The history of the emergence of phraseological unit Procrustean bed. Phraseologism "Procrustean bed" meaning

Procrustean bed of education. If education does not allow a person to throw off harmful and unnecessary prohibitions, then his inclinations can manifest themselves in the form of necrophilia, homosexuality, excitable psychopathy, or other forms of perverted behavior. Imperative and

The hero Theseus is the son of King Aegeus. - Procrustean bed. - Medea wants to poison Theseus. - Thread of Ariadne in the labyrinth of the Minotaur. - Ariadne abandoned by Theseus. - Black sails: the myth of the name of the Aegean Sea. - Amazonomachy. - Theseus and Pirithous in the realm of shadows. - Death of Theseus.

Hero Theseus - the son of King Aegeus

The protagonist of almost all heroic Athenian myths is Theseus. The Athenians wanted to embody in Theseus, just as the Dorians did with Hercules, all the feats and great deeds of the Athenian mythological cycle. But the Athenian hero Theseus never enjoyed such fame among all the Greeks as Hercules, although to give glory and splendor to the name of Theseus, he was credited with feats that are an exact copy of with.

Theseus is the son of the Athenian king Aegeus and Ephra, a descendant. Theseus was born near Troezena, and he was brought up by his grandfather, the wise Pittheus. taught Theseus horse riding, shooting and various gymnastic exercises.

Aegeus, going to Athens, put his sword and sandals under a large and heavy stone and told his wife to send Theseus to him only when he moved this stone and found the sword and sandals.

Sixteen-year-old Theseus picked up a stone, armed himself with a sword, put on sandals and went to Athens to seek his father and glory.

An antique bas-relief, located in the Campanian Museum, depicts the young hero Theseus, surrounded by relatives, raising a stone.

Approaching Athens, Theseus was ridiculed by a crowd of young Athenians for his long clothes, which the ancient Athenians considered a sign of effeminacy. The hero Theseus, who was called the red girl, decided not to show himself to his father Aegeus before he covered his name with glory.

PROCRUSTEAN BED

All the surroundings of Athens in that mythical era were inhabited by robbers who robbed and killed passers-by and terrified the country with their atrocities.

First of all, Theseus went to Epidaurus, where the villain Periphetes raged. Periphetes killed all passers-by with a copper club. The hero Theseus killed Peritheth and took his club for himself.

Then Theseus went to the Isthmus of Corinth and killed another robber there - Sinis. The robber Sinis had the habit of tying all travelers who fell into his hands by the arms and legs to the tops of two trees. Theseus subjected Sinis to the same fate. Several antique vases and bas-reliefs depict this feat of the hero. Theseus also established the Isthmian Games in honor of the god (Neptune). Returning from the Isthmus of Corinth, near Eleusis, Theseus killed the terrible Krommion pig Feya, which devoured people.

the villain Procrustes possessed no less original mania. Procrustes, apparently, wanted all people in the world to be the same height as him. Procrustes had a bed on which he laid his captives. If it turned out that the prisoners of Procrustes did not fit on the Procrustean bed, then he chopped off their heads or legs. On the contrary, if Procrustean bed turned out to be too long, the robber Procrustes pulled the legs of his captives by force until he tore them off.

Having killed Procrustes, Theseus went to fight with Skiron, who threw the travelers he had robbed from the top of the cliff onto the sandy seashore. There the robber Skiron kept turtles, which he fattened with human meat. Theseus in the same way gave Skiron to be eaten by turtles.

Thus, retribution, the primitive expression of justice among the ancient Greeks, plays a prominent role in all the myths about the exploits of Theseus. The hero Theseus is in the myths of ancient Greece, like Hercules, the champion of truth, the guardian of the law, the patron of the oppressed and the formidable opponent of all the enemies of mankind.

Having cleared Attica of the villains, Theseus decided that he could now appear before his father Aegeus, and went to Athens.

Medea wants to poison Theseus

The king of Athens, Aegeus, was then completely dependent on the sorceress Medea, with whom Aegeus entered into marriage.

Medea feared the influence of the hero-son on Aegeus. Seeing that Aegeus did not recognize Theseus, Medea persuaded the king to give the stranger a goblet of poisoned wine during the feast.

Fortunately for Theseus, the hero took out his sword to cut the meat, and father Aegeus, recognizing him by the sword, snatched the goblet from Theseus, which the hero was about to bring to his lips. The cruel Medea was forced to flee from Athens.

Many ancient bas-reliefs depict the scene of this feast. Aegeus snatches the goblet from Theseus, while Medea stands far away, waiting for the effect of the drink she poisoned.

Thread of Ariadne in the Labyrinth of the Minotaur

Theseus helped his father Aegeus get rid of his nephews, who disputed the Athenian throne with him. Then Theseus went to look for a wild marathon bull that was devastating the country. Theseus brought the bull of Marathon alive to Athens and sacrificed it to Apollo. This marathon bull, caught by Theseus, was nothing more than Hercules caught at one time, and then set free by him.

Returning to Athens, Theseus was struck by the sadness that prevailed there. Theseus answered his questions that the time had come to send tribute to the island of Crete to King Minos.

A few years ago, Minos accused Aegeus that Aegeus had killed his son, and begged his father to punish the whole country of Aegeus. The lord of the gods sent a plague on her. The oracle, asked by the Athenians, said that the plague would stop only when they promised to send seven girls and seven boys to the island of Crete every year to be devoured by the monster Minotaur, the son of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and a bull. Now the time has come to send this tribute a third time.

Theseus volunteered to go among the youths and kill the monster Minotaur. It was not easy to fulfill this promise, because the Minotaur possessed extraordinary strength. In addition, King Minos, not wanting to flaunt it, kept the Minotaur in a building built by the inventor Daedalus. Which of the mortals fell into the labyrinth of the Minotaur, could no longer get out of it, before all the entrances and exits were tangled there.

Theseus, realizing the danger of the enterprise, went before leaving for advice to the oracle of Apollo, who in turn advised Theseus to resort to the protection of the goddess.

Aphrodite inspired Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, with love for the beautiful hero. Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread. End threads of Ariadne remained in her hands so that Theseus could then use this guiding thread to find a way out of the labyrinth. Theseus managed, thanks to his dexterity, to kill the terrible Minotaur and, thanks to the thread of Ariadne, to get out of the labyrinth.

In gratitude for his deliverance, Theseus built a temple to the gods in Troezen.

According to many scholars - researchers of mythology, Theseus' victory over the Minotaur is, as it were, a symbol of the fact that the ancient Greek religion, becoming more and more soft and humane, began to strive to destroy human victims.

Ancient art quite often depicted the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur. Of the latest artists, Antonio Canova sculpted two sculptural groups on this mythological theme, which are in a museum in Vienna.

Ariadne abandoned by Theseus

When Theseus left the island of Crete, he was followed by Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. But Theseus, probably not wanting to incur the discontent of the Athenians by marrying a foreigner, left Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where the god Dionysus saw.

Such perfidy of the hero of the myths of ancient Greece in relation to the girl who saved his life is a very obscure and inexplicable act in mythology.

Some myths say that Theseus did this in obedience to an order, while others say that Dionysus himself asked Theseus not to take Ariadne far away, whom he chose as his wife.

The myth of Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, served as a theme for many works of ancient art. In Herculaneum they found on the wall a picturesque image representing Ariadne on the shore; In the distance, the ship of Theseus is removed, and the god Eros, standing near Ariadne, sheds tears with her.

When, at the beginning of the 18th century, the fashion spread to paint portraits of modern faces, giving them the attributes and poses of heroes of ancient mythology and surrounding them with the appropriate setting, the French artist Larguiliere depicted the modern actress Duclos in the image of Ariadne, but in a dress with figs and with a huge plume of feathers on her head. .

Black sails: the myth of the name of the Aegean Sea

The distraction of Theseus was the cause of the death of Aegeus: the son promised his father, if he defeated the Minotaur, to replace the black sails of the ship with white ones, but he forgot to do this. King Aegeus, seeing the returning ship of Theseus with black sails and believing that his son was dead, threw himself from a high tower into the sea, which has since become known as the Aegean.

Amazonomachy

Theseus, having ascended the throne of his father, at first took up the organization of his state, and then went with Hercules on a campaign against.

Theseus married the Amazon queen Antiope, with whom he had a son, Hippolyte. But, returning to his homeland, Theseus left the Amazon Antiope to marry Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne.

The angry Amazons decided to avenge the insult inflicted by Theseus on their queen, and raided Attica, but were defeated and destroyed. This war with the Amazons (Amazonomachy), which the Athenians considered one of the most important facts in their heroic history, is reproduced in countless monuments of ancient art.

Close ties of friendship connected Theseus with the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, who invited him, along with other noble Athenians, to his wedding with Hippodamia. During the wedding feast, the famous took place, from which Theseus emerged victorious.

Pirithous helped Theseus kidnap Helen, but her brothers took her sister away from Theseus and gave her to the Spartan king Menelaus as a wife.

Pirithous, in turn, asked Theseus to go with him to Pluto's dwelling and help him kidnap the goddess Persephone, for whom Pirithous had a strong love. It was not easy to fulfill such a request, but friendship imposes certain duties. Theseus, willy-nilly, had to agree and go to Hades with Pirithous.

This attempt, however, ended for friends not only sadly, but also shamefully, because the gods, enraged by such audacity, punished Theseus and Pirithous in the following way. Arriving in Hades, both friends sat down to rest on the stones; when Theseus and Pirithous wanted to get up, despite all their efforts, they could not do it. Friends Theseus and Pirifoy, by the will of the gods, stuck to the stones on which they sat in.

And only Hercules, when he came to Hades to get Kerberos (), begged the god Pluto to allow him to release Theseus.

As for the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, Hercules did not even think about how to get him out of such a difficult and awkward situation.

Death of Theseus

Theseus ended his earthly career very sadly: he went to Skyros to visit King Lycomedes, who, envious of the strength and courage of Theseus, decided to destroy him. The king of Skyros Lykomeds pushed Theseus off the cliff, and the glorious hero died.

There were two famous paintings depicting Theseus in Athens. One of them was written by Parrhasius, and the other by Euphranor. The artist Euphranor said that Theseus Parrhasia ate roses, while his Theseus ate meat.

This apt remark, says the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, very characteristically and correctly determined the direction of the two rival artistic schools of ancient Greece.

A beautiful antique statue of Theseus has survived to this day.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from ancient Greek and Latin; all rights reserved.

The scheme under which the phenomena of life are forcibly adjusted.

If a person or phenomenon is artificially adjusted to a predetermined measure and thereby broken, distorted its essence, they say about such a situation: “Procrustean bed”.

For example, one might say "the Procrustean bed of theory." This means that life is more diverse and more complex than theories that try to explain it and drive life into a rigid framework.

The expression "Procrustean bed" owes its appearance to a rather terrible character in ancient Greek mythology.

The robber Procrustes (stretching) subjected the travelers he caught to terrible torture. He laid them on the couch and saw if it fit them in length.

If a person turned out to be shorter, then Procrustes pulled him out, twisting his limbs out of the joints, if longer, he chopped off his legs.

The literature of the forties... not knowing any freedoms, languishing hourly on the Procrustean bed of all sorts of shortenings, it did not renounce its ideals, did not betray them.

PROCRUSTEAN BED

The scheme under which the phenomena of life are forcibly adjusted.

A long time ago, when the gods decided the fate of people on Olympus, the evil robber Procrustes was operating in Attica. He was also known under the names of Polypembn, Damast, Prokopt. The robber lay in wait for travelers on the road between Athens and Megara, and by deceit lured them to his home. Two boxes were made for guests at his house.

One large bed, the second small. On a large bed, Procrustes laid people of small stature and, so that the traveler exactly matched the size of the bed, beat them with a hammer and stretched their joints.

And on a small bed he laid tall people. He chopped off parts of the body that did not fit with an ax. Soon, for his atrocities, Procrustes had to lie down on his bed himself. The Greek hero Theseus, having defeated the robber, acted with him in the same way as he did with his captives.

The expression "Procrustean bed" means the desire to fit something under a rigid framework or an artificial measure, sometimes sacrificing something significant for this. It is one of the types of logical errors.

Allegorically: an artificial measure, a formal template, under which real life, creativity, ideas, etc. are forcibly adjusted.

“The literature of the forties has already left an indelible memory behind itself, that it has become the literature of serious convictions. Knowing no freedoms, languishing hourly on the Procrustean bed of all sorts of shortenings, she did not give up her ideals, did not betray them.

Expression value

Procrustean bed is a fairly common phraseological unit. It originates from ancient times. A story has been preserved about a robber nicknamed Procrustes. This man became famous not by good deeds, but by his atrocities. Legend has it that he had a special bed on which he laid captives. The one who turned out to be more than this standard, he shortened, cutting off all the protruding parts of the body, and lengthened the short ones, twisting their joints. Theseus put an end to villainy, laying Procrustes on his own bed: he turned out to be a head longer, he had to be shortened. Over time, a stable expression appeared Procrustean bed. The significance of his desire is to drive into a rigid framework any manifestation of individuality. Most often this happens in culture or art.

Historical digression

History gives many examples of when they tried to squeeze all aspects of human life into an invented framework. This happened during the dense Middle Ages, and in later historical periods of time, when a person already considered himself a civilized and humane being. This is happening even now, although it would seem that freedom of speech and personality, the right to self-determination, and much more are recognized. We resent the laws of the Middle Ages and the church, which fought for absolute power and drove people into certain limits. Who did not fit into them, he was destroyed. This is a prime example of what a Procrustean bed means. So did the totalitarian dictatorships of the twentieth century. Everyone over forty remembers well how almost all aspects of a person's life were controlled, and what happened to the unwanted. Why not a Procrustean bed? But something else is surprising - even the democratic structure of state power does not save from this phenomenon. All the same, there is always a desire to first come up with standards, and then adjust everything and everything to fit them. And unsuitable - to condemn, tighten or shorten, depending on the circumstances.

Phraseologism Procrustean bed has the following meaning - this is a measure under which they are trying to forcibly fit or adapt something, moreover, something that does not fit this measure. This expression came to us from ancient mythology. Procrustes Polypomenes, who was the son of Neptune, a robber and torturer, caught passers-by and laid them on his bed. Those people whose legs were longer than his bed, he chopped off their legs. And for those whose legs were shorter, he forcibly pulled them out, hanging weights from their legs.

Sources: frazbook.ru, www.syl.ru, www.bolshoyvopros.ru, dic.academic.ru, bibliotekar.ru

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The expression Procrustean bed is found in colloquial speech quite rarely, more often in literary works. But what is called the Procrustean bed, and in what context is it most often used? Without knowledge of ancient Greek mythology, it is quite difficult to understand the meaning of the phraseological unit Procrustean bed. But let's try to figure it out.

Who is Procrustes?

Procrustes (also known as Damast, Polypemon or Prokopt) is a character in ancient Greek mythology whose main source of income was robbery. Procrustes was distinguished by cruelty and cunning, which terrified the population of Megara and Athens, since it was on this section of the road that he carried out his criminal activities. Procrustes entered into the confidence of the travelers, promising a hearty meal and a comfortable bed in his house. After the traveler lost his vigilance, he laid him on his bed and chopped off the unfortunate part of the legs that did not fit. If, on the contrary, the bed turned out to be large, then the robber stretched his legs to the required size. It goes without saying that people at the same time experienced severe pain and died in terrible agony.

Another source says that he tied a person by the arms and legs to trees and lowered them, as a result of which people were torn into several parts. And this man was not Procrustes himself, but his son Sinis.

Some time later, Theseus, the son of the god Poseidon, found out about this problem. Theseus went in search of the robber and defeated him. Then he put Procrustes on his own bed and killed him in the same way as he killed his many victims.

What is the meaning of phraseologism Procrustean bed today?

In our time, the Procrustean bed is the meaning of a kind of standard, under which they are trying to adjust by force. This expression is most often used when they want to show that these imposed actions can lead to negative consequences that cannot be corrected later. But this expression must be used very carefully, as it may be appropriate only in rare cases.