Philologist, candidate of philological sciences, poet, member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
Publication date: 07.10.2018

Set expressions help to express thoughts, feelings, attitude to what is happening most vividly, quickly and beautifully. The implied figurative meaning does not always lie on the surface, and sometimes, having no idea about the origin of the expression, one cannot even assume its correct meaning. This category includes the phrase "Procrustean bed".

At first glance, it may seem that the phrase describes someone's place to sleep, however, as it should be with all phraseological units, it hides a figurative meaning. What subtext carries a stable expression, let's try to figure it out ...

The meaning of phraseology

“Procrustean bed” means a certain rigid framework, under which something or someone is forcibly adjusted, it can be about appearance, demeanor, following traditions. In modern speech, a set expression is synonymous with a generally accepted pattern, rule, standard, what is followed, what is adjusted, despite common sense.

This often happens in relations between parents and children, for example, when, passionate about the humanities or creative sciences, the father and mother, against his will, send the child to study in a class with a physical and mathematical bias only because it is necessary in their opinion, because " grandfather was an engineer, father was an engineer and you will be an engineer.”

At this moment, parents think about the continuation of family traditions, no one thinks that for him the study of technical sciences is a “Procrustean bed”, a pre-existing template that he does not want to follow.

Phraseologism can also be found in the description of a person’s work process, for example, a person working according to strict job descriptions and standards, hungry for creativity in his work, can say that he is in a Procrustean bed, while implying a lack of freedom in actions in their work, limited by the standards.

Phraseologism is borrowed from ancient Greek mythology. It is worth noting that it is also used in foreign languages: in English, the expression sounds “Procrustean bed”, in French “lit de Procruste”, in German “Prokrustesbett”. Each phrase in its foreign language representation retains the image of Procrustes, respectively, leaving the meaning of the phraseologism unchanged: the framework into which someone is driven against their will.

The origin of phraseology

To make the meaning of sustainable turnover more understandable, it is worth looking into ancient mythology and learning about the legend, the main characters of which were the robber Damast, nicknamed Procrustes (the nickname literally translates as “stretching”), and the Greek hero Theseus.

The story begins with the journey of the hero - the son of Ephra, who hoped to find his father. Theseus chose the most difficult path - through the Isthm, where he met many obstacles, including a collision with the "puller" Procrustes.

The villain, the son of Neptune, was famous for his tortures to which he subjected travelers. The giant lured them to his home, offered to rest on his bed, and, if it was large, literally pulled their body with the help of weights to the size of his bed, if, on the contrary, it was not enough, then chopped off his legs. Theseus turned out to be more cunning and wiser, he defeated the robber and put him on the eminent bed. It is noteworthy that it turned out to be not enough for him, and the young man killed the villain in a similar way, chopping off his limbs. Thus, the "stretcher" fell from his own method of torture.

Depiction of Theseus killing Procrustes, c. 420-410 BC e.

Today, this turnover can also denote the desire for unification and standardization.

PROCRUSTEAN BED

only ed. , a stable combination of books.

what is the measure, under which smth. is forcibly adjusted.

Procrustean bed of fashionable theory.

Etymology:

By the name of Prokr "mouth (< греч. Prokroustes ‘растягивающий’).

Encyclopedic commentary:

In Greek mythology, Procrustes is a famous robber who lay in wait for travelers on the road between Megara and Athens.

He made two lodges. He laid small travelers on a large bed and beat them with a hammer to stretch their bodies, on a small bed he sawed off those parts of the body that did not fit there. Procrustes was killed near the river Cephis by Theseus, when he, establishing order in Attica, cleansed it of monsters and criminals.

Popular explanatory-encyclopedic dictionary of the Russian language. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what is PROCRUST'S BED in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Dictionary-Reference Myths of Ancient Greece:
  - the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who were long, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  in Greek mythology, the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: at the tall ones he chopped off those parts of the body that did not fit, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Phraseology Handbook:
  measure, under which they strive to forcibly adjust, adapt what does not fit it. An expression from ancient mythology. Procrustes Polypomenes, son of ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the New Dictionary of Foreign Words:
  1) in ancient Greek mythology - the bed of the robber Procrustes, on which he laid his victims, and to the one who was longer than the bed, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Dictionary of Foreign Expressions:
  1. in ancient Greek mythology - the bed of the robber Procrustes, on which he laid his victims, and to the one who was longer than the bed, ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
• PROCRUSTEAN BED
  
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Spelling Dictionary:
  procrustian lie, procrustian ...
• PROCRUSTEAN BED in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  in Greek mythology, the bed on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; those who…
• BED in the Dictionary for solving and compiling scanwords.
• BED in the Concise Church Slavonic Dictionary:
  - bed...
• BED in the Lexicon of Sex:
  matrimonial bed; the main attribute and symbol of marital ...
• BED
  in botany, a plexus of fungal hyphae that forms on the surface (sometimes inside) of a plant (or other substrate) affected by a fungus. The upper part of L. is represented ...
• BED in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
  I (Desire-Francois Log? e) - modern. French painter, b. in 1823, was a student of Pico and at first he was engaged in depicting scenes of a village ...
• BED in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  1, -a, cf. 1. A place to sleep, a bed (outdated). Marriage l. 2. Deepening, along which a water stream flows, a glacier passes, ...
• PROKRUSTOVO
  PROCRUSTE'S BED, in Greek. mythology bed, on which the giant robber Procrustes forcibly laid travelers: those who had a short bed, chopped off their legs; …
• BED in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  LODGE OF THE OCEAN, one of Ch. relief elements and geol. structures of the earth. Pl. St. 185 million km 2. Covers deep sea…
• BED in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron:
  (Desire-Francois Log e e) ? contemporary French painter; genus. in 1823, was a student of Pico and at first was engaged in depicting scenes ...
• BED in the Full accentuated paradigm according to Zaliznyak:
  lo"zhe, lo"zha, lo"zhami, lo"zh, lo"zhu, lo"jam, lo"zhe, lo"zha, lo"zhe, lo"zhami, lo"zhe, ...
• BED
  Bed in…
• BED in the Dictionary for solving and compiling scanwords:
  Solemn name...
• BED in the Dictionary of synonyms of Abramov:
  bed, bed, bed, sofa, bench, bunks, couch. Marriage bed. On deathbed. Cm. …
• BED in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language:
  abyssal, hammock, wedge, bed, bed, bed, channel, thalassocraton, …
• BED in the New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language Efremova:
  1. cf. 1) outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2) trans. A hole in the ground through which...
• BED in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Lopatin:
  
• BED in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  bed, -a (bed; channel; at ...
• BED in the Spelling Dictionary:
  l`ozhe, -a (bed; channel; at ...
• BED in the Dictionary of the Russian Language Ozhegov:
  1 Obs sleeping place, bed Marriage l. bed 1 is a depression through which a water stream flows, a glacier passes, and also ...
• PROKRUSTOVO
  bed. Cm. …
• BED in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language Ushakov:
  lodge, cf. 1. Bed (book poets outdated). Marriage bed. And to the joys on the bed of pleasures bashful beauty bowed. Pushkin. 2. …
• BED in the Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova:
  bed 1. cf. 1) outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2) trans. An indentation in the soil where...
• BED in the New Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova:
  I cf. 1. outdated. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping; bed. 2. trans. A hole in the ground through which...
• BED in the Big Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  I cf. A specially arranged place for lying or sleeping royal, noble, rich persons; bed for such persons. II cf. Deepening …
• DOGMATISM in the Newest Philosophical Dictionary:
  (Greek dogma - opinion, doctrine, decision) - a term introduced by the ancient Greek skeptical philosophers Pyrrho and Zeno, who called any philosophy dogmatic in general, ...
• DORMITION OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree.
• Lion 15 in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox Encyclopedia "TREE". Bible. Old Testament. Leviticus. Chapter 15 Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...
• PROCRUSTES in the Dictionary-Reference Who's Who in the Ancient World:
  Legendary Attic Rogue; had a bed in which he laid his victims; if their height was less than the length of the bed, he them ...
• YANZHUL IVAN IVANOVICH
  Yanzhul (Ivan Ivanovich) is a well-known economist. Born on June 2, 1846 or 1845 in Vasilkovsky district, Kyiv province (father - ...
• SOLOVIEV EVGENIY ANDREEVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Solovyov (Evgeny Andreevich) is a talented writer. Born in 1863; studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg. university. He was a high school teacher for a short time. …
• Mayor in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  - the central character of N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" (1835, second edition - 1841). In the list of actors: Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. According to "Remarks...
• BOGDANOV in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  1. A. is the pseudonym of the politician, philosopher, sociologist, economist and literary critic Alexander Alexandrovich Malinovsky. Since the mid 90s. …
• ANDREEVICH in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  - pseudonym of Evgeny Andreevich Solovyov - critic and historian of literature (other pseudonyms: Skriba, V. Smirnov, Mirsky). Wrote a number of essays...
• ROMANIA in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (România), Socialist Republic of Romania, SRR (Republica Socialista România). I. General information R. is a socialist state in the southern part of Europe, in ...
• PROCRUSTES in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  in ancient Greek mythology, the nickname of a giant robber who forcibly laid travelers on a bed and chopped off the legs of those who were larger than his size, ...
• PETRESCU CAMIL in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (Petrescu) Camil (April 9 or 21, 1894, Bucharest - May 14, 1957, ibid.), Romanian writer, academician of the Academy of the SRR (1948). In the center of dramas ("Fairy Game", ...
• INDIAN OCEAN in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  ocean, the third largest ocean on Earth (after the Pacific and Atlantic). It is located mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, between Asia on …
• PLANET EARTH) in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (from the common Slavic earth - floor, bottom), the third planet in the solar system in order from the Sun, the astronomical sign Å or, +. I...
• WAGE in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  pay. Under capitalism, wages are a converted form of value, or price, of a specific commodity—labour power. The use value of this…

The Procrustean bed is a kind of framework into which they try to insert something by force; self-chosen requirement, to which others try to fit similar ones; the wrong measure, which in spite of everything they are trying to apply; an artificially created norm that operates in a voluntaristic manner.

This expression has its roots in the myths of Ancient Greece. In one of them you can read about a bandit element named Procrustes (who also had such names as Polypemon, Damast). He was engaged in a real robbery, and this was not enough for him, and he came up with for himself " interesting"entertainment. He was engaged in his vile business on the road, about forty kilometers from Athens, which, accordingly, led to the city of Megara. This villain made a special torture machine in which he laid the caught travelers. If the size of the bed was too large for the victim, then he pulled it out to the required size, and if not enough, then he chopped off the poor fellow's legs.

If we look at Wikipedia, then there you can read a more detailed presentation of this myth. It turns out that this pervert and murderer had two whole lodges, one small and the other large. In the first he placed tall travelers, and in the second people of short stature. Therefore, not a single person had any chance to survive. According to rumors, Procrustes was a close relative of Poseidon, and, accordingly, was the brother of the well-known Theseus, who actually killed him. We will not delve into these mythical wilds, much is not clear there and is the topic of a separate article.

Read more: the meaning of the expression Sisyphean labor

"The Athenian king Aegeus was married twice, but neither of them brought him a child. He became weak and had to meet his old age alone. He decided in his declining years to go a long way to the Delphic Oracle in order to find out how to get him a son. He, as usual, became dark and answered quite incomprehensibly. Therefore, reluctantly, Aegeus went to the city of Troezeny, where a man known for his wisdom and intelligence lived far beyond the borders of Greece. He cherished the hope that he would explain to him the words of the oracle.

Having literally conveyed the prediction, Pittheus was able to understand the hidden meaning, which meant that the elderly king from Athens was destined to have a son who, with his amazing deeds and good deeds, would earn great fame and fame for himself. In order to cling to this glory, Pittheus gives his beautiful daughter Ephra to King Aegeus, who gave birth to a son from him. In order for part of the glory to touch the family of Pittheus, he began to spread rumors everywhere that the father of the born son was not the Athenian king at all, but the god of the sea himself - Poseidon. The baby was given a name - Theseus. After his wedding, King Aegeus decided to return to his palace in Athens, so he leaves the hospitable city of Trezna, because he feared for his crown, because 50 sons of Pallant remained in Athens, who were eager to take power from him.

Leaving, Aegeus did not forget about his son, he decided to give him an unusual gift. Finding a large rock near the city, he buried two sandals and a sword under it. And after that he told his wife that when Theseus was strong enough to be able to move this huge rock and get the sword and sandals hidden there, then let her send him to Athens. Until that day, Theseus was forbidden to tell about his origin.".

Feat of Theseus

"Theseus grew up all these years like an ordinary boy until he was 16 years old. Mother, seeing how strong her son had grown, went to her to that block, under which the sword and sandals were securely hidden, so that he could test his strength. The guy showed himself from the best side, without any tension lifting a heavy rock, after which he took out sandals and a sword from under it. After that, Ephra told him about his origin, told him who his real father was and sent him to Athens. Inspired by tales of great battles and mighty warriors, this young man began to get ready for the journey.

Athens could be reached in two ways, by land and by sea. Since traveling by sea was much safer, his mother insisted on this particular route, because all the way along the road to Athens, he could meet huge monsters that so inopportunely began to multiply intensively. Previously, Hercules looked after the number of these dangerous creatures, but since he was now in captivity, there was no one to monitor their population and they committed the most heinous crimes. After listening to his grandfather and mother, Theseus became thoughtful and decided to play the role that Hercules had previously played.

Passing the city of Eleusin, Theseus stumbled upon the evil robber Damast. This bespredelschik had a special bed on which travelers passing by were obliged to lie down. If the bed was large for them, he beat them and at the same time stretched out his legs, and in short, he simply chopped off their legs. This man also had another name, he was called Procrustes, which means a stretcher. However, with Theseus, everything happened exactly, but vice versa. He forced Procrustes himself to lie down in this bed, and since this robber was of great stature, he cut off his legs and he died from loss of blood, experiencing severe torment.

The myth of Procrustes and his lodge is not original. For example, in the Talmud from Babylon there is an interesting legend that the inhabitants of the city of Sodom had a special bed for travelers. When a traveler was forcibly tied to it and if he was longer than the bed, then his limbs were cut off, and if shorter, then his legs were pulled out. It was for these heinous deeds that this city was wiped off the face of the earth along with all its inhabitants.

Bed of Procrustes video

The idiom “Procrustean bed”, as you might guess from the name, 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 one eventually received several meanings, scientists even found out that the name of the owner was preserved by the Hellenes in only one of the options.

Procrustean bed - the meaning of phraseology

As a phraseological unit, the Procrustean bed is a symbol of a certain measure, a framework into which they forcibly try to shove someone or something, for the sake of accepted standards. Over time, this phraseological unit has acquired several meanings:

1. Conditions that limit freedom.
2. Moments that complicate the necessary actions.
3. A logical error that distorts an important meaning.
4. A truncated truth presented for someone's benefit.

An uncomfortable bed is also often called a Procrustes 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. The Procrustean bed is an example of Saltykov-Shchedrin's use; he called the literature of his time languishing on the Procrustean bed of mocking censorship abbreviations.

Procrustean bed - what is it?

Judging by Greek mythology, the Procrustean bed is a resting place on which the robber Procrustes laid travelers and subjected them to sophisticated torture. He stretched the small ones, and shortened the tall ones with a sword, cutting off the limbs. There is a version that the sadist had two such beds:

1. To stretch the body, as if on a rack.
2. With secure attachment to chop off arms and legs.

Who is Procrustes?

The stories about who Procrustes is vary somewhat. It is known from myths that he was the son of the god Poseidon, who chose a house near the road from Troezen to Athens as his place of residence. According to other sources, Procrustes' lair was located in Attica, on the way between Athens and Megara. Because of his cruelty, Procrustes was called one of the most dangerous robbers in Greece. Various sources mention several names of this sadist:

1. Polypemon (one who causes much suffering).
2. Damast (overcoming).
3. Procoptus (truncator).

There is a version that Procrustes had a son, Sinis, who became a parent: he attacked travelers and tore them to pieces, tying them to the tops of trees. Some researchers argue that Sinis is not the son of a famous robber, but himself, only the Greeks for some reason came up with a different name for the sadist and an unusual place of torture, which was called the “Procrustes bed”. In support of the theory - that Sinis was killed by the same hero as Procrustes, this is confirmed by various sources.

Procrustean bed - myth

From the legends it is difficult to understand why the villain Procrustes came up with such "entertainment" with the reception of guests, but the mechanism was created by the original. He met travelers, invited them to the house to rest and spend the night, but instead of a comfortable bed, they ended up in hell. The trestle bed of Procrustes was a place for torture, the body of the prisoner was fixed with reliable clamps. If the victim was short, the robber stretched him, as if on a rack. If the traveler came tall, then Procrustes cut off his arms and legs with a sword, and in the end - his head. In such a sadistic way, the owner tried to fit the prisoner under the bed.

Who killed Procrustes?

Myths say that the king who defeated Procrustes was named Theseus - the ruler of Athens, one of the great heroes of Greece. This allegedly happened near the Kefis River, when the hero was putting things in order in Attica, destroying monsters and villains. According to one version, Theseus met the robber by chance, and he himself almost fell into his trap. According to another version, he purposefully searched for the criminal in order to stop his atrocities, which Procrustes did not know about. Based on these hypotheses, the descriptions of the feat of Theseus also differ:

1. The king fell into a trap, but managed to cut the fastenings with an invincible sword, with which he had once killed the Minotaur. Then he pushed Procruste on the couch and cut off his head.
2. Theseus knew about the cunning device, managed to push the owner onto the couch. And when the clamps snapped into place, he cut off the head, which did not fit on the bed. This story gave rise to another phraseological unit: "shorten by the head."

Phraseologism "Procrustean bed" meaning

Clearly limited framework that does not allow to show initiative, creativity.

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

Example:

“The literature of the forties has already left an indelible memory behind itself, that it has become the literature of serious convictions. Knowing no freedoms, languishing hourly on the Procrustean bed of all sorts of shortenings, she did not give up her ideals, did not betray them ”(Saltykov-Shchedrin).

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