The idiom "Procrustean bed", as one can guess from the title, came to us from ancient times, when the bed was called a bed, more precisely - from ancient Greece, the myths of which gave linguists a lot of phraseological units. This over time received several meanings, the scientists even found out that the name of the owner was retained by the Hellenes only in one of the variants.
Procrustean bed - the meaning of phraseology
As a phraseology, the Procrustean bed is a symbol of a certain measure, a framework in which someone tries to force someone or something to please the accepted standards. Over time, this phraseology has acquired several meanings:
- Conditions that restrict freedom.
- Moments that complicate the necessary actions.
- A logical error that distorts an important meaning.
- Truncated truth, presented to someone else's benefit.
Another Procrustean bed is often called an uncomfortable bed, but this is the simplest and most common option. In the following centuries, many writers resorted to this aphorism in numerous pamphlets and novels. Procrustean bed - an example of use in Saltykov-Shchedrin, he called the literature of his time exhausted on the Procrustean bed of humiliating censorship cuts.
Procrustean bed - what is this?
Judging by Greek mythology, the Procrustean bed is a resting place on which the robber Procrustes laid the travelers and subjected him to sophisticated torture. He stretched the small ones with growth, but shortened the tall ones with a sword, cutting off the limbs. There is a version that there were two such beds with a sadist:
- To stretch the body, as on the rack.
- With a secure mount to chop off hands and feet.
Who is Procruste?
The stories of who Procruste is are somewhat different. From myths it is known that he was the son of the god Poseidon, who chose a place to live a house near the road from Tresen to Athens. According to other information, the lair of Procrust was located in Attica, on the way between Athens and Megara. Because of his cruelty, Procrustes was called one of the most dangerous brigands in Greece. Several sources mention several names of this sadist:
- Polypemon (the one who causes much suffering).
- Damascus (overcoming).
- Procop (truncate).
There is a version that Procrust was the son of Sinis, who went to his parents: he attacked the travelers and tore them to pieces, tied to the tops of trees. Some researchers argue that Sinis is not the son of a known robber, but he himself, only the Greeks for some reason invented a sadist a different name and an unusual place of torture, which was called the "Procrustean bed". In support of the theory - that Sinis was killed by the same hero as Procrustes, this is confirmed by different sources.
Procrustean bed - myth
From the legends it is difficult to understand why the villain Procruste thought up such "entertainment" with the reception of guests, but the mechanism created the original. I met travelers, invited them to rest and spend the night, but instead of a comfortable bed they fell into hell. Topchang Procrusta was a place for torture, the prisoner's body fixed reliable clamps. If the victim was of small stature, the robber stretched it out, as if on a rack. If the traveler came high, then Procrust sword cut off his hands and feet, and eventually - his head. In such a sadistic way, the master tried to fit the prisoner into the box.
Who killed Procrustes?
Myths say that the king, who defeated Procrustes, bore the name of Theseus, the ruler of Athens, one of the great heroes of Greece. It happened allegedly near the river Kefis, when the hero was putting things in order in Attica, destroying monsters and villains. According to one version, Theseus met with the robber by accident, and he almost fell into his trap. According to another version, he was looking for a criminal purposefully to stop his evil deeds, which Procrust was not aware of. Proceeding from these hypotheses, the descriptions of the exploit of Theseus differ:
- The king fell into a trap, but managed to cut the bindings with an undefeated sword, which once killed the Minotaur. Then he pushed Procrusta on the couch and cut off his head.
- Theseus knew about the artful device, managed to push the owner to the topchan. And when the clips snapped, he chopped off his head, which did not fit on the couch. This story gave rise to yet another phraseology: "shorten on the head."
Procrustean bed for art
Because of its importance, this aphorism took root in the slang of creative personalities . What does "Procrustean bed" mean in the interpretation of the people of art? This expression is often recalled now, when they want to emphasize that:
- it is impossible to drive creativity into accepted dogmas;
- Forcibly established frames destroy the essence and significance of any creation;
- It is impossible to correct absolutely all phenomena under conservative theories.