GREEK AND KOMAN MYTHOLOGY.
 
 Fig. 53. Head of Niobe. Florence.
 
 THE MYTHOLOGY 
 
 OF 
 
 GREECE AND ROME 
 
 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS USE IN ART 
 
 fnm tijB finmn nf 
 (EX /Stomcmn 
 
 EDITED BY G. H. BIANCHI B.A. 
 
 LATI SCHOLAR Olf 3. PETER'3 COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, BKOTHERTON SANSKRIT 
 PRIZEMAN 1875 
 
 WITH SIXTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS 
 
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 1892
 
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 PKEFACE. 
 
 "TVTO apology can be needed for introducing to the 
 -*-^ public a work like the present. There has 
 long been a want of a book which should, in a mod- 
 erate compass, give a clear and readable account of 
 these legends; for Dictionaries of Mythology do 
 not give a view of the subject as a whole ; and the 
 price of most other works on the Greek and Roman 
 myths would prevent their being used as class-books. 
 These considerations have led the publishers to 
 bring out this book in an English dress. 
 
 If any should be inclined to ask what mythology 
 has to do with men of the present day, the reply is 
 plain. The works of art in our galleries and muse- 
 ums require a certain amount of knowledge of the ^ 
 mythology of the Greeks and Romans for the full 
 appreciation of their subjects. There is hardly any 
 literature in Europe which has not been more or y 
 less colored by these legends ; and in our own day 
 their power to inspire the poet has by no means 
 ceased. Nay, they have incorporated themselves 
 into our very language : " Herculean strength " is 
 almost as common an expression now as it was two 
 
 2210109
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 thousand years ago ; and we still talk of " chimer- 
 ical" expectations, describe a man as "tantalized," 
 and use the Sphinx as the symbol of the mysterious. 
 
 The present work, translated from the German of 
 O. Seemann, seems well adapted to convey a knowl- 
 edge of these myths. It is illustrated with cuts af- 
 ter some of the masterpieces of ancient art. Partic- 
 ular attention has been paid to this branch of the 
 subject, and the principal works of art in each case 
 are mentioned. 
 
 The distinction between Greek and Roman dei- 
 ties and heroes has been preserved, but the conven- 
 tional spelling has been retained. A full index is 
 appended, in which the quantities of the vowels are 
 carefully marked.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 1 SUBJECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY 15 
 
 II. POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS. . 17 
 
 PART I.-COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. . . 21 
 
 PART II.-THE GODS. 
 
 I THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 A. SUPERIOR DEITIES. 
 
 Zeus (Jupiter) 27 
 
 Hera (Juno) 35 
 
 Pallas Athene (Minerva) 40 
 
 Apollo 47 
 
 Artemis (Diana) 56 
 
 Ares (Mars) 59 
 
 Aphrodite (Venus) 65 
 
 Hermes (Mercurius) 71 
 
 Hephaestus (Vulcan) 78 
 
 Hestia (Vesta) 82 
 
 Janus 86 
 
 Quirinus 89 
 
 B. SECONDARY DEITIES. 
 
 1. Attendant and Ministering Deities: 
 
 Eros (Amor) 90 
 
 The Muses 93 
 
 The Charites (Gratias) 95
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Themi* and the Horae (Seasons) 98 
 
 Nice (Victoria) 100 
 
 Iris 101 
 
 Hebe (Juventas) 102 
 
 Ganymedes , . 104 
 
 2. The Phenomena of the Heavens: 
 
 Helios (Sol) 105 
 
 Selene (Luna) 107 
 
 Eos (Aurora) 108 
 
 The Stars 109 
 
 The Winds 110 
 
 3. Gods of Birth and Healing: 
 
 Asclepius (.(Esculapius) Ill 
 
 Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing 113 
 
 4. Deities of Fate: 
 
 The Moene (Parcae) 114 
 
 Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodaemon (Bonus 
 Eventus) 116 
 
 IL THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 
 
 Poseidon (Neptunus) 118 
 
 Amphitrite 122 
 
 Triton and the Tritons 123 
 
 Pontus and his Descendants : 
 
 Nereus and his Daughters 123 
 
 Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto 124 
 
 Proteus 125 
 
 Glaucus 126 
 
 Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes 126 
 
 The Sirens 127 
 
 The Race of Oceanus 128 
 
 III THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 
 
 Gaea (Tellus) 130 
 
 Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idsea) 131 
 
 Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber) 133 
 
 The Nymphs 144 
 
 The Satyrs 146 
 
 Silenus 148 
 
 Greek and Roman Wood-spirits : 
 
 Pan.. . 149
 
 CONTENTS. 11 
 
 PA<3E 
 
 Silvanus 162 
 
 Faunus mid Fauna 153 
 
 Priapus 164 
 
 Saturnus and Ops 155 
 
 Vertumnus and Pomona 157 
 
 Flora 158 
 
 Pales 158 
 
 Terminus 159 
 
 Demeter (Ceres) 160 
 
 Persephone (Proserpina) 166 
 
 Hades (Pluto) 169 
 
 The Lower World 171 
 
 The Erinyes (Furias) 174 
 
 Hecate 176 
 
 Sleep and Death 179 
 
 IV. ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. 
 
 The Penates 180 
 
 The Lares 182 
 
 The Larva;, Lemures, and Manes 183 
 
 PART IIL-THE HEROES. 
 
 I. INTRODUCTORY 184 
 
 n. THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF 
 
 MANKIND 187 
 
 Hi PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS: 
 
 The Lapithae and the Centaurs 191 
 
 Theban Legend : 
 
 Cadmus 196 
 
 Actceon 198 
 
 Amphion and Zethus 200 
 
 Corinthian Legend : 
 
 Sisyphus 207 
 
 Glaucus 208 
 
 Bellerophon and the legend of the Amazons 208 
 
 Argive Legend : 
 
 lo 214 
 
 Danaus and the Dana'ids 215 
 
 Prcetus and his Daughters 21G 
 
 Perseus.. . 217
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOR 
 
 The Dioscuri 224 
 
 Heracles (Hercules) 227 
 
 The Birth and Youth of Heracles 228 
 
 Heracles in the Service of Eurystlieus 230 
 
 Deeds of Heracles after his /Service 238 
 
 Death and Apotheosis 243 
 
 Heracles as God 244 
 
 Attic Legend : 
 
 Cecrops 250 
 
 JB/rechtheus, or Erichthonius 251 
 
 Theseus 252 
 
 Cretan Legend : 
 
 Minos and the Minotaur 261 
 
 Talos 264 
 
 IV. COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HE- 
 ROIC AGE. 
 
 The Calydonian Hunt 264 
 
 The Argonauts 267 
 
 The Theban Cycle 272 
 
 The Trojan Cycle 276 
 
 The Heroic Races of the Trojan War : 
 
 The Dardanidce, or Race of Dardanus 277 
 
 The Pelopidce, or Race of Pelops 278 
 
 The ^Eacidce, or Race of ^Eacus 281 
 
 Nestor, tJie Locrian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus 284 
 
 The War 285 
 
 The Return 294 
 
 V. MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS 299 
 
 INDEX.. . 303
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. 
 
 FI&. PAOfl 
 
 1. Bust of Cronus. Vatican Museum 24 
 
 2. Cameo of Athenion 26 
 
 3. Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Museum . . . . , 32 
 
 4. Jupiter Verospi. Vatican Museum 33 
 
 5. Coins of Elis with Phidias's Zeus. (After Overbeck.) 34 
 
 6. Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum 37 
 
 7. Head of Hera, perhaps after Polycletus. Naples 38 
 
 8. Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican 44 
 
 9. Athene Polias. Villa Albani 45 
 
 10. Pallas Athene. Naples 46 
 
 11. Apollo Belvedere. Vatican 52 
 
 12. Head of Apollo Belvedere 53 
 
 13. Apollo Citharoedus. Munich 55 
 
 14. Diana of Versailles 58 
 
 15. Mars Ludovisi 63 
 
 16. Bust of Ares. Sculpture Gallery at Munich 64 
 
 17. Venus of Milo. Louvre 69 
 
 18. Venus Genetrix. Villa Borghesc 70 
 
 19. Resting Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples 76 
 
 20. Statue of Hermes. Capitoline Collection 77 
 
 21. Hephaestus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum 81 
 
 22. Vesta Giustiniani. Torlonia Collection 85 
 
 23. Head of Eros. Vatican 90 
 
 24. Eros trying his Bow. (Japitoline Museum 91 
 
 25. Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum 94 
 
 26. Melpomene. Vatican 96 
 
 27. Euterpe. Vatican 97 
 
 28. The Horse. Relief from the Villa Albani . 99 
 
 29. Victoria. United Collections in Munich 101 
 
 30. Hebe. From Antonio Canova 103 
 
 31. Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen 105
 
 14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FIG. PAGB 
 
 32. Asclepius. Berlin 112 
 
 33. Head of Asclepius. British Museum 113 
 
 34. Night and the Fates. From Carstens 115 
 
 35. Poseidon. Dolce Gem 121 
 
 36. Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of Lysicrates.. . . 135 
 
 37. The so-called Sardanapalus in the Vatican 137 
 
 38. Youthful Dionysus. From the Chateau Richelieu, now in 
 
 the Louvre 139 
 
 39. Marble Head of Youthful Dionysus at Ley den 140 
 
 40. Sleeping Ariadne. Vatican 142 
 
 41. Dannecker's Ariadne. Frankfort-on-the-Main 143 
 
 42. Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery 147 
 
 43. Pan. From a Mural Painting at Herculaneum 152 
 
 44. Demeter Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii. Naples 165 
 
 45. Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii. Naples.. 168 
 
 46. Head of Hades. Palazzo Chigi. Rome 170 
 
 47. Three-formed Hecate. Capitoline Museum 177 
 
 48. Metope of the Parthenon 193 
 
 49. From the Frieze of the Temple at Bassae 194 
 
 50. Centaur teaching a Boy to play upon the Pipe. Relief by 
 
 Kundmann 195 
 
 51. Actaeon Group. British Museum 199 
 
 52. Farnese Bull. Naples 201 
 
 53. Head of Niobe. Florence Frontispiece. 
 
 54. Niobe. Florence 206 
 
 55. Amazon. Berlin 212 
 
 56. Perseus and Andromeda. Marble Relief in the Museum at - 
 
 Naples 222 
 
 57. Rondanini Medusa. Munich 223 
 
 58. Farnese Hercules 248 
 
 59. Elgin Theseus. British Museum 258 
 
 60. Theseus Lifting the Rock. Relief in the Villa Albani 259 
 
 61. Laocoon. Group 292 
 
 62. Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen 297 
 
 63. Rape of Helen. Campana Collection. Paris 298 
 
 64. Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief in the Villa Albani. 300
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. SUBJECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 MYTHS may be described as poetic narratives of the 
 birth, life, and actions of the old heathen gods and 
 heroes or demi-gods. Both myth and legend* arc distin- 
 guished from the " Miihrchen," or popular tale, by not be- 
 ing, like the latter, a mere product of the imagination, but 
 always being founded on some preceding reality, whether 
 that be an oft-recurring phase of nature, or a distinct and 
 real occurrence. It is often most difficult to recognize 
 with any precision the true germ of a myth, on account of, 
 the numerous additions and alterations made by the poets. 
 And therefore the question, whether a particular tradition 
 be a myth or not, is very hard to answer : on one side we 
 are tempted to view, in the god or demi-god, the hero of a 
 tribe magnified to superhuman proportions by the admi- 
 ration of posterity; and, on the other side, comparison of 
 
 * The German word " sage " (legend) is really only a translation of 
 the Greek word " mythos," and is often used in that sense. But late- 
 ly the custom has tacitly sprung up of employing the term "mythos" 
 when speaking of the life or actions of the gods, and " sage " when 
 speaking of those of heroes.
 
 16 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the legends of different families of nations points us to 
 the operations of nature, not only in the demi-god or the 
 hero, but in the animals of fable and the traditions of the 
 nursery. 
 
 A large proportion of these myths are due to men's ob- 
 servations of Nature, and her various active and creative 
 forces, which appeared to their lively Southern fancy as 
 manifestations of single supernatural beings. These were 
 regarded, now as friendly, now as hostile, to man; and 
 men therefore strove as eagerly to gain their favor as to 
 appease their wrath. Of the appearance of the deities 
 who thus manifested themselves in the workings of nature, 
 men necessarily formed at first very crude and fantastic 
 s ideas. But later, when men emerged from the simple con- 
 / ditions of the early patriarchal epoch, and began to dwell 
 in regular political communities, they gradually ceased to 
 regard the gods as mere personifications of natural forces. 
 \ They began to regard them as beings acting in accordance 
 \ with unchangeable moral laws, and endowed with forms sim- 
 \ ilar to those of men (Anthropomorphism). They brought 
 the gods into connection with each other by means of gene- 
 alogies in a great measure artificial, and built up a vast po- 
 litical system, which has its centre in Zeus, the " father of 
 gods and men." 
 
 Strange to say, however, it was only among the Greeks 
 
 (that this system of development prevailed. The nations 
 of Italy still continued to regard their gods as mere natural 
 forces that looked down on them in a cold, strange fash- 
 ion of whose form and mode of life they had no clear 
 idea. It was only later, when the Romans came into intel- 
 lectual contact with their Greek neighbors, and began to 
 study their language and literature, that they adopted the
 
 POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS. 17 
 
 popular Greek conceptions concerning the gods. They now 
 transferred existing myths, and fathered them on those of 
 their own gods and goddesses who bore the closest resem- 
 blance to the Greek divinities, and harmonized best with 
 their natural interpretation. Thus it was that the Roman 
 Jupiter was identified with the Greek Zeus, Juno with Hera, 
 Minerva with Athene ; though for peculiar deities, such as 
 Janus, they could find no Greek prototype. 
 
 II. POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS. 
 
 We learn most concerning the conceptions the ancients 
 formed of their gods from the numerous Greek and Roman 
 poets whose works have come down to us, and who con- 
 tributed so largely to the construction of the myths. First 
 among them, both in antiquity and importance, is Homer. 
 In his works we find the whole political system of Olym- 
 pus, with Zeus at its head, already constructed. 
 
 Henceforth the gods, in outward appearance at least, are 
 endowed with forms entirely human ; more grand and beau- 
 tiful and majestic, but still not verging on the monstrous 
 or fantastic. 
 
 Not only in beauty and grandeur, but also in strength 
 and vigor, do the gods surpass men. Let but Zeus shake 
 his ambrosial locks, and the whole of Olympus trembles. 
 The other deities are also endowed in proportion with great 
 strength. As corporeal, indeed, they are limited in regard 
 to space, and cannot, therefore, be omnipresent ; but this 
 restriction affects them far less than mortals, for they can 
 compass the greatest distances at lightning speed. In a 
 moment Athene drops from the heights of Olympus down 
 to Ithaca ; and Poseidon, the ocean-god, passes, in three of 
 four steps, from Samothrace to ^Egae, in Eubosa. More-
 
 18 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 over, the gods can see and hear at a much greater distance 
 than men. In regard to hearing, indeed, they seem to have 
 unlimited powers. Prayers ascend to them from every 
 place, irrespective of their personal presence. In the same 
 manner Zeus, from his high throne in Olympus, sees all 
 that passes among men, and, sitting on the highest summit 
 of Mount Ida, he can follow all the events of the battle that 
 rages before Troy. 
 
 On the other hand, the gods are subject to the same bod- 
 ily wants as men. They refresh themselves in the same 
 way with sleep, and have to support themselves with food 
 and drink. Here again, however, they are far less fettered 
 than mortals, for they can hold out much longer without 
 satisfying these wants. Nor is their food so coarse as that 
 of men ; they live on ambrosia and nectar. Another nat- 
 ural necessity is clothing, on the tasteful ordering of which 
 the goddesses even bestow extraordinary care, and in this, 
 as in many other respects, greatly resemble the daughters 
 of Eve. Although later art delights in representing some 
 of the deities either slightly clothed or quite naked, yet we 
 cannot justly conclude from this that the popular belief of 
 the ancients conceived thus of those gods. 
 
 Gods endowed with frames like those of mortals must 
 necessarily be born in the same way, and develop gradual- 
 ly both in mind and body. But here, again, everything 
 proceeds with the utmost rapidity. For instance, the new- 
 born Hermes rises from his cradle to steal the cattle of 
 Apollo, and, coming into the world in the morning, he is 
 found in the afternoon playing on the lyre, which he has 
 himself invented. The most important point, however, in 
 which they surpass mortals is that, when once in full pos- 
 session of bodily and intellectual powers, they never grow
 
 POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS. 19 
 
 old, but remain ever young and beautiful, ever free from 
 disease and death. Compared with the race of men, who 
 are subject to need and pain, they are the " happy," 
 " blessed " gods, the gods " who live at ease," who can 
 readily gratify every desire. But this does not by any 
 means prevent their suffering occasionally from the pangs 
 of sorrow and grief ; they are vulnerable alike in body and 
 soul, and exposed to every kind of painful sensation. So 
 completely did the Greeks and Romans subject their god 1 ; 
 to human passions. 
 
 As regards mental qualifications, they are naturally far 
 superior to men. In the first place, they stand higher 
 morally ; they shun all that is evil, impiire, and unjust, and 
 visit with punishment the impiety and injustice of man. 
 This, again, does not prevent their giving way to every de- , 
 scription of vice and folly, such as deceit, lying, hatred, 
 cruelty, jealousy, etc. They are far from holy, therefore, 
 in the sense in which we speak of the Supreme Being. 
 Still less are they conceived as omniscient or omnipotent. 
 Their powers indeed are great, and so is their knowledge. 
 They are able to interrupt the course of nature ; to send 
 sudden storms, pestilences, and other evils ; to endow them- 
 selves or others with any forms they like, and to do many 
 other things, of which we read in fairy tales. But even 
 Zeus, to whom a far greater measure of power is accorded 
 than to other gods, and on whose will the government of 
 the universe depends, is himself subjected to the immuta- 
 ble decrees of fate ; while the possibility of deceiving and 
 duping him is by no means excluded. 
 
 If we look to the employment of the gods, we find that / 
 it consists chiefly in pleasant idleness ; though they en- 
 deavor, like the rich among mankind, to make time fly by
 
 20 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 indulging in their favorite pastimes. They take their 
 V meals in common, and assemble for this purpose in the 
 palace of Zeus, on the windy heights of Olympus. There 
 they refresh themselves, while Hebe ministers to their 
 wants, listening to the strains of Apollo's lute, and to the 
 Y' songs of the sweet -voiced Muses, and entertaining them- 
 selves with pleasant conversation. Not always, indeed, is 
 the company so peaceful and pleasant. At times these 
 great gods quarrel finely ; nay, even small conspiracies 
 arise to interrupt the uniformity of their existence, such as 
 that of Hera, Poseidon, and Athene against Zeus during 
 the Trojan war, which is related in the fifteenth book of 
 the " Iliad." 
 
 Lastly, that no point in their resemblance to mankind 
 may be omitted, all the different deities are united in one 
 great family, of which Zeus, the father of men and the 
 ruler of the gods, is the head and centre. Zeus has, how- 
 ever, a special dominion over the celestial deities only, 
 those of the sea and waters being subjected to Poseidon, 
 and those of the lower world to Hades, or Pluto.
 
 PAKT I. COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 
 
 T)Y Cosmogony, we understand the legends relating to 
 -*--* the creation of the world ; by Theogony, those rela- 
 ting to the origin of the gods. On both points we have 
 to deal with the Greeks alone, since the Romans never in- '' 
 dulged in any researches of this kind. All that their poets 
 have to say on the subject is, without exception, borrowed 
 from the Greeks. 
 
 According to the common account, the world was formed 
 out of Chaos. By this, however, we must not understand 
 a huge and shapeless mass, but merely dark, unbounded ' 
 space. The accounts of the poets vary very materially as 
 to how the world proceeded from Chaos. The most popu- 
 lar view is that according to which Gaea or Ge (the earth) 
 first issued, in no very comprehensible manner indeed, from 
 the womb of Chaos ; whereupon Tartarus (the abyss be- 
 neath the earth) immediately severed itself, and Eros (the 
 love that forms and binds all things) sprung into exist- 
 ence. Gsea then begot of herself Uranus (heaven), the 
 mountains, and Pontus (the sea). 
 
 The first gods who peopled this new world were begot- 
 ten of the earth partly by Uranus and partly by Pontus. 
 From her union with Uranus sprung the Titans, the Cy- 
 clopes, and the Centimanes ; from her union with Pontus 
 various sea-deities.
 
 22 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 1. The race of Uranus. According to Hesiod, there 
 were twelve Titans: six males Oceanus, Co3us, Crius, 
 Hyperion, lapetus, and Cronus; and six females Thia, 
 Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. The in- 
 terpretation of these divinities is somewhat difficult, but 
 they doubtless represented the elementary forces of nature. 
 The Cyclopes were three in number Brontes (thunder), 
 Steropes (lightning), and Arges (sheet - lightning) : these, 
 we can clearly see, refer to the phenomena of the storm. 
 The Centimanes (hundred-handed), again, are three in num- 
 ber Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes. These, too, represent de- 
 structive forces of nature perhaps the earthquake, the 
 tempestuous sea, and the storm-wind. 
 
 2. The race of Pontus. By Pontus Gsea. became the 
 mother of the fabulous sea-deities Nereus, Thaumas, Phor- 
 cys, Ceto, and Eurybia. These, again, had numerous de- 
 scendants. Nereus represents the sea in its quiet state : 
 we shall have to speak of him and his daughters later on. 
 Thaumas represents to us the majesty of the sea. He is 
 the father of Iris (the rainbow) and of the Harpies (storm- 
 winds). Lastly, Phorcys and Ceto, from whose union the 
 frightful Gorgons and Graeae proceeded, typify all the dan- 
 gers and terrors of the sea. 
 
 Many marriages also took place among the Titans them- 
 selves. The numerous sea -nymphs are descended from 
 Oceanus and Tethys; from Hyperion and Thia come the 
 deities of the light Helios (sun), Selene (moon), and Eos 
 (dawn) ; from Coeus and Phoebe the deities of the night 
 Leto (dark night) and Asteria (starry night). 
 
 The most important of all the Titans, however, are 
 Cronus and Rhea, who pave the way for the universal do- 
 minion of their son Zeus.
 
 COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 23 
 
 Uranus, fearing lest his last-born sons, the powerful Cy- 
 clopes and Centimanes, might one day seize his power, 
 buried them directly after birth in the deep abyss beneath 
 the earth. This displeased Gaea, their mother, who there- 
 upon prompted the Titans to conspire against their father, 
 and induced Cronus, the youngest and bravest of them, to 
 lay violent hands on Uranus. Uranus was mutilated, cast 
 into chains, and compelled by his sons to abdicate his 
 sovereignty, which now passed to Cronus. But Cronus 
 was not long destined to enjoy the fruits of his crime. 
 The curse of Uranus, who prophesied that he would suffer 
 a like fate at the hands of his own son, was fulfilled. So 
 anxious was he to avert such a catastrophe, that he swal- 
 lowed his children immediately after their birth. Five had 
 already suffered this fate Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, 
 and Poseidon. But their mother Rhea, grieved at their 
 lot, determined to rescue her next son, Zeus, by a strata- 
 gem. In the place of her child, she gave to her suspicious 
 and cruel husband a stone wrapped in swaddling - clothes, 
 which he swallowed without further examination. Zeus, 
 who was thus rescued, was reared by the nymphs in a grot- 
 to on Mount Dicte, in Crete. The she -goat Amalthea 
 served as his nurse, while the bees brought him honey to 
 eat. In order that the cries of the child might not betray 
 his presence to his suspicious father, the Curetes, or attend- 
 ant priests of Rhca, drowned his voice in the clashing of 
 their weapons. Zeus remained thus hidden until he had 
 become a young but powerful god. He then attacked and 
 overthrew his father Cronus, whom he also compelled, by 
 means of a device of Gsca, to bring forth the children that 
 he had devoured. One part of the Titans Oceanus, The- 
 mis, Mnemosyne, and Hyperion submitted without hesita-
 
 24 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 tion to the dominion of the new ruler of the world. The 
 others, however, refused allegiance ; but Zeus, after a con- 
 test of ten years, overthrew them, with the help of the Cy- 
 clopes and Centirnanes. As a punishment, they were cast 
 into Tartarus, which was then closed by Poseidon Avith 
 brazen gates. Thessaly, the land which bears the clearest 
 traces of natural convulsions, was supposed to have been 
 the scene of this mighty war. Zeus and his adherents 
 fought from Olympus ; the Titans from the opposite moun- 
 tain of Othrys. 
 
 Fig. 1 Bust of Cronns. Vaticau Museum. 
 
 The Titans, not being actually objects of worship, were not fre- 
 quently represented in ancient art. Cronus is the only exception,
 
 COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 25 
 
 which may be explained by the fact that the Romans identified him 
 with their own Saturn, or harvest-god. He is generally depicted with 
 a severe and gloomy expression oi' countenance, the back of his head 
 being veiled, as a symbol of his reserved character. In the Vatican 
 Museum, at Rome, there is a bust of this kind in good preservation, 
 an engraving of which we give (Fig. 1 ). 
 
 After his victory over the Titans, Zeus shared the em- % 
 pire of the world with his two brothers, Poseidon and Ha- 
 des. The former he made ruler of the ocean and waters ; 
 the latter he set over the infernal regions ; everything else 
 he retained for himself. This new order of things, how- 
 ever, was by no means securely established. The resent- 
 ment of Gyea led her to produce with Tartarus, her young- 
 est and most powerful son, the giant Typhoeus, a monster 
 with a hundred fire - breathing dragons' heads, whom she 
 now sent to overthrow the dominion of Zeus. A great bat- 
 tle took place, which shook heaven and earth. Zeus, by 
 means of his never-ceasing thunder-bolts, at length over- 
 came Typhoeus, and cast him into Tartarus, or, according 
 to later writers (Pindar and Virgil), buried him beneath 
 Mount ^Etna in Sicily, whence at times he still breathes 
 out fire and flames towards heaven. 
 
 Some poets tell of another rebellion, that of the Giants, 
 against the dominion of Zeus. These are said to have 
 sprung from the drops of blood which fell on the earth 
 from the mutilated body of Uranus. From the plains of 
 Phlegra, in Thessaly, they sought to storm Olympus by 
 piling Pelion on Ossa. But after a bloody battle, in which 
 all the gods took part, the two were conquered, and sent 
 to share the fate of the vanquished Titans. The dominion 
 of Zeus was now securely established, and no hostile attack 
 ever after disturbed the peaceful ease of the- inhabitant? of 
 Olympus.
 
 26 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 The early history of Zeus, as well as his contests for the empire 
 of the universe, commonly called the Giganto-machia, was a favorite 
 subject with Greek art. In the more ancient of these works the 
 Giants do not differ, either in form or appearance, from the Gods 
 and Heroes. In later works they are represented with the bodies of 
 dragons, only the upper portion of the body being human. They 
 appear thus on the celebrated cameo of the Naples Museum, where 
 Zeus, in his chariot drawn by four fiery horses, is in the act of charg- 
 ing them (Fig. 2). 
 
 Fig. 2. Cameo of Athenion.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 27 
 
 PAET II. THE GODS. 
 
 I. THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 A. SUPERIOR DEITIES. 
 
 1. Zeus (Jupiter). Chief of the celestial deities is 
 Zeus, called by the Romans Jupiter, the controller and ruler 
 of the universe. As being the god of heaven par excel- 
 lence, the " Sky-father," he is to both nations the source of 
 all life in nature, and from his gracious hand are shed bless- 
 ing and abundance. All the phenomena of the air were 
 supposed to proceed from him. He gathers and disperses 
 the clouds, casts forth his lightning, stirs up his thunder, 
 sends down rain, hail, snow, and fertilizing dew on the 
 earth. With his aegis an impenetrable shield hung with 
 a hundred golden tassels, in the midst of which the fearful 
 head of the Gorgon is fastened he produces storm and 
 tempest. The ffigis, though often meaning shield, is prop- 
 erly a goat-skin fastened to and supporting the true shield ; 
 later it appears as a short cloak, and even as a breastplate, 
 covered with scales, and fringed with serpents. It is not 
 often found in representations of Zeus ; though a statue of 
 him at Leyden shows it, and in a cameo he is seen with it 
 wrapped around his left arm : similarly it was common to 
 wrap the chlamys or scarf round the left arm, for purposes 
 of defence. The ajgis usually belongs to Athene, who bor- 
 
 y
 
 28 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 rows it from her father in the " Iliad." She is seen wear- 
 ing it in Fig. 9. 
 
 The ancients, however, were not content to regard Zeus 
 merely as a personification of Nature ; they regarded him 
 also from an ethical stand-point, from which side he appears 
 far more important and awful. They saw in him a person- 
 ification, so to speak, of that principle of undeviating order 
 and harmony which pervades both the physical and moral 
 world. The strict unalterable laws by which he rules the 
 community of the gods form a strong contrast to the capri- 
 cious commands of his father, Cronus. Hence Zeus is re- 
 garded as the protector and defender of all political order. 
 From him the kings of the earth receive their sovereignty 
 and rights ; to him they are responsible for a conscientious 
 fulfilment of their duties. Those among them who unjust- 
 ly exceed their powers and pervert justice he never fails to 
 punish. Zeus, moreover, also presides over councils and as- 
 semblies, keeps watch over their orderly course, and sug- 
 gests to them wise counsels. One of the most important 
 props of political society is the oath ; and accordingly, as 
 Zeus Horkios (op/uoc, deus fidius of the Romans), he watch- 
 es over oaths, and punishes perjury. He also watches over 
 boundaries, and accompanies the youths of the land as they 
 march to the defence of their country's borders, giving them 
 the victory over the invaders. All civil and political com- 
 munities enjoy his protection ; but he particularly watches 
 over that association which is the basis of the political fab- 
 ric the family. The head of every household was there- 
 fore, in a certain sense, the priest of Zeus. It was he who 
 presented the offerings to the god in the name of the fam- 
 ily. At his altar, which generally stood in the middle of 
 the court (in small households this was represented by the
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 29 
 
 hearth), all stnugers, fugitives, and suppliants found shel- 
 ter. As Zeus Xenius (hospitalis) he protects the wanderer, 
 and punishes those who violate the ancient laws of hos- 
 pitality by mercilessly turning the helpless stranger from 
 their door. 
 
 The superstition of early times saw in all the phenomena 
 of the heavens manifestations of the divine will. Thus the 
 chief deity of heaven was naturally regarded as the highest 
 source of inspiration, and was believed to reveal his will 
 to men in the thunder, the lightning, the flight of birds, or 
 dreams. As the supreme oracular deity, Zeus not only had 
 an oracle of his own at Dodona in Epirus, which was the r 
 most ancient in Greece, but also revealed the future by the 
 mouth of his favorite son Apollo. Though he possessed 
 no proper oracle among the Romans, yet the latter looked 
 with all the more care and anxiety on the phenomena of 
 the air and sky, the right interpretation of which formed a 
 special and difficult branch of knowledge. 
 
 Zeus was the earliest national god of the Greeks. His r 
 worship extended throughout the whole of Greece, though 
 some of his shrines had a special importance. The most 
 ancient of them was that at Dodona, where the Pelasgian 
 Zeus was worshipped at a time prior to the existence of 
 any temples in Greece. He was here represented in the 
 celebrated form of the sacred oak, in the rustling of whose 
 branches the deity revealed himself to the faithful. He 
 was also worshipped on the summit of Mount Tomarus, at 
 the foot of which lay Dodona mountain-tops being nat- 
 urally the earliest seats of his worship. But all the earlier 
 shrines were overshadowed by the great national seat of 
 the worship of Hellenic Zeus at Olympia, on the northern 
 banks of the river Alpheus, in Elis, where the renowned
 
 30 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Olympian games were celebrated. The magnificent statue 
 of Zeus, by Phidias, was an additional inducement to dev- 
 otees, who flocked thither from every quarter. 
 
 Neither was the worship of Jupiter any less extensive in 
 Italy. The most renowned of all his shrines was undoubt- 
 edly the temple erected by Tarquin on the Capitol at Rome. 
 This, after being nearly destroyed by fire in the time of 
 Sulla, was restored to more than its pristine splendor. The 
 original earthen image was replaced by a statue of gold and 
 ivory, the work of the Greek artist Apollonius, after the 
 model of the Olympian Zeus. 
 
 Before proceeding to discuss the god as he appears in 
 art, we must take a glance at his numerous family. The 
 mythology of the Greeks stands in notorious contrast to 
 that of the Romans, in attributing to Zeus a great number 
 of mortal as well as immortal spouses, and an unusually 
 numerous posterity. Here we must remark that, in spite 
 of the occasional jokes of the comic poets on the numer- 
 ous amours of the god, and the consequent jealousy of 
 Hera, there was nothing further from the intention of the 
 Greeks than to represent the supreme deity of heaven as 
 a sensual and lascivious being. The explanation lies part- 
 ly in the great number of contemporaneous local forms 
 of worship that existed independently of each other, and 
 partly in the fact that the lively fancy of the Greek pict- 
 ured every new production under the guise of procreation. 
 In that part of mythology which teaches the genealogy of 
 the gods, the earliest wife of Zeus was Metis (prudence), 
 the daughter of Oceanus. Zeus devoured her, fearing lest 
 she should bear a son, who would deprive him of the em- 
 pire it had cost him so much to attain. It was soon after 
 this that he produced Pallas Athene from his own head
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 31 
 
 His second goddess-wife was Themis, one of the Titans, by 
 whom he became the father of the Horse and the Moerse 
 (Fates). Dione appears as the wife of Zeus of Dodona, 
 and the mother of Aphrodite; while Arcadian Zeus was 
 wedded to Maia, by whom he had Hermes. By Demeter 
 (Ceres) he became the father of Persephone (Proserpine, 
 goddess of vegetation) ; by Eurynome, a daughter of 
 Oceanus, of the Charites (Graces) ; by Mnemosyne, of the 
 Muses; by Leto (Latona), of Apollo and Artemis. The 
 youngest of all his divine wives, who was recognized by 
 later mythology as his only legitimate queen, was his sis- 
 ter Hera. By her he became the father of Ares (Mars), 
 Hephaestus (Vulcan), and Hebe. 
 
 Among his mortal mistresses the most celebrated is Se- 
 mele, the daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes, and mother 
 of Dionysus. The others Leda, Danae, Alcmene, Europe, 
 and lo will be mentioned hereafter. 
 
 The mythology of the Romans, as we have already re- 
 marked, first depicted Jupiter as devoid of all family ties. 
 It was only after their religion had been Hellenized that 
 men termed him the son of Saturn and Ops, made Juno 
 his wife and Minerva his daughter. 
 
 Statues of Zeus were necessarily very numerous, both from the 
 great extent of his worship and the great number of his temples that 
 existed in Greece. Of all these the most renowned was the magnifi- 
 cent statue of Zeus at Olympia, the work of the Athenian sculptor 
 Thidias (500-432 B.C.). The figure was seated on a lofty throne, and 
 was more than 40 feet high. It was made of gold and ivory, or more 
 probably a statue of wood was overlaid with plates of ivory and gold. 
 The uncovered parts the face, throat, breast, and hands were of 
 ivory. In his right hand was a figure of Victory, also of gold and 
 ivory ; in his left was a royal sceptre, on the top of which perched an 
 eagle. The numerous lengthy descriptions that exist can give us but 
 a faint idea of the lofty majesty that the sculptor diffused over the
 
 Fig. 3. Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Mnsetua
 
 Fig. 4 Jupiter Veroepi. Vatican Museum. 
 3
 
 84 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 countenance of the god. The object of Phidias was to represent him 
 to mankind, not only as the omnipotent ruler of Olympus, far superior 
 to all gods and men, both in power and wisdom, but also as the gra- 
 cious father of all, and the kindly dispenser of all good gifts. The 
 
 Pig. 5. Coins of Elis with Phidias's Zeus. (After Overbeck.) 
 
 hair, which rose straight from the brow, and then fell in equal divis- 
 ions on either side, imparted to the face a lion-like expression of con- 
 scious power. This was rendered still more effective by the high 
 forehead and strongly formed nose. At the same tune, the expres-
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 35 
 
 sion of the slightly opened lips lent an idea of kindly benevolence. 
 The story goes that Phidias, after completing the statue, prayed of 
 the god a sign that he was well pleased with his work. Zeus there- 
 upon caused a flash of lightning to descend through the open roof 
 of the temple, and thus acknowledged his own image. 
 
 This sublime masterpiece of Phidias, which was reckoned among 
 the seven wonders of the world, continued in existence, though not 
 without injury, for upward of 800 years. It appears to have been 
 destroyed by fire in the time of Theodosius III. 
 
 The following are the most important of the existing statues of 
 Zeus by Greek and Roman sculptors : The first in point of artistic 
 worth is a bust of Zeus, in Carrara marble now in the Vatican 
 Museum at Rome which was discovered in the last century at 
 Otricoli (Fig. 3). The union of serene majesty and benevolence is 
 the chief feature in the sublime countenance. Next comes a colos- 
 sal statue in marble, known as the Jupiter of Verospi, also in the 
 Vatican Museum (Fig. 4). Lastly, there is a bust of Zeus, discovered 
 at Pompeii, and now in the Museum at Naples, besides an equally 
 beautiful bronze statue in the British Museum, found at Paramythia, 
 in Epirus. On comparing all the extant art monuments of Zeus, we 
 may gather that the object of ancient art was to present him es- 
 pecially as the benign ruler of the universe, sitting enthroned in con- 
 scious majesty and blissful ease on the heights of Olympus. His char- 
 acteristic features are the clustering hair, falling like a mane on 
 either side of his fine arched brow, and the rich wavy beard. Hia 
 attributes consist of the sceptre, as a symbol of his sovereignty ; the 
 thunder -bolt; the eagle; the votive bowl, as a symbol of his wor- 
 ship ; the ball beneath or near his seat, as a symbol of the universe he 
 rules ; and, lastly, a figure of Victory. His head is sometimes adorn- 
 ed with a garland of oak-leaves, the oak being sacred to him ; and 
 sometimes with an olive- branch or plain band, the latter being a 
 mark of sovereignty. In Fig. 5 we give an engraving of two coins 
 of Elis, one of which is in the Florentine, and the other in the Paris 
 Museum. 
 
 2. Hera (Juno). Hera, according to Homer, was the 
 eldest of the daughters of Cronus and Rhea. She is the 
 feminine counterpart of Zeus, her brother and husband. 
 She represents the air or atmosphere ; for which reason 
 she, like Zeus, was supposed to control the phenomena of
 
 36 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the air and sky, and, as queen of heaven, shared with him 
 all the honors of his position. Her conjugal relations to 
 Zeus, which form the substance of all the myths that refer 
 to her, afforded the poets a rich and productive material 
 for serious and sportive poetry. They sung of the solemn 
 marriage of Zeus and Hera, the remembrance of which was 
 celebrated at spring-tide with festive offerings and marriage 
 rites before the shrine of the goddess. Neither did they 
 fail to tell of the conjugal strife of the royal pair, and of 
 the cruel fate which overtook the mortal women who en- 
 joyed the favors of Zeus. It was thus that jealousy and 
 contention became the leading features in the character of 
 the goddess ; whereas, both in her worship and in the rep- 
 resentations of artists, she appears as a gracious and kindly 
 deity, the especial protectress of her own sex. 
 
 The natural signification of Hera appears to have quick 
 ly disappeared among the Greeks, and she seems to have 
 been chiefly honored as the guardian of the marriage tie. 
 The nobleness of the woman who preserves inviolate the 
 sanctity of this bond finds in her its most sublime expres- 
 sion. As the special patroness of marriage, she was sup- 
 posed to watch over its sanctity, to vouchsafe the blessing 
 of children, and to protect women in childbirth. 
 
 The worship of Hera was originally not very extensive. 
 The cradle of her worship was Argos, on which account 
 she is often termed Argive. Argos, Mycenae, and Sparta 
 are pointed out in the time of Homer as her favorite towns. 
 Her worship naturally extended as her new character of 
 goddess of marriage became more prominent. In Boeotia 
 and Eubcea her worship was very ancient, but her chief 
 shrine was the Herseum, between Argos and MycenaB. 
 Here was a most magnificent statue of the goddess, made
 
 Fig. 6. Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum.
 
 Fig. 7 Head of Hera, perhaps after Polycletus. Naples.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 39 
 
 of ivory and gold, the work of the Sicyonian artist, Poly- 
 cletus.* 
 
 Juno (properly Jovino) takes the same place as goddess 
 of childbirth and patroness of marriage among the Ro- 
 mans as Hera did among the Greeks. In addition to this 
 she was venerated, under the name of Juno Regina, as the 
 tutelary deity of the city and empire of Rome. Her chief 
 shrine was on the Capitol, where she had a separate chapel 
 in the Temple of Jupiter. The Matronalia, the chief festi- 
 val of the goddess, was celebrated on the first day of March, 
 when all the matrons of the city marched in procession to 
 her temple on the Esquiline, and there offered her flowers 
 and libations. The victims usually sacrificed to Juno were 
 young heifers; her sacred birds were the goose and the 
 crow, to which the peacock of the Greek Hera was after- 
 ward added. 
 
 The most celebrated of the art monuments that relate to Juno is 
 the Juno Ludovisi, a colossal marble bust of remarkable beauty, which, 
 thanks to casts and photographs, is tolerably well known. Her lofty 
 and commanding countenance is the ideal of perfect womanly beauty, 
 combining in a rare degree woman's chief ornaments dignity and 
 grace. 
 
 After this comes the Juno Barberini of the Vatican Museum, an 
 entire and upright figure of great size (Fig. 6), distinguished by the 
 admirable draping of the garments. The Farnese Juno, now in the 
 Naples Museum, also deserves mention. In the same museum there 
 is a singularly beautiful head of Hera, which perhaps lays claim to 
 reflect the conception of Polycletus. We give an engraving of this 
 also (Fig. 7). 
 
 The characteristic features of Juno are a somewhat prominent 
 chin, expressing unbending determination of will, somewhat curling 
 lips, well-defined nostrils, large full eyes, and a high and noble fore- 
 
 * Polycletus, a native of Sicyon, was a sculptor, architect, and cast- 
 er in bronze. He was a contemporary of Phidias, and, next to him, 
 the most celebrated artist of antiquity.
 
 40 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY 
 
 head. The attributes of the goddess consist of the sceptre and dia- 
 dem, significant of her power ; the veil (often omitted in the statues 
 of later artists), as a symbol of the married woman ; the votive bowl 
 hi the hand, the pomegranate as a symbol of love, and the peacock 
 or goose at her feet, also at times the cuckoo, as herald of spring. 
 
 3. Pallas Athene (Minerva). The accounts which 
 the Greeks gave of the birth of Pallas vary considerably. 
 The most common is that which has been already mention- 
 ed. According to this, Zeus produced her from his head, 
 which he had ordered Hephaestus to cleave open. The 
 great goddess of war, in full armor, with poised spear, then 
 sprung forth from her fathers head, chanting a war-song, 
 while a mighty commotion both on sea and land announced 
 the great event to the world. In her physical character Pal- 
 las appears as the goddess of the pure bright ether, in which 
 the ancients saw the highest force of nature. She is there- 
 fore closely related to her father Zeus, as the dispenser of 
 light and life in nature, and of earthly blessings. Looked 
 at from her ethical side, she appears as the goddess of wis- 
 dom, a reflection and personification of that profound wis- 
 dom and sagacity with which Father Zeus controls the des- 
 tinies of the world. Hence we may easily gather the other 
 features of her character. She is, in the first place, the 
 protectress of states ; and all that their welfare requires in 
 peace or war proceeds from her. Thus she appears as god- 
 dess of peace as well as war. In the latter capacity she 
 accompanies the army on its march, inspires the soldiers 
 with ardor for the fray, and rewards them with victory and 
 rich spoils ; she also affords her mighty protection to towns 
 and cities at home. In Homer she figures, besides, as the 
 kindly guide and protectress of individual heroes, such as 
 Odysseus, Achilles, Diomedes. It was she who first taught
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 41 
 
 mankind to manage the horse and to build ships and char- V" 
 lots; she also invented the war -trumpet and flute. As 
 goddess of war she usually wears, besides helmet, shield, 
 and spear, the dreadful aegis. The latter, in art monuments, 
 is represented as a breastplate covered with dragon's scales, 
 and surrounded with serpents, in the midst of which is the 
 dreadful head of Medusa, which has the effect of turning ' 
 every one that looks on it into stone. 
 
 As goddess of peace, Athene is equally lavish in bless- 
 ing. Everything necessary, either to the physical or intel- 
 lectual welfare of mankind, was believed to proceed from 
 her, and to be subject to her influence. Accordingly, use- 
 ful inventions of all kinds are ascribed to her. It was she 
 who first gave men the rake and the plough ; it was she 
 who invented the distaff and loom, as well as the art of 
 dyeing woven stuffs, and many other feminine accomplish- 
 ments. 
 
 By later writers this skill in art is extended to other 
 things, and she is represented as the patroness of every 
 branch of science, art, and manufacture. 
 
 She is also called Athene Hygiea, because she was be- 
 lieved to send pure atmosphere, to ward off pestilence, and 
 to promote the growth and health of the youth of the land. 
 
 We cannot wonder, therefore, that the worship of a god- 
 dess so benevolent, and exercising such an important in- 
 fluence on human life, was very extensive in Greece. No- 
 where did she receive a higher degree of veneration than 
 at Athens, of which city she was really the tutelary deity. 
 Her most important shrine was the Parthenon (temple of 
 the virgin goddess), which was erected by Pericles on the 
 Acropolis, and the remains of which, even in the present 
 day, excite the wonder and admiration of the world. The
 
 42 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 whole land of Attica was, indeed, in a certain measure, the 
 peculiar property of the goddess, which she won after her 
 well-known contest with Poseidon. Zeus had decreed the 
 sovereignty over Attica to that deity who should bestow 
 on the land the most useful present. Poseidon thereupon 
 created the horse; tut Athene caused the olive-tree to 
 grow, and was thus held to have won the victory. The 
 sacred olive-tree, which was thus called into existence, was 
 shown in the Temple of Erechtheus on the Acropolis, and 
 possessed such a wonderful vitality that, when the Per- 
 sian burned it after capturing the town, it immediately 
 put forth a fresh shoot. Argos and Corinth were also 
 renowned seats of the worship of Pallas Athene ; and she 
 also enjoyed the highest veneration in Sparta, Bosotia, 
 Thessaly, Arcadia, and Rhodes. 
 
 The Roman Minerva was Hellenized at a very early pe- 
 riod, and identified with the Greek Pallas. In Rome, how- 
 ever, the warlike character of the goddess was completely 
 merged in that of the peaceful inventress and patroness of 
 the arts and sciences, and of all handiwork of women. She 
 was here worshipped, in company with Jupiter and Juno, 
 as the tutelary deity of the city and empire, and has, in 
 consequence, her own shrine in the Temple of Jupiter Cap- 
 itolinus. She also had temples on the Aventine and Coe- 
 lian hills, to which a third was added by Pompey, in 61 
 B.C., in the Campus Martins. 
 
 Festivals of the Goddess. The Panathensea, the chief 
 festival of the Greek Pallas, were celebrated with great 
 pomp every four years. A solemn procession passed 
 through the streets of Athens up to the Acropolis ; and 
 an offering was made to the goddess in the shape of a 
 costly garment (peplus), artistically embroidered by the
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 43 
 
 Athenian maidens. Horse-races, athletic and musical con- 
 tests, took place at the same time. Another festival of 
 less importance, called the Lesser Panathensea, was cele- 
 brated every year at Athens in honor of the goddess. 
 
 At Rome the chief festival of Minerva, the Quinquatrus 
 Majores, was held on the 19th of March, and was, in later 
 times, extended to five days. It was especially observed 
 by all engaged in intellectual pursuits, and by artists and 
 artisans. As Minerva was also patroness of schools, the 
 school-boys also took part in the celebration, and enjoyed 
 a welcome holiday. 
 
 The virgin goddess was at all times a favorite subject with ancient 
 art. Even in the earliest times, before casting in bronze or marble 
 sculpture was known, while the images of the gods were as yet rude- 
 ly carved in wood, Pallas was a frequent subject of delineation. 
 These wooden images usually represented the goddess as standing 
 upright with poised spear in front of the battle, and were then called 
 Palladia. Men delighted to believe them to have fallen from heaven, 
 and to be a sure means of protection against hostile attack. When 
 Greek art was in its prime, the first masters vied with each other in 
 the representation of the goddess. Phidias outdid them all in his re- 
 nowned statue of Athene Parthenos, which stood in the temple on the 
 Acropolis. The figure was thirty-nine feet high, and was construct- 
 ed of ivory and gold. Its majestic beauty naturally formed one of 
 the chief attractions of the magnificent temple. It disappeared, with- 
 out leaving any clue behind it, during the stormy period of the inva- 
 sion of the nomadic tribes. In proceeding to give an account of the 
 most important existing statues of the goddess, we must first mention 
 a magnificent marble bust which King Ludwig I. of Bavaria procured 
 for the Munich collection, and which was formerly in the Villa Alba- 
 ni at Rome. The goddess here wears a tight-fitting helmet, the top 
 of which is decorated with a serpent, the emblem of wisdom. Her 
 breastplate, which is bordered with serpents, falls like a cape over 
 her shoulders, and is fastened in the middle by the Gorgon's head, a 
 terrible but striking contrast to the pure and noble countenance of 
 the goddess. A fine bust, with a delicate and youthful expression of 
 countenance, is preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome.
 
 Fig. 8. Pallas Qiustiniani. Vatican.
 
 Fig. 9. Athene Polias. Villa AlbauL
 
 46 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Another, not less beautiful, but with grave and almost masculine 
 features, was discovered in the excavations of Pompeii, and is now in 
 the Naples Museum. 
 
 Among existing (full-length) statues, the Pallas Giustiniani, of the 
 Vatican Museum at Rome, is held to be the finest (Fig. 8). This 
 probably once stood in a Roman temple, having been found in a place 
 
 Fig. 10. Pallas Athene. Naples. 
 
 where there was formerly a temple of Minerva. This statue, in ac- 
 cordance with the Roman conception, bears a more peaceable charac- 
 ter, although neither the spear nor helmet is wanting. Next come 
 two statues found near Velletri, one of which is in the Capitolinc Mu- 
 seum at Rome, while the other forms a chief ornament of the Louvre 
 collection in Paris. Both represent the goddess in the character of
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 47 
 
 a benign deity fostering all peaceful works, with a gentle but earnest 
 expression of countenance. 
 
 The Farnese Minerva of the Naples Museum and the " Hope " copy 
 in London betray similar characteristics. On the other hand, in a 
 statue discovered at Herculaneum (now at Naples), Minerva appears 
 as a warlike goddess, in an evidently hostile attitude (Fig. 10). This 
 is also the case with the celebrated statue at the Louvre, which, on 
 account of the necklace worn by the goddess, is generally called 
 Minerve au Collier; and again in a statue of the Villa Albani, in 
 which a lion's skin thrown over the head takes the place of the hel- 
 met (Fig. 9). 
 
 On combining the characteristic features of Minerva, we may gath- 
 er that her most prominent trait is a lofty seriousness, well befitting 
 the chaste, grave character of the virgin goddess. The closed lips 
 and the prominent chin betray a determined and resolute disposition, 
 while her mien and bearing give token of strength and dignity. 
 
 Among the favorite animals of Minerva we may mention the ser- 
 pent, the owl, and the cock. The first is a symbol of wisdom, the 
 second of profound meditation, and the last of eager desire for the 
 fray. The attributes of Minerva consist of the aegis (which serves as 
 a shield) the spear, and the helmet. The helmet is sometimes adorn- 
 ed with the figures of griffins, significant of the overpowering might 
 of the wearer. The statues are all fully clcthed, in accordance with 
 the chaste character of the goddess. 
 
 4. Apollo. As Athene is the favorite daughter of 
 Zeus, so Apollo ranks as the most glorious and beautiful 
 of his sons. Like other sons of Zeus, he is a god of light, 
 and, indeed, the purest and highest representative of this 
 mighty power in nature. His mother, Leto (Latona), is a 
 representative of the darkness of the night. According to 
 the sacred legend, she was compelled when pregnant to 
 wander about, because mankind, dreading the appearance 
 of the mighty god, refused to receive her. This myth was 
 afterward altered by later writers, who assign the jealousy 
 of Hera as the cause of her wanderings. Leto at length 
 found a refuge on Delos, which was once a floating island, *~
 
 48 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 and had to be fastened to the bottom of the sea by means 
 of lofty columns. As the bright god of heaven, to whom 
 everything impure and unholy is hateful, we find Apollo, 
 soon after his birth, preparing to do battle with the evil 
 powers of darkness. With his arrows he slew both the 
 giant Tityus and the serpent Python, the latter a monster 
 that inhabited the valley of the Plistus, near Delphi, and 
 destroyed both men and cattle. These and similar myths 
 are merely a panegyric on the conquering power exercised 
 by the genial warmth of spring over the dark gloom of 
 winter. 
 
 But though Apollo thus appears as the foe of all that is 
 evil and impure, ancient myths, nevertheless, represent him 
 also as a terrible god of death, sending virulent pestilences 
 and dealing out destruction to men and animals by means 
 of his unerring arrows. This may be easily explained, how- 
 ever, by glancing at the natural signification of the god. 
 The rays of the sun do indeed put to flight the cold of 
 winter, but as their heat increases they themselves ultimate- 
 ly become the cause of disease and death. This is beauti- 
 fully portrayed in the fable of the death of Hyacinthus. 
 
 To proceed further in the analysis of his character as 
 god of light, Apollo next appears as the protector of streets 
 and houses. A conical pillar was usually erected at the 
 side of the doors of houses as a symbol of him, and a de- 
 fence against all sorceries. Connected with this is his re- 
 pute as a god of health ; one who is indeed able to send 
 disease and death, but who, on the other hand, is all-pow- 
 erful to protect against physical maladies. This feature in 
 his character, however, is more extensively developed in the 
 person of his son, Asclepius (^Esculapius). But it is not 
 only outward ills that this wonder-working deity can cure :
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 49 
 
 as the true redeemer from sin and crime, lie alone can af- 
 ford consolation to guilty souls. Even those pursued by 
 the Furies he sometimes receives in tenderness and pity, a 
 fine instance of which is found in the story of Orestes. It 
 is here that we must seek the explanation of his character as 
 god of music ; in the fact that it exercises so soothing and 
 tranquillizing an influence on the soul of man. His favor- 
 ite instrument was the lyre, which he was wont to play 
 with masterly skill at the banquets of the gods, while the 
 Muses accompanied him with their wondrous strains. Apol- 
 lo was therefore regarded as the leader of the Muses (Mu- 
 sagetes) ; and all the great singers of antiquity, such as 
 Orpheus and Linus, are mythically represented as his sons. 
 But Apollo attained his greatest importance among the 
 Greeks as god of prophecy. His oracles continued to ex- 
 ercise an important influence on social and political life, 
 even down to the latest times. The inspiration of Apollo 
 was distinguished by the fact that the' god revealed the 
 future less by means of outward signs than by inducing an 
 ecstatic condition of mind bordering on madness in those 
 persons through whom he wished to proclaim his oracles. 
 These were generally women and maidens, who, either at 
 oracular shrines proper, or dwelling alone as Sibyls, gave 
 forth the responses of the god. In early times they were 
 somewhat numerous. There was an oracle at Clarus,. near 
 Colophon ; an oracle at Didyma, near Miletus ; and an ora- 
 cle on the Ismenus, near Thebes. These were eventually 
 all thrown into the shade by that of Delphi. The responses 
 of this oracle exercised, during a long period of Grecian 
 history, an all-powerful influence, especially on the Dorian 
 tribes. The convulsions of the Pythia, or priestess of 
 Apollo, were brought about, partly by the chewing of lau- 
 
 4
 
 50 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 rel leaves, and partly by the gaseous vapors that issued * 
 from a cleft in the earth beneath the sacred tripod. The 
 ecstatic condition in which she gave the responses, which 
 were comprehensible only to the initiated priests, manifest- 
 ed itself in a foaming at the mouth and in convulsions of 
 the body. 
 
 Delphi naturally became the chief seat of the worship 
 of Apollo. The gorgeous temple was rebuilt in the time 
 of the Pisistratida3, after the destruction of the old one 
 by fire. Its wealth from offerings became so great that 
 their value was computed at 10,000 talents (more than 
 2,000,000). In the neighborhood of Delphi the Pythian 
 games were celebrated in the third year of every Olym- 
 piad. 
 
 The shrine of the god at Delos, his birthplace, was lit- 
 tle less renowned. The sanctuary itself was situated at the 
 foot of Mount Cynthus; but the whole island was sacred 
 to the god, for which reason no one was buried there. 
 Here, too, games, said to have been instituted by Theseus, 
 were celebrated every four years in honor of the god. 
 Apollo had, besides, a great number of less celebrated 
 shrines and temples, not only in Greece, but also in Asia 
 Minor, and wherever the Greek colonies extended. 
 
 The Apollo of the Romans, as his name indicates, was 
 transferred to Rome from Greece. At a comparatively 
 early period men began to feel the want of a prophetic 
 deity, as the Roman gods, although they vouchsafed hints 
 as to the future, confined their responses to a mere Yea or 
 Nay. Moreover, in the character of god of healing, he was 
 early admitted into the Roman system, as we gather from 
 the fact that the first temple really dedicated to Apollo 
 was erected in 429 B.C., under the pressure of a grievous
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 51 
 
 pestilence. The worship of Apollo was especially exalted 
 by the Emperor Augustus, who ascribed his victory at 
 Actium chiefly to the assistance of the god. He accord- 
 ingly erected a magnificent temple to Apollo on the Pala- 
 tine, which was embellished with the celebrated statue of 
 Apollo Citharoedus, by Scopas. 
 
 This remark leads us to contemplate the different statues of the 
 god. Apollo constantly bears a very youthful appearance, and is 
 always beardless. His figure is strong and handsome, his head cov- 
 ered with fair clustering locks, and his face expressive of majesty, 
 but marked withal by a cheerful serenity. Such is the original and 
 fundamental type, which was usually followed in the representation 
 of the god. It was principally developed by Scopas and Praxiteles, 
 who belonged to the later Attic school, which nourished from the end 
 of the Peloponnesian war to the reign of Alexander the Great. The 
 principal creation of Scopas was a marble statue, representing the- 
 god as a Pythian Citharoedus with the lyre in his hand, clothed in a 
 long robe reaching to the feet. 
 
 This invaluable work was procured by Augustus for the temple he 
 erected to Apollo on the Palatine. Praxiteles, a younger contempo- 
 rary of Scopas, acquired considerable renown by his bronze figure of 
 a youthful Apollo pursuing a lizard (Apollo Sauroctonus). 
 
 In existing art monuments sometimes the conception of a warlike, 
 vengeful deity obtains, in which case the god is represented as nude, 
 or nearly so, and armed with quiver and bow. At other times ho 
 wears a mild and benevolent aspect ; he is then distinguished by his 
 lute, and completely enveloped in a chlamys. Of the former kind 
 is the most beautiful and celebrated of all his existing statues, the 
 Apollo Belvedere, which was discovered in 1503, near Nettuno, the 
 ancient Antium, and is now in the Vatican. The proud self -con- 
 sciousness of a conquering deity is inimitably expressed in his whole 
 attitude. He stands with his right hand and leg against the trunk 
 of a tree, his left arm outstretched, with the aagis, probably as a sym- 
 bol of fear and terror, in his hand. The serpent creeping up the 
 tree is a symbol of the powers of darkness vanquished by the god 
 (Fig. 11). We have also given a larger engraving of the hp.ad of the 
 Belvedere Apollo, in order to afford a clearer idea of its wondrous 
 beauty (Fig. 12).
 
 Fig. 11. Apollo Belvedere. Vatican.
 
 Fig. 12. Head of Apollo Belvedere.
 
 54 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 The so-called Apollino, of the Florence Gallery, a youthful figure 
 resting after battle, is a work of scarcely less beauty. The shape 
 of the body, which is entirely nude, is wonderfully soft and delicate. 
 With his left arm the god leans upon a tree ; in his left hand he 
 negligently holds the bow, while his right hand is raised to his head 
 in a meditative fashion. The Farnese Apollo of the Naples Museum 
 possesses an equally graceful form. The god is here represented as 
 a musician ; in his left hand he holds the lyre, while his right glides 
 over the strings. The animated expression of his face, indicating his 
 entire devotion to his art, is exquisitely beautiful. The goose at his 
 feet, which was regarded even by the ancients as a music-loving bird, 
 appears to drink in with rapture the heavenly tones. 
 
 In those works which represent the god as a Pythian lute-player 
 in a long Ionian garment, we perceive an almost feminine figure and 
 a visionary expression of face. The most important works of this 
 kind are the Apollo Citharcedus of the Munich collection (Fig. 13), 
 formerly called the Muse of Barberini, which is marked by a some- 
 what quieter attitude; and the so-called Apollo Musagetes of the 
 Vatican collection, which is characterized by a lively dancing move- 
 ment of the figure, and is generally regarded as an imitation of the 
 masterpiece of Scopas already mentioned. A pure and heavenly in- 
 spiration seems to pervade the features of the laurel-crowned god; 
 his mighty lyre, to the tones of which he appears to be singing, is 
 suspended from a band across the chest, and is aptly adorned with 
 the portrait of Marsyas, his vanquished rival. 
 
 Lastly, the graceful statue of Apollo Sauroctonus (Lizard-slayer) 
 deserves mention. Many copies of it still exist, the chief of which is 
 a marble statue in the Vatican collection. The delicate figure of the 
 god, midway between youth and boyhood, leans carelessly against the 
 trunk of a tree, up which a lizard is creeping. The god is eagerly 
 watching its movements, in order to seize a favorable moment to nail 
 it to the tree with his arrow. 
 
 The principal attributes of Apollo are the bow, arrows, quiver, 
 laurel crown, and lyre. To these may be added, as symbols of his 
 prophetic power, the tripod and the omphalos (navel), the latter 
 being a representation of the earth's centre in the temple at Delphi, 
 on which he is often depicted as sitting. The god also appears 
 standing on the omphalos ; as in the case of a marble statue lately 
 found in the theatre of Dionysus. His sacred animals were the wolf, 
 the hind, the bat, the swan, the goose, and the dolphin ; the three 
 last being music-loving creatures.
 
 Fig. 13. Apollo Citharcedus. Munich.
 
 56 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 5. Artemis (Diana). Artemis is the feminine coun- 
 terpart of her twin brother Apollo, with whom she entire- 
 ly harmonizes when regarded from her physical aspect. 
 Like him, she is a beautiful and propitious deity ; but like 
 him, too, she can deal out, at times, death and destruction 
 among mankind. Like Apollo, she promotes the growth 
 of the young plant, and is equally the foe of all that is 
 evil and impure. Like him, she is skilled in the use of 
 the bow, of which she avails herself, however, not only for 
 the destruction of monsters, but also at times to chastise 
 the insolence of man witness the death of the children of 
 Niobe. Her favorite amusement is the chase. Armed with 
 quiver and bow, she ranges mountain and valley, accom- 
 panied by a band of nymphs. The chase ended, she de- 
 lights to bathe in some fresh spring, or to lead off some 
 favorite dance on the flowery meadows, surrounded by her 
 nymphs, all of whom she overtops by a head. Then the 
 heart of her mother, Leto, rejoices as she gazes on the in- 
 nocent sports of her lovely daughter. 
 
 As a virgin goddess she was especially venerated by 
 young maidens, whose patroness she remained till their 
 marriage, and to whom she afforded an example of chas- 
 tity. The story of Actaeon, who was changed into a stag 
 and then torn to pieces by his own dogs, shows that she 
 did not suffer any injury to her virgin modesty to go un- 
 punished. (For this story see the Theban legends.) 
 
 Originally, Artemis appears to have been the goddess of 
 the moon, just as her brother Apollo is unmistakably iden- 
 tical with the sun. This conception, however, continued 
 to grow fainter and fainter, until, in the later days of con- 
 fusion of religions, it was again revived. Artemis was fre- 
 quently confounded with Selene or Phoebe (Luna).
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 57 
 
 The national Artemis of the Greeks was originally quite 
 distinct from the Artemis Orthia, a dark and cruel deity, 
 to whom human sacrifices Avere offered in Laconia. Ly- 
 curgus abolished this barbarous custom, but caused instead 
 a number of boys to be cruelly whipped before the image 
 of the goddess on the occasion of her annual festival. 
 This is the same Artemis to whom Agamemnon was about 
 to offer, in Aulis, his daughter Iphigenia, previous to the 
 departure of the Greeks for Troy. The Scythians in 
 Tauris likewise had a goddess whom they propitiated with 
 human sacrifices. This caused her to be confounded with 
 Artemis Orthia, and the story arose that Iphigenia was 
 conveyed by the goddess to Tauris, from which place she 
 subsequently, assisted by her brother Orestes, brought the 
 image of the goddess to Greece. 
 
 The Ephesian Artemis, known to us as "Diana of the 
 Ephesians," was distinct from all that have been men- 
 tioned. She was, in fact, an Asiatic, not a Hellenic deity. 
 
 The Roman Diana, who was early identified with the 
 Greek Artemis, was likewise originally a goddess of the 
 moon. As such, she possessed a very ancient shrine on 
 Mount Algidus, near Tusculum. Like the Greek Artemis, 
 she was also regarded as the tutelary goddess of women, 
 and was invoked by women in childbirth. This was also 
 the case with Artemis, although the matrons of Greece 
 looked for more protection in this respect at the hands of 
 Hera. She gained, however, a certain political importance 
 in Rome after having been made by Servius Tullius the tu- 
 telary deity of the Latin League. As such, she possessed 
 a sacred grove and temple on the Aventine. 
 
 Artemis is a favorite subject with the masters of the later Attic 
 school. She is always represented as youthful, slender and light of
 
 Fig. 14. Diana of Versailles.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 59 
 
 foot, and without womanly fulness. Her devotion to the chase is 
 clearly betokened by the quiver and bow which she generally bears, 
 and by the high girt robe and Cretan shoes, which allow her to pass 
 unencumbered through the thickets of the forest. 
 
 Among existing statues, the most celebrated is the so-called Diana 
 of Versailles, which came from the Villa of Hadrian, at Tibur (Fig. 
 14). It is now a chief ornament of the Louvre collection, and is a 
 worthy companion to the Belvedere Apollo, although it does not quite 
 equal this in beauty. In this statue the goddess does not appear as 
 a huntress, but rather as the protectress of wild animals. She is 
 conceived as having just come to the rescue of a hunted deer, and is 
 in the act of turning with angry mien on the pursuers. With her 
 right hand she grasps an arrow from the quiver that hangs at her 
 back, and in her left she holds the bow. 
 
 A really beautiful statue of the Vatican collection depicts the god- 
 dess in a most striking attitude. She has just sent forth her deadly 
 arrow, and is eagerly watching its effect. The hound at her side is 
 just about to start in eager pursuit of the mark, which was evidently, 
 therefore, a wild animal. In her left hand is the bow, still strung, 
 from which her right hand has just directed the arrow. Her foot is 
 likewise upraised in triumph, and her whole deportment expresses 
 the proud joy of victory. The chief attributes of Diana are bow, 
 quiver, and spear, and also a torch, as an emblem of her power to 
 dispense light and life. The hind, the dog, the bear, and the wild- 
 boar were esteemed sacred to her. 
 
 6. Ares (Mars). Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, rep- 
 resents war from its fatal and destructive side, by which 
 he is clearly distinguished from Athene, the wise disposer 
 of battles. He was, it is probable, originally a personifi- 
 cation of the angry clouded sky. His home, according 
 to Homer, was in Thrace, the land of boisterous, wintry 
 storms, among whose warlike inhabitants he was held in 
 high esteem, although his worship was not so extensive in 
 Greece. Homer, in the " Iliad," paints in particularly lively 
 colors the picture of the rude " man-slaying " god of war. 
 He here appears as a deity who delights only in the wild 
 din of battle, and is never weary of strife and slaughter.
 
 CO GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Clad in brazen armor from head to foot, with waving 
 plume, helmet, and high-poised spear, his bull's-hide shield 
 on his left arm, he ranges the battle-field, casting down all 
 before him in his impetuous fury. With strength he com- 
 bines great agility, and is, according to Homer, the fleetest 
 of the gods. Strong though he be, however, he is over- 
 matched in battle by Athene ; a palpable indication that 
 prudent courage often accomplishes more than impetuous 
 violence. 
 
 The usual attendants and servants of Ares are Fear and 
 Terror. By some writers they are described as his sons, 
 yet in Homer they fight against him. There is little to be 
 said of the principal seats of his worship in Greece. In 
 Thebes he was regarded as the god of pestilence ; and 
 Aphrodite, who elsewhere appears as the wife of He- 
 phaestus, was given him to wife. By her he became the 
 father of Harmonia, who married Cadmus, and thus became 
 the ancestress of the Caduaean race in Thebes. Accord- 
 ing to an Athenian local legend, his having slain a son of 
 Poseidon gave rise to the institution of the Areopagus. 
 He was here regarded as the god of vengeance. A cele- 
 brated statue by Alcamenes adorned his temple at Athens. 
 Among the warlike people of Sparta the worship of Ares 
 was also extensive. 
 
 This deity was regarded with a far greater degree of 
 veneration in Rome, under the appellation of Mars, 01 
 Mavors. He seems to have occupied an important posi- 
 tion even among the earliest Italian tribes. It was not as 
 god of war, however for which, amidst the peaceful pur- 
 suits of cattle - rearing and husbandry, they cared little 
 but as the god of the spring triumphing over the powers of 
 winter, that he was worshipped. It was from his bounty
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 61 
 
 that the primitive people looked for the prosperous growth 
 of their flocks and the fruits of their fields ; it was Mars 
 on whom they called for protection against bad weather 
 and destructive pestilence. 
 
 In warlike Rome, however, this deity soon laid aside his 
 peaceful character, and donned the bright armor of the 
 god of war. He was even regarded as being, after Jupiter, 
 the most important god of the state and people of Rome. 
 Numa himself gave him a flamen of his own, and created 
 or restored in his honor the priesthood of the Salii. The 
 occasion, according to the sacred legend, was on this wise. 
 As King Numa one morning, from the ancient palace at 
 the foot of the Palatine, raised his hands in prayer to Jove, 
 beseeching his protection and favor for the infant state of 
 Rome, the god let fall from heaven, as a mark of his favor, 
 an oblong brazen shield (ancile). At the same time a voice 
 was heard declaring that Rome should endure as long as 
 this shield was preserved. Numa then caused the sacred 
 shield, which was recognized as that of Mars, to be care- 
 fully preserved. The better to prevent its abstraction, he 
 ordered an artist to make eleven others exactly similar, 
 and instituted for their protection the college of the Salii, 
 twelve in number, like the shields, who were selected from 
 the noblest families in Rome. Every year in the month 
 of March, which was sacred to Mars, they bore the sacred 
 shields in solemn procession through the streets of Rome, 
 executing warlike dances and chanting ancient war-songs. 
 From the days of Numa the worship of "Father Mars" 
 continued to acquire an ever-increasing popularity. Before 
 the departure of a Roman army on any expedition, the im- 
 perator retired to the sanctuary of the god in the old pal- 
 ace, and there touched the sacred shields and the spear of
 
 62 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the statue of Mars, crying aloud at the same time, " Mars, 
 watch over us !" According to popular belief, the god 
 himself went unseen before the host as it marched to bat- 
 tle, whence he was called "Gradivus." In the war with 
 the Lucanians and Bruttians (282 B.C.), when the consuls 
 were hesitating whether to begin the attack, an unknown 
 youth of extraordinary stature and beauty encouraged the 
 troops to begin the assault on the enemy's camp, and was 
 himself the first to scale the wall. When he was afterward 
 sought for, in order that he might receive his richly mer- 
 ited reward, he had disappeared, leaving no trace behind 
 him. As it could have been none other than Father Mars, 
 the consul, Fabricius, decreed him a thanksgiving of three 
 days' duration. 
 
 Mars naturally received a due share of all booty taken 
 in war. Defeat was ascribed to his wrath, which men strove 
 to avert by extraordinary sin-offerings. 
 
 Popular belief made Mars the father, by a vestal virgin, 
 of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city. 
 His wife appears to have been Nerio ; but she enjoyed no 
 honors at Rome. 
 
 In attendance on Mars we find Metus and Pallor, who 
 answer to the Greek deities already mentioned; and also 
 his sister, Bellona, corresponding to the Enyo, who was 
 worshipped in Pontus and Cappadocia, though not in Greece 
 proper. Bellona had a temple in the Campus Martius. 
 
 The Campus Martius (Field of Mars), the celebrated 
 place of exercise of the Roman youth, stretched from the 
 Quirinal Avestward to the Tiber, and was dedicated to the 
 god of war. Augustus, after the overthrow of the murder- 
 ers of Caesar, his adopted father, erected a temple to Mars, 
 which was built in Greek style, and far surpassed in gran-
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 63 
 
 Fig. 15. Mars Lndovisi. 
 
 deur and splendor all the other temples of the god. Three 
 columns of it are still standing, mute witnesses of vanished 
 splendor. A large number of religious festivities were cel- 
 ebrated in the month of March in honor of Mars. The 
 procession of the Salii formed the chief feature of the fes- 
 tival ; but there were also races and games. On the Ides
 
 64 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 of October also a chariot-race took place in honor of Mars ? 
 at which the singular custom prevailed of offering the near 
 horse of the victorious team to the god. The inhabitants 
 of the two oldest quarters of the city contended for the 
 head of the slaughtered animal, and whoever got it was 
 supposed to reap great blessings from its possession. 
 
 Ancient artists represented Mars as a tall and powerful young man, 
 whose activity, however, is as apparent as his strength. His char- 
 acteristic features are short 
 curly hair, small eyes, and 
 broad nostrils, significant of 
 the violence and passionate- 
 ness of his nature. The most 
 celebrated of existing statues 
 is the Mars Ludovisi of the 
 Villa Ludovisi, at Rome. It 
 has often been conjectured 
 that this is an imitation of the 
 renowned work of Scopas. The 
 deity is depicted as resting af- 
 ter battle ; and, in spite of the 
 usual turbulence of his dispo- 
 sition, he here appears to have 
 surrendered himself to a more 
 gentle frame of mind. The 
 little god of love crouching at 
 his feet gazes into his face 
 with a roguish, triumphant 
 smile, as though rejoiced to 
 see that even the wildest and 
 most untamable must submit 
 to his sway, and thus shows 
 us what has called forth this 
 gentle mood (Fig. IS). The 
 Mars Ludovisi is an original 
 work, Greek in its origin, 
 though belonging to a some- 
 Fig. lG.-Bust ofAres. Sculpture Gallery what late P eriod - The Bor - 
 at Muuich. ghese Mars of the Louvre, on
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 65 
 
 the other hand, is undoubtedly of Roman origin. It is supposed to 
 represent Ares bound by the craft of Hephaestus. 
 
 Besides these two principal statues, the bust of Mars of the Munich 
 collection deserves mention. It is distinguished by a peculiarly ex- 
 pressive head, of which we give an engraving (Fig. 16). 
 
 The attributes of Mars are the helmet (decorated with the figures 
 of wolf-hounds and griffins), shield, and spear. The animals sacred 
 to him were the wolf, the horse, and the woodpecker. 
 
 7. Aphrodite (Venus). In the " Iliad," Aphrodite 
 is represented as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, the god- 
 dess of moisture, who, as the wife of the god of heaven, 
 was held in high esteem among the old Pelasgians. This 
 account, however, was gradually replaced by another which 
 prevailed among the later poets, who related that Aphro- 
 dite was born of the foam of the sea, and first touched 
 land on the island of Cyprus, which was henceforth held 
 sacred to her. She was undoubtedly Oriental in her origin, 
 being probably a personification of the creative and gener- 
 ative forces of nature. She figured among the Greeks as 
 goddess of beauty and sexual love. 
 
 We must not forget that this conception, which was so 
 extensively circulated by the poets, by no means absorbs 
 the whole character of the goddess. It really covers only 
 that of Aphrodite Pandemus (the earthly Aphrodite), a 
 goddess of the spring, by whose wondrous power all germs 
 in the natural and vegetable world are quickened. There 
 was another deity, Aphrodite Urania, a celestial deity, who 
 was venerated as the dispenser of prosperity and fertility ; 
 and also an Aphrodite Pontia (of the sea), the tutelary 
 deity of ships and mariners, who controlled the winds and 
 the waves, and granted to ships a fair and prosperous pas- 
 sage. As the worship of Aphrodite was extremely popu- 
 lar among the numerous islands and ports of the Grecian 
 
 5
 
 66 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 seas, we can well imagine that it was in this latter charac- 
 ter that she received her greatest share of honor. 
 
 The poets paint Aphrodite as the most beautiful of all 
 the goddesses, whose magic power not even the wisest 
 could withstand. Even wild animals were conscious of 
 her influence, and pressed round her like lambs. In partial 
 explanation of this otherwise incomprehensible fact, she 
 Avas endowed with the celebrated love -begetting magic 
 girdle, which she could lay aside at will and lend to others. 
 And as she thus gave rise to passion in others, she herself 
 was not free from its influence. This is evidenced by the 
 numerous stories of her amours with the gods or favored 
 mortals, which it is so difficult to bring into harmony with 
 each other. Sometimes Ares, sometimes HephaBstus, is 
 said to be her husband. The latter account, which origi- 
 nated in Lcmnos, was the more popular ; doubtless because 
 its very strangeness in mating the sweetest and most love- 
 ly of the goddesses with the lame and ugly god of fire had 
 a certain charm. No children are mentioned as springing 
 from the union of Aphrodite with Hephaestus ; but Eros 
 and Anteros, as well as Demus and Phobus, are said to be 
 her children by Ares. Other legends, generally of a local 
 character, unite her to Dionysus, or to Hermes. 
 
 The story of her love for the beautiful Adonis is of Asi- 
 atic origin, but underwent various alterations on its way 
 through Greece. The germ of the story may be easily dis- 
 tinguished. It clearly represents the decay of nature in 
 autumn, and its resuscitation in spring. Adonis, whom 
 Aphrodite tenderly loved, was killed, when hunting, by a 
 wild-boar. Inconsolable at her loss, Aphrodite piteously 
 entreated Father Zeus to restore his life. Zeus at length 
 consented that Adonis should spend one part of the year
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 67 
 
 in the world of shadows, and the other in the upper world. 
 Clearly the monster that deprived Adonis of life is only a 
 symbol of the frosty winter, before whose freezing blast all 
 life in nature decays. 
 
 In the story of Troy, Aphrodite plays an important part. 
 She was the original cause of the war, having assisted Paris 
 in his elopement with Helen. This was his reward for his 
 celebrated judgment, in which he awarded the prize of 
 beauty to Aphrodite in preference to Hera or Athene. 
 Besides the Trojan prince, Anchises enjoyed her favors, and 
 she became by him the mother of the pious hero ^Eneas. 
 
 The goddess appears ever ready to assist unfortunate 
 lovers ; thus she aided the hero Peleus to obtain the beau- 
 tiful sea-nymph Thetis. On the other hand, she punishes 
 with the utmost severity those who from pride or disdain 
 resist her power. This appears in the legend of Hippol- 
 ytus, son of Theseus, King of Athens, whom she ruined 
 through the love of his step - mother Phaedra ; also in the 
 story of the beautiful youth Narcissus, whom she punished 
 by an ungratified self-love, because he had despised the 
 love of the nymph Echo. 
 
 The Seasons and the Graces appear in attendance on 
 Aphrodite. Their office is to dress and adorn her. She 
 is also accompanied by Eros, Pothus, and Himerus (Love, 
 Longing, and Desire), besides Hymen, or Hymenseus, the 
 god of marriage. 
 
 The Roman Venus (the Lovely One) was regarded by the 
 earlier Italian tribes as the goddess of spring, for which 
 reason April, the month of buds, was held sacred to her. 
 She early acquired a certain social importance, by having 
 ascribed to her a beneficent influence in promoting civil 
 harmony and sociability among men.
 
 68 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 After her identification with the Aphrodite of the 
 Greeks, she became more and more a goddess merely of 
 sensual love and desire. She had three principal shrines 
 those of Venus Murcia, Venus Cloacina, and Libitina. The 
 first of these surnames points to Venus as the myrtle god- 
 dess (the myrtle being an emblem of chaste love) : her 
 temple was situated on the brow of the Aventine, and was 
 supposed to have been erected by the Latins, who were 
 planted there by Ancus Marcius. 
 
 The temple of Venus Cloacina (the purifier) was said to 
 have been erected in memory of the reconciliation of the 
 Romans and Sabines, after the rape of the Sabihe women. 
 The surname of Libitina points to her as goddess of corpses. 
 All the apparatus of funerals Avere kept in this temple, and 
 her attendants were at the same time the public undertak- 
 ers of the city. The astonished reader may well ask how 
 it was that Venus, the queen of love and pleasure, acquired 
 such a character. But here, as elsewhere, extremes meet, 
 and those who are familiar with the mythological concep- 
 tions of the ancients will scarcely wonder at this double 
 nature, with which we shall become better acquainted in 
 the case of the terrestrial deities. 
 
 To these ancient shrines was added another in the time 
 of Julius Caesar, who erected a temple to Venus Genetrix, 
 tue goddess of wedlock, in fulfilment of a vow made at the 
 
 O * 
 
 battle of Pharsalus. 
 
 Aphrodite, or Venus, is notoriously an especially common subject 
 of representation among the artists of antiquity. The task of giving 
 expression to the most perfect female beauty, arrayed in all the 
 charms of love, by means of chisel or brush, continually spurs the 
 artist to fresh endeavors. It was especially among the masters of 
 the later Attic school, who devoted themselves to the representation 
 of the youthful and beautiful among the gods in whom the nude ap-
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 peared least offensive, that statues of Venus were attempted. The 
 Venus of Cnidus, by Praxiteles, was the most important work of that 
 master ; and the people of Cnidus were so proud of it that they en- 
 graved her image on their coins. The fact that they ventured to 
 portray the goddess as entirely nude 
 may be regarded as a sign both of the 
 falling-away of the popular faith and 
 of the decay of art. Henceforth, ex- 
 cept in the case of statues for the 
 temples, it became an established cus- 
 tom to represent Venus and other kin- 
 dred deities as nude. Venus is further 
 distinguished by a fulness of form, 
 which is, nevertheless, combined with 
 slendcrness and grace. The counte- 
 nance is oval ; the eyes are not large, 
 and have a languishing expression; 
 the mouth is small, and the cheeks 
 and chin full and round. 
 
 Of the numerous existing statues 
 we can here mention only the most 
 important. First among them in ar- 
 tistic worth is a marble statue larger 
 than life, which was found in 1820 on 
 the island of Melos (Milo), and is now 
 in the Louvre at Paris (Fig. 17). In 
 this statue only the upper part of the 
 body is nude, the lower portions, from 
 the hips downward, being covered with 
 a light garment. One scarcely knows 
 which to admire most in this splendid 
 statue the singularly dignified ex- 
 pression of the head, or the charming 
 fulness and magnificent proportions 
 of the limbs. The arms are quite 
 broken off, so that we cannot deter- 
 mine the conception of the artist with Fig 1T ._v e uus of Milo. Louvre, 
 any certainty. It is supposed that the 
 
 goddess held in her hand either an apple, which was a symbol of the 
 Isle of Melos, or the bronze shield of Ares. Her looks express proud 
 and ioyous self-consciousness.
 
 J?ig. 18. Venus Gcnetrix. Villa Borghes*.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 71 
 
 In the Venus of Capua (so called because found among the ruins 
 of the Amphitheatre) she again appears as a victorious goddess 
 (Venus Victrix). This statue is now in the Museum at Naples. The 
 shape of the nude body is not so vigorous or fresh as that of the 
 Venus of Milo, but somewhat soft and ill-defined. 
 
 The Medicean Venus, formerly in the Villa Medici at Rome, is bet- 
 ter known. It is a work of the later Attic schoo.l, in which, at the 
 end of the second century B.C., Greek art once more blooms for a 
 while. It is the work of the Athenian artist Cleomenes, though prob- 
 ably chiselled in Rome. As Venus Anadyomene (rising from the 
 sea) the goddess appears entirely nude. This is the most youthful in 
 appearance of all her statues, and is distinguished by the perfect reg- 
 ularity and beauty of its form, though there is no trace of the lofty 
 dignity of the goddess. " What a descent," says Kraus, in his " Chris- 
 tian Art," " is there from the Venus of Milo to this coquette, whose 
 apparently bashful posture is only meant to challenge the notice of 
 the beholder !" 
 
 The " Venus crouching i i the Bath " of the Vatican collection 
 and the " Venus loosing her Sandal " of the Munich Gallery are crea- 
 tions similar in style. In some imitations of the Cnidian Venus, the 
 most important of which are in Rome and Munich, the goddess wears 
 a more dignified demoanor; and also in the wonderfully graceful 
 Venus Genetrix of the Villa Borghese at Rome (Fig. 18). 
 
 The attributes of Venus vary much according to the prevailing 
 conception of the goddess. The dove, the sparrow, and the dolphin, 
 and among plants the myrtle, the rose, the apple, the poppy, and the 
 lime-tree, were sacred to her. 
 
 8. Hermes (Mercurius). Hermes was the son of 
 Zeus and Maia, a daughter of Atlas. He was born in a 
 grotto of Mount Cyllene, in Arcadia, whence he is called 
 Cyllenius. We know the stories of his youth chiefly from 
 the so-called Homeric Hymn. This relates in a delightful 
 manner how Hermes, soon after his birth, gave token of his 
 cunning and dexterity, the chief features of his character. 
 Growing in a wonderful manner, as only gods can grow, he 
 sprung, only four hours after his birth, from his mother's 
 lap, and finding a tortoise, he placed strings across its shell,
 
 72 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 and thus invented the lyre, on which he immediately began 
 to sing the loves of Zeus and Maia. Then towards even- 
 ing, impelled by a resistless craving for meat, he hurried to 
 Pieria, where he stole fifty bulls from the herds of Apollo. 
 After killing two of them, and thus satisfying his hunger, 
 he returned to the grotto of his mother, and lay down in 
 his cradle as though nothing had happened. Apollo, how- 
 ever, soon remarked the theft, and hurried after the impu- 
 dent robber. Hermes now played the innocent, and obsti- 
 nately denied the charge ; but Apollo was not to be de- 
 ceived, and forced the young thief to accompany him to 
 the throne of Zeus to have their quarrel decided. Zeus or- 
 dered Hermes to restore the cattle, but Apollo gladly made 
 them over to Hermes on receiving the newly invented lyre. 
 Thus Hermes became the god of shepherds and pastures, 
 while Apollo henceforth zealously devoted himself to the 
 art of music. 
 
 As a token of their thorough reconciliation, Apollo gave 
 his brother god the golden Caduceus, or magic wand, by 
 means of which he could bestow happiness on whomsoever 
 he would ; and henceforth both dwelt together in the utmost 
 harmony and love, the favorite sons of their father Zeus. 
 
 While Apollo represents the warm, genial sunshine, 
 Hermes, as a power of nature, is the rain. Rain and sun- 
 shine are both emanations of the great God of heaven, or, 
 in the language of mythology, his sons. Both appear in 
 the character of deities benevolent and propitious towards 
 mankind, and this is probably the reason why Hermes and 
 Apollo have so many features in common. Their chief 
 difference lies in the fact that while Apollo, as god of light, 
 comes to represent the higher intelligence of the mind, 
 Hermes represents the practical wisdom of the world.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 73 
 
 The following are the most important features in the 
 character of Hermes : First, as god of the fertilizing rain, 
 he appears especially as the dispenser of all good gifts in 
 every relation of human life. Not only does he promote 
 the fruitfulness of flocks and herds, but he also bestows 
 prosperity and success on all undertakings, especially those 
 of trade and commerce. As the guardian of the streets 
 and roads, and the friendly guide of those travelling on 
 business, Hermes must have appeared especially worthy of 
 honor among the Greeks, who were at all times sharp and 
 greedy men of business. Accordingly, men erected in his 
 honor, on the roads, what were called Hermse mere blocks 
 of stone, or posts, with one or more heads: these latter 
 were at cross-roads, and also served as finger-posts. Hermse 
 were a 1 so often to be seen in the streets of towns and in 
 public squares. Not only did Hermes protect and guide 
 merchants while travelling, but he also endowed them with 
 shrewdness and cunning to outwit others. And as a god 
 who had himself commenced his career by a dexterous 
 theft, he was fain to allow thieves and rogues to invoke his 
 protection before entering on their operations ; just as in 
 the present day robbers and bandits in Italy or Greece see 
 nothing strange in asking their patron saint to bestow on 
 them a rich prey. Every chance gain in gambling, for 
 instance and every fortunate discovery was attributed to 
 Hermes. 
 
 Though playing such an important part in human life, 
 Hermes also appears as the fleet messenger and dexterous 
 agent of Zeus. It is in this guise that the epic poets love 
 to depict them. With his golden-winged shoes he passes 
 more swiftly than the wind over land and sea, executing the 
 commissions of his father Zeus or the other inhabitants
 
 74 GREEK AND ROMAX MYTHOLOGT. 
 
 of Olympus. Thus he is sent by Zeus to command the 
 nymph Calypso to release Odysseus, and to warn ^Egisthus 
 against the murder of Agamemnon. At times, difficult 
 tasks are allotted to him ; for instance, the destruction of 
 the hundred-eyed guardian of lo, on which account Homer 
 calls him the Argus-slayer. Doubtless in this myth the 
 hundred-eyed Argus represents the starry heavens ; Argus is 
 slain by the rain-god Hermes, or, in other words, the heav- 
 ens are rendered invisible by the thick clouds. As messen- 
 ger and herald of the gods, he is a model for all earthly 
 heralds, who, in ancient times, were the indispensable agents 
 of kings in every difficult business. Hence he bears the 
 herald's staff, or Caduceus. This is the same wand once 
 given him by Apollo, consisting of three branches, one 
 of which forms the handle, while the other two branch 
 off like a fork, and are joined in a knot. The origin of 
 this herald's staff appears to have been the olive-branch, 
 wreathed with fillets of wool. It was only at a later period 
 that the two last were converted into serpents. By means 
 of this wand Hermes can either induce deep sleep or rouse 
 a slumberer, but he uses it chiefly in guiding souls to the 
 infernal regions. This leads us to speak of the important 
 office of Hermes as Psychopompus, or conductor of the 
 soul. Every soul, after death, commenced its journey to 
 the region of shadows under the guidance of the god. On 
 extraordinary occasions, where, for instance, the spirits were 
 summoned in the oracles of the dead, Hermes had to recon- 
 duct the souls of the departed to the upper world, thus 
 becoming a mediator between these two regions, in other 
 respects so far divided. 
 
 As dreams come from the lower world, Hermes was nat- 
 urally regarded as the deity from whom they proceeded;
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 75 
 
 on which account people were wont to ask him for good 
 dreams before going to sleep. 
 
 The highest conception of Hermes, however, is that of 
 the god who presides over the bringing - up of children ; 
 and, indeed, what god was more fitted to be presented as 
 an example to Grecian youth than the messenger of the 
 gods, equally dexterous in mind and body ? He is the fleet- 
 est of runners, and the most skilful of disk-throwers and 
 boxers ; and though he does not, like Apollo, represent any 
 of the higher forms of intellectual life, still he possesses in 
 the highest degree that practical common-sense which was 
 so greatly valued among the Greeks. The wrestling-school 
 and the gymnasium were consequently regarded as his in- 
 stitutions, and adorned with his statues. In further devel- 
 opment of his relation to the education of the young, later 
 poets even made him the inventor of speech, of the alpha- 
 bet, and of the art of interpreting languages. The custom 
 which prevailed among the Greeks of offering him the 
 tongues of the slaughtered animals shows clearly that they 
 also considered him as the patron of eloquence. 
 
 There is little to be said of the Roman Mercury. As 
 his name (from mercari, to trade) signifies, he was consid- 
 ered by the Romans solely as god of trade. His worship 
 was introduced at the same time as that of Ceres some 
 years after the expulsion of the Tarquins, at a season of 
 great scarcity but appears to have become confined to the 
 plebeians. The guild of merchants regarded him as their 
 tutelary deity, and offered sacrifices to him and his mother 
 Maia on the Ides of May. 
 
 The plastic representation of Hermes made equal progress with 
 his ideal development. The first statues of the god, founded on the 
 ancient Hermse already mentioned, represented him as a shepherd,
 
 70 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 sometimes as the herald and messenger of the gods, always as a 
 powerful bearded man. Later, he assumed a more youthful appear- 
 ance, and was represented as a beardless youth in the very prime of 
 strength, with broad chest, lithe but powerful limbs, curly hair, and 
 small ears, mouth, and eyes; altogether a wonderful combination of 
 grace and vigor. If we add to this the expression of kindly benev- 
 olence which plays around his finely cut lips, and the inquiring look 
 of his face as he bends forward thoughtfully, we have the principal 
 characteristic features of the god. 
 Among existing statues, a full-sized " Hermes at rest," in bronze, 
 
 Fig. 19. Resting Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples.
 
 Fig. 20. Statue of Hermes. Capitoline Collection,
 
 78 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 which was found at Herculaneum, and is now in the Naples Museum, 
 is perhaps most worthy of mention. He here appears as the messen- 
 ger of the gods, and has just sat down on a rock to rest. The wing- 
 ed sandals form his only clothing, and these are, strictly speaking, 
 not really sandals, but simply straps covering the foot, to which 
 wings are fastened close to the ankles (Fig. 19). 
 
 A splendid marble statue of the Vatican collection, which was 
 once taken for Antinous, portrays the god as the patron of wrestling; 
 the Caducous which he holds in his left hand is, however, a modern 
 addition. In the Hermes Ludovisi of Rome we have a graceful rep- 
 resentation of Hermes Logius, the patron of the art of rhetoric. The 
 wings are here not placed on the feet, or even directly on the head, 
 as is often the cass, but are fastened to a low round travelling-hat. 
 
 A pretty broaze statuette in the British Museum depicts Hermes 
 as the god of trade and commerce, with a well -filled purse in his 
 hand. Such is also the conception of a fine statue of the Capitoline 
 collection at Rome (Fig. 20). The principal attributes of the god 
 have already been incidentally mentioned : they are wings on the 
 feet, head, or cap ; the herald's staff, the votive bowl, and the purse. 
 
 9. Hephaestus (Vulcan). Hephaestus, the god of 
 fire and the forge, was commonly regarded as a son of Zeus 
 and Hera. He was so lame and ugly that his mother in 
 shame cast him from heaven into the sea. But Eurynome 
 and Thetis, the Oceanids, took pity on him, and tended him 
 for nine years in a deep grotto of the sea, in return for 
 which he made them many ornaments. After being rec- 
 onciled to his mother, he returned to Olympus under the 
 guidance of Dionysus. According to another not less pop- 
 ular account, it was not his mother who treated him so cru- 
 elly, but Zeus. Hephaestus, on the occasion of a quarrel 
 between Zeus and Hera, came to the help of his mother, 
 whereupon the angry god of heaven seized him by the foot 
 and hurled him from Olympus. The unfortunate Hephaes- 
 tus fell for a whole day, but alighted at sundown on the 
 isle of Lemnos with but little breath in his body. Here
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 79 
 
 the Sintians, who inhabited the island, tended him till his 
 recovery. Later writers say that it was from this fall that 
 he became lame. The same fundamental idea lies at the 
 root of these various legends, viz., that fire first came down 
 from heaven in the form of lightning. Hephaestus origi- 
 nally represented the element of fire, and all the effects of 
 fire are accordingly referred to him. The fires of the earth 
 break forth from the open craters of volcanoes ; it must 
 therefore be Hephaestus who is working in the midst of the 
 fiery mountain, where he has his forges and his smithies. 
 So says the legend of Mount Mosychlus, in Lemnos, the 
 chief seat of h^s worship. Scarcely less celebrated, from 
 its connection with him, was Mount ./Etna, in Sicily. Af- 
 ter it was observed that the wine was particularly good in 
 the neighborhood of volcanic mountains, the story of the 
 intimate friendship between Hephaestus and Dionysus was 
 concocted. 
 
 The most beneficial action of fire is manifested in its 
 power to melt metals, and render them useful to man in 
 the shape of implements and tools of all kinds. Hence 
 the conception of the character of Hephaestus tended ever 
 more and more to represent him as the master of all in- 
 genious working in metals, and as the patron of artificers 
 and craftsmen using fire. In this character he was brought 
 into close connection with the art-loving goddess Athene, 
 and hence we see why both these divinities enjoyed so 
 many kindred honors and had so many festivals in com- 
 mon at Athens, the chief seat of Greek science and art. 
 It was also chiefly in the character of artificer that He- 
 phaestus was treated of by the poets, who delight to de- 
 scribe the gorgeous brazen palace which he built himself 
 on Olympus, in which was a huge workshop with twenty
 
 80 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 cunningly devised pairs of bellows. He also constructed 
 there the imperishable dwellings of the gods. Many also 
 were the ingenious implements which he constructed, such 
 as the walking-tables, or tripods, which moved of their own 
 accord into the banqueting-chamber of the gods, and then 
 returned to their places after the meal was over. He also 
 made himself two golden statues of maidens, to assist 
 him in walking, and bestowed on them speech and motion. 
 Among the other works of his mentioned by the poets are 
 the aegis and sceptre of Zeus, the trident of Poseidon, the 
 shield of Heracles, and the armor of Achilles, among which, 
 also, was a shield of extraordinary beauty. 
 
 The worship of Hephasstus was not very extensive in 
 Greece. The most important seat of his worship was the 
 isle of Lemnos, where he was supposed to dwell on Mount 
 Mosychlus with his workmen, the Cabiri, who answer to 
 the Cyclopes of vEtna. He was held in great esteem at 
 Athens, where, at different festivals, torch-races were held 
 in his honor. Young men ran with burning torches, and 
 whoever first reached the goal with his torch alight re- 
 ceived the prize. He was, moreover, highly venerated by 
 the Greeks in Campania and Sicily, a fact which may be 
 easily explained by the fiery mountains of these places. 
 
 The Romans called this god Vulcanus, or, according to 
 its more ancient spelling, Volcanus. They honored in 
 him the blessings and beneficial action of fire. They also 
 sought his protection against conflagrations. Under the 
 influence of the Greek writers, the original and more com- 
 mon conception of the god gave place to the popular im- 
 age of the smith-god, or Mulciber, who had his forges in 
 JEtna, or on the Lipari Isles, and who vied with his com- 
 rades in wielding the hammer. In correspondence with
 
 Fig. 21. Hephaestus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum. 
 6
 
 82 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the Greek myths, Venus was given him to wife ; by this 
 men doubtless sought to convey the idea that truly ar- 
 tistic works can only be created in harmony with beauty. 
 
 The chief shrine of the god in Rome was the Volcanai, 
 in the Comitium, which was not really a temple, but mere 
 ly a covered fireplace. In the Campus Martius, however, 
 was a real temple close to the Flarainian Circus, where the 
 festival of the Volcanalia was celebrated with every kind 
 of game on the 23d day of August. 
 
 Greek and Roman artists generally represented this god as a pow- 
 erful, bearded man of full age. He is distinguished by the shortness 
 of his left leg, by the sharp, shrewd glance of his cunning eye, and 
 his firm mouth. His attributes are the smith's tools, the pointed 
 oval workman's cap, and the short upper garment of the craftsman 
 or humble citizen. 
 
 With the exception of some small bronzes in London and Berlin, 
 and a newly discovered marble bust of the Vatican collection, we 
 possess no antique statues of the god worth mentioning. The en- 
 graving (Fig. 21) is from a bronze in the British Museum. 
 
 10. Hestia (Vestia). It must have been at a com- 
 paratively late period that Hestia, the daughter of Cronus 
 and Rhea, attained a general veneration, as her name is not 
 mentioned either in the " Iliad " or " Odyssey." Hestia is 
 the guardian angel of mankind, who guards the security of 
 the dwelling, and is, in consequence, regarded as the god- 
 dess of the family hearth, the centre of domestic life. The 
 hearth possessed among the ancients a far higher signifi- 
 cance than it does in modern life. It not only served for 
 the preparation of meals, but was also esteemed the sacred 
 altar of the house ; there the images of the household gods 
 were placed ; and thither, after the old patriarchal fashion, 
 the father and priest of the family offered sacrifice on all 
 the important occasions of domestic life. No offering was
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 83 
 
 made in which Hestia, the very centre of all domestic life, 
 had not her share. 
 
 And as the State is composed of families, the goddess 
 of the domestic circle naturally becomes the protectress of 
 every political community. On this account, in Greek 
 states, the Prytancum, or seat of the governing body, was 
 dedicated to Hestia ; there she had an altar, on which a 
 fire was ever kept burning. From this altar colonists, who 
 were about to leave their native land in search of new 
 homes, always took some fire a pleasing figurative indica- 
 tion of the moral ties between the colony and the mother 
 country. 
 
 As the hearth-fire of the Prytaneum was an outward 
 and visible sign to the members of a state that they were 
 one great family, so the Hestia of the temple at Delphi 
 signified to the Greeks their national connection and the 
 unity of their worship. Her altar in thi? temple was 
 placed in the hall before the cave of the oracle ; on it was 
 placed the celebrated omphalus (navel of the earth, like- 
 wise an emblem of the goddess), Delphi being regarded 
 by the Greeks as the centre of the whole earth. Here, 
 too, a fire was kept ever burning in honor of Hestia. The 
 character of the goddess was as pure and untarnished as 
 flame itself. Not only did she herself remain a virgin, 
 though wooed by both Poseidon and Apollo, but her ser- 
 vice could be performed only by chaste virgins. She does 
 not appear to have had a separate temple of her own in 
 Greece, since she had a place in every temple. 
 
 The service of Vesta occupied a far more important 
 place in the public life of the Romans. Her most ancient 
 temple, which was supposed to have been built by Numa 
 Pompilius, was situated on the slope of the Palatine oppo-
 
 84 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 site the Forum. It was built in a circle, and was of mod- 
 erate dimensions, being, indeed, little more than a covered 
 fireplace. In it the eternal fire, a symbol of the life of 
 the State, was kept burning. Here, too, the service was 
 performed by virgins, whose number was at first four, but 
 was afterward increased to six. Their chief occupation 
 was to maintain the sacred fire, and to offer up daily' 
 prayers at the altar of the goddess for the welfare of the 
 Roman people. The extinction of the sacred flame was es- 
 teemed an omen of coming misfortune, and brought severe 
 punishment on the negligent priestess. The choice of ves- 
 tals lay with the Pontifex Maximus. They were chosen 
 between the ages of six and ten years, always out of the 
 best Roman families. For thirty years they remained 
 bound to their sacred office, during which time they had 
 to preserve the strictest chastity. After the lapse of thir- 
 ty years they returned to civil life, and were permitted to 
 marry if they liked. 
 
 Another sanctuary of Vesta existed in Lavinium, the 
 metropolis of the Latins, where the Roman consuls, after 
 entering on their office, had to perform a solemn sacrifice. 
 The festival of Vesta was celebrated on the 9th of June, 
 on which occasion the Roman women were wont to make 
 a pilgrimage barefooted to the temple of the goddess, and 
 place before her offerings of food. 
 
 In the domestic life of the Romans the hearth and the 
 hearth-goddess Vesta occupied as important a position as 
 among the Greeks. The worship of Vesta is closely con- 
 nected with that of the Penates, the kindly, protecting, 
 household gods, who provided for the daily wants of life, 
 and about whom we shall have more to say before con- 
 cluding the subject of the gods.
 
 Fig. 22. Vesta Giustiniani. Torlonia Collection.
 
 86 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Agreeably to the chaste, pure character of the goddess, she could 
 only be represented in art with an expression of the strictest moral 
 purity ; she generally appears either sitting or standing, her coun- 
 tenance characterized by a thoughtful gravity of expression. Her 
 principal attributes consist of the votive bowl, the torch, the sim- 
 pulum, or small cup, which was used in making libations, and the 
 sceptre. In consequence of the dignity and sanctity of her character, 
 she was always represented as fully clothed, which may account for 
 the fact that the ancients had so few statues of the goddess. We 
 may, therefore, consider it fortunate that such a splendid example 
 as the Vesta Giustiniani, which belongs to the private collection of 
 Prince Torlonia at Rome, has come down to us. It is supposed to be 
 an original work of the best period of Greek art. The goddess is 
 represented as standing in a calm posture, her right hand pressed 
 against her side, while with the left she points significantly towards 
 heaven, as though wishing to impress on mankind where to direct 
 their prayers and thoughts (Fig. 22). 
 
 1 1 . Janus. Among the most important gods of the 
 Romans was the celebrated Janus, a deity quite unknown 
 to the Greeks. In his original character he was probably 
 a god of the light and sun the male counterpart, in fact, 
 of Jana, or Diana, and thus very similar to the Greek Apol- 
 lo. As long as he maintained this original character, de- 
 rived from nature, he was regarded as the god of all germs 
 and first beginnings, and possessed, in consequence, an im- 
 portant influence both on the public and private life of the 
 Romans. We must confine ourselves to mentioning some 
 of the most important traits resulting from this view of 
 his character. First, Janus is the god of all beginnings of 
 time. He begins the new year, whose first month was 
 called January after him, and was dedicated to him. Thus, 
 New-year's-day (Kalendce Januarice) was the most impor- 
 tant festival of the god ; on this occasion the houses and 
 doors were adorned with garlands and laurel boughs, the 
 laurel being supposed to exercise a potent influence against
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. W 
 
 all magic and diseases. Relatives and friends exchanged 
 small presents (principally sweets ; for example, dates and 
 figs wrapped in laurel leaves) and good wishes for the 
 coming year. The god himself received offerings of cake, 
 wine, and incense, and his statue was adorned with fresh 
 Jaurel boughs. This offering was repeated on the first day 
 of every month, for Janus opened up every month ; and as 
 the Kalends were sacred to Juno, he was therefore called 
 Junonius. In the same way Janus was supposed to begin 
 every new day, and called Matutinus Pater. He also ap- 
 pears as the door-keeper of heaven, whose gates he opened 
 in the morning and closed in the evening. 
 
 From being the god of all temporal beginnings, he soon 
 became the patron and protector of all the beginnings of 
 human activity. The Romans had a most superstitious 
 belief in the importance of a good commencement for ev- 
 erything, concluding that this had a magical influence on 
 the good or evil result of every undertaking. Thus, nei- 
 ther in public nor private life did they ever undertake any- 
 thing of importance without first confiding the beginning 
 to the protection of Janus. Among the most important 
 events of political life was the departure of the youth of 
 the country to war. An offering was therefore made to 
 the god by the departing general, and the temple, or cov- 
 ered passage sacred to the god, was left open during the 
 continuance of the war, as a sign that the god had depart- 
 ed with the troops and had them under his protection. 
 The consul never neglected, when he entered on his office, 
 to ask the blessing of Janus, and the assemblies never be- 
 gan their consultations without invoking Janus. In the 
 same way the private citizen, in all important occurrences 
 and undertakings, sought by prayers and vows to acquire
 
 88 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the favor of Janus. The husbandman, before he com- 
 menced either to sow or to reap, brought to Janus Con- 
 sivius an offering of cake and wine. The merchant, when 
 he entered on a journey of business, and the sailor, when 
 he weighed anchor and started on a long and dangerous 
 voyage, never omitted to invoke the blessing of the god. 
 This view of the god also explains the custom of calling 
 on Janus first in every prayer and at every sacrifice, since, 
 as keeper of the gates of heaven, he also appeared to give 
 admittance to the prayers of men. 
 
 As the god of all first beginnings, Janus is also the 
 source of all springs, rivers, and streams of the earth. On 
 this account the fountain nymphs were generally looked 
 on as his wives, and Fontus and Tiberinus as his sons. 
 
 The power of Janus in causing springs to rise suddenly 
 from the earth was experienced, to their cost, by the Sa- 
 bines. The latter, in consequence of the rape of their 
 women, had overrun the infant state of Rome, and were 
 about to introduce themselves into the town on the Pal- 
 atine through an open gate, when they suddenly found 
 themselves drenched by a hot sulphur spring that gushed 
 violently from the earth, and were obliged to retire. 
 
 In the legend alluded to, Janus appears as the protector 
 of the gates of the city. As the god who presided over 
 the fortunate entrance to and exit from all houses, streets, 
 and towns, Janus was held in high honor among the peo- 
 ple. His character as guardian of gates and doors brought 
 him into close connection with the Penates and other 
 household gods ; hence the custom of erecting over the 
 doors an image of the deity with the well-known two faces, 
 one of which looked out and the other in. 
 
 Janus had no temple, in the proper sense of the word,
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 89 
 
 at Rome. His shrines consisted of gate-Avays in common 
 places of resort and at cross-roads, or of arched passages, 
 in which the image of the god was erected. The Temple 
 of Janus in the Forum at Rome, which has been already 
 alluded to, was a sanctuary of this kind closed with doors, 
 and was probably the most ancient in the city. Its doors 
 stood open only in time of war. 
 
 Roman art never succeeded in executing a plastic representation 
 peculiar to Janus, the double head being only an imitation of the 
 Greek double Hermae. In course of time entire figures of Janus ap- 
 peared, but these always had a double face. They were generally 
 bearded, but in later times one face was bearded, the other youthful. 
 Not one specimen of these works of art has been preserved, so that 
 we only know these forms from coins. The usual attributes of 
 Janus were keys and staff. 
 
 12. Quirimis. Quirinus was also a purely Roman 
 divinity ; but having been reckoned among the great dei- 
 ties of heaven, he must therefore be mentioned here. In 
 his symbolic meaning he bore a great resemblance to Mars; 
 and as Mars was the national god of the Latin population 
 of Rome, so Quirinus was the national god of the Sabines 
 who came to Rome with Titus Tatius. Together with 
 Jupiter and Mars, he formed the tutelary Trinity of the 
 Roman Empire. His shrine was on the Quirinal, which 
 was originally inhabited by the Sabines, and which was 
 named after him. Numa gave Quirinus a priest of his 
 own. He had a special feast on the 17th of February, but 
 his worship appears to have assimilated itself more and 
 more to that of Mars, He was subsequently identified 
 with Romulus.
 
 90 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 B. SECONDARY DEITIES. 
 1. Attendant and Ministering Deities. 
 
 1. Eros (Amor). Of the deities who appear in the 
 train of Aphrodite, Eros alone seems to have enjoyed di- 
 vine honors ; Longing and Desire being no more than alle- 
 
 Fig. 23. Head of Eros. Vatican. 
 
 gorical figures typifying some of the influences that ema- 
 nate from the goddess of love. Eros was commonly re- 
 puted the son of Aphrodite and Ares, and was generally 
 depicted as a boy of wondrous beauty, on the verge of 
 youth. His characteristic weapon is a golden bow, with 
 which he shoots forth his arrows from secret lurking- 
 places, with an unfailing effect that represents the sweet
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 91 
 
 but consuming pangs of love. Zeus himself is represent- 
 ed as unable to withstand his influence an intimation 
 that love is one of the most terrible and mighty forces of 
 nature. 
 
 As unrequited love is aimless, Anteros was conceived by 
 
 Pig. 24. Eros trying his bow. Capitoline Museum. 
 
 die imagination of the poets as the brother and compan- 
 ion of Eros, and consequently a son of Aphrodite. As the 
 little Eros, says the myth, would neither grow nor thrive, 
 his mother, by the advice of Themis, gave him this broth-
 
 92 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 er as a playfellow ; after which the boy was glad so long 
 as his brother was with him, but sad in his absence. 
 
 Eros was not only venerated as the god who kindles 
 love between the sexes, but was also regarded as the author 
 of love and friendship between youths and men. On this 
 account his statue was generally placed in the gymnasia 
 between those of Hermes and Heracles ; and the Spartans 
 sacrificed to him before battle, binding themselves to hold 
 together faithfully in battle, and to stand by one another 
 in the hour of need. 
 
 This deity was termed by the Romans Amor, or Cupido, 
 but this was solely in imitation of the Greek Eros, since 
 he never enjoyed among them any public veneration. 
 
 The significant fable of the love of Cupid for Psyche, a 
 personification of the human soul, is of comparatively late 
 origin, though it was a very favorite subject in art. 
 
 Artists followed the poets in the delineation of Eros, in so far as 
 they generally depicted him as a boy on the confines of youth. An 
 Eros by the renowned artist Praxiteles was esteemed one of the best 
 works of antiquity. It was brought to Rome by Nero, but was de- 
 stroyed by fire in the reign of Titus. In later times the god of love was 
 represented as much younger, because the mischievous pranks attrib- 
 uted to him by the poets were more adapted to the age of childhood. 
 
 A considerable number of statues or statuettes of Eros have come 
 down to us from antiquity. Among the most celebrated is the Torso 
 (mutilated statue) of the Vatican, of the glorious head of which we 
 give an engraving (Fig. 23). There is also an " Eros trying his Bow " 
 (Fig. 24), in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, and an " Eros playing 
 with Dice," in the Berlin Museum. Lastly, there is the celebrated 
 group of the Capitoline Museum, which represents the embraces of 
 Cupid and Psyche. 
 
 Eros generally appears with wings in the art monuments of antiq- 
 uity. His insignia are bow and arrows, in addition to a burning 
 torch. The rose was held especially sacred to him, for which reason 
 he often appears crowned with roses. 
 
 In connection with Venus, and in company with Amor, we find
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 93 
 
 Hymenaeus, a personification of the joys of marriage, who was, how- 
 ever, only recognized by later writers and by later art. He is por- 
 trayed as a beautiful youth, winged like Eros, but taller, and of a more 
 serious aspect. His indispensable attribute is the marriage torch. 
 
 2, The Muses. Pindar gives the following account 
 of the origin of the Muses : After the defeat of the Ti- 
 tans, the celestials besought Zeus to create some beings 
 who might perpetuate in song the mighty deeds of the 
 gods. In answer to this prayer, Zeus begot with Mnemos- 
 yne (Memory) the nine Muses. They sing of the present, 
 the past, and the future, while Apollo's lute accompanies 
 their sweet strains, which gladden the hearts of the gods 
 as they sit assembled in the lofty palace of Father Zeus, in 
 Olympus. Looked at in connection with nature, there is 
 little doubt but that the Muses were originally nymphs of 
 the fountains. The veneration of the Muses first arose in 
 Pieria, a district on the eastern declivity of Mount Olym- 
 pus, in Thessaly, from whose steep and rocky heights a 
 number of sweet rippling brooks descend to the plains. 
 The perception of this natural music led at once to a be- 
 lief in the existence of such song-loving goddesses. Their 
 seat was subsequently transferred from the declivities of 
 Olympus to Mount Helicon, in Bceotia, or to Mount Par- 
 nassus, at the foot of which the Castalian fountain, which 
 was sacred to them, had its source. Originally the Muses 
 were only goddesses of song, though they are sometimes 
 represented with instruments on vases. In early times, 
 too, they only appear as a chorus or company, but at a 
 later period separate functions were assigned to each, as 
 presiding over this or that branch of art. Their names 
 were Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia, Thalia, 
 Urania, Euterpe, Erato, and Calliope.
 
 Pig. 25. Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 95 
 
 According to the art-distribution made probably at the time of the 
 Alexandrine school, Calliope represents epic poetry and science gen- 
 erally, her attributes being a roll of parchment and a pen. Clio is 
 the muse of history, and is likewise characterized by a roll and pen, 
 so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish her from Calliope. 
 Euterpe represents lyric poetry, and is distinguished by her double 
 flute. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, generally appears with a 
 tragic mask, a club or sword, and a garland of vine leaves. Terp- 
 sichore is the muse of dancing, and has a lyre and plectrum. To Er- 
 ato is assigned erotic poetry, together with geometry and the mimic 
 art ; she generally bears a large stringed instrument. Thalia, the 
 muse of comedy, is distinguished by a comic mask, an ivy garland, 
 and a crook. Polyhymnia presides over the graver chant of religious 
 service ; she may be recognized by her dress, wrapped closely round 
 her, and her grave, thoughtful countenance, but is without attribute 
 of any kind. Lastly, Urania, the muse of astronomy, holds in one 
 hand a celestial globe, and in the other a small wand. 
 
 Several European museums possess ancient groups of the Muses, 
 among which, perhaps, the finest is that preserved in the Vatican. 
 From this group are copied our engravings of Melpomene and Eu- 
 terpe (Figs. 26 and 27). The original of Polyhymnia (Fig. 25) is in 
 the Berlin Museum. 
 
 The Romans venerated a number of fountain-nymphs of 
 song and prophecy under the name of Camense, among 
 whom the Egeria of the history of Numa is well known. 
 The Roman writers seem to have identified these god- 
 desses with the Muses at pleasure. 
 
 3. The Charites (G-ratiae) The Charites general- 
 ly appear in the train of the goddess of love, whom it was 
 their duty to clothe and adorn. They are often found, 
 however, in attendance on other gods, since all that is 
 charming and graceful, either to the senses or the intel- 
 lect, was supposed to proceed from them. 
 
 Their names are Aglai'a, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They 
 were commonly represented as the daughters of Zeus and
 
 Fig. 26. Melpomene. Vatican.
 
 Fig. 27. Euterpe. Vatican. 
 
 7
 
 98 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Eurynorae, the Oceanid. Later writers, however, make 
 them the daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite. They 
 were venerated as the source of all that makes human life 
 more beautiful and pleasant, without whom there could be 
 no real enjoyment of life. Thus, even the gods would not 
 sit down to banquets without the Charites ; and whenever 
 men came together to feast, they first called on them and 
 offered them the first bowl. Music, eloquence, art, and po- 
 etry received the higher consecration only at their hands ; 
 whence Pindar terms his songs a gift from them. Wis- 
 dom, bravery, kindly benevolence, and gratitude in fine, 
 all those qualities which become men most, and make them 
 agreeable in the eyes of their fellow-men were supposed 
 to proceed from the Charites. 
 
 The Graces of the Romans were simply transferred from 
 the mythology of the Greeks, and have, therefore, the same 
 meaning as the Charites. 
 
 Art represented the Charites, or Graces, as blooming maidens, of 
 slender, comely form, characterized by an expression of joyous inno- 
 cence. In their hands they often hold flowers, either roses or myr- 
 tles. They are less often distinguished by definite attributes than by 
 a mutual intertwining of arms. In earlier Greek art they always ap- 
 pear fully clothed ; but gradually their clothing became less and less, 
 until at length, in the age of Scopas and Praxiteles, when nude fig- 
 ures had become common, it entirely disappeared. There are, how- 
 ever, few ancient statues of the Charites in existence. 
 
 4. Themis and the Horse (Seasons). In inti- 
 mate connection with the Charites we find the Hora3, the; 
 daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were generally rep- 
 resented as three in number Eunomia, Dice, and Irene. 
 They represent the regular march of nature in the changes 
 of the seasons ; and Themis, who personifies the eternal 
 laws of nature, and as the daughter of Uranus and
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 99 
 
 ranks among the most ancient de- 
 ities, is consequently their moth- 
 er. Themis is the representative 
 of the reign of law among gods 
 and men ; at Zeus's command she 
 calls together the assemblies of 
 the gods. She also occupies a 
 similar position on earth, as pre- 
 siding over national assemblies 
 and the laws of hospitality. Her 
 daughters, the Horae, appear in a 
 similar, though in a subordinate 
 and attendant, character. In Ho- 
 mer they figure as the servants 
 of Zeus, who watch the gates of 
 heaven, now closing them with 
 thick clouds, now clearing the 
 clouds away. They also appear 
 as the servants and attendants 
 of other divinities, such as 
 Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, and 
 the Muses. Like their mother, 
 they preside over all law and 
 order in human affairs ; and un- 
 der their protection thrives all 
 that is noble and beautiful and 
 good. 
 
 We know but little concern- 
 ing the worship of the Hone 
 among the Greeks. The Athe- 
 nians celebrated a special festi- 
 val in their honor, but they rec-
 
 100 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ognized only two Thallo, the season of blossom, and Car- 
 po, the season of the ripened fruit. The adoption of four 
 Horse, corresponding to the four seasons of the year, ap- 
 pears to have arisen at a later period. 
 
 In plastic art Themis is generally represented with a balance in 
 one hand and a palm branch in the other. The Hora generally ap- 
 pear as lovely girls dancing with their garments tucked up, and 
 adorned with flowers, fruit, and garlands. Subsequently they were 
 distinguished by various attributes, typical of the different seasons 
 Such is the case in the engraving (Fig. 28), after a relief in the Villa 
 Albani. 
 
 5. Nice (Victoria). Nice is nothing but a personi- 
 fication of the irresistible and invincible power exercised 
 by the god of heaven by means of his lightning. She also 
 appears in the company of Pallas Athene, who was herself 
 honored by the Athenians as the goddess of victory. Vic- 
 tory does not seem to have had many separate temples or 
 festivals, since she generally appears only in attendance on 
 her superior deities. 
 
 Far more extensive was the veneration of Victoria at 
 Rome, a fact for which the warlike character of the peo- 
 ple easily accounts. Her chief shrine was on the Capitol, 
 where successful generals were wont to erect statues of the 
 goddess in remembrance of their exploits. The most mag 
 nificent statue of this kind was one erected by Augustus 
 in fulfilment of a vow after his victory at Actium. The 
 proper festival of the goddess took place on the 12tb of 
 April. 
 
 In both Greek and Roman art, Victory was represented as a winged 
 goddess. She is distinguished by a palm branch and laurel gar- 
 land, which were the customary rewards of bravery among the an- 
 cients. Large statues of the goddess are seldom met with, though
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 101 
 
 Pag. 29. Victoria. United Collections in Munich. 
 
 he is often depicted on vases, coins, and small bronzes. The mu- 
 seum of Cassel has a small bronze statue of the goddess, while a 
 fine alto-rilievo in terra-cotta exists in the Royal Collection at Mu- 
 nich (Fig. 29). 
 
 6. (Iris). Iris was originally a personification of the 
 rainbow, but she was afterward converted into the swift 
 messenger of the gods, the rainbow being, as it were, a
 
 102 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 bridge between earth, and heaven. In this character she 
 makes her appearance in Homer, but, later still, she was 
 again transformed into a special attendant of Hera. Her 
 swiftness was astounding. " Like hail or snow," says Ho- 
 mer, " that falls from the clouds," she darts from one end 
 of the world to the other nay, dives to the hidden depths 
 of the ocean and into the recesses of the lower world, ex- 
 ecuting the commands of the gods. 
 
 In art Iris was represented with wings, like Nice, to whom she, in 
 many respects, bears a strong resemblance. She may be distinguish- 
 ed from the latter, however, by her herald's staff (caduceus). A very 
 much injured specimen, from the east pediment of the Parthenon at 
 Athens, is now preserved in the British Museum. 
 
 7. Hebe (Juventas). Hebe was the daughter of 
 Zeus and Hera, and, according to her natural interpretation, 
 represented the youthful bloom of nature. In the fully 
 developed mythology of the Greeks she appears as the 
 cup-bearer of the. gods, to whom, at meals, she presents the 
 sweet nectar. It may at first seem strange that the daugh- 
 ter of the greatest of the divinities of Greece should be 
 relegated to so inferior a position. This, however, is easily 
 explained by the old patriarchal custom of the Greeks, by 
 which the young unmarried daughters, even in royal pal- 
 aces, waited at table on the men of the family and the 
 guests. 
 
 In post-Homeric poetry and legend Hebe no longer ap 
 pears as cup-bearer of the gods, the office having been asr 
 signed to Ganymedes. This was either in consequence ol 
 the promotion of the son of the King of Troy, or on ac 
 count of Hebe's marriage with the deified Heracles. 
 
 Hebe occupies no important place in the religious sys- 
 tem of the Greeks ; she seems to have been chiefly hon
 
 Fig. 30. Hebe. From Antonio Canova.
 
 104 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ored in connection with her mother Hera, or now and then 
 with Heracles. 
 
 Juventas, or Juventus, is the corresponding deity of the 
 Romans ; but, as was the case with so many others, they 
 contrived to bring her into a more intimate connection 
 with their political life by honoring in her the undying 
 and unfading vigor of the State. She had a separate 
 chapel in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. 
 
 With regard to the artistic representation of Hebe, statues of this 
 goddess appear to have been very rare in ancient times ; at least, 
 among all the numerous statues that have been discovered, none can 
 be safely identified with Hebe. She is the more often met with on 
 ornamental vases and reliefs, on which the marriage of Heracles and 
 Hebe is a favorite subject. She is usually depicted as a highly grace- 
 ful, modest maiden, pouring out nectar from an upraised vessel. She 
 appears thus in the world-renowned masterpiece of the Italian sculp- 
 tor Canova, so well known from casts. In default of an ancient 
 statue, we give an engraving of this work (Fig. 30). 
 
 8. (G-anymed.es). A similar office in Olympus was 
 filled by the son of Tros, the King of Troy, Ganymedes, 
 who was made immortal by Zeus, and installed as cup- 
 bearer of the gods. Neither Homer nor Pindar, however, 
 relates the episode of Zeus sending his eagle to carry off 
 Ganymedes. This feature of the story, which is a favorite 
 subject of artistic representation, is first found in Apollo- 
 dorus. The Roman poet, Ovid, then went a step farther, 
 and made the ruler of Olympus transform himself into an 
 eagle, in order to carry off his favorite. 
 
 The rape of the beautiful boy is often portrayed in ancient art. 
 The most famous monument is a bronze group of Leochares, an ar- 
 tist who flourished in the fourth century B.C. A copy of it still exists 
 in the celebrated statue of Ganymedes in the Vatican collection. In 
 modern art the story has been treated with still greater frequency.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 105 
 
 Fig. 31. Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen. 
 
 There is an extremely beautiful group of this kind by Thorwaldsen, 
 in which Ganymedes is represented as giving the eagle drink out of 
 a bowl (Fig. 31). 
 
 2. The Phenomena of the Heavens. 
 
 1. Helios (Sol). Helios (Latin, Sol), ike sun -god, 
 belongs to that small class of deities who have preserved 
 their physical meaning intact throughout. His worship 
 undoubtedly came to Greece from Asia ; it was confined to 
 a few places, the most important of which was the island 
 of Rhodes. An annual festival, attended with musical and 
 athletic contests, was here celebrated with great pomp in 
 honor of the sun-god. He is portrayed by the poets as 
 a handsome youth with flashing eyes and shining hair cov-
 
 106 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ered with a golden helmet. His daily office was to bring 
 the light of day to gods and men, which he performed by 
 rising from Oceanus in the east, where the Ethiopians live, 
 and completing his course along the firmament. For this 
 purpose the post-Homeric poets endow him with a sun- 
 chariot drawn by four fiery horses ; and though Homer 
 and Hesiod do not attempt to explain how he passed from 
 the west, where he sets, to the east, where he rises, later po- 
 ets obviate the difficulty by making him sail round half the 
 earth in a golden boat (according to others, a golden bed) ; 
 and thus he was supposed again to arrive at the east. In 
 the far west Helios had a splendid palace, and also a cele- 
 brated garden, which was under the charge of the Hesper- 
 ides. He is described as the son of the Titans Hyperion 
 and Thea, whence he himself is called a Titan. By his 
 wife Perse, a daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of 
 ^Eetes, King of Colchis, celebrated in the legend of the Ar- 
 gonauts, and of the still more celebrated sorceress Circe. 
 Another son of Helios was Phaethon, who, in attempting 
 to drive his father's horses, came to an untimely end. 
 
 Helios sees and hears everything ; whence he was be- 
 lieved to bring hidden crimes to light, and was invoked as 
 a witness at all solemn declarations and oaths. 
 
 All the stories relating to Helios were gradually trans- 
 ferred to the Roman Sol, who was originally a Sabine deity, 
 chiefly by means of the " Metamorphoses " of Ovid. The 
 untiring charioteer of the heavens was also honored as the 
 patron of the race-course ; but he never attained a promi- 
 nent position in religious worship. 
 
 Helios, or Sol, is depicted as a handsome youth, his head encircled 
 by a crown, which gives forth twelve bright rays corresponding to 
 the number of the months, his mantle flying about his shoulders
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 10V 
 
 as he stands in his chariot. It was chiefly in Rhodes, however, that 
 Helios was made the subject of the sculptor's art. Here, in 280 
 B.C., was erected in his honor the celebrated colossal statue which 
 has acquired a world-wide celebrity under the name of the Colossus 
 of Rhodes, and which was reckoned as one of the " seven wonders 
 of the world." It was the work of Chares of Lindus, and was 105 
 f.vet in height. 
 
 2. Selene (Luna). As Artemis is the twin sister of 
 Apollo, so is Selene the twin sister of Helios ; he represent- 
 ing the sun, she the moon. Selene, however, never really 
 enjoyed divine honors in Greece. The poets depict her as 
 a white-armed goddess, whose beautiful tresses are crowned 
 with a brilliant diadem. In the evening she rises from the 
 sacred river of Oceanus, and pursues her course along the 
 firmament of heaven in her chariot, drawn by two white 
 horses. She is gentle and timid, and it is only in secret 
 that she loves beautiful youths and kisses them in sleep. 
 Poets delight to sing of the secret love she cherished for 
 the beautiful Endymion, the son of the King of Elis. She 
 caused him to fall into an eternal sleep, and he now reposes 
 in a rocky grotto on Mount Latmus, where Selene nightly 
 visits him, and gazes with rapture on his countenance. 
 
 In later times she was often confounded with Artemis, 
 Hecate, and Persephone. The same remarks apply to the 
 Roman Luna. The latter, however, had a temple of her 
 own on the Aventine, which was supposed to have been 
 dedicated to her by Servius Tullius. Like her brother Sol, 
 she was honored in Rome in connection with the circus, 
 and was held to preside over the public games. 
 
 In sculpture, Selene, or Luna, may be recognized by the half -moon 
 on her forehead, and by the veil over the back of her head ; she also 
 bears in her hand a torch. The sleeping Endymion was a frequent 
 subject of representation on sarcophagi and monuments.
 
 108 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 3. Eos (Aurora). Eos, the goddess of the dawn, was 
 also a daughter of Hyperion and Thea, and a sister of Se- 
 lene and Helios. She was first married to the Titan Astrse- 
 us, by whom she became the mother of the winds Boreas, 
 Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus (north, west, east, and south 
 winds). This is a mythological mode of intimating the 
 fact that the wind generally rises at dawn. After Astrseus, 
 who, like most of the Titans, had rebelled against the sov- 
 ereignty of Zeus, and had been cast into Tartarus, Eos 
 chose the handsome hunter Orion for her husband. The 
 gods, however, would not consent to their union, and Orion 
 was slain by the arrows of Artemis, after which Eos mar- 
 ried Tithonus, the son of the King of Troy. She begged 
 Zeus to bestow on him immortality, but, having forgotten 
 to ask for eternal youth, the gift was of doubtful value, 
 since Tithonus at last became a shrivelled-up, decrepit old 
 man, in whom the goddess took no pleasure. 
 
 Memnon, King of ^Ethiopia, celebrated in the story of 
 the Trojan war, was a son of Eos and Tithonus. He 
 came to the assistance of Troy, and was slain by Achilles. 
 Since then, Eos has wept without ceasing for her dar- 
 ling son, and her tears fall to the earth in the shape of 
 dew. 
 
 Eos is represented by the poets as a glorious goddess, 
 with beautiful hair, rosy arms and fingers a true picture 
 of the invigorating freshness of the early morning. Cheer- 
 ful and active, she rises early from her couch, and, envel- 
 oped in a saffron colored mantle, she harnesses her horses, 
 Lampus and Phaethon (Brightness and Lustre), in order 
 that she may hasten on in front of the sun-god and an- 
 nounce the day. 
 
 The views and fables connected with Eos were trans*
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 109 
 
 ferred by the Koman writers to the person of their god- 
 dess Aurora* without undergoing any alteration. 
 
 Representations of this goddess are found now and then on vases 
 and gems. She either appears driving a chariot and four horses, 
 as harnessing the steeds of Helios, or as gliding through the air on 
 wings and sprinkling the earth with her dew. 
 
 4. The Stars. Only a few of the stars are of any 
 importance in mythology. Phosphorus and Hesperus, the 
 morning -star and the evening - star, which were formerly 
 regarded as two distinct beings, were represented in art in 
 the guise of beautiful boys with torches in their hands. 
 There were also several legends relating to Orion, whom 
 we have already alluded to as the husband of Eos. He 
 himself was made a constellation after having been slain 
 by the arrows of Artemis, while his dog was Sirius, whose 
 rising announces the hottest season of the year. All kinds 
 of myths were invented about other constellations ; among 
 others, the Hyades, whose rising betokened the advent of 
 the stormy, rainy season, during which the sailor avoids 
 going to sea. The story went that they were placed 
 among the constellations by the gods out of pity, because 
 they were inconsolable at the death of their brother Hyas, 
 who was killed by a lion while hunting. Connected with 
 them are the Pleiades, i. e., the stars of mariners, so called 
 because on their rising in May the favorable season for 
 
 * The Mater Matuta of the Romans was a deity very similar to the 
 Eos of the Greeks. She was the goddess of the early dawn, and was 
 held in high estimation among the Roman women as a deity who as- 
 sisted them in childbirth. Like the Greek Leucothca, she was also 
 regarded as a goddess of the sea and harbors, who assisted those in 
 peril.
 
 J10 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 voyages begins. They were seven in number, and were 
 likewise set in the heavens by the gods. Finally, we must 
 not forget to mention Arctus, the Bear. Tradition assert- 
 ed that this was none other than the Arcadian nymph 
 Callisto, who had been placed among the constellations by 
 Zeus when slain in the form of a she -bear by Artemis. 
 She had broken her vows of chastity, and borne a son, 
 Areas, to Zeus. 
 
 5. The "Winds. The four chief winds have been al- 
 ready alluded to as the sons of Eos. They were especially 
 venerated by those about to make voyages, who then so- 
 licited their favor with prayers and offerings. Otherwise, 
 they maintained their character of pure natural forces, and 
 were, consequently, of little importance in mythology. 
 The rude north wind, Boreas, or Aquilo, was especially 
 dreaded on account of his stormy violence, and was hence 
 regarded as a bold ravisher of maidens. Thus an Attic le- 
 gend asserts that he carried off Orithyia, the daughter of 
 Erechtheus, as she was playing on the banks of the Ilissus. 
 She bore him Calais and Zetes, well known in the story of 
 the Argonauts. Boreas, however, stood in high favor 
 among the Athenians, who erected an altar and chapel to 
 him, because, during the Persian War, he had partially de- 
 stroyed the fleet of Xerxes off Cape Sepias. 
 
 As Boreas is the god of the winter storm, so Zephyrus 
 appears as the welcome messenger of spring ; on which ac- 
 count one of the Horse was given him to wife. Zeph- 
 yrus was called Favonius by the Romans, to intimate the 
 favorable influence he exercised on the prosperous growth 
 of the vegetable world. 
 
 These, together with the other chief winds, Notus (south
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. Ill 
 
 wind) and Eurus (east wind), were sometimes said to reside 
 in separate places ; at other times they were said to dwell 
 together in the Wind-mountain, on the fabulous island of 
 ./Eolia, where they were ruled over by King yEolus. 
 
 3. Gods of Birth and Healing. 
 
 1. Asclepius (^Esculapius). It was only in latei 
 times that the necessity of having special gods of birth 
 and healing made itself felt ; at all events, Asclepius, or 
 ./Esculapius, as he is called by the Romans, does not ap- 
 pear as a god in Homer. The worship of this deity, who 
 was said to be the son of Apollo, appears to have origi- 
 nated in Epidaurus, the seat of his principal shrine, and 
 thence to have become generally diffused. In Epidaurus 
 his priests erected a large hospital, which enjoyed a great 
 reputation. The common method of cure consisted in al- 
 lowing those who were sick to sleep in the temple, on 
 which occasion, if they had been zealous in their prayers 
 and offerings, the god appeared to them in a dream and 
 discovered the necessary remedy. 
 
 The worship of this deity was introduced into Rome in 
 the year 291 B.C., in consequence of a severe pestilence 
 which for years had depopulated town and country. The 
 Sibylline books were consulted, and they recommended 
 that Asclepius of Epidaurus should be brought to Rome. 
 The story goes that the sacred serpent of the god follow 
 ed the Roman ambassadors of its own accord, and chose 
 for its abode the Insula Tiberina at Rome, where a temple 
 was at once erected to ^Esculapius. A gilded statue was 
 added to the temple in the year 13 B.C. The method 
 already mentioned of sleeping in the temple was also 
 adopted here.
 
 Fig. 32. Asclepius. Berlin.
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 
 
 113 
 
 In art, Asclcpius is represented as a bearded man of ripe years, 
 with singularly noble features, from which the kindly benevolence of 
 a benefactor of mankind looks forth. He is generally accompanied 
 by a serpent, as a symbol of self- 
 renovating vital power, which he 
 is feeding and caressing, or which 
 is more commonly represented 
 as creeping up his staff. Such is 
 the conception in the engraving 
 (Fig. 32), which is after a statue 
 preserved at Berlin. As the god 
 of healing, he has also other at- 
 tributes a bowl containing the 
 healing draught, a bunch .of 
 herbs, a pine -apple, or a dog; 
 the latter being a symbol of the 
 vigilance with which the physi- 
 cian watches disease. 
 
 There are numerous extant 
 statues of the god, although the 
 great statue in gold and ivory of 
 the temple at Epidaurus has been 
 entirely lost. A fine head of co- 
 lossal proportions was discovered 
 on the Isle of Melos, and is now 
 an ornament of the British Mu- 
 seum (Fig. 33.) There is, on the other hand, a very fine statue without 
 a head in existence at Athens, near the temple of Zeus. There are, 
 moreover, celebrated statues in Florence, Paris, and Rome (Vatican) ; 
 in the last case, of a beardless ./Esculapius. 
 
 2. Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing. The 
 Greeks also honored Ilithyia as a goddess of birth. This 
 appears to have been originally a surname of Hera, as 
 a deity who succored women in childbirth. Hygiea was 
 looked on as a goddess of health, and was described as a 
 daughter of Asclepius. 
 
 The Romans had no need of a special goddess presiding 
 over birth, although they honored a deity often identified 
 
 Fig. 33. Head of Asclepius. 
 Museum.
 
 114 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 with Hygiea, whom they called Strenia, or Salus. Aa 
 guardian of the chamber of birth, they honored Carna, or 
 Cardea, who was supposed to drive away the evil Striges 
 (screech-owls) that came at night to suck the blood of the 
 new-born child. Carna was further regarded as the pro- 
 tectress of physical health. Another of these inferior dei- 
 ties, of whom men sought long life and continued health, 
 bore the name of Anna Perenna (the circling year). 
 
 4. Deities of Fate. 
 
 1. Moerae (Parcae). The Mcera, better known by 
 the Latin name of Parca3, really denote that portion of a 
 man's life and fortune which is determined from his birth ; 
 so that, in this sense, there are as many Hoarse as individ- 
 uals. The Greeks, however, who were wont to revere all 
 such indefinite numbers under the sacred number three, 
 generally recognized three. These they regarded as the 
 dark and inexplicable powers of fate, daughters of the 
 night. Their names were Clotho (spinster), Lachesis (al- 
 lotter), and Atropos (inevitable). 
 
 Only two Parcae were originally known to the Romans, 
 but a third was afterward added, to make their own my- 
 thology harmonize with that of the Greeks. 
 
 The popular conception of the Parcae as grave hoary women was 
 not followed in art, where they always appear as young. In the first 
 instance, their attributes were all alike, separate functions not yet 
 having been allotted to them. But at a subsequent period it was 
 Clotho who spun, Lachesis who held, and Atropos who cut, the thread 
 of life. This arrangement was first adopted by later artists, who 
 generally give Clotho a spindle, Lachesis a roll of parchment, and 
 Atropos a balance, or let the last point to the hour of death on a 
 dial. Such is the case in a talented creation of Carstens, in which 
 the conception of modern times is brought into harmony with the 
 ideal of antiquity (Fig. 84).
 
 116 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 2. Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodae- 
 mon (Bonus Eventus). Nemesis really denotes the 
 apportionment of that fate which is justly deserved, and a 
 consequent repugnance to that which is not. Homer does 
 not acknowledge Nemesis as a goddess, and so it is proba- 
 > ble that her claim to public veneration dates from a later 
 period. She was regarded as a goddess of equality, who 
 watches over the equilibrium of the moral universe, and 
 sees that happiness and misfortune are allotted to man ac< 
 cording to merit. Hence arose, subsequently, the idea of 
 an avenging deity, who visits with condign punishment the 
 crimes and wickedness of mankind. In this character she 
 resembles the Furies. The Romans likewise introduced 
 Nemesis into their system ; at least her statue stood on 
 the Capitol, though popular superstition never regarded 
 her with a friendly eye. 
 
 The various conceptions of Nemesis are again displayed in works 
 of art. The kindly, gentle goddess, who dispenses what is just, is 
 depicted as a young woman of grave and thoughtful aspect, holding 
 \n her hand the instruments of measurement and control (cubit, 
 bridle, and rudder). As the stern avenger of human crimes, she ap- 
 pears with wings in a chariot drawn by griffins, with a sword or whip 
 in her hand. 
 
 Tyche, the goddess of good fortune, was, according to 
 common accounts, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. 
 She was usually honored as the tutelary deity of towns, 
 and as such had temples and statues in many populous 
 cities of Greece and Asia. In course of time, however, 
 che idea gained ground that Tyche was the author of evil 
 as well as of good fortune. She resembled, in this respect, 
 the Fortuna of the Romans, who was regarded as the source 
 of all that is unexpected in human life. Servius Tullius 
 was said to have introduced into Rome the worship of
 
 THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. ILi 
 
 Fortuna, whose favorite he had certainly every reason to 
 regard himself. He erected a temple to her under the 
 name of Fors Fortuna, and made the 24th of June the com- 
 mon festival of the goddess. Later, her worship became still 
 more extensive. Under the most different surnames, some 
 of which referred to the State (Fortuna populi Romani], 
 and others to every description of private affairs, she had a 
 great number of temples and chapels erected in her honor. 
 She had also celebrated temples in Antium and Prameste. 
 
 Ancient artists endowed this goddess with various attributes, the 
 most important of which was the rudder, which she held in her hand 
 in token of her power to control the fortunes of mankind. She is 
 also endowed with a sceptre for the same purpose, and with a horn 
 of plenty as the giver of goo \ fortune ; sometimes she is also repre- 
 sented with the youthful Plutus in her arms. The later conception 
 of an impartial goddess of fate is apparent in those art-monuments 
 which depict her standing on a ball or wheel. Among the larger 
 existing works, we may mention a copy preserved in the Vatican of 
 a Tyche by Eutychides of Sicyon, which was formerly exhibited in 
 Antioch. The goddess here wears a mural crown on her head as the 
 tutelary deity of towns, and has a sheaf of corn in her right hand. 
 
 Besides Fortuna, the Romans honored a deity called Fe- 
 licitas as the goddess of positive good fortune. Lucullus 
 is said to have erected a temple to her in Rome, which was 
 adorned with the works of art brought by Mummius from 
 the spoils of Corinth. Even this did not suffice for the re- 
 ligious needs of the people, and we find that the belief in 
 personal protecting deities grew rapidly among both Greeks 
 and Romans. These deities were termed by the Greeks 
 " dfemones," and by the Romans " genii." They were be- 
 lieved to be the invisible counsellors of every individual, 
 accompanying him from birth to death, through all the 
 stages of life, with advice and comfort. Offerings of wine, 
 cake, incense, and garlands were made to them, particularly 
 on birthdays.
 
 118 GREEK AND KOMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 II. THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 
 
 1. Poseidon (Neptunus). Poseidon, or Neptunus, 
 as he was called by the Romans, was the son of Cronus 
 and Rhea. Homer calls him the younger brother of Zeus, 
 in which case his subjection to the latter is only natural. 
 According to the common account, however, Zeus was the 
 youngest of the sons of Cronus, but acquired the sovereign- 
 ty over his brothers by having overthrown their cruel fa- 
 ther. Poseidon was accordingly indebted to his brother for 
 his dominion over the sea and its deities, and was therefore 
 subject to him. He usually dwelt, not in Olympus, but at 
 the bottom of the sea. Here he was supposed to inhabit, 
 with Amphitrite, his wife, a magnificent golden palace in 
 the neighborhood of ^Egae. Originally, like Oceanus and 
 Pontus, he was a mere symbol of the watery element, but 
 he afterward attained an entirely independent personality. 
 Even in Homer he no longer appears as the sea itself, but 
 as its mighty ruler, who with his powerful arms upholds 
 and circumscribes the earth. He is violent and impetuous, 
 like the element he represents. When he strikes the sea 
 with his trident, the symbol of his sovereignty, the waves 
 rise with violence, dash in pieces the ships, and inundate 
 the land far and wide. Poseidon likewise possesses the 
 power of producing earthquakes, cleaving rocks, and rais- 
 ing islands in the midst of the sea. On the other hand, a 
 word or look from him suffices to allay the wildest tem- 
 pest. Virgil, in the first book of the "yEneid," has given 
 a beautiful description of the taming of the fierce elements 
 by the god.
 
 THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 119 
 
 Poseidon was naturally regarded as the chief god of all 
 the seafaring classes, such as fishermen, boatmen, and sail- 
 ors, who esteemed him as their patron and tutelary deity. 
 To him they addressed their prayers before entering on a 
 voyage ; to him they brought their offerings in gratitude 
 for their safe return from the perils of the deep. 
 
 Poseidon, therefore, enjoyed the highest reputation 
 among the seafaring lonians. His temples, altars, and 
 statues were most numerous in the harbors and seapoit 
 towns, and on islands and promontories. Among the nu- 
 merous shrines of this deity we may mention that of 
 Corinth, in the neighborhood of which were celebrated in 
 his honor the Isthmian games, which subsequently became 
 a national festival in Greece, Pylus, Athens, and the islands 
 of Rhodes, Cos, and Tenos. 
 
 It was only natural that many legends, local and provin- 
 cial, should exist about a god who played such an impor- 
 tant part in the lives of seafaring folk. In the Trojan epos 
 he figures as a violent enemy of Troy, his indignation hav- 
 ing been provoked by the injustice of the Trojan king, 
 Laomedon. Poseidon had built the walls of Troy, at the 
 king's request, with the aid of Apollo ; but Laomedon hav- 
 ing cheated him in the matter of the stipulated reward, 
 Poseidon thereupon sent a terrible sea-monster, which laid 
 waste the crops and slew the inhabitants. They had re- 
 course to the oracle, which counselled the sacrifice of the 
 king's daughter, Hesione. The unhappy maiden was ex- 
 posed to the monster, but was rescued by Heracles. The 
 fable of this monster, which is manifestly a symbol of the 
 inundation of the sea, is repeated in many succeeding sto- 
 ries (e. </., in the story of Perseus, who rescued in a similar 
 way Andromeda, the daughter of the King of /Ethiopia).
 
 120 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 There are numberless stories in which Poseidon appears 
 as the father of the different national heroes. The most 
 important is, perhaps, the legend of Theseus, of which we 
 shall speak later on. There was scarcely a Grecian town 
 or district which did not lay claim to divine origin for the 
 person of its founder or ancestral hero. Again, the con- 
 ception of the wild stormy nature of the sea caused Posei- 
 don to be represented as the father of various giants and 
 monsters. By the nymph Thoosa he became the father of 
 the savage Polyphemus, slain by Odysseus, who thus pro- 
 voked the implacable enmity of Poseidon. The giant An- 
 taeus, who fought with Heracles, was also said to be a son 
 of Poseidon, besides many other monsters, such as Pro- 
 crustes, Cercyon, and the Aloi'dse. 
 
 The favorite animal of Poseidon was the horse, which 
 he was supposed to have created. This may, perhaps, b 
 due to the fact that the imagination of the Greeks pict- 
 ured to itself the horses of Poseidon in the rolling and 
 bounding waves. In Athens the origin of the horse was 
 referred to the contest between Athene and Poseidon, as 
 to who should make the land the most useful present. 
 In Corinthian legend Poseidon appears as the father of 
 the winged horse Pegasus by Medusa. This story is con- 
 nected with the taming of the horse, which was as- 
 cribed to Poseidon. On account of his intimate con- 
 nection with the horse, Poseidon was especially regarded 
 as the patron of the games, and had, in consequence, an 
 altar of his own on all race-courses. The competitors, be- 
 fore the races, solicited his favor with prayers and sacri- 
 fices. 
 
 The dolphin and the pine-tree were held sacred to Po- 
 seidon, the latter probably because it was so extensively
 
 THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 121 
 
 used in ship-building. Black steers, horses, rams, and wild 
 boars were sacrificed to him. 
 
 The Romans not being a seafaring people, Neptune nev- 
 er stood in such high estimation among them as among 
 
 Fig. 35. Poseidon. Dolce Gem. 
 
 the Greeks. In Rome his prominent characteristic was 
 his connection with the horse and the race-course. These 
 were placed under his special protection, for which reason
 
 122 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the only temple he had in Rome stood in the Circus Fla- 
 minius. 
 
 The representation of Poseidon, or Neptune, in art harmonizes 
 tolerably well with the descriptions of the poets. He is accordingly 
 represented as similar to his brother Zeus in size and figure, with 
 broad deep chest, dark wavy hair, and piercing eyes. 
 
 Artists intimated the greater violence of his nature by giving him 
 more angularity of face, and a more bristling and disordered head of 
 hair than Zeus. The expression of his countenance is more grave 
 and severe, and the kindly smile that plays around the mouth of 
 Zeus is altogether wanting. 
 
 Ancient statues of Poseidon are comparatively rare. The Vatican 
 Museum possesses a fine bust, and also a marble statue of the god. 
 He is generally distinguished by the trident in his right hand ; some- 
 times in its place we find a tiller. A band similar to a diadem de- 
 notes his dominion over the sea. Our engraving of the god is after 
 a beautiful gem of the Dolce collection (Fig. 35). 
 
 2. Amphitrite. After Poseidon had attained an al- 
 most exclusive veneration as god of the sea, Amphitrite, 
 one of the Nereids, was given him to wife. According to 
 the usual account, he carried her away from Naxos. Oth- 
 ers say that she fled to Atlas to avoid the rude wooing of 
 the god, but Poseidon's dolphin found her and fetched 
 her back. She had three children by Poseidon Triton, 
 Rhode, and Benthesicyme. 
 
 In plastic art, Amphitrite is generally depicted as a slim and beau- 
 tiful young woman, either nude or half clothed, riding in the chariot 
 of Poseidon at his side, or by herself. On gems she also appears 
 enthroned on the back of a mighty Triton, or riding a sea-horse or 
 dolphin. Her hair generally falls loosely about her shoulders. She 
 Is distinguished by the royal insignia of the diadem and sceptre ; at 
 times she also wields the trident of her husband. 
 
 The worship of Amphitrite was entirely unknown to the 
 Romans, who recognized the sea -goddess Salacia as the 
 wife of Neptune.
 
 THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 123 
 
 3. Triton and the Tritons. Triton was the only 
 son of Poseidon and Amphitrite ; he never appears, how- 
 ever, to have enjoyed divine honors. This perhaps ex- 
 plains how it cauie to pass that he was subsequently de- 
 graded to the level of a fabulous sea-monster. The poet 
 Apollonius Rhodius describes him as having a body, the 
 upper parts of which were those of a man, while the lower 
 parts were those of a dolphin. Such, too, is his appearance 
 in works of art. Poets and artists soon revelled in the con- 
 ception of a whole race of similar Tritons, who were regard- 
 ed as a wanton, mischievous tribe, like the Satyrs on land. 
 
 The Tritons, as sea-deities of fantastic form, are of little impor- 
 tance in higher art, though they were all the more frequently employ- 
 ed in fountains and water -works. The fore-legs of a horse were 
 sometimes added to the human body and dolphin's tail, thus giving 
 rise to the figure termed the Ichthyocentaur. 
 
 4. Pontus and his Descendants. We have al- 
 ready spoken of Pontus and his race in our account of the 
 Theogony. Here we can only mention those of his chil- 
 dren who either enjoyed divine honors, or are of impor- 
 tance in art. The eldest among them was Nereus. 
 
 1. Nereus and his Daughters. Nereus presents to us 
 the cairn and pleasant side of the sea. He appears as a 
 kindly, benevolent old man, the good spirit of the ^Egean 
 Sea, where he dwells with his fifty lovely daughters, the 
 Nereids, ever ready to assist the storm-beaten sailor in the 
 hour of need. Like all water-spirits, Nereus possessed the 
 gift of prophecy, though he did not always choose to make 
 use of it. Heracles sought him on his way to the gar- 
 den of the Hesperides, in order to learn how he might get 
 possession of the golden apples. In spite of his urgent en- 
 treaties, Nereus endeavored to elude him by assuming ev-
 
 124 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ery kind of shape, though he was at length vanquished by 
 the persistence of the hero, who would not let him go until 
 he had obtained the necessary information. 
 
 By his wife Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, he became 
 the father of fifty, or, according to some, of a hundred 
 daughters, who were all venerated as kindly, beneficent sea- 
 nymphs. They are a charming, lovely tribe, who win the 
 hearts of the sailors now by their merry sports and dances, 
 now by their timely assistance in the hour of danger. 
 This joyous band generally forms the train of Poseidon 
 and Amphitrite. Besides Amphitrite, the chosen bride of 
 Poseidon, we find among them Thetis, the beautiful moth- 
 er of Achilles, so celebrated in ancient poetry, who usually 
 figures as their leader. Her beauty and grace were so 
 great that Zeus himself became her lover. He surrendered 
 her, however, to Peleus, son of JEacus, because an oracle 
 had declared that the son of Thetis should become greater 
 than his father. 
 
 In art Nereus generally appears as an old man with thin gray 
 locks. He is commonly distinguished by a sceptre, or even a trident. 
 The Nereids were depicted as graceful maidens, in earlier times 
 slightly clothed, but later entirely nude, riding on dolphins, Tritons, 
 or other fabulous monsters of the deep. 
 
 2. Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto. While Nereus and his 
 daughters represent the sea in its peaceful aspect, Thau- 
 raas, the second son of Pontus, represents it as the world 
 of wonders. By Electra, a daughter of Oceanus, he be- 
 came the father of Iris, the messenger of the gods, and 
 also of the Harpies. The latter personify the storm-winds. 
 Originally fair maidens, they were afterward represented as 
 winged creatures, half man and half bird ; they had the 
 faces of maidens, but their bodies were covered with vult-
 
 THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 125 
 
 ures' feathers ; they were pale and emaciated in appear- 
 ancc, and were continually tormented with an insatiable 
 hunger. They are best known from the story of the Ar- 
 gonauts, where they appear as the tormentor of the blind 
 king Phineus, whose table they continually robbed of its 
 viands, which they either devoured or spoiled. They were 
 regarded by the ancients as the ministers of sudden death, 
 and were said to be either two or three in number. Phor- 
 cys and Ceto, the brother and sister of Thaumas, present 
 to us the sea under its terrible aspect. This pair, from 
 whose union sprung the Gorgons, the Grseae, and the drag- 
 on of the Hespcrides, typify all the terrors and dangers of 
 the deep. We shall have more to say concerning the Gor- 
 gous and Groerc in the story of Perseus. 
 
 5. Proteus. Proteus is a deity of inferior rank. He 
 is represented as an old man (the servant of Poseidon) 
 endowed with the gift of prophecy. He plays the same 
 part in the story of Troy as Nereus does in that of Hera- 
 cles. His usual abode was the island of Pharos. It was 
 thither that Mcnelaus turned after he had been driven to 
 the coast of Egypt, on his return from Troy, to seek the 
 advice of the "unerring old man of the sea." But Pro- 
 teus, being in no amiable mood, sought to elude the im- 
 portunity of the hero by converting himself into a lion, a 
 dragon, a panther, a wild boar, and many other forms. At 
 length, however, he was vanquished by the persistence of 
 Menelaus, and vouchsafed an answer. He was supposed 
 to be the keeper of the fish who inhabit the depths of the 
 sea, and of the other marine animals. 
 
 In works of art he generally appears like a Triton, i. e., with body 
 ending in a fish's tail. He is usually distinguished by a crook.
 
 126 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 6. G-laucus. Among the inferior sea-deities, Glaucus 
 deserves mention as playing a part in the story of the 
 Argonauts. He was really only a local god of the Anthe- 
 donians in Boeotia, and his worship was not extended to 
 other places in Greece. But though he had no splendid 
 temples, he stood in very high estimation among the lower 
 classes of sailors and fishermen ; indeed, we find universally 
 that the common people, in all their cares, turned rather to 
 the inferior deities, whom they supposed to stand closer to 
 them, than to the higher and more important gods. Ac- 
 cording to the story, Glaucus was originally a fisherman of 
 Anthedon, who attained in a wonderful manner the rank 
 of a god. One day, after having caught some fish, he laid 
 them half dead on the turf close by. He was astonished 
 to see, however, that on coming in contact with a certain 
 herb, which was unknown to him, they were restored to 
 life and sprung back into the sea. He himself now ate of 
 this wonderful herb, and immediately felt himself pene- 
 trated by so wondrous a sensation of bliss and animation 
 that, in his excitement, he too sprung into the sea. Ocea- 
 nus and Thetis hereupon cleansed him from all his human 
 impurities, and gave him a place among the sea-gods. He 
 was venerated on many of the islands and coasts of Greece 
 as a friendly deity, ever ready to assist the shipwrecked 
 sailor or the castaway. 
 
 In art he is represented as a Triton, rough and shaggy in appear- 
 ance, his body covered with mussels or sea -weed. His hair and 
 beard show that luxuriance which characterizes sea-gods. 
 
 7. Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes. Like Glau- 
 cus, Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, attained at once immor- 
 tality and divine rank by a i<jap into the sea. She was a
 
 THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 127 
 
 sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and the wife of 
 Athamas, King of Orchomenus. It was she who, after the 
 unhappy death of Semele, took charge of the infant Diony- 
 sus. Hera, however, avenged herself by driving Athamas 
 mad, whereupon he dashed Learchus, his eldest son by Ino, 
 against a rock. He was about to inflict the same fate on 
 Melicertes, his second son, when in frantic haste the un- 
 happy mother sought to save her child by flight. Atha- 
 mas, however, pursued her as far as the Isthmus, when Ino, 
 seeing no hope of escape, cast herself from the rock Mo- 
 luris into the sea. Here she was kindly received by the 
 Nereids, and converted, together with her son, into sea- 
 deities. She henceforth bore the name of Leucothea, and 
 her son that of Pala3mon. They were both regarded as 
 benevolent deities of the stormy sea, who came to the as- 
 sistance of those who were shipwrecked or in other peril. 
 They appear in this guise in the " Odyssey," where Odys- 
 seus, who saw only certain death before him, is repre- 
 sented as having been saved by a scarf thrown to him by 
 Leucothea. 
 
 8. The Sirens. The Sirens must also be reckoned 
 among the sea- deities. They are best known from the 
 story how Odysseus succeeded in passing them with his 
 companions without being seduced by their song. He 
 had the prudence to stop the ears of his companions with 
 wax, and to have himself bound to the mast. The Sirens 
 were regarded as the daughters either of the river -god 
 Achelous by one of the nymphs, or of Phorcys and Ceto. 
 Only two Sirens are mentioned in Homer, but three or 
 four were recognized in later times and introduced into 
 various legends, such as that of the Argonauts, or the Sicil'
 
 128 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ian story of the rape of Persephone. Demeter is said to 
 have changed their bodies into those of birds, because they 
 refused to go to the help of their companion, Persephone, 
 when she was carried off by the god of the lower world. 
 
 In art they are represented, like the Harpies, as young women with 
 the wings and feet of birds. Sometimes they appear altogether like 
 birds, only with human faces ; at other times with the arms and 
 bodies of women, in which case they generally hold instruments of 
 music in their hands. As their songs were death to those who were 
 seduced by them, they are often depicted on tombs as spirits of 
 death. 
 
 9. The Race of Oceamis. Lastly, we must enu- 
 merate among the water-deities the numerous descendants 
 of Oceanus, viz., the Occanids, and also the rivers that are 
 spread over the earth. The latter were believed to have 
 their common source in the ocean encircling the earth, and 
 thence to flow beneath the ground until they reached the 
 surface in springs. 
 
 Oceanus himself appears in the myths which treat of 
 the genealogy of the gods as the eldest son of Uranus and 
 Ga?a, and therefore, like his wife Tethys, a Titan. As he 
 did not take part in the rebellion of the other Titans 
 against the dominion of Zeus, he did not share their dread- 
 ful fate, but was allowed to remain in undisturbed enjoy- 
 ment of his ancient domain. He was supposed to dwell 
 on the most western shores of the earth, which he never 
 left even to attend the assemblies of the gods. 
 
 On account of their great importance to the fertility of 
 the soil, the river-gods enjoyed a great reputation among 
 the Greeks, although their worship was entirely of a local 
 nature. Only Achelous, the greatest of all the Greek riv- 
 ers, appears to have enjoyed general veneration. The riv- 
 er-gods were believed to dwell either iu the depths of the
 
 THE GODS OF THK EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 129 
 
 rivers themselves, or in rocky grottos near their sources. 
 They were depicted either as delicate youths, or as men in 
 their prime, or as old men, according to the magnitude of 
 the river. They all possess a conformity with the nature 
 of their element, viz., that power of transformation which 
 we discover in the other sea -deities. They also appear, 
 like other water-spirits, to possess the gift of prophecy. 
 
 Among the Romans all flowing waters were held sacred. 
 Fontus, the son of Janus, was especially esteemed as the 
 god of springs and fountains in general ; but, as among 
 the Greeks, each river had its special deity. The most im- 
 portant of these was Tiberinus. The springs were popu- 
 larly supposed to be inhabited by nymphs gifted with the 
 powers of prophecy and magic, who sometimes honored 
 mortals with their favors, as Egeria did King Numa. 
 
 In art the river-gods were commonly represented in the guise of 
 those animals whose forms they were most in the habit of assuming. 
 They thus appear as serpents, bulls, or even as men with bulls' heads. 
 They were also portrayed, however, in purely human guise, with the 
 exception of having small horns on either side of the head. Their 
 attributes consist of urns and horns of plenty, symbols of the bless- 
 ings that proceed from them. 
 
 III. THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER 
 WORLD. 
 
 We now come to a class of deities who stand in the 
 most decided contrast to the gods of the heaven and the 
 sea, whom we have previously described. It consists of 
 those deities whose power is incessantly exerted either on 
 the surface or in the depths of the earth, and who are ac- 
 cordingly brought into the closest connection with the life 
 
 9
 
 130 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 of man. The worship of these deities assumed among the 
 Greeks a passionate and excited character, at first entirely 
 strange to the Romans, though it gradually crept in here also. 
 Though the ancients saw in the earth, on the one hand, 
 the fruitful source of all life in nature, they did not seek 
 to disguise the fact that it is, on the other hand, also the 
 open sepulchre into which all earthly existence sinks when' 
 its time is over. The worship of these deities was there- 
 fore celebrated with festivals of joy and mirth at the sea- 
 son of the revival of nature, and with mournful solemnities 
 at the season of its decay. The devotees manifested both 
 their mirth and mourning in a loud, noisy, passionate man- 
 ner, usually designated orgiastic. An element of mystery 
 never failed to introduce itself into the worship of these 
 deities, who, in virtue of their dwellings, Avere able to in- 
 spire a greater feeling of awe than the bright forms of the 
 gods of heaven. Their wrath also, which manifested itself 
 in the sterility of the soil, was the subject of especial fear. 
 Mysteries proper, or secret rites, existed only among the 
 Greeks, but never found their way into the religious sys- 
 tems of Italy. We shall enumerate first the deities of the 
 upper world, who preside over the growth of flocks and 
 the fruits of the earth, and then those who inhabit the 
 lower world. 
 
 1 . G-aea (Tellus). First among them is Gsea, cr 
 Mother Earth herself. This deity appears in the Cosmog 
 ony (or myths relating to the formation of the universe) 
 as one of the primeval creative forces, having herself pro- 
 ceeded immediately from Chaos. In later times she ac- 
 quired a more personal and plastic character, although she 
 never attained any real importance in the religious system
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 131 
 
 of the Greeks, owing to the existence of more definite and 
 substantial deities such as Rhea, Hestia, Demeter, and The> 
 mis. The worship of Tellus in Rome was more important, 
 although here, too, it was somewhat thrown into the shade 
 by the worship of Ceres and kindred deities. 
 
 The chief significance of Gaea lies in the fact that she is 
 the source of all life and increase in nature. She is hence 
 regarded as a mother who tends with loving care all her 
 children. Under this aspect her praises are sung by Hesi- 
 od, and also in an ancient Dodonaic hymn. Like Demeter 
 and other deities who dispense prosperity and abundance, 
 she appears as tending and nourishing the young, and is 
 often represented thus on ancient monuments. 
 
 At the same time Gaea is the common grave of man- 
 kind, and draws all things, with inexorable severity, down 
 into her dark womb. She thus becomes a goddess of 
 death and the lower world, and was on this account in- 
 voked, together with the Manes, as a witness of all solemn 
 compacts and oaths. 
 
 A very ancient shrine of this goddess existed at Delphi, 
 and the oracle there had once, said the Dclphians, belonged 
 to her. 
 
 In Rome, where she was also venerated as a goddess of 
 marriage, her temple stood on the site of the house of 
 Spurius Cassius. Festive offerings were made to her be- 
 fore and after seed-time. On the occasion of the Pagana- 
 lia, she and Ceres were propitiated by the sacrifice of a 
 pregnant sow, which was supposed to promote the pros- 
 perity of the coming year. 
 
 2. Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idaea). Rhea is 
 well known as the daughter of Uranus and Gaea, and the
 
 132 GREEK AND ROMAN MTTHOLOGT. 
 
 wife of Cronus, by whom she became the mother of Zeus 
 and the other Cronidae. She seems to have enjoyed only 
 a limited measure of divine honors, until she was identified 
 with the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who, like the Egyptian 
 Isis, was an Asiatic symbol of fertility. She was worship- 
 ped throughout Lydia and Phrygia under the appellation 
 of the " Mighty Mother." Thence her worship, which was 
 of a peculiarly noisy character, made its way through the 
 Greek colonies into Greece itself, and towards the end of 
 the second Punic war was, at the instance of the Sibylline 
 books, introduced into Rome. Attains, King of Pergamus, 
 was on this occasion good enough to present the Romans 
 with a sacred stone, which was regarded by the inhabit- 
 ants of Pessinus as the great mother herself. After its ar- 
 rival at Ostia, this stone was carried to Rome amidst a sol- 
 emn procession of Roman matrons. The day of its arrival 
 (April 10th) was ever afterward kept as a festival, at which 
 games were celebrated under the superintendence of the 
 praetor. The worship of Cybele, however, never seems to 
 have become naturalized in Rome, perhaps because Romans 
 were not allowed to officiate as her priests. 
 
 The true home of the worship of Cybele was the district 
 of Pessinus, a rough and rocky mountain land. It was 
 here that she made her noisy processions, seated in a char- 
 iot drawn by lions or panthers, amidst the boisterous music 
 of her weird attendants, the Corybantes and Curetes. The 
 myths that relate to the goddess bear a wild, fantastic char- 
 acter, similar to that of her rites. The best known among 
 them is the story of her favorite, Attis, or Atys. He was 
 a Phrygian youth of a beauty so exceptional that the great 
 mother of the gods chose him for her husband. At first 
 he returned her affection, but afterward he proved faithless,
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 133 
 
 and was about to marry a daughter of the King of Pessi- 
 nus. But the vengeance of the angry goddess overtook 
 him, for when the wedding guests were assembled at the 
 festive banquet the goddess appeared in their midst, and 
 filled those present with panic fear, and troubled their 
 minds. Atys fled to the mountains, where he slew him- 
 self in a fit of frenzy. Afterward, the goddess instituted a 
 great mourning in memory of him, which took place about 
 the time of the vernal equinox. The priests of the god- 
 dess marched, amidst the loud noise of kettle-drums and 
 fifes, to the mountains, in order to search for the lost 
 youth; and when at length he, or an image representing 
 him, was found, the priests, in an ecstasy of joy, danced 
 about in wild excitement, gashing themselves with knives. 
 
 Representations of Rhea Cybele are rare. A statue representing 
 her seated on a throne is shown in the Vatican. Her usual attribute 
 is a kettle-drum. 
 
 3. Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber). Dionysus, or 
 Bacchus, was regarded by Greeks and Romans alike as the 
 god of wine and vineyards. In his more extended mean- 
 ing he represents the blessings of the autumn. It is he 
 who causes the fruits to ripen for the use of man ; it is like- 
 wise he who dispenses to mankind all the advantages of 
 civilization and refinement, and of well-ordered political 
 affairs. 
 
 Thebes was described as the birthplace of the god. His 
 mother was Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, whom Zeus, 
 the great god of heaven, honored with his love. This very 
 love, however, proved fatal to Semele, for the ever-jealous 
 Hera came to her in the guise of her nurse, Beroe, and 
 succeeded in exciting her suspicions as to the truth of her 
 lover's divinity. She insidiously persuaded Semele to make
 
 134 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 her lover swear to do what she desired, and then to put 
 him to the test. Semele did so, and then besought Zeus 
 to appear to her in the full majesty of his divine form. 
 In vain did Zeus adjure her to take back her foolish re- 
 quest; she insisted on its fulfilment, and perished misera- 
 bly, being burned to ashes by the flame of Zeus, who ap- 
 proached her in a flash of lightning. Her unborn child 
 was preserved by Zeus, who ordered Hermes to carry it to 
 the nymphs of Nysa to be brought up. A later legend 
 makes Ino, the sister of Sernele, the foster-mother of Dio- 
 nysus. The locality of this Nysa is somewhat uncertain, 
 but it is generally supposed to be a district of Mount Pan- 
 ga3us, in Thrace. 
 
 Dionysus, after growing up amidst the solitude of the 
 forest and strengthening himself by his contests with its 
 wild beasts, at length planted the vine. Both the god and 
 his attendants soon became intoxicated with its juice ; af- 
 ter which, crowned with wreaths of laurel and ivy, and ac- 
 companied by a crowd of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns, he 
 ranged the woods, which resounded with the loud and joy- 
 ful cries of his inspired worshippers. The legend says that 
 his education was then completed by Silenus, the son of 
 Pan. In company with his preceptor and the rest of his 
 train, he then set forth to spread his worship and the cul- 
 tivation of the vine among the nations of the earth. He 
 did not confine himself to mere vine-planting, however, but 
 proved a real benefactor of mankind by founding cities, 
 and by introducing more civilized manners and a more 
 pleasant and sociable mode of life among men. On such 
 as refused his favors his wrath fell with dreadful effect. 
 Agave, the mother of the Theban king Pentheus, who had 
 refused to receive him, and the rest of the Theban women,
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 135 
 
 were driven mad by him ; and in their frenzy they mistook 
 the king for a wild-boar and tore him to pieces. 
 
 The most celebrated among the myths which testify to 
 the wondrous power of Dionysus is the story of the pun- 
 ishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates. On the occasion of his 
 passage from Icaria to Naxos, these pirates put Dionysus 
 in chains, purposing to take him to Italy, and there sell him 
 as a slave. At a nod from the youthful god the chains fell 
 from his limbs ; he appeared as a lion, while a bear was 
 
 Fig. 36. Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of Lysicrates. 
 
 seen at the other end of the ship. Vines and ivy tendrils 
 wound themselves round the mast and sails of the ship, 
 which stood still, while the strains of the nymphs burst 
 forth. The sailors, terrified by the transformation of the 
 god, leaped overboard, and were changed into dolphins. 
 A fine representation, in relief, of this scene still exists on 
 the monument of Lysicrates, at Athens. The most beauti- 
 ful feature in it is the figure of the god playing with his 
 lion in the most joyous unconsciousness (Fig. 36). With
 
 136 GREEK AND KOMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the name of Naxos, which was a chief seat of his worship, 
 is connected the celebrated story of his marriage with Ari- 
 adne, the daughter of Minos, King of Crete. The Attic 
 hero Theseus, after escaping the dangers of the Labyrinth 
 by her means, had taken her away with him from Crete in 
 order to marry her. He deserted her, however, while asleep 
 on the island of Naxos, either of his own accord or because 
 warned of the god in a dream. The indescribable anguish 
 and consternation of Ariadne, on awaking to find herself 
 alone and deserted on a foreign strand, was only equalled 
 by her joyous surprise when Bacchus, returning from his 
 travels in India, found her and made her his bride. The 
 poets, indeed, do not relate that Zeus then bestowed on her 
 that immortality which he had already given his son on 
 account of his glorious achievements and extraordinary 
 merit towards mankind ; but such appears to have been the 
 popular tradition. At Athens a sort of harvest thanksgiv 
 ing was celebrated in honor of both Dionysus and his bride, 
 at which vines with the grapes on them were borne in sol- 
 emn procession through the streets of the city. 
 
 The worship of Dionysus extended not only over the 
 whole of Greece, but also to Italy, Asia Minor, Thrace, and 
 Macedonia, and to every place where the vine was culti- 
 vated by the Greeks. The god was extolled as Lyffius, the 
 deliverer from care, and great festivals were instituted in 
 his honor, which were of a disorderly character, but very 
 popular among the common people. At the time of the 
 winter solstice there was mourning, because at this season 
 the vine seemed to die away, and the god was believed to 
 be suffering persecution at the hands of the evil spirits of 
 winter, and obliged to flee in consequence to the sea or 
 lower world. It was, therefore, thought right to suffer
 
 Fig. 37, The so-called Sardanapalus in the Vatican.
 
 138 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 with him, and people manifested their grief at his disap- 
 pearance by every kind of wild gesture. At the wintei 
 festivals of Dionysus, which were celebrated every other 
 year, only women and girls took part. The festivals of 
 the god at the beginning of spring, when the new wine 
 was tasted for the first time, were purely festivals of glad- 
 ness, like the greater Dionysia at Athens. On these oc- 
 casions the reawakening of nature was celebrated with 
 boundless joy and boisterous mirth. All kinds of jokes 
 and mischievous pranks were indulged in, and festive pro- 
 cessions and theatrical performances followed each other in 
 quick succession. 
 
 The following festivals were celebrated at Athens in 
 honor of Dionysus : 
 
 1. The Lesser or Rural Dionysia. This was the vin- 
 tage festival proper, which did not take place in Attica till 
 the end of November or beginning of December, because 
 they liked to let the grapes hang as long as possible. A 
 he-goat was first solemnly sacrificed to the god ; this was 
 followed by a festive procession bearing the sacred things, 
 and the festival concluded with all kinds of country amuse- 
 ments, dancing, masquerading, and revelling. The chief 
 amusement of the young men was dancing on the leather 
 bag. Out of the skin of the slaughtered goat was made a 
 leather bag, which was inflated and smeared with oil : the 
 young men then attempted to dance on it. 
 
 2. The Lencea, or feast of the wine-press, was celebrated 
 in the month of January at Athens, in the place where, ac- 
 cording to an old tradition, the first wine-press had stood. 
 Here stood the Lenaeon, one of the two chief temples of 
 the god. The chief feature of the festival was a magnifi- 
 cent procession with the sacred symbols of the god. This
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 139 
 
 Fig. 38. Youthful Dionysus. From the Chateau Eichelien, now in the 
 Louvre. 
 
 was followed by a great banquet, the viands for which 
 were furnished by the city of Athens. The new wine 
 which was drunk on these occasions did not tend to di- 
 minish the hilarity of the worshippers, so that all kinds 
 of mischievous jokes were perpetrated. 
 
 3. The Anthesteria were celebrated in February, on the 
 llth, 12th, and 13th days of the month Anthesterion.
 
 140 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGf. 
 
 They were supposed to commemorate the return of Diony. 
 sus from the lower world, or, in other words, the reawaken- 
 ing of nature from the sleep of winter. The first day was 
 called mBoiyia (cask-opening), because on this day the new 
 wine was first broached. The second and chief day of the 
 festival was called x<e (cups). A procession and a great 
 banquet took place, at which the guests were crowned with 
 flowers. Many liberties were 
 permitted to the slaves on this 
 occasion, as at the Koman Sat- 
 urnalia. The third day was 
 called xvrpot (pots), because 
 vessels were displayed filled 
 with all kinds of boiled vege- 
 tables. These were regarded 
 in the light of offerings for 
 the souls of the dead, who were 
 popularly supposed to revisit 
 the upper world on this occa- 
 sion. 
 
 4. The Greater or City Dio~ 
 Fig. 39. Marble Head of Yonthful nysia formed the chief festi- 
 Dionysus at Leyden. va j o f foe god, and the proper 
 
 spring-feast of the Athenians. It was celebrated with ex- 
 traordinary splendor in the month of March, and lasted 
 several days, bringing together a vast concourse of stran- 
 gers from all parts. The city, renowned alike for the 
 refined artistic taste and the keen wit of its inhabitants, 
 then donned its holiday garb, and innumerable merry an' 
 tics were played by the crowds assembled in the streets 
 and squares. The chief feature of the festival was a sol- 
 emn procession, in which an old wooden statue of the god
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 141 
 
 was borne through the streets. There were likewise ban- 
 quets and comic processions in masks, and grand repre- 
 sentations of new comedies and tragedies. The proceed- 
 ings concluded with the presentation of prizes to the suc- 
 cessful competitors. 
 
 The Italian nationalities likewise celebrated a festival on 
 the 17th of March, called the Libcralia, in honor of Liber, 
 or Liber Pater, the Italian god of the vine. It was dis- 
 tinguished throughout by the simple countrified character 
 of the proceedings, and resembled the Lesser Dionysia of 
 the inhabitants of Attica. People amused themselves with 
 all kinds of jokes and antics, and with masquerades, the 
 masks for which were cut from the bark of trees. The 
 chief object of the festival was to pray for the fertility of 
 the vines. These innocent festivals had nothing to do with 
 the voluptuous Bacchanalia which were afterward intro- 
 duced into Rome in imitation of the Greek mysteries, and 
 which the most rigorous interference of the authorities was 
 unable to suppress. 
 
 If we try to conceive briefly the significance of the wor- 
 ship of Dionysus in the religion of the ancients, we shall 
 find that in his primitive character the god was a personi- 
 fication of the active, productive power of nature. As De- 
 meter was supposed to give corn and the other fruits of 
 the field, so Dionysus was supposed to give the fruits of 
 trees, and especially of the vine. He was likewise regard- 
 ed as the author of the blessings of civilization, so that, on 
 this point, he supplements the idea of the great culture* 
 goddess Demcter, with whom, both among the Greeks and 
 Romans, he had many temples and festivals in common. 
 Looking at his character from another side, we find him 
 coming into contact with Apollo, since he was supposed
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 143 
 
 not only to endow men with a kindly, cheerful disposition, 
 but also to inspire them with a love of music, on which ac- 
 count he was honored with Apollo as the friend and lead- 
 er of the Muses. 
 
 Artistic representations of Dionysus have come down to us on 
 numerous monuments. In earlier art he was generally depicted as 
 majestic and grave, and on that account represented with a beard. 
 We have given an instance of this earlier conception in the so-called 
 Sardanapalus of the Vatican (Fig. 37). In later art he became more 
 youthful, and was characterized by a delicate roundness of form. 
 The statues of this period are distinguished by the almost feminine 
 expression of face with which they endow the god, as well as by the 
 
 Fig, 41. Dannecker's Ariadne. Fraukfort-on-the Main.
 
 144 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 rounded limbs and the graceful ease of every attitude. The statub 
 of a youthful Dionysus in the Louvre at Paris is an instance of this 
 later mode of conception (Fig. 38). So likewise is the head of Diony- 
 sus at Leyden, which is distinguished by a sweet expression of rev- 
 erie. His soft hair, which falls about his shoulders in delicate ring- 
 lets, is generally intertwined with a garland of vine leaves or ivy 
 (Fig. 39). The other attributes of the god are the thyrsus, or Bac- 
 chic wand, the diadem, the skin of a wild beast falling across his 
 chest, which often forms his sole clothing, and the drinking-cup in 
 his hand. He is generally accompanied by lions, tigers, or panthers ; 
 and the bull and ram, as the symbols of fertility, were held sacred 
 to him, while the latter was also his usual sacrifice. Among plants, 
 besides the vine and the ivy, the laurel was held sacred to him on 
 account of its powers of inspiration. 
 
 Of all the prominent personages in the stories of Dionysus, Ariadne 
 has received most attention at the hands of the sculptor. The most 
 celebrated of such ancient monuments is a marble figure of great 
 beauty, larger than life, representing the sleeping Ariadne. It is 
 now preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome (Fig. 40). Among 
 the productions of modern sculptors, the Ariadne of Dannecker, at 
 Frankfort-on-the-Main, which represents her as the bride of Theseus, 
 riding on a panther, justly enjoys a very high reputation (Fig. 41). 
 
 4. The Nymphs. We now come to a class of in- 
 ferior terrestrial divinities who are often found in the train 
 of Bacchus. The most numerous and important of these 
 are the Nymphs. They personify the restless activity and 
 energy of nature, over the whole of which their power ex- 
 tends. They manifest their presence in the murmuring, 
 rippling streams and brooks, as well as in the sprouting 
 vegetation of wood and meadow. They are tender, grace- 
 ful maidens, who, though kindly disposed towards men, 
 yet avoid human habitations, and prefer the peaceful soli- 
 tude of the woods and mountains, where they lead a merry, 
 joyous life among the clefts and grottos. 
 
 Sometimes they devote themselves to useful pursuits, 
 and spin and weave; sometimes they engage in graceful
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWSR WORLD. 145 
 
 dances, and sing merry songs, or bathe their delicate limbs 
 in the white spray of lonely brooks. They gladly join the 
 train of those superior deities supposed to preside in the 
 realms of nature. Thus we see them joining in the Bacchic 
 revelry with Dionysus, or figuring in the train of Aphro- 
 dite, or ranging field and wood as they hunt in the com- 
 pany of Artemis. 
 
 According to the divisions of nature, over which the 
 Nymphs were supposed to preside, we may distinguish the 
 following classes : 
 
 1. The Water-nymphs, to whom, in their wider signifi- 
 cation, the Oceanids and Nereids also belong. Here, how- 
 ever, we have only to deal with the water-nymphs of the 
 brooks and fountains of the land, who are distinguished by 
 the name of Naiads. As the kindly nourishers of plants, 
 and as thereby ministering indirectly to the sustenance of 
 both man and beast, they enjoyed a large measure of ven- 
 eration among the ancients, although, being inferior deities, 
 they could claim no temples of their own. Like the sea- 
 nymphs, they possessed the gift of prophecy, and appear 
 as the patrons of poetry and song. 
 
 2. Nymphs of the Mountains, or Oreads, to whom be- 
 long the nymphs of the valleys and glens (Napaeae.) These 
 were very numerous, and received special names from the 
 particular mountains or districts they inhabited. The 
 most celebrated among them was the Boeotian nymph 
 Echo. She was consumed by love for the beautiful youth 
 Narcissus, a son of the river-god Cephisus, and finding that 
 he did not reciprocate her affection, she pined away in ever- 
 increasing grief, until at length her emaciated frame was 
 changed into rock, and nothing but her voice remained. 
 But Aphrodite avenged this injury to her sex on Narcissus, 
 
 10
 
 146 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 who had in his vain self-love thus contemned the beauti- 
 ful nymph. As he was hunting one day on Mount Helicon, 
 he bent down to quench his thirst from a spring clear aa 
 crystal, and the goddess caused him to fall in love with his 
 own shadow, which was reflected in the water. The object 
 of his desires being unattainable, he too pined away from 
 grief, and the flower named after him has ever since con- 
 tinued an emblem of heartless beauty. 
 
 3. The Dryads, or Hamadryads (wood-nymphs). These 
 appear to have been a conception of later times. It was 
 supposed that their existence depended on that of the trees 
 they inhabited ; so that when the latter were destroyed, the 
 nymphs also perished. Not sharing immortality, therefore, 
 they cannot properly be reckoned among the gods. 
 
 The veneration of nymphs was very ancient in Greece, 
 and was thence transferred to Kome. Goats, lambs, milk, 
 and oil were offered to them. 
 
 In art they are depicted as lovely maidens, generally only slightly 
 clad, and adorned with flowers and garlands. The Naiads are also 
 represented as drawing water, or with attributes relating to their 
 element. 
 
 5. The Satyrs. In contrast to the Nymphs, or fe- 
 male personifications of the life of nature, we find a num- 
 ber of inferior wood and water deities of the male sex, call- 
 ed Satyrs, Sileni, and Panes, between whom it is difficult 
 to distinguish clearly. Generally by Satyrs (Fauni) we un- 
 derstand the wood and mountain spirits proper, who are 
 inseparably connected with Dionysus, whose attendant 
 train they form. Coarse sensuality and a wanton spirit of 
 mischief are the leading features of their character. On 
 account of their animal propensities they were fabled to 
 be only half human in appearance, with blunt noses and
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 147 
 
 otherwise ignoble features, bristling hair, goat -like ears, 
 and a goat's tail. Like the Muses, they love music and 
 dancing, their instruments being the syrinx and the flute, 
 together with cymbals and castanets. Like their master, 
 they were passionately addicted to excessive indulgence in 
 wine; but whereas in the former this produced only a 
 rapturous enthusiasm and an exalted frame of mind, with 
 them its effects were purely sensual, and excited them to 
 insane and unseemly pranks of all kinds. 
 
 Pig. 42. Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery. 
 
 The satyrs were not an uncommon subject of representation among 
 ancient artists. The conception was based on the original hideous 
 half -man, half -animal type; and in art, as well as in poetry, the 
 blunt nose, the pointed ears, and the goat's tail form their character, 
 istic features. The Bacchic insignia of a band roumd the brow and 
 an ivy garland also belong to them. There are some particularly 
 fine antique statues of satyrs in the art-collections of Munich and 
 Rome. The engraving (Fig. 42) shows the highly expressive fact 
 of a satyr in the Munich collection.
 
 148 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 6. Silemis. Silenus, according to the common tradi. 
 tion, was an old satyr who tended and brought up Diony- 
 sus, and afterward became the faithful companion of his 
 wanderings. He is depicted by the poets as a somewhat 
 elderly man, with blunt nose and bald head, hairy chest 
 and thighs, and a stomach so large that he can scarcely 
 walk. He generally appears riding on an ass in front of 
 the Bacchic company, with a satyr on either side support- 
 ing his half-drunken form. 
 
 The artists of antiquity seem to have devoted themselves frequent- 
 ly to the subject of Silenus. They either represented him as the 
 nurse and preceptor of the youthful Bacchus, holding the child in his 
 arms and regarding him with a look of affection, in which the comic 
 element is entirely lacking, or they present him to us as the insatiable 
 but good-natured wine -bibber. His standing attribute is the wine- 
 skin, besides which, like other members of the Bacchic train, he 
 bears a thyrsus and ivy garland. 
 
 Besides Silenus, who was celebrated as the preceptor of 
 Dionysus, there was a whole tribe of Sileni. Whether this 
 is due to the fact that the older satyrs were called Sileni, 
 or whether they form a special class of deities presiding 
 over the flowing, gushing water, cannot be determined with 
 any certainty. 
 
 Among the Sileni were two personages who play a part 
 in the story of Dionysus. These were Marsyas and Midas. 
 The former, like all satyrs, was an accomplished master of 
 the flute, and challenged Apollo to a trial of skill which 
 proved fatal to him. The conditions of the contest were 
 that he who was vanquished should put himself entirely in 
 the power of his adversary. Apollo won, and made a cruel 
 use of his victory by hanging Marsyas on a pine-tree and 
 flaying him alive. 
 
 Midas was the mythic founder of the kingdom of Phryg-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 149 
 
 ia, in Asia Minor, whither he had emigrated from Mace- 
 donia. Tradition makes him a son of Cybele, and, as her 
 favorite, endowed with fabulous wealth. But, like many 
 of the sons of men in the present day, the richer he grew, 
 the greater was his thirst for gold, until it betrayed him 
 at length into an act of great folly. One day, the drunk- 
 en Silenus strayed from the company of Bacchus into the 
 garden of Midas. The latter received him with great hos- 
 pitality, and after entertaining him sumptuously for ten 
 days brought him to Bacchus. Pleased with his kindness, 
 the god rewarded him with the gratification of any wish 
 he might make. Midas now wished that everything he 
 touched might turn to gold. Naturally the gratification 
 of this wish wellnigh proved his ruin; and he only es- 
 caped by washing, at the command of the god, in the riv- 
 er Pactolus, which has ever since washed down gold in its 
 sands. A later fable makes Midas the judge in the rivalry 
 of Apollo and Pan, on which occasion he decided in favor 
 of the latter, for which the god changed his ears into those 
 of an ass. The object of this fable is obviously only to 
 account for the Silenic form of Midas. 
 
 7. Greek and Roman "Wood-spirits. 1. Pan. 
 Pan was a very ancient god of the woods and meadows. 
 He was first honored only by the inhabitants of the moun- 
 tain-land of Arcadia and by other pastoral tribes. Subse- 
 quently his divinity was more generally acknowledged and 
 more highly esteemed. Common accounts make him the 
 son of Hermes by the nymph Penelope, a daughter of Dry- 
 ops. His mother was not a little terrified at his birth, 
 since he was hairy all over, and had horns and goat's feet. 
 His father wrapped him in a hare -skin, and bore him to
 
 150 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Olympus, where the assembled gods showed no small pleas- 
 ure at the sight of the strange little wood-demon. From 
 time immemorial Pan was regarded by the shepherds of 
 Greece as their most doughty protector; for which rea- 
 son the mountain caves in which they gathered their herds 
 together at night, or in threatening weather, were held sa- 
 cred to him. There were many such caves of Pan in the 
 mountains of Arcadia, and also one at the foot of the 
 Acropolis at Athens, besides others on Mount Parnassus, 
 in Boeotia, and elsewhere. Pan was esteemed a god of 
 great cheerfulness and activity of character, who loved to 
 range the woods as a huntsman, and was on this account 
 regarded with little less veneration by huntsmen than by 
 shepherds. He was also looked on as the patron of fishing 
 and bee-keeping. 
 
 As the god of shepherds, Pan was also a lover of music, 
 and on returning in the evening from the chase, says the 
 Homeric story, he was wont to play sweet tunes on his 
 panVpipe (syrinx), while the Oreads, or mountain-nymphs, 
 sung the praises of the gods and led off their spirited 
 dances. The poets have founded a story on his discovery 
 of the syrinx. They invented a fabulous nymph called 
 Syrinx, with whom Pan was supposed to have fallen vio- 
 lently in love. The nymph, however, did not return his 
 affection, and fled from his embraces. Pan pursued her, 
 and in her extremity she sought the aid of Gsea, who trans- 
 formed her into a reed. Out of this reed Pan, by joining 
 seven pieces together, made an instrument which he called 
 the syrinx, after the nymph. 
 
 Pan was as passionately fond of dancing as of music. 
 According to Pindar, he was the most accomplished dancer 
 among the gods. His favorite amusement was to dance
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 151 
 
 in company with the mountain-nymphs, on which occa- 
 sions he regaled them with every kind of droll leap, in the 
 performance of which his goat's feet stood him in good 
 stead. 
 
 As a wood-deity, Pan also possessed the gift of proph- 
 ecy ; indeed, according to some, it was he who first impart- 
 ed this gift to Apollo. He certainly had a very ancient 
 oracle at Acacesium, in Arcadia. 
 
 Wild mountainous country and the thick untrodden for- 
 est are both alike apt to impress the lonely traveller with 
 feelings of awe. All such sensations of sudden and unac- 
 countable fear were ascribed to Pan (Panic). He was also 
 said to delight in terrifying travellers with all kinds of 
 strange noises. Hence, at a later period, arose the story 
 that in the contest with the Titans he rendered good serv- 
 ice to Zeus by blowing on a shell trumpet which he had in- 
 vented, whereupon the Titans were seized with a sudden 
 terror. This, however, is only another version of Triton's 
 services at the battle with the giants. It is well known 
 that the Athenians introduced the worship of Pan, to 
 which they had been hitherto strangers, into their city af- 
 ter the battle of Marathon, in consequence of the assistance 
 which they believed they had received from the god. 
 
 Such are the more ancient and simple features of the 
 character of Pan. He assumed a higher significance when 
 men began to regard him as the companion of the " Mighty 
 Mother," and assigned him a place in the Bacchic circle. 
 Men now saw in him a productive force of nature like the 
 Phrygian Attis ; indeed, in consequence of a misinterpre- 
 tation of his name, he was made the creator and god of 
 the universe. 
 
 After he had once been introduced into the company of
 
 152 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Dionysus, poets and artists alike set themselves to work to 
 invent a number of Panes and little Pans (Panisci), who 
 were easily confounded with the Satyrs and Sileni. 
 
 The chief shrine of Pan was at Acacesium, in Arcadia. 
 Cows, goats, and sheep were sacrificed to him, besides of- 
 ferings of milk, honey, and new wine. 
 
 In art we must distinguish the earlier and later types of the god. 
 i'n the former, which dates from the best days of Greek art, he is 
 conceived as entirely human in appearance, with the exception of two 
 sprouting horns on either side of the forehead. Later he was depict- 
 
 Fig. 43 Pan. From a Mural Painting at Hercnlanenm. 
 
 ed with larger horns, a long goat's beard, and goat's feet. We give 
 an engraving of this later conception (Fig. 43), which is taken from a 
 mural painting at Naples. The usual attributes of Pan are a syrinx 
 and shepherd's crook, sometimes also a pine garland. 
 
 2. Silvanus, Among the Roman wood-deities, Silvanus 
 occupies a position most akin to that of Pan, although 
 they are not exactly identical. His name, derived from 
 silva (wood), points him out as the god of the forest, 
 where he was supposed to dwell, a deity kindly disposed 
 towards mankind, and propitious to the welfare of trees, 
 plants, and cattle. At times, however, he appears, like
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 153 
 
 Pan, as a mischievous sprite, who delights to trick and ter- 
 rify the lonely traveller. His sphere of activity was not 
 confined to the woods, since he was also regarded as the 
 author of fruitfulness in gardens and orchards. In this 
 character Silvanus bears a close resemblance to Terminus, 
 the god of boundaries and landed property, inasmuch as he 
 preserves fields, gardens, and houses from harm. The first 
 of the fruits of the field were offered to him. He had two 
 shrines in Rome, one on the Viminal and another on the 
 Aventine. 
 
 Artists and poets agree in representing Silvanus as an old man 
 with a rustic head-gear, scattering blooming lilies and other flowers. 
 He is usually distinguished by a pruning-knife. 
 
 3. Faunus and Fauna. Closely resembling Silvanus is 
 another deity called Faunus, one of the most ancient na- 
 tional gods of Italy. He appears as the good spirit of the 
 mountains, pastures, and plains. He was regarded by the 
 shepherds as their best protector, since he made their cat- 
 tle fruitful and drove off noxious beasts of prey. In the 
 former character he was also called Inuus (the fertilizer) ; 
 in the latter Lupercus (the warder-off of wolves). 
 
 Like Pan, he appears to have his seat in the woods, 
 whence he sometimes terrifies and annoys travellers. At 
 night, too, he creeps into men's houses, and torments them 
 with evil dreams and horrible apparitions (Incubus). 
 
 Like Pan, too, Faunus possessed the gift of prophecy, 
 and answered both by direct revelations and by dreams. 
 In this character he was called Fatuus, and had a celebrated 
 oracle in the grove at Tibur, on the spring Albunea. 
 
 Having once invented a number of Fauns, the poets soon 
 began to identify them with the satyrs of the Greeks. 
 
 In honor of this decidedly national deity, different festf
 
 154 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 vals were celebrated, at which rams were sacrificed and li- 
 bations of wine and milk made. The Faunalia were cele- 
 brated on the Nones of December, on which occasion the 
 guests at the festive board surrendered themselves to the 
 most unrestrained mirth, and granted many liberties also 
 to their slaves. The Lnpercalia, however, formed the prop- 
 er expiatory festival of Faunus. This festival was cele- 
 brated on the 15th of February, and was remarkable for 
 the number of ancient customs which were observed. The 
 chief of these was the course of the Luperci, or priests of 
 Faunus, who, after making their offering, ran from the 
 shrine of the god (Lupercal), on the Palatine, through the 
 streets of Rome, their only clothing being an apron cut 
 from the skin of the slaughtered animal. They struck all 
 whom they met with thongs, also cut from the same blood- 
 stained skin. Barren women placed themselves in the way 
 of the Luperci, believing that by means of the strokes the 
 reproach of barrenness would be taken away from them. 
 As a day of atonement, this day was termed dies februa- 
 tus (from februare, to purify), whence the name of the 
 month. 
 
 The feminine counterpart of Faunus, though not his 
 wife, was Fauna, a propitious, kindly goddess of the plains. 
 She is also called Maia, or Bona Dea. The women made 
 an offering to her every year at night, on which occasion 
 males were strictly excluded. 
 
 In art Faunus bears exactly the same appearance as Pan, with 
 whom, indeed, he was often identified. 
 
 8. Priapus. The worship of Priapus, the god of fields 
 and gardens, appears to have been long of a purely local 
 character, confined principally to the districts on the Hel-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 155 
 
 lespont, since he is not even mentioned by earlier writers. 
 He was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, and presided 
 over the exuberant fertility of nature. He was supposed 
 to exercise influence over the fruitfulness of flocks and 
 herds, while fishing and the rearing of bees were also placed 
 under his protection. His special sphere, however, was the 
 protection of gardens and vineyards. Asses were sacri- 
 ficed to him, a fact which gave rise to all sorts of comical 
 stories relating to the hostility of Priapus to this animal. 
 Besides this, he received the first-fruits of the garden and 
 fields, and drink-offerings of milk and honey. The wor- 
 ship of Priapus was introduced into Italy at the same time 
 as that of Aphrodite, and he was identified with the native 
 Mutunus. 
 
 This deity was scarcely noticed in higher art. In the gardens of 
 Italy, however, rough-hewn pillars of wood, similar to those of Her- 
 mes, were erected in his honor. He is usually distinguished by a 
 pruning-knife and club. 
 
 9. Saturnns and Ops. Before passing to Deme- 
 ter, or Ceres, the great goddess of civilization, to whom by 
 Greeks and Romans alike the blessings of the harvest were 
 ascribed, and who forms the best link between the gods 
 of the upper and lower worlds, we must pause to consider 
 some gods of agriculture and cattle-rearing peculiar to the 
 Romans. Among them are Saturn and Ops, who belong 
 to the most ancient national deities of Italy. To Saturn 
 was ascribed the introduction of agriculture, together with 
 the cultivation of the vine and other fruits. He was, there- 
 fore, venerated as the great benefactor of mankind, who not 
 only promoted the physical welfare of men, but who also 
 introduced a higher standard of civilization. After the 
 Romans had become acquainted with the mythology of the
 
 156 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Greeks, they identified him with Cronus. In consequence 
 of this, the story arose that, after his dethronement by Ju- 
 piter, Saturn fled to Italy, where he was hospitably received 
 by Janus. There he is said to have brought together the 
 inhabitants, who had hitherto wandered about without any 
 fixed homes, and to have united them in regular political 
 communities, over which he himself ruled. This was the 
 Golden Age. In remembrance of the happy age when men 
 were not yet troubled by sorrow or need, the Saturnalia 
 were celebrated during three days, beginning from the 17th 
 of December. This festival, which, with changed meaning, 
 still continues in the Carnival of the present day, was cel- 
 ebrated in Rome with particularly great splendor. Un- 
 bounded festivity reigned throughout the whole town, and 
 vented itself in every description of joke and prank. The 
 distinctions of class were suspended, the courts and schools 
 kept holiday, and the shops were closed. The chief day 
 was the 19th of December, which was especially a festive 
 day for the slaves, for on this day there were practically no 
 slaves in Rome. No services were required of them, and 
 they were allowed to don the clothes of their masters, and 
 to eat and drink as much as they liked, while their masters 
 waited on them at table. And this custom allowed a class, 
 otherwise subject to so many afflictions, to forget their sor- 
 rows for at least one day in a year. Wealthy Romans gen- 
 erally kept open house on this day, and vied with each oth- 
 er in the splendor of their hospitalities ; and, of course, a 
 solemn sacrifice was made to Saturn. The woollen band- 
 ages which, during the greater part of the year, enveloped 
 the feet of his statue in order that he might not depart 
 without vouchsafing a blessing, were on this day unloosed, 
 and throughout the night the temple was illuminated with
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER, WORLD. 157 
 
 wax -tapers. This festival, which was extremely popular 
 among the Romans, was also celebrated with games in the 
 circus. 
 
 The chief temple of Saturn, which was begun by Tar- 
 quinius Superbus, and finished in the first years of the Re- 
 public, was situated on the ascent to the Capitol from the 
 Forum. Beneath it was a vault containing the State treas- 
 ury, or cemrium, the guardianship of the State treasures be- 
 ing committed to this god as the dispenser of every blessing. 
 
 Regarded as the wife of Saturn, and therefore identified 
 with Rhea, Ops was the goddess of the seed-time and har- 
 vest. On this account her worship was closely connected 
 with that of Saturn, and she had a place in his temple on 
 the Capitoline. A festival was celebrated in honor of her 
 on the 25th of August, when the newly gathered corn was 
 threshed. 
 
 When taken together, Saturn and Ops were regarded as 
 deities who presided over marriage and the education of 
 children, it being an easy step from the deity of the sprout- 
 ing, ripening seed, to that of the budding, thriving season 
 of human life. 
 
 Saturn is always represented as an old man, and is generally dis- 
 tinguished by a pruning-knife or sickle. 
 
 10. Vertumnus and Pomona. Vertumnus and 
 Pomona much resemble Saturn and Ops, the only differ- 
 ence being that the former exert their influence solely on 
 the growth and welfare of the fruits of the garden and or- 
 chard. Vertumnus properly signifies the self -changing one ; 
 referring, probably, to the manifold changes which the fruit 
 undergoes from the time of its first appearance in blossom 
 to that of its maturity. For the same reason the god was
 
 158 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 said to possess the faculty of assuming any shape he liked. 
 The first of the flowers and fruits were offered to him. 
 Pomona, as her name signifies, was the goddess of the fruit 
 harvest, and called by the poets the wife of Vertumnus. 
 Each deity had a special priest (flamen), though the latter 
 naturally held only an inferior position. 
 
 In art Vertumnus generally appears as a beautiful youth, his head 
 crowned with a garland of ears of corn or laurel, with a horn of 
 plenty, as a symbol of the blessings he bestows, in his right hand. 
 He is sometimes distinguished by a dish filled with fruit, or a prun- 
 ing -knife. Pomona is generally represented as the season of Au- 
 tumn, a beautiful maiden with boughs of fruit-trees in her hand. 
 
 1 1 . Flora. Among the inferior deities of the plain was 
 Flora, the goddess of blossoms and flowers, who was held 
 in great honor by the Sabines, and everywhere in the inte- 
 rior of Italy. Her worship is said to have been introduced 
 into Rome by Numa, who assigned the goddess a priest of 
 her own. She attained a higher significance by becoming 
 a goddess of maternity, whom women invoked before their 
 confinement. Her festival was celebrated with great re- 
 joicings from the 28th of April to the 1st of May (Floralia). 
 The doors of the houses were adorned with flowers, and 
 wreaths were worn in the hair. After the first Punic war, 
 the festival, which was remarkable throughout for its merry 
 and tumultuous character, was also celebrated with games, 
 hares and deer being hunted in the circus. 
 
 Artists appear to have represented Flora as the season of spring, 
 In the guise of a beautiful girl crowned with flowers. There is a fine 
 warble statue of this kind, larger than life, in the museum at Naples, 
 called the Farnese Flora. 
 
 1 2. Pales. Pales was the ancient pastoral goddess of 
 the Italian tribes, from whom the name Palatine, which orig-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 159 
 
 inally meant nothing but a pastoral colony, was derived. 
 She was especially venerated by the shepherds, who be- 
 sought her to send fruitfulness and health to their flocks. 
 A festival in her honor was celebrated on the 21st of April, 
 the anniversary of the foundation of the city (Palilia), at 
 which very ancient rustic customs were observed. The 
 most remarkable of these was the kindling of a large straw 
 fire, through which the shepherds rushed with their flocks, 
 thinking thus to purify themselves from their sins. Milk 
 and baked millet-cakes were offered to the goddess. There 
 is no statue of her now in existence. 
 
 13. Terminus. Terminus, although he had nothing 
 to do either with the welfare of the crops or the fruitful- 
 ness of the flocks, may yet be reckoned among the field 
 deities, as the god who specially presided over boundaries. 
 All landmarks were held sacred to him, and their erection 
 was attended with religious ceremonies. In order that his 
 people might fully appreciate the sanctity of boundaries, 
 King Numa instituted a special festival in honor of the 
 god, called the Terminalia, and annually celebrated on the 
 23d of February. The proprietors of lands bordering on 
 each other were wont on this occasion to crown the boun- 
 dary-stone with garlands, and to make an offering of a flat 
 cake to the god. 
 
 In his wider signification Terminus was regarded as the 
 god under whose protection the boundaries of the State 
 reposed, and in this character he had a chapel in the tem- 
 ple of Minerva, on the Capitol. A statue of the god also 
 stood in the midst of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, 
 which is explained by the following story : After Tarquin- 
 ius had conceived the plan of building the great temple
 
 160 GREEK AND KOMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 of Jupiter on the Capitol, the limited space necessitated 
 the removal of several existing shrines, which, could only 
 occur with the consent of the deities themselves. They 
 all expressed by means of auguries their readiness to make 
 way for the highest god of heaven, except Terminus, who 
 refused, and whose shrine had, therefore, to be included in 
 the temple of Jupiter. 
 
 Statues of Terminus are exactly like the Hermae of the Greeks, and 
 have no importance in art. 
 
 14. Demeter (Ceres). Demeter was a daughter of 
 Cronus and Rhea. Her name signifies Mother Earth, and 
 she is, therefore, an expression of the ancient conception 
 of the earth-goddess, with a special reference to nature and 
 human civilization. The thriving of the crops was as- 
 cribed to her influence; she was further regarded as the 
 patroness of all those arts which are more or less intimate- 
 ly connected with agriculture, and which men first learned 
 from her. Demeter thus rises to the rank of a goddess of 
 civilization. She rescued men by means of agriculture 
 from the lower grades of hunters and shepherds, and 
 brought their former rude and barbarous manners into 
 subjection to law and morality. She thus becomes that 
 " bountiful daughter of Heaven," who, as Schiller sings, in 
 his " Lay of the Bell :" 
 
 " Of old 
 
 Called the wild man from waste and wold. 
 And, in his hut thy presence stealing, 
 Roused each familiar household feeling ; 
 
 And, best of all the happy ties, 
 The centre of the social band 
 The Instinct of the Father-land !" 
 
 Regarded in this light, she comes into contact with Dio
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 161 
 
 nysus, whose beneficial influence on human civilization and 
 manners we have already described. This accounts for 
 the intimate connection of these two deities in the Eleu^ 
 sinian mysteries, where Dionysus-Iacchus even appears as 
 the son of Demeter and the husband of Cora-Persephone, 
 Owing to the important part she played in the institution 
 of law and order among mankind, she was venerated as the 
 goddess of marriage, marriage being the necessary founda- 
 tion of civil society. She was also regarded as the tutelary 
 goddess of national assemblies. 
 
 Of the numerous legends which are linked with the 
 name of this goddess, none perhaps is more celebrated, or 
 more pregnant with meaning in regard to her worship, 
 than the rape of her daughter Persephone, or Cora. The 
 latter was once playing with the daughters of Oceanus in 
 a flowery meadow, where they were picking flowers and 
 making garlands. Persephone happened to quit her com- 
 panions for a moment to pluck a narcissus she had per- 
 ceived, when suddenly the ground opened at her feet, and 
 Pluto, or Hades, the god of the infernal regions, appeared 
 in a chariot drawn by snorting horses. Swift as the wind 
 he seized and carried off the terrified maiden in spite of 
 her struggles, and vanished again into the regions of dark- 
 ness before her companions were aware of the catastrophe. 
 All this occurred, however, with the knowledge of Zeus, 
 who had, unknown to Demeter, promised her daughter to 
 Pluto. When Demeter missed her darling child, and none 
 could tell her where she had gone, she kindled torches, and 
 during many days and nights wandered in anxiety through 
 all the countries of the earth, not even resting for food or 
 sleep. At length Helios, who sees and hears every thing, 
 Demeter what had happened, not disguising, however, 
 11
 
 162 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 that it had occurred with the consent of Zeus. Full of 
 wrath and grief, the goddess now withdrew from the soci- 
 ety of the other gods into the deepest solitude. Mean- 
 while all the fruits of the earth ceased, and a general fam- 
 ine threatened to extinguish the human race. In vain 
 Zeus sent one messenger after another, beseeching the an- 
 gry goddess to return to Olympus. Demeter swore that 
 she would neither return nor allow the fruits of the earth 
 to grow until her daughter was restored to her. At length 
 Zeus was fain to consent, and despatched Hermes to the 
 lower world to bring Persephone back. Persephone joy- 
 fully prepared to obey this command; but as she was about 
 to depart, Hades gave her a pomegranate-seed to eat, where- 
 upon she found herself bound to him and unable to return. 
 By means of Zeus, however, a compact was made by which 
 Persephone was to spend two -thirds of the year in the 
 upper world with her mother, and the remaining portion 
 with her husband. And thus every year at spring-tide she 
 ascends from her subterraneous kingdom to enjoy herself 
 in her mother's company, but returns again late in autumn 
 to the regions of darkness and death. 
 
 It is not difficult to discover the meaning of this myth. 
 It is simply an allegorical representation of the spectacle 
 that is annually renewed before our eyes the dying-away 
 and coming to life again of the vegetable world. While 
 Cora is dwelling during the winter months in the realms 
 of Hades, Nature appears to wear a garb of mourning for 
 her lost daughter. In the Eleusinian mysteries this inevi- 
 table decease and resurrection of the vegetable world were 
 conceived as a symbol of higher meaning, setting forth the 
 immortality of the soul. Every living being shares the 
 fate of Cora ; every life becomes the prey of cold, inexora-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 163 
 
 ble death, only to arise from the darkness of the grave 
 more beautiful and glorious than before. 
 
 Closely connected with this beautiful and expressive 
 myth is another which refers to the institution of the 
 Eleusinian mysteries. When Demeter, after the loss of 
 her daughter, was wandering over the earth in the guise of 
 a poor old woman, she came to Eleusis. The daughters of 
 Celeiis, the king of the city, found her sitting on a stone 
 by the Maidens' Well as they came thither to draw water, 
 and offered the old woman service in their father's house 
 as nurse to their youngest brother, Demophon. The god- 
 dess consented, and was kindly received in the house of 
 Celeus, where she was at once installed as nurse to the 
 young prince. She became so fond of the child that she 
 resolved to make him immortal by anointing him with 
 ambrosia, and then laying him at night in the glow of the 
 fire. She was discovered at her work, however, by the 
 mother of the child, whose cries disturbed her, and thus 
 prevented her from fulfilling her benevolent intention. 
 She now revealed herself to Celeus, and commanded him 
 to build her a temple in Eleusis. When it had been has- 
 tily completed, with the help of the goddess, she initiated 
 Celeus and some other princes of Eleusis Triptolemus, 
 Eumolpus, and Diocles in the solemn rites of her service. 
 On Triptolemus, who is called the son of Celeus, she im- 
 posed the task of disseminating a knowledge of agriculture 
 and of her own worship throughout the earth, and for this 
 purpose lent him her own chariot and dragons. On this 
 he travelled through the countries of the earth, making 
 known everywhere the blessings of agriculture, and uniting 
 men in regular political communities. He was not well 
 received in all places, and the goddess had sometimes to
 
 164 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 step in and punish those who contemned her benefits. 
 Such was the case with the Scythian king Lynceus and the 
 Thessalian prince Erysichthon ; but at length her cause tri- 
 umphed, and the worship of the bountiful goddess spread 
 itself over the whole world. 
 
 The chief seat of her worship was the city of Eleusis, 
 which was beautifully situated on the Bay of Salamis. It 
 retained this honor even after it had lost its independence 
 and come into the possession of the Athenians. The Eleu- 
 sinian mysteries were celebrated both here and at Athens, 
 in honor of Demeter and the deities associated with her. 
 They probably contained a symbolical history of Cora, 
 
 There was a distinction between the greater and lesser 
 mysteries. The latter were celebrated at Athens in the 
 month of Anthesterion (February), and were a kind of 
 preparation for the greater mysteries, which took place in 
 September, and were celebrated during nine days, partly at 
 Athens and partly at Eleusis. In these secret rites only 
 those could take part who had been initiated. The chief 
 feature of the festival was a great and solemn procession 
 on the sixth day from Athens to Eleusis, a distance of 
 about twelve miles. All those who took part in it often 
 as many as 30,000 were crowned with myrtle, and bore 
 torches in their hands, as the procession started from Ath- 
 ens at the earliest dawn. 
 
 The festival of the Thesmophoria, which was celebrated 
 at the beginning of November, in honor of Demeter in her 
 character of lawgiver and goddess of marriage, was less im- 
 portant than the Eleusinia. It lasted for five days, and 
 only married women were allowed to take part in it. 
 
 The Ceres of the Romans, though undoubtedly an an- 
 cient Italian goddess, was the very counterpart of the Greek
 
 Fig. 44. Demeter Enthroned. Paiutiug from Pompeii, Naples.
 
 166 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Demeter, with whom, after the successful introduction of 
 her worship during the first years of the Republic, she was 
 entirely identified. 
 
 The chief festival of Ceres and her associate deities, 
 Liber and Libera, fell on the 19th of April, which, as the 
 proper spring month, was especially dedicated by the in- 
 habitants of Italy to deities presiding over agriculture. 
 The Cerealia were opened by a grand procession, in which 
 every one was clothed in white. It was further celebrated 
 with solemn sacrifices and games in the circus, the manage- 
 ment of which lay with the plebeian aediles. 
 
 The usual sacrifice, both among Greeks and Romans, 
 was the sow (the symbol of fruitfulness), but, besides this, 
 cows and the first-fruits of the trees and hives were offered 
 to her. 
 
 In the representations of the goddess an expression of lofty dig- 
 nity is blended with condescending benevolence and gentleness. Her 
 principal attributes are a torch, a sheaf of corn, a garland of ears of 
 corn interwoven in her hair, and a basket filled with flowers at her 
 side. Among the few antique statues, a large marble figure in the 
 Capitoline Museum at Rome deserves especial mention. The engrav- 
 ing (Fig. 44), which is after a Pompeian painting, depicts Demeter as 
 the bountiful goddess of agriculture. She is seated on a throne, and 
 holds a torch consisting of two calyces in her right hand, and a bunch 
 of corn in her left. 
 
 15. Persephone (Proserpina). In Persephone, 
 the goddess of the lower world, whom the Athenians pre- 
 ferred to call by her mystic name of Cora, two distinct 
 conceptions are embodied. On the one hand she appears 
 as the wife of the dark god of the lower world like him, 
 a gloomy, awe-inspiring deity, who pitilessly drags down 
 all that lives into the hidden depths of the earth ; whence 
 the grave is called the chamber of Persephone. Such is
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 167 
 
 the view of her taken by Homer and later epic poets. 
 These represent her as sitting enthroned at the side of 
 her grim lord, the joyless queen of the infernal regions, to 
 dwell in which were worse than to be a slave on earth. 
 On the other hand, she appears as Cora, the lovely daugh- 
 ter of the all-bountiful Mother Earth ; a personification, in 
 fact, of that never-dying force of nature which, year by 
 year, causes the most luxuriant vegetation to spring up be- 
 fore our eyes, only, however, to die away again in the au- 
 tumn. In a somewhat narrower sense Persephone may be 
 regarded as a type of the grain, which long remains in the 
 ground where it has been sown as though dead, but after- 
 ward breaks forth into new life. It was only natural to 
 associate with this last conception ideas of the immortality 
 of the soul, of which, in the secret doctrines of the mys- 
 teries, Persephone was a symbol. Though we know but 
 little concerning the details of the mysteries, we are yet 
 aware that their chief object was to disseminate better and 
 purer ideas of a future life than the popular faith of the 
 Greeks afforded. It was commonly believed that the souls 
 of men after death led a dull, miserable existence in the 
 world of shadows. Those initiated in the mysteries, how- 
 ever, were taught that death was only a resurrection of 
 the soul to a brighter and better life, on the condition, of 
 
 o ' ' 
 
 course, that a man had fully pleased the gods and rendered 
 himself worthy of such a happy lot. 
 
 Persephone, or Proserpina, as she is called in Latin, was 
 a deity originally entirely strange to the Romans, who bor- 
 rowed all their ideas of the lower world from the Greeks. 
 Nevertheless, they identified her with Libera, an ancient 
 rustic goddess of fertility, the feminine counterpart of 
 Liber, under which name she signifies the same as the
 
 168 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Greek Cora. Black, barren cows were sacrificed to Per- 
 sephone as an infernal goddess, but she does not appear to 
 have had any temples of her own. 
 
 Persephone is of no great importance in art, and statues of her are 
 rare. She is represented either as the fair daughter of Demeter, or 
 
 Fig. 45. Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii, Naples. 
 
 as the grave, severe queen of the world of shadows. In the latter 
 character she may generally be recognized by her sceptre and dia- 
 dem. Her other attributes are ears of corn, a poppy, and a torch, as
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 169 
 
 a symbol of her connection with the Eleusinian mysteries, besides the 
 pomegranate and narcissus. The engraving (Fig. 45), after a painting 
 in the Naples Museum, represents her as the Stygian queen. 
 
 16. Hades (Pluto). The same twofold nature 
 which we meet with in Persephone may be observed also 
 'in her husband, Hades, or Aidoneus (the invisible), as he 
 is called by the epic poets, on account of the mysterious 
 gloom in which his kingdom as well as his person was en- 
 veloped. He first appears as the unrelenting, inexorable 
 foe of human life, on whom one cannot even think with- 
 out fear and trembling. For this reason, says Homer, 
 " he is of all the gods the most detested among mortals." 
 This conception, however, was subsequently supplanted by 
 one of a less dismal nature, in which the other side of his 
 character is brought into prominence. From this point of 
 view he is represented not only as sending nourishment to 
 plants from the deep bosom of the earth, but also as offer- 
 ing unbounded riches to mankind in the shape of the pre- 
 cious metals which lie in his subterraneous passages and 
 chambers. In this sense he was also called Pluto, or Plu- 
 teus that is, the god of riches. 
 
 Hades belonged to the earliest deities of Greece, being, 
 like Poseidon, a brother of Zeus. When the three broth- 
 ers partitioned the universe among themselves, Hades re- 
 ceived the dark regions of the earth as his exclusive king- 
 dom, the portals of which he was said to keep closed, in 
 order that no soul might return to the upper world with- 
 out his consent. He was also termed Polydectes (the re- 
 ceiver of many), from the fact of his seizing on all men, 
 without distinction, at their appointed time, and conveying 
 them to his dismal realms. The ideas which men first en- 
 tertained as to the mode in which Hades exercised his
 
 170 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTflOLOGF. 
 
 power over mortals exactly corresponded with their grim 
 conception of the god. He was looked on as a powerful 
 and dreaded robber, who, as in the case of Persephone, 
 seizes on his prey and carries it off with his swift horses. 
 Later, a milder conception of the god was introduced. The 
 task of carrying the souls of the dead to the lower world 
 was delegated to Hermes, who thus became a servant of 
 
 Pluto, the Zeus of the in- 
 fernal regions, just as he 
 was otherwise a servant of 
 the Zeus of heaven. But 
 though the original dismal 
 conception of this deity 
 as the inexorable god of 
 death was much dimin- 
 ished in course of time, 
 yet Hades, nevertheless, ai 
 ways conveyed an idea of 
 something grim and mys- 
 terious to the Greek mind ; 
 which is perhaps the rea- 
 son why so few myths, be- 
 yond that of the rape of 
 Proserpina, were circulated 
 concerning him. He can, 
 in fact, scarcely be said tc 
 have had a place in the public worship of the Greeks. 
 
 The Roman conception of this deity differed little from 
 that of the Greeks, having been, in fact, borrowed entirely 
 from a Greek source. By them he Avas called Pluto, or 
 Pater Dis. He had no temple in Rome, but had, in com- 
 mon with Proserpina, a subterranean altar in the Campus 
 
 Fig. 46. Head of Hades. Palazzo 
 Chigi, Rome.
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 171 
 
 Martius, which, was uncovered and used once a year. Only 
 black animals were sacrificed to him. 
 
 Artists naturally hesitated to portray a being whose very name they 
 feared to pronounce, and consequently antique statues of Hades are 
 very rare. His characteristic features a grim expression of coun- 
 tenance, tightly closed lips, and long tangled hair are embodied in a 
 nmrble head, in the possession of Prince Chigi at Rome, of which we 
 give an engraving (Fig. 46). His principal attributes are a sceptre, a 
 votive bowl, and sometimes a two-pronged fork, or a key. 
 
 17. The Lower World. To our consideration of 
 Hades we must add some remarks on the ideas which the 
 ancient Greeks and Romans had of the other life and of 
 the abodes of the dead. It may be well to remark, at the 
 outset, that the Romans do not originally appear to have 
 believed in a kingdom of the dead in the interior of the 
 earth, and that all their ideas on this subject were bor- 
 rowed from the writings of the Greeks. Neither do their 
 ideas on this subject, nor even those of the Greeks, appear 
 to have been invariably the same at all times. Even in 
 the poetry of Homer we come across two very different 
 views as to the situation of the realms of the dead. Ac- 
 cording to that which we find in the " Iliad," it was situ- 
 ated beneath the disk-shaped earth, only a thin layer sepa- 
 rating it from the upper world. This is made evident on 
 the occasion of the great battle of the gods in the twenti- 
 eth book, where we read, 
 
 " Pluto, the infernal monarch, heard alarmed, 
 And, springing from his throne, cried out in fear, 
 Lest Neptune, breaking through the solid earth, 
 To mortals and immortals should lay bare 
 His dark and drear abode of gods abhorred." 
 
 According to another view, which prevails in the "Odys- 
 sey," the world of shadows was not situated beneath the
 
 172 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 earth, but lay far to the westward, on the other side of 
 Oc'eanus, or on an island in the same ; so indefinite and 
 vague were men's ideas as to the locality of the kingdom of 
 death in the time of Homer, and so undeveloped were their 
 conceptions as to the lives of departed souls. The lower 
 world appears as a desolate, dismal region, where departed 
 spirits lead a shadowy, dreamy existence, to reach which 
 is no happiness. There is no difference in their lots; for 
 we as yet hear nothing of the judgment of the dead. The 
 Elysian fields, to which the special favorites of the gods 
 were transferred, form no part of the lower world in Ho- 
 mer, but were supposed to lie in an entirely distinct region 
 in the far West (the Isles of the Blest). Later on, the out- 
 lines of the lower world become more clearly defined. It 
 was now supposed to be a region in the centre of the 
 earth, with several passages to and from the upper world. 
 Through it flowed several rivers Cocytus, Pyriphlegethon, 
 Acheron, and Styx. The last of these encompassed the 
 lower world several times, and could only be crossed by 
 the aid of Charon, the ferry -man, who was depicted as a 
 sullen old man with a bristling beard. The Greeks, there- 
 fore, used to place an obolus (small copper coin) in the 
 mouths of their dead, in order that the soul might not be 
 turned back by Charon for lack of money. On the farther 
 side of the river, the portals were watched by the dread- 
 ful hell-hound Cerberus, a three-headed monster, who re- 
 fused no one entrance, but allowed none to leave the house 
 of Pluto. All souls, on reaching the lower world, had to 
 appear before the tribunal of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and 
 ^Eacus. Those whose lives had been upright were then 
 permitted to enter Elysium, where they led a life of unin- 
 terrupted bliss; while those who on earth had been crim-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 173 
 
 inal and wicked were consigned to Tartarus, where they 
 were tormented by the Furies and other evil spirits. Those 
 whose lives had not been distinctly good or bad remained 
 in the asphodel meadow, where as dim shadows they pass- 
 ed a dull, joyless existence. 
 
 The punishments of great criminals in the infernal re- 
 gions were a fruitful theme for the imagination of the 
 poets. The most celebrated criminals were Tityus, Tanta- 
 lus, Sisyphus, Ixion, and the Danaids. The punishment of 
 Tityus, who had offered violence to Leto, consisted in be- 
 ing chained to the earth, while two vultures continually 
 gnawed at his ever-growing liver. Tantalus, the ancestor 
 of the Atrida?, Agamemnon and Menelaus, had been deem- 
 ed worthy to hold intercourse with the gods, until he 
 thought fit to put their omniscience to the test by setting 
 before them the flesh of his son Pelops. This crime he was 
 condemned to expiate by the torments of continual hun- 
 ger and thirst. Above his head were suspended the most 
 beautiful fruits ; but when he attempted to snatch them, 
 a gust of wind blew them beyond his reach. At his feet 
 flowed a stream of the purest water; but when he tried to 
 quench his thirst, it suddenly vanished into the ground. 
 Sisyphus, formerly King of Corinth, had provoked the 
 wrath of the gods by his numerous crimes, and was con- 
 demned, in consequence, to roll a block of stone up a high 
 mountain, which, on reaching the top, always rolled down 
 again to the plain. Ixion, a not less insolent offender, was 
 bound hand and foot to an ever-revolving wheel. Lastly, 
 the Danaids, or daughters of Danaus, who, at their father's 
 command, had slain their husbands on the wedding night, 
 were condemned to pour water continually into a cask full 
 of holes, which could never be filled.
 
 174 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 18. The Erinyes (Furiae). The Erinyes, or Furies, 
 were denizens of the lower world, who executed the com- 
 mands of Hades and Persephone. They were ultimately 
 three in number, and their names were Tisiphone, Alecto, 
 and Megsera ; and this number, like that of the Graces, 
 Fates, and others, is due to the fact that the Greeks ex- 
 pressed any undefined number by the sacred numeral 
 three. In their original signification they appear as the 
 avengers of every violation, either on the part of gods or 
 men, of the moral laws of the universe. When, at a later 
 period, the idea of an avenging Nemesis had become more 
 and more developed, the significance of the Erinyes di- 
 minished, and their avenging duties were confined to the 
 family. 
 
 As the inexorable pursuers of every injury done to the 
 sacred ties of blood especially the murder of kindred 
 they received a much greater degree of attention at the 
 hands of the Greek tragic poets, by whom they were fre- 
 quently brought on the stage. The pictures thus drawn 
 of the relentless activity of the Erinyes are both power- 
 ful and striking. Nothing can equal the keen scent with 
 which they trace the crime, or the untiring speed with 
 which they pursue the criminal. As a symbol of this lat- 
 ter quality, the poets have endowed them with brazen feet. 
 Their appearance is wan and Gorgon-like ; wild lust for 
 blood is written in their features, and the serpents which 
 twine round their heads in the place of hair deal out 
 destruction and death on their unhappy victims. Flight 
 avails them naught, for there is no region whither the 
 avenging Furies cannot follow, no distance that they can- 
 not compass. With torch swung on high, they dog the 
 steps of the unhappy wretch, like swift huntresses follow-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 175 
 
 ing in the track of their hard-pressed game, and never rest 
 until they have driven him to madness and death. 
 
 Such is a portrait of the Erinyes according to the ear- 
 lier and more dreadful conception ; but, as in the case of 
 Hades and Persephone, there is another side to their char- 
 acter. Subsequently, they appear in a milder and more 
 kindly guise than that which we have just portrayed. As 
 long as men stood under the dominion of the law of retali- 
 ation the dreadful " eye for eye and tooth for tooth " 
 they were able to derive pleasure from the idea of the in- 
 exorable and implacable nature of the Erinyes. But when 
 these barbarous customs died out before advancing civili- 
 zation, and civil society began to surround itself with regu- 
 lar laws which protected individual life from arbitrary as- 
 saults, then the conception of the Erinyes as compassion- 
 ate and even benevolent deities gained ground. Poetical 
 mythology has associated this transformation with a spe- 
 cial event, namely, the institution of the Areopagus at 
 Athens, and the purification of the matricide Orestes ef- 
 fected by this venerable court. The story relates that 
 Orestes, after having slain his mother Clytsemnestra and 
 her infamous paramour .^Egisthus, in revenge for the mur- 
 der of his father Agamemnon, wandered for a long time 
 about the earth in a state bordering on madness, owing to 
 the persecution of the Erinyes. At length, however, he 
 was befriended by Apollo and Athene, the kindly deities 
 of the luminous ./Ether. Apollo first purified him before 
 his own altar at Delphi, and then defended him before 
 the court of the Areopagus, which had been founded by 
 Athene. Orestes was here acquitted, for Athene, when the 
 votes for and against him were equal, declared that then 
 and in all future time the criminal should have the benefit
 
 176 GEEEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 of the doubt. The Furies, indeed, were at first very wroth, 
 and threatened the land with barrenness both of women 
 and soil; but Athene succeeded in pacifying them by 
 promising that a shrine should be erected to them on the 
 hill of the Areopagus. After they had taken possession 
 of this sanctuary, they were thenceforth venerated by the 
 Athenians, under the names of Semnse (venerable), or Eu- 
 menides (benevolent), as propitious deities who, though 
 they still continued to punish crimes, were ever ready to 
 grant mercy to the repentant sinner, and to give succor to 
 all good men. 
 
 There were different traditions concerning the origin of 
 the Erinyes. According to Hesiod, they owed their exist- 
 ence to the first execrable crime committed since the be- 
 ginning of the world, for they were the daughters of Earth, 
 and sprung from the drops of blood that fell from the man- 
 gled body of Uranus. They here appear, therefore, as an 
 embodiment of the curses which the angry father invoked 
 on the head of his unnatural son. Sophocles, on the other 
 hand, calls them the daughters of Gaea and Scotos (dark- 
 ness of night). JEschylus simply terms them the daugh- 
 ters of the Night. Besides the shrine in Athens already 
 mentioned, they had another near the city, a sacred grove 
 in Colonus, which was celebrated as the last refuge of the 
 unfortunate (Edipns. In Athens they had an annual festi- 
 val, at which libations of milk and honey were made to them. 
 
 In art the Erinyes are represented as swift huntresses, armed with 
 spear, bow, and quiver. Torches, scourges, or snakes were also put 
 in their hands. They were, moreover, provided with wings on their 
 shoulders or head as a token of their swiftness. 
 
 19. Hecate. Among the mystic deities of the lower 
 world we must not omit to mention Hecate. By the Ro-
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 177 
 
 mans, indeed, she was never publicly venerated, though she 
 was not exactly unknown to them. Common tradition 
 made her a daughter of the Titan Perseus and Asteria. 
 She ruled principally over the secret forces of nature, 
 which perhaps explains the spectral and awe-inspiring form 
 which this goddess assumed. She was supposed to pre- 
 
 Fig. 47. Three-formed Hecate. Capitoline Museum. 
 
 side over all nocturnal horrors, and not only to haunt th 
 tombs and cross-roads herself in company with the spirits 
 of the dead, but also to send nightly phantoms from the 
 lower world, such as the man-eating spectre Empusa, and 
 other fabulous goblins. 
 
 As her name seems to signify, Hecate (far-striking) was 
 12
 
 178 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 originally a moon-goddess, not like either Artemis or Se- 
 lene, but representing the new moon in its invisible phase. 
 The ancients, not being able to account for the different 
 phases of the moon, naturally came to the conclusion that, 
 when invisible, it was tarrying in the lower world. The 
 public worship of the goddess was not very extensive, but 
 her importance in connection with the mysteries was all 
 the greater. Men were wont to affix small pictures of her 
 to houses and city gates, which were supposed to prevent 
 any bad spells from affecting the town or house. On the 
 last day of every month her image on the house doors was 
 crowned with garlands, and viands were set before it in 
 her honor, which were afterward eaten by the poor, and 
 termed the meals of Hecate. Wooden images of the god- 
 dess with three faces were generally set up where three 
 roads met, and here dogs were sacrificed to her as sin-offer- 
 ings for the dead. This usually took place on the thirtieth 
 day after death. As in the case of other infernal deities, 
 black lambs were sacrificed to her, besides libations of milk 
 and honey. 
 
 Hecate was generally represented as three - formed (triformvs), 
 which probably has some connection with the appearance of the 
 full, half, and new moon. In order to explain more clearly the nat- 
 ure of such a representation, we give an engraving (Fig. 47) after a 
 bronze statuette in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. The figure facing 
 us holds in her hands a key and a rope, which point her out as the 
 portress of the lower world; over her brow is a disk, representing, 
 probably, the dark surface of the new moon. The figure on the right 
 holds in either hand a torch, in virtue of her character as a mystic 
 goddess, while on her brow is a half-moon and a lotos-flower. Last- 
 ly, the third figure bears, as a symbol of the full moon, a Phrygian 
 cap with a radiant diadem fastened on it, which gives forth seven 
 rays ; in her right hand is a knife, in her left the tail of a ser- 
 pent, of which no satisfactory interpretation has hitherto been dis- 
 covered.
 
 THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 179 
 
 20. Sleep and Death. Sleep and Death were con- 
 ceived by the ancients as twin brothers. According to 
 Hesiod, they were children of Night alone. They dwelt 
 in the lower world, whence they visited the earth to steal 
 over mortals ; the former a kindly, benevolent spirit, the 
 latter grim and cruel. Apart from this conception, which 
 was especially developed by later poets and artists, Death 
 was sometimes depicted as quite distinct from Sleep, and 
 in a still less amiable guise. The different forms of vio- 
 lent death were personified as female deities of formidable 
 aspect, called the Ceres ; or Apollo and Artemis among the 
 inhabitants of heaven, and Pluto and Persephone among 
 those of the lower world, were represented as the deities of 
 death. The Romans had a personal god of death, whom 
 they called Orcus ; he was represented as an armed war- 
 rior dealing out mortal wounds among mankind. But none 
 of these special gods of death had any great importance, 
 either in religion or art. Artists, indeed, labored sedu- 
 lously to diminish the dreadful appearance of Thanatus 
 (death), and to render him more and more like his brother 
 Hypnus (sleep). 
 
 Thanatus and Hypnus often appear in company, either sleeping 
 or standing ; the former usually bears a reversed torch, the latter 
 a poppy -stalk or a horn, out of which he is pouring some liquid. 
 They are both generally represented in the bloom of youth. In Fig. 
 34, which is after a drawing of Asmus Carstens, they appear as the 
 children of Night, and are here brought into immediate connection 
 with the other powers, Nemesis and the Parcaj, who control the des- 
 tinies of man. 
 
 Besides Sleep and Death, Hesiod also mentions Dreams 
 as the children of Night. Other writers, however, call 
 them the sons of Sleep, who dwell in the far West, close 
 to the realms of Hades. This house of dreams has, in
 
 180 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Homer's well-known description, two gates one of ivory, 
 through which pass flattering, deceptive dreams, and one 
 of horn, whence the true dreams proceed. Morpheus was 
 made the special god of dreams by the poets, and termed 
 the son of Hypnus. 
 
 IV. ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND 
 FAMILY. 
 
 Before passing to the heroic legends, some remarks are 
 necessary concerning the inferior deities, who played such 
 an important part in the domestic worship of the Romans. 
 We have already incidentally remarked that the people of 
 Italy generally passed by the greater gods of the heaven 
 and earth in anxious awe. Their invocation and adoration 
 were left to public worship, while, in their less important 
 domestic concerns, men had recourse to certain inferior 
 deities, whom they thought nearer to them ; just as in the 
 present day, in Italy, the common people prefer to commu- 
 nicate their prayers and wishes to their patron saints rather 
 than to the Almighty himself. 
 
 1. The Penates. The Penates were the kindly do- 
 mestic deities of the Romans the guardians of the house- 
 hold, who especially provided for its daily wants. Of their 
 name, number, and sex nothing is known not because the 
 facts have been lost to us, but because the Romans them- 
 selves were content with this indefinite conception. Sim- 
 ilar good spirits, exerting an active influence in the house- 
 hold, were recognized by popular German superstition,
 
 ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. 181 
 
 without experiencing any necessity of having distinct 
 names for them. The shrine of the Penates consisted of 
 the hearth, the central point of the house, which not only 
 served for the preparation of meals, but was also especially 
 dedicated to religious purposes. It stood in the " atrium," 
 the only large room in the Roman house, where the family 
 met for meals and received visitors. On the hearth, a fire 
 was continually kept burning in honor of Vesta and the 
 Penates. Around it, after the introduction of images of 
 the gods, were placed the statues of the Penates. These 
 w&re generally small and puppet-like, and, among the poor- 
 er classes, were only roughly cut out of wood. There was 
 no domestic occurrence, either of joy or mourning, in which 
 the Penates did not take part. Like the Lares, of whom 
 we shall speak presently, they participated in the daily 
 meal, portions being set on certain plates for that purpose 
 before the images. There were also State Penates, the an- 
 cients regarding the State as nothing but an extended fam- 
 ily. The temple of Vesta was to the State what the hearth 
 was to the household. Here was the seat of their worship, 
 and here it was that the Roman Pontifex Maximus brought 
 those offerings which, in private households, were the part 
 of the head of the family. In the innermost sanctuary of 
 the temple of Vesta there were statues of these Penates, of 
 great sanctity, since ^Eneas was reported to have brought 
 them with him from Troy. We have no trustworthy in- 
 formation as to their number or appearance, for, with the 
 exception of the Pontifex and the Vestal Virgins, none 
 ever entered the holy place. It is scarcely necessary to add 
 that they were believed to exercise an especial influence on 
 the welfare and prosperity of the State and people of 
 Rome.
 
 182 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 2. The Lares. The Lares, like the Penates, were the 
 tutelary deities of the house and family, and on that ac- 
 count often confounded with them. They were common- 
 ly supposed to be the glorified spirits of ancestors, who, as 
 guardian deities, strove to promote the welfare of the fan> 
 ily. The seat of their worship was also the family hearth 
 in the atrium, where their images of wood or wax were 
 generally preserved in a separate shrine of their own (Lara- 
 rium). The Lares received an especial degree of veneration 
 on the first day of every month ; but, like the Penates, 
 they took part in all the domestic occurrences, whether 
 of joy or sorrow. Like the Penates, they also received 
 their share at every meal on particular dishes, and were 
 crowned with garlands on the occasion of every family re- 
 joicing. When a son assumed the toga virilis (came of 
 age), he dedicated his bulla* to the Lares, amidst prayers 
 and libations and burning of incense. When the father 
 of the house started on a journey or returned in safety, 
 the Lares were again addressed, and their statues crowned 
 with wreaths, flowers and garlands being their favorite 
 offerings. 
 
 The same conception which pervades the domestic Lares 
 may be perceived in a more extensive form in the Lares of 
 the Gens, the city, and the State itself. The Lares do not 
 appear, in fact, to have differed in many respects from the 
 heroes worshipped by the Greeks. At all events, Romulus 
 and Remus, the mythical founders of the city, were regard- 
 ed as its Lares, and in the time of Augustus the genius of 
 the emperor was associated with them. 
 
 * A gold or silver ornament, like a medal, which was worn round 
 the neck during childhood.
 
 ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. 183 
 
 3. Larvae, Lemures, and Manes. Just as the 
 Lares were regarded as the good and happy spirits of ances- 
 tors, the souls of others were supposed to wander about in 
 the guise of evil demons and spectres, giving rise to weird 
 terrors, and casting bad spells on the senses of those whom 
 they met. Such was especially believed to be the fate of 
 those who had not received burial, or in whose case the 
 prescribed ceremonies had been neglected, and who being, 
 in consequence, unable to find rest, were doomed to flit 
 about the earth. Such spirits were called Larvae, or Lem- 
 ures. The propitiatory festival of the Lemuria, or Lem- 
 uralia, which was said to have been instituted in memory 
 of the murdered Remus, was celebrated annually in their 
 honor on the 9th, llth, and 13th of May. Every paterfa- 
 milias was supposed during these days to perform certain 
 midnight ceremonies, and to repeat certain forms, which 
 had the effect of banishing any evil spirits. 
 
 In contrast to the Lares and Larva3, the souls of the 
 dead were also commonly venerated as Manes, or good 
 spirits. These were believed after burial to have been 
 converted into beings of a higher order, who dwelt, in- 
 deed, in the interior of the earth, but exercised, notwith- 
 standing, a considerable influence on the affairs of the up- 
 per world. It was possible to summon them from the 
 lower world by means of sacrifices. A general festival of 
 the dead took place in February, when the Manes were 
 propitiated with offerings and libations. These offerings 
 were placed on the tombs of the deceased, and, of course, 
 varied extremely, according to the means of the donors.
 
 184 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 PAKT III.^-THE HEKOES. 
 
 L INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ON passing to heroic mythology, a world still more 
 rich in marvels than that with which we have already 
 become acquainted presents itself to our view. The great- 
 er extent of this department of mythic lore is easily com- 
 prehensible, if we take into consideration the multitude of 
 separate existences into which Greek life was split up, even 
 from the earliest times. Each of the numberless countries, 
 islands, cities, and towns endeavored to trace back its pe- 
 culiar institutions to mythical founders and ancestors ; and 
 as these were always described either as the sons or as the 
 favorites of the gods, there accordingly sprung up, in course 
 of time, a vast number of local heroic legends. These fab- 
 ulous founders of states, however, were not the only heroes 
 of Greek mythology. The attempt to pierce the clouds of 
 obscurity which enveloped the early history of mankind, 
 and the desire of a more enlightened age to bridge over 
 the intervening gulf, and fill it with beings who should 
 form a connecting link between the sublime forms of the 
 great inhabitants of Olympus and the puny race of mor- 
 tals, naturally gave rise to a whole series of heroic legends. 
 These were partly the property of entire nationalities, or 
 even of the whole Hellenic race, and partly of a local or 
 provincial character. Moreover, as the gods collectively
 
 THE HEROES. 185 
 
 were divided into gods proper and demons that is to 
 say, spirits resembling the gods, but inferior to them in 
 wisdom and power, whose workings men saw in air and 
 earth and sea even so the race of mortals was divided 
 into heroes and men, between whom a similar difference 
 subsisted. The latter are, in their nature, not different 
 from the former both are alike mortal, and must at length 
 fall a prey to inexorable death. But the heroes are en- 
 dowed with a degree of physical strength and dexterity, 
 courage and endurance under difficulties, such as never fall 
 to the lot of ordinary men. It was not, however, by any 
 means all who lived in this early mythical period who were 
 accounted heroes ; but just as in Genesis vi., 2, a distinc- 
 tion is made between the " sons of God " and the " daugh- 
 ters of men," so in the present instance the heroes were 
 the mighty ones the ruling spirits of the age those 
 whose marvellous exploits contributed to remove the ob- 
 stacles to civilization and culture, who delivered countries 
 from cruel robbers and savage beasts, who drained marshes, 
 made roads through untrodden forests, and regulated the 
 course of rivers. By their actions they proved themselves 
 men of no ordinary powers, endowed with divine strength, 
 and, therefore, apparently of divine origin. It appeared, 
 at least, that such beings must have had an origin different 
 from that of ordinary men, who were made out of clay, or 
 sprang from trees or stones. Some of these heroes may 
 perhaps have had a real existence, having probably been 
 the ancestors of the later dominant races, to whom a dim 
 tradition reached. Others were undoubtedly a product 
 of the imagination. To these may be added a third class, 
 and this is by far the most numerous, including those who 
 were originally personifications of various natural phenom-
 
 186 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ena, and as such deified and venerated in local forms of 
 worship, but who were later, in consequence of the birth 
 of new political communities, expelled from their place in 
 public worship, and only continued to exist in the popular 
 faith in the inferior character of heroes. Many such he- 
 roes were afterward again promoted to the rank of gods, 
 though with an altered meaning (e. g., Heracles). 
 
 Any real veneration of heroes by prayers and sacrifices 
 can scarcely be said to have existed before the migration 
 of the Heraclidae at least there is no mention of it in Ho- 
 mer. Even later, except in the case of those heroes who 
 were raised to the rank of gods for their great deeds, and 
 who were, therefore, worshipped in temples of their own, 
 the worship of heroes is scarcely to be distinguished from 
 that of the dead. Homer makes no distinction between 
 the fate of heroes after death and that of ordinary mor- 
 tals, all being doomed alike to the gloomy realms of Hades. 
 As we have already observed, it was only certain special 
 favorites, or sons of Zeus, who were excepted from this 
 gloomy lot, and were transported in their bodily shape to 
 the Isles of the Blest. Hesiod, on the other hand, says 
 that all heroes whom he, in the first instance, terms demi- 
 gods were transported to the Isles of the Blest, where 
 Cronus ruled over them. Here, for the first time, the idea 
 of a just retribution in the other world takes a definite 
 shape ; for Hesiod obviously conceives a residence in Ely- 
 sium to be the reward of meritorious actions performed in 
 the upper world. This idea was subsequently more fully 
 developed, especially in the mysteries, and men were grad- 
 ually elevated to a belief in the immortality of the soul. 
 The spirits of the dead were believed, even after they were 
 in their graves, to exert continually a mysterious influence ;
 
 CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND. 187 
 
 on which account men strove to gain their favor by means 
 of offerings, thereby removing every real distinction be- 
 tween the worship of heroes and that of the dead. 
 
 Amidst the multitude of legends of this kind, we shall 
 only dwell upon those which occupy a prominent position 
 either in poetry or in art. We shall begin with those which 
 relate to the creation and early civilization of mankind, af- 
 ter which we shall pass to the most celebrated provincial, 
 legends, and conclude with those that refer to the more 
 important of the common undertakings of the later heroic 
 age. 
 
 II THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION 
 OF MANKIND. 
 
 The legends concerning the origin of the human race dif- 
 fer very widely. The most ancient are undoubtedly those 
 which describe men as springing from the trees or rocks. 
 Another tradition asserts that the human race was of later 
 growth, having been first called into existence by Zeus and 
 the gods of Olympus. A third account makes the Titan 
 Prometheus, the son of lapetus, the creator of mankind, 
 but leaves it uncertain whether this took place before or af- 
 ter the flood of Deucalion. Prometheus, according to this 
 account, made men of clay and water, after which Athene 
 breathed a soul into them. 
 
 There were likewise various accounts concerning the 
 primeval condition of mankind. According to one, the 
 human race raised itself, with the assistance of the gods, 
 from a state of helpless barbarism : this progress was the 
 subject of numerous legends. Another account represents
 
 188 GHEEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 men as living originally in a holy and happy communion 
 with the gods (the Golden Age), and asserts that they first 
 became savage after having lost this good fortune by their 
 presumption. 
 
 Of the myths that relate to the introduction of the first 
 elements of civilization among mankind by divine aid, 
 there is none, except those already mentioned concerning 
 Dionysus and Demeter, more celebrated than the story of 
 Prometheus. The Titan lapetus had by Clymene, the 
 daughter of Oceanus, four sons the stout-hearted Atlas, 
 the presumptuous Menoetius, the crafty Prometheus, and 
 the foolish Epimetheus. With the name of Prometheus 
 is linked the idea of the first commencement of civilization 
 among mankind by the introduction of fire. Prometheus 
 is said to have stolen fire from heaven, and to have taught 
 its use to man. By being employed for all the common 
 purposes of daily life, however, this pure celestial element 
 became polluted; whereupon Zeus visited the author of 
 this sacrilege with a fearful punishment. He ordered Pro- 
 metheus to be chained to a rock, where, during the day- 
 time, an eagle devoured his liver (the seat of all evil de- 
 sires), which always grew again during the night. 
 
 The idea that, together with the introduction of civiliza- 
 tion, many evils which were before unknown to man came 
 into existence, is expressed in the myth of Pandora. Zeus 
 determined to leave mankind in possession of Prometheus's 
 gift; but he ordered Hepha3stus to make an image of a 
 beautiful woman, which the gods then endowed with life 
 and adorned with all kinds of gifts, whence she was called 
 Pandora. Aphrodite bestowed on her the seductive charms 
 that kindle love; Athene instructed her in every art; Her- 
 mes endued her with a smooth tongue and a crafty dispo-
 
 CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND. 189 
 
 sition, while the Seasons and Graces adorned her with flow- 
 ers and fine dresses. Zeus then sent her, under the guid- 
 ance of Hermes, to the foolish Epimetheus, who, in spite of 
 the warning of his brother not to accept any present from 
 Zeus, received Pandora, and made her his wife. There 
 was in the house of Epimetheus a closed jar, which he had 
 been forbidden to open, and which contained all kinds of 
 diseases and ills. Pandora removed the cover, and these 
 escaped, and men, who had before been free from disease 
 and care, have ever since been tormented. Pandora closed 
 the jar in time to keep in Hope. Thus both Greek legend 
 and Biblical tradition alike represent woman as the first 
 cause of evil and death. 
 
 The legend of the five ages of mankind transports us to 
 quite another region of tradition. According to this, the 
 gods first created a golden race of men, who lived free 
 from care and sorrow, while the earth, of its own accord, 
 furnished them with all that was necessary to support life. 
 Subject neither to the infirmities of age nor to the pangs 
 of sickness and disease, men at last sunk peacefully, as 
 into a sweet sleep, to death. In what manner the Golden 
 Age disappeared is not related ; we are only told that this 
 race, notwithstanding its disappearance, still continues to 
 exist in the upper world, in the shape of good spirits, who 
 guard and protect mortals. After this, the gods created 
 a second (silver) race of men, who were, however, far in- 
 ferior to their predecessors, both in mind and body. 
 They passed their time in idle and effeminate pursuits, 
 and refused to pay the gods due honors. Zeus, in his 
 wrath, thereupon blotted them out from the face of the 
 earth, and created the third (brazen) race of mankind out 
 of ash wood. This race proved headstrong and violent.
 
 190 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 They were of giant stature and great strength, and took 
 pleasure in nothing but battle and strife. Their weapons, 
 houses, and utensils -were of bronze, iron not yet being 
 known. Zeus was not compelled to destroy this evil race, 
 since they destroyed themselves in their blood-thirsty strife. 
 According to another account, they were destroyed by the 
 flood of Deucalion. 
 
 Deucalion appears to have been a son of Prometheus, 
 while his wife Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus 
 and Pandora, Zeus, having determined to destroy the 
 corrupt race of the third, or Bronze Age, by a flood, Pro- 
 metheus warned his son, who built himself an ark, into 
 which he retired with his wife when the waters began to 
 rise. Nine days and nights he was tossed on the waters ; 
 at length his vessel rested on Mount Parnassus, in Boeotia. 
 He disembarked, and immediately offered a sacrifice of 
 thanksgiving to Zeus the preserver. Pleased at his grati- 
 tude, Zeus granted his prayer for the restoration of the hu- 
 man race ; and Deucalion and Pyrrha were commanded by 
 Hermes to cast stones behind them, from which sprung a 
 new race of men. Such is the legend in its most ancient 
 form ; later writers engrafted on it still further incidents 
 of Biblical tradition, until at last the Greek Noah was rep- 
 resented as having taken living animals with him into the 
 ark, and as having let loose a dove after his landing on 
 Parnassus.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 191 
 
 III. PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 
 
 1 . The Lapithse and the Centaurs. We shall 
 commence with the Thessalian legend of the Lapithse and 
 Centaurs, on account of its great antiquity and its impor- 
 tance in sculpture. Our most ancient authority here is 
 Homer. The hoary Nestor on one occasion boasts of 
 having, in his younger days, taken part with his friends 
 Pirithoiis and Cseneus, and the other princes of the La- 
 pithtc, in their contest with the savage Centaurs. In Ho- 
 mer's account the Centaurs are obviously no demons, but 
 an old Thessalian mountain tribe of giant strength and sav- 
 age ferocity, utterly unable to control their rude, sensual 
 nature. Neither is there, as yet, any mention of their be- 
 ing half horses and half men : they are merely said to have 
 inhabited the mountain districts of (Eta and Pelion, in 
 Thessaly, and to have been driven thence by the Lapithse 
 into the higher mountain lands of Pindus. 
 
 Their contest with the Lapithse is generally conceived as 
 a symbol of the struggle of Greek civilization with the 
 still existing barbarism of the early Pelasgian period. This 
 may be the reason why Greek art, when in its bloom, de- 
 voted itself so especially to this subject. The origin of 
 this contest is referred to the marriage feast of Pirithoiis 
 and Hippodamia, to which the principal Centaurs had been 
 invited. On this occasion the Centaur Eurytion, heated 
 with wine, attempted to carry off the bride ; this gave rise 
 to a contest which, after dreadful losses on both sides, end- 
 ed in the complete defeat of the Centaurs. The Centaurs, 
 however, since they were thus able to sit with the Lapitha3
 
 192 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 at meat, must originally have been endowed with purely 
 human forms. 
 
 Theseus and Nestor, the friends of Pirithoiis, both took 
 part in the battle. Another prominent warrior was the 
 gigantic Cseneus (Slayer), who had been rendered invulner- 
 able by Poseidon, but whom the Centaurs slew on this oc- 
 casion by burying him beneath a mass of trees and rocks. 
 
 As we have already mentioned, the Centaurs play an important 
 part in art. The custom of depicting them as half horse and half 
 man came into vogue after the time of Pindar, and was quickly 
 adopted in sculpture. In the representations of earlier art the face 
 of a man is joined to the body and hind legs of a horse. But in its 
 higher stage of development, after the time of Phidias, this was re- 
 placed by a more elegant conception, and the body of a man from 
 the navel upward was joined to the complete body of a horse, so that 
 the Centaurs of this period have the four feet of a horse and the 
 hands and arms of a man. Such is their appearance on numerous 
 extant art monuments, of which we shall mention the most important. 
 
 In the first place, there are the reliefs from the frieze of the 
 Theseum at Athens. This temple, which is still in a good state of 
 preservation, was converted during the Middle Ages into a chapel of 
 St. George. It is supposed to have been built at the instance of 
 Cimon, after he had brought back the bones of the Attic hero from 
 Scyros. Besides other important pieces, which we shall mention 
 hereafter, the temple has, on its western or hinder frieze, a represen- 
 tation of the contests of the Centaurs and Lapithae at the wedding 
 of Pirithoiis, done in Parian marble. It is executed in such a man- 
 ner that it is impossible to discover which party will get the upper 
 hand ; and this has enabled the artist, whose name has not come 
 down to us, to introduce a lively variety into the different scenes of 
 the combat. 
 
 We have another series of most splendid representations from Jhe 
 battle of the Centaurs, full of life and spirit, on some dilapidated 
 metopes* of the Parthenon at Athens. This splendid specimen of 
 
 * The squares between the triglyphs of the frieze which are in- 
 tended to support the gable, every one of which is generally adorned 
 with a separate sculpture in relief.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 193 
 
 Doric architecture is 227 feet in length, and 101 feet in breadth. It 
 was ruined in 1687, during the war between the Venetians and 
 Turks, by a shell which broke through the midst of the marble roof. 
 A large part of the ninety-two metopes of the outer frieze contain a 
 number of the most beautiful and life-like scenes from the battle of 
 the Giants and that of the Centaurs. Of these metopes, thirty-nine 
 still remain ou the temple, though they are all in a terribly mutilated 
 condition ; seventeen are in the British Museum, and one in the 
 Louvre at Paris. Those from the south side are comparatively in 
 the best state of preservation ; these are seventeen in number, the 
 
 Fig. 43. Metope of the Parthenon. 
 
 whole number on the south side having been thirty-two. They rep- 
 resent, exclusively, scenes from the battle of the Centaurs. Here a 
 bearded Centaur is carrying off a woman, whom he holds in his pow- 
 erful grasp ; there, another is galloping away over the body of his 
 fallen enemy ; another is engaged in a fierce contest with a human 
 foe ; while a fourth lies slain on the field. The engraving we ap- 
 pend may give a faint idea of the beauty and bold design of this 
 splendid creation (Fig. 48). To these grand monuments of Greek art 
 we must add the frieze of the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassac, 
 near Phigalia, in Arcadia, which was discovered in 1812, and is now 
 in the British Museum. It represents, likewise, a series of the most 
 vivid scenes from the battle of the LapithaB and Centaurs.. In the 
 
 13
 
 194 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 individual groups and scenes of the battle, which is here completed 
 before our eyes, there is the same variety and animation, so that we 
 must ascribe it to some great artist (Fig. 49). 
 
 Fig. 49. From the Frieze of the Temple at Bassse. 
 
 Besides these sculptures in relief, some splendid single statues of 
 Centaurs have come down to us from antiquity. Among these, the 
 first place must be assigned to the two Centaurs in the Capitoline 
 Museum. They are executed in black marble, and were found in the 
 villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, where so many ancient art treasures have 
 been brought to light. 
 
 Among the Centaurs, Chiron, who was famous alike for 
 his wisdom and his knowledge of medicine, deserves men- 
 tion as the preceptor of many of the heroes of antiquity. 
 So far superior was he to his savage kindred, both in edu- 
 cation and manners, that he was commonly reported to 
 have had a different origin, and was therefore described as 
 a son of Cronus and Philyra, or Phyllira, one of the Ocea- 
 nids. Homer, who knew nothing of the equine shape of 
 the Centaurs, represents him as the most upright of the 
 Centaurs, and makes him the friend of Peleus and the pre- 
 ceptor of the youthful Achilles, whom he instructed in the
 
 Fig. 50. Centaur teaching a Boy to play upon the Pipe. Relief by Kund- 
 rnann.
 
 196 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 art of healing and gymnastic exercises. He was, moreover, 
 related to both these heroes, his daughter Endeis having 
 been the mother of Peleus. Subsequently, other mythi- 
 cal heroes were added to the number of his pupils, such 
 as Castor and Polydeuces, Theseus, Nestor, Meleager, and 
 Diomedes. Music, too, was now represented as a subject 
 of his instruction, though this is perhaps due to a misin- 
 terpretation of the name of his mother. He inhabited a 
 cave on Mount Pelion. Later mythology, however, trans- 
 ferred his residence, after the Centaurs had been driven 
 from Pelion by the Lapithae, to the promontory of Malea. 
 Here, by an unlucky accident, he was wounded with a 
 poisoned arrow by his friend Heracles, and, the wound be- 
 ing incurable, he voluntarily chose to die in the 'place of 
 Prometheus. 
 
 The idea of the connection of the Centaurs with the arts and sci- 
 ences originated in the story of Chiron and Achilles, and has since 
 furnished modern art with the subjects for some of its most valuable 
 works. Fig. 50 represents a Centaur teaching a boy to play on the 
 flute, and is after an alto-rilievo of the Viennese sculptor Kundmann. 
 
 2. Theban Legend. 1. Cadmus. Among Theban 
 legends, none is more celebrated than the founding of 
 Thebes by Cadmus. Cadmus was a son of the Phoanician 
 king Agenor. After Zeus carried off his sister Europa to 
 Crete (vide the Cretan Legends), he was despatched by his 
 father in search of her. Accompanied by his mother, Tele- 
 phassa, he came to Thrace, and thence to Delphi, where 
 he was commanded by the oracle to relinquish his quest. 
 It further ordered him to follow a young heifer with the 
 mark of a crescent on either side, and to build a town 
 on the place where the heifer should lie down. Cadmus 
 obeyed, and, finding the heifer in Phocis, he followed her.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 197 
 
 She led him into Boeotia, and at length lay down on a ris- 
 ing ground. On this spot Cadmus founded a town, which 
 he called Cadmea, after himself, though he had first to 
 experience a perilous adventure. Before sacrificing the 
 heifer, he sent some of his companions to fetch water from 
 a neighboring spring, where they were slain by a dragon 
 belonging to Ares, which guarded the spring. Cadmus 
 then went himself, and slew the dragon, the teeth of which 
 he sowed in the ground by the advice of Pallas. Here- 
 upon armed men sprung from the ground : they immedi- 
 ately turned their arms against each other, and were all 
 slain except five. Cadmus built his new town with the 
 assistance of these men, who thus became the ancestors of 
 the noble families of Thebes. In expiation of the dragon's 
 death, Cadmus was obliged to do service to Ares for eight 
 years. At the end of this period Ares pardoned Cadmus, 
 and gave him Harmonia his daughter by Aphrodite to 
 wife. Harmonia became the mother of four daughters 
 Autonoe, Ino, Semele, and Agave. After reigning for a 
 long time at Thebes, Cadmus was compelled in his old age 
 to retire to the Enchelians, in Illyria ; but whether he was 
 driven out by Amphion and Zethus (who appear in Homer 
 as the founders of Thebes), or withdrew from some other 
 cause, is not manifest. He and his wife were afterward 
 changed into serpents, and transferred, by the command of 
 Zeus, to the Elysian fields. 
 
 Such is the substance of the wonderful myth which has 
 caused so much perplexity to antiquarians. It is now com- 
 monly supposed that Cadmus was originally a local person- 
 ification of Hermes, and that this surname points him out 
 as the founder of the earliest Boeotian civilization. Some 
 features of the story are undoubtedly of great antiquity ;
 
 198 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the slaying of the dragon, for instance, typifies the success- 
 ful reduction of the natural obstacles to the clearance of 
 the land. Boaotia was, in early days, a very marshy coun- 
 try ; and Ares, to whom the dragon was sacred, had the 
 character of a destructive, pestilence-sending deity. So also 
 with the sowing of the dragon's teeth and the springing 
 up of armed men, by which the Thebans signified that they 
 were autochthonous, i. e., original inhabitants of the country. 
 2. Actceon. We have already incidentally mentioned 
 the fortunes of three of the daughters of Cadmus Ino, 
 Semele, and Agave. The eldest, Autonoe, married Aristse- 
 us, the son of Apollo, and became by him the mother of 
 Actseon. Actseon was handed over to Chiron to be reared 
 as a stout hunter and warrior ; but he had scarcely reached 
 the prime of youth when he was overtaken by a lamenta- 
 ble fate. While hunting one day on Mount Cithseron, he 
 was changed by Artemis into a stag, and was torn in pieces 
 by his own dogs. The cause of her anger was either that 
 Actseon had boasted that he was a more skilful hunter 
 than Artemis, or that he had surprised the virgin-goddess 
 bathing. The latter tradition ultimately prevailed, and, in 
 later times, even the rock whence he beheld Artemis was 
 pointed out on the road between Megara and Platsea. He 
 received heroic honors in Boeotia, and his protection was 
 invoked against the deadly power of the sun in the dog- 
 days. The story of Actseon is probably nothing but a rep- 
 resentation of the decay of verdant nature beneath an op- 
 pressive summer heat. 
 
 The story of Actaeon's transformation and death was a farorite 
 subject for sculpture. A small marble group, representing Actaeon 
 beating off two dogs which are attacking him, was found in 1774, 
 and is now preserved in the British Museum (Fig. 51).
 
 Fig. 51. Actseon Group. British Museum.
 
 200 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 3. Amphion and Zethus. Besides the roy?I family oi 
 Cadmus, which was continued in Thebes after his depart- 
 ure by his son Polydorus, we come across the scions of 
 another ruling family of Thebes which came from Hyria, 
 or Hysia, in Bosotia, in the persons of Amphion and Ze- 
 thus. Nycteus, King of Thebes, had a wonderfully beauti- 
 ful daughter called Antiope, whose favors Zeus enjoyed on 
 approaching her in the form of a satyr. On becoming 
 pregnant, she fled from the resentment of her father to Sic- 
 yon, where the king, Epopeus, received her and made her 
 his wife. This enraged Nycteus, who made war on Epo- 
 peus, in order to compel him to deliver up his daughter An- 
 tiope. He was obliged to retire without accomplishing his 
 purpose, but, on his death, he intrusted the execution of 
 his vengeance to his brother Lycus, who succeeded him. 
 Lycus defeated and slew Epopeus, destroyed Sicyon, and 
 took Antiope back with him as prisoner. On the way, 
 at Eleutherse, on Cithaeron, she gave birth to the twins Am- 
 phion and Zethus. These were immediately exposed, but 
 were subsequently discovered, and brought up by a compas- 
 sionate shepherd. Antiope was not only kept prisoner in 
 the house of Lycus, but had also to submit to the most 
 harsh and humiliating treatment at the hands of his wife 
 Dirce. At length she managed to escape, and by a won- 
 derful chance discovered her two sons, who had grown, on 
 lonely Cithajron, into sturdy youths. The story of her 
 wrongs so enraged them that they resolved to wreak a 
 cruel vengeance on Dirce. After having taken Thebes, 
 and slain Lycus, they bound Dirce to the horns of a wild 
 bull, which dragged her about till she perished. Accord- 
 ing to another story, Dirce came to Cithaeron to celebrate 
 the festival of Bacchus. Here she found her runaway
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 201 
 
 slave, whom she was about to punish by having her bound 
 to the horns of a bull. Happily, however, Amphion and 
 Zethus recognized their mother, and inflicted on the cruel 
 Dirce the punishment she had destined for another. Her 
 mangled remains, they cast into the spring near Thebes 
 which bears her name. 
 
 The punishment of Dirce forms the subject of numerous pieces of 
 sculpture. The most important among them is the Farnese Bull 
 (Toro Farnese) in the Museum at Naples (Fig. 52). This world-re- 
 nowned marble group is supposed, with the exception of certain 
 
 Fig. 52. Farnese Bull. Naples.
 
 202 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 parts which have been restored in modern times, to have been the 
 work of the brothers Apollonius and Tauriscus, of Tralles, in Caria. 
 Apollonius and Tauriscus belonged to the Rhodian school, which 
 flourished in the third century B.C. This colossal group undoubt- 
 edly the largest which has descended to us from antiquity was first 
 erected in Rhodes, but came, during the reign of Augustus, into the 
 possession of Asinius Pollio, the great art-patron. It was discovered 
 in 1547 in the Thermae of Caracalla at Rome, and was set up in the 
 Palazzo Farnese. It was thence transferred to Naples in 1786, as 
 a portion of the Farnese inheritance. The following is a brief ex- 
 planation of the group, though, of course, the most complete account 
 could give but an imperfect idea of its beauty. The scene is laid 
 on the rocky heights of Cithaeron. The position of the handsome 
 youths on a rocky crag is as picturesque as it is dangerous, and 
 serves not only to lend the group a pyramidal aspect pleasing to the 
 eye, but also to set before us their marvellous strength. There are 
 several tokens that the occurrence took place during a Bacchic festi- 
 val : the wicker cista mystica in use at the festivals of Dionysus ; the 
 fawn skin which Dirce wears ; the ivy garland that has fallen at 
 her feet ; the broken thyrsus ; and, lastly, the Bacchic insignia which 
 distinguish the shepherd boy, who is sitting on the right watching 
 the proceedings with painful interest all point to this fact. The 
 lyre which rests against the tree behind Amphion is a token of his 
 well-known love of music. The female figure in the background is 
 Antiope. 
 
 The story goes on to relate that the two brothers, after 
 the expulsion and death of Lycus, acquired the sovereign- 
 ty of Thebes, though Amphion always figures as the real 
 king. The two brothers were widely different in disposi- 
 tion and character. Zethus appears to have been rude and 
 harsh, and passionately fond of the chase. Amphion, on 
 the other hand, is represented as a friend of the Muses, 
 and devoted to music and poetry. He soon had an oppor- 
 tunity of proving his wondrous skill when they began to 
 enclose Thebes, which had been before unprotected, with 
 walls and towers ; for while Zethus removed great blocks 
 and piled them one on another by means of his vast
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 203 
 
 strength, Amphion had but to touch the strings of his lyre 
 and break forth into some sweet melody, and the mighty 
 stones moved of their own accord and obediently fitted 
 themselves together. This is why Amphion is always rep- 
 resented in sculpture with a lyre, and Zethus with a club. 
 We can scarcely doubt that these Theban Dioscuri, like the 
 Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who are well known 
 to be only symbols of the morning and evening star, were 
 originally personifications of some natural phenomenon ; 
 though we are no longer in a position to say what it was. 
 
 Amphion is further celebrated on account of the melan- 
 choly fate of his sons and daughters. He married Niobe, 
 the daughter of the Phrygian king Tantalus, and sister of 
 Pelops. Great was the happiness of this marriage ; the 
 gods seemed to shower down their blessings on the royal 
 pair. Many blooming and lovely children grew up in their 
 palace, the pride and delight of their happy parents. From 
 this paradise of purest joy and happiness they were soon 
 to pass into a night of the deepest mourning and most 
 cruel affliction through the presumption of Niobe the 
 same presumption which had led her father Tantalus to 
 trifle with the gods and consummate his own ruin. The 
 heart of Niobe was lifted up with pride at the number of 
 her children,* and she ventured to prefer herself to Latona, 
 who had only two ; nay, she even went so far as to forbid 
 
 * The number of Niobe's children varies materially. Homer (" Il- 
 iad," xxiv., 602) gives her six sons and as many daughters. According 
 to Hesiod and Pindar, she had ten sons and ten daughters ; but the 
 most common account, and that followed by the tragic poets, allows 
 her fourteen children. Everywhere the number of sons and daugh- 
 ters appears to be equal. The story of Niobe was frequently treated 
 of by the tragic poets, both ^Eschylus and Sophocles having written 
 tragedies bearing he* 1 name.
 
 204 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the Thebans to offer sacrifice to Latona and her children, 
 and to claim these honors herself. The vengeance of the 
 offended deities, however, now overtook her, and all her 
 children were laid low in one day before the unerring ar- 
 rows of Apollo and his sister. The parents did not sur- 
 vive this deep affliction. Amphic^i slew himself, and Ni- 
 obe, already paralyzed with grief, was turned into stone by 
 the pity of the gods, and transferred to her old Phrygian 
 home on Mount Sipylus, though even the stone has not 
 ceased to weep. 
 
 Such is the substance of this beautiful legend, though 
 its details vary considerably in the accounts of the poets 
 and mythologists. The most circumstantial and richly col- 
 ored account of it is contained in the " Metamorphoses " 
 of Ovid. The poets have continually striven to impose a 
 purely ethical interpretation on the story, by representing 
 the destruction of the children of Niobe as the conse- 
 quence of the great sin of their mother; but it is more 
 probably a physical meaning which lies at the root of the 
 legend. It is, in fact, a picture of the melting of the snow 
 before the hot, scorching rays of the sun. This incident 
 the fertile imagination of the Greeks portrayed in the 
 most beautiful metaphors. But just as a subject so purely 
 tragic as the history of Niobe found its first true devel- 
 opment in tragic poetry, so likewise it only attained its 
 proper place in sculpture after art had laid aside its earlier 
 and more simple epic character, and set itself to depict, 
 in their full force, the inward passions of the soul. This 
 tendency towards pathos and effect is characteristic of the 
 age of Praxiteles and Scopas, and the later Attic school. 
 
 To this age (fourth century B.C.) belonged the group of Niobe, 
 which was so highly celebrated even among the ancients, and which
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 205 
 
 was seen by Pliny in the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, al- 
 though people even then hesitated whether to escribe it to Praxiteles 
 or Scopas. None but one of these great masters could have been thb 
 author of the tragedy hewed in stone. Although the original figures 
 of this magnificent group have disappeared, yet copies of most of 
 them are still in existence. With regard to the celebrated Floren- 
 tine Niobe group, the dissimilarity of its treatment, and the various 
 kinds of marble employed, serve to show that it is not a Greek orig- 
 inal, but a Roman imitation. It was found at Rome in 1583, near 
 the Lateran Church, and was purchased by Cardinal Medici to adorn 
 his villa on the Monte Pincio. In 1775 it was brought to Florence, 
 where it has remained since 1794 in the gallery of the Uffizi. 
 
 There has never been but one opinion as to the beauty of this 
 group. First among the figures not only in size, but also in artis- 
 tic perfection is that of Niobe herself. The unhappy queen dis- 
 plays in her whole bearing so majestic and noble a demeanor, that, 
 even if none of the other splendid results of Greek sculpture had 
 come down to us, this alone would bear amplf testimony to the high 
 perfection and creative power of Greek art. The following descrip- 
 tion of the arrangement of the group is taker from Liibke's " Histo- 
 ry of Plastic Art :" 
 
 " Apollo and Artemis are to be supposed ou' side the group. They 
 have accomplished their work of vengeance md destruction from 
 an invisible position in the heavens. This is denoted by each move- 
 ment of the flying figures, who either gaze upward in affright to- 
 wards the heavens, or seek to cover themseber with their garment?. 
 One of the sons is already stretched dead on tt .3 earth ; another leans 
 in mortal agony against a rock, fixing his eyes, a' ready glazed in death, 
 on the spot whence destruction has overtaken nim. A third brother 
 is striving in vain to protect with his robe his sister, who has fallen 
 wounded at his feet, and to catch her in his ar us ; another has sunk 
 on his knees, and clutches in agony at the wound in his back ; while 
 his preceptor is endeavoring to shield the yc .ingest boy. All the 
 others are fleeing instinctively to their mother thinking, doubtless, 
 that she who had so often afforded protection could save them also 
 from the avenging arrows of the gods. Thuo from either side the 
 waves of this dreadful flight rush towards tb -j centre, to break on 
 the sublime figure of Niobe as upon a rock. She alone stands un- 
 shaken in all her sorrow, mother and queen to the last. Clasping 
 her youngest daughter, whose tender years havo not preserved her, in 
 her arms, and bending over as though to shield the child, she turns
 
 206 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 her own proud head upward, and before her left hand can cover her 
 sorrow-stricken face with her robe, she casts towards the avenging 
 goddess a look in which bitter grief is blended with sublime dignity 
 of soul (Fig. 64). In this look there is neither defiance nor prayer 
 
 Fig. 54. Niobe. Florence. 
 
 for mercy, but a sorrowful and yet withal lofty expression of heroic 
 resignation to inexorable fate that is worthy of a Niobe. This ad- 
 mirable figure, then, is pre - eminently the central point of the com. 
 position, since it expresses an atonement which, in a scene of horrof 
 and annihilation, stirs the heart to the deepest sympathy."
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 207 
 
 Zethus was not more fortunate than Amphion in his do- 
 mestic affairs. He married Aedon (nightingale), the daugh- 
 ter of Pandareos. Pandareos was the friend and compan- 
 ion of Tantalus, for whom he stole a living dog made of 
 brass from the temple of Zeus in Crete, and was on that 
 account turned into stone. 
 
 Aedon was jealous of the good fortune of Niobe in hav- 
 ing so many beautiful children ; she herself having only 
 one son, Itylus. She resolved, one night, to slay the eld- 
 est son of Niobe, but she killed, in mistake, her own child 
 instead. Zeus took compassion on her, and changed her 
 into a nightingale. In this guise she still continues to be- 
 wail her loss in long-drawn mournful notes. Tradition 
 says nothing as to the death of Zethus, although the com- 
 mon grave of the Theban Dioscuri was pointed out in 
 Thebes. After his death, Laius, the son of Labdacus and 
 grandson of Polydorus, restored in his person the race of 
 Cadmus to the throne of Thebes. (See the legend of the 
 Labdacidae, later on.) 
 
 3. Corinthian Legend. 1. Sisyphus. Corinth, or 
 Ephyra, as it was formerly called, was said to have been 
 founded by Sisyphus, the son of ^Eolus. Its inhabitants, 
 on account of the position of their city between two seas, 
 were naturally inclined to deify that element, and it is not 
 improbable that Sisyphus was merely an ancient symbol 
 of the restless, ever-rolling waves of the sea. This inter- 
 pretation, however, is by no means certain ; and the idea 
 of Sisyphus in the lower world ever rolling a huge stone 
 to the top of a mountain might equally well refer to the 
 sun, which, after attaining its highest point in the heavens 
 at the time of the summer solstice, glides back again, only
 
 208 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 to begin its career anew on the shortest day. In any case, 
 the rolling of the stone does not appear to have been orig- 
 inally a punishment. It was only later after people had 
 become familiar with the idea of retribution in the lower 
 world that it assumed this character. In order to ac- 
 count for it, a special crime had to be found for Sisyplxus. 
 According to some, he was punished at the instance of 
 Zeus, because he had revealed to the river-god Asopus the 
 hiding-place of his daughter ^Egina, whom Zeus had se 
 cretly carried off from Phlius. According to another tra- 
 dition, he used to attack travellers, and put them to death 
 by crashing them with great stones. The Corinthians be- 
 ing crafty men of business, it was natural that they should 
 accredit their mythical founder with a refined cunning. 
 Of the numerous legends which existed concerning him, 
 none was more celebrated than that of the cunning mode 
 in which he succeeded in binding Death, whom Ares had 
 to be despatched to release. 
 
 2. Glaucus. Tradition describes Glaucus as a son of 
 Sisyphus by Merope. He also appears to have had a sym- 
 bolic meaning, and was once identical with Poseidon, 
 though he was afterward degraded from the rank of a god 
 to that of a hero. He is remarkable for his unfortunate 
 end. On the occasion of some funeral games, celebrated 
 in lolcus in honor of Pelias, he took part in the chariot- 
 race, and was torn in pieces by his own horses, which had 
 taken fright. 
 
 3. Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons. The 
 third national hero of Corinth was Bellerophon, or Belle- 
 rophontes. Here the reference to the sun is so obvious 
 that the signification of the myth is unmistakable. He 
 was termed the son of Poseidon or Glaucus, and none
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 209 
 
 could appreciate this genealogy better than the Corinthi- 
 ans, who daily saw the sun rise from the sea. We must 
 first, however, narrate the substance of the story. Bellero- 
 phon was born and brought up at Corinth, but was obliged 
 from some cause or other to leave his country. That he 
 killed Bellerus, a noble of Corinth, is nothing but a fable 
 arising from an unfortunate misinterpretation of his name. 
 He was hospitably received by Proetus, King of Tiryns, 
 whose wife at once fell in love with the handsome, stately 
 youth. Finding, however, that Bellerophon slighted her 
 passion, she slandered him to her husband, and Proetus 
 forthwith sent him to his father-in-law, lobates, King of 
 Lycia, with a tablet, mysterious signs on which bade lo- 
 bates put the bearer to death. At this juncture the heroic 
 career of Bellerophon begins. lobates sought to fulfil the 
 command of Proetus by involving his guest in all kinds of 
 desperate adventures. He first sent him to destroy the 
 ChimaBra, a dangerous monster that devastated the land. 
 The fore part of its body was that of a lion, the centre that 
 of a goat, and the hinder part that of a dragon. Accord- 
 ing to Hesiod, it had three heads that of a lion, a goat, 
 and a dragon. According to the same poet, the Chimtcra 
 was a fire-breathing monster of great swiftness and strength, 
 the daughter of Typhon and Echidna. Bellerophon de- 
 stroyed the monster by raising himself in the air on his 
 winged horse Pegasus, and shooting it with his arrows. 
 Pegasus was the offspring of Poseidon and Medusa, from 
 whose trunk it sprung after Perseus had struck off her 
 head. Bellerophon captured this wonderful animal as it 
 descended at the Acro-Corinthus to drink of the spring of 
 Pirene. In this he was assisted by the goddess Athene, 
 who also taught him how to tame and use it. Here, then, 
 
 14
 
 210 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 he appears to have already possessed the horse at Corinth; 
 though another tradition relates that Pegasus was first sent 
 to him when he set out to conquer the Chimaera. The or- 
 igin of the story is ascribed to a fiery mountain in Lycia ; 
 but, as all dragons and such-like monsters of antiquity are 
 represented as breathing forth fire and flames, we are per- 
 haps scarcely justified in having recourse to a volcano. 
 This characteristic is, in fact, merely a common symbol 
 of the furious and dangerous character of these monsters. 
 The contest of Bellerophon is far more likely to be a pict- 
 ure of the drying up, by means of the sun's rays, of the 
 furious mountain torrents which flood the corn-fields. 
 
 The next adventure in which lobates engaged Bellero- 
 phon was an expedition against the Solymi, a neighboring 
 but hostile mountain tribe. After he had been successful 
 in subduing them, lobates sent him against the warlike 
 Amazons, hoping that among them he would be certain to 
 meet his death. We here, for the first time, come across 
 this remarkable nation of women, with whom other Greek 
 heroes, such as Heracles and Theseus, are said to have 
 fought ; and it will not, therefore, be foreign to our object 
 to dwell here on their most important features. 
 
 The Amazons appear in legend as early as Homer, though 
 he only mentions them incidentally. They were said to 
 be a nation of women, who suffered no men among them, 
 except so far as it was necessary to keep up the race. The 
 women, on the other hand, were trained from their earliest 
 years in all warlike exercises ; so that they were not only 
 sufficiently powerful to defend their own land against for- 
 eign invaders, but also to make plundering incursions into 
 other countries. Their dominions, the situation of which 
 was at first indefinitely described as in the far north or fas
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 211 
 
 west, were afterward reduced to more distinct limits, and 
 placed in Cappadocia, on the river Thermodon, their capi- 
 tal being Themiscyra, in Scythia, on the borders of Lake 
 Mseotis, where their intercourse with the Scythians is said 
 to have given rise to the Sarmatian tribes. Later writers 
 also speak of the Amazons in Western Libya. Of the nu- 
 merous stories rife concerning them, none is more taste- 
 less than that of their cutting off or burning out the right 
 breast, in order not to incommode themselves in the use of 
 the bow. This obviously originated in a misconception of 
 their name, Avhich is certainly not of Greek origin, and has 
 never yet been satisfactorily explained. From the Ther- 
 moden they are said to have made great expeditions as far 
 as the ^Egean sea ; they are even reported to have invaded 
 Attica, and made war on Theseus. They also play a prom- 
 inent part in the story of Heracles, by whom they were de- 
 feated ; and in the Trojan war, when, under their queen, 
 Penthesilea, they came to the assistance of Priam against 
 the Greeks. 
 
 The Amazons were frequently represented in Greek art. They are 
 here depicted as fine, powerful women, resembling Artemis and her 
 nymphs, though with stouter legs and arms. They generally appear 
 armed, their weapons being a long double-edged battle-axe (bipennis) 
 and a semicircular shield. An anecdote related by Pliny proves what 
 a favorite subject the Amazons were with Greek artists. He says 
 that the celebrated sculptors, Phidias, Polycletus, Phradmon, and 
 Cresilas made a wager as to who should create the most beautiful 
 Amazon. Polycletus received the prize; so that we may conclude 
 that he brought this statue the ideal Amazon of the Greeks to its 
 highest perfection. Unfortunately, we know nothing of it, except 
 that it was of bronze, and stood with the statues of the other ar- 
 tists in the temple of the Ephesian Artemis. The Amazon of Phidias, 
 we are told, was represented as leaning on a spear ; Cresilas, on the 
 other hand, endeavored to portray a wounded Amazon. Besides 
 these statues, we hear a great deal of the Amazon of Strongylion, eel-
 
 Fig. 55. Amazon. Berlin.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 213 
 
 ebrated for the beauty of her legs, which was in the possession of 
 Nero. 
 
 We still possess a considerable number of Amazon statues, some 
 of which are supposed to be imitations in marble of the renowned 
 statue at Ephesus. There are, moreover, several statues of wound- 
 ed Amazons, some of which are believed to be copies of the work of 
 Cresilas. There is also another marble statue, considerably larger 
 than life, which takes a still higher rank. It was originally set up 
 in the Villa Mattel, but since the time of Clement XIV. it has been 
 in the Vatican collection. It is apparently a representation of an 
 Amazon resting after battle ; she is in the act of laying aside her 
 bow, as she has already done her shield, battle-axe, and helmet. In 
 doing so, she raises herself slightly on her left foot an attitude 
 which is as charming as it is natural. 
 
 Lastly, we must not omit to mention a statue that has newly come 
 into the possession of the Berlin Museum, which is supposed to be 
 after a work of Polycletus (Fig. 55). 
 
 We must now return to the history of Bellerophon. 
 After returning in triumph from his expedition against 
 the Amazons, the life of the young hero was once more 
 attempted by lobates, who caused him to be surprised by 
 an ambuscade. Bellerophon, however, again escaped, slay- 
 ing all his assailants. lobates now ceased from further per- 
 secution, and gave him his daughter in marriage, and a 
 share in the kingdom of Lycia. Bellerophon, in full pos 
 session of power and riches, and surrounded by blooming 
 children, seemed to have reached the summit of earthly 
 prosperity, when he was overtaken by a grievous change 
 of fortune. He was seized with madness, and wandered 
 about alone, fleeing the society of men, until he at length 
 perished miserably. Pindar says that he incurred the en- 
 mity of the gods by attempting to fly to heaven on his 
 winged horse Pegasus ; whereupon Zeus sent a gadfly to 
 sting the horse. Pegasus cast off Bellerophon, and flew 
 of his own accord to the stables of Zeus, whose thunder
 
 214 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 chariot he has ever since drawn. The sad fate of Bellero- 
 phon was the subject of a touching tragedy of Euripides, 
 some parts of which are still in existence. Heroic honors 
 were paid to Bellerophon in Corinth, and he also had a 
 shrine in the celebrated cypress-grove of Poseidon. 
 
 4. Argive Legend. 1. Io. The first personage 
 who meets us on the very threshold of the mythic age 
 of Argos is Inachus, the god of the Argive river of that 
 name. Inachus was venerated by the inhabitants as the 
 first founder of Argive civilization after the flood of Deu- 
 calion. By his union with Melia, the daughter of Oceanus, 
 he became the father of Io, famed for her beauty, whose 
 history, which is of great antiquity, has been so greatly em- 
 bellished by the poets and legendary writers. The follow- 
 ing is the substance of the story : 
 
 Io was the priestess of Hera. Her great beauty attract- 
 ed the notice of Zeus. On remarking this, Hera, in her 
 jealousy, changed Io into a white heifer, and set the hun- 
 dred-eyed Argus Panoptes (the all -seeing) to watch her. 
 Zeus, however, sent Hermes to take away the heifer. Her- 
 mes first lulled the guardian to sleep with his wand, and 
 then slew him, whence he is called Argiphontes (slayer of 
 Argus). Hera avenged herself by sending a gadfly to tor- 
 ment Io, who, in her madness, wandered through Europe 
 and Asia, until she at length found rest in Egypt, where, 
 touched by the hand of Zeus, she recovered her original 
 form, and gave birth to a son. This son, who was called 
 Epaphus, afterward became king of Egypt, and built Mem- 
 phis. The myth, as we have already remarked, has re- 
 ceived many embellishments, for the wanderings of Io 
 grew mor and more extensive with the growth of geo
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 215 
 
 graphical knowledge. The true interpretation of the 
 myth is due to F. W. Wclcker, whose meritorious research- 
 es in Greek mythology have proved of such great value, 
 lo (the wanderer) is the moon, whose apparently irregular 
 course and temporary disappearance were considered a most 
 curious phenomenon by the ancients. The moon-goddess 
 of antiquity was very frequently represented under the fig- 
 ure of a heifer ; and Isis herself, the Egyptian goddess of 
 the moon, was always depicted with horns. The guar- 
 dian of the heifer, the hundred-eyed Argus, is a symbol of 
 the starry heaven. Argus was slain by Hermes, the rain 
 god ; in other words, the stars were rendered invisible by 
 the clouds. There is nothing extraordinary in represent- 
 ing the apparent irregularity of the moon's course, inex- 
 plicable as it was to the ancients, under the guise of men- 
 tal disorder. Similar representations occur in the stories 
 of the solar heroes, Bellerophon and Heracles. In the 
 south-east the direction in which Egypt lay from Greece 
 lo again appears as full moon, in her original shape. 
 
 2. Danaus and the Danaids. According to the legend, 
 Danaiis was a descendant of lo. Epaphus, the son of lo, 
 had a daughter Libya, who bore to Poseidon two sons, 
 Agenor and Belus. The former reigned over Phoenicia, 
 the latter over Egypt. Belus, by his union with Anchinoe, 
 or Achiroe, the daughter of the Nile, became the father of 
 ^Egyptus and Danaus. Between these two brothers the 
 farmer of whom had fifty sons and the latter fifty daugh- 
 ters a deadly enmity arose ; this induced Danaus to mi* 
 grate from Egypt and seek the old home of his ancestress, 
 lo. He embarked with his fifty daughters in a ship the 
 first that was ever built and thus came to Argos, where 
 Gelanor, the reigning descendant of Inachus, resigned the
 
 216 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 crown in his favor. As King of Argos, Danatis is said to 
 have brought the land, which suffered from want of water, 
 to a higher state of cultivation by watering it with wells 
 and canals. He is also said to have introduced the wor- 
 ship of Apollo and Demeter. The story proceeds to relate 
 that the fifty sons of JEgyptus followed their uncle to Ar- 
 gos, and compelled him to give them his fifty daughters 
 in marriage. Danaiis, in revenge, gave each of his daugh- 
 ters on the wedding-day a dagger, arid commanded them 
 to slay their husbands in the night. All obeyed his com- 
 mand except Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lyn- 
 ceus, and afterward even succeeded, Avith the assistance of 
 Aphrodie, in effecting his reconciliation with her father. 
 Lynceus succeeded Danatis in the kingdom, and became, 
 by his son Abas, the ancestor of both the great Argive he- 
 roes, Perseus and Heracles. At a later period, the fable 
 sprung up that the Dana'ids were punished for their crimes 
 in the lower world by having continually to pour water 
 into a cask full of holes. It has been frequently remarked 
 that this punishment has no conceivable connection with 
 the crime. Neither must we forget that the idea of retri- 
 bution in the lower world was of a comparatively late date. 
 Originally, too, the idea prevailed that the pursuits of the 
 npper world were continued after death in the realms of 
 Hades. And herein lies the key to the interpretation of 
 the myth, which is evidently connected with the irrigation 
 of Argos ascribed to Danaus. 
 
 3. Proetus and his Daughters. Acrisius and Proetus 
 were twin sons of Abas, the son of Lynceus and Hyperm- 
 nestra. Between these two brothers an implacable hostili- 
 ty existed, which was said by the poets to have commenced 
 >,ven in their mother's womb. Proetas received, as his share
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 217 
 
 of the patrimony, the kingdom of Tiryns ; but he was sub- 
 sequently expelled by his brother, and took refuge at the 
 court of lobates, King of Lycia. lobates gave him his 
 daughter Antea, or Stheneboea, in marriage, and afterward 
 restored him to his kingdom of Tiryns. Proetus, with the 
 aid of the Lycian workmen whom he had brought with 
 him (Cyclopes), built a strong fortress, which enabled him 
 not only to maintain peaceable possession of Tiryns, but 
 also to extend his dominion as far as Corinth. The legend 
 then passes to the history of his three daughters, the Proe- 
 tides, whose pride was so excited by their father's great- 
 ness and their own beauty that they began to think them- 
 selves superior to the gods. Their arrogance, however, was 
 soon punished, for they were visited with a foul disease and 
 driven mad. They now fled the society of mankind, and 
 wandered about among the mountains and woods of Argos 
 and Arcadia. At length Proetus succeeded in procuring 
 the services of the celebrated soothsayer and purifier Me- 
 lampus, who undertook the purification and cure of his 
 daughters. It was reported of Melampus that serpents had 
 licked his ears while asleep, and that he acquired, in con- 
 sequence, a knowledge of the language of birds. He suc- 
 cessfully accomplished the cure of the Proetides, and re- 
 ceived as a reward the hand of the princess Iphianassa, in 
 addition to which both he and his brother Bias received a 
 share in the sovereignty of Tiryns. Thus it was that the 
 race of the Amythaonidae, who all inherited the gift of see- 
 ing into futurity, and from whom the celebrated soothsayer 
 Amphiaraiis himself was descended, came to Argos. 
 
 4. Perseus. Acrisius, the brother of Proetus, had a 
 daughter called Danae, whose fortune it was to gain the 
 love of the great ruler of Olympus. Her father, Acrisius,
 
 218 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 was induced by an oracle, Avhich foretold that he should 
 be killed by his own grandson, to immure Danae in a sub- 
 terraneous chamber. Zeus, however, in his love for her, 
 changed himself into a shower of golden rain, and thus 
 introduced himself through the roof of her prison. Thus 
 was the godlike hero Perseus born. There can be no 
 doubt that this myth, too, is founded on the idea of the 
 bridal union of heaven and earth ; this is one of the pict- 
 ures of nature which the mind most readily forms. Danae 
 represents the country of Argos ; her prison is the heaven, 
 enveloped, during the gloomy months of winter, with thick 
 clouds. Her offspring by Zeus represents the light of the 
 sun, which returns in the spring-time and begins, like a ver- 
 itable hero, its contest with the powers of death and dark- 
 ness. The Gorgon Medusa has the same significance in 
 the history of Perseus that the hideous Python has in that 
 of Apollo. 
 
 The legend then proceeds to relate that Acrisius, having 
 heard of the birth of his grandson, to avert the fate threat- 
 ened by the oracle, ordered mother and child to be con- 
 fined in a chest and cast into the sea. But human wis- 
 dom avails naught against the inevitable decrees of Heaven. 
 The chest was cast by the waves on the rocky island of 
 Seriphus, where it was found by the fisherman Dictys ; and 
 Danae and her child were hospitably received and cared 
 for by Dictys and his brother Polydectes, the ruler of the 
 island. The latter, however, subsequently wished to marry 
 Danae, and on her rejecting his advances made her a slave. 
 Fearing the vengeance of Perseus, he despatched him, as 
 soon as he was grown up, on a most perilous adventure. 
 This was no other than to bring him the head of the Gor- 
 gon Medusa a terrible winged woman, who dwelt with
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 219 
 
 her two sisters, the daughters of Phorc ys and Ceto, on the 
 farthest western shore of the earth, OP the border of Oce- 
 amis. Perseus set out, though he was in the greatest per- 
 plexity how to accomplish so perilous a task. Hermes, 
 however, at this juncture came to hi? aid; and Athene, 
 the special patroness of heroes, inspired him with courage. 
 These deities first showed him how to procure the neces- 
 sary means for accomplishing his undertaking, which con- 
 sisted of an invisible helmet, a magic wallet, and a pair 
 of winged sandals. All these were in the hands of the 
 Nymphs, by whom probably the water-i.ymphs are meant. 
 The way to their abode he could only leern from the GraBse. 
 These creatures, who were likewise the daughters of Phorcys 
 and Ceto, were reported to have come into the world as old 
 women ; their very appearance was appalling, and they had 
 but one eye and one tooth between them, of which they 
 made use in turn. They, too, dwelt on the outskirts of 
 the gloomy region inhabited by the Gor ?ons, whence they 
 are called by JEschylus their sentinels. Under the guid- 
 ance of Apollo and Athene, Perseus came to the Grea3. 
 He then robbed them of their one eye and one tooth, and 
 thus forced them to tell him the way to the habitations of 
 the Nymphs. From the latter he at once obtained the ob- 
 jects he sought ; and having donned his winged sandals, 
 he hastened to the abode of the Gorgons, whom he fortu 
 nately discovered asleep. Athene then pointed out to hire 
 Medusa the other two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, being 
 immortal and enjoined him to appr ,ach them carefully 
 backward, as the sight of their faces would infallibly turn 
 any mortal into stone. With the he^p of her mirror-like 
 shield and the sickle of Hermes, Perseus succeeded in cut- 
 ting off the head of Medusa without looking round ; and
 
 220 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 having placed the Lead in his wallet, he hastened away. 
 His helmet, which rendered him invisible, enabled him to 
 escape the pursuit of the other Gorgons, who had mean- 
 while awaked. From the trunk of Medusa sprung the 
 winged horse Pegasus, and Chrysaor, the father of Gery- 
 ones. On his return to Seriphus, Perseus turned the un- 
 righteous Polydectes into stone by means of the Gorgon's 
 head, which he then presented to Athene ; and after mak- 
 ing his benefactor, Dictys, king of the island, he turned his 
 steps towards his native place, Argos. Such are the essen- 
 tial features of the myth concerning which, in spite of its 
 antiquity, we have no earlier sources of information such 
 is the original frame -work on which was afterward built 
 up the history of the further adventures of the hero. The 
 most celebrated of these was the rescue of Andromeda, 
 which formed the subject of a drama of Euripides, and was 
 also highly popular among artists and poets. The follow- 
 ing is a brief account of this exploit : Cassiopea, the wife 
 of Cepheus, King of ^Ethiopia, ventured to extol her own 
 beauty above that of the Nereids, who thereupon besought 
 Poseidon to avenge them. He granted their request, and 
 not only overwhelmed the land with disastrous floods, but 
 sent also a terrible sea-monster, which devoured both man 
 and beast. The oracle of Ammon declared that the land 
 could only be saved by the sacrifice of the king's daughter, 
 Andromeda, to the monster. Cepheus, after some time, 
 yielded to the entreaties of his people, and Andromeda was 
 chained to a rock close to the sea. In this situation she 
 was found by Perseus, on his return from his adventure 
 with the Gorgons. He forthwith attacked and slew the 
 sea-monster, and released the trembling maiden, who soon 
 after married her preserver. Later writers, not satisfied
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 221 
 
 with this adventure, added that Perseus was also obliged 
 to vanquish a rival in Phineus, the king's brother, to whom 
 Andromeda had been already promised. Phineus, togeth- 
 er with his warriors, was changed into stone by means of 
 the Gorgon's head. 
 
 The legend concludes with the return of the hero to 
 Argos, where he was reconciled to his grandfather Acrisius, 
 who had at first fled in terror to Larissa. On the occasion, 
 however, of some games which the people of Larissa had 
 instituted in his honor, Perseus was unfortunate enough to 
 kill Acrisius with his discus, thus involuntarily fulfilling 
 the prophecy of the oracle. In this feature of the story 
 we recognize an unmistakable reference to the symbolic 
 meaning of Perseus; for the discus here represents, as in 
 the story of the death of Hyacinthus, the face of the sun. 
 Perseus, unwilling to enter on the inheritance of the grand- 
 father he had slain, exchanged the kingdom of Argos for 
 that of Tiryns, which was handed over to him by its king, 
 Megapenthcs, the son of Proetus. He here founded the 
 cities of Midea and Mycenae, and became, through his chil- 
 dren by Andromeda, the ancestor of many heroes, and, 
 among others, of Heracles. His son Elcctryon became 
 the father of Alcmene, while Amphitryon was descended 
 from another of his sons. According to Pausanias, heroic 
 honors were paid to Perseus, not only throughout Argos, 
 but also in Athens and the island of Seriphus. 
 
 Perseus occupies a prominent position in Greek art. His common 
 attributes are the winged sandals, the sickle which he made use of to 
 slay Medusa, and the helmet of Hades. In bodily form, as well as in 
 costume, he appears very like Hermes. 
 
 Among the art monuments which relate to his adventures is a 
 marble relief from the Villa Pamfili, now in the Capitoline Museum 
 at Rome, depicting the rescue of Andromeda. The sea-monster lies
 
 222 GREES AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 dead at the feet of Perseus, who is assisting the joyful Andromeda to 
 descend from the rock The attitude and expression of both figures 
 are very striking : on the one side, maidenly modesty ; on the other, 
 proud self-reliance. It is worth remarking that Perseus, in addi- 
 
 Fig. 56. Perseus and A.idromeda. Marble Belief in the Mnsenm at Naples. 
 
 tion to his winged oboes, has also wings on his head. The sains 
 conception is perceptible, with a few minor points of difference, 
 in several Pompeian paintings, and on a marble relief of the Naples 
 Museum (Fig. 56). B gpresentations of Medusa are mostly confined 
 to masks, which are often found on coats of mail, shields, leaves of
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 
 
 223 
 
 folding-doors, and instruments of all kinds. There are two types, 
 representing an earlier and a later conception of Medusa. Earlier 
 art set itself to depict the horrible only in the head of Medusa ; and 
 artists, therefore, strove to impart to the face as strong an expres- 
 sion of rage and ferocity as was possible, representing her with tongue 
 lolling forth, and boar-like tusks. It is worthy of remark that, in the 
 earlier examples of these masks which are frequently met with on 
 coins, gems, and pottery the hair generally falls stiff and straight 
 over the forehead, serving to render the horrible breadth of the face 
 
 Fig. 57. Kondauini Mednsa. Munich. 
 
 still more striking, while the snakes appear to be fastened round 
 the neck like a necklace. Very different is the conception adopted 
 by the later and more sensuous school. This labored principally to 
 jive expression to the gradual ebbing-away of life in the countenance 
 of the dying Gorgon, an effect which was rendered still more striking 
 by transforming the hideous Gorgon face of earlier times into an ideal 
 of the most perfect beauty. The most splendid example of this later 
 conception, which had been creeping in since the age of Praxiteles, 
 is to be found in the Medusa Rondanini of the Munich collection -
 
 224 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 a marble mask of most beautiful workmanship, which was brought 
 from the Rondanini Palace at Rome (Fig. 57). This Medusa, like 
 many others of the later type, has wings on the head. 
 
 5. The Dioscuri. On passing to Laconia and Mes- 
 senia, the southern districts of the Peloponnesus, we come 
 in contact with the legend of the Dioscuri. Tyndareu? 
 and his brother Icarius were said to have founded the most 
 ancient sovereignty in Lacedsemon. They were driven 
 thence, however, by their half-brother Hippocoon, and were 
 kindly received by Thestius, the ruler of the ancient city 
 of Pleuron, in ^Etolia, who gave Tyndareiis his daughter 
 Leda in marriage. Icarius received the hand of Polycaste, 
 who bore him Penelope afterward the wife of Odysseus ; 
 while Leda was the mother of the Dioscuri, Castor and 
 Polydeuces (Pollux). Tyndareiis was afterward reinstated 
 in his Lacedaemonian kingdom at Amyclaj by Heracles. 
 Besides these two sons, Leda had also two daughters, Cly- 
 tsemnestra and Helene (Helen), who are celebrated in con- 
 nection with the Trojan war. An ancient legend also ex- 
 isted to the effect that Leda had been beloved by Zeus, 
 who had approached her under the disguise of a swan. 
 The greatest incongruity prevails as to which of the chil- 
 dren could claim a divine origin. In Homer, Helen alone 
 is represented as the daughter of Zeus ; while Clytsemncs- 
 tra, together with Castor and Polydeuces, appear as the chil- 
 dren of Tyndareus. At a subsequent period, the name of 
 " Dioscuri " (sons of Zeus) and a belief in their divine ori 
 gin arose simultaneously. Later still, Castor was repre- 
 sented as a mortal, and the son of Tyndareus ; and Poly- 
 deuces as immortal, and the son of Zeus. After Castor, 
 however, had fallen in the contest with the sons of Apha- 
 reus, his brother Polydeuces, unwilling to part from him.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 225 
 
 prevailed on Zeus to allow them to remain together, on 
 condition of their spending one day in Olympus and the 
 next in Hades. They thus led a life divided between mor- 
 tality and immortality. The following is . an account of 
 their heroic deeds : On attaining manhood, Castor distin- 
 guished himself by his skill in the management of horses ; 
 while Poly deuces became renowned as a skilful boxer, 
 though he too had skill in riding. They first made war 
 on Theseus, who had carried off their sister Helen, then 
 ten years old, and set her free by the conquest of Aphid- 
 nae. They next took part in the expedition of the Argo- 
 nauts, in which Polydeuces gained still further renown by 
 his victory with the cestus over the celebrated boxer Amy- 
 cus. They were also present at the Calydonian boar-hunt. 
 Their last undertaking was the rape of the daughters of 
 Leucippus, King of Messenia. This was the cause of their 
 combat with their cousins Idas and Lynceus, the sons of 
 Aphareus, to whom the damsels had been betrothed. Ac- 
 cording to others, however, it sprung from a quarrel as to 
 the division of some booty that they had carried off to- 
 gether. Castor was slain by Idas, whereupon Polydeuces 
 in his wrath slew Lynceus, while Idas himself was over- 
 whelmed by a thunder-bolt from Zeus. 
 
 The interpretation of this myth is by no means void of 
 difficulty. It is commonly supposed that they were an- 
 cient Peloponnesian divinities of light, who, after the Do- 
 rian invasion, were degraded to the rank of heroes. They 
 are often interpreted as personifications of the morning 
 and evening star, or of the twilight (dawn and dusk). This 
 view died out after the second deification that they under- 
 went. They were venerated, not only in their native Spar- 
 ta, but throughout the whole of Greece, as kindly, bcncfi- 
 
 15
 
 226 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 cent deities, whose aid might be invoked either in battle or 
 in the dangers of shipwreck. In this latter character they 
 are lauded by an Homeric hymn, in which they are repre- 
 sented as darting through the air on their golden wings, in 
 order to calm the storm at the prayer of the terror-strick- 
 en mariner. It has often been remarked, and with a great 
 appearance of truth, that these Dioscuri flitting about on 
 their golden wings are probably nothing more than what 
 is commonly called St. Elmo's fire an electric flame which 
 is often seen playing round the tops of the masts dur- 
 ing a storm, and which is regarded by the sailors as a sign 
 of its speedy abatement ; indeed, the name Elmo has been 
 supposed a corruption of Helene. In Sparta, the Dioscuri 
 were regarded as the tutelary deities of the State, as well as 
 an example of warlike valor for the youth of the country. 
 Their shrines here were very numerous. Their ancient 
 symbol, which the Spartans always took with them on a 
 campaign, consisted of two parallel beams joined by cross- 
 bars. They had other festivals and temples besides those 
 of Sparta : in Mantinea, for instance, where an eternal fire 
 was kept burning in their honor; also in Athens, where 
 they were venerated under the appellation of Anaccs. 
 Their festival was here celebrated with horse-racing. The 
 Olympic games also stood under their special protection, 
 and their images were set up in all the pala3stra. They 
 were, in fact, everywhere regarded as extremely benevolent 
 and sociable deities, who foster all that is noble and beau- 
 tiful among men. 
 
 The Dioscuri were believed to have assisted the Romans 
 against the Latins at the Lake Regillus ; and the dictator, 
 A. Postumius, vowed a temple to them, which was erected 
 in the Forum, opposite the temple of Vesta. In commem-
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 227 
 
 oration of this aid, the Equites made a solemn procession 
 from the temple of Honos, past the temple of the Dioscuri, 
 to the Capitol every year on the Ides of July. 
 
 In art the Dioscuri are represented as heroic youths of noble mien 
 and slim but powerful forms. Their characteristic marks are coni- 
 cal caps, the points of which are adorned with a star. They gener- 
 ally appear nude, or clothed only with a light chlamys, and nearly 
 always in connection with their horses, either riding, standing by 
 and holding them, or leading them by the bridle. The most cele- 
 brated representation of the Dioscuri that has come down to us from 
 antiquity consists of the marble statues called the Colossi of Monte 
 Cavallo, in Rome. These are eighteen feet in height, and the propor- 
 tions of the figures, together with those of the horses, are exquisite. 
 They are set up on the Quirinal, which has received from them the 
 name of Monte Cavallo. They are not, indeed, original works, but 
 are probably imitations of bronzes of the most nourishing period of 
 Greek art, executed in the time of Augustus. 
 
 6. Heracles (Hercules). Of all the myths of the 
 countries originally inhabited by the ^Eolians, the myth of 
 Heracles is the most glorious. This hero, though his fame 
 was chiefly disseminated by means of the Dorians, was yet 
 by birth the common property of the ^Eolian race their 
 national hero, in fact, just as he afterward became the na- 
 tional hero of the whole of Greece. No other Greek myth 
 has received so many subsequent additions not only from 
 native, but also from foreign sources as this; which is, 
 in consequence, the most extensive and complicated of all 
 Greek myths. We shall, therefore, have to confine our- 
 selves to the consideration of its most characteristic feat- 
 ures, and those which are the most important in the his- 
 tory of art. 
 
 In Homer, who is here again our most ancient authority, 
 the leading features of the myth are traced the enmity of 
 Hera towards the hero ; his period of subjection to Eurys-
 
 228 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 theus, and the labors by which he emancipated himself 
 (though special mention is made only of his seizure of Cer- 
 berus) ; his expeditions against Pylus, Ephyra, (Echaha, 
 and Troy. The verses in the " Odyssey " (xi. 602-4), which 
 refer to his deification and subsequent marriage with Hebe, 
 are probably a later insertion. In the " Iliad," Heracles is 
 spoken of as a great hero of olden time, " whom the Fates 
 and the grievous wrath of Hera subdued." In Homer, too, 
 he appears as a purely Grecian hero, his warlike undertak- 
 ings having never yet led him beyond Troy, and his ar- 
 mor differing in no respect from that of other heroes. The 
 description of him in Hesiod's " Theogony " and in the 
 " Shield of Heracles " is somewhat more minute, but it is 
 otherwise essentially the same. From what source the de- 
 ification of Heracles sprung whether it was due to Phoe- 
 nician influences or not has hitherto remained an unde- 
 termined question ; we only know that it appears as an ac- 
 complished fact about 700 B.C. 
 
 I. THE BIRTH AND YOUTH OF HERACLES. This portion 
 of the legend found its chief development in Bceotia. Am- 
 phitryon, a son of Alca3iis and grandson of Perseus, was 
 compelled to flee from Tiryns with his betrothed, Alcmene 
 likewise a descendant of Perseus by her father, Electry- 
 on on account of a murder, and found an asylum at the 
 court of Creon, King of Thebes. From this place he un- 
 dertook an expedition against the robber tribes of the Tel- 
 eboae (Taphians), in consequence of a promise made to Alc- 
 mene, whose brother they had slain. After the successful 
 termination of this expedition, the marriage was to have 
 been celebrated at Thebes. But in the mean while the 
 great ruler of Olympus himself had been smitten with the 
 charms of Alcmene, and, taking the form of the absent
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 229 
 
 Amphitryon, had left her pregnant with Heracles, to whom 
 she afterward gave birth at the same time with Iphicles, 
 the son of Amphitryon. The sovereignty over all the de- 
 scendants of Perseus, which Zeus had destined for Hera- 
 cles, was snatched from him by the crafty jealousy of Hera, 
 who prolonged the pains of Alcmene and hastened the de- 
 livery of the wife of Sthenelus, the uncle of Amphitryon, 
 by two months. Not content with having subjected the 
 hero to the will of the weak and cowardly Eurystheus, 
 Hera, according to a subsequent account of the poets, sent 
 two serpents to kill the child when he was about eight 
 months old. Heracles, however, gave the first proof of his 
 divine origin by strangling the serpents with his hands. 
 An account of this scene has descended to us in a beauti- 
 ful poem of Pindar. In Thebes, the boy grew up, and was 
 put under the care of the best preceptors. But, though 
 he excelled in every feat of strength and valor, he made no 
 progress in musical arts, and even slew his master Linus on 
 Account of a somewhat harsh reproof which his inaptitude 
 entailed on him. As a punishment, Amphitryon sent him 
 to Mount Cithaeron to mind the flocks, a mode of life 
 which Heracles continued until he had completed his eight- 
 eenth year. It was to this period that the sophist Prodi- 
 cus, a contemporary of Socrates, referred his beautiful alle- 
 gory of the Choice of Heracles. After attaining his full 
 growth (according to Apollodorus he was four cubits in 
 height) and strength, the young hero performed his first 
 great feat by killing the lion of Cithaeron. Whether it 
 was this skin or that of the Nemean lion which he after- 
 ward used as a garment, is not certain. His next act was 
 to free the Thebans from the ignominious tribute which 
 they were compelled to pay to Eriginus, King of Orchome-
 
 230 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 nus, by a successful expedition, in which Amphitryon, how- 
 ever, lost his life. Creon, the King of Thebes, in gratitude 
 gave the hero his daughter Megara in marriage, while Iph- 
 icles married her sister. 
 
 II. HERACLES IN THE SERVICE OF EURYSTHEUS THE 
 TWELVE LABORS. We now come to the second epoch in 
 the life of the hero, in which he performed various labors 
 at the bidding of Eurystheus, King of Mycenae or Tiryns. 
 The number of these was first fixed at twelve in the Alex- 
 andrian age, when Heracles was identified with the Phoeni- 
 cian sun-god, Baal ; probably from the analogy afforded in 
 the course of the sun through the twelve signs of the zo- 
 diac. The subjection of Heracles to his unmanly cousin 
 Eurystheus is generally represented as a consequence of 
 the stratagem by which Hera obtained for the latter the 
 sovereignty over all the descendants of Perseus. At a 
 later period Heracles was said to have become insane, in 
 consequence of the summons of Eurystheus to do his bid- 
 ding. The following is an account of the labors of Her- 
 acles : 
 
 1. The Fight with the Nemean Lion. The district of 
 Nemea and Cleonse was inhabited by a monstrous lion, the 
 offspring of Typhon and Echidna, whose skin bade defi- 
 ance to every weapon. Heracles, after using his arrows 
 and club against the animal in vain, at last drove it into a 
 cave, and there strangled it with his hands. He afterward 
 used the head of the lion as a helmet, and the impenetra- 
 ble skin as a defence. 
 
 2. The Lernoean Hydra. This was a great water -ser- 
 pent, likewise the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. The 
 number of its heads varies in the accounts of poets, though 
 ancient gems usually represent it with seven. It ravaged
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 231 
 
 the country of Lerna, in Argolis, destroying both men and 
 beasts. In this adventure Heracles was accompanied by 
 lolaus, the son of his brother Iphicles, who, on this as on 
 other occasions, appears as his faithful companion. After 
 driving the monster from its lair by means of his arrows, 
 he advanced fearlessly, and, seizing it in his hands, began 
 to strike off its heads with his sword. To his amazement, 
 in the place of each head he struck off two sprung up. 
 He then ordered lolaus to set on fire a neighboring wood, 
 and with the firebrands seared the throats of the serpent, 
 until he at length succeeded in slaying it. He then dip- 
 ped his arrows in its gall, thus rendering the wounds in- 
 flicted by them incurable. 
 
 3. The Erymanthian Boar. This animal inhabited the 
 mountain district of Erymanthus, in Arcadia, from which 
 place it wasted the cornfields of Psophis. Heracles drove 
 the boar up to the snow-covered summit of the mountain, 
 and then caught it alive, as Eurystheus had commanded 
 him. When he arrived at Mycenae with the terrible beast 
 on his back, Eurystheus was so terrified that he hid him- 
 self in a vessel. This comic scene is frequently depicted 
 on vases. It was on this occasion that Heracles destroyed 
 the Centaurs. On the road, the hero, hungry and thirsty, 
 was hospitably received by the friendly Centaur Pholus, 
 who holds the same place among the Arcadian Centaurs 
 as Chiron does among those of Thessaly. Pholus broach- 
 ed, in honor of his guest, a cask of wine lying in his cave, 
 which was the common property of all the Centaurs. The 
 fragrance of the wine attracted the other Centaurs living on 
 Mount Pholoe, and they immediately attacked the tippling 
 hero with pieces of rock and trunks of trees. Heracles, 
 however, drove them back with arrows and firebrands, and
 
 232 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 completely vanquished them after a terrible fight. On re- 
 turning to the cave of Pholus, he found his friend dead. 
 He had drawn an arrow out of a dead body to examine it, 
 but accidentally let it fall on his foot, from the wound of 
 which he died. 
 
 4. The Hind of Cerynea. This animal, which was sa 
 cred to the Arcadian Artemis, had golden horns and brazen 
 hoofs, the latter being a symbol of its untiring fleetness. 
 Heracles was commanded to bring it alive to Mycenae, and 
 for a whole year he continued to pursue it over hill and 
 dale with untiring energy. At length it returned to Arca- 
 dia, where he succeeded in capturing it on the banks of the 
 Ladon, and bore it in triumph to Mycenae. 
 
 5. The Stymphalian Birds. These voracious birds, 
 which fed on human flesh, had brazen claws, wings, and 
 beaks, and were able to shoot out their feathers like ar- 
 rows. They inhabited the district round Lake Stymphalis, 
 in Arcadia. Heracles slew some, and so terrified the rest 
 by means of his brazen rattle that they never returned. 
 This latter circumstance is apparently an addition of later 
 times, to explain their reappearance in the history of the 
 Argonauts. 
 
 6. Cleansing of the Stables of Augeas. The sixth task 
 of Heracles was to cleanse in one day the stables of Au- 
 geas, King of Elis, whose wealth in cattle had become pro- 
 verbial. Heracles repaired to Elis, where he offered to 
 cleanse the stables, in which were three thousand oxen, if 
 the king would consent to give him a tenth part of the 
 cattle. Augeas agreed to do so. Heracles then turned the 
 course of the Peneus or the Alpheus, or, according to some, 
 of both rivers, through the stalls, and thus carried off the 
 filth. Augeas, however, on learning that Heracles had un
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 233 
 
 dertaken the labor at the command of Eurystheus, refused 
 to give him the stipulated reward a breach of faith for 
 which Heracles, later, took terrible vengeance on the king. 
 
 7. The Cretan Bull. In the history of Minos, King of 
 Crete, we find. that Poseidon once sent up a bull out of the 
 sea for Minos to sacrifice, but that Minos was induced by 
 the beauty of the animal to place it among his own herds, 
 and sacrificed another in its stead ; whereupon Poseidon 
 drove the bull mad. The seventh labor of Heracles con- 
 sisted in capturing this bull and bringing it to Mycenae. 
 It was afterward set free by Eurystheus, and appears later, 
 in the story of Theseus, as the bull of Marathon. 
 
 8. The Mares of Diomedes. Diomedes was king of the 
 Bistones, a warlike tribe of Thrace. He inhumanly caused 
 all strangers cast upon his coasts to be given to his wild 
 mares, who fed on human flesh. To bind these horses 
 and bring them alive to Mycenae was the next task of Her- 
 acles. This, too, he successfully accomplished, after in- 
 flicting on Diomedes the same fate to which he had con- 
 demned so many others. 
 
 9. The Girdle of Hippolyte. Admete, the daughter of 
 Eurystheus, was anxious to obtain the girdle which the 
 queen of the Amazons had received from Ares ; and Hera- 
 cles was accordingly despatched to fetch it. After various 
 adventures he landed in Themiscyra, and was at first kind- 
 ly received by Hippolyte, who was willing to give him the 
 girdle. But Hera, in the guise of an Amazon, spread a re- 
 port that Heracles was about to carry off the queen, upon 
 which the Amazons attacked Heracles and his followers. 
 In the battle which ensued Hippolyte was killed, and the 
 hero, after securing the girdle, departed. On his journey 
 homeward occurred his celebrated adventure with Hesione,
 
 234 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGT. 
 
 the daughter of Laomedon, King of Troy. This king had 
 refused Poseidon and Apollo the rewards he had promised 
 them for their assistance in building the walls of Troy. In 
 consequence of his perfidy, Apollo visited the country with 
 a pestilence, and Poseidon sent a sea-monster which devas- 
 tated the land far and wide. By the advice of the oracle, 
 Hesione, the king's daughter, was exposed to be devoured 
 by the animal. Heracles offered to destroy the monster, if 
 Laomedon would give him the horses which his father Tros 
 had received as a compensation for the loss of Ganymedes. 
 Laomedon agreed, and Heracles then slew the monster. 
 Laomedon, however, again proved false to his word, and 
 Heracles, with a threat of future vengeance, departed. 
 
 10. The Oxen of Geryones. The next task of Heracles 
 was to fetch the cattle of the three -headed winged giant 
 Geryones, or Geryoneus (Geryon). This monster w^as the 
 offspring of Chrysaor (red slayer) and Callirrhoe (fair-flow- 
 ing), an Oceanid, and inhabited the island of Erythia, in 
 the far west, in the region of the setting sun, where he 
 had a herd of the finest and fattest cattle. It was only 
 natural that Heracles, in the course of his long journey to 
 Erythia and back, should meet with numerous adventures ; 
 and this expedition has, accordingly, been more richly em 
 bellished than any other by the imagination of the poets. 
 He is generally supposed to have passed through Libya, 
 and to have sailed thence to Erythia in a golden boat, 
 which he forced Helios (the sun) to lend him by shooting 
 at him with his arrows. Having arrived in Erythia, he 
 first slew the herdsman who was minding the oxen, togeth- 
 er with his dog. He was then proceeding to drive off the 
 cattle, when he was overtaken by Geryon. A violent con- 
 test ensued, in which the three -headed monster was at
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 235 
 
 length vanquished by the arrows of the mighty hero. Her- 
 acles is then supposed to have recrossed the ocean in the 
 boat of the sun, and, starting from Tartessus, to have jour- 
 neyed on foot through Iberia, Gaul, and Italy. We pass 
 over his contests with the Celts and Ligurians, and only 
 notice briefly his victory over the giant Cacus, mentioned 
 by Livy, which took place in the district where Rome was 
 afterward built, because Roman legend connected with this 
 the introduction of the worship of Hercules into Italy. At 
 length, after many adventures, he arrived at Mycenae, where 
 Eurystheus sacrificed the oxen to the Argive goddess Hera. 
 
 Heracles has now completed ten of his labors, but Eu- 
 rystheus, as Apollodorus relates, refused to admit the de- 
 struction of the Lernaean Hydra, because on that occasion 
 Heracles had availed himself of the help of lolaiis ; or the 
 cleansing of the stables of Augeas, because of the reward 
 for which he had stipulated ; so that the hero was com- 
 pelled to undertake two more. This account does not, 
 however, harmonize with the tradition of the response of 
 the oracle, in deference to which Heracles surrendered him- 
 self to servitude, and which offered the prospect of twelve 
 labors from the first. 
 
 11. The Apples of the Hesperides. This adventure has 
 been even more embellished with later and foreign addi- 
 tions than the last. The golden apples, which were under 
 the guardianship of the Hesperides, or nymphs of the west, 
 constituted the marriage present which Hera had received 
 from Ga3a on the occasion of her marriage with Zeus. 
 They were closely guarded by the terrible dragon Ladon, 
 who, like all monsters, was the offspring of Typhon and 
 Echidna. This, however, was far less embarrassing to the 
 hero than his total ignorance of the site of the garden of
 
 236 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the Hesperides, which led him to make several fruitless 
 efforts before he succeeded in reaching the desired spot. 
 
 His first object was to gain information as to the situa- 
 tion of the garden, and for this purpose he journeyed 
 through Illyria to the Eridanus (Po), in order to inquire 
 the way of the nymphs who dwelt on this river. By them 
 he was referred to the treacherous sage Nereus, whom he 
 managed to seize while asleep, and refused to release until 
 he had obtained the desired information. Heracles then 
 proceeded by way of Tartessus to Libya, where he was chal- 
 lenged to a wrestling match by the giant Antaeus, a pow- 
 erful son of Earth, who was, according to Libyan tradition, 
 of a monstrous height (some say sixty cubits). He was 
 attacked by Heracles, but, as he received new strength 
 from his mother Earth as often as he touched the ground, 
 the hero lifted him up in the air and squeezed him to 
 death in his arms. 
 
 From Libya Heracles passed into Egypt, where the cruel 
 King Busiris was in the habit of seizing all strangers who 
 entered the country and sacrificing them to Zeus. Hera- 
 cles would have suffered a similar fate, had he not broken 
 the chains laid upon him, and slain the king and his son. 
 His indulgence at the richly furnished table of the king 
 was a feature in the story which afforded no small amuse- 
 ment to the comic writers, who were especially fond of 
 jesting on the subject of the healthy and heroic appetite 
 of Heracles. From Egypt the hero made his way into 
 ^Ethiopia, where he slew Emathion, the son of Tithonus 
 and Eos, for his cruelty to strangers. He next crossed the 
 sea to India, and thence came to the Caucasus, where he 
 set Prometheus free, and destroyed the vulture that preyed 
 on his liver. After Prometheus had described to him the
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 237 
 
 long road to the Hesperides, lie passed through Scythia, 
 and came at length to the land of the Hyperboreans, where 
 Atlas bore the pillars of heaven on his shoulders. This 
 was the end of his journey, for Atlas, at his request, fetched 
 the apples, while Heracles supported the heavens. Here 
 again the comic poets introduced an amusing scene. At- 
 las, having once tasted the delights of freedom, betrayed 
 no anxiety to relieve his substitute, but offered, instead, to 
 bear the apples himself to Eurystheus. Heracles, however, 
 proved even more cunning than he, for, apparently agree- 
 ing to the proposition, he asked Atlas just to relieve him 
 until he had arranged more comfortably a cushion for his 
 back. When Atlas good-humoredly consented, Heracles 
 of course left him in his former position, and made off 
 with the apples. Another account states that he descend- 
 ed himself into the garden, and slew the hundred -headed 
 dragon who kept guard over the trees. 
 
 12. Cerberus. The most daring of all the feats of Her- 
 acles, and that which bears the palm from all the others, 
 and is, in consequence, always put at the end of his labors, 
 was the bringing of Cerberus from the lower world. In 
 this undertaking, which is mentioned even by Homer, he 
 was accompanied by Hermes and Athene, though he had 
 hitherto been able to dispense with divine aid. He is com- 
 monly reported to have made his descent into the lower 
 world at Cape Ta3narum, in Laconia. Close to the gates 
 of Hades he found the adventurous heroes Theseus and 
 Pirithoiis, who had gone down to carry off Persephone, 
 fastened to a rock. He succeeded in setting Theseus free, 
 but Pirithous he was obliged to leave behind him, be- 
 cause of the violent earthquake which occurred when he 
 attempted to touch him. After several further adventures,
 
 238 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 he entered the presence of the lord of the lower world. 
 Hades consented to his taking Cerberus, on condition that 
 he should master him without using any weapons. Hera- 
 cles seized the furious beast, and, having chained him, he 
 brought him to Eurystheus, and afterward carried him back 
 to his place in the lower world. The completion of this 
 task released Heracles from his servitude to Eurystheus. 
 
 III. DEEDS OF HERACLES AFTER HIS SERVICE. 1. The 
 Murder of Iphitus, and Contest with Apollo. The hero, 
 after his release from servitude, returned to Thebes, where 
 he gave his wife Megara in marriage to lolaiis. He then 
 proceeded to the court of Eurytus, King of (Echalia, who 
 had promised his beautiful daughter lole in marriage to the 
 man who should vanquish himself and his sons in shoot- 
 ing with the bow. The situation of (Echalia is variously 
 given ; sometimes it is placed in Thessaly, sometimes in 
 the Peloponnesus, on the borders of Arcadia and Messenia, 
 and sometimes in the island of Euboea, close to Eretria. 
 Heracles gained a most complete victory ; but Eurytus, 
 nevertheless, refused to give him his daughter, reproaching 
 him with the murder of his children by Megara, and with 
 his ignominious bondage to Eurystheus. Heracles, with 
 many threats of future vengeance, withdrew, and when, 
 not long afterward, Iphitus, the son of Eurytus, fell into 
 his hands, he cast him from the highest tower of his cita- 
 del in Tiryns. This somewhat treacherous action being at 
 variance with the general character of the hero, the story 
 subsequently arose that Iphitus was a friend of Heracles, 
 and had advocated his cause with Eurytus, and that Hera- 
 cles only treated him thus in a fit of insanity. The bloody 
 deed was fraught with the gravest consequences. After 
 seeking purification and absolution in vain among men,
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEG-ENDS. 239 
 
 Heracles came to Delphi, in order to seek the aid and con- 
 solation of the oracle. But Apollo, with whom the royal 
 family of OEchalia stood in high favor, rejected him ; where- 
 upon Heracles forced his way into the temple, and was al- 
 ready in the act of bearing away the holy tripod, in order 
 to erect an oracle of his own, when he was confronted by 
 the angry deity. A fearful combat would doubtless have 
 ensued, if the father of gods and men himself had not in- 
 terfered to prevent this unnatural strife between his favor- 
 ite sons by separating the combatants with his lightning. 
 Heracles was now commanded by the Pythian priestess to 
 allow himself to be sold by Hermes into slavery for three 
 years, to expiate the murder of Iphitus. 
 
 2. Heracles in the Service of Omphale. This portion of 
 the story is of Lydian origin, but was cleverly interwoven 
 with the Greek legend. The Lydians, in fact, honored a 
 sun-hero called Sandon, who resembled Heracles in many 
 respects, as the ancestor of their kings. The Oriental char- 
 acter of the Lydian Heracles at once manifests itself in the 
 fact that he here appears as entirely devoted to sensual 
 pleasures, becoming effeminate in the society of women, 
 and allowing himself to be clothed in female attire, while 
 his mistress Omphale donned his lion-skin and club, and 
 flaunted up and down before him. He did not always 
 linger in such inactivity, however ; sometimes the old de- 
 sire for action urged him forth to gallant deeds. Thus he 
 vanquished and chastised the Cercopes, a race of goblins 
 who used to trick and waylay travellers. He also slew 
 Syleus, who compelled all passing travellers to dig in his 
 vineyard ; which formed the subject of a satyric drama of 
 Euripides. 
 
 3. His Expedition against Troy. After performing sev-
 
 240 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 eral other feats in the service of Omphale, Heracles again 
 became free. He now appears to have undertaken an ex- 
 pedition against the faithless Laomedon, King of Troy, in 
 company with other Greek heroes, such as Peleus, Tela- 
 mon, and O'icles, whose number increased as time went on. 
 The city was taken by storm : O'icles, indeed, was slain, 
 but, on the other hand, Laomedon and all his sons except 
 Podarces fell before the arrows of Heracles. Hesione, the 
 daughter of the king, was given by Heracles to his friend 
 Telamon, and became by him the mother of Teucer. She 
 received permission from Heracles to release one of the 
 prisoners, and chose her brother Podarces, who afterward 
 bore the name of Priamus (the redeemed), and continued 
 the race of Dardanus in Ilium. 
 
 4. The Peloponnesian Expeditions of Heracles. The le- 
 gend relates that the hero now undertook his long-deferred 
 expedition against Augeas, which was the means of kin- 
 dling a Messenian and Lacedaemonian war. After assem- 
 bling an army in Arcadia, which was joined by many gal- 
 lant Greek heroes, he advanced against Elis. Heracles, 
 however, fell sick ; and in his absence his army was at- 
 tacked and driven back with great loss by the brave Ac- 
 toridse or Molionidae, the nephews of Augeas. It was only 
 after Heracles had slain these heroes in an ambuscade at 
 Cleonae, as they were on their way to the Isthmian games, 
 that he succeeded in penetrating into Elis. He then slew 
 Augeas, and gave the kingdom to his son Phyleus, with 
 whom he was on friendly terms. It was on this occasion 
 that he instituted the Olympic games. He then marched 
 agair.st Pylus, either because its king, Neleus, had given 
 assistance to the Molionidae, or else because Neleus had 
 refused to purify him from the murder of Iphitus. This
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 241 
 
 expedition against Pylus was subsequently greatly embel- 
 lished by the poets, who made it into a great battle of tho 
 gods, one part of whom fought for Neleus, and the other 
 part for Heracles. The chief feature was the combat be- 
 tween Heracles and Periclymenus, the bravest of the sons 
 of Neleus, who had received from Poseidon, the tutelary 
 deity of the Pylians, the power of transforming himself 
 into any kind of animal. The result of the combat was, 
 of course, a complete victory for Heracles. Neleus, with 
 his eleven gallant sons, was slain, and only the youngest, 
 Nestor, remained to perpetuate the celebrated race. The 
 Lacedaemonian expedition of Heracles, which follows close 
 on that against Pylus, was undertaken against Hippocoon, 
 the half-brother of Tyndareiis, whom he had expelled. 
 Hippocoon was defeated and slain by Heracles, who gave 
 his kingdom to Tyndareiis. On this occasion Heracles was 
 assisted by Cepheus, King of Tegea, with his twenty sons, 
 a circumstance which is only mentioned on account of a 
 remarkable legend connected with his stay in Tegea. Her- 
 acles is here said to have left Auge, the beautiful sister of 
 Cepheus, and priestess of Athene, pregnant with Telephus, 
 whose wondrous adventures have occupied artists and poets 
 alike. Auge concealed her child in the grove of Athene, 
 whereupon the angry goddess visited the land with a fam- 
 ine. Aleiis, the father of Auge, on discovering the fact, 
 caused the child to be exposed, and sold the mother be- 
 yond the sea. Auge thus came into Mysia, where the king, 
 Tenth ras, made her his wife. Telephus was suckled by a 
 hind. He grew up, and ultimately, after some wonderful 
 adventures, succeeded in finding his mother. He succeed- 
 ed Teuthras, and, later, became embroiled with the Greeks 
 when they landed on their expedition against Troy, on 
 
 16
 
 242 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 which, occasion he was wounded by Achilles. Telepbus, 
 among all the sons of Heracles, is said to have borne the 
 greatest resemblance to his father. 
 
 5. Achelous, Nessus, Cycnus. The next episode in the 
 history of the hero is his wooing of Deianira, the daughter 
 of (Eneus, King of ^Etolia. (Eneus is celebrated as the first 
 cultivator of the vine in that country, and as the father of 
 the .lEtolian heroes, Meleager and Tydeus. The river-god 
 Acheloiis was also a suitor for the hand of Deianira, and 
 as neither he nor Heracles would relinquish their claim, it 
 was decided by the combat between the rivals* so often 
 described by the poets. The power of assuming various 
 forms was of little use to Acheloiis, for, having finally trans- 
 formed himself into a bull, he was deprived of a horn by 
 Heracles, and compelled to declare himself vanquished. 
 Heracles restored him his horn, and received in exchange 
 that of the goat Amalthea. After his marriage with Dei- 
 anira, Heracles lived for some time happily at the court of 
 his father-in-law, where his son Hyllus was born. In con- 
 sequence of an accidental murder, he was obliged to leave 
 ^Etolia and retire to the court of his friend Ceyx, King of 
 Trachis, at the foot of Mount (Eta. On the road occurred 
 his celebrated adventure with the Centaur Nessus. On 
 coming to the river Evenus, Heracles intrusted Deianira to 
 Nessus to carry across, while he himself waded through the 
 swollen stream. The Centaur, induced by the beauty of 
 his burden, attempted to carry off Deianira, but was pierced 
 by an arrow of Heracles, and expiated his attempt with his 
 life. He avenged himself by giving Deianira some of his 
 
 * The most beautiful description exists in a chorus in the " Trachi- 
 niae " of Sophocles, and in Ovid's " Metamorphoses."
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 243 
 
 blood to make a magic salve, with which he assured her 
 she could always secure the love of her husband. 
 
 On reaching Trachis they were hospitably received by 
 Ceyx. Heracles first defeated the Dryopes, and assisted 
 the Dorian King ./Egiiiiius in his contest with the Lapithae. 
 He next engaged in his celebrated combat with Cycnus, the 
 son of Ares, which took place at Iton, in the neighborhood 
 of the Gulf of Pagasse. Heracles not only slew his oppo- 
 nent, but even wounded the god of war himself, who had 
 come to the assistance of his son. This contest is the sub- 
 ject of the celebrated poem called the " Shield of Hercu- 
 les," which goes under the name of Hesiod. 
 
 IV. DEATH AND APOTHEOSIS. The death of Heracles, 
 of which we learn most from the masterly description of 
 Sophocles in the " Trachinise," is generally supposed to 
 have been connected with his expedition against Eurytus. 
 The hero, who could not forget the ignominious treatment 
 he had received at the hands of Eurytus, now marched with 
 an army from Trachis against (Echalia. The town and 
 citadel were taken by storm, and Eurytus and his sons 
 slain ; while the beautiful lole, who was still unmarried, fell 
 into the hands of the conqueror. Heracles now withdrew 
 with great booty, but halted on the promontory of Cent- 
 um, opposite the Locrian coast, to raise an altar and offer a 
 solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving to his father Zeus. Dei'a- 
 nira, who was tormented with jealous misgivings concern- 
 ing lole, thought it was now high time to make use of 
 the chaflm of Nessus. She accordingly sent her husband 
 a white sacrificial garment, which she anointed with the 
 ointment prepared from the blood of the Centaur. Hera- 
 cles donned the garment without suspicion, but scarcely 
 had the flames from the altar heated the poison than it
 
 244 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 penetrated the body of the unhappy hero. In the most 
 fearful agony, he strove to tear off the garment, but in vain, 
 for it stuck like a plaster to his skin ; and where he suc- 
 ceeded in rending it away by force, it tore out great pieces 
 of his flesh at the same time. In his frenzy he seized the 
 herald Lichas, the bearer of the unfortunate present, and 
 violently dashed him in pieces against a rock of the sea. 
 In this state Heracles was brought to Trachis, where he 
 found that Deianira, full of sorrow and despair on learning 
 the consequences of her act, had put an end to her own 
 life. Convinced that cure was hopeless, the dying hero 
 proceeded from Trachis to CEta, and there erected a funeral 
 pile on which to end his torments. None of those around 
 him, however, would consent to set the pile on fire, until 
 Poeas, the father of Philoctetes, happened to pass by, and 
 rendered him the service, in \.<3turn for which Heracles pre- 
 sented him with his bow and arrows. As the flames rose 
 high, a cloud descended from heaven, and, amidst furious 
 peals of thunder, a chariot with four horses, driven by 
 Athene, appeared and bore the illustrious hero to Olym- 
 pus, where he was joyfully received by the gods. He here 
 became reconciled to Hera, who gave him the hand of her 
 beauteous daughter Hebe in marriage. 
 
 V. HERACLES AS GOD. We have already laid before 
 our readers the most characteristic features of the myth. 
 To interpret it and trace it back in all its details to the 
 original sources would be, amidst the mass of provincial 
 and foreign legends with which it is amalgamated, almost 
 impossible. Thus much is certain, however, that, apart 
 from the conceptions which were engrafted on the story 
 from Tyrian and Egyptian sources, even in the case of the 
 Greek Heracles, myths based on natural phenomena are
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 245 
 
 mixed up with historical and allegorical myths. The his- 
 toric element, for instance, is apparent in the wars of Her- 
 acles against the Dryopes against Augeas, Neleus, and 
 Hippocoon. Here the exploits of the whole Dorian race 
 are personified in the actions of the hero. On the other 
 hand, in most of his single combats a symbolic meaning, 
 derived from natural phenomena, is unmistakable. Hera- 
 cles, in fact, appears to have been, originally, a symbol of 
 the power of the sun triumphing over the dark powers in 
 nature. Driven from Argos by the worship of the Argive 
 Hera, he first sunk to the level of a hero, but was, subse- 
 quently, again raised to the dignity of a god. This occur- 
 red at a time when the gods of Greece had altogether cast 
 aside their physical meaning ; so that he was now regarded 
 principally from an ethical point of view. He appears as 
 a symbol of that lofty force of character which triumphs 
 over all difficulties and obstacles. Poets and philosophers 
 alike vied with each other in presenting him to the youth 
 of their country in this character, pointing to his career 
 as a brilliant example of what a man might accomplish, in 
 spite of a thousand obstacles, by mere determination and 
 force of will. The well-known allegory of the sophist 
 Prodicus,* called " The Choice of Hercules," is an instance 
 of the mode in which the history of the hero was used to 
 inculcate moral precepts. 
 
 In the religious system of the Greeks, Heracles was spe- 
 cially honored as the patron of the gymnasia ; the gymna- 
 sium of Cynosarges, in Athens, being solely dedicated tc 
 
 * Prodicus, a native of the island of Ceos, was an elder contem- 
 porary of Socrates. Like the latter, he taught in Athens, and met 
 with a similar fate, having been condemned to death as an enemy of 
 the popular religion and a corrupter of the Athenian youth.
 
 246 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 him. After his deification, Heracles was also regarded in 
 the character of a savior and benefactor of his nation ; as 
 one who had not only merited the lasting gratitude of 
 mankind by his deeds throughout an active and laborious 
 life in having rid the world of giants and noxious beasts, 
 in having extinguished destructive forces of nature, and 
 abolished human sacrifices and other barbarous institutions 
 of antiquity but also as a kindly and beneficent deity, 
 ever ready to afford help and protection to mankind in 
 the hour of need. In this character he was known by the 
 names of Soter (Savior) and Alexicacus (averter of evil). 
 He had temples and festivals in various parts of Greece. 
 In Marathon, which boasted of being the first seat of his 
 worship, games were celebrated in his honor every four 
 years, at which silver cups were given as prizes. The 
 fourth day of every month was held sacred to him, this 
 day being regarded as his birthday. 
 
 We have already mentioned the legendary introduction 
 of his worship into Rome. Hercules, as he was called in 
 Itaiy, was identified with the Italian hero Recaranus. He 
 had an altar in the Forum Boarium, established, accord- 
 ing to tradition, by Evander. The Roman poets, of course, 
 devoted especial attention to the stories of his journey 
 through Italy and his fight with Cacus. 
 
 In Heracles ancient art sought to portray the conception of gigan- 
 tic bodily strength. He is, therefore, generally represented as a full- 
 grown man rarely as a child or youth. We may observe the man- 
 ner in which the prominent idea of physical force is expressed by 
 regarding the formation of the neck and throat in the statue of 
 Heracles. Nothing can express better a bull-like strength than the 
 short neck and the prominent muscles, especially if associated with a 
 broad, deep chest. We shall be able to appreciate this distinctive 
 character still more clearly if we compare the form of Heracles with 
 that of the ideal god Apollo, whose neck is especially long and
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 247 
 
 slender. The figure of Heracles is, moreover, characterized by a head 
 small in comparison with the giant body ; by curly hair, bushy eye- 
 brows, and muscular arms and legs. This conception was princi- 
 pally developed by Myron and Lysippus. A statue of Heracles by 
 the former artist played a part in connection with the art robberies 
 of Verres in Sicily. Lysippus erected several celebrated statues of 
 Heracles, the most remarkable of which was the bronze colossus in 
 Tarentum, which the Romans, after the capture of that town, trans- 
 ferred to the Capitol. Thence it was brought, by order of Constan- 
 tino, to his new capital of Constantinople, where it remained until 
 the Latin crusade of 1202, when it was melted down. Lysippus 
 portrayed in this statue a mourning Heracles, which no one had ever 
 attempted before him. The hero appeared in a sitting posture, 
 without his weapons, his left elbow resting on his left leg, while his 
 head, full of thought and sorrow, rests on the open hand. The same 
 artist, in a still greater work, depicted the twelve labors of Heracles. 
 These formed a group which was originally executed for Alyzia, a 
 seaport town of Acarnania, but which was, subsequently, likewise 
 transferred to Rome. 
 
 First among existing statues is the Farnese Hercules (Fig. 58). 
 This celebrated colossal statue, now in the Naples Museum, was dis- 
 covered in 1540, on the site of the Thermae of Caracalla. The hero 
 is standing upright, resting his left shoulder on his club, from which 
 hangs his lion's skin. This attitude, as well as the head drooping 
 towards the breast, and the gloomy gravity of his countenance, clearly 
 show that the hero feels bowed down by the burden of his laborious 
 life. Even the thought that he is soon to be released from his igno- 
 minious servitude (he holds behind him, in his right hand, the three 
 apples of the Hespcrides, the fruit of his last labor) is unable to 
 cheer him, and his thoughts seem to revert only to the past. On 
 account of the conception of the piece, and the existence of another 
 copy bearing the name of Lysippus, the Farnese Hercules is supposed 
 to be a copy of a work of Lysippus, of which nothing further is 
 known. 
 
 Still more important as a work of art, though it has reached us 
 in a terribly mutilated condition minus head, arms, and legs is 
 the celebrated Torso of Hercules, in the Vatican. This was found 
 in Rome during the reign of Pope Julius II., on a spot where the 
 Theatre of Pompey, of which it was probably an ornament, once 
 stood. 
 
 Groups. Heracles in action was a still more favorite subject with
 
 Fig. 5S. Faruese Hercules.
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 249 
 
 artists, who delighted to portray the different scenes of his versa- 
 tile life. Numberless representations of such scenes occur, not only 
 in the form of statues and works in relief, but more especially on 
 ancient vases. We mention here, in the chronological order of the 
 events, some of the most important. 
 
 1. Heracles and tlie Serpents. This scene was early depicted by the 
 celebrated painter Zeuxis, who represented Heracles as strangling the 
 serpents, while Alcmene and Amphitryon stood by in amazement. 
 There are also several statues representing this feat, among which 
 that at Florence takes the first rank. There is also a painting from 
 Herculaneum in the Naples Museum. 
 
 2. T/ie Twelve Labors. These have naturally been treated of 
 times out of number. We have already mentioned the group of 
 Lysippus, which he executed for the town of Alyzia. A still existing 
 bronze statue in the Capitoline Museum, representing Heracles bat- 
 tling with the Hydra, appears to belong to this series. Among inter- 
 esting remains are the metope reliefs on the Theseum at Athens. 
 Ten on the east side of the temple represent scenes from the life of 
 Heracles. Nine of them belong to the twelve labors viz., the 
 Nemean lion, the Hydra, the Arcadian hind, the Erymanthian boar, 
 the horses of Diomedes, Cerberus, the girdle of Hippolyte, Geryon, 
 and the Hesperides ; while the tenth tablet represents his contest 
 with Cycnus. The remains of the splendid temple of Zeus at 
 Olympia, which was completed about 435 B.C., are less important. 
 The metopes of the front and back of the temple contained six of 
 the labors of Heracles. Those representing the contest with the 
 Cretan bull, the dying lion, a portion from the fight with Geryon, and 
 some other fragments, were found in 1829, and conveyed to the mu- 
 seum of the Louvre at Paris. The only one which is perfect, how- 
 ever, is the spirited and life-like representation of the struggle with 
 the Cretan bull. 
 
 3. Parerga (Subordinate Deeds). First among these come the 
 scenes from his contest with the Centaurs, which were frequently 
 treated of in art. Groups of these exist in the museum at Florence ; 
 there are also various representations to be found on vases. His 
 adventure with Nessus is represented separately on a Poinpeian 
 painting in the Naples Museum ; Nessus crouches in a humble post- 
 ure before Heracles, who has the little Hyllus in his arms, and he 
 appears to be asking permission to carry Dei'anira across the stream. 
 There is also an interesting representation of the release of Prome- 
 theus on the Sarcophagus of the Capitol, from the Villa Pamfili,
 
 250 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 which is, in other respects, also worthy of mention. The seizure of 
 the tripod at Delphi is also frequently portrayed in art. 
 
 4. Heracles and Omphale. Of the monuments referring to Hera- 
 cles's connection with Omphale, the most important is the beauti- 
 ful Farnese group in marble in the Naples Museum. Omphale has 
 thrown the lion's skin round her beautiful limbs, and holds in her 
 right hand the hero's club. Thus equipped, she smiles triumph- 
 antly at Heracles, who is clothed in female attire, with a distaff in 
 his hand. 
 
 5. Heracles and Telephus. The romantic history of Telephus was 
 also frequently treated of in art. The Naples Museum possesses a 
 fine painting, representing the discovery of the child after it has 
 been suckled by the hind, on which occasion, strange to say, Hera- 
 cles himself is present. In the Vatican Museum there is a fine mar- 
 ble group, representing Heracles with the child Telephus in his arms. 
 
 7. Attic Legend. l. Cecrops. Cecrops, the first 
 founder of civilization in Attica, plays a similar part here 
 to that which Cadmus does in Thebes. Like Cadmus, he 
 was afterward called an immigrant ; indeed, he was said to 
 have come from Sais, in Lower Egypt. In his case, how- 
 ever, we are able to trace, the rise of the erroneous tradi- 
 tion with far greater distinctness. Pure Attic tradition 
 recognizes him only as an autochthon that is, an original 
 inhabitant born of the earth ; and further adds, that, like 
 the giants, he was half man and half serpent. As the 
 mythical founder of the State, he was also regarded as the 
 builder of the citadel (Cccropia) ; and marriage, as well as 
 other political and social institutions, were ascribed to him. 
 Perhaps, like Cadmus, he is only a local personification of 
 the rain-god Hermes, who, later, sunk to the level of a hero. 
 The probability of this view is greatly enhanced by the 
 fact that his three daughters Herse, Aglaurus, and Pan- 
 drosus received divine honors. It was under Cecrops 
 that the celebrated contest occurred between Poseidon and 
 Athene for the possession of Attica, and was by his means
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 251 
 
 decided in favor of the goddess. We have already given 
 an account of it, and need only here remark that the story 
 is purely the result of the observation of natural phenom- 
 ena. In Attica, in fact, there are only two seasons a cold, 
 wet, and rainy winter (Poseidon), and a warm, dry, genial 
 summer (Pallas). These seem to be continually striving 
 for the supremacy of the land. Cecrops was succeeded in 
 the government by Cranaiis, who is represented by some 
 as his son. The common mythological account places the 
 flood of Deucalion in his reign. After the expulsion of 
 Cranatis, Amphictyon, one of the sons of Deucalion, suc- 
 ceeded to the sovereignty of Attica, of whom nothing 
 more is known than that he was deprived of the govern- 
 ment by Erechtheus. 
 
 2. Erechtheus, or Erichthonius. Erechtheus, or Erich- 
 thonius, is really only a second Cecrops the mythical 
 founder of the State after the flood, as Cecrops was before 
 it. Being also earth-born, he is, like Cecrops, endowed with 
 a serpent's form. There was another very sacred legend 
 concerning him, which stated that Gsea (Ge), immediately 
 after his birth, gave him to the goddess Pallas to nurse. 
 The latter first intrusted him to the daughters of Cecrops, 
 her attendants and priestesses, enclosed in a chest. The 
 latter, however, prompted by curiosity, opened the chest, 
 contrary to the commands of the goddess, and were pun- 
 ished in consequence with madness. Erichthonius was 
 now reared by the goddess herself in her sanctuary on the 
 citadel, and was subsequently made king of Athens. The 
 same stories are then related of him as of Cecrops that 
 he regulated the State, introduced the worship of the gods, 
 and settled the dispute between Poseidon and Athene. 
 
 The tomb of Erechtheus was shown in the Erecb^heum,
 
 252 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 the ancient temple dedicated to Athene Polias, where the 
 never-dying olive-tree created by the goddess was also pre- 
 served. 
 
 Two among the daughters of Erechtheus are celebrated 
 in legend. The first is Orithyia, who was carried off by 
 Boreas, and became the mother of Calais and Zetes, whom 
 we come across again in the story of the Argonauts ; the 
 other is Procris, the wife of the handsome hunter Cepha- 
 lus, who was said to be a son of Hermes by Herse, the 
 daughter of Cecrops. Cephalus was carried off by Eos, 
 who was unable to shake his fidelity to his wife. It served, 
 however, to excite the jealousy of the latter, which ulti- 
 mately proved fatal to her. Procris had hidden herself 
 among the bushes, in order to watch her husband, when 
 Cephalus, taking her for a wild animal, unwittingly killed 
 her. After the death of Erechtheus, the tragic poets re- 
 late that Ion, the mythical ancestor of the lonians, ruled 
 in Athens. This means nothing more than that the prim- 
 itive Pelasgian age in Attica had now come to an end, and 
 the dominion of the lonians commenced. 
 
 3. Theseus. Theseus is the national hero of the lonians, 
 just as Heracles is of the .^Eolians. He has not unjustly 
 been called the second Heracles ; and he has, indeed, many 
 features in common with the JEolian hero, since the na- 
 tional jealousy of the lonians led them to adopt every pos- 
 sible means of making their own hero rival that of their 
 neighbors. They therefore strove to represent him, like- 
 wise, as a hero tried in numberless contests generous, 
 unselfish, and devoted to the interests of mankind and 
 of course ascribed to hkn a multitude of adventurous ex- 
 ploits. There is no great undertaking of antiquity in 
 which Theseus is not supposed to have taken part, and
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 253 
 
 he was even sent on an expedition to hell, in imitation of 
 Heracles. 
 
 He was the son of the Athenian King ^Egeus, whom 
 mythological tradition made a great-grandson of Erech- 
 theus. After his father, Pandion, had been driven out by 
 his relations, the sons of Metion, ./Egeus betook himself to 
 Megara, where he was hospitably received by the ruler, Py- 
 las. From Megara, ^Egeus, Pallas, Nisus, and Lycus, the 
 sons of Pandion, undertook an expedition against Athens, 
 which ended in the expulsion of the Metionidae, and the 
 restoration of the former royal family in the person of 
 ^Egeus. Such, at least, is the tradition ; although it is more 
 probable that Athens never had a king of this name, and 
 that ^Egeus (waveman) is only a surname of Poseidon, the 
 chief deity of the seafaring lonians. JEgeus, though twice 
 married, had no heir, and now undertook a journey to Del- 
 phi to seek the advice of the oracle. On his way back he 
 stopped at the court of Pittheus, King of Trcezen, and be- 
 came, by his daughter ^Ethra, the father of Theseus. Be- 
 fore his departure, he placed his sword and sandals be- 
 neath a heavy stone, and commanded JEthra to send his 
 son to Athens as soon as he was able to move the stone 
 and take his father's sword. Theseus was carefully trained 
 in music and gymnastics by the sagacious Pittheus, and 
 soon developed into a stately youth. He is also supposed 
 to have been educated by the Centaur Chiron, whose in- 
 struction had now become a necessary item in the educa- 
 tion of a real hero. 
 
 When Theseus was sixteen, his mother took him to the 
 stone beneath Avhich lay his father's sword and sandals. 
 With a slight effort he raised the stone, and thus entered 
 on his heroic career. His earlier adventures consisted in
 
 254 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 overcoming a series of obstacles that beset him in his jour- 
 ney from Troezen to Athens. They are generally supposed 
 to have been six in number. 
 
 1. Between Trcezen and Epidaurus he slew Periphetes, 
 the son of Hephaestus who was lame, like his father be- 
 cause he was in the habit of murdering travellers with his 
 iron club ; whence he is called Corynetes, or club-bearer. 
 
 2. He next delivered the Isthmus from another power- 
 ful robber called Sinis. He used to fasten travellers who 
 fell into his hands to the top of a pine-tree, which he bent 
 to the earth, and then allowed to recoil ; after which, on 
 their reaching the ground, he would kill them outright; 
 whence he is called Pityocamptes, or pine-bender. The- 
 seus inflicted the same fate on him. 
 
 3. In the woody district of Crommyon he destroyed a 
 dangerous wild sow that laid waste the country. 
 
 4. Not far from this, on the rock of Sciron, on the bor- 
 ders of Megara, dwelt another monster, called Sciron, who 
 compelled travellers to wash his feet, and then kicked them 
 into the sea. Theseus served him in a similar fashion. 
 
 5. In the neighborhood of Eleusis he vanquished the 
 giant Cercyon, who compelled all who fell into his hands 
 to wrestle with him. 
 
 6. His last combat awaited him on the confines of Eleu- 
 sis, where dwelt the inhuman Damastes. This monster 
 used to lay Ins victims in a bed : if this was too short, 
 he would hack off their projecting limbs ; if too long, he 
 would beat out and pull asunder their limbs, whence he is 
 Called Procrustes. He was also slain by Theseus. 
 
 On reaching Athens, he found his father ^Egeus in the 
 toils of the dangerous sorceress Medea, who had fled from 
 Corinth to Athens. She was on the point of making away
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 255 
 
 with the new-comer by poison, when ^Egeus, fortunately, 
 recognized him by the sword he bore, and preserved him 
 from his impending fate. 
 
 Medea was compelled to flee ; but a new danger awaited 
 the hero from the fifty sons of Pallas, who had reckoned 
 on succeeding their childless uncle ^Egeus. Theseus, how- 
 ever, slew some in battle and expelled the rest. 
 
 He now undertook his greatest and most adventurous 
 feat, in order to free his country from its shameful trib- 
 ute to Minos, King of Crete, whose son, the youthful hero 
 Androgeos, had been treacherously murdered by the Athe- 
 nians and Megareans. Another account says that he was 
 sent by ^Egeus against the bull of Marathon, and thus slain. 
 At any rate, Minos undertook a war of revenge. He first 
 marched against Megara, of which Nisus, the brother of 
 ^Egeus, was king. Minos conquered him by means of his 
 own daughter Scylla, who became enamored of Minos, and 
 cut off from her father's head the purple lock on which 
 his life depended. After having taken Megara and slain 
 Nisus, Minos marched against Athens. Here he was equal- 
 ly successful, and compelled the vanquished Athenians to 
 expiate the blood of his son by sending, every eight or 
 (according to the Greek method of reckoning) every nine 
 years, seven youths and seven maidens to be devoured by 
 the Minotaur. This was a monster, half man and half 
 bull. Twice already had the bloody tribute been sent, 
 and the third fell just after Theseus's arrival in Athens ; he 
 at once bravely offered to go among the allotted victims. 
 He was resolved to do battle with the Minotaur, and to 
 stake his life on the liberation of his country from the 
 shameful tribute. Under the guidance of Aphrodite he 
 passed over to Crete, and soon discovered the efficacy of
 
 256 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 her protection. The goddess kindled a passionate love for 
 the hero in the breast of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. 
 Ariadne rendered him every possible assistance in his un- 
 dertaking, and especially presented him with a clew of 
 thread, by means of which Theseus, after having slain the 
 Minotaur, was enabled to find his way out of the Laby- 
 rinth. We have already narrated how Ariadne was de- 
 serted by Theseus on the isle of Naxos, only to become 
 the bride of Dionysus, the divine son of Semele. Theseus 
 also landed at Delos, where he instituted the festival of 
 the Delia in honor of the divine children of Leto. On 
 reaching Athens, he showed his gratitude to his divine 
 protectress by the institution of the worship of Aphrodite 
 Pandemus. In honor of Dionysus and Ariadne, he insti- 
 tuted the Oschophoria, in which festival Athene also had 
 a share. Lastly, in honor of Apollo, he instituted the Py- 
 anepsia, a festival which was celebrated on the seventh day 
 of the month Pyanepsion (end of October). 
 
 The happy return of Theseus from his Cretan expedi- 
 tion, however, proved the death of his aged father. ^Ege- 
 us, as he stood on the coast looking for his son's return, 
 perceived that the ships had black sails instead of white, 
 which were to have been hoisted in the event of his son's 
 success ; and believing that all was lost, he cast himselt 
 headlong into the sea. This story was perhaps only in- 
 vented to account for the name of ^gean Sea. 
 
 With regard to the other exploits of Theseus, there ex 
 ists the greatest variety of accounts as to the order in 
 which they took place. As king, he is said to have been 
 the first to unite the separate districts of Attica into one 
 political community, with one state Prytaneum, and to 
 have instituted the festival of the Panathensea in commern-
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 257 
 
 oration of this event. The following, among his later ex- 
 ploits, are worthy of mention : 
 
 1. He captured the bull of Marathon (said to have been 
 the same which Heracles brought alive from Crete), and 
 sacrificed it in Athens to Apollo Delphinius. 
 
 2. He assisted his friend Pirithoiis, the prince of the 
 Lapithae, in his contest with the Centaurs. 
 
 3. He undertook with Pirithoiis an expedition to Lace- 
 daemon, in which they carried off Helen, the sister of the 
 Dioscuri. 
 
 4. At the request of Pirithoiis, he accompanied him to 
 the lower world to carry off Persephone ; but Hades, en- 
 raged at their audacity, caused them both to be bound in 
 chains and fastened to a rock. Theseus was rescued from 
 this plight by Heracles, but during his absence the Dios- 
 curi had released their sister from Aphidnae, where she was 
 confined. 
 
 5. He next joined Heracles in his expedition against 
 the Amazons, and received, as the reward of victory, their 
 queen Antiope, or Hippolyte. Another tradition asserts 
 that Antiope followed him of her own free-will to Athens, 
 where she was married to him, and became the mother of 
 Hippolytus, famed for his unhappy fate. His great beau- 
 ty caused his step-mother Phaedra, a later wife of Theseus, 
 and a sister of Ariadne, to fall in love with him. As he 
 withdrew from her dishonorable proposals by flight, she 
 accused him to his father of attempts on her virtue. The- 
 seus, in his wrath, besought Poseidon to punish his faith- 
 less son ; and the god, who had sworn to grant any request 
 of Theseus, sent a wild bull (i. e., a breaker) out of the sea 
 as Hippolytus was driving in his chariot along the sea- 
 shore. This so terrified his horses that Hippolytus was 
 
 17
 
 258 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 thrown from his chariot, and dragged along the ground 
 till he was dead. This story the scene of which was af- 
 terward transferred to Troezen, whither Theseus was sup- 
 posed to have fled on account of a murder was dealt with 
 in a touching manner by the tragic poets. The " Hippoly- 
 tus " of Euripides is still extant. 
 
 6. As a result of the carrying-off of Antiope, a second 
 contest with the Amazons was subsequently invented, in 
 
 Fig. 59. Elgin Theseus. Eritish Museum. 
 
 which Theseus was engaged alone, and which took place 
 in the immediate neighborhood of Athens. The Amazons 
 are supposed to have invaded Attica, in order to release 
 their queen. Antiope, however, was so enamored of The- 
 seus that she refused to return, and fought at her hus- 
 band's side, against her kindred, until she was slain. 
 
 Lastly, Theseus is said to have taken part in the Caly 
 donian boar hunt, and also in the expedition of the Argo- 
 nauts, of which we shall have more to say hereafter.
 
 260 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 The death of Theseus is commonly agreed to have taken 
 place in the following manner : He had been deprived of 
 the sovereignty of Athens by Menestheus, who was aided 
 by the Dioscuri ; and then withdrew to the island of 
 Scyros. Here he was at first hospitably received, but sub- 
 sequently murdered in a treacherous manner by Lycome- 
 des, the ruler of the island. Demophoon, the son of The- 
 seus, is said to have afterward recovered his father's king- 
 dom. At a still later period the bones of the hero were 
 brought to Athens by Cimon, at the command of the Del- 
 phic oracle. Cimon is also supposed to have caused the 
 erection of the temple of Theseus, which still exists in 
 Athens, and serves as an art museum. The eighth day of 
 every month was held sacred to Theseus, besides which he 
 had a special festival, called the Thesea, on the eighth of 
 Pyanepsion. 
 
 Art has followed the example of the poets and mythologists in de- 
 picting Theseus as a second Heracles. Here, however, the charac- 
 teristic differences that existed between the Doric and Ionic races 
 become apparent. Just as the latter race surpassed the former in 
 elasticity, both of mind and body, so their national hero gives token 
 not only of a higher intellectual being, but also of a body more lithe, 
 and capable of greater swiftness and dexterity, than that of the 
 Doric hero. The slighter and more elegant form of Theseus lacks, 
 perhaps, the sheer brute strength of Heracles, but is compensated by 
 the possession of a far greater degree of activity and adroitness. 
 The expression of face is more amiable and the hairless bristling 
 than that of Heracles, while there is generally no beard. Such is 
 Theseus as depicted by Greek art at the epoch of its full develop- 
 ment ; later art strove to render the form of the body still more lithe 
 and graceful. The costume of Theseus consists, like ^hat of his 
 prototype Heracles, of a lion's skin and club ; sometimes also of the 
 chlamys and petasus of the Attic youth. Existing art monuments 
 are far less numerous in his case than in that of Heracles. If the 
 explanation is correct, the British Museum possesses a Theseus of 
 priceless value. Among the statues of the Parthenon which have
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 261 
 
 been preserved, there is one of a figure negligently reclining on a 
 lion's skin, which, with the exception of the nose, hands, and feet, is 
 in a tolerably good state of preservation (Fig. 59.) It belonged to 
 the great group of the east gable, which represented the first appear- 
 ance of the new-born Athene to the astonished gods. It is the figure 
 of a youth in his prime, somewhat larger than life, and altogether a 
 perfect ideal of manly beauty. 
 
 A representation of the conflict of Theseus with the invading army 
 of the Amazons still exists on a large piece of frieze-work, which, 
 together with the representations of the battle of the Lapithae and 
 Centaurs (which have been already mentioned), formerly decorated 
 the walls of the shrine of Apollo's temple in Phigalia, and is now the 
 property of the British Museum. Among the Greek warriors The- 
 seus may be easily recognized by his lion's skin and the club, which 
 he is in the act of swinging against a mounted Amazon, probably 
 the leader of the hostile army. We give an engraving of the scene 
 where Theseus obtained the sword and sandals of his father from 
 beneath the rock, after a relief in the Villa Albani (Fig. 60). 
 
 8. Cretan Legend. 1. Minos and the Minotaur. 
 Cretan myths are both obscure and difficult of interpre- 
 tation, because Phoenician and Phrygian influences made 
 themselves felt at a very early period, and native sources 
 fail us. Minos is commonly supposed to have been the 
 first king of the country. He was the son of Zeus and 
 Europa, who is called in Homer a daughter of Phoenix. 
 This Phoenix was subsequently made into Agenor, a Phoe- 
 nician, King of Sidon ; and the story then arose that Zeus, 
 in the form of a white bull, had carried off Europa, and 
 arrived with his lovely prey in Crete. Europa is there said 
 to have given birth to Minos, Rhadamanthys (Rhadaman- 
 thus), and some say Sarpedon. She afterward married 
 Asterion, who brought up the sons of Zeus as his own 
 children, and, at his death, left the kingdom to Minos. 
 How and when this story arose it is quite impossible to 
 say. Equally obscure is the physical meaning of Europa.
 
 262 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 She is generally supposed to be the moon-goddess, and her 
 abduction to Crete a token of the introduction of the wor- 
 ship of the Syrian goddess Astarte into that island. Minos, 
 after having expelled his brothers, Sarpedon and Rhadaman- 
 thus, became sole king of Crete. Of his brothers, Sarpe- 
 don went to Lycia, while the pious Rhadamanthus found a 
 refuge in Boeotia. Minos next married Pasiphae, a daugh- 
 ter of Helios and Perseis, by whom he became the father 
 of Catreus, who succeeded him, Deucalion, Glaucus, and 
 Androgeos, besides several daughters, of whom the most 
 celebrated are Ariadne and Phaedra. Minos gave wise 
 laws to his people, and became supreme at sea among the 
 isles of the JEgean Sea, and even as far as Attica. 
 
 In order to vindicate his right to the crown, Minos be- 
 sought Poseidon to send him a bull out of the sea, which 
 he was then to sacrifice to the god. Poseidon granted his 
 prayer, but Minos was induced by the beauty of the animal 
 to place it among his own herds. As a punishment of his 
 perfidy, Poseidon kindled in the breast of Pasiphae an un- 
 natural love for the bull, and the fruit of their connection 
 was the Minotaur. This was a monster, half man and half 
 bull, which Minos shut up in the Labyrinth that had been 
 made by the skill of Daedalus. The food of the monster 
 consisted of human beings, who were partly criminals and 
 partly youths and maidens, sent as tribute from the sub- 
 jugated countries. This lasted until Theseus came to Crete, 
 and, with the aid of Ariadne and Daedalus, destroyed the 
 Minotaur. Such is the substance of this perplexing myth- 
 ical tradition, of which the simplest interpretation is that 
 the Minotaur was originally an ancient idol of the Phoeni- 
 cian sun -god Baal, which had the form of a bull, and to 
 which human sacrifices were offered. The destruction of
 
 PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 263 
 
 the Minotaur by Theseus is a symbol of the triumph of 
 the higher Greek civilization over Phoenician barbarism, 
 and the consequent abolition of human sacrifices. 
 
 Closely connected with the royal family of Crete we find 
 Daedalus, the most celebrated artist of the legendary pe- 
 riod. He is said to have been a son of Metion, and a de- 
 scendant of Erechtheus, and to have fled from Athens to 
 Crete after murdering his nephew Talus in a fit of profes- 
 sional jealousy. During his residence in Crete he con- 
 structed the Labyrinth, an underground building with an 
 endless maze of passages, as a dwelling-place for the Min- 
 otaur ; besides many other wonderful works of art. For 
 having aided Theseus in his combat with the Minotaur, 
 Daedalus and his son Icarus were both imprisoned in the 
 Labyrinth of Minos. The story of his flight, which he ac- 
 complished by means of the artificial wings that he made 
 for himself and his son, is well known from the " Metamor- 
 phoses " of Ovid. Icarus fell into the sea that is named 
 after him, and was drowned, but Daedalus reached Cumae in 
 safety. From this place he passed over to Sicily, where he 
 was hospitably received by Cocalus. When Minos, how- 
 ever, pursued the fugitive and demanded his surrender, 
 not only was his request refused, but he was even put to 
 death by the contrivance of the king's daughters. 
 
 Of the other sons of Minos, Deucalion is celebrated as 
 having taken part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and also 
 as the father of the hero Idomeneus, who fought against 
 Troy. Glaucus was killed, while yet a boy, by falling into 
 a cask of honey as he was pursuing a mouse. % He is re- 
 ported, however, to have been restored to life by the Co- 
 rinthian augur Polyidus, or, according to others, by Ascle- 
 pius himself.
 
 264 GKEEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 2. Talos. The legend of Talos, the brazen man, betrays 
 likewise a Phoenician origin, and refers to the cruel prac- 
 tice of offering human sacrifices. This Talos was made 
 of brass, and was invulnerable. Hephaestus, or, as others 
 say, Zeus, gave him to Minos as guardian of the island of 
 Crete, round which he travelled thrice a day. If he per- 
 ceived any strangers approach, he would spring into the 
 fire, and, after becoming red-hot, he would clasp them to 
 his breast, until they expired beneath the sardonic chuckle 
 of the demon. He attempted to drive off the Argonauts 
 with stones, but was destroyed by the skill of Medea. Ta- 
 los had a single vein, which ran from his head to his feet, 
 and was closed at the top with a nail. This nail Medea 
 cleverly succeeded in extracting, in consequence of which 
 Talos bled to death. 
 
 IV. COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER 
 HEROIC AGE. 
 
 1 . The Calydonian Hunt. The story of Meleager 
 and the Calydonian boar hunt was undoubtedly,-in its ori- 
 gin, nothing more than a provincial myth based on natural 
 phenomena, like other myths that we have already ex- 
 plained. In this case the physical significance involved in 
 the myth soon disappeared, owing to the treatment it re- 
 ceived at the hands of the epic and dramatic poets. The 
 poets, in fact, succeeded in introducing some striking eth- 
 ical conceptions, which absorbed all higher interest. 
 
 CEneus, King of Calydon, in ^Etolia, on the occasion of 
 a great festival which was celebrated after a successful vin- 
 tage, had accidentally or purposely omitted to sacrifice to
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 265 
 
 Artemis. To punish this neglect she sent a huge wild 
 boar, which devastated the fields of Calydon, and seemed 
 invincible by any ordinary means on account of its vast 
 size. Meleager, the brave and heroic son of CEneus, there- 
 fore assembled men and hounds in great number to slay it. 
 The boar was slain ; but Artemis stirred up strife over the 
 head and hide between the ^Etolians and the Curetes of 
 Pleuron. At first the former were victorious ; but when 
 Meleager withdrew in wrath from the battle because his 
 mother had cursed him for the death of her brother, they 
 were no longer able to keep the field, and soon saw their 
 city closely invested by their enemies. In vain did the 
 elders and priests of Calydon beseech Meleager ; in vain 
 did his father, sisters, and even mother beseech him to aid 
 his hard-pressed countrymen. Like Achilles in the Trojan 
 war, when he was wroth with Agamemnon on account of 
 the loss of Briseis, Meleager long refused to stir. At last 
 his wife the beautiful Cleopatra succeeded in moving 
 him. He donned his armor, and put himself at the head 
 of his countrymen for a sally against the besiegers. Brill- 
 iant, indeed, was the victory of the men of Calydon ; but 
 the hero Meleager did not return from the battle ; for the 
 cruel Erinyes, who had heard his mother's curse, destroyed 
 him with the arrows of Apollo. 
 
 Such is the earliest form of the legend, as it exists in 
 the " Iliad." In time, however, Meleager was said to have 
 called together against the boar all the renowned heroes 
 of Greece. Among others there came the Dioscuri, Castor 
 and Pollux ; Theseus and his friend Pirithous ; Idas and 
 Lynceus, the sons of Aphareus ; Admetus of Pherae ; Jason, 
 from lolcus ; Iphicles and lolaiis, from Thebes ; Peleus, 
 the father of Achilles ; Telamon, from Salamis ; Ancaeus
 
 266 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 and the beautiful huntress Atalante (Atalanta). from Arca- 
 dia ; besides the soothsayer Amphiaraus, from Argos. Af- 
 ter (Eneus had entertained his guests royally for nine days, 
 the hunt began, and the huge beast, which was as large as 
 an ox, was surrounded and driven from its lair. Atalante, 
 the swift huntress, was the first to inflict a wound. Ancas- 
 us then advanced with his battle-axe, but the enraged beast, 
 with one stroke of his dreadful tusks, tore open his body 
 and killed him on the spot. At length the monster re- 
 ceived a mortal wound from a spear hurled by the power- 
 ful arm of Meleager, and was soon despatched by the rest. 
 Meleager received as his due the head and hide of the 
 slaughtered animal, but resigned the prize to Atalante, of 
 whom he was enamored, on the ground that she was the 
 first to wound the boar. This act excited the bitter jeal- 
 ousy of Plexippus and Toxeus, the sons of Thestius, King 
 of Pleuron, and brothers of Altha3a, the mother of Meleager. 
 They accordingly lay in wait for Atalante, and robbed her 
 of the present. Enraged at this, Meleager slew them both. 
 But Meleager's death, though caused by the wrath of his 
 mother, was worked out differently in the time of the trag- 
 ic poets. The Fates had appeared to Altha3a, soon after 
 the birth of Meleager, and informed her that her son would 
 only live until a certain brand, which was then burning on 
 the fire, was consumed. Althaea immediately snatched the 
 brand from the flames and carefully treasured it up. Af- 
 ter Meleager had slain her brothers, in the first outburst of 
 grief and indignation against her son, she placed the brand 
 affain in the fire, and thus cut off the noble hero in the 
 
 O ' 
 
 prime of his youth and beauty. Althaea, on learning the 
 unhappy fate of her son, full of sorrow for her hasty deed, 
 put an end to her own life.
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 267 
 
 2. The Argonauts. The story of the Argonauts 
 experienced a similar fate to that of the Calydonian hunt. 
 It was originally only a Thessalian myth based on natural 
 phenomena ; but in the hands of the poets it swelled to a 
 mass of legends common to all the tribes of Greece, the 
 nucleus of which was the history of the golden fleece. 
 Athamas, the son of ^Eolus, was King of the Minyae. He 
 put away his first wife, Nephele (cloud), in order to marry 
 Ino, the daughter of Cadmus ; though he still kept Phrix- 
 us (rain-shower) and Helle (ray of light), his children by 
 Nephele, with him. By Ino he had two other children, 
 Learchus and Melicertes, whom their mother naturally pre- 
 ferred to her step-children, and for whose sake she endeav- 
 ored to drive the latter from their father's house. Soon 
 afterward, either at the command of Nephele, whom some 
 represent as a goddess, or in consequence of her prayers for 
 the punishment of Athamas, the land was visited with a 
 long drought, and Ino persuaded her husband to sacrifice 
 Phrixus as a sin-offering to Zeus, in order to put an end 
 to the calamity. Whether Helle was to have shared her 
 brother's fate we cannot tell, for, before Ino could accom- 
 plish her purpose, Nephele came to the assistance of her 
 children, and gave them a winged ram with a golden fleece, 
 which Hermes had presented to her for that purpose. 
 Seated on this ram, they fled over the sea to Colchis. On 
 the way Helle fell into that part of the sea which bears 
 her name, and was drowned ; but Phrixus arrived safely in 
 Colchis (^Ea), where he sacrificed the ram to Zeus, who had 
 preserved him in his flight. The fleece he hung up in the 
 groves of Ares as a sacred treasure, setting over it a terri- 
 ble, ever-watchful dragon as its guardian. To fetch this 
 treasure from a foreign land, and thereby to release the
 
 268 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 country and people of the Minyge from the calamity with 
 which they were oppressed, was the task of the heroes of 
 the race of ^Eolus. Athamas was so grieved at the evil he 
 had brought on his country that he became insane, and 
 sought to slay Ino and her children. He did, indeed, kill 
 Learchus by dashing him against a rock, but Ino succeeded 
 in saving herself and her younger child Melicertes by leap- 
 ing into the sea (cf. Ino Leucothea). Athamas then fled to 
 Epirus, and the kingdom devolved on his brother Cretheus. 
 Cretheus married Tyro, the daughter of his younger broth- 
 er Salmoneus, King of Elis. Tyro bore him three sons, the 
 eldest of whom, ^Eson, succeeded his father in the king- 
 dom, but was soon after expelled by his step-brother Pelias, 
 who is described as a son of Tyro and Poseidon. ./Eson 
 with difficulty managed to rescue his little son Jason from 
 the hands of Pelias, and brought him to the Centaur Chi- 
 ron to be educated. In Chiron's cave the young hero grew 
 up a favorite with gods and men. After completing his 
 twentieth year, he betook himself to lolcus to demand of 
 his uncle his rightful inheritance. Pelias, not daring to use 
 violence to the sturdy youth, endeavored to get rid of his 
 unwelcome guest by involving him in a most dangerous 
 adventure. He declared that he would gladly resign the 
 crown if Jason would recover the golden fleece from Col- 
 chis. Jason, like a true hero, at once accepted the peril- 
 ous adventure. In the harbor of lolcus he caused a large 
 ship with fifty oars to be constructed, which he called the 
 " Argo," after its builder, Argus. He then called together 
 the heroes, who had consented at his invitation to take part 
 in the expedition. In the original version of the story, the 
 expedition was stated to have been undertaken only by the 
 heroes of the race of the Minyse such as Acastus, Adme-
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 269 
 
 tus, and Periclymenus. At a later period, however when 
 the date of the expedition had been fixed at one generation 
 before the Trojan war no hero of any note was allowed 
 to be absent from the undertaking. In this manner were 
 added the Dioscuri, the sons of Boreas, Calais and Zetes, 
 Telamon, Peleus, Meleager, Tydeus, Iphitus, Theseus, Or- 
 pheus, Amphiaraus, and even Heracles. In the last case, 
 the incongruity of allowing the hero to play only a subor- 
 dinate part was soon felt, and his name was withdrawn. 
 He was said to have been left behind in Mysia, where he 
 had landed in order to search for his favorite Hylas, who 
 had been carried off by the Naiads. The number of the 
 Argonauts was finally computed at fifty, tallying with the 
 number of oars. 
 
 The expedition proceeded from lolcus to Lemnos, and 
 thence through the Hellespont to Cyzicus, where they were 
 kindly received by the Doliones. From Cyzicus they pro- 
 ceeded to Bithynia, where they were opposed by the Beb- 
 ryces, whose king, Amycus, was slain by Pollux in a box- 
 ing-match. Their greatest difficulty lay in the passage of 
 the Bosporus, there being at the entrance of the Pontus 
 (Black Sea) two terrible rocks, which were in constant mo- 
 tion now retreating to the shore on either side, now has- 
 tily dashing together again ; whence they were called the 
 Symplegades. This occurred so rapidly that even the 
 swiftest vessel had not time enough to get through. The 
 Argonauts were in great perplexity. At length the blind 
 seer Phineus, who dwelt in Thracian Salmydessus, and 
 whose gratitude they won by delivering him from the Har- 
 pies who had tormented him, assisted them with his advice. 
 By means of a stratagem he recommended, they were ena- 
 bled to bring the Argo through without any considerable
 
 270 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 damage, after which the Symplegades remained stationary. 
 After this they stood along the south coast towards then 
 destination, which, in the original legend, appears to have 
 been the utterly fabulous ^Ea, subsequently converted into 
 Colchis. This was the residence of the mighty King 
 ./Eetes, a son of the sun-god. To rob him, either by craft 
 or by violence, of the golden fleece was the task of Jason, 
 the leader of the Argonauts. 
 
 The second prominent character in the story, Medea, the 
 daughter of ^Eetes, now makes her appearance. It was in 
 fact only through her love that Jason was enabled to sur- 
 mount the vast obstacles which stood between him and the 
 possession of the golden fleece. When the hero demanded 
 the fleece of ^Eetes, the latter declared that he would deliv- 
 er it up to him after he had accomplished two tasks. The 
 first was to harness two brazen-footed, fire-breathing bulls, 
 which ^Eetes had received from Hephaestus, to a plough, and 
 with them to till an uncultivated field. The second was to 
 sow in the furrows the dragon's teeth that -^Eetes would 
 give him, and to destroy the armed men which would then 
 spring up. Jason's heart failed him on hearing these con- 
 ditions, but Medea, Avho was an enchantress and priestess 
 of Hecate, was equal to the occasion. She gave the hero a 
 magic salve to protect him against the fiery breath of the 
 bulls and to endow him with invincible strength, which en- 
 abled him to accomplish his first task successfully. In the 
 case of the armed men who sprung from the dragon's teeth, 
 by the advice of Medea he followed the example of Cad- 
 mus, and cast among them a heavy stone, whereupon in 
 blind fury they turned their arms against each other, and 
 were all destroyed. 
 
 The conditions imposed upon him by JEetes were thus
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 271 
 
 accomplished ; but the king, who perceived that Jason had 
 only succeeded through the aid of his daughter, made this 
 a pretext for refusing to surrender the fleece. Jason then 
 removed it by night from the grove of Ares, after Medea 
 had, by means of her enchantments, lulled the watchful 
 dragon to sleep. That same night the Argonauts embark- 
 ed on board their ship and put to sea, Medea accompa- 
 nying them as the future wife of Jason. The wrathful 
 .^Eetes attempted to overtake the fugitives, but Medea suc- 
 ceeded in staying the pursuit by slaying her younger broth- 
 er Apsyrtus, whom she had brought with her, and scatter- 
 ing his limbs in the sea. 
 
 The most diverse accounts exist as to the road taken by 
 the Argonauts on their homeward journey. Some say 
 that they sailed up the Phasis to the Eastern Sea, and then, 
 passing through the Red Sea and Libyan desert, over which 
 they had to carry the Argo twelve days' journey, came to 
 Lake Tritonis, and thence to the Mediterranean. Accord- 
 ing to another account, they sought to pass through the 
 Ister (Danube) and Eridanus (Po) to the Western Ocean ; 
 but the object of this account was manifestly to subject 
 them to the same vicissitudes and adventures as Odysseus 
 and his companions. 
 
 At length Jason landed happily in lolcus, and delivered 
 the golden fleece into the hands of his uncle. Pelias, how- 
 ever, still refused to surrender the kingdom to Jason, and 
 Medea therefore determined to make away with him by 
 craft. Having persuaded the daughters of Pelias that she 
 possessed a means of making the old man young again, she 
 directed them to slay their father, cut him in pieces, and 
 boil the limbs in a caldron filled with all manner of herbs ; 
 this they did in the vain expectation of seeing him restored
 
 272 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 to youth. Jason now took possession of his father's king* 
 doin, but was soon afterward expelled by Acastus, the son 
 of Pelias, and took refuge in Corinth. His subsequent 
 misfortunes are well known. Thinking to better his con 
 dition, he was about to marry Creiisa, the daughter of the 
 King of Corinth, when he was arrested by the fearful ven- 
 geance of his first wife. Medea sent the bride a poisoned 
 garment, which caused her to die an agonizing death, and 
 then slew her own children by Jason ; after which she fled 
 in her chariot drawn by winged dragons to Athens, where 
 she long found protection at the court of ^Egeus. Jason 
 either put an end to his own life, or was killed by the fall 
 of a rotten beam of the Argo. 
 
 3. The Theban Cycle. The highly tragic history 
 of the Theban house of the Labdacidse, teeming as it does 
 with important characters and events, has at all times fur- 
 nished subjects for Greek art and poetry, and has given 
 birth to a whole series of epic and dramatic works. The 
 former, which would have conduced far more to an exact 
 acquaintance with the legend, have, unfortunately, perished, 
 with the exception of a few unimportant fragments ; al- 
 though many important works of the great tragic poets, 
 ^Eschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, relating to the subject, 
 still remain. The common account runs thus : Laius, a 
 great-grandson of Cadmus, was warned by the oracle to be- 
 get no children, as he was doomed to perish by the hand? 
 of his son, who would then marry his mother. When his 
 wife locaste gave birtli to a son, Laius accordingly exposed 
 the child, with its feet pierced, on Mount Cithseron. The 
 child, called CEdipus from the swelling of its feet, did not 
 die, but was found by some Corinthian shepherds, who
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 273 
 
 brought it to Polybus, King of Corinth. Polybus, having 
 no children of his own, adopted CEdipus, who grew up in 
 the belief that Polybus and Merope were his real parents, 
 until one day a taunt of his companions as to his mysteri- 
 ous origin raised doubts in his mind. In order to solve his 
 misgivings, he went to consult the oracle of Delphi, but 
 he here received only the obscure direction not to return 
 to his country, since, if he did, he would kill his father and 
 marry his mother. Fearing on this account to return to 
 Corinth, he took the road to Thebes, and thus, by his pre- 
 sumptuous prudence, brought about the very consequences 
 he was so anxious to avoid. On the road he was met by 
 Laius, who was on his way to the oracle to ask its advice 
 concerning the Sphinx. A quarrel arose, in a narrow de- 
 file, between Laius and (Edipus ; and (Edipus slew his fa- 
 ther without knowing who he was. On arriving at Thebes 
 he succeeded in delivering the country from the Sphinx. 
 This monster, which had the combined form of a woman 
 and a lion, had been sent by Hera, whom Laius had in some 
 way offended, from ^Ethiopia to devastate the land of 
 Thebes. Seated on a rock close to the town, she put to 
 every one that passed by the celebrated riddle What walks 
 on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on 
 three in the evening? Whoever was unable to solve this 
 riddle was cast by the Sphinx from the rock into a deep 
 abyss. This calamity induced Creon, on the death of his 
 brother-in-law Laius, to proclaim that whoever solved the 
 riddle should obtain the crown and the hand of locaste. 
 (Edipus succeeded in solving it, and thus delivered the 
 country from the monster, who cast herself into the abyss. 
 
 The origin of the myth of the Sphinx was not definitely known 
 even to the ancients. The Sphinx itself was probably a religious 
 
 18
 
 274 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 symbol of the Egyptians, which was transferred to Greece, and sub- 
 sequently underwent a cnange of meaning. Among the Egyptians 
 the Sphinx seems to have been a symbol of royal dignity, betokening 
 a combination of wisdom and strength ; by the Greeks, however, it 
 appears to have been regarded as a symbol of the burning, pesti- 
 lence-breeding heat of the summer sun. The form, which was that 
 of a lion, generally in a recumbent position, with the breast and up- 
 per part of a beautiful woman, was in imitation of the original male 
 Sphinxes of Egypt. Ancient Egyptian art revelled in the creation 
 of colossal Sphinxes, which were carved out of granite. A notable 
 example of this kind exists in the giant Sphinx near the Pyramids of 
 Gizeh, which is eighty-nine feet long. From such monstrous figures 
 as these Greek art held aloof. Moreover, Greek art was only ac- 
 quainted with the Sphinx in its female form, and departed from the 
 Egyptian type by adding wings to the lion's body. 
 
 (Edipus was rewarded with the sovereignty of Thebes 
 and the hand of locaste ; and for several years he enjoyed 
 uninterrupted happiness, surrounded by four blooming 
 children, the fruit of his incestuous marriage. By the se- 
 cret agency of the goddess, the dreadful truth was at length 
 discovered. locaste hanged herself, and (Edipus, in de- 
 spair, put out his own eyes. Not content with this volun- 
 tary penance, the hard-hearted Thebans compelled him, be- 
 sides, to leave their city and country, while his sons Eteo- 
 cles and Polynices, who were now grown up, refused to stir 
 a foot in their father's behalf. (Edipus, after invoking bit- 
 ter curses on their heads, withdrew, and, guided by his 
 faithful daughter Antigone, at last found an asylum in the 
 grove of the Eumenides at Colonus, near Athens. His 
 grave there was regarded, in consequence of an ancient 
 response of the oracle, as a national treasure. 
 
 The curse of their father took effect on his unnatural 
 sons. The elder, Eteocles, drove out his brother Polynices, 
 who then sought the assistance of Adrastus, King of Argos, 
 Adrastus was a grandson of Bias, of the race of the Amy
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 275 
 
 thaonidae, and by his marriage with the daughter of the 
 wealthy Polybus acquired the sovereignty of Sicyon. He 
 not only hospitably received the fugitive Polynices, but 
 gave him his daughter in marriage, and promised to assist 
 him in recovering the crown of Thebes. In this expedi- 
 tion Adrastus sought to gain the aid of the other Argive 
 heroes. They all declared their readiness to accompany 
 him, with the exception of Amphiaraus, his brother-in-law, 
 who was equally renowned for his wisdom and courage. 
 Amphiaraus was a great-grandson of the celebrated seer 
 Melampus, and inherited from him the gift of prophecy. 
 He was thus enabled to perceive the disastrous termination 
 of the war, and strove to hinder it. But Polynices and 
 the fiery Tydeus likewise a son-in-law of Adrastus were 
 so unceasing in their entreaties, that he at length sought to 
 escape their importunity by flight. Polynices, however, 
 bribed his wife Eriphyle, by the present of a magnificent 
 necklace, which had formerly been given to Harmonia on 
 the occasion of her marriage with Cadmus, to betray his 
 place of concealment. Hereupon Amphiaraus was obliged 
 unwillingly to join the expedition, which ended as he had 
 prophesied. The attack on Thebes was not only repulsed, 
 but all the Argive leaders, with the exception of Adrastus, 
 who was saved by the fleetness of his horse, were slain. 
 Polynices and Etcocles fell in single combat with each oth- 
 er. The flight of Adrastus to Attica, where he procured 
 the assistance of Theseus in compelling the Thebans to 
 grant the fallen heroes a solemn burial, is a feature un- 
 known to the original legend, and may be ascribed to tne 
 patriotic impulses of the Athenian dramatists. The ceta 
 brated tragedy of Sophocles, called "Antigone," is based on 
 the assumption that Creon, the new King of Thebes, allow-
 
 26 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 3d the burial of the other heroes, but left Polynices to lie 
 unburied on the field like a dog, and condemned Antigone 
 to death because she ventured to bury her brother in de- 
 spite of his command. Creon was destined to meet with 
 a dreadful retribution, for his own son, who was betrothed 
 to Antigone, killed himself in grief at her fate. 
 
 Ten years later, the sons of the fallen heroes are said 
 to have combined with ^Egialeus, the son of Adrastus, to 
 avenge their father's defeat. This expedition has there- 
 fore been called the war of the Epigoni (descendants), and 
 not being undertaken, like that of their fathers, in mani- 
 fest opposition to the will of the gods, proved successful. 
 Laodamas, the savage son of Eteocles, who was now King 
 of Thebes, was defeated in a decisive battle near Thebes, 
 and, after ^Egialeus had fallen by his hands, was himself 
 slain by Alcmaeon, the son of Amphiaraus. The Thebans 
 were unable any longer to hold their city, and, following 
 the advice of the blind seer Tiresias, they withdrew under 
 the cover of darkness and mist. The aged Tiresias expired 
 on the road, at the fountain of Tilphusa ; of the rest some 
 took refuge in Thessalia, and some sought other lands. 
 The victorious Argives, after plundering and partly de- 
 stroying the city, dedicated a great portion of the booty 
 among which was Manto, the daughter of Tiresias to the 
 oracle of Delphi. They then made Thersander, the son of 
 Polynices, King of Thebes ; upon which many of the fugi- 
 tive inhabitants returned. Thersander subsequently took 
 part in the Trojan war, and there perished. 
 
 4. The Trojan Cycle. -We now come to the Trojan 
 war, the fourth and most celebrated of the common under- 
 takings of the later heroic age. Here the sources of our
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 277 
 
 information are far more plentiful than in any former pe- 
 riod of mythic history, because both the grand national 
 epics, the " Iliad " and the " Odyssey," which are commonly 
 ascribed to Homer, relate to the Trojan war. As the con- 
 tents of these immortal poems are probably well known to 
 our readers, we shall only dwell on the most essential feat- 
 ures of the story. 
 
 I. THE HEROIC RACES OF THE TROJAN WAR. 1. The 
 Dardanidce, or Race of Dardanus. The royal family of 
 Troy were descended from Dardanus, a son of Zeus by 
 Electra, a daughter of Atlas. Dardanus is said to have 
 emigrated from Samothrace, or, according to others, from 
 Italy or Arcadia, to the north-west portion of Asia Minor, 
 between the range of Ida and the Hellespont, where he re- 
 ceived from King Teucer some land to form a settlement. 
 By a daughter of the river-god Simoi's, or, as others say, of 
 Scamander, Dardanus had a son called Tros, from whom 
 the Trojans derived their name. Tros had three sons 
 Assaracus, Ilus, and Ganymedes. The last, who, like all 
 the scions of the race of Dardanus, was possessed of won- 
 derful beauty, was raised by Zeus to the dignity of cup- 
 bearer to the gods, and thus became immortal. Ilus and 
 Assaracus became the founders of two different branches 
 of the Dardanian race. The latter remained in his native 
 settlement of Dardania, where he became the father of Ca- 
 pys and the grandfather of Anchises, the father of ^Eneas. 
 Ilus, on the other hand, emigrated to the plains of the 
 Scamander, where he founded the city of Ilium, or Troy. 
 After completing the town, he begged Zeus to bestow on 
 him a sign of his favor. The next morning he found in 
 front of his tent the celebrated Palladium an image of 
 Pallas Athene, carved in wood. On the possession of thia
 
 278 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 depended the fortune and welfare of the city. After the 
 death of Tins, his son Laomedon became king of Troy. At 
 his request, Poseidon and Apollo built the citadel of Per- 
 gamum. We have already related how this king, by his 
 faithless conduct, provoked the wrath of Heracles, and the 
 first capture of the city. Of his sons only Priam remain- 
 ed ; in him the race of Dardanus flourished afresh, for by 
 his wife Hecuba and by his concubines he had a great 
 number of sons and daughters. 
 
 2. The Pelopidoe, or Race of Pelops. The Pelopidse, who 
 were chiefly instrumental in the destruction of Troy, were 
 descended from the Phrygian king Tantalus, who was re- 
 nowned alike for his unexampled good fortune and his sub- 
 sequent unhappy fate. He was the son of Zeus and Pluto 
 (rich plenty), and inhabited a citadel on Mount Sipylus, 
 whence his rich pasture -lands and fruitful cornfields ex- 
 tended twelve days' journey, as far as Ida and the Propon- 
 tis. The very gods honored him with their friendship, 
 and lived on such intimate terms that they invited him to 
 eat at their table. This unheard-of good fortune, however, 
 begot in the puny mortal such presumption, that he began 
 to indulge in the grossest outrages on gods and men. At 
 length he went so far as to cut his son Pelops in pieces to 
 boil them, and set them before the gods in order to test 
 their omniscience. The cup of his iniquity now seemed 
 full, and the gods brought down a heavy retribution on the 
 head of the criminal. As to the manner in which Tanta- 
 lus lost his life and kingdom tradition leaves us in total 
 obscurity. The common story only relates his well-known 
 punishment in the lower world, where, though surrounded 
 by the most delicious fruits and standing up to his neck 
 in water, he was nevertheless condemned to suffer the
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 279 
 
 pangs of continual hunger and thirst. Another tradition 
 relates that he was kept in constant anxiety by a huge 
 rock which was suspended over his head. 
 
 The children of Tantalus were Pelops and Niobe. The 
 unhappy fate of the latter has already been described in 
 the mythic history of Thebes. Pelops was restored to 
 life by the art of Hermes ; and a portion of his shoulder, 
 which had been consumed by Demeter, was replaced by 
 the gods with a piece of ivory. Pelops is said to have 
 grown up in Olympus, among the blessed gods. On being 
 restored to earth, he proceeded to Elis, where he became a 
 suitor for the hand of Hippodamia, the beautiful daugh- 
 ter of the king (Enomaus. The latter had promised his 
 daughter to the man who should vanquish him in a chariot- 
 race : whoever failed was obliged to expiate his temerity 
 with his life, as CEnomaiis transfixed him with his unerring 
 lance as he passed. Thirteen noble youths had already 
 suffered this fate, when Pelops appeared to undergo the 
 dangerous ordeal. By means of the untiring winged 
 horses which had been given him by Poseidon, and also by 
 bribing Myrtilus, the king's charioteer who, before start- 
 ing, withdrew the linch-pins from his master's chariot or 
 replaced them with wax he came off victorious. CEno- 
 maiis either was killed by the breaking-down of his char- 
 iot, or put an end to his own life on seeing himself van- 
 quished. Pelops now obtained both Hippodamia and the 
 kingdom of Elis ; but he ill rewarded Myrtilus, who had 
 rendered him such valuable service, by casting him into 
 the sea, in order to release himself from his obligations. 
 Hermes, whose son he is reputed to have been, set him 
 among the stars as charioteer. 
 
 The sons of Pelops by Hippodamia were Atreus and
 
 280 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Thyestes, whose history, which is full of the most revolt- 
 ing crimes, formed a favorite subject with the tragic poets. 
 Indeed, they appear to have invented most of the iniquities 
 of the Pelopidse, as there is no mention of them in Ho- 
 mer. First Atreus and Thyestes murdered their step-broth- 
 er Chrysippus, and were compelled to leave their country 
 in company with their mother. They were hospitably 
 received at Mycenae by their brother-in-law Sthenelus, the 
 son of Perseus, or by his son Eurystheus. On Eurystheus's 
 death, they inherited the sovereignty of the Persida? in Ar- 
 gos, and Atreus now took up his residence in the proud 
 capital of Mycenae, whence, strange to say, the most an- 
 cient specimen of Greek sculpture has come down to us in 
 the so-called Gate of Lions. Soon an implacable enmity 
 arose between the two brothers, and Thyestes, in conse- 
 quence, was banished from Argos. He took with him, in 
 revenge, Pleisthenes, the young son of Atreus, brought 
 him up as his own son, and despatched him, later, to 
 Mycenae to kill Atreus. His design was discovered, and 
 he expiated his intended crime with his life. When 
 Atreus learned that it was his own son whom he had 
 condemned to death, he determined on a dreadful re- 
 venge. Pretending to be reconciled, he recalled Thyestes 
 and his children to Mycenae ; and Thyestes, trusting to his 
 brother's word, returned. Atreus then privately seized the 
 two young sons of Thyestes, slew them, and set this horri- 
 ble food before their father. Horror-struck at this inhu- 
 man cruelty, the sun turned his chariot and went back in 
 his course. Thyestes, uttering fearful curses against his 
 brother and the whole race of the Pelopidae, again escaped, 
 and took refuge with Thesprotus, King of Epirus. Later, 
 he succeeded, with the help of his only remaining son
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 281 
 
 ^Egisthus, in avenging himself on his brother. Atreus 
 was slain by ^Egisthus while offering up a sacrifice on the 
 sea-shore, and Thyestes now acquired the sovereignty of 
 Mycenae. The sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaxis, 
 fled from their barbarous uncle to Sparta, where Tyndareiis, 
 "the king, received them kindly, and gave them his daugh 
 ters, Clytaemnestra and Helen, in marriage. With his aid 
 Agamemnon recovered his father's kingdom, slew Thy- 
 estes, and drove out ^Egisthus. Menelaiis remained in 
 Sparta where he succeeded Tyndareiis until the carry- 
 ing-off of his wife Helen by Paris gave rise to the Trojan 
 war. 
 
 3. The ~&acidce, or Race of ^Eacus. After the sons of 
 Atreus, the ^Eacidae play the most important part in the 
 Trojan war ; in fact, we are almost justified in saying that 
 the war was an exploit of these two races of heroes and 
 their peoples, the Achseans of Argos and the Hellenes of 
 Phthia. The ancestor of the yEacida3 was ^Eacus, who 
 was renowned alike for his wisdom and justice, and on 
 this account subsequently made a judge in the lower 
 world. ^Eacus was a son of Zeus by ^Egina, a daughter 
 of the river -god Asopus. He ruled over the island of 
 ./Egina, and married Endei's, the daughter of the wise Cen- 
 taur Chiron. She bore him two sons, Peleus and Tela- 
 mon. On reaching manhood they were compelled to 
 leave their country, because, like the sons of Pelops, they 
 had murdered, in a fit of jealousy, a step-brother who was 
 a favorite with their father. Peleus betook himself to 
 Phthia, where he was kindly received by Eurytion, who 
 bestowed on him the hand of his daughter and a third 
 part of his kingdom. Peleus afterward took part in the 
 boar hunt of Calydon, on which occasion he had the mis-
 
 282 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 fortune to kill his father-in-law. In consequence of this, 
 he left Phthia and proceeded to lolcus, where he took part 
 in the funeral games which Acastus was celebrating in 
 honor of his father Pelias, who had perished by the treach- 
 ery of Medea. Here he experienced a similar fate to that 
 of Bellerophon at the court of Proetus. Astydameia, the 
 wife of Acastus, finding herself unable to seduce him, 
 slandered him to her husband, who thereupon sought to 
 take his life. After hunting on Pelion one day, Peleus 
 fell asleep, and was left thus unprotected by Acastus, who 
 hoped by this means to get rid of him. He would, indeed, 
 have been murdered by the Centaurs, if the gods had not 
 taken pity on him, and sent him by Hermes a sword of 
 wonderful power, with which he was enabled to repel the 
 assaults of the wild inhabitants of the forest. Peleus, with 
 the help of the Dioscuri, subsequently took lolcus, and put 
 the treacherous Acastus and his wife to death. As a reward 
 for his chastity, the gods gave him the goddess Thetis a 
 beautiful daughter of Nereus to wife. She bore him one 
 son, Achilleus (Achilles), the greatest and bravest hero of 
 the Trojan war. A later tradition asserts that Thetis left 
 her husband soon after the birth of Achilles, because he 
 had disturbed her when she was about to render her child 
 immortal in the fire, just as Demeter intended to do to the 
 child of Celeiis; but this story is unknown to Ilorner. 
 According to a still later legend, she plunged her son into 
 the Styx, and thereby rendered him invulnerable in every 
 part except the heel by which she held him. Like all no- 
 ble heroes, Achilles was instructed by Chiron, under whom 
 he acquired such wonderful skill in all feats of strength 
 and agility that he soon surpassed all his contemporaries. 
 In addition to Chiron, Homer names Phoenix, the son oi
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 283 
 
 Amyntor, as the instructor of the youthful hero. Achilles 
 proceeded to the Trojan war with cheerful determination, 
 although he knew beforehand that he was not fated to re- 
 turn alive. The story that his mother Thetis, in order to 
 avert his fate, sent him, disguised in women's clothes, to 
 the court of Lycomedes, King of Scyros, where he was 
 discovered by the craft of Odysseus, is a post -Homeric 
 invention. 
 
 From Telamon, the second son of ^Eacus, was descended 
 Aias or Ajax, a hero of but little less importance. Tela- 
 mon, after his flight from -^Egina, found a new home in 
 Salamis, where he married the daughter of the king Cy- 
 chreus. On the decease of Cychreus, he succeeded to the 
 crown. After the death of his first wife, he married Per- 
 iboea, a daughter of Alcathoiis, King of Megara, who bore 
 him Ajax. Tradition tells us much of the intimate friend- 
 ship of Heracles and Telamon, who took part in the Tro- 
 jan expedition of his mighty friend. Heracles, in return, 
 gave him Hesione, the daughter of Laomedon, by whom 
 he became the father of a second son, Teucer. Like every 
 celebrated hero of antiquity, he is said to have taken part 
 in the Calydonian hunt and the expedition of the Argo- 
 nauts. Nothing inferior to this brave and doughty father 
 was his son Ajax, on whom the mighty hero Heracles had 
 invoked the blessing of his father Zeus, when as a child he 
 held him in his arms. He was of greater size and strength 
 than any of the other heroes ; though he appears some- 
 what uncouth and clumsy when contrasted with the swift 
 and agile form of Achilles. His mighty shield was as 
 characteristic of him as the ponderous deadly spear was of 
 Achilles. Beside him, his brother Teucer ranks as the best 
 archer among the Greeks.
 
 284 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 4. Nestor, the Locrian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus. 
 Associated with the heroes of the race of Pelops and 
 ^Eacus were some other renowned chieftains. First among 
 them was the aged Nestor, of Pylus, whose wise counsels 
 were as indispensable to the Greeks before Troy as the 
 dauntless courage of an Achilles or an Ajax. Nestor was 
 the youngest of the twelve sons of Neleus, who was him- 
 self a son of Poseidon and Tyro, and twin brother of Pe- 
 lias. Neleus, having been driven out by Pelias, took ref- 
 uge in Messenia, where he became the founder of a new 
 kingdom. Later, however, both his sovereignty and the 
 glory of his house were wellnigh extinguished by the hos- 
 tility of Heracles, who slew all the sons of Neleus except 
 Nestor. When quite young, Nestor defeated the neighbor- 
 ing tribes of the Epei and Arcadians, and restored the do- 
 minions of his father to their former extent. He likewise 
 took part in the contest between the Lapithse and the Cen- 
 taurs, in the Calydonian boar hunt, and in the expedition 
 of the Argonauts. Though so far advanced in years hav- 
 ing ruled over three generations of men he could not 
 withstand the desire to take part in the Trojan war. 
 
 The Locrian Ajax also called the Lesser Ajax, to dis- 
 tinguish him from his mighty namesake was a son of the 
 Locrian king Oileus, of whom nothing more is known than 
 that he took part in the expedition of the Argonauts. 
 Ajax was renowned among the Greeks for his skill in hurl- 
 ing the spear and for his great fleetness, in which he was 
 surpassed only by Achilles. He always appears in a linen 
 corselet, and his followers, the Opuntian Locrians, are also 
 light-armed troops. 
 
 Diomedes was a member of the oft-mentioned race of 
 the ^Eolian AmythaonidtB. His father was the hot-headed
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 285 
 
 Tydeus, who was killed in the war of the Seven against 
 Thebes. Diomedes, who inherited no small portion of his 
 father's wild, untamable disposition, of course took part 
 in the war of the Epigoni, and subsequently succeeded his 
 grandfather Adrastus in his Argive sovereignty at Sicyon. 
 He also restored his paternal grandfather, the aged ^Etolian 
 king GEneus, who had been dethroned by the sons of his 
 brother Agrius, to his kingdom. In the " Iliad" he appears 
 as a special favorite of Pallas Athene, and Homer makes 
 him play an important part in the contests of the Greeks 
 before the walls of Troy. In post-Homeric story he is rep- 
 resented as having carried off the Trojan Palladium. 
 
 Finally, Odysseus (Ulysses), the most popular of the 
 Greek heroes of the Trojan war, was a son of Laertes, King 
 of Ithaca, by Anticlea, the daughter of Autolycus. Autoly- 
 cus inhabited a district on Mount Parnassus, and was re- 
 nowned for his cunning. His grandson seems to have in- 
 herited no small part of his grandfather's disposition. 
 Through his noble and virtuous wife Penelope, Odysseus 
 was closely related to the Atridse, Penelope being the 
 daughter of Icarins, who was a brother of the Spartan king 
 Tyndareiis. He was therefore obliged though much 
 against his will to comply with the request of Menelaiis, 
 and join the expedition against Troy. On account of his 
 wisdom and eloquence, his dexterity in all feats of strength, 
 and his dauntless valor in the midst of danger, he also was 
 a special favorite of Pallas. 
 
 II. THE WAR. The " Iliad " of Homer, the most impor- 
 tant source of our information with regard to the Trojan 
 war, does not deal with the events of the first nine years ; 
 and of those of the tenth and last year it only gives such 
 episodes as relate to the quarrel of Achilles and Agamem-
 
 286 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 non. Of the origin of the war, and the events of the first 
 nine years, it speaks only incidentally, for the sake of ex- 
 planation. The gap has to be filled up from the works of 
 those writers who had access to other epic poems of the 
 Trojan cycle, which are now no longer extant. 
 
 Eris, the goddess of discord, not having been invited to 
 the marriage festivities of Peleus and Thetis, avenged her- 
 self by casting into the assembly a golden apple, with the 
 inscription, " To the fairest." The three rival goddesses 
 Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite each claimed the apple 
 for herself, but were referred by Zeus to the decision of 
 Paris. Paris was a son of Priam, the Trojan king. Im- 
 mediately after birth he was exposed on Mount Ida, in con- 
 sequence of an ill-omened dream which his mother Hecuba 
 had during her pregnancy. He was found, however, and 
 brought up by some shepherds. He decided in favor of 
 Aphrodite, who had promised him the most beautiful wom- 
 an on earth as his wife. Soon afterward, at some games 
 given by the king, the youth, who was equally distinguish- 
 ed for his handsome person and his bodily dexterity, after 
 having wrested the prize from all his brethren, was recog- 
 nized by the prophetess Cassandra, and received into his 
 father's favor. He next undertook a journey across the 
 sea to Greece, and, among other places, visited the court of 
 Menelaiis, King of Sparta, by whom he was hospitably re- 
 ceived and entertained. Aphrodite kindled in the breast 
 of the young wife of Menelaus a fatal love for their hand- 
 some guest, who dazzled her as much by the beauty of his 
 person as by the Oriental splendor of his appearance. 
 While Menelaus was absent in Crete, and her brothers, 
 the Dioscuri, were engaged in their strife with the sons of 
 Aphareus, Helen fled with her seducer to Troy. On the
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 287 
 
 refusal of the King of Troy to surrender Helen, Menelaiis 
 succeeded in rousing the whole of Greece to a war of re- 
 venge. This task was the more easy, as most of the Gre- 
 cian chieftains had been suitors of Helen, and had bound 
 themselves by an oath to Tyndareiis to unite in support 
 of the husband whom Helen should choose, in the event 
 of his ever being injured or attacked. The well-manned 
 ships of the Greeks assembled in the Boeotian port of 
 Aulis. Their number amounted to eleven hundred and 
 eighty-six, according to Homer; of which Agamemnon, 
 who had been chosen leader of the expedition, alone fur- 
 nished over one hundred. Agamemnon, however, having 
 offended Artemis, by killing a hind sacred to the goddess, 
 the departure of the expedition was delayed by continuous 
 calms, until at length, at the command of the priest Cal- 
 chas, Agamemnon determined to appease the wrath of the 
 goddess by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia on her altar. 
 At the fatal moment Artemis rescued the victim, and, af- 
 ter substituting a hind in her stead, conveyed Iphigenia 
 to Tauris, where she became a priestess in the temple of 
 the goddess. The fleet now sailed with a fair, wind. The 
 expedition first stopped at Tenedos, opposite the coast of 
 Troy. Here, on the occasion of a banquet, Philoctetes, 
 who possessed the bow and arrows of Heracles on which 
 the conquest of Troy depended, was bitten in the foot by 
 a serpent, and on account of his cries and the offensive 
 smell of the wound was carried to Lemnos, and there left 
 to his fate. The Greeks next effected a landing on the 
 coast of Troy, in spite of the opposition of Hector and 
 ^Eneas ; for Protesilaiis devoted himself to death for the 
 Greeks, and sprung first on the Trojan shore. Even Cyc- 
 nus, the mighty son of Poseidon, who was king of Colonse
 
 288 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 in Troas, and came to the assistance of the Trojans, was 
 unable to stem the advance of the Greeks ; and his body 
 being invulnerable, he was strangled by Achilles by means 
 of a thong twisted round his neck. 
 
 After the Greeks had made a station for their ships, the 
 war began in earnest. Several of their attacks on the town 
 having been successfully repelled by the Trojans, the Greeks 
 now confined themselves to making inroads and plundering 
 excursions into the surrounding country, in which Achilles 
 was always the most prominent actor. The first nine years 
 of the war were by no means fruitful in important events, 
 and the wearisome monotony of the siege was broken only 
 by the single combat between Achilles and Troilus, the 
 youngest son of Priam, in which Troilus was slain, and by 
 the fall of Palamedes of Eubrea, the head of the Greek peace 
 party, which was brought about by the treachery of Odys- 
 seus. At length, in the tenth year of the war, a quarrel 
 broke out between Achilles and Agamemnon respecting a 
 female slave who had been taken captive, and gave for the 
 time quite another aspect to affairs. It is at this point that 
 the "Iliad" commences. Achilles, in his wrath, retired to 
 his tent, and refused to take any further part in the war ; 
 while the Trojans, who feared him more than all the other 
 Greeks, became bolder, and no longer kept to the protection 
 of their walls. Zeus, at the request of Thetis, gave them the 
 victory in their first engagement with the Greeks. Hector 
 drove the latter back to their ships, and was already about 
 to set them on fire, when Achilles consented to allow his 
 friend Patroclus to don his armor, and lead his Myrmidons 
 to the assistance of the Greeks. The Trojans were now 
 driven back; but Patroclus, in the ardor of pursuit, was 
 slain by Hector and deprived of his armor, and Menelaiis,
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 289 
 
 with the help of the Greater Ajax and other heroes, only 
 succeeded in rescuing his corpse after a bloody and obsti- 
 nate struggle. The wrath of Achilles -was now entirely di- 
 verted by the desire of avenging on Hector the death of his 
 much-loved friend Patroclus. He Was scarcely willing even 
 to wait for the new armor which his goddess-mother pro- 
 cured him from the workshop of Hephaestus. No sooner 
 was he in possession of it than he again appeared on the 
 field, and Hector the bulwark of Troy soon succumbed 
 to his furious onslaught. Achilles, however, was generous 
 enough to surrender his corpse to the entreaties of Priam. 
 The "Iliad" concludes with the solemn funeral of Hector. 
 The succeeding events, up to the death of Achilles and 
 the contest for his arms, were narrated in the "^Ethiopia" 
 of Arctinus of Miletus, with the contents of which we have 
 some slight acquaintance, although the work itself is lost. 
 All kinds of brilliant exploits are reported to have been 
 performed by Achilles before the walls of Troy, which 
 were manifestly unknown to the earlier story. In the first 
 place, immediately after Hector's death, Penthesilea, the 
 queen of the Amazons, came to the assistance of the Tro- 
 jans, and fought so bravely at the head of her army that 
 the Greeks were hard pressed. Achilles at length overcame 
 the heroic daughter of Ares. After her fall, a new ally of 
 the Trojans appeared in Memnon, King of -.Ethiopia, who 
 is called a son of Eos, because the Ethiopians were sup- 
 posed to dwell in the far East. Among those who fell by 
 the hand of this handsome and courageous hero was Antil- 
 ochus, the valiant son of Nestor. When Memnon, how- 
 ever, ventured to meet the invincible Achilles, he also was 
 vanquished, after a brave struggle. The fresh morning 
 dew, which springs from the tears of Eos, proves that she 
 
 19
 
 290 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 has never ceased to lament her heroic son. But death was 
 soon to overtake him before whom so many heroes had 
 bitten the dust. In an assault on the Scsean gate, Achilles 
 was killed, at the head of his Myrmidons, by an arrow of 
 Paris, which was directed by Apollo. According to later 
 writers, whose accounts were followed by the tragic poets, 
 he was treacherously murdered here on the occasion of his 
 betrothal to Polyxena, the beautiful daughter of Priam. 
 A furious contest, lasting the whole day, took place for the 
 possession of his corpse and armor: at length Odysseus 
 and Ajax succeeded in conveying it to a place of safety. 
 Mourning and confusion reigned among the Greeks at his 
 death. During seventeen days and nights Thetis, with 
 the whole band of Nereids, bewailed his untimely fate in 
 mourning melodies, so sad and touching that neither gods 
 nor men could refrain from tears. 
 
 " See, tears are shed by every god and goddess, to survey 
 How soon the Beautiful is past, the Perfect dies away !" 
 
 The death of the bravest of the Greeks was followed by 
 an unhappy quarrel between Ajax and Odysseus respecting 
 his arms. Ajax, on account of his near relationship to the 
 deceased hero, and the great services he had rendered to 
 the cause of the Greeks, seemed to have the best claim ; 
 but Agamemnon, by the advice of Athene, adjudged them 
 to Odysseus. Ajax was so mortified at this decision that 
 he became insane, and put an end to his own life. An en- 
 tire tragedy of Sophocles, treating of the mournful fate of 
 the son of Telamon, has come down to us. 
 
 After Ajax had quitted the scene, Odysseus became de- 
 cidedly the chief personage among the Greeks. It was he 
 who captured the Trojan seer Helenns, and extorted from
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 291 
 
 him the secret that Ilium could not be taken without the 
 arrows of Heracles. Hereupon Philoctetes, who was still 
 lying sick at Lemnos, was fetched, and his wound healed by 
 Machaon. Paris soon afterward fell by his hand. It was 
 Odysseus, moreover, who, in company with Diomedes, un- 
 dertook the perilous task of entering Troy in disguise and 
 stealing the Palladium, on which the safety of the city de- 
 pended. It was he who fetched Neoptolemus, the young 
 son of Achilles, from Scyros to the Trojan camp, it having 
 been decreed that his presence was necessary to the success 
 of the Greeks. Lastly and this was his greatest service 
 it was Odysseus who devised the celebrated wooden horse, 
 and the stratagem which led to the final capture of the 
 city. In the belly of the horse, which was built by Epeiis, 
 one hundred chosen warriors of the Greeks concealed them- 
 selves. The rest of the Greeks set fire to their camp, and 
 sailed away to Tenedos ; whereupon the Trojans, deceived 
 by the assurances of Sinon, dragged the fatal horse, amidst 
 cries of joy, into the city. In vain did the Trojan priest 
 of Apollo, Laocoon, seek to divert them from their folly. 
 None would give heed to his warnings; and when, soon 
 afterward, both he and his sons, while sacrificing to Posei- 
 don on the sea-shore, were strangled by two serpents that 
 came up out of the sea, the Trojans regarded this as a pun- 
 ishment sent by the gods for his evil counsel, and were the 
 more confirmed in their purpose. 
 
 The death of Laocoon and his sons forms the subject of one of 
 the most splendid of the creations of Greek art that have come down 
 to us from antiquity. The group was found, in the year 1506, by a 
 Roman citizen in his vineyard, close to the former Thermos of Ti- 
 tus, and was made over by him, for a considerable annuity, to Pope 
 Julius II., who then placed it in the Vatican collection. The right 
 arm of Laocoon, which was wanting, has, unfortunately, been incor-
 
 292 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 rectly restored. This is attested by a copy of the group which was 
 subsequently discovered in Naples. We give an engraving of the 
 group in its original form (Fig. 61). 
 
 It treats really of three distinct incidents, which have been skil- 
 fully incorporated by the artists to whom we owe the work (the 
 Rhodians Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus), into one harmo- 
 nious group. The eldest son is as yet unhurt, and appears to be s 
 
 Fig. 61. Laocoon. Group. 
 
 loosely held by the coils of the serpent that he might easily escape 
 his impending fate if he were not more effectually restrained by his 
 loving sympathy with his noble father, on whom he gazes with pite- 
 ous looks. Laocoon himself, who naturally forms the centre of the 
 group, is depicted at the moment in which, mortally wounded by 
 the serpent, he sinks on the altar, to rise from which he vainly exerts 
 his last remaining strength. With his left arm he still mechanical-
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 293 
 
 ly seeks to repel the serpents. His hitherto energetic resistance has 
 begun to fail, and his noble head is raised in mournful resignation to 
 heaven, as though to ask the gods why they had condemned him to 
 so terrible a fate. The dignified and resolute aspect of his counte- 
 nance forms a beautiful contrast to that of his body, which is mani- 
 festly quivering in the keenest agony. The younger son on his right 
 is already in the last agonies of death, and though his left hand 
 grasps instinctively the head of the snake, he is evidently incapable 
 of further resistance. He is drooping like a plucked flower, and hi 
 one more moment will have breathed his last. 
 
 Oil the night succeeding Laocoon's horrible end, and 
 the rejoicings of the Trojans at the apparent departure 
 of the Greeks, the Greek fleet returned in silence at a sig- 
 nal given by Sinon. The heroes who were hidden in the 
 wooden horse then descended and opened the gates to the 
 Greek host, who rushed into the doomed city. A terrible 
 scene of plunder and carnage ensued, the Trojans, in their 
 dismay and confusion, offering no resistance. The fate 
 of the sacred city was fulfilled ; Priam perished before the 
 altar of Zeus by the hand of Neoptolemus, and with him 
 the glory of Troy was laid in the dust. The men were 
 put to death; the women and children, together with the 
 rich booty, were carried off, the former being destined to 
 the hard lot of slavery. Among them was the aged queen 
 Hecuba, with all her daughters and daughters-in-law. Hel- 
 en the cause of all this misfortune was found in the 
 house of Dei'phobus, whom she had married after the death 
 of his brother Paris. 
 
 The city was burned to the ground, and, long after, oth- 
 er cities rose on its site. Still, the tradition of the siege 
 remained among the inhabitants, though, even in Roman 
 times, learned men had begun to declare that Old Troy 
 must have had another site. And now, when the last Ilium 
 had been no more for many centuries, and the very exist-
 
 294 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ence of Homer's Troy had been declared a fable, the pal- 
 ace and the traces of the conflagration have been found. 
 Dr. Schliemann has excavated the legendary site, and we 
 know now that Athene was worshipped in the city, and 
 that it perished by fire. We can hardly tell at present 
 the full importance of these discoveries, nor of those at 
 Mycenae, where the traditional tombs of the Grecian lead- 
 ers have been examined, and their long -buried wealth 
 brought to light. 
 
 III. THE RETURN. The Greeks, after sacrificing Po- 
 lyxena on the grave of Achilles at Sigeum, prepared to 
 return to their country. Few, however, were destined to 
 reach their homes without some misfortune, or, even when 
 arrived there, to experience a kindly welcome. Of the two 
 sons of Atreus, Agamemnon, after escaping a storm on the 
 coast of Euboea, landed safely on his native shores, but was 
 soon after murdered by his wife and ^Egisthus, who had, 
 during his absence, returned to Argos and married Clytsem- 
 nestra. Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess, who, in the di- 
 vision of the spoils, had fallen to Agamemnon, shared his 
 fate. She had continually predicted the unfortunate end 
 of the war and the ultimate fate of the city, but had al- 
 ways been laughed to scorn by her incredulous country- 
 men. The fate of the commander of the Greeks, with its 
 eventful consequences, was a favorite subject with the tragic 
 poets. His murder did not go unavenged. Orestes, the 
 only son of Agamemnon and Clyta3mnestra, had been hasti- 
 ly removed from the scene by his sister Electra, and sent to 
 his uncle Strophius, King of Phocis. Strophius had him 
 carefully educated with his own son Pylades, who was about 
 the same age. A most intimate friendship soon sprung up 
 between the two youths, which, from its faithfulness and
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 295 
 
 constancy, has become proverbial. On reaching manhood, 
 the sole thought of Orestes was to avenge his noble father's 
 treacherous death at the hands of the crafty ^Egisthus and 
 his mother Clytsemnestra. Accompanied by his friend Pyl- 
 ades, he returned, in the eighth year of his exile, to My- 
 cenae, and there slew both ^Egisthus and Clytsemnestra. 
 Although in so doing he had only fulfilled a duty, he yet 
 incurred the deepest guilt by the murder of her who gave 
 him birth, and at once found himself pursued by the aven- 
 ging Furies. They dogged his steps, and ceased not to 
 pursue him through all the countries of the earth, until he 
 was at length directed by the oracle at Delphi to convey 
 the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Attica. After he had, 
 with the help of his newly found sister, successfully achieved 
 this task, he was purified by Apollo (see page 1*75). Of 
 the numerous dramas that were written on the subject of 
 the fortunes of the Pelopidae, which we have here briefly 
 touched on, the "Agamemnon," " Choephorae," and " Eu- 
 menides" of ^schylus, the "Electra" of Sophocles, and 
 the "Electra" and " Iphigenia in Tauris" of Euripides, 
 are still extant. 
 
 We must now turn to the fortunes of the other Greek 
 leaders. Agamemnon's brother Menelaus was overtaken, 
 off Cape Malea, by a fearful storm, which carried him to 
 Crete and Egypt, whence, after seven years of wandering, 
 he returned to Sparta with Helen and his share of the 
 spoils of Troy. 
 
 The Locrian Ajax experienced a still more unhappy fate. 
 On the night of the destruction of Troy he had penetrated 
 into the temple of Pallas, and had not only torn away the 
 priestess Cassandra, who was clinging for safety to the al- 
 tar and statue of the goddess, but had also overturned the
 
 296 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 statue of Pallas herself. As a punishment for this offence, 
 his ship was wrecked on Cape Caphareus. He would still 
 have been able to escape with his life having succeeded 
 in getting hold of a rock if he had not given such offence 
 to Poseidon by his impious boast that he needed not the 
 help of the gods, that the god split the rock with his tri- 
 dent, whereupon Ajax fell into the sea and was drowned. 
 
 Diomedes, Philoctetes, and Idomeneus reached their 
 homes in safety, but were all soon afterward driven out, 
 after which they all three emigrated to Italy. Here Di- 
 omedes founded many towns, and was long worshipped 
 with heroic honors. 
 
 Teucer also succeeded in reaching Salamis in safety, but 
 his father Telamon was so wroth because he had not bet- 
 ter protected his brother Ajax, or, at least, avenged his 
 death, that he refused to receive him. He was, therefore, 
 likewise obliged to leave his country, and subsequently set- 
 tled on the island of Cyprus. 
 
 But of all the Greek heroes Odysseus experienced the 
 most reverses, while at home his faithful wife Penelope 
 and his son Telemachus were hard pressed by the suitors. 
 It was only in the tenth year after the fall of Troy, and 
 after numerous wanderings and vicissitudes, that he was 
 permitted to return to his native Ithaca, and punish the 
 shameless suitors who had wasted his substance and goods. 
 The story of his adventures is so well known that we 
 need not dwell on it here, further than to mention that, ac- 
 cording to post-Homeric accounts, Odysseus was killed by 
 the hand of Telegonus, his own son by Circe. 
 
 The events of the Trojan cycle have supplied not only the poet, 
 but also the artist and the sculptor, with a large number of their 
 <nost acceptable subjects. Single scenes, such as the judgment of
 
 UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 
 
 297 
 
 Paris, have been continually selected, ever since the time of Raphael, 
 as favorite subjects of representation. Of modern masters, Carstens, 
 Thorwaldsen (the great Danish sculptor), Cornelius, Genelli, and Prel- 
 ler ("Landscapes of the Odyssey") have illustrated the story of Troy 
 in a series of splendid compositions. We give an engraving of a re- 
 lief by Thorwaldsen, representing Priam before Achilles (Fig. 62). 
 
 Fig. G2. Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen. 
 
 Of the more important extant works of antiquity, we may mention 
 the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, depicted on the Fran9ais vase in 
 the Naples Museum; the abduction of Helen, depicted on a marble 
 relief in the former Campana collection, now in the Louvre (Fig. 
 63); the marble group in Rome known by the name of "Pasquino," 
 which represents Menelaiis raising the corpse of Patroclus; and, 
 lastly, the celebrated J5gina marbles in Munich. These last are the 
 remains of a marble group from the gable of a temple of Pallas at 
 ^Egina, representing a battle between the Greeks and Trojans. They 
 were discovered at ^Egina in the year 1811. King Ludwig I. of 
 Bavaria, who was a great patron of art, bought the ^Egina marbles, 
 and, after having them restored by Thorwaldsen, placed them in the 
 Munich collection. The Laocoon, the most important of all the 
 works relating to the Trojan cycle, has already been discussed.
 
 MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS. 299 
 
 V. MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS. 
 
 We have already incidentally mentioned most of the 
 seers of antiquity Melampus, the son of Amythaon, who 
 figures in Argive legend ; likewise Amphiaraiis, Tiresias, 
 and Calchas. Concerning Tiresias, we may remark that the 
 ancients ascribed to him a fabulous age, extending over sev- 
 en or even nine generations ; so that he was thus a witness 
 of all that happened to Thebes, from the foundation of the 
 city to its destruction by the Epigoni. Like all celebrated 
 soothsayers, he was acquainted with the language of birds, 
 and could penetrate the most hidden secrets of nature ; on 
 which account he enjoyed up to his death an ever-increas- 
 ing reputation among the Thebans. We have already re- 
 lated how, in extreme old age, when his native city could 
 no longer withstand the assaults of the Epigoni, he expe- 
 rienced the bitter lot of having to take refuge in flight, 
 and at length succumbed beneath the hardships of the 
 journey. In- the second century A.D. his grave was still 
 shown in the neighborhood of Haliartus. 
 
 Among the fugitive Thebans who fell into the hands of 
 the Argives is said to have been Manto, the daughter of 
 Tiresias, who was likewise renowned as a prophetess. She 
 was dedicated, together with a large portion of the spoils, 
 to the oracle at Delphi. By the command of the god she 
 was sent into Asia Minor, where she founded the oracle of 
 Claros, near Colophon. She here married the Cretan Rha- 
 cius, and became by him the mother of Mopsus, who after- 
 ward founded the oracle of Mallos in Cilicia. 
 
 Among the names of the mythic bards that have been 
 handed down to us are undoubtedly to be found some rec-
 
 300 
 
 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 ollections of those who first cultivated the art of poetry ; 
 partly, however, they are nothing more than personifica- 
 tions of certain tendencies and modes of poetry. Such is 
 probably the case with the mythic bard Linus, who was 
 
 Fig. 64 Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief iu the Villa Albani. 
 
 celebrated in Argos, Thebes, and Euboea. Nothing is more 
 common than for an unsophisticated people to burst forth 
 in lamentation over the decay and final extinction of the 
 blooming life of nature. This, as we see in the myth of 
 Hyacinthus, was often portrayed under the metaphor of a
 
 MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS. 301 
 
 beautiful boy slain by a quoit or by savage dogs both 
 symbols of the scorching heat of the sun. The dirges 
 which from time immemorial were sung over the beautiful 
 boy Linus, at the season of vintage, probably gave rise to 
 the myth which makes Linus himself the singer. 
 
 Similar doleful memories are linked with the name of 
 Orpheus, who is often termed a brother of Linus, though 
 he was really not an oEolian, but a Thracian of Pieria. 
 That which is best known of him is the story of his love 
 for the beautiful nymph Eurydice. She was bitten in the 
 foot by a snake, and thus snatched away from him by 
 death. Orpheus then filled mountain and valley with 
 songs of lamentation so piteous that the wild beasts of 
 the forest were enchanted at the sound, and followed him 
 like lambs ; and the very rocks and trees moved from 
 their places. His yearning towards his beloved Eurydice 
 induced him to descend to the lower world, to beg her re- 
 lease from the grim king of shadows. Here his piteous 
 lay caused even the Erinyes to shed tears of compassion, 
 and moved the hard heart of the Stygian king. He re- 
 leased Eurydice on condition that Orpheus should not look 
 back on her till he reached the upper world. Orpheus, 
 however, violated this condition, and Eurydice was once 
 more lost to him. He himself, not long afterward, while 
 wandering in his despair over the Thracian mountains, was 
 torn in pieces by some women, in the mad excitement of 
 their nightly Bacchanalian orgies. 
 
 A splendid representation of the second parting of the lovers by 
 Hermes, the guide of souls, has come down to us on a marble relief, 
 which is preserved in the Villa Albani (Fig. 64).
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abas, 216. 
 
 Acastus, 268, 272, 282. 
 
 Achelous, 128, 242. 
 
 Acheron, 172. 
 
 Achilles (Achilleus), 40, 195, 282, 
 
 _ 288, 290. 
 
 Achiroe, 215. 
 
 Acrisius, 216, 221. 
 
 Actaeon, 56, 198. 
 
 Actoridae, 240. 
 
 Admete, 233. 
 
 Admetus, 265, 268. 
 
 Adonis, 66. 
 
 Adrastus, 274, 285. 
 
 jEacus, 172, 281, 283. 
 
 Aedou, 207. 
 
 ^Eetes, 106, 270. 
 
 ^Egeus, 253, 256, 272. 
 
 ^Egialeus, 276. 
 
 ^Egimius, 243. 
 
 ^Egma, 208, 281. 
 
 ^Egis, 41. 
 
 ^gisthus, 74, 175, 281, 294. 
 
 ./Egyptus, 215. 
 
 ^Eneas, 67, 181, 287. 
 
 ^Eolus, 111, 207, 267. 
 
 ^Esciilapius (vide Asclepius). 
 
 jEson, 268. 
 
 ^Ethra, 253. 
 
 ./Etna, 25, 79. 
 
 Agamemnon, 57, 74, 175, 281, 294. 
 
 AgathSdasmon, 116. 
 
 Agave, 134, 197. 
 
 Igenor, 196, 215, 261. 
 
 Aglaia, 97. 
 
 Aglaurus, 250. 
 
 Agrius, 285. 
 
 Aldoneus, 169 (vide Hades). 
 
 Ajax, Telamonian, 283, 290. 
 
 Ajax, Locrian, 284, 295. 
 
 Alcaeus, 228. 
 
 Alcathous, 283. 
 
 Alcmaeon, 276. 
 
 Alcmene, 31, 221, 228. 
 
 Alecto, 174. 
 
 Ileus, 241. 
 
 Aloldae, 120. 
 
 Alth<ea, 266. 
 
 Amalthea, 23, 242. 
 
 Amazons, 208, 210-212, 233, 257 
 
 Amor, 90. 
 
 Amphiaraus, 217, 266, 269, 275. 
 
 Amphictyon, 251. 
 
 Amphlon, 197, 200. 
 
 Amphitrlte, 118, 122. 
 
 Amphitryon, 221, 228. 
 
 Amycus, 225, 269. 
 
 Amyntor, 283. 
 
 Amythaonldae, 217, 274, 284, 
 
 An&ces, 226. 
 
 Ancaeus, 265. 
 
 Anchmoe, 215. 
 
 Anchlses, 67, 277. 
 
 Androgeos, 255, 262. 
 
 Andromeda, 119, 220. 
 
 Anna Perenna, 114. 
 
 Antaeus, 120, 236. 
 
 Antea, 217. 
 
 Anteros, 66, 91. 
 
 Anthesteria, 139. 
 
 Anticlea, 285. 
 
 Antigone, 274.
 
 304 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Antilochus, 289. 
 
 Antiope, 257. 
 
 Aphareus, 224. 
 
 Aph&iidae, 224, 266. 
 
 Aphidnae, 225, 257. 
 
 Aphrodite, 31, 60, 65, 90, 98, 188, 
 
 265, 286. 
 Apollo, 18, 81, 47, 72, 175, 179, 
 
 204, 238, 278. 
 Apsyrtus, 271. 
 Aquilo, 110. 
 Areas, 110. 
 Arctus, 110. 
 Areopagus, 60, 175. 
 Ires, 31, 59, 66, 90, 197, 233, 267. 
 Arges, 22. 
 Arglphontes, 214. 
 ArgO, 268. 
 Argonauts, 106, 125, 225,232, 259, 
 
 264, 267, 268, 284. 
 Argos, 36, 214, 280. 
 Argus, 74, 214, 268. 
 Ariadne, 136, 142-144, 256, 262. 
 Aristaeus, 198. 
 Artemis, 31, 56, 179, 198, 232, 265, 
 
 287, 295. 
 
 Asclepius, 48, 111, 263. 
 Asopus, 208, 281. 
 AssarScus, 277. 
 Asteria, 22, 177. 
 Asterion, 261. 
 Astrasus, 108. 
 Astydamia, 282. 
 Atalante, 266. 
 IthSmas, 127, 267. 
 Athene, 17, 40, 187, 188, 237, 286. 
 Athene Polias, 40, 44, 252. 
 Atlas, 71, 188, 237. 
 Atreus, 279. 
 Atropos, 114. 
 Attica, 42, 250. 
 Attis(ltys), 132, 151. 
 AugS, 241. 
 
 Augeas, 232, 240, 245. 
 Aurora, 108. 
 Autolycus, 285. 
 Autonoe, 197. 
 
 Bacchus, 133. 
 
 Bellerophon (Bellerophontes), 
 
 208. 
 
 Bellona, 62. 
 Belus, 215. 
 Benthesicyme, 122. 
 Beroe, 133. 
 Bias, 217, 274. 
 Bona Dea, 154. 
 Bonus Eventus, 116. 
 Boreadee, 110, 269. 
 Boreas, 108, 110, 252. 
 Brlareus, 22. 
 Brontes, 22. 
 Busiris, 236. 
 
 Cabin, 80. 
 
 Cacus, 235, 246. 
 
 Cadmus, 31, 60, 133, 197, 250, 267, 
 
 272, 275. 
 Caeneus, 192. 
 Calais, 110,252,269. 
 Calchas, 287, 299. 
 Calliope, 93. 
 Callirhoe, 234. 
 Callisto, 110. 
 Calydonian Hunt, 225, 258, 264. 
 
 281. 
 
 CSlypso, 74. 
 C3menae, 95. 
 Capys, 277. 
 Carna (Cardea), 114. 
 Carpo, 100. 
 
 Cassandra, 286, 294, 295. 
 Cassiopea, 220. 
 Castor, 196, 203, 224, 265. 
 Catreus, 262. 
 Cecrops, 250, 251. 
 Celeus, 163. 
 Centaurs, 191,231,257. 
 Centaurs, fight with, 191. 
 Ccntimanes, 21. 
 Cephalus, 252. 
 Cepheus (^Ethiopia), 220. 
 Cephisus, 145. 
 Cerberus, 172, 228, 237. 
 Cercopes, 239.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 305 
 
 Cercyon, 120, 254. 
 
 Ceres, 31, 160, 165, 166. 
 
 Ceres (Fates), 179. 
 
 Ceto, 22, 124, 127, 219. 
 
 Ceyx, 242. 
 
 Chaos, 21. 
 
 Charites, 31, 95. 
 
 Charon, 172. 
 
 Chimsera, 209. 
 
 Chiron, 194, 198, 253, 268, 281. 
 
 Chrysaor, 220, 234. 
 
 Chrysippus, 280. 
 
 Circe, 106, 296. 
 
 Claros, oracle of, 49, 299. 
 
 Clio, 93. 
 
 Cloacma, 68. 
 
 Clotho, 115. 
 
 Clymene, 188. 
 
 Clytaemnestra, 175, 224, 281, 294, 
 
 295. 
 
 Cocalus, 263. 
 Coeus, 22. 
 
 Colossus of Rhodes, 107. 
 Cora, 161, 166. 
 Corinth, 42. 
 Corybantes, 132. 
 Corynetes, 254. 
 Cottus, 22. 
 Cranaus, 251. 
 Creon, 228, 229, 273, 275. 
 Cretheus, 268. 
 Crettsa, 272. 
 Crlus, 22. 
 
 Cronus, 22, 82, 132, 156, 194. 
 Ciipldo, 92. 
 Curetes, 23, 132, 265. 
 Cybele, 131, 149. 
 Cychreus, 283. 
 Cyclopes, 21, 80, 217. 
 Cycnus, 242, 287. 
 Cyllene, 71. 
 
 Daedalus, 262, 263. 
 Daemons, 117. 
 Damastes, 254. 
 Danae, 31, 218. 
 Danaids, 173, 215. 
 
 DSnaus, 215. 
 
 Dardanus, 277. 
 
 Death, 179. 
 
 Deianira, 242. 
 
 Deiphobus, 293. 
 
 Delphian Oracle, 49, 83, 131, 196. 
 
 Demeter, 23, 31, 128, 160, 161, 
 
 216, 279. 
 
 Demophon, 163, 260. 
 Demus, 66. 
 
 Deucalion, 187, 190, 251, 262, 263. 
 Diana, 56, 57 (vide Artemis). 
 Dice, 98. 
 Dictys, 218. 
 Didymsean Oracle, 49. 
 Diocles, 163. 
 Diomedes, Argive, 40, 196, 284, 
 
 296. 
 
 Diomedes, Thracian, 233. 
 Dione, 31, 65. 
 Dionysia, Greater, 140. 
 DTonysia, Lesser, 1 38. 
 Dionysus, 31, 66, 78, 98, 133, 152, 
 
 256. 
 Dioscuri, 224, 257, 265, 269, 282, 
 
 286. 
 
 Dirce, 200. 
 Dis, 170. 
 
 Dodona, Oracle of, 29. 
 Doris, 124. 
 Dryads, 146. 
 Dryopes, 243, 245. 
 Dryops, 149. 
 
 Echidna, 209, 230, 235. 
 
 Echo, 67, 145. 
 
 Egeria, 95. 
 
 Electra (daughter of Agamemnon), 
 
 _ 294. 
 
 Electra (daughter of Atlas), 277. 
 
 Electra (daughter of Oceanus), 
 
 124. 
 
 Electryon, 221, 228. 
 Eleusmia, 164. 
 fileusis, 163. 
 Elysium, 172, 186. 
 Emathion, 236. 
 
 20
 
 306 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Endeis, 196, 281. 
 
 Endymion, 107. 
 
 Enyo, 62. 
 
 Eos, 22, 108, 252, 289. 
 
 Epaphus, 214, 215. 
 
 Epeus, 291. 
 
 Epigoni, 276, 285, 299. 
 
 Epimetheus, 188, 189. 
 
 Epopeus, 200. 
 
 firXto, 93. 
 
 Erechtheus, 110, 251, 263. 
 
 Ergmus, 229. 
 
 Erichthomus (vide Erechtheus). 
 
 Erinyes, 116, 172, 174, 265, 301. 
 
 Eriphyle, 275. 
 
 Eris, 286. 
 
 firos, 21, 66, 67, 90. 
 
 Erysiehthon, 164. 
 
 EtCocles, 274, 276. 
 
 Eumenides, 176, 274. 
 
 Eumolpus, 163. 
 
 Eunomia, 98. 
 
 Euphrosyne, 95. 
 
 Europe (Europa), 31, 261. 
 
 Eurus, 108. 
 
 EurySle, 219. 
 
 Eurybia, 22. 
 
 Eurydice, 301. 
 
 Eurynome, 31, 78, 98. 
 
 Eur)'stheus, 229, 233, 280. 
 
 Eurytion, 191, 281. 
 
 Eurytus, 238, 243. 
 
 Euterpe, 93. 
 
 Fates (vide Moerse). 
 
 Fauna, 153. 
 
 Faunalia, 154. 
 
 Faunus, 153. 
 
 FSvomus, 110. 
 
 Fellcftas, 117. 
 
 Flora, 158. 
 
 Fontus, 88, 129. 
 
 Fortuna, 116. 
 
 Furiae (Furies) (vide Erinyes). 
 
 Gaea, 21, 23, 130, 150, 176, 235, 
 251. 
 
 GSnymedes, 102, 104, 234. 
 Ge, 21 (vide Gsea). 
 Gelanor, 215. 
 Genii, 117. 
 
 Geryones (Geryon), 220, 234. 
 Gigantes (Giants), 25. 
 Glaucus Pontius, 126. 
 Glaucus (son of Minos), 262. 
 Glaucus (son of Sisyphus), 208. 
 Gorgoneum (vide --Egis). 
 Gorgons, 22, 125, 218. 
 Graces, 97, 189. 
 Gradivus, 62. 
 Grsea;, 22, 125, 219. 
 Gratiae (vide Graces). 
 Gyes, 22. 
 
 Hades, 20, 23, 161, 169, 216, 257. 
 
 Hamadryads, 146. 
 
 Harmoma, 60, 197, 275. 
 
 Harpies, 22, 124, 269. 
 
 Hebe, 20, 31, 102, 228, 244. 
 
 Hecabe (vide Hecuba). 
 
 HecSte, 107, 177. 
 
 Hector, 287-289. 
 
 Hecuba, 278, 286, 293. 
 
 Helene (Helen), 67, 224, 257, 281, 
 
 295. 
 
 Helenus, 290. 
 
 Helios, 22, 105, 161, 234, 262. 
 Helle, 267. 
 Hephsestus, 31, 60, 66, 78, 188, 
 
 254, 264, 270, 289. 
 Hera, 17, 20, 23, 31, 35, 78, 104, 
 
 113,227,233,235,273,286. 
 Heracles, 92, 102, 123, 186, 211, 
 
 216, 227, 230-250, 269. 
 Herseum, 36. 
 
 Hercules, 235, 246 (vide Heracles). 
 Hermes, 18, 31, 66, 71, 189, 219, 
 
 237, 279. 
 Heroes, 184. 
 Herse, 250, 252. 
 Hesione, 234, 240, 283. 
 Hesperides, 106, 125, 235. 
 Hesperus, 109. 
 Hestia, 23, 82-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 307 
 
 Himerus, 67. 
 
 Hippocoon, 241, 245. 
 
 Hippodamia, 279. 
 
 Hippolyte, 257. 
 
 Hippolytus, 67, 257. 
 
 Homer, 17, 40, 59, 102, 167, 237, 
 
 285. 
 
 Honos, 227. 
 HQrae, 31, 98. 
 Hyatinthus, 48, 300. 
 Hyades, 109. 
 Hydra, 230. 
 Hygiea,41, 113. 
 Hylas, 269. 
 Hyllus, 242. 
 Hymen, 67. 
 Hymenajus, 67. 
 Hyperion, 22, 106, 108. 
 Hypermnestra, 216. 
 Hypnus, 180, 
 
 Tapetus, 22, 188. 
 
 Icarius, 224, 285. 
 
 Icarus, 263. 
 
 Ichthyocentaurs, 123. 
 
 Idas, 225, 265. 
 
 Tdomeneus, 263, 296. 
 
 Iliad, 265, 277, 285. 
 
 Ilithyia, 113. 
 
 Ilus,'277. 
 
 Inachus, 214. 
 
 Ino,126,134, 197, 267. 
 
 Inuus, 153. 
 
 16, 31, 74, 214. 
 
 locates, 209, 217. 
 
 locaste, 272. 
 
 lolaus, 231, 235, 238, 265. 
 
 lole, 238, 243. 
 
 Ion, 252. 
 
 Iphianassa, 217. 
 
 fphicles, 229, 265. 
 
 Ipbiggnia, 57, 287. 
 
 Iphitus, 238, 269. 
 
 Irene, 98. 
 
 Iris, 22, 101, 124. 
 
 Isis, 215. 
 
 Ismenian Oracle, 49. 
 
 Isthmian Games. 119. 
 Itylus, 207. 
 Ixlon, 173. 
 
 Janus, 17, 86. 
 Jason, 265, 268-272. 
 Juno, 17, 31, 39. 
 Jupiter, 17, 27, 30,42,89. 
 Juventas, 102. 
 
 Labd5cidG, 272. 
 
 Labd&cus, 207. 
 
 Lachesis, 114. 
 
 Ladon, 235. 
 
 Laertes, 285. 
 
 Lams, 207, 272. 
 
 Lampus, 108. 
 
 Laocoon, 291, 292. 
 
 Laod5mas, 276. 
 
 LSomedon, 119, 234, 240, 278- 
 
 Lapithsc, 191, 243, 257. 
 
 Lares, 182. 
 
 Larvae, 183. 
 
 Latona (vide Leto). 
 
 Learchus, 127, 267. 
 
 Leda, 31, 224. 
 
 Lemuralia, 183. 
 
 Lemures, 183. 
 
 Lenaea, 138. 
 
 Leto, 22, 31, 47, 56, 173. 
 
 Leucippus, 225. 
 
 Leucothea (vide Ino). 
 
 Liber, 141, 166. 
 
 Llberalia, 141. 
 
 Libitum, 68. 
 
 Libya, 215. 
 
 Lichas, 244. 
 
 Linus, 49, 229, 300. 
 
 Lower world, 171. 
 
 Luna, 56, 107. 
 
 Lupercalia, 154. 
 
 Lupercus, 153. 
 
 Lyseus, 136. 
 
 Lycomedes, 260, 28a 
 
 Lycus (Megara), 253. 
 
 Lycus (Thebes), 200. 
 
 Lynceus (Scythian), 164.
 
 308 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lynceus (son of Aphareus), 225. 
 Lynceus (son of Danaus), 216. 
 
 Machaon, 291. 
 
 Maia, 31, 71, 154. 
 
 Manes, 183. 
 
 Manto, 276, 299. 
 
 Mars, or Mayors, 31, 60, 89. 
 
 Marsyp,s, 148. 
 
 Mater Magna Idfea, 131, 151. 
 
 Mater Matuta, 109 (note). 
 
 Matronalia, 39. 
 
 Medea, 254, 264, 270, 282. 
 
 MMusa,41, 120,209,218. 
 
 Megapenthes, 221. 
 
 Megaera, 174. 
 
 Megara, 230, 238. 
 
 Melampus, 217, 275. 
 
 Meleager, 196, 242, 265, 269. 
 
 Melia, 214. 
 
 Melicertes, 127, 267. 
 
 Melpomene", 93. 
 
 Memnon, 108, 289. 
 
 Menelaus, 281, 286, 295. 
 
 Menestheus, 260. 
 
 Mencetlus, 188. 
 
 Mercurfus, 75. 
 
 MSrope, 208, 273. 
 
 MetfSn, 253, 263. 
 
 Metiomdae, 253. 
 
 Metis, 30. 
 
 Metus, 62. 
 
 Midas, 148. 
 
 Minerva, 17, 31, 42, 159. 
 
 Minos, 136, 172, 233, 255, 261. 
 
 Minotaur, 255, 261. 
 
 MnCm3syn6, 22, 31, 93. 
 
 Moarae, 31, 114. 
 
 M61i6nlde, 240. 
 
 Mopsus, 299. 
 
 Morpheus, 180. 
 
 MSsychlus, 80. 
 
 Mulclber, 80. 
 
 Murcla, 68. 
 
 Muses, 31,49,93, 143. 
 
 Mutunus, 155. 
 
 Myrtllus, 279. 
 
 N T aiads, 145. 
 
 Napseae, 145. 
 
 Xarcissus, 67, 145. 
 
 Neleus, 240, 245, 284. 
 
 Nemesis, 116. 
 
 Neoptolemus, 291, 293. 
 
 Nephele, 267. 
 
 Neptune (Neptunus), 121. 
 
 Nereids, 123, 220, 290. 
 
 Nereus, 22, 123, 236. 
 
 Nerio, 62. 
 
 Nessus, 242. 
 
 Nestor, 191, 196, 241, 284. 
 
 Nice, 100. 
 
 Night, 179. 
 
 Nilus, 215. 
 
 Niobe, 56, 204, 279. 
 
 Nlsus, 253, 255. 
 
 N6tus, 108. 
 
 Nycteus, 200. 
 
 Nymphs, 144, 219, 236. 
 
 Oceanids, 78, 98, 128, 194. . 
 Oceanus, 22, 31, 107, 128, t88. 
 Odysseus, 74, 120, 127, 2b5, 290; 
 
 296. 
 
 (Edipus, 176,272. 
 GEneus, 242, 265, 285. 
 (Enomaus, 279. 
 Oicles, 240. 
 <3lleus, 284. 
 
 Olympian Games, 30, 50, 226. 
 Omphale, 239. 
 Ops, 155. 
 Orcus, 179. 
 Oreads, 145, 150. 
 6restcs, 57, 175, 294. 
 OriCn, 108, 109. 
 OrTthyia, 110,252. 
 Orpheus, 49, 269, 301. 
 OschSphSrta, 256. 
 
 Paganalia, 131. 
 Palaemon, 127. 
 PSlamedes, 288. 
 Pales, 158. 
 Palladium, 277, 285, 29]-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 309 
 
 Pallas, 253, 255. 
 
 Pallas Athene (vide Athene). 
 
 Pallor, 62. 
 
 Pan, 134, 149. 
 
 Panathenaea, 42, 256. 
 
 Pandareos, 207. 
 
 Pandlon, 253. 
 
 Pandora, 188. 
 
 Pandrosus, 250. 
 
 Panes, 146, 152. 
 
 Parcae, 114, 179. 
 
 Paris, 286, 290, 291. 
 
 Parthenon, 41. 
 
 Pasiphae, 262. 
 
 Patroclus, 288. 
 
 Pegasus, 120, 209, 220. 
 
 Peleus, 67, 124, 196, 240, 265, 269, 
 
 281, 286. 
 
 Pelias, 208, 268, 282, 284. 
 Pelopidffi, 278, 295. 
 Pelops, 173, 203, 278. 
 Penates, 84, 180. 
 Penelope, 224, 285, 296. 
 Penelope (Nymph), 149. 
 Penthe'silea, 211, 289. 
 Pentheus, 134. 
 Pertbcea, 283. 
 Periclyme'nus, 241, 269. 
 PSriphetes, 254. 
 Perse, 106. 
 Persei's, 262. 
 Persephone, 31, 107, 128, 161, 
 
 166, 179, 257. 
 
 Perseus, 119, 217, 228, 280. 
 Phaxlra, 67, 257, 262. 
 Phaethou (son of Helios), 106. 
 Phaethon (horse of Eos), 108. 
 PhTloctetes, 244, 287, 291, 296. 
 Philyra, 194. 
 Phmeus, 125, 221, 269. 
 Phobus, 66. 
 Phoebe, 22, 56. 
 Phoenix, 282. 
 Pholus, 231. 
 
 Phorcys, 22, 124, 127,219. 
 Phosphorus, 109. 
 Phrixus, 267. 
 
 Phyleus, 240. 
 
 Pmthous, 191, 237, 265. 
 
 Pittheus, 253. 
 
 Pityocamptes, 254. 
 
 Pleiades, 109. 
 
 Plexippus, 266. 
 
 Pluteus, 169. 
 
 Pluto, 20, 169, 179. 
 
 Pluto (fern.), 278. 
 
 Podarces, 240. 
 
 Pceas, 244. 
 
 Polybus, 273. 
 
 Polycaste, 224. 
 
 Polycletus, 39. 
 
 Polydectes, 218, 220. 
 
 Polydeuces (Pollux), 196, 203, 224. 
 
 Polydorus, 200, 207. 
 
 Polyhymnia, 95. 
 
 Polyidus, 263. 
 
 Polynices, 274. 
 
 Polyphemus, 120. 
 
 Polyxena, 290. 
 
 Pomona, 157. 
 
 Pontus, 21, 22, 123. 
 
 Poseidon, 17, 20, 23-25, 83, 118, 
 
 208, 241. 
 Pothus, 67. 
 Priamus (Priam), 211, 240, 278, 
 
 286, 293. 
 Priapus, 154. 
 Procris, 252. 
 Procrustes, 120, 254. 
 Prcetides, 217. 
 Proetus, 209, 216, 221. 
 Prometheus, 187, 236. 
 Proserpina (vide Persephone). 
 Protesilaus, 287. 
 Proteus, 125. 
 Psyche, 92. 
 Py&nepsia, 256, 260. 
 PylSdes, 294. 
 Pyrrha, 190. 
 
 Pythia, (vide Delphian Oracle). 
 Python, 48, 218. 
 
 Quinquatrus Majores, 43. 
 QuMnus, 89.
 
 310 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Recaranup, 246. 
 
 RhSdamanthvs (Rhadamanthus), 
 
 172. 
 
 Rliea, 22, 82. 
 Rhea Cybele, 131. 
 Rhode, 122. 
 
 Salacia, 122. 
 Salmoneus, 268. 
 Salus, 114. 
 Sandon, 239. 
 Sarpedon, 261. 
 Saturnalia, 156. 
 Saturnus, 31, 155. 
 Satyrs, 146. 
 Sclron, 254, 
 Scotos, 176. 
 Scylla, 255. 
 
 Selene, 22, 56, 107, 178. 
 Semele, 31,127,133. 
 Semnse, 176. 
 Sibyls, 49. 
 Slle'ni, 146, 148. 
 Sllenus, 134, 148. 
 Silvanus, 152. 
 Simols, 277. 
 Sinis, 254. 
 Sinon, 291. 
 Sirens, 127. 
 Sirfus, 109. 
 Sisyphus, 173, 207. 
 Sleep, 179. 
 Sol, 106. 
 Solymi, 210. 
 Soter (Savior), 246. 
 Sphinx, 273. 
 Stars, the, 109. 
 Steropes, 22. 
 Sthenebrea, 217. 
 Sthgnelus, 229, 280. 
 Stheno, 219. 
 Strenfci, 114. 
 Stnges, 114. 
 StrSphlus, 294. 
 Stymphalides, 232. 
 Styx, 172. 
 Syleus, 239. 
 
 Symplegades, 269. 
 Syrinx, 147, 150. 
 
 Talos, 264. 
 
 Tantalus, 173, 203, 278. 
 
 Tartarus, 21, 24, 25. 
 
 Tolamon, 240, 265, 269, 281, 283, 
 
 296. 
 
 Teleboae, 228. 
 Telegonus, 296. 
 Telemachus, 296. 
 Telephassa, 196. 
 Telephus, 241. 
 Tellus, 131. 
 Terminus, 153, 159. 
 Terpsichore, 93. 
 Tethys, 22, 116. 
 Teucer, 240, 283, 296. 
 Teuthras, 241. 
 Thalia, 93, 95. 
 Thallo, 100. 
 Thanatus, 179. 
 Thaumas, 22, 124. 
 Thea (Thia), 22, 106, 108. 
 Themis, 22, 31, 91, 98. 
 Thersander, 276. 
 Theseus, 50, 120, 136, 192, 196, 
 
 211,237,252,262,265,209. 
 Thesmophoria, 164. 
 Thesprotus, 280. 
 Thestius, 224, 266. 
 Thetis, 67, 78, 124, 282, 286, 288, 
 
 290. 
 
 Thoosa, 120. 
 Thyestes, 280. 
 Tiberinus, 88, 129. 
 Tlresias, 276, 299. 
 Tlsiphone, 174. 
 Titans, 21, 22, 106. 
 Tlthonus, 108, 236. 
 Tityus, 48, 173. 
 Toxeus, 266. 
 Triptolemus, 163. 
 Triton, 122, 123,151. 
 Trollus, 288. 
 TrOs, 104, 234, 277. 
 Tyehe, 116.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 311 
 
 Ty-deus, 242, 269, 275, 285. 
 Tyndareus, 224, 241, 281, 285. 
 Typhoeus, 25. 
 T^phon, 230, 235. 
 Tyro, 268. 
 
 tllysses (vide Odysseus). 
 
 Urania, 93. 
 
 Uranus, 21, 23, 25, 176. 
 
 Venus, 67. 
 Vertumnus, 157. 
 
 Vesta, 83, 181. 
 Victoria, 100. 
 Vulcan (Volcanus), 78, 80. 
 
 Winds, the, 110. 
 
 Zephyrus, 108, 110. 
 Zetes, 110,252,269. 
 Zethus, 197, 200, 207. 
 Zeus, 16, 20, 23, 27, 35, 72, 104, 
 134, 187, 213. 
 
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