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EL
THE MYTHOLOGY
OF
GREECE AND ROME
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS USE IN ART
/rnra tjiB fnmnn nf
€)• Scemann
EDITED BY G. H. BIANCHI B.A.
LATE SCHOLAR OF S. PETER'S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE, BROTHBRTON SANSKRf
PRIZEMAN 1875
WITH SIXTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS
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PREFACE
NO apology can be needed for introducing to the
public a work like the present. There has
long been a want of a book which should, in a mod-
erate compass, give a clear and readable account of
these legends; for Dictionaries of Mythology do
not give a view of the subject as a whole ; and the
price of most other works on the Greek and Roman
myths would prevent their being used as class-books.
These considerations have led the publishers to
bring out this book in an English dress.
If any should be inclined to ask what mythology
has to do with men of the present day, the reply is
plain. The works of art in our galleries and muse-
ums require a certain amount of knowledge of the
mythology of the Greeks and Romans for the full
appreciation of their subjects. There is hardly any
literature in Europe which has not been more or
less colored by these legends; and in our own day
their power to inspire the poet has by no means
ceased. Nay, they have incorporated themselves
into our very language : " Herculean strength " is
almost as common an expression now as it was two
8 PREFACE.
thousand years ago ; and we still talk of *^ chimer*
ical" expectations, describe a man as '' tantalized,"
and use the Sphinx as the symbol of the mysterious.
The present work, translated from the German of
O. Seemann, seems well adapted to convey a knowl-
edge of these myths. It is illustrated with cuts af-
ter some of the masterpieces of ancient art. Partio-
ular attention has been paid to this branch of the
subject, and the principal works of art in each case
are mentionedo
The distinction between Greek and Roman dei-
ties and heroes has been preserved, but the conven-
tional spelling has been retained. A full index is
appended, in which the quantities of the vowels are
carefully marked.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGB
2 SuBJECJTS OF Greek and Roman MythologYo 15
II Popular Ideas concerning the Gods o . . . . l^
PART L-COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY ... 21
PART IL-THE GODS.
r.--THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
A.— SUPERIOR DEITIES.
Zeus (Jupiter) , „ 27
Hera (Juno) c . . . 35
Pallas Athene (Minerva) 40
Apollo ,47
Artemis (Diana) , . . . c „ . . , , 56
Ares (Mars) , „ . 59
Aphrodite (Venus) , 65
Hermes (Mercurius) » , „ 71
Hephaestus (Vulcan) „ 78
Hestia (Vesta) „ « 82
Janus 86
Quirinus 89
B.--SECONDAIIY DEITIES.
1. Attendant and Ministering Deities:
Eros (Amor) „ 90
The Muses, o 93
The Charites (Gratiae) , 95
10 CONT£NTS.
FAOB
Themi^ and the HoraB (Seasons). 98
Nice (Victoria) 100
Iris 101
Hebe ( Juventas) , 102
Ganymedes , . , 104
Z, The Phenomena of the Heavens:
Helios (Sol) 105
Selene (Luna) 107
Eos (Aurora) „. . . . 108
The Stars 109
The Winds 110
8. Gods of Birth and Healing:
Asclepius (^sculapius) Ill
Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing 118
4. Deities of Fate:
The Moerae (Parca9) 114
Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodaemon (Bonus
Eventus). » 116
IL—THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS.
Poseidon (Neptunus) 118
Amphitrite 122
Triton and the Tritons 1 . . 123
Pontus and his Descendants :
Nereu8 and his Daughters 123
Thaumas^ Fhorcys^ Ceto 124
Proteus 125
Glaucus, 126
Ido Leucothea, and Melicertes 126
The Sirens 127
The Race of Oceanus ... 128
III.— THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD.
Gfea(Tellus) 130
Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idaea) 131
Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber) 133
The Nymphs 144
The Satyrs 146
Silenus. 148
Greek and Roman Wood-spirits :
Fm 149
CONTENTS. 11
PAOt
SUvarms 152
Faunus and Fawia 163
Priapus 164
Saturnus and Ops 165
Vertumnus and Pomona 157
Flora 158
Pales 158
Terminus 159
Demeter (Ceres) 160
Persephone (Proserpina) , 166
Hades (Pluto) 169
The Lower World IVl
The Erinyes (Furiae) IH
Hecate 176
Sleep and Death 179
IV.— ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY.
The Penates 1 80
The Lares 182
The LarvBB, Lemures, and Manes 183
PART III.-THE HEROES.
L— INTRODUCTORY 184
IL— THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF
MANKIND 187
[IL— PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS:
The Lapithae and the Centaurs 191
Theban Legend :
Cadmus 196
Actmon ♦ i38
Amphion and Zethits , 200
Corinthian Legend :
Sisyphv^ 0 207
Glaucus 208
Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons, 208
Argive Legend :
lo 214
Danaiis and the Dana/ids 216
Prcetus and his Daughters 216
Perseus ^ 217
12 CONTENTS.
PA6B
The Dioscuri 224
Heracles (Hercules) 227
The Birth and Youth of Heracles 228
Heracles in the Service of Eurystheus 230
Deeds of Heracles after his Service 238
Death and Apotheosis 243
Heracles as God „ 244
Attic Legend :
Cecrops 250
EfrecMheMs^ or JSrichthoniits 251
Theseus 252
Cretan Legend :
the Minotaur 261
Talos 264
rV.— COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HE-
ROIC AGE.
The Calydonian Hunt 264
The Argonauts 267
The Theban Cycle 272
The Trojan Cycle 276
The Heroic Races of the Trojan War ;
ITie Dardanidce, or Race of Dardanus 277
Tlie Felopidce, or Race of Felops 278
The JEacidce^ or Race of jEaais ^ . . 281
Nestor^ the Locrian Ajax^ DiomedeSy and Odi/sseics 284
The War 285
The Return 294
f.^MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS 299
>NDEX 803
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. Bust of Cronus. Vatican Museum 24
2. Cameo of Athenion 26
3. Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Museum 82
4. Jupiter Verospi. Vatican Museum 33
5. Coins of Elis with Phidias's Zeus. (After Overbeck.) 34
6. Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum 37
7. Head of Hera, perhaps after Polyc^etus. Naples 38
8. Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican 44
9. Athene Polias. Villa Albani 45
10. Pallas Athene. Naples 46
11. Apollo Belvedere. Vatican 52
1 2. Head of Apollo Belvedere 53
13. Apollo Citharcedus. Munich 55
14. Diana of Versailles 58
15. Mars Ludovisi 63
16. Bust of Ares. Sculpture Gallery at Munich 64
17. Venus of Milo. Louvre 69
18. Venus Genetrix. Villa Borghese 70
19. Resting Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples 76
20. Statue of Hermes. Capitoline Collection 77
21. Hephasstus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum 81
22. Vesta Giustiniani. . Torlonia Collection 85
23. Head of Eros. Vatican 90
24. Eros trying his Bow. ^'apitoline Museum 91
25. Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum 94
26. Melpomene. Vatican 96
27. Euterpe. Vatican 97
28. The Horae. Relief from the Villa Albani 99
29. Victoria. United Collections in Munich 101
80. Hebe. From Antonio Canova 103
31. Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen 105
14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Fio. , PAOB
32. Asclepius. Berlin 112
33. Head of Asclepius. British Museum 113
34. Night and the Fates. From Carstens 116
35. Poseidon. Dolce Gem 121
36. Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of Lysicrates.. , . 135
3'7. The so-called Sardanapalus in the Vatican 137
38. Youthful Dionysus. From the Chateau Richelieu, now in
the Louvre 139
39. Marble Head of Youthful Dionysus at Leyden 14(>
40. Sleeping Ariadne. Vatican : 142
41. Dannecker's Ariadne. Frankfort-on-the-Main 143
42. Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery 147
43. Pan. From a Mural Painting at Herculaneum 152
44. Demeter Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii. Naples 165
45. Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii. Naples.. 168
46. Head of Hades. Palazzo Chigi. Rome 170
47. Three-formed Hecate. Capitoline Museum 177
48. Metope of the Parthenon 193
49. From the Frieze of the Temple at BassaB 194
50. Centaur teaching a Boy to play upon the Pipe. Relief by
Kundmann 195
51. Actseon Group. British Museum 199
52. Farnese Bull Naples 201
53. Head of Niobe. Florence Frontispiece,
64. Niobe. Florence.. ^ 206
55. Amazon. Berlin 212
66. Perseus and Andromeda. Marble Relief in the Museum at
Naples 222
67. Rondanini Medusa. Munich 223
58. Farnese Hercules , . , . 248
59. Elgin Theseus. British Museum 258
60. Theseus Lifting the Rock. Relief in the Villa Albani 259
61. Laocoon. Group 292
62. Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen 297
63. Rape of Helen. Campana Collection. Paris 298
64. Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief in the Villa Albani. • 300
Greek and Roman Mythology
INTRODUCTIOK
L SUBJECTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
MYTHS may be described as poetic narratives of th«
birth, life, and actions of the old heathen gods and
heroes or demi-gods. Both myth and legend* are distin-
guished from the '' Mahrchen,'* or popular tale, by not be-
ing, like the latter, a mere product of the imagination, but
always being founded on some preceding reality, whether
that be an oft-recurring phase of nature, or a distinct and
real occurrence. It is often most difficult to recognize
with any precision the true germ of a myth, on account of
the numerous additions and alterations made by the poets.
And therefore the question, whether a particular tradition
be a myth or not, is very hard to answer : on one side we
are tempted to view, in the god or demi-god, the hero of a
tribe magnified to superhuman proportions by the admi-
ration of posterity; and, on the other side, comparison of
■ — i— ■ 1. 1_ ■ ■ . I III — «» II ■ ■ I
* The German word " sage " (legend) is really only a translation of
the Greek word " mythos," and is often used in that sense. But late*
ly the custom has tacitly sprung up of employing the term ** mythos "
when speaking of the life or actions of the gods, and " sage " wh*4l
speaking of those of heroes.
16 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the legends of different families of nations points ns t(
the operations of nature, not only in the demi-god or the
hero, but in the animals of fable and the traditions of the
nursery.
A large proportion of these myths are due to men's ob*
servations of Nature, and her various active and creative
forces, which appeared to their lively Southern fancy as
manifestations of single supernatural beings. These were
regarded, now as friendly, now as hostile, to man; and
men therefore strove as eagerly to gain their favor as to
appease their wrath. Of the appearance of the deities
who thus manifested themselves in the workings of nature,
men necessarily formed at first very crude and fantastic
ideas. But later, when men emerged from the simple con-
ditions of the early patriarchal epoch, and began to dwell
in regular political communities, they gradually ceased to
regard the gods as mere personifications of natural forces.
They began to regard them as beings acting in accordance
with unchangeable moral laws, and endowed with forms sim-
ilar to those of men (Anthropomorphism). They brought
the gods into connection with each other by means of gene-
alogies in a great measure artificial, and built up a vast po-
litical system, which has its centre in Zeus, the "father of
gods and men."
Strange to say, however, it was only among the Greeks
that this system of development prevailed. The nations
of Italy still continued to regard their gods as mere natural
forces — that looked down on them in a cold, strange fash-
ion— of whose form and mode of life they had no clear
idea. It was only later, when the Romans came into intel-
lectual contact with their Greek raighbors, and began to
<*tudy their language and literature, that they adopted the
rOPULAK IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS, 11
popular Greek conceptions concerning the gods. They now
transferred existing myths, and fathered them on those of
their own gods and goddesses who bore the closest resem-
blance to the Greek divinities, and harmonized best with
their natural interpretation. Thus it was that the Roman
Jupiter was identified with the Greek Zeus, ef uno with Hera,
Minerva with Athene ; though for peculiar deities, such as
Janus, they could find no Greek prototype.
II. POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS.
We learn most concerning the conceptions the ancients
formed of their gods from the numerous Greek and Roman
poets whose works have come down to us, and who con-
tributed so largely to the construction of the myths. First
among them, both in antiquity and importance, is Homer,
In his works we find the whole political system of Olym-
pus, with Zeus at its head, already constructed.
Henceforth the gods, in outward appearance at least, are
endowed with forms entirely human ; more grand and beau-
tiful and majestic, but still not verging on the monstrous
or fantastic.
Not only in beauty and grandeur, but also in strength
and vigor, do the gods surpass men. Let but Zeus shake
his ambrosial locks, and the whole of Olympus trembles.
The other deities are also endowed in proportion with great
strength. As corporeal, indeed, they are limited in regard
to space, and cannot, therefore, be omnipresent ; but this
restriction affects them far less than mortals, for they can
compass the greatest distances at lightning speed. In a
moment Athene drops from the heights of Olympus down
to Ithaca ; and Poseidon, the ocean-god, passes, in three ot
four steps, from Samothrace to .^Egae, in Eubcea. More-
18 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
over, the gods can see and hear at a much greater distanct
than men. In regard to hearing, indeed, they seem to have
unlimited powers. Prayers ascend to them from every
place, irrespective of their personal presence. In the same
manner Zeus, from his high throne in Olympus, sees all
that passes among men, and, sitting on the highest summit
of Mount Ida, he can follow all the events of the battle that
rages before Troy.
On the other hand, the gods are subject to the same bod-
ily wants as men. They refresh themselves in the same
way with sleep, and have to support themselves with food
and drink. Here again, however, they are far less fettered
than mortals, for they can hold out much longer without
satisfying these wants. Nor is their food so coarse as that
of men ; they live on ambrosia and nectar. Another nat-
ural necessity is clothing, on the tasteful ordering of which
the goddesses even bestow extraordinary care, and in this,
as in many other respects, greatly resemble the daughters
of Eve. Although later art delights in representing some
of the deities either slightly clothed or quite naked, yet we
cannot justly conclude from this that the popular belief of
the ancients conceived thus of those gods.
Gods endowed with frames like those of mortals must
necessarily be born in the same way, and develop gradual-
ly both in mind and body. But here, again, everything
proceeds with the utmost rapidity. For instance, the new-
born Hermes rises from his cradle to steal the cattle of
Apollo, and, coming into the world in the morning, he is
found in the afternoon playing on the lyre, which he has
himself invented. The most important point, however, in
which they surpass mortals is that, when once in full pos^
session of bodily and intellectual powers, they never f^W
POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE GODS. 19
old, but remain ever young and beautiful, ever free from
disease and death. Compared with the race of men, who
are subject to need and pain, they are the " happy,"
** blessed '* gods, the -t^ods " who live at ease," who can
readily gratify every desire. But this does not by any
means prevent their suffering occasionally from the pangs
of sorrow and grief ; they are vulnerable alike in body and
soul, and exposed to every kind of painful sensation. So
completely did the Greeks and Romans subject their gods
to human passions.
As regards mental qualifications, they are naturally far
superior to men. In the first place, they stand higher
morally; they shun all that is evil, impure, and unjust, and
visit with punishment the impiety and injustice of man.
This, again, docs not prevent their giving way to every de-
scription of vice and folly, such as deceit, lying, hatred,
cruelty, jealousy, etc. They are far from holy, therefore,
in the sense in which we speak of the Supreme Being.
Still less are they conceived as omniscient or omnipotent.
Their powers indeed are grreat, and so is their knowledge.
They are able to interrupt the course of nature; to send
sudden storms, pestilences, and other evils ; to endow them-
selves or others with any forms they like, and to do many
other things, of which we read in fairy tales. But even
Zeus, to whom a far greater measure of power is accorded
than to other gods, and on whose will the government of
the universe depends, is himself subjected to the immuta-
ble decrees of fate ; while the possibility of deceiving and
duping him is by no means excluded.
If we look to the employment of the gods, we find that
it consists chiefly in pleasant idleness; though they en-
deavor, like the rich among mankind, to make time fly by
20 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
indulging in their favorite pastimes. They take theii
meals in common, and assemble for this purpose in the
palace of Zeus, on the windy heights of Olympus. There
they refresh themselves, while Hebe ministers to their
wants, listening to the strains of Apollo's lute, and to the
songs of the sweet -voiced Muses, and entertaining them-
selves with pleasant conversation. Not always, indeed, is
the company so peaceful and pleasant. At times these
great gods quarrel finely; nay, even small conspiracies
arise to interrupt the uniformity of their existence, such as
that of Hera, Poseidon, and Athene against Zeus during
the Trojan w^r, which is related in the fifteenth book of
the "Iliad."
Lastly, that no point in their resemblance to manMnd
may be omitted, all the dilferent deities are united in one
great family, of which Zeus, the father of men and the
ruler of the gods, is the head and centre. Zeus has, how-
ever, a special dominion over the celestial deities only,
those of the sea and waters being subjected to Poseidon,
aud those of the lower world to Hades, or Pluto.
PAKT I„— COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY.
y IIY Cosmogony, we understand the legends relating to
•^-^ the creation of the world ; by/Theogony, those rela-
ting to the origin of the gods. 5) On both points we have
to deal with the Greeks alone, since the Romans never in-
dulged in any researches of this kind. All that their poets
have to say on the subject is, without exception, borrowed
from the Greeks.
According to the common account, the world was formed
out of Chaos. By this, however, we must not understand
a huge and shapeless mass, but merely dark, unbounded
space. The accounts of the poets vary very materially as
to how the world proceeded from Chaos. The most popu-
lar view is that according to which Gsea or Ge (the earth)
first issued, in no very comprehensible manner indeed, from
the womb of Chaos ; whereupon Tartarus (the abyss be-
neath the earth) immediately severed itself, and Eros (the
love that forms and binds all things) sprang into exist-
ence. Gsea then begot of herself Uranus (heaven), the
mountains, and Pontus (the sea).
The first gods who peopled this new world were begot-
ten of the earth partly by Uranus and partly by Pontus.
From her union with Uranus sprung the Titans, the Cy-
clopes, and the Centimanes ; from her union with Pontus
various sea-deities.
^2 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY. -
lo The race of UranuSo According to Hesiod, there
were twelve Titans: six males — Oceanus, Coeus, Crius,
Hyperion, lapetus, and Cronus; and six females — Thia,
Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. The in-
terpretation of these divinities is somevs^hat difficult, but
they doubtless represented the elementary forces of natureo
The Cyclopes were three in number — Brontes (thunder),
Steropes (lightning), and Arges (sheet - lightning) : these,
we can clearly see, refer to the phenomena of the storm.
The Centimanes (hundred-handed), again, are three in num-
ber— Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes. These, too, represent de-
structive forces of nature — perhaps the earthquake, the
tempestuous sea, and the storm-wind.
2. The race of Pontus. By Pontus Gsea became the
mother of the fabulous sea-deities — Nereus, Thaumas, Phor-
cys, Ceto, and Eurybia. These, again, had numerous de-
scendants. Nereus represents the sea in its quiet state:
we shall have to speak of him and his daughters later on.
Thaumas represents to us the majesty of the sea. He is
the father of Iris (the rainbow) and of the Harpies (storm-
winds). Lastly, Phorcys and Ceto, from whose union the
frightful Gorgons and Graese proceeded, typify all the dan-
gers and terrors of the sea.
Many marriages also took place among the Titans them-
selves. The numerous sea -nymphs are descended from
Oceanus and Tethys ; from Hyperion and Thia come the
deities of the light — Helios (sun), Selene (moon), and Eos
(dawn) ; from Coeus and Phoebe the deities of the night —
Leto (dark night) and Asteria (starry night).
The most important of all the Titans, however^ are
Cronus and Rhea, who pave the way for the universal do*
minion of their son Zeus.
COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY, 23
, Uranus, fearing lest his last-born sons, the powerful Cy-
clopes and Centimanes, might one day seize his power,
buried them directly after birth in the deep abyss beneath
the earth. This displeased Gsea, their mother, who there-
upon prompted the Titans to conspire against their father,
and induced Cronus, the youngest and bravest of them, to
lay violent hands on Uranus. Uranus was mutilated, cast
into chains, and compelled by his sons to abdicate his
sovereignty, which now passed to Cronus, But Cronus
was not long destined to enjoy the fruits of his crime.
The curse of Uranus, who prophesied that he would suffer
a like fate at the hands of his own son, was fulfilled. So
anxious was he to avert such a catastrophe, that he swal-
lowed his children immediately after their birth. Five had
already suffered this fate — Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
and Poseidon, But their mother Rhea, grieved at their
lot, determined to rescue her next son, Zeus, by a strata-
gem. In the place of her child, she gave to her suspicious
and cruel husband a stone wrapped in swaddling - clothes,
which he swallowed without further examinatioUc Zeus,
who v/as thus rescued, was reared by the nymphs in a grot-
to on Mount Dicte, in Crete. The she -goat Amalthea
served as his nurse, while the bees brought him honey to
eat. In order that the cries of the child might not betray
his presence to his suspicious father, the Curetes, or attend-
ant priests of Rhea, drowned his voice in the clashing of
their weapons. Zeus remained thus hidden until he had
become a young but powerful god. He then attacked and
overthrew his father Cronus, whom he also compelled, by
means of a device of G^a, to bring forth the children that
he had devouredo One part of the Titans — Oceanus, The-
mis, Mnemosyne, and Hyperion — submitted without hesita-
24
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
tion to the dominion of the new ruler of the world. The
others, however, refused allegiance ; but Zeus, after a con
test of ten years, overthrew them, with the help of the Cy-
clopes and Centimanes. As a punishment, they were cast
into Tartarus, which was then closed by Poseidon with
brazen gates. Thessaly, the land which bears the clearest
traces of natural convulsions, was supposed to have been
the scene of this mighty war. Zeus and his adherents
fought from Olympus; the Titans from the opposite moun-
tain of Othrys.
Fig. 1.— Bust of Crontis. Vatican Museum.
The Titans, not being actually objects of worship, were not fre^
quently represented in ancient art. Cronus is the only exception,
COSMOGONY AND THEOGONY. 25
which may be explained by the fact that the Romans identified him
with their own Saturn, or harvest-god. He is generally depicted with
a severe and gloomy expression of countenance, the back of his head
being veiled, as a svmbol of his reserved character. In the Vatican
Museum, at Rome, there is a bust of this kind in good preservation,
an engraving of which we give (Fig. 1). .^
After his victory over the Titans, Zeus shared the em-
pire of the world with his two brothers, Poseidon and Ha-
des. The former he made ruler of the ocean and waters ;
the latter he set over the infernal regions ; everything else
he retained for himself. This new order of things, how-
ever, was by no means securely established. The resent-
ment of G^a led her to produce with Tartarus, her young-
est and most powerful son, the giant Typhoeus, a monster
with a hundred fire - breathing dragons' heads, whom she
now sent to overthrow the dominion of Zeus. A great bat-
tle took place, which shook heaven and earth. Zeus, by
means of his never-ceasing thunder-bolts, at length over-
came Typhoeus, and cast him into Tartarus, or, according
to later writers (Pindar and Virgil), buried him beneath
Mount ^tna in Sicily, whence at times he still breathes
out fire and flames towards heaven.
Some poets tell of another rebellion, that of the Giants,
against the dominion of Zeus. These are said to have
sprung from the drops of blood which fell on the earth
from the mutilated body of Uranus. From the plains of
Phlegra, in Thessaly, they sought to storm Olympus by
piling Pelion on Ossa. But after a bloody battle, in which
all the gods took part, the two were conquered, and sent
to share the fate of the vanquished Titans. The dominion
of Zeus was now securely established, and no hostile attack
ever after disturbed the peaceful ease of the inhabitants* of
Olympus.
26
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
The early history of Zeus, as well as his contests for the empire
of the universe, commonly called the Giganto-machia, was a favorite
subject with Greek art. In the more ancient of these works the
Giants do not differ, either in form or appearance, from the Gods
and Heroes. In later works they are represented with the bodies of
dragons, only the upper portion of the body being human. They
appear thus on the celebrated cameo of the Naples Museum, where
Zeus, in his chariot drawn by four fiery horses, is in the act of charg-
ing them (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2.— Cameo of Atheniono
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS« 27
PART II.— THE GODS.
I.— THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
A»— SUPEKIOR DEITIES,
1. Zeus (Jupiter). — Chief of the celestial deities is
Zeus, called by the Romans Jupiter, the controller and ruler
of the universe. As being the god of heaven jpar excel-
lence^ the " Sky-father," he is to both nations the source of
all life in nature, and from his gracious hand are shed bless-
ing and abundance. All the phenomena of the air were
supposed to proceed from him. He gathers and disperses
the clouds, casts forth his lightning, stirs up his thunder,
sends down rain, hail, snow, and fertilizing dew on the
eartho With his segi^ — an impenetrable shield hung with
a hundred golden tassels, in the midst of which the fearful
head of the Gorgon is fastened — he produces storm and
tempest. The aegis, though often meaning shield, is prop-
erly a goat-skin fastened to and supporting the true shield ;
later it appears as a short cloak, and even as a breastplate,
covered with scales, and fringed with serpents. It is not
often found in representations of Zeus ; though a statue of
him at Leyden shows it, and in a cameo he is seen with it
wrapped around his left arm : similarly it was common to
wrap the chlamys or scarf round the left arm, for purposes
of defence. The aegis usually belongs to Athene, who bor
28 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
rows it from her father in the " Iliad.'* She is seen wear*
ing it in Fig, 9.
The ancients, however, were not content to regard Zeus
merely as a personification of Nature ; they regarded him
also from an ethical stand-point, from which side he appears
far more important and awful. They saw in him a person-
ification, so to speak, of that principle of undeviating order
and harmony which pervades both the physical and moral
world. The strict unalterable laws by which he rules the
community of the gods form a strong contrast to the capri-
cious commands of his father, Cronus. Hence Zeus is re-
garded as the protector and defender of all political order.
From him the kings of the earth receive their sovereignty
and rights ; to him they are responsible for a conscientious
fulfilment of their duties. Those among them who unjust-
ly exceed their powers and pervert justice he never fails to
punish. Zeus, moreover, also presides over councils and as-
semblies, keeps watch over their orderly course, and sug-
gests to them wise counsels. One of the most important
props of political society is the oath ; and accordingly, as
Zeus Horkios {opKioc^ deus fidius of the Romans), he watch-
es over oaths, and punishes perjury. He also watches over
boundaries, and accompanies the youths of the land as they
march to the defence of their country's borders, giving them
the victory over the invaders. All civil and political com-
munities enjoy his protection ; but he particularly watches
over that association which is the basis of the political fab-
ric — the family. The head of every household was there-
fore, m a certain sense, the priest of Zeas. It was he who
presented the offerings to the god in the name of the fam-
ily. At his altar, which generally stood in the middle of
the court (in small households this was represented by the
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS,
29
hearth), all strs^igers, fugitives, and suppliants found shel-
ter. As Zeus Xenius {hospitalis) he protects the wanderer,
and punishes those who violate the ancient laws of hos-
pitality by mercilessly turning the helpless stranger from
their door.
The superstition of early times saw in all the phenomena
3f the heavens manifestations of the divine will. Thus the
chief deity of heaven was naturally regarded as the highest
source of inspiration, and was believed to reveal his will
to men in the thunder, the lightning, the flight of birds, or
dreams. As the supreme oracular deity, Zeus not only had
an oracle of his own at Dodona in Epirus, which was the
most ancient in Greece, but also revealed the future by the
mouth of his favorite son Apollo. Though he possessed
no proper oracle among the Romans, yet the latter looked
with all the more care and anxiety on the phenomena of
the air and sky, the right interpretation of which formed a
special and difficult branch of knowledge.
Zeus was the earliest national god of the Greeks. His
worship extended throughout the whole of Greece, though
some of his shrines had a special importance. The most
ancient of them was that at Dodona, where the Pelasgian
Zeus was worshipped at a time prior to the existence of
any temples in Greece. He was here represented in the
celebrated form of the sacred oak, in the rustling of whose
branches the deity revealed himself to the faithful. He
was also worshipped on the summit of Mount Tomarus, at
the foot of which lay Dodona — mountain-tops being nat-
urally the earliest seats of his worship. But all the earlier
shrines were overshadowed by the great national seat of
the worship of Hellenic Zeus at Olympia, on the northern
banks of the river Alpheus, in Elis, where the renowned
30 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Olympian games were celebrated. The magnificent statue
of Zeus, by Phidias, was an additional inducement to dev-
otees, who flocked thither from every quarter.
Neither was the worship of Jupiter any less extensive in
Italy. The most renowned of all his shrines was undoubt-
edly the temple erected by Tarquin on the Capitol at Rome.
This, after being nearly destroyed by fire in the time of
Sulla, was restored to more than its pristine splendor. The
original earthen image was replaced by a statue of gold and
ivory, the work of the Greek artist ApoUonius, after the
model of the Olympian Zeus.
Before proceeding to discuss the god as he appears in
art, we must take a glance at his numerous family. The
mythology of the Greeks stands in notorious contrast to
that of the Romans, in attributing to Zeus a great number
of mortal as well as immortal spouses, and an unusually
numerous posterity. Here we must remark that, in spite
of the occasional jokes of the comic poets on the numer-
ous amours of the god, and the consequent jealousy of
Hera, there was nothing further from the intention of the
Greeks than to represent the supreme deity of heaven as
a sensual and lascivious being. The explanation lies part-
ly in the great number of contemporaneous local forms
of worship that existed independently of each other, and
partly in the fact that the lively fancy of the Greek pict-
ured every new production under the guise of procreation.
In that part of mythology which teaches the genealogy of
the gods, the earliest wife of Zeus was Metis (prudence),
the daughter of Oceanus. Zeus devoured her, fearing lest
she should bear a son, who w^ould deprive him of the em-
pire it had cost him so much to attain. It was soon after
this that he produced Pallas Athene from his own head.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 31
His second goddess-wife was Themis, one of the Titans, by
whom he became the father of the Horae and the Moerae
(Fates). Dione appears as the wife of Zeus of Dodona,
and the mother of Aphrodite; while Arcadian Zeus was
wedded to Maia, by whom he had Hermes. By Demeter
(Ceres) he became the father of Persephone (Proserpine,
goddess of vegetation) ; by Eurynome, a daughter of
Oceanus, of the Charites (Graces) ; by Mnemosyne, of the
Muses; by Leto (Latona), of Apollo and Artemis. The
youngest of all his divine wives, who was recognized by
later mythology as his only legitimate queen, was his sis-
ter Hera. By her he became the father of Ares (Mars),
Hephaestus (Vulcan), and Hebe.
Among his mortal mistresses the most celebrated is Se-
mele, the daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes, and mother
of Dionysus. The others — Leda, Danae, Alcmene, Europe,
and lo — will be mentioned hereafter.
The mythology of the Romans, as we have already re-
marked, first depicted Jupiter as devoid of all family ties.
It was only after their religion had been Hellenized that
men termed him the son of Saturn and Ops, made Juno
his wife and Minerva his daughter.
Statues of Zeus were necessarily very numerous, both from the
great extent of his worship and the great number of his temples that
existed in Greece. Of all these the most renowned was the magnifi-
cent statue of Zeus at Olympia, the work of the Athenian sculptor
Phidias (500-432 B.C.). The figure was seated on a lofty throne, and
was more than 40 feet high. It was made of gold and ivory, or more
probably a statue of wood was overlaid with plates of ivory and gold.
The uncovered parts — the face, throat, breast, and hands — were of
ivory. In his right hand was a figure of Victory, also of gold and
ivory ; in his left was a royal sceptre, on the top of which perched an
eagle. The numerous lengthy descriptions that exist can give us but
a faint idea of the lofty majesty that the sculptor diffused over the
Fig. 3.— Zeus of Otricoli. Vatican Mtisemn.
Fig. 4.— Jupiter Verospi. Vatican Museum.
3
84
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
countenance of the god. The object of Phidias was to represent him
to mankind, not only as the omnipotent ruler of Olympus, far superior
to all gods and men, both in power and wisdom, but also as the gra-
cious father of all, and the kindly dispenser of all good gifts. The
Fig. 5.— Coins of Elis with Phidias's Zeus. (After Overbeck.)
hair, vhich rose straight from the brow, and then fell in equal divi&.
ions on either side, imparted to the face a lion-like expression of con-
scious power. This was rendered still more effective by the high
forehead and strongly formed nose. At the same time, the expres*
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 36
sion of the slightly opened lips lent an idea of kindly benevolence.
The story goes that Phidias, after completing the statue, prayed of
the god a sign that he was well pleased with his work. Zeus there-
upon caused a flash of lightning to descend through the open roof
of the temple, and thus acknowledged his own image.
This sublime masterpiece of Phidias, which was reckoned among
the seven wonders of the world, continued in existence, though not
without injury, for upward of 800 years. It appears to have been
destroyed by fire in the time of Theodosius III.
The following are the most important of the existing statues of
Zeus by Greek and Roman sculptors : The first in point of artistic
worth is a bust of Zeus, in Carrara marble — now in the Vatican
Museum at Rome — which was discovered in the last century at
Otricoli (Fig. 3). The union of serene majesty and benevolence is
the chief feature in the sublime countenance. Next comes a colos-
sal statue in marble, known as the Jupiter of Verospi, also in the
Vatican Museum (Fig. 4). Lastly, there is a bust of Zeus, discovered
at Pompeii, and now in the Museum at Naples, besides an equally
beautiful bronze statue in the British Museum, found at Paramythia,
in Epirus. On comparing all the extant art monuments of Zeus, we
may gather that the object of ancient art was to present him es-
pecially as the benign ruler of the universe, sitting enthroned in con-
scious majesty and bhssful ease on the heights of Olympus. His char-
acteristic features are the clustering hair, falling like a mane on
either side of his fine arched brow, and the rich wavy beard. His
attributes consist of the sceptre, as a symbol of his sovereignty ; the
thunder - bolt ; the eagle ; the votive bowl, as a symbol of his wor-
ship ; the ball beneath or near his seat, as a symbol of the universe he
rules ; and, lastly, a figure of Victory. His head is sometimes adorn-
ed with a garland of oak-leaves, the oak being sacred to him ; and
sometimes with an olive-branch or plain band, the latter being a
mark of sovereignty. In Fig. 5 we give an engraving of two coins
of Elis, one of which is in the Florentine, and the other in the Paris
Museum. ^ --
^-2. Hera (Juno). — Hera, according to Homer, was the
eldest of the daughters of Cronus and Rhea. She is the
feminine counterpart of Zeus, her brother and husband.
She represents the air or atmosphere ; for which reason
she, like Zeus, was supposed to control the phenomena of
36 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the air and sky, and, as queen of heaven, shared with him
all the honors of his position. Her conjugal relations to
Zeus, which form the substance of all the myths that refer
to her, afforded the poets a rich and productive material
for serious and sportive poetry. They sung of the solemn
marriage of Zeus and Hera, the remembrance of which was
celebrated at spring-tide with festive offerings and marriage
rites before the shrine of the goddess. Neither did they
fail to tell of the conjugal strife of the royal pair, and of
the cruel fate which overtook the mortal women who en-
joyed the favors of Zeus. It was thus that jealousy and
contention became the leading features in the character of
the goddess ; whereas, both in her worship and in the rep-
resentations of artists, she appears as a gracious and kindly
deity, the especial protectress of her own sex.
The natural signification of Hera appears to have quick
ly disappeared among the Greeks, and she seems to have
been chiefly honored as the guardian of the marriage tie.
The nobleness of the woman who preserves inviolate the
sanctity of this bond finds in her its most sublime expres-
sion. As the special patroness of marriage, she was sup-
posed to watch over its sanctity, to vouchsafe the blessing
of children, and to protect women in childbirth.
The worship of Hera was originally not very extensive.
The cradle of her worship was Argos, on which account
she is often termed Argive. Argos, Mycenae, and Sparta
are pointed out in the time of Homer as her favorite towns.
Her worship naturally extended as her new character of
goddess of marriage became more prominent. In Boeotia
and Euboea her worship was very ancient, but her chief
shrine was the Herseum, between Argos and Mycenae.
Here was a most magnificent statue of the goddess, made
Fig. 6.— Barberiui Juno. Vatican Museum.
Fig. T.—Head of Hera, perhaps after Polycletus. Naples,
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 39
of ivory s^nd gold, the work of the Sicyonian artist, Poly-
cletus.*
Juno (properly Jovino) takes the same place as goddess
of childbirth and patroness of marriage among the Ro-
mans as Hera did among the Greeks. In addition to this
she was venerated, under the name of Juno Regina, as the
tutelary deity of the city and empire of Rome. Her chief
shrine was on the Capitol', where she had a separate chapel
in the Temple of Jupiter. The Matronalia, the chief festi-
val of the goddess, was celebrated on the first day of March,
when all the matrons of the city marched in procession to
her temple on the Esquiline, and there offered her flowers
and libations. The victims usually sacrificed to Juno were
young heifers ; her sacred birds were the goose and the
crow, to which the peacock of the Greek Hera was after-
ward added.
The most celebrated of the art monuments that relate to Juno is
the Juno Ludovisi, a colossal marble bust of remarkable beauty, which,
thanks to casts and photographs, is tolerably well known. Her lofty
and commanding countenance is the ideal of perfect womanly beauty,
combining in a rare degree woman's chief ornaments — dignity and
grace.
After this comes the Juno Barberini of the Vatican Museum, an
entire and upright figure of great size (Fig. 6), distinguished by the
admirable draping of the garments. The Farnese Juno, now in the
Naples Museum, also deserves mention. In the same museum there
is a singularly beautiful head of Hera, which perhaps lays claim to
reflect the conception of Polycletus. We give an engraving of this
also (Fig. 7).
The characteristic features of Juno are a somewhat prominent
chin, expressing unbending determination of will, somewhat curling
lips, well-defined nostrils, large full eyes, and a high and noble fore-
* Polycletus, a native of Sicyon, was a sculptor, architect, and cast-
er in bronze. He was a contemporary of Phidias, and, next to him,
the most c<^lebrated artist of antiquity.
40 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
head. The attributes of the goddess consist of the sceptre and dia-
dem, significant of her power ; the veil (often omitted in the statues
of later artists), as a symbol of the married woman ; the votive bowl
in the hand, the pomegranate as a symbol of love, and the peacock
or goose at her feet, also at times the cuckoo, as herald of spring.
J 3. Pallas Athene (Minerva).— The accounts which
the Greeks gave of the birth of Pallas vary considerably.
The most common is that which has been already mention-
ed. According to this, Zeus produced her from his head,U
which he had ordered Hephsestus to cleave open. Thej
great goddess of war, in full armor, with poised spear, then
sprung forth from her fathers head, chanting a war-song,
while a mighty commotion both on sea and land announced
the great ^vent to the world. In her physical character Pal-
las appears as the goddess of the pure bright ether, in which
the ancients saw the highest force of nature. She is there-
fore closely related to her father Zeus, as the dispenser of
light and life in nature, and of earthly blessings. Looked
at from her ethical side, she appears as the goddess of wis-
dom, a reflection and personification of that profound wis-
dom and sagacity with which Father Zeus controls the des-
tinies of the world. Hence we may easily gather the other
features of her character. She is, in the first place, the
protectress of states ; and all that their welfare requires in
peace or war proceeds from her. Thus she appears as god-
dess of peace as well as war. In the latter capacity she
accompanies the army on its march, inspires the soldiers
with ardor for the fray, and rewards them with victory and
rich spoils ; she also affords her mighty protection to towns
and cities at home. In Homer she figures, besides, as the
kindly guide and protectress of individual heroes, such as
Odysseus, Achilles, Diomedes. It was she who first taught
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 41
mankind to manage the horse and to build ships and char-
iots; she also invented the war -trumpet and flute. As
goddess of war she usually wears, besides helmet, shield,
and spear, the dreadful aegis. The latter, in art monuments,
^.s represented as a breastplate covered with dragon's scales,
and surrounded with serpents, in the midst of which is the
dreadful head of Medusa, which has the effect of turning
every one that looks on it into stone.
As goddess of poace, Athene is equally lavish in bless-
ing. Everything n ^cessary, either to the physical or intel-
lectual welfare of mankind, was believed to proceed from
her, and to be subject to her influence. Accordingly, use-
ful inventions of all kinds are ascribed to her. It was she
who first gave men the rake and the plough ; it was she
who invented the distaff and loom, as well as the art of
dyeing woven stuffs, and many other feminine accomplish-
ments.
By later writers this skill in art is extended to other
thiilgs, and she is represented as the patroness of every
branch of science, art, and manufacture.
She is also called Athene Hygiea, because she was be-
lieved to send pure atmosphere, to ward off pestilence, and
to promote the growth and health of the youth of the land.
We cannot wonder, therefore, that the worship of a god-
dess so benevolent, and exercising such an important in-
fluence on human life, was very extensive in Greece. No-
where did she receive a higher degree of veneration than
at Athens, of which city she was really the tutelary deity.
Her most important shrine was the Parthenon (temple of
the virgin goddess), which was erected by Pericles on the
Acropolis, and the remains of which, even in the present
day. excite the wonder and admiration of the world. The
42 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
whole land of Attica was, indeed, in a certain measure, the
peculiar property of the goddess, which she won after her
well-known contest with Poseidon. Zeus had decreed the
sovereignty over Attica to that deity who should bestow
on the land the most useful present. Poseidon thereupon
created the horse; tut Athene caused the olive-tree to
grow, and was thus held to have won the victory. The
sacred olive-tree, which was thus called into existence, was
shown in the Temple of Erechtheus on the Acropolis, and
possessed such a wonderful vitality that, when the Per-
sian burned it after capturing the town, it immediately
put forth a fresh shoot. Argos and Corinth were also
renowned seats of the worship of Pallas Athene ; and she
also enjoyed the highest veneration in Sparta, Boeotia,
Thessaly, Arcadia, and Rhodes.
The Roman Minerva was Hellenized at a very early pe-
riod, and identified with the Greek Pallas. In Rome, how-
ever, the warlike character of the goddess was completely
merged in tliat of the peaceful inventress and patroness of
the arts and sciences, and of all handiwork of women. She
was here worshipped, in company with Jupiter and Juno,
as the tutelary deity of the city and empire, and has, in
consequence, her own shrine in the Temple of Jupiter Cap-
itolinus. She also had temples on the Aventine and Cce-
lian hills, to which a third was added by Pompey, in 61
B.C., in the Campus Martins.
Festivals of the Goddess, — The Panathensea, the chief
festival of the Greek Pallas, were celebrated with great
pomp every four years. A solemn procession passed
through the streets of Athens up to the Acropolis ; and
an offering was made to the goddess in the shape of a
costly garment (peplus), artistically embroidered by the
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 43
Athenian maidens. Horse-races, athletic and musical con-
tests, took place at the same time. Another festival of
less importance, called the Lesser Panathensea, was cele-
brated every year at Athens in honor of the goddess.
At Rome the chief festival of Minerva, the Quinquatrus
Majores, was held on the 19th of March, and was, in later
times, extended to five days. It was especially observed
by all engaged in intellectual pursuits, and by artists and
artisans. As Minerva was also patroness of schools, the
school-boys also took part in the celebration, and enjoyed
a welcome holiday.
The virgin goddess was at all times a favorite subject with ancient
art. Even in the earliest times, before casting in bronze or marble
sculpture was known, while the images of the gods were as yet rude-
\j carved in wood, Pallas was a frequent subject of delineation.
These wooden images usually represented the goddess as standing
upright with poised spear in front of the battle, and were then called
Palladia. Men delighted to believe them to have fallen from heaven,
and to be a sure means of protection against hostile attack. When
Greek art was in its prime, the first masters vied with each other in
the representation of the goddess. Phidias outdid them all in his re-
nowned statue of Athene Parthenos, which stood in the temple on the
Acropolis. The figure was thirty-nine feet high, and was construct-
ed of ivory and gold. Its majestic beauty naturally formed one of
the chief attractions of the magnificent temple. It disappeared, with-
out leaving any clue behind it, during the stormy period of the inva-
sion of the nomadic tribes. In proceeding to give an account of the
most important existing statues of the goddess, we must first mention
a magnificent marble bust which King Ludwig I. of Bavaria procured
for the Munich collection, and which was formerly in the Villa Alba-
ni at Rome. The goddess here wears a tight-fitting helmet, the top
of which is decorated with a serpent, the emblem of wisdom. Her
breastplate, which is bordered with serpents, falls like a cape over
her shoulders, and is fastened in the middle by the Gorgon's head, a
terrible but striking contrast to the pure and noble countenance of
the goddess. A fine bust, with a delicate and youthful expression of
countenance, is preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome.
Fig. 8.— Pallas Giustiniani. Vatican.
Fig. 9.— Athene Polias. Villa Albani
46
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Another, not less beautiful, but with grave and almost masculine
features, was discovered in the excavations of Pompeii, and is now in
the Naples Museum.
Among existing (full-length) statues, the Pallas Giustiniani, of the
Vatican Museum at Rome, is held to be the finest (Fig. 8). This
probably once stood in a Roman temple, having been found in a place
Fig. 10.— Pallas Athene. Naples.
where there was formerly a temple of Minerva. This statue, in ac-
cordance with the Roman conception, bears a more peaceable charac-
ter, although neither the^*spear nor helmet is wanting. Next come
two statues found near Velletri, one of which is in the Capitoline Mu-
seum at Rome, while the other forms a chief ornament of the Louvre
collection in Paris. Both represent the goddess in the character of
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 4<
a benign deity fostering all peaceful works, with a gentle but earnest
expression of countenance.
The Farnese Minerva of the Naples Museum and the " Hope " copy
in London betray similar characteristics. On the other hand, in a
statue discovered at Herculaneum (now at Naples), Minerva appears
I as a warlike goddess, in an evidently hostile attitude (Fig. 10). This
is also the case with the celebrated statue at the Louvre, which, on
account of the necklace worn by the goddess, is generally called
Minerve an Collier ; and again in a statue of the Villa Albani, in
which a lion's skin thrown over the head takes the place of the hel-
met (Fig. 9).
On combining the characteristic features of Minerva, we may gath-
er that her most prominent trait is a lofty seriousness, well befitting
the chaste, grave character of the virgin goddess. The closed lips
and the prominent chin betray a determined and resolute disposition,
while her mien and bearing give token of strength and dignity.
Among the favorite animals of Minerva we may mention the ser-
pent, the owl, and the cock. The first is a symbol of wisdom, the
second of profound meditation, and the last of eager desire for the
fray. The attributes of Minerva consist of the aegis (which serves as
a shield) the spear, and the helmet. The helmet is sometimes adorn-
ed with the figures of griffins, significant of the overpowering might
of the wearer. The statues are all fully clothed, in accordance with
the chaste character of the goddess.
4. Apollo. — As Athene is the favorite daughter of
Zeus, so Apollo ranks as the ^ost glorious and beautiful
of his sons. Like other sons of Zeus, he is a god of light,
and, indeed, the purest and highest representative of this
mighty power in nature. His mother, Leto (Latona), is a
representative of the darkness of the night. According to
the sacred legend, she was compelled when pregnant to
wander about, because mankind, dreading the appearance
of the mighty god, refused to receive her. This myth was
afterward altered by later writers, who assign the jealousy
of Hera as the cause of her wanderings. Leto at length
found a refuge on Delos, which was once a floating island^
48 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
and had to be fastened to the bottom of the sea by means
of lofty columns. As the bright god of heaven, to whom
everything impure and unholy is hateful, we find Apollo,
soon after his birth, preparing to do battle with the evil
powers of darkness. With his arrows he slew both the
giant Tityus and the serpent Python, the latter a monster
that inhabited the valley of the Plistus, near Delphi, and
destroyed both men and cattle. These and similar myths
are merely a panegyric on the conquering power exercised
by the genial warmth of spring over the dark gloom of
winter.
But though Apollo thus appears as the foe of all that is
evil and impure, ancient myths, nevertheless, represent him
also as a terrible god of death, sending virulent pestilences
and dealing out destruction to men and animals by means
of his unerring arrows. This may be easily explained, how-
ever, by glancing at the natural signification of the god.
The rays of the sun do indeed put to flight the cold of
winter, but as their heat increases they themselves ultimate-
ly become the cause of disease and death. This is beauti-
fully portrayed in the fable of the death of Hyacinthus.
To proceed further in the analysis of his character as
god of light, Apollo next appears as the protector of streets
and houses. A conical pillar was usually erected at the
side of the doors of houses as a symbol of him, and a de-
fence against all sorceries. Connected with this is his re-
pute as a god of health ; one who is indeed able to send
disease and death, but who, on the other hand, is all-pow-
erful to protect against physical maladies. This feature in
his character, however, is more extensively developed in the
person of his son, Asclepius (JEsculapius). But it is not
only outward ills that this wonder-working deity can cure :
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 49
as the true redeemer from sin and crime, lie alone can af-
ford consolation to gnilty souls. Even those pursued by
the Furies he sometimes receives in tenderness and pity, a
fine instance of which is found in the story of Orestes. It
is here that we must seek the explanation of his character as
god of music ; in the fact that it exercises so soothing and
tranquillizing an influence on the soul of man. His favor-
ite instrument was the lyre, which he was wont to play
with masterly skill at the banquets of the gods, while the
Muses accompanied him with their wondrous strains. Apol-
lo was therefore regarded as the leader of the Muses (Mu-
sagetes) ; and all the great singers of antiquity, such as
Orpheus and Linus, are mythically represented as his sons.
But Apollo attained his greatest importance among the
Greeks as god of prophecy. His oracles continued to ex-
ercise an important influence on social and political life,
even down to the latest times. The inspiration of Apollo
was distinguished by the fact that the god revealed the
future less by means of outward signs than by inducing an
ecstatic condition of mind bordering on madness in those
persons through whom he wished to proclaim his oracles.
These were generally women and maidens, who, either at
oracular shrines proper, or dwelling alone as Sibyls, gave
forth the responses of the god. In early times they were
somewhat numerous. There was an oracle at Clarus, near
Colophon ; an oracle at Didyma, near Miletus ; and an ora-
cle on the Ismenus, near Thebes. These were eventually
all thrown into the shade by that of Delphi. The responses
of this oracle exercised, during a long period of Grecian
history, an all-powerful influence, especially on the Dorian
tribes. The convulsions of the Pythia, or priestess of
Apollo, were brought about, partly by the chewing of lau-
4
50 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
rel leaves, and partly by the gaseous vapors that issued
from a cleft in the earth beneath the sacred tripod. The
ecstatic condition in which she gave the responses, which
were comprehensible only to the initiated priests, manifest-
ed itself in a foaming at the mouth and in convulsions of
the body.
Delphi naturally became the chief seat of the worship
of Apollo. The gorgeous temple was rebuilt in the time
of the Pisistratidse, after the destruction of the old one
by fire. Its wealth from offerings became so great that
their value was computed at 10,000 talents (more than
£2,000,000). In the neighborhood of Delphi the Pythian
games were celebrated in the third year of every Olym-
piad.
The shrine of the god at Delos, his birthplace, was lit-
tle less renowned. The sanctuary itself was situated at the
foot of Mount Cynthus; but the whole island was sacred
to the god, for which reason no one was buried there*
Here, too, games, said to have been instituted by Theseus,
were celebrated every four years in honor of the god.
Apollo had, besides, a great number of less celebrated
shrines and temples, not only in Greece, but also in Asia
Minor, and wherever the Greek colonies extended.
The Apollo of the Romans, as his name indicates, was
transferred to Rome from Greece. At a comparatively
early period men began to feel the want of a prophetic
deity, as the Roman gods, although they vouchsafed hints
as to the future, confined their responses to a mere Yea or
Nay. Moreover, in the character of god of healing, he was
early admitted into the Roman system, as we gather from
the fact that the first temple really dedicated to Apollo
was erected in 429 b.c, under the pressure of a grievou*
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 51
pestilence. The worship of Apollo was especially exalted
by the Emperor Augustus, who ascribed his victory at
Actium chiefly to the assistance of the god. He accord-
ingly erected a magnificent temple to Apollo on the Pala-
tine, which was embellished with the celebrated statue of
Apollo Citharoedus, by Scopas.
This remark leads us to contemplate the different statues of the
god. Apollo constantly bears a very youthful appearance, and is
always beardless. His figure is strong and handsome, his head cov-
ered with fair clustering locks, and his face expressive of majesty,
but marked withal by a cheerful serenity. Such is the original and
fundamental type, which was usually followed in the representation
of the god. It was principally developed by Scopas and Praxiteles,
who belonged to the later Attic school, which flourished from the end
of the Peloponnesian war to the reign of Alexander the Great. The
principal creation of Scopas was a marble statue, representing the
god as a Pythian Citharoedus with the lyre in his hand, clothed in a
long robe reaching to the feet.
This invaluable work was procured by Augustus for the temple he
erected to Apollo on the Palatine. Praxiteles, a younger contempo-
rary of Scopas, acquired considerable renown by his bronze figure of
a youthful Apollo pursuing a Hzard (Apollo Sauroctonus).
In existing art monuments sometimes the conception of a warlike,
vengeful deity obtains, in which case the god is represented as nude'
or nearly so, and armed with quiver and bow. At other times he
wears a mild and benevolent aspect ; he is then distinguished by his
lute, and completely enveloped in a chlamys. Of the former kind
is the most beautiful and celebrated of all his existing statues, the
Apollo Belvedere, which was discovered in 1503, near Nettuno' the
ancient Antium, and is now in the Vatican. The proud self -con-
sciousness of a conquering deity is inimitably expressed in his whole
attitude. He stands with his right hand and leg against the trunk
of a tree, his left arm outstretched, with the <©gis, probablv as a sym-
bol of fear and terror, in his hand. The serpent creeping up the
tree is a symbol of the powers of darkness vanquished by the god
(Fig. 11). We have also given a larger engraving of the h^ad of the
Belvedere Apollo, in order to afford a clearer idea of its wondrous
beauty (Fig. 12).
Pig. 11.— Apollo Belvedere. Vatican.
Fig. 12.— Head of Apollo Belvedere,
64 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
The so-called Apollino, of the Florence Gallery, a youthful figure
resting after battle, is a work of scarcely less beauty. The shape
of the body, which is entirely nude, is wonderfully soft and delicate.
With his left arm the god leans upon a tree; in his left hand he
negligently holds the bow, while his right hand is raised to his head
in a meditative fashion. The Farnese Apollo of the Naples Museum
possesses an equally graceful form. The god is here represented as
a musician ; in his left hand he holds the lyre, while his right glides
over the strings. The animated expression of his face, indicating his
entire devotion to his art, is exquisitely beautiful. The goose at his
feet, which was regarded even by the ancients as a music-loving bird,
appears to drink in with rapture the heavenly tones.
In those works which represent the god as a Pythian lute-player
in a long Ionian garment, we perceive an almost feminine figure and
a visionary expression of face. The most important works of this
kind are the Apollo Citharoedus of the Munich collection (Fig. 18),
formerly called the Muse of Barberini, which is marked by a some-
what quieter attitude; and the so-called Apollo Musagetes of the
Vatican collection, which is characterized by a lively dancing move-
ment of the figure, and is generally regarded as an imitation of the
masterpiece of Scopas already mentioned. A pure and heavenly in-
spiration seems to pervade the features of the laurel-crowned god ;
his mighty lyre, to the tones of which he appears to be singing, is
suspended from a band across the chest, and is aptly adorned with
the portrait of Marsyas, his vanquished rival.
Lastly, the graceful statue of Apollo Sauroctonus (Lizard-slayer)
deserves mention. Many copies of it still exist, the chief of which is
a marble statue in the Vatican collection. The delicate figure of the
god, midway between youth and boyhood, leans carelessly against the
trunk of a tree, up which a lizard is creeping. The god is eagerly
watching its movements, in order to seize a favorable moment to nail
it to the tree with his arrow.
The principal attributes of Apollo are the bow, arrows, quiver,
laurel crown, and lyre. To these may be added, as symbols of his
prophetic power, the tripod and the omphalos (navel), the latter
being a representation of the earth's centre in the temple at Delphi,
on which he is often depicted as sitting. The god also appears
standing on the omphalos ; as in the case of a marble statue lately
found in the theatre of Dionysus. His sacred animals were the wolf,
the hind, the bat, the swan, the goose, and the dolphin ; the three
last being music-loving creatures.
l^g. 13.— Apollo Citharoedus. Munich.
56 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
5. Artemis (Diana). — Artemis is the feminine coun-
terpart of her twin brother Apollo, with whom she entire-
ly harmonizes when regarded from her physical aspect.
Like him, she is a beautiful and propitious deity ; but like
him, too, she can deal out, at times, death and destruction
among mankind. Like Apollo, she promotes the growth
of the young plant, and is equally the foe of all that is
evil and impure. Like him, she is skilled in the use of
the bow, of which she avails herself, however, not only for
the destruction of monsters, but also at times to chastise
the insolence of man — witness the death of the children of
Niobe. Her favorite amusement is the chase. Armed with
quiver and bow, she ranges mountain and valley, accom
panied by a band of nymphs. The chase ended, she de-
lights to bathe in some fresh spring, or to lead off some
favorite dance on the flowery meadows, surrounded by her
nymphs, all of whom she overtops by a head. Then the
heart of her mother, Leto, rejoices as she gazes on the in-
nocent sports of her lovely daughter.
As a virgin goddess she was especially venerated by
young maidens, whose patroness she remained till their
marriage, and to whom she afforded an example of chas-
tity. The story of Actseon, who was changed into a stag
and then torn to pieces by his ow^n dogs, shows that she
did not suffer any injury to her virgin modesty to go un-
punished. (For this story see the Theban legends.)
Originally, Artemis appears to have been the goddess of
the moon, just as her brother Apollo is unmistakably iden-
tical with the sun. This conception, however, continued
to grow fainter and fainter, until, in the later days of con-
fusion of religions, it was again revived. Artemis was fre-
quently confounded with Selene or Phoebe (Luna).
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 57
The national Artemis of the Greeks was originally quite
distinct from the Artemis Orthia, a dark and cruel deity,
to whom human sacrifices were offered in Laconia. Ly-
curgus abolished this barbarous custom, but caused instead
a number of boys to be cruelly whipped before the image
of the goddess on the occasion of her annual festival.
This is the same Artemis to whom Agamemnon was about
to offer, in Aulis, his daughter Iphigenia, previous to the
departure of the Greeks for Troy. The Scythians in
Tauris likewise had a goddess whom they propitiated with
human sacrifices. This caused her to be confounded with
Artemis Orthia, and the story arose that Iphigenia was
conveyed by the goddess to Tauris, from which place she
subsequently, assisted by her brother Orestes, brought the
image of the goddess to Greece.
The Ephesian Artemis, known to us as "Diana of the
Ephesians," was distinct from all that have been men-
tioned. She was, in fact, an Asiatic, not a Hellenic deity.
The Roman Diana, who was early identified with the
Greek Artemis, was likewise originally a goddess of the
moon. As such, she possessed a very ancient shrine on
Mount Algidus, near Tusculum. Like the Greek Artemis,
she was also regarded as the tutelary goddess of women,
and was invoked by women in childbirth. This was also
the case with Artemis, although the matrons of Greece
looked for more protection in this respect at the hands of
Hera. She gained, however, a certain political importance
in Rome after having been made by Servius Tullius the tu-
telary deity of the Latin League. As such, she possessed
a sacred grove and temple on the Aventine.
Artemis is a favorite subject with the masters of the later Attic
school. She is always represented as youthful, slender and light of
Fig. 14.— Diana of Versailles.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 59
foot, and without womanly fulnesss. Her devotion to the chase is
clearly betokened by the quiver and bow which she generally bears,
and by the high girt robe and Cretan shoes, which allow her tz "pass
unencumbered through the thickets of the forest.
Among existing statues, the most celebrated is the so-called Diana
of Versailles, which came from the Villa of Hadrian, at Tibur (Fig.
14). It is now a chief ornament of the Louvre collection, and is a
worthy companion to the Belvedere Apollo, although it does not quite
equal this in beauty. In this statue the goddess does not appear as
a huntress, but rather as the protectress of wild animals. She is
conceived as having just come to the rescue of a hunted deer, and is
in the act of turning with angry mien on the pursuers. With her
right hand she grasps an arrow from the quiver that hangs at her
back, and in her left she holds the bow.
A really beautiful statue of the Vatican collection depicts the god-
dess in a most striking attitude. She has just sent forth her deadly
arrow, and is eagerly watching its effect. The hound at her side is
just about to start in eager pursuit of the mark, which was evidently,
therefore, a wild animal. In her left hand is the bow, still strung,
from which her right hand has just directed the arrow. Her foot is
likewise upraised in triumph, and her whole deportment expresses
the proud joy of victory. The chief attributes of Diana are bow,
quiver, and spear, and also a torch, as an emblem of her power to
dispense light and life. The hind, the dog, the bear, and the wild-
boar were esteemed sacred to her.
6. Ares (Mars). — Ares, the son of Zeus and Hera, rep-
resents war from its fatal and destructive side, by which
he is clearly distinguished from Athene, the wise disposer
of battles. He was, it is probable, originally a personifi-
cation of the angry clouded sky. His home, according
to Homer, was in Thrace, the land of boisterous, wintry
storms, among whose warlike inhabitants he was held in
high esteem, although his worship was not so extensive in
Greece. Homer, in the '^ Iliad," paints in particularly lively
colors the picture of the rude " man-slaying " god of war.
He here appears as a deity who delights only in the wild
din of battle, and is never weary of strife and slaughter.
60 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Clad in brazen armor from head to foot, with waving
plume, helmet, and high-poised spear, his bull's-hide shield
on his left arm, he ranges the battle-field, casting down all
before him in his impetuous fury. With strength he com-
bines great agility, and is, according to Homer, the fleetest
of the gods. Strong though he be, however, he is over-
matched in battle by Athene; a palpable indication that
prudent courage often accomplishes more than impetuous
violence.
The usual attendants and servants of Ares are Fear and
Terror. By some writers they are described as his sons,
yet in Homer they fight against him. There is little to be
said of the principal seats of his worship in Greece. In
Thebes he was regarded as the god of pestilence ; and
Aphrodite, who elsewhere appears as the wife of He-
phaestus, was given him to wife. By her he became the
father of Harmonia, who married Cadmus, and thus became
the ancestress of the Cadmean race in Thebes. Accord-
ing to an Athenian local legend, his having slain a son of
Poseidon gave rise to the institution of the Areopagus.
He was here regarded as the god of vengeance. A cele-
brated statue by Alcamenes adorned his temple at Athens.
Among the warlike people of Sparta the worship of Ares
was also extensive.
This deity was regarded with a far greater degree of
veneration in Rome, under the appellation of Mars, or
Mavors. He seems to have occupied an important posi-
tion even among the earliest Italian tribes. It was not as
god of war, however — for which, amidst the peaceful pur-
suits of cattle - rearing and husbandry, they cared little —
but as the god of the spring triumphing over the powers of
winter, that he was worshipped. It was from his bounty
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 61
that the primitive people looked for the prosperous growth
of their flocks and the fruits of their fields ; it was Mars
on whom they called for protection against bad weather
and destructive pestilence.
In warlike Rome, however, this deity soon laid aside his
peaceful character, and donned the bright armor of the
god of war. He was even regarded as being, after Jupiter,
the most important god of the state and people of Rome.
Numa himself gave him a flamen of his own, and created
or restored in his honor the priesthood of the Salii. The
occasion, according to the sacred legend, was on this wise.
As King Numa one morning, from the ancient palace at
the foot of the Palatine, raised his hands in prayer to Jove,
beseeching his protection and favor for the infant state of
Rome, the god let fall from heaven, as a mark of his favor,
an oblong brazen shield (ancile). At the same time a voice
was heard declaring that Rome should endure as long as
this shield was preserved. Numa then caused the sacred
shield, which was recognized as that of Mars, to be care-
fully preserved. The better to prevent its abstraction, he
ordered an artist to make eleven others exactly similar,
and instituted for their protection the college of the Salii,
twelve in number, like the shields, who were selected from
the noblest families in Rome. Every year in the month
of March, which was sacred to Mars, they bore the sacred
shields in solemn procession through the streets of Rome,
executing warlike dances and chanting ancient war-songSr
From the days of Numa the worship of "Father Mars"
continued to acquire an ever-increasing popularity. Before
the departure of a Roman army on any expedition, the im-
perator retired to the sanctuary of the god in the old pal-
ace, and there touched the sacred shields and the spear of
62 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the statue of Mars, crying aloud at the same time, " Mars,
watch over us !" According to popular belief, the god
himself went unseen before the host as it marched to bat-
tle, whence he was called "Gradivus." In the war with
the Lucanians and Bruttians (282 e.g.), when the consuls
were hesitating whether to begin the attack, an unknown
youth of extraordinary stature and beauty encouraged the
troops to begin the assault on the enemy's camp, and was
himself the first to scale the wall. When he was afterward
sought for, in order that he might receive his richly mer-
ited reward, he had disappeared, leaving no trace behind
him. As it could have been none other than Father Mars,
the consul, Fabricius, decreed him a thanksgiving of three
days' duration.
Mars naturally received a due share of all booty taken
in war. Defeat was ascribed to his wrath, which men strove
to avert by extraordinary sin-offerings.
Popular belief made Mars the father, by a vestal virgin,
of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city.
His wife appears to have been Nerio ; but she enjoyed no
honors at Rome.
In attendance on Mars we find Metus and Pallor, who
answer to the Greek deities already mentioned; and also
his sister, Bellona, corresponding to the Enyo, who was
worshipped in Pontus and Cappadocia, though not in Greece
proper. Bellona had a temple in the Campus Martins.
The Campus Martins (Field of Mars), the celebrated
place of exercise of the Roman youth, stretched from the
Quirinal westward to the Tiber, and was dedicated to the
god of war. Augustus, after the overthrow of the murder-
ers of Csesar, his adopted father, erected a temple to Mars,
which was built in Greek style, and far surpassed in gran'
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
68
Fig. 15.— Mars Ludovisi.
deur and splendor all the other temples of the god. Three
columns of it are still standing, mute witnesses of vanished
splendor. A large number of religious festivities were cel-
ebrated in the month of March in honor of Mars. The
procession of the Salii formed the chief feature of the fes-
tival ; but there were also races and games. On the Ides
d4
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
of October also a chariot-race took place in honor of MarSj
at which the singular custom prevailed of offering the near
horse of the victorious team to the god. The inhabitants
of the two oldest quarters of the city contended for the
head of the slaughtered animal, and whoever got it was
supposed to reap great blessings from its possession.
Ancient artists represented Mars as a tall and powerful young man,
whose activit}^, however, is as apparent as his strength. His char-
acteristic features are short
curly hair, small eyes, and
broad nostrils, significant of
the violence and passionate-
ness of his nature. The most
celebrated of existing statues
is the Mars Ludovisi of the
Villa Ludovisi, at Rome. It
has often been conjectured
that this is an imitation of the
renowned work of Scopas. The
deity is depicted as resting af-
ter battle ; and, in spite of the
usual turbulence of his dispo-
sition, he here appears to have
surrendered himself to a more
gentle frame of mind. The
little god of love crouching at
his feet gazes into his face
with a roguish, triumphant
smile, as though rejoiced to
see that even the wildest and
most untamable must submit
to his sway, and thus shows
us what has called forth this
gentle mood (Fig. 15). The
Mars Ludovisi is an original
work, Greek in its origin,
though belonging to a some-
Pig. 16.— Bust of Ares. Sculpture Gallery what late period. The Bor-
at Munich. ghese Mars of the Louvre, or
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 65
the other hand, is undoubtedly of Roman origin. It is supposed to
represent Ares bound by the craft of Hephaestus.
Besides these two principal statues, the bust of Mars of the Munich
collection deserves mention. It is distinguished by a peculiarly ex-
pressive head, of which we give an engraving (Fig. 16).
The attributes of Mars are the helmet (decorated with the figures
of wo;^ hounds and griffins), shield, and spear. The animals sacred
to him were the wolf, the horse, and the woodpecker.
7. Aphrodite (Venus).— In the '' Iliad," Aphrodite
is represented as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, the god-
doss of moisture, who, as the wife of the god of heaven,
was held in high esteem among the old Pelasgians. This
f<,ccount, however, was gradually replaced by another which
prevailed among the later poets, who related that Aphro-
dite was born of the foam of the sea, and first touched
land on the island of Cyprus, which was henceforth held
sacred to her. She was undoubtedly Oriental in her origin
being probably a personification of the creative and gener
ative forces of nature. She figured among the Greeks as
goddess of beauty and sexual love.
We must not forget that this conception, which was so
extensively circulated by the poets, by no means absorbs
the whole character of the goddess. It really covers only
that of Aphrodite Pandemus (the earthly Aphrodite), a
goddess of the spring, by whose wondrous power all germs
in the natural and vegetable world are quickened. There
was another deity. Aphrodite Urania, a celestial deity, who
was venerated as the dispenser of prosperity and fertility
and also an Aphrodite Pontia (of the sea), the tutelary
deity of ships and mariners, who controlled the winds and
the waves, and granted to ships a fair and prosperous pas-
sage. As the worship of Aphrodite was extremely popu-
lar among the numerous islands and ports of the Grecian
5
66 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
seas, we can well imagine that it was in this latter chalao
ter that she received her greatest share of honor.
The poets paint Aphrodite as the most beautiful of all
the goddesses, whose magic power not even the wisest
could withstand. Even wild animals were conscious of
her influence, and pressed round her like lambs. In partial
explanation of this otherwise incomprehensible fact, she
was endowed with the celebrated love -begetting magic
girdle, which she could lay aside at will and lend to others.
And as she thus gave rise to passion in others, she herself
was not free from its influence. This is evidenced by the
numerous stories of her amours with the gods or favored
mortals, which it is so diflScult to bring into harmony with
each other. Sometimes Ares, sometimes Hephaestus, is
said to be her husband. The latter account, which origi-
nated in Lemnos, was the more popular ; doubtless because
its very strangeness in mating the sweetest and most love-
ly of the goddesses with the lame and ugly god of fire had
a certain charm. No children are mentioned as springing
from the union of Aphrodite with Hephaestus; but Eros
and Anteros, as well as Demus and Phobus, are said to be
her children by Ares. Other legends, generally of a local
character, unite her to Dionysus, or to Hermes.
The story of her love for the beautiful Adonis is of Asi-
atic origin, but underwent various alterations on its way
through Greece. The germ of the story may be easily dis-
tinguished. It clearly represents the decay of nature in
autumn, and its resuscitation in spring. Adonis, whom
Aphrodite tenderly loved, was killed, when hunting, by a
wild-boar. Inconsolable at her loss. Aphrodite piteously
entreated Father Zeus to restore his life. Zeus at length
consented that Adonis should spend one part of the yeai
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 6l
in the world of shadows, and the other in the upper world.
Clearly the monster that deprived Adonis of life is only a
symbol of the frosty winter, before whose freezing blast all
life in nature decays.
In the story of Troy, Aphrodite plays an important part.
She was the original cause of the war, having assisted Paris
in his elopement with Helen. This was his reward for his
celebrated judgment, in which he awarded the prize of
beauty to Aphrodite in preference to Hera or Athene.
Besides the Trojan prince, Anchises enjoyed her favors, and
she became by him the mother of the pious hero ^neas.
The goddess appears ever ready to assist unfortunate
lovers ; thus she aided the hero Peleus to obtain the beau-
tiful sea-nymph Thetis. On the other hand, she punishes
with the utmost severity those who from pride or disdain
resist her power. This appears in the legend of Hippol-
ytus, son of Theseus, King of Athens, whom she ruined
through the love of his step -mother Phaedra; also in the
story of the beautiful youth Narcissus, whom she punished
by an ungratified self-love, because he had despised the
love of the nymph Echo.
The Seasons and the Graces appear in attendance on
Aphrodite. Their office is to dress and adorn her. She
is also accompanied by Eros, Pothus, and Himerus (Love,
ijonging, and Desire), besides Hymen, or Hymenaeus, the
god of marriage.
The Roman Venus (the Lovely One) was regarded by the
earlier Italian tribes as the goddess of spring, for which
reason April, the month of buds, was held sacred to her.
She early acquired a certain social importance, by having
ascribed to her a beneficent influence in promoting civil
harmony and sociability amon^ men.
68 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,
After her identification with the Aphrodite of the
Greeks, she became more and more a goddess merely of
sensual love and desire. She had three principal shrines —
those of Venus Murcia, Venus Cloacina, and Libitina. The
first of these surnames points to Venus as the myrtle god-
dess (the myrtle being an emblem of chaste love) : her
temple was situated on the brow of the Aventine, and was
supposed to have been erected by the Latins, who were
planted there by Ancus Marcius.
The temple of Venus Cloacina (the purifier) was said to
have been erected in memory of the reconciliation of the
Romans and Sabines, after the rape of the Sabine women.
The surname of Libitina points to her as goddess of corpses.
All the apparatus of funerals were kept in this temple, and
her attendants were at the same time the public undertak-
ers of the city. The astonished reader may well ask how
it was that Venus, the queen of love and pleasure, acquired
such a character. But here, as elsewhere, extremes meet,
and those who are familiar with the mythological concep-
tions of the ancients will scarcely wonder at this double
nature, with which we shall become better acquainted in
the case of the terrestrial deities.
To these ancient shrines was added another in the time
of Julius Caesar, who erected a temple to Venus Genetrix,
ti.e goddess of wedlock, in fulfilment of a vow made at the
battle of Pharsalus.
Aphrodite, or Venus, is notoriously an especially common subject
of representation among the artists of antiquity. The task of giving
expression to the most perfect female beauty, arrayed in all the
charms of love, by means of chisel or brush, continually spurs the
artist to fresh endeavors. It was especially among the masters of
the later Attic school, who devoted themselves to the representation
of the youthful and beautiful among the gods in whom the nude ap.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
69
peared least offensive, that statues of Venus were attempted. The
Venus of Cnidus, by Praxiteles, was the most important work of that
master; and the people of Cnidus were so proud of it that they en-
graved her image on their coins. The fact that they ventured to
portray the goddess as entirely nude
may be regarded as a sign both of the
fdlling-away of the popular faith and
of the decay of art. Henceforth, ex-
cept in the case of statues for the
temples, it became an established cus-
tom to represent Venus and other kin-
dred deities as nude. Venus is further
distinguished by a fulness of form,
which is, nevertheless, combined with
slenderness and grace. The counte-
nance is oval ; the eyes are not large,
and have a languishing expression;
the mouth is small, and the cheeks
and chin full and round.
Of the numerous existing statues
we can here mention only the most
important. First among them in ar-
tistic worth is a marble statue larger
than life, which was found in 1820 on
the island of Melos (Milo), and is nov/
in the Louvre at Paris (Fig. 1^). In
this statue only the upper part of the
body is nude, the lower portions, from
the hips downward, being covered with
a light garment. One scarcely knows
which to admire most in this splendid
statue — the singularly dignified ex-
pression of the head, or the charming
filness and magnificent proportions
of the limbs. The arms are quite
broken off, so that we cannot deter-
mine the conception of the artist with ^.^ n.-Vemis of Milo. Lonvre.
any certainty. It is supposed that the
g'.>ddess held in ner hand either an apple, which was a symbol of the
Isle of Melos, or the bronze shield of Ares. Her looks express proud
and ioyous self-consciousness.
Pig. 18.— Venus Gcnetrix. Villa Borghesc
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 7l
In the Venus of Capua (so called because found among the ruini
of the Amphitheatre) she again appears as a victorious goddess
(Venus Victrix). This statue is now in the Museum at Naples. The
shape of the nude body is not so vigorous or fresh as that of the
Venus of Milo, but somewhat soft and ill-defined.
The Medicean Venus, formerly in the Villa Medici at Rome, is bet-
ter known. It is a work of the later Attic school, in which, at the
end of the second century b.c, Greek art once more blooms for a
while. It is the work of the Athenian artist Cleomenes, though prob-
ably chiselled in Rome. As Venus Anadyomene (rising from the
sea) the goddess appears entirely nude. This is the most youthful in
appearance of all her statues, and is distinguished by the perfect reg-
ularity and beauty of its form, though there is no trace of the lofty
dignity of the goddess. " What a descent," says Kraus, in his " Chris-
tian Art,'' " is there from the Venus of Milo to this coquette, whose
apparently bashful posture is only meant to challenge the notice of
the beholder !"
The ^' Venus crouching in the Bath " of the Vatican collection
and the " Venus loosing her Sandal " of the Munich Gallery are crea-
tions similar in style. In some imitations of the Cnidian Venus, the
most important of which are in Rome and Munich, the goddess wears
a more dignified demeanor; and also in the wonderfully graceful
Venus Genetrix of the Villa Borghese at Rome (Fig. 18).
The attributes of Venus vary much according to the prevailing
conception of the goddess. The dove, the sparrow, and the dolphin,
and among plants the myrtle, the rose, the apple, the poppy, and the
lime-tree, were sacred to her.
8. Hermes (Mercurins). — Hermes was the son of
Zeus and Maia, a daughter of Atlas. He was born in a
gr£>t.t.r> jtF ATonnt. Cyllene, in Arcadia, whence he is called
)ylleniusJ We know the stories of his youth chiefly from
the""so=^ed Homeric Hymn. This relates in a delightful
manner how Hermes, soon after his birth, gave token of his
cunning and dexterity, the chief features of his character.
Growing in a wonderful manner, as only gods can grow, he
sprung, only four hours after his birth, from his mother's
lap, and finding a tortoise, he placed strings across its sheH
72 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
and thus invented the lyre, on which he immediately began
to sing the loves of Zeus and Maia. Then towards even-
ing, impelled by a resistless craving for meat, he hurried to
Pieria, where he stole fifty bulls from the herds of Apollo.
After killing two of them, and thus satisfying his hunger,
he returned to the grotto of his mother, and lay down in
his cradle as though nothing had happened. Apollo, how-
ever, soon remarked the theft, and hurried after the impu-
dent robber. Hermes now played the innocent, and obsti-
nately denied the charge ; but Apollo was not to be de-
ceived, and forced the young thief to accompany him to
the throne of Zeus to have their quarrel decided. Zeus or-
dered Hermes to restore the cattle, but Apollo gladly made
them over to Hermes on receiving the newly invented lyre.
Thus Hermes became the god of shepherds and pastures,
while Apollo henceforth zealously devoted himself to the
art of music.
As a token of their thorough reconciliation, Apollo gave
his brother god the golden Caduceus, or magic wand, by
means of which he could bestow happiness on whomsoever
he would ; and henceforth both dwelt together in the utmost
harmony and love, the favorite sons of their father Zeus.
While Apollo represents the warm, genial sunshine,
Hermes, as a power of nature, is the rain. Rain and sun-
shine are both emanations of the great God of heaven, or,
in the language of mythology, his sons. Both appear in
the character of deities benevolent and propitious towards
mankind, and this is probably the reason why Hermes and
Apollo have so many features in common. Their chief
difference lies in the fact that while Apollo, as god of light,
comes to represent the higher intelligence of the mind^
Hermes represents the practical wisdom of the world.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 73
The foilowing are the most important features in the
character of Hermes : First, as god of the fertilizing rain,
he appears especially as the dispenser of all good gifts in
every relation of human life. Not only does he promote
the fruitfulness of flocks and herds, but he also bestows
prosperity and success on all undertakings, especially those
of trade and commerce. As the guardian of the streets
and roads, and the friendly guide of those travelling on
business, Hermes must have appeared especially worthy of
honor among the Greeks, who were at all times sharp and
greedy men of business. Accordingly, men erected in his
honor, on the roads, what were called Hermse — mere blocks
of stone, or posts, with one or more heads: these latter
were at cross-roads, and also served as finger-posts. Hermae
were a^so often to be seen in the streets of towns and in
public squares. Not only did Hermes protect and guide
merchants while travelling, but he also endowed them with
shrewdness and cunning to outwit others. And as a god
who had himself commenced his career by a dexterous
theft, he was fain to allow thieves and rogues to invoke his
protection before entering on their operations ; just as in
the present day robbers and bandits in Italy or Greece see
nothing strange in asking their patron saint to bestow on
them a rich prey. Every chance gain — in gambling, for
instance — and every fortunate discovery was attributed to
Hermes.
Though playing such an important part in human life,
Hermes also appears as the fleet messenger and dexterous
agent of Zeus. It is in this guise that the epic poets love
to depict them. With his golden-winged shoes he passes
more swiftly than the wind over land and sea, executing the
commissions of his father Zeus or the other inhabitants'
74 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGtJ
of Olympus. Thus he is sent by Zeus to command the
nymph Calypso to release Odysseus, and to warn j:Egisthus
against the murder of Agamemnon. At times, difficult
tasks are allotted to him ; for instance, the destruction of
the hundred-eyed guardian of lo, on which account Homer
calls him the Argus-slayer. Doubtless in this myth the
hundred-eyed Argus represents the starry heavens ; Ajgus is
slain by the rain-god Hermes, or, in other words, the heav«
ens are rendered invisible by the thick clouds. As messen-
ger and herald of the gods, he is a model for all earthly
heralds, who, in ancient times, were the indispensable agents
of kings in every diflScult business. Hence he bears the
herald's staff, or Caduceus. This is the same wand once
given him by Apollo, consisting of three branches, one
of which forms the handle, while the other two branch
off like a fork, and are joined in a knot. The origin of
this herald's staff appears to have been the olive-branch,
wreathed with fillets of wool. It was only at a later period
that the two last were converted into serpents. By means
of this wand Hermes can either induce deep sleep or rouse
a slumberer, but he uses it chiefly in guiding souls to the
infernal regions. This leads us to speak of the important
office of Hermes as Psychopompus, or conductor of the
soul. Every soul, after death, commenced its journey to
the region of shadows under the guidance of the god. On
extraordinary occasions, where, for instance, the spirits were
summoned in the oracles of the dead, Hermes had to recon-
duct the souls of the departed to the upper world, thus
becoming a mediator between these two regions, in other
respects so far divided.
As dreams come from the lower world, Hermes was nat»
urally regarded as the deity from whom they proceeded;
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 75
on which account people were wont to ask him for good
dreams before going to sleep.
The highest conception of Hermes, however, is that of
the god who presides over the bringing -up of children;
and, indeed, what god was more fitted to be presented as
an example to Grecian youth than the messenger of the
gods, equally dexterous in mind and body ? He is the fleet-
est of runners, and the most skilful of disk-throwers and
boxers; and though he does not, like Apollo, represent any
of the higher forms of intellectual life, still he possesses in
the highest degree that practical common-sense which was
so greatly valued among the Greeks. The wrestling-school
and the gymnasium were consequently regarded as his in-
stitutions, and adorned with his statues. In further devel-
opment of his relation to the education of the young, later
poets even made him the inventor of speech, of the alpha-
bet, and of the art of interpreting languages. The custom
which prevailed among the Greeks of oflEering him the
tongues of the slaughtered animals shows clearly that they
also considered him as the patron of eloquence.
There is little to be said of the Roman Mercury. As
his name (from mercari^ to trade) signifies, he was consid
ered by the Romans solely as god of trade. His worship
was introduced at the same time as that of Ceres — some
years after the expulsion of the Tarquins, at a season of
great scarcity ^ — but appears to have become confined to the
plebeians. The guild of merchants regarded him as their
tutelary deity, and offered sacrifices to him and his mother
Maia on the Ides of May.
The plastic representation of Hermes made equal progress with
his ideal development. The first statues of the god, founded on the
ancient Hermae already mentioned, represented him as a shepherd.
'6
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
sometimes as the herald and messenger of the gods, always as a
powerful bearded man. Later, he assumed a more youthful appear-
ance, and was represented as a beardless youth in the very prime of
strength, with broad chest, lithe but powerful limbs, curly hair, and
small ears, mouth, and eyes; altogether a wonderful combination of
grace and vigor. If we add to this the expression of kindly benev.
olence which plays around his finely cut lips, and the inquiring look
of his face as he bends forward thoughtfully, we have the principal
characteristic features of the god.
Among existing statues, a full-sized " Hermes at rest," in bronze,
Fitr. li).— liestinc" Hermes. Bronze Statue at Naples.
Fig. 20.— Statue of Hermes. Capitol iiie Collectioiio
78 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
nrhich was found at Herculaneum, and is now in the Naples Museum,
is perhaps most worthy of mention. He here appears as the messen-
ger of the gods, and has just sat down on a rock to rest. The wing-
ed sandals form his only clothing, and these are, strictly speaking,
not really sandals, but simply straps covering the foot, to which
Vfings are fastened close to the ankles (Fig. 19).
A splendid marble statue of the Vatican collection, which was
once taken for Antinous, portrays the god as the patron of wrestling ;
the Caduceus which he holds in his left hand is, however, a modern
addition. In the Hermes Ludovisi of Rome we have a graceful rep-
resentation of Hermes Logins, the patron of the art of rhetoric. The
wings are here not placed on the feet, or even directly on the head,
as is often the case, but are fastened to a low round travelling-hat.
A pretty bronze statuette in the British Museum depicts Hermes
as the god of trade and commerce, with a well -filled purse in his
hand. Such is also the conception of a fine statue of the Capitoline
collection at Rome (Fig. 20). The principal attributes of the god
have already been incidentally mentioned: they are wings on the
feet, head, or cap ; the herald's staff, the votive bowl, and the purse.
9. Hephaestus (Vulcan).— Hephaestus, the god of
fire and the forge, was commonly regarded as a son of Zeus
and Hera. He was so lame and ugly that his mother in
shame cast him from heaven into the sea. But Eurynome
and Thetis, the Ocean ids, took pity on him, and tended him
for nine years in a deep grotto of the sea, in return for
which he made them many ornaments. After being rec-
onciled to his mother, he returned to Olympus under the
guidance of Dionysus. According to another not less pop-
ular account, it was not his mother who treated him so cru-
elly, but Zeus. Hephaestus, on the occasion of a quarrel
between Zeus and Hera, came to the help of his mother,
whereupon the angry god of heaven seized him by the foot
and hurled him from Olympus. The unfortunate Hephaes-
tus fell for a whole day, but alighted at sundown on the
isle of Lemnos with but little breath in his body. Hero
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 79
the Sintians, who inhabited the island, tended him till his
recovery. Later writers say that it was from this fall that
he became lame. The same fundamental idea lies at the
root of these various legends, viz., that fire first came down
from heaven in the form of lightning. Hephaestus origi-
nally represented the element of fire, and all the effects of
fire are accordingly referred to him. The fires of the earth
break forth from the open craters of volcanoes; it must
therefore be Hephaestus who is working in the midst of the
fiery mountain, where he has his forges and his smithies.
So says the legend of Mount Mosychlus, in Lemnos, the
chief seat of his worship. Scarcely less celebrated, from
its connection with him, was Mount ^tna, in Sicily. Af-
ter it was observed that the wine was particularly good in
the neighborhood of volcanic mountains, the story of the
intimate friendship between Hephaestus and Dionysus was
concocted.
The most beneficial action of fire is manifested in its
power to melt metals, and render them useful to man in
the shape of implements and tools of all kinds. Hence
the conception of the character of Hephaestus tended ever
more and more to represent him as the master of all in-
genious working in metals, and as the patron of artificers
and craftsmen using fire. In this character he was brought
into close connection with the art-loving goddess Athene,
and hence we see why both these divinities enjoyed so
many kindred honors and had so many festivals in com-
mon at Athens, the chief seat of Greek science and art.
It was also chiefly in the character of artificer that He-
phaestus was treated of by the poets, who delight to de-
scribe the gorgeous brazen palace which he built himself
on Olympas, in which was a huge workshop with twenty
80 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
cunningly devised pairs of bellows. He also constructed
there the imperishable dwellings of the gods. Many also
were the ingenious implements which he constructed, such
as the walking-tables, or tripods, which moved of their own
accord into the banqueting-chamber of the gods, and then
returned to their places after the meal was over. He also
made himself two golden statues of maidens, to assist
him in walking, and bestowed on them speech and motion.
Among the other works of his mentioned by the poets are
the aegis and sceptre of Zeus, the trident of Poseidon, the
shield of Heracles, and the armor of Achilles, among which,
also, was a shield of extraordinary beauty.
The worship of Hephaestus was not very extensive in
Greece. The most important seat of his worship was the
isle of Lemnos, where he was supposed to dwell on Mount
Mosychlus with his workmen, the Cabiri, who answer to
the Cyclopes of JEtna. He was held in great esteem at
Athens, where, at different festivals, torch-races were held
in his honor. Young men ran with burning torches, and
whoever first reached the goal with his torch alight re-
ceived the prize. He was, moreover, highly venerated by
the Greeks in Campania and Sicily, a fact which may be
easily explained by the fiery mountains of these places.
The Romans called this god Vulcanus, or, according to
its more ancient spelling, Volcanus. They honored in
him the blessings and beneficial action of fire. They also
sought his protection against conflagrations. Under the
influence of the Greek writers, the original and more com-
mon conception of the god gave place to the popular im-
age of the smith-god, or Mulciber, who had his forges in
-zEtna, or on the Lipari Isles, and who vied with his com-
rades in wielding the hammer. In correspondence with
Wig, 21.— HephaeBtus. Bronze Figure in the British Museum.
o
32 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the Greek myths, Venus was given him to wife ; by this
men doubtless sought to convey the idea that truly ar-
tistic works can only be created in harmony with beauty.
The chief shrine of the god in Rome was the Volcanai,
in the Comitium, which was not really a temple, but mere
ly a covered fireplace. In the Campus Martins, however,
was a real temple close to the Flaminian Circus, where the
festival of the Volcanalia was celebrated with every kind
of game on the 23d day of August.
Greek and Roman artists generally represented this god as a pow-
erful, bearded man of full age. He is distinguished by the shortness
3f his left leg, by the sharp, shrewd glance of his cunning eye, and
lis firm mouth. His attributes are the smith's tools, the pointed
oval workman's cap, and the short upper garment of the craftsman
Dr humble citizen^
With the exception of some small bronzes in London and Berlin,
and a newly discovered marble bust of the Vatican collection, we
possess no antique statues of the god worth mentioning. The en-
^aving (Fig. 21) is from a bronze in the British Museum.
10. Hestia (Vestia). — It must have been at a com-
oaratively late period that Hestia, the daughter of Cronus
^nd Rhea, attained a general veneration, as her name is not
nentioned either in the " Hiad " or " Odyssey." Hestia is
ihe guardian angel of mankind, who guards the security of
ohe dwelling, and is, in consequence, regarded as the god-
less of the family hearth, the centre of domestic life. The
hearth possessed among the ancients a far higher signifi-
3ance than it does in modern life. It not only served for
the preparation of meals, but was also esteemed the sacred
altar of the house ; there the images of the housenold gods
were placed ; and thither, after the old patriarchal fashion,
JtxQ father and priest of the family offered sacrifice on all
ohe important occasions of domestic life. No oflEering wai
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 83
made in which Hestia, the very centre of all domestic life,
had not her share.
And as the State is composed of families, the goddess
of the domestic circle naturally becomes the protectress of
every political community. On this account, in Greek
states, the Prytaneum, or seat of the governing body, wag
dedicated to Hestia; there she had an altar, on which a
fire was ever kept burning. From this altar colonists, who
were about to leave their native land in search of new
homes, always took some fire- — a pleasing figurative indica-
tion of the moral ties between the colony and the mother
country.
As the hearth-fire of the Prytaneum was an outward
and visible sign to the members of a state that they were
one great family, so the Hestia of the temple at Delphi
signified to the Greeks their national connection and the
unity of their worship. Her altar in ihiF temple was
placed in the hall before the cave of the oracle ; on it was
placed the celebrated omphalus (navel of the earth, like-
w^ise an emblem of the goddess), Delphi being regarded
by the Greeks as the centre of the whole earth. Here,
too, a fire was kept ever burning in honor of Hestia. The
character of the goddess was as pure and untarnished as
flame itself. Not only did she herself remain a virgin,
though wooed by both Poseidon and Apollo, but her ser-
vice could be performed only by chaste virgins. She does
not appear to have had a separate temple of her own in
Greece, since she had a place in every temple.
The service of Vesta occupied a far more important
place in the public life of the Romans. Her most ancient
temple, which was supposed to have been built by Numa
Pompilius, was situated on the slope of the Palatine oppo*
84 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
site the Forum. It was built in a circle, and was of mod-
erate dimensions, being, indeed, little more than a covered
fireplace. In it the eternal fire, a symbol of the life of
the State, was kept burning. Here, too, the service was
performed by virgins, whose number was at first four, but
was afterward increased to six. Their chief occupation
was to maintain the sacred fire, and to offer up daily
prayers at the altar of the goddess for the welfare of the
Roman people. The extinction of the sacred flame was es-
teemed an omen of coming misfortune, and brought severe
punishment on the negligent priestess. The choice of ves-
tals lay with the Pontifex Maximus. They were chosen
between the ages of six and ten years, always out of the
best Roman families. For thirty years they remained
bound to their sacred office, during which time they had
to preserve the strictest chastity. After the lapse of thir-
ty years they returned to civil life, and were permitted to
marry if they liked.
Another sanctuary of Vesta existed in Lavinium, the
metropolis of the Latins, where the Roman consuls, after
entering on their oflSce, had to perform a solemn sacrifice.
The festival of Vesta was celebrated on the 9th of June,
on which occasion the Roman women were wont to make
a pilgrimage barefooted to the temple of the goddess, and
place before her offerings of food.
In the domestic life of the Romans the hearth and the
hearth-goddess Vesta occupied as important a position as
among the Greeks. The worship of Vesta is closely con-
nected with that of the Penates, the kindly, protecting,
household gods, who provided for the daily wants of life,
and about whom we shall have more to say before con-
cluding the subject of the gods.
11 jg. 22. — Vesta Giustiniani. Torlonia Collectioi\
86 GREEK 4ND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Agreeably to the chaste, pure character of the goddess, she could
only be represented in art with an expression of the strictest mora]
purity ; she generally appears either sitting or standing, her coun>
tenance characterized by a thoughtful gravity of expression. Her
principal attributes consist of the votive bowl, the torch, the sim-
pulum, or small cup, which was used in making hbations, and the
sceptre. In consequence of the dignity and sanctity of her character,
she was always represented as fully clothed, which may account for
the fact that the ancients had so few statues of the goddess. We
may, therefore, consider it fortunate that such a splendid example
as the Vesta Giustiniani, which belongs to the private collection of
Prince Torlonia at Rome, has come down to us. It is supposed to be
an original work of the best period of Greek art. The goddess is
represented as standing in a calm posture, her right hand pressed
against her side, while with the left she points significantly towards
heaven, as though wishing to impress on mankind where to direct
their prayers and thoughts (Fig. 22).
11. Janus. — Among the most important gods of the
Romans was the celebrated Janus, a deity quite unknown
to the Greeks. In his original character he was probably
a god of the light and sun— the male counterpart, in fact,
of Jana, or Diana, and thus very similar to the Greek Apol-
lo. As long as he maintained this original character, de-
rived from nature, he was regarded as the god of all germs
and first beginnings, and possessed, in consequence, an im-
portant influence both on the public and private life of the
Romans. We must confine ourselves to mentioning some
of the most important traits resulting from this view of
his character. First, Janus is the god of all beginnings of
time. He begins the new year, whose first month was
called January after him, and was dedicated to him. Thus,
New-year's-day {Kalendoe Januarice) was the most impor-
tant festival of the god ; on this occasion the houses and
doors were adorned with garlands and laurel boughs, the
laurel being supposed to exercise a potent influence against
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 87
all magic and diseases. Relatives and friends exchanged
small presents (principally sweets ; for example, dates and
figs wrapped in laurel leaves) and good wishes for the
coming yeai. The god himself received offerings of cake,
wine, and incense, and his statue was adorned with fresh
iaurel boughs. This offering was repeated on the first day
of every month, for Janus opened up every month ; and as
the Kalends were sacred to Juno, he was therefore called
Junonius. In the same way Janus was supposed to begin
every new day, and called Matutinus Pater. He also ap-
pears as the door-keeper of heaven, whose gates he opened
in the morning and closed in the evening.
From being the god of all temporal beginnings, he soon
became the patron and protector of all the beginnings of
human activity. The Romans had a most superstitious
belief in the importance of a good commencement for ev-
erything, concluding that this had a magical influence on
the good or evil result of every undertaking. Thus, nei-
ther in public nor private life did they ever undertake any-
thing of importance without first confiding the beginning
to the protection of Janus. Among the most important
events of political life was the departure of the youth of
the country to war. An offering was therefore made to
the god by the departing general, and the temple, or cov-
ered passage sacred to the god, was left open during the
continuance of the war, as a sign that the god had depart-
ed with the troops and had them under his protection.
The consul never neglected, when he entered on his oflSce,
to ask the blessing of Janus, and the assemblies never be-
gan their consultations without invoking Janus. In the
same way the private citizen, in all important occurrences
and undertakings, sought by prayers and vows to acquire
88 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the favor of Janus. The husbandman, before he com-
menced either to sow or to reap, brought to Janns Con-
sivius an offering of cake and wine. The merchant, when
he entered on a journey of business, and the sailor, when
he weighed anchor and started on a long and dangerous
voyage, never omitted to invoke the blessing of the god.
This view of the god also explains the custom of calling
on Janus first in every prayer and at every sacrifice, since,
as keeper of the gates of heaven, he also appeared to give
admittance to the prayers of men.
As the god of all first beginnings, Janus is also the
source of all springs, rivers, and streams of the earth. On
this account the fountain nymphs were generally looked
on as his wives, and Fontus and Tiberinus as his sons.
The power of Janus in causing springs to rise suddenly
from the earth was experienced, to their cost, by the Sa-
bines. The latter, in consequence of the rape of their
women, had overrun the infant state of Rome, and were
about to introduce themselves into the town on the Pal-
atine through an open gate, when they suddenly found
themselves drenched by a hot sulphur spring that gushed
violently from the earth, and were obliged to retire.
In the legend alluded to, Janus appears as the protector
of the gates of the city. As the god who presided over
the fortunate entrance to and exit from all houses, streets,
and towns, Janus was held in high honor among the peo-
ple. His character as guardian of gates and doors brought
him into close connection with the Penates and other
household gods ; hence the custom of erecting over the
doors an image of the deity with the well-known two faces,
one of which looked out and the other in.
Janus had no temple, in the proper sense of the word,
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 89
at Rome. His shrines consisted of gate-ways in common
places of resort and at cross-roads, or of arched passages,
in which the image of the god was erected. The Temple
of Janus in the Forum at Rome, which has been ah-eady
alluded to, was a sanctuary of this kind closed with doors,
and was probably the most ancient in the city. Its doors
stood open only in time of war.
Roman art never succeeded in executing a plastic representation
peculiar to Janus, the double head being only an imitation of the
Greek double Hermae. In course of time entire figures of Janus ap-
peared, but these always had a double face. They were generally
bearded, but in later times one face was bearded, the other youthful.
Not one specimen of these works of art has been preserved, so that
we only know these forms from coins. The usual attributes of
Janus were keys and staff.
12. Quirinns. — Quirinus was also a purely Roman
divinity ; but having been reckoned among the great dei-
ties of heaven, he must therefore be mentioned here. In
his symbolic meaning he bore a great resemblance to Mars;
and as Mars was the national god of the Latin population
of Rome, so Quirinus was the national god of the Sabines
who came to Rome with Titus Tatius. Together with
Jupiter and Mars, he formed the tutelary Trinity of the
Roman Empire. His shrine was on the Quirinal, which
was originally inhabited by the Sabines, and which was
named after him. Numa gave Quirinus a priest of his
own. He had a special feast on the l7th of February, but
his worship appears to have assimilated itself more and
more to that of Mars. He was subsequently identified
with Romulus.
90
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
B.— SECONDARY DEITIES.
1. Attendant and Ministering Deities.
1. Eros (Amor). — Of the deities who appear in the
train of Aphrodite, Eros alone seems to have enjoyed di-
vine honors ; Longing and Desire being no more than alle-
Fig. 23.— Head of Eros. Vatican.
gorical figures typifying some of the influences that ema-
nate from the goddess of love. Eros was commonly re-
puted the son of Aphrodite and Ares, and was generally
depicted as a boy of wondrous beauty, on the verge of
youth. His characteristic weapon is a golden bow, with
which he shoots forth his arrows from secret lurking-
places, with an unfailing effect that represents the sweet
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 91
but consuming pangs of love. Zeus himself is represent-
ed as unable to withstand his influence — an intimation
that love is one of the most terrible and mighty forces of
nature.
AS unrequited love is aimless, Anteros was conceived bj^
Fife'. 24.— Eros trying his bow. Capltoline Museum.
the imagination of the poets as the brother and compan-
ion of Eros, and consequently a son of Aphrodite. As the
little Eros, says the myth, would neither grow nor thrive,
his mother, by the advice of Themis, gave him this broth-
92 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
er as a playfellow ; after which the boy was glad so long
as his brother was with him, but sad in his absence.
Eros was not only venerated as the god who kindles
love between the sexes, but was also res^arded as the author
of love and friendship between youths and men. On this
account his statue was generally placed in the gymnasia
between those of Hermes and Heracles ; and the Spartans
sacrificed to him before battle, binding themselves to hold
together faithfully in battle, and to stand by one another
in the hour of need.
This deity was termed by the Romans Amor, or Cupido,
but this was solely in imitation of the Greek Eros, since
he never enjoyed among them any public veneration.
The significant fable of the love of Cupid .for Psyche, a
personification of the human soul, is of comparatively late
origin, though it was a very favorite subject in art.
Artists followed the poets in the delineation of Eros, in so far as
they generally depicted him as a boy on the confines of youth. An
Eros by the renowned artist Praxiteles was esteemed one of the best
works of antiquity. It was brought to Rome by Nero, but was de-
stroyed by fire in the reign of Titus. In later times the god of love was
represented as much younger, because the mischievous pranks attrib-
uted to him by the poets were more adapted to the age of childhood.
A considerable number of statues or statuettes of Eros have come
down to us from antiquity. Among the most celebrated is the Torso
(mutilated statue) of the Vatican, of the glorious head of which we
give an engraving (Fig. 23). There is also an " Eros trying his Bow "
(Fig. 24), in the Capitohne Museum at Rome, and an " Eros playing
with Dice," in the Berlin Museum. Lastly, there is the celebrated
group of the Capitoline Museum, which represents the embraces of
Cupid and Psyche.
Eros generally appears with wings in the art monuments of antiq-
uity. His insignia are bow and arrows, in addition to a burning
torch. The rose was held especially sacred to him, for which reason
he often appears crowned with roses.
In connection with Venus, and in company with Amor, we find
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 93
Hymenaeus, a personification of the joys of marriage, who was, how-
ever, only recognized by later writers and by later art. He is por-
trayed as a beautiful youth, winged like Eros, but taller, and of a more
serious aspect. His indispensable attribute is the marriage torch.
2. The Muses. — Pindar gives the following account
of the origin of the Muses: After the defeat of the Ti-
tans, the celestials besought Zeus to create some beings
who might perpetuate in song the mighty deeds of the
gods. In answer to this prayer, Zeus begot with Mnemos-
yne (Memory) the nine Muses. They sing of the present,
the past, and the future, while Apollo's lute accompanies
their sweet strains, which gladden the hearts of the gods
as they sit assembled in the lofty palace of Father Zeus, in
Olympus. Looked at in connection with nature, there is
little doubt but that the Muses were originally nymphs of
the fountains. The veneration of the Muses first arose in
Pieria, a district on the eastern declivity of Mount Olym-
pus, in Thessaly, from whose steep and rocky heights a
number of sweet rippling brooks descend to the plains.
The perception of this natural music led at once to a be-
lief in the existence of such song-loving goddesses. Their
seat was subsequently transferred from the declivities of
Olympus to Mount Helicon, in Boeotia, or to Mount Par-
nassus, at the foot of which the Castalian fountain, which
was sacred to them, had its source. Originally the Muses
were only goddesses of song, though they are sometimes
represented with instruments on vases. In early times,
too, they only appear as a chorus or company, but at a
later period separate functions were assigned to each, as
presiding over this or that branch of art. Their names
were Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia, Thalia,
Urania, Euterpe, Erato, and Calliope.
Fig. 25.— Polyhymnia. Berlin Museum.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 96
According to the art-distribution made probably at the time of the
Alexandrine school, Calliope represents epic poetry and science gen-
erally, her attributes being a roll of parchment and a pen. Clio is
the muse of history, and is likewise characterized by a roll and pen,
so that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish her from Calliope.
Euterpe represents lyric poetry, and is distinguished by her double
flute. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, generally appears with a
tragic mask, a club or sword, and a garland of vine leaves. Terp-
sichore is the muse of dancing, and has a lyre and plectrum. To Er-
ato is assigned erotic poetry, together with geometry and the mimic
art; she generally bears a large stringed instrument. Thalia, the
muse of comedy, is distinguished by a comic mask, an ivy garland,
and a crook. Polyhymnia presides over the graver chant of religious
service ; she may be recognized by her dress, wrapped closely round
her, and her grave, thoughtful countenance, but is without attribute
of any kind. Lastly, Urania, the muse of astronomy, holds in one
hand a celestial globe, and in the other a small wand.
Several European museums possess ancient groups of the Muses,
among which, perhaps, the finest is that preserved in the Vatican.
From this group are copied our engravings of Melpomene and Eu.
terpe (Figs. 26 and 27). The original of Polyhymnia (Fig. 26) is in
the Berlin Museum.
The Romans venerated a number of fountain-nymphs of
song and prophecy under the name of Camense, among
whom the Egeria of the history of Numa is well known.
The Roman writers seem to have identified these god-
desses with the Muses at pleasure.
3. The Charites (Gratiae) — The Charites general-
ly appear in the train of the goddess of love, whom it was
their duty to clothe and adorn. They are often found,
however, in attendance on other gods, since all that is
charming and graceful, either to the senses or the intel-
lect, was supposed to proceed from them.
Their names are Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They
were commonly represented as the daughters of Zeus and
Fig. 26.— Melpomene. Vatican.
Fig. 2T.— Euterpe. Vatican.
7
98 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Eurynome, the Oceanid. Later writers, however, make
them the daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite. They
were venerated as the source of all that makes human life
more beautiful and pleasant, without whom there could be
no real enjoyment of life. Thus, even the gods would not
sit down to banquets without the Charites ; and whenever
men came together to feast, they first called on them and
offered them the first bowl. Music, eloquence, art, and po-
etry received the higher consecration only at their hands ;
whence Pindar terms his songs a gift from them. Wis-
dom, bravery, kindly benevolence, and gratitude — in fine,
all those qualities which become men most, and make them
agreeable in the eyes of their fellow-men — were supposed
to proceed from the Charites.
The Graces of the Romans were simply transferred from
the mythology of the Greeks, and have, therefore, the same
meaning as the Charites.
Art represented the Charites, or Graces, as blooming maidens, of
slender, comely form, characterized by an expression of joyous inno-
cence. In their hands they often hold flowers, either roses or myr-
tles. They are less often distinguished by definite attributes than by
a mutual intertwining of arms. In earlier Greek art they always ap-
pear fully clothed ; but gradually their clothing became less and less,
until at length, in the age of Scopas and Praxiteles, when nude fig-
ures had become common, it entirely disappeared. There are, how-
ever, few ancient statues of the Charites in existence.
4. Themis and the Horae (Seasons). — In inti-
mate connection with the Charites we find the Horse, the
daughters of Zeus and Themis. They were generally rep-
resented as three in number — Eunomia, Dice, and Irene.
They represent the regular march of nature in the changea
of the seasons ; and Themis, who personifies the eternal
laws of nature, and as the daughter of Uranus and Gsea
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
99
ranks among the most ancient de-
ities, is consequently their moth-
er. Themis is the representative
of the reign of law among gods
and men ; at Zeus's command she
calls together the assemblies of
the gods. She also occupies a
similar position on earth, as pre-
siding over national assemblies
and the laws of hospitality. Her
daughters, the Horse, appear in a
similar, though in a subordinate
and attendant, character. In Ho-
mer they figure as the servants
of Zeus, who watch the gates of
heaven, now closing them with
thick clouds, now clearing the
clouds away. They also appear
as the servants and attendants
of other divinities, such as
Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, and
the Muses. Like their mother,
they preside over all law and
order in human affairs ; and un-
der their protection thrives all
that is noble and beautiful and
good.
We know but little concern-
ing the worship of the Horse
among the Greeks. The Athe-
nians celebrated a special festi-
val in their honor, but they rec-
lOO GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ognized only two — ^Thallo, the season of blossom, and Car*
po, the season of the ripened fruit. The adoption of foul
Horse, corresponding to the four seasons of the year, ap-
pears to have arisen at a later period.
In plastic art Themis is generally represented with a balance in
one hand and a palm branch in the other. The Horae generally ap-
pear as lovely girls dancing with their garments tucked up, and
adorned with flowers, fruit, and garlands. Subsequently they were
distinguished by various attributes, typical of the diiferent seasons
Such is the case in the engraving (Fig. 28), after a relief in the Villa
Albani.
5. Nice (Victoria). — Nice is nothing but a personi-
fication of the irresistible and invincible power exercised
by the god of heaven by means of his lightning. She also
appears in the company of Pallas Athene, who was herself
honored by the Athenians as the goddess of victory. Vic-
tory does not seem to have had many separate temples or
festivals, since she generally appears only in attendance on
her superior deities.
Far more extensive was the veneration of Victoria at
Rome, a fact for which the warlike character of the peo-
ple easily accounts. Her chief shrine was on the Capitol,
where successful generals were wont to erect statues of the
goddess in remembrance of their exploits. The most mag
nificent statue of this kind was one erected by Augustus
in fulfilment of a vow after his victory at Actium. The
proper festival of the goddess took place on the 12tb of
April.
In both Greek and Roman art, Victory was represented as a winged
goddess. She is distinguished by a palm branch and laurel gar-
land, which were the customary rewards of bravery among the an-
dents. Large statues of the goddess are seldom met with, though
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
101
Fig. 29.— Victoria. United Collections In Municli.
«he is often depicted on vases, coins, and small bronzes. The mu-
seum of Cassel has a small bronze statue of the goddess, while a
fine alto-rilievo in terra-cotta exists in the Royal Collection at Mu-
nich (Fig. 29).
6. (Iris). — Iris was originally a personification of the
rainbow, but she was afterward converted into the swift
messenger of the gods, the rainbow being, as it were, a
102 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
bridge between earth and heaven. In this character she
makes her appearance in Homer, but, later still, she was
again transformed into a special attendant of Hera. Her
swiftness was astounding. ^' Like hail or snow," says Ho-
mer, *' that falls from the clouds," she darts from one end
of the world to the other — nay, dives to the hidden depths
of the ocean and into the recesses of the lower world, ex-
ecuting the commands of the gods.
In art Iris was represented with wings, like Nice, to whom she, in
many respects, bears a strong resemblance. She may be distinguish-
ed from the latter, however, by her herald's staff (caduceus). A very
much injured specimen, from the east pediment of the Parthenon at
Athens, is now preserved in the British Museum.
7. Hebe ( Juventas). — Hebe was the daughter of
Zeus and Hera, and, according to her natural interpretation,
represented the youthful bloom of nature. In the fully
developed mythology of the Greeks she appears as the
cup-bearer of the gods, to whom, at meals, she presents the
sweet nectar. It may at first seem strange that the daugh-
ter of the greatest of the divinities of Greece should be
relegated to so inferior a position. This, however, is easily
explained by the old patriarchal custom of the Greeks, by
which the young unmarried daughters, even in royal pal-
aces, waited at table on the men of the family and the
guests.
In post-Homeric poetry and legend Hebe no longer ap-
pears as cup-bearer of the gods, the office having been as
signed to Ganymedes. This was either in consequence oi
the promotion of the son of the King of Troy, or on ac
count of Hebe's marriage with the deified Heracles.
Hebe occupies no important place in the religious sys-
tem of the Greeks ; she seems to have been chiefly hoD
Fig. SO.—Hebe:^ From Antonio Canova,
104 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ored in connection with her mother Hera, or now and thcB
with Heracles.
Juventas, or Juventus, is the corresponding deity of the
Romans ; but, as was the case with so many others, they
contrived to bring her into a more intimate connection
with their political life by honoring in her the undying
and unfading vigor of the State. She had a separate
chapel in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
With regard to the artistic representation of Hebe, statues of this
goddess appear to have been very rare in ancient times , at least,
among all the numerous statues that have been discovered, none can
be safely identified with Hebe. She is the more often met with on
ornamental vases and reliefs, on which the marriage of Heracles and
Hebe is a favorite subject. She is usually depicted as a highly grace-
ful, modest maiden, pouring out nectar from an upraised vessel. She
appears thus in the world-renowned masterpiece of the Itahan sculp-
tor Canova, so well known from casts. In default of an ancient
statue, we give an engraving of this work (Fig, 30).
8. ( GanyTiiedes). — A similar office in Olympus was
filled by the son of Tros, the King of Troy, Ganymedes,
who was made immortal by Zeus, and installed as cup-
bearer of the gods. Neither Homer nor Pindar, however,
relates the episode of Zeus sending his eagle to carry off
Ganymedesc This feature of the story, which is a favorite
subject of artistic representation, is first found in Apollo-
dorus. The Roman poet, Ovid, then went a step farther,
and made the ruler of Olympus transform himself into an
fagle, in order to carry off his favorite.
The rape of the beautiful boy is often portrayed in ancient art.
The most famous monument is a bronze group of Leochares, an ar-
tist who flourished in the fourth century B.C. A copy of it still exists
in the celebrated statue of Ganymedes in the Vatican collection. In
modern art the story has been treated with still greater frequency.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
105
Fig. 31.— Ganymedes and the Eagle. From Thorwaldsen,
There is an extremely beautiful group of this kind by Thorwaldsen,
in which Ganymedes is represented as giving the eagle drink out of
a bowl (Fig. 31).
2. The Phenomena of the Heavens.
1. Helios (Sol). — Helios (Latin, Sol), the sun -god,
belongs to that small class of deities who have preserved
their physical meaning intact throughout. His worship
undoubtedly came to Greece from Asia ; it was confined to
a few places, the most important of which was the island
of Rhodes. An annual festival, attended with musical and
athletic contests, was here celebrated with great pomp in
honor of the sun-god. He is portrayed by the poets as
a handsome youth with flashing eyes and shining hair cov-
X06 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ered with a golden helmet. His daily office was to bring
the light of day to gods and men, which he performed by
rising from Oceanus in the east, where the Ethiopians live,
and completing his course along the firmament. For this
purpose the post-Homeric poets endow him with a sun-
chariot drawn by four fiery horses; and though Homer
and Hesiod do not attempt to explain how he passed from
the west, where he sets, to the east, where he rises, later po-
ets obviate the difiiculty by making him sail round half the
earth in a golden boat (according to others, a golden bed) ;
and thus he was supposed again to arrive at the east. In
the far west Helios had a splendid palace, and also a cele-
brated garden, which was under the charge of the Hesper-
ides. He is described as the son of the Titans Hyperion
and Thea, whence he himself is called a Titan. By his
wife Perse, a daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of
iEetes, King of Colchis, celebrated in the legend of the Ar-
gonauts, and of the still more celebrated sorceress Circe.
Another son of Helios was Phaethon, who, in attempting
to drive his father's horses, came to an untimely end.
Helios sees and hears everything ; whence he was be-
lieved to bring hidden crimes to light, and was invoked as
a witness at all solemn declarations and oaths.
All the stories relating to Helios were gradually trans-
ferred to the Roman Sol, who was originally a Sabine deity,
chiefly by means of the " Metamorphoses " of Ovid. The
untiring charioteer of the heavens was also honored as the
patron of the race-course ; but he never attained a promi-
nent position in religious worship.
Helios, or Sol, is depicted as a handsome youth, his head encircled
by a crown, which gives forth twelve bright rays corresponding to
the number of the months, his mantle flying about his shoulders
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. lOV
fls he stands in his chariot. It was chiefly in Rhodes, however, that
Helios was made the subject of the sculptor's art. Here, in 280
B.C., was erected in his honor the celebrated colossal statue which
has acquired a world-wide celebrity under the name of the Colossus
of Rhodes, and which was reckoned as one of the " seven wonders
?f the world." It was the work of Chares of Lindus, and was 105
feet in height.
' 2. Selene (Luna). — As Artemis is the twin sister of
Apollo, so is Selene the twin sister of Helios ; he represent-
ing the sun, she the moon. Selene, however, never really
enjoyed divine honors in Greece. The poets depict her as
a white-armed goddess, whose beautiful tresses are crowned
with a brilliant diadem. In the evening she rises from the
sacred river of Oceanus, and pursues her course along the
firmament of heaven in her chariot, drawn by two white
horses. She is gentle and timid, and it is only in secret
that she loves beautiful youths and kisses them in sleep.
Poets delight to sing of the secret love she cherished for
the beautiful Endymion, the son of the King of Elis. She
caused him to fall into an eternal sleep, and he now reposes
in a rocky grotto on Mount Latmns, where Selene nightly
visits him, and gazes with rapture on his countenance.
In later times she was often confounded with Artemis,
Hecate, and Persephone. The same remarks apply to the
Roman Luna. The latter, however, had a temple of her
own on the Aventine, which was supposed to have been
dedicated to her by Servius Tullius. Like her brother Sol,
ihe was honored in Rome in connection with the circus,
and was held to preside over the public games.
In sculpture, Selene, or Luna, may be recognized by the half -moon
on her forehead, and by the veil over the back of her head ; she also
bears in her hand a torch. The sleeping Endymion was a frequent
subject of representation on sarcophagi and monuments.
108 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
3. Eos (Aurora). — Eos, the goddess of the dawn, was
also a daughter of Hyperion and Thea, and a sister of Se-
lene and Helios. She was first married to the Titan Astrse-
us, by whom she became the mother of the winds — Boreas,
Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus (north, west, east, and south
winds). This is a mythological mode of intimating the
fact that the wind generally rises at dawn. After Astrseus,
who, like most of the Titans, had rebelled against the sov-
ereignty of Zeus, and had been cast into Tartarus, Eos
chose the handsome hunter Orion for her husband. The
gods, however, would not consent to their union, and Orion
was slain by the arrows of Artemis, after which Eos mar-
ried Tithonus, the son of the King of Troy. She begged
Zeus to bestow on him immortality, but, having forgotten
to ask for eternal youth, the gift was of doubtful value,
since Tithonus at last became a shrivelled-up, decrepit old
man, in whom the goddess took no pleasure.
Memnon, King of ^Ethiopia, celebrated in the story of
the Trojan war, was a son of Eos and Tithonus. He
came to the assistance of Troy, and was slain by Achilles.
Since then, Eos has wept without ceasing for her dar-
ling son, and her tears fall to the earth in the shape of
dew.
Eos is represented by the poets as a glorious goddess,
with beautiful hair, rosy arms and fingers — a true picture
of the invigorating freshness of the early morning. Cheer-
ful and active, she rises early from her couch, and, envel-
oped in a saffron colored mantle, she harnesses her horses,
Lampus and Phaethon (Brightness and Lustre), in order
that she may hasten on in front of the sun-god and an-
nounce the day.
The views and fables connected with Eos were trans*
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. 109
fei'red by the Roman writers to the person of their god*
dess Aurora"^ without undergoing any alteration.
Representations of this goddess are found now and then on vases
and gems. . She either appears driving a chariot and four horses,
as harnessing the steeds of HeUos, or as gliding through the air on
wings and sprinkhng the earth with her dew.
4. The Stars. — - Only a few of the stars are of any
importance in mythology. Phosphorus and Hesperus, the
morning -star and the evening -star, which were formerly
regarded as two distinct beings, were represented in art in
the guise of beautiful boys with torches in their hands.
There were also several legends relating to Orion, whom
we have already alluded to as the husband of Eos. He
himself was made a constellation after having been slain
by the arrows of Artemis, while his dog was Sirius, whose
rising announces the hottest season of the year. All kinds
of myths were invented about other constellations ; among
others, the Hyades, whose rising betokened the advent of
the stormy, rainy season, during which the sailor avoids
going to sea. The story went that they were placed
among the constellations by the gods out of pity, because
they were inconsolable at the death of their brother Hyas,
who was killed by a lion while hunting. Connected with
them are the Pleiades, ^. ^., the stars of mariners, so called
because on their rising in May the favorable season for
* The Mater Matuta of the Romans was a deity very similar to the
Eos of the Greeks. She was the goddess of the early dawn, and was
held in high estimation among the Roman women as a deity who as-
sisted them in chiklbirth. Like the Greek Leucothea, she was also
regarded as a goddess of the sea and harbors, who assisted those iu
peril.
110 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
voyages begins. They were seven in number, and were
likewise set in the heavens by the gods. Finally, we must
not forget to mention Arctus, the Bear. Tradition assert-
ed that this was none other than the Arcadian nymph
Callisto, who had been placed among the constellations by
Zeus when slain in the form of a she -bear by Artemis.
She had broken her vows of chastity, and borne a son,
Areas, to Zeus.
5. The Winds.— The four chief winds ha/e been al-
ready alluded to as the sons of Eos. They were especially
venerated by those about to make voyages, who then so-
licited their favor with prayers and offerings. Otherwise,
they maintained their character of pure natural forces, and
were, consequently, of little importance in mythology.
The rude north wind, Boreas, or Aquilo, was especially
dreaded on account of his stormy violence, and was hence
regarded as a bold ravish er of maidens. Thus an Attic le-
gend asserts that he carried off Orithyia, the daughter of
Erechtheus, as she was playing on the banks of the Ilissus.
She bore him Calais and Zetes, well known in the story of
the ArgonautSo Boreas, however, stood in high favoi*
among the Athenians, who erected an altar and chapel to
him, because, during the Persian War, he had partially de-
stroyed the fleet of Xerxes off Cape Sepias.
As Boreas is the god of the winter storm, so Zephyrus
appears as the welcome messenger of spring ; on which ac-
count one of the Hora3 was given him to wife. Zeph-
yrus was called Favonius by the Romans, to intimate the
favorable influence he exercised on the prosperous growth
of the vegetphle world.
These, tojojether with the other chief winds, Notus (south
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS. Ill
mnd) and Eurus (east wind), were sometimes said to reside
in separate places ; at other times they were said to dwell
together in the Wind-mountain, on the fabulous island of
-^olia, where they were ruled over by King JEolus.
3. Gods of Birth and Healing.
1, Asclepins (jEsculapius).— It was only in latei
times that the necessity of having special gods of birth
and healing made itself felt; at all events, Asclepius, or
^sculapius, as he is called by the Romans, does not ap-
pear as a god in Homer. The worship of this deity, who
was said to be the son of Apollo, appears to have origi-
nated in Epidaurus, the seat of his principal shrine, and
thence to have become generally diffused. In Epidaurus
his priests erected a large hospital, which enjoyed a great
reputation. The common method of cure consisted in al-
lowing those who were sick to sleep in the temple, on
which occasion, if they had been zealous in their prayers
and offerings, the god appeared to them in a dream and
discovered the necessary remedy.
The worship of this deity was introduced into Rome in
the year 291 b.c., in consequence of a severe pestilence
which for years had depopulated town and country. The
Sibylline books were consulted, and they recommended
that Asclepius of Epidaurus should be brought to Rome.
The story goes that the sacred serpent of the god follow
ed the Roman ambassadors of its own accord and chose
for its abode the Insula Tiberina at Rome, where a temple
was at once erected to ^Esculapius. A gilded statue was
added to the temple in the year 13 b.c. The method
already mentioned of sleeping in the temple was also
adopted here.
Fig. 32.— Asclepius. Berlin.
THE GODS OF OLYMPUS.
113
In art, Asclepius is represented as a bearded man of ripe years,,
with singularly noble features, from which the kindly benevolence of
a benefactor of mankind looks forth. He is generally accompanied
by a serpent, as a symbol of self-
renovating vital power, which he
is feeding and caressing, or which
is more commonly represented
as creeping up his staff. Such is
the conception in the engraving
(Fig. 32), which is after a statue
preserved at Berlin. As the god
of healing, he has also other at-
tributes— a bowl containing the
healing draught, a bunch of
herbs, a pine -apple, or a dog;
the latter being a symbol of the
vigilance with which the physi-
cian watches disease.
There are numerous extant
statues of the god, although the
great statue in gold and ivory of
the temple at Epidaurus has been
entirely lost. A fine head of co-
lossal proportions was discovered
on the Isle of Melos, and is now
an ornament of the British Mu-
seum (Fig. 33.) There is, on the other hand, a very fine statue without
a head in existence at Athens, near the temple of Zeus. There are,
moreover, celebrated statues in Florence, Paris, and Kome (Vatican) ;
in the last case, of a beardless ^sculapius.
2. Inferior Deities of Birth and Healing.— The
Greeks also honored Ilithyia as a goddess of birth. This
appears to have been originally a surname of Hera, as
a deity who succored women in childbirth. Hygiea was
looked on as a goddess of health, and was described as a
daughter of Asclepius.
The Romans had no need of a special goddess presiding
iver birth, although they honored a deity often identified
8
Fig. 33.— Head of Asclepius.
Museum.
Britisi?
114 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGlT.
with Hygiea, whom they called Strenia, or Salus. As
guardian of the chamber of birth, they honored Carna, or
Cardea, who was supposed to drive away the evil Striges
Jscreech-owlsj that came at night to suck the blood of the
newborn child. Carna was further regarded as the pro-
tectress of physical health. Another of these inferior dei-
ties, of whom men sought long life and continued health,
bore the name of Anna Perenna (the circling year)c
4. Deities of Fate,
1. Moerae (Parcae).— The Moerse, better known by
the Latin name of Parcae, really denote that portion of a
man's life and fortune which is determined from his birth ;
so that, in this sense, there are as many Moerae as individ-
uals. * The Greeks, however, who were wont to revere all
such indefinite numbers under the sacred number three,
generally recognized three. These they regarded as the
dark and inexplicable powers of fate, daughters of the
night. Their names were Clotho (spinster), Lachesis (al-
lotter), and Atropos (inevitable).
Only two Parcse were originally known to the Romans,
but a third was afterward added, to make their own my-
thology harmonize with that of the Greeks.
The popular conception of the Parcae as grave hoary women was
not followed in art, where they always appear as young. In the first
instance, their attributes were all alike, separate functions not yet
having been allotted to them. But at a subsequent period it was
Clotho who spun, Lachesis who held, and Atropos who cut, the thread
of life. This arrangement was first adopted by later artists, who
generally give Clotho a spindle, Lachesis a roll of parchment, and
Atropos a balance, or let the last point to the hour of death on a
dial. Such is the case in a talented creation of Carstens, in which
the conception of modern times is brought into harmony with the
Ideal of antiquity (Fig. 34).
116 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
2. Nemesis, Tyche (Fortuna), and Agathodae-
mon (Bonus Eventus). — Nemesis really denotes the
apportionment of that fate which is justly deserved, and a
consequent repugnance to that which is not. Homer does
not acknowledge Nemesis as a goddess, and so it is proba-
ble that her claim to public veneration dates from a later
period. She was regarded as a goddess of equality, who
watches over the equilibrium of the moral universe, and
sees that happiness and misfortune are allotted to man ac-
cording to merit. Hence arose, subsequently, the idea of
an avenging deity, who visits with condign punishment the
crimes and wickedness of mankind. In this character she
resembles the Furies. The Romans likewise introduced
Nemesis into their system; at least her statue stood on
the Capitol, though popular superstition never regarded
her with a friendly eye.
The various conceptions of Nemesis are again displayed in works
of art. The kindly, gentle goddess, who dispenses what is just, is
depicted as a young woman of grave and thoughtful aspect, holding
In her hand the instruments of measurement and control (cubit,
bridle, and rudder). As the stern avenger of human crimes, she ap-
pears with wings in a chariot drawn by griffins, with a sword or whip
in her hand.
Tyche, the goddess of good fortune, was, according to
common accounts, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys.
She was usually honored as the tutelary deity of towns
and as such had temples and statues in many populous
cities of Greece and Asia. In course of time, however,
the idea gained ground that Tyche was the author of evil
as well as of good fortune. She resembled, in this respect,
the Fortuna of the Romans, who was regarded as the source
of all that is unexpected in human life. Servius Tullius
was said to have introduced into Rome the worship of
THE GODS OF OLTMPUSc 11;^
Fortuna, whose favorite he had certainly every reason to
regard himself. He erected a temple to her under the
name of Fors Fortuna, and made the 24th of June the com-
mon festival of the goddess. Later, her worship became still
more extensive. Under the most different surnames, some
of which referred to the State {Fortuna populi Romani),
and others to every description of private affairs, she had a
great number of temples and chapels erected in her honor.
She had also celebrated temples in Antium and Praeneste.
Ancient artists endowed this goddess with various attributes, the
most important of which was the rudder, which she held in her hand
in token of her power to control the fortunes of mankind. She is
also endowed with a sceptre for the same purpose, and with a horn
of plenty as the giver of good fortune ; sometimes she is also repre-
sented with the youthful Plutus in her arms. The later conception
of an impartial goddess of fate is apparent in those art-monuments
which depict her standing on a ball or wheel. Among the larger
existing works, we may mention a copy preserved in the Vatican of
a Tyche by Eutychides of Sicyon, which was formerly exhibited in
Antioch. The goddess here wears a mural crown on her head as the
tutelary deity of towns, and has a sheaf of corn in her right hand.
Besides Fortuna, the Romans honored a deity called Fe-
licitas as the goddess of positive good fortune. Lucullus
is said to have erected a temple to her in Rome, which was
adorned with the works of art brought by Mummius from
the spoils of Corinth. Even this did not suffice for the re-
ligious needs of the people, and we find that the belief in
personal protecting deities grew rapidly among both Greeks
and Romans. These deities were termed by the Greeks
" d^emones," and by the Romans " genii." They were be-
lieved to be the invisible counsellors of every individual,
accompanying him from birth to death, through all the
stages of life, with advice and comfort. Offerings of wine,
cake, incense, and garlands were made to them, particularly
oT> birthdays.
118 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOaY.
II.— THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS.
1. Poseidon (Neptunns). — Poseidon, or Neptunus,
as he was called by the Romans, was the son of Cronus
and Rhea. Homer calls him the younger brother of Zeus,
in which case his subjection to the latter is only natural.
According to the common account, however, Zeus was the
youngest of the sons of Cronus, but acquired the sovereign-
ty over his brothers by having overthrown their cruel fa-
ther. Poseidon was accordingly indebted to his brother for
his dominion over the sea and its deities, and was therefore
subject to him. He usually dwelt, not in Olympus, but at
the bottom of the sea. Here he was supposed to inhabit,
with Amphitrite, his wife, a magnificent golden palace in
the neighborhood of ^gse. Originally, like Oceanus and
Pontus, he was a mere symbol of the watery element, but
he afterward attained an entirely independent personality.
Even in Homer he no longer appears as the sea itself, but
as its mighty ruler, who with his powerful arms upholds
and circumscribes the earth. He is violent and impetuous,
like the element he represents. When he strikes the sea
with his trident, the symbol of his sovereignty, the waves
rise with violence, dash in pieces the ships, and inundate
the land far and wide. Poseidon likewise possesses the
power of producing earthquakes, cleaving rocks, and rais-
ing islands in the midst of the sea. On the other hand, a
word or look from him suflSces to allay the wildest tem-
pest. Virgil, in the first book of the ^'^neid," has given
a beautiful description of the taming of the fierce elements
by the god.
THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 119
Poseidon was naturally regarded as the chief god of all
the seafaring classes, such as iSshermen, boatmen, and sail-
ors, who esteemed him as their patron and tutelary deity.
To him they addressed their prayers before entering on a
voyage ; to him they brought their offerings in gratitude
for their safe return from the perils of the deep.
Poseidon, therefore, enjoyed the highest reputation
among the seafaring lonians. His temples, altars, and
statues were most numerous in the harbors and seapoit
towns, and on islands and promontories. Among the nu-
merous shrines of this deity we may mention that of
Corinth, in the neighborhood of which were celebrated in
his honor the Isthmian games, which subsequently became
a national festival in Greece, Pylus, Athens, and the islands
of RhodCvS, Cos, and Tenos.
It was only natural that many legends, local and provin-
cial, should exist about a god who played such an impor-
tant part in the lives of seafaring folk.. In the Trojan epos
he figures as a violent enemy of Troy, his indignation hav-
ing been provoked by the injustice of the Trojan king,
Laomedon. Poseidon had built the walls of Troy, at the
king's request, with the aid of Apollo ; but Laomedon hav-
ing cheated him in the matter of the stipulated reward,
Poseidon thereupon sent a terrible sea-monster, which laid
waste the crops and slew the inhabitants. They had re-
course to the oracle, which counselled the sacrifice of the
king's daughter, Hesione. The unhappy maiden was ex-
posed to the monster, but was rescued by Heracles. The
fable of this monster, which is manifestly a symbol of the
inundation of the sea, is repeated in many succeeding sto-
ries {e, g.^ in the story of Perseus, who rescued in a similar
way Andromeda, the daughter of the King of Ethiopia).
y
120 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
There are numberless stories in which Poseidon appears
as the father of the different national heroes. The most
important is, perhaps, the legend of Theseus, of which we
shall speak later on. There was scarcely a Grecian town
or district which did not lay claim to divine origin for the
person of its founder or ancestral hero. Again, the con-
ception of the wild stormy nature of the sea caused Posei-
don to be represented as the father of various giants and
monsters. By the nymph Thoosa he became the father of
the savage Polyphemus, slain by Odysseus, who thus pro-
voked the implacable enmity of Poseidon. The giant An-
taeus, who fought with Heracles, was also said to be a son
of Poseidon, besides many other monsters, such as Pro-
crustes, Cercyon, and the Aloida3.
The favorite animal of Poseidon was the horse, which
he was supposed to have created. This may, perhaps, be
due to the fact that the imagination of the Greeks pict-
ured to itself the horses of Poseidon in the rolling and
bounding waves. In Athens the origin of the horse was
referred to the contest between Athene and Poseidon, as
to who should make the land the most useful present.
In Corinthian legend Poseidon appears as the father of
the winged horse Pegasus by Medusa. This story is con-
nected with the taming of the horse, which was as-
cribed to Poseidon. On account of his intimate con-
nection with the horse, Poseidon was especially regarded
as the patron of the games, and had, in consequence, an
altar of his own on all race-courses. The competitors, be-
fore the races, solicited his favor with prayers and sacri-
fices.
The dolphin and the pine-tree were held sacred to Po-
seidon, the latter probably because it was so extensively
THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS.
121
used in ship-building. Black steers, horses, rams, and wild
boars were sacrificed to him.
The Romans not being a seafaring people, Neptune nev'
er stood in such high estimation among them as among
Fig. 35.— Poseidon. Dolce Gem.
the Greeks. In Rome his prominent characteristic was
his connection with the horse and the race-course. These
were placed under his special protection, for which reason
122 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the only temple he had in Rome stood in the Circus Fla-
minius.
The representation of Poseidon, or Neptune, in art harmonizes
tolerably well with the descriptions of the poets. He is accordingly
represented as similar to his brother Zeus in size a-nd figure, with
broad deep chest, dark wavy hair, and piercing eyes.
Artists intimated the greater violence of his nature by giving him
more angularity of face, and a more bristling and disordered head of
hair than Zeus. The expression of his countenance is more grav^
and severe, and the kindly smile that plays around the mouth of
Zeus is altogether wanting.
Ancient statues of Poseidon are comparatively rare. The Vatican
Museum possesses a fine bust, and also a marble statue of the god.
He is generally distinguished by the trident in his right hand ; some-
times in its place we find a tiller. A band similar to a diadem de-
notes his dominion over the sea. Our engraving of the god is after
a beautiful gem of the Dolce collection (Fig. 35).
2. Amphitrite.— After Poseidon had attained an al-
most exclusive veneration as god of the sea, Amphitrite,
one of the Nereids, was given him to wife. According to
the usual account, he carried her away from Naxos. Oth-
ers say that she fled to Atlas to avoid the rude wooing of
the god, but Poseidon's dolphin found her and fetched
her back. She had three children by Poseidon — Triton,
Rhode, and Benthesicyme.
In plastic art, Amphitrite is generally depicted as a slim and beau-
tiful young woman, either nude or half clothed, riding in the chariot
of Poseidon at his side, or by herself. On gems she also appears
enthroned on the back of a mighty Triton, or riding a sea-horse or
dolphin. Her hair generally falls loosely about her shoulders. She
is distinguished by the royal insignia of the diadem and sceptre ; at
times she also wields the trident of her husband.
The worship of Amphitrite was entirely unknown to the
Romans, who recognized the sea -goddess S^acia as the
wife of Neptune,
THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 123
3. Triton and the Tritons.— Triton was the only
son of Poseidon and Amphitrite ; he never appears, how-
ever, to have enjoyed divine honors. This perhaps ex-
plains how it came to pass that he was subsequently de-
graded to the level of a fabulous sea-monster. The poet
Apollonius Rhodius describes him as having a body, the
upper parts of which were those of a man, while the lower
parts were those of a dolphin. Such, too, is his appearance
in works of art. Poets and artists soon revelled in the con-
ception of a whole race of similar Tritons, who were regard-
ed as a wanton, mischievous tribe, like the Satyrs on land.
The Tritons, as sea-deities of fantastic form, are of little impor-
tance in higher art, though they were all the more frequently employ-
ed in fountains and water -works. The fore-legs of a horse were
sometimes added to the human body and dolphin's tail, thus giving
rise to the figure termed the Ichthyocentaur.
4. Pontus and his Descendants. — We have al-
ready spoken of Pontus and his race in our account of the
Theogony. Here we can only mention those of his chil-
dren who either enjoyed divine honors, or are of impor-
tance in art. The eldest among them was Nereus.
1. Nereus and his Daughters. — Nereus presents to us
the calm and pleasant side of the sea. He appears as a
kindly, benevolent old man, the good spirit of the ^gean
Sea, where he dwells with his fifty lovely daughters, the
Nereids, ever ready to assist the storm-beaten sailor in the
hour of need. Like all water-spirits, Nereus posbcssed the
gift of prophecy though he did not always choose to make
use of it. Heracles sought him on his way to the gar-
den of the Hesperides, in order to learn how he might get
possession of the golden apples. . In spite of his urgent en*
treaties, Nereus endeavored to elude him by assuming ev-
124 GREEK ANB ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ery kind of shape, tbongli he was at length vanquished bj
the persistence of the hero, who would not let him go until
he had obtained the necessary information.
By his wife Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, he became
the father of fifty, or, according to some, of a hundred
daughters, who were all venerated as kindly, beneficent sea-
nymphs. They are a charming, lovely tribe, who win the
hearts of the sailors — now by their merry sports and dances,
now by their timely assistance in the hour of danger.
This joyous band generally forms the train of Poseidon
and Amphitrite. Besides Amphitrite, the chosen bride of
Poseidon, we find among them Thetis, the beautiful moth-
er of Achilles, so celebrated in ancient poetry, who usually
figures as their leader. Her beauty and grace were so
great that Zeus himself became her lover. He surrendered
her, however, to Peleus, son of ^acus, because an oracle
had declared that the sod of Thetis should become greatei
than his father.
In art Nereus generally appears as an old man with thin gray
locks. He is commonly distinguished by a sceptre, or even a trident.
The Nereids were depicted as graceful maidens, in earlier times
slightly clothed, but later entirely nude, riding on dolphins, Tritons,
or other fabulous monsters of the deep.
2. Thaumas^ Phorcys^ Ceto, — While Nereus and his
daughters represent the sea in its peaceful aspect, Thau-
mas, the second son of Pontus, represents it as the world
of wonders. By Electra, a daughter of Oceanus, he be-
came the father of Iris, the messenger of the gods, and
also of the Harpies. The latter personify the storm-winds.
Originally fair maidens, they were afterward represented as
winged creatures, half man and half bird; they had the
faces of maidens, but their bodies were covered with, vult-
THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 125
ures' feathers; tliey were pale and emaciated in appear-
ance, and Avere continually tormented with an insatiable
hunger. They are best known from the story of the Ar-
gonauts, where they appear as the tormentor of the blind
king Phineus, whose table they continually robbed of its
viands, which they either devoured or spoiled. They were
regarded by the ancients as the ministers of sudden death,
and were said to be either two or three in number. Phor-
cys and Ceto, the brother and sister of Thaumas, present
to us the sea under its terrible aspect. This pair, from
whose union sprung the Gorgons, the Grsese, and the drag-
on of the Hesperides, typify all the terrors and dangers of
the deep. We shall have more to say concerning the Gor-
gons and GrsdSd in the story of Perseus.
5. Proteus. — Proteus is a deity of inferior rank. He
is represented as an old man (the servant of Poseidon)
endowed with the gift of prophecy. He plays the same
part in the story of Troy as Nereus does in that of Hera-
cles. His usual abode was the island of Pharos. It was
thither that Menelaus turned after he had been driven to
the coast of Egypt, on his return from Troy, to seek the
advice of the "unerring old man of the sea." But Pro-
teus, being in no amiable mood, sought to elude the im-
portunity of the hero by converting himself into a lion, a
dragon, a panther, a wild boar, and many other forms. At
length, however, he was vanquished by the persistence of
Menelaus, and vouchsafed an answer. He was supposed
to be the keeper of the fish who inhabit the depths of the
sea, and of the other marine animals.
In works of art he generally appears like a Triton, i. (?., with body
ending in a fish's tail. He is usually distinguished by a crook.
126 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
6. Grlaucus. — Among the inferior sea-deities, Glaucus
deserves mention as playing a part in the story of the
Argonauts. He was really only a local god of the Anthe-
donians in Boeotia, and his worship was not extended to
other places in Greece. But though he had no splendid
temples, he stood in very high estimation among the lower
classes of sailors and fishermen ; indeed, we find universally
that the common people, in all their cares, turned rather to
the inferior deities, whom they supposed to stand closer to
them, than to the higher and more important gods. Ac-
cording to the story, Glaucus was originally a fisherman of
Anthedon, who attained in a wonderful manner the rank
of a god. One day, after having caught some fish, he laid
them half dead on the turf close by. He was astonished
to see, however, that on coming in contact with a certain
herb, which was unknown to him, they were restored to
life and sprung back into the sea. He himself now ate of
this wonderful herb, and immediately felt himself pene-
trated by so wondrous a sensation of bliss and animation
that, in his excitement, he too sprung into the sea. Ocea-
nus and Thetis hereupon cleansed him from all his human
impurities, and gave him a place among the sea-gods. He
was venerated on many of the islands and coasts of Greece
as a friendly deity, ever ready to assist the shipwrecked
sailor or the castaway.
In art he is represented as a Triton, rough and shaggy in appear-
ance, his body covered with mussels or sea -weed. His hair and
beard show that luxuriance which characterizes sea-gods.
7. Ino Lencothea, and Melicertes. — Like Glau-
cus, Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, attained at once immor-
tality and divine rank by p ^^,ap into the sea. She was a
THE GODS OF THE SEA AND WATERS. 127
sister of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, and the wife of
Athamas, King of Orchomenus. It was she who, after the
unhappy death of Semele, took charge of the infant Diony-
sus. Hera, however, avenged herself by driving Athamas
mad, whereupon he dashed Learchus, his eldest son by Ino,
against a rock. He was about to inflict the same fate on
Melicertes, his second son, when in frantic haste the un-
happy mother sought to save her child by flight. Atha-
mas, however, pursued her as far as the Isthmus, when Ino,
seeing no hope of escape, cast herself from the rock Mo-
luris into the sea. Here she was kindly received by the
Nereids, and converted, together with her son, into sea-
deities. She henceforth bore the name of Leucothea, and
her son that of Palsemon. They were both regarded as
benevolent deities of the stormy sea, who came to the as-
sistance of those who were shipwrecked or in other peril.
They appear in this guise in the " Odyssey," where Odys-
seus, who saw only certain death before him, is repre-
sented as having been saved by a scarf thrown to him by
Leucothea.
8. The Sirens. — The Sirens must also be reckoned
among the sea- deities. They are best known from the
story how Odysseus succeeded in passing them with his
companions without being seduced by their song. He
had the prudence to stop the ears of his companions with
wax, and to have himself bound to the mast. The Sirens
were regarded as the daughters either of the river -god
Achelous by one of the nymphs, or of Phorcys and Ceto.
Only two Sirens are mentioned in Homer, but three or
four were recognized in later times and introduced into
various legends, such as that of the Argonauts, or the Sicil-
128 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ian story of the rape of Persephone. Demeter is said to
have changed their bodies into those of birds, because they
refused to go lo the help of their companion, Persephone,
when she was carried off by the god of the lower world.
In art they are represented, like the Harpies, as young women with
the wings and feet of birds. Sometimes they appear altogether like
birds, only with human faces ; at other times w ith the arms and
bodies of women, in which case they generally hold instruments of
music in their hands. As their songs were death to those who were
seduced by them, they are often depicted on tombs as spirits of
death.
9. The Race of Oceanus. — Lastly, we must enu-
merate among the water-deities the numerous descendants
of Oceanus, viz., the Oceanids, and also the rivers that are
spread over the earth. The latter were believed to have
their common source in the ocean encircling the earth, and
thence to flow beneath the ground until they leached the
surface in springs.
Oceanus himself appears in the myths which treat of
the genealogy of the gods as the eldest son of Uranus and
Gaea, and therefore, like his wife Tethys, a Titan. As he
did not take part in the rebellion of the other Titans
against the dominion of Zeus, he did not share their dread-
ful fate, but was allowed to remain in undisturbed enjoy-
ment of his ancient domain. He was supposed to dwell
on the most western shores of the earth, which he never
left even to attend the assemblies of the gods.
On account of their great importance to the fertility of
the soil, the river-gods enjoyed a great reputation among
the Greeks, although their worship was entirely of a local
nature. Only Achelous, the greatest of all the Greek riv-
ers, appears to have enjoyed general veneration. The riv-
er-gods w^ere believed to dwell either in the depths of the
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 129
rivers themselves, or in rocky grottos near their sources
They were depicted either as delicate youths, or as men in
their prime, or as old men, according to the magnitude of
the river. They all possess a conformity with the nature
of their element, viz., that power of transformation which
we discover in the other sea- deities. They also appear,
like other water-spirits, to possess the gift of prophecy.
Among the Romans all flowing waters were held sacred.
Fontus, the son of Janus, was especially esteemed as the
god of springs and fountains in general ; but, as among
the Greeks, each river had its special deity. The most im-
portant of these was Tiberinus. The springs were popu-
larly supposed to be inhabited by nymphs gifted with the
powers of prophecy and magic, who sometimes honored
mortals with their favors, as Egeria did King Numa.
In art the river-gods were commonly represented in the guise of
those animals whose forms they were most in the habit of assuming.
They thus appear as serpents, bulls, or even as men with bulls' heads.
They were also portrayed, however, in purely human guise, with the
exception of having small horns on either side of the head. Their
attributes consist of urns and horns of plenty, symbols of the bless-
ings that proceed from them.
IIL-^THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER
WORLD.
We now come to a class of deities who stand in the
most decided contrast to the gods of the heaven and the
sea, whom we have previously described. It consists of
those deities whose power is incessantly exerted either on
the surface or in the depths of the earth, and who are ac
cordingly brought into the closest connection with the life
J9
i30 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
of man. The worship of these deities assumed among the
Greeks a passionate and excited character, at first entirely
strange to the Romans, though it gradually crept in here also.
Though the ancients saw in the earth, on the one hand,
the fruitful source of all life in nature, they did not seek
to disguise the fact that it is, on the other hand, also the
open sepulchre into which all earthly existence sinks when
its time is over. The worship of these deities was there-
fore celebrated with festivals of joy and mirth at the sea-
son of the revival of nature, and with mournful solemnities
at the season of its decay. The devotees manifested both
their mirth and mourning in a loud, noisy, passionate man-
ner, usually designated orgiastic. An element of mystery
never failed to introduce itself into the worship of these
deities, who, in virtue of their dwellings, were able to in-
spire a greater feeling of awe than the bright forms of the
gods of heaven. Their wrath also, which manifested itself
in the sterility of the soil, was the subject of especial fear.
Mysteries proper, or secret rites, existed only among the
Greeks, but never found their way into the religious sys-
tems of Italy. We shall enumerate first the deities of the
upper world, who preside over the growth of flocks and
the fruits of the earth, and then those who inhabit the
lower world.
1 . G-aea (Tellns). — First among them is Gaea, or
Mother Earth herself. This deity appears in the Cosmog-
ony (or myths relating to the formation of the universe)
as one of the primeval creative forces, having herselr pro-
ceeded immediately from Chaos. In later times she ac-
quired a more personal and plastic character, althovigu sao
never attained any real importance in the religious system
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 131
of the Greets, owing to the existence of more definite and
substantial deities such as Rhea, Hestia, Demeter, and The*
mis. The worship of Tellus in Rome was more important,
although here, too, it was somewhat thrown into the shade
by the worship of Ceres and kindred deities.
The chief significance of Gsea lies in the fact that she is
the source of all life and increase in nature. She is hence
regarded as a mother who tends with loving care all her
children. Under this aspect her praises are sung by Hesi-
od, and also in an ancient Dodonaic hymn. Like Demeter
and other deities who dispense prosperity and abundance,
she appears as tending and nourishing the young, and is
often represented thus on ancient monuments.
At the same time Gsea is the common grave of man-
kind, and draws all things, with inexorable severity, down
into her dark womb. She thus becomes a goddess of
death and the lower world, and was on this account in-
voked, together with the Manes, as a witness of all solemn
compacts and oaths.
A very ancient shrine of this goddess existed at Delphi,
and the oracle there had once, said the Delphians, belonged
to her.
In Rome, where she was also venerated as a goddess of
marriage, her temple stood on the site of the house of
Spurius Cassius. Festive oflEerings were made to her be-
fore and after seed-time. On the occasion of the Pagana-
lia, she and Ceres were propitiated by the sacrifice of a
pregnant sow, which was supposed to promote the pros-
perity of the coming year,
2. Rhea Cybele (Magna Mater Idaea). — Rhea is
well known as the daughter of Uranus and Gsea, and thq
132 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,
wife of Cronus, by whom she became the mother of Zeus
and the other Cronidse. She seems to have enjoyed only
a hmited measure of divine honors, until she was identified
with the Phrygian goddess Cybele, who, like the Egyptian
Isis, was an Asiatic symbol of fertility. She was worship-
ped throughout Lydia and Phrygia under the appellation
of the '' Mighty Mother." Thence her worship, which was
of a peculiarly noisy character, made its way through the
Greek colonies into Greece itself, and towards the end of
the second Punic war was, at the instance of the Sibylline
books, introduced into Rome. Attains, King of Pergamus,
was on this occasion good enough to present the Romans
with a sacred stone, which was regarded by the inhabit-
ants of Pessinus as the great mother herself. After its ar-
rival at Ostia, this stone was carried to Rome amidst a sol-
emn procession of Roman matrons. The day of its arrival
(April 10th) was ever afterward kept as a festival, at which
games were celebrated under the superintendence of the
prsetor. The worship of Cybele^ however, never seems to
have become naturalized in Rome, perhaps because Romans
were not allowed to officiate as her priests.
The true home of the worship of Cybele was the district
of Pessinus, a rough and rocky mountain land. It was
here that she made her noisy processions, seated in a char-
iot drawn by lions or panthers, amidst the boisterous music
of her w^eird attendants, the Corybantes and Curetes. The
myths that relate to the goddess bear a wild, fantastic char-
acter, similar to that of her rites. The best known among
thera is the story of her favorite, Attis, or Atys. He was
a Phrygian youth of a beauty so exceptional that the great
mother of the gods chose him for her husband. At first
he returned her affection, but afterward he proved faithless.
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWEE WORLDc 133
and was about to marry a daughter of the King of Pessi*
nus. But the vengeance of the angry goddess overtook
him, for when the wedding guests were assembled at the
festive banquet the goddess appeared in their midst, and
filled those present with panic fear, and troubled their
minds. Atys fled to the mountains, where he slew him-
self in a fit of frenzy. Afterward, the goddess instituted a
great mourning in memory of him, which took place about
the time of the vernal equinox. The priests of the god-
dess marched, amidst the loud noise of kettle-drums and
fifes, to the mountains, in order to search for the lost
youth ; and when at length he, or an image representing
him, was found, the priests, in an ecstasy of joy, danced
about in wild excitement, gashing themselves with knives.
Representations of Rhea Cybele are rare. A statue representing
her seated on a throne is shown in the Vatican. Her usual attribute
is a kettle-drum.
3. Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber). — Dionysus, or
Bacchus, was regarded by Greeks and Romans alike as the
god of wine and vineyards. In his more extended mean-
ing he represents the blessings of the autamn. It is he
who causes the fruits to ripen for the use of man ; it is like-
wise he who dispenses to mankind all the advantages of
civilization and refinement, and of well-ordered political
affairs.
Thebes was described as the birthplace of the god. His
mother was Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, whom Zeus,
the great god of heaven, honored with his love. This very
love, however, proved fatal to Semele, for the ever-jealous
Hera came to her in the guise of her nurse, Beroe, and
succeeded in exciting her suspicions as to the truth of her
lover's divinity. She insidiously persuaded Semele to make
134 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOIOGl.
her lover swear to do what she desired, and then to put
him to the test. Semele did so, and then besought Zeus
to appear to her in the full majesty of his divine form.
In vain did Zeus adjure her to take back her foolish re-
quest; she insisted on its fulfilment, and perished misera-
bly, being burned to ashes by the flame of Zeus, who ap-
proached her in a flash of lightning. Her unborn child
was preserved by Zeus, who ordered Hermes to carry it to
the nymphs of Nysa to be brought up. A later legend
makes Ino, the sister of Semele, the foster-mother of Dio-
nysus. The locality of this Nysa is somewhat uncertain,
but it is generally supposed to be a district of Mount Pan-
gaeus, in Thrace.
Dionysus, after growing up amidst the solitude of the
forest and strengthening himself by his contests with its
wild beasts, at length planted the vine. Both the god and
his attendants soon became intoxicated with its juice ; af-
ter which, crowned with wreaths of laurel and ivy, and ac-
companied by a crowd of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns, he
ranged the woods, which resounded with the loud and joy-
ful cries of his inspired worshippers. The legend says that
his education was then completed by Silenus, the son of
Pan. In company with his preceptor and the rest of his
train, he then set forth to spread his worship and the cul-
tivation of the vine among the nations of the earth. He
did not confine himself to mere vine-planting, however, but
proved a real benefactor of mankind by founding citieSj
and by introducing more civilized manners and a more
pleasant and sociable mode of life among men. On such
as refused his favors his wrath fell with dreadful effect.
Agave, the mother of the Theban king Pentheus, who had
refused to receive him, and the rest of the Theban womea
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 135
were driven mad by him ; and in their frenzy they mistool
the king for a wild-boar and tore him to pieces.
The most celebrated among the myths which testify to
the wondrous power of Dionysus is the story of the pun-
ishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates. On the occasion of his
passage from Icaria to Naxos, these pirates put Dionysus
in chains, purposing to take him to Italy, and there sell him
as a slave. At a nod from the youthful god the chains fell
from his limbs; he appeared as a lion, while a bear was
Fig. 36.— Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of Lysicrates.
seen at the other end of the ship. Vines and ivy tendrils
wound themselves round the mast and sails of the ship,
which stood still, while the strains of the nymphs burst
forth. The sailors, terrified by the transformation of the
god, leaped overboard, and were changed into dolphins.
A fine representation, in relief, of this scene still exists on
the monument of Lysicrates, at Athens. The most beauti-
ful feature in it is the figure of the god playing with his
lion in the most joyous unconsciousness (Fig. 36). Withi
136 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the name of Naxos, which was a chief seat of his worship,
is connected the celebrated story of his marriage with Ari*
adne, the daughter of Minos, King of Crete. The Attic
hero Theseus, after escaping the dangers of the Labyrinth
by her means, had taken her away with him from Crete in
order to marry her. He deserted her, however, while asleep
on the island of Naxos, either of his own accord or because
warned of the god in a dream. The indescribable anguish
and consternation of Ariadne, on awaking to find herself
alone and deserted on a foreign strand, was only equalled
by her joyous surprise when Bacchus, returning from his
travels in India, found her and made her his bride. The
poets, indeed, do not relate that Zeus then bestowed on hex
that immortality which he had already given his son on
account of his glorious achievements and extraordinary
merit towards mankind ; but such appears to have been the
popular tradition. At Athens a sort of harvest thanksgiv-
ing was celebrated in honor of both Dionysus and his bride,
at which vines with the grapes on them were borne in sol-
emn procession through the streets of the city.
The worship of Dionysus extended not only over the
whole of Greece, but also to Italy, Asia Minor, Thrace, and
Macedonia, and to every place where the vine was culti-
vated by the Greeks. The god was extolled as Lyseus, the
deliverer from care, and great festivals were instituted in
his honor, which were of a disorderly character, but very
popular among the common people. At the time of the
winter solstice there was mourning, because at this season
the vine seemed to die away, and the god was believed to
be suiiering persecution at the hands of the evil spirits of
winter, and obliged to flee in consequence to the sea or
lower world. It was, therefore, thought right to suffer
Flir. 37.— T*ie so-called Sardanapalus in the Vaticao.
138 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOtty.
with him, and people manifested their grief at his disap*
pearance by every kind of wild gesture. At the wintei
festivals of Dionysus, which were celebrated every other
year, only women and girls took part. The festivals of
the god at the beginning of spring, when the new wine
was tasted for the first time, were purely festivals of glad-
ness, like the greater Dionysia at Athens. On these oc-
casions the reawakening of nature was celebrated with
boundless joy and boisterous mirth. All kinds of jokes
and mischievous pranks were indulged in, and festive pro-
cessions and theatrical performances followed each other in
quick succession.
The following festivals were celebrated at Athens in
honor of Dionysus :
1. The Lesser or Rural Dionysia, This was the vin-
tage festival proper, which did not take place in Attica till
the end of November or beginning of December, because
they liked to let the grapes hang as long as possible. A
he-goat was first solemnly sacrificed to the god ; this was
followed by a festive procession bearing the sacred things,
and the festival concluded with all kinds of country amuse-
ments, dancing, masquerading, and revelling. The chief
amusement of the young men was dancing on the leather
bag. Out of the skin of the slaughtered goat was made a
leather bag, which was inflated and smeared with oil : the
young men then attempted to dance on it.
2. The Lencea^ or feast of the wine-press, was celebrated
in the month of January at Athens, in the place where, ac-
cording to an old tradition, the first wine-press had stood.
Here stood the Lenaeon, one of the two chief temples of
the god. The chief feature of the festival was a magnifi-
cent procession with the sacred symbols of the god. This
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 139
Fig. 38.— Touthfal Dionysus. From the Chiiteau Kicheiieu, now in the
Louvre.
was followed by a great banquet, the viands for which
were furnished by the city of Athens. The new wine
which was drunk on these occasions did not tend to di-
minish the hilarity of the worshippers, so that all kinds
of mischievous jokes were perpetrated.
3. The Anthesteria were celebrated in February, on the
11th, 12th, and 13th days of the month Anthesterioa
140
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
They were supposed to commemorate the return of Diony.
BUS from the lower world, or, in other words, the reawaken-
ing of nature from the sleep of winter. The first day was
called TTidotyia (cask-opening), because on this day the nev/
wine was first broached. The second and chief dav of the
festival was called yoeq (cups). A procession and a great
banquet took place, at which the guests were crowned with
flowers. Many liberties were
permitted to the slaves on this
occasion, as at the Roman Sat-
urnalia. The third day was
called x^^P* (p^^^)) because
vessels were displayed filled
with all kinds of boiled vege-
tables. These were regarded
in the light of offerings for
the souls of the dead, who were
popularly supposed to revisit
the upper world on this occa-
sion.
4. The Greater or City Bio
nysia formed the chief festi-
val of the god, and the proper
spring-feast of the Athenians. It was celebrated with ex-
traordinary splendor in the month of March, and lasted
several days, bringing together a vast concourse of stran-
gers from all parts. The city, renowned alike foi the
refined artistic taste and the keen wit of its inhabitants,
then donned its holiday garb, and innumerable merry an-
tics were played by the crowds assembled in the streets
and squares. The chief feature of the festival was a sol'
emn Drocessioo, in which an old wooden statue of the god
Pig. 39.— Marble Head of Youthful
Dionysus at Leyden.
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD, 141
was borne through the streets. There were likewise ban-
quets and comic processions in masks, and grand repre-
sentations of new comedies and tragedies. The proceed-
ings concluded with the presentation of prizes to the suc-
cessful competitors.
The Italian nationalities likewise celebrated a festival on
the l7th of March, called the Liberalia, in honor of Liber,
or Liber Pater, the Italian god of the vine. It was dis-
tinguished throughout by the simple countrified character
of the proceedings, and resembled the Lesser Dionysia of
the inhabitants of Attica. People amused themselves with
all kinds of jokes and antics, and with masquerades, the
masks for which were cut from the bark of trees. The
chief object of the festival was to pray for the fertility of
the vines. These innocent festivals had nothing to do with
the voluptuous Bacchanalia which were afterward intro-
duced into Rome in imitation of the Greek mysteries, and
which the most rigorous interference of the authorities was
unable to suppress.
If we try to conceive briefly the significance of the wor-
ship of Dionysus in the religion of the ancients, we shall
find that in his primitive character the god was a personi-
fication of the active, productive power of nature. As De-
meter was supposed to give corn and the other fruits of
the field, so Dionysus was supposed to give the fruits of
trees, and especially of the vine. He was likewise regard-
ed as the author of the blessings of civilization, so that, on
this point, he supplements the idea of the great culture-
goddess Demeter, with whom, both among the Greeks and
Romans, he had many temples and festivals in cofnmon.
Looking at his character from another side, we find him
coming into contact with Apollo, since he was supposed
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 143
not only to endow men with a kindly, cheerful disposition,
but also to inspire them with a love of music, on which ac-
count he was honored with Apollo as the friend and lead-
er of the Muses.
Artistic representations of Dionysus have come down to us on
numerous monuments. In earlier art he was generally depicted as
majestic and grave, and on that account represented with a beard.
We have given an instance of this earlier conception in the so-called
Sardanapalus of the Vatican (Fig. 37). In later art he became more
youthful, and was characterized by a delicate roundness of form.
The statues of this period are distinguished by the almost feminine
expression of face with which they endow the god, as well as by i]z2
Fig, 41.— Dannecker's Ariadne. Frankfort-on-the Main.
|44 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGT.
rounded limbs and the graceful ease of every attitude. The status
of a youthful Dionysus in the Louvre at Paris is an instance of thia
later mode of conception (Fig. 38). So likewise is the head of Diony-
sus at Leyden, which is distinguished by a sweet expression of rev-
erie. His soft hair, which falls about his shoulders in delicate ring-
lets, is generally intertwined with a garland of vine leaves or ivy
(Fig. 39). The other attributes of the god are the thyrsus, or Bac-
chic wand, the diadem, the skin of a wild beast falling across his
chest, which often forms his sole clothing, and the drinking-cup in
Vis hand. He is generally accompanied by lions, tigers, or panthers ;
and the bull and ram, as the symbols of fertility, were held sacred
to him, while the latter was also his usual sacrifice. Among plants,
besides the vine and the ivy, the laurel was held sacred to him on
account of its powers of inspiration.
Of all the prominent personages in the stories of Dionysus, Ariadne
has received most attention at the hands of the sculptor. The most
celebrated of such ancient monuments is a marble figure of great
beauty, larger than life, representing the sleeping Ariadne. It is
now preserved in the Vatican Museum at Rome (Fig. 40). Among
the productions of modern sculptors, the Ariadne of Dannecker, at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, which represents her as the bride of Theseus,
riding on a panther, justly enjoys a very high reputation (Fig. 41).
4. The Nymphs. — We now come to a class of in-
ferior terrestrial divinities who are often found in the train
of Bacchus. The most numerous and important of these
are the Nymphs. They personify the restless activity and
energy of nature, over the whole of which their power ex-
tends. They manifest their presence in the murmuring,
rippling streams and brooks, as well as in the sprouting
vegetation of wood and meadow. They are tender, grace-
ful maidens, who, though kindly disposed towards men,
yet avoid human habitations, and prefer the peaceful soli-
tude of the woods and mountains, where they lead a merry,
joyous life among the clefts and grottos.
Sometimes they devote themselves to useful pursuits,
and spin and weave; sometimes they engage in graceful
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 145
dances, and sing merry songs, or bathe their delicate limbs
in the white spray of lonely brooks. They gladly join the
train of those superior deities supposed to preside in the
realms of nature. Thus we see them joining in the Bacchic
revelry with Dionysus, or figuring in the train of Aphro-
dite, or ranging field and wood as they hunt in the com-
pany of Artemis.
According to the divisions of nature, over which the
Nymphs were supposed to preside, we may distinguish the
following classes :
1. The Water-nymphSy to whom, in their wider signifi-
cation, the Oceanids and Nereids also belong. Here, how-
ever, we have only to deal with the water-nymphs of the
brooks and fountains of the land, who are distinguished by
the name of Naiads. As the kindly nourishers of plants,
and as thereby ministering indirectly to the sustenance of
both man and beast, they enjoyed a large measure of ven-
eration among the ancients, although, being inferior deities,
they could claim no temples of their own. Like the sea-
nymphs, they possessed the gift of prophecy, and appear
as the patrons of poetry and song.
2. Nymphs of the Mountains^ or Oreads^ to whom be-
long the nymphs of the valleys and glens (Napaese.) These
were very numerous, and received special names from the
particular mountains or districts they inhabited. The
most celebrated among them was the Boeotian nymph
Echo. She was consumed by love for the beautiful youth
Narcissus, a son of the river-god Cephisus, and finding that
he did not reciprocate her affection, she pined away in ever-
increasing grief, until at length her emaciated frame was
changed into rock, and nothing but her voice remained.
But Aphrodite avenged this injury to her sex on Narcissus,
10
146 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
who had in his vain self-love thus contemned the beautl
ful nymph. As he was hunting one day on Mount Helicon,
he bent down to quench his thirst from a spring clear as
crystal, and the goddess caused him to fall in love with his
own shadow, which was reflected in the water. The object
of his desires being unattainable, he too pined away from
grief, and the flower named after him has ever since con^
tinned an emblem of heartless beauty.
3. The DryadSj or Hamadryads (wood-nymphs). These
appear to have been a conception of later times. It was
supposed that their existence depended on that of the trees
they inhabited ; so that when the latter were destroyed, the
nymphs also perished. Not sharing immortality, therefore,
they cannot properly be reckoned among the gods.
The veneration of nymphs was very ancient in Greece,
and was thence transferred to Rome. Goats, lambs, milk,
and oil were offered to them.
In art they are depicted as lovely maidens, generally only slightly
clad, and adorned with flowers and garlands. The Naiads are also
represented as drawing water, or with attributes relating to their
element
6. The Satyrs. — \n contrast to the Nymphs, or fe-
male personifications of the life of nature, we find a num-
ber of inferior wood and water deities of the male sex, call-
ed Satyrs, Sileni, and Panes, between whom it is difiicult
to distinguish clearly. Generally by Satyrs (Fauni) we un-
derstand the wood and mountain spirits proper, who are
inseparably connected with Dionysus, whose attendant
train they form. Coarse sensuality and a wanton spirit of
mischief are the leading features of their character. On
account of their animal propensities they were fabled to
He only half human in appearance, with blunt noses and
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 14t
otherwise ignoble features, bristling hair, goat -like ears,
and a goat's tail. Like the Muses, they love music and
dancing, their instruments being the syrinx and the flute,
together with cymbals and castanets. Like their master,
they were passionately addicted to excessive indulgence in
wme; but whereas in the former this produced only a
rapturous enthusiasm and an exalted frame of mind, with
them its effects were purely sensual, and excited them to
insane and unseemly pranks of all kinds.
Fig. 42.— Head of Satyr. Munich Sculpture Gallery,
The satyrs were not an uncommon subject of representation among
ancient artists. The conception was based on the original hideous
half -man, half -animal type; and in art, as well as in poetry, the
blunt nose, the pointed ears, and the goat's tail form their character-
istic features. The Bacchic insignia of a band round the brow and
an ivy garland also belong to them. There are some particularly
fine antique statues of satyrs in the art-collections of Munich and
Rome. The engraving (Fig. 42) shows the highly expressive face
of a satyr in the Munich collection.
148 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
6. Silenus. — Silenus, according to the common tradi-
tion, was an old satyr who tended and brought up Diony-
sus, and afterward became the faithful companion of his
wanderings. He is depicted by the poets as a somewhat
elderly man, with blunt nose and bald head, hairy chest
and thighs, and a stomach so large that he can scarcely
walk. He generally appears riding on an ass in front of
the Bacchic company, with a satyr on either side support-
ing his half -drunken form.
The artists of antiquity seem to have devoted themselves frequent-
ly to the subject of Silenus. They either represented him as the
nurse and preceptor of the youthful Bacchus, holding the child in his
arms and regarding him with a look of affection, in which the comic
element is entirely lacking, or they present him to us as the insatiable
but good-natured wine -bibber. His standing attribute is the wine-
skin, besides which, like other members of the Bacchic train, he
bears a thyrsus and ivy garland.
Besides Silenus, who was celebrated as the preceptor of
Dionysus, there was a whole tribe of Sileni. Whether this
is due to the fact that the older satyrs were called Sileni,
or whether they form a special class of deities presiding
over the flowing, gushing water, cannot be determined with
any certainty.
Among the Sileni were two personages who play a part
in the story of Dionysus. These were Marsyas and Midas.
The former, like all satyrs, was an accomplished master of
the flute, and challenged Apollo to a trial of skill which
proved fatal to him. The conditions of the contest were
that he who was vanquished should put himself entirely in
the power of his adversary. Apollo won, and made a cruel
use of his victory by hanging Marsyas on a pine-tree and
flaying him alive.
Midas was the mythic founder of the kingdom of Phryg-
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 149
ia, in Asia Minor, whither he had emigrated from Mace-
donia. Tradition makes him a son of Cybele, and, as her
favorite, endowed with fabulous wealth. But, like many
of the sons of men in the present day, the richer he grew,
the greater was his thirst for gold, until it betrayed him
at length into an act of great folly. One day, the drunk-
en Silenus strayed from the company of Bacchus into the
garden of Midas. The latter received him with great hos=
pitality, and after entertaining him sumptuously for ten
days brought him to Bacchus. Pleased with his kindness,
the god rewarded him with the gratification of any wish
he might make. Midas now wished that everything he
touched might turn to gold. Naturally the gratification
of this wish wellnigh proved his ruin ; and he only es-
caped by washing, at the command of the god, in the riv-
er Pactolus, which has ever since washed down gold in its
sands. A later fable makes Midas the judge in the rivalry
of Apollo and Pan, on which occasion he decided in favor
of the latter, for which the god changed his ears into those
of an ass. The object of this fable is obviously only to
account for the Sllenic form of Midas.
7. Greek and Roman Wood-spirits. — l. Pan. —
Pan was a very ancient god of the woods and meadows.
He was first honored only by the inhabitants of the moun-
tain-land of Arcadia and by other pastoral tribes. Subse-
quently his divinity was more generally acknowledged and
more highly esteemed. Common accounts make him the
son of Hermes by the nymph Penelope, a daughter of Dry-
ops. His mother was not a little terrified at his birth,
since he was hairy all over, and had horns and goat's feet.
His father wrapped him in a hare -skin, and bore him to
150 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Olympus, where the assembled gods showed no small pleas-
ure at the sight of the strange little wood-demon. From
time immemorial Pan was regarded by the shepherds of
Greece as their most doughty protector; for which rea-
son the mountain caves in which they gathered their herds
together at night, or in threatening weather, were held sa-
cred to him. There were many such caves of Pan in the
mountains of Arcadia, and also one at the foot of the
Acropolis at Athens, besides others on Mount Parnassus,
in Boeotia, and elsewhere. Pan was esteemed a god of
great cheerfulness and activity of character, who loved to
range the woods as a huntsman, and was on this account
regarded with little less veneration by huntsmen than by
shepherds. He was also looked on as the patron of fishing
and bee-keeping.
As the god of shepherds. Pan was also a lover of music,
and on returning in the evening from the chase, says the
Homeric story, he was wont to play sweet tunes on his
pan's-pipe (syrinx), while the Oreads, or mountain-nymphs,
sung the praises of the gods and led off their spirited
dances. The poets have founded a story on his discovery
of the syrinx. They invented a fabulous nymph called
Syrinx, with whom Pan was supposed to have fallen vio-
lently in love. The nymph, however, did not return his
affection, and fled from his embraces. Pan pursued her,
and in her extremity she sought the aid of Gsea, who trans-
formed her into a reed. Out of this reed Pan, by joining
seven pieces together, made an instrument which he called
the syrinx, after the nymph.
Pan was as passionately fond of dancing as of music.
According to Pindar, he was the most accomplished dancer
?imong the gods. His favorite amusement was to dance
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 151
in company with the mountain-nymplis, on which occa-
sions he regaled them with every kind of droll leap, in the
performance of which his goat's feet stood him in good
stead.
As a wood-deity, Pan also possessed the gift of proph-
ecy ; indeed, according to some, it was he who first impart-
ed this gift to Apollo. He certainly had a very ancient
oracle at Acacesium, in Arcadia.
Wild mountainous country and the thick untrodden for-
est are both alike apt to impress the lonely traveller with
feelings of awe. Alt such sensations of sudden and unac-
countable fear were ascribed to Pan (Panic). He was also
said to delight in terrifying travellers with all kinds of
strange noises. Hence, at a later period, arose the story
that in the contest with the Titans he rendered good serv-
ice to Zens by blowing on a shell trumpet which he had in-
vented, whereupon the Titans were seized with a sudden
terror. This, however, is only another version of Triton's
services at the battle with the giants. It is well known
that the Athenians introduced the worship of Pan, to
which they had been hitherto strangers, into their city af-
ter the battle of Marathon, in consequence of the assistance
which they believed they had received from the god.
Such are the more ancient and simple features of the
character of Pan, He assumed a higher significance when
men began to regard him as the companion of the " Mighty
Mother," and assigned him a place in the Bacchic circle.
Men now saw in him a productive force of nature like the
Phrygian Attis ; indeed, in consequence of a misinterpre-
tation of his name, he was made the creator and god of
the universe.
After he had once been introduced into the company of
152
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Dionysus, poets and artists alike set themselves to work to
invent a number of Panes and little Pans (Panisci), who
were easily confounded with the Satyrs and Sileni.
The chief shrine of Pan was at Acacesium, in Arcadia.
Cows, goats, and sheep were sacrificed to him, besides of-
ferings of milk, honey, and new wine.
In art we must distinguish the earlier and later types of the god.
la the former, which dates from the best days of Greek art, he ia
conceived as entirely human in appearance, with the exception of two
sprouting horns on either side of the forehead. Later he was depict*
From a Mnral Painting at Herculanenm.
ed with larger horns, a long goat's beard, and goat's feet. We give
an engraving of this later conception (Fig. 43), which is taken from a
mural painting at Naples. The usual attributes of Pan are a syrins
and shepherd's crook, sometimes also a pine garland.
2. Silvanus, — Among the Roman wood-deities, Silvanus
occupies a position most akin to that of Pan, although
they are not exactly identical. His name, derived from
silva (wood), points him out as the god of the forest,
where he was supposed to dwell, a deity kindly disposed
towards mankind, and propitious to the welfare of trees,
plants, and cattle. At times, however, he appears^ like
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 153
Pan, as a mischievous sprite, who delights to trick and ter-
rify the lonely traveller. His sphere of activity was not
confined to the woods, since he was also regarded as the
author of fruitfulness in gardens and orchards. In this
character Silvanus bears a close resemblance to Terminus,
the god of boundaries and landed property, inasmuch as he
preserves fields, gardens, and houses from harm. The first
of the fruits of the field were offered to him. He had two
shrines in Rome, one on the Viminal and another on the
Aventine.
Artists and poets agree in representing Silvanus as an old man
with a rustic head-gear, scattering blooming lilies and other flowers.
He is usually distinguished by a pruning-knife.
3. Faunus and Fauna. — Closely resembling Silvanus is
another deity called Faunus, one of the most ancient na-
tional gods of Italy. He appears as the good spirit of the
mountains, pastures, and plains. He was regarded by the
shepherds as their best protector, since he made their cat-
tle fruitful and drove off noxious beasts of prey. In the
former character he was also called Inuus (the fertilizer) ;
in the latter Lupercus (the warder-off of wolves).
Like Pan, he appears to have his seat in the woods,
whence he sometimes terrifies and annoys travellers. At
night, too, he creeps into men's houses, and torments them
with evil dreams and horrible apparitions (Incubus).
Like Pan, too, Faunus possessed the gift of prophecy,
and answered both by direct revelations and by dreamSr
In this character he was called Fatuus, and had a celebratea
oracle in the grove at Tibur, on the spring Albunea.
Having once invented a number of Fauns, the poets soon
began to identify them with the satyrs of the Greeks.
In honor of this decidedly national deitv, different festi-
154 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
vals were celebrated, at which rams were sacrificed and li-
bations of wine and milk made. The Faunalia were cele-
brated on the Nones of December, on which occasion the
guests at the festive board surrendered themselves to the
most unrestrained mirth, and granted many liberties also
to their slaves. The Lupercalia, however, formed the prop-
er expiatory festival of Faunus. This festival was cele-
brated on the 15th of February, and was remarkable for
the number of ancient customs which were observed. The
chief of these was the course of the Luperci, or priests of
Faunus, who, after making their offering, ran from the
shrine of the god (Lupercal), on the Palatine, through the
streets of Rome, their only clothing being an apron cut
from the skin of the slaughtered animal. They struck all
whom they met with thongs, also cut from the same blood-
stained skin. Barren women placed themselves in the way
of the Luperci, believing that by means of the strokes the
reproach of barrenness would be taken away from them.
As a day of atonement, this day was termed dies fehrua-
tus (from februarCy to purify), whence the name of the
month.
The feminine counterpart of Faunus, though not his
wife, was Fauna, a propitious, kindly goddess of the plains.
She is also called Maia, or Bona Dea. The w^omen made
an offering to her every year at night, on which occasion
males were strictly excluded.
In art Faunus bears exactly the same appearance as Pan, with
whom, indeed, he was often identified.
8. Priapus. — The worship of Priapus, the god of fields
and gardens, appears to have been long of a purely local
character, confined principally to the districts on the Hel-
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD, 155
lespont, since he is not even mentioned by earlier writers.
He was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, and presided
over the exuberant fertility of nature. He was supposed
to exercise influence over the fruitfulness of flocks and
herds, while fishing and the rearing of bees were also placed
under his protection. His special sphere, however, was the
protection of gardens and vineyards. Asses were sacri-
ficed to him, a fact which gave rise to all sorts of comical
stories relating to the hostility of Priapus to this animal.
Besides this, he received the first-fruits of the garden and
fields, and drink-oflEerings of milk and honey. The wor-
ship of Priapus was introduced into Italy at the same time
as that of Aphrodite, and he was identified with the native
Mutunus.
This deity was scarcely noticed in higher art. In the gardens of
Italy, however, rough-hewn pillars of wood, similar to those of Her-
mes, were erected in his honor. He is usually distinguished by a
pruning-knife and club.
9. Saturnus and Ops. — Before passing to Deme-
ter, or Ceres, the great goddess of civilization, to whom by
Greeks and Romans alike the blessings of the harvest were
ascribed, and who forms the best link between the gods
of the upper and lower worlds, we must pause to consider
some gods of agriculture and cattle-rearing peculiar to the
Romans. Among them are Saturn and Ops, who belong
to the most ancient national deities of Italy. To Saturn
was ascribed the introduction of agriculture, together with
the cultivation of the vine and other fruits. He was, there-
fore, venerated as the great benefactor of mankind, who not
only promoted the physical welfare of men, but who also
introduced a higher standard of civilization. After the
Romans had become acquainted with the mythology of the
156 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Greeks, they identified him with Cronus. In consequence
of this, the story arose that, after his dethronement by Ju-
piter, Saturn fled to Italy, where he was hospitably received
by Janus. There he is said to have brought together the
inhabitants, who had hitherto wandered about without any
fixed homes, and to have united them in regular political
communities, over which he himself ruled. This was the
Golden Age. In remembrance of the happy age when men
were not yet troubled by sorrow or need, the Saturnalia
were celebrated during three days, beginning from the iVth
of December. This festival, which, with changed meaning,
still continues in the Carnival of the present day, was cel-
ebrated in Rome with particularly great splendor. Un-
bounded festivity reigned throughout the whole town, and
vented itself in every description of joke and prank. The
distinctions of class were suspended, the courts and schools
kept holiday, and the shops were closed. The chief day
was the 19th of December, which was especially a festive
day for the slaves, for on this day there were practically no
slaves in Rome. No services were required of them, and
they were allowed to don the clothes of their masters, and
to eat and drink as much as they liked, while their masters
waited on them at table. And this custom allowed a class,
otherwise subject to so many afflictions, to forget their sor-
rows for at least one day in a year. Wealthy Romans gen-
erally kept open house on this day, and vied with each oth-
er in the splendor of their hospitalities ; and, of course, a
solemn sacrifice was made to Saturn. The woollen band-
ages which, during the greater part of the year, enveloped
the feet of his statue in order that he might not depart
without vouchsafing a blessing, were on this day unloosed,
and throughout the night the temple was illuminated with
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 157
wax -tapers. This festival, which was extremely popular
among the Romans, was also celebrated with games in the
circus.
The chief temple of Saturn, which was begun by Tar-
quinius Superbus, and finished in the first years of the Re-
public, was situated on the ascent to the Capitol from the
Forum. Beneath it was a vault containing the State treas-
ury, or cerarium^ the guardianship of the State treasures be-
ing committed to this god as the dispenser of every blessing.
Regarded as the wife of Saturn, and therefore identified
with Rhea, Ops was the goddess of the seed-time and har-
vest. On this account her worship was closely connected
with that of Saturn, and she had a place in his temple on
the Capitoline. A festival was celebrated in honor of her
on the 25th of August, when the newly gathered corn was
threshed.
When taken together, Saturn and Ops were regarded as
deities who presided over marriage and the education of
children, it being an easy step from the deity of the sprout-
ing, ripening seed, to that of the budding, thriving season
of human life.
Saturn is always represented as an old man, and is generally dis-
tinguished by a pruning-knife or sickle.
10. Vertummis and Pomona. — Vertumnus and
Pomona much resemble Saturn and Ops, the only differ-
ence being that the former exert their influence solely on
the growth and welfare of the fruits of the garden and or-
chard. Vertumnus properly signifies the self -changing one ;
referring, probably, to the manifold changes which the fruit
undergoes from the time of its first appearance in blossom
to that of its maturity. For the same reason the god was
158 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
said to possess the faculty of assuming any shape he liked.
The first of the flowers and fruits were offered to him.
Pomona, as her name signifies, was the goddess of the fruit
harvest, and called by the poets the wife of Vertumnus,
Each deity had a special priest (flamen), though the latter
naturally held only an inferior position.
In art Vertumnus generally appears as a beautiful youth, his head
crowned with a garland of ears of corn or laurel, with a horn of
plenty, as a symbol of the blessings he bestows, in his right hand.
He is sometimes distinguished by a dish filled with fruit, or a prun=
ing- knife. Pomona is generally represented as the season of Au-
tumn, a beautiful maiden with boughs of fruit-trees in her hand.
1 1 . Flora. — Among the inferior deities of the plain was
Flora, the goddess of blossoms and flowers, who was held
in great honor by the Sabines, and everywhere in the inte-
rior of Italy. Her worship is said to have been introduced
into Rome by Numa, who assigned the goddess a priest of
her own. She attained a higher significance by becoming
a goddess of maternity, whom women invoked before their
confinement. Her festival was celebrated with great re-
joicings from the 28th of April to the 1st of May (Floralia).
The doors of the houses were adorned with flowers, and
wreaths were worn in the hair. After the first Punic war,
the festival, which was remarkable throughout for its merry
and tumultuous character, was also celebrated with games,
bares and deer being hunted in the circus.
Artists appear to have represented Flora as the season of spring,
In the guise of a beautiful girl crowned with flowers. There is a fine
inarble statue of this kind, larger than life, in the museum at Naples,
called the Farnese Flora.
12. Pales. — Pales was the ancient pastoral goddess of
the Italian tribes, from whom the name Palatine, which orig-
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 159
inally meant nothing but a pastoral colony, was derived.
She was especially venerated by the shepherds, who be-
sou2:ht her to send fruitfulness and health to their flocks.
A festival in her honor was celebrated on the 21st of April,
the anniversary of the foundation of the city (Palilia), at
which very ancient rustic customs were observed. The
most remarkable of these was the kindling of a large straw
fire, through which the shepherds rushed with their flocks,
thinking thus to purify themselves from their sins. Milk
and baked millet-cakes were offered to the goddess. There
is no statue of her now in existence.
13. Terminus. — Terminus, although he had nothing
to do either with the welfare of the crops or the fruitful-
ness of the flocks, may yet be reckoned among the field
deities, as the god who specially presided over boundaries.
All landmarks were held sacred to him, and their erection
was attended with religious ceremonies. In order that his
people might fully appreciate the sanctity of boundaries,
King Numa instituted a special festival in honor of the
god, called the Terminalia, and annually celebrated on the
23d of February. The proprietors of lands bordering on
each other were wont on this occasion to crown the boun-
dary-stone with garlands, and to make an oJBEering of a flat
cake to the god.
In his wider signification Terminus was regarded as the
god under whose protection the boundaries of the State
reposed, and in this character he had a chapel in the tem-
ple of Minerva, on the Capitol. A statue of the god also
stood in the midst of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus,
which is explained by the following story : After Tarquin-
iiis had conceived the plan of building the great temple
160 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
of Jupiter on the Capitol, the limited space necessitated
the removal of several existing shrines, which could only
occur with the consent of the deities themselves. They
all expressed by means of auguries their readiness to make
way for the highest god of heaven, except Terminus, who
refused, and whose shrine had, therefore, to be included in
the temple of Jupiter.
Statues of Terminus are exactly like the Hermae of the Greeks, and
have no importance in art.
14. Demeter (Ceres). — Demeter was a daughter of
Cronus and Rhea. Her name signifies Mother Earth, and
she is, therefore, an expression of the ancient conception
of the earth-goddess, with a special reference to nature and
human civilization. The thriving of the crops was as-
cribed to her influence ; she was further regarded as the
patroness of all those arts which are more or less intimate-
ly connected with agriculture, and which men first learned
from her. Demeter thus rises to the rank of a goddess of
civilization. She rescued men by means of agriculture
from the lower grades of hunters and shepherds, and
brought their former rude and barbarous manners into
subjection to law and morality. She thus becomes that
" bountiful daughter of Heaven," who, as Schiller sings, in
his"Lay of theBell:"
"Of old
Called the wild man from waste and wold.
And, in his hut thy presence steaUng,
Roused each familiar household feeling ;
And, best of all the happy ties,
The centre of the social band —
The Instinct of the Father-land !"
Regarded in this light, she comes into contact with Dio
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 161
nysus, whose beneficial influence on human civilization and
manners we have already described. This accounts for
the intimate connection of these two deities in the Eleu*
sinian mysteries, where Dionysus-Iacchus even appears as
the son of Demeter and the husband of Cora-Persephone.
Owing to the important part she played in the institution
of law and order among mankind, she was venerated as the
goddess of marriage, marriage being the necessary founda-
tion of civil society. She was also regarded as the tutelary
goddess of national assemblies.
Of the numerous legends which are linked with the
name of this goddess, none perhaps is more celebrated, or
more pregnant with meaning in regard to her worship,
than the rape of her daughter Persephone, or Cora. The
latter was once playing with the daughters of Oceanus in
a flowery meadow, where they were picking flowers and
making garlands. Persephone happened to quit her com-
panions for a moment to pluck a narcissus she had per-
ceived, when suddenly the ground opened at her feet, and
Pluto, or Hades, the god of the infernal regions, appeared
in a chariot drawn by snorting horses. Swift as the wind
he seized and carried off the terrified maiden in spite of
her struggles, and vanished again into the regions of dark-
ness before her companions were aware of the catastrophe.
All this occurred, however, with the knowledge of Zeus,
who had, unknown to Demeter, promised her daughter to
Pluto. When Demeter missed her darling child, and none
could tell her where she had gone, she kindled torches, and
during many days and nights wandered in anxiety through
all the countries of the earth, not even resting for food or
sleep. At length Helios, who sees and hears every thing,
told Demeter what had happened, not disguising, however,
11
162 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
that it had occurred with the consent of Zeus. Full of
wrath and grief, the goddess now withdrew from the soci-
ety of the other gods into the deepest solitude. Mean-
while all the fruits of the earth ceased, and a general fam-
ine threatened to extinguish the human race. In vain
Zeus sent one messenger after another, beseeching the an-
gry goddess to return to Olympus. Demeter swore that
she would neither return nor allow the fruits of the earth
to grow until her daughter was restored to her. At length
Zeus was fain to consent, and despatched Hermes to the
lower world to bring Persephone back. Persephone joy-
fully prepared to obey this command; but as she was about
to depart. Hades gave her a pomegranate-seed to eat, where-
upon she found herself bound to him and unable to return.
By means of Zeus, however, a compact was made by which
Persephone was to spend two -thirds of the year in the
upper world with her mother, and the remaining portion
with her husband. And thus every year at spring-tide she
ascends from her subterraneous kingdom to enjoy herself
in her mother's company, but returns again late in autumn
to the regions of darkness and death.
It is not difficult to discover the meaning of this myth.
It is simply an allegorical representation of the spectacle
that is annually renewed before our eyes — the dying-away
and coming to life again of the vegetable world. While
Cora is dwelling during the winter months in the realms
of Hades, Nature appears to wear a garb of mourning for
her lost daughter. In the Eleusinian mysteries this inevi-
table decease and resurrection of the vegetable world were
conceived as a symbol of higher meaning, setting forth the
immortality of the soul. Every living being shares the
fate of Cora ; every life becomes the prey of cold, inexora*
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 163
ble death, only to arise from the darkness of the grave
more beautiful and glorious than before.
Closely connected with this beautiful and expressive
myth is another which refers to the institution of the
Eleusinian mysteries. When Demeter, after the loss of
her daughter, was wandering over the earth in the guise of
a poor old woman, she came to Eleusis. The daughters of
Celeiis, the king of the city, found her sitting on a stone
by the Maidens' Well as they came thither to draw water,
and offered the old woman service in their father's house
as nurse to their youngest brother, Demophon. The god-
dess consented, and was kindly received in the house of
Celeiis, where she was at once installed as nurse to the
young prince. She became so fond of the child that she
resolved to make him immortal by anointing him with
ambrosia, and then laying him at night in the glow of the
fire. She was discovered at her work, however, by the
mother of the child, whose cries disturbed her, and thus
prevented her from fulfilling her benevolent intention.
She now revealed herself to Celeiis, and commanded him
to build her a temple in Eleusis. When it had been has-
tily completed, with the help of the goddess, she initiated
Celeiis and some other princes of Eleusis — Triptolemus,
Eumolpus, and Diodes — in the solemn rites of her service.
On Triptolemus, who is called the son of Celeiis, she im-
posed the task of disseminating a knowledge of agriculture
and of her own worship throughout the earth, and for this
purpose lent him her own chariot and dragons. On this
he travelled through the countries of the earth, making
known everywhere the blessings of agriculture, and uniting
men in regular political communities. He was not well
received in all places, and the goddess had sometimes to
164 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
step in and punish those who contemned her benefits.
Such was the case with the Scythian king Lynceus and the
Thessalian prince Erysichthon ; but at length her cause tri-
umphed, and the worship of the bountiful goddess spread
itself over the whole world.
The chief seat of her worship was the city of Eleusis,
which was beautifully situated on the Bay of Salamis. It
retained this honor even after it had lost its independence
and come into the possession of the Athenians. The Eleu-
sinian mysteries were celebrated both here and at Athens,
in honor of Demeter and the deities associated with her.
They probably contained a symbolical history of Cora.
There was a distinction between the greater and lesser
mysteries. The latter were celebrated at Athens in the
month of Anthesterion (February), and were a kind of
preparation for the greater mysteries, which took place in
September, and were celebrated during nine days, partly at
Athens and partly at Eleusis. In these secret rites only
those could take part who had been initiated. The chief
feature of the festival was a great and solemn procession
on the sixth day from Athens to Eleusis, a distance of
about twelve miles. All those who took part in it — often
as many as 30,000 — were crowned with myrtle, and bore
torches in their hands, as the procession started from Ath-
ens at the earliest dawn.
The festival of the Thesmophoria, which was celebrated
at the beginning of November, in honor of Demeter in her
character of lawgiver and goddess of marriage, was less im-
portant than the Eleusinia. It lasted for five days, and
only married women were allowed to take part in it.
The Ceres of the Romans, though undoubtedly an an-
cient Italian goddess, was the very counterpart of the Greek
Fig. 44.— DemeLer Euthroned. Painting IVom Pompeii, Naples.
166 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Demeter, with whom, after the successful introduction of
her worship during the first years of the Republic, she was
entirely identified.
The chief festival of Ceres and her associate deities,
Liber and Libera, fell on the 19th of April, which, as the
proper spring month, was especially dedicated by the in-
habitants of Italy to deities presiding over agriculture.
The Cerealia were opened by a grand procession, in which
every one was clothed in white. It was further celebrated
with solemn sacrifices and games in the circus, the manage-
ment of which lay with the plebeian aediles.
The usual sacrifice, both among Greeks and Romans,
was the sow (the symbol of fruitfulness), but, besides this,
cows and the first-fruits of the trees and hives were offered
to her.
In the representations of the goddess an expression of lofty dig-
nity is blended with condescending benevolence and gentleness. Her
principal attributes are a torch, a sheaf of corn, a garland of ears of
corn interwoven in her hair, and a basket filled with flowers at her
side. Among the few antique statues, a large marble figure in the
Capitoline Museum at Rome deserves especial mention. The engrav-
ing (Fig. 44), which is after a Pompeian painting, depicts Demeter as
the bountiful goddess of agriculture. She is seated on a throne, and
holds a torch consisting of two calyces in her right hand, and a bunch
of corn in her left.
15. Persephone (Proserpina). — In Persephone,
the goddess of the lower world, whom the Athenians pre-
ferred to call by her mystic name of Cora, two distinct
conceptions are embodied. On the one hand she appears
as the wife of the dark god of the lower world — like him,
a gloomy, awe-inspiring deity, who pitilessly drags down
all that lives into the hidden depths of the earth ; whence
the grave is called the chamber of Persephone. Such is
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 167
the view of her taken by Homer and later epic poets.
These represent her as sitting enthroned at the side of
her grim lord, the joyless queen of the infernal regions, to
dwell in which were worse than to be a slave on earth.
On the other hand, she appears as Cora, the lovely daugh-
ter of the all-bountiful Mother Earth ; a personification, in
fact, of that never-dying force of nature which, year by
year, causes the most luxuriant vegetation to spring up be-
fore our. eyes, only, however, to die away again in the au-
tumn. In a somewhat narrower sense Persephone may be
regarded as a type of the grain, which long remains in the
ground where it has been sown as though dead, but after-
ward breaks forth into new life. It was only natural to
associate with this last conception ideas of the immortality
of the soul, of which, in the secret doctrines of the mys-
teries, Persephone was a symbol. Though we know but
little concerning the details of the mysteries, we are yet
aware that their chief object was to disseminate belter and
purer ideas of a future life than the popular faith of the
Greeks afforded. It was commonly believed that the souls
of men after death led a dull, miserable existence in the
world of shadows. Those initiated in the mysteries, how-
ever, were taught that death was only a resurrection of
the soul to a brighter and better life, on the condition, of
course, that a man had fully pleased the gods and rendered
himself worthy of such a happy lot.
Persephone, or Proserpina, as she is called in Latin, was
a deity originally entirely strange to the Romans, who bor-
rowed all their ideas of the lower world from the Greeks.
Nevertheless, they identified her with Libera, an ancient
rustic goddess of fertility, the feminine counterpart of
Liber, under which name she signifies the same as the
168
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Greek Cora. Black, barren cows were sacrificed to Per-
sephone as an infernal goddess, but she does not appear to
have had any temples of her own.
Persephone is of no great importance in art, and statues of hev are
rare. She is represented either as the fair daughter of Demeter, or
Pig. 45.— Persephone Enthroned. Painting from Pompeii, Naples.
as the grave, severe queen of the world of shadows. In the latter
character she may generally be recognized by her sceptre and di^
dem. Her other attributes are ears of ^orn, a poppy^^M a torch, as
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 169
a symbol of her connection with the Eleusinian mysteries, besides the
pomegranate and jiarcissus. The engraving (Fig. 45), after a painting
in the Naples Museum, represents her as the Stygian queen,
16. Hades (Pluto). — The same twofold nature
which we meet with in Persephone may be observed also
in her husband, Hades, or Aidoneus (the invisible), as he
is called by the epic poets, on account of the mysterious
gloom in which his kingdom as well as his person was en-
veloped. He first appears as the unrelenting, inexorable
foe of human life, on whom one cannot even think with-
out fear and trembling. For this reason, says Homer,
'* he is of all the gods the most detested among mortals."
This conception, however, was subsequently supplanted by
one of a less dismal nature, in which the other side of his
character is brought into prominence. From this point of
view he is represented not only as sending nourishment to
plants from the deep bosom of the earth, but also as offer-
ing unbounded riches to mankind in the shape of the pre-
cious metals which lie in his subterraneous passages and
chambers. In this sense he was also called Pluto, or Plu-
teus — that is, the god of riches.
Hades belonged to the earliest deities of Greece, being,,
like Poseidon, a brother of Zeus. When the three broth-
ers partitioned the universe among themselves. Hades re«
ceived the dark regions of the earth as his exclusive king-
dom, the portals of which he was said to keep closed, in
order that no soul might return to the upper world with-
out his consent. He was also termed Polydectes (the re-
ceiver of many), from the fact of his seizing on all men,
without distinction, at their appointed time, and conveying
them to his dismal realms. The ideas which men first en-
tertained as to^the mode in which Hades exercised bis
I7(j
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
power over mortals exactly corresponded with their grim
conception of the god. He was looked on as a powerful
and dreaded robber, who, as in the case of Persephone,
seizes on his prey and carries it off with his swift horses.
Later, a milder conception of the god was introduced. The
task of carrying the souls of the dead to the lower world
was delegated to Hermes, who thus became a servant of
Pluto, the Zeus of the in-
fernal regions, just as he
was otherwise a servant of
the Zeus of heaven. But
though the original dismal
conception of this deity
as the inexorable god of
death was much dimin-
ished in course of time.
yet Hades, nevertheless, a(
ways conveyed an idea of
something grim and mys-
terious to the Greek mind ;
which is perhaps the rea-
son why so few myths, be-
yond that of the rape of
Proserpina, were circulated
concerning him. He can,
in fact, scarcely be said to
have had a place in the public worship of the Greeks.
The Roman conception of this deity differed little from
that of the Greeks, having been, in fact, borrowed entirely
from a Greek source. By them he was called Pluto, or
Pater Dis. He had no temple in Rome, but had, in com-
mon with Proserpina, a subterranean altar in the Campus
Fig. 46.— Head of Hades. Palazzo
Chigi, Rome.
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. l7l
Martius, which was uncovered and used once a year. Only
black animals were sacrificed to him.
Artists naturally hesitated to portray a being whose very name they
feared to pronounce, and consequently antique statues of Hades are
very rare. His characteristic features — a grim expression of coun-
tenance, tightly closed lips, and long tangled hair — are embodied in a
marble head, in the possession of Prince Chigi at Rome, of which we
give an engraving (Fig. 46), His principal attributes are a sceptre, a
votive bowl, and sometimes a two-pronged fork, or a key.
17. The Lower World. — To our consideration of
Hades we must add some remarks on the ideas which the
ancient Greeks and Romans had of the other life and of
the abodes of the dead. It may be well to remark, at the
outset, that the Romans do not originally appear to have
believed in a kingdom of the dead in the interior of the
earth, and that all their ideas on this subject were bor-
rowed from the writings of the Greeks. Neither do their
ideas on this subject, nor even those of the Greeks, appear
to have been invariably the same at all times. Even in
the poetry of Homer we come across two very different
views as to the situation of the realms of the dead. Ac-
cording to that which we find in the " Iliad," it was situ-
ated beneath the disk-shaped earth, only a thin layer sepa-
rating it from the upper world. This is made evident on
the occasion of the great battle of the gods in the twenti-
eth book, where we read,
" Pluto, the infernal monarch, heard alarmed,
And, springing from his throne, cried out in fear,
Lest Neptune, breaking through the solid earth,
To mortals and immortals should lay bare
His dark and drear abode of gods abhorred."
Accordmg to another view, which prevails in the "Odys-
sey," the world of shadows was not situated beneath the
172 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
earth, but lay far to the westward, on the other side of
Oceanus, or on an island in the same; so indefinite and
vague were men's ideas as to the locality of the kingdom of
death in the time of Homer, and so undeveloped were their
conceptions as to the lives of departed souls. The lower
world appears as a desolate, dismal region, where departed
spirits lead a shadowy, dreamy existence, to reach which
is no happiness. There is no difference in their lots; for
we as yet hear nothing of the judgment of the dead. The
Elysian fields, to which the special favorites of the gods
were transferred, form no part of the lower world in Ho-
mer, but were supposed to lie in an entirely distinct region
in the far West (the Isles of the Blest). Later on, the out-
lines of the lower world become more clearly defined. It
was now supposed to be a region in the centre of the
earth, with several passages to and from the upper world.
Through it flowed several rivers — Cocytus, Pyriphlegethon,
Acheron, and Styx. The last of these encompassed the
lower world several times, and could only be crossed by
the aid of Charon, the ferry -man, who was depicted as a
sullen old man with a bristling beard. The Greeks, there-
fore, used to place an obolus (small copper coin) in the
mouths of their dead, in order that the soul might not be
turned back by Charon for lack of money. On the farther
side of the river, the portals were watched by the dread-
ful hell-hound Cerberus, a three-headed monster, who re
fused no one entrance, but allowed none to leave the house
of Pluto. All souls, on reaching the lower world, had to
appear before the tribunal of Minos, Rhadamanthus, and
^acus. Those whose lives had been upright were then
permitted to enter Elysium, where they led a life of unin-
terrupted bliss; while those who on earth had been crim
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 173
inal and wicked were consigned to Tartarus, where they
were tormented by the Furies and other evil spirits. Those
whose lives had not been distinctly good or bad remained
in the asphodel meadow, where as dim shadows they pass-
ed a dull, joyless existence.
The punishments of great criminals in the infernal re-
gions were a fruitful theme for the imagination of the
poets. The most celebrated criminals were Tityus, Tanta-
lus, Sisyphus, Ixion, and the Danaids. The punishment of
Tityus, who had offered violence to Leto, consisted in be-
ing chained to the earth, while two vultures continually
gnawed at his ever-growing liver. Tantalus, the ancestor
of the Atridse, Agamemnon and Menelaus, had been deem-
ed worthy to hold intercourse with the gods, until he
thought fit to put their omniscience to the test by setting
before them the fiesh of his son Pelops. This crime he was
condemned to expiate by the torments of continual hun-
ger and thirst. Above his head were suspended the most
beautiful fruits ; but when he attempted to snatch them,
a gust of wind blew them beyond his reach. At his feet
flowed a stream of the purest water; but when he tried to
quench his thirst, it suddenly vanished into the ground.
Sisyphus, formerly King of Corinth, had provoked the
wrath of the gods by his numerous crimes, and was con-
demned, in consequence, to roll a block of stone up a high
mountain, which, on reaching the top, always rolled down
again to the plain. Ixion, a not less insolent offender, was
bound hand and foot to an ever-revolving wheel. Lastly,
the Danaids, or daughters of Danaus, who, at their father's
command, had slain their husbands on the wedding night,
were condemned to pour water continually into a cask full
of holes, which could never be filled.
174 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
18. The Erinyes (Furiae).— The Erinyes, or Furies,
were denizens of the lower world, who executed the com-
mands of Hades and Persephone. They were ultimately
three in number, and their names were Tisiphone, Alecto,
and Megsera; and this number, like that of the Graces,
Fates, and others, is due to the fact that the Greeks ex-
pressed any undefined number by the sacred numeral
three. In their original signification they appear as the
avengers of every violation, either on the part of gods or
men, of the moral laws of the universe. When, at a later
period, the idea of an avenging Nemesis had become more
and more developed, the significance of the Erinyes di-
minished, and their avenging duties were confined to the
family.
As the inexorable pursuers of every injury done to the
sacred ties of blood — especially the murder of kindred —
they received a much greater degree of attention at the
hands of the Greek tragic poets, by wliom they were fre»
quently brought on the stage. The pictures thus drawn
of the relentless activity of the Erinyes are both power-
ful and striking. Nothing can equal the keen scent with
which they trace the crime, or the untiring speed with
which they pursue the criminal. As a symbol of this lat-
ter quality, the poets have endowed them with brazen feet.
Their appearance is wan and Gorgon-like; wild lust for
blood is written in their features, and the serpents which
twine round their heads in the place of hair deal out
destruction and death on their unhappy victims. Flight
avails them naught, for there is no region whither the
avenging Furies cannot follow, no distance that they can-
not compass. With torch swung on high, they dog the
steps of the unhappy wretch, like swift huntresses follow-
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 175
ing in the track of their hard-pressed game, and never rest
until they have driven him to madness and death.
Such is a portrait of the Erinyes according to the ear-
lier and more dreadful conception ; but, as in the case of
Hades and Persephone, there is another side to their char-
acter. Subsequently, they appear in a milder and more
kindly guise than that which we have just portrayed. As
long as men stood under the dominion of the law of retali-
ation— the dreadful " eye for eye and tooth for tooth " —
they were able to derive pleasure from the idea of the in-
exorable and implacable nature of the Erinyes. But when
these barbarous customs died out before advancing civili-
zation, and civil society began to surround itself with regu-
lar laws which protected individual life from arbitrary as-
saults, then the conception of the Erinyes as compassion-
ate and even benevolent deities gained ground. Poetical
mythology has associated this transformation with a spe-
cial event, namely, the institution of the Areopagus at
Athens, and the purification of the matricide Orestes ef-
fected by this venerable court. The story relates that
Orestes, after having slain his mother Clytsemnestra and
her infamous paramour ^gisthus, in revenge for the mur-
der of his father Agamemnon, wandered for a long time
about the earth in a state bordering on madness, owing to
the persecution of the Erinyes. At length, however, he
was befriended by Apollo and Athene, the kindly deities
of the luminous ^Ether. Apollo first purified him before
his own altar at Delphi, and then defended him before
the court of the Areopagus, which had been founded by
Athene. Orestes was here acquitted, for Athene, when the
votes for and against him were equal, declared that then
and in all future time the criminal should have the benefit
176 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
of the doubt. The Furies, indeed, were at first very wroth,
and threatened the land with barrenness both of women
and soil ; but Athene succeeded in pacifying them by
promising that a shrine should be erected to them on the
hill of the Areopagus. After they had taken possession
Df this sanctuary, they were thenceforth venerated by the
Athenians, under the names of Semnse (venerable), or Eu-
menides (benevolent), as propitious deities who, though
they still continued to punish crimes, were ever ready to
grant mercy to the repentant sinner, and to give succor to
all good men.
There were different traditions concerning the origin of
the Erinyes. According to Hesiod, they owed their exist-
ence to the first execrable crime committed since the be-
ginning of the world, for they were the daughters of Earth,
and sprung from the drops of blood that fell from the man-
gled body of Uranus. They here appear, therefore, as an
embodiment of the curses which the angry father invoked
on the head of his unnatural son. Sophocles, on the other
hand, calls them the daughters of Gaea and Scotos (dark-
ness of night), ^schylus simply terms them the daugh-
ters of the Night. Besides the shrine in Athens already
mentioned, they had another near the city, a sacred grove
in Colonus, which was celebrated as the last refuge of the
unfortunate QEdipus. In Athens they had an annual festi-
val, at which libations of milk and honey were made to them.
In art the Erinyes are represented as swift huntresses, armed with
spear, bow, and quiver. Torches, scourges, or snakes were also put
in their hands. They were, moreover, provided with wings on their
shoulders or head as a token of their swiftness.
1 9. Hecate. — Among the mystic deities of the lower
world we must not omit to mention Hecate. By the Ro-
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. Ill
mans, indeed, she was never publicly venerated, though she
was not exactly unknown to them. Common tradition
made her a daughter of the Titan Perseus and Asteria.
She ruled principally over the secret forces of nature,
which perhaps explains the spectral and awe-inspiring form
which this goddess assumed. She was supposed to pre
Wig, 47.— Three-formed Hecate. Capitoliue Museum.
side over all nocturnal horrors, and not only to haunt th«
tombs and cross-roads herself in company with the spirits
of the dead, but also to send nightly phantoms from the
lower world, such as the man-eating spectre Empusa, and
other fabulous goblins.
As her name seems to signify, Hecate (far-striking) was
1^
178 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGT.
originally a moon-goddess, not like either Artemis or Se*
lene, but representing the new moon in its invisible phase.
The ancients, not being able to account for the different
phases of the moon, naturally came to the conclusion that,
when invisible, it was tarrying in the lower world. The
public worship of the goddess was not very extensive, but
her importance in connection with the mysteries was all
the greater. Men were wont to affix small pictures of her
to houses and city gates, which were supposed to prevent
any bad spells from affecting the town or house. On the
last day of every month her image on the house doors was
crowned with garlands, and viands were set before it in
her honor, which were afterward eaten by the poor, and
termed the meals of Hecate. Wooden images of the god-
dess with three faces were generally set up where three
roads met, and here dogs were sacrificed to her as sin-offer-
ings for the dead. This usually took place on the thirtieth
day after death. As in the case of other infernal deities,
black lambs were sacrificed to her, besides libations of milk
and honey.
Hecate was generally represented as three - formed {triformis\
which probably has some connection with the appearance of the
full, half, and new moon. In order to explain more clearly the nat-
ure of such a representation, we give an engraving (Fig. 47) after a
bronze statuette in the Capitoline Museum at Rome. The figure facing
as holds in her hands a key and a rope, which point her out as the
portress of the lower world ; over her brow is a disk, representing,
probably, the dark surface of the new moon. The figure on the right
holds in either hand a torch, in virtue of her character as a mystic
goddess, while on her brow is a half -moon and a lotos-flower. Last-
ly, the third figure bears, as a symbol of the full moon, a Phrygian
cap with a radiant diadem fastened on it, which gives forth seven
rays ; in her right hand is a knife, in her left the tail of a ser-
pent, of which no satisfactory interpretation has hitherto been dis-
covered.
THE GODS OF THE EARTH AND LOWER WORLD. 176
20. Sleep and Death.— Sleep and Death were con-
ceived by the ancients as twin brothers. According to
Hesiod, they were children of Night alone. They dwelt
in the lower world, whence they visited the earth to steal
over mortals ; the former a kindly, benevolent spirit, the
latter grim and cruel. Apart from this conception, which
was especially developed by later poets and artists, Death
was sometimes depicted as quite distinct from Sleep, and
in a still less amiable guise. The different forms of vio-
lent death were personified as female deities of formidable
aspect, called the Ceres ; or Apollo and Artemis among the
inhabitants of heaven, and Pluto and Persephone among
those of the lower world, were represented as the deities of
death. The Romans had a personal god of death, whom
they called Orcus; he was represented as an armed war-
rior dealing out mortal wounds among mankind. But none
of these special gods of death had any great importance,
either in religion or art. Artists, indeed, labored sedu-
lously to diminish the dreadful appearance of Thanatus
(death), and to render him more and more like his brother
Hypnus (sleep).
Thanatus and Hypnus often appear in company, either sleeping
or standing ; the former usually bears a reversed torch, the latter
a poppy -stalk or a horn, out of which he is pouring some liquid.
They are both generally represented in the bloom of youth. In Fig.
34, which is after a drawing of Asmus Carstens, they appear as the
children of Night, and are here brought into immediate connection
with the other powers, Nemesis and the Parcae, who control the dee
tinies of man.
Besides Sleep and Death, Hesiod also mentions Dreams
as the children of Night. Other writers, however, call
them the sons of Sleep, who dwell in the far West, close
to the realms of Hades, This house of dreams has, in
180 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Homer's well-known description, two gates — one of ivory,
through which pass flattering, deceptive dreams, and one
of horn, whence the true dreams proceed. Morpheus was
made the special god of dreams by the poets, and termed
the son of Hypnus.
IV.— ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND
FAMILY.
Before passing to the heroic legends, some remarks are
necessary concerning the inferior deities, who played such
an important part in the domestic worship of the Romans.
We have already incidentally remarked that the people of
Italy generally passed by the greater gods of the heaven
and earth in anxious awe. Their invocation and adoration
were left to public worship, while, in their less important
domestic concerns, men had recourse to certain inferior
deities, whom they thought nearer to them ; just as in the
present day, in Italy, the common people prefer to commu-
nicate their prayers and wishes to their patron saints rather
than to the Almighty himself.
1. The Penates. — The Penates were the kindly do-
mestic deities of the Romans — the guardians of the house-
hold, who especially provided for its daily wants. Of iheh
name, number, and sex nothing is known — not because the
facts have been lost to us, but because the Romans them-
selves were content with this indefinite conception. Sim--
ilar good spirits, exerting an active influence in the house-
hold, were recognized by popular German 8uperstitioD«
ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. 181
without experiencing any necessity of having distinct
names for them. The shrine of the Penates consisted of
the hearth, the central point of the house, which not only
served for the preparation of meals, but was also especially
dedicated to religious purposes. It stood in the '' atrium,"
the only large room in the Roman house, where the family
met for meals and received visitors. On the hearth, a fire
was continually kept burning in honor of Vesta and the
Penates. Around it, after the introduction of images of
the gods, were placed the statues of the Penates. These
w^ere generally small and puppet-like, and, among the poor-
er classes, were only roughly cut out of wood. There was
no domestic occurrence, either of joy or mourning, in which
the Penates did not take part. Like the Lares, of whom
we shall speak presently, they participated in the daily
meal, portions being set on certain plates for that purpose
before the images. There were also State Penates, the an-
cients regarding the State as nothing but an extended fam-
ily. The temple of Vesta was to the State what the hearth
was to the household. Here was the seat of their worship,
and here it was that the Roman Pontifex Maximus brought
those ofiEerings which, in private households, were the part
of the head of the family. In the innermost sanctuary of
the temple of Vesta there were statues of these Penates, of
great sanctity, since -^neas was reported to have brought
them with him from Troy. We have no trustworthy in-
formation as to their number or appearance, for, with the
exception of the Pontifex and the Vestal Virgins, none
ever entered the holy place. It is scarcely necessary to add
that they were believed to exercise an especial influence on
the welfare and prosperity of the State and people of
Rome.
182 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
2. The Lares. — The Lares, like the Penates, were the
tutelary deities of the house and family, and on that ac"
count often confounded with them. They were common-
ly supposed to be the glorified spirits of ancestors, who, as
guardian deities, strove to promote the welfare of the fam-
ily. The seat of their worship was also the family hearth
in the atrium, where their images of wood or wax were
generally preserved in a separate shrine of their own (Lara
rium). The Lares received an especial degree of veneration
on the first day of every month ; but, like the Penates,
they took part in all the domestic occurrences, whether
of joy or sorrow. Like the Penates, they also received
their share at every meal on particular dishes, and were
crowned with garlands on the occasion of every family re-
joicing. When a son assumed the toga virilis (came of
age), he dedicated his hulla^ to the Lares, amidst prayers
and libations and burning of incense. When the father
of the house started on a journey or returned in safety,
the Lares were again addressed, and their statues crowned
with wreaths, flowers and garlands being their favorite
offerings.
The same conception which pervades the domestic Lares
may be perceived in a more extensive form in the Lares of
the Gens, the city, and the State itself. The Lares do not
appear, in fact, to have differed in many respects from the
heroes worshipped by the Greeks. At all events, Romulus
and Remus, the mythical founders of the city, were regard-
ed as its Lares, and in the time of Augustus the genius of
the emperor was associated with them.
* A gold or silver ornament, like a medal, which was worn round
the neck during childhood.
ROMAN DEITIES OF THE HOUSE AND FAMILY. 183
3. Larvae, Lemures, and Manes. — Just as the
Lares were regarded as the good and happy spirits of ances-
tors, the souls of others were supposed to wander about in
the guise of evil demons and spectres, giving rise to w^eird
terrors, and casting bad spells on the senses of those whom
they met. Such was especially believed to be the fate of
those who had not received burial, or in whose case the
prescribed ceremonies had been neglected, and who being,
in consequence, unable to find rest, were doomed to flit
about the earth. Such spirits were called Larvae, or Lem-
ures. The propitiatory festival of the Lemuria, or Lem-
uralia, which was said to have been instituted in memory
of the murdered Remus, was celebrated annually in their
honor on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May. Every paterfa-
milias was supposed during these days to perform certain
midnight ceremonies, and to repeat certain forms, which
had the effect of banishing any evil spirits.
In contrast to the Lares and Larvae, the souls of the
dead were also commonly venerated as Manes, or good
spirits. These were believed after burial to have been
converted into beings of a higher order, who dwelt, in-
deed, in the interior of the earth, but exercised, notwith-
standing, a considerable influence on the affairs of the up-
per world. It was possible to summon them from the
lower world by means of sacrifices. A general festival of
the dead took place in February, when the Manes were
propitiated with offerings and libations. These offerings
were placed on the tombs of the deceased, and, of course,
yaried extremely, according to the means of the donors.
184 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGITo
PART III.^-THE HEROES.
I.— INTRODUCTORY.
ON passing to heroic mythology, a world still more
rich in marvels than that with which we have already
become acquainted presents itself to our view. The great-
er extent of this department of mythic lore is easily com-
prehensible, if we take into consideration the multitude of
separate existences into which Greek life was split up, even
from the earliest times. Each of the numberless countries,
islands, cities, and towns endeavored to trace back its pe-
culiar institutions to mythical founders and ancestors ; and
as these were always described either as the sons or as the
favorites of the gods, there accordingly sprung up, in course
of time, a vast number of local heroic legends. These fab-
ulous founders of states, however, were not the only heroes
of Greek mythology. The attempt to pierce the clouds of
obscurity which enveloped the early history of mankind,
and the desire of a more enlightened age to bridge over
the intervening gulf, and fill it with beings who should
form a connecting link between the sublime forms of the
great inhabitants of Olympus and the puny race of mor~
tals, naturally gave rise to a whole series of heroic legends.
These were partly the property of entire nationalities, or
even of the whole Hellenic race, and partly of a local or
provincial character. Moreover, as the gods collectively
THE HEROESo 185
were divided into gods proper and demons — that is to
say, spirits resembling the gods, but inferior to them in
wisdom and power, whose workings men saw in air and
earth and sea — even so the race of mortals was divided
into heroes and men, between whom a similar difference
subsisted. The latter are, in their nature, not different
from the former — both are alike mortal, and must at length
fall a prey to inexorable death. But the heroes are en-
dowed with a degree of physical strength and dexterity,
courage and endurance under difficulties, such as never fall
to the lot of ordinary men. It was not, however, by any
means all who lived in this early mythical period who were
accounted heroes ; but just as in Genesis vi., 2, a distinc-
tion is made between the " sons of God " and the '' daugh-
ters of men," so in the present instance the heroes were
the mighty ones — the ruling spirits of the age — those
whose marvellous exploits contributed to remove the ob-
stacles to civilization and culture, who delivered countries
from cruel robbers and savage beasts, who drained marshes,
made roads through untrodden forests, and regulated the
course of rivers. By their actions they proved themselves
men of no ordinary powers, endowed with divine strength,
and, therefore, apparently of divine origin. It appeared,
at least, that such beings must have had an origin different
from that of ordinary men, who were made out of clay, or
sprung from trees or stones. Some of these heroes may
perhaps have had a real existence, having probably been
the ancestors of the later dominant races, to whom a dim
tradition reached. Others were undoubtedly a product
of the imagination. To these may be added a third class,
and this is by far the most numerous, including those who
were originally personifications of various natural phenom-
186 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ena, and as such deified and venerated in local forms ot
worship, but who were later, in consequence of the birth
of new political communities, expelled from their place in
public worship, and only continued to exist in the popular
faith in the inferior character of heroes. Many such he-
roes were afterward again promoted to the rank of gods,
though with an altered meaning {e, y., Heracles).
Any real veneration of heroes by prayers and sacrifices
can scarcely be said to have existed before the migration
of the Heraclidse — at least there is no mention of it in Ho-
mer. Even later, except in the case of those heroes who
were raised to the rank of gods for their great deeds, and
who were, therefore, worshipped in temples of their own,
the worship of heroes is scarcely to be distinguished from
that of the dead. Homer makes no distinction between
the fate of heroes after death and that of ordinary mor-
tals, all being doomed alike to the gloomy realms of Hades.
As we have already observed, it was only certain special
favorites, or sons of Zeus, who were excepted from this
gloomy lot, and were transported in their bodily shape to
the Isles of the Blest Hesiod, on the other hand, says
that all heroes — whom he, in the first instance, terms demi-
gods— were transported to the Isles of the Blest, where
Cronus ruled over them. Here, for the first time, the idea
of a just retribution in the other world takes a definite
shape ; for Hesiod obviously conceives a residence in Ely-
sium to be the reward of meritorious actions performed in
the upper world. This idea was subsequently more fully
dev^eloped, especially in the mysteries, and men were grad-
ually elevated to a belief in the immortality of the soul.
The spirits of the dead were believed, even after they were
in their graves, to exert continually a mysterious influence ;
CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND. 187
on which account men strove to gain their favor by means
of offerings, thereby removing every real distinction be-
tween the worship of heroes and that of the dead.
Amidst the multitude of legends of this kind, we shall
only dwell upon those which occupy a prominent position
either in poetry or in arte We shall begin with those which
relate to the creation and early civilization of mankind, af-
ter which we shall pass to the most celebrated provincial
legends, and conclude with those that refer to the more
important of the common undertakings of the later heroic
ag:e.
IL— THE CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION
OF MANKIND.
The legends concerning the origin of the human race dif-
fer very widely. The most ancient are undoubtedly those
which describe men as springing from the trees or rocks.
Another tradition asserts that the human race was of later
growth, having been first called iuto existence by Zeus and
the gods of Olympus. A third account makes the Titan
Prometheus, the son of lapetus, the creator of mankind,
but leaves it uncertain whether this took place before or af-
ter the flood of Deucalion. Prometheus, according to this
account, made men of clay and water, after which Athene
breathed a soul into them.
There were likewise various accounts concerning the
primeval condition of mankind. According to one, the
human race raised itself, with the assistance of the gods,
from a state of helpless barbarism : this progress was the
subject of numerous legends. Another account represents
188 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
men as living originally in a holy and happy communion
with the gods (the Golden Age), and asserts that they first
became savage after having lost this good fortune by their
presumption.
Of the myths that relate to the introduction of the first
elements of civilization among mankind by divine aid,
there is none, except those already mentioned concerning
Dionysus and Demeter, more celebrated than the story of
Prometheus. The Titan lapetus had by Clymene, the
daughter of Oceanus, four sons — the stout-hearted Atlas,
the presumptuous Menoetius, the crafty Prometheus, and
the foolish Epimetheus. With the name of Prometheus
is linked the idea of the first commencement of civilization
among mankind by the introduction of fire. Prometheus
is said to have stolen fire from heaven, and to have taught
its use to man. By being employed for all the common
purposes of daily life, however, this pure celestial element
became polluted; whereupon Zeus visited the author of
this sacrilege with a fearful punishment. He ordered Pro-
metheus to be chained to a rock, where, during the day-
time, an eagle devoured his liver (the seat of all evil de-
sires), which always grew again during the night.
The idea that, together with the introduction of civiliea-
tion, many evils which were before unknown to man came
into existence, is expressed in the myth of Pandora. Zeus
determined to leave mankind in possession of Prometheus's
gift; but he ordered Hephaestus to make an image of a
beautiful woman, which the gods then endowed with life
and adorned with all kinds of gifts, whence she was called
Pandora. Aphrodite bestowed on her the seductive charms
that kindle love; Athene instructed her in every art; Her-
mes endued her with a smooth tongue and a crafty dispo-
CREATION AND PRIMITIVE CONDITION OF MANKIND. 189
sition, while the Seasons and Graces adorned her with flow-
ers and fine dresses. Zeus then sent her, under the guid-
ance of Hermes, to the foolish Epimetheus, who, in spite of
the warning of his brother not to accept any present from
Zeus, received Pandora, and made her his wife. There
was in the house of Epimetheus a closed jar, which he had
been forbidden to open, and which contained all kinds of
diseases and ills. Pandora removed the cover, and these
escaped, and men, who had before been free from disease
and care, have ever since been tormented. Pandora closed
the jar in time to keep in Hope. Thus both Greek legend
and Biblical tradition alike represent woman as the first
cause of evil and death.
The legend of the five ages of mankind transports us to
quite another region of tradition. According to this, the
gods first created a golden race of men, who lived free
from care and sorrow, while the earth, of its own accord,
furnished them with all that was necessary to support life.
Subject neither to the infirmities of age nor to the pangs
of sickness and disease, men at last sunk peacefully, as
into a sweet sleep, to death. In what manner the Golden
Age disappeared is not related ; we are only told that this
race, notwithstanding its disappearance, still continues to
exist in the upper world, in the shape of good spirits, who
guard and protect mortals. After this, the gods created
a second (silver) race of men, who were, however, far in-
ferior to their predecessors, both in mind and body.
They passed their time in idle and effeminate pursuits,
and refused to pay the gods due honors. Zeus, in his
wrath, thereupon blotted them out from the face of the
earth, and created the third (brazen) race of mankind out
of ash wood. This race proved headstrong and violent
190 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
They were of giant stature and great strength, and took
pleasure in nothing but battle and strife. Their weapons,
houses, and utensils were of bronze, iron not yet being
known. Zeus was not compelled to destroy this evil race,
since they destroyed themselves in their blood-thirsty strife.
According to another account, they were destroyed by the
flood of Deucalion.
Deucalion appears to have been a son of Prometheus,
while his wife Pyrrha was the daughter of Epimetheus
and Pandora. Zeus, having determined to destroy the
corrupt race of the third, or Bronze Age, by a flood, Pro-
metheus warned his son, who built himself an ark, into
which he retired with his wife when the waters began to
rise. Nine days and nights he was tossed on the waters ;
at length his vessel rested on Mount Parnassus, in Boeotia.
He disembarked, and immediately offered a sacrifice of
thanksgiving to Zeus the preserver. Pleased at his grati-
tude, Zeus granted his prayer for the restoration of the hu-
man race ; and Deucalion and Pyrrha were commanded by
Hermes to cast stones behind them, from which sprung a
new race of men. Such is the legend in its most ancient
form; later writers engrafted on it still further incidents
of Biblical tradition, until at last the Greek Noah was rep-
resented as having taken living animals with him into the
ark, and as having let loose a dove after his landinsc on
Parnassus.
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 191
TIL— PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.
1. The Lapithae and the Centaurs. — We shall
commence with the Thessalian legend of the Lapithae and
Centaurs, on account of its great antiquity and its impor-
tance in sculpture. Our most ancient authority here is
Homer. The hoary Nestor on one occasion boasts of
having, in his younger days, taken part with his friends
Pirithoiis and Cseneus, and the other princes of the La-
pithae, in their contest with the savage Centaurs. In Ho-
mer's account the Centaurs are obviously no demons, but
an old Thessalian mountain tribe of giant strength and sav-
age ferocity, utterly unable to control their rude, sensual
nature. Neither is there, as yet, any mention of their be-
ing half horses and half men : they are merely said to have
inhabited the mountain districts of (Eta and Pelion, in
Thessaly, and to have been driven thence by the Lapithag
into the higher mountain lands of Pindus.
Their contest with the Lapithae is generally conceived as
a symbol of the struggle of Greek civilization with the
still existing barbarism of the early Pelasgian period. This
may be the reason w^hy Greek art, when in its bloom, de-
voted itself so especially to this subject. The origin of
this contest is referred to the marriage feast of Pirithoiis
and Hippodamia, to which the principal Centaurs had been
invited. On this occasion the Centaur Eurytion, heated
with wine, attempted to carry off the bride ; this gave rise
to a contest which, after dreadful losses on both sides, end-
ed in the complete defeat of the Centaurs. The Centaurs,
however, since they were thus able to sit with the Lapithae
192 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
at meat, must originally have been endowed with purely
human forms.
Theseus and Nestor, the friends of Pirithous, both took
part in the battle. Another prominent warrior was the
gigantic Cseneus (Slayer), who had been rendered invulner-
able by Poseidon, but whom the Centaurs slew on this oc-
casion by burying him beneath a mass of trees and rocks.
As we have already mentioned, the Centaurs play an important
part in art. The custom of depicting them as half horse and half
man came into vogue after the time of Pindar, and was quickly
adopted in sculpture. In the representations of earlier art the face
of a man is joined to the body and hind legs of a horse. But in its
higher stage of development, after the time of Phidias, this was re-
placed by a more elegant conception, and the body of a man from
the navel upward was joined to the complete body of a horse, so that
the Centaurs of this period have the four feet of a horse and the
hands and arms of a man. Such is their appearance on numerous
extant art monuments, of which we shall mention the most important.
In the first place, there are the reliefs from the frieze of the
Theseum at Athens. This temple, which is still in a good state of
preservation, was converted during the Middle Ages into a chapel of
St. George. It is supposed to have been built at the instance of
Cimon, after he had brought back the bones of the Attic hero from
Scyros. Besides other important pieces, which we shall mention
hereafter, the temple has, on its western or hinder frieze, a represen-
tation of the contests of the Centaurs and Lapithas at the wedding
of Pirithoiis, done in Parian marble. It is executed in such a man-
ner that it is impossible to discover which party will get the upper
hand; and this has enabled the artist, whose name has not come
down to us, to introduce a lively variety into the different scenes of
the combat.
We have another series of most splendid representations from the
battle of the Centaurs, full of life and spirit, on some dilapidated
metopes* of the Parthenon at Athens. This splendid specimen of
* The squares between the triglyphs of the frieze which are in-
tended to support the gable, every one of which is generally adorned
with a separate sculpture in relief.
PROV.r\CIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.
19;
Doric architecture is 22Y feet in length, and 101 feet in breadth. It
was rumed in 1687, during the war between the Venetians and
Turks, by a shell which broke through the midst of the marble roof.
A large part of the ninety-two metopes of the outer frieze contain a
number of the most beautiful and life-like scenes from the battle of
the Giants and that of the Centaurs. Of these metopes, thirty-nine
still remain on the temple, though they are all in a terribly mutilated
condition ; seventeen are in the British Museum, and one in the
Louvre at Paris. Those from the south side are comparatively in
the. best state of preservation ; these are seventeen in number, the
Fig. 48.— Metope of the Parthenon.
whole number on the south side having been thirty-two. They rep-
resent, exclusively, scenes from the battle of the Centaurs. Here a
bearded Centaur is carrying off a woman, whom he holds in his pow-
erful grasp ; there, another is galloping away over the body of his
fallen enemy; another is engaged in a fierce contest with a human
foe ; while a fourth lies slain on the field. The engraving we ap-
pend may give a faint idea of the beauty and bold design of this
splendid creation (Fig. 48). To these grand monuments of Greek art
we must add the frieze of the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae,
near Phigalia, in Arcadia, whrch was discovered in 1812, and is now
in the British Museum. It represents, likewise, a series of the most
vivid scenes ^rom the battle of the Lapithae and Centaurs. In the
13
194
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
individual groups and scenes of the battle, which is here completed
before our eyes, there is the same variety and animation, so that we
must ascribe it to some great artist (Fig. 49).
Fig. 49.— From the Frieze of the Temple at Bassae.
Besides these sculptures in relief, some splendid single statues of
Centaurs have come down to us from antiquity. Among these, the
first place must be assigned to the two Centaurs in the Capitoline
Museum. They are executed in black marble, and were found in the
villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, where so many ancient art treasures have
been brought to light.
Among the Centaurs, Chiron, who was famous alike for
his wisdom and his knowledge of medicine, deserves men-
tion as the preceptor of many of the heroes of antiquity.
So far superior was he to his savage kindred, both in edu
cation and manners, that he was commonly reported to
have had a different origin, and was therefore described as
a son of Cronus and Philyra, or Phyllira, one of the Ocea-
nids. Homer, who knew nothing of the equine shape of
the Centaurs, represents him as the most upright of the
Centaurs, and makes him the friend of Peleus and the pre-
ceptor of the youthful Achilles, whom he instructed in the
Pig. 50.— Centaur teaching a Boy to play upon the Pipe. Relief by Kund-
mann.
196 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
art of healing and gymnastic exercises. He was, moreover,
related to both these heroes, his daughter Endeis having
been the mother of Peleus. Subsequently, other mythi-
cal heroes were added to the number of his pupils, such
as Castor and Polydeuces, Theseus, Nestor, Meleager, and
Diomedes. Music, too, was now represented as a subject
of his instruction, though this is perhaps due to a misin-
terpretation of the name of his mother. He inhabited a
cave on Mount Pelion. Later mythology, however, trans-
ferred his residence, after the Centaurs had been driven
from Pelion by the Lapithae, to the promontory of Malea.
Here, by an unlucky accident, he was wounded with a
poisoned arrow by his friend Heracles, and, the wound be-
ing incurable, he voluntarily chose to die in the place of
Prometheus.
The idea of the connection of the Centaurs with the arts and sci-
ences originated in the story of Chiron and Achilles, and has since
furnished modern art with the subjects for some of its most valuable
works. Fig. 50 represents a Centaur teaching a boy to play on the
flute, and is after an alto-rilievo of the Viennese sculptor Kundmann.
2. Theban Legend. — l. Cadmus. — Among Theban
legends, none is more celebrated than the founding of
Thebes by Cadmus. Cadmus was a son of the Phoenician
king Agenor. After Zeus carried off his sister Europa to
Crete {vide the Cretan Legends)^ he was despatched by his
father in search of her. Accompanied by his mother, Tele-
phassa, he came to Thrace, and thence to Delphi, where
he was commanded by the oracle to relinquish his quest.
It further ordered him to follow a young heifer with tho
mark of a crescent on either side, and to build a town
on the place where the heifer should lie down. Cadmus
obeyed, and, finding the heifer in Phocis, he followed her.
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 197
She led him into Boeotia, and at length lay down on a ris-
ing ground. On this spot Cadmus founded a town, which
he called Cadinea, after himself, though he had first to
experience a perilous adventure. Before sacrificing the
heifer, he sent some of his companions to fetch water from
a neighboring spring, where they were slain by a dragon
belonging to Ares, which guarded the spring. Cadmus
then went himself, and slew the dragon, the teeth of which
he sowed in the ground by the advice of Pallas. Here-
upon armed men sprung from the ground : they immedi-
ately turned their arms against each other, and were all
slain except five. Cadmus built his new town with the
assistance of these men, who thus became the ancestors of
the noble families of Thebes. In expiation of the dragon's
death, Cadmus was obliged to do service to Ares for eight
years. At the end of this period Ares pardoned Cadmus,
and gave him Harm on ia — his daughter by Aphrodite — to
wife. Harm on ia became the mother of four daughters —
Autonoe, Ino, Semele, and Agave. After reigning for a
long time at Thebes, Cadmus was compelled in his old age
to retire to the Enchelians, in Illyria ; but whether he was
driven out by Amphion and Zethus (who appear in Homer
as the founders of Thebes), or withdrew from some other
cause, is not manifest. He and his wife were afterward
changed into serpents, and transferred, by the command of
Zeus, to the Elysian fields.
Such is the substance of the wonderful myth which has
caused so much perplexity to antiquarians. It is now com-
monly supposed that Cadmus was originally a local person-
ification of Hermes, and that this surname points him out
as the founder of the earliest Boeotian civilization. Some
features of the story are undoubtedly of great antiquity;
198 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the slaying of the dragon, for instance, typifies the success-
ful reduction of the natural obstacles to the clearance of
the land. Boeotia was, in early days, a very marshy coun-
try ; and Ares, to whom the dragon was sacred, had the
character of a destructive, pestilence-sending deity. So also
with the sowing of the dragon's teeth and the springing
up of armed men, by which the Thebans signified that they
were autochthonous, ^. ^., original inhabitants of the country.
2. Actceon, — We have already incidentally mentioned
the fortunes of three of the daughters of Cadmus — Ino,
Semele, and Agave. The eldest, Autonoe, married Aristae-
QS, the son of Apollo, and became by him the mother of
Actaeon. Actaeon was handed over to Chiron to be reared
as a stout hunter and warrior ; but he had scarcely reached
the prime of youth when he was overtaken by a lamenta-
ble fate. While hunting one day on Mount Cithaeron, he
was changed by Artemis into a stag, and was torn in pieces
by his own dogs. The cause of her anger was either that
Actaeon had boasted that he was a more skilful hunter
than Artemis, or that he had surprised the virgin-goddess
bathing. The latter tradition ultimately prevailed, and, in
later times, even the rock whence he beheld Artemis was
pointed out on the road between Megara and Plataea. He
received heroic honors in Boeotia, and his protection was
invoked against the deadly power of the sun in the dog
days. The story of Actaeon is probably nothing but a rep-
resentation of the decay of verdant nature beneath an op-
pressive summer heat.
The story of Actseon's transformation and death was a farorite
subject for sculpture. A small marble group, representing Actaeon
beating off two dogs which are attacking him, was found in I'Z'J^
and is now preserved in the British Museum (Fig. 51).
Fig. 51.— Actaeon Group. British Museum.
200 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
3. Amphion and Zethus. — Besides the royal family oi
Cadmus, which was continued in Thebes after his depart-
ure by his son Polydorus, we come across the scions of
another ruling family of Thebes which came from Hyria,
or Hysia, in Ba3otia, in the persons of Amphion and Ze~
thus. Nycteus, King of Thebes, had a wonderfully beauti-
ful daughter called Antiope, whose favors Zeus enjoyed on
approaching her in the form of a satyr. On becoming
pregnant, she fled from the resentment of her father to Sic-
yon, where the king, Epopeus, received her and made her
his wife. This enraged Nycteus, who made war on Epo-
peus, in order to compel him to deliver up his daughter An-
tiope. He was obliged to retire without accomplishing his
purpose, but, on his death, he intrusted the execution of
his vengeance to his brother Lycus, who succeeded him.
Lycus defeated and slew Epopeus, destroyed Sicyon, and
took Antiope back with him as prisoner. On the way,
at Eleutherse, on Cithseron, she gave birth to the twins Am-
phion and Zethus. These were immediately exposed, but
were subsequently discovered, and brought up by a compas-
sionate shepherd. Antiope was not only kept prisoner in
the house of Lycus, but had also to submit to the most
harsh and humiliating treatment at the hands of his wife
Dirce. At length she managed to escape, and by a won-
derful chance discovered her two sons, who had grown, on
lonely Cithseron, into sturdy youths. The story of her
wrongs so enraged them that they resolved to wreak a
cruel vengeance on Dirce. After having taken Thebes,
«jid slain Lycus, they bound Dirce to the horns of a wild
hich dragged her about till she perished. Accord-
another story, Dirce came to Cithseron to celebrate
stival of Bacchus. Here she found her runaway
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.
201
slave, whom she was about to punish by having her bound
to the horns of a bull. Happily, however, Amphion and
Zethus recognized their mother, and inflicted on the cruel
Dirce the punishment she had destined for another. Her
mangled remains they cast into the spring near Thebes
which bears her name.
The punishment of Dirce forms the subject of numerous pieces of
sculpture. The most important among them is the Farnese Bull
{Toro Farnese) in the Museum at Naples (Fig. 52). This world-re-
nowned marble group is supposed, with the exception of certain
Fig. 52.— Farnese Bull. Naples.
202 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
parts which have been restored in modern times, to have been the
work of the brothers Apollonius and Tauriseus, of Tralles, in Caria.
Apollonius and Tauriseus belonged to the Rhodian school, which
flourished in the third century B.C. This colossal group — undoubt-
edly the largest which has descended to us from antiquity — was first
erected in Rhodes, but came, during the reign of Augustus, into the
possession of Asinius Pollio, the great art-patron. It was discovered
in 1547 in the Thermae of Caracalla at Rome, and was set up in the
Palazzo Farnese. It was thence transferred to Naples in 1786, as
a portion of the Farnese inheritance. The following is a brief ex-
planation of the group, though, of course, the most complete account
could give but an imperfect idea of its beauty. The scene is laid
on the rocky heights of Cithaeron. The position of the handsome
youths on a rocky crag is as picturesque as it is dangerous, and
serves not only to lend the group a pyramidal aspect pleasing to the
eye, but also to set before us their marvellous strength. There are
several tokens that the occurrence took place during a Bacchic festi-
val : the wicker cista mystica in use at the festivals of Dionysus ; the
fawn skin which Dirce wears ; the ivy garland that has fallen at
her feet ; the broken thyrsus ; and, lastly, the Bacchic insignia which
distinguish the shepherd boy, who is sitting on the right watching
the proceedings with painful interest — all point to this fact. The
lyre which rests against the tree behind Amphion is a token of his
well-known love of music. The female figure in the background is
Antiope.
The story goes on to relate that the two brothers, after
the expulsion and death of Lyons, acquired the sovereign-
ty of Thebes, though Amphion always figures as the real
king. The two brothers were widely different in disposi-
tion and character. Zethus appears to have been rude and
harsh, and passionately fond of the chase. Amphion, on
the other hand, is represented as a friend of the Muses,
and devoted to music and poetry. He soon had an oppor-
tunity of proving his wondrous skill when they began to
enclose Thebes, which had been before unprotected, with
walls and towers ; for while Zethus removed great blocks
and piled them one on another by means of his vast
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 203
strength, Amphion had but to touch the strings of his lyre
and break forth into some sweet melody, and the mighty
stones moved of their own accord and obediently fitted
themselves together. This is why Amphion is always rep-
resented in sculpture with a lyre, and Zethus with a club.
We can scarcely doubt that these Theban Dioscuri, like the
Castor and Polydeuces of Sparta, who are well known
to be only symbols of the morning and evening star, were
originally personifications of some natural phenomenon ;
though we are no longer in a position to «ay what it was.
Amphion is further celebrated on account of the melan-
choly fate of his sons and daughters. He married Niobe,
the daughter of the Phrygian king Tantalus, and sister of
Pelops. Great was the happiness of this marriage ; the
gods seemed to shower down their blessings on the royal
pair. Many blooming and lovely children grew up in their
palace, the pride and delight of their happy parents. From
this paradise of purest joy and happiness they were soon
to pass into a night of the deepest mourning and most
cruel aflSiction through the presumption of Niobe — the
same presumption which had led her father Tantalus to
trifle with the gods and consummate his own ruin. The
heart of Niobe was lifted up with pride at the number of
her children,* and she ventured to prefer herself to Latona,
who had only two ; nay, she even went so far as to forbid
* The number of Niobe's children varies materially. Homer (" II
iad," xxiv., 602) gives her six sons and as many daughters. According
to Hesiod and Pindar, she had ten sons and ten daughters ; but the
most common account, and that followed by the tragic poets, allows
her fourteen children. Everywhere the number of sons and daugh*
ters appears to be equal. The story of Niobe was frequently treated
of by the tragic poets, both vEschylus and Sophocles having written
tragedies bearing hef name.
204 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the Thebans to offer sacrifice to Latona and her children-
and to claim these honors herself. The vengeance of the
offended deities, however, now overtook her, and all her
children were laid low in one day before the unerring ar*
rows of Apollo and his sister. The parents did not sur
vive this deep affliction. Amphicn slew himself, and Ni-
obe, already paralyzed with grief, was turned into stone by
the pity of the gods, and transferred to her old Phrygian
home on Mount Sipylus, though even the stone has not
ceased to weep.
Such is the substance of this beautiful legend, though
its details vary considerably in the accounts of the poets
and mythologists. The most circumstantial and richly col-
o^-ed account of it is contained in the " Metamorphoses "
of Ovid. The poets have continually striven to impose a
pirely ethical interpretation on the story, by representing
thj destruction of the children of Niobe as the conse-
quence of the great sin of their mother; but it is more
prvibably a physical meaning which lies at the root of the
legend. It is, in fact, a picture of the melting of the snow
before the hot, scorching rays of the sun. This incident
the fertile imagination of the Greeks portrayed in the
most; beautiful metaphors. But just as a subject so purely
tragic as the history of Niobe found its first true devel-
opment in tragic poetry, so likewise it only attained its
proper place in sculpture after art had laid aside its earlier
and more simple epic character, and set itself to depict^
in their full force, the inward passions of the soul. This
tendency towards pathos and effect is characteristic of the
age of Praxiteles and Scopas, and the later Attic school.
To this age (fourth century b.c.) belonged the group of Niobe,
which was so highly celebrated even among the ancients, and whick
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 205
was seen by Pliny in the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, aU
though people even then hesitated whether to ascribe it to Praxiteles
or Scopas. None but one of these great maste s could have been thb
author of the tragedy hewed in stone. Although the original figures
of this magnificent group have disappeared, yet copies of most of
them are still in existence. With regard to the celebrated Floren
tine Niobe group, the dissimilarity of its treatment, and the various
kinds of marble employed, serve to show that it is not a Greek orig-
inal, but a Roman imitation. It was found at Rome in 1583, near
the Lateran Church, and was purchased by Cardinal Medici to adorn
his villa on the Monte Pincio. In It 75 it was brought to Florence,
where it has remained since 1Y94 in the gallery of the Uffizi.
There has never been but one opinion as to the beauty of this
group. First among the figures — not only in size, but also in artis-
tic perfection — is that of Niobe herself. The unhappy queen dis-
plays in her whole bearing so majestic and noble a demeanor, that,
even if none of the other splendid results of Greek sculpture had
come down to us, this alone would bear ampk testimony to the high
perfection and creative power of Greek art. The following descrip-
tion of the arrangement of the group is taker? from Liibke's " Histo-
ry of Plastic Art :"
" Apollo and Artemis are to be supposed ou' side the group. They
have accomplished their work of vengeance xnd destruction from
an invisible position in the heavens. This is denoted by each move-
ment of the flying figures, who either gaze ipward in affright to-
wards the heavens, or seek to cover themsehef with their garments.
One of the sons is already stretched dead on th i earth ; another leans
in mortal agony against a rock, fixing his eyes, already glazed in death,
on the spot whence destruction has overtaken nim. A third brother
is striving in vain to protect with his robe his sister, who has fallen
wounded at his feet, and to catch her in his ar us ; another has sunk
on his knees, and clutches in agony at the wound in his back ; while
his preceptor is endeavoring to shield the yc angest boy. All the
others are fleeing instinctively to their mother, thinking, doubtless,
that she who had so often afforded protection could save them also
from the avenging arrows of the gods, ThuL from either side the
waves of this dreadful flight rush towards th -) centre, to break on
the sublime figure of Niobe as upon a rock. She alone stands un-
Bhaken in all her sorrow, mother and queen to the last. Clasping
ber youngest daughter, whose tender years hav^ not preserved her, in
her arms, and bending over as though to shield the child, she turns
20d
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
I^er own proud head upward, and before her left hand can cover her
sorrow-stricken face with her robe, she casts towards the avenging
goddess a look in which bitter grief is blended with sublime dignity
of soul (Fig. 54). In this look there is neither defiance nor prayer
Fig. 54.— Niobe. Florence.
for mercy, but a sorrowful and yet withal lofty expression of heroic
resignation to inexorable fate that is worthy of a Niobe. This ad-
mirable figure, then, is pre - eminently the central point of the com.
position, since it expresses an atonement which, in a scene of horror
ajid annihilation, stirs the heart to the deepest sympathy,'"
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 207
Zethus was not more fortunate than Amphion in his do-
mestic affairs. He married Aedon (nightingale), the daugh-
ter of Pandareos. Pandareos was the friend and compan-
ion of Tantalus, for whom he stole a living dog made of
brass from the temple of Zeus in Crete, and was on that
account turned into stone.
Aedon was jealous of the good fortune of Niobe in hav-
ing so many beautiful children ; she herself having only
one son, Itylus. She resolved, one night, to slay the eld-
est son of Niobe, but she killed, in mistake, her own child
instead. Zeus took compassion on her, and changed her
into a nightingale. In this guise she still continues to be-
wail her loss in long-drawn mournful notes. Tradition
says nothing as to the death of Zethus, although the com-
mon grave of the Theban Dioscuri was pointed out in
Thebes. After his death, Laius, the son of Labdacus and
grandson of Polydorus, restored in his person the race of
Cadmus to the throne of Thebes. (See the legend of the
Labdacidse, later on.)
3. Corinthian Legend. — i. SisT/phus.—Covmth, ot
Ephyra, as it was formerly called, was said to have been
founded by Sisyphus, the son of JEolus. Its inhabitants,
on account of the position of their city between two seas,
were naturally inclined to deify that element, and it is not
improbable that Sisyphus was merely an ancient symbol
of the restless, ever-rolling waves of the sea. This inter-
pretation, however, is by no means certain ; and the idea
of Sisyphus in the lower world ever rolling a huge stone
to the top of a mountain might equally well refer to the
sun, which, after attaining its highest point in the heavens
at the time of the summer solstice, glides back again, onlj
208 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
to begin its career anew on the shortest day. In any case,
the rolling of the stone does not appear to have been orig-
inally a punishment. It was only later — after people had
become familiar with the idea of retribution in the lower
world — that it assumed this character. In order to ac-
count for it, a special crime had to be found for Sisypluis,
According to some, he was punished at the instance of
Zeus, because he had revealed to the river-god Asopus the
hiding-place of his daughter JEgina, whom Zeus had se-
cretly carried off from Phlius. According to another tra-
dition, he used to attack travellers, and put them to death
by crushing them with great stones. The Corinthians be-
ing crafty men of business, it was natural that they should
accredit their mythical founder with a refined cunning;.
Of the numerous legends which existed concerning him,
none was more celebrated than that of the cunning mode
in which he succeeded in binding Death, whom Ares had
to be despatched to release.
2. Glaucus. — Tradition describes Glaucus as a son of
Sisyphus by Merope. He also appears to have had a sym-
bolic meaning, and was once identical with Poseidon,
though he was afterward degraded from the rank of a god
to that of a hero. He is remarkable for his unfortunate
end. On the occasion of some funeral games, celebrated
in lolcus in honor of Pelias, he took part in the chariot-
race, and was torn in pieces by his own horses, which had
taken fright.
3. Bellerophon and the Legend of the Amazons. — The
third national hero of Corinth was Bellerophon, or Belle-
rophontes. Here the reference to the sun is so obvious
that the signification of the myth is unmistakable. He
was termed the son of Poseidon or Glaucus, and none
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 209
could appreciate this genealogy better than the Corinthi-
ans, wlio daily saw the snn rise from the sea. We must
first, however, narrate the substance of the story. Bellero-
phon was born and brought up at Corinth, but was obliged
from some cause or other to leave his country. That he
killed Bellerus, a noble of Corinth, is nothing but a fable
arising from an unfortunate misinterpretation of his name.
He was hospitably received by Proetus, King of Tiryns,
whose wife at once fell in love with the handsome, stately
youth. Finding, however, that Bellerophon slighted her
passion, she slandered him to her husband, and Proetus
forthwith sent him to his father-in-law, lobates. King of
Lycia, with a tablet, mysterious signs on which bade lo-
bates put the bearer to death. At this juncture the heroic
career of Bellerophon begins. lobates sought to fulfil the
command of Proetus by involving his guest in all kinds of
desperate adventures. He first sent him to destroy the
Chimaera, a dangerous monster that devastated the land.
The fore part of its body was that of a lion, the centre that
of a goat, and the hinder part that of a dragon. Accord-
ing to Hesiod, it had three heads — that of a lion, a goat,
and a dragon. According to the same poet, the Chimsera
was a fire-breathing monster of great swiftness and strength,
the daughter of Typhon and Echidna. Bellerophon de-
stroyed the monster by raising himself in the air on his
winged horse Pegasus, and shooting it with his arrows.
Pegasus was the offspring of Poseidon and Medusa, from
whose trunk it sprung after Perseus had struck off her
head. Bellerophon captured this wonderful animal as it
descended at the Acro-Corinthus to drink of the spring of
Pirene. In this he was assisted by the goddess Athene,
who also taught him how to tame and use it. Here, then,
14
ElO GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
he appears to have already possessed the horse at Corinth}
though another tradition relates that Pegasus was first sent
to him when he set out to conquer the Chimsera. The or-
igin of the story is ascribed to a fiery mountain in Lycia ;
but, as all dragons and such-like monsters of antiquity are
represented as breathing forth fire and flames, we are per-
haps scarcely justified in having recourse to a volcano.
This characteristic is, in fact, merely a common symbol
of the furious and dangerous character of these monsters.
The contest of Bellerophon is far more likely to be a pict-
ure of the drying up, by means of the sun's rays, of the
furious mountain torrents which flood the corn-fields.
The next adventure in which lobates engaged Bellero-
phon was an expedition against the Solymi, a neighboring
but hostile mountain tribe. After he had been successful
in subduing them, lobates sent him against the warlike
Amazons, hoping that among them he would be certain to
meet his death. We here, for the first time, come across
this remarkable nation of women, with whom other Greek
heroes, such as Heracles and Theseus, are said to have
fought ; and it will not, therefore, be foreign to our object
to dwell here on their most important features.
The Amazons appear in legend as early as Homer, though
he only mentions them incidentally. They were said to
be a nation of women, who suffered no men among them,
except so far as it was necessary to keep up the race. The
women, on the other hand, were trained from their earliest
years in all warlike exercises; so that they were not only
suflSciently powerful to defend their own land against for-
eign invaders, but also to make plundering incursions into
other countries. Their dominions, the situation of which
^as at first indefinitely described as in the far north or far
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDSo 211
west, were afterward reduced to more distinct limits^ and
placed in Cappadocia, on the river Thermodon, their capi^
tal being Themiscyra, in Scythia, on the borders of Lake
Mseotis, where their intercourse with the Scythians is said
to have given rise to the Sarmatian tribes. Later writers
also speak of the Amazons in Western Libya, Of the nu
merous stories rife concerning them, none is more taste-
less than that of their cutting off or burning out the right
breast, in order not to incommode themselves in the use of
the bow. This obviously originated in a misconception of
their name, which is certainly not of Greek origin, and has
never yet been satisfactorily explained. From the Ther-
moden they are said to have made great expeditions as far
as the jEgean sea ; they are even reported to have invaded
Attica, and made war on Theseus. They also play a prom-
inent part in the story of Heracles, by whom they were de-
feated ; and in the Trojan war, when, under their queen,
Penthesilea, they came to the assistance of Priam against
the Greeks.
The Amazons were frequently represented in Greek art. They are
here depicted as fine, powerful women, resembling Artemis and her
nymphs, though with stouter legs and arms. They generally appear
armed, their weapons being a long double-edged battle-axe (bipennis)
and a semicircular shield. An anecdote related by Pliny proves what
a favorite subject the Amazons were with Greek artists. He says
that the celebrated sculptors, Phidias, Polycletus, Phradmon, and
Cresilas made a wager as to who should create the most beautiful
Amazon. Polycletus received the prize; so that we may conclude
that he brought this statue — the ideal Amazon of the Greeks — to its
highest perfection. Unfortunately, we know nothing of it, except
that it was of bronze, and stood with the statues of the other ar-
tists in the temple of the Ephesian Artemis. The Amazon of Phidias,
we are told, was represented as leaning on a spear ; Cresilas, on the
other hand, endeavored to portray a wounded Amazon. Besides
these statues, we hear a great deal of the Amazon of Strongyhon, eel
Fi^. 55. — Amazon. BerliDe
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 213
ribrated for the beauty of her legs, which was in the possession of
Nero.
We still possess a considerable number of Amazon statues, some
of which are supposed to be imitations in marble of the renowned
statue at Ephesus. There are, moreover, several statues of wound-
ed Amazons, some of which are believed to be copies of the work of
Cresilas. There is also another marble statue, considerably larger
than life, which takes a still higher ranke It was originally set up
in the Villa Mattel, but since the time of Clement XIV. it has been
in the Vatican collection. It is apparently a representation of an
Amazon resting after battle ; she is in the act of laying aside her
bow, as she has already done her shield, battle-axe, and helmet. In
doing so, she raises herself slightly on her left foot — an attitude
which is as charming as it is natural.
Lastly, we must not omit to mention a statue that has newly come
into the possession of the Berlin Museum, which is supposed to be
after a work of Polycletus (Fig. 55).
We must now return to the history of Bellerophon.
After returning in triumph from his expedition against
the Amazons, the life of the young hero was once more
attempted by lobates, who caused him to be surprised by
an ambuscade. Bellerophon, however, again escaped, slay-
ing all his assailants. lobates now ceased from further per-
secution, and gave him his daughter in marriage, and a
share in the kingdom of Lycia. Bellerophon, in full pos
session of power and riches, and surrounded by blooming
children, seemed to have reached the summit of earthly
prosperity, when he was overtaken by a grievous change
of fortune. He was seized with madness, and wandered
about alone, fleeing the society of men, until he at length
perished miserably. Pindar says that he incurred the en-
mity of the gods by attempting to fly to heaven on his
winged horse Pegasus ; whereupon Zeus sent a gadfly to
sting the horsCo Pegasus cast off Bellerophon, and flew
of his own accord to the stables of Zeus, whose thunder
214 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGlf.
chariot lie has ever since drawn. The sad fate of Bellera
phon was the subject of a touching tragedy of Euripides,
some parts of which are still in existence. Heroic honors
were paid to Bellerophon in Corinth, and he also had a
shrine in the celebrated cypress-grove of Poseidon.
4. Argive Legend.— l. /o.— The first personage
who meets us on the very threshold of the mythic age
of Argos is Inachus, the god of the Argive river of that
name. Inachus was venerated by the inhabitants as the
first founder of Argive civilization after the flood of Deu-
calion. By his union with Melia, the daughter of Oceanus,
he became the father of lo, famed for her beauty, whose
history, which is of great antiquity, has been so greatly em-
bellished by the poets and legendary writers. The follow-
ing is the substance of the story :
lo was the priestess of Hera, Her great beauty attract-
ed the notice of Zeus. On remarking this, Hera, in her
jealousy, changed lo into a white heifer, and set the hun-
dred-eyed Argus Panoptes (the all -seeing) to watch her.
Zeus, however, sent Hermes to take away the heifer. Her-
mes first lulled the guardian to sleep with his wand, and
then slew him, whence he is called Argiphontes (slayer of
Argus). Hera avenged herself by sending a gadfly to tor-
ment lo, who, in her madness, wandered through Europe
and Asia, until she at length found rest in Egypt, where,
touched by the hand of Zeus, she recovered her original
form, and gave birth to a son. This son, who was called
Epaphus, afterward became king of Egypt, and built Mem-
phis. The myth, as we have already remarked, has re-
ceived many embellishments, for the wanderings of lo
grew more and more extensive with the growth of geo
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 215
graphical knowledge. The true interpretation of the
myth is due to F. W, Welcker, whose meritorious research-
es in Greek mythology have proved of such great value.
Id (the wanderer) is the moon, whose apparently irregular
course and temporary disappearance were considered a most
curious phenomenon by the ancients. The moon-goddess
of antiquity was very frequently represented under the fig
ure of a heifer ; and Isis herself, the Egyptian goddess of
the moon, was always depicted with horns. The guar-
dian of the heifer, the hundred-eyed Argus, is a symbol of
the starry heaven. Argus was slain by Hermes, the rain
god ; in other words, the stars were rendered invisible by
the clouds. There is nothing extraordinary in represent-
ing the apparent irregularity of the moon's course, inex-
plicable as it was to the ancients, under the guise of men-
tal disorder. Similar representations occur in the stories
of the solar heroes, Bellerophon and Heracles. In the
south-east — the direction in which Egypt lay from Greece
— lo again appears as full moon, in her original shape.
2. Danaus and the Danaids. — According to the legend,
Danaiis was a descendant of lo. Epaphus, the son of lo,
had a daughter Libya, who bore to Poseidon two sons,
Agenor and Belus. The former reigned over Phoenicia,
the latter over Egypt. Belus, by his union with Anchinoe,
or Achiroe, the daughter of the Nile, became the father of
JEgyptus and Danaus. Between these two brothers — the
former of whom had fifty sons and the latter fifty daugh-
ters— a deadly enmity arose ; this induced Danaus to mi-
grate from Egypt and seek the old home of his ancestress,
lo. He embarked with his fifty daughters in a ship — the
first that was ever built — and thus came to Argos, where
Gelanor, the reigning descendant of Inachus, resigned the
21@ 0REEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
crown in his favor. As King of Argos, Danaiis is said to
have brought the land, which suffered from want of water,
to a higher state of cultivation by watering it with wells
and canals. He is also said to have introduced the wor-
ship of Apollo and Demeter. The story proceeds to relate
that the fifty sons of ^gyptus followed their uncle to Ar-
gos, and compelled him to give them his fifty daughters
in marriage. Danaiis, in revenge, gave each of his daugh-
ters on the wedding-day a dagger, and commanded them
to slay their husbands in the night. All obeyed his com-
mand except Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lyn-
ecus, and afterward even succeeded, with the assistance of
x\phrodie, in effecting his reconciliation with her father.
Lynceus succeeded Danaiis in the kingdom, and became,
by his son Abas, the ancestor of both the great Argive he-
roes, Perseus and Heracles. At a later period, the fable
sprung up that the Danaids were punished for their crimes
in the lower world by having continually to pour water
into a cask full of holes. It has been frequently remarked
that this punishment has no conceivable connection with
the crime. Neither must we forget that the idea of retri-
bution in the lower world was of a comparatively late date.
Originally, too, the idea prevailed that the pursuits of the
upper world were continued after death in the realms of
Hades. And herein lies the key to the interpretation of
the myth, which is evidently connected with the irrigation
of Argos ascribed to Danaiis.
3. Prcetus and his Daughters. — Aansms and Prcetus
were twin sons of Abas, the son of Lynceus and Hyperm-
nestra. Between these two brothers an implacable hostili-
ty existed, which was said by the poets to have commenced
>wen in their mother's womb. Proetus received, as his share
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 21?
of the patrimony, the kingdom of Tiryns ; but he was sul>
sequently expelled by his brother, and took refuge at the
court of lobates, King of Lycia. lobates gave him his
daughter Antea, or Stheneboea, in marriage, and afterward
restored him to bis kingdom of Tiryns. Proetus, with the
aid of the Lycian workmen whom he had brought with
him (Cyclopes), built a strong fortress, which enabled him
not only to maintain peaceable possession of Tiryns, but
also to extend his dominion as far as Corinth. The legend
then passes to the history of his three daughters, the Proe-
tides, whose pride was so excited by their father's great-
ness and their own beauty that they began to think them-
selves superior to the gods. Their arrogance, however, was
soon punished, for they were visited with a foul disease and
driven mad. . They now fled the society of mankind, and
wandered about among the mountains and woods of Argos
and Arcadia. At length Proetus succeeded in procuring
the services of the celebrated soothsayer and purifier Me-
lampus, who undertook the purification and cure of his
daughters. It was reported of Melampus that serpents had
licked his ears while asleep, and that he acquired, in con-
sequence, a knowledge of the language of birds. He suc-
cessfully accomplished the cure of the Proetides, and re-
ceived as a reward the hand of the princess Iphianassa, in
addition to which both he and his brother Bias received a
share in the sovereignty of Tiryns. Thus it was that the
race of the Amythaonidse, who all inherited the gift of see-
ing into futurity, and from whom the celebrated soothsayer
Amphiaraiis himself was descended, came to Argos.
4. Perseus. — Acrisius, the brother of Proetus, had a
daughter called Danae, whose fortune it was to gain the
love of the great ruler of Olympus. Her father, Acrisius,
218 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGYo
was induced by an oracle, which foretold that he should
be killed by his own grandson, to immure Danae in a sub-
terraneous chamber. Zeus, however, in his love for her.
changed himself into a shower of golden rain, and thus
introduced himself through the roof of her prison. Thus
was the godlike hero Perseus born. There can b^ ,iip
doubt that this myth, too, is founded on the idea of the
bridal union of heaven and earth ; this is one of the pict-
ures of nature which the mind most readily forms. Danae
represents the country of Argos ; her prison is the heaven,
enveloped, during the gloomy months of winter, with thick
clouds. Her offspring by Zeus represents the light of the
sun, which returns in the spring-time and begins, like a ver-
itable hero, its contest with the powers of death and dark-
ness. The Gorgon Medusa has the same significance in
the history of Perseus that the hideous Python has in that
of Apollo.
^ The legend then proceeds to relate that Acrisius, having
heard of the birth of his grandson, to avert the fate threat-
ened by the oracle, ordered mother and child to be con-
fined in a chest and cast into the sea. But human wis-
dom avails naught against the inevitable decrees of Heaven,
The chest was cast by the waves on the rocky island of
Seriphus, where it was found by the fisherman Dictys ; and
Danae and her child were hospitably received and cared
for by Dictys and his brother Polydectes, the ruler of the
island. The latter, however, subsequently wished to marry
Danae, and on her rejecting his advances made her a slave.
Fearing the vengeance of Perseus, he despatched him, as
Boon as he was grown up, on a most perilous adventure.
This was no other than to bring him the head of the Gor-
gon Medusa — a terrible winged woman, who dwelt with
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGllNDS. 2l9
her two sisters, the daughters of Phorc ys and Ceto, on the
farthest western shore of the earth, on the border of Oce-
anus. Perseus set out, though he was in the greatest per-
plexity how to accomplish so perilous a task. Hermes,
however, at this juncture came to hi"> aid; and Athene^
the special patroness of heroes, inspired him with couraga
These deities first showed him how to procure the neces
sary means for accomplishing his undertaking, which con-
sisted of an invisible helmet, a magic wallet, and a paii
of winged sandals. All these were in the hands of the
Nymphs, by whom probably the water-Lymphs are meant.
The way to their abode he could only learn from the Grseae.
These creatures, who were likewise the daughters of Phorcys
and Ceto, were reported to have come in^^o the world as old
women ; their very appearance w^as appalling, and they had
but one eye and one tooth between them, of which they
made use in turn. They, too, dwelt on the outskirts of
the gloomy region inhabited by the Gor 50ns, whence they
are called by ^schylus their sentinels. Under the guid-
ance of Apollo and Athene, Perseus came to the Graese.
He then robbed them of their one eye and one tooth, and
thus forced them to tell him the way to the habitations of
the Nymphs. From the latter he at oace obtained the ob-
jects he sought ; and having donned f lis winged sandals,
he hastened to the abode of the Gorgons, whom he fortu-
nately discovered asleep. Athene then pointed out to him
Medusa — the other two sisters, Stheno and Euryale, being
immortal — and enjoined him to appr vach them carefully
backward, as the sight of their faces would infallibly turn
any mortal into stone. With the he^p of her mirror-like
shield and the sickle of Hermes, Perseus succeeded in cut-
ting off the head of Medusa without looking round ; and
220 OREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
having placed the head in his wallet, he hastened away.
His helmet, which rendered him invisible, enabled him to
escape the pursuit of the other Gorgons, who had mean-
while awaked. From the trunk of Medusa sprung the,
winged horse Pegasus, and Chrysaor, the father of Gery-
ones. On his return to Seriphus, Perseus turned the un-
righteous Polydectes into stone by means of the Gorgon's
head, which he then presented to Athene ; and after mak-
ing his benefactor, Dictys, king of the island, he turned his
steps towards his native place, Argos. Such are the essen-
tial features of the myth — concerning which, in spite of its
antiquity, we have no earlier sources of information — such
is the original frame -work on which was afterward built
up the history of the further adventures of the hero. The
most celebrated of these was the rescue of Andromeda,
which formed the subject of a drama of Euripides, and was
also highly popular among artists and poets. The follow-
ing is a brief account of this exploit : Cassiopea, the wife
of Cepheus, King of ^Ethiopia, ventured to extol her own
beauty above that of the Nereids, who thereupon besought
Poseidon to avenge them. He granted their request, and
not only overwhelmed the land with disastrous floods, but
sent also a terrible sea-monster, which devoured both man
and beast. The oracle of Ammon declared that the land
could only be saved by the sacrifice of the king's daughter,
Andromeda, to the monster. Cepheus, after some time,
yielded to the entreaties of his people, and Andromeda was
chained to a rock close to the sea. In this situation she
was found by Perseus, on his return from his adventure
with the Gorgons. He forthwith attacked and slew the
Bea-monster, and released the trembling maiden, who soon
after married her preserver. Later writers, not satisfied
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 221
with this adventure, added that Perseus was also obliged
to vanquish a rival in Phineus, the king's brother, to whom
Andromeda had been already promised. Phineus, togeth*
er with his warriors, was changed into stone by means of
the Gorgon's head.
The legend concludes with the return of the hero to
Argos, where he was reconciled to his grandfather Acrisius,
who had at first fled in terror to Larissa. On the occasion,
however, of some games which the people of Larissa had
instituted in his honor, Perseus was unfortunate enough to
kill Acrisius with his discus, thus involuntarily, fulfilling
the prophecy of the oracle. In this feature of the story
we recognize an unmistakable reference to the symbolic
meaning of Perseus; for the discus here represents, as in
the story of the death of Hyacinthus, the face of the sun.
Perseus, unwilling to enter on the inheritance of the grand^
father he had slain, exchanged the kingdom of Argos for
that of Tiryns, which was handed over to him by its king,
Megapenthes, the son of Proetus. He here founded the
cities of Midea and Mycenae, and became, through his chil-
dren by Andromeda, the ancestor of many heroes, and,
among others, of Heracles. His son Electryon became
the father of Alcmene, while Amphitryon w^as descended
from another of his sons. According to Pausanias, heroic
honors w^ere paid to Perseus, not only throughout Argos,
but also in Athens and the island of Seriphus.
Perseus occupies a prominent position in Greek art. His common
attributes are the winged sandals, the sickle which he made use of to
slay Medusa, and the helmet of Hades. In bodily form, as well as in
costume, he appears very like Hermes.
Among the art monuments which relate to his adventures is a
marble relief from the Villa Pamfili, now in the Capitoline Museum
at Rome, depicting the rescue of Andromeda. The sea-monster lies
222
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
dead at the feet of Perseus, who is assisting the joyful Andromeda ta
descend from the roch. The attitude and expression of both figures
are very striking : on the one side, maidenly modesty ; on the other,
proud self-reliance. It is worth remarking that Perseus, in addi-
Fig. 56.— Persens and Andromeda. Marble Helfef in the Museum at Naples*
tion to his winged ahoes, has also wings on his head. The same
eonception is percepiible, With a few minor points of difference,
in several Pompeian paintings, and on a marble relief of the Naples
Museum (Fig. 56). Representations of -Medusa are mostly confined
to masks, which are often found on coats of mail, shields, leaves of
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS.
223
folding-doors, and instruments of all kinds. There are two types,
representing an earlier and a later conception of Medusa. Earlier
art set itself to depict the horrible only in the head of Medusa ; and
artists, therefore, strove to impart to the face as strong an express
sion of rage and ferocity as was possible, representing her with tongue
lolling forth, and boar-like tusks. It is worthy of remark that, in the
earlier examples of these masks — which are frequently met with on
coins, gems, and pottery — the hair generally falls stiff and straight
over the forehead, serving to render the horrible breadth of the face
Fig. 57.— RondaDini Medufc:a. Munich.
e^ill more striking, while the snakes appear to be fastened round
ihe neck like a necklace. Very different is the conception adopted
by the later and more sensuous school. This labored principally to
give expression to the gradual ebbing-away of life in the countenance
of the dying Gorgon, an effect which was rendered still more striking
by transforming the hideous Gorgon face of earlier times into an ideal
of the most perfect beauty. • The most splendid example of this later
conception, which had been creeping in since the age of Praxiteles,
Is to be found in the Medusa Rondanini of the Munich collection -
224 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
a marble mask of most beautiful workmanship, which was brought
from the Rondanini Palace at Rome (Fig. 57). This Medusa, like
many others of the later type, has wings on the head,
5. The Dioscuri. — On passing to Laconia and Mes-
senia^ the southern districts of the Peloponnesus, we come
in contact with the legend of the Dioscuri. Tyndareiip
and his brother Icarius were said to have founded the most
ancient sovereignty in Lacedsemon. They were driven
thence, however, by their half-brother Hippocoon, and were
kindly received by Thestius, the ruler of the ancient city
of Pleuron, in ^^tolia, who gave Tyndareiis his daughter
Leda in marriage. Icarius received the hand of Poly caste,
who bore him Penelope — afterward the wife of Odysseus ;
while Leda was the mother of the Dioscuri, Castor and
Poly deuces (Pollux). Tyndareiis was afterward reinstated
in his Lacedaemonian kingdom at Amyclae by Heracles,
Besides these two sons, Leda had also two daughters, Cly-
tsemnestra and Helene (Helen), who are celebrated in con^
nection with the Trojan war. An ancient legend also ex-
isted to the effect that Leda had been beloved by Zeus,
who had approached her under the disguise of a swan.
The greatest incongruity prevails as to which of the chih
dren could claim a divine origin. In Homer, Helen alone
is represented as the daughter of Zeus ; while Clytsemnes-
tra, together with Castor and Polydeuces, appear as the chil-
dren of Tyndareiis. At a subsequent period, the name of
'^ Dioscuri " (sons of Zeus) and a belief in their divine ori-
gin arose simultaneously. Later still, Castor was repre=
sented as a mortal, and the son of Tyndareiis; and Poly-
deuces as immortal, and the son of Zeus. After Castor,
nowever, had fallen in the contest with the sons of Apha-
reus, his brother Polydeuces, unwilling to part from him.
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS, 225
prevailed on Zeus to allow them to remain together, on
condition of their spending one day in Olympus and the
next in Hades. They thus led a life divided between mor-
tality and immortality. The following^ is an account of
their heroic deeds : On attaining manhood, Castor distin-
guished himself by his skill in the management of horses;
while Poly deuces became renowned as a skilful boxer,
though he too had skill in riding. They first made war
on Theseus, who had carried off their sister Helen, then
ten years old, and set her free by the conquest of Aphid-
nse. They next took part in the expedition of the Argo-
nauts, in which Poly deuces gained still further renown by
his victory with the cestus over the celebrated boxer Amy*
cus. They were also present at the Calydonian boar-hunt.
Their last undertaking was the rape of the daughters of
Leucippus, King of Messenia. This was the cause of their
combat with their cousins Idas and Lynceus, the sons of
Aphareus, to whom the damsels had been betrothed. Ac-
cording to others, however, it sprung from a quarrel as to
the division of some booty that they had carried off to-
gether. Castor was slain by Idas, whereupon Poly deuces
in his wrath slew Lynceus, while Idas himself was over-
whelmed by a thunder-bolt from Zeus.
The interpretation of this myth is by no means void of
difficulty. It is commonly supposed that they were an-
cient Peloponnesian divinities of light, who, after the Do-
rian invasion, were degraded to the rank of heroes. They
are often interpreted as personifications of the morning
and evening star, or of the twilight (dawn and dusk). This
view died out after the second deification that they under-
w^ent. They were venerated, not only in their native Spar-
ta, but throughout the whole of Greece, as kindly, benefi
15
226 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
cent deities, whose aid might be invoked either in battle oi
in the dangers of shipwreck. In this latter character they
are lauded by an Homeric hymn, in which they are repre-
sented as darting through the air on their golden wings, in
order to calm the storm at the prayer of the terror-strick-
en mariner. It has often been remarked, and with a great
appearance of truth, that these Dioscuri flitting about on
their golden wings are probably nothing more than what
is commonly called St. Elmo's fire — an electric flame which
is often seen playing round the tops of the masts dur-
ing a storm, and which is regarded by the sailors as a sign
of its speedy abatement ; indeed, the name Elmo has been
supposed a corruption of Helene. In Sparta, the Dioscuri
were regarded as the tutelary deities of the State, as well as
an example of warlike valor for the youth of the country.
Their shrines here were very numerous. Their ancient
symbol, which the Spartans always took with them on a
campaign, consisted of two parallel beams joined by cross-
bars. They had other festivals and temples besides those
of Sparta : in Mantinea, for instance, where an eternal fire
was kept burning in their honor; also in Athens, where
they were venerated under the appellation of Anaces.
Their festival was here celebrated with horse-racing. The
Olympic games also stood under their special protection,
and their images were set up in all the palaestra. They
were, in fact, everywhere regarded as extremely benevolent
and sociable deities, who foster all that is noWe and beau-
tiful among men.
The Dioscuri were believed to have assisted the Romans
against the Latins at the Lake Regillus ; and the dictator,
A. Postumius, vowed a temple to them, which was erected
in the Forum, opposite the temple of Vesta. In commem'
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 227
oration of this aid, the Equites made a solemn procession
from the temple of Honos, past the temple of the Dioscuri,
to the Capitol every year on the Ides of July.
In art the Dioscuri are represented as heroic youths of noble mien
and slim but powerful forms. Their characteristic marks are coni-
cal caps, the points of which are adorned with a star. They gener
ally appear nude, or clothed only with a light chlamys, and nearly
always in connection with their horses, either riding, standing by
and holding them, or leading them by the bridle. The most cele-
brated representation of the Dioscuri that has come down to us from
antiquity consists of the marble statues called the Colossi of Monte
Cavallo, in Rome. These are eighteen feet in height, and the propor-
tions of the figures, together with those of the horses, are exquisite.
They are set up on the Quirinal, which has received from them the
name of Monte Cavallo. They are not, indeed, original works, but
are probably imitations of bronzes of the most flourishing period of
Greek art, executed in the time of Augustus.
6. Heracles (Hercules). — Of all the myths of the
countries originally inhabited by the ^olians, the myth of
Heracles is the most glorious. This hero, though his fame
was chiefly disseminated by means of the Dorians, was yet
by birth the common property of the JEolian race — their
national hero, in fact, just as he afterward became the na-
tional hero of the whole of Greece. No other Greek myth
has received so many subsequent additions — not only from
native, but also from foreign sources — as this ; which is,
in consequence, the most extensive and complicated of all
Greek myths. We shall, therefore, have to confine our-
selves to the consideration of its most characteristic feat-
ures, and those which are the most important in the his-
torv of art.
In Homer, who is here again our most ancient authority,
the leading features of the myth are traced — the enmity of
Hera towards the hero ; his period of subjection to Eurya*
228 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
theus, and the labors by which he emancipated himsell
(thoui^h special mention is made only of his seizure of Cer-
berus; ; his expeditions against Pylus, Ephyra, (Echalia,
and Troy. The verses in the " Odyssey " (xi. 602-4), which
refer to his deification and subsequent marriage with Hebe,
are probably a later insertion. In the " Iliad," Heracles is
spoken of as a great hero of olden time, " whom the Fates
and the grievous wrath of Hera subdued." In Homer, too,
he appears as a purely Grecian hero, his warlike undertak-
ings haTing never yet led him beyond Troy, and his ar-
mor differing in no respect from that of other heroes. The
description of him in Hesiod's "Theogony" and in the
"Shield of Heracles" is somewhat more minute, but it is
otherwise essentially the same. From what source the de-
ification of Pleracles sprung — whether it was due to Phoe-
nician influences or not — has hitherto remained an unde-
termined question; we only know that it appears as an ac-
complished fact about YOO B.C.
I. The Birth and Youth of Heracles. — This portion
of the legend found its chief development in Ba^otia. Am-
phitryon, a son of Alcseus and grandson of Perseus, was
compelled to flee from Tiryns with his betrothed, Alcmene
— likewise a descendant of Perseus by her father, Electry-
on — on account of a murder, and found an asylum at the
court of Creon, King of Thebes. From this place he un
dertook an expedition against the robber tribes of the Tel-
ebose (Taphians), in consequence of a promise made to Alc-
mene, whose brother they had slain. After the successful
termination of this expedition, the marriage was to have
been celebrated at Thebes. But in the mean while the
great ruler of Olympus himself had been smitten with the
charms of Alcmene, and, taking the form of the absent
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 229
Amphitryon, had left her pregnant with Heracles, to whom
she afterward gave birth at the same time with Iphicles,
the son of Amphitryon. The sovereignty over all the de-
scendants of Perseus, which Zeus had destined for Hera-
cles, was snatched from him by the crafty jealousy of Hera,
who prolonged the pains of Alcmene and hastened the de-
livery of the wife of Sthenelus, the uncle of Amphitryon,
by two months. Not content with having subjected the
hero to the will of the weak and cowardly Eurystheus,
Hera, according to a subsequent account of the poets, sent
two serpents to kill the child when he was about eight
months old. Heracles, however, gave the first proof of his
divine origin by strangling the serpents with his hands.
An account of this scene has descended to us in a beauti-
ful poem of Pindar. In Thebes, the boy grew up, and was
put under the care of the best preceptors. But, though
he excelled in every feat of strength and valor, he made no
progress in musical arts, and even slew his master Linus on
Account of a somewhat harsh reproof which his inaptitude
entailed on him. As a punishment, Amphitryon sent him
to Mount Cithgeron to mind the flocks, a mode of life
which Heracles continued until he had completed his eight-
eenth year. It was to this period that the sophist Prodi-
cus, a contemporary of Socrates, referred his beautiful alle-
gory of the Choice of Heracles, After attaining his full
growth (according to Apollodorus he was four cubits in
height) and strength, the young hero performed his first
great feat by killing the lion of Cithseron. Whether it
was this skin or that of the Nemean lion which he after-
ward used as a garment, is not certain. His next act was
to free the Thebans from the ignominious tribute which
they were compelled to pay to Eriginus, King of Orchome-
230 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
nus, by a successful expedition, in which Amphitryon, how«
ever, lost his life. Creon, the King of Thebes, in gratitude
gave the hero his daughter Megara in marriage, while Iph'
icles married her sister.
II, Heracles in the Service of Eurystheus — Thk
Twelve Labors. — We now come to the second epoch in
the life of the hero, in which he performed various labors
at the bidding of Eurystheus, King of Mycenae or Tiryns.
The number of these was first fixed at twelve in the Alex-
andrian age, when Heracles was identified with the Phoeni*
cian sun-god, Baal ; probably from the analogy afforded in
the course of the sun through the twelve signs of the zo-
diac. The subjection of Heracles to his unmanly cousin
Eurystheus is generally represented as a consequence of
the stratagem by which Hera obtained for the latter the
sovereignty over all the descendants of Perseus. At a
later period Heracles was said to have become insane, in
consequence of the summons of Eurystheus to do his bid-
ding. The following is an account of the labors of Her-
acles :
1. The Fight with the Nemean Lion. — The district of
Nemea and Cleon^ was inhabited by a monstrous lion, the
offspring of Typhon and Echidna, whose skin bade defi-
ance to every weapon. Heracles, after using his arrows
and club against the animal in vain, at last drove it into a
cave, and there strangled it with his hands. He afterward
used the head of the lion as a helmet, and the impenetra
ble skin as a defence.
2. The Lerncean Hydra, — This was a great water -ser-
pent, likewise the offspring of Typhon and Echidna. The
number of its heads varies in the accounts of poets, though
ancient gems usually represent it with seven. It ravaged
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 231
the country of Lerna, in Argolis, destroying both men and
beasts. In this adventure Heracles was accompanied by
lolaiis, the son of his brother Iphicles, who, on this as on
other occasions, appears as his faithful companion. After
driving the monster from its lair by means of his arrows,
he advanced fearlessly, and, seizing it in his hands, began
to strike off its heads with his sword. To his amazement,
in the place of each head he struck off two sprung up.
He then ordered lolatis to set on fire a neighboring wood,
and with the firebrands seared the throats of the serpent,
until he at length succeeded in slaying it. He then dip-
ped his arrows in its gall, thus rendering the wounds in-
flicted by them incurable.
3. The Erymanthian Boar, — ^This animal inhabited the
mountain district of Erymanthus, in Arcadia, from which
place it wasted the cornfields of Psophis. Heracles drove
the boar up to the snow-covered summit of the mountain,
and then caught it alive, as Eurystheus had commanded
him. When he arrived at Mycenae with the terrible beast
on his back, Eurystheus was so terrified that he hid him-
self in a vessel. This comic scene is frequently depicted
on vases. It was on this occasion that Heracles destroyed
the Centaurs. On the road, the hero, hungry and thirsty,
was hospitably received by the friendly Centaur Pholus,
who holds the same place among the Arcadian Centaurs
as Chiron dpes among those of Thessaly. Pholus broach-
ed, in honor of his guest, a cask of wine lying in his cave,
which was the common property of all the Centaurs. The
fragrance of the wine attracted the other Centaurs living on
Mount Pholoe, and they immediately attacked the tippling
hero with pieces of rock and trunks of trees. Heracles,
however, drove them back with arrows and firebrands, and
Z32 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
completely vanquished them after a terrible fight. On re-
turning to the cave of Pholus, he found his friend dead.
He had drawn an arrow out of a dead body to examine it^
but accidentally let it fall on his foot, from the wound of
which he died.
4. The Hind of Cerynea, — This animal, which was sa
cred to the Arcadian Artemis, had golden horns and brazen
hoofs, the latter being a symbol of its untiring fleetness.
Heracles was commanded to bring it alive to Mycenae, and
for a whole year he continued to pursue it over hill and
dale with untiring energy. At length it returned to Arca-
dia, where he succeeded in capturing it on the banks of the
Ladon, and bore it in triumph to Mycenae.
b. The Stymphalian Birds. — These voracious birds,
which fed on human flesh, had brazen claws, wings, and
beaks, and were able to shoot out their feathers like ar-
rows. They inhabited the district round Lake Stymphalis,
in Arcadia. Heracles slew some, and so terrified the rest
by means of his brazen rattle that they never returned.
This latter circumstance is apparently an addition of later
times, to explain their reappearance in the history of the
Argonauts.
6. Cleansing of the Stables of Augeas, — The sixth task
of Heracles was to cleanse in one day the stables of Au-
geas. King of Elis, whose wealth in cattle had become pro-
verbial. Heracles repaired to Elis, where he offered to
cleanse the stables, in which were three thousand oxen, if
the king would consent to give him a tenth part of the
cattle. Augeas agreed to do so. Heracles then turned the
course of the Peneus or the Alpheus, or, according to some,
of both rivers, through the stalls, and thus carried off the
filth. Augeas, however, on learning that Heracles had un*
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 233
dertaken the labor at the command of Eurystheus, refused
to give him the stipulated reward — a breach of faith for
which Heracles, later, took terrible vengeance on the king.
7. The Cretan Bull, — In the history of Minos, King of
Crete, we find that Poseidon once sent up a bull out of the
sea for Minos to sacrifice, but that Minos was induced by
the beauty of the animal to place it among his own herds,
and sacrificed another in its stead; whereupon Poseidon
drove the bull mad. The seventh labor of Heracles con-
sisted in capturing this bull and bringing it to Mycenae.
It was afterward set free by Eurystheus, and appears later,
in the story of Theseus, as the bull of Marathon.
8. The Mares of Diomedes, — Diomedes was king of the
Bistones, a warlike tribe of Thrace. He inhumanly caused
all strangers cast upon his coasts to be given to his wild
mares, who fed on human flesh. To bind these horses
and bring them alive to Mycense was the next task of Her-
acles. This, too, he successfully accomplished, after in-
flicting on Diomedes the same fate to which he had con-
demned so many others.
9. The Girdle of Hippolyte, — Admete, the daughter of
Eurystheus, was anxious to obtain the girdle which the
queen of the Amazons had received from Ares ; and Hera-
cles was accordingly despatched to fetch it. After various
adventures he landed in Themiscyra, and was at first kind-
ly received by Hippolyte, who was willing to give him the
girdle. But Hera, in the guise of an Amazon, spread a re-
port that Heracles was about to carry off the queen, upoB.
which the Amazons attacked Heracles and his followers.
In the battle which ensued Hippolyte was killed, and the
hero, after securing the girdle, departed. On his journey
homeward occurred his celebrated adventure with Hesione,
234 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the daughter of Laomedon, King of Troy. This king had
refused Poseidon and Apollo the rewards he had promised
them for their assistance in building the walls of Troy. In
consequence of his perfidy, Apollo visited the country with
a pestilence, and Poseidon sent a sea-monster w^hich devas-
tated the land far and wide. By the advice of the oracle,
Hesione, the king's daughter, was exposed to be devoured
by the animal. Heracles offered to destroy the monster, if
Laomedon would give him the horses which his father Tros
had received as a compensation for the loss of Ganymedes.
Laomedon agreed, and Heracles then slew the monster.
Laomedon, however, again proved false to his word, and
Heracles, with a threat of future vengeance, departed.
10. The Oxen of Geryones, — The next task of Heracles
was to fetch the cattle of the three -headed winged giant
Geryones, or Geryoneus (Geryon). This monster was the
offspring of Chrysaor (red slayer) and Callirrhoe (fair-flow-
ing), an Oceanid, and inhabited the island of Erythia, in
the far west, in the region of the setting sun, where he
had a herd of the finest and fattest cattle. It was only
natural that Heracles, in the course of his long journey to
Erythia and back, should meet with numerous adventures ;
and this expedition has, accordingly, been more richly em-
bellished than any other by the imagination of the poets.
He is generally supposed to have passed through Libya,
and to have sailed thence to Erythia in a golden boat,
which he forced Helios (the sun) to lend him by shooting
at him with his arrows. Having arrived in Erythia, he
first slew the herdsman who was minding the oxen, togeth-
er with his dog. He was then proceeding to drive off the
cattle, when he was overtaken by Geryon. A violent con-
test ensued, in which the three -headed monster was at
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 235
length vanquished by the arrow's of the mighty hero. Her-
acles is then supposed to have recrossed the ocean in the
boat of the sun, and, starting from Tartessus, to have jour-
neyed on foot through Iberia, Gaul, and Italy. We pass
over his contests with the Celts and Ligurians, and only
notice briefly his victory over the giant Cacus, mentioned
by Livy, which took place in the district where Rome was
afterward built, because Roman legend connected with this
the introduction of the worship of Hercules into Italy. At
length, after many adventures, he arrived at Mycenae, where
Eurystheus sacrificed the oxen to the Argive goddess Hera.
Heracles has now completed ten of his labors, but Eu-
rystheus, as Apollodorus relates, refused to admit the de-
struction of the Lernsean Hydra, because on that occasion
Heracles had availed himself of the help of lolalis ; or the
cleansing of the stables of Augeas, because of the reward
for which he had stipulated ; so that the hero was com-
pelled to undertake two more. This account does not,
however, harmonize with the tradition of the response of
the oracle, in deference to which Heracles surrendered him-
self to servitude, and which offered the prospect of twelve
labors from the first.
11. The Apples of the Hesperides. — This adventure has
been even more embellished with later and foreign addi-
tions than the last. The golden apples, which were under
the guardianship of the Hesperides, or nymphs of the west,
constituted the marriage present which Hera had received
from Gsea on the occasion of her marriage with Zeus.
They were closely guarded by the terrible dragon Ladon,
who, like all monsters, was the offsprino; of Typhon and
Echidna. This, however, was far less embarrassing to the
hero than his total ignorance of the site of the garden of
236 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
the Hesperides, which led him to make several fruitless
efforts before he succeeded in reaching the desired spot.
His first object was to gain information as to the situa-
tion of the garden, and for this purpose he journeyed
through Illyria to the Eridanus (Po), in order to inquire
the way of the nymphs who dwelt on this river. By them
he was referred to the treacherous sage Nereus, whom he
managed to seize while asleep, and refused to release until
he had obtained the desired information. Heracles then
proceeded by way of Tartessus to Libya, where he was chal-
lenged to a wrestling match by the giant Anta3us, a pow-
erful son of Earth, who was, according to Libyan tradition,
of a monstrous height (some say sixty cubits). He was
attacked by Heracles, but, as he received new strength
from his mother Earth as often as he touched the ground,
the hero lifted him up in the air and squeezed him to
death in his arms.
From Libya Heracles passed into Egypt, where the cruel
King Busiris was in the habit of seizing all strangers who
entered the country and sacrificing them to Zeus. Hera-
cles would have suffered a similar fate, had he not broken
the chains laid upon him, and slain the king and his son.
His indulgence at the richly furnished table of the king
was a feature in the story which afforded no small amuse-
ment to the comic writers, who were especially fond of
jesting on the subject of the healthy and heroic appetite
of Heracles. From Egypt the hero made his way into
Ethiopia, where he slew Emathion, the son of Tithonus
and Eos, for his cruelty to strangers. He next crossed the
sea to India, and thence came to the Caucasus, where he
set Prometheus free, and destroyed the vulture that preyed
on his liver. After Prometheus had described to him the
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 237
long road to the Hesperides, he passed through Scythia,
and came at length to the land of the Hyperboreans, where
Atlas bore the pillars of heaven on his shoulders. This
was the end of his journey, for Atlas, at his request, fetched
the apples, while Heracles supported the heavens. Here
again the comic poets introduced an amusing scene. At-
las, having once tasted the delights of freedom, betrayed
no anxiety to relieve his substitute, but offered, instead, to
bear the apples himself to Eurystheus. Heracles, however,
proved even more cunning than he, for, apparently agree-
ing to the proposition, he asked Atlas just to relieve him
until he had arranged more comfortably a cushion for his
back. When Atlas good-humoredly consented, Heracles
of course left him in his former position, and made off
with the apples. Another account states that he descend-
ed himself into the garden, and slew the hundred -headed
dragon who kept guard over the trees.
12. Cerberus. — The most daring of all the feats of Her-
acles, and that which bears the palm from all the others,
and is, in consequence, always put at the end of his labors,
was the bringing of Cerberus from the lower world. In
this undertaking, which is mentioned even by Homer, he
was accompanied by Hermes and Athene, though he had
hitherto been able to dispense with divine aid. He is com-
monly reported to have made his descent into the lower
world at Cape Ta3narum, in Laconia. Close to the gates
of Hades he found the adventurous heroes Theseus and
Pirithoiis, who had gone down to carry off Persephone,
fastened to a rock. He succeeded in setting Theseus free,
but Pirithoiis he was obliged to leave behind him, be-
cause of the violent earthquake which occurred when he
attempted to touch him. After several further adventures.
238 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
he entered the presence of the lord of the lower world
Hades consented to his taking Cerberus, on condition that
he should master him without using any weapons. Hera-
cles seized the furious beast, and, having chained him, he
brought him to Eurystheus, and afterward carried him back
to his place in the lower world. The completion of this
task released Heracles from his servitude to Eurystheus.
HI. Deeds of Heracles after his Service. — 1. The
Murder of Iphitus^ and Contest with Apollo, — The hero,
after his release from servitude, returned to Thebes, where
he gave his wife Megara in marriage to lolaiis. He then
proceeded to the court of Eurytus, King of (Echalia, who
had promised his beautiful daughter lole in marriage to the
man who should vanquish himself and his sons in shoot-
ing with the bow. The situation of CEchalia is variously
given; sometimes it is placed in Thessaly, sometimes in
the Peloponnesus, on the borders of Arcadia and Messenia,
and sometimes in the island of Euboea, close to Eretria.
Heracles gained a most complete victory; but Eurytus,
nevertheless, refused to give him his daughter, reproaching
him with the murder of his children by Megara, and with
his ignominious bondage to Eurystheus. Heracles, with
many threats of future vengeance, withdrew, and when,
not long afterward, Iphitus, the son of Eurytus, fell into
his hands, he cast him from the highest tower of his cita-
del in Tiryns. This somewhat treacherous action being at
variance with the general character of the hero, the story
subsequently arose that Iphitus was a friend of Heracles,
and had advocated his cause with Eurytus, and that Hera-
cles only treated him thus in a fit of insanity. The bloody
deed was fraught with the gravest consequences. After
seeking purification and absolution in vain among men,
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS, 239
Heracles came to Delphi, in order to seek the aid and con-
solation of the oracle. But Apollo, with whom the roy^^l
family of QEchalia stood in high favor, rejected him ; where-
upon Heracles forced his way into i;he temple, and was al°
ready in the act of bearing away the holy tripod, in order
to erect an oracle of his own, when he was confronted by
the angry deity. A fearful combat would doubtless have
ensued, if the father of gods and men himself had not in-
terfered to prevent this unnatural strife between his favor-
ite sons by separating the combatants with his lightning.
Heracles was now commanded by the Pythian priestess to
allow himself to be sold by Hermes into slavery for three
years, to expiate the murder of Iphitus,
2. Heracles in the Service of Omphale, — This portion of
the story is of Lydian origin, but was cleverly interwoven
with the Greek legend. The Lydians, in fact, honored a
sun-hero called Sandon, v/ho resembled Heracles in many
respects, as the ancestor of their kings. The Oriental char-
acter of the Lydian Heracles at once manifests itself in the
fact that he here appears as entirely devoted to sensual
pleasures, becoming effeminate in the society of women,
and allowing himself to be clothed in female attire, while
his mistress Omphale donned his lion-skin and club, and
flaunted up and down before him. He did not always
linger in such inactivity, however; sometimes the old de-
sire for action urged him forth to gallant deeds. Thus he
vanquished and chastised the Cercopes, a race of goblins
who used to trick and waylay travellers. He also slew
Syleus, who compelled all passing travellers to dig in his
vineyard ; which formed the subject of a satyric drama of
Euripides.
3. His Expedition against Troy.. — After performing sev-
240 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGlo
eral other feats in the service of Omphale, Heracles again
became free. He now appears to have undertaken an ex-
pedition against tlie faithless Laomedon, King of Troy, in
company with other Greek heroes, such as Peleus, Tela-
mon, and Oicles, whose number increased as time went on.
The city was taken by storm : Oicles, indeed, was slain,
but, on the other hand, Laomedon and all his sons except
Podarces fell before the arrows of Heracles. Hesione, the
daughter of the king, was given by Heracles to his friend
Telamon, and became by him the mother of Teucer. She
received permission from Heracles to release one of the
prisoners, and chose her brother Podarces, who afterward
bore the name of Priamus (the redeemed), and continued
the race of Dardanus in Ilium.
4. The Peloponnesian Expeditions of Heracles, — The le-
gend relates that the hero now undertook his long-deferred
expedition against Augeas, which was the means of kin-
dling a Messenian and Lacedaemonian war. After assem-
bling an army in Arcadia, which was joined by many gal-
lant Greek heroes, he advanced against Elis. Heracles,
however, fell sick ; and in his absence his army was at-
tacked and driven back with great loss by the brave Ac-
toridae or Molionidse, the nephews of Augeas. It was only
after Heracles had slain these heroes in an ambuscade at
Cleonae, as they were on their way to the Isthmian games,
that he succeeded in penetrating into Elis. He then slew
Augeas, and gave the kingdom to his son Phyleus, with
whom he was on friendly terms. It was on this occasion
that he instituted the Olympic games. He then marched
against Pylus, either because its king, Neleus, had given
assistance to the Molionidse, or else because Neleus had
refused to purify him from the murder of Iphitus. This
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 241
expedition against Pylus was subsequently greatly embel-
lished by the poets, who made it into a great battle of the
gods, one part of whom fought for Neleus, and the other
part for Heracles. The chief feature was the combat be-
tween Heracles and Periclymenus, the bravest of the son&
of Neleus, who had received from Poseidon, the tutelary
deity of the Pylians, the power of transforming himself
into any kind of animal. The result of the combat was,
of course, a complete victory for Heracles. Neleus, with
his eleven gallant sons, was slain, and only the youngest,
Nestor, remained to perpetuate the celebrated race. The
Lacedaemonian expedition of Heracles, which follows close
on that against Pylus, was undertaken against Hippocoon,
the half-brother of Tyndareiis, whom he had expelled.
Hippocoon was defeated and slain by Heracles, who gave
his kingdom to Tyndareiis. On this occasion Heracles was
assisted by Cepheus, King of Tegea, with his twenty sons,
a circumstance which is only mentioned on account of a
remarkable legend connected with his stay in Tegea. Her-
acles is here said to have left Auge, the beautiful sister of
Cepheus, and priestess of Athene, pregnant with Telephus,
whose wondrous adventures have occupied artists and poets
alike. Auge concealed her child in the grove of Athene,
whereupon the angry goddess visited the land with a fam-
ine. Aleiis, the father of Auge, on discovering the fact,
caused the child to be exposed, and sold the mother be-
yond the sea. Auge thus came into Mysia, where the king,
Teuthras, made her his wife. Telephus was suckled by a
hind. He grew up, and ultimately, after some wonderful
adventures, succeeded in finding his mother. He succeed-
ed Teuthras, and, later, became embroiled with the Greeks
when they landed on their expedition against Troy, on
16
242 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
which occasion he was wounded by Achilles. Telephus^
among all the sons of Heracles, is said to have borne the
greatest resemblance to his father.
5. Achelous, JVessus, Cycnus, — The next episode in the
history of the hero is his wooing of Deianira, the daughter
of (Eneus, King of ^tolia. (Eneus is celebrated as the first
cultivator of the vine in that country, and as the father of
the JEtolian heroes, Meleager and Tydeus. The river-god
Acheloiis was also a suitor for the hand of Deianira, and
as neither he nor Heracles would relinquish their claim, it
was decided by the combat between the rivals* so often
described by the poets. The power of assuming various
forms was of little use to Acheloiis, for, having finally trans-
formed himself into a bull, he was deprived of a horn by
Heracles, and compelled to declare himself vanquished.
Heracles restored him his horn, and received in exchange
that of the goat Amalthea. After his marriage with Dei-
anira, Heracles lived for some time happily at the court of
his father-in-law, where his son Hyllus was born. In con-
sequence of an accidental murder, he was obliged to leave
^tolia and retire to the court of his friend Ceyx, King of
Trachis, at the foot of Mount (Eta. On the road occurred
his celebrated adventure with the Centaur Nessus. On
coming to the river Evenus, Heracles intrusted Deianira to
Nessus to carry across, while he himself waded through the
swollen stream. The Centaur, induced by the beauty of
his burden, attempted to carry off Deianira, but was pierced
by an arrow of Heracles, and expiated his attempt with his
life. He avenged himself by giving Deianira some of his
* The most beautiful description exists in a chorus in the " Trachi-
niae " of Sophocles, and in Ovid's *' Metamorphoses."
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 243
blood to make a magic salve, with which he assured her
she could always secure the love of her husband.
On reaching Trachis they were hospitably received by
Ceyx. Heracles first defeated the Dryopes, and assisted
the Dorian King ^gimius in his contest with the Lapithse.
He next engaged in his celebrated combat with Cycnus, the
son d( Ares, which took place at Iton, in the neighborhood
of the Gulf of Pagasse. Heracles not only slew his oppo-
nent, but even wounded the god of war himself, who had
come to the assistance of his son. This contest is the sub-
ject of the celebrated poem called the " Shield of Hercu-
les," which goes under the name of Hesiod.
IV. Death and ApotheosiSo — The death of Heracles,
of which we learn most from the masterly description of
Sophocles in the ^' Trachinise," is generally supposed to
have been connected with his expedition against Eurytus.
The hero, who could not forget the ignominious treatment
he had received at the hands of Eurytus, now marched with
an army from Trachis against (Echalia. The town and
citadel were taken by storm, and Eurytus and his sons
slain ; whik the beautiful lole, who was still unmarried, fell
into the hands of the conqueror. Heracles now withdrew
with great booty, but halted on the promontory of Cenae-
um, opposite the Locrian coast, to raise an altar and oflEer a
solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving to his father Zeus. Deia-
nira, who was tormented with jealous misgivings concern-
ing lole, thought it was now high time to make use of
the charm of Nessus. She accordingly sent her husband
a white sacrificial garment, which she anointed with the
ointment prepared from the blood of the Centaur. Hera-
cles donned the garment without suspicion, but scarcely
had the flames from the altar heated the poison than it
244 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
penetrated the body of the unhappy hero. In the most
fearful agony, he strove to tear off the garment, but in vain,
for it stuck like a plaster to his skin ; and where he suc-
ceeded in rending it away by force, it tore out great pieces
of his flesh at the same time. In his frenzy he seized the
herald Lichas, the bearer of the unfortunate present, and
violently dashed him in pieces against a rock of the sea.
In this state Heracles was brought to Trachis, where he
found that Deianira, full of sorrow and de pair on learnmg
the consequences of her act, had pat an end to her own
life. Convinced that cure was hopeless, the dying hero
proceeded from Trachis to (Eta, and there erected a funeral
pile on which to end his torments. None of those around
him, however, would consent to feet the pile on fire, until
Poeas, the father of Philoctetes, happened to pass by, and
rendered him the service, in v-eturn for which Heracles pre-
sented him with his bow and arrows. As the flames rose
high, a cloud descended from heaven, and, amidst furious
peals of thunder, a chariot with four horses, driven by
Athene, appeared and bore the illustrious hero to Olym-
pus, where he was joyfully received by the gods. He here
became reconciled to Hera, who gave him the hand of her
beauteous daughter Hebe in marriage.
V. Heracles as God. — We have already laid before
our readers the most characteristic features of the myth.
To interpret it and trace it back in all its details to the
original sources would be, amidst the mass of provincial
and foreign legends with which it is amalgamated, almost
impossible. Thus much is certain, however, that, apart
from the conceptions which were engrafted on the story
from Tyrian and Egyptian sources, even in the case of the
Greek Heracles, myths based on natural phenomena arc
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 245
mixed up with historical and allegorical myths. The his-
toric element, for instance, is apparent in the wars of Her-
acles against the Dry opes — against Augeas, Neleus, and
Hippocoon. Here the exploits of the whole Dorian race
are personified in the actions of the hero. On the other
hand, in most of his single combats a symbolic meaning,
derived from natural phenomena, is unmistakable. Hera-
cles, in fact, appears to have been, originally, a symbol of
the power of the sun triumphing over the dark powers in
nature. Driven from Argos by the worship of the Argive
Hera, he first sunk to the level of a hero, but was, subse-
quently, again raised to the dignity of a god. This occur-
red at a time when the gods of Greece had altogether cast
aside their physical meaning ; so that he was now regarded
principally from an ethical point of view. He appears as
a symbol of that lofty force of character which triumphs
over all difficulties and obstacles. Poets and philosophers
alike vied with each other in presenting him to the youth
of their country in this character, pointing to his career
as a brilliant example of what a man might accomplish, in
spite of a thousand obstacles, by mere determination and
force of will. The well-known allegory of the sophist
Prodicus,* called "" The Choice of Hercules,'* is an instance
of the mode in which the history of the hero was used to
inculcate moral precepts.
In the religious system of the Greeks, Heracles was spe-
cially honored as the patron of the gymnasia ; the gymna-
sium of Cynosarges, in Athens, being solely dedicated tc
* Prodicus, a native of the island of Ceos, was an elder contem-
porary of Socrates. Like the latter, he taught in Athens, and met
with a similar fate, having been condemned to death as an enemy oi
the popular religion and a corrupter of the Athenian youth.
246 GRBEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
him. After his deification, Heracles was also regarded in
the character of a savior and benefactor of his nation ; as
one who had not only merited the lasting gratitude of
mankind by his deeds throughout an active and laborious
life — in having rid the world of giants and noxious beasts,
in having extinguished destructive forces of nature, and
abolished human sacrifices and other barbarous institutions
of antiquity — but also as a kindly and beneficent deity,
ever ready to aflEord help and protection to mankind m
the hour of need. In this character he was known by the
names of Soter (Savior) and Alexicacus (averter of evil).
He had temples and festivals in various parts of Greece.
In Marathon, which boasted of being the first seat of his
worship, games were celebrated in his honor every four
years, at which silver cups were given as prizes. The
fourth day of every month was held sacred to him, this
day being regarded as his birthday.
We have already mentioned the legendary introduction
of his worship into Rome. Hercules, as he was called in
Italy, was identified with the Italian hero Recaranus. He
had an altar in the Forum Boarium^ established, accord-
ing to tradition, by Evander. The Roman poets, of course,
devoted especial attention to the stories of his journey
through Italy and his fight with Cacus.
In Heracles ancient art sought to portray the conception of gigan-
tic bodily strength. He is, therefore, generally represented as a full-
grown man — rarely as a child or youth. We may observe the man*
ner in which the prominent idea of physical force is expressed by
regarding the formation of the neck and throat in the statue of
Heracles. Nothing can express better a bull-like strength than the
short neck and the prominent muscles, especially if associated with a
broad, deep chest. We shall be able to appreciate this distinctive
character still more clearly if we compare the form of Heracles with
that of the ideal god Apollo, whose neck is especially long and
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS, 24?
slender. The figure of Heracles is, moreover, characterized by a head
small in comparison with the giant body ; by curly hair, bushy eye-
brows, and muscular arms and legs. This conception was princi-
pally developed by Myron and Lysippus. A statue of Heracles by
the former artist played a part in connection with the art robberies
of Verres in Sicily. Lysippus erected several celebrated statues of
Heracles, the most remarkable of which was the bronze colossus in
Tarentum, which the Romans, after the capture of that town, trans-
ferred to the Capitol. Thence it was brought, by order of Constan-
tine, to his new capital of Constantinople, where it remained until
the Latin crusade of 1202, when it was melted down. Lysippus
portrayed in this statue a mourning Heracles, which no one had ever
attempted before him. The hero appeared in a sitting posture,
without his weapons, his left elbow resting on his left leg, while his
head, full of thought and sorrow, rests on the open hand. The same
artist, in a still greater work, depicted the twelve labors of Heracles.
These formed a group which was originally executed for Alyzia, a
seaport town of Acarnania, but which was, subsequently, likewise
transferred to Rome.
First among existing statues is the Farnese Hercules (Fig. 58).
This celebrated colossal statue, now in the Naples Museum, was dis-
covered in 1540, on the site of the Thermae of Caracalla. The hero
is standing upright, resting his left shoulder on his club, from which
hangs his lion's skin. This attitude, as well as the head drooping
towards the breast, and the gloomy gravity of his countenance, clearly
show that the hero feels bowed down by the burden of his laborious
life. Even the thought that he is soon to be released from his igno-
minious servitude (he holds behind him, in his right hand, the three
apples of the Hesperides, the fruit of his last labor) is unable to
cheer him, and his thoughts seem to revert only to the past. On
account of the conception of the piece, and the existence of another
copy bearing the name of Lysippus, the Farnese Hercules is supposed
to be a copy of a work of Lysippus, of which nothing further is
known.
Still more important as a work of art, though it has reached us
in a terribly mutilated condition — minus head, arms, and legs — is
the celebrated Torso of Hercules, in the Vatican. This was found
in Rome during the reign of Pope Julius II., on a spot where the
Theatre of Pompey, of which it was probably an ornament, onc«
stood.
Oroupg, — Heracles in action was a still more favorite subject with
X
Fig. 58.— Faruese Hercules.
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 249
artists, who delighted to portray the different scenes of his versa-
tile life. Numberless representations of such scenes occur, not only
in the form of statues and works in relief, but more especially on
ancient vases. We mention here, in the chronological order of the
events, some of the most important
1. Heracles and the Serpents. — ^This scene was early depicted by the
celebrated painter Zeuxis, who represented Heracles as strangling the
serpents, while Alcmene and Amphitryon stood by in amazement.
There are also several statues representing this feat, among which
that at Florence takes the first rank. There is also a painting from
Herculaneum in the Naples Museum.
2. The Twelve Labors. — These have naturally been treated of
times out of number. We have already mentioned the group of
Lysippus, which he executed for the town of Alyzia. A still existing
bronze statue in the Capitoline Museum, representhig Heracles bat-
tling with the Hydra, appears to belong to this series. Among inter-
esting remains are the metope reliefs on the Theseum at Athens.
Ten on the east side of the temple represent scenes from the life of
Heracles. Nine of them belong to the twelve labors — viz., the
Nemean lion, the Hydra, the Arcadian hind, the Erymanthian boar,
the horses of Diomedes, Cerberus, the girdle of Hippolyte, Geryon,
and the Hesperides; while the tenth tablet represents his contest
with Cycnus. The remains of the splendid temple of Zeus at
Olympia, which was completed about 435 B.C., are less important.
The metopes of the front and back of the temple contained six of
the labors of Heracles. Those representing the contest with the
Cretan bull, the dying lion, a portion from the fight with Geryon, and
some other fragments, were found in 1829, and conveyed to the mu-
seum of the Louvre at Paris. The only one which is perfect, how-
ever, is the spirited and life-like representation of the struggle with
the Cretan bull.
3. Parerga {Subordinate Deeds). — First among these come the
scenes from his contest with the Centaurs, which were frequently
treated of in art. Groups of these exist in the museum at Florence ;
there are also various representations to be found on vases. His
adventure with Nessus is represented separately on a Pompeian
painting in the Naples Museum ; Nessus crouches in a humble post-
ure before Heracles, who has the little Hyllus in his arms, and he
appears to be asking permission to carry Deianira across the stream.
There is also an interesting representation of the release of Prome-
theus on the Sarcophagus of the Capitol, from the Villa Pamfili,
^5U GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOaY.
which is, in other respects, also worthy of mention. The seizure of
the tripod at Delphi is also frequently portrayed in art.
4. Heracles and Omphale. — Of the monuments referring to Hera-
cles's connection with Omphale, the most important is the beauti-
ful Farnese group in marble in the Naples Museum. Omphale has
thrown the lion's skin round her beautiful limbs, and holds in her
right hand the hero's club. Thus equipped, she smiles triumph-
antly at Heracles, who is clothed in female attire, with a distaff in
his hand.
5. Heracles and Telephus. — The romantic history of Telephus was
also frequently treated of in art. The Naples Museum possesses a
fine painting, representing the discovery of the child after it has
been suckled by the hind, on which occasion, strange to say, Hera-
cles himself is present. In the Vatican Museum there is a fine mar-
ble group, representing Heracles with the child Telephus in his arms.
7. Attic Legend. — l. Cecrops, — Cecrops, the first
founder of civilization in Attica, plays a similar part here
to that which Cadmus does in Thebes. Like Cadmus, he
was afterward called an immigrant ; indeed, he was said to
have come from Sais, in Lower Egypt. In his case, how-
ever, we are able to trace the rise of the erroneous tradi-
tion with far greater distinctness. Pure Attic tradition
recognizes him only as an autochthon — that is, an original
inhabitant born of the earth ; and further adds, that, like
the giants, he was half man and half serpent. As the
mythical founder of the State, he was also regarded as the
builder of the citadel (Cecropia) ; and marriage, as well as
other political and social institutions, were ascribed to him.
Perhaps, like Cadmus, he is only a local personification of
the rain-god Hermes, who, later, sunk to the level of a hero>
The probability of this view is greatly enhanced by the
fact that his three daughters — Herse, Aglaurus, and Pan-
drosus — received divine honors. It was under Cecrops
that the celebrated contest occurred between Poseidon and
Athene for the possession of Attica, and was by bis means
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 251
decided in favor of the goddess. We have already given
an account of it, and need only here remark that the story
is purely the result of the observation of natural phenom-
ena. In Attica, in fact, there are only two seasons — a cold,
wet, and rainy winter (Poseidon), and a warm, dry, genial
summer (Pallas). These seem to be continually striving
for the supremacy of the land. Cecrops was succeeded in
the government by Cranaiis, who is represented by some
as his son. The common mythological account places the
flood of Deucalion in his reign. After the expulsion of
Cranaiis, Amphictyon, one of the sons of Deucalion, suc-
ceeded to the sovereignty of Attica, of whom nothing
more is known than that he was deprived of the govern*
ment by Erechtheus.
2. Erechtheus^ or Erichthonius, — Erechtheus, or Erich-
thonius, is really only a second Cecrops — the mythical
founder of the State after the flood, as Cecrops was before
it. Being also earth-born, he is, like Cecrops, endowed with
a serpent's form. There was anot]ier very sacred legend
concerning him, which stated that Gsea (Ge), immediately
after his birth, gave him to the goddess Pallas to nurse.
The latter first intrusted him to the daughters of Cecrops,
her attendants and priestesses, enclosed in a chest. The
latter, however, prompted by curiosity, opened the chest,
contrary to the commands of the goddess, and were pun-
ished in consequence with madness. Erichthonius was
now reared by the goddess herself in her sanctuary on the
citadel, and was subsequently made king of Athens. The
same stories are then related of him as of Cecrops — that
he regulated the State, introduced the worship of the gods,
and settled the dispute between Poseidon and Athene.
The tomb of Erechtheus was shown in the Erecbt^heum,
252 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
thje ancient temple dedicated to Athene Polias, where the
never-dying olive-tree created by the goddess was also pre-
served.
Two among the daughters of Erechtheus are celebrated
in legend. The first is Orithyia, who was carried off by
Boreas, and became the mother of Calais and Zetes, whom
we come across again in the story of the Argonauts j the
other is Procris, the wife of the handsome hunter Cepha-
lus, who was said to ^be a son of Hermes by Herse, the
daughter of Cecrops. Cephalus was carried off by Eos,
who was unable to shake his fidelity to his wife. It served,
however, to excite the jealousy of the latter, which ulti-
mately proved fatal to her. Procris had hidden herself
j^mong the bushes, in order to watch her husband, when
Cephalus, taking her for a w^ild animal, unwittingly killed
her. After the death of Erechtheus, the tragic poets re-
late that Ion, the mythical ancestor of the lonians, ruled
in Athens. This means nothing more than that the prim-
itive Pelasgian age in Attica had now come to an end, and
the dominion of the lonians commenced.
3. Theseus. — Theseus is the national hero of the lonians,
just as Heracles is of the -Cohans. He has not unjustly
been called the second Heracles ; and he has, indeed, many
features in common with the ^olian hero, since the na-
tional jealousy of the lonians led them to adopt every pos-
sible means of making; their own hero rival that of their
neighbors. They therefore strove to represent him, like-
wise, as a hero tried in numberless contests — generous,
unselfish, and devoted to the interests of mankind — and
of course ascribed to him a multitude of adventurous ex-
ploits. There is no great undertaking of antiquity in
which Theseus is not supposed to have taken part, and
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS, 253
he was even sent on an expedition to hell, in imitation of
Heracles.
He'^was the son of the Athenian King JEgeus, whom
mythological tradition made a great-grandson of Erech-
theu^ After his father, Pandion, had been driven out -by
his relations, the sons of Metion, ^geus betook himself to
Megara, where he was hospitably received by the ruler, Py-
las. From Megara, ^geus, Pallas, Nisus, and Lycus, the
sons of Pandion, undertook an expedition against Athens,
which ended in the expulsion of the Metionidae, and the
restoration of the former royal family in the person of
^geus. Such, at least, is the tradition ; although it is more
probable that Athens never had a king of this name, and
that ^geus (waveman) is only a surname of Poseidon, the
chief deity of the seafaring lonians. JEgeus, though twice
married, had no heir, and now undertook a journey to Del-
phi to seek the advice of the oracle. On his way back he
stopped at the court of Pittheus, King of Troezen, and be-
cafne, by his daughter ^thra, the father of Theseus. Be-
fore his departure, he placed his sword and sandals be-
neath a heavy stone, and commanded JEthra to send his
son to Athens as soon as he was able to move the stone
and take his father's sword. Theseus was carefully trained
in music and gymnastics by the sagacious Pittheus, and
soon developed into a stately youth. He is also supposed
to have been educated by the Centaur Chiron, whose in-
struction had now become a necessary item in the educa
tion of a real hero.
When Theseus was sixteen, his mother took him to the
stone beneath which lay his father's sword and sandals.
With a slight effort he raised the, stone, and thus entered
on his heroic career. His earlier adventures consisted io
254 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
overcoming a series of obstacles that beset him in his jour*
ney from Troezen to Athens. They are generally supposed
to have been six in number.
1. Between Troezen and Epidaurus he slew Periphetes,
the son of Hephaestus — who was lame, like his father — be-
cause he was in the habit of murdering travellers with his
iron club ; whence he is called Corynetes, or club-bearer.
2. He next delivered the Isthmus from another power-
ful robber called Sinis. He used to fasten travellers who
fell into his hands to the top of a pine-tree, which he bent
to the earth, and then allowed to recoil ; after which, on
their reaching the ground, he would kill them outright ;
whence he is called Pityocamptes, or pine-bender. The-
seus inflicted the same fate on him.
3. In the woody district of Crommyon he destroyed a
dangerous wild sow that laid waste the country.
4. Not far from this, on the rock of Sciron, on the bor-
ders of Megara, dwelt another monster, called Sciron, who
compelled travellers to wash his feet, and then kicked them
into the sea. Theseus served him in a similar fashion.
5. In the neighborhood of Eleusis he vanquished the
giant Cercyon, who compelled all who fell into his hands
to wrestle with him.
6. His last combat awaited him on the confines of Eleu-
sis, where dwelt the inhuman Damastes. This monster
used to lay his victims in a bed : if this was too short,
he would hack off their projecting limbs; if too long, he
would beat out and pull asunder their limbs, whence he is
called Procrustes. He was also slain by Theseus.
On reaching Athens, he found his father ^geus in the
toils of the dangerous sorceress Medea, who had fled frona
Corinth to Athens. She was on the point of making away
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 255
with the new-comer by poison, when ^geus, fortunately,
recognized him by the sword he bore, and preserved him
from his impending fate.
Medea was compelled to flee ; but a new danger awaited
the hero from the fifty sons of Pallas, who had reckoned
on succeeding their childless uncle ^geus. Theseus, how-
ever, slew some in battle and expelled the rest.
He now undertook his greatest and most adventurous
feat, in order to free his country from its shameful trib-
ute to Minos, King of Crete, whose son, the youthful hero
Androgeos, had been treacherously murdered b}'^ the Athe-
nians and Megareans. Another account says that he was
sent by ^geus against the bull of Marathon, and thus slain.
At any rate, Minos undertook a war of revenge. He first
marched against Megara, of which Nisus, the brother of
-^geus, was king. Minos conquered him by means of his
own daughter Scylla, who became enamored of Minos, and
cut off from her father's head the purple lock on which
his life depended. After having taken Megara and slain
Nisus, Minos marched against Athens. Here he was equal-
ly successful, and compelled the vanquished Athenians to
expiate the blood of his son by sending, every eight or
(according to the Greek method of reckoning) every nine
years, seven youths and seven maidens to be devoured by
the Minotaur. This was a monster, half man and half
bull. Twice already had the bloody tribute been sent,
and the third fell just after Theseus's arrival in Athens ; he
at once bravely offered to go among the allotted victims.
He was resolved to do battle with the Minotaur, and to
stake his life on the liberation of his country from the
shameful tribute. Under the guidance of Aphrodite he
passed over to Crete, and soon discovered the eflScacy of
^t56 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
her protection. The goddess kindled a passionate love foi
the hero in the breast of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos.
Ariadne rendered him every possible assistance in his un-
dertaking, and especially presented him with a clew of
thread, by mear s of which Theseus, after having slain the
Minotaur, was enabled to find his way out of the Laby-
rinth. We have already narrated how Ariadne was de*
serted by Theseus on the isle of Naxos, only to become
the bride of Dionysus, the divine son of Semele. Theseus
also landed at Delos, where he instituted the festival of
the Delia in honor of the divine children of Leto. On
reaching Athens, he showed his gratitude to his divme
protectress by the institution of the worship of Aphrodite
Pandemus. In honor of Dionysus and Ariadne, he insti-
tuted the Oschophoria, in which festival Athene also had
a share. Lastly, in honor of Apollo, he instituted the Py-
anepsia, a festival which was celebrated on the seventh day
of the month Pyanepsion (end of October).
The happy return of Theseus from his Cretan expedi-
tion, however, proved the death of his aged father, ^ge-
us, as he stood on the coast looking for his son's return,
perceived that the ships had black sails instead of white«
which were to have been hoisted in the event of his son's
success; and believing that all was lost, he cast himselt
headlong into the sea. This story was perhaps only in-
vented to account for the name of ^gean Sea.
"With regard to the other exploits of Theseus, there ex
Ists the greatest variety of accounts as to the order in
which they took place. As king, he is said to have been
the first to unite the separate districts of Attica into one
political community, with one state Prytaneum, and to
have instituted the festival of the Pauathenaea in commem
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 257
oration of this event. The following, among his later ex-
ploits, are worthy of mention :
1. He captured the bull of Marathon (said to have been
the same which Heracles brought alive from Crete), and
sacrificed it in Athens to Apollo Delphinius.
2. He assisted his friend Pirithoiis, the prince of the
Lapithse, in his contest with the Centaurs.
3. He undertook with Pirithoiis an expedition to Lace-
daemon, in which they carried off Helen, the sister of the
Dioscuri.
4. At the request of Pirithoiis, he accompanied him to
the lower world to carry off Persephone ; but Hades, en-
raged at their audacity, caused them both to be bound in
chains and fastened to a rock. Theseus was rescued from
this plight by Heracles, but during his absence the Dios-
curi had released their sister from Aphidnse, where she was
confined.
5. He next joined Heracles in his expedition against
the Amazons, and received, as the reward of victory, their
queen Antiope, or Hippolyte. Another tradition asserts
that Antiope followed him of her own free-will to Athens,
where she was married to him, and became the mother of
Hippolytus, famed for his unhappy fate. His great beau-
ty caused his step-mother Phsedra, a later wife of Theseus,
and a sister of Ariadne, to fall in love with him. As he
withdrew from her dishonorable proposals by flight, she
accused him to his father of attempts on her virtue. The-
seus, in his wrath, besought Poseidon to punish his faith-
less son ; and the god, who had sworn to grant any request
of Theseus, sent a wild bull (^^ ^., a breaker) out of the sea
as Hippolytus was driving in his chariot along the sea-
shore. This so terrified his horses that Hippolytus ^as
17
258
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,
thrown from his chariot, and dragged along the ground
till he was dead. This story — the scene of which was af-
terward transferred to Troezen, whither Theseus was sup-
posed to have fled on account of a murder— was dealt with
in a touching manner by the tragic poets. The " Hippoly-
tus " of Euripides is still extant
6. As a result of the carrying-off of Antiope, a second
contest with the Amazons was subsequently invented, in
Fig. 59. — Elgin Theseus. British Museum.
which Theseus was engaged alone, and which took place
in the immediate neighborhood of Athens. The Amazona
are supposed to have invaded Attica, in order to release
their queen. Antiope, however, was so enamored of The-
seus that she refused to return, and fought at her hus-
band's side, against her kindred, until she was slain.
Lastly, Theseus is said to have taken part in the Caly
donian boar hunt, and also in the expedition of the Argo-
nauts, of which we shall have more to say hereafter.
260 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
The death of Theseus is commonly agreed to have taken
place in the following manner : He had been deprived of
the sovereignty of Athens by Menestheus, who was aided
by the Dioscuri; and then withdrew to the island of
Scyros. Here he was at first hospitably reaeived, but sub-
sequently murdered in a treacherous manner by Lycome-
des, the ruler of the island. Demophoon, the son of The-
seus, is said to have afterward recovered his father's king-
dom. At a still later period the bones of the hero were
brought to Athens by Cimon, at the command of the Del-
phic oracle. Cimon is also supposed to have caused the
erection of the temple of Theseus, which still exists in
Athens, and serves as an art museum. The eighth day of
every month was held sacred to Theseus, besides which he
had a special festival, called the Thesea, on the eighth of
Pyanepsion.
Art has followed the example of the poets and mjrthologists in de-
picting Theseus as a second Heracles. Here, however, the charac-
teristic differences that existed between the Doric and Ionic races
become apparent. Just as the latter race surpassed the former in
elasticity, both of mind and body, so their national hero gives token
not only of a higher intellectual being, but also of a body more lithe,
and capable of greater swiftness and dexterity, than that of the
Doric hero. The slighter and more elegant form of Theseus lacks,
perhaps, the sheer brute strength of Heracles, but is compensated by
the possession of a far greater degree of activity and adroitness.
The expression of face is more amiable and the hair less bristling
than that of Heracles, while there is generally no beard. Such is
Theseus as depicted by Greek art at the epoch of its full develop^
ment ; later art strove to render the form of the body still more lithe
and graceful. The costume of Theseus consists,. like that of his
prototype Heracles, of a lion's skin and club ; sometimes also of the
chlamys and petasus of the Attic youth. Existing art monuments
are far less numerous in his case than in that of Heracles. If the
explanation is correct, the British Museum possesses a Theseus of
priceless value. Among the statues of the Parthenon which have
PROVINCIAL HEROIC LEGENDS. 261
been preserved, there is one of a figure negligently reclining on a
lion^s skin, which, with the exception of the nose, hands, and feet, is
in a tolerably good state of preservation (Fig. 59.) It belonged to
the great group of the east gable, which represented the first appear-
ance of the new-born Athene to the astonished gods. It is the figure
of a youth in his prime, somewhat larger than life, and altogether a
perfect ideal of manly beauty.
A representation of the conflict of Theseus with the invading army
of the Amazons still exists on a large piece of frieze-work, which,
together with the representations of the battle of the Lapithae and
Centaurs (which have been already mentioned), formerly decorated
the walls of the shrine of Apollo's temple in Phigalia, and is now the
property of the British Museum. Among the Greek warriors The-
seus may be easily recognized by his lion's skin and the club, which
he is in the act of swinging against a mounted Amazon, probably
the leader of the hostile army. We give an engraving of the scene
where Theseus obtained the sword and sandals of his father from
beneath the rock, after a relief in the Villa Albani (Fig. 60).
8. Cretan Legend. ^ — 1. Minos and the Minotaur,^ —
Cretan myths are both obscure and difficult of interpre-
tation, because Phoenician and Phrygian influences made
themselves felt at a very early period, and native sources
fail us. Minos is commonly supposed to have been the
first king of the country. He was the son of Zeus and
Europa, who is called in Homer a daughter of Phoenix.
This Phoenix was subsequently made into Agenor, a Phoe-
nician, King of Sidon ; and the story then arose that Zeus,
in the form of a white bull, had carried off Europa, and
arrived with his lovely prey in Crete. Europa is there said
to have given birth to Minos, Rhadamanthys (Rhadaman-
thus), and some say Sarpedon. She afterward married
Asterion, who brought up the sons of Zeus as his own
children, and, at his death, left the kingdom to Minos.
How and when this story arose it is quite impossible to
say. Equally obscure is the physical meaning of Europa
262 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
She is generally supposed to be the moon-goddess, and her
abduction to Crete a token of the introduction of the wor-
ship of the Syrian goddess Astarte into that island. Minos,
after having expelled his brothers, Sarpedon and Rhadaman-
thus, became sole king of Crete. Of his brothers, Sarpe-
don went to Lycia, while the pious Rhadamanthus found a
refuge in Boeotia. Minos next married Pasiphae, a daugh-
ter of Helios and Perseis, by whom he became the father
of Catreus, who succeeded him, Deucalion, Glaucus, and
Androgeos, besides several daughters, of whom the most
celebrated are Ariadne and Phaedra. Minos gave wise
laws to his people, and became supreme at sea among the
isles of the ^gean Sea, and even as far as Attica.
In order to vindicate his right to the crown, Minos be-
sought Poseidon to send him a bull out of the sea, which
he was then to sacrifice to the god. Poseidon granted his
prayer, but Minos was induced by the beauty of the animal
to place it among his own herds. As a punishment of his
perfidy, Poseidon kindled in the breast of Pasiphae an un-
natural love for the bull, and the fruit of their connection
was the Minotaur. This was a monster, half man and half
bull, which Minos shut up in the Labyrinth that had been
made by the skill of Daedalus. The food of the monster
consisted of human beings, who were partly criminals and
partly youths and maidens, sent as tribute from the sub-
jugated countries. This lasted until Theseus came to Crete,
and, with the aid of Ariadne and Daedalus, destroyed the
Minotaur. Such is the substance of this perplexing myth-
ical tradition, of which the simplest interpretation is that
the Minotaur was originally an ancient idol of the Phoeni-
cian sun -god Baal, which had the form of a bull, and to
which human sacrifices were ofEered. The destruction of
PROVINCIAL HEJIOIC LEGENDS. 263
the Minotaur by Theseus is a symbol of the triumph of
the higher Greek civilization over Phoenician barbarism,
and the consequent abolition of human sacrifices.
Closely connected with the royal family of Crete we find
Daedalus, the most celebrated artist of the legendary pe-
riod. He is said to have been a son of Metion, and a de-
scendant of Erechtheus, and to have fied from Athens to
Crete after murdering his nephew Talus in a fit of profes-
sional jealousy. During his residence in Crete he con-
structed the Labyrinth, an underground building with an
endless maze of passages, as a dwelling-place for the Min-
otaur; besides many other wonderful works of art. For
having aided Theseus in his combat with the Minotaur,
Daedalus and his son Icarus were both imprisoned in the
Labyrinth of Minos. The story of his flight, which he ac-
complished by means of the artificial wings that he made
for himself and his son, is well known from the " Metamor-
phoses" of Ovid. Icarus fell into the sea that is named
after him, and was drowned, but Daedalus reached Cumae in
safety. From this place he passed over to Sicily, where he
was hospitably received by Cocalus. When Minos, how-
ever, pursued the fugitive and demanded his surrender,
not only was his request refused, but he was even put to
death by the contrivance of the king's daughters.
Of the other sons of Minos, Deucalion is celebrated as
having taken part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and also
as the father of the hero Idomeneus, who fought against
Troy. Glaucus was killed, while yet a boy, by falling intc
a cask of honey as he was pursuing a mouse. He is re-
ported, however, to have been restored to life by the Co-
rinthian augur Polyidus, or, according to others, by Ascle-
pius himself.
264 UREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
2. Taios. — The legend of Talcs, the brazen man, betrays
likewise a Phoenician origin, and refers to the cruel prac-
tice of offering human sacrifices. This Talos was made
of brass, and was invulnerable. Hephaestus, or, as others
say, Zeus, gave him to Minos as guardian of the island of
Crete, round which he travelled thrice a day. If he per«
ceived any strangers approach, he would spring into the
fire, and, after becoming red-hot, he would clasp them to
his breast, until they expired beneath the sardonic chuckle
of the demon. He attempted to drive off the Argonauts
with stones, but was destroyed by the skill of Medea. Ta-
los had a single vein, which ran from his head to his feet,
and was closed at the top with a nail. This nail Medea
cleverly succeeded in extracting, in consequence of which
Talos bled to death.
IV,— COMBINED UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER
HEROIC AGE.
1. The Calydonian Hunt. — The story of Meleager
and the Calydonian boar hunt was undoubtedly ,-in its ori-
gin, nothing more than a provincial myth based on natural
phenomena, like other myths that we have already ex-
plained. In this case the physical significance involved in
the myth soon disappeared, owing to the treatment it re-
ceived at the hands of the epic and dramatic poets. The
poets, in fact, succeeded in introducing some striking eth-
ical conceptions, which absorbed all higher interest.
(Eneus, King of Calydon, in JEtolia, on the occasion of
a great festival which was celebrated after a successful vin-
tage, had accidentally or purposely omitted to sacrifice to
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 2o5
Artemis. To punish this neglect she sent a huge wild
boar, which devastated the fields of Calydon, and seemed
invincible by any ordinary means on account of its vast
size. Meleager, the brave and heroic son of QEneus, there-
fore assembled men and hounds in great number to slay it.
The boar was slain ; but Artemis stirred up strife over the
head and hide between the ^tolians and the Curetes of
Pleuron. At first the former were victorious ; but when
Meleager withdrew in wrath from the battle because his
mother had cursed him for the death of her brother, they
were no longer able to keep the field, and soon saw their
city closely invested by their enemies. In vain did the
elders and priests of Calydon beseech Meleager ; in vain
did his father, sisters, and even mother beseech him to aid
his hard-pressed countrymen. Like Achilles in the Trojan
war, when he was wroth with Agamemnon on account of
the loss of Briseis, Meleager long refused to stir. At last
his wife — the beautiful Cleopatra — succeeded in moving
him. He donned his armor, and put himself at the head
of his countrymen for a sally against the besiegers. Brill-
iant, indeed, was the victory of the men of Calydon ; but
the hero Meleager did not return from the battle ; for the
cruel Erinyes, who had heard his mother's curse, destroyed
him with the arrows of Apollo.
Such is the earliest form of the legend, as it exists in
the " Iliad." In time, however, Meleager was said to have
called together against the boar all the renowned heroes
of Greece. Among others there came the Dioscuri, Castor
and Pollux ; Theseus and his friend Pirithotis ; Idas and
Lynceus, the sons of Aphareus ; Admetus of Pherse ; Jason,
from lolcus ; Iphicles and lolaiis, from Thebes ; Peleus,
the father of Achilles ; Telamon, from Salamis ; Ancajus
266 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
and the beautiful huntress Atalante (Atalanta), from Arca^
dia ; besides the soothsayer Amphiaraiis, from Argos. Af*
ter (Eneus had entertained his guests royally for nine days,
the hunt began, and the huge beast, which was as large as
an ox, was surrounded and driven from its lair. Atalante,
the swift huntress, was the first to inflict a wound. Ancse-
us then advanced with his battle-axe, but the enraged beast,
with one stroke of his dreadful tusks, tore open his body
and killed him on the spot. At length the monster re-
ceived a mortal wound from a spear hurled by the power-
ful arm of Meleager, and was soon despatched by the rest.
Meleager received as his due the head and hide of the
slaughtered animal, but resigned the prize to Atalante, of
whom he was enamored, on the ground that she was the
first to wound the boar. This act excited the bitter jeal-
ousy of Plexippus and Toxeus, the sons of Thestius, King
of Pleuron, and brothers of Althaea, the mother of Meleager.
They accordingly lay in wait for Atalante, and robbed her
of the present. Enraged at this, Meleager slew them both.
But Meleager's death, though caused by the wrath of his
mother, was worked out differently in the time of the trag-
ic poets. The Fates had appeared to Althaea, soon after
the birth of Meleager, and informed her that her son would
only live until a certain brand, which was then burning on
the fire, was consumed. Althaea immediately snatched the
brand from the fiames and carefully treasured it up. Af-
ter Meleager had slain her brothers, in the first outburst of
grief and indignation against her son, she placed the brand
again in the fire, and thus cut off the noble hero in the
prime of his youth and beauty. Althaea, on learning the
unhappy fate of her son, full of sorrow for her hasty deed,
put an ^end to her own life.
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 267
2. The Argonauts. — The story of the Argonauts
experienced a similar fate to that of the Calydonian hunt.
It was originally only a Thessalian myth based on natural
phenomena ; but in the hands of the poets it swelled to a
mass of legends common to all the tribes of Greece, the
nucleus of which was the history of the golden fleece.
Athamas, the son of ^olus, was King of the Minyae. He
put away his first wife, Nephele (cloud), in order to marry
Ino, the daughter of Cadmus ; though he still kept Phrix-
us (rain-shower) and Helle (ray of light), his children by
Nephele, with him. By Ino he had two other children,
Learchus and Melicertes, whom their mother naturally pre-
ferred to her step-children, and for whose sake she endeav-
ored to drive the latter from their father's house. Soon
afterward, either at the command of Nephele, whom some
represent as a goddess, or in consequence of her prayers for
the punishment of Athamas, the land was visited with a
long drought, and Ino persuaded her husband to sacrifice
Phrixus as a sin-offering to Zeus, in order to put an end
to the calamity. Whether Helle was to have shared her
brother's fate we cannot tell, for, before Ino could accom-
plish her purpose, Nephele came to the assistance of her
children, and gave them a winged ram with a golden fleece,
which Hermes had presented to her for that purpose.
Seated on this ram, they fled over the sea to Colchis. On
the way Helle fell into that part of the sea which bears
her name, and was drowned ; but Phrixus arrived safely in
Colchis (^a), where he sacrificed the ram to Zeus, who had
preserved him in his flight. The fleece he hung up in the
groves of Ares as a sacred treasure, setting over it a terri-
ble, ever-watchful dragon as its guardian. To fetch this
treasure from a foreign land, and thereby to release the
268 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
country and people of the Minyse from the calamity with
which they were oppressed, was the task of the heroes of
the race of ^olus. Athamas was so grieved at the evil he
had brought on his country that he became insane, and
sought to slay Ino and her children. He did, indeed, kill
Learchus by dashing him against a rock, but Ino succeeded
in saving herself and her younger child Melicertes by leap-
ing into the sea {cf, Ino Leucothea). Athamas then fled to
Epirus, and the kingdom devolved on his brother Cretheus.
Cretheus married Tyro, the daughter of his younger broth-
er Salmoneus, King of Elis. Tyro bore him three sons, the
eldest of whom, ^son, succeeded his father in the king-
dom, but was soon after expelled by his step-brother Pelias,
who is described as a son of Tyro and Poseidon. JEson
with difficulty managed to rescue his little son Jason from
the hands of Pelias, and brought him to the Centaur Chi-
ron to be educated. In Chiron's cave the young hero grew
up a favorite with gods and men. After completing his
twentieth year, he betook himself to lolcus to demand of
his uncle his rightful inheritance. Pelias, not daring to use
violence to the sturdy youth, endeavored to get rid of his
unwelcome guest by involving him in a most dangerous
adventure. He declared that he would gladly resign the
crown if Jason would recover the golden fleece from Col-
chis. Jason, like a true hero, at once accepted the peril-
ous adventure. In the harbor of lolcus he caused a large
ship with fifty oars to be constructed, which he called the
" Argo," after its builder, Argus. He then called together
the heroes, who had consented at his invitation to take part
in the expedition. In the original version of the story, the
expedition was stated to have been undertaken only by the
heroes of the race of the Minyae — such as Acastus, Adme-
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 269
tus, and Periclymenus. At a later period, however — when
the date of the expedition had been fixed at one generation
before the Trojan war — no hero of any note was allowed
to be absent from the undertaking. In this manner were
added the Dioscuri, the sons of Boreas, Calais and Zetes,
Telamon, Peleus, Meleager, Tydeus, Iphitus, Theseus, Or-
pheus, Amphiaraiis, and even Heracles. In the last case,
the incongruity of allowing the hero to play only a subor-
dinate part was soon felt, and his name was withdrawn.
He was said to have been left behind in Mysia, where he
had landed in order to search for his favorite Hylas, who
had been carried off by the Naiads. The number of the
Argonauts was finally computed at fifty, tallying with the
number of oars.
The expedition proceeded from lolcus to Lemnos, and
thence through the Hellespont to Cyzicus, where they were
kindly received by the Doliones. From Cyzicus they pro-
ceeded to Bithynia, where they were opposed by the Beb-
ryces, whose king, Amycus, was slain by Pollux in a box-
ing-match. Their greatest difficulty lay in the passage of
the Bosporus, there being at the entrance of the Pontus
(Black Sea) two terrible rocks, which were in constant mo-
tion— now retreating to the shore on either side, now has-
tily dashing together again ; whence they were called the
Symplegades. This occurred so rapidly that even the
swiftest vessel had not time enough to get through. The
Argonauts were in great perplexity. At length the blind
seer Phineus, who dwelt in Thracian Salmydessus, and
whose gratitude they won by delivering him from the Har-
pies who had tormented him, assisted them with his advice.
By means of a stratagem he recommended, they were ena-
bled to bring the Argo through without any considerable
270 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
damage, after which the Syraplegades remained stationary.
After this they stood along the south coast towards theii
destination, which, in the original legend, appears to have
been the utterly fabulous ^a, subsequently converted into
Colchis. This was the residence of the mighty King
-^etes, a son of the sun-god. To rob him, either by craft
or by violence, of the golden fleece was the task of Jason,
the leader of the Argonauts.
The second prominent character in the story, Medea, the
daughter of ^etes, now makes her appearance. It was in
fact only through her love that Jason was enabled to sur-
mount the vast obstacles which stood between him and the
possession of the golden fleece. When the hero demanded
the fleece of ^etes, the latter declared that he would deliv-
er it up to him after he had accomplished two tasks. The
first was to harness two brazen-footed, fire-breathing bulls,
which ^etes had received from Hephaestus, to a plough, and
with them to till an uncultivated field. The second was to
sow in the furrows the dragon's teeth that ^etes would
give him, and to destroy the armed men which would then
spring up. Jason's heart failed him on hearing these con-
ditions, but Medea, who was an enchantress and priestess
of Hecate, was equal to the occasion. She gave the hero a
magic salve to protect him against the fiery breath of the
bulls and to endow him with invincible strength, which en-
abled him to accomplish his first task successfully. In the
case of the armed men who sprung from the dragon's teeth,
by the advice of Medea he followed the example of Cad-
mus, and cast among them a heavy stone, whereupon in
blind fury they turned their arms against each other, and
were all destroyed.
The conditions imposed upon him by ^etes were thus
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 271
accomplished ; but the king, who perceived that Jason had
only succeeded through the aid of his daughter, made this
a pretext for refusing to surrender the fleece. Jason then
removed it by night from the grove of Ares, after Medea
had, by means of her enchantments, lulled the watchful
dragon to sleep. That same night the Argonauts embark-
ed on board their ship and put to sea, Medea accompa-
nying them as the future wife of Jason. The wrathful
^etes attempted to overtake the fugitives, but Medea suc-
ceeded in staying the pursuit by slaying her younger broth-
er Apsyrtus, whom she had brought with her, and scatter-
ing his limbs in the sea.
The most diverse accounts exist as to the road taken by
the Argonauts on their homeward journey. Some say
that they sailed up the Phasis to the Eastern Sea, and then,
passing through the Red Sea and Libyan desert, over which
they had to carry the Argo twelve days' journey, came to
Lake Tritonis, and thence to the Mediterranean. Accord-
ing to another account, they sought to pass through the
Ister (Danube) and Eridanus (Po) to the Western Ocean ;
but the object of this account was manifestly to subject
them to the same vicissitudes and adventures as Odysseus
and his companions.
At length Jason landed happily in lolcus, and delivered
the golden fleece into the hands of his uncle. Pelias, how-
ever, still refused to surrender the kingdom to Jason, and
Medea therefore determined to make away with him by
craft. Having persuaded the daughters of Pelias that she
possessed a means of making the old man young again, she
directed them to slay their father, cut him in pieces, and
boil the limbs in a caldron filled with all manner of herbs ;
this they did in the vain expectation of seeing him restored
272 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
to youth. Jason now took possession of his father's king-
dom, but was soon afterward expelled by Acastus, the son
of Pelias, and took refuge in Corinth. His subsequent
misfortunes are well knowUo Thinking to better his con
dition, he was about to marry Creiisa, the daughter of the
King of Corinth, when he was arrested by the fearful ven-
geance of his first wife. Medea sent the bride a poisoned
garment, which caused her to die an agonizing death, and
then slew her own children by Jason ; after which she fled
in her chariot drawn by winged dragons to Athens, where
she long found protection at the court of ^geus. Jason
either put an end to his own life, or was killed by the fall
of a rotten beam of the Argo.
3. The Theban Cycle.— The highly tragic history
of the Theban house of the Labdacidse, teeming as it does
with important characters and events, has at all times fur-
nished subjects for Greek art and poetry, and has given
birth to a whole series of epic and dramatic works. The
former, which would have conduced far more to an exact
acquaintance with the legend, have, unfortunately, perished,
with the exception of a few unimportant fragments ; al-
though many important works of the great tragic poets,
^schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, relating to the subject,
still remain. The common account runs thus: Laius, a
great-grandson of Cadmus, was warned by the oracle to be-
get no children, as he was doomed to perish by the hands
of his son, who would then marry his mother. When his
wife locaste gave birth to a son, Laius accordingly exposed
the child, with its feet pierced, on Mount Cithaeron. The
child, called Qildipus from the swelling of its feet, did not
die^ but was found by some Corinthian shepherds, who
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE„ 273
brouglit it to Polybus, King of Corinth. Polybus, having
no children of his own, adopted (Edipus, who grew up in
the belief that Polybus and Merope were his real parents,
unt 1 one day a taunt of his companions as to his mysteri-
ous origin raised doubts in his mind. In order to solve his
misgivings, he went to consult the oracle of Delphi, but
he here received only the obscure direction not to return
to his country, since, if he did, he would kill his father and
marry his mother. Fearing on this account to return to
Corinth, he took the road to Thebes, and thus, by his pre-
sumptuous prudence, brought about the very consequences
he was so anxious to avoid. On the road he was met by
Laius, who was on his way to the oracle to ask its advice
concerning the Sphinx. A quarrel arose, in a narrow de-
file, between Laius and (Edipus ; and (Edipus slew his fa-
ther without knowing who he was. On arriving at Thebes
he succeeded in delivering the country from the SphinXc
This monster, which had the combined form of a woman
and a lion, had been sent by Hera, whom Laius had in some
way offended, from Ethiopia to devastate the land of
Thebes. Seated on a rock close to the town, she put to
every one that passed by the celebrated riddle — ^What walks
on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on
three in the evening? Whoever was unable to solve this
riddle was cast by the Sphinx from the rock into a deep
abyss. This calamity induced Creon, on the death of his
brother-in-law Laius, to proclaim that whoever solved the
riddle should obtain the crown and the hand of locaste.
(Edipus succeeded in solving it, and thus delivered the
country from the monster, who cast herself into the abyss.
The origin of the myth of the Sphinx was not definitely known
even to the ancients. The Sphinx itself was probably a religious
18
274 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
symbol of the Egyptians, which was transferred to Greece, and sub«
sequently underwent a cnange of meaning. Among the Egyptians
the Sphinx seems to have been a symbol of royal dignity, betokening
a combination of wisdom and strength ; by the Greeks, howev«^r, it
appears to have been regarded as a symbol of the burning, ] esti-
lence-breeding heat of the summer sun. The form, which was that
of a lion, generally in a recumbent position, with the breast and up.
per part of a beautiful woman, was in imitation of the original male
Sphinxes of Egypt. Ancient Egyptian art revelled in the creation
of colossal Sphinxes, which were carved out of granite. A notable
example of this kind exists in the giant Sphinx near the Pyramids of
Gizeh, which is eighty-nine feet long. From such monstrous figures
as these Greek art held aloof. Moreover, Greek art was only ac-
quainted with the Sphinx in its female form, and departed from the
Egyptian type by adding wings to the lion's body.
QEdipus was rewarded with the sovereignty of Thebes
and the hand of locaste ; and for several years he enjoyed
uninterrupted happiness, surrounded by four blooming
children, the fruit of his incestuous marriage. By the se-
cret agency of the goddess, the dreadful truth was at length
discovered. locaste hanged herself, and (Edipus, in de-
spair, put out his own eyes. Not content with this volun-
tary penance, the hard-hearted Thebans compelled him, be-
sides, to leave their city and country, while his sons Eteo-
cles and Polynices, who were now grown up, refused to stir
a foot in their father's behalf. (Edipus, after invoking bit-
ter curses on their heads, withdrew, and, guided by his
faithful daughter Antigone, at last found an asylum in the
grove of the Eumenides at Colonus, near Athens, His
grave there was regarded, in consequence of an ancient
response of the oracle, as a national treasure.
The curse of their father took effect on his unnatural
sons. The elder, Eteocles, drove out his brother Polynices,
who then sought the assistance of Adrastus, King of Argos,
Adrastus was a grandson of Bias, of the race of the Amy*
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 275
thaonidse, and by his marriage with the daughter of the
wealthy Polybus acquired the sovereignty of Sicyon. He
not only hospitably received the fugitive Polynices, but
gave him his daughter in marriage, and promised to assist
him in recovering the crown of Thebes. In this expedi-
tion Adrastus sought to gain the aid of the other Argive
heroes. They all declared their readiness to accompany
him, with the exception of Amphiaraiis, his brother-in-law,
who was equally renowned for his wisdom and courage.
Amphiaraiis was a great-grandson of the celebrated see?
Melampus, and inherited from him the gift of prophecy.
He was thus enabled to perceive the disastrous termination
of the war, and strove to hinder it. But Polynices and
the fiery Tydeus — likewise a son-in-law of Adrastus — were
so unceasing in their entreaties, that he at length sought to
escape their importunity by flight. Polynices, however,
bribed his wife Eriphyle, by the present of a magnificent
necklace, which had formerly been given to Harmonia on
the occasion of her marriage with Cadmus, to betray his
place of concealment. Hereupon Amphiaraiis was obliged
unwillingly to join the expedition, which ended as he had
prophesied. The attack on Thebes was not only repulsed,
but all the Argive leaders, with the exception of Adrastus,
who was saved by the fleetness of his horse, were slain.
Polynices and Eteocles fell in single combat with each oth-
er. The flight of Adrastus to Attica, where he procured
the assistance of Theseus in compelling the Thebans to
grant the fallen heroes a solemn burial, is a feature un-
known to the original legend, and may be ascribed to the
patriotic impulses of the Athenian dramatists. The cele-
brated tragedy of Sophocles, called "Antigone," is based on
the assumption that Creon, the new King of Thebes, allow*
276 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
9d the burial of the other heroes, but left Polynices to lie
anburied on the field like a dog, and condemned Antigone
to death because she ventured to bury her brother in de-
spite of his command. Creon was destined to meet with
a dreadful retribution, for his own son, who was betrothed
to Antigone, killed himself in grief at her fate.
Ten years later, the sons of the fallen heroes are said
to have combined with ^gialeus, the son of Adrastus, to
avenge their father's defeat. This expedition has there-
fore been called the war of the Epigoni (descendants), and
not being undertaken, like that of their fathers, in mani-
fest opposition to the will of the gods, proved successful.
Laodamas, the savage son of Eteocles, who was now King
of Thebes, was defeated in a decisive battle near Thebes,
and, after JEgialeus had fallen by his hands, was himself
slain by Alcmaeon, the son of Amphiaraiis. The Thebans
were unable any longer to hold their city, and, following
the advice of the blind seer Tiresias, they withdrew under
the cover of darkness and mist. The aged Tiresias expired
on the road, at the fountain of Tilphusa ; of the rest some
took refuge in Thessalia, and some sought other lands.
The victorious Argives, after plundering and partly de-
stroying the city, dedicated a great portion of the booty —
among which was Manto, the daughter of Tiresias — to the
oracle of Delphi. They then made Thersander, the son of
Polynices, King of Thebes ; upon which many of the fugi-i
tive inhabitants returned. Thersander subsequently took
part in the Trojan war, and there perished.
4. The Trojan Cycle. — We now come to the Trojan
war, the fourth and most celebrated of the common under-
takings of the later heroic age. Here the sources of our
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 277
information are far more plentiful than in any former pe^
riod of mythic history, because both the grand national
epics, the *' Iliad " and the " Odyssey,'' which are commonly
ascribed to Horner, relate to the Trojan war. As the con-
tents of these immortal poems are probably well known to
our readers, we shall only dwell on the most essential feat-
ures of the story.
I. The Heroic Races of the Trojan War.^ — 1. The
Dardanidce^ or Race of Dardanus, — The royal family of
Troy were descended from Dardanus, a son of Zeus by
Electra, a daughter of Atlas. Dardanus is said to have
emigrated from Samothrace, or, according to others, from
Italy or Arcadia, to the north-west portion of Asia Minor,
between the range of Ida and the Hellespont, where he re-
ceived from King Teucer some land to form a settlement.
By a daughter of the river-god Simois, or, as others say, of
Scamander, Dardanus had a son called Tros, from whoir
the Trojans derived their name. Tros had three sons —
Assaracus, Ilus, and Ganymedes. The last, who, like ali
the scions of the race of Dardanus, was possessed of won-
derful be^iUty, was raised by Zeus to the dignity of cup-
bearer to the gods, and thus became immortal. Ilus and
Assaracus became the founders of two different branches
of the Dardanian race. The latter remained in his native
settlement of Dardania, where he became the father of Ca-
pys and the grandfather of Anchises, the father of -e^neas.
Ilus, on .the other hand, emigrated to the plains of the
Scamander, where he founded the city of Ilium, or Troy.
After completing the town, he begged Zeus to bestow on
him a sign of his favor. The next morning he found in
front of his tent the celebrated Palladium — an image of
Pallas Athene, carved in wood. On the possession of thia
278 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
depended the fortune and welfare of the city. After the
death of Ihis, his son Laomedon became king of Troy. At
his request, Poseidon and Apollo built the citadel of Per-
gamum. We have already related how this king, by his
faithless conduct, provoked the wrath of Heracles, and the
first capture of the city. Of his sons only Priam remain-
ed ; in him the race of Dardanus flourished afresh, for by
his wife Hecuba and by his concubines he had a great
number of sons and daughters.
2. The Pelopidce^ or Race of Pelops, — The Pelopidae, who
were chiefly instrumental in the destruction of Troy, were
descended from the Phrygian king Tantalus, who was re-
nowned alike for his unexampled good fortune and his sub-
sequent unhappy fate. He was the son of Zeus and Pluto
(rich plenty), and inhabited a citadel on Mount Sipylus,
whence his rich pasture -lands and fruitful cornfields ex-
tended twelve days' journey, as far as Ida and the Propon-
tis. The very gods honored him with their friendship,
and lived on such intimate terms that they invited him to
eat at their table. This unheard-of good fortune, however,
begot in the puny mortal such presumption, that he began
to indulge in the grossest outrages on gods and men. At
length he went so far as to cut his son Pelops in pieces to
boil them, and set them before the gods in order to test
their omniscience. The cup of his iniquity now seemed
full, and the gods brought down a heavy retribution on the
head of the criminal. As to the manner in which Tanta-
lus lost his life and kingdom tradition leaves us in total
obscurity. The common story only relates his well-known
punishment in the lower world, where, though surrounded
by the most delicious fruits and standing up to his neck
in water, he was nevertheless condemned to suffer the
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 279
pangs of continual hunger and thirst. Another tradition
Isolates that he was kept in constant anxiety by a huge
i*ock which was suspended over his head.
The children of Tantalus were Pelops and Niobe. The
unhappy fate of the latter has already been described in
fche mythic history of Thebes. Pelops was restored to
life by the art of Hermes ; and a portion of his shoulder,
which had been consumed by Demeter, was replaced by
the gods with a piece of ivory. Pelops is said to have
grown up in Olympus, among the blessed gods. On being
restored to earth, he proceeded to Elis, where he became a
suitor for the hand of Hippodamia, the beautiful daugh-
ter of the king (Enomaiis. The latter had promised his
daughter to the man who should vanquish him in a chariot-
race: whoever failed was obliged to expiate his temerity
with his life, as (Enomaiis transfixed him with his unerring
lance as he passed. Thirteen noble youths had already
suffered this fate, when Pelops appeared to undergo the
dangerous ordeal. By means of the untiring winged
horses which had been given him by Poseidon, and also by
bribing Myrtilus, the king's charioteer — who, before start-
ing, withdrew the linch-pins from his master's chariot or
replaced them with wax — he came off victorious. (Eno-
maus either was killed by the breaking-down of his char-
iot, or put an end to his own life on seeing himself van-
quished. Pelops now obtained both Hippodamia and the
kingdom of Elis; but he ill rewarded Myrtilus, who had
rendered him such valuable service, by casting him into
the sea, in order to release himself from his obligations.
Hermes, whose son he is reputed to have been, set him
among the stars as charioteer.
The sons of Pelops by Hippodamia were Atreus and
280 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
Thyestes, whose history, which is full of the most revolt
ing crimes, formed a favorite subject with the tragic poets.
Indeed, they appear to have invented most of the iniquities
of the Pelopidse, as there is no mention of them in Ho-
mer. First Atreus and Thyestes murdered their step-broth-
er Chrysippus, and were compelled to leave their country
in company with their mother. They were hospitably
received at Mycenae by their brother-in-law Sthenelus, the
son of Perseus, or by his son Eurystheus. On Eurystheus's
death, they inherited the sovereignty of the Persidse in Ar-
gos, and Atreus now took up his residence in the proud
capital of Mycenae, whence, strange to say, the most an-
cient specimen of Greek sculpture has come down to us in
the so-called Gate of Lions. Soon an implacable enmity
arose between the two brothers, and Thyestes, in conse-
quence, was banished from Argos. He took with him, in
revenge, Pleisthenes, the young son of Atreus, brought
him up as his own son, and despatched him, later, to
Mycenae to kill Atreus. His design was discovered, and
he expiated his intended crime with his life. When
Atreus learned that it was his own son whom he had
condemned to death, he determined on a dreadful re-
venge. Pretending to be reconciled, he recalled Thyestes
and his children to Mycenae ; and Thyestes, trusting to his
brother's word, returned. Atreus then privately seized the
two young sons of Thyestes, slew them, and set this horri-
ble food before their father. Horror-struck at this inhu
man cruelty, the sun turned his chariot and went back in
his course. Thyestes, uttering fearful curses against his
brother and the whole race of the Pelopidae, again escaped,
and took refuge with Thesprotus, King of Epirus. Later,
he succeeded, with the help of his only remaining sod
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 281
^gisthiis, in avenging himself on his brother. Atreus
was slain by ^gisthus while offering up a sacrifice on the
sea-shore, and Thyestes now acquired the sovereignty of
Mycena3. The sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelatis,
fled from their barb^ous uncle to Sparta, where Tyndareiis,
the king, received them kindly, and gave them his daugh
ters, Clytsemnestra and Helen, in marriage. With his aid
Agamemnon recovered his father's kingdom, slew Thy-
estes, and drove out JEgisthus. Menelaiis remained in
Sparta — where he succeeded Tyndaretis — until the carry-
ing-off of his wife Helen by Paris gave rise to the Trojan
war.
3. The ^acidce, or Race of jEacus, — After the sons of
Atreus, the ^acidse play the most important part in the
Trojan war ; in fact, we are almost justified in saying that
the war was an exploit of these two races of heroes and
their peoples, the Achaeans of Argos and the Hellenes of
Phthia. The ancestor of the -^acidae was JEacus, who
was renowned alike for his wisdom and justice, and on
this account subsequently made a judge in the lower
world, u^acus was a son of Zeus by ^gina, a daughter
of the river -god Asopus. He ruled over the island of
-^gina, and married Endeis, the daughter of the wise Cen-
taur Chiron. She bore him two sons, Peleus and Tela-
mon. On reaching manhood they were compelled to
leave their country, because, like the sons of Pelops, they
had murdered, in a fit of jealousy, a step-brother who was
a favorite with their father. Peleus betook himself to
Phthia, where he was kindly received by Eurytion, who
bestowed on him the hand of his daughter and a third
part of his kingdom. Peleus afterward took part in the
boar hunt of Oalydon, on which occasion he had the mis'
282 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
fortune to kill his father-in-law. In consequence of this,
he left Phthia and proceeded to lolcus, where he took part
in the funeral games which Acastus was celebrating in
honor of his father Pelias, who had perished by the treach-
ery of Medea. Here he experienced a similar fate to that
of Bellerophon at the court of Proetus. Astydameia, the
wife of Acastus, finding herself unable to seduce him,
slandered him to her husband, who thereupon sought to
take his life. After hunting on Pelion one day, Peleus
fell asleep, and was left thus unprotected by Acastus, who
hoped by this means to get rid of him. He would, indeed,
have been murdered by the Centaurs, if the gods had not
taken pity on him, and sent him by Hermes a sword of
wonderful power, with which he was enabled to repel the
assaults of the wild inhabitants of the forest. Peleus, with
the help of the Dioscuri, subsequently took lolcus, and put
the treacherous Acastus and his wife to death. As a reward
for his chastity, the gods gave him the goddess Thetis — a
beautiful daughter of Nereus — to wife. She bore him one
son, Achilleus (Achilles), the greatest and bravest hero of
the Trojan war. A later tradition asserts that Thetis left
her husband soon after the birth of Achilles, because he
had disturbed her when she was about to render her child
immortal in the fire, just as Demeter intended to do to the
child of Celeiis; but this story is unknown to Homer.
According to a still later legend, she plunged her son into
the Styx, and thereby rendered him invulnerable in every
part except the heel by which she held him. Like all no-
ble heroes, Achilles was instructed by Chiron, under whom
he acquired such wonderful skill in all feats of strength
and agility that he soon surpassed all his contemporaries.
In addition to Chiron, Homer names Phoenix, the son of
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 283
Amyntor, as the instructor of the youthful hero. Achilles
proceeded to the Trojan war with cheerful determination,
although he knew beforehand that he was not fated to re-
turn alive. The story that his mother Thetis, in order to
avert his fate, sent him, disguised in women's clothes, to
the court of Lycomedes, King of Scyros, where he was
discovered by the craft of Odysseus, is a post -Homeric
invention.
From Telamon, the second son of JEacus, was descended
Aias or Ajax, a hero of but little less importance. Tela-
mon, after his flight from ^gina, found a new home in
Salamis, where he married the daughter of the king Cy-
chreus. On the decease of Cychreus, he succeeded to the
crown. After the death of his first wife, he married Per-
iboea, a daughter of Alcathoiis, King of Megara, who bore
him Ajax. Tradition tells us much of the intimate friend-
ship of Heracles and Telamon, who took part in the Tro-
jan expedition of his mighty friend. Heracles, in return,
gave him Hesione, the daughter of Laomedon, by whom
he became the father of a second son, Teucer. Like every
celebrated hero of antiquity, he is said to have taken part
in the Calydonian hunt and the expedition of the Argo-
nauts. Nothing inferior to this brave and doughty father
was his son Ajax, on whom the mighty hero Heracles had
invoked the blessing of his father Zeus, when as a child he
held him in his arms. He was of greater size and strength
than any of the other heroes ; though he appears some--
what uncouth and clumsy when contrasted with the swift
and agile form of Achilles. His mighty shield was as
characteristic of him as the ponderous deadly spear was of
Achilles. Beside him, his brother Teucer ranks as the best
archer among the Greeks.
284 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
4. Nestor^ the Locrian AjaXy Diomedes, and Odysseus,-^^
Associated with the heroes of the race of Pel ops and
^acus were some other renowned chieftainse First among
them was the aged Nestor, of Pylus, whose wise counsels
were as indispensable to the Greeks before Troy as the
dauntless courage of an Achilles or an Ajax. Nestor was
the youngest of the twelve sons of Neleus, who was him-
self a son of Poseidon and Tvro, and twin brother of Pe-
lias. Neleus, having been driven out by Pelias, took ref-
uge in Messenia, where he became the founder of a new
kingdom. Later, however, both his sovereignty and the
glory of his house were wellnigh extinguished by the hos-
tility of Heracles, who slew all the sons of Neleus except
Nestor. When quite young, Nestor defeated the neighbor-
ing tribes of the Epei and Arcadians, and restored the do-
minions of his father to their forroer extent. He likewise
took part in the contest between the Lapithae and the Cen-
taurs, in the Calydonian boar hunt, and in the expedition
of the Argonauts. Though so far advanced in years— hav-
ing ruled over three generations of men — he could not
withstand the desire to take part in the Trojan war.
The Locrian Ajax — also called the Lesser Ajax, to dis-
tinguish him from his mighty namesake — was a son of the
Locrian king Oileus, of whom nothing more is known than
that he took part in the expedition of the Argonauts.
Ajax was renowned among the Greeks for his skill in hurl-
ing the spear and for his great fleetness, in which he was
surpassed only by Achilles. He always appears in a linen
corselet, and his followers, the Opuntian Locrians, are also
light-armed troops.
Diomedes was a member of the oft-mentioned race of
the ^olian Amythaonidie. His father was the hot-headed
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE„ 285
Tydeus, who was killed in the war of the Seven against
Thebes. Diomedes, who inherited no small portion of his
father's wild, untamable disposition, of course took part
in the war of the Epigoni, and subsequently succeeded his
grandfather Adrastus in his Argive sovereignty at Sicyon.
He also restored his paternal grandfather, the aged ^tolian
king QEneus, who had been dethroned by the sons of his
brother Agrius, to his kingdom. In the " Iliad " he appears
as a special favorite of Pallas Athene, and Homer makes
him play an important part in the contests of the Greeks
before the walls of Troy. In post-Homeric story he is rep-
resented as having carried off the Trojan Palladium.
Finally, Odysseus (Ulysses), the most popular of the
Greek heroes of the Trojan war, was a son of Laertes, King
of Ithaca, by Anticlea, the daughter of Autolycus. Autoly-
cus inhabited a district on Mount Parnassus, and was re-
nowned for his cunning. His grandson seems to have in-
herited no small part of his grandfather's disposition.
Through his noble and virtuous wife Penelope, Odysseus
was closely related to the Atridae, Penelope being the
daughter of Icarius, who was a brother of the Spartan king
Tyndareiis. He was therefore obliged — though much
against his will — to comply with the request of Menelaiis,
and join the expedition against Troy. On account of his
wisdom and eloquence, his dexterity in all feats of strength,
and his dauntless valor in the midst of danger, he also was
a special favorite of Pallas.
11. The War. — The '' Iliad " of Homer, the most impor-
tant source of our information with regard to the Trojan
war, does not deal with the events of the first nine years ;
and of those of the tenth and last year it only gives such
episodes as relate to the quarrel of Achilles and Agamem-
286 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
non. Of the origin of the war, and the events of the first
nine years, it speaks only incidentally, for the sake of ex-
planation. The gap has to be filled up from the works of
those writers who had access to other epic poems of the
Trojan cycle, which are now no longer extant.
Eris, the goddess of discord, not having been invited to
the marriage festivities of Peleus and Thetis, avenged her-
self by casting into the assembly a golden apple, with the
inscription, "To the fairest." The three rival goddesses
— Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite — each claimed the apple
for herself, but were referred by Zeus to the decision of
Paris. Paris was a son of Priam, the Trojan king. Im-
mediately after birth he was exposed on Mount Ida, in con-
sequence of an ill-omened dream which his mother Hecuba
had during her pregnancy. He was found, however, and
brought up by some shepherds. He decided in favor of
Aphrodite, who had promised him the most beautiful wom-
an on earth as his wife. Soon afterward, at some games
given by the king, the youth, who was equally distinguish-
ed for his handsome person and his bodily dexterity, after
having wrested the prize from all his brethren, was recog-
nized by the prophetess Cassandra, and received into his
father's favor. He next undertook a journey across the
sea to Greece, and, among other places, visited the court of
Menelaiis, King of Sparta, by whom he was hospitably re-
ceived and entertained. Aphrodite kindled in the breast
of the young wife of Menelaus a fatal love for their hand-
some guest, who dazzled her as much by the beauty of his
person as by the Oriental splendor of his appearance.
While Menelaus was absent in Crete, and her brothers,
the Dioscuri, were engaged in their strife with the sons of
Aphareus, Helen flad with her seducer to Troy. On the
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 287
refusal of the King of Troy to surrender Helen, Menelaiia
succeeded in rousing the whole of Greece to a war of re-
venge. This task was the more easy, as most of the Gre-
cian chieftains had been suitors of Helen, and had bound
themselves by an oath to Tyndareiis to unite in support
of the husband whom Helen should choose, in the event
Df his ever being injured or attacked. The well-manned
ships of the Greeks assembled in the Boeotian port of
Aulis. Their number amounted to eleven hundred and
eighty-six, according to Homer ; of which Agamemnon,
who had been chosen leader of the expedition, alone fur-
nished over one hundred. Agamemnon, however, having
offended Artemis, by killing a hind sacred to the goddess,
the departure of the expedition was delayed by continuous
calms, until at length, at the command of the priest Cal-
chas, Agamemnon determined to appease the wrath of the
goddess by sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia on her altar.
At the fatal moment Artemis rescued the victim, and, af-
ter substituting a hind in her stead, conveyed Iphigenia
to Tauris, where she became a priestess in the temple of
the goddess. The fleet now sailed with a fair wind. The
expedition first stopped at Tenedos, opposite the coast of
Troy. Here, on the occasion of a banquet, Philoctetes,
who possessed the bow and arrows of Heracles on which
the conquest of Troy depended, was bitten in the foot by
a serpent, and on account of his cries and the oflEensive
smell of the wound was carried to Lemnos, and there left
to his fate. The Greeks next effected a landing on the
coast of Troy, in spite of the opposition of Hector and
^neas; for Protesilaiis devoted himself to death for the
Greeks, and sprung first on the Trojan shore. Even Cyc-
imSy the mighty son of Poseidon, who was king of Colonai
288 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
in Troas, and came to the assistance of tbe Trojans, was
unable to stem the advance of the Greeks; and his body
being invulnerable, he was strangled by Achilles by means
of a thong twisted round his neck.
After the Greeks had made a station for their ships, the
war began in earnest. Several of their attacks on the town
having been successfully repelled by the Trojans, the Greeks
now confined themselves to making inroads and plundering
excursions into the surrounding country, in which Achilles
was always the most prominent actor. The first nine years
of the war were by no means fruitful in important events,
and the wearisome monotony of the siege was broken only
by the single combat between Achilles and Troilus, the
youngest son of Priam, in which Troilus was slain, and by
the fall of Palamedes of Euboea, the head of the Greek peace
party, which was brought about by the treachery of Odys-
seus. At length, in the tenth year of the war, a quarrel
broke out between Achilles and Agamemnon respecting a
female slave who had been taken captive, and gave for the
time quite another aspect to affairs. It is at this point that
the " Iliad " commences. Achilles, in his wrath, retired to
his tent, and refused to take any further part in the war ;
while the Trojans, who feared him more than all the other
Greeks, became bolder, and no longer kept to the protection
of their walls. Zeus, at the request of Thetis, gave them the
victory in their first engagement with the Greeks. Hector
drove the latter back to their ships, and was already about
to set them on fire, when Achilles consented to allow his
friend Patroclus to don his armor, and lead his Myrmidons
to the assistance of the Greeks. The Trojans were now
driven back ; but Patroclus, in the ardor of pursuit, was
slain by Hector and deprived of his armor, and Menelaiis,
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 289
with the help of the Greater Ajax and other heroes, only
succeeded in rescuing his corpse after a bloody and obsti
nate struggle. The wrath of Achilles was now entirely di-
verted by the desire of avenging on Hector the death of his
rauch-loved friend Patroclus. He was scarcely willing even
to wait for the new armor which his goddess-mother pro-
cured him from the workshop of Hephaestus. No sooner
was he in possession of it than he again appeared on the
field, and Hector — the bulwark of Troy — seen succumbed
to his furious onslaught. Achilles, however, was generous
enough to surrender his corpse to the entreaties of Priam.
The '' Iliad " concludes with the solemn funeral of Hector.
' '^ The succeeding events, up to the death of Achilles and
the contest for his arms, were narrated in the '^^thiopis"
of Arctinus of Miletus, with the contents of which we have
some slight acquaintance, although the work itself is lost.
All kinds of brilliant exploits are reported to have been
performed by Achilles before the walls of Troy, which
were manifestly unknown to the earlier story. In the first
place, immediately after Hector's death, Penthesilea, the
queen of the Amazons, came to the assistance of the Tro-
jans, and fought so bravely at the head of her army that
the Greeks were hard pressed. Achilles at length overcame
the heroic daughter of Ares. After her fall, a new ally of
the Trojans appeared in Memnon, King of ^Ethiopia, who
is called a son of Eos, becar.se the Ethiopians were sup
posed to dwell in the far East Among those who fell by
the hand of this handsome and couraofeous hero was Antil-
ochus, the valiant son of Nestor. When Memnon, how-
ever, venturea to meet the invincible Achilles, he also was
vanquished, after a brave struggle. The fresh morning
dew, which springs from the tears of Eos, proves that she
19
290 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
has never ceased to lament her heroic son. But death was
soon to overtake him before whom so many heroes had
bitten the dust. In an assault on the Scsean gate, Achilles
was killed, at the head of his Myrmidons, by an arrow of
Paris, which was directed by Apollo. According to later
writers, whose accounts were followed by the tragic poets,
he was treacherously murdered here on the occasion of his
betrothal to Polyxena, the beautiful daughter of Priam.
A furious contest, lasting the whole day, took place for the
possession of his corpse and armor: at length Odysseus
and Ajax succeeded in conveying it to a place of safety.
Mourning and confusion reigned among the Greeks at his
death. During seventeen days and nights Thetis, with
the whole band of Nereids, bewailed his untimely fate in
mourning melodies, so sad and touching that neither gods
nor men could refrain from tears.
" See, tears are shed by every god and goddess, to survey
How soon the Beautiful is past, the Perfect dies away !"
The death of the bravest of the Greeks was followed by
an unhappy quarrel between Ajax and Odysseus respecting
his arms. Ajax, on account of his near relationship to the
deceased hero, and the great services he had rendered to
the cause of the Greeks, seemed to have the best claim ;
but Agamemnon, by the advice of Athene, adjudged them
to Odysseus. Ajax was so mortified at this decision that
he became insane, and put an end to his own life. An en»
tire tragedy of Sophocles, treating of the mournful fate of
the son of Telamon, has come down to us.
After Ajax had quitted the scene, Odysseus became de-
cidedly the chief personage among the Greeks. It was he
who captured the Trojan seer Helenus, and extorted from
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 291
him the secret that Hium could not be taken without the
arrows of Heracles. Hereupon Philoctetes, who was still
lying sick at Leinnos, was fetched, and his wound healed by
Machaon. Paris soon afterward fell by his hand. It was
Odysseus, moreover, who, in company with Diomedes, un-
dertook the perilous task of entering Troy in disguise and
stealing the Palladium, on which the safety of the city de-
pended. It was he who fetched Neoptolemus, the young
son of Achilles, from Scyros to the Trojan camp, it having
been decreed that his presence waa necessary to the success
of the Greeks. Lastly — and this was his greatest service —
it was Odysseus who devised the celebrated wooden horse,
and the stratagem which led to the final capture of the
city. In the belly of the horse, which was built by Epeiis,
one hundred chosen warriors of the Greeks concealed them-
selves. The rest of the Greeks set fire to their camp, and
sailed away to Tenedos ; whereupon the Trojans, deceived
by the assurances of Sinon, dragged the fatal horse, amidst
cries of joy, into the city. In vain did the Trojan priest
of Apollo, Laocoon, seek to divert them from their folly.
None would give heed to his warnings; and when, soon
afterward, both he and his sons, while sacrificing to Posei-
don on the sea-shore, were strangled by two serpents that
came up out of the sea, the Trojans regarded this as a pun-
ishment sent by the gods for his evil counsel, and were the
more confirmed in their purpose.
The death of Laocoon and his sons forms the subject of one of
the most splendid of the creations of Greek art that have come down
to us from antiquity. The group was found, in the year 1506, by a
Roman citizen in his vineyard, close to the former Thermae of Ti-
tus, and was made over by him, for a considerable annuity, to Pope
Julius II., who then placed it in the Vatican collection. The right
arm of Laocoon, which was wanting, has, unfortunately, been inoor-
292
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,
rectly restored. This is attested by a copy of the group which was
subsequently discovered in Naples. We give an engraving of the
group in its original form (Fig. 61).
It treats really of three distinct incidents, which have been skil-
fully incorporated by the artists to whom we owe the work (the
Rhodians Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus), into one harmo-
nious group. The eldest son is as yet unhurt, and appears to be sc
l!lllSlllillll!!l!!!llll|[lllllllllllll
Fig. 61.— Laocoon. Group.
loosely held by the coils of the serpent that he might easily escape
his impending fate if he were not more effectually restrained by his
loving sympathy with his noble father, on whom he gazes with pite-
ous looks. Laocoon himself, who naturally forms the centre of the
group, is depicted at the moment in which, mortally wounded by
the serpent, he sinks on the altar, to rise from which he vainly exerts
his last remaining strength. With his left arm he still mechanical'
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 293
ly seeks to repel the serpents. His hitherto energetic resistance has
begun to fail, and his noble head is raised in mournful resignation to
heaven, as though to ask the gods why they had condemned him to
so terrible a fate. The dignified and resolute aspect of his counte-
nance forms a beautiful contrast to that of his body, which is mani-
festly quivering in the keenest agony. The younger son on his right
is already in the last agonies of death, and though his left hand
grasps instinctively the head of the snake, he is evidently incapable
of further resistance. He is drooping like a plucked flower, and in
one more moment will have breathed his last.
On the night succeeding Laocoon's horrible end, and
the rejoicings of the Trojans at the apparent departure
of the Greeks, the Greek fleet returned in silence at a sig-
nal given by Sinon. The heroes who were hidden in the
wooden horse then descended and opened the gates to the
Greek host, who rushed into the doomed city. A terrible
scene of plunder and carnage ensued, the Trojans, in their
dismay and confusion, offering no resistance. The fate
of the sacred city was fulfilled ; Priam perished before the
altar of Zeus by the hand of Neoptolemus, and with him
the glory of Troy was laid in the dust. The men were
put to death; the women and children, together with the
rich booty, were carried off, the former being destined to
the hard lot of slavery. Among them was the aged queen
Hecuba, with all her daughters and daughters-in-law. Hel-
en— the cause of all this misfortune — was found in the
house of Dei'phobus, whom she had married after the death
of his brother Paris.
The city was burned to the ground, and, long after, oth-
er cities rose on its site. Still, the tradition of the siege
remained among the inhabitants, though, even in Roman
times, learned men had begun to declare that Old Troy
must have had another site. And now, when the last Ihum
had been no more for many centuries, and the very exist-
294 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ence of Homer's Troy had been declared a fable, the pal*
ace and the traces of the conflagration have been found.
Dr. Schliemann has excavated the legendary site, and we
know now that Athene was worshipped in the city, and
that it perished by fire. We can hardly tell at present
the full importance of these discoveries, nor of those at
Mycenae, where the traditional tombs of the Grecian lead-
ers have been examined, and their long -buried wealth
brought to light.
III. The Return. — The Greeks, after sacrificing Po-
lyxena on the grave of Achilles at Sigeum, prepared to
return to their country. Few, however, were destined to
reach their homes without some misfortune, or, even when
arrived there, to experience a kindly welcome. Of the two
sons of Atreus, Agamemnon, after escaping a storm on the
coast of Euboea, landed safely on his native shores, but was
soon after murdered by his wife and JEgisthus, who had,
during his absence, returned to Argos and married Clytsem-
nestra. Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess, who, in the di-
vision of the spoils, had fallen to Agamemnon, shared his
fate. She had continually predicted the unfortunate end
of the war and the ultimate fate of the city, but had al-
ways been laughed to scorn by her incredulous country-
men. The fate of the commander of the Greeks, with its
eventful consequences, was a favorite subject with the tragic
poets. His murder did not go unavenged. Orestes, the
only son of Agamemnon and Clytsemnestra, had been hasti-
Jy removed from the scene by his sister Electra, and sent to
his uncle Strophius, King of Phocis. Strophius had him
carefully educated with his own son Pylades, who was about
the same age. A most intimate friendship soon sprung up
between the two youths, which, from its faithfulness and
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGE. 295
constancy, has become proverbial. On reaching manhood,
the sole thought of Orestes was to avenge his noble father's
treacherous death at the hands of the crafty JSgisthus and
his mother Clyta3mnestra. Accompanied by his friend Pyl-
ades, he returned, in the eighth year of his exile, to My-
cenae, and there slew both ^gisthus and Clytsemnestra.
Although in so doing he had only fulfilled a duty, he yet
incurred the deepest guilt by the murder of her who gave
him birth, and at once found himself pursued by the aven-
ging Furies. They dogged his steps, and ceased not to
pursue him through all the countries of the earth, until he
was at length directed by the oracle at Delphi to convey
the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Attica. After he had,
with the help of his newly found sister, successfully achieved
this task, he was purified by Apollo (see page 175). Of
the numerous dramas that were written on the subject of
the fortunes of the Pelopidse, which we have here briefly
touched on, the "Agamemnon," " Choephorae," and "Eu-
menides " of ^schylus, the " Electra " of Sophocles, and
the " Electra " and '' Iphigenia in Tauris " of Euripides,
are still extant.
We must now turn to the fortunes of the other Greek
leaders. Agamemnon's brother Menelaiis was overtaken,
off Cape Malea, by a fearful storm, which carried him to
Crete and Egypt, whence, after seven years of wandering,
he returned to Sparta with Helen and his share of the
spoils of Troy.
The Locrian Ajax experienced a still more unhappy fate.
On the night of the destruction of Troy he had penetrated
into the temple of Pallas, and had not only torn away the
priestess Cassandra, who was clinging for safety to the al-
tar and statue of the jgoddess, but had also overturned th«
296 GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY,
statue of Pallas herself. As a punishment for this offence,
his ship was wrecked on Cape Caphareus. He would still
have been able to escape with his life — having succeeded
in getting hold of a rock — if he had not given such offence
to Poseidon by his impious boast that he needed not the
help of the gods, that the god split the rock with his tri-
dent, whereupon Ajax fell into the sea and was drowned.
Diomedes, Philoctetes, and Idomeneus reached their
homes in safety, but were all soon afterward driven out,
after which they all three emigrated to Italy. Here Di-
omedes founded many towns, and was long worshipped
with heroic honors.
Teucer also succeeded in reaching Salamis in safety, but
his father Telamon was so wroth because he had not bet-
ter protected his brother Ajax, or, at least, avenged his
death, that he refused to receive him. He was, therefore,
likewise obliged to leave his country, and subsequently set-
tled on the island of Cyprus.
But of all the Greek heroes Odysseus experienced the
most reverses, while at home his faithful wife Penelope
and his son Telemachus were hard pressed by the suitors.
It was only in the tenth year after the fall of Troy, and
after numerous wanderings and vicissitudes, that he was
permitted to return to his native Ithaca, and punish the
shameless suitors who had wasted his substance and goods.
The story of his adventures is so well known that we
need not dwell on it here, further than to mention that, ac-
cording to post-Homeric accounts, Odysseus was killed by
the hand of Telegonus, his own son by Circe.
The events of the Trojan cycle have supplied not only the poet,
but also the artist and the sculptor, with a large number of their
Host acceptable subjects. Single scenes, such as the judgment of
UNDERTAKINGS OF THE LATER HEROIC AGS.
297
Paris, have been continually selected, ever since the time of Raphael,
as favorite subjects of representation. Of modern masters, Carstens,
Thorwaldsen (the great Danish sculptor), Cornelius, Genelli, and Prel-
ler ("Landscapes of the Odyssey^') have illustrated the story of Troy
in a series of splendid compositions. We give an engraving of a re-
Uef by Thorwaldsen, representing Priam before Achilles (Fig, 62).
Fig. 62.— Priam before Achilles. Relief by Thorwaldsen.
Of the more important extant works of antiquity, we may mention
the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, depicted on the Fran9ais vase in
the Naples Museum; the abduction of Helen, depicted on a marble
relief in the former Campana collection, now in the Louvre (Fig.
63); the marble group in Rome known by the name of "Pasquino,'*
which represents Menelaiis raising the corpse of Patroclus ; and,
lastly, the celebrated iEgina marbles in Munich. These last are the
remains of a marble group from the gable of a temple of Pallas at
^gina, representing a battle between the Greeks and Trojans. They
were discovered at ^gina in the year 1811. King Ludwig I. of
Bavaria, who was a great patron of art, bought the ^Egina marbles,
and, after having them restored by Thorwaldsen, placed them in the
Munich collection. The Laocoon, the most important of all the
w^orks relating to the Trojan cycle, has already been discussed.
MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS. 299
v.— MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS.
We have already incidentally mentioned most of the
seers of antiquity — Melampus, the son of Amythaon, who
figures in Argive legend; likewise Amphiaraiis, Tiresias,
and Calchas. Concerning Tiresias, we may remark that the
ancients ascribed to him a fabulous age, extending over sev-
en or even nine generations ; so that he was thus a witness
of all that happened to Thebes, from the foundation of the
city to its destruction by the Epigoni. Like all celebrated
soothsayers, he was acquainted with the language of birds,
and could penetrate the most hidden secrets of nature ; on
which account he enjoyed up to his death an ever-increas-
ing reputation among the Thebans. We have already re-
lated how, in extreme old age, when his native city could
no longer withstand the assaults of the Epigoni, he expe-
rienced the bitter lot of having to take refuge in flight,
and at length succumbed beneath the hardships of the
journey. In the second century a.d. his grave was still
shown in the neighborhood of Haliartus.
Among the fugitive Thebans who fell into the hands of
the Argives is said to have been Manto, the daughter of
Tiresias, who was likewise renowned as a prophetess. She
was dedicated, together with a large portion of the spoils,
to the oracle at Delphi. By the command of the god she
was sent into Asia Minor, where she founded the oracle of
Claros, near Colophon. She here married the Cretan Rha-
cius, and became by him the mother of Mopsus, who after-
ward founded the oracle of Mallos in Cilicia.
Among the names of the mythic bards that have been
handed down to us are undoubtedly to be found some rec-
300
GREEK AND ROMAN MYTHOLOGY.
ollections of those who first cultivated the art of poetry;
partly, however, they are nothing more than personifica^
tions of certain tendencies and modes of poetry. Such is
probably the case with the mythic bard Linus, who was
Fig. 64. — Orpheus and Eurydice. Marble Relief in the Villa Albani.
celebrated in Argos, Thebes, and Euboea. Nothing is more
common than for an unsophisticated people to burst forth
in lamentation over the decay and final extinction of the
blooming life of nature. This, as we see in the myth of
Hyacinthus, was often portrayed under the metaphor of a
MYTHIC SEERS AND BARDS. 301
beautiful boy slain by a quoit or by savage dogs-— both
symbols of the scorching heat of the sun. The dirges
which from time immemorial were sung over the beautiful
boy Linus, at the season of vintage, probably^ gave rise to
the myth which makes Linus himself the singer.
Similar doleful memories are linked with the name of
Orpheus, who is often termed a brother of Linus, though
he was really not an ^Eolian, but a Thracian of Pieria.
That which is best known of him is the story of his love
for the beautiful nymph Eurydice. She was bitten in the
foot by a snake, and thus snatched away from him by
death. Orpheus then filled mountain and valley with
songs of lamentation so piteous that the wild beasts of
the forest were enchanted at the sound, and followed him
like lambs ; and the very rocks and trees moved from
their places. His yearning towards his beloved Eurydice
induced him to descend to the lower world, to beg her re-
lease from the grim king of shadows. Here his piteous
lay caused even the Erinyes to shed tears of compassion,
and moved the hard heart of the Stygian king. He re-
leased Eurydice on condition that Orpheus should not look
back on her till he reached the upper world. Orpheus,
however, violated this condition, and Eurydice was once
more lost to him. He himself, not long afterward, while
wandering in his despair over the Thracian mountains, was
torn in pieces by some women, in the mad excitement of
their nightly Bacchanalian orgies.
A splendid representation of the second parting of the lovers by
Hermes, the guide of souls, has come down to us on a marble relief,
which is preserved in the Villa Albani (Fig. 64).
INDEX.
Abas, 216.
Acastus, 268, 272, 282.
Acheloas, 128, 242.
Acheron, 172.
Achilles (Achilleus), 40, 195, 282,
_ 288, 290.
Achiroe, 215.
Acrisius, 216, 221.
Actaeon, 56, 198.
Actoridae, 240.
Admete, 233.
Admetus, 265, 268.
Adonis, 66.
Adrastus, 274, 285.
iEacus, 172, 281, 283.
Aedon, 207.
^etes, 106, 270.
iEgeus, 253, 256, 272.
^gialeus, 276.
JEgimius, 243.
^gina, 208, 281.
iEgis, 41.
^gisthus, 74, 175, 281, 294.
^gyptus, 215.
^neas, 67, 181, 287.
jEoIus, 111, 207, 267.
JEsciilapius {vide Asclepius).
JEson, 268.
JEthra, 253.
^tna, 25, 79.
Agamemnon, 57, 74, 175, 281, 294.
Agathodaemon, 116.
Agave, 134, 197.
Agenor, 196,215,261.
Aglaia, 97.
Aglaurus, 250.
Agnus, 285.
Aidoneus, 169 {vide Hades).
Ajax, Telamonian, 283, 290.
Ajax, Locrian, 284, 295.
Alcaeus, 228.
Alcathous, 283.
Alcmaeon, 276.
Alcmene, 31, 221, 228.
Alecto, 174.
Ileus, 241.
Aloidae, 120.
Althaea, 266.
Amalthea, 23, 242.
Amazons, 208, 210-212, 233, 261
Amor, 90.
Amphiaraus, 217, 266, 269, 276.
Amphictyon, 251.
Amphion, 197, 200.
Amphitrlte, 118,122.
Amphitryon, 221, 228.
Amycus, 225, 269.
Amyntor, 283.
Amythaonidae, 217, 274, 284<
Anaces, 226.
Ancaeus, 265.
Anchmoe, 215.
Anchises, 67, 277.
Androgeos, 255, 262.
Andromeda, 119,220.
Anna Perenna, 114.
Antasus, 120, 236.
Antea, 217.
Anteros, 66, 91.
Anthesteria, 139.
Anticlea, 285.
Antigone, 274.
304
INDEX.
Antilochus, 289.
Antiope, 257.
Aphareus, 224.
Ipharidae, 224, 265.
Aphidnae, 225, 257.
Aphrodite, 31, 60, 65, 90, 98, 188,
255, 286.
Apollo, 18, 31, 47, 72, 175, 179,
204, 238, 278.
Apsyrtus, 271.
Aquilo, 110.
Areas, 110.
Arctus, 110.
Areopagus, 60, 175.
ArSs, 31, 59, 66, 90, 197, 233, 267.
Arges, 22.
Arglphontes, 214.
Argo, 268.
Argonauts, 106, 125, 225,232, 259,
264, 267, 268, 284.
Argos, 36, 214, 280.
Argus, 74, 214, 268.
Ariadne, 136, 142-144, 256, 262.
Aristaeus, 198.
Artemis, 31, 56, 179, 198, 232, 265,
287, 295.
Asclepius, 48, 111,263.
Asopus, 208, 281.
Assaracus, 277.
Asteria, 22, 177.
Asterion, 261.
Astraeus, 108.
Astydamia, 282.
Atalante, 266.
Athamas, 127, 267.
Athene, 17, 40, 187, 188, 237, 286.
Athene Polias, 40, 44, 252.
Atlas, 71, 188, 237.
Atreus, 279.
Atropos, 114.
Attica, 42, 250.
Attis(Atys), 132, 151.
Aug6, 241.
Augeas, 232, 240, 245.
Aurora, 108.
AutSlycus, 285.
AutonSe, 197.
Bacchus, 133.
Bellerophon (Beller6phont6s),
208.
Bellona, 62.
Belus, 215.
Benthesicyme, 122.
Beroe, 133.
Bias, 217, 27 i.
Bona Dea, 154.
Bonus Eventus, 116.
B6read«, 110, 269.
Boreas, 108, 110,262.
Briareus, 22.
Brontes, 22.
Buslris, 236.
CablrT, 80.
Cacus, 235, 246.
Cadmus, 31, 60, 133, 197, 250, 267,
272, 275.
Caeneus, 192.
Calais, 110,252,269.
Calchas, 287, 299.
Calliope, 93.
Callirhoe, 234.
Callisto, 110.
Calydonian Hunt, 225, 258, 264j
281.
Calypso, 74.
Camenae, 95.
Capys, 277.
Carna (Cardea), 114.
Carpo, 100.
Cassandra, 286, 294, 295.
Cassiopea, 220.
Castor, 196, 203, 224, 265.
Catreus, 262.
Cecrops, 250, 251.
Celeus, 163.
Centaurs, 191, 231, 257.
Centaurs, fight with, 191.
Centimanes, 21.
Cephalus, 252.
Cepheus (Ethiopia), 220.
Cephlsus, 145.
Cerberus, 172, 228, 237.
Cercopes, 239.
INDEX.
305
Cercyon, 120, 254.
C(5res, 31, 160, 165, 166,
C6res (Fates), 179.
Ceto, 22, 124, 127, 219.
Ceyx, 242,
Chaos, 21.
ChSrites, 31, 96.
Charon, 172.
Chimaera, 209.
Chiron, 194, 198, 253, 268, 281.
ChrysSor, 220, 234.
Chrysippus, 280.
Circe, 106, 296.
ClSros, oracle of, 49, 299.
Clio, 93.
Cloacina, 68.
Clotho, 115.
Clymene, 188.
Clytaemnestra, 175, 224, 281, 294,
295.
CocSlus, 263.
Coeus, 22.
Colossus uf Rhodes, 107.
[TiSva,, 1:1,166.
Corint} , 42.
Corybantes, 132.
Corynetes, 254.
Cottus, 22.
CrSnaus, 251.
Creon, 228, 229, 273, 275.
Cretheus, 268.
CrSasa, 272.
Crlus, 22.
Cronus, 22, 82, 132, 156, 194.
Ciipido, 92.
Curetes, 23, 132, 265.
Cybele, 131, 149.
Cvchreus, 283.
Cyclopes, 21, 80, 217.
Cycnus, 242, 287.
Cyllene, 71.
Daedalus, 262, 263.
Daemons, 117.
DSmastes, 254.
DSnSe, 31, 218.
Danaids, 173, 216.
DSnSus, 216.
DardSnus, 277.
Death, 179.
Deianlra, 242.
Deiphobus, 293.
Delphian Oracle, 49, 83, 181, 196.
Demeter, 23, 31, 128, 160, 161,
216, 279.
Demophon, 163, 260.
Demus, 66.
Deucalion, 187, 190, 251, 262, 268.
Diana, 56, 57 (vide Artemis).
Dice, 98.
Dictys, 218.
Didymaean Oracle, 49.
Diocles, 163.
Diomedes, Argive, 40, 196, 284,
296.
Diomedes, Thracian, 233.
Dione, 31, 65.
Dionysia, Greater, 140.
Dionysia, Lesser, 1 38.
Dionysus, 31, 66, 78, 98, 188, 162,
256.
Dioscuri, 224, 267, 266, 269, 28^^,
286.
Dirce, 200.
Dis, 170.
Dodona, Oracle of, 29,
Doris, 124.
Dryads, 146.
Dryopes, 243, 246.
Dryops, 149.
Echidna, 209, 230, 236.
Echo, 67, 145.
Egeria, 95.
Electra (daughter of Agamemnon),
_ 294.
Electra (daughter of Adas), 277.
Electra (daughter ot Oceanus)^
124.
Electryon, 221, 228.
fileusinia, 164.
Eleusis, 163.
Elysium, 172, 186.
Emathion, 236.
20
306
INDEX.
Endeis, 196, 281.
Endymion, 10*7.
Enyo, 62.
EOS, 22, 108,252,289.
EpSphus, 214, 216.
Epeus, 291.
Epigoni, 276, 285, 299.
Epimetheus, 188, 189.
Epopeus, 200.
firato, 93.
Erechtheus, 110, 251, 263.
Erginus, 229.
firichthonius {vide Erechtheus).
Erinyes, 116, 1V2, 174, 265, 301.
Eriphyle, 275.
Eris, 286.
firos, 21, 66, 67, 90.
Erysichthon, 164.
Eteocles, 274, 276.
Eumenides, 176, 274.
Eumolpus, 163.
Eunomia, 98.
Euphrosyne, 95.
Europe (Europa), 31, 261.
Eurus, 108.
Euryale, 219.
Eurybia, 22.
Eurydice, 301.
EurynSme, 31, 78, 98.
Eurystheus, 229, 233, 280.
Eurytion, 191, 281.
Eurytus, 238, 243.
Euterpe, 93.
Fates {vide Moerae).
Fauna, 153.
Faun alia, 154.
Faunus, 153.
Favonius, 110.
Felicitas, 117.
Flora, 158.
Fontus, 88, 129.
Fortuna, 116.
Furiae (Furies) {vide Erinyes).
Gaea, 21, 23, 130, 150, 176, 235,
251.
G5nym6dgs, 102, 104, 234.
G6, 21 {vide Gaea).
GSlanor, 215.
GSnii, 117.
GSryones (Geryon), 220, 284.
Gigantes (Giants), 26.
Glaucus Pontius, 126.
Glaucus (son of Minos), 262.
Glaucus (son of Sisyphus), 208.
Gorgoneum {vide Mgis),
Gorgons, 22, 125, 218.
Graces, 97, 189.
Gradlvus, 62.
Grseae, 22, 125, 219.
Gratiae {vide Graces),
Gyes, 22.
Hades, 20, 23, 161, 169, 216, 25t
Hamadryads, T46.
Harmonia, 60, 197, 275.
Harpies, 22, 124, 269.
Hebe,20, 31, 102,228,244.
Hecabe {vide Hecuba).
HScate, 107, 177.
Hector, 287-289.
Hecuba, 278, 286, 293.
Helene (Helen), 67, 224, 257, 281,
295.
Helenus, 290.
Helios, 22, 105, 161, 284, 262.
Helle, 267.
Hephaestus, 31, 60, 66, 78, 188,
254, 264, 270, 289.
Hera, 17, 20, 23, 31, 35, 78, 104,
113, 227, 233, 235, 273, 286.
Heracles, 92, 102, 123, 186, 211,
216, 227, 230-250, 269.
Heraeum, 36.
Hercules, 235, 246 {vide Heracles)
Hermes, 18, 31, 66, 71, 189, 21Si
237, 279.
Heroes, 184.
Herse, 250, 252.
Hesione, 234, 240, 283.
Hesperides, 106, 125,235
Hesperus, 109.
Hestia, 23, 82-
INDEX.
307
HimSrus, 67.
Hippoc^on, 241, 246.
Hippodamia, 279.
Hippolyte, 257.
Hippolytus, 67, 257.
Homer, 17, 40, 59, 102, 167, 237,
285.
H5nos, 227.
H5rae,31,98.
Hyacinthus, 48, 300.
Hyades, 109.
Hydra, 230.
Hygiea, 41, 113.
Hylas, 269.
Hyllus, 242.
Hymen, 67.
Hymenaeus, 67.
Hyperion, 22, 106, 108.
Hypermnestra, 216.
Hypnus, 180.
Tapetus, 22, 188.
Icarius, 224, 285.
Icarus, 263.
Ichthyocentaurs, 128.
Idas, 225, 265.
Idomeneus, 263, 296.
Iliad, 265, 277, 285.
Illthyia, 113.
Ilus,*277.
InSchus, 214.
Ino, 126, 134, 197, 267.
Inuus, 153.
16, 31, 74, 214.
lobates, 209,217.
locaste, 272.
I61aus, 231, 235, 238, 265-
lole, 238, 243.
l6n, 252.
Iphianassa, 217.
Iphicles, 229, 265.
Iphig^nia, 57, 287..
Iphitus, 238, 269.
Irene, 98.
Iris, 22, 101, 124.
Isis, 215.
Ismenian Oracle, 49.
Isthmian Games, lid.
Itylue, 207.
Ixion, 173.
Janus, 17, 86.
Jason, 265, 268-272.
Juno, 17, 31, 39.
Jupiter, 17, 27,30,42,891
Juventas, 102.
Labdacidae, 272.
Labdacus, 207.
Lachesis, 114.
Ladon, 235.
Laertes, 285.
Lams, 207, 272.
Lampus, 108.
Laocoon, 291, ?92.
Laodamas, 276.
Laomedon, 119, 234, 240, 27^
LapithaD, 191, 243, 267.
Lares, 182.
Larvae, 183.
Latona (vide Leto).
Learchus, 127, 267.
Leda, 31, 224.
LemuralTa, 183.
Lemures, 183.
Lenaea, 138.
Leto, 22,31,47,66, 178.
Leucippus, 225.
Leucothea {vide Ino).
Liber, 141, 166.
Liberalia, 141.
Libitlna, 68.
Libya, 215.
Lichas, 244.
Linus, 49, 229, 300.
Lower world, 171.
Luna, 56, 107.
Lupercalia, 154.
Lupercus, 153.
Lyaeus, 136.
Lycomedes, 260, 28a
Lycus (Megara), 253.
Lycus (Thebes), 200.
Lynceus (Scythian), 164,
308
INDEX.
Lynceus (son of Aphareus), 225.
Lynceus (son of Danaus), 216.
MSchaon, 291.
Maia, 31, 71, 154.
Manes, 183.
Manto, 276, 299.
Mars, or Mavors, 81, 60, 89.
Marsyas, 148. _
Mater Magna Idaea, 131, 151.
Mater Matuta, 109 (note).
Matronalia, 39.
Medea, 254, 264, 270, 282.
Medusa, 41, 120,209,218.
Megapenthes, 221.
Megaera, 174.
Megara, 230, 238.
Melampus, 217, 275.
Meleager, 196, 242, 265, 269.
Melia, 214.
Melieertes, 127, 267.
Melpomene, 93.
Memnon, 108, 289.
Menelaus, 281, 286, 295.
Menestheus, 260.
Menoetius, 188.
Mercurius, 75.
Merope, 208, 273.
Metion, 253, 263.
Metionidae, 253.
Metis, 30.
Metus, 62.
Midas, 148.
Minerva, 17, 31, 42, 159.
Minos, 136, 172, 233, 255,261
Minotaur, 255, 261.
Mnemosyne, 22, 31, 93.
Moerge, 31, 114.
Molionidae, 240.
Mopsus, 299.
Morpheus, 180.
Mosychlus, 80.
Mulciber, 80.
Murcia, 68.
Muses, 31,49, 93, 143.
Muttinus, 155.
Myrtilus, 279.
Naiads, 146.
NapaeaB, 145.
Narcissus, 67, 145.
Neleus, 240, 245, 284.
Nemesis, 116.
Neoptolemus, 291, 298.
Nephele, 267.
Neptune (Nepttinus), 121.
Nereids, 123, 220, 290.
Nereus, 22, 123, 236.
Nerio, 62.
Nessus, 242.
Nestor, 191, 196,241,284.
Nice, 100.
Night, 179.
Nllus, 215.
Niobe, 56, 204, 279.
Nisus, 253, 255.
Notus, 108.
Nycteus, 200.
Nymphs, 144, 219, 236.
Oceanids, 78, 98, 128, 194.
Oceanus, 22, 31, 107, 128, *i88.
Odysseus, 74, 120, 127, 2^5, 29q
296.
(Edipus, 176, 272.
(Eneus, 242, 265, 285.
(Enomaus, 279.
Oi'cles, 240.
Olleus, 284.
Olympian Games, 80, 50, 226.
Omphale, 239.
Ops, 155.
Orcus, 179.
Oreads, 145, 150.
Orestes, 57, 175, 294.
Orion, 108, 109.
Orithyia, 110,252.
Orpheus, 49, 269, 301.
Oschophoria, 256.
Pagan alia, 131.
Palfemon, 127.
Pal^medes, 288.
PSles, 158.
Palladium, 277, 2^6, 29*^
INDEX.
309
Pallas, 253, 255.
Pallas Athene {vide Athene).
Pallor, 62.
Pan, 134, 149.
PanSthenaea, 42, 256.
PandSreOs, 207.
Pandion, 253.
Pandora, 188. 'y
Pandrosus, 250.
Panes, 146, 152.
Parcse, 114, 179.
Paris, 286, 290, 291.
Parthenon, 41.
Pasiphae, 262.
Patroclus, 288.
PegSsus, 120, 209, 220.
Peleus, 67, 124, 196, 240, 265, 269,
281, 286.
Pelias, 208, 268, 282, 284.
Pelopidse, 278, 295.
Pelops, 173,203,278.
Penates, 84, 180.
Penelope, 224, 285, 296.
Penelope (Nymph), 149.
Penthesilea, 211, 289.
Pentheus, 134.
Periboea, 283.
Periclymenus, 241, 269.
Periphetes, 254.
Perse, 106.
Perseis, 262.
Persephone, 31, 107, 128, 161,
166, 179, 257.
Perseus, 119,217,228,280.
Phsedra, 67, 257, 262.
PhSethon (son of Helios), 106.
Phaethon (horse of Eos), 108.
Philoctetes, 244, 287, 291, 296.
Philyra, 194.
Phlneus, 125, 221, 269.
Phobus, 66.
Phoebe, 22, 56.
Phoenix, 282.
Pholus, 231.
Phoreys, 22, 124, 127, 219.
Phosphorus, 109.
Phrixus, 267.
Phyleus, 240.
Pirithous, 191, 237, 266.
Pittheus, 253.
Pityocamptes, 254.
Pleiades, 109.
Plexippus, 266.
Pluteus, 169.
Pluto, 20, 169, 179.
Pluto (fern.), 278.
Podarees, 240.
Poeas, 244.
Polybus, 273.
Polycaste, 224.
Polycletus, 39.
Polydectes, 218, 220.
Polydeuces (Pollux), 196, 203, 224
Polydorus, 200, 207.
Polyhymnia, 95.
Polyidus, 263.
Polynlces, 274.
Polyphemus, 120.
Polyxena, 290.
Pomona, 157.
Pontus,21, 22, 123.
P5seid6n, 17, 20, 23-25, 83, 118,
208, 241.
Pothus, 67.
Priamus (Priam), 211, 240, 278,
286, 293. ,
Priapus, 154.
Procris, 252. ^'*
Procrustes, 120, 254.
Proetides, 217.
Proetus, 209, 216, 221. x
Prometheus, 187, 236.
Proserpina (vide Persephone),
Protesilaus, 287.
Proteus, 125.
Psyche, 92.
PySnepsia, 256, 260.
PylSdes, 294.
Pyrrha, 190.
Pjthia, (vide Delphian Oracle),
Python, 48, 218.
Quinquatrus Majores, 43.
Quirinus, 89.
310
INDElt.
Recaranus, 246.
RhadSmanthys (Rhadamanthus),
172.
Rhea, 22, 82.
Rhea Cybele, 131.
Rhode, 122.
Saiacia, 122.
Salmoneus, 268.
Saius, 114.
Sandon, 239.
Sarpedon, 261.
Saturnalia, 156.
Saturnus, 31, 155.
Satyrs, 146.
Sclron, 254.
Scotos, 176.
Scylla, 255.
Selene, 22, 56, 107, 178.
Semele, 31,127,138.
Semnae, 176.
Sibyls, 49.
Sileni, 146, 148.
Sllenus, 134, 148.
Silvanus, 152.
Simois, 277.
Sinis, 254.
Sinon, 291.
Sirens, 127.
Sirius, 109.
Sisyphus, 173, 207.
Sleep, 179.
Sol, 106.
Solymi, 210.
Soter (Savior), 246.
Sphinx, 273.
Stars, the, 109.
Steropes, 22.
Stheneboea, 217.
SthSnelus, 229, 280.
Stheno, 219.
Strenia, 114.
Striges, 114.
Strophius, 294.
Stymphalides, 232.
Styx, 172.
Syleus, 239.
SymplegSdes, 269.
Syrinx, 147, 150.
Talos, 264.
Tantalus, 173, 203, 278.
Tartarus, 21, 24, 25.
Telamon, 240, 265, 269, 281, 283^
296.
Teleboae, 228.
Telggonus, 296.
Telemachus, 296.
Telephassa, 196.
Telephus, 241.
Tellus, 131.
Terminus, 153, 159.
Terpsichore, 93.
Tethys, 22, 116.
Teucer, 240, 283, 296.
Teuthras, 241.
ThSlia, 93, 95.
Thallo, 100.
Thanatus, 179.
Thaumas, 22,124.
Thea (Thia), 22, 106, 108.
Themis, 22, 31, 91, 98.
Thersander, 276.
Theseus, 50, 120, 136, 192, 196,
211,237,252,262,265,269.
Thesmophoria, 164.
Thesprotus, 280.
Thestius, 224, 266.
Thetis, 67, 78, 124, 282, 286, 288^
290.
Thoosa, 120.
Thyestes, 280.
Tiberinus, 88, 129.
Tiresias, 276, 299.
Tisiphone, 174.
Titans, 21, 22, 106.
Tithonus, 108, 236.
Tityus, 48, 173.
Toxeus, 266.
Triptolemus, 163.
Triton, 122, 123,151.
Troilus, 288.
Tros, 104, 234, 277.
Tyche, 116.
INDEX.
3U
Tydeus, 242, 269, 275, 285.
TyndSreus, 224, 241, 281, 285.
Typhoeus, 25.
Typhoii, 230, 235.
T^ro, 268.
Clysses (vide Odysseus).
Crania, 93.
tjranus, 21, 23, 25, 176.
VSnus, 67.
Vertumnus, 167.
Vesta, 83,181.
Victoria, 100.
Vulcan (Volcanus), 78, 80.
Winds, the, 110.
Zephyrus, 108, 110.
Zetes, 110,252,269.
Zethus, 197, 200, 207.
Zeus, 16, 20, 23, 27, 35, 72, 104.
134, 187, 213.
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WEBSTER'S ACADEMIC DICTIONARY
Cloth, ^1.50; Indexed $1.80
- Half Calf, $2. 75 ; Indexed .... 3.00
Abridged directly from the International Dictionary, and
giving the orthography, pronunciation, definitions, and
synonyms of about 60,000 words in common use, with
an appendix containing various useful tables, and over
800 illustrations.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
(S.104)
A HISTORY OF ENGLISH
LITERATURE
By REUBEN POST HALLECK, M.A. (Yale),
Louisville Male High School. Price, ;^i.25
HALLECK'S HISTORY OF ENGLISH LIT-
ERATURE traces the development of that litera-
ture from the earliest times to the present in a
concise, interesting, and stimulating manner. Although the
subject is presented so clearly that it can be readily com-
prehended by high school pupils, the treatment is sufficiently
philosophic and suggestive for any student beginning the
study.
^ The book is a history of literature, and not a mere col-
lection of biographical sketches. Only enough of the facts
of an author's life are given to make students interested in
him as a personality, and to show how his environment
affected his work. Each author's productions, their rela-
tions to the age,. and the reasons why they hold a position
in literature, receive adequate treatment.
^ One of the most striking features of the work consists in
the way in which literary movements are clearly outlined at
the beginning of each chapter. Special attention is given to
the essential qualities which differentiate one period from
another, and to the animating spirit of each age. The author
shows that each period has contributed something definite
to the literature of England.
^ At the end of each chapter a carefully prepared list of
books is given to direct the student in studying the original
works of the authors treated. He is told not only what to
read, but also where to find it at the least cost. The book
contains a special literary map of England in colors.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
(S. 90)
COMPOSITION-RHETORIC
By STRATTON D. BROOKS, Superintendent of
Schools, Boston, Mass., and MARIETTA HUB-
BARD, formerly English Department, High School,
La Salle, 111. Price, gi.oo
THE fundamental aim of this volume is to enable pupils
to express their thoughts freely, clearly, and forcibly.
At the same time it is designed to cultivate literary
appreciation, and to develop some knowledge of rhetorical
theory. The w^ork follov^s closely the requirements of the
College Entrance Examination Board, and of the New
York State Education Department.
^ In Part One are given the elements of description, narra-
tion, exposition, and argument; also special chapters on let-
ter-writing and poetry. A more complete and comprehensive
treatment of the four forms of discourse already discussed is
furnished in Part Two. In each partis presented a series of
themes covering these subjects, the purpose being to give the
pupil inspiration, and that confidence in himself which comes
from the frequent repetition of an act. A single new princi-
ple is introduced into each theme, and this is developed in
the text, and illustrated by carefully selected examples.
^ The pupils are taught how to correct their own errors,
and also how to get the main thought in preparing their
lessons. Careful coordination with the study of literature
and with other school studies is made throughout the book.
^^ The modern character of the illustrative extracts can not
fail to interest every boy and giri. Concise summaries are
given followingthe treatmentof the variousforms of discourse,
and toward the end of the book there is a very comprehensive
and compact summary of grammatical principles. More than
usual attention is devoted to the treatment of argument.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
(S. 88)
Overton's Applied Physiology
By frank OVERTON, A.M.,M.D.
Late House Surgeon in the City Hospital, New York City
OVERTON'S APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY— Primary . 30 cents
OVERTON'S APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY— Intermediate 50 cents
OVERTON'S APPLIED PHYSIO LOG Y—Advanced . 80 cents
These books form a complete series for the study of physi-
ology in all grades. The Primary Book follows a natural
order of treatment and presents the elementary facts and
principles of physiology in so simple a way as to bring them
within the comprehension of children. The Intermediate
Book is designed to be a complete elementary text-book in
itself and an introduction to the advanced study of anatomy
and physiology. The Advanced Physiology is designed to
meet the requirements of teachers and schools for a text-book
of Physiology and Hygiene for Higher Grades, which should
combine the latest results of study and research in biolog-
ical, medical and chemical sc\ence and the best pedagogical
methods of science teaching. The book represents a new and
radical departure from the old-time methods pursued in the
teaching of physiology.
The fundamental principle of the series is that the study
of anatomy and physiology should be the study of the cell^
from the most elementary structure in organic life, to its high-
est and most complex forms in the human body. The effects
of alcohol and other stimulants and narcotics are treated very
fully in each book of the series.
Illustrations and outline diagrams are inserted wherever
needed to explain the text.
Copies sent, prepaid^ on receipt of the price,
American Book Company
NEW YORK ♦ CINCINNATI ♦ CHICAGO
(S. 150)
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