Answer from Ore element[guru]
In Greek mythology there was such a character as Procrustes. who measured everyone according to his bed, and whoever was longer had his legs cut off.

Answer from 2 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: how did the phraseological unit Procrustean Bed come into being?

Answer from Mishka Shengelia[newbie]
PROCRUSTES' BED, in Greek mythology, a bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: the tall ones cut off those parts of the body that did not fit, the small ones he stretched the bodies (hence the name Procrustes - “stretcher”).
Procrustes-Polypemon himself had to lie down on this bed: the hero of ancient Greek myths Theseus, having defeated Procrustes, did to him the same way as he did to his captives...
The story of Procrustes was first found in the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).
In a figurative sense, it is an artificial measure that does not correspond to the essence of the phenomenon.

Answer from Anna Sirik[newbie]
This phraseological unit is of ancient Greek origin. There was a robber there whose name was Procrustes. And he had a bed that you squeezed and then stretched. The robber was a sadist and I put my aunts on this bed. If the unfortunate person was shorter than the bed, then they stretched him along the length, while playing the person alive. And if it was hotter, then those parts of her body that were sticking out were cut off. No one could defeat Procrustes, only Hercules put him on this bed and cut off his head. Now this phraseology is used as an example of something that does not fit into a pleasant framework at all. Also Procrustes, a character in the myths of ancient Greece, the robber is also known under the name of the house or Polybius, who lay in wait for Travelers on the road between Megara and Athens, he deceived his house of travelers, then he laid them on his bed and those whose legs were cut off short, and those whose legs were too big, I stretched them out. longer than this bed

Answer from Ekaterina Vladimirova[newbie]
Crap

Answer from Lyudmila Shurchkova[newbie]
In Greek mythology there was such a character as Procrustes. who measured everyone according to his bed, and whoever was longer had his legs cut off.

Answer from Yorgey Zhilenko[newbie]

Procrustes (ancient Greek Προκρούστης “stretching”) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece, a robber (also known as Damaste or Polypemon), who lay in wait for travelers on the road between Megara and Athens. He deceived travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.

Answer from Olga xarhenko[newbie]
I

Answer from Kostya Ostankin[newbie]

Answer from Omasheva Yulia[newbie]
The expression “Procrustean bed” has become popular and means the desire to fit something into a rigid framework or artificial standard, sometimes sacrificing something essential for this. Is a type of logical error
Procrustus (ancient Greek ????????????? “stretching”) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece, a robber (also known as Damastus or Polypemon), who lay in wait for travelers on the road between Megara and Athens. He deceived travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.

Answer from Kirill Popov[newbie]
In Greek mythology there was such a character as Procrustes. He measured everyone according to his bed; whoever was bigger than the box, he bit off his head and legs, and whoever was smaller, he stretched him and died from it.

Answer from Yergey Borisovich[active]
The expression “Procrustean bed” has become popular and means the desire to fit something into a rigid framework or artificial standard, sometimes sacrificing something essential for this. Is a type of logical error
Procrustus (ancient Greek ????????????? “stretching”) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece, a robber (also known as Damastus or Polypemon), who lay in wait for travelers on the road between Megara and Athens. He deceived travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.

Answer from Proslav Parfilov[newbie]
the man robber Procrustes lured guests and laid them on the bed; if the person did not fit, then his legs were cut off, and if he was short, then he pulled him out

Answer from Guzel Rakhmatullina[newbie]
Procrustean bed is a cruel framework. Previously, there was such a ruler, Procrutus. He lured travelers to his home. There were two beds prepared there - one large, the other not so much. Procrustes laid tall people on a small bed, and chopped off the limbs that did not fit. And Procrustes laid small people on a large bed and stretched them out.

Answer from Oksana Teslenko[newbie]
This phraseological unit is of ancient Greek origin. There was a robber there whose name was Procrustes. And he had a bed that kept shrinking and stretching. The robber was a sadist and laid his victims on this bed. If the unfortunate person was shorter than the bed, then they stretched him along the length, while tearing the person alive. And if the victim was larger, then those parts of her body that stuck out were cut off. No one could defeat Procrustes and only Hercules laid him on this bed and cut off his head. Now this phraseological unit is used as an example of something that does not fit into the generally accepted framework.

Answer from Yovetlana Varavka[newbie]
Procrustean bed is:
From ancient Greek myths. Procrustes (Greek for "stretcher") is the nickname of a robber named Polypemon. He lived by the road and tricked travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.
Procrustes himself, Polypemon, had to lie down on this bed: the hero of ancient Greek myths, Theseus, having defeated Procrustes, did to him the same way as he did to his captives...
The story of Procrustes was first found in the ancient Greek ischo-ricist Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).
Allegorically: an artificial standard, a formal template, into which real life, creativity, ideas, etc. are forcibly adjusted.

Answer from 2 answers[guru]

Hello! Here are other threads with similar questions.

Procrustean bed
From ancient Greek myths. Procrustes (Greek for "stretcher") is the nickname of a robber named Polypemon. He lived by the road and tricked travelers into his house. Then he laid them on his bed, and those whose legs were short, cut off their legs, and those whose legs were too long, he stretched their legs along the length of this bed.
Procrustes himself, Polypemon, had to lie down on this bed: the hero of ancient Greek myths, Theseus, having defeated Procrustes, did to him the same way as he did to his captives...
The story of Procrustes was first found in the ancient Greek ischo-ricist Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC).
Allegorically: an artificial standard, a formal template, into which real life, creativity, ideas, etc. are forcibly adjusted.

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

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

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

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

“The literature of the forties left an indelible memory for the very reason that it became a literature of serious convictions. Not knowing any freedoms, exhausted hourly on the Procrustean bed of all kinds of shortenings, she did not renounce 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 one robber nicknamed Procrustes. This man became famous not for his good deeds, but for his atrocities. Legend has it that he had a special bed on which he laid prisoners. He shortened those who were larger than this standard, cutting off all protruding parts of the body, and lengthened those who were short by twisting their joints. Theseus put an end to the villainy, laying Procrustes on his own bed: he turned out to be a head longer, so he had to be shortened. Over time, the stable expression Procrustean bed appeared. The meaning is his desire to drive any manifestation of individuality into a rigid framework. Most often this happens in culture or art.

Historical excursion

History provides many examples of attempts to squeeze all aspects of human life into an invented framework. This happened both during the deep Middle Ages and in later historical periods, when man already considered himself a civilized and humane being. This is happening now, although it would seem that freedom of speech and personality, the right to self-determination and much more are recognized. We are outraged by the laws of the Middle Ages and the church, which fought for absolute power and drove people into certain limits. Those who did not fit into them were destroyed. This is a clear example of what a Procrustean bed means. The totalitarian dictatorships of the twentieth century did the same. Everyone over forty remembers well how almost every aspect of a person’s life was controlled, and what happened to those they didn’t like. Why not a Procrustean bed? But something else is surprising: even the democratic structure of state power does not save us from this phenomenon. Still, there is always a desire to first come up with standards, and then adjust everything and everyone to them. And those who are unsuitable should be condemned, tightened or shortened, depending on the circumstances.

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

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

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A Procrustean bed is a name given to artificially created restrictions, a framework into which one or another person tries to drive a certain object or phenomenon. It could be anything: a scientific paper, a work of art, or someone's views on a certain issue.

This is also a framework that makes it impossible to show initiative and creativity.

A number of questions arise:

What is a Procrustean bed?
why is it called Procrustean?
Why does the phraseological unit have such meaning?

To answer them, we must turn to the origin of the expression.

How did the phraseology “Procrustean bed” come about?

The origin of the phraseological unit has its origins in ancient Greek mythology. To understand what “Procrustean bed” means, we should remember the story of Theseus’s exploit.

Who is Theseus

Theseus's parents were Aegeus and Ephra. Aegeus was the king of Athens, and Pittheus, the father of Ephra, ruled in Troezen, where Theseus was born. Shortly after his birth, Aegeus went back to Athens, fearing he would lose his throne. Before returning to his city, he hid his sandals and sword under a stone, ordering his wife not to tell Theseus anything about his origin. The latter could find out about everything by moving the stone and taking Aegeus’ things; Theseus was supposed to come to Athens with them.

Initially, Pittheus spread the rumor that Theseus's father was Poseidon himself, but when the young man turned sixteen, Ephra told him the truth. Theseus did what Aegeus demanded of him and headed to Athens. The hero's path ran through Isthmus of Corinth. This section of the road was considered very dangerous: it was filled with monsters and robbers. Here Theseus met Procrustes.

Who was Procrustes? Feat of Theseus

Procrustes (in some sources he is called Polypemon, Damaste and Procoptus) was one of the most famous and brutal robbers in those parts. Literally, his name means "stretcher" (other names are translated as "harmful", "overpowering" and "truncator").

The villain lured lonely wanderers into his house, offering them food and lodging. When the unsuspecting traveler went to bed, Procrustes tied his body with belts to the bed (in his house there was a special bed for guests, essentially victims) and began to torture him.

If the guest's body turned out to be longer than the bed, Procrustes cut off all the parts that did not fit on it. If the length of the bed turned out to be greater, the villain crushed the victim’s bones with a large hammer, and also stretched out his joints until the person’s body was equal in length to the bed. All of Procrustes' guests died, because no one could withstand such torture.

There is a version that in Procrustes’ house there were two beds for guests: he placed tall people on a short bed, and short people on a long one. In this case, not a single person whom he managed to lure to himself could avoid bullying.

It is noteworthy that The robber met his own death on the bed of torture: There Theseus cut off his head. The ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch, recalling this story, noted that Theseus tried to follow the example of Hercules in everything, and he always dealt with villains in the same way as he dealt with his victims. The bed turned out to be too large for the giant Procrustes, and Theseus cut off the part of his body that protruded from him.

The popular expression “Procrustean bed” in rhetoric and philosophy

The meaning of this phraseological unit is familiar to every educated person, but in colloquial speech it is used quite rarely. It was used in the sciences of knowledge of the surrounding world: in particular, in rhetoric and philosophy.

A Procrustean bed in this area is the desire to drive away one or another postulate, phenomenon or incident. within a certain framework through thick and thin. In this case, it is inevitable to neglect certain features of this phenomenon or add fictitious ones to it.

In this case, of course, the reasoner will come to an erroneous conclusion and present the phenomenon to himself or his opponent in a distorted form. Procrustean bed can be considered both a logical fallacy and a trick, with the help of which you can force your opponent to accept a certain point of view or picture of the world.

The latter will work for someone who does not have full information about a particular phenomenon or event.

Such a person will accept a point of view that is beneficial to his opponent if the description of a particular object or phenomenon is sufficiently convincing and outwardly plausible.

Brief conclusions

From the history of the origin of the phraseological unit “Procrustean bed”, three variants of its meaning can be deduced:

in literature and everyday life it means artificial limits, a template, a framework into which someone tries to drive certain judgments or phenomena;
in science, this can also be a technique used to persuade an opponent to a certain opinion;
In addition, self-deception can be considered a Procrustean bed in science, when a person tries to fit his opinion to some artificial template.

Phraseologism “Procrustean bed” meaning

Clearly limited boundaries that do not allow for initiative and creativity.

A long time ago, when the gods decided the destinies of people on Olympus, the evil robber Procrustes operated in Attica. He was also known under the names Polypembnus, Damaste, Procoptus. The robber lay in wait for travelers on the road between Athens and Megara and, through deception, lured them to his home. Two beds were made for guests at his home.
One large bed, the second small. Procrustes laid small people on a large bed and, so that the traveler exactly fit the size of the bed, beat them with a hammer and stretched their joints.
And he laid tall people on a small bed. He chopped off parts of the body that did not fit with an axe. Soon, for his atrocities, Procrustes had to lie down on his bed himself. The Greek hero Theseus, having defeated the robber, treated him the same way as he did with his captives.
The expression "Procrustean bed" means the desire to fit something into a rigid framework or artificial standard, sometimes sacrificing something essential for this. It is one of the types of logical errors.
Allegorically: an artificial standard, a formal template, into which real life, creativity, ideas, etc. are forcibly adjusted.

Example:

(According to Greek myths, Procrustes is the nickname of the robber Polypemon, who laid all his captives on a bed, cutting or stretching their legs depending on the captive’s height).

Procrustean bed: what does this catchphrase mean? Phraseologism “Procrustean bed” meaning Procrustean bed history of origin