Cleansing the Augean Stables If we correct the distorted incentives currently affecting mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and architects, we solve a common problem. Of course, they will have other problems, each of which requires

You have had such a case in your life when some person, entering the room, exclaimed: "Yes, these are some Augean stables!" And this expression from that moment haunts you. What is its meaning, what did they want to say using it? You did not ask this question to the person who uttered this phraseological unit? No? And it is not necessary that you are not considered an idiot - of course, like an adult, but does not know such elementary things. But various sources each interpret it differently. And in this article I will describe the correct and generally accepted meaning of this phraseological unit.

Parsing a phrase

First, we will consider it, as always, from the linguistic side - we will make a syntactic analysis of the phrase "Augean stables". The boring and orderly boring part, of course, but you can't live without it. Thanks to her, you can make out the meaning of each word in this expression in order to further understand the meaning of the latter. But I got distracted. So, we will consider each word in this phraseological unit as a part of speech. Let's start with the stables. "Stables" is a noun plural, answers the question "what". V singular the word "stable" has feminine and 1st declension. Move on. "Augean" - a plural adjective, answers the question "whose". Derived from the noun "Augeas". Those who read ancient Greek mythology, having heard the word, or rather the name "Augeas", will slap themselves on the forehead and run to pull out for a long time forgotten book from the farthest shelf. And for those who do not know, in order to understand the meaning of the phraseological unit "Augean stables", you need to read the next paragraph.

The origin of the phraseological unit

Surely everyone has heard about Hercules, who, serving King Eurystheus, performed twelve labors. One of them directly concerned Augus. That was the name of the son of the sun god Helios. His father gave him power over the Epean tribe and a beautiful herd, in which there were several thousand red and white bulls and one golden one, shining like the sun. The king placed them in a huge corral. Many years have passed since then, and it has never been cleaned. Over the years, a lot of manure has accumulated there, which could not be cleaned out in a day. This is what Eurystheus entrusted to Hercules. He came to Augius and offered his help. But the king only laughed at him. Outraged Hercules argued with Augeas: if he removes all the stables of the latter in one day, the king will give him a tenth of his flocks. Shook hands, and Hercules immediately went to work. The stables were a long corridor. Past him stormy stream the rivers Alpheus and Penae flowed, from which Hercules dug a canal to the previously cut down opposite wall of the corral and blocked it with a dam. As soon as the water flow changed, he shattered the partition. The stream rushed into the stables, taking all the manure with it. When the water subsided, the pens shone clean. Seeing that the hero has fulfilled his part of the agreement, Augeas refuses to fulfill his, citing the powerless position of Hercules as a slave of Eurystheus. Hercules is furious and vows to take revenge on him. Later, already free, he will fulfill his oath. But Eurystheus did not count the cleaning of the Augean stables, answering that the waters of Alpheus and Peneus did the work for him. However, the inhabitants of the possessions of Avgius remained forever grateful to him for the fact that the hero saved them from the stench that had gone from the corrals for years.

Augean stables: meaning

So, we analyze the meaning of the phraseological unit under discussion. In myth, these are huge and terribly dirty corrals of King Augean. And in linguistics, "Augean stables" is a phraseological unit denoting extreme neglect and slovenliness not only in the room, but also in practice.

The value of AUGIAN STABLES in the Modern explanatory dictionary, TSB

AUGEAN STABLES

in Greek mythology, the huge and heavily polluted stables of the king of Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who directed the waters of the river into them (one of his 12 labors). In a figurative sense - extreme disorder, neglect.

TSB. Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB. 2003

See also the interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what the AVGIEV STABLES are in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• AUGEAN STABLES
  - huge and heavily polluted stables (not cleaned for 30 years) of King Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• AUGEAN STABLES
  stables, in ancient Greek mythology, huge and heavily polluted stables of King Elis Avgius. They were cleansed in one day by Hercules, who sent ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  in Greek mythology, the huge and heavily polluted stables of the king of Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who sent to ...
• AUGEAN STABLES
  1) in ancient Greek mythology, the stables of the legendary king augius, which were not cleaned for many years and were, according to the myth, cleaned up in one ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  1. In ancient Greek mythology: the stables of King Avgius, which were not cleaned for many years and were cleaned in one day by Hercules, who sent ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Popular Explanatory and Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  only pl. , sustainable combination, book. 1) Extremely dirty, neglected room. This opportunity happened because the writing desk ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the New Dictionary of Foreign Words:
  1) in ancient Greek mythology - the stables of King Avgius, which were not cleaned for many years and were cleaned in one day by Hercules, ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Dictionary of Foreign Expressions:
  1. in ancient Greek mythology - the stables of king augius, which were not cleaned for many years and were cleaned in one day by Hercules, ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Phraseology Reference:
  1) about a heavily polluted, cluttered, littered place (as a result of prolonged neglect), a room where complete disorder reigns; 2) about any institution, ...
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Dictionary of the Russian language Lopatin:
  
• AUGEAN STABLES in the Spelling Dictionary:
  Augean stables, Augean ...
• AUGEAN STABLES full spelling dictionary Russian language:
  Augean stables, Augean ...
• AUGIEV in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  ́AVGIEV'S STABLES, in Greek. mythology, the huge and heavily polluted stables of King Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, ...
• AUGIEV in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language by Ushakov:
  STABLES. Cm. …
• MIKHAIL NIKOLAEVICH ZADORNOV in the Wiki Quote.
• AUTOMATIC LETTER in the Lexicon of nonclassics, artistic and aesthetic culture of the XX century, Bychkov:
  The main artistic technique of surrealism. In the first "Manifesto" of surrealism (1924) A. Breton identifies these concepts: "Surrealism, pure mental automatism, with a goal ...
• AUGY
  (Greek shining) - the king of the Epean tribe in Elis. Son of Helios (according to other sources Poseidon, Epeus, or Forbant) and Girmina, brother of the Actor. ...
• HERCULES
  (Hercules) The most popular Greek hero, revered throughout Greece and especially in Argolis (Peloponnese) and in the south of the country. The prototype for ...
• AUGY in the Reference Dictionary Who's Who in the Ancient World:
  The king of Elis, mentioned mainly in connection with the filthy stalls that have remained desolate for decades. Clearing out the stables was one of the assignments ...
• HERCULES in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  one of the favorite figures of Greek folklore, a repulser of evil, overpowering wild beasts, monsters and demons, gaining a place for himself among the gods by exploits. ...
• ENTLEBUCH-SENNENHUND in the Encyclopedia of Dogs:
  _Working dogs_ Origin It is believed that this dog - a possible descendant of the Roman Molossian mastiff - appeared in Switzerland, in the area of ​​the city ...
• HERCULES, HERCULES in the Dictionary of Fine Art Terms:
  - (Greek lat. myth) the most popular of the Greek heroes, the son of Zeus and mortal woman Alcmene. In the service of Eurystheus, Hercules performed ...
• HEIJO
  (kyo) is the ancient capital of Japan. The decision to move the capital was made in 708. The place for the construction of the new city was chosen ...
• TOSYOGU in Encyclopedia Japan from A to Z:
  is a Shinto shrine located near the city of Nikko. A narrow alley of giant Japanese cryptomeria separates the city from the temple grounds. Many of ...
• PUSHKINSKY PETR VASILIEVICH in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia"TREE". Pushkin Peter Vasilievich (1891 - 1937), archpriest, hieromartyr. Commemoration of September 30, ...
• ELIDA in the Dictionary-reference book Myths Ancient Greece,:
  - town. When Pelop Tantalides was expelled from the city of Sipila by the Dardanian king Tros, he sailed to Pelasgia and landed on ...
• HERCULES in the Characters Handbook and places of worship Greek mythology:
  HERA'KLin the myths of the ancient Greeks, the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. The newly born baby Hercules immediately amazed everyone with his ...
• ABBEY in the Handbook of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
  or a monastery, the monastery buildings grouped around the church, in which the monastic community is located. Origin. Since the days of early Christianity, above all ...
• CHERNYSHEVSKY NIKOLAY GAVRILOVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Chernyshevsky (Nikolai Gavrilovich) is a famous writer. Born on July 12, 1828 in Saratov. His father, Archpriest Gabriel Ivanovich (1795 - ...
• RADEK in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  Karl Berngardovich is a publicist and politician. Member of the CPSU (b). Participated in the labor movement in Poland, Germany, and after February revolution 1917 …
• HERCULES in big Soviet encyclopedia, TSB:
  in ancient Greek mythology greatest hero, the son of the god Zeus and the wife of the Theban king Alcmene. Among the numerous myths about G., the most famous is ...
• CHERNYSHEVSKY
  I (Nikolai Gavrilovich) is a famous writer. Genus. July 12, 1828 in Saratov. His father, Archpriest Gabriel Ivanovich (1795-1861), was ...
• THE CIRCUS
• STABLE ORDER v Encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron:
  established, probably simultaneously with the appearance of the title of equestrian, in 1496. In the discharge notes for 1553, it is mentioned about the stable clerks. ...
• Horse breeding and equestrian breeding in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron.

Perhaps there are few people who do not know the name of Hercules, about whose adventures more than one film has been filmed and more than one cartoon has been drawn. This hero and demigod ancient greek myths was also Alcmene, as well as a descendant of at least

the famous hero Perseus. Even before the birth of Hercules, the glorious path of the founder was destined Olympic Games however, Hera, the wife of Zeus, tried to prevent this. Before the birth of the hero, she made the Thunderer swear that of all the descendants of Perseus, the one who is born first will be the main one.

Having imperceptibly gone to Earth, Hera made sure that another descendant of Perseus named Eurystheus was born before Hercules. According to the agreement, it was Eurystheus who received power over Hercules. Revealing the cunning of his wife, Zeus also tried to outwit her. He put little Hercules next to his sleeping wife so that the future hero could swallow the milk of eternity from her breast. Waking up, Hera pushed the baby away, but Hercules managed to ensure immortality for himself. The spilled milk became another "achievement" of Hercules. Zeus did not forget about the intrigues of Hera and took an oath from the angry goddess: she would free the hero when he completed the twelve tasks of Eurystheus, one of which was the Augean stables. The jealous goddess did everything to make the tasks of Eurystheus impossible for Hercules. Through her efforts, these tasks turned into feats.

Augeas reigning in Elis was a great lover of horses. Its vast stables housed 3,000 horses. The tsar, however, did not consider it necessary to clean the agricultural buildings. The Augean stables were filled with dung and other filth to the very roof. Eurystheus, following the advice of Hera, gave Hercules the order to clear these stables. The goddess believed that Hercules would spend eternity on the removal of sewage that had accumulated over thirty years. However, the Augean stables did not frighten the cunning hero. Instead of a rake, a wheelbarrow and a shovel, the Alfei River became the "working tool" of the strong man. Without thinking for a long time, Hercules turned the river bed, and a powerful stream, to the great disappointment of Hera, cleared the Augean stables in exactly one day. King Augeas did not appreciate the efforts of Hercules. He kicked the young man out without paying him a penny for his work.

"Cleaning" expedition

The position of the hero became a feat. Preserved in our speech and which became this catch phrase, used in their sayings famous people... This is how the composer Mussorgsky called his own in a letter to V.V. Stasov. We used this phraseological unit and Soviet leaders such as Lenin and Kirov.

What exactly does the phrase "Augean stables" mean? This phraseological unit has more than one meaning. First of all, it denotes an extremely dirty, cluttered and neglected room, which will take many hours to clean. It was in this sense that Mussorgsky used the expression. Politicians they also talked about disorder, but not indoors, but in business. This was the second meaning of the aphorism. The dictum became the linguistic heritage of Ancient Greece. Using it in our speech, we seem to return to Hellenic times, remembering the deeds of the mighty Hercules.

Augean stables

Augean stables
From ancient Greek mythology. The hero Hercules (Roman - Hercules) once cleaned out the vast stables of the Elidian king (Elis - the region of Greece) Augeus, which had not been cleaned for 30 years. Hercules did not do what was expected of him: he used not his own strength, but the energy of two rivers - Alpheus and Peneus. First, he blocked them with dams, and then directed the water to the stables. A powerful stream washed away all the impurities, and thus Hercules coped with the work in just one day. This was the seventh feat of Hercules during the time when he was in the service of King Eurystheus.
For the first time this myth was set forth by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus of Sicily (1st century BC), and the expression became winged even in antiquity: it was used by Seneca ("Satyr on the death of Emperor Claudius"), Lucian ("Alexander") and dr.
About a neglected problem, disorder in business, etc.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M .: "Lokid-Press"... Vadim Serov. 2003.

Augean stables

In Greek mythology, the Augean stables are the vast stables of Augeus, king of Elis, which have not been cleaned for many years. They were cleaned in one day by the hero Hercules (Hercules): he sent a river through the stables, the waters of which carried away all the manure. This myth was first reported by the Greek historian Diodorus of Siculus (1st century BC). The expression "Augean stables" that has arisen from this is used to denote a very dirty room, as well as severe neglect, debris, disorder in affairs that require great efforts to eliminate them; it became winged in antiquity

Dictionary of winged words... Plutex. 2004.

See what "Augean Stables" is in other dictionaries:

The mythological king Elis, the son of the sun, had stables, in which there were 3000 bulls, and which were not cleaned for 30 years, and only Hercules could cleanse them by running a river through them: hence something unusually neglected, polluted, ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Disorder Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Augean stables n., number of synonyms: 1 disorder (127) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin ... Synonym dictionary

Modern encyclopedia

In Greek mythology, the huge and heavily polluted stables of the king of Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who directed the waters of the river into them (one of his 12 labors). In a figurative sense, extreme disorder, neglect ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

The huge and heavily polluted stables (not cleaned for 30 years) of King Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who directed the waters of the Alpheus River into them (see the exploits of Hercules). // ON. Kuhn: THE ANIMAL YARD OF KING AUGIA (THE SIXTH FEAT) (Source: ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

In Greek mythology, the huge and heavily polluted stables of the king of Elis Avgius, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who directed the waters of the river into them (one of his 12 labors). In a figurative sense, extreme disorder, neglect. Political ... ... Political science. Dictionary.

Augean stables- AUGIAN STABLES, in Greek mythology, huge and heavily polluted stables of King Elis Augee, cleansed of impurities in one day by Hercules, who directed the waters of the river into them (one of his 12 labors). In a figurative sense, an extreme mess, ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

AUGEAN STABLES. see the stable. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Augean stables- transfer. Something very neglected, requiring a lot of work to tidy up. In Greek myth. one of the exploits of Hercules was the cleaning of the stables of King Augean (with the help of a flood). Strength is strength, but ingenuity will not hurt ... :) wings. sl. In Greek ... ... Universal Additional Practical Explanatory Dictionary of I. Mostitsky

Books

• Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Comedy, Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The collection of works by the famous Swiss writer of the XX century Friedrich Dürrenmatt includes the following comedies: "Romulus the Great", "The Angel Comes to Babylon", "Visit of the Old Lady", "Accident", ...