Who is Theseus in Greek mythology. PR in ancient mythology

Theseus' name indicates strength (perhaps from pre-Greek Pelasgian: tēu- thēso, "to be strong"). Theseus belongs to the generation of heroes before the Trojan War (the sons of the great heroes of the past are already participating in it). For the old Nestor, Theseus, “like the immortals”, is stronger and braver than the heroes of the period of the Trojan War (Hom. Il. I 260-274). Theseus is more of an Athenian than a general Greek hero (as Hercules), but the transformational activity attributed to him, as the ancients believed, became a model for all of Greece and laid the foundation for the democratic spirit and primacy of Athens among the policies for which they were famous in historical time. The mythological hero Theseus acquired the features of a legendary-historical personality (the ancient tradition refers Theseus' activity to approximately the 13th century BC).

The birth of Theseus is unusual, although it was not prepared so grandiosely as that of Hercules. On the part of his father, Theseus had among his ancestors the autochthonous Erichthonius, born from the seed of Hephaestus by the earth and raised by Athena, and the autochthonous Kranay and the first Attic king Kekrop. The ancestors of Theseus are mixanthropic monsters, wise half-serpents, half-humans. However, Theseus himself is a representative of pure heroism, he is at the same time the son of a man and a god (and one of the wildest and most chthonic, Poseidon). On the mother's side, Theseus is descended from Pelops, the father of Pittheus, Atreus and Fiesta, and therefore from Tantalus and, finally, from Zeus himself. Being childless, Aegeus went to the oracle, but could not guess his answer. But the oracle was unraveled by the Trezen king Pittheus, who realized that the power in Athens would belong to the descendants of Aegeus, and, having drunk the guest drunk, put him to bed with his daughter Ephra. On the same night, Poseidon approached her (Apollod. III 15, 6-7) or combined with her the day before on the island of Spheros (Paus. II 33, 1). Thus, the son born to Ephra had (as befits a great hero) two fathers - the earthly Aegeus and the divine Poseidon.

Leaving Ephra, Aegeus asked to raise his future son, without naming his father, and left him his sword and sandals, so that, having matured, Theseus, in his father’s sandals and with his sword, went to Athens to Aegeus, but so that no one would know about it did not know, since Aegeus was afraid of the intrigues of the Pallantids (the children of the younger brother of Pallans, who claimed power because of Aegeus's childlessness). Ephra hid the true origin of Theseus, and Pittheus spread the rumor that the boy was born from Poseidon (the most revered god in Troezen). When Theseus grew up, Ephra revealed to him the secret of his birth and ordered, taking Aegeus' things, to go to Athens to his father (armed with the sword of Aegeus, Theseus, as it were, joined the magical power of previous generations who owned this sword and now directs his actions). Even before leaving Troezen, Theseus, having become a young man, dedicated a lock of hair to the god Apollo in Delphi (Plut. Thes. 5), thereby, as it were, handing over himself to the god and entering into an alliance with him. Theseus went to Athens not by the easy way - by sea, but by land, through the Isthmus of Corinth, along a particularly dangerous road, where robbers, children and descendants of chthonic monsters lay in wait for travelers on the way from Megara to Athens. Theseus killed Perithetus, Sinis, the Krommian pig, Skiron, Kercyon and Damastus (aka Polypemon) (Apollod. epit. I 1; Plut. Thes. 8-11). The path of Theseus, sent by his mother to an unknown father, is one of the variants of a common folklore motif - the son's search for his father (cf. the search for Odysseus by Telemachus). On the way to Athens, Theseus, as it were, performs the functions of Hercules (who was at that time in Lydia with Queen Omphala).

In Athens, King Aegeus fell under the rule of the sorceress Medea, who found shelter with him and hoped that her son Med from Aegeus would receive the right to the throne. Theseus appeared on the eighth day of the month of hecatombeon in Athens as a liberator from monsters, a wonderful young hero, but was not recognized by Aegeus, whom Medea inspired fear of the stranger and forced Aegeus to intoxicate the young man with poison. During the meal, Theseus drew his sword to cut the meat. The father recognized his son and threw away the bowl of poison (Plut. Thes. 12). According to another version, Aegeus sent a stranger first to hunt for a marathon bull that was devastating the fields. When Theseus defeated him and returned, Aegeus presented him with a bowl of poison at the feast, but he immediately recognized his son and expelled Medea (Apollod. epit. I 5-6). This campaign of Theseus includes his meeting with Hecala, in honor of which Theseus established festivities - hecalesia (Collim frg. 230-377 Pf.).

Theseus also had to contend with 50 Pallantis, whom he ambushed. Having exterminated his cousins ​​and expelled their allies, Theseus established himself as the son and heir of the Athenian king. Theseus glorified himself as a worthy heir to royal power during the clash between Athens and King Minos, who demanded tribute every nine years by seven young men and seven girls as atonement for the death of his son Androgeus, as if treacherously arranged by Aegeus (Apollod. III 15-7). When Minos came for the third time for tribute, Theseus decided to go to Crete himself to measure his strength with the monstrous Minotaur, to which the victims were condemned to be eaten. The ship set off under a black sail, but Theseus took with him a spare white one, under which he was supposed to return home after defeating the monster (Plut. Thes. 17). On the way to Crete, Theseus proved to Minos his origin from Poseidon by taking from the bottom of the sea a ring thrown by Minos (Bacchyl. XVII Maehl). Theseus and his companions were placed in a labyrinth, where Theseus, born of Poseidon, killed the Minotaur - a monster born of the bull of Poseidon or even Poseidon himself, if the bull is considered the hypostasis of God. Theseus and his companions got out of the labyrinth thanks to the help Ariadne who fell in love with Theseus. At night, Theseus, with the Athenian youth and Ariadne, secretly fled to the island of Naxos. However, there Ariadne was kidnapped by Dionysus, who was in love with her (according to one version, she was left by Theseus). Disappointed, Theseus went on, forgetting to change the sails, which caused the death of Aegeus, who threw himself into the sea when he saw a black sail and thereby assured himself of the death of his son (Apollod. epit. I 7-11).

Like other heroes, Theseus fought the Amazons who attacked Attica. He either participated in the campaign of Hercules, or he himself went on a campaign against the Amazons, kidnapping Queen Antiope (option: Melanippe or Hippolyta). The Amazons, wanting to free the queen, attacked Athens and would have taken them by storm, if not for the mediation of Theseus' wife, the Amazon (Plut. Thes. 27). She bore Theseus a son Hippolyta with whom the second wife of Theseus, the sister of Ariadne, fell in love - Phaedra, who gave birth to Theseus two sons - Acamant and Demophon.

Theseus participated in the battle with the centaurs, who were outrageous at the wedding of the Lapith Pirithous, Theseus's closest friend. (Apollod. epit. I 21). Theseus - member Calydonian hunting(Ovid. Met. 303). But he was not among the Argonauts, since at that time he helped Pirithous get the goddess of the kingdom of the dead, Persephone, as his wife (Apoll. Rhod. I 101-104). By this act, Theseus crossed the measure of the possible set by the gods for the heroes, and thereby became a disobedient and impudent hero (ύβριστής). He would have remained in the form where he was forever chained to the rock of Pirithous, if not for Hercules, who saved Theseus and sent him to Athens (Apollod. epit. I 23). An equally daring act of Theseus was the abduction of Helen by him. However, in the absence of Theseus, who went with Pirithous after Persephone, the Dioscuri recaptured their sister, capturing Ephra, Theseus' mother, and transferring power in Athens to his kinsman Menestheus (I 23), expelled by Theseus. Returning from his campaign to the kingdom of the species, he found the throne occupied by Menestheus (I 24). Theseus was forced to go into exile, unable to pacify his enemies. He secretly sent the children to Euboea, and he himself, cursing the Athenians, sailed to the island of Skyros, where Father Theseus once had land. But the king of Skyros, Lykomed, not wanting to part with his land, treacherously killed Theseus by pushing him off a cliff (just as Theseus himself threw the villain Skiron, the son of Poseidon, into the sea).

Ancient tradition ascribes to Theseus the unification of all the inhabitants of Attica into a single people (Sinoikism) and a single state (polis) of Athens, the establishment of the Panathenaic and Sinoic holidays, the first social division of the citizens of Athens into Eupatrides, Geomors and Demiurges (Plut. Thes. 24-25). All these reforms were carried out by Theseus in the prime of life. He gained a reputation among the Greeks as an incorruptible and fair arbiter in the most difficult disputes. He helped bury the bodies of the seven chiefs (cf. Seven against Thebes), helped Hercules, who fell into madness, and cleansed him of innocently shed blood, gave shelter to the persecuted Oedipus and his daughters (Plut. Thes. 29). Only having entered the mature age of fifty, Theseus found himself carried away by the element of unlawful acts that led to the collapse of his life. The Athenians remembered Theseus and recognized him as a hero during the Greco-Persian wars, when during the battle of Marathon (490 BC) he appeared to the soldiers in full armor (35). The Pythia ordered the Greeks to find the ashes of Theseus and bury him with dignity. In 476 BC The remains of Theseus with a spear and sword were transferred from the island of Skyros and solemnly buried in Athens. The burial place of Theseus was considered in Athens as a refuge for slaves, the poor and the oppressed. In honor of Theseus, the festival of the eighth Pianepsion was established (i.e., on the day of the liberation of the Athenian youth from the Minotaur), as well as monthly holidays on the eighth of Theseus as the son of Poseidon, the god to whom sacrifices are made at this particular time (since the eight is a symbol of the cube the first of even numbers and the doubled first square signifies, according to Plutarch, the reliability and inviolability characteristic of Poseidon the Unshakable and the Earth-holder; Plut. Thes. 36).

The image of Theseus is a complex mythological complex, which includes the rudiments of the early classic period associated with the origin of Theseus from Poseidon, the features of mature classics (the exploits of Theseus) and, finally, going beyond strict mythologism and gradually entering the system of polis ideology with its democratic ideas and firm legislation, when Theseus' state activity receives a semi-historical and symbolic interpretation.

Lit.: Wolgensinger F.H., Theseus, Z., 1935; Herter H., Theseus der Jonier, “Rheishes Museum fur Philologie.” 1936, Bd 85; his own, Theseus der Athener, ibid., 1939, Bd. 88; Radermacher L., Mythos und Sage bei den Griechen, 2 Autl., Brünn-Münch. - W., .

A.A. Tahoe Godi

Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia. (In 2 volumes). Ch. ed. S.A. Tokarev. - M .: "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1982. T. II, p. 502-504.

Theseus

Summary of the myth

Theseus A. Canova

When Theseus came to Athens, all of Attica was plunged into deep sorrow. For the third time, ambassadors arrived from Crete from the mighty king Minos for tribute. This tribute was heavy and shameful. The Athenians were to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every nine years. There they were locked in the huge palace of the Labyrinth, and they were devoured by the terrible monster Minotaur, with the body of a man and the head of a bull. Minos imposed this tribute on the Athenians because they killed his son Androgeus. Now for the third time the Athenians had to send a terrible tribute to Crete. They have already outfitted a ship with black sails as a sign of mourning for the young victims of the Minotaur.

Seeing the general sadness, the young hero Theseus decided to go with the Athenian boys and girls to Crete, free them and stop paying this terrible tribute. It was possible to stop paying only by killing the Minotaur. Therefore, Theseus decided to fight the Minotaur and either kill him or die. The aged Aegeus did not want to hear about the departure of his only son, but Theseus insisted on his own. He made a sacrifice to Apollo-Delphinius, the patron saint of sea travel, and just before his departure, an oracle was given to him from Delphi, so that he would choose the goddess of love Aphrodite as his patroness in this feat. Having called Aphrodite for help, and having made a sacrifice to her, Theseus went to Crete.

The ship happily arrived at the island of Crete. The Athenian boys and girls were taken to Minos. The powerful king of Crete immediately drew attention to the beautiful young hero. The king's daughter Ariadne also noticed him, and Aphrodite, the patroness of Theseus, aroused in Ariadne's heart a strong love for the young son of Aegeus. The daughter of Minos decided to help Theseus. She could not even think that the young hero would die in the Labyrinth, torn to pieces by the Minotaur.

Before going to battle with the Minotaur, Theseus had to accomplish one more feat. Minos insulted one of the Athenian girls. Theseus interceded for her, but, proud of his origin, the king of Crete began to mock Theseus; he was angry that some Athenian dared to oppose him, the son of Zeus. Theseus proudly answered the king:

You are proud of your origin from Zeus, but I am not the son of a mere mortal, my father is the great shaker of the earth, the god of the sea Poseidon.

If you are the son of the god Poseidon, then prove it and get the ring out of the depths of the sea, ”Minos answered Theseus and threw the golden ring into the sea.

Calling on his father Poseidon, Theseus fearlessly rushed from the steep bank into the waves of the sea. Salt spray flew high, and hid the waves of the sea of ​​Theseus. Everyone looked with fear at the sea that swallowed the hero, and were sure that he would not return back. Full of despair, stood Ariadne; and she was sure that Theseus was dead.

And Theseus, as soon as the sea waves closed over his head, the god Triton picked up and in the blink of an eye rushed to the underwater palace of Poseidon. Poseidon gladly welcomed his son to his magical underwater palace and gave him the ring of Minos, and Poseidon's wife, Amphitrite, admiring the beauty and courage of the hero, laid a golden wreath on Theseus' magnificent curls. Triton again picked up Theseus and carried him out of the depths of the sea to the shore to the place from which the hero threw himself into the sea. Theseus proved to Minos that he was the son of Poseidon, lord of the sea. Minos' daughter Ariadne rejoiced that Theseus returned unharmed from the depths of the sea.

But an even more dangerous feat lay ahead: it was necessary to kill the Minotaur. Then Ariadne came to the aid of Theseus. Secretly from her father, she gave Theseus a sharp sword and a ball of thread. When Theseus and all those doomed to be torn to pieces were taken to the Labyrinth, Theseus tied the end of a ball of thread at the entrance to the Labyrinth and went through the intricate endless passages of the Labyrinth, from which it was impossible to find a way out; he gradually unwound the ball in order to find the way back along the thread. Theseus walked farther and, finally, he came to the place where the Minotaur was. With a formidable roar, bowing his head with huge sharp horns, the Minotaur rushed at the young hero, and a terrible battle began. The Minotaur, full of rage, rushed at Theseus several times, but he repelled him with his sword. Finally, Theseus grabbed the Minotaur by the horn and plunged his sharp sword into his chest. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus left the Labyrinth along the thread of the ball and brought out all the Athenian boys and girls. Ariadne met them at the exit, she joyfully greeted Theseus. The young men and women, saved by Theseus, rejoiced. Decorated with wreaths of roses, glorifying the hero and his patroness Aphrodite, they led a cheerful round dance.

Now it was necessary to take care of the salvation from the wrath of Minos. Theseus quickly equipped his ship and, having cut through the bottom of all the Cretan ships pulled ashore, quickly set off on his way back to Athens. Ariadne followed Theseus, whom she fell in love with.

On the way back, Theseus landed on the coast of Naxos. When Theseus and his companions were resting from their journey, the god of wine Dionysus appeared to Theseus in a dream and told him that he must leave Ariadne on the desert coast of Naxos, since the gods appointed her not to him, but to the god Dionysus. Theseus woke up and, full of sadness, quickly got ready to go. He did not dare to disobey the will of the gods. The goddess was Ariadne, the wife of the great Dionysus. The companions of Dionysus Ariadne greeted loudly and glorified the wife of the great god with singing.

And the ship of Theseus quickly rushed on his black sails across the azure sea. The coast of Attica has already appeared in the distance. Theseus forgot, saddened by the loss of Ariadne, the promise given to Aegeus - to replace the black sails with white ones, if he, having defeated the Minotaur, happily returns to Athens. Aegeus was waiting for his son. With his eyes fixed on the sea distance, he stood on a high rock near the seashore. A black dot appeared in the distance, it grows, approaching the shore. This is his son's ship. He is getting closer. Aegeus looks, straining his eyes, - what kind of sails are on it. No, white sails do not shine in the sun, sails are black. So, Theseus died. In desperation, Aegeus threw himself from a high cliff into the sea and died in the sea waves; only his lifeless body was washed ashore by the waves. Since then, the sea in which Aegeus perished has been called the Aegean. And Theseus landed on the shores of Attica and already offered thanksgiving sacrifices to the gods, when suddenly, to his horror, he found out that he had become the unwitting cause of his father's death. With great honors, the heartbroken Theseus buried the body of his father, and after the funeral he assumed power over Athens.

Images and symbols of myth

The protagonist of almost all the heroic Athenian myths is Theseus. The Athenians wanted to embody in him, just as the Dorians did with Hercules, all the exploits and great deeds of the Athenian mythological cycle; but this hero never enjoyed such fame among all the Greeks as Hercules, although in order to give glory and splendor to the name of Theseus, exploits were attributed to him, which are an exact copy of the exploits of Hercules.

Myths about Theseus create image of God-Man, Theseus was the son of two fathers - Egeus - the ruler of Athens; and Poseidon, god of the seas. That is why it had both a human and a divine beginning.

Theseus was the ideal of beauty. The hero was beautiful as a girl, he was tall, slender, with a clear look of beautiful eyes, with dark curls that fell from his shoulders in magnificent rings; and his young muscular body spoke of his mighty strength.

Theseus appears as defender every mortal, every offended. In his exploits, we see him as a just hero, ready to avenge the desecrated honor or the ruined life of the weak. Ancient Greek myths show Theseus as fearless hero, who was not proud of his victories, but believed that blood defiles a person. The hero never entered into battle with the weak, even when he was angry with them, but only showed the possibilities of his strength. Theseus highly honored those who hospitably received him and were attentive to the advice of others.

He accepted the patronage of the Gods and their power to help in his wanderings and deeds.

But, despite the fact that Theseus was a God-Man, because of his absent-mindedness, unwittingly, he killed his father. And in the last myth, Theseus and Peirifoy decide to abduct Persephone, which the hero destroys himself. In the kingdom of Hades, he demands to give him the beautiful Persephone, for which the underground lord is angry with him and luck no longer accompanies Theseus. The greatest hero of Attica perishes from a treacherous hand.

The main symbols of Theseus include sword and sandals his father; golden wreath, presented to him by Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, struck by the beauty of the young man; sword, with which Theseus defeated the Minotaur and ball of thread who led the Athenians out of the ruinous labyrinth.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

Copy of the Theseion in Vienna

First of all, the Athenians, in honor of the victory of the hero over the ferocious robber Sinida, began to hold the Isthmian Games, following in importance after the Olympic Games. These games were held every two years. True, the peace proclaimed at these games was not observed as strictly as at the Olympics.

In Athens, on the highest point of the Agora, stands the best-preserved temple of Hephaestus, the blacksmith god and goddess Athena (popularly this temple is also called Theseion), who were patrons of arts and crafts. Inside were statues of Hephaestus and Athena. Also in the decoration of the temple were used molding depicting the exploits of Theseus and Hercules, hence the second name of the temple. An exact copy of this temple, built in 1823, can be seen in Vienna.

Greece, VI century. BC.

The battle between Theseus and the Minotaur was depicted by ancient Greek artisans on vases and decorations.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum, located in London, there is a statue of "Theseus and the Minotaur" by A. Canova. Canova also depicted two groups of sculptures on this subject, which are in a museum in Vienna.

In France, there is a painting by an unknown author, which depicts Ariadne passing Theseus a ball of thread.

Based on the ancient Greek myth, an animated film was made.

The social significance of the myth

A. Kanava,
London, Victoria Museum
and Alberta

Theseus gained wide popularity in Greek mythology, he was one of the most popular heroes of myths. Theseus constantly took part in the exploits of other heroes of Greece. So, Theseus participated in the Calydonian hunt (Meleagr), in the campaign of the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece and in the campaign of Hercules against the Amazons.

The popularity of Theseus can be explained by his fearlessness and justice, qualities that are valued at all times.

The expression "Ariadne's thread" has become winged.

And, of course, animated films based on the myths about Theseus bring up only the best qualities in children.

After the murder of Androgeus, the son of the Cretan ruler Minos, by a bull from Marathon, Athens had to pay a terrible tribute to mighty Crete. Minos constantly demanded seven beautiful girls and seven young men, whom, immediately upon arrival, he sent to the Labyrinth of his own palace to be eaten by the bull-man Minotaur, who was born from a bull sent to Crete by Poseidon and Minos' wife Paisaphia.

In the third ship with "tribute" sailed the young Theseus, the only son of the poor Athenian ruler Aegeus. The Delphic oracle chose Theseus as the patroness of this campaign in the person of the beautiful Aphrodite.

In Crete, Theseus immediately attracted the attention of both Minos, who began to threaten the royal youth with tearing to pieces, and his daughter Ariadne, who, thanks to the efforts of Aphrodite, immediately fell in love with him.

After a series of mockeries from Minos, who considered himself the offspring of Zeus, Theseus recalled that the blood of Poseidon flows in his veins. As proof of his origin from the god of the seas, the brave young man jumped into the abyss of the sea for the golden ring arrogantly thrown there by Minos. The god Triton came to the aid of Theseus, who delivered the hero to the gates of Poseidon's palace in an instant, where he found the ring of Minos.

The enamored Ariadne, seeing that her lover returned from the seabed safe and sound, gave him a skein of thread and a sharp sword. Having tied the thread of Ariadne at the entrance to the Labyrinth, Theseus got to the Minotaur, plunged a dagger into his chest and successfully got out with the rest of the doomed.

Photo: Minotaur by Pablo Picasso.

In the photo above, Theseus is killing the Minotaur.

Having made a hole in the bottom of all the Cretan ships, Theseus calmly set off on his way back, taking his beloved with him. In a dream, Theseus had a vision where the god Dionysus called on the young man to give him Ariadne as his wife and land her from the ship in Naxos. So Ariadne entered the pantheon of Greek gods.

Forgetting to change the black ship's sails to white ones, Theseus quickly approached the Athenian shores. His father Aegeus noticed a black color from a distance, announcing, as he thought, the death of his son, and out of grief he threw himself from a cliff into the sea. So the seething sea began to be called the Aegean.

myths of ancient Greece minotaur part 1

myths of ancient Greece minotaur part 2

Battles of the gods. Minotaur Labyrinth

Theseus is the legendary Athenian king (around the 13th century BC). He is credited with the unification of Attica, the division of citizens into eupatrides, geomors and demiurges. According to legend, T. performed many feats, including defeating Procrustes, the Minotaur, and participated in the war with the Amazons.

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Theseus (Theseus)

Greek?????? theseus)

the legendary Athenian hero, the son of King Aegeus and the Troesen princess Etra (Ephra). According to legend, T. freed Attica from the rule of the Cretan king Minos; having gone along with the young men and girls doomed to be eaten by the Minotaur to Crete, he penetrated with the help of the royal daughter Ariadne into the labyrinth dungeon and killed the monster of the Minotaur. Plutarch reports on the Sinoikism carried out by T. - the unification of the scattered peoples and tribes of Attica and the establishment of a single political center in Athens. However, some researchers consider Sinoikism a phenomenon of a later time. Tradition also ascribes to T. the division of the entire population of Attica into three estates: eupatrides (clan nobility), geomors (farmers) and demiurges (artisans); the last two made up the Athenian demos (people).

Liban N.N. Ancient Greece and Theseus // VI. 1969. No. 2.

(I.A. Lisovy, K.A. Revyako. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: Dictionary-reference book on the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome / Scientific ed. A.I. Nemirovsky. - 3rd ed. - Minsk: Belarus, 2001)

National hero of Athens; son of Ephra, princess of Troezen, and Aegeus or (and) Poseidon. It was believed that Theseus was a contemporary of Hercules and some of their exploits are similar. Theseus was brought up in Troezen; when he grew up, Ephra ordered him to move a rock, under which he found a sword and sandals left for him by Aegeus. Then he experienced dangerous adventures, going to Athens not by sea, but by land. He killed the robbers - Procruste, Sinid, who tore his victims with the help of flexible pine trunks; Skiron, who pushed travelers off the rocks into the sea; killed the terrifying Krommion pig and performed many other feats. When he finally arrived in Athens, the wife of Aegeus, Medea, fearing that power would be taken away from her son, persuaded her husband, who did not recognize the young man, to poison him. However, at the feast, Theseus took out his father's sword to cut the meat, and Aegeus recognized his son. Aegeus declared Theseus his heir and expelled Medea. Soon Theseus voluntarily went to the island of Crete with an annual tribute - several boys and girls - sent to King Minos. There he killed the Minotaur and took Ariadne with him, leaving her on the island of Naxos along the way (according to another version, she was kidnapped by Dionysus). At the time of Plutarch, the complex "crane" dance, imitating the turns of the Cretan labyrinth, was still well known. Theseus united the communities of Attica under the rule of Athens. The name of Theseus is mentioned in almost every known legend. He was a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian boar, hospitably received the exiled Oedipus in Athens, kidnapped the queen of the Amazons, from whom he had a son Hippolytus, he also secretly took thirteen-year-old Helen from his father's house, which during the absence of Theseus was stolen by her brothers - the Dioscuri. Theseus took part in the battle of the Lapiths and centaurs at the wedding of his close friend Pirithous, went down with him to Hades, trying to kidnap Persephone, for which he was chained to a rock, but later released by Hercules. Theseus died on the island of Skyros, and his remains were transferred and solemnly buried in Athens in 476 BC. e. He was revered in Attica as a hero and creator of the Athenian state, and after his death continued to patronize this city, and he was seen fighting on the side of the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon during the Greco-Persian Wars (490). Most of these stories are set forth by Plutarch in his "Biographies". Theseus is frequently mentioned in Attic classical literature; on frescoes in Pompeii and in Herculaneum he is the winner of the Minotaur.

Plots from the life of Theseus are used in later times: "Theseus finds his father's weapon" - a painting by Poussin and "Theseus and the defeated Minotaur" - one of the first works of Canova in the neoclassical style. Boccaccio's poem "Theseida" was loosely recounted by Chaucer in his "Knight's Tale" - the story of Palamon and Artsit, brothers in arms, chivalrous counterparts of Theseus and Pirithous. Description of the court of Theseus - "Duke of Athens" - Shakespeare used for his drama "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Racine in Phaedrus saw Theseus as a man terrified by the bloody consequences of his request to punish the slandered Hippolytus, but he still does not acquire there the symbolic meaning that Andre Gide gave him in Theseus. Here he rose above the passion for adventure and immoral love affairs; having lost his wife and deeply beloved son, he finds the meaning of life in a wise and just government.

(Modern reference dictionary: Antique world. Compiled by M.I. Umnov. M .: Olympus, AST, 2000)

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The birth of Theseus is unusual. On the part of his father, Theseus had among his ancestors the autochthonous Erichthonius, born from the seed of Hephaestus Gaia and raised by Athena, and the autochthonous Kranay and the first Attic king Kekrop. The ancestors of Theseus are wise half-snakes, half-people. However, Theseus himself is a representative of pure heroism, he is at the same time the son of a man and a god. On the mother's side, Theseus is descended from Pelops, the father of Pittheus, Atreus and Fiesta, and therefore from Tantalus and, finally, from Zeus himself.

exploits

Leaving Ephra, Aegeus asked to raise his future son, without naming his father, and left him his sword and sandals, placing them under a large stone, so that, having matured, Theseus, in his father’s sandals and with his sword, went to Athens to Aegeus, but so that no one knew about it, since Aegeus was afraid of the intrigues of the Pallantides (children of his younger brother Pallant), who claimed power because of Aegeus's childlessness. Ephra hides the true origin of Theseus and Pittheus spread the rumor that the boy was born from Poseidon (the most revered god in Troezen). When Theseus grew up, Ephra revealed to him the secret of his birth and ordered, taking Aegeus' things, to go to Athens to his father.

Even before leaving Troezen, Theseus, having become a young man, dedicated a strand of hair in front, like abantes, to the god Apollo in Delphi, thereby, as it were, handing over himself to the god and entering into an alliance with him. This kind of haircut was called "Teseev". When he was in his sixteenth year, he took out his father's sandals and sword from under the stone. The rock of Theseus (formerly the altar of Zeus Sthenius) was on the way from Troezen to Epidaurus.

Theseus went to Athens not by the easy way - by sea, but by land, through the Isthmus of Corinth, along a particularly dangerous road, where robbers and descendants of monsters lay in wait for travelers on the way from Megara to Athens. On the way, Theseus defeated and killed:

• Robber Perifeth, son of Hephaestus, who killed travelers with a copper club.
• Robber Sinis, (nicknamed the Bender of the pines), who lived in a pine grove and cracked down on travelers, tying them to two bent pines.
• The robber Skiron, who forced travelers to wash his feet at the cliff and kicked them into the abyss, where the unfortunate ones were eaten by a giant tortoise.
• The robber Kerkion, who forced travelers to fight to the death.
• Robber Damast (nicknamed Procrustes).

When Minos came for the third time for tribute, Theseus decided to go himself to Creteto measure strength with the monstrous Minotaur, to which the victims were condemned to be eaten. As Isocrates writes: "Theseus was indignant to such an extent that he preferred to die rather than remain alive as the head of the state, forced to pay such a mournful tribute to the enemies." According to Hellanic, there was no lot, and Minos himself arrived in Athens and chose Theseus.

The ship set off under a black sail, but Theseus took with him a spare white one, under which he was supposed to return home after defeating the monster. On the way to Crete, Theseus proved to Minos his origin from Poseidonby taking from the bottom of the sea a ring thrown by Minos. Theseus and his companions were placed in a labyrinth where Theseus killed the Minotaur. Theseus and his companions got out of the labyrinth thanks to the help of Ariadne, who fell in love with Theseus. According to the version, he escaped from the labyrinth thanks to the radiance emitted by the crown of Ariadne. At night, Theseus, with the Athenian youth and Ariadne, secretly fled to the island of Naxos. Caught there by a storm, Theseus, not wanting to take Ariadne to Athens, left her when she was sleeping. However, Ariadne was kidnapped by Dionysus, who was in love with her. According to a number of mythographers, Theseus was forced to leave Ariadne on the island, because Dionysus appeared to him in a dream and said that the girl should belong to him.

Theseus went on, forgetting to change the sails, which caused the death of Aegeus, who threw himself into the sea when he saw a black sail and thereby assured himself of the death of his son. According to legend, that is why the sea is called the Aegean. There is also a version that Minos made sacrifices to the gods and the god Apollo managed to arrange a sudden storm that carried away the “victorious” white sail - that is why Theseus was forced to return under a black sail and Aegeus' long-standing curse came true. According to Simonides, Aegeus was not waiting for white, but "purple sail, painted with the juice of flowers of a branchy oak." Returning from Crete, Theseus erected a temple to Artemis Sotere at Troezen. The 30-oared ship of Theseus, according to legend, was kept in Athens until the era of Demetrius of Phaler, giving rise to the paradox of the same name by the fact of its storage.

Other activities

Established the state system and democracy in 1259/58 BC. e. .

According to some reports, he arranged the Isthmian Games in honor of Melikert.

Poseidon promised him three wishes.

According to the Athenian version, at the head of the Athenian army, he defeated the Thebans of Creon, who refused to hand over the corpses of the fallen.

Together with Hercules, he participated in the campaign for the belt of the Amazons.

Participated in the battle with the centaurs who rampaged at the wedding of Pirithous, Theseus' closest friend. Signs of friendship between Theseus and Pirithous are buried near the Hollow Chalice in Colon. But he was not among the Argonauts, since at that time he helped Pirithous to get himself the goddess of the kingdom of the dead Persephone as his wife. By this act, Theseus crossed the measure of the possible set by the gods for the heroes, and thereby became a disobedient and impudent hero. He would have remained in Hades, where he was forever chained to the rock of Pirithous, if not for Hercules, who saved Theseus and sent him to Athens. Hercules freed him from Hades, part of his seat remained on the rock.

An equally daring act of Theseus was the abduction of Helen, who was beaten back by the brothers and later became the cause of the Trojan War. Taking Elena as his wife, Theseus built a temple to Aphrodite Nymphia in the region of Troezen. Returning from his campaign in the kingdom of Hades, he found the throne occupied by Menestheus.

Theseus was forced to go into exile, unable to pacify his enemies. When the Athenians drove him away, he went to Crete to Deucalion, but due to the winds he was brought to Skyros. He secretly sent the children to Euboea, and he himself, cursing the Athenians, sailed to the island of Skyros, where Father Theseus once had land. But the king of Skyros, Lycomedes, not wanting to part with his land, treacherously killed Theseus by pushing him off a cliff. Theseus was buried at Skyros.
A separate story is the story of how Phaedra, Theseus' wife, falling in love with her stepson Hippolytus, unsuccessfully persuaded him to love. Unable to achieve Hippolytus, she slandered him before her father, after which Theseus cursed his son and he died. Then Phaedra hanged herself, and Theseus found out the truth.

historical prototype

Ancient authors have long sought to consider the image of Theseus not as a mythical hero, but as a real historical character (Plutarch is the main source). Their interpretation is as follows:

Veneration in Attica

The cult of Theseus, as an ancestor hero, existed in Attica. Its special surge in the historical era occurred after the appearance of the shadow of the king at the Battle of Marathon, which is believed to have helped the Greeks to win.

Image in literature and art

According to Hegesianact, became the constellation of the Kneeling One, and Theseus' lyre became the constellation of Lyra.

In 1923, M. Tsvetaeva conceived the dramatic trilogy "The Wrath of Aphrodite". The main character of the trilogy is Theseus. Parts of the trilogy were to be named after the women whom Theseus loved: the first part - "Ariadne", the second - "Phaedra", the third - "Helen". "Ariadne: Theseus' early youth: eighteen years old; Phaedra: Theseus' maturity, forty years; Elena: Theseus' old age: sixty years old," wrote Tsvetaeva. The first part of the trilogy - "Ariadne" - Tsvetaeva finished in 1924, "Phaedra" - in 1927, "Elena" was not written.

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Notes

1. Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library IV 59, 1
2. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
3. centant.spbu.ru/centrum/publik/kafsbor/mnemon/2008/37.pdf
4. Diodorus Siculus. Historical Library IV 59, 1
5. Pausanias. Description of Hellas II 32, 9
6. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, V: text in other Greek. And
7. Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 27, 8
8. Pausanias. Description of Hellas II 32, 7
9. Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 19, 1
10. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XII: text in other Greek. And
11. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XVIII: text in other Greek. And
12. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XXII: text in other Greek. and , a reference to Diodorus the Traveler
13. Euripides. Hercules 1327
14. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XVI: text in other Greek. And
15. Virgil. Aeneid VI 21
16. First Vatican Mythographer I 43, 6
18. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XVII: text in other Greek. And
19. Pseudo-Eratosthenes. Catasterisms 5; Hygin. Astronomy II 5, 1
20. Scholia to Homer. Iliad XVIII 590; Eustathius // Losev A.F. Mythology of the Greeks and Romans. M., 1996. S.246
21. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XXI: text in other Greek. and , a reference to Dikearchus; Table Talk VIII 4, 3; Pausanias. Description of Hellas VIII 48, 3
22. Pausanias. Description of Hellas IX 40, 3-4
23. Pausanias. Description of Hellas II 31, 1
24. Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus, XXIII: text in other Greek. And
25. Parian Chronicle 20
26. Hygin. Myths 273
27. Euripides. Ippolit 46
28. Euripides. Pleading 650-724
29. Euripides. Heracleides 216
30. Pseudo Apollodorus. Mythological Library I 8, 2; Pausanias. Description of Hellas VIII 45, 6; Ovid. Metamorphoses VIII 303; Hygin. Myths 173
31. Pseudo Apollodorus. Mythological Library I 9, 16; Hygin. Myths 14 (p.25)
32. Pseudo-Hesiod. Shield of Hercules 182; Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 17, 2
33. Sophocles. Oedipus at Colon 1593
34. Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautica I 100-103
35. Euripides. Hercules 619
36. First Vatican Mythographer I 48, 8
37. Pausanias. Description of Hellas I 17, 6
38. Lycophron. Alexandra 1326
39. Hygin. Astronomy II 6, 2
40. Plutarch. Theseus 29

Links

• Myths of the peoples of the world. M., 1991-92. In 2 vols. T.2. P.502-504, Lübker F. Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. M., 2001. In 3 volumes. T.3. pp.393-394
• Plutarch. Comparative biographies, Theseus: text in other Greek. And
• Gushchin V. R. 2000: // Political history and historiography from antiquity to the present. Issue. 3. Petrozavodsk, 34-46.
• Gushchin V. R. 2002: // Antiquity and the Middle Ages of Europe: interuniversity. Sat. scientific tr. / I. L. Mayak, A. Z. Nyurkaeva (ed.). Perm, 10-18.

autochthonous Deucalionides Erichtonides Codrids Archons of Athens Attica outside of Athens Kings of Eleusis

Compositions Comparative biography 1 Unpaired biographies 2 Lost biographies

Initial deities Titans Titanides Children of the Titans Olympic gods Other Olympians Gods water element Main Chthonic deities Main born on earth Earth

An excerpt characterizing Theseus

Natasha ran into the house and tiptoed in through the half-open door of the sofa room, from which there was a smell of vinegar and Hoffmann's drops.
Are you sleeping, mom?
- Oh, what a dream! said the countess, who had just dozed off, waking up.
“Mom, my dear,” said Natasha, kneeling in front of her mother and putting her face close to hers. - I'm sorry, I'll never be, I woke you up. Mavra Kuzminishna sent me, they brought the wounded here, officers, will you? And they have nowhere to go; I know that you will allow ... - she said quickly, without taking a breath.
What officers? Who was brought? I don’t understand anything,” said the countess.
Natasha laughed, the countess also smiled faintly.
- I knew that you would allow ... so I will say so. - And Natasha, kissing her mother, got up and went to the door.
In the hall she met her father, who returned home with bad news.
- We sat down! said the Count with involuntary annoyance. “And the club is closed, and the police are coming out.
- Dad, is it okay that I invited the wounded to the house? Natasha told him.
“Nothing, of course,” the Count said absently. “That’s not the point, but now I ask you not to deal with trifles, but to help pack and go, go, go tomorrow ...” And the count gave the butler and people the same order. At dinner, Petya returned and told his news.
He said that today the people were dismantling weapons in the Kremlin, that although Rostopchin’s poster said that he would call the cry in two days, but that an order had probably been made that tomorrow all the people would go to the Three Mountains with weapons, and that there there will be a big fight.
The Countess looked with timid horror at the cheerful, heated face of her son while he was saying this. She knew that if she said a word that she asked Petya not to go to this battle (she knew that he rejoiced at this upcoming battle), then he would say something about men, about honor, about the fatherland - something like that. meaningless, masculine, stubborn, against which one cannot object, and the matter will be spoiled, and therefore, hoping to arrange so that she could leave before that and take Petya with her as a protector and patron, she did not say anything to Petya, and after dinner called the count and with tears she begged him to take her away as soon as possible, on the same night, if possible. With a feminine, involuntary cunning of love, she, who had shown perfect fearlessness until now, said that she would die of fear if they did not leave that night. She, without pretending, was now afraid of everything.

Mme Schoss, who visited her daughter, increased the Countess's fear even more with stories about what she had seen on Myasnitskaya Street in a pub. Returning down the street, she could not get home from the drunken crowd of people raging at the office. She took a cab and drove around the lane home; and the driver told her that the people were breaking barrels in the drinking office, which was so ordered.
After dinner, all the Rostov households with enthusiastic haste set to work packing their things and preparing for departure. The old count, suddenly set to work, continued to walk from the yard to the house and back after dinner, stupidly shouting at the people in a hurry and hurrying them even more. Petya was in charge in the yard. Sonya did not know what to do under the influence of the count's conflicting orders, and was completely at a loss. People, shouting, arguing and making noise, ran around the rooms and the yard. Natasha, with her characteristic passion in everything, suddenly also set to work. At first, her intervention in the matter of packing was met with disbelief. Everyone expected a joke from her and did not want to listen to her; but with stubbornness and passion she demanded obedience to herself, became angry, almost wept that they did not listen to her, and finally achieved that they believed in her. Her first feat, which cost her great effort and gave her power, was laying carpets. The count had expensive gobelins and Persian rugs in his house. When Natasha got down to business, there were two open boxes in the hall: one almost to the top with porcelain, the other with carpets. There was still a lot of porcelain set on the tables, and everything was still being carried from the pantry. It was necessary to start a new, third box, and people followed him.
“Sonya, wait, let’s put everything in this way,” said Natasha.
“It’s impossible, young lady, they already tried it,” said the barmaid.
– No, stop, please. - And Natasha began to get dishes and plates wrapped in paper from the drawer.
“The dishes should be here, in the carpets,” she said.
“Yes, and God forbid, put the carpets into three boxes,” said the barman.
- Wait, please. - And Natasha quickly, deftly began to disassemble. “It’s not necessary,” she said about Kyiv plates, “yes, it’s in carpets,” she said about Saxon dishes.
- Yes, leave it, Natasha; Well, that’s enough, we’ll put it down, ”Sonya said reproachfully.
- Oh, young lady! the butler said. But Natasha did not give up, threw out all the things and quickly began to pack again, deciding that bad home carpets and extra dishes should not be taken at all. When everything was taken out, they began to lay again. And indeed, throwing out almost everything cheap, what was not worth taking with you, everything of value was put into two boxes. Only the lid of the carpet box did not close. It was possible to take out a few things, but Natasha wanted to insist on her own. She packed, shifted, pressed, forced the barman and Petya, whom she dragged along into the business of packing, to press the lid and herself made desperate efforts.
“Come on, Natasha,” Sonya told her. - I see you're right, take out the top one.
“I don’t want to,” Natasha shouted, holding her loose hair over her sweaty face with one hand, pressing the carpets with the other. - Yes, press it, Petka, press it! Vasilyich, press! she screamed. The carpets pressed down and the lid closed. Natasha, clapping her hands, squealed with joy, and tears gushed from her eyes. But it lasted for a second. She immediately set to work on another matter, and they completely believed her, and the count was not angry when they told him that Natalya Ilyinishna had canceled his order, and the servants came to Natasha to ask: should the cart be tied or not and was it enough imposed? The matter was argued thanks to Natasha's orders: unnecessary things were left and the most expensive things were packed in the most cramped way.
But no matter how busy all the people were, by late at night not everything could be packed. The countess fell asleep, and the count, postponing his departure until morning, went to bed.
Sonya and Natasha slept without undressing in the sofa room. That night, a new wounded man was being transported through Povarskaya, and Mavra Kuzminishna, who was standing at the gate, turned him around to the Rostovs. This wounded man, according to Mavra Kuzminishna, was a very significant person. He was carried in a carriage completely covered with an apron and with the top down. An old man, a respectable valet, was sitting on the goats with the driver. Behind the cart were a doctor and two soldiers.
- Come to us, please. The gentlemen are leaving, the whole house is empty,” said the old woman, turning to the old servant.
- Yes, - answered the valet, sighing, - and not to bring tea! We have our own house in Moscow, but far away, and no one lives.
“We are welcome, our masters have a lot of everything, please,” said Mavra Kuzminishna. - Are you very unhealthy? she added.
The valet waved his hand.
- Do not bring tea! You need to ask the doctor. And the valet got off the goat and went up to the wagon.
“Good,” said the doctor.
The valet again went up to the carriage, looked into it, shook his head, ordered the coachman to turn into the yard, and stopped beside Mavra Kuzminishna.
- Lord Jesus Christ! she said.
Mavra Kuzminishna offered to bring the wounded man into the house.
“The Lord won’t say anything…” she said. But it was necessary to avoid climbing the stairs, and therefore the wounded man was carried into the wing and laid in the former room of m me Schoss. This wounded man was Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.

The last day of Moscow has come. It was clear, cheerful autumn weather. It was Sunday. As on ordinary Sundays, the gospel was announced for mass in all churches. No one, it seemed, could yet understand what awaited Moscow.
Only two indicators of the state of society expressed the situation in which Moscow was: the mob, that is, the class of poor people, and the prices of objects. Factory workers, servants and peasants in a huge crowd, in which officials, seminarians, noblemen got involved, on this day, early in the morning, went to the Three Mountains. After standing there and not waiting for Rostopchin and making sure that Moscow would be surrendered, this crowd scattered around Moscow, to drinking houses and taverns. Prices that day also indicated the state of affairs. The prices of weapons, gold, carts and horses kept going up, while the prices of paper money and city things kept going down, so that in the middle of the day there were cases when cabbies took out expensive goods, like cloth, from the floor, and for a peasant horse paid five hundred rubles; furniture, mirrors, bronzes were given away for free.
In the sedate and old house of the Rostovs, the disintegration of the former living conditions expressed itself very weakly. With regard to people, it was only that three people from a huge household disappeared during the night; but nothing was stolen; and with regard to the prices of things, it turned out that the thirty carts that came from the villages were enormous wealth, which many envied and for which Rostov was offered huge money. Not only did they offer a lot of money for these carts, from the evening and early morning of September 1, orderlies and servants from wounded officers came to the Rostovs’ courtyard and dragged the wounded themselves, placed at the Rostovs and in neighboring houses, and begged the Rostovs’ people to take care of that they were given carts to leave Moscow. The butler, who was approached with such requests, although he felt sorry for the wounded, resolutely refused, saying that he would not even dare to report this to the count. No matter how pitiful the remaining wounded were, it was obvious that if you gave up one cart, there was no reason not to give up another, that's all - to give up your crews. Thirty carts could not save all the wounded, and in the general disaster it was impossible not to think about yourself and your family. So thought the butler for his master.
Waking up on the morning of the 1st, Count Ilya Andreich quietly left the bedroom, so as not to wake the countess who had just fallen asleep by morning, and in his purple silk dressing gown went out onto the porch. The carts, tied up, stood in the yard. The carriages were at the porch. The butler stood at the entrance, talking to an old batman and a young, pale officer with a bandaged arm. The butler, seeing the count, made a significant and stern sign to the officer and orderly to leave.
- Well, is everything ready, Vasilich? - said the count, rubbing his bald head and looking good-naturedly at the officer and orderly and nodding his head to them. (The count liked new faces.)
- At least harness now, Your Excellency.
- Well, that's nice, the countess will wake up, and with God! What are you, gentlemen? he turned to the officer. - In my house? The officer moved closer. His pale face suddenly flushed bright red.
- Count, do me a favor, let me ... for God's sake ... shelter somewhere on your carts. I don’t have anything with me here ... I don’t care in the cart ... - the officer had not yet managed to finish, as the batman turned to the count with the same request for his master.
- A! yes, yes, yes,” said the count hastily. - I'm very, very happy. Vasilyich, you order, well, clear one or two carts there, well, there ... what ... what is needed ... - with some kind of vague expressions, ordering something, the count said. But at the same moment, the officer's warm expression of gratitude already confirmed what he ordered. The count looked around him: in the yard, at the gate, in the window of the wing, one could see the wounded and orderlies. They all looked at the count and moved towards the porch.
- Please, Your Excellency, to the gallery: what do you want about the paintings there? the butler said. And the count entered the house with him, repeating his order not to refuse the wounded who ask to go.
“Well, then, you can put something together,” he added in a low, mysterious voice, as if afraid that someone would hear him.
At nine o'clock the countess woke up, and Matrena Timofeevna, her former maid, who had acted as chief of the gendarmes in relation to the countess, came to report to her former young lady that Marya Karlovna was very offended and that the young lady's summer dresses should not stay here. When asked by the countess why mme Schoss was offended, it was revealed that her chest was removed from the cart and all the carts were being untied - they were taking off the good and taking the wounded with them, whom the count, in his simplicity, ordered to take with him. The countess ordered to ask her husband.
- What is it, my friend, I hear things are being filmed again?
- You know, ma chere, I wanted to tell you this ... ma chere countess ... an officer came to me, asking me to give a few carts for the wounded. After all, this is all a matter of gain; But what is it like for them to stay, think! .. Really, in our yard, we ourselves invited them, there are officers here. You know, I think it’s right, ma chere, here, ma chere… let them take them… where is the hurry?.. – The count said this timidly, as he always said when it came to money. The Countess, however, was accustomed to this tone, which always preceded the business that ruined the children, like some kind of construction of a gallery, a greenhouse, the installation of a home theater or music - and she was used to, and considered it her duty to always oppose what was expressed in this timid tone.
She assumed her meekly deplorable air and said to her husband:
“Listen, Count, you have brought it to the point that they don’t give anything for the house, and now you want to ruin all of our - children’s fortune. After all, you yourself say that there is a hundred thousand good in the house. I, my friend, disagree and disagree. Your will! There is government on the wounded. They know. Look: over there, at the Lopukhins, everything was taken out clean on the third day. That's how people do it. We alone are fools. Have pity at least not on me, but on the children.
The count waved his hands and, without saying anything, left the room.
- Dad! what are you talking about? Natasha told him, following him into her mother's room.
- About nothing! What do you care! said the Count angrily.
“No, I heard,” Natasha said. Why doesn't mommy want to?
– What is your business? shouted the count. Natasha went to the window and thought.
“Papa, Berg has come to visit us,” she said, looking out the window.

Berg, the Rostovs' son-in-law, was already a colonel with Vladimir and Anna around his neck, and occupied the same calm and pleasant position of assistant chief of staff, assistant to the first department of the chief of staff of the second corps.
On September 1, he came from the army to Moscow.
He had nothing to do in Moscow; but he noticed that everyone from the army asked to go to Moscow and did something there. He also considered it necessary to take time off for household and family affairs.
Berg, in his neat little droshky, on a pair of well-fed, savras little ones, exactly the same as one prince had, drove up to his father-in-law's house. He looked attentively into the yard at the carts and, entering the porch, took out a clean handkerchief and tied a knot.
From the ante-room Berg, with a floating, impatient step, ran into the drawing-room and embraced the count, kissed the hands of Natasha and Sonya, and hurriedly asked about mother's health.
What is your health now? Well, tell me, - said the count, - what about the troops? Are they retreating or will there be more fighting?
“One eternal god, father,” said Berg, “can decide the fate of the fatherland. The army is burning with the spirit of heroism, and now the leaders, so to speak, have gathered for a meeting. What will happen is unknown. But I’ll tell you in general, dad, such a heroic spirit, truly ancient courage of the Russian troops, which they - it, - he corrected, - showed or showed in this battle on the 26th, there are no words worthy to describe them ... I’ll tell you, dad (he hit himself in the chest in the same way as one general who spoke in front of him hit himself, although a little late, because it was necessary to hit himself in the chest at the word "Russian army") - I will tell you frankly that we, the bosses, not only did we not have to urge the soldiers or anything like that, but we could hardly hold on to these, these ... yes, courageous and ancient feats, ”he said quickly. “General Barclay before Tolly sacrificed his life everywhere in front of the troops, I'll tell you. Our body was placed on the slope of the mountain. Can you imagine! - And then Berg told everything that he remembered from the various stories he had heard during this time. Natasha, not lowering her gaze, which confused Berg, as if looking for the solution of some question on his face, looked at him.
- Such heroism in general, which Russian soldiers showed, cannot be imagined and deservedly praised! - Berg said, looking back at Natasha and as if wanting to appease her, smiling at her in response to her stubborn look ... - "Russia is not in Moscow, it is in the hearts of all sons!" So, papa? Berg said.
At that moment, the Countess came out of the sofa-room, looking tired and displeased. Berg hastily jumped up, kissed the countess's hand, inquired about her health, and, expressing his sympathy by shaking his head, stopped beside her.
- Yes, mother, I will tell you truly, hard and sad times for every Russian. But why worry so much? You still have time to leave...
“I don’t understand what people are doing,” said the countess, turning to her husband, “they just told me that nothing is ready yet. After all, someone has to take care of it. So you will regret Mitenka. Will this end?
The count wanted to say something, but apparently refrained. He got up from his chair and walked to the door.
Berg at this time, as if to blow his nose, took out a handkerchief and, looking at the bundle, fell into thought, shaking his head sadly and significantly.
“And I have a big request for you, dad,” he said.
- Hm? .. - said the count, stopping.
“I’m driving past Yusupov’s house right now,” Berg said, laughing. - The manager is familiar to me, ran out and asked if you could buy something. I came in, you know, out of curiosity, and there was only a wardrobe and a toilet. You know how much Verushka wanted this and how we argued about it. (Berg involuntarily turned into a tone of joy about his well-being when he began to talk about a chiffonier and a toilet.) And such a charm! comes forward with the English secret, you know? And Verochka has long wanted to. So I want to surprise her. I saw so many of these men in your yard. Give me one, please, I'll pay him well and...
The Count winced and sighed.
“Ask the countess, but I don’t order.
“If it’s difficult, please don’t,” Berg said. - I would only really like for Verushka.
“Ah, get out of here, all of you, to hell, to hell, to hell, to hell!” shouted the old count. - My head is spinning. And he left the room.
The Countess wept.
- Yes, yes, mama, very hard times! Berg said.
Natasha went out with her father and, as if thinking something with difficulty, first followed him, and then ran downstairs.
On the porch stood Petya, who was engaged in arming people who were traveling from Moscow. In the yard, the laid wagons were still standing. Two of them were untied, and an officer, supported by a batman, climbed onto one of them.
- Do you know why? - Petya asked Natasha (Natasha realized that Petya understood: why father and mother quarreled). She didn't answer.
“Because papa wanted to give all the carts to the wounded,” said Petya. “Vassilyitch told me. In my opinion…