Perhaps there are few people who do not know the name of Hercules, about the adventures of which more than one film was made and more than one cartoon was drawn. This hero and demigod of ancient Greek myths was the son of Zeus and Alkmena, as well as a descendant of no less
the famous hero Perseus. Even before the birth of Heracles, the glorious path of the founder of the Olympic Games was intended, but Hera, the wife of Zeus, tried to prevent this. Before the birth of the hero, she made the Thunderer swear that of all the descendants of Perseus, the main one will be the one who is born first.
Having quietly gone away to Earth, Hera made sure that another descendant of Perseus named Eurystheus was born before Heracles. Under the agreement, it was Eurystheus who gained power over Hercules. Revealing the cunning of his wife, Zeus also tried to outwit her. He put little Heracles near the sleeping wife so that the future hero could swallow the milk of eternity from her breast. Waking up, Hera pushed the baby away, but Hercules managed to secure immortality. The spilled milk became the Milky Way and another "achievement" of Heracles. Zeus did not forget about the intrigues of Hera and took an oath from the angry goddess: she would free the hero when he completed the twelve tasks of Eurystheus, one of which became the Augean stables. The jealous goddess did everything so that the tasks of Eurystheus became impossible for Heracles. Through her efforts, these tasks turned into feats.
Augeus reigning in Elis was a great lover of horses. Its extensive stables contained 3, 000 horses. The tsar, however, did not consider it necessary to clean agricultural buildings. Manure and other sewage Augean stables were filled on the roof. Eurystheus, following the advice of Hera, gave Hercules the order to clear these stables. The goddess believed that Hercules would spend eternity on the removal of sewage accumulated over thirty years. However, the Augean stables did not frighten the cunning hero. Instead of a rake, a wheelbarrow and a shovel, the river Alfei became a "working tool" of a strong man. Without thinking twice, Hercules turned the riverbed, and a powerful stream, to Hera's great disappointment, cleared the Augean stables exactly one day in advance. King Hague did not appreciate the efforts of Hercules. He drove the young man away without paying him a penny.
"Cleaning" expedition
The hero’s mission became a feat. The idiom of "Augean stables" is also preserved in our speech. Phraseologism, which became this catchphrase, was used by famous people in their sayings. That is how the composer Mussorgsky called his desk in a letter to V.V. Stasov. Soviet leaders, such as Lenin and Kirov, also used this phraseology.
What exactly does the phrase "Augean stables" mean? This phraseology has more than one meaning. First of all, it means an extremely dirty, cluttered and neglected room, which will take long hours to clean. It was in this sense that Mussorgsky used the expression. Politicians also talked about the mess, but not in the room, but in business. This was the second meaning of the aphorism. The dictum became the linguistic legacy of ancient Greece. Using it in our speech, we seem to return to Hellenic times, recalling the deeds of the mighty Hercules.
