{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_I/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_I","id":"wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_I","license":"Public Domain / CC-BY-SA (see source)","rights_basis":"wikisource_site_inclusion_policy","source":"wikisource","source_url":"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Fable/Chapter_I","summary":null,"tags":["Headers_applying_DefaultSort_key","Pages_using_center_block_with_style_parameter","Subpages"],"text":"STORIES OF GODS AND HEROES\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nThe religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so-called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among\nliving men. They belong now not to the department of theology, but\nto those of literature and taste. There they still hold their\nplace, and will continue to hold it, for they are too closely\nconnected with the finest productions of poetry and art, both\nancient and modern, to pass into oblivion.\n\nWe propose to tell the stories relating to them which have come\ndown to us from the ancients, and which are alluded to by modern\npoets, essayists, and orators. Our readers may thus at the same\ntime be entertained by the most charming fictions which fancy has\never created, and put in possession of information indispensable\nto every one who would read with intelligence the elegant\nliterature of his own day.\n\nIn order to understand these stories, it will be necessary to\nacquaint ourselves with the ideas of the structure of the universe\nwhich prevailed among the Greeks\u2014the people from whom the\nRomans, and other nations through them, received their science and\nreligion.\n\nThe Greeks believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own\ncountry occupying the middle of it, the central point being either\nMount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its\noracle.\n\nThe circular disk of the earth was crossed from west to east and\ndivided into two equal parts by the Sea, as they called the\nMediterranean, and its continuation the Euxine, the only seas with\nwhich they were acquainted.\n\nAround the earth flowed the River Ocean, its course being from\nsouth to north on the western side of the earth, and in a contrary\ndirection on the eastern side. It flowed in a steady, equable\ncurrent, unvexed by storm or tempest. The sea, and all the rivers\non earth, received their waters from it.\n\nThe northern portion of the earth was supposed to be inhabited by\na happy race named the Hyperboreans, dwelling in everlasting bliss\nand spring beyond the lofty mountains whose caverns were supposed\nto send forth the piercing blasts of the north wind, which chilled\nthe people of Hellas (Greece). Their country was inaccessible by\nland or sea. They lived exempt from disease or old age, from toils\nand warfare. Moore has given us the \"Song of a Hyperborean,\"\nbeginning\n\n\"I come from a land in the sun-bright deep,\n\nWhere golden gardens glow,\n\nWhere the winds of the north, becalmed in sleep,\n\nTheir conch shells never blow.\"\n\nOn the south side of the earth, close to the stream of Ocean,\ndwelt a people happy and virtuous as the Hyperboreans. They were\nnamed the \u00c6thiopians. The gods favored them so highly that they\nwere wont to leave at times their Olympian abodes and go to share\ntheir sacrifices and banquets.\n\nOn the western margin of the earth, by the stream of Ocean, lay a\nhappy place named the Elysian Plain, whither mortals favored by\nthe gods were transported without tasting of death, to enjoy an\nimmortality of bliss. This happy region was also called the\n\"Fortunate Fields,\" and the \"Isles of the Blessed.\"\n\nWe thus see that the Greeks of the early ages knew little of any\nreal people except those to the east and south of their own\ncountry, or near the coast of the Mediterranean. Their imagination\nmeantime peopled the western portion of this sea with giants,\nmonsters, and enchantresses; while they placed around the disk of\nthe earth, which they probably regarded as of no great width,\nnations enjoying the peculiar favor of the gods, and blessed with\nhappiness and longevity.\n\nThe Dawn, the Sun, and the Moon were supposed to rise out of the\nOcean, on the eastern side, and to drive through the air, giving\nlight to gods and men. The stars, also, except those forming the\nWain or Bear, and others near them, rose out of and sank into the\nstream of Ocean. There the sun-god embarked in a winged boat,\nwhich conveyed him round by the northern part of the earth, back\nto his place of rising in the east. Milton alludes to this in his\n\"Comus\":\n\n\"Now the gilded car of day\n\nHis golden axle doth allay\n\nIn the steep Atlantic stream,\n\nAnd the slope Sun his upward beam\n\nShoots against the dusky pole,\n\nPacing towards the other goal\n\nOf his chamber in the east\"\n\nThe abode of the gods was on the summit of Mount Olympus, in\nThessaly. A gate of clouds, kept by the goddesses named the\nSeasons, opened to permit the passage of the Celestials to earth,\nand to receive them on their return. The gods had their separate\ndwellings; but all, when summoned, repaired to the palace of\nJupiter, as did also those deities whose usual abode was the\nearth, the waters, or the underworld. It was also in the great\nhall of the palace of the Olympian king that the gods feasted each\nday on ambrosia and nectar, their food and drink, the latter being\nhanded round by the lovely goddess Hebe. Here they conversed of\nthe affairs of heaven and earth; and as they quaffed their nectar,\nApollo, the god of music, delighted them with the tones of his\nlyre, to which the Muses sang in responsive strains. When the sun\nwas set, the gods retired to sleep in their respective dwellings.\n\nThe following lines from the \"Odyssey\" will show how Homer\nconceived of Olympus:\n\n\"So saying, Minerva, goddess azure-eyed,\n\nRose to Olympus, the reputed seat\n\nEternal of the gods, which never storms\n\nDisturb, rains drench, or snow invades, but calm\n\nThe expanse and cloudless shines with purest day.\n\nThere the inhabitants divine rejoice\n\nForever\" Cowper.\n\nThe robes and other parts of the dress of the goddesses were woven\nby Minerva and the Graces and everything of a more solid nature\nwas formed of the various metals. Vulcan was architect, smith,\narmorer, chariot builder, and artist of all work in Olympus. He\nbuilt of brass the houses of the gods; he made for them the golden\nshoes with which they trod the air or the water, and moved from\nplace to place with the speed of the wind, or even of thought. He\nalso shod with brass the celestial steeds, which whirled the\nchariots of the gods through the air, or along the surface of the\nsea. He was able to bestow on his workmanship self-motion, so\nthat the tripods (chairs and tables) could move of themselves in\nand out of the celestial hall. He even endowed with intelligence\nthe golden handmaidens whom he made to wait on himself.\n\nJupiter, or Jove (Zeus), though called the father of gods and men, had himself a\nbeginning. Saturn (Cronos) was his father, and Rhea (Ops) his\nmother. Saturn and Rhea were of the race of Titans, who were the\nchildren of Earth and Heaven, which sprang from Chaos, of which we\nshall give a further account in our next chapter.\n\nThere is another cosmogony, or account of the creation, according\nto which Earth, Erebus, and Love were the first of beings. Love\n(Eros) issued from the egg of Night, which floated on Chaos. By\nhis arrows and torch he pierced and vivified all things, producing\nlife and joy.\n\nSaturn and Rhea were not the only Titans. There were others, whose\nnames were Oceanus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Ophion, males; and\nThemis, Mnemosyne, Eurynome, females. They are spoken of as the\nelder gods, whose dominion was afterwards transferred to others.\nSaturn yielded to Jupiter, Oceanus to Neptune, Hyperion to Apollo.\nHyperion was the father of the Sun, Moon, and Dawn. He is\ntherefore the original sun-god, and is painted with the splendor\nand beauty which were afterwards bestowed on Apollo.\n\n\"Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself\"\n\nShakespeare.\n\nOphion and Eurynome ruled over Olympus till they were dethroned by\nSaturn and Rhea. Milton alludes to them in \"Paradise Lost.\" He\nsays the heathens seem to have had some knowledge of the\ntemptation and fall of man.\n\n\"And fabled how the serpent, whom they called\n\nOphion, with Eurynome, (the wide-\n\nEncroaching Eve perhaps,) had first the rule\n\nOf high Olympus, thence by Saturn driven.\"\n\nThe representations given of Saturn are not very consistent; for\non the one hand his reign is said to have been the golden age of\ninnocence and purity, and on the other he is described as a\nmonster who devoured his children. Jupiter, however, escaped this fate, and when grown up\nespoused Metis (Prudence), who administered a draught to Saturn\nwhich caused him to disgorge his children. Jupiter, with his\nbrothers and sisters, now rebelled against their father Saturn and\nhis brothers the Titans; vanquished them, and imprisoned some of\nthem in Tartarus, inflicting other penalties on others. Atlas was\ncondemned to bear up the heavens on his shoulders.\n\nOn the dethronement of Saturn, Jupiter with his brothers Neptune\n(Poseidon) and Pluto (Dis) divided his dominions. Jupiter's\nportion was the heavens, Neptune's the ocean, and Pluto's the\nrealms of the dead. Earth and Olympus were common property.\nJupiter was king of gods and men. The thunder was his weapon, and\nhe bore a shield called \u00c6gis, made for him by Vulcan. The eagle\nwas his favorite bird, and bore his thunderbolts.\n\nJuno (Hera) was the wife of Jupiter, and queen of the gods. Iris,\nthe goddess of the rainbow, was her attendant and messenger. The\npeacock was her favorite bird.\n\nVulcan (Heph\u00e6stos), the celestial artist, was the son of Jupiter\nand Juno. He was born lame, and his mother was so displeased at\nthe sight of him that she flung him out of heaven. Other accounts\nsay that Jupiter kicked him out for taking part with his mother in\na quarrel which occurred between them. Vulcan's lameness,\naccording to this account, was the consequence of his fall. He was\na whole day falling, and at last alighted in the island of Lemnos,\nwhich was thenceforth sacred to him. Milton alludes to this story\nin \"Paradise Lost,\" Book I.:\n\n\"... From morn\n\nTo noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,\n\nA summer's day; and with the setting sun\n\nDropped from the zenith, like a falling star,\n\nOn Lemnos, the Aegean isle.\"\n\nMars (Ares), the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno.\n\nPh\u0153bus Apollo, the god of archery, prophecy, and music, was the\nson of Jupiter and Latona, and brother of Diana (Artemis). He was\ngod of the sun, as Diana, his sister, was the goddess of the moon.\n\nVenus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love and beauty, was the\ndaughter of Jupiter and Dione. Others say that Venus sprang from\nthe foam of the sea. The zephyr wafted her along the waves to the\nIsle of Cyprus, where she was received and attired by the Seasons,\nand then led to the assembly of the gods. All were charmed with\nher beauty, and each one demanded her for his wife. Jupiter gave\nher to Vulcan, in gratitude for the service he had rendered in\nforging thunderbolts. So the most beautiful of the goddesses\nbecame the wife of the most ill-favored of gods. Venus possessed\nan embroidered girdle called Cestus, which had the power of\ninspiring love. Her favorite birds were swans and doves, and the\nplants sacred to her were the rose and the myrtle.\n\nCupid (Eros), the god of love, was the son of Venus. He was her\nconstant companion; and, armed with bow and arrows, he shot the\ndarts of desire into the bosoms of both gods and men. There was a\ndeity named Anteros, who was sometimes represented as the avenger\nof slighted love, and sometimes as the symbol of reciprocal\naffection. The following legend is told of him:\n\nVenus, complaining to Themis that her son Eros continued always a\nchild, was told by her that it was because he was solitary, and\nthat if he had a brother he would grow apace. Anteros was soon\nafterwards born, and Eros immediately was seen to increase rapidly\nin size and strength.\n\nMinerva (Pallas, Athene), the goddess of wisdom, was the offspring\nof Jupiter, without a mother. She sprang forth from his head\ncompletely armed. Her favorite bird was the owl, and the plant\nsacred to her the olive.\n\nByron, in \"Childe Harold,\" alludes to the birth of Minerva thus:\n\n\"Can tyrants but by tyrants conquered be,\n\nAnd Freedom find no champion and no child,\n\nSuch as Columbia saw arise, when she\n\nSprang forth a Pallas, armed and undefiled?\n\nOr must such minds be nourished in the wild,\n\nDeep in the unpruned forest,'midst the roar\n\nOf cataracts, where nursing Nature smiled\n\nOn infant Washington? Has earth no more\n\nSuch seeds within her breast, or Europe no such shore?\"\n\nMercury (Hermes) was the son of Jupiter and Maia. He presided over\ncommerce, wrestling, and other gymnastic exercises, even over\nthieving, and everything, in short, which required skill and\ndexterity. He was the messenger of Jupiter, and wore a winged cap\nand winged shoes. He bore in his hand a rod entwined with two\nserpents, called the caduceus.\n\nMercury is said to have invented the lyre. He found, one day, a\ntortoise, of which he took the shell, made holes in the opposite\nedges of it, and drew cords of linen through them, and the\ninstrument was complete. The cords were nine, in honor of the nine\nMuses. Mercury gave the lyre to Apollo, and received from him in\nexchange the caduceus.\n\nCeres (Demeter) was the daughter of Saturn and Rhea. She had a\ndaughter named Proserpine (Persephone), who became the wife of\nPluto, and queen of the realms of the dead. Ceres presided over\nagriculture.\n\nBacchus (Dionysus), the god of wine, was the son of Jupiter and\nSemele. He represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but\nits social and beneficent influences likewise, so that he is\nviewed as the promoter of civilization, and a lawgiver and lover\nof peace.\n\nThe Muses were the daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne (Memory).\nThey presided over song, and prompted the memory. They were nine\nin number, to each of whom was assigned the presidence over some\nparticular department of literature, art, or science. Calliope was\nthe muse of epic poetry, Clio of history, Euterpe of lyric poetry,\nMelpomene of tragedy, Terpsichore of choral dance and song, Erato\nof love poetry, Polyhymnia of sacred poetry, Urania of astronomy,\nThalia of comedy.\n\nThe Graces were goddesses presiding over the banquet, the dance,\nand all social enjoyments and elegant arts. They were three in\nnumber. Their names were Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia.\n\nSpenser describes the office of the Graces thus:\n\n\"These three on men all gracious gifts bestow\n\nWhich deck the body or adorn the mind,\n\nTo make them lovely or well-favored show;\n\nAs comely carriage, entertainment kind,\n\nSweet semblance, friendly offices that bind,\n\nAnd all the complements of courtesy;\n\nThey teach us how to each degree and kind\n\nWe should ourselves demean, to low, to high,\n\nTo friends, to foes; which skill men call Civility.\"\n\nThe Fates were also three\u2014Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Their\noffice was to spin the thread of human destiny, and they were\narmed with shears, with which they cut it off when they pleased.\nThey were the daughters of Themis (Law), who sits by Jove on his\nthrone to give him counsel.\n\nThe Erinnyes, or Furies, were three goddesses who punished by\ntheir secret stings the crimes of those who escaped or defied\npublic justice. The heads of the Furies were wreathed with\nserpents, and their whole appearance was terrific and appalling.\nTheir names were Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera. They were also\ncalled Eumenides.\n\nNemesis was also an avenging goddess. She represents the righteous\nanger of the gods, particularly towards the proud and insolent.\n\nPan was the god of flocks and shepherds. His favorite residence\nwas in Arcadia.\n\nThe Satyrs were deities of the woods and fields. They were\nconceived to be covered with bristly hair, their heads decorated\nwith short, sprouting horns, and their feet like goats' feet.\n\nMomus was the god of laughter, and Plutus the god of wealth.\n\nROMAN DIVINITIES\n\nThe preceding are Grecian divinities, though received also by the\nRomans. Those which follow are peculiar to Roman mythology:\n\nSaturn was an ancient Italian deity. It was attempted to identify\nhim with the Grecian god Cronos, and fabled that after his\ndethronement by Jupiter he fled to Italy, where he reigned during\nwhat was called the Golden Age. In memory of his beneficent\ndominion, the feast of Saturnalia was held every year in the\nwinter season. Then all public business was suspended,\ndeclarations of war and criminal executions were postponed,\nfriends made presents to one another and the slaves were indulged\nwith great liberties. A feast was given them at which they sat at\ntable, while their masters served them, to show the natural\nequality of men, and that all things belonged equally to all, in\nthe reign of Saturn.\n\nFaunus, the grandson of Saturn, was worshipped as the god of fields\nand shepherds, and also as a prophetic god. His name in the\nplural, Fauns, expressed a class of gamesome deities, like the\nSatyrs of the Greeks.\n\nQuirinus was a war god, said to be no other than Romulus, the\nfounder of Rome, exalted after his death to a place among the\ngods.\n\nBellona, a war goddess.\n\nTerminus, the god of landmarks. His statue was a rude stone or\npost, set in the ground to mark the boundaries of fields.\n\nPales, the goddess presiding over cattle and pastures.\n\nPomona presided over fruit trees.\n\nFlora, the goddess of flowers.\n\nLucina, the goddess of childbirth.\n\nVesta (the Hestia of the Greeks) was a deity presiding over the\npublic and private hearth. A sacred fire, tended by six virgin\npriestesses called Vestals, flamed in her temple. As the safety of\nthe city was held to be connected with its conservation, the\nneglect of the virgins, if they let it go out, was severely\npunished, and the fire was rekindled from the rays of the sun.\n\nLiber is the Latin name of Bacchus; and Mulciber of Vulcan.\n\nJanus was the porter of heaven. He opens the year, the first month\nbeing named after him. He is the guardian deity of gates, on which\naccount he is commonly represented with two heads, because every\ndoor looks two ways. His temples at Rome were numerous. In war\ntime the gates of the principal one were always open. In peace\nthey were closed; but they were shut only once between the reign\nof Numa and that of Augustus.\n\nThe Penates were the gods who were supposed to attend to the\nwelfare and prosperity of the family. Their name is derived from\nPenus, the pantry, which was sacred to them. Every master of a\nfamily was the priest to the Penates of his own house.\n\nThe Lares, or Lars, were also household gods, but differed from\nthe Penates in being regarded as the deified spirits of mortals.\nThe family Lars were held to be the souls of the ancestors, who\nwatched over and protected their descendants. The words Lemur and\nLarva more nearly correspond to our word Ghost.\n\nThe Romans believed that every man had his Genius, and every woman\nher Juno: that is, a spirit who had given them being, and was\nregarded as their protector through life. On their birthdays men\nmade offerings to their Genius, women to their Juno.\n\nA modern poet thus alludes to some of the Roman gods:\n\n\"Pomona loves the orchard,\n\nAnd Liber loves the vine,\n\nAnd Pales loves the straw-built shed\n\nWarm with the breath of kine;\n\nAnd Venus loves the whisper\n\nOf plighted youth and maid,\n\nIn April's ivory moonlight,\n\nBeneath the chestnut shade.\"\n\nMacaulay, \"Prophecy of Capys.\"\n\nN.B.\u2014It is to be observed that in proper names the final e and es are to be sounded. Thus Cybele and Penates are words of three syllables. But Proserpine and Thebes are exceptions, and to be pronounced as English words. In the Index at the close of the volume we shall mark the accented syllable in all words which appear to require it.","title":"The Age of Fable/Chapter I","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":3369}