How many heroes in the myth are the apples of the Hesperides. Apples of the Hesperides (Twelfth Labor): A Tale. Here is a shortened version of this legend

"Apples of the Hesperides" summary For reader's diary will help you remember the main events.

“Apples of the Hesperides” brief retelling

King Euristaeus instructed Hercules to bring golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Apples grew at the edge of the earth in the garden of the titan Atlas, who held the vault of heaven on his shoulders.

He did not know the way there and first went to the Po River, where the prophetic god Nereus lived. On the way, the son of Ares and Pirene, named Cycnus, challenged the hero to a duel, but Zeus ordered it to be stopped by striking lightning between the fighters. When Hercules reached the Po River, the river nymphs, the daughters of Zeus and Themis, showed him where Nereus was sleeping. The hero grabbed Nereus and, although he turned into various creatures, he could not leave and told where the sought-after gardens were.

Along the way, Hercules met the giant Antaeus, the son of the earth goddess Gaia. He forced everyone he met to fight him, and killed those he defeated. I had to fight with him and Hercules. Many times he threw Antaeus to the ground. But each time he turned out to be stronger than before, because, having touched mother earth, he received new strength from her. Then Hercules strained himself, lifted the giant high above the ground, and all his strength left Antaeus.

Finally, Hercules reached the region where the sky meets the earth. Here he saw Atlas holding the firmament and asked for help in completing the assignment. Atlas was glad to get rid of the punishment (to forever hold the sky on his shoulders) and agreed to bring apples

Hercules stood in the place of Atlas, and a terrible weight fell on his shoulders. The muscles were swollen from tension, but he held the sky until the titan brought the golden apples.

The Titan returned with three apples and decided to trick Hercules into taking his place forever. He suggested that he himself would take the apples to the king, and Hercules would hold the sky until his return. Hercules turned out to be more cunning. He agreed, but asked Atlas to hold the sky so that he could pad the shoulders.

Victory over the Nemean lion Lernaean hydra, chasing a doe, traveling 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 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 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 fight. 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 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.

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 be completely freed from his hard work, and 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 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 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. It was these moral qualities that were 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- a stable expression with an 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 of popular 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 of set expressions from the dictionary of phraseological units. 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 -

Ancient Greek myth "Golden apples of the Hesperides"

The Twelfth Labor of Hercules

Genre: myth

The main characters of the fairy tale “The Golden Apples of the Hesperides” and their characteristics

  1. Hercules, son of Zeus, demigod and hero. Courageous, tireless, very strong,
  2. Nereus, sea god, elder.
  3. Antaeus, the giant. Son of Gaia and Poseidon. Brutal killer.
  4. Busiris, king of Egypt. Brutal killer.
  5. Atlas. Titanium. He held the vault of the sky, but was not averse to sneaking away. Very strong, but rustic.
Plan for retelling the fairy tale "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"
  1. New task for Eurystheus.
  2. Finding the way to the Garden of the Hesperides
  3. Fight with Nereus
  4. Fight with Antaeus.
  5. Adventure in Egypt.
  6. Hercules replaces Atlas
  7. Atlas is cunning
  8. Hercules deceives Atlas
  9. Return and end of the service of Hercules.
The shortest summary of the fairy tale “The Golden Apples of the Hesperides” for a reader’s diary in 6 sentences
  1. King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring the golden apples of the Hesperides
  2. Hercules searched for a long time and the nymphs advised him to ask Nereus.
  3. Hercules defeated Nereus and learned the way.
  4. Hercules defeated Antaeus and killed the king of Egypt.
  5. Herkal replaced Atlas while he went for apples
  6. Atlas did not want to stand up, but Hercules deceived him and returned to Mycenae with the apples.
The main idea of ​​the fairy tale "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"
Not only strength helps to achieve a goal, but also cunning.

What does the fairy tale “The Golden Apples of the Hesperides” teach?
The fairy tale teaches you to be strong and cunning. Don't give up and look for your way everywhere. Teaches you to overcome life difficulties. Teaches optimism. Teaches you to faithfully perform your duty and responsibilities. Teaches you to love your native land.

Review of the fairy tale "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"
I also liked this myth about Hercules. In it, Hercules again had to fight a lot and kill many, but he completed the task. He even had to cheat so as not to remain holding up the firmament. True, in the end, the work of Hercules turned out to be Sisyphean; the apples were still returned to the Hesperides.

Proverbs for the fairy tale "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"
No one will thank you for wasted work.
Whoever bends whomever beats him.
You can't take everything by force.
Strength without mind is a burden.
Business before pleasure.

Read summary, brief retelling fairy tales "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"
The most difficult was the twelfth labor of Hercules, in which he had to get three golden apples from the gardens of Atlas. No one knew the way to Atlas, which held the firmament, and where the gardens of the Hesperides were located.
Therefore, Hercules wandered around Europe and Asia for a long time, climbed to the far north to the Eridanus River, and there the nymphs advised the hero to watch for the sea elder Nereus and take him by surprise.
Hercules found the sea god and fought with him. Nereus began to take on different guises, but could not free himself from the iron grip of Hercules. He admitted his defeat and opened the way for the hero to the Hesperides Gardens.
Hercules had to go through Libya and in these hot lands he met Antaeus. Antaeus was the son of the god of the seas Poseidon and the goddess of the earth Gaia. He fought with all the travelers who passed through his lands, and defeated and killed everyone.
Hercules began to fight Antaeus and threw the giant to the ground many times. But Antaeus, touching the ground, regained his strength and rushed into battle again. Finally, Hercules guessed to lift Antaeus into the air and hold him, squeezing him with his powerful hands, until Antaeus suffocated. So Hercules defeated Antaeus and moved on.
Then Hercules went to Egypt. There, the cruel king Busiris wanted to sacrifice Hercules and tied up the sleeping man. But when Hercules woke up, he broke his bonds and killed King Busiris.
Hercules wandered for a long time until he reached the edge of the Earth. There he saw the mighty giant Atlas, who held the vault of heaven on his shoulders.
Hercules greeted the titan and said that King Eurystheus of Mycenae had sent him for golden apples.
Atlas agreed to give Hercules three apples and asked the hero to hold the firmament while he went for the apples. Hercules took the weight of the firmament on his shoulders and barely held it. But he tensed his powerful muscles and straightened up. It was hard to hold the firmament.
But then Atlas returned with apples and said that he was ready to take the apples to the king of Mycenae, and let Hercules hold the vault of heaven for him for now. But Hercules understood the titan’s cunning; he simply did not want to hold such a weight any longer.
Therefore, Hercules also decided to cheat. He said he agreed, but asked Atlas to hold the arch while he made a pillow for the shoulders. Atlas accepted the firmament, and Hercules took the apples, announced to Atlas that he could not hold the firmament forever and went home.
He brought golden apples to King Eurystheus, who gave them to Hercules, Hercules gave the apples to Athena, and Athena returned the apples to the Hesperides.
After completing the twelfth labor, Hercules was freed from service with Eurystheus, but new exploits and adventures still awaited this hero.

Drawings and illustrations for the fairy tale "The Golden Apples of the Hesperides"

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 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 mastered it and tied it up.

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. After this, Hercules traveled a long way 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.

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.

Here is a shortened version of this legend:

On the western tip of the earth, near the Ocean, where day met Night, lived the beautiful-voiced nymphs of the Hesperides. Their divine singing was heard only by Atlas, who held the firmament on his shoulders and souls of the dead, sadly descended into the underworld. The nymphs were walking in a wonderful garden where a tree grew, bending its heavy branches to the ground. Golden fruits sparkled and hid in their greenery. They gave everyone who touched them immortality and eternal youth.

Eurystheus ordered these fruits to be brought, and not in order to become equal to the gods. He hoped that Hercules would not fulfill this order.

Throwing a lion's skin on his back, throwing a bow over his shoulder, taking a club, the hero walked briskly towards the Garden of the Hesperides. He is already accustomed to the fact that the impossible is achieved from him.

Hercules walked for a long time until he reached the place where heaven and earth converged on Atlanta, like on a giant support. He looked in horror at the titan holding an incredible weight.

“I am Hercules,” the hero responded. “I was ordered to bring three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides.” I heard that you can pick these apples alone.

Joy flashed in Atlas's eyes. He was up to something evil.

“I can’t reach the tree,” said Atlas. “And, as you can see, my hands are busy.” Now, if you hold my burden, I will willingly fulfill your request.

“I agree,” Hercules answered and stood next to the titan, who was many heads taller than him.
Atlas sank, and a monstrous weight fell on Hercules’ shoulders. Sweat covered my forehead and entire body. The legs sank up to the ankles into the ground trampled by Atlas. The time it took the giant to get the apples seemed like an eternity to the hero. But Atlas was in no hurry to take back his burden.

“If you want, I’ll take the precious apples to Mycenae myself,” he suggested to Hercules.

The simple-minded hero almost agreed, fearing to offend the titan who had rendered him a favor by refusing, but Athena intervened in time - she taught him to respond with cunning to cunning. Pretending to be delighted by Atlas's offer, Hercules immediately agreed, but asked the Titan to hold the arch while he made a lining for his shoulders.

As soon as Atlas, deceived by the feigned joy of Hercules, shouldered the usual burden on his weary shoulders, the hero immediately raised his club and bow and, not paying attention to the indignant cries of Atlas, set off on the way back.

Eurystheus did not take the apples of the Hesperides, obtained by Hercules with such difficulty. After all, he didn’t need apples, but the death of the hero. Hercules gave the apples to Athena, who returned them to the Hesperides.

This ended the service of Hercules to Eurystheus, and he was able to return to Thebes, where new exploits and new troubles awaited him.

It includes many tales about heroes and their adventures, about their battles and wanderings, about gods who either helped man or remained indifferent to the point of cruelty. One of these heroes is Hercules - the legendary Thunderer and earthly woman Alcmene. But it was not his divine origin that glorified him, but his deeds. (the apples of the Hesperides are the twelfth and last) - these are stories about incredible difficulties that the hero had to overcome. But first things first.

A little background

The myth “Apples of the Hesperides” (a brief summary of it is given below) tells about one of the most difficult feats of the ancient hero. But before we talk about its essence, we should talk about the character himself. Hercules was the son of Zeus and an earthly woman. Before the birth of the boy, the Thunderer predicted that he would have power over the whole world. But the jealous Hera, the wife of God, did not like this. By cunning and deceit, she made Hercules go into exile and was forced to serve King Eurystheus, a cowardly and cowardly man. Fearing his relative, the ruler sent him off to carry out ridiculous tasks, hoping that he would not return. But each time Hercules returned victorious.

New task

The myth “Apples of the Hesperides,” a brief summary of which we will consider, begins with the king summoning the hero to himself immediately after his return. This time he sends Hercules to the ends of the earth, where no one knew the way. Eurystheus ordered this time to bring him from the treasured garden. In that garden, over which the daughters of the titan Atlas looked, grew a tree grown by Gaia and given to Hera on the day of her wedding with Zeus. No mortal could snatch the fruits from it, and it was forbidden to enter the garden. The hero had nowhere to go: he was again going on a long journey to fulfill the assignment.

The myth “Apples of the Hesperides” tells that Hercules first had to find the way to the treasured garden. Whomever he asked, but no one, neither the wisest old men, nor the demigods, could know this. The forest nymphs advised the hero to ask the sea god Nereus. Having caught him sleepy on the shore and held him in his hands (the god resisted and tried to break free), the son of Zeus learned the way. Without hesitating a moment, he sets off north.

“Apples of the Hesperides”: summary

Finally, Hercules reached the end of the world, where an unusual apple tree grew. At the place where the Eridanus River flowed, Atlas stood and held the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Having greeted the titan, he told him who he was and why he had come. It turned out that the Hesperides were the daughters of the titan, so he volunteered to help Hercules.

The myth “Apples of the Hesperides” tells that Atlas (or Atlas) placed the sky on the shoulders of Hercules, and straightened his back and went into the garden. He was gone for a long time, the hero’s muscles were numb, and sweat was pouring down his forehead. And only Athena’s help made it possible to withstand this burden. Finally the titan appeared, carrying shiny fruits in his hands. He offered to take them to Eurystheus, but Hercules realized that in this way Atlas was trying to evade his work. Resorting to cunning, he returned the sky to Atlas's shoulders, picked up the apples and hurried home.

Afterword

The myth “Apples of the Hesperides,” a brief summary of which we are considering, ends with the hero’s return to Mycenae. However, the king was not at all happy about Hercules and his offering: he did not accept the apples, and kicked out the servant. Hercules presented the fruits to Athena, and she returned them to the garden of the daughters of Atlas.

Having completed the last task of King Eurystheus, Hercules became free. But his fame had long preceded him. Everyone admired the hero’s courage and strength, endurance and intelligence, and he himself did not stop helping people.