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" O, yc delicious fables I where the wave And woods were peopled, and the air, with things So lovely I why, ah ! why has science grave Scattered afar your 'weet imaginings?" Barkv Cornw\l^. ' » ■'o. a ^ •* - o . « . i "»-■ V > a ^i ■>"■) WITH A CLASSICAL INDEX AND DICTIONARY AND NFARLV . ..1 1 -» TWO HUNDR^.D .'LLUSThATICNS \^^V^ o /» ^ TORONTO THE MUSSON BOOK COMPANY LIMITED '1 \ ,1T B'^1) su Copyright, 1898, by David McKay. • ■ • •• • • • • ••• • • • • • • • •• • • »•• • ........ . . . .«• • .1 •:•• ••• • • • . .•• • * • • TO HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, THE POET ALIKE OF THE MANY AND OP THE FEW, THIS ATTEMPT TO POPULARIZE MYTHOLOOY, AND EXTEND THE ENJOYMENT OF ELEGANT I-TTERATURE, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. 1 46985 I To T. Z. S".— Bo'na De'a, Clym'e-ne, Ni'ke, Psy'che, Graces three, Myths, indeed, Compared with thee. Editor If no ot which help society, th< if that whi useful, thei ogy is the 1 allies of vii Without ture of our When Byr( she looks a of one far striking thi reader ign< sions. Th and the o^ Through F reason wh] they cann< Aurora (Reni) AUTHOR'S PREFACE. If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society, then Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which tends to make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject ; for Mythol- ogy is the handmaid of literature, and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness. Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant litera- ture of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. When Byron calls Rome the Niobe of nations, or says, of Venice, she looks a sea-Cybele fresh from ocean, he calls up to the mind of one familiar with our subject illustrations more vivid and striking than the pencil could furnish, but which are lost to the reader ignorant of mythology. Milton abounds in similar allu- sions. The short poem Comus contains more than thirty such, and the ode On the Morning of the Nativity half as many. Through Paradise Lost they are scattered profusely. This is one reason why we often hear persons by no means illiterate say that they cannot enjoy Milton. But were these persons to add to (V) I i ■ ; ^1 !!. J 4 VI AUTHORS PREFACK their mjre solid acquirements the easy learning of this little volume, much of the poetry of Milton which has appeared to them harsh and crabbed would be found musical as is Apollo's lute. Our citations, taken from more than twenty-five poets, from Spenser to Longfellow, will show how general has been the practice of borrowing illustrations from mythology. The prose writers also avail themselves of the same source of elegant and suggestive illustration. But how is mythology to be taught to one who does not learn it through the medium of the languages of Greece and Rome ? To devote study to a species of learning which relates wholly to false marvels and obsolete faiths is not to be expected of the general reader in a practical age like this. The time even of the young is claimed by so many sciences of facts and things that little can be spared for set treatises on a science of mere fancy. But may not the requisite knowledge of the subject be acquired by reading the ancient poets in translations ? We reply, the field is too extensive for a preparatory course, and these very transla- tions require some previous knowledge of the subject to make them intelligible. Our book is an attempt to solve this problem by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement. We have endeavored to tell them correctly ac- cording to the ancient authorities, so that when the reader finds them referred to he may not be at a loss to recognize the refer- ence. Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study ; to give our work the charm of a story- book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education. Most of the classical legends in this book are derived from Ovid and Virgil. They are not literally translated, for, in the author's opinion, poetry translated into literal prose !s very un- attractive reading. Neither are they in verse, as well for othcf AUTHOR'S PREFACE. VII reasons as from a cunviction that to translate faithfully under all the embarrassments of rhyme and measure is imposKiblc. The attempt has been made to tell the stories in prose, preserving so much of the poetry as resides in the thoughts and is separable from the language itself, and omitting those amplifications which are not suited to the altered form. The poetical citations so freely introduced are expected to answer several valuable purposes. They will tend to fix in mem- ory the leading fact of each story, they will help to the attainment of a correct pronunciation of the proper names, and they will enrich the memory with many gems of poetry, some of them such as are most frequently quoted or alluded to in reading and conversation. Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our province, we have endeavored to omit nothing which the reader of elegant literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories and parts of stories as are offensive to pure taste and good morals are not given. But such stories are not often referred to, and if they occasionally should be, the English reader need feel no mortification in confessing his ignorance of them. Our book is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in polite conversation. We trust our young readers will find it a source of entertain- ment ; those more advanced, a useful companion in their reading ; those who travel, and visit museums and galleries of art, an interpreter of paintings and sculptures; those who mingle in cultivated society, a key to allusions which are occasionally made ; and, last of all, those in advanced life, pleasure in retracing a path of literature which leads them back to the days of their childhood, and revives at every step the associations of the morn- ing of life- '^1 I ^M u VUl AUTHORS PREFACE, The permanency of those associations is beautifully expressed in the well-known lines of Coleridge : *♦ The intelligible forms of ancient poets, luv fair humanities of old religion, The Power, the Beauty, and the Majesty That had their haunts in dale or piny nioufituin, Or forest, by slow stream, or pebbly spring, Or chasms and watery depths ; all these have vdiiikhcd , They live no longer in the faith of reason ; But still the heart doth need a language ; still Doth the old instinct bring back the old names, Spirits or gods that used to share this earth With man as with their friend ; and at this day 'Tis Jupiter who brings whate'er is great And Venus who brings every thing that's fair." '! m ^ EDITOR'S PREFACE j Mythology is the dust of former beliefs. It is man's first effort to know his God.^ The story of that effort this book seeks to relate. There has always been a fascination about the "Age of Fable " unequalled by any similar work. It was first given to the public some forty years ago, but time has failed to lessen the appreciation of its merit. Mythology itself has undergone marked changes, especially on its philosophic and comparative sides ; still the essential story remains uncurpassed. The simplicity of style and purpose has contributed largely to this result. By connecting mythology with literature, the age of fable became the one of fact. Other mythologists were content to introduce the gods to each other; Mr. Bulfinch sought to make them acquainted with men. In this he succeeded, and an intimacy was formed which had not hitherto existed. He also abandoned the conventional manual idea, and treated mythology as a story. The difference between a manual and consecutive history is the difference between a series of stagnant pools and a running stream. In the latter instance one is carried on by the force of the current. The marked changes, however, to which we have referred demand a newer and more complete edition. The Pantheons of Greece and Rome have received no important accessions, but the eastern sky is resplendent with new stars. There has been a resurrection throughout Egypt and Babylon which has entirely transformed the mythologies of those countries. This we have sought to recognize by introducing an entirely new Section on Babylon, Assyi'i. and Phoenicia. We * Mythologies are the unaided attempts of man to find out God. They are the efforts of the reason struggling to know the Infinite. — D. G. Brinton, The Myths of the New IVoyld, ^. 1$. : («) I %-n \ :a EDITORS PREFACE. have also rewritten the Chai)ters on Persia, India, Scandinavia and the Druids. These countries, in some instances, were the sources of our own civilization, and ought to be of interest to every student. The classical feature upon which Mr. Bulfinch laid so much stress has received especial attention. The most liberal extracts from the old classics are to be found in almost every chapter. Such names as Virgil, Homer, Euripides, Sophocles and Ovid will become familiar to every student. By these references the reader will obtain at least a suggestive knowledge of the thoughts and themes of those master men. Their worth is much, if they do nothing more than serve as guide-boards to the more spacious fields of ancient literature The modern poets have also ])een generous in their contribu- tions. Mr. Bulfinch, in his first edition, made "citations from twenty -five poets, ranging from Spenser to Longfellow." But the Muses have not been altogether voiceless for tiie last half- century. Our readers, on their journey through, will meet writers like Edwin Arnold, Charles A, Swinburne and William Morris, not one of whom would have been recognized as a poet forty years ago. Apart from this is the other equally important fact, that some of the finest legendary poems of the older writers, such as Tennyson's "Tithonus," Longfellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn," and Lowell's " l*rometheus," are all of more recent date. Poetry is the natural language of all mythology. The Zend-Avesta, Rig-Veda, and the Eddas, are but the epics of the gods. They were to other nations what the Odyssey and ^neid were to Greece and Rome. From these various sheaves we have selected a few specimen-straws — enough, perhaps, to suggest the richness of the harvest. Our illustrations have been selected with great care, and we hope with ecjual judgment. They are mainly reproductions from the original statues and paintings, thus giving a picture of the idea as it actually existed in the ancient mind. The purpose of their insertion is not only to _, beautify th< from this, tl logical art. One of tl uncertainty True, there the words th| sible, but to< of interest, tl mythology uJ something de sought to ren of the chapt appears in th tude of ever cannot be attj To know tl mythology, w divinity by hi understands it vocabularies, introduction i: recognize the Rome and Zei idea, by whicl no sympathy, god which ai Jupiter is esse rose by anoth^ Our solar sysl Jupiter were 1 dite, and Mei worlds ; not s shadow of an EDITOES PREFACE. XI beautify the pages, but also to interpret their thought. Apart from this, they form collectively a complete handbook of mytho- logical art. One of the chief difficulties in the study of mythology is the uncertainty attached to the pronunciation of the proper names. True, there are rules of pronunciation, often more abstruse than the words themselves. The dictionary may or may not be acces- sible, but too frequent a reference tends to break off continuity of interest, thus rendering study an irksome task. The result is, mythology under these conditions is liable to be laid aside as something devoid of charm or interest. This obstacle we have sought to remove by giving each name, as it appears at the head of the chapter, its proper pronunciation ; also the first time it appears in the body of the text. For this we predict the grati- tude of every student of mythology. Too much importance cannot be attached to this feature of our edition. To know the name is often to know the thing, especially in mythology, where names constitute being. We introduce every divinity by his proper name, and so distinctly that the student understands it from the first. One is not compelled to search the vocabularies, and return perhaps without the knowledge; his introduction is sufficient. In doing this we have attempted to recognize the nationality of every god. Thus Jupiter is from Rome and Zeus from Olympus. With this modern Hellenistic idea, by which Rome becomes a suburb to Athens, we confess to no sympathy. There is an affinity between the name and the god which amounts to identity of being. Thus the name of Jupiter is essential to his existence ; as Zeus he ceases to be. A rose by another name may remain unchanged, but a god cannot. Our solar system, we suppose, would suffer no change, although Jupiter were known among the planets as Zeus, Venus as Aphro- dite, and Mercury as Hermes. Behind those names stand real worlds ; not so in mythology. There the name is but the visible shadow of an invisible idea. 1 ■}M I a i -'M 1 's^'j •-,^1 -€ xu EDITORS PREFACE, There is no law more positive than that of custom. Name and character become inseparable. Thus Vulcan, as Hephaestus, is no longer the "crippled artizan god," — the good-natured, genial fellow who toils away without complaint, — ^but a social gentleman. The name of Vulcan is black with the dust of the forge ; one hears the ring of the anvil in its very accent. Not so with Hephaestus. There is no soot on his face, no halt in his walk ; his associates are Mercury, Apollo and Jupiter. We have thus sought not only to retain the names, but also the ideal per- sonalities which they represent. The index has been enlarged to the proportions of a dictionary, Whenever an important divinity has received but passing notice in the text, we have supplemented the fact by a more extended account in the lexicon. In so doing we have quoted from Smith's "Classical Dictionary" to such an extent that the lexicon may be regarded as a compendium of that valuable work. Three characteristics would seem to be de- sirable in a complete mythology — simple, classic and compre- hensive. So far as the first is concerned, the verdict of forty years is not liable to be reversed. As for the remaining two, we can only trust that time may accord us that degree of recognition we have striven to merit. Whatever Mr. Bulfinch wrote remains largely intact. The changes introduced are incident to time and circumstance. Our purpose has been to prompt rather than interrupt these beautiful stories as they were first told by the author, fort) year? ago. J. LouGHRAN Scrvr. The Macdowell Church, Philadelphia, May, sSgS. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOI Mythology — ^Literature — Structure of the Universe — Olympus — ^Jupiter ( Zeus ) — Saturn Cranus — Rhea — Chaos — Titans — The Elder Gods, Oceanus, Hyperion, lapetus, Ophion, Themis, Mnemosyne, Eurynom — Division of Universe — Neptune — Pluto — ^Juno — Vulcan — Mars— Phoebus Apollo — Diana — Cupid — Minerva — Mercury — Ce- res — Proserpine — Bacchus — The Muses — The Graces — The Fates — The Furies — Nemesis — Pan — ^The Satyrs — Momus — Plutus — Satur- nalia — The Roman Gods — The Olympian Gods—Demigods, . . I CHAPTER 11. 'origin of the World — The Golden Age — Prometheus— Epimetheus — Theft of Fire — Pandora — Silver, Brazen, and Iron Ages — The Milky Way — The Deluge — Deucalion — Pyrrha — Origin of Man, . . 19 CHAPTER HI. Python— Delphi — Apollo and Daphne — Pyramus and Thisbe — Origin of * the Mulberry Tree — Cephalus and Procris, . . . . • 29 CHAPTER IV. Juno— lo — Argus — The Syrinx — Callisto— Constellation of Great and Lit- tle Bear — Diana and Actaeon — Actaeon turned into a Stag — His Death — Latona — Rustics transformed into Frogs, . . . .40 CHAPTER V. Phaeton — Palace of the Sun — Phoebus — Chariot of the Sun — Dawn — Day-star — The Seasons — The Libyan Desert — The World on Fire — Slain by Jove — His Tomb— The Hcliades — Cycnus, 51 CHAPTER VL Silenus — Midas— Pan's Challenge— Jud gment of Midas — His Ears— The Gordian Knot — Baucis and Philemon — Entertain Jupiter — Their Hut becomes a Palace — Guardian « of the Temple — Changed into Trees, ...•....'.. 60 ( xiii ) If h V f 1 > fe' )*')! XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PACk Mount ^.a— Cupid Wounds Pluto— Pluto carries off Proserpine — Search of Ceres — She Curses the Earth — Jove Releases Proserpine — The River Alpheus — The Eleusinian Mysteries — Glaucus — Becomes a Fish — Loves Scylla — ^Wrath of Circe — Scylla becomes a Rock, . 66 CHAPTER VIII. Pygmalion — Loves a Statue— Venus gives Life— Dryope and lole — The Lotus Tree — Venus and Adonis — Death of Adonis — Anemone, or Wind-Flower — Apollo and Hyacinthiis— Game of . Quoits — ^The Hyacinthus Flower, 79 CHAPTER IX. Ceyx and Halcyone— Palace of King of Sleep— Cave of Somnus — Flight of Morpheus — Halcyon Birds, 88 CHAPTER X. Vertumnus and Pomona — Hamadryades — Iphis, 95 CHAPTER XL Cupid and Psyche — Zephyr — ^Jealousy of Psyche— Temple of Venus — ^The Ant Hill — The Golden Fleece — Pluto — Charon— Mysterious Box — Stygian Sleep — Cup of Ambrosia — Birth of Pleasure— Significance of Name, loo CHAPTER XII. Cadmus — City of Thebes — Kills the Serpent — Dragon's Teeth — Marries Harmonia — Introduces Letters into Greece — The Myrmidons — Cephalus — Moicms — Pestilence — Origin of the Myrmidons, . » HZ CHAPTER XIII. Nisus — Scylla betrays Nisus — Her Punishment — Echo— Sentence of Juno — Narcissus — Loves Himself— Turned into a Flower — Clytie — Pas- sion for Apollo— Turned into a Sunflower — Hero and Leander— Swims the Hellespont — Death, 120 CHAPTER XIV. jMinerva— Mars — Arachne— Challenges Minerva — Minerva's Web— Arachne becomes a Spider — Niobe — Excites Latona's Anger- Death of the Children — Becomes a vStone, . . » . . I3» CHAPTER XV. The Greese — Gorgons — Acrisius—Danoe— Tower of Brass — Jupiter's Love — Perseus — Polydectes — Medusa — Atlas — Andromeda — The Sea- Monster — The Wedding- Feast — Enemies turned into Stone — Death of Acrisius, I41 Monsters — La -The msera — Bt The Golden Clashing tions of Ml Meleager — At^ Golden Ar Hercules — ^Twe Gift— Deat Cecrops— Ericht — Procruste King— Pint bles— Olym Castor and \ Semele— Infancy Worship of Crown, Pan— Syrinx— > - Paganism ment— Phoe and Doris- Camenoe— 'l Achelous— Cont — Admetus votion— Hs CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XVI. PAGB Monsters — Laius, King of Thebes — CEdipus— Slays his Father — Sphinx — The Riddle — CEdipus King — Jacosta — Plague — Pegasus — Chi- msera — Bellerophon — Centaurs — Pygmies — Griffin — Arimaspians, . 151 CHAPTER XVn. The Golden Fleece — Hellespont — Search of Jason — The Argonauts- Clashing Islands — Fiery Bulls — Dragon's Teeth — Mson — Incanta* tions of Medea — Hecate — Hebe — Death of Jason, . , . . i6l CHAPTER XVni. Meleager — Atalanta — Wild Boar — Atalanta' s Race — Hippomenes — Golden Apples— Ingratitude — Venus' Revenge — Corybantes, . 171 CHAPTER XIX. Hercules — ^Twelve Labors — Slave of Omphale — Slays Nessus — Dejanirus' Gift — Death of Hercules — Hebe — Ganymede — Fortuna — Victoria, . CHAPTER XX. 178 Cecrops — Erichthonius — Procne — Philomela — Theseus — Moves the Stone — Procrustes' Bed — The Minotaur — Ariadne — Labyrinth — Becomes King — Pirithous — Theseum— Festival of Panathensea — Elgin Mar- bles — Olympic Games — Daedalus — Icarus — Perdix Invents the Saw — Castor and Pollux — Gemini— Dioscuri, I90 CHAPTER XXI. Semele — Infancy of Bacchus — Triumphal March — Acetes — Pentheus — Worship of Bacchus — Ariadne — Bacchus Marries Ariadne — Her Crown 203 if!! f *A, i| CHAPTER XXII. Pan — Syrinx — Naiades — Oreades — Nereides — Dryades, or Hamadryades - Paganism — Erisichthon — Violation of Ceres' Grove — The Punish- ment — Phoecus — The Water- Deities — Trident — Amphitrite — Nereus and Doris— Triton and Proteus — Thetis — Leucothea and Palaemon — Camenae— The Winds, 21J 41 CHAPTER XXIII. Achelous — Contest with Hercules — Cornucopia — /Esculapius — Cyclopes — Admetus — Alcestis — Ofifers her Life— Antigone — Antigone's De- votion—Her Burial — Penelope, 224 I xvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. frAoa Otphens — Marriage with Eurydice — Her Death — Orpheus Descends to Hades — ^Thracian Maidens — Aristaeus — Complains to his Mother — Regains his Bees — Mythical Poets and Musicians — First Prophet — Musseus, 234 CHAPTER XXV. Anon — ^Thrown into the Sea — His Return — Ibycus — His Murder — ^Thea- tre Scene — Cranes of Ibycus — The Punishment — Simonides — Scopas Jest— Sappho — Lover's Leap, 245 CHAPTER XXVL Endymion — Diana — Orion — Made Blind — Kedalion — Sight Restored — Pleiades — ^Aurora — Memnon — Tithonus — Stature of Memnon — Scylla— Acis — Galatea — River Acis, 254 CHAPTER XXVn. The Trojan War — The Contest — Decision of Paris — Abduction of Helen — Ulysses Feigns Madness — Priam — Agamemnon — Kill > the Stag — Iphigenia — The War — The Iliad — Interest of die Divinities — Achilles' Armor — Death of Patroclus — Achilles takes the Field — Slays Hector — Priam visits Achilles — His request Granted — Funeral Solemnities, ...... ... 262 CHAPTER XXVni. Achilles Captivated by Polyxena — Slain in the Temple — Ulysses claims his Armor — Death of Ajax — Hyacinthus — ^Arrows of Hercules — Death of Paris — The Palladium — Wooden Horse — Sea Serpent — Death of Laocoon — Fall of Troy — Menelaus and Helen — Agamem- non — Orestes — Electra, 285 CHAPTER XXIX. Odyssey — Adventiu"es of Ulysses — ^The Cyclopes — iEolus Isle — ^The Laes- trygonians — Circe — Scylla and Charybdis — Oxen of the Sun — Ulys • ses' Raft — Calypso— Telemachus and Mentor's Escape, . . . 294 CHAPTER XXX. Ulysses Abandons the Raft — Country of the Phje&cians— Dream of Nau- sicaa— Game of Ball — Palace of Alcinous — The Gardens — Hospi- tality to Ulysses — Game of Quoits— Demodicus — Ulysses' Depar- ture — Arrives at Ithaca — Received by Eumceus — Meets Telemachus — Recognized by his Dog — Penelope — Skill of Archery — Slays the Suitors, 308 Modern Monst( CONTBNTSy. xvii CHAPTER XXXI. rXGB Adventures of JEneas — Arrives at Thrace — Delos - Crete — Tue Harpies — Shore of Epirus — Cyclopes — Juno's Anger — Neptune's Inter- vention — Carthage — Abandons Dido— Death of Palinurus — Direc- tions of the Sybil — Arrives at Italy, 319 CHAPTER XXXII. The Infernal Regions — Descent into Hades— Pluto — The Fates — Charon — Meets Palinurus — Cerberus — Minos Judge of Children — Meets Dido — Shades of the Warriors — Judgment Hall of Khadamanthus — Elysian Fields — Ixion — Sisyphus — Tantalus— Orpheus — Meets his Father — Plan of Creation — ^Transmigration of Souls— Elysium — The Sibyl— The Nine Books, 3*7 ' CHAPTER XXXIII. Dream of Latinus — Prediction of the Harpies — ^Juno's Anger — Opening the Gates of Janus — Camilla — Evander — Welcome to ^neas — In- fant Ro'ie — The Rutulians— Turnus — Nisus and Euryalus — Both are Sla' 1 — Mezentius — ^Eneas slays Turnus — Death of yEneas — Romulus and Remus— Foundation of Rome, 340 CHAPTER XXXIV. Pythagoras — His Teachings — Sybaris and Crotona — Mile— Egyptian Mythology— The Rosetta Stone— The Ritual of the Dead— Hall of Two Truths — Osiris and the Judges — Disposition of the Dead — The Apis — The Tomb of — The Egyptian Gods — Myth of Osiris and Isis — ^The Oracles — Dodona — Delphi— Trophonius — /Esculapius — Apis, 356 CHAPTER XXXV. , Origin of Mythology— The Theories— Scriptural, Historical, Allegor- ical, Astro:?omical, Physical, and Philological — Statues of the Gods and Goddesses, Olympian Jupiter, Minerva of the Parthenon, Venus de Medici, Venus de Melos, Apollo Belvedere, Diana of the Hind, Hermes of Olympia — Poets of Mythology, Homer, Virgil, Ovid, ^schylus, Sophocles and Euripides, 375 CHAPTER XXXVI. Modern Monsters — The Phoenix— Cockatrice — Unicorn — Salamander, . 386 CHAPTER XXXVII. Eastern Mythology — Zoroaster — Zend-Avesta — Babylonia — Assyria — Ni'eveh — Phoenician Deities — Hindu Mythology — The Vedas — Brahma — Vishnu — Siva — Laws of Mnnu — The Juggernaut — Castes — Customs— Buddha — Buddhism— The Grand Lama — Presterjohn, . 39I :\.rl M''" k 4 XVUl CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXVIII Northern Mythology-The Vaa ^ Mountain Giant his Wages^The f ^°""d-How Thor paid the and Gerda, . . ^^^^The R.coveo^ of the Hanune^I^Fr^ * • . - ^ 409 CHAPTER XXXIX. ^or'svisitto^otanhei.:;rr '''''''• of UtganiLutgaid I^kiRT'r''"-^^'^'^ falls AsIeep^Citv ^•nking ContSt-Ttr'cTay clt^^^r^^^^ ^"^ «'^The B.d„r,theOood^PH^,,^™^^^- tIetoe-The Blind Hodi^n.T'f«' ^°"' *° Fensalir-The Mi, Go den Age-Runie Let! 'rs^Thrs Jm ^T^^^^*^'-^*'^" of the thology^The Lorelei-Tue N^X Ji:!?-^^^^^^^^ My' * ' • • . 433 • • • -445 ft«verbial Expressions, Index to Poets. . Index and Dictionwy,. • 4SS • 457 • 461 I. Apo II. Thr( III. June IV. Apo! V. Jupil VI. Heix VII. Mine VIII. Peise IX. Nepti X. BaccI XI. Sea-G XII. Venus XIII. XIV X\. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. Mars I Mercu Laoco< Miner ^neas Furies, Mercui Achilles and Lic< Achilles, Thetis 1 Actaeon, . Adonis, . .<*)sculapius, Ajax, Ajax bearing the 1 Amazon, . Amazons, Battle o Amun, . Anon, or Dagon, FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Apollo Belvedere, II. Three Fates, The, III. Juno (Hera), IV. Apollo Musagetes, V. Jupiter (2^us of Otricoli), VI. Hero and Leander, VII. Minerva (Pallas Athene), VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. X\. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. Perseus and Andromeda, Neptune (Poseidon), Bacchus (Dionysus), Sea-God, . Venus (Aphrodite), Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Laocoon -Group, . Minerva (Athene), JEneas at the Court of Dido, Furies, The, Mercury (Hermes of Praxiteles), Rome, . . Paul Thumann, Frontispiece Facing 13 . Villa Lodovisi, Rome, . Vatican, Rome, . Vatican, Rome, . F. Kellner, . f After Pheidias, Found) ■ I at Athens, 1880, J . Coypel, Louvre, Paris, . . Lateran Museum, Rome, . Museum, Capitol, Rome, Vatican, Rome, {Head of the Statue from \ Melos, Paris, . / . Glyptothek, Munich, . Bronze Statue, Naples, . Vatican, Rome, Parthenon, . P. Guerin, . E. Bume- Jones, f Found in Olympia, 1877. * I Restored by Schaper, :•} ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT. 40 86 "3 129 «3i 146 196 206 218 262 270 282 289 308 324 332 380 rAGS Achilles and Licomede Uffizi Gallery, Florence, . 266 Achilles, Thetis bearing the armor of, F. G6rard, . . . 277 Actseon, British Museum, . . 47 Adonis, Thorwaldsen, Munich, . 83 iEsculapius, Vatican, Rome, . . 226 Ajax, Vatican, Rome, . . 286 Ajax bearing the body of Patroclus, . . Capitol, Rome, . . 375 Amazon, ....... Vatican, Rome, . . 180 Amazons, Battle of, Vatican, Rome, . . 195 Amun, 366 Anon, or Dagon From a Relief at Nimroud, 398 ( «» ) m ■.iff I XX ILLUSTRATIONS, Apis Bull. Apollo, Apollo and Daphne, . Apollo and the Muses, Apollo and the Muses, Arethusa, . Ariadne, . Ariadne, . Astarte, . ^ Atalanta's Race, Athene, . Group from Altar-frieze of Atlas, Aurora, . Aurora, . Bacchus and Silenus, Bacchus and Panther, Brahma with Sarasiwati, Buddha, . Cacus and Hercules, . Calliope, . Centaur, . Ceres, Charon and Psyche, . Circe and the friends of Ulysses Clio, Cronus and Rhea, Ciunaean Sibyl, . Cupid (Eros), . Cupid and Psyche, Cupid, Psyche at the Couch of, Cupid and Psyche on Mount Olympus Dredalus and Icarus, . Days of the Week, Monday, Days of the Week, Tuesday, Days of the Week, Wednesday, Days of the Week, Thursday, Days of the Week, Friday, Days of the Week, Saturday, Days of the Week, Sunday, Diana, Diana, Diana of Epbesus, Diana of Versailles, Echo, Electra and Orestes, Erato, Euterpe, . M, . Louvre, Paris, . Vatican, Rome, Rome, . . G. Romano, Florence, . Raphael Mengs, . Ch. Crank, . . H. Rae, . Vatican, Rome, From a Bronze found in Syria, . Poynter, Pergamon. Restored by Tondeur, . Naples, . Reni, . . Reni, . Vatican, Rome, . Athens, . Florence, Vatican, Rome, A. Zick, B. Riviere, . Naples, . Angelo ( Sistine Chapel, Rome) . Capitol, Rome, . Capitol, Rome, . P. Thumann, . P. Thumann, . J. M. Vim, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Raphael, . Corregio, . Vatican, Rome, Louvre, Paris, Guy Head, Villa Ludovisi , Rome, lAGB ^1 364 Famese Bufl 86 Fenris, the S 3* Fingal's Ca^ 171 Flora, • H 9 Fortuna, . ■ 72 i Freya, • ■ 193 Freyr, . ■ 209 Frigga, . ■ 397 i Ganymedes, ■ m Gods weighiiB I Hebe, . 1 145 Hecate, . 1 V Hector, . 1 35 Hector and aI 61 Helen, Paris 1 203 Helen, Rape! 403 Helois, or So 405 Hercules, Th 182 Hercules and 10 Hercules at fe 159 Hercules, Far 214 Hero and Lea 329 Homer, A rea 301 Indra, " Irene, with yoi 6 Iris, . 339 Isis, . XOI Janus, 103 Jason, los Jason, xxo Juno, or Hera 198 Jupiter, Veros] 19 Jupiter, Group 51 Leander, Here 79 Lorelei, . 95 ' Mars, 113 Mars, 151 Medea, 161 • Medusa, Heac 352 Meleager, 353 Melpomene, 256 Mercury Belvt 46 Mercury, . 123 Minerva, . 292 Mithras, . 15 Naiades, . «s Narcissus, ILLUSTRATIONS. xxi F&mese Bull, . Fenris, the Wolf, Fingal's Cave, . Flora, Fortuna, Freya, Freyr, Frigga, Ganymedes, Gods weighing Actions Hebe, Hecate, . Hector, . Hector and Andromache, Parting Helen, Paris and, Helen, Rape of, Helois, or Sol, . Hercules, The Infant, Hercules and Cacus, . Hercules at feet of Omphal Hercules, Famese, . Hero and Leander, . Homer, A reading from, Indra, Irene, with young Pluto, Iris, . Isis, . Janus, Jason, Jason, Juno, or Hera, Jupiter, Verospi, Jupiter, Group from Altar-frieze Leander, Hero and, Lorelei, . Mars, Mars, Medea, • Medusa, Head of, Meleager, Melpomene, Mercury Belvedere, Mercury, . Minerva, . Mithras, . Naiades, . Narcissus, . of, . Naples, . . Naples, . . . Vatican, Rome, Vatican, Rome, British Museum, . Capitol, Rome, . Venice, . , . A. Maignan, . J. L. Davis (Louvre, . Mantua, , . Relief, from Troy, . Louvre, Paris, . Florence, C. G. Glyre (Louvre, . Naples, . . F. Kellner, . . Alma-Tadema, Parif) Paris) . Munich, of Pergamon, Glyptothek, Rome, Museum, Rome, Vatican, Rome, Vatican, Rome, . F. Kellner, . . W. Kray, . Villa Ludovisi, Rome; . Louvre, Paris, . N. Sichel, . . Wagrez, . . Vatican, Rome, . Vatican, Rome, . Vatican, Rome, Nationa' Museum, Florence, . Capitol, Rome, . Vatican, Rome, . Naples, . . . Naples, . . fAOt r\ 343 1 431 " 449 U' 331 188 4*4 k. 419 1- 434 'iW^^^^^^H 187 i 363 ^ 186. u •■■ 337 379 '} 367 ,1: 364 1 363 ^ 305 ^'1 179 f.^^^^^^^^H 183 m-'' 183 m 185 R " 139 JM ■ 394 mi- 401 t^l^^H 354 •''< ', 91 ■t 369 •1 9 1 34* ( 163 1 • 164 ' v1 8 3 ;:•• 1 ■■ *-• '. 375 ,■■'( 1 ■ ' 139 ''i ' '' 443 ' II -''s-^^ m 371 mP- 168 m ^^K 141 *T 173 13 • mM' ■'>. 10 1 '"■§",• tU.; 383 ^lT?iWik8 133 PijfflSH 39a rUfl^fflH 57 1 Wi^^Ki I3J ■ ^-iyB - XXll ILLUSTRATIONS. I WAM Neptune and Amphitrite, .... Munich, « . . 217 Nile God, Vatican, Rome, . . 361 Nin, Assyrian Winged Bull and Genius, ..... 396 Niobe, Florence, . . . 137 Odin, 411 CEdipus and Antigone E. TacbendorfT, . 229 CEdipus and the Sphinx, .... Louvre, Parii, . .153 Orestes and Electra, Villa Ludovifi, Kome, . 292 Orpheus and Eurydice, . . K. Beyicblag, . . 234 Orpheus, Eurydice and Mercury, . Naples, . . . 237 Osiris, 367 Osiris, 368 Pan, 211 Pan and Apollo, Naples, .... 212 Pandora, . N. Sichel, ... 22 Paris and Helen, J. L. Davis (IvOUvre, Parif), 264 Patroclus, Athens, , , . 273 Patroclus, Ajax bearing the body of, . Capitol, Rome, , . 275 Pegasus and the Nymphs Thorwaldsen, . .156 Penelope, . Vatican, Rome, . . 233 Perseus, Canova (Vatican, Rome), 143 Pleiades, E, Vedder, , , . 257 Pluto and Proserpine, .... Villa Ludoviii, Rome, . 66 Polyhymnia, 16 Pomona, Naples Museum, , 96 Prometheus Bound, Flaxman, ... 27 Proserpine, 69 Proserpine, Abduction of, . .P. Shobeti, ... 70 Psyche and Cupid, Capitol, Rome, . . 103 Psyche at Couch of Cupid, .P. Thumann, , . 105 Psyche with Urn, R. Beyschlag, , . 108 Psyche and Cupid on Mount Olympus, P. Thumann, , . .110 Psyche and Charon, A. Zick, . . . 329 Rosetta Stone, 360 Sappho and Alcseus, H. Biirck, . . . 253 Silenus and Bacchus, .... Vatican, Rome, . « 61 Sirens, . . . . . E. Barrios, . , , 302 Siva, 400 Sol, or Helois, Relief, from Troy, . , 305 Sphinx, CEdipus and the, .... Louvre, Paris, . '153 Stonehenge, ..... 446 Terpsichore, Florence, ... 14 Thalia, Vatican, Rome, , .17 ITieseus, Temple of Volksgartens, Vienna, 191 Thetis, bearing the Armor of Achilles, . F. G6rard, , , . 277 Thor, 418 Three Graces, Vatican, Rome, . .12 Trimorti, . Urania, Ulysses Feigning Valkyrie baring ; Valkyrior, Venus, CrouchingJ Venus, Venus, Love, and Venus de Milo, Vesta, or Hestia, Victory, or Nike, V\r^\, Tomb of, Vishnu, . Vulcan, Foi^e of, Winds, The, Apeli< WolfFenris, ILLUSTRATIONS. XXlll Trimord, Urania, Berlin, . Ulysses Feigning Madness, . H. Hardy, Valkyrie bearing a hero to Valhalla, . K. Dielitz, Valkyrior, P. N. Arbo, Venus, Crouching, Venus, Venus, Love, and Vulcan, Venus de Milo, Vesta, or Hestia, Victory, or Nike, Virgil, Tomb of, Vishnu, . Vulcan, Forge of, . Vatican, Rome, . Capitol, Rome, . Tintoretto, , Louvre, Paris, Rome, . Samothrace ( Restored by Zimibusch Tintoretto, Venice, Winds, The, Apeliotes, Eurus, Lips, Zephyrus, WolfFenris, PACK 14 265 409 416 67 84 245 379 354 189 382 399 5 222 421 \ 11 ft 1 ' ^1 ill WW*- 14 Efl pm lui- -t ' ' ' ■• "'\ '''■■ ■■ ' ■'•-> ■ .J \* i '\ "«ll tu'i.- •l. r ':rj- ,^ it '! '"^1^ ^'%.-,. "pif" it: M 3i •» 'ir> ' i" ^. < * 4 *'' I '•;i.,ii.i GiBA=-P0NTl», I Nereus. I •I Thaiimas. rRim Oi; Jj TO A (Uiibt.i Am UHANdJlT-G/itA. Cro usaRhea. Jupiter _Ceres- [ Juno , Pluto Ki'.iHu] (Zeus). (Demete). (Hera). (Hrcics) Minerva (Athene). Pnorcys=Ceto, ptiine=Amphiirite. Galatea. Thetis. Ins. Harpies. Gorgons. Sirens. ScylloJ Triton. Achilles. kniethcus— Ctymene. Epl metheus =1 Pandora Deucalion =« Pyrrha. Hiilen(i). k(a). Dorus (3). Xuthiis (4). > 1 Achaeui., Ion. W .\ncestor of the Greeks. I') incestor of thu /F.olians, ()) Ancestor of the Doiiiuis, U) Ancestor of the Ai:h.i}ans and Ionian*. ?KIB. 0; Ml*! ■ ET ZHUS—Ifera Uuno). I 1 Hebe. Ares iJVIars). He;'hwt»« <Vw . I --I Apollo. A^eml9(Dlan ZBU3=Se Tiel«. Dionysul (nacchiil)." (The U. '"")• U.S. ■ I . (Th. i ?'Hf^ -i I iM TRiM ai. || 'I'OMAN. (Da.!t»iew) (Ught) Atti ^ N NIghtV <«rtiiMgiiA(Day). ' I !'"• T V mor) (Lov«). GAA(Ktii v I poim« (Sea). a. ( PI..!*.- K,'.>'l.l< CcetM«-Phceb«. Ipetiu^ uno). 1 ..H ;v M'.iona)i /■ ■ (Dlan; ,7 ■' \ chits). lies'." '/'.I'" 5 (Th-f ) I i. LatotiA i). (Uto). i ilmetheu*. Promethui. Atlas. I Plumk i Maia. T7RANtTS=G«A. \ Oceanus=l\jthys. 1 Inachus Occanicis, and river gods. Clymene, Doris=Nereus. Nereides. Cronu8=Khea. I Neptune=AmphitrIte,l Proteus. , TritJn, tFAlS,o:,mbnEK, ZKU8=»Dcme remepnone (tt>cri>ina). till*). •). Ilermi Zuua=»M ^ Muses, (Ceres), Mercury), nosyno. t rrometheuswCIymene. AHJha (Dnddess Jiiiiiice), if E'5'niU;'''' . { l)cucitlon«»J'viih«. I I ^^ 1 'II ' . . Mll'tl, Alan. I m fJ? V ' ■ lifilt" ****H* '%fe <®0 'Us , M ; ■;- *^^..- -^i' ,; ' .■ '_..,- - . ' -*' ■''.■*-' y vV .X'-"- ---^ *** i". ■ ' - 0i^^^^ '■-■■ ^ i'' i^^'^' ■ . m.- \ ^s h 7^:- .# ?- .V-^'^, * ■' V l;^:,t* « . .. ■ ^V,;^ fv , '■..(iT.,.-rtfi|irii»'nwS'' lilWiiMimiBSaMBBH^^ Athene. Group froi STORIES ( Ancient mytholo As religions, they b of 0-lym'pus hay( Their dominion is tJ has displaced the t( immortality. Our ( the visionary deities and A-pol'lo — thesi of our best -known ' This similarity of lar The gods, like men we arrive at a moi always found in co constructs one of hii invented and given ] tient beings, and at feelings take upon tl the light of subsequei 0« :, -.'Zl' ■ i'^ ■ - ■ -'i^^^-^* ^'--^ . .. ^••V>. ■ _ ':/ ^"^-i'" '"> yr ■ • "4 '■ ' ..ti'-'.-.' / V _ \ > / ^ ^^ - -v' > **-l'i i.nr:!iai^"»<iu:.:'itflai)J>.ui 5i;ii«'Wiffluiafl*tflH** wa8^aBa»s5i ^ts.::JlLill.u.-.iti.-...i.i.>t.-jiij^.j3ukiiii...li.'^uliii..- ...-i- ii. ^. :t-.,.j ,,........0,'.^,.:... -J .... -^-:. ..-...- J-^ Athene. Group from altar-frieze of Pergamon (restored by Tondeur). STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. CHAPTER t INTRODUCTION, Ancient mythologies have much to do with modem literature. As religions, they belong to the past. The so-called divinities of O-lym'pus have not a single worshipper among living men. Their dominion is that of literature and taste. The school-room has displaced the temple j and here the gods have found their immortality. Our own language, in particular, o\V^es much to the visionary deities of extinct theology. Zeus, Mi-nerVa and A-pol'lo — these are among our literary ancestors. Many of our best -known words are but the harvest of their sowing. This similarity of language presupposes an origin common to all. The gods, like men, were related, and by tracing their kinship we arrive at a more perfect knowledge of our own. Man is always found in company with some god j left to himself, he constructs one of his own. The most extravagant legends are invented and given locality. The fofce<i''of* nature become sen- tient beings, and are clothed witlr conscious p6wer.*' Our own feelings take upon themselv-i:?; a divine' hersonality,' 'cm? these, in the light of subsequent knowledge, becoiV.enwythology. ' In order 4 jw- '. Hi Vii\i 1 9 •) (i> STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. f.r r" to understand these legends, it will be necessary to acquaint our- selves with the ideas of the structure of the universe which pre- vailed among the Greeks — the people from whom the Romans and oth(:r nations re- ceived much of their mythology. They believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own country occupying the mid- dle of i(^ the central point being either Mount O-lym'pus, the aJ.iode of the gods, ur Del'phi, so famou.4 for its oracle. The circular disk of the earth was crossed from west to east, and divided into two equal parts by the Sea, as they called the Mediter- ranean, and its con- tinuation, the Eux- ine. Around the earth flowed the J^iver Ocean, its course being from south to north on the western side of the earth, and in a contrary direc- tion on the eastern side. It flowed in a steady, equable cur- rent, unv^xed by storm of'ienijtesf. 'Rie ye» andiallftl^ji'nvers on earth received their wat^ from it •.•*.*•! : Jupiter Ve];G«p!*(VMiacm, Rogie). ,••• \ • •• • • * •! .• -• .•••.* ••• ••• •• - t • • The northern ited by a happy' in everlasting bliil caverns were supj north wind, whici country was ina< from disease or given us the **So| On the south sii dwelt a people ha were named the }. that they were wc and go to share thi On the western lay a happy place favored by the go to enjoy an immo called the "Fortui ••Theyne They The sun When "They till The> Not a te They We thus see th jmy real people ej country, or near tl nation, meantime, giants, monsters ai disk of the earth, t I ( , I • • • I • • • • • • • • • • ••• • • • • 1 • INTBODUCTION, 3 The northern portion of the earth was supposed to be inhab< ited by a happy race named the Hyp-er-bo're ans, dwelling in everlasting bliss and spring beyond the lofty mountains whose caverns were supposed to send forth the piercing blasts of the north wind, which chilled the people of Hellas (Greece). Their country was inaccessible by land or sea. They lived exempt from disease or old age, from toils and warfare. Moore has given us the " Song of a Hyperborean," beginning *' I come from a land in the sun-bright deep, I "Where golden gardens glow, Where the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep. Their conch-shells never blow." On the south side of the earth, close to the stream of Ocean, dwelt a people happy and virtuous as the Hyperboreans. They were named the ufEthiopians. The gods favored them so highly that they were wont to leave at times their Olympian abodes, and go to share their sacrifices and banquets. On the western margin of the earth, by the stream of Ocean, lay a happy place named the E-lys'i-an Plain, whither mortals favored by the gods were transported without tasting of death, to enjoy an immortality of bliss. This happy region was also called the "Fortunate Fields" and the "Isles of the Blessed." ** They need not the moon in that land of delight. They need not the pale, pale star ; The sun is bright, by day and night, Where the souls of the blessed are. •• They till not the ground, they plow not the wave, Thej labor not, never ! oh, never 1 Not a tear do they shed, not a sigh do they heave i They are happy for ever and ever I"— Pindar. We thus see that the Greeks of the early ages knew little of jmy real people except those to the east and south of their own country, or near the coast of the Mediterranean. Their imagi- nation, meantime, peopled the western portion of this sea with giants, monsters and enchantresses, while they placed around the disk of the earth, which they probably regarded as cff no great STORIEiS OF OOnS AND HEROES. I'. width, nations enjoying the pecuh'ar favor of the gods, and blessed with happiness and longevity. The Dawn, the Sun and the Moon were supposed to rise crt of the Ocean on the eastern side, and to drive through the air, giving light to gods and men. The stars also, except those form- ing the Wain or Bear, and others near them, rose out of and sank into the stream of Ocean. There the sun-god embarked in a winged boat, which conveyed him round by the northern part of the earth, back to his place of rising in the east. Milton aPudes to this in his ** Comus.*' Ul ** Now the gilded car of day His golden axle doth allay In the steep Atlantic stream, And the slope Sun his upward beam Shoots against the dusky pole, Pacing towards the other goal Of his chamber in the east.'* !l The abode of the gods was on the summit of Mount O-lym'- pus, in Thessaly. A gate of clouds, kept by the goddesses naned the Seasons, opened to permit the passage of the Celestials to earth, and to receive them on their return. The gods had their separate dwellings; but all, when summoned, repaired to the palace of Ju'pi-ter, as did also those deities whose usual abode was the earth, the waters or the underworld. It was also in the great hall of the palace of the Olympian king that the gods feasted each day on ambrosia and nectar, their food and drink, the latter being handed round by the lovely goddess He'be. Here they conversed of the affairs of heaven and earth ; and as they quaffed their nectar, A-pol'lo, the god of music, delighted them with the tones of his lyre, to which the Muses sang in re- sponsive strains. When the sun was set, the gods retired to sleep in their respective dwellings. The following lines from the "Odyssey" will show hovi Homer conceived of Olympus : ' I- f *• So saying, Mi-ner'va, goddess azure-eyed. Rose to 0-lym''pus, the reputed seat Eternal of the gods, which never storms Disturb, rains drench, or snow invades, but caui BrTRODVCTlON. 6 The expanse and cloudless shines with purest day. There the inhabitants divine rejoice Forever." — Cowper. The robes and other parts of the dress of the goddesses were woven by Minerva and the Graces, and everything of a more solid nature was formed of the various metals. Vul'can was Foi^e of Vulcan (by Tintoretto, Venice). architect, smith, armorer, chariot-builder, and artist of all work in Olympus. He built of brass the houses of the gods ; he made for them the golden shoes with which they trod the air or the water, and moved from place to place with the speed of the wind, or even of thought. He also shod with brass the celestial steeds which whirled the chariots of the gods through the air or along the surface of the sea. He was able to bestow on his workmanship self-motion, so that the tripods (chairs and tables) could move of themselves in and out of the celestial hall. W -i', I :i^'-y'* ; i k m Mt. ;r 1 1. .1 .1 6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, «* Those who labor The sweaty forge, who edge the crooked scythe, Bend stubborn steel, and harden gleaming armor. Acknowledge Vulcan's aid."— Prior. Ju'pi-ter, or Jove (Zeus*), though called the father of gock and men, had himself a beginning. Sat'urn (Cro'nus) was his father, and Rhe'a (Ops) his mother. Saturn and Rhea were of the race of Ti'tans, who were the children of Cronus and Rhea (Naples). Earth and Heaven, which sprang from Cha'os, of which we shall give a further account in our next chapter. Saturn and Rhea were not the only Titans. There were others, whose names were O-ce'a-nus, Hy-pe'ri-on, I-ap'e- tus and O-phi'on, males; and The'mis, Mne-mos^y-ne, * The names included in parentheses are the Greek, the others being th« Roman or Latin names. The represen for on the one 1 of innocence ar monster who d escaped this fa dence), who ad to disgorge his now rebelled aj tans; vanquish ta-rus, inflicti demned to beai On the det] Nep'tune (P minions. Jup ocean, and Plu » This inconsisi same with the Gr things which hav« INTRODUCTION. f Eu-ryn' 0-me, females. They are spoken of as the elder gods, whose dominion was afterwards transferred to others. Saturn yielded to Jupiter, Oceanus to Neptune, Hyperion to Apollo. Hyperion was the father of the Sun, Moon and Dawn. He if therefore the original sun-god, and is painted with the splendor and beauty which were afterwards bestowed on Apollo. «• Hyperion's curls| the front of Jove himself." — Shakspeare, Ophion and Eurynome ruled over Olympus till they were dethroned by Saturn and Rhea. Milton alludes to them in * * Paradise Lost. ' ' He says the heathens seem to have had some knowledge of the temptation and fall of man, " And fabled how the serpent, whom they called Ophion, with Eurynome (the wide- Encroaching Eve perhaps), had first the rule Of high Olympus, thence by Saturn driven." The representations given of Sat'urn are not very consistent, for on the one hand his reign is said to have been the golden age of innocence and purity, and on the other he is described as a monster who devoured his own children.* Jupiter, however, escaped this fate, and when grown up espoused Me'tis (Pru- dence), who administered a draught to Saturn which caused him to disgorge his children. Jupiter, with his brothers and sisters, now rebelled against their father Saturn, and his brothers, the Ti- tans ; vanquished them, and imprisoned some of them in Tar'- ta-rus, inflicting other penalties on others. Atlas was con- demned to bear up the heavens on his shoulders. On the dethronement of Saturn, Jupiter with his brothers Nep'tune (Po-sei'don) and Plu'to (Dis) divided his do- minions. Jupiter's portion was the heavens, Neptune's the ocean, and Pluto's the realms of the dead. *• Pluto, the grisly god, who never spares, Who feels no mercy, who hears no prayers. "- -Homer. > This inconsistency arises from considering the Saturn of the RomaoH thfl same with the Grecian deity Cronos (Time), which, as it brings an end to all things which have had a beginninaj, may be said to devom- its own offspring. STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. Earth and Olympus were common property. .Jupiter was king of gods and men. The thunder was his weapon, and he bore a shield called .^'gis, made for him by Vulcan The eagle was his favorite bird, and bore his thunderbolts. Ju'no (Hc'ra) was the wife of Jupiter, and (lueen of the gods. Iris, the goddcs.'. of the rainbow, wa« her at tendant and niCHHcnger. The peacock was her favorite bird. Vurcan(He-ph8e8'tu8), the celestial artist, was the son of Jupiter and Jimo. He was born lame, and his mother was so displeas(;(l at the sight |of him that she Hung him out of heaven. Other accounts say that Ju'pi-tcr kicked him out for taking part with his mother in a (juarrel which oc- curred between them. Vul'- can's lameness, according to this account, was the conse- quence of his fall. He was a whole uay falling, and at last alighted in the Island of Lem'nos, which wa» thence* forth sacred to him. Milton alludes to this story in " Paradise Lost," Book I. Juno, or Hera. (Vatican, Rome.) ** From morn ' >. To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, A summer's day ; and with the setting Kun Dropped from the zenith, like a falling star. On Lemnos, the ^gean isle." Mars (A'res), the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. Phcs'bus A-poVlo, the god of archery, prophecy and mtisic, was the son a'na (Ar'^e-mis ter, was the godde Ve'nus (Aph- was the daughter Venus sprang from her along the wai ceived and attired of the gods. All demanded her for gratitude for the bolts. So the moj .of the most ill-fav broidered girdle C£ love. Her favorit sacred to her were Cu'pid(E'ros was her constant ( he shot the dart and men. There sometimes represei INTBODUCTIOK music, was the son of Jupiter and Latona, and brother of Di- a'na (Ar'ie-mis). He was god of the sun, as Diana, his sis- ter, was the goddess of the moon. Ve'nus (Aph-ro-di'te), the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Jupiter and Di-o'ne. Others say that Venus sprang from the foam of the sea. The zephyr wafted her along the waves to the Isle of Cyprus, where she was re« ceived and attired by the Seasons, and then led to the assembly of the gods. All were charmed with her beauty, and each one demanded her for his wife. Ju'pi-tergave her to Vul'can, in ',■■'< ■>,-"*.;iSS^a&V»»'> .*S{ *^¥S*; ^^^^- 1 - ■» '*r ',. ■■■-.■A. ■ \ ,■-■ v /. i^. ApoHo and the Muses (Raphael Mengs). gratitude for the service he had rendered in forging thunder- bolts. So the most beautiful of the goddesses became the wife •of the most ill-favored of the gods. Ve'nus possessed an em- broidered girdle called Cestus, which had the power of inspiring love. Her favorite birds were swans and doves, and the plants sacred to her were the rose and the myrtle. Cu'pid (E'ros), the god of love, was the son of Venus. He was her constant companion, and, armed with bow and arrows, he shot the darts of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men. There was a deity named An'te-ros, who was sometimes represented as the avenger of slighted love, and some- ■» 1 ■ ' \-. h. ■« a:. rf" lO STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. \i:' f times as the symbol of reciprocal affection. The following legend is told of him : — Ve'nus, complaining to The'mis that her son Eros continued always a child, was told by her that it was because he was solitary, and that if he had a brother he would grow apace. Anteros was born soon afterwards, and Eros immediately was seen to increase rapidly in size and strength. Mercury Belvedere. (Vatican, Rome.) Calliope. Mi-ner'va (Pal'las A-the-'ne), the goddess of wisdom, was the offspring of Jupiter, without a mother. She sprang forth from his head, completely armed. Her favorite bird was Ihe owl, and the plant sacred to her the olive. Byron, in *< Childe Harold," alludes to the birth of Minerva, thus :— Mer'cu-ry (H lit presided over c d-jes, even over ipg, and everythii short, which re( skill and dexterity, was the messenger pIter, and wore a ^^ cap and winged He bore in hi:" h rod entwined wit! ssrpents, called th duceus. Mercury is sa have invented the He found, one ( tortoise, of whic took the shell, holes in the o\ edges of it, and instrument was cc the nine Muses. '. from him in excha ' From this origin Rvnonymous with *'ly in his ode on the * * Pr INTRODUCTION, II " Can tyrants but by tyrants conquered be. And Freedom find no champion and no child, Such as Columbia saw arise, when she Sprang forth a Pallas, armed and undefiled/ Or must such minds be nourished in the wild. Deep in the unpruned forest, 'midst the roar Of cataracts, where nursing Nature smiled On infant Washington ? Has earth no more Such seeds within her breast, or Europe no such shore?** Mer'cu-ry (Her'mes) was the son of Jupiter and Ma'ia. l)"fc presided over commerce, wrestling and other gymnastic exer' ches, even over thiev- ipg, and everything, in short, which required skill and dexterity. He was the messenger of Ju- piter, and wore a winged cap and winged shoes. He bore in hi::" hand a rod entwined with two serpents, called the Ca- duceus. Mercury is said to have invented the lyre. He found, one day, a tortoise, of which he took the shell, made holes in the opposite Clio (Louvre). edges of it, and drew cords of linen through then», and the instrument was complete. The cords were nine, *.n honor of the nine Muses. Mercury gave the lyre to Apollo, and received | from him in exchange the caduceus.* ♦, * From this origin of the instrument, the word '* shell " U often used ai Rvnonymous with "lyre," and figuratively for music and poetiy. Thus Gray, in his ode on the ** Progress of Poesy," says :— **0 Sovereign of the willing soul, parent of sweet and solemn-breathing airs. Enchanting shell ! the sullen Cares And frantic Passions hear thy &oft control." m ft I 12 STORIES OF GODS AND JiEMOES, W i^': Ce'res (De-me'ter) was the daughter of Satuip and Rhea. She had a daughter named Pro ser'pi-ne (Pcr-seph'o-ne), who became the wife of Pluto, and queen of the realms of the dead. Ceres presided over agriculture. Bac'chus (Di-o-nys'us), the god of wine, was the son of Jupiter and Sem'e-le. He represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but its social and beneficent influences likewise, so that he is viewed as the promoter of civiliza- tion, and a lawgiver and lover of peace. The Mu'ses were the daughters of Jupiter and Mne-mos'y-ne (Mem- ory). They presided over song and prompted the memory. They were nine in number, to each of whom was assigned the presidgjjcc over some particular depart ment of literature, art or sci- ence. Cal-li'o-pe was 'be muse of epic poetry, Cli'o of history, Eu-tcr'pe of ly- ric poetry, Mel-pom'e-ne of tragedy, Tcrp-sich'o-re of choral dance and song, Er'a-to of love-poetry, Pol-y-hym'ni-a of sacred poetry, U-ra'ni-a of astron- omy, Tha-li'a of comedy The Graces were goddesses presiding over the banquet, the dance, and all social enjoyments and elegant arts. They were three in number. Their names were £u-phros'y-net Ag« la'ia and Tha-li'a. Spenser describes the office of the Graces thus!— i '•Thtse throe on iiirii u!l fjrncious ^^\{^.<^ beHloW >Vbich de^ the LmxI/ or adoru the mindi Three Graces, (Vatican Rome.) To/nake t As comely Sweet seni And all th They teacl We should To friends The Fates were ro-pos. Their of to spin the thread o destiny, and th armed with shea? which they cut it they pleased. Th( the daughters of T (Law), who sits on his throne to g counsel. TheE-rin'ny-es ries, were three g who punished by tht stings the crimes ( who escaped or aefie justice. The headi Furies were wreath serpents, and thei ■ appearance was ten appalling. Their nai A-lec'to, Ti-si] 2\\d Me-gae'ra. T alio called Eu-nie Nem'e-sis was avenging goddess, resents the right.eo of the gods, partici Pan was the god dence was in Arcad The Sa'tyrs wer conceived to be co\ with short, sproutin INTRODUCTION 13 To/nake them lovely or well-favored show j As comely carriage, entertainment kind, } Sweet semblance, friendly offices that bind, And all the complements of courtesy ; They teach us 1 nv to each degree and kind We should ourelves demean, to low, to high, To friends, to foes ; which skill men call Civility." The Fates were also three — Clo'tho, Lach'e-sis and At' ro-pos. Their office was < to spin the thread of human destiny, and they were armed with shears, with which they cut it; off when they pleased. They were the daughters of The'mis (Law), who sits by Jove on his throne to give him counsel. The E-rin'ny-es,orFu'- ries, were three goddesses who punished by their secret stings the crimes of those who escaped or oefied public justice. The heads of the Furies were wreathed with serpents, and their whole ■ appearance was terrific and appalling. Their names were A-1 e c't o, Ti-siph'o-ne jud Me-gse'ra. They were alio called Eu-men'i-des. Nem'e-sis was also an avenging goddess. She rep- resents the righteoiib anger of the gods, particularly towards the proud and insolent. Pan was the god of flocks and shepherds. His favorite resi- dence was in Arcadia. The Sa'tyrs were deities of the woods and fields. They were j conceived to be covered with bristly hair, their heads decorated I with short, sprouting hornsj and their feet lilje goats' feet. Melpomeie. (Vatican, Rome. ) m 4. J!ki 14 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. fm Mo'mus was the god of laughter, and Plu'tus the god of wealth. The preceding are Grecian divinities, though received also by the Romans. They bear the color and form of Grecian thought. But the Greeks and Romans were yet to meet and exchange di- vinities. This they did, and in a single pantheon built an altar her mythology to : and their gods are to be remembered, had gods peculiar their own distincti to be identical.' Terpsichore. ( Florence. ) Urania. (Berlin.) common to both. It was a peculiar service, and one which has much to do with modern literature. T'.e Greeks were the more poetic, hence they became the song-writers ot ancient mythology. Rome had a religion, but no mythology. Her people wor- shipped the memory of their ancestors, and seemed to care for little else. Their gods were largely al)stractions, whiie those of Greece were definite personalities. As a result, Greece gave Sat' urn was ar identify him with t his dethronement » The Jupiter of a literature was more th « And we feel stro to our Roman diviniti INTRODUCTION. 15 her mythology to Rome. The same legends are told of each, and their gods are often mistaken one for the other. It ought to be remembered, however, that both the Greeks and Romans had gods peculiar to themselves.^ Zeus and Jupiter retained their own distinctive characteristics long after they were thought to be identical.' ^'^'''m. Euterpe. Erato (l-ouvre). ROMAN DIVINITIES. Sat'urn was an ancient Italian deity. It was attempted to identify him with the Grecian god Cro'nus, and fabled that after his dethronement by Jupiter he fled to Italy, where he reigned * The Jupiter of actual worship was a Roman god ; the Jupiter of Latin literature was more than half Greek. — (Jupiter), Encyclopedia Britanntca. ' And we feel stronger and stranger among people who gfive Greek namei to our Roman divinities. — Quo Vadis, i6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. " ■'i| if during what was called the Golden Age. In memory of his be neficent dominion, the feast of Saturnalia was held every year in the winter season. Then all public business was suspended, declarations of war and criminal executions were postponed, friends made presents to one another, and the slaves were in- dulged with great liberties. A feast was given them, at which they sat at table, while their masters served them, to show the natural equality of men, and that all things belonged equally to all in the reign of Saturn. Fau'nus,* the grandson of Saturn, was worshipped as the god of fields and shepherds, and also as a pro- phetic god. His name in the plural, Fauns, expressed a class of gamesome deities, lik^ the Satyrs of the Greeks. Qui-ri'nus was a war god, said to be no other than Romulus, the founder of Rome, exalted after his death to a place among the gods. Bel-lo'na, a war goddess. Ter'mi-nus, the god of landmarks. His statue was a rude stone or post, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of fields. Pa'les, the goddess presiding over cattle and pastures. Po-mo'na presided over fruit trees. Flo'ra, the goddess of flowers. Lu-ci'na, the goddess of childbirth. Ves'ta (the Hes'ti-a of the Greeks) was a deity presiding over the public and private hearth. A sacred fire, tended by six virgin priestesses called Vestals, flamed in her temples. As the safety of the city was held to be con- nected with its conservation, the neglect of the virgins, if they let it go out, was severely punished, and the fire was rekindled fron the rays of the sun. » Lri'ber is the Latin name of Bac'chus ; and Mul'ci-ber of Vulcan. Polyhymnia. * There was also a goddess called Fauna, or Bona Dea. INTRODUCTION, 17 Ja'nus was the porter of heaven. He opens the year, the {list month being named after him. rx ; r> ^'if'/J' *' I count The years that tlirougn my portals come and go." — LoNGFEl,LOW. He is the guardian deity of gates, on which account he is com- monly represented with two heads, because every door looks two* ways. His temples at Rome were numerous. In war time the gates of the principal one were always open. In peace they were closed ; but they were shut only once between the reign of Numa and that of Augustus. The Pe-na'tes were the ^"[ods who were supposed to at- tend to the welfare and pros- perity of the family. Their name is derived from Penus, the pantry, which was sacred to them. Every master of a family was the priest to the Penates of his own house. The La'res, or Lars, were also household gods, but dif- ered from the Penates in being regarded as thp deified spirits of mortals. The family Lars were held to be the souls of the ancestors, who watched over and protected their descend- ants. The words Lemur and Thalia. (Vatican, Rome. ) Larva more nearly correspond to our word Ghost. The Romans believed that every man had his Genius, and every woman her Ju'no ; that, is, a spirit who had given them being, and was regarded as their protector through life. On their birthdays men made offerings to their Genius, women to their Juno. Macaulay thus alludes to some of the Roman gods :— . %Mm . 'invvi-i 18 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, *' Pomona loves the orchard, And Liber loves the vine, And Pales loves the straw-built shed ' Warm with the breath of kine ; And Venus loves the whisper Of plighted youth and maid. In April's ivory moonlight, , Beneath the chestnut shade.'* — Prophecy ofCapys, The gods were classified as higher or lower according to their rank. The higher order moved in the region of air above the clouds. At times they assembled on the summit of Olympus for consultation ; for which reason they were known as the Olym- pian gods. These were twelve in number: ^u'pi-ter (Zeus), Ju'no (He'ra),l^ep'tune (Po-sei-don),X'eres (De-me'- ter),^A-poPlo, Di-a'na (Ar'te-mis),^Vurcan (He-phses- tus)\Min'er-va (Pal'las A-the'ne)rMars(A'res), (Ve'- nus'^ph-ro-di'te),^Mer'cu-ry (Her'mes), and Ves'ta. The inferior gods lived far below and in mansions like to earthly princes. Some of them were restricted to certain locali- ties of earth, such as the Ne-re'i des to fountains, the 0-re'- a-des to the hills, and the Dry'a-des to the trees. Demigods. The dem'i-gods, as the name implies, were but half-deities. They were the offspring of a god and a mortal. When the mor kal died the immortal was received among the gods. Monday, Luna (Raphad). CHAPTER II. I » Pro-me'theus and Pan-do'ra. The origin of the world was naturally one of the first ques< tions to excite the interest of man. The ancients, having no revelation, were obliged to tell the story in their own way, which was as follows :' Before earth and sea and heaven were created, all things wore one aspect, to which we give the name of Chaos. *' Ere earth and sea and covering heavens wet'e known. The face of nature, o'er the world, was one ; And men have call'd it Chaos."— Ovid (Elton's tr.). Earth, sea and air were all blended together. The earth was not solid, the sea was not fluid, and the air was not transparent. *• No sun yet beam'd from yon cerulean height ; No orbing moon repair' d her horns of light ; No earth, self-poised, on liquid ether hung ; No sea its world-enclasping waters flung." — OviD (Elton's tr.). * There are many legends as to the earth's creation. One, the " Egg Myth," was quite generally accepted. Er^e-bus, the god of darkness, and Nox, the goddess of night, produced an egg, from which emerged E'ros, the god of Love, to create the earth. A similar legend, related by Hesiod, makes E^ros the child of Chafes. Being the god of Love, he induced U'ra-nus, the Heaven, to marry Qe'a, the Earth, whose children became the TKtans, tha original creatonof man. (19) 20 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, i God and Nature at last interposed and put an end to this dis cord, separating earth from sea and heaven from both. The fiery part, being the lightest, sprang up and formed the skies ; the air was next in weight and place. The earth, being heavier, sank below, and the water took the lowest place, and buoyed up the earth. Here some god — it is not known who — gave his good offices In arranging and disposing the earth. He gave to the rivers and bays their places, raised mountains, excavated valleys, dis- tributed woods, fountains, fertile fields and stony plains. The air being cleared, the stars began to appear, fishes took posses- sion of the sea, birds of the air, and four-footed beasts of the land. But a nobler animal was wanted, and Man was made. It is not known whether the Creator made him of divine materials, or whether in the earth, so lately separated from heaven, there lurked still some heavenly seeds. Prometheus took some of this earth, and kneading it up with water, made man in the image of the gods. ** Prometheus first transmuted Atoms culled for human cIay."»-HoRACE. He gave him an upright stature, so that while all other ani- mals turn their faces downward and look to the earth, he raises his face toward heaven and gazes upon the stars. Pro-me'theus was one of the Titans, a gigantic race who inhabited the earth before the creation of man. To him and his brother Epimetheus was committed the office of making man, and providing him and all other animals with the faculties neces- sary for their preservation. Epimetheus undertook to do this, and Prometheus was to overlook his work. Epimetheus accord- ingly proceeded to bestow upon the different animals the various gifts of courage, strength, swiftness, sagacity ; wings to one, claws to another, a shelly covering to a third, etc. But when man came to be provided for, who was to be superior to all other animals, Epimetheus had been so prodigal of his resources that he had nothing left to bestow upon him. In his perplexity he resorted to his brother, Prometheus, who, with the aid of Mi- nerva, went up to heaven and lighted his torch at the chariot of the sun and brought down fire to man. With the gift The beasts were .and overcome tl: thus became an i troduced the arts bilities of trade. Woman was n< that Jupiter beh( fire upon the ear knew no bounds was determined as a punishment in heaven. I I The gods vie Venus gave her 1 because of which Thus equippec Epimetheus, wh< brother to bewar his house a jar, which, in fitting Pandora was sei jar contained. AM Wl Fo Pandora was slipped off the ( a multitude of ] tism and colic f mind, — and scat to replace the li PBOMETOIJUS AND PANDORA, 21 With the gift of fire came man's dominion over the earth. The beasts wt;re his enemy, but fire enabled man to forge weapons .and overcome them. With fire he warmed his dwelling, and thus became an inhabitant of every clime. With it he also in- troduced the arts, coined money, and brought about the possi' bilities of trade. Woman was not yet made. The story (absurd enough!) is that Jupiter beholding from his throne on Olympus a strange fire upon the earth, asked what it meant. When told, his rage knew no bounds. The gods were assembled in council, and it was determined that woman should be created, and sent to man as a punishment for accepting Prometheus* gift. She was made in heaven. " The crippled artist-god. Illustrious, molded from the yielding day ^ A bashful viigin'i image, as ad vis' d i' Satumianjove." — Hesiod (Elton's tr.). The gods vied with each other in contributing their gifts, Venus gave her beauty. Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, etc., because of which she was named Pan-do'ra.* Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth and presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her, though cautioned by his brother to beware of Jupiter and his gifts. Epimetheus had in his house a jar, in which were kept certain noxious articles, for which, in fitting man for his new abode, he had had no occasion. Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what this jar contained. ** Yon mysterious chest Attracts and fascinates me. Would I knew What there lies hidden 1 But the oracle Forbids." — Masque op Pandora (L.ingfellow). Pandora was not equal to the temptation. One day she slipped off the cover and looked in. Forthwith there escaped a multitude of plagues for hapless man, — such as gout, rheuma* tism and colic for his body, and envy, spite and revenge for his mind, — and scattered themselves far and wide. Pandora hastened to replace the lid, but alas ! the whole contents of the jar had es* > Grade for Allgiaed. MM in 22 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. PRO! V. -:n I Hi Hi caped, one thing only excepted, which lay at the bottom, and that was /tope. So we see at this day, whatever evils arc abroad, hope never entirely leaves us ; and while we have //ta/, no amount of other ills can make us completely wretched. *• Hope sole remain' d within, nor took her flight, Beneath the vessel's verge conceal' d from light." —Hmiou (ElUm'» tr.*). Another story is that Pandora was sent in good faith, by Ju- piter, to blem man; that she waH furnished with a box, containing her marriage presents, into which every god had put some blessing. She opened the box incautiously, and the blessings all escaped, /lopg only excepted. This story seems more probable than the for- mer ; for how could hope, so precious a jewel as it is, have been kept in a jar full of all manner of evils, as in the former state- ment? The world being thus furnished with inhabitants, the first age was one of inno- cence and happiness. Truth and right pre- vailed, though not en- forced by law, nor was there any magistrate to threaten or punish. The forest had not yet been rol)bed of its trees to furnish timbers for vessels, nor had men built for« Pandora, by N. Sichel. tifications round th( swords, spears, or h( necessary for man, v Perpetual spring rei rivers flowed with n from the oaks. 1-his was the Go Age, inferior to the Jupiter shortened Then, first, men had houses became neces leafy coverts of the would no longer gro^ to sow the seed, and «« Succeeding ti Excelling bra Then summei And spring m The sun his a Good days co The air with The wings of And shiverinj Sought shelte Those houses With twining Then plows, And oxen lal The Brazen and Ir burst in like a flood : places came fraud £ of gain. Then scan were torn from the i the face of ocean, vated in common, b were not satisfied wi into its bowels, and Mischievous iron, a War sprang up, usii in his friend's house 'VW^BwrnB".*"- PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA, 23 tifications round their towns. There <vere no such things as swords, spears, or helmets. The earth brought forth all things necessary for man, without his labor in ploughing or sowing. Perpetual spring reigned, flowers sprang up without seed, the rivers flowed with milk and wine, and yellow honey distilled from the oaks. This was the Golden Age. It was succeeded by the Silver Age, inferior to the Golden, but better than those that followed. Jupiter shortened the spring and divided the year into seasons. Then, first, men had to endure the extremes of heat and cold, and houses became necessary. Caves were the first dwellings, and leafy coverts of the woods, and huts woven of twigs. Crops would no longer grow without planting. The farmer was obliged to sow the seed, and the toiling ox to draw the plough. " Succeeding times a silver age behold. Excelling brass, but more excell'd by gold. Then summer, autumn, winter, did appear, And spring was but a season of the year ; . • , The sun his annual course obliquely made, Good days contracted, and enlarg'd the bad. The air with sultry heats began to glow. The wings of winds were clogg'd with ice and snow ; And shivering mortals into houses driven, : . : Sought shelter from the inclemency of heaven. Those houses, then, were caves or homely sheds, 1 With twining osiers fenc'd, and moss their beds. Then plows, for seed, the fruitful furrows broke. And oxen labor'd first beneath the yoke." — Ovid (Dryden's tr. ). The Brazen and Iron Ages followed in rapid succession. Crime burst in like a flood j modesty, truth, and honor fled. In their places came fraud and cunning, violence, and the wicked love of gain. Then seamen spread sails to the wind, and the trees were torn from the mountains to serve for keels to ships and vex the face of ocean. The earth, which till now had been culti- vated in common, began to be divided off into possessions. Men were not satisfied with what the surface produced, but must dig into its bowels, and draw forth from thence the ores of metals. Mischievous iron, and more mischievous gold, were produced. War sprang up, using both as weapons ; the guest was not safe in his friend's house j and sons-in-law and fathers-in-law, brothers ifii %0:m. ^\ M \m -n Uf .i ! 24 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. I* i ■A w 1] III i: ■M 8l ;i!i'; It and sisters, husbands and wives, could not trust one anothei Sons wished their fathers dead, that they might come to the in heritance ; family love lay prostrate. 'I'he earth was wet witii slaughter, and the gods abandoned it, one by one, till Astraea' alone was left, and finally she also took her departure. Jupiter, seeing this state of things, burned with anger. He summoned the gods to council. They obeyed the call, and took the road to the palace of heaven. The road, which any one may see in a clear night, stretches across the face of the sky, and is called the Milky Way. Along the road stand the palaces of the illustrious gods ; the common people of the skies live apart, on either side. Jupiter addressed the assembly. He set forth the frightful condition of things on the earth, and closed by an- nouncing his intention to destroy the whole of its inhabitants, and provide a new race, unlike the first, who would be more worthy of life, and much better worKhij)pers of the gods. So saying, he took a thimderbolt, and was about to launch it at the world, and destroy it by burning ; but recollecting the danger that such a conflagration might set neaven itself on fire, he changed his plan, and resolved to drown it. The north wind, which scatters the clouds, was chained up; the south was sent out, and soon covered all ihe fate nf heaven with a cloak of pitchy darkness. The clouds, dri.en together, resounded with a crash ; torrents of rain fall ; the crops are laid low ; the year's labor of the husbandman perishes in an hour. Jupiter, not satis- fied with his own waters, calls on his iTother Neptune to aid him with his. He lets loose the rivers, and pours them over th^ > The goddess of innocence and purity. After leaving earth, she was placed among the stars, where she became the conMtcllation Virgo — the Virgin. Themis (Justice) was the mother of Aslncft. She is represented os holding aloft a pair of scales, in which .she weighs the claiinH of opposing parties. \ It was a favorite idea of the old poets thiit llicso goddesses would one day return, and bring back the Golden Age. Kveii in u (Jluisliun Hymn, the Mrs slab of Pope, this idea occurs. "All crimes shall ceas»., and ancient fraud shall fail, Returning Justice lift oloft her .stale, Peace o'er the woild luT olive wand extend, And white-robed J imorence from heaven descend." See also, Milton's Ilvmn to the Nativity, slan/aM, xlv. atid xv. PRO. land. At tl.e same and brings in the ref herds, men and houi sacred enclosures pr it was overwhelmed, Now all was sea, se vidual remained on pulled the oar wher fishes swim among t garden. Where th( sea-calves gambol. lions and tigers stru^ boar serves him not with weary wing int( ing-place. Those 1 prey to hunger. «• Now hills an And level' d Parnassus alone, o and there Deucalion theus, found refuge— the gods. Jupiter, v remembered their 1: the north winds to i to earth and earth to blow on his shell ani obeyed, and the sea channels. «* At length But desoh Nature be' A dismal < Then Deucalion tl wo?nan, joined to r and now by a comm of our ancestor Pro first made it 1 But V • PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA. 25 land. At t'I.e same time he heaves the land with an earthquake, and brings in the reflux of the ocean over the short j. Flocks, herds, men and houses are swept away, and temples with their sacred enclosures profined. If any edifice remained standing it was overwhelmed, and its turrets lay hid beneath the waves. Now all was sea, sea without shore. Here and there an indi- vidual remained on a projecting hill-top, and a few, in boats, pulled the oar where they had lately driven the plough. The fishes swim among the tree-tops; the anchor is let down into a garden. Where the graceful lambs played but now unwieldy sea-calves gambol. The wolf swims among the sheep, the yellow lions and tigers struggle in the water. The strength of the wild boar serves him not, nor his swiftness the stag. The birds fall with weary wing into the water, having found no land for a rest- ing-place. Those living beings whom the water spared fell a prey to hunger. •» Now hills and vales no more distincUon know. And level'd nature lies oppress'd below."— OviD (Dryden*8 tr.), Parnassus alone, of all the mountains, overtopped the waves ; and t^ere Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, of the race of Prome- theus, found refuge — he a just man and she a faithfi il worshipper of the gods. Jupiter, when he saw none left alive but this pair, and remembered their harmless lives and pious demeanor, ordered the north winds to drive away tlie clouds, and disclose the skies to earth and earth to the skies. Neptune also directed Triton to blow on his shell and sound a retreat to the waters. The waters obeyed, and the sea returned to its shores and the rivers to theif channels. *« At length the world was all restor'd to view, But desolate, and of a sickly hue ; Nature beheld herself, and stood aghast, A dismal desert and a silent waste."— 0\riD (Dryden*» Tr.). Then Deucalion thus addressed T^yrrha: **0 wife, only surviving woman, joined to me first by the ties of kindred and marriage, and now by a common danger, would that we possessed the power of our ancestor Prometheus, and could renew the race as he at first niade it ! But as we cannot, let us seek yonder temple, and 46985 • '>i-:i'. IB Ili^ifli y ' «|-i ^\ -i^a^ijf '?,, J '-tw»f!M \J'. I^ifflj MB \i '"'ffl fT^m h' i.:/'iM M m;:, i i .>i;i!.>Mi-^ ■W. 26 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES, Kil!! f H inquire of the gods what remains for us to do.'' They entered the temple, deformed as it was with slime, and approached the altar, where no fire burned. There they fell prostrate on the earth, and prayed the goddess to inform them how they might retrieve their miserable affairs. The oracle answered, *' Depart from the temple with head veiled and garments unbound, and cast behind you the bones of your mother," They heard the words with astonishment. Pyrrha first broke silence: "We cannot obey; we dare not profane the remains of our parent'." They sought the thickest shades of the wood, and revolved the oracle in their minds. At length Deucalion spoke: "Either my sagacity deceives me, or the command is one we may obey without : -^jiety. The earth is the great parent of all ; the stones are her bones ; these we may cast behind us ; and I think this is what the oracle means. At least, it will do no harm to try." They veiled their faces, unbound their garments, and picked up stones, and cast them behind them. The stones (wonderful to relate) began to grow soft and assume shape. By degrees they put on a rude resemblance to the human form, like a block half- finished in the hands of the sculptor. The rnoisture and slime that were about them became flesh j the stony part became bones ; the veins remained veins, retaining their name, only changing their use. Those thrown by the hand of the man became men, and those by the woman became women. It was a hard race, and well adapted to labor, as we find ourselves to be at this day, giving plain indications of our origin. Milton thus compares Eve to Pandora, changing lapetus, the (ather of Prometheus and Epimetheus, to Japhet : ** More lovely than Pandora, whom the godi Endowed with oil their gifts ; and O, too like In sad event, when to the unwiscr son Of Japhet brought by Hermes, she Innnarcd Mankind by her fair looks, to bo avenged On him who had stole Jove's authentic fire." -^Parodist Lostf D. IV, Prometheus has been a favorite subject with the poets. He Is represented as the friend of mankind, who intcrpoHcd in their behalf when Jove was incensed against them, and who taught PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA 27 Ihem civilization and the arts. But as, in so doing, he trans> gressed the will of Jupiter, and drew down on himself the anger of the ruler of gods and men. Jupiter had him chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where a vulture preyed on his liver, which was renewed as fast as devoured. This state of torment Prometheus bound, Flaxman. might have been brought to an end at any time by Prometheus, if he had been willing to submit to his oppressor ; for he pos- sessed a secret which involved the stability of Jove's throne, and if he would have revealed it, he might have been at once taken into favor.* But this he disdained to do. " I would not quit This bleak ravine, these unrepentant pofaut. Pity tlae self-despising slaves of Jove, Not me, within whose mind sits peace serene." —Shelley, Promtthem UnbouniL * A fatal marriage that Jove was about to maka. !■ \' it* - .« W 'm;r •I*- ■'■% * 'itiS'ii:.'- ":■ .J- AJn 28 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Prometheus has become the world's symbol of suflering and strength of will resisting wrong. ** Therefore, great heart, bear up ! Thou are but type Of what all lofty spirits endure, that fain Would win men back to strength and peace through love." — Lowell's Prometheus. Lord Byron has also written on the same theme. The fol- lowing are his lines : ** Titan I to whose immortal eyes The sufferings of mortality, Seen in their sad reality, Were not as things that gods despise ; What was thy pity's recompense ? A silent suffering, and intense ; The rock, the vulture and the chain ; All that the proud can feel of pain ; The agony they do not show. The suffocating sense of woe."* ' The poet ^Eschylus, who lived twenty- five hundred years ago, wrote three tragedies on the subject of Prometheus. Unfortunately but one Promethein Chained is now extant. Vulcan, after much hesitation, chains the Titan to the rock. He is visited by Mercury, who offers release on condition that his secret be revealed. There are many very excellent English translations. The poet Shelley Is perhaps his best interpreter. ' / PYTHON, 29 CHAPTER III. Py'thon — A-pol'lo and Daph'ne — Pyr'a-mus and This'be — Ceph'a-lus and Proc'ris. The slime with which the earth was covered by the waters of the flood produced an excessive fertility which called forth every variety of production, both bad and good. Among the rest, Py'thon, an enormous serpent, crept forth, the terror of the people, and lurked in the caves of Mount Parnassus. A-pol'lo slew him with his arrows — ^weapons which he had i-ot before used against any but feeble animals, hares, wild goats, and such game. In commemoration of this illustrious conquest he insti- tuted the Pythian games, in which the victor in feats of strength, swiftness of foot, or in the chariot race, was crowned with a wreath of beech leaves, for the laurel was not yet adopted by Apollo as his own tree. At the entrance to one of these mountain caverns was situated the Delphic oracle, the most famous shrine in all the ancient world. Apollo was the son of Jupiter and Latona. Juno, jealous of his mother, banished her to Delos, a rock in the .^gean sea. Here was born Apollo and his twin sister Diana. The two seem 10 have centred in themselves the highest ideal of their country. Apollo became a god of almost universal worship. " I am the eye with which the Universe Beholds itself and knows itself divine. All harmony of instrument and verse, All prophecy, all med'cine, are mine. All light of nrt or nature ; to my song Victory and praise in its own right belong." Hymn of AroLLO (Shelley). The famous statue of Apollo, called the Belvedere, represents the god after his victory over the serpent Python. To this By- ron alludes in his ^' Childe Harold," iv. x6x :^ ■dM T, f if! r hi w. 30 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. ** The lord of the unerring bow, The God of life, and poetry, and light. The Sun, in human limbs arrayed, and brow All radiant from his triumph in the fight. The shaft has just been shot ; the arrow bright With an immortal's vengeance ; in his eye And nostril, beautiful disdain, and might. And majesty flash their full lightnings by. Developing in that one glance the Deity." A-pol'lo and Daph'ne. Daph'ne was A-pol'lo*s first love. It was not brought about by accident, but by the malice of Cupid. Apollo saw the boy playing with his bow and arrows, and being himself elated with his recent victory over Python, he said to him, ** What have you to do with warlike weapons, saucy boy ? Leave them for hands worthy of them. Behold the conquest I have won by means of them over the vast serpent who stretched his poison- ous body over acres of the plain ! Be content with your torch, child, and kindle up your flames, as you call them, where you will, but presume not to meddle with my weapons." Venus' s boy heard these words and rejoined, " Your arrows may strike all things else, Apollo, but mine shall strike you." So saying, he took his stand on a rock of Parnassus, and drew from his quiver two arrows of different workmanship, one to ex- cite love, the other to repel it. The former was of gold and sharp -pointed, the latter blunt and tipped with lead. With the leaden shaft he struck the nymph Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus, and with the golden one Apollo, through the heart. Forthwith the god was seized with love for the maiden, while she abhorred the thought of loving. Her delight was in woodland sports and in the spoils of the chase. Many lovers sought her, but she spurned them all, ranging the woods, and taking no thought of Cupid nor of Hymen. Her father often 'said to her, " Daughter, you owe me a son-in-law ; you owe hk: grandchildren." She, hating the thought of marriage as a crime, with her beautiful face tinged all over with blushes, threw her arms around her father's neck, and said, "Dearest father, grant me this favor,, that I may always remain unmarried, like Diana." He consented, but at the same time said, *' Your own fece will forbid it." APOLLO AND DAPHNE. 31 Apollo loved her, and longed to obtain her ; but he who gives oracles to all the world was not wise enough to look into his own fortunes. He saw her hair flung loose over her shoulders, and said " If so charming in disorder, what would it be if arranged ?' ' He saw her eyes bright as stars ; he saw her lips, and was not satisfied with only seeing them. He admired her hands and arms, naked to the shoulder, and whatever was hidden from view he imagined more beautiful still. He followed her j she fled, swifter than the wind, and delayed not a moment at his entrea- ties. " Stay,'* said he, ** daughter of Peneus j I am not a foe. Do not fly me as a lamb flies the wolf, or a dove the hawk. It is for love I pursue you. You make me miserable, for fear you should fall and hurt yourself on these stones, and I should be the cause. Pray run slower, and I will follow slower. I am no clown, no rude peasant. Jupiter is my father, and I am lord of Delphos and Tenedos, and know all things, present and future. I am the god of song and the lyre. «* Abate, fair fugitive, abate thy speed, Dismiss thy fears, and turn thy beauteous head ; •* You fly, alas ! not knowing whom you fly ; No ill-bred swain, nor rustic clown, am I.'*— Prior, " My arrows fly true to the mark ; but, alas I an arrow more fatal than mine has pierced my heart I I am the god of medi- cine, and know the virtues of all healing plants. Alas 1 I suff*er a malady that no balm can cure 1" The nymph continued her flight, and left his plea half-uttered. And even as she fled she charmed him. The wind blew her garments, and her unbound hair streamed loose behind her. The god grew impatient to find his wooings thrown away, and, sped by Cupid, gained upon her in the race. It was like a hound persuing a hare, with open jaws ready to seize, while the feebler animal darts forward, slipping from the very grasp. So flew the god and the virgin — he on the wings of love, and she on those of fear. The pursuer is the more rapid, however, and gains upon her, and his panting breath blows upon her hair. Her strength begins to fail, and, ready to sink, she calls upon her father, the river-god : " Help me, Peneus ! open the earth to fWfM. g^? 1 •,(: m ' f. a* *ifl tk i' " t' 32 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES enclose me, or change my form, which has brought me into this danger I" Scarcely had she spoken when a stiffness seized all her limbs ; her bosom began to be enclosed in a tender bark ; her hair became leaves; her arms became branches her foo- ApoUo and Dapline, Rome. Stuck ^^ast in the ground^ as a root j her face became a tree-top, retain;' nothing of itr, former self but its beauty. Apollo stood amazed. He touched the stem, and felt the flesh tremble under the new bark. He embraced the branches and lavished kisses on the wood, you cannot be tree. I will wea: my heart and my lead up the trium into wreaths for i also shall be alwa The nymph, i in grateful ackno That Apollo s] not appear stranj his province ma thus accounts foi The followin Byron's early q . ^- ^ W^ aPollo and daphne. i SJ on the wood. The branches shrank fronm his lips. ** Since vou cannot be lay wife," said he, "you shall assuredly be my tree. I will weai you for my crown ; I will decorate with you my heart and my quiver ; and when the great Roman conquerors lead up the triumphal pomp to the Capitol, you shall be woven into wreaths for their brows. And, as eternal youth is mine, you also shall be always green, and your leaf know no decay." " I espouse thee for my tree : Be thou the prize of honor and renown ; The deathless poet, and the poem, crown ; Thou shall the Roman festivals adorn. And, after poets, be by victors worn.'* — OviD (Dryden's tr.). The nymph, now changed into a Laurel tree, bowed its head in grateful acknowledgment. That Apollo should be the god both of music and poetry will not appear strange, but that medicine should also be assigned to his province may. The poet Armstrong, himself a physician, thus accounts for it : — ** Music exalts each joy, allays each grief. Expels diseases, softens every pain ; And hence the wise of ancient days adored One power of physic, melody and song." The story of Apollo and Daphne is often alluded to by the poets. Waller applies it to the case of one whose amatory verses, though they did not soften the heart of his mistress, yet won for the poet widespread fame. " Yet V hat he sung in his immortal strain, Though unsuccessful, was not sung in vain. All but the nymph that should redress his wrong, Attend his passion and approve his song. Like Phoebus thus, acquiring unsought praise, He caught at love and filled his arms with bays." The following stanza from Shelley's "Adonais" alludes to Byron's early quarrel with the reviewers : — •'The herded wolves, bold only to pursue t \ llie obscene ravens, clamorous o'er the dead ; ■^^^^f > „. „ ■fei >'*" m f> 4 l'*\ R. 54 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. The vultures, to the conqueror's banner true, ' , . Who feed where desolation first has fed, And whose wings rain contagion ; how they fled, When like Apollo, from his golden bow. The Pythian of the age one arrow sped And smiled ! The spoilers tempt no second blow ; Tney fawn on the proud feet that spurn them as they go.'* Pyr'a-mus and This'bs. Pyr'a-mus was the handsomest youth, and This'be the fair- est maiden, in all Babylonia, where Semiramis reigned. Their parents occupied adjoining houses ; thus frequently bringing the young people together, their acquaintance finally ripened into love. They would gladly have married, but their parents forbade. One thing, however, they could not forbid — that love should glow with equal ardor in the bosoms of both. They conversed by signs and glances, and the fire burned more intensely for being covered up. In the wall that parted the two houses there was a crack caused by some fault in the structure. No one had re- marked it before, but the lovers discovered it. What will not love discover ! It afforded a passage to the voice, and tender messages used to pass backward and forward through the crevice. As they stood, Pyramus on this side, Thisbe on that, their breaths would mingle. "Cruel wall," they said, "why do you keep two lovers apart ? But we will not be ungrateful. We owe you, we confess, the privilege of transmitting loving words to willing ears. ' ' Such words they uttered on different sides of the wall ; and when night came and they must say farewell, they pressed their lips upon the wall, she on her side, he on his, as they could come no nearer. *' And through wall's chink, poor souls, They are content To whisper." — Shakespeare. Next morning, when Aurora had put out the stars, and the sun had melted the frost from the grass, they met at the accus- tomed place. Then, after lamenting their hard fate, they agreed that next night, when all was still, they would slip away from watchful eyes, leave their dwellings and walk out into the fields ; and, to insure a meeting, renair to a well-known edifice, standing i without the city's the one who came certain tree. It wi spring. All was a^ sun to go down I them. Then caut family, her head co ment and sat down light of the eveni with recent slaugh thirst. Thisbe fled of a rock. As she drinking at the spri ing the veil on th< mouth. Pyramus, having meeting. He saw color fled from his veil all rent and blc Deen the cause of th hast fallen the first '' in tempting thee f myself on the spot the rocks, and tear up the veil, carried it with kisses and ' PYRAMUS AND THISBE. 3S without the city's bounds, called the Tomb of Ninus, and that the one who came first should await the other at the foot of a certain tree. It was a white mulberry-tree, and stood near a cool spring. All was agreed on, and they waited impatiently for the 5un to go down beneath the waters and night to rise up from them. Then cautiously Thisbe stole forth, unobserved by the family, her head covered with a veil, made her way to the monu- ment and sat down under the tree. As she sat alone in the dim light of the evening she descried a lioness, her jaws reeking Aurora. (Ren!.) with recent slaughter, approaching the fountain to slake her thirst. Thisbe fled at the sight, and sought refuge in the hollow of a rock. As she fled she dropped her veil. The lioness, after drinking at the spring, turned to retreat to the woods, and see - ing the veil on the ground, tossed and rent it with her bloody mouth. Pyramus, having been delayed, now approached the place of meeting. He saw in the sand the footsteps of the lion, and the color fled from his cheeks at the sight. Presently he found the veil all rent and bloody. *' O, hapless girl," said he, ** I have Deen the cause of thy death I Thou, more worthy of life than I, hast fallen the first victim. I will follow. I am the guilty cause, in tempting thee forth to a place of such peril, and not being myself on the spot to guard thee. Come forth, ye lions, from the rocks, and tear this guilty body with your teeth." He took up the veil, carried it with him to the appointed tree, and covered it with kisses and with tears. ^*My blood also shall stain youf llfeif 1^1'; ».' K ,f V«VrJ >.*; , A. :m^-, V'l # 1 '['•'• ft 36 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. texture," said he, and drawing his sword plunged it into his heart. ** In her bosom plunged the sword, All warm and reeking from its slaughtered lord."— OviD (Eiuden's tr.). The blood spirted from the wound, and tinged the white mulberries of the tree, and sinking into the earth reached the roots, so that the red color mounted through the trunk to the fruit. By this time, Thisbe, still trembling with fear, yet wishing not to disappoint her lover, stepped cautiously forth, looking anx- iously for the youth, eager to tell him the danger she had escaped. When she came to the spot and ej.w the changed color of the mulberries, she doubted whether it was the same place. While she hesitated she saw the form of one struggling in the agonies of death. She started back, a shudder ran through her frame as a ripple on the face of the still water when a sudden breeze sweeps over it. But as soon as she recognized her lover, »he screamed and beat her breast ; embracing the lifeless body, pour ing tears into its wounds, and imprinting kisses on the cold lips. **0, Pyramus," she cried, "what has done this? Answer me, Pyramus ; it is your own Thisbe that speaks. Hear tne, dearest, and lift that drooping head !'* At the name of Thisbe, Pyramus opened his eyes, then closed them again. She saw her veil stained with blood, and the scabbard empty of its sword, " Thy own hand has slain thee, and for my sake, ' ' she said. * ' I, too, can be brave for once, and my love is as strong as thine. I will follow thee in death, for I have been the cause j and death, which alone could part us, shall not prevent my joining thee. And ye, unhappy parents of us both, deny us not our united re* quest. As love and death have joined us, let one tomb contain us. And thou, tree, retain the marks of slaughter, I/Ct thy berries still serve for memorials of our blood." So saying, sht plunged the sword into her breast. Her parents consented to her wish, the gods also ratified it. The two bodies were buried in one sepulchre, and the tree ever after brought forth purple berries, as it does to this day. Moore, in the Sylph's Ball, speaking of Davy's Safety Lamp, Is reminded of t>>e wall that separated I'hisbe and her lover :«>-• " O foi Tl Whi A " The (I Thn M In Mickle's tra lusion to the stor phosis of the mu Love. « In cult The fli Then« \ Thect \ And St The ra If any of our y a laugh at the ex find an opportuni summer Night's Ceph'a-lus \i He would rise be him when she fir him away. But whom he devotee a favorite of Dia <ladog which coul never fail of its husband. Cephi the entreaties of pleasure, saying, if I am not much ever saw again." Cephalus retui CEPHALUS AND PBOCBJES. 37 ** O (or that Lamp's metallic gauze, That curtain of protecting wire. Which Davy delicately draws Around illicit, dangerous fire ! " The wall he sets 'twixt Flame and Air, (Like that which barred young Thisbe's bliss,) Through whose small holes this dangerous pair May see each other, but not kiss." In Mickle's translation of the Lusiad occurs the following al- lusion to the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, and the metamor- phosis of the mulberries. The poet is describing the Island of Love. ** ■ here each gift Pomona' s hand bestows In cultured garden, free uncultured flows, The flavor sweeter and the hue more fair Then e'er was fostered by the hand of care. The cherry here in shining crimson glows, \ And stained with lovers' blood, in pendent rows The mulberries o'erload the bending boughs." If any of our young readers can be so hard-hearted as to enjoy a laugh at the expense of poor Pyramus and Thisbe, they may find an opportunity by turning to Shakespeare' splay of the Mid- summer Night's Dream, where it is most amusingly burlesqued. Ceph'a-lus and Pro'cris. Ceph'a-lus was a beautiful youth and fond of manly sports. He would rise before the dawn to pursue the chase. Aurora saw him when she first looked forth, fell in love with him, and stole him away. But Cephalus was just married to a charming wife whom he devotedly loved. Her name was Pro'cris. She was a favorite of Diana, the goddess of hunting, who had given her (a dog which could outrun eveiy rival, and a javelin which would never fail of its mark j and Procris gave these presents to her husband. Cephalus was so happy in his wife that he resisted all the entreaties of Aurora, and she finally dismissed him in dis- pleasure, saying, * Go, ungrateful mortal, keep your wife, whom, if I am not much mistaken, you will one day be very sorry you ever saw again.'* Cephalus returned, and was as happy as ever in his wife and i '! »t ; .S', i' I Jf I '♦ ^ -4, i8 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. i »: y-: ':i ■' r(,',m, his woodland sports. Now it hapijened «ome angry deity had sent a ravenous fox to annoy the country, and the hunters turned out in great strength to capture it. Their efforts were in vain ; no dog could run it down ; and at last they came to Cephalus to borrow hit; famous dog, whose name was Lelaps. No sooner was the dog let loose tha i he darted off, (quicker than their eye could follow him. If they had not seen his footprints in the sand, they would have thought he flew. Cephalus and others stood on a ' hill and saw the race. The fox tried every art ; he ran in a cir- cle, and turned on his track, the dog close upon him, with open jaws, snapping at his heels, but biting only the air. Cephalus was about to use his javelin, when suddenly he saw both dog and game stop instantly. The heavenly powers, who had given both, were not willing that either should comiuer. In the very atti- tude of life and action they were turned into stone. So lifelike and natural did they look, you would have thought, as you looked at them, that one was going to bark, the other to leap forward. Cephalus, though he had lost his dog, still continued to take delight in the chase. He would go out at early morning, rang- ing the woods and hills unaccompanied by anyone, needing no help, for his javelin was a sure weapon in all cases. Fatigued with hunting, when the sun got high he would seek a shady nook where a cool stream flowed, and, stretched on the grass, with his garments thrown aside, would enjoy the breeze. Some- times he would say aloud, **Come, Bwcet breeze, come and fan my breast, come and allay the heat that burns me. ' I » •• A hunter once in a grove reclined, To shun the noon's bright eye, And oft he wooed the wandering wind To cool his brow with hs sigh. While mute lay even the wild bee's hum, Nor breath could stir the awpcn's hoir, Hi? song was still, * Sweet Air, O come !' AVhile Echo andwered, ' Come, «weet Air I* " ^-M()()KV.—Leggnt/ary Ballads. Some one passing by one day heard him talking in this way to the air, and, foolishly believing that he was talking to some maiden, went and told the secret to Procris, Cephalus' s wife. Lo'« 3 is credulous. Procris, at the sudden shock, fainted away. presently recoveri: believe it unless I with anxious hearl to hunt as usual, herself in the plac came as he was wc self on the green t fan me ; you know solitary rambles d when he heard, oi bushes. Supposir the spot. ** But, i He But t Of A cry from his too surely met its bleeding, and wit! from the v/ound tj from the earth, sti vive and not to 1 her death. She utter these few w( uie, if I have ^^vei grant me this las This disclo. ed the disclose it now ? and she looked p he made her und< CEPHAujUS ANiy PBOCRIS. 39 Presently recovering, she said, " It cannot be true; I will not believe it unless I myself am a witness to it." So she waited, with anxious heart, till the next morning, when Cephalus went to hunt as usual. Then she stole out after him, and concealed herself in the place where the informer directed her. Cephalus came as he was wont when tired with sport, and stretched him- self on the green bank, saying, "Come, sweet breeze, come and fan me ; you know how I love you ! you make the groves and my solitary rambles delightful." He was running on in this way when he heard, or thought he heard, a sound as of a sob in the bushes. Supposing it some wild animal, he threw his javelin at the spot. ** But, ulas ! it was not the white-homfid doe He saw in the rustling grove, But the bridal vpil, as pure as snow, ' Of his own young wedded love." — MoORE. A cry from his beloved Procris told him that the weapon had too surely met its mark. He rushed to the place, and found her bleeding, and with sinking strength endeavoring to draw forth from the v/ound the javelin, her own gift. Cephalus raised her from the earth, strove to stanch the blood, and called her to re- vive and not to leave him miserable, to reproach himself with her death. She opened her feeble eyes and forced herself to utter these few words : "I implore you, if you have ever loved uie, if I have ^^ver deserved kindness at your hands, my husband, grant me this last request : do not marry that odious Broeze !" This disclced the whole mystery : but alas ! what advantage to disclose it now ? She died ; but her face wore a calm expression, and she looked pityingly and forgivingly on her husband wben he made her understand the truth. ■15! , Mi';,'!^ hi. 40 STORIES OF OOBS AND UEBOES. .♦ .. CHAPTER IV. Ju'no and her Rivals, I'o and Cal-lis'to— Di-a'na and Ac-tae'on — La-to'na and the Rus'tics. , . ^ Ju'pi-ter's marriage to Ju'no was one of the most auspicious events that ever took place on Mount Olympus. The gods were all present, and the festivities worthy the occasion. But the alliance was marred by discord and deception. Jupiter was faithless, and Juno passionately jealous. One day she perceived it suddenly grow dark, and immedi- ately suspected that her husband had raised a cloud to hide some of his doings that would not bear the light. So she brushed away the cloud, and saw her husband on the banks of a glassy river, with a beautiful heifer standing near him. Juno suspected the heifer's form concealed some fair nymph of mortal mould, — as was, indeed, the case ; for it was I'o< the daughter of the river god Inachus, whom Jupiter had been flirting with, and, when he became aware of the approach of his wife, had changed into that form. Juno joined her husband, and noticing the heifer praised its beauty, and asked whose it was, and of what herd. Jupiter, to stop questions, replied that it was a fresh creation from the earth. Juno asked to have it as a gift. Wliat could Jupiter do? He was loath to give his mistress to his wife, yet how refuse so trifling a present as a simple heifer? He could not, without ex- citing suspicion, so he consented. The goddess v/as not y^t re- lieved of her suspicions, so she delivered the heifer to Argus, to be strictly watched. Now Argus had a hundred eyes in his head, and never went to sleep with more than two at a time, so that he kept watch on lo constantly. He suffered her to feed during the day, and at night tied her up with a vile rope round her neck. She would have stretched out her arms to implore freedom of Argus, but she had no arms to stretch out, and her voice was a bellow that fright* J^* HERA (JUNO), f Villa Lmlovisl, Rome,) ft' ,■''.■1.' ;■' ■•■ s 1 ,!J' ^'$ itv -Vu-' ened even hersell near them, and su admire her beauty, she licked the out; known to him, ai words were wantii ing, and inscribed on the sand. In daughter, whom 1: this disguise, mou exclaimed, *'Alas to have lost you a observing, came high bank, from \ Jupiter was tro tress, and calling Mercury made has on his head, took from the heavenly wings and kept < self as a shephen upon his pipes. dean pipes. Ar^ the instrument I take a seat bym your flock to grs shade such as she told stories till it soothing strains, in vain ; for Argi though he shut tl ^S^'" 1 1' ii ««The The , Noi , V Among other on which he pla) whose name was JUNO. 4» ened even herself. She saw her father and lier sisters, went near them, and suffered them to pat her back, and heard them admire her beauty. Her father reached her a tuft of grass, and she licked the outotretclied hand. She longed to make herself known to him, and would have uttered her wish ; but, alas 1 words were wanting. At length she bethought herself of writ- ing, and inscribed her name — it was a short one — with her hoof on the sand. Inachus recognized it, and discovering that his daughter, whom he had long sought in vain, was hidden ander this disguise, mourned over her, and, embracing her white neck, exclaimed, ** Alas 1 my daughter, it would have been a less grief to have lost you altogether 1'* While he thus lamented, Argus, observing, came and drove her away, and ccrok his seat on a high bank, from whence he could see in every direction. Jupiter was troubled at beholding the sufferings of his mis- tress, and calling Mercury told him to go and despatch Argus. Mercury made haste, put his winged slippers on his feet, and cap on his head, took his sleep -producing wand, and leaped dov/n from the heavenly towers to the earth. There 1.3 laid aside his wings and kept only his wand, with which he presented him- self as a shepherd driving his flock. As he strolled on he blew upon his pipes. These were what are called the Syrinx or Pan- dean pipes. Argus listened with delight, for he had never seen the instrument before. "Young man," said he, "come and take a seat by me on this stone. There is no better place for your flock to graze in than hereabouts, and here is a pleasant shade such as shepherds love." Mercury sat down, talked, and told stories till it grew late, and played upon his pipes his most soothing strains, hoping to lull the watchful eyes to sleep, but all in vain j for Argus still contrived to keep some of his eyes open, though he shut the rest. ** The eyes of Argus, sentinel of Heaven t Those thousand eyes that watch alternate kept. Nor all o'er all his body waked or slept." .^ • — Statius( Elton' »tr.). Among other stories. Mercury told him how the instrument on which he played was invented. " There was a ceruin nymph nrhose name was Syrinx, who was much beloved hy l.\^ Sa*ytw M t ,, . •■%■ ,..»-«Mii' .11,1 hiA-,.M'^ii :U. 'i !-■(, i 42 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, ■fi Wi 1 m\ and spirits of the wood ; but she would have none of them, but was a faithful worshipper of Di-a'na, and followed the chase. Yciu would have thought it was Diana herself, had you seen her in her hunting -dress, only that her bow was of horn and Diana's of silver. One day, as she was returning from the chase, Pan n.t her, told her just this, and added more of the same sort. She ran away, without stopping to hear his compliments, and he pursued till she came to the bank of the river, where he overtook her, and she had only time to call for help on her friends, the water-nymphs. They heard and consented. Pan threw his arms around what he supposed to be the form of a nymph, and found he embraced only a, tuft of reeds I As he breathed a sigh the air sounded through the reeds and produced a plaintive melody. ** Fair, trembling Syrinx fled Arcadian Pan, with such a fearful dread. Poor nymph ! — poor Pan ! — how he did weep to find Naught but a lovely sighing of the wind Along the reedy stream ; a half-heard strain Full of sweet desolation — balmy pain." — KeaTS. The god, charmed with the novelty and with the sweetness of the music, said, *Thus, then, at least, you shall be mine.' And he took some 01* the reeds, and placing them together, of unequal lengths, side by side, made an instrument which he called Syrinx, in honor of the nymph." Before Mercury had finished his story he saw Argus's eyes all asleep. As his head nodded forward on his breast. Mercury with one stroke cut his neck through, and tumbled his head down the rocks. O, hap- less Argus I the light of your hundred eyes is quenched at once ! Juno took them and put them as ornaments on the tail of her peacock, where they remain to this day. *' From Argus slain a painted peacock grew, Fluttering his feathers stain'd with various hue. "—MOSCHUS. But the vengeance of Juno was not yet satisfied. She sent a gadfly to torment lo, who fled over the whole world from its pursuit. She swam through the Ionian Sea, from which circum- stance it derived its name. *' In con Shall! A mor Unto 8 She then roamec ^Ilaemus, and crosse phorus (cow-ford) try of the Cimmeri Nile. At length Ji ising not to pay h« store her to her foi cover her former se horns shrank up, h< hands and fingers a there was nothing L she was afraid to sp she recovered her c( sisters. Cal-lis'to was a Juno, and the godd away,*' said she, ** my husband." Do tri>°d to stretch out beginning to be c< rounded, became ar Iier mouth, which J horrid pair of jaws ; moved the heart t( terror. Yet her fc tinual groming, sht well as she could, li that Jove was unkin how often, afraid to dered about the neij frightened by the d( from the hunters ! ting tiiat she was no was afraid of the be CALLISTO, 43 *' In coming time that hollow of the sea Shall bear the name Ionian, and present A monument of lo's passage through, Unto all mortals." — E. B. Browning. She then roamed over the plains of lUyria, ascended Mount ^Ilgemus, and crossed the Thracian stniit, thence named the Bos- phorus (cow- ford), rambled on through Scythia and the coun- try of the Cimmerians, and arrived at last on the banks of the Nile. At length Jupiter interceded for her, and upon his prom- ising not to pay her any more attentions Juno consented to re- store her to her form. It was curious to see her gradually re- cover her former self. The coarse hairs fell from her body, hex horns shrank up, her eyes grew narrower, her mouth shorter ; hands and fingers came instead of hoofs to her fore feet ; in fine, there was nothing left of the heifer, except her beauty. At first she was afraid to speak for fear she should low, but gradually she recovered her confidence and was restored to her father and sisters, ' Cal-lis'to. Cal-lis'to was another maiden who excited the jealousy of Juno, and the goddess changed her into a bear. ** I will take away,*' said she, "that beauty with which you have captivated my husband." Down fell Callisto on her hands and knees ; she tri°d to stretch out her arms in supplication, — they were already begmning to be covered with black hair. Her hands grew rounded, became armed with crooked claws, and served for feet ; her mouth, which Jove used to prai^re for its beauty, became a horrid pair of jaws; her voice, which if unchanged would have moved the heart to pity, became a growl, more fit to inspire terror. Yet her former disposition remained, and with con- tinual groming, she bemoaned her fate, and stood upright as, well as she could, lifting up her paws to beg for mercy, and felt that Jove was unkind, though she could not tell him so. Ah, how often, afraid to stay in the woods all night alone, she wan- dered about the neighborhood of her former haunts ; how often, frightened by the dogs, did she, so lately a huntress, fly in terror from the hunters ! Often she fled from the wild beasts, forget- ting tiiat she was now a wild beast herself; and, bear as she waSi was afraid of the bears. if.J" tf I# r-' f 44 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. One day a youth espied her as he wa hunting. She saw him and recognized him as her own son, now grown a young man. She stopped and felt inclined to embrace him. As she was about to approach, he, alarmed, raised his hunting-spear, and was on the point of transfixing her, when Jupiter, beholding, ar- rested the crime, and snatciiing away both of them placed them in the heavens as the Great and Little Bear. Juno was in a rage to see her rival so set in honor, and has tened to anrifrtx 1 ■ iliys o .' C ':eanus, the pc vers of ocean, and, in answer to their ii:|uiiie:i thus told the cause of her coming; " Do you ask why I, ' ; ; qa .en of the gods, have left the heav- enly plains and sought your dc^^ u>s ? Learn that I am supplanted in heaven — ^my place is given to another. You will hardly be- lieve me J but look when night darkens the world, and you shall see the two of whom I have so much reason to complain exalted to the heavens, in that part where the circle is the smallest, in the neighborhood of the pole. Why should anyone hereafter tremble at the thought of offending Juno, when such rewards are the consequence of my displeasure ? See what I have been able to effect ! I forbade her to wear the human form — she is placed among the stars I So do my punishments result — such is the extent of my power ! Better that she should have resumed her former shape, as I permitted lo to do. Perhaps he means to marry her and put me away 1 But you, my foster-parents, if you feel for me, and see with displeasure this unworthy treatment of me, show it, I beseech you, by forbidding this guilty couple from coming into your waters." The powers of the ocean assented, and, consequently, the two constellations of the Great and Little Bear move round and round in heaven, but never sink, as the other stars do, beneath the ocean. *' One after one the stars have risen and set, Sparkling upon the hoar-frost of my chain j The Bear that prowled all night about the fold Of the North-star hath shrunk into his den. Scared by the blithesome footsteps of the Dawn.'* — Lowell's Prometheus. Milton alludes to the fact that the constellation of the Bcai never setb. when he says :— «^ Let n Be sei When The la; I Stir in the also the '^ ynosure. «« Straight While tl Towers Bosome( Where p The Cyr The reference hei mariners, and to the it also the "Star of. Areas, and they live benigiited in the wo( Though Of somf With th And the Or Tyrii Thus, fn two ins rivals ; now let us Icc of her privacy. It was midday, ?i goal, when young . dressed the youths ^ mountains : — ** Friends, our nc of our victims ; we morrow we can ren the earth, let us pi with rest." There was a valle DIANA AND ACTMON. *^ Let my lamp at midnight hour Be seen in some high lonely tower, 45 Where I may oft o>;twatch the Bear." — // Penseroso, The lar t star in the tail A the Little Bear is the Pole-star, called also the '^ ynosure. Milton also says : — ** Straight mine eye hath caught new pleasures ■\Miile th la.7uscape round it measures. * * * * » Towers and battlements it sees Bosomed high in tufted trees, ', Where perhaps some beauty lies, The Cynosure of neighboring eyes, " — V Allegro. The reference here is both to the Pole-star as the guide o^ mariners, and to the magnetic attraction of the North. He callsi it also the ** Star of Arcady," because Callisto's boy was nani^a Areas, and they lived in Arcadia. In "Comus," the brotl^er, benigiited in the woods, says : — << , -Some gentle taper I Though a rush candle, from the wicker hole Of some clay habitation, visit us With thy long levelled rule of streaming light, And thou shalt be our star of Arcady, Or Tyrian Cynosure." Di-a'na and Ac-tse'on. Thus, fn two instances, we have seen Juno's severity to her rivals ; now let us learn how a virgin goddess punished an invader of her privacy. It was midday, ?.nd the sun stood equally distant from either goal, when young Ac-tse'on, son of King Cadmus, thus ad- dressed the youths who, with him, were hunting the stag in the mountains : — • "Friends, our nets and our weapons are wet with the blood of our victims ; we have had sport enough for one day, and to- morrow we can renew our labors. Now, while Phoebus parches the earth, let us put by our implements and indulge ourselves with rest." There was a valley thickly enclosed with cypresses and pineS| I ■> ji I I ^' ir . . 1'''^^ 46 STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES. r i, I' sacred to the huntress queen, Di-a'na. In the extremity of ths valley was a cave, not adorned with art, but nature had counter- feited art in its construction ; for she had turned the arch of its roof with stones as delicately fitted as if by the hand of man, A fountain burst out from one side, whose open basin was bounded by a grassy rim. Here the goddess of the woods used to come, when weary with hunting, and lave her virgin limbs i;i the sparkling water. One day, having repaired thither with her nymphs, she handed her javelin, her quiver and her bow to one, her robe to another, while a third unbound the san- dals from her feet. Then Crocale, the most skilful of them, arranged her hair, and Nephele, Hyale and the rest drew water in ca- pacious urns. While the goddess was thus employed in the labors of the toilet, behold Actaeon, having quitted his companions, and rambling without any especial object, came to the place, led thither by his destiny. As he pre- sented himself at the entrance of the cave, the nymphs, see- ing a man, screamed and rushed towards the goddess to hide her with their bodies. But she was taller than the rest, and overtopped them all by a head. Such a color as tinges the clouds at sunset or at dawn came over the countenance of Diana, thus taken by surprise. Surrounded as she was by her nymphs, she yet turned half away, and sought, with a sudden impulse, for her arrows. As they were not at hand, she dasheH the water Diana of Versailles (Louvre). into the face of t] and tell, if you car Immediately a pair head, his neck gain bands became feet^ his arms long legSj his body was cov- ered with a hair) spotted hide. Feai took the place ol his former boldness, and the hero fled. He could not but admire his own speed ; but when he saw his horns in the water, "Ah, wretch- ed me !" he would have said, but nc sound followed th( effort. He groaned, and tears flowec down the face whici had taken the place of his own. Ye his consciousnes! remained. Wha shall he do ? — g( home to seek th( palace, or lie hie in the woods ? Th( .'atter he was afraid the former he was saw him. First M his bark, then Pan gris and all the n Over rocks and c impracticable, he f chased the stag an DIANA AND ACTJEON. 47 into the face of the intruder, adding these words : " Now go and tell, if you can, that you have seen Diana unapparelled," Immediately a pair of branching stag's horns grew out of his head, his neck gained in length, his ears grew sharp -pointed, hjs bands became feet, his arms long legs, his body was cov- ered with a hairy spotted hide. Fear took the place of his former boldness, and the hero fled. He could not but admire his own speed ; but when he saw his horns in the water, "Ah, wretch- ed me !" he would have said, but no sound followed the effort. He groaned, and tears flowed down the face which had taken the place of his own. Yet his consciousness remained. What shall he do? — go home to seek the palace, or lie hid in the woods ? The .'alter he was afraid, the former he was ashamed to do. While he hesitated the dogs saw him. First Melampus, a Spartan dog, gave the signal with his bark, then Pamphagus, Dorceus, Lelaps, Theron, Nape, Ti- gris and all the rest rushed after him swifter than the wind. Over rocks and cliffs, through mountain gorges that seemed impracticable, he fled, and they followed. Where he had often chased the stag and cheered on his pack, his pack now chased Actaeon, British Museum, \ I 'if , , If.' ,' -mlh mm \Mm:. .n-i.'f •^^iS :Tt:r,f; ;t 48 STOBIES OF OODS AND HEROES, m him, cheered on by his huntsmen. He longed to cry out, ** I am Actseon ; recognize your master !" but the words came not at his will. The air resounded with the bark of the dogs. Presently one fastened on his back, another seized his shoulder. While they held their master, the rest of the pack came up and buried their teeth in his flesh. '* Nearer they came and nearer, bajring loud, With bloodshot eyes and red jaws dripping foam i And when I strove to check their savagery, Speaking with words, no voice articulate came, Only a dumb, low bleat. Then all the throng Leapt swift on me, and tore me as I lay !" — LkWIS MORRIS. He groaned — not in a human voice, yet certainly not In a stag's — and falling on his knees, raised his eyes, and would have raised his arms in supplication, if he had had them. His friends and fellow-huntsmen cheered on the dogs, and looked every- where for Actaeon, calling on him to join the sport. At the sound of his name he turned his head, and heard them regret that he should be away. He earnestly wished he was. He would have been well pleased to see the exploits of his dogs, but to feel them was too much. They were all around him, rending and tearing ; and it was not till they had torn out his life that the anger of Diana was satisfied.* In Shelley's poem " Adonais " is the following allusion to the story of Actaeon : — *' Midst others of less note came one tlftll form, A phantom among men ; companionIes» As the last cloud of an expiring storm. Whose thunder is its knell ; he, as I gueM, Had gazed on Nature's naked loveliness, Actaeon-like, and now he fled astray With feeble steps o'er the world's wildemeM ; And his own Thoughts, along that rugged way, Pursued like raging hounds their father and their prey/' — Htan7<*31. The allusion is probably to Shelley himself. * The history of Diana involves many contradictions. She Wftd originftlly ^ Latin goddess, but finally became identified with the Greek, Artemi*. Diana of the Ephesians had much in common, and was esKentially (be fame deity. Their statues, however, bear no resemblance, and their worship wm marked Iff many contrasts. Some thought th just, while others her virgin dignity, ones to mind, and countrymen of Ly^ not with impunity grown too old for ; some choice oxenj where the wonder black with the smc reeds. I inquired the Naiads or some of the country peo] sesses this altar, bu from land to land, her twins. Bearin this land, weary wi chance she espied i water, where the c and osiers. The g would have slaked forbade her. * W is free to all. Nati shine, the air, or common blessing, intention of washi only to quench m] speak. A draugh vive me, and I wo Let these infants arms as if to plei were stretching on " Who would n of the goddess ? they even added j the place. Nor v stirred up the muc LATONA AND THE RUSTICS. 49 La-to'na and the Rus'tics. Some thought the goddess in this instance more severe than just, while others praised her conduct as strictly consistent with her virgin dignity. As usual, the recent event brought older ones to mind, and one of the bystanders told this story. ** Some countrymen of Lycia once insulted the goddess La-to'na, but not with impunity. When I was young, my father, who had grown too old for active labors, sent me to Lycia to drive thence some choice oxen, and there I saw the very pond and marsh where the wonder happened. Near by stood an ancient altar, black with the smoke of sacrifice and almost buried among the reeds. I inquired whose altar it might be, whether of Faunus or the Naiads or some god of the neighboring mountain, and one of the country people replied, * No mountain or river god pos- sesses this altar, but she whom royal Juno in her jealousy drove from land to land, denying her any spot of earth whereon to rear her twins. Bearing in her arms the infant deities, Latona reached this land, weary with her burden and parched with thirst. By chance she espied in the bottom of the valley this pond of clear water, where the country people were at work gathering willows and osiers. The goddess approached, and kneeling on the bank would have slaked her thirst in the cool stream, but the rustics forbade her. * Why do you refuse me water ? * said she ; * water is free to all. Nature allows no one to claim as property the sun- shine, the air, or the water. I come to take my share of the common blessing. Yet I ask it of you as a favor. I haxe no intention of washing my limbs in it, weary though they be, but only to quench my thirst. My mouth is so dry that I can hardly speak. A draught of water would be nectar to me ; it would re- vive me, and I would c vn myself indebted to you for life itself. Let these infants move your pity, who stretch out their little arms as if to plead for rne;' and the children, as it happened,! were stretching out their arms. " Who would not have been moved with these gentle words of the goddess? But these clowns persisted in their rudeness; they even added jeers and threats of violence if she did not leave the place. Nor was this all. They waded into the pond and stirred up the mud with their feet, so as to make the water unfit Ik so STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. ^■i !( t X to drink. Latona was so angry that she ceased to mind her thirst She no longer supplicated the clowns, but lifting her hands ti heaven exclaimed, * May they never (juit that pool, but pass their lives there !' And it came to pass accordingly. They now live in the water, sometimes totally submerged, then raising their heads above the surface or swimming upon it. Sometimes they come out upon the bank, but soon leap back again into the water. The> still use their base voices in railing, and though they have the water all to themselves, are not ashamed to croak in the midst of it. Their voices are harsh, their throats bloated, their mouths have become stretched by constant railing, their necks have shrunk up and disappeared, and their heads are joined to their bodies. Their backs are green, their disproportioned bellies white, and in short they are now frogs, and dwell in the slimy pool.** This story explains the allusion in one of Milton's sonnets, " On the detraction which followed upon his writing certain treatises. ' ' " I d'd but prompt the age to quit their clogs By the known laws of ancient liberty, When straight a barbaroiw nr)iHe environs me Of owls and cuckoos, assen, npcH and dogs. As when those hinds that were transAjrmed to frogs Railed at Latona' s twin-born progeny. Which after held the «un and moon in fee." The persecution which Latona experienced from Juno is al- luded to in the story. The tradition was that the future mothet of Apollo and Diana, flying from the wrath of Juno, besought all the islands of the ^gean to afford her a place of rest, but all feared too much the potent queen of heaven to assist her rival Delos alone consented to become the birthplace of the fiiturt deities. Delos was then a floating island ; but when Latona ar- rived there Jupiter fastened it with adamantine chains to tht bottom of the sea, that it might be a secure res''<ig-place for his beloved. Byron alludes to Delos in his Don Juan :— •^ *' The isles of (Ireece ! the IhIch of (Ireeie ! Where burning Siippho hjvcd and sung. Where grew the artH of war and pf^ace, Where Delos vo%e and i'hu;bu» sprung!" i, Pha'e-ton was One day a school -1 of the god, and P it to his mother, birth, give me, mc to the honor." C skies and said, " upon us, that I ha^ this be the last tim labor to go and ii rises lies next to oi own you as a son. ' to India, which lie of hope and pride, his course. The palace of tl ing with gold and the ceilings, and s ■J f^ -l,^' Tuesday, Mars (Raphael). • ■ , \, ' CHAPTER V. Pha'e-ton. Pha'e-ton was the son of Apollo and the nymph Clymens, One day a school-fellow laughed at the idea of his being the son of the god, and Phaeton went in rage and shame and reported it to his mother. "If," said he, *' I am indeed of heavenly birth, give me, mother, some proof of it, and establish my claim to the honor. ' ' Clymene stretched forth her hands towards the skies and said, "I call to witness the Sun which looks down upon us, that I have told you the truth. If I speak falsely, let this be the last time I behold his light. But it needs not much labor to go and inquire for yourself; the land whence the Sun rises lies next to ours. Go and demand of him whether he will own you as a son." Phacion heard with delight. He travelled to India, which lies directly in the regions of sunrise, and, full of hope and pride, approached the goal whence his parent begins his course. ...... The palace of the Sun stood reaped alt ft oh' c5lun\nr>, glitter* ing with gold and precious s'tones, while polished ivofy 'formed the ceilings, and silver the doors. ' • . • ■ . *■ • * ' • • •■ . ••*"#. v ■• ' » » » .1 • »1 » ' « • I ^i I ' " ■ ,,..■.., ,. , . . , 1 :i" r , , -lift > ■ i If, " ■ \, tm - 1 1 52 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. R,'- % i^^ I' 1 ^; ¥. The workmanship surpassed the material,* for upon tht walls Vulcan had represented earth, sea and skies, with their inhabi- tants. In the sea were the nymphs, some sporting in the waves^ some riding on the backs of fishes, while others sat upon the rocks and dried their sea-green hair. Their faces were not all alike nor yet unlike,— but such as sisters ought to be.* The earth had its towns and forests and rivers and rustic divinities. Over all was carved the likeness of the glorious heaven ; and on the silver doors the twelve signs of the zodiac, six on each side. * The sun's bright palace, on high columns rais'd. With burnish'd gold and flaming jewcln blaz'd, The folding gates diffus'd a silver light, And with a milder gleam refresh' d the «ight." — Addison. Clymene's son advanced up the steep ascent and entered the halls of his disputed father. He approached the paternal pres- ence, but stopped at a distance, for the light was more than he could bear. Phoebus, arrayed in a purple vesture, sat on a throne which glittered as with diamonds. On his right hand and his left stood the Day, the Month, and the Year, and, at regular intervals, the Hours. Spring stood with her head crowned with flowers, and Summer, with garment cast aside, and a garland formed of spears of ripened grain, and Autumn, with his feet stained with grape-juice, and icy Winter, with his hair stiffened with hoar-frost. Surrounded by these attendants, the Sun, with the eye that sees everything, l)eheld the youth daz- zled with the novelty and splendor of the scene, and inquired the purpose of his errand. The youth rei)lied, " (), light of tiie boundless world, Phojbus, my father, — if you permit me to use thav name, — give me some i)roof, I l)eseech you, by which I may be known as yours," He ceased; and his father, laying aside the beams that shone all aroimd his head, bade him ap- proach, and embracing him, said, "My son, yon d<;serve not to be disowned, and I confirm what your mother has told yon. To put an end to your doubts, asl' ; hat you will, [he. gift shall be yours. I call to witness that dreadful lake, whi( h T never saw, but which >ve gods ^^wcc^r-by in \D',ir most solenm engagements." Phaeton iinmediateJy ^sked to be permitted for one day to drivo > See I'rox erljiul Kx])res3ion». V t» Si » •© * 9 i II n f <* V '« ** f F- " * • * ., ,i n „ 1) I u g « 1 ^< e e •Ibid. the chariot of the ihrice and four tim nave spoken rashl fain deny. I beg nor one, my Phaet( lot is mortal, and ) your ignorance yoi themselves may do of day. Not ever thunderbolts. Th( horses when fresh i is high up in the I out alarm, look do^ neath me. The la (juires most careful me, often trembles all this, the heaven the stars with it. movement, which me also away. Si would you do ? C was revolving unde ests and cities, the the way. On the frightful monsters, of the Archer, and stretches its arms i will you find it eas of fire that they bi can scarcely goveri sist the reins. Be gift ; recal . your r for a proof that yo ]) roof in my fears f could look into m anxiety. Finally, choose whatever ] precious, — ask it a to urge. It is not PHAETOX 53 the chariot of the sun. The father repented of his promise ; ihrice and four times he shook his radiant head in warning. ** I nave spoken rashly," said he; "this only request I would fain deny. I beg you to withdraw it. It is not a safe boon, nor one, my Phaeton, suited to your youth and strength. Your lot v.i mortal, and you ask what is beyond a mortal's power. In your ignorance you aspire to do that which not even the gods themselves may do. None but myself may drive the flaming car of day. Not even Jupiter, whose terrible right arm hurls the thunderbolts. The first part of the way is steep, and such as the horses when fresh in the morning can hardly climb ; the middle is high up in the heavens, whence I myself can scarcely, with- out alarm, look down and behold the earth and sea stretched be- neath me. The last part of the road descends rapidly, and re- quires most careful driving. Tethys, who is waiting to receive me, often trembles for me lest I should fall headlong. Add to all this, the heaven is all the time turning round and carrying the stars with it. I have to be perpetually on my guard lest that movement, which sweeps everything else along, should hurry me also away. Suppose I should lend you the chariot, what would you do ? Could you keep your course while the sphere was revolving under you? Perhaps you think that there are for- ests and cities, the abodes of gods, and palaces and temples on the way. On the contrary, the road is through the midst of frightful monsters. You pass by the horns of the Bull, in front of the Archer, and near the Lion's jaws, and where the Scorpion stretches its arms in one direction and the Crab in another. Nor will you find it easy to guide those horses, with their breasts full of fire that they bieathe forth from their mouths and nostrils. I can scarcely govern them myself when they are unruly and re- sist the reins. Beware, my son, lest I be the donor of a fatal gift ; recal . your request while yet you may. Do you ask me for a i)roof that you are sprung from my blood? I give you a ])roof in my fears for you. Look at my face,— I would that you could look into my breast ; you would there see all a father'? anxiety. Finally," he coi.tinucd, "look round the world and choose whatever you will of what earth or sea contains most ),)recious, — ask it and fear no refusal. This only I pray you not to urge. It is not honor, but destruction you seek. * I ';■ 1 ii'-'^ .'A •*' STORIES OF UODS AND HEAOES. " Why do you hang round my neck and still entreat me ? You shall have it if you persist, — the oath is sworn and must be kept, — but I beg you to choose more wisely. ' ' •* ("hoose out a gift from seas, or earth, or skies. For open to your wish all nature lies ; On'y decline this one unequal task, For 'tis a mischief, not a gift, you ask." — Addison. He ended ; but the youth rejected all admonition, and held to his demand. So, having resisted as long as he could, Phoebuii at last led the way to where stood the lofty chariot. It was of gold, the gift of Vulcan ; the axle was of gold, the pole and wheels of gold, the spokes of silver. Along the seat were rows of chrysolites and diamonds, which reflected all around the brightness of the sun. While the daring youth gazed in ad- miration, the early Dawn threw open the purple doors of the east, and showed the pathway strewn with roses. The stars with- drew, marshalled by the Daystar, which last of all retired also. The father, when he saw the earth beginning to glow, and the Moon preparing to retire, ordered the Hours to harness up the horses. They obeyed, and led forth from the lofty stalls the steeds full fed with ambrosia, and attached the reins. Then the father bathed the face of his son with a powerful unguent, and made him capable of enduring the brightu/^ss of the flame. He set the rays on his head, and with a foreboding sigh said, * * If, my son, you will in this at least heed my advice, spare the whip and hold tight the reins. They go fast enough of their owy- accord ; the labor is to hold them in. You are not to take the straight road directly between the five circles, but turn off" to the left. Keep within the limit of the middle zone, and avoid the northern and the southern alike. You will see the marks of the wheels, and t^ey will serve to guide you. And, that the skies and the earth lijay ep'h f^ceive their due share of heat, go not too high, or you will lu-rn the heavenly dwellings, nor too low, or you will sot th'i errth -^n fi v^ ; the midc^de course is safest and best.' And n',)w i 'cpve you trj your .hancc, which, I hope, will plan better f jr yon than you ha\ e done for yourself Night is passing out 01 tbt V ^tcm ^ntes, aud we can delay no longer. Take the * See Proverbial Expressions. reins ; but if, at la my advice, stay w and warm the cart stood erect and gr to his reluctant pa Meanwhile the breath, and stamp down, and the boi them. They dart outrun the mornin goal. The steedi lighter than usual and thither on tl weight, was dashe( ^eave the travelle( to guide them ; nc the first cim.e, the and would fain, if and the Serpent w pid and harmless, vive. Bootes, th< plough, and all ur When hapless spreading in vast knees shook with the sight of his eye his father's horses, in his request. K a tempest, wher^ t to his prayers. \'\ is left behind, but one direction to tl course, now to the reach. He loses h ^\•hether to draw ti the names of the forms scattered ov extended his two stretching over tw PHAETON. 55 reins ; but if, at last, your heart fails you, and you will benefit by my advice, stay where you are in safety, and suffer me to light and warm the c arth. ' ' The agile youth sprang into the chariot, stood erect and grasped the reins with delight, pouring out thanks to his reluctant parent. Meanwhile the horses fill the air with their snortings and fiery breath, and stamp the ground impatient. Now the bars are let down, and the boundless plain of the universe lies open before them. They dart forward and cleave the opposing clouds, and outrun the morning breezes which started from the same eastern goal. The steeds soon perceived that the load they drew was lighter than usual ; and as a ship without ballast is tossed hither and thither on the sea, so the chariot, without its accustomed weight, was dashed about as if empty. They rush headlong and ^eave the travelled road, ile is alarmed, and knows not how to guide them ; nor, if he knew, has he the power. Then, for the first cime, the Great and Little Bear were scorched with heat, and would fain, if it were possible, have plunged into the water ; and the Serpent which lies coiled up round the north pole, tcr- l)id and harmless, grew warm, and with warmth felt its rage re- vive. Bootes, they say, fled away, though encumbered with his plough, and all unused to rapid motion. When hapless Phaeton looked down upon the earth, now spreading in vast extent beneath him, he grew pale and h's knees shook with terror. In spite of the glare all around hir *, the sight of his eyes grew dim. He wished he had never touci d his father's horses, never learned his parentage, never prevai cd in his request. He is borne along like a vessel that flies before a tempest, wheri the pilot can do no more and betakes hi n -elf to his prayers. What shall he do ? Much of the heaver road is left behind, but more remains beforp. He turns his eye from one direction to the ciher ; now to the goal whence he began his course, now to the realms of sunset which he is not destiiu-d to reach. He loses his self-command, and knows not what to do — whether to draw tight the reins or throw them loose ; he forpjets the names of the horses. He sees with terror the monb*rjus forms scattered over the surface of heaven. Here the Scorpion extended his two great arms, with It's tail and crooked claws stretching over two signs of the zodiac. When the boy beheld M'^Ik'' ,.±.m w itii J &.m ',y ' 1^ iiil:^!' Vl!./ i\-'i 5^ STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. him, reeking with poison and menacing with his fangs, his ecu; age failed, and the reins fell from his hands. The horses, when they felt them loose on their backs, dashed headlong, and unre- strained went off into unknown regions of the sky, in among the stars, hurling the chariot over pathless places, now up in high heaven, now dov/n almost to the earth. The Moon saw with iastonishment her brother's chariot running beneath her own. The clouds begin to smoke, and the mountain tops take fire ; the fields are parched with heat, the plants wither, the trees with their leafy branches burn, the harvest is ablaze ! But these are small things. Great cities perished, with their walls and towers ; whole nations with their people were consumed to ashes ! The forest-clad mountains burned, Athos and Taurus and Tmolus and CEte ; Ida, once celebrated for fountains, but now all are dry ; the Muses* mountain Helicon, and Haemus ; JEtna, with fires within and without, and Parnassus, with his two peaks, and Rhodope, forced at last, to part with his snowy crown. Her cold climate was no protection to Scythia, Caucasus burned, and Ossa and Pindus, and, greater than both, Olympus ; the Alps high in air, and the Apennines crowned with clouds. Then Phaeton beheld the world on fire, and felt the heat intol- erable. The .air he breathed was like the air of a furnace and full of burning ashto, and the smoke was of a pitchy dark- ness. He dashed forward he knew not whither. Then, it is believed, the people of Ethiopia became black by the blood being forced so suddenly to the surface, and the Libyan desert was dried up to the condition in which it remains to this day. The Nymphs of the fountains, with dishevelled hair, mourned their waters, nor were the rivers safe beneath their banks ; Tanais smoked, and Caicus, Xanthus and Meander. Babylonian Eu- phrates and Ganges, Tagus with golden sands, and Cayster where the swans resort. Nile fled away and hid his head in the desert, and there it still remains concealed. Where he used to discharge his waters through seven mouths into the sea, there seven dry channels alone remained. The earth cracked open, and through the chinks light broke into Tartarus, and frightened the king of shadows and his queen. The sea shrank up. Where before was water, it became n dry plain ; and the mountains that lie beneath the waves lifted uj> their heads and became islands. The fishes sought t ventured as usual t^ wife Doris, with th( caves for refuge, above the surface. Earth, surrounded shoulders bare, sci heaven, and with j *'0, ruler of th it is your will that bolts? Let me of my fertility, o have supplied herl rense for your alt£ my brother Ocean a PHAETON. 57 The fishes sought the lowest depths, and the dolphins no longer ventured as usual to sport on the surface. Even Nereus, and his wife Doris, with the Nereides, their daughters, sought the deepest caves for refuge. Thrice Neptune essayed to raise his head above the surface, and thrice was driven back by the heat. Earth, surrounded as she was by waters, yet with head and Naiades (Naples). shoulders bare, screening her face with her hand, looked up to heaven, and with a husky voice called on Jupiter, "O, ruler of the gods, if IJiave deserved this treatment, and it is your will that I perish ^^:>h fire, why withhold your thunder- bolts? Let me at least fall by your hand. Is this the reward of my fertility, of my obedient service? Is it for this that I have supplied herbage for cattle, and fruits for men, and frankin rense for your altars? But if I am unworthy of regard, what has my brother Ocean done to deserve such a fate ? If neither of us 'n Ki . 58 STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ll ill" can excite your pity, think, I pray you, of your own heaven, antj behold how both the poles are smoking which sustain youi palace, which must fall if they be destroyed. Atlas faints, and scarce holds up his burden. If sea, earth, and heaven perish, we fall into ancient Chaos. Save what yet remains to us from the devouring flame. O, take thought for our deliverance in this awful moment ! ' ' Thus spoke Earth, and, overcome with heat and thirst, could say no more. Then Jupiter omnipotent, calling to witness all the gods, including him v/ho had lent the chariot, and showing them that all wp.s lost unless some speedy remedy were applied, mounted the lofty tower from whence he diffuses clouds over the earth and hurls the forked lightnings. But at that time not a cloud was to be found to interpose for a screen to earth nor was a shower remaining unexhausted. He thundered, and, brandish- ing a lightning-bolt in his right hand, launched it against the charioteer, and struck him at the same moment from his seat and from existence ! Phaeton, with his hair on fire, fell head- long, like a shooting star which marks the heavens with its bright- ness as it falls, and Eridanus, the great river, received him and cooled his imrning frame. ** And Phaethon, caught in mid career, And hurled from the Sun to utter sunlessness, Like a flame-bearded comet, with ghastliest hiss, Fell headlong in the amazed Eridanus, Monarch of streams, who on the Italian fields Let loose, and far beyond his flowery lips Foam- white, ran ruinous to the Adrian deep." — WORSI.EY. The Italian Naiades reared a tomb for him, and inscribed these words upon the stone : ** Driver of Phoebus' chariot, Phaeton, Struck by Jove's thunder, rests beneath this stone. He could not rule his ather's car of fire, * Yet was it much so nobly to asnire."*— Ovid. His three sisters, the He-li'a-deL,as they were called, lamented his fate, and were turned into poplar-trees on the banks of the river, while their tears, which continued to flow, became amber as they dropped into the stream.' Fr Of E\ O' Phaeton's mosf about the scene o: the river and brin the gods grew an this fact, the swai and frequently thi the search. In the beautiful the Sea-shell,' ther The water-nymph Witb Inth His( Shak Itsp And And See Proverbial Expressiong. • The iMdx, PHAETON, 59 ** H'm the Thunderer hurled From the empyrean headlong to the gulf Of the half-parched Eridanus, where weep Even now the sister trees their amber tears O'er Phaeton untimely dead." — Milman. Phaeton's most intimate friend, Cycnus, continued to lingtr about the scene of his death. He would frequently plunge into the river and bring forth some ghastly relic of the disaster ; but the gods grew angry and changed him into a swan. Owing to this fact, the swan ever sails about in the most pensive manner, and frequently thrusts its head into the water, as if to continue the search. In the beautiful lines of Walter Savage Landor, descriptive of the Sea-shell, there is an allusion to the Suu's palace and chariot. The water-nymph says : it I hcive sinuous shells of pearly hue Within, and things that lustre have imbibed In the sun's palace porch, where, when unyoked, His chariot-wheel stands midway in the wave. Shake one and it awakens ; then apply Its polished lip to your attentive ear, And it remembers its august abodes, And murmurs as the ocean murmurs therG."—'Geiirf Book I 5f . -; t . ■ ;i k i I J!j f.W 1#^| »<j\,ii I'll .- 1 " *■■ ; i 60 STORIES OF OOnS AND MEMOES, CHAPTER VI. Mi'das — Bau'cis and Phi-le'mon, Bacchus, on a certain occasion, found his old school-mastei 'and foster-father, Silenus, missing. The old man had been drinking, and in that state wandered away, and was found by some peasants, who carried him to their king, Mi'das. Midas recognized him and treated him hospitably, entertaining him for ten days and nights with an unceasing round of jollity. On the eleventh day he brought Silenus back and restored him in safety to his pupil. Whereupon Bacchus offered Midas his choice of a reward, whatever he might wish. He asked that whatever he might touch should be changed into go/<i. Bacchus consented, though sorry that he had not made a better choice. Midas went his way, rejoicing in his newly -acquired power, which he hast- ened to put to the test. He could scarcely believe his eyes when he found a twig of an oak, which he plucked from the branch, become gold in his hand. He took up a stone ', it changed to gold. He touched a sod ; it did the same. He took an apple from the tree ; you would have thought he had robbed the gar- den of the Hesperides. His joy knew no bounds, and as soon as he got home he ordered the servants to set a splendid repast on the table. Then he found, to his dismay, that whenever he touched bread, it hardened in his hand, or put a morsel to his lips, it defied his teeth. He took a glass of wine, but it flowed down his throat like melted gold. In consternation at the unprecedented affliction, he strove to divest himself of his power ; he hated the gift he had lateiy coveted. But all in vain ; starvation seemed to await him. H-^; raised his arms, all shining with gold, in prayer to Bacchus, beg- ging to be delivered from his glittering destruction. Bacchus, merciful deity, heard and consented. "Go," said he, **to the River Pactolus, trace the stream to its fountain-head ; there plunge in your head and body, and wash away your fault and its punishment." He did so, and scarce had he touched the waters before the g river-sands became Thenceforth Mi( country, and becan of Pan, the god of a certain occasion merity to compare that of Apollo, an the god of the lyr skill. Thechalleng and Tmolus, the was chosen umpire took his seat, and c trees from his ean a given signal Pa ppes, and with his gave great satisfac and his faithful fo who happened to be Tmolus turned his h Sim-god, and all h with him. Apollo wreathed with Par while his robe of swept the ground, hand he held the his right hand stru Ravished with the 1" Ills at once awarded Midas ac(iuiesced in the justice of the aw pair of ears any 1< ihem to increase ii movable on their n those of an ass. ♦'The Claj Ag Wh MIDAS. 61 waters before the gold -creating power passed into them, and the river-sands became changed into ^o/t/, as they remain to this day. Thenceforth Midas, hating wealth and splendor, dwelt in the country, and became a worshipper of Pan, the god of the fields. On a certain occasion Pan had the te- merity to compare his music with that of Apollo, and to challenge the god of the lyre to a trial of j skill. The challenge was accepted, and Tmolus, the mountain-god, was chosen umpire. The senior took his seat, and cleared away the trees from his ears to listen. At a given signal Pan blew on his ppes, and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then Tmolus turned his head toward the Sun-god, and all his trees turned with him. Apollo rose, his brow wreathed with Parnassian laurel, while his robe of Tyrian purple swept the ground. In 1 is left hand he held the lyre, and with his right hand struck the strings. Ravished with the harmony, Tmo- lus at once awarded the victory to the god of the lyre, and all but Midas actjuiesced in the judgment. He dissented, and (juestioned the justice of the award. Apollo would not suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer to wear the human form, but caused iheni to increase in length, grow hairy within and without, and movable on their roots — in short, to be on the perfect pattern of those of an ass. Silenus an J Bacchus (Vatican, Rome). ' The god of wit, to show his grudge, Clapt asses' ears upon the judge ; A goodly pair, erect and wide, Which he could neither gild nor hide." — Swift. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // t ^ /, ^ *«•'■ ^ /f/l ^^ «^/ 2l ^ 1.0 I.I •IT 1^ 1 2.2 11.25 111111.4 IIIIII.6 - 6" V] /I % '^ o / Photographic Sciences Corporation m (v <>" [v 73 WIST MAIN STRUT WBBSTIR.N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 6^ 62 STOHIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Mortified enough was Kir)g Midas at this mishap ; but he cop soled himself with the thought that * as possible to hide his mis- fortune, which he attempted to do by means of an ample turban or head-dress. But his hair-dresser, of course, knew the secret. He was charged not to mention it, and threatened with dire pun- ishment if he presumed to disobey. But he found it too mucii for his discretion to keep such a secret ; so he went out into the meadow, dug a hole in the ground, and stooping down, whis- pered the story, and covered it up. Before long a thick bed of reeds sprang up in the meadow, and as soon as it had gained its growth, began whispering the story, and has continued to do so, from that day to this, every time a breeze passes over the place. The story of King Midas has been told by others with some variations. Dryden, in the "Wife of Bath's Tale," makes Midas' s queen the betrayer of the secret. " This Midas knew, and durst communicate To none but to his wife his ears of state." Midas was king of Phrygia. He was the son of Gordius, a poor countryman, who was taken by the people and made king in obedience to the command of the oracle, which had said that their future king should come in a wagon. While the people were deliberating, Gordius with his wife and son came driving his wagon into the public square. Gordius, being made king, dedicated his wagon to the deity of the oracle and tied it up in its place with a fast knot. This was the celebrated Gordian knot^ which, in after times it was said, whoever should untie should become lord of all Asia. Many tried to untie it, but none succeeded till Alexander the Great, in his career of conquest, came to Phrygia. He tried his skill with as ill success as others, till growing impatient he drew his sword and cut the knot. When he afterwards suc- ceeded in subjecting all Asia to his sway, people began to think that he had complied with the terms of the oracle accord ing to its true meaning. Bau'cis and Phi-le'mon. On a certain hill in Phrygia stand a linden-tree and an oak, enclosed by a low wall. Not far from the spot is a marsh, for* merly good 1 sort of fen-b human shape cury (he of themselves a? shelter, but f inhabitants w tion. At las cottage, whe Phi-le'mon ashamed of t desires and master or for ter and serv the humble t low door, th( and attentiv( Then she ral fire, fed it wi blew it into and dry bran small kettle, den, and she the pot. t bacon hangir the pot to bo time. A be( guests might time with co On the ber with sea-wee( hut ancient a lady, with h One leg was restored the ] some .;weet-s nerva's olive added radish ashes. All \ BAVOIS AND PHILEMON. 63 merly good habitable land, but now indented with pools, the re- sort of fen-birds and cormorants. Once on a time, Jupiter, in human shape, visited this country, and with him his son Mer- cury (he of the caduceus), without his wings. They presented themselves as weary travellers at many a door, seeking rest and shelter, but found all closed, for it was late and the inhospitable inhabitants would not rouse themselves to open for their recep- tion. At last a humble mansion received them, a small thatched cottage, where Bau'cis, a pious old dame, and her husband Phi-le'mon, united when young, had grown old together. Not ashamed of their poverty, they made it endurable by moderate desires and kind dispositions. One need not look there for master or for servant ; they two were the whole household, mas- ter and servant alike. When the two heavenly guests crossed the humble threshold, and bowed their heads to pass under the low door, the old man placed a seat, on which Baucis, bustling and attentive, spread a cloth and begged them to sit down. Then she raked out the coals from the ashes and kindled up a fire, fed it with leaves and dry bark, and with her scanty breath blew it into a flame. She brought out of a corner split sticks and dry branches, broke them up, and placed them under the small kettle. Her husband collected some pot-herbs in the gar- den, and she shred them from the stalks and prepared them for the pot. He reached down with a forked stick a flitch of bacon hanging in the chimney, cut a small piece, and put it in the pot to boil with the herbs, setting away the rest for another time. A beechen bowl was filled with warm water, that their guests might wash. While all was doing, they beguiled the time with conversation. On the bench designed for the guestsj\vas laid a cushion stuff*ed with sea-weed, and a cloth, produced only on great occasions, hut ancient and coarse enough, was spread over that. The old lady, with her apron on, with trembling hand set the table. One leg was shorter than the rest, but a piece of slate put under restored the level. When fixed, she rubbed the table down with some .;weet -smelling herbs. Upon it she set some of chaste Mi- nerva's olives, some come' berries preserved in vinegar, and added radishes and cheese, with eggs lightly cooked in the ashes. All were served in earthen dishes, and an earthenware V, V-. ;vn I 'i 64 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES pitcher with wooden cups stood beside them. When all was ready, the stew, smoking-hot, was set on the table. Some wine, not of the oldest, was added ; and for dessert, apples and wild honey ; and over and above all, friendly faces, and simple but hearty welcome. Now while the repast proceeded, the old folks were astonished } to see that the wine, as fast as it was poured out, renewed itself in the pitcher, of its own accord. Struck with terror, Baucis and Philemon recognized their heavenly guests, fell on their knees, and with clasped hands implored forgiveness for their poor entertainment. There was an old goose, which they kept as the guardian of their humble cottage ; and they bethought them to make this a sacrifice in h >or of their guests. But the goose, too nimble, with the aid of feet and wings, for the old folks, eluded their pursuit, and at last took shelter between the gods themselves. They forbade it to be slain, and spoke in these words : " We are gods. This inhospitable village shall pay the penalty of its impiety ; you alone shall go free from the chastise- ment. Quit your house, and come with us to the top of yonder hill. ' ' They hastened to obey, and, staff in hand, labored up the steep ascent. They had reached to within an arrow's flight of the top, when, turning theiT eyes below, they beheld all the country sunk in a lake, only their own house left standing. While they gazed with wonder at the sight, and lamented the fate of their neighbors, that old house of theirs was changed into a temple. Columns took the place of the corner-posts, the thatch grew yellow and appeared a gilded roof, the floors became mar- ble, the doors were enriched with carving and ornaments of gold. " Their little shed, scarce large enough for two, Seems, from the ground increased, in height and bulk to gro^ . A stately temple shoots within the skies, The crotches of their cot in columns rise ; The pavement polish' d marble they behold, The gat«s, with sculpture grac'd, the spires and tiles of gold." ^ — Ovid (Dryden's tr.). Then spoke Jupiter, in benignant accents : ** Excellent old man, and woman worthy of such a husband, speak ; tell us your wishes ; what favor have you to ask of us ?' ' Philemon took counsel with Baucis a few moments, then declared to the godij their unite< your tempi and concor both from in my own keepers of old, as the] and were beginning changing ii over their 1 could speal at the san Tyanean si side, made The stor in a burles( ing saints, Philemon specimen : XAVCiS AND PBILEMOX 6i their united wish. " We ask to be priests and guardians of this your temple ; and since here we have passed our lives in love and concord, we wish that one and the same hour may take us both from life, that I may nofl live to see her grave, nor be laid in my own by her. ' ' Their prayer was granted. They were the keepers of the temple as long as they lived. When grown very old, as they stood one day before the steps of the sacred edifice, and were telling the story of the place, Baucis saw Philemon beginning to put forth leaves, and old Philemon saw Baucis changing in like manner. And now a leafy crown had grown over their heads, while exchanging parting words as long as they could speak. " Farewell, dear spouse," they said, together, and at the same moment the bark closed over their mouths. The Tyanean shepherd still shows the two trees, standing side by side, made out of the two good old people. The story of Baucis and Philemon has been imitated by Swift in a burlesque style, the actors in the change being two wander- ing saints, and the house being changed into a church, of which Philemon is made the parson. The following may serve as a specimen : •* They scarce had spoke, when, fair and soft, The roof began to mount aloft ; Aloft rose every beam and rafter ; The heavy wall climbed slowly after. The chimney widened and grew higher, Became a steeple with a spire. ^ The kettle to the top was hoist, And there stood fastened to a joist, But with the upside down, to show Its inclination for below ; In vain, for a superior force. Applied at bottom, stops its course : Doomed ever in suspense to dwell, *Ti» now no kettle, but a bell." I I 66 JSTOBIES OF OODS ANI» MEMOES. V CHAPTER VII. Pro-ser'pi-ne, Ce'res, Glau'cus and Scyl'la. When Jupiter and his brothers had defeated the Titans and 'banished them to Tartarus, a new enemy rose up against the gods. They were the giants Typhon, Briareus, Enceladus and others. Some of them had a hundred arms, others breathed out fire. They were finally subdued and buried alive under Mount JEtnay where they still sometimes struggle to got loose, and shake the whole island with earthquakes. Their breath comes up through the moun. tain, and is what men call the eruption of the volcano. The fall of these monsters shook the earth, so that Pluto was alarmed, and feared that his king- dom would be laid open to the light of day. Under this appre- hension he mounted his chariot, drawn by black horses, and took a circuit of inspection to satisfy himself of the extent of the dam. age. While be was thus engaged, Venus, who was sitting on Mount Eryx, playing with her boy, Cupid, espied him, and said, **My son, take your darts with which you T» . J « . /,„,, conquer all, even Jove himself, Plutoand Proserpine (Villa j j . . .. . . / Ludovici, Rome). ^nd send one into the breast of yonder dark monarch, who rules the realm of Tartarus. Why should he alone escape? Seize the opportui see that eve despise our the wise anc ress defy us ; daughter of ( ens to folk Now, do yoi regard for y( mine, join t' The boy un and selectee truest arrov the bow agj attached th< ing made r row with its into the hea In the Vi is a lake em which scree: rays of the s ground is ers, and Spi ual. Here playing wit! filling her b PBOSBHPINB. 67 the opportunity to extend your erapire and mine. Do you not see that even in heaven some despise our povyrer? Minerva the wise and Diana the hunt- ress defy us ; and there is that daughter of Ce'res,who threat- ens to follow their example. Now, do you, if you have any regard for your own interest or mine, join these two in one." The boy unbound his quiver, and selected his sharpest and truest arrow; then, straining the bow against his knee, he attached the string, and, hav- ing made ready, shot the ar- row with its barbed point right into the heart of Pluto. In the vale of Enna there is a lake embowered in woods, which screen it from the fervid rays of the sun, while the moist ground is covered with flow- ers, and Spring reigns perpet- -ucWng Vcnu. (Vatican, Rome), ual. Here Pro-serpi-ne was playing with her companions, gathering lilies and violets, and filling her basket and her apron with them. «• Sacred Goddess, Mother Earth, Thou from whose immortal boiom Gods and men and beasts have birth, Leaf and blade, and bud and blossom, Breathe thine influence most divine On thine own child, Proserpine. •• If with mists of evening dew Thou dost nourish these young iloweri Till they grow in scent and hue Fairest children of the Hours, Breathe thine influence most divine On thine own child, Proserpine."-- SHELLEY. 'ih^'^':: 68 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, J Pluto saw her, loved her, and carried her off. She screamed for help to her mother and her companions, and when, in hei fright', she dropped the corners of her anron and let the flowers fall, childlike, she felt the loss of them as an addition to hei grief. *• *Tis he, 'iis he : he comes to us From the depths of Tartarus. For what of evil doth he roam , * From his red and gloomy home?" — Barry Cornwall. The ravisher urged on his steeds, calling them each by name, and throwing loose over their heads and necks his iron-colored reins. When he reached the River Cyane, and it opposed his passage, he struck the river-bank with his trident, and the earth opened and gave him a passage to Tartarus. •* Here life has death for neighbor. And far from eye or ear Wan waves and wet wind labor, Weak ships and spirits steer." — SwiNBURNE. Ceres, sought her daughter throughout the entire world. Bright-haired Aurora, when she came forth in the morning, and Hesperus, when he led out the stars in the evening, found her still busy in the search. •* What ails her that she comes not home ? Demeter seeks her far and wide, And gloomy-browed doth ceaseless roam From many a morn till eventide. • My life, immortal though it be, Is naught I* she cries, * for want of thee, Persephone — Persephone!'" — Ingelow. But it was unavailing. At length, weary and «iad, she sat down upon a stone, and continued sitting nine days and nights, in the open air, under the sunlight and moonlight and falling showers. It was where now stands the city of Eleusis, then the home of an old man named Celeus. *• Long was thine anxious search For lovely Proserpine, nor didst thou break Thy mournful fast, till the far-fam'd Eleusis Received thee wandering. " — Orphic Hymn. 'i He wa and sticl two goatj guise of J name was Ceres—*' alone up old man his load y her to c such as it he urged she repli your dai mine. ' ' or somet gods nev( cheeks u compassi< child wej he, "Co not our your dauj in safety she, *'I peal!" stone an< they wal only son sick, fev( stooped J they foui recovery goddess the palei The who little gir the tabh the com PBOSEBPINK 69 hei '■ers her .L. me, >red his irth Hind ' sat ;hts, ling the He was out in the field, gathering acorns and blackberries, and sticks for his fire. His little girl was driving home their two goats, and as she passed the goddess, who appeared in the guise of an old woman, she said to her, "Mother" — ^and the name was sweet to the ears of Ceres — "why do you sit here alone upon the rocks?" The old man also stopped, though his load was heavy, and begged her to come into his cottage, such as it was. She declined, and he urged her. " Go in peace," she replied, "and be happy in your daughter; I have lost mine." As she spoke, tears — or something like tears, for the gods never weep — fell down her cheeks upon her bosom. The compassionate old man and his child wept with her. Then said he, " Coiiir wich us, and despise not our humble roof; so may your daughter be restored to you in safety." "Lead on," said she, " I cannot resist that ap- peal !" So she rose from the stone and went with them. As they walked he told her that his only son, a little boy, lay very sick, feverish and sleepless. She stooped and gathered some poppies. As they entered the cottage they found all in great distress, for the boy seemed past hope of recovery. Metanira, his mother, received her kindly, and the goddess stooped and kissed the lips of the sick child. Instantly the paleness left his face, and healthy vigor returned to his body. The whole family were delighted — that is, the father, mother, and little girl, for they were all ; they had no servants. They spread the table, and put upon it curds and cream, apples, and honey in the comb. While they ate, Ceres mingled poppy juice in thr Proserpine. HI - .Hi ... Tm 'f9 \ii 70 STOEIES OF GODS AND HEROES. milk of the boy. When night came and all was still, she arose, and taking the sleeping boy, moulded his limbs with her hands, and uttered over him three times a solemn charm, then went and Abduction of Proserpine (P. Schobert). * laid him in the ashes. His mother, who had been watching «rhat her guest was doing, sprang forward with a cry and snatched the child from the fire. Then Ceres assumed her own form, and a divine splendor shone all around. While I "Mother, would havi tempt. N teach men can win fi cloud aboi Ceres cc to land, ar Sicily, wh( River Cyai to his own goddess all so she onl; dropped i Ceres, seei did not ye land, with fertili more shall plough br was too mi seeds — thii the founta said she, ' a passage have seen from Elis. They prai boasted of the wood, flowing, sc The willov 1 PROSERPINE. 71 *' From her fragrant robes A lovely scent was scattered, and afar Shone light emitted from her skin divine. And yellow locks upon her shoulders waved ; White as from lightning, all the house was filled With splendor." — Homeric Hymn. While they were overcome with astonishment, she said, " Mother, you have been cruel, in your fondness, to your son. I would have made him immortal, but you have frustrated my at- tempt. Nevertheless, he stxall be great and useful. He shall teach men the use of the plough, and the rewards which labor can win from the cultivated soil." So saying, she wrapped a cloud about her, and mounting her chariot rode away. Ceres continued her search for her daughter, passing from land to land, and across seas and rivers, till at length she returned to Sicily, whence she at first set out, and stood by the banks of the River Cyane, where Pluto made himself a passage with his prize to his own dominions. The river nymph would have told the goddess all she had witnessed, but dared not, for fear of Pluto ; so she only ventured to take up the girdle which Proserpine had dropped in her flight, and waft it to the feet of the mother, Ceres, seeing this, was no longer in doubt of her loss, but she did not yet know the cause, and laid the blame on the innocent land. ** Ungrateful soil," said she, "which I have endowed with fertility and clothed with herbage and nourishing grain, no more shall you enjoy my favors." Then the cattle died, the plough broke in the furrow, the seed failed to come up ; there was too much sun, there was too much rain ; the birds stole the seeds — thistles and brambles were the only growth. Seeing this, the fountain Arethusa interceded for the land. "Goddess," said she, "blame not the land; it opened unwillingly to yield a passage to your daughter. I can tell you of her fate, for 1 have seen her. This is not my native country ; I came hither from Elis. I was a woodland nymph, and delighted in the chase. They praised my beauty, but I cared nothing for it, and rather boasted of my hunting exploits. One day I was returning from the wood, heated with exercise, when I came to a stream silently flowing, so clear that you might count the pebbles on the bottom. The willows shaded it, and the grassy bank sloped down to the <> ■iJCiVS 72 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, water*s edge. I approached, I touched the water with my foot. I steppedvin knee-deep, and not content with that, I laid my gar- ments on the willows and went in. While I sported in the water I heard an indistinct m mur coming up as out of the depths of the stream, and made hast^ to escape to the nearest bank. The voice said, * Why do you fly, Arethusa? I am Al- Arethusa changed into a Fountain (Ch. Crank). pheus, the god of this stream.' I ran, he pursued ; he was not more swift than I, but he was stronger, and gained upon me, as my strength failed. At last, exhausted, I cried for help to Diana. * Help me, goddess ! help your votary ! ' The goddess heard, and wrapped me suddenly in a thick cloud The river god looked now this way and now that, and twice came close to me, but could not how I tremble side the fold, in streams ; w less time thai this form Alp] with mine. ** Diana cle plunged into came out here of the earth I showing alarrr came a queen- monarch of tJ When Cere then turned h herself before bereavement, restitution of Jupiter con should not dv * food ; otherw Mercury was pine of Pluto. The wily nc PBOSEBPIN& 73 but could not find me. ' Arethusa ! Arethusa I* he cried. O, how I trembled — like a lamb that hears the wolf growling out- side the fold. A cold sweat came over me, my hair flowed dowa in streams ; where my foot stood there was a pool. In short, in less time than it takes to tell it I became a fountain. But in this form Alpheus knew me, and attempted to mingle his stream with mine. ** O Arethtisa, peerless nymph ! why fear Such tenderness as mine ? Great Dian, why. Why didst thou hear her prayer ? Oh that I , Were rippling round her dainty fairness now. Circling about her waist, and striving how To entice her to a dive I then stealing in Between her luscious lips and eyelids thin."— Keats. , ** Diana cleft the ground, and I, endeavoring to escape him, plunged into the cavern, and through the bowels of the earth came out here in Sicily. While I passed through the lower parts of the earth I saw your Proserpine. She was sad, but no longer showing alarm in her countenance. Her look was such as be- came a queen — the queen of Erebus j the powerful bride of the monarch of the realms of the dead." When Ceres heard this she stood for a while like one stupefied, then turned her chariot towards heaven and hastened to present herself before the throne of Jove. She told the story of her bereavement, and implored Jupiter to interfere to procure the restitution of her daughter. • *• Arise, and set the maiden free ; Why should the world such sorrow dree • '. By reason of Persephone ?" — Ingelow. ., Jupiter consented on one condition, namely, that Proserpine should not during her stay in the lower world have taken any * food ; otherwise, the Fates forbade her release. Accordingly, Mercury was sent, accompanied by Spring, to demand Proser pine of Pluto. ** Last, Zeus himself. Pitying the evil that was done, sent forth His messenger beyond the western rim To fetch me back to earth." — Lewis Morris. The wily monarch consented ; but alas I the maiden had taken 74 •IIES OF OODS AND HEROES. i'lii fb a pomegranate which Pluto offered her, and had sucked the sweet pulp from a few of the seeds. This was enough to prevent her complete release ; but a compromise was made, by which she was to pass half the time with her mother, and the rest with her husband Pluto. Ceres allowed herself to be pacified with this arrangement and restored the earth to her favor. Now she remembered Celeus and his family, and her promise to his infant son Triptolemus. When the boy grew up, she taught him the use of the plough, and how to sow the seed. She took him in her chariot, drawn by winged dragons, through all the countries of the earth, im- parting to mankind valuable grains, and the knowledge of agri- culture. After his return, Triptolemus built a magnificent tern- pie to Ceres in Eleusis, and established the worship of the god- dess, under the name of the Eleusmian mysteries, which, in the splendor and solemnity of their observance, surpassed all other religious celebrations among the Greeks. There can be little doubt of this story of Ceres and Proserpine being an allegory. Proserpine signifies the seed-corn which when cast into the ground lies there concealed, — that is, she is carried off by the god of the underworld ; it reappears, — that is, Proserpine is restored to her mother. Spring leads her back to the light cf day. "And when, in springtime, with sweet-smelling flowers Of various kinds the earth doth bloom, thoul' t come From gloomy darkness back— a mighty joy To gods and mortal men."— Homeric Hymn. Milton alludes to the story o/ Proserpine in ** Paradise Lost," Book IV.:— ■" Not that fair field Of Enna where Proserpine gathering flowers, Herself a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis Was gathered, which cost Ceres all that pain y To seek her through the world, * * * * might with this Paradise Of Eden strive." Hood, in his ''Ode to Melancholy," uses the same allusion rery beautifully : — , The River part of its cou till it again ap fountain Aret under the sa that a cup thr It is this fable ridge alludes t Glau'cus ' to land, and h he emptied hii The place wh( solitary spot, i nor ever visite which had b« their fins as if astonished, th< and swam aw whether some herbage. **\ gathering som plant reached longing desire self, but biddi The gods of him to the hoi Oi Oceanus an <viis mortal in OLAUCUS AND SCYLLA, 75 ** Forgive, if somewhile I forget, In woe to come the present bliss ; As frighted Proserpine let fall Her flowers at the sight of Dis.'* ' The River Alpheus does in fact disappear under ground, in part of its course, finding its way through subterranean channels, till it again appears on the surface. It was said that the Sicilian fountain Arethusa was the same stream, which, after passing under the sea, came up again in Sicily. Hence the story ran that a cup thrown into the Alpheus appeared again in Arethusa. It is this fable of the underground course of Alpheus that Cole- ridge alludes to in his poem of " Kubla Kahn ": — ** In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree. Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man, . ( Down to a sunless sea." Glau'cus and Scyl'la. Glau'cus was a fisherman. One day he had drawn his net to land, and had taken a great many fishes of various kinds. So he emptied his net, and proceeded to sort the fishes on the grass. The place where he stood was a beautiful island in the river, a solitary spot, uninhabited, and not used for pasturage of cattle, nor ever visited by any but himself On a sudden, the fishes, which had been laid on the grass, began to revive and move their fins as if they were in the water ; and while he looked on astonished, they one and all moved off to the water, plunged in and swarn away. He did not know what to make of this, whether some god had done it, or some secret power in the herbage. ** What herb has such a power?" he exclaimed ; andf gathering some of it, he tasted it. Scarce had the juices of the plant reached his palate when he found himself agitated with a longing desire for the water. He could no longer restrain him- self, but bidding farewell to earth, he plunged into the stream. The gods of the water received him graciously, and admitted him to the honor of their society. They obtained the consent 0/ Oceanus and Tethys, the sovereigns of the sea, that all that <v)is mortal in him should be washed away. A hundred rivers 76 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES, poured their waters over him. Then he lost all sense of h« former nature and all consciousness. When he recovered h? found himself changed in form and mind. His hair was sea green, and trailed behind him on the water ; his shoulders grew broad, and what had been thighs and legs assumed the form of a fish's tail. The sea- gods complimented him on the change of his appearance, and he fancied himself rather a good-looking personage* " At first I dwelt Whole days and days in sheer astonishment ; • • Moving but with the mighty el)b and flow. Then, like a new-fledg'd bird tliat first doth show His spreaded feathers to the morrow chil. I try'd in fear the pinions of my will. 'Twas freedom ! and at once I visited The ceaseless wonders of this ocean-bed." — Keats. One day Glaucus saw the beautiful maiden Scyl'la, the fa- vorite of the water-nymphs, rambling on the shore, and when she had found a sheltered nook, laving her limbs in the clear water. He fell in love with her, and showing himself on the surface, spoke to her, saying such things as he thought most likely to win her to stay ; for she turned to run immediately on the sight of him, and ran till she had gained a cliff overlooking the sea. Here she stopped and turned around to see whether it was a god or a sea -animal, and observed with wonder his shape and color. Glaucus, partly emerging from the water and supporting himself against a rock, said, '* Maiden, I am no mon- ster, nor a sea-animal, but a god, and neither Proteus nor Tri- ton ranks higher than I. Once I was a mortal, and followed the sea for a living; but now I belong wholly to it." Then he told the story of his metamorphosis, and how he had been pro- moted to his present dignity, and added, ** But what avails all this if it fails to move your heart?" He was going on in this strain, but Scylla turned and hastened away. Glaucus was in despair, but it occurred to him to consult the enchantress, Circe. Accordingly he repaired to her island—the same where afterwards Ulysses landed, as we shall see in one of our Liter stories. After mutual salutations he said, "Goddess, I entreat your pity ; you alone can relieve the pain T suffer. 'I'he power of herbs I know as well as .nyone, for it is to them T owo my change of how I have su has treated m( potent herbs, i love — ^for that me a like reti insensible to better pursue a stead of having own worth, and learned in how to refuse y is ready to me both at once." trees grow at tl the mountains. The goddess neither did sh she turned all took plants of incantations an of gambolling the coast of Si< on the shore t< day, to breathi Here the godd( over it incantal plunged into tl perceive a broc her 1 At first : and tried to ru ran she carriec limbs, she foun sters. Scylla as ugly as her mariners who < of the compan i^neas, till at continues to b< GLAUCUS AND SCYLLA. 77 my change of form. I love Scylla. I am ashamed to tell you how I have sued and promised to her, and how scornfully she has treated me. I beseech you to use your incantations, or potent herbs, if they are more prevailing, not to cure me of my iQve — for that I do not wish — ^but to make her share it and yield me a like return." To which Circe replied — for she was not insensible to the attractions of the sea-green deity — "You had better pursue a willing object ; you are worthy to be sought, in- stead of having to seek in vain. Be not diffident ; know your own worth. I protest to you that even I, goddess though I be, and learned in the virtues of plants and spells, should not know how to refuse you. If she scorns you, scorn her ; meet one who is ready to meet you half-way, and thus make a due return to both at once." To these words Glaucus replied, " Sooner shall trees grow at the bottom of the ocean, and seaweed on tlie top of the mountains, than I will cease to love Scylla, and her alone. ** The goddess was indignant, but she could not punish him, neither did she wish to do so, for she liked him too well ; so she turned all her wrath against her rival, poor Scylla. She took plants of poisonous powers and mixed them together, with incantations and charms. Then she passed through the crowd of gambolling beasto, the victims of her art, and proceeded to the coast of Sicily, where Scylla lived. There was a little bay on the shore to which Scylla used to resort, in the heat of the day, to breathe the air of the sea and to bathe in its waters. Here the goddess poured her poisonous mixture, and muttered over it incantations of mighty power. Scylla came as usual, and plunged into the water up to her waist. What was her horror to perceive a brood of serpents and barking monsters surrounding her 1 At first she could not imagine they were a part of herself, and tried to run from them and to drive theni away ; but as she ran she carried them with her, and when she tried to touch her limbs, she found her hands touch only the yawning jaws of mon- sters. Scylla remained rooted to the spot. Her temper grew as ugly as her form, and she took pleasure in devouring hapless mariners who came within her grasp. Thus she destroyed six of the companions of Ulysses, and tried to wreck the ships of i^neas, till at last she was turned into a rock, and as such still continues to be a terror to mariners. • I -i 'la ■ % 78 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. Keats, in his " Endymio- has given a new version of the ending of "Glaucus and Scylla." Glaucus consents to Circe's blandishments, till he, by chance, is witness to her transactions with her beasts. Disgusted with her treachery and cruelty, he tries to escape from her, but is taken and brought back, when with reproaches she banishes him, sentencing him to pass a thou- sand years in decrepitude and pain. He returns to the sea, and |here finds the body of Scylla, whom the goddess has not trans- formed but drowned. Glaucus learns that his destiny is that, if he passes his thousand years in collecting all the bodies of drowned lovers, a youth beloved of the gods will appear and help him. Endymion fulfils this prophecy, and aids in restoring Glaucus to youth, and Scylla and all the drowned lovers to life. // Pyg-ma'l Pyg-ma'li in women thai live unmarriec ful skill a stati anywhere nea maiden thatse by modesty, its product loc admired his o^ feit creation, himself whethi believe that it ents such as y( ittie birds anc put raiment oi lace about its of pearls upon not less charm spread with c put her head i Wednesday, Mercury (Raphael). CHAPTER VIII. Pyg-ma'li-on — Dry'o-pe — Ve'nus and A-do'nis— A-porio and Hy-a-cin'thus. Pyg-ma'li-on was a bachelor god. He saw so much to blame in women that he came at last to abhor the sex, and resolved to live unmarried. He was a sculptor, and had made with wonder- ful skill a statue of ivory, so beautiful that no living woman came anywhere near it. It was indeed the perfect semblance of a maiden that seemed to be alive, and only prevented from moving by modesty. His art was so perfect that it concealed itself, and its product looked like the workmanship of nature. Pygmalion admired his own work, and at last fell in love with the counter- feit creation. Oftentimes he laid his hand upon it as if to assure himself whether it were living or not, and could not even then believe that it was only ivory. He caressed it, and gave it pres- ents such as young girls love — ^bright shells and polished stones, ittie birds and flowers of various hues, beads and amber. He put raiment on its limbs, and jewels on its fingers, and a neck- lace about its neck. To the ears he hung ear-rings, and strings of pearls upon the breast. Her dress became her, and she looked not less charming than when unattired. He laid her on a couch spread with cloths of Tyrian dye, and called her his wife, and put her head upon a pillow of the softest feathers. (79) 8o STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. The festival of Ve'nus was at hand — a. festival celebrated wi*h great pomp at Cyprus. Victims were offered, the altars smoked and the odor of incense filled the air. When Pygmalion had performed his part in the solemnities, he stood before the altar and timidly said, "Ye gods, who can do all things, give me, I pray you, for my wife " — he dared not say **my ivory virgin," • but said instead — " one like my ivory virgin." Venus, who was present at the festival, heard him and knew the thought he would have uttered ; and as an omen of her favor, caused the flame on the altar to shoot up thrice in a fiery point into the air. When he returned home he went to see his statue, and leaning over the couch, gave a kiss to the mouth. It seemed to be warm. He pressed its lips again, he laid his hand upon the limbs ; the ivory felt soft to his touch, and yielded to his fingers like the wax of Hymettus. While he stands astonished and glad, though doubting, and fears he may be mistaken, again and again, with a lover's ardor, he touches the object of his hopes. " Yet while he stood and knew not what to do. With yearning, a strange thrill of hope there came, A shaft of new desire now pierced him through, And there withal a soft voice called his name ; And v/hen he turned with eager eyes aflame. He saw betwixt him and the setting sun The lively image of his loved one." — William Morris. It was indeed alive ! The veins when pressed yielded to the finger and again resumed their roundness. Then at last the votary of Venus found words to thank the goddess, and pressed his lips upon lips as real as his own. The virgin felt the kisses and blushed, and opening her timid eyes to the light, fixed them at the same moment on her lover. Venus blessed the nuptials she had formed, and from this union Paphos was born, from whom the city, sacred to Venus, received its name. Schiller, in his poem the "ideals," applies this tale of Pyg- malion to the love of nature in a youthful heart. The following translation is furnished by a friend :— ** As once with prayers in passion flowing, Pygmalion embraced the stone. Till from the frozen marble glowing. The light of feeling o' er him shone> ^ Dry'o-pc of Andraemc of her first ( a stream tha the upland v "A I Wh Th An . He Bel They wen for the altar her bosom, Near the wa ope gatherec about to do the places w plant was nc base pursue learned fron Dry ope, 1 II DRYOPE. 8 1 So did I clasp with young devotion Bright nature to a poet' s heart, Till breath and warmth and vital motion Seemed through the statue form to dart. ' ' ** And then, in all my ardor sharing, '' • The silent form expression found ; Returned my kiss of youthful daring. And understood my heart's quick sound. Then lived for me the bright creation, ' *, > The silver rill with song was rife ; The trees, the roses, shared sensation, An echo of my boundless life." Dry'o-pe. Dry'o-pe and I'o-le were sisters. The former was the wife of Andraemon, beloved by her husband, and happy in the birth of her first child. One day the sisters strolled to the bank of a stream that sloped gradually down to the water's edge, while the upland was overgrown with myrtles. *« A lake there was, with shelving banks around, • . Whose verdant summit fragrant myrtles crown'd. ' Those shades, unknowing of the I'otes, she sought, And to the Naiads flowery garlands brought ; . Her smiling babe (a pleasing charge) she press' d Between her arms."— Ovid (Pope's tr, ). They were intending to gather flowers for forming garlands for the altars of the nymphs, and Dry ope carried her child at her bosom, a precious burden, and nursed him as she walked. Near the water grew a lotus plant, full of purple flowers. Dry- ope gathered some and offered them to the baby, and lole was vabout to do the same, when she perceived blood dropping from the places where her sister had broken them off the stem. The l)lant was no othei than the Nymph Lotis, who, running from a base pursuer, had been changed into this form. This they learned from the country people when it was too late. (( Lotis the nympli (if rural laics l)e true). As from Priapus' lawless lt)vc she flew, Forsook her form ; and fixing here became A flowery plant, which still prcHcrvcs her name." - Ovid (Pope's tr.). Dryope, horror-struck when she perceived what she had done^ 6 82 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, would gladly have hastened from the spot, but found her fee\ rooted to the ground. She tried to pull them away, but moved nothing but her upper limbs. The woodiness crept upward, and by degrees invested her body. In anguish she attempted to tear her hair, but found her hands filled with leaves. The infant felt his mother's bosom begin to harden, and the milk cease to flow. lole looked on at the sad fate of her sister, and could render no assistance. She embraced the growing trunk, as if she would hold back the advancing wood, and would gladly have been enveloped in the same bark. At this moment, An- drsemon, the husband of Dryope, with her father, approached ; and when they asked for Dryope, lole pointed them to the new- formed lotus. They embraced the trunk of the yet warm tree, and showered their kisses on its leaves. Now there was nothing left of Dryope but her face. Her tears still flowed and fell on her leaves, and while she could she spoke. •* I am not guilty. I deserve not this fate. I have in- jured no one. If I speak falsely, may my foliage perish with drought and my trunk be cut down and burned. Take this in- fant and g! /e it to a nurse. Let it often be brought and nursed under my branches, and play in my shade ; and when he is old enough to talk, let him be taught to call me mother, and to say with sadness * My mother lies hid under this bark. ' But bid him be careful of river banks, and beware how he plucks flowers, remembering that every bush he sees may be a goddess in dis- guise. Farewell, dear husband, and sister, and father. If you retain any love for me, let not the axe wound me, nor the flocks bite and tear my branches. Since I cannot stoop to you, climb up hither and kiss me ; and while my lips continue to feel, lift up my child that I may kiss him. I can speak no more, for already the bark advances up my neck, and will soon shoot over me. You need not close my eyes ; the bark will close them without your aid." Then the lips ceased to move, and life was extinct ; but the branches retained for some time longer the vital heat. ** She ceased at once to speak, and ceased to be, And all the nymph was lost within the tree : . Yet latent life through her new branches reignM, And long the plant a human heatretalnM." —Ovid (Pope's tr.). fCeats, in (« j Ve'nus, bosom with the wound thought. ] held Adon with him. interest in Paphos, an( rich in mei self even fr< was dearer Him she f company, recline in but to cul rambles thr the hills, c Diana; anc hares and s it is safe to the wolves the slaugh charged A such dange toward the age again! safe. Bewj self to dai iiess to risl weapons. VENVS AND ADONIS. Keats, in "Endymion," alludes to Dryope thus:— •« She took a lute from which there pulsing came A lively prelude, fashioning the way In which her voice should wander. 'Twas a lay More subtle-cadenced, more forest-wild Than Diyope's lone lulUng of her child," etc. 85 ,* ''-■('I Ve'nus and A-do'nis. Ve'nus, playing one day with her boy Cupid, wounded hei bosom with one of his arrows. She pushed him away, but the wound was deeper than she thought. Before it healed she be- held Adonis, and was captivated with him. She no longer took any interest in her favorite resorts, — Paphos, and Cnidos, and Amathos, rich in metals. She absented her- self even from heaven, for A-do'nis was dearer to her than heaven. Him she followed, and bore him company. She who used to love to recline in the shade, with no care but to cultivate her charms, now rambles through the woods and over the hills, dressed like the huntress Diana; and calls her dogs, and chases hares and stags, or other game that it is safe to hunt, but keeps clear of the wolves and bears, reeking with the slaughter of the herd. She charged Adonis, too, to beware of such dangerous animals. * * Be brave toward the timid, ' * said she ; ' * cour- age against the courageous is not safe. Beware how you expose your- , . , self to danger, and put my happi- ^^°"'^ (Thorwaldsen) Munich. ness to risk. Attack not the beasts that nature has armed with weapons. I do not value your glory so high as to consent tg ml >:\ :, ::nij 84 STORIES OF Q0D8 AND HEROES. purchase it by such exposure. Venus (Capitol, Rome). Your youth, and the beauty that charms Venus, will not touch the hearts of lions and bristly boars. Think of their terrible claws and prodigious strength ! I hate the whole race of them. Do you ask me why ?' ' Then she told him the story of Atalanta and Hippomenes, who were changed into lions for their ingratitude to her. Having given him this warn- ing, she mounted her chariot, drawn by swans, and drove away through the air. But Adonis was too noble to heed such counsels. The dogs had roused a wild boar from his lair, and the youth threw his spear and wounded the ani- mal with a sidelong stroke. The beast drew out the weapon with his jaws and rushed after Adonis, who turned and ran ; but the boar overtook him and buried his tusks in his side, and stretched him dy- ing upon the plain. *• The youth lieth dead while the dogs howl around, And the nymphs weep aloud from the mists on the hill." - — Mrs. Browning. Venus, in her swan-drawn chariot, had not yet reached Cy- prus when she heard comhig up through mid-air the groans of her beloved, and turned her white-winged coursers back to earth. As she drew near and saw from on high his lifeless body bathed in blood, she alighted, and, bending over it, bei*t her breast and tore her hair. Reproaching the Fates, she said, "Yet theirs shall be but a partial triumph ; memorials of my grief shall en- dure, and the spectacle of your death, my Adonis, and of my 'lamentations, shall be annually renewed. Your blood shall be changed Thus spc mingled, in an ho' that of t But it open, an mone, o its prodi Miltoi Comus A-po thus, when he lowed h him his quoits t strength watchec seize it, the eart The go( stanch t hurt wa the ster flowers heavy f APOLLO AND BYACINTHUS. SS changed into a flower; that consolation none can envy me.'* Thus speaking, she sprinkled nectar on the blood ; and as they mingled, bubbles rose as in a pool on which raindrops fall, and in an hour's time there sprang up a flower o^ bloody hue like that of the pomegranate. ** As many drops as from Adonis bled, So many tears the sorrowing Venus shed : For every drop on earth a flower there grows : Anemones for tears ; for blood the rose.' ' — BiON ( Elton' s tr. ). But it is short-lived. It is said the wind blows the blossoms open, and afterwards blows the petals away ; so it is called Ane- mone, or Wind Flower, from the cause which assists equally in its production and its decay. Milton alludes to the story of Venus and Adonis in his Comus" : — . ** Beds of hyacinth and roses Where young Adonis oft reposes, ''. Waxing well of his deep wound In slumber soft, and on the ground Sadly sits th' Assyrian queen. ' ' A-pol'lo and Hy-a-cin'thus. A-pol'lo was passionately fond of a youth named Hy-a-cin'- thus. He accompanied him in his sports, carried the nets when he went fishing, led the dogs when he went to hunt, fol- lowed him in his excursions in the mountains, and neglected for him his lyre and his arrows. One day they played a game of quoits together, and Apollo, heaving aloft the discus, with strength mingled with skill, sent it high and far. Hyacinthus watched it as it flew, and excited with the sport ran forward to seize it, eager to make his throw, when the quoit bounded from the earth and struck him in the forehead. He fainted and fell. The god, as pale as himself, raised him and tried all his art to stanch the wound and retain the flitting life, but all in vain ; the hurt was past the power of medicine. As, when one has broken the stem of a lily in the garden it hangs its head and turns its flowers to the earth, so the head of the dying boy, as if too heavy for his neck, fell over on his shoulder. "Thou diest, I i''^\^ 86 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, &!' - i m V'm ml iSl i '■':[« I'ipiii 9a,;lli' i 'm 1 1' ' ' H '1 1 I mi M 1 'li Hyacinth," so spoke Phoebus, "robbed of thy youth by me. Thine is the suffering, mine the crime. Would that I could die for thee 1 But since that may not be, thou shalt live with me in mem- ory and in song. My lyre shall celebrate thee, my song shall tell thy fate, and thou shalt become a flower in- scribed with my regrets." While Apollo spoke, be- hold, the blood which had flowed on the ground and stained the herbage ceased to be blood; but a flower of hue more beautiful than the Tyrian sprang up, resem- bling the lily, if it were not that this is puiple and that silvery white. And this was not enough for Phcebua ; but to confer still greater honor, he marked the petals with his arrow, and in- scribed '*Ah! ah!" upon them, as we see to this day. The flower bears the name of Hyacinthus, and with every returniiig spring re- vives the memory of his fate. * It was said that Zephyrus (the West-wind), who was also fond of Hyacinthus and jealous of his preference of Apollo, blew the quoit out of its course to make it strike Hyacinthus. Keats alludes to this in his " Endymion," where he describes the look- ers-on at the game of quoits :^ * It is evidently not our modern hyacinth that is here described. It is pen haps some species of iris, or perhaps of larkspur, or of pansy. vinniiaiiiiiiriHiniR liUWIl Apollo (Vatican, Rome). APOLLO MUSAGETES (Vatican, Rome.) I ,. > I % h,-'^ • , r if .-„ ■' » • ■" r w, » An allusii "Lycidas:' APOLLO AND HYACINTHU& 87 ** Or they might watch the quoit-pitchers, intent On either side, pitying the sad death Of Hyacinthus, when the cruel breath Of Zephyr slew hun ; Zephyr penitent, Who now, ere Phoebus mounts the firmament, Fondles the flower amid the sobbing rain." An allusion to Hyacinthus will also be recognized in Milton'f "Lycidas;"— •* Like to that sanguine Hower inscribed with woe," rm 1 1 <' 'k*. 88 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. CHAPTER IX. Ce'yx and Hal-cy'o-ne; or, the Hal'cy-on Birds. Ce'yx was king of Thessaly, where he reigned in peace. He waf son of Hesperus, the Day-star, and tne glow of his beauty reminded one of his father. Hal-cy'o-ne, the daughter of ^olus^ was his wife, and devotedly attached to him. Now Ceyx was in deep affliction for the loss of his brother, and dire- ful prodigies following his brother's death made him feel as if the gods were hostile to him. He thought best, therefore, to make a voyage to Claros, in Ionia, to consult the oracle of Apollo. But as soon as he disclosed his intention to his ^vife Halcyone, a shudder ran through her frame, and her face grew deadly pale. ** What fault of mine, dearest husband, has turned your affection from me? Where is that love of me that used to be uppermost in your thoughts? Have you learned to feel easy in the absence of Halcyone? Would you rather have me away?" She also endeavored to discourage him, by describing the violence of the winds, which she had known familiarly when she lived at home in her father's house, ^olus being the god of the winds, and having as much as he could do to restrain thtm. "They rush together," said she, "with such fury that fire flashes from the conflict. But if you must go," she added, "dear husband, let me go with you, otherwise I shall suffer, not ori'.y the real evils which you must encounter, but those also which my fears suggest." These words weighed heavily on the mind of King Ccyx, and it was no less his own wish than hers to take her with him, but he could not bear to expose her to the dangers of the sea. He answered, therefore, consoling her as well as he could, and fin- ished with these words : "I promise, ])y the rays of my father, the Day-star, that if fate permits I will return before the moon shall have twice rounded her orb." When he had thus spoken he ordered the vessel to be drawn out of the ship-house, and th# oars and sails preparations j With tears an the ground. Ceyx woul grasped their long and me eyes, and saw hand to her. bO far that sh^ rest. When i her eyes to cai peared. The her solitary c( Meanwhile among the n their sails. ^ night drew or the east wind in sail, but th the wind and own accord, I the ship, to re seems best, th rattling of th with the roar to the heaven ing away to tl ian blackness. The vessel beast that rusl rents, as if th When the ligl !ts own darkn ing the darkn fails, courage The men are \ kindred, and Ceyx thinks c ;' i CETX AND ff ALCYONE. 89 oars and sails to be put aboard. When Halcyone saw these preparations she shuddered, as if with a presentiment of evil. With tears and sobs she said farewell, and then fell senseless to the ground. Ceyx would still have lingered, but now the young men grasped their oars and pulled vigorously through the waves with long and measured strokes. Halcyone raised her streaming eyes, and saw her husband standing on the deck^ v/aving his hand to her. She answered his signal till the vessel had receded so far that she could no longer distinguish his form from the rest. When the vessel itself could no more be seen, she strained her eyes to catch the last glimmer of the sail, till that, too, disap- peared. Then, retiring to her chamber, she threw herself on her solitary couch. Meanwhile they glide out of the harbor, and the breeze plays among the ropes. The seamen draw in their oars and hoist their sails. When half or less of their course was passed, as night drew on the sea began to whiten with swelling waves, and the east wind to blow a gale. The master gave the word to take in sail, but the storm forbade obedience, for such is the roar of the wind and waves his orders are unheard. The mei, of their own accord, busy themselves to secure the oars, to strengthen the ship, to reef the sail. While they thus do what to each one seems best, the storm, increases. The shouting of the men, the rattling of the shrouds and the dashing of the waves mingle with the roar of the thunder. The swelling sea seems lifted up to the heavens, to scatter its foam among the clouds ; then, sink- ing away to the bottom, assumes the color of the shoal, — a Styg- ian blackness. The vessel shares all these changes. It seems like a wild beast that rushes on the spears of the hunters. Rain falls in tor- rents, as if the skies were coming down to unite with the sea. When the lightning ceases for a moment, the night seems to add !ts own darkness to that of the stom j then comes the flash, rend- ing the darkness asunder, and lighting up all with a glare. Skill fails, courage sinks, and death seems to come on every wave. The men are stupefied with terror. The thought of parents and kindred, and pledges left at home, comes over their minds. Ceyx thinks of Halcyone. No name but hers is on his lips, and ¥m 90 ilTOBIES OF aODS AND HEROES. ft: LteJ ! while he yearns for her, he yet rejoices in her absence. Pres- ently the mast is shattered by a stroke of lightning, the rudder broken, and the triumphant surge, curling over, looks down upon the wreck, then falls and crushes it to fragments. Some of the seamen, stunned by the stroke, sink, and rise no more ; others cling to fragments of the wreck. Ceyx, with the hand tliat used to grasp the sceptre, holds fast to a plank, calling for help, — ^alas, in vain, — upon his father and his father-in-law. But oftenest on his lips was the name of Halcyone. To her his thoughts cling. He prays that the waves may bear his body to her sight, and that it may receive burial at her hands. At length the waters overwhelm him, and he sinks. The Day-star looked dim that night. Since it could not leave the heavens, it shrouded its face with clouds. In the meanwhile Halcyone, ignorant of all these horrors, counted the days till her husband's promised return. Now she gets ready the garments which he shall put on, and now what she shall wear when he arrives. To all the gods she offers fre- quent incense, but more than all to Juno. For her husband, who was no more, she prayed incessantly ; that he might be safe j that he might come home ; that he might not, in his absence, see any one that he would love better than her. But of all these prayers, the last was the only one destined to be granted. The goddess, at length, could not bear any longer to be pleaded with for one already dead, and to have hands raised to her altars that ought rather to bo offering funeral rites. So, calling Iris, she said, **Iris, my faithful messenger, go to the drowsy dwelling of Somnu3, and tell him to send a vision to Halcyone, in the form of Ceyx, to make known to her the event." Iris puts on her robe of many colors, and tinging the sky with her bow, seeks the palace of the King of Sleep. Near the Cim- merian country a mountain cave is the abode of the dull god, Somnus. Here Phcebus dares not come, either rising, at mid- day, or setting. Clouds and shadows are exhaled from the ground, and the light glimmers fiiintly. The bird of dawning, with crested head, never there calls aloud to Aurora, nor wat( h- ful dog nor more sagacious goose disturbs the silence. No wild beast, nor cattle, nor branch moved with the wind, nor sound of human conversation, breaks the stillness. Silence reigns there ; but fro and by its mui before the doc Night collects earth. There nor any watch: adorned with clines, his lim sleep. Aroun( resembling all many as the hai or the forest le shore sand-gra As soon as tered and bri dreams that 1 her, her brighti cave. The go ing his eyes, an dropping his breast, at last free, and leani inquired her knew who she swered, "Som the gods, tranq and soother of Juno sends yo Halcyone, in t and all the eve Having deli could not long ness creeping her bow the v numerous sons forms, and in speaking, even each. But he sonate birds, 1 CEYX AND HALCYONE. 91 there ; but from the bottom of the rock the river Lethe flows, and by its murmur invites to sleep. Poppies grow abundantly before the door of the cave, and other herbs, from whose juices Night collects slumbers, which she scatters over the darkened earth. There is no gate to the mansion, to creak on its hinges, nor any watchman ; but in the midst a couch of black ebony, adorned with black plumes and curtains. There the god re- clines, his limbs relaxed with sleep. Around him lie dreams, resembling all various forms, as many as the harvest bears stalks, or the forest leaves, or the sea- shore sand-grains. As soon as the goddess en- tered and brushed away the dreams that hovered around her, her brightness lit up all the cave. The god, scarce open- ing his eyes, and ever and anon dropping his beard upon his breast, at last shook himself free, and leaning on his arm, inquired her errand — for he knew who she was. She an- swered, "Somnus, gentlest of the gods, tranquillizer of minds and soother of careworn hearts, Juno sends you her commands that you despatch a dream to Halcyone, in the city of Trachine, representing her lost husband and all the events of the wreck. ' ' Having delivered her message. Iris hastened away, for she could not longer endure the stagnant air, and as she felt drowsi- ness creeping over her she made her escape, and returned by her bow the way she came. Then Somnus called one of his numerous sons — Morpheus — the most expert in counterfeiting forms, and in imitating the walk, the countenance and mode of speaking, even the clothes and attitudes most characteristic of each. But he only imitates men, leaving it to another to per- sonate birds, beasts and serpents. Him they call Icelos ; and if' 'i ^ ^if ^.\utd 92 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. V\' Phantasos is a third, who turns himself into rocks, waters, wood? and other things without life. These wait upon kings and great personages in their sleeping hours, while others move among the common people. Somnus chose, from all her brothers, Mor- pheus, to perform the command of Iris ; then laid his head on his pillow and yielded himself to grateful repose. Morpheus flew, making no noise with his wings, and socn came to the Haemonian city, whe^e, laying aside his wings, he as- sumed the form of Ceyx. Under that form, but pale like a dead man, naked, he stood before the couch of the wretched wife. His beard seemed soaked with water, and water trickled from his drowned locks. Leaning over the bed, tears streaming from his eyes, he said, " Do you recognize your Ceyx, unhappy wife, or has death too much changed my visage ? Behold me, know me, your husband's shade, instead of himself. Your prayers, Halcyone, availed me nothing. I am dead. No more deceive yourself with vain hopes of my return. The stormy winds sunk my ship in the ^gean Sea, waves filled my mouth while it called aloud on you. No uncertain messenger tells you this, no vague rumor brings it to your ears. I come in person, a shipwrecked man, to tell you my fate. Arise ! give me tears, give me lamen- tations, let me not go down to Tartarus unwept." To these words Morpheus added the voice which seemed to be that of her husband ; he seemed to pour forth genuine tears j his hands had the gestures of Ceyx. Halcyone, weeping, groaned, and stretched out her arms ii\ her sleep, striving to embrace his body, but grasping only the air. ** Stay !" she cried ; " whither do you fly ? let us go together." Her own voice awakened her. Starting up, she gazed eagerly around, to see if he was still present, for the servants, alarmed by her cries, had brought a light. When she found him not, she smote her breast and rent her garments. She cares not to unbind her hair, but tears it wildly. Her nurse asks what is the cause of her grief. " Halcyone is no more," she answers, *' she perished with her Ceyx. Utter not words of comfort, he is ship- wrecked and dead. I have seen him, I have recognized him. I stretched out my hands to seize him and detain him. His shade vanished, but it was the true shade of my husl)and. Not with the accustomed features, not with the beauty that was his, but pale, naked, i to me. Her she looked to that my presa leave me to i thou wouldst I been far bette spend without to live and sti than the sea h be separated f I will keep th( elude us, one ( my name, at 1 more words, a It was now i the spot when lingered here. While she revi dent, looking floating in thi but by degrees l)ody of a mar some shipwre( tears, saying, be, thy wife ! more and mo Now, now it now ai)pear. hands towards you return to i There was break the assai leaped upon she flew, and 5 skimmed alon^ poured forth s menting. Wl enfolded its bd CEYX AND HALOYONE. 93 pale, naked, and with his hair wet with sea-water, he appeared to me. Here, in this very spot, the sad vision stood," — and she looked to find the mark of his footsteps. " I'his it was, this that my presaging mind foreboded, when I implored him not to leave me to trust himself to the waves. O, how I wish, since thou wouldst go, thou hadst taken me with thee I It would have been far better. Then I should have had no remnant of life to spend without thee, nor a separate death to die. If I could bear to live and struggle to endure, I should be more cruel to myself than the sea has been to me. But I will not struggle, I will not be separated from thee, unhappy husband. This time, at least, I will keep thee company. In death, if one tomb may not in- clude us, one epitaph shall ; if I may not lay my ashes with thine, my name, at least, shall not be separated." Her grief forbade more words, and these were broken with tears and sobs. It was now morning. She went to the sea-shore, and sought the spot where she last saw him, on his departure. "While he lingered here, and cast off his tacklings, he gave me his last kiss." While she reviews every object, and strives to recall every inci- dent, looking out over the sea, she descries an indistinct object floating in the water. At first she was in doubt what it was, but by degrees the waves bore it nearer, and it was plainly the l)ody of a man. Though unknowing of whom, yet, as it was of some shipwrecked one, she was deeply moved, and gave it her tears, saying, "Alas ! unhappy one, and unhappy, if such there be, thy wife !" Borne by the waves, it came nearer. As she more and more nearly views it, she treml)les more and more. Now, now it approaches the shore. Marks that she recognizes now appear. It is her husband ! Stretching out her trembling hands towards it, she exclaims, "O, dearest husband, is it thus you return to me ?' * There was built out from the shore a mole, constructed to break the assaults of the sea and stem its violent ingress. She leaped upon this barrier and (it was wonderful she could do so) she flew, and striking the air with wings produced on the instant, skimmed along the surface of the water. As she flew, her throat poured forth sounds full of grief, and like the voice of one la- menting. When she touched the mute and 1)loodless body, she enfolded its beloved limbs with her new-formed wings, and tried mm 'm i\ ^- ill "If h\\ \-.:'i t ' 1 s ifta "',,'*(. Ai'ttirjif ^ 94 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. ■■t\§. r- U 'i ' to give kisses with her horny beak. Whether Ceyx felt it, or whether it was only the action of the waves, those who looked on doubted, but the body seemed to raise its head. But indeed he did feel it, and by the pitying gods both of them were changed Into birds. They mate and have their young ones. For seven placid days, in winter time, Halcyone broods over her nest, which floats upon the sea. •* O magic sleep I O comfortable bird Thatbroodest o'er the troubled sea of the mind Till it is hushed and smooth." — Keats. Then the way is safe to seamen, ^olus guards the winds and keeps them from disturbing the deep. The sea is given up, for the time, to his grandchildren. *• No song-notes have we but a piping cry, That blends with storm when the wind is high ; When the land-birds wail We sport in the gale. And merrily over the ocean we sail." Milton, in his "Hymn to the Nativity," thus alludes to the (able of the Halcyon :— ** But peaceful was the night Wherein the Prince of light His reign of peace upon the earth began ; The winds with woiider whist Smoothly the waters kist, Whispering new joys to the mild ocean, Who now hath quite forgot to rave, While birds of calm sit brooding on the charmed wave* The Han was of this cl and the culti but loved the apples. Her pruning-knife to repress the that straggled sert therein a own. She t( from droughtj roots might si on ; and sh was not witho locked, and a Thursday, Jupiter (Raphael). CHAPTER X. _ Ver-tum'nus and Po-mo'na. The Ham-a-dry'a-des were Wood-nymphs. Po-mo'na was of this class, and no one excelled her in love of the garden and the culture of fruit. She cared not for forests and rivers, but loved the cultivated country and trees that bear delicious apples. Her right hand bore for its weapon not a javelin, but a pruning-knife. Armed with this, she busied herself at one time to repress the too luxuriant growths, and curtail the branches that straggled out of place ; at another, to split the twig and in- sert therein a graft, making the branch adopt a nursling not its own. She took care, too, that her favorite should not suffer from drought, and led streams of water by them that the thirsty roots might drink. This occupation was her pursuit, her pas- sion ; and she was free from that which Venus inspires. She was not without fear of the country people, and kept her orchard locked, and allowed not men to enter. •* Bear me, Pomona, to thy citron groves, To where the lemon and the piercing lime, With the deep orange, glowing through the green, Their lighter glories blend. Lay me reclined Beneath the spreading tamarind, that shakes. Fanned by the breeze, its fever-cooling fruit." — Thomson, (95) m ' ? '•y i If f ^ .^ ; <*!(. ■■♦' ''.'"]*} i'^ 96 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ^4, ■,.. i-M: The Fauns and Satyrs would have given all they possessed to win her, and so would old Sylvanus, who looks young for his years, and Pan, who wears a garland of pine leaves around his head. But Ver-tum'nus loved her best of all ; yet he sped no better than the rest. O, how often, in the disguise of a reaper, did he bring her corn in a basket, and looked the very image of a reaper ! With a hay-band tied around him, one would think he had just come from turning over the grass. Sometimes he would have an ox -goad in his hand, and you would have said he had just unyoked his weary oxen. Now he bore a pruning-hook, and personated a vine-dresser ; and again, with a lad- der on his shoulder, he seemed as if he was going to gather apples. Some- times he trudged along as a discharged soldier, and again he bore a fishing- rod, as if going to fish. In this way he gained admission to her, again and again, and fed his passion with the sight of her. One day he came in the guise of an old woman, her gray hair siir mounted with a cap, and a staff in his hand. She entered the garden and admired the fruit. **It does you credit, my dear," she said, and kissed her, not exactly with an old woman's kiss. She sat down on a bank, and looked up at the branches laden with fruit which hung over her. Opposite was an elm entwined with a vine loaded with swelling grapes. She praised the tree and its associated vine, equally. ** But," said she, *' if the tree stood alone, and had no vine clinging to it, it would have noth- ing to attract or offer us but its useless leaves. And equally the vine, if it were not twined round the elm, would lie prostrate on the ground. Why will you not take a lesson from the tree and Pomona (Naples Museum). the vine, ai you would. Penelope, 1 them, they that frequei to make a i —who love the rest ar know him i deity, but 1 of the love he loves yo some, and 1 make hims€ the same th your apple: fruits, nor pity on hin: member th hard hearty prove this, prus to be i more merci **Iphis \ loved Anax struggled 1( subdue it, his passion child to fa\ to his side, lets, and of with his te tered his o than the si steel from native clif words to gleam of h ** Iphis VEBTUMNUS AND POMONA. 97 the vine, and consent to unite yourself with some one ? I wish you would. Helen herself had not more numerous suitors, nor Penelope, the wife of shrewd Ulysses. Even while you spurn them, they court you, — rural deities and others of every kind that frequent these mountains. But if you are prudent and want to make a good alliance, and will let an old woman advise you, — who loves you better than you have any idea of, — dismiss all the rest and accept Vertumnus, on my recommendation. I know him as well as he knows himself. He is not a wandering deity, but belongs to these mountains. Nor is he like too many of the lovers nowadays, who love any one they happen to see ; he loves you, and you only. Add to this, he is young and hand- some, and has the art of assuming any shape he pleases, and can make himself just what you command him. Moreover he loves the same things that you do, delights in gardening, and handles your apples with admiration. But now he cares nothing for fruits, nor flowers, nor anything else, but only yourself. Take pity on him, and fancy him speaking now with my mouth. Re- member that the gods punish cruelty, and that Venus hates a hard heart, and will visit such offences sooner or later. To prove this, let me tell you a story, which is well known in Cy- prus to be a fact, and I hope it will have the effect to make you more merciful. " Iphis was a young man of humble parentage, who saw and loved Anaxarete, a noble lady of the ancient family of Teucer. He struggled long with his passion, but when he found he could not subdue it, he came a suppliant to her mansion. First he told his passion to her nurse, and begged her as she loved her foster- child to favor his suit. And then he tried to win her domestics to his side. Sometimes he committed his vows to written tab- lets, and often hung at her door garlands which he had moistened ' with his tears. He stretched himself on her threshold, and ut- tered his complaints to the cruel bolts and bars. She was deafer than the surges which rise in the November gale ; harder than steel from the German forges, or a rock that still clings to its native cliff. She mocked and laughed at him, adding cruel words to her ungentle treatment, and gave not the slightest gleam of hope. ** Iphis could not any longer endure the torments of hopeless ^'M^^ li'r ^-^ mti.. ^^:M ■' '^i5a»!i pH STOttms OP GODS AND BEROES. love, and, standing before her doors, he spake these last words : * Anaxarete, you have conquered, and shall no longer have to bear my importunities. Enjoy your triumph ! Sing songs of joy, and bind your forehead with laurel — you have conquered ! I die ; stony heart, rejoice ! This at least I can do to gratify you, and force you to praise me ; and thus shall I prove that the love of you left me but with life. Nor will I leave it to Vumoi to tell you of my death. I will come myself, and you shall sec me die, and feast your eyes on the spectacle. Yet, O, ye gods, who look down on mortal woes, observe my fate I I ask but this ; let me be remembered in coming ages, and add those yearg to my fame which you have reft from my life.* Thus he said, and, turning his pale face and weeping eyes towards her mansion, he fastened a rope to the gate-post, on which he had often hung garlands, and putting his head into the noose, he murmured, *This garland at least will please you, cruel girl I* and falling, hung suspended with his neck broken. As he fell he struck against the gate, and the sound was as the sound of a groan. The servants opened the door and found him dead, and with ex- clamations of pity raised him and carried him home to his mother, for his father was not living. She received the dead body of her son and folded the cold form to her bosom, while she poured forth the sad words which bereaved mothers utter. The mournful funeral passed through the town, and the pale corpse was borne on a bier to the place of the funeral pile. By chance the home of Anaxarete was on the street where the pro- cession passed, and the lamentations of the mourners met the ears of her whom the avenging deity had already marked for punishment. " * Let us see this sad procession,' said she, and mounted to a turret, whence through an open window she looked upon the funeral. Scarce had her eyes rested upon the form of Iphis stretched on the bier when they began to stiffen, and the warm blood in her body to become cold. Endeavoring to step back, she found she could not move her feet ; trying to turn away her face, she tried in vain ; and by degrees all her limbs became stony, like her heart. That you may not doubt the fact, the statue still remains, and stands in the temple of Venus at Salamis, in the exact form of the lady. Now think of these things, c^y dear, and 1 lover. So nor furious When V( an old won comely you a cloud, no need ; h iiid the Ny VEBTUMM'S AND POMONA, ^ dear, and lay aside your scorn and your delays, and accept a lover. So may neither the vernal frosts blight your young fruits, nor furious winds scatter your blossoms T * When Vertumnus had spoken thus he dropped the disguise of an old woman and stood before her in his proper person, as a comely youth. It appeared to her like the sun bursting through a cloud. He would have renewed his entreaties, but there was no need ; his arguments and the sight of his true form prevailed, diid the Nymph no longer resisted, but owned a mutual flame. • / i'l ■■i ■l!i *tHi *i#»'^ «A, w •»._''• * <^.- .^*M ,..^4?j^ lOO STOEIES OF GODS AND HEROES, * ', i- CHAPTER XI. Cu'pid and Psy'che. A CERTAIN king and queen had three daughters. The cnarms of the two elder were more than common, but the beauty or the youngest was so wonderful that the poverty of language is un- able to express its due praise. The fauie of her beauty was so great that strangers from neighboring countries came in crowds to enjoy the sight, and looked on her with amazement, paying her that homage which is due only to Venus herself. In fact Venus found her altars deserted, while men turned their devotion to this young virgin. As she passed along the people sang her praises, and strewed her way with chaplets and flowers. This perversion of homage, due only to the immortal powers, to the exaltation of a mortal, gave great offence to the real Venus. Shaking her ambrosial locks with indignation, she ex- claimed, ** Am I, then, to be eclipsed in my honors by a mortal girl ? In vain, then, did that royal shepherd, whose judgment was approved by Jove himself, give me the palm of beauty over my illustrious rivals, Pallas and Juno. But she shall not so quietly usurp my honors. I will give her cause to repent of so unlawful a beauty. ' ' Thereupon she calls her winged son Cu'pid, mischievous enough in his own nature, and rouses and provokes him yet more by her complaints. She points out Psy'che to him and says, "My dear son, punish that contumacious beauty ; give thy mother a revenge as sweet as her injuries are great ; infuse into the bosom of that haughty girl a passion for some low, mean, unworthy being, so that she may reap a mortification as great as her i)res- ent exultation and triumiih." Cupid prepa'"ed to obey the commands of his mother. There are two fountains in Venus' s garden, one of sweet waters, the other of bitter. Ctipid filled two amber vases, one from each fountain, and, suspending them from the top of his quiver, has- tened to shed a fei the sight side with opened e] him that confusion wounded self with arrow. K of his woi whole 1 now was pair the r he had do he pour( balmy di joy over silken rin Psyche^ forth upon by derived n fit from charms, all eyes w eagerly her, anc mouth sp praises j thcr kin^ youth n beian pr elder sist two roy plored h( libundan Her Anger of f 1 CUPID AND PSYCHE. lOI tened to the chamber of Psyche, whom he found asleep. He shed a few drops from the bitter fountain over her lips, though the sight of her almost tiioved him to pity, then touched her side with the point of his arrow. At the touch she awoke anJ opened eyes upon Cupid (himself invisible), which so startled him that in his confusion he wounded him- self with his own arrow. Heedless ofhis wound, his whole thought now was to re- pair the mischief he had done, and he poured the balmy drops of joy over all her silken ringlets. Psyche, hence- forth frowned upon by Venus, derived no bene- fit from all her charms. True, all eyes were cast eagerly upon her, and every mouth spoke her praises ; but nei- ther king, royal youth nor ple- beian presented himself to demand her in marriage. Hti* two elder sisters of moderate charms had now long been married to two royal princes; but Psyche, in her lonely apartment, de plored her solitude, sick of that beauty which, while it procured abundance of flittery, had failed to awaken love. Her parents, afraid that they had unwittingly incurred the anger of the gods, consulted the oracle of Apollo, and received Cupid, or Eros (Capitol, Rome). ^11 fm t\ ' n ■ *• Afiii 4 I .(V*^ 102 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. m I'll! |ll I if ^lii i.; .<■ this answer : " The virgin is destined for the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the moun. tain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist." This dreadful decree of the oracle filled all the people with dismay, and her parents abandoned themselves to grief. But Psyche said, "Why, my dear parents, do you now lament me? You should rather have grieved when the people showered upon me undeserved honors, and with one voice called me a Venus I now perceive that I am a victim to that name. I submit, Lead me to that rock to which my unhappy fate has destined me.'* Accordingly, all things being i)repared, the royal maid took her place in the procession, which more resembled a fu- neral than a nuptial pom[), and with her parents, amid the lamen- tations of the people, ascended the mOiUitain, on the summit of which they left her alone, and with sorrowful hearts returned home. While Psyche stood on the ridge of the mountain, panting with fear and with eyes full of tears, the gentle Zephyr raised her from the earth and bore her with an easy motion into a flowery d:.le. liy degrees her mind became composed, and she laid herself down on the grassy bank to sleep. When she awoke, refreshed with sleep, she looked round and beheld near by a pleasant grove of tall and stately trees. She entered it, and in the midst discovered a fountain, sending forth clear and crystal waters, and, fast by, a magnificent palace whose august front im- pressed the spectator that it was not the work of mortal hands, but the happy retreat of some god. Drawn by admiration and wonder, she ai)proached the building and ventured to enter. Every object she met filled her with pleasure and amazement. Golden pillars supi)orted the vaulted roof, and the walls were enriched with carvings and i)aintings representing beasts of the chase and rural scenes, adapted to delight the eye of the be- holder. Proceeding onward, she perceived that besides the apartments of state there were others filled with all manner of treasures, and beautiful and precious productions of nature and art. While her eys were thus occui)ied, a voice addressed her, ♦hough she saw no one, uttering these words : " Sovereign lady, all that you see is yours. We whose voices you hear are your gervants, ai care and dil pose on yoi bath. Supi you to take Psyche g; and, after r of the bath cove, when sented itsel from waitei with the g and the mc ears, too, w invisible p sang, anoth all closed of a full ch She had husband, of darkness of morning of love, ani her. She and let hei not consei charged ht see him, f< the best of " Why she me?'* hes; of my love gratified ? idore me, you would CUPID AND PSYCHE. 103 eervants, and shall obey all your commands with our utmost care and diligence. Retire, therefore, to your chamber and re- pose on your bed of down, and, when you see fit, repair to the jjath. Supper awaits you in the adjoining alcove when it pleases you to take 3'^our seat there. ' * Psyche gave ear to the admonitions of her vocal attendants, and, after repose and the refreshment of the bath, seated herself in the al- cove, where a table immediately pre- sented itself, without any visible aid from waiters or servants, and covered with the greatest delicacies of food and the most nectareous wines. Her ears, too, were feasted with music from invisible performers, of whom one sang, another played on the lute, and all closed in the wonderful harmony of a full chorus. She had not yet seen her destined husband. He came only in the hours of darkness and fled before the dawn of morning, but his accents were full of love, and inspired a like passion in her. She otten begged him to stay and let her behold him, but he would not consent. On the contrary, he charged her to make no attempt to see him, for it was his pleasure, for the bes^t of reasons, to keep concealed. '*Why should you wish to behold ^'^ me?'* he said ; ** have you any doubt Cupid and Psyche (Capitol, Rome). of my love? have you any wish un- gratified? Ifyousavvine, perhaps you would fear me, perhaps idore me, but all I risk of you is to love me. I would rathei you would love me as an ecpial than adore me as a god." •** I am with thee only while I keep My visage hidden ; and if thou once shouldst see My face, I must forsake thee : tlic high gods Link Love with Fallh, and ho withchaws himself From the full ga/e of Knowledge.' " — Lewis Morris. W .'in tl"' .'■■ •' 'A hJf4 k •'■'ili' ■ ■^■*«l 104 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ■»f , , , .%■■ 'A This reasoning somewhat quieted Psyche for a time, and while the novelty lasted she felt quite happy. But at length the thought of her parents, left in ignorance of her fate, and of her sisters, precluded from sharing with her the delights of her situation, preyed on her mind and made her begin to feel her palace as but a splendid prison. When her husband came one night, she told him her distress, and at last drew from him an unwilling consent that her sisters should be brought to see her. So calling Zephyr, she acquainted him with her husband':-; commands, and he, promptly obedient, soon brought them across the mountain down to their sister's valley. They embraced her and she returned their caresses. ** Come," said Psyche, "enter with me my house and refresh yourselves with whatever your sister has to offer." Then taking their hands she led them into her golden palace, and committed them to the care of her numerous train of attendant voices, to refresh them in her baths and at her table, and to show them all her treasures. The view of these celestial delights caused envy to enter their bosoms, at seeing their young sister i)Ossessed of such state and splendor, so much exceeding their own. They asked her numberless ([uestions, among others what sort of a person her husband was. Psyche replied that he was a beautiful youth, who generally spent the daytime in hunting upon the mountains. The sisters, not satisfied with this reply, soon made her confess that she had never seen him. Then they proceeded to fill her bosom with dark suspicions. "Tlicy told h(M' tlial lie to whose vows she had listened 'I'iirough iii;^lu's iloelliij^ hours was a spirit unblest ; Unholy the eyes that beside her had glistened, And evil the lips she in darkness had pressed. When next in thy chamber the bridegroom reclineth, llring near him thy hunp when in slumber he lies, And then as the light o'er his dark features s^'Mieth, Thou' 11 see what a demon has won all thy sighs." — MooRK. that he may yourself with that your huj asleep, slip o self whether to cut oft' the Psyche res ** Call to mind," they said, ** the Pythian oracle that declared you destined to marry a direfiil and tremendous monster. 1'he inhabitants of tliis vnllcy say that your husband is a terrible and monstrous serpent, who notirishes you for a while with dainties I did not fail t ters were go strong for he knife, and hi CUPID AND PSYCHE. 105 that he may by and by devour you. Take our advice. Provide yourself with a lai ip and a sharp knife ; put them in concealment that your husband may not discover them, and when he is sound asleep, slip out of bed, bring forth your lamp, and see for your- self whether what they say is true or not. If it is, hesitate not to cut off the monster's head, and thereby recover your liberty." Psyche resisted these persuasions as well as she could, but they Psyche at the couch of Cupid (F. Thumann). did not fail to have their effect on her mind, and when her sis- ters were gone, their words and her own curiosity were too strong for her to resist. So she i)rei)ared her lamp and a sharp knife, and hid them out of sight of her husband. When he had fA-M <r :< '''i|^»i ;i' 'it..* " fL*J. I m \>t •* Utt Ki\ ;tv'«l a/ ;' ■ *W . io6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. BiBr . :3^ \\ i' '^^S- 11 f fallen into his first sleep she silently rose, and uncovering her lamp beheld not a hideous monster, but the most beautiful and charming of the gods, with his golden ringlets wandering over his snowy neck and crimson cheek, with two dewy wings on his shoulders, whiter than snow, and with shining feathers like the tender blossoms of spring. As she leaned the lamp over to have a nearer view of his face a drop of burning oil fell on the shoulder of the god, startled with which he opened his eyes and fixed them full upon her ; then, without saying one word, he spread !iis white wings and flew out of the window. "Psyche, in vain en- deavoring to follow him, fell from the window co the ground. Cupid, beholding her as she lay in the dust, stopped his flight for an instant and said, ** O foolish Psyche, is it thus you repay my love ? After having disobeyed my mother's commands and made you my wife, will you think, me a monster and cut off" my head ? But go ; return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to think preferable to mine. I inflict no other punishment on you than to leave you forever. Love cannot dwell with suspi- cion. >> "Farewell — what a dream thy suspicion hath broken. Thus ever Affection's fond vision is crest ; Dissolved are her spells when a doubt is but spoken, And love once disturbed for ever is lost." — Moore. So saying he fled away, leaving poor Psyche prostrate on the ground, filling the [)lace with mournful lamentations. When she had recovered some degree of composure she looked around her, but the palace and gardens had vanished, and she found herself in the open field not far from the city where her sisters dwelt. She repaired thither and told them the whole story of her misfortunes, at which, pretending to grieve, those spiteful creatures inwardly rejoiced ; ** for now," said they, "ho will perhaps choose one of us." With this idea, without saying a word of her intentions, each of them rose early the next morn- ing and ascended the mountain, and having reached the to|), called ui'on Zephyr to receive her and bear her to his I'^rd ; then leaping up, and not being sustained by Zephyr, fell down the precipice and was dashed to pieces. Psyche meanwhile wandered day and night, without food or repose, in search of her husband. Casting her eyes on a lofty mountain hs and said to 1 and directed She had i in loose ears Scattered ab harvest, witl reapers' han This unse( separating ai believing th deavor by h( Ceres, whos< thus spoke t( I cannot shi you how bes surrender yo and submiss will restore ] Psyche ol the temple c minating or angry godde fatal. Venus rec and faithless that you rea see your sick his loving w the only waj try and dili Then she on pie, where m vetches, beai said, **Take same kind i done before her task. But Psych CUPID AND PSYCHE. 107 mountain having on its brow a magnificent temple, she sighed and said to herself, " Perhaps my love, my lord, inhabits there," and directed her steps thither. She had no sooner entered than she saw heaps of corn, some in loose ears and some in sheaves, with mingled ears of barley. Scattered about lay sickles and rakes, and all the instruments of harvest, without order, as if thrown carelessly out of the weary reapers' hands in the sultry hours of the day. This unseemly confusion the pious Psyche put an end to by separating and sorting every thing to its proper place and kind, believing that she ought to neglect none of the gods, but en- deavor by her piety to engage them all in her behalf. The holy Ceres, whose temple it was, finding her so religiously employed, thus spoke to her : " O Psyche, truly worthy of our pity, though I cannot shield you from the frowns of Venus, yet I can teach you how best to allay her displeasure. Go then and voluntarily surrender yourself to your lady and sovereign, and try by modesty and submission to win her forgiveness, and perhaps her favor will restore you the husband you have lost." Psyche obeyed the commands of Ceres and took her way to the temple of Venus, endeavoring to fortify her mind and ru- minating on what she should say and how best propitiate the angry goddess, feeling that the issue was doubtful and perhaps fatal. Venus received her with angry countenance. * * Most undutiful and faithless of servants," said she, "do you at last remember that you really have a mistress? Or have you rather come to see your sick husband, yet laid up of the wound given him by his loving wife ? You are so ill-favored and disagreeable that the only way you can merit your lover must be by dint of indus- try and diligence. J will make trial of your housewifery."- 'i'hen she ordered Psyche to be led to the storehouse of her tem- j)le, where was laid up a great quantity of wheat, barley, millet, vetches, beans and lentils prepared for food for her pigeons, and said, ''Take and separate all these grains, putting all of the same kind in a parcel by themselves, and see that you get it done before evening." Then Venus departed and left her to her task. • But Psyche, in a perfect consternation at the enormous work, •is.-:., loij i,r. io8 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. sat stupid and silent, without moving a finger to the inextricable heap. While she sat despairing Cupid stirred up the little ant, a na- tive of the fields, to take compassion on her. I'he leader of the ant-hill, followed by whole hosts of his six-legged subjects, approached the heap, and with the utmost diligence, taking grain by grain, they separated the pile, sorting each kind to its parcel ; and when it was all done they vanished out of sight in a moment. Venus, at the approach of twilight, returned from the banquet of the gods, breathing odors and crowned with roses. See- ing the task done she ex- claimed, ** This is no work of yours, wicked one, but his, whom to your own and his misfortune you have en- ticed." So saying, she threw her a piece of black bread for her supper and went away. Next morning Venus or- dered Psyche to be called, and said to her, ** Behold yonder grove which strelc h- es along the margin of the water. There you will fnid sheep feeding without a shepherd, with golden-shining fleeces on their backs. Clo, fetch me a sample of that precious wool gathered from every one of their fleeces." Psyche ol)ediently went to the river side, prepared to do her best to execute the command. But the river god inspired the reeds with harmonious nuirmurs, which seemed to say, ''(), maiden, severely tried, tcm[)t not the dangerous flood, nor ven- ture among the formidable rams on the other side, for as long ii» Psyche with the Urn (R. Beyschlag). they are und cruel rage t teeth. But shade, and t you may the sticking to t Thus the how to acco soon returne but she rece who said, ** that you hav that you haA another task the infernal * My mistres beauty, for i Be not too 1 to appear at Psyche w; ing obliged Wherefore, goes to the thus to des voice from 1 thou design And what c hast been sc the voice tc realms of PI to pass by Charon, the bring her bj has given y( is chiefly to look into th ure of the b Psyche ei hking heed CUPID AND PSYCHE. 109 they are under the influence of the rising sun they burn with a cruel rage to destroy mortals with their sharp horns or rude teeth. But when the noontide sun has driven the cattle to the shade, and the serene spirit of the flood has lulled them to rest, you may then <:ross in safety, and you will find the woolly gold sticking to the bushes and the trunks of the trees." Thus the compassionate river god gave Psyche instructions how to accomplish her task, and by observing his directions she soon returned to Venus with her arms full of the golden fleece ; but she received not the approbation of her implacable mistress, who said, "I know very well it is by none of your own doings that you have succeeded in this task, and I am not satisfied yet tiiat you have any capacity to make yourself useful. But I have another task for you. Here, take this box, and go your way to the infernal shades, and give this box to Proserpine and say, * My mistress Venus desires you to send her a little of your beauty, for in tending her sick son she has lost some of her own,* Be not too long on your errand, for I must paint myself with it to appear at the circle of the gods and goddesses this evening." Psyche was now satisfied that her destruction was at hand, be- ing obliged to go with her own feet directly down to Erebus. Wherefore, to make no delay of what was not to be avoided, she goes to the top of a high tower to precipitate herself headlong, thus to descend the shortest way to the shades below. But a voice from the tower said to her, "Why, poor, unlucky girl, dost thou design to put an end to thy days in so dreadful a manner? And what cowardice makes thee sink under this last danger who hast been so miraculously supported in all thy former?" Then the voice told her how by a certain cave she might reach the realms of Pluto, and how to avoid all the dangers of the road, to pass by Cerberus, the three-headed dog, and prevail on Charon, the ferryman, to take her across the black river and briug her back again. But the voice added, '* When Proserpine has given you the box, filled with her beauty, of all things this is chiefly to be observed by you, that you never once open or look into the box, nor allow your curiosity to pry into the treas- ure of the beauty of the goddesses. ' ' Psyche encouraged by this advice obeyed it in all things, and hiking heed to her ways travelled safely to the kingdom of Pluto. u,nm Mm i" '{hf 1 ' mm\ f 1^- J -i-r no STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ^ She was admitted to the palace of Proserpine, and without ac^ cepting the delicate seat or delicious banquet that was offered her, but contented with coarse bread for her food, she delivered her message from Venus. Presently the box was returned to her shut and filled with the precious commodity. Then she returned Cupid and Psyche on Mt. Olympus (Paul Thumann). the way she came, and glad was she to come out once more into the light of day. But having got so far successfully through her dangerous task a longing desire seized her to examine the contents of the box. "What," said she, "shall I, the carrier of this divine beauty, not take the least bit to put on my cheeks to appear to more ad- vantage in opened the hut an infei from its pri midst of th( But Cup able to beai through the happened t( and gatheri box,. and w; "Again," i osity. But my mother, Then Ci heaven, pre Jupiter lent so earnestly sent Mercu; when she "Drink th break away shall be pe Thus Ps) they had a In works •wings of a ,tions descri Milton a elusion of 1 CVPW AND PSYCHE. Ill vantage in the eyes o( my beloved husband !" So she carefully ojjened the box and found nothing there of any beauty at all, but an infernal and truly Stygian sleep, which, being thus set free from its prison, took possession of her, and she fell down in the midst of the road, a sleepy corpse without sense or motion. ** But what was there she saw not, for her head Fell back, and nothing she remembered < Of all her life." — ^William Morris. But Cupid, being now recovered from his wound, and not able to bear longer the absence of his beloved Psyche, slipping through the smallest crack of the window of his chamber which happened to be left opened, flew to the spot where Psyche lay, and gathering up the sleep from her body closed it again in the box, and waked Psyche with a light touch of one of his arrows. " Again," said he, " hast thou almost perished by the same curi- osity. But now perform exactly the task imposed on you by my mother, and I will care for the rest." Then Cupid, swift as lightning penetrating the heights of heaven, presented himself before Jupiter with his supplication. Jupiter lent a favoring ear, and pleaded the cause of the lovers so earnestly with Venus that he won her consent. On this he sent Mercury to bring Psyche up to the heavenly assembly, and when she arrived, handing her a cup of ambrosia, he said, " Drink this. Psyche, and be immortal ; nor shall Cupid ever break away from the knot in which he is tied, but these nuptials shall be perpetual." Thus Psyche became at last united to Cupid, and in due time they had a daughter born to them whose name was Pleasure. In works of art Psyche is represented as a maiden with the wings of a butterfly, along with Cupid, in the difierent situa- tions described in the allegory. Milton alludes to the story of Cupid and Psyche in the con- clusion of his " Comus " : — '* Celestial Cupid, her famed son, advanced, Holds his dear Psyche sweet entranced, After her wandering labors long, Till free consent the gods among Make her his eternal bride ; m ST0ttl£3 OF OODS AND HEUOEA. And from her fair unspotted side , Two blissful twins are to be bom. Youth and Joy ; so Jove hath sworn . " — M i lt on. '* But never more they met ! since doubts and fears» Those phantom-shapes that haunt and blight the earth Had come 'twixther, a child of sin and tears, And that bright spirit of immortal birth : • Until her pining soul and weeping eyes Had learned to seek him only in the skies ; Till wings unto the weary heart were given, And she became Love's angel bride in heaven !" — Harvey. The story of Cupid and Psyche first. appears in the works ot Apuleius, a writer of the second century of our era. It is there- fore of much more recent date than most of the legends of the " Age of Fable."* It is this that Keats alludes to in his *' Odfl to Psyche" :— *'0 latest-bom and loveliest vision far v , Of all Olympus' faded hierarchy 1 Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-regioned star Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky ; Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none, Nor altar heaped with flowers ; Nor viigin-choir to make delicious moan Upon the midnight hours ; No voice, no lute, no pipe, no incense sweet. From chain-swung censer teeming; No shrine, no grove, no oracle, no heat Of pale-mouthed prophet dreaming." • Pschye is (he Greek name for soul; it also signifies "butterfly/* tlie ancient emblem of the soul. There is no more suggestive illustration of the soul's immortality than the butterfly bursting on brilliant wings from the tomb where it has lain, to flutter in the blaze of day and feed on the most fragranl and delicate productions of the spring. Psyche then is the human soul, whici: b purifled by sufferings and misfortunes, and is thus prepared for the enjoy ■nent of true and pure happiness. ** The butterfly the ancient Grecians made .V The soul's fair emblem." — Coleridge. \ "^' m ^V^l^ - Iac1 ^- ■ \.„.J \ ;-</* ^ 1 1 ■ • ZEUS OF OTRICOLl, rVaticnn, Koine.) ^ JUPITERj ropa, the c manded hi to return v for his 8ist< imsuccessfi try he shoi find a cov might vvani call it The which the walking b same time passed the plain of V' forehead ^c thanks^ an his eyes, g » sacrifice Fridayi Venus (Raphael). , ' «■ ►■ . . . Z" ' CHAPTER XII. Cad'mus — The Myr'mi-dons. Jupiter, under the disguise of a bull, bad carried away Eu« ropa, the di.aghter of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. Agenor com- manded his son Cad'mus to go in search of his sister, and not to return without her. Cadmus went and sought long and far for his sister, but could not find her, and not daring to return unsuccessful, consulted the oracle of Apollo to know what coun- try he should settle in. The oracle informed him that he should find a cow in the field, and should follow her wherevei she might wander, and where she stopped should build a city and call it Thebes. Cadmus had hardly left the Castalian cave, from which the oracle was delivered, when he saw a young cow slowly walking before him. He followed her close, offering at the same time his prayers to Phoebus. The cow went on til* sH^ passed the shallow channel of Cephisus and came out into the plain of Panope. There she stood still, and raising her broad forehead ♦o the sky, filled the air with her lowings. Cadmus gave thanks, and stooping down kissed the foreign soil, then lifting his eyes, greeted the surrounding mountains. Wishing to offei » sacrifice to Jupiter, he sent his servants to seek pure water foi ( "3 ) i-^*" .: •;• il ¥ f 1 114 STOBIES OF OODS AND HEROES. I'! ^'li a libation. Near by there stood an ancient grove which had never been profaned by the axe, in the midst of which was a cave, thick covered with the growth of bushes, its roof forming a low arch, from beneath which burst forth a fountain of purest water. In the cave lurked a horrid serpent, with a crested head and scales glittering like gold. His eyes shone like fire his body was swollen with venom, he vibrated a triple tongue, and showed a triple row of teeth. No sooner had the Tyriaiu dipped their pitchers in the fountain, and the ingushing waters made a sound, than the glittering serpent raised his head out of the cave and uttered a fearful hiss. The vessels fell from their hands, the blood left their cheeks, they trembled in every limb. The serpent, v ' iing his scaly body in a huge coil, raised his head so as to overtop the tallest trees, and while the Tyrians from terror could neither fight nor fly, slew some with his fangs, others in his folds, and others with his poisonous breath. \ Cadmus having waited for the return of his men till midday, went in search of them. His covering was a lion's hide^ and besides his javelin he carried in his hand a lance, and in his breast a bold heart, a surer reliance than either. "When he en- tered the wood and saw the lifeless bodies of his men, and the monster with his bloody jaws, he exclaimed, ** O faithful friends, I will avenge you or share your death." So saying, he lifted a huge stone and threw it with all his force at the serpent. Such a block would have shaken the wall of a fortress, but it made no impression on the monster. Cadmus next threw his javelin, which met with better success, for it penetrated the serpent's scales, and pierced through to his entrails. Fierce with pain the monster turned back his head to view the wound, and at- tempted to draw out the weapon with his mouth, but broke it off, leaving the iron point rankling in his flej^h. His neck swelled with rage, bloody foam covered his jaws, and the breath of his nostrils poisoned the air. Now he twisted himself into a circle, then stretched himself out on the ground like the trunk of a fallen tree. As he moved onward, Cadmus retreated before him, holding his spear opposite to the monster's opened jaws. The serpent snapped at the weapon and attempted to bite its iron point. At last Cadmus, watching his chance, thrust the spear at a moment when the animal's head, thrown back, came against the its side. I of death. While C its vast siz he heard teeth and furrow in duce a cro gan to mo^ face. Ne: next the si and in tim pared to ei " Meddle spoken sm he himself fell victim with each survivors. ** Brothers mus in bi Thebes. Cadmus Venus. 7 presence, i passing bri the family sacred to and Penth Cadmus a them, and ceived ihe misfortune and one d£ the gods, utterei th< beheld it a became sei CADMUS. "5 came against the trunk of a tree, and so succeeded in pinning him to its side. His weight bent the tree as he struggled in the agonies of death. * While Cadmus stood over his conquered foe, contemplating its vast size, a voice was heard (from whence he knew not, but he heard it distinctly) commanding him to take the dragon's teeth and sow them in the earth. He obeyed. He made a furrow in the ground, and planted the teeth, destined to pro- duce a crop of men. Scarce had he done so when the clods be- gan to move, and the points of spears to appear above the sur- face. Next helmets with their nodding plumes came up, and next the shoulders and breasts and limbs of men with weapons, and in time a harvest of armed warriors. Cadmus, alarmed, pre- pared to encounter a new enemy, but one of them said to him, "Meddle not with our civil war." With that, he who had spoken smote one of his earth-born brothers with a sword, and he himself fell pierced with an arrow from another. The latter fell victim to a fourth, and in like manner the whole crowd dealt with each other till all fell slain with mutual wounds except five survivors. One of these cast away his weapons and said, ** Brothers, let us live in peace !" These five joined with Cad- mus in building his city, to which they gave the name of Thebes. Cadmus obtained in marriage Harmonia, the daughter of Venus. The gods left Olympus to honor the occasion with their presence, and Vulcan presented the bride with a necklace of sur- passing brilliancy, his own workmanship. But a fatality h'mg over the family of Cadmus, in consequence of his killing the serpent sacred to Mars. Semele and Ino, his daughters, and Actaeon and Pentheus, his grandchildren, all perished unhappily, and Cadmus and Harmonia quitted Thebes, now grown odious to them, and emigrated to the country of the Enchclians, who re- ceived ihem with honor and made Cadmus their king. But the misfortunes of their children still weighed upon their minds ; and one day Cadmus exclaimed, ** If a serpent's life is so dear to the gods, I would I were myself a serpent. ' ' No sooner had he uttered the words than he began to change his form. Harmonia beheld it and prayed to the gods to let her share his fate. Both became serpents. They live in the woods, but mindful of their w% ^ I ii'ii m i i ^% ,1 We. Ii6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. if ■f''^'H' ij: i ■M lim HP' i!imiSSf™fH 1 1 ■ origin, they neither avoid the presence of man nor do they ievei injure any one. There is a tradition that Cadmus introduced into Greece the letters of the alphabet which were invented by the Phoenicians. This is alluded to by Byron where, addressing the modern Greeks, he says: — " You have the letters Cadmus gave, Think you he meant them for a slave ?" • Milton, describing the serpent which tempted Eve, is reminded of the serpents of the classical stories, and says : — « . — pleasing was his shape, And lovely : never since of serpent kind Lovelier j not those that in Illyria changed Hermione and Cadmus, nor the god In Epidaurus." ^ For an explanation of the last allusion see Epidaurus. The Myr'mi-dons. The Myr'mi-dons were the soldiers of Achilles, in the Trojan war. From them all zealous and unscrupulous followers of a political chief are called by that name, down to this day. But the origin of the Myrmidons would not give one the idea of a fierce and bloody race, but rather of a laborious and peaceful one. Cephalus, king of Athens, arrived in the island of .^gina to seek assistance of his old friend and ally .^2acus, th- king, in his war with Minos, king of Crete. Cephalus was most kindly re- ceived, and the desired assistance readily promised. **I ha\e people enough," said ^acus, ** to protect myself and spare you such a force as you need." ** I rejoice to see it," replied Cephalus, "and my wonder has been raised, I confess, to find such a host of youths as I see around me, all apparently of about the same age. Yet there are many individuals whom I previ- ously knew, that I look for now in vain. What has become of them?" y^acus groaned, and replied with a voice of sadness, ** I have been intending to tell you, and will now do so, with- out more delay, that you may see how from the saddest begin- ning a happy result sometimes flows. Those whom you form' erly kne Juno de\ of one ol peared t( might, b lence wa: beginnin thick clo a deadly and spri] their poi: spent on luckless of their wool fell The hors but groai boar fori attacked in the roj them, birds wc spread t people, i was flush grew rou veins enl heat of t bare gro contrary physiciai tact of t were the men lear ease. 1 to ask A restraint and drar not strcr THE MrBMIDONS. 117 erly knew are now dust and ashes ! A plague sent by angry Juno devastated the land. She hated it because it bore the name of one of her husband's female favorites. While the disease ap- [jcared to spring from natural causes we resisted it as we best might, by natural remedies ; but it soon appeared that the pesti- lence was too powerful for our efforts, and we yielded. At the beginning the sky seemed to settle down upon the earth, and thick clouds shut in the heated air. For four months togethei a deadly south wind prevailed. The disorder affected the wells and springs ; thousands of snakes crept over the land and shed their poison in the fountains. The force of the disease was first spent on the lower animals, dogs, cattle, sheep, and birds. The luckless ploughman wondered to see his oxen fall in the midst of their work, and lie helpless in the unfinished furrow. The wool fell from the bleating sheep, and their bodies pined away. The horse once foremost in the race contested the palm no more, but groaned in his stall and died an inglorious death. The wild boar forgot his rage, the stag his swiftness, the bears no longer attacked the herds. Everything languished ; dead bodies lay in the roads, the. fields, and the woods; the air was poisoned by them. I tell you what is hardly credible, but neither dogs nor birds would touch them, nor starving wolves. Their decay spread the infection. Next the disease attacked the country people, and then the dwellers in the city. At first the cheek was flushed, and the breath drawn with difficulty. The tongue grew rough and swelled, and the dry mouth stood open, with its veins enlarged, and gasped for the air. Men could not bear the heat of their clothes or their beds, but preferred to lie on the bare ground ; and the ground did not cool them, but, on the contrary, they heated the spot where they lay. Nor could the physicians help, for the disease attacked them also, and the con- tact of the sick gave them infection, so that the most faithful were the first victims. At last all nope of relief vanished, and men learned to look upon death as the only deliverer from dis- ease. Then they gave way to every inclination, and cared not to ask what was expedient, for nothing was expedient. All restraint laid aside, they crowded around the wells and fountains and drank till they died, without quenching thirst. Many had not strength to get away from the water, but died in the midst 11;'' 't W". ••'I"* fcr / .••1 II8 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, .:!*. '*: of the stream, and others would drink of it notwithstanding. Such was their weariness of their sick beds that some would creep forth, and if not strong enough to stand, would die on the ground. They seemed to hate their friends, and got away from their homes, as if, not knowing the cause of their sickness, they charged it on the place of their abode. Some were seen totter- ing along the road, as long as they could stand, while others sank on the earth and turned their dying eyes around to take a last look, then closed them in death. **%Vhat heart had I left me, during all this, or what ought I to have had, except to hate life and wish to be with my dead subjects? On all sides lay my people strewn like over-ripened apples beneath the tree, or acorns under the storm-shaken oak. You see yonder a temple on the height. It is sacred to Jupiter. O, how many offered prayers there, husbands for wives, fathers for sons, and died in the very act of supplication ! How often, while the priest made ready for sacrifice, the victim fell, struck down by disease without waiting for the blow ! At length all rever- ence for sacred things was lost. Bodies were thrown out un- buried, wood was wanting for funeral piles, men fought with one another for the possession of them. Finally there was none left to mourn ; sons and husbands, old men and youths, perished alike unlamented. ' ** Standing before the altar I raised my eyes to heaven. *0 Jupiter,' I said, * if thou art indeed my father, and art not ashamed of thy offspring, give me back my people, or take me also away !* At these words a clap of thunder was heard. * I accept the omen,' I cried ; * O, may it be a sign of a favorable disposition towards me!' By chance there grew by the place where I stood an oak with wide-spreading branches, sacred to Jupiter. I observed a troop of ants busy with their labor, carry- ing minute grains in their mouths and following one another in a line up the trunk of the tree. 01)serving their numbers with admiration I said, *(iive me, () father, citizens as numerous as these, and replenish my empty city.' The tree shook and gave a rustling sound with its l)ran(hes though no wind agitated them. I trembled in every liml), yet 1 kissed the earth and the tree. I would not confess to myself that I hoped, yet I did hope. Night came on and sleep took possession of my frame, oppressed with cares. 1 ous bran seemed t( multitude appeared by to stai color, an( and my f of a swee still in th voices wi began to open the things su] titude of passing ii wonder a their kin^ vacant ci among mex), fr( their disj shape, and tena your fore and bold Thisc count wl of Athei writers a describe n THE MYRMIDONS. 119 tares. The tree stood before me in my dreams, with its numer- ous branches all covered with living, moving creatures. It seemed to shake its limbs and throw down over the ground a multitude of those industrious grain-gathering animals, which appeared to gain in size, and grow larger and larger, and by-and- by to stand erect, lay aside their superfluous legs and their black color, and finally to assume the human form. Then I awoke, and my first impulse was to chide the gods who had robbed me of a sweet vision and given me no reality in its place. Being still in the temple, my attention was caught by the sound of niany voices without ; a sound of late unusual to my ears. While I began to think I was yet dreaming, Telamon, my son, throwing open the temple -gates, exclaimed, ' Father approach, and behold things surpassing even your hopes !' I went forth ; I saw a mul- titude of men, such as I had seen in niy dream, and they were passing in procession in the same manner. While I gazed with wonder and delight they approached, and kneeling hailed me as their king. I paid my vows to Jove, and proceeded to allot the vacant city to the new-born race, and to parcel out the fields among them. I called them Myrmidons, from the ant (myr- mex), from which they sprang. You have seen these persons; their dispositions resemble those which they had in their former shape. They are a diligent and industrious r^Lce, eager to gain, and tenacious of their gains. Among them you may recruit your forces. They will follow you to the war, young in years and bold in heart. " ** ' No ! No 1' said Rhiulnmnnt, « it were not well With loviny souls to pliu'c a mnrtlnlist ; He died in war, and niiiHt to martial fields, Where wounded Hector lives in lasting pain, And Achillea' MyrmidoriH do scour the plain.' " — Kyi), Spanish Tra<:;edy, This description of the ))lagiie is copied by Ovid from the ac- count which Thucydides, the (Ircck historian, gives of tlie plague of Athens. The historian drew from life, and all the ])oets and writers of fiction since his day, when they have had occasion to describe a similar scene, have borrowed their details from him. 120 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ■ 'I wi"'.' 1 (':■■"■;■ '*-/;■ '.■ M CHAPTER XIII. Ni'sus and Scyl'la — Ech'o and Nar cis'sus — Clyt'i-e— He'ro and Le-an'der, Ni'sus and Scyl'!a. Minos, king of Crete, made war upon Megara, Ni'sus was king of Megara, and Scyl'la was his daughter. The siege had now lastel six months, and the city still held out, for it was de- creed by fate that it should not be taken so long as a certain purple lock, which glittered among the bair of King Nisus, re- mained on his head. There was a tower on the city walls which overlooked the plain where Minos and his army were encamped. To this tower Scylla used to repair, and look abroad over the tents of *.he hostile army. The siege had lasted so long that she had learned to distinguish the persons of the leaders. Minos, in particular, excited her admiration. Arrayed in his hemlet, and bearing his shield, she admired his graceful deportment ; if he threw his javelin, skill seemed combined with force in the discharge ; if he drew his bow, Apollo himself could not have done it more gracefully. But when he laid aside his helmet, and in his purple robes b'^strode his white horse with its gay caparisons, and reined-in its foaming mouth, the daughter of Nisus was hardly mistress of herself; she wus almost fra'tic with admiration. She envied the weapon thr.t he grasped, the '•eins that he held. She felt as if shv^ could, if it were possible, go to him through the hostile ranks ; shr felt an impulse to cast her- self down from the tower into the midst of his camp, or to open the gates to him, or to do anything olse, so only it might gratify Minos. As she sat in the tower, she talked thus with herself : "Iknow not whether to rejoice or grie.e ac this sad war. I grieve that IVi inos is our enemy, but I rejoice at any cause that brings him to my sight. Perhaps he would be willing to grant us peace, and receive me as a hotitage. I would Hy down, if I could, an( selves to h would I n times the queror is his side, the end o stead of 1( slaughter Minos ! 1 antly, not myself to the war. keeps the please th( doit? A own hanc any othei and swore and swore cious than While £ palace wa ber and ci entered tl king, and Nisus. I I ask no See here 1 his kingd Minos sh stroy thee time J ^ Surely, m polluted 1 that equi and that Scylla it thus y< mSUS AND SCTLLA. 19\ couldi and alight in his camp, and tell him that we yield our- selves to his mercy. But then, to betray my father ! No ! rather would I never see Minos again. And yet no doubt it is some* times the best thing for a city to be conquered, when the con- queror is clement and generous. Minos certainly has right on his side. I think we shall be conquered ; and if that must be the end of it, why should not love unbar the gates to him, in- stead of leaving it to be done by war ? Better spare delay and slaughter if we can. And O, if any one should wound or kill Minos ! No one surely would have the heart to do it ; yet ignor- antly, not knowing him, one might. I will, I will surrender myself to him, with my country as a dowry, and so put an end to the war. But how? The gates are guarded, and my fathet keeps the keys ; he only stands in my way. O that it might please the gods to take him away 1 But why ask the gods to do it ? Another woman, loving as I do, would remove with her own hands whatever stood in the way of her love. And can any other woman dare more than I ? I would encounter fire and sword to gain my object j but here there is no need of fire and sword. I only need my father's purple lock. More pre- cious than gold to me, that will give me all I wish." While she thus reasoned night came on, and soon the whole palace was buried in sleep. She entered her father's bedcham- ber and cut off the fatal lock, then passed out of the city and entered the enemy's camp. She demanded to be led to the king, and thus addressed him: **I am Scylla, the daughter of Nisus. I surrender to you my country and my father's house. I ask no reward but yourself ; for love of you I have done it. Sec here the purple lock ! With this I give you my father and his kingdom." She held out her hand with the fatal spoil. Minos shrunk back and refused to touch it. "The gods de- stroy thee, infamous woman 1" he exclaimed; "disgrace of our time I May neither earth nor sea yield thee a resting-place 1 Surely, my Crete, where Jove himself was cradled, shall not be polluted with such a monster 1" Thus he said, and gave orderi that equitable terms should be allowed to the comjuered city, and that the fleet should immediately sail from the island. Scylla was frantic. "Ungrateful man!" she exclaimed, 'Ms it thus you leave me ? — me who have given you victory— who 1 kk!J m %'t 123 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. m si have sacrificed for you parent and country ! I am guilty, I confess, and deserve to die, but not by your hand." As the ships left the shore she leaped into the water, and seizing the rudder of the on* which carried Minos, she was borne along an unw«;lcomed companion of their course. A sea -eagle soaring aloft — it was her father who had been changed into that form — seeing her, pounced down upon her, and struck her with his beak and claws. In terror she let go the ship, and would have fallen into the water, but some pitying deity changed her into a bird. The sea- eagle still cherishes the old animosity ; and whenever he espies her in his lofty flight, you may see him dart down upon her, with beak and claws, to take vengeance for the ancient crime. Ech'o and Nar-cis'sus. ^ ^ Ech'o was a beautiful nymph, fond of the woods and hills, where she devoted herself to woodland sports. She was a favor- ite of Diana, and attended her in the chase. But Echo had one failing ; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argu- ment, would have the last word. One day Juno was seeking her husband, who, she had reason to fear, was amusing himself among the nymphs. Echo by her talk contrived to detain the goddess till the nymphs made their escape. When Juno dis- covered it, she passed sentence upon Echo in these words: *' You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of^ rep/y. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first." *• But her voice is still living immortal, — ' The same you have frequently heard I ' In your rambles in valleys and forests, ' Repeating your ultimate word/' — Saxe. This nymph saw Nar-cis'sus, a beautiful youth, as he pur- sued the chase upon the mountains. She loved him, and fol- lowed his footsteps. O, how she longed to address him in the softest accents, and win him to converse 1 but it was not in her power. She waited with impatience for him to speak first, and had her answer ready. One day the youth, being separated from bis companions, shouted aloud, ** Who's here ? " Echo replied, "Here." out, "Cc Karcissus the same The mai( ECHO AND NARCISSUS. 123 "Here.** Narcissus looked around, but seeing no one, called put, "Come." Echo answered, **Corae." As no one came, Echo (Guy Head). Karcissus called again, " Why do you shun me ? " Echo asked the same question. " Let us join one another," said the youth. The maid answered with all her heart in the same words, and M'liH lit. •##s 124 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. hastened to the spot, ready to throw her arms about his neck He started back, exclaiming, " Hands off ! I would rather die than you should have me 1" " Have me," said she ; but it was all in vain. He left her, and she went to hide her blushes in the recesses of the woods. From that time forth she lived in caves and among mountain cliffs. Her form faded with grief, till at last all her flesh shrank away. Her bones were changed into rocks, and there was nothing left of her but her voice. With that she is still ready to reply to any one who calls her, and keeps up her old habit of having the last word. Narcissus's cruelty in this case was not the only instance. He shunned all the rest of the nymphs, as he had done poor Echo. One day a maiden, who had in vain endeavored to attract him, uttered a prayer that he might some time or other feel what it was to love and meet no return of affection. The avenging god- dess heard and granted the prayer. There was a clear fountain, with water like silver, to which the shepherds never drove their flocks, nor the mountain goats re- sorted, nor any of the beasts of the forest ; neither was it defaced with fallen leaves or branches ; but the grass grew fresh around it, and the rocks sheltered it from the sun. ■ *• In some delicious ramble, lie had found A little space, with boughs all woven round ; And in the midst of all, a clearer pool Than e'er reflected in its pleasant cool The blue sky here, and there, serenely peeping Through tendril wreaths fantastically creeping." — KeaTS. Hither came one day the youth, fatigued with hunting, heated and thirsty. He stooped down to drink, and saw his own image in the water ; he thought it was some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He stood gazing with admiration at those bright eyes, those locks curled like the locks of Bacchus or Apollo, the rounded cheeks, the ivory neck, the parted lips, and the glow of health and exercise over all. He fell in love with himself. He brought his lips near to take a kiss ; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. He could not tear himself away ; he lost all thought of food or test, while upon his "Why, bea one to repe not indiffer the same ; \ and answer like." Hi and disturb it depart, J entreat you upon you, i With this same kind, that consul grees he Ic and the be so charmed kept near ] he exclain answered h He pined a his shade p leaned ovei of itself in mourned water-nym] their breasi They prep would hav€ was nowhe and surrou: preserves tl ECHO AND NABCISSU&. 125 test, while he hovered over the brink of the fountain, gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit : •* Why, beautiful being, do you shun me ? Surely, my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same ; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like. ' ' His tears fell into the water and disturbed the image. As he saw it depart, he exclaimed, ** Stay, I entreat you 1 Let me at least gaze upon you, if I may not touch you." With this and much more of the same kind, he cherished the flame that consumed him, so that by de- grees he lost his color, his vigor, and the beauty which formerly had so charmed the nymph Echo. She kept near him, however, and when he exclaimed, * * Alas ! alas ! she answered him with the same words. He pined away and died ; and when his shade passed the Stygian river, it leaned over the boat to catch a look of itself in the waters. The nymphs mourned for him, especially the water-nymphs ; and when they smote their breasts, Echo smote hers also. They prepared a funeral pile, and would have burned the body, but it was nowhere to be found ; but in its ^ lace a flower, purple within, and surrounded with white leaves, which bears the name and preserves the memory of Narcissus. ** A lonely flower he spied, A meek and >\jrlom flower, with naught of pride, Drooping its beauty o'er the watery clearness, To woo its own sad image into nearness : Deaf to light Zephyrus it would not move, But still would seem to droop, to pine, to love." — Keats. Narcissus (Naples). wmm SIS "f^m ^W^IM i" ■ ■ ! '■■■§ 1m 1 ! ' i^ tt ..::>;.;;• mi l^^« 126 STOBJES OF OODS A2fD HEROES. Milton alludes to the story of Echo and Narcissus in the Lady's song in " Comus. ' ' She is seeking her brothers in the forest, and sings to attract their attention : — *• Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv'st unseen Within thy aery shell By slow Meander's margent green. Ant? '.n the violet-embroidered vale, " Where the love-lorn nightingale ' V ■ Nightly to thee her sad song niourneth well ; Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair ' That likest thy Narcissus are ? O, if thou have Hid thtiu in some flowery cave, Tell -ne but where, Sweet queen of parly, daughter of tlie sphere, ,; So may' St thou oe translated to the skies, And give resounding grace to all heaven's harmonies." \ He also has imitated the story of Narcissus in the account which he makes Eve give of the first sight of herself leflected in the fountain : — ♦' That day I oft remember when from sleep I first awaked, and found myself reposed :, Under a shade on flowers, much wondering where And what I was, whence thither brought, and how. Not distant far from thence a murmuring sound Of waters issued from a cave, and spread Into a liquid plain, then stood unmoved Pure as the expanse of heaven ; I thither went With unexperienced thought, and laid me down On the gfreen banks to look into the clear Smooth lake that to me seemed another sky. , As I bent down to look, just opposite i A shppe within the watery gleam appeared, ^ , Bending to look on me. I started back ; ■ It startetl back ; but pleased I soon returned. Pleased it rt'turned as soon, with answering looks , \ Of sympathy and love. There had I fixed Mine eyes til! now, and pined with vain desire. Had not a voice thus warned me : * What thou seest, What there thou seest, fair creature, is thyself.' " — Faraiiist! Lost, Book IV. No one of the fables of antiquity has been oftener alluded to e Lady's »rest, and account lected in klV. lludcd to ECBO AND NAMCISSUS, 127 by the poets than that of Narcissus. The poets have taken great license with Echo and Narcissus. The following is from Gold' smith : — 1$ "ON A BEAUTIFUL YOUTH, STRUCK BLIND BY LIGHTNING. •• Sure 'twas by Providence designed, Rather in pity than in hate, That he should be like Cupid blind, ^ To save him from Narcissus' fate." Clyt'i-e. Clyt'i-e was a water-nymph and in love with Apollo, who made her no return. So she pined away, sitting all day long upon the cold ground, with her unbound tresses streaming over her shoulders. Nine days she sat ard tasted neither food nor drink, her own tears and the chilly dew her only food. She gazed on the sun when he rose, and as he passed through his daily course to his setting ; she saw no other object ; her face turned constantly on him. At last, they say, her limbs rooted in the ground, her face became a flower,* which turns on its stem so as always to face the sun throughout its daily course ; for it retains to that extant the feeling of the nymph from whom it sprang. Hood in his " Flowers" thus alludes to Clytie :— "I will not have the mad Clytie, Whose head is turned by the sun } The tulip is a courtly quean, Whom therefore I will shun ; The cowslip is a country wench, The violet is a nun ; — 4 But I will woo the dainty rose, The queen of every one." The sunflower is a favorite emblem of constancy. Thus Moore uses it : — '■ \ •• The heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close \ As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets The same look that she turned when he rose." ' The belief that the sunflower turns on its stem so as always to face the sun (s not strictly true. Its name was derived f-o.n a fancied resemblance to the radiant beams of the sun rather than from any habit of constancy. !i-.. .!;! ■M III *,i * 1 , S' 128 STORIES OF 00D8 AND HEROES, ivi He'ro and Le-an'der. Le-an'der was a youth of Abydos, a town of the Asian side of the strait which separates Asia and Europe. On the opposite shore, in the town of Sestos, lived the maiden He'ro, apriestes of Venus. "Alone on Sestos' rocky tower, Where, upward sent in stormy shower, The whirling waters foam, '■ Alone the maiden sits, and eyes The cliffs of fair Abydos rise Afar — ^her lover's home." — Schiller (Hempeltr. ). Leander loved her, and used to swim the strait nightly to en- joy the company of his mistress, guided by a torch which she reared upon the tower for the purpose. But one night a tem- pest arose and the sea was rough ; his strength failed, and he was drowned. \ ** * The night- wind is moaning with mournful sigh, There gleameth no moon in the misty sky, No star over Helle' s sea ; Yet, yet there is shining one holy light, One love-kindled star through the deep of night, To lead me, sweet Hero, to thee.' > • **Thus saying he plunged in the foamy stream, Still fixing his gaze on that distant beam No eye but a lover could see ; And still, as the surge swept over his head, * To night,' he said, tenderly, * living or dead, Sweet Hero, I'll rest with thee.' " But fiercer around him the wild waves speed. ■ Oh Love, in that hour cf votary' s need. Where, where could thy spirit be ? He struggles — he sinks — while the hurricane's breath Beats rudely away his last farewell in death — * Sweet Hero, I die for thee I' " — Moorr. The waves bore his body to the European shore, where Hen became aware of his death. ** As shaken on his restless pillow, His head heaves with the heaving billows ; That hand, whose motion is not life. Yet feebly seems to menace strife, Flung l)y the tossing tide on high, , , ' Then level'd with the wave." - UyRON. HtJRO AND LEANDEtL 1^9 Hv. 511 / 1 ^H \ iU '*4 licru and Leander (F. Kellner)* •30 STOBIES OF OODS AND HEB0E8, iHit" i . In her despair she cast herself down from the tower into the sea and perished. The story of Leander's swimming the Hellespont was looked apon as fabulous, and the feat considered impossible, till Lord Byron proved its possibility by performing it himself. In the ••** Bride of Abydos " he says : — '* These limbs that buoyant wave hath borne.* ' The distance in the narrowest part is almost a mile, and there is a constant current setting out from the Sea of Marmora into the Archipelago. Since Byron's time the feat has been achieved by others ; but it yet remains a test of strength and skill in the art of swimming sufficient to give a wide and lasting celebrity to any one of our readers who may dare to make the attempt ana succeed in accomplishing it. In the beginning of the second canto of the same poem, Byron thus alludes to this story :^ ••The wind", are high on Helle' 8 wave, As on that night of stormiest water* When Lokre, who sent, forgot to save The young, the beautiful, the brave. The lonely hope of Sestos' daughter. Oh, when alone along the sky The tutret-torch was blazing high. Though rising gale and breaking foam, And shrieking sea-birds 'warned him home : And clouds aloft and tides below, V^th signs and sounds forbade to go, < He could not see, he would not hear Or sound or sight foreboding fear. , His eye but saw that light of love* The only star it hailed above % His ear but rang with Hero's song, y , •Ye waves, divide not lovers long.* That tale Is old, but love anew May nerve young hearts to prove as true.*' : into the as looked till Lord In the and there nora into achieved in the art lebrity to empt ano m, Byron i?.!l...i>:;i. PALLAS ATHENE. (After Pheidias. Found at Athens, i88o,> Mi-ne: ter. She and in coi She pre of men — women — s warlike dij ized, and lence and Mars the purpoj had five (Fear), : his body-g associated pie, and e It is not dom, shou deity. Athens the prize c MINERVA AND ABACUNK 131 CHAPTER XIV. Mi-ner'va^-Mars — A-rach'ne — Ni'o-be. Mi-ner'va. Mi-ner'va, the goddess of wisdom, was the daughter of Jupi« ter. She was said to have leaped forth from his brain, mature, and in complete armor. ** From his awful head Whom Jove brought forth, hi warhke tirmor drest. Golden, all radiant," — SllKLLKY. She presided over the useful and ornamental arts, both those of men — ^such as agriculture and navigation — ^and those of women — spinning, weaving and needlework. She was also a warlike divinity ; but it was defensive war only that she patron- ized, and she had no sympathy with Mars' s savage love of vio- lence and bloodshed. Mars delighted in war for the sake of itself. It was never the purpose but always the conflict that gave him pleasure. He had five attendants, Eris (Discord), Phobos (Alarm), Metis (Fear), Demios (Dread), and Pallor (Terror). These were his body-guard. The war godd'ss Bellona, or Enyo, was also associated with him. 'J'heir altars were side by side in the tem- ple, and each was stained by human sacrifices. **And to the fire-eyed itinid of smoky war, All hot and Mecdin^, will we offer them; The mailed Mars mIiiiH on his altar sit Up to the ears hi Jihtod." — SlfAKKSPEARE. It is not strange, therefore, that Minerva, the goddess of wis- dom, should have entertained but little respect for this bloody deity. Athens was her chosen seat, her own city, awarded to her as the pr^ze of a contest with Neptune, who also aspired to it. The mil n .1* N 'mm 132 STORIES OF GODS ANB HEROES. tale ran that in the reign of Cecrops, the first king of Athens, the two deities contended for the possession of the city. The gods decreed that it should be awarded to that one who produced the gift most useful to mortals, Neptune gave the horse ; Minerva produced the olive. The gods gave judgment that the olive w»s the more useful of the two, and awarded the city to the god- dess ; and it was named after her, Athens, her nrane • 1 GreelL being Athene. There was another con- gest, in which a mortal dared to -:ome in competition wit|j Minerva. That mortal was A-rach'ne, a maiden who had attained such skill in the arts of weaving and em- broidery that the Nymphs themselves would leave their groves and fountains to come and gaze upon her work. It was not only beautiful w hen it was done, but beautiful also in the doing. To watt h her, as she took the wool in its rude state and formed it into rolls, or separated it with her fingers and carded it till it looked as light and soft as a cloud, or twirled the spindle with skillful touch, or wove the Meb, or, after it was woven, adorned it with her needle, one would have said that Minerva herself had taught her. lUit this she denied, and could not bear to be thought a pupil even of a goddess. " Let Minerva try her skill with mine," said she ; "if beaten, Twill pay the i^enalty." Minerva heard this and was displeased. She assumed the form of an old woman, and went and gave Arachne some friendly advice. "I have had Minerva (Capitol, Rome). much e: my cour not con to ask 1 merciful spinning nance. or han( part, I ] and I st£ not afrai Ipt her t dare ve comes, ' ' and drop stood c Nymphs age, and paid rev( alone wa blushed, den colo and thei But she solve, ar conceit rushed c nerva fc nor inter advice. the conti her stati the web and out j up the w with spe ment of dye is c another s MINERVA AND ARACHNE. 133 much experience," said she, **and I hope you will not despise my counsel. Challenge your fellow -mortals as you will, but do not com! <-te with a goddess. On the contrary, I advise you to ask h'. - forgiveness for what you have said, and as she is merciful, perhaps she will pardon you." Irachne stopped her spinning, and I'^oked at the old dame with anger in her counte- nance. "Keep your counsel," said she, "for your daughters or handmaids- for my part, I know what I say, and I stand to it. I am not afraid of the goddess ; Ipt her try her skill, if she dare venture." "She comes," said Minerva; and dropping her disguise, stood confessed. The Nymphs bent low in hom- age, and all the bystanders paid reverence. Arachne alone was unterrified. She blushed, indeed ; a sud- den color dyed her cheek, and then she grew pale. But she stood to her re- solve, and with a foolish conceit of her own skill rushed on her fate. Mi- nerva forbore no longer, nor interposed any further advice. They proceed to tlie contest. Each takes her station and attaches the web to the beam. Then the slender shuttle is passed in and out among the threads. The reed with its fine teeth strikes up the woof into its place and compacts the web. Both work with speed ; their skillful hands move rapidly, and the excite- ment of the contest makes the labor light. Wool of Tyrian dye is contrasted with that of other colors, shaded off into one another so adroitly that the joining deceives the eye. Like the Mars (Villa Ludovisi, Rome), m 'M ■1 <^ AVI ''1 it* HI 134 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. bow, whose long arch tinges the heavens, formed by sunbeams reflected from the shower/ in which, where the colors meet they seem as one, but a little distance from the point of contact are wholly different. Minerva wrought on her web the scene of her contest with Neptune. Twelve of the heavenly powers are represented, Jupi- ter, with august gravity, sitting in the midst. Neptune, the ruler of the sea, holds his trident, and appears to have just smit- ten the earth, from which a horse has leaped forth. Minerva depicted herself with helmed head, her ^gis covering her breast. Such was the central circle ; and in the four corners were repre- sented incidents illustrating the displeasure of the gods at such presumptuous mortals as had dared to contend with them. These were meant as warnings to her rival to give up the contest be- fore it was too late. Arachne filled her web with subjects designedly chosen to ex- hibit the failings and errors of the gods. One scene represented Leda caressing the swan, under which form Jupiter had dis- guised himself; and another, Danae, in the brazen tower in which her father had imprisoned her, but where the god effected his entrance in the form of a golden shower. Still another de- picted Europa deceived by Jupiter under the disguise of a bull. Encouraged by the tameness of the animal, Europa ventured to mount his back, whereupon Jupiter advanced into the sea, and swam with her to Crete. " Sweet Europa' s mantle blew unclaps'd, From off her shoulder backward borne : From one hand droop' d a crocus ; one hand grasp' d The mild bull's golden horn." — Tennyson. You would have thought it was a real bull, so naturally was it wrought, and so natural the water in which it swam. She seemed to look with longing eyes back upon the shore she was leaving, and to call to her companions for help. She appeared to shudder with terror at the sight of the heaving waves, and to draw back her feet from the water. Arachne filled her canvas with similar subjects, wonderfully * This correct description of the rainbow is literally translated from Ovid. MINERVA AND ABACHNR 135 and Ovid. well done, but strongly marking her presumption and impiety. Minerva could not forbear to admire, yet felt indignant at the in- sult. She struck the web with her shuttle, and rent it in pieces ; she then touched the forehead of Arachne, and made her feel her guilt and shame. She could not endure it, and went and hanged herself. Minerva pitied her as she saw her suspended by a rope. *' Live," she said, " guilty woman ; and, that you may preserve the memory of this lesson, continue to hang, both you and your descendants, to all future times. ' ' She sprinkled her with the juices of aconite, and immediately her hair came off, and her nose and ears likewise. Her form shrank up, and her head grew smaller ; her fingers cleaved to her side, and served for legs. All the rest of her is body, out of which she spins her thread, often hanging suspended by it, in the same attitude as when Minerva touched her and transformed her into a spider. Spenser tells the story of Arachne in his Muiopotmos, adher- ing very closely to his master Ovid, but improving upon him in the conclusion of the story. The two stanzas which follow tell what was done after the goddess had depicted her creation of the olive tree : — ** Amongst these leaves she made a Butterfly, With excellent device and wondrous slight, ^ Fluttering among the olives wantonly, That seemed to live, so like it was in sight ; The velvet nap which on his wings doth lie, The silken down with which his back is dight, His broad outstretched horns, his hairy thighs, His glorious colors, and his glistening eyes." ** Which when Arachne saw, as overlaid And mastered with workmanship so rare, She stood astonied long, he aught gainsaid ; And with fast-fixed eyes on her did stare. And by her silence, sign of one dismayed. The victory did yield her as her share ; Yet did she inly fret and felly bum, And all her blood to poisonous rancor turn." And so the metamorphosis is caused by Arachne' s own mortifi- cation and vexation, and not by any direct act of the goddess. The following specimen of old-fashioned gallantry is by Giir* rick ; — ml ii:l>fl I-'' 6 if O, then beware Arachne's fate ; Be prudent, Chloe, and submit. For you'll most surely meet her hate Who rival both her art and wit" Ni'o-be. The fate of Arachne was noised abroad through all the coun- try, and served as a warning to all presumptuous mortals not to compare themselves with the divinities. But one, and she a matron, too, failed to learn the lesson of humility. It was Ni'o-be, the queen of Thebes. She had indeed much to be proud of; but it was not her husband's fame, nor her own beauty, nor their great descent, nor the power of their kingdom that elated her. It was her children ; and truly the happiest of mothers would Niobe have been, if only she had not claimed to be so. It was on occasion of the annual celebration in honor of Latona and her offspring, Apollo and Diana — when the peo- ple of Thebes were assembled, their brows crowned with laurel, bearing frankincense to the altars and paying their vows — that Niobe appeared among the crowd. Her attire was splendid with gold and gems, and her aspect beautiful as the f ice of an angry woman can be. She stood and surveyed the people with haughty looks. "What folly," said she, *' is this ! — to prefer beings whom you never saw to those who stand before your eyes ! Why should Latona be honored with worship, and none be paid to me ? My father was Tantalus, who was received as a guest at the table of the gods ; my mother was a goddess. My husband built and rules this city, Thebes ; and Phrygia is my paternal inheritance. Wherever I turn my eyes I survey the elements of my power ; nor is my form and presence unworthy of a goddess. To all this let me add, I have seven sons and seven daughters, and look for sons-in-law and daughters-in-law of pretentions worthy of my alliance. Have I not cause for pride ? Will you prefer to me this Latona, the Titan's daughter, with her two deed an: this ? A for Forti still hav( should h; with yoi brows — with this The peop and left services pleted. The g( indignani Cj'^nthian top, w] dwelt, sh( dressed h daughter children, have beer of you have bee hold mys< to none o desses ex^ alone, bej doubt wh( indeed a I shall be of my woi gether ui protect me rupted hei ishment.' in clouds, before th( pursued tl 1 mOBE. 13; her two children ? I have seven times as many. Fortunate in- deed am I, and fortunate I shall remain ! Will any one deny this? My abundance is my security. I feel myself too strong for Fortune to subdue. She may take from me much ; I shall still have much left. Were I to lose some of my children, I should hardly be left as poor as Latona with her two only. Away with you from these solemnities — put off the laurel from your brows — have done with this worship!" The people obeyed, and left the sacred services uncom- pleted. The goddess was indignant. On the Cj'^nthian mountain top, where she dwelt, she thus ad- dressed her son and daughter : ' ' My children, I who have been so proud of you both, and have been used to hold myself second to none of the god- desses except Juno alone, begin now to doubt whether I am indeed a goddess. I shall be deprived of my worship alto- gether unless you protect me. ' ' She was proceeding in this strain, but Apollo inter- rupted her. * * Say no more, ' ' said he ; * * speech only delays pun- ishment." So said Diana also. Darting through the air, veiled in clouds, they alighted on the towers of the city. Spread out before the gates was a broad plain, where the youth of the city pursued their warlike sports. The sons of Niobe were there with Niob( (Imperial (Jallery, Florence). i\\ 1 H ':%*. 138 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. the rest — some mounted on spirited horses richly caparisoned, some driving gay chariots. Ismenos, the first-born, as he guided his foaming steeds, struck with an arrow from above cried out, " Ah me !" — dropped the ^eins, and fell lifeless. Another, hear- ing the sound of the bow — like a boatman who sees the storm gathering and makes all sail for the port — gave the rein to his horses and attempted to escape. The inevitable arrow overtook him as he fled. Two others, younger boys, just from their tasks, had gone to the playground to have a game of wrestling. As they stood breast to breast, one arrow pierced them both. They uttered a cry together, together cast a parting look around them, and together breathed their last. Alphenor, an elder brother, seeing them fall, hastened to the spot to render assistance, and fell stricken in the act of brotherly duty. One only was left, Ilioneiis. He raised his arms to heaven, to try whether prayer might not avail. "Spare me, ye godsl'* he cried, addressing all, in his ignorance that all needed not his intercession;; and Apollo would have spared him, but the arrow had already left the string, and it was too late. ** Phoebus slew the sons With arrows from his silver bow, incensed At Niobe."— Homer (Bryant's tr. ). The terror of the people and grief of the attendants soon made Niobe acquainted with what had taken place. She could hardly think it possible ; she was indignant that the gods had dared, and amazed that they had been able to do it. Her husband, Amphion, overwhelmed with the blow, destroyed himself. Alas ! how different was this Niobe from her who had so lately driven away the people from the sacred rites, and held her stately course through the city, the envy of her friends, now the pity even of her foes I She knelt over the lifeless bodies, and kissed, now one, now another of her dead sons. Raising her ppllid arms to heaven, "Cruel Latona," said she, "feed full your rage with my anguish ! Satiate your hard heart, while I follow to the grave my seven sons. Yet where is your triumph ? Ikreaved as I am, I am still richer than you, my conqueror." Scarce had she spoken when the bow sounded, and struck terror into nil hearts except Niobe' s alone. She was brave from excess of grief T of their c on the CO sole her r the earth cealment take. Six wei held clasp body. " one of so dead. D dead, and hair, no c movable, cleaved to the tide o her foot n out. Yet to her nat which a ti grief The sto of the falh mOBE, 139 '% grief. The sisters stood in garments of mourning over the biers of their dead brothers. One fell, struck by an arrow, and died on the corpse she was bewailing. Another, attempting to con- sole her mother, suddenly ceased to speak, and sank lifeless to the earth. A third tried to escape by flight, a fourth by con- cealment ; another stood trembling, uncertain what course tc take. ' •* But what is this? What means this oozing flood? Her daughters, too, are weltering in their blood : One clasps her mother' s knees, one clings around Her neck, and one lies prostrate on the ground ; One seeks her breast ; one eyes the coming woe And shudders ; one in terror crouches low." — Meleager. Six were now dead, and only one remained, whom the mother held clasped in her arms, and covered as it were with her whole body. "Spare me one, and that the youngest! O, spare me one of so many !" she cried ; and while she spoke, that one fell dead. Desolate she sat, among sons, daughters, husbahd, all dead, and seemed torpid with grief. The breeze moved not her '' hair, no color was on her cheek, her eyes glared fixed and hn- movable, there was no sign of life about her. Her very tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth, and her veins ceased to convey the tide of life. Her neck bent not, her arms made no gesture, her foot no step. She was changed to stone, within and with- out. Yet tears continued to flow ; and, borne on a whirlwind to her native mountain, she still remains, a mass of rock, from which a trickling stream flows, the tribute of her never-ending grief. The story of Niobe has furnished Byre u with a fine illustration of the fallen condition of modern Rome : — ** The Niobe of naticnis ! there she stands, Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe ; An empty urn within her withered hands, Whose holy dust was scattered long ago ; The Scipios' tomb it^ntaiiis no ashes now : The very sepuUlires lie teimntless Of their heroic dwellers ; dost thou flow, Old Tiber 1 through a marble wilderness ? Rise with thy yellow waves, and mantle her distress." —Childe Harold, IV. 79, "m )A\ 1> 1 -'-j"^ mi I40 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Tragic as is the story of Niobe, we cannot forbear to smile at the use Moore has made of it in " Rhymes on the Road " :— ** 'Twas in his carriage the sublime Sir Richard Blackmore used to rhyme, And, if the wits don't do him wrong, 'Twixt death and epics passed his time, Scribbling and kilHng all day long ; ' Like Phoebus in his car at ease, Now warbling forth a lofty song, Now murdering the young Niobes." Sir Richard Blackmore was a physician, and at the same time a very prolific and very tasteless poet, whose works are now for- gotten, unless when recalled to mind by some wit like Moore for the sake of a pleasantry. The Gra du's£ The Gr birth, whei of theGor^ mean, resp were cone withered fr tlie commc (lark cavert The Go those of s\v irigs make i whose stor) to introdiic that the G terrors of t] »# v» Head of Medusa (Drawing by Wagrez). CHAPTER XV. The Grse'ae — Gor'gons — A-cris'i-us — Per'seus— Me du'sa — At'las — An-Jrom'e-da — Cas-si-o-pe'ia — The Wedding-Feast. The Grse'se and Gor'gons. The Grse' ae wrre three sisters who were gray -haired from their l)irth, whence their name — sisters, and at the same time guardians of tile Gorgons. Their names, Deino, Pephredo, and Enyo, mean, respectively, "alarm," "dread " and ** horror." They were conceived as misshapen, hideous creatures, hoary and withered from their birth, with only one eye and one tooth foi tiie common use of the three, and were supposed to inhabit a (lark cavern near the (Mitrance to Tartarus. The Gor'gons were monstrous females with huge teeth like those of swine, brazen claws, and snaky hair. None of these be- ings make much figure in mythology excei)t Medusa, the Gorgon, whose story we shall next advert to. We mention them chiefly to introduce an ingenious theory of some modern writers, namely, that the Gorgons and Grcuai were only personifications of the terrors of the sea, the former denoting the s/ro%^ billows of the (141) I J *. \m- i B '/?•! Mif" 143 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. w\ w m wide open main, and the latter the w^zV^-crested waves that dash against the rocks of the coast. Their names, in Greek, signify the above epithets. A-cris'i-us — Per'seus and Me-du'sa. A-cris'i-us was the king of Argos ; his only child, Danae, was a beautiful maiden, of whom he was very fond. It had t jen revealed to him by an oracle that his daughter's son would yet be the instrument of his death. Acrisius determined, therefore, that his daughter sliould never marry, so he imprisoned her in a tower of brass. Jupiter looked down from Olympus, and fell in love with the royal captive. In order to escape the notice of the guards he transformed himself into a shower of gold. •* Danae, in a brazen tower Where no love was, loved a shower." — Shelley, A secret marriage was the result, and Per'seus was born. Acrisius, still fearing the oracle's %varning, caused the mother and child to be shut up in a chest and set adrift on the sea. ••When round the well-fram'd ark the blowing blast Roar'd, and the heaving whirlpools of the deep With rough' ning surge seem'd threatening to o'ertum The wide-tost vessel, not with tearless cl eeks The mother round her infant gently twined Her tender arm, and cried, * Ah me ! my child ! What sufferings I endure I thou sleep' st the while, Inhaling in thy milky-breathing breast The balm of slumber.* " — Simonides (Elton's tr. ). The chest floated towards Seriphus, where it was found by a fisherman, who conveyed the mother and infant to Polydectes, king of the country, by whom they were treated with kindness. I) ere Perseus reniained and grew to manhood. Polydectes, the ^iii^ ^M the meanwhile had fallen in love with his mothi'r, Danae, auu Arished her to become his wife. She refused, and aj)- pfwikii ^? her soa for protertion. The king, hoping for a more favor ;b1r. reijionst to his suit in the absence of Perseus, sent him to atiomi'': the conquest of \fedusa, a terrible monster who had laid waste iho oantr ; She was once a beautiful maiden whose hair was h« r ':h.ef glory, but as she dared to vie in beauty with Minerva, her beaut] monster o hold her > where sh< animals w l^een petri ACBISIUS— PERSEUS ANl) MEDUSA, 143 Minerva, the goddess deprived her of her charms and changed her beautiful ringlets into hissing serpents. She became a cruel monster of so frig! tful an aspect that no living thing could be- hold her without being turned into stone. All around the 'cavern where she dwelt might be seen the stony figures of men and animals which had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and had I jjeen petrified with the sight. Perseus, by Canova (Vatican, Rome). •» What was that snaky-headed Gorgon-shield That wise Minerva wore, unconquered virgin, Wherewith she freezed her foes to cc»ngealed stooe, But rigid looks of chaste austerity, And noble grace that dashed brute violence With sudden adoration and blank awe 1" — MiLTON, The gods interested themselves in the success of Perseiis licf^ Wl ■ • . "•■la m ^1 w ^ I. 144 STOttms OP OODS AND HUROm Si* I! I: m Um, -.y. ; »'**" ill '. ■ »l!j Pluto lent him his helmet, by which he became invisible at vrill ; Mercury his winged shoes, and Minerva her shield. •• Minerva thus to Perseus lent her shield ; . . ^ Secure of conquest, sent him to the field ; The hero acted what the queen ordain' d. So was his fame complete."— Prior. ' ^, The young adventurer, rendering himself invisible by means of Pluto's shield, first visited the cavern of the Graeae. Their single eye was on its way from one sister to another. This he intercepted, and promised to return it only upon the condition that they should direct him to Medusa. Not wishing to live in perpetual darkness, they consented. The Gorgon and her two sisters lived in a desolate cave by the sea. ** But a third woman paced about the hall, And ever turned her head from wall to wall, And moaned aloud and shrieked in her despair, Because the golden tresses of her hair Were moved by writhing snakes from side to side, That in their writhing oftentimes would glide On to her breast or shuddering shoulders white ; Or, falling down, the b'deous things would light Upon her feet, and, crawling thence, would twine Their slimy folds about her ankles fine." — William Morris. Perseus waited until Medusa had fallen asleep. He took great «ire not to look directly at her, but, guided by her image, reflected in the bright shield which he bore, he cut off her head and gave it to Minerva, who fixed it in the middle of her ^gis.* Per'seus and At'las. After the slaughter of Medusa, Per'seus, bearing with him the head of the Gorgon, flew far and wide, over land and sea. As night came on he reached the western limit of the earth, where the sun goes down. Here he would gladly liave rested till morning. It was the realm of King At'las, whose bulk sur- passed that of all other men. He was rich in flocks and herds, ' There ts a legend that when Perseus fiew over the African desert with Me- dusa's head, a few drops of bluod fell upon the sand, front which came all llii poisonous reptiles that infest the country. V':,!r.:i^* Notefi _ 1 Q PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA. H7 i 4 they sent a prodigious sea -monster to ravage the coast. To ap« pease the deities, Cepheus was directed by the oracle to expose his daughter An-drom'e*da to l)e devoured by the monster. Ag Perseus looked down from his aerial height he beheld the virgin chained to a rock, and waiting the approach of the serpent. She was so pale and motionless that if it had not been for her flow- ing tears, and her hair that moved in the breeze, he would have taken her for a marble statue. He was so startled at the sight that he almost forgot to wave his wings. As he hovered over her he said, " O, virgin, undeserving of those chains, but rather of such as bind fond lovers together, tell me, I beseech you, your name and the name of your country, and why you are thus bound. ' * At first she was silent from modesty, and, if she could, would have hid her face with her hands; but when he repeated his questions, for fear she might be thought guilty of some fault which she dared not tell, she disclosed her name and that of her country, and her mother's pride of beauty. Before she b A done kspeaking a sound was heard off upon the water, and tic sea- monster appeared, with his head raised above the surface, cleav- ing the waves with his broad breast. The virgin shrieked. The father and mother, who had now arrived- at the scene, wretched both, but the mother more justly so, stood by, not able to afford protection, but only to pour forth lamentations and to embrace the victim. Then spoke Perseus : " There will be time enough for tears ; this hour js all we have for rescue. My rank as the son of Jove and my renown as the slayer of the Gorgon might make me acceptable as a suitor ; but I will try to win her by services rendered, if the gods will only be propitious. If she be rescued by my valor, I deman<l that she be my reward." The ])arents consent (how couhl they hesitate?), and promise a royal dowry with her. And now the monster was within the range of a stone thrown l)y a skilful slinger, when with a sudden ])ound the youth soared into tlie air. As an eagle, when, from his lofty flight, he sees a serpent basking in the sun, pounces upon him and seizes him by the neck to prevent him from turning his head round and using his fangs, so the youth darted down up^n the back of the mon- ster and plunged his sword into its shoulder. Irritated by the U'oundthe monster raised himself into the air, then plunged into >ifi '■M 'M .- !''*'■' ' ^i. '^ I ^ — i#^f^ r ' i ■ ^^i I' ' ''P '"^H 148 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, I) -*' the depth ; then, like a wild boar surrounded by a pack of bark- ing dogs, turned swiftly from side to side, while the youth eluded its attacks by means of his wings. Wherever he can find a pas- sage for his sword between the scales he makes a wound, piercing now the side, now the flank, as it slopes towards the tail. The brute spouts from his nostrils water mixed with blood. The wings of the hero are wet with it, and he dares no longer trust to them. Alighting on a rock which rose above the waves, and holding on by a projecting fragment, as the monster floated near he gave him a death stroke. The people who had gathered on the shore shouted so that the lillls reechoed the sound. .,14.. ** On the hills a shout Of joy, and on the rocks the ring of mail ; And while the hungiy serpent's gloating eyes Were fixed on me, a knight in casque of gold \ And blazing shield, who with his flashing blade Fell on the monster. Long the conflict raged. Till all the rocks were red with blood and slime. And yet my champion from those horrible jaws And dreadful coils was scathless." — Lewis Morris. The parents, transported with joy, embraced their future son- in-law, calling am their deliverer and the savior of their house; and the virgin, both cause and reward of the contest, descended from the rock. Cas-si-o-pe'ia. Cas-si-o-pe'ia was an ^Ethiopian, and consequently, in spite of her boasted beauty, black ; at least so Milton seems to ha\ e thought, who alludes to this story in his " Penseroso," where he addresses Melancholy as the «. -goddess, sage and holy, Whose saintly visage is too bright To hit the sense of human sight, And, therefore, to our weaker view O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue. Black, but such as in esteem Prince Mciniion's sister might beseem. Or that starrod ylvthiop queen that strove To set her beauty's praise above The bcanyuiphs, and their powers offended." CASSIOPEU. 149 f bark- eluded [ a pas- iercing , The . The T trust es, and ed near jred on ire son- house ; icended in spite to huxe here lie Cassiopeia 13 called "the starred ^thiop queen " because after her death she was placed among the stars, forming the conHtella- tion of that name. Though she attained this honor, yet the Sea- Nymphs, her old enemies, prevailed so far as to cause her to be placed in that part of the heavens near the pole, where every night she is half the time held with her head downward, to give her a lesson of humility. Memnon was an -Ethiopian prince, of whom we shall tell in a future chapter. The Wedding-Feast. The joyful parents, with Perseus and Andromeda, repaired to the palace, where a banquet was spread for them, and all was joy and festivity. But suddenly a noise was heard of warlikf clamor, and Phineus, the betrothed of the virgin, with a party of his adherents, burst in, demanding the maiden as his own. It was in vain that Chepheus remonstrated, — '* You should have claimed her when she lay bound to the rock, the monster's vic- tim. The sentence of the gods dooming her to such a fate dis- solved all engagements, as death itself would have done." Phineus made no reply, but hurled his javelin at Perseus, but it missed its mark and fell liarmless. Perseus would have thrown his in turn, but the cowardly assailant ran and took shelter be- hind the altar. But his act was a signal for an onset by his band upon the guests of Cepheus. They defended themselves, and a general conflict ensued, the old king retreating from the scene after fruitless expostulations, calling the gods to witness that he was guiltless of this outrage on the rights of hospitality. Perseus and his friends maintained for some time the unequal contest ; but the numbers of the assailants were too great for them, and destruction seemed inevitable, when a sudden thought struck Perseus, — **I will make my enemy defend me." Then with a loud voice he exclaimed, "If I have any friend here let him turn away his eyes !" and held aloft the Gorgon's head. " Seek not to frighten us with your jugglery," said Thescelus, and raised his javelin in act to throw, and became stone in the very atti- tude. Ampyx was about to plunge his sword into the body of a prostrate foe, but his arm stiffened and he could neither thrust forward nor withdraw it. Another, in the midst of a vociferouf ' ' ' M \ > ,r. i r ISO STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES, t* , 1 challenge, stopped, his mouth open, but no sound issuing. One of Perseus' s friends, Aconteus, caught sight of the Gorgon and stiffened like the rest. Astyages struck him with his sword, but instead of wounding, it recoiled with a ringing noise. Phineus beheld this dreadful result of his unjust aggression and felt confounded. He called aloud to his friends, but got no answer ; he touched them and found them stone. Falling on his knees and stretching out his hands to Perseus, but turning his head away, he begged for mercy. "Take all," said he, "give me but my life." " Base coward !" said Perseus, " thus much I will grant you : no weapon shall touch you ; moreover, you shall be preserved in my house as a memorial of these events. ' ' So saying, he held the Gorgon's head to the side where Phineus was looking, and in the very form in which he knelt, with his hands outstretched and face averted, he became fixed immovable. a mass of stone I «' As 'mid the fabled Libyan bridal stood Perseu? in stern tranquillity of wrath, Half stood, half floated on his ankle-plumes Out-swelling, while the bright face on his shield Looked into stone the raging fray ; so rose, But with no magic arms, wearing alone Th' appalling and control of his firm look. The Briton Samor, at his rising awe Went abroad, and the riotous hall was mute."— MiLMAN. Perseus, with his bride, returned to Seriphus. There he Avenged the king's ill treatment of his mother by showing him the fatal head and changing him into a stone. ' He also returned to Argos, and learned that his grandfather, Acrisius, had been driven from his throne and was a prisoner of state. Perseus slew the usurper, and restored, the old king to his rightful place. The prediction of the oracle was slow of ful- fillment, but finally came true. One day Perseus was playing at quoits with his friends. Acrisius, standing by, was accidentally struck by a discus, and killed. Perseus became king, and ruled with great wisdom. At his death he, with Andromeda, joined ihe immortals among the stars in the constellation of Cassiopeia. Giants, MONS' natural p sessing ii the injur combine and Chi beasts W( ties. O size ; an< among t] as the C not to b( mingled giants, V sions. 1 nine acr be laid i you Saturday, Saturn (Raplutd). ;^"ig '>r CHAPTER XVI. Monsters. Giants, Sphinx, CEd'i-pus, Peg'a-sus and Chi-mae'ra, Cen'taurs, Griffin, and Pyg'mies. Monsters, in the language of mythology, were beings of un- natural proportions or parts, usually regarded with terror, as pos- sessing immense strength and ferocity, which they employed for the injury and annoyance of men. Some of ther. ' were supposed to combine the members of different animals ; such were the Sphinx and Chimsera j and to these all the terrible qualities of wild l)easts were attributed, together with human sagacity and facul- ties. Others, as the giants, differed from men chiefly in their size ; and in this particular we must recognize a wide distinction among them. The human giants, if .,o they may be called, such as the Cyclopes, Antaeus, Orion and others, must be supposed not to be altogether disproportioned to human beings, for they mingled in love and strife with them. But the superhuman giants, who warred with the gods, were of vastly larger dimen- sions. Tityus, we are told, when stretched on the plain, covered nine acres, and Enceladus required the whole of Mount .^tna to be laid upon him to keep him down, («5I) -a;,d *r*f^''. ■ ;vl '^. #. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 If "^ ■ I.I m 2.5 2.2 lilll.25 i 1.4 2.0 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation <>/^ 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WHSTIII,N.Y US80 (716) •73-4503 1 52 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. •* And the nations far away Are watching with eager eyes. ■', They talk together, and say To-morrow, perhaps to-day, Enceladus will arise." — Longfeilow (Encehdus). We have already spoken of the war which the giants waged ,against the gods, and of its results. While this war lasted the giants proved a formidable enemy. Some of them, like Bria- reus, had a hundred arms; others, like Typhon, breathed out fire. At one time they put the gods to such fear that they fled into Egypt, and hid themselves under various forms. Jupiter took the form of a ram, whence he was afterwards worshipped in Egypt as the god Ammon, with curved horns. Apollo be- came a crow, Bacchus a goat, Diana a cat, Juno a cow, Venus a fish. Mercury a bird. At another time the giants attempted to climb up into heaven, and for that purpose took up the moun- tain Ossa and piled it on Pelion.* They were at last subdued by thunderbolts, which Minerva invented, and taught Vulcan anc? his Cyclopes to make for Jupiter. The Sphinx— CEd'i-pus. Laius, king of Thebes, was warned by an oracle that there waa danger to his throne and life if his new-born son should be suf- fered to grow up. *♦ J,aius once, Not from Apollo, but his priests, receiv'd An oracle, which said, it was decreed He should be slain by his own son." — Soi'HOCLES (Francklin's tr.). He therefore committed the child to the care of a herdsman, with orders to destroy him ; but the herdsman, moved with pity, yet not daring entirely to disobey, tied up the child by the feet, and left him hanging to the branch of a tree. In this condition the infant was found by a peasant, who carried him to his master and mistress, by whom he was adopted and called (£d'i-pus, or Swollen-foot. Many years afterwards Laius being on his way to Delphi, ac- companied only by one attendant, met in a narrow road a young * See Proverbial Expressioni. man, I THE SPHINX. 153 man, also driving in a chariot On his refusal to leave the way CEdipus and the Sphinx ( Louvre, Paris). at their command, the attendant killed one of his horses, and the stranger, filled with rage, slew both Laius and his attendant. " Beneath my staff At once he sunk, and fromliis chariot rolled. I slew them all." — Sophocles (Potter). The young man was CEdipus, who thus unknowingly became the slayer of his own father. ' i I ir. 'tl jil:-''*f I '54 8T0BIE8 OF QODS AND HEROES, kiliillill rAjij Shortly after this event, the city of Thebes was afflicted with a monster which infested the high-road. It was called th«( Sphinx. It had the body of a lion, and the upper part of a woman. It lay crouched on the top of a rock, and arrested all travellers who came that way, proposing to them a riddle, with the condition that those who could solve it should pass safe, but those who failed should be -killed. Not one had yet succeeded in solving it, and all had been slain. (Edipus was not daunted by these alarming accounts; but boldly advanced to the trial. The Sphinx said:— *' Tell me, what animal is that / hich has fom* feet at morning bright. Has two at noon, and three at night?'*— Prior. CEdipus replied, **Man, who in childhood creeps on hands and knees, in manhood walks erect, and in old age with the aid of a staff, ' ' The Sphinx was so mortified at the solving of her riddle that she cast herself down from the rock and perished. The gratitude of the people for their deliverance was so great that they made CEdipus their king, giving him in marriage their t|ueen Jocasta. CEdipus, ignorant of his parentage, had already become the slayer of his father.; in marrying the queen he be- came the husband of his mother. (Kl)II'US : «' But tell me what the form Of Laius, what his stature and his age? J'K'AHTA J *'Tall and of manly port, his locks just tinged With grey ; his form much like to thine." — Sophocles (Potter). These horrors remained undiscovered, till at length Thebes was afflicted with famine and pestilence, and the oracle being consulted, the ciouble crime of CEdipus came to light. \ ** The plague, he said, should cease, When those who murder' d I.aius were discover' d, And paid the forfeit ot their crime by death ^^\ Or banishment." — Sophocles (Francklin's tr.). • Jocasta put an end to her own life, and CEdipus, seized with iiuulness, tore out his eyes. *' They, in the dark, should look in time to come On those whom they ought never to have seen, Nor know the dear ones whom he fain had known." Hetl: by all ej These miserabl life. When the earth and tam( Hippocr kick fror TheC fore part and the 1 It mad for some court a He brouj ommendi ble hero, put him 1 him, susf PEGASUS AND THE CHIMJEBA, ^S$ He then wandered away from Thebes, dreaded and abandoned by all except his daughters, ^. . *' Ye tender props of my old age." ' These faithfully adhered to him, till, after a tedious period of miserable wandering, he found the termination of his wretched life. *' Behold me, now how fallen. How sunk beneath a flood of dreadful woes ! See this, and, mortal as thou art, survey Man' s last deciding day, and none pronoimce Happy the bounds of life till he hath passed Safe and uninjured by the storms of state." —Sophocles (Potter). Peg'a-sus and the Chi-mae'ra. When Perseus cut off Medusa's head, the blood sinking into the earth produced the winged horse Peg'a-sus. Minerva caught and tamed him, and presented him to the Muses. The fountain Hippocrene, on the Muses* mountain Helicon, was opened by a kick from his hoof. The Chi-mae'ra was a fearful monster, breathing fire. The fore part of its body was a compound of the liou and the goat, and the hind part a dragon's. ** Dire Chlmaera's conquest was enjoin' d ; A mingled monster, of no mortal kind ; Behind, a dragon' s fiery tail was spread ; A goat' s rough body bore a lion's head ; Her pitchy nostrils flaky flames expire j Her gaping throat emits infernal fire." —Homer (Pope's tr.). It made great havoc in Lycia, so that the king lobates sought for some hero to destroy it. At that time there arrived at his court a gallant young warrior, whose name was Bellerophon. He brought letters from Prcetus, the son-in-law of lobates, rec- ommending Bellerophon in the warmest terms as an unconquera* ble hero, but added at the close a request to his father-in-law to put him to death. The reason was that Prcetus was jealous of him, suspecting that his wife Antea looked with too much adidi* \'v '.a Ji'J 156 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. M mt ration on the young warrior. From this instance of Bellerophon being unconsciously the bearer of his own death-warrant, the ex- pression " Bellerophontic letters" arose, to describe any species of communication which a p-^rson is made the bearer of, contain^ ing matter prejudicial to himself. lobates, on perusing the letters, was puzzled what to do, not willing to violate the claims of hospitality, yet wishing to oblige his son-in-law. A lucky thought occurred to him to send Bel- lerophon to combat with the Chimaera. Bellerophon accepted the proposal, but before proceeding to the combjat consulted the soothsayer Polyidus, who advised him to procure if possible the Pegasus and the Nymphs (Thorwaldsen). horse Pegasus for the conflict. For this purpose he directed him to pass the night in the temple of Minerva. He did so, and as he slept Minerva came to him and gave him a golden bridle. When he awoke the bridle remained in his hand. Minerva also showed him Pegasus drinking at the well of Pirene, and at sight of the bridle the winged steed came willingly and suffered himself to betaken. Bellerophon mounted him, rose with him into the air, soon found the Chimoera, and gained an easy victory over the monster. After the conquest of the Chimjera, Bellerophon wa.* exposed PE0A8U8 AND T3E CHIMJBRA. »$; to further trials and labors by his unfriendly host, but by the aid of Pegasus he triumphed in them all ; till at length lobates, see- ing that the hero was a special favorite of the gods, gave him his daughter in marriage and made him his successor on the throne. At last Bellerophon, by his pride and presumption, drew upon himself the anger of the gods ; it is said he even attempted to fly up into heaven on his winged steed ; but Jupiter sent a gadfly which stung Pegasus and made him throw his rider, who became lame and blind in consequence. . ** Bold Bellerophon (so Jove decreed In wrath) fell headlong from the fields of air." — Wordsworth. After this, Bellerophon wandered lonely through the Aleian field, avoiding the paths of men, and died miserably. Milton alludes to Bellerophon in the beginning of the seventh book of ** Paradise Lost":— *« Descend from Heaven, Urania, by that name If rightly thou art called, whose voice divine Following, above the Olympian hill I soar, Above the flight of Pegasean wing ! Up led by thee, Lest, from this flying steed unreined (as once Bellerophon, though from a lower sphere) t Dismounted, on the Aleian field I fall, ^ Erroneous there to wander and forlorn." Yoimg in his "Night Thoughts," speaking of the sceptic, says: — *♦ He whose blind thought futurity denies, Unconscious bears, Bellerophon, like thee His own indictment ; he condemns himself. Who reads his bosom reads immortal life, Or nature there, imposing on her sons, Has written fables ; man was made a lie." — ^Vol. II. p. 12. Pegasus, being the horse of the Muses, has always been at the service of the poets. Schiller tc'.ls a pretty story of his having been sold by a needy poet, and put to the cart and the plough. He was not fit for such service, and his clownish master could make nothing of him. But a youth stepped forth and asked leave to try him. As soon as he was seated on his back, th« '» fym Jr.!f' > •Vf'?.**^' IS» STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. horse, which had appeared at first vicious, and after Is spirit- broken, rose kingly, a spirit, a god i unfolded the splendor of his wings and soared towards heaven. ** And the curious country people, Rich and poor and young and old, Came in haste to see this wondrous Winged steed, with mane of gold." — Longfellow. his deat Sagittar The Greek v Cen'taurs. These monsters were represented as men from the head to the loins, while the remainder of the body was that of a horse. The ancients were too fond of a horse to consider the union of his nature with man's as forming a very degraded compound, and accordingly the Cen'taur is the only one of the fancied mon- sters of antiquity to which any good traits are assigned. The Centaurs were admitted to the companionship of man, and at the marriage of Pirithous with Hippodamia, they were among the guests. At the feast, Eurytion, one of the Centaurs, becoming intoxicated with the wine, attempted to offer violence to the bride ; the other Centaurs followed his example, and a dreadful conflict arose, in which several of them were slain. This is the celebrated battle of the Lapithae and Centaurs, a favorite subject with the sculptors and poets of antiquity. But not all the Centaurs were like the rude guests of Piri- thous. Chiron was instructed by Apollo and Diana, and was renowned for his skill in hunting, medicine, music, and the art of prophecy. The most distinguished heroes of Grecian story were his pupils. Among the rest the infant -^sculapius was in- trusted to his charge by Apollo, his father. When the sage re- turned to his home bearing the infant, his daughter Ocyroe came forth to meet him, and at sight ci" the child burst forth into a Iprophetic strain (for she was a prophetess), foretelling the glory that he was to achieve, ^sculapius when grown up became a renowned physici^, and even in one instance succeeded in re- storing the dead to life. Pluto resented this, and Jupiter, at his request, struck the bold physician with lightning and killed him, but after his death received him into the number of the gods. Chiron was the wisest and justest of all the Centaurs, and at inches, lived n India, THE PTGMmS. 159 fi - '1 -'1 his death Jupiter placed him among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius. The Pyg'mies. The Pyg'mies were a nation of dwarfs, so called from a Greek word which means the cubit of measure of about thirteen Young Centaur. inches, which wan Haid tc he the hel^jht of these people. They lived near the MOurce» of the Nile, or, according to others, in India. J 's-i ^km m ■mi '^4 i6o STOBIES OP QOtoS AND HEUOES, Ih *t -like that Pygmaean race > Beyond the Indian mount, or fairy elves Whose midnight revels by a forest side. Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, (Or dreams he sees,) while overhead the moon Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth Wheels her pale course ; they on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear. At once with joy and fear his heart reboimds." — Milton. Homer tells us that the cranes used to migrate every winter tc the Pygmies' country, and their appearance was the signal of bloody warfare to the puny inhabitants, who had to take up arms to defend their cornfields against the rapacious strangers. The Pygmies and their enemies, the Cranes, form the subject of sev- eral works of art. Later writers tell of an army of Pygmies which, finding Her- cules asleep, made preparations to attack him, as if they were about to attack a city. But the hero, awaking, laughed at the little warriors, wrapped some of them up in his lion-skin, and carried them to Eurystheus. The Griffin, or Gryph'on. The Griffin is a monster with the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and back covered with feathers. Like birds it builds its nest, and instead of an egg lays an agate therein. It has long claws, and talons of such a size that the people of that country make them into drinking-cups. India was assigned as the native country of the Griffins. They found gold in the mountains and built their nests of it, for which reason their nests urere very tempting to the hunters, and they were forced to keep ifigilant guard over them. Their instinct led them to know where buried treasures lay, and they did their best to keep plun- derers at a distance. •* As when a Gryphon through the wilderness, With winged course, o'er hill and moory dale, Pursues the Arimaspian who by stealth ', Hath from his wakeful custody purloined His guarded gold. "—Milton. The Arimaspians, among whom the Griffins flourished, were a one-eyed people of Scythia. Sunday, Sol (Raphael). CHAPTER XVII. The Golden Fleece— J a'son — Me-de'a. The Golden Fleece. In very ancient times there lived in Thessaly a king and queen named Athamas and Nephele. They had two children, a boy and a girl. After a time Athamas grew indifferent to his wife, put her away, and took another. Nephele suspected danger to her children from the influence of the step -mother, and took measures to send them out of her reach. Mercury assisted her, and gave her a ram, with a golden fleece ^ on which she set the two children, trusting that the ram would convey them to a place of safety. The ram vaulted into the air with the children on his back, taking his course to the East, till, when crossing the strait that divides Europe and Asia, the girl, whose name was Helle, fell from his back into the sea, which from her was called Ihe Hellespont — now the Dardanelles. \ ** Where beauteous Helle found a watery grave." — MeleAGER. The ram continued his career till he reached the kingdom of Colchis, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, where he safely landed the boy Phryxus, who was hospitably received by .^etes, the king of the country. Phryxus sacrificed the ram to Jupiter, if fir P l62 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES and gave the golden fleece to -^etes, who placed it in a conse* ' crated grove, under the care of a sleepless dragon. There was another kingdom in Thessaly near to that of Atha- mas, and rult over by a relative of his. The king ^son, being tired of the cares of government, surrendered his crown to his brother Pelias, on condition that he should hold it only during the minority of Ja'son, the son of ^son. When Jason was grown up and came to demand the crown from his uncle, Pelias pretended to be willing to yield it, but at the same time sug- gested to the young man the glorious adventure of going in quest of the golden fleece, which it was well-known was in the king- dom of Colchis, and was, as Pelias pretended, the rightful prop- erty of their family. " From Colchis' realm to bring the golden fleece ; He charged the youth." — Orphic Argonautics. \ Jason was pleased with the thought, and forthwith made pre- parations for the expedition. At that time the only species of navigation known to the Greeks consisted of small boats or canoes hollowed out from trunks of trees, so that when Jason employed Argus to build him a vessel capable of containing fifty men, it was considered a gigantic undertaking. *• So when the first bold vessel dared the seas, High on the stem the Thracian raised his strain. While Argo saw her kindred trees Descend from Pelion to the main. Transported demigods stood round, And men grew heroes at the sound." — Pope. It was accomplished, however, and the vessel named Argo, from the name of the builder. Jason sent his invitation to all the adventurous young men of Greece, and soon found himself at the head of a band of bold youths, many of whom afterwards were renowned among the heroes and demigods of Greece. Hercules, Theseus, Orpheus and Nestor were among them. *' From every region of ^gea's shore The brave assembled ; those illustrious twins Castor and Pollux ; Orpheus, tuneful bard ; Zetes and Calais, as the wind in speed ; Strong Hercules and many a chief renowned."— DvEa. They Thei and, ha Mysia, Here structior .course, trance o was im small roc floated and in tl heavings came to and gri; any obje caught They wei plegades, ands. P the Arg pass this When tl islands tl which tc tvveen 1 passed in ing some tail. Ja seized tl ment of through, grazed t arrived a of Colct THE GOLDEN FLEECE. l6z El conse* ►f Atha- n, being n to his f during son was e, Pelias me sug- in quest tie king- ill prop- ade pre- lecies of boats or in Jason ing fifty Argo, m to all himself erwards Greece. m. They are called the Argonauts, from the name of their vessel. The Argo with her crew of heroes left the shores of Thessaly, and, having touched at the Island of Lemnos, thence crossed to Mysia, and thence to Thrace. ** Then with a whistling breeze did Juno fill the sail. And Argo, self-impell'd, shot swift before the gale." — Onomacritus (Elton's tr.). Here they found the sage Phineus, and from him received in- struction as to their future .course. It seems the en- trance of the Euxine Sea was impeded by two small rocky islands, which floated on the surface, and in their tossings and heavings they occasionally came together, crushing and grinding to atoms any object that might be caught between them. They were called the Sym- plegades, or Clashing Isl- ands. Phineus instructed the Argonauts how to pass this dangerous strait. When they reached the islands they let go a dove, which took her way be- tween the rocks, and passed in safety, only los- ing some feathers of her tail. Jason and his men seized the favorable mo- Jason (Cilyptothek, Munich). Ea. ment of the rebound, plied their oars with vigor, and passed safe through, though the islands closed behind them, and actually grazed their stern. They now rowed along the shore till they arrived at the eastern end of the sea, and landed at the kingdom of Colchis. m mm. niflii «64 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. Jason made known his message to the Colchian king, -^Eetes, who consented to give up the golden fleece if Jason would yoke to the plough two fire-breathing bulls with brazen feet, and sow the teeth of the dragon which Cadmus had slain, and from which it was well known that a crop of armed men would spring up who would turn their weapons against their producer. Jason accepted the conditions, and a time was set for making the ex- periment. Previously, however, he found means to plead his cause to Medea, daughter of the king. He promised her mar- Jason (Museum, Rome). riage, and, as they stood before the altar of Hecate, called the goddess to witness his oath. Medea yielded — and by her aid, for she was a potent sorceress, he was furnished with a c liarm by which he could encounter safely the breath of the fire-breath- Ing bulls and the weapons of the armed men. *At the time appointed the people assembled at the grove of Mars, and the king assumed his royal seat, while the multitude THE GOLDEN FLEECE, 165 ig, ^etes, rould yoke t, and sow and from uld spring ;er. Jason ng the e\- plead his I her mar- called th' )y her aid, th a (liarni ire-brt-ath- 3 grove of multitude covered the hill-sides. The brazen-footed bulls rushed in, breathing fire from their nostrils that burned up the herbage as they passed. The sound was like the roar of a furnace, and the smoke like that of water upon quick-lime. Jason advanced boldly to meet them. His friends, the chosen heroes of Greece, trembled to behold him. Regardless of the burning breath, he soothed their rage with his voice, patted their necks with fearless hand, and adroitly slipped over them the yoke, and compelled them to drag the plough. ** And how he yoked the bulls, whose breathings fiery glow'd, And with the dragons' teeth the furrow' d acres sow'd." — Onomacritus (Elton's tr. ). The Colchians were amazed ; the Greeks shouted for joy. Jason next proceeded to sow the dragon's teeth and plough them in. And soon the crop of armed men sprang up, and — wonder- ful to relate ! — no sooner had they reached the surface than they began to brandish their weapons and rush upon Jason. " They, like swift dogs, Ranging in fierceness, on each other tum'd Tumultuous battle." — Apollonius Rhodius (Elton's tr.). The Greeks trembled for their hero ; and even she who had provided him a way of safety and taught him how to use it, Medea herself, grew pale with fear. Jason for a time kept his assailants at bay with his sword and shield, till, finding their num- bers overwhelming, he resorted to the charm which Medea had taught him, seized a stone, and threw it in the midst of his foes. They immediately turned their arms against one another, and soon there was not one of the dragon's brood left alive. The Greeks embraced their hero, and Medea, if she dared, would have embraced him, too. It remained to lull to sleep the dragon that guarded the fleece, and this was done by scattering over him a few drops of a prepa- ration which Medea had supplied. At the smell he relaxed his rage, stood for a moment motionless, then shut those great round eyes, that had never been known to shut before, and turned over on his side, fast asleep. Jason seized the fleece, *• Exulting Jason grasped the shini'ig hide, His last of It lx)rs, and his envied pride." — Flaccus (Elton'i tr.), 1/8 i. ■■ C'l" f^: 'i. w ' ^3 111' '11 i66 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. and with his friends and Medea accompanying, hastened to theii vessel, before ^etes, the king, could arrest their departure, and made the best of their way back to Thessaly, where they arrived safe, and Jason delivered the fleece to Pelias, and dedicated the Argo to Neptune. What became of the fleece afterwards we do not know, but perhaps it was found, after all, like many other golden prizes, not worth the trouble it had cost to procure it. This is one of those mythological tales, says a late writer, in which there is reason to believe that a substratum of truth exists, though overlaid by a mass of fiction. It probably was the first important maritime expedition, and like the first attempts of the kind of all nations, as we know from history, was probably of a half-piratical character. If rich spoils were the result, it was enough to give rise to the idea of the golden fleece. Another suggestion of a learned mythologist, Bryant, is that it is a corrupt tradition of the story of Noah and the ark. The name Argo seems to countenance this, and the incident of the dove is another confirmation. Hercules left the expedition at Mysia, for Hylas, a youth be- loved by him, having gone for water, was laid hold of and kept by the nymphs of the spring, who were fascinated by his beauty. Hercules went in quest of the lad, and while he was absent the Argo put to sea and left him. *' When Plylas was sent with his urn to the fount, Through fields full of light and with heart full of play, Light rambled the hoy over meadow and mount, And neglected his task for the flowers in the way. «* Thus many like me, who in youth should have tasted The fountain that runs by Philosophy's shrine, Their time with the flowers on the margin have wasted, I And left their light urns all as empty as mine." — Moore. Me-de'a and .^'son. Amid the rejoicings for the recovery of the Golden Fleece, Jason felt that one thing was wanting, the presence of .ffi'son, his father, who was prevented by his age and infirmities from taking part in them. Jason said to Me-de'a, ** My spouse, would that your arts, whose p-^wer I have seen so mighty for my aid, could do me one further service : take some years from my life and add MEDEA AND JESON, 167 them to my father's. ' ' Medea replied, *' Not at such a cost shall it be done, but if my art avails me, his life shall be lengthened without abridging yours. ' * The next full moon she issued forth alone, while all creatures slept ; not a breath stirred the foliage, and all was still. To the stars she addressed her incantations, and to the moon ; to Hecate,* the goddess of the under world, and to Tellus, the goddess of the earth, by whose power plants potent for enchantments are produced. She invoked the gods of the woods and caverns, of mountains and valleys, of lakes and rivers, of winds and rapors. While she spoke the stars shone brighter, and presently a chariot descended through the air, drawn by flying serpents. She ascended in it, and, borne aloft, made her way to distant regions, where potent plants grew wh'.ch she knew how to select for her purpose. Nine nights she em- ployed in her search, and during that time came not within the doors of her palace nor under any roof, and shunned all inter- course with mortals. She next erected two altars, the one to Hecate, the other to Hebe, the goddess of youth, and sacrificed a black sheep, pour- ing libations of milk and wine. She implored Pluto and his stolen bride that they would not hasten to take the old man's life. Then she directed that ^Eson should be led forth, and having thrown him into a deep sleep by a charm, had him laid on a bed of herbs, like one dead. Jason and all others were kept away from the place, that no profane eyes might look upon her mysteries. Then, with streaming hair, she thrice moved round the altars, dipped flaming twigs in the blood, and laid them thereon to burn. Meanwhile the caldron with its contents was got ready. In it she put magic herbs, with seeds and flowers of acrid juice, stones from the distant east, and sand from the shore of all-surrounding ocean ; hoar-frost, gathered by moon- light, a screech-owl's head and wings, and the entrails of a wolf. She added fragments of the shells of tortoises, and the liver of stags, — animals tenacious of life, — and the head and beak of a * Hecate was a mysterious divinity sometimes identified with Diana and Bometimes witli Proserpine. As Diana represents the moonlight splendor of night, so Hecate represents its darkness and terrors. She was the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft, and was believed to wander by night along the eartb seen only by the dogs, whose barking told her approach. Hi Emm "M W^^^wj ■i i68 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, 4iiiii IPS.: i crow, that OUtV .6 nine generations of men. These with many Other things * without a name ' ' she boiled together for her pur- posed work, stirring them up with a dry olive branch ; and be- hold I the branch when taken out instantly became green, and before long was covered with leaves and a plentiful growth of young olives ; and as the liquor boiled and bubbled, and sometimes ran over, the grass wherever the sprin- klings fell shot forth with a verd- ure like that of spring. Seeing that all was ready, Medee cut the throat of the old man and let out all his blood, and poured into his mouth and into his wound the juices of her caldron. As soon as he had com- pletely imbibed them, his hair and beard laid by their whiteness and as- sumed the black- ness of youth ; his paleness and ema- ciation were gone : his vclnH were full of blood, his limbs of vigor and robustness. ^)Hon Is amazed at himself, and remembers that such as he no\v is, he was in his youthful days, forty years before. ** MccletiN spells dispersed tlie weight of years, And Mton stood a youth 'raid youthful peers."— Wordsworth Medea (N. Sichel). Medea another i venge. uncle of must ha\ and whc wished to consei an old si soon a b removed meadow, delight, same ope very diff herbs, ber of th the influ( ters stooc tated to i away the their wej daughter; Their he; but Mede Then 1 depart in treachery escaped, crime, marry Ci raged at a poison( children drawn c ^Egeus, t we come The ii of the w MEDEA AND JE80N. 169 Medea used her arts here for a good purpose ; but not so in another instance, where she made them the instruments of re- venge. Pelias, our readers will recollect, was the usurping uncle of Jason, and had kept him out of his kingdom. Yet he must have had some good qualities, for his daughters loved him, and when they saw what Medea had done for ^Eson, they wished her to do the same for their father. Medea pretended to consent, and prepared her caldron as before. At her request an old sheep was brought and plunged into the caldron.* Very soon a bleating was heard in the kettle, and when the cover was removed, a lamb jumped forth and ran frisking away into the meadow. The daughters of Pelias saw the experiment with delight, and appointed a time for their father to undergo the same operation. But Medea prepared her caldron for him in a very different way. She put in only water and a few simple herbs. In the night she with the sisters entered the bedcham- ber of the old king, while he and his guards slept soundly under the influence of a spell cast upon them by Medea. The daugh- ters stood by the bedside with their weapons drawn, but hesi- tated to strike, till Medea chid their irresolution. Then, turning away their faces, and giving random blows, they smote him with their weapons. He, starting from his sleep, cried out: **My daughters, what are you doing? Will you kill your father?" Their hearts failed them and the weapons fell from their hands, but Medea struck him a fatal blow, and prevented his saying more. Then they placed him in the caldron, and Medea hastened to depart in her serpent -drawn chariot before they discovered her treachery, or their vengeance would have been terrible. She escaped, however, but had little enjoyment of the fruits of her crime. Jason, for whom she had done so much, wishing to marry Creusa, princes? of Corinth, put away Medea. She, en- raged at his ingratitude, called on the gods for vengeance, sent a poisoned robe as a gift to the bride, and then killing her own children and setting fire to the palace, mounted her serpent- drawn chariot and fled to Athens, where she married King .Egcus, the father of Theseus, and we shall meet her again when we come to the adventures of that hero. The incantations of Medea will remind the reader of those of the witches in Macbeth : IP-; •■ 1 ' ?.'.« I/O STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. •• Round about the caldron go ; \ In the poisoned entrails throw. Fillet of a fenny snake In the caldron boil and bake ; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog. Adder's fork and blind- worm's sting, Lizard's leg and howlet's wing : Maw of ravening salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digged in the dark," &c. — Macbeth^ Act IV. Scene I. There is another story of Medea almost too revolting for record even of a sorceress, a class of persons to whom both ancient and modern poets have been accustomed to attribute every degree of atrocity. Macbeth. — What is' t you do ? Witches. — A deed without a name. I i In her flight from Colchis she had taken her young brother Absyrtus with her. Finding the pursuing vessels of -^etes gain- ing upon the Argonauts, she caused the lad to be killed and his limbs to be strewn over the sea. ^etes on reaching the place found these sorrowful traces of his murdered son ; but while he tarried to collect the scattered fragments and bestow upon them an honorable interment, the Argonauts escaped. *' O haggard queen ! to Athens dost thou guide Thy glowing chariot, steeped in kindred gore ; Or seek to hide thy damned parricide Where Peace and Justice dwell for evermore?" — Campbell. Jason, it is said, depressed by his troubles, repaired to the sanctuary on the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Argo had been consecrated in the grove of Poseidon. On approaching the ship, part of the stern giving way, fell upon him, and caused his death. Another version of the story says that he took his own life. / , )cene i. >r record ient and egree of : brother tes gain- and his le place ivhile he on them IPBELL, to the ad been, he ship, s death. fe. Apollo and the Muses, G. Romano (Florence). " CHAPTER XVIII. Me-le-a'gcr — At-a-lan'ta — Cal-y-do'ni-an Hunt. One of the heroes of the Argonautic expedition was Me-le- a'ger, son of (Eneus and Althea, king and queen of Calydon Althea, when her son was born, beheld the three Destinies, who, as they spun their fatal thread, foretold that the life of the child should last no longer than a brand then burning upon the hearth. Althea seized and quenched the brand, and carefully preserved it for years, while Meleager grew to boyhood, youth, and manhood. It chanced, then, that CEneus, as he offered sacrifices to the gods, omitted to pay due honors to Diana; and she, indignant at the neglect, sent a wild boar of enormous size to lay waste the fields of Calydon. Its eyes shone with blood and fire, its bristles stood like threatening spears, its tusks were like those of Indian elephants. The growing corn was trampled, the vines and olive trees laid waste, the flocks and herds were driven in wild confusion by the slaughtering foe. All common aid seemed vain ; but Meleager called on the heroes of Greece to join in a bold hunt for the ravenous monster. Theseus and his friend Pirithous ; Jason ; Peleus, afterwards the father of Achilles ; Telamon, the father of Ajax ; Nestor, then a youth, but who in his age bore arms with Achilles and Ajax in the Trojan war — these and many more joined in the enterprise. With ti em came At-a-lan'ta, the daughter of lasius, king of Arcadia. A buckle of polished gold confined her vest, an ivory f 191 \ !i:'^'; '".m •M- .ii's (-■-i: -J.T- ry^%i 1/2 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. quiver hung on her left shoulder, and he»" left hand bore the bow. Her face blent feminine beauty with thfi best graces of martiaj youth. ** Acadian Atalanta, snowy-souled, Fair as the snow and footed as the wind." — Swinburne, The very moment that Meleager saw Atalanta he loved her. But now already they were near the monster's lair. They stretched strong nets from tree to tree ; they uncou- pled their dogs, they tried to find the footprints of their quarry in the grass. From the wood was a de- scent to marshy ground. Here the boar, as he lay among the reeds, heard the shouts of his pursuers, and rushed forth against them. One and another is thrown down and slain. Jason throws his spear, with a prayer to Diana for success, and the favoring goddess allows the weapon to touchjbut not to wound, removing the steel point of the spear even in its flight. Nestor, assailed, seeks and finds safety in the branches of a tree. Telamon rushes on, but stumbling at a projecting root, falls prone. But an arrow from Atalanta at length for the first time tastes the mon- ster's blood. It is a slight wound, but Meleager sees and joy- fully proclaims it. Ancoeus, excited to envy by the praise given to a female, loudly proclaims his own valor, and defies alike the boar and the goddess who had sent it ; but as he rushes on, tlit infuriated beast lays him low with a mortal wound. Theseus Meleager (Vatican, Rome). CALYDONIAN HUNT. ^'/5 throws his lance, but it is turned aside by a projecting bough. The dart of Jason misses its object, and kills, instead, one of their own dogs. But Meleager, after one unsuccessful stroke, drives his spear into the monster's side, then rushes on and despatches him with repeated blows. "And from raging lips Foam€4 ©ut the latest wrath of all his life." — Swinburne. Then rose a shout from those around ; they congratulated the conqueror, crowding to touch his hand. He, placing his foot upon the head of the slain bour, turned to Atalanta and be- stowed on her the head and the rough hide which were the tro- phies of his success. But at this, envy excited the rest to strife. " Then one cried, * Lo now .'*',; Shall not the Acadian shoot out lips at us, Saying nil we were despoiled by this one girl ?'" — Swinburne. Plexippus and Toxeus, the brothers of Meleager's mother, beyon I the rest 0))posed the gift, and snatched from the maiden the trophy she had received. Meleager, kindling with rage at the wrong done to himself, and still more at the insult offered to her whom he loved, forgot the claims of kindred and plunged his sword into the offenders' hearts. As Althaea bore gifts of thankfulness to the temples for the victory of her soi^, the bodies of her murdered brothers met her sight. She shrieks, and beats her breast, and hastens to change the garments of rejoicing for those of mourning. But when the author of the deed is known, grief gives way to the stern desire of vengeance on her son. The fatal brand which once she rescued from the flames, the brand which the Destinies had linked with Meleager's life, she brings forth, and commands a fire to be prepared. Then four times she essays to place the brand upon the pile ; four times draws back, shuddering at the thought of bringing destruction on her son. The feelings of the mother and the sister contend within her. Now she is pale at the thought of the purposed deed, now flushed again with unger at the act of her son. As a vessel, driven in one direc- tion by the wind, and in the opposite by the tide, the mind of Althjcahangs suspended in uncertainty. But now the sister pre- s% im 174 STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES. s':i^'i <■'! I: vails above the mother, and she begins, as she holds the fatal wood: "Turn, ye Furies, goddesses of punishment ! turn to behold the sacrifice I bring ! Crime must atone for crime. Shall CEneus rejoice in his victor son while the house of Thes- tius is desolate ? But, alas ! to what deed am I borne along ? Brothers, forgive a mother's weakness ! my hand fails me. He deserves death, but not that I should destroy him. l^ut shall he tthen live, and triumph and reign over Calydon, while you, my Drothers, wander unavenged among the shades? No! thou hast lived by my gift ; die, now, for thine own crime. Return the life wnich twice I gave thee, first at thy birth, again when I snatched this brand from the flames. O that thou hadst then died ! Alas ! evil is the conquest ; but, brothers, ye have con- quered. ' ' And, turning away her face, she threw the fatal wood upon the burning pile. It gave, or seemed to give, a deadly groan. Meleagei, absent and unknowing of the cause, felt a sudden pang. He burns, and only by courageous pride conquers the pain which destroys him. He mourns only that he perishes by a bloodless and unhonored death. With his last breath he calls upon his aged father, his brother and his fond sisters, upon his beloved Atalanta, and upon his mother, the unknown cause of his fate. The flames increase, and with them the pain of the hero. Now both subside ; now both are quenched. The brand is ashes, and the life of Meleager is breathed forth to the wandering winds. Althaea, when the deed was done, laid violent hands upon her- self. The sisters of Meleager mourned their brother with un- controllable grief; tiU Diina, pitying the sorrows of the house that once had aroused her anger, turned them into birds. At-a-lan'ta. ; The innocent cause of so much sorrow was a maiden whose face you n;ight truly say was boyish for a girl, yet too girlish for a boy. Her fortune had been told, and it was to this effect : *' At-a-lan'ta, do not marry, marriage will be your ruin." Terrified by this oracle, she fled the society of men, and devoted herself to the sports of the chase. To all suitors (for she had many) she imposed a condition which was generally effectual in relieving her of their persecutions, — *' I will be the prize of hrm vho sha alty of £ some w( " Can it for a wif for the n •I knew n them he any one thoughts, beautiful feet; hei garment of her SI All her c out mere eyes on t I offer m pitying c conquer 1 handsom( beauty () give up tl me." V tors gro\v prepare. " Help and was ] In the ATALANTA, 175 vfho shall conquer me in the race ; but death must be the pen- alty of all who try and fail." In spite of this hard condition some would try. Hippomenes was to be judge of the race. " Can it be possible that any will be so rash as to risk so much for a wife ?' ' said he. But wnen he saw her lay aside her robe for the race he changed his mind and said, " Pardon me, youths, 1 knew not the prize you were competing for. " As he surveyed them he wished them all to be beaten, and swelled with envy of any one that seemed at all likely to win. While such were his thoughts, the virgin darted forward. As she ran she looked more beautiful than ever. The breezes seemed to give wings to her feet ; her hair flew over her shoulders and the gay fringe of her Atalanta's Race (Poytner). garment fluttered behind her. A ruddy hue tinged the whiteness of her skin, such as a crimson curtain casts on a marble wall. All her competitors were distanced, and were put to death with- out mercy. Hippomenes, not daunted by this result, fixing his eyes on the virgin, said, " Why boast of beating those laggards? I offer myself for the contest.*'' Atalanta looked at him with a pitying countenance, and hardly knew whether she would rather conquer him or not. " What god can tempt one so young and handsome to throw himself away? I pity him, not for his beauty (yet he is beautiful), but for his youth. I wish he would give up the race ; or, if he will be so mad, I hope he may outrun me." While she hesitates, revolving these thoughts, the specta- tors grow impatient for the race, and her father prompts her to prepare. Then Hippomenes addressed a prayer to Venus: "Help me, Venus, for you have' led me on." Venus heard, and was propitious. In the garden of her temple, in her own island of Cyprus, if ■'■' 'if vK-A '1* *■ ' - ri 1j ^ 1' ^z ■ 176 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, a tree with yellow leaves and yellow branches, and golden fruit. Hence she gathered three golden apples, and, unseen by any one else, gave them to Hippomenes, and told him how to use them. The signal is given ; each starts for the goal, and skims over the sand. So light their tread, you would almost have thought they might run over the river surface or over the waving grain with- out sinking. The cries of the spectators cheered Hippomenes — *' Now, now do your best ! haste, haste 1 you gain on her ! relax not ! one more effort I" «« He felt The rapid and repeated gush of breath Behind his shoulder." — ^W. S. Landor. It was doubtful whether the youth or the maiden heard these cries with the greater pleasure. But his breath began to fail him, his throat was dry, the goal yet far off. At that moment he threw down one of the golden apples. The virgin was all amazement. She stopped to pick it up. Hippomenes shot ahead. Shouts burst forth from all sides. She redoubled her efforts, and soon overtook him. Again he threw an apple. She stopped again, but again came up with him. The goal was near ; one chance only remained. **Now, goddess," said he, "prosper your gift !** and threw the last apple off at one side. She looked at it, and hesitated. ** She stooped again. Yet swifter than a wren picks up a grain Of millet, raised her head; it was too late. — W.S.T.andor. Venus impelled her to turn aside for it. She did so, and was vanquished. ** Hippomenes turns her astray .1 By the golden illusions he flings on her way.*'— MooRE. Amid the shouts of the crowd the youth carried off his prize. But the lovers were so full of their own happiness that they forgot to pay due honor to Venus, and the goddess was pro- voked at their ingratitude. She caused them to give offence to Cybele. That powerful goddess was not to be insulted with im- punity. She took from them their human form and turned them into animals of characters resembling their own : of the huntress- heroine, triumphing in the blood of her lovers, she made a ATALANTA, «;; r in fruit, any one >e them. )ver the jht they in with- )omenes >n her ! rd these fail him, he threw Lzement. Shouts md soon id again, chance er your )oked at lioness, and of her lord and master a lion, and yoked them to her car, where they are still to be seen in all representations, in statuary or painting, of the goddess Cybele. Cybele is the Latin name of the goddess called by the Greeks Rhea and Ops. She was the wife of Cronus and mbther of Zeus. In works of art she exhibits the matronly air which distinguishes Juno and Ceres. Sometimes she is veiled and seated on a throne with lions at her side, at other times riding in a chariot drawn by lions. She wears a mural crown, that is, a crown whose rim is carved in the form of towers and battlements. Her priests were called Corybantes. Byron in describing the city of Venice, which is built on a low island in the Adriatic Sea, borrows an illustration from Cy- bele : — ** She looks a sea- Cybele fresh from ocean. Rising with her tiara of proud towers At airy distance, with majestic motion, A rulur of the waters and their powers." —Childe Harold, IV. nm iNDOR. and was )0RE. lis prize, lat they vas pro- ffence to with im- led them luntress- made a i;S aTomm of gols and heroes. \ CHAPTER XIX. Her'cu-les — ^He'be and Gan'y-mede. Hercules. Her'cu-les was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. As Juno was always hostile to the offspring of her husband by mortal mothers, she declared war against Hercules from his birth. She sent two serpents to destroy him as he lay in his cradle, but the preco- cious infant strangled them with his own hands. ** First two dread Snakes at Juno's vengeful nod Climb' d round the cradle of the sleeping god ; Waked by the shrilling hiss, and rustling sound. And shrieks of fair attendants trembling round, Their gasping throats with clenching hands he holds, And Death untwists their convoluted folds." — Darwin. He was, however, by the arts of Juno rendered subject to Eu- rysthcus and compelled to perform all i i . . commands. Eurystheus enjoined upon him a succession of desperate adventures, which are called the twelve " Labors of Hercules." The first was the fight with the Nemean lion. The valley of Nemea was infested by a terrible lion Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the skin of this monster. After using in vain his club and arrows against the lion, Hercules strangled the animri with his hands. He returned, carrying the dead lion on his shoulders. ** The lion huge, whose tawny hide And grinning jaws extended wide, He o'er his shoulders threw." f — Euripides (Woodhall). But Eurystheus was so frir!;htened at the sight of it, and at this proof of the prodigious strength of the hero, that he ordered hitii to deliver the account of his exjjloits in future outside the town. His next labor was the slaughter of the Hydra. This monster ravaged the country of Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the HEBCULE1 179 well of Amymone. This well had been discovered by Amymone when the country was suffering from drought, and the story was that Neptune, who loved her, had permitted her to touch the rock with his trident, and a spring of three outlets burst forth, Here the Hydra took up his position, and Hercules was sent to destroy him. The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle one was immortal. Hercules struck off its heads with his club, but in the place of the head knocked off, two new ones grew forth each time. At length, with the assistance of his faithful servant lolaus, he burned away the heads of the Hydra, and buried the ninth, or im- mortal one, under a huge rock. Another labor was the cleaning of the Augean sta- bles. Augeas, king of Elis, had a herd of three thou- sand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed for thirty years. Hercules brought the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through them, and cleansed them thoroughly in one day. ** Nothing else Could the Augean stables clean." — ^WoRDSWORTH. His next labor was of a more delicate kind. Admeta, the tlaiighter of Eurystheus, longed to obtain the girdle of the queen of the Amazons, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to go and get it. 'I'he Amazons were a nation of women. They were very warlike, and held several flourishing cities. It was their custom to bring up only the female children ; the boys were either sent away to the neighboring nations or put to death. Hercules was accompanied by a numl)er of volunteers, and after various adven- tures at last reached the country of the Amazons. Hippolyta, the queen, received him kindly, and consented to yield him hef Infant Hercules (Louvre, Paris). in i '^'.1 f'?-^f J, .-■ *" E9m ■■-r ,. ) 'Si m !• l8o STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. girdle ; but Juno, taking the form of an Amazon, went and per- suaded the rest that the strangers were carrying off their queen. " The Amazons array their ranks In painted arms of radiant sheen Around Hippolyte, the queen." — ^Virgil (Conington'str.). They instantly armed and came in great numbers down to the ship. Hercules, thinking that Hippolyta had acted treacherously, slew her, and tak- ing her girdle made sail homewards. Another task enjoined him was to bring to Eurystheus the oxen of Geryon, a mon- ster with three bodies, who dwelt in the island Erytheia (the red), so called because it lay at the west, under the rays of the set- ting sun. This description is thought to apply to Spain, of whirh Geryon was king. After traversing various countries, Hercules reached at length the frontiers of Libya and Europe, where he raised the two moun- tains of Calpe and Abyla, as monuments of his progress, or, according to another ac- count, rent one mountain into two and left half on each side, forming the Straits of Gibraltar, the two mountains being called the Pillars of Hercules. The oxen were guarded by the giant Eurytion and his two- headed dog, but Hercules killed the giant and his dog and brought away the oxen in safety to Eurystheus. The most difficult labor of all was getting the golden apples of the Hesperides, for Hercules did not know where to find them. These mcio Hie apples which Juno had received at her wedding from the goddess of the Earth, and which she had intrusted to the keeping of tlia daughters of Hesperis, assisted by a watchful dragon. " *' amidst llie gardens fair Of Hesperus and his dniighlers three, That sing about the golden tree. ' '— MiLTQN. H|in^ipr'»i'ii"'" Amazon (Vatican, Rome). HERCULES, l8i After various adventures Hercules arrived at Mount Atlas in Africa. Atlas was one of the Titans who had warred against the gods, and after they were subdued, Atlas was condemned to bv^ar oil his shoulders the weight of the heavens. He was the father of the Hesperides, and Hercules thought might, if any one could, find the apples and bring them to him. But how to send Atlas away from his post, or bear up the heavens while he was gone ? Hercules took the burden on his own shoulders, and sent Atlas to seek the apples. '• The wearied Atlas he relieved, His arm the starry realms upheaved, And propped the gods above." — Euripides. He returned with them, and, though somewhat reluctantly, took his burden upon his shoulders again, and let Hercules re- turn with the apples to Eurystheus.* The poets, led by the analogy of the lovely appearance of the western sky at sunset, viewed the west as a region of bright- ness and glory. Hence they placed in it the Isles of the blest, the ruddy isle Erytheia, on which the bright oxen of Geryon were pastured, and the isle of the Hesperides. The apples Are supposed by some to be the oranges of Spain, of which the Greeks had heard some obscure accounts. A celebrated exploit of Hercules was his victory over Antaeus. Antajus, the son of Terra, the Earth, was a mighty giant and wrestler, whose strength was invincible so long as he remained in contact with his mother Earth. He compelled all strangers who came to his country to wrestle with him, on condition that if concjuered (as they all were) they should be put to death. Hercules encountered him, and finding that it was of no avail to throw him, for he always rose with renewed strength from every fall, he lifted him u;. from the earth and strangled him in the air. " Lifts prord Antoeus from his mother-plains, And with strong grasp the struggling giant strains ; Back falls his fainting head and clammy hair, Writhe his weak limbs, and flits his life in air."— DarwiN, * The same Atlas whom Perseus is said to have changed into a mounttuD This is simply a mythological discrepancy. mm fi ■MM 1 ■ {,!; »;4 ».-«-: i? f. tM% w^^^^ '% l82 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. li ii #1 ■,r Caciis was a huge giant who inhabited a cave on Mount Aven- tine and plundered the surrounding country. When Hercules wan driving home the oxen of Geryon, Cacus stole part of the cattle while the hero slept. That their footprints might not serve to Hhow where they had been driven, he dragged theni backward by their tails U his cave ; so their tracks all seemed to show that they had gone in the opposite direc- tion. Hercules was de ceived by this strata- gem, and would have failed to find his oxen if it had not happened that in driving the re- mainder of the herd past the cave where the stolen ones were concealed, those within began to low, and were thus dis- covered. Cacus was slain by Hercules. The last exploit we shall record was bring- ing Cerberus from the lower world. Hercules descended into Hades, accompanied by Mer- cury and Minerva. He obtained permission from riuto to carry Cer- berus to the upi)er air, provided he could do it without the use of weapons ; and in sjiite of the monster's struggling he sci/ed him, held him fast, and car- ried him to l!)urysthcus, and afterwards brought him back again. •* And thence the dop; With triple head brought to these realms of light." — EuRiriDKs (Woodlmll). llcrculcs nnd Cacus (Florence). When he was in Hades he obtained the liberty of ITicse us, his SEBOVLES. 183 it Aven- iercules t of the ight not id tbem :emed to lad gone e direc- swasde 1 strata- Id have his oxen appened the re- lerd ]\ist he stolen iicealed, legan to thus dis- :us >\as es. ploit ^\•e is hvxw^- rom tlie Hercules Hades, jy Mer- va. He Tmissioii irry Cor- oper air, I in spile and car- :k again. odiuill). :sous, hia admirer and imitator, who had been detained a prisoner there for an unsuccessful attempt to carry off Proserpine. Hercules in a fit of madness killed his friend Iphitus, and was 1 Hercules at the feet of Omphale, C. G. Glyre (Louvre). «oncf?frnned for this offence to become the slave of Queen Om- phale for three years. While in this service the hero's nature seen:ed changed. He lived effeminately, wearing at times the tv M im A * ' W ./.iii 1 84 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES I 1 dress of a woman, and spinniiig wool with the handmaidens oi Omphale, while the queen wore his lion's skin. «) ** His lion spoils the laughing Fair demands, And gives the distaff to his awkward hands." — Darvtin. When this service was ended he married Dejanir?., and lived in peace with her three years. On one occasion, as he was travel- ling with his wife, they came to a river, across which the Cen- taur Nessus carried travellers for a stated fee. Hercules himself forded the river, but gave Dejanira to Nessus to be carried across. Nessus attempted to run away with her, but Hercules heard her cries, and shot an arrow into the heart of Nessus. The dying Centaur told Dejanira to take a portion of his blood and keep it, as it might be used as a charm to preserve the love of her husband. Dejanira did so, and before long fancied she had occasion to use it. Hercules in one of his conquests had taken prisoner a fair maiden, named lole, of whom he seemed more fond than Dejanira approved. When Hercules was about to offer sacrifices to the gods in honor of his victory he sent to his wife for a white robe to use on the occasion. Dejanira, thinking it a good op- portunity to try her love-spell, steeped the garment in the blood of Nessus. We are to suppose she took care to wash out all traces of it ; but the magic power remained, and as soon as the garment became warm on the body of Hercules the poison pene- trated into all his limbs, and caused him the most intense agony. " Close to his sides And to each limb, as by some artist fixed, The robe adhered ; and through his bones Shot fierce convulsive pains." — Soi'liocLi'.s. In his frenzy he seized Lichas, who had brought him the fatal robe, and hurled him into the sea. "As when Alcides, from ^Tlchalia crowned With conquest, felt the envenomed robe, and tore. Through pain, up by the roots Thessalian pines And Lichas from the top of (Eta threw Into the Euboic Sea." — Milton. He wrenched off the garment, but it stuck to his flesh, and with it he tore away whole pieces of his body. In this state he embai on se( cules, faner£ laid hit his lioi as if h( Philoci won ir OEBCVLES. 185 fmbarked on board a ship and was conveyed home. Dejanira, on seeing what she had unwittingly done, hung herself. Her- cules, prepared to die, ascended Mount CEta, where he built 3 taneral pile of trees, gave his bow and arrows to Philoctetes, and Fnrnose ITercules (Naples). ** Great Alcides, stooping with his toil, Rests on his club." — PorE. hid himself down on the pile, his head resting on his club and his lion's skin spread over him. With a countenance as serene as if he were taking his place at a festal board, he commanded Philoctetes to apply the torch. The flames ipread apace and won invested the whole mass. lih'! B^ W'.'H] w ■ , M Jl: Mf : .K .1, Wi 1 86 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. N^ The gods themselves felt troubled at seeing the champion of the earth so brought to his end. But Jupiter with cheerful countenance thus addressed them : * * I am pleased to see your concern, my princes, and am gratified to perceive that I am the ruler of a loyal people, and that my son enjoys your favor. For although your interest in him arises from his noble deeds, yet it is not the less gratifying to me. But now I say to you. Fear not. He who conquered all else is not to be conquered by those flames which you see blazing on Mount CEta. Only his mother's share in him can perish ; what he derived from me is immortal, I shall take him, dead to earth, to the heavenly shores, and I require of you all to receive him kindly. If any of you feel grieved at his attaining this honor, yet no one can deny that he has deserved it. ' ' The gods all gave their assent ; Juno only heard the closing vords with some displeasure that she should be so particularly pointed at, yet not enough to make her regret the determination of her hus- band. So when the flames had consumed the mother's share of Hercules, the diviner part, in- stead of being injured thereby, seemed to start forth with new vigor, to assume a more lofty port and a more awful dignity. Jupiter enveloped him in a cloud, and took him up in a four- horse chariot to dwell among the stars. As he took his place in heaven, Atlas felt the added weight. Juno, now reconciled to him, gave him her daughter Hebe in marriage. "Olympian hymns receive the escaping soul, And smiling Hebe from the Ambrosial stream . Fills for a god the bowl." — Schiller (Hempel). The secret of Hercules' power lay not altogether in his physical Hebe. strei Plea EERCULE8. iSf pion of ::heerful >ee your am the Dr. For s, yet it )u, Fear by those nother's imortal. :o eanh, , and I receive you feel ing this leny that rhe gods Lino only rds "svith le should ;d at, yet ir regret ler hus- mes had share of part, in- thereby, vith new ore lofty dignity, in a four- place in ■ Hebe in il). s physical strength. When a young man, the two goddesses, Virtue and Pleasure, sought his favor. He preferred the former. Ganymedes (Vatican, Rome). •• Youni; Hercules with firm disdain Bfftved the soft smiles of Pleasure's harlot tndn : To vnlirtnt toils his forceful limbs assigned, And gave to Virtue all hi3 mighty mind."— Dar WIN. 1! .il^vi >*5 188 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. He'be — Gan'y-mede. \ He'be, the daughter of Juno, and goddess of youth, was cup. bearer to the gods. << Fortuna (Vatican, Rome\ Hebe, honored of them all, Ministered Nectar." — Homer (Bryant). The story is, that she resigned her office on becoming the wife of Hercules, But there is another statement which our countryman, Crawford, the sculptor, has adopted in his group of Hebe and Gan'y-mede, now in the Athenaeum gallery. According to this, Hebe was dismissed fro.n her office in consequence of a fall which she met with one day when in attendance on the gods. Her successor was Ganymede, a Tro- jan boy whom Jupiter, in the disguise of an eagle, seized and carried off from the midst of his playfellows on Mount Ida, bore up to heaven, and installed in the vacant place. "Pour forth heaven's wine, Tdncan Ganymede, And let it fill the Daedal cups like lire. " — Shelley. Tennyson, in his " Palace of Art," describes, among the dec orations on the walls, a picture representing this legend :— *• There, too, flushed Ganymede, his rosy thigh Half buried in the eagle's down, '^ Sole as a flying star shot through the sky Above the pillared town." For-tu'na. For-tu'na was an attendant upon Jupiter, and worshipped by the Greeks under the name of Ty'che. She was believed to FORTUNA— VICTORIA. 189 dec ' • guide the destinies of men, whether prosperously or the ^eirerse. In order ro show her in this capacity, she was figured holding a double rudder in her hands — the one to steer the bark of the lucky, the other that of the unlucky. Sometimes she was rep- resented with a ball on her head, or with a cornucopia in her hands. Victory, or Nik6 (Samothrace). (Restored by Zumbusch. ) Vic-to'ri-a. Vic-to'ri-a, or, as the Greeks termed her, Ni'ke, was also an attendant upon Jupiter. She carried the palm -branch and the wreath. Sometimes she is represented with a staff like that of Mercury, as a sign of power, now pointing the way to a victor, now reaching a wreath down to his brow. She was a great favorite with Jupiter, who is frequently seen holding her image in his right hand. M m- ft ^'r^' ^' "w igo STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. ;'k''*jil-: ^. CHAPTER XX. Er'ich-tho'ni-us— The'seus— Dad'a-lus— Cas'tor and Pol'lux. Er'ich-tho'ni-us. Ce'crops, half-human and half-dragon, was the founder of Athens ; the citadel of which, Cecropia, was named in his honor. Neptune and Minerva strove for the possession of Attica, but he decided in favor of the goddess. His successor, Er'ich-tho'ni-us, was the son of Vulcan and Atthis. When a child, Erichthonius, was concealed in a chest, and the box intrusted to the three daughters of Cecrops, with instructions not to open the lid. But, disobeying the command, they saw the child in the form of a serpent, whereupon they were seized with mad- ness, and threw themselves down the rock of the Acropolis. Erichthonius became king of Athens, and was succeeded by his son Pandion. This king had two daughters, Procne and Philo- mela, the former of whom became queen to Tereus, king of Thrace. After the birth of their son Itylus, the king cut out his wife's tongue, and gave out that she was dead. He then married Philomela. Procne wove her story in a web, by which means Philomela was informed of the terrible fact. The sisten then slew the child Itylus, and served his flesh upon his father's table. The gods were angry, and in vengeance transformed Procne into a swallow, Philomela into a nightingale, ever lamenting the tragedy, and Tereus into a hawk, ever pursuing the two, ** Hark ! ah, the nightingale. The tawny-throated 1 Hark, from that moonlit cedar, what a burst I What triumph ! hark ! what pain j O wanderer from a Grecian shore." — Matthew Arnold. The'seus. The'seus, a descendant of Erichthonius, was a son of -^geus, king of Athens, and of i£thra, daughter of the king of Troezen. • THESEUS, 191 He was brought up at Troezen, and when arrived at manhood was to proceed to Athens and present himself to his father. yEgeus, on parting from ^Ethra, before the birth of his son, placed his sword and shoes under a large stone, and directed her to send his son to him when he became strong enough to roll away the stone and take them from under it. When she thought the time had come, his mother led Theseus to the stone, and he removed it with ease, and took the sword and shoes. As the Theseus — ^Temple of Volksgartens (Vienna). roads were infested with robbers, his grandfather pressed him earnestly to take the shorter and safer way to his father's coun- try, by sea ; but the youth, feeling in himself the spirit and the soul of a hero, and eager to signalize himself like Hercules, with whose fame all Greece then rang, by destroying the evil-doers and monsters that oppressed the country, determined on the more perilous and adventurous journey by land. His first day's journey brought him to Epidaurus, where dwelt df, f\ M. I&^Ip 192 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, a man named Periphetes, a son of Vulcan. This ferocious savage »Jways went armed witli a club of iron, and all travellers stood in terror of his violence. When he saw Theseus approach, he issailed him, but speedily fell beneath the blows of the young hero, who took possession of his club, and bore it ever after- wards as a memorial of his first victory. Several similar contests with the petty tyrants and marauders of the country followed, in all of which Theseus was victorious. One of these evil-doers was called Procrustes, or the Stretcher. He had an iron bedstead, on which he used to tie all travellers who fell into his hands. If they were shorter than the bed, he stretched their limbs to make them fit it ; if they were longer than the bed, he lopped off a portion, Theseus served him as he had served others. Having overcome all the perils of the road, Theseus at length reached Athens, where new dangers awaited him. Medea, the sorceress, who had fled from Corinth after her separation from Jason, had become the wife of JEgeus, the father of Theseus. Knowing by her arts who he was, and fearing the loss of her influ- ence with her husband if Theseus should be acknowledged as his son, she filled the mind of u^geus with suspicions of the young stranger, and induced him to present him a cup of poison ; b'iit at the moment when Theseus stepped forward to take it, the sight of the sword which he wore discovered to his father who he was and prevented the fatal draught. Medea, detected in her arts, fled once more from deserved punishment, and arrived in Asia, where the country afterwards called Media received its name from her. Theseus was acknowle iged by his father, and declared his successor. The Athenians were at that time in deep affliction, on account of the tribute which they were forced to pay to Minos, king of Crete. This tribute consisted of seven youths and seven maidens, who were sent every year to be devoured by the Minotaur, a monster with a bull's body and a human head. It was excx'cd- ingly strong and fierce, and was kept in a labyrinth constructed by Daedalus, so artfully contrived that whoever was enclosed in it could by no means find his way out unassisted. Here the Minotaur roamed, and was fed with human victims. ' Theseus resolved to deliver his countrymen from this calamity c-r to d mg ofl accordi self as The sH s savage rs stood Dach, he e young sr after- arauders :torious. tretcher. ravellers bed, he 3 longer I him as Lt length dea, the ion from rheseiis. ler inflii- jdged as 3 of the poison ; :e it, the who he 1 in her rived in ived its lier, and account king of naidcns, lotaur, a exceed - istrurtcd losed in lere the calamity THESEUS. 193 c-r to die in the attempt. Accordingly, when the time of send- ing off the tribute came, and the youths and maidens were, Ariadne (H. Rae). , • according to custc.n, drawn by lot to be sent, he offered him- self as one of tlie victims, in spite of the entreaties of his father. The shio departed Mnder blark sails, as usual, >«hich Theseui m -^:,if #'• u 'If '^■t ^: 'f ( *>■■' ,>■ i '> M 'i fik if 194 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. promised his father to change for white, in case of his returning victorious. When they arrived in Crete, the youths and maidens were exhibited before Minos ; and Ariadne, the daugh- ter of the king, being present, became deeply enamored of Theseus, by whom her love was readily returned. She furnished him with a sword, with which to encounter the Minotaur, and with a clew of thread by which he might find his way out of the labyrinth. *• And the slender clew, Prepar'd in secret by th' enamor'd maid, Thro' the curv'd labyrinth his steps convey* d." — CATULLUS. He was successful, slew the Minotaur, escaped from the laby- rinth, and taking Ariadne as the companion of his way, with his rescued companions sailed for Athens. On their way they stopped at the island of Naxos, where Theseus abandoned Ariadne, leaving her as!eep. , ** Thus is it far from my home, O Traitor, and far from its altars, Thus on a desert strand, dost leave me, treacherous Theseus." Catullus (Gayley'str.). His excuse for this ungrateful treatment of his benefactress was that Minerva appeared to him in a dream and commanded him to do so. On approaching the coast of Attica, Theseus forgot the signal appointed by his father, and neglected to raise the white sails, and the old king, thinking his son had perished, put an end to his own life. ** But now his father from the ramparts' height, All bath'd in tears, directs his eager sight ; O'er the wide sea, distended by the gale, .' He spies, with dread amaze, the lurid sail." — CATULLUS. Thus Theseus on the death of his father became kingof Athens. One of the most celebrated of the adventures of Theseus is his expedition against the Amazons. He assailed them before they had recovered from the attack of Hercules, and carried off their queen, Antiope. The Amazons in their turn invaded the country of Athens, and penetrated into the city itself, and the final battle in which Theseus overcame them was fought in the THESEUS. 195 ■ ■ ^x etuming ths and z daugh- lored of urnished aur, and ut of the LLUS. the laby- with his vay they )andoned \ tars, IS." iy's tr.). lefactress nmanded he signal ite sails, n end to s. Athens, leseus is a before rried off ded the and the t in the very midst of the city. This battle was one of the favorite subjects of the ancient sculptors, and is commemorated in several works of art that are still extant. The friend hip bet^'een Theseus and Pirithous was of a most intimate nature, yet it originated in the midst of arms. Pirithous had made an irruption into the plain of Marathon, and carried ofT the herds of the king of Athens. Theseus went to repel the j)lunderers. The moment Pirithous beheld him he was seized with admiration ; he stretched out his hand as a token of peace, and cried, **Be judge thyself, — what satisfaction dost thou require?" " Thy friendship, " replied the Athenian, and they swore inviolable fidelity. Their deeds corresponded to their professions, and they ever continued true brothers in arms. Each Battle of the Amazons (Vatican, Rome), of them aspired to espouse a daughter of Jupiter. Theseus fixed his choice on Helen, then but a child, afterwards so celebrated as the cause of the Trojan war, and with the aid of his friend he carried her off. " Then en me a night When I lay longing f jr my love, and knew k Sudden the clang of hoofs, the broken doors, The clash of swords, the gronns, the stains - Of red upon the marble— the fixed gaze Of dead and dying eyes — that was the time When first I looked ou death." — '!orris. Pirithous aspired to the wife of the monarch of Erebus ; and Theseus, though aware of the danger, accompanied the ambi- ''. ( :);- ■■0 % , :W. .4 196 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. tious lover in his descent to the under world. But Pluto seized and net them on an enchanted rock at his palace gate, where they remained till Hercules arrived and liberated Theseus, leaving Pirithous to his fate. ' ' ^ After the death of Antiope, Theseus married Phaedra, daugh- ter of Minos, king of Crete. Phaedra saw in Hippolytus, the Hon of Theseus, a youth endowed with all the graces and vir- ttlcH of his father, and of an age corresponding to her own. She loved him, but he repulsed her advances, and her love was changed to hate. She used her influence over her infatuated h(tMt)and to cause him to be jealous of his son, and he impre- cated the vengeance of Neptune upon him. As Hippolytus was one day driving his chariot along the shore, a sea -monster raised himHelf above the waters, and frightened the horses so that they ran away and dashed the chariot to pieces. Hippolytus was killed, but by Diana's assistance -^sculapius restored him to Tfe. Diana removed Hippolytus from the power of his deluded father md false step-mother, and placed him in Italy under the protec- tion of the nymph Egeria. Theseus at length lost the favor of his people, and retired to the court of Lycomedes, king of Scyros, who at first received him kindly, but afterwards treacherously slew him. In a later age the Athenian general Cimon discovered the place where his remains were laid, and caused them to be removed to Athens, where they were deposited in a temple called the Theseum, erected in honor of the hero. The fiueen of the Amazons whom Theseus espoused is by some called Hippolyta. That is the name she bears in Shakspeare's ** Midsummer Night's Dream," the subject of which is the fes- tivities attending the nuptials of Theseus and Hippolyta. Mrs. Hemans has a poem on the ancient Greek tradition that the " Shade of Theseus " appeared strengthening his country- men at the battle of Marathon. Theseus is a semi -historical personage. It is recorded of him that he united the several tribes by whom the territory of Attica was then possessed into one state, of which Athens was the capi- tal In commemoration of this important event, he instituted the festival of Panathencea, in honor of Minerva, the patron deity of Athens. This festival differed from the other Grecian games seized where 'heseus, daugh- tus, the ind vir- al. She ove was fatuated : impre- ytus was IT raised hat they ytus was 1 to rfe. sd father 2 protec- jtired to received n a later irhcre his Athens, leseum, Dy some cspeare's the fes- tion that country - d oi" him 3f Attica the capi- nstituted ron deity m games NEPTUNE (POSEIOONI. Latoraa Muwum* Rom*. OLYMPIC AND OTHER GAMES, 197 chiefly in two particulars. It was peculiar to the Athenians, and its chief feature was a solemn procession in which the Peplus or sacred robe of Minerva was carried to the Parthenon, and sus- pended before the statue of the goddess. The Peplus was cov- ered with embroidery, worked by select virgins of the noblest families in Athens. The procession consisted of persons of all ages and both sexes. The old men carried olive-branches in their hands, and the young men bore arms. The young women carried baskets on their heads, containing the sacred utensils, cakes, and all things necessary for the sacrifices. . The procession formed the subject jf the bas-reliefs which embellished the out- side of the temple of the Parthenon. A considerable portion of these sculptures is now in the British Museum among those known as the ** Elgin marbles." O-lym'pic and Other Games. It seems not inappropriate to mention here the other celebrated national games of the Greeks. The first and most distinguished were the Olympic, founded, it was said, by Jupiter himself. They were celebrated at Olympia in Elis. Vast numbers of spec- tators flocked to them from every part of Greece, and from Asia, Africa and Sicily. They were repeated every fifth year in midsummer, and continued five days. They gave rise to the cus- tom of reckoning time and dating events by Olympiads. The first Olympiad is generally considered as corresponding with the year 776 B.C. The Pythian games were celebrated in the vi- cinity of Delphi, the Isthmian on the Corinthian isthmus, the Nemean at Nemea, a city of Argolis. The exercises in these games were of five sorts, running, leAp- ing, wrestling, throwing the quoit, and hurling the javelin, or boxing. Besides these exercises of bodily strength and agility, there were contests in music, poetry, and eloquence. Thus these games furnished poets, musicians and authors the best oppor- tunities to present their productions to the public, and the fame of the victors was difl'used far and wide. Dsed'a-lus. The labyrinth from which Theseus escaped by means of the clew of Ariadne was built by Dsed'a-lus, a most skilful artificer, :Mm V fim ^^w m 5i '?;.! VI X • L iJ. r' m 198 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. It was an edifice with numberless winding passages and turnings opening into one another, and seeming to have neither begin- ning nor end, like the river Maeander, which returns on itself, and flows now onward, now backward, in its course to the sea. Dsedalus and Icarus (J. M. Vim), Daedalus built the labyrinth for King Minos, but afterwards lost the favor of the king, and was shut up in a tower. He contrived to make his escape from his jjrison, but could not leave the island by sea, as the king kept strict watch on all the vessels, and D^DALUS. 199 h\ turnings sr begin- on itself, • the sea. irds lost Dntrived e island els, and permitted none to sail without being carefully searched. •* Minos may control the land and sea," said Daedalus, "but not the re- gions of the air. I will try that way." So he set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his young son Icarus. He wrought feathers together, beginning with the smallest and adding larger, so as to form an increasing surface. The larger ones he secured with thread, and the smaller with wax, and gave the whole a gentle curvature like the wings of a bird. Icarus, the boy, stood and looked on, sometimes running to gather up the feathers which the wind had blown away, and then handling the wax and working it over with his fingers, by his play impeding his father in his labors. When at last the work was done, the artist, wav- ing his wings, found himself buoyed upwards and hung suspended, poising himself on the beaten air. He next equipped his son in the same manner, and taught him how to fly, as a bird tempts her young ones from the lofty nest into the air. When all was prepared for flight he said, " Icarus, my son, I charge you to keep at a moderate height, for if you fly too low the damp will clog your wings, and if too high the heat will melt them. Keep near me end you will be safe." ** * My Icarus 1' he says ; * I warn thee fly Along the middle track : nor low, nor high ; .^ If low, thy plumes may flag with ocean's spray ; If high, the sun may dart his fiery ray.' " —OviD (Elton's tr.). While he gave him these instructions and fitted the wings to his shoulders, the face of the father was wet with tears, and his hands trembled. He kissed the boy, not knowing that it was for the last time. Then rising on his wings, he flew off, en- couraging him to follow, and looked back from his own flight to see how his son managed his wings. As they flew the ploughman stopped his work to gaze, and the shepherd leaned on his staff and watched them, astonished at the sight, and thinking they were gods who could thus cleave the air. They passed Samos and Delos on the left and Lebynthos on the right, when the boy, exulting in his career, began to leave the guidance of his companion and soar upward, as if to reach heaven. The nearness of the blazing sun softened the wax ii, * 1 1', Ulliiiii 200 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. which held the feathers together, and they came off. He flut tered with his arms, but no feathers remained to hold the air. While his mouth uttered cries to his father it was submerged in the blue waters of the sea, which thenceforth was called by hig name. His father cried, "Icarus, Icarus, where are you?" At last he saw the feathers floating on the water, and bitterly lamenting his own arts, he buried the body and called the land Icaria, in memory of his child. " His scattered plumage danced upon the wave, ■■^ . And sorrowing Nereids decked his watery grave; -^ O'er his pale corse their pearly sea- flowers shed. And strewed with crimson moss his marble bed. Struck in their coral towers the passing bell. And wide in ocean tolled his echoing knell." — DARWIN. Dxdalus arrived safe in Sicily, where he built a temple to Apollo, and hung up his wings, an offering to the god. Dsedalus was so proud of his achievements that he could not bear the idea of a rival. His sister had placed her son Perdix under his charge, to be taught the mechanical arts. He was an apt scholar, and gave striking evidences of ingenuity. Walking on the seashore, he picked up the spine of a fish. Imitating it, he took a piece of iron and notched it on the edge, and thus invented the saw. He put two pieces of iron together, con- necting them at one end with a rivet, and sharpening the other ends, and made a //air of compasses. Daedalus was so envious of his nephew's performances that he took an opportunity, when they were together one day on the top of a high tower, to push him off. But Minerva, who favors ingenuity, saw him falling, and arrested his fate by changing him into a bird called after his name, the Partridge. This bird does not build his nest in the trees, nor take lofty flights, but nestles in the hedges; and, mindful of his fall, avoids high places. V'^ Cas'tor and Po?lux, Cas'tor and Pol'lux were the offspring of Leda and the Swan, under which disguise Jupiter had concealed himself. Leda gave birth to an tgg^ from which sprang the twins. Helen, so famous afterwards as the cause of the Trojan war, was their sister. CACTOR AND POLLUX. aoi When Theseus and his friend Pirithous had carried off Helen fiom Sparta, the youthful heroes, Castor and Pollux, with theil (ollowers, hastened to her rescue. Theseus was absent from Attica, and the brothers were successful in recovering thdf sister. Castor was famous for taming and managing horses, and Pollux for skill in boxing. They were united by the wannest laffection and inseparable in all their enterprises. They accom- panied the Argonautic expedition. During the voyage a storm arose, and Orpheus prayed to the Samothracian gods, and played on his harp, whereupon the storm ceased and stars appeared on the heads of the brothers. From this incident Castor and Pollux came afterwards to be considered the patron deities of seamen and voyagers, and the lambent flames which in certain states of the atmosphere play round the sails and masts of vesoeli were called by their names. After the Argonautic expedition, we find Castor and Pollux engaged in a war with Idas and Lynceus. Castor was slain, and Pollux, inconsolable for the loss of his brother, besought Jupiter to be permitted to give his own life as a ransom for him. Jupiter so far consented as to allow the two brothers to enjoy the boon of life alternately, passing one day under the earth and the next in the heavenly abodes. According to another form of the story, Jupiter rewarded the attachment of the brothers by placing them among the stars as Gemini, the Twins. They received divine honors under the name of Dioscuri (sons of Jove). They were believed to have appeared occasionally in later times, taking part with one side or the other, in hard fought fields, and were said on such occasions to be m<fivited on magnificent white steeds. «* So like they were, no mortal Might one from other know ; ; White as snow their armor was. Their steeds were white as snow. Never on earthly anvil Did such rare armor gleam. And never did such gallant steedp^ Drink of an earthly stream. M m c \% ^u ^* ' n '*«:^ fl . ^''^1 ri . .i , h )4 («.i J ItM r.Vm Sa ^ i " *s M * ** 'mi sfl 'M li ^1 I^H a '' <!I^M ' I'^B i'iM H ' * i^^'l^ 1^ M '^l^fl i Ifllrl'^i n Sf™|f|ffl m 1 i -£t -4 ^'■)'A 202 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, ** Back comes the chief in triumph Who in the hour of fight Hath seen the great Twin Brethren In harness on his right. Safe comes the ship to haven Through billows and through gales, If once the great Twin Brethren Sit shining on the sails." — Macaulay. Thus in the early history of Rome they are said vo have as- sisted the Romans at the battle of Lake Regillus, and after the victoiy a temple was erected in their honor on the spot where they appeared.^ * The ship in which the Apostle Paul sailed from Melita was named the Castor and Pollux. — Ac/s xxviii, ii» \ I'l^M m BACCHUS. 203 CHAPTER XXI. Sem'e-le — Bac'chus — A-ri-ad'ne. Bac'chus. Bac'chus was the son of Jupiter and Sem'e-le. Juno, to gratify her resentment against Semele, contrived a plan for her destruction. Assuming the form of Beroe, her aged nurse, she insinuated doubts whether it was indeed Jove himself who came as a lover. " A cunning cheat From Attica, disguised as Zeus, And robbing thee of honor, shame and virtue." — SCHILLER. Heaving a sigh, she said, " I hope it will turn out so, but I Bacchus and Panther (Athens). can't help being afraid. People are not always what they pre- tend to be. If he is indeed Jove, make him give some proof of it. Ask him to come arrayed in all his splendors, such as he wears in heaven. That will put the matter beyond a doubt." Semele was persuaded to try the experiment. She asks a favor without naming what it is. Jove gives his promise, and confirms 1-; "" m m , 't %^'- It' .i^. '^4 » It 204 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. .iiJii'li' it with the irrevocable oath, attesting the river Styx, terrible tq the gods themselves. ** * Bear me witness, Earth, and ye, broad Heavens Above us, and ye, waters of the Styx, That flow beneatli us, mightiest oath of all, Andmort revered by the blessed gods.' " — Homer (Bryant's tr.). ' Then she made known her request. The god would have stopped her as she spake, but she was too quick for him. The words escaped, and he could neither unsay his promise nor her request. In deep distress he left her and returned to the upper regions. There he clothed himself in his splendors, not putting on all his terrors, as wheii he overthrew the giants, but what is known among the gods as his lesser panoply. Arrayed in this he entered the chamber of Ssmele. * *' Th' illustrious god, descending from his height. Came rushing on aer in a storm of light." — Ovid (Addison's tr.). Her mortal frame could not endure the splendors of the ini- mortal radiance. She was consumed to ashes. , *« Semelc of the flowing hair Who died in Thunder' . crashing flame. To deified existence came." — Prior. The goddess had finally succeeded, but not as she intended. Jove took the infant Bacchus and ga\ e him in charge to the Nysaean nymphs, who nourished his infancy and childhood, and for their care were rewarded by Jupiter by being placed, as the Hyades, among the stars. When Bacchus grew up he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice ; but Juno struck him with madness, and drove him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In Phrygia the goddess Rhea cured him and taught him her religious rites, and he set out on a progress through Asia, teaching the people tiio cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of his wanderings if his expedition to India, which is said to have lasted several years. Returning in triumph, he undertook to introduce his wor- ship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes, who dreaded BACCHUS, 205 terrible tq mt'str.), Duld have im. The le nor her the upper ot putting ut what is in this he oil's tr.), ' the im- tended. •ge to the lood, and lA, as the iscovercd i precious m forth a rygia the rites, and jople tho mderings ;d several his wor- ) dreaded i'ts introduction on account of the disorders and madness it brought with it. As he approached his native city Thebes, Pentheus, the king, who had no respect for the new worship, forbade its rites to be performed. But when it was known that Bacchus was advanc- ing, men and women, but chiefly the latter, young and old, poured fourth to meet him and to join his triumphal march. *• Fauns with youthful Bacchus follow ; Ivy crowns that brow, supernal As the forehead of Apollo, And possessing youth eternal. ** Round about him fair Bacchantes, Bearing cymbals, flutes and thyrses, Wild from Naxian groves or Zante's Vineyards, sing delirious verses." — Lonopellow. It was in vain Pentheus remonstrated, commanded and threatened. " Go," said he to his attendants, ** seize this vaga- bond leader of the rout, and bring him to me. I will soon make him confess his false claim of heavenly parentage and renounce his counterfeit worship." It was in vain his nearest friends and wisest counsellors remonstrated and begged him not to oppose the god. Their remonstrances only made him more violent. But now the attendants returned whom he had despatched to seize Bacchus. They had been driven away by the Bacchanals, but had succeeded in taking one of them prisoner, whom, with his hands tied behind him, they brought before the king. Pen- theus, beholding him with wrathful countenance, said, ** Fellow ! you shall speedily be put to death, that your fate may be a warn- ing to others ; but though I grudge the delay of your ])unish- ment, speak, tell us who you are, and what are these new ritrs you presume to celebrate." The prisoner, unl ^rrified, responded, "My name is Acetes; my country is Maeonk ; my parents were poor people, who had no fields or flocks to leave me, but they left me their fishing- rods and nets and their fisherman's trade. This I followed for some time, till, growing weary of remaining !n one place, I learned the pilot's art and how to guide my course by the stars. It hap* §.. m t<^•^^i^■ 206 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. pened, as I was sailing for Delos, we touched at the island of Dia and went ashore. Next morning I sent the men for fresh water, and myself mounted the hill to observe the wind ; when my men returned bringing with them a prize, as they thought, a boy of delicate appearance, whom they had found asleep. They judged he was a noble youth, perhaps a king's son, and they might get a liberal ransom for him. I observed his dress, his walk, his jface. There was something in them which I felt sure was more than mortal. I said to my men, * What god there is concealed in that form I know not, but some one there certa'nly is. Par- don us, gentle deity, for the violence we have done you, and .(■jve success to our undertakings.' Dictys, one of my best hands kor climbing the mast and coming down by the ropes, and Me- lanthus my steersman, and Epopeus the leader of the sailors' cry, one and all exclaimed, ' Spare your prayers for us.' So blind is the lust of gain ! When they proceeded to put him on board I resisted them. * This ship shall not be profaned by such im- piety,' said I. * I have a greater share in her than any of you.' But Lycabas, a turbulent fellow, seizt d me by the throat and at- tempted to throw me overboard, and I scarcely saved myself by clinging to the ropes. The rest approved the deed. ** Then Bacchus (for it was indeed he), as if shaking off his drowsiness, exclaimed, * What are you doing with me ? What is this fighting about ? Who brought me here ? Where are you going to carry me ?' One of them replied, * Fear nothing ; tell us where you wish to go and we will take you there.' * Naxos is my home, ' said Bacchus ; * take me there and you shall be well rewarded. ' They promised so to do, and told me to pilot the ship to Naxos. Naxos lay to the right, and I was trimming the sails to carry us there, when some by signs and others by whis pers signified to me their will that I should sail in the opposite , direction, and take the boy to Egypt, to sell him for a slave. 1 was confounded and said, ' liCt some one else pilot the ship v withdrawing myself from any further agency in their wirl-ednoss. They cursed me, and one of them, exclaiming, * Don't flatter your- self that we depend on you for our safety,' took my place as pilot, and bore away from Naxos. ** Then the god, pretending that he had just become aware of their treachery, looked out over the sea and said, in a voice of m dof Dla h water, my men 1 boy of y judged light get valk, his vas more oncealed is. Par- yoii, and jst hands and Me- iors' cry, ) blind is 1 board I such im- of you.' it and at- nyself by g off his What is are you ng ; tell * Naxos be well )ilot the ming the jy wh's opposite lave. I ship ;' I'cdness. ter your- placo as aware of voice of Si. ' 4)^ i til 1 ' ■*» ?' DIONYSUS (B/VCCHUS). (Miuoum of the CapUol, Rome.) -•i-*" f ■') If' ' !':i \ BACCHUS. 207 weeping, * Sailors, these are not the shores you promised to take me to ; yonder island is not my home. What have I done that you should treat me so ? It is small glory you will gain by cheat- ing a poor boy. * I wept to hear him, but the crew laughed at both of us, and sped the vessel fast over the sea. All at once — strange as it may seem, it is true — the vessel stopped in the mid •sea, as fast as if it was fixed on the ground. The men, aston- jished, pulled at their oars and spread more sail, trying to make progress by the aid of both, but all in vain. Ivy twined round the oars and hindered their motion, and clung to the sails, with heavy clusters of berries. A vine, laden with grapes, ran up the mast and along the sides of the vessel. The sound of flutes was heard and the odor of fragrant wine spread all around. The god himself had a chaplet of vine leaves, and bore in his hand a spear wreathed with ivy. Tigers crouched at his feet, and forms of lynxes and spotted panthers played around him. The men were seized with terror or madness ; some leaped overboard ; others, preparing to do the same, beheld their companions in the water undergoing a change, their bodies becoming flattened and end- ing in a crooked tail. j.'i i " f t% ■r: I ** Bacchus that first from out the purple grape Crushed the sweet poison of misused wine, After the Tuscan mariners transformed, Coasting the Tyrrhene shore as the winds listed On Circe's island fell ; (who knows not Circe, The daughter of the Sun ? whose charmed cup ' Whoever tasted lost his upright shape, And downward fell into a grovelling swine.") — Milton's Comus. "One exclaimed, * What miracle is this !' and as he spoke his !mouth widened, his nostrils expanded, and scales covered all his body. Another, endeavoring to pull the oar, felt his hand shrink up, and presently to be no longer hands but fins j another, trying to raise his arms to a rope, found he had no arms, and, curving his mutilated body, jumped into the sea. What had been his legs became the two ends of a crescent -shaped tail. The whole crew became dolphins and swam about the ship, now upon the surface, now under it, scattering the spray, and spouting the water from their broad nostrils. Of twenty men, I alone was left. Trcmb* ;|^ * 1, • ii va iQ, "M.*"' f • 1I iill;! Ill ' '1 i mil III i! •■3'"' -vraMMiiiiM 20S STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ling with fear, the god cheered me. * Fear not,* said he ; 'steer towards Naxos. ' I obeyed, and when we arrived there, I kindled the altars and celebrated the sacred rites of Bacchus. ' ' *« In chorus we sing of wine, sweet wine, Its power benign and its flavor divine." — De La Rosa. Pentheus here exclaimed, "We have wasted time enough on this silly story. Take him away and have him executed without delay. ' * Acetes was led away by the attendants and shut up fast in prison ; but while they were getting ready the instruments of execution the prison doors came open of their own accord and the chains fell from his limbs, and when they looked for him he was nowhere to be found. Pentheus would tgike no warning, but instead of sending others, determined to go himself to the scene of the solemnities. The mountain Cithaf ron was all alive with worshippers, and the cries of the Bacchanals resounded on every side. ** * We follow Bacchus ! Bacchus on the wing, A conquering ! Bacchus, young Bacchus ! good or ill betide, We dance before him thorough kingdoms wide.' " — Keats. Wei daught< the lal was lef The noise roused the anger of Pentheus as the sound of a trumpet does the fire of a war-horse. He penetrated through the wood and reached an open space where the .chief scene of the orgies met his eyes. At the same moment the women saw him ; and first among them his own mother. Agave, blinded by the god, cried out, ** See there the wild boar, the hugest mon- ster that prowls in these woods ! Come on, sisters ! I will be the first to strike the wild boar. ' ' The whole band rushed u])on him, and while he now talks less arrogantly, now excuses him- self, and now confesses his crime and implores pardon, they press upon and wound him. In vain he cries to his aunts to protect him from his mother. Autonoe seized one arm, Ino the other, and between them he was torn to pieces, while his mother shouted, "Victory! Victory! we have done it ! the glory is ours !" So the worship of Bacchus was established io Greece. '■ way he self de on her an imr iCi 'steef I kindled ^A Rosa. nough on d without lut up fast iments of :cord and 3r him he f sending iemnities. , and the -Keats. >iind of a througli scene of imen saw inded by est mon- I will be hed upon ises him- lon, they aunts to irm, Ino while his e it ! the )lishcd io ARIADNE. A-ri-ad'ne. 209 We have seen in the story of Theseus how A-ri-ad'ne, the daughter of King Minos, after helping Theseus to escape from the labyT-inth, was carried by him to the island of Naxos, and was left there asleep, while the ungrateful Theseus pursued his rt^ay home without her. Ariadne, on waking and finding her- self deserted, abandoned herself to grief. But Venus took pity on her, and consoled her with the promise that she should have an immortal lover, instead of the mortal one she had lost. 14 .t»' H • Si,7 i.' f • f* -V, |k:.,--*..',, ,•• . M ■:.l ''4 2IO STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. The island where Ariadne was left was the favorite island of Bacchus, the same that he wished the Tyrrhenian mariners to carry him to when they so treacherously attempted to make prize of him. As Ariadne sat lamenting her fate, Bacchus found her, consoled her, and made her his wife. ** Seekiqg fair Ariadne — afire with flame of a lover." * As a marriage present he gave her a golden crown, enriched with gems, and when she died he took her crown and threw it up into the sky. > ^ "And still her sign is seen in heaven, And, 'midst the glittering symbols of the sky, The starry crown of Ariadne glides." Apollonius Rhodius. As it mounted, the gems grew brighter and were turned into stars ; and, preserving its form, Ariadne's crown remains fixed in the heavens as a constellation between the kneeling Hercules and the man who holds the serpent. «* Being now placed in the firmament, Through the bright heaven doth her beams display, ' And is unto the stars an ornament, Which roundabout her move in order excellent." — Spenser *' , €'\ any and THE BUBAL DEITIES. 211 ^- CHAPTER XXII. The Rural Deities — Pan — Er-i-sich'thon— Rhce'cus— The Water Deities — Ca-me'nae — Winds. The Rural Deities. Pan, the god of woods and fields, of flocks and shepherds, dwelt in grottos, wandered on the mountains and in valleys, and amused himself with the chase or in leading the dances of the nymphs. " From the forests and highlands We come, we come ; From the river'girt islands, Where loud waves are dumb." — Shelley. He was fond of music, and, as we have seen, the inventor of the syrinx, or shepherd's pipe, which he him- self played in a masterly manner. Pan, like other gods who dwelt in forests, was dreaded by those whose occupations caused them to pass through the woods by night, for the gloom and loneliness of such scenes dispose the mind to superstitious y^ fears. I fence sudden fright without any visible cause was ascribed to Pan, and <:al)ed a Panic terror. He was chief of the Satyrs, and is so reprcbcntcd in art. ** The trunk of this tree, Dusky-leaved, shaggy- rooted. Is a pillow well suited To a hybrid Hke me, Goat-bearded, goat-footed." — BUCHANAN. Pan. M- !ri I ^tM wi5 % 212 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. As the name of the god signifies <z//, Pan came to be consid- ered a symbol of the universe and personification of Nature, and later still to be regarded as a representative of all the gods, and of heathenism itself. Sylvanus and Faunus were Latin divinities, whose character- istics are so nearly the same as those of Pan that we may safely consider them as the same personage under different names. The wood-nymphs. Pan's partners in the dance, were but ona class of nymphs. " Universal Pan, Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance. Led on the eternal spring." — Milton. There were beside them the Naiades, who presided ovci Irooks and fountains, the Oreades, nymphs of mountains and grottos, and the Nereides, sea-nymphs. The three last named were immortal, but the wood-nymphs, called Dryades or Hamadryades, were believed to perish with the trees which had been their abode, and with which they had come into exist- ence. It was therefore an impious act wantonly to destroy a tree, and in some aggravated cases was se- verely punished, as in the in- stance of Er-i-sich'thon, which we are about to re- cord. It was a pleasing trait in the old Paganism that it loved to trace in every oper- ation of nature the agency of deity. The imagination of the Greeks peopled all the regions of earth and sea with divinities, to whose agency it Pan and Apollo (Naples). THE BUBAL DEITIES. 213 attributed those phenomena which our philosophy ascribes lo the operation of the laws of nature. Sometimes, in our poeti- cal moods, we feel disposed to regret the change, and to think that the heart has lost as much as the head has gained by the substitution. The poet Wordsworth thus strongly expresses this sentiment : — " Great God, I'd rather be A Pagan, suckled in a creed outworn. So might I, standing on this pleasant lea. Have gHmpses that would make me less forlorn ; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea. And hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn." Schiller, in his poem Die Gotter Griechenlands, expresses his regret for the overthrow of the beautiful mythology of ancient times in a way which has called forth an answer from a Christian poet, Mrs. E. Barrett Browning, in her poem called "The Dead Pan." The two following verses are a specimen :— • ** By your beauty which confesses ■ Some chief Beauty conquering you, By our grand heroic guesses Through your falsehood at the True, We will weep nof ! earth shall roll '^^ Heir to each god's aureole, And Pan is dead. ** Earth outgrows the mythic fancies Simg beside her in her youth ; And those debonair romances Sound but dull beside the truth. Phoebus' chariot course is run ! Look up, poets, to the sun ! Pan, Pan is dead." These lines are founded on an early Christian tradition that when the heavenly host told the shepherds at Bethlehem of the birth of Christ, a deep groan, heard through all the isles of Greece, told that the great Pan was dead, and that all the royalty of Olympus was dethroned, and the several deities were sent wandering in cold and darkness. So Milton, in his ** Hymn to the Nativity": — ■,. -.lil \h'i r I i ml '^ .: "I • m^' :£ -m 1*3 214 STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES, ,-,i ?, , ** The lonely mountains o'er, And the resounding shore, A voice of weeping heard and loud lament ; From haunted spring and dale, . • Edged with poplar pale, The parting Genius is with sighing sent ; With flower- en woven tresses torn, The nymphs in twilight shade of tangled thickets mourn.'' Er-i-sich'thon. Er-i-sich'thon was a profane person and a despiser of the gods. On one occasion he presumed to violate with the axe a grove scared to Ceres. There stood in this grove a venera- ble oak, so large that it seemed a wood in itself, its ancient trunk towering aloft, whereon votive garlands were often hung and inscriptions carved express- ing the gratitude of suppliants to the nymph of • the tree. Often had the Dryades danced round it hand in hand. Its trunk meas- ured fifteen cu- bits round, and it overtopped the other trees as they overtopped the shrubbery. But for all that, Erisichthon saw no reason why he should spare it, and he ordered his servants to cut it down. When he saw them Ceres (Vatican, Rome). ERISICHTHON. 215 '*. i hesitate, he snatched an axe from one, and thus impiously ex- claimed : " I care not whether it be a tree beloved of the goddess or not ; were it the goddess herself it should come down, if it stood in my way." So saying, he lifted the axe, and the oak seemed to shudder and utter a groan. When the first blow fell upon the trunk, blood flowed from the wound. All the by- standers were horror-struck, and one of them ventured to remon- strate and hold back the fatal axe. Erisichthon, with a scornful look, said to him, "Receive the reward of your piety," and turned against him the weapon which he had held aside from the tree, gashed his body with many wounds, and cut off his head. Then from the midst of the oak came a voice : " I who dwell in this tree am a nymph beloved by Ceres, and, dying by your hands, forewarn you that punishment awaits you. ' * He desisted not from his crime ; and at last the tree, sundered by repeated blows and drawn by ropes, fell with a crash, and prostrated a great part of the grove in its fall. The Dryades, in dismay at the loss of their companion, and at seeing the pride of the forest 'laid low, went in a body to Ceres, all clad in garments of mourning, and invoked punishment upon Erisichthon. She nodded her assent, and as she bowed her head the grain, ripe for harvest in the laden fields, bowed also. She planned a punishment so dire that one would pity him, if such a culprit as he could be pitied — to deliver him over to Famine. As Ceres herself could not approach Famine, for the Fates have ordained that these two goddesses shall never come together, she called on Oread from her mountain and spoke to her in these words : ** There is a place in the farthest part of ice -clad Scythia, a sad and sterile region without trees and without crops. Cold dwells there, and Fp-^r, and Shuddering, and Famine. Go and tell the last to take possession of the bowels of Erisichthon. Let not abundance subdue her, nor the power of my gifts drive her away. Be not alarmed at 'he distance, for Famine dwells very far from Ceres, but take my chariot. The dragons are fleet and obey the rein, and will take you through the air in a short time. ' ' So she gave her the reins, and she dro "^e away and soon reached Scythia. On arriving at Mount Caucasus she stopped the dragons and found Famine in a stony field, pulling up with teeth and claws the scanty herbage. Her hair was rough, 2l6 STORIES OF 00 DS AND HEROES. ^r"--*; ■.I'w her eyes sunk, her face pale, her lips blanched, her jaws covered with dust, and her skin drawn tight, so as to show all her bones. As the Oread saw her afar off (for she did not dare to come near), she delivered the commands of Ceres ; and though she stopped as short a time as possible, and kept her distance as well as she could, yet she began to feel hungry, and turned the dragons' heads and drove back to Thessaly. ' • Famine obeyed the commands of Ceres and sped through the air to the dwelling of Erisichthon, entered the bedchamber of the guilty man, and found him asleep. . She enfolded him with her wings and breathed herself into him, infusing her poison into his ve'.ns. Having discharged her task, she hastened to leave the Ir.nd of plenty and returned to her accustomed haunts. Erisichthon still slept, and in his dreams craved food, and moved his jaws as if eating. When he awoke his hunger was raging. Without a moment's delay he would have food set before him, of whatever kind earth, sea or air produces, and complained of hunger even while he ate. What would have sufficed for a city or a nation was not enough for him. The more he ate the more he craved. His property rapidly dimi:iished under the unceasing demands of his appetite, but his hunger continued unabated. At length he had spent all, and had only his daughter left, a daughter worthy of a better parent* J/cr too he sold. She scorned to be the slave o^ a purchaser, and, as she stood by the seaside, raised her hands in prayer to Neptune. He heard her prayer, and, though her new master was not far off, and had his eyes upon her a moment before, Neptun : changed her form, and made her assume that of a fisherman busy at his occupation. Her master, looking for her and seeing her in her altered form, add'-'^ssed her and said: "Good fisherman, whither went the maiden whom 1 saw just now, with hair dishevelled and in humble garb, standing about where you stand? Tell me truly, so may your luck be good, and not a fish nibble at your hook and get away. ' ' She perceived that her prayer was answered, and rejoiced inwardly at hearing herself inquired of about her- self. She replied, "Pardon me, stranger, but I have been so intent upon my line that I have seen nothing else ; but I wish I may never catch another fish if I believe any woman or otJier RHCECUS. 2i; ^s covered ler bones. ; to conic hough she ce as ^vell Limed the i through dchamber )lded him ler poison istened to ;d haunts. nd moved IS raging. fore him, )mplained ced for a le ate the demands \X length daughter :orned to J seaside, r prayer, his eyes orm, and cupation. red form, went the d and in me truly, our hook inswered, )0ut her- I been so it I wish or oUier person except myself to have been hereabouts for some time." He was deceived and went his way, thinking his slave had es- caped. Then she resumed her own form. Her father was well pleased to find her still with him, and the money, too, that he got by the sale of her; so he sold her again. But she was changed by the favor of Neptune as often as she was sold, — now into a- horse, now a bird, now an ox, and now a stag, — got away from her purchasers, and came home. By this base method the starving father procured food, but not enough for his wants; and at last hunger compelled him to devour his limbs, and he Neptune and Amphi trite (Munich). strove to nourish himself by eating his body, till death relieved him from the vengeance of Ceres. ^- Rhoe'cus. The Hamadryades could appreciate services as well as punish injuries. The story of Rhoe'cus proves this. Rhoecus, hap- pening to see an oak just ready to fall, ordered his servants to prop it up. The nympl^, \.ho had been on the point of perish- ing with the tree, came and expressed her gratitude to him for having saved her life, and bade him ask what reward he would. Rhoecus boldly asked her love, and the nymph yielded to his de- • !* '^f.i m 4 2l8 STOBIES OF GODS AND HEROES. 'f\ ,^\ Nl sire. She at the same time charged him to be constant, and told him that a bee should be her messenger, and let him know when she would admit his society. One time the bee came to Rhoecus while he was playing at draughts, and he carelessly brushed it away. This so incensed the nymph that she deprived him of sight. " O, Rhoecus ! nevermore '" • Shalt thou behold me or by day or night. - . -' : - . . ■ ;.. *Tis thou art blind, Not I unmerciful. I can forgive, But have no skill to heal the spirit eyes." — Lowell. The Water Deities. O-ce'a-nus and Te'thys were the Titans who ruled over the watery element. When Jove and his brothers overthrew the Ti- tans and assumed their power, Neptune and Amphitrite suc- ceeded to the dominion of the waters in place of Oceanus and Tethys. Nep'tune. Nep'tune was the chief of the water deities. The symbol of his power was the trident, or spear with three points, with which he used to shatter rocks, to call forth or subdue storms, to shake the shores, and the like. •^ - •« ** Hail, Neptune, greatest of the gods! Thou ruler of tlfe salt sea floods ; Thou with the deep and dark-green hair, That dost the golden trident bear." — Arion. He created the horse and was the patron of horse-races. His own horses had brazen hoofs and golden manes. They drew his chariot over the sea, which became smooth before Y .n, while the monsters of the deep gambolled about his path. Am-phi-tri'te. ^ Am-phi-tri'te was the wife of Neptune. She was the daughter of Nereus and Doris, and the mother of Triton. Neptune, to pay his court to Amphitrite, came riding on a dolphin. " O'er the green waves which gently bend and swell. Fair Amphitrite steers her silver shell ; Her playful dolphins stretch the silken rein, Hear her sweet voice, and glide along the main."— Darwin. A SEA-GOD. (Vatican, Rome.) 'Pi ■•• St:;' "^ ■''^* 1/ #« ^iM '- ,u ;#"i LEUCOTHEA AND PALuEMOK 219 Ml 1 Having won her, he rewarded the dolphin by placing him among the stars. Ne're-us and Do'ris. Ne're-us and Do'ris were the parents of the Nereides, the most celebrated of whom were Amphitrite, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and Galatea, who was loved by the Cyclops Poly- phemus. Nereus was distinguished for his knowledge and his love of truth and justice, whence he was termed an elder ; the gift of prophecy was also assigned to him. Tri'ton and Pro'teus. Tri'ton was the son of Neptune and Amphitrite, and the poets make him his father's trumpeter. Pro'teus was also a son of Neptune. He, like Nereus, is styled a sea -elder for his wisdom and knowledge of future events. His peculiar power was that of changing his shape at will. ** Shouting we seize the god : our force t' evade, His various arts he soon resumes in aid : A lion now, he curls a surgy mane ; Sudden, our hands a spotted pard restrain ; And last, sublime, his stately growth he rears, A tree, and well-dissembled foliage wears." —Homer (Pope's tr.). The'tis. The'tis, the daughter of Nereus and Doris, was so beautiful that Jupji'er himself sought her in marriage ; but having learned from Prometheus, the Titan, that Thetis should bear a son who should be greater than his father, Jupiter desisted from his suit and de- creed that Thetis should be the wife of a mortal. By the aid of Chiron, the Centaur, Peleus succeeded in winning the goddess for his bride, and their son was the renowned Achilles. In our chapter on the Trojan war it will appear that Thetis was a faith- ful mother to him, aiding him in all difficulties, and watching over his interests from the first to the last. Leu-co'the-a and Pa-lae'mon. Ino, the daughter of Cadmus and wife of Athamas, flying from her frantic husband with her little son Melicertes in her arms, L.' *. m i 220 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. m\. sprang from a cliflf into the sea. The gods, out of compassion, made her a goddess of the sea, under the name of Leu-co'the-a, and him a god under that of Pa-lae'mon. Both were held powerful to save from shipwreck and were invoked by sailors. Palaemon was usually represented riding on a dolphin. The Isthmian games were celebrated in his honor. He was called Portunus by the Romans, and believed to have jurisdiction of the ports and shores. ** Sabrina fair, Listen and appear to us, In name of great Oceanus ; By the earth-shaking Neptune's mace, And Tethys' grave, majestic pace, By hoary Nereus' wrinkled look, And the Carpathian wizard's hook. By scaly Tritan's winding shell, \ And old soothsaying Glaucus' spell. By Leucothea' s lovely hands, And her son who rules the strands By Thetis' tinsel-slippered feet. And the songs of Sirens sweet." — Milton's Comus. The Ca-me'nse. By this name the Latiixs designated the Muses, but included ander it also some other deities, principally nymphs of fountain ^ Egeria was one of them, whose fountain and grotto are still shown. •' Here didst thou dwell, in this enchanted cover, Egeria!" — Byron. It was said that Numa, the second king of Rome, was favored by this nymph with secret interviews, in which she taught him those lessons of wisdom and of law which he embodied in the in- stitutions of his rising nation. After the death of Numa the nymph pined away and was changed into a fountain. The Winds. . When so many less active agencies were personified, it is not to be supposed that the winds failed to be so. They were Bo'- re-as or Aq'ui-lo, the north wind ; Zeph'y-rus or Fa vc' niuSy the west ; No'tus or Aus'ter, the south, and Eu'rus, THE WINDS. 221 ipassion, o'the-a, ere held y sailors, in. The /•as called on of the Comus. included buntain.;. 11 shown. s favored Light him in the in- [uma the it is not ere Bo'- Fa vc'- Eu'ius, the east. The first two have been chiefly celebrated by the poets, the former as the type of rudeness, the latter of gen- tleness. Boreas loved the nymph Or-i-thy'i-t, and tried to play the lover's part, l)ut met with poor success. It was hard for him to breathe gently, and sighing was out of the question. Weary at last of fruitless endeavors, he acted out his true char- acter, seized the maiden, and carried her off. Their chil- dren were Ze'tes and Cal'- a-is, winged warriors, who accompanied the Argonautic expedition, and did good service in an encounter with those monstrous birds, the Harpies. Zephyrus was the lover of Flora. Milton alludes to them in "Paradise Lost," where he describes Adam waking and contemplating Eve, still asleep : — ** Then with voice Mild as when Zephyrus on Flora breathes, Her hand soft touching, whispered thus : * Awake ! My fairest, my espoused, my latest found, Heaven's last, best gift, my ever- new delight,' " The character and appearance ascribed to each of these deities was, as usual, in Greek mythology, such as was suggested by the phenomena of each wind — as, for example, the strength and fury of the north wind, or the genial warmth of the south-west. Some were thought to be male, some female, and all winged. Eurus, who brought warmth and rain from the east, was represented holding a vase inverted, as if pouring rain from it. Lips, who Flora (Naples). I li':!.„ 222 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. Eurus. Apeliotes. The Winds. THE WINDS. 221 I from the Muth-east wafted home the ships as they neared the har- bor of Pcirajus at Athens, held the ornament from a ship's stem in her hands. Zephyrus, coming from the warm, mild west, M^as ligh*^':y ciad, and carried a quantity of flowers in his scarf. A-pi'li-o'tCS, the south-v ^;st wind, carried fruits of many kinds, wore boots, and was not so lightly clad as the last mentioned. So they were represented on the "Tower of the Winds" at AthciiS.* * McKay's Murray's Manual. m .■1'. t'Jb^iL T*fl w ^a'^ ^m l-i.: ■>' .^ ' Jh ■!. ■'r « ^ ^ 224 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. W ' W^^ &;::.:■ r ■1 h-"»! M: • CHAPTER XXIII. Ach-e-lo'us and Her'cu-les — Ad-me'tus and Al-ces'tis — An-tig'o-ne — Pe-nel'o-pe. Ach-e-lo'us and Her'cu les. The river-god Ach-e-lo'us told the story of Erisichthon to Theseus and his companions, whom he was entertaining at his hospitable board, while they were delayed on their journey by the overflow of his waters. Having finished his story he added, " But why should I tell of other persons' transformations, when I myself am an instance of the possession of this power? Some- times I become a serpent, and sometimes a bull, with horns on my head. Or I should say, I once could do so ; but now 1 have but one horn, having lost one." And here he groaned and was silent. Theseus asked him the cause of his grief, and how he lost his horn. To which question the river-god replied as follows: "Who likes to tell of hisjdefeats? Yet I will not hesitate to relate mine, comforting myself with the thought of the great- ness of my conqueror, for it was Her'cu-les. Perhaps you have heard of the fame of Dejanira, the fairest of maidens, whom a host of suitors strove to win. Hercules and myself were cf the number, and the rest yielded to us two. He urged in his behalf his descent from Jove, and his labors by which he had exceeded the exactions of Juno, his step -mother. I, on the other hand, said to the father of the maiden, ' Behold me, the king of the waters that flow through your land. "Achelous came The river-god to ask a fathers voice. "- -Sophocles. " ' I am no stranger from a foreign shore, but belong to the country, a part of your realm. Let it not stand in my way that royal Juno owes me no enmity, nor punishes me with hea\y tasks. As for this man who boasts himself the son of Jove, it is either a false pretence or disgraceful to him if true, for it can jrs. AVHELOUS AND BEBCULES. 225 not be true except by his mother's shame.' As I said this Hercules scowled upon me, and with difficulty restrained his rage. * My hand will answer better than my tongue,' said he. ' I yield you the victory in words, but trust my cause to the strife of deeds. ' With that he advanced towards me, and I was ashamed, after what I had said, to yield. I threw off my green vesture, and presented myself for the struggle. He tried to throw me, now attacking my head, now my body. My bulk was my protection, and he assailed me in vain. For a time we stopped, then returned to the conflict. " Warm, and more warm the conflict grows: Dire was the noise of rattling bows." — SoPHOCLES (Francklin's tr.). "We each kept our position, determined not to yield, foot to foot, I bending over him, clinching his hands in mine, with my forehead almost touching his. Thrice Hercules tried to throw me off, and the fourth time he succeeded, brought me to the ground and himself upon my back. I tell you the truth, it was as if a mountain had fallen on me. I struggled to get my arms at liberty, panting and reeking with perspiration. He gave me no chance to recover, but seized my throat. My knees were on the earth and my mouth in the dust. *' Finding that I was no match for him in the warrior's art, I resorted to others, and glided away in the form of a serpent. I curled my body in a coil, and hissed at him with my forked tongue. He smiled scornfully at this, and said, *It was the labor of my infancy to conquer snakes. ' So saying, he clasped my neck with his hands. I was almost choked, and struggled to get my neck out of his grasp. Vanquished in this form, I tried what alone remained to me, and assumed the form of a bull. He grasped my neck with his arm, and dragging my head down to the ground, overthrew me on the sand. Nor was this enough. His ruthless hand rent my horn from my head. The Naiades took it, consecrated it, and filled it with fragrant flow- ers. Plenty adopted my horn and made it her own, and called it Cornucopia." The ancients were fond of finding a hidden meaning in their mythological tales. They explain this fight of Achelous with Her- cules by saying Achelous was a river that in seasons of rain over- i > tt4 t 9 ,f:i i\i -1 *'.f,r H ^j , 1' 1 , 1 <• 1 ^ mi ■i!<*, h ,'P' .,• 226 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. flowed its banks. When the fable says that Achelous loved De- janira, and sought a union with her, the meaning is that the river in its windings flowed through part of Dejanira's kingdom. It was said to take the form of a snake because of its winding, and of a bull because it made a brawling or roaring in its course. When the river swelled, it made itself another channel. Thus its head was homed. Hercules prevented the return of these periodical overflows by embank- ments and canals, and therefore he was said to have vanquished the river-god and cut off" his horn. Finally, the lands for- merly subject to overflow,, but now redeemed, became very fer- tile, and this is meant by the horn of plenty. There is another account of the origin of the Cornucopia. Jupiter at his birth was com- mitted by his mother Rhea to the care of the daughters of Melisseus, a Cretan king. They fed the infant deity with the nulk of the goat Amalthea. Jupiter broke off one of tlie horns of the goat and gave it to his nurses, and endowed it with the wonderful power of becoming filled with whatever the possessor might wish. The name of Amalthea is also given by some writers to the mother of Bacchus. It is thus used by Milton : — *» That Nyseian isle, Girt with the river Triton, where old Cham, Whom Gentiles Ammon call, and Libyan Jove, Hid Amalthea and her florid son, Young Bacchus, from his stepdame Rhea's eye.** .^sculapius (Vatican, Rome). ADMETUS AND ALCESTI& 227 oved De« the river iom. It iing, and course. , it made Thus Hercules of these embank - therefore nquished off his inds for- fiow.. but : very fer- t by the count of rnucopia. ivas coni- Rhea to jhters of ig. They with the ^malthea. e of the d gave it idowed it power of whatever ish. :ers to the Ad-me'tus and Al-ces'tis. iEsculapius, the son of Apollo, was endowed by his father with such skill in the healing art that he even restored the dead to life. At this Pluto took alarm, and prevailed on Jupiter to launch a thunderbolt at ^sculapius. Apollo was indignant at the destruction of his son, and wreaked his vengeance on the inno- cent workmen who had made the thunderbolt. These were the Cyclopes, who have their workshop under Mount ^tna, from which the smoke and flames of their furnaces are constantly is- suing. Apollo shot his arrows at the Cyclopes, which so in- censed Jupiter that he condemned him as a punishment to be- come the servant of a mortal for the space of one year. Accord- ingly Apollo went into the service of Ad-me'tus, king of Thessaly, and pastured his flocks for him on the verdant banks of the river Amphrysos. *' There came a youth upon the earth Some thousand years ago, Whose slender hands were nothing worth Whether to plow, or reap, or sow. ** Uf)on an empty tortoise-'Shell He stretched some chords, and drew Music, that made men's bosoms swell Fearless, or brimmed their eyes with dew." — LoWELL. Admetus was a suitor, with others, for the hand of Al-ces'tis, the daughter of Pelias, who promised her to him who should , come for her in a chariot drawn by lions and boars. This task Admetus performed by the assistance of his divine herdsman, and was made happy in the possession of Alcestis. But Ad- metus fe, ' ill, and being near to death, Apollo prevailed on the Fates to si)are him on condition that some one would consent to die in his siead. Admetus, in his joy at this reprieve, thought little of the ransom, and perhaps, remembering the declarations of attachment which he had often heard from his courtiers and dependents, fancied that it would be easy to find a substitute. But it was not so. Brave warriors, who would willingly havv^ perilled their lives for their prince, shrunk from the thought of dying for him on the bed of sickness ; and old servants who had experienced his bounty and that of his house from their i '' ■* ''i III' ,n' t ..■.•*; .^'^i ill 1? i> 1 r'?#k '} "' ill" 1 ( , W 11 -'If 1»" 228 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. childhood up, were not willing to lay down the scanty remnant of their days to show their gratitude. Men asked, — "Why does not one of his parents do it ? They cannot in the course of nature live much longer, and who can feel like them the call to rescue the life they gave, from an untimely end ?' ' But the pa- rents, distressed though they were at the thought of losing him, shrunk from the call. Then Alcestis, with a generous self-devo- tion, proffered herself as the substitute. ** He canvassed every friend, his hoary sire, ■ < ; ./ . The aged mother, too, that gave him birth ; : , . , * None but his wife he found." — Euripides (Woodhull). Admetus, fond as he was of life, -would not have submitted to receive it at such a cost ; but there was no remedy. The condi- tion imposed by the Fates had been met, and the decree was ir- revocable. Alcestis sickened as Admetus revived, and she was rapidly sinking to the grave. Just at this time Hercules arrived at th'^ palace of Admetus, and found all the inmates in great distrrss for the impending loss of the devoted wife and beloved mistress. Hercules, to whom no labor was too arduous, resolved to attempt her rescue. He went and lay in wait at the door of the chamber of the dying queen, and when Death came for his prey he seized him and forced him to resign his victim. " Did not Hercules by force Wrest from the guardian monster of the tomb ' • , Alcestis, a leaniroated corse, . . ;' • Given back to dwell on earth in vernal bloom?" , , ♦ —Wordsworth. Alcestis recovered, and was restored to her husband. Milton alludes to the story of Alcestis in his sonnet *' On His Deceased Wife": — " Methought I saw my late espoused saint Brought to me like Alcestis from «!ie grave. Whom Jove's great son to her ^ ^ul husband gave, ' Rescued from Death by force, though pale and faint." An-tig'o-ne. A large proportion both of the interesting persons and of the exalted acts of legendary Greece belongs to the female sex. An- tlgfo-ne was as bright an example of filial and sisterly fidelity as ^ ANTIGONE. 229 as Aicestis of connubial devotion. She was the daughter of CEdipu* and Antigone (E. Tachendorff ). (Edipus and Jocasta, who, with all their descendants, were tfte victims of an unrelenting fate, dooming them to destruction. Ri* ''■ '^ f if t ! t » 1 I <'«lf ■li 230 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, .4 'f^ I CEdipus, in his madness, had torn out his eyes, and was driven forth from his kingdom Thebes, dreaded and abandoned by all men, as an object of divine vengeance. Antigone, his daughter, alone shared his wanderings and remained with him till he died, and then returned to Thebes. Her brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, had agreed to share the kingdom between them, and reign alternately year by year. The first year fell to the lot of Eteocles, who, when his time ex- pired, refused to surrender the kingdom to his brother. Poly- nices fled to Adrastus, king of Argos, who gave him his daughter in marriage, and aided him with an army to enforce his claim to the kingdom. This led to the celebrated expedition of the ** Seven against Thebes," which furnished ample materials for the epic and tragic poets of Greece. Amphiaraus, the brother-in-law of Adrastus, opposed thb en- terprise, for he was a soothsayer, and knew by his art that no one of the leaders except Adrastus would live to return. But Amphiaraus, on his marriage to Eriphyle, the king's sister, had agreed that whenever he and Adrastus should differ in opinion, the decision should be left to Eriphyle. Polynices, knowing this, gave Eriphyle the collar of Harmonia, and thereby gained her to his interest. This collar or necklace was a present which Vulcan had given to Harmonia on her marriage with Cadmus, and Polynices had taken it with him on his flight from Thebes. Eriphyle could not resist so tempting a bribe, and by her decision the war was resolved on, and Amphiaraus went to his certain fate. j " 'Twas Polynices that caused Thy sire and me to perish when he brought That golden necklace to the Argive land." — EuRiriDES. He bore his part bravely in the contest, but could not avert his destiny. Pursued by the enemy he fled along the river, when a thunderbolt launched by Jupiter opened tlie ground, and he, his chariot and his charioteer were swallowed up. It would not be in place here to detail all the acts of heroism or atrocity which marked the contest ; but we must not omit to record the fidelity of Evadne as an offset to the weakness of Eriphyle. Capaneus, the husband of Evadne, in the ardcr of the fijfht declared that he would force his way into the city in spitf of J but thui hers ANTIGONE. 231 of Jove himself. Placing a ladder against the wall, he mounted ; but Jupiter, offended at his impious language, struck him with a thunderbolt. When his obsequies were celebrated, Evadne cast herself on his funeral pile and perished. ** Already have I taken The fatal leap, and hence descend, with joy, Though not indeed to you, yet to myself * And to my lord, with whose iremains I bvun." The Suppliants (EURIPIDES.) Early in the contest Eteocles consulted the soothsayer Tiresias as to the cause. Tiresias in his youth had by chance seen Minerva bathing. The goddess in her wrath deprived him of his sight, but afterwards relenting, gave him, in compensation, the knowledge of future events. When consulted by Eteocles, he declared that victory should fall to Thebes if Menceceus, the son of Creon, gave himself a voluntary victim. The heroic youth, learning the response, threw away his life in the first en- counter. The siege continued long, with varying success. At length both hosts agreed that the brothers should decide their (|uarrel by single combat. They fought and fell by each other's hands. "Our brothers now both slain, Each by the other's spear." — Antigone. The armies then renewed the fight, and at last the invaders were forced to yield, and fled, leaving their dead unburied. Creon, the uncle of the fallen princes, now become king, caused Eteoc;les to be buried with distinguished honor, but suffered the body of Polynices to lie where it fell, forbidding everyone on pain of death to give it burial. ** Polynices' wretched carcass lies Unburied, unlamented, left cxpos'd A feast for hungry vultures on the plain." — SopiiocLics (Francklin's tr, ). Antigone, the sister of Polynices, heard with indignation the revolting edict which consigned her brother's body to the dogs and vultures, depriving it of those rights which were onsidered £iii it ' ■ '• H •1^ „ -i .'^f.:. 222 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. .*-*•; .it'', essential to the repose of the dead. Unmoved by the dissuading counsel of an affectionate but timid sister, and unable to procure assisunce, she determined to brave the hazard and to bury the body with her own hands. She was detected in the act, and Creon gave orders that she should be buried alive, as having deliberately set at nought the solemn edict of the city. " Let her be carried instant to the cave, ' And leave her there alone, to live, or die." — Sophocles (Francklin'str.). Her lover, Ha;mon, the son of Creon, unable to avert her fate, would not survive her, and fell by his own hand. Antigone forms the subject of two fine tragedies of the Grecian poet Sophocles. Mrs. Jameson, in her '' Characteristics of Women," has compared her character with that of Cordelia, in Shakspeare's ''King Lear." The following is the lamentation of Antigone over lEdipus, when death has at last relieved him from his sufferings : — " Alas ! I only wished I might have died With my poor father ; wherefore should I ask For longer life ? O, I was fond of misery with him ; E'en what was most u ilovely grew beloved When he was with me. O my dearest father, Beneath the earth now in deep darkness hid, Worn as thou wert with age, to me thou still Wast dear, and shall be ever." — Sophocles (Francklin's tr.). Pe-nero-pe. Pe-nel'O-pe is another of those mythic heroines whose beauties where rather those of character and conduct than of i)erson. She was the daughter of Icarius, a Spartan prince. Ulysses, king l( Tthaca, sought her in marriage, and won her, over all com- petitors. When the moment came for the bride to leave her fith> r's house, carius, unable to bear the thoughts of parting with h\i daug.iter, tried to persuade her to remain with him, and liOw accompai ' her husband to Ithaca. Ulysses gave Penelope I.ei ",h< .'ce, to stay or go with him. Penelope made no reply, litt dropped her veil over her face. Icarius urged her no further, issoading ' procure bury the act, and s having PENELOPE. 233 ■•, J" str.). Lvert her Grecian istics of delia, in lEdipus, tr.). beauties on. She es, king all com- eave her ' parting dim, and Penelope 10 reply, I further, but when she was gone erected a statue to Modesty on the spot where they parted. 'Jlysses and Penelope had not enjoyed their union more than a year when it was inter- rupted by the events which called Ulysses to the Trojan war. During his long absence, and when it was doubtful whether he still lived, and highly improbable tliat he would ever re- turn, Penelope was im- portuned by numerous suitors, from whom there seemed no refuge but in choosing one of them for her husband. Penelope, however, employed every art to gain time, still hoping for Ulysses' return. One of her arts of delay was engaging in the preparation of a robe for the funeral canopy of Laertes, her husband's father. She pledged her- self to make her choice among the suitors when tne robe was finished. During the day she worked at the robe, but in the night she n iid the work of the day. , ** Three full years She practiced thus, and by the fraud doct sved The Grecian youths-." — HoMKR (Hryant' 3 tr,). This is the famous Penelope's web, which is used as a prover- bial expression for anything which is perp-tually doing but never done. The rest of Penelope's history will be told when we give an account of her husband's adventures. Penelope (Vatican ;ome). 234 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. |V' i llll|S| f 1 r/i CHAPTER XXIV. Or'pheus and Eu-ryd'i-ce — Ar-is-tae'us — Am-phi'on— Li'nus — Tham'y-ris — Mar'sy-as — Me-lam'pus — Mu-sse'us. Or'pheus and Eu-ryd'i-ce. Or'pheus was the son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. He was presented by his father with a lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfec- tion that nothing could withstand the charm of his music. Not only his fellow - mortals but wild beasts were softened by his strains, and, gathering around him, laid by their fierceness, and stood entranced with his lay. Nay, the very trees and rocks wci'^ sensible to tht charm. The fornief crowded round him, and the latter re- laxed somewhat of their hardness, soft ened by his notes. Hymen had been called to bless with Orpheus uiid Eurydice (R. Ueyschlug). his presence the nup- ORPHEUS AND EUBYDICEi phi'on-. 3US — iope. He ted by his :h a lyre t to play which he ::h perfec - nothing istand the lis music, his fellow - but wild e softened lins, and, around by their and stood with his ', the very rocks were to tht "he fonncf ound him, latter re- lewhal of [ness, soft- is notes. had l)eon bless with cethenup- 235 tials of Orpheus with Eu-ryd'i-ce ; but though he attended, he brought no happy omens with him. His very torch smoked and brought tears into their eyes. In coincidence with such prognos- tics; Eurydice, shortly after her marriage, while wandering with the nymphs, her companions, was seen by the shepherd Aristaeus, who was struck with her beauty, and made advances to her. She fled, and in flying trod upon a snake in the grass, was bitten in the foot, and died. Orpheus sang his grief to all who breathed the upper air, both gods and men, and finding it all unavailing, resolved to seek his wife in the regions of the dead. He de- scended by a cave situated on the side of the promontory of Taenarus and arrived at the Stygian realm. He passed through crowds of ghosts and presented himself before the throne of Pluto and Proserpine. Accompanying the words with the lyre, he sung, ' ' O deities of the under world, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words, for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to tr; n^y strength against the three-headed dog with snaky hair who t' r.rds the entrance. "Onhestept, , And Cerberus held agape his triple jaws." — Landor. " I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all-powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and un- created things^ unite again the thread of Eurydice' s life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She, too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But till then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny me, I cannot return alone ; you shall triumph in the death of us both." As he sang these tender strains, the very ghosts shed tears. *• Such strains as would have won the ear Of Pluto, t(-- have cjuite set free His half-regoi'ed Eurydice." — MlLTON. Tantalus, in spitf of his thirst, stopped for a moment his efforts for water, hion's wheel stood still, the vulture ceased to tear the mi 'f-Vj^ ¥ 1') m 41 n 236 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. I .1 m'^^4 llii 11 giant's liver, the daughters of Danaiis rested from their task of drawing water in a sieve, and Sisyphus sat on his rock to listen; • *' E'en Tantalus ceased from trying to sip The cup that flies from his arid lip ; Ixion, too, the magic could feel, ■ • ' And, for a moment, blocked his wheel ; Poor Sisyphus, doomed to tumble and toss The notable stone that gathers no moss, Let go his burden, and turned to hear The charming sounds that ravished his ear." — Saxe. V, Then for ihe first time, it is said, the cheeks of the Furie? were wet with tears. Proserpine could not resist, and Pluto him • self gave way. " Hell consented To hear the Poet's prayer ; Stern Proserpine relented. And gave him back the fair."- \ -Pope. Eurydice was calleji. She came from among the new-arrived ghosts, limping with her wounded foot. Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one condition, that he should not turn round to look at her till they should have reached the upper cir. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, till they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away. Stretching out their arms to embrace one another, they grasped only the air ! Dying now a second time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience to behold her ! " Farewell !" lie said, "a last farewell !" — and was hurried away so fast that the sound hardly reached his ears. Orpheus endeavored to follow her, and besought permission to return and try once more for her release ; but the stern ferryman repulsed him and refused passage. Seven days he lingered about the brink, without food or sleep ; then bitterly accusing of cruelty the powers of Erebus, he sang his complaints to the rocks and motmtains, melting the hearts of tigers and moving the oaks from their stations. heir task of ck to listen; — Saxe, f the Furie? d Pluto him - new -arrived as permitted e should not sd the upper eir way, he eep, in total the cheerful etfulness, to ance behind ng out their lir ! Dying md, for how re well !" he fast that the ermission to rn ferryman gered about g of cruelty ! rocks and ig the oaks ORPHEUS AND EUBYDIOR " THe tremulous leaves repeat to me, Eurydice! Eurydice !" — Lowell. 237 He held himself aloof from womankind, dwelling constamiy on the recollection of his sad mischance. The Thracian maidens Orpheus, Eurydice and Mercury (Niaples). >SJ*' ^ wv Tied their best to captivate him, but he repulsed their advances. I'hey i)orc with him as long as they could ; but finding him in- sensilile, one day, excited by the rites of Bacchus, one of them excUimed, "See yonder our despiserl" and threw at him hei ' 1.3 4 m ml •* u k f4 »* " < " \ ' ■A ■ > * 238 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES 't h javelin. The weapon, as soon as it came within the sound of his lyre, fell harmless at his feet. So did also the stones that they threw at him. But the women raised a scream and drowned Ihe voice of the music, and then the missiles reached him and soon were stained with his blood. The maniacs tore him limb from limb, and threw his head and his lyre into the river Hebrus, down which they floated, murmuring sad music, to which the shores responded a plaintive symphony. The Muses gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Libethra, where the nightingale is said to sing over his grave more sweetly than in any other part of Greece. " Singing a love song to his brooding mate, Did Thracian shepherd by the grave Of Orpheus hear a sweeter melody. Though there the spirit of the sepulchre \ All his own power infuse, to swell The incense that he loves."— SouTHEY. His Ijrre was placed by Jupiter among the stars. His shade passed a second time to Tartarus, where he sought out his Eiiryd- ice and embraced her with eager arms. They roam the ha})py fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she ; and Orpheus gazes as much as he will upon her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance. The story of Orpheus has furnished Pope with an illustration of the power of music, for his " Ode for St. Cecilia's Day. " The following stanza relates the conclusion of the story : — " But soon, too soon, the lover turns his eyes ; Again she falls, again she dies, she dies ! How wilt thou now the fatal sisters move? No crime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love. ' ,, , Now under hanging mountains, . . Beside the falls of fountains, ^ Or where Hebrus wanders, Rolling in meanders, ' All alone, He makes his moan, And calls her ghost, Forever, ever, ever lost 1 Now with furies surrounded, , > Despairing, confounded, ABIST^US, THE BEE-KEEPER. He trembles, he glows. Amidst Rhodope's snows. See, wild as the winds o'er the desert he flies ; Hark ! Haemus resounds with the Bacchanals' cries. Ah, see, he dies ! Yet even in death Eurydice he sung, Eurydice still trembled on his tongue ; Eurydice the woods, Eurydice the floods, Eurydice the rocks and hollow mountains rung.'* 239 Ar-is-tae'us, the Bee-keeper. Man avails himself of the instincts of the inferior animals foi his owTti advantage. •* True therefore doth heaven divide The state of man in divers functions. Setting endeavor in continual motion. To which is fixed as an aim or butt Obedience; forso work ihe hoi.ey-bees, Creatures that, by a rule in nature, teach The act of order to a peopled kingdom." — Shakespeare. Hence sprang the art of keeping bees. Honey must first Lave been known as a wild product, the bees building their structures in hollow trees or holes in the rocks, or any similar cavity that chance offered. Thus occasionally the carcass of a, dead animal would be occupied by the bees for that purpose. It was no doubt from some such incident that the superstition arose that the bees were engendered by tht- decaying flesh of the animal ; and Virgil, in the following story, shows how this supposed fact may be turned to account for renewing 1 ae swarm when it has been lost by disease or accident. Ar-is-tae'us, who first taught the management of bees, was the son of the water-n , mph Cyrene. His bees had perished, and he resorted for aid to his mother. He stood at the river side and thus addressed her : " O mother, the pride of my life is taken from me ! I have lost my precious bees. My care and skill have availed me nothing, and you, my mother, have not warded off from me the blow of misfortune." His mother heard these complaints as she sat in her palace at the bottom of the river, with her attendant nymphs around her. They were engaged in ■M i •:|^ ^<) -. H*! '■■■-". < < M •6^ ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) i. /. ^/ ^ .*^^. A f/. ^> 1.0 I.I 11.25 •s ta 112.0 1^ 1.4 IIIIII.6 vl 7 -^ V ^ (^ c* *>aV^ /^ '<^?.-> Photographic Sciences Corporation # ^ wV r1^ ;\ \ '4^ ^ '^ -'?''-. <^^'^ 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR.N.Y. MSIO (716) S7a-4S03 Q^ 240 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. mm M female occupations, spinning and weaving, while one told stories . to amuse the rest. The sad voice of Aristaeus interrupting their occupation, one of them put her head above the water, and seeing him, returned and gave information to his mother, who ordered that he should be brought into her presence. The river at her command opened itself and let him pass in, while it stood curled like a mountain on either side. He descended to the region where the fountains of the great rivers lie ; he saw the enormous receptacles of waters and was almost deafened with the roar, while he surveyed them hurrying off in various directions to water the face of the earth. Arriving at his mother's apartment, he was hospitably received by Cyrene and her nymphs, who spread their table with the richest dainties. ** Sabrina fair ! Listen where thou art sitting Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave, ' In twisted braids of lilies knitting The loose train of thy amber- dropping hair ; Listen for dear honor's sake, Goddess of the silver lake ! Listen and save." — Milton's Cbwi/j. They first poured out libations to Neptune, then regaled them- selves with the feast, and after that Cyrene thus addressed him : "There is an old prophet named Proteus, who dwells in the sea and is a favorite of Neptune, whose herd of sea-calves he pastures. We nymphs hold him in great respect, for he is a learned sage and knows all things, past, present, and to come. He can tell you, my son, the cause of the mortality among your bees, and how you may remedy it. TJut he will not do it voluntarily, how- ever you may entreat him. You must compel him by force. If you seize him and chain him, he will answer your questions; in order to get released, for he cannot by all his arts get away if you hold fast the chains. I will carry you to his cave, where he comes at noon to take his midday repose. Then you may easily secure him. But when he finds himself captured, his re- sort is to a power he possesses of changing himself into various forms. He will become a wild boar or a fierce tiger, a scaly dragon or lion with yellow mane. Or he will make a noise like the crackling of flames or the rush of water, so as to tempt you to let go have onl] his arts your com nectar, tl vigor fill breathed Then] him amoi place bel: men and slumber, sea-calvei the rock floor of 1 him to g shouted immediai flood, th( ing all V dressed I who thu Aristaeus for any c your effo to know It." A with a p ward of flying fn To aveuj struction thus it r and four and sac grove. honors ( you will befall." ABISTJEUS, THE BEEKEEPER, 241 M. m )ld stories >ting their ind seeing ordered ver at her )od curled lie region enormous the roar, ctions to partment, phs, who led them- ssed him : in the sea ; pastures, rned sage e can tell bees, and rily, how- by force, questionr. get away ve, where you may d, his re- to various r, a scaly noise like empt you to let go the chain, when he will make his escape. But you }^ve only to keep him fast bound, and at last, when he finds all his arts unavailing, he will return to his own figure and obey your commands. ' ' So saying, she sprinkled her son with fragrant nectar, the beverage of the gods, and immediately an unusual vigor filled his frame and courage his heart, while perfume, breathed all around him. The nymph led her son to the prophet's cave and concealed him among the recesses of the rocks, while she herself took her place behind the clouds. When noon came, and the hour when men and herds retreat from the glaring sun to indulge in quiet slumber, Proteus issued from the water, followed by his herd of sea-calves, which spread themselves along the shore. He sat on the rock and counted his herd, then stretched himself on the floor of the cave and went to sleep. Aristgeus hardly allowed him to get fairly asleep before he fixed the fetters on him and shouted aloud. Proteus, waking and finding himself captured, immediately resorted to his arts, becoming first a fire, then a flood, then a horrible wild beast, in rapid succession. But find- ing all would not do, he at last resumed his own form and ad- dressed the youth in angry accents : " Who are you, bold youth, who thus invade my abode, and what do you want with me?" Aristaeus replied, ** Proteus, you know already, for it is needless for any one to attempt to deceive you. And do you also cease your efforts to elude me. I am led hither by divine assistance, to know from you the cause of my misfortune and how to remedy It." At these words the prophet, fixing on him his gray eyes with a piercing look, thus spoke : ** You receive the merited re- ward of your deeds, by which Eurydice met her death, for in flying from you she trod upon a serpent, of whose bite she died. To avenge her death, the nymphs, her companions, sent this de- struction to your bees. You have to appease their anger, and thus it must be done : Select four bulls, of perfect form and size, and four cows of equal beauty, build four altars to the nymphs, and sacrifice the animals, leaving their carcasses in the leafy grove. To Orpheus and Eurydice you shall pay such funeral honors as may allay their resentment. Returning after nine days, you will examine the bodies of the catde slain and see what will befall." Aristseus faithfully obeyed these directions. He sacri- ti !i:.ia 'i ' i ^^^He ■ « 'Ml UHBi;!, ' •f J^^^^Ki '' '' . t ^ ID' 242 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. >. ficed the cattle, he left their bodies m the grove, he offered funeral honors to the shades of Orpheus and Eurydice ; then, re- turning on the ninth day, he examined the bodies of the animals, The Famese Bull (Naples). and, wonderful to relate ! a swarm of bees had taken possession of one of the carcasses and were pursuing their labors there as in a hive. ) Other Mythical Poets and Musicians. Am-phi'on. Am-phi'on was the son of Jupiter and Antiope, queen of Thebes. With his twin brother Zethus he was exposed at birth on Mount Cithoeron, where they grew up among the she[)herds, not knowing their parentage. Mercury gave Amphion a lyre and MYTHICAL POETS AND MUSICIANS. 243 taught him to play upon it, and his brother occupied himself in hunting and tending the flocks. Meanwhile Antiope, their mother, who had been treated with great cruelty by Lycus, the usurping king of Thebes, and by Dirce, his wife, found means to inform her children of their rights and to summon them to her assistance. With a band of their fellow-herdsmen they at- tacked and slew Lycus, and tying Dirce by the hair of her head to a bull, let him drag her till she was dead. Amphion, having become king of Thebes, fortified the city with a wall. It is said that when he played on his lyre the stones moved of their own accord and took their places in the wall. See Tennyson's poem of "Amphion" for an amusing use made of this story. '\ Li'nus. Li'nus was the instructor of Hercules in music, but having one day reproved his pupil rather harshly, he roused the angei of Hercules, who struck him with his lyre and killed him. Tham'y-ris. An ancient Thracian bard, who in his presumption challenged the Muses to a trial of skill, and being overcome in the contest was deprived by them of his sight. Milton alludes to him with other blind bards, when speaking of his own blindness (** Para- dise Lost," Book HL, 35). Mar'sy-as. Minerva invented the flute, and played upon it to the delight of all the celestial auditors ; but the mischievous urchin Cupid having dared to laugh at the queer face which the goddess made while playing, Minerva threw the instrument indignantly away, and it fell down to earth, and was found by Mar'sy-as. He blew upon it, and drew from it such ravishing sounds that he was tempted to challenge Apollo himself to a musical contest. The god, of course, triumphed, and punished Marysas by flaying him alive. " And the attentive Muses said ; * Marsyas, thou art vanquished !'" —Matthew Arnold. li, .^: -.4 > J , 244 ||i STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. Me-lam'pus. Me-lam' 8 was the first mortal endowed with prophetic poweri. Before his house there stood an oak tree containing a lerpent's nest. The old serprnts were killed by the servants, but MeUmpus took care of the young ones/ and fed them care- fully. One day, when he was asleep under the oak, the serpents licked his ears with their tongues. On awaking he was aston- iihed to find that he now understood the language of birds and creeping things. This knowledge enabled him to foretell future events, and he became a renowned soothsayer. At one time his enemies took him captive and kept him strictly imprisoned. MeUmpus, in the silence of the night, heard the wood -worms in the timbers talking together, and found out by what they said that the timbers were nearly eaten through and the roof would soon fall in. He told his captors and demanded to be let out, warn- ing them also. They took his warning and thus escaped de struction, and rewarded Melampus and held him in high honor. Mu-sse'us. A semi -mythological personage who was represented by one tradition to be the son of Orpheus. He is said to have written sacred poems and oracles. Milton couples his name with that of Orpheus in his " II Penseroso " : — •• But O, sad virgin, that thy power Might raise Musaeus from his bower, Or bid the soul of Orpheus aing Such notes as warbled to the string, Drew iron tears down Pluto' s cheek. And made Hell grant what love did seek.'' r < !,;:::■ n prophetic )ntaining a 5 servants, them care- le serpents was aston- birds and stell future le time his nprisoned. 1 -worms in y said that ^ould soon out, warn- caped de igh honor. ed by one ve written with that Venus, Love, wid Vulcan (Tintoretto). CHAPTER XXV. A-ri'on — Ib'y-cus — Si-mon'i-des — Sap'pho. The p'^ets whose adventures compose this chapter were real persons, some of whose works yet remain, and their influence on poets who succeeded them is yet more important than their poetical remains. The adventures recorded of them in the fol- lowing stories rest on the same authority as other narratives of the Age of Fable, that is, of the poets who have told them. In their present form, the first two are translated from the German — Arion from Schlegel and Ibycus from Schiller. A-ri'on. A-ri'on was a famous musician, and dwelt in the court of Peri- ander, king of Corinth, with whom he was a great favorite. There was to be a musical contest in Sicily, and Arion longed to compete for the prize. He told his wish to Periander, who be- sought him like a brother to give up the thought. ** Pray stay with me," he said, "and be contented. He who strives to win may lose." Arion answered, ** A wandering life best suits the free heart of a poet. The talent which a god bestowed on me I would fain make a source of pleasure to others. And if I win the prize, how will the enjoyment of it be increased by the con- sciousness of my wide-spread fame !" He went, won the prize, and embarked with his wealth in a Corinthian ship for home. On the second morning after setting sail, the wind breathed mild and fair. **0 Periander," he exclaimed, " dismiss your fears ! Soon shall you forget them in my embrace. With what lavish (^5) «" li t, >f .M 246 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. inrfsiii' offerings will we display our gratitude to the gods, c . how merry will we be at the festal board !" The wind and sea con- tinued propitious. Not a cloud dimmed the firmament. He had not trusted too much to the ocean, — ^but he had to man. He overheard the seamen exchanging hints with one another and found they were plotting to possess themselves of his treasure. Presently they surrounded him, loud and mutinous, and said, " Anon, you must die ! If you would have a grave on shore, yield yourself to die on this spot ; but if otherwise, cast yourself into the sea. " " Will nothing satisfy you but my life ?' ' said he. " Take my gold, and welcome. I willingly buy my life at that price." ** No, no ; we cannot spare you. Your life would be too dangerous to us. Where could we go to escape from Peri- ander, if he should know that you had been robbed, by us ? Your gold would be of "ittle use to us, if, on returning home, we could never more be free from fear." " Grant me, then," said he, "a last request, since nought will avail to save my life, that I may die as I have lived, as becomes a bard. When I shall have sung my death-song, and my harp-strings shall have ceased to vibrate, then I will bid farewell to life and yield uncomplain- ing to my fate. ' ' This prayer, like the others, would have been unheeded, — ^they thought only of their booty, — ^but to hear so famous a musician, that moved their rude hearts. " Suffer me," he added, " to arrange my dress. Apollo will not favor me un- less I be clad in my minstrel garb." He clothed his well-proportioned limbs in gold and purple fair to see, his tunic fell around him in graceful folds, jewels adorned his arms, his brow was crowned with a golden wreath, and over his neck and shoulders flowed his hair, perfumed with odors. His left hand held the lyre, his right the ivory wand with which he struck its chords. Like one inspired, he seemed to drink the morning air and glitter in the morning ray. The seamen gazed with admiration. • ^ ** Meantime some rude Arion's restless hand Wakes the brisk harmony that sailors love ; A circle there of merry listeners stand, Or to some well-known measure featly move Thoughtless, as if on shore they still were free to rove." — Byron. He strode forward to the vessel's side and looked down into Ae blue voice, CO may gro\ heroes o happy so my grief didst fin( when sh< cheerful look doM no more, ceive yo saying, 1 and the from all But tl itants of if chain( phin ofl safe to I Atth wards e the evei Whei ment, . faithfulj thou ca we ma; thee he over th Ario towers ^fv wen mindfu ABIOK 247 the blue sea. Addressing his lyre, he sang "Companion of my voice, come with me to the realm of shades. Though Cerberus may growl, we know the power of song can tame his rage. Ye heroes of Elysium, who have passed the darkling flood, — ye happy souls, soon shall I join your band. Yet can ye relieve my grief? Alas, I leave my friend behind me. Thou, who didst find thy Eurydice, and lose her again as soon as found ; when she had vanished like a dream, how didst thou hate the cheerful light ! I must £,vvay, but I will not fear. The gods look down upon us. Ye who slay me unoffending, when I am no more, your time of trembling shall come. Ye Nereids, re- ceive your guest, who throws himself upon your mercy !" So saying, he sprang into the deep sea. The waves covered him, and the seamen held on their way, fancying themselves safe from all danger of detection. But the strains of his music had drawn round him the inhab- itants of the deep to listen, and Dolphins followed the ship as if chained by a spell. While he struggled in the waves, a Dol- phin offered him his back, and carried him mounted thereon safe to land. «• Even when as yet the dolphin which him bore Through the ^gean Seas from pirates' view, Stood still, by him astonished at his lore, And all the raging seas for joy forgot to roar." — Spenser. At the spot where he landed a monument of brass was after- wards erected upon the rocky shore, to preserve the memory of the event. When Arioil and the Dolphin parted, each to his own ele- ment, Arion thus poured forth his thanks : " Farewell, thou faithful, friendly fish 1 Would that I could reward thee ; but thou canst not wend with me, nor I with thee. Companionship we may not have. May Galatea, queen of the deep, accord thee her favor, and thou, proud of the burden, draw her chariot over the smooth mirror of the deep." Arion hastened from the shore, and soon saw before him the towers of Corinth. He journeyed on, harp in hand, singing as ^p/ went, full of love and happiness, forgetting his losses, and mindful only of what remained, his friend and his lyre. He ly 'I ,M 1 !>tll "^ !i :i i' 24B STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. entered the hospitable walls, and was soon clasped in the embrace of Periander. " I come back to thee, my friend," he said. * * The talent which a god bestowed has been the delight of thousands, but false knaves have stripped me of my well- earned treasure ; yet I retain the consciousness of widespread fame. ' ' Then he told Periander all the wonderful events that ^had befallen him, who heard him with amazement. *• Shall such wickedness triumph?" said he. "Then in vain is power lodged in my hands. That we may discover the criminals, you must remain here in concealment, and so they will approach without suspicion. ' ' When the ship arrived in the harbor, he summoned the mariners before him. "Have you heard any- thing of Arion?" he inquired. "I anxiously look for his re- turn." "Arion, whose melodic soul Taught ihe dithyramb to roll."— George Eliot., They replied, " We left him well and prosperous in Taren- tum." As they said these words, Arion stepped forth and faced them. His well-proportioned limbs were arrayed in gold and purple fair to see, his tunic fell around him in graceful folds, jewels adorned his arms, his brow was crowned with a golden wreath, and over his neck and shoulders flowed his hair, per- fumed with odors. His left hand held the lyre, his right the ivory wand with which he struck its chords. They fell pros- trate at his feet, as if a lightning bolt had struck them. "We meant to murder him, and he has become a god. O Earth, open and receive us!" Then Periander spoke. "He lives, the master of the lay ! Kind heaven protects the poet's life. As for you, I invoke not the spirit of vengeance ; Arion wishes not your blood. Ye slaves of avarice, begone ! Seek some barbarous land, and never may aught beautiful delight your souls 1" Ib'y-cus. In order to understand the story of Ib'y-cus, which follows^ it is necessary to remember, first, that the theatres of the ancients were immense fabrics capable of containing from ten to thirty thousand spectators, and as they were only used on festal occa- IBTCUS. 249 ped in the Tiend," he the delight f my well- widespread ivents that "Shall in is power linals, you I approach harbor, he leard any- for his re- Eliot. in Taren- forth and ed in gold ::eful folds, I a golden hair, per- i right the fell pros- m. ''We O Earth, 'He lives, loet's life. on wishes Jeek some light your follows, it s ancients I to thir^.y stal occa- '*r. sions, and admission was iree to all, they were usually filled. They were without roofs and open to the sky, and the perform- ances were in the daytime. Secondly, the appalling representa- tion of the Furies is not exaggerated in the story. It is recorded that -^schylus, the tragic poet, having on one occasion repre- sented the Furies in a chorus of fifty performers, the terror of the spectators was such that many fainted and were thrown into convulsions, and the magistrates forbade a like representation for the future. Ibycus, the pious poet, was on his way to the chariot races and musical competitions held at the Isthmus of Corinth, which attracted all of Grecian lineage. Apollo had bestowed on him the gift of song, the honeyed lips of the poet, and he pur- sued his way with lightsome step, full of the god. Already the towers of Corinth crowning the height appeared in view, and he had entered with pious awe the sacred grove of Neptune. No living object was in sight ; only a flock of cranes flew overhead, taking the same course as himself in their migration to a southern clime. "Good luck to you, ye friendly squadrons,** he ex- claimed, " my companions from across the sea. •* * All hail, beloved birds,' he cried, * My comrades on the ocean tide.' " —Schiller (Hempel). " I take your company for a good omen. We come from far, and fly in search of hospitality. May both of us meet that kind re- ception which shields the stranger-guest from harm ! ' * He paced briskly on, and soon was in the middle of the wood. There suddenly, at a narrow pass, two robbers stepped forth and barred his way. He must yield or fight. But his hand, accus- tomed to the lyre and not to the strife of arms, sank powerless. He called for help on men and gods, but his cry reached no de- fender's ear. "Then here must I die," said he, "in a strange land, unlamented, cut off by the hand of outlaws, and see none to avenge my cause.'* Sore wounded he sank to the earth, when hoarse screamed the cranes overhead. "Take up my cause, ye cranes," he said, "since no voice but yours auswers to my cry. ' * !|!i^ :'*'■; -IB liji',. '•■ it! f> if !;•' :•■ . m^t'.f i , » * * ♦' a1 ■\ '?j« ^?r ri" 250 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ** * Ye whose wild wings above me hover. Since never voice save yours alone \ The deed can tell— the hand discover — \ ' Avenge !' he spoke, and life was gone." — Schiller (Hempel). Ibycus was dead, and the cranes alone knew by what means. The body, despoiled and mangled, was found, and though disfigured with wounds, was recognized by the friend in Corinth who had expected him as a guest. ** Is it thus I find you re- stored to me?" he exclaimed j " I who hoped to entwine your temples with the wreath of triumph in the strife of song !" The guests assembled at the festival heard the tidings with dis- may. All Greece felt the wound, every heart owned its loss. They crowded round the tribunal of the magistrates, and de- manded vengeance on the murderers and expiation with their blood. But what trace or mark shall point out the perpetrator from amidst the vast multitude attracted by the splendor of the feast ? Did he fall by the hands of robbers or did some private enemy slay him ? The all-discerning sun alone can tell, for no other eye beheld it. Yet not improbably the murderer even now walks in the midst of the throng, and enjoys the fruits of his crime, while vengeance seeks for him in vain. Perhaps in their own temple's enclosure he defies the gods, mingling freely in this throng of men that now presses into the amphitheatre. For now, crowded together, row on row, the multitude fill the seats till it seems as if the very fabric would give way. The murmur of voices sounds like the roar of the sea, while the circles, widening in their ascent, rise tier on tier, as if they would reach the sky. And now the vast assemblage listens to the awful voice of the chorus personating the Furies, which in solemn guise advances with measured step, and moves around the circuit of the theatre. Can they be mortal women who compose that awful group, and can that vast concourse of silent forms be living beings ! The Choristers, clad in black, bore in their fleshless hands torches blazing with a pitchy flame. Their cheeks were blood- less, and in place of hair, writhing and swelling serpents curled around their brows. Forming a circle, these awful beings sang jmrcus. 251 'i(fi/ and their hymn, rending the hearts of the giiilty, and enchaining all their faculties. It rose and swelled, overpowering the sound of the instruments, stealing the judgment, palsying the heart, curdling the blood. "Happy the man who keeps his heart pure from guilt and crime ! Him we avengers touch not ; he treads the path of life secure from us. But woe ! woe ! to him who has done the deed of secret murder. We, the fearful family of Night, fasten ourselves upon his whole being. Thinks he by flight to escape us ? We fly still faster in pursuit, twine our snakes around his feet, and bring him to the ground. Unwearied we pursue ; no pity checks our course ; still on and on, to the end of life, we give him no peace nor rest." Thus the Eumenides sang, and moved in solemn cadence, while stillness like the stillness of death sat over the whole assembly as if in the presence of superhuman beings ; and then, in solemn march completing the circuit of the theatre, they passed out at the back of the stage. Every heart fluttered between illusion and reality, and every breast panted with undefined terror, quailing before the awful power that watches secret crimes and winds unseen the skein of destiny. At that moment a cry burst forth from one of the up- permost benches — ** Look ! look ! comrade, jponder are the cranes oflbycus!'* ** Just then, amidst the highest tier, Breaks forth a voice that starts the ear : * See there, see there, Timotheus, Behold the cranes oflbycus.' " — Schiller (Hempel). And suddenly there appeared sailing across the sky a dark ob- ject, which a moment's inspection showed to be a flock of cranes flying directly over the theatre. "Of Ibycus ! did he say?" The beloved name revived the sorrow in every breast. As wave follows wave over the face of the sea, so ran from mouth to mouth the words, ** Of Ibycus ! him whom we all lament, whom some murderer's hand laid low ! What have the cranes to do with him ?' * And louder grew the swell of voices, while like a light- ning's flash the thought sped through every heart, *' Observe the power of the Eumenides ! The pious poet shall be avenged ! the murderer has informed against himself. Seize the man who uttered that cry, and the other io whom he spoke !'* 1" I ' . V i*.., -^ lit!! ■"'■/•; »' 2;2 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. The culprit would gladly have recalled his words, but it was too late. " Scarce had the wretch the words let fall Than fain their sense he would recall." — Schiller (Hempel). The faces of the murderers, pale with terror, betrayed their guilt. The people took them before the judge, they confessed their crime, and suffered the punishment they deserved. Si-mon'i-des. Si-mon'i-des was one of the most prolific of the early poets of Greece, but only a few fragments of his compositions have descended to us. He wrote hymns, triumphal odes and elegies. In the last species of composition he particularly excelled. His genius was inclined to the pathetic, and none could touch with truer effect the chords of human sympathy. Simonides passed much of his life at the courts of princes, and often employed his talents in panegyric and festal odes, re- ceiving his reward from the munificence of those whose exploits he celebrated. On one occasion, when /eliding at the court of Scopas, king of Thessaly, the prince desired him to prepare a poem in cele- bration of his exploits, to be recited at a banquet. In order to diversify his theme, Simonides, who was celebrated for his pietv, introduced into his poem the exploits of Castor and Pollux. Such digressions were not unusual with the poets on similar occasions. But vanity is exacting ; and as Scopas sat at his festal board, among his courtiers and sycophants, he grudged every verse that did not rehearse his own praises. When Simon- ides approached to receive the promised reward Scopas bestowed but half the expected sum, saying, '<Here is payment for my portion of thy performance ; Castor and Pollux will doubtless compensate thee for so much as relates to them." The discon- certed poet returned to his seat amidst the laughter which fol- lowed the great man's jest. In a little time he received a message that two young men on horseback were waiting without and anxious to see him. Simonides hastened to the door, but looked in vain for the visitors. Scarcely, however, had he Icfi the banqueting-hall when the roof fell in with a loud crash, burying Scopas and all his guests beneath the ruins. On in- quii for Cas S Grc are The sio in^ pre the 8tr( SAPPHO. 253 )ut it was [Hempel). yed their confessed rly poets 3ns have i elegies. 2d. His 'uch with princes, odes, re- • e/ploits pas, king in cele- order to lis piety, Pollux. 1 similar It at his grudged 1 Simon- )estowed t for my loubtless discon- lich fol- :eived a without oor, but i he lefi \ crash, On in- quiring as to the appearance of the young men who had sent for him, Simonides was satisfied that they were no other than Castor and Pollux themselves. Sap'pho. - / Sap'pho was a poetess who flourished in a very early age of Greek literature. Of her works few fragments remain, but they are enough to establish her claim to eminent poetical genius. The story of Sappho, commonly alluded to, is that she was pas- - . 1 -y /. ■ ^. -• 1. J^j V - - ■ .#-' < -'. j^£:«r < fegi^ ^^/ -.■-■■•- 1 i |K^mWW ■ f) L * ■ \'m -'Wv^iv^w^i'! ■ f ,. e '■ ' ■I - - f L,-. * ■ \ » ^ .B *!« i'^^l^^l _ ..ii* .-,. ■ '^ -^^1 Sappho and AIcecus (H. BUrck). sionately in love with a beautiful youth named Phaon, and fail- ing to obtain a return of affection she threw herself from the promontory of Leucadia into the sea, under a superstition that those who should take that " Lover' s-leap " would, if not de-* stroyed, be cured of their love. **Childc Harold sailed and passed the barren spot Where sad Penelope o'erlooked the wave, And onward viewed the mount, not yet forgot, The lover's refuge and the Lesbian's grave. Dark Sappho ! could not verse immortal save That breast imbued with such immortal fire?" — Byron, >f i. ', r A 1 r ' SI 1 1 '*''' ' '^hI ' I ' "i^^pn i{\<i . ^r~ ShIB Ull^jf .Xl| Mm miii; , ftl mjI Hoi M 81 HHHMWjK I f fflB' WPi^B ' 'i*-$|BII " ^^ ''^fl <,ij,!'i^s H(^^m ' m ' ' •* m ' '"''■' ('i'l '<m ^m , -lip ' ' ".|i| ;;. '^i^ » .:• ♦*i<>|-^a i^V./ {pi i "^"^ 'll ^11 ^ , ^' .^ili i ■ 254 STORIES OF O0D& AND HEROES. CHAPTER XXVI. Di-a'na — En-dyml-on — O-ri'on — Ple'ia-des — Au-ro'ra and Ti-tho'nus — A'cis and Gal-a-te'a. « Di-a'na and £n-dyml-on. En-dym'i-on was a beautiful youth, who fed his flock on Mount Latmos. One calm, clear night, Di-a'na, the Moon, looked down and saw him sleeping. ** How the pale Phcebe, hunting in a grove, First saw the boy Endymion, from whose eyes ^ She took eternal fire that never dies." — Fletcher. ^ The cold heart of ihe virgin goddess was warmed by his sur- passing beauty, and she came down to him, kissed him, and watched over him while he slept. *« There came a lovely vision of a maid, Who seemed to step as from a golden car Out of the low-hung moon." — Morris. Another story was that Jupiter bestowed on him the gift of perpetual youth, united with perpetual sleep. Of one so gifted we can have but few adventures to record. Diana, it was said, took care that his fortunes should not suffer by his inactive life, for she made his flock increase, and guarded his sheep and Iambs from the wild beasts. ** The sleeping kine Couched in thy brightness dream of fields divine." — Keats. The story of Endymion has a peculiar charm from the human meaning which it so thinly veils. We see in Endymion the young poet, his fancy and his heart seeking in vain for that which can satisfy them, finding his favorite hour in the quiet moonlight, and nursing there, beneath the beams of the bright and silent witness, the m«=^lancholy and the ardor which consumes him. onioN. 255 Dr. Young in "Night Thoughts" alludes to Endymion thus :-*- ** These thoughts, O Night, are thine ; From thee they came like lovers' secret sighs, While others slept." The story suggests aspiring and poetic love, a life spent more in dreams than in reality, and an early and welcome death. O-ri'on. O-ri'on was the son of Neptune. He was a handsome giant and a mighty hunter. His father gave him the power of wading through the depths of the sea, or, as others say, of walk- ing on its surface. Orion loved Merope, the daughter of CEnopion, king of Chios, and sought her in marriage. He cleared the island of wild beasts, and brought the spoils of the chase as presents to his beloved ; but as CEnopion constantly deferred his consent, Orion attempted to gain possession of the maiden by violence. Her father, incensed at this conduct, having made Orion drunk, deprived him of his sight and cast him out on the seashore. The blinded hero followed the sound of a Cyclops' hammer till he reached Lemnos, and came to the forge of Vulcan, who, taking pity on him, gave him Kedalion, one of his men, to be his guide to the abode of the sun. Placing Kedalion on his shoulders, Orion proceeded to the east, and there meeting the sun -god, was restored to sight by his beam. ** When blinded by CEnopion He sought tlie blacksmith at his foi^e, And climbing up the narrow gorge, Fixed his blank eyes upon the sun." — LoNGFELLOW. After this he dwelt as a hunter with Diana, with whom he was a favorite, and it is even said she was about to marry him. '* Queen and huntress, chaste and fair, Now the Sun is laid to sleep. Seated in thy silver chair, State in wonted manner keep." — Ben Jonson. Her brother was highly displeased and often chid her, but to no purpose. One day, observing Orion wading through the III HHE ■r<' ■ ■;>! I' 'K 256 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. |i'r!>!!i|i ill |i;:li- t: ".'■', ■• . J' sea with his head jr above the water, Apollo pointed it put to i ■ Diana of Ephesus. his sister, and maintained that she could not hit that black thing on the sea. The archer-goddess discharged a shaft with fatal PLEIADES. 25; aim. The waves rolled the dead body of Orion to the land ; and, bewailing her fatal error with many tears, Diana placed him among the stars, where he appears as a giant, with a girdle, sword, lion's skin and club. Sirius, his dog, follows him, and the Pleiades fly before him. Ple'ia-des. The Ple'ia-des were daughters of Atlas, and nymphs of Diana's train. " Many a night I saw the Pleiades, rising through the mellow shade, Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid." — Tennyson, '/'■ .-..::.: 1*1^ i^Pf^*:F' ■-i*«^#^'" ■ ""^ '^SUmak^ ^"^y ;? V 5 ^ JH /:■••• - 'h/' ' ■ ■ .-^fS-" ^^'J ^' / /' '^ ^■r- ■ ' ^ V ->J.S^^ ^ .M^tt^m v"^ ^^^-^^^m^^Ma^^ ^Wjte \^^^^'--J^raD^B.y ''^S^j<, ^^^^^HBL;' ■^■■i^ * |^^H|MMMMgfa|d^K ' . i\i^^^r^M^ \i ^.mt #^.'-v\ •'-"-' r-" ^^■^^^^^KF' ^^V^^^^B't^^jV ( ^ ^VB ^ae^^KL '^ wm x\ W/ ' mWni''t.xW7^f7ml \ 1 BBkV' ^^b' 1 ^'■' (W \^P1f^ V T, ^mm.:^Wuwrs'' i j^k ' ll'i # ^V -^-i i 1 ■^Kwlv»S y» 1 ^R^K^k'^o^iliKiSi' r - '>^" f^s^mn ilif- i ^/:<- w^^ i wmpm^^ •> ^^ fe^ i^ / Pleiades (E. Vedder). One day Orion saw them and became enamored and pursued them. In their distress they prayed to the gods to change their form, and Jupiter, in pity, turned them into i)igeons, and then made them a constellation in the sky. Though their number was seven, only six stars are visible, for Elcctra, one of them, it is said, left her place that she might not behold the ruin of Troy, for that city was founded by her son Dardanus. " Like the lost Pleiad scon no more below." — IWron, The sii^^ht liad such an effect on her sisters that they have boked pale ever since. % IK, -ill » _ < ■ ' V w ' '* li; •1^ :•- ; •( I 1*, ■ , ' ■■■•-) A Jfe^ |!|S'i' :,',!m 'l 2$B STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. *' And is there glQiy from the heavens departed ?— O void unmark'd !" — Hemans. Au-ro'ra and Ti-tho'nus. The goddess of the Dawn, like her sister the moon, was at times innpired with the love of mortals. Her greatest favorite wai Ti-tho'nus, son of Laomedon, king of Troy. She stole him flway, and prevailed on Jupiter to grant him immortality j but forgetting to have youth joined in the gift, after some time the began to discern, to her great mortification, that he was growing old. ** Alas, for this gray shadow, once a man. So glorious in his beauty and thy choice." — Tennyson, Tithonus. When his hair was quite white she left his society ; but he •till had the range of her palace, lived on ambrosial food, and was clad in celestial raiment. At length he lost the power of iming his limbs, and then she shut him up in his chamber, whence his feeble voice might at times be heard. Finally she turned him into a grasshopper. Memnon was the son of Au-ro'ra and Tithonus. He was king of the ^Ethiopians, and dwelt in the extreme east, on the shore of Ocean. He came with his warriors to assist the kindred of his father in the war of Troy. King Priam received him with great h jnors, and listened with admiration to his narrative of the wonders of the ocean shore. The very day after his arrival, Memnon, impatient of repose, led his troops to the field. Antilochus, the brave son of Nestor, fell by his hand, and the Greeks were put to flight, when Achilles appeared and restored the battle. A long and doubtful contest ensued between him and the son of Aurora. At length victory declared for Achilles, Memnon fell, and the Trojans fled in dismay. Aurora, who from her station in the sky had viewed with appre- hension the danger of her son, when she saw him fall directed his brothers the Winds to convey his body to the banks of the river Esepus, in Paphlagonia. In the evening Aurora came, ac- companied by the Hours and the Pleiades, and wept and lamented over her son. Night, in sympathy with her grief, spread the heaven with clouds j all nature mourned for the offspring of the ACIS AND OALATEA. 259 ►n, was at St favorite She stole nortality ; ome time It he was Tiihonus. ^; but he sial food, -he power chamber, inally she He was it, on the e kindred him with ive of the f repose, »f Nestor, ht, when doubtful it length 3jans fled th appre- directed :s of the :ame, ac- lamented read the kg of the Dawn. The Ethiopians raised his tomb on the banks of the stream in the grove of the Nymphs, and Jupiter caused the sparks and cinders of his funeral pile to be turned into birds, which, dividing into two flocks, fought over the pile till they fell into the flame. Every year at the anniversary of his death they return and celebrate his obsequies in like manner. Aurora remains inconsolable for the loss of her son. Her tears still flow, and may be seen at early morning in the form of dewdrops on the grass. Unlike most of the marvels of ancient mythology, there still exist some memorials of this. On the banks of the river Nile, in Egypt, are two colossal statues, one of which is said to be the statue of Memnon. Ancient writers record that when the first rays of the rising sun fall upon this statue, a sound is heard to issue from it which they compare to the snapping of a harp- string. There is some doubt about the identification of the ex- isting statue with the one described by the ancients, and the mysterious sounds are still more doubtful. Yet there are not wanting some modern testimonies to their being still audible. It has been suggested that sounds produced by confined air making its escape from crevices or caverns in the rocks may have given some ground for the story. Sir Gardner Wilkinson, a late traveller, of the highest authority, examined the statue itself, and discovered that it was hollow, and that "in the lap of the statue is a stone, which, on being struck, emits a metallic sound, that might still be made use of to deceive a visitor who was predisposed to believe its powers. ' ' ** So to the sacred Sun in Memnon' s fane" Spontaneous concords choired the matin strain ; Touched by his orient beam responsive rings The living lyre and vibrates all its strings ; Accordant aisles the tender tones prolong, And holy echoes swell the adoring song." — Dapv/in. •^ A'cis and Gal-a-te'a. Scylla was a fair virgin of Sicily, a favorite of the Sea-Nymphs. She had many suitors, but repelled them all, and would go to the grotto of Gal-a-te'a, and tell her how she was persecuted. One day the goddess, while Scylla dressed her hair, listened to the I . f ' ' IV' , i '• ■■ : » w6o STOBmS OF GODS AND HEROES. ;itory, and then replied, '* Yet, maiden, your persecutors are of the not ungentle race of men, whom, if you will, you can repel ; but I, the daughter of Nereus, and protected by such a band of sisters, found no escape from the passion of the Cyclops but in the depths of the sea;" and tears stopped her utterance, which, when the pitying maiden had wiped away with her delicate finger, and soothed the goddess, ''Tell me, dearest," said she, " the cause of your grief." Galatea then said, " A'cis was the son of Faunus and a Naiad. His father and mother loved him dearly, but their love was not equal to mine. For the beautiful youth attached himself to me alone, and he was just sixteen years old, the down just beginning to' darken his cheeks. As much as I sought his society, so much did the Cyclops seek mine ; and if you ask me whether my love for Acis or my hatred of Polyphe- mus was the stronger, I cannot tell you ; they were in equal measure. O VenuG how great is thy power ! this fierce giant, the terror of the woods, wl om no hapless stranger escaped un- harmed, who defied even Jove himself, learned to feel what love was, and, touched with a passion for me, forgot his flocks and his well-stored caverns. Then, for the first time, he began to take some care of his appearance, and to try to make himself agreeable ; he harrowed those coarse locks of his with a comb, and mowed his beard with a sickle, looked at his harsh features in the water, and composed his countenance. His love of slaughter, his fierceness and thirst of blood prevailed no more, and ships that touched at his island went away in safety. He paced up and down the sea-shore, imprinting huge tracks with his heavy tread, and, when weary, lay tranquilly in his cave. ** Many a time Would his flocks go home by themselves at eve, Leaving him wasting by the dark sea-shore, And sunrise would beho'id him wasting still.*' — Theocritus (Hunt's tr.). ** There is a cliff which projects into the sea, which washes it on either side. Thither, one day, the huge Cyclops ascended, and sat down while his flocks spread themselves around. Laying down his staff, which would have served for a mast to hold a ves- sel's sail, and taking his instrument compacted of numerous pipes, he made the hills and the waters echo the music of ACIS AJSJ) GALATEA. 261 his song. I lay hid under a rock by the side of my beloved Acis, and listened to the distant strain. It was full of extravagant praises of my beauty, mingled with passionate reproaches of my coldness and cruelty. ' *'When he had finished, he rose up, and like a raging bull that cannot stand still, wandered off inio the woods. Acis and I thought no more of him, till on a sudden he came to a spot which gave him a view of us as we sat. *I see you,' he ex- claimed, *and 1 will make this the last of your love-meetings.' His voice was a roar such as an angry Cyclops alone could utter. JEtna. trembled at the sound. I, overcome with terror, plunged into the water. Acis turned and fled, crying, * Save me, Galatea ; save me, my parents !' The Cyclops pursued him, and tearing a rock from the side of the mountain hurled it at him. Though only a corner of it touched him, it overwhelmed him. *' All that fate left in my power I did for Acis. I endowed him with the honors of his grandfather, the river-god. The pur- ple blood flowed out from under the rock, but by degrees grew paler anJ looked like the stream of a river rendered turbid by rains, and in time it became clear. The rock cleaved open, and tiie water, as it gushed from the chasm, uttered a pleasing mur- mur. ' ' Thus Acis was changed into a river, and the river retains the name of Acis. This riyer takes its rise at the foot of Mount iEtna. It probably received its name from the Greek w^ord, meaning arrow, owing to the swiftness of the cuirent. If^ m'2 m 262 STORIES OF QOlfS AND HEROES, \k> i ^ ''i- \ i CHAPTER XXVII. "/;: . The Tro'jan War. - ' - Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, but on one occasion she did a very foolish thing ; she entered into competition with Jiino' and Venus for the prize of beauty. It happened thus : At the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis all the gods were invited with the exception of Eris, or Discord. " The Abominable, that uninvited came Into the fair Peleian banquet- hall." — TenNVSON, Enraged at her exclusion, the goddess threw a golden ajjple among the guests, with the inscription, ** For the fairest:" Rape of Helen (Mantua). Thereupon Juno, Venus and Minerva each claimed the apple. Jupiter, not willing to decide in so delicate a matter, sent the goddesses to Mount Ida, where the beautiful shepherd Paris was tending his flocks, and to him was committed the decision. The goddesses accordingly appeared before him. Juno promised him power and riches, Minerva glory and renown in war, and Venus the fairest of women for his wife, each attempting to bias his de- cision in her own favor. Paris decided in favor of Venus and gave her the golden apple, thus making the other two goddesses his enemies. rasion ^;hc with J II no' At the I with the ien apple fairest." he apple. , sent the Paris was on. The nised him ,nd Venus as his de- tenus and goddesses 1 j . i i.ll ' J (M i '1^1 ''If APHRODITE (VENUS). (Head of the Statue from Melas. Paris.) 'fl^ ii'uM WW-) ■m arriv ass a V Palai ploui plain refus 1 unde espec i ', THE TROJAN WAB, 263 " Venus prevailed ; her words, tho' sweet of sound. Proved of destructive consequence to Troy." — Euripides (Andromache). Under the protection of Venus, Paris sailed to Greece, and was hospitably received by Menelaus, king of Sparta. Now Helen, the wife of Menelaus and the fairest of her sex, was the very one whom Venus had destined for Paris. She ha ] been sought as a bride by numerous suitors, and before her decision was made known, they all, at the suggestion of Ulysses, one of their number, took an oath that they would defend her from ail injury and avenge her cause if necessc.y. "1 had great beauty ; ask thou not my name ; ' No one can be more wise than destiny. Many drew swords and died. Where'er I came I brought calamity." — ^Tennyson. She chose Menelaus, and was living with him happily when Paris became their guest. Paris, aided by Venus, persuaded hei to elope with him, and carried her to Troy. ** Then from her husband's stranger- sheltering home He tempted Helen o'er the ocean foam." _ — CoLUTHUS (Elton's tr.). Whence arose the famous Trojan war, the theme of the greatest poems of antiquity, those of Homer and Virgil. Menelaus called upon his brother chieftains of Greece to fulfil their pledge, and join him in his efforts to recover his wife. They generally came forward ; but Ulysses, who had married Penelope and was very happy in his wife and child, had no dis- position to embark in such a troublesome affair. He therefore hesitated, and Palamedes was sent to urge him. When Palamedes arrived at Ithaca, Ulysses pretended to be mad. He yoked an ass and an ox together to the plough and began to sow salt. Palamedes, to try him, placed the infant Telemachus before the plough, whereupon the father turned the plough aside, showing plainly that he was no madman, and after that could no longer refuse to fulfil his promise. Being now himself gained for the undertaking, he lent his aid to bring in other reluctant chiefs, especially Achilles. This hero was the son of that Thetis at I'. <!* r, • iif : I ■ 1 It*.!-'':': 264 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, whose marriage the apple of Discord had been thrown among the goddesses. Thetis was herself one of the immortals, a sea- nymph, and knowing that her son was fated to perish before Troy if he went on the expedition, she endeavored to prevent his going. She sent him away to the court of King Lycomedes, and induced him to conceal himself in the disguise of a maiden among the Paris and Helen (J, L. Davis) (Louvre, I'nrls). idaughters of the king. Ulysses, hearing lie was there, went dis- guised as a merchant to the palace and offered for sale female ornaments, among which he had placed some arms. While the king's daughters were engrossed with the other contents o( the merchant's pack Achilles handled the weapons, aud thereby hc- "■.rayed himself to the keen eye of Ulysses, who found no great difificulty in i)ersuading him to disregard his mother's prudent counsels and join his countrymen in the war. THE TROJAN WAR, 265 i ** Sprung from the noblest sire, by carding wool Dost thou belie the glories of thy race." — EURIPIDES. Priam was king of Troy, and Paris, the shepherd and seducei of Helen, was his son. Paris had been brought up in obscurity, l)ecause there were certain ominous forebodings connected with him from his infancy that he would be the ruin of the state. rhese forebodings seemed at length likely to be realized, for the Grecian armament now in preparation was the greatest that had ever been fitted out. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and brother of the injured Menelaus, was chosen coniinander-in-chief. m' I Ulysses Feigning Madness (H. Hardy). Achilles was their most illustrious warrior. After him ranked Ajax, gigantic in size and of great courage, but dull of intellect ; Dioniedes, second only to Achilles in all the qualities of a hero ; Ulysses, famous for his sagacity ; and Nestor, the oldest of the Grecian chiefs, and one to whom they all looked up for counsel. Hut Troy was no feeble enemy. Priam, the king, was now old j but he had been a wise prince, and had strengthened his state by good government at home and numerous alliances with his neighbors. But the principal stay and support of his throne was his son Hector, one of the noblest characters painted by heathen antiquity. He felt, from the first, a presentiment of tho V )*: -t 266 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. fall of his country, but still persevered in his heroic resistance, yet by no means justified the wrong which brought this danger Achilles and Licomede (Uffirf Gallery, Florence). upon her. He was united in marriage with Andromache, and as a husband and father his character was not less admirable than as a warrior. The principal leaders on the side of the c resistance, this danger {^/^ •omache, and :ss admirable ; side of the THE TROJAN WAR. 267 Trojans, besides Hector, were -^neas and Deiphobus, Glaucus and Sarpedon. After two years of preparation the Greek fleet and army as- sembled in the port of Aulis, in Bceotia. Here Agamemnon, in hunting, killed a stag which was sacred to Diana, and the god- dess, in return, visited the army with pestilence, and produced a calm which prevented the ships from leaving the port. Cal- chas, the soothsayer, thereupon announced that the wrath of the Parting of Hector and Andromache (A. Maignan). virgin goddess could only be appeased by the sacrifice of a virgin on her altar, and that none other but the daughter of the offender would be acceptable. Agamemnon, however reluctant, yielded his consent, and the maiden Iphigenia was sent for under the pretence that she was to be married to Achilles. ** I wrote, I seal'd A letter to my wiie, that she should send Her daughter to Achilles as a bride Aflfianc'd," — Euripides (Potter's tr.). # When she was about to be sacrificed the goddess relented and snatched her away, leaving a hind in her place, and Iphigenia, enveloped in a cloud, was carried to Tauris, where Diana made her priestess of her temple. 4' • III" ■ '*1 IVi^'^ ■ .>*t-;''i ^ :>fi 'imM. -•tf ;«. vi 268 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. ** I was cut off from hope in that sad place, Which yet to name my spirit loathes and fears ; My father held his hand upon his face ; > I, blinded by my tears, ** Still strove to speak ; my voice was thick with sighs, As in a dream. Dir ^y I could descry The stem black- beardea kings, with wolfish eyes, Waiting to see me die. ** The tall masts quivered as they lay afloat. The temples and the people and the shore ; One drew a sharp knife through my tender throat Slowly, — and — nothing more." — Tennyson. The wind now proving fair, the fleet made sail and brought the forces to the coast of Troy. The Trojans came to oppose their landing, and at the first onset Protesilaus fell by the hand of Hector. \ ** The Delphic oracle foretold That the first Greek who touched the Trojan strand Should die." — Wordsworth. Protesilaus had left at home his wife Laodamia, who was most tenderly attached to him. When the news of his death reached her she implored the gods to be allowed to converse with him only three hours. *• Such grace hath crowned thy prayer, Laodamia ! that at Jove' s command Thy husband walks the paths of upper air." — ^Wordsworth. The request was granted. Mercury led Protesilaus back to the upper world, and when he died a second time Laodamia died with him. There was a story that the nymphs planted elm trees round his grave which grew very well till they were high enough to command a view of Troy, and then withered away, while fresh branches sprang from the roots . - «* The trees' tall sunnnlts withered at the sight j A constant interchange of growth and blight !'* •—Wordsworth )SWORTH. DSWORTH THE ILIAD. The Il'i-ad. 269 Tb*i war continued without decisive results for nine years. Then an event occurred which seemed likely to be fatal to the cause of the Greeks, and that was a quarrel between Achilles and /.gamemnon. It is at this point that the great poem of Homer, the Il'i-ad, begins. The Greeks, though unsuccessful against Troy, had taken the neighboring and allied cities, and. in the division of the spoils a female captive, by name Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, priest of Apollo, had fallen to the share of Agamemnon. Chryses came bearing the sacred emblems of his office, and begged the release of his daughter. Agamemnon re- fused. Thereupon Chryses implored Apollo to afflict the Greeks till they should be forced to yield their prey. Apollo granted the prayer of his prie^jt, and sent pestilence into the Grecian camp. *' The people of the camp Were perishing in heaps." — HoMER (Bryant's tr.). Then a council was called to deliberate how to allay the wrath of the gods and avert the plague. Achilles boldly charged their misfortunes upon Agamemnon as caused by his withholding Chryseis. Agamemnon, enraged, consented to relinquish his cap- tive, but demanded that Achilles should yield to him in her stead Briseis, a maiden who had fallen to Achilles' share in the division of the spoil. Achilles submitted, but forthwith de- clared that he would take no further part in the war. He with- drew his forces from the general camp and openly avowed his in- tention of returning home to Greece. *• The great Achilles, swift of foot, remained Within his ships, indignant for the sake Of the fair-haired Briseis." — Homer (Bryant's tr.). > The gods and goddesses interested themselves as much in this famous war as the parties themselves. It was well known to them that fate had decreed that Troy should fall, at last, if her enemies should persevere and not voluntarily abandon the enter- prise. Yet there was room enough left for chance to excite by turns the hopes and fears of the powers above who took part with either side. Juno and Minerva, in consequence of the ; pi f' 2;o STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, Ir Vi S "^ m llight put upon their charms by Paris, were hostile to the Tro jatiH; Venus, for the opposite cause, favored them. Venus en- Hited her admirer Mars on the same side, but Neptune favored the Greeks. Apollo was neutral, sometimes taking one side, iometimes the other ; and Jove himself, though he loved the good King Priam, yet exercised a degree of impartiality ; not, how- ever, without exceptions. j Thetis, the mother cf Achilles, warmly resented the injury done to her son. She repaired immediately to Jove's palace and besought him to make the Greeks repent of their injustice to Achilles by granting success to the Trojan arms. " O Father Jove, if ever I have aided thee, Grant but this one desire." — Iliad. Jupiter consented ; and in the battle which ensued the Trojans were completely successful. The Greeks were driven from the field and took refuge in their ships. Then Agamemnon called a council of his wisest and bravest chiefM. Nestor advised that an embassy should be sent to Achil- leH to persuade him to return to the field ; that Agamemnon Mhould yield the maiden, the cause of the dispute, with ample gifts to atone for the wrong he had done. Agamemnon con- sented, and Ulysses, Ajax and Phoenix were sent to carry to Achilles the penitent message. They performed that duty, but Achilles was deaf to their entreaties. He positively refused to return to the field, and persisted in his resolution to embark for Greece without delay. The Greeks had constructed a rampart around their ships, and now, instead of besieging Troy, they were in a manner besieged themselves, within their rampart. The next day, after the un- sur.cessful embassy to Achilles, a battle was fought, and the Tro- jans, favored by Jove, were successful, and succeedt^d in forcing a j)aHHage through the Grecian rampart, and v/ere about to set fire to the ships. Neptune, seeing the Greeks so pressed, came to their re8<:ue. He appeared in the form of Calchas the prophet, encouraged the warriors with his shouts, and appealed to each individually till he raised their ardor to such a pitch tliat they forced the Trojans to give way. Ajax performed prodigies of valor, and at length encountered Hector. Ajax shouted defi- 1 the Trojans ^en from the and bravest ent to Achil- Agamemnon , with ample lemnon con- to carry to lat duty, but ly refused to embark for •' :: i^ ] ■ l> '. tt; \ *-'^ *J MARS (ARIS|. Olyptothek, Munich. IB' ' {|j9W ^^^Bn H'^i Pt^^B'JBm WtK^" ^.'i ''IHHB! m'MMi f'i .- ^iifi wmLrAfi ' .i-^mH |B|k '.i^i'Sjilfflf ^^H ' ' '-l?^ ^^K '*' M ^^^ ' ,'''h.?^ ^Hp ■ i^ ^^Hm^^ ■^ ■.^^■^ ^^E i'., ,:-*J kPJ ^^^^E«<' ■ '■'■;*flfl ^^K' .■ 'Is ^B ■•il K ••;| ^B V 1, ■"/*-._, ^H' '^1 W^^Kui'' ' "■' -^i ^^■1 ^^B,i ^^^^^ ;. ■ .'.iiy ^^^Bu' '■ '* ■ Bll B ^^1 ^B' ' ■' '^'IM ^^B^ ' • '>iB ^^^^Pn' -if^ M HP''-' '"iB Is '^ •■"1 1 ■..;r '>1,1 hi i« -i' 11 '"l*^ »• .1 #■ '^J 1 '*u«-''i V*] iilffl IHI '^1 B Hwf M^ll^^^ IFW^ HfeHI ra^RJPrf f\ mM K ffftaMBliraff W ^ "^ ^ J^l HfBflnflMn J. 1 TyA J^H E^ l^ffll^ i'^]^ I IninH^I ; T iJiBBMBHibmBIIMbM f f-:^' ''-^7r^>ii^^^H V 1 tj! ; - ^^^^1^1 'ft^:E'|':|j|^^| I^SiJ ' ^mH^^B^ ^ cirn .'. ^'i^i^iianl^HlfflH 'K ^!;,iMilHr \ cHgi «f 1 i Si THE ILIAD, a/i ance, to which Hector replied, and hurled his lance at the huge warrior. *• This indeed is Ajax, - - " • . The bulwark of the Greeks." — Iliad. It was well aimed, and struck Ajax where the belts that bore his sword and shield crossed each other on his breast. The ■double guard prevented its pene- 'trating, and it fell harmless. Then Ajax, seizing a huge stone, one of those that served to prop the ships, hurled it at Hector. It struck him in the neck and stretched him on the plain. His followers instantly seized him and bore him off, stunned and wounded. While Neptune was thus aiding the Greeks and driving back the Trojans, Jupiter saw nothing of what was going on, for his attention had been drawn from the field by the wiles of Juno. That goddess had arrayed herself in all her charms, and to crown all had borrowed of Venus her girdle, called a cestus, which had the effect of heightening the wearer's charms to such a de- gree that they were quite irresistible. So prepared, Juno went to join her husband, who sat on Olympus watching the battle. When he be- held her she looked so charming that the fondness of his early love revived, and, forgetting the contending armies and all other affairs of state, he thought only of her and let the battle go as it would. But this absorption did not continue long, and when, upon turning his eyes downward, he beheld Hector stretched on the vplain almost lifeless from pain and bruises, he dismissed Juno in a rage, commanding her to send Iris and Apollo to him. Mars (Louvre, Paris). "^.' ,'-, fi'SS'Ji'il'-'- mf'* « ;,>J1; 272 mVKltiS OF GODS AND HEROES, •* Haste, Iris, fleet of wing, and bear my words To Hector." — Iliad (Bryant). \ When Iris came, he sent her with a stern message to Neptune, ordering him Jnstantly to quit the field. Apollo was despatched to heal Hector's bruises and to inspirit his heart. These orders were obeyed with such speed that while the battle still raged Hector returned to the field and Neptune betook himself to his! own dominions. An arrow from Paris's bow wounded Machaon, son of ^scu- lapius, who inherited his father's art of healing, and was there- fore of great value to the Greeks as their surgeon, besides being one of their bravest warriors. Nestor took Machaon in his chariot and conveyed him from the field. As they passed the ships of Achilles, that hero, looking out over the field, saw the chariot of Nestor and recognized the old chief, but could not discern who the wounded chief was. So calling Patroclus, his companion and dearest friend, he sent him to Nestor's tent to inquire. " Seen from behind His form was like Machaon — wholly like That son of ^Esculapius," — Homer (Bryant). Patroclus, arriving at Nestor's tent, saw Machaon wounded, and having told the cause of his coming would have hastened away, but Nestor detained him, to tell him the extent of the Grecian calamities. He reminded him also how, at the time of departing for Troy, Achilles and himself had been charged by th' ir respective fathers with different advice : Achilles to aspire to the highest pitch of glory ; Patroclus, as the elder, to keep watch over his friend, and to guide his inexperience. " Now," said Nestor, '* is the time for such influence. If the gods so please, thou mayest win him back to the common cause ; but if not, let him at least send his soldiers to the field ; and come thou, Patroclus, clad in his armor, and perhaps the very sight of it ma^ drive back the Trojans. " ** Send me at least into the war. And let me lead thy Myrmidons, that thus , The Greeks may have some gleam of hope. ., ( The annor from thy shoulders. I will wear THE ILIAD. 273 > Neptune, despatched tiese orders still raged iself to his I of -^SCU- was there- sides being . his chariot he ships of : chariot of liscern who companion iquire. wounded, e hastened ctent of the the time of charged by es to aspire ler, to keep **No\v," :he gods sO' use ; but if come thou, ht ofitmaj Thy mail, and then the Trojans, at the sight. May think I am Achilles, and may pause From fighting, and the •warlike sons of Greece, Tired as they are, may breathe once more, and gain A respite from the conflict." — HoMER (Bryant's tr. ). Patroclus was strongly moved by this address, and hastened back to Achilles, revolving in his mind all he had seen and heard. He iold the prince the sad con- dition of affairs at the camp of their late associates ; Diomede, Ulysses, Agamemnon, Macha- on, all wounded, the rampart broken down, the enemy among the ships preparing to burn them, and thus to cut off all means of return to Greece. AVhile they spoke the flames burst forth from one of the ships. Achilles, at the sight, relented so far as to grant Pa- troclus his request to lead the Myrmidons (for so were Achil- les' soldiers called) to the field, and to lend him his armor, that he might thereby strike more terror into the minds of the Trojans. Without delay the soldiers were marshalled, Patro- chis put on the radiant armor and mounted the chariot of Achilles, and led forth the men, ardent for battle. But before he Patroclus (Athens). went, Achilles strictly charged him that he should be content with repelling the foe. "Seek not," said he, **to press the Trojans without me, lest thou add still more to the disgrace already mine." Then exhorting the troops to do their best he dismissed them, full of ardor, to the fight. Patroclus and his Myrmidons at once plunged into the contest where it raged hottest, at the sight of which the joyful Gre- *« . .. 1 1 fV.. :1; M 1 U ■t '■■}'..) m •*,!, ' :.y \ ■ . M ' ••■ ■ AT4 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. ill 'li cians shouted and the ships reechoed the acclaim. The Trojans, at the sight of the well-known armor, struck with terror, looked everywhere for refuge. First those who had got possession of the ship and set it on fire left and allowed the Grecians to retake it and extinguish the flames. Then the rest of the Trojans fled in dismay. ** Fierce as Mars He charged the squadrons thrice with fearful shouts, And thrice he laid nine warriors in the dust." — Iliad (Bryant). Ajax, Menelaus and the two sons of Nestor performed prodi- gies of valor. Hector was forced to turn his horses' heads and retire from the enclosure, leaving his men entangled in the fosse to escape as they could. Patroclus drove them before him, slay- ing many, none daring to make a stand against him. At last Sarpedon, son of Jove, ventured to oppose himself in fight to Patroclus. Jupiter looked down upon him and would have snatched him from the fate which awaited him, but Juno hinted that if he did so it would induce all others of the inhabi- tants of heaven to interpose in like manner whenever any of their offspring were endangered ; to which reason Jove yielded. Sar- pedon threw his spear but missed Patroclus, but Patroclus threw his with better success. It pierced Sarpedon' s breast and he fell, and, calling to his friends to save his body from the foe, ex- pired. Then a furious contest arose for the possession of the corpse. The Greeks succeeded and stripped Sarpedon of his armor ; but Jove would not allow the remains of his son to be dishonored, and by his command Apollo snatched from the midst of the combatants the body of Sarpedon and committed it to the care of the twin brothers Death and Sleep, by whom it was trans- ported to Lycia, the native land of Sarpedon, where it received due funeral rites. ** There shall his friends And kinsmen give him burial, and shall rear His tomb and column — honors due the dead.'' — Iliad (Bryant). Thus far Patroclus had succeeded to his utmost wish in repel- ling the Trojans and relieving his countrymen ; but now came a change of fortune. Hector, borne in his chariot, confronted him. Patroclus threw a vast stone at Hector, which missed its THE ILIAD, 275 fe-r ' ^rish in repel- : now came a :, confronted ch missed its aim, but smote Cebriones, the charioteer, and knocked him from the car. Hector leaped from the chariot to rescue his friend, and Patroclus also descended to complete his victory. Thus the two heroes met face to face. At this decisive moment the poet, as if reluctant to give Hector the glory, records that Phoebus took part against Patroclus. He struck the helmet from his head Ajax Bearing the Body of Patroclus (Capitol, Rome). and the lance from his hand. At the same moment an obscure Trojan wounded him in the back, and Hector, pressing forward, pierced him with his spear. Patroclus fell mortally wounded. " The hero fell With clashing mail, and all the Greeks beheld His fall with grief."— Homer (Bryant's tr.). * ^^i ' M. \ in 2'J^ STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. 1^ >i4il Then arose a tremendous conflict for the body of Patroclus • but his armor was at once taken possession of by Hector, who retiring a short distance, divested himself of his own armor and put on that of Achilles, then returned to the fight. Ajax and Menelaus defended the body, and Hector and his bravest warriors struggled to capture it. " Patroclus lies A naked corpse, and over it the hosts Are fighting." — Iliad (Bryant). * The battle raged with equal fortunes, when Jove enveloped the whole face of heaven with a dark cloud. The lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and Ajax, looking around for some one whom he might despatch to Achilles to tell him of the death of his friend and of the imminent danger that his remains would fall into the hands of the enemy, could see no suitable messenger. Then he prayed : — i ** Lord of earth and air I O king ! O father ! hear my humble prayer ! Dispel this cloud, the light of heaven restore ; Give me to see and Ajax asks no more. If Greece must perish we thy will obey, But let us perish in the face of day." — Pope. Jupiter heard the prayer and dispersed the clouds. Then Ajax Sent Antilochus to Achilles with the intelligence of Patroclus's death, and of the conflict raging for his remains. The Greeks at last succeeded in bearing off" the body to the ships, closely pursued by Hector and .^neas and the rest of the Trojans. Achilles heard the fate of his friend with such distress that Antilochus feared for a while that he would destroy himself. H is groans reached the ears of his mother, Thetis, far down in the depths of ocean, where she abode, and she hastened to him to in- quire the cause. She found him overwhelmed with self-reproac h that he had indulged his resentment so far, and suffered his friend to fall a victim to it. But his only consolation was the hoi)c of revenge. *• No wIhH Have I to live, or to concern myself In men's afl'airs, save this : that I lector first, Pierced by my spear, shall yi<:ld his life, and pay The debt of vengeance for PalrocIiH slain.'' —Homer (Bryant's tr.). rer if] a s He pali owi owi THE ILIAD, V7 He would fly instantly in search of Hector. But his mothcl reminded him that he was now without armor, and promised him, if he would but wait till the morrow, she would procure for him a suit of armor from Vulcan more than equal to tl^iat he had lost. Thetlg Bearing the Annor of Achilles (F. Gerard ), We consented, and Thetis immediately repaired to ViUcan'k palace. She found h'm busy at his forge making tripods tor hil own use, so artfully constructed that they moved forv;ard of theil own accord when wanted, and retired again when diomfssed X ».^ :^%4 hM Wi ■' I-'-, ii " Mill - '-% mm 278 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, *• She found him there Sweating and toiling, and with busy hand Plying the bellows. ' ' — Homee . On hearing the request of Thetis, Vulcan immediately laid aside his work and hastened to comply with her wishes. He fabricated a splendid suit of armor for Achilles — first a shield adorned with elaborate devices, then a helmet crested with gold, then a corselet and greaves of impenetrable temper, all perfectly adapted to his form and of consummate workmanship. It was all done in one night, and Thetis, receiving it, descended with it to earth and laid it down at Achilles' feet at the dawn of day. ** And now receive This sumptuous armor, forged by Vulcan's hand. Beautiful, such as ao man ever wore."— Homer (Bryant's tr.). The first glow of pleasure that Achilles had felt since the deatli of Patroclus was at the sight of this splendid armor. And now, arrayed in it, he went forth into the camp, calling all the chiefs to council. When they were all assembled he addressed them. Renouncing his displeasure against Agamemnon and bitterly lamenting the miseries that had resulted from it, he called on them to proceed at once to the field. Agamemnon made a suit- able reply, laying all the blame on Ate, the goddess of discord ; and thereupon complete reconcilement took place between the heroes. Then Achilles went forth to battle, inspired with a rage and thirst for vengeance that made him irresistible. The bravest warriors fled before him or fell by his lance. Hector, cautioned by Apollo, kept aloof; but the god, assuming the form of one of Priam's sons, Lycaon, urged ^neas to encounter the ter- rible warrior, -^neas, though he felt himself unequal, did not decline the combat. He hurled his spear with all his force against the shield, the work of Vulcan. It was formed of five metal plates ; two were of brass, two of tin, and one of gold. The spear pierced two thicknesses, but was stopped in the third. Achilles threw his with better success. It pierced through the shield of yEneas, but glanced near his shoulder and made '.lo wound. Then ^'neas seized a stonp, such as two men of mod- en times could hardly lift, and was about to throv/ ii, and THE ILIAD. 279 Achilles, with sword drawn, was about to rush upon him, when Neptune, who looked out upon the contest, moved with pity for iEneas, who he saw would surely fall a victim if not speedily rescued, spread a cloud between the combatants, and lifting iEneas from the ground, bore him over the heads of warriors and steeds to the rear of the battle. Achilles, when the mist cleared away, looked round in vain for his adversary, and ac- knowledging the prodigy, turned his arms against other cham- pions. *• I cannot think That he who gladly fled from death will lind The courage to encounter me again." — Iliad (Bryant). But none dared stand before him, and Priam, looking down from his city walls, beheld his whole army in full flight towards the city. He gave command to open wide the gates to receive the fugitives, and to shut them as soon as the Trojans should have passed, lest the enemy should enter like- wise. But Achilles was so close in pur- suit that that would have been impossible if Apolloiidd not, in the form of Agenor, Priam's son, encountered Achilles for awhile, then turned to fly, and taken the way apart from the city. Achilles pur- sued and had chased his supposed victim far from the walls, when Apollo disclosed himself, and Achilles, perceiving how he had been deluded, gave up the chase. But when the rest had escaped into the town. Hector stood without, deter- mined to await the combat. His old father called to him from the walls and begged him to retire nor tempt the en- counter. His mother, Hecuba, also be- sought him to the same effect, but all in vain. " How can I," said he to him- self, "l)y whose command the people went to this day's contest, where so many have fallen, seek Hector (Venice). '- \i\'*m Ik • fW 1^^ ■ |! il \ • |l; ■ '[ ;,: \ ljl '■% ""''f il % |^-.v ' ^.i-M:. '■¥■ i )• '-f,i!»' M. ■■.■ I : 1 M^* %\ ' i ■ V'^ \ ^ii |1 1 ■><! iil M fel \ ■ Jr^' ■? i-f s \ I " >■ w. ^8o STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. If. ' ■ ■» safety for myself against a single foe ? But what if I offer him to yield up Helen and all her treasures, and ample of our own beside ? Ah, no I it is too late. He would not even hear me through, but slay me while I spoke. ' ' While he thus ruminated, Achilles approached, terrible as Mars, his armor flashing lightning as he moved. At that sight Hector's heart failed him and he fled. Achilles swiftly pursued. They ran, still keeping near the walls, till they had thrice encircled the city. As often as Hector ap proached the walls Achilles intercepted him and forced him to keep out in a wider circle. But Apollo sustained Hector's strength, and would not let him sink in weariness. Then Pallas, assuming the form of Deiphobus, Hector's bravest brother, appeared sud- denly at his side. Hector saw him with delight, and thus strengthened, stopped his flight and turned to meet Achilles. Hector threw his spear, which struck the shield of Achilles and bounded back. He turned to receive another from the hand of Deiphobus, but Deiphobus was gone. Then Hector understood his doom and said, "Alas ! it is plain this is my hour to die ! I thought Deiphobus at hand, but Pallas deceived me, and he is still in Troy. But I will not fall inglorious." ** My time has come ' To slay or be among the dead." — ILIAD. So saying he drew his falchion from his side and rushed at once to combat. Achilles, secured behind his shield, waited the aj)- proach of Hector. When he came within reach of his spear, Achilles, choosing with his eye a vulnerable part where the armor leaves the neck uncovered, aimed his spear at that part, and Hector fell, death-wounded, and feebly said, *' Spare my body ! Let my parents ransom it, and let me receive funeral rites from the sons and daughters of Troy." To which Achilles replied, ** Dog, name not ransom nor pity to me, on whom you have brought such dire distress. No ! trust me, nought shall save tliy carcass from the dogs. Though twenty ransoms and thy weight in gold were offered, I will refuse it all." So saying, he stripped the body of its armor, and fastening cords to the feet, tied them behind his chariot, leaving the body to trail along the ground. Then mounting the chariot he lashed the Steeds, and so dragged the body to and fro before the city. THE ILIAD. 281 ** Who saw the corse Of slaughtered Hector at the victor's car Whirled round the walls." — Euripides. ^Vhat words can tell the grief of King Priam and Queen Hecuba at this sight 1 His people could scarce restrain the old king from rushing forth. He threw himself in the dust and be- sought them each by name to give him way. Hecuba's distress \vas not less violent. The citizens stood round them weeping. The sound of the mourning reached the ears of Andromache, the wife of Hector, as she sat among her maidens at work, and antici- pating evil she went forth to the wall. When she saw the sight there presented she would have thrown herself headlong from the wall, but fainted and fell into the arms of her maidens. Re- covering, she bewailed her fate, picturing to herself her country ruined, herself a captive, and her son dependent for his bread on the charity of strangers. " ^ When Achilles and the Greeks had taken their revenge on the killer of Patroclus they busied themselves in paying due funeral rites to their friend. A pile was erected, and the body burned with due solemnity ; and then ensued games of strength and skill, chariot races, wrestling, boxing, and archery. Then the chiefs sat down to the funeral banquet, and after that retired to rest. But Achilles neither partook of the feast nor of sleep. Cutting off a lock of his hair he placed it in the dead hand of Patroclus, saying : — ** And now, since I no more Shall see my native land, the land I love, Let the slain hero bear these locks away."— Iliad (Bryant). The recollection of his lost friend kept him awake, remember- \ng their compaaionship in toil and dangers, in battle or on the perilous deep. Before the earliest dawn he left his tent, and joining to his chariot his swift steeds, he fastened Hector's body to be dragged behind. Twice he dragged him round the tomb of Patroclus, leaving him at length stretched in the dust. But Apollo would not permit the body to be torn or disfigured with all this abuse, but preserved it free from all taint or defilement. While Achilles indulged his wrath in thus disgracing brave Hector, Jupiter in pity summoned Thetis to his presence. He told her to go to her son and prevail on him to restore the body of Hector to his friends. Then Jupiter sent Iris to King Priam :m tf^ ^l ' Ms 282 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. [m / to encourage him to go to Achilles and beg the body of his son. IriH delivered her message, and Priam immediately prepared to obey. He opened his treasuries and took out rich garments and cloths, with ten talents in gold and two spkndid tripods, and a golden cup of matchless workmanship. Then he called to his gonn, and bade them draw forth his litter and place in it the va- rioiw articles designed for a ransom to Achilles. When all was ready, the old king with a single companion as aged as himself, I'he herald Idaeus, drove forth from the gates, parting there with Hecuba his queen and all his friends, who lamented him as going to certain death. But Jupiter, beholding with compassion the venerable king, 8cnt Mercury to be his guide and protector. Mercury, assuming the form of a young warrior, presented himself to the aged couple ; and, while at the sight of him, they hesitated whether to fly or yield, the god approached, and, grasping Priam's hani, offered to be their guide to Achilles' tent. Priam gladly ac- cepted his offered service, and he, mounting the carriage, as- Hunied the reins and soon conveyed them to the tent of Achilles. Mercury's wand put to sleep all the guards, and without hinder- ancc he introduced Priam into the tent where Achilles sat, at- tended by two of his warriors. The old king threw himself at the feet of Achilles, and kissed those terrible hands which had destroyed so many of his sons. *• Think of thy father, an old man like me, God-like Achilles ; on the dreary verge Of closing life he stands, and even now Has none to shield his age From war and disaster." — Iliad (Bryant). '* Perhaps even now some neighbor chief oppresses him, and there is none at hand to succor him in his distress. Yet doubt- IcHH knowing that Achilles lives he still rejoices, hoping that one day he shall see thy face again. But no comfort cheers nie, whose l)ravest sons, so late the flower of Ilium, all have fallen. Yet one I had, one more than all the rest the strength of my age, whom, fighting for his country, thou hast slain. I come to redeem his body, bringing inestimable ransom with me Achil- lc» t reverence the gods 1 recollect thy father 1 for his sake show compassion to me!" of his son. f prepared h garments ripods, and ailed to his n it the va- hen all was as himself, ; there with ted him as irable king, y, assuming 3 the aged [ whether to iam's hand, I gladly ac- :arriage, as- of Achilles. lOUt hinder- illes sat, at- himself at which had es him, and Yet doubt- ng that one cheers me, have fallen. ngth of my I come to me. Achil- is sake show MERCURY (HERMES*. Uron.-e Statue, Naples. -'. ' . « iRia ^i\kPil iiUlPiS iilBii ^^^^^^^^^Bk'^ '^f^^R Hi'^'s H||l li ^^^^HiiSki 4^^1HI i^^H i^l li^^^^l w*m IH^^^^^H P:;» li^l^B P' ' '4 K i^BVp^iffi ■^K^ ■ '"^sH IB " '^*s n^H '*'•■' laffl •^n" ''"^'^^H \ ^''^' ' '''~~-'k^^H ;tt: -'UttHy m H- ■ ■[■'it ■i!'.l,..'.»/ m ,. ' ^'IPTiI^Sh 1 -1 P .r ...,'' 1 **" ' '*■' V %:* \r ■ ^M <ii»'. ' 3\\ r:m ! , 4 '-L .;m THE ILIAD, 283 Achilles was not only a brave man upon the field of battle, but merciful to the unfortunate as well. These words moved him until he wept, remembering, as he did, by turns, his absent father and his lost friend. Touched with pity by the sight of Priam's silver locks and beard, and reaching out his hand, he raised him from the earth and said : ' ' The gods ordain the lot C)f man to suffer. Beside Jove's threshold stand Two casks of gifts for men — one cask contains The evil, one the good, and he to whom The Thunderer gives them mingled, some- times falls Into misfortune, and sometimes crowned With blessings. But the man to whom he gives The evil only, stands a mark exposed To wrong — alike unloved by gods and men." — Iliad (Bryant). '*I know, Priam, that thou hast reached this place conducted by some god, for without aid divine no mortal, even in his prime of youth, had dared the attempt. I grant thy rec[uest, moved thereto by the evi- dent will of Jove." So saying he arose, and went forth with his two friends, and unloaded of its charge the litter, leaving two mantles and a robe for the covering of the body, which they placed on the litter, and spread the garments over it, that not unveiled it should be borne back to Troy. Then Achilles dismissed the old king with his attendants, having first pledged himself to allow a truce of twelve days for the funeral solemnities. As the litter approached the city and was descried from the walls, the people poured forth to gaze once more on the face of their hero. Foremost of all, the mother and the wife of Hector .,-. - fc. Mercury (National Museum, Florence). ■.Mi ■■i' v'S :'^ *^^>y 284 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ' 1 . If »»1 came, and at the sight of the lifeless body renewed their lamenta. tions. The people all wept with them, and to the going down of the sun there was no pause or abatement of their grief. The next day, preparations were made for the funeral solemni- ties. For nine days the people brought wood and built the pile, and on the tenth they placed the body on the summit and applied the torch, while all Troy, thronging forth, encompassed the pile. When it had completely burned, they quenched the cin ders with wine, collected the bones and placed them in a golden urn, which they buried in the earth, and reared a pile of stonch over the spot. " Such honors Ilium to her hero paid, And peaceful slept the mighty Hector's shade. "- "Pope. SHE FALL OF TBOY. 385 ' :l nr lamenta. joing down grief. ral solemni- lilt the pile, and applied npassed the ed the cin in a golden le of stoneh -Pope, CHAPTER XXVIII. The Fall of Troy — Return of the Greeks — Ag-a-mem'> non, O-res'tes and E-lec'tra. The Fall of Troy, The story of the Iliad ends with the death of Hector, and it is from the Odyssey and later poems that we learn the fate of the other heroes. After the death of Hector, Troy did not im- mediately fall, but receiving aid from new allies, still continued its resistance. One of these allies was Memnon, the Ethiopian prince, whose story we have already told. Another was Pen- thesilea, queen of the Amazons, who came with a band of female warriors. All the authorities attest their valor and the fearful effect of their war-cry. Penthesilea slew many of the bravest warriors, but was at last slain by Achilles. But when the hero bent over his fallen foe, and contemplated her beauty, youth and valor, he bitterly regretted his victory. Thersites, an insolent brawler and demagogue, ridiculed his grief, and was in conse- quence slain by the hero. Achilles by chance had seen Polyxena, daughter of King Priam, perhaps on occasion of the truce which was allowed the Trojans for the burial of Hector. He was captivated with her charms, and to win her in marriage agreed to use his influence with the Greeks to grant peace to Troy. *« And mirth was in the halls of Troy Before her towers and tem^i'les fell ; High pealed the choral hymns of joy. Melodious to the golden shell. The weary hand reposed from slaughter, The eye forgot the tear it shed, This day King Priam's lovely daughter Shall great Pelides wed." — Schiller's Cassandra (Hemptf "* While in the temple of Apollo, negotiating the marriage, Paris discharged at him a poisoned arrow, which, guided by the god. i 1% .w m '1*4 "' ■'•'SI'S 286 STOniES OF GODS AND HEROES, #* < i^ -If ■ - '% ' ' <!' f* > " 7 wounded Achilles in the heel, the only vulnerable part about him ; for Thetis, his mother, had dipped him when an infant in the river Styx, which made every part of him invulnerable ex- cept the heel by which she held him.* The body of Achilles, so treacherously slain, was rescued by Ajax and Ulysses. Thetis directed the Greeks to bestow her son's armor on the hero who of all the survivors should be judged most deserving of it. Ajax and Ulysses were the only claimants ; a select number of the other chiefs were appointed to award the prize. It was awarded to Ulysses, thus placing wisdom before valor; whereupon Ajax slew himself. On the spot where his blood sank into the earth a flower sprang up, called the hyacinth, bearing on its leaves the first two letters of the name of Ajax — Ai, the Greek for *'woe." Thus Ajax is a claimant with the boy Hyacin- thus for the honor of giving birth to this flower. There is a species of larkspur which represents the hyacinth of the poets in preserv- ing the memory of this event, ^. , , , the Delphinium Ajacis — ^Ajax's Ajax (VaUcan, Rome). t b It was now discovered that Troy could not be taken but by the aid of the arrows of Hercules. They were in possession of Phil- octetes, the friend who had been with Hercules at the last and lighted his funeral pyre. Philoctetes had joined the Grecian expedition against Troy, but had accidentally wounded his foot with one of the poisoned arrows, and the smell from his wound proved so off*ensive that his companions carried him to the isle of I^mnos, and left him there. * The story of the invulnerability of Achilles is not found in Homer, and is inconsistent with his account. For how could Achilles require the aid of celes- tial armor if he were invulnerable ? \ THt: FALL OF TttOT, 387 " The tenth sad year now rolls its course Since here, with wretchedness and famine pierced, I waste away and feed my rankling wound." — Sophocles (Philoctetes). Diomedes was now sent to induce him to rejoin the army. He succeeded. Philoctetes was cured of his wound by Machaon, and Paris was the first victim of the fatal arrows. In his distress Paris bethought him of one whom in his prosperity he had for- gotten. This was the nymph CEnone, whom he had married when a youth, and had abandoned for the fatal beauty Helen. O^none, remembering the wrongs she had suffered, refused to heal the wound, and Paris went back to Troy and died. CEnone quickly repented, and hastened after him with remedies, but came too late, and in her grief hung herself. v ** Hither came at noon Mournful (Enone, wandering forlorn . ' Of Paris, once her playmate on the hills. Her cheek had lost the rose, and round her neck . Floated her hair, or seemed to float in rest. She, leaning on a fragment twined with vine, Sang to the stillness, till the mountain-shade ' "V Sloped downward to her seat from the upper cliff." — TENNYSON. There was in Troy a celebrated statue of Minerva called the Palladium. It was said to have fallen from heaven, and the be- lief was that the city could not be taken so long as this statue re- mained within it. Ulysses and Diomed entered the city in dis- guise and succeeded in obtaining the Palladium, which they carried off to the Grecian camp. But Troy still held out, and the Greeks began to despair of ever subduing it by force, and by advice of Ulysses resolved to resort to stratagem. They pretended to be making preparations to abandon the siege, and a portion of the ships were withdrawn and lay hid behind a neighboring island. The Greeks then con- structed an immense wooden horse j which they gave out was in- tended as a propitiatory offering to Minerva, but in fact was filled with armed men. The remaining Greeks then betook them- selves to their ships and sailed away, as if for a final departure. The Trojans, seeing the encampment broken up and the fleet gone, concluded that the enemy had abandoned the siege. The u ", r ■ llh, ; Ml m m . ■/¥. ■— v4S '."^ m . -Mi m 288 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. w nm gates were thrown open, and the whole population issued forthj rejoicing at the long -prohibited liberty of passing freely over the scene of the late encampment. The great /torse was the chief object of curiosity. All wondered what it could be for. Some recommended to take it into the city as a trophy ; others felt afraid of it. r While they hesitate, laocoon, the priest of Neptune, exclaims, "What madness, citizens, is this! Havw you not learned enough of Grecian fraud to be on your guard against it ? For my part, I fear the Greeks, even when they offer gifts."* ** What madness, citizens. Is this ? Believe ye then our foes are gone ? Either the Ci recks Within this wooden fabric are concealed, , . Or it is framed to bear against our walls. I fear the Greel'.s, Even when they brir^ us gif.s,"— Virgil, Book II (Cranch) So saying, he threw his lance at the horse's side. It struck, and a hollow sound reverberated like a groan. Then, perhaps, the people might have taken his advice and destroyed the fatal horse and all its contents ; but just, at that moment a group of people appeared dragging fcrv. ard one who seemed a prisoner and a Greek. Stupefied wiiii nerror he was brought before the chiefs, who reassured him, promising; that his life should be spared on condition of his returning true answers to the questions asked him. He informed thei.i that he was a Greek, Sinon by name, and that in consequence of the malice of Ulysses he had been left behind by his countrymen at tlieir departure, ^^'ith regard to the wooden horse, he told them that it was a propitia- tory offering to Minerva, and made so huge for the express pur- pose of preventing its being carried within the city ; for Cah has the prophet had told them that if the Trojans took possession of it, they would assuredly triunqjh over the Greeks. This lan- guage turned the tide of the i)eoj)le's feelings, and they bei^an to think how they might best secure the monstrous horse and the favorable auguries connected with it, when suddenly a prodigy occurred which left no room to doubt. There appeared ( * See Proverbial Kxprcssions. ssued forthj ily over the s the chief for. Some others felt )"i e, exclaims, lot learned St it ? For :s. Ml J3' I (Cranch) It struck, jn, perhaps, ed the ftital a group of a prisoner before the should be le questions , Sin on by jses he had ure. With a propitia- xpress pur- for Cahdias possession This lan- hey be.nan horse and uddenly a e appeared ■^ 1-1 I .^8 l'« I K„ /S & - I ' w ' it H \ V- LAOCOON-OROUP (Vatican, Rome) THE FALL OF TROY. 289 advancing over the sea two immense serpents. They came upon the land, and the crowd fled in all directions. The serpents advanced directly to the spot where Laocoon stood with his two sons. *' Two snakes Came gliding, on the deep with rings immense. Pressing upon the sea, and side by side Toward the shore they move with necks erect ' *" ^ And bloody crests that tower above the waves j • * ■ '' . ' r .'• A noise of foaming brine is heard, ' ; They reach the sliore, their burning eyes suffused . .?. With blood and fire, and lick their hissing mouths ' With quivering tongues." — Virgil, Book II (Cranch), ' " " They first attacked the children, winding round their bodies and breathing their pestilential breath in their faces. The father, attempting to rescue them, is next seized and involved in the serpents' coils. He struggles to tear them away, but they over- power all his efforts and strangle him and the children in their poisonous folds. '♦Onward it moves, ' " " ! ' ; And threatening glides into the city's midst." — Virgil. This event was regarded as a clear indication of the displeas- ure of the gods at Laocoon' s irreverent treatment of the wooden horse, which they no longer hesitated to regard as a sacred ob- ject and prepared to introduce with due solemnity into the city. This was done with songs and triumphal acclamations, and the day closed with festivity. In the night the armed men who were enclosed in the body of the horse, being let out by the traitor Sinon, opened the gates of the city to their friends, who had returned under cover of darkness. The city, sunk in sleep and wine, fell an easy prey to the invaders. King Priam lived to see the downfall of his kingdom, and was slain at last on the fatal night when the Greeks took the city. He had armed himself and was about to mingle with the m- batants, but was prevailed on by Hecuba, his aged queen, to take refuge with herself and his daughters as a suppliant at the altar of Jupiter. While there, his youngest son Polites, pursued by I'yrrhus, the son of Achilles, rushed in wounded, and expired at the feet of his father ; whereupon Priam, overcome with indigna- Jl m It?'* i* *: M •I ...I J ♦1. , ^90 BTOniES OF GODS AND HEROES. hi ' -«"' u '''\i ''i tion, hurled his spear with feeble hand against Pyrrhus,* and wa-; forthwith slain by him. , ** He raised his sword, and to the hilt Buried it in his side." — Virgil. " ' • Queen Hecuba and her daughter Cassandra were carried cap. lives to Greece. Cassandra had been loved by Apollo, and he gave her the gift of prophecy ; but afterwards offended with her, he rendered the gift unavailing by ordaining that her predictions should never be believed. Polyxena, another daughter, who had been loved by Achilles, was demanded by the ghost of that war- rior, and was sacrificed by the Greeks upon his tomb. ** The Greeks with one consent Resolve that on the tomb of Peleus' son Thou sHalt be sacrificed." — Sophocles, Men-e-la'us and Hel'en. I Our readers will be anxious to know the fate of Hel'en, the fair but guilty occasion of so much slaughter. On the fall of Troy Men-e-la'us recovered possession of his wife, who had not ceased to love him, though she had yielded to the might of Venus and deserted him for another. After the death of Paris she aided the Greeks secretly on several occasions, and in par- ticular when Ulysses and Diomedes entered the city in disguise to carry off the Palladium. She saw and recognized Ulysses, but kept the secret, and even assisted them in obtaining the image. Thus she became reconciled to her 'nisband, and they were among the first to leave the shores of Troy for their native land. But having incurred the displeasure of the gods, they were driven by storms from shore to shore of the Mediterranean, visiting Cyprus, Phoenicia and Egypt. In Egypt they were kindly treated and presented with rich gifts, of which Helen's share was a golden spindle and a basket on wheels. The basket was to hold the wool and spools for the queen's work. Menelaus and Helen at length arrived in safety at Sparta, re- sumed their royal dignity, and lived and reigned in splendor. • Pyrrhus's exclamadon, ** Not such aid nor such defp,nders does the timi fVquire,*' has become proverlijal. See Prov. Exp. AGAMEMNON, OBESTES AND ELECTBA. 291 >,* and wasi \ • irried cap' lo, and he ;d with her, predictions er, who had )f that war- i ieVen, the I the fall of fe, who had he might of ath of Paris and in par- n disguise to Ulysses, but g the image. i they were native land. r were driven lean, visiting lindly treated was a golden [lold the wool at Sparta, re- splendor. rs does the timi But the glory of the olden Trojan days had gone forever. ^ ** The son of Atreus, king of men, The muster of the host surveyed ; How dwindled from the thousands, when Along Scamander first arrayed." — Schiller (Hempel). When Telemachus, the son of Ulysses, arrived at Sparta, in search of his father, he found Menelaus and Helen celebrating the marriage of their daughter Hermione to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles. Ag-a-mem'non, O-res'tes and E-lec'tra. Ag-a-mem'non, the general-in chief of the Greeks, the brother of Menelaus, and who had been drawn into the quarrel to avenge his brother's wrongs, not his own, v^as not so fortunate in the issue. During his absence his wife Clytemnestra had been false to him, and when his return was expected she, with her paramour, ^Egisthus, laid a plan for his destruction, and at the banquet given to celebrate his return murdered him. *** i^gisthus, bent upon my death, Plotted against me with my guilty wife, And bade me to his house, and slew me there, Even at the banquet.' " — Homer (Bryant's tr.). It was intended by the conspirators to slay his son 0-res'tes also, a lad not yet old enough to be an object of apprehension, but from whom, if he should be suffered to grow up, there might be danger. E-lec'tra, the sister of Orestes, saved her brother's life by sending him secretly away to his uncle Strophius, King of Phocis. In the palace of Strophius Orestes grew up with the King's son Pylades, and formed with him that ardent friendship which lias become proverbial. Electra frequently reminded her brother by messengers of the duty of avenging his father's death, and when grown up he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which confirmed him in his design. He therefore repaired in disguise to Argos, pretending to be a messenger from Strophius, who had come to announce the death of Orestes, and brought the ashes of the deceased in a funeral urn. After visiting his father's tomb and sacrificing upon it, according to the rites of the ancients, he made himself known to his sister Electra, and soon after slew both iEgisthus and Clytemnestra. "Ai :i 292 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. \ fi *-i ** The accurst ^gisthus Him first I slew, nor sheathed my vengeful sword Till I had stained it with maternal gore." — Euripides (Orestes). Ttilp revolting act, the slaughter of a mother by her son, chough alleviated by the guilt of the victim and the express com mand of the gods, did not fail to awaken in the breasts of the ancients the same abhor- rence that it does in ours. The Eumenides, avenging deities, seized upon Ores- tes and drove him frantic from land to land. Py lades accompanied him in his wanderings and watched over him. At length, ir answer to a second appeal to the oracle, he was di- rected to go to Tauris in Scythia, and to bring thence a statue of Diana which was believed to have fallen from heaven. Accordingly Orestes and Pylades went to Tauris, where the barbarous peo- ple were accustomed to sacrifice to the goddess all strangers who fell into their hands. The two friends were seized and Orestes and Electra (Villa Ludovisi, Rome). • ji j ^ ^l ^ ^ earned bound to the tem- ple to be made victims. But the priestess of Diana was no other than Iphigenia, the sister of Orestes, who, our readers will re- member, M'as snatched away by Diana at the moment when she wan about to be sacrificed. Ascertaining from the prisoners who they were, Iphigenia disclosed herself to them, and the three made their escape with the statue of ^he goddess, and returneJ to Mycense. \ AGAMEMNON, ORESTES AND ELECTBA. 293 [Orestes). her son, press com ists of the me abhor- es in ours. avenging ipon Ores- im frantic d. Pylades im in his d watched length, ir ond appeal he was di- ) Tauris in to bring e of Diana elieved to »m heaven. )restes and to Tauris, jarous peo- istomed to lie goddess ho fell into The two seized and to the tem- as no other lers will re- it when she risoners who d the three nd returned But Orestes was not yet relieved from the vengeance of the Erinnyes. ** Methought I saw three hideous muds arise whose looks Resemble night. " At length he took refuge with Minerva at Athens. The goddess afforded him protection, ard appointed the court of Areopagus to decide his fate. The Erinnyes brought forward their accusa- tion, and Orestes made the command of the Delphic oracle his excuse. When the court voted and the voices were equally divided, Orestes was acquitted by the command of Minerva. «* O thou who never yet of human wrong Left the unbalanced scale, great Nemesis I Thou who didst call the Furies from the abyss. And round Orestes bade them howl and hiss. For that unnatural retribution, — just. Had it but been from hands less near, — in this. Thy former realm, I call thee from the dust 1"— Byron. One of the most pathetic scenes in the ancient drama is that in which Sophocles represents the meeting of Orestes and Electra on his return from Phocis. Orestes, mistaking Electra for one of the domestics, and desirous of keeping his arrival a secret till the hour of vengeance should arrive, produces the urn in which his ashes are supposed to rest. Electra, believing him to be really dead, takes the urn, and, embracing it, pours forth her grief in language full of tenderness and despair. *♦ Thou sad memorial, now the sole remains Of what was once Orestes."— Sophocles (Electra). It is said that on one occasion the city of Athens was at the (mercy of her Spartan foes, and it was proposed to destroy it, but the thought was rejected upon the accidental quotation, by soidp one, of a chorus of Euripides. - '« The reperted air Of sad Electra' s poet had the power To save the Athenian walls from ruin bare.**— MlLTON, W^ 4 lis- i if -m 294 STOEIEkS of gods AJSD HEBOE& ^ r:-:^^. 'W- is?'?l'1l;i ,«,A>'rli CHAPTER XXIX. Adventures of U-lys'ses — The Lotus-eaters — Cy clo' pes — Cir'ce — Si'rens — Scyl'la and Cha-ryb'dis - Ca-lyp'so. Return of U-lys'ses. The romantic poem of trio Odyssey is now to engage out attention. It narrates the wanderings of U-lys'ses (Odysseus, in the Greek language) in his return from Troy to his own king' Jom, Ithaca. From Troy the vessels first ivj.ide lanj at Ismarus, city of the A Reading from Homer (Alma ractexna}, Ciconians, where, in a skirmish with the inhabitants, T.^Iysses lost six men from each ship. ** Six brave companions from each s^tip we lost ; The rest escape in haste and quit the coast." — HoMK\ (xope.). Sfc.jilng thence, they were overtaken by a storm which drove them for nine days along the sea till they reached the country of tlie Lotus-eaters. Here, after watering, Ulysses sent three of his men to discover who the inhabitants ware. These men, on commg among tlie Lotus-eaters, were kindly entertained by RETURN OF ULYSSES. 295 them, and were given some of their own food, the lotus-plant, to eat. The effect of this food was such that those who partook of it lost all thoughts of home and wished to remain in that country. ** How sweet it were, hearing the downward stream, With half- shut eyes ever to seem Falling asleep in a half-dream ! To dream and dream, like yonder amber light ■ Which will not leave the myrrh-bush on the height ; To hear each others' whispered speech ; Eating the Lotos, day by day, To watch the crisping ripples on the beach. And tender curving lines of creamy spray ; , To lend our hearts and spirits wholly To the influence of mild-minded melancholy ; To muse and brood and live again in memoiy, With those old faces of our infancy Heaped over with a mound of grass. Two handfuls of white dust, shut in an vim of brass." —Tennyson. It was by main force that Ulysses dragged these men away, and he was even obliged to tie them under the benches of his ship. ** Whoever tasted once of that sweet food Wished not to see his native country more. Nor give his friends the knowledge of his fate. '^ And then my messengers desired to dwell *' ' i Among the Lotus-eaters, and to feed j Upon the lotus, never to return." — Homer (Bryant's tr.). * They next arrived at the country of the Cy-clo'pes. The Cyclopes were giants, who inhabited an island of which they were the only possessors. The name means ** round eye," and these giants were so called because they had but one eye, and that placed in the middle of the forehead. They dwelt in caves and fed on the wild productions of the island and on what their flocks yielded, for they were shepherds. •* A single ball of sight was fix'd In their mid-forehead :— hence the Cyclopes' name : For that one circular eye was broad infix' d In the mid-forehead : — strength was theirs, and force, And craft of curious toil." — Hesiod (Elton's tr. ). Ulysses left the main body of his ships at anchor, and with ii^^i ■.rFi-: /i "I < i nil 'it '■■i •4ii*i 296 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. one vessel went to the Cyclopes' island to explore for supplies He landed with his companions, carrying with them a jar of wine for a present, and coming to a large cave they entered it, and finding no one within, examined its contents. They found it stored with the riches of the flock, quantities of cheese, pails and bowls of milk, lambs and kids in their pens, all in nice order. Presently arrived the master of the cave, Polyphemus, bearing ,an immense bundle of firewood, which he threw down before the cavern's mouth. *• Near half a forest on his back he bore.** He then drove into the cave the sheep and goats to be milked, and, entering, rolled to the cave's mouth an enormous rock, that twenty oxen could not draw. Next he sat down and milked !•: . ewes, preparing a part for cheese, and setting the rest aside for his customary drink. Then turning round his great eye he dis- cerned the strangers, and growled out to them, demanding who they were, and where from. Ulysses replied most humbly, stat- ing that they were Greeks, from the great expedition that had lately won so much glory in the conquest of Troy ; that they were now on their way home, and finished by imploring his hos- pitality in the name of the gods. Polyphemus deigned no an- swer, but reaching out his hand seized two of the Greeks, whom he hurled against the side of the cave, and dashed out their brains. He proceeded to devour them with great relish, and having made a hearty meal, stretched himself out on the floor to sleep. Ulysses was tempted to seize the opportunity and plunge his sword into him as he slept, but recollected that it would only expose them all to certain destruction, as the rock with whi( h the giant had closed up the door was far beyond their power to remove, and they would therefore be in hopeless imprisonment. Next morning the giant seized two more of the Greeks, and de- spatched them in the same manner as their companions, feasting on their flesh till no fragment was left. He then moved away the rock from the door, drove out his flocks, and went out, care- fully replacing the barrier after him. *' Then pleased and whistling drives the flocks before. Removes the rocky mountain from the door, \ And shuts again." — Homer (Pope). RETURN OF ULYSSES, 297 ' supplies L a jar of ntered it, )y found it , pails and lice order. IS, bearing wn before )e milked, rock, that milked '. ; . it aside for ;ye he dis- nding who mbly, stat- > that had that they ig his hos- ed no an- ;ks, whom out their relish, and le floor to ,nd plunge k^ould only i^ith which power to risonment. , and de- s, feasting )ved away out, care* When he was gone, Ulysses planned how he might take ven- geance for his murdered friends and effect his escape, with his surviving companions. He made his men prepare a massive bar of wood, cut by the Cyclops for a staff", which they found in the cave. They sharpened the end of it and seasoned it in the fire,- and hid it under the straw on the cavern floor. Then four of the boldest were selected, with whom Ulysses joined himself as a fifth. The Cyclops came home at evening, rolled away the stone and drove in his flock as usual. After milking them and making his arrangements as before, he seized two more of Ulysses' companions and dashed their brains out, and made his evening meal upon them as he had on the others. After he had supped, Ulysses, approaching him, handed him a bowl of wine, saying, " Cyclops, this is wine ; taste and drink after thy meal of man's flesh.'* He took and drank it, and was hugely delighted with it, and called for more. Ulysses supplied him once and again, which pleased the giant so much that he promised him as a favor that he should be the last of the party devoured. He asked bis name", to which Ulysses replied, ** My name is Noman." After his supper the giant lay down to repose, and was soon sound asleep. Then Ulysses with his four select friends thrust the end of the stake into the fire till it was all one burning coal ; then poising it exactly above the giant's only eye, they buried it deeply into the socket, twirling it round as a carpenter does his auger. The howling monster with his outcry filled the cavern, and Ulysses with his aids nimbly got out of his w^ay and concealed themselves in the cave. He, bellowing, called aloud on all the Cyclopes dwelling in the caves around him, far and near. They on his cry flocked round the den, and inquired what grievous hurt had caused him to sound such an alarm and break their slumbers. He replied, "O friends, I die, and Noman gives the blow." They answered, "If no man hurts thee it is the stroke of Jove, and thou must bear it." So saying, they left him groaning. ** If no man hurts thee, but the hand divine Inflicts disease, it fits thee to resign." — Homer (Pope), if 1 i A . m Next morning the Cyclops rolled away the stone to let his flock out to pasture, but planted himself in the door of the cave to feel 2gS STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES Kl' * I of all as they went out, that Ulysses and his men should not es tape with them. But Ulysses had made his men harness the rams of the flock three abreast, with osiers which they found on the floor of the cave. To the middle ram of the three one of the Greeks suspended himself, so protected by the exterior rams on either side. As they passed, the giant felt of the animals' backs and sides, but never thought of their bellies ; so the men all passed safe, Ulysses himself being on the last one that passed. " The master ram at last approached the gate Charged with his wool and with Ulysses' fate ; The giant spoke, and through the hollow rock Dismissed the ram, the father of the flock." —Homer (Pope). When they had got a few paces from the cavern, Ulysses and his friends released themselves from their rams, and drove a good part of the flock down to the shore to their boat. They put them aboard with all haste, then pushed off from the shore, and when *t a safe distance Ulysses shouted out : ** Cyclops, if any man of mortal birth Note thine unseemly blindness, and inquire The occasion, tell him that Laertes' son, Ulysses, the destroyer of walled towns. Whose home is Ithaca, put out thine eye." — Homer (Bryant's tr.). The Cyclops, hearing this, seized a rock that projected from the side of the mountain, and rending it from its bed he lifted it high in the air, then exerting all his force, hurled it in the direc- tion of the voice. Down came the mass, just clearing the ves- sel's stem. The ocean, at the plunge of the huge rock, heaved the ship towards the land, so that it barely escaped being* swamped by the waves. *• Old ocean shook, and back his surges flew." When they had with the utmost difficulty pulled off shore, Ulysses was about to hail the giant again, but his friends be* sought him not to do so. He could not forbear, however, let- ting the giant know that they had escaped his missile, but waited THE L^STRYGONIANS. 299 ild not es iraess the found on one of the )r rams on lals' backs e men all passed. ,R (Pope). Jlysses and ove a good They put shore, and yant's tr.). d from the le lifted it I the direc- ig the ves- ck, heaved ped being* off shore, friends be- wever, let- but waited till they had reached a safer distance than before. The giant answered them with curses, but Ulysses and his friends plied their oars vigorously, and soon regained their companions. Ulysses next arrived at the island of -^olus. To this mon- arch Jupiter had intrusted the government of the winds, to send them forth or retain them at his will. He treated Ulysses hos- pitably, and at his departure gave him, tied up in a leather bag with a silver string, such winds as might be hurtful and danger. oiis, commanding fair winds to blow the barks towards their country. Nine days they sped before the wind, and all that time Ulysses had stood at the helm, without sleep. At last, quite exhausted, he lay down to sleep. While he slept, the crew conferred together about the mysterious bag, and concluded j't must contain treasures given by the hospitable King -^olus to their commander. Tempted to secure some portion for them- selves they loosed the string, when immediately the winds rushed forth. '* The thongs unbound, <■ The gushing tempest sweeps the ocean round. Snatched in the whirl." — Homer (Pope). The ships were driven far from their course, and back again to the island they had just left, ^"olus was so indignant at their folly that he refused to assist them further, and they were obliged to labor over their course once more by means of their oars. The Laes-try-go'ni-ans. Their next adventure was with the barbarous tribe of Laes-try- go ni-ans. The vessels all pushed into the harbor, tempted by the secure appearance of the cove, completely land-locked ; only Ulysses moored his vessel without. As soon as the Laestrygo- nians found the ships completely in their power they attacked' them, heaving huge stones which broke and overturned them, and with their spears despatched the seamen as they struggled in the water. All the vessels with their crews were destroyed, ex- cept Ulysses ^ ,vn ship, which had remained outside, and finding no safety but in flight, he exhorted his men to ply their oars vigorously, and they escaped. With grief for their slain companions mixed with joy at theil -+^1 HFm ^31 .1: f , ' 111 ■•VIS , m ■»- )• r 303 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. own escape, they pursued their way till they arrived at the JEdcan isle, where Circe dwelt, the daughter of the sun. Land- ing here, Ulysses climbed a hill, and gazing round, saw no signs of habitation except in one spot at the centre of the island, where he perceived a palace embowered with trees. He sent forward one-half of liis crew, under the command of Eurylochus, to see what prospect of hospitality they might find. As they approached the palace, they found themselves surrounded by lions, tigers and wolves, not fierce, but tamed by Circe's artj for she was a power- ful magician. All these animals had once been men, but had been changed by Circe's enchantments into the forms of beasts. ■■\ ^: "I sue not for my happy crown again ; I sue not for my phalanx on the plain ; I sue not for my lone, my widowed wife ; I sue not for my ruddy drops of life, . My children fair, my lovely girls and boys ; I I will forget them ; I will pass these joys, » Ask nought so heavenward ; so too, too high ; Only I pray, as fairest boon, to die ; To be delivered from this cumbrous flesh. From this gross, detestable, fdthy mesh, And merely given to the cold, bleak air. Have mercy, goddess ! Circe, feel my prayer!" — Keats. The sounds of soft music were heard from within, and a sweet female voice singing. Eurylochus called aloud, and the goddess came forth and invited them in ; they all gladly entered exeept Eurylochus, who suspected danger. The goddess conducted her guests to a seat, and had them served with wine and other deli- cacies. When they had feasted heartily, she touched them one by one with her wand, and they became immediately changed into S7aine, in ''head, body, voice and bristles," yet with their intellects as before. " Then instantly . She touched them with a wand, and shut them up In sties, transformed to swine iii head ond voice, llristles and shape, though still the human mind Remained to them." — IIomkk (Hryant's tr.). She shut them in her sties, and supplied them with acorns and such other things as swine love. rrived at the I sun. Land- , saw no signs ; island, where sent forward lochus, to see ey approached )ns, tigers and ! was a power- men, but had rms of beasts. '!" — Keats. n, and a sweet id the goddess ntered exeept conducted her ind other deli- hed them one lately changed yet with their up ■«Cf 'ith acorns and THE LJSSTRY00NIAN8, 301 •* Huddling they came, with shag sides caked of mirC'^ With hoofs fresh sullied from the troughs o'ertumed — Yet eyes in which desire -> Of some strange thing unutterably burned Unquenchable." — Dobson. .^ Eurylochus hurried back to the ship and told the tale. Ulysses hereupon determined to go himself, and try if by anv means he might deliver his companions. As he strode onward alone, he met a youth who addressed him familiarly, appearirg to be ac- Circe and the friends of Ulysses (B. Riviere). quainted with his adventures. He announced himself as Mer- cury, and informed Ulysses of the arts of Circe, and of the dan- ger of approaching her. As Ulysses was not to be dissuaded from his attempt. Mercury provided him with a sprig of the plant Moly, of wonderful power to resist sorceries, and instructed him how to act. Ulysses proceeded, and reaching the palace was courteously received by Circe, who entertained him as she had done his companions, and after he had eaten and drank, touched him with her wand, saying, "Hence, seek the sty and wallow with thy friends. ' ' But he, instead of obeying, drew his sw.ord and rushed upon her with fury in his countenance. She fell on her knees and begged for mercy. He dictated a solemn oath that she would release his companions and practice no fur- ther harm against him oi Lh^^m , and she repeated it, at the same time promising to dismiss them all in safety after hospitably en« n: .^li «v 302 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. |nifr'«' ' ' ■'.'# '♦ J tertaining them. She was as good as her word. The men were restored to their shapes, the rest of the crew summoned from the shore, and the whole magnificently entertained day after day, till Ulysses seemed to have forgotten his native land, and to have reconciled himself to an inglorious life of ease and pleusure. ** And there from day to day We lingered a full year, and banqueted Nobly on plenteous meats and delicate wines." — Homer (Bryant's tr,). At length his companions recalled him to nobler sentiments, and he received their admonition gratefully. Circe aided their Sirens fE. Barrios). departure, and instructed them how to i)ass safely by the coast of the Sirens. The Sirens were sea-nymphs who had the i)o\vcr of charming by their song all who heard them, so that the un- happy mariners were irresistibly impelled to cast themsehes into the sea to their destruction. Circe directed Ulysses to fill the ears of his seamen with wax, so that they should not hear the strain ; and to cause himself to be bound to the jast, and his people to be strictly enjoined, whatever he might say or do, by no means to release hiin till they should have passed the Sirens' island. Ulysses obeyed these directions. He filled the ears of his people with wax, and suffered them to bind him with cords firmly to the mast. As they api)roached the Sirens' island the sea was calm, and over the waters came the notes of music so ravishing and attractive that Ulysses struggled to get loose, and by cries and signs to his people begged to be released ; but they, rhe men were jned from the ' after day, till , and to have pleiciiure. (Bryant's tr.). ;r sentiments, ;e aided their SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. 3^3 y by the coast had the i)0\vcr so that the un- hemseh'es into )Ses to fill the not hear the I .last, and his t say or do, by scd the Sirens' led the cars of liin with cords n;s' island the c's of music so get loose, and lied; but they, obedient to his previous orders, sprang forward and bound hira still faster. *♦ Now round the masts my mates the fetters rolled, And boimd me limb by limb with fold on fold." — Homer ^Pope). They held on their course, and the music grew fainter till it ceased to be heard, when with joy Ulysses gave his companions the signal to unseal their ears, and they relieved him from his bonds. Scyl'la and Cha-ryb'dis. Ulysses had been warned by Circe of the two monsters Scyl'la and Cha-ryb'dis. We have already met with Scylla in the story of Glaucus, and remember that she was once a beautifu'. maiden, and was changed into a snaky monster by Circe. She dwelt in a cave high up on the cliff, from whence she was accus- tomed to thrust forth her long necks (for she had six heads), and in each of her mouths to seize one of the crew of every vessel passing within reach. , . • •* No mariner can boast That he has passed by Scylla with a crew ' Unharmed ; she snatches from the deck and bears Away in each grim mouth a living man." — Homer (Bryant's tr.). The other terror, Charybdis, was a gulf, nearly on a level with the water. Thrice each day the water rushed into a frightful chasm, and thrice was disgorged. '* And dire Charybdis rolls her thundering wave.'* Any vessel coming near the whirlpool when the tide was rush- ing in must inevitably be ingulfed j not Neptune himself could save it.' On approaching the haunt of the dread monsters, Ulysses kept strict watch to discover them. The roar of the waters as Cha- rybdis ingulfed them gave warning at a distance, but Scylla * See Proverbial Expressions. i fl "i:i'*; 304 STOMIES OF '}ODS AND HEROES. could nowhere be discerned. While Ulysses and his men watched with anxious eyes the dreadful whirlpool, they were not equally on their guard from the attack of Scylla, and the monster, dan - ing forth her snaky heads, caught six of his men, and bore them away, shrieking, to her den. It was the saddest sight Ulysses had yet seen; to behold his friends thus sacrificed and hear their cries, unable to afford them any assistance. Circe had warned him of another danger. After passing Scylla and Charybdis, the next land he would make was Thrinakia, an island whereon were pastured the cattle of Hyperion, the Sun, tended by his daughters, Lampetia and Phaethusa. These floe ks must not be violated, whatever the wants of the voyagers miglu be. If this injunction were transgressed, destruction was sure to fall on the offenders. Ulysses would willingly have passed the island of the Sun without stopping, but his companions so urgently pleaded for the rest and refreshment that would be derived from anchoring and passing the night on shore, that Ulysses yielded. He bound them, however, with an oath that they would not touch one of the animals of the sacred flocks and herds, but content them- selves with what provision they yet had left of the supply which Circe had p at on board. So long as this supply lastcvd the peo])le kept their oath, but contrary winds detained them at the island for a month, and after consuming all their stock of provisions, they were forced to rely upon the birds and fishes they ( ould catch. Famine pressed them, and at length one day, in the ab- sence of Ulysses, they slew some of the cattle, vainly attempting to make amends for the deed by offering from them a portion to the offended powers. Ulysses, on his return to the shore, was horror-struck at perceiving what they had done, and the more so on account of the portentous signs which followed. I'he skins crept on the ground, and the joints of meat lowed on the spits while roasting. *' The sacred oxen of the Sun, whose flesh Destnied to utter a tremendous voice, The banquet shall embitter."— EURIPIDKS. The wind becoming fair, they sailed from the island. They had not gone far when the weather changed, and a storm of CALYPSO. 305 aen watched not equally onster, dart- d bore them ; Ulysses had i hear their assing Scylla 'hrinakia, an on, the Sun, These flocks yagers might n was sure to L of the Sun r pleaded for m anchoring He bound touch one of pntent them- supply which ed the peoi)le at the island >f provisions, 2S they could ly, in the ab- y attemi)ting 1 a portion to )e shore, was md the more i. The skins I on the si)its land. They id a storm of tluinder and lightning ensued. A stroke of lightning shattered ihoir mast, which in its fall killed the pilot. At last the vessel itself went to pieces. The keel and mast floating side by side, Helios, or Sol. Relief. (From Troy.) Ulysses formed of them a raft, to which he clung, and, the wind changing, the waves bore nim to Calypso's island. All the rest of the crew perished. •* I have often heard My mother Circe and the i-'-'-ens three, Amidst the Howery-kirtled Naiades, Culling their potent herbs and baneful drugs, Who as Uicy sung would take the prisoned soul And lap it in Elysium. Scylla wept. And chid her barking waves into attention, And fell Charybdis murmured softapplause."^MlLTOH, Ca-lyp'so. Ca-lyp'so was a sea-nymph, which name denotes a numerous olass of female divinities of lower rank, yet sharing many of the attributes of the gods. Calypso received Ulysses hospitably, 90 y0* I , m \iH ! %^ ^'i* *»;.* MM \^t 3o6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES i' hi *%fr.''' entertained him magnificently, became enamoured of him, and wiahed to retain him forever, conferring on him immortality. But he persisted in his resolution to return to his country and his wife and son. Calypso at last received the command of Jove to dismiss him. Mercury brought the message to her, and found her in her grotto, which is thus described by Homer :^-' " A garden vine, luxuriant on all sides, Mantled the spacious cavern, cluster-hung Profuse ; four fountains of serenest lymph. Their sinuous course pursuing side by side, Strayed all around, and everywhere appeared Meadows of softest verdure, purpled o'er Witii violets ; it was a scene to fill A gcd from heaven with wonder and delight" Calypso with much reluctance proceeded to obey the com- mands of Jupiter. She supplied Ulysses with the means 6i con- Htructing a raft, provisioned it well for him, and gave him a favoring gale. He sped on his course prosperously for many days, till at length, when in sight of land, a storm arose tliat broke bis mast and threatened to rend the raft asunder. In this crisis he was seen by a compassionate sea-nymph, who in the form of a cormorant alighted on the raft and presented him a girdle, directing him to bind it beneath his breast, and if he Hhould be compelled to trust himself to the waves it would buoy him up, and enable him by swimming to reach the land. Te-lem'a-chus. Fenelon, in his romance of Te-lem'a-chus, has given us the adventures of the son of Ulysses in search of his father. Among other places at which he arrived, following on his father's foot- Hteps, was Calypso's isle, and, as in the former case, the goddess tried every art to keep him with her, and offered to share her Immortality with him. But Minerva, who in the shape of Mentor accompanied him and governed all his movements, made him repel her allurements, and when no other means of escape could be found, the two friends leaped from a cliff into the sea and swam to a vessel which lay becalmed off shore. Byron TELEMACHUS. 307 alludes to this leap of Telemachus and Mentor in the following stanza : — -.^.- ** But not in silence pass Calypso's isles. The sister tenants of the middle deep ; There for the weary still a haven smiles, Though the fair godies-: long has ceased to weep, And o'er her cliffs a fruitless watch to keep For him who dared prefer a mortal bride. Here too his boy essayed the dreadful leap, Stem Mentor urged from high to yonder tide ; While thus of both bereft the nymph-queen doubly sijEbed.' '"'*» ! (• sl* '^i ^^ 3o8 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. ' ri , Wi W l 1/ ,«' 111. ,». . • ' •■■ » \ ij.i Its. ;„•.. CHAPTER XXX. The Phse-a'ci-ans— Fate of the Suitort Th? Phae-a'ci-ans. ; - • tho raft while any of its timbers kept w- ■i<> longer yielded him support, binding the gether, and vhv:n girdle around him, he -m. Minerva smoothed the billows before him, and sent him a wind that rolled the waves towards the shore. The surf beat high on the rocks and seemed to for- bid approach ; but at length, finding calm water at the mouth of a gentle stream, he landed, spent with toil, breathless and speechless, and almost dead. After some time, reviving, he kissed the soil, rejoicing, yet at a loss what course to take. At a short distance he perceived a wood, to which he turned his steps. There, finding a covert sheltered by intermingling branches alike from the sun and the rain, he collected a pile of leaves and formed a bed, on which he stretched himself, and heaping the leaves over him, fell asleep. The land where he was thrown was Scheria, the country of the Phae-a'ci-ans. These people dwelt originally near the Cyclopes ; but being oppressed by that savage race, they migra- ted to the isle of Scheria, under the conduct of Nausithoiis, their king. They were, the poet tells us, a people akin to the gods, who appeared manifestly and feasted among them when they offered sacrifices, and did not conceal themselves from soli- tary wayfarers when they met them. «* The languid Sunset, mother of roses. Lingers a light on the magic seas, i The wide fire flames as a flower uncloses, Heavy with odor and loose to the breeze." — Lang, Song ofPhacia. They liad abundance of wealth, and lived in the enjoyment of it undisturbed by the alarms of war, for, as they dwelt remote itort ibers kept tu- rt, binding the ;d the billows waves towards seemed to for- at the mouth breathless and ving, he kissed e. At a short ned his steps. ;ling branches e of leaves and heaping the lie country of lally near the , they migra- of Nausithoiis, )le akin to the ig them when Ives from soli* v of Phacia. :he enjoyment ' dwelt remote ■4fA »% MINERVA (ATHENE). Parthenon. > y ;i 111 THE PH^ACIANS. 309 from gain-seeking man, no enemy ever approached their shores, and they did not even require to make use of bows and quivers. Their chief employment was navigation. Their ships, which went with the velocity of birds, were endued with intelligence; they knew every port and needed no pilot. " In wondrous ships, self-moved, instinct with mind ; No helm secures their course, no pilot guides ; Like man intelligent they plough the tides, Conscious of every COP St and every bay That lies beneath the sun's all- seeing ray." — Homer. Alcinous, the son of Nausithoiis, was now their king, a wise and just sovereign, beloved by his people. Now it happened that the very night on which Ulysses was cast ashore on the Phaeacian island, and while he lay sleeping on his bed of leaves, Nausicaa, the daughter of the king, had a dream, sent by Minerva, reminding her that her wedding-day was not far distant, and that it would be but a prudent prepara- tion for that event to have a general washing of the clothes of the family. This was no slight affair, for the fountains were at some distance and the garments must be carried thither. On awaking, the princess hastened to her parents to tell them what was on her mind — not alluding to her wedding-day, but finding other reasons equaily good. Her father readily assented, and ordered the grooms to furnish forth a wagon for the purpose. The clothes were put therein, and the queen-mother placed in the wagon likewise an abundant supply of food and wine. The princess took her seat and plied the lash, her attendant virgins following her on foot. Arrived at the river-side, they turned out the mules to graze, and unlading the carriage, bore the gar- ments down to the water, and working with cheerfulness and alacrity, soon despatched their labor. Then, having spread the garments on the shore to dry, and having themselves bathedj they sat down to enjoy their meal ; after which they rose and amused themselves with a game of ball, the princess singing to them while they played. But when they had refolded the ap- parel and were about to resume their way to the town, Minerva caused the ball thrown by the princess to fall into the water, whereat they all screamed, and Ulysses awaked at the sound. » 'I Mm ¥^ . If 'if' l\ '■•ii'^ '^^'iLIt it k. a * . 310 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Now we must picture to ourselves Ulysses, a shipwrecked mariner, but a few hours escaped from the waves, and utterly destitute of clothing, awaking and discovering that only a few bushes were interposed between him and a group of young maidens, whom by their deportment and attire he discovered to be not mere peasant girls, but of a higher class. Sadly needing help, how could he yet venture, naked as he was, to discover himself and make his wants known? It certainly was a case worthy of the interposition of his patron goddess Minerva, who never failed him at a crisis. Breaking off a leafy branch from a tree, he held it before him and stepped out from the thicket. The virgins at sight of him fled in all directions, Nausicaa alone excepted, for Minerva aided and endowed her with courage and discernment. Ulysses, standing respectfully aloof, told his sad case and besought the fair object (whether queen or goddess he professed he knew not) for food and clothing. The princess re- plied courteously, promising present relief and her father's hos- pitality when he should become acquainted with the facts. She called back her scattered maidens, chiding their alarm, and re- minding them that the Phaeacians had no enemies to fear. This man, she told them, was an unhappy wanderer, whom it was a duty to cherish, for the poor and stranger are from Jove. ** 'Tis ours this son of sorrow to relieve, Cheer the sad heart, nor let affliction grieve j By Jove the stranger and the poor are sent, And what to those we give to Jove is lent." — Homer (Pope). She bade them bring food and clothing, for some of her brothers' garments were among the contents of the wagon. When this was done, and Ulysses, retiring to a sheltered place, had washed his body free from the sea-foam, clothed and re- freshed himself with food, Pallas dilated his form and diffused grace over his ample chest and manly brows. The princess, seeing him, was filled with admiration, and scru- pled not to say to her damsels that she wished the gods would send her such a husband. To Ulysses she recommended that he should repair to the city, following herself and train so f;iras the way lay through the fields ; but when they should approach THE PHJEACIANS, 3" I shipwrecked :s, and utterly lat only a few )up of young discovered to Sadly needing ls, to discover ly was a case Minerva, who branch from a m the thicket. S'ausicaa alone ii courage and r, told his sad or goddess he lie princess re- r father's hos- he facts. She ilarm, and re- to fear. This whom it was a Jove. OMER (Pope). some of her the wagon. eltered place, )thed and re- and diffused tion, and seni- le gods would iimended that train so for as 3uld approach the city she desired that he would no longer be seen in her com- pany, for she feared the remarks which rude and vulgar people might make on seeing her return accompanied by such a gallant stranger — to avoid which she directed him to stop at a grove adjoining the city, in which were a farm and garden belonging to the king. After allowing time for the princess and her com- panions to reach the city, he was then to pursue his way thither, and would be easily guided, by anyone whom he might meet, to the royal abode. Ulysses obeyed the directions, and in due time proceeded to the city, on approaching which he met a young woman bearing a pitcher forth for water. It was Minerva, who had assumed that form. Ulysses accosted her, and desired to be directed to the palace of Alcinous the king. The maiden replied respectfully, offering to be his guide ; for the palace, she informed him, stood near her father's dwelling. Under the guidance of the goddess, and by her power enveloped in a cloud which shielded him from observation, Ulysses passed among the busy crowd, and with wonder observed their harbor, their shi;)s, their forum (the re- sort of heroes), and their battlements, till they came to the palace, where the goddess, having first given him some information of the country, king and people he was about to meet, left him. Ulysses, before entering the court -yard of the palace, stood and surveyed the scene. Its splendor astonished him. Brazen walls stretched from the entrance to the interior house, of which the doors were gold, the door-posts silver, the lintels silver orna- mented with gold. On either side were figures of mastiffs wrought in gold and silver, standing in rows, as if to guard the approach. Along the walls were seats spread through all their length, with mantles of finest texture, the work of Phaeacian maidens. On ti.ose seats the princes sat and feasted, while golden statues of graceful youths held in their hands lighted torches, which shed radiance over the scene. Full fifty female menials served in household offices, some employed to grind the corn, others to wind off the purple wool or ply the loom ; for *.he Phoeacian women as far exceeded all other women in house hold arts as the mariners of that country did the rest of maiikind in the management of ship '. Without the court a spacious garden lay, four acres in extent. In i*; grew many a lofty tree — ^porne* % m i, wl ^■ If:, » ■'■ ■■ .* i it ;J ■14 UK $12 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. granate, pear, apple, fig, and olive. Neither winter's cold noi summer's drought arrested their growth, but they flourished in constant succession, some budding while others were maturing. The vineyard was equally prolific. In one quarter you might see the vines, .^.ome in blossom, some loaded with ripe grapes, and in another observe the vintagers treading the wine-press. ** To Pallas' sacred shades, the holy ground. We bend our way,"— Homer. ' On the garden's borders flowers of all hues bloomed all the year round, arranged with neatest art. In the midst two foun- tains poured forth their waters, one flowing by artificial channels over all the garden, the other conducted through the court-yard of the palace, whence every citizen might draw his supplies. Ulysses stood gazing in admiration, unobserved himself, for the cloud which Minerva sj)read around him still shielded him. At length, having sufficiently observed the sc^ne, he advanced with rapid step into the hall where the chiefs '^nd senators were assembled, pouring libation to Mercury, whose worship followed the evening meal. Just then Minerva dissolved the cloud and disclosed him to the assembled chiefs. Advancing to the jilace where the queen sat, he knelt at her feet and implored her tavor and assistance to enable him to return to his native country. Then withdrawing, he seated himself in the manner of siii)|)li- ants, at the hearth-side. For a time none spoke. At last an aged statesman, addressing the king, said, ** It is not fit that a stranger who asks our hospi- tality should be kept waiting in suppliant guise, none welcoming him. Let him therefore be led to a seat among us and supplied with food and wine." At these words the king, rising, gave his hand to Ulysses and led him to a scat, disj)lacing thence his own Bon to make room for the stranger. ** His sage advice iho listening king '^l^eys, He stretched his Imnd the prii(l(M)i Jiief to raise, And from his seat his son removed." — IIomkr (Pope). Food and wine were set before him, and he ate and refreshed himself The king then dismissed his guests, notifying them that the TH£J PHJEACIANS. 313 next day he would call them to council to consider what had best be done for the stranger. When the guests had departed and Ulysses was left alone with the king and queen, the queen asked him who he was and whence he came, and (recognizing the clothes which he wore as those which her maidens and herself had made) from whom he re- ceived those garments. He told them of his residence in Ca- lypso's isle and his departure thence ; of the wreck of his raft, tiis escape by swimming, and of the relief afforded by the princess. The parents heard approvingly, and the king promised to furnish a ship in which his guest might return to his own land. The next day the assembled chiefs confirmed the promise of the king. A bark was prepared and a crew of stout rowers se- lected, and all betook themselves to the palace, where a bounte- ous repast was provided. After the feast the king proposed that the young men should show their guest their proficiency in manly sports, and all went forth to the arena for games of running, wrestling, and other exercises. After all had done their best, Ulysses, being challenged to show what he could do, at first de- clined, but being taunted by one of the youths, seized a cjuoit of weight far heavier than any the Phteacians had thrown, and sent it farther than the utmost throw of theirs. hem that the "No more I waive To prove the hero— slander stings the brave. "—HoMER. All were astonished, and viewed their guest with greatly in- creased respect. After the games they returned to the hall, and the herald led in Demodocus, the blind ban^i, — ** Dear to the Muse, Who yet appointed him liolli good and ill, Took from him sight, but gave him strains divine." — Homer. He took for his theme the Wooden Horse, by means of which the Greeks found entrance into Troy. Apollo inspired him, and he sang so feelingly the terrors and the exploits of that eventful time that all were delighted, but Ulysses was moved to tears. •' And as he sang of war and death The Lhieflain wept." — lIoMER. ~ 'HH ^Si 'M 3H STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. w mm H 'f ^ i Observing which, Alcinous, when the song was done, demanded of him why, at the mention of Troy, his sorrows awaked. Had he lost there a father or brother, or any dear friend ? Ulysses replied by announcing himself by his true name, and at their re- quest recounted the adventures which had befallen him since his departure from Troy. This narrative raised the sympathy and admiration of the Phaeacians for their guest to the highest pitch. The king proposed that all the chiefs should present him with a gift, himself setting the example. They obeyed, and vied with one another in loading the illustrious stranger with costly gifts. , *" ■ The next day Ulysses set sail in the Phaeacian vessel, and in a short time arrived safe at Ithaca, his own island. When the ves- sel touched the strand he was asleep. The mariners, without waking him, carried him on shore, and landed with him the chest containing his presents, and then sailed away. Neptune was so displeased at the conduct of the Phaeacians ih thus rescuing Ulysses from his hands that on the return of the vessel to port he transformed it into a rock, right opposite the mouth of the harbor. " Me drew near ' And smote it with his open palm, and made The ship a rock, fast rooted in the bed Of the deep sea." — Homer (Bryant's tr.). Lord Carlisle thus speaks of Corfu, which he considers to be the ancient Phaeacian island : "The sites explain the Odyssey. The temple of the sea-god could not have been more fitly placed, upon a grassy platfonii of the most elastic turf, on the brow of a crag commanding har- bor, and channel, and ocean. Just at the entrance of the inner harbor there is a picturesque rock with a small convent perched upon it, which by one legend is the transformed pinnace of Ulysses. v "Almost the only rivei* in the island is just at the pro|)er distante from the probabie site of the city and palace of the king to justify the princess Nausicaa having had resort to her chariot and to luncheon when she went with the maidens of the court to wash their garments." isiders to be FATE OF THE SUITORS. 3 1 5 **To gain his home all cceans he explored, .• Here Scylla frowned and there Charybdis roared ; Horror OP sea— and horror on land — In hell's dark boat he sought the spectre land, Till borne — a slumberer — to his native spot, He woke — and, sorrowing, knew his country not." — Schiller (Hempel). Fate of the Suitors. Ulysses had now been away from Ithaca for twenty years, and when le awoke he did not recognize his native land. Minerva appeared to him in the form of a young shepherd, informed him where he was, and told him the state of things at his palace. More than a hundred nobles of Ithaca and of the neighboring islands had been for years suing for the hand of Penelope, his wife, imagining him dead, and lording it over his palace and people as if they were owners of both. That he might be able to take vengeance upon them, it was important that he should not be recognized. Minerva accordingly metamorphosed him into an unsightly beggar. ** Propped on a staff, a beggar old and bare." As such he was kindly received by Eumaeus, the swine-herd, a faithful servant of his house. Telemachus, his son, was absent in quest of his father. He had gone to the courts of the other kings, who had returned from the Trojan expedition. While on the search, he received counsel from Minerva to return home. He arrived, and sought luunneus to learn something of the state of affairs at the palace l)efore presenting himself among the suitors. Finding a stranger with EunKPiis, he treated him courteously, though in the garb of a beggar, and promised him assistance. Eumaeus was sent to the palace to inform Penelope privately of her son's arrival, for caution was necessary with regard to the suitors, who, as Telemachus had learned, were i)lotting to intercept and kill liim. When Eum.TUS was gone, Minerva i)resented herself to IHysses, and directed him to make himself known to his son. At the same time she touched him, removed at once from liim the appearance of age and penury, and gave him the asjiect of vigorous manhood that belonged to him. Telemachus viewed i i, (■'] i » mhi 316 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. him with istonishment, and at first thought he must be more than mortal. But Ulysses announced himself as his father, and accounted for the change of appearance by explaining that it was Minerva's doing. ** Then threw Telemachus His arms around his father's neck and wept. Desire intense of lamentation seized On both ; soft murmurs uttering, each indulged His grief." — HoMER. ■, '. The father and son took counsel together how they should get the better of the suitors and punish them for their outrag&s. It was arranged that Telemachus should proceed to the palace and mingle with the suitors as formerly ; that Ulysses should also go as a beggar, a character which in the rude old times had dif- ferent privileges from what we concede to it now. As trav ^llcr and story-teller, the beggar was admitted in the halls of chief tains, and often treated like a guest — though sometimes, al: 0, no doubt, with contumely. Ulysses charged his son not to be- tray, by any display of unusual interest in him, that he knew him to be other than he seemed, and even if he saw him insulted or beaten, not to interpose otherwise than he might do for any stranger. At the palace they found the usual scene of feasting and riot going on. The suitors pretended to receive Telema< bus with joy at his return, though secreUy mortified at the failure of their plots to take his life. The old beggar was permitted to enter, and provided with a portion from the table. A touching incident occurred as Ulysses entered the court-yard of the palace. An old dog lay in the yard almost dead with age, and seeing a stranger enter, raised his head, with ears erect. It was Argus, Ulysses' own dog, that he had in other days often led to the chase. ** Soon as he perceived Long lost Ulysses nigh, down fell his ears Clapped close, and with his tail glad sign he gave * Of gratulation, impotent to rise. And (() approach his master as of old. Ulysses, noting him, wiped off a tear Uniuar' ■^ 1." — IIoMER. As Uiysscs sat citing his portioii in the hall, the suitors soon bcgar* to extabit their insolence to him. When he mildly re- FATE OF THE SUITORS, 31; monstrated, one of them raised a stool, and with it gave him a blow. Telemachus had hard work to restrain his indignation at seeing his father so treated in his own hall, but remembering his father's injunctions, said no more than what became him as master Oi' the house, though young and protector of his guests, Penelope had protracted her decision in favor of either of her suitors so long that there seemed to be no further pretence for delay. The continued absence of her husband seemed to prove that his return was no longer to be expected. Meanwhile, her son had grown up, and was able to manage his own affairs. She therefore consented to submit the question of her choice to a trial of skill among the suitors. The test selected was shooting with the bow. Twelve rings were arranged in a line, and he whose arrow was sent through the whole twelve was to have the queen for his prize. " Who now can bend Ulysses' bow and wing The well-aimed arrow thro' the distant ring Shall end the strife." — Homer (Pope). A bow that one of his brother heroes had given to Ulysses in former times was brought from the armory, and with its quiver full of arrows was laid in the hall. Telemachus had taken care that all other weapons should be removed, under pretence that hi the heat of competition there was danger, in some rash mo- ment, of putting them to an improper use. All things being prepared for the trial, the first thi to be done was to bend the bow in order to attach the string Telem- achus endeavored to do it, but found all his efforts frui .'ss, and modestly confessing that he had attempted a task b« vond his stiength, he yielded th; ^ow to another. Ife tried : with no better success, and, amidst the laughter and jeers nf his com- panions, gave it up. Another tried it, and another ; tiiey rubbed the bow with tallow, but all to no purpose ; it would i\ot bend, rhen spoke Ulysses, humbly suggesting that he should be per- \nitted to try ; for, said he, '♦ Though old and poor, T once bore arms j Nor is the bow yet strange to me." — IIoMER. The suitors hooted with derision, and commanded to turn him n - ;i; ifi," III ■if 318 STORIES OF aODS AND HEROES ,.^ <* Oiit of the hall for his insolence. But Telemachus spoke up for him, and merely to gratify the old man, bade him try. Ulysses took the bow and handled it with the hand of a master. With ease he adjusted the cord to its notch ; then fitting an arrow to the bow, he drew the string and sped the arrow unerring through the rings. '. • . Without allowing them time to express their astonishment he «aid, "Now for another mark!" and aimed direct at the most insolent one of the suitors. The arrow pierced through his throat and he fell dead. Telemachus, Eumaeus and another faithful follower, well armed, now sprang to the side of Ulysses. The suitors, in amazement, looked round for arms, but found none ; neither was there any way of escape, for Eumaeus had secured the door. Ulysses left them not long in uncertainty ; he an- nounced 'himself as the long-lost chief, whose house they had in- vaded, whose substance they had squandered, whose wife and son they had persecuted for ten long years, and told them he meant to have ample vengeance. ** Then grimly frowning with a dreadful look •That withered all their hearts, Ulysses spoke : * Dogs, ye have had your day.' " — IIomkr (Pope). All were slain, and Ulysses was left master of his palace, and possessor of his kingdom and his wife. "Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows ; for my purpose holds To sail heyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down ; It may be we shall touch the ITappy Isles, And see the great iVchilles whom we knew." — Tknnyscx ADVENTURES OF MNEAS. 3J9 / ■ # is palace, and "- Tennysc.n CHAPTER XXXI. Adventures of ^-ne'as — The Har'pies — Di'do — Pal-i- nu'rus. Adventures of ^-ne'as. We have followed one of the Grecian heroes, Ulysses, in his wanderings, on his return home from Troy, and now we propose to share the fortunes of the remnant of the conquered people, under their chief ^-ne'as, in their search for a new home, after the ruin of their native city. On that fatal night when the wooden horse disgorged its contents of armed men, and the cap- ture and conflagration of the city were the result, ^neas made his escape from the scene of destruction, with his father, and his wife and young son. The father, Anchises, as no old to walk with the speed required, and ^neas took him upon his shoulders. ** Come then, </ts.r father ! on my shoulders I Will bear thee, nor think the task severe." ♦ — Virgil (Cranch). Thus burdened, leading his son, and followed by his wife, he made the best of his way out of the burning city j but, in the confusion, his wife was swept away and lost. On arriving at the place of rendezvous, numerous fugitives of both sexes were found, who put themselves under the guid- ance of vEneas, Some months were spent in preparation, and at length they embarked. They first landed on the neighboring shores of Thrace, and were preparing to build a city, but yF.neas was deterred by a prodigy. Preparing to offer sacrifice, he tore some twigs from one of the bushes. To his dismay the wounded part dropped l)lood. ♦* A groan (irievous to hear came from beneath the mound." — ViRGiL. When he repeated the act, a voice from the ground cried out to him, " Spare me, .^neas ; I am your kinsman, Polydore, here .tHh'^ 1 f4 '■f V ffills^i 1 1<.; k i,-. 32.0 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. I Y y^ljMi 4tJ murdered with many arrows, from which a bush has grown, nour- ished with my blood. ' ' These words recalled to the recollection of -^neas that Polydore was a young prince of Troy, whom his father had sent with ample treasures to the neighboring land of Thrace, to be there brought up, at a distance from the horrors of war. The king to whom he was sent had murdered him and seized his treasures. ^-Eneas and his companions, considering the land accursed by the stain of such a crime, hastened away. They next landed on the island of Delos, which was once a floating island, till Jupiter fastened it by adamantine chains to the bottom of the sea. Apollo and Diana were born there, and the island was sacred to Apollo. Here ^Eneas consulted the oracle of Apollo, and received an answer, ambiguous as usual, — "Seek your ancient mother; there the race of ^neas shall dwell, and reduce all other nations to their sway. ' ' *' There shall /Eneas' house, renewed For ages, rule a world subdued." — Virgil (Conington's tr.) The Trojans heard with joy, and immediately began to ask one another, "Where is the spot intended by the oracle?" Anchises remembered that there was a tradition that their fore- fathers * ame from Crete, and thither they resolved to steer. They ariived at Crete and began to build their city, but sickness broke out among them, and the fields that they had planted failed to yield a crop. In this gloomy aspect of affairs ^Eneas was warned in a dream to leave the country and seek a western land, called Hesperia, whence Dardanus, the true founder of tlie Trojan race, had originally migrated. To Hesperia, now called Italy, therefore, they directed their future course, and not till after many adventures, and the lapse of time sufficient to carry a modern navigator several times round the world, did they arrive there. The Har'pies. Their first landing was at the island of the Har'pies. These were disgusting birds, with the heads of maidens, with long claws and faces pale with hunger. " Crooked claws for hands, And faces with perpetual hunger pale." — ViRGlL. THE HARPtES. 3^1 They were sent by the gods to torment a certain Phineus, v^hom Jupiter had deprived of his sight, in punishment of his cruelty ; and whenever c\ meal was placed before him, the Har- pies darted down from the air and carried it off. They were driven away from Phineus by the heroes of the Argonautic ex- pedition, and took refuge in the island where -^neas now found them. When they entered the port the Trojans saw herds of cattle roaming over the plain. They slew as many as they wished, and prepared for a feast. But no sooner had they seated themselves at the table than a horrible clamor was heard in the air, and a flock of these odious harpies came rushing down upon them, seizing in their talons the meat from the dishes, and flying away with it. ^neas and his companions drew their swords and dealt vigorous blows among the monsters, but to no purpose, for they were so nimble it was almost impossible to hit them, and their featifers were like armor, impenetrable to steel. One of them, perched on a neighboring cliff", screamed out, "Is it thus, Trojans, you treat us innocent birds — first slaughter our cattle, and then make war on ourselves ?' ' She then predicted dire sufferings to them in their future course, and, having vented her wrath, flew away. The Trojans made haste to leave the country, and next found themselves coasting along the shore of ■Epirus. Here they landed, and, to their astonishment, learned that certain Trojan exiles, who had been carried there as prison- ers, had become rulers of the country. Andromache, the widow of Hector, became the wife of one of the victcrious Grecian chiefs, to whom she bore a son. Her husband dying, she was left regent of the country, as guardian of her son, and had mar- ried a fellow -captive, Helenus, of the royal race of Troy. Hele- nus and Andromache treated the exiles with the utmost hospi- tality, and dismissed them loaded with gifts. "In the palace halls They pour the wine and drink From cups of gold." — Virgil. ^' u, 1 ■{* j 'tf^'^'ifh n ■ 1 ■ 4 %^'4 From hence yEneas coasted along the shore of Sicily, and passed the country of the Cyclopes. Here they were hailed from the shore by a miserable object, whom by his garments, . 4 322 STORIES OF GODS AND HEBOMS. ^ ^^* » %" ^^ JCI -J Iff J' . . mi: :.;,- .(=1 tattered as they were, they perceived to be a Greek. He told them he was one of Ulyssec's companions, left behind by that chief in his hurried departure. He related the story of Ulysses's adventure with Polyphemus, and besought them to take him off with them, as he had no means of sustaining his existence, where he was, but wild berries and roots, and lived in constant fear of the Cyclopes. While he spoke Polyphemus made his appear ance ; a terrible monster, shapeless, vast, whose only eye had been put out.* He walked with cautious steps, feeling his way with a staff, down to the sea-side, to wash his eye-socket in the waves. When he reached the water he waded out towards them, and his immense height enabled him to advance far into the sea, so that the Trojans, in terror, took to their oars to get out of his way. Hearing the oars, Polyphemus shouted after them, so that the shores resounded, and at the noise the other Cyclopes came forth from their caves and woods, and lined the shore, like a row of lofty pine trees. The Trojans plied their vars, and soon left them out of sight. ^neas had been cautioned by Helenus to avoid the strait guarded by the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. *' The whirlpool sucks the waters down, Then spouts them forth again, Lashing the very stars." — Virgil. There Ulysses, the reader will remember, had lost six of his men, seized by Scylla, while the navigators were wholly intent upon avoiding Charybdis. ^neas, following the advice of Helenus, shunned the dangerous pass and coasted along the island of Sicily. Juno, seeing the Trojans speeding their way prosperously to- wards their destined shore, felt her old grudge against them re- vive, for she could not forget the slight that Paris had put upon her in awarding the prize of beauty to another. In heavenly minds can such resentments dwell !" Accordingly she hastened to Mollis, the ruler of the winds, — the same who supplied Ulysses with favoring gales, giving him the contrary ones tied up in a bag. iEolus obeyed the goddess and sent forth his sons, Boreas, See Proverbial Expressions. » Tbid. DIDO. 323 oid the strait Typhon, and the other winds, to toss the ocean. A terrible storm ensued, and the Trojan ships were driven out of their course towards the coast of Africa. They were in imminent dan- ger of being wrecked, and were separated, so that -^neas thought that all were lost except his own. At this crisis, Neptune, hearing the storm raging, and knowing that he had given no orders for one, raised his head above the waves, and saw the fleet of .^neas driving before the gale. Knowing the hostility of Juno, he was at no loss to account for it, but his anger was not the less at this interference in his prov- ince. He called the winds, and dismissed them with a severe reprimand. ** * Back to your master instant flee, And tell him, not to him but me The imperial trident of the sea Fell by the lot's award.' " — Virgil (Comington's tr.). He then soothed the waves, and brushed away the clouds from before the face of the sun. Some of the tihips which had got on the rocks he pried off with his own trident, while Triton and a sea-nymph, putting their shoulders under others, set them afloat again. The Trojans, when the sea became calm, sought the nearest shore, which was the coast of Carthage, where ^neas was so happy as to find that one by one the ships all arrived safe, though badly shaken. Di'do. Carthage, where the exiles had no\ • arrived, was a spot on the coast of Africa opposite .Sicily, where at that time a Tyrian colony under Di'do, their queen, were laying the foir idations of a state destined in later ages to be the rival of Rome itself. Dido was the daughter of Belus, king of Tyre, and sister of Pygmalion, who succeeded his father on the throne. Her husband was Sichaeus, a man of immense wealth, but Pygmalion, who coveted his treasures, caused him to be put to death. Dido, with a numerous body of friends and followers, both men and women, succeeded in eff"ecting their escape from Tyre in several vessels, carrying with them the treasures of Sichaeus. On arriving at the spot which they selected as the seat of their future home, they ^n'- f. ■J ■>■». i ■ *3. 1 'fit! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) /. 1.0 I.I 125 1.4 2.5 2.2 1.6 V] <9 /] /f" % ^ # ? Photographic Sciences Corporation ]3 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR, N.Y. 145S0 (716) 873-4503 5H STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES asked of the natives only so much land as they could enclose with a bull's hide. When this was readily granted, she caused the hide to be cut into strips, and with them enclosed a spot on which ' she built a citadel, and called it Byrsa (a hide). Around this fort the city of Carthage rose, and soon became a powerful and flour- ishing place. Such was the state of affairs when ^neas with his Trojans arrived there. Dido received the illustrious exiles with friend- liness and hospitality. ''Not unacquainted with distress," she said, ** I have learned to succcor the unfortunate. ' '* The queen's hospitality displayed itself in festivities, at which games of strength and skill were exhibited. The strangers contended for the palm with her own subjects, on equal terms. The queen consented. •* Draw up Your ships. Trojans and Tyrians from me* , Shall no distinction know." — Virgil (Cranch). l At the feast which followed the games ^neas gave, at her re- quest, a recital of the closing events of the Trojan history and his own adventures after the fall of the city. Dido was charmed with his discourse and filled with admiration of his exploits. She con- ceived an ardent passion for him, and he for his part seemed well content to accept the fortunate chance which appeared to offer him at once a happy termination of his wanderings, a home, a kingdom, and a bride. Months rolled away in the enjoyment of pleasant intercourse, and i'<: seemed as if Italy and the empire destined to be founded on its shores were alike forgotten — seeing which, Jupiter despatched Mercury with a message to .^neas, recalling him to a sense of his high destiny, and commanding him to resume his voyage. .^neas parted from Dido, though she tried every allurement and persuasion to detain him. The blow to her affection and her pride was too much for her to endure, and when she found that he was gone she mounted a funeral pile which she had caused to be prepared, and having stabbed herself was consumed with the pile. The flames rising over the city were seen by the de- parting Trojans, and though the cause was unknown, gave to iGneas some intimation of the fatal event. 2 to ► > H H Z » o c 1> 2 m^ti • See Proverbial Expressions. • Ibid. ose with ised the n which this fort id flour- Trojans 1 friend - iss," she ; queen's "strength the palm isented. it her re- ■y and his •med with She con- ;med well d to offer home, a njoyment 16 empire n — seeing ) ^neas, iding him lUurement ction and she found lad caused imed with jy the de- 1, gave to bid. PALINUBUS. 325 •* These flames the crael Trojan on the sea Shall drink in with his eyes." — Virgil (Cranch). Pal-i-nu'rus. After touching at the island of Sicily, where Acestes, a prince of Trojan lineage, bore sway, who gave them a hospitable recep- tion, the Trojans re-embarked and held on their course for Italy. Venus now interceded with Neptune to allow her son at last to attain the wished-for goal and find an end of his perils on the deep. Neptune consented, stipulating only for one life as a ran- som for the rest. The victim was Pal-i-nu'rus, the pilot. As he sat watching the stars, with his hand on the helm, Somnus, sent by Neptune, approached in the guise of Phorbas and said, " Palinurus, the breeze is fair, the water smooth, and the ship sails steadily on her course. Lie down awhile and take needful rest. I will stand at the helm in your place. ' ' Palinurus replied, " Tell me not of smooth seas or favoring winds, — ^me who have seen so much of their treachery. Shall I trust .^neas to the chances of the weather and the winds ?" •* And clinging to the helm Held fast, and fixed his eyes upon the stars." — Virgil (Cranch). But Somnus waved over him a branch moistened with Lethaean dew, and his eyes closed in spite of all his efforts. Then Somnus pushed him overboard and he fell ; but, keeping his hold upon the helm, it came away with him. Neptune was mindful of his promise, and kept the ship on her track without helm or pilot, till ^neas discovered his loss, and, sorrowing deeply for his faithful steersman, took charge of the ship himself. The ships at last reached the shores of Italy, and joyfully did the adventurers leap to land. " And Italy rings first Achates' voice, and Italy with shouts Of joy the comrades greet." — iENEiD (Cranch). While his people were employed in making their encampment iEneas sought the abode of the Sibyl. It was a cave connected with a temple and grove, sacred to Apollo and Diana. While ^neas contemplated the scene, the Sibyl accosted him. She i! 0A If % ' 'JM ; '»''^^ ^m : ^m 1 ^-'Ss ■^ ^^'1 ■'*■€ ,1, '■ 1 VTi 1 r m 326 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES seemed to know his errand, and under the influence of the deity of the place burst forth in a prophetic strain, giving dark inti- mations of labors and perils through which he was destined to make his way to nnal success. She closed with the encouraging words which have become proverbial : "Yield not to disasters, but press onward the more bravely." * ^neas replied that he had prepared himself for whatever might await him. He had but one request to make. Having been directed in a dream to seek the abode of the dead in order to confer with his father, Anchises, to receive from him a revelation of his future fortunes and those of his race, he asked her assistance to enable him to accomplish the task. The Sibyl replied, *• To the shades you go a do'vn-hill, easy way ;> But to return and re-enjoy the day, This is a work, a labor !" — ViRGlL. 1 She instructed him to seek in the forest a tree on which grew a golden branch. This branch was to be plucked off and borne as a gift to Proserpine, and if fate was propitious it would yield to the hand and quit its parent trunk, but otherwise no force could rend it away. If torn away, another would succeed.* ^neas followed the directions of the Sibyl. His mother, Venus, sent two of her doves to fly before him and show him the way, and by their assistance he found the tree, plucked the branch, and hastened back with it to the Sibyl. •'With eager hand ^noas grasps and breaks the lingering branch, And to the Sybil's dwelling bears it off." — ^VlRGlL (Crancli). ^ See Proverbial Expressions. Ibid. Ibid. M'::t< TME INFERNAL REGIONS, 32; \\ CHAPTER XXXII. The Infernal Regions— The Sib'yl. The Infernal Regions. As at the COlwniencement of our series we have given the pagan aceeuttt ©f the creation of the world, so, as we approach its conelusimi, we present a view of the regions of the dead, de- picted by one of their most en- lightened ^mi%, who drew his doctrines from their most es- teemed philosophers. The re- gion where Virgil locates the entrance Into thl» abode is, per- haps, the most strikingly adapted to excite Ideas of the terrific and preternatural of any on the face of the earth. It Is the volcanic region near Vesuvitis, where the whole country fs cleft with chasms from which sulphurous flames arise, while the ground is shaken with pent-up vapors, and mysterious sounds issue from the bowls of the earth. The lake Avernus Is supposed to fill the crater of an extinct volcano. It is circular, half a mile wide and very deep, surrounded by high banks, which in Virgil's time were covered with a gloomy forest. Mephitic vapors rise from its waters, so that no li^i is found on its banks, and no birds fly over it. \\&ve^ a<;cording to the poet, was the cave which afforded access to the infernal regions, and here .4''neas offered sacrifices to the infernal deities, Proserpine, Hecate, and the Furies. Then i roaring was heard in the earth, the woods on the hill -tops were Hecate (Capitol, Rome). »^ i ■1'S r 'm \. ^ v ■ ^ '"ill '1' ' r. -3; ■ "1 , :l:l !■ "' '.f!^ ■ l'.^» ■ ■ M' ;i ®'> J' ,* ' 32S STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, shaken, and the howling of dogs announced e approach of the deities. ** Now," said the Sib'yl, "sumn»v,xi up your courage, for you will need it. ' ' She descended into the cave, and ^neas followed. Pluto sat upon his throne, and by him were the three Fates, with their thread and shears. One spun the thread of life, and another twisted its bright and dark lines together, and an- other severed it at will. ** Twist ye, twine ye ! even so, Mingle shades of joy and woe, Hope, and fear, and peace, and strife, In the thread of human life." — ScoTT. Before the threshold of hell they passed through a group of beings who are enumerated as Griefs and avenging Cares, pale Diseases and melancholy Age, Fear and Hunger that tempt to crime, 'i oil. Poverty and Death, forms horrible to view. The Furies spread their couches there, and Discord, whose hair was of vipers tied up with a bloody fillet. Here also were the mon- sters, Briareus with his hundred arms. Hydras hissing, and Chi- maeras breathing fire, -^neas shuddered at the sight, drew his sword and would have struck, but the Sibyl restrained him. They then came to the black river Cocytus, where they found the ferry- man, Charon, old and squalid, but strong and vigorous, who was receiving passengers of all kinds into his boat, magnanimous heroes, boys and unmarried girls, as numerous as the leaves that fall at autumn, or the flocks that fly southward at the approach of winter. They stood pressing for a passage and longing to touch the opposite shore. But the stern ferryman took in only such as he chose, driving the rest back, ^neas, wondering at the sight, asked the Sibyl, "Why this discrimination?" She answered : ••No one may pass Those dreadful waves until his bones repose Within a quiet grave. A hundred years » They wander, flitting all around these shores. Until at last they cross the wished-for lake." — i^NEiD (Cranch). JEnesiS grieved at recollecting some of his own companioni who had perished in the storm. At that moment he beheld THE INFERNAL EE0I0N3. 329 proach of the your courage, e, and ^neas vere the three thread of life, ther, and an- gh a group of ig Cares, pale that tempt to view. The hose hair was yere the mon- >ing, and Chi- ight, drew his !d him. They )und the ferry - ►rous, who was magnanimous he leaves that the approach id longing to took in only wondering at btion?" She EiD (Cranch). n companiom nt he beheld Palinurus, his pilot, who fell overboard and was drowned. He addressed him, and asked him the cause of his misfortune. Pali- Charon and Psycbe (A. Zick). nurus replied that the rudder was carried away, and he, clinging to it, was swept away with it. He besought ^neas most urgently to extend to him his hand and take him in company to the oppo* ' J] ■'} Si} *% ^ ' 'J m '1 11 'I 330 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. Rill-;' uW.!, : Si fe'*''f4l»i.| site shore. But the Sibyl rebuked him for the wish thus to trans* gress the laws of Pluto, but consoled him by informing him that the people of the shore where his body had been wafted by the waves should be stirred up by prodigies to give it due burial, and that the promontory should bear the name of Cape Palinurus, which it does to this day. Leaving Palinurus consoled by these words, they approached the boat. Charon, fixing his eyes sternly upon the advancing warrior, demanded by what right he, living and armed, approached that shore. To which the Sibyl replied that they would commit no violence, that -Eneas' s only object was to see his father, and finally exhibited the golden branch, at sight of which Charon's wrath relaxed, and he made haste to turn his bark to the shore and receive them on board. The boat, adapted only to the light freight of bodiless spirits, groaned under the weight of the hero. They were soon conveyed to the oppo- site shore. There they were encountered by the three-headed dog Cerberus, with his necks bristling with snakes. He barked with all his three throats till the Sibyl threw him a medicated cake, which he eagerly devoured, and then stretched himself out in his den and fell asleep, -^neas and the Sibyl sprang to land. The first sound that struck their ears was the wailing of young children who had died on the threshold of life, and near to these were they who had perished under false charges. Minos presides over them as judge, and examines the deeds of each. " Minos shakes them ; he calls The silent multitude, and learns from each The story of his life and crimes." — i^NEm (Cranch). The next class was of those who had died by their own hand, hating life and seeking refuge in death. O, how willingly would they now endure poverty, labor, and any other infliction, if they« might but return to life 1 Next were situated the regions of sad- ness, divided off into retired paths, leading through groves of myrtle. Here roamed those who had fallen victims to unre- quited love, not freed from pain even by death itself. Among these, .^neas thought he descried the form of Dido, with a wound still recent. In the dim light he was for a moment uncertain, but approaching, perceived it was indeed herself. Tears fell from his eyes, and he addressed her in the accents of love. " Un- THE INFERNAL REGIONS. 331 happy Dido ! was then the rumor true that you had perished? and was I, alas ! the cause ? I call the gods to witness that my departure from you was reluctant, and in obedience to the com- mands of Jove ; nor could I oelieve that my absence would have cost you so dear. Stop, I beseech you, and refuse me not a last farewell." She stood for a moment with averted countenance and eyes fixed on the ground, and then silently passed on, as in- sensible to his pleadings as a rock, ^neas followed for some distance ; then, with a heavy heart, rejoined his companion and resumed his route. They next entered the fields where roam the heroes who had fallen in battle. Here they saw many shades of Grecian and Trojan warriors. The Trojans thronged around him, and could not be satisfied with the sight. They asked the cause of his coming, and plied him with innumerable questions. But the Greeks, at the sight of his armor glittering through the murky atmosphere, recognized the hero, and, filled with terror, turned their backs and fled, as they used to do on the plains of Troy . *' This way for us Into Elysiiun, while the left way sends The wicked to their punishment." — iENEiD. ^neas would have lingered long with his Trojan friends, but the Sibyl hurried him away. They next came to a place where the road divided, the one leading to Elysium, the other to the regions of the condemned, ^neas beheld on one side the walls of a mighty city, around which Phlegethon rolled its fiery waters. Before him was the gate of adainant that neither gods nor men can break through. An iron tower stood by the gate, on which Tisiphone, the avenging Fury, kept guard. From the city were heard groans, and the sound of the scourge, the creak- ing of iron, and the clanking of chains, .^neas, horror-struck, inquired of his guide what crimes were those whose punishments produced the sounds he heard ? The Sibyl answered, ** Here is the judgment -hall of Rhadamanthus, who brings to light crimes done in life, which the perpetrator vainly thought impenetrably hid. Tisiphone applies her whip of scorpions, and delivers the offender over to her sister Furies. ' ' At this moment, with horrid clang, the brazen gates unfolded, and ^Eneas saw within a Hydra, il.i Via 332 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. *:''*'■, R r>m .§ i2 /t THE INFERNAL BEOIO. tJ^ ^Jl 333 / with fifty heads, guarding the entrance. TbrSibyl tola l((hn that the gulf of Tartarus descended deep, so that its recetsflK were as far beneath their feet aS heaven was high aboVe their pads. In the bottom of this pit the Titan race, who Iwarred igaing^the gods. He prostrate; Salmoneus, also, who prfesumed/to vie wi.h Jupiter, and built a bridge of brass /oyer which he drove his chariot, that the sound might resembl^tMn^r, launching flaming brands at his people in imitation of lightriing^ill Jupiter stnick him with a real thunderbolt, and taught him the difference between mortal weapons and divine. Here also is Tityus, the giant, whose form is so immense that as he lies he stretches over nine acres, while a vulture preys upon his liver, which as fast as it is devoured grows again, so that his punishment will have no end. ^neas saw groups seated at tables loaded with dainties, while near by stood a Fury, who snatched away the viands from their lips as fast as they prepared to taste them. ,- . '. '* And beside them sits The queen of Furies, and forbids to touch The food."— Virgil. « Others beheld suspended over their heads huge rocks, threat- ening to fall, keeping them in a state of constant alarm. These were they who had hated their brothers, or struck their parents, or defrauded the friends who trusted them, or who, having grown rich, kept their money to themselves and gave no share to others — the last being the most numerous class. Here also were those who had violated the marriage-vow, or fought in a bad cause, or failed in fidelity to their employers. Here was one who had sold his country for gold ; another who perverted the laws, making them say one thing to-day and another to-morrow. Ixion was there, fastened to the circumference of a wheel cease- lessly revolving. '* Proud Ixion, doom'd to feel The tortiu-es of the eternal wheel." — Sophocles •( Francklin' s tr. ). And Sisyphus, whose task was to roll a hugh stone up to a hill- top, but when the steep was well-nigh gained, the rock, repulsed by some sudden force, rushed again headlong down to the plain. / Pl^ elf m ^y^m i ■■■J\ M .r. •I ■ ii I 334 STORIES OF &ODS AJfI> HEROES. 'liill Again he toiled at it, while the sweat bathed all his weary limbs^ but all to no effect. •* With many a weary step and many a groan, Up the high hill he heaves a huge round stone." — Homer (Pope's tr.). There was Tantalus, who stood in a pool, his chin level with the water, yet he was parched with thirst, and found nothing to assuage it ; for when he bowed his hoary head, eager to quaff, the water fled away, leaving the ground at his feet all dry. Tall trees laden with fruit stooped their heads to him — pears, pome- granates, apples, and luscious figs; but when, with a sudden grasp, he tried to seize them, winds whirled them high above his reach. r . " The fruit he strives to seize, but blasts arise. Toss it on high, and whirl it to the skies." — Homer (Pope's tr.). The Sibyl now warned .^neas that it was time to turn from these melancholy regions and seek the city of the blessed. They passed through a middle tract of darkness and came upon the Elysian fields, the groves where the happy reside. They breathed a freer air, and saw all objects clothed in a purple light. The region has a sun and stars of its own. The inhabitants were en- joying themselves in various ways — some in sports on the grassy turf, in games of strength or skill ; others dancing or singing. Orpheus struck the chords of his lyre, and called forth ravishing sounds. Here .^neas saw the founders of the Trojan state, magnanimous heroes, who lived in happier times. He gazed with admiration on the war-chariots and glittering arms now re- posing in disuse. Spears stood fixed in the ground, and the horses, unharnessed, roamed over the plain. The same pride 'in splendid armor and generous steeds which the old heroes felt in life accompanied them here. He saw another group feast- ing and listening to the strains of music. They were in a laurel grove, whence the great river Po has its origin, and flows out among men. Here dwelt those who fell by v/ounds received in their country's cause ; holy priests, also, and poets who have ut- tered thoughts worthy of Apollo, and others who have contribu- ted to cheer and adorii life by their discoveries in the useful arts^ THE INFERNAL REGIONS. 33S and have made their memory blessed by rendering service to mankind. •* Patriots who perished for their country's rights, Or nobly triumphed in the fields of fight ; There holy priests and sacred poets stood. Who sang with all the raptures of a god : Worthies whose lives by useful arts refined, With those who leave a deathless name behind, I Friends of the world and fathers of mankind." — Virgil. They wore snow-white fillets about their brows. The Sibyl ad* dressed a group of these, and inquired where Anchises was to be found. They were directed where to seek him, and soon found him in a verdant valley, where he was contemplating the ranks of his posterity, their destinies and worthy deeds to be achieved in coming times. When he recognized .^neas ap- proaching, he stretched out both hands to him, while tears flowed freely. "Have you come at last," said he, "long ex- pected, and do I behold you after such perils past ? O, my son, how have I trembled for you as I have watched your career !" To which ^neas replied, "O, father I your image was always before me to guide and guard me." Then he endeavored to enfold his father in his embrace, but his arms enclosed only an unsubstantial image, ** And vanished like a winged di.am away." JEneas perceived before him a spacious valley, with trees gently waving to the wind — a tranquil landscape — through which the river Lethe flowed. ill ,1 i ' ''m r'M ;-, ,.■ " Her wat'ry labyrintj;, whereof who drinks Forthwith his former state and being forgets— Forgets both joy and grief, nleasiu-e and pain."— MiLTON. Along the banks of the stream wandered a countless multitude, numerous as insects in the summer air. ^neas, with surprise, inquired who were these. Anchises answered, "They are souls to which bodies are to be given in due time. Meanwhile they dwell on Lethe's bank, and drink oblivion of their former lives." "O, father I" said ^neas, "is it possible that any can be so in love with life as to wish to leave these tranquil seats ■■*;"- M m I A ill 33^ STontlSS OF GODS ANP BtHtOESL 4" ■ I - »N t^ P 'I*''..* for the upper world ?" Anchises replied by explaining the plan of creation. The Creator, he told him, originally made the material of which souls are composed of the four elements — fire, air, earth, and water ; all which, when united, took the form of the most excellent part, fire, and became flame. This material was scattered like seed among the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars. ** The heavens, the earth, the flowing sea, ^• By one interior spirit are sustained ; One mind quickens the mass entire. And mingling, stirs the mighty frame." — ^NEID. • - Of this seed the inferior gods created man and all other ani- mals, mingling it with various proportions of earth, by which its purity was alloyed and reduced. Thus the more earth predomi- nates in the composition, the less pure is the individual ; and we see men and women with their full-grown bodies have not the purity of childhood. So, in proportion to the time which the union of body and soul has lasted, is the impurity contracted by the spiritual part. This impurity must be purged away after death, which is done by ventilating the souls in the current of winds, or merging them in water, or burning out their impurities by fire. Some few, of whom Anchises intimates that he is one, are admitted at once to Elysium, there to remain. But the rest, after the impurities of earth are purged away, are sent back to life endowed with new bodies, Tiaving had the remembrance of their former lives effectually washed away by the waters of Lethe. Some, however, there still are, so thoroughly corrupted that they are not fit to be intrusted with human bodies, and these are made into brute animals. 1 ** Our ills do not depart when life's ' i Last ray has fled. We all endure Our ghostly retribution." — ^Virgil. This is what the ancients called Metempsychosis, or the trans- migration of souls — a doctrine which is still held l)y the natives of India, who scruple to destroy the life even of the most insig- nificant animal, not knowing but it may be one of their relations in an i^kered form. ELYSIUM. 337 ling the plan iy made the ments — fire, the form of 'his material es, the sun. Anchises, having explained so much, proceeded to point out tw ^neas individuals of his race who were hereafter to be bom, and to relate to him the exploits they should perform in the world. After this he reverted to the present, and told his son of the events that remained to him to be accomplished before the complete establishment of himself and his followers in Italy." *' Anchises showed ^neas, in long line, The illustrious shades of those who were to shine One day the glory of the Italian shore." — TOMAS DE IrIARTE. ■ 111- ' ii! all other ani- by which its rth predomi- ividual J and ies have not me which the :ontracted by d away after le current of eir impurities lat he is one, But the rest, sent back to lembrance of :ers of Lethe. ited that they lese are made , or the trans- >y the natives le most insig- ;heir relations Wars were to be waged, battles fought, a bride to be won, and in the result a Trojan state founded, from which should rise the Roman power, to be in time the sovereign of the world. ^neas and the Sibyl then took leave of Anchises, and re- turned by some short route, which the poet does not explain, to the upper world. E-lys'i-um, Virgil, we have seen, places his E-lys'i-um under the earth, and assigns it for a residence to the spirits of the blessed. But in Homer Elysium forms no part of the realms of the dead. He places it on the west of the earth, near Ocean, and describes it as a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor rain, and always fanned by the delightful breezes of Zephyrus. Hither favored heroes pass without dying, and live happy under the rule of Rhadamanthus. *« And every bird that singeth sweet, Throstle, and merle, and nightingale, Brings blossoms from the dewy vale, Lily, and rose, and asphodel. With these doth each guest twine his crown And wreathe his cup and lay him down Beside some friend he loveth well." — ANDREW Lano. The Elysium of Hesiod and Pindar is in the Isles of the Blessed, or Fortunate Islands, in the Western Ocean. From these sprang the legend of the happy island Atlantis. This bliss- ful region may have been wholly imaginary, but possibly may 23 ! m m I .1 I'M ■V.I, y ill. 338 STORIES OF OODS AND HBttOES. havf tuning from the reports of some storm -driven mariners who hac- caught a glimpse of the coast of America. ** Like those Hesperian gardens famed of old, Fortunate fields and groves and floweiy vales, Thiice happy isles.**— Milton. / The Sib'yl. As -^neas and the Sib'yl pursued their way back to earth, he said to her, ** Whether thou be a goddess or a mortal beloved of the gods, by me thou shalt always be held in reverence. When I reach the upper air I will cause a temple to be built to thy honor, and will myself bring offerings." ** I am no goddess," said the Sibyl ; "I have no claim to sacrifice or offering. I am mortal ; yet if I could have accepted the love of Apollo I might have been immortal. He promised me the fulfilment of my wish if I would consent to be his. I took a handful of sand, and holding it forth said, * Grant me to see as many birthdayj as there are sand-grains in my hand.' ** For constant youth I asked hlra not, Hence age has come, while yet my death is far away." ♦ I have lived seven hundred years, and to equal the number of the sand-grains I have still to see three hundred springs and three hundred harvests. My body shrinks up as years increase, and in time I shall be lost to sight j but my voice will remain, and future ages will respect my sayings." These concluding words of the Sibyl alluded to her prophetic power. In her cave she was accustomed to inscribe on leaves gathered from the trees the names and fates of individuals. The leaves thus inscribed were arranged in order within the cave, and might be consulted by her votaries. But if perchance at the opening of the door the wind rushed in and dispersed the leaves, the Sibyl gave no aid to restoring them again, and the oracle was irreparably lost. ** Do not write Thy prophecies on leaves, lest, blown about, They fly, the sport of fitful winds.*'— Virgil. The following legend of the Sibyl is fixed at a later date. In THE8IBTL. 330 oaxiners who : to earth, he il beloved of ince. When built to thy lo goddess," ering. I am DoUo I might ilment of my dful of sand, f birthda:yo as 7' »» ! number of springs and lars increase, will remain, her prophetic be on leaves v^iduals. The the cave, and hance at the ed the leaves, ind the oracle L. Iter date. In the reign of one of the Tarquins there appeared before the king a woman who offered him nine books for sale. The king refused to purchase them, whereupon the woman went away and burned three of the books, and returning offered the remaining books for the same price she had asked for the nine. The king again rejected them ; but when the woman, after burning three books more, returned and asked for the three remaining the same price which she had before asked for the nine, his curiosity was ex- cited, and he purchased the books. "As worldly schemes resemble Sibyl's leaves. The good man's days to Sibyl's books compare, The price still rising as in number less." — YouNO. They were found to contain the destinies of the RomM state. They were kept in the temple of Jupiter Cap- itclinus, preserved in a stone chest, and allowed to be inspected only by es- pecial officers appointed for that duty, who on great oc- casions consulted them and interpreted their oracles to the people. There were numerous Sibyls; but the Cumaean Sibyl, of whom Ovid and Virgil write, is the most cele- brated. Ovid's story of her life protracted to one thousand years may be in- tended to represent the vari- ous Sibyls as being only re- appearances of one and the Cumsean Sibyl, M. Angelo (Sistine wme individual. Chapel, Rome). • tk 340 STOBIES OF QODS AND HEROES, i*5 CHAPTER XXXIII. Opening the Gates of Ja'nus — Ca-miVla — E-van'der~ Infant Rome — Ni'sus and £u-ry'a-lus — Me- zen'ti-us — Pallas, Ca-mil'la and Tur'- nus — Rom'u-lus and Re'mus. -^NEAS, having parted from the Sibyl and rejoined hi§ fleet, coasted along the shores of Italy and cast anchor in the mouth of the Tiber. The poet Virgil, having brought his hero to this spot, the destined termination of his wanderings, invokes his Muse to tell him the situation of things at that eventful moment. Latinus, third in descent from Saturn, ruled the country. He was now old and had no male descendant, but had one charming daughter, Lavinia, who was sought in marriage by many neigh- boring chiefs, one of whom, Tumus, king of the Rutulians, was favored by the wishes of her parents. But Latinus had been warned in a dream by his father, Faunus, that the destined hus- band of Lavinia should come from a foreign land. From that union should spring a race destined to subdue the world. Our readers will remember that in the conflict with the Har- pies, one of those half-human birds had threatened the Trojans with dire sufferings. In particular she predicted that before their wanderings ceased they should be pressed by hunger to devour their tables. This portent now came true ; for as they took their scanty meal, seated on the grass, the men placed their hard biscuit on their laps, and put thereon whatever their glea;!- ings in the woods supplied. Having despatched the latter, they finished by eating the crusts. Seeing which, the boy lulus said, playfully, " See, we are eating our tables. " ^Eneas caught the words and accepted the omen. " All hail, promised land !" he exclaimed; "this is our home, this our country!" He then took measures to find out who were the present inhabitants of the land, and who their rulers. A hundred chosen men were sent to the village of Latinus, bearing presents and a request for JVNO INCITES WAR 341 friendship and allidnce. They went and were favorably received. Latinus immediately concluded that the Trojan hero was no other than the promised son in-law announced by the oracle. He cheerfully granted his alliance, and sent back the messengers mounted on i^teeds from his stables, and loaded with gifts and friendly memagm. Juno, seeing things go thus prosperously for the Trojans, felt her old animosity revive, summoned Alecto from Erebus, and sent her to stir tip discord. The Fury first took possession of the queen, Amata^ and roused her to oppose in every way the new alliance, * ** Fertliwhh, in fell Gorgonian venom steeped, Alecto seeks the realms, and lays her siege fiefere Amatas' silent chamber door." — ^Virgil, Book vii. (Cranch), Alecto then speeded to the city of Turnus, and, assuming the form of an old priestess, informed him of the arrival of the for- eigners and of the attempt of their prince to rob him of his bride. Next she turned her attention to the camp of the Tro- jans. There she saw the boy lulus and his companions amusing themselves with hunting. She sharpened the scent of the dogs, and led them to rouse up from the thicket a tame stag, the fa- vorite of Silvia, the daughter of Tyrrheus, the king's herdsman. A javelin from the hand of lulus wounded the animal, and he had only strength left to run homewards, and died at his mis- tress's feet. Her cries and tears roused her brothers and the herdsmen, and they, seizing whatever weapons came to hand, furiously assaulted the hunting party. These were protected by their friends, and the herdsmen were finally driven back with the loss of two of their number. / These things were enough to rouse the storm of war, and the queen, Tumus, and the peasants, all urged the old king to drive the strangers from the country. ** TbI* tli§ fif«>t canse of troubles proved, and lit Tbe flaines of war within the peasant^ hearts." — ViRGiL (Cranch). He resisted as long as he could, but finding his opposition un* availingf finally gave way and retreated to his retirement. mti m m ml ,,Ji m ■■') ' ■;■■ ,*( 342 k^ V f k Vtl It STORIES OF GODS AND HEBOES, Opening the Gates of Ja'nus. custom of Janus. country, when war was to be under, taken, for the chief mag- istrate, clad in his robes of office, with solemn pomp to open the gates of the temple of j a'nus , which were kept shut as long as peace endured. His people now urged the old king to perform that solemn office, but he refused to do so. While they contested, Juno herself, descend- ing from the skies, smote the doors with irresistible force, and burst them open. ** Then the queen of gods, herself Descending from the skies, the unwilling gates Pushed with her hand, then turned the hinges back, And open burst the iron gates of war." —Virgil, Book vii. (Cranch). Immediately the whole country was in a flame. The people rushed from every side, breathing nothing but war. Tumus was recognized by all as leader ; others joined as allies, chief of whom was Mezentius, a brave and able soldier, but of detestable cruelty. He had been the chief of one of the neigh- boring cities, but his people drove him out. With him was joined his son Lausus, a generous youth, worthy of a better sire. Ca-miHa. Ca-tniVla, the favorite of Diana, a huntress and warrior after the fashion of the Amazons, came with her band of mounted followers, including a select number of her own sex, and ranged herself on the side of Turnus. to be under, e chief mag- in his robes ivith solemn en the gates eofja'nus, kept shut as ice endured. ; now urged g to perform n office, but I to do so. y contested, elf, descend- the skies, doors with force, and open. ick, rii. (Cranch). The people »ined as allies, jldier, but of of the neigh- ^ith him was ' a better sire. warrior, after [ of mounted ic, and ranged EVANDER " Last comes Camilla, of the Volscian race. Leading a band of riders to the field." 343 This maiden had never accustomed her fingers to the distaff oi the loom, but had learned to endure the toils of war, and in speed to outstrip the wind. It seemed as if she might run over the standing com without cmshing it, or over the surface of the water without dipping her feet. Camilla's history had been singular from the beginning. Her father Metabus, driven from his city by civil discord, carried with him in his flight his infant daughter. As he fled through the woods, his enemies in hot pursuit, he reached th^ bank of the river Amazenus, which, swelled by rains, seemed to debar a passage. He paused for a moment, then decided what to do. He tied the infant to his lance with wrappers of bark, and, poising the weapon in his up- raised hand, thus addressed Diana: "Goddess of the woods, I consecrate this maid to you;" then hurled the weapon, with its burden, to the opposite bank. The spear flew across the roaring water. His pursuers were already upon him, but he plunged into the river and swam across, and found the spear, with the infant, safe on the other side. Thenceforth he lived among the shepherds and brought up his daughter in woodland arts. While a child she was taught to use the bow and throw the javelin. With her sling she could bring down the crane or the wild swan. Her dress was a tiger's skin. Many mothers sought her for a daughter-in-law, but she continued faithful to Diana and repelled the thought of marriage. E-van'der. Such were the formidable allies that ranged themselves against JEneas. It was night, and he lay stretched in sleep on the bank of the river, under the open heavens, '* His breast disturbed with gloomy thoughts of war." The god of the stream, Father Tiber, seemed to raise his head above the willows and to say, "O goddess-born, destined pos- sessor of the Latin realms, this is the promised land, here is to be your home, here shall terminate the hostility of the heavenly powers, if only you faithfully persevere. There are friends not ■ w m iill ' '"Si 344 STOBIES OF OODS AND HEROES, m. ' ' far distant. Prepare your boats and row up my stream ; I wil lead you to £-van'der, the Arcadian chief. He has long been at strife with Turnus and the Rutulians, and is prepared to be- come an ally of yours. Rise I offer your vows to Juno, and de- precate her anger. When you have achieved your victory, then think of me." ./Eneas woke and paid immediate obedience to the friendly vision. He sacrificed to Juno, and invoked the god of the river and all his tributary fountains to lend their aid. Ihen for the first time a vessel filled with armed warriors floated on the stream of the Tiber. The river smoothed its waves, and bade its current flow gently, while, impelled by the vigorous strokes of the rowers, the vessel shot rapidly up the stream. About the middle of the day they came in sight of the scat tered buildings of the infant town, where in after times theproud city of Rome grew, whose glory reached the skies. «* Then swift . They turn their prows and near the city's walls." ' By chance the old king, Evander, was that day celebrating an- nual solemnities in honor of Hercules and all the gods. Pallas, his son, and all the chiefs of the little commonwealth stood by. When they saw the tall ship gliding onward through the wood, they were alarmed at the sight, and rose from the tables. But Pallas forbade the solemnities to be interrupted, and seizing a weapon, stepped forward to the river's bank. He called aloud, demanding who they were, and what their object, .^neas, holding forth an olive-branch, replied, ** We are Trojans, friends to you and enemies to the Rutulians. We seek Evander, and offer to join our arms with yours." Pallas, in amaze at the sound of so great a name, invited them to land, and when ^uieas touched the shore he seized his hand, and held it long in friendly grasp. Proceeding through the wood they joined the king and his party, and were most favorably received. Seats were pro- vided for them at the tables, and the repast proceeded. Infant Rome. When the solemniiles were ended all moved towards the city ** Burdened with old age, The king moves onward, keeping at his side iEneas and his son." — Virgil, Book viii. (Cranch). INFANT ROME. 345 ^neas with delight looked and listened, observing all the beau- ties of the scene, and learning much of heroes renowned in an- cient times. Evander said, "These extensive groves were once inhabited by fauns and nymphs, and a rude race of men who sprang from the trees themselves, and had neither laws nor social culture. They knew not how to yoke the cattle nor raise a har- vest, nor provide from present abundance for future want, but browsed like beasts upon the leafy boughs, or fed voraciously on their hunted prey. Such were they when Saturn, expelled from Olympus by his sons, came among them, and drew together the fierce savages, formed them into society, and gave them laws. Such peace and plenty ensued that men ever since have called his reign the golden age ; but by degrees far other times suc- ceeded, and the thirst of gold and the thirst of blood prevailed. The land was a prey to successive tyrants, till fortune and resist- less destiny brought me hither, an exile from my native land, Arcadia." Having thus said, he showed him the Tarpeian rock, and the rude spot, then overgrown with bushes, where in after times the Capitol rose in all its magnificence. He next pointed to some dismantled walls, and said : ** Yon two towns, With ruined walls, thou seest, the relics old And monuments of ancient days. This one Was reared by Janus, that by Saturn built— Satumia and Janiculum their names."—-VlRGiL. Such discourse brought them to the cottage of poor Evander, whence they saw the lowing herds roaming over the plain where now the proud and stately Forum stands. They entered, and a couch was spread for ^neas, well stuffed with leaves and covered with the skin of a Libyan bear. Next morning, awakened by the dawn and the shrill song of birds beneath the eaves of his low mansion, old Evander rose. Clad in a tunic, and a panther's skin thrown over his shoulders, with sandals on his feet, and his good sword girded to his side, he went forth to seek his gue'^t. Two mastiffs followed him, his whole retinue and body-guard. He found the hero attended by his faithful Achates, and, Pallas soon joining them, the old king spoke thus : p| M lit % ■■m ^ I ',!':? I'. : ,,aa_ 346 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. •HNS '. .;v* ** Illustrious Trojan, it is but little we can do in so great a cause. Our state is feeble, hemmed in on one side by the river, on the other side by the Rutulians. But I propose to ally you with a people numerous and rich, to whom fate has brought you at the propitious moment. The Etruscans hold the country beyond the river. Mezentius was their king, a monster of cruelty, who invented unheard-of torments to gratify his ven geance. He would fasten the dead to the living, hand to hand and face to face, and leave the wretched victims to die in that dreadful embrace. At length the people cast him out, him and his house. They burned his palace and slew his friends. He escaped and took refuge with Tumus, who protects him with arms. The Etruscans demand that he shall be given up to de- served punishment, and would ere now have attempted to en- force their demand ; but their priests restrain them, telling them that it is the will of heaven that no native of the land shall guide them to victory, and that their destined leader must come from across the sea. They have offered the crown to me, but I am too old to undertake such great affairs, and my son is native- born, which precludes him from the choice. You, equally by birth and time of life, and fame in arms, pointed out by the gods, have but to appear to be hailed at once as their leader. With you I will join Pallas, my son, my only hope and com- fort. Under you he shall learn the art of war, and strive to emulate your great exploits." << Pallas himself rode in the midst, Conspicuous with his scarf and shield adorned With painted emblems. Like the Morning Star By Venus beloved more than all the fires Of heaven." — Virgil, Book viii. (Cranch). Then the king ordered horses to be furnished for the Trojan chiefs, and ^neas, with a chosen band of followers and Pallas accompanying, mounted and took the way to the Etruscan city,' having sent back the rest of his party in the ships. ^^Cneas and * The poet here inserts a famous line which is thought to imitate in its sound the galloping of korses. It may be thus translated : •' Then struck the hoofs of the steeds on the ground with a four-footed trampling."— See Pro" verbial Expressions. NLSUS AND EUBYALU& 347 his band safely arrived at the Etruscan camp, and were received with open arms by Tarchon and his countrymen. Ni'sus and Eu-ry'a-lus. In the meanwhile Turnus had collected his bands and made all necessary preparations for the war. Juno sent Iris to him with a message inciting him to take advantage of the absence of iEneas and surprise the Trojan camp. \ ■* * " Now is the time to call ^ For chariots and for steeds." — ^Virgil. Accordingly, the attempt was made, but the Trojans were found on their guard, and having received strict orders from JEneas not to fight in his absence, they lay still in their intrench- ments, and resisted all the efforts of the Rutulians to draw them into the field. Night coming on, the army of Turnus, in high spirits at their fancied superiority, feasted and enjoyed them- selves, and finally stretched themselves on the field and slept secure. In the camp of the Trojans things were far otherwise. There all was watchfulness and anxiety, and impatience for .^neas's return. Ni'sus stood guard at the entrance of the camp, and Eu-ry''a-lus, a youth distinguished above all in the army for graces of person and fine qualities, was with him. These two were friends and brothers in arms. ** These two were bound In closest ties of love, and side by side Had rushed together to the battle-field.*' —Virgil (Cranch). Nisus said to his friend, " Do you perceive what confidence and carelessness the enemy display ? Their lights are few and dim, and the men seem all oppressed with wine or sleep. You know how anxiously our chiefs wish to send to -^neas, and to get in- telligence from him. Now I am strongly moved to make my way through the enemy's camp and to go in search of our chief. If I succeed, the glory of the deed will be reward enough for me, and if they judge the service deserves anything more, let theia pay it to you." Euryalus, all on fire with the love of adventure, replied^ / ;;ii S h,*i Uy 1 ^ ' 1 % hi 348 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES m % h li • % fcl rii-4- M ** Would you, then, Nisus, refuse to share your enterprise with me ? And shall I let you go into such danger alone ? Not so my brave father brought me up, nor so have I planned for my- self when I joined the standard of ^-Eneas, and resolved to hold my life cheap in comparison with honor." Nisus replied, **I doubt it not, my friend ; but you know the uncertain event of such an undertaking, and whatever may happen to me, I wish you to be safe. You are younger than I and have more of life in prospect. Nor can I be the cause of such grief to your mother, who has chosen to be here in the camp with you rather than stay and live in peace with the other matrons in Acestes' city." Euryalus replied, ** Say no more. In vain you seek arguments to dissuade me. I am fixed in the resolution to go with you. Let us lose no time." They called the guard, and committing the watch to them, sought the general's tent. They found the chief officers in consultation, deliberating how they should send notice to Apneas of their situation. The offer of the two friends was gladly accepted, themselves loaded with praises and prom- ised the most liberal rewards in case of success. lulus especially addressed Euryalus, assuring him of his lasting friendship. Eu- ryalus replied, ** I have but one boon to ask. My aged mother is with me in the camp. Fi r me she left the Trojan soil, and would not stay behind with the other matrons at the city of Acestes. I go now without taking leave of her. I could not bear her tears, nor set at naught her entreaties. ** I have a mother bom Of Priam's ancient race, who came with me To Italy. Troy could not ho.d her back, Nor King Acestes' walls. I leave her now Without one farewell kiss, and knowing naught Of this, my dangerous venture. " —Virgil, Book ix. (Cranch). But do thou, I beseech you, comfort her in her distress. Prom' ise me that, and I shall go more boldly into whatever dangers may present themselves." lulus and the other chiefs were moved to tears, and promised to do all his request. "Your mother shall be mine," said lulus^ "and all that I have promised to you shall be made good to her, if you do not return to re ccivcit." ' NISUS AND EURYALU& 349 •prise with ? Not so ed for my- ed to hold eplied, **I event of me, I wish ore of life ur mother, r than stay tes' city." argumerts with you. :ommitting found the liould send two friends and proni- 3 especially Iship. Eu- jed mother n soil, and the city of could not (Cranch). ss. Prom" er dangers :hiefs were t. "Your e promised Jturn to re- The two friends left the camp and plunged at once into the midst of the enemy. They found no watch, no sentinels posted, but all about the sleeping soldiers strewn'on the grass and among the wagons. The laws of war at that early day did not forbid a brave man to slay a sleeping foe, and the two Trojans slew, as they passed, such of the enemy as they could without exciting alarm. *• They cross the trenches, and through shades of night Toward the hostile camps pursue their way." — Virgil. In one tent Euryalus made prize of a helmet brilliant with gold and plumes. They had passed through the enemy's ranks without being discovered, but now suddenly appeared a troop directly in front of them, which, under Volscens, their leader, were approaching the camp. The glittering helmet of Euryalus caught their attention, and Volscens hailed the two and de- manded who and whence they were. They made no answer, but plunged into the wood. The horsemen scattered in all direc- tions to intercept their flight. Nisus had eluded pursuit and was out of danger, but Euryalus being missing, he turned back to seek him. He again entered the wood, and soon came within sound of voices. Looking through the thicket, he saw the whole band surrounding Euryalus with noisy questions. What should he do ? how extricate the youth ? or would it be better to die with him? Raising his eyes to the moon, which now shone clear, he said, ** Goddess, favor my effort !" and, aiming his javelin at one of the leaders of the troop, struck him in the back and stretched him on the plain with a death-blow. In the midst of their amazement another weapon flew, and another of the party fell dead. Volscens, the leader, ignorant whence the darts came, rushed, sword in hand, upon Euryalus. **You shall pay the penalty of both," he said, and would have plunged the sword into his bosom, when Nisus, who from his concealment saw the peril of his friend, rushed forward, exclaiming, ** 'Twas I, 'twas I ; turn your swords against me, Rutulians ; I did it ; he only followed me as a friend. ' ' While he spoke the sword fell and pierced the comely bosom of Euryalus. His head fell over on his shoulder, like a flower cut down by the plough. NIfj* ^^ - ■■'ll M >V]< 350 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. t-- rushed upon Volscens and plunged his sword into his body, and was himself slain on the instant by numberless blows. *' And dying dealt a death-blow to his foe ; Then on the lifeless body of his friend He throws himself, pierced through with many a wound. And there at last in placid death he slept." — Virgil (Cranch). Me-zen'ti-us. ^neas, with his Etrurian allies, arrived on the scene of action in time to rescue his beleaguered camp ; and now, the two armies being nearly equal in strength, the war began in good earnest. We cannot find space for all the details, but must simply record the fate of the principal characters whom we have introduced to our readers. The tyrant Me-zen'ti-us, finding himself engaged against his revolted subjects, raged like a wild beast. He slew all who dared to withstand him, and put the multitude to flight wherever he appeared. At last he encountered ^Eneas, and the armies stood still to see the issue. " Mezentius stalks, Swelling with rage, across the field. JEneas, in the long battalion, sees His foe and goes to meet him." — Virgil (Cranch). Mezentius threw his spear, which, striking Eneas' s shield, glanced off and hit Anthor. He was a Grecian by birth, who had left Argos, his native city, and followed Evander into Italy. l^e poet says of him with simple pathos which has made the words proverbial, ** He fell, unhappy, by a wound intended for another, looked up to the skies, and dying remembered sweet Argos."* .^neas now in turn hurled his lance. It pierced the shield of Mezentius, and wounded him in the thigh. Laiisus, his son, could not bear the sight, but rushed forward and inter- posed himself, while the followers pressed round Mezentius and bore him away, -^neas held his sword suspended over Laiisus and delayed to strike, but the furious youth pressed on, and he was compelled to deal the fatal blow. " The sad soul left its mortal frame, And thro' the air iled to the realm of shades.'* — Virgil. ' See Proverbial Expressions. PALLAS, CAMILLA, TVRmS, 35* Mneas bent over him in pity. "Hapless youth," he said, "what can I do for you worthy of your praise? Keep those arms in which you glory, and fear not but that your body shall be restored to your friends, and have due funeral honors." So saying, he called the timid followers and delivered the body into their hands. Mezentius meanwhile had been borne to the river-side, and washed his wound. Soon the news reached him of Lausus's death, and rage and despair supplied the place of strength. He mounted his horse and dashed into the thickest of the fight, seeking ^Eneas. Having found him, he rode roi .d him in a cir- cle, throwing one javelin after another, while .^neas stood fenced with his shield, turning every way to meet them. At last, after Mezentius had three times made the circuit, ^neas threw his lance directly at the horse's head. It pierced his temples and he fell, while a shout from both armies rent the skies. " Where is the fierce Mezentius now, and all The wild impetuous force that filled his soul ?'* — ^Virgil. Mezentius asked no mercy, but only that his body might be spared the ^^insults of his revolted subjects, and be buried in the same grave with his son. He received the fatal stroke not un- prepared, and poured out his life and his blood together. Pal'las, Ca-mil'la, Tur'nus. While these things were doing in one part of the field, in an- other Tur'nus encountered the youthful Pal'las. The contest between champions so unequally matched could not be doubtful. Pallas bore himself bravely, but fell by the lance of Turnus. The victor almost relented when he saw the brave youth lying dead at his feet, and spared to use the privilege of a conqueror in de- spoiling him of his arms. The belt only, adorned with studs and carvings of gold, he took and clasped round his own body. The rest he remitted to the friends of the slain. After che battle there was a cessation of arms for some days, :o allow both armies to bury their dead. In this interval ^Eneas challenged Turnus to decide the contest by single combat, but Tumus evaded the challenge. Another battle ensued, in which Ca-miVla, the virgin warrior, was chiefly conspicuous. Hei '.•'■« « « • 1.7 ; 4 ■fel v 'J /M u> '.i 4; 352 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES deeds of valor surpassed those of the bravest warriors, and many Trojans and Etruscans fell pierced with her darts or struck down by her battle-axe. At last an Etruscan named Aruns, who had watched her long, seeking for some advantage, observed hei Diana (Corregio). s pursuing a flying enemy whose splendid armor offered s tempting prize. Intent on the chase she observed not her dan- ger, and the javelin of Aruns struck her and inflicted a fetal wound. She fell, and breathed her last in the arms of her at- tendant maidens. ^ ** « Go : my last charge to Tumus tell, To haste with succor, and repel r _ The Trojans from the town — farewelL* " —Virgil (Conington'str.). But Diani, who beheld her fate, suffered not her slaughter to be DALLAS, CAMILLA, TURNUS. 353 , and many truck down s, who had )served hei offered a Dt her dan- dled a fotal IS of Iier at- gton's tr.). ghter to be unavenged. Aruns, as he stole away, glad but frightened, was struck by a secret arrow, launched by one of the nymphs of Diana's train, and died ignobly and unknown. At length the final conflict took place between -^neas and Tumus. Tumus had avoided the contest as long as he could, but at last, impelled by the ill -success of his arms and by the murmurs of his followers, he braced himself to the conflict. ♦* The trumpet hoarse Rings out the bloody signal for the war. Fired with martial zeal, Ttunushimself is there." — ^Virgil (Cranch). It could not be doubtful. On the side of .^neas were the ex- pressed decree of des- tiny, the aid of his god- dess-mother at every emergency, and im- penetrable armor fabri- cated by Vulcan, at her request, for her son. Turnus, on the other hand, was deserted by his celestial allies, Juno having been expressly forbidden by Jupiter to assist him any longer. Turnus threw his lance, but it recoiled harmless from the shield of ^^neas. The Trojan hero then threw his, which penetrated the shield of Turnus, and pierced his thigh. Then Turnus' s fortitude forsook him and he begged for mercy. Diana (Vatican, Romt). ' *• The Auscinans have beheld A vanquished enemy stretch forth his bands."— VlROII# rl- I' t; :.,t .1^1 M 'U I ii 354 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ■H," l> k» r-ji ^ ii' 1' . h; fx. iEneas would have given him his life, but at the instant his eye fell on the belt of Pallas, which Turnus had taken from the slaughtered youth. Instantly his rage revived, and exclaiming, "Pallas immolates thee with this blow," he thrust him through with his sword, ** And with a groun Down to the shades the soul ind'gnant fled." Heie the poem of the ^neid closes, and we are left to infer Vesta, or Hestia (Rome). Irene, or Peace (Mvinich). that ^neas, having triumphed over his foes, obtained Lavinia for his bride. Tradition adds that he founded his city, and instant his eye aken from the id exclaiming, St him through ire left to infer ROMULUS AND REMUS. 355 called it after hef name, Lavinium. His son lulus founded Alba Longa, wbkh was the birthplace of Romulus and Remus, and the cradle of Eome itself. Rom'u-lus and Re'mus. Among the descendants were two brothers, Numitor and AmuUus, Amulius is said to have usurped the crown, and in order Xo perpetuate his power made his brother's daughter, Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin. But she broke her vow to virginity and became by Mars the mother of the twins Roxn'u-lus and Re'muf * Rhea was buried alive, and her sons, having been placed in a baiket, were thrown into the Tiber. The river over- flowed its l>anks and the children were washed ashore. A she- wolf prowling about took pity upon them, carried them to her den, and guekled them with her cubs. Here they were found by a herdsman, who took them home and brought them up as his own sons. Subsequently they learned their kingly origin, and avenged themselves upon Numitor by driving him from his throne, Remu» was slain, and Romulus became the founder of Rome» ':'■ i ;!■■! . 1 fSliU ' ^^ .•-■ .",■■* ,;j^ f:i'!jfM m ' '$'m HI ?wi H 'llli' m ■ ■.,''■?' £%:J ' ^ ''^h W'f} , ' '''»,' fel yiP. i^. btained Lavinia 1 his city, and :i;^' 356 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ™, "''nil ' " \tr r ■■{-.- CHAPTER XXXrV. Py-thag'o-ras — Syb'a-ris and Cro-to'na — E-gyp'tian Mythology — Ro-set'ta Stone — Ritual of the Dead- Hall of Two Truths— The A'pis— E-gyp'tian Gods — O-si'ris and I'sis — Oracles — Ju'pi-ter Do-do'na — Derphi— Tro-pho'ni-us — ^s-cu-la'pi-us— A'pis. Py-thag'o-ras. The teachings of Anchises to ^^neas, respecting the nature of the human soul, were in conformity with the doctrines of the Pythagoreans. Py-thag'o-ras, born five hundred and forty years before our era, was a native of the island of Samos, but passed the chief portion of his life at Croto ia, in Italy. He is therefore sometimes called ** the Samian," and sometimes "the philosopher of Crotona. ' ' When young he travelled extensively, and it is said visited Egypt, where he was instructed by the priests in all their learning, and afterwards journeyed to the East, and visited the Persian and Chaldean Magi, and the Brah- mins of India. At Crotona, where he finally established himself, his extraor- dinary qualities collected round him a great number of disciples. The inhabitants were notorious for luxury and licentiousness, but the good effects of his influence were soon visible. Sobriety and temperance succeeded. Six hundred of the inhabitants became his disciples, and en oiled themselves in a society to aid each other in the pursuit of wisdom, uniting their property in one common stock, for the benefit of the whole. They were re- quired to practise the greatest purity and simplicity of manners. The first lesson they learned was silence; for a time they were required to be only hearers. He (Pythagoras) said so.* "Ipse dixit" was to be held by them as sufficient, without any proof. * He himself said it gyp'tian Dead— ' an Gods D-do'na— I'pis. the nature fines of the . and forty Samos, but ily. He is 5times "the extensively, :ted by the ;yed to the d the Brah- his extraor- jf disciples, ousness, but lobriety and mts became to aid each erty in one ey were re- of manners. 3 they were so.* "Ipse t any proof. PYTHAGORAS. 357 " Then ask me not, nor seek to know Why this is true, or that is so, For truth as such is not to thee. Since I am it, and it is me." — Klopp. It was only the advanced pupils, after years of patient submis* sion, who were allowed to ask questions and to state objections. One of his greatest contributions to humanity was the invention of the lyre, which is generally ascribed to him. ♦* As great Pythagoras of yore. Standing beside the blacksmith's door. And hearing the hammers as they smote The anvils with a different note. Stole from the varying tones that hung Vibrant on every iron tongue, The secret of the sounding wiie. And formed the seven-chorded lyre." — LoNGFELLOW. Pythagoras considered numbers as the essence and principle of all things, and attributed to them a real and distinct exist- ence, so that in his view they were the elements out of which the universe was constructed. How he conceived this process has never been satisfactorily explained. He traced the various forms and phenomena of the world to numbers as their basis and essence. The monad, or unit^ he regarded as the source of all numbers. The number Two was imperfect, and the cause of increase and division. Three was called the number of the whole, because it had a beginning, middle and end ; Four^ rep- resenting the square, is in the highest degree perfect ; and 7>«, as it contains the sum of the four prime numbers, comprehends all musical and arithmetical proportions, and denotes the system of the world. As the numbers proceed from the monad, so he regarded the pure and simple essence of the Deity as the source of all the forms of nature. Gods, demons and heroes are emanations of the Supreme ; and there is a fourth emanation, the human soul. This is immortal, and, when fi-eed from the fetters of the body, passes to the habitation ot the dead, where it remains till it re- turns to the world, to dwell in some other human or animal body, and at last, when sufficiently purified, it returns to the source from which it proceeded. This doctrine of the transmi' I'tl: HI u * if < ■■I X^, :#i '! *':9 t 358 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, gration of souls, or metempsychosis, which was originally Egyptian, and connected with the doctrine of reward and pun- ishment of human actions, was the chief cause why the Pythag- oreans killed no animals. Ovid represents Pythagoras address- ing his disciples in these words : *•' Souls never die, but always, on quitting one abode, pass to another. I myself can remember that in the time of the Trojan war I was Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, and fell by the spear of Menelaus. Lately, being in the temple of Juno at Argos, I recognized my shield hung up there among the trophies. All things change, nothing perishes. The soul passes hither and thither, occupying now this body, now that, passing from the body of a beast into that of a man, and thence to a beast's again. I ** Thou almost mak'st me waver in my faith, To hold opinion with Pythagoras, That souls of animals infuse themselves Into the tranks of men ; thy currish spirit Governed a wolf, who, hanged for human slaughter. Infused his soul in thee ; for thy desires Are wolfish, bloody, starved and ravenous." — Merchant of Venice. As wax is stamped with certain figures, then melted, then stamped anew with others, yet is always the same wax, so the soul, being always the same, yet wears at different times different forms. Therefore, if the love of kindred is not extinct in your bosoms, forbear, I entreat you, to violate the life of those who may haply be your own relatives." The relation of the notes of the musical scale to numbers, whereby harmony results from vibrations in equal times, and dis- cord from the reverse, led Pythagoras to apply the word "har- mony ' ' to the visible creation, meaning by it the just adaptation of parts to each other. ^. "Ring out, ye crystal spheres I Once bless our human ears ; (If ye have power to charm our senses so ;) And let your silver chime Move in melodious time, And let the base of Heaven's deep organ blow ; And with your ninefold harmony Make up full concert with the angelic symphony."-^MlLTON. THE ROSETTA STONE. 359 Syb'a-ris and Cro-to'na. Syb'a-ris, a neighboring city to Cro-to'na, was as cele- brated for luxury and effeminacy as Crotona for the reverse. A war arose between the two cities, and Sybaris was conquered and destroyed. Milo, the celebrated athlete, led the army of Cro- tona. Many stories are told of Milo's vast strength, such as his carrying a heifer of four years old upon his shoulders, and after- wards eating the whole of it in a single day. The mode of his death is thus related. As he was passing through a forest he saw the trunk of a tree which had been partially split open by wood- cutters, and attempted to rend it further, but the wood closed upon his hands and held him fast, in which state he was attacked and devoured by wolves. E-gyp'tian Mythology. E-gyp'tian Mythology, like Egyptian history, is largely speculative. The researches are too recent to admit of definite conclusions. Egypt, unfortunately, has no great epic. No Homer, Virgil nor Ovid ever sang her gods into immortality. Her his- tory is a grave ; her literature the marks of a hand dead and dust for a nameless age. The great Sphinx, with his stony lips touched by the finger of Silence, was but a fit emblem of what the ancient Egyptians thought and were. But the secrets were yet to be revealed, and in a way that seems almost accidental. m\ m W\ m * The Ro-set'ta Stone. During the conquest of Napoleon, an officer, while digging an entrenchment about the town of Rosetta, found a stone on which was an inscription in three languages — the hieroglyphic, demotic,* and Greek. The Greek was a translation of the former two. This served as a key to the sealed chambers of hieroglyphic literature and laid bare the secrets of Egyptian antiquity. Such is the Ro-set'ta Stone, one of the greatest discoveries of the nine- teenth century.'* Since then Egyptology has become a possible science. The monumental inscriptions are read with compara- tive ease ; the tombs of the Pharaohs have been opened, and the * Language of the people. ' Marietta Bey, m im ^f {t^M& ■Mm ' ■■^'■■'*Wp '*\',Ws\ ^'o^^Wm "■-IP* .>-M,j '"''"*w :;:i ''^'k- f- IP ■ ,'1*1 11 360 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. world has looked upon the faces of those who ruled and died thousands of years ago. The Egyptians embalmed their dead and deposited in their tombs a papyrus, or scroll, on which was written instructions to guide the soul on its journey through the under world. These Rosetta Stone. are called the * ' Ritual, " or * « nook of t he Dead. ' ' They vary in size and substance according to tiic fortune of the deceased, and are the oldest literature in the world, some of them dating back five thousand years. When the soul entered the other life it followed the ritual until it came to judgment in the hall of Two Truths. HALL OF TWO TRUTHS, 361 iiled and died osited in their instructions to kvorld. These W^ r^rt • ml '0^ They vary in J deceased, and im dating back le other life it he hall of Two Hall of Two Truths. Here, upon a chair, beneath a canopy, sat Osiris, the Good Being, the Lord of Life, the Great God, the Lord of Abydos, the King of Eternity. A sceptre and flail were in his hand, and r. s: 'i'^ ■y if . 362 STORIES 0£ OOBS AND HEROES. a crown upon his head. Before Osiris stood forty -two judges, each summoned from a different city, to pronounce sentence upon some particular sin ; there also stood before ♦^^he god the human-headed Amset, the ape-headed Hapi, the jackal-headed Duamutef, and the hawk -headed Kebehsenuf. These had charge of the viscera, because of the belief that it was not the soul that sinned, but the internal organs. The deceased was received by the goddess of Truth. He then proceeded to speak in his own behalf, declaring he had committed none of the forty-two mor- I'he Gods weighing the Actions of the defunct (From a painting in the British Museum ) . tal sins. The denials here made indicate a high sense of moral- ity — **I have not brought any to hunger;" "I have not com- mitted wickedness ;" '* I have not taken milk from the mouths of children ;" "I have not caused any to weep ;" ** I have not* added to the weight of the scales;" **I have not committed murder." The truth of his words was tested by weighing his heart in the scales against the symbol of truth. Horus superintended the weighing, assisted by Anubis or Thoth. The latter acted as scribe of the gods, and recorded the proceedings. If the dead was found to be righteous he received back his heart and was re- built into a man. He then entered the boat of the Sun, and was WES. d forty -two judges, )ronounce sentence before ♦^^he god the the jackal-headed These had charge as not the soul that ed was received by to speak in his own the forty-two mor- APIS. a painting in the British ligh sense of moral- " I have not com- Ik from the mouths jep ; " * * I have not* ave not committed ling his heart in the superintend 'j(l the rhc latter acted as lings. If the dead is heart and was re- of the Sun, and was 363 guided by good spirits to the home of the blest. From other sources it would seem that he became the companion of Osiris for three thousand years, when he re-entered his old body and lived on earth again. This process was continued until the man was absorbed into God. As to the disposition of the wicked, the same uncertainty seems to prevail ; presumably they died a second death and ceased to be. In many representations the figure of a female hippopotamus may be seen in the judgment hall. She is termed the " devourer of the under world," and is thought to be present for the purpose of destroying those who failed to pass the ordeal of judgment. Elsewhere it is said that the judges of the dead slay the wicked and drink their blood. This was a point, however, on which there seems to have been no uniformity of belief.^ The Egyp- tian's idea of God is as yet but imperfectly understood. Whether he believed in the one Supreme Deity manifesting Himself in a thousand forms, or whether each form was a distinct, separate god, remains to be determined. The question is so complex that many believe there were three orders of gods — one for the priests, one impersonating human powers, and one embodying the forms and forces of nature. In those primitive ages men failed to think of spirit independent of matter. The conse- quence was a belief in the transmigration of souls, and animal worship of the most revolting kind. Almost every beast and reptile had a worshipper somewhere in the valley of the Nile. Animals were held sacred because they were thought to em- body some deity, or manifest certain qualities common with the gods. The central figure in this particula'" form of worship was Apis, the sacred bull. A'pis. A'pis, the Bull of Memphis, was worshipped with the great- est reverence by the Egyptians. lie was supposed to be the in- carnation of Osiris, the god of the under world. The Individ jal animal who was held to be Apis was recognized by certain signs. It was requisite that he should be ciuite black, have a white square mark on the forehead, another, in the form of an eagle, » Birch. > (t P r. .!•;« ^' '■>s, ImM .11 to I.'. 1! . ! :, ** l)t 364 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES on his back, and under his tongue a lump somewhat in the shape of a scarabaeus or beetle.^ As soon as a bull thus marked was found by those sent in search of him, he was placed in a building facing the east, and was fed with milk for four months. At the expiration of this term the priests repaired, at new moon, with great pomp, to his habitation and saluted him Apis. He was pU ced in a vessel magnificently decorated and conveyed down the Nile to Memphis, where a temple, with two chapels and a Statue of the Bull Apis. Discovered in its temple by M. Mariette. (Louvre, Paris.) court for exercise, was assigned to him. Sacrifices were made to him, and once every year, about the time when the Nile began to rise, a golden cup was thrown into the river, and a grand fes- tival was held to celebrate his birthday. The people believed that during this festival the crocodiles forgot their natural ferocity and became harmless. There was, however, one dr^jwback to his happy lot ; he was not permitted to live beyond a certain period ; and if, when he had attained the age of twenty-five years, he still survived, the priests drowned him in the sacred cistern, and then buried him in the temple of Serapis. Several of these tombs have been opened, and the mummies of the animals found just as they were buried. One tomb especially was in such per- • The bf. "^tlo signified immortality to the Egyptian, as the butterfly did to tke Greek. r. lat in the shape us marked was d in a building onths. At the ew moon, with Apis. He was onveyed down > chapels and a M. Mariette. ;s were made to the Nile began nd a grand fes- eople believed natural ferocity e drawback to yond a certain enty-five years, sacred cistern, Jeveral of these I animals found as in such per- mtterfly did to tke •? EGYPTIAN OODS. 365 1^- feet condition that the footprints of the last Egyptian who left the chamber at the interment of the Apis, three thousand years ago, were still visible.' On the death of this bull, whether it oc- curred in the course of nature or by violence, the whole land was filled wi.h sorrow and lamentations, which lasted until his suc- cessor was found. The Apis was believed to have been begotten by a deity, de-^ scending as a ray of moonlight upon the cow which was to be the mother of the beast ; hence he was regarded as the son of a god. E-gyp'tian Gods. The deities were divided into triads, supreme in their own par- ticular locality. Thus Memphis, Thebes, Heliopolis were recog- nized as god centres by the people. The Egyptian temples were always dedicated to three gods. The first is the male principle, the second the female, and the third the offspring of the other two. But these three are blended into one. The father engenders himself, and thus becomes his own father and his own son, thereby expressing the eternity of a Being who has had no beginning and shall have no end.' The unification of the empire brought with it the unification of the various circles of gods. They were all grouped together under the sovereignty of Ptah while the old empire lasted, of Amun when Thebes gained the supremacy. The Sun may be re- garded as the centre of Egyptian worship. He arose as Horus, ber-ame Ra at noonday, and set as Tum.' The principal divinities were represented as follows : Phtah or Ptah : In form a mummy, holding the emblem called by some the Nilometer, by others the emblem of Stability, called "the Father of the Beginning, the Creator of the Egg of the Sun and Moon," Chief Deity of Memphis. Knephf Knoum or Knouphis : Ram -headed, called the Maker of Gods and Men, the Soul of the Gods. Chief Deity of Ele- phantine and the Cataracts. Pa : Hawk-headed, and crowned with the sun-disc, encircled by an asp. The divine disposer and organizer of the world i adored throughout Egypt. Amen Pa : Of human form, crowned with a flat -topped cap ' Wiedemaa * Mariette Bey. * Sayce. 1" ;. ■;« iMi I'lm n fT ,*. ,4 !!' r'Xik J 366 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. and two long, straight plumes ; clothed in the schenti ; his flesh sometimes painted blue. There are various forms of this goJ, but he is most generally described as King of the Gods, chief deity of Thebes. ^. Amun. ♦ h Khem : Of human form, mummified ; wears head-dress of Amen Ra ; his right hand uplifted, holding a flail. The god of productiveness and generation. Chief deity of Khemmis, oi Ekhmeem, ^s. :henti ; his flesh ■ms of this go.^, the Gods, chief EGYPTIAN GODS. 367 s head-dress of lil. Tliegodof 3f Khemmis, oi Osin's : Of human form, mummified, crowned with a mitre, and holding the flail and crook. Called the Good ; the Lord above all ; the one Lord. Was the god of the lower world ; judge of the dead ; and repre- sentative of the sun below the horizon. Adored through Egypt. Local deity of Abydos. J\^e/er Atum : Human- headed, and crowned with the pschent. This god represented the nocturnal sun, or the sun lighting the lower world. Local deity of Heliopolis. Thoth : In form a man, ibis-headed, generally de- picted with the pen and palette of a scribe. Was the god of the moon and of letters. S^d: The "Father of the Gods," and deity of terrestrial vegetation. In form like a man with a goose upon his head. Sef ; Represented by a symbolic animal, with a muzzle and ears like a jackal, the body of an ass, and an upright tail, like the tail of a lion. Was originally a warlike god, and became in later times the symbol of evil and the enemy of Osiris. Khom ; Hawk-headed, crowned with the sun -disc and horns. Osiris. ; 1 It- ;i 1. 11 h r ?H .1*' i| ki ^ \J« , 308 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. Is sometimes represented as a youth with the side-lock, standing on a crocodile. Horus : Horus appears variously as Horus, Horus Aroeris, and Horus Harpakhrat (Hippocrates), or Horus the child. Is represented under the first two forms as a man, hawk-head- ed, wearing the double crown of Egypt ; in the latter as a child with the side-lock. ".Thyself shall, under some rosy bower. Sit mute, with thy finger on thy lip ; Like him, the boy, who born among The flowers that on the Nile-stream blush Sits ever thus, — his only song To Earth and Heaven, ' Hush all, hush!' " MOORK, Maut: A woman draped, and crowned with the pschent,^ representing a vul- ture. Adored at Thebes. Neith : A woman draped, holding sometimes a bow and arrows, crowned with the crown of Lower Egypt. She presided over war and the loom. /$•/>.• A woman crowned with the sun - disc, surmounted by a throne, and sometimes enclosed between horns. Adored at Abydos. Her soul resided in Sothis on the Dog-star. JVuf: A woman so bent that her hands touched the earth. She represents the vault of heaven, and is the mother of the gods. Hathor : Cow -headed, and crowned with the disc and plumes, Deity of Amenti, or the Egytian Hades. Worshipped at Den- derah. Pasht : Pasht and Bast appear to be two forms of the same goddess. As Bast she is represented as a woman, lion-headed,^ with the disc and uroeus ; as Pasht she is cat-headed, and holds a sistrum. Adored at Bubastis, In addition to these there were certain foreign deities Intro- duced into Egypt, especially from the North and the interioi Osiris. * A double crown. ' Miss Edwards. E8. de-lock, standing orus Aroeris, and Hippocrates), or epresented under man, hawk-head- crown of Egypt ; irith the side-lock. ; rosy bower, er on thy lip ; 3orn among B Nile-stream blush song , ' Hush all, hush!' " MOORK. ,ped, and crowned presenting a vul- 3es. draped, holding arrows, crowned iwer Egypt. She . the loom, vned with the sun - enclosed between i in Sothis on the )uched the earth, he mother of the B disc and plumes. jrshipped at Den- forms of the same nan, lion-headed, '^ eaded, and holds a •eign deities Intro- and the interioi Miss Edwards. aM^, EGYPTIAN GODS. 369 of Africa- B^l, Astarte, Anta, Reshpfi, Kedesh, and the more im- portant He«, Wffe all foreign divinities. For some reason, how- ever, they dlsii f Jitiinated against the gods of Greece and Rome. The worship of trees, stone and water prevailed throughout I'-gypt, but only among the lower classes. The priests seem to Imve diwittrdt'd this form of service. Myth of O-si ris and I'sis. 0-»l'rii nm] I'sis were at one time induced to descend to the earth U) hentow gifts and blessings on its inhabitants. Isis 24 %H 3;o BTOniES OP OODS AND HEROES. WA I hi I'd 5 ^ 'a. ^- ii 1 ^ 'K •1 if r showed them first the use of wheat and barley, and Osiris made the instruments of agriculture and taught men the use of them, as well as how to harness the ox to the plough. He then gave men laws, the institution of marriage, a civil organization, and taught them how to worship the gods. After he had thus made the valley of the Nile a happy country, he assembled a host, with which he went to bestow his blessings upon the rest of the world. He conquered the nations everywhere only with music and elo queiice. His brother Typhon saw this, and sought during his absence to usurp his throne. But Isis, who held the reins of government, frustrated his plans. Still more embittered, he now resolved to kill his brother. Having organized a conspiracy of seventy-two members, he went with them to the feast which was celebrated in honor of the king's return. He then caused a box or chest to be brought in, which had been made to fit exactly the size of Osiris, and declared that he would give that chest of precious wood to whosoever could get into it. The rest tried in vain, but no sooner was Osiris in it than Typhon and his compan- ions closed the lid and flung the chest into the Nile. When Isis heard of the cruel murder she wept and mourned ; and then, with her hair shorn, clothed in black, and beating her breast, she sought diligently for the body of her husband. In this search she was materially assisted by Anubis, the son of Osiris and Nephthys. They sought in vain for some time ; for when the chest, carried by the waves to the shores of Byblos, had be- come entangled in the reeds that grew at the edge of the water, the divine power that dwelt in the body of Osiris im- parted such strength to the shrub that it grew into a mighty tree, enclosing in its trunk the coffin of the god. This tree, with its sacred deposit, was shortly after felled, and erected as a column in the palace of the king of Phoenicia. But at length, by the aid of Anubis and the sacred birds, Isis ascertained these facts, and then went to the vjyal city. There she offered herself at the Dalace as a servant, and, being admitted, threw off her dis- guise and appeared as the goddess, surrounded with thunder and lightning. Striking the column with her wand, she caused it to split open and give up the sacred coffin. ••The brutish gods of Nile as fast, Iris and Horus and the dog Anubis baste. )siris made 8 of them, then gave zation, and thus made I host, with ' the world, ic and elo during his le reins of ed, he now ispiracy of 'east which en caused a fit exactly at chest of jst triec- in lis compan- Wben Isis 1 then, with breast, she this search Osiris and r when the )s, had he- dge of the Osiris im- nighty tree, ee, with its is a column ^th, by the these facts, 1 herself at )ff her dis- hunder and caused it to ORACLE OF JUPITER AT DODONA, 37 1 ' Nor is Osiris seen In Memphian grove or green Trampling the unshowered grass with lowings loud \ Nor can he be at rest Within his sacred chest ; Nought but profoundest hell can be his shroud. In vain with timbrel' d anthems dark The sable-stoled sorcerers bear his worshipped ark." — Milton. This she seized, and returned with it, and concealed it in the depth of a forest ; but Typhon discovered it, and cutting the body into fourteen pieces, scattered them hither and thither. After a tedious search, Isis found thirteen pieces, the fishes of the Nile having eaten the other. This she replaced by an imi- tation of sycamore wood, and buried the body at Philoe, which became ever after the great burying-place of the nation, and the spot to which pilgrimages were made from all parts of the country. A temple of surpassing magnificence was also erected there in honor of the god, and at every place where one of his limbs had been found, minor temples and tombs were built to commemorate the event. Osiris became, after that, the tutelar deity of the Egyptians. His soul was supposed always to in- habit the body of the bull Apis, and at his death to transfer itself to his successor. Oracles. Oracle was the name used to denote the place where answers were supposed to be given by any of the divinities to those who consulted them respecting the future. The word was also used to signify the response which was given. ' Oracle of Ju'pi-ter at Do-do'na. The most ancient Grecian oracle was that of Ju'pi-ter at Do- do'na. According to one account it was established in the fol- lowing manner : Two black doves took their flight from Thebes in Egypt. One flew to Dodona in Epirus, and alighting in a grove of oaks, it proclaimed in human language to the inhabit- ants of the district that they must establish there an oracle of Jupiter. The other dove flew to the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan oasis, and delivered a similar command there. i it pi i Mil li 'j'f'i "■J m '5 S * 372 STOBIES OF OODS AND HEROES. «* And I will work in prose and rhyme, And praise thee more in both Than bard has honored beech or lime, Or that Thessalian growth In which the swarthy ring-dove sat And mystic sentence spoke." — ^Tennyson. Another account is, that they were not doves, but priestesses ' who were carried off from . Thebes in Egypi^ by the Phoenicians, and set Mp oracles at the Oasis and Dodona. The responses of the oracle were given from the trees, by the branches rustling in the wind, the sounds being interpreted by the priests. Oracle of A-pol'lo at Del'phi. But the most celebrated of the Grecian oracles was that of A-pol'lo at Del'phi, a city built on the slopes of Parnassus in Phocis, and the supposed centre of the earth. •* Now to this land of Delphi am I come, \ Where seated on the centre of the world His oracles Apollo to mankind Discloses, ever chanting both events, Present and those to come." — Euripides (Ion). It had been observed at a very early period that the goats feeding on Parnassus were thrown into convulsions when they approached a certain long deep cleft in the side of the mountain. This was owing to a peculiar vapor arising out of the cavern, and one of the goat-herds was induced to try its effects upon himself. Inhaling the intoxicating air, he was affected in the same manner as the cattle had been, and the inhabitants of the surrounding country, unable to explain the circumstance, imputed the convulsive ravings to which he gave utterance while under the power of the exhalations to a divine inspiration. " For then he was inspired, and from him came, f As from the Pythian' s mystic cave of yore, . Those oracles which set the world in flame, Nor ceased to bum till kingdoms were no more." Byron's Rosseati. The fact was speedily circulated widely, and a temple was erected on the spot. The prophetic influence was at first variously attributed to the goddess Earth, to Neptune, Themis, and others, but it was at length assigned to Apollo, and to him alone. A .1 3 ORACLE OF TBOPHONIUS. 373 priestesses, ' *hoenicians, esponses of rustling in was that of Parnassus in )• at the goats ; when they le mountain, the cavern, effects upon cted in the itants of the ice, imputed while under j» n's Rosseau. temple was irst variously , and others, n alone. A priestess was appointed whose office it was to inhale the hallowed air, and who was named the Pythia. She was prepared for this duty by previous ablution at the fountain of Castalia, and being crowned with laurel was seated upon a tripod similarly adorned, which was placed over the chasm whence the divine afflatus pro- ceeded. Her inspired words while thus situated were interpreted by the priests. Oracle of Tro-pho'ni-us, Besides the oracles of Jupiter and Apollo, at Dodona and Del- phi, that of Tro-pho'ni-us in Boeotia was held in high estima- tion. Trophonius and Agamedes were brothers. They were distinguished architects, and built the Temple of Apollo at Del- phi, and a treasury for King Hyrieus. In the wall of the treasury they placed a stone in such a manner that it could be taken out, and by this means from time to time purloined the treasure. This amazed Hyrieus, for his locks and seals were untouched, and yet his wealth continually diminished. At length he set a trap for the thief, and Agamedes was caught. Trophonius, un- able to extricate him, and fearing that when found he would be compelled by torture to discover his accomplice, cut off his head. Trophonius himself is said to have been shortly afterwards swal- lowed up by the earth. The oracle of Trophonius was at Lebadea in Boeotia. During a great drought the Boeotians, it is said, were directed by the god at Delphi to seek aid of Trophonius at Lebadea. They came thither, but could find no oracle. One of them, however, hap- pening to see a swarm of bees, followed them to a chasm in the earth, which proved to be the place sought. Peculiar ceremonies were to be performed by the person who came to consult the oracle. After these preliminaries, he descended into the cave by a narrow passage. This place could be entered only in the night. The person returned from the cave by the same narrow passage, but walking backwards. He appeared melancholy and dejected, and hence the proverb which was applied to a person low-spirited and gloomy, "He has been consulting the oracle of Trophonius. " Oracle of .ffis-cu-la'pi-us. There were numerous oracles of ^scu-la'pi-us, but the most 4 «L 11 ,',■■■ w '■11 ■/..ill mi '";tiB ■wm 374 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES, M J celebrated one was at Epidaui^s. Here the sick sought responses and the recovery of their health by sleeping in the temple. It has been inferred, from the accounts that have come down to us, that the treatment of the sick resembled what is now called Ani- mal Magnetism or Mesmerism. Serpents were sacred to -^sculapius, probably because of a superstition that those animals have a faculty of renewing their youth by a change of skin. The worship of .^sculapius was in- troduced into Rome in a time of great sickness, and an embassy sent to the temple of Epidaurus to entreat the aid of the god. ^sculapius was propitious, and on the return of the ship accom- panied it in the form of a serpent. Arriving in the river Tiber, the serpent glided from the vessel and took possession of an island in the river, and a temple was there erected to his honor. Oracle of A'pis. At Memphis the sacred bull A' pis gave answer to those who consulted him by the manner in which he received or rejected what was presented to him. If the bull refused food from the hand of the inquirer it was considered an unfavorable sign, and the contrary when he received it. It has been a question whether oracular responses ought to l)e ascribed to mere human contrivance or to the agency of evil spirits. The latter opinion has been most general in past ages. A third theory has been advanced, since the phenomena of Mes- merism have attracted attention, that something like the mes- meric trance was induced in the Pythoness, and the faculty of clairvoyance really called into action. Another question is as to the time when the Pagan oracles ceased to give responses. Ancient Christian writers assert that they became silent at the birth of Christ, and were heard no more after that date. * ' The oracles are dumb ; No voice or hideous hum \ Rings through the arched roof in words deceiving. Apollo from his shrine Can no more divine, With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving. No nightly trance or breathed spell Inspires ^t^ pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell."— MiLTON. iJI I."— Milton. Jupiter (Group from the altar- frieze of Pergamon). CHAPTER XXXV. Origin of Myth jlogy — Statues of Gods and Goddesses — Poets of Mythology. Origin of Mythology. Having reached the close of our series of stories of Pagan mythology, an inquiry suggests itself. * ' Whence came these stories ? Have they a foundation in truth, or are they simply dreams of the imagination ?' * Philosophers have suggested various theories on the subject ; and i . The Scriptural theory ; accord- ing to which all mythological legends are derived from the nar- ratives of Scripture, though the real facts have been disguised and altered. Thus Deucalion is only another name for Noah, Hercules for Samson, Arion for Jonah, etc. Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World, says, " Jubal, Tubal, and Tubal- Cain were Mercury, Vulcan, and Apollo, inventors of Pasturage, Smithing, and Music. The Dragon which kept the golden ap- ples was the serpent that beguiled Eve. Nimrod's tower was the attempt of the Giants against Heaven." There are doubt- less many curious coincidences like these, but the theory cannot without extravagance be pushed so far as to account for any great proportion of these stories. (375) !.,, «% f*'. % f W^Q ' 4i' 'ipM i-i'i'Tii 376 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES M-^ 1 2. The Historical theory ; according to which all the perso is mentioned in mythology were once real human beings, and the legends and fabulous traditions relating to them are merely the additions and embellishments of later times. Thus the story of iEolus, the king and god of the winds, is supposed to have risen from the fact that ^olus was the ruler of some islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, where he reigned as a just and pious king, and taught the natives the use of sails for ships, and how to tell from the signs of the atmosphere the changes of the weather and the winds. Cadmus, who, the legend says, sowed the earth with dragons' teeth, from which sprang a crop of armed men, was in fact an emigrant from Phoenicia, and brought with him into Greece the knowledge of the letters of the alphabet, which he taught to the natives. From these rudiments of learning sprung civilization, which the poets have always been prone to describe as a deterioration of man's first estate, the Golden Age of inno- cence and simpMcity. ' 3. The Allegorical theory supposes that all the myths of the ancients were allegorical and symbolical, and contained some moral, religious, or philosophical truth or historical fact, under the form of an allegory, but came in process of time to oe un- derstood literaUy , Thus Saturn, who devours his own children, is the same pow^r whom the Greeks called Cronos (Time), which may truly be said to destroy whatever it has brought into existence. The story of lo is interpreted in a similar manner. Id is the moon, and Argus the starry sky, which, as it were, keeps sleepless watch over her. The fabulous wanderings of lo represent the continual revolutions of the moon, which also sug- gested to Milton the same idea. •* To behold the wandering moon Riding near her highest noon, Like one that had been led astray In the heaven's wide, pathless way." — // Penseroso, 4. Tba Physical theory ; according to which the elements of air, fire and water were originally the objects of religious adora- tioD, and the principal deities were personifications of tiie powers of natdire. The transition was easy from a personification of the elements to the notion of supernatural beings presiding over and STATUES OF OODS AND OODDESSES, 377 enseroso. governing the different objects of nature. The Greeks, whose imagination was lively, peopled all nature with invisible beings, and supposed that every object, from the sun and sea to the smallest fountain and rivulet, was under the care of some par- ticular divinity. Wordsworth, in his Excursion, has beautifully developed this view of Grecian mythology. "The Traveller slaked His thirst from rill or gushing fount, and thanked The Naiad. Sunbeams upon distant hills Gliding apace with shadows in their train, Might with small help from fancy> be transfonned Into fleet Oreads sporting visibly. The Zeph)TS, fanning, as they passed, their wings, Lacked not for love fair objects whom they wooed With gentle whisper. Withered boughs grotesque, Stripped of their leaves and twigs by hoary age, From depth of shaggy covert peeping forth In the low vale, or on steep mountain side ', And sometimes intermixed with stirring horns Of the live deer, or goat's depending beard ; These were the lurking Satyrs, a wild brood Of gamesome deities ; or Fan himself. The simple shepherd's awe-inspiring god.'* 5. A more recent theory would account for myths through the development of language. Thus Zeus originally meant the sky. In the process of time the primitive significance is for- gotten, and what was once said of the sky is applied to a divine personality. This is known as th i Philological theory. All the theories which have been mentioned are true to a cer- tain extent. It would therefore be more correct to say vhat the mythology of a nation has sprung from all these sources, com- bined than from any one in particular. Statues of Gods and Goddesses. To adequately represent to the eye the ideas intended to be conveyed to the mind under the several names of deities was a task which called into exercise the highest powers of genius and art. Of the many attempts seven have been most celebrated, the first two known to us only by the descriptions of the ancients, the others still extant and the acknowledged masterpieces of thfl sculptor's art. 1)! m ill m 378 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, The O-lym'pi-an Ju'pi-ter. The statue of the Olympian Jupiter by Phidias was con. sidered the highest achievement of this department of Grecian art. It was of colossal dimensions, and was what the ancients called "chryselephantine ;" that is, composed of ivory and gold ; the parts representing flesh being of ivory laid on a core of wood or stone, while the drapery and other ornaments were of gold. The height of the figure was foity feet, on a pedestal twelve feet high. The god was represented seated on his throne. His brows were crowned with a wreath of o'ive, and he held in his right hand a sceptre, and in his left a statue of Victory. ** All around . , The sovereign's everlasting head his curls Ambrosial shool;, and the huge mountain reeled." — COWPER. The throne was of cedar, adorned with gold and precious stones. - ^ The idea which the artist essayed to embody was that of the supreme deity of the Hellenic or Grecian nation, enthroned ns a conqueror, in perfect majesty and repose, and ruling with a nod the subject world. Phidias avowed that he took his idea from the representation which Homer gives in the first book of the Iliad, in the passage thus translated by Pope : ** He spoke and awful bends his sable brows, Shakes his ambrosial curls and gives the nod, The stamp of fate and sanction of the god. High heaven with reverence the dread signal took, And all Olympus to the centre shook." The Mi-ner'va of the Par'the-non. This was also the work of Phidias. It stood in the Parthenon, or temple of Minerva, at Athens. The goddess was represented standing. In one hand she held a spear, in the other a statue of Victory. Her helmet, highly decorated, was surmounted by a Sphinx. The statue was forty feet in height, and, like the Jupiter, composed of ivory and gold. The eyes were of marble, and probably ])ainted to represent the iris and pupil. The I'ar- thenon, in which this statue stood, was also constructed under the direction and superintendence of Phidias. Its ej;terior was STATUES OF GODS AND GODDESSES. 379 enriched with sculptures, many of them from the hand of Phidias. The Elgi'i marbles, now in the British Museum, are a part of them. Both the Jupiter and Minerva of Phidias are lost, but there it good ground to believe that we have, in several extant statues and busts, the artist's conception of the countenances of both. They are characterized by grave and dignified beauty, and free- dom from any transient expression, which in the language of art is called repose. The Ve'nus de* Medici. The Venus of the Medici is so called from its having been in the possession of the princes of that name in Rome when it first attracted atten- tion, about two hundred years ago. An inscription on the base records it to be the work of Cleomenes, an Athenian sculptor, of twenty -two hundred years ago, but the authenticity of t>e inscrip- tion is doubtful. There is a iitory that the artist was employed by public au- thority to make a statue exhibiting the perfection of female beauty, and to aid him in his task, the most perfect forms the city could supply were furnished him for models. It is this which Thom- son alludes to in his Summer : "So stands the statue that enchants the world ; So bending tries to veil the matchless ooast. The mingled beauties of exulting Greece." Ve'nus de Melos. This is perhaps the most famous statue in the world. It was found by a peas- ant on the island of Melos in the year 1820. Not knowing its value, he sold it for a nominal sum to the French con- sul, who transferred it to the Louvre in Paris. The arms are missing, and many artists have attempted their restoration, but without satisfactory results. Venus ii. Milo (Louvre, Paris). % \m .ji.j I tS * 'ma <} ill' 4 380 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. -.-¥. The A-pol'lo BelVe-dere'. The most highly esteemed of all the remains of ancient sculp. ture is the statue of Apollo, called the Belvedere, from the name of the apartment of the Pope's palace at Rome in which it is placed. The artist is unknown. It is supposed to be a work of Roman art of about the first century of our era. It is a stand- ing figure, in marble, more than seven feet high, naked except for the cloak which is fastened around the neck and hangs over the extended left arm. It is supposed to represent the god in the moment when he has shot the arrow to destroy the monster Python. (See Chapter III. ) The victorious divinity is in the act of stepping forward. The left arm, which seems to have held the bow, is outstretched, and the head is turned in the same direc- tion. In attitude and proportion the graceful majesty of the figure is unsurpassed. The effect is completed by the counte- nance, where, on the perfection of youthful godlike beauty there dwells the consciousness of triumphant power. The Di-a'na a la Biche. The Diana of the Hind, in the palace of the Louvre, may be considered the counterpart to the Apollo Belvedere. The atti- tude much resembles that of the Apollo ; the sizes correspond, and also the style of execution. It is a work of the highest order, though by no means equal to the Apollo. The attitude is that of hurried and eager motion, the face that of a huntresB in the excitement of the chase. The left hand is extended over the forehead of the Hind, which runs by her side ; the right arm reaches backward over tne shoulder to draw an arrow from the quiver. Her'mes of 0-lym'pia. This statue was discovered by the German Olympian explora- tion party in 1879. The god is represented as leaning with his his left arm upon a rock, and supporting upon it the infant Bacchus. It is supposed to be the work of Praxiteles. The right arm and legs below the knees were wanting, but these have been restored. The Poets of Mythology. Ho'mer, from whose poems of the Iliad and Odyssey we havt s of ancient sculp. ;re, from the name me in which it is )sed to be a work era. It is a stand- igh, naked except ck and hangs over present the god in estroy the monster vinity is in the act ns to have held the n the same direc- ful majesty of the ed by the counte- )dlike beauty there • \ he Louvre, may be vedere. The atti- ; sizes correspond, Drk of the highest )llo. The attitude that of a huntress id is extended over ide ; the right arm an arrow from the HERMES OF PRAXITELES. (Found at Olympia, 1877. Restored by Schaper.) id Odyssey wc havt :.M»J , \ (< the IHB POETS OF MTTBOLOOT. 38« taken the chief part o( our chapters of the Trojan war and the re- turn of the Grecians, is almost as mythical a personage as the heroes he celebrates. The traditionary story is that he was a wandering ffliflstrd, blind and old, who travelled from place to place singing hi» lays to the music of his harp, in the courts of princes or the cottages of peasants, and dependent upon the vol- untary offerings of his hearers for support. Byron calls him "the blind old nvtn of Scio's rocky isle," and a well-known epigram, alluding to the uncertainty of the fact of his birth- place, sayi i ** Seven wealtliy towns contend for Homer dead, Tbfdtigh which the living Homer begged his bread." These seven were Smyrna, Scio, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis, Argos, and Athens. Modern scholars have doubted whether the Homeric poems are the work of any single mind. This arises from the difficulty of believing that poems of such length could have been com- mitted to writing at so early an age as that usually assigned to these, an age earlier than the date of any remaining inscriptions or coins, and when no materials capable of containing such long productions were yet introduced into use. On the other hand, it is asked bow poems of such length could have been handed down from age to age by means of the memory alone. This is answered by the statement that there was a professional body of men, called Khapsodists, who recited the poems of others, and wliose business it was to commit to memory and rehearse for pay the natio»ml and patriotic legends. 'I'he prevailing opinion of the learned, at this time, seems to be tliat the framework and much of the structure of the poems belongs to Homer, but that there are numerous interpolations and additions by other hands. 'I'he ihie assigned to Homer, on the authority of Herodotus, is eight hundred and fifty years before our era. Vir'gil. Vir'gil, called also by his surname Maro, from whose poem of the /l^neid we have taken the story of Ai\\t2&, was one of the great poets who made the reign of the Roman emperor, Augus- ^i! "m m m % . .. .aw, ♦ »t Hi. i.t -^l. p- -/ill ,*■ ".(*u -r* IT, -- Wf. .p ■ ,■ * . 382 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. tus, so celebrated, under the name of the Augustan age. VirgH was born in Mantua in the year seventy before Christ. His great poem is ranked next to those of Homer, in the highest Tomb of Virgil. clays of poetical composition, the Epic. Virgil is far inferior to Homer in originality and invention, but superior to hiin in cor- rectness and elegance. To critics of English lineage Miltop OTW, 383 alone of modern poets seems worthy to be classed with these /liustrlous ancients. " Ages elapsed ere Homer's lamp appeared, And ages ere the Mantuan swan was heard. • , To carry nature lengths unknown before, To give a Milton birth, asked ages more." — CowPER. His poem of Paradise Lost, from which we have borrowed so many illustrations, is in many respects equal, in some superior, to either of the great works of antiquity. " Three poets in three different ages bom, ' Greece, Italy, and England did adorn. The first in loftiness of soul surpassed, The next in majesty, in both the last. ' The force of nature could no further go ; To make a third she joined the other two." — Dryden. Ov'id, Often alluded to in poetry by his other name of Naso, was born in the year forty -three before Christ. He was educated for public life, and held some offices of considerable dignity ; but poetry was his delight, and he early resolved to devote himself to it. He accordingly sought the society of the contemporary poets, and was acquainted with Horace and saw Virgil, though the latter died when Ov'id was yet too young and undistinguished to have formed, his acquaintance. Ovid spent an easy life at Rome in the enjoyment of a competent income. He was inti- mate with the family of Augustus, the emperor, and it is sup- posed that some serious offence given to some member of that family was the cause of an event which reversed the poet's happy circumstances and clouded all the latter portion of his life. At the age of fifty he was banished from Rome, and ordered to be- take himself to Tomi, on the borders of the Black Sea. Here, among the barbarous people and in a severe climate, the poet si)ent the last ten years of his life. His only consolation in exile was to address his wife and absent friends, and his letters were all poetical. Though these poems (the Tristia and Let- ters from Pontus) have no other topic than the poet's sorrows, his exquisite taste have redeemed them from being tedious, so they are read with pleasure, and even with sympathy. m m ■c I 'cnwn !*« ■i' ;f»1 % 1: tr i fetffli- 384 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, The two great works of Ovid are his Metamorphoses ani his fasti. They are both mythological poems, and from the former we have taken most of our stories of Grecian and Roman niy. thology. A late writer thus characterizes these poems : — ** The rich mythology of Greece furnished Ovid, as it may still furnish the poet, the painter, and the sculptor, with mate- rials for his art. With exquisite taste, simplicity and pathos he has narrated the fabulous traditions of early ages, and given to them that appearance of reality which only a master-hand could impart. The Metamorphoses are read with pleasure by youth, and are re-read in more advanced age with still greater delight. The poet ventured to predict that his poem would survive him, and be read wherever the Roman name was known." The prediction above alluded to is contained in the closing lines of the Metamorphoses : \ ** And now I close my work, which not the ire Of Jove, nor tooth of time, nor sword, nor fire Shall bring to nought. Come when it will that day "Which o' er the body, not the mind, has sway, And snatch the remnant of my life away. My better part above the siars shall soar. And my renown endure forevermore. Where' er the Roman arms and arts shall spread. There by the people shall my book be read ; And, if atight true in poet's visions be. My name and fame have immortality." .ffis'chy-lus. ^s'chy-lus was born five hundred and twenty-five years before our era, and died at sixty -nine years of age. He is said to have written seventy dramas, but seven of which have come down to us entire. He was a soldier as well as a poet. His life was in itself more tragic, if possible, than anything he ever wrote. He is said to have died from a most peculiar circum- stance. An eagle flew above him with a tortoise in his daws, and, mistaking the poet's bald head for a stone, dropped the reptile upon it, crushing his skull. The story, however, is not generally believed. Soph'o-cles. Soph'o-cles was born about five hundred years before the eUBIPIDES. 3H Christian era. He lived in the same age with .^schylus and Euripides. His written tragedies numbered one hundred and thirteen, of which but seven are extant. He was a soldier, philosopher, and poet ; a man of great personal beauty ; the embodiment of the Athenian ideal of a perfect manhood. Al- though he lived to be ninety-one years of age, his mind suffered no decline. Authorities differ as to the cause of his death. By some it is said he became exhausted from publicly reading Antigone, and by others he died from excessive joy over a dramatic victory. £u-rip'i-des. Eu-rip'i-des was bom about four hundred and eighty years before Christ. He wrote some say seventy-five and others ninety-two pieces, all but nineteen of which have perished. When about seventy years of age he removed to Macedon by invitation of the king, where, after a three years' residence, he died. Some ascribe the cause to an accident, but the generally accepted tradition is that he was torn to pieces by the royal hounds. When the intelligence of his death reached Athens, Sophocles put on mourning, and ordered the actors to lay aside their crowns on the stage. These are known as the ** Three great Attic poets.*' t.«; W 1:S ars before the 386 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. wa CHAPTER XXXVI. Modern Monsters— The Phce'nix— Basl-lisk— U'ni- corn — Sal'a-man'der. Modern Monsters. There is a set of imaginary beings which seem to have been the successors of the "Gorgons, Hydras, and Chimaeras dire" of the old superstitions, and, having no connection with the false gods of Paganism, to have continued to enjoy an exist- ence in the popular belief after Paganism was superseded by Christianity. They are mentioned, perhaps, by the classical writers, but their chief popularity and currency seem to have been in more modem times. The Phce'nix. Ovid tells the story of the Phoenix as follows : '* Most beings spring from other individuals ; but there is a certain kind which reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix. It does not live on fruit or flowers, but on frankincense and odoriferous gums. When it has lived five hundred years, it builds itself a nest in the branches of an oak, or on the top of a palm tree, In this it collects cinnamon, and spikenard, and myrrh, and of these materials builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and, dying, breathes out its last breath amidst odors. From the body of the parent bird a young Phoenix issues forth, destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown, it lifts its nest from the tree (its own cradle and its parent's sep- ulchre), and carries it to the city of Heliopolis, in Egypt, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun." "That sole Wrd When, to enshrine his relics in the sun's Bright temple, to Egyptian Thebes he flies," — MiLTON. Such is the account given by a poet. Now let us see that of a THE COCKATRICE OB BASILISK. 387 philosophic historian. Tacitus says: "In the consulship of Paulus Fabius, just before our era, the miraculous bird known by the name of the Phoenix, after disappearing for a series of ages, revisited Egypt. It was attended in its flight by a group of various birds, all attracted by the novelty, and gazing with wonder at so beautiful an appearance. ' ' «* So when the new-born Phoenix first is seen Her feathered subjects all adore their queen, And while she makes her progress through the East, From every grove her numerous train 's increased ; Each poet of the air her glory sings, And round him the pleased audience clap their wings." — Dryden. • He then gives an account of the bird, not varying materially from the preceding, but adding some details. "The first care of the young bird as soon as able to trust to his wings is, to per- form the obsequies of his father. He collects a quantity of myrrh, and makes frequent excursions with a load on his back. When he has gained sufficient confidence in his own vigor, he takes up the body of his father and flies with it to the altar of the Sun, where he leaves it to be consumed in flames of fra- grance. ' * Other writers say : The myrrh is compacted in the form of an egg, in which the dead Phoenix is enclosed. From the mouldering flesh a worm springs, and when grown large, is transformed into a bird. Herodotus describes the bird, though he says, " I have not seen it myself, except in a picture. Part of his plumage is gold-colored and part crimson, and he is for the most part very much like an eagle in outline and bulk. ' ' The first writer who disclaimed a belief in the existence of the Phoenix was Sir Thomas Browne, a writer of two hundred and fifty years ago. The Cock'a-trice, or Bas'i-lisk. This animal was called the king of the serpents. In confirma- tion of his royalty he was said to be endowed with a crest, or comb upon the head, constituting a crown. He was supposed to be produced from the egg of a cock hatched under toads or serpents. There were several species of this animal. One species burned up whatever they approached ; a second were a I 'tern ■1, 38S STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, ki « kind of wandering Medusa's heads, and their look caused an in. stant horror which was immediately followed by death. In Shakspeare's play of Richard the Third, Lady Anne, in answer to Richard's compliment on her eyes, says, "Would they were basilisks', to strike thee dead 1" The basilisks were called kings of serpents because all other serpents and snakes fled the moment they heard the distant hiss of their king. The Roman naturalist Pliny thus describes him : ** He does not impel his body, like other serpents, by a multiplied flexion, but advances lofty and upright. He kills the shrubs, not only by contact but by breathing on them, and splits the rocks, such power of evil is there in him. ' ' It was formerly believed that if killed by a spear from on horseback the power of the poison conducted through the weapon killed not only the rider but the horse also. ** What though the Moor the basilisk hath slain, And pinned him lifeless to the sandy plain. Up through the sp>?ar the subtle venom flies, The Land iLabibes it, and the victor dies.'* — LucAN. 1 These wonderful powers of the basilisk are attested by a hosl of learned persons, such as Galen, Avicenna, Scaliger, and other;. OccasiomiUy one would demur to some part of the tale, while he admitted the rest. Jonston, a learned physician, sagely remarks, ** I would scarcely believe that it kills with its look, for who could have seen it and lived to tell the story?" The wor- thy sage was not aware that those who went to hunt the basilisk of this sort took with them a mirror, which reflected back the deadly glare upon its author, and by a kind of poetical justice slew the basilisk with his ova weapon. , There is an old saying that " every thing has its enemy," and the cockatrice quailed before the weasel. When bitten, the weasel retired for a moment tc eat some rue, which was the only plant the basilisk could not wither, returned with renewed strength and soundness to the charge, and never left the enemy till he was stretched dead on the plain. The monster, too, as if consc'ous of the irregular way in which he came into the world, was supposed lO have a great antipathy to a cock, auu well hs might, for as soon as he heard the cock crow he expired. c caused an in> by death. In .nne, in answer ould they were 3cause all other the distant hiss m: "He does tiplied flexion, irubs, not only the rocks, such ' believed that r of the poison le rider but the In, — LUCAN. I tested by a host , Scaliger, and part of the tale, hysician, sagely rith its look, for r?" Thewor^ unt the basilisk fleeted back the poetical justice ts enemy," and hen bitten, the ch was the only with renewed left the enemy )nster, too, as if into the world, ck, aiiJ ^ell h expired. THE UNICOBN. 389 The basilisk was of some use after death. Thus we read that its carcass was suspended in the temple of Apollo and in private houses, as a sovereign remedy against spiders, and that if was also hung up in the temple of Diana, for which reason no wal- low ever dared enter ^he sacred place. The U'ni-corn. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, out cf whose account of the U'ni-corn most of the modern unicorns have been described and figured, records it as "a. very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the hefd of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep bellowing voice, and a single black horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead." He adds that "it cannot be taken alive ;" and some such excuse miy have been necessary in those days for not producing the living animal upon the arena of the amphitheatre. The unicorn seems to have been a sad puzzle to the hunters, who hardly knew how to come at so valuable a piece of game. Some described the horn as movable at the will of the animal, a kind of small sword, in short, with which no hunter who was not exceedingly cunning in fence could have a chance. Others maintained that all the animal's strength lay in its horn, and that when hard pressed in pursuit it would throw itself from the pinnacle of the highest rocks horn foremost, so as to pitch upon it, and then quietly march off, not a whit the worse for its fall. But they found out how to circumvent the unicorn at last. They discovered that it was a great lover of purity and inno- cence, so they took the field with a, young virgin, who was placed in the unsuspecting admirer's way. When the unicorn spied her, he approached with all reverence, crouched beside her, and lay- ing his head in her lap, fell asleep. The treacherous virgin then gave a signal, and the hunters made in and captured the simple beast. Modern zoologists disbelieve the existence of the unicorn. Yet there are animals bearing on their heads a bony protuber- ance more or less like a horn, which may have given rise to the story. )&' %Sin i'^M W' 'rfioi ' . i.'i 'n.'. n 390 il'r!ill|P' STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, The Sal'a-man'der. The following is from the Life of Benvenuto Cellini, an Italiat. artist of the sixteenth century, written by himself: "When I was about five years of age, my father, happening to be in a little room in which they had been washing, and where there was a good fire of oak burning, looked into the flames and saw a little animal resembling a lizard, which could live in the hottest part of that element. Instantly perceiving what it was, he called for my sister and me, and after he had shown us the creature, he gave me a box on the ear. I fell a crying, while he, sooth- ing me with caresses, spoke these words : * My dear child, I do not give you that blow for any fault you have committed, but that you may recollect that the little creature you see in the fire is a salamander — ^such a one as never was beheld before to my knowledge.' So saying, he embraced me, and gave me some money." It seems unreasonable to doubt a story of which Signor Cel- lini was both an eye and ear witness. Add to which the author- ity of numerous sage philosophers, at the head of whom are Aristotle and Pliny, affirms this power of the salamander. Ac- cording to them, the animal not only resists fire, but extinguishes it, and when he sees the flame charges it as an enemy which he well knows how to vanquish. The foundation of the above fables is supposed to be the fact that the salamander really does secrete from the pores of his body a milky juice, which when he is irritated is produced in consid- erable quantity, and would doubtless, for a few moments, defend the body from fire. Then it is a hibernating animal, and in winter retires to some hollow tree or other cavity, where it coils itself up and remains in a torpid state till the spring again calls it forth. It may therefore sometimes ' c^ carried with the fuel to the fire, and wake up only time enough to put forth all its faculties for its defence. ZOBOASTEB. 391 CHAPTER XXXVII. Eastern Mythology — Zo-ro-as'ter — Zend'-A-ves'ta— Bab-y-lo'ni-a— As-syr'i-a, Nin'e-veh, Phce-ni'cian Deities — Hin'du — Brah'ma — Vish'nu — Si'va — Ve'das — Laws of Manu — Jug'ger-naut — Castes — Bud'dha — Grand La'ma — Prester John. Zo-ro-as'ter. The religion of the ancient Persians was founded by Zo-ro- as'ter, a philosopher of whom we know but little. He is said to have laughed on the very day of his birth, and when but a boy retired to the wilderness, where for thirty years he lived in soli- tude. His age is uncertain. Plato speaks of him four hundred years before Christ, and scholars in general locate him from one to two thousand years before our era. Our knowledge of what he taught is principally derived from the Zend-Avesta, or sacred books of the Persians. Zend means comment and Avesta text, so the compound word implies the book itself and its commentary. It is composed largely of Gathas or hymns, of which the following extract, said to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, is an illustration : " Hear with your ears what is best, perceive with your minds what is purest, So that each man for himself may, before the great doom cometh, Choose the creed he prefers ; may the wise one be on our side. " These two spirits are twins ; they made known in times that are bygone That which is good and evil in thought and word and action, Rightly decide between them the good ; not so the evil. *' When these Two came together, first of all they created Life and death, that at last there might be for such as are evil Wretchedness, but for the good a blest existence." The dualistic idea as suggested in this poem runs through the entire Zoroastrian system. He taught the existence of a Supreme iff If 't* 'm I I ) l^< IN ' ''I '\ '* if I?!." 1 :!i 392 8Ti>EIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Being, who created two other mighty beings, and imparted to them as much of his own nature as seemed good to him. Of these, Ormuzd remained faithful to his creator, and was regardefi as the source of all good, wliile Ahriman rebelled, and became the author of all evil upon the earth. Ormuzd created man and supplied him with all the materials of happiness ; but Ahriman marred this happiness by introducing evil into the world, and creating savage beasts and poisonous reptiles and plants. In Mithras (Vatican, Rome). consequence of this, evil and good are row mingled together in every part of the world, and the followers of good and evil — the adherents of Ormuzd and Ahriman — carry on incessant war. But this state of things will not last forever. The time will come when the adherents of Ormuzd shall everywhere be victorious, and Ahriman and his followers be consigned to darkness forever. Mithra was a sun-god, resembling somewhat in appearance and nature the Grecian Apollo. His worship drifted eastward. and under the name of Mithras entered (lermany at the time of the Roman invasion. He is seen as a young man clad in Asiatic ZOROASTER. 393 garments and wearing a Phrygian cap. The services of Mithras were held in caves and attended by secret rites. Christianity found him the most stubborn of all the pagan deities. The religious rites of the ancient Persians were exceedingly bliiiple. They used neither temples, altars nor statues, and per- formed their sacrifices on the tops of mountains. " A fit and unwalled temple, there to seek ; The Spirit, in whose honor shrines are weak, Upreared of htiman hands." — Byron. r. They adored fire, light and the sun as emblems of Ormuzd, the source of all light and purity, but did not regard them as in- dependent deities. " the Persian, — zealous to reject Altar and Imag.^, and the inclusive walls And roofs of temples built by human hands,— The loftiest heights ascending, from their tops, With myrtle- wreathed Tiara on his brows. Presented sacrifice to Moon and Stars, And to the Winds and mother Elements, And the whole circle of the Heavens, for him A sensitive existence and a God." — ^Wordsworth. The religious rites and ceremonies were regulated by the priests, who were called Magi. The learning of the Magi was connected with astrology and enchantment, in which they were so cele- brated that their name was applied to all orders of magicians and enchanters. The only emblem of the Supreme Being was a winged circle combined with a human figure wearing a robe and a tiara. The sacred fires were kept constantly burning, and to extinguish them was death. Horses were offered at sacrifice. Agriculture was a religious duty and veracity a cardinal virtue. The youth were taught three things : to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth.* At death the good and bad alike crowded along the same way to the " bridge of the Gatherer." The good were as- sisted across by the angel Serosh. On the other side they were met by another angel, who greeted them with these words: " How happy art thou to exchange mortality for immortality." The wicked fell from the bridge into the abyss and were lost.* ''i %.i • Herodotus. Rawlinson (G.). I- . 394 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ' >.! r'V, ai.. ,' ,;i«'»,, '. ■ , ■« ''i,f, ■■: The religion of Zoroaster was the dominant religion of West- ern Asia from the time of Cyrus, five hundred and fifty yearg before Christ, to the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. Under the Macedonian monarchy the doctrines of Zoroaster ap- pear to have been considerably coniipted by the introduction of foreign opinions, but they afterwards recovered their ascendancy. it continued to flourish even after the introduction of Chris- tianity, and in the third century was the dominant faith of the East, till the rise of the Mahometan power and the conquest of Persia by the Arabs in the seventh century, who compelled the greater number of the Persians to renounce their ancient faith. Those who refused to abandon the religion of their ancestors fled to the deserts of Kerman and to Hindustan, where they still exist under the name of Parsees, a name derived from Pars, the ancient name of Persia. The Arabs call tliem Guebers, from an Arabic word signifying unbelievers. "Yes! I am of that impious race, Those slaves of F're, that morn and even Hail their creator's dwelling-place Among the living lights of heaven ; Yes ! I am of that outcast crew To Iran and to vengeance true, f Who curse the hour your Arabs came To desecrate our shrines of flame, And swear before God' s burning eye To break our country's chains or die." — ModE. At Bombay the Parsees are at this day a very active, intelligent, and wealthy class. For purity of life, honesty and conciliatory manners, they are favorably distinguished. They have numer- ous temples to Fire, which they adore as the symbol of the divinity. Bab-y-lo'ni-a. Bab-y-lo'ni-a is a general name by which we include both Assyria and Nineveh. Each of those provinces had gods peculiar to herself, but the distinction is too slight to justify recognitioQ in a work like this. Our interest in Babylonian mythology centres largely in the fact that once it came in contact with the monotheism of our civilization. This was the scene of Israel's captivity, one of the most far-reaching events in all history. BABYLONIA. 39S gion of West- nd fifty yearg der the Great. Zoroaster ap- itroduction of ir ascendancy. :tion of Chris it faith of the le conquest of compelled the ancient faith, their ancestors »rhere they still ed from Pars, Guebers, from OdE. ve, intelligent, id conciliatory r have numer- symbol of the ire include both id gods peculiar tify recognition lian mythology intact with the cene of Israel's all history. ** Bf Babel's streams we sat smd wept, When Zion we thought on, In midst thereof we hanged our harps The willow trees upon." — Psalms. Tlvi chief deity in Babylon was IL, or Ra. He is never rep- resented by an itnage, but seems to have permeated the national worship. The god of Assyria was Asshur. He was represented as a man with a horned cap, often carrying a bow, issuing from a winged cirele. The circle implies eternity, the human form inielUgence, and the horned cap power.* The succession to these godi in each country was the triad, A nu, Bel and Hoa. They are nupposed to represent Chaos, Life, and Order, or pos- sibly the gods of the Earth, Air, and Water. The god Bel is mentioned in Scripture,' and is the most conspicuous in Assyrian mythology. He is the Creator of the earth, and made man by mixing his own blood with the ground. He also created the skies and planets. In the * * war of the gods ' ' he fought with Tia- m*vt, the great dragon, and flung a thunderbolt into her mouth.' Then follows a second triad. Sin, Shamas and Vul, the gods of the Moon, Sun, and Atmosphere. These divinities, with the exception of IL and Asshur, had their corresponding goddesses. Kilat, the wife of Bel, was the mother of the gods, while Ninazu, the wife of Hoa, was Queen of Hades. In addition to these, there were five deities who corresponded to the five planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. Nin was a fierce Assyrian god, who received his inspiration from Saturn. His emblem was a vinged bull with a human head. Merodach was his counterpart In Babylonia ; the temple Bel was sacred to his worship, Nergel was the god of war, and is represented by the human-headed winged lion, so common in Assyrian art. The riabylonians never descended to animal worship ; these two instances afford the only exception where any form but the hutnan entered into the representation of a god. Their legends were most peculiar. They believed that before the crea- tion seven spirits rebelled in heaven, the dwelling-place of Anu, the king, They were finally repulsed by the Sun, Moon, and god Vul, Subsequently the hosts of heaven, to the number of five • RtwUflien (G). « Isaiah xlvi. i ; Jer. li. 44. • Rawlinson (G). % .H M»5| tfil .<'J: if m ;\4 > 396 STOBmS OF GODS AND HEROES, thousand, were singing a psalm of praise when a portion of the choir rebelled again. Their leader took the form of a dragon, who, with the entire rebellious host, were cast out and forbidden to return. In their stead man was created. In the begi.inin;^ all was chaos and darkness. Monsters of every form oved through the darkness — men with wings, double faces, ■oofs, horns and claws ; dogs with four bodies and fishes' tails ; ' .orses Nin, Assyrian Winged Bull and Genius. with human heads, and reptiles of every conceivable form— all existing in a wild, chaotic mass. A woman by the name of Omorka ruled them all. Belus appeared and cleft the woman in twain. With the one half he made the heavens and with the other half the earth. He also cleft the darkness and ])iit the world in order. The last creative stage was to order a god to cut off his head and mix the blood with earth. This was done, and man was the result. The people believed in a future life and In a system of rewards and punishments, although these do not seem to have been prominent in their minds. PHCENICIAN DEITIES. 397 Recent expfbrations, especially about the sites of Nineveh and Nipur, have given the world a fresh interest in Babylonian his- tory. Vases, tablets and cylinders are constantly being found whose inscriptions speak of an age that touches the very dawn of numan records. The ancients bound their books in stone. Thus the earliest editions of the past become the latest of the present. " Wh-^ither at Naisnapwr or Babylon, . Whether the cup with sweet or bitter run, ( , , ; The wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop. The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one." — Omar Khayyam. Phoe-ni'cian Deities. The deities of Phoenicia were few, and at their head stood Baal and Astarte. Baal was the sun-god and Astarte was his god- dess. Astarte had as her especial seat the city of Sidon. She rep- resented the moon, and bore the head of a heifer with crescent horn?. One of her titles was " Queen of Heaven," a name by which she was known to Israel.* Dagon was the fish -god. His form was that of a man and fish combined. He was probably the same deity that fell before the Ark of the Covenant when it was carried into captivity.' Tammuz personified the decline and re- vival of Nature. When the rains fell the rivers were reddened with his blood. In times of drouth the women " wept for Tammuz. ' " Moloch, the fiery god, indicates the practice of offering children as sacrifices. This was common. Furnaces were constructed in the form of gods, and to these were offered hundreds every year.* Astarte, from a Bronze found in Syria. ■ ?•; * Jeremiah, 7 : 18. ' Ezekiel, viii : 14. 'to *1I ' I Samuel, 5 : 3. * Leviticus, xx : 2. 398 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. \(' . 1 PI 1 - -rr<Mi ^H 1 wmi 1 iM f \ .m 31 ['111 H||k1{ % The whole system was one of licentious, ness and cruelty. * It was finally suppressed by the Roman Tiberius, who was com- pelled to hang the priests before they would desist from their bloody rites. Hin'du Mythology. The religion of the Hindus is profess- edly founded on the Vedas, a term mean- ing * * knowledge. ' ' These form the Hindu Scriptures, and consist of four separate col- lections, of which theRig-Veda is the largest and best known. The Hindus claim they were composed by Brahma himself at the creation, but modern scholars assign a date Anou, or Dagon, from a ^^^^ ^^e to two thousand years before our Rekef at Nimroud. era. The Vedas undoubtedly teach the belief of one supreme God. ** In the beginning there arose the source of golden light. He was the only born — Lord of all that is, Whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death. He measures the light and the air. We call for Thee like cows that have not been milked. We have no friend but Thee, no other father, O mighty !" —Rig-Veda, The name of this deity is Brahma. His attributes are repre- sented by the three personified powers of creation, preservatiofiy and destruction, which under the respective names of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, form the Tri- , murtioT triad of principal Hindu gods. Brah'ma. Brah'ma is the creator of the universe, and the source from which all the individual deities have sprung, and into which all will ultimately be absorbed. Trimurti. VISHNU, 399 <* As milk changes to curd, and water to ice, so is Brahma vari- ously transformed and diversified, without aid of exterior means of any sort." The human soul, according to the Vedas, is a portion of the supreme ruler, as a spark is of the fire. Vish'nu. Vish'nu occupies the second place in the triad of the Hindus, and is the personification of the preserving principle. To pro- tect the world in various epochs of danger, Vishnu descended to the earth in different incarnations or bodily forms, which de- scents are called Avatars. They are very numerous, but ten are Vishnu. more particularly specified. The first Avatar was as Matsya, the Fish, under which form Vishnu preserved Manu, the ancestor of the human race, during a universal deluge. The second Avatar was in the form of a Tortoise, which form he assumed to support the earth when the gods were churning the sea for the beverage of immortality, Amrita. We may omit the other Avatars, which were of the same gen- eral character, that is, interpositions to protect the right or to punish wrong-doers, and come to the ninth, which is the most celebrated of the Avatars of Vishnu, in which he appeared in the human form of Krishna, an invincible warrior, who by his ex- ploits relieved the earth from the tyrants who oppressed it. \> . T '1 , < ^* ? 'id 400 STORIES OF O0D3 AND HEROES, m • i' r * • Buddha is by the followers of the Brahmanical religion re. garded as a delusive incarnation of Vishnu, assumed by him in order to induce the Asuras, opponents of the gods, to abandon the sacred ordinances of the Vedas, by which means they lost their strength and supremacy. Kalki is the name of the tenth Avatar, in which Vishnu will appear at the end of the present age of the world to destroy all vice and wickedness, and to restore mankind to virtue and purity. Si'va. Si'va is the third person of the Hindu triad. He is the per- sonification of the de- stroying principle. Though the third name, he is, in respect to the number of his worshippers and he ex- tension of his worship, before either of the others. In the Pura- nas (the scriptures of the modem Hindu re- ligion) no allusion is made to the original power of this god as a destroyer, that power not being to be called into exercise till after the expiration of twelve millions of years, or when the universe will come to an end ; and Mahadeva (another name for Siva) is rather the representative of regeneration than of destruction. The worshippers of Vishnu and Siva form two sects, each of which proclaims the superiority of its favorite deity, denying the claims of the other ; and Brahma, the creator, having finished his work, seems to be regarded as no longer active, and has now only one temple in" India, while Mahadeva and Vishnu have Siva, THE LAWS OF MajsU. 401 religion re< 1 by liim in to abandon ns they lost Vishnu will destroy all t and purity. e is the per* a of the de- >rinciple. the third is, in respect mber of his rsand heex- his worship, her of the [n the Pura- scriptures of m Hindu re- o allusion is the original this god as a that power to be called cise till after tion of twelve years, or of universe will in end; and representative jccts, each of , denying the ig finished his , and has now Vishnu have many. The worshippers of Vishnu are generally distinguished by a greater tenderness for life and cons^^quent abstinence from animal food, and a worship less cruel than that of the followers of Siva. When the first Vedic poet subjected the gods to a formal cen- sus, he found there were but thirty -three.* This number, how- ever, soon increased to over three thousand. They were divided into three classes — those of Light, Air, and Earth. Surya was Indra. the god of the sun ; Indra, the god of heaven, of thunder, light- ning, storm and rain ; Agni, the god of fire ; and Yama, the god 0^ the infernal regions. Each of these is attended by a legion of deities quite as great as himself. There are also goddesses without number. Thus Vach, the goddess of learning, became the consort of Brahma, and Laksmi, the queen of beauty, that ai Vishnu. The Laws of Manu. In addition to the Vedas are the Laws of "vlanu, a co-le of > Max MQller. 26 "'1 f.4 402 STORIES OF 00D8 AND HEROES. r f')i , Tit '1 Vf\' ''tfcii- great antiquity. According to it, the self-existing power created an egg, out of which he himself was born as Brahma. The hope of reward is made the motive of all effort. Meditation is en- joined, and the transmigration of souls fully expounded. The chi^nge is shaped by the life — the one who stole grain is reborn as a rat, and a meat thief becomes a vulture. " Life runs its round of living, climbing up From mote and gnat, and worm, reptile, and fish, Bird and shagged beast, man, demon, deva God, To clod and mote again ; so are we kin to all that is." — Edwin Arnold. Jug'ger-naut. Whether the worshippers of Juggernaut are to be reckoned among the followers of Vishnu or Siva, our authorities differ. The temple stands near the shore, about three hundred miles south-west of Calcutta. The idol is ? carved block of v ood, with a hideous face, painted blac c, and a distended blood -red mouth. On festival days the t!xione of the image is placed on a tower sixty teet high, moving on wheels. Six long ropes are attached to the tower, by which the people draw it along. The priests and their attendants stand round the throne on the tower, and occasionally turn to the worshippers with songs and ges- tures. While the tower moves along numbers of the devout worshippers throw themselves on the ground, in order to be crushed by the wheels, and the multitude shout in approbation of the act, as a plea.sing sacrifice to the idol.^ Every year, par- ticularly at two great festivals in March and July, pilgrims flock in crowds to the temple. Not less than seventy or eighty thou- sand people are said to visit the place on these occasions, when all castes eat together. Castes. The division of the Hindus into classes or castes with fixed occupations, existed from uie earliest times. It is sup))osed by some to have been founded upon conquest, the first three castes being composed of a foreign race, who subdued the natives of • These deaths are possibly more accidental than otherwise. lOES. sting power created irahma. The hope Meditation is en- y expounded. The ole grain is reborn and fish, ;va God, o all that is." -Edwin Arnold. ire to be reckoned authorities differ. iree hundred miles 'ed block of wood, istended blood -red image is placed on Six long ropes are iraw it along. The throne on the tower, rith songs and ges- ibers of the devout ind, in order to be lOUt in approbation .^ Every year, par- July, pilgrims flock entyor eighty thou- lese occasions, when CASTES, 403 or castes witli fixed It is supi)osed by the first three castes idued the natives of than otherwise. the country and reduced them to an inferior caste. Others trace it to the fondness of perpetuating, by descent from father to son, certain offices or occupations. The Hindu tradition gives the following account of the origin of the various castes. At the creation Brahma resolved to give the earth inhabitants who should be direct emanations from his own body. Accordingly from his mouth came forth the eldest born, Brahma (the priest), to whom he confided the fourVedas; from his right arm issued Shatriya (the warrior), and from his left the warrior's wife. His thighs produced Vaissyas, male and female (agriculturists and traders), and lastly from his feet sprang Sudras (mechanics and laborers). Brahma with Saraswati. The four sons of Brahma, so significantly brought into the world, became the fathers of the human race, and heads of their respective castes. They were commanded to regard the four Vcdas as containing all the rules of their faith, and all that was necessary to guide them in their religious ceremonies. They were also commanded to take rank in the order of their birth, the Brahmans ui)permost, as having sprung from the head of Brahma. A strong line of demarcation is drawn between the first three castes and the Sudras. The former are allowed to receive in* struction from the Vedas, which is not permitted to the Sudras. -,: M m iK^ 404 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES <iS ',) i** f't lyi''^ I' r ' .4 i ^ I it f 'tm:- The Brahmans possess the privilege of teaching the Vedas, and were in former times in exclusive possession of all knowledge. Though the sovereign of the country was chosen from the Sha- triya class, also called Rajputs, the Brahmans possessed the real power, and were the royal counsellors, the judges and magis- trates of the country ; their persons and property were invio- lable, and though they committed the greatest crimes^ they could only be banished from the kingdom. They were to be treated by sovereigns with the greatest respect, for **a Brahman, whether learned or ignorant, is a powerful divinity.*' When the Brahman arrives at years of maturity it becomes his duty to marry. He ought to be supported by the contributions of the rich, and not be obliged to gain his subsistence by any laborious or productive occupation. But as all the Brahmans could not be maintained by the working classes of the com- munity, it was found necessary to allow them to engage ii', pro- ductive employments. We need say little of the two intermediate classes, whose rank and privileges may be readily inferred from their occupations. The Sudras or fourth class are bound to servile attendance on the higher classes, especially the Brahmans, but they may follow mechanical occupations and practical arts, as painting and writ- ing, or become traders or husbandmen. Consequently they sometimes grow rich, and it will also sometimes happen that Brahmans become poor. That fact works its usual consequence, and rich Sudras sometimes employ poor Brahmans in menial occupations. There is another class lower even than the Suciras, for it is not one of the original pure classes, but springs from in unauthorized union of individuals of different castes. These are the Pariahs, who are employed in the lowest services and treated with the ut- most severity. They are compelled to do what no one else can do without pollution. They are not only considered undean themselves, but they render unclean every thing they touch. They are deprived of all civil rights, and stigmatized by particu- lar laws, regulating their mode of life, their houses, and their furniture. They are not allowed to visit the pagodas or temples of the other castes, but have their own pagodas and religious ex- ercises. They are not suffered to enter the houses of the othe/ 0E8, BUD2>SA, 405 ing the Vedas, and of all knowledge. 3sen from the Sha- 3 possessed the real judges and magis- Dperty were invio- crimes^ they could were to be treated I Brahman, whether urity it becomes his »y the contributions subsistence by any s all the Brahmans ;lasses of the com- n to engage in pro- classes, whose rank their occupations. vile attendance on Dut they may follow painting and writ- Consequently they etimes happen that usual consequence, kahmans in menial Suclras, for it is not om an unauthorized lese are the Pariahs, treated with the ut- ^hat no one else can ( onsidered unclean thing they touch. jmatized byparticu- ir houses, and their pagodas or temples las and religious ex- houses of the othel castes ; if it is done incautiously or from necessity, the place must be purified by religious ceremonies. They must not appear at public markets, and are confined to the use of particular wells, which they are obliged to surround with bones of animals, to warn others against using them. They dwell in miserable hovels, dista'^t from cities and villages,^ and are under no restrictions in regard to food, which last is not a privilege, but a mark of ignominy, as if they were so degraded that nothing could pollute them. The three higher castes are prohibited entirely the use of flesh. The fourth is allowed to eat all kinds except beef, but only the lowest caste is allowed every kind of food without restriction. Bud'dha. Bud'dha, whom the Vedas represent as a delusive incarna- tion of Vishnu, is said by his followers to have been a mortal «age, whose name was Gautama, called also by the complimentary epithets of Sakyasinha, the Lion, and Buddha, the Sage. By a comparison of the various epochs assigned to his birth, it is inferred that he lived about one thousand years before Christ. He was the son of a king ; and when, in conformity to the usage of the country, he was, a few days after his birth, presented before the altar of a deity, the image is said to have inclined its head, as a presage of the future greatness of the new-born prophet. The child soon developed faculties of the first order, and became equally distinguished by the uncommon beauty of his person. No sooner had he grown to years of maturity than he began to reflect deeply on the depravity and misery of mankind, and he conceived the idea of retiring from society and devoting himself to meditation. His father in vain opposed this design. Buddha escaped the vigilance of his guards, and having found a secure retreat, lived for six years undisturbed in his devout contemj)la- tions. At the expiration of that period he came forward at IJuddha. 4o6 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. Benares as a religious teacher. For a day and night h^ sat motionless under a tree, facing the East. Temptations thronged him like Angels of Evil, until the triple science came. This tree afterwards became universally famous. •* The BOdhi tree, thenceforth in all years Never to fade and ever to be kept In homage of the world, beneath whose leaves It was ordained that truth snould come to Buddha." — Edwin Arnold. w3 ^ i-^ W n,' V At first some who heard him doubted of the soundness of his mind ; but his doctrines soon gained credit, and were propa- gated so rapidly that Buddha himself lived to see them spread all over India. The name Buddha means learned, and the reformer's life is divided by his followers into twelve sections. He detemined while in the fourth heaven to save the earth, and descended as a white elephant. He was conceived as a nve-colored ray of light, and born amid great miraculous demonstration. His philosophy consisted of four truths : Misery accompanies exist- ence ; existence is desire ; to escape existence desire must be de- stroyed ; this is obtained by reaching Nirvana. By Nirvana is meant an absorption into a condition of absolute indifference. rrS '«. m ill II » <■' * ^l: *♦ That e.ach who seems a separate whole Should move his rounds, and, fusing all, The skirts of" self again should fall, Remerging in the general Soul." — Tennyson. These truths, in turn, are only made possible by walking in the four paths of Buddhism. The Buddhists reject entirely the authority of the Vedas, and the religious observances prescribed in them and kept by the Hindus. They also reject the distinction of castes, and prohibit all bloody sacrifices, and allow animal food. Their priests are chosen from all classes ; they are expected to procure their main- tenan .e by perambulation and l)egging, and among other things it is their duty to endeavor to turn to some use things thrown asi«.^e as useless by others, and to discover the medicinal power of plants. But in Ceylon three orders of priests are recognized. / /■' noES. r and night he sat jmptations thronged :ience came. This ise leaves le to the soundness of his it, and were propa- see them spread all le reformer's life is IS. He deternined , and descended as live -colored ray of lemonstration. His r accompanies exist- ce desire must be de- ina. By Nirvana is )lute indifference. bole using all, .11, -Tennyson. le by walking in the ty of the Vedas, and 3m and kept by the f castes, and prohibit I. Their priests are ) procure their main- I among other things le use things thrown the medicinal power •iests are recognized. THE GRAND LAMA. 407 Those of the highest order are usually men of high birth and learning, and are supported at the principal temples, most of which have been richly endowed by the former monarchs of the country. For several centuries after the appearance cf Buddha his sect seems to have been tolerated by the Brahmans, and Buddhism appears to have penetrated the peninsula of Hindustan in every direction, and to have been carried to Ceylon and to the eastern, peninsula. But afterwa^-ds it had to endure in India a long-con- tinued persecution, which ultimately had the effect of entirely abolishing it in the country where it had originated, but to scat- ter it widely over adjacent countries. Buddhism appears to have been introduced into China about the year sixty -five of our era. From China it was subsequently extended to Corea, Japan, and Java. Buddha is said to have died in the odor of sanctity at the ad- vanced age of eighty years. There is a legend that when his body was placed upon the funeral pile the wood refused to bum until the * * flame of contemplation ' ' broke out from the breast of a disciple and consumed it to ashes His bones, as his fol- lowers believe, still remain upon the earth as objects of worship, while he himself has gone *' Unto Nirvana, where the Silence lives." — Edwin Arnold. The Grand La'r a. It is a doctrine alike of the Brahml cal Hindus and of the Buddhist sect that the confinement of t human soul, an emana- tion of the divine spirit, in a human 1 'ody, is a state of misery, and the consequence of frailties anvi sins committed during former existences. But they hoh' that some few individuals have appeared on this earth, from inie to time, not under the necessity of terrestrial existence, but who voluntarily descended to the earth to promote the welfare of mankind. These indi- viduals have gradually assumed the character of reappearances of Buddha himself, in which capacity the line is continued till the present day, in the several Lamas ' f Thibet, China, and other countries where Buddhism prevails. In consequence" of the victories of Genghis Khan and his successors, the Lama siding I 4o8 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. *?4 ( t> 1 !^. ii(\ ft, .1 rt L* i.!l iS in Thibet was raised to the dignity of chief pontiff of the sect. A separate province was assigned to him as his own territory, and besides his spiritual dignity, he became to a limited extent a temporal monarch. He is styled the Dalai Lama. The first Christian missionaries who proceeded to Thibet were surprised to find there in the heart of Asia a pontifical court and several other ecclesiastical institutions resembling those of the Roman Catholic Church. They found convents for priests and nuns ; also processions and forms of religious worship, attended with much pomp and splendor ; and many were induced by these similarities to consider Lamaism as a sort of degenerated Chris- tianity. It is not improbable that the Lamas derived some of these practices from the Nestorian Christians, who were settled in Tartary when Buddhism was introduced into Thibet. Prester John. An early account, communicated probably by travelling mer- chants, of a Lama or spiritual chief among the Tartars, seems to have occasioned in Europe the report of a Presbyter, or Prester John, a Christian pontiff, resident in Upper Asia. The Pope sent a mission in search of him, as did also Louis IX. of France, some years later ; but both missions were unsuccess- ful, though the small communities of Nestorian Christians, which they did find, served to keep up the belief in Europe that such a personage did exist somewhere in the East. His identify has never been settled. pontiff of the sect, his own territory, to a limited extent Lama. ded to Thibet were pontifical court and tbling those of the ents for priests and s worship, attended ire induced by these degenerated Chris- is derived some of 5, who were settled ito Thibet. by travelling mer- the Tartars, seems of a Presbyter, or nt in Upper Asia. did also Louis IX. 3ns were unsuccessr m Christians, which Europe that such a His identi*.y has Valkyrie bearing a hero to Valhana (K. Dielitz), CHAPTER XXXVHL Northern Mythology— Valhalla— Origin of Poetry— Saga — The Valkyrior. Northern Mythology. The hiorien which have engaged our attention thus far relate to th« mythology of southern regions. But there is another braiu' h of ancient superstitions which ought not to be entirely overUjoked, especially as it belongs to the nations from which we, tbroUjtjh our English ancestors, derive our origin. It is that of the northern nations called Scandinavians, who inhabited the comitrici now known as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Ice- land, These mythological records are contained in two coUec- tioiw (^lled the Eddas, of which the oldest is in poetry and dates (409) ', 'li i '- ■J ^ ■■'. ' . if- 410 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. ^' "^^ ''T back to the year ten hundred and fifty -six, the more modern o» prose Edda being of the date of sixteen hundred and forty.* The Scandinavians also had their golden age. **The golden age of the gods, when On the green they played In joyful mood, ♦ ■ . Nor knew at all The want of good." — (Anderson, tr.). According to the Eddas there was once no heaven above no/ earth beneath, but only a bottomless deep, and a world of mist in which flowed a fountain. Twelve rivers issued from this foun- tain, and when they had flowed far from their source they froze into ice, and, one layer accumulating over another, the great deep was filled up. Southward from the world of mist was the world of light. From this flowed a warm wind upon the ice and melted it. ** From the South the Sun Shone on the walls; Then did the earth Green herbs produce. The Moon went ahead, The Sun followed ; His right hand held The steeds of heaven." — Eddas (Anderson). The vapors rose in the air and formed clouds, from which sprang Ymir, the Frost giant, and his progeny, and the cow Audhumbla, whose milk afforded nourishment and food for the giant. The cow got nourishment by licking the hoar-frost and salt from the ice. While she was one day licking the salt-stones there ap- peared at first the hair of a man, on the second day the whole head, and on the third the entire form, endowed with beauty, agility, and power. This new being was a god, from whom and his wife, a daughter of the giant race, sprang the three brothers, Odin, Vili, and Ve. They slew the giant Ymir, and out of his * The elder Edda consists of thirty-seven poems, and, like the prose Eddi, treats of gods, legends, and Scandinavian wars. The word means " great-grand- mother," and probably refers to the stories told by the graodmotbers to theii children. • . OES. NORTHERN MYTHOLOGY, 411 ; more modern 01 sd and forty.* a ON, tr.). a heaven above nor ,nd a world of mist iued from this foun- r source they froze ther, the great deep the world of light. and melted it. DDAS (Anderson). is, from which sprang the cow Audhumbla, 1 for the giant. The rost and salt from the salt-stones there ap- ;econd day the whole endowed with beauty, god, from whom and ng the three brothers, Ymir, and out of his and, like the prose Eddt, word means " great-grand- y the grandmoUiers to theii body formed the earth, of his blood the seas, of his bones the mountains, of his hair the trees, of his skull the heavens, and of his brain clouds, charged with hail and snow. Of Ymir's eye- brows the gods formed Midgard (mid earth), destined to become the abode of man. Odin. "Of Ymir's flesh Was earth created, Of his blood the sea, Of his bones the hills, Of his hair trees and plants, Of his skull the heavens. And of his brows The gentle powers Formed Midgard for the sons of men ; But of his brain The heavy clouds are All created."— Eddas (Anderson). I' ' * l^ ,S#';;v1 "I 412 STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES WU' ^ Odin ther. regulated the periods of day and night and the sea. sons by placing in the heavens the sun and moon, and appoint- ing to them their respective courses. As soon as the sun began to shed its rays upon the earth it caused the vegetable world to bud and sprout. Shortly after the gods had created the world they walked by the side of the sea, pleased with their new work but found that it was still incomplete, for it was without human beings. They therefore took an ash tree and made a man out of it, and they made a woman out of an alder, and called the man Aske and the woman Embla. Odin then gave them life and soul, Vili reason and motion, and Ve bestowed upon them the senses, expressive features, and speech. Midgard was then given them as their residence, and they became the progenitors of the human race. *• The mighty ash tree Ygdrasill was supposed to support the whole universe. It sprang from the body of Ymir, and had three immense roots, extending one into Asgard (the dwelling of the gods), the other into Jotunheim (the abode of the giants), and the third to Niffleheim (the regions of darkness and cold). By the side of each of these roots is a spring, from which it is watered. The root that extends into Asgard is carefully tended by the three Norns, goddesses, who are regarded as the dispensers of fate. They are Urdur (the past), Verdandi (the present), Skuld (the future). The spring at the Jotunheim side is Ymir's well, in which wisdom and wit lie hidden ; but that of Niffleheim feeds the adder Nidhogge (darkness), which perpetually gnaws at the root. Four harts run across the branches of the tree and bite the buds ,* they represent the four winds. Under the tree lies Ymir, and when he tries to shake off its weight the earth quakes. «« The tree Ygdrasill Bears a sorer burden Than men imagine ; \ Above the stags bite it, On its sides age rots it, Nidhogge gnaws below."— Eddas (Anderson). Asgard is the name of the abode of the gods, access to which is only gained by crossing the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow). ES. OF THE JOYS OF VALHALLA. 413 light and the sea« on, and appoint- as the sun began egetable world to created the world 1 their new work, IS without human made a man out and called the gave them life and 1 upon them the rd was then given Drogenitors of the d to support the )f Ymir, and had jard (the dwelling ode of the giants), irkness and cold). g, from which it is is carefully tended 16. as the dispensers ndi (the present), leim side is Ymir's t that of Niffleheim perpetually gnaws hes of the tree and . Under the tree s weight the earth — Eddas (Anderson). ids, access to which DSt (the rainbow). "A link That binds us to the skies, A bridge of rainbow thrown across The gulf of tears and sighs." — Barry Cornwall. Asgard consists of golden and silver palaces, the dwellings of the gods ; but the most beautiful of these is Valhalla, the residence of Odin. When seated on his throne he overlooks all heaven and earth. Upon his shoulders are the ravens Hugin and Munin. who fly every day over the whole world, and on their return re- port to him all they have seen and heard. At his feet lie his two wolves, Geri and Freki, to whom Odin gives all the meat that is set before him, for he himself stands in no need of food. Mead is for him both food and drink. He invented the Runic charac- ters, and it is the business of the Noms to engrave the runes of fate upon a metal shield. From Odin's name, spelt Woden, as it sometimes is, came Wednesday, the name of the fourth day of the week. Odin is frequently called Mfadur (All-father), but this name is sometimes used in a way that shows that the Scandinavians had an idea of a deity superior to Odin, uncreated and eternal. Of the Joys of Valhalla. Valhalla is the great hall of Odin, wherein he feasts, with his chosen heroes, those who have fallen bravely in battle ; for all who die a peaceful death are excluded. The flesh of the boar Schrinmir is served up to them, and is abundant for all ; for although this boar is cocked every morning, he becomes whole again every night. For drink the heroes are supplied abundantly with mead from the she -goat Heidrun. When the heroes are not feasting they amuse themselves with fighting. Every day they ride out into the court or field and fight until they cut each other in pieces. This is their pastime ; but when meal-time comes they »ecover from their wounds and return to feast in Valhalla. ** He crew at dawn a cheerful note, To wake the gods and heroes to their tasks, And all the gods and all the heroes woke. And from their beds the heroes rose and donned Their arms, and led their horses from the stall, And mounted them, and in Valhalla' s court ' ."i » «'!1 i ^^ V] 7 m 7 /A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I M^ WIA 25 2.2 t 1^ i2.0 1.8 1125 nil 1.4 IIIIII.6 - 6' Photpgraphic Sciences Corporation // O /a 53 WIST MAIN ST««T WIBSTERN V M5B0 (716)872-4503 414 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. Were ranged ; and then the daily fray began, And all day long they there are hacked and hewn ' Mid dust and groans, anu limbs lopped off, and blood ; But all at night return to Odin's hall Woundless and fresh ; such lot is theirs in heaven " — Matthew Arnold. Origin of Poetry. The Norsemen held the gift of poetry in the highest esteem. Poetry itself was an inspiring drink. This drink was possessed by the giants and guarded by Gunlad. One of the gods en- quired of Bragi how poetry originated. He was told that the Asas and Vans at the close of a long war ratified a treaty of peace by spitting in a jar. From this spittle was created a wise man, whom they called Kvaser. His wisdom transcended all ques- tions. He was slain, however, by two dwarfs, and his blood preserved in Odroerer, a kettle, and two cups, Son and Bodn. By mixing this blood with honey a drink was composed, of which, if one partook, he became a poet. The dwarfs then an- nounced that Kvaser had been suffocated by his own wisdom. The dwarfs also slew a giant by the name of Gilling, and his wife. Their son Suttung induced his parents' murderers to accompany him out to a shoal in the sea, where he left them to perish in the tide. In order to save their lives they gave Sut- tung the poetic-inspiring beverage, which he committed to Gun- lad, his daughter. Odin the god made a special journey to Jotunheim in order to obtain this enchanting mead. He first met nine slaves mowing in a meadow. Entering into conversa- tion, he offered to whet their scythes. This he did, after which he threw the whetstone into the air. The slaves fought for it, and, falling upon their scythes, were killed. Odin then went to the home of the farmer and learned that he was Bauge, the brother of Suttung. In Bauge* s distress over the death of his slaves Odin offered to remain and do the work of nine men for one draught of his brother's mead. Bauge consented, and took Odin to the cave where Gunlad guarded the precious liciuid. They bored through the rock, and Odin, transformed as a ser- pent, crept through the hole, resumed his natural shape, and made love to Gunlad. TSE VALKYBIOS. 4^5 lRNOLD. t esteem, possessed gods en- that the r of peace vise man, all ques- his blood ad Bodn. posed, of > then an- \ wisdom. y, and his rderers to ft them to gave Sut- d to Gun- ourney to He first conversa- fter which ight for it, en went to Bauge, the jath of his le men for , and took 3US liquid. [ as a ser- ihape, and "Odin, 1 believe, A ring-oath gave ; Who in his faith will trust? Sttttung defrauded, ; 01 his drink bereft, And Gunlad made to weep." — Eddas (Anderson). She permitted him to take a single draught from each of the three vessels, but Odin, in his anxiety, drank all three dry. He then, transformed as an eagle, flew toward Asgard. Suttung, aware of the deception, in the same guise followed. The gods, seemg their approach, set out all the jars in their possession. Odin disgorged the inspiring mead through his beak. That which fell in the vessels was true poetry, and that which was spilled upon the ground belongs to the silly poets. Hence a poet became known as one who had drunk the beverage of the gods. Sa'ga. Odin not only invented poetry, but also favors history. This is called Sa'ga. ** Sokvabek, hight the fourth dwelling, Over it flow the cool billows ; Glad drink there Odin and Saga Every day from golden cups." Sokvabek is the brook of the deep. From the deep arise the thoughts, and roll as cool, refreshing waves through golden words. Saga can tell, Odin can think about it. Thus they sit together day after day and night after night, and refresh their minds from the fountain of history. Saga is the second of the goddesses. Her favor is the hope of youth and the delight of the old.* The Valkyrlor. The Valkyrior are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses, and armed with helmets, shields, and spears. Odin, who is desirous to collect a great many heroes in Valhalla, to be able to meet the giants in a day when the final contest must come, sends down to every battle-field to make choice of those who shall be slain. * None Mythology (Anderson). '\ V f i*/1' 1^ If** Ji. /^ii ^^'■•■f)!? I'*._i! «.'iii( «# 'I « '^1?? L'f. \. ' 4, . . 416 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES The Valkyrior are his messengers, and their name means "Choosers of the slain." |^^^^^^^^^^H0^i^p^^^». vj^ . » >' ~_^* i 1 r 1: '^-^Ai"':'*!.' ", 'vi* ^^HP - E . .^^M ^ \_ ' V j ^^^9 ^ v'^ w9H i \, ■ ' ^ ■ ^^...:.«f»:'~-*iiw5?#J^ 1 • i ' y ^ ^ ' * Valkyrior (P. N ArboY •• They call, invitinfj us above ; The heroes they bid speed To Odin's glorious hnlls, Where they deal out ale and mead." — Edhas. r- 0E8. tieir name means -'J)Hr • ' 'i ead."~EDnA8. OF THOR AND TIIJS OTHER GODS. 4J7 When they ride forth on their errand their armor sheds a strange, flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what men call the aurora borealis, or northern lights. ** And the Valkyries on their steeds went forth loward earth nnd fights of men ; and at their side Skuldn, the youngest of the Nomies, rode ; And over IMfrost, where is Ileimdall's watch, Past Midgard I'ortress, down to Earth they came ; There through some battle-field, where men fall fast, Their horses fetlock-deep in blood, they ride, And pick the bravest warriors out for death. Whom they bring back with them at night to heaven. To glad the gods, and feast in Odin's hall." — Matthew Arnold. They bore their warrior spirits from the battle-field to Asgard. As they dismounted from their horses at the grove of Glasir the veil of death was removed, revealing the majestic hall of Odin. Here was seated the god himself, who gave the welcome to Val- halla. Of Thor and the Other Gods. Thor, the Thunderer, Odin's eldest son, is the strongest of gods and men. " I am the God Thor, I am the War God, I am the Thunderer ! Here in my Northland, My fastness and fortress, Reign I forever !" — Longfellow. He possesses three very precious things. The first is a hammer, which both the Frost and the Mountain giants know to their cost, when they sec it hurled against them in the air, for it has split many a skull of their fathers and kindred. When thrown, it returns to his hand of its own accord. The second rare thing he possesses is called the l)elt of strength. When he girds it about him his divine might is doubled. The third, also very precious, is his iron gloves, which he puts on whenever he would use his mallet efficiently. - 2?, 'jm 5 •:. •:.;f 1 ,i .f .1.1 4lS STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. ** This is my Iiammer, . r . . \\ MiSlner the mighty ; ■ ', Giants and sorcerers Cannot withstand it 1 ' . - . These are the gauntlets Wherewith I wield it, And hurl it afar off ; This is my girdle ; Whenever I brace it Strength is redoubled I" — Longfellow ^."^ Thor. From Thor's name is derived our word Thursday. Freyr is one of the most celebrated of the gods. He pre- sides over rain and sunshine and all the fruits of the earth. His sister Frcya is the most propitious of the goddesses. She loves OF THOB AND THE OTHER 00D8. 419 music, spring, and flowers, and is particularly fond of the Elves (fairies). She is very fond of love-ditties, and all lovers do well to invoke her. Freya is usually identified with Frigga, the wife of Odin, and queen of the Scandinavian heaven. This goddess was the patroness of ships, and brought lovers together after death. She is represented as spinning ou a golden distafl*, the wheel of which Freyr. was visible to every worshipper as the beU of Orion. Her maids of honor were Fulla, who had charge of her jewels, and Hlin, the friend of the needy. Gna was her messenger ; she rode on winged horses, and kept her mistress informed as to the affairb of mortals. •* I fly not, nor do drive, but hurry fast, Hoof-flinger swift thro' clouds and mist and sky." — Edd.\S vvfi 420 sroniEs OF qods and heroes. vm Friday was named in her honor. This day was originally re- garded as the most fortunate of the week ; but the historic asso- ciation of the Crucifixion reversed the position, and Friday fell from the highest to the lowest place in the calendar. Bragi is the god of poetry, and his song records the deeds of warriors. His wife, Iduna, keeps in a box the apples which the gods, when they feel old age approaching, have only to taste of to become young again. Heimdall is the watchman of the gods, and is therefore placed on the borders of heaven, to prevent the giants from forcing their way over the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow). The sound of Heimdall' s horn is heard over the world, and shall be the signal for the great battle between the gods on the day of their ending, or twilight. He require** less sleep than a bird, and sees by night as well as by day a hundred miles around him. So acute is his ear that no sound escapes him, for he can even hear the grass grow and the wool on a sheep's back. Of Loki and His Progeny. There is another deity who is described as the calumniator of the gods and the contriver of all fraud and mischief. His name is Loki. He is handsome and well made, but of a very fickle mood, and most evil disposition. He is of the giant race, but forced himself into the company of the gods, and seems to take pleasure in bringing them into difficulties, and in extricating them out of the danger by his cunning, wit, and skill. Loki has three children. The first is the wolf Fenris, ** Fearfully fares The Fenris wolf Over the fields of men, ^ When he is loosed." — Eddas (Anderson). ' the second the Midgard serpent, the third Hela ( Death) . The gods were not ignorant that these monsters were growing up, and that they would one day bring much evil upon gods and men. So Odin deemed it advisable to send one to bring them to him. When they came, he threw the serpent into that deep ocean by which the earth is surrounded. But the monster has grown to such an enormous 8i??e that, holding his tail in his mouth, he encircles or LOKX AND ffJS PROOENT, 431 aally re- ric asso- iday fell ieeds of hich the taste of re placed ing their ound of he signal • ending, [ sees by So acute hear the niator of lis name ery fickle race, but is to take ricating Loki has on). The gods and that ■len. So to him. cean by n to such encircles the whole earth. Hela he cast into Nifflehcim, and gave her power over nine worlds or regions, into which she distributes those who are sent to her j that is, all who die of sickness or old age. Her hall is called Elvidnir. Hunger is her table, Starva- tion her knife, Delay her man, Slowness her maid, Precipice hei threshold. Care her bed, and Burning-anguish forms the hang- ings of her apartments. She may easily be recognized, for her body is half-flesh color and half-blue, and she has a dreadfully stern and forbidding countenance. The wolf Fenris gave the gods a great deal of trouble before they succeeded in chaining him. He broke the strongest fetters The Wolf Fenris. as if they were made of cobwebs. Finally the gods sent a messenger to the mountain spirits, who made for them the chain called Gleipnir. It is fashioned of six things, viz., the noise made by the footfall of a cat, the beards of women, the roots of stones, the breath of fishes, the nerves (sensibilities) of bears, and the spittle of birds. When finished it was as smooth and soft as a silken string. But when the gods asked the wolf to suffer himself to be bound with this apparently slight ribbon he suspected their design, fearing that it was made by enchant- ment. He therefore only consented to be bound with it upon condition that one of the gods put his hand in his (Fenris' s) .^ I! I i '4 .,. ■)* 4^2 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. y mouth as a pledge that the band was to be removed again. Tyi (the god- of battles) alone had courage enough to do this. But when the wolf found that he could not break his fetters, and that the gods would not release him, he bit off Tyr's hand, and he has ever since remained one-handed. How Thor Paid the Mountain Giant His Wages. Once on a time, when the gods were constructing their abodes,; and had already finished Midgard and Valhalla, a certain artificer'^ came and offered to build them a residence so well fortified that tney should be perfectly safe from the incursions of the Frost giants and the giants of the mountains. But he demanded for his reward the goddess Freya, together with the sun and moon. The gods yielded to his terms, provided he would finish the whole work himself, without any one's assistance, and all within the space of one winter. But if anything remained unfinished on the first day of summer he should forfeit the recompense agreed on. On being told these terms the artificer stipulated that he should be allowed the use of his horse Svadilfari, and this, by the advice of Loki, was granted to him. He accordingly set to work on the first day of winter, and during the night let his horse draw stone for the building. The enormous size of the stones struck the gods with astonishment, and they saw clearly that the horse did one-half more of the toilsome work than his master. Their bargain, however, had been concluded and con- firmed by solemn oaths, for without these precautions a giant would not have thought himself safe among the gods, especially when Thor should return from an expedition he had then under- taken against the evil demons. ' As the winter drew to a close the building was far advanced, and the bulwarks were sufficiently high and massive to render the place impregnable. In short, when it wanted but three days to summer the only part that remained to be finished was the gate- way. Then sat the gods on their seats of justice and entered into consultation, inquiring of one another who among them could have advised to give Freya away, or to plunge the heavens in darkness by permitting the giant to carry away the sun and the moon. They all agreed that no one but Loki, the author of so many ch bad counsel, and that h6 evil deeds, given THE RECOVERY OF THE HAMMER. 423 in. Tyi lis. But ters, and and, and ages. r abodes, j I artificer^ ified that the Frost inded for id moon, inish the ill within mfinished compense stipulated Ifari, and cordingly night let size of iw clearly than his and con- a giant especially jn under- dvanced, ender the le days to the gate- tered into ould have darkness moon. so many that h6 should be put to a cruel death if he did not contrive some way to prevent the artificer from completing h s task and obtaining the stipulated recompense. They proceeded to lay hands on Xx>ki, who in his fright promised upon oath that, let it cost him what it would, he would so manage matters that the man should lose his reward. That very night, when the man went with Svadilfari for building-stone, a mare suddenly ran out of a forest and began to neigh. The I.orse thereat broke loose and ran after the mare into the forest, which obliged the man also to run after his horse, and thus between one and another the whole night was lost, so that at dawn the work had not made the usual progress. The man, seeing that he must fail of completing his task, resumed his own gigantic stature, and the gods now clearly perceived that it was in reality a mountain giant who had come amongst them. Feeling no longer bound by their oaths, they called on Thor, who immediately ran to their assistance, and lifting up his mallet, paid the workman his wages, not with the sun and moon, and not even by sending him back to Jotunheim, for with the first blow he shattered the giant's skull to pieces and hurled him headlong into Niffleheim. The Recovery of the Hammer. Once upon a time it happened that Thor's hammer fell into the possession of the giant Thrym, who buried it eight fathoms deep under the rocks of Jotunheim. Thor sent Loki to nego- tiate with Thrym, but he could only prevail so far as to get the giant's promise to restore the weapon if Freya would consent to be his bride. Loki returned and reported the result of his mis- sion, but the goddess of love was quite horrified at the idea of bestowing her charms on the king of the Frost giants. In this emergency Loki persuaded Thor to dress himself in Freya' s clothes and accompany him to Jotunheim. Thrym received his veiled bride with due courtesy, but was greatly surprised at seeing her eat for her supper eight salmon and a full-grown ox, besides o:)ier delicacies, washing the whole down with three tons of mead. " Spoke then Thrym The king of giants, * Where has* thou seen Such a hungry bride '( . i ':«' I m % < Ul 424 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, I never saw a bride Eat $0 much, And never a mdd Drink more mead.' " — EddAS (Anderson's tr.). Loki, however, assured him that she had not tasted anything for eight long nights, so great was her desire to see her lover, the renowned ruler of Jotunheim. Thrym had at length the puriosity to peep under his bride's veil, but started back in Freya. /' affright and demanded why Freya' s eyeballs glistened with fire. Loki repeated the same excuse, and the giant was satisfied. He ordered the hammer to be brought in and laid on the maiden's lap. Thereupon Thor threw off his disguise, grasped his re- doubted weapon, and slaughtered Thrym and all his followers. Freyr also possessed a wonderful weapon, a sword which would of itself spread a field with carnage whenever the owner desired it. Freyr parted with this sword, but was less fortunate than Thor and never recovered it. It happened in this way : Freyr once mounted Odin's throne, from whence one can see over the TBE RECOVERY OF THE HAMMER, 42 s «^hole universe, and looking round, saw far off in the giant's kingdom a beautiful maid, at the sight of whom he was struck with sudden sadness, insomuch that from that moment he could neither sleep, nor drink, nor speak. At last Skirnir, his messen- ger, drew his secret from him, and undertook to get him the maiden for his bride if he would give him his sword as a reward. Freyr consented and gave him the sword, and Skirnir set off on his journey, and obtained the maiden's promise that within nine (nights she would come to a certain place and there wed Freyr. Freyr. — Speak, Skirnir, speak, and tell with speed, Take not the harness from your steed, Nor stir your foot till you have said How fares my love with Gymer's maid. ^B- Skirnir. — Bar-isle !s hight the seat of love. Nine nights elapsed in that known grove. To brave Njord, the gallant boy. Will Gerda yield the kiss of joy. — ( Herbert's tr.). Skirnir having reported the success of his errand, Freyr ex- claimed : ** Long Is one night, Long are two nights, But how shall I hold out three? Shorter hath seemed A month to me oft Than of this longing time the half." So Freyr obtained Gerda, the most beautiful of all women, for his wife, but he lost his sword. This story, entitled Skirnir For, and the one immediately pre- ceding it, ThrynCs Qtiida, will be found poetically told in Long* fellow's Poets and Poetry of Europe, m • ■■,* 1 'i,** 426 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. CHAPTER XXXIX. Thor's Visit to Jotunheim. One day the god Thor, with his servant Thialfi, and accom< panied by Loki, set out on a journey to the giant's country. Thialfi was of all men the swiftest of foot. He bore Thor's wal- let, containing their previsions. When night came on they found themselves in an immense forest, and searched on ^11 sides for a place where they might pass the night, and at last came to a very large hall, with an entrance that took the whole breadth of one end of the building. Here they lay down to sleep, but towards midnight were alarmed by an earthquake which shook the whole edifice. Thor, rising up, called on his companions to seek with him a place of safety. On the right they found an ad- joining chamber, into which the others entered, but Thor re- mained at the doorway with his mallet in his hand, prepared to defend himself, whatever might happen. A terrible groaning was heard during the night, and at dawn of day Thor went out and found lying near him a huge giant, who slept and snored in the way that had alarmed them so. It is said that for once Thor was afraid to use his mallet, and as the giant soon waked up, Thor contented himself with simply asking his name. ** My name is Skrymir," said the giant, **but I need not ask thy name, for I know that thou art the god Thor. But what has become of my glove ?' ' Thor then perceived that what they had taken over night for a hall was the giant's glove, and the chamber where his two companions had sought refuge was the thumb. Skrymir then proposed that they should travel in com- pany, and Thor consenting, they sat down to eat their breakfast, and when they had done, Skrymir packed all the provisions into one wallet, threw it over his shoulder, and strode on before them, taking such tremendous strides that they were hard put t(? it to THORS VISIT TO J0TUNHEI3L 427 , and accom- It's country. e Thor's wal- ime on they d on ^11 sides t last Came to irhole breadth to sleep, but which shook )mpanions to found an ad- but Thor re- prepared to ible groaning hor went out md snored in or once Thor m waked up, e. need not ask But what has at what they ove, and the jfuge was tlie ravel in com- leir breakfast, rovisions into I before them, i put to it to keep up with him. So they travelled the whole day, and at dusk Skrymir chose a place for them to pass the night in under a large oak tree. Skrymir then told them he would lie down to sleep. *' But take ye the wallet," he added, " and prepare your supper." Skrymir soon fell asleep and began to snore strongly ; but when Thor tried to open the wallet he found the giant had tied it up so tight he could not untie a single knot. At last Thor became wroth, and, grasping his mallet with both hands, he struck a furious blow on the giant's head. Skrymir, awakening, merely asked whether a leaf had not fallen On his head, and 1/hether they had supped and were ready to go to sleep. Thor answered that they were just going to sleep, and so saying went and laid himself down under another tree. But sleep came not that night to Thor, and when Skrymir snored again, so loud that the forest re-echoed with the noise, he arose, and grasping his mallet launched it ^ith such force at the giant's skull that it made a deep dint in it. Skrymir, awakening, cried out, "What's the matter? are there any birds perched on this tree? I felt some moss from the branches fall on my head. How fares it with thee, Thor?" But Thor went away hastily, saying that he had just then awoke, and that as it was only midnight, there-was still time for sleep. He however resolved that if he had an opportunity of striking a third blow, it should settle all matters between them. A little before (daybreak he perceived that Skrymir was again fast asleep; then Thor, grasping his mallet, dashed it with such violence that it forced its way into the giant's skull up to the handle. But Skrymir sat up, and, stroking his cheek, said, "An acorn fell on my head. What 1 Art thou awake, Thor? Methinks it is time for us to get up and dress ourselves ; but you have not now a long way before you to the city called Utgard. I have heard you whispering to one another that I am not a man of small dimensions ; but if you come to Utgard you will see there many men much taller than I. Wherefore I advise you, when you come there, not to make too much of yourselves, for the followers of Utgard-Loki will not brook the boasting of such little fe'lows as you are. You must take the road that leads eastward ; mine lies northward ; so wtf roust part here." 428 STORIES OF Q0D8 AND HEROES. } Hereupon he threw his wallet over his shoulders and turned away from them into the forest, and Thor had no wish to stop him or to ask for any more of his company. Thor and his companions proceeded on their way, and towards noon descried a city standing in the middle of a plain. It was so lofty that they were obliged to bend their necks quite back on their shoulders in order to see to the top of it. On arriving they entered the city, and seeing a large palace before them, with the door wide open, they went in, and found a number of men of prodigious stature sitting on benches in the hall. Going farther, they came before the king, Utgard-Loki, whom they saluted with great respect. The king, regarding them with a scornful smile, said : " If I do not mistake me, that stripling yonder must be the god Thor. ' ' Then addressing himself to Thor, he said : ** Perhaps thou mayst be more than thou ap- pearest to be. What are the feats that thou and thy fellows deem yourselves skilled in ? for no one is permitted to remain here who does not, in some feat or other, excel all other men." "The feat that I know," said Loki, "is to eat quicker than any one else, and in this I am ready to give a proof against any one here who may choose to compete with me." **That will indeed be a feat," said Utgard-Loki, "if thou performest what thou promisest, and it shall be tried forth- with." He then ordered one of his men, who was sitting at the far- ther end of the bench, and whose name was Logi, to come for- ward and try his skill with Loki. A trough filled with meat having been set on the hall floor, Loki placed himself at one end and Logi at the other, and each of them began to eat as fast a§ he could, until they met in the middle of the trough. But it was found that Loki had only eaten the flesh, while his adversary had devoured both flesh and bone, and the trough to boot. All the company, therefore, adjudged that Loki was vanquished. Utgard-Loki then asked what feat the young man who accom- panied Thor could perform. Thialfi answered that he would run a race with any one who might be matched against him. The king observed that skill in running was something to boast of, but if the youth would win the match he must display great THORS VISIT TO JOTUNHEIM. 429 nd turned sh to stop id towards I. It was [uite back n arriving ore them, lumber of il. Going hom they em with a t stripling himself to thou ap- tly fellows to remain [ler men." icker than gainst any "if thou ied forth- it the far- come for- ith meat Lt one end to eat as le trough, while his trough to Loki was 10 accom- would run im. The boast of, )lay great agility. He then arose and went with all who were present to a plain where there was good ground for running on, and calling a young man named Hugi, bade him run a match with Thialfi. In the first course Hugi so much outstripped his competitor that he turned back and met him not far from the starting-place. Then they ran a second and a third time, but Thialfi met with no better success. Utgard-Loki then asked Thor in what feats he would choose to give proofs of that prowess for which he was so famous. Thor answered that he would try a drinking-match with any one. Utgard-Loki bade his cupbearer bring the large horn which his followers were obliged to empty when they had trespassed in any way against the law of the feast. The cupbearer having pre- sented it to Thor, Utgard-Loki said: ** Whoever is a good drinker will empty that horn at a single draught, though most men make two of it, but the most puny drinker can do it in three." Thor looked at the hom, which seemed of no extraordinary size, though somewhat long ; however, as he was very thirsty, he set it to his lips, and, without drawing breath, pulled as long and as deeply as he could, that he might not be obliged to make a second draught of it ; but when he set the horn down and looked in, he could scarcely perceive that the liquor was diminished. After taking breath, Thor went to it again with all his might, but when he took the horn from his mouth it seemed to him that he had drank rather less than before, although the horn could now be carried without spilling. " How now, Thor," said Utgard-Loki ; " thou must not spare thyself J if thou meanest to drain the horn at the third draught thou must pull deeply ; and I musL needs say that thou wilt not be called so mighty a man here as thou art at home if thou show- est no greater prowess in other feats than methinks will be shown in this." Thor, full of wrath, again set the horn to his lips, and did his best to empty it, but on looking in found the liquor was only a little lower; so he resolved to make no further attempt, but gave back the horn to the cupbearer. "I now see plainly," said Utgard-Loki, **that thou art not quite so stout as we thought thee ; but wilt thou try any other Iv ■ (■ : 'i 430 8T0RIF OF GODS AND HEROES. >M i Si'.» ° SI feat, though methii xs thou are not likely to bear any prize away with thee hence. " ** What new trial hast thou to propose? " said Thor. " We have a very trifling game here," answered Utgard-Loki, ** in which we exercise none but children. It consists in merely lifting my cat from the ground ; nor should I have dared to men- tion such a feat to the great Thor if I had not already observed that thou art by no means what we took thee for. * ' As he finished speaking, a large gray cat sprang on the hall floor. Thor put his hand under the cat's belly and did his ut- most to raise him from the floor; but the cat, bending his back, had, notwithstanding all Thor's eff"orts, only one of his feet lifted up; seeing which, Thor made no further attempt. "This trial has turned out," said Utgard-Loki, **just as I imagined it would. The cat is large, but Thor is little in com- parison to our men. " ^, , . - i "Little as ye call me," answered Thor, "let me see who among you will come hither, now I am in wrath, and wrestle with me. >> "I see no one here," said Utgard-Loki, looking at the men sitting on the benches, " who would not think it beneath him to wrestle with thee ; let somebody, however, call hither that old crone, my nurse Elli, and let Thor wrestle with her, if he will. She has thrown to the ground many a man not less strong than this Thor is." A toothless old woman then entered the hall, and was told by Utgard-Loki to take hold of Thor. The tale is shortly told. The more Thor tightened his hold on the crone the firmer she stood. At length, after a very violent struggle, Thor began to lose his foot- ing, and was finally brought down upon one knee, Utgard-Loki then told them to desist, adding that Thor had now no occasioa to ask any one else in the hall to wrestle with him, and it was also getting late ; so he showed Thor and his companions to their seats, and they passed the night there in good cheer. The next morning at break of day Thor and his companions dressed themselves and prepared for their departure. Utgard- Loki ordered a table to be set for them, on which there was no lack of victuals or drink. After the repast Utgard-Loki led them to the gate of the city, and on parting asked Thor how he TBOSfS VISIT TO JOTUNHEIM. 431 prize away gard-Loki, » in merely red to men- y observed >n the hall did his ut- ig his back, is feet lifted "just as I tie in com- ne see who wrestle with at the men eath him to er that old if he will. strong than was told by ^rtold. The r she stood, ose his foot- Jtgard-Loki no occasion and it was npanions to ±eer. companions Utgard- lere was no rd-Loki led 'hor how he thought his journey had turned out, and whether he had met with any men stronger than himself. Thor told him that he could not deny but that he had brought great shame on himself. "And what grieves me mest," he added, "is that ye will call me a person of little worth." "Nay," said Utgard -Loki, "it behooves me to tell thee the truth, now thou art out of the city, which so long as I live and have my way thou shalt never enter again. And, by my troth, had I known beforehand that thou hadst so much strength in thee, and wouldst have brought me so near to a great mishap, I would not have suffered thee to enter this time. Know, then, that I have all along deceived thee by my illusions ; first in the forest, where I tied up the wallet with iron wire so that thou couldst not untie it. After this thou gavest me three blows with thy mallet ; the first, though the least, would have ended my days had it fallen on me, but I slipped aside and thy blows fell on the mountain, where thou wilt find three glens, one of them remarkably deep. These are the dints made by thy mallet. I have made use of similar illusions in the contests you have had with my followers. In the first, Loki, like hunger itself, de- voured all that was set before him ; but Logi was in reality noth- ing else than Fire, and therefore consumed not only the meat, but the trough which held it. Hugi, with whom Thialfi con- tended in running, was Thought, and it was impossible for Thialfi to keep pace with that. When thou in thy turn didst attempt to empty the horn, thou didst perform, by my troth, a deed so mar- vellous that, had I not seen it myself, I should never have be- lieved it, for one end of that horn reached the sea, which thou wast not aware of; but when thou comest to the shore thou wilt perceive how much the sea has sunk by thy draughts. Thou didst perform a feat no less wonderful by lifting up the cat ; and to tell thee the truth, when we saw that one of his paws was off the floor we were all of us terror-stricken, for what thou tookest for a cat was in reality the Midgard serpent that encompasseth the earth, and he was so stretched by thee that he was barely long enough to enclose it between his head and tail. Thy wrest- ling with Elli was also a most astonishing feat, for there was never yet a man, nor ever will be, whom Old Age, for such in fact was Elli, will not sooner or later lay low. But now, as we m m 432 STOBIES OF 00D8 AND ffEBOES. are going to part, let me tell thee that it will be better for both of us if thou never come near me again, for shouldst thou do so I shall again defend myself by other illusions, so that thou wilt only lose thy labor and get no fame from the contest with me." On hearing these words Thor in a rage laid hold of his mallet and would have launched it at him, but Utgard-Loki had disap- peared, and when Thor would have returned to the city to de- stroy it he found nothing around him but a verdant plain. ■V ■\ ' / . ^ ' son hill T\r\Y t _, 't ' - *■ ■ '^V: UUl pas i ■- i _ .■ . * d^ir Bal - '*. wor dess 1 - ,!*4 lTV\0 • 1 '\ Kne that •' THE DEATH OF SALDUR. 433 r for both hou do so, I thou wilt with me." his mallet had disap- city to de- lain. CHAPTER XL. The Death of Bardur— The Elves— Runic Letters^ Skalds — I celand. The Death of Bal'dur. Bal'dur the Good, having been tormented with terrible dreams, indicating that his life was in peril, told them to the as- sembled gods, who resolved to conjure all things to avert from him the threatened danger. Then Frigga, the wife of Odin, exacted an oath from fire and water, from iron and all other metals, from stones, trees, diseases, beasts, birds, poisons, and creeping things, that none of them would do any harm to Bal- dur. Odin, not satisfied with all this, and feeling alarmed for the fate of his son, determined to consult the prophetess Anger- bode, a giantess, mother of Fenris, Hela, and the Midgard ser- pent. She was dead, and Odin was forced to seek her in Hela's dominions. This Descent of Odin forms the subject of Gray's fine ode, beginning : " Uprose the king of men with speed And saddled straight his coal-black steed." But the other gods, feeling that what Frigga had done was quite sufficient, amused themselves with using Baldur as a mark, some hurling darts at him, some stones, while others hewed at him with their swords and battle-axes ; for do what they would, none of them could harm him. And this became a favorite pastime with them, and was regarded as an honor shown to Bal- d\ir. But when Loki beheld the scene he was sorely vexed that Baldur was not hurt. Assuming, therefore, the shape of a woman, he went to Fensalir, the mansion of Frigga. That god- dess, when she saw the pretended woman, inquired of her if she knew what the gods were doing at their meetings. She replied that they were throwing darts and stones at Baldur, without 28 'lii;'s 434 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, being able to hurt him. ** Ay," said Frigga, "neither stones, nor sticks, nor anything else can hurt Bpldur, for I have exacted an oath from all of them." "What !" exclaimed the woman. " Have all things sworn to spare Baldur?" "All things," re- plied Frigga, "except one little shrub that grows on the eastern side of Valhalla, and is called Mistletoe, and which I thought too young and feeble to crave an oath from." «i Frigga. As 80on as T.oki heard this he went away, and resuming his natural shai)e, cut off the mistletoe, and repaired to the place where the gods were assembled. There he found Hodur stand- ing apart, without partaking of the sports, on account of his blindness, and going up to him, said, " Why dost thou not also throw something at Baldur? " " Because I am blind," answered Hodur, "and see not where Baldur is, and have, moreover, nothing to throw." THE DEATH OF BALDUR, 435 "Come, then," said Loki, "do like the rest, and show honor to Baldur by throwing this twig at him, and I will direct thy arm towards the place where he stands." Hodur then took the mistletoe, and under the guidance of Loki darted it at Baldur, who, pierced through and through, fell down lifeless. Surely never was there witnessed, either among gods or men, a more atrocious deed than this. When Baldur fell the gods were struck speechless with horror, and then they looked at each other, and all were of one mind to lay hands on him who had done the deed, but they "ere obliged to delay their vengeance out of respect for the sacred place where they were assembled. They gave vent to their grief by loud lamentations. «* I heard a voice that cried, * Baldur the Beautiful Is dead ! is dead !' And through the misty air ^ Passed like the mournful cry Of sunward-sailing cranes."— LonofelloWs When the gods came to themselves, Frigga asked who among them wished to gain all her love and good- will. " For this," said she, "shall he have who will ride to Hel and offer Hela a ransom if she will let Baldur return to Asgard." Whereupon Hermod, surnamed the Nimble, the son of Odin, offered to un- dertake the journey. Odin's horse, Sleipnir, which has eight legs, and can outrun the wind, was then led forth, on which Hermod mounted and galloped away on his mission. For the space of nine days and as many nights he rode through deep glens, so dark that he could not discern anything, until he ar- rived at the river Gyoll, which he passed over on a bridge cov- ered with glittering gold. The maiden who kept the bridge asked him his name and lineage, telling him that the day before five bands of dead persons had ridden over the bridge and did not shake it as much as he alone. "But," she added, "thou hast not death's hue on thee ; why then ridest thou here on the way to Hel?" " I ride to Hel," answered Hermod, " to seek Baldur. Hast thou perchance seen him pass this way ? " She replied, "Baldur hath ridden over Gyoll's bridge, and yonder lieth the way he took to the abodes of death." 436 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES. Vm 1*' Hermod pursued his journey until be came to the barred gates of Hel. Here he alighted, girthed his saddle tighter, and re mounting, clapped both spurs to his horse, who cleared the gate by a tremendous leap without touching it. Hermod then rode on to the palace, where he found his brother Baldur occupying- the most distinguished seat in the hall, and passed the nigh in his company. The next morning he besought Hela to 1^ Bal- dur ride home with him, assuring her that nothing but lamenta- tions were to be heard among the gods. Hela answered that it should ribw be tried whether Baldur was so beloved as he was said to be. **If, therefore," she added, "all things in the world, both living and lifeless, weep for him, then shall he re- turn to life ; but if any one thing speak against him or refuse to weep, he shall be kept in Hel. ' * Hermod then rode back to Asgard, and gave an account of all he had heard and witnessed. i The gods upon this despatched messengers throughout the world to beg everything to weep, in order that Baldur might be delivered from Hel. All things very willingly complied with this request, both men and every other living being, as well as earths, and stones, and trees, and metals, just as we' have all seen these things weep when they are brought from a cold place into a hot one. As the messengers were returning, they found an old hag, named Thaukt, sitting in a cavern, and begged her to weep Baldur out of Hel. But she answered : ** Thaukt will wail with dry tears ' Baldur' s bale-fire. Let Hela keep her own.** It was Strongly suspected that this hag was no other than Loki himself, who never ceased to work evil among gods and men. So Baldur was prevented from coming back to Asgard. The Funeral of Baldur. ^^ The gods took up the dead body and bore it to the seashore, where stood Baldur' s ship Hringham, which passed for the largest in the world. Baldur' s dead body was put on the funeral pile, on board the ship, and his wife Nanna was so struck with grief at the sight that she broke her heart, and her body was burned on the same pile with her husband's. There was a vast con* TBE ELTES, 437 red gaten , and re the gate tien rode ccupying nigh in let Bal- lamenta- :d that it s he was ;s in the ,11 he re- refuse to unt of all I jhout the might be lied with L3 well as 'have all old place ey found gged her han Loki ind men. seashore, le largest sral pile, ith grief s burned vast con* course of various kinds of people at Baldur's obsequi^. First came Odin, accompanied by Frigga, the Valkyrior, and his ravens j then Freyr, in his car drawn by Gullinbursti, X le boar > Heimdall rode his horse GuUtopp, and Freya drove in heer chariot drawn by cats. There were also a great many Frost giants and giants of the mountain present. Baldur's horse was led to the pile, fully caparisoned, and consumed in the same flames with his master. But Loki did not escape his deserved punishment. When he saw how angry the gods were he fled to the mountain, and there built himself a hut with four doors, so that he could see every approaching danger. He invented a net to catqh the fishes, such as fishermen have used since his time. But Odin found out his hiding-place, and the gods assembled to take him. He, see- ing this, changed himself into a salmon, and lay hid among the. stones of the brook. " Then he knew that the noise good boded him naught ; He knew that 'twas Thor who was coming ; He changed himself straight to a salmon-trout, And leaped in a fright in the Glommen."^ — Oelenschlaeger. But the gods took his net and dragged the brook, and I.old, finding he must be caught, tried to leap over the net ; but Thor caught him by the tail and compressed it so that salmons ever since have had that part remarkably fine and thin. They bound him with chains and suspended a serpent over his head, whose venom falls upon his face drop by drop. His wife Siguna sits by his side and catches the drops, as they fall, in a cup ; but when she carries it away to empty it the venom falls upon Loki, which makes him howl with horror and twist his body about so violently that the whole earth shakes, and this produces what men call earthquakes. The Elves. The Eddas mention another class of beings, inferior to the gods, but still possessed of great power; these were called Elves. The white spirits, or Elves of Light, were exceedingly fair, more brilliant than the sun, and clad in garments of a deli< * River in Norway. V': m 438 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. cate and transparent texture. They loved the light, were kindly disposed to mankind, and generally appeared as fair and lovely children. Their country was called Alfheim, and was the domain of Freyr, the god of the sun, in whose light they were always sporting. The black or night Elves were a different kind of creatures. Ugly, long-nosed dwarfs, of a dirty brown color, they appeared only at night, for they avoided the sun as their most deadly enemy, because whenever his beams fell upon any of them they changed them immediately into stones. Their language was the echo of solitudes, and their dwelling-places subterranean caves and clefts. They were supposed to have come into existence as maggots produced by the decaying flesh of Ymir's body, and were afterwards endowed by the gods with a human form and great understanding. They were particularly distinguished for a knowledge of the mysterious powers of nature, and for the runes which they carved and explained. They were the most skilful artificers of all created beings, and worked in metals and in wood. Among their most noted works were Thor's hammer, and the ship Skidbladnir, which they gave to Freyr, and which was so large that it could contain all the deities with their war and household implements, but so skilfully was it wrought that when folded together it could be put into a side-pocket. Rag-na-rok^ the Twilight of the Gods. It was a firm belief of the northern nations that a time would come when all the visible creation, the gods of Valhalla and Niffleheim, the inhabitants of Jotunheim, Alfheim, and Midgard, together with their habitations, would be destroyed. The fearful day of destruction will not, however, be without its forerunners. First will come a triple winter, during which snow will fall from the four comers of the heavens, the frost be very severe, the wind piercifng, the weather tempestuous, and the sun impart no gladness. Three such winters will pass away without being tem- pered by a single summer. Three other similar winters will then follow, during which war and discord will spread over the uni- verse. The earth itself will be frightened and begin to tremble, die sea leave its basin, the heavens tear asunder, and men perish in great numbers, and the eagles of the air feast upon their still e kindly id lovely i domain e always features, appeared t deadly lem they 5 was the m caves stance as ody, and form and ished for I for the the most etals and hammer, id which :heir war ght that le would alia and /lidgard, le fearful irunners. fall from ^ere, the ipart no ing tem- vill then the uni- tremble, n perish leir still RAGNABOK, THE TWILIGHT OF THE OODS. 439 quivering bodies. The wolf Fenris will now break his bands, the Midgard serpent rise out of her bed in the sea, and Loki, released from his bonds, will join the enemies of the gods. Amidst the general devastation the sons of Muspelheim will rush forth under their leader Surtur, before and behind whom are flames and burning fire. Onward they ride over Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, which breaks under the horses' hoofs. But they, disregarding its fall, direct their course to the battle-field called Vigrid. Thither also repair the wolf Fenris, the Midgard serpent, Loki, with all the followers of Hela, and the Frost giants. Heimdall now stands up and sounds the Giallar horn to as- semble the gods and heroes for the contest. The gods advance, led on by Odin, who engages the wolf Fenris, but falls a victim to the monster, who is, however, slain by Vidar, Odin's son. Thor gains great renown by killing the Midgard serpent, but re- coils and falls dead, suffocated with the venom which the dying monster vomits over him. Loki and Heimdall meet and fight till they are both slain. The gods and their enemies having fallen in battle, Surtur, who has killed Freyr, darts fire and and flames over the world, and the whole universe is burned up. The sun becomes dim, the earth sinks into the ocean, the stars fall from heaven, and time is no more. After this Alfadur (the Almighty) will cause a new heaven and a new earth to arise out of the sea. The new earth, filled with abundant supplies, will spontaneously produce its fruits without labor or care. Wickedness and misery will no more be known, but the gods and men will live happily together. " She sees arise The second time From the sea, the earth Completely green ; Cascades do fall. The eagle soars From lofty mounts. Pursues its prey ; All ills cease, Baldur comes, The heavenly gods Together dwell In Odin's halls.'' — Eddas (Anderson). iA ! -^^ V h 440 STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES, Runic Letters. One cannot travel far in Denmark, Norway or Sweden with, out meeting with great stones, of different forms, engraven with characters called Runic, which appear at first sight very different from all we know. The letters consist almost invariably of straight lines, in the shape of little sticks, either singly or put .together. Such sticks were in early times used by the northern nations for the purpose of ascertaining future events. The sticks were shaken up, and from the figures that they formed a kind of divination was derived. The Runic characters were of various kinds. They were chiefiy used for magical purposes. *♦ Facing to the nortbem climej Thrice he traced the Runic rhyme ; i Thrice pronounced, in accents dread, ' The thrilling ver&e that wakes the dead, Till from out the hollow ground Slowly breathed a sullen sound." — Gray. The noxious, or, as they called them, the bitter runes, were em- ployed to bring various evils on their enemies ; the favorable averted misfortune. Some were medicinal, oincrs employed to win love, etc. In later times they were frequently used for in- scriptions, of which more than a thousand have been found. The language is a dialect of the Gothic, called Norse, still in use in Iceland. The inscriptions may therefore be read with cer- tainty, but hitherto very few have been found which throw the least light on history. They are mostly epitaphs on tombstones. The Skalds. The Skalds were the bards and poets of the nation, a very jmporiant class of men in all communities in an early stage of civilization. They are the depositaries of whatever historic lore there is, and it is their office to mingle something of intellectual gratification with the rude feasts of the warriors by rehearsing, with such accompaniments of poetry and music as their skill can afford, the exploits of their heroes, living or dead. The compo- sitions of the Skalds were called Sagas, many of which have come down to us, and contain valuable materials of history, and a THE LORELEI 441 ien with, .ven with different riably of ly or put northern rhe sticks a kind of hey were were em- favorable ployed to d for in- n found, till in use with cer- hrow the nbstones. n, a very stage of toric lore tellectual hearsing, skill can e compo- ave come y, and a faithful picture of the state of society at the time to which they relate. Iceland. The Eddas and Sagas have come to us from Iceland. The following gives an animated account of the region where the strange stories we have been reading had their origin. Let the reader contrast it for a moment with Greece, the parent of clas- sical mythology : <* In that strange island, Iceland, — burst up, the geologists say, by fire from the bottom of the sea, a wild land of barrenness and lava, swallowed many months of every year in black tempests, yet with a wild, gleaming beauty in summer time, towering up there stern and grim in the North ocean, with its snow yokuls (mountains), roaring geysers (boiling springs), sulphur pools, and horrid volcanic chasms, like the waste, chaotic battle-field of Frost and Fire — where, of all places, we least looked for litera- ture or written memorials — the record of these things was written down. On the seaboard of this wild land is a rim of grassy country where cattle can subsist, and men by means of them and of what the sea yields j and it seems they were poetic men these, men who had deep thoughts in them and uttered musically their thoughts. Much would be lost had Iceland not been burst up from the sea, not been discovered by the Northmen !"* Teutonic Mythology. The mythology of (icrmany proper is identically the same as that of the Northland. Odin becomes Wodan, and Frigga is identical with Freya. The gods become less warlike. The legends are frostlcss, and the hoarseness of winter disappears from the voice of song ; all of which can be readily understood from the wide contrast Ijetween their climatic and social condi- tions. One of the best known myths is that of the Lorelei. The Lo're-lei'. This was a siren whose name became the terror Of the Rhine. She haunted a rock that still bears her name at one of the most > Carlyle. *:,•'!:■, ^hm ■ , 1% 442 STORIES OF Q0D8 AND HEROES. > dangerous parts of the river. There she sang her bewitching songs and enticed the sailors on to their destruction. ^fm; :S: Lorelei. " The air Is cool and darkleth The waters of the Rhine ; The mountain summit sparkleth, While the evening sun doth shine. " Yon »lt» a wondrous maiden On hi^h, a maiden fair. With golden jewels laden, She combs her golden hair. THE NIBELUNGENLIED, 443 , . * ■ ** She combs with combs all golden And sings a song so fine ; How strange that music olden As it falls upon the Rhine. ** It fills with fear the sailor At sea upon his skiff ; He looks, and then grows paler Before the threatening cliff. *• The waves dash bark and master Against the cliff so dread, And the Lorelei rejoices. For the sailor boy \t dead." — Heine. The Ni'be-lun'gen-Lied. The Ni'be-lun'gen-Lied is an epic written in German, and based upon the mythology of -which we have been reading. Odin I^ki and Honir see an otter devouring a sahnon. They kill it and take its skin to Rodmar, who recognizes it as that of his son Otter. The father demands gold sufficient to cover it. Loki catches the dwarf Andwari in the shape of a pike, who covers the entire skin with gold, save a single hair. In order to conceal this particular hair Loki seizes the dwarfs ring, which pos.sesses the magic of producing gold. The dwarf curses the ransom, and his malediction runs through the entire song. The father is slain by his sons Fafnir and Regin. Fafnir seizes the possession, and as a snake guards it on Glistenheath. Regin forges the sword Gram, and with a friend, Sigurd, slays Fafnir. Sigurd learns from the birds that his life is in danger, so he slays Regin, and with his treasure flees to Rhineland. He meets on the way a Valkyrie, Brunhild, whom he ardently loves. Subse- quently he meets the King of Rhineland' s daughter, who gives him an enchanted drink, by which he forgets Brunhild and mar- ries the princess. Gunnar, the king's son, then attempts to make Brimhild his wife. Her castle is on fire, and she prom- ises to marry him who effects her rescue. Gunnar attempts it and fails ; but Sigurd, mounted on his enchanted horse Grani, dashes through the flames and brings her to safety. His form in the meanwhile had been changed into that of Gunnar. They all return to the palace, Sigurd assuming his former self after Gunnar had taken Brunhild as his wife. Brunhild, maddened \\ .n> ^•Ui 1 { i,4 ft "M 4k\ '' k;t|| 444 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. by jealousy, induces Guthorm, another son of the King's, to slay Sigurd. Twice he enters his bedchamber and finds him awake. The third time he gives the fatal thrust. Sigurd awakes, and, hurling his sword at the assassin, cuts him in two. Brunhild dies on the burning pyre of Si. urd. Finally the princess takes as her second husband Brunhild's brother, Atli, King of the Huns. Atli invites her two brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, to visit him. A contest ensues over the treasure which these broth- ers have buried beneath the Rhine. Gunnar' s life is promised on condition that he reveal the secret. To this he agrees, after he has seen his brother Hogni 's heart. The heart of a slave is produced, but when it quakes Gunnar knows it is not that of his brother's. Gunnar still remains resolute. His hands are then tied, and he is thrown into a den of serpents. There he plays with his toes upon a lyre and charms all the reptiles s^ve one, an adder, by which he is stung to death. The Princess, in re- venge, slays the children she has borne to Atli, and finally the King himself. She then throws herself into the sea, and is drifted by the waves to other scenes and kingdoms. This is but an out- line of the Norse version of the poem. It probably dates back to the twelfth century.* ^ Encyclopaedia Britannica. ; t vv 5's, to slay im awake, akes, and, Brunhild icess takes ing of the Hogni, to hese broth - s promised grees, after a slave is that of his is are then e he plays s s^ve one, cess, in re- i finally the id is drifted but an out- dates back DBUIDS. 445 CHAPTER XLI. The Dru'ids— I-o'na. Dru'ids. The Dru'ids were the priests or ministers of religion among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain, and Germany. Our information respecting them is borrowed from notices in the Greek and Roman writers, compared with the remains of Welsh and Gaelic poetry still extant. They were organized into a triad, consisting of Bards, Vates or prophets, and Priests. The latter were the dominant power. They lived in the forests, and guarded in secret the mysteries of their religion. The Druids combined the functions of the priest, the magis- trate, the scholar, and the physician. They stood to the people of the Celtic tribes in a relation closely analogous to that in which the Brahmans of India, the Magi of Persia, and the priests of the Egyptians stood to the people respectively by whom they were revered. The Druids taught the existence of one god, to whom they gave a name "Be' al," which Celtic antiquaries tell us means <'the life of everything," or "the source of all beings," and which seems to have affinity with the Phoenician Baal. What renders this affinity more striking is that the Druids as well as the Phcenicians identified this, their supreme deity, with the Sun. Fire was regarded as a symbol of the divinity. The Latin writers assert that the Druids also worshipped numerous inferior gods. / They used no images to represent the object of their worship, nor did they meet in temples or buildings of any kind for the performance of their sacred rites. A circle of stones (each stone generally of vast size) enclosing an area of from twenty feet to thirty yards in diameter, constituted their sacred place. The most celebrated of these now remaining is Stonehenge, on Salis- bury Plain, England. i\u i. 44« STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. These sacred circles were generally situated near some stream, or under the shadow of a grove or wide-spreading oak. In the centre of the circle stood the Cromlech or altar, which was a large stone, placed in the manner of a table upon other stones set up on end. The Druids had also their high places, ^vhich were large stones or piles of stones on the summits ci hills. These were called Cairns, and were used in the worship of the deity under the symbol of the sun. \, Stonehenge. *'— — midst the eternal cliffs, whose strength defied The crested Roman in his hour of pride ; And where the Druid's ancient cromlech frownc^d, And the oaks breathed mysterious murmurs round, There thronged the inspired of yore ! on plain or height, i In the sun's face, beneath the eye of light, And baring unto heaven each nol)le head, Stood in the circle, where none else might tread," — Mrs. IIf.mans. That the Druids offered sacrifices to their deity there can be no doubt. But there is some uncertainty as to what they offered, and of the ceremonies connected with their religious services we know almost nothing. The classical Roman writers affirm tliaf le stream, . In the ich was a ler stones ;es, ^vhlch ; ci hills. iiip of the DRUIDS. H7 ITrmans. icre can be ey offered, lervices we affirm tliat they offered on great occasions human sacrifices ; as, for success in war or for relief from dangerous diseases. Caesar has given a detailed account of the manner in which this was done. * * They have images of immense size, the limbs of which are framed with twisted twigs and filled with living persons. These being set on fire, those within are encompassed by the flames." Many at- tempts have been made by Celtic writers to shake the testimony of the Roman historians to this fact, but without success. The Druids observed two festivals in each year. The former took place in the beginning of May, and was called Beltane, or •'fire of God." On this occasion a large fire was kindled on some elevated spot, in honor of the sun, whose returning benefi- cence they thus welcomed after the gloom and desolation of winter. Of this custom a trace remains in the name given to Whitsunday in parts of Scotland to this day. Sir Walter Scott uses the word in the Boat Song in the Lady of the Lake : — " Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain, Blooming at Beltane in winter to fade," etc. ... The other great festival of the Druids was called " Samh'in," or " fire of peace," and was held on Hallow-eve, which still re- tains this designation in the Highlands of Scotland. On this occasion the Druids assembled in solemn conclave, in tlie most central part of the district, to discharge the judicial functions of their order. All questions, whether public or private, all crimes against person or property, were at this time brought before them for adjudication. With these judicial acts were combined cer- tain superstitious usages, especially the kindling of the sacred fire, from which all the fires in the district, which had been be- forehand scrupulously extinguished, might be relighted. This usage of kindling fires on Hallow-eve lingered in the British islands long after the establishment of Christianity. Besides these two great annual festivals the Druids were in the habit of observing the full moon, and especially the sixth day of the moon. On the latter they sought the Mistletoe, which grew on their favorite oaks, and to which, as well as to the oak itself, they ascribed a peculiar virtue and sacredness. The discovery of it was an occasion of rejoicing and solemn worship. *' They call it," says Pliny, ''by a word in their language v/hich means ml ;■ f. 448 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES, m .7'' It'' "• t ' beal-flll|' and having made solemn preparation for feasting and lacriiice under the tree, they drive thither two milk-white bull-. whose horns are then for the first time bound. The priest then, robed in whitej ascends the tree and cuts off the mistletoe witii a golden sickle. It is caught in a white mantle, after which they proceed to slay the victims, at the same time praying that Goc/ would render his gift prosperous to those to whom he had given it," They drink the water in which it has been infused, and think it a remedy for all diseases. The mistletoe is a parasitic plant, and is not always, nor often, found on the oaks, so that when it is found it is the more precious. The oak is supposed to have represented their idea of the Supreme Being, and the mistletoe, when found clinging to it, signiHed man's dependence upon Him. The most remarkable of all their superstitions was the snake's egg, which was believed to be produced from the saliva oozing from the mouths of serpents when knotted together. They were said to toss it up into the air as soon as formed. The object was to secure the egg before it fell. Then the fortunate Druid would mount his horse and gallop away, pursued by the serpents, until he had put a running stream between himself and them. Like the Romans, they consulted the flight of birds and the entrails of sacrificed animals in their divinations. Associated with the Druidical priesthood were the Druidesses, an order of prophetic women. They seem to have been a de- luded class, who mistook their frantic orgies for worship. The Druids were the teachers of morality as well as of religion. Of their ethical teaching a valuable specimen is preserved in the Triads of the Welsh Bards, and from this we may gather that their views of moral rectitude were on the whole just, and that they held and inculcated many very loble and valuable princi- ples of conduct. They were also the men of science and learn- ing of their age and people. Whether they were acquainted; with letters or not has been disputed, though the probability is strong that they were to some extent. But it is certain that they committed nothing of their doctrine, their history or their poetry to writing. Their teaching was oral, and their literature (if such a word maybe used in such a case) was preserved solely by tradition. But the Roman writers admit that " they paid DRUIDS. 449 casting and irhite bull:. )riest then, (tletoe with which they y that Go(i^ ; had given ifused, and ; a parasitic iks, so that dea of the iging to it, the snake's diva oozing They were B object was Druid would rpents, until hem. Like the entrails Druidesses, 3een a de- lip. of religion. rved in the gather that t, and that ible princi- and learn- acquainted; obability is in that they ry or their ;ir literature erved solely "they paid much attention to the order and laws of nature, and investigated and taught to the youth under their charge many things concern- ing the stars and their motions, the ^'ize of the world and the lands, and concerning the nught and power of the immortal gods." Their history consisted in traditional tales, in which the heroic deeds of their forefathers were celebrated. These were apparently in verse, and thus constituted part of the poetry as well as the history of the Druids. In the poems of Ossian we ** " Fingal Cave. have, if not the actual productions of Druidical times, what may be considered faithful representations of the songs of the IJards. The Bards were an essential part of the Druidical hierarchy. They were supposed to be endowed with powers Cfjual to inspira- tion. They were the oral historians of all past transactions, pub- lic and private. Before the face of the Roman invader they passed away. " My harp hangs on a blasted branch. The sound of its strings is mournful. There is a murmur on the heath 1 The stormy winds abate 1 I hear tho voice of Fingal, 'Come, Os- m if 4SO STORIES OF QODS AND HEROES. W^'i W: p'' WW' i sian, come away,* he says. *Fingal has received his fame. Wc passed away like flames that have shone for a season. Though the plains of our battles are dark and silent, our fame is in the four gray stones. The harp has been strung in Selma. Come, Ossian, come away. Fly with thy fathers upon the clouds.' Beside the stone of Mora I shall fall asleep. The winds > whistling in my gray hairs shall not awaken me. Depart on thy wings, O wind. Thou canst not disturb the rest of the bard. **The night is long, but his eyes are heavy. Depart thou rustling blast. But why art thou sad of Fingal ? Why grows the cloud of thy soul ? The chiefs of other times are forgotten. They have gone without their fame. The sons of future years shall pass away. Another race shall arise. The people are like the waves of the ocean ; like the leaves of woody Morven, they pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves lift their heads on high. Shalt thou then remain, thou aged bard, when the mighty have failed ? But my fame shall remain, and grow like the oak of Morven, which lifts its broad head to the storm, and rejoices in the *. jurse of the wind. * ' * Pennant gives a minute account of the Eisteddfodds or ses- sions of the Bards and Minstrels, which were held in Wales for many centuries, long after the Druidical priesthood in its other departments became extinct. At these meetings none but bards of merit were suffered to rehearse their pieces, and minstrels of skill to perform. Judges were appointed to decide on their respective abilities, and suitable degrees were conferred. In the earlier period the judges were appointed by the Welsh princes, and after the conquest of Wales by commission from the kings of England. Yet the tradition is that Edward I., in revenge for the influence of the Bards in animating the resist- ance of the people to his sway, persecuted them with great cruelty. This tradition has furnished the poet Gray with the subject of his celebrated ode, The Bard. The Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Ro' man invasion under Julius Caesar. Against the Druids, as their chief enemies, these conquerors of the world directed their un- sparing fury. The Druids, harassed at all points on the main * Ossian. lONA. 451 le. We Though \ in the Come, clouds.' I winds Depart it of the .rt thou ly grows )rgotten. ire years I are like en, they ;ir heads vhen the ;row like orm, and ds or ses- Wales for its other but bards minstrels ! on their rred. In he Welsh sion from ard I., in :he resist- vith great r with the •f the Ro- Is, as their their un- 1 the main land, fetreated to Anglesey and lona, where for a season they found shelter and continued their now -dishonored rites. The Druids retained their predominance in lona and over the adjacent islands and mainland until they were supplanted and their superstitions overturned by the arrival of St. Columba, the apostle of the Highlands, by whom the inhabitants of that dis- trict were first led to profess Christianity. I-o'na. One of the smallest of the British Isles, situated near a rugged and barren coast, surrounded by dangerous seas, and possessing no sources of internal wealth, I -o'na has obtained an imperishable place in history as the seat of civilization and religion at a time when the darkness of heathenism hung over almost the whole of Northern Europe. lona or Icolmkill is situated at the extremity of the island of Mull, from which it is separated by a strait of half a mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scot- land being thirty-six miles. Columba was a native of Ireland, and connected by birth with the princes of the land. Ireland was at that time a land of gos- pel light, while the western and northern parts of Scotland were still immersed in the darkness of heathenism. Columba with twelve friends landed on the island of lona in the year of our Lord, 563, having made the passage in a wicker boat covered with hides. The Druids who occupied the island endeavored to prevent his settling there, and the savage nations on the adjoin- ing shores incommoded him with their hostility, and on several occasions endangered his life by their attacks. Yet by his per- severance and zeal he surmounted all opposition, procured from the king a gift of the island, and established there a monastery of which he was the abbot. He was unwearied in his labors to disseminate a knowledge of the Scriptures throughout the High- lands and Islands of Scotland, and such was the reverence paid him that the entire province became subject to him and his suc- cessors. The Pictish monarch was so impressed with a sense of his wisdom and worth that he held him in the highest honor, and the neighboring chiefs and princes sought his counsel and availed themselves of his judgment in settling their disputes. When Columba landed on lona he was attended by twelve \<iA \ ^T, " m .M.I ^Pi 452 STORIES OF OODS AND HEROES. w" mm K Mi ti.. followers, whom he had formed into a religious body, of which he was the head. To these, as occasion required, others were from time to time added, so that the original number was always kept up. The name by which those who submitted to the rule were known was that of Culdees, probably from the Latin "cultores Dei" — worshippers of God. They were a body of religious persons associated together for the purpose of aiding each other in the common work of preaching the gospel and teaching youth, as well as maintaining in themselves the fervor of devotion by united exercises of worship. lona, from its position in the western seas, was exposed to the assaults of the Norwegian and Danish rovers by whom those seas were infested, and by them it was repeatedly pillaged, its dwell- ings burned, and its peaceful inhabitants put to the sword. These unfavorable circumstances led to its gradual decline, which was expedited by the subversion of the Culdees throughout Scotland. lona is now chiefly resorted to by travellers on account of the numerous ecclesiastical and sepulchral remains which are found upon it. The principal of these are the Cathedral or Abbey Church, and the Chapel of the Nunnery. Besides these remains of ecclesiastical antiquity there are some of an earlier date, and pointing to the existence on the island of forms of worship and belief different from those of Christianity. These are the circu- lar cairns which are found in various parts, and .tuich seem to have been of Druidical origin. It is in reference to all these remains of ancient religion that Johnson exclaims, "That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmei amid the ruins of lona. ' ' ** Nature herself, it seemed, would raise A minister to her Maker's praise ! Not for a meaner use ascend V • Her columns, or her arches bend ; Nor of a theme less solemn tells That mighty surge that ebbs and swells, And still between each awful pause, From the high vault an answer draws, In varied tone, prolonged and high. That mocks the organ's melody ; r Nor doth its entrance front in vain '' lONA. 453 To old lona's holy fane. That Nature's voire might seem to say, Well hast thou done, frail child of clay ! Thy humble powers that stately shrine Tasked high and hard— but witness mine!" — Scott. This little isle, with its crosses and cairns, emblems of an ancient Christianity and more ancient paganism, remained for centuries as one of the most sacred spots on earth. An old prophecy declared that seven years before the end of the world a second deluge would destroy the earth, all but lona, which would float like an ark upon the waters. This tradition made it the favorite cemetery for the nobility and kings. Forty-eight Scottish, four Irish and eight Norwegian monarchs are said to have found sepulture in its hallowed soil. And here, by the grave of Macbeth, surrounded by those mysterious symbols in whose presence the lips of history are forever silent, we con- clude the Stories of Gods and Heroes. i !■ Mi ■,r :fe:i Wk ^as i :«»j . • Ne Th ough ■ \ ■ t f Hi H man( m PROVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS. m i, ' J ; '#, No. I. f age 52. MatKRIKM BUperabatopus. — Ovid. The workmanship surpassed the material. No. 2. Page 53. . ^ ■ . Fades non omnibus una, Nee diversa tamen, qunlem decet esse sororum. — Ovid. Their faces were not all alike, nor yet unlike, but such as those of sisten ought to be. ' No. 3. Page 54. Medio tutissimus ibis. — Ovid. You will go most safely in the middle. No. 4. Page 58. Hie situs est Phaeton, cumis auriga paterni, Quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen excidit ausis. — Ovid. Here lies Phaeton, the driver of his father's chariot, which if he failed tJ manage, yet he fell in a great undertaking. No, s. Page 152. Imponere Pelio Ossam. — Virgil. To pile Ossa upon Pelion. No. 6. PageaSS. Tlmeu Danaos et dona ferentes.— FiV^V/. I fear the Greeks even when they offer gifts. ^ No. 7. Page 290. Non tali auxilio nee defensoribus istis TempuM eget. — Virgil. • Not «uch aid nor such defendeis does the time require. No. 8. Pago 303. Incidit In Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim. He rum on Scylla, wishing to avoid Charybdis. Vo. 9, Page 322. Monstrum horrendum, Infomie, ingens, cui lumen ademptum. — VirgiK A horrible monster, mUshiipen, vast, whose only eye had been pui out. :l 45^ PROVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS. No, 10, Page 322. v TanUene animis ccelestibus irie ?-- Virgil. ' In heavenly minds can such resentments dwell ? i No. II, Page 324. Haud ignara mall, miserls fuccurrere disco. — Virgil. Not unacquainted with distress, I have learned to succor the unfortunate. No. 12, Page 324. Tros, Tyriusve mihi nullo discrimine agetur, — Virgil. Whether Trojan or Tyrian shall make no difference to me. No. 13. Page 326. Facilis descensus Averni ; Noctcs atque dies patet atri janua Ditis ; Sed revocare gradum, superasque evadere ad auras, • • Hoc opus, hie labor est. — Virgil. \ The descent of Avernus is ea,9y ; the gate of Pluto stands open night and day ; but to retrace one's steps and return to the upper air, — that is the toil, that the difficulty. No. 14. Page 326. Uno avulso non deficit alter. — Virgil. When one is torn away another succeeds. No. 13, Page 326. Tu ne cede mali.s, sed contra audentior ito. — Virgil. Yield thou not to adversity, but press on the more bravely. No, 16. Page 346. Quadrupedante putrem sonitu (juatit ungula campum, — Virgil. Then struck the hoofs of the steeds on the ground with a four-footed tramp ling. No. 17. Page 350. Sternttur InfeKx alleno vulnere, coelumque Adspicit et moricns (hikes reminiscitur Argos. — Virgil. He falls, unhappy, by n wound intended for another; looks up to the skies and dying remembers sweet Argos. \hK rtunale. INDEX TO POETS QUOTED IN THIS VOLUME. 1 night aiic] s the toil, ted tramp > the skicst Addison 52, 54, 204 \iider80U (Translations), . . . 410, 411, 412, 415, 416, 420, 423, 439 ^rion, 218 Armstrong; 33 Arnold, lidwin, 402,406,407 Arnold, Matthew, 190,243,413,417 Bion, 85 Browning, Mrs. E. B., 43, 84, 213 Bryant (Translations), ( ^^^ ^^S, 204, 233, 269, 272, 274, 275, 276, 278, 279, ^ ^ '' \ 281, 282, 283, 291, 295, 298, 300, 302, 303, 314. Bryant's Collection, 94 Buchanan, 211 «^_-_ f 11, 28, 30, 50, 116, 128, 130, 139, 177, 220, 246, 253, "^ ' ' ' * I 257, 293, 307, 372, 381, 393. Campbell, 170 Catullus, 194,210 Coleridge, . . . . ' 75,112 Coluthus, 263 Connington (Translations), 18u, 320, .^3.. 352 Cornwall, 68,413 Cowper, 5, 378, 3T3 Cranch (Translations). { ^^S. 289, 319, 3-4, 325. 328, 330, 341, 342, 344, 346, v.rmn.uvxi»uB»vuuB;. | 347, 348, 350, 3:>3. Darwin, 178,181,184,187,200,218,259 Do La Rosa, . 208 DoVson, 301 Dryc'.en 62, 383, 387 (Translations), 23, 25, 33, 64 Dyer 162 Eddas 410, 411, 412, 415, 416, 118, 419, 420, 423. 425, 439 Eliot ,,..,. 248 Elton (Translations), . . 19, 21, 22, 41. 85, 142, 163, 165, 199, 263, 295 Fiirlnh1«« i 178, 181, 182, 228, 230, 231, 263, 265, 267, 281, 292, Mripldes, ... I 293,304,372. Flaccus, 165 Fletcher, 244 Franckliu (Translations), 152, 154, 225, 231, 232, 333 Garrick, 136 Oiiyloy (Trauslations), 194,210 Ooldsmith, . . 127 (457) ■1 S 4'^ t> ■ I "1 INDEX TO POETS. v.i.. •; 3,i: m\ ft-] 458 PAGE Gray, . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 433, 440 Heine, . . o 442 Hemans 258, 446 Hempel (Translations), . . 128, 186, 249, 250, 251, 252, 285, 291, 315 Herbert (Translation ), 425 Hesiod, 21,22,295 4, 7, 71, 74, 138, 155, 188, 204, 219, 233, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, Homer, , . . \ 283, 284, 291, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 302, 303, 306, 309, 310, 312, 313, 314, 315, 31G, 317, 318, 334, 378. Homeric Hymn, 71, 74 Hood, 75,127 Horace, 20 Hunt (Translation), 260 Ingelow, 68,73 Iriarte, Tomas do, 337 Jonson, Ben, 255 Keats 42,73,76,83,87,94,112,124,125,203,254,300 Khayyam, Omar, 397 Klopp, 357 Kyd, 119 Landor 59, 176, 235 Lang 308,337 Longfellow 17,21,152,158,205,255,357,417,418,435 Lowell 28,44,218,227,237 Lucan, 388 Macaulay, 18, 201 Meleager, 139,161 Mickle, 37 Milman, 59,150 4, 7, 8, 26, 45, 50, 74, 85, 87, 94, 111, 116, 126, 143, 148, 157, 160, 180, 184, 207, 212, 214, 220, 221, 226, 228, 235, 240, 244, 293, 305, 335, 338, 358, 370, 371, 374, 376, 386. Moore, . . . . 3, 37, 38, 49, 104, 106, 127, 128, 140, 166, 176, 368, 394 Morris, Lewis '48,73,103,148,195,254 Morris, Wm 80,111,144 Moschus, 42 Oelenschlaeger, 437| Onomacritus, 163,165 Orphic Argonautics 162 Orphic Hymn, 68 Ossian, , 449 Ovid, 19, 23, 25, 33, 36, 58, 64, 81, 82, 199, 204, 384 Pindar, 3 (-24, 162, 185, 236, 238,276, 284 (Translations), 81, Pope, . . . . ] 82,155,219,294,296,297,298,299,303,310,312, 1 317, 318, 334, 378. Potter (Translations) 153, 154, 155, 267 Prior, 6,31,144,154,204 Milton, PAGE 11, 433, 440 . 442 . 258, 446 285, 291, 315 . 425 . 21, 22, 295 133, 269, 270, 180, 281, 282, 198, 299, 300, 514, 315, 31G, 71, 74 75, 127 20 . 260 68, 73 . 337 . 255 ;, 208, 254,300 397 . 357 . 119 59, 176, 235 . 308, 337 ', 417, 418, 435 I, 218, 227, 237 . 388 18, 201 . 139, 161 . . 37 59, 150 116, 126, 143, 214, 220, 221, 335, 338, 358, INDEX TO POETS. 459 PAGE Psalms, 395 Rhodius, 165,210 Saxe, 122,236 Schiller, .... 80, 128, 186, 203, 249, 250, 251, 252, 285, 291, 315 Scott, 328,447,452 Shakespeare, 7, 34, 131, 170, 239, 358 Shelley, 27, 29, 33, 48, 67, 131, 142, 188, 211 Simonides, 142 „ , . f 152, 153, 154, 155, 184, 224, 225, 231, 232, 287, 290, Sophocles, . . . } 2P3 333 Southey, 238 Spenser, 12,135,210,247 Statius, 41 Swift, 61, 65 Swinburne, . 68,172,173 f 134, 188, 257, 258, 262, 263, 268, 287, 295, 318, 372, Tennyson, ' ' ' [ ^qq Theocritus, 260 Thomson, . 95, 379 Veda, Rig, 398 r 180, 288, 289, 290, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, Virgil,. . . . ] 326,328,330,331,333,335,336,338,341,342,343, i 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354 Waller 33 Woodhull (Translations), 178, 182, 228 Wordsworth 157,168,179,213,228,268,377,393 Worsley, 58 Young, 157,255,339 goroaater, 391 1 t'h % J r '.t 5, 176, 368, 394 3,148,195,254 80, 111, 144 . 42 . 437, 163, 165 . 162 68 . 449 99, 204, 384 3 luslations), 81, , 303, 310, 312, (' •^1 ^.l 1.^, 3, 154, 155, 267 1, 144, 154, 204 't A'toae* an . oil the I brated f oracle of the sum Ab'a-bis, Apollo, about th his nati plague, mythica no eartb on an a through Ab-syr'ti A-by'dos, nearly o tie low< bridge o structed 480, cone than Ab pean si Madytui Ab'y-la, mouutai forming orAfrici {OibralU Spanish imna of tliey we torn asu Ac'a-de'm Cephissi longing subsequ ed by C plantati works c who pos ueighbo followei Acndem phers. Academ where 1 Academ A-CE8'TE8 the nan was sen INDEX AND DICTIONARY. »<(t M A'toae, an ancient town of Phocis, . oil the boundaries of Boeotia ; cele- brated for an ancient temple aud oracle of Apollo, v/ho hence derived the surname of Abacus. Ab'a-eis, a Hyperborean priest of Apollo, came from the couu try- about the Caucasus to Greece, while his native land was visited by a plague. His history is entirely mythical; he is said to have taken no earthly food, and to have ridden on an arrow, the gift of Apollo, through the air. Ab-syr'tus, 170. A-by'dos, a town on the Hellespont, nearly opposite to Sestos, but a lit- tle lower down the stream. The bridge of boats which Xerxes con- structed over the Hellespont, B.C. 480, commenced a little higher up than Abydos, and touched the Euro- pean shore between Sestos and Madytus, 128, 361, 367, 368. Ab'y-la, Mount, or Columna, a mountain in Mauretania Tingitaua, forming the E. extremity of the S. or African coast. This and M. Calpe (Oibraltar), opposite to it, on the Spanish coast, were called the Col- umna of Hercules, from the fable that tijey were originally one mountain, torn asunder by Hercules, 180. Ac'a-de'mi-a, a piece of land on the Cephissus, Athens, originally bo- longing to a hero Academus, and subsequently a gy nnasium, adorn- ed by Cimon with plane and olive plantations, statues, and other works of art. Here taught Plato, who possessed a piece of land in the neighborhood, and after him his followers, who were hence called the Academici, or Academic philoso- phers. Cicero gave the name of Academia to his villa near Puteoll, where he wrote his "Qutestiones AcademicBB." A-ces'tes, son of a Trojan woman, of the name of Egesta or Segesta, who was sent by her father to Sicily, that she might not be devoured by the monsters which infested the territory of Troy, 325, 348. A-ce'tes, 20.5, 208." A-cha'tes, the friend and companion of iEneas, 345. AcH-E-Lo'us, the largest river in Greece. The god of this river is described as the son of Oceanus and Tethys, and as the eldest of his 3000 brothers. He fought with Hercules but was conquered. He then took the form of a bull, but was again overcome by Hercules, who de- prived him of one of his horns, wliich, however, he recovered by giving up the horn of Amalthea. The Naiades changed the horn which Hercules took from Acho- lous into the horn of plenty, 224- 226. Ach'e-ron, the name of several riv- ers, all of which were, at least at one time, believed to be connected with the lower world. (1) A river in Thesprotia, in Epirus, which flows through the lake Acherusia into the Ionian sea. (2) A river in southern Italy, in Bruttii,on which Alexander of Epirus perished. (3) Theriver of the lower world round which the shades liover, and into which the Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus flow. In late writers the na?ue of Acheron is used to desig- nate the whole of the lower world. A-CHiL'LES,the hero of the Iliad, son of Peleus, king of the Mynnidones, and of the Nereid Thetis, 116, 171, 219, 258, 263, 204, 265, 2(i6, 2(57, 269, 270, 272, 273, 276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 285, 280, 289, 290, 291. A' CIS, 259-261. A-con'ti-u8, a beautiful youth, who, having come to Delos to celebrate the festival of Diana, fell in love with Cydippe, the daughter of a noble Athenian. Wliile she was sitting before the temple of Diana, he threw to her an apple upon which he had written the words, ( 461 ) SM ^'; 'kl^ i ip: mn m H ■■'■lit;: I 462 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. i~ \ 1 1 1. I,' V'. »< 4 ' 1 " I Hwoar by the sanctaary of Diana to marry Acontlus." The nurse took up thu apple and handed it to Cydfppo, who read aloud what was written upon it. and then threw the apple away, But the goddess had heard hor vow ; and the repeated illness of the maiden, when she was about to marry another man, at ' length conipftlled her father to give her in marriage to Acontius, 150. A-cBW'i-U«, mn of Abas, king of Ar- , g08, grandson of Ly nceua, and great- grandson of Danaus, 142, 150. A-CBOP'O-LW, UK). AcT^'oK, 11 celebrated huntsman, son of Aristtatis and Autonoe, a daugh- ter of Cadmus, 40, 45, 40, 47, 48, 115. AD'Mk'ta, 17(), Ad.mk'tum, 2!27, 228. A-do'nih, ft youth, beloved by Aphro- dite (Venus), but he died of a wound which ho received from a boar dur- ing the ch««o. The grief of the god- dess at his death was so great that the gods of the lower world allowed bira to spend six months of every year with Aphrodite upon the earth. The worship of Adonis ap- pears to have had reference to the death of nature in winter, and to its revival in spring; hence Adonis spends six months in the lower and six months in the upper world, 79, 83, 84, 85. A-dbah'tus, 2JJ0, XI K-ov», ion of Zeus (.Tupiter) and ./^glnfl, ttdatighter of the river-god Asopus. Homo traditions related that at the birth of ^Eacus ^giiia was not yet inhabited, and that Zeus changed the ants of the island into men ( IVf y rmldones), over whom MimxM ruled. TEacus was re- nowned In all (Greece for his, justice and piety, and after his death be- came or» J of the three judges in Hades, MO, M-m'k, Isle of, 300. iE-E'TKH, or JVsV/rK, son of Helios ' (the Hun) and I'erseis, and father of Medea and Abhyrtus. He was king of (Jolchls at tlie time when Phrlxus brought thither the golden fleece, 101, 102, 104, 106, 170. m-QviK}9 Hoa, 50, 02. .^.ok'ijs. King of Athens, 169, 190, 191. 192, iE-or NA, a rocky Island In the mid- dle of the Haronlc gulf, said to have obtalucd Its name from ^gina, the daughter of the river-god Asopus^ who there bore him a son, iEuciis As the island had then no iuhal)it ants, Zeus (Jupiter) changed the ants into men (Myrmidones), ovoi whom iEacus ruled, 116. iE'oiR, the Norse god who presides over the stormy sea. He also en- tertains the gods at harvest-time, and brews their ale. iE'Gis, 8, 134. iE-GIS'THUS, 291. iE-NE'AS, the Trojan hero. JEncas was the son of Anchises and Aphro- dite (Venus), and was born on Mount Ida. At first he took no part in the Trojan war; and it was not till Achilles attacked him on Mount Ida, and drove away his flocks, that be led his Dardaniaus against the Greeks. Henceforth iEneas and Hector appear as tlie great bulwarks of the Trojans against the Greeks, and iEueas is beloved by gods and men. On nior'j than one occasion he is saved in battle by the gods. He was finally slain, and his body, not having been found, was supposed to have been carried up to heaven. The Latins erected a monument to him, with the inscription To the father and native god. The story of the de- scent of the Romans from the Tro- jans through iEneas was believed at an early period, but rests on no historical foundation, 77, 207, 276, 278, 279, 319, 320, 321, 322, 32:5, 324, .325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, :m, 334, 335, 337, 338, 340, 343, 344. '54'), 346, 347, 348, 350, 351, 353, 354, 3,10, 381. iE-NE'A8 Sil'vi-us, son of Silvias and grandson of Ascanius, is (lie third in the list of the mythical kings of Alba, in Latium. ^-NE'iD, 354, 381. ^'o-LU8, son of Hellen and tlio nymph Orseis. Son of Hippotes, or, according to others, of Poseidon (Neptune) and Arne, a descendant ol the previous ^olus. He is rep- resented in Homer as the happy ruler of the ^olian islands, to whom. Zeus had given dominion over the winds, which he might soothe or excite, according to his pleasure, 88, 94, 299, 322, .37(5. iT^.8'cUY-LUS, 249, 384, 385. iEs'cu-iA'Pi-us, the god of the medi- cal art. In Homer he is not a di- INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 403 ir-god Asopua, a sou, iEuciis jn no inhabit changed tlio nidones), ovei .16. who presides He also cn- harvest-tiiue, hero. JEncas ies and Apbro- was born 011 b he took no ar; and it was icked him on 3ve away his lis Dardaniaus . Henceforth appear as tiie the Trojans and iEneas is nen. On nior'j 16 is saved in He was finally ot having been to have been . The Latins to him, witii ■he father and ry of the de- frora the Tro- was believed it rests on no , 77, 267, 276, , 322, 32;J, 324, >, 330, 331, 333, ), 343, 344. 34-), ., 353, 354, 356, on of Silvias icanius, is the the mythical [ium. len and the of Hippotes, rs, of Poseidon , a descendant lis. He is rep- as the happy in islands, to ven dominion ich he might cording to his 322, 376. 385. od ofthemedi' he ia not a di- vinity, bat simply the " blameless physician." He not only cured the sick, but recalled the dead to life. Zeus (Jupiter), fearing lest men might contrive to escape death al- together, killed iEsculapius with his thunderbolt; but on request of Apollo Zeus placed him among the stars, 158, 196, 226, 227. Oracles of, 373,374. jE'siR. The JEsir, whose thrones were in Gladsheim, were twelve in number. Their names were — Thor, Baldr, Freyr, Tyr, Bragi, Hodr, Heimdall, Vithar, Vali, Ullr, Ve, Forseti. Thus, with Odin, the "All-father," whose throne rose above the other twelve the great gods of the Norse Pantheon were thirteen in number. JE'soN, 162, 166, 167, 168, 169. J:'thi-o'pi-an8, 3, 56, 145, 148, 149, 258, 259, 285. j:'thi-o'pi-an Queen, 149. JI'thra, mother of Theseus by ^geus. She afterwards lived in Attica, from whence she was carried off to Lacedeemon by Castor and Pollux, and became a slave of Helen, with whom she was taken to Troy, 190, 191. ^T'NA, 56, 66, 151, 227, 261. Ao'a-me'des, brother of Trophonius. Agamedes and Trophonius distin- guished themselves as architects. They built a temple of Apollo at Delphi, and a treasury of Hyrieus, king of Hyria. In the construction of the latter, they contrived to place a stone in such a manner that it could be taken away outside with- out anybody perceiving it. A tra- dition mentioned by Cicero states that Agamedes and Trophonius, after building the temple Apollo at Delphi, prayed to the god to grant them, in reward for their labor, what was best for men. The god promised to do so on a certain (lay, and when the day came the two brothers died, 373. Aq'a-mem'non, son of Plisthenis and grandson of Atreus, king of My- censB. When Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was carried off by Paris, and the Greek chiefs resolved to re- cover her by force of arms, Aga- memnon was chosen their com- mander-in-chief. Agamemnon, al- though the chief commander of the Greeks, is not the hereof the Iliad, and in chlvalrouM Hpirit, bravery and character ttltogisther inferior to Achilles. Hut ho, nevortlielcss, rises above all the Greeks by his dignity, power and inajenty, 2(J5, 267, 2<{9, 270, 273, ?.'7H, 291. A-oa'vk, daughter of Cadmus, wife of Ecliioii, and niothi;r of Pcuthcus. For details sec Pkntukuh. Age, 328. A-qe'nob, 113, 279. Ao-la'i-a, 12. AG'Nr,401. Ah'bi-man, 392. A'JAX, called A I AH by the Greeks. Son of Telanioii, king of Salamis, and grandson of JFjuiiin. He is represented in tlio Iliad as second only to AchiUcM in bravery. In the contest for the armor of Achilles he was conquered by Ulysses, and this, says Honior, was the cause of his death. haU't poets relate that his defeat l)y UlyHseM threw him into an awful 8tat<5 of niadness; that he rushed from his t'jiit, and slaugh- tered the sheep of the (Jreek army, fancying thoy wore his enemies; and that at length he nut an end to his own life. From hia blood there sprang up a purple flower bearing the letters Ai (A/) on its leaves, which were at once the initials of his name and oxpreHsivc of a sigh. (2) Son of OlleuM, king of the Lo- crians, also called the lesser Ajax. He is described as small of stature, but skilled in throwing the spear, and, next to Achilles, the most swift-footed among the Greeks. On his return from Troy his vessel was wrecked; ho IHniMyff got safe upon a r(;ck through the assistance of Poseidon (Neptune); but as he boasted that he would escape in de- fiance of the immortals, Poseidon split the rock with his trident, and Ajax was swallowed up by the s(fa, 171, 265, 270, 271, 274, 275, 276, 280. Al'BA IiONOA,355. Al-cks'tih, 227,228, Al-ci'deh (Hercules), 184. Al-cin'o-uh, 309, 311,314. Alo-mk'na, 17H. A-lkc'to, 13, 341. A-Ln'r-AN. 157. Al'ex-an'dkh the (}reat, 62, 394. Al-fa'|)Uh, 413,439. Alp'heim, 43H. Alleoouicak Theory of Mythology, 370. ill m ''wm ',1, V '!"■■: i!' m ■1; }4m M' I 'I i'.M 464 INDEX AND DICTIONART, f'» >{ Alphabet, 376. Al-phe'nor, 138. Al-phe'us River, 75, 179. Al-phk'u8, a god, 72, 73. Alps, 56. AL-THi/A, 171, 173, 174. Am-al-the/a, the nurse of the infant Zeus (Jupiter) in Crete, was, accord- ing to some traditions, the goat which suckled Zeus, and was re- warded by being placed among the stars. According to others, Amal- thea was a nymph who fed Zeus with the milk of a goat. When this goat broke off one of her horns, Amalthea filled it with fresh herbs and gave it to Zeus, who placed it among the stars. According to other accounts, Zeus himself broke off one of the horns of the goat, and en- dowed it with the wonderful power of being filled with whatever the possessor might wish. Hence this horn was commonly called the horn of plenty, or cornucopia, and it was used in later times as the symbol of plenty in general, 226. A-ma'ta, 341. Am'a-thos, 83. Am'a-ze'nus, 343. Am'a-zons, a mythical race of war- like females, are said to have come from the Caucasus, and to have set- tled in Asia Minor. They were governed by a queen, and the fe- male children had their right breasts cut off, that they might use the bow with more ease. They con- stantly occur in Greek mythology. One of the labors imposed upon Hercules was to take from Hip- polyte, the queen of the Amazons, her girdle. In the reign of Theseus they invaded Attica. Toward the end of the Trojan war they came, under their queen, Penthesilea, to the assistance of Priam ; but she was killed by Achilles, 179, 180, 194, 195, 196, 285, 342, A'men Ra, 365, 366. A-men'ti, 368. Am'mon, 152. Am'phi-a-ka'us, a great prophet and hero at Argos. He joined Adrastus in the expedition against Thebos, although he foresaw its fatal ter- mination, through the persuasions of his wife Eriphyle, who had been induced to persuade her husband by the necklace of Harmonia, which Polyuices had given her. On leav- ing Argos he enjoined his sons fei punish their mother for his death. Pursued, he fled towards the river Ismenius, and the earth swallowed him up, together with his chariot, before he was overtaken by his en- emy, 230. Am-phi'on, 138, 242, 243. Am-phi-tki'te, same as Salacia— wife of Neptune, 217, 218, 219. Am-phyb'sos, a small river in Thes- saly which flowed into the Pagas- eean gulf, on the banks of which Apollo fed the herds of Admetus. 227. Am'pyx, 149. Ameita, 399. Am'set, 362. A-mu'li-us, 355. A'mun, 305, 366. Am'y-cus, son of Poseidon (Neptune), king of the Bebryces, celebrated for his skill in boxing. He used to challenge strangers to box with him, and slay them; but when tha Argonauts came to his dominions, Pollux killed him in a boxing- match. Am'y-mo'ne, one of the 50 danq;hter3 of Danaus, was the motlier by Po- seidon (Neptune) of Nauplius, the father of Palamedes. The fountain of Amymone in Argolis was called after her, 179. An'ax-ae'e-te, a maiden of Cyprus, treated her lover Iphis witii such haughtiness that he hung himself at her door. She looked with in- difference at the funeral of tlie youth, but Venus changed her into a stone statue, 97, 98. An-ce'us, 172. An-chi'seh, beloved by Aphrodite (Venus), by whom he became the ftither of iEneas. Having boasted of his intercourse with the goddess, he was struck by a flash of light- ning, which deprived him of his sight. On the capture of Troy by the Greeks, iEneas carried his father on his shoulders from the burning city, 319, 320, 336, 335, 330, 337, 356. Ax-dr.e'mon, 81. An-dro'oe-os, son of Minos and Pasiphae, conquered all his oppo- nents in the games at Athens, and was in consequence slain at the in- stigation of iEgeus. Minos made war on the Athenians to avenge the death of his son, and compelled ed his sons to for his death. ards the river irth swallowed th his chariot, ken by his en- i3. as Salacia— , 218, 219. river in Thes- ito the Pagas- mks of which s of Admetus, INDEX AND DICTIONARY, 465 ion (Neptune), ces, celebrated iug. Ho used irs to box with but when tlie his dominions, in a boxing- le 50 (Iau9;hter3 niotljer by Po- f Nauplius, the , The fountain jolis was called den of Cyprus, phis with such 9 hung himself aoked with in- Funeral of the langed her into 3. by Aphrodite he became the Saving boasted ith the goddess, , flash of light- '^ed him of his ;ure of Troy l)y iS carried his ilders from the 20,326,335,330, of Minos and d all his oppo- at Athens, and I slain at the iu- (. Minos made ns to avenge the and compelled them to send every year to Crete 7 youths and 7 damsels to be de voured by thei Minotaur. From this shameful tribute they were delivered by Theseus. A.n-drom'a-che, wife of Hector, 266, 267, 281, 321. An-deom'e-da, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150. And-wa'ei, 443. A-nem'o-ne, 85. An-oee'bode, 433. An'gle-sey, 451. A'NOU, 398. An'ses, subjects of Odin. An'ta, 369. An-t^'us, 151, 181. An-te'i-a, 155. An'te-bos, 9, 10. An-the'don, of Anthedon in Bce- otia, a fisherman, who became a sea- god by eating a part of the divine herb which Cronos (Saturn) had sown. It was believed that Glau- cus visited every year all the coasts and islands of Greece, accompanied by marine monsters, and gave his prophecies. Fishermen and sailors paid particular reverence to him, .and watched his oracles, which were believed to be very trust- worthy. An'thob, 350. An-tiq'o-ne, 228-232, 385. An-til'o-chus, 258-276. An-ti'o-pe, 194, 196, 242, 243. Anu, 395. A-nu'bis, 362, 370. A-pe'-li-o'-tes, 222, 223. Apennines, 56. Aph-ro-di'te (Venus, Dione, etc.), 9. A'pis, 363, 364, 365, 371, 374. A-pol'lo. (Phoebus Helios Sol.) From the sun comes our physical light, but that light is at the same time an emblem of all mental illu- mination, of knowledge, truth, and right, of all moral purity; and in this respect a distinction was made between it as a mental and a physi- cal phenomenon — a distinction which placed Phoebus Apollo on one side and Helios on the other. Accordingly Phoebus Apollo is the oracular god who throws light on the dark ways of the future, who slays the Python, that monster of darkness which made the oracle at ' Delphi inaccessible. He is the god of music and song, which are only heard where light and security reign and the possession of herds is free from danger. Helios, on the other hand, is the physical phe* nomenon of light, the orb of the sun, which, summer and winter, rises and sets in the sky, 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 18, 29, 30, 31. 32, 33, 50, 51, 61, 79, 85, 86, 88, 101, 113, 120, 124, 136,. 137, 138, 152, 158, 200, 227, 234, 243,'< 246, 249, 256, 269, 270, 271, 272, 274, 278, 279, 280, 281, 285, 290, 313, 320, 325, 334, 338, 373, 375, 389. A-pol'lo and Daphne, 29, 30, 31, 32,33. A-pol'lo and Hyacinthus, 85, 86L 87. A-pol'lo Belvedere, 29, 380. A-pol'lo, Oracle of, 372. Apples of the Hespebides, 60, 180, 181. Ap'u-le'i-us, 112. Aq'ui-lo, 220. Arabs, 394. A-RACHNE, 131-136. Ar-ca'di-a, a country in the middle of Peloponnesus, surrounded on all sides by mountains, the Switzer- land of Greece. The Arcadians re- garded themaelves as the most an- cient people in Greece ; the Greek writers call them indigenous and Pelasgians. They were chiefly em- ployed in hunting and the tending of cattle, whence their worship of Pan, who was especially the god of Arcadia and of Artemis. They were passionately fond of music, and cultivated it with success. The Arcadians experienced fewer changes than any other people in Greece, and retained ponsession of their country upon the conquest of the rest of Peloponnesus by the Dcrians, 13, 45, 171, 344, 345. ARCADY, 1, 45. Ar'cas, 45. Archer (constellation), 53. A-re-op'a-gus, 293. A' res, called Mars by the Romans, the Greek god of war, and one of the great Olympian gods, is called the son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera (Juno). He is represented as de- lighting in the din and roar of bat- tles, in the slaughter of men, and in the destruction of towns. His savage and sanguinary character makes him hated by the other gods and by his own parents. He was wounded by Diomedes, who was as- sisted by Athena (Minerva), and in % #-' 1' '! I ■fr - 1 .1 3? '1 ,: 466 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. #■"7 " f I til ' * ■* his fall he roared like ten thousand warriors, 8. Ar-k-thu'sa, 71, 72, 73, 75. Ar'go, 1(52, IrtS, 166, 170, 171. Ak'go-lis, 197. Ar'go-nauts, 163, 170, 201, 221, 321. Ar'gos, 142, 150, 178, 230, 291, 350, .358, 381. Ar'qus, 40, 41, 42, 162, 316, 376. A-ri-ad'ne, 193, 194, 197, 209, 210. A-ri-ad'ne, Vatican, 209. Ar'i-mas'pi-ans, 160. A-Ri'oN, 245-248, 375. Ar-I8-t^'U8, 235, 239, 241. Ar'is-ti'deb, an Athenian, son of Lysimachus, surnamed the "Just," was of an ancient and noble family. He fought as the commander of his tribe at the battle of Marathon, B.C. 490, and the next y^ar he was ar- chon. He was the great rival of Themistocles, and it was through the influence of the latter with the people that he suffered ostracism. At the battle of Salamis he did good service by dislodging the enemy with a band raised and armed by himself. He was recalled from banishment, appointed general, and commanded the Athenians at the battle of Plataea. He and his col- league Ciraon had the glory of ob- taining for Athens the command of the maritime confederacy, and to Aristides was by general consent intrusted the task of drawing up its laws and fixing its assessments. The first tribute paid into a com- mon treasury at Delos bore his name, and was regarded by the al- lies in after times as marking their Saturnian age. This is his last re- corded act. He probably died in 468. He died so poor that he did not leave enough to pay for his fu- neral ; his daughters were portioned by the state, and his son Lysim- achus received a grant of land and of money. Ar'te-mis (Diana), 9. A'runs, 352, 353. A'SA-FOLK, same as Anses. A'sAS, 414. As'gard, 412, 413, 415, 417, 435, 436. Asia, 62, 128, 161, 197. As'KE, 412. As'sHUR, 395. As-SYR'i-AN, 394, 395. As-TAR'TE, 369, 397. As-trje'a, 24. As-TY'A-aES, 150. A-su'rab, 400. At-a-lan'ta, 84, 171, 172, 173, 174- 177. A'tb was the goddess of infatuation, mischief, and guilt, misleading them to actions tiiat involved them in ruin. For this her father, Zeus, cast her in anger from Olympus, and from that time she wandered about the earth in search of vic- tims to her malignant influence. She was spoken of as powerful iii person and swift of foot, running before men to mislead them, 278. Ath'a-mas, son of jEolus and Ena- rete, and king of Orchomenus, in Boeotia. At the command of Hera (Juno), Athamas married Nephele, by whom he became the father of Phrixus and Helle. But he was secretly in love with the mortal Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, by whom he begot Learchus and Me- licertes. Having thus incurred the anger both of Hera and of Ntphele, Athamas was seized with madness, and in this state killed his own son, Learchus. Ino threw herself with Melicertes into the sea, and both were changed into marine deities, Ino becoming Lencothea, and Meli- certes Palsemon. Athamas, as the murderer of his son, was obliged to flee from Boeotia, and settled in Thessaly, 161, 162, 219. A-the'ne, 10, 132. Ath'ens, the capital of Attica, about 4 miles from the sea, between the small rivers Cephissus on the W. and Ilissus on the £., the latter of which flowed through the town. The most ancient part of it, the Acropolis, is said to have been built by the mythical Cecrops, but the city itself is said to have owed its origin to Theseus, who united the 12 independent states or townships of Attica into one state, and made Athens its capital. The city was burned by Xerxes in B.C. 480, but was soon rebuilt under the admin- istration of Themistocles, and was adorned with public buildings by Cimon, and especially by Pericles, in whose time (b.c. 460-429) it reached its greatest splendor. Un- der the Romans, Athens continued to be a great and flourishing city, and they were accustomed to s(iid their sons to Athens, as to a Uni- versity, for the completion of their i .11 172, 173, 174^ of infatuation, It, misleading iuvolved them er father, Zeus, rom Olympus, she wandered search of vie- naut iutlueiice. as powerful ic f foot, running ad them, 278. Eolns and Kna- Orchomenus, in mmaud of Hera larried Nephele, le the father of But he was ith the mortal of Cadmus, by arch us and Me- lus incurred the and of Ntphele, d with madness, lied his own son, ew herself with e sea, and both > marine deities, iothea, and Meli- Athamas, as the a, was obliged to and settled in 219. of Attica, about 3ea, between the issns on the W. E., the latter of ough the town. part of it, the have been built Decrops, but the to have owed its who united the ites or townships state, and made . The city was in B.C. 480, but nder the admin- istocles, and was lie buildings by ally by Pericles, B.C. 460-429) it t splendor. Un- thens continued flourishing city, ustomed to send ms, as to a Uui- (upletiou of theii tNDEX AND DICTIONARY. 467 education, 116, 119, 131, 132, 109, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197, 223, 293^ 37H, 381, 385. A.'tho8, the mountainous peninsula, also called Actc, wliich projects from Chulcidl<!(3 in Macedonia. At its oxtromity it rJHcs to the height of 6349 feet; tlio voyage round it was so dreaded by miiriuers that Xerxes had a canal cut through the isthmus which connects the peninsula with the mainland, to afford a passage to his fleet. The isthmus is about 1} miles across; and there are distinct traces of the canal to bo seen in the present day. The peninsula contained several flourishing cities in antiquity, and is now studded with numerous mona«terio8, cloisters, and chapels. In these monasteries some valuable MSS. of ancient anthers have been discovered, 50. At-lan'tib, according to an ancient tradition, a great island W. of the Pillars of Hercules, in the ocean, opposite Mount Atlas; it possessed a numerous population, and was adorned with every beauty; its powerful princes invaded Africa and Europe, but were defeated by the Athenians and their allies; its inhabitants afterwards became wicked and impious, and the island was in consequence swallowed up in the ocean in a day and a night. This legend is given by Plato in the Timaui, and is said to have been related to Solon by the Egypt- ian priests. The Canary Islands, or the Azores, which perhaps were visited by the Phceniciana, may have given rise to the legend ; but some modern writers regard it as indicative of a vague belief in an- tiquity In the existence of the W. hemispore, 337. At'i-as (god), 7, r»8, 144, 145, 181, 186, 257. At'las, Mount, was the general name of the great mountain range which covers the surface of N. Africa be- tween the Mediterranean and the Great Desert, 181. At'li, 444. A'trk-ub, son of Polops and Hippo- damia, grandson of Tantalus, and brother of Tliyosti'S and Niccippe. He was first married to Cleola, by whom he became the father of PliBthouits; then to Aeiope, the widow of his son Plisthenes, who was the mother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Anaxibia, either by Plisthenes or by Atrensf Agamem- non); and lastly to Pelopia, the daugiiterof his brother Thyestes. The tragic fate of the house of Po- lops afforded materials to the tragic poets of Greece. Atro-pos. 13. At'ti-ca, 190, 194, 196, 201. At'tys, a beautiful shepherd of Phrygia, beloved by Cybele. Hav- ing proved unfaithful to the god- dess, he was thrown by her into a state of madness, and was changed into a fir-tree. Aud-hum'bla, the cow from which the giant Ymir was nursed. Her milk was frost melted into rain- drops. Carlyle says the suggestion was a melting iceberg, 410. Au-ge'an Stables, 179. Au-ge'uh, 179. Au-ous'tus, 17, 381. Au'.is, 267. Au-ro'ea, 34, 35, 68, 90, 258, 259. Au-ro'ea Borealis, 417. Aus'ter, 220. Au-ton'o-e, 208. Autumn, 52. Av'a-tar,399, 400. Av'en-tine, 182. A-ver'nus, a lake close to the prom- ontory between Cumte and Puteoli, filling the crater of an extinct vol- cano. It is surrounded by high banks, which in antiquity were covered by a gloomy forest sacred to Hecate. From its waters me- phitic vapors arose, which are said to have killed the birds that at- tempted to fly over it, from which circumstance its Greek name was supposed to be derived. {Aornos, from d priv. and Spvii, a bird.) The lake was celebrated in mythology on account of its connection with the lower world. Near it was the cave of the Cumfean Sibyl, through which iEneas descended to the lower world. Ba'al, 397, 445. Hab-v-lo'ni-a, 34, 56, 394, 397. Bac'cha-na'li-a, a feast to Bacchus that WHS permitted to occur but once in three years. It was at- tended by the most shameless or- gies imaginable. Women raging 468 INDEX AND DxCTiONARY. 4 I' ^^/ 'it''' 1 -^ i %^ f r- ' * i^ *,i 'ink < '•V < »* >s %^ iio :rPli *r||.!^ £LjZ£'l8i' %''•',' ill witb madness ore athusiasm, their heads thrown bad iwards, with dis- heveled hair, and carrying in their hands thyrsus-staflfs (entwined with ivy, and headed with pine- cones), cymbals, swords or serpents. Sileni, Pans, Satyrs, Centaurs, and other beings of a like kind, made np the processions. BA<yCHA-NALS, 205. Bac'chus (Dionysus), 12, 16, 60, 124, 152, 203, 208, 210, 226, 237, 380. Bal, 369. Bal'dub represented sunlight; he was for a time imprisoned in dark- ness, but returned in the morning, 433^37. Bab'ba-ri, the name given by the Greeks to all foreigners whose lan- guage was not Greek, and who were therefore regarded by the Greeks as an inferior race. The Romans applied the name to all people who spoke neither Greek nor Latin. Bards (Druids), 445, 449. Bas'i-lisk, 387, 388. Bast. (See Pasht.) BAyTUS, a shepherd whom Hermes turned into a stone, because he broke a promise which he had made to the god. Bau'cis (Philenun), 62-65. Bauoi", 4i'i. Bb/al, 415. Bkau (Constellation), 4, 44, 45, 55. Bel, 395. Bel'i-8a'ri-U8, the greatest general of Justinian, overthrew the Vandal kingdom in Africa and the Gothic kingdom in Italy. Ho was accused of a conspiracy against the life of Justinian; according to a popular tradition ho was deprived of his property, liis eyes were put out, and he wandered as a beggar through Constantinople; but ac- cording to the more authentic ac- count he was merely impi-isoncd for a year in his own palace, and then restored to his honors. BEL-LER'o-Piroy, 155, 156, 157. B»L-lo'na, the Roman goddess r,t war, represented as the sister or wife of Mars. Her priests, called Bellonarii, wounded their own arms or legs when they oflfered tacriflces to her, 16, 131. Bel'tanb, 447. Be'lus, son of Poseidon (Niptuno) and Libya or Kurynonie, twin brother «f Agouor, and father of iEgyptus and Danaus. He was believed to be the founder of 6aby< Ion, 323, 396. Ber'o-e, 203. Bes, one of the most ancient African gods adopted by the Egytiaus He presided at births. Bi' FROST (che Saiubow), 412, 420, 439. Bi'lat, 395. Bi'on, of Smyrna, a bucolic poet, flourished about B.C. 280, and spent the last years of his life in Sicily, where he waa poisoned. The style of Bion is refined, and his versifi- cation fluent and elegant. Bi'ton and Cleobis, sons of Cydippe, a priestess of Hera at Argos. They were celebrated for their affection to their mother, whose chariot they once dragged during a festival to the temple of Hera, a distance of over five miles. The priestes-s pra: ed to tL e goddess to grant the m what was best for mortals ; and du- ring the night they both died while asleep in the temple. Bod' HI, 406. BODN, 414. B(E-o'ti-a. 267, 373. Bo'na De' a, a Roman divinity, is de- scribed as the sister, wife, or daugh- ter t)f i 's«unus, and was herself calKnl Fcma FatiM, or Oma. She was worbhipped at Rome as a chaste and prophetic divinity; she revealed her oracles only to females, au Fau- nus did only to males. Her festi- val v.ds celebrated every year on the 1st of May, in the house of the consul or prffttoi , as the sac- rifices on that occasion were offered on behalf of the whole Roman peo- ple. The solemnities wereconductwl by the Vestals, and no male person was allowed to be in the house at oue of the festivals. Bo-o'tes, 55. Bo'reas, 220, 221, 322. Bos'po-iiU8 (Bosphorus), 43. Brao'i, 414, 420. Brah'ma, 398, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404. liRAH'MINS, 356, 445. Brazen Aor, 23. Breeze, 38, 39. Bri-a' RE-US, 66, 152, 328. Bride op Aby.dos, 130. Bri-sk'is, 269. Bron'tes, one of the Cyclopes; hll name signifies " Thunder." Bbum'iiild, 443, 444. as. He waa mder of Baby« ticiect African Egytians He m), 412, 420, bucolic poet, 280, and spent life in Sicily, led. Tiie style ,nd his versifi- ;gant. onsof Cydippe, t Argos. They their affection )se chariot they g a festival to , a distance of The prie8tes3 IS to grant them ortals; anddu- both died while divinity, is de- , wife, or daugh- 'as herself called Oma. She was 3 as a chaste and ; she revealed females, an Fau- des. Her festi- every year on > the house of boi, as the sac- ion were offered lole Roman peo- j wereconductcti no male person I the house at one :2. us), 43. }1, 402, 403, 404. 328. 30. »e Cyclopes; hil huuder." INDEX AND DICTIONARY, 469 Bttd'dha, 400, 405-407. Bud'dhihm. (Sco Buddha.) Bud'dhist. (See Buddha,) Bull, Apih, 'rm, 3(J4, :wr>, 371, 374. Bull, Constellation, 53. Bull, Winokd, 3fMJ. Bu-si'ris, a king of I'^gypt, who sacri- ficed btrangers to 2^ous (Jupiter), but was slain by Hercules. Pu'to, an Egyptian divinity, was the ' nurse of Horus and Bubastis, the children of Osiris and IsiH, whom she saved from tho perHccutions of Typhon by concealing them in the floating island of Clicmnis. The Greeks identiilod hor with Leto (Latona), and represented her as the goddess of night. By'blos, 370. Byb'da, 324. Ca-bi'rt, mystic deities worshipped in various parts of tho ancient world. Tho meaning of their name, their character, and nature, are quite uncertain. Divine hon- ors were paid to them at Samo- thrace, Lemnos, and Imbros, and their mysteries at Samothraco were S( emnized with great splendor. Tiiev were also wornhlpped at Thebes, Anthcdon, Pergamus, and t>sewhere. Ca'cus, son of Vulcan, was slain by Hercules. In honor of his victory, Hercules dedicated tho ara vinrima, which continued to exist ages after- xvards in Borne, 1H2, Cad'mus, son of Agenor. king of Phoenicia, and of TelepitivHsa, and brother of EurofHi. Anotlw-r log- end makes him a native of Tliebos in Egypt. Cadmus is said to have introduced Into ()re«M!(» from Phce- niciaor Egypt an alphabet of six- teen letters, 4r>, 113, 114, 115, 110, 104, 210, 230, 370. Ca-)>u'ck-uh, U. CiHAR, Julius, 447t Ca-i'cuh, no, Cain, Tubal, 375, Caikn, 440. Cal'a-ih, 221. Cal'chah, the wlsost soothsay r among tlie (IrceliH at Troy. An oracle had declared that he should die if he nx^t with a soothsayer superior to himself; and this came to pass at Clares, near Colophon, for here he met the soothsayer MopsuH, who prediotod things which Calchas could not. Thereupon Calchas died of grief, 267, 270, fSS. CAL-Lfo-PE, 10, 12, 234. Cal-lir'rho-e, daughter of .\chelous and wife of Alemffion, indi ced her husband to procure her the peplua and necklace of Harmonia, by which she caused his '? iath. Cal-lis'to, 40, 43, 45. Cal'pe Mount, a mountain in the S. of Spain, on the straits between the Atlantic and Med 'terraneau. This and Mount Abyla, opposite to it on the African coast, were called the Columns of Hercules, 180. Cal'y-don, 171, 174. Ca-LYp'so, 305, 306. Ca-lyp'so Island, 305, 306, 313. Ca-me'n^, prophetic nymphs, be- longing to the religion of ancient Italy, although later traditions represent their worship as intro- duced into Italy from Arcadia, and some accounts idoutify them with the Muses, 220. Ca-mil'la, 342, 343, 351-354. Ca'nis, the constellation of the Great Dog. The most important star in this constellation was specially named Cams, and also Sirius, The Deis Caniculares were as proverbial for the heat of th.^ weather among the Eomans as are the dog-days among ourseWes. Cap'a-neus, 230. Car-men'ta, same as CamensB. Car'thaok, 323, 321 Cas-san'dra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and twin-sister of Helenus. In hor youth she was the object of Apollo's regard, and when she grew up her beauty w n upon him so much that he conferred upon her the gift of prophecy, upon her promising to comply with his de- sires; but when she had become' possessed of tho prophetic art she refused to fulfill her promise. Thereupon the god, in anger, or- dained that no one should believe her propliecies. On the capture of Troy she fled into the sanctuary of Athena (Minerva), but was torn away from tho statue of tho god- dess by Ajax, son of Oilcus, 290. Cah-sio-pe'ia, 115, 148, 149, 150. C!ap-ta'li-a, 373. Cas-ta'lian Cave, 113. (Uhtes (India), 402. Cah'tor (and Pollux— the Dioscuri), 200, 202, 252, 253. 4:"1 ■' I'll 1 1 ■%: m 1 470 INDEX AND DICTIONARY, mm m. V Cau'ca-8US, 27, 56, 215. Ca-ys'teb, 56. Ce-bri'o-neh, 275, Ce'crops, 132, 190. Celestials, 4. Ce'le-us, 68, 74. Cel-li'ni, Benvenuto, 390, Celtic Nations, 445, Cen'taurs, that is, tho bull-killers, were aa ancient race, inhabiting Mount Pel ion in ThoHsaly. They led a wild and savage life, and aro hence called savaf^o beaHt«, in Homer. In later accounts they were represented as half horses and half men, and are said to have been the offspring of Ixion and a clovid. We V :>w that hunting tho bull on hort^' ^k was a national custom in Tliessaly, and that tho Thessalians were colebrat(!d riders. Hence may have arinen tho fablo that tho Centaurs were half men and half horses, just as the Ameri- can Indians, when they lirst saw a Spaniard on horseback, believed horse and man to bo onu being, 158, 184, 219. Ceph'a-lus, 29, 37, 38, 39, 110. Ce'phe-U8, 145, 147, 149. Cer'be-rus, thodoK that guarded tho entrance of Hades, is called a son of Typhaon and ICchidna. Home poets represent him with 50 or 100 heads; but later writitrs d(;S(;ribe him as a monster with only 3 heads, with the tail of a serpc^nt, and with serpents round his neck, 109, 182, 247, 3.10. Ce'res (Denii ter), 12, IH, 66, 67, 08, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 107, 177, 214, 215, 216, 217. Ces'tus, 9, 27. Cey-lon,407. Ce'yx (and Halcyono), 88, 04. Cha'os, 6, 19, 58, 395. Char'i-tes. (See (J races.) Cha'ron, fion of Erebus, convoyed in his boat the shadi^s of the di^id across tho rivers of the lower wcu'ld. For this 8(!rvice be was paid with anobolus ordanacts whicli coin was placed in tho month of every corjwo previous to its burial, 109, 32M, :y,i\), 330. Cha-ryh'dis, 303. 301, 32'.'. Cm-MiW'uA, a flnt-ltrcaUiiiij^ mon- ster, tho fore part of whose body was that of a lion, the hind part that of a dragon, and the middle that of a goat. She tnado great havoc iti Lycia and the sntronnd^ ing countries, and was at length killed by Bellerophon. The origin of this flre-brcathing monster must probably be sought for in the vol' cano of the name of Chimeera, near Phaselis, in Lycia, 151, 155, 1.56, 328, 386. China, 407. Chi'os, 255. Chi' RON, the wisest and most just of all the Centaurs, son of Cronos (Saturn) and Philyra, lived on Mount Pelion. He was instructed by Apollo and Artemis (Diana), and was renowned for his skill in hunt' ing, medicine, music, gymnastic:', and the art of prophecy. All the most distinguished heroes of Gre- cian story, as Peleus, Achilles, Diomedes, etc., are described as tho pupils of Chiron in these arts. He saved Peleus from the other Cen- taurs, who were on the point of ki. I- ing him, and he also restored lo him the sword which Acastus had concealed. Hercules, too, was his friend; but while fighting with tho other Centaurs one of the poisoned arrows of Herculi- struck Chiron, who, although immortal, would not live any longer, and gave his im- mortality to Prometheus. Zeus placed Chiron among the stars us Sagittarius, 158, 219. Chlo'ris, daughter of the Theban Amphion and Niobe; she and li-^r brother Amyclas were the only children of Niobe not killed by Apollo and Artemis (Diana). Shu is often confounded with tho god- dess of spring, who was also esi)c.- cially worshipped as a Hora, undc^r the title of Chloris, which corre- sponds to tho Roman Flora. Siwi was the goddess of buds and flow- ers, of whom Boreas, tho nortli winter wind, and Zephyrus, the west spring wind, were rival lovers. Siio chose tho latter, and becamu his faithful wife. ('horistkrs, 250. Cmrv-se'is, 2(19. (!hky'hks, 269. Ci-co'Nr-ANs, 294. CiM-MK'ur-AN, 43, 90. Ci'mom, 196. Ciu'cio, 76, 77, 78,300,301,303, 30!^ 301. Ct-tii^/kon (Mount), 208, 242. ( 'LA-Ros ^in Ionia), 88. INDEX AND DICTIONARY, 471 •I'; e snrronnd. s at length The origin onster must ' in the vol' imsera, near I, 155, 156, most just u of Cronos ,, lived on s instructed Diana), and cill in hunt' gymnastic?, cy. All the roes of Gre- 13, Achilles, bribed as the ise arts. He I other Cen- pointof ki.I- restored to Acastus had too, was his ing with tho the poisoned •uck Chiron, a1, would not ;ave his iin- iheus. Zeus the stars as tho Thoban she and her re the only )t killed l)y Diana). 8liu ith tho g(Ki. as also i\s|H> Hora, un(i(!r wliich corm- i Flora. Slit! ds and ilow- s, tho north ephyrus, tlio } rival lovrrs. and bocuiuu 301, 302, 30:\ Cli'o, 11, 12. Clo'tho, 13. Clym'k-ne, 51, 52. Clyt-em-nes'tka, 291. Clyt'i-b, 127. Cni'dob, 83. Cock'a-tbice, 387. Co-cy'tus, 328. Col'chis. 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 170. Co-lo'nus, situated a mile from Athens, near the Academy; cele- brated for a temple of Neptune, a grove of the Eumenides, the tomb of (Edipus, and as the birthplace of Sophocles, who describes it in his CEdipus Coloneus. Col'o'phon, 381. Co-lum'ba, St., 451. Co'mus was worshipped as guardian of festal banquets, of mirthful en- joyments, of lively humor, fun, and social p easure, with attributes ex- prcssin/f joy in many ways. For this reason Milton takes this word for the title of his poem Comus. On the other hand, he was represented frequently as an illustration of the consequences ofnightly orgies, with torch reversed, in drunken sleep, or unable to stand. Con-8En'te8, the twelve Etruscan gods who formed 'jhe council of Ju- piter, consisting of six male and six female divinities. We do not know the names of all of them, but it is certain that Juno, Minerva, Sum- nianus, Vulcan, Saturn, and Mars were among them. Co'iiA (Proserpina); CoUDELtA, 232. Cok'intii, 169, 170, 192, 245, 247, 249, 250. Co-rin'thi-an Games, 197. (^)U-NU-co'pi.A, 225, 226. C/<)-ro'ni8, mother of ^Esculapius. Cor-Y-han'tkh, priests of Cybelo, or Rhea, in Piirygia, who celebrated her worship with enthusiastic dances, to tho sound of the drum and tho cymbal. They are often Identified with tho Ciiretesand the Idieau Dactyl i, and thus are said to have been tho nurses of Zeus in Crete, 177. Cot'tuh, a giant with one hundred hands, son of Uranus (Heaven) and Qa)a( Earth). Cpab (Constellation), 53. Cranks, 160. Criva'tion, 10, 20. Cbu'on, 231, 232. Cbe'te, 116, 120, 121, 134, 192, IM, 196, 320. Cre-u'sa, 169. Cro/sus, king of Lydia, reigned B.C. 560-546. The fame of his power and wealth drew to his court at Sardis all the wise men of Greece, and among them Solon. In reply to the question, who was the hap- piest man he had ever seen, the Siige taught the king that no man should be deemed happy till he had finished his life in a happy way. In a war with Cyrus, king of Per- sia, Croesus was defeated and his capital, Sardis, wao taken. Croesus was condemned by the conqueror to be burned to death. As he stood before the pyre, the warning of So- lon came to his mind, and he thrice uttered the name of Solon. Cyrus inquired who it was that he called on ; and upon hearing the story re- pented of his purpose, and not only spared the life of Croesus, but made him his frieu.T It is also said that his boy, bom dumb, first spoke at the sight of his father's danger. Croc'a-le, 46. Crom'lecii, 446. Cro'nus, 6, 15, 177, 376. Cro-to'na, 356, 359. Cul-dee', 452. Cu'm;e-an Sibyl, 339. Cu'PiD (and Psyche), 100-112. CU'PID (Eros), 9, 30, 31, 66, 83, 243. Cy'a-ne, 68, 71. Cyb'e le (Khoa), 176, 177. Cy'clo-pe'an Walls, the name Cy- clopean was given to the walls built of great masses of unhewn stone, of which specimens are still to be seen at Myccmo and other parts of Greece, and also in Italy. They were probably constructed by tho Pelasgians, and later generations, being struck by their grandeur, ascribed tiieir building to a fabu- lous race of Cyclopes. Cy-clo'pp:8, that is, creatures with round or circular eyos, are de- scribed differently by did'erent writers. Homer speaks of tlu-m us a gigantic and lawless race of slicp- herds it; Sicily, who devoured hu- man beings and cared naught for Zeus; each of tliein had only one eye in tho centre of his forehead. They were thrown into Tartarus by Cronus, but were released by Zous, and in conaoriueuce tiiey pro MY I:. •■.'7 w fei: it PA I': h. 'H ' :4 l\i: ■ m m 472 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. ■n. '1 I'll S ' it, VjS**^ T ' i^ (t iff II , til*- '4 ' ' f vided Zeus with thunderbolts and lightning, Pluto with a helmet, and Poseidon with a trident. Thej were afterwards killed by Apollo for having furnished Zeus with the thunderbolts to kill ^scula- pius. A still later tradition re- garded the Cyclopes as the assist- ants of Vulcan. Volcanoes were the workshops of that god, and Mount iEtna in Sicily and the neighboring isles were accordingly considered as their abodes. It is now generally conceded that the Cyclopes were simply the personifi- cation of the forces of the sky, 151, 152, 295, 296, 321, 322. CVcLOPS, 219, 227, 255, 260, 261, 297, 298, 308. Cyc/nus, 59. Cyl-le'ne, Mount, the highest mountain in Peloponnesus on the frontiers of Arcadia and Achaia, sacred to Hermes (Mercury), who had a temple on the summit, was said to have been born there, and was hence called Cylleuius. Cy'no-suee, 45. Cyn'thi-a (Diana). Cynthian, 137. Ckn'thi-us (Apollo). Cyp-a-ris'sus, son of Telephus, who, having inadvertently killed his favorite stag, was seized with im- moderate grief, and metamorphosed into a cypress. Cy'prus, 9, 80, 84, 175, 290. Cy-ke'ne, 239, 240. Cyrus, 394. Cyth'e-re'a, a name sometimes ap- plied to Venus because of her wor- ship on the Island of Cythera. It was here that tradition says she axose from the foam of the sea. Dacd'a-lus, 192, 197, 198, 199, 200. Dagon, 397. Da' LA La' MA, 408. Dan'a-e, 134, 142. Da-na'i-de8, the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Argos, were be- trothed to the fifty sons of iEgyp- tus, but were commanded by their father to slay each her own hus- band on the marriage night. All obeyed his order except llypertii- nestra, who, preferring to bo re- garded aa of weak resolution than as a murderess, spared her husband, LyuceuB, aud became the mother of the Argive line of kings. While Zeus approved the murderous deed of her forty-nine sisters, and sent Athene and Hermes to give them expiation, Hypermnestra was cast into a dungeon by her indignant father, her husband, Lynceus, sav- ing himself by flight. On being brought to trial she was, however, publicly acquitted; her husband', returning to Argos, succeeded Dan- aus on the throne, and in after times was widely respected, among other things for having founded the great festival in honor of the Argive Hera. The prize of victory in the games that accompanied that festival was a shield, not a wreath, as was elsewhere usual; the tradi- tion being that on the first occa- sion of these games Lynceus pre- sented his son Abas with the shield which had belonged to Dane us. Whether it was to obtain husbaids for his daughters who had accoiii- plished their own widowhood, or whether it was to decide among a multitude of suitors for their hands, Danaus held a kind of tour- nament, the victors in which were to be accepted as husbands. Ou the morning of the contest he ranged his daughters together on the course, and by noon each liad been carried off by a victorious athlete, a scion of some noble house. Dan'a-us, 236. Daph'ne (and Apollo), 29, 30, 32, 33. Daph'nis, a Sicilian shepherd, sou of Hermes (Mercury) by a nymph, was taught by ^an to play ou tlui flute, and was regarded as the in- ventor of bucolic poetry. A Naiad to whom he proved faithless pun- ished him with blindness, vvhcrc!- upon his father Hermes translated him to heaven. Dar-da-nklles, 161. Dar'da-nu8, 257, 320. Dawn, 4, 7, 54, 258, 259. Day 5'' Day'-htar, 51, 88, 00. Dkath, 22H, 274, 328. (See Hela.) De-id' a-aii'a, daughter of Lycomo- des, in the island of Scyrus. When Achilles was concealed there in maiden's attire, she became by hiiu the mother of Pyrrhus or Ncop. tolenms. Dki'mos (Dread), an attoudaul* «/ Mars. !:*♦• -: ■< ? INDEX AND DICTIONARY, 473 attoiidau^ v>/ Dei'no, 141. Dei-o'ne-us, father of Dia, wife of Ixion. PrevioiiH to tlio marriage lie had promised her fatlicr, accord- ing to ancient usage, many valu- able presents, which he afterwards refused to give. Deioneus endeav- ored to indemnify himself, but iu the course of tliu att<tmpt perished in a great hole, full of lire, which had been cunningly prepared for liim by Ixion. The first murder of a relative, it was believed, that had taken place in the world. De-iph'o.bus, 2(57, liHO. De-iph'-obb, a daughter of Glaucus. She lived in a grotto beside the towa of Cumee, in the Campania of Italy, and was known by the name of the Cumaean Bibyl. It was from her that Tarquln the Proud, the last king of Itotno, acquired the three Sibylline books which con- tained important prophecies con- cerning the fate of Hr)me, and were held in great reverence by the Ro- mans. They wtsre i>reserved care- fully in the Capitol down to the time of Sulla, when they perished in a Are. Dkj'a-ni'iia, 184, 18r», 224, 226. De'los, 29, 50, UH), 2«)7, ;J20, Del' PHI, 2, 152, 197, 291, 2m, 372, 273. Del-phin'ia, an annual festival held in May, to commemorate the trib- ute of seven boys and seven girls wliom Athens had been compelled in remote times to send every year to Crete to bo oifered as sacriiices to the Minotaur. DeI/PHIn'-ium Ajacih, 280. Def/phos, 31. Dki/uoe, 24. De-mk'tkii (Ceres), 12. De-mo d'o-cuh, 313. De'mi-08 (Dread), 131. Des'ti-niks, 173. Deit-o\'li-on (I'yrrha), 25, 26, 375. Di'a, 200. Dr.\'NA ( Art(^mlfl), 9, IH, 2)», .'10, .37, 40, 12, 45, 40, 47, 48, 50, 07, 72, 73, H3, l.i2, 130, 1.37, 152,1.5H, 171, 172, 17 1, 19(5, 254, 255, 257, 207, 2!L', 320, 325, 3 12, 343, 352, 353, 3K0, 'M). Di-a'na Kind, 3ho, Di-a'na Kphkhianh, 4H, 250. Di-a'na Kpiikhianh TKMPr.K. This temple, for the grandeur of its architecture, its siicc, splendor and wealth, was reckoned om^ of tlie seven woadors of the aucient world. On the night on which Alexander the Great was born it was set fire to and almost completely destroyed by a man named Herostratus, who thus gained his object, which was to enrol his name on the page of history. Afterwards, when Alex- ander had acquired renown by his extraordinary conquests in Asia, this coincidence was remarked and accepted as having been an omen of his future fame. Whether he himself believed so or not, he gladly assisted in the rebuilding of the building, so when finished it was more magnificent than before. Dic'tys, 206. Di'do, 323, 324, 330, 331. Di-o-me'des, 265, 287, 290. Di-o'ne, 9. Di-o-NYs'i-A, festivals in honor of Dionysus. In December a festival with all manner of rustic enjoy- ments was held in honor of Dio- nysus in the country about Athens. In January, a festival called Leneea was held iu his honor in the town, at which one of the principal fea> tures was a nocturnal and orgiastic procession of women. Then fol- lowed, in February, the Anthes- teria, the first day of which was called "cask-opening day," and the second "pouring-day." Lastly came the great festival of the year, the Great Dionysia, which was held in the town of Athens, and lasted from the ninth to the fifteenth of March, the religious part of the ceremony consisting of a procession, in which an ancient wooden image of the god was car- ried through the streets from one sanctuary to another, accompanied by excited songs. The theatre of Dionysus was daily the scene of splendid dramatic performances, and the whole town was astir and gay. Di-o-nyr'us (Bacchus), 12. Dr-os-cu'Ki (Castor and Pollux), 201- Di'u-K (rurles). Diu'c-K, 213. Dts (Pluto). 1)is-oou'di-a (Eris), 262, 264, 328. Do-do'na, 371, 372, 373. Dolphin, 247. I)oh'ok-us, 47. Do'ius, .57,218,219. Do'kus, a son of Hellen, and tho mythical ancestor of the Dorians. h .,: i l! S\ Pit mm i Mi i V-11 •v-iilili'-;' ,' - ;.*. ' 474 INDEX AND DICl/ONABY. Drag'on, 375. Dru'ids, 445-451. Dry'-a-des (or Dryads), 18, 212, 214, 215. Dby'o-pe, 79, 81.82, 83. Du-a-mu'tef, 3(32. Earth (Gae), 6, 8, 57, 58, 180, 181, 248, 372. E-chid'na, a monster, half woman and half serpent, became by Ty i)h<)n the mother of tlie Chimicra, of tirj many-headed dog Orthus, of the hundred-headed dragoa who guard- ed the apples of the Hesperides, of the Colchian dragon, of the Sphinx, of Cerberus (hence called Echidnem cania), of Scylla, of Gorgon, of the Lernaean Hydra {Echidna Lernica), of the eagle which consumed the liver of Prometheus, and of the Nemean lion. She was killed in her sleep by Argus Panoptos. Ech'o (and Narcissus), 122 127. Ec-Lu'oN, one of the five soldiers whom Cadmus failed to kill. Eddas, 408-413, 437, 441. E-gii/ri-a, 196, 220. Egg, 3(J5. E'OYPT, 152, 200, 259, 290, 356. E-gyp'tian Deities, 358, 359-371. Ei-Re'nk. (See Irene.) Eis-tedd'fod, 450. EKHMEEN, 3()(). E-lec'tra, 257, 291, 292, 293. EL-EU-siyi-AN Festivals. There were two festivals held annually,— the lesser in spring, when the ear- liest flowers appeared, and the greater in the month of Sei)tember. The latter occupied nine days, coni- mencing on the night of the 20th with a torchlight procession. Though similar festivals existed in various parts of Greece, and even of Italy, those of Eleusis in Attica contii\ued to retain sometliing like national importance, and, from the immense concourse of people who came to take part in them, were among the iirincipal attract ions of Athens. The duties of high jtricst were vested in tlu^ fiiinily of Kii- molpidie, whose ancestor Euiiiol- pus, according to one account, luul been insfjilled in the ollice by Cctcs herself. The festival was brought to a close by games, among which was that of bnll-baitiiig. El-eu-bin'i-an Mybtkbiks. Those mysteries had been Instituted hy Ceres, herself, and we know from the testimony of men like Pindat and iEschylus, who had beeu in< itiated, that they were -well calcu- lated to awaken most profound feelings of piety and a cheerful hope of better life iu the future. It is believed that the ceremony of in- itiatiou consisted, not iu instruc- tion jis to what to believe or how to act to bo worthy of Persephone's favor, but in elaborate and pro- longed representations of the vari- ous scenes and acts on earth and under it connected with her abduc- tion by ILules. The ceremony took place at niglit, and it is probable that advantiige wsis taken of the darkness to make the scenes in the lower world more hideons and im- pressive. Probably these represen- tations were reserved for the Epop. tie, or persons in the final stage of initiation. Those in the earlier stages were called Mystae. Asso- ciated with Ceres and Perseplione in the worship of Eleusis was Di- onysus in his youthful character and under the name of Jaecluis. Rut at what time this first took ]>lace, whether it was duo to some afllnityin the orgiastic nature of his worship, or rather to his IocjU connection with Attica as god of tlie vine, is not known. E-i.ku'hih, (i8, 74. Emm N Marbles, 197, 379. E'lis, 171, 179. El' LI, old age. The one successful wrestler against Thor, 430, 431. Elvkh, 419, 437, 438. El-vid'nik, 421. E LYH'r-AN, 331. E-lvh'i-an /ikldb, 334. E-lvh'i-an Plaix, 3. E-LYH'i-ir>f. In Homer Elysium forms no part of the realms of tlie dcjid; he pla(a;s it on the W. of the eartli, near Ocean, and describes it as a happy land, where there is neither snow, nor cold, nor ruin. llitiuT favored heroes, lik<i Mine- laus, pass without dying, and live happy under tho rule of Ithiuhi- niaiitlius. In the Latin pools Klys- in HI is part of the lower world, and tlie residence of the shades of tlie blessed, 217, 336, .337. E-m\'tii[-a, a district of Macedonia. betwecu tho lialiaciuou uud tlie E-PK' of Epji'i INDEX AND DICTIOJAJRY. 475 Axius. The poets frequently save the name of Emathia to the whole of Macedonia, and sometimes even to the neighboring Theasaly. Em'bla, the first woman. Tlio Norso gods found two dead trees — the ash and the embla. Fron: the first tliey made man and from the sec- ond woman. There is no certaiiity what tree the embla was, possibly tlio elm or alder, 412. Em-panada, a Boman goddess, whose touiple was always open to the lu)or. They were supplied from tlie temple offerings. En-cel'a-dus, 66, 151. En-che'li-ans, 115. En-uym'i-on, 254, 255. En'na, 67. E-ny'o, the goddess of war, who de- lights in bloodshed and the de- struction of towns, accompanies Ares in battles, 131, 141. E'os, in Latin Aurora, the god- dess of the dawn, daughter of Hy- perion and Thia or Euryphassa; or of Pallas, according to Ovid. At the close of every night she rose from the couch of her spouse Ti- thonus, and in a chariot drawn by swift horses ascended up to heaven from the river Oceanus.to announce thecomingliglitoftliosun. Shecar- rictl off several youthsdistinguished for their beauty, such as Orion, Ce- phalus, and Tithonus, whence she is called by Ovid Tithonia conjux. She bore Memnon to Tithonus. Ep'a-piius, son of Jupiter and lo, born on the river Nile, after the long wanderings of his mother. Ho became king of Egypt, and built Memphis. E-pk'us, son of Panopeus, and builder of tlic Trojan horse. Ep!i'k-sus, the chief of the 12 Ionian cities on the coast of Asia Minor. In tlie plain beyond Its walls stood the celebrated temple of Artemis (Diima). With the rest of Ionia, Epiiesus fell under the power suc- ct'Hsively of Croesus, the Persians, the Macedonians, and the Romans. It was always very flourishing, and bocamo even more so as the other Ionian cities decayed. In tlio early history of the Christian Church it is conspicuous as having been vis- ited both by St. Paul and St. .Tolni, who also addressed epistles to the Church established at Ephcsus. Eph'i-al'tes. Son of Neptune. He and his brother Otus tried to dis- possess Zeus by scaling heaven. They piled Mount Pelios on Mount Ossa, but were defeated and con- demned to Hades. Epi dau'ruh. a town in Argolis, on the Saronic gulf, formed, with its territory, Epidauria. It was the chief seat of the worship of .^i:scu- lapins, whoso temple was 8itnat«'d about 5 miles from the town, 116. 19J,374. E-PIQ''>-Nr, that is, "tlie Descend- ants," tlio name of the S()ns of the 7 heroes who perished before Thebes. Ten years after their death the descendants of the 7 lieroes marched against Thebes, which they took and razed to the ground. The names of the Epigoni are not the same in all accounts; but the com- mon lists couiain Alcnneon, iEgia- leus, Diomedes, Promachus, Stheu- elus, Tiiersander, and Euryalus. Ep-i-mk'theus, 20, 21, 26. E-pi'rus, 321, .'{71. E-P(/pE-us, 20(). Eq'ui-tes, Knights of the Equestrian Order. Eu'a-to, 12, 15, Eu'e-bus, son of Chaos, begot /Ether and H.'mera (Day) liy Nyx (Night), his sister. The naiiio signifies dark- ness, and is therefore applied to the dark and gloomy space under the earth, through which the shades pass into Hades, 19, 73, 109, 195, 236,341. ER'lCIl-TIIo'Nr-l'H, 1!)0. E-rid'a-nus, ,')S. E-rin'ny-ks, or E-ri'nys, 13, 293. Er'i-phv'm:, 230. K'ris (Disrord), 131. 202,261. ER-i-sicn'THoy, 212.211, 217,224. E'R()H((;npid\ 10, 19. Er'y-tii1'/ia Islanj), 180,181. E'nvx, m. E-si:'pi's, 2r)fl. E-tk/o-('m:s, 230, 231. E-TRll'l{I-A. .350. E-TRUs'i;.\Ns, .316, 317, 352. El}-M.K'us.3ir>, 3IH. Eu-mkn'i-1)i;s, also tailed Erinys, and by the UoinanH Fnrini or Di- raie, the Avenging Deities. The name Hriiiys is i\w more ancient one; tlio form Eunienides, which sigiiides "the well-meaning," or "soothed goddesses," is a mere eu« phemism, because people dreadQ(9 II I.;:'' '1 4 •i km m4 Pi 476 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. V nf fir I f^' 7. ^w r '^t-.f yi <' u If- '* ,l*'-tT to call thcwo fearful goddesses by thoir rml iiatiio. It was said to bavo Ihjwii fliMfc ^Jven t'aem after the acquittal of Orestes by the Areopa- gtui, witutt the anger of tlie Eriuys had boiti Kootlied, Tluy are rcp- rcHentad an the daughters of Earth or of Night, and as fearful winged malduitH, with serpents twined in thulr hair, and with blood dripping from thoir eyea. They dwelt in the dupthi^ of Tartarus, dreaded by goilH and men. With later writers Iheir nntnher la usually three, and thi'Jr iiameH aro Tisiphone, Alecto, and Mog»ra, They punished ^aen both In tliif* world and after deatl;. Tho sacrlflcej* offered to them con- Histod of black flhe(:p and nophalia, : «,, a drink of honey mixed with watttr. The crimep, which they chkilly vanished were disobedience iowar«b< parctits, violation of the rmpaiit (lue to old age, perjury, murd<»r, violation of the laws of hoHpltlvllty, afid improper conduct toward)* Riippliants, 13, 251, 292. Eu-PHOtt'nuH, .'Ws. EUPHBATKW, M, E r-PHBOH'V-NK, 12. Ej-BlP'r-D'^H, 203, 385. Ei/'Bo'i'A, daughter of the Phoeni- uiau kttig Agciior, or, according to cho lllini, daughter of Phcenix. Her beauty charmed Zeus (Jupi- ter), who assumed the form of a bull, and mingled with the herd as Europa and her maidens were ■porting on the sea-shore. Encoui'- agwl by the tamcness of the ani- mal, Europa tried to mount his back; whereupon the god rushed into tho sea, and swam with hor to C.oto. Here she became by Zeus tho mother of Minos, Rhadaman- tluw, and Harpedon, 113, 134. EURIW, 220. 221,222. Eimiv'a-m;m. 317 34J). Eu-liVl/l-cK, 231-238, 241, 242. ?17. EuHVl/0'<!iinH, a companion of Ulys- ni'M, wan the oJily one that escaped , frooj tho house of Circe when his friiv:;d" v'cre metamorphosed into Hwlno, :««♦, 301. Eu-BVN'o IWK, 7. Eu-H"h'a-<!KM, Mon of A. ax (Telamo- nla,»).na»ued for his father's sliield, En-UVH'TIIK!tS, W), 17H, 179, 180, 181, 1H2. Eu-liVT't-ON, ir<8, 180. iiU-UV'TUH, k'lug of (Eclialia, a cele- brated archer, who vied with Her. cules. Hercules slew his son, and became the slave of Omphale, in consequence. Eu-ter'pe, 12, 15. (See Muses.) Eux'iNE (Sea), 2, 163. E-vad'ne, 230, 231. E- van' DEB, 343, 344, 345, 350. Eve, 26, 116, 126, 221, 375. Fafiiir. According to the Solar Theory of the Nibelungeulied, Faf. uir, who guards the stolen ticas- "rcs, is simply the Darkness who steals the dav, 443. Fa MA, the goddess of fame or re- port, whether good or bad, was siiid to be a daughter of (Jaea, and l)orii at the time of her great i rid ignatiou at the overthrow of the (liaiits. :'5leeples always prying, swift of foot, Fania announced whatever 'ihe saw or heard of, at first in a whisper addressed only to a fi'w persons, then by degrees loudci aiid to a larger circle, until finally she had traversed heaven and iartli communicating it. She was npre- seuted as a tender, gentle figure, winged, and holding a trumpet. Fam'ine, 215, 216. Fatk, tho Greek name l)ein<r Ananke, the Boman Fatuui, was a personification of the unalterable necessity that appeared to control the career of mankind and tlie events of the world. Gods, as well as men, were subject to its un- changing decrees. This deity was the offspring of Night and Krehus. H er sentences were carried out by the Parcic, who, however, were jilso looked upon as independent deities of fate, he was represented standing on a globe, and hoidngan urn. Fates. They were des. ril)ed as daughters of Night — to indicate the diirkness and obscurity of hu- man fate — or of Zeus and i'liiniis, that is, " daughters of ilie just heavens " Another story has it thiit it was they who united Tiierais and ''(MIS in marriage, the Kaim; ceremony, according to anotlier ver- sion of t!i0 myth, having hccii |u>r- foruKid by them to Zeus and Hera. It was natural to suppose tlie god- des:3os of fate present and lakini? part at marriages and births. The ho vied with Her. } slew his son, and ve of Oiuphalc la (See Muses.) 163. 1. 44, 345, 350. 221, 375. ing to the Si)lar ibeluiiistenlied, Faf- 8 the stolen troas- tlie Darkness who t43. ms of fame or re- ood or bad, was said )r of fxsea, and born er great J rid igiiatioii row of the <iiimts. ys prying, swift of inounced whatever ard of, at first in a jsed only to a few y degrees louder and cle, until finally she heaven and earth ; it. She was rcpre- inder, gentle figure, jlding a trumpet. 6. reek name l)ein,i U>rnan Fatuui, was a , of the unaltcral)le appeared to ((Mitrol mankind and tlie Yorld. Gods, as well subject to its u.i- ecs. This deity was f Night and i'^rebus. I were carried out by 'ho, however, were ipon as independent . .be was represented globe, and hold' ug an were dc8> ribcd as Night — to indicate and Obscurity of hu- of Zeus and Tlicniis, ighters of I'.ie, just notliev story has it sywiio united Themis marriage, the, samo ordingtoanollierver' i^th, having been pr- na to Zeus and Hera. I to finpi)osc the god- present and taUiui,' igcs and birtiis. The INDEX AND DICTION AliY. 47; names of the three sisters were j Olotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. To express the influence which they were believed to exercise on human life from birth to death, they were conceived as occupied in spinning a thread of gold, silver or wool ; now tightening, now slackening, and at last cutting it off. This oc- cupation was so arranged among the three, that Clotho, the young- est, put the wool round the spindle, Lachesis spun it, and Atropos, the eldest, cut it off when a man had to die. Tyche, or Fortuna, on account of the similarity of her functions, has been regarded, but incorrectly, as a fourth sister. They were rep- resented in art as serious maidens, always side by side, and in most cases occupied as we have men- tioned; there are instances, how- ever, in which Atropos, the " unal- terable," is represented alone. Tiiey were worshipped very seri- ously both in Greece and Italy; sacrifices of honey and flowers, sometimes of ewes, were offered to them, while in Sparta and in Rome they had temples and altars, 13, 73, 84, 215, 227, 228, 328. Fauns, 16, 96. Fau'nus, son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of Latinus, was the third in the series of the kings of the Laurentes. He was worshipped as the protecting deity of agriculture and of shepherds, and also as a giver of oracles. After the introduction of the worship of the Greek Pan into Italy, Faunus was identified with Pan, and repre- sented, like tlie latter, with horns »tul goat's feet. At a later time vvo find mention of Fauni in the PiUral. What Faunus was to the male sex, his wife Faula or Fauna was to the female. As the god manifested himself in various ways, the idea arose of a plurality of FauMS (Fauni), who are described as half men, half goats, and with horns. Faunus gradually came to bo identified with the Arcadian Pan, and the Fauni with the Greek Satvrs, 16, 49, 212, 260, 340. Pa-vo'ni-US, 220. Feak, 215, 328. Fen'kis. Born of Loki, the Evil Principle of Scandinavia, the hag Angerboda — the offspring were three. The Wolf, the Serpent, and Death. The Fenrl« wolf i« supposed to liave perKonat<id the element of fins, destructive except when cliained, 420, 421, 433, 4:H>. Fen-sa'lib. Frcya'H paljice, called the Hall of tl»e H<!a. Hero were brought together lovers, husbands and wives who Imd been Heparate<l by deatlj, 433. Fe-ro'ni'-a, an ancient Ifcilian di- vinity, wboKo (shief Hanctuary was at Terracina, near Mount Soracte. At her festival at this place a great fair was held. Fi'di':8, tile person ifl(!utlon of faithful, ness, worshipped as a goddess at Rome. Finoal'r Cavb, 449, 450, FiUK, 441. FlRI.:-WORHHII>l>KltH, 393. Flo'ra, tluj Roman goddess of flowen and spring, wIiom(! annual festival (Floralia) was celelirated from the 28th of April till the iHt of May, with extravagant merriment and lasciviouHiieHH, 10, 221. For-tu'na, 137. IHH. Fortunate Fields, 3, Fortunate Islands, 337. Forum, 345. Fbe'ki, one of Odin's wolves, 413. Frev. (See Freyr.) Frrv' A, 418, 419, 422, 423, 424, 437, 441. Freyr, 418, 419, 424, 425, 437, 438,439. Frio'ga. Of all the goddesses, Frig- ga was the bust atid dearest to Odin. She satenthrotiod henide him, and surveyed the world. She knew all, and exercised control over the whole fa<!e of nature. She is usu- ally attended hy her handmaiden Full or Fidla. Hho was also a god- dess and presided over smiling na- ture, seniling Hiitisliinc;, rain, and harvest. She WJls further a god- dess into wlioHo charge the dead passed. As has been said, half the number of iMiroes who fell in l)attle belonged to her. Hlie Is often rep- resented driving In a cartdrawn bv two cats, 419, 433, 434, 435, 437, 441." Frost, 441. Frost Giants, 422, 433, 437, 4.39., Fum/a, 419. Fu'biks, 13, 174, 230, 249, 250, 327, .328, 331, 333, 341. Oee'a, or 0«, ciilhid Tellus by the Uouians, the personification of the 1*4'^ 1' M ^\^. m 478 i2^DiS;X ^JV2> DICTIONARY. '■i 7 k.' earth, is described as the first being that sprung from Chaos, and gave birth to Uranus (Heaven) and Pon- tu8(Soa). By Uranus she became the mother of the Titans, who were hated by their father. Ge there- fore concealed tliem in the bosom of the earth ; and she made a large iron sickle, with which Cronos (Saturn) mutilated Uranus. Ge or Tell us was regarded by both Greeks and Romans as one of the gods of the nether world, and hence is fre- quently mentioned where they are invoked, 19. Gal-a-te'a, 219, 247, 259-261. Gal-a-te'a. (See Pygmalion.) Games. Tiiese were four in number : the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian. The first mentioned was held in honor of Zeus, ou the plain of Olympia, in Elis. It occurred every fifth year, and the usual method of reckoning time was ac- cording to its reoccurrence — by Olympiads, as we say. The games with which it was celebrated con- sisted of running, wrestling, box- ing, a combination of the two lat- ter, horse-racing, either with chari- ots or only with riders. The prize of victory was simply a wreath of olive, and yet athletes trained themselves laboriously and trav- elled great distances to compete for it. Kings sent their horses to run in the races, and counted a victory among the highest honors of their lives. The fellow townsmen of a victorious athlete would raise, a statue in his honor. Occasionally writers, as we are told of Herodo- tus, took this occasion of a vast as- semblage of their countrymen to read to them parts of their writings. The Pythian games were held in honor of Apollo, in tiic neighbor- hood of Delphi, and occurred every fifth year, there being competition in music as well as in athletics. The prize was a wreath of laurel. At the Nemean games, which were held in honor of Zens, the prize was a wreatii of ivy. The Isthmian games were held in honor of Posei- don (Neptune) on the Isthmus of ^ Corinth, and occurred every third year; the prize was a wreath of pine, 29, 197. Gan'oeh, 56. Qan'v-mbde sou of Tros aud Cal- lirrhoe, and brother of Ilua and Assaracus, was the most beautiful of all mortals, and was carried oflf by the gods that he might fill the cup of Zeus, and live among the immortal gods. This is the Ho- meric account. Later writers state that Zeus himself carried him off in the form of an eagle, or by means of his eagle. There is, further, no agreement as to the place where the event occurred though later writers usually repre- sent him as carried off from Mount Ida. Zeus compensated the father for his loss by a pair of divine horses. Astronomers placed Gany- medes among the stars under the name of Aquarius. His name was sometimes corrupted in Latin into Catamitus, 187, 188. Gatherer (Bridge of the), 393. Gau'ta-ma, 405. Gem'i-ni, 201. i Genghis Khan, 407. Ge'ni-trix, that is, "the mother," used by Ovid, as a surname of Cybele, in the place of muter, or magnamater ; but it is bettor known as a surname of Venus, to -^vhoni Cte- sar dedicated a temple at Rome, as the mother of the Julia gens. Ge'ni-us, a protecting spirit, anal- ogous to the guardian angels in- voked by the Church of Rome. The belief in such spirits existed both in Greece and at Rome. The Greeks called them Dsemoiis, and the poets represented them as dwelling on earth, 17. Ger'da, 425. Ge'ri, 413. Ge'ky-on, 180, 181, 182. Ghost, 17. Gi-al'lar Horn. The trumpet that Heimdal will blow at the judgment day, 439. Giants, The giants sprang from the blood that fell from Uranus upon the earth, so that Ge (the earth) was their nioth<,r. They are repre- sented as beings of a monstrous size, with fearful countenances and the tails of dragons. Tliey made an attack upon heaven, being armed with huge rocks and trunks of trees ; but the gods, with tlie as- sistance of Hercules, destroyed them all, and buried nuuiy of them under yEtna and other vokauoes. It is worthy of remark that most rother of Ilua and the most beautiful and was carried off t he might fill the nd live amoiiji the This is the Uo- Later writers state elf carried him off, >f an eagle, or by eagle. There is, reement as to the le event occurred, riters usually ropre- •ried off from Mount pensated the father )y a pair of divine omers placed Gany- the stars under the iu8. His name was •upted in Latin into 188. ge of the), 393. \ 407. ,t is, "the mother," i, as a surname of 5 place of muter, or lut it is better known F Venus, to Tvliom Van- a temple at Rome, as the Julia gens, tecting spirit, anal- guardian angels in- 3 Church of Eonie. such spirits existed s and at Rome. The them Daemons, and presented them as rth, 17. 81, 182. J. The trumpet that )low at the judgment iants sprang from the 1 from Uranus upon that Ge (the earth) \\i,v. Thej'are ropre- fs of a monstrous size, )untenances and the ms. They made an leaven, being armed icks and trunks of e gods, with the as- Hercules, destroyed buried many of tlieui and other volcanoes. )f remark that most INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 479 (•:'' writers place the giants in vol- canic districts; and it is probable that the story of their contest with gods took its origin from volcanic convulsions, 151, 182, 375, 415. Gi-bral'tar, 180. Glasir, 417. Glau'ce. (1) One of the Nereides, the name Glauce being only a per- sonification of the color of the sea. — (2) Daughter of Creon of Corinth, also called Creusa. Glau'cus (and Scylla), 66, 75, 76, 77, 78, 267, 303. Gleip'nir, 421. Gna, 419. Gods, Statues, 377-380. Golden Age, 16, 23, 24, 376. Golden Apples, 262, 375. Golden Fleece, 161, 165. Gor'di-an Knot, 62. Gor'di-us, 62. Gor'gons, 141, 144, 145, 147, 149, 150, 386. Gor'qon's Head, 149, 150. Graces (Charites). The Graces were the personification of Grace and Beauty. They were the goddesses who enhanced the enjoyments of life by refinement and gentleness. They are mostly described as in the service of other divinities, and they lend their grace and beauty to everything that delights and ele- vates gods and men, 5-12. Grac'chi, the name of a celebrated family of the Sempronia gens. 6r^'^, 141, 144. Gram, 443. Grand La'ma, 407, 408. Great Bear (Constellation), 44, 55. Greek Gods, 1-15. Gryphon (griflin), a fabulous animal, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle, dwell- ing in the Rhipsean mountains, be- tween the Hyperboreans and the one-eyed Arimaspians, and guard- ing the gold of the North. The Arimaspians mounted on horse- back and attempted to steal the gold, and hence arose the hostility between the horse and the griflin. The belief in griffins came from the East, where they arc mentioned among the fabuous animals which guarded the gold of India, IGO. Gup/bers, 394. Gul-lin-burs'ti, 437. Gull'topp, 437. Qun'lad, 414. Gun'nar, 443, 444. Gut'horn, 444. Gyoll, 435. Gy'es, son of Uranus (Heaven) and Ge (Earth), one of the giants with 100 hands who made war upon ths gods. Ha'des, the god of the nether world. In ordinary life he was usually called Pluto (the giver of wealth), because people did not like to pro- nounce the dreaded name of Hades or Aides. The Roman poets use the names Dis, Orcus and Tartarus as synonymous with Pluto. Hades was the son of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea, and brother of Zeus (Jupi- iter) and Poseidon (Neptune). His wife was Persephone or Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres, whom he carried off from the upper world, as is related elsewhere. In the division of the world among the 3 brothers, Hades obtained the nether world, the abode of the shades, over which he ruled. His character is described as fierce and inexorable, whence of all the gods he was most hated by mortals. The sacrifices offered to him and Persephone consisted of black sheep; and the person who offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face. The ensign of his power was a staff, with which, like Hermes, he drove the shades into the lower world. There he sat upon a throne with his consort Persephone. He possessed a helmet which rendered the wearer invisible, and which he sometimes lent to both gods and men. Like the other gods, he was not a faithful husband; the Furies are called his daughters; the nymph Mintho, whom he loved, was metamorphosed by Persephone into the plant called mint; and the nymph Leuce, whom he likewise loved, was changed by him after death into a white poplar. Being the king of the lower world, Pluto is the giver of all the blessings that came from the earth; hence he gives the metals contained in the earth, and is called Pluto. In works of art he resembles his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, except that his hair falls over his forehead, I 4So INDEX AND DICTTONAItY. -/:fitf V p.* ■: . (I I •! '■ f ..i- .f <)k> .v, - V » and that his appearance is dark and gloomy. His ordinary attri- butes are the key of Hades and Cerberus. The word is now com- monly used to designate the state of the dead, 182. H^MON, sou of Creon of Thebes, was in love with Antigone, and killed himself on hearing that she was condemned by his father to be en- tomed alive, 232. Hje-mo'ni-an, 92. H^'mus, 43, 56. Hal'cy-on Birds, 88. Hal-cy'o-ne (and Ceyx), 88-94. Hallow-eve, 447. Ham-a-dry'a-de8, 95, 212, 217. Ha'pi, 862. Hab-mo'ni-a, 115, 230. Harpakhbat (Hippocrates), 368. Har'pies, 221, 320, 323, 340. Ha'thor, 368. Heaven, 6, 8. He'be, 4, 167, 186, 188. He'brus, 238. Hec/a-te, a mysterious divinity, commonly represented as a daugh- ter of PersfiBUS or Perses and As- teria, and hence called Perseis. She was one of the Titans, and the only one of this race who retained her power under the rule of Zeus. She was honored by all the im- mortal gods, and the extensive power possessed by her was prob- ably the reason that she was subse- quently identified with several other divinities. Hence she is said to have been Selene or Luna in heaven, Artemis or Diana on earth, and Persephone or Proserpina in the lower world. Being thus, as it were, a threefold goddess, she is described with 3 bodies or 3 heads. Hence her epithets Tergemina, Tri' formis, Triceps, etc. She took an active part in the search after Pro- serpina, and, when the latter was found, remained with her as her attendant aud companion. She thus became a deity of the lower world, and is described in this ca pacity as a mighty and forniidablc divinity. She was supposed to send at night all kinds of demons and terrible phantoms from the lower world. She taught sorcery and witchcraft, and dwelt at places where two roads crossed, on tombs, and near the blood of mur- dered persons. She herself wan- dered about with the souls of the dead, aud her approach was an- nounced by the whining and howl- ing of dogs. At Athens, at tho close of every month, dishes witli food were set out for her at tho points where two roads crossed; and tills food was consumed hy poor people. The sacrifices offerell to her consisted of dogs, honey., and black female lambs, 164, KJT 327. Hec-a-ton-chi'bes, sons of Uranus and GsB. They had one hundred hands, and probably personified the waves of the sea. Hec'tob, 265, 267, 268, 270, 271, 27-2, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279. 280, 281, 285, 321. Hec/u-ba. daughter of Dymas, in Phrygia, or of Cisseus, king of Thrace. Shewasthe wife of Priam, king of Troy, to whom sl>e boro Hector, Paris, and many other cliil- dren. After the fall of Troy slio was carried away as a slave by the Greeks. On the coast of Thrace slie revenged the murder of her son Polydorus by slaying Polymestor. Slie was metamorphosed into a doji;, and leaped into the sea at a itJace called Cvnossema, or " the tomb of the dog," 279, 281, 282, 289, 290. Heid'run, 413, Heim'dall, 420, 437. 439. Hel, the lower world of Scandina/> via, was ruled by the goddess Hel, and to it were consigned tiutse who had not died in battle. It was so far away that Odin's swift horse Sleipnir took nine nights to reach it. The river Gyoll — the Norse Styx — surrounded tliia lower world on every side. Nas- trand was the name of the worst spot in the Norse hell. Its roofs and doors were wattled with Mss- ing snakes, e.jectiug poison, through wliich perjurers and murderers were forced to wade by way of puiiishjuent, 435, 43(>. Hela (Death), the daughter of Loki and the mistress of the Scandina- vian Hel. She was a heartless monster, half black and halfliliie, and lived daintily on the brains and marrow of men. Her domin- ion was sometimes called ITellnim, and located under the tree YjJidra- sil. (tlooiny rivers flow through it. A dog like to Cerberus guards it. INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 481 s, SODS of Uranus had one hundrtw! ibably jyersonifiid sea. 268, 270, 271, 272, , 278, 279, 280, 281, 137. 439. yorld of Scandiiiac jy the goddess Hel, B consigned those ; died in battle. away that Odin's leipnir took nine it. The river Gyoll X — snrrounded this I every side. Niis- name of the worst rse hell. Its roofs wattled with hiss- ing poison, through rs and murderers 1 wade by way of 5, 43(). le daufflitcr of liuki ss of the Scaniliiiii- e was a lu-artitss lack and half liliie, tily on the bniins men. Her doiniii- lies called Hcllicim, ler the tree Yirdni- ers flow throunh it. Cerberus guardi it. Her maids are dead women— the air is fog. This kingdom extends down to nine worlds. This is the prison- bouse of the wicked, and is called Anguish. Her taidu is Famine. Those wlio died from natural causes and had not fallen in battle went to Hel, 420, 421, 433, 43."., A:H\, 4.39. Hel' EN, 97, 19r), 200, 201, 263, 264, 265, 280, 287, 890, 2f)l. Hel'e-nu8, son of Priam and Hecuba, celebrated for his prophetic pow- ers. Ho deserted his country- men and joined the Qreeks. There are various accounts respecting his desertion of the Trojans. Accord- ing to some ho did it of his own accord; according to others he was ensnared by Ulysses, who was anx- ious to obtain his prophecy respect- ing the fall of Troy, 321, 322. He-li'a-de8, 58. Hel'i-con, 56, 155. He-li-op'o-lis, 365, 307, 386. He'lios, called Sol by the Romans, the god of the sun. He was the son of Hyperion and Thea, and a brother of Selene and Eos. From his father, ho is frequently called Hyperion. Homer describes Helios as rising in the E. from Oceanus, traversing the heavens, and de- scending in the evening into the darkness of the W. and Oceanus. Later poets have marvellously em- bellished this simple notion. They tell of a magniflcent palace of Helios in the E., from which he starts in the morning in a chariot drawn by four horses. They also assign him a second palace in the W., and describe his horses as feeding upon hcrim growing in the islands of the Blessed. Helios is described as the god who sees and hears everything, and is thus able to reveal to Vulcan the faithless- ness of Aphrodite (Venus) and to Ceres the abduction of her daugh- ter. At a later time Helios became identifled with Apollo, though the two gods were originally quite dis- tinct. Ho was Worshipped in many parts of (Jreiuie, and especially in the island of Uliod"-, where the famous Colossus wafi a representa- tion of the god. The sacrifices oflfered to him consisted of white rams, boars, bulls, goats, lambs, and especially white horses and honey. Among the animals sacred to him the cock is especially mentioned, 305. Hkl'las, 3. Hkl'le, 101. Hkl'les-i'ont, 130, 161. He-me'ra. (Day), daughter of Erebus and Nox. He-ph^h'tu8 (See Vulcan), 8. He'ra, called Juno by the Romans. The Greek Hera, that is. Mistress, was a daughter of Cronos (Saturn); and Rliea, and sister and wile of Zeus (Jupiter). According to Ho- mer, she was brought up by Oce- anus and Tethys, and afterwards became the wife of Zeus, without the knowledge of her parents. Later writers add that she, like the other children of Cronos, was swal- lowed by her father, but afterwards restored. In the Iliad, ^era is treated by the Olympian gods with the same reverence as her husband. Zeus himself listens to her coun- sels, and communicates his secrets to her. She is, notwithstanding, far inferior to him in power, and must obey him unconditionally. She is not, like Zeus, the queen of gods and men, but simply the wife of the supreme god. The idea of her being the queen of heaven, with regal wealth and power, is of much later date. Her character, as de- scribed by Homer, is not of a very amiable kind; and her jealousy, obstinacy and quarrelsome disposi- tion sometimes make her husband tremble. Hence arise frequent dis- putes between Hera and Zeus ; and on one occasion Hera, in conjunc- tion with Poseidon (Neptune) and Athena (Minerva), contemplated putting Zeus into chains. Zeus, in such cases, not only threatens, but beats her. Once he even hung her up in the clouds, with her hands chained, and with two anvils sus- pended from her feet; and on an- other occasion, when Hephsestus (Vulcan) attempted to help her, Zeus hurled him down from Olym- pus, By Zeus she was the mother of Ares (Mars), Hebe and Hephsestus. Ilera was, properly speaking, the only really married goddess among the Olympians, for the marriage of Aphrodite (Venus) with Hephaestus can scarcely be taken into consider- ation. Hence she is the goddess of marriage and of the birth of chil- jT Mi :i--'J 31 ';'ii ': 4^1 482 JUDEX AND DICTIONARY. I •4 t • ♦ -r * ' 1 o 1 J ' I. • ' ' ' i I !> ',4;, 1 clren, and is rftyresented as the inotlier of the Ihthyise, 8. IIkb'cu-lks, 160, 162, 166, 178-187, 188, 191, 1!)4, )%', 210, 224, 225, 226, 228, 243, 286, 1^44, 375. Hkb'cu-lfs (La'jors of), 178. Her'cu-les (Pillars of), 180. Her'mes (Mercury), 11, 380, Hk.b-mi'o-nk, 291. IIeb'mod, 435, 436. IIe'ro (and Le:uider), 128-130. flE-ROD'o-TUS, 381, 387. He'si-od, 337. He-si'o-ne. daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, was chained by her father to a rock, in order to be de- voured by a sea-monster, that he might thus appease the auger of Apollo and Poseidon, Hes-pe'bi-a, 320. Hes-fer' r-juES (Apples of), 60, 180, 181. Hes-per'i-des (Gardens of), 60, 181. PiES'PE-RU8, 68, 88, 181. Hes'ti-a, called Vesta by the Ro- mans, the goddess of the hearth, or, rather, of the fire burning on the hearth, was one of the twelve great divinities of the Greeks. She was a daughter of Cronos (Saturn) and Rhea, and, according to common tradition, was the first-bora of Rhea, and consequently the first of the children swallowed by Cro- nos. She was a maiden divinity; and when Apollo and Poseidon (Neptune) sued for her liaud, she swore by the head of Zeus to re- main a virgin for ever. As the hearth was looked upon as the cen- tre of domestic life, so Hestia v/as th=^ goddess of domestic life, and, as such, was believer; to dwell in the inner part of every house. Being the goddess of the sacred fires of the altar, Hestia had a share in the sacrifices offered to all the gods. Hence the first part of every sacri- fice was presented to her. Solemn oaths were sworn by the gochlcss of the hearth; and th., 'dearth itself was the sacred asylum wliore suppliants implonui the protection of the in- habitants of the house. A town or city is only aii extt'iidcd family, and therefore had likewise its sa- cred hearth. This public hearth usually existed in the prytaneuni of a town, wher« the goddess bud her especial sanctuary. There, as at a private hearth, Jfcstia protect- ed the suppliants. When a colony was sent out, the emigrants took the fire which was to burn on the hearth of their new home from that of the mother town. The wor- ship of the Roman Vesta is spoken of under Vesta, 16. Hin'du Mythology, 398-408. Hip-po-cbe'ne, 155. Hip-po-da-mi'a, 158. Hip-pol'y-ta, 179, 180, 196. Hip-pol'y-tus, 196. Hip-pol'y-tus' Girdle, 179, 180. Hip-pom' E-NE8, 84, 175, 176. Historical Theory of Mythol- ogy, 375. Hlin, 419. Ho' a, 395. Ho'dur,434, 435. HooNi, 444. Homer, 263, 269, 306, 307, 337, 380, 381, 382. HoNiR, 443. Hope, 22. Horace, 383. ' Ho'nM. (See Hours.) Horse, Wooden. (See Wooden Horse.) Ho' BUS, the Egyptian god of the sun. who was also worshipped in Greece and at Rome. He avenged the death of his father, Osiris, who was slain by the darkness, 3G2, 365, 368. Hours, 52, 54, 258. Hring'ham, 436. Hrug'nir, giant slain by Thor. Hu'gi, 429. Hu'gin, 413. Hy-a-cin'thub, 79, 85., 86, 87, 286. Hy'a-des, 204. Hy'a-le, 46. Hy'dra, 178, 179, 328, 331, 386. Hy-oe'a, the goddess of health, and a daughter of yEsculapius, thoii^'li some traditions make her the wifo of the latter. In works of art siio is represented as a virgin drosst^l in a long robe, and feeding a hop pent from a cup. Hv' LAS, 167. Hv'mkv, the god of marriage, was conceived as 't handsome youtli, and ' ivoked in the hymeneal or l)ri(ial song. The name originally dcsij,'- nated the bridal song itself, wliicJi was subsequently personified. His par -ntage is differently stiited, hut he is usually called the son < *" Apollo and a Muse. Ho is repre- sented in worku of art as a youth, but taller and with a more seriout) IKDEX AND DICTIONARY. 4^3 307, 337, 380, (See Wooden expression than Eros (Amor), and carrying in bis liaiid a tiridal torch, 30,234. Hy-met'tus, a mountain in Attica, about 3 miles H. of Atliuns, cele- brated for its marhlu and its honey, 80. Hyp-er-bo'ek-ak, 3. Hy-pe'ri-on, a Titan, son of Uranus , (Heaven) and Qo( Earth), and father ' of Helios (the Sun), Holono (the Moon), and Eos (Aurora). Helios himself is also called Hyperion, which is a contraction of the patro- nymic Hyperionion, 0, 7, 304. Hy-ri'e-ub, 383. I-ap'e-tus, one of the Titans, son of Uranus and Go, and father of Atlas, Prometheus, EpiitUitheuH, and Mu- noBtius. Ho wtM impriHoned with Cronus in Tartarus, 0, 36. I-A'8I-TI8, 171. iB'y-cuB, 248-252. I-ca'bi-a, an island of tho JRfi,G».n sea; one of tho Hporades, W. of Samos. Its common name, and that of the surrounding sea, Icar- ium Mare, were derived from the myth of Icarus. I-ca'riU8, 232. IcA-RUB, 198, 199, 200. Ice'land, 441. Ice-lob, attendant of Morpheus, 01. Ich'thy-oph'a-oi (i. e. Finh-eatcm) was a vague dtMcrlptive name given by tho ancients to various peoples on the coasts of Asia and Africa, of whom they knew but little. Ida, Mountain, M, iHH. Ida, Nymph, nurse of tho infant Zeus. i-VJB!vB, 282. I' DAE. son of Aphareus and Arono, and brother of Lynceus. From tlio name of tlieir faMier, Idas and Lynceus are called AphaMMm or Aphandie. ApoUo was in love with Marpessa, the daughter of I'venus, but Idas carried her off in a winged chariot wiiich Neptune liad givon him. Tlie lovers fought for Ium- possession; l»ut Jupiter separated them, and loft the declHion witli ludrpessa, who chose Idas, fioni fear lest Apollo should desert her if she grow old, 201. Id'mon, (1) Father of Arar,hiu% a native of Colophou. (2) dun of Apollo and Asteria, or Cyrene, waa a soothsayer, and accompanied the Argonauts, although he knew be- foreliaud that deatli awaited him. I-du'na, 4.0. IL, 395. Il'i-ad, 269-284, 285. Ii/i-o'neus, 138. Il'i-um (Troy), 282. Il-lyr'i-a, 43. I'lus, son of Tios and Calliirhce, great-grandson of Dardstnus; whence he is called Darda aides. He was the father of Laoniedon and the grandfather of Priaui. He was believed to be tho founder of Uion, which was also called Troy, after his father. In'a-chus, son of Ocoanus and Te- thys, and father of Phoroneus and lo, was the first king of Argos, and Kaid to have given liis i .ame to the river Inachiis, 40, 41. In'di-a, 159, 160, 336. Indra, 401. Infernal Regions, 327-337. I' NO, 115, 208, 219. I'o, 40, 42, 376. I-ob'a-tks, 155, 156, 157. I-o-la'us, 179. I'o-le, 81, 82, 184. I'oN, the fabulous ancestor of the lonians, son of Xuthus and Creusa, or of Apollo and Creusa, graudson of Helen. According to some tra- ditions ho reigned iu Attica. I-o'na, 451-453. I-o'ni-an Sea, 42. Iph'i-cles, son of Amphitryon and Alcmene of Thebes, was one night younger than his half-brotlier Hercules. Tpiiic'ra-trs, a famo"' Athenian general, sou of a shoemaktr, intro- duced into tho Athenian army the peltasta3 or targotoors, a body of troops possessing to a certain extent tho advantages of lieavy and light armed forces. Tills he eflfocted by substituting a small target for the heavy shield, adopting a longer sword and spear, and replacing the old coat of mail bv a linen corslet. Tpii-i-ok-ni'a, 267. 292. iPiM-MivnrA, mother of Ephialtea and Otns by Neptune. T'piirs, 97. Ipir'i-Tus, 183. Iick'land, 451. Irk'nk. called Pax by tho Romans, the goddess of peace, was, accord- 1|! ii I IS!;. i I ■i;ii!i fill m 484 INDEX AND DICTIONARY, 'A.»A't ¥ 1) lii't ing to Hesiod, a daughter of Zeus and Themis, and one of the Horte. She was worshipped at AtheuM aud Borne; and in the latter city a magnificent temple was huilt to her hy the emperor VeHpasiaii. Pax is represented on coins as a yoiith- fal female, holding in her left arm a coraucopia, and in her right hand an olive-branch or the staff of Mer- cury, 354. I'bis, goddess of the rainbow, was a daughter of Thaumas aud Electra, a granddaughter of Oceanus and GsB, and a sister of the Harpies. As messenger of Juno and Zeus, she lived among the other deities of Olympus, which she only left for the purpose of conveying the di- vine commands to mankind, by whom she was looked on as a guide aud adviser. She travelled, always with the speed of wind, from one end of the world to the other, could penetrate to the bottom of the sea, or to the Styx, and in this respect formed a female counterpart of Mercury in his capacity of messen- ger of the gods, and held much the same position towards Hera as he did towards Zeus. It was Iris, the ancients believe, who charg;ed the clouds with water from lakes and rivers, in order that they might let it fall again upon the earth in gentle fertilizing showers; and, ac- cordingly, when her bow appeared in the clouds the farmer welcomed it as a sign of rain to quicken his fields, aud gladly paid honors to the goddess whose nresence he recognized in the rainbow with its splendid colors. She was repre- sented as a beautiful virgin, with wings of varied hue, in robes of bright colors, and riding on a rain- bow; at other times with a nimhm on her head in which the colors of the rainbow were reflected, 8, UO, 01, 272, 281, 282, 347. Iron Aok, 23. This was the wife of Osiris, also a counterpart of him; for, as he was judge of the dead, so sh<! is di*- scribed as the giver of death. She is identified with Ceies and Perseph- one, and, in this vinw, the grief of Isis for her husband may be re- garded as lui Kgypliun version of the myth representing Difineti^r as mourning for the loss of \\vt daugh- ter. Apuleius makes her declare: " I am Nature, the parent of all the gods, mistress of all the eleoieuts, the beginning of all the ages, sov- ereign of the gods, queen of the manes, aud the first of the heaven- ly beings. My divinity, uniform in itself, is honored under numerous forms, various rites, and different names, . . . but the sun-illumed Ethiopians, and the Egyptians re- nowned for ancient lore, worship me with due ceremonies, and call me by my real name, 'Queen Isis.' " Plutarch considers Isis to be the earth, the feminine part of nature, while Diodorus says that the Egyptians, considering the earth to be the parent of all things born, called her Mother, just as the Greeks called earth Demeter, 368, 369, 370, 371. Isles of the Blessed, 3, 181, 337. Ih'ma-rus, 294. Is-me'ne, daughter of (Edipus and Jocasta, and sister of Antigone. Isme'nos, 138. IsTHMi-AN Games, 197, 220. ITA-LY, 320, 324, 325, 337, 340. Ith'a-ca, 232, 263, 294, 314, 315. It'y-lus, 190. Iu'lus, 340, 341, 348, 355. I-x-i'oN, once a sovereign of Thessaly had, like Tantalus, outraged the gods, and was in consequence sen- tenced to Tartarus, there to be lashed with serpents to a wheel which a strong wind drove contin- ually round and round, 235, 333. Ja-iiic'u-luni, a Roman fortress on the Janicnlus, a hill on the other side of the Tiber, as a protection against the Etruscans, and con- nected witii the city by means of the Pons Sublicius, 345. J/.''Tuswa3 a deity unknown to the Greeks, b»it from the earliest tinns held in high estimation by tlic Romans, who placed him on ahnost an tiqnal footing with Jupiter, even giving his name precedence in tin ir prayers, and invoking the aid <^f l)oth deities previous to every ini dertaking. To him they ascribctl the origin of all things, the iiitm- duction of the system of years, the (iliange of season, tlie ups mid downs of f(n*tune, and the civili/u- tw<» of the human race by tueuiii .»R--. \- INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 485 V means of of agriculture, industry, arts, and rcl igion. He was represented with two heads, one being that of a youth, to indicate " beginning," the other that of an old man, to indi- cate the end, whence he was styled Bifrons (two-headed). In his left hand is a key, to show that he opens at the beginning and shuts at the end ; the sceptre in his right is a sign that he controls the pro- gress of every undertaking. The first day of January, a month named after him, being the first day of a new year, was the occa- sion of a celebration in his honor. At the beginning of every month the priests offered sacrifice to him at twelve altars. He was invoked every morning as the beginner of a now day. Janus opened and closed all things. Ho sat not only on the confines of the earth, but also at the gates of heaven. Air, sea and land were in the hollow of his hands. The world moved on its hinges at his command. The public worship of Janus as a god was introduced into Bome as early as the time of Numa Pompilius, but a foundation for its establish- ment was laid as early as the reign of Romulus. The story runs that the Sabines, having once made an assault on the newly built town of Rome, a spring of boiling water suddenly appeared, and was the means of destroying these enemies. On this spot a temple was erected in honor of Janus, the gates of which stood open so long as Rome was at war, and were closed with great ceremony and rejoicing only in times of general peace. Rome was, however, so continually en- gaged in war that in the course of the first seven hundred years after the foundation of the city the gates of the temple were closed only three times— in the reign of Numa Pompilius, after tlio first Punic war, and during the reign of Augustus, Hence the temple of Janus with its gates shut came to bo a very emphatic symbol of peace, 17, 342. Ja'hon (and the Golden Fleece), Ifil, 102, 103, 104, lflr>, 100, 107, 109, 170, 171, 172, 173, 192. JVsus, father of Atalanta. Jo-CAh'ta, 154, 229. r Jo'nah, 375. Jo'tun-heim (Home of the Giants), 412, 414, 423, 424, 426-432, 438. Jove (Jupiter Zeus), 0, 13, 27, 43, 66, 73, 100, 119, 121, 147, 201, 203, 204, 218, 224, 231, 260, 270, 274, 276, 283, 297, 306, 310, 331. Ju'bal, 375. Jug'oer-naut, 402. Ju-NO (Feminine of Genius), 17. Ju'no, 8, 18, 29, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 90, 100, 122, 137, 152, 176, 178, 180, 186, 188, 203, 204, 225, 262, 269, 271, 274, 323, 341, 342, 345, 347, 353, 358. Ju'pi-TER, 4, 0, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31, 40, 41, 43, 44, 50, 53, 57, 58, 64, 66, 73, 111, 113, 118, 131, 134, 142, 145, 152, 158, 159, 178, 186, 188, 189, 195, 197, 200, 201, 203, 204, 219, 226, 227, 230, 231, 238, 242, 254, 257, 258, 259, 262, 270, 271, 274, 276, 281, 282, 289, 306, 321, 324, 333, 353, 371, 378, 379, 395. Ju'pi-TER Ammon, 371, Ju'pi-TER Capitolinus, 339. Jus'tice (Themis), 24. \ Ju-ven'ta8 (Hebe). I Kalki, 400. Ke-beh-se'nuf, 362. Ke-da'lion, 255. Ke'desh, 369. Khem, is only a special energy or ac- tivity of the universal life. He is a personified attribute, or epithet. He is the god of generation and re- production, and was identified as Pan by tiio Greeks, who called his chief city — Chemmis, in the The- bais— by the name of Panopolis. 366. Khemmis, 306. Khons, 309. Kneph moans spirit or breath, in which sense it is still retained in Arabic. He is " the spirit of God moving on the face of the wa- ters." Therefore in this special, physical sense Kneph corresponds to the Teutonic Woden, or Wuotan, as also to Riirama and to Zeus, 365. Knou'pmis, or Knoun, 305. Krish'na, 399. KVASKK, 414. Lab'<la-cus,son of the Thoban king Poiodorus. On the death of Lab- dacus, Lycus undertook the guar- m ^ i 486 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. rile M^J dianship of his son Laius, the father of (Edipus. The name Lab- dacidse is frequently given to the descendants of Labdaciis— (Edipus, Polynices, Eteocles, and Antigone. Lab'y-rinth, 194. Lach'e-sis, 13. La' DON, the dragon who guarded the apples of the Hesperides, was slain by Hercules. LiELAPS, the storm wind, personified as the swift dog, which Procris had received from A" „eniis (Diana), and gave to her huaoand Cephalus. When the Teumessian fox was sent to punish the Tiicbans, Cephalus sent the dog Lselaps against the fox. The dog overtook the fox, but Zeus (Jupiter) changed both animals into a stone, whiciv was shown iu the neighborhood of Thebes. La-er'tes, 233. LiES-TRY-GO'NI-ANS, 299. La'ius, 152, 153. Laksmi, 401. La' MA, 407, 408. Lam-pe'tia, 304. Lam' PUS (Phaeton). La-oc'o-on, 288, 289. La-od-a-mi'a, daughter of Aoastus, and wifeof Protcsilaus. When her husband was slain before Troy she begged the gods to bo allowed to converse with him for only three hours. The request was granted. Hermes (Mercury) led Protesilaus back to the upper world ; and when Protcsilaus died a 8(!CPnd time, Laodamia died with him, 208. La-om'e-don, 258. Lap'i-th;e, 158. Lark'spur, 286. La' RES, 17. La-ris'sa, the name of several Pelas- gian places, whence Larissa is called in mythology the daughter of Pe- hisgus. Lar'va, 17. La-ti'nith, 340, 311. La'ti-um, a country in Italy, was originally the name of tlie small district between tlie Til)er and tlus Numicua. The greater part of tliis country is an exteiisivti plain of volcanic origin, out of wliifh rises an isolated range of mountaiiiH known by the name of Moiis Al- baiius, of whicli the Algidiis and the Tusculan hills are branches. Lat'moh, 254. La-to'na,9,29, 130,137, 133. La-to'na (and the Eustics), 40, 4a 50. ' ' 1 Lau'sus, 342, 350, 351. La-vin'i-a, 340, 354, 355. La-vin'i-um, 355. Law (Themis), 13. Le-an'der (and Hero), 128-130. Le-ar'chus, son of Atbamas and lone. Le-ba-de'a, 373. Le-byn'thos, 199. Le'da, 200. Le'da (and Swan), 134. Le'laps, 36, 47. Lem'nos, one of the largest islands in the iEgean sea. It was sacred to Vulcan, who is said to have fallen here when he was h urled down from Olympus. Hence the workshop of the god is sometimes placed in this island. The legend appears to have arisen from the volcanic nature of Lemnos, 8, 163, 255, 286. Lem'ur, 17, Lem' jres, the spectres or spirits of the dead. Some writers describe Lemures as the common name for nil the spirits of the dead, and di- vide them into two classes: The Lares, or the souls of good men, and tbo Larvse, or the souls of wicked men. But the common idea was that the Lemures and Larvse were the same. They were said to wan- der about at night as spectres, and to torment and frighten the living. In order to propitiate them tho Romans celebrated the festival of the Lemuralia or Lemiiria. Le-op're-pe8, father of Simouides. Le'tiie, 91, 325, 335, 336. Leu-ca'dia, 253. Lku-co'the-a, 219, 220. Li'ber, 16. Li-be'tra, 238. Lib' Y-A, the Greek name for the con- tinent of Africa in general, 180. Lib'y-an Bear, 345. Lib'y-an Desert, 56, 37. Ll'CHAH, 184. Li'nuh, 243. ' Lion (Constellation), 53. Lri'H, 221. Li't.e, sweet-natured goddesses whose special duty was to recom- pi^nso the persons whom Ate had reduced to distress and ruin. Their name signifies " prayers of the peni- tent," and the allegory in this case is not far to seek. Prayers atone and make amends for what a man m INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 487 does to the harm of others in - thoughtlessness or from infatua* . tiou, without wicked thought or design. In the Homeric poems they are descrit)ed as lame, wrin- kled, and squinting — those defor- mities being caused by the trouble they had in making good the harm done by Ate. Penitent prayers were at best but sorry aid in mak- ing good the evil done, from infatua- tion or carelessness. The Lltse were supposed to bo daughters of Zeus, and to phico before him the prayers of those who invoked his assibtanco. Little Bkab (Coustollation), 44, 45, 55. Lo'oi, 428, 431. Lo'ki, the Satan of Norse my thology, dwelt in the land of the dead. He was the son of the giant Farbanti, whose duty it was to ferry the dead over the wa-^rs of the lower world. Loki hail three children as cruel and hateful as he himself was full of mischief. One was the huge wolf Fenris, who, at the hist day, shall hurry gaping to the scene of battle, with his lower jaw scraping the earth and his nose scraping the sky ! The second was the serpent of Midgard- the serpent which Odin throw into the sea, where the monster grow to such length that it embraced the whole world in its folds. The third was the goddess Hela, 420, 422, 42;i, 424, 428, 430, 431, 433, 434, 435, 437, 439, 443. Lo' BE-LKi, 44 1 -4 13. Lo'tis, 81. Lo'tuh Eatkkh, 294. TiOVK, 2.35. Lovkr'h-Lkap, 253. Lu-ci'na, in. TiYc'A-BAH, 20fl. Lv-ca'on. 278. Lyc'i-a, 40, 155, 274. Lvc-o-MK'nKH, king of the Dolopians, in the island of H<!yroH, to whoso court Achilles was sent, disguised as a maiden, by his mother, The- tis, who was aiixioiis to i)revent his going to the Trojan war, 19(), 204. Ly'cuh, 243. Lvn'okuh, one of tho 50 sons of iEgyptiis whoso life was saved by his wife HypermncHlra, when all his brotlu-rs were murdered by tho daughters of Duiuuis, 201. Ma-cha'on, 272, 273, 287. MiK- vn'der, 198. M^-o'ni-a, 205. Ma'gi, 393, 445. Ma-ha-de'va, 400. Ma-ha-ra'jah, an Indian prince. Ma'ia, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, was the eldest of the Pleiades, and the morft beautiful of tho 7 sisters. In a grotto of Mount (^yllene, in Arcadia, she became by Zeus tho mother of Mercury. Areas, tho son of Zeus by Callisto, was given to her to be reared, 11. Man (Creation of), 20. Ma'nes, the name which the Romans gave to the souls of the departed, who were wirshiped as gods. Hence on sepulcures wo find D. M. S. — that is, Dis Mauibus Sacrum, Ma'nu, 399. Mar'a-thon, 195, 452. Mar'mo-ra (Sea of), 130. Ma'ro (Virgil). Mars, 8, 18, 115, 131, 270, 355, 395. Mar'sy-A8, 243. Mats' YA, 399. Maut, the second pr-son of the The- ban trinity, meant the Mother — Mother Nature — and thus corre- sponds to the Greek Demeter, 368. Me AN-DER, 5G. Me-de'a (and Jason), 161-170, 192. Medi-ter-ra'ne-an Sea, 3. Me-du'sa. This strange myth has been thought to have signified th'j pale moonlight slain by the morn- ing, 141, 142, 144. Me-g^e'ra, 13. Meg'a-ra, 120. Me-lam'pus, 47, 244. Me-lat'thus, 206. Me-le-a'ger, 171, 172, 173, 174. Mel'i-cer'tes, 219. Me-lis'se-us, 226. Mel-pom'e-ne, 12, 13. Mem'non, tho beautiful son of Ti- tlionus and Eos (Aurora), was king of tho Ethiopians, and came to tho iissistance of Priam towards tlie end of the Trojan war. He wore armor made for liim by Vulcan at tho request of his mother. Ho slew Antilochus, tlie son of Nestor, but was himself slain by Achilles after a long and fierce combat. While tlui 2 heroes were fighting, .Tupiter weighed their fates, and the scale containing Memnon'8 sank. To soothe tho p;riof of his motlier, ho conferred immortality i 1 488 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 4\- M ' ' I.'. upon Meiunou, and caused a num- ber of birds to issue out of the funeral pile, which fought over the ashes of the hero. These birds were called Memnonides, and were said to have visited every year the tomb of the hero on the Hellespont. The Gref ks gave the name of Mem- nonia to certain very ancient build- ings and monuments which they supposed to have been erected by or in honor of Memnon. Of these the most celebrated was a great temple of Thebes, behind which was a colossal statue (called the statue of Memnon), which, when struck by the first rays of the ris- ing sun, was said to give forth a sound like the snapping asunder of a chord. It appears, however, that the statue represented in real- ity the Egyptian king Amenophis, 149, 258, 259, 285. Mem'o-by, 12. Mem' PHIS, 364, 365, 374. Men-e-la'us, 263, 265, 274, 276, 290, 291, 358. Me-N(e'ce-U8, 231. Men' TOR, son of Alcimusand a faith- ful friend of Ulysses, frequently mentioned in the Odyssey, 306. 307. Mer'cu-RY (Hermes), 10, 11. 18, 21, 41, 42,73, 111, 144, 152, 1617182 189, 242, 268, 282, 301, 306, 312, 3^4, 375, 395. Me-ko'dach, 395. Mer'o-pe, 255. Mes'meb-ism, 374. Met'a-bus, .343. Me'f'a-mor'pho-ses, 334. Met-a-ni'ra, 69. Me-tem'sv-cho'sis, 336. Me'tis, 7, 131. Me-zen'ti-us, 342, 346, 350, 351. Mi'das, 60, 61, 62. Mid'gard, the local heaven or mid- dle world of the Norseman. It cor- responded somcwliiit to Olviiip'irt, 411, 412, 420, 422, 431, 433, 43S, 439. Milky Way, 24. Mi'lo, Venus de, 359. Mi-ner'va (Athene), 1, 4, 5, 10, 18, 20, 67 (and A-rach'ne, 131-136), 143, 144, 152, 15(), 182, 190, 191, 19(!, 197, 200, 231, 243, 262. 287, 288, 293, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 315, .378, 379. Mi'nos, 116, 120, 121, 122, 192, 194, 196, 198, 199, 209, 330. Min'o-taur, 192, 194. Mis'tle-toe. 434, 447. MlTURAB, 392, 393. »*..<•■ Mne-mos'y-ne, 6, 12. Mo'loch, tlie fire-god of the Phoeni. cians. Tradition says it was a great brai?s furnace built with out- stretched arms to receive human sacrifices, 397. MOLY, 301. Mo'mus was a deity whose delight and occupation was to jeer bitterly at the actions both of gods and men, sparing no one with his insinua- tions except Aphrodite, in whom he could find nothing to blame, and vexed himself to death in conse- quence. Asau example of his beha- vior, it is said that he complained of the man that Prometheus had made, because there was not a win- dow in his breast through which his thoughts might be seen, 14. Mon'ad, 357 Mon'sters, 151. Month, 52. Moon, 4, 7, 54, 56, 254, 258. Mor'pheus, the son of Sleep, and the god of dreams. The name signifies the fashioner or moulder, becsiuso ho shaped or formed the dreams which appeared to the sleeper, 91,92. Mors, the god of death, was a tsonof Night and twin-brother of Sleep. He was, however, also described as a sou of Earth and Tartarus, to whom it was his office to introduce, some time or other, the whole of mankind. The relentless severity with which he discharged the task caused him to be frequently regard- ed with pain, and to be repre- sented as of a powerful figure, with shaggy beard aud fierce coun- tenance, with great wings to his shoulders, and resembling, on tho whole, tho figure of Boreas, the god of tho wild north wind of winter. Mountain Giants, 417. Mul'ci-uer, 16. Mull (Island), 451. MUNIN, 413. Mu-8iE'ufl, 244. Mu'bes, 11, 12, 50,220, 2:i8, 340. Mus'pel-iikim, tho fire-world of the NorsenKiii, 439. My-ce'n^-, 26.5, 2{)2. Myh'mi-donh, 116-119, 273. Myr'ti-luh, son of Mercury, and charioteer of (Enomaus, king of Pisa, thrown into tho sea by Pc- lops. After his death, Myrtilus was placed amoug tho siaiH as Au- ga. INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 489 Mys'i-a, 1B3. My-thol'o-gy (Origin of), 375. Na-i'a-dcs (or Nt.iads), 49, 57, 58, 212, 22r., 260. Nanna, 436. Na'pe, 47. Nar-cis'sus (and Echo), 122-127. Nau-sic'a-a, 309, 310, 314. ,Nau-sith'o-us, 308, 309. Nax'os, 194, 206, 208, 209. Ne'fer Atum, 367. Neith, who was said to bo the god- dess of the upper heaven (or ether), whereas Sati was the goddess of the lower heaven (or air). If Neith be a sky-deity, and if she be also the mother of the sun-god, the facts are another instance from Egypt- ian mythology of that same process through which the Greeks peopled their Olympus and the Norsemen their Asgard. But further, the functions attributed to Neith seem to show that the idea of this god dess was developed much in the some way as that of the Greek Athene, 368. Ne'le-U8, son of Neptune and of Tyro, the daughter of Salmon- eus. Together with his twin- brother Pelias, he was exposed by bis mother, but the children were found and reared by some country- men. They subsequently learned their parentage; and after the death of Cretheus, kiug of lolcos, who had raarx'ied tlieir mother, they seized the throne of lolcos, excluding ^Eson, the son of Crethe- us and Tyro. Neleus had 12 sons, but they were all slain by Her- cules, when ho attacked Pylos, with the exception of Nestor. Ne'me-a, 178. Ne'me-an Games, 197. Ne'me-an Lion, 178. Nem-e-his, 13. NE'oP-Tor.'E-MUS, 291. Neph'e-le, 46, 161. Nkph'tiiys, 370. , Nep'tunb (Poseidon), 7, 18, 24, 25, 57, 131, 132, 134. 160, 179, 190, 19f), 216, 217, 218, 219, 240, 249, 255, 270. 271, 272, 288, 303, 314, 323, 325, 372. Ne-ke'i-1)E8 (Nereids), 18, 57, 212, 219, 247. Ne're-U8, 57, 218, 219, 260. NER(iRL, 395. Nkih'sus, 184. Nes'tor, king of Pylos, son of Nele- us and Chloris, and the only one of the 12 sons of Neleus who was not slain by Hercules. In his early manhood Nestor was a distin- guished warrior. He defeated both th( Arcadians and Eleans. He took par"-- i«i the fight of the Lapithro against the Centaurs, and he is mentioned among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts. Al- though far advanced in age, he sailed with tlie other Greek heroes against Troy. Having ruled over three generations of men, ho was renowned for his wisdom, justice, and knowledge of war. After the fall of Troy ho returned home, and arrived safely in Pylos. Respyct- ing the position of this Py'^"*) sec Pylos, 162, 171, 172, 258, 265, 270, 272, 274. Ni'be-lun'gen-Liei). The Volsunga Saga and Nibelungen-Lied hardly differ in anything but the name. The one is merely the Norse, the other the German, form of one and the same Nature-myth or epic. Ac- cording to the " Solar myth " theor- ists, this epic serves the common purpose of all Aryan nations: in India as Rainayana and Mabab- harata; in Greece as the Iliad and the Odyssey ; in our more northern lands as the Tale of the Volsungs, and the Nil)cliiiigen Lay; and in England as the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Sigurd was taught in all the arts and sciences by Regin, the cuni.ing blacksmith, who was also tiie brother of the otter killed by Odin, and the serpent — or worm— Fafnir, who guarded those golden treasures which.iiccording to the So- lar tlieory.moan tlie gladdening and revivifying sunlight, Fafnir him- self being the evil pDVver, the cloud, or the darkness, whicii steals ti»e light. Regin wislu.'d to secure the treasure for liimself, and forged a sword for Sigurd to slay the worm with. But it sliivered into pieces on its very first trial; and Sigurd, in contempt at R(!gin'8 smithing, l)ro(',ures the fragments of his pa- ternal sword Gram, and Regin welds them togethc'r. Gram stood every test. Sigurd drove it, right to the hilt, into Regin's anvil; and after that, a lock of wool, boruo ou m 490 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. '-wm'tr.^ the Hurfaco oir tlio gtrcam, divided into two af(<t.iiiMt itu tnotiotiless edge. Sigurd »U)W Fafiiir, and procured tlio tt<;aMttro; and next lie, slew Begin, w\u> wi«l«cd to jiossess the whole of th*; mS'M on the plea that hi» forgiuK of the wea|)ou liad really won th« victory. Alter that Sigurd went to i>o« the Valkyrie Brynhild, a<!<;ordli<g to the Solar myth tho Maidun of Sprin;. for wh i the cold earth \n lo\.;.iiig. Bryuhild lay fn thoMit ^ into h s ; •!' she hatl heen tlirown by the thoifs o) Odin — that i»,'hy the thorn, o . cc :^ , or frost of winUsr. Biynhild ha(\ sworn to marry otily the man who could ride through the flro which surrounded hur dwelling. Tliis Gunnar could not do: but Sigurd did it in (lutinar'n Hliape, where- upon Brynliild agreed to niarry Gunnar. But Gudrun, in her tri- umph, revealud the secret, and compassed tho death of Sigurd. Next, Gudrun, also grieving for Sigurd, leaves her home; but she marries Atli, king of Hunland. It would seem that this Atli must be another nanio for tho powers of darkness, for ho Invited his wife's brother to his court, in order tliat he might seix© the golden treasure, "the sunlight," which they had re- ceived from tlie dead Sigurd. These treasures the liroMters Imricd in the Rhine river, and went on their way to Hunland, though they well knew they were destined never to return, 443, 444. NiD'noo(tK, &, serpent in tlio lower world that lives on the dead; it also gnaws thu roots of the tree ygdrasil, 41 'J. Nii'I-kk'hkim, the mist world of the Norsemen, The Hades of absent spirits, 'H*,^, 'l!*l,4a.'), 4.'i8. NroHT, niJM.yoH. Ni'kk, lh{>, Nn,K, 4:J, nil. inj), 2.10, 3(13, .3(51, 370. NtLi'-Goi», ;wii. KrM'uoi), 37r». NiN, 3»5, 3iWJ. Nin'a->:«,', '.WTk Nin'k-vk..'. \m. Ni'nuh, '.sr,, Ni'o-HK, \m I JO. KiR-VA'NA, 4<Mi, Ni-HUH (and HeylJaj, taO-122, 347-319. KoAH, \m, .375. No'man, !.W. NoRNS, tlio three Scandinavian Fates, Urd, Verdande and Skuld, corre- sponding to Past, Present and Fu- ture. They presided at childbirth and cast human destiny, 412, 413. Northern Lights, 417. nopthern mytholoay, 409-439. No'tus, 221. Nox, called Nyx by the Greeks, a personification of Night. She is 'lose, ibed sis the daughter of Cliao-. :-. d .^io sister of Ereb"'s, by wlioiii sut b ;came tlio mother of ^ther ; S ir) and Hemera (Day). Her resi- iK rice was in the darkness of H.u! 4, 19. Nu'M.,i^220. NtTT, 3f)8. Nu' MI-TOR, 35.'). Nymphs, 56, 99, 132, 133, 149, 156, 259. Ny-s^'an Nymphs, 204. O'a-sis, 372. O'CEAN, 2, 3, 4, .57, 258, 337. O-ce'a-nus, 6, 7, 44, 75, 218. 0-cyr'o-e, 158. O'dix, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 417, 419, 420, 424, 433, 435, 437, 441, 443. OOIUERER, 41 1, 439. 0-DYs'sEUS (Ulysses), 294. Oi)'ys-sey,4, 285, 294. 380. G^.d'i-pus, 152, 153, 154, 229, 230, 231. (E'neus, 171, 174. (I']-no'ne, 287. (E-No'pi-ON, 25,5. (E'ta, 56, 185, 186. Old Aoe, 431. O-i.ym'i'IA, a small plain in Elis, bounded on tho S. by the river Alpheus, and on tho W. by tiio river Cladeus. Here the Olympic games were celebrated. In this j)lain was the sacred grove of Zens called Altis. Tho Altis and its im- mediate neighborhood were adorn- ed with numerous temples, statues, and public buildings, to which tlio general appellation of Olympia was given, but there was no town of tliis name. 0-lym'pi-at)S, 197. O-lym'pi-an .lui'lTKR, 378-379. O-lym'pi-an Games, 197. 0-lym'pi'h. The range of mountaitirt separating Macedonia and Thessuly. but more specifically tlio oastcni l!jul of the chain forming at its ter- mination tho northern wall of fho vale of Tempo. Its height is about INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 491 9700 feet, and its chief summit is covered with perpetual snow. In the Greek mv choir ;y, Olympus was the residi , o of the dynasty of gods of wi oh Zeus was the head. The Cii. 'y poets believe<^ thaC the gods ac ually lived on the topof this moiu bain. Even the fa- ble of the gi<i ts scuiing heaven mudt be umljfstood in a literal ^civ.:q ; not that they placed Pelio^ and Ossa upon the top ui" Olympus to reach the still higher heaven, but that they piled Pelion on the top of Ossa, and both on the lower slopes of Olympus, to scale the summit of Olympus itself, the abode of the gods. Homer describes the gods as having their several palaces on the summit of Olympus; as spending the day in the palace of Zeus, round whom they sit in solemn conclave, while the younger gods dance be- fore them, and the Muses entertain them with the lyre and song. They are shut out from the view of men upon the tarth by a wall of clouds, the gates of which are kept by the Hours. In the later poets, how- ever, the real abode of the gods is transferred from tlie summit of Olympus to the vault of heaven, (i.e., the sky) itself, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 18, 21, 40, 56, 142, 213, 271, 345. 0-mob'ka, 396. Om'pha-le, a queen of Lydia, daugh- ter of lardanus, and wife of Tmo- lus, after whose death she reigned herself. The story of Hercules serving her as a slave, and of his wearing her dress, while Omphale put on the skin and carried the club, is related in the text, 183, 184. 0-PHl'ON, 6, 7. Dps, 177. Or'a-cle, 371-374. O-re'a-dbs (or Oreads), 18, 212, 215, 216. O-res'tes, son of Agamemnon and Clyteranestra. On the murder of his father by iEglsthis and Clyteni- nestra, Orestes was saved from the same fate by his sister Electra, ' who caused him to be secretly car- ried to Strophius, king of Phocis, who was married to Anaxibia, th<^ sister of Agamemnon. Because of his crime in killing his mother he was pursued by the Furies until purified by Miucrva, 291, '^9;.', 293. Origin op Mvtiiof-oov, 375. O-Ki'ov, 151, 255 7. 0-Kl'<>N (Norse), 419. Oij-i-'"I£y'(-a, 221, Ok'mv/A), 392, .'}9;{, Or'phkus, 102, 201, 234 23H, 241, 242, 244, :}:{4. Orphic Pokmh. V,.uiy pojjtns ancribed to Orplieus were current in tlie flourisliiiig period of (Jrcoic llt<fra- ture; but the extant poems bearing the name of OrplieuH are the for- geries of (/hrlHtlau gnuumariaus and x)hiU)8opherH of tiio Alexan- drian school, though among the fragments which form a part of the collection are some g(!nuine re- mains of the Orphic poetry known to the earlier (Inn-k writers. O-hi'ris, tlie n.'OHt ben(;flc(^nt of the Egyptian gods. He i»robably por- soniiies the; Day, whose constant struggle witli Night is repre»ent<!d by the war hi'tw<!en Onirls and Set, 301, 302, 3fi3, 307, ;W)H, .'MJ9 370. Os'sA, 50, 152. Oh'sian, a Celtic poet who lived about the second or thinl century. Many of his poeniH, as we have them, are possibly the composition of moro recent writers, 419. Otter, 443, Ov'iD, 119, 339, 35H, 383, 384, 388. Pac-to'luH, (W. Pa-l.e'mon, 219, 220. Pal-a-me'i)i;h, 203. Pai/a-tink, oue of Rome's Seven Hills. Pa'leh, 10. Pal-i-nu' kith, 325, 320, 330. Pal-la' i)i-u.M, projM'rly any image of Pallas Athejie (Minerva), but specially ap|ilii!(l to an ancient im- age of til is goddeHH at Trcty, on the prcservitiou of which the safety of the town dependifd. It was stolen b.7 IJlyMseH anil I)lomed(!S, and carried by the latter to Oreece, According to Honn. aceoiints, Troy contained two Palludia, one of which was (tarried off by Ulysses and DionuidiiS, while Mk; otimr was eonveyerl by /ICiieas to It;ily, Others relate that the Palhuiium taken by tlm O reeks was a mere imitation, while that which il^neas brouglit to Italy was the genuine image. Hut this twofold Palladium was probably u mere inveutioa to 1 4l ■ { 492 INDEX AND DICTIONARY, If If* I ,' ^ '. fe*- f I' > ^ Ul.. ,'f >ti . - ^ >; >v account for its existence at Borne, 287, 290. Pal' LAS (son of Evander), 344, 345, 346, 351-354. Pal'las Atu'ene (Minerva), 10, 100, 280, 310. Pal-lob (Terror), 131. Pam'pha-gus, 47. Pan, 13, 42. fil, 96, 211. 212-213. Pan'a-ce'a, a daughter of iEscula- pius. Pan-ath-e-n^'a, 196. Pan-de'an Pipes, 41. Pan-di'on, 190. Pan-do'ra, 19, 21, 22, 26. Pan' OPE (Plain of), 113. Pan'thus, 358. Paph'la-go'ni-a, 258. Pa'phos, 80, 83. PAR'ciE. (See Fates.) Pa'ri-ah, 404. Par' IS, 262, 263, 265, 270, 272, 285, 287, 290. 323. Par-nas'sian Laurel, 61. Par-nas'sus, 25, 30, 56, 372. Par' see, 394. Par'the-non {the virghVs chamber), the usual name of the temple of Athena Parthenos on tho Acropolis of Athens, 197, 378. Pasht, 368. Pa-siph'a-e, daughter of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, wife of Miuos, and mother of Androgeos, Ariadui, and Phaedra. Hence Phsedrt^ is called Pasiphaeia by Ovid. Pasi- phae was also the mother of the Minotaurus. Pa-tro'clus, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 278, 281. Peq'a-sus, 155, 156, 157. Pe'leus, son of iEacus and Endeis, and king of the Myrmidons, in Thcssaly. Having, in coiy unction with his brother Telamon, mur- dered his half-brother Phocus, he was expelled, and went to Phthia, in Thessaly. Here he was purified from the murder by Eurytion, the son of Actor, who gave Peleus his daughter Antigone in marriage, and a third part of his kingdom. Peleus accompanied Eurytion to the Calydonian hunt; but having involuntarily killed his father-in- law with his spear, he became a wanderer a second time. He now took refuge at lolcus, where he was again purified by Acastus, the king of the place. Here he was falsely accused by Astydamia, tho wife of Acastus, and in conseqaence nearly perished on Mount Pelion (Acas- tus). While on Mount Pelion, Peleus married the Nereid Tiietis. She was destined to marry a mortal, but having the power, like Prot<!us, of assuming any form she pleased, she endeavored in this way to es- cape from Peleus. The latter, however, previously taught l>y Chiron, held the goddess fast till she promised to marry him. Tin; gods took part in the marri»};c solemnity, and Eris, or Strife, was the only goddess who was not in- vited to the nuptials. By Tliotis Peleus became the father <>f Achilles. Peleus was too old to accompany Achilles against Troy ; he remained at home, and surviviMl the death of his son, 171, 219, 202, Pe'li-as, 162, 167, 169, 227. Pe'li-on, 152. Pe'lops, grandson of Zeus (Jui i- ter), and son of Tantalus, kiii<; of Phrygia. Being expelled from Phrygia, he came to Elis, where lie married Hippodamia, daughter of CEnomaus, whom he succeeded ou the throne. Pe-na'tes, 17. Pe-nel'o-pe, 97, 232, 233, 263, 315, 317. Pe-ne'us, 30, 31, 179. Pen-the-si-le'a, 285. PEN'THE-us,8on of Echion and Agave, the daughter of Cadmus. He suc- ceeded Cadmus as king of Thebes; and having resisted the introduc- tion of the worshipof Bacchus into his kingdom, he was driven mad by the god, his palace was hurled to the ground, and he himself was torn to pieces by his own mother and her two sisters, Ino and Auto- noe, who, in their Bacchic frenzy, believed him to be a wild beast. The place where Pentheus suffered death is said to have been Mount Cithseron, or Mount Parna.ssus. It is related that Pentheus got upon a tree, for the purpose of witnessing in secret the revelry of the Bacchic women, but on being discovered bv them was torn to pieces, 11^ 205, 208. Pe'nus, 17. Pe-phre'do, 141. Pep'lus, 197. Per'dix, 200. Peb'i-an'der, 245, 246, 248, INLBX AND DICTlONAttY, 4^3 », eqaence nearly Pelion (Acas- tfouut Pelion, Nereid Tlietis. narry a mortal, ir, like Protons, •m she pleased, this way to cs- The latter, ly taught hy :oddess fast till arry him. Tlic the marriajic or Strife, was rho was not in- als. By Thetis the father of vas too old to against Troy ; le, and survived 1, 171, 219, 2G.>. ), 227. of Zeus (Jill i- Taatalus, kin<r g expelled from o Elis, where he. lia, daughter of le succeeded on 2, 233, 263, 315, chion and Agave, idmus. He suc- king of Thehes; ed the introduc- pof Bacchus into was driven mad ilace was hurled I he himself was his own mother s, Ino and Auto- ' Bacchic frenzy, je a wild l)east. •entheus suffered ave been Mount [it Parnassus. It theus got upon a 3se of witnessing ry of the Bacchic leing discovered a to pieces, 11:3^ i S46, 248. Peb-i-pheTtes, 192. Pee-seph'o-ne. (See Proserpine.) Per'seus, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150. Peb'sia, 356, 393. PHiB-A'ci-ANS, 308, 315. Ph^'ura, 196. Ph^-thu'sa, 304. Pha'e-ton, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59. Phantasos, 92. Ph a' ON, a boatman atMitylene,issaid to have been originally an ugly old man ; but having carried Aphrodite (Venus) across the sea without ac- cepting payment, the goddess gave him youth and beauty. After this Sappho is said to have fallen in love with him, and, when he slighted her, to have leaped from the Leu- cad ian rock, 253. Pharaohs (Tombs of), 359. Phe'mi-us, a celebrated minstrel, who sang to the suitors in the palace of Ulysses in Ithaca. Phid'i-A8, 378, 379. Phi-le'mon (and Baucis), 60, 62, 63, 64, 65. Phil-oc-te'tes, 185, 286, 287. Philoe, 371. Phil-o-me'la, 190. Phin'e-U8, 149, 150, 163, 321. Phleg'e-thon, 331. Pho'bos, a Greek war-god. Pho'cis, 291-293, 372. Ph(e'be, one of the sisters of Phaeton. Ph«:'bu8 (Apollo), 45, 52, 86, 90, 113, 275. Ph(e'cus, father of the Medusst PHfE-Ni'ciA, 113, 290, 370, 372, 376, 397. Phce'nix, 270, 386, 387. Pho'lus, a Centaur, accidentally slain by one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules, and buried in the mountain called Pholoe after him. Phor'bas, 325. Phryo'ia, 62, 136, 204. Phryx'us, 161. Pi'ous, a Latin prophetic divinity, son of Saturnus, husband of Canens, and father of Faunus. The legend of Picus is founded on the notion that the woodpecker is a prophetic bird, sacred to Mars. Pomona was beloved by him; and when Circe's love for him was not requited, she changed him into a woodpecker, who retained the prophetic powers which he had formerly possessed as a man. Pil'labs of Hercules, 180. Pin'dar, 337. Pin'dus, 56. Pi-re' NE, a celebrated fountain at Corinth, at which Bellerophon is said to have caught the horse Pe- gasus. It gushed forth from the rock, was conveyed down the hill by subterraneous conduits, and fell into a marble basin, from which the greater part of the town was supplied with water, 156. Pi-rith'o-us, son of Ixion and Dia, and king of the Lapithse in Thes- saly. Wuen Pirithous was cele- brating his marriage with Hippo- damia, the intoxicated Centaur, Eurytus, carried her off, and this act occasioned the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and Lapithse, in which the Centaurs were de- feated. Theseus, who was present, assisted him in his battle against the Centaurs. Hippodamia after- wards died, and each of the two friends resolved to wed a daughter of Zeus. With the assistance of Pirithous, Theseus carried off Helen from Sparta. Pirithous was still more ambitious, and resolved to carry off Persephone (Proserpina), the wife of the king of the lower world. Theseus would not desert his friend in the enterprise, though he knew the risk which they ran. The two friends accordingly de- scended to the lower world'; but they were seized by Pluto and fastened to a rock, where they both remained till Hercules visited the lower world. Hercules delivered Theseus, who had made the daring attempt only to please his friend; but Pirithous remained forever in torment, 158, 171, 195, 196, 201. Pleasure, 111, 187. Ple'ia-des, 257. Plenty, 225. Plex-ip'pus, 173. Pliny, 388, 389. Plu'to, (Dis), 7, 12, 66, 67, 68, 71, 73, 74, 144, 158, 167, 182, 196, 235, 236, 328, 330. Plu'tus, the god of wealth, is de- described as a son of lasion and Ce- res. Jupiter is said to have de- prived him of sight, that he might distribute his gifts blindly, and without any regard to merit, 14. Po, .334. Pod-a-lir'i-us, son of JEsculapius, and brother of Machaon, along with I 494 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. '.»l' J, J. :J 1^ r J< ^ la' •'•'ii I '. ' .' " ^ 4 '- > . 1, whom he led the Thessalians of Tricca against Troy. He was, like his brother, skilled in the medical art. On liis return from Troy he was cast by a storm on the coast of Syros, in Oaria, where he is said to have settled. Po-dar'ces, the original name of Priam. Poetry (Origin of), 414. Pole-star, 45. Po-li'tes, 289. Pol'lux (and Castor), 200, 202, 252, 253. Pol-y-dec'tes, 142. Pol-y-do're, 319, 320, Pol-y-hym'ni-a, 12, 16. Po-ly'i-dus, 15fi. POL-Y-Nl'CE8, 230, 231. Pol-y-phe'mus, 219, 260, 296, 322. Po-lyx'e-na,285, 290. Po-mo'na (and Vertumnus\ 16, 95- 99. Poe-phyr'i-on, one of the giants who fought against the gods, slain by Jupiter. Pob-tun'us, 220. Po-sei'don (Neptune), 7, 170. PR AX-XT' E-LES, 380. Pbester John, 408. Pbi'am, 258, 265, 270, 278, 279, 281, 282, 283, 285, 289. Pri-a'pus, son of Bacchus and Venus, was born at Lampsacus, on the Hel- lespont, whence he is sometimes called Hellespontiacus. He was re- garded as the god of fruitfulness in general, and was worshipped as the protector of flocks of sheep and goats, of bees, of the vine, and of all garden produce. Pboc'ne 190. Pro' ORIS (and Cephalus), 29, 37, 38, 39. Pro-crus'tes, 192. Pr(e'tu8, 155. Pro-me'theus, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 219. Pro-ser'pi-na (Proserpine, Proseph- one), 12, 6(5, 67, 70, 71, 73, 74, 109, \ 110, 183, 235, 236, 326, 327. Pro-tes-i-la'us, 268. Pro'teus, the prophetic old man of the sea, is described in the earli- est legends as a subject of Neptune, whose flocks, the seals, he tended. According to Homer, he resided in the island of Pharos, at the distance of one day's journey from the river Nile; whereas Virgil places his resideuce iu the island of Carpa- thos, between Crete and Bhodes. At midday Proteus rose from the sea, and slept in the shade of the rocks, with the monsters (t^' the deep lying around him. Anyone wishing to learn futurity fromhim was obliged to catch hold of him at that time; as soon as he was seized he assumed every possible shape, in order to escape the neces- sity of prophesying, but whenever he saw that his endeavors were of no avail he resumed his usual form, and told the truth. After finishing his profihecy he returned into the sea. Homer ascribes to him a daughter Idothea. Another set of traditions describes Proteus as a son of Poseidon, and as a king of Egypt, who had two sons, Telego- nus and Polygonus or Tmolus, 76, 219, 241. Proverbial Expressions, 455. Pru'dence (Metis), 7. ' Psy'che (and Cupid), 100-112. Ptah (or Phtah), 36.5. Pthah, is only Kneph under a new name; or, to express it otherwise, he represents a special energy of that god. He is the creator, or the universal life in action. Jamblic- hus calls him the demiourgos, or ar- tisan of the world ; and the Greeks regarded him as the counterpart of their artisan god, Hephaestus, or Vulcan. As the creator he was thought of as the father and sov- ereign of the gods. He was wor- shipped chiefly jn Memphis. He appears as a mumnjy-shaped malo figure ; also as the pigmy-god. Pu-ra'nas, 400. Pyg-ma'li-on, 79, 80, 323. Pyg'mies, 159, 160. Pyl'a-des, 291, 292. Pyr'a-mus (and Thisbe), 29, 34, 3u 36, 37. Pvu'rha (and Deucalion). 25, 26. Pvk'uhus (Ncoptolenuis), 289, 290. Py-thag'o-ras, 356-358. Pytii'i-a, 373. Pyth'i-an Games, 29, 197. Pyth'i-an Oracle, 104. Py'thon, 29, 30, 380. Py'tiion-ess, 374. Qui-ri'iius, a Sabine word, perhaps derived from quiris, a lance or spear. Tt occurs first of all as tlio name of Romulus, after he had beeu INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 495 and Bhodes. rose from the B shade of the ansters (t*' the lim. Anyone irityfrom hiiw I hold of liini oou as he waa every possible cape the neces- but whenever eavors were of his usual form, After finishing urned into the )es to him a Another set of Proteus as a as a king of sons, Telego- or Tmolus, 70, 3I0NS, 455. 100-112. >h under a new 33 it otherwise, jcial energy of e creator, or the ction. Jamblio- emiourgos, or ar- and the Greeks e counterpart of Hephaestus, or creator he was father and sov- 1. He was wor- Memphis. He jy-shaped malo pigmy-god. 323. she), 29, 34, 3'* lion). 25, 20. uus), 289, 290. 358. ), 197. L04. 3 word, perhaps ris, a lance or rst of all as the ,fter he had been jraised to the rank of a divinity; and the festival celebrated in his honor boro the name of Qiiir'nialin. It is also used an a Hurnarnu of Mars, Janus, and evuu of Augustus, 16. Ra, 365, 395. Rao-na-bok', 438, 439. Raj'put, 404. Be-qil'luh, a lake in Latinra, mem- orable for the victory gained on its banks by the lioinans over tlie Lat- ins. It was E. of Uotiie, in tlie ter- ritory of Tusculuin, and between Lavicum and (iabii; but it cannot be identified with certainty with any modern lake, 202. REaiN, 443. Be'mus, 355. Reshpu, 369. Bhad-a-man'thu», son of Jupiter and Europa, and brother of king Minos of Crete. From fear of his brother he fled to 0(;alea in B(cotia, and there married Alcmenc. In conse- quence of bis justice throughout life, he became after his death one of the judges in the lower world, 331, 337. Rhap'so-dist. 381. Rhe'a, 6, 7, 12. 177, 2ai, 226. Rhe'a Sil'via, 355. Rhodes, 381. Rhod'o-pe (Mountain In Thrace), 56. Rh(e'cu8, 217, 218. RivEE Ocean, 2. Rod'mae, 443. Rome, 16, 17, 33, 202, 220, 337, 339, 344, 355, Rom'u-lus, 16, 355. Ro-set'ta Stone, 359, 360. Ru'nic, 413, 440, Ru-tu'li-anr, an ancient people in Italy, inhabiting a narrow slip of country on the coast of Latii n, a little to the 8, of the Tiber. 'J cir chief town was Ardea, which was the residence of Turnus. Tlicy were subdtied at an early period l»> the Romans, and disappear from history, 340, 344, :iW, 347, 3-19. Sa-bri'no, a river in the W. of Britain, which (lowed by Venta Silurum into the ocean, 240. BiEHRiMNEK, the boar on which the Norse gods feed every day. Saga, goddess of history. Sa'oA8,415,440,441. Sa-oit-ta'ri-ub, 159. Sak-ya-hin'ha, 405. Sal'a-man'deu, 390. Sal'a-mi8, 98, :wi, Sal-mo' NKUH, son of iEolus and Ena- rete, and i)rotlier of Sisyphus. He originally lived in Tliessaly, but emigrated to Elis, where he built the town of Salmone. His pre- sumption and arrogance were so great that he deemed himself equal to Jupiter, and ordered sacri- fices to be offered to himself; nay, he even imitated the thunder and lightning of Zeus, but the father of the gods killed him with his thun- derbolt, destroyed his town, and punished him in the lower world. His daughter Tyro bears the pa- tronymic Salmonis, 333. Samh'in,447. Sa'mos, an island in the .^geau sea, 199, 356. Sam'o-thra'ce, 201. Samson, 375. Sap'pho, 253. Saraswati. Brahma had his aacti, or wife, or female counterpart. Brahma'8 sacti is Saraswati, the goddess of poetry, wisdom, elo- quence, and fine art, 403. Sar'pe-don, 267, 274. Sat'urn, 6, 7, 12, 15, 16, 340, 345, 376, 395. Sat'ur-na'li-a. Once a year, in the month of December, the Romans held a festival, called Saturnalia, in his honor. It lasted from five to seven days, and was accompanied by amusements of all kinds. During those days the ordinary distinc- tions between master and ser- vant or slave were done away with. No assemblies were held to discuss public affairs, and no punishments for crime were inflicted. Servants or slaves went about dressed like their masters, and received from them costly presents. Children re- ceived from their parents or rela- tives presents of pictures, probably of a gaudy type, purchased in the street where the picture-dealers lived, Tliere was a temple of Saturn in Rome, at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, containing a figure of him, with his feet wrapped round with pieces of woolen cloth, which could only be removed during the festival of the Saturna- lia. In one hand he held a curved ■J I 49^ INDEX AND DICTION ABY. %'.4.<r • r-fip ''Sj'*'- ;-...'''L' garden-knife, as a sign of his hav- ing been the first to teach the peo- ple how to trim the vine and olive. In this temple were preserved the state chest and the standards of the army. 16. Sa-tue Ni-A, an ancient name of Italy. Sa'tyrs, 13,41,96,211. Savitab, an Indian god, the per- ! Bonification of the sun. His name means the " Inciter, or Enlivener." As the sun-god he is spoken of as the golden-eyed, goldeu-tongued, and golden-handed ; and the Hin- doo commentators, in their absurd attempts to give a literal prosaic explanation of a highly appropriate poetic epithet, say that Savitar cut off his hand at a sacrifice, and that the priests gave him a golden one instead. Savitar thus corresponds to the Teutonic god Tyr, whose hand was cut off by the wolf Fen- ris. Like other gods in the Hindoo and Norse mythologies, Savitar is regarded as all-powerful. That Savitar is a sun-gor" appears from the following passages, among many others, from the Rig- Veda: "He steps forth, the splendor of the sky, the wide-seeming, the far- shining, the shining wanderer; surely enlivened by the sun do men go to their tasks and do their work. May the golden-eyed Savi- tar arise hither !" Scandinavia, 409-413. Sche'ri-a, 308. Schrim'nir, 413. Sci'ron, a famous robber, who in- fested the frontier between Attica and Megaris. He not only robbed the travellers who passed through the country, but compelled them on the Scironian rock to wash his feet, and kicked them into the sea while they were thus employed. At the foot of the rock there was a tortoise which devoured the bodies of the robber's victims. Ho was slain by Theseus. Sco'PAP, 252. Scorpion (Constellation), 53, 55. Scotland, 451, 452, 453. Soyl'la (and Glaucus), 66, 75. Y6, 77, 78. Scvl'la, .304, 322, and Nisus, 120- 122, 255), 303. Scy'koh. 196. Soytu'i-a, 43. 56, 160, 215, 292. \ Sea-Monsteb (and Perseus), 147, 148. Sea' SONS, 4, 9. See, 367. Se-le'ne, the moon. Sem'e-le, 12, 115, 203, 204. SE-MIR'A-Misand NiNUS, the mythi- cal founders of the Assyrian empire of Ninus or Nineveh. Ninus was a great warrior, who built the town ' of Ninus or Nineveh. Semiramis was the daughter of the fibh -god- dess Derceto, of Ascalon, in Syria, by a Syrian youth. Derceto, being ashamed of her frailty, made away with the youth, and exposed lier infant daughter; but the child was miraculously preserved by doves, who fed her until she was discovered by the shepherds of the neighborhood. At the siege of Bactra, Semiramis planned an at- tack upon the citadel, mounted the walls with a few brave followers, and obtained possession of the plact Ninus was so charmed by he- brav- ery and beauty that he resoi ved to make her his wife, wherp .pon her unfortunate husband put an end to his life. By Ninus Semiramis had a son, Ninyas, and on the death of Ni- nus shesucceeded him on the throne. She built numerous cities and erected many wonderful buildings. In Nineveh she erected a tomb for her husband ; she built the city of Babylon, with all its wonders ; and she constructed the hanging gar- dens in Media, of which hiter writers give us such strange ac- counts. Besides conquering many nations of Asia, she subdued Egypt and a gre:it part of Ethiopia, ])ut was unsuccessful in an attack which she made upon India. After a reign of 42 years, she resigned the sov- ereignty to her son Ninyas, and dis- appeared from the earth, taking her flight to heaven in the form of a dove, 34. Se-ra'pis, 364. Se-ri'piiu8, an island in the iEgeim sea, and one of the ycliules. Ills celebrated in mythology as the island wliore Dante and Perseus landed after they had })een exposed by Acrisius, where Perseus was brought up, and where he after- wards turned the inhabitants into stone witli the Gorgon's head, M;i, 150. Se'rohu, 393. INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 49; ), 147, 148, e mythi- an empire T\n\\% was ttlie town' Semiraniis flbh -god- in Syria, ceto, being iiade away cposed her the child served by il she was spherds of he siege of ned an at- ounted the followers, (ftheplact. y he- brav- resoj ved tt) ipp .pou her it an end to ramis had a leathof Ni- i the throne, cities and 1 buildings. a tomb for the city of nders; and tnging gar- hich later strange ao- ring many lued Egypt hiopia, but tack which fter a reign id the 80V- us, and dis- •th, taking he form of tlio iEgeiui ades. It is ury as the id Perseus en exposed irseus was ) he after- itants into head, 11;.', Serpent, 55, 114, 374. Seb'tos, 128. Set, 367. Shamas, 395. Shat-ey'a, 403, 404. Si'byl, 325, 326, 328, 330, 831, 333, 334, 335, 337, 338, 339, 340. Sl-CHiE'U8, 323, Sic'iL-Y, 73, 75, 77, 197, 200, 321, 323. Si-gu'na, 437. SioUBD, 443, 444. Si-le'nus, Like the other Satyrs, he is called the sou of Mercury; but some make him a soti of Pan by a nymph, or of Geea. Being the con- stant companion of Dionysus, ho is said, like the god, to have been born at Nysa. Moreover, ho took part in the contest with the Gi- gantes, and slew Knceladus. He is mentioned along with Marsyus and Olympus as the in yentor of the flute, which he is often soon playing, 60. Silver Age, 23. SiL-VI-A, 341. Si-mon'i-des, 252, 263. Sin, 395. Si'non, 288. Sip'y-lus (Mount), in Lydia. Niobe is said to have died there. Si' BENS, 302. Sir'i-U8, 257. Sib'y-phus, 236, 333. Si'VA, 398, 400, 401, 402. Skalds, 440. Skid-blad'nir (Proyr's ship), 438. Skir'nir, 42.5. Skry'mir, 426, 427. Skuld (the Norn of tho Futtire), 412, Sleep, 90, 274. Sleip'nib (Odin's bono), 435. Soad-l-pa'ri. sokvabek, 415. Sol (Helios), 161, 3U5. Soma. In some respects tho myth of Soma is tho most curious of all the Vedic gods, Hotna, uh tiie in- toxicating Juice of the Soma plant, corresponds to that mixture of honey and blood of the (^i 'usir which, in tho Norse mytiiology, imparts prolonged life to the gods. In tho Rig- Veda tim Homa is Himi- larly described ; as ills*) the procc^ss by which it is convjii'ted into in- toxicating liquid. Hut ill tli(« HiiiiK^ hymns Homa is also dcHcrib'd m an all-powerful god. It Is be who gives strength to Indrii, and onables him to connuer Ills enemy Vritra, the snake of darkness. Som'nus, 90, 91, 92. 325. Son, 414. Soph'o-cles, 293, 384. So'this, 368. Spab'ta, 290, 291, 293. Sphinx, 151, 152, 153, 154, 359, 378. Spring, 52, 74. Stone' HEN GE, 446. Stbo'phi-us, 291. Stygian (Realm), 235. Styx, 204, 285. Su'dras, 403, 404. Suitors (Fate of the), 315-318. Summer, 52. Sun, 4, 7, 53, 304, 386, 445. Sun-god, 61. Sur'tur, 439. Sur'ya corresponds to the Greek Helios. That is, he was not so much the god of light as the spe- cial god who dwelt in the body of the sun. The same distinction ex- ists between Poseidon and Nereus ; the one being the god of all waters, and even a visitor of Olympus, the other a dweller in the sea. Surya is described as the husband of the dawn, and also as her son, 401. Suttung, the guardian of the poetic mead, 414, 415. Sv-a-dil-fa'ri, 422, 423. Swollen Foot, 152. Syb'a-ris, 359. Syl-va'nus, 96, 212. Sym-pleg'a-des, 163. Sy'rinx, 41, 42, 211. Tac'i-tus, 387 T^N'A-RUf=, 235. Ta'gus, 50. Ta'lus had been placed in Crete by Zeus, to watch over Europa, his duty being to run round the island tlirc'i times a day, and see who landed on tho coast. When the Argonauts arrived he opposed their landing, but unsuccessfully; for it happened that they were awart of tho fact that, though apparently al- together made of bronze, he still had a vein reaching from neck to heel, and containing his life-blood. This vein P(Bas, the father of Philoc- tetes, managed to hit with an ar- row from the famous bow of Her- acles. Talus fell, and died. Others siiid that Media, who accompanied the Argonauts, overcame him by witchcraft. It had been the prac- tice of Talus, when he caught any 498 tiJDEX AND DICTIONARY, one landing on the coast, to seize his victim in bis arms, to leap witti him into a fire, and press him to his burning bosom, the wliilu laughing at the pain. This was the origin of the phrase " Sardonic laughter." Tam'muz, 397. Tan'a-is, 56, Tan'ta-lus, 136, 236, 334. Tae'chon, 347. Ta-een'tum. 248. Tar-pe'i-an, 345. Tab-ta'rus, 7, 56, 66, 68, 92, 141, 235, 238, 333. Tau'bis, 267, 292. Tau'rus, 56. Tel'a-mon, 119, 171, 172. Te-leg'o-nus, son of Ulysses and Circe. After Ulysses had returned to Ithaca, Circe sent out Telegonus in search of his father. A storm cast his ship on the coast of Ithaca, and being pressed by hunger, he began to plunder the fields. Ulysses and Telemachus, being informed of the ravages caused by the stranger, went out to fight against him; but Telegonus ran Ulysses through with a spear which ho had received from his mother. Te-lem'a-chus, 263, 201, 3(K3, 307, 315, 316, 317, 318. Tel'lus, 167. Tem'pe, a beautiful and ron antic val- ley in Thessaly, between Mounts Olympus and Ossa, through which the Peneus escapes into the sea. The lovely scenery of this glen is frequently described by tlie ancient poets and declaimers; and it was also celebrated as one of the favor- ite haunts of Apollo, who trans- planted his laurel from this sfiot to Dplphi. So celebrated was the scen- ery of Tenipe that its name W'vs given to any beautiful valley. Tijn'e-dob, 31. Te'ke-us, 190. Tkr'mi-nuh, a Roman divinity, pre- siding ov<T Ixnuidaries and fron- tiers. His worship is said to have been instituted by Nunia, who ordered that every one Hhctuld mark the bonndnries of his landed property by stones consecrafx!.! to Jupiter, and at tljfse lunindary- stoncH, every year, sacriflccH should be offered at the festival of the Ter- minalia, 16. TEUP-STrn'o-Ri;, 12, 14. Teu'ra, 181. Te'thys, 44, 53, 75, 218. \ Teu'cer, 97. s. r Tha-li'a, 12, 17. Tham'y-ris, 243. Thaukt, 436. Thebes, 113, 115, 136, 154, 155, 205, 230, 231, 242, 243, 365, 366, 371, 372, The'mis, 6, 10, 13, 24, 372. The' RON, 47. Ther-8i'te8, 285. Thes'ce-lus, 149. The-se'um, 196. The'se-us, 102, 169, 171, 172, 182 190-197, 201, 209. Thess'a-ly, 4, 161, 162, 16.3, 166, 210, 227, 252. Thes'ti-us, 174. The'tis, 219, 262, 264, 270, 276, 277, 278 286 Thi'al-fi, 426, 428, 429. This' BE (and Pyramus), 29, 34, 35, 36, 37. Thor, the thunderer of Norse myth- ology. He was the friend of man, and by his hammer kept the giants or evil forces from destroying the earth. The hammer is said to have be^n the Cross, sign of ancient heathenism. Thor was the most popular of the gods. He slays the Midgard serpent at the judgment, but is himself poisoned by its breath, 417, 418, 422, 423, 424, 426- 432, 437, 438, 339. Thoth, an Egyptian lunar deity. As the moon gave measurement to time, so Thoth became the deity of time and the recorder of the gods, 362, 367. TnouaHT, 431. Thrace, 163, 190, 237, 243, 319, 320. Thri-na'ki-a, 304. Thrvm. 423, 424. Thu-cyd'i-deh, 119. Tr-A'MAi, 395. Tiber, 340,341, 355, 374. Tiber (Father), 343. Ti'oBis, 47. Ti-re'pi-as, 231. Ti-siph'o-ne, 13, 330, Ti'ta nh. (1) The sons and duughttMs of Uranus (Heaven) and (hva (EarUi), originally dwelt in heaven, whence tliey are called Urauidiu, They were 12 in number, 6 sons and 6 daughters, namely, Oceanus, C(BUS, Crius, Hyperion, lapetiis, Cronus, Tiiia, Rhea, Tliemis, Mne- mosyne, Phoebe and Tethys; but their names are different in other accounts. (2) Tlie name Titans Is <t ■ . '<.' INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 499 also given to those divine or semi- divine beings who were descended from the Titans, such as Prome- theus, Hecate, Latona, Pyrrha, and especially Helios (the Sun) and Selene (the Moon), as the children of Hyperion and Thi'*, and even t j the descendants of Helios, surli as Circe, 6, 7, 19-20, 136, 181, 216, 219 333. Ti-tho'nub, 258. Tit'yub, 151, 333. Tmo'lus, 56, 61. TOBTOIBE, 399. Tox'B-ue, 173. Tei-mue'ti, 398. Teip-tol'e-mus, 74. Tbi'tgn. 25, 76, 218, 219, 323. Tbo/zen, 190, 191. Tbo'jan, 116, 171, 195, 200, 219, 233, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 331, 337, 341, 344, 346, 347, 349, 352, 353, 358. Tbojan WAB, 262-284. Tbo-PHo'ni-UB, 373. Tboy. Thositeof the original city of Troy will probably never be posi- tively identified. It is somewhere, of course, in the Troad, a district whose boundaries have been en- larged since the famous war. The Troad is for the most part mount- ainous, being intersected by Mount Ida and its branches; the largest plain is that in which Troy stood. The chief rivers were the Satnois on the a., the Ehodius on the N., and the Scamander and Simois in the centre. These 2 rivers, so re- nowned in the legends of the Tro- jan war, flow from 2 different points in the chain of Mount Ida, and unite in the plain of Troy, through which the united stream flows N.W., and falls into the Hel- lespont E. of the proiuontory of Sigoum. Tlie precise locality of the city of Troy, or, accord iug to its genuine Greek nam;^, Ilium, is the 8ul»j(!ct of much dispute. The most prohul)Ie opinion seems to be that which places the orlgnal city in the upper part of the plain, on a moderate elevation, at the foot of Mount Ida, and its citadel (called Porgama) on a loftier height, al- most separated from the city by a ravine, and nearly surrounded by the Hcamandcr. This city seems never to have been restored after its dostriiction by the Greeks. Tlic obronologurs assigned different dates for the capture of Troy ; the calculation most generally accepted placed it in B.C. 1184. Dr. Schlie- manu locates the site at Hissarlik, some 3 miles from the Hellespont. He believes that he has unearthed the literal palace of Priam, 257, 258, 272, 283, 284, 286, 287, 294, 313, 314, 319, 320, 331. Troy (Fall of), 285-291. Tbuths (Hall of Two), 361-363. Tu'bal, 375. Tur'nus, 340, 341, 342, 344, 346, 347, 351-354. Ty'phon. 66, 152, 323, 370, 371. Tye, 422, Tye'ian, 61, 79, 86, 114, 133, 323. Tyr'ehe-us, 341. U-lys'ses, 76, 77, 97, 232, 233, 263, 264, 265, 270, 273, 286, 287, 288, 290, 291, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 322. U-NI'COBN, 389. U-ba'ni-a, one of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne. The ancient bard Linus is called her son by Apollo, and HymeusBus also is said to have been a son of Urania. She was regarded, as her name indicates, as the Muse cf Astronomy, and was represented with a celestial globe, to which she points with a small staff, 12, 14. U-ka'nt;s (Heaven), sometimes called a son and sometimes the husband of G sea (Earth). By Gsea, Uranus became the father of Oceanus, Cojus, Crius, Hyperion, lapetus, Thia, Rhea, Themis, Muoniosyne, Plicebe, Tethys, Cronus; of the Cyclopes- Brontes, Steropes. Arges ; and of the Hectatoncheires— Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes. According to Cicero, Uranus was also the father of Mer- cury by Dia and of Venus by Hemera. Uranus hated his chil- dren, and immediately after their birth he confined them in Tartarus, in consequence of which he was unmanned and dethroned by Cronos at the instigation of Gaja. Out of the drops of his blood sprang the GiRantos, the Melian nymphs, and, according to some, Silcnus, and from the foam gathering around I his limbs in the sea sprang Aphro« dite, 19. 500 INDEX AND DICTIONARY. r'-tis J Ub'dus, one of the Norns or Fates of Scandinavia, representing the Past, 402. Ut'garp, the abode of the Giant Utgard, 427. Ut'gaed-Lo'ki, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432. Vach, 401. Va-is'sy-as, 403. Val-hal'la, 413, 415, 417, 422, 434. Val-kyr'i-e, 443. Val kyr'i-or, 415 416, 417. Vans, the deities of the northern eeas. Va-bu'na, a Vedic god— originally a sea-god; but in later times he becomes god of the waters. The name is derived from the root var, to cover or envelop, and so far Varuna means the vault of heaven. Here, then, we seem to find a clue to the meaning of the Greek Ura- nus, whom we already know to have been a sky-god : Uranus means theCoverer; but, as observed above, the name would have remained unintelligible apart from its refer- ence to the Sanscrit. Va'tes, 445. Va'yu, the Vedic god of the winds, or of the air. Allied to him are the Maruts, — the storm-gods, or " crushers," whose name has been derived from a root meaning to grind, and regarded as connected with such names as Mars and Ares. Ve, 410, 412. Ve^das, 398, 400, 401, 403, 404, 406. Ve'nus, 9, 10, 18, 21, m, 79, 80, 84, 85, 95, 97, 98, 100, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 115, 128, 175, ]76, 209, 262, 263, 270, 271, 290, 325, 326, 379, 395. Veb-dan'di (the Present), 412. Ver-tum'nus (and Pomona), 95-99. Vesta, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, was worshipped both by Greeks and Romar ' aa the goddess of thohoiue- flre, .-;• I t^arth. She was the guard- ian oiii !i .1" .i5. In every public resort she » . i a sn. » iuary in the shape of a fii c; .„nd wlion, in Greece, a bo<iy (tf .. ','ih! ,8 w •"- about to emr :i.t«x, )!(..> of \\\\'\' ci',i«if ccusid- eratio.i' \' ..» t** tal' \s \\ the; \ some 1 iM :iun ol fir(> Ki.cred to HcfA- tia, in uul i • /'"^rry with them tl < favor jfthi , > d»!i i, rirt! Greeks looked up',n ti;c "-uite u>. ft great faniiU', wuli n <i.)l.»r of Hcstia as ite central x.^hiin No enterprise ' was commenced without sacrifice and prayer at her altar ; and when the fire chanced to be extinguished, it could only be rekindled by a light from some other sanctuary. Her priestesses, six in number, were called vestal virgins, their duty being to feed the sacred flame of her temple, and to pre- sent sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of the state. To this office they were chosen by the high- priest, who was styled Pontifex Maximus. They wore robes of white, with a fillet round the hair, and a veil, additional ornaments being permitted in later times. It was necessary that the girls selected for this service should be between six and ten years of age, and that they should take a vow of chastity, and serve in the temple for thirty years. The sacred fire on the hearth of the goddess and the laurel that shaded ifc were renewed on the 1st of March of each year ; on the 15th of June her temple was cleansed and repaired, 16, 18, 354. Ves'tal, 16. Ve8-ta'li-a, festival in honor of Vesta, only women being admitted to the temple, and these barefooted and in the character of pilgrims. Victory, 378. Vic-to'ri-a (Nike), 189. Vig'rid, 439. Vi'li, 410, 412. Vir'qil, 263, 327, 339, 340, 381, 382. Vir'go, 24. Virtue 187 Vish'nu, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 405. Vol'scens, 349, 350. Vul'can, 5, 8, 9, 16, 18, 52, 54, 115, 152, 190, 192, 230, 277, 278, 353» 375. Wain, 4. Water-deities, 218. Wedding-Fkabt (The), 149. Wednesday, 79. Wind-Flower, 85. 'ViNDS, 220-223, 258. vV^intke, 52. Wo'den (Odin), 413. Woman (Creation of), 21. Wooden Horhe, 287, 288, 313. Wood-Nymi'US, 05. Xau'thus, 56. INDEX AND DICTIONARY. 501 Ya'ma, 401. Yeae, 52. Ygdea'sil, 412. Y'mie, 410, 411, 412, 43r Za'gre-U8, a Rurname of the mystic Dionysus, whom Zeus, in the form of a dragon, iH said to have begot- ten by Persephone (Proserpina), before she was CHrrled off by Pluto. He was torn to pieces by the Tita.is. Minerva cavried his heart to Zeus. Ze'lus, the personification of zeal or strife, is described as a son of Pal- las and Styx, and a brother of Nike. Zend'-A-veb'ta, .3f>l. ZEPH'y-EU8, 80, 102, 104, 100, 221- 224,337. Ze'tes, son of Boreas and Orithyia, frequently called the Borea'da, are mentioned among the Argonauts, and are described as winged beings. His sister, Cleopatra, who was mai- ried to Phineus, had been thrown with her sons into prison by Phin- eus, at the instigation of his sec- ond wife. Here she was found by Zetesand Calais when they arrived at Salmydessus in the Argonautic expedition. They liberat«d their sister and her children, gave the kingdom to the latter, and sent the second wife of Phineu? to her own country, Scythia, 221. Ze'thus, 242. Zeus, 1, 0, 15, 177, 377. " . ■ Zo-ro-as'tee, 391-394. 6-^ atique works Uvised and ill lianual for th< .jai «« The fine ] rhe comprehen )!ete the book, yincent. «« A revise iud contains all M«w York. « Students necessary for re " It is inva rand authoritati md admirable hrge sales." — " No class «/ Education^ «' This Ne " So excel annot fail to •eference." — 1 ♦« It is on ire really valu <« No betti life of the past «« This re Cle " A new ! ing subject."— « Clear, < Irations." — 7/ « A knov ing of many ( mxi."--.Prcfu tailing. *MuR«aV3 MURRAY, ALEXANDER S. (Keeper of the Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum.) Manual of Mythology. Anew |.j||K|2^aj|UU|i|ICg! revised edition, with one hundred illustra- tions in the text and ten fine, full-page plates. Beautifully printed on fine paper. Crown octavo, cloth extra, gold and bronze, $z 25 The English edition of Murray, based on the works of Preller, Welcker, and Petiscus, has been a most popular book. In this new edition (based on the latest revised edition of l^flH^npJI^^^ Petiscus) the old illustrations, many of which were imaginary, have been discarded, and fine copies from- the latest discovered and best intique works of art have been added. The text has been thoroughly evised and illustrative passages from the poets inserted, making it the best lanual for the use of schools, art students, and general readers. A. KEJ^?V OPINIONS. " The fine paper, clear type, and excellent illustrations render it an attractive book. rhe comprehensive treatment of the subject encourages the average student t'> com- ilete the book, and must whet his appetite for further research." — Bishop 'oh, H. Vincent. " A revised well-illustrated edition. . . . 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'* A knowledge of classical mythology is essential to an appreciative understand- ig of many of the masterpieces of Englisli literature, from Chaucer's time to our own." — Pre/ace.