The third feat of Hercules: Stimfallian birds are the killers of all living things

Hercules - the most beloved and respected hero in the whole Peloponnese. He was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. But Alkmena was the wife of Amphitryon, and she had twins. The elder was weak and weak Evrismy, and the mighty Hercules - the youngest, so he had to be in the service of his elder brother all his life. But Zeus, knowing that this happened thanks to the clever tricks of Hera, concluded an unbreakable agreement with her, according to which only for 12 years Hercules will obey his elder brother, and then become free and immortal. Hercules received a good education, but best of all he managed to do things where it was necessary to show strength and daring. At the request of Eurystheus, Hercules destroyed the Nemean lion, then killed the Lernae hydra. The next, the 3rd feat of Hercules - the Stimphalian birds, the massacre of which brought peace and peace to people. In the Romans, Hercules was named Hercules.

What are these birds?

These monstrous birds lived on the shores of Lake Stimfall in Arcadia. In those days it was the wild mountainous terrain in which Pan lived. And the birds themselves appeared at the will of the evil and cruel God Ares. He asked the craftsman for all hands of Hephaestus to forge the birds out of copper. Their copper bodies were invulnerable to people with their weapons. Birds turned the whole area into a desert. They bruised their copper poisoned beaks and claws to pieces of both humans and animals. But the worst of all were their feathers, which were also forged from bronze. After flying up, they dropped them on the one who dared to attack them. Poisonous feathers-arrows carried death to all living things. The battle with these birds is a sure death. And Hercules was sent to such a feat. Stimfalian birds were to be destroyed at any cost.

How did the hero get down to business?

After hearing the messenger of the Kopra, Hercules decided to take shelter in the woods surrounding the poisonous lake, and wait until morning at dawn birds will fly. And while he threw himself on a solid hide of a Nemean lion and received from his patroness Athena Pallada two copper tympanum forged by Hephaestus. The warrior goddess suggested that it is best to strike the tympani and raise the birds with a sonorous sound. She also advised Hercules to stand on a high hill next to the forest where the Stymphalian birds nested, and when they fly off, shoot them. This will be the feat of Hercules. Stymfalian birds will be exterminated.

Battle

Hercules stood on a high hill, when a huge cloud swept up into the sky a huge flock and covered the sun. Birds circled above the hero and dropped sharp deadly feathers. But the skin of the lion protected both the head and the body of Hercules. He just had time to string the string and hit the monsters with the golden arrows that the bright Apollo gave him. Then he began to lift bird feathers and shoot them with their own weapons. They moaned into the lake with moans and drowned in it. The flock of birds was huge. Great was the feat of Hercules. The Stymphalian birds had to be liquidated, even though he was already beginning to get tired.

End of battle

When the arrows of the hero began to end, then in the distance he saw his patroness, who watched the course of the battle. And Hercules remembered that you can beat the tympani. These sounds scared the birds. In fear of the hero's deadly arrows and deafening sounds, they shot up high above the heavens and disappeared behind the clouds. Where did they fly? Away from the heroic inhabitants of the Peloponnese, at Pontus Euxinus. This is the feat of Hercules. Stymphalic birds permanently ceased to nest in Arcadia. And this area has become the happiest and quietest, bringing only pleasure to people. Everything blossomed in Arcadia. This was the third feat of Hercules. Stymphalic birds permanently ceased their plunder in Greece. The Greeks sighed calmly. They were no longer bothered by the Stimphalian birds. The feat of Hercules, the summary of which is set forth here, was continued by the brave Argonauts. They finished off them.

Hercules

After this, Hercules still and again fulfilled the impossible demands of the weak and cowardly Eurystheus. Hercules fought with the unusually beautiful Keryanei lanyu, which made from all fields a desert. He killed a huge and formidable fire-breathing boar that lived on Mount Erimanfa, cleaned the cattle yard of King Auge, tamed the Cretan bull. And this is not all the exploits of Hercules. He met many horrors on his way. He even had to descend into the gloomy realm of Hades. Finally, the hero implored his father Zeus, and after twelve years of service he freed himself from Eurystheus. After that, Hercules performed many more feats to help people. And when it was time for him to die, Athena, along with the fleet-footed Hermes, took him to heaven. So the great hero entered the assembly of the immortals. And his young Heba became eternally his wife. This he received a reward for his exploits on earth.

People remember the exploits of Hercules

He became famous on earth as a fighter with injustice. Hercules became an ideal for the Stoics, who appreciated his endurance, courage and willingness to serve people. The Burgundian royal family believed that it was descended from Hercules and Queen Eliza. Christians subsequently treated Hercules with great respect, and his sculpted images adorn the temples in Pergamum with scenes from the Old Testament. Hercules personifies the power of the Christian spirit.