dive into the sea and bring out sand and stone for me. And the Lord took sand and stone, and scattered (sand) over the sea, and said: wake the earth thick and spacious!

Then the Lord took a stone, broke it in two, and pure spirits flew out of one half from the blows of the rod of God, while from the other half Satan filled the countless power of demons. But Michael the Archangel cast him down with all the demons from high heaven.

The earth created by God was established on thirty-three whales.

Here is another version of an ancient legend: “There was neither sky nor earth, but only darkness and water mixed with earth like batter. God and Satan walked on the water for a long time, finally got tired and decided to rest. And there is nowhere to rest. Then God ordered Satan:

- Dive to the bottom of the sea and pull out a few grains of earth with the words: "In the name of the Lord, follow me, earth," and carry me upstairs.

Satan dived to the bottom of the sea, grabbed a handful of earth and thought to himself: “Why should I say:“ In the name of the Lord, ”how am I worse than God?” He clamped the earth in his fist and said:

In my name, earth, follow me.

But when he surfaced, it turned out that he did not have a grain of sand in his hands. Satan again dived to the bottom, picked up a handful of earth and again said:

- In my name, go, earth, follow me.

And again, nothing came out. God told him:

- You again did not listen to me and wanted to do it your own way. However, your idea is in vain, nothing will come of you. Dive in and tell me how I taught you.

Satan dived a third time, scooped up earth, and when he mentioned the name of God, he managed to pull up a handful of earth.

God took this land, sprinkled it over the water, and a small hillock with grass and trees formed on it. God, tired of work, lay down and fell asleep, and Satan was annoyed that he was not so omnipotent, so he decided to drown God. Satan took God in his arms to throw into the water, and sees that the earth in front of him has grown ten steps. He ran to the water to drown God, but as he ran, the earth grew and grew, and Satan could not reach the water. Satan put God on the ground and thinks: “The earth is as thin as a shell. I will dig a hole down to the water and throw God into it.” But no matter how much he dug, he could not get to the bottom of the water.

That is why there is so much earth in the world - Satan "ran" it when he wanted to destroy God.

Meanwhile, God woke up and said:

- Now you understand that you are powerless compared to me - the earth and water obey me, not you. And the hole that you dug will be needed by you yourself - under the heat.

As you can see, the legend about the joint creation of the world by God and his companion, who gradually becomes the enemy of the Lord, has become most widespread. This comrade-enemy in different versions of the legend can be called Satan, the Idol, the Evil One, the fallen angel, etc.

Having created the earth, God strengthened it on the fish that swim in the sea. Every seven years, the fish rises and falls, resulting in some years being rainy and others being dry. When the fish moves, turning over on the other side, earthquakes happen.

In some areas, it is believed that the fish, holding the earth, lies curled up in a ring and squeezes its tail with its teeth, and earthquakes occur when it releases the tail from its mouth.

It is sometimes believed that two fish, a male and a female, alternately hold the earth: when the male holds it, the earth rises higher above the surface of the sea and the year is dry. When the female holds the land, the land is closer to the water, as a result, the rivers and seas overflow their banks and the summer is wet.

And they also say that the earth rests on “high water”, water on stone, stone on four golden whales swimming in a fiery river. And everything together rests on the iron oak, which stands on the power of God.

Rivers, lakes and springs were dug up by birds. At the command of God, they all gathered together and first dug riverbeds and beds for reservoirs, and then brought water into them. According to other beliefs, the whole earth in the middle is cut with veins, through which water comes to the surface. And they also say that in the middle of the earth there is its “navel” - a hole from which water flows, then spreading along rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.

The people believed that mountains, gorges, swamps, bogs and other barren and inconvenient parts of the earth for human habitation were the work of Satan. When Satan, at the command of God, took out the earth from the bottom of the sea, he did not give it all to God, he hid a little behind his cheek. When God commanded the earth, thrown by him on the surface of the sea, to grow, the earth began to grow behind the cheek of Satan. He began to spit it out, and from the spitting of Satan turned out mountains, swamps and other barren places.

According to other legends, God, when creating the earth, boiled it, and the bubbles that formed while the earth was boiling, cooled down, turned into mountains. And they also say that at the beginning of the world the earth was liquid, God and Satan squeezed it from both sides in order to squeeze out excess moisture, mountains came out of the soil that came out from strong compression.

Ivan Bilibin. Illustration for the fairy tale "White Duck"

However, there are many different legends about the origin of mountains and stones. Most often it is believed that stones used to be living beings - they felt, multiplied, grew like grass, and were soft. Especially large blocks of stone, boulders and rocks are often considered to be petrified people, animals or fabulous giants, punished in this way for working on a holiday, fornication, insolence, murder, laziness or some other sin. In the villages near Tula, they said that a group of stones located around is a petrified round dance of girls punished for dancing on Trinity.

In some later legends about the origin of stones, the influence of the biblical story about the struggle of God with fallen angels is clearly felt:

“At the beginning of time, the earth was level and gave birth to bread ten times more than now, because there was not a single stone. But the devils rebelled against God and wanted to be just like him. Then God threw them from heaven to earth, turned them into stones and cursed them so that they would not grow again. And that's where the big stone is now - that means there was a great devil, and where there is a small stone, there was a little devil. And if God had not cursed them and they would have grown, then it would be impossible for a person not only to plow and sow rye, but also to walk on the ground.

About the creation of the first people

The myth puts the creation of the first man in close connection with the legends about the origin of fire. Just as on earth fire was produced by rubbing one log inserted into the hole of another, so in heaven the thunder god drills a giant tree-cloud with his sharp club, and from this drilling it gives birth to a baby lightning.

The ancient man, who in the thunder club recognized the child-bearing member of the fertilizing god of earthly nature, naturally brought this idea of ​​the origin of fire and lightning closer to the act of intercourse and the birth of a baby, especially since the very life that animates a person (his soul) was understood as kindled flame.

The sacred songs of the Vedas, in the fire produced by friction, see the fruit of the matrimonial union of two stumps of a tree, of which one represents the receptive wife, and the other the influencing husband, the oil with which they were anointed is called carnal seed.

Alphonse Mucha. Slavs in their original homeland

From this arose mythical legends: firstly, that the soul of a newborn descends to earth in lightning, and secondly, that the first couple of people were created by the gods from wood.

Our ancestors explained the secret of the creation and birth of man by the same creative power of the thunderbolt, which called the whole visible world into being. He sent lightning to make the first hearth on the earth, kindle a flame on it and establish a household and a sacrificial rite. At the same time, the first man was created, the first householder and priest, in the image of which the representations of the fire burning on the hearth and the ancestor of the tribe were combined. Subsequently, when a family union was established, the thunder god, every time a baby was born, brought down lightning from the sky and kindled the flame of life in it.

Since ancient times, the reproduction of a family, a clan, has been compared with sprouts that a tree shoots out of itself, as a result of which the trunk (stump, root) serves in epic poetry as a symbol of a father or ancestor, and branches as a symbol of their children and descendants.

In folk songs, there is a comparison of children with branches and the top of a tree. The parallel drawn in the language and folk beliefs between a branchy tree and a whole family, with particular clarity, manifested itself in the custom of designating the origin of noble people and the degree of their relationship through the so-called genealogical tree. Old German sagas tell of a mother who dreamed that a large, shady tree with beautiful fruits grew from her heart or womb. This dream was an omen that she would soon give birth to a son - the ancestor of a vast and glorious tribe. Thus, the son seemed to be like a process emanating from the bowels of the mother, and in order to adopt someone else's child, it was necessary to perform a symbolic ceremony - to put him on his knees.

Konstantin Makovsky. Reaper

On the kinship of the soul with elemental beings

Mythical ideas about the kinship of the human soul with elemental beings, about forest spirits and maidens, whose life is inextricably linked with known plants, led to the creation of various legends that tell about the transformation of a person and the transition of his soul into a tree or a flower.

Faith in the possibility of such metamorphoses, inherited from the deepest antiquity, was sealed by the view that ancient man had of himself. He compared the birth of a child and its slow, gradual growth to the growth of a tree. Separate parts of the body seemed to him like those shoots and branches that a tree trunk gives out.

This view is attested by the history of language. The seed serves as a common name for the grain, from which every cereal and every tree grows, and for the fertilizing principle in animals and man. Pregnancy is likened to the sprout of a sown seed. So, in the folk bylina, the wife of the hero Danube says:

You and I have a child sown in the womb,

I will bring you my beloved son.

Give me a baby to bear,

At least put your seeds into the light.

In other songs, the bogatyrs order their retinue to beat the enemy kingdom, cut down both the old and the small, and not leave a single person for seeds.

"Semyachko" is used in regional dialects as an affectionate name for a child. The birth of a baby is likened to a fruit brought by a tree: to bear fruit is to become pregnant, a barren wife is one who does not give birth.

A meeting with a pregnant woman promises a plowman a harvest.

According to ancient laws, such a woman could enter someone else's garden with impunity and eat fruits. They believed that the young tree, from which the first fruits are plucked by a pregnant woman, will certainly be fruitful.

The names of the foot, hand, fingers and nails in Sanskrit are explained by likening a person to a plant. With his feet, a person touches the ground and thus resembles a tree attached by its roots to the mother earth. If the legs were compared with the roots, then the body itself was represented as a trunk, and the arms seemed to be branches, processes.

Comparing the birth of a child with the sprout of a sown seed, poetic fantasy introduced this idea into folk tales. So, the Russian hero Potigoroshek was born from grains eaten by his mother. An orphaned mother, whose daughter was taken by a snake and two sons killed, goes to the river and sees: a pea rolls along the road and falls into the water. "God's gift!" she thinks, she took out a pea and ate it. From this grain she bore fruit and gave birth to a son, the future winner of terrible snakes.

Another tale tells of the Flower-prince. One king imprisoned his beautiful daughter in a strong castle, wanting to protect her from all sorts of seductions. The princess was sixteen years old, and her beauty was so omnipotent that when she walked in the garden, the flowers bowed their motley heads before her, the birds fell silent in the bushes and the fish looked out of the waters. Once, when the princess was in the garden, an unfamiliar gypsy came up to her and gave her a bunch of beautiful, fragrant flowers. The beauty brought the flowers to her chamber and put them in the water, the water turned purple, and gold and silver stars appeared on it - just like the fragrant dust that covers the petals of flowers. The princess drank this water - and immediately became pregnant and gave birth to a mighty son, who strikes snakes just like our Pokatigoroshka.

Such a supernatural origin of the hero belongs to the most ancient myths about the thunder god.

There is a story about the origin of buckwheat: the king had a daughter of indescribable beauty, named Krupenichka. The evil Tatars raided the Russian land, captivated Krupenichka, took her away from her homeland and betrayed her to hard work. A prophetic old woman freed her from captivity. She turned the girl into a buckwheat seed, brought it to Russia and threw it on her native land. The grain turned into royal, and buckwheat grew out of its husk.

According to another story, an old woman, having brought buckwheat grain to Russia, buried it in the ground, the seed sprouted and gave birth to a blade of grass with seventy-seven grains. Violent winds blew and carried these grains to seventy-seven fields. Since then, buckwheat has bred in Holy Russia.

In this legend (originally it could refer to any spring bread in general) is the myth of the beautiful goddess of spring fertility, who is captured by demonic hordes and kept in severe captivity during the winter. With the return of spring, she is freed from their power, arrives from distant lands in a thundercloud and, crumbling to the ground with the fertile seed of rain, is reborn in the dense greenery of spring bread.

One of the most common Russian fairy tales tells how a sister killed her brother out of envy and buried him in the ground. A reed (or viburnum) grew in that place. They drove past the chumaks, cut a reed and made a pipe, which - as soon as they brought it to their lips - began to play by itself:

My sister ruined me

Knife in the heart, yes, I fixed it.

Thus the crime was exposed.

This storyline is very varied. Sometimes a brother kills a brother, and an elder grows on the grave of the murdered one. Sometimes a stepmother is a stepdaughter, and viburnum grows. Sometimes two sisters, the third, bury it in the grave and cover it with a Christmas tree on top, and a flower grows on the Christmas tree that sings about the perfect crime. In a folk song, a similar legend is associated with a willow bush.

Konstantin Makovsky. Russian beauty

In Slavic tales, it is more often not the bones of an innocently killed person who speak of a committed crime, but a tree, a cane, a reed or a flower growing from his buried corpse, as if from a seed thrown into the ground.

A Little Russian song recalls the transformation of a drowned girl into a weeping birch. Drowning, the girl says to her brother:

Do not chop, brother, beaten birch,

Do not mow, brother, shovkovy grass,

Do not see, brother, blackthorn,

A birch birch - then I'm young,

Shovkovaya grass is my Rusa braid,

The blackthorn is my black eyes.

South Russian poetry is especially rich in legends about transformations into flowers and trees and reveals to the researcher a wonderful fantasy world full of artistic images and genuine feelings.

The above song has several variants offering no less interesting convergences. Maiden's braids spread across the meadows with silk grass, brown or black eyes turn into thorn berries, blood spills with water, and tears glitter on grass and leaves with dew - all based on ancient metaphors that likened hair to grass, blood to water, tears to dew, eyes - thorn berries.

The content of the song, known in Belarus, is touching, about how a mother disliked her young daughter-in-law, regaled her son with green wine, and her daughter-in-law with poison. The good fellow drank - he brought it to his wife, the young woman drank - he brought it to her husband, everyone divided it in half, and both died in one hour. She buried her son's mother in front of the church, and her daughter-in-law behind the church. A green sycamore grew on the grave of the good fellow, and a white birch (or viburnum) grew on the grave of his wife.

About the flower Ivan da Marya, known in Ukraine under the name “brother and sister”, a folk song tells the following legend: a good fellow went to a foreign side, got married and began to ask his young wife about the clan and tribe, and recognized her as his own sister . Then the sister says to her brother:

We go, brother, to the forest,

Let's become a weed-grass:

Oh, you will become a yellow flower,

And I will be blue.

Who is the flower uvirve,

Remember your sister and brother!

There is a story about the cornflower that once it was a young and handsome young man who was lured by a mermaid on Trinity Day in a field, tickled and turned into a flower. The young man's name was Vasil, and this name (according to the people) was transferred to the flower itself.

In Russia, they say about nettles that an evil sister turned into her. This is a fragment of that poetic legend that the ancient song tells us: Pavel had a beloved sister Olenushka, Pavlov's young wife slaughtered first a black horse, then a gray falcon, finally her own child, and everything was slandering Olenushka. Pavel took his sister by her white hands, led her out into the field, tied her to horse tails and drove the horses across a wide expanse: where blood watered the earth, fragrant flowers grew there, where she herself fell, a church was created there. After a short time, the young woman Pavlova fell ill, she lay for nine years, grass sprouted through the bones, fierce snakes swarm in that grass and drink her eyes. She asks to be taken to her sister-in-law's church, but in vain - she did not find forgiveness here and began to pray to her husband to tie her to horse tails. Pavel fulfilled her request and drove the horses across the field: where blood was shed, nettles and thorns grew there, where she herself fell, there was a lake.

III Traditions about the Creation of the world and man The legend about the Creation of the world, which lives in the mouths of the Russian people, is furnished with such details that, undoubtedly, belong to the deepest antiquity. In Tereshchenko's book, this legend is written in the following form:

CHAPTER SEVEN THE MYTH OF CREATION OF THE WORLD On most of the cylinder seals found by archaeologists, symbols that designate celestial bodies belonging to our solar system are located above the figures of gods or people.