Phraseologism Augean stables meaning

Augean stables- King Augeas lived in Ancient Greece. He was a passionate lover of horses. Three thousand horses stood in his stables. However, their stalls had not been cleaned for thirty years and were overgrown with manure up to the very roofs.
Fortunately, the legendary strong man Hercules (among the Romans he was called Hercules) entered the service of King Avgius, whom the king instructed to clean the stables, because no one else could do it.
Hercules was not only powerful, but also smart. He diverted the river through the gates of the stables, and the turbulent stream washed away all the dirt from there.
Expression Augean stables we use when we want to talk about extreme neglect, pollution.

Option 2: 1. A very polluted place, neglected premises. In figurative speech: something littered with papers, books, extra things that are not needed for work. “This incident happened (did not answer the letter) because our desk represents the Augean stables, and only now I could find a piece of paper.” Mussorgsky. Letter to V.V. Stasov, March 31, 1872.
2. Extreme disorder in business. “What were the main manifestations, remnants, remnants of serfdom in Russia by 1917? Monarchy, estates, land ownership and land use, the position of women, religion, oppression of nationalities. Take any of these "Augean stables" ... you will see that we have cleaned them clean. V. I. Lenin.
3. clean (clear) Augean stables. “Then Kirov patted Ilyushin on the shoulder. - And you gather the fighters. I'll come for half an hour and talk (about the purge of the regiment and the mobilization of the communists in the guards). Well, be healthy! Let's clean out your Augean stables together." G. Kholopov. Lights in the bay.
From the literal phrase Augean stables, i.e. the huge stables of Augeus, king of Elis. According to the myth, Hercules cleaned these stables, which had not been cleaned for 30 years, in one day, directing the waters of the turbulent Alpheus River through them.
Another version:
AUGEAN STABLES. A very dirty, neglected place that requires a lot of effort to clean.
“When Raya opened the pantry once a week to clean the Augean Stables, both roosters shot out with bullets and, realizing that their time was very limited, they tried to do as many dirty tricks as possible” (A. Kanevsky).
(The expression came from Greek mythology. The Augean stables belonged to the king of Oedipus Augius and were not cleaned for many years. Hercules cleared them of manure, who directed the river through the stables. For the first time this myth is found in the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC.)

Consider the well-known idiom "Augean stables" .

This phraseologism refers us to the ancient Greek myths about Hercules.

Are given meaning, origin and sources of phraseology, as well as examples from the works of writers.

The meaning of phraseology

Augean stables - a polluted room; disorder in business

Synonyms: mess, unplowed field

In foreign languages ​​there are direct analogues of the phraseological unit "Augean stables":

• Augean stables (English)
• Augiasstall (German)
• écuries d "Augias (French)

Augean stables: the origin of phraseology

It is believed that the ancient Greek hero Hercules (among the Romans - Hercules) undertook to clear the stables of Avgius, the king of the Greek region of Elis, in one day. According to some reports, the huge Augean stables had not been cleaned for 30 years and were overflowing with manure. And there were 3,000 bulls and many goats in them.

Hercules broke the wall that surrounded the barnyard from two opposite sides, and diverted the water of two rivers, Alpheus and Peneus, into the gaps formed. The turbulent waters of the rivers quickly carried away all the accumulated sewage.

On this, the sixth feat could have been solemnly completed, but there was a discrepancy. From the very beginning, Augeas agreed to give Hercules a tenth of his herds if he could manage in a day. Of course, he was sure that Hercules would fail. And when it happened, Avgiy showed greed and refused the word given to Hercules.

And in vain. Hercules is not to be trifled with. In the course of two campaigns, he killed Avgii, his sons (except for the honest Philaeus, who recognized the justice of the requirements of Hercules) and some warlike relatives.

Source

For the first time this myth was expounded by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC), and the expression “Augean stables” became winged in ancient times: it was used by Seneca (“Satire on the death of Emperor Claudius”), Lucian (“Alexander ") and others.

Examples from the works of writers

The favorite hero of the Greeks was Hercules, who became famous for cleaning the Augean stables and thus giving the Greeks an unforgettable example of cleanliness. In addition, this neat man killed his wife and children. (N.A. Taffy, "Ancient History")

The last, already completely encouraging, news: the re-registration of party tickets has been announced, that is, the cleaning of the Augean stables. (A. N. Tolstoy, "Walking through the torments")

Alice hid in a low laboratory building to leave her bag there and change clothes, and when she came out, she angrily declared: - This is not a laboratory, but the Augean stables!
Hercules, who was waiting for her at the entrance, did not answer, because he had never read Greek myths, and besides, he knew only edible words. (K. Bulychev, "A Million Adventures")

What is the useful conclusion from this whole story? Probably like this: you need to be a really talented person so that one-day cleaning of the premises evolved into a famous feat that has come down to us through many centuries in the myth and phraseology "Augean stables".

Well, to be more specific, the conclusion is that even if you are strong like Hercules, then all the same better to think first rather than grab the shovel right away.

Any person, even without a literary education, should know what they are Augean stables and their significance. The story is like this.

In ancient Greek mythology, King Augeas had huge herds. All of them were kept in special stables. It should be clarified here that stables are usually reserved for horses. However, at Avgiy there were mainly bulls and goats.

For many years (according to some sources, 30 years), manure was not taken out of these stables, so terrible chaos was created there. In order to clear the barnyard of a lot of dirt, King Avgiy hired a famous character - Hercules (aka Hercules). It was this task that became one of, because the work was beyond the power of anyone else.

How did Hercules cleanse the Augean stables? Our hero was not only incredibly strong, but also smart. Therefore, in order not to clean the neglected buildings manually, he in a cunning way diverted water from two rivers there, which simply washed away all the manure from there.

For this feat, Augeas had to pay a tenth of all his numerous flocks. However, he did not do so. And really, why is this, because the stables have already been cleaned!

True, then the mighty Hercules killed him.

Augean stables - the meaning of phraseology

Surely you already guess what the expression "Augean stables" means. From the previous text, this follows quite logically. But we will explain. Three values ​​should be highlighted.

Now you know what the Augean Stables are, as well as the meaning of this phraseological unit.

Nowadays, people use a huge number of phraseological units. Some of them appeared quite recently, while the origin of others is lost in the darkness of history.
One such expression is "Augean stables". This idiom means an untidy room, more precisely it means a huge mess present in it. The same phrase can be applied to the personal life of a neglected person, as well as to his affairs.

The history of the expression "Augean stables"

The ancient Greeks had a legend according to which the very powerful god Helios had a son named Augeus. To entertain his child, Helios drove a huge herd of horses to him, as well as a large number of other cattle.
Helios thought that his son Avgiy would finally take up his mind, begin to grow and improve the breed. However, his son was still a slob.
He was much more attracted to beautiful girls and cheerful feasts. So, in pursuit of pleasure, he forgot about his poor animals. It is terrible to imagine what was happening in his stables.
Avgiy finally decides to deal with his farm, but how to clean out the stables, which literally floated in a huge puddle of manure?
Avgiy asks Hercules to help his trouble. Hercules was not only a powerful warrior, but also a very wise man. The blood of the gods flowed in his veins, he was the son of Zeus.
He understands that it is possible to clean the stables, but it will take a lot of time. He solved this problem by changing the course of the Alfea River and directing it towards the dirty stables.
When the stormy waters carried out all the impurities, Avgiy was very grateful to this cunning warrior.

Only the legendary Hercules could clear the "Augean stables". This work is considered his fifth labor.

First Cleaning" Augean stables"Hercules, mentioned by the historian Diodorus Siculus. He wrote a wonderful work in three parts.

• In the first part he mentioned such countries as: Greece, North Africa, Scythia, India, Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• In the second part he tells about the history of the world, or rather a small passage starting with the Trojan War and ending with the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
• In the third book he continues the story, continuing with the campaigns of Alexander the Great and ending with the campaign of Julius Caesar on Gaul.

Historians assume that all the books of Diodorus Siculus are the usual copying with minor amendments of more ancient texts by such authors as Herodotus, Megasthenes, Polybius, etc.

The idiom "Augean stables" became popular in ancient Greece.

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