Legends and myths of ancient Greece: Heroes. Hercules. 3rd edition. Kun N.A.

Nikolai Albertovich Kun (1877–1940) - Russian historian, writer. Along the mother’s line came from an old noble family, in the family of his father (Kuhn’s surname-German) there were German and Anglo-Shottland roots. Nikolai Albertovich is a brilliant graduate of the historical and philological faculty of Moscow University, where, among other things, Greek and Roman literature and antiquity were studied, which forever became the center of its interests. Although Kun wrote many books, including “Tales of African Peoples”, “Tales of the Gypsies”, “Tales of the peoples of the Islands of the Great Ocean”, the translation of “Letters of Dark People” (German satire for scholasticism), most of all he is known as the author of the book “Legends and myths of ancient Greece. "

Nikolai Albertovich taught a lot: he conducted classes on the history of culture and religion in the Tver, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow educational institutions. He worked abroad: at the University of Berlin and in Rome, where in 1911-1912 he led excursions of Russian teachers and gave lectures as an expert on ancient art, in museums, forum and in the Palatine (Roman hill, one of the most ancient and the most elevated places of the eternal city). At 43, Kun became a professor of social sciences of Moscow State University, wrote articles for large and small Soviet encyclopedias.

The book “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece” was first published in 1922 and has since been reprinted many times, was translated into the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR and the main European languages. It is interesting that initially it was called "What the ancient Greeks and the Romans said about their gods and heroes." Under the heading of “Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece”, the publication came out after the death of the author, changes were made to him.

This publication publishes part of the book: a myth describing the legendary hero of Greece, Hercules, a strong man who had inhuman power and committed 12 great feats; A mortal who deserved ascension to the bright Olympus, in the host of immortals. Events in the book of Kun are presented according to the tragedies of the ancient Greek playwrights of Sophocles and Euripides and the ancient legends of the II century of the mythograph and the historian of Pausanias.