{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_61901/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_61901","id":"gutenberg_61901","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61901","summary":null,"tags":["Art, Greek","Art, Roman","Category: Art","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Mythology, Classical"],"text":"Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 61901-h.htm or 61901-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/61901/pg61901-images.html)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/61901/61901-h.zip)\n\n\n      Images of the original pages are available through\n      Internet Archive. See\n      https://archive.org/details/TheMythologyOfGreeceAndRome\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\n      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).\n\n\n\n\n\nGreek and Roman Mythology\n\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 53.\u2014Head of Niobe. Florence.]\n\n\nTHE MYTHOLOGY OF GREECE AND ROME\n\nWith Special Reference to Its Use in Art\n\nEdited by\n\nG. H. BIANCHI, M.A.\n\nLate Scholar of St. Peter\u2019S College, Cambridge Brotherton Sanskrit\nPrizeman, 1875\n\nWith Sixty-four Illustrations\n\nNew and Revised Edition\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon: Chapman and Hall, Ld.\n\nMade and Printed in Great Britain.\nRichard Clay & Sons, Limited.\nPrinters, Bungay, Suffolk.\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                                PREFACE.\n\n\nNo apology can be needed for introducing to the public a work like the\npresent. There has long been a want of a book which should, in a\nmoderate compass, give a clear and readable account of these legends;\nfor Dictionaries of Mythology do not give a view of the subject as a\nwhole; and the price of most other works on the Greek and Roman myths\nwould prevent their being used as class-books. These considerations have\nled the publishers to bring out this book in an English dress.\n\nIf any should be inclined to ask what Mythology has to do with men of\nthe present day, the reply is plain. The works of art in our galleries\nand museums require a certain amount of knowledge of the mythology of\nthe Greeks and Romans for the full appreciation of their subjects. There\nis hardly any literature in Europe which has not been more or less\ncoloured by these legends; and in our own day their power to inspire the\npoet has by no means ceased. Nay, they have incorporated themselves into\nour very language: \u201cHerculean strength\u201d is almost as common an\nexpression now as it was two thousand years ago; and we still talk of\n\u201cchimerical\u201d expectations, describe a man as \u201ctantalised,\u201d and use the\nSphinx as the symbol of the mysterious.\n\nThe present work, translated from the German of O. Seemann, seems well\nadapted to convey a knowledge of these myths. It is illustrated with\ncuts after some of the masterpieces of ancient and modern art.\nParticular attention has been paid to this branch of the subject, and\nthe principal works of art in each case are mentioned.\n\nThe distinction between Greek and Roman deities and heroes has been\npreserved, but the conventional spelling has been retained. A full index\nis appended, in which the quantities of the vowels are carefully marked.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                           TABLE OF CONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n                              INTRODUCTION.\n  I. SUBJECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY                            11\n II. POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS                                13\n\n                   PART I.\u2014COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY                     17\n\n                           PART II.\u2014THE GODS.\n\n THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.\n\n A.\u2014SUPERIOR DEITIES.\n     Zeus (Jupiter)                                                   22\n     Hera (Juno)                                                      31\n     Pallas Athene (Minerva)                                          34\n     Apollo                                                           40\n     Artemis (Diana)                                                  48\n     Ares (Mars)                                                      51\n     Aphrodite (Venus)                                                56\n     Hermes (Mercurius)                                               62\n     Heph\u00e6stus (Vulcanus)                                             68\n     Hestia (Vesta)                                                   71\n     Janus                                                            74\n     Quirinus                                                         77\n\n B.\u2014SECONDARY DEITIES.\n  1. Attendant and Ministering Deities\u2014\n     Eros (Amor)                                                      78\n     The Muses                                                        80\n     The Charites (Grati\u00e6)                                            83\n     Themis and the Hor\u00e6 (Seasons)                                    84\n     Nice (Victoria)                                                  85\n     Iris                                                             86\n     Hebe (Juventas)                                                  87\n     Ganymedes                                                        88\n  2. The Phenomena of the Heavens\u2014\n     Helios (Sol)                                                     89\n     Selene (Luna)                                                    91\n     Eos (Aurora)                                                     92\n     The Stars                                                        93\n     The Winds                                                        93\n  3. Gods of Birth and Healing\u2014\n     Asclepius (\u00c6sculapius)                                           94\n     Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing                            96\n  4. Deities of Fate\u2014\n     The M\u0153r\u00e6 (Parc\u00e6)                                                 98\n     Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathod\u00e6mon (Bonus Eventus)        98\n\n THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS.\n     Poseidon (Neptunus)                                             100\n     Amphitrite                                                      104\n     Triton and the Tritons                                          105\n     Pontus and his Descendants\u2014\n       _Nereus and his Daughters_                                    105\n       _Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto_                                      106\n     Proteus                                                         107\n     Glaucus                                                         107\n     Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes                                   108\n     The Sirens                                                      109\n     The Race of Oceanus                                             109\n\n THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD.\n     G\u00e6a (Tellus)                                                    112\n     Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Id\u00e6a)                                  113\n     Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber)                                    114\n     The Nymphs                                                      123\n     The Satyrs                                                      125\n     Silenus                                                         126\n     Greek and Roman Wood-Spirits\u2014\n       _Pan_                                                         128\n       _Silvanus_                                                    131\n       _Faunus and Fauna_                                            131\n     Priapus                                                         133\n     Saturnus and Ops                                                133\n     Vertumnus and Pomona                                            135\n     Flora                                                           136\n     Pales                                                           136\n     Terminus                                                        137\n     Demeter (Ceres)                                                 137\n     Persephone (Proserpina)                                         143\n     Hades (Pluto)                                                   146\n     The Lower World                                                 147\n     The Erinyes (Furi\u00e6)                                             150\n     Hecate                                                          153\n     Sleep and Death                                                 154\n\n ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY.\n     The Penates                                                     156\n     The Lares                                                       157\n     The Larv\u00e6, Lemures, and Manes                                   158\n\n\n                          PART III.\u2014THE HEROES.\n\n INTRODUCTORY                                                        159\n\n THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND                     162\n\n PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS\u2014\n     The Lapith\u00e6 and the Centaurs                                    165\n     Theban Legend\u2014\n       _Cadmus_                                                      170\n       _Act\u00e6on_                                                      171\n       _Amphion and Zethus_                                          172\n     Corinthian Legend\u2014\n       _Sisyphus_                                                    179\n       _Glaucus_                                                     180\n       _Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons_                   180\n     Argive Legend\u2014\n       _Io_                                                          185\n       _Dana\u00fcs and the Dana\u00efds_                                      186\n       _Pr\u0153tus and his Daughters_                                    187\n       _Perseus_                                                     188\n     The Dioscuri                                                    194\n     Heracles (Hercules)                                             197\n       _The Birth and Youth of Heracles_                             198\n       _Heracles in the Service of Eurystheus_                       199\n       _Deeds of Heracles after his Service_                         206\n       _Death and Apotheosis_                                        211\n       _Heracles as God_                                             212\n     Attic Legend\u2014\n       _Cecrops_                                                     217\n       _Erechtheus, or Erichthonius_                                 218\n       _Theseus_                                                     219\n     Cretan Legend\u2014\n       _Minos and the Minotaur_                                      227\n       _Talos_                                                       229\n\n COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE\u2014\n     The Calydonian Hunt                                             230\n     The Argonauts                                                   232\n     The Theban Cycle                                                237\n     The Trojan Cycle                                                241\n     The Heroic Races of the Trojan War\u2014\n       _The Dardanid\u00e6, or Race of Dardanus_                          241\n       _The Pelopid\u00e6, or Race of Pelops_                             242\n       _The \u00c6acid\u00e6, or Race of \u00c6acus_                                245\n       _Nestor, the Locrian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus_            247\n     The War                                                         249\n     The Return                                                      257\n\n MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS                                              262\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n\n FIG.                                                               PAGE\n   1. Bust of Cronus. Vatican Museum,                                 20\n   2. Cameo of Athenion                                               21\n   3. Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Museum,                               27\n   4. Jupiter Verospi. Vatican Museum,                                29\n   5. Coins of Elis with Phidias\u2019 Zeus. (After\n        Overbeck.)                                                    30\n   6. Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum,                                 32\n   7. Head of Hera, perhaps after Polycletus. Naples,                 33\n   8. Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican,                                    38\n   9. Athene Polias. Villa Albani,                                    39\n  10. Pallas Athene. Naples,                                          40\n  11. Apollo Belvedere. Vatican,                                      44\n  12. Head of Apollo Belvedere,                                       45\n  13. Apollo Cithar\u0153dus. Munich,                                      47\n  14. Diana of Versailles,                                            50\n  15. Mars Ludovisi,                                                  55\n  16. Bust of Ares. Sculpture Gallery at Munich,                      56\n  17. Venus of Milo. Louvre,                                          60\n  18. Venus Genetrix. Villa Borghese,                                 61\n  19. Resting Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples,                        66\n  20. Statue of Hermes. Capitoline Collection,                        67\n  21. Heph\u00e6stus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum,                 70\n  22. Vesta Giustiniani. Torlonia Collection,                         74\n  23. Head of Eros. Vatican,                                          78\n  24. Eros trying his Bow. Capitoline Museum,                         79\n  25. Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum,                                      80\n  26. Melpomene. Vatican,                                             81\n  27. Euterpe. Vatican,                                               82\n  28. The Hor\u00e6. Relief from the Villa Albani,                         85\n  29. Victoria. United Collections in Munich,                         86\n  30. Hebe. From Antonio Canova,                                      88\n  31. Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen,                      89\n  32. Asclepius. Berlin,                                              95\n  33. Head of Asclepius. British Museum,                              96\n  34. Night and the Fates. From Carstens,                             97\n  35. Poseidon. Dolce Gem,                                           103\n  36. Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of\n        Lysicrates,                                                  116\n  37. The so-called Sardanapalus in the Vatican,                     119\n  38. Youthful Dionysus. From the Chateau Richelieu, now\n        in the Louvre,                                               120\n  39. Marble Head of Youthful Dionysus at Leyden,                    121\n  40. Sleeping Ariadne. Vatican,                                     122\n  41. Dannecker\u2019s Ariadne. Frankfort-on-the-Main,                    123\n  42. Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery,                       126\n  43. Pan. From a Mural Painting at Herculaneum,                     130\n  44. Demeter Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii. Naples,              142\n  45. Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii.\n        Naples,                                                      145\n  46. Head of Hades. Palazzo Chigi. Rome,                            147\n  47. Three-formed Hecate. Capitoline Museum,                        154\n  48. Metope of the Parthenon,                                       166\n  49. From the Frieze of the Temple at Bass\u00e6                         167\n  50. Centaur teaching a boy to play upon the Pipe.\n        Relief by Kundmann,                                          169\n  51. Act\u00e6on. Group. British Museum,                                 172\n  52. Farnese Bull. Naples,                                          174\n  53. Head of Niobe. Florence,                           _Frontispiece_.\n  54. Niobe. Florence,                                               178\n  55. Amazon. Berlin,                                                183\n  56. Perseus and Andromeda. Marble Relief in the Museum\n        at Naples,                                                   192\n  57. Rondanini Medusa. Munich,                                      193\n  58. Farnese Hercules,                                              215\n  59. Elgin Theseus. British Museum,                                 225\n  60. Theseus Lifting the Rock. Relief in the Villa\n        Albani,                                                      226\n  61. Laoco\u00f6n. Group,                                                255\n  62. Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen,                  260\n  63. Rape of Helen. Campana Collection. Paris,                      261\n  64. Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief in the Villa\n        Albani,                                                      263\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                       GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\n\n\n\n                             INTRODUCTION.\n\n\n               I.\u2014SUBJECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.\n\nMyths may be described as poetic narratives of the birth, life, and\nactions of the old heathen gods and heroes or demigods. Both myth and\nlegend[1] are distinguished from the \u201cM\u00e4hrchen,\u201d or popular tale, by not\nbeing, like the latter, a mere product of the imagination, but always\nbeing founded on some preceding reality, whether that be an\noft-recurring phase of nature, or a distinct and real occurrence. It is\noften most difficult to recognise with any precision the true germ of a\nmyth, on account of the numerous additions and alterations made by the\npoets. And therefore the question, whether a particular tradition be a\nmyth or not, is very hard to answer: on one side we are tempted to view,\nin the god or demigod, the hero of a tribe magnified to superhuman\nproportions by the admiration of posterity; and, on the other side,\ncomparison of the legends of different families of nations points us to\nthe operations of nature, not only in the demigod or the hero, but in\nthe animals of fable and the traditions of the nursery.\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n  The German word \u201csage\u201d (legend) is really only a translation of the\n  Greek word \u201cmythos,\u201d and is often used in that sense. But lately the\n  custom has tacitly sprung up of employing the term \u201cmythos\u201d when\n  speaking of the life or actions of the gods, and \u201csage\u201d when speaking\n  of those of heroes.\n\nA large proportion of these myths are due to men\u2019s observations of\nNature, and her various active and creative forces, which appeared to\ntheir lively Southern fancy as manifestations of single supernatural\nbeings. These were regarded, now as friendly, now as hostile, to man;\nand men therefore strove as eagerly to gain their favour as to appease\ntheir wrath. Of the appearance of the deities who thus manifested\nthemselves in the workings of nature, men necessarily formed at first\nvery crude and fantastic ideas. But later, when men emerged from the\nsimple conditions of the early patriarchal epoch, and began to dwell in\nregular political communities, they gradually ceased to regard the gods\nas mere personifications of natural forces. They began to regard them as\nbeings acting in accordance with unchangeable moral laws, and endowed\nwith forms similar to those of men (Anthropomorphism). They brought the\ngods into connection with each other by means of genealogies in a great\nmeasure artificial, and built up a vast political system, which has its\ncentre in Zeus, the \u201cfather of gods and men.\u201d\n\nStrange to say, however, it was only among the Greeks that this system\nof development prevailed. The nations of Italy still continued to regard\ntheir gods as mere natural forces\u2014that looked down on them in a cold,\nstrange fashion\u2014of whose form and mode of life they had no clear idea.\nIt was only later, when the Romans came into intellectual contact with\ntheir Greek neighbours, and began to study their language and\nliterature, that they adopted the popular Greek conceptions concerning\nthe gods. They now transferred existing myths, and fathered them on\nthose of their own gods and goddesses who bore the closest resemblance\nto the Greek divinities, and harmonised best with their natural\ninterpretation. Thus it was that the Roman Jupiter was identified with\nthe Greek Zeus, Juno with Hera, Minerva with Athene; though for peculiar\ndeities, such as Janus, they could find no Greek prototype.\n\n\n                 II.\u2014POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS.\n\nWe learn most concerning the conceptions the ancients formed of their\ngods from the numerous Greek and Roman poets whose works have come down\nto us, and who contributed so largely to the construction of the myths.\nFirst, both in antiquity and importance, are the poems attributed to\nHomer, in which we find the whole political system of Olympus, with Zeus\nat its head, already constructed.\n\nHenceforth the gods, in outward appearance at least, are endowed with\nforms entirely human; more grand and beautiful and majestic, but still\nnot verging on the monstrous or fantastic.\n\nNot only in beauty and grandeur, but also in strength and vigour, do the\ngods surpass men. Let but Zeus shake his ambrosial locks, and the whole\nof Olympus trembles. The other deities are also endowed in proportion\nwith great strength. As corporeal, indeed, they are limited in regard to\nspace, and cannot therefore be omnipresent; but this restriction affects\nthem far less than mortals, for they can compass the greatest distances\nat lightning speed. In a moment Athene drops from the heights of Olympus\ndown to Ithaca; and Poseidon, the ocean-god, passes in three or four\nsteps from Samothrace to \u00c6g\u00e6 in Eub\u0153a. Moreover, the gods can see and\nhear at a much greater distance than men. In regard to hearing, indeed,\nthey seem to have unlimited powers. Prayers ascend to them from every\nplace, irrespective of their personal presence. In the same manner Zeus,\nfrom his high throne in Olympus, sees all that passes among men, and,\nsitting on the highest summit of Mount Ida, he can follow all the events\nof the battle that rages before Troy.\n\nOn the other hand, the gods are subject to the same bodily wants as men.\nThey refresh themselves in the same way with sleep, and have to support\nthemselves with food and drink. Here again, however, they are far less\nfettered than mortals, for they can hold out much longer without\nsatisfying these wants. Nor is their food so coarse as that of men; they\nlive on ambrosia and nectar. Another natural necessity is clothing, on\nthe tasteful ordering of which the goddesses even bestow extraordinary\ncare, and in this, as in many other respects, greatly resemble the\ndaughters of Eve. Although later art delights in representing some of\nthe deities either slightly clothed or quite naked, yet we cannot justly\nconclude from this that the popular belief of the ancients conceived\nthus of those gods.\n\nGods endowed with frames like those of mortals must necessarily be born\nin the same way, and develope gradually both in mind and body. But here,\nagain, everything proceeds with the utmost rapidity. For instance, the\nnew-born Hermes rises from his cradle to steal the cattle of Apollo,\nand, coming into the world in the morning, he is found in the afternoon\nplaying on the lyre, which he has himself invented. The most important\npoint, however, in which they surpass mortals is that, when once in full\npossession of bodily and intellectual powers, they never grow old, but\nremain ever young and beautiful, ever free from disease and death.\nCompared with the race of men, who are subject to need and pain, they\nare the \u201chappy,\u201d \u201cblessed\u201d gods, the gods \u201cwho live at ease,\u201d who can\nreadily gratify every desire. But this does not by any means prevent\ntheir suffering occasionally from the pangs of sorrow and grief; they\nare vulnerable alike in body and soul, and exposed to every kind of\npainful sensation. So completely did the Greeks subject their gods to\nhuman passions.\n\nAs regards mental qualifications they are naturally far superior to men.\nIn the first place, they stand higher morally; they shun all that is\nevil, impure, and unjust, and visit with punishment the impiety and\ninjustice of man. This, again, does not prevent their giving way to\nevery description of vice and folly, such as deceit, lying, hatred,\ncruelty, jealousy, &c. They are far from holy, therefore, in the sense\nin which we speak of the Supreme Being. Still less are they conceived as\nomniscient or omnipotent. Their powers indeed are great, and so is their\nknowledge. They are able to interrupt the course of nature\u2014to send\nsudden storms, pestilences, and other evils\u2014to endow themselves or\nothers with any forms they like, and to do many other things, of which\nwe read in fairy tales. But even Zeus, to whom a far greater measure of\npower is accorded than to other gods, and on whose will the government\nof the universe depends, is himself subjected to the immutable decrees\nof fate; whilst the possibility of deceiving and duping him is by no\nmeans excluded.\n\nWhere then are we to seek for the explanation of these apparent\ninconsistencies? We have already said that the active and creative\nforces of Nature were personified by the imagination of men. Let us take\none of the first conceptions likely to spring up\u2014that of the love of the\nheaven for the earth, from which all nature is born. Different names\nwill be used in different localities; men will at last forget that they\nall once meant the same, and out of the simple personification will\nspring a series of divine marriages; or if one be recognised by the\nwhole nation as the wife, the other brides will sink into mistresses.\n\nSo with the everlasting war of the sun with the clouds; we shall not\nonly find several gods of the light in Greece, but almost every tribe\nhad a particular hero, whose great deeds we shall generally find to be\nthose of the sun. Yet in the midst of all this confusion, men had a\nfeeling that there was something above them better and holier than they,\nto which that which is good and holy alone was pleasing. This idea was\nmore and more attached to Zeus himself, as the notion grew that Zeus was\nthe supreme god, the king of heaven.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                    PART I.\u2014COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY.\n\n\nBy Cosmogony, we understand the legends relating to the creation of the\nworld; by Theogony, those relating to the origin of the gods. On both\npoints we have to deal with the Greeks alone, since the Romans never\nindulged in any researches of this kind. All that their poets have to\nsay on the subject is, without exception, borrowed from the Greeks.\n\nAccording to the common account the world was formed out of Chaos. By\nthis, however, we must not understand a huge and shapeless mass, but\nmerely dark, unbounded space. The accounts of the poets vary very\nmaterially as to how the world proceeded from Chaos. The most popular\nview is that according to which G\u00e6a or Ge (the earth) first issued from\nChaos; whereupon Tartarus (the abyss beneath the earth) immediately\nsevered itself, and Eros (the love that forms and binds all things)\nsprang into existence. G\u00e6a then begot of herself Uranus (heaven), the\nmountains, and Pontus (the sea).\n\nThe first gods who peopled this new world were begotten of the earth\npartly by Uranus and partly by Pontus. From her union with Uranus sprang\nthe Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Centimanes; from her union with Pontus\nvarious sea-deities.\n\n1. The race of Uranus. According to Hesiod there were twelve Titans: six\nmales\u2014Oceanus, C\u0153us, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus; and six\nfemales\u2014Thia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Ph\u0153be, and Tethys. The\ninterpretation of these divinities is somewhat difficult, but they\ndoubtless represented the elementary forces of nature. The Cyclopes were\nthree in number\u2014Brontes (thunder), Steropes (lightning), and Arges\n(sheet-lightning): these, we can clearly see, refer to the phenomena of\nthe storm. The Centimanes (hundred-handed), again, are three in\nnumber\u2014Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes. These, too, represent destructive\nforces of nature\u2014perhaps the earthquake, the tempestuous sea, and the\nstorm-wind.\n\n2. The race of Pontus. By Pontus G\u00e6a became the mother of the fabulous\nsea-deities\u2014Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia. These, again,\nhad numerous descendants. Nereus represents the sea in its quiet state:\nwe shall have to speak of him and his daughters later on. Thaumas\nrepresents to us the majesty of the sea. He is the father of Iris (the\nrainbow), and of the Harpies (storm-winds). Lastly, Phorcys and Ceto,\nfrom whose union the frightful Gorgons and Gr\u00e6\u00e6 proceeded, typify all\nthe dangers and terrors of the sea.\n\nMany marriages also took place among the Titans themselves. The numerous\nsea-nymphs are descended from Oceanus and Tethys; from Hyperion and Thia\ncome the deities of the light\u2014Helios (sun), Selene (moon), and Eos\n(dawn); from C\u0153us and Ph\u0153be the deities of the night\u2014Leto (dark night)\nand Asteria (starry night).\n\nThe most important of all the Titans, however, are Cronus and Rhea, who\npave the way for the universal dominion of their son Zeus.\n\nUranus, fearing lest his last-born sons, the powerful Cyclopes and\nCentimanes, might one day seize his power, buried them directly after\nbirth in the deep abyss beneath the earth. This displeased G\u00e6a, their\nmother, who thereupon prompted the Titans to conspire against their\nfather, and induced Cronus, the youngest and bravest of them, to lay\nviolent hands on Uranus. Uranus was mutilated, cast into chains, and\ncompelled by his sons to abdicate his sovereignty, which now passed to\nCronus. But Cronus was not long destined to enjoy the fruits of his\ncrime. The curse of Uranus, who prophesied that he would suffer a like\nfate at the hands of his own son, was fulfilled. So anxious was he to\navert such a catastrophe, that he swallowed his children immediately\nafter their birth. Five had already suffered this fate\u2014Hestia, Demeter,\nHera, Hades, and Poseidon. But their mother Rhea, grieved at their lot,\ndetermined to rescue her next son, Zeus, by a stratagem. In the place of\nher child, she gave to her suspicious and cruel husband a stone wrapped\nin swaddling clothes, which he swallowed without further examination.\nZeus, who was thus rescued, was reared by the nymphs in a grotto on\nMount Dicte, in Crete. The she-goat Amalthea served as his nurse, whilst\nthe bees brought him honey to eat. In order that the cries of the child\nmight not betray his presence to his suspicious father, the Curetes, or\nattendant priests of Rhea, drowned his voice in the clashing of their\nweapons. Zeus remained thus hidden until he had become a mighty though\nyouthful god. He then attacked and overthrew his father Cronus, whom he\nalso compelled, by means of a device of G\u00e6a, to bring forth the children\nthat he had devoured. One part of the Titans\u2014Oceanus, Themis, Mnemosyne,\nand Hyperion\u2014submitted without hesitation to the dominion of the new\nruler of the world. The others, however, refused allegiance; but Zeus,\nafter a contest of ten years, overthrew them, with the help of the\nCyclopes and Centimanes. As a punishment, they were cast into Tartarus,\nwhich was then closed by Poseidon with brazen gates. Thessaly, the land\nwhich bears the clearest traces of natural convulsions, was supposed to\nhave been the scene of this mighty war. Zeus and his adherents fought\nfrom Olympus; the Titans from the opposite mountain of Othrys.\n\nComparison of the legends of other nations does not show us any such\nelaborate genealogy. Zeus has his counterparts almost everywhere, and\nUranus himself appears in India; but Cronus, in the sense of the father\nof Zeus, is probably traceable to the common epithet of Zeus, Cronion,\nwhich was assumed in later times to be a patronymic. It was natural to\ndeduce from the idea that one power of nature sprang from another, the\nexpression that the god of the first power was the child of the god of\nthe second; it would perhaps be more correct to say that it was the same\nthing to the early races of men. As to the wars, which were so great a\nstumbling-block to the Greek philosophers, we may notice that the\nsupreme god must, of course, have been the son of a supreme god; and\nyet, if his predecessor were supreme, must have dispossessed him.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 1.\u2014Bust of Cronus. Vatican Museum.]\n\n  The Titans, not being actually objects of worship, were not\n  frequently represented in ancient art. Cronus is the only exception,\n  which may be explained by the fact that the Romans identified him\n  with their own Saturn, or harvest-god. He is generally depicted with\n  a severe and gloomy expression of countenance, the back of his head\n  being veiled, as a symbol of his reserved character. In the Vatican\n  Museum at Rome there is a bust of this kind in good preservation, an\n  engraving of which we give (Fig. 1).\n\nAfter his victory over the Titans, Zeus shared the empire of the world\nwith his two brothers, Poseidon and Hades. The former he made ruler of\nthe ocean and waters; the latter he set over the infernal regions;\neverything else he retained for himself. This new order of things,\nhowever, was by no means securely established. The resentment of G\u00e6a led\nher to produce with Tartarus, her youngest and most powerful son, the\ngiant Typhoeus, a monster with a hundred fire-breathing dragons\u2019 heads,\nwhom she sent to overthrow the dominion of Zeus. A great battle took\nplace, which shook heaven and earth. Zeus, by means of his never-ceasing\nthunderbolts, at length overcame Typhoeus, and cast him into Tartarus,\nor, according to later writers (Pindar and Virgil), buried him beneath\nMount \u00c6tna in Sicily, whence at times he still breathes out fire and\nflames toward heaven.\n\nSome poets tell of another rebellion, that of the Giants, against the\ndominion of Zeus. These are said to have sprung from the drops of blood\nwhich fell on the earth from the mutilated body of Uranus. From the\nplains of Phlegra, in Thessaly, they sought to storm Olympus by piling\nPelion on Ossa. But after a bloody battle, in which all the gods took\npart, the two were conquered, and sent to share the fate of the\nvanquished Titans. The dominion of Zeus was now securely established,\nand no hostile attack ever after disturbed the peaceful ease of the\ninhabitants of Olympus.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 2.\u2014Cameo of Athenion.]\n\n  The early history of Zeus, as well as his contests for the empire of\n  the universe, commonly called the Giganto-machia, was a favourite\n  subject with Greek art. In the more ancient of these works the\n  Giants do not differ, either in form or appearance, from the Gods\n  and Heroes. In later works they are represented with the bodies of\n  dragons, only the upper portion of the body being human. They appear\n  thus on the celebrated cameo of the Naples Museum, where Zeus, in\n  his chariot drawn by four fiery horses, is in the act of charging\n  them (Fig. 2).\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                           PART II.\u2014THE GODS.\n\n\n                        I.\u2014THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.\n\n\n                          A.\u2014SUPERIOR DEITIES.\n\n\n=1. Zeus (Jupiter).=\u2014Chief of the celestial deities is Zeus, called by\nthe Romans Jupiter, the controller and ruler of the universe. As being\nthe god of heaven _par excellence_, the \u201cSkyfather,\u201d he is to both\nnations the source of all life in nature, and from his gracious hand are\nshed blessing and abundance. All the phenomena of the air were supposed\nto proceed from him. He gathers and disperses the clouds, casts forth\nhis lightning, stirs up his thunder, sends down rain, hail, snow, and\nfertilising dew on the earth. With his \u00e6gis\u2014an impenetrable shield hung\nwith a hundred golden tassels, in the midst of which the fearful head of\nthe Gorgon is fastened\u2014he produces storm and tempest. The \u00e6gis, though\noften meaning shield, is properly a goat-skin fastened to and supporting\nthe true shield; later it appears as a short cloak, and even as a\nbreastplate, covered with scales, and fringed with serpents. It is not\noften found in representations of Zeus; though a statue of him at Leyden\nshows it, and in a cameo he is seen with it wrapped around his left arm:\nsimilarly it was common to wrap the chlamys or scarf round the left arm,\nfor purposes of defence. The \u00e6gis usually belongs to Athene, who borrows\nit from her father in the _Iliad_. She is seen wearing it in Fig. 9. In\nthis word we probably see a confusion of two ideas, different, though of\nsimilar origin; from the same root that gives us the \u201cspringing\u201d goat we\nhave the storm-cloud \u201ctossed\u201d over the sky.\n\nThe ancients, however, were not content to regard Zeus merely as a\npersonification of Nature; they regarded him also from an ethical\nstandpoint, from which side he appears far more important and awful.\nThey saw in him a personification, so to speak, of that principle of\nundeviating order and harmony which pervades both the physical and moral\nworld. The strict unalterable laws by which he rules the community of\nthe gods form a strong contrast to the capricious commands of his father\nCronus. Hence Zeus is regarded as the protector and defender of all\npolitical order. From him the kings of the earth receive their\nsovereignty and rights; to him they are responsible for a conscientious\nfulfilment of their duties. Those among them who unjustly exceed their\npowers and pervert justice he never fails to punish. Zeus, moreover,\nalso presides over councils and assemblies, keeps watch over their\norderly course, and suggests to them wise counsels. One of the most\nimportant props of political society is the oath; and accordingly, as\nZeus Horkios (\u1f45\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2, _deus fidius_ of the Romans), he watches over\noaths, and punishes perjury. He also watches over boundaries, and\naccompanies the youths of the land as they march to the defence of their\ncountry\u2019s borders, giving them the victory over the invaders. All civil\nand political communities enjoy his protection; but he particularly\nwatches over that association which is the basis of the political\nfabric\u2014the family. The head of every household was therefore, in a\ncertain sense, the priest of Zeus. It was he who presented the offerings\nto the god in the name of the family. At his altar, which generally\nstood in the middle of the court (in small households this was\nrepresented by the hearth), all strangers, fugitives, and suppliants\nfound shelter. As Zeus Xenius (_hospitalis_) he protects the wanderer,\nand punishes those who violate the ancient laws of hospitality by\nmercilessly turning the helpless stranger from their door.\n\nThe superstition of early times saw in all the phenomena of the heavens\nmanifestations of the divine will. Thus the chief deity of heaven was\nnaturally regarded as the highest source of inspiration, and was\nbelieved to reveal his will to men in the thunder, the lightning, the\nflight of birds, or dreams. As the supreme oracular deity, Zeus not only\nhad an oracle of his own at Dodona in Epirus, which was the most ancient\nin Greece, but also revealed the future by the mouth of his favourite\nson Apollo. Though he possessed no proper oracle among the Romans, yet\nthe latter looked with all the more care and anxiety on the phenomena of\nthe air and sky, the right interpretation of which formed a special and\ndifficult branch of knowledge.\n\nZeus was the earliest national god of the Greeks. His worship extended\nthroughout the whole of Greece, though some of his shrines had a special\nimportance. The most ancient of them was that at Dodona, where the\nPelasgian Zeus was worshipped at a time prior to the existence of any\ntemples in Greece. He was here represented in the celebrated form of the\nsacred oak, in the rustling of whose branches the deity revealed himself\nto the faithful. He was also worshipped on the summit of Mount Tomarus,\nat the foot of which lay Dodona\u2014mountain-tops being naturally the\nearliest seats of his worship. But all the earlier shrines were\novershadowed by the great national seat of the worship of Hellenic Zeus\nat Olympia, on the northern banks of the river Alpheus, in Elis, where\nthe renowned Olympian games were celebrated. The magnificent statue of\nZeus, by Phidias, was an additional inducement to devotees, who flocked\nthither from every quarter.\n\nNeither was the worship of Jupiter any less extensive in Italy. The most\nrenowned of all his shrines was undoubtedly the temple erected by\nTarquin on the Capitol at Rome. This, after being nearly destroyed by\nfire in the time of Sulla, was restored to more than its pristine\nsplendour. The original earthen image was replaced by a statue of gold\nand ivory, the work of the Greek artist Apollonius, after the model of\nthe Olympian Zeus.\n\nBefore proceeding to discuss the god as he appears in art, we must take\na glance at his numerous family. The mythology of the Greeks stands in\nnotorious contrast to that of the Romans, in attributing to Zeus a great\nnumber of mortal as well as immortal spouses, and an unusually numerous\nposterity. Here we must remark that, in spite of the occasional jokes of\nthe comic poets on the numerous amours of the god, and the consequent\njealousy of Hera, there was nothing farther from the intention of the\nGreeks than to represent the supreme deity of heaven as a sensual and\nlascivious being. The explanation lies partly in the great number of\ncontemporaneous local forms of worship that existed independently of\neach other, and partly in the fact that the lively fancy of the Greek\npictured every new production under the guise of procreation. In that\npart of mythology which teaches the genealogy of the gods, the earliest\nwife of Zeus was Metis (prudence), the daughter of Oceanus. Zeus\ndevoured her, fearing lest she should bear a son, who would deprive him\nof the empire it had cost him so much to attain. It was soon after this\nthat he produced Pallas Athene from his own head. His second\ngoddess-wife was Themis, one of the Titans, by whom he became the father\nof the Hor\u00e6 and the M\u0153r\u00e6 (Fates). Dione appears as the wife of Zeus of\nDodona, and the mother of Aphrodite; whilst Arcadian Zeus was wedded to\nMaia, by whom he had Hermes. By Demeter (Ceres) he became the father of\nPersephone (Proserpine, goddess of vegetation); by Eurynome, a daughter\nof Oceanus, of the Charites (Graces); by Mnemosyne, of the Muses; by\nLeto (Latona), of Apollo and Artemis. The youngest of all his divine\nwives, who was recognised by later mythology as his only legitimate\nqueen, was his sister Hera. By her he became the father of Ares (Mars),\nHeph\u00e6stus (Vulcan), and Hebe.\n\nAmong his mortal mistresses the most celebrated is Semele, the daughter\nof Cadmus, king of Thebes, and mother of Dionysus. The others\u2014Leda,\nDana\u00eb, Alcmene, Europa, and Io\u2014will be mentioned hereafter.\n\nThe mythology of the Romans, as we have already remarked, first depicted\nJupiter as devoid of all family ties. It was only after their religion\nhad been Hellenised that men termed him the son of Saturn and Ops, made\nJuno his wife and Minerva his daughter.\n\n  Statues of Zeus were necessarily very numerous, both from the great\n  extent of his worship and the great number of his temples that\n  existed in Greece. Of all these the most renowned was the\n  magnificent statue of Zeus at Olympia, the work of the Athenian\n  sculptor Phidias (500\u2013432 B.C.). The figure was seated on a lofty\n  throne, and was more than 40 feet high. It was made of gold and\n  ivory, or more probably a statue of wood was overlaid with plates of\n  ivory and gold. The uncovered parts\u2014the face, throat, breast, and\n  hands\u2014were of ivory. In his right hand was a figure of Victory, also\n  of gold and ivory; in his left was a royal sceptre, on the top of\n  which perched an eagle. The numerous lengthy descriptions that exist\n  can give us but a faint idea of the lofty majesty that the sculptor\n  diffused over the countenance of the god. The object of Phidias was\n  to represent him to mankind, not only as the omnipotent ruler of\n  Olympus, far superior to all gods and men, both in power and wisdom;\n  but also as the gracious father of all, and the kindly dispenser of\n  all good gifts. The hair, which rose straight from the brow, and\n  then fell in equal divisions on either side, imparted to the face a\n  lion-like expression of conscious power. This was rendered still\n  more effective by the high forehead and strongly-formed nose. At the\n  same time, the expression of the slightly-opened lips lent an idea\n  of kindly benevolence. The story goes that Phidias, after completing\n  the statue, prayed of the god a sign that he was well pleased with\n  his work. Zeus thereupon caused a flash of lightning to descend\n  through the open roof of the temple, and thus acknowledged his own\n  image.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 3.\u2014Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Museum.]\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 4.\u2014Jupiter Verospi. Vatican Museum.]\n\n  This sublime masterpiece of Phidias, which was reckoned among the\n  seven wonders of the world, continued in existence, though not\n  without injury, for upwards of 800 years. It appears to have been\n  destroyed by fire in the time of Theodosius III.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 5.\u2014Coins of Elis with Phidias\u2019 Zeus. (After\nOverbeck.)]\n\n  The following are the most important of the existing statues of Zeus\n  by Greek and Roman sculptors. The first in point of artistic worth\n  is a bust of Zeus, in Carrara marble\u2014now in the Vatican Museum at\n  Rome\u2014which was discovered in the last century at Otricoli (Fig. 3).\n  The union of serene majesty and benevolence is the chief feature in\n  the sublime countenance. Next comes a colossal statue in marble,\n  known as the Jupiter of Verospi, also in the Vatican Museum (Fig.\n  4). Lastly, there is a bust of Zeus, discovered at Pompeii, and now\n  in the Museum at Naples, besides an equally beautiful bronze statue\n  in the British Museum, found at Paramythia in Epirus. On comparing\n  all the extant art monuments of Zeus, we may gather that the object\n  of ancient art was to present him especially as the benign ruler of\n  the universe, sitting enthroned in conscious majesty and blissful\n  ease on the heights of Olympus. His characteristic features are the\n  clustering hair, falling like a mane on either side of his fine\n  arched brow, and the rich wavy beard. His attributes consist of the\n  sceptre, as a symbol of his sovereignty; the thunderbolt; the eagle;\n  the votive bowl, as a symbol of his worship; the ball beneath or\n  near his seat, as a symbol of the universe he rules; and, lastly, a\n  figure of Victory. His head is sometimes adorned with a garland of\n  oak-leaves, the oak being sacred to him; and sometimes with an\n  olive-branch or plain band, the latter being a mark of sovereignty.\n  In Fig. 5 we give an engraving of two coins of Elis, one of which is\n  in the Florentine and the other in the Paris Museum.\n\n\n=2. Hera (Juno).=\u2014Hera, according to Homer, was the eldest of the\ndaughters of Cronus and Rhea. She is the feminine counterpart of Zeus,\nher brother and husband. She represents the air or atmosphere; for which\nreason she, like Zeus, was supposed to control the phenomena of the air\nand sky, and, as queen of heaven, shared with him all the honours of his\nposition. Her conjugal relations to Zeus, which form the substance of\nall the myths that refer to her, afforded the poets a rich and\nproductive material for serious and sportive poetry. They sang of the\nsolemn marriage of Zeus and Hera, the remembrance of which was\ncelebrated at springtide with festive offerings and marriage rites\nbefore the shrine of the goddess. Neither did they fail to tell of the\nconjugal strife of the royal pair, and of the cruel fate which overtook\nthe mortal women who enjoyed the favours of Zeus. It was thus that\njealousy and contention became the leading features in the character of\nthe goddess; whereas, both in her worship and in the representations of\nartists, she appears as a gracious and kindly deity, the especial\nprotectress of her own sex.\n\nThe natural signification of Hera appears to have quickly disappeared\namong the Greeks, and she seems to have been chiefly honoured as the\nguardian of the marriage tie. The nobleness of the woman who preserves\ninviolate the sanctity of this bond finds in her its most sublime\nexpression. As the special patroness of marriage, she was supposed to\nwatch over its sanctity, to vouchsafe the blessing of children, and to\nprotect women in childbirth.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 6.\u2014Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum.]\n\nThe worship of Hera was originally not very extensive. The cradle of her\nworship was Argos, on which account she is often termed Argive. Argos,\nMycen\u00e6, and Sparta are pointed out in the time of Homer as her favourite\ntowns. Her worship naturally extended as her new character of goddess of\nmarriage became more prominent. In B\u0153otia and Eub\u0153a her worship was very\nancient, but her chief shrine was the Her\u00e6um, between Argos and Mycen\u00e6.\nHere was a most magnificent statue of the goddess, made of ivory and\ngold, the work of the Sicyonian artist, Polycletus.[2]\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n  Polycletus, a native of Sicyon, was a sculptor, architect, and caster\n  in bronze. He was a contemporary of Phidias, and, next to him, the\n  most celebrated artist of antiquity.\n\nJuno (properly Jovino) takes the same place as goddess of childbirth and\npatroness of marriage among the Romans as Hera did among the Greeks. In\naddition to this she was venerated, under the name of Juno Regina, as\nthe tutelary deity of the city and empire of Rome. Her chief shrine was\non the Capitol, where she had a separate chapel in the temple of\nJupiter. The Matronalia, the chief festival of the goddess, was\ncelebrated on the first day of March, when all the matrons of the city\nmarched in procession to her temple on the Esquiline, and there offered\nher flowers and libations. The victims usually sacrificed to Juno were\nyoung heifers: her sacred birds were the goose and the crow, to which\nthe peacock of the Greek Hera was afterwards added.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 7.\u2014Head of Hera, perhaps after Polycletus. Naples.]\n\n  The most celebrated of the art monuments that relate to Juno is the\n  Juno Ludovisi, a colossal marble bust of remarkable beauty, which,\n  thanks to casts and photographs, is tolerably well known. Her lofty\n  and commanding countenance is the ideal of perfect womanly beauty,\n  combining in a rare degree woman\u2019s chief ornaments\u2014dignity and\n  grace.\n\n  After this comes the Juno Barberini of the Vatican Museum, an entire\n  and upright figure of great size (Fig. 6), distinguished by the\n  admirable draping of the garments. The Farnese Juno, now in the\n  Naples Museum, also deserves mention. In the same museum there is a\n  singularly beautiful head of Hera (Fig. 7), which perhaps lays claim\n  to reflect the conception of Polycletus.\n\n  The characteristic features of Juno are a somewhat prominent chin,\n  expressing unbending determination of will; somewhat curling lips,\n  well-defined nostrils, large full eyes, and a high and noble\n  forehead. The attributes of the goddess consist of the sceptre and\n  diadem, significant of her power; the veil (often omitted in the\n  statues of later artists), as a symbol of the married woman; the\n  votive bowl in the hand, the pomegranate as a symbol of love, and\n  the peacock or goose at her feet, also at times the cuckoo, as\n  herald of spring.\n\n\n=3. Pallas Athene (Minerva).=\u2014The accounts which the Greeks gave of the\nbirth of Pallas vary considerably. The most common is that which has\nbeen already mentioned. According to this, Zeus produced her from his\nhead, which he had ordered Heph\u00e6stus to cleave open. The great goddess\nof war, in full armour, with poised spear, then sprang forth from her\nfather\u2019s head, chanting a war-song, whilst a mighty commotion both on\nsea and land announced the great event to the world. In her physical\ncharacter Pallas appears as the goddess of the dawn. The birth of the\ndawn from the forehead of the sky is not only a natural idea, but one\nwhich can be traced in the legends of other nations. Several of the\nother stories of her birth are connected with the name Tritogenia, the\ndaughter of Tritos, a god, whose name, though not actually found in\nGreek mythology, may be traced in Amphitrite, Triton, and the Lake\nTritonis. This name, which originally expressed the birth of the dawn\nfrom the water, was afterwards explained in various ways, and the first\npart was even derived from a provincial Greek word meaning head. Looked\nat from her ethical side, she appears as the goddess of wisdom, a\nreflection and personification of that profound wisdom and sagacity with\nwhich Father Zeus controls the destinies of the world. Hence we may\neasily gather the other features of her character. She is, in the first\nplace, the protectress of states; and all that their welfare requires in\npeace or war proceeds from her. Thus she appears as goddess of peace as\nwell as war. In the latter capacity she accompanies the army on its\nmarch, inspires the soldiers with ardour for the fray, and rewards them\nwith victory and rich spoils; she also affords her mighty protection to\ntowns and cities at home. In Homer she figures, besides, as the kindly\nguide and protectress of individual heroes, such as Odysseus, Achilles,\nDiomedes. It was she who first taught mankind to manage the horse, and\nto build ships and chariots; she also invented the war-trumpet and\nflute. As goddess of war she usually wears, besides helmet, shield, and\nspear, the dreadful \u00e6gis. The latter, in art monuments, is represented\nas a breastplate covered with dragon\u2019s scales, and surrounded with\nserpents, in the midst of which is the dreadful head of Medusa, which\nhas the effect of turning every one that looks on it into stone.\n\nAs goddess of peace, Athene is equally lavish in blessing. Everything\nnecessary either to the physical or intellectual welfare of mankind was\nbelieved to proceed from her, and to be subject to her influence.\nAccordingly, useful inventions of all kinds are ascribed to her. It was\nshe who first gave men the rake and the plough; it was she who invented\nthe distaff and loom, as well as the art of dyeing woven stuffs, and\nmany other feminine accomplishments.\n\nBy later writers this skill in art is extended to other things, and she\nis represented as the patroness of every branch of science, art, and\nmanufacture.\n\nShe is also called Athene Hygiea, because she was believed to send pure\natmosphere, to ward off pestilence, and to promote the growth and health\nof the youth of the land.\n\nWe cannot wonder, therefore, that the worship of a goddess so\nbenevolent, and exercising such an important influence on human life,\nwas very extensive in Greece. Nowhere did she receive a higher degree of\nveneration than at Athens, of which city she was really the tutelary\ndeity. Her most important shrine was the Parthenon (temple of the virgin\ngoddess), which was erected by Pericles on the Acropolis, and the\nremains of which, even in the present day, excite the wonder and\nadmiration of the world. The whole land of Attica was, indeed, in a\ncertain measure, the peculiar property of the goddess, which she won\nafter her well-known contest with Poseidon. Zeus had decreed the\nsovereignty over Attica to that deity who should bestow on the land the\nmost useful present. Poseidon thereupon created the horse; but Athene\ncaused the olive-tree to grow, and was thus held to have won the\nvictory. The sacred olive-tree, which was thus called into existence,\nwas shown in the Temple of Erechtheus on the Acropolis, and possessed\nsuch a wonderful vitality that, when the Persians burnt it after\ncapturing the town, it immediately put forth a fresh shoot. Argos and\nCorinth were also renowned seats of the worship of Pallas Athene; and\nshe also enjoyed the highest veneration in Sparta, B\u0153otia, Thessaly,\nArcadia, and Rhodes.\n\nThe Roman Minerva, whose name was derived from a root meaning \u201cto\nthink,\u201d was Hellenised at a very early period, and identified with the\nGreek Pallas. In Rome, however, the warlike character of the goddess was\ncompletely merged in that of the peaceful inventress and patroness of\nthe art and sciences, and of all handiwork of women. She was here\nworshipped, in company with Jupiter and Juno, as the tutelary deity of\nthe city and empire, and had, in consequence, her own shrine in the\ntemple of Jupiter Capitolinus. She also had temples on the Aventine and\nC\u0153lian hills, to which a third was added by Pompey, in 61 B.C., in the\nCampus Martius.\n\n_Festivals of the goddess._\u2014The Panathen\u00e6a, the chief festival of the\nGreek Pallas, were celebrated with great pomp every four years. A solemn\nprocession passed through the streets of Athens up to the Acropolis; and\nan offering was made to the goddess in the shape of a costly garment\n(peplus), artistically embroidered by the Athenian maidens. Horse races,\nathletic and musical contests, took place at the same time. Another\nfestival of less importance, called the Lesser Panathen\u00e6a, was\ncelebrated every year at Athens in honour of the goddess.\n\nAt Rome the chief festival of Minerva, the Quinquatrus Majores, was held\non the 19th of March, and was, in later times, extended to five days. It\nwas especially observed by all engaged in intellectual pursuits, and by\nartists and artisans. As Minerva was also patroness of schools, the\nschoolboys also took part in the celebration, and enjoyed a welcome\nholiday.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 8.\u2014Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican.]\n\n  The virgin goddess was at all times a favourite subject with ancient\n  art. Even in the earliest times, before casting in bronze or marble\n  sculpture was known, while the images of the gods were as yet rudely\n  carved in wood, Pallas was a frequent subject of delineation. These\n  wooden images usually represented the goddess as standing upright\n  with poised spear in front of the battle, and were then called\n  Palladia. Men delighted to believe them to have fallen from heaven,\n  and to be a sure means of protection against hostile attack. When\n  Greek art was in its prime, the first masters vied with each other\n  in the representation of the goddess. Phidias outdid them all in his\n  renowned statue of Athene Parthenos, which stood in the temple on\n  the Acropolis. The figure was 39 feet high, and was constructed of\n  ivory and gold. Its majestic beauty naturally formed one of the\n  chief attractions of the magnificent temple. It disappeared, without\n  leaving any clue behind it, during the stormy period of the invasion\n  of the nomadic tribes. In proceeding to give an account of the most\n  important existing statues of the goddess, we must first mention a\n  magnificent marble bust which King Ludwig I. of Bavaria procured for\n  the Munich collection, and which was formerly in the Villa Albani,\n  at Rome. The goddess here wears a tight-fitting helmet, the top of\n  which is decorated with a serpent, the emblem of wisdom. Her\n  breastplate, which is bordered with serpents, falls like a cape over\n  her shoulders, and is fastened in the middle by the Gorgon\u2019s head, a\n  terrible but striking contrast to the pure and noble countenance of\n  the goddess. A fine bust, with a delicate and youthful expression of\n  countenance, is preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome.\n\n  Another, not less beautiful, but with grave and almost masculine\n  features, was discovered in the excavations of Pompeii, and is now\n  in the Naples Museum.\n\n  Among existing (full-length) statues, the Pallas Giustiniani, of the\n  Vatican Museum at Rome, is held to be the finest (Fig. 8). This\n  probably once stood in a Roman temple, having been found in a place\n  where there was formerly a temple of Minerva. This statue, in\n  accordance with the Roman conception, bears a more peaceable\n  character, although neither the spear nor helmet are wanting. Next\n  come two statues found near Velletri, one of which is in the\n  Capitoline Museum at Rome, whilst the other forms a chief ornament\n  of the Louvre collection in Paris. Both represent the goddess in the\n  character of a benign deity fostering all peaceful works, with a\n  gentle but earnest expression of countenance.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 9.\u2014Athene Polias. Villa Albani.]\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 10.\u2014Pallas Athene. Naples.]\n\n  The Farnese Minerva of the Naples Museum and the \u201cHope\u201d copy in\n  London betray similar characteristics. On the other hand, in a\n  statue discovered at Herculaneum (now at Naples), Minerva appears as\n  a warlike goddess, in an evidently hostile attitude (Fig. 10). This\n  is also the case with the celebrated statue at the Louvre, which, on\n  account of the necklace worn by the goddess, is generally called\n  _Minerve au Collier_; and again in a statue of the Villa Albani, in\n  which a lion\u2019s skin thrown over the head takes the place of the\n  helmet (Fig. 9).\n\n  On combining the characteristic features of Minerva, we may gather\n  that her most prominent trait is a lofty seriousness, well befitting\n  the chaste, grave character of the virgin goddess. The closed lips\n  and the prominent chin betray a determined and resolute disposition,\n  whilst her mien and bearing give token of strength and dignity.\n\n  Among the favourite animals of Minerva we may mention the serpent,\n  the owl, and the cock. The first is a symbol of wisdom, the second\n  of profound meditation, and the last of eager desire for the fray.\n  The attributes of Minerva consist of the \u00e6gis, which serves as a\n  shield, the spear, and the helmet. The helmet is sometimes adorned\n  with the figures of griffins, significant of the overpowering might\n  of the wearer. The statues are all fully clothed, in accordance with\n  the chaste character of the goddess.\n\n\n=4. Apollo.=\u2014As Athene is the favourite daughter of Zeus, so Apollo\nranks as the most glorious and beautiful of his sons. Like other sons of\nZeus, he is a god of light, and, indeed, the purest and highest\nrepresentative of this mighty power in nature. His mother, Leto\n(Latona), is a representative of the darkness of the night. According to\nthe sacred legend, she was compelled when pregnant to wander about,\nbecause mankind, dreading the appearance of the mighty god, refused to\nreceive her. This myth was afterwards altered by later writers, who\nassign the jealousy of Hera as the cause of her wanderings. Leto at\nlength found a refuge on Delos, which was once a floating island, and\nhad to be fastened to the bottom of the sea by means of lofty columns.\nAs the bright god of heaven, to whom everything impure and unholy is\nhateful, we find Apollo, soon after his birth, preparing to do battle\nwith the evil powers of darkness. With his arrows he slew both the giant\nTityus and the serpent Python, the latter a monster that inhabited the\nvalley of the Plistus, near Delphi, and destroyed both men and cattle.\nThese and similar myths are merely a panegyric on the conquering power\nexercised by the genial warmth of Spring over the dark gloom of Winter.\n\nBut though Apollo thus appears as the foe of all that is evil and\nimpure, ancient myths, nevertheless, represent him also as a terrible\ngod of death, sending virulent pestilences and dealing out destruction\nto men and animals by means of his unerring arrows. This may be easily\nexplained, however, by glancing at the natural signification of the god.\nThe rays of the sun do indeed put to flight the cold of winter, but as\ntheir heat increases they themselves ultimately become the cause of\ndisease and death. This is beautifully portrayed in the fable of the\ndeath of Hyacinthus.\n\nTo proceed further in the analysis of his character as god of light,\nApollo next appears as the protector of streets and houses. A conical\npillar was usually erected at the side of the doors of houses as a\nsymbol of him, and a defence against all sorceries. Connected with this\nis his repute as a god of health; one who is indeed able to send disease\nand death, but who, on the other hand, is all-powerful to protect\nagainst physical maladies. This feature in his character, however, is\nmore extensively developed in the person of his son, Asclepius\n(\u00c6sculapius). But it is not only outward ills that this wonder-working\ndeity can cure: as the true redeemer from sin and crime, he alone can\nafford consolation to guilty souls. Even those pursued by the Furies he\nsometimes receives in tenderness and pity, a fine instance of which is\nfound in the story of Orestes. It is here that we must seek the\nexplanation of his character as god of music; in the fact that it\nexercises so soothing and tranquillising an influence on the soul of\nman. His favourite instrument was the lyre, which he was wont to play\nwith masterly skill at the banquets of the gods, whilst the Muses\naccompanied him with their wondrous strains. Apollo was therefore\nregarded as the leader of the Muses (Musagetes); and all the great\nsingers of antiquity, such as Orpheus and Linus, are mythically\nrepresented as his sons.\n\nBut Apollo attained his greatest importance among the Greeks as god of\nprophecy. His oracles continued to exercise an important influence on\nsocial and political life, even down to the latest times. The\ninspiration of Apollo was distinguished by the fact that the god\nrevealed the future less by means of outward signs than by inducing an\necstatic condition of mind bordering on madness in those persons through\nwhom he wished to proclaim his oracles. These were generally women and\nmaidens, who, either at oracular shrines proper, or dwelling alone as\nSibyls, gave forth the responses of the god. In early times they were\nsomewhat numerous. There was an oracle at Clarus, near Colophon; an\noracle at Didyma, near Miletus; and an oracle on the Ismenus, near\nThebes. These were eventually all thrown into the shade by that of\nDelphi. The responses of this oracle exercised, during a long period of\nGrecian history, an all-powerful influence, especially on the Dorian\ntribes. The convulsions of the Pythia, or priestess of Apollo, were\nbrought about partly by the chewing of laurel leaves, and partly by the\ngaseous vapours that issued from a cleft in the earth beneath the sacred\ntripod. The ecstatic condition in which she gave the responses, which\nwere comprehensible only to the initiated priests, manifested itself in\na foaming at the mouth and in convulsions of the body.\n\nDelphi naturally became the chief seat of the worship of Apollo. The\ngorgeous temple was rebuilt in the time of the Pisistratid\u00e6, after the\ndestruction of the old one by fire. Its wealth from offerings became so\ngreat that their value was computed at 10,000 talents (more than\n\u00a32,000,000). In the neighbourhood of Delphi the Pythian games were\ncelebrated in the third year of every Olympiad.\n\nThe shrine of the god at Delos, his birthplace, was little less\nrenowned. The sanctuary itself was situated at the foot of Mount\nCynthus; but the whole island was sacred to the god, for which reason no\none was buried there. Here, too, games, said to have been instituted by\nTheseus, were celebrated every four years in honour of the god. Apollo\nhad, besides, a great number of less celebrated shrines and temples, not\nonly in Greece, but also in Asia Minor, and wherever the Greek colonies\nextended.\n\nThe Apollo of the Romans, as his name indicates, was transferred to Rome\nfrom Greece. At a comparatively early period men began to feel the want\nof a prophetic deity, as the Roman gods, although they vouchsafed hints\nas to the future, confined their responses to a mere Yea or Nay.\nMoreover, in the character of god of healing, he was early admitted into\nthe Roman system, as we gather from the fact that the first temple\nreally dedicated to Apollo was erected in 429 B.C., under the pressure\nof a grievous pestilence. The worship of Apollo was especially exalted\nby the Emperor Augustus, who ascribed his victory at Actium chiefly to\nthe assistance of the god. He accordingly erected a magnificent temple\nto Apollo on the Palatine, which was embellished with the celebrated\nstatue of Apollo Cithar\u0153dus, by Scopas.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 11.\u2014Apollo Belvedere. Vatican.]\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 12.\u2014Head of Apollo Belvedere.]\n\n  This remark leads us to contemplate the different statues of the\n  god. Apollo constantly bears a very youthful appearance, and is\n  always beardless. His figure is strong and handsome, his head\n  covered with fair clustering locks, and his face expressive of\n  majesty, but marked withal by a cheerful serenity. Such is the\n  original and fundamental type, which was usually followed in the\n  representation of the god. It was principally developed by Scopas\n  and Praxiteles, who belonged to the later Attic school, which\n  flourished from the end of the Peloponnesian war to the reign of\n  Alexander the Great. The principal creation of Scopas was a marble\n  statue, representing the god as a Pythian Cithar\u0153dus with the lyre\n  in his hand, clothed in a long robe reaching to the feet.\n\n  This invaluable work was procured by Augustus for the temple he\n  erected to Apollo on the Palatine. Praxiteles, a younger\n  contemporary of Scopas, acquired considerable renown by his bronze\n  figure of a youthful Apollo pursuing a lizard (Apollo Sauroctonus).\n\n  In existing art monuments sometimes the conception of a warlike,\n  vengeful deity obtains, in which case the god is represented as\n  nude, or nearly so, and armed with quiver and bow. At other times\n  he wears a mild and benevolent aspect; he is then distinguished by\n  his lute, and completely enveloped in a chlamys. Of the former\n  kind is the most beautiful and celebrated of all his existing\n  statues, the Apollo Belvedere, which was discovered in 1503, near\n  Nettuno, the ancient Antium, and is now in the Vatican. The proud\n  self-consciousness of a conquering deity is inimitably expressed\n  in his whole attitude. He stands with his right hand and leg\n  against the trunk of a tree, his left arm outstretched, with the\n  \u00e6gis, probably as a symbol of fear and terror, in his hand. The\n  serpent creeping up the tree is a symbol of the powers of darkness\n  vanquished by the god (Fig. 11). It may also be taken as the\n  symbol of life and healing, like the serpent of Asclepius (see p.\n  96). We have also given a larger engraving of the head of the\n  Belvedere Apollo, in order to afford a clearer idea of its\n  wondrous beauty (Fig. 12).\n\n  The so-called Apollino, of the Florence gallery, a youthful figure\n  resting after battle, is a work of scarcely less beauty. The shape\n  of the body, which is entirely nude, is wonderfully soft and\n  delicate. With his left arm the god leans upon a tree; in his left\n  hand he negligently holds the bow, whilst his right hand is raised\n  to his head in a meditative fashion. The Farnese Apollo of the\n  Naples Museum possesses an equally graceful form. The god is here\n  represented as a musician; in his left hand he holds the lyre,\n  whilst his right glides over the strings. The animated expression of\n  his face, indicating his entire devotion to his art, is exquisitely\n  beautiful. The goose at his feet, which was regarded even by the\n  ancients as a music-loving bird, appears to drink in with rapture\n  the heavenly tones.\n\n  In those works which represent the god as a Pythian lute-player in a\n  long Ionian garment, we perceive an almost feminine figure and a\n  visionary expression of face. The most important works of this kind\n  are the Apollo Cithar\u0153dus of the Munich collection (Fig. 13),\n  formerly called the Muse of Barberini, which is marked by a somewhat\n  quieter attitude; and the so-called Apollo Musagetes of the Vatican\n  collection, which is characterised by a lively dancing movement of\n  the figure, and is generally regarded as an imitation of the\n  masterpiece of Scopas already mentioned. A pure and heavenly\n  inspiration seems to pervade the features of the laurel-crowned god;\n  his mighty lyre, to the tones of which he appears to be singing, is\n  suspended from a band across the chest, and is aptly adorned with\n  the portrait of Marsyas, his vanquished rival.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 13.\u2014Apollo Cithar\u0153dus. Munich.]\n\n  Lastly, the graceful statue of Apollo Sauroctonus (Lizard-slayer)\n  deserves mention. Many copies of it still exist, the chief of which\n  is a marble statue in the Vatican collection. The delicate figure of\n  the god, midway between youth and boyhood, leans carelessly against\n  the trunk of a tree, up which a lizard is creeping. The god is\n  eagerly watching its movements, in order to seize a favourable\n  moment to nail it to the tree with his arrow.\n\n  The principle attributes of Apollo are the bow, arrows, quiver,\n  laurel crown, and lyre. To these may be added, as symbols of his\n  prophetic power, the tripod and the omphalos (navel), the latter\n  being a representation of the earth\u2019s centre in the temple at\n  Delphi, on which he is often depicted as sitting. The god also\n  appears standing on the omphalos; as in the case of a marble statue\n  lately found in the theatre of Dionysus. His sacred animals were the\n  wolf, the hind, the bat, the swan, the goose, and the dolphin; the\n  three last being music-loving creatures.\n\n\n=5. Artemis (Diana).=\u2014Artemis is the feminine counterpart of her twin\nbrother Apollo, with whom she entirely harmonises when regarded from her\nphysical aspect. Like him, she is a beautiful and propitious deity; but\nlike him, too, she can deal out, at times, death and destruction among\nmankind. Like Apollo, she promotes the growth of the young plant, and is\nequally the foe of all that is evil and impure. Like him, she is skilled\nin the use of the bow, of which she avails herself, however, not only\nfor the destruction of monsters, but also at times to chastise the\ninsolence of man\u2014witness the death of the children of Niobe. Her\nfavourite amusement is the chase; armed with quiver and bow she ranges\nmountain and valley, accompanied by a band of nymphs. The chase ended,\nshe delights to bathe in some fresh spring, or to lead off some\nfavourite dance on the flowery meadows, surrounded by her nymphs, all of\nwhom she overtops by a head. Then the heart of her mother, Leto,\nrejoices as she gazes on the innocent sports of her lovely daughter.\n\nAs a virgin goddess she was especially venerated by young maidens, whose\npatroness she remained till their marriage, and to whom she afforded an\nexample of chastity. The story of Act\u00e6on, who was changed into a stag\nand then torn to pieces by his own dogs, shows that she did not suffer\nany injury to her virgin modesty to go unpunished. (For this story see\nthe Theban legends.)\n\nOriginally, Artemis appears to have been the goddess of the moon, just\nas her brother Apollo is unmistakably identical with the sun. This\nconception, however, continued to grow fainter and fainter, until, in\nthe later days of confusion of religions, it was again revived. Artemis\nwas frequently confounded with Selene or Ph\u0153be (Luna).\n\nThe national Artemis of the Greeks was originally quite distinct from\nthe Artemis Orthia, a dark and cruel deity, to whom human sacrifices\nwere offered in Laconia. Lycurgus abolished this barbarous custom, but\ncaused instead a number of boys to be cruelly whipped before the image\nof the goddess on the occasion of her annual festival. This is the same\nArtemis to whom Agamemnon was about to offer, in Aulis, his daughter\nIphigenia, previous to the departure of the Greeks for Troy. The\nScythians in Tauris likewise had a goddess whom they propitiated with\nhuman sacrifices. This caused her to be confounded with Artemis Orthia,\nand the story arose that Iphigenia was conveyed by the goddess to\nTauris, from which place she subsequently, assisted by her brother\nOrestes, brought the image of the goddess to Greece.\n\nThe Ephesian Artemis, known to us as \u201cDiana of the Ephesians,\u201d was\ndistinct from all that have been mentioned. She was, in fact, an\nAsiatic, not a Hellenic deity.\n\nThe Roman Diana, who was early identified with the Greek Artemis, was\nlikewise originally a goddess of the moon. As such, she possessed a very\nancient shrine on Mount Algidus, near Tusculum. Like the Greek Artemis,\nshe was also regarded as the tutelary goddess of women, and was invoked\nby women in childbirth. This was also the case with Artemis, although\nthe matrons of Greece looked for more protection in this respect at the\nhands of Hera. She gained, however, a certain political importance in\nRome after having been made by Servius Tullius the tutelary deity of the\nLatin League. As such, she possessed a sacred grove and temple on the\nAventine.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 14.\u2014Diana of Versailles.]\n\n  Artemis is a favourite subject with the masters of the later Attic\n  school. She is always represented as youthful, slender and light of\n  foot, and without womanly fulness. Her devotion to the chase is\n  clearly betokened by the quiver and bow which she generally bears,\n  and by the high girt robe and Cretan shoes, which allow her to pass\n  unencumbered through the thickets of the forest.\n\n  Among existing statues, the most celebrated is the so-called Diana\n  of Versailles, which came from the Villa of Hadrian, at Tibur (Fig.\n  14). It is now a chief ornament of the Louvre collection, and is a\n  worthy companion to the Belvedere Apollo, although it does not quite\n  equal this in beauty. In this statue the goddess does not appear as\n  a huntress, but rather as the protectress of wild animals. She is\n  conceived as having just come to the rescue of a hunted deer, and is\n  in the act of turning with angry mien on the pursuers. With her\n  right hand she grasps an arrow from the quiver that hangs at her\n  back, and in her left she holds the bow.\n\n  A really beautiful statue of the Vatican collection depicts the\n  goddess in a most striking attitude. She has just sent forth her\n  deadly arrow, and is eagerly watching its effect. The hound at her\n  side is just about to start in eager pursuit of the mark, which was\n  evidently therefore a wild animal. In her left hand is the bow,\n  still strung, from which her right hand has just directed the arrow.\n  Her foot is likewise upraised in triumph, and her whole deportment\n  expresses the proud joy of victory. The chief attributes of Diana\n  are bow, quiver, and spear, and also a torch, as an emblem of her\n  power to dispense light and life. The hind, the dog, the bear, and\n  the wild boar were esteemed sacred to her.\n\n\n=6. Ares (Mars).=\u2014Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, represents war from\nits fatal and destructive side, by which he is clearly distinguished\nfrom Athene, the wise disposer of battles. He was, it is probable,\noriginally a personification of the angry clouded sky. His home,\naccording to Homer, was in Thrace, the land of boisterous, wintry\nstorms, among whose warlike inhabitants he was held in high esteem,\nalthough his worship was not so extensive in Greece. Homer, in the\n_Iliad_, paints in particularly lively colours the picture of the rude\n\u201cmanslaying\u201d god of war. He here appears as a deity who delights only in\nthe wild din of battle, and is never weary of strife and slaughter. Clad\nin brazen armour from head to foot, with waving plume, helmet, and\nhigh-poised spear, his bull\u2019s hide shield on his left arm, he ranges the\nbattlefield, casting down all before him in his impetuous fury. With\nstrength he combines great agility, and is, according to Homer, the\nfleetest of the gods. Strong though he be, however, he is overmatched in\nbattle by Athene; a palpable indication that prudent courage often\naccomplishes more than impetuous violence.\n\nThe usual attendants and servants of Ares are Fear and Terror. By some\nwriters they are described as his sons, yet in Homer they fight against\nhim. There is little to be said of the principal seats of his worship in\nGreece. In Thebes he was regarded as the god of pestilence; and\nAphrodite, who elsewhere appears as the wife of Heph\u00e6stus, was given him\nto wife. By her he became the father of Harmonia, who married Cadmus,\nand thus became the ancestress of the Cadmean race in Thebes. According\nto an Athenian local legend, his having slain a son of Poseidon gave\nrise to the institution of the Areopagus. He was here regarded as the\ngod of vengeance. A celebrated statue by Alcamenes adorned his temple at\nAthens. Among the warlike people of Sparta the worship of Ares was also\nextensive.\n\nThis deity was regarded with a far greater degree of veneration in Rome,\nunder the appellation of Mars, or Mavors. He seems to have occupied an\nimportant position even among the earliest Italian tribes. It was not as\ngod of war, however\u2014for which, amid the peaceful pursuits of\ncattle-rearing and husbandry, they cared little\u2014but as the god of the\nspring triumphing over the powers of winter that he was worshipped. It\nwas from his bounty that the primitive people looked for the prosperous\ngrowth of their flocks and the fruits of their fields; it was Mars on\nwhom they called for protection against bad weather and destructive\npestilence.\n\nIn warlike Rome, however, this deity soon laid aside his peaceful\ncharacter, and donned the bright armour of the god of war. He was even\nregarded as being, after Jupiter, the most important god of the state\nand people of Rome. Numa himself gave him a flamen of his own, and\ncreated or restored in his honour the priesthood of the Salii. The\noccasion, according to the sacred legend, was on this wise. As King Numa\none morning, from the ancient palace at the foot of the Palatine, raised\nhis hands in prayer to Jove, beseeching his protection and favour for\nthe infant state of Rome, the god let fall from heaven, as a mark of his\nfavour, an oblong brazen shield (ancile). At the same time a voice was\nheard declaring that Rome should endure as long as this shield was\npreserved. Numa then caused the sacred shield, which was recognised as\nthat of Mars, to be carefully preserved. The better to prevent its\nabstraction, he ordered an artist to make eleven others exactly similar,\nand instituted for their protection the college of the Salii, twelve in\nnumber, like the shields, who were selected from the noblest families in\nRome. Every year in the month of March, which was sacred to Mars, they\nbore the sacred shields in solemn procession through the streets of\nRome, executing warlike dances and chanting ancient war-songs. From the\ndays of Numa the worship of \u201cFather Mars\u201d continued to acquire an\never-increasing popularity. Before the departure of a Roman army on any\nexpedition, the imperator retired to the sanctuary of the god in the old\npalace, and there touched the sacred shields and the spear of the statue\nof Mars, crying aloud at the same time, \u201cMars, watch over us!\u201d According\nto popular belief, the god himself went unseen before the host as it\nmarched to battle, whence he was called \u201cGradivus.\u201d In the war with the\nLucanians and Bruttians (282 B.C.), when the consuls were hesitating\nwhether to begin the attack, an unknown youth of extraordinary stature\nand beauty encouraged the troops to begin the assault on the enemy\u2019s\ncamp, and was himself the first to scale the wall. When he was\nafterwards sought for, in order that he might receive his richly merited\nreward, he had disappeared, leaving no trace behind him. As it could\nhave been none other than Father Mars, the consul, Fabricius, decreed\nhim a thanksgiving of three days\u2019 duration.\n\nMars naturally received a due share of all booty taken in war. Defeat\nwas ascribed to his wrath, which men strove to avert by extraordinary\nsin-offerings.\n\nPopular belief made Mars the father, by a vestal virgin, of Romulus and\nRemus, the legendary founders of the city. His wife appears to have been\nNerio; but she enjoyed no honours at Rome.\n\nIn attendance on Mars we find Metus and Pallor, who answer to the Greek\ndeities already mentioned; and also his sister Bellona, corresponding to\nthe Enyo, who was worshipped in Pontus and Cappadocia, though not in\nGreece proper. Bellona had a temple in the Campus Martius.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 15\u2014Mars Ludovisi.]\n\nThe Campus Martius (Field of Mars), the celebrated place of exercise of\nthe Roman youth, stretched from the Quirinal westwards to the Tiber, and\nwas dedicated to the god of war. Augustus, after the overthrow of the\nmurderers of C\u00e6sar, his adoptive father, erected a temple to Mars, which\nwas built in Greek style, and far surpassed in grandeur and splendour\nall the other temples of the god. Three columns of it are still\nstanding, mute witnesses of vanished splendour. A large number of\nreligious festivities were celebrated in the month of March in honour of\nMars. The procession of the Salii formed the chief feature of the\nfestival; but there were also races and games. On the Ides of October\nalso a chariot race took place in honour of Mars, at which the singular\ncustom prevailed of offering the near horse of the victorious team to\nthe god. The inhabitants of the two oldest quarters of the city\ncontended for the head of the slaughtered animal, and whoever got it was\nsupposed to reap great blessings from its possession.\n\n  Ancient artists represented Mars as a tall and powerful young man,\n  whose activity, however, is as apparent as his strength. His\n  characteristic features are short curly hair, small eyes, and broad\n  nostrils, significant of the violence and passionateness of his\n  nature. The most celebrated of existing statues is the Mars Ludovisi\n  of the Villa Ludovisi, at Rome. It has often been conjectured that\n  this is an imitation of the renowned work of Scopas. The deity is\n  depicted as resting after battle; and, in spite of the usual\n  turbulence of his disposition, he here appears to have surrendered\n  himself to a more gentle frame of mind. The little god of love\n  crouching at his feet gazes into his face with a roguish, triumphant\n  smile, as though rejoiced to see that even the wildest and most\n  untameable must submit to his sway, and thus shows us what has\n  called forth this gentle mood. (Fig. 15.) The Mars Ludovisi is an\n  original work, Greek in its origin, though belonging to a somewhat\n  late period. The Borghese Mars of the Louvre, on the other hand, is\n  undoubtedly of Roman origin. It is supposed to represent Ares bound\n  by the craft of Heph\u00e6stus.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 16.\u2014Bust of Ares. Sculpture Gallery at Munich.]\n\n  Besides these two principal statues, the bust of Mars of the Munich\n  collection deserves mention. It is distinguished by a peculiarly\n  expressive head, of which we give an engraving (Fig. 16).\n\n  The attributes of Mars are the helmet (decorated with the figures of\n  wolf-hounds and griffins), shield, and spear. The animals sacred to\n  him were the wolf, the horse, and the woodpecker.\n\n\n=7. Aphrodite (Venus).=\u2014In the _Iliad_, Aphrodite is represented as the\ndaughter of Zeus and Dione, the goddess of moisture, who, as the wife of\nthe god of heaven, was held in high esteem among the old Pelasgians. The\nsame notion of the goddess being produced from moisture is seen in the\nlegend, which relates that Aphrodite was born of the foam of the sea,\nand first touched land on the island of Cyprus, which was henceforth\nheld sacred to her. She was probably a personification of the creative\nand generative forces of nature, and figured among the Greeks as goddess\nof beauty and sexual love. We must not forget that this conception does\nnot cover the whole character of the goddess. She not only appears as\nAphrodite Pandemus (the earthly Aphrodite), a goddess of the spring, by\nwhose wondrous power all germs in the natural and vegetable world are\nquickened, but we also hear of Aphrodite Urania, a celestial deity, who\nwas venerated as the dispenser of prosperity and fertility; and also an\nAphrodite Pontia (of the sea), the tutelary deity of ships and mariners,\nwho controlled the winds and the waves, and granted to ships a fair and\nprosperous passage. As the worship of Aphrodite was extremely popular\namong the numerous islands and ports of the Grecian seas, we can well\nimagine that it was in this latter character that she received her\ngreatest share of honour.\n\nThe poets paint Aphrodite as the most beautiful of all the goddesses,\nwhose magic power not even the wisest could withstand. Even wild animals\nwere conscious of her influence, and pressed round her like lambs. She\nwas endowed with the celebrated love-begetting magic girdle, which she\ncould lay aside at will and lend to others. And as she thus gave rise to\npassion in others, she herself was not free from its influence. This is\nevidenced by the numerous stories of her amours with the gods or\nfavoured mortals, which it is so difficult to bring into harmony with\neach other. Sometimes Ares, sometimes Heph\u00e6stus, is said to be her\nhusband. The latter account, which originated in Lemnos, was the more\npopular; doubtless because its very strangeness in mating the sweetest\nand most lovely of the goddesses with the lame and ugly god of fire had\na certain charm. No children are mentioned as springing from the union\nof Aphrodite with Heph\u00e6stus; but Eros and Anteros, as well as Demus and\nPhobus, are said to be her children by Ares. Other legends, generally of\na local character, unite her to Dionysus, or to Hermes.\n\nThe story of her love for the beautiful Adonis clearly represents the\ndecay of nature in autumn, and its resuscitation in spring. Adonis, whom\nAphrodite tenderly loved, was killed, when hunting, by a wild boar.\nInconsolable at her loss, Aphrodite piteously entreated Father Zeus to\nrestore his life. Zeus at length consented that Adonis should spend one\npart of the year in the world of shadows, and the other in the upper\nworld. Clearly the monster that deprived Adonis of life is only a symbol\nof the frosty winter, before whose freezing blast all life in nature\ndecays.\n\nIn the story of Troy, Aphrodite plays an important part. She was the\noriginal cause of the war, having assisted Paris in his elopement with\nHelen. This was his reward for his celebrated judgment, in which he\nawarded the prize of beauty to Aphrodite in preference to Hera or\nAthene. Besides the Trojan prince Anchises enjoyed her favours, and she\nbecame by him the mother of the pious hero \u00c6neas.\n\nThe goddess appears ever ready to assist unfortunate lovers; thus she\naided the hero Peleus to obtain the beautiful sea-nymph Thetis. On the\nother hand, she punishes with the utmost severity those who from pride\nor disdain resist her power. This appears in the legend of Hippolytus,\nson of Theseus, King of Athens, whom she ruined through the love of his\nstep-mother Ph\u00e6dra; also in the story of the beautiful youth Narcissus,\nwhom she punished by an ungratified self-love, because he had despised\nthe love of the nymph Echo.\n\nThe Seasons and the Graces appear in attendance on Aphrodite. Their\noffice is to dress and adorn her. She is also accompanied by Eros,\nPothus, and Himerus (Love, Longing, and Desire), besides Hymen, or\nHymen\u00e6us, the god of marriage.\n\nThe Roman Venus (the Lovely One) was regarded by the earlier Italian\ntribes as the goddess of spring, for which reason April, the month of\nbuds, was held sacred to her. She early acquired a certain social\nimportance, by having ascribed to her a beneficent influence in\npromoting civil harmony and sociability among men.\n\nAfter her identification with the Aphrodite of the Greeks, she became\nmore and more a goddess merely of sensual love and desire. She had three\nprincipal shrines\u2014those of Venus Murcia, Venus Cloacina, and Libitina.\nThe first of these surnames points to Venus as the myrtle goddess (the\nmyrtle being an emblem of chaste love); her temple was situated on the\nbrow of the Aventine, and was supposed to have been erected by the\nLatins, who were planted there by Ancus Marcius.\n\nThe temple of Venus Cloacina (the Purifier) was said to have been\nerected in memory of the reconciliation of the Romans and Sabines, after\nthe rape of the Sabine women. The surname of Libitina points to her as\ngoddess of corpses. All the apparatus of funerals were kept in this\ntemple, and her attendants were at the same time the public undertakers\nof the city.\n\nTo these ancient shrines was added another in the time of Julius C\u00e6sar,\nwho erected a temple to Venus Genetrix, the goddess of wedlock, in\nfulfilment of a vow made at the battle of Pharsalus.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 17.\u2014Venus of Milo. Louvre.]\n\n  Aphrodite, or Venus, is notoriously an especially common subject of\n  representation among the artists of antiquity. The task of giving\n  expression to the most perfect female beauty, arrayed in all the\n  charms of love, by means of chisel or brush, continually spurs the\n  artist to fresh endeavours. It was especially among the masters of\n  the later Attic school, who devoted themselves to the representation\n  of the youthful and beautiful among the gods in whom the nude\n  appeared least offensive, that statues of Venus were attempted. The\n  Venus of Cnidus, by Praxiteles, was the most important work of that\n  master; and the people of Cnidus were so proud of it that they\n  engraved her image on their coins. The fact that they ventured to\n  portray the goddess as entirely nude may be regarded as a sign both\n  of the falling away of the popular faith and of the decay of art.\n  Henceforth, except in the case of statues for the temples, it became\n  an established custom to represent Venus and other kindred deities\n  as nude. Venus is further distinguished by a fulness of form, which\n  is, nevertheless, combined with slenderness and grace. The\n  countenance is oval; the eyes are not large, and have a languishing\n  expression; the mouth is small, and the cheeks and chin full and\n  round.\n\n  Of the numerous existing statues we can here mention only the most\n  important. First among them in artistic worth is a marble statue\n  larger than life, which was found in 1820 on the island of Melos\n  (Milo), and is now in the Louvre at Paris (Fig. 17). In this\n  statue only the upper part of the body is nude, the lower\n  portions, from the hips downward, being covered with a light\n  garment. One scarcely knows which to admire most in this splendid\n  statue\u2014the singularly dignified expression of the head, or the\n  charming fulness and magnificent proportions of the limbs. The\n  arms are quite broken off, so that we cannot determine the\n  conception of the artist with any certainty. It is supposed that\n  the goddess held in her hand either an apple, which was a symbol\n  of the Isle of Melos, or the bronze shield of Ares. Her looks\n  express proud and joyous self-consciousness.\n\n  In the Venus of Capua (so called because found among the ruins of\n  the Amphitheatre) she again appears as a victorious goddess (Venus\n  Victrix). This statue is now in the Museum at Naples. The shape of\n  the nude body is not so vigorous or fresh as that of the Venus of\n  Milo, but somewhat soft and ill-defined.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 18.\u2014Venus Genetrix. Villa Borghese.]\n\n  The Medicean Venus, formerly in the Villa Medici at Rome, is better\n  known. It is a work of the later Attic school, in which, at the end\n  of the second century B.C., Greek art once more blooms for a while.\n  It is the work of the Athenian artist Cleomenes, though probably\n  chiselled in Rome. As Venus Anadyomene (rising from the sea) the\n  goddess appears entirely nude. This is the most youthful in\n  appearance of all her statues, and is distinguished by the perfect\n  regularity and beauty of its form, though there is no trace of the\n  lofty dignity of the goddess. \u201cWhat a descent,\u201d says Kraus in his\n  _Christian Art_, \u201cis there from the Venus of Milo to this coquette,\n  whose apparently bashful posture is only meant to challenge the\n  notice of the beholder.\u201d\n\n  The \u201cVenus crouching in the bath\u201d of the Vatican collection, and the\n  \u201cVenus loosing her sandal\u201d of the Munich Gallery, are creations\n  similar in style. In some imitations of the Cnidian Venus, the most\n  important of which are in Rome and Munich, the goddess wears a more\n  dignified demeanour; and also in the wonderfully graceful Venus\n  Genetrix of the Villa Borghese, at Rome (Fig. 18).\n\n  The attributes of Venus vary much according to the prevailing\n  conception of the goddess. The dove, the sparrow, and the dolphin,\n  and among plants the myrtle, the rose, the apple, the poppy, and the\n  lime-tree, were sacred to her.\n\n\n=8. Hermes (Mercurius).=\u2014Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, a daughter\nof Atlas. He was born in a grotto of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, whence he\nis called Cyllenius. We know the stories of his youth chiefly from the\nso-called Homeric Hymn.\n\nFrom this we learn how Hermes, soon after his birth, sprang from his\nmother\u2019s lap to seek the oxen of Apollo. Finding outside the cave a\ntortoise, he stretched strings across its shell, and thus made a lyre,\nto which he sung the loves of Zeus and Maia. Then hiding the lyre in his\ncradle, he went out to seek for food. Coming to Pieria in the evening,\nhe stole thence fifty cows from the herds of Apollo, and drove them to\nthe river Alphe\u00fcs. Here he slew two of them, and roasted the flesh, but\ncould not swallow it. Then returning home in the early morning, he\npassed through the key-hole like the morning breeze, and lay down in his\ncradle. Apollo, however, soon remarked the theft, and hurried after the\nimpudent robber. Hermes now played the innocent, and obstinately denied\nthe charge; but Apollo was not to be deceived, and forced the young\nthief to accompany him to the throne of Zeus to have their quarrel\ndecided. Zeus ordered Hermes to restore the cattle, but Apollo gladly\nmade them over to Hermes on receiving the newly-invented lyre. Thus\nHermes became the god of shepherds and pastures, whilst Apollo\nhenceforth zealously devoted himself to the art of music.\n\nAs a token of their thorough reconciliation, Apollo gave his brother god\nthe golden Caduceus, or magic wand, by means of which he could bestow\nhappiness on whomsoever he would; and henceforth both dwelt together in\nthe utmost harmony and love, the favourite sons of their father Zeus.\n\nVarious interpretations have been given of the nature of Hermes. Some\nhave seen in him the thunderstorm, some the dawn, and some the morning\nbreeze. The name Hermes, compared with the corresponding Indian words,\nseems to make his connection with the morning certain. Several points in\nthe legend just related guide us to the breeze rather than the dawn; the\ninvention of music, the kine carried off\u2014which, nevertheless, he cannot\neat (the wind cannot consume as fire does what it breaks down and\ncarries off)\u2014and the passing through the key-hole \u201clike the morning\nbreeze.\u201d So also his function of guide and conductor of the soul, which\nwe shall speak of presently.\n\nThe following are the most important features in the character of\nHermes:\u2014Not only does he promote the fruitfulness of flocks and herds,\nbut he also bestows prosperity and success on all undertakings,\nespecially those of trade and commerce. As the guardian of the streets\nand roads, and the friendly guide of those travelling on business,\nHermes must have appeared especially worthy of honour among the Greeks,\nwho were at all times sharp and greedy men of business. Accordingly, men\nerected in his honour, on the roads, what were called Herm\u00e6\u2014mere blocks\nof stone, or posts, with one or more heads: these latter were at\ncross-roads, and also served as finger-posts. Herm\u00e6[3] were also often\nto be seen in the streets of towns and in public squares. Not only did\nHermes protect and guide merchants whilst travelling, but he also\nendowed them with shrewdness and cunning to outwit others. And as a god\nwho had himself commenced his career by a dexterous theft, he was fain\nto allow thieves and rogues to invoke his protection before entering on\ntheir operations; just as in the present day robbers and bandits in\nItaly or Greece see nothing strange in asking their patron saint to\nbestow on them a rich prey. Every chance gain\u2014in gambling, for\ninstance\u2014and every fortunate discovery were attributed to Hermes.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n  In this meaning, however, some have derived the word from a different\n  root, and supposed it to mean originally only \u201cpillars.\u201d\n\nThough playing such an important part in human life, Hermes also appears\nas the fleet messenger and dexterous agent of Zeus. It is in this guise\nthat the epic poets love to depict him. With his golden-winged shoes he\npasses more swiftly than the wind over land and sea, executing the\ncommissions of his father Zeus or the other inhabitants of Olympus. Thus\nhe is sent by Zeus to command the nymph Calypso to release Odysseus, and\nto warn \u00c6gisthus against the murder of Agamemnon. At times, difficult\ntasks are allotted to him; for instance, the destruction of the\nhundred-eyed guardian of Io, on which account Homer calls him the\nArgus-slayer. Doubtless in this myth the hundred-eyed Argus represents\nthe starry heavens; Argus is slain by Hermes, that is, in the morning\nthe stars cease to be visible. As messenger and herald of the gods, he\nis a model for all earthly heralds, who, in ancient times, were the\nindispensable agents of kings in every difficult business. Hence he\nbears the herald\u2019s staff, or _caduceus_. This is the same wand once\ngiven him by Apollo, consisting of three branches, one of which forms\nthe handle, whilst the other two branch off like a fork, and are joined\nin a knot. The origin of this herald\u2019s staff appears to have been the\nolive branch wreathed with fillets of wool. It was only at a later\nperiod that the two last were converted into serpents. By means of this\nwand Hermes can either induce deep sleep or rouse a slumberer, but he\nuses it chiefly in guiding souls to the infernal regions. This leads us\nto speak of the important office of Hermes as Psychopompus, or conductor\nof the soul. Every soul, after death, commenced its journey to the\nregion of shadows under the guidance of the god. On extraordinary\noccasions, where, for instance, the spirits were summoned in the oracles\nof the dead, Hermes had to reconduct the souls of the departed to the\nupper world, thus becoming a mediator between these two regions, in\nother respects so far divided.\n\nAs dreams come from the lower world, Hermes was naturally regarded as\nthe deity from whom they proceeded; on which account people were wont to\nask him for good dreams before going to sleep.\n\nThe highest conception of Hermes, however, is that of the god who\npresides over the bringing up of children; and, indeed, what god was\nmore fitted to be presented as an example to Grecian youth than the\nmessenger of the gods, equally dexterous in mind and body? He is the\nfleetest of runners and the most skilful of disc-throwers and boxers;\nand though he does not, like Apollo, represent any of the higher forms\nof intellectual life, still he possesses in the highest degree that\npractical common sense which was so greatly valued among the Greeks. The\nwrestling school and the gymnasium were consequently regarded as his\ninstitutions, and adorned with his statues. In further development of\nhis relation to the education of the young, later poets even made him\nthe inventor of speech, of the alphabet, and of the art of interpreting\nlanguages. The custom which prevailed among the Greeks of offering him\nthe tongues of the slaughtered animals, shows clearly that they also\nconsidered him as the patron of eloquence.\n\nThere is little to be said of the Roman Mercury. As his name (from\n_mercari_, to trade) signifies, he was considered by the Romans solely\nas god of trade. His worship was introduced at the same time as that of\nCeres\u2014some years after the expulsion of the Tarquins, at a season of\ngreat scarcity\u2014but appears to have become confined to the plebeians. The\nguild of merchants regarded him as their tutelary deity, and offered\nsacrifices to him and his mother Maia on the Ides of May.\n\n  The plastic representation of Hermes made equal progress with his\n  ideal development. The first statues of the god, founded on the\n  ancient Herm\u00e6 already mentioned, represented him as a shepherd,\n  sometimes as the herald and messenger of the gods, always as a\n  powerful, bearded man. Later, he assumed a more youthful appearance,\n  and was represented as a beardless youth in the very prime of\n  strength, with broad chest, lithe but powerful limbs, curly hair,\n  and small ears, mouth, and eyes; altogether a wonderful combination\n  of grace and vigour. If we add to this the expression of kindly\n  benevolence which plays around his finely-cut lips, and the\n  inquiring look of his face as he bends forward thoughtfully, we have\n  the principal characteristic features of the god.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 19.\u2014Resting Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples.]\n\n  Among existing statues, a full-sized \u201cHermes at rest,\u201d in bronze,\n  which was found at Herculaneum, and is now in the Naples Museum, is\n  perhaps most worthy of mention. He here appears as the messenger of\n  the gods, and has just sat down on a rock to rest. The winged\n  sandals form his only clothing, and these are, strictly speaking,\n  not really sandals, but simply straps covering the foot, to which\n  wings are fastened close to the ankles (Fig. 19).\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 20.\u2014Statue of Hermes. Capitoline Collection.]\n\n  A splendid marble statue of the Vatican collection, which, was once\n  taken for Antinous, portrays the god as the patron of wrestling; the\n  Caduceus which he holds in his left hand is, however, a modern\n  addition. In the Hermes Ludovisi of Rome we have a graceful\n  representation of Hermes Logius, the patron of the art of rhetoric.\n  The wings are here not placed on the feet, or even directly on the\n  head, as is often the case, but are fastened to a low round\n  travelling-hat.\n\n  A pretty bronze statuette in the British Museum depicts Hermes as\n  the god of trade and commerce, with a well-filled purse in his hand.\n  Such is also the conception of a fine statue of the Capitoline\n  collection at Rome (Fig. 20). The principal attributes of the god\n  have already been incidentally mentioned: they are wings on the\n  feet, head, or cap; the herald\u2019s staff, the votive bowl, and the\n  purse.\n\n\n=9. Heph\u00e6stus (Vulcan).=\u2014Heph\u00e6stus, the god of fire and the forge, was\ncommonly regarded as a son of Zeus and Hera. He was so lame and ugly\nthat his mother in shame cast him from heaven into the sea. But Eurynome\nand Thetis, the Oceanids, took pity on him, and tended him for nine\nyears in a deep grotto of the sea, in return for which he made them many\nornaments. After being reconciled to his mother, he returned to Olympus\nunder the guidance of Dionysus. According to another not less popular\naccount, it was not his mother who treated him so cruelly, but Zeus.\nHeph\u00e6stus, on the occasion of a quarrel between Zeus and Hera, came to\nthe help of his mother, whereupon the angry god of heaven seized him by\nthe foot and hurled him from Olympus. The unfortunate Heph\u00e6stus fell for\na whole day, but alighted at sundown on the isle of Lemnos with but\nlittle breath in his body. Here the Sintians, who inhabited the island,\ntended him till his recovery. Later writers say that it was from this\nfall that he became lame. The same fundamental idea lies at the root of\nthese various legends, viz., that fire first came down from heaven in\nthe form of lightning. Heph\u00e6stus originally represented the element of\nfire, and all the effects of fire are accordingly referred to him. The\nfires of the earth break forth from the open craters of volcanoes; it\nmust therefore be Heph\u00e6stus who is working in the midst of the fiery\nmountain, where he has his forges and his smithies. So says the legend\nof Mount Mosychlus, in Lemnos, the chief seat of his worship. Scarcely\nless celebrated, from its connection with him, was Mount \u00c6tna, in\nSicily. After it was observed that the wine was particularly good in the\nneighbourhood of volcanic mountains, the story of the intimate\nfriendship between Heph\u00e6stus and Dionysus was concocted.\n\nThe most beneficial action of fire is manifested in its power to melt\nmetals and render them useful to man in the shape of implements and\ntools of all kinds. Hence the conception of the character of Heph\u00e6stus\ntended ever more and more to represent him as the master of all\ningenious working in metals, and as the patron of artificers and\ncraftsmen using fire. In this character he was brought into close\nconnection with the art-loving goddess Athene, and hence we see why both\nthese divinities enjoyed so many kindred honours and had so many\nfestivals in common at Athens, the chief seat of Greek science and art.\nIt was also chiefly in the character of artificer that Heph\u00e6stus was\ntreated of by the poets, who delight to describe the gorgeous brazen\npalace which he built himself on Olympus, in which was a huge workshop\nwith twenty cunningly-devised pairs of bellows. He also constructed\nthere the imperishable dwellings of the gods. Many also were the\ningenious implements which he constructed, such as the walking tables,\nor tripods, which moved of their own accord into the banqueting-chamber\nof the gods, and then returned to their places after the meal was over.\nHe also made himself two golden statues of maidens, to assist him in\nwalking, and bestowed on them speech and motion. Among the other works\nof his mentioned by the poets are the \u00e6gis and sceptre of Zeus, the\ntrident of Poseidon, the shield of Heracles, and the armour of Achilles,\namong which, also, was a shield of extraordinary beauty.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 21.\u2014Heph\u00e6stus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum.]\n\nThe worship of Heph\u00e6stus was not very extensive in Greece. The most\nimportant seat of his worship was the isle of Lemnos, where he was\nsupposed to dwell on Mount Mosychlus with his workmen, the Cabiri, who\nanswer to the Cyclopes of \u00c6tna. He was held in great esteem at Athens,\nwhere, at different festivals, torch races were held in his honour.\nYoung men ran with burning torches, and whoever first reached the goal\nwith his torch alight received the prize. He was, moreover, highly\nvenerated by the Greeks in Campania and Sicily, a fact which may be\neasily explained by the fiery mountains of these places.\n\nThe Romans called this god Vulcanus, or, according to its more ancient\nspelling, Volcanus. They honoured in him the blessings and beneficial\naction of fire. They also sought his protection against conflagrations.\nUnder the influence of the Greek writers, the original and more common\nconception of the god gave place to the popular image of the smith-god,\nor Mulciber, who had his forges in \u00c6tna, or on the Lipari Isles, and who\nvied with his comrades in wielding the hammer. In correspondence with\nthe Greek myths, Venus was given him to wife; by this men doubtless\nsought to convey the idea that truly artistic works can only be created\nin harmony with beauty.\n\nThe chief shrine of the god in Rome was the Volcanal, in the Comitium,\nwhich was not really a temple, but merely a covered fire-place. In the\nCampus Martius, however, was a real temple close to the Flaminian\nCircus, where the festival of the Volcanalia was celebrated with every\nkind of game on the 23rd day of August.\n\n  Greek and Roman artists generally represented this god as a\n  powerful, bearded man of full age. He is distinguished by the\n  shortness of his left leg, by the sharp, shrewd glance of his\n  cunning eye, and his firm mouth. His attributes are the smith\u2019s\n  tools, the pointed oval workman\u2019s cap, and the short upper garment\n  of the craftsman or humble citizen.\n\n  With the exception of some small bronzes in London and Berlin, and a\n  newly discovered marble bust of the Vatican collection, we possess\n  no antique statues of the god worth mentioning. The engraving (Fig.\n  21) is from a bronze in the British Museum.\n\n\n=10. Hestia (Vesta).=\u2014It must have been at a comparatively late period\nthat Hestia, the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, attained a general\nveneration, as her name is not mentioned either in the _Iliad_ or\n_Odyssey_. Hestia is the guardian angel of mankind, who guards the\nsecurity of the dwelling, and is, in consequence, regarded as the\ngoddess of the family hearth, the centre of domestic life. The hearth\npossessed among the ancients a far higher significance than it does in\nmodern life. It not only served for the preparation of meals, but was\nalso esteemed the sacred altar of the house; there the images of the\nhousehold gods were placed, and thither, after the old patriarchal\nfashion, the father and priest of the family offered sacrifice on all\nthe important occasions of domestic life. No offering was made in which\nHestia, the very centre of all domestic life, had not her share.\n\nAnd as the state is composed of families, the goddess of the domestic\ncircle naturally becomes the protectress of every political community.\nOn this account, in Greek states the Prytaneum, or seat of the governing\nbody, was dedicated to Hestia; there she had an altar, on which a fire\nwas ever kept burning. From this altar colonists, who were about to\nleave their native land in search of new homes, always took some fire\u2014a\npleasing figurative indication of the moral ties between the colony and\nthe mother country.\n\nAs the hearth-fire of the Prytaneum was an outward and visible sign to\nthe members of a state that they were one great family, so the Hestia of\nthe temple at Delphi signified to the Greeks their national connection\nand the unity of their worship. Her altar in this temple was placed in\nthe hall before the cave of the oracle; on it was placed the celebrated\nomphalus (navel of the earth, likewise an emblem of the goddess), Delphi\nbeing regarded by the Greeks as the centre of the whole earth. Here,\ntoo, a fire was kept ever burning in honour of Hestia. The character of\nthe goddess was as pure and untarnished as flame itself. Not only did\nshe herself remain a virgin, though wooed by both Poseidon and Apollo,\nbut her service could be performed only by chaste virgins. She does not\nappear to have had a separate temple of her own in Greece, since she had\na place in every temple.\n\nThe service of Vesta occupied a far more important place in the public\nlife of the Romans. Her most ancient temple, which was supposed to have\nbeen built by Numa Pompilius, was situated on the slope of the Palatine\nopposite the Forum. It was built in a circle, and was of moderate\ndimensions, being, indeed, little more than a covered fire-place. In it\nthe eternal fire, a symbol of the life of the state, was kept burning.\nHere, too, the service was performed by virgins, whose number was at\nfirst four, but was afterwards increased to six. Their chief occupation\nwas to maintain the sacred fire, and to offer up daily prayers at the\naltar of the goddess for the welfare of the Roman people. The extinction\nof the sacred flame was esteemed an omen of coming misfortune, and\nbrought severe punishment on the negligent priestess. The choice of\nvestals lay with the Pontifex Maximus. They were chosen between the ages\nof six and ten years, always out of the best Roman families. For thirty\nyears they remained bound to their sacred office, during which time they\nhad to preserve the strictest chastity. After the lapse of thirty years\nthey returned to civil life, and were permitted to marry if they liked.\n\nAnother sanctuary of Vesta existed in Lavinium, the metropolis of the\nLatins, where the Roman consuls, after entering on their office, had to\nperform a solemn sacrifice. The festival of Vesta was celebrated on the\n9th of June, on which occasion the Roman women were wont to make a\npilgrimage barefooted to the temple of the goddess, and place before her\nofferings of food.\n\nIn the domestic life of the Romans the hearth and the hearth-goddess\nVesta occupied as important a position as among the Greeks. The worship\nof Vesta is closely connected with that of the Penates, the kindly,\nprotecting, household gods, who provided for the daily wants of life,\nand about whom we shall have more to say before concluding the subject\nof the gods.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 22.\u2014Vesta Giustiniani. Torlonia Collection.]\n\n  Agreeably to the chaste, pure character of the goddess, she could\n  only be represented in art with an expression of the strictest moral\n  purity; she generally appears either sitting or standing, her\n  countenance characterised by a thoughtful gravity of expression. Her\n  principal attributes consist of the votive bowl, the torch, the\n  simpulum, or small cup, which was used in making libations, and the\n  sceptre. In consequence of the dignity and sanctity of her\n  character, she was always represented as fully clothed, which may\n  account for the fact that the ancients had so few statues of the\n  goddess. We may, therefore, consider it fortunate that such a\n  splendid example as the Vesta Giustiniani, which belongs to the\n  private collection of Prince Torlonia, at Rome, has come down to us.\n  It is supposed to be an original work of the best period of Greek\n  art. The goddess is represented as standing in a calm posture, her\n  right hand pressed against her side, whilst with the left she points\n  significantly towards heaven, as though wishing to impress on\n  mankind where to direct their prayers and thoughts (Fig. 22).\n\n\n=11. Janus.=\u2014Among the most important gods of the Romans was the\ncelebrated Janus, a deity quite unknown to the Greeks. In his original\ncharacter he was probably a god of the light and sun\u2014the male\ncounterpart, in fact, of Jana, or Diana, and thus very similar to the\nGreek Apollo. As long as he maintained this original character, derived\nfrom nature, he was regarded as the god of all germs and first\nbeginnings, and possessed, in consequence, an important influence both\non the public and private life of the Romans. We must confine ourselves\nto mentioning some of the most important traits resulting from this view\nof his character. First, Janus is the god of all beginnings of time. He\nbegins the new year, whose first month was called January after him, and\nwas dedicated to him. Thus, New Year\u2019s Day (_Kalend\u00e6 Januari\u00e6_) was the\nmost important festival of the god; on this occasion the houses and\ndoors were adorned with garlands and laurel boughs, the laurel being\nsupposed to exercise a potent influence against all magic and diseases.\nRelatives and friends exchanged small presents (principally sweets; for\nexample, dates and figs wrapped in laurel leaves) and good wishes for\nthe coming year. The god himself received offerings of cake, wine, and\nincense, and his statue was adorned with fresh laurel boughs. This\noffering was repeated on the first day of every month, for Janus opened\nup every month; and as the Kalends were sacred to Juno, he was therefore\ncalled Junonius. In the same way Janus was supposed to begin every new\nday, and called _Matutinus Pater_. He also appears as the doorkeeper of\nheaven, whose gates he opened in the morning and closed in the evening.\n\nFrom being the god of all temporal beginnings, he soon became the patron\nand protector of all the beginnings of human activity. The Romans had a\nmost superstitious belief in the importance of a good commencement for\neverything, concluding that this had a magical influence on the good or\nevil result of every undertaking. Thus, neither in public nor private\nlife did they ever undertake anything of importance without first\nconfiding the beginning to the protection of Janus. Among the most\nimportant events of political life was the departure of the youth of the\ncountry to war. An offering was therefore made to the god by the\ndeparting general, and the temple, or covered passage sacred to the god,\nwas left open during the continuance of the war, as a sign that the god\nhad departed with the troops and had them under his protection. The\nconsul never neglected, when he entered on his office, to ask the\nblessing of Janus, and the assemblies never began their consultations\nwithout invoking Janus. In the same way the private citizen, in all\nimportant occurrences and undertakings, sought by prayers and vows to\nacquire the favour of Janus. The husbandman, before he commenced either\nto sow or to reap, brought to Janus Consivius an offering of cake and\nwine. The merchant, when he entered on a journey of business, and the\nsailor, when he weighed anchor and started on a long and dangerous\nvoyage, never omitted to invoke the blessing of the god. This view of\nthe god also explains the custom of calling on Janus first in every\nprayer and at every sacrifice, since, as keeper of the gates of heaven,\nhe also appeared to give admittance to the prayers of men.\n\nAs the god of all first beginnings, Janus is also the source of all\nsprings, rivers, and streams of the earth. On this account the fountain\nnymphs were generally looked on as his wives, and Fontus and Tiberinus\nas his sons.\n\nThe power of Janus in causing springs to rise suddenly from the earth\nwas experienced, to their cost, by the Sabines. The latter, in\nconsequence of the rape of their women, had overrun the infant state of\nRome, and were about to introduce themselves into the town on the\nPalatine through an open gate, when they suddenly found themselves\ndrenched by a hot sulphur spring that gushed violently from the earth,\nand were obliged to retire.\n\nIn the legend alluded to, Janus appears as the protector of the gates of\nthe city. As the god who presided over the fortunate entrance to and\nexit from all houses, streets, and towns, Janus was held in high honour\namong the people. His character as guardian of gates and doors brought\nhim into close connection with the Penates and other household gods;\nhence the custom of erecting over the doors an image of the deity with\nthe well-known two faces, one of which looked out and the other in.\n\nJanus had no temple, in the proper sense of the word, at Rome. His\nshrines consisted of gateways in common places of resort and at\ncross-roads, or of arched passages, in which the image of the god was\nerected. The Temple of Janus in the Forum at Rome, which has been\nalready alluded to, was a sanctuary of this kind closed with doors, and\nwas probably the most ancient in the city. Its doors stood open only in\ntime of war.\n\n  Roman art never succeeded in executing a plastic representation\n  peculiar to Janus, the double head being only an imitation of the\n  Greek double Herm\u00e6. In course of time entire figures of Janus\n  appeared, but these always had a double face. They were generally\n  bearded, but in later times one face was bearded, the other\n  youthful. Not one specimen of these works of art has been preserved,\n  so that we only know these forms from coins. The usual attributes of\n  Janus were keys and staff.\n\n\n=12. Quirinus.=\u2014Quirinus was also a purely Roman divinity, but having\nbeen reckoned among the great deities of heaven, he must therefore be\nmentioned here. In his symbolic meaning he bore a great resemblance to\nMars; and as Mars was the national god of the Latin population of Rome,\nso Quirinus was the national god of the Sabines who came to Rome with\nTitus Tatius. Together with Jupiter and Mars, he formed the tutelary\nTrinity of the Roman empire. His shrine was on the Quirinal, which was\noriginally inhabited by the Sabines, and which was named after him. Numa\ngave Quirinus a priest of his own. He had a special feast on the 17th of\nFebruary, but his worship appears to have assimilated itself more and\nmore to that of Mars. He was subsequently identified with Romulus.\n\n\n                         B.\u2014SECONDARY DEITIES.\n\n\n                _1. Attendant and Ministering Deities._\n\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 23.\u2014Head of Eros. Vatican.]\n\n=1. Eros (Amor).=\u2014Of the deities who appear in the train of Aphrodite,\nEros alone seems to have enjoyed divine honours; Longing and Desire\nbeing no more than allegorical figures typifying some of the influences\nthat emanate from the goddess of love. Eros was commonly reputed the son\nof Aphrodite and Ares, and was generally depicted as a boy of wondrous\nbeauty, on the verge of youth. His characteristic weapon is a golden\nbow, with which he shoots forth his arrows from secret lurking-places,\nwith an unfailing effect that represents the sweet but consuming pangs\nof love. Zeus himself is represented as unable to withstand his\ninfluence\u2014an intimation that love is one of the most terrible and mighty\nforces of nature.\n\nAs unrequited love is aimless, Anteros was conceived by the imagination\nof the poets as the brother and companion of Eros, and consequently a\nson of Aphrodite. As the little Eros, says the myth, would neither grow\nnor thrive, his mother, by the advice of Themis, gave him this brother\nas a playfellow; after which the boy was glad so long as his brother was\nwith him, but sad in his absence.\n\nEros was not only venerated as the god who kindles love between the\nsexes, but was also regarded as the author of love and friendship\nbetween youths and men. On this account his statue was generally placed\nin the gymnasia between those of Hermes and Heracles; and the Spartans\nsacrificed to him before battle, binding themselves to hold together\nfaithfully in battle, and to stand by one another in the hour of need.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 24.\u2014Eros trying his Bow. Capitoline Museum.]\n\nThis deity was termed by the Romans Amor, or Cupido, but this was solely\nin imitation of the Greek Eros, since he never enjoyed among them any\npublic veneration.\n\nThe significant fable of the love of Cupid for Psyche, a personification\nof the human soul, is of comparatively late origin, though it was a very\nfavourite subject in art.\n\n  Artists followed the poets in the delineation of Eros, in so far as\n  they generally depicted him as a boy on the confines of youth. An\n  Eros by the renowned artist Praxiteles was esteemed one of the best\n  works of antiquity. It was brought to Rome by Nero, but was\n  destroyed by fire in the reign of Titus. In later times the god of\n  love was represented as much younger, because the mischievous pranks\n  attributed to him by the poets were more adapted to the age of\n  childhood.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 25.\u2014Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum.]\n\n  A considerable number of statues or statuettes of Eros have come\n  down to us from antiquity. Among the most celebrated is the Torso\n  (mutilated statue) of the Vatican, of the glorious head of which we\n  give an engraving (Fig. 23). There is also an \u201cEros trying his bow\u201d\n  (Fig. 24) in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, and an \u201cEros playing\n  with dice\u201d in the Berlin Museum. Lastly, there is the celebrated\n  group of the Capitoline Museum, which represents the embraces of\n  Cupid and Psyche.\n\n  Eros generally appears with wings in the art monuments of antiquity.\n  His insignia are bow and arrows, in addition to a burning torch. The\n  rose was held especially sacred to him, for which reason he often\n  appears crowned with roses.\n\n  In connection with Venus and in company with Amor we find Hymen\u00e6us,\n  a personification of the joys of marriage, who was, however, only\n  recognised by later writers and by later art. He is portrayed as a\n  beautiful youth, winged like Eros, but taller, and of a more serious\n  aspect. His indispensable attribute is the marriage torch.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 26\u2014Melpomene. Vatican.]\n\n\n=2. The Muses.=\u2014Pindar gives the following account of the origin of the\nMuses. After the defeat of the Titans, the celestials besought Zeus to\ncreate some beings who might perpetuate in song the mighty deeds of the\ngods. In answer to this prayer, Zeus begot with Mnemosyne (Memory) the\nnine Muses. They sing of the present, the past, and the future, while\nApollo\u2019s lute accompanies their sweet strains, which gladden the hearts\nof the gods as they sit assembled in the lofty palace of Father Zeus, in\nOlympus. Looked at in connection with nature, there is little doubt but\nthat the Muses were originally nymphs of the fountains. The veneration\nof the Muses first arose in Pieria, a district on the eastern declivity\nof Mount Olympus in Thessaly, from whose steep and rocky heights a\nnumber of sweet rippling brooks descend to the plains. The perception of\nthis natural music led at once to a belief in the existence of such\nsong-loving goddesses. Their seat was subsequently transferred from the\ndeclivities of Olympus to Mount Helicon in B\u0153otia, or to Mount\nParnassus, at the foot of which the Castalian fountain, which was sacred\nto them, had its source. Originally the Muses were only goddesses of\nsong, though they are sometimes represented with instruments on vases.\nIn early times, too, they only appear as a chorus or company, but at a\nlater period separate functions were assigned to each, as presiding over\nthis or that branch of art. Their names were Clio, Melpomene,\nTerpsichore, Polyhymnia, Thalia, Urania, Euterpe, Erato, and Calliope.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 27.\u2014Euterpe. Vatican.]\n\n  According to the art-distribution made, probably, at the time of the\n  Alexandrine school, Calliope represents epic poetry and science\n  generally, her attributes being a roll of parchment and a pen. Clio\n  is the muse of history, and is likewise characterised by a roll and\n  pen, so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish her from\n  Calliope. Euterpe represents lyric poetry, and is distinguished by\n  her double flute. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, generally appears\n  with a tragic mask, a club or sword, and a garland of vine leaves.\n  Terpsichore is the muse of dancing, and has a lyre and plectrum. To\n  Erato is assigned erotic poetry, together with geometry and the\n  mimic art; she generally bears a large stringed instrument. Thalia,\n  the muse of comedy, is distinguished by a comic mask, an ivy\n  garland, and a crook. Polyhymnia presides over the graver chant of\n  religious service; she may be recognised by her dress, wrapped\n  closely round her, and her grave, thoughtful countenance, but is\n  without attribute of any kind. Lastly, Urania, the muse of\n  astronomy, holds in one hand a celestial globe, and in the other a\n  small wand.\n\n  Several European museums possess ancient groups of the Muses, among\n  which, perhaps, the finest is that preserved in the Vatican. From\n  this group are copied our engravings of Melpomene and Euterpe (Figs.\n  26 and 27). The original of Polyhymnia (Fig. 25) is in the Berlin\n  Museum.\n\nThe Romans venerated a number of fountain-nymphs of song and prophecy\nunder the name of Camen\u00e6, among whom the Egeria of the history of Numa\nis well known. The Roman writers seem to have identified these goddesses\nwith the Muses at pleasure.\n\n\n=3. The Charites (Grati\u00e6).=\u2014The Charites generally appear in the train\nof the goddess of love, whom it was their duty to clothe and adorn. They\nare often found, however, in attendance on other gods, since all that is\ncharming and graceful, either to the senses or the intellect, was\nsupposed to proceed from them.\n\nTheir names are Agla\u00efa, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They were commonly\nrepresented as the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, the Oceanid. Later\nwriters, however, make them the daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite.\nThey were venerated as the source of all that makes human life more\nbeautiful and pleasant, without whom there could be no real enjoyment of\nlife. Thus, even the gods would not sit down to banquets without the\nCharites; and whenever men came together to feast, they first called on\nthem and offered them the first bowl. Music, eloquence, art, and poetry\nreceived the higher consecration only at their hands; whence Pindar\nterms his songs a gift from them. Wisdom, bravery, kindly benevolence,\nand gratitude\u2014in fine, all those qualities which become men most, and\nmake them agreeable in the eyes of their fellow-men, were supposed to\nproceed from the Charites.\n\nThe Graces of the Romans were simply transferred from the mythology of\nthe Greeks, and have, therefore, the same meaning as the Charites.\n\n  Art represented the Charites or Graces as blooming maidens, of\n  slender, comely form, characterised by an expression of joyous\n  innocence. In their hands they often hold flowers, either roses or\n  myrtles. They are less often distinguished by definite attributes\n  than by a mutual intertwining of arms. In earlier Greek art they\n  always appear fully clothed; but gradually their clothing became\n  less and less, until at length, in the age of Scopas and Praxiteles,\n  when nude figures had become common, it entirely disappeared. There\n  are, however, few ancient statues of the Charites in existence.\n\n\n=4. Themis and the Hor\u00e6 (Seasons).=\u2014In intimate connection with the\nCharites we find the Hor\u00e6, the daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were\ngenerally represented as three in number\u2014Eunomia, Dice, and Irene. They\nrepresent the regular march of nature in the changes of the seasons, and\nThemis, who personifies the eternal laws of nature, and as the daughter\nof Uranus and G\u00e6a ranks among the most ancient deities, is consequently\ntheir mother. Themis is the representative of the reign of law among\ngods and men; at Zeus\u2019 command she calls together the assemblies of the\ngods. She also occupies a similar position on earth, as presiding over\nnational assemblies and the laws of hospitality. Her daughters, the\nHor\u00e6, appear in a similar though in a subordinate and attendant\ncharacter. In Homer they figure as the servants of Zeus, who watch the\ngates of heaven, now closing them with thick clouds, now clearing the\nclouds away. They also appear as the servants and attendants of other\ndivinities, such as Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, and the Muses. Like their\nmother, they preside over all law and order in human affairs; and under\ntheir protection thrives all that is noble and beautiful and good.\n\nWe know but little concerning the worship of the Hor\u00e6 among the Greeks.\nThe Athenians celebrated a special festival in their honour, but they\nrecognised only two\u2014Thallo, the season of blossom, and Carpo, the season\nof the ripened fruit. The adoption of four Hor\u00e6, corresponding to the\nfour seasons of the year, appears to have arisen at a later period.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 28.\u2014The Hor\u00e6. Relief from the Villa Albani.]\n\n  In plastic art Themis is generally represented with a balance in one\n  hand and a palm branch in the other. The Hor\u00e6 generally appear as\n  lovely girls dancing with their garments tucked up, and adorned with\n  flowers, fruit, and garlands. Subsequently they were distinguished\n  by various attributes, typical of the different seasons. Such is the\n  case in the engraving (Fig. 28), after a relief in the Villa Albani.\n\n\n=5. Nice (Victoria).=\u2014Nice is nothing but a personification of the\nirresistible and invincible power exercised by the god of heaven by\nmeans of his lightning. She also appears in the company of Pallas\nAthene, who was herself honoured by the Athenians as the goddess of\nvictory. Victory does not seem to have had many separate temples or\nfestivals, since she generally appears only in attendance on her\nsuperior deities.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 29.\u2014Victoria. United Collections in Munich.]\n\nFar more extensive was the veneration of Victoria at Rome, a fact for\nwhich the warlike character of the people easily accounts. Her chief\nshrine was on the Capitol, where successful generals were wont to erect\nstatues of the goddess in remembrance of their exploits. The most\nmagnificent statue of this kind was one erected by Augustus in\nfulfilment of a vow after his victory at Actium. The proper festival of\nthe goddess took place on the 12th of April.\n\n  In both Greek and Roman art Victory was represented as a winged\n  goddess. She is distinguished by a palm branch and laurel garland,\n  which were the customary rewards of bravery among the ancients.\n  Large statues of the goddess are seldom met with, though she is\n  often depicted on vases, coins, and small bronzes. The museum of\n  Cassel has a small bronze statue of the goddess, whilst a fine\n  _alto-relievo_ in terra-cotta exists in the Royal Collection at\n  Munich (Fig. 29).\n\n\n=6. Iris.=\u2014Iris was originally a personification of the rainbow, but she\nwas afterwards converted into the swift messenger of the gods, the\nrainbow being, as it were, a bridge between earth and heaven. In this\ncharacter she makes her appearance in Homer, but, later still, she was\nagain transformed into a special attendant of Hera. Her swiftness was\nastounding; \u201cLike hail or snow,\u201d says Homer, \u201cthat falls from the\nclouds,\u201d she darts from one end of the world to the other\u2014nay, dives to\nthe hidden depths of the ocean and into the recesses of the lower world,\nexecuting the commands of the gods.\n\n  In art Iris was represented with wings, like Nice, to whom she, in\n  many respects, bears a strong resemblance. She may be distinguished\n  from the latter, however, by her herald\u2019s staff (Caduceus). A very\n  much injured specimen, from the east pediment of the Parthenon at\n  Athens, is now preserved in the British Museum.\n\n\n=7. Hebe (Juventas).=\u2014Hebe was the daughter of Zeus and Hera, and,\naccording to her natural interpretation, represented the youthful bloom\nof Nature. In the fully developed mythology of the Greeks she appears as\nthe cupbearer of the gods, to whom, at meals, she presents the sweet\nnectar. It may at first seem strange that the daughter of the greatest\nof the divinities of Greece should be relegated to so inferior a\nposition. This, however, is easily explained by the old patriarchal\ncustom of the Greeks, by which the young unmarried daughters, even in\nroyal palaces, waited at table on the men of the family and the guests.\n\nIn post-Homeric poetry and legend Hebe no longer appears as cupbearer of\nthe gods, the office having been assigned to Ganymedes. This was either\nin consequence of the promotion of the son of the King of Troy, or on\naccount of Hebe\u2019s marriage with the deified Heracles.\n\nHebe occupies no important place in the religious system of the Greeks;\nshe seems to have been chiefly honoured in connection with her mother\nHera, or now and then with Heracles.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 30.\u2014Hebe. From Antonio Canova.]\n\nJuventas, or Juventus, is the corresponding deity of the Romans; but, as\nwas the case with so many others, they contrived to bring her into a\nmore intimate connection with their political life by honouring in her\nthe undying and unfading vigour of the state. She had a separate chapel\nin the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.\n\n  With regard to the artistic representation of Hebe, statues of this\n  goddess appear to have been very rare in ancient times; at least,\n  among all the numerous statues that have been discovered, none can\n  be safely identified with Hebe. She is the more often met with on\n  ornamental vases and reliefs, on which the marriage of Heracles and\n  Hebe is a favourite subject. She is usually depicted as a\n  highly-graceful, modest maiden, pouring out nectar from an upraised\n  vessel. She appears thus in the world-renowned masterpiece of the\n  Italian sculptor Canova, so well known from casts. In default of an\n  ancient statue, we give an engraving of this work (Fig. 30).\n\n\n=8. Ganymedes.=\u2014A similar office in Olympus was filled by the son of\nTros, the King of Troy, Ganymedes, who was made immortal by Zeus, and\ninstalled as cupbearer of the gods. Neither Homer nor Pindar, however,\nrelate the episode of Zeus sending his eagle to carry off Ganymedes.\nThis feature of the story, which is a favourite subject of artistic\nrepresentation, is first found in Apollodorus. The Roman poet, Ovid,\nthen went a step farther, and made the ruler of Olympus transform\nhimself into an eagle, in order to carry off his favourite.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 31.\u2014Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen.]\n\n  The rape of the beautiful boy is often portrayed in ancient art. The\n  most famous monument is a bronze group of Leochares, an artist who\n  flourished in the fourth century B.C. A copy of it still exists in\n  the celebrated statue of Ganymedes in the Vatican collection. In\n  modern art the story has been treated with still greater frequency.\n  There is an extremely beautiful group of this kind by Thorwaldsen,\n  in which Ganymedes is represented as giving the eagle drink out of a\n  bowl (Fig. 31).\n\n\n                   _2. The Phenomena of the Heavens._\n\n\n=1. Helios (Sol).=\u2014Helios (Latin _Sol_), the sun-god, belongs to that\nsmall class of deities who have preserved their physical meaning intact.\nHis worship was confined to a few places, the most important of which\nwas the island of Rhodes. An annual festival, attended with musical and\nathletic contests, was here celebrated with great pomp in honour of the\nsun-god. He is portrayed by the poets as a handsome youth with flashing\neyes and shining hair covered with a golden helmet. His daily office was\nto bring the light of day to gods and men, which he performed by rising\nfrom Oceanus in the east, where the Ethiopians live, and completing his\ncourse along the firmament. For this purpose the post-Homeric poets\nendow him with a sun-chariot drawn by four fiery horses; and though\nHomer and Hesiod do not attempt to explain how he passed from the west\nwhere he sets, to the east where he rises, later poets obviate the\ndifficulty by making him sail round half the world in a golden boat\n(according to others a golden bed); and thus he was supposed again to\narrive at the east. In the far west Helios had a splendid palace, and\nalso a celebrated garden, which was under the charge of the Hesperides.\nHe is described as the son of the Titans Hyperion and Thea, whence he\nhimself is called a Titan. By his wife Perse, a daughter of Oceanus, he\nbecame the father of \u00c6\u00ebtes, King of Colchis, celebrated in the legend of\nthe Argonauts, and of the still more celebrated sorceress Circe. Another\nson of Helios was Pha\u00ebthon, who, in attempting to drive his father\u2019s\nhorses, came to an untimely end.\n\nHelios sees and hears every thing; whence he was believed to bring\nhidden crimes to light, and was invoked as a witness at all solemn\ndeclarations and oaths.\n\nAll the stories relating to Helios were gradually transferred to the\nRoman Sol, who was originally a Sabine deity, chiefly by means of the\nMetamorphoses of Ovid. The untiring charioteer of the heavens was also\nhonoured as the patron of the race-course; but he never attained a\nprominent position in religious worship.\n\n  Helios, or Sol, is depicted as a handsome youth, his head encircled\n  by a crown, which gives forth twelve bright rays corresponding to\n  the number of the months, his mantle flying about his shoulders as\n  he stands in his chariot. It was chiefly in Rhodes, however, that\n  Helios was made the subject of the sculptor\u2019s art. Here, in 280\n  B.C., was erected in his honour the celebrated colossal statue which\n  has acquired a world-wide celebrity under the name of the Colossus\n  of Rhodes, and which was reckoned as one of the seven \u201cwonders of\n  the world.\u201d It was the work of Chares of Lindus, and was 105 feet in\n  height.\n\n\n=2. Selene (Luna).=\u2014As Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo, so is\nSelene the twin sister of Helios; he representing the sun, she the moon.\nSelene, however, never really enjoyed divine honours in Greece. The\npoets depict her as a white-armed goddess, whose beautiful tresses are\ncrowned with a brilliant diadem. In the evening she rises from the\nsacred river of Oceanus, and pursues her course along the firmament of\nheaven in her chariot drawn by two white horses. She is gentle and\ntimid, and it is only in secret that she loves beautiful youths and\nkisses them in sleep. Poets delight to sing of the secret love she\ncherished for the beautiful Endymion, the son of the King of Elis. She\ncaused him to fall into an eternal sleep, and he now reposes in a rocky\ngrotto on Mount Latmus, where Selene nightly visits him, and gazes with\nrapture on his countenance.\n\nIn later times she was often confounded with Artemis, Hecate, and\nPersephone. The same remarks apply to the Roman Luna. The latter,\nhowever, had a temple of her own on the Aventine, which was supposed to\nhave been dedicated to her by Servius Tullius. Like her brother Sol, she\nwas honoured in Rome in connection with the circus, and was held to\npreside over the public games.\n\n  In sculpture, Selene, or Luna, may be recognised by the half moon on\n  her forehead, and by the veil over the back of her head; she also\n  bears in her hand a torch. The sleeping Endymion was a frequent\n  subject of representation on sarcophagi and monuments.\n\n\n=3. Eos (Aurora).=\u2014Eos, the goddess of the dawn, was also a daughter of\nHyperion and Thea, and a sister of Selene and Helios. She was first\nmarried to the Titan Astr\u00e6us, by whom she became the mother of the\nwinds\u2014Boreas, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus (north, west, east, and south\nwinds). This is a mythological mode of intimating the fact that the wind\ngenerally rises at dawn. After Astr\u00e6us, who, like most of the Titans,\nhad rebelled against the sovereignty of Zeus, and had been cast into\nTartarus, Eos chose the handsome hunter Orion for her husband. The gods,\nhowever, would not consent to their union, and Orion was slain by the\narrows of Artemis, after which Eos married Tithonus, the son of the King\nof Troy. She begged Zeus to bestow on him immortality, but, having\nforgotten to ask for eternal youth, the gift was of doubtful value,\nsince Tithonus at last became a shrivelled-up, decrepid old man, in whom\nthe goddess took no pleasure.\n\nMemnon, King of \u00c6thiopia, celebrated in the story of the Trojan war, was\na son of Eos and Tithonus. He came to the assistance of Troy, and was\nslain by Achilles. Since then, Eos has wept without ceasing for her\ndarling son, and her tears fall to the earth in the shape of dew.\n\nEos is represented by the poets as a glorious goddess, with beautiful\nhair, rosy arms and fingers\u2014a true picture of the invigorating freshness\nof the early morning. Cheerful and active, she rises early from her\ncouch, and, enveloped in a saffron-coloured mantle, she harnesses her\nhorses Lampus and Pha\u00ebthon (Brightness and Lustre), in order that she\nmay hasten on in front of the sun-god and announce the day.\n\nThe views and fables connected with Eos were transferred by the Roman\nwriters to the person of their goddess Aurora[4] without undergoing any\nalteration.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n  The Mater Matuta of the Romans was a deity very similar to the Eos of\n  the Greeks. She was the goddess of the early dawn, and was held in\n  high estimation among the Roman women as a deity who assisted them in\n  childbirth. Like the Greek Leucothea, she was also regarded as a\n  goddess of the sea and harbours, who assisted those in peril.\n\n  Representations of this goddess are found now and then on vases and\n  gems. She either appears driving a chariot and four horses, as\n  harnessing the steeds of Helios, or as gliding through the air on\n  wings and sprinkling the earth with her dew.\n\n\n=4. The Stars.=\u2014Only a few of the stars are of any importance in\nmythology. Phosphorus and Hesperus, the morning star and the evening\nstar, which were formerly regarded as two distinct beings, were\nrepresented in art in the guise of beautiful boys with torches in their\nhands. There were also several legends relating to Orion, whom we have\nalready alluded to as the husband of Eos. He himself was made a\nconstellation after having been slain by the arrows of Artemis, while\nhis dog was Sirius, whose rising announces the hottest season of the\nyear. All kinds of myths were invented about other constellations; among\nothers, the Hyades, whose rising betokened the advent of the stormy,\nrainy season, during which the sailor avoids going to sea. The story\nwent that they were placed among the constellations by the gods out of\npity, because they were inconsolable at the death of their brother Hyas,\nwho was killed by a lion whilst hunting. Connected with them are the\nPleiades, _i.e._, the stars of mariners, so called because on their\nrising in May the favourable season for voyages begins. They were seven\nin number, and were likewise set in the heavens by the gods. Finally, we\nmust not forget to mention Arctus, the Bear. Tradition asserted that\nthis was none other than the Arcadian nymph Callisto, who had been\nplaced among the constellations by Zeus when slain in the form of a\nshe-bear by Artemis. She had broken her vows of chastity, and borne a\nson, Arcas, to Zeus.\n\n\n=5. The Winds.=\u2014The four chief winds have been already alluded to as the\nsons of Eos. They were especially venerated by those about to make\nvoyages, who then solicited their favour with prayers and offerings.\nOtherwise, they maintained their character of pure natural forces, and\nwere, consequently, of little importance in mythology. The rude north\nwind, Boreas, or Aquilo, was especially dreaded on account of his stormy\nviolence, and was hence regarded as a bold ravisher of maidens. Thus an\nAttic legend asserts that he carried off Orithyia, the daughter of\nErechtheus, as she was playing on the banks of the Ilissus. She bore him\nCala\u00efs and Zetes, well known in the story of the Argonauts. Boreas,\nhowever, stood in high favour among the Athenians, who erected an altar\nand chapel to him, because, during the Persian war, he had partially\ndestroyed the fleet of Xerxes off Cape Sepias.\n\nAs Boreas is the god of the winter storm, so Zephyrus appears as the\nwelcome messenger of Spring; on which account one of the Hor\u00e6 was given\nhim to wife. Zephyrus was called Favonius by the Romans, to intimate the\nfavourable influence he exercised on the prosperous growth of the\nvegetable world.\n\nThese, together with the other chief winds, Notus (south wind) and Eurus\n(east wind) were sometimes said to reside in separate places; at other\ntimes they were said to dwell together in the Wind-mountain, on the\nfabulous island of \u00c6olia, where they were ruled over by King \u00c6olus.\n\n\n                    _3. Gods of Birth and Healing._\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 32.\u2014Asclepius. Berlin.]\n\n\n=1. Asclepius (\u00c6sculapius).=\u2014It was only in later times that the\nnecessity of having special gods of birth and healing made itself felt;\nat all events, Asclepius, or \u00c6sculapius, as he is called by the Romans,\ndoes not appear as a god in Homer. The worship of this deity, who was\nsaid to be the son of Apollo, appears to have originated in Epidaurus,\nthe seat of his principal shrine, and thence to have become generally\ndiffused. In Epidaurus his priests erected a large hospital, which\nenjoyed a great reputation. The common method of cure consisted in\nallowing those who were sick to sleep in the temple, on which occasion,\nif they had been zealous in their prayers and offerings, the god\nappeared to them in a dream and discovered the necessary remedy.\n\nThe worship of this deity was introduced into Rome in the year 291 B.C.,\nin consequence of a severe pestilence which for years had depopulated\ntown and country. The Sibylline books were consulted, and they\nrecommended that Asclepius of Epidaurus should be brought to Rome. The\nstory goes that the sacred serpent of the god followed the Roman\nambassadors of its own accord, and chose for its abode the Insula\nTiberina at Rome, where a temple was at once erected to \u00c6sculapius. A\ngilded statue was added to the temple in the year 13 B.C. The method\nalready mentioned of sleeping in the temple was also adopted here.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 33.\u2014Head of Asclepius. British Museum.]\n\n  In art, Asclepius is represented as a bearded man of ripe years,\n  with singularly noble features, from which the kindly benevolence of\n  a benefactor of mankind looks forth. He is generally accompanied by\n  a serpent, as a symbol of self-renovating vital power, which he is\n  feeding and caressing, or which is more commonly represented as\n  creeping up his staff. Such is the conception in the engraving (Fig.\n  32), which is after a statue preserved at Berlin. As the god of\n  healing, he has also other attributes\u2014a bowl containing the healing\n  draught, a bunch of herbs, a pine-apple, or a dog; the latter being\n  a symbol of the vigilance with which the physician watches disease.\n\n  There are numerous extant statues of the god, although the great\n  statue in gold and ivory of the temple at Epidaurus has been\n  entirely lost. A fine head of colossal proportions was discovered on\n  the Isle of Melos, and is now an ornament of the British Museum\n  (Fig. 33). There is, on the other hand, a very fine statue without a\n  head in existence at Athens, near the temple of Zeus. There are,\n  moreover, celebrated statues in Florence, Paris, and Rome (Vatican);\n  in the last case, of a beardless \u00c6sculapius.\n\n\n=2. Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing.=\u2014The Greeks also honoured\nIlithyia as a goddess of birth. This appears to have been originally a\nsurname of Hera, as a deity who succoured women in childbirth. Hygiea\nwas looked on as a goddess of health, and was described as a daughter of\nAsclepius.\n\nThe Romans had no need of a special goddess presiding over birth,\nalthough they honoured a deity often identified with Hygiea, whom they\ncalled Strenia, or Salus. As guardian of the chamber of birth, they\nhonoured Carna, or Cardea, who was supposed to drive away the evil\nStriges (screech owls) that came at night to suck the blood of the\nnew-born child. Carna was further regarded as the protectress of\nphysical health. Another of these inferior deities, of whom men sought\nlong life and continued health, bore the name of Anna Perenna (the\ncircling year).\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 34.\u2014Night and the Fates. From Carstens.]\n\n\n                         _4. Deities of Fate._\n\n\n=1. M\u0153r\u00e6 (Parc\u00e6).=\u2014The M\u0153r\u00e6, better known by the Latin name of Parc\u00e6,\nreally denote that portion of a man\u2019s life and fortune which is\ndetermined from his birth; so that, in this sense, there are as many\nM\u0153r\u00e6 as individuals. The Greeks, however, who were wont to revere all\nsuch indefinite numbers under the sacred number three, generally\nrecognised three. These they regarded as the dark and inexplicable\npowers of fate, daughters of the night. Their names were Clotho\n(spinner), Lachesis (allotter), and Atropos (inevitable).\n\nOnly two Parc\u00e6 were originally known to the Romans, but a third was\nafterwards added to make their own mythology harmonise with that of the\nGreeks.\n\n  The popular conception of the Parc\u00e6 as grave hoary women was not\n  followed in art, where they always appear as young. In the first\n  instance, their attributes were all alike, separate functions not\n  yet having been allotted to them. But at a subsequent period it was\n  Clotho who spun, Lachesis who held, and Atropos who cut the thread\n  of life. This arrangement was first adopted by later artists, who\n  generally give Clotho a spindle, Lachesis a roll of parchment, and\n  Atropos a balance, or let the last point to the hour of death on a\n  dial. Such is the case in a talented creation of Carstens, in which\n  the conception of modern times is brought into harmony with the\n  ideal of antiquity (Fig. 34).\n\n\n=2. Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathod\u00e6mon (Bonus Eventus).=\u2014Nemesis\nreally denotes the apportionment of that fate which is justly deserved,\nand a consequent repugnance to that which is not. Homer does not\nacknowledge Nemesis as a goddess, and so it is probable that her claim\nto public veneration dates from a later period. She was regarded as a\ngoddess of equality, who watches over the equilibrium of the moral\nuniverse, and sees that happiness and misfortune are allotted to man\naccording to merit. Hence arose, subsequently, the idea of an avenging\ndeity, who visits with condign punishment the crimes and wickedness of\nmankind. In this character she resembles the Furies. The Romans likewise\nintroduced Nemesis into their system; at least her statue stood on the\nCapitol, though popular superstition never regarded her with a friendly\neye.\n\n  The various conceptions of Nemesis are again displayed in works of\n  art. The kindly, gentle goddess, who dispenses what is just, is\n  depicted as a young woman of grave and thoughtful aspect, holding in\n  her hand the instruments of measurement and control (cubit, bridle,\n  and rudder). As the stern avenger of human crimes, she appears with\n  wings in a chariot drawn by griffins, with a sword or whip in her\n  hand.\n\nTyche, the goddess of good fortune, was, according to common accounts,\nthe daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She was usually honoured as the\ntutelary deity of towns, and as such had temples and statues in many\npopulous cities of Greece and Asia. In course of time, however, the idea\ngained ground that Tyche was the author of evil as well as of good\nfortune. She resembled, in this respect, the Fortuna of the Romans, who\nwas regarded as the source of all that is unexpected in human life.\nServius Tullius was said to have introduced into Rome the worship of\nFortuna, whose favourite he had certainly every reason to regard\nhimself. He erected a temple to her under the name of Fors Fortuna, and\nmade the 24th of June the common festival of the goddess. Later, her\nworship became still more extensive. Under the most different surnames,\nsome of which referred to the state (_Fortuna populi Romani_), and\nothers to every description of private affairs, she had a great number\nof temples and chapels erected in her honour. She had also celebrated\ntemples in Antium and Pr\u00e6neste.\n\n  Ancient artists endowed this goddess with various attributes, the\n  most important of which was the rudder, which she held in her hand\n  in token of her power to control the fortunes of mankind. She is\n  also endowed with a sceptre for the same purpose, and with a horn of\n  plenty as the giver of good fortune; sometimes she is also\n  represented with the youthful Plutus in her arms. The later\n  conception of an impartial goddess of fate is apparent in those\n  art-monuments which depict her standing on a ball or wheel. Among\n  the larger existing works, we may mention a copy preserved in the\n  Vatican of a Tyche by Eutychides of Sicyon, which was formerly\n  exhibited in Antioch. The goddess here wears a mural crown on her\n  head as the tutelary deity of towns, and has a sheaf of corn in her\n  right hand.\n\nBesides Fortuna, the Romans honoured a deity called Felicitas as the\ngoddess of positive good fortune. Lucullus is said to have erected a\ntemple to her in Rome, which was adorned with the works of art brought\nby Mummius from the spoils of Corinth. Even this did not suffice for the\nreligious needs of the people, and we find that the belief in personal\nprotecting deities grew rapidly among both Greeks and Romans. These\ndeities were termed by the Greeks \u201cd\u00e6mones,\u201d and by the Romans \u201cgenii.\u201d\nThey were believed to be the invisible counsellors of every individual,\naccompanying him from birth to death, through all the stages of life,\nwith advice and comfort. Offerings of wine, cake, incense, and garlands\nwere made to them, particularly on birthdays.\n\n\n                  II.\u2014THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS.\n\n\n=1. Poseidon (Neptunus).=\u2014Poseidon, or Neptunus, as he was called by the\nRomans, was the son of Cronus and Rhea. Homer calls him the younger\nbrother of Zeus, in which case his subjection to the latter is only\nnatural. According to the common account, however, Zeus was the youngest\nof the sons of Cronus, but acquired the sovereignty over his brothers by\nhaving overthrown their cruel father. Poseidon was accordingly indebted\nto his brother for his dominion over the sea and its deities, and was\ntherefore subject to him. He usually dwelt, not in Olympus, but at the\nbottom of the sea. Here he was supposed to inhabit, with Amphitrite his\nwife, a magnificent golden palace in the neighbourhood of \u00c6g\u00e6.\nOriginally, like Oceanus and Pontus, he was a mere symbol of the watery\nelement, but he afterwards attained an entirely independent personality.\nEven in Homer he no longer appears as the sea itself, but as its mighty\nruler, who with his powerful arms upholds and circumscribes the earth.\nHe is violent and impetuous, like the element he represents. When he\nstrikes the sea with his trident, the symbol of his sovereignty, the\nwaves rise with violence, dash in pieces the ships, and inundate the\nland far and wide. Poseidon likewise possesses the power of producing\nearthquakes, cleaving rocks, and raising islands in the midst of the\nsea. On the other hand, a word or look from him suffices to allay the\nwildest tempest. Virgil, in the first book of the _\u00c6neid_, has given a\nbeautiful description of the taming of the fierce elements by the god.\n\nPoseidon was naturally regarded as the chief god of all the seafaring\nclasses, such as fishermen, boatmen, and sailors, who esteemed him as\ntheir patron and tutelary deity. To him they addressed their prayers\nbefore entering on a voyage, to him they brought their offerings in\ngratitude for their safe return from the perils of the deep.\n\nPoseidon, therefore, enjoyed the highest reputation among the seafaring\nIonians. His temples, altars, and statues were most numerous in the\nharbours and seaport towns, and on islands and promontories. Among the\nnumerous shrines of this deity we may mention that of Corinth, in the\nneighbourhood of which were celebrated in his honour the Isthmian games,\nwhich subsequently became a national festival in Greece, Pylus, Athens,\nand the islands of Rhodes, Cos, and Tenos.\n\nIt was only natural that many legends, local and provincial, should\nexist about a god who played such an important part in the lives of\nseafaring folk. In the Trojan epos he figures as a violent enemy of\nTroy, his indignation having been provoked by the injustice of the\nTrojan king, Laomedon. Poseidon had built the walls of Troy at the\nking\u2019s request with the aid of Apollo, but Laomedon having cheated him\nin the matter of the stipulated reward, Poseidon thereupon sent a\nterrible sea-monster, which laid waste the crops and slew the\ninhabitants. They had recourse to the oracle, which counselled the\nsacrifice of the king\u2019s daughter Hesione. The unhappy maiden was exposed\nto the monster, but was rescued by Heracles. The fable of this monster,\nwhich is manifestly a symbol of the inundation of the sea, is repeated\nin many succeeding stories (_e.g._, in the story of Perseus, who rescued\nin a similar way Andromeda, the daughter of the king of \u00c6thiopia). There\nare numberless stories, in which Poseidon appears as the father of the\ndifferent national heroes. The most important is, perhaps, the legend of\nTheseus, of which we shall speak later on. There was scarcely a Grecian\ntown or district which did not lay claim to divine origin for the person\nof its founder or ancestral hero. Again, the conception of the wild\nstormy nature of the sea caused Poseidon to be represented as the father\nof various giants and monsters. By the nymph Tho\u00f6sa he became the father\nof the savage Polyphemus, slain by Odysseus, who thus provoked the\nimplacable enmity of Poseidon. The giant Ant\u00e6us, who fought with\nHeracles, was also said to be a son of Poseidon; besides many other\nmonsters, such as Procrustes, Cercyon, and the Alo\u00efd\u00e6.\n\nThe favourite animal of Poseidon was the horse, which he was supposed to\nhave created. This may, perhaps, be due to the fact that the imagination\nof the Greeks pictured to itself the horses of Poseidon in the rolling\nand bounding waves. In Athens the origin of the horse was referred to\nthe contest between Athene and Poseidon, as to who should make the land\nthe most useful present. In Corinthian legend Poseidon appears as the\nfather of the winged horse Pegasus by Medusa. This story is connected\nwith the taming of the horse, which was ascribed to Poseidon. On account\nof his intimate connection with the horse, Poseidon was especially\nregarded as the patron of the games, and had, in consequence, an altar\nof his own on all race-courses. The competitors, before the races,\nsolicited his favour with prayers and sacrifices.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 35.\u2014Poseidon. Dolce Gem.]\n\nThe dolphin and the pine-tree were held sacred to Poseidon, the latter\nprobably because it was so extensively used in shipbuilding. Black\nsteers, horses, rams, and wild boars were sacrificed to him.\n\nThe Romans not being a seafaring people, Neptune never stood in such\nhigh estimation among them as among the Greeks. In Rome his prominent\ncharacteristic was his connection with the horse and the race-course.\nThese were placed under his special protection, for which reason the\nonly temple he had in Rome stood in the Circus Flaminius.\n\n  The representation of Poseidon, or Neptune, in art harmonises\n  tolerably well with the descriptions of the poets. He is accordingly\n  represented as similar to his brother Zeus in size and figure, with\n  broad deep chest, dark wavy hair, and piercing eyes.\n\n  Artists intimated the greater violence of his nature by giving him\n  more angularity of face, and a more bristling and disordered head of\n  hair than Zeus. The expression of his countenance is more grave and\n  severe, and the kindly smile that plays around the mouth of Zeus is\n  altogether wanting.\n\n  Ancient statues of Poseidon are comparatively rare. The Vatican\n  Museum possesses a fine bust, and also a marble statue of the god.\n  He is generally distinguished by the trident in his right hand;\n  sometimes in its place we find a tiller. A band similar to a diadem\n  denotes his dominion over the sea. Our engraving of the god is after\n  a beautiful gem of the Dolce collection (Fig. 35).\n\n\n=2. Amphitrite.=\u2014After Poseidon had attained an almost exclusive\nveneration as god of the sea, Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, was given\nhim to wife. According to the usual account, he carried her away from\nNaxos. Others say that she fled to Atlas to avoid the rude wooing of the\ngod, but Poseidon\u2019s dolphin found her and fetched her back. She had\nthree children by Poseidon\u2014Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme.\n\n  In plastic art, Amphitrite is generally depicted as a slim and\n  beautiful young woman, either nude or half clothed, riding in the\n  chariot of Poseidon at his side, or by herself. On gems she also\n  appears enthroned on the back of a mighty Triton, or riding a\n  seahorse or dolphin. Her hair generally falls loosely about her\n  shoulders. She is distinguished by the royal insignia of the diadem\n  and sceptre, at times she also wields the trident of her husband.\n\nThe worship of Amphitrite was entirely unknown to the Romans, who\nrecognised the sea-goddess Salacia as the wife of Neptune.\n\n\n=3. Triton and the Tritons.=\u2014Triton was the only son of Poseidon and\nAmphitrite; he never appears, however, to have enjoyed divine honours.\nThis perhaps explains how it came to pass that he was subsequently\ndegraded to the level of a fabulous sea-monster. The poet Apollonius\nRhodius describes him as having a body, the upper parts of which were\nthose of a man, while the lower parts were those of a dolphin. Such too\nis his appearance in works of art. Poets and artists soon revelled in\nthe conception of a whole race of similar Tritons, who were regarded as\na wanton, mischievous tribe, like the Satyrs on land.\n\n  The Tritons, as sea-deities of fantastic form, are of little\n  importance in higher art, though they were all the more frequently\n  employed in fountains and water-works. The fore-legs of a horse were\n  sometimes added to the human body and dolphin\u2019s tail, thus giving\n  rise to the figure termed the Ichthyocentaur.\n\n\n=4. Pontus and his Descendants.=\u2014We have already spoken of Pontus and\nhis race in our account of the Theogony. Here we can only mention those\nof his children who either enjoyed divine honours, or are of importance\nin art. The eldest among them was Nereus.\n\n_1. Nereus and his Daughters._\u2014Nereus presents to us the calm and\npleasant side of the sea. He appears as a kindly, benevolent old man,\nthe good spirit of the \u00c6gean sea, where he dwells with his fifty lovely\ndaughters, the Nereids, ever ready to assist the storm-beaten sailor in\nthe hour of need. Like all water-spirits, Nereus possessed the gift of\nprophecy, though he did not always choose to make use of it. Heracles\nsought him on his way to the garden of the Hesperides, in order to learn\nhow he might get possession of the golden apples. In spite of his urgent\nentreaties, Nereus endeavoured to elude him by assuming every kind of\nshape, though he was at length vanquished by the persistence of the\nhero, who would not let him go until he had obtained the necessary\ninformation.\n\nBy his wife Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of\nfifty, or, according to some, of a hundred daughters, who were all\nvenerated as kindly, beneficent sea-nymphs. They are a charming, lovely\ntribe, who win the hearts of the sailors\u2014now by their merry sports and\ndances, now by their timely assistance in the hour of danger. This\njoyous band generally forms the train of Poseidon and Amphitrite.\nBesides Amphitrite, the chosen bride of Poseidon, we find among them\nThetis, the beautiful mother of Achilles, so celebrated in ancient\npoetry, who usually figures as their leader. Her beauty and grace were\nso great that Zeus himself became her lover. He surrendered her,\nhowever, to Peleus, son of \u00c6acus, because an oracle had declared that\nthe son of Thetis should become greater than his father.\n\n  In art Nereus generally appears as an old man with thin grey locks.\n  He is commonly distinguished by a sceptre, or even a trident. The\n  Nereids were depicted as graceful maidens, in earlier times slightly\n  clothed, but later entirely nude, riding on dolphins, Tritons, or\n  other fabulous monsters of the deep.\n\n_2. Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto._\u2014Whilst Nereus and his daughters represent\nthe sea in its peaceful aspect, Thaumas, the second son of Pontus,\nrepresents it as the world of wonders. By Electra, a daughter of\nOceanus, he became the father of Iris, the messenger of the gods, and\nalso of the Harpies. The latter personify the storm-winds. Originally\nfair maidens, they were afterwards represented as winged creatures, half\nman and half bird; they had the faces of maidens, but their bodies were\ncovered with vultures\u2019 feathers; they were pale and emaciated in\nappearance, and were continually tormented with an insatiable hunger.\nThey are best known from the story of the Argonauts, where they appear\nas the tormentor of the blind king Phineus, whose table they continually\nrobbed of its viands, which they either devoured or spoiled. They were\nregarded by the ancients as the ministers of sudden death, and were said\nto be either two or three in number. Phorcys and Ceto, the brother and\nsister of Thaumas, present to us the sea under its terrible aspect. This\npair, from whose union sprang the Gorgons, the Gr\u00e6\u00e6, and the dragon of\nthe Hesperides, typify all the terrors and dangers of the deep. We shall\nhave more to say concerning the Gorgons and Gr\u00e6\u00e6 in the story of\nPerseus.\n\n\n=5. Proteus.=\u2014Proteus is a deity of inferior rank. He is represented as\nan old man (the servant of Poseidon) endowed with the gift of prophecy.\nHe plays the same part in the story of Troy as Nereus does in that of\nHeracles. His usual abode was the island of Pharos. It was thither that\nMenelaus turned after he had been driven to the coast of Egypt, on his\nreturn from Troy, to seek the advice of the \u201cunerring old man of the\nsea.\u201d But Proteus, being in no amiable mood, sought to elude the\nimportunity of the hero by converting himself into a lion, a dragon, a\npanther, a wild boar, and many other forms. At length, however, he was\nvanquished by the persistence of Menelaus, and vouchsafed an answer. He\nwas supposed to be the keeper of the fish who inhabit the depths of the\nsea, and of the other marine animals.\n\n  In works of art he generally appears like a Triton, i.e., with body\n  ending in a fish\u2019s tail. He is usually distinguished by a crook.\n\n\n=6. Glaucus.=\u2014Among the inferior sea-deities, Glaucus deserves mention\nas playing a part in the story of the Argonauts. He was really only a\nlocal god of the Anthedonians in B\u0153otia, and his worship was not\nextended to other places in Greece. But though he had no splendid\ntemples, he stood in very high estimation among the lower classes of\nsailors and fishermen; indeed we find universally that the common\npeople, in all their cares, turned rather to the inferior deities, whom\nthey supposed to stand closer to them, than to the higher and more\nimportant gods. According to the story, Glaucus was originally a\nfisherman of Anthedon, who attained in a wonderful manner the rank of a\ngod. One day, after having caught some fish, he laid them half dead on\nthe turf close by. He was astonished to see, however, that on coming in\ncontact with a certain herb, which was unknown to him, they were\nrestored to life and sprang back into the sea. He himself now ate of\nthis wonderful herb, and immediately felt himself penetrated by so\nwondrous a sensation of bliss and animation that, in his excitement, he\ntoo sprang into the sea. Oceanus and Thetis hereupon cleansed him from\nall his human impurities, and gave him a place among the sea-gods. He\nwas venerated on many of the islands and coasts of Greece as a friendly\ndeity, ever ready to assist the shipwrecked sailor or the castaway.\n\n  In art he is represented as a Triton, rough and shaggy in\n  appearance, his body covered with mussels or sea-weed. His hair and\n  beard show that luxuriance which characterises sea-gods.\n\n\n=7. Ino Leucothea, and Melicertes.=\u2014Like Glaucus, Ino, the daughter of\nCadmus, attained at once immortality and divine rank by a leap into the\nsea. She was a sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and the wife of\nAthamas, king of Orchomenus. It was she who, after the unhappy death of\nSemele, took charge of the infant Dionysus. Hera, however, avenged\nherself by driving Athamas mad, whereupon he dashed Learchus, his eldest\nson by Ino, against a rock. He was about to inflict the same fate on\nMelicertes, his second son, when in frantic haste the unhappy mother\nsought to save her child by flight. Athamas, however, pursued her as far\nas the Isthmus, when Ino, seeing no hope of escape, cast herself from\nthe rock Moluris into the sea. Here she was kindly received by the\nNereids, who converted both her and her son into sea-deities. She\nhenceforth bore the name of Leucothea, and her son that of Pal\u00e6mon. They\nwere both regarded as benevolent deities of the stormy sea, who came to\nthe assistance of those who were shipwrecked or in other peril. They\nappear in this guise in the _Odyssey_, where Odysseus, who saw only\ncertain death before him, is represented as having been saved by a scarf\nthrown to him by Leucothea.\n\n\n=8. The Sirens.=\u2014The Sirens must also be reckoned among the sea-deities.\nThey are best known from the story how Odysseus succeeded in passing\nthem with his companions without being seduced by their song. He had the\nprudence to stop the ears of his companions with wax, and to have\nhimself bound to the mast. The Sirens were regarded as the daughters\neither of the river-god Achelous by one of the nymphs, or of Phorcys and\nCeto. Only two Sirens are mentioned in Homer, but three or four were\nrecognised in later times and introduced into various legends, such as\nthat of the Argonauts, or the Sicilian story of the rape of Persephone.\nDemeter is said to have changed their bodies into those of birds,\nbecause they refused to go to the help of their companion, Persephone,\nwhen she was carried off by the god of the lower world.\n\n  In art they are represented, like the Harpies, as young women with\n  the wings and feet of birds. Sometimes they appear altogether like\n  birds, only with human faces; at other times with the arms and\n  bodies of women, in which case they generally hold instruments of\n  music in their hands. As their songs were death to those who were\n  seduced by them, they are often depicted on tombs as spirits of\n  death.\n\n\n=9. The Race of Oceanus.=\u2014Lastly, we must enumerate among the\nwater-deities the numerous descendants of Oceanus, viz., the Oceanids,\nand also the rivers that are spread over the earth. The latter were\nbelieved to have their common source in the ocean encircling the earth,\nand thence to flow beneath the ground until they reached the surface in\nsprings.\n\nOceanus himself appears in the myths which treat of the genealogy of the\ngods as the eldest son of Uranus and G\u00e6a, and therefore, like his wife\nTethys, a Titan. As he did not take part in the rebellion of the other\nTitans against the dominion of Zeus, he did not share their dreadful\nfate, but was allowed to remain in undisturbed enjoyment of his ancient\ndomain. He was supposed to dwell on the most western shores of the\nearth, which he never left even to attend the assemblies of the gods.\n\nOn account of their great importance to the fertility of the soil, the\nriver-gods enjoyed a great reputation among the Greeks, although their\nworship was entirely of a local nature. Only Achelous, the greatest of\nall the Greek rivers, appears to have enjoyed general veneration. The\nriver-gods were believed to dwell either in the depths of the rivers\nthemselves, or in rocky grottoes near their sources. They were depicted\neither as delicate youths, or as men in their prime, or as old men,\naccording to the magnitude of the river. They all possess a conformity\nwith the nature of their element, viz., that power of transformation\nwhich we discover in the other sea-deities. They also appear, like other\nwater-spirits, to possess the gift of prophecy.\n\nAmong the Romans all flowing waters were held sacred. Fontus, the son of\nJanus, was especially esteemed as the god of springs and fountains in\ngeneral; but, as among the Greeks, each river had its special deity. The\nmost important of these was Tiberinus. The springs were popularly\nsupposed to be inhabited by nymphs gifted with the powers of prophecy\nand magic, who sometimes honoured mortals with their favours, as Egeria\ndid King Numa.\n\n  In art the river-gods were commonly represented in the guise of\n  those animals whose forms they were most in the habit of assuming.\n  They thus appear as serpents, bulls, or even as men with bulls\u2019\n  heads. They were also portrayed, however, in purely human guise,\n  with the exception of having small horns on either side of the head.\n  Their attributes consist of urns and horns of plenty, symbols of the\n  blessings that proceed from them.\n\n\n              III.\u2014THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD.\n\nWe now come to a class of deities who stand in the most decided contrast\nto the gods of the heaven and the sea, whom we have previously\ndescribed. It consists of those deities whose power is incessantly\nexerted either on the surface or in the depths of the earth, and who are\naccordingly brought into the closest connection with the life of man.\nThe worship of these deities assumed among the Greeks a passionate and\nexcited character, at first entirely strange to the Romans, though it\ngradually crept in here also.\n\nThough the ancients saw in the earth, on the one hand, the fruitful\nsource of all life in nature, they did not seek to disguise the fact\nthat it is, on the other hand, also the open sepulchre into which all\nearthly existence sinks when its time is over. The worship of these\ndeities was therefore celebrated with festivals of joy and mirth at the\nseason of the revival of nature, and with mournful solemnities at the\nseason of its decay. The devotees manifested both their mirth and\nmourning in a loud, noisy, passionate manner, usually designated\norgiastic. An element of mystery never failed to introduce itself into\nthe worship of these deities, who, in virtue of their dwellings, were\nable to inspire a greater feeling of awe than the bright forms of the\ngods of heaven. Their wrath also, which manifested itself in the\nsterility of the soil, was the subject of especial fear. Mysteries\nproper, or secret rites, existed only among the Greeks, but never found\ntheir way into the religious systems of Italy. We shall enumerate first\nthe deities of the upper world, who preside over the growth of flocks\nand the fruits of the earth, and then those who inhabit the lower world.\n\n\n=1. G\u00e6a (Tellus).=\u2014First among them is G\u00e6a, or Mother Earth herself.\nThis deity appears in the Cosmogony (or myths relating to the formation\nof the universe) as one of the primeval creative forces, having herself\nproceeded immediately from Chaos. In later times she acquired a more\npersonal and plastic character, although she never attained any real\nimportance in the religious system of the Greeks, owing to the existence\nof more definite and substantial deities, such as Rhea, Hestia, Demeter,\nand Themis. The worship of Tellus in Rome was more important, although\nhere, too, it was somewhat thrown into the shade by the worship of Ceres\nand kindred deities.\n\nThe chief significance of G\u00e6a lies in the fact that she is the source of\nall life and increase in nature. She is hence regarded as a mother who\ntends with loving care all her children. Under this aspect her praises\nare sung by Hesiod, and also in an ancient Dodonaic hymn. Like Demeter\nand other deities who dispense prosperity and abundance, she appears as\ntending and nourishing the young, and is often represented thus on\nancient monuments.\n\nAt the same time G\u00e6a is the common grave of mankind, and draws all\nthings, with inexorable severity, down into her dark womb. She thus\nbecomes a goddess of death and the lower world, and was on this account\ninvoked, together with the Manes, as a witness of all solemn compacts\nand oaths.\n\nA very ancient shrine of this goddess existed at Delphi, and the oracle\nthere had once, said the Delphians, belonged to her.\n\nIn Rome, where she was also venerated as a goddess of marriage, her\ntemple stood on the site of the house of Spurius Cassius. Festive\nofferings were made to her before and after seed-time. On the occasion\nof the Paganalia, she and Ceres were propitiated by the sacrifice of a\npregnant sow, which was supposed to promote the prosperity of the coming\nyear.\n\n\n=2. Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Id\u00e6a).=\u2014Rhea is well known as the daughter\nof Uranus and G\u00e6a, and the wife of Cronus, by whom she became the mother\nof Zeus and the other Cronid\u00e6. She seems to have enjoyed only a limited\nmeasure of divine honours, until she was identified with the Phrygian\ngoddess Cybele, who, like the Egyptian Isis, was an Asiatic symbol of\nfertility. She was worshipped throughout Lydia and Phrygia under the\nappellation of the \u201cMighty Mother.\u201d Thence her worship, which was of a\npeculiarly noisy character, made its way through the Greek colonies into\nGreece itself, and towards the end of the second Punic war was, at the\ninstance of the Sibylline books, introduced into Rome. Attalus, king of\nPergamus, was on this occasion good enough to present the Romans with a\nsacred stone, which was regarded by the inhabitants of Pessinus as the\ngreat mother herself. After its arrival at Ostia, this stone was carried\nto Rome amid a solemn procession of Roman matrons. The day of its\narrival (10th April) was ever afterwards kept as a festival, at which\ngames were celebrated under the superintendence of the pr\u00e6tor. The\nworship of Cybele, however, never seems to have become naturalised in\nRome, perhaps because Romans were not allowed to officiate as her\npriests.\n\nThe true home of the worship of Cybele was the district of Pessinus, a\nrough and rocky mountain land. It was here that she made her noisy\nprocessions, seated in a chariot drawn by lions or panthers, amid the\nboisterous music of her weird attendants, the Corybantes and Curetes.\nThe myths that relate to the goddess bear a wild, fantastic character,\nsimilar to that of her rites. The best known among them is the story of\nher favourite, Attis, or Atys. He was a Phrygian youth of a beauty so\nexceptional that the great mother of the gods chose him for her husband.\nAt first he returned her affection, but afterwards he proved faithless,\nand was about to marry a daughter of the king of Pessinus. But the\nvengeance of the angry goddess overtook him, for when the wedding guests\nwere assembled at the festive banquet the goddess appeared in their\nmidst, and filled those present with panic fear, and troubled their\nminds. Atys fled to the mountains, where he slew himself in a fit of\nfrenzy. Afterwards, the goddess instituted a great mourning in memory of\nhim, which took place about the time of the vernal equinox. The priests\nof the goddess marched, amid the loud noise of kettle-drums and fifes,\nto the mountains, in order to search for the lost youth; and when at\nlength he, or an image representing him, was found, the priests, in an\necstasy of joy, danced about in wild excitement, gashing themselves with\nknives.\n\n  Representations of Rhea Cybele are rare. A statue representing her\n  seated on a throne is shown in the Vatican. Her usual attribute is a\n  kettle-drum.\n\n\n=3. Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber).=\u2014Dionysus, or Bacchus, was regarded by\nGreeks and Romans alike as the god of wine and vineyards. In his more\nextended meaning he represents the blessings of the autumn. It is he who\ncauses the fruits to ripen for the use of man; it is likewise he who\ndispenses to mankind all the advantages of civilisation and refinement,\nand of well-ordered political affairs.\n\nThebes was described as the birthplace of the god. His mother was\nSemele, the daughter of Cadmus, whom Zeus, the great god of heaven,\nhonoured with his love. This very love, however, proved fatal to Semele,\nfor the ever-jealous Hera came to her in the guise of her nurse, Bero\u00eb,\nand succeeded in exciting her suspicions as to the truth of her lover\u2019s\ndivinity. She insidiously persuaded Semele to make her lover swear to do\nwhat she desired, and then to put him to the test. Semele did so, and\nthen besought Zeus to appear to her in the full majesty of his divine\nform. In vain did Zeus adjure her to take back her foolish request; she\ninsisted on its fulfilment, and perished miserably, being burnt to ashes\nby the flame of Zeus, who approached her in a flash of lightning. Her\nunborn child was preserved by Zeus, who ordered Hermes to carry it to\nthe nymphs of Nysa to be brought up. A later legend makes Ino, the\nsister of Semele, the foster-mother of Dionysus. The locality of this\nNysa is somewhat uncertain, but it is generally supposed to be a\ndistrict of Mount Pang\u00e6us in Thrace.\n\nDionysus, after growing up amid the solitude of the forest and\nstrengthening himself by his contests with its wild beasts, at length\nplanted the vine. Both the god and his attendants soon became\nintoxicated with its juice; after which, crowned with wreaths of laurel\nand ivy, and accompanied by a crowd of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns, he\nranged the woods, which resounded with the loud and joyful cries of his\ninspired worshippers. The legend says that his education was then\ncompleted by Silenus, the son of Pan. In company with his preceptor and\nthe rest of his train, he then set forth to spread his worship and the\ncultivation of the vine among the nations of the earth. He did not\nconfine himself to mere vine-planting, however, but proved a real\nbenefactor of mankind by founding cities, and by introducing more\ncivilised manners and a more pleasant and sociable mode of life among\nmen. On such as refused his favours his wrath fell with dreadful effect.\nAgave, the mother of the Theban king Pentheus, who had refused to\nreceive him, and the rest of the Theban women, were driven mad by him;\nand in their frenzy they mistook the king for a wild boar and tore him\nto pieces.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 36.\u2014Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of\nLysicrates.]\n\nThe most celebrated among the myths which testify to the wondrous power\nof Dionysus is the story of the punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates. On\nthe occasion of his passage from Icaria to Naxos, these pirates put\nDionysus in chains, purposing to take him to Italy, and there sell him\nas a slave. At a nod from the youthful god the chains fell from his\nlimbs; he appeared as a lion, while a bear was seen at the other end of\nthe ship. Vines and ivy tendrils wound themselves round the mast and\nsails of the ship, which stood still, whilst the strains of the nymphs\nburst forth. The sailors, terrified by the transformation of the god,\nleaped overboard, and were changed into dolphins. A fine representation,\nin relief, of this scene still exists on the monument of Lysicrates, at\nAthens. The most beautiful feature in it is the figure of the god\nplaying with his lion in the most joyous unconsciousness (Fig. 36). With\nthe name of Naxos, which was a chief seat of his worship, is connected\nthe celebrated story of his marriage with Ariadne, the daughter of\nMinos, king of Crete. The Attic hero, Theseus, after escaping the\ndangers of the Labyrinth by her means, had taken her away with him from\nCrete in order to marry her. He deserted her, however, whilst asleep on\nthe island of Naxos, either of his own accord or because warned of the\ngod in a dream. The indescribable anguish and consternation of Ariadne,\non awaking to find herself alone and deserted on a foreign strand, was\nonly equalled by her joyous surprise when Bacchus, returning from his\ntravels in India, found her and made her his bride. The poets, indeed,\ndo not relate that Zeus then bestowed on her that immortality which he\nhad already given his son on account of his glorious achievements and\nextraordinary merit toward mankind; but such appears to have been the\npopular tradition. At Athens a sort of harvest thanksgiving was\ncelebrated in honour of both Dionysus and his bride, at which vines with\nthe grapes on them were borne in solemn procession through the streets\nof the city.\n\nThe worship of Dionysus extended not only over the whole of Greece, but\nalso to Italy, Asia Minor, Thrace, and Macedonia, and to every place\nwhere the vine was cultivated by the Greeks. The god was extolled as\nLy\u00e6us, the deliverer from care, and great festivals were instituted in\nhis honour, which were of a disorderly character, but very popular among\nthe common people. At the time of the winter solstice there was\nmourning, because at this season the vine seemed to die away, and the\ngod was believed to be suffering persecution at the hands of the evil\nspirits of winter, and obliged to flee in consequence to the sea or\nlower world. It was, therefore, thought right to suffer with him, and\npeople manifested their grief at his disappearance by every kind of wild\ngesture. At the winter festivals of Dionysus, which were celebrated\nevery other year, only women and girls took part. The festivals of the\ngod at the beginning of spring, when the new wine was tasted for the\nfirst time, were purely festivals of gladness, like the greater Dionysia\nat Athens. On these occasions the reawakening of nature was celebrated\nwith boundless joy and boisterous mirth. All kinds of jokes and\nmischievous pranks were indulged in, and festive processions and\ntheatrical performances followed each other in quick succession.\n\nThe following festivals were celebrated at Athens in honour of\nDionysus:\u2014\n\n1. The _Lesser_ or _Rural Dionysia_. This was the vintage festival\nproper, which did not take place in Attica till the end of November or\nbeginning of December, because they liked to let the grapes hang as long\nas possible. A he-goat was first solemnly sacrificed to the god; this\nwas followed by a festive procession bearing the sacred things, and the\nfestival concluded with all kinds of country amusements, dancing,\nmasquerading, and revelling. The chief amusement of the young men was\ndancing on the leather bag. Out of the skin of the slaughtered goat was\nmade a leather bag, which was inflated and smeared with oil: the young\nmen then attempted to dance on it.\n\n2. The _Len\u00e6a_, or feast of the wine-press, was celebrated in the month\nof January at Athens, in the place where, according to an old tradition,\nthe first wine-press had stood. Here stood the Len\u00e6on, one of the two\nchief temples of the god. The chief feature of the festival was a\nmagnificent procession with the sacred symbols of the god. This was\nfollowed by a great banquet, the viands for which were furnished by the\ncity of Athens. The new wine which was drunk on these occasions did not\ntend to diminish the hilarity of the worshippers, so that all kinds of\nmischievous jokes were perpetrated.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 37.\u2014The so-called Sardanapalus in the Vatican.]\n\n3. The _Anthesteria_ were celebrated in February, on the 11th, 12th, and\n13th days of the month Anthesterion. They were supposed to commemorate\nthe return of Dionysus from the lower world, or, in other words, the\nreawakening of nature from the sleep of winter. The first day was called\n\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03bf\u03b9\u03b3\u03af\u03b1 (cask-opening), because on this day the new wine was first\nbroached. The second and chief day of the festival was called \u03c7\u03cc\u03b5\u03c2\n(cups). A procession and a great banquet took place, at which the guests\nwere crowned with flowers. Many liberties were permitted to the slaves\non this occasion, as at the Roman Saturnalia. The third day was called\n\u03c7\u03cd\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9 (pots), because vessels were displayed filled with all kinds of\nboiled vegetables. These were regarded in the light of offerings for the\nsouls of the dead, who were popularly supposed to revisit the upper\nworld on this occasion.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 38.\u2014Youthful Dionysus. From the Chateau Richelieu, now in the\n    Louvre.]\n\n4. The _Greater_ or _City Dionysia_ formed the chief festival of the\ngod, and the proper spring-feast of the Athenians. It was celebrated\nwith extraordinary splendour in the month of March, and lasted several\ndays, bringing together a vast concourse of strangers from all parts.\nThe city, renowned alike for the refined artistic taste and the keen wit\nof its inhabitants, then donned its holiday garb, and innumerable merry\nantics were played by the crowds assembled in the streets and squares.\nThe chief feature of the festival was a solemn procession, in which an\nold wooden statue of the god was borne through the streets. There were\nlikewise banquets and comic processions in masks, and grand\nrepresentations of new comedies and tragedies. The proceedings concluded\nwith the presentation of prizes to the successful competitors.\n\nThe Italian nationalities likewise celebrated a festival on the 17th of\nMarch, called the Liberalia, in honour of Liber, or Liber Pater, the\nItalian god of the vine. It was distinguished throughout by the simple\ncountrified character of the proceedings, and resembled the Lesser\nDionysia of the inhabitants of Attica. People amused themselves with all\nkinds of jokes and antics, and with masquerades, the masks for which\nwere cut from the bark of trees. The chief object of the festival was to\npray for the fertility of the vines. These innocent festivals had\nnothing to do with the voluptuous Bacchanalia which were afterwards\nintroduced into Rome in imitation of the Greek mysteries, and which the\nmost rigorous interference of the authorities was unable to suppress.\n\nIf we try to conceive briefly the significance of the worship of\nDionysus in the religion of the ancients, we shall find that in his\nprimitive character the god was a personification of the active,\nproductive power of nature. As Demeter was supposed to give corn and the\nother fruits of the field, so Dionysus was supposed to give the fruits\nof trees, and especially of the vine. He was likewise regarded as the\nauthor of the blessings of civilisation, so that, on this point, he\nsupplements the idea of the great culture-goddess Demeter, with whom,\nboth among the Greeks and Romans, he had many temples and festivals in\ncommon. Looking at his character from another side, we find him coming\ninto contact with Apollo, since he was supposed not only to endow men\nwith a kindly, cheerful disposition, but also to inspire them with a\nlove of music, on which account he was honoured with Apollo as the\nfriend and leader of the Muses.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 39.\u2014Marble Head of Youthful Dionysus at Leyden.]\n\n  Artistic representations of Dionysus have come down to us on\n  numerous monuments. In earlier art he was generally depicted as\n  majestic and grave, and on that account represented with a beard. We\n  have given an instance of this earlier conception in the so-called\n  Sardanapalus of the Vatican (Fig. 37). In later art he became more\n  youthful, and was characterised by a delicate roundness of form. The\n  statues of this period are distinguished by the almost feminine\n  expression of face with which they endow the god, as well as by the\n  rounded limbs and the graceful ease of every attitude. The statue of\n  a youthful Dionysus in the Louvre at Paris is an instance of this\n  later mode of conception (Fig. 38). So likewise is the head of\n  Dionysus at Leyden, which is distinguished by a sweet expression of\n  reverie. His soft hair, which falls about his shoulders in delicate\n  ringlets, is generally intertwined with a garland of vine leaves or\n  ivy (Fig. 39). The other attributes of the god are the thyrsus, or\n  Bacchic wand, the diadem, the skin of a wild beast falling across\n  his chest, which often forms his sole clothing, and the drinking-cup\n  in his hand. He is generally accompanied by lions, tigers, or\n  panthers; and the bull and ram, as the symbols of fertility, were\n  held sacred to him, while the latter was also his usual sacrifice.\n  Among plants, besides the vine and the ivy, the laurel was held\n  sacred to him on account of its powers of inspiration.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 40.\u2014Sleeping Ariadne. Vatican.]\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 41.\u2014Dannecker\u2019s Ariadne. Frankfort-on-the-Main.]\n\n  Of all the prominent personages in the stories of Dionysus, Ariadne\n  has received most attention at the hands of the sculptor. The most\n  celebrated of such ancient monuments is a marble figure of great\n  beauty, larger than life, representing the sleeping Ariadne. It is\n  now preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome (Fig. 40). Among the\n  productions of modern sculptors, the Ariadne of Dannecker, at\n  Frankfort-on-the-Main, which represents her as the bride of Theseus,\n  riding on a panther, justly enjoys a very high reputation (Fig. 41).\n\n\n=4. The Nymphs.=\u2014We now come to a class of inferior terrestrial\ndivinities who are often found in the train of Bacchus. The most\nnumerous and important of these are the Nymphs. They personify the\nrestless activity and energy of nature, over the whole of which their\npower extends. They manifest their presence in the murmuring, rippling\nstreams and brooks, as well as in the sprouting vegetation of wood and\nmeadow. They are tender, graceful maidens, who, though kindly disposed\ntowards men, yet avoid human habitations, and prefer the peaceful\nsolitude of the woods and mountains, where they lead a merry, joyous\nlife among the clefts and grottoes.\n\nSometimes they devote themselves to useful pursuits, and spin and weave;\nsometimes they engage in graceful dances, and sing merry songs, or bathe\ntheir delicate limbs in the white spray of lonely brooks. They gladly\njoin the train of those superior deities supposed to preside in the\nrealms of nature. Thus we see them joining in the Bacchic revelry with\nDionysus, or figuring in the train of Aphrodite, or ranging field and\nwood as they hunt in the company of Artemis.\n\nAccording to the divisions of nature, over which the Nymphs were\nsupposed to preside, we may distinguish the following classes:\u2014\n\n1. The _Water-Nymphs_, to whom, in their wider signification, the\nOceanids and Nereids also belong. Here, however, we have only to deal\nwith the water-nymphs of the brooks and fountains of the land, who are\ndistinguished by the name of _Naiads_. As the kindly nourishers of\nplants, and as thereby ministering indirectly to the sustenance of both\nman and beast, they enjoyed a large measure of veneration among the\nancients, although, being inferior deities, they could claim no temples\nof their own. Like the sea-nymphs, they possessed the gift of prophecy,\nand appear as the patrons of poetry and song.\n\n_2. Nymphs of the Mountains_, or _Oreads_, to whom belong the nymphs of\nthe valleys and glens (Nap\u00e6\u00e6). These were very numerous, and received\nspecial names from the particular mountains or districts they inhabited.\nThe most celebrated among them was the B\u0153otian nymph Echo. She was\nconsumed by love for the beautiful youth Narcissus, a son of the\nriver-god Cephisus, and finding that he did not reciprocate her\naffection, she pined away in ever-increasing grief, until at length her\nemaciated frame was changed into rock, and nothing but her voice\nremained. But Aphrodite avenged this injury to her sex on Narcissus, who\nhad in his vain self-love thus contemned the beautiful nymph. As he was\nhunting one day on Mount Helicon, he bent down to quench his thirst from\na spring clear as crystal, and the goddess caused him to fall in love\nwith his own shadow, which was reflected in the water. The object of his\ndesires being unattainable, he too pined away from grief, and the flower\nnamed after him has ever since continued an emblem of heartless beauty.\n\n3. The _Dryads_, or _Hamadryads_ (wood-nymphs). These appear to have\nbeen a conception of later times. It was supposed that their existence\ndepended on that of the trees they inhabited, so that when the latter\nwere destroyed the nymphs also perished. Not sharing immortality,\ntherefore, they cannot properly be reckoned among the gods.\n\nThe veneration of nymphs was very ancient in Greece, and was thence\ntransferred to Rome. Goats, lambs, milk, and oil were offered to them.\n\n  In art they are depicted as lovely maidens, generally only slightly\n  clad, and adorned with flowers and garlands. The Naiads are also\n  represented as drawing water, or with attributes relating to their\n  element.\n\n\n=5. The Satyrs.=\u2014In contrast to the Nymphs, or female personifications\nof the life of Nature, we find a number of inferior wood and\nwater-deities of the male sex, called Satyrs, Sileni, and Panes, between\nwhom it is difficult to distinguish clearly. Generally by Satyrs (Fauni)\nwe understand the wood and mountain-spirits proper, who are inseparably\nconnected with Dionysus, whose attendant train they form. Coarse\nsensuality and a wanton spirit of mischief are the leading features of\ntheir character. On account of their animal propensities they were\nfabled to be only half human in appearance, with blunt noses and\notherwise ignoble features, bristling hair, goat-like ears, and a goat\u2019s\ntail. Like the Muses, they love music and dancing, their instruments\nbeing the Syrinx and the flute, together with cymbals and castanets.\nLike their master, they were passionately addicted to excessive\nindulgence in wine; but whereas in the former this produced only a\nrapturous enthusiasm and an exalted frame of mind, with them its effects\nwere purely sensual, and excited them to insane and unseemly pranks of\nall kinds.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 42.\u2014Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery.]\n\n  The Satyrs were not an uncommon subject of representation among\n  ancient artists. The conception was based on the original hideous\n  half-man, half-animal type; and in art, as well as in poetry, the\n  blunt nose, the pointed ears, and the goat\u2019s tail form their\n  characteristic features. The Bacchic insignia of a band round the\n  brow and an ivy garland also belong to them. There are some\n  particularly fine antique statues of satyrs in the art-collections\n  of Munich and Rome.\n\n  The engraving (Fig. 42) shows the highly-expressive face of a satyr\n  in the Munich collection.\n\n\n=6. Silenus.=\u2014Silenus, according to the common tradition, was an old\nsatyr who tended and brought up Dionysus, and afterwards became the\nfaithful companion of his wanderings. He is depicted by the poets as a\nsomewhat elderly man, with blunt nose and bald head, hairy chest and\nthighs, and a stomach so large that he can scarcely walk. He generally\nappears riding on an ass in front of the Bacchic company, with a satyr\non either side supporting his half-drunken form.\n\n  The artists of antiquity seem to have devoted themselves frequently\n  to the subject of Silenus. They either represented him as the nurse\n  and preceptor of the youthful Bacchus, holding the child in his arms\n  and regarding him with a look of affection, in which the comic\n  element is entirely lacking, or they present him to us as the\n  insatiable but good-natured wine-bibber. His standing attribute is\n  the wine-skin, besides which, like other members of the Bacchic\n  train, he bears a thyrsus and ivy garland.\n\nBesides Silenus, who was celebrated as the preceptor of Dionysus, there\nwas a whole tribe of Sileni. Whether this is due to the fact that the\nolder satyrs were called Sileni, or whether they form a special class of\ndeities presiding over the flowing, gushing water, cannot be determined\nwith any certainty.\n\nAmong the Sileni were two personages who play a part in the story of\nDionysus. These were Marsyas and Midas. The former, like all satyrs, was\nan accomplished master of the flute, and challenged Apollo to a trial of\nskill which proved fatal to him. The conditions of the contest were that\nhe who was vanquished should put himself entirely in the power of his\nadversary. Apollo won, and made a cruel use of his victory by hanging\nMarsyas on a pine tree and flaying him alive.\n\nMidas was the mythic founder of the kingdom of Phrygia, in Asia Minor,\nwhither he had emigrated from Macedonia. Tradition makes him a son of\nCybele, and, as her favourite, endowed with fabulous wealth. But, like\nmany of the sons of men in the present day, the richer he grew the\ngreater was his thirst for gold, until it betrayed him at length into an\nact of great folly. One day, the drunken Silenus strayed from the\ncompany of Bacchus into the garden of Midas. The latter received him\nwith great hospitality, and after entertaining him sumptuously for ten\ndays brought him to Bacchus. Pleased with his kindness, the god rewarded\nhim with the gratification of any wish he might make. Midas now wished\nthat everything he touched might turn to gold. Naturally the\ngratification of this wish well-nigh proved his ruin; and he only\nescaped by washing, at the command of the god, in the river Pactolus,\nwhich has ever since washed down gold in its sands. A later fable makes\nMidas the judge in the rivalry of Apollo and Pan, on which occasion he\ndecided in favour of the latter, for which the god changed his ears into\nthose of an ass. Modern criticism has seen in the rich Midas one of the\nmany personifications of the sun, who, as he rises over the earth, turns\nall things to gold.\n\n\n=7. Greek and Roman Wood-Spirits.=\u2014_1. Pan._\u2014Pan was a very ancient god\nof the woods and meadows. He was at first honoured only by the\ninhabitants of the mountain-land of Arcadia and by other pastoral\ntribes. Subsequently his divinity was more generally acknowledged and\nmore highly esteemed. Common accounts make him the son of Hermes by the\nnymph Penelope, a daughter of Dryops. His mother was not a little\nterrified at his birth, since he was hairy all over, and had horns and\ngoat\u2019s feet. His father wrapped him in a hare-skin, and bore him to\nOlympus, where the assembled gods showed no small pleasure at the sight\nof the strange little wood-demon. From time immemorial Pan was regarded\nby the shepherds of Greece as their most doughty protector; for which\nreason the mountain caves in which they gathered their herds together at\nnight, or in threatening weather, were held sacred to him. There were\nmany such caves of Pan in the mountains of Arcadia, and also one at the\nfoot of the Acropolis at Athens, besides others on Mount Parnassus in\nB\u0153otia, and elsewhere. Pan was esteemed a god of great cheerfulness and\nactivity of character, who loved to range the woods as a huntsman, and\nwas on this account regarded with little less veneration by huntsmen\nthan by shepherds. He was also looked on as the patron of fishing and\nbee-keeping.\n\nAs the god of shepherds, Pan was also a lover of music, and on returning\nin the evening from the chase, says the Homeric story, he was wont to\nplay sweet tunes on his pan-pipe (Syrinx), whilst the Oreads, or\nmountain-nymphs, sang the praises of the gods and led off their spirited\ndances. The poets have founded a story on his discovery of the Syrinx.\nThey invented a fabulous nymph called Syrinx, with whom Pan was supposed\nto have fallen violently in love. The nymph, however, did not return his\naffection, and fled from his embraces. Pan pursued her, and in her\nextremity she sought the aid of G\u00e6a, who transformed her into a reed.\nOut of this reed Pan, by joining seven pieces together, made an\ninstrument which he called the Syrinx, after the nymph.\n\nPan was as passionately fond of dancing as of music. According to\nPindar, he was the most accomplished dancer among the gods. His\nfavourite amusement was to dance in company with the mountain-nymphs, on\nwhich occasions he regaled them with every kind of droll leap, in the\nperformance of which his goat\u2019s feet stood him in good stead.\n\nAs a wood-deity, Pan also possessed the gift of prophecy; indeed,\naccording to some, it was he who first imparted this gift to Apollo. He\ncertainly had a very ancient oracle at Acacesium in Arcadia.\n\nWild mountainous country and the thick untrodden forest are both alike\napt to impress the lonely traveller with feelings of awe. All such\nsensations of sudden and unaccountable fear were ascribed to Pan\n(Panic). He was also said to delight in terrifying travellers with all\nkinds of strange noises. Hence, at a later period, arose the story that\nin the contest with the Titans he rendered good service to Zeus by\nblowing on a shell trumpet which he had invented, whereupon the Titans\nwere seized with a sudden terror. This, however, is only another version\nof Triton\u2019s services at the battle with the giants. It is well known\nthat the Athenians introduced the worship of Pan, to which they had been\nhitherto strangers, into their city after the battle of Marathon, in\nconsequence of the assistance which they believed they had received from\nthe god.\n\nSuch are the more ancient and simple features of the character of Pan.\nHe assumed a higher significance when men began to regard him as the\ncompanion of the \u201cMighty Mother,\u201d and assigned him a place in the\nBacchic circle. Men now saw in him a productive force of nature like the\nPhrygian Attis; indeed, in consequence of a misinterpretation of his\nname, he was made the creator and god of the universe. He seems to have\noriginally signified the \u201cpurifying\u201d breeze, which at one time whistled\nthrough the reeds, or at another moaned dismally in the forest,\nfrightening the belated traveller.\n\nAfter he had once been introduced into the company of Dionysus, poets\nand artists alike set themselves to work to invent a number of Panes and\nlittle Pans (Panisci), who were easily confounded with the Satyrs and\nSileni.\n\nThe chief shrine of Pan was at Acacesium in Arcadia. Cows, goats, and\nsheep were sacrificed to him, besides offerings of milk, honey, and new\nwine.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 43.\u2014Pan. From a Mural Painting at Herculaneum.]\n\n  In art we must distinguish the earlier and later types of the god.\n  In the former, which dates from the best days of Greek art, he is\n  conceived as entirely human in appearance, with the exception of two\n  sprouting horns on either side of the forehead. Later, he was\n  depicted with larger horns, a long goat\u2019s beard, and goat\u2019s feet. We\n  give an engraving of this later conception (Fig. 43), which is taken\n  from a mural painting at Naples. The usual attributes of Pan are a\n  Syrinx and shepherd\u2019s crook, sometimes also a pine garland.\n\n_2. Silvanus._\u2014Among the Roman wood-deities, Silvanus occupies a\nposition most akin to that of Pan, although they are not exactly\nidentical. His name, derived from _silva_ (wood), points him out as the\ngod of the forest, where he was supposed to dwell, a deity kindly\ndisposed towards mankind, and propitious to the welfare of trees,\nplants, and cattle. At times, however, he appears, like Pan, as a\nmischievous sprite, who delights to trick and terrify the lonely\ntraveller. His sphere of activity was not confined to the woods, since\nhe was also regarded as the author of fruitfulness in gardens and\norchards. In this character Silvanus bears a close resemblance to\nTerminus, the god of boundaries and landed property, inasmuch as he\npreserves fields, gardens, and houses from harm. The first of the fruits\nof the field were offered to him. He had two shrines in Rome, one on the\nViminal and another on the Aventine.\n\n  Artists and poets agree in representing Silvanus as an old man with\n  a rustic head-gear, scattering blooming lilies and other flowers. He\n  is usually distinguished by a pruning-knife.\n\n_3. Faunus and Fauna._\u2014Closely resembling Silvanus is another deity\ncalled Faunus, one of the most ancient national gods of Italy. He\nappears as the good spirit of the mountains, pastures, and plains. He\nwas regarded by the shepherds as their best protector, since he made\ntheir cattle fruitful and drove off noxious beasts of prey. In the\nformer character he was also called Inuus (the fertiliser); in the\nlatter Lupercus (the warder-off of wolves).\n\nLike Pan, he appears to have his seat in the woods, whence he sometimes\nterrifies and annoys travellers. At night, too, he creeps into men\u2019s\nhouses, and torments them with evil dreams and horrible apparitions\n(Incubus).\n\nLike Pan, too, Faunus possessed the gift of prophecy, and answered both\nby direct revelations and by dreams. In this character he was called\nFatuus, and had a celebrated oracle in the grove at Tibur, on the spring\nAlbunea.\n\nHaving once invented a number of Fauns, the poets soon began to identify\nthem with the Satyrs of the Greeks.\n\nIn honour of this decidedly national deity, different festivals were\ncelebrated, at which rams were sacrificed and libations of wine and milk\nmade. The Faunalia were celebrated on the Nones of December, on which\noccasion the guests at the festive board surrendered themselves to the\nmost unrestrained mirth, and granted many liberties also to their\nslaves. The Lupercalia, however, formed the proper expiatory festival of\nFaunus. This festival was celebrated on the 15th of February, and was\nremarkable for the number of ancient customs which were observed. The\nchief of these was the course of the Luperci, or priests of Faunus, who,\nafter making their offering, ran from the shrine of the god (Lupercal),\non the Palatine, through the streets of Rome, their only clothing being\nan apron cut from the skin of the slaughtered animal. They struck all\nwhom they met with thongs, also cut from the same blood-stained skin.\nBarren women placed themselves in the way of the Luperci, believing that\nby means of the strokes the reproach of barrenness would be taken away\nfrom them. As a day of atonement, this day was termed _dies februatus_\n(from _februare_, to purify), whence the name of the month.\n\nThe feminine counterpart of Faunus, though not his wife, was Fauna, a\npropitious, kindly goddess of the plains. She is also called Maia, or\nBona Dea. The women made an offering to her every year at night, on\nwhich occasion males were strictly excluded.\n\n  In art Faunus bears exactly the same appearance as Pan, with whom,\n  indeed, he was often identified.\n\n\n=8. Priapus.=\u2014The worship of Priapus, the god of fields and gardens,\nappears to have been long of a purely local character, confined\nprincipally to the districts on the Hellespont, since he is not even\nmentioned by earlier writers. He was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite,\nand presided over the exuberant fertility of nature. He was supposed to\nexercise influence over the fruitfulness of flocks and herds, whilst\nfishing and the rearing of bees were also placed under his protection.\nHis special sphere, however, was the protection of gardens and\nvineyards. Asses were sacrificed to him, a fact which gave rise to all\nsorts of comical stories relating to the hostility of Priapus to this\nanimal. Besides this, he received the first fruits of the garden and\nfield and drink-offerings of milk and honey. The worship of Priapus was\nintroduced into Italy at the same time as that of Aphrodite, and he was\nidentified with the native Mutunus.\n\n  This deity was scarcely noticed in higher art. In the gardens of\n  Italy, however, rough-hewn pillars of wood, similar to those of\n  Hermes, were erected in his honour. He is usually distinguished by a\n  pruning-knife and club.\n\n\n=9. Saturnus and Ops.=\u2014Before passing to Demeter, or Ceres, the great\ngoddess of civilisation, to whom by Greeks and Romans alike the\nblessings of the harvest were ascribed, and who forms the best link\nbetween the gods of the upper and lower worlds, we must pause to\nconsider some gods of agriculture and cattle-rearing peculiar to the\nRomans. Among them are Saturn and Ops, who belong to the most ancient\nnational deities of Italy. To Saturn was ascribed the introduction of\nagriculture, together with the cultivation of the vine and other fruits.\nHe was, therefore, venerated as the great benefactor of mankind, who not\nonly promoted the physical welfare of men, but who also introduced a\nhigher standard of civilisation. After the Romans had become acquainted\nwith the mythology of the Greeks, they identified him with Cronus. In\nconsequence of this, the story arose that, after his dethronement by\nJupiter, Saturn fled to Italy, where he was hospitably received by\nJanus. There he is said to have brought together the inhabitants, who\nhad hitherto wandered about without any fixed homes, and to have united\nthem in regular political communities, over which he himself ruled. This\nwas the golden age. In remembrance of the happy age when men were not\nyet troubled by sorrow or need, the Saturnalia were celebrated during\nthree days, beginning from the 17th of December. This festival, which\nwith changed meaning still continues in the Carnival of the present day,\nwas celebrated in Rome with particularly great splendour. Unbounded\nfestivity reigned throughout the whole town, and vented itself in every\ndescription of joke and prank. The distinctions of class were suspended,\nthe courts and schools kept holiday, and the shops were closed. The\nchief day was the 19th of December, which was especially a festive day\nfor the slaves, for on this day there were practically no slaves in\nRome. No services were required of them, and they were allowed to don\nthe clothes of their masters and to eat and drink as much as they liked,\nwhilst their masters waited on them at table. And this custom allowed a\nclass, otherwise subject to so many afflictions, to forget their sorrows\nfor at least one day in a year. Wealthy Romans generally kept open house\non this day, and vied with each other in the splendour of their\nhospitalities; and of course a solemn sacrifice was made to Saturn. The\nwoollen bandages which, during the greater part of the year, enveloped\nthe feet of his statue in order that he might not depart without\nvouchsafing a blessing, were on this day unloosed, and throughout the\nnight the temple was illuminated with wax tapers. This festival, which\nwas extremely popular among the Romans, was also celebrated with games\nin the circus.\n\nThe chief temple of Saturn, which was begun by Tarquinius Superbus and\nfinished in the first years of the Republic, was situated on the ascent\nto the Capitol from the Forum. Beneath it was a vault containing the\nstate treasury, or _\u00e6rarium_, the guardianship of the state treasures\nbeing committed to this god as the dispenser of every blessing.\n\nRegarded as the wife of Saturn, and therefore identified with Rhea, Ops\nwas the goddess of the seed-time and harvest. On this account her\nworship was closely connected with that of Saturn, and she had a place\nin his temple on the Capitoline. A festival was celebrated in honour of\nher on the 25th of August, when the newly-gathered corn was threshed.\n\nWhen taken together, Saturn and Ops were regarded as deities who\npresided over marriage and the education of children, it being an easy\nstep from the deity of the sprouting, ripening seed, to that of the\nbudding, thriving season of human life.\n\n  Saturn is always represented as an old man, and is generally\n  distinguished by a pruning-knife or sickle.\n\n\n=10. Vertumnus and Pomona.=\u2014Vertumnus and Pomona much resemble Saturn\nand Ops, the only difference being that the former exert their influence\nsolely on the growth and welfare of the fruits of the garden and\norchard. Vertumnus properly signifies the self-changing one; referring,\nprobably, to the manifold changes which the fruit undergoes from the\ntime of its first appearance in blossom to that of its maturity. For the\nsame reason the god was said to possess the faculty of assuming any\nshape he liked. The first of the flowers and fruits were offered to him.\nPomona, as her name signifies, was the goddess of the fruit harvest, and\ncalled by the poets the wife of Vertumnus. Each deity had a special\npriest (flamen), though the latter naturally held only an inferior\nposition.\n\n  In art Vertumnus generally appears as a beautiful youth, his head\n  crowned with a garland of ears of corn or laurel, with a horn of\n  plenty, as a symbol of the blessings he bestows, in his right hand.\n  He is sometimes distinguished by a dish filled with fruit, or a\n  pruning-knife. Pomona is generally represented as the season of\n  Autumn, a beautiful maiden with boughs of fruit-trees in her hand.\n\n\n=11. Flora.=\u2014Among the inferior deities of the plain was Flora, the\ngoddess of blossoms and flowers, who was held in great honour by the\nSabines, and everywhere in the interior of Italy. Her worship is said to\nhave been introduced into Rome by Numa, who assigned the goddess a\npriest of her own. She attained a higher significance by becoming a\ngoddess of maternity, whom women invoked before their confinement. Her\nfestival was celebrated with great rejoicings from the 28th of April to\nthe 1st of May (Floralia). The doors of the houses were adorned with\nflowers, and wreaths were worn in the hair. After the first Punic war,\nthe festival, which was remarkable throughout for its merry and\ntumultuous character, was also celebrated with games, hares and deer\nbeing hunted in the circus.\n\n  Artists appear to have represented Flora as the season of Spring, in\n  the guise of a beautiful girl crowned with flowers. There is a fine\n  marble statue of this kind, larger than life, in the museum at\n  Naples, called the Farnese Flora.\n\n\n=12. Pales.=\u2014Pales was the ancient pastoral goddess of the Italian\ntribes, from whom the name Palatine, which originally meant nothing but\na pastoral colony, was derived. She was especially venerated by the\nshepherds, who besought her to send fruitfulness and health to their\nflocks. A festival in her honour was celebrated on the 21st of April,\nthe anniversary of the foundation of the city (Palilia), at which very\nancient rustic customs were observed. The most remarkable of these was\nthe kindling of a large straw fire, through which the shepherds rushed\nwith their flocks, thinking thus to purify themselves from their sins.\nMilk and baked millet-cakes were offered to the goddess. There is no\nstatue of her now in existence.\n\n\n=13. Terminus.=\u2014Terminus, although he had nothing to do either with the\nwelfare of the crops or the fruitfulness of the flocks, may yet be\nreckoned among the field deities, as the god who specially presided over\nboundaries. All landmarks were held sacred to him, and their erection\nwas attended with religious ceremonies. In order that his people might\nfully appreciate the sanctity of boundaries, King Numa instituted a\nspecial festival in honour of the god, called the Terminalia, and\nannually celebrated on the 23rd of February. The proprietors of lands\nbordering on each other were wont on this occasion to crown the boundary\nstone with garlands, and to make an offering of a flat cake to the god.\n\nIn his wider signification Terminus was regarded as the god under whose\nprotection the boundaries of the state reposed, and in this character he\nhad a chapel in the temple of Minerva on the Capitol. A statue of the\ngod also stood in the midst of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which\nis explained by the following story:\u2014After Tarquinius had conceived the\nplan of building the great temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, the limited\nspace necessitated the removal of several existing shrines, which could\nonly occur with the consent of the deities themselves. They all\nexpressed by means of auguries their readiness to make way for the\nhighest god of heaven, except Terminus, who refused, and whose shrine\nhad therefore to be included in the temple of Jupiter.\n\n  Statues of Terminus are exactly like the Herm\u00e6 of the Greeks, and\n  have no importance in art.\n\n\n=14. Demeter (Ceres).=\u2014Demeter was a daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Her\nname signifies Mother Earth, and she is, therefore, an expression of the\nancient conception of the earth-goddess, with a special reference to\nnature and human civilisation. She was also named Deo, and by comparison\nof these two words, her name has been interpreted as Dawn-Mother, from\nthe same root as Zeus, the sky. The thriving of the crops was ascribed\nto her influence; she was further regarded as the patroness of all those\narts which are more or less intimately connected with agriculture, and\nwhich men first learned from her. Demeter thus rises to the rank of a\ngoddess of civilisation. She rescued men by means of agriculture from\nthe lower grades of hunters and shepherds, and brought their former rude\nand barbarous manners into subjection to law and morality. She thus\nbecomes that \u201cbountiful daughter of Heaven,\u201d who, as Schiller sings in\nhis _Lay of the Bell_,\n\n                                            \u201cof old\n                Called the wild man from waste and wold,\n                And, in his hut thy presence stealing,\n                Roused each familiar household feeling;\n                  And, best of all the happy ties,\n                The centre of the social band,\u2014\n                The instinct of the Fatherland.\u201d\n\nRegarded in this light, she comes into contact with Dionysus, whose\nbeneficial influence on human civilisation and manners we have already\ndescribed. This accounts for the intimate connection of these two\ndeities in the Eleusinian mysteries, where Dionysus-Iacchus even appears\nas the son of Demeter and the husband of Cora-Persephone. Owing to the\nimportant part she played in the institution of law and order among\nmankind, she was venerated as the goddess of marriage, marriage being\nthe necessary foundation of civil society. She was also regarded as the\ntutelary goddess of national assemblies.\n\nOf the numerous legends which are linked with the name of this goddess,\nnone perhaps is more celebrated, or more pregnant with meaning in regard\nto her worship, than the rape of her daughter Persephone, or Cora. The\nlatter was once playing with the daughters of Oceanus in a flowery\nmeadow, where they were picking flowers and making garlands. Persephone\nhappened to quit her companions for a moment to pluck a narcissus she\nhad perceived, when suddenly the ground opened at her feet, and Pluto,\nor Hades, the god of the infernal regions, appeared in a chariot drawn\nby snorting horses. Swift as the wind he seized and carried off the\nterrified maiden in spite of her struggles, and vanished again into the\nregions of darkness before her companions were aware of the catastrophe.\nAll this occurred, however, with the knowledge of Zeus, who had, unknown\nto Demeter, promised her daughter to Pluto. When Demeter missed her\ndarling child, and none could tell her where she had gone, she kindled\ntorches, and during many days and nights wandered in anxiety through all\nthe countries of the earth, not even resting for food or sleep. At\nlength Helios, who sees and hears everything, told Demeter what had\nhappened, not disguising, however, that it had occurred with the consent\nof Zeus. Full of wrath and grief, the goddess now withdrew from the\nsociety of the other gods into the deepest solitude. Meanwhile all the\nfruits of the earth ceased, and a general famine threatened to\nextinguish the human race. In vain Zeus sent one messenger after\nanother, beseeching the angry goddess to return to Olympus. Demeter\nswore that she would neither return nor allow the fruits of the earth to\ngrow until her daughter was restored to her. At length Zeus was fain to\nconsent, and despatched Hermes to the lower world to bring Persephone\nback. Persephone joyfully prepared to obey this command, but as she was\nabout to depart Hades gave her a pomegranate-seed to eat, whereupon she\nfound herself bound to him and unable to return. By means of Zeus,\nhowever, a compact was made by which Persephone was to spend two-thirds\nof the year in the upper world with her mother, and the remaining\nportion with her husband. And thus every year at springtide she ascends\nfrom her subterraneous kingdom to enjoy herself in her mother\u2019s company,\nbut returns again late in autumn to the regions of darkness and death.\n\nIt is not difficult to discover the meaning of this myth. It is simply\nan allegorical representation of the spectacle that is annually renewed\nbefore our eyes\u2014the dying away and coming to life again of the vegetable\nworld. Whilst Cora is dwelling during the winter months in the realms of\nHades, Nature appears to wear a garb of mourning for her lost daughter.\nIn the Eleusinian mysteries this inevitable decease and resurrection of\nthe vegetable world was conceived as a symbol of higher meaning, setting\nforth the immortality of the soul. Every living being shares the fate of\nCora; every life becomes the prey of cold, inexorable death, only to\narise from the darkness of the grave more beautiful and glorious than\nbefore.\n\nClosely connected with this beautiful and expressive myth is another\nwhich refers to the institution of the Eleusinian mysteries. When\nDemeter, after the loss of her daughter, was wandering over the earth in\nthe guise of a poor old woman, she came to Eleusis. The daughters of\nCele\u00fcs, the king of the city, found her sitting on a stone by the\nMaidens\u2019 Well as they came thither to draw water, and offered the old\nwoman service in their father\u2019s house as nurse to their youngest brother\nDemophon. The goddess consented, and was kindly received in the house of\nCele\u00fcs, where she was at once installed as nurse to the young prince.\nShe became so fond of the child that she resolved to make him immortal\nby anointing him with ambrosia, and then laying him at night in the glow\nof the fire. She was discovered at her work, however, by the mother of\nthe child, whose cries disturbed her, and thus prevented her from\nfulfilling her benevolent intention. She now revealed herself to Cele\u00fcs,\nand commanded him to build her a temple in Eleusis. When it had been\nhastily completed, with the help of the goddess, she initiated Cele\u00fcs\nand some other princes of Eleusis\u2014Triptolemus, Eumolpus, and Diocles\u2014in\nthe solemn rites of her service. On Triptolemus, who is called the son\nof Cele\u00fcs, she imposed the task of disseminating a knowledge of\nagriculture and of her own worship throughout the earth, and for this\npurpose lent him her own chariot and dragons. On this he travelled\nthrough the countries of the earth, making known everywhere the\nblessings of agriculture, and uniting men in regular political\ncommunities. He was not well received in all places, and the goddess had\nsometimes to step in and punish those who contemned her benefits. Such\nwas the case with the Scythian king Lynceus and the Thessalian prince\nErysichthon; but at length her cause triumphed, and the worship of the\nbountiful goddess spread itself over the whole world.\n\nThe chief seat of her worship was the city of Eleusis, which was\nbeautifully situated on the bay of Salamis. It retained this honour even\nafter it had lost its independence and come into the possession of the\nAthenians. The Eleusinian mysteries were celebrated both here and at\nAthens, in honour of Demeter and the deities associated with her. They\nprobably contained a symbolical history of Cora.\n\nThere was a distinction between the greater and lesser mysteries. The\nlatter were celebrated at Athens in the month of Anthesterion\n(February), and were a kind of preparation for the greater mysteries,\nwhich took place in September, and were celebrated during nine days,\npartly at Athens and partly at Eleusis. In these secret rites only those\ncould take part who had been initiated. The chief feature of the\nfestival was a great and solemn procession on the sixth day from Athens\nto Eleusis, a distance of about twelve miles. All those who took part in\nit\u2014often as many as 30,000\u2014were crowned with myrtle, and bore torches in\ntheir hands, as the procession started from Athens at the earliest dawn.\n\nThe festival of the Thesmophoria, which was celebrated at the beginning\nof November, in honour of Demeter in her character of lawgiver and\ngoddess of marriage, was less important than the Eleusinia. It lasted\nfor five days, and only married women were allowed to take part in it.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 44.\u2014Demeter Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii.\nNaples.]\n\nThe Ceres of the Romans, though undoubtedly an ancient Italian goddess,\nwas the very counterpart of the Greek Demeter, with whom, after the\nsuccessful introduction of her worship during the first years of the\nRepublic, she was entirely identified.\n\nThe chief festival of Ceres and her associate deities, Liber and Libera,\nfell on the 19th of April, which, as the proper spring month, was\nespecially dedicated by the inhabitants of Italy to deities presiding\nover agriculture. The Cerealia were opened by a grand procession, in\nwhich every one was clothed in white. It was further celebrated with\nsolemn sacrifices and games in the circus, the management of which lay\nwith the plebeian \u00e6diles.\n\nThe usual sacrifice, both among Greeks and Romans, was the sow (the\nsymbol of fruitfulness), but, besides this, cows and the first fruits of\nthe trees and hives were offered to her.\n\n  In the representations of the goddess an expression of lofty dignity\n  is blended with condescending benevolence and gentleness. Her\n  principal attributes are a torch, a sheaf of corn, a garland of ears\n  of corn interwoven in her hair, and a basket filled with flowers at\n  her side. Among the few antique statues, a large marble figure in\n  the Capitoline Museum at Rome deserves especial mention. The\n  engraving (Fig. 44), which is after a Pompeian painting, depicts\n  Demeter as the bountiful goddess of agriculture. She is seated on a\n  throne, and holds a torch consisting of two calices in her right\n  hand, and a bunch of corn in her left.\n\n\n=15. Persephone (Proserpina).=\u2014In Persephone, the goddess of the lower\nworld, whom the Athenians preferred to call by her mystic name of Cora,\ntwo distinct conceptions are embodied. On the one hand she appears as\nthe wife of the dark god of the lower world\u2014like him, a gloomy,\nawe-inspiring deity, who pitilessly drags down all that lives into the\nhidden depths of the earth; whence the grave is called the chamber of\nPersephone. Such is the view of her taken by Homer and later epic poets.\nThese represent her as sitting enthroned at the side of her grim lord,\nthe joyless queen of the infernal regions, to dwell in which were worse\nthan to be a slave on earth. On the other hand she appears as Cora, the\nlovely daughter of the all-bountiful Mother Earth; a personification, in\nfact, of that never-dying force of nature which, year by year, causes\nthe most luxuriant vegetation to spring up before our eyes, only,\nhowever, to die away again in the autumn. In a somewhat narrower sense\nPersephone may be regarded as a type of the grain, which long remains in\nthe ground where it has been sown as though dead, but afterwards breaks\nforth into new life. It was only natural to associate with this last\nconception ideas of the immortality of the soul, of which, in the secret\ndoctrines of the mysteries, Persephone was a symbol. Though we know but\nlittle concerning the details of the mysteries, we are yet aware that\ntheir chief object was to disseminate better and purer ideas of a future\nlife than the popular faith of the Greeks afforded. It was commonly\nbelieved that the souls of men after death led a dull, miserable\nexistence in the world of shadows. Those initiated in the mysteries,\nhowever, were taught that death was only a resurrection of the soul to a\nbrighter and better life, on the condition, of course, that a man had\nfully pleased the gods and rendered himself worthy of such a happy lot.\n\nPersephone, or Proserpina, as she is called in Latin, was a deity\noriginally entirely strange to the Romans, who borrowed all their ideas\nof the lower world from the Greeks. Nevertheless, they identified her\nwith Libera, an ancient rustic goddess of fertility, the feminine\ncounterpart of Liber, under which name she signifies the same as the\nGreek Cora. Black, barren cows were sacrificed to Persephone as an\ninfernal goddess, but she does not appear to have had any temples of her\nown.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 45.\u2014Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii.\nNaples.]\n\n  Persephone is of no great importance in art, and statues of her are\n  rare. She is represented either as the fair daughter of Demeter, or\n  as the grave, severe queen of the world of shadows. In the latter\n  character she may generally be recognised by her sceptre and diadem.\n  Her other attributes are ears of corn, a poppy, and a torch, as a\n  symbol of her connection with the Eleusinian mysteries, besides the\n  pomegranate and narcissus. The engraving (Fig. 45), after a painting\n  in the Naples Museum, represents her as the Stygian queen.\n\n\n=16. Hades (Pluto).=\u2014The same twofold nature which we meet with in\nPersephone may be observed also in her husband, Hades, or A\u00efdoneus (the\ninvisible), as he is called by the epic poets, on account of the\nmysterious gloom in which his kingdom as well as his person was\nenveloped. He first appears as the unrelenting, inexorable foe of human\nlife, on whom one cannot even think without fear and trembling. For this\nreason, says Homer, \u201che is of all the gods the most detested among\nmortals.\u201d This conception, however, was subsequently supplanted by one\nof a less dismal nature, in which the other side of his character is\nbrought into prominence. From this point of view he is represented not\nonly as sending nourishment to plants from the deep bosom of the earth,\nbut also as offering unbounded riches to mankind in the shape of the\nprecious metals which lie in his subterraneous passages and chambers. In\nthis sense he was also called Pluto, or Pluteus\u2014that is, the god of\nriches.\n\nHades belonged to the earliest deities of Greece, being, like Poseidon,\na brother of Zeus. When the three brothers partitioned the universe\namong themselves, Hades received the dark regions of the earth as his\nexclusive kingdom, the portals of which he was said to keep closed, in\norder that no soul might return to the upper world without his consent.\nHe was also termed Polydectes (the receiver of many), from the fact of\nhis seizing on all men, without distinction, at their appointed time,\nand conveying them to his dismal realms. The ideas which men first\nentertained, as to the mode in which Hades exercised his power over\nmortals, exactly corresponded with their grim conception of the god. He\nwas looked on as a powerful and dreaded robber, who, as in the case of\nPersephone, seizes on his prey and carries it off with his swift horses.\nLater, a milder conception of the god was introduced. The task of\ncarrying the souls of the dead to the lower world was delegated to\nHermes, who thus became a servant of Pluto, the Zeus of the infernal\nregions, just as he was otherwise a servant of the Zeus of heaven. But\nthough the original dismal conception of this deity as the inexorable\ngod of death was much diminished in course of time, yet Hades,\nnevertheless, always conveyed an idea of something grim and mysterious\nto the Greek mind; which is perhaps the reason why so few myths, beyond\nthat of the rape of Proserpina, were circulated concerning him. He can,\nin fact, scarcely be said to have had a place in the public worship of\nthe Greeks.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 46.\u2014Head of Hades. Palazzo Chigi. Rome.]\n\nThe Roman conception of this deity differed little from that of the\nGreeks, having been, in fact, borrowed entirely from a Greek source. By\nthem he was called Pluto, or Pater Dis. He had no temple in Rome, but\nhad, in common with Proserpina, a subterranean altar in the Campus\nMartius, which was uncovered and used once a-year. Only black animals\nwere sacrificed to him.\n\n  Artists naturally hesitated to portray a being whose very name they\n  feared to pronounce, and consequently antique statues of Hades are\n  very rare. His characteristic features\u2014a grim expression of\n  countenance, tightly-closed lips, and long tangled hair\u2014are embodied\n  in a marble head, in the possession of Prince Chigi at Rome, of\n  which we give an engraving (Fig. 46). His principal attributes are a\n  sceptre, a votive bowl, and sometimes a two-pronged fork, or a key.\n\n\n=17. The Lower World.=\u2014To our consideration of Hades we must add some\nremarks on the ideas which the ancient Greeks and Romans had of the\nother life and of the abodes of the dead. It may be well to remark, at\nthe outset, that the Romans do not originally appear to have believed in\na kingdom of the dead in the interior of the earth, and that all their\nideas on this subject were borrowed from the writings of the Greeks.\nNeither do their ideas on this subject, nor even those of the Greeks,\nappear to have been invariably the same at all times. Even in the poetry\nof Homer we come across two very different views as to the situation of\nthe realms of the dead. According to that which we find in the _Iliad_,\nit was situated beneath the disc-shaped earth, only a thin layer\nseparating it from the upper world. This is made evident on the occasion\nof the great battle of the gods in the 20th book, where we read\u2014\n\n           \u201cPluto, the infernal monarch, heard alarmed,\n           And, springing from his throne, cried out in fear,\n           Lest Neptune, breaking through the solid earth,\n           To mortals and immortals should lay bare\n           His dark and drear abode of gods abhorred.\u201d\n\nAccording to another view which prevails in the _Odyssey_, the world of\nshadows was not situated beneath the earth, but lay far to the westward,\non the other side of Oceanus, or on an island in the same; so indefinite\nand vague were men\u2019s ideas as to the locality of the kingdom of death in\nthe time of Homer, and so undeveloped were their conceptions as to the\nlives of departed souls. The lower world appears as a desolate, dismal\nregion, where departed spirits lead a shadowy, dreamy existence, to\nreach which is no happiness. There is no difference in their lots; for\nwe as yet hear nothing of the judgment of the dead. The Elysian fields,\nto which the special favourites of the gods were transferred, form no\npart of the lower world in Homer, but were supposed to lie in an\nentirely distinct region in the far West (the isles of the blest). Later\non, the outlines of the lower world become more clearly defined. It was\nnow supposed to be a region in the centre of the earth, with several\npassages to and from the upper world. Through it flowed several\nrivers\u2014Cocytus, Pyriphlegethon, Acheron, and Styx. The last of these\nencompassed the lower world several times, and could only be crossed by\nthe aid of Charon, the ferryman, who was depicted as a sullen old man\nwith a bristling beard. The Greeks therefore used to place an obolus\n(small copper coin) in the mouths of their dead, in order that the soul\nmight not be turned back by Charon for lack of money. On the farther\nside of the river the portals were watched by the dreadful hell-hound\nCerberus, a three-headed monster, who refused no one entrance, but\nallowed none to leave the house of Pluto. All souls, on reaching the\nlower world, had to appear before the tribunal of Minos, Rhadamanthus,\nand \u00c6acus. Those whose lives had been upright were then permitted to\nenter Elysium, where they led a life of uninterrupted bliss; whilst\nthose who on earth had been criminal and wicked were consigned to\nTartarus, where they were tormented by the Furies and other evil\nspirits. Those whose lives had not been distinctly good or bad remained\nin the asphodel meadow, where as dim shadows they passed a dull, joyless\nexistence.\n\nThe punishments of great criminals in the infernal regions were a\nfruitful theme for the imagination of the poets. The most celebrated\ncriminals were Tityus, Tantalus, Sisyphus, Ixion, and the Danaids. We\nhave said that the idea of the judgment of the dead is not found in the\nearliest legends. Hence we must expect to find, in some cases, that the\ncrimes supposed to have drawn down the wrath of the gods were either\nlater inventions, or had very little connection with the punishment\ninflicted. Thus to take the case of Tantalus, the original idea appears\nto have been the burning sun looking upon sweet fruits and streams of\nwater, and drying them up instead of being able to enjoy them. It is\npossible that another part of the legend, the offering of his children\nfor the gods of heaven to eat, may have a similar origin. So the story\nof Sisyphus seems to point to the sun daily toiling up the steep hill of\nheaven, yet ever obliged to recommence his weary task. So the name Ixion\nseems to be derived from a word meaning wheel, and to be yet another\nallusion to the orb of day. As men began to forget the reality\nunderlying these words, and to think that some real person suffered\nthese woes, it was only natural that they should try to find a reason.\nGenerally, perhaps always, some point in the story could be twisted into\na crime deserving of punishment (compare the legend of \u0152dipus). The\npunishment of Tityus, who had offered violence to Leto, consisted in\nbeing chained to the earth, whilst two vultures continually gnawed at\nhis ever-growing liver. Tantalus, the ancestor of the Atrid\u00e6, Agamemnon\nand Menelaus, had been deemed worthy to hold intercourse with the gods,\nuntil he thought fit to put their omniscience to the test by setting\nbefore them the flesh of his son Pelops. This crime he was condemned to\nexpiate by the torments of continual hunger and thirst. Above his head\nwere suspended the most beautiful fruits; but when he attempted to\nsnatch them, a gust of wind blew them beyond his reach. At his feet\nflowed a stream of the purest water; but when he tried to quench his\nthirst, it suddenly vanished into the ground. Sisyphus, formerly king of\nCorinth, had provoked the wrath of the gods by his numerous crimes, and\nwas condemned, in consequence, to roll a block of stone up a high\nmountain, which, on reaching the top, always rolled down again to the\nplain. Ixion, a not less insolent offender, was bound hand and foot to\nan ever-revolving wheel. Lastly, the Danaids, or daughters of Danaus,\nwho, at their father\u2019s command, had slain their husbands on the wedding\nnight, were condemned to pour water continually into a cask full of\nholes, which could never be filled.\n\n\n=18. The Erinyes (Furi\u00e6).=\u2014The Erinyes, or Furies, were denizens of the\nlower world, who executed the commands of Hades and Persephone. They\nwere ultimately three in number, and their names were Tisiphone, Alecto,\nand Meg\u00e6ra; and this number, like that of the Graces, the Fates, and\nothers, is due to the fact that the Greeks expressed any undefined\nnumber by the sacred numeral three. In their original signification they\nappear as the avengers of every violation, either on the part of gods or\nmen, of the moral laws of the universe. When, at a later period, the\nidea of an avenging Nemesis had become more and more developed, the\nsignificance of the Erinyes diminished, and their avenging duties were\nconfined to the family.\n\nAs the inexorable pursuers of every injury done to the sacred ties of\nblood\u2014especially the murder of kindred\u2014they received a much greater\ndegree of attention at the hands of the Greek tragic poets, by whom they\nwere frequently brought on the stage. The pictures thus drawn of the\nrelentless activity of the Erinyes are both powerful and striking.\nNothing can equal the keen scent with which they trace the crime, or the\nuntiring speed with which they pursue the criminal. As a symbol of this\nlatter quality, the poets have endowed them with brazen feet. Their\nappearance is wan and Gorgon-like; wild lust for blood is written in\ntheir features, and the serpents which twine round their heads in the\nplace of hair deal out destruction and death on their unhappy victims.\nFlight avails them nought, for there is no region whither the avenging\nFuries cannot follow, no distance that they cannot compass. With torch\nswung on high they dog the steps of the unhappy wretch, like swift\nhuntresses following in the track of their hard-pressed game, and never\nrest until they have driven him to madness and death.\n\nWhat, then, was the origin of the belief in these dreadful beings? Two\nexplanations have been given, and in each case we shall see in them the\npowers of nature. Whether we are to look upon them as the storm-clouds\ndarting lightnings upon the criminal, or as the bright dawn rising over\nthe earth and pointing out his hiding-place, we must recognise the idea\nof the punishment of sin, inflicted by the powers of heaven. If, as\nseems most probable (_cf._ the genealogy given them by \u00c6schylus and\nSophocles), we are to take the latter explanation, we shall have some\nreason for the names of \u201ckindly\u201d and \u201cvenerable,\u201d applied to them by the\nGreeks, partly, no doubt, owing to the ancient custom of avoiding words\nof ill-omen. Yet poetical mythology treated this as a transformation of\ntheir nature, and associated it with a special event, namely, the\ninstitution of the Areopagus at Athens, and the purification of the\nmatricide Orestes effected by this venerable court. The story relates\nthat Orestes, after having slain his mother Clyt\u00e6mnestra and her\ninfamous paramour \u00c6gisthus, in revenge for the murder of his father\nAgamemnon, wandered for a long time about the earth in a state bordering\non madness, owing to the persecution of the Erinyes. At length, however,\nhe was befriended by Apollo and Athene, the kindly deities of the\nluminous \u00c6ther. Apollo first purified him before his own altar at\nDelphi, and then defended him before the court of the Areopagus, which\nhad been founded by Athene. Orestes was here acquitted, for Athene, when\nthe votes for and against him were equal, declared that then and in all\nfuture time the criminal should have the benefit of the doubt. The\nFuries, indeed, were at first very wroth, and threatened the land with\nbarrenness both of women and soil; but Athene succeeded in pacifying\nthem, by promising that a shrine should be erected to them on the hill\nof the Areopagus. After they had taken possession of this sanctuary,\nthey were thenceforth venerated by the Athenians, under the names of\nSemn\u00e6 (venerable), or Eumenides (benevolent), as propitious deities who,\nthough they still continued to punish crimes, were ever ready to grant\nmercy to the repentant sinner, and to give succour to all good men.\n\nThere were different traditions concerning the origin of the Erinyes.\nAccording to Hesiod, they owed their existence to the first execrable\ncrime committed since the beginning of the world, for they were the\ndaughters of Earth, and sprang from the drops of blood that fell from\nthe mangled body of Uranus. They here appear, therefore, as an\nembodiment of the curses which the angry father invoked on the head of\nhis unnatural son. Sophocles, on the other hand, calls them the\ndaughters of G\u00e6a and Scotos (darkness of night). \u00c6schylus simply terms\nthem the daughters of the Night. Besides the shrine in Athens already\nmentioned, they had another near the city, a sacred grove in Colonus,\nwhich was celebrated as the last refuge of the unfortunate \u0152dipus. In\nAthens they had an annual festival, at which libations of milk and honey\nwere made to them.\n\n  In art the Erinyes are represented as swift huntresses, armed with\n  spear, bow, and quiver. Torches, scourges, or snakes were also put\n  in their hands. They were, moreover, provided with wings on their\n  shoulders or head as a token of their swiftness.\n\n\n=19. Hecate.=\u2014Among the mystic deities of the lower world we must not\nomit to mention Hecate. By the Romans, indeed, she was never publicly\nvenerated, though she was not exactly unknown to them. Common tradition\nmade her a daughter of the Titan Perseus and Asteria. She ruled\nprincipally over the secret forces of Nature, which perhaps explains the\nspectral and awe-inspiring form which this goddess assumed. She was\nsupposed to preside over all nocturnal horrors, and not only to haunt\nthe tombs and cross-roads herself in company with the spirits of the\ndead, but also to send nightly phantoms from the lower world, such as\nthe man-eating spectre Empusa, and other fabulous goblins.\n\nAs her name seems to signify, Hecate (far-striking) was originally a\nmoon-goddess, not like either Artemis or Selene, but representing the\nnew moon in its invisible phase. The ancients not being able to account\nfor the different phases of the moon, naturally came to the conclusion\nthat, when invisible, it was tarrying in the lower world. The public\nworship of the goddess was not very extensive, but her importance in\nconnection with the mysteries was all the greater. Men were wont to\naffix small pictures of her to houses and city gates, which were\nsupposed to prevent any bad spells from affecting the town or house. On\nthe last day of every month her image on the house doors was crowned\nwith garlands, and viands were set before it in her honour, which were\nafterwards eaten by the poor, and termed the meals of Hecate. Wooden\nimages of the goddess with three faces were generally set up where three\nroads met, and here dogs were sacrificed to her as sin-offerings for the\ndead. This usually took place on the thirtieth day after death. As in\nthe case of other infernal deities, black lambs were sacrificed to her,\nbesides libations of milk and honey.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  Fig. 47.\u2014Three-formed Hecate. Capitoline Museum.]\n\n  Hecate was generally represented as three-formed (_triformis_),\n  which probably has some connection with the appearance of the full,\n  half, and new moon. In order to explain more clearly the nature of\n  such a representation, we give an engraving (Fig. 47) after a bronze\n  statuette in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. The figure facing us\n  holds in her hands a key and a rope, which point her out as the\n  portress of the lower world; over her brow is a disc, representing,\n  probably, the dark surface of the new moon. The figure on the right\n  holds in either hand a torch, in virtue of her character as a mystic\n  goddess, whilst on her brow is a half-moon and a lotus-flower.\n  Lastly, the third figure bears, as a symbol of the full moon, a\n  Phrygian cap with a radiant diadem fastened on it, which gives forth\n  seven rays; in her right hand is a knife, in her left the tail of a\n  serpent, of which no satisfactory interpretation has hitherto been\n  discovered.\n\n\n=20. Sleep and Death.=\u2014Sleep and Death were conceived by the ancients as\ntwin brothers. According to Hesiod, they were children of Night alone.\nThey dwelt in the lower world, whence they visited the earth to steal\nover mortals; the former a kindly benevolent spirit, the latter grim and\ncruel. Apart from this conception, which was especially developed by\nlater poets and artists, Death was sometimes depicted as quite distinct\nfrom Sleep, and in a still less amiable guise. The different forms of\nviolent death were personified as female deities of formidable aspect,\ncalled the Ceres; or Apollo and Artemis among the inhabitants of heaven,\nand Pluto and Persephone among those of the lower world, were\nrepresented, as the deities of death. The Romans had a personal god of\ndeath, whom they called Orcus; he was represented as an armed warrior\ndealing out mortal wounds among mankind. But none of these special gods\nof death had any great importance, either in religion or art. Artists,\nindeed, laboured sedulously to diminish the dreadful appearance of\nThanatus (death), and to render him more and more like his brother\nHypnus (sleep).\n\n  Thanatus and Hypnus often appear in company, either sleeping or\n  standing; the former usually bears a reversed torch, the latter a\n  poppy-stalk or a horn, out of which he is pouring some liquid. They\n  are both generally represented in the bloom of youth. In Fig. 34,\n  which is after a drawing of Asmus Carstens, they appear as the\n  children of Night, and are here brought into immediate connection\n  with the other powers, Nemesis and the Parc\u00e6, who control the\n  destinies of man.\n\nBesides Sleep and Death, Hesiod also mentions Dreams as the children of\nNight. Other writers, however, call them the sons of Sleep, who dwell in\nthe far West, close to the realms of Hades. This house of dreams has, in\nHomer\u2019s well-known description, two gates\u2014one of ivory, through which\npass flattering, deceptive dreams, and one of horn, whence the true\ndreams proceed. Morpheus was made the special god of dreams by the\npoets, and termed the son of Hypnus.\n\n\n               IV.\u2014ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY.\n\nBefore passing to the heroic legends, some remarks are necessary\nconcerning the inferior deities, who played such an important part in\nthe domestic worship of the Romans. We have already incidentally\nremarked that the people of Italy generally passed by the greater gods\nof the heaven and earth in anxious awe. Their invocation and adoration\nwas left to public worship, whilst, in their less important domestic\nconcerns, men had recourse to certain inferior deities, whom they\nthought nearer to them; just as in the present day, in Italy, the common\npeople prefer to communicate their prayers and wishes to their patron\nsaints rather than to the Almighty himself.\n\n\n=1. The Penates.=\u2014The Penates were the kindly domestic deities of the\nRomans\u2014the guardians of the household, who especially provided for its\ndaily wants. Of their name, number, and sex nothing is known\u2014not because\nthe facts have been lost to us, but because the Romans themselves were\ncontent with this indefinite conception. Similar good spirits, exerting\nan active influence in the household, were recognised by popular German\nsuperstition, without experiencing any necessity of having distinct\nnames for them. The shrine of the Penates consisted of the hearth, the\ncentral point of the house, which not only served for the preparation of\nmeals, but was also especially dedicated to religious purposes. It stood\nin the \u201catrium,\u201d the only large room in the Roman house, where the\nfamily met for meals and received visitors. On the hearth, a fire was\ncontinually kept burning in honour of Vesta and the Penates. Around it,\nafter the introduction of images of the gods, were placed the statues of\nthe Penates. These were generally small and puppet-like, and, among the\npoorer classes, were only roughly cut out of wood. There was no domestic\noccurrence, either of joy or mourning, in which the Penates did not take\npart. Like the Lares, of whom we shall speak presently, they\nparticipated in the daily meal, portions being set on certain plates for\nthat purpose before the images. There were also State Penates, the\nancients regarding the state as nothing but an extended family. The\ntemple of Vesta was to the state what the hearth was to the household.\nHere was the seat of their worship, and here it was that the Roman\nPontifex Maximus brought those offerings which, in private households,\nwere the part of the head of the family. In the innermost sanctuary of\nthe temple of Vesta there were statues of these Penates, of great\nsanctity, since \u00c6neas was reported to have brought them with him from\nTroy. We have no trustworthy information as to their number or\nappearance, for, with the exception of the Pontifex and the Vestal\nVirgins, none ever entered the holy place. It is scarcely necessary to\nadd that they were believed to exercise an especial influence on the\nwelfare and prosperity of the state and people of Rome.\n\n\n=2. The Lares.=\u2014The Lares, like the Penates, were the tutelary deities\nof the house and family, and on that account often confounded with them.\nThey were commonly supposed to be the glorified spirits of ancestors,\nwho, as guardian deities, strove to promote the welfare of the family.\nThe seat of their worship was also the family hearth in the atrium,\nwhere their images of wood or wax were generally preserved in a separate\nshrine of their own (Lararium). The Lares received an especial degree of\nveneration on the first day of every month; but, like the Penates, they\ntook part in all the domestic occurrences, whether of joy or sorrow.\nLike the Penates, they also received their share at every meal on\nparticular dishes, and were crowned with garlands on the occasion of\nevery family rejoicing. When a son assumed the _toga virilis_ (came of\nage), he dedicated his _bulla_[5] to the Lares, amid prayers and\nlibations and burning of incense. When the father of the house started\non a journey or returned in safety, the Lares were again addressed, and\ntheir statues crowned with wreaths, flowers and garlands being their\nfavourite offerings.\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n  A gold or silver ornament, like a medal, which was worn round the neck\n  during childhood.\n\nThe same conception which pervades the domestic Lares may be perceived\nin a more extensive form in the Lares of the Gens, the city, and the\nstate itself. The Lares do not appear, in fact, to have differed in many\nrespects from the heroes worshipped by the Greeks. At all events,\nRomulus and Remus, the mythical founders of the city, were regarded as\nits Lares, and, in the time of Augustus, the genius of the emperor was\nassociated with them.\n\n\n=3. Larv\u00e6, Lemures, and Manes.=\u2014Just as the Lares were regarded as the\ngood and happy spirits of ancestors, the souls of others were supposed\nto wander about in the guise of evil demons and spectres, giving rise to\nweird terrors, and casting bad spells on the senses of those whom they\nmet. Such was especially believed to be the fate of those who had not\nreceived burial, or in whose case the prescribed ceremonies had been\nneglected, and who being, in consequence, unable to find rest, were\ndoomed to flit about the earth. Such spirits were called Larv\u00e6, or\nLemures. The propitiatory festival of the Lemuria, or Lemuralia, which\nwas said to have been instituted in memory of the murdered Remus, was\ncelebrated annually in their honour on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May.\nEvery paterfamilias was supposed during these days to perform certain\nmidnight ceremonies, and to repeat certain forms, which had the effect\nof banishing any evil spirits.\n\nIn contrast to the Lares and Larv\u00e6, the souls of the dead were also\ncommonly venerated as Manes, or good spirits. These were believed after\nburial to have been converted into beings of a higher order, who dwelt,\nindeed, in the interior of the earth, but exercised, notwithstanding, a\nconsiderable influence on the affairs of the upper world. It was\npossible to summon them from the lower world by means of sacrifices. A\ngeneral festival of the dead took place in February, when the Manes were\npropitiated with offerings and libations. These offerings were placed on\nthe tombs of the deceased, and, of course, varied extremely, according\nto the means of the donors.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                         PART III.\u2014THE HEROES.\n\n\n                            I.\u2014INTRODUCTORY.\n\nOn passing to heroic mythology, a world still more rich in marvels than\nthat with which we have already become acquainted presents itself to our\nview. The greater extent of this department of mythic lore is easily\ncomprehensible, if we take into consideration the multitude of separate\nexistences into which Greek life was split up, even from the earliest\ntimes. Each of the numberless countries, islands, cities, and towns\nendeavoured to trace back its peculiar institutions to mythical founders\nand ancestors; and as these were always described either as the sons or\nas the favourites of the gods, there accordingly sprang up, in course of\ntime, a vast number of local heroic legends. These fabulous founders of\nstates, however, were not the only heroes of Greek mythology. The\nattempt to pierce the clouds of obscurity which enveloped the early\nhistory of mankind, and the desire of a more enlightened age to bridge\nover the intervening gulf, and fill it with beings who should form a\nconnecting link between the sublime forms of the great inhabitants of\nOlympus and the puny race of mortals, naturally gave rise to a whole\nseries of heroic legends. These were partly the property of entire\nnationalities, or even of the whole Hellenic race, and partly of a local\nor provincial character. Moreover, as the gods collectively were divided\ninto gods proper and d\u00e6mones\u2014that is to say, spirits resembling the\ngods, but inferior to them in wisdom and power, whose workings men saw\nin air and earth and sea\u2014even so the race of mortals was divided into\nheroes and men, between whom a similar difference subsisted. The latter\nare, in their nature, not different from the former\u2014both are alike\nmortal, and must at length fall a prey to inexorable death. But the\nheroes are endowed with a degree of physical strength and dexterity,\ncourage and endurance under difficulties, such as never fall to the lot\nof ordinary men. It was not, however, by any means all who lived in this\nearly mythical period who were accounted heroes; but, just as in Genesis\nvi. 2 a distinction is made between the \u201csons of God\u201d and the \u201cdaughters\nof men,\u201d so in the present instance the heroes were the mighty ones\u2014the\nruling spirits of the age\u2014those whose marvellous exploits contributed to\nremove the obstacles to civilisation and culture, who delivered\ncountries from cruel robbers and savage beasts, who drained marshes,\nmade roads through untrodden forests, and regulated the course of\nrivers. By their actions they proved themselves men of no ordinary\npowers, endowed with divine strength, and, therefore, apparently of\ndivine origin. It appeared, at least, that such beings must have had an\norigin different from that of ordinary men, who were made out of clay,\nor sprang from trees or stones. Some of these heroes may perhaps have\nhad a real existence, having probably been the ancestors of the later\ndominant races, to whom a dim tradition reached. Others were undoubtedly\na product of the imagination. To these may be added a third class, and\nthis is by far the most numerous, including those who were originally\npersonifications of various natural phenomena, and, as such, deified and\nvenerated in local forms of worship, but who were later, in consequence\nof the birth of new political communities, expelled from their place in\npublic worship, and only continued to exist in the popular faith in the\ninferior character of heroes. Many such heroes were afterwards again\npromoted to the rank of gods, though with an altered meaning (_e.g._,\nHeracles).\n\nAny real veneration of heroes by prayers and sacrifices can scarcely be\nsaid to have existed before the migration of the Heraclid\u00e6\u2014at least\nthere is no mention of it in Homer. Even later, except in the case of\nthose heroes who were raised to the rank of gods for their great deeds,\nand who were, therefore, worshipped in temples of their own, the worship\nof heroes is scarcely to be distinguished from that of the dead. Homer\nmakes no distinction between the fate of heroes after death and that of\nordinary mortals, all being doomed alike to the gloomy realms of Hades.\nAs we have already observed, it was only certain special favourites, or\nsons of Zeus, who were excepted from this gloomy lot, and were\ntransported in their bodily shape to the Isles of the Blest. Hesiod, on\nthe other hand, says that all heroes\u2014whom he, in the first instance,\nterms demigods\u2014were transported to the Isles of the Blest, where Cronus\nruled over them. Here, for the first time, the idea of a just\nretribution in the other world takes a definite shape; for Hesiod\nobviously conceives a residence in Elysium to be the reward of\nmeritorious actions performed in the upper world. This idea was\nsubsequently more fully developed, especially in the mysteries, and men\nwere gradually elevated to a belief in the immortality of the soul. The\nspirits of the dead were believed, even after they were in their graves,\nto exert continually a mysterious influence; on which account men strove\nto gain their favour by means of offerings, thereby removing every real\ndistinction between the worship of heroes and that of the dead.\n\nAmid the multitude of legends of this kind, we shall only dwell upon\nthose which occupy a prominent position either in poetry or in art. We\nshall begin with those which relate to the creation and early\ncivilisation of mankind, after which we shall pass to the most\ncelebrated provincial legends, and conclude with those that refer to the\nmore important of the common undertakings of the later heroic age.\n\n\n          II.\u2014THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND.\n\nThe legends concerning the origin of the human race differ very widely.\nThe most ancient are undoubtedly those which describe men as springing\nfrom the trees or rocks. Another tradition asserts that the human race\nwas of later growth, having been first called into existence by Zeus and\nthe gods of Olympus. A third account makes the Titan Prometheus, the son\nof Iapetus, the creator of mankind, but leaves it uncertain whether this\ntook place before or after the flood of Deucalion. Prometheus, according\nto this account, made men of clay and water, after which Athene breathed\na soul into them. There were likewise various accounts concerning the\nprimeval condition of mankind. According to one, the human race raised\nitself, with the assistance of the gods, from a state of helpless\nbarbarism: this progress was the subject of numerous legends. Another\naccount represents men as living originally in a holy and happy\ncommunion with the gods (the golden age), and asserts that they first\nbecame savage after having lost this good fortune by their presumption.\n\nOf the myths that relate to the introduction of the first elements of\ncivilisation among mankind by divine aid, there is none, except those\nalready mentioned concerning Dionysus and Demeter, more celebrated than\nthe story of Prometheus. The Titan Iapetus had, by Clymene, the daughter\nof Oceanus, four sons\u2014the stout-hearted Atlas, the presumptuous\nMen\u0153tius, the crafty Prometheus, and the foolish Epimetheus. With the\nname of Prometheus is linked the idea of the first commencement of\ncivilisation among mankind by the introduction of fire. Prometheus is\nsaid to have stolen fire from heaven, and to have taught its use to man.\nBy being employed for all the common purposes of daily life, however,\nthis pure celestial element became polluted; whereupon Zeus visited the\nauthor of this sacrilege with a fearful punishment. He ordered\nPrometheus to be chained to a rock, where, during the day-time, an eagle\ndevoured his liver (the seat of all evil desires), which always grew\nagain during the night.\n\nIt is very difficult to see the origin of this series of legends, but\nthe foundation seems to be the discovery of fire by man. At any rate,\none word, closely resembling the name Prometheus, appears in India as\nthe name of the stick used to produce fire by friction. If this be the\ncase, we shall see in parts of the Greek legend instances of the\never-recurring principle, that when the real derivation of a word is\nlost, men try to give it an explanation by attaching it to the nearest\nword in the existing language (_cf._ the derivation of Pan mentioned p.\n130). When the notion of \u201cforethought\u201d had once been attached to his\nname, it would be natural to invent a complementary legend about his\nbrother Epimetheus (afterthought).\n\nThe legend of Prometheus appears in its grandest form in \u00c6schylus\u2019 play,\n\u201cPrometheus Bound.\u201d\n\nThe idea that, together with the introduction of civilisation, many\nevils which were before unknown to man came into existence, is expressed\nin the myth of Pandora. Zeus determined to leave mankind in possession\nof Prometheus\u2019 gift; but he ordered Heph\u00e6stus to make an image of a\nbeautiful woman, which the gods then endowed with life and adorned with\nall kinds of gifts, whence she was called Pandora. Aphrodite bestowed on\nher the seductive charms that kindle love, Athene instructed her in\nevery art, Hermes endued her with a smooth tongue and a crafty\ndisposition, whilst the Seasons and Graces adorned her with flowers and\nfine dresses. Zeus then sent her, under the guidance of Hermes, to the\nfoolish Epimetheus, who, in spite of the warning of his brother not to\naccept any present from Zeus, received Pandora and made her his wife.\nThere was in the house of Epimetheus a closed jar, which he had been\nforbidden to open, and which contained all kinds of diseases and ills.\nPandora removed the cover and these escaped, and men who had before been\nfree from disease and care have ever since been tormented. Pandora\nclosed the jar in time to keep in Hope. Thus both Greek legend and\nBiblical tradition alike represent woman as the first cause of evil and\ndeath.\n\nThe legend of the five ages of mankind transports us to quite another\nregion of tradition. According to this, the gods first created a golden\nrace of men, who lived free from care and sorrow, while the earth, of\nits own accord, furnished them with all that was necessary to support\nlife. Subject neither to the infirmities of age nor to the pangs of\nsickness and disease, men at last sank peacefully, as into a sweet\nsleep, to death. In what manner the golden age disappeared is not\nrelated; we are only told that this race, notwithstanding its\ndisappearance, still continues to exist in the upper world, in the shape\nof good spirits, who guard and protect mortals. After this, the gods\ncreated a second (silver) race of men, who were, however, far inferior\nto their predecessors, both in mind and body. They passed their time in\nidle and effeminate pursuits, and refused to pay the gods due honours.\nZeus, in his wrath, thereupon blotted them out from the face of the\nearth, and created the third (brazen) race of mankind out of ash wood.\nThis race proved headstrong and violent. They were of giant stature and\ngreat strength, and took pleasure in nothing but battle and strife.\nTheir weapons, houses, and utensils were of bronze, iron not yet being\nknown. Zeus was not compelled to destroy this evil race, since they\ndestroyed themselves in their bloodthirsty strife. According to another\naccount, they were destroyed by the flood of Deucalion.\n\nDeucalion appears to have been a son of Prometheus, while his wife\nPyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora. Zeus having\ndetermined to destroy the corrupt race of the third or bronze age by a\nflood, Prometheus warned his son, who built himself an ark, into which\nhe retired with his wife when the waters began to rise. Nine days and\nnights he was tossed on the waters; at length his vessel rested on Mount\nParnassus in B\u0153otia. He disembarked, and immediately offered a sacrifice\nof thanksgiving to Zeus the preserver. Pleased at his gratitude, Zeus\ngranted his prayer for the restoration of the human race; and Deucalion\nand Pyrrha were commanded by Hermes to cast stones behind them, from\nwhich sprang a new race of men. Such is the legend in its most ancient\nform; later writers engrafted on it still farther incidents of Biblical\ntradition, until at last the Greek Noah was represented as having taken\nliving animals with him into the ark, and as having let loose a dove\nafter his landing on Parnassus.\n\n\n                    III.\u2014PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.\n\n\n=1. The Lapith\u00e6 and the Centaurs.=\u2014We shall commence with the Thessalian\nlegend of the Lapith\u00e6 and Centaurs, on account of its great antiquity\nand its importance in sculpture. We read in the Homeric poems how the\nhoary Nestor on one occasion boasts of having, in his younger days,\ntaken part with his friends Piritho\u00fcs and C\u00e6neus, and the other princes\nof the Lapith\u00e6, in their contest with the savage Centaurs. In Homer\u2019s\naccount the Centaurs are merely depicted as an old Thessalian mountain\ntribe of giant strength and savage ferocity, utterly unable to control\ntheir rude, sensual nature. Nor do we find here any mention of their\nbeing half horses and half men; they are merely said to have inhabited\nthe mountain districts of \u0152ta and Pelion, in Thessaly, and to have been\ndriven thence by the Lapith\u00e6 into the higher mountain-lands of Pindus.\n\nTheir contest with the Lapith\u00e6 is sometimes conceived as a symbol of the\nstruggle of Greek civilisation with the still existing barbarism of the\nearly Pelasgian period. This may be the reason why Greek art, when in\nits bloom, devoted itself so especially to this subject. The origin of\nthis contest is referred to the marriage feast of Piritho\u00fcs and\nHippodamia, to which the principal Centaurs had been invited. On this\noccasion the Centaur Eurytion, heated with wine, attempted to carry off\nthe bride; this gave rise to a contest which, after dreadful losses on\nboth sides, ended in the complete defeat of the Centaurs. The Centaurs,\nhowever, since they were thus able to sit with the Lapith\u00e6 at meat, must\nhave been endowed with purely human forms.\n\nTheseus and Nestor, the friends of Piritho\u00fcs, both took part in the\nbattle. Another prominent warrior was the gigantic C\u00e6neus (Slayer), who\nhad been rendered invulnerable by Poseidon, but whom the Centaurs slew\non this occasion by burying him beneath a mass of trees and rocks.\n\nThere is, however, also a natural explanation of the tales of these\nstrange beings. The father of the Centaurs is Ixion, who, as we have\nalready seen, may be interpreted to be the sun. The crime said to have\nbeen the cause of his punishment was his love for Hera (the goddess of\nthe atmosphere). If we take these points, together with the legend that\nIxion begat the Centaurs of Nephele, the cloud, we may be prepared to\nsee in the horse-formed Centaurs a parallel to the cows of the sun, the\nbright clouds which pass over the sky. There is the more ground for\nthis, as similar beings appear in Indian mythology, and their name has,\nwith much probability, been identified with that of the Centaurs.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 48.\u2014Metope of the Parthenon.]\n\n  As we have already mentioned, the Centaurs play an important part in\n  art. The custom of depicting them half horse and half man came into\n  vogue after the time of Pindar, and was quickly adopted in\n  sculpture. In the representations of earlier art the face of a man\n  is joined to the body and hind legs of a horse. But in its higher\n  stage of development, after the time of Phidias, this was replaced\n  by a more elegant conception, and the body of a man from the navel\n  upwards was joined to the complete body of a horse, so that the\n  Centaurs of this period have the four feet of a horse and the hands\n  and arms of a man. Such is their appearance on numerous extant art\n  monuments, of which we shall mention the most important.\n\n  In the first place, there are the reliefs from the frieze of the\n  Theseum at Athens. This temple, which is still in a good state of\n  preservation, was converted during the middle ages into a chapel of\n  St. George. It is supposed to have been built at the instance of\n  Cimon, after he had brought back the bones of the Attic hero from\n  Scyros. Besides other important pieces, which we shall mention\n  hereafter, the temple has, on its western or hinder frieze, a\n  representation of the contests of the Centaurs and Lapith\u00e6 at the\n  wedding of Piritho\u00fcs, done in Parian marble. It is executed in such\n  a manner that it is impossible to discover which party will get the\n  upper hand; and this has enabled the artist, whose name has not come\n  down to us, to introduce a lively variety into the different scenes\n  of the combat.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 49.\u2014From the Frieze of the Temple at Bass\u00e6.]\n\n  We have another series of most splendid representations from the\n  battle of the Centaurs, full of life and spirit, on some dilapidated\n  metopes[6] of the Parthenon at Athens. This splendid specimen of\n  Doric architecture is 227 feet in length and 101 feet in breadth. It\n  was ruined in 1687, during the war between the Venetians and Turks,\n  by a shell which broke through the midst of the marble roof. A large\n  part of the ninety-two metopes of the outer frieze contain a number\n  of the most beautiful and life-like scenes from the battle of the\n  Giants and that of the Centaurs. Of these metopes, thirty-nine still\n  remain on the temple, though they are all in a terribly mutilated\n  condition; seventeen are in the British Museum, and one in the\n  Louvre at Paris. Those from the south side are comparatively in the\n  best state of preservation; these are seventeen in number, the whole\n  number on the south side having been thirty-two. They represent,\n  exclusively, scenes from the battle of the Centaurs. Here a bearded\n  Centaur is carrying off a woman, whom he holds in his powerful\n  grasp; there, another is galloping away over the body of his fallen\n  enemy; another is engaged in a fierce contest with a human foe;\n  whilst a fourth lies slain on the field. The engraving we append may\n  give a faint idea of the beauty and bold design of this splendid\n  creation (Fig. 48). To these grand monuments of Greek art we must\n  add the frieze of the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bass\u00e6, near\n  Phigalia in Arcadia, which was discovered in 1812, and is now in the\n  British Museum. It represents, likewise, a series of the most vivid\n  scenes from the battle of the Lapith\u00e6 and Centaurs. In the\n  individual groups and scenes of the battle, which is here completed\n  before our eyes, there is the same variety and animation, so that we\n  must ascribe it to some great artist (Fig. 49).\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n    The squares between the triglyphs of the frieze which are intended\n    to support the gable, every one of which is generally adorned with\n    a separate sculpture in relief.\n\n  Besides these sculptures in relief, some splendid single statues of\n  Centaurs have come down to us from antiquity. Among these, the first\n  place must be assigned to the two Centaurs in the Capitoline Museum.\n  They are executed in black marble, and were found in the villa of\n  Hadrian at Tivoli, where so many ancient art treasures have been\n  brought to light.\n\nAmong the Centaurs, Chiron, who was famous alike for his wisdom and his\nknowledge of medicine, deserves mention as the preceptor of many of the\nheroes of antiquity. So far superior was he to his savage kindred, both\nin education and manners, that he was commonly reported to have had a\ndifferent origin, and was therefore described as a son of Cronus and\nPhilyra, or Phyllira, one of the Oceanids. Homer, who knew nothing of\nthe equine shape of the Centaurs, represents him as the most upright of\nthe Centaurs, and makes him the friend of Peleus and the preceptor of\nthe youthful Achilles, whom he instructed in the art of healing and\ngymnastic exercises. He was, moreover, related to both these heroes, his\ndaughter Ende\u00efs having been the mother of Peleus. Subsequently, other\nmythical heroes were added to the number of his pupils, such as Castor\nand Polydeuces, Theseus, Nestor, Meleager, and Diomedes. Music, too, was\nnow represented as a subject of his instruction, though this is perhaps\ndue to a misinterpretation of the name of his mother. He inhabited a\ncave on Mount Pelion; later mythology, however, transferred his\nresidence, after the Centaurs had been driven from Pelion by the\nLapith\u00e6, to the promontory of Malea. Here, by an unlucky accident, he\nwas wounded with a poisoned arrow by his friend Heracles, and, the wound\nbeing incurable, he voluntarily chose to die in the place of Prometheus.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 50.\u2014Centaur teaching a Boy to play upon the Pipe.\nRelief by Kundmann.]\n\n  The idea of the connection of the Centaurs with the arts and\n  sciences originated in the story of Chiron and Achilles, and has\n  since furnished modern art with the subjects for some of its most\n  valuable works. Fig. 50 represents a Centaur teaching a boy to play\n  on the flute, and is after an _alto-relievo_ of the Viennese\n  sculptor Kundmann.\n\n\n=2. Theban Legend.=\u2014_1. Cadmus._\u2014Among Theban legends, none is more\ncelebrated than the founding of Thebes by Cadmus. Cadmus was a son of\nthe Ph\u0153nician king Agenor. After Zeus carried off his sister Europa to\nCrete (_vide_ the _Cretan Legends_), he was despatched by his father in\nsearch of her. Accompanied by his mother Telephassa, he came to Thrace\nand thence to Delphi, where he was commanded by the oracle to relinquish\nhis quest. It further ordered him to follow a young heifer with the mark\nof a crescent on either side, and to build a town on the place where the\nheifer should lie down. Cadmus obeyed, and, finding the heifer in\nPhocis, he followed her. She led him into B\u0153otia, and at length lay down\non a rising ground. On this spot Cadmus founded a town, which he called\nCadmea, after himself, though he had first to experience a perilous\nadventure. Before sacrificing the heifer, he sent some of his companions\nto fetch water from a neighbouring spring, where they were slain by a\ndragon belonging to Ares which guarded the spring. Cadmus then went\nhimself, and slew the dragon, the teeth of which he sowed in the ground\nby the advice of Pallas. Hereupon armed men sprang from the ground; they\nimmediately turned their arms against each other, and were all slain\nexcept five. Cadmus built his new town with the assistance of these men,\nwho thus became the ancestors of the noble families of Thebes. In\nexpiation of the dragon\u2019s death, Cadmus was obliged to do service to\nAres for eight years. At the end of this period Ares pardoned Cadmus and\ngave him Harmonia\u2014his daughter by Aphrodite\u2014to wife. Harmonia became the\nmother of four daughters\u2014Autono\u00eb, Ino, Semele, and Agave. After reigning\nfor a long time at Thebes, Cadmus was compelled in his old age to retire\nto the Enchelians in Illyria; but whether he was driven out by Amphion\nand Zethus (who appear in Homer as the founders of Thebes) or withdrew\nfrom some other cause is not manifest. He and his wife were afterwards\nchanged into serpents, and transferred, by the command of Zeus, to the\nElysian fields.\n\nIn this story we see another form of the combat of the hero with the\nmonster, and can probably give it the same explanation. The dragon\nguards the waters, and the hero, by killing it, frees them. Do we not\nsee in this the combat of the sun with the cloud; and in the armed men\nwho turn their weapons against one another, the clouds that seem to\nfight with one another in the thunderstorm? Yet even admitting this\ninterpretation, it may be that we have in the name of Cadmus an allusion\nto the civilisation and the arts received by the Greeks from the East.\nSo, too, with the alphabet, the invention of which Hellenic tradition\nascribed to him.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 51.\u2014Act\u00e6on Group. British Museum.]\n\n_2. Act\u00e6on._\u2014We have already incidentally mentioned the fortunes of\nthree of the daughters of Cadmus\u2014Ino, Semele, and Agave. The eldest,\nAutono\u00eb, married Arist\u00e6us, the son of Apollo, and became by him the\nmother of Act\u00e6on. Act\u00e6on was handed over to Chiron to be reared as a\nstout hunter and warrior; but he had scarcely reached the prime of youth\nwhen he was overtaken by a lamentable fate. Whilst hunting one day on\nMount Cith\u00e6ron, he was changed by Artemis into a stag, and was torn in\npieces by his own dogs. The cause of her anger was either that Act\u00e6on\nhad boasted that he was a more skilful hunter than Artemis, or that he\nhad surprised the virgin goddess bathing. The latter tradition\nultimately prevailed, and, in later times, even the rock whence he\nbeheld Artemis was pointed out on the road between Megara and Plat\u00e6a. He\nreceived heroic honours in B\u0153otia, and his protection was invoked\nagainst the deadly power of the sun in the dog-days. The story of Act\u00e6on\nis probably nothing but a representation of the decay of verdant nature\nbeneath an oppressive summer heat.\n\n  The story of Act\u00e6on\u2019s transformation and death was a favourite\n  subject for sculpture. A small marble group, representing Act\u00e6on\n  beating off two dogs which are attacking him, was found in 1774, and\n  is now preserved in the British Museum (Fig. 51).\n\n_3. Amphion and Zethus._\u2014Besides the royal family of Cadmus, which was\ncontinued in Thebes after his departure by his son Polydorus, we come\nacross the scions of another ruling family of Thebes which came from\nHyria, or Hysia, in B\u0153otia, in the persons of Amphion and Zethus.\nNycteus, king of Thebes, had a wonderfully beautiful daughter called\nAntiope, whose favours Zeus enjoyed on approaching her in the form of a\nSatyr. On becoming pregnant, she fled from the resentment of her father\nto Sicyon, where the king, Epopeus, received her and made her his wife.\nThis enraged Nycteus, who made war on Epopeus in order to compel him to\ndeliver up his daughter Antiope. He was obliged to retire without\naccomplishing his purpose, but, on his death, he entrusted the execution\nof his vengeance to his brother Lycus, who succeeded him. Lycus defeated\nand slew Epopeus, destroyed Sicyon, and took Antiope back with him as\nprisoner. On the way, at Eleuther\u00e6 on Cith\u00e6ron, she gave birth to the\ntwins Amphion and Zethus. These were immediately exposed, but were\nsubsequently discovered and brought up by a compassionate shepherd.\nAntiope was not only kept prisoner in the house of Lycus, but had also\nto submit to the most harsh and humiliating treatment at the hands of\nhis wife Dirce. At length she managed to escape, and by a wonderful\nchance discovered her two sons, who had grown, on lonely Cith\u00e6ron, into\nsturdy youths. The story of her wrongs so enraged them that they\nresolved to wreak a cruel vengeance on Dirce. After having taken Thebes\nand slain Lycus, they bound Dirce to the horns of a wild bull, which\ndragged her about till she perished. According to another story, Dirce\ncame to Cith\u00e6ron to celebrate the festival of Bacchus. Here she found\nher runaway slave, whom she was about to punish by having her bound to\nthe horns of a bull. Happily, however, Amphion and Zethus recognised\ntheir mother, and inflicted on the cruel Dirce the punishment she had\ndestined for another. Her mangled remains they cast into the spring near\nThebes which bears her name.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 52.\u2014Farnese Bull. Naples.]\n\n  The punishment of Dirce forms the subject of numerous pieces of\n  sculpture. The most important among them is the Farnese Bull (_Toro\n  Farnese_) in the museum at Naples (Fig. 52). This world-renowned\n  marble group is supposed, with the exception of certain parts which\n  have been restored in modern times, to have been the work of the\n  brothers Apollonius and Tauriscus, of Tralles in Caria, Apollonius\n  and Tauriscus belonged to the Rhodian school, which flourished in\n  the third century B.C. This colossal group\u2014undoubtedly the largest\n  which has descended to us from antiquity\u2014was first erected in\n  Rhodes, but came, during the reign of Augustus, into the possession\n  of Asinius Pollio, the great art-patron. It was discovered in 1547\n  in the Therm\u00e6 of Caracalla at Rome, and was set up in the Palazzo\n  Farnese. It was thence transferred to Naples in 1786, as a portion\n  of the Farnese inheritance. The following is a brief explanation of\n  the group, though, of course, the most complete account could give\n  but an imperfect idea of its beauty. The scene is laid on the rocky\n  heights of Cith\u00e6ron. The position of the handsome youths on a rocky\n  crag is as picturesque as it is dangerous, and serves not only to\n  lend the group a pyramidal aspect pleasing to the eye, but also to\n  set before us their marvellous strength. There are several tokens\n  that the occurrence took place during a Bacchic festival: the wicker\n  _cista mystica_ in use at the festivals of Dionysus\u2014the fawn skin\n  which Dirce wears\u2014the ivy garland that has fallen at her feet\u2014the\n  broken thyrsus, and, lastly, the Bacchic insignia which distinguish\n  the shepherd boy, who is sitting on the right watching the\n  proceedings with painful interest\u2014all point to this fact. The lyre\n  which rests against the tree behind Amphion is a token of his\n  well-known love of music. The female figure in the background is\n  Antiope.\n\nThe story goes on to relate that the two brothers, after the expulsion\nand death of Lyons, acquired the sovereignty of Thebes, though Amphion\nalways figures as the real king. The two brothers were widely different\nin disposition and character. Zethus appears to have been rude and\nharsh, and passionately fond of the chase. Amphion, on the other hand,\nis represented as a friend of the Muses, and devoted to music and\npoetry. He soon had an opportunity of proving his wondrous skill when\nthey began to enclose Thebes, which had been before unprotected, with\nwalls and towers; for whilst Zethus removed great blocks and piled them\none on another by means of his vast strength, Amphion had but to touch\nthe strings of his lyre and break forth into some sweet melody, and the\nmighty stones moved of their own accord and obediently fitted themselves\ntogether. This is why Amphion is always represented in sculpture with a\nlyre and Zethus with a club. We can scarcely doubt that these Theban\nDioscuri, like the Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who are well known\nto be only symbols of the morning and evening star, were originally\npersonifications of some natural phenomenon; though we are no longer in\na position to say what it was.\n\nAmphion is further celebrated on account of the melancholy fate of his\nsons and daughters. He married Niobe, the daughter of the Phrygian king\nTantalus, and sister of Pelops. Great was the happiness of this\nmarriage; the gods seemed to shower down their blessings on the royal\npair. Many blooming and lovely children grew up in their palace, the\npride and delight of their happy parents. From this paradise of purest\njoy and happiness they were soon to pass into a night of the deepest\nmourning and most cruel affliction through the presumption of Niobe\u2014the\nsame presumption which had led her father Tantalus to trifle with the\ngods and consummate his own ruin. The heart of Niobe was lifted up with\npride at the number of her children,[7] and she ventured to prefer\nherself to Latona, who had only two; nay, she even went so far as to\nforbid the Thebans to offer sacrifice to Latona and her children, and to\nclaim these honours herself. The vengeance of the offended deities,\nhowever, now overtook her, and all her children were laid low in one day\nbefore the unerring arrows of Apollo and his sister. The parents did not\nsurvive this deep affliction. Amphion slew himself, and Niobe, already\nparalysed with grief, was turned into stone by the pity of the gods, and\ntransferred to her old Phrygian home on Mount Sipylus, though even the\nstone has not ceased to weep.\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n  The number of Niobe\u2019s children varies materially. Homer (_Il._ xxiv.,\n  602) gives her six sons and as many daughters. According to Hesiod and\n  Pindar, she had ten sons and ten daughters; but the most common\n  account, and that followed by the tragic poets, allows her fourteen\n  children. Everywhere the number of sons and daughters appears to be\n  equal. The story of Niobe was frequently treated of by the tragic\n  poets, both \u00c6schylus and Sophocles having written tragedies bearing\n  her name.\n\nSuch is the substance of this beautiful legend, though its details vary\nconsiderably in the accounts of the poets and mythologists. The most\ncircumstantial and richly-coloured account of it is contained in the\n_Metamorphoses_ of Ovid. The poets have continually striven to impose a\npurely ethical interpretation on the story, by representing the\ndestruction of the children of Niobe as the consequence of the great sin\nof their mother; but it is more probably a physical meaning which lies\nat the root of the legend. It is, in fact, a picture of the melting of\nthe snow before the hot scorching rays of the sun. This incident the\nfertile imagination of the Greeks portrayed in the most beautiful\nmetaphors. But just as a subject so purely tragic as the history of\nNiobe found its first true development in tragic poetry, so likewise it\nonly attained its proper place in sculpture after art had laid aside its\nearlier and more simple epic character, and set itself to depict, in\ntheir full force, the inward passions of the soul. This tendency towards\npathos and effect is characteristic of the age of Praxiteles and Scopas,\nand the later Attic school.\n\n  To this age (4th century B.C.) belonged the group of Niobe, which\n  was so highly celebrated even among the ancients, and which was seen\n  by Pliny in the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, although people\n  even then hesitated whether to ascribe it to Praxiteles or Scopas.\n  None but one of these great masters could have been the author of\n  this tragedy hewn in stone. Although the original figures of this\n  magnificent group have disappeared, yet copies of most of them are\n  still in existence. With regard to the celebrated Florentine Niobe\n  group, the dissimilarity of its treatment and the various kinds of\n  marble employed serve to show that it is not a Greek original, but a\n  Roman imitation. It was found at Rome in 1583, near the Lateran\n  Church, and was purchased by Cardinal Medici to adorn his villa on\n  the Monte Pincio. In 1775 it was brought to Florence, where it has\n  remained since 1794 in the gallery of the Uffizi.\n\n  There has never been but one opinion as to the beauty of this group.\n  First among the figures\u2014not only in size, but also in artistic\n  perfection\u2014is that of Niobe herself. The unhappy queen displays in\n  her whole hearing so majestic and noble a demeanour, that, even if\n  none of the other splendid results of Greek sculpture had come down\n  to us, this alone would bear ample testimony to the high perfection\n  and creative power of Greek art. The following description of the\n  arrangement of the group is taken from L\u00fcbke\u2019s _History of Plastic\n  Art_:\u2014\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 54.\u2014Niobe. Florence.]\n\n  \u201cApollo and Artemis are to be supposed outside the group; they have\n  accomplished their work of vengeance and destruction from an\n  invisible position in the heavens. This is denoted by each movement\n  of the flying figures, who either gaze upwards in affright towards\n  the heavens, or seek to cover themselves with their garments. One of\n  the sons is already stretched dead on the earth; another leans in\n  mortal agony against a rock, fixing his eyes, already glazed in\n  death, on the spot whence destruction has overtaken him. A third\n  brother is striving in vain to protect with his robe his sister, who\n  has fallen wounded at his feet, and to catch her in his arms;\n  another has sunk on his knees, and clutches in agony at the wound in\n  his back; whilst his preceptor is endeavouring to shield the\n  youngest boy. All the others are fleeing instinctively to their\n  mother, thinking, doubtless, that she who had so often afforded\n  protection could save them also from the avenging arrows of the\n  gods. Thus from either side the waves of this dreadful flight rush\n  towards the centre, to break on the sublime figure of Niobe as upon\n  a rock. She alone stands unshaken in all her sorrow, mother and\n  queen to the last. Clasping her youngest daughter, whose tender\n  years have not preserved her, in her arms, and bending over as\n  though to shield the child, she turns her own proud head upwards,\n  and, before her left hand can cover her sorrow-stricken face with\n  her robe, she casts towards the avenging goddess a look in which\n  bitter grief is blended with sublime dignity of soul (Fig. 54). In\n  this look there is neither defiance nor prayer for mercy, but a\n  sorrowful and yet withal lofty expression of heroic resignation to\n  inexorable fate that is worthy of a Niobe. This admirable figure,\n  then, is pre-eminently the central point of the composition, since\n  it expresses an atonement which, in a scene of horror and\n  annihilation, stirs the heart to the deepest sympathy.\u201d\n\nZethus was not more fortunate than Amphion in his domestic affairs. He\nmarried A\u00ebdon (nightingale), the daughter of Pandareos. Pandareos was\nthe friend and companion of Tantalus, for whom he stole a living dog\nmade of brass from the temple of Zeus in Crete, and was on that account\nturned into stone.\n\nA\u00ebdon was jealous of the good-fortune of Niobe in having so many\nbeautiful children; she herself having only one son, Itylus. She\nresolved, one night, to slay the eldest son of Niobe, but she killed, in\nmistake, her own child instead. Zeus took compassion on her, and changed\nher into a nightingale. In this guise she still continues to bewail her\nloss in long-drawn mournful notes. Tradition says nothing as to the\ndeath of Zethus, although the common grave of the Theban Dioscuri was\npointed out in Thebes. After his death, Laius, the son of Labdacus and\ngrandson of Polydorus, restored in his person the race of Cadmus to the\nthrone of Thebes. (See the legend of the Labdacid\u00e6 later on.)\n\n\n=3. Corinthian Legend.=\u2014_1. Sisyphus._\u2014Corinth, or Ephyra, as it was\nformerly called, was said to have been founded by Sisyphus, the son of\n\u00c6olus. Its inhabitants, on account of the position of their city between\ntwo seas, were naturally inclined to deify that element, and it is not\nimprobable that Sisyphus was merely an ancient symbol of the restless,\never-rolling waves of the sea. This interpretation, however, is by no\nmeans certain; and the idea of Sisyphus in the lower world ever rolling\na huge stone to the top of a mountain might equally well refer to the\nsun, which, after attaining its highest point in the heavens at the time\nof the summer solstice, glides back again, only to begin its career anew\non the shortest day. In any case, the rolling of the stone does not\nappear to have been originally a punishment. It was only later\u2014after\npeople had become familiar with the idea of retribution in the lower\nworld\u2014that it assumed this character. In order to account for it, a\nspecial crime had to be found for Sisyphus. According to some, he was\npunished at the instance of Zeus, because he had revealed to the\nriver-god Asopus the hiding-place of his daughter \u00c6gina, whom Zeus had\nsecretly carried off from Phlius. According to another tradition, he\nused to attack travellers, and put them to death by crushing them with\ngreat stones. The Corinthians being crafty men of business, it was\nnatural that they should accredit their mythical founder with a refined\ncunning. Of the numerous legends which existed concerning him, none was\nmore celebrated than that of the cunning mode in which he succeeded in\nbinding Death, whom Ares had to be despatched to release.\n\n_2. Glaucus._\u2014Tradition describes Glaucus as a son of Sisyphus by\nMerope. He also appears to have had a symbolic meaning, and was once\nidentical with Poseidon, though he was afterwards degraded from the rank\nof a god to that of a hero. He is remarkable for his unfortunate end. On\nthe occasion of some funeral games, celebrated in Iolcus in honour of\nPelias, he took part in the chariot race, and was torn in pieces by his\nown horses, which had taken fright.\n\n_3. Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons._\u2014The third national hero\nof Corinth was Bellerophon, or Bellerophontes. Here the reference to the\nsun is so obvious, that the signification of the myth is unmistakeable.\nHe was termed the son of Poseidon or Glaucus, and none could appreciate\nthis genealogy better than the Corinthians, who daily saw the sun rise\nfrom the sea. We must first, however, narrate the substance of the\nstory. Bellerophon was born and brought up at Corinth, but was obliged\nfrom some cause or other to leave his country. That he killed Bellerus,\na noble of Corinth, is nothing but a fable arising from an unfortunate\nmisinterpretation of his name. He was hospitably received by Pr\u0153tus,\nking of Tiryns, whose wife at once fell in love with the handsome,\nstately youth. Finding, however, that Bellerophon slighted her passion,\nshe slandered him to her husband, and Pr\u0153tus forthwith sent him to his\nfather-in-law, Iobates, king of Lycia, with a tablet, mysterious signs\non which bade Iobates put the bearer to death. At this juncture the\nheroic career of Bellerophon begins. Iobates sought to fulfil the\ncommand of Pr\u0153tus by involving his guest in all kinds of desperate\nadventures. He first sent him to destroy the Chim\u00e6ra, a dangerous\nmonster that devastated the land. The fore part of its body was that of\na lion, the centre that of a goat, and the hinder part that of a dragon.\nAccording to Hesiod, it had three heads\u2014that of a lion, a goat, and a\ndragon. According to the same poet, the Chim\u00e6ra was a fire-breathing\nmonster of great swiftness and strength, the daughter of Typhon and\nEchidna. Bellerophon destroyed the monster by raising himself in the air\non his winged horse Pegasus, and shooting it with his arrows. Pegasus\nwas the offspring of Poseidon and Medusa, from whose trunk it sprung\nafter Perseus had struck off her head. Bellerophon captured this\nwonderful animal as it descended at the Acro-Corinthus to drink of the\nspring of Pirene. In this he was assisted by the goddess Athene, who\nalso taught him how to tame and use it. Here, then, he appears to have\nalready possessed the horse at Corinth; though another tradition relates\nthat Pegasus was first sent to him when he set out to conquer the\nChim\u00e6ra. The origin of the story is ascribed to a fiery mountain in\nLycia; but, as all dragons and suchlike monsters of antiquity are\nrepresented as breathing forth fire and flames, we are perhaps scarcely\njustified in having recourse to a volcano. This characteristic is, in\nfact, merely a common symbol of the furious and dangerous character of\nthese monsters. The contest of Bellerophon is far more likely to be a\npicture of the drying up, by means of the sun\u2019s rays, of the furious\nmountain torrents which flood the corn-fields. Others, again, have\nthought that the Chim\u00e6ra represents the storms of winter conquered by\nthe sun.\n\nThe next adventure in which Iobates engaged Bellerophon was an\nexpedition against the Solymi, a neighbouring but hostile mountain\ntribe. After he had been successful in subduing them, Iobates sent him\nagainst the warlike Amazons, hoping that among them he would be certain\nto meet his death. We here, for the first time, come across this\nremarkable nation of women, with whom other Greek heroes, such as\nHeracles and Theseus, are said to have fought; and it will not,\ntherefore, be foreign to our object to dwell here on their most\nimportant features.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 55\u2014Amazon. Berlin.]\n\nThe Amazons appear in legend as early as Homer, though he only mentions\nthem incidentally. They were said to be a nation of women, who suffered\nno men among them, except so far as it was necessary to keep up the\nrace. The women, on the other hand, were trained from their earliest\nyears in all warlike exercises; so that they were not only sufficiently\npowerful to defend their own land against foreign invaders, but also to\nmake plundering incursions into other countries. Their dominions, the\nsituation of which was at first indefinitely described as in the far\nnorth or far west, were afterwards reduced to more distinct limits, and\nplaced in Cappadocia, on the river Thermodon, their capital being\nThemiscyra in Scythia, on the borders of Lake M\u00e6otis, where their\nintercourse with the Scythians is said to have given rise to the\nSarmatian tribes. Later writers also speak of the Amazons in Western\nLibya. Of the numerous stories rife concerning them, none is more\ntasteless than that of their cutting off or burning out the right\nbreast, in order not to incommode themselves in the use of the bow. From\nthe Thermodon they are said to have made great expeditions as far as the\n\u00c6gean sea; they are even reported to have invaded Attica, and made war\non Theseus. They also play a prominent part in the story of Heracles, by\nwhom they were defeated; and in the Trojan war, when, under their queen\nPenthesilea, they came to the assistance of Priam against the Greeks.\n\n  The Amazons were frequently represented in Greek art. They are here\n  depicted as fine, powerful women, resembling Artemis and her nymphs,\n  though with stouter legs and arms. They generally appear armed,\n  their weapons being a long double-edged battle-axe (_bipennis_) and\n  a semicircular shield. An anecdote related by Pliny proves what a\n  favourite subject the Amazons were with Greek artists. He says that\n  the celebrated sculptors, Phidias, Polycletus, Phradmon, and\n  Cresilas, made a wager as to who should create the most beautiful\n  Amazon. Polycletus received the prize, so that we may conclude that\n  he brought this statue\u2014the ideal Amazon of the Greeks\u2014to its highest\n  perfection. Unfortunately, we know nothing of it, except that it was\n  of bronze, and stood with the statues of the other artists in the\n  temple of the Ephesian Artemis. The Amazon of Phidias, we are told,\n  was represented as leaning on a spear; Cresilas, on the other hand,\n  endeavoured to portray a wounded Amazon. Besides these statues, we\n  hear a great deal of the Amazon of Strongylion, celebrated for the\n  beauty of her legs, which was in the possession of Nero.\n\n  We still possess a considerable number of Amazon statues, some of\n  which are supposed to be imitations in marble of the renowned statue\n  at Ephesus. There are, moreover, several statues of wounded Amazons,\n  some of which are believed to be copies of the work of Cresilas.\n  There is also another marble statue, considerably larger than life,\n  which takes a still higher rank. It was originally set up in the\n  Villa Mattei, but since the time of Clement XIV. it has been in the\n  Vatican collection. It is apparently a representation of an Amazon\n  resting after battle; she is in the act of laying aside her bow, as\n  she has already done her shield, battle-axe, and helmet. In doing so\n  she raises herself slightly on her left foot, an attitude which is\n  as charming as it is natural.\n\n  Lastly, we must not omit to mention a statue that has newly come\n  into the possession of the Berlin Museum, which is supposed to be\n  after a work of Polycletus (Fig. 55).\n\nWe must now return to the history of Bellerophon. After returning in\ntriumph from his expedition against the Amazons, the life of the young\nhero was once more attempted by Iobates, who caused him to be surprised\nby an ambuscade. Bellerophon, however, again escaped, slaying all his\nassailants. Iobates now ceased from further persecution, and gave him\nhis daughter in marriage, and a share in the kingdom of Lycia.\nBellerophon, in full possession of power and riches, and surrounded by\nblooming children, seemed to have reached the summit of earthly\nprosperity, when he was overtaken by a grievous change of fortune. He\nwas seized with madness, and wandered about alone, fleeing the society\nof men, until he at length perished miserably. Pindar says that he\nincurred the enmity of the gods by attempting to fly to heaven on his\nwinged horse Pegasus; whereupon Zeus sent a gadfly to sting the horse.\nPegasus cast off Bellerophon, and flew of his own accord to the stables\nof Zeus, whose thunder-chariot he has ever since drawn. The sad fate of\nBellerophon was the subject of a touching tragedy of Euripides, some\nparts of which are still in existence. Heroic honours were paid to\nBellerophon in Corinth, and he also had a shrine in the celebrated\ncypress-grove of Poseidon.\n\n\n=4. Argive Legend.=\u2014_1. Io._\u2014The first personage who meets us on the\nvery threshold of the mythic age of Argos is Inachus, the god of the\nArgive river of that name. Inachus was venerated by the inhabitants as\nthe first founder of Argive civilisation after the flood of Deucalion.\nBy his union with Melia, the daughter of Oceanus, he became the father\nof Io, famed for her beauty, whose history, which is of great antiquity,\nhas been so greatly embellished by the poets and legendary writers. The\nfollowing is the substance of the story:\u2014\n\nIo was the priestess of Hera. Her great beauty attracted the notice of\nZeus. On remarking this, Hera, in her jealousy, changed Io into a white\nheifer, and set the hundred-eyed Argus Panoptes (the all-seeing) to\nwatch her. Zeus, however, sent Hermes to take away the heifer. Hermes\nfirst lulled the guardian to sleep with his wand and then slew him,\nwhence he is called Argiphontes (slayer of Argus). Hera avenged herself\nby sending a gadfly to torment Io, who, in her madness, wandered through\nEurope and Asia, until she at length found rest in Egypt, where, touched\nby the hand of Zeus, she recovered her original form, and gave birth to\na son. This son, who was called Epaphus, afterwards became king of\nEgypt, and built Memphis. The myth, as we have already remarked, has\nreceived many embellishments, for the wanderings of Io grew more and\nmore extensive with the growth of geographical knowledge. The true\ninterpretation of the myth is due to F. W. Welcker, whose meritorious\nresearches in Greek mythology have proved of such great value. Io (the\nwanderer) is the moon, whose apparently irregular course and temporary\ndisappearance was considered a most curious phenomenon by the ancients.\nThe moon-goddess of antiquity was very frequently represented under the\nfigure of a heifer; and Isis herself, the Egyptian goddess of the moon,\nwas always depicted with horns. The guardian of the heifer, the\nhundred-eyed Argus, is a symbol of the starry heaven. Whether we see in\nHermes the dawn or the morning breeze, in either case the slaying of\nArgus will simply mean that the stars become invisible at sunrise. There\nis nothing extraordinary in representing the apparent irregularity of\nthe moon\u2019s course, inexplicable as it was to the ancients, under the\nguise of mental disorder. Similar representations occur in the stories\nof the solar heroes, Bellerophon and Heracles. In the south-east\u2014the\ndirection in which Egypt lay from Greece\u2014Io again appears as full moon,\nin her original shape.\n\n_2. Dana\u00fcs and the Dana\u00efds._\u2014According to the legend, Dana\u00fcs was a\ndescendant of Io. Epaphus, the son of Io, had a daughter Libya, who bore\nto Poseidon two sons, Agenor and Belus. The former reigned over\nPh\u0153nicia, the latter over Egypt. Belus, by his union with Anchino\u00eb, or\nAchiro\u00eb, the daughter of the Nile, became the father of \u00c6gyptus and\nDana\u00fcs. Between these two brothers\u2014the former of whom had fifty sons and\nthe latter fifty daughters\u2014a deadly enmity arose; this induced Dana\u00fcs to\nmigrate from Egypt and seek the old home of his ancestress Io. He\nembarked with his fifty daughters in a ship\u2014the first that was ever\nbuilt\u2014and thus came to Argos, where Gelanor, the reigning descendant of\nInachus, resigned the crown in his favour. As king of Argos, Dana\u00fcs is\nsaid to have brought the land, which suffered from want of water, to a\nhigher state of cultivation by watering it with wells and canals. He is\nalso said to have introduced the worship of Apollo and Demeter. The\nstory proceeds to relate that the fifty sons of \u00c6gyptus followed their\nuncle to Argos, and compelled him to give them his fifty daughters in\nmarriage. Dana\u00fcs, in revenge, gave each of his daughters on the wedding\nday a dagger, and commanded them to slay their husbands in the night.\nAll obeyed his command except Hypermnestra, who spared her husband\nLynceus, and afterwards even succeeded, with the assistance of\nAphrodite, in effecting his reconciliation with her father. Lynceus\nsucceeded Dana\u00fcs in the kingdom, and became, by his son Abas, the\nancestor of both the great Argive heroes, Perseus and Heracles. At a\nlater period, the fable sprang up that the Dana\u00efds were punished for\ntheir crimes in the lower world by having continually to pour water into\na cask full of holes. It has been frequently remarked that this\npunishment has no conceivable connection with the crime. Neither must we\nforget that the idea of retribution in the lower world was of a\ncomparatively late date. Originally, too, the idea prevailed that the\npursuits of the upper world were continued after death in the realms of\nHades. And herein lies the key to the interpretation of the myth, which\nis evidently connected with the irrigation of Argos ascribed to Dana\u00fcs.\n\n_3. Pr\u0153tus and his Daughters._\u2014Acrisius and Pr\u0153tus were twin sons of\nAbas, the son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra. Between these two brothers an\nimplacable hostility existed, which was said by the poets to have\ncommenced even in their mother\u2019s womb. Pr\u0153tus received, as his share of\nthe patrimony, the kingdom of Tiryns; but he was subsequently expelled\nby his brother, and took refuge at the court of Iobates, king of Lycia.\nIobates gave him his daughter Antea, or Stheneb\u0153a, in marriage, and\nafterwards restored him to his kingdom of Tiryns. Pr\u0153tus, with the aid\nof the Lycian workmen whom he had brought with him (Cyclopes), built a\nstrong fortress, which enabled him not only to maintain peaceable\npossession of Tiryns, but also to extend his dominion as far as Corinth.\nThe legend then passes to the history of his three daughters, the\nPr\u0153tides, whose pride was so excited by their father\u2019s greatness and\ntheir own beauty that they began to think themselves superior to the\ngods. Their arrogance, however, was soon punished, for they were visited\nwith a foul disease and driven mad. They now fled the society of\nmankind, and wandered about among the mountains and woods of Argos and\nArcadia. At length Pr\u0153tus succeeded in procuring the services of the\ncelebrated soothsayer and purifier Melampus, who undertook the\npurification and cure of his daughters. It was reported of Melampus that\nserpents had licked his ears whilst asleep, and that he acquired, in\nconsequence, a knowledge of the language of birds. He successfully\naccomplished the cure of the Pr\u0153tides, and received, as a reward, the\nhand of the princess Iphianassa, in addition to which both he and his\nbrother Bias received a share in the sovereignty of Tiryns. Thus it was\nthat the race of the Amythaonid\u00e6, who all inherited the gift of seeing\ninto futurity, and from whom the celebrated soothsayer Amphiara\u00fcs\nhimself was descended, came to Argos.\n\n_4. Perseus._\u2014Acrisius, the brother of Pr\u0153tus, had a daughter called\nDana\u00eb, whose fortune it was to gain the love of the great ruler of\nOlympus. Her father, Acrisius, was induced by an oracle, which foretold\nthat he should be killed by his own grandson, to immure Dana\u00eb in a\nsubterraneous chamber. Zeus, however, in his love for her, changed\nhimself into a shower of golden rain, and thus introduced himself\nthrough the roof of her prison. Thus was the god-like hero Perseus born.\nThere can be no doubt that this myth, too, is founded on the idea of the\nbridal union of heaven and earth; this is one of the pictures of nature\nwhich the mind most readily forms. Dana\u00eb represents the country of\nArgos; her prison is the heaven, enveloped, during the gloomy months of\nwinter, with thick clouds. Her offspring by Zeus represents the light of\nthe sun, which returns in the spring-time and begins, like a veritable\nhero, its contest with the powers of death and darkness. The Gorgon\nMedusa has the same significance in the history of Perseus that the\nhideous Python has in that of Apollo.\n\nThe legend then proceeds to relate that Acrisius, having heard of the\nbirth of his grandson, to avert the fate threatened by the oracle,\nordered mother and child to be confined in a chest and cast into the\nsea. But human wisdom avails nought against the inevitable decrees of\nheaven. The chest was cast by the waves on the rocky island of Seriphus,\nwhere it was found by the fisherman Dictys; and Dana\u00eb and her child were\nhospitably received and cared for by Dictys and his brother Polydectes,\nthe ruler of the island. The latter, however, subsequently wished to\nmarry Dana\u00eb, and on her rejecting his advances made her a slave. Fearing\nthe vengeance of Perseus, he despatched him, as soon as he was grown up,\non a most perilous adventure. This was no other than to bring him the\nhead of the Gorgon Medusa\u2014a terrible winged woman, who dwelt with her\ntwo sisters, the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, on the farthest western\nshore of the earth, on the border of Oceanus. Perseus set out, though he\nwas in the greatest perplexity how to accomplish so perilous a task.\nHermes, however, at this juncture came to his aid; and Athene, the\nspecial patroness of heroes, inspired him with courage. These deities\nfirst showed him how to procure the necessary means for accomplishing\nhis undertaking, which consisted of an invisible helmet, a magic wallet,\nand a pair of winged sandals. All these were in the hands of the Nymphs,\nby whom probably the water-nymphs are meant. The way to their abode he\ncould only learn from the Gr\u00e6\u00e6. These creatures, who were likewise the\ndaughters of Phorcys and Ceto, were reported to have come into the world\nas old women; their very appearance was appalling, and they had but one\neye and one tooth between them, of which they made use in turn. They,\ntoo, dwelt on the outskirts of the gloomy region inhabited by the\nGorgons, whence they are called by \u00c6schylus their sentinels. Under the\nguidance of Apollo and Athene, Perseus came to the Gr\u00e6\u00e6. He then robbed\nthem of their one eye and one tooth, and thus forced them to tell him\nthe way to the habitations of the Nymphs. From the latter he at once\nobtained the objects he sought; and having donned his winged sandals, he\nhastened to the abode of the Gorgons, whom he fortunately discovered\nasleep. Athene then pointed out to him Medusa\u2014the other two sisters,\nStheno and Euryale, being immortal\u2014and enjoined him to approach them\ncarefully backwards, as the sight of their faces would infallibly turn\nany mortal into stone. With the help of her mirror-like shield and the\nsickle of Hermes, Perseus succeeded in cutting off the head of Medusa\nwithout looking round; and having placed the head in his wallet, he\nhastened away. His helmet, which rendered him invisible, enabled him to\nescape the pursuit of the other Gorgons, who had meanwhile awaked. From\nthe trunk of Medusa sprang the winged horse Pegasus, and Chrysaor, the\nfather of Geryones. On his return to Seriphus, Perseus turned the\nunrighteous Polydectes into stone by means of the Gorgon\u2019s head, which\nhe then presented to Athene; and after making his benefactor, Dictys,\nking of the island, he turned his steps towards his native place, Argos.\nSuch are the essential features of the myth\u2014concerning which, in spite\nof its antiquity, we have no earlier sources of information\u2014such is the\noriginal framework on which was afterwards built up the history of the\nfurther adventures of the hero. The most celebrated of these was the\nrescue of Andromeda, which formed the subject of a drama of Euripides,\nand was also highly popular among artists and poets. The following is a\nbrief account of this exploit:\u2014Cassiopea, the wife of Cepheus, king of\n\u00c6thiopia, ventured to extol her own beauty above that of the Nereids,\nwho thereupon besought Poseidon to avenge them. He granted their\nrequest, and not only overwhelmed the land with disastrous floods, but\nsent also a terrible sea-monster, which devoured both man and beast. The\noracle of Ammon declared that the land could only be saved by the\nsacrifice of the king\u2019s daughter, Andromeda, to the monster. Cepheus,\nafter some time, yielded to the entreaties of his people, and Andromeda\nwas chained to a rock close to the sea. In this situation she was found\nby Perseus, on his return from his adventure with the Gorgons. He\nforthwith attacked and slew the sea-monster, and released the trembling\nmaiden, who soon after married her preserver. Later writers, not\nsatisfied with this adventure, added that Perseus was also obliged to\nvanquish a rival in Phineus, the king\u2019s brother, to whom Andromeda had\nbeen already promised. Phineus, together with his warriors, was changed\ninto stone by means of the Gorgon\u2019s head.\n\nThe legend concludes with the return of the hero to Argos, where he was\nreconciled to his grandfather Acrisius, who had at first fled in terror\nto Larissa. On the occasion, however, of some games which the people of\nLarissa had instituted in his honour, Perseus was unfortunate enough to\nkill Acrisius with his discus, thus involuntarily fulfilling the\nprophecy of the oracle. In this feature of the story we recognise an\nunmistakeable reference to the symbolic meaning of Perseus; for the\ndiscus here represents, as in the story of the death of Hyacinthus, the\nface of the sun. Perseus, unwilling to enter on the inheritance of the\ngrandfather he had slain, exchanged the kingdom of Argos for that of\nTiryns, which was handed over to him by its king, Megapenthes, the son\nof Pr\u0153tus. He here founded the cities of Midea and Mycen\u00e6, and became,\nthrough his children by Andromeda, the ancestor of many heroes, and,\namong others, of Heracles. His son Electryon became the father of\nAlcmene, whilst Amphitryon was descended from another of his sons.\nAccording to Pausanias, heroic honours were paid to Perseus, not only\nthroughout Argos, but also in Athens and the island of Seriphus.\n\n  Perseus occupies a prominent position in Greek art. His common\n  attributes are the winged sandals, the sickle which he made use of\n  to slay Medusa, and the helmet of Hades. In bodily form, as well as\n  in costume, he appears very like Hermes.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 56.\u2014Perseus and Andromeda. Marble Relief in the\nMuseum at Naples.]\n\n  Among the art monuments which relate to his adventures is a marble\n  relief from the Villa Pamfili, now in the Capitoline Museum at Rome,\n  depicting the rescue of Andromeda. The sea-monster lies dead at the\n  feet of Perseus, who is assisting the joyful Andromeda to descend\n  from the rock. The attitude and expression of both figures are very\n  striking: on the one side, maidenly modesty; on the other, proud\n  self-reliance. It is worth remarking that Perseus, in addition to\n  his winged shoes, has also wings on his head. The same conception is\n  perceptible, with a few minor points of difference, in several\n  Pompeian paintings, and on a marble relief of the Naples Museum\n  (Fig. 56). Representations of Medusa are mostly confined to masks,\n  which are often found on coats of mail, shields, leaves of folding\n  doors, and instruments of all kinds. There are two types,\n  representing an earlier and a later conception of Medusa. Earlier\n  art set itself to depict the horrible only in the head of Medusa;\n  and artists, therefore, strove to impart to the face as strong an\n  expression of rage and ferocity as was possible, representing her\n  with tongue lolling forth, and boar-like tusks. It is worthy of\n  remark that, in the earlier examples of these masks\u2014which are\n  frequently met with on coins, gems, and pottery\u2014the hair generally\n  falls stiff and straight over the forehead, serving to render the\n  horrible breadth of the face still more striking, while the snakes\n  appear to be fastened round the neck like a necklace. Very different\n  is the conception adopted by the later and more sensuous school.\n  This laboured principally to give expression to the gradual ebbing\n  away of life in the countenance of the dying Gorgon, an effect which\n  was rendered still more striking by transforming the hideous Gorgon\n  face of earlier times into an ideal of the most perfect beauty. The\n  most splendid example of this later conception, which had been\n  creeping in since the age of Praxiteles, is to be found in the\n  Medusa Rondanini of the Munich collection\u2014a marble mask of most\n  beautiful workmanship, which was brought from the Rondanini Palace\n  at Rome (Fig. 57). This Medusa, like many others of the later type,\n  has wings on the head.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 57.\u2014Rondanini Medusa. Munich.]\n\n\n=5. The Dioscuri.=\u2014On passing to Laconia and Messenia, the southern\ndistricts of the Peloponnesus, we come in contact with the legend of the\nDioscuri. Tyndare\u00fcs and his brother Icarius were said to have founded\nthe most ancient sovereignty in Laced\u00e6mon. They were driven thence,\nhowever, by their half-brother Hippoco\u00f6n, and were kindly received by\nThestius, the ruler of the ancient city of Pleuron in \u00c6tolia, who gave\nTyndare\u00fcs his daughter Leda in marriage. Icarius received the hand of\nPolycaste, who bore him Penelope\u2014afterwards the wife of Odysseus; while\nLeda was the mother of the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux).\nTyndare\u00fcs was afterwards reinstated in his Laced\u00e6monian kingdom at\nAmycl\u00e6 by Heracles. Besides these two sons, Leda had also two daughters,\nClyt\u00e6mnestra and Helene (Helen), who are celebrated in connection with\nthe Trojan war. An ancient legend also existed to the effect that Leda\nhad been beloved by Zeus, who had approached her under the guise of a\nswan. The greatest incongruity prevails as to which of the children\ncould claim a divine origin. In Homer, Helen alone is represented as the\ndaughter of Zeus; while Clyt\u00e6mnestra, together with Castor and\nPolydeuces, appear as the children of Tyndare\u00fcs. At a subsequent period,\nthe name of \u201cDioscuri\u201d (sons of Zeus) and a belief in their divine\norigin arose simultaneously. Later still, Castor was represented as a\nmortal, and the son of Tyndare\u00fcs; and Polydeuces as immortal, and the\nson of Zeus. After Castor, however, had fallen in the contest with the\nsons of Aphareus, his brother Polydeuces, unwilling to part from him,\nprevailed on Zeus to allow them to remain together, on condition of\ntheir spending one day in Olympus and the next in Hades. They thus led a\nlife divided between mortality and immortality. The following is an\naccount of their heroic deeds:\u2014On attaining manhood, Castor\ndistinguished himself by his skill in the management of horses; whilst\nPolydeuces became renowned as a skilful boxer, though he too had skill\nin riding. They first made war on Theseus, who had carried off their\nsister Helen, then ten years old, and set her free by the conquest of\nAphidn\u00e6. They next took part in the expedition of the Argonauts, in\nwhich Polydeuces gained still further renown by his victory with the\ncestus over the celebrated boxer Amycus. They were also present at the\nCalydonian boar hunt. Their last undertaking was the rape of the\ndaughters of Leucippus, king of Messenia. This was the cause of their\ncombat with their cousins Idas and Lynceus, the sons of Aphareus, to\nwhom the damsels had been betrothed. According to others, however, it\nsprang from a quarrel as to the division of some booty that they had\ncarried off together. Castor was slain by Idas, whereupon Polydeuces in\nhis wrath slew Lynceus, while Idas himself was overwhelmed by a\nthunderbolt from Zeus.\n\nThe interpretation of this myth is by no means void of difficulty. It is\ncommonly supposed that they were ancient Peloponnesian divinities of\nlight, who, after the Dorian invasion, were degraded to the rank of\nheroes. They are often interpreted as personifications of the morning\nand evening star, or of the twilight (dawn and dusk). This view died out\nafter the second deification that they underwent. They were venerated,\nnot only in their native Sparta, but throughout the whole of Greece, as\nkindly, beneficent deities, whose aid might be invoked either in battle\nor in the dangers of shipwreck. In this latter character they are lauded\nby an Homeric hymn, in which they are represented as darting through the\nair on their golden wings, in order to calm the storm at the prayer of\nthe terror-stricken mariner. It has often been remarked, and with a\ngreat appearance of truth, that these Dioscuri flitting about on their\ngolden wings are probably nothing more than what is commonly called St.\nElmo\u2019s fire\u2014an electric flame which, is often seen playing round the\ntops of the masts during a storm, and which is regarded by the sailors\nas a sign of its speedy abatement; indeed the name Elmo has been\nsupposed a corruption of Helene. In Sparta, the Dioscuri were regarded\nas the tutelary deities of the state, as well as an example of warlike\nvalour for the youth of the country. Their shrines here were very\nnumerous. Their ancient symbol, which the Spartans always took with them\non a campaign, consisted of two parallel beams joined by cross-bars.\nThey had other festivals and temples besides those of Sparta; in\nMantinea, for instance, where an eternal fire was kept burning in their\nhonour; also in Athens, where they were venerated under the appellation\nof Anaces. Their festival was here celebrated with horse-racing. The\nOlympic games also stood under their special protection, and their\nimages were set up in all the pal\u00e6stra. They were, in fact, everywhere\nregarded as extremely benevolent and sociable deities, who foster all\nthat is noble and beautiful among men.\n\nThe Dioscuri were believed to have assisted the Romans against the\nLatins at the Lake Regillus; and the dictator, A. Postumius, vowed a\ntemple to them, which was erected in the Forum, opposite the temple of\nVesta. In commemoration of this aid, the Equites made a solemn\nprocession from the temple of Honos, past the temple of the Dioscuri, to\nthe Capitol every year on the Ides of July.\n\n  In art the Dioscuri are represented as heroic youths of noble mien\n  and slim but powerful forms. Their characteristic marks are conical\n  caps, the points of which are adorned with a star. They generally\n  appear nude, or clothed only with a light chlamys, and nearly always\n  in connection with their horses, either riding, standing by and\n  holding them, or leading them by the bridle. The most celebrated\n  representation of the Dioscuri that has come down to us from\n  antiquity consists of the marble statues called the Colossi of Monte\n  Cavallo, in Rome. These are eighteen feet in height, and the\n  proportions of the figures, together with those of the horses, are\n  exquisite. They are set up on the Quirinal, which has received from\n  them the name of Monte Cavallo. They are not, indeed, original\n  works, but are probably imitations of bronzes of the most\n  flourishing period of Greek art, executed in the time of Augustus.\n\n\n=6. Heracles (Hercules).=\u2014Of all the myths of the countries originally\ninhabited by the \u00c6olians the myth of Heracles is the most glorious. This\nhero, though his fame was chiefly disseminated by means of the Dorians,\nwas yet by birth the common property of the \u00c6olian race\u2014their national\nhero, in fact, just as he afterwards became the national hero of the\nwhole of Greece. No other Greek myth has received so many subsequent\nadditions\u2014not only from native, but also from foreign sources\u2014as this;\nwhich is, in consequence, the most extensive and complicated of all\nGreek myths. We shall, therefore, have to confine ourselves to the\nconsideration of its most characteristic features, and those which are\nthe most important in the history of art.\n\nIn Homer, who is here again our most ancient authority, the leading\nfeatures of the myth are traced\u2014the enmity of Hera towards the hero; his\nperiod of subjection to Eurystheus, and the labours by which he\nemancipated himself (though special mention is made only of his seizure\nof Cerberus); his expeditions against Pylus, Ephyra, \u0152chalia, and Troy.\nThe verses in the _Odyssey_ (xi. 602\u20134), which refer to his deification\nand subsequent marriage with Hebe, are probably a later insertion. In\nthe _Iliad_, Heracles is spoken of as a great hero of olden time, \u201cwhom\nthe Fates and the grievous wrath of Hera subdued.\u201d In Homer, too, he\nappears as a purely Grecian hero, his warlike undertakings having never\nyet led him beyond Troy, and his armour differing in no respect from\nthat of other heroes. The description of him in Hesiod\u2019s _Theogony_ and\nin the _Shield of Heracles_ is somewhat more minute, but is otherwise\nessentially the same. From what source the deification of Heracles\nsprang\u2014whether it was due to Ph\u0153nician influences or not\u2014has hitherto\nremained an undetermined question; we only know that it appears as an\naccomplished fact about 700 B.C.\n\nI. THE BIRTH AND YOUTH OF HERACLES.\u2014This portion of the legend found its\nchief development in B\u0153otia. Amphitryon, a son of Alc\u00e6us and grandson of\nPerseus, was compelled to flee from Tiryns with his betrothed\nAlcmene\u2014likewise a descendant of Perseus by her father Electryon\u2014on\naccount of a murder, and found an asylum at the court of Creon, king of\nThebes. From this place he undertook an expedition against the robber\ntribes of the Telebo\u00e6 (Taphians), in consequence of a promise made to\nAlcmene, whose brother they had slain. After the successful termination\nof this expedition, the marriage was to have been celebrated at Thebes.\nBut, in the meanwhile, the great ruler of Olympus himself had been\nsmitten with the charms of Alcmene, and, taking the form of the absent\nAmphitryon, had left her pregnant with Heracles, to whom she afterwards\ngave birth at the same time with Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon. The\nsovereignty over all the descendants of Perseus, which Zeus had destined\nfor Heracles, was snatched from him by the crafty jealousy of Hera, who\nprolonged the pains of Alcmene and hastened the delivery of the wife of\nSthenelus, the uncle of Amphitryon, by two months. Not content with\nhaving subjected the hero to the will of the weak and cowardly\nEurystheus, Hera, according to a subsequent account of the poets, sent\ntwo serpents to kill the child when he was about eight months old.\nHeracles, however, gave the first proof of his divine origin by\nstrangling the serpents with his hands. An account of this scene has\ndescended to us in a beautiful poem of Pindar. In Thebes, the boy grew\nup and was put under the care of the best preceptors. But, though he\nexcelled in every feat of strength and valour, he made no progress in\nmusical arts, and even slew his master Linus on account of a somewhat\nharsh reproof which his inaptitude entailed on him. As a punishment,\nAmphitryon sent him to Mount Cith\u00e6ron to mind the flocks, a mode of life\nwhich Heracles continued until he had completed his eighteenth year. It\nwas to this period that the sophist Prodicus, a contemporary of\nSocrates, referred his beautiful allegory of the _Choice of Heracles_.\nAfter attaining his full growth (according to Apollodorus he was four\ncubits in height) and strength, the young hero performed his first great\nfeat by killing the lion of Cith\u00e6ron. Whether it was this skin or that\nof the Nemean lion which he afterwards used as a garment is not certain.\nHis next act was to free the Thebans from the ignominious tribute which\nthey were compelled to pay to Erginus, king of Orchomenus, by a\nsuccessful expedition, in which Amphitryon, however, lost his life.\nCreon, the king of Thebes, in gratitude gave the hero his daughter\nMegara in marriage, while Iphicles married her sister.\n\nII. HERACLES IN THE SERVICE OF EURYSTHEUS\u2014THE TWELVE LABOURS.\u2014We now\ncome to the second epoch in the life of the hero, in which he performed\nvarious labours at the bidding of Eurystheus, king of Mycen\u00e6 or Tiryns.\nThe number of these was first fixed at twelve in the Alexandrian age,\nwhen Heracles was identified with the Ph\u0153nician sun-god, Baal; probably\nfrom the analogy afforded in the course of the sun through the twelve\nsigns of the Zodiac. The subjection of Heracles to his unmanly cousin\nEurystheus is generally represented as a consequence of the stratagem by\nwhich Hera obtained for the latter the sovereignty over all the\ndescendants of Perseus. At a later period Heracles was said to have\nbecome insane, in consequence of the summons of Eurystheus to do his\nbidding. The following is an account of the labours of Heracles:\u2014\n\n_1. The Fight with the Nemean Lion._\u2014The district of Nemea and Cleon\u00e6\nwas inhabited by a monstrous lion, the offspring of Typhon and Echidna,\nwhose skin bade defiance to every weapon. Heracles, after using his\narrows and club against the animal in vain, at last drove it into a\ncave, and there strangled it with his hands. He afterwards used the head\nof the lion as a helmet, and the impenetrable skin as a defence.\n\n_2. The Lern\u00e6an Hydra._\u2014This was a great water-serpent, likewise the\noffspring of Typhon and Echidna. The number of its heads varies in the\naccounts of poets, though ancient gems usually represent it with seven.\nIt ravaged the country of Lerna in Argolis, destroying both men and\nbeasts. In this adventure Heracles was accompanied by Iola\u00fcs, the son of\nhis brother Iphicles, who, on this as on other occasions, appears as his\nfaithful companion. After driving the monster from its lair by means of\nhis arrows, he advanced fearlessly, and, seizing it in his hands, began\nto strike off its heads with his sword. To his amazement, in the place\nof each head he struck off two sprang up. He then ordered Iola\u00fcs to set\non fire a neighbouring wood, and with the firebrands seared the throats\nof the serpent, until he at length succeeded in slaying it. He then\ndipped his arrows in its gall, thus rendering the wounds inflicted by\nthem incurable.\n\n_3. The Erymanthian Boar._\u2014This animal inhabited the mountain district\nof Erymanthus in Arcadia, from which place it wasted the corn-fields of\nPsophis. Heracles drove the boar up to the snow-covered summit of the\nmountain, and then caught it alive, as Eurystheus had commanded him.\nWhen he arrived at Mycen\u00e6 with the terrible beast on his back,\nEurystheus was so terrified that he hid himself in a vessel. This comic\nscene is frequently depicted on vases. It was on this occasion that\nHeracles destroyed the Centaurs. On the road the hero, hungry and\nthirsty, was hospitably received by the friendly Centaur Pholus, who\nholds the same place among the Arcadian Centaurs as Chiron does among\nthose of Thessaly. Pholus broached, in honour of his guest, a cask of\nwine lying in his cave, which was the common property of all the\nCentaurs. The fragrance of the wine attracted the other Centaurs living\non Mount Pholo\u00eb, and they immediately attacked the tippling hero with\npieces of rock and trunks of trees. Heracles, however, drove them back\nwith arrows and firebrands, and completely vanquished them after a\nterrible fight. On returning to the cave of Pholus, he found his friend\ndead. He had drawn an arrow out of a dead body to examine it, but\naccidentally let it fall on his foot, from the wound of which he died.\n\n_4. The Hind of Cerynea._\u2014This animal, which was sacred to the Arcadian\nArtemis, had golden horns and brazen hoofs, the latter being a symbol of\nits untiring fleetness. Heracles was commanded to bring it alive to\nMycen\u00e6, and for a whole year he continued to pursue it over hill and\ndale with untiring energy. At length it returned to Arcadia, where he\nsucceeded in capturing it on the banks of the Ladon, and bore it in\ntriumph to Mycen\u00e6.\n\n_5. The Stymphalian Birds._\u2014These voracious birds, which fed on human\nflesh, had brazen claws, wings, and beaks, and were able to shoot out\ntheir feathers like arrows. They inhabited the district round Lake\nStymphalis in Arcadia. Heracles slew some, and so terrified the rest by\nmeans of his brazen rattle that they never returned. This latter\ncircumstance is apparently an addition of later times, to explain their\nreappearance in the history of the Argonauts.\n\n_6. Cleansing of the Stables of Augeas._\u2014The sixth task of Heracles was\nto cleanse in one day the stables of Augeas, king of Elis, whose wealth\nin cattle had become proverbial. Heracles repaired to Elis, where he\noffered to cleanse the stables, in which were three thousand oxen, if\nthe king would consent to give him a tenth part of the cattle. Augeas\nagreed to do so; Heracles then turned the course of the Peneus or the\nAlpheus, or, according to some, of both rivers, through the stalls, and\nthus carried off the filth. Augeas, however, on learning that Heracles\nhad undertaken the labour at the command of Eurystheus, refused to give\nhim the stipulated reward, a breach of faith for which Heracles, later,\ntook terrible vengeance on the king.\n\n_7. The Cretan Bull._\u2014In the history of Minos, king of Crete, we find\nthat Poseidon once sent up a bull out of the sea for Minos to sacrifice,\nbut that Minos was induced by the beauty of the animal to place it among\nhis own herds, and sacrificed another in its stead; whereupon Poseidon\ndrove the bull mad. The seventh labour of Heracles consisted in\ncapturing this bull and bringing it to Mycen\u00e6. It was afterwards set\nfree by Eurystheus, and appears later, in the story of Theseus, as the\nbull of Marathon.\n\n_8. The Mares of Diomedes._\u2014Diomedes was king of the Bistones, a warlike\ntribe of Thrace. He inhumanly caused all strangers cast upon his coasts\nto be given to his wild mares, who fed on human flesh. To bind these\nhorses and bring them alive to Mycen\u00e6 was the next task of Heracles.\nThis, too, he successfully accomplished, after inflicting on Diomedes\nthe same fate to which he had condemned so many others.\n\n_9. The Girdle of Hippolyte._\u2014Admete, the daughter of Eurystheus, was\nanxious to obtain the girdle which the queen of the Amazons had received\nfrom Ares; and Heracles was accordingly despatched to fetch it. After\nvarious adventures he landed in Themiscyra, and was at first kindly\nreceived by Hippolyte, who was willing to give him the girdle. But Hera,\nin the guise of an Amazon, spread a report that Heracles was about to\ncarry off the queen, upon which the Amazons attacked Heracles and his\nfollowers. In the battle which ensued Hippolyte was killed, and the\nhero, after securing the girdle, departed. On his journey homewards\noccurred his celebrated adventure with Hesione, the daughter of\nLaomedon, king of Troy. This king had refused Poseidon and Apollo the\nrewards he had promised them for their assistance in building the walls\nof Troy. In consequence of his perfidy, Apollo visited the country with\na pestilence, and Poseidon sent a sea-monster, which devastated the land\nfar and wide. By the advice of the oracle, Hesione, the king\u2019s daughter,\nwas exposed to be devoured by the animal. Heracles offered to destroy\nthe monster, if Laomedon would give him the horses which his father Tros\nhad received as a compensation for the loss of Ganymedes. Laomedon\nagreed, and Heracles then slew the monster. Laomedon, however, again\nproved false to his word, and Heracles, with a threat of future\nvengeance, departed.\n\n_10. The Oxen of Geryones._\u2014The next task of Heracles was to fetch the\ncattle of the three-headed winged giant Geryones, or Geryoneus (Geryon).\nThis monster was the offspring of Chrysaor (red slayer) and Callirrho\u00eb\n(fair-flowing), an Oceanid, and inhabited the island of Erythia, in the\nfar West, in the region of the setting sun, where he had a herd of the\nfinest and fattest cattle. It was only natural that Heracles, in the\ncourse of his long journey to Erythia and back, should meet with\nnumerous adventures; and this expedition has, accordingly, been more\nrichly embellished than any other by the imagination of the poets. He is\ngenerally supposed to have passed through Libya, and to have sailed\nthence to Erythia in a golden boat, which he forced Helios (the sun) to\nlend him by shooting at him with his arrows. Having arrived in Erythia,\nhe first slew the herdsman who was minding the oxen, together with his\ndog. He was then proceeding to drive off the cattle, when he was\novertaken by Geryon. A violent contest ensued, in which the three-headed\nmonster was at length vanquished by the arrows of the mighty hero.\nHeracles is then supposed to have recrossed the ocean in the boat of the\nsun, and, starting from Tartessus, to have journeyed on foot through\nIberia, Gaul, and Italy. We pass over his contests with the Celts and\nLigurians, and only notice briefly his victory over the giant Cacus,\nmentioned by Livy, which took place in the district where Rome was\nafterwards built, because Roman legend connected with this the\nintroduction of the worship of Hercules into Italy. At length, after\nmany adventures, he arrived at Mycen\u00e6, where Eurystheus sacrificed the\noxen to the Argive goddess Hera.\n\nHeracles has now completed ten of his labours, but Eurystheus, as\nApollodorus relates, refused to admit the destruction of the Lern\u00e6an\nHydra, because on that occasion Heracles had availed himself of the help\nof Iola\u00fcs, or the cleansing of the stables of Augeas, because of the\nreward for which he had stipulated; so that the hero was compelled to\nundertake two more. This account does not, however, harmonise with the\ntradition of the response of the oracle, in deference to which Heracles\nsurrendered himself to servitude, and which offered the prospect of\ntwelve labours from the first.\n\n_11. The Apples of the Hesperides._\u2014This adventure has been even more\nembellished with later and foreign additions than the last. The golden\napples, which were under the guardianship of the Hesperides, or nymphs\nof the west, constituted the marriage present which Hera had received\nfrom G\u00e6a on the occasion of her marriage with Zeus. They were closely\nguarded by the terrible dragon Ladon, who, like all monsters, was the\noffspring of Typhon and Echidna. This, however, was far less\nembarrassing to the hero than his total ignorance of the site of the\ngarden of the Hesperides, which led him to make several fruitless\nefforts before he succeeded in reaching the desired spot.\n\nHis first object was to gain information as to the situation of the\ngarden, and for this purpose he journeyed through Illyria to the\nEridanus (Po), in order to inquire the way of the nymphs who dwelt on\nthis river. By them he was referred to the treacherous sage Nereus, whom\nhe managed to seize whilst asleep, and refused to release until he had\nobtained the desired information. Heracles then proceeded by way of\nTartessus to Libya, where he was challenged to a wrestling match by the\ngiant Ant\u00e6us, a powerful son of Earth, who was, according to Libyan\ntradition, of a monstrous height (some say sixty cubits). He was\nattacked by Heracles, but, as he received new strength from his mother\nEarth as often as he touched the ground, the hero lifted him up in the\nair and squeezed him to death in his arms.\n\nFrom Libya Heracles passed into Egypt, where the cruel king Busiris was\nin the habit of seizing all strangers who entered the country and\nsacrificing them to Zeus. Heracles would have suffered a similar fate,\nhad he not broken the chains laid upon him, and slain the king and his\nson. His indulgence at the richly-furnished table of the king was a\nfeature in the story which afforded no small amusement to the comic\nwriters, who were especially fond of jesting on the subject of the\nhealthy and heroic appetite of Heracles. From Egypt the hero made his\nway into \u00c6thiopia, where he slew Emathion, the son of Tithonus and Eos,\nfor his cruelty to strangers. He next crossed the sea to India, and\nthence came to the Caucasus, where he set Prometheus free and destroyed\nthe vulture that preyed on his liver. After Prometheus had described to\nhim the long road to the Hesperides, he passed through Scythia, and came\nat length to the land of the Hyperboreans, where Atlas bore the pillars\nof heaven on his shoulders. This was the end of his journey, for Atlas,\nat his request, fetched the apples, whilst Heracles supported the\nheavens. Here again the comic poets introduced an amusing scene. Atlas,\nhaving once tasted the delights of freedom, betrayed no anxiety to\nrelieve his substitute, but offered, instead, to bear the apples himself\nto Eurystheus. Heracles, however, proved even more cunning than he, for,\napparently agreeing to the proposition, he asked Atlas just to relieve\nhim until he had arranged more comfortably a cushion for his back. When\nAtlas good-humouredly consented, Heracles of course left him in his\nformer position, and made off with the apples. Another account states\nthat he descended himself into the garden and slew the hundred-headed\ndragon who kept guard over the trees.\n\n_12. Cerberus._\u2014The most daring of all the feats of Heracles, and that\nwhich bears the palm from all the others, and is in consequence, always\nput at the end of his labours, was the bringing of Cerberus from the\nlower world. In this undertaking, which is mentioned even by Homer, he\nwas accompanied by Hermes and Athene, though he had hitherto been able\nto dispense with divine aid. He is commonly reported to have made his\ndescent into the lower world at Cape T\u00e6narum in Laconia. Close to the\ngates of Hades he found the adventurous heroes Theseus and Piritho\u00fcs,\nwho had gone down to carry off Persephone, fastened to a rock. He\nsucceeded in setting Theseus free, but Piritho\u00fcs he was obliged to leave\nbehind him, because of the violent earthquake which occurred when he\nattempted to touch him. After several further adventures, he entered the\npresence of the lord of the lower world. Hades consented to his taking\nCerberus, on condition that he should master him without using any\nweapons. Heracles seized the furious beast, and, having chained him, he\nbrought him to Eurystheus, and afterwards carried him back to his place\nin the lower world. The completion of this task released Heracles from\nhis servitude to Eurystheus.\n\nIII. DEEDS OF HERACLES AFTER HIS SERVICE.\u2014_1. The Murder of Iphitus and\nContest with Apollo._\u2014The hero, after his release from servitude,\nreturned to Thebes, where he gave his wife Megara in marriage to Iola\u00fcs.\nHe then proceeded to the court of Eurytus, king of \u0152chalia, who had\npromised his beautiful daughter Iole in marriage to the man who should\nvanquish himself and his sons in shooting with the bow. The situation of\n\u0152chalia is variously given; sometimes it is placed in Thessaly,\nsometimes in the Peloponnesus, on the borders of Arcadia and Messenia,\nand sometimes in the island of Eub\u0153a, close to Eretria. Heracles gained\na most complete victory; but Eurytus, nevertheless, refused to give him\nhis daughter, reproaching him with the murder of his children by Megara,\nand with his ignominious bondage to Eurystheus. Heracles, with many\nthreats of future vengeance, withdrew, and when, not long afterwards,\nIphitus, the son of Eurytus, fell into his hands, he cast him from the\nhighest tower of his citadel in Tiryns. This somewhat treacherous action\nbeing at variance with the general character of the hero, the story\nsubsequently arose that Iphitus was a friend of Heracles, and had\nadvocated his cause with Eurytus, and that Heracles only treated him\nthus in a fit of insanity. The bloody deed was fraught with the gravest\nconsequences. After seeking purification and absolution in vain among\nmen, Heracles came to Delphi, in order to seek the aid and consolation\nof the oracle. But Apollo, with whom the royal family of \u0152chalia stood\nin high favour, rejected him; whereupon Heracles forced his way into the\ntemple, and was already in the act of bearing away the holy tripod, in\norder to erect an oracle of his own, when he was confronted by the angry\ndeity. A fearful combat would doubtless have ensued, if the father of\ngods and men himself had not interfered to prevent this unnatural strife\nbetween his favourite sons by separating the combatants with his\nlightning. Heracles was now commanded by the Pythian priestess to allow\nhimself to be sold by Hermes into slavery for three years, to expiate\nthe murder of Iphitus.\n\n_2. Heracles in the Service of Omphale._\u2014This portion of the story is of\nLydian origin, but was cleverly interwoven with the Greek legend. The\nLydians, in fact, honoured a sun-hero called Sandon, who resembled\nHeracles in many respects, as the ancestor of their kings. The oriental\ncharacter of the Lydian Heracles at once manifests itself in the fact\nthat he here appears as entirely devoted to sensual pleasures, becoming\neffeminate in the society of women, and allowing himself to be clothed\nin female attire, whilst his mistress Omphale donned his lion-skin and\nclub, and flaunted up and down before him. He did not always linger in\nsuch inactivity, however; sometimes the old desire for action urged him\nforth to gallant deeds. Thus he vanquished and chastised the Cercopes, a\nrace of goblins who used to trick and waylay travellers. He also slew\nSyleus, who compelled all passing travellers to dig in his vineyard;\nwhich formed the subject of a satyric drama of Euripides.\n\n_3. His Expedition against Troy._\u2014After performing several other feats\nin the service of Omphale, Heracles again became free. He now appears to\nhave undertaken an expedition against the faithless Laomedon, king of\nTroy, in company with other Greek heroes, such as Peleus, Telamon, and\nO\u00efcles, whose number increased as time went on. The city was taken by\nstorm: O\u00efcles, indeed, was slain, but, on the other hand, Laomedon and\nall his sons except Podarces fell before the arrows of Heracles.\nHesione, the daughter of the king, was given by Heracles to his friend\nTelamon, and became by him the mother of Teucer. She received permission\nfrom Heracles to release one of the prisoners, and chose her brother\nPodarces, who afterwards bore the name of Priamus (the redeemed), and\ncontinued the race of Dardanus in Ilium.\n\n_4. The Peloponnesian Expeditions of Heracles._\u2014The legend relates that\nthe hero now undertook his long-deferred expedition against Augeas,\nwhich was the means of kindling a Messenian and Laced\u00e6monian war. After\nassembling an army in Arcadia, which was joined by many gallant Greek\nheroes, he advanced against Elis. Heracles, however, fell sick; and in\nhis absence his army was attacked and driven back with great loss by the\nbrave Actorid\u00e6 or Molionid\u00e6, the nephews of Augeas. It was only after\nHeracles had slain these heroes in an ambuscade at Cleon\u00e6, as they were\non their way to the Isthmian games, that he succeeded in penetrating\ninto Elis. He then slew Augeas, and gave the kingdom to his son Phyleus,\nwith whom he was on friendly terms. It was on this occasion that he\ninstituted the Olympic games. He then marched against Pylus, either\nbecause its king, Neleus, had given assistance to the Molionid\u00e6, or else\nbecause Neleus had refused to purify him from the murder of Iphitus.\nThis expedition against Pylus was subsequently greatly embellished by\nthe poets, who made it into a great battle of the gods, one part of whom\nfought for Neleus, and the other part for Heracles. The chief feature\nwas the combat between Heracles and Periclymenus, the bravest of the\nsons of Neleus, who had received from Poseidon, the tutelary deity of\nthe Pylians, the power of transforming himself into any kind of animal.\nThe result of the combat was of course a complete victory for Heracles.\nNeleus, with his eleven gallant sons, was slain, and only the youngest,\nNestor, remained to perpetuate the celebrated race. The Laced\u00e6monian\nexpedition of Heracles, which follows close on that against Pylus, was\nundertaken against Hippoco\u00f6n, the half-brother of Tyndare\u00fcs, whom he had\nexpelled. Hippoco\u00f6n was defeated and slain by Heracles, who gave his\nkingdom to Tyndare\u00fcs. On this occasion Heracles was assisted by Cepheus,\nking of Tegea, with his twenty sons, a circumstance which is only\nmentioned on account of a remarkable legend connected with his stay in\nTegea. Heracles is here said to have left Auge, the beautiful sister of\nCepheus, and priestess of Athene, pregnant with Telephus, whose wondrous\nadventures have occupied artists and poets alike. Auge concealed her\nchild in the grove of Athene, whereupon the angry goddess visited the\nland with a famine. Ale\u00fcs, the father of Auge, on discovering the fact,\ncaused the child to be exposed, and sold the mother beyond the sea. Auge\nthus came into Mysia, where the king Teuthras made her his wife.\nTelephus was suckled by a hind. He grew up, and ultimately, after some\nwonderful adventures, succeeded in finding his mother. He succeeded\nTeuthras, and, later, became embroiled with the Greeks when they landed\non their expedition against Troy, on which occasion he was wounded by\nAchilles. Telephus, among all the sons of Heracles, is said to have\nborne the greatest resemblance to his father.\n\n_5. Achelo\u00fcs, Nessus, Cycnus._\u2014The next episode in the history of the\nhero is his wooing of De\u00efanira, the daughter of \u0152neus, king of \u00c6tolia.\n\u0152neus is celebrated as the first cultivator of the vine in that country,\nand as the father of the \u00c6tolian heroes, Meleager and Tydeus. The\nriver-god Achelo\u00fcs was also a suitor for the hand of De\u00efanira, and as\nneither he nor Heracles would relinquish their claim, it was decided by\nthe combat between the rivals[8] so often described by the poets. The\npower of assuming various forms was of little use to Achelo\u00fcs, for,\nhaving finally transformed himself into a bull, he was deprived of a\nhorn by Heracles, and compelled to declare himself vanquished. Heracles\nrestored him his horn, and received in exchange that of the goat\nAmalthea. After his marriage with De\u00efanira, Heracles lived for some time\nhappily at the court of his father-in-law, where his son Hyllus was\nborn. In consequence of an accidental murder, he was obliged to leave\n\u00c6tolia and retire to the court of his friend Ce\u00ffx, king of Trachis, at\nthe foot of Mount \u0152ta. On the road occurred his celebrated adventure\nwith the Centaur Nessus. On coming to the river Evenus, Heracles\nentrusted De\u00efanira to Nessus to carry across, whilst he himself waded\nthrough the swollen stream. The Centaur, induced by the beauty of his\nburden, attempted to carry off De\u00efanira, but was pierced by an arrow of\nHeracles, and expiated his attempt with his life. He avenged himself by\ngiving De\u00efanira some of his blood to make a magic salve, with which he\nassured her she could always secure the love of her husband.\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n  The most beautiful description exists in a chorus in the _Trachini\u00e6_\n  of Sophocles, and in Ovid\u2019s _Metamorphoses_.\n\nOn reaching Trachis they were hospitably received by Ce\u00ffx. Heracles\nfirst defeated the Dryopes, and assisted the Dorian king \u00c6gimius in his\ncontest with the Lapith\u00e6. He next engaged in his celebrated combat with\nCycnus, the son of Ares, which took place at Iton, in the neighbourhood\nof the Gulf of Pagas\u00e6. Heracles not only slew his opponent, but even\nwounded the god of war himself, who had come to the assistance of his\nson. This contest is the subject of the celebrated poem called the\n_Shield of Hercules_, which goes under the name of Hesiod.\n\nIV. DEATH AND APOTHEOSIS.\u2014The death of Heracles, of which we learn most\nfrom the masterly description of Sophocles in the _Trachini\u00e6_, is\ngenerally supposed to have been connected with his expedition against\nEurytus. The hero, who could not forget the ignominious treatment he had\nreceived at the hands of Eurytus, now marched with an army from Trachis\nagainst \u0152chalia. The town and citadel were taken by storm, and Eurytus\nand his sons slain; whilst the beautiful Iole, who was still unmarried,\nfell into the hands of the conqueror. Heracles now withdrew with great\nbooty, but halted on the promontory of Cen\u00e6um, opposite the Locrian\ncoast, to raise an altar and offer a solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving to\nhis father Zeus. De\u00efanira, who was tormented with jealous misgivings\nconcerning Iole, thought it was now high time to make use of the charm\nof Nessus. She accordingly sent her husband a white sacrificial garment,\nwhich she anointed with the ointment prepared from the blood of the\nCentaur. Heracles donned the garment without suspicion, but scarcely had\nthe flames from the altar heated the poison than it penetrated the body\nof the unhappy hero. In the most fearful agony he strove to tear off the\ngarment, but in vain, for it stuck like a plaster to his skin; and where\nhe succeeded in rending it away by force, it tore out great pieces of\nhis flesh at the same time. In his frenzy he seized the herald Lichas,\nthe bearer of the unfortunate present, and violently dashed him in\npieces against a rock of the sea. In this state Heracles was brought to\nTrachis, where he found that De\u00efanira, full of sorrow and despair on\nlearning the consequences of her act, had put an end to her own life.\nConvinced that cure was hopeless, the dying hero proceeded from Trachis\nto \u0152ta, and there erected a funeral pile on which to end his torments.\nNone of those around him, however, would consent to set the pile on\nfire, until P\u0153as, the father of Philoctetes, happened to pass by, and\nrendered him the service, in return for which Heracles presented him\nwith his bow and arrows. As the flames rose high, a cloud descended from\nheaven, and, amid furious peals of thunder, a chariot with four horses,\ndriven by Athene, appeared and bore the illustrious hero to Olympus,\nwhere he was joyfully received by the gods. He here became reconciled to\nHera, who gave him the hand of her beauteous daughter Hebe in marriage.\n\nV. HERACLES AS GOD.\u2014We have already laid before our readers the most\ncharacteristic features of the myth. To interpret it and trace it back\nin all its details to the original sources would be, amid the mass of\nprovincial and foreign legends with which it is amalgamated, almost\nimpossible. Thus much is certain, however, that, apart from the\nconceptions which were engrafted on the story from Tyrian and Egyptian\nsources, even in the case of the Greek Heracles, myths based on natural\nphenomena are mixed up with historical and allegorical myths. The\nhistoric element, for instance, is apparent in the wars of Heracles\nagainst the Dryopes\u2014against Augeas, Neleus, and Hippoco\u00f6n. Here the\nexploits of the whole Dorian race are personified in the actions of the\nhero. On the other hand, in most of his single combats a symbolic\nmeaning, derived from natural phenomena, is unmistakeable. Heracles, in\nfact, appears to have been, originally, a symbol of the power of the sun\ntriumphing over the dark powers in nature. Driven from Argos by the\nworship of the Argive Hera, he first sank to the level of a hero, but\nwas, subsequently, again raised to the dignity of a god. This occurred\nat a time when the gods of Greece had altogether cast aside their\nphysical meaning; so that he was now regarded principally from an\nethical point of view. He appears as a symbol of that lofty force of\ncharacter which triumphs over all difficulties and obstacles. Poets and\nphilosophers alike vied with each other in presenting him to the youth\nof their country in this character, pointing to his career as a\nbrilliant example of what a man might accomplish, in spite of a thousand\nobstacles, by mere determination and force of will. The well-known\nallegory of the sophist Prodicus,[9] called \u201cThe Choice of Hercules,\u201d is\nan instance of the mode in which the history of the hero was used to\ninculcate moral precepts.\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n  Prodicus, a native of the island of Ceos, was an elder contemporary of\n  Socrates. Like the latter, he taught in Athens, and met with a similar\n  fate, having been condemned to death as an enemy of the popular\n  religion and a corruptor of the Athenian youth.\n\nIn the religious system of the Greeks, Heracles was specially honoured\nas the patron of the gymnasia; the gymnasium of Cynosarges in Athens\nbeing solely dedicated to him. After his deification, Heracles was also\nregarded in the character of a saviour and benefactor of his nation; as\none who had not only merited the lasting gratitude of mankind by his\ndeeds throughout an active and laborious life\u2014in having rid the world of\ngiants and noxious beasts, in having extinguished destructive forces of\nnature, and abolished human sacrifices and other barbarous institutions\nof antiquity\u2014but also as a kindly and beneficent deity, ever ready to\nafford help and protection to mankind in the hour of need. In this\ncharacter he was known by the names of Soter (Saviour) and Alexicacus\n(averter of evil). He had temples and festivals in various parts of\nGreece. In Marathon, which boasted of being the first seat of his\nworship, games were celebrated in his honour every four years, at which\nsilver cups were given as prizes. The fourth day of every month was held\nsacred to him, this day being regarded as his birthday.\n\nWe have already mentioned the legendary introduction of his worship into\nRome.[10] Hercules, as he was called in Italy, was identified with the\nItalian hero Recaranus. He had an altar in the _Forum Boarium_,\nestablished, according to tradition, by Evander. The Roman poets, of\ncourse, devoted especial attention to the stories of his journey through\nItaly, and his fight with Cacus.\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n  There seems ground for thinking that the Italian Hercules was properly\n  a rural deity confounded with Heracles on account of the similarity of\n  their names; while Recaranus properly corresponded with the great\n  Heracles in meaning.\n\n  In Heracles ancient art sought to portray the conception of gigantic\n  bodily strength. He is, therefore, generally represented as a\n  full-grown man\u2014rarely as a child or youth. We may observe the manner\n  in which the prominent idea of physical force is expressed by\n  regarding the formation of the neck and throat in the statue of\n  Heracles. Nothing can express better a bull-like strength than the\n  short neck and the prominent muscles, especially if associated with\n  a broad, deep chest. We shall be able to appreciate this distinctive\n  character still more clearly if we compare the form of Heracles with\n  that of the ideal god Apollo, whose neck is especially long and\n  slender. The figure of Heracles is, moreover, characterised by a\n  head small in comparison with the giant body; by curly hair, bushy\n  eyebrows, and muscular arms and legs. This conception was\n  principally developed by Myron and Lysippus. A statue of Heracles by\n  the former artist played a part in connection with the art robberies\n  of Verres in Sicily. Lysippus erected several celebrated statues of\n  Heracles, the most remarkable of which was the bronze colossus in\n  Tarentum, which the Romans, after the capture of that town,\n  transferred to the Capitol. Thence it was brought, by order of\n  Constantine, to his new capital of Constantinople, where it remained\n  until the Latin crusade of 1202, when it was melted down. Lysippus\n  portrayed in this statue a mourning Heracles, which no one had ever\n  attempted before him. The hero appeared in a sitting posture,\n  without his weapons, his left elbow resting on his left leg, while\n  his head, full of thought and sorrow, rests on the open hand. The\n  same artist, in a still greater work, depicted the twelve labours of\n  Heracles. These formed a group which was originally executed for\n  Alyzia, a seaport town of Acarnania, but which was, subsequently,\n  likewise transferred to Rome.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 58.\u2014Farnese Hercules.]\n\n  First among existing statues is the Farnese Hercules (Fig. 58). This\n  celebrated colossal statue, now in the Naples Museum, was discovered\n  in 1540, on the site of the Therm\u00e6 of Caracalla. The hero is\n  standing upright, resting his left shoulder on his club, from which\n  hangs his lion\u2019s skin. This attitude, as well as the head drooping\n  towards the breast, and the gloomy gravity of his countenance,\n  clearly show that the hero feels bowed down by the burden of his\n  laborious life. Even the thought that he is soon to be released from\n  his ignominious servitude (he holds behind him, in his right hand,\n  the three apples of the Hesperides, the fruit of his last labour) is\n  unable to cheer him, and his thoughts seem to revert only to the\n  past. On account of the conception of the piece, and the existence\n  of another copy bearing the name of Lysippus, the Farnese Hercules\n  is supposed to be a copy of a work of Lysippus, of which nothing\n  further is known.\n\n  Still more important as a work of art, though it has reached us in a\n  terribly mutilated condition\u2014minus head, arms, and legs\u2014is the\n  celebrated Torso of Hercules, in the Vatican. This was found in Rome\n  during the reign of Pope Julius II., on a spot where the theatre of\n  Pompey, of which it was probably an ornament, once stood.\n\n  _Groups._\u2014Heracles in action was a still more favourite subject with\n  artists, who delighted to portray the different scenes of his\n  versatile life. Numberless representations of such scenes occur, not\n  only in the form of statues and works in relief, but more especially\n  on ancient vases. We mention here, in the chronological order of the\n  events, some of the most important.\n\n  _1. Heracles and the Serpents._\u2014This scene was early depicted by the\n  celebrated painter Zeuxis, who represented Heracles as strangling\n  the serpents, whilst Alcmene and Amphitryon stood by in amazement.\n  There are also several statues representing this feat, among which\n  that at Florence takes the first rank. There is also a painting from\n  Herculaneum in the Naples Museum.\n\n  _2. The Twelve Labours._\u2014These have naturally been treated of times\n  out of number. We have already mentioned the groups of Lysippus,\n  which he executed for the town of Alyzia. A still existing bronze\n  statue in the Capitoline Museum, representing Heracles battling with\n  the Hydra, appears to belong to this series. Among interesting\n  remains are the metope reliefs on the Theseum at Athens. Ten on the\n  east side of the temple represent scenes from the life of Heracles.\n  Nine of them belong to the twelve labours, viz., the Nemean lion,\n  the Hydra, the Arcadian hind, the Erymanthian boar, the horses of\n  Diomedes, Cerberus, the girdle of Hippolyte, Geryon, and the\n  Hesperides; whilst the tenth tablet represents his contest with\n  Cycnus. The remains of the splendid temple of Zeus at Olympia, which\n  was completed about 435 B.C., are less important. The metopes of the\n  front and back of the temple contained six of the labours of\n  Heracles. Those representing the contest with the Cretan bull, the\n  dying lion, a portion from the fight with Geryon, and some other\n  fragments, were found in 1829, and conveyed to the museum of the\n  Louvre at Paris. The only one which is perfect, however, is the\n  spirited and life-like representation of the struggle with the\n  Cretan bull.\n\n  _3. Parerga_ (_Subordinate Deeds_).\u2014First among these come the\n  scenes from his contest with the Centaurs, which were frequently\n  treated of in art. Groups of these exist in the museum at Florence;\n  there are also various representations to be found on vases. His\n  adventure with Nessus is represented separately on a Pompeian\n  painting in the Naples Museum; Nessus crouches in a humble posture\n  before Heracles, who has the little Hyllus in his arms, and he\n  appears to be asking permission to carry De\u00efanira across the stream.\n  There is also an interesting representation of the release of\n  Prometheus on the Sarcophagus of the Capitol, from the Villa\n  Pamfili, which is, in other respects, also worthy of mention. The\n  seizure of the tripod at Delphi is also frequently portrayed in art.\n\n  _4. Heracles and Omphale._\u2014Of the monuments referring to Heracles\u2019\n  connection with Omphale, the most important is the beautiful Farnese\n  group in marble in the Naples Museum. Omphale has thrown the lion\u2019s\n  skin round her beautiful limbs, and holds in her right hand the\n  hero\u2019s club. Thus equipped, she smiles triumphantly at Heracles, who\n  is clothed in female attire, with a distaff in his hand.\n\n  _5. Heracles and Telephus._\u2014The romantic history of Telephus was\n  also frequently treated of in art. The Naples Museum possesses a\n  fine painting, representing the discovery of the child after it has\n  been suckled by the hind, on which occasion, strange to say,\n  Heracles himself is present. In the Vatican Museum there is a fine\n  marble group, representing Heracles with the child Telephus in his\n  arms.\n\n\n=7. Attic Legend.=\u2014_1. Cecrops._\u2014Cecrops, the first founder of\ncivilisation in Attica, plays a similar part here to that which Cadmus\ndoes in Thebes. Like Cadmus, he was afterwards called an immigrant;\nindeed he was said to have come from Sais in Lower Egypt. In his case,\nhowever, we are able to trace the rise of the erroneous tradition with\nfar greater distinctness. Pure Attic tradition recognises him only as an\nautochthon\u2014that is, an original inhabitant born of the earth; and\nfurther adds, that, like the giants, he was half man and half serpent.\nAs the mythical founder of the state, he was also regarded as the\nbuilder of the citadel (Cecropia); and marriage, as well as other\npolitical and social institutions, were ascribed to him. Perhaps he is\nonly a local personification of Hermes. The probability of this view is\ngreatly enhanced by the fact that his three daughters, Herse, Aglaurus,\nand Pandrosus, received divine honours. It was under Cecrops that the\ncelebrated contest occurred between Poseidon and Athene for the\npossession of Attica, and was by his means decided in favour of the\ngoddess. We have already given an account of it, and need only here\nremark that the story is purely the result of the observation of natural\nphenomena. In Attica, in fact, there are only two seasons\u2014a cold, wet,\nand rainy winter (Poseidon), and a warm, dry, genial summer (Pallas).\nThese seem to be continually striving for the supremacy of the land.\nCecrops was succeeded in the government by Crana\u00fcs, who is represented\nby some as his son. The common mythological account places the flood of\nDeucalion in his reign. After the expulsion of Crana\u00fcs, Amphictyon, one\nof the sons of Deucalion, succeeded to the sovereignty of Attica, of\nwhom nothing more is known than that he was deprived of the government\nby Erechtheus.\n\n_2. Erechtheus, or Erichthonius._\u2014Erechtheus, or Erichthonius, is really\nonly a second Cecrops\u2014the mythical founder of the state after the flood,\nas Cecrops was before it. Being also earthborn, he is, like Cecrops,\nendowed with a serpent\u2019s form. There was another very sacred legend\nconcerning him, which stated that G\u00e6a (Ge), immediately after his birth,\ngave him to the goddess Pallas to nurse. The latter first entrusted him\nto the daughters of Cecrops, her attendants and priestesses, enclosed in\na chest. The latter, however, prompted by curiosity, opened the chest,\ncontrary to the commands of the goddess, and were punished in\nconsequence with madness. Erichthonius was now reared by the goddess\nherself in her sanctuary on the citadel, and was subsequently made king\nof Athens. The same stories are then related of him as of Cecrops\u2014that\nhe regulated the state, introduced the worship of the gods, and settled\nthe dispute between Poseidon and Athene.\n\nThe tomb of Erechtheus was shown in the Erechtheum, the ancient temple\ndedicated to Athene Polias, where the never-dying olive tree created by\nthe goddess was also preserved.\n\nTwo among the daughters of Erechtheus are celebrated in legend. The\nfirst is Orithyia, who was carried off by Boreas, and became the mother\nof Cala\u00efs and Zetes, whom we come across again in the story of the\nArgonauts; the other is Procris, the wife of the handsome hunter\nCephalus, who was said to be a son of Hermes by Herse, the daughter of\nCecrops. Cephalus was carried off by Eos, who was unable to shake his\nfidelity to his wife. It served, however, to excite the jealousy of the\nlatter, which ultimately proved fatal to her. Procris had hidden herself\namong the bushes, in order to watch her husband, when Cephalus, taking\nher for a wild animal, unwittingly killed her. After the death of\nErechtheus, the tragic poets relate that Ion, the mythical ancestor of\nthe Ionians, ruled in Athens. This means nothing more than that the\nprimitive Pelasgian age in Attica had now come to an end, and the\ndominion of the Ionians commenced.\n\n_3. Theseus._\u2014Theseus is the national hero of the Ionians, just as\nHeracles is of the \u00c6olians. He has not unjustly been called the second\nHeracles; and he has, indeed, many features in common with the \u00c6olian\nhero, since the national jealousy of the Ionians led them to adopt every\npossible means of making their own hero rival that of their neighbours.\nThey therefore strove to represent him, likewise, as a hero tried in\nnumberless contests\u2014generous, unselfish, and devoted to the interests of\nmankind\u2014and of course ascribed to him a multitude of adventurous\nexploits. There is no great undertaking of antiquity in which Theseus is\nnot supposed to have taken part, and he was even sent on an expedition\nto hell, in imitation of Heracles.\n\nHe was the son of the Athenian king \u00c6geus, whom mythological tradition\nmade a great-grandson of Erechtheus. After his father Pandion had been\ndriven out by his relations, the sons of Metion, \u00c6geus betook himself to\nMegara, where he was hospitably received by the ruler, Pylas. From\nMegara, \u00c6geus, Pallas, Nisus, and Lycus, the sons of Pandion, undertook\nan expedition against Athens, which ended in the expulsion of the\nMetionid\u00e6, and the restoration of the former royal family in the person\nof \u00c6geus. Such, at least, is the tradition; although it is more probable\nthat Athens never had a king of this name, and that \u00c6geus (wave-man) is\nonly a surname of Poseidon, the chief deity of the seafaring Ionians.\n\u00c6geus, though twice married, had no heir, and now undertook a journey to\nDelphi to seek the advice of the oracle. On his way back he stopped at\nthe court of Pittheus, king of Tr\u0153zen, and became, by his daughter\n\u00c6thra, the father of Theseus. Before his departure, he placed his sword\nand sandals beneath a heavy stone, and commanded \u00c6thra to send his son\nto Athens as soon as he was able to move the stone and take his father\u2019s\nsword. Theseus was carefully trained in music and gymnastics by the\nsagacious Pittheus, and soon developed into a stately youth. He is also\nsupposed to have been educated by the Centaur Chiron, whose instruction\nhad now become a necessary item in the education of a real hero.\n\nWhen Theseus was sixteen, his mother took him to the stone beneath which\nlay his father\u2019s sword and sandals. With a slight effort he raised the\nstone, and thus entered on his heroic career. His earlier adventures\nconsisted in overcoming a series of obstacles that beset him in his\njourney from Tr\u0153zen to Athens. They are generally supposed to have been\nsix in number.\n\n1. Between Tr\u0153zen and Epidaurus he slew Periphetes, the son of\nHeph\u00e6stus\u2014who was lame, like his father\u2014because he was in the habit of\nmurdering travellers with his iron club; whence he is called Corynetes,\nor club-bearer.\n\n2. He next delivered the Isthmus from another powerful robber called\nSinis. He used to fasten travellers who fell into his hands to the top\nof a pine tree, which he bent to the earth, and then allowed to recoil;\nafter which, on their reaching the ground, he would kill them outright;\nwhence he is called Pityocamptes, or pine-bender. Theseus inflicted the\nsame fate on him.\n\n3. In the woody district of Crommyon he destroyed a dangerous wild sow\nthat laid waste the country.\n\n4. Not far from this, on the rock of Sciron, on the borders of Megara,\ndwelt another monster, called Sciron, who compelled travellers to wash\nhis feet, and then kicked them into the sea. Theseus served him in a\nsimilar fashion.\n\n5. In the neighbourhood of Eleusis he vanquished the giant Cercyon, who\ncompelled all who fell into his hands to wrestle with him.\n\n6. His last combat awaited him on the confines of Eleusis, where dwelt\nthe inhuman Damastes. This monster used to lay his victims in a bed: if\nthis was too short, he would hack off their projecting limbs; if too\nlong, he would beat out and pull asunder their limbs, whence he is\ncalled Procrustes. He was also slain by Theseus.\n\nOn reaching Athens, he found his father \u00c6geus in the toils of the\ndangerous sorceress Medea, who had fled from Corinth to Athens. She was\non the point of making away with the newcomer by poison, when \u00c6geus,\nfortunately, recognised him by the sword he bore, and preserved him from\nhis impending fate.\n\nMedea was compelled to flee; but a new danger awaited the hero from the\nfifty sons of Pallas, who had reckoned on succeeding their childless\nuncle \u00c6geus. Theseus, however, slew some in battle and expelled the\nrest.\n\nHe now undertook his greatest and most adventurous feat, in order to\nfree his country from its shameful tribute to Minos, king of Crete,\nwhose son, the youthful hero Androgeos, had been treacherously murdered\nby the Athenians and Megareans. Another account says that he was sent by\n\u00c6geus against the bull of Marathon, and thus slain. At any rate, Minos\nundertook a war of revenge. He first marched against Megara, of which\nNisus, the brother of \u00c6geus, was king. Minos conquered him by means of\nhis own daughter Scylla, who became enamoured of Minos, and cut off from\nher father\u2019s head the purple lock on which his life depended. After\nhaving taken Megara and slain Nisus, Minos marched against Athens. Here\nhe was equally successful, and compelled the vanquished Athenians to\nexpiate the blood of his son by sending, every eight or (according to\nthe Greek method of reckoning) every nine years, seven youths and seven\nmaidens to be devoured by the Minotaur. This was a monster, half man and\nhalf bull. Twice already had the bloody tribute been sent, and the third\nfell just after Theseus\u2019 arrival in Athens; he at once bravely offered\nto go among the allotted victims. He was resolved to do battle with the\nMinotaur, and to stake his life on the liberation of his country from\nthe shameful tribute. Under the guidance of Aphrodite he passed over to\nCrete, and soon discovered the efficacy of her protection. The goddess\nkindled a passionate love for the hero in the breast of Ariadne, the\ndaughter of Minos. Ariadne rendered him every possible assistance in his\nundertaking, and especially presented him with a clew of thread, by\nmeans of which Theseus, after having slain the Minotaur, was enabled to\nfind his way out of the Labyrinth. We have already narrated how Ariadne\nwas deserted by Theseus on the isle of Naxos, only to become the bride\nof Dionysus, the divine son of Semele. Theseus also landed at Delos,\nwhere he instituted the festival of the Delia in honour of the divine\nchildren of Leto. On reaching Athens, he showed his gratitude to his\ndivine protectress by the institution of the worship of Aphrodite\nPandemus. In honour of Dionysus and Ariadne, he instituted the\nOschophoria, in which festival Athene also had a share. Lastly, in\nhonour of Apollo, he instituted the Pyanepsia, a festival which was\ncelebrated on the seventh day of the month Pyanepsion (end of October).\n\nThe happy return of Theseus from his Cretan expedition, however, proved\nthe death of his aged father. \u00c6geus, as he stood on the coast looking\nfor his son\u2019s return, perceived that the ships had black sails instead\nof white, which were to have been hoisted in the event of his son\u2019s\nsuccess; and believing that all was lost, he cast himself headlong into\nthe sea. This story was perhaps only invented to account for the name of\nthe \u00c6gean Sea.\n\nWith regard to the other exploits of Theseus, there exists the greatest\nvariety of accounts as to the order in which they took place. As king,\nhe is said to have been the first to unite the separate districts of\nAttica into one political community, with one state Prytaneum, and to\nhave instituted the festival of the Panathen\u00e6a in commemoration of this\nevent. The following, among his later exploits, are worthy of mention:\u2014\n\n1. He captured the bull of Marathon (said to have been the same which\nHeracles brought alive from Crete), and sacrificed it in Athens to\nApollo Delphinius.\n\n2. He assisted his friend Piritho\u00fcs, the prince of the Lapith\u00e6, in his\ncontest with the Centaurs.\n\n3. He undertook with Piritho\u00fcs an expedition to Laced\u00e6mon, in which they\ncarried off Helen, the sister of the Dioscuri.\n\n4. At the request of Piritho\u00fcs, he accompanied him to the lower world to\ncarry off Persephone; but Hades, enraged at their audacity, caused them\nboth to be bound in chains and fastened to a rock. Theseus was rescued\nfrom this plight by Heracles, but during his absence the Dioscuri had\nreleased their sister from Aphidn\u00e6, where she was confined.\n\n5. He next joined Heracles in his expedition against the Amazons, and\nreceived, as the reward of victory, their queen Antiope, or Hippolyte.\nAnother tradition asserts that Antiope followed him of her own free will\nto Athens, where she was married to him, and became the mother of\nHippolytus, famed for his unhappy fate. His great beauty caused his\nstep-mother Ph\u00e6dra, a later wife of Theseus, and a sister of Ariadne, to\nfall in love with him. As he withdrew himself from her dishonourable\nproposals by flight, she accused him to his father of attempts on her\nvirtue. Theseus, in his wrath, besought Poseidon to punish his faithless\nson; and the god, who had sworn to grant any request of Theseus, sent a\nwild bull (_i.e._, a breaker) out of the sea as Hippolytus was driving\nin his chariot along the sea-shore. This so terrified his horses that\nHippolytus was thrown from his chariot, and dragged along the ground\ntill he was dead. This story\u2014the scene of which was afterwards\ntransferred to Tr\u0153zen, whither Theseus was supposed to have fled on\naccount of a murder\u2014was dealt with in a touching manner by the tragic\npoets. The _Hippolytus_ of Euripides is still extant.\n\n6. As a result of the carrying off of Antiope, a second contest with the\nAmazons was subsequently invented, in which Theseus was engaged alone,\nand which took place in the immediate neighbourhood of Athens. The\nAmazons are supposed to have invaded Attica, in order to release their\nqueen. Antiope, however, was so enamoured of Theseus that she refused to\nreturn, and fought at her husband\u2019s side, against her kindred, until she\nwas slain.\n\nLastly, Theseus is said to have taken part in the Calydonian boar hunt,\nand also in the expedition of the Argonauts, of which we shall have more\nto say hereafter.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 59.\u2014Elgin Theseus. British Museum.]\n\nThe death of Theseus is commonly agreed to have taken place in the\nfollowing manner:\u2014He had been deprived of the sovereignty of Athens by\nMenestheus, who was aided by the Dioscuri; and then withdrew to the\nisland of Scyros. Here he was at first hospitably received, but\nsubsequently murdered in a treacherous manner by Lycomedes, the ruler of\nthe island. Demopho\u00f6n, the son of Theseus, is said to have afterwards\nrecovered his father\u2019s kingdom. At a still later period the bones of the\nhero were brought to Athens by Cimon, at the command of the Delphic\noracle. Cimon is also supposed to have caused the erection of the temple\nof Theseus, which still exists in Athens, and serves as an art museum.\nThe eighth day of every month was held sacred to Theseus, besides which\nhe had a special festival, called the Thesea, on the eighth of\nPyanepsion.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 60.\u2014Theseus Lifting the Rock. Relief in the Villa\nAlbani.]\n\n  Art has followed the example of the poets and mythologists in\n  depicting Theseus as a second Heracles. Here, however, the\n  characteristic differences that existed between the Doric and Ionic\n  races become apparent. Just as the latter race surpassed the former\n  in elasticity, both of mind and body, so their national hero gives\n  token not only of a higher intellectual being, but also of a body\n  more lithe, and capable of greater swiftness and dexterity, than\n  that of the Doric hero. The slighter and more elegant form of\n  Theseus lacks, perhaps, the sheer brute strength of Heracles, but is\n  compensated by the possession of a far greater degree of activity\n  and adroitness. The expression of face is more amiable and the hair\n  less bristling than that of Heracles, while there is generally no\n  beard. Such is Theseus as depicted by Greek art at the epoch of its\n  full development; later art strove to render the form of the body\n  still more lithe and graceful. The costume of Theseus consists, like\n  that of his prototype Heracles, of a lion\u2019s skin and club; sometimes\n  also of the chlamys and petasus of the Attic youth. Existing art\n  monuments are far less numerous in his case than in that of\n  Heracles. If the explanation is correct, the British Museum\n  possesses a Theseus of priceless value. Among the statues of the\n  Parthenon which have been preserved, there is one of a figure\n  negligently reclining on a lion\u2019s skin, which, with the exception of\n  the nose, hands, and feet, is in a tolerably good state of\n  preservation (Fig. 59). It belonged to the great group of the east\n  gable, which represented the first appearance of the new-born Athene\n  to the astonished gods. It is the figure of a youth in his prime,\n  somewhat larger than life, and altogether a perfect ideal of manly\n  beauty.\n\n  A representation of the conflict of Theseus with the invading army\n  of the Amazons still exists on a large piece of frieze-work, which,\n  together with the representations of the battle of the Lapith\u00e6 and\n  Centaurs (which have been already mentioned), formerly decorated the\n  walls of the shrine of Apollo\u2019s temple in Phigalia, and is now the\n  property of the British Museum. Among the Greek warriors Theseus may\n  be easily recognised by his lion\u2019s skin and the club, which he is in\n  the act of swinging against a mounted Amazon, probably the leader of\n  the hostile army. We give an engraving of the scene where Theseus\n  obtained the sword and sandals of his father from beneath the rock,\n  after a relief in the Villa Albani (Fig. 60).\n\n\n=8. Cretan Legend.=\u2014_1. Minos and the Minotaur._\u2014Cretan myths are both\nobscure and difficult of interpretation, because Ph\u0153nician and Phrygian\ninfluences made themselves felt at a very early period, and native\nsources fail us. Minos is commonly supposed to have been the first king\nof the country. He was the son of Zeus and Europa, who is called in\nHomer a daughter of Ph\u0153nix. This Ph\u0153nix was subsequently made into\nAgenor, a Ph\u0153nician, king of Sidon; and the story then arose that Zeus,\nin the form of a white bull, had carried off Europa, and arrived with\nhis lovely prey in Crete. Europa is there said to have given birth to\nMinos, Rhadamanthys (Rhadamanthus), and some say Sarpedon. She\nafterwards married Asterion, who brought up the sons of Zeus as his own\nchildren, and, at his death, left the kingdom to Minos. He, after\nexpelling his brothers Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus, became sole king of\nCrete. Of his brothers, Sarpedon went to Lycia, whilst the pious\nRhadamanthus found a refuge in B\u0153otia. Minos next married Pasipha\u00eb, a\ndaughter of Helios and Perse\u00efs, by whom he became the father of Catreus,\nwho succeeded him, Deucalion, Glaucus, and Androgeos, besides several\ndaughters, of whom the most celebrated are Ariadne and Ph\u00e6dra. Minos\ngave wise laws to his people, and became supreme at sea among the isles\nof the \u00c6gean Sea, and even as far as Attica. In his name we find the\nsame root (meaning \u201cto think\u201d) which we have seen in Minerva, and which\nappears in the name of the Indian lawgiver Manu.\n\nIn order to vindicate his right to the crown, Minos besought Poseidon to\nsend him a bull out of the sea, which he was then to sacrifice to the\ngod. Poseidon granted his prayer, but Minos was induced by the beauty of\nthe animal to place it among his own herds. As a punishment of his\nperfidy, Poseidon kindled in the breast of Pasipha\u00eb an unnatural love\nfor the bull, and the fruit of their connection was the Minotaur. This\nwas a monster, half man and half bull, which Minos shut up in the\nlabyrinth that had been made by the skill of D\u00e6dalus. The food of the\nmonster consisted of human beings, who were partly criminals and partly\nyouths and maidens, sent as tribute from the subjugated countries. This\nlasted until Theseus came to Crete, and, with the aid of Ariadne and\nD\u00e6dalus, destroyed the Minotaur. Such is the substance of this\nperplexing mythical tradition, of which the simplest interpretation is\nthat the Minotaur was originally an ancient idol of the Ph\u0153nician\nsun-god Baal, which had the form of a bull, and to which human\nsacrifices were offered. The destruction of the Minotaur by Theseus is a\nsymbol of the triumph of the higher Greek civilisation over Ph\u0153nician\nbarbarism, and the consequent abolition of human sacrifices.\n\nClosely connected with the royal family of Crete we find D\u00e6dalus, the\nmost celebrated artist of the legendary period. He is said to have been\na son of Metion, and a descendant of Erechtheus, and to have fled from\nAthens to Crete after murdering his nephew Talus in a fit of\nprofessional jealousy. During his residence in Crete he constructed the\nLabyrinth, an underground building with an endless maze of passages, as\na dwelling-place for the Minotaur; besides many other wonderful works of\nart. For having aided Theseus in his combat with the Minotaur, D\u00e6dalus\nand his son Icarus were both imprisoned in the Labyrinth of Minos. The\nstory of his flight, which he accomplished by means of the artificial\nwings that he made for himself and his son, is well known from the\n_Metamorphoses_ of Ovid. Icarus fell into the sea that is named after\nhim, and was drowned, but D\u00e6dalus reached Cum\u00e6 in safety. From this\nplace he passed over to Sicily, where he was hospitably received by\nCocalus. When Minos, however, pursued the fugitive and demanded his\nsurrender, not only was his request refused, but he was even put to\ndeath by the contrivance of the king\u2019s daughters.\n\nOf the other sons of Minos, Deucalion is celebrated as having taken part\nin the Calydonian boar hunt, and also as the father of the hero\nIdomeneus, who fought against Troy. Glaucus was killed, while yet a boy,\nby falling into a cask of honey as he was pursuing a mouse. He is\nreported, however, to have been restored to life by the Corinthian augur\nPolyidus, or, according to others, by Asclepius himself.\n\n_2. Talos._\u2014The legend of Talos, the brazen man, betrays likewise a\nPh\u0153nician origin, and refers to the cruel practice of offering human\nsacrifices. This Talos was made of brass, and was invulnerable.\nHeph\u00e6stus, or, as others say, Zeus gave him to Minos as guardian of the\nisland of Crete, round which he travelled thrice a-day. If he perceived\nany strangers approach he would spring into the fire, and, after\nbecoming red-hot, he would clasp them to his breast, until they expired\nbeneath the sardonic chuckle of the demon. He attempted to drive off the\nArgonauts with stones, but was destroyed by the skill of Medea. Talos\nhad a single vein, which ran from his head to his feet, and was closed\nat the top with a nail. This nail Medea cleverly succeeded in\nextracting, in consequence of which Talos bled to death.\n\n\n           IV.\u2014COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE.\n\n\n=1. The Calydonian Hunt.=\u2014The story of Meleager and the Calydonian boar\nhunt was undoubtedly, in its origin, nothing more than a provincial myth\nbased on natural phenomena, like other myths that we have already\nexplained. In this case the physical significance involved in the myth\nsoon disappeared, owing to the treatment it received at the hands of the\nepic and dramatic poets. The poets, in fact, succeeded in introducing\nsome striking ethical conceptions, which absorbed all higher interest.\n\n\u0152neus, king of Calydon in \u00c6tolia, on the occasion of a great festival\nwhich was celebrated after a successful vintage, had accidentally or\npurposely omitted to sacrifice to Artemis. To punish this neglect she\nsent a huge wild boar, which devastated the fields of Calydon, and\nseemed invincible by any ordinary means on account of its vast size.\nMeleager, the brave and heroic son of \u0152neus, therefore assembled men and\nhounds in great number to slay it. The boar was slain; but Artemis\nstirred up strife over the head and hide between the \u00c6tolians and the\nCuretes of Pleuron. At first the former were victorious; but when\nMeleager withdrew in wrath from the battle because his mother had cursed\nhim for the death of her brother, they were no longer able to keep the\nfield, and soon saw their city closely invested by their enemies. In\nvain did the elders and priests of Calydon beseech Meleager; in vain did\nhis father, sisters, and even mother beseech him to aid his hard-pressed\ncountrymen. Like Achilles in the Trojan war, when he was wroth with\nAgamemnon on account of the loss of Briseis, Meleager long refused to\nstir. At last his wife\u2014the beautiful Cleopatra\u2014succeeded in moving him.\nHe donned his armour, and put himself at the head of his countrymen for\na sally against the besiegers. Brilliant, indeed, was the victory of the\nmen of Calydon; but the hero Meleager did not return from the battle,\nfor the cruel Erinyes, who had heard his mother\u2019s curse, destroyed him\nwith the arrows of Apollo.\n\nSuch is the earliest form of the legend, as it exists in the _Iliad_. In\ntime, however, Meleager was said to have called together against the\nboar all the renowned heroes of Greece. Among others there came the\nDioscuri, Castor and Pollux; Theseus and his friend Piritho\u00fcs; Idas and\nLynceus, the sons of Aphareus; Admetus of Pher\u00e6; Jason, from Iolcus;\nIphicles and Iola\u00fcs, from Thebes; Peleus, the father of Achilles;\nTelamon, from Salamis; Anc\u00e6us and the beautiful huntress Atalante\n(Atalanta), from Arcadia; besides the soothsayer Amphiara\u00fcs, from Argos.\nAfter \u0152neus had entertained his guests royally for nine days, the hunt\nbegan, and the huge beast, which was as large as an ox, was surrounded\nand driven from its lair. Atalante, the swift huntress, was the first to\ninflict a wound. Anc\u00e6us then advanced with his battle-axe, but the\nenraged beast, with one stroke of his dreadful tusks, tore open his body\nand killed him on the spot. At length the monster received a mortal\nwound from a spear hurled by the powerful arm of Meleager, and was soon\ndespatched by the rest. Meleager received as his due the head and hide\nof the slaughtered animal, but resigned the prize to Atalante, of whom\nhe was enamoured, on the ground that she was the first to wound the\nboar. This act excited the bitter jealousy of Plexippus and Toxeus, the\nsons of Thestius, king of Pleuron, and brothers of Alth\u00e6a, the mother of\nMeleager. They accordingly lay in wait for Atalante, and robbed her of\nthe present. Enraged at this, Meleager slew them both. But Meleager\u2019s\ndeath, though caused by the wrath of his mother, was worked out\ndifferently in the time of the tragic poets. The Fates had appeared to\nAlth\u00e6a, soon after the birth of Meleager, and informed her that her son\nwould only live until a certain brand, which was then burning on the\nfire, was consumed. Alth\u00e6a immediately snatched the brand from the\nflames and carefully treasured it up. After Meleager had slain her\nbrothers, in the first outburst of grief and indignation against her\nson, she placed the brand again in the fire, and thus cut off the noble\nhero in the prime of his youth and beauty. Alth\u00e6a, on learning the\nunhappy fate of her son, full of sorrow for her hasty deed, put an end\nto her own life.\n\n\n=2. The Argonauts.=\u2014The story of the Argonauts experienced a similar\nfate to that of the Calydonian hunt. It was originally nothing but a\nmyth based on natural phenomena; but in the hands of the poets it\nswelled to a mass of legends common to all the tribes of Greece, the\nnucleus of which was the history of the golden fleece. Athamas, the son\nof \u00c6olus, was king of the Miny\u00e6. He put away his first wife, Nephele\n(cloud), in order to marry Ino, the daughter of Cadmus; though he still\nkept Phrixus (rain-shower) and Helle (ray of light), his children by\nNephele, with him. By Ino he had two other children, Learchus and\nMelicertes, whom their mother naturally preferred to her stepchildren,\nand for whose sake she endeavoured to drive the latter from their\nfather\u2019s house. Soon afterwards, either at the command of Nephele, whom\nsome represent as a goddess, or in consequence of her prayers for the\npunishment of Athamas, the land was visited with a long drought, and Ino\npersuaded her husband to sacrifice Phrixus as a sin-offering to Zeus, in\norder to put an end to the calamity. Whether Helle was to have shared\nher brother\u2019s fate we cannot tell, for, before Ino could accomplish her\npurpose, Nephele came to the assistance of her children, and gave them a\nwinged ram with a golden fleece, which Hermes had presented to her for\nthat purpose. Seated on this ram they fled over the sea to Colchis. On\nthe way Helle fell into that part of the sea which bears her name, and\nwas drowned, but Phrixus arrived safely in Colchis (\u00c6a), where he\nsacrificed the ram to Zeus, who had preserved him in his flight. The\nfleece he hung up in the grove of Ares as a sacred treasure, setting\nover it a terrible, ever-watchful dragon as its guardian. To fetch this\ntreasure from a foreign land, and thereby to release the country and\npeople of the Miny\u00e6 from the calamity with which they were oppressed,\nwas the task of the heroes of the race of \u00c6olus. Athamas was so grieved\nat the evil he had brought on his country that he became insane, and\nsought to slay Ino and her children. He did, indeed, kill Learchus by\ndashing him against a rock, but Ino succeeded in saving herself and her\nyounger child Melicertes by leaping into the sea (_cf._ Ino Leucothea).\nAthamas then fled to Epirus, and the kingdom devolved on his brother\nCretheus. Cretheus married Tyro, the daughter of his younger brother\nSalmoneus, king of Elis. Tyro bore him three sons, the eldest of whom,\n\u00c6son, succeeded his father in the kingdom, but was soon after expelled\nby his step-brother Pelias, who is described as a son of Tyro and\nPoseidon. \u00c6son with difficulty managed to rescue his little son Jason\nfrom the hands of Pelias, and brought him to the Centaur Chiron to be\neducated. In Chiron\u2019s cave the young hero grew up, a favourite with gods\nand men. After completing his twentieth year, he betook himself to\nIolcus to demand of his uncle his rightful inheritance. Pelias, not\ndaring to use violence to the sturdy youth, endeavoured to get rid of\nhis unwelcome guest by involving him in a most dangerous adventure. He\ndeclared that he would gladly resign the crown if Jason would recover\nthe golden fleece from Colchis. Jason, like a true hero, at once\naccepted the perilous adventure. In the harbour of Iolcus he caused a\nlarge ship with fifty oars to be constructed, which he called the\n\u201cArgo,\u201d after its builder, Argus. He then called together the heroes,\nwho had consented at his invitation to take part in the expedition. In\nthe original version of the story, the expedition was stated to have\nbeen undertaken only by the heroes of the race of the Miny\u00e6\u2014such as\nAcastus, Admetus, and Periclymenus. At a later period, however\u2014when the\ndate of the expedition had been fixed at one generation before the\nTrojan war\u2014no hero of any note was allowed to be absent from the\nundertaking. In this manner were added the Dioscuri, the sons of Boreas,\nCala\u00efs and Zetes, Telamon, Peleus, Meleager, Tydeus, Iphitus, Theseus,\nOrpheus, Amphiara\u00fcs, and even Heracles. In the last case, the\nincongruity of allowing the hero to play only a subordinate part was\nsoon felt, and his name was withdrawn. He was said to have been left\nbehind in Mysia, where he had landed in order to search for his\nfavourite Hylas, who had been carried off by the Naiads. The number of\nthe Argonauts was finally computed at fifty, tallying with the number of\noars.\n\nThe expedition proceeded from Iolcus to Lemnos, and thence through the\nHellespont to Cyzicus, where they were kindly received by the Doliones.\nFrom Cyzicus they proceeded to Bithynia, where they were opposed by the\nBebryces, whose king, Amycus, was slain by Pollux in a boxing match.\nTheir greatest difficulty lay in the passage of the Bosporus, there\nbeing at the entrance of the Pontus (Black Sea) two terrible rocks,\nwhich were in constant motion\u2014now retreating to the shore on either\nside, now hastily dashing together again; whence they were called the\nSymplegades. This occurred so rapidly that even the swiftest vessel had\nnot time enough to get through. The Argonauts were in great perplexity.\nAt length the blind seer Phineus, who dwelt in Thracian Salmydessus, and\nwhose gratitude they won by delivering him from the Harpies who had\ntormented him, assisted them with his advice. By means of a stratagem he\nrecommended they were enabled to bring the Argo through without any\nconsiderable damage, after which the Symplegades remained stationary.\nAfter this they stood along the south coast towards their destination,\nwhich, in the original legend, appears to have been the utterly fabulous\n\u00c6a, subsequently converted into Colchis. This was the residence of the\nmighty king \u00c6etes, a son of the sun-god. To rob him, either by craft or\nby violence, of the golden fleece was the task of Jason, the leader of\nthe Argonauts.\n\nThe second prominent character in the story, Medea, the daughter of\n\u00c6etes, now makes her appearance. It was, in fact, only through her love\nthat Jason was enabled to surmount the vast obstacles which stood\nbetween him and the possession of the golden fleece. When the hero\ndemanded the fleece of \u00c6etes, the latter declared that he would deliver\nit up to him after he had accomplished two tasks. The first was to\nharness two brazen-footed, fire-breathing bulls, which \u00c6etes had\nreceived from Heph\u00e6stus, to a plough, and with them to till an\nuncultivated field. The second was to sow in the furrows the dragon\u2019s\nteeth that \u00c6etes would give him, and to destroy the armed men which\nwould then spring up. Jason\u2019s heart failed him on hearing these\nconditions, but Medea, who was an enchantress and priestess of Hecate,\nwas equal to the occasion. She gave the hero a magic salve to protect\nhim against the fiery breath of the bulls and to endow him with\ninvincible strength, which enabled him to accomplish his first task\nsuccessfully. In the case of the armed men who sprang from the dragon\u2019s\nteeth, by the advice of Medea he followed the example of Cadmus, and\ncast among them a heavy stone, whereupon in blind fury they turned their\narms against each other, and were all destroyed.\n\nThe conditions imposed upon him by \u00c6etes were thus accomplished; but the\nking, who perceived that Jason had only succeeded through the aid of his\ndaughter, made this a pretext for refusing to surrender the fleece.\nJason then removed it by night from the grove of Ares, after Medea had,\nby means of her enchantments, lulled the watchful dragon to sleep. That\nsame night the Argonauts embarked on board their ship and put to sea,\nMedea accompanying them as the future wife of Jason. The wrathful \u00c6etes\nattempted to overtake the fugitives, but Medea succeeded in staying the\npursuit by slaying her younger brother Apsyrtus, whom she had brought\nwith her, and scattering his limbs in the sea.\n\nThe most diverse accounts exist as to the road taken by the Argonauts on\ntheir homeward journey. Some say that they sailed up the Phasis to the\nEastern Sea, and then, passing through the Red Sea and Libyan desert,\nover which they had to carry the Argo twelve days\u2019 journey, came to Lake\nTritonis, and thence to the Mediterranean. According to another account,\nthey sought to pass through the Ister (Danube) and Eridanus (Po) to the\nWestern Ocean; but the object of this account was manifestly to subject\nthem to the same vicissitudes and adventures as Odysseus and his\ncompanions.\n\nAt length Jason landed happily in Iolcus, and delivered the golden\nfleece into the hands of his uncle. Pelias, however, still refused to\nsurrender the kingdom to Jason, and Medea therefore determined to make\naway with him by craft. Having persuaded the daughters of Pelias that\nshe possessed a means of making the old man young again, she directed\nthem to slay their father, cut him in pieces, and boil the limbs in a\ncauldron filled with all manner of herbs; this they did in the vain\nexpectation of seeing him restored to youth. Jason now took possession\nof his father\u2019s kingdom, but was soon afterwards expelled by Acastus,\nthe son of Pelias, and took refuge in Corinth. His subsequent\nmisfortunes are well known. Thinking to better his condition, he was\nabout to marry Cre\u00fcsa, the daughter of the king of Corinth, when he was\narrested by the fearful vengeance of his first wife. Medea sent the\nbride a poisoned garment, which caused her to die an agonising death,\nand then slew her own children by Jason; after which she fled in her\nchariot drawn by winged dragons to Athens, where she long found\nprotection at the court of \u00c6geus. Jason either put an end to his own\nlife, or was killed by the fall of a rotten beam of the Argo.\n\nIn the history of the golden fleece we have one of the most widely\nspread myths of all, namely, that of the loss and recovery of a\ntreasure. In Teutonic tradition we have the treasure of the Nibelungs,\nin which the very name is almost identical; and if we include the\nstories of women carried off and rescued, the list becomes endless. And\nthe treasure of all those stories has been interpreted to be the golden\nclouds. The Dragon which guards the treasure again appears in the story\nof the apples of the Hesperides, and is closely allied to the Sphinx.\n\n\n=3. The Theban Cycle.=\u2014The highly tragic history of the Theban house of\nthe Labdacid\u00e6, teeming as it does with important characters and events,\nhas at all times furnished subjects for Greek art and poetry, and has\ngiven birth to a whole series of epic and dramatic works. The former,\nwhich would have conduced far more to an exact acquaintance with the\nlegend, have, unfortunately, perished, with the exception of a few\nunimportant fragments; although many important works of the great tragic\npoets, \u00c6schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, relating to the subject,\nstill remain. The common account runs thus:\u2014Laius, a great-grandson of\nCadmus, was warned by the oracle to beget no children, as he was doomed\nto perish by the hands of his son, who would then marry his mother. When\nhis wife Iocaste gave birth to a son, Laius accordingly exposed the\nchild, with its feet pierced, on Mount Cith\u00e6ron. The child, called\n\u0152dipus from the swelling of its feet, did not die, but was found by some\nCorinthian shepherds, who brought it to Polybus, king of Corinth.\nPolybus, having no children of his own, adopted \u0152dipus, who grew up in\nthe belief that Polybus and Merope were his real parents, until one day\na taunt of his companions as to his mysterious origin raised doubts in\nhis mind. In order to solve his misgivings, he went to consult the\noracle of Delphi, but he here received only the obscure direction not to\nreturn to his country, since, if he did, he would kill his father and\nmarry his mother. Fearing on this account to return to Corinth, he took\nthe road to Thebes, and thus, by his presumptuous prudence, brought\nabout the very consequences he was so anxious to avoid. On the road he\nwas met by Laius, who was on his way to the oracle to ask its advice\nconcerning the Sphinx. A quarrel arose, in a narrow defile, between\nLaius and \u0152dipus; and \u0152dipus slew his father without knowing who he was.\nOn arriving at Thebes he succeeded in delivering the country from the\nSphinx. This monster, which had the combined form of a woman and a lion,\nhad been sent by Hera, whom Laius had in some way offended, from\nEthiopia to devastate the land of Thebes. Seated on a rock close to the\ntown, she put to every one that passed by a riddle, and whoever was\nunable to solve it, she cast from the rock into a deep abyss. This\ncalamity induced Creon, on the death of his brother-in-law Laius, to\nproclaim that whoever solved the riddle should obtain the crown and the\nhand of Iocaste. \u0152dipus succeeded in solving it, and thus delivered the\ncountry from the monster, who cast herself into the abyss.\n\nThe Sphinx belongs to the same family as many of the monsters we have\nspoken of already; she is called by Hesiod the child of Orthros and\nChim\u00e6ra, whom we have seen to be the daughter of Typhon and Echidna. It\nwould seem, therefore, probable that the contest between her and her\nopponent may be interpreted in the same way as that of Bellerophon and\nthe Chim\u00e6ra, or of Zeus and Typhon. In support of this, the following\nconsiderations may be adduced. Since we know that thunder was supposed\nto be a warning or encouragement to men, it is easy to see in it the\nmysterious voice of the cloud, only intelligible to the wisest of men.\nHence the conqueror of the cloud was called the man who understood her\nlanguage. (It would not a little help this idea, that \u0152dipus might seem\nderived from a word meaning \u201cto know.\u201d) Then the death of the Sphinx\nwill be the cloud falling upon the earth in the shape of rain. \u0152dipus,\non the other hand, will be the same antagonist as we have before seen\nvictorious over the cloud dragons; the sun, born helpless, rising to\ntake the kingdom after the slaughter of his enemies, yet at last sinking\nblinded into an unknown grave. This, however, does not cover the crimes\nlaid to his charge. But they have been explained in this way: that when\npeople lost consciousness of the real meaning of the misfortunes of\n\u0152dipus, they cast about for some adequate cause, and found one in the\ntwo great crimes of incest and parricide. We have seen something similar\nto this in the case of Ixion. Further, the names of the wives assigned\nby various writers to \u0152dipus are connected with the light, and the name\nLaius has been interpreted as \u201cenemy\u201d of the light. Sphinx itself\nsignifies \u201cthrottler.\u201d\n\n  In art, the Sphinx had the form of a lion, generally in a recumbent\n  position, with the breast and upper part of a beautiful woman. When\n  the Greeks saw similar figures in Egypt, they naturally gave them\n  the name of Sphinx. But name, family, and meaning of the Sphinx are\n  alike Greek, although the Egyptian statues have taken too firm\n  possession of the name ever to lose it. Ancient Egyptian art\n  revelled in the creation of colossal Sphinxes, which were carved out\n  of granite. A notable example of this kind exists in the giant\n  Sphinx near the Pyramids of Gizeh, which is eighty-nine feet long.\n  From such monstrous figures as these, Greek art held aloof.\n\n\u0152dipus was rewarded with the sovereignty of Thebes and the hand of\nIocaste; and for several years he enjoyed uninterrupted happiness,\nsurrounded by four blooming children, the fruit of his incestuous\nmarriage. By the secret agency of the goddess, the dreadful truth was at\nlength discovered. Iocaste hanged herself, and \u0152dipus, in despair, put\nout his own eyes. Not content with this voluntary penance, the\nhard-hearted Thebans compelled him besides to leave their city and\ncountry, while his sons Eteocles and Polynices, who were now grown up,\nrefused to stir a foot in their father\u2019s behalf. \u0152dipus, after invoking\nbitter curses on their heads, withdrew, and, guided by his faithful\ndaughter Antigone, at last found an asylum in the grove of the Eumenides\nat Colonus, near Athens. His grave there was regarded, in consequence of\nan ancient response of the oracle, as a national treasure.\n\nThe curse of their father took effect on his unnatural sons. The elder,\nEteocles, drove out his brother Polynices, who then sought the\nassistance of Adrastus, king of Argos. Adrastus was a grandson of Bias,\nof the race of the Amythaonid\u00e6, and by his marriage with the daughter of\nthe wealthy Polybus acquired the sovereignty of Sicyon. He not only\nhospitably received the fugitive Polynices, but gave him his daughter in\nmarriage, and promised to assist him in recovering the crown of Thebes.\nIn this expedition Adrastus sought to gain the aid of the other Argive\nheroes. They all declared their readiness to accompany him, with the\nexception of Amphiara\u00fcs, his brother-in-law, who was equally renowned\nfor his wisdom and courage. Amphiara\u00fcs was a great-grandson of the\ncelebrated seer Melampus, and inherited from him the gift of prophecy.\nHe was thus enabled to perceive the disastrous termination of the war,\nand strove to hinder it. But Polynices and the fiery Tydeus\u2014likewise a\nson-in-law of Adrastus\u2014were so unceasing in their entreaties, that he at\nlength sought to escape their importunity by flight. Polynices, however,\nbribed his wife Eriphyle, by the present of a magnificent necklace,\nwhich had formerly been given to Harmonia on the occasion of her\nmarriage with Cadmus, to betray his place of concealment. Hereupon\nAmphiara\u00fcs was obliged unwillingly to join the expedition, which ended\nas he had prophesied. The attack on Thebes was not only repulsed, but\nall the Argive leaders, with the exception of Adrastus, who was saved by\nthe fleetness of his horse, were slain. Polynices and Eteocles fell in\nsingle combat with each other. The flight of Adrastus to Attica, where\nhe procured the assistance of Theseus in compelling the Thebans to grant\nthe fallen heroes a solemn burial, is a feature unknown to the original\nlegend, and may be ascribed to the patriotic impulses of the Athenian\ndramatists. The celebrated tragedy of Sophocles, called _Antigone_, is\nbased on the assumption that Creon, the new king of Thebes, allowed the\nburial of the other heroes, but left Polynices to lie unburied on the\nfield like a dog, and condemned Antigone to death because she ventured\nto bury her brother in despite of his command. Creon was destined to\nmeet with a dreadful retribution, for his own son, who was betrothed to\nAntigone, killed himself in grief at her fate.\n\nTen years later, the sons of the fallen heroes are said to have combined\nwith \u00c6gialeus, the son of Adrastus, to avenge their fathers\u2019 defeat.\nThis expedition has therefore been called the war of the Epigoni\n(descendants), and not being undertaken, like that of their fathers, in\nmanifest opposition to the will of the gods, proved successful.\nLaodamas, the savage son of Eteocles, who was now king of Thebes, was\ndefeated in a decisive battle near Thebes, and, after \u00c6gialeus had\nfallen by his hands, was himself slain by Alcm\u00e6on, the son of\nAmphiara\u00fcs. The Thebans were unable any longer to hold their city, and,\nfollowing the advice of the blind seer Tiresias, they withdrew under the\ncover of darkness and mist. The aged Tiresias expired on the road, at\nthe fountain of Tilphusa; of the rest, some took refuge in Thessalia,\nand some sought other lands. The victorious Argives, after plundering\nand partly destroying the city, dedicated a great portion of the\nbooty\u2014among which was Manto, the daughter of Tiresias\u2014to the oracle of\nDelphi. They then made Thersander, the son of Polynices, king of Thebes;\nupon which many of the fugitive inhabitants returned. Thersander\nsubsequently took part in the Trojan war, and there perished.\n\n\n=4. The Trojan Cycle.=\u2014We now come to the Trojan war, the fourth and\nmost celebrated of the common undertakings of the later heroic age. Here\nthe sources of our information are far more plentiful than in any former\nperiod of mythic history, because both the grand national epics, the\n_Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_, which are commonly ascribed to Homer, relate\nto the Trojan war. As the contents of these immortal poems are probably\nwell known to our readers, we shall only dwell on the most essential\nfeatures of the story.\n\nI. THE HEROIC RACES OF THE TROJAN WAR.\u2014_1. The Dardanid\u00e6, or race of\nDardanus._\u2014The royal family of Troy were descended from Dardanus, a son\nof Zeus by Electra, a daughter of Atlas. Dardanus is said to have\nemigrated from Samothrace, or, according to others, from Italy to\nArcadia, to the north-west portion of Asia Minor, between the range of\nIda and the Hellespont, where he received from king Teucer some land to\nform a settlement. By a daughter of the river-god Simo\u00efs, or, as others\nsay, of Scamander, Dardanus had a son called Tros, from whom the Trojans\nderived their name. Tros had three sons\u2014Assaracus, Ilus, and Ganymedes.\nThe last, who, like all the scions of the race of Dardanus, was\npossessed of wonderful beauty, was raised by Zeus to the dignity of\ncupbearer to the gods, and thus became immortal. Ilus and Assaracus\nbecame the founders of two different branches of the Dardanian race. The\nlatter remained in his native settlement of Dardania, where he became\nthe father of Capys and the grandfather of Anchises, the father of\n\u00c6neas. Ilus, on the other hand, emigrated to the plains of the\nScamander, where he founded the city of Ilium, or Troy. After completing\nthe town, he begged Zeus to bestow on him a sign of his favour. The next\nmorning he found in front of his tent the celebrated Palladium\u2014an image\nof Pallas Athene, carved in wood. On the possession of this depended the\nfortune and welfare of the city. After the death of Ilus, his son\nLaomedon became king of Troy. At his request, Poseidon and Apollo built\nthe citadel of Pergamum. We have already related how this king, by his\nfaithless conduct provoked the wrath of Heracles, and the first capture\nof the city. Of his sons only Priam remained; in him the race of\nDardanus flourished afresh, for by his wife Hecuba and by his concubines\nhe had a great number of sons and daughters.\n\n_2. The Pelopid\u00e6, or race of Pelops._\u2014The Pelopid\u00e6, who were chiefly\ninstrumental in the destruction of Troy, were descended from the\nPhrygian king Tantalus, who was renowned alike for his unexampled good\nfortune and his subsequent unhappy fate. He was the son of Zeus and\nPluto (rich plenty), and inhabited a citadel on Mount Sipylus, whence\nhis rich pasture-lands and fruitful corn-fields extended twelve days\u2019\njourney, as far as Ida and the Propontis. The very gods honoured him\nwith their friendship, and lived on such intimate terms that they\ninvited him to eat at their table. This unheard-of good fortune,\nhowever, begot in the puny mortal such presumption, that he began to\nindulge in the grossest outrages on gods and men. At length he went so\nfar as to cut his son Pelops in pieces to boil them, and set them before\nthe gods in order to test their omniscience. The cup of his iniquity now\nseemed full, and the gods brought down a heavy retribution on the head\nof the criminal by his well-known punishment in the lower world, where,\nthough surrounded by the most delicious fruits, and standing up to his\nneck in water, he was nevertheless condemned to suffer the pangs of\ncontinual hunger and thirst. Another tradition relates that he was kept\nin constant anxiety by a huge rock which was suspended over his head.\n(See pp. 149, 150.)\n\nThe children of Tantalus were Pelops and Niobe. The unhappy fate of the\nlatter has already been described in the mythic history of Thebes.\nPelops was restored to life by the art of Hermes; and a portion of his\nshoulder, which had been consumed by Demeter, was replaced by the gods\nwith a piece of ivory. Pelops is said to have grown up in Olympus,\namongst the blessed gods. On being restored to earth, he proceeded to\nElis, where he became a suitor for the hand of Hippodamia, the beautiful\ndaughter of the king \u0152noma\u00fcs. The latter had promised his daughter to\nthe man who should vanquish him in a chariot race: whoever failed was\nobliged to expiate his temerity with his life, as \u0152noma\u00fcs transfixed him\nwith his unerring lance as he passed. Thirteen noble youths had already\nsuffered this fate, when Pelops appeared to undergo the dangerous\nordeal. By means of the untiring winged horses which had been given him\nby Poseidon, and also by bribing Myrtilus, the King\u2019s charioteer\u2014who,\nbefore starting, withdrew the linch-pins from his master\u2019s chariot or\nreplaced them with wax\u2014he came off victorious. \u0152noma\u00fcs either was killed\nby the breaking down of his chariot, or put an end to his own life on\nseeing himself vanquished. Pelops now obtained both Hippodamia and the\nkingdom of Elis; but he ill rewarded Myrtilus, who had rendered him such\nvaluable service, by casting him into the sea, in order to release\nhimself from his obligations. Hermes, whose son he is reputed to have\nbeen, set him amongst the stars as charioteer.\n\nThe sons of Pelops by Hippodamia were Atreus and Thyestes, whose\nhistory, which is full of the most revolting crimes, formed a favourite\nsubject with the tragic poets. First, Atreus and Thyestes murdered their\nstep-brother Chrysippus, and were compelled to leave their country in\ncompany with their mother. They were hospitably received at Mycen\u00e6 by\ntheir brother-in-law Sthenelus, the son of Perseus, or by his son\nEurystheus. On Eurystheus\u2019 death, they inherited the sovereignty of the\nPersid\u00e6 in Argos, and Atreus now took up his residence in the proud\ncapital of Mycen\u00e6, whence, strange to say, the most ancient specimen of\nGreek sculpture has come down to us in the so-called Gate of Lions. Soon\nan implacable enmity arose between the two brothers, and Thyestes, in\nconsequence, was banished from Argos. He took with him, in revenge,\nPleisthenes, the young son of Atreus, brought him up as his own son, and\ndespatched him, later, to Mycen\u00e6 to kill Atreus. His design was\ndiscovered, and he expiated his intended crime with his life. When\nAtreus learned that it was his own son whom he had condemned to death,\nhe determined on a dreadful revenge. Pretending to be reconciled, he\nrecalled Thyestes and his children to Mycen\u00e6; and Thyestes, trusting to\nhis brother\u2019s word, returned. Atreus then privately seized the two young\nsons of Thyestes, slew them, and set this horrible food before their\nfather. Horror-struck at this inhuman cruelty, the sun turned his\nchariot and went back in his course. Thyestes, uttering fearful curses\nagainst his brother and the whole race of the Pelopid\u00e6, again escaped,\nand took refuge with Thesprotus, king of Epirus. Later, he succeeded,\nwith the help of his only remaining son \u00c6gisthus, in avenging himself on\nhis brother. Atreus was slain by \u00c6gisthus whilst offering up a sacrifice\non the sea-shore, and Thyestes now acquired the sovereignty of Mycen\u00e6.\nThe sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menela\u00fcs, fled from their barbarous\nuncle to Sparta, where Tyndare\u00fcs, the king, received them kindly, and\ngave them his daughters, Clyt\u00e6mnestra and Helen, in marriage. With his\naid Agamemnon recovered his father\u2019s kingdom, slew Thyestes, and drove\nout \u00c6gisthus. Menela\u00fcs remained in Sparta\u2014where he succeeded\nTyndare\u00fcs\u2014until the carrying off of his wife Helen by Paris gave rise to\nthe Trojan war.\n\n_3. The \u00c6acid\u00e6, or race of \u00c6acus._\u2014After the sons of Atreus, the \u00c6acid\u00e6\nplay the most important part in the Trojan war; in fact, we are almost\njustified in saying that the war was an exploit of these two races of\nheroes and their peoples, the Ach\u00e6ans of Argos and the Hellenes of\nPhthia. The ancestor of the \u00c6acid\u00e6 was \u00c6acus, who was renowned alike for\nhis wisdom and justice, and on this account subsequently made a judge in\nthe lower world. \u00c6acus was a son of Zeus by \u00c6gina, a daughter of the\nriver-god Asopus. He ruled over the island of \u00c6gina, and married Ende\u00efs,\nthe daughter of the wise Centaur Chiron. She bore him two sons, Peleus\nand Telamon. On reaching manhood they were compelled to leave their\ncountry, because, like the sons of Pelops, they had murdered, in a fit\nof jealousy, a step-brother who was a favourite with their father.\nPeleus betook himself to Phthia, where he was kindly received by\nEurytion, who bestowed on him the hand of his daughter and a third part\nof his kingdom. Peleus afterwards took part in the boar hunt of Calydon,\non which occasion he had the misfortune to kill his father-in-law. In\nconsequence of this, he left Phthia and proceeded to Iolcus, where he\ntook part in the funeral games which Acastus was celebrating in honour\nof his father Pelias, who had perished by the treachery of Medea. Here\nhe experienced a similar fate to that of Bellerophon at the court of\nPr\u0153tus. Astydameia, the wife of Acastus, finding herself unable to\nseduce him, slandered him to her husband, who thereupon sought to take\nhis life. After hunting on Pelion one day, Peleus fell asleep, and was\nleft thus unprotected by Acastus, who hoped by this means to get rid of\nhim. He would, indeed, have been murdered by the Centaurs, if the gods\nhad not taken pity on him, and sent him by Hermes a sword of wonderful\npower, with which he was enabled to repel the assaults of the wild\ninhabitants of the forest. Peleus, with the help of the Dioscuri,\nsubsequently took Iolcus, and put the treacherous Acastus and his wife\nto death. As a reward for his chastity, the gods gave him the goddess\nThetis\u2014a beautiful daughter of Nereus\u2014to wife. She bore him one son,\nAchilleus (Achilles), the greatest and bravest hero of the Trojan war. A\nlater tradition asserts that Thetis left her husband soon after the\nbirth of Achilles, because he had disturbed her when she was about to\nrender her child immortal in the fire, just as Demeter intended to do to\nthe child of Cele\u00fcs; but this story is unknown to Homer. According to a\nstill later legend, she plunged her son into the Styx, and thereby\nrendered him invulnerable in every part except the heel by which she\nheld him. Like all noble heroes, Achilles was instructed by Chiron,\nunder whom he acquired such wonderful skill in all feats of strength and\nagility that he soon surpassed all his contemporaries. In addition to\nChiron, Homer names Ph\u0153nix, the son of Amyntor, as the instructor of the\nyouthful hero. Achilles proceeded to the Trojan war with cheerful\ndetermination, although he knew beforehand that he was not fated to\nreturn alive. The story that his mother Thetis, in order to avert his\nfate, sent him, disguised in women\u2019s clothes, to the court of Lycomedes,\nking of Scyros, where he was discovered by the craft of Odysseus, is a\npost-Homeric invention.\n\nFrom Telamon, the second son of \u00c6acus, was descended Aias or Ajax, a\nhero of but little less importance. Telamon, after his flight from\n\u00c6gina, found a new home in Salamis, where he married the daughter of the\nking Cychreus. On the decease of Cychreus, he succeeded to the crown.\nAfter the death of his first wife, he married Perib\u0153a, a daughter of\nAlcatho\u00fcs, king of Megara, who bore him Ajax. Tradition tells us much of\nthe intimate friendship of Heracles and Telamon, who took part in the\nTrojan expedition of his mighty friend. Heracles, in return, gave him\nHesione, the daughter of Laomedon, by whom he became the father of a\nsecond son, Teucer. Like every celebrated hero of antiquity, he is said\nto have taken part in the Calydonian hunt and the expedition of the\nArgonauts. Nothing inferior to this brave and doughty father was his son\nAjax, on whom the mighty hero Heracles had invoked the blessing of his\nfather Zeus, when as a child he held him in his arms. He was of greater\nsize and strength than any of the other heroes; though he appears\nsomewhat uncouth and clumsy when contrasted with the swift and agile\nform of Achilles. His mighty shield was as characteristic of him as the\nponderous deadly spear was of Achilles. Beside him, his brother Teucer\nranks as the best archer among the Greeks.\n\n_4. Nestor, the Locrian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus._\u2014Associated with\nthe heroes of the race of Pelops and \u00c6acus were some other renowned\nchieftains. First among them was the aged Nestor, of Pylus, whose wise\ncounsels were as indispensable to the Greeks before Troy as the\ndauntless courage of an Achilles or an Ajax. Nestor was the youngest of\nthe twelve sons of Neleus, who was himself a son of Poseidon and Tyro,\nand twin-brother of Pelias. Neleus, having been driven out by Pelias,\ntook refuge in Messenia, where he became the founder of a new kingdom.\nLater, however, both his sovereignty and the glory of his house were\nwell-nigh extinguished by the hostility of Heracles, who slew all the\nsons of Neleus except Nestor. When quite young, Nestor defeated the\nneighbouring tribes of the Epei and Arcadians, and restored the\ndominions of his father to their former extent. He likewise took part in\nthe contest between the Lapith\u00e6 and the Centaurs, in the Calydonian boar\nhunt, and in the expedition of the Argonauts. Though so far advanced in\nyears\u2014having ruled over three generations of men\u2014he could not withstand\nthe desire to take part in the Trojan war.\n\nThe Locrian Ajax\u2014also called the Lesser Ajax, to distinguish him from\nhis mighty namesake\u2014was a son of the Locrian king O\u00efleus, of whom\nnothing more is known than that he took part in the expedition of the\nArgonauts. Ajax was renowned among the Greeks for his skill in hurling\nthe spear and for his great fleetness, in which he was surpassed only by\nAchilles. He always appears in a linen corslet, and his followers, the\nOpuntian Locrians, are also light-armed troops.\n\nDiomedes was a member of the oft-mentioned race of the \u00c6olian\nAmythaonid\u00e6. His father was the hot-headed Tydeus, who was killed in the\nwar of the Seven against Thebes. Diomedes, who inherited no small\nportion of his father\u2019s wild, untameable disposition, of course took\npart in the war of the Epigoni, and subsequently succeeded his\ngrandfather Adrastus in his Argive sovereignty at Sicyon. He also\nrestored his paternal grandfather, the aged \u00c6tolian king \u0152neus, who had\nbeen dethroned by the sons of his brother Agrius, to his kingdom. In the\n_Iliad_ he appears as a special favourite of Pallas Athene, and Homer\nmakes him play an important part in the contests of the Greeks before\nthe walls of Troy. In post-Homeric story he is represented as having\ncarried off the Trojan Palladium.\n\nFinally, Odysseus (Ulysses), the most popular of the Greek heroes of the\nTrojan war, was a son of La\u00ebrtes, king of Ithaca, by Anticlea, the\ndaughter of Autolycus. Autolycus inhabited a district on Mount\nParnassus, and was renowned for his cunning. His grandson seems to have\ninherited no small part of his grandfather\u2019s disposition. Through his\nnoble and virtuous wife Penelope, Odysseus was closely related to the\nAtrid\u00e6; Penelope being the daughter of Icarius, who was a brother of the\nSpartan king Tyndare\u00fcs. He was therefore obliged\u2014though much against his\nwill\u2014to comply with the request of Menela\u00fcs, and join the expedition\nagainst Troy. On account of his wisdom and eloquence, his dexterity in\nall feats of strength, and his dauntless valour in the midst of danger,\nhe also was a special favourite of Pallas.\n\nII. THE WAR.\u2014The _Iliad_ of Homer, the most important source of our\ninformation with regard to the Trojan war, does not deal with the events\nof the first nine years; and of those of the tenth and last year it only\ngives such episodes as relate to the quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon.\nOf the origin of the war, and the events of the first nine years, it\nspeaks only incidentally, for the sake of explanation. The gap has to be\nfilled up from the works of those writers who had access to other epic\npoems of the Trojan cycle, which are now no longer extant.\n\nEris, the goddess of discord, not having been invited to the marriage\nfestivities of Peleus and Thetis, avenged herself by casting into the\nassembly a golden apple, with the inscription\u2014\u201cTo the fairest.\u201d The\nthree rival goddesses\u2014Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite\u2014each claimed the apple\nfor herself, but were referred by Zeus to the decision of Paris. Paris\nwas a son of Priam, the Trojan king. Immediately after birth, he was\nexposed on Mount Ida, in consequence of an ill-omened dream which his\nmother Hecuba had during her pregnancy. He was found, however, and\nbrought up by some shepherds. He decided in favour of Aphrodite, who had\npromised him the most beautiful woman on earth as his wife. Soon\nafterwards, at some games given by the king, the youth, who was equally\ndistinguished for his handsome person and his bodily dexterity, after\nhaving wrested the prize from all his brethren, was recognised by the\nprophetess Cassandra, and received into his father\u2019s favour. He next\nundertook a journey across the sea to Greece, and, among other places,\nvisited the court of Menela\u00fcs, king of Sparta, by whom he was hospitably\nreceived and entertained. Aphrodite kindled in the breast of the young\nwife of Menela\u00fcs a fatal love for their handsome guest, who dazzled her\nas much by the beauty of his person as by the oriental splendour of his\nappearance. While Menela\u00fcs was absent in Crete, and her brothers, the\nDioscuri, were engaged in their strife with the sons of Aphareus, Helen\nfled with her seducer to Troy. On the refusal of the king of Troy to\nsurrender Helen, Menela\u00fcs succeeded in rousing the whole of Greece to a\nwar of revenge. This task was the more easy, as most of the Grecian\nchieftains had been suitors of Helen, and had bound themselves by an\noath to Tyndare\u00fcs to unite in support of the husband whom Helen should\nchoose, in the event of his ever being injured or attacked. The\nwell-manned ships of the Greeks assembled in the B\u0153otian port of Aulis.\nTheir number amounted to eleven hundred and eighty-six, according to\nHomer; of which Agamemnon, who had been chosen leader of the expedition,\nalone furnished over one hundred. Agamemnon, however, having offended\nArtemis by killing a hind sacred to the goddess, the departure of the\nexpedition was delayed by continuous calms, until at length, at the\ncommand of the priest Calchas, Agamemnon determined to appease the wrath\nof the goddess by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia on her altar. At\nthe fatal moment Artemis rescued the victim, and, after substituting a\nhind in her stead, conveyed Iphigenia to Tauris, where she became a\npriestess in the temple of the goddess. The fleet now sailed with a fair\nwind. The expedition first stopped at Tenedos, opposite the coast of\nTroy. Here, on the occasion of a banquet, Philoctetes, who possessed the\nbow and arrows of Heracles on which the conquest of Troy depended, was\nbitten in the foot by a serpent, and on account of his cries and the\noffensive smell of the wound was carried to Lemnos, and there left to\nhis fate. The Greeks next effected a landing on the coast of Troy, in\nspite of the opposition of Hector and \u00c6neas; for Protesila\u00fcs devoted\nhimself to death for the Greeks, and sprang first on the Trojan shore.\nEven Cycnus, the mighty son of Poseidon, who was king of Colon\u00e6 in\nTroas, and came to the assistance of the Trojans, was unable to stem the\nadvance of the Greeks; and his body being invulnerable, he was strangled\nby Achilles by means of a thong twisted round his neck.\n\nAfter the Greeks had made a station for their ships, the war began in\nearnest. Several of their attacks on the town having been successfully\nrepelled by the Trojans, the Greeks now confined themselves to making\ninroads and plundering excursions into the surrounding country, in which\nAchilles was always the most prominent actor. The first nine years of\nthe war were by no means fruitful in important events, and the wearisome\nmonotony of the siege was broken only by the single combat between\nAchilles and Tro\u00eflus, the youngest son of Priam, in which Tro\u00eflus was\nslain, and by the fall of Palamedes of Eub\u0153a, the head of the Greek\npeace-party, which was brought about by the treachery of Odysseus. At\nlength, in the tenth year of the war, a quarrel broke out between\nAchilles and Agamemnon respecting a female slave who had been taken\ncaptive, and gave for the time quite another aspect to affairs. It is at\nthis point that the _Iliad_ commences. Achilles, in his wrath, retired\nto his tent, and refused to take any further part in the war; whilst the\nTrojans, who feared him more than all the other Greeks, became bolder,\nand no longer kept to the protection of their walls. Zeus, at the\nrequest of Thetis, gave them the victory in their first engagement with\nthe Greeks. Hector drove the latter back to their ships, and was already\nabout to set them on fire, when Achilles consented to allow his friend\nPatroclus to don his armour and lead his Myrmidons to the assistance of\nthe Greeks. The Trojans were now driven back, but Patroclus, in the\nardour of pursuit, was slain by Hector, and deprived of his armour, and\nMenela\u00fcs, with the help of the greater Ajax and other heroes, only\nsucceeded in rescuing his corpse after a bloody and obstinate struggle.\nThe wrath of Achilles was now entirely diverted by the desire of\navenging on Hector the death of his much-loved friend Patroclus. He was\nscarcely willing even to wait for the new armour which his\ngoddess-mother procured him from the workshop of Heph\u00e6stus. No sooner\nwas he in possession of it than he again appeared on the field, and\nHector\u2014the bulwark of Troy\u2014soon succumbed to his furious onslaught.\nAchilles, however, was generous enough to surrender his corpse to the\nentreaties of Priam. The _Iliad_ concludes with the solemn funeral of\nHector.\n\nThe succeeding events, up to the death of Achilles and the contest for\nhis arms, were narrated in the _\u00c6thiopis_ of Arctinus of Miletus, with\nthe contents of which we have some slight acquaintance, although the\nwork itself is lost. All kinds of brilliant exploits are reported to\nhave been performed by Achilles before the walls of Troy, which were\nmanifestly unknown to the earlier story. In the first place, immediately\nafter Hector\u2019s death, Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, came to the\nassistance of the Trojans, and fought so bravely at the head of her army\nthat the Greeks were hard pressed. Achilles at length overcame the\nheroic daughter of Ares. After her fall, a new ally of the Trojans\nappeared in Memnon, king of \u00c6thiopia, who is called a son of Eos,\nbecause the \u00c6thiopians were supposed to dwell in the far East. Among\nthose who fell by the hand of this handsome and courageous hero was\nAntilochus, the valiant son of Nestor. When Memnon, however, ventured to\nmeet the invincible Achilles, he also was vanquished, after a brave\nstruggle. The fresh morning dew, which springs from the tears of Eos,\nproves that she has never ceased to lament her heroic son. But death was\nsoon to overtake him before whom so many heroes had bitten the dust. In\nan assault on the Sc\u00e6an gate, Achilles was killed, at the head of his\nMyrmidons, by an arrow of Paris, which was directed by Apollo. According\nto later writers, whose accounts were followed by the tragic poets, he\nwas treacherously murdered here on the occasion of his betrothal to\nPolyxena, the beautiful daughter of Priam. A furious contest, lasting\nthe whole day, took place for the possession of his corpse and armour:\nat length Odysseus and Ajax succeeded in conveying it to a place of\nsafety. Mourning and confusion reigned among the Greeks at his death.\nDuring seventeen days and nights Thetis, with the whole band of Nereids,\nbewailed his untimely fate in mourning melodies, so sad and touching\nthat neither gods nor men could refrain from tears.\n\n        \u201cSee, tears are shed by every god and goddess, to survey\n        How soon the Beautiful is past, the Perfect dies away!\u201d\n\nThe death of the bravest of the Greeks was followed by an unhappy\nquarrel between Ajax and Odysseus respecting his arms. Ajax, on account\nof his near relationship to the deceased hero, and the great services he\nhad rendered to the cause of the Greeks, seemed to have the best claim;\nbut Agamemnon, by the advice of Athene, adjudged them to Odysseus. Ajax\nwas so mortified at this decision that he became insane, and put an end\nto his own life. An entire tragedy of Sophocles, treating of the\nmournful fate of the son of Telamon, has come down to us.\n\nAfter Ajax had quitted the scene, Odysseus became decidedly the chief\npersonage among the Greeks. It was he who captured the Trojan seer\nHelenus, and extorted from him the secret that Ilium could not be taken\nwithout the arrows of Heracles. Hereupon Philoctetes, who was still\nlying sick at Lemnos, was fetched, and his wound healed by Machaon.\nParis soon afterwards fell by his hand. It was Odysseus, moreover, who,\nin company with Diomedes, undertook the perilous task of entering Troy\nin disguise and stealing the Palladium, on which the safety of the city\ndepended. It was he who fetched Neoptolemus, the young son of Achilles,\nfrom Scyros to the Trojan camp, it having been decreed that his presence\nwas necessary to the success of the Greeks. Lastly\u2014and this was his\ngreatest service\u2014it was Odysseus who devised the celebrated wooden\nhorse, and the stratagem which led to the final capture of the city. In\nthe belly of the horse, which was built by Epe\u00fcs, one hundred chosen\nwarriors of the Greeks concealed themselves. The rest of the Greeks set\nfire to their camp, and sailed away to Tenedos; whereupon the Trojans,\ndeceived by the assurances of Sinon, dragged the fatal horse, amid cries\nof joy, into the city. In vain did the Trojan priest of Apollo, Laoco\u00f6n,\nseek to divert them from their folly. None would give heed to his\nwarnings; and when, soon afterwards, both he and his sons, whilst\nsacrificing to Poseidon on the sea-shore, were strangled by two serpents\nthat came up out of the sea, the Trojans regarded this as a punishment\nsent by the gods for his evil counsel, and were the more confirmed in\ntheir purpose.\n\n  The death of Laoco\u00f6n and his sons forms the subject of one of the\n  most splendid of the creations of Greek art that have come down to\n  us from antiquity. The group was found, in the year 1506, by a Roman\n  citizen in his vineyard, close to the former Therm\u00e6 of Titus, and\n  was made over by him, for a considerable annuity, to Pope Julius\n  II., who then placed it in the Vatican collection. The right arm of\n  Laoco\u00f6n, which was wanting, has, unfortunately, been incorrectly\n  restored. This is attested by a copy of the group which was\n  subsequently discovered in Naples. We give an engraving of the group\n  in its original form (Fig. 61).\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 61.\u2014Laoco\u00f6n. Group.]\n\n  It treats really of three distinct incidents, which have been\n  skilfully incorporated, by the artists to whom we owe the work (the\n  Rhodians Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus), into one harmonious\n  group. The eldest son is as yet unhurt, and appears to be so loosely\n  held by the coils of the serpent that he might easily escape his\n  impending fate, if he were not more effectually restrained by his\n  loving sympathy with his noble father, on whom he gazes with piteous\n  looks. Laoco\u00f6n himself, who naturally forms the centre of the group,\n  is depicted at the moment in which, mortally wounded by the serpent,\n  he sinks on the altar, to rise from which he vainly exerts his last\n  remaining strength. With his left arm he still mechanically seeks to\n  repel the serpents. His hitherto energetic resistance has begun to\n  fail, and his noble head is raised in mournful resignation to\n  heaven, as though to ask the gods why they had condemned him to so\n  terrible a fate. The dignified and resolute aspect of his\n  countenance forms a beautiful contrast to that of his body, which is\n  manifestly quivering in the keenest agony. The younger son on his\n  right is already in the last agonies of death, and though his left\n  hand grasps instinctively the head of the snake, he is evidently\n  incapable of further resistance. He is drooping like a plucked\n  flower, and in one more moment will have breathed his last.\n\nOn the night succeeding Laoco\u00f6n\u2019s horrible end, and the rejoicings of\nthe Trojans at the apparent departure of the Greeks, the Greek fleet\nreturned in silence at a signal given by Sinon. The heroes who were\nhidden in the wooden horse then descended and opened the gates to the\nGreek host, who rushed into the doomed city. A terrible scene of plunder\nand carnage ensued, the Trojans, in their dismay and confusion, offering\nno resistance. The fate of the sacred city was fulfilled; Priam perished\nbefore the altar of Zeus by the hand of Neoptolemus, and with him the\nglory of Troy was laid in the dust. The men were put to death, the women\nand children, together with the rich booty, were carried off, the former\nbeing destined to the hard lot of slavery. Among them was the aged queen\nHecuba, with all her daughters and daughters-in-law. Helen\u2014the cause of\nall this misfortune\u2014was found in the house of De\u00efphobus, whom she had\nmarried after the death of his brother Paris.\n\nThe city was burnt to the ground, and, long after, other cities rose on\nits site. Still the tradition of the siege remained among the\ninhabitants, though, even in Roman times, learned men had begun to\ndeclare that Old Troy must have had another site. And now when the last\nIlium had been no more for many centuries, and the very existence of\nHomer\u2019s Troy had been declared a fable, the palace and the traces of the\nconflagration have been found. Dr. Schliemann has excavated the\nlegendary site, and we know now that Athene was worshipped in the city,\nand that it perished by fire. We can hardly tell at present the full\nimportance of these discoveries, nor of those at Mycen\u00e6, where the\ntraditional tombs of the Grecian leaders have been examined, and their\nlong-buried wealth brought to light.\n\nYet this, too, the greatest of all the Grecian legend series, dissolves\ninto the phenomena of nature. That there was a Trojan war, and that we\nhave some historical facts about it, we can hardly doubt; but so many\nmyths have crystallised round it, that to us it must be merely legend.\nThe very names of Achilles, and Paris, and Helen, upon whom the whole\nstory turns, have been recognised in Indian legend. Point after point in\ntheir history is found in the legend history of every nation of the\nAryan family. The only conclusion that we can draw is, that such stories\nmust have come into being before the separation of the Aryan family, and\ncannot therefore contain the later history of any one branch.\n\nIII. THE RETURN.\u2014The Greeks, after sacrificing Polyxena on the grave of\nAchilles at Sigeum, prepared to return to their country. Few, however,\nwere destined to reach their homes without some misfortune, or, even\nwhen arrived there, to experience a kindly welcome. Of the two sons of\nAtreus, Agamemnon, after escaping a storm on the coast of Eub\u0153a, landed\nsafely on his native shores, but was soon after murdered by his wife and\n\u00c6gisthus, who had, during his absence, returned to Argos and married\nClyt\u00e6mnestra. Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess, who, in the division of\nthe spoils, had fallen to Agamemnon, shared his fate. She had\ncontinually predicted the unfortunate end of the war and the ultimate\nfate of the city, but had always been laughed to scorn by her\nincredulous countrymen. The fate of the commander of the Greeks, with\nits eventful consequences, was a favourite subject with the tragic\npoets. His murder did not go unavenged. Orestes, the only son of\nAgamemnon and Clyt\u00e6mnestra, had been hastily removed from the scene by\nhis sister Electra, and sent to his uncle, Strophius, king of Phocis.\nStrophius had him carefully educated with his own son Pylades, who was\nabout the same age. A most intimate friendship soon sprang up between\nthe two youths, which, from its faithfulness and constancy, has become\nproverbial. On reaching manhood, the sole thought of Orestes was to\navenge his noble father\u2019s treacherous death at the hands of the crafty\n\u00c6gisthus and his mother Clyt\u00e6mnestra. Accompanied by his friend Pylades,\nhe returned, in the eighth year of his exile, to Mycen\u00e6, and there slew\nboth \u00c6gisthus and Clyt\u00e6mnestra. Although in so doing he had only\nfulfilled a duty, he yet incurred the deepest guilt by the murder of her\nwho gave him birth, and at once found himself pursued by the avenging\nFuries. They dogged his steps, and ceased not to pursue him through all\nthe countries of the earth, until he was at length directed by the\noracle at Delphi to convey the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Attica.\nAfter he had, with the help of his newly-found sister, successfully\nachieved this task, he was purified by Apollo (see page 152). Of the\nnumerous dramas that were written on the subject of the fortunes of the\nPelopid\u00e6, which we have here briefly touched on, the _Agamemnon_,\n_Cho\u00ebphor\u00e6_, and _Eumenides_ of \u00c6schylus, the _Electra_ of Sophocles,\nand the _Electra_ and _Iphigenia in Tauris_ of Euripides, are still\nextant.\n\nWe must now turn to the fortunes of the other Greek leaders. Agamemnon\u2019s\nbrother Menelaus was overtaken, off Cape Malea, by a fearful storm,\nwhich carried him to Crete and Egypt, whence, after seven years of\nwandering, he returned to Sparta with Helen and his share of the spoils\nof Troy.\n\nThe Locrian Ajax experienced a still more unhappy fate. On the night of\nthe destruction of Troy he had penetrated into the temple of Pallas, and\nhad not only torn away the priestess Cassandra, who was clinging for\nsafety to the altar and statue of the goddess, but had also overturned\nthe statue of Pallas herself. As a punishment for this offence, his ship\nwas wrecked on Cape Caphareus, He would still have been able to escape\nwith his life\u2014having succeeded in getting hold of a rock\u2014if he had not\ngiven such offence to Poseidon by his impious boast that he needed not\nthe help of the gods, that the god split the rock with his trident,\nwhereupon Ajax fell into the sea and was drowned.\n\nDiomedes, Philoctetes, and Idomeneus reached their homes in safety, but\nwere all soon afterwards driven out, after which they all three\nemigrated to Italy. Here Diomedes founded many towns, and was long\nworshipped with heroic honours.\n\nTeucer also succeeded in reaching Salamis in safety, but his father\nTelamon was so wroth because he had not better protected his brother\nAjax, or at least avenged his death, that he refused to receive him. He\nwas, therefore, likewise obliged to leave his country, and subsequently\nsettled on the island of Cyprus.\n\nBut of all the Greek heroes Odysseus experienced the most reverses,\nwhile at home his faithful wife Penelope and his son Telemachus were\nhard pressed by the suitors. It was only in the tenth year after the\nfall of Troy, and after numerous wanderings and vicissitudes, that he\nwas permitted to return to his native Ithaca and punish the shameless\nsuitors who had wasted his substance and goods. The story of his\nadventures is so well known that we need not dwell on it here, further\nthan to mention that, according to post-Homeric accounts, Odysseus was\nkilled by the hand of Telegonus, his own son by Circe.\n\n  The events of the Trojan cycle have supplied not only the poet, but\n  also the artist and the sculptor, with a large number of their most\n  acceptable subjects. Single scenes, such as the judgment of Paris,\n  have been continually selected, ever since the time of Raphael, as\n  favourite subjects of representation. Of modern masters, Carstens,\n  Thorwaldsen the great Danish sculptor, Cornelius, Genelli, and\n  Preller (Landscapes of the _Odyssey_) have illustrated the story of\n  Troy in a series of splendid compositions. We give an engraving of a\n  relief by Thorwaldsen, representing Priam before Achilles (Fig. 62).\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 62.\u2014Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen.]\n\n  Of the more important extant works of antiquity, we may mention the\n  wedding of Peleus and Thetis, depicted on the Fran\u00e7ais vase in the\n  Naples Museum; the abduction of Helen, depicted on a marble relief\n  in the former Campana collection, now in the Louvre (Fig. 63); the\n  marble group in Rome, known by the name of \u201cPasquino,\u201d which\n  represents Menela\u00fcs raising the corpse of Patroclus; and, lastly,\n  the celebrated \u00c6gina marbles in Munich. These last are the remains\n  of a marble group from the gable of a temple of Pallas at \u00c6gina,\n  representing a battle between the Greeks and Trojans. They were\n  discovered at \u00c6gina in the year 1811; King Ludwig I. of Bavaria, who\n  was a great patron of art, bought the \u00c6gina marbles, and, after\n  having them restored by Thorwaldsen, placed them in the Munich\n  collection. The Laoco\u00f6n, the most important of all the works\n  relating to the Trojan cycle, has already been discussed.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 63.\u2014Rape of Helen. Campana Collection. Paris.]\n\n\n                       V.\u2014MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS.\n\nWe have already incidentally mentioned most of the seers of\nantiquity\u2014Melampus, the son of Amythaon, who figures in Argive legend;\nlikewise Amphiara\u00fcs, Tiresias, and Calchas. Concerning Tiresias, we may\nremark that the ancients ascribed to him a fabulous age, extending over\nseven or even nine generations; so that he was thus a witness of all\nthat happened to Thebes, from the foundation of the city to its\ndestruction by the Epigoni. Like all celebrated soothsayers, he was\nacquainted with the language of birds, and could penetrate the most\nhidden secrets of nature; on which account he enjoyed up to his death an\never-increasing reputation among the Thebans. We have already related\nhow, in extreme old age, when his native city could no longer withstand\nthe assaults of the Epigoni, he experienced the bitter lot of having to\ntake refuge in flight, and at length succumbed beneath the hardships of\nthe journey. In the second century A.D. his grave was still shown in the\nneighbourhood of Haliartus.\n\nAmong the fugitive Thebans who fell into the hands of the Argives is\nsaid to have been Manto, the daughter of Tiresias, who was likewise\nrenowned as a prophetess. She was dedicated, together with a large\nportion of the spoils, to the oracle at Delphi. By the command of the\ngod she was sent into Asia Minor, where she founded the oracle of\nClaros, near Colophon. She here married the Cretan Rhacius, and became\nby him the mother of Mopsus, who afterwards founded the oracle of Mallos\nin Cilicia.\n\nAmong the names of the mythic bards that have been handed down to us are\nundoubtedly to be found some recollections of those who first cultivated\nthe art of poetry; partly, however, they are nothing more than\npersonifications of certain tendencies and modes of poetry. Such is\nprobably the case with the mythic bard Linus, who was celebrated in\nArgos, Thebes, and Eub\u0153a. Nothing is more common than for an\nunsophisticated people to burst forth in lamentation over the decay and\nfinal extinction of the blooming life of nature. This, as we see in the\nmyth of Hyacinthus, was often portrayed under the metaphor of a\nbeautiful boy slain by a quoit or by savage dogs\u2014both symbols of the\nscorching heat of the sun. The dirges which from time immemorial were\nsung over the beautiful boy Linus, at the season of vintage, probably\ngave rise to the myth which makes Linus himself the singer.\n\n[Illustration: Fig. 64.\u2014Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief In the Villa\nAlbani.]\n\nSimilar doleful memories are linked with the name of Orpheus, who is\noften termed a brother of Linus, though he was really not an \u00c6olian, but\na Thracian of Pieria. That which is best known of him is the story of\nhis love for the beautiful nymph Eurydice. She was bitten in the foot by\na snake, and thus snatched away from him by death. Orpheus then filled\nmountain and valley with songs of lamentation so piteous, that the wild\nbeasts of the forest were enchanted at the sound, and followed him like\nlambs; and the very rocks and trees moved from their places. His\nyearning towards his beloved Eurydice induced him to descend to the\nlower world, to beg her release from the grim king of shadows. Here his\npiteous lay caused even the Erinyes to shed tears of compassion, and\nmoved the hard heart of the Stygian king. He released Eurydice on\ncondition that Orpheus should not look back on her till he reached the\nupper world. Orpheus, however, violated this condition, and Eurydice was\nonce more lost to him. He himself, not long afterwards, whilst wandering\nin his despair over the Thracian mountains, was torn in pieces by some\nwomen in the mad excitement of their nightly Bacchanalian orgies.\n\n  A splendid representation of the second parting of the lovers by\n  Hermes, the guide of souls, has come down to us on a marble relief,\n  which is preserved in the Villa Albani (Fig. 64).\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                                 INDEX.\n\n\n \u0102bas, 187.\n\n \u0102castus, 234, 237, 246.\n\n \u0102ch\u0115l\u014dus, 110, 210.\n\n \u0102ch\u0115r\u014dn, 149.\n\n \u0102chilles (\u0102chilleus), 35, 168, 246, 251, 253.\n\n \u0100ch\u012dr\u014f\u0113, 186.\n\n \u0102cr\u012ds\u012dus, 187, 191.\n\n Act\u00e6on, 49, 171.\n\n Act\u014fr\u012dd\u00e6, 209.\n\n Adm\u0113t\u0113, 202.\n\n Adm\u0113tus, 231, 234\n\n \u0102d\u014dnis, 57.\n\n Adrastus, 240, 241, 248.\n\n \u00c6\u0103cus, 149, 245, 247.\n\n \u0102\u0113d\u014dn, 179.\n\n \u00c6\u0113t\u0113s, 90, 235.\n\n \u00c6geus, 220, 223, 237.\n\n \u00c6g\u012d\u0103leus, 241.\n\n \u00c6g\u012dm\u012dus, 211.\n\n \u00c6g\u012bna, 180, 245.\n\n \u00c6gis, 22, 35, 40.\n\n \u00c6gisthus, 64, 152, 245, 257.\n\n \u00c6gyptus, 186.\n\n \u00c6n\u0113as, 58, 157, 251.\n\n \u00c6\u014flus, 94, 179, 232.\n\n \u00c6sc\u016dl\u0101p\u012dus (_vide_ Asclepius).\n\n \u00c6s\u014dn, 233.\n\n \u00c6thra, 220.\n\n \u00c6tna, 21, 69.\n\n \u0102g\u0103memn\u014dn, 49, 64, 152, 245, 257.\n\n \u0102g\u0103th\u014fd\u00e6m\u014dn, 98.\n\n \u0102g\u0101v\u0113, 115, 171.\n\n \u0102g\u0113n\u014dr, 170, 186, 227.\n\n Agl\u0103\u012da, 83.\n\n Aglaurus, 218.\n\n Agr\u012dus, 248.\n\n \u0102\u012dd\u014dneus, 146 (_vide_ Hades).\n\n \u0100jax, Telamonian, 247, 253.\n\n \u0100jax, Locrian, 247, 248, 259.\n\n Alc\u00e6us, 198.\n\n Alc\u0103th\u014fus, 247.\n\n Alcm\u00e6on, 241.\n\n Alcm\u0113n\u0113, 26, 191, 198.\n\n \u0100lect\u014d, 151.\n\n \u0102l\u0113us, 209.\n\n \u0102l\u014d\u012bd\u00e6, 102.\n\n Alth\u00e6a, 232.\n\n \u0102malth\u0113a, 19, 210.\n\n \u0102m\u0101zons, 180, 182, 202, 224.\n\n \u0102mor, 78.\n\n Amph\u012d\u0103r\u0101us, 188, 231, 234, 240.\n\n Amphicty\u0306\u014dn, 218.\n\n Amph\u012b\u014dn, 171, 172.\n\n Amphitr\u012bt\u0113, 101, 104.\n\n Amphitry\u0306\u014dn, 191, 198.\n\n \u0102my\u0306cus, 195, 234.\n\n \u0102myntor, 246.\n\n \u0102my\u0306th\u0101\u014fn\u012dd\u00e6, 188, 240, 248.\n\n \u0102n\u0103c\u0115s, 196.\n\n Anc\u00e6us, 231.\n\n Anch\u012dn\u014f\u0113, 186.\n\n Anch\u012bs\u0113s, 58, 242.\n\n Andr\u014fg\u0115\u014ds, 222, 228.\n\n Andr\u014fm\u0115da, 102, 190.\n\n Anna P\u0115renna, 98.\n\n Ant\u00e6us, 102, 205.\n\n Ant\u0113a, 187.\n\n Ant\u0115ros, 57, 78.\n\n Anthest\u0113r\u012da, 118.\n\n Anticl\u0113a, 249.\n\n Ant\u012dg\u014fn\u0113, 240.\n\n Ant\u012dl\u014fchus, 253.\n\n Ant\u012d\u014fp\u0113, 224.\n\n \u0102ph\u0103reus, 194.\n\n \u0102ph\u0103r\u012bd\u00e6, 194, 231.\n\n \u0102phidn\u00e6, 195, 224.\n\n Aphr\u014fd\u012bt\u0113, 25, 52, 56, 78, 83, 163, 222, 249.\n\n \u0102pollo, 14, 26, 40, 62, 152, 155, 176, 206, 242.\n\n Apsyrtus, 236.\n\n \u0102qu\u012dlo, 94.\n\n Arcas, 93.\n\n Arctus, 93.\n\n Areopagus, 52, 152.\n\n \u0102r\u0113s, 26, 51, 57, 78, 170, 171, 202, 233.\n\n Arg\u0113s, 18.\n\n Arg\u012bphont\u0113s, 185.\n\n Argonauts, 90, 107, 195, 201, 225, 230, 232, 234, 248.\n\n Arg\u014d, 234.\n\n Arg\u014fs, 31, 185, 244.\n\n Argus, 64, 185, 186, 234.\n\n \u0102r\u012dadn\u0113, 116, 123, 222, 228.\n\n \u0102rist\u00e6us, 171.\n\n Art\u0115mis, 25, 48, 155, 171, 201, 230, 250, 258.\n\n Ascl\u0113p\u012dus, 42, 94, 229.\n\n \u0102s\u014dpus, 180, 245.\n\n Ass\u0103r\u0103cus, 242.\n\n Ast\u0115r\u012da, 18, 153.\n\n Ast\u0115r\u012d\u014dn, 227.\n\n Astr\u00e6us, 92.\n\n Asty\u0306d\u0103m\u012ba, 246.\n\n \u0102t\u0103lant\u0113, 231.\n\n \u0102th\u0103mas, 108, 232.\n\n \u0102th\u0113n\u0113, 13, 34, 163, 206, 249.\n\n \u0102th\u0113n\u0113 P\u014fl\u012das, 35, 38, 219.\n\n Atlas, 62, 162, 205.\n\n Atreus, 244.\n\n Atr\u014fpos, 98.\n\n Attica, 36, 217.\n\n Attis (\u0100tys), 114, 130.\n\n Aug\u0113, 209.\n\n Aug\u0113as, 201, 208, 212.\n\n Aur\u014dra, 92.\n\n Aut\u014fly\u0306cus, 249.\n\n Aut\u014fn\u014f\u0113, 171.\n\n\n Bacchus, 114.\n\n Bell\u0115r\u014fph\u014dn (Bel\u012b\u0115r\u014fphont\u0113s), 180, 239.\n\n Bell\u014dna, 54.\n\n B\u0113lus, 186.\n\n Benth\u0115s\u012dc\u0233m\u0113, 104.\n\n B\u0115r\u014f\u0113, 115.\n\n B\u012das, 188, 240.\n\n B\u014fn\u0103 D\u0115\u0103, 132.\n\n B\u014fnus \u0112ventus, 98.\n\n B\u014fr\u0115\u0103d\u00e6, 94, 234.\n\n B\u014fr\u0115as, 92, 94, 219.\n\n Br\u012d\u0103reus, 18.\n\n Bront\u0113s, 18.\n\n B\u016bs\u012bris, 205.\n\n\n C\u0103b\u012br\u012b, 70.\n\n C\u0101cus, 204, 214.\n\n Cadmus, 26, 52, 114, 170, 171, 217, 232, 237, 240.\n\n C\u00e6neus, 165.\n\n C\u0103l\u0103\u012ds, 94, 219, 234.\n\n Calchas, 250, 262.\n\n Call\u012d\u014fp\u0113, 82.\n\n Call\u012drh\u014f\u0113, 203.\n\n Callist\u014d, 93.\n\n Calydonian Hunt, 195, 225, 230, 246.\n\n C\u0103lyps\u014d, 64.\n\n C\u0103m\u0113n\u00e6, 83.\n\n C\u0103pys, 242.\n\n Carna (Card\u0115a), 97.\n\n Carp\u014d, 85.\n\n Cassandra, 250, 257, 259.\n\n Cass\u012d\u014fp\u0113a, 190.\n\n Cast\u014dr, 168, 175, 194, 231.\n\n Catreus, 228.\n\n Cecrops, 217, 218.\n\n C\u0113l\u0115us, 140.\n\n Centaurs, 165, 200, 223.\n\n Centaurs, fight with, 166.\n\n Centimanes, 17.\n\n C\u0115ph\u0103lus, 219.\n\n C\u0113pheus (\u00c6thiopia), 190.\n\n C\u0113pheus (Tegea), 209.\n\n C\u0113ph\u012bsus, 125.\n\n Cerb\u0115rus, 149, 197, 206.\n\n Cerc\u014dpes, 208.\n\n Cercy\u0306\u014dn, 102, 221.\n\n C\u0115res, 25, 137, 143.\n\n C\u0113res (Fates), 155.\n\n C\u0113t\u014d, 18, 106, 109, 189.\n\n C\u0113\u00ffx, 210.\n\n Ch\u0103\u014fs, 17.\n\n Ch\u0103r\u012dt\u0115s, 25, 83.\n\n Ch\u0103r\u014dn, 149.\n\n Ch\u012dm\u00e6ra, 181.\n\n Ch\u012br\u014dn, 168, 171, 220, 233, 245.\n\n Chr\u0233s\u0103or, 190, 203.\n\n Chr\u0233sippus, 244.\n\n Circ\u0113, 90, 259.\n\n Cl\u0103rus, oracle of, 42, 262.\n\n Cl\u012b\u014d, 82.\n\n Cl\u014f\u0101c\u012bna, 59.\n\n Cl\u014dth\u014d, 98.\n\n Cly\u0306m\u0115n\u0113, 162.\n\n Cly\u0306t\u00e6mnestra, 152, 194, 245, 257, 258.\n\n C\u014dc\u0103lus, 229.\n\n C\u0153us, 18.\n\n C\u014flossus of Rhodes, 91.\n\n C\u014fra, 138, 143.\n\n C\u014fry\u0306bantes, 113.\n\n C\u014fry\u0306n\u0113t\u0113s, 221.\n\n Cottus, 18.\n\n Cr\u0103n\u0103us, 218.\n\n Cr\u0115\u014dn, 198, 199, 238, 241.\n\n Cr\u0113theus, 233.\n\n Cr\u0115\u016bsa, 237.\n\n Cr\u012bus, 17.\n\n Cr\u014fnus, 18, 71, 113, 134, 168.\n\n C\u016dp\u012bdo, 79.\n\n C\u016br\u0113tes, 19, 113, 231.\n\n Cy\u0306b\u0115l\u0113, 113, 127.\n\n Cychreus, 247.\n\n Cycl\u014dpes, 17, 70, 187.\n\n Cycnus, 210, 251.\n\n Cyll\u0113n\u0113, 62.\n\n\n D\u00e6d\u0103lus, 228, 229.\n\n D\u00e6mons, 100.\n\n D\u0103mast\u0113s, 221.\n\n D\u0103n\u0103\u0113, 26, 188.\n\n Danaids, 149, 186.\n\n D\u0103n\u0103us, 186.\n\n Dard\u0103nus, 242.\n\n Death, 154.\n\n D\u0113\u012d\u0103n\u012bra, 210.\n\n D\u0113\u012dph\u014fbus, 256.\n\n Delphian Oracle, 42, 72, 112, 170.\n\n D\u0113m\u0113t\u0113r, 19, 25, 109, 137, 139, 186, 243.\n\n D\u0113m\u014fph\u014dn, 140, 225.\n\n D\u0113mus, 52, 57.\n\n D\u0113\u014d, 137.\n\n Deuc\u0103l\u012d\u014dn, 162, 164, 218.\n\n D\u012d\u0101na, 49 (_vide_ Artemis).\n\n D\u012dc\u0113, 84.\n\n Dictys, 189.\n\n Didym\u00e6an Oracle, 42.\n\n D\u012docl\u0113s, 140.\n\n D\u012d\u014fm\u0113d\u0113s, Argive, 168, 247, 259.\n\n D\u012d\u014fm\u0113d\u0113s, Thracian, 202.\n\n D\u012d\u014dn\u0113, 25, 56.\n\n D\u012d\u014fn\u0233s\u012da, Greater, 119.\n\n D\u012d\u014fn\u0233s\u012da, Lesser, 118.\n\n D\u012d\u014d\u0306n\u0233sus, 26, 57, 68, 83, 114, 130, 223.\n\n D\u012dosc\u016bri, 194, 224, 231, 234, 246, 250.\n\n Dirc\u0113, 173.\n\n Dis, 147.\n\n D\u014dd\u014dna, Oracle of, 24.\n\n D\u014dris, 106.\n\n Dryads, 125.\n\n Dry\u0306\u014fpes, 211, 212.\n\n Dry\u0306ops, 128.\n\n\n \u0114chidna, 181, 200, 204.\n\n \u0112ch\u014d, 58, 124.\n\n \u0112g\u0115r\u012da, 83.\n\n \u0112lectra (daughter of Agamemnon), 258.\n\n \u0112lectra (daughter of Atlas), 242.\n\n \u0112lectra (daughter of Oceanus), 106.\n\n \u0112lectry\u0306\u014dn, 191, 198.\n\n \u0114leus\u012bn\u012da, 141.\n\n \u0114leusis, 140.\n\n \u0112ly\u0306s\u012dum, 149, 161.\n\n \u0112m\u0103th\u012d\u014dn, 205.\n\n End\u0113\u012ds, 168, 245.\n\n Endy\u0306m\u012d\u014dn, 91.\n\n \u0114n\u0233\u014d, 54.\n\n \u0112\u0306\u014ds, 18, 92, 219, 253.\n\n \u0114p\u0103phus, 185, 186.\n\n \u0114p\u0113us, 254.\n\n \u0114p\u012dg\u014fni, 241, 248, 262.\n\n \u0114p\u012dm\u0113theus, 163.\n\n \u0114p\u014dpeus, 173.\n\n \u0114r\u0103t\u014d, 82.\n\n \u0114rechtheus, 94, 218, 229.\n\n Erg\u012bnus, 199.\n\n \u0114richth\u014fn\u012dus (_vide_ Erechtheus).\n\n \u0114r\u012bn\u0233es, 99, 150, 151, 231, 258, 264.\n\n \u0114riph\u0233l\u0113, 240.\n\n \u0114ris, 249.\n\n \u0114ros, 17, 57, 58, 78.\n\n \u0114ry\u0306sichth\u014dn, 141.\n\n \u0114t\u0115ocl\u0113s, 240, 241.\n\n Eum\u0115n\u012ddes, 152, 239.\n\n Eumolpus, 140.\n\n Eun\u014fm\u012da, 84.\n\n Euphr\u014fsy\u0306n\u0113, 83.\n\n Eur\u014dp\u0113 (Europa), 26, 227.\n\n Eurus, 92.\n\n Eury\u0306\u0103l\u0113, 190.\n\n Eury\u0306b\u012da, 18.\n\n Eury\u0306d\u012dc\u0113, 264.\n\n Eury\u0306n\u014fm\u0113, 25, 68, 83.\n\n Eurystheus, 198, 202, 244.\n\n Eury\u0306t\u012d\u014dn, 165, 246.\n\n Eury\u0306tus, 206, 211.\n\n Euterp\u0113, 82.\n\n\n Fates (_vide_ M\u0153r\u00e6).\n\n Fauna, 132.\n\n Faun\u0101l\u012da, 132.\n\n Faunus, 131.\n\n F\u0103v\u014dn\u012dus, 94.\n\n F\u0113l\u012bc\u012dtas, 100.\n\n Fl\u014dra, 136.\n\n Fontus, 76, 110.\n\n Fort\u016bna, 98.\n\n F\u016br\u012d\u00e6 (Furies) (_vide_ Erinyes).\n\n\n G\u00e6a, 17, 19, 112, 129, 153, 204, 218.\n\n G\u0103ny\u0306m\u0113d\u0113s, 87, 203.\n\n G\u0113, 17 (_vide_ G\u00e6a).\n\n G\u0115l\u0101n\u014dr, 186.\n\n G\u0115n\u012di, 100.\n\n G\u0113ry\u0306\u014fn\u0113s (Geryon), 190, 203.\n\n G\u012dgantes (Giants), 21.\n\n Glaucus Pontius, 107.\n\n Glaucus (son of Minos), 228.\n\n Glaucus (son of Sisyphus), 180.\n\n Gorg\u014fn\u0113um (_vide_ \u00c6gis).\n\n Gorgons, 18, 107, 189.\n\n Graces, 83, 163.\n\n Gr\u0101\u0306d\u012bvus, 53.\n\n Gr\u00e6\u00e6, 18, 107, 189.\n\n Gr\u0101t\u012d\u00e6 (_vide_ Graces).\n\n Gy\u0306\u0113s, 18.\n\n\n H\u0101d\u0113s, 19, 139, 146, 187, 224.\n\n Hamadryads, 125.\n\n Harm\u014fn\u012da, 52, 171, 240.\n\n Harpies, 18, 106, 235.\n\n H\u0113b\u0113, 26, 87, 197, 212.\n\n H\u0115c\u0103b\u0113 (_vide_ Hecuba).\n\n H\u0115c\u0103t\u0113, 91, 153.\n\n Hector, 251.\n\n H\u0115c\u016dba, 243, 249, 256.\n\n H\u0115l\u0115n\u0113 (Helen), 58, 194, 224, 245, 256, 259.\n\n H\u0115l\u0115nus, 254.\n\n H\u0113l\u012dos, 18, 89, 139, 203, 228.\n\n Hell\u0113, 232.\n\n H\u0113ph\u00e6stus, 26, 52, 57, 68, 163, 221, 229, 235, 252.\n\n H\u0113ra, 13, 19, 26, 31, 68, 87, 96, 197, 202, 204, 238, 249.\n\n H\u0113racl\u0113s, 79, 87, 106, 161, 183, 187, 197, 234.\n\n H\u0113r\u00e6um, 32.\n\n Herc\u016dles, 204, 214 (_vide_ Heracles).\n\n Herm\u0113s, 14, 25, 57, 62, 163, 186, 189, 206, 243.\n\n Heroes, 159.\n\n Hers\u0113, 218, 219.\n\n H\u0113s\u012d\u014fne, 203, 208, 247.\n\n Hesp\u0115r\u012ddes, 90, 107, 204.\n\n Hesp\u0115rus, 93.\n\n Hest\u012da, 19, 71.\n\n H\u012bm\u0115rus, 58.\n\n Hipp\u014fc\u014f\u014dn, 209, 212.\n\n Hipp\u014fd\u0103m\u012ba, 243.\n\n Hipp\u014fly\u0306t\u0113, 224.\n\n Hipp\u014fly\u0306tus, 58, 224.\n\n Homer, 13, 35, 52, 86, 144, 206, 249.\n\n H\u014fnos, 196.\n\n H\u014dr\u00e6, 25, 84.\n\n Hy\u0306\u0103cinthus, 41, 263.\n\n Hy\u0306\u0103des, 93.\n\n Hydra, 200.\n\n Hy\u0306g\u012d\u0113a, 36, 96.\n\n Hy\u0306las, 234.\n\n Hyllus, 210.\n\n Hy\u0306m\u0113n, 58.\n\n Hy\u0306m\u0115n\u00e6us, 58.\n\n Hy\u0306p\u0115r\u012b\u014dn, 18, 90, 92.\n\n Hy\u0306permnestra, 187.\n\n Hypnus, 155.\n\n\n \u012a\u0103p\u0115tus, 17, 162.\n\n \u012ac\u0103r\u012dus, 194, 249.\n\n \u012ac\u0103r\u016ds, 229.\n\n Ichthyocentaurs, 105.\n\n \u012adas, 195, 231.\n\n \u012ad\u014fm\u0115neus, 229, 259.\n\n Iliad, 231, 242, 248.\n\n \u012al\u012bthyia, 96.\n\n \u012alus, 242.\n\n \u012an\u0103chus, 185.\n\n \u012an\u014d, 108, 115, 171, 232.\n\n \u012cn\u016dus, 131.\n\n \u012a\u014d, 26, 64, 185.\n\n \u012a\u014fb\u0103t\u0113s, 181, 187.\n\n \u012c\u014fcast\u0113, 238.\n\n \u012c\u014fl\u0101us, 200, 204, 206, 231.\n\n \u012c\u014fl\u0113, 206, 211.\n\n \u012c\u014dn, 219.\n\n \u012aph\u012d\u0103nassa, 188.\n\n \u012aphicl\u0113s, 198, 231.\n\n \u012aph\u012dg\u0115n\u012ba, 49, 251.\n\n \u012aph\u012dtus, 206, 234.\n\n \u012ar\u0113n\u0113, 84.\n\n \u012ar\u012ds, 18, 86, 106.\n\n \u012asis, 186.\n\n Ismenian Oracle, 42.\n\n Isthmian Games, 101.\n\n \u012cty\u0306lus, 179.\n\n Ix\u012b\u014dn, 149, 166.\n\n\n J\u0101nus, 13, 74.\n\n J\u0101s\u014dn, 231, 233.\n\n J\u016bno, 13, 26, 32.\n\n J\u016bp\u012dter, 13, 22, 24, 36, 77.\n\n J\u016dventas, 87.\n\n\n Labd\u0103c\u012dd\u00e6, 237.\n\n Labd\u0103cus, 179.\n\n L\u0103ch\u0115sis, 98.\n\n L\u0101d\u014dn, 204.\n\n L\u0101\u00ebrt\u0113s, 249.\n\n L\u0101\u012dus, 179, 237.\n\n Lampus, 92.\n\n L\u0101\u014fc\u014f\u014dn, 254.\n\n L\u0101\u014fd\u0103mas, 241.\n\n L\u0101\u014fm\u0115d\u014dn, 102, 203, 208, 242.\n\n L\u0103p\u012dth\u00e6, 165, 211, 223.\n\n L\u0103r\u0113s, 157.\n\n Larv\u00e6, 158.\n\n L\u0101t\u014dna (_vide_ Leto).\n\n L\u0115archus, 108, 232.\n\n L\u0113da, 26, 194.\n\n L\u0115m\u016dr\u0101l\u012da, 158.\n\n L\u0115m\u016dr\u0113s, 158.\n\n L\u0115n\u00e6a, 118.\n\n L\u0113t\u014d, 18, 25, 41, 48, 150.\n\n Leucippus, 195.\n\n Leuc\u014fth\u0115a (_vide_ Ino).\n\n L\u012bber, 120, 143.\n\n L\u012bb\u0115r\u0101l\u012da, 120.\n\n L\u012db\u012dt\u012bna, 59.\n\n L\u012dby\u0306a, 186.\n\n L\u012dchas, 212.\n\n L\u012dnus, 42, 199, 263.\n\n Lower World, 147.\n\n L\u016bna, 49, 91.\n\n L\u016dperc\u0101l\u012da, 132.\n\n L\u016dpercus, 131.\n\n Ly\u0306\u00e6us, 117.\n\n Ly\u0306c\u014fm\u0113d\u0113s, 225, 247.\n\n Ly\u0306cus (Thebes), 173.\n\n Ly\u0306cus (Megara), 220.\n\n Lynceus (Scythian), 141.\n\n Lynceus (son of Aphareus), 195, 231.\n\n Lynceus (son of Danaus), 187.\n\n\n M\u0103ch\u0101\u014dn, 254.\n\n Maia, 25, 62, 132.\n\n M\u0101n\u0113s, 158.\n\n Mant\u014d, 241, 262.\n\n Mars, or M\u0101vors, 26, 52, 77.\n\n Marsy\u0306as, 127.\n\n M\u0101ter Magna \u012ad\u00e6a, 113, 130.\n\n M\u0101ter M\u0101t\u016bta, 92 (note).\n\n Matr\u014dn\u0101lia, 33.\n\n M\u0113d\u0113a, 221, 230, 235, 246.\n\n M\u0115d\u016bsa, 35, 103, 181, 189.\n\n M\u0115g\u0103penth\u0113s, 191.\n\n M\u0115g\u00e6ra, 150.\n\n M\u0115g\u0103ra, 199, 206.\n\n M\u0115lamp\u016bs, 188, 240.\n\n M\u0115l\u0115\u0101ger, 168, 210, 230, 234.\n\n M\u0115l\u012da, 185.\n\n M\u0115l\u012bcert\u0113s, 108, 232.\n\n Melp\u014fm\u0115n\u0113, 82.\n\n Memn\u014dn, 92, 253.\n\n M\u0115n\u0115l\u0101us, 245, 250, 258.\n\n M\u0115nestheus, 225.\n\n M\u0115n\u0153t\u012dus, 162.\n\n Merc\u016dr\u012dus, 65.\n\n M\u0115r\u014fp\u0113, 180, 238.\n\n M\u0113t\u012d\u014dn, 220, 229.\n\n M\u0113t\u012d\u014fn\u012dd\u00e6, 220.\n\n M\u0113tis, 25.\n\n M\u0115tus, 54.\n\n M\u012ddas, 127.\n\n M\u012dnerva, 13, 26, 36, 137, 228.\n\n M\u012bn\u014ds, 116, 149, 202, 222, 227, 228.\n\n Minotaur, 222, 227, 228.\n\n Mn\u0113m\u014fsy\u0306n\u0113, 17, 19, 25, 81.\n\n M\u0153r\u00e6, 25, 98, 232.\n\n M\u014fl\u012d\u014fn\u012dd\u00e6, 209.\n\n Mopsus, 262.\n\n Morpheus, 155.\n\n M\u014fsychlus, 70.\n\n Mulc\u012dber, 71.\n\n Murc\u012da, 59.\n\n Muses, 25, 42, 80, 81, 121.\n\n M\u016bt\u016bnus, 133.\n\n Myrt\u012dlus, 244.\n\n\n Naiads, 124.\n\n N\u0103p\u00e6\u00e6, 124.\n\n Narcissus, 58, 124.\n\n N\u0113leus, 209, 212, 248.\n\n N\u0115m\u0115sis, 98.\n\n N\u0115opt\u014fl\u0115mus, 254, 256.\n\n N\u0115ph\u0115l\u0113, 232.\n\n Neptune (Nept\u016bnus), 104.\n\n Nereids, 105, 190, 253.\n\n N\u0113reus, 18, 105, 205.\n\n Nerio, 54.\n\n Nessus, 210.\n\n Nestor, 165, 168, 209, 247.\n\n N\u012bc\u0113, 85.\n\n Night, 154.\n\n N\u012blus, 186.\n\n N\u012d\u014fb\u0113, 48, 176, 243.\n\n N\u012bsus, 220, 222.\n\n N\u014ftus, 92.\n\n Nycteus, 172.\n\n Nymphs, 123, 189, 204.\n\n\n Oceanids, 68, 83, 110, 168.\n\n \u014cc\u0115\u0103nus, 18, 25, 91, 109, 162.\n\n \u014edysseus, 64, 102, 109, 249, 253, 259.\n\n \u0152d\u012dp\u016bs, 153, 238.\n\n \u0152neus, 210, 230, 248.\n\n \u0152n\u014fm\u0103us, 243.\n\n \u014e\u00efcl\u0113s, 208.\n\n \u014e\u012bleus, 248.\n\n Olympian Games, 24, 43, 196.\n\n Omph\u0103l\u0113, 208.\n\n Ops, 133.\n\n Orcus, 155.\n\n Oreads, 124, 129.\n\n \u014erest\u0113s, 49, 152, 258.\n\n \u014cr\u012b\u014dn, 92, 93.\n\n \u014cr\u012bthyia, 94, 219.\n\n Orpheus, 42, 234, 264.\n\n Osch\u014fph\u014fr\u012da, 223.\n\n\n P\u0101g\u0101n\u0101al\u012da, 113.\n\n P\u0103l\u00e6m\u014dn, 109.\n\n P\u0103l\u0103m\u0113d\u0113s, 251.\n\n P\u0103les, 136.\n\n Pall\u0103d\u012dum, 242, 249, 254.\n\n Pallas, 220, 222.\n\n Pallas Ath\u0113n\u0113 (_vide_ Athene).\n\n Pallor, 54.\n\n P\u0101n, 115, 128.\n\n P\u0103n\u0103th\u0115n\u00e6a, 37, 223.\n\n Pand\u0103r\u0115\u014ds, 179.\n\n Pand\u012b\u014dn, 220.\n\n Pand\u014dra, 163.\n\n Pandr\u014fsus, 218.\n\n P\u0101nes, 125, 130, 135.\n\n Parc\u00e6, 98, 155.\n\n P\u0103ris, 249, 253, 254.\n\n Parth\u0115n\u014dn, 36.\n\n P\u0101s\u012dph\u0103\u0113, 228.\n\n Patroclus, 252.\n\n P\u0113g\u0103sus, 103, 181, 190.\n\n P\u0113leus, 58, 106, 168, 208, 231, 234, 245, 249.\n\n P\u0115l\u012das, 180, 233, 246, 248.\n\n P\u0115l\u014fp\u012dd\u00e6, 243, 258.\n\n P\u0115lops, 150, 176, 243.\n\n P\u0115n\u0101t\u0113s, 73, 156.\n\n P\u0113n\u0115l\u014fp\u0113, 191, 249, 259.\n\n P\u0113n\u0115l\u014fp\u0113 (Nymph), 128.\n\n Penth\u0115s\u012dl\u0113a, 183, 252.\n\n Pentheus, 115.\n\n P\u0115r\u012db\u0153a, 247.\n\n P\u0115ricly\u0306m\u0115nus, 209, 234.\n\n P\u0115r\u012dph\u0113t\u0113s, 221.\n\n Pers\u0113, 90.\n\n Pers\u0113\u00efs, 228.\n\n Pers\u0115ph\u014fn\u0113, 25, 91, 109, 138, 143, 155, 224.\n\n Perseus, 102, 188, 198, 244.\n\n Ph\u00e6dra, 58, 224, 228.\n\n Ph\u0103\u0115th\u014dn (son of Helios), 90.\n\n Ph\u0103\u0115th\u014dn (horse of Eos), 92.\n\n Ph\u012dloct\u0113t\u0113s, 212, 251, 254, 259.\n\n Ph\u012dly\u0306ra, 168.\n\n Ph\u012bneus, 107, 191, 235.\n\n Ph\u014fbus, 57.\n\n Ph\u0153b\u0113, 18, 49.\n\n Ph\u0153nix, 246.\n\n Ph\u014flus, 200.\n\n Phorcys, 18, 106, 109, 189.\n\n Phosph\u014frus, 93.\n\n Phrixus, 232.\n\n Ph\u0233leus, 209.\n\n P\u012br\u012dth\u014fus, 165, 206, 231.\n\n Pittheus, 220.\n\n P\u012dty\u0306\u014fcampt\u0113s, 221.\n\n Plei\u0103des, 93.\n\n Plexippus, 232.\n\n Pl\u016bteus, 146.\n\n Pl\u016bt\u014d, 146, 155.\n\n Pl\u016bt\u014d (fem.), 243.\n\n P\u014fdarc\u0113s, 208.\n\n P\u0153as, 212.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306bus, 238.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306cast\u0113, 194.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306cl\u0113tus, 32.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306dect\u0113s, 189, 190.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306deuc\u0113s (Pollux), 168, 175, 194, 231.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306d\u014drus, 172, 179.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306hymn\u012da, 83.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306\u012ddus, 229.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306n\u012bc\u0113s, 240.\n\n P\u014fly\u0306ph\u0113mus, 102.\n\n P\u014flyx\u0115na, 253, 256.\n\n P\u014dm\u014dna, 135.\n\n Pontus, 17, 18, 105.\n\n P\u014fseid\u014dn, 13, 19, 20, 72, 100, 180, 209.\n\n P\u014fthus, 58.\n\n Pr\u012d\u0103mus (Priam), 183, 208, 243, 249, 256.\n\n Pr\u012d\u0101pus, 133.\n\n Procris, 219.\n\n Procrust\u0113s, 102, 221.\n\n Pr\u0153t\u012ddes, 188.\n\n Pr\u0153tus, 181, 187, 191.\n\n Pr\u014fm\u0113theus, 162, 205.\n\n Pr\u014dserp\u012dna (_vide_ Persephone).\n\n Pr\u014dt\u0115s\u012dl\u0101us, 251.\n\n Pr\u014dteus, 107.\n\n Ps\u0233ch\u0113, 79.\n\n Py\u0306\u0103neps\u012da, 223, 226.\n\n Py\u0306l\u0103d\u0113s, 258.\n\n Pyrrha, 164.\n\n P\u0233th\u012da (_vide_ Delphian Oracle).\n\n P\u0233th\u014dn, 41, 189.\n\n\n Quinquatr\u016bs M\u0101j\u014dr\u0113s, 37.\n\n Qu\u012dr\u012bnus, 77.\n\n\n Recar\u0101nus, 214.\n\n Rh\u0103d\u0103manthys (Rhadamanthus), 149, 227.\n\n Rh\u0113a, 18, 71.\n\n Rh\u0113a Cy\u0306b\u0115l\u0113, 113.\n\n Rh\u014fd\u0113, 104.\n\n\n S\u0103l\u0103c\u012da, 105.\n\n Salm\u014dneus, 233.\n\n S\u0103lus, 97.\n\n Sand\u014dn, 207.\n\n Sarp\u0113d\u014dn, 227.\n\n S\u0101turn\u0101lia, 134.\n\n S\u0101turnus, 26, 133.\n\n Satyrs, 125.\n\n Sc\u012br\u014dn, 221.\n\n Sc\u014ft\u014fs, 153.\n\n Scylla, 222.\n\n S\u0115l\u0113n\u0113, 18, 49, 91, 153.\n\n S\u0115m\u0115l\u0113, 26, 108, 114, 171.\n\n Semn\u00e6, 152.\n\n Sibyls, 42.\n\n S\u012bl\u0113ni, 125, 127.\n\n S\u012bl\u0113nus, 115, 126.\n\n Silv\u0101nus, 131.\n\n S\u012dm\u014f\u012bs, 242.\n\n S\u012dnis, 221.\n\n S\u012dn\u014dn, 254.\n\n Sirens, 109.\n\n S\u012br\u012dus, 93.\n\n S\u012bsy\u0306phus, 149, 179.\n\n Sleep, 154.\n\n Sol, 89, 90.\n\n S\u014fly\u0306mi, 182.\n\n Sphinx, 238.\n\n Stars, the, 93.\n\n St\u0115r\u014fp\u0113s, 18.\n\n Sth\u0115n\u0115b\u0153a, 187.\n\n Sth\u0115n\u0115lus, 198, 244.\n\n Sth\u0113n\u014d, 190.\n\n Str\u0113n\u012da, 97.\n\n Str\u012dges, 97.\n\n Str\u014fph\u012dus, 258.\n\n Stymph\u0101l\u012ddes, 201.\n\n Styx, 149.\n\n S\u0233leus, 208.\n\n Sympl\u0113g\u0103des, 235.\n\n S\u0233rinx, 126, 129.\n\n\n T\u0103l\u014ds, 229.\n\n Tant\u0103lus, 149, 176, 243.\n\n Tart\u0103rus, 17, 19, 21.\n\n T\u0115l\u0103m\u014dn, 208, 231, 234, 245, 247, 259.\n\n T\u0113l\u0115b\u014f\u00e6, 198.\n\n T\u0113l\u0115g\u014fnus, 259.\n\n T\u0113l\u0115m\u0103chus, 259.\n\n T\u0113l\u0115phassa, 170.\n\n T\u0113l\u0115phus, 209.\n\n Tellus, 112.\n\n Term\u012dnus, 131, 137.\n\n Terps\u012dch\u014fr\u0113, 82.\n\n T\u0113thys, 18, 99.\n\n Teucer, 208, 247, 259.\n\n Teuthras, 210.\n\n Th\u0103l\u012ba, 82, 83.\n\n Thall\u014d, 85.\n\n Th\u0103n\u0103tus, 155.\n\n Thaumas, 18, 106.\n\n Th\u0113a (Th\u012ba), 18, 90, 92.\n\n Th\u0115mis, 17, 25, 78, 84.\n\n Thersander, 241.\n\n Th\u0113seus, 43, 102, 116, 166, 168, 183, 206, 219, 228, 231, 234.\n\n Thesm\u014fph\u014fr\u012da, 141.\n\n Thespr\u014dtus, 245.\n\n Thest\u012dus, 194, 232.\n\n Th\u0115tis, 58, 68, 106, 246, 249, 252, 253.\n\n Th\u014f\u014dsa, 120.\n\n Thy\u0306est\u0113s, 244.\n\n T\u012db\u0115r\u012bnus, 76, 110.\n\n T\u012br\u0115s\u012das, 241, 262.\n\n T\u012bs\u012dph\u014fn\u0113, 151.\n\n Titans, 17, 18, 19, 90.\n\n T\u012bth\u014dnus, 92, 205.\n\n T\u012dty\u0306us, 41, 149.\n\n Toxeus, 232.\n\n Tript\u014fl\u0115mus, 140.\n\n Tr\u012bt\u014dn, 35, 104, 105, 129.\n\n Tr\u014d\u012dlus, 251.\n\n Tr\u014ds, 88, 203, 242.\n\n Ty\u0306ch\u0113, 99.\n\n T\u0233deus, 210, 234, 240, 248.\n\n Tynd\u0103r\u0115us, 194, 209, 245, 249.\n\n Ty\u0306ph\u014deus, 21.\n\n T\u0233ph\u014dn, 200, 204.\n\n T\u0233r\u014d, 233.\n\n\n \u016clysses (_vide_ Odysseus).\n\n \u016ar\u0103n\u012da, 82.\n\n \u016ar\u0103nus, 17, 18, 19, 21, 152.\n\n\n V\u0115nus, 58.\n\n Vertumnus, 135.\n\n Vesta, 72, 156.\n\n Vict\u014dr\u012da, 85.\n\n Vulcan (Volc\u0101nus), 70.\n\n\n Winds, the, 93.\n\n\n Z\u0115phy\u0306rus, 92, 94.\n\n Z\u0113t\u0113s, 94, 219, 234.\n\n Z\u0113thus, 171, 172, 179.\n\n Zeus, 12, 13, 16, 19, 22, 31, 62, 88, 115, 162, 185.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s note:\n\n 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.\n\n 2. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.","title":"The mythology of Greece and Rome, with special reference to its use in art","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":79490}