The use of images of Greek and Roman mythology is one of the features of the literature of Russian classicism of the XVIII and first quarter of the XIX centuries. An understanding of ancient symbolism was mandatory for an educated person of the society of that time. Expressions like "Cupid's arrow", "Cupid", "Hymen" and the like were widely used in literature and in the spoken language.

But already in the XVIII century, there is a tendency to reduce mythological images in parody literature, for example, in V. Maykov's comic poem " Elisha, or the Irritated Bacchus "(1771), highly appreciated by A. S. Pushkin.

In the literary heritage of Gogol, as well as his great predecessors Derzhavin and Pushkin, characters of ancient mythology and history are often mentioned. In some cases, they appear in their original meaning as the personification of certain qualities, bad or good. For example, Zeus as the supreme god, who manages all the affairs of heaven and earth. Dryad - wood nymph, Melpomene-muse of tragedy, Hades-lord of the underworld and the realm of the dead, etc. In others - in a reduced, parodic meaning.

In the early period of his work ("Hans Kuchelgarten", "The Terrible Boar"), as well as in literary and critical articles from

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In the collection" Arabesques " Gogol uses ancient names mainly in the direct meaning. Thus, in the famous article "Sculpture, music and painting", describing the "bright Greek world", he draws vivid images of the god of fun Bacchus, the lord of the seas Poseidon and the goddess of beauty Aphrodite with a retinue of tritons - sea deities of the lowest order (Gogol N. V. Poln. sobr. op.: In 14 volumes., 1937-1952. Vol. 6. p. 23; further-only volume and page). The inclusion of characters from ancient mythology in the text gives it color and expressiveness.

The article" Al-Mamun", which was read by Gogol as a lecture for students of St. Petersburg University in the presence of Pushkin and Zhukovsky, mentions the mythological hero - the many-eyed giant Argus. During his sleep, fifty of his eyes were closed and fifty were open, and by order of Hera, the wife of Zeus, he tirelessly watched his beloved Io. According to Gogol, the eastern ruler "cannot trust absolutely anyone, and his eye must have the versatility of an Argus: if he falls asleep for a minute , his authorized governors will suddenly increase, and the state will be filled with millions of despots" (8, 79). The ancient image here also helps the writer to express his thoughts more vividly, gives what is said additional expression.

In the first significant works of Gogol ("Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and "Mirgorod"), the names of great figures of the ancient world and heroes of myths are rarely found. In "Vechery" they are not mentioned at all, in "Mirgorod" they are mentioned no more than four times. So, starting with the story of Afanasy Ivanovich and Pulcheria Ivanovna from the story "Old World landowners". Gogol likens them to Philemon and Baucis: "... I would never choose any other original than them " (2, 8), because Philemon and Baucis in ancient Greek mythology are happy, exemplary spouses who loved each other dearly until old age.

The name of the famous Roman poet Horace sounds in the story "Taras Bulba". Its title character, "examining" his sons who graduated from Bursa, asks the eldest: "What was the name of the one who wrote Latin verses? I don't know much about reading and writing, so I don't know: is it Horace?" (2: 33).

But at the Sich, Gogol notes, "there were also those who knew what Horace, Cicero, and the Roman Republic were" (2: 51).

In the" Petersburg Stories", ancient names are found as common names, satirically reinterpreted. This is an unusually expressive sketch of Nevsky Prospekt in the early morning: "... beggars gather at the doors of pastry shops, where sleepy Ganymede, who flew like a fly yesterday with chocolate, gets out with a broom in his hand, without a tie, and throws them stale pies and scraps" (3, 10). Ganymede in

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Greek mythology - a handsome young man, the son of the king of Troy, kidnapped by Zeus, who made him a cupbearer. At Gogol's, it's a young waiter. In the same story, when describing the life of St. Petersburg artists, mythological heroes appear in the form of plaster figures: "the features of some plaster Hercules standing in his room" (3, 17). Plaster casts of famous sculptural images of Hercules and other mythological gods and heroes (Venus, Zeus) were a common accessory of artists ' workshops.

In the story" Portrait " Gogol also repeatedly resorts to images of ancient mythology. The main theme of the work is the moral responsibility of the artist for his work. The hero of the story Chartkov, seduced by money, destroys his extraordinary talent, following the lead of his customers: "The lady, as you can see, also wanted to appear in the form of some kind of Psyche. "What should I do with them? the artist thought. "If they want it, then let Psyche go for what they want..." (3: 105).

Psyche is the personification of the human soul in the image of a girl of extraordinary beauty who inspired love to Eros. The love story of Eros and Psyche has served as a theme for many poets and artists.

Ancient names are especially often found in Gogol's main book-the poem "Dead Souls", and both in the final text, and in the "First Preserved Edition", "Second Edition" and in the "Preserved scattered Draft Excerpts", the names of heroes of ancient myths and history are preserved, although the text itself is constantly being improved from edition to edition, is undergoing editorial changes.

Another circumstance is also important: satirically rethinking the ancient material. Gogol brings down the heroes of Olympus to Earth.

V. F. Pereverzev was one of the first to draw attention to this feature of the style of the author of "Dead Souls":"...Gogol's images of classical antiquity are very rare and, more importantly, always funny and funny" (Pereverzev V. F. Gogol. Dostoevsky. Research, Moscow, 1982, p. 71). This statement needs to be clarified: ancient images in the works of the writer are not so rare, and besides, they are not always funny. This can be seen from our examples taken from literary and critical articles of Gogol and his early work.

The remaining draft editions of the first volume of Dead Souls allow us to look into the creative laboratory of the writer, to trace his truly titanic work on improving his style. Consider the scene of Chichikov's acquaintance with the sons of Manilov.

A comparison of the editions shows that at first Manilov's children were called differently: not Themistoclus and Alcides, but Menelaus and Alcibiades.

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Menelaus - king of Sparta, husband of the beautiful Helen, because of whom the Trojan War began. Alcibiades is an Athenian strategist who won a number of major victories. Themistocles, whose name Gogol gave an unusual ending to jus, is an Athenian commander who achieved the transformation of Athens into a naval power. Alcydes is one of the names of the famous hero of Greek mythology, Hercules, who performed a lot of feats.

Menelaus ' replacement may have been due to his story: Elena ran away from him with Paris. Such a situation would have been completely unthinkable in the Manilov family, where mutual love and harmony reigned. Besides, Menelaus wasn't particularly brave.

Gogol left names that symbolize physical strength, courage (Alcides) and statesmanship (Themistocles).

The comic effect with the names of Manilov's children is achieved by contrast. Hercules strangled monstrous snakes in infancy, and the six-year-old offspring of Manilov, who bears the same name (Alcides), is ready to cry in the most pathetic way when he was bitten on the ear by his older brother Themistoclus.

The theme of the heroic past and the vulgar present permeates the entire poem. The Greeks, brave and selfless patriots, contrast with the" strange " heroes of Gogol-Manilov, Nozdryov, Plyushkin and others like them, leading a spiritless, philistine lifestyle. Therefore, it is no accident that Sobakevich's living room is decorated with portraits of Greek commanders, figures of the liberation war of the Greek people against the Turkish oppressors, fighters for national independence: Mavrokordato, Kolokotroni, Kanari, Bobelina. There is also a portrait of Bagration, who watched Chichikov's fraudulent deal with Sobakevich "extremely carefully" from the wall.

In the third chapter of "Dead Souls" we meet a satirical reinterpretation of the image of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods for the benefit of people.

In the final version of this passage, Gogol, fearing censure, transfers the scene from Russia "to a far-off state": "Suppose, for example, there is a chancellery, not here, but in a far-off state, and in the chancellery, suppose there is a ruler of the chancellery. I ask you to look at him when he is sitting among his subordinates - but you can't even say a word out of fear! pride and nobility, and what does not his face express? just take a brush and draw: Prometheus, determined Prometheus! Looks out for an eagle, performs smoothly, evenly. The same eagle, as soon as he leaves the room and approaches the office of his boss, hurries like a partridge with papers under his arm that there is no urine. In society and at a party, if everyone is of a small rank, Prometheus will remain Prometheus, and a little higher than him, Prometheus will become

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a transformation such as Ovid could not imagine: a fly, smaller even than a fly, was destroyed into a grain of sand!" (6, 49, 50). The mention of Ovid is far from accidental: the famous Roman poet Publius Ovid Nason is the author of "Metamorphoses", which tells about the transformation of people into animals.

Returning to the city, Chichikov hurries to issue a bill of sale for the dead peasants in the civil chamber, whose chairman Gogol compares with Zeus, the supreme god, the lord of Olympus: "He was in a hurry not because he was afraid to be late, he was not afraid to be late, because the chairman was a familiar person and could extend and shorten the presence at will, like the ancient Homer's Zeus, who prolonged the days and sent swift nights when it was necessary to stop the scolding of his beloved heroes or give them a means to fight; but he himself felt a desire to bring things to an end as soon as possible..." (6,139). The proximity of the name of the highest mythological deity (Zeus), as well as the traditional poetic noun scolding (battle) with the colloquial verb to fight (finish the fight) increases the expressiveness of the text.

Officials of the state chamber are referred to by the writer as priests of Themis, the goddess of justice: "From the windows of the second and third floors, incorruptible heads of the priests of Themis sometimes poked out and at the same moment hid again; probably at that time the chief entered the room" (6, 141).

Antique characters in everyday life, deliberately reduced environment under the pen of Gogol acquire an unusually picturesque appearance. For example, Themis, who in ancient Greece was depicted with a blindfold over her eyes and scales in her hands, is completely different from Gogol: "Neither in the corridors nor in the rooms was their gaze struck by cleanliness. They didn't take care of her then; and what was dirty was still dirty, not taking on an attractive appearance. Themis received her guests simply as she was, in a negligee and dressing gown " (6, 141).

One of the" incorruptible " servants of Themis, an official of the serf expedition. Gogol likens Virgil, who accompanied Dante through the circles of hell. Like the heroes of the Divine Comedy, Chichikov, accompanied by the priest of Themis, finds himself in the bureaucratic hell of serf Russia. Money and connections help Pavel Ivanovich get out of this sinister place as a millionaire.

The expressiveness of the episode is achieved primarily by the contrast of the high names of Dante and Virgil with everyday details that characterize the appearance and morals of officials with their dirty clothes, the subservience of the lower ranks to the higher ones.: "Here, he will show you to the presence!" said Ivan Antonovich, nodding his head, and one of the celebrants who were there immediately brought him such a message.

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with the zeal of a sacrifice to Themis, that both sleeves had burst at the elbows and the lining had long been coming out, for which he had received a collegiate registrar, served our friends as Virgil had served Dante, and led them to the presence room, where there were only wide chairs, and in them in front of the table, behind a mirror, and two other tables. with thick books, the chairman sat alone, like the sun. In this place, the new Virgil felt such awe that he did not dare to put his foot there and turned back, showing his back, wiped like a mat, with a chicken feather stuck somewhere" (6, 144).

In Chichikov's facial expression, the ladies of the city find "something Martian": "The ladies were very pleased and not only found a lot of pleasantries and courtesies in him, but even began to find a majestic expression in his face, something even Martian and military, which, as you know, women like very much" (6, 165).

The comic effect of the scene at the ball is largely determined by the topic of Chichikov's conversation with the governor's daughter: "Meanwhile, our hero was preparing a most unpleasant surprise: while the blonde was yawning, and he was telling her some stories that happened at different times and even touched the Greek philosopher Diogenes, Nozdryov appeared from the last room" (6, 171).

It is hard to imagine more incompatible personalities: the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes, who leads and preaches an ascetic lifestyle, and Chichikov, who likes to eat and dress well, and follow women.

An idea of how much Gogol's text revives mythological images is provided by comparing the Final version with those where there are no mythological gods or heroes. This is, for example, the description of officials-colleagues of Pavel Ivanovich.

Second edition: "It should be noted that before its introduction, the chamber was not particularly distinguished by the vzrachnost of its officials. (...) He looked at everyone like a wolf and was rude to both his superior and subordinate; the other was not rude, but some face had such a strange figure... " (6, 557).

Gogol makes the description much more emotional, mentioning the sacrifices of officials to Bacchus, the mythological god of winemaking, in the Final version: "I must say that the Palatine officials were particularly distinguished by their plainness and unseemliness. (...) They all spoke somewhat sternly, as if they were going to kill someone; they often offered sacrifices to Bacchus, thus showing that there were still many remnants of paganism in Slavic nature; they even sometimes came to the presence, as they say, having licked their lips-

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it was not good to be present, and the air was not aromatic" (6: 228, 229).

As you can see. Gogol often turned to ancient mythology to add brightness to his style. Gods, heroes, poets, philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome are invariable "off-stage" characters of his works. In Dead Souls, they give the narrative an ironic or satirical character. One of Gogol's favorite techniques for creating a comic effect is combining the incompatible: high and colloquial vocabulary. This is often achieved by likening the "sky-worshippers" to the gods and heroes of the ancient world. Here is Pyotr Petrovich Rooster, one of the characters in the second volume of Dead Souls: "Have you had lunch? the master shouted, coming up to the shore with the caught fish, holding one hand over his eyes with a visor to protect him from the sun, and the other-lower in the manner of the Venus de Medicis coming out of the bath " (7, 174).

But there we also meet ancient names in the direct meaning, when mentioning them shows the strength and beauty of the hero: "Platon Mikhalych Platonov was Achilles and Paris together: slender build, picture-like growth, freshness - everything was gathered in him " (7, 178).

Gogol's style is extremely picturesque, and among his visual means, ancient images occupy not the last place.

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