Ancient Greek myths apples of the Hesperides read. Apples of the Hesperides (twelfth labor)

The victory over the Nemean lion, the Lernaean hydra, the pursuit of a hind, the journey for the apples of the Hesperides - all these are the famous labors of Hercules. Which of the twelve labors do you especially remember? If you still haven't read about all the labors of Hercules, then hurry up, because today you will get to know the last of them.The video lesson will allow you to study the topic “The Labors of Hercules. Apples of the Hesperides." You will get acquainted with the myth that tells about the last labor of Hercules, who is rightfully considered the most difficult of all the heroes accomplished. Why? You will learn the answer from a fascinating story that will tell you what difficulties Hercules faced in order to get the golden apples of the Hesperides from the gardens of Atlas.

Topic: Myths of the peoples of the world

Lesson: Labors of Hercules. Apples of the Hesperides

In the service of Eurystheus, Hercules performs twelve great labors. But the last one is considered the most difficult: The most difficult feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was his last, twelfth labor. Hercules had to go to the great titan Atlas, who holds the firmament on his shoulders, and get three golden apples from his gardens, which were watched over by the daughters of Atlas, the Hesperides. These apples grew on a golden tree, grown by the goddess of the earth Gaia as a gift. great Hera on the day of her wedding to Zeus.

Rice. 1. A huge snake guarding the entrance to the Gardens of the Hesperides ()

Why did the twelfth labor of Hercules turn out to be the most difficult? Firstly, because this was the last feat and there was very little strength left. Secondly, it was necessary to find out the way, overcome many challenges in order to achieve the goal.

First of all, it was necessary to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides, guarded by a dragon who never closed his eyes to sleep.

Hercules was supposed to attack the prophetic sea elder Nereus by surprise when he came ashore from deep sea, and find out from him the way to the Hesperides; except Nereus, no one knew this path. Hercules searched for Nereus for a long time. Finally, he managed to find the old man on the seashore. Hercules attacked the sea god. It was difficult to fight him. To free himself from the iron embrace of Hercules, Nereus took on all sorts of images, but his hero did not let him go. Finally, he tied up the tired Nereus, and the sea god had to reveal to Hercules the secret of the way to the gardens of the Hesperides in order to gain freedom. Having learned this secret, the son of Zeus released the sea elder and set off on a long journey.

In this test, Hercules had to use remarkable strength.

Taken aback- unexpectedly, suddenly ( Dictionary S.I. Ozhegova).

Extraordinary- outstanding, distinguished by his abilities (Explanatory Dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov).

The hero needed incredible strength when he met another giant, Antaeus. Usually, as soon as the enemy is knocked to the ground, he is defeated. Another thing is Antaeus, who fed on power from the Earth, his mother.

Again he had to go through Libya. Here he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas, and the goddess of the earth Gaia... Antaeus forced all travelers to fight with him and mercilessly killed everyone he defeated in the fight. The giant demanded that Hercules fight him too. It was impossible to defeat Antaeus in single combat without knowing the secret from where the giant received more and more strength during the struggle. The secret was this: when Antaeus felt that he was beginning to weaken, he touched the earth, his mother, and his strength was renewed: he drew them from his mother, the great goddess of the earth. But as soon as Antaeus was torn off the ground and lifted into the air, his strength disappeared. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time. Several times he knocked him to the ground, but Antaeus’ strength only increased. Suddenly, during the struggle, the mighty Hercules lifted Antaeus high into the air - the strength of the son of Gaia dried up, and Hercules strangled him.

Rice. 2. Duel of Hercules with Antaeus ()

In Egypt, new trials awaited the hero:

There, tired from the long journey, he fell asleep in the shade of a small grove on the banks of the Nile. The king of Egypt, Busiris, the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Epaphus Lysianassa, saw the sleeping Hercules, and ordered the sleeping hero to be tied up. He wanted to sacrifice Hercules to his father Zeus. There was a crop failure in Egypt for nine years; The soothsayer Thrasios, who came from Cyprus, predicted that the crop failure would stop only if Busiris annually sacrificed a foreigner to Zeus. Busiris ordered the capture of the soothsayer Thrasius and was the first to sacrifice him. Since then, the cruel king sacrificed to the Thunderer all the foreigners who came to Egypt. They brought Hercules to the altar, but he tore great hero the ropes with which he was tied, and killed Busiris himself and his son Amphidamantus at the altar. This is how the cruel king of Egypt was punished.

And so Hercules reached the end of the earth and met the giant Atlas, holding the firmament.

Oh, great titan Atlas! - Hercules turned to him, - I am the son of Zeus, Hercules. Eurystheus, the king of gold-rich Mycenae, sent me to you. Eurystheus commanded me to get from you three golden apples from the golden tree in the gardens of the Hesperides.

“I will give you three apples, son of Zeus,” answered Atlas, “while I go after them, you must stand in my place and hold the vault of heaven on your shoulders.” Hercules agreed.

Rice. 3. Atlas holding the heavenly one on his shoulders ()

The myth emphasizes the inhuman tension of the hero when he held the vault of heaven:

The weight pressed terribly on Hercules’ mighty shoulders. He bent under the weight of the sky, his muscles bulged like mountains, sweat covered his entire body from tension, but superhuman strength and the help of the goddess Athena gave him the opportunity to hold the firmament until Atlas returned with three golden apples.

Hercules needed more than just strength. Hercules responded to Atlas's cunning with cunning. Atlas did not want to hold the firmament again, but wanted to shift it onto the shoulders of Hercules

Returning, Atlas said to the hero:

Here are three apples, Hercules; if you want, I myself will take them to Mycenae, and you hold the firmament until my return; then I will get back to my place. Hercules understood Atlas's cunning, realized that the titan wanted to completely free himself from his hard work, and against cunning he used cunning.

Okay, Atlas, I agree! - Hercules answered. “Just let me make myself a pillow first, I’ll put it on my shoulders so that the vault of heaven doesn’t press them so terribly.”

Atlas stood up again in his place and shouldered the weight of the sky. Hercules picked up his bow and quiver of arrows, took his club and golden apples and said:

Goodbye Atlas! I held the vault of the sky while you went for the apples of the Hesperides, but I don’t want to carry the entire weight of the sky on my shoulders forever.

With these words, Hercules left the titan, and Atlas again had to hold the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders, as before. Hercules returned to Eurystheus and gave him the golden apples. Eurystheus gave them to Hercules, and he gave the apples to his patroness, the great daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. Athena returned the apples to the Hesperides so that they would remain in their gardens forever.

Mace- ancient (from the Paleolithic era) striking or throwing weapons made of durable and heavy types of wood, later with a stone or bronze pommel. ( encyclopedic Dictionary).

After his twelfth labor, Hercules was freed from service with Eurystheus, but his trials did not end there...

What qualities made Hercules the greatest hero? Ancient Greece? On the one hand - courage, strength, perseverance, and on the other - respect for the will of the gods, intelligence, cunning, ingenuity. Exactly these moral qualities valued by ancient people. These were precisely their ideas about good and evil, about justice.

Humanity borrowed many concepts and images from Ancient Greece. Let us recall the stable expressions and phraseological units: “panic fear”, “Olympic calm”, “titanic work”, “Sisyphean work” and many others.

Phraseologism- stable expression with independent meaning, close to idiomatic (S.I. Explanatory Dictionary)

After reading myths, you will not only learn the history of their appearance, but you will also know how and when they can be used in speech.

1. Abelyuk E.S. Mythological dictionary for schoolchildren. M.: ROST, MIROS, 2000.

2. Ashukin N.S., Ashukina M.G. Winged words. Moscow, " Fiction", 1960.

3. Kun N.A. legends and myths of Ancient Greece. Minsk: Narodnaya Asveta, 1989.

4. Literature. 6th grade. textbook for general education institutions. At 2 hours / (author-composed by V. P. Polukhina); edited by V.Ya. Korovina - M.: Education, 2011.

5. Encyclopedia “Myths of the Peoples of the World”. - M., 1980-1981, 1987-1988.

1. Mythology of Ancient Greece. Legends and myths of Ancient Greece. Heroes ().

2. Encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. Author-compiler Vadim Serov ().

3. Hellas: mythology of Ancient Greece ().

1. Read the myth “The Labors of Hercules. Apples of the Hesperides” in its entirety, make a quotation plan for it.

Quotation plan- a plan, each point of which is a quotation, that is, a verbatim excerpt from the text (it must be enclosed in quotation marks).

2. *Read other myths about the exploits of Hercules (except for the myth “Apples of the Hesperides”) and create your own illustrations for one of them.

3. Continue compiling the dictionary catch phrases: write down the meaning from the dictionary of phraseological units set expressions. Remember: the use of phraseological units makes speech brighter and more expressive!

Panic fear -

Olympic calm -

Sisyphus's work -

Titanic work -

Sword of Damocles -

Achilles' heel -

Augean stables -

Take off to Helikon -

Pillars of Hercules -

Gordian knot -

Sink into oblivion -

Throw thunder and lightning -

Ariadne's thread -

Palm -

Sing praises -

Horn of plenty -

HERCULES 16 TWELFTH LABOR – APPLES OF THE HESPERIDES

No one knew the way to the Hesperides and Atlas. Hercules wandered for a long time through Asia and Europe, he passed through all the countries that he had previously passed on the way to fetch Geryon’s cows; Everywhere Hercules asked about the path, but no one knew it. In his search, he went to the farthest north, to the Eridanus River, which eternally rolls its stormy, boundless waters (1). On the banks of Eridanus, beautiful nymphs greeted the great son of Zeus with honor and gave him advice on how to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides. Hercules was supposed to attack the sea prophetic old man Nereus by surprise when he came ashore from the depths of the sea, and learn from him the way to the Hesperides; except Nereus, no one knew this path. Hercules searched for Nemeus for a long time. Finally, he managed to find Nereus on the seashore. Hercules attacked the sea god. The fight with the sea god was difficult. To free himself from the iron embrace of Hercules, Nereus took on all sorts of forms, but still his hero did not let go. Finally, he tied up the tired Nereus, and the sea god had to reveal to Hercules the secret of the way to the gardens of the Hesperides in order to gain freedom. Having learned this secret, the son of Zeus released the sea elder and set off on a long journey.

Again he had to go through Libya. Here he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas, and the goddess of the earth Gaia, who gave birth to him, fed him and raised him. Antaeus forced all travelers to fight with him and mercilessly killed everyone whom he defeated in the fight. The giant demanded that Hercules fight him too.

No one could defeat Antaeus in single combat without knowing the secret from where the giant received more and more strength during the fight. The secret was this: when Antaeus felt that he was beginning to lose strength, he touched the earth, his mother, and his strength was renewed: he drew it from his mother, the great goddess of the earth. But as soon as Antaeus was torn off the ground and lifted into the air, his strength disappeared. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time. several times he knocked him to the ground, but Antaeus’ strength only increased. Suddenly, during the struggle, the mighty Hercules lifted Antaeus high into the air - the strength of the son of Gaia dried up, and Hercules strangled him.

Hercules went further and came to Egypt. There, tired from the long journey, he fell asleep in the shade of a small grove on the banks of the Nile. The king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Epaphus Lysianassa, Busiris, saw the sleeping Hercules, and ordered the sleeping hero to be tied up. He wanted to sacrifice Hercules to his father Zeus. There was a crop failure in Egypt for nine years; The soothsayer Thrasios, who came from Cyprus, predicted that the crop failure would stop only if Busiris annually sacrificed a foreigner to Zeus. Busiris ordered the capture of the soothsayer Thrasius and was the first to sacrifice him. From then on, the cruel king sacrificed to the Thunderer all the foreigners who came to Egypt. They brought Hercules to the altar, but the great hero tore the ropes with which he was bound and killed Busiris himself and his son Amphidamantus at the altar. This is how the cruel king of Egypt was punished.

Hercules had to meet many more dangers on his way until he reached the edge of the earth, where the great titan Atlas stood. The hero looked with amazement at the mighty titan, holding the entire vault of heaven on his broad shoulders.

Hercules agreed. He took the place of Atlas. An incredible weight fell on the shoulders of the son of Zeus. He strained all his strength and held the firmament. The weight pressed terribly on Hercules’ mighty shoulders. He bent under the weight of the sky, his muscles bulged like mountains, sweat covered his entire body from tension, but superhuman strength and the help of the goddess Athena gave him the opportunity to hold the firmament until Atlas returned with three golden apples. Returning, Atlas said to the hero:

Here are three apples, Hercules; if you want, I myself will take them to Mycenae, and you hold the firmament until my return; then I will take your place again.

Hercules understood Atlas’s cunning, he realized that the titan wanted to be completely freed from his hard work, and he used cunning against the cunning.

Okay, Atlas, I agree! - Hercules answered. “Just let me make myself a pillow first, I’ll put it on my shoulders so that the vault of heaven doesn’t press them so terribly.”

Atlas stood up again in his place and shouldered the weight of the sky. Hercules picked up his bow and quiver of arrows, took his club and golden apples and said:

Goodbye Atlas! I held the vault of the sky while you went for the apples of the Hesperides, but I don’t want to carry the entire weight of the sky on my shoulders forever.

With these words, Hercules left the titan, and Atlas again had to hold the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders, as before. Hercules returned to Eurystheus and gave him the golden apples. Eurystheus gave them to Hercules, and he gave the apples to his patroness, the great daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. Athena returned hesperides apples May they remain in the gardens forever.

Apples of the Hesperides Legends and myths of Ancient Greece

Twelfth labor

The most difficult labor of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was his last, twelfth labor. He had to go to the great titan Atlas, who holds the firmament on his shoulders, and get three golden apples from his gardens, which were watched over by the daughters of Atlas, the Hesperides. These apples grew on a golden tree, grown by the goddess of the earth Gaia as a gift to the great Hera on the day of her wedding with Zeus. To accomplish this feat, it was necessary, first of all, to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides, guarded by a dragon who never closed his eyes to sleep.
No one knew the way to the Hesperides and Atlas. Hercules wandered for a long time through Asia and Europe, he passed through all the countries that he had previously passed on the way to fetch Geryon’s cows; Everywhere Hercules asked about the path, but no one knew it. In his search, he went to the farthest north, to the Eridanus (Mythical River) river, which eternally rolls its stormy, boundless waters. On the banks of Eridanus, beautiful nymphs greeted the great son of Zeus with honor and gave him advice on how to find out the way to the gardens of the Hesperides. Hercules was supposed to attack the sea prophetic old man Nereus by surprise when he came ashore from the depths of the sea, and learn from him the way to the Hesperides; except Nereus, no one knew this path. Hercules searched for Nemeus for a long time. Finally, he managed to find Nereus on the seashore. Hercules attacked the sea god. The fight with the sea god was difficult. To free himself from the iron embrace of Hercules, Nereus took on all sorts of forms, but still his hero did not let go. Finally, he tied up the tired Nereus, and the sea god had to reveal to Hercules the secret of the way to the gardens of the Hesperides in order to gain freedom. Having learned this secret, the son of Zeus released the sea elder and set off on a long journey.
Again he had to go through Libya. Here he met the giant Antaeus, the son of Poseidon, the god of the seas, and the goddess of the earth Gaia, who gave birth to him, fed him and raised him. Antaeus forced all travelers to fight with him and mercilessly killed everyone whom he defeated in the fight. The giant demanded that Hercules fight him too. No one could defeat Antaeus in single combat without knowing the secret from where the giant received more and more strength during the fight. The secret was this: when Antaeus felt that he was beginning to lose strength, he touched the earth, his mother, and his strength was renewed: he drew it from his mother, the great goddess of the earth. But as soon as Antaeus was torn off the ground and lifted into the air, his strength disappeared. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time. several times he knocked him to the ground, but Antaeus’ strength only increased. Suddenly, during the struggle, the mighty Hercules lifted Antaeus high into the air - the strength of the son of Gaia dried up, and Hercules strangled him.
No one could defeat Antaeus in single combat without knowing the secret from where the giant received more and more strength during the fight. The secret was this: when Antaeus felt that he was beginning to lose strength, he touched the earth, his mother, and his strength was renewed: he drew it from his mother, the great goddess of the earth. But as soon as Antaeus was torn off the ground and lifted into the air, his strength disappeared. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time. several times he knocked him to the ground, but Antaeus’ strength only increased. Suddenly, during the struggle, the mighty Hercules lifted Antaeus high into the air - the strength of the son of Gaia dried up, and Hercules strangled him.
Hercules went further and came to Egypt. There, tired from the long journey, he fell asleep in the shade of a small grove on the banks of the Nile. The king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Epaphus Lysianassa, Busiris, saw the sleeping Hercules, and ordered the sleeping hero to be tied up. He wanted to sacrifice Hercules to his father Zeus. There was a crop failure in Egypt for nine years; The soothsayer Thrasios, who came from Cyprus, predicted that the crop failure would stop only if Busiris annually sacrificed a foreigner to Zeus. Busiris ordered the capture of the soothsayer Thrasius and was the first to sacrifice him. From then on, the cruel king sacrificed to the Thunderer all the foreigners who came to Egypt. They brought Hercules to the altar, but the great hero tore the ropes with which he was bound and killed Busiris himself and his son Amphidamantus at the altar. This is how the cruel king of Egypt was punished.
– Oh, great titan Atlas! - Hercules turned to him, - I am the son of Zeus, Hercules. Eurystheus, the king of gold-rich Mycenae, sent me to you. Eurystheus commanded me to get from you three golden apples from the golden tree in the gardens of the Hesperides.
“I will give you three apples, son of Zeus,” answered Atlas, “while I go after them, you must stand in my place and hold the vault of heaven on your shoulders.”
Hercules agreed. He took the place of Atlas. An incredible weight fell on the shoulders of the son of Zeus. He strained all his strength and held the firmament. The weight pressed terribly on Hercules’ mighty shoulders. He bent under the weight of the sky, his muscles bulged like mountains, sweat covered his entire body from tension, but superhuman strength and the help of the goddess Athena gave him the opportunity to hold the firmament until Atlas returned with three golden apples. Returning, Atlas said to the hero:
– Here are three apples, Hercules; if you want, I myself will take them to Mycenae, and you hold the firmament until my return; then I will take your place again.
“Hercules understood Atlas’s cunning, he realized that the titan wanted to be completely freed from his hard work, and he used cunning against the cunning.
- Okay, Atlas, I agree! – Hercules answered. “Just let me make myself a pillow first, I’ll put it on my shoulders so that the vault of heaven doesn’t press them so terribly.”
Atlas stood up again in his place and shouldered the weight of the sky. Hercules picked up his bow and quiver of arrows, took his club and golden apples and said:
- Goodbye, Atlas! I held the vault of the sky while you went for the apples of the Hesperides, but I don’t want to carry the entire weight of the sky on my shoulders forever.
With these words, Hercules left the titan, and Atlas again had to hold the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders, as before. Hercules returned to Eurystheus and gave him the golden apples. Eurystheus gave them to Hercules, and he gave the apples to his patroness, the great daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. Athena returned the apples to the Hesperides so that they would remain in the gardens forever.
After his twelfth labor, Hercules was freed from service with Eurystheus. Now he could return to the seven gates of Thebes. But the son of Zeus did not stay there long. New exploits awaited him. He gave his wife Megara as a wife to his friend Iolaus, and he himself went back to Tiryns.
But not only victories awaited him; Hercules also faced grave troubles, since the great goddess Hera continued to pursue him.

January 20th, 2014

And it all started with this photograph, in which we see the birth of an orange, or, scientifically speaking, a Hesperidium. Then something unimaginable will begin, but let’s talk about everything in order...

Hesperidium, or orange (lat. hesperidium) - an indehiscent multi-locular and multi-seeded fruit; its outer part (pericarp, or outer carp, epicarpium) consists of thick and soft skin covered with zest, and the nests are made of large and juicy cells representing the intercarpium (mesocarpium), in which the seeds attached to the central placenta are immersed.

It comes from the superior ovary and is found exclusively among representatives of the Citrus subfamily (Citroideae) of the Rutaceae family, which includes lemon, orange, bitter orange; The outer layer of the skin usually contains a lot of essential oil.

Hesperidium is close to a berry. It is characterized by a glandular exocarp, a spongy mesocarp and an overgrown endocarp that looks like juice sacs. The name hesperidia comes from the legendary gardens of the Hesperides.

But you will find out what the Hesperides Gardens are under the cut:

Art. Apples of the Hesperides. Hercules gives the apples of the Hesperides to Athena

An ancient Greek legend says that the most difficult feat of Hercules in the service of Eurystheus was to get the apples of the Hesperides. A long time ago, when the Olympian gods celebrated the wedding of Zeus and Hera, Gaia-Earth gave Hera a magic tree on which three golden apples grew. (That’s why the image of this apple tree was also in Olympia). And in order to fulfill the order of Eurystheus, Hercules was forced to go to the great titan Atlas (Atlas), who alone holds the heavy vault of heaven on his shoulders, in order to get three golden apples from his garden. And the daughters of Atlas Hesperides looked after this garden. IN ancient greek mythology The Hesperides (aka Atlantis) are nymphs, daughters of Hesper (Vesper) and Nyx, the goddess of the Night, guarding the golden apples. The Hesperides live across the Ocean River, next to the Gorgons. (According to another version, the apples were owned by the Hyperboreans.) None of the mortals knew the way to the Garden of the Hesperides and the Atlas. Therefore, Hercules wandered for a long time and passed through all the countries that he had previously passed on the way to fetch Geryon’s cows. He reached the Eridanus River (see Art. Jordan), where he was greeted with honor by beautiful nymphs. They gave him advice on how to find the way to the Hesperides Gardens.

Hercules had to attack the sea elder Nereus in order to learn from him the way to the Hesperides. After all, except for the prophetic Nereus, no one knew the secret path. The struggle of Hercules with the sea god was difficult. But he overpowered and tied

Hercules Nereus. And in order to buy his freedom, Nereus had to reveal to Hercules the secret of the way to the gardens of the Hesperides. His path lay through Libya, where he met the giant Antaeus, son of Poseidon, god of the seas, and the goddess of the earth Gaia. Antaeus forced all the wanderers to fight him, and those he defeated, he killed. Antaeus wanted Hercules to fight him. But no one could defeat Antaeus, because when Antaeus felt that he was losing strength, he touched his mother Earth, and his strength was renewed. However, as soon as Antaeus was torn away from the Earth, his strength melted away. Hercules fought with Antaeus for a long time, and only when, during the struggle, Hercules tore Antaeus away from the Earth, high into the air, Antaeus’ strength dried up, and Hercules strangled him.

And when Hercules came to Egypt, tired from the journey, he fell asleep on the banks of the Nile. And when the king of Egypt, the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Epaphus Lysianassa, Busiris, saw the sleeping Hercules, he ordered Hercules to be tied up and sacrificed to Zeus. After all, there has been a crop failure in Egypt for nine years. And the soothsayer Thrasios, who came from Cyprus, predicted that the crop failure would stop only when Busiris annually sacrificed a foreigner to Zeus. Thrasios himself fell the first victim. And from then on, Busiris sacrificed to Zeus all the foreigners who came to Egypt. But when they brought Hercules to the altar, he tore all the ropes with which he was bound and killed Busiris himself and his son Amphidamantus. Long haul After this, Hercules overcame before reaching the end of the earth, where the great titan Atlas held the sky on his shoulders. Amazed by the mighty appearance of Atlas, Hercules asked him for three golden apples from a golden tree in the gardens of the Hesperides, for King Eurystheus, who lived in Mycenae.

Atlas from the Farnese collection

The Titan Atlas agreed to give three apples to the son of Zeus if he would hold the firmament while he went for them. Hercules agreed and took the place of Atlas. The huge weight of the sky fell on the shoulders of Hercules, and he strained all his strength to hold the firmament. He held it until he returned with three golden Atlas apples. Atlas told Hercules that he himself would take them to Mycenae, and Hercules would have to hold the firmament until his return. Hercules realized that Atlas wanted to deceive him and free himself from the heavy sky. Pretending that he agreed, Hercules asked Atlas to replace him for a moment so that he could put the lion skin on his shoulders.
Atlas took his place again and shouldered the heavy sky. Hercules picked up his club and golden apples and, saying goodbye to Atlas, quickly, without ever looking back, went to Mycenae. And around him, the stars fell to the Earth like an endless rain, and then he realized that the offended Atlas was angry and was shaking the sky violently in anger. Hercules returned to Eurystheus and gave him the golden apples of the Hesperides. But the king, amazed that Hercules returned unharmed, did not take the golden apples from him.

And Hercules gave the apples to his patroness, the great daughter of Zeus, Pallas Athena. And she returned them to the garden of the Hesperides on the tree of Hera. A rational interpretation of this legend does not cause difficulties, because this legend tells about the next place of a cosmic explosion, and the location of the island of the Atlanteans. The name Atlas in this legend means famous mountain Atlas, located near the Canary archipelago. According to the story of Diodorus Siculus, Atlas had seven daughters, who are usually called Atlantis (let me remind you that the Canary archipelago consists of seven large inhabited islands and several small ones. In the Ancient World, these islands (Tenerife, Gomera, La Palma Hierro, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote), named after the daughters of Atlas, were called the Atlantis archipelago.

Plato's dialogues turned out to be the only primary source about the island of the Atlanteans, which for some reason was not destroyed by scribes and therefore, although in a truncated form, has reached us. However, once again, looking ahead a little, I must say that even earlier, the Atlantis archipelago was a much more comprehensive concept. According to legend, the seven daughters of Atlas (Atlantis, Hesperides) owned golden apples or flocks of sheep (“golden lambs”). And the overwhelming majority of ancient authors quite definitely call the Canary Islands Atlantis

But while searching for material on this topic, I suddenly turned into another interesting direction about the Canary Islands. Look what happens:

“Seven islands, the conquest of which caused so much noise, seven islands forgotten by the whole world - only fragments of a large continent that attracted the attention of ancient historians,” wrote the French geographer Boris de Saint-Vincent in 1803 in the book “Happy islands." Some atlantologists (specialists or amateurs searching for Plato’s legendary continent) are inclined to consider Saint-Vincent a supporter of the so-called Atlantic theory of the origin of the Canarians (we have already talked about it) and see in the expression “fragments of a large continent” a direct reference to Atlantis. But alas, they had to abandon their “bold constructions.” Vincent meant “only” Africa. That very Africa with which the entire ancient and subsequent history of the Canary Islands is connected with strong ties...

Dragon tree, representative of the Canarian relict flora

So, Pliny the Elder, Natural History.

“...The rumors about the islands of Mauritania are not more accurate. Some, as it became known quite recently, lie opposite the land of the Autolols, they were discovered by Juba, who opened workshops on them for dyeing fabrics with Goethul purple...” Here we need to make the first footnote. Numidian ruler Yubu II, who lived in the 1st century. BC e., ancient authors often mention. The territory of his possessions adjoined the Atlantic coast at the same latitude as the Canaries, and who, if not him, knew better about what was happening on the islands. Unfortunately, Yuba himself did not leave any written evidence, and we learn about his visits to the islands from ancient authors.

“Here are the results of Yuba’s research on the Happy Islands,” continues Pliny. – He places them in the center of the sunset, 625,000 steps from the Purple Islands. The first, with the name Ombrios, does not bear any traces of buildings; in the mountains there is a pond and trees similar to ferula...

... The other island is called Junonia; there is only a small temple built of stones. Next door to it is a smaller island of the same name; then Capraria, which is full of large lizards. In sight of these islands lies the fog-shrouded island of Ninguaria, which received its name from the constantly lying snow.

The island closest to it is called Canaria - because of the many huge dogs, two of which were delivered to Yuba; There you can see traces of buildings. Abounding along with all other islands with a variety of fruits and birds of all kinds, this island is also rich in palm groves that bear dates, as well as cedars. There is a lot of honey on it...”

Yuba does not say whether these islands were inhabited by that time or not, but he does mention large buildings and dogs. Is it possible to try to bring them into line with today's names? Let us recall the remark of R. Hennig: “The names assigned to the same island were most often considered by cartographers as the names of different islands.” Thus, Capraria, Plinia's Goat Island, identical to the island of Fuerteventura, often appeared on nautical charts at various points as Mysterious Island“de las cab-ras.” Finally it even became the island of São Miguel from the Azores group! But no goats or any mammals were found here. So any attempts to create a strict picture of the names of the islands are doomed to failure.

It is also known about Yuba that he established the production of purple on the islands. According to the English historian E. Banbury, the purple workshops (there will be a story about them later) could be located on two eastern islands - Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Nivaria is apparently Tenerife, because its snowy peak, Peak Teide, is visible in sunny weather even from the mainland. The most fertile of all is Canaria. Now it is called Gran Canaria. Junonia is Palma, or Fuerteventura again. Capraria is Fuerteventura again.

The islands got their name supposedly thanks to big dogs(in Latin canis), delivered to Yuba. Why allegedly - we will find out below.

And a little more about names. Here is the latest information received from Canary linguists. Before the capture, Gran Canaria was called "Tibisena" (from the Berber mussen - "wolf"). Ferro Island - “Erbane” (from the Berber arban - “goat”). Lanzarote -~ “Anzar” (from the Berber anzar - “rain”). Here again some confusion arose among the ancient authors. A. Galindo says that old name Fuerteventura - Erbania - arose from large quantity greenery on the island (hairbe - greenery). It seems to us more likely that the origin of the word “Erbania” is from the Berber arban, as in the case of Ferro.

Canary Islands from satellite

Now the word to Diodorus Siculus (“Historical Library”):

“In the middle of the ocean opposite Africa there is an island distinguished by its size. It is only a few days away from Africa sea route... The Phoenicians, who explored ... the coast on the other side of the Pillars and sailed along the coast of Africa, were strong winds carried far into the ocean. After long days wandering, they finally reached the named island.”

Who are they"? Who did Diodorus mean? Carthaginian admiral Hanno, who reached the 6th century. BC e. to the Gulf of Guinea, or its predecessors? Or maybe followers? But we only know about Hanno... One thing is clear - the Phoenicians were attracted by the Canary Islands with their natural gifts, in particular, litmus dyes. In ancient times there were few such stable dyes. The production of the famous Tyrian purple is still surrounded by mystery. Meanwhile, the Orcel lichen (Rocella tinctoria), containing a dye, grew and grows in the Canaries High Quality. In ancient times and the Middle Ages it was called “orizello grass”...

What if this lichen is connected to the secret of the production of Tyrian purple? In addition to orcel, the Canaries had another, no less valuable dye - the resin of the dragon tree, dracaena. Purple shellfish were also mined there. To which of them do the islands owe their name “Purple”? Not yet known. Maybe once again there was confusion and the Purple Islands are not these at all?

It is common knowledge great value purpura in ancient world, shades of this dye ranged from red to purple, and were used to dye silk and cotton. Homer mentioned Andromache's purple robes. The peculiarity of the purple substance is that, when extracted from the gland, it has a white or pale yellow color, but when exposed to the sun, it first becomes lemon yellow, and then greenish, and, having already passed through the green stage, turns into lilac. The more it is exposed to sunlight, the darker it becomes. Shades purple depend on the layer of paint and how it is applied. Usually, specialists took the dye from the area of the mantle where it was produced and applied it to the fabric with an elastic brush.

The discovery of purple has always been attributed to the Phoenicians, more precisely, to Melqart, who, according to legend, was the first to obtain the shells of purple snails. Piles of purpurea shells are found today in the ports of Phenicia. However, the shores of Syria could not withstand the “purple onslaught.” It is known that each purpurea produces only a few drops of precious liquid. And the Phoenicians began to look for accumulations of shells everywhere - first in the eastern Mediterranean, then in the west, they went beyond Gibraltar, founding, according to Pliny, about 300 settlements. Then reports of Goethulian purple appeared.

The Getuli were the name given to the shepherd tribes that lived south of the Roman possessions in Africa. Some of them - Baniurs and Autololi, if you again believe Pliny, lived on the ocean coast in the Atlas region. Pomponius Mela wrote that the Negrites and Getuli produce purple, which gives the beautiful color known in the world.

Under the penultimate ruler of Mauritania, Jube II, the production of Goethul purple flourished. It was then that Yuba ordered the construction of dyehouses on the Purple Islands. Pliny was never able to say exactly which islands were being discussed. The only thing he claimed was that “from these islands it was possible to get to the Happy Isles with comparative ease.”

Today, Moroccan archaeologists have accurately determined their location - directly opposite Cape Mogador. Now, of these, only the island of Mogador is distinguishable; the rest have been eaten away by erosion, the ocean and the sands. But the purple grass remains here: local women collect them and use them for food. In addition, coins of Yuba II and fragments of amphorae were found on the island, which confirms the presence of settlements here. A Byzantine seal dating back to the era after Justinian, who liberated North Africa from vandals. But in the 4th century. the dyehouses fell into disrepair, and Isidore of Seville in the 6th century. writes about purple as “the only quality in this world.” Knowledge about Africa has suddenly narrowed.

Word to Pseudo-Aristotle: “They say that on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules the Carthaginians discovered an uninhabited island in the ocean, rich in many forests and navigable rivers and possessing an abundance of fruits. It is several days' journey from the mainland. But when the Carthaginians began to visit it often and some of them settled there due to the fertility of the soil, the Sufets of Carthage, on pain of death, forbade travel to this island. They exterminated the inhabitants so that news of the islands would not spread..."

Canary Islands - Tenerife - Teide volcano ()

So, the first mention of the inhabitants. True, it is unclear which of the seven islands of the archipelago they lived on. And again an indication of the Carthaginian power. We will definitely return to the voyages of the Phoenicians, especially the Carthaginians, only a little later.

Plutarch “Biographies”: “... There are two of them. They are separated from each other by a narrow strait, lie 10 thousand stadia from the African coast and are called the Islands of the Blessed. The islands enjoy a favorable climate due to their temperature and the absence various changes in the seasons."

The information is quite modest. In addition, we can cite the mention of Homer, included in the epigraph, and another piece of evidence - about Atlas, the mountain giant, standing in the far West directly opposite the Hesperides (Odyssey, canto I, ch. 52-54). The Hesperides, according to the myths about Hercules, guarded the golden apples. It can be assumed that the basis for this version could be the orange-yellow fruits of the Canary strawberry tree (Arbutus canariensis), similar to dogwood.

Let us also mention Pomponius Chalk’s “On the State of the Earth”: “Against the sun-scorched part of the coast lie the islands that, according to stories, belong to the Hesperides.”

Near the Hesperides is, according to legend, Atlas, who supports the sky and “knows the seas.” Apparently it rises directly from the sea. A. Humboldt put forward the version that Atlas is the peak of Teide on the island of Tenerife (3710 meters above sea level), visible from Cape Bojador, that is, from the mainland. These data are quite plausible. Yes and strange ancient legend the fact that the giant Garion was buried under a tree from which blood was dripping also finds a clear explanation, just remember the dracaena tree emitting red resin...

But let's return to the classics of ancient geography.

Rufius Festus Avien “Sea Shores”: “And further in the sea lies an island; it is rich in herbs and dedicated to Saturn. So violent are its natures of power that if anyone, swimming past it, approaches it, the rest of the sea swells, trembling deeply, while the rest of the sea remains calm, like a pond.”

Surely this is about the island of Tenerife and its volcano Teide. The fact is that there are similar descriptions in the text that came to us thousands of years from the time of Hanno’s expedition. The Carthaginian admiral, traveling south along the northwestern coast of Africa, also described similar eruptions.

The references to the Canary Islands in antiquity given here are only a small part of the numerous evidence that has come down to us. To put an ellipsis at the end of our story, let’s ask one more question, the answer to which still does not exist. Let us again give the floor to Pliny: “Soon after Roman rule was established in Mauritania, Suetonius Paulinus (the governor) organized an expedition into the interior of the country - this was the first penetration of the Romans into the Atlas Mountains. He described dense mountain forests, unknown trees, snow-covered peaks (a dubious fact), reached the Ger River flowing through a desert of black sand and black mountains, as if after a fire, all kinds of creatures lived in the forests, and a people called “Canaries” lived there "..."

The area where Peacock visited is located at the same latitude as the Canaries. Is it not this tribe that they owe their name to? In Ptolemy we find mention of the region Gannaria prom(inens) (“Cape Gannaria”), located north of Cape Nun, at the latitude of the westernmost island of the Canary group. The Kamnurie tribes lived there - the same as the Canarias. Idrisi later confirms this assumption and adds that the poorest of them ate dog meat. Is this the clue to the name of the islands?

Not only Pliny, but also other ancient authors give the names of the tribes that lived on the coast of Morocco: Canarii, Perois, Pharusiens. As for the word “canaries”, scientists have found that Ganar is family name, given by the West African Wolof people to the Berber tribes living north of the Senegal River. It was these tribes that could give the name to the islands.

By the way, here’s another topic:

, The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

On the shores of the Ocean, at the very edge of the earth, a wonderful tree grew that brought golden apples. It was once raised by the goddess of the earth, Gaia, and given to Zeus and Hera on their wedding day. This tree grew in the beautiful garden of the giant Atlas, who held the sky on his shoulders. Behind it magic tree Hesperide nymphs, daughters of the giant, looked after him, and he was guarded by a terrible hundred-headed dragon named Ladon, whose eye could see even in a dream.

Eurystheus sent Hercules to find this wonderful garden of the Hesperides and ordered him to bring him three golden apples from there.

Hercules now went to the far West, who was to perform his eleventh labor. But Hercules did not know where the garden of the Hesperides was, and, overcoming great difficulties, he wandered for a long time through Europe, Asia and deserted sunny Libya.

He first came to Thessaly, and there he had to endure a fight with the giant Germer, but Hercules struck him with his club.

Then he met another monster on the Ehedor River - the son of Ares, Cycnus. Hercules asked him how to get into the garden of the Hesperides, and Cycnus, without answering, challenged him to single combat.

But Hercules defeated him. Then Hercules was about to move on, but suddenly the father of the murdered Cycnus, the god of war Ares, appeared in front of him, intending to take revenge for the murder of his son. Hercules entered into a duel with him, but at that time Zeus sent his lightning from the sky, and it separated the fighters.

Hercules followed the good advice of the nymphs, crept up to Nereus, tied him up and only then released him when he showed him the way to the garden of the Hesperides. The road there went through Libya and Egypt, which at that time was ruled by the evil Busiris, who killed all foreigners.

When Hercules appeared in Egypt, Busiris ordered him to be chained and taken to the sacrificial altar; but the hero broke the shackles along the way and killed Busiris, his son and the priests. Then Hercules came to the Caucasus Mountains, where he freed the titan Prometheus chained to a rock.

Finally, after long wanderings, Hercules came to the country where the giant Atlas held the sky on his shoulders. Atlas promised Hercules to get him the golden apples of the Hesperides if he agreed to hold the vault of heaven on his shoulders for that time.

Hercules agreed and shouldered the sky on his mighty shoulders. At this time Atlas went for apples and brought them to Hercules. He invited the hero to hold the sky a little longer, and in return he promised to take the golden apples to distant Mycenae. Hercules agreed to Atlas's trick, but asked him to hold the firmament while he put a pillow on his shoulders.