MYTHS
OF
OLD GREECE
VOL.111.
e
Myths
OF
Old Greece
Volume III
By .MARA L. PRATT,
Author of " American History Stories"'1 Young Folk's Library of
Choice Literature." — etc.
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
BOSTON
New York Chicago San Francisco
Copyrighted
By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,
1S96.
CONTENTS.
Page
Orpheus and Eurydice 7
Hercules 15
Theseus 34
Daedalus 47
The Race of Atlanta 52
Castor and Pollux 59
The Bee Keeper g3
Arion the Prize- Winner 73
Arion's Return gO
Alpheus and Arethusa 92
The Golden Apple .......... 07
Ulysses' Return to Greece 12:,
Polyphemus 132
.Eolus, the Wind-Keeper 139
Circe's Palace 14 7
The Sirens 153
Scylla and Charybdis 157
ORPHEUS AND ELRYDICE.
Myths of Old Greece, III,
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
Orpheus was the son of the god Apollo ;
and Apollo, proud of his beautiful son, gave
him his own mellow-stringed lyre, and taught
him to play so sweetly upon it, that not only
men and women, but even the beasts of the
field stopped to listen ; and, listening, forgot
their wicked, savage passions and became, one
and all, gentle and loving as the lambs on the
sunny hillside. Even the trees quivered and
sighed, and the rocks melted before his tender
strains.
When Orpheus became a man, he won
with his sweet music the beautiful Eurydice
8 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
for his wife; but alas, happy though they
were, they were subject to an evil fate, and
soon their joy was at an end. For one day,
when Eurydice was wandering with her
nymphs in the fields, she stepped upon a
poisonous snake which turned and bit her,
poisoning her so that she died from the cruel
wound.
Poor Orpheus ! For a time he had no
heart to touch the lyre, and all the earth was
sad and still. But one day he went out into
the streets with it in his hand, and sang his
grief out into the summer air.
Brave men wept great tears of sympathy,
so tender and so touching was his music, and
even the gods on Mt. Olympus looked softly
down upon him.
" Go thou down into Hades," said Jupiter
to Orpheus, " and thou shalt find thy wife ;
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 0
bring" her back with thee up into the light of
day/'
Gladly Orpheus obeyed. Down through
the great cave, across the black river, Styx,
into the abode of the shades, he boldly made
his way, playing sweet music as he went; and
there, in the midst of the great hosts that had
left the earth, he saw his own Eurydice, most
beautiful of them all.
" O Pluto," he sang ; " give back to me
my Eurydice, stolen from me and from the
upper world while youth and beauty and
happiness were yet full upon her." And so
tender was his voice, so soft the tones of his
lvre, that the shades gathered close around
him ; and even Pluto's stern heart was moved
to tears. Afar off, white and shining, stood
Eurvdice, her arms stretched out towards him,
and the tears pouring down her face.
10 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" Take her, take her," said Pluto ; " but
one command you must obey. As you go out
from this realm of mine, playing sweet music
as you go, — music that shall draw Eurydice
forth, following in the wake of its melody, not
once must you look back, over-eager or
doubting my word with regard to her. If this
command you disobey, she is lost indeed to you
until such time as you yourself shall come to
dwell among us forever."
With heart bounding with joy, Orpheus,
with one radiant look of joy at Eurydice,
raised his lyre, and turned his steps again
towards the upper world.
On, on, through the great masses of
shades he hastened, making most joyous
music as he passed. Out into the darkness,
even down to the River Styx, he had made his
way. But alas, alas, in his love for Eurydice,
MYTHS oF OLD GREECE. 11
and in his fear lest she should not have
followed, he forgot the command of Pluto and
turned his eager face to look upon her.
Poor Orpheus ! poor Eurydice ! There
stood the stern Pluto, his deep gaze full upon
the twain. And when Orpheus turned, Pluto
raised his sceptre ; his deep voice rolled out
into the darkness and Eurydice was lost again
to her brave husband who had dared so much
for her.
But the ferryman cared little for the
grief that now fell upon the loving youth.
Quickly and silently he rowed him across
the Styx, and left him there upon the farther
bank.
For many and many a day Orpheus sat
by the riverside, his broken lyre in his hand,
and often in the deep darkness of the night he
would play music so sad and tender, so full of
12
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
the wail of a broken heart, that even the stars
grew dim and the trees sighed in sympathy
for him.
CHARON, THE FERRYMAN.
Sometimes Orpheus would wander up
and down the bank, but never far away,
singing always of the lost Eurydice, till, at last,
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
13
the heart of Jupiter was moved with com-
passion for him, and he sent down a message
of death to the sad singer. So Orpheus
was released from life, and the pale ferryman
again rowed him across the dark waters,
this time to dwell forever with Eurydice
in the peaceful home of Pluto — the quiet
land of shades.
HERCULES.
When Hercules, a mere babe, lay in his
cradle by the sounding sea, there came up out
of the deep waters two terrible serpents. Thev
were cruel, venomous serpents, with the
strength of an Atlas, and with the poison of
death in their fangs.
Swiftly and noiselessly they glided
towards the cradle where the child slept. Up
the sides of the cradle, over the top they
writhed ; when lo ! the child raised himself
from his pillow, stretched out his baby arms
and strangled the great slimy creatures !
"Was there ever such a wonderful child?"
said the people. " Surely he is born to do
great things."
15
16 MYTHS OF oLD GREECE.
And indeed, as the years went on; he
proved himself worthy of this prophecy of his
babyhood; for he came to be one of the greatest
of all the Greek heroes, the bravest, the truest,
the noblest. Little children in all the ag-es
after were taught to admire this grand hero,
and to try to be like him in heart and mind
and courage.
Now it happened that as he grew up, he
was made subject to the control of a wicked,
jealous cousin, who spared no pains to make
the brave youth's life unhappy.
More than that — he sought to slay him;
and it was with this hope that he sent him to
do the twelve hard tasks which made him
famous — though that was far from the cousin's
intention — and which came to be known as:
Thk Twelve Labors oe Hercules.
The first task was to go forth into the
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 17
great valley of Nemea, and slay the terrible
Nemean lion.
For a long time this creature had infested
the valley, and each morning had devoured the
children of the people.
" Bring me the skin of the lion," had been
the cruel cousin's command; and bravely,
though sad at heart, the hero had set forth.
It was a fierce hard fight; clubs and
arrows had no effect upon the thick, hard hide
of the lion ; and in vain would Hercules have
contended had he not thrown down his
weapons, and, marching straight up to the
roaring foe, seized him by the jaws and
strangled him.
"I will carry to my cousin," said Hercules,
"not only the hide, but the whole animal." And
so, throwing the lion across his shoulder,
Hercules carried him home in victory.
18
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
From the hide the brave hero made a
mantle for himself, and from that time on
—j^iaM
HERCULES.
wore it always as a token of his own first
great victory.
Angry at his success, the cousin sent
Hercules out at once upon a second labor.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 19
In the swamps of Argos, there dwelt in the
slimy waters a horrible, nine-headed creature,
called by the people the Hydra.
Of these nine heads, one was immortal ;
and, moreover, until that was struck off, two
would grow in the place of each one that fell
beneath the club.
"Very well;' said Hercules, "if that is the
effect of the club upon you, I will try another
means ; " and so, holding the terrible Hydra
with all his force, he burned off the eight
heads ; and seizing the immortal one, he thrust
it under a great mountain, where, able neither
to die nor to get free, it writhes and roars even
to this day.
Again Hercules was sent forth— this
time to the labor of cleaning the floors of the
filthy Augean stables, where hundreds of cattle
had been stalled for thirtv vears.
20 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" And this," said the cousin, " is to be
done in a day."
Hercules went to the stables and looked.
Fifty men could not have performed the task
in a year! But with Hercules there was no
such word as fail. He stood in the great
door-way and looked out across the fields.
There lay the waters of the beautiful sparkling
River Peneus.
"Turn the waters of the river through the
stable," whispered some good voice ; and
Hercules went to work. In a few hours a great
ditch was dug, and through it, straight into the
stable, rushed the rapid current of the river.
How it rushed, and roared, and foamed, cover-
ing the stable floor ! And then, pouring forth
itself and all the filth, it seethed out into the
great meadows beyond.
Next was given Hercules a task of a
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 21
different nature; one requiring not strength
but tact.
In a far off land dwelt the Amazons, a
race of war-like women, who had great cities,
were very powerful in combat, and who
allowed no stranger within their gates. Now,
the Queen of the Amazons owned a wonderful,
magic girdle ; that Hercules was sent to seize
and bear away.
No one knows how it was accomplished ;
but Hercules was admitted to the city of the
Queen, and even to her royal palace. For
manv days he remained a guest in the city,
feted and banqueted by his royal hostess. He
even won from her the promise that when he
went away he should wear the magic girdle
for his own. But just here the fates interfered;
the Queen became suspicious of her guest, and
fell upon him with her army of trained
;, ROME.)
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 23
warriors. It was a terrible battle; but Hercules
won the girdle, and away he flew across the
plains and over mountains to his home, where
he delivered the girdle to his cruel cousin.
But no sooner had he reached home with
the prize, than away he was hurried again — this
time to slay the oxen of a terrible, three-headed
monster who dwelt far away to the west, and
who guarded the oxen by another two-headed
monster as terrible as himself. On his way,
when almost there, Hercules came upon a
great mountain of rock which impeded his
progress. He had neither time nor inclination
to scale it, nor even to go around it. What
more likely, then, than that he should grasp it
in his mighty hands, tear it asunder, and pass
through !
This he certainly did ; and there to this
day the two great rocks stand — the Pillars of
2i MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
Hercules — guarding the entrance right and
left, and forming the Straits of Gibraltar.
But of them all, the most wonderful was
our hero's success in reaching the garden of
the Hesperides and securing the golden apples
of Juno.
Now, many brave youths had gone in
search of these golden apples, but the tree was
guarded by a dragon so fierce that no one had
ever dared go near it.
" I will find this tree," said Hercules, the
young giant, " and I will kill this dragon and
bring back the apples."
" Many brave youths have said that,"
thought the people ; " but the dragon is very
terrible to look upon."
"I'm not afraid," laughed Hercules. And,
throwing his cloak of lion skin over his
shoulders he started forth with his great club
upon his journey.
MYTHS (>F OLD GREECE. -_>;,
Up and down mountains Hercules trav-
eled, over hills and plains, across great rivers,
until at last he reached the land beyond the
setting sun.
" Where is the tree that bears the golden
apples?" cried Hercules, seeing afar off a
great giant.
" Come across the sea and I will tell you,"
shouted the giant.
" I am coming," shouted Hercules ; and
with, two or three great strides, Hercules had
crossed the water.
" What is this great round ball you carry
upon your back?" asked Hercules as he came
near.
" This great round ball is the earth,"
answered the giant.
11 Then you must be the giant Atlas," cried
Hercules.
-2i'.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
4 That is my name," said the giant.
T have heard of you," answered Hercules,
"and I am glad to see you. There are
wonderful stories told of you in my country;
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 27
and I have often wished I might chance to
find you in my journeys to distant countries."
"Who are you, pray?" asked Atlas,
shifting the earth over upon his other
shoulder that he might see his bold guest
more plainly.
"I? I am Hercules," shouted our hero.
" Hercules ! Hercules ! Are vou the
Hercules that was a giant in strength even
when a baby?" cried Atlas. "Are you the
Hercules that has performed the great Labors?
" Indeed, young man, your fame has
reached me even in this far-off land. But,
brave as you have been, you will never find
the golden apples."
"Why?" asked Hercules. ''Because,'
answered Atlas, " no one can enter that garden
but me. But if you will take this great ball
upon your shoulders, I will go and get the
28 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
apples for you. I shall be very glad of a little
rest and change."
So Hercules took the earth upon his
shoulders, and away Atlas ran towards the far
off garden. How heavy the earth grew ! " I
can never hold it! O dear!" And the earth
rolled back and forth from one shoulder to the
other.
14 O dear! O dear," cried the people on the
earth. " How the earth rocks and rolls !
There must be a terrible earthquake!"
Soon Atlas returned, bearing in his hand
three golden apples. " Ha, ha, ha ! " he
laughed. " How do you like to carry the
earth ? "
"() hurry," groaned Hercules, "my back
will break ! " " O no," laughed Atlas, " I am
not coming back. Ha! ha! good-bye!" and
away he ran up the hillside.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
29
"Come back!" shouted Hercules. "At
least you might help me to put my lion skin
across my shoulder for the earth to rest upon."
:\0 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" O yes, I will do that," shouted Atlas, coming
towards Hercules.
Nov/ Atlas was not very bright. Such
very heavy people usually are stupid ; and as
he came near, laughing all the while at his
own escape, Hercules, quick as a flash of
lightning, rolled the earth over on to the
shoulders of Atlas, seized the golden apples,
and flew away.
" Such dreadful earthquakes as there have
been," said the people to Hercules when he
had reached his home again. Whole cities
have been laid flat. But Hercules held up the
golden apples and the people, forgot all about
their troubles, so glad were they to see the apples.
" How did you get them ? " the people
asked. Hercules did not answer, and the
people never knew.
Then there was the famous encounter
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. f,l
with Antaeus, the son of Mother Earth, and
whose strength could not be overcome so long
as he stood upon the ground.
Many and many a brave youth had fought
with him ; but never had Antaeus been even
harmed.
Now Hercules would have been quite
willing to have escaped from this giant; but
Antaeus saw him passing through his territory
and shouted to him to come and contend for
his life, as, indeed, it was his custom to shout
to every unfortunate that chanced to come
within hearing of his mighty voice.
There was no escape; and Hercules would
not play the coward by taking to flight.
Accordingly the two faced each other.
Over and over they rolled; sometimes one,
sometimes the other, seemed victorious; but
at last the bright mind of the hero perceived
32 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
that every time Antaeus was thrown to the
ground, he arose with strength redoubled.
"We will see," said Hercules; and, rushing
upon the giant, he seized him by the waist
and lifted him high in the air.
How tne old giant kicked and howled !
But Hercules only held him all the more
tightly, and very soon the thunderous tones
grew weaker and weaker ; the kicking ceased ;
and the great Antaeus gave himself up, a
defeated, humbled creature ; and never again did
he seize upon mortals who passed through that
part of the country, challenging them to a battle
in which there was for them no hope of victory.
So passed the life of the Greek's favorite
hero; and when at length the time came for
him to die, Jupiter, descending from Olympus
with his golden chariot of winged horses,
wrapped him in a shining cloud, and bore him
to the home of the gods.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
33
There he was met by the beautiful cup-
bearer, Hebe, who gave him to drink of the
immortal wine ; and he became henceforth one
of the gods, and dwelt forever among them
upon the Olympic Mount.
STATUE OF THESEUS (BARVE )
THESEUS.
There was in Greece another brave hero
whose fame was as widely spread as that of
Hercules himself.
This hero's name was Theseus, and he
34
MYTHS OF old GREECE.
was a son of one oi the kings of Minerva's
proud city — Athens.
Theseus was brought up in a simple
village far away from Athens; but when he
became a youth he was sent to his father at
Athens, bearing with him a rare old signet
ring, a sword, and a pair of ancient sandals, by
which he might prove himself to the king to
be the Theseus he claimed to be.
Wry gladly the king received his son ; for
he was tall, and straight, and brave, and
handsome, and any king might well be proud
of such a son.
Nine days of feasting were at once
appointed, and all the people in the city were
invited to the royal palace to welcome the new
prince.
Already, on his journey, Theseus had met
with wonderful adventures, and the countries
36 MYTHS <>F OLD GREECE.
through which he had passed were still
ringing with praises of the brave lad who
carried the sword and wore the strange old
sandals.
Theseus, like the true hero he was, did not
tell of these adventures, hoping thereby to
win honor from his kingly father and from the
people.
" I must do brave deeds in the city of
Athens and for the people of Athens," said he,
" if I would win their favor."
But the stories of his brave deeds reached
the city, and proud indeed were the king and
the people that the prince had proven to be
so grand a hero.
" I come," said a courier from the far east,
" to tell you of a brave youth, who, passing
through my country, slew the terrible Peri-
phetes, who, for all time, has held in fear the
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. ;;7
travelers that pass our way ; for always did he
bear an iron club with which he smote even
the bravest who dared resist him."
"And I," said another from another
country, " come to tell the glad news. The
cruel Procrustes, the king, is slain ; he
whose pleasure it has been to seize upon
travelers and bind them to his terrible iron
frame, and with taunts and jeers bid the
unfortunate ones to sleep. But alas ! little
sleep was there for such as fell into his cruel
power; for first must they be fitted to the
frame, being stretched with cruel chains if
perchance they proved too short, or have their
limbs struck off with the sword if they proved
too long. Alas, what terrors have our people
borne, and with wrhat joy do we feast now that
Procrustes is slain by the club of the brave
young stranger."
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
But when the nine days of feasting were
over, there fell upon the palace and the city a
deep gloom. For whole hours the old king
would sit looking out across the waters, and
then deep groans would fill the air.
"What is the meaning of this sorrow?"
asked Theseus.
But no one in the city would tell him.
11 It is nothing that you can help," they would
say, shaking their heads most sadly.
" What right," said Theseus to the old
king, " have these people to keep a secret from
me, their prince ? I demand to know what
this sorrow is that lies so heavily upon the
hearts of you all."
" Alas, brave Prince," said the king, " it is,
as they have said, a hopeless sorrow ; nor is
there any use to fight against the Fates that
will these things.
«
MYTHS OF <>L1) GREECE. ;;;»
" Each year is our city forced by cruel
King Minos to send him seven of our bravest
youths and seven of our most beautiful
maidens."
" But why?" cried Theseus, impatient.
" These youths and maidens," the sad old
king went on, " are devoured one by one by
the terrible Minotaur, who will eat only human
flesh and will drink only human blood."
" This year, then," said Theseus, " there
need be chosen only six brave youths, for I
myself will go."
In vain did the old king plead with
Theseus to stay. " I have no other son," he
wept, " on whom to lean in these my declining
years." But neither the tears of his father nor
the prayers of the people could change his
purpose. "Think you," the Prince said, "that
I would allow my helpless countrymen to
40 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
suffer in my stead ? Think you I would rest
here in the luxury of my father's palace while
some brave son of the people gave his life for
the country that I love?"
And so a great vessel was made ready,
black sails wTere raised, and with sad hearts
the people bade farewell to the youths and
maidens who, they knew full well, would never
return again to the city of Athens.
It was a long, sad voyage ; and wrhen the
island of King Minos was reached, there stood
the king ready to receive them, and ready, too,
wras the tower in which they wxre to be
imprisoned till such time as the dainty
Minotaur should demand his victims.
" I am Theseus, the son of the king of
Athens," said our hero ; " and I have brought
with me the thirteen other youths and maidens
as, I am told, is the custom of the city over
which my father reigns."
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 41
"Theseus?" cried the king; "the Theseus
that slew Periphetes and the terrible
Procrustes as well ? "
" I am that Theseus," was our hero's reply.
" Come with me to my palace," said the
king ; " for I would indeed talk with so great
a hero as I know you to be."
And so, while the thirteen youths and
maidens were hurried away to the tower,
Theseus was taken to the royal palace.
There for long hours the king and the
prince talked together. They talked of
Athens, of the Minotaur, of Periphetes, of
Procrustes, and of all the heroes that had ever
been.
" Cruel, cruel fate ! " groaned the king,
" that so brave a youth as this should die."
"Can vou not save him?" beeeed Ariadne,
-£>fe
the beautiful daughter of King Minos.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 43
But the old king- shook his head. " No,
no," he said ; " he has come and he must die."
But Ariadne's little head and heart were
very busy. She waited until deep slumber
had fallen upon the household, and then
crept out to the tower where Theseus was
imprisoned.
11 Brave Prince," she whispered ; and
Theseus heard.
" Come down the staircase. Rouse all
your comrades and bid them wait till you
return. I have unbarred the door."
Quickly Theseus obeyed the commands
of Ariadne, and hurried out into the blackness.
" Come quick," she said, " to the labyrinth
where the Minotaur lies sleeping.
It is a strange place, with winding ways;
and without help no youth could find his way
back into the world again. But here is a
44 MYTHS OF <)LD GREECE.
golden thread. Tie it to your waist. Go into
the labyrinth, slay the Minotaur with this
magic sword, then pull hard the golden thread,
and by it I will draw vou safely out."
Gladly did Theseus follow the beautiful
Ariadne's directions, and into the labyrinth he
plunged.
It was, indeed, as she had said, winding
and blind to follow. Nearer and nearer he
crept to the great open space where the
horrible Minotaur lay sleeping. Louder and
louder grew the great beast's snores as he
approached ; but with the golden thread,
Theseus felt sure of success and a safe return
to the upper world again.
It was a quick, terrible battle that followed;
but with a last thrust of the magic sword,
the Minotaur, with one great roar, fell dead.
11 That roar mieht have awakened the
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 45
world," said Theseus to himself; and, pulling
the thread, he was drawn along the paths back
again to the entrance where the brave princess
waited to guide him farther.
" Hurry ! hurry ! " she said. " Get the
youths and maidens ! Rush to the ship ; for I
fear already the servants of the palace are
awake ! "
And away Theseus flew. Not a second
too quick were they ; for hardly had Theseus
pushed the keel out into the deep waters than
there came rushing down from the palace the
old king himself. For he had heard the dying
roar of the Minotaur and had feared some
harm had come to him.
But he reached the shore too late; already
the oarsmen were fast at work, and Theseus,
with Ariadne close beside him, stood hard at
the helm.
•16
MYTHS OF <»U> GREECE.
Away, away they flew ; and when the sun
arose above the waters, nowhere in all the
world did it find so happy a band of youths
and maidens, as those that danced and sang
beneath the black sails of this little vessel out
upon the sparkling waters.
D^DALUS.
The man who had made the labyrinth
was ingenious in many another direction,
as old King Minos learned to his sorrow.
Now, at the time Daedalus made the
labyrinth with its marvellously tortuous paths,
he and the king had been great friends ; but
the friendship of kings then, as later, is always
an uncertain blessing ; and so it came about
that, in course of time, Daedalus found himself
a prisoner in the tower, and another favorite
established in his place.
The ingenuity of Daedalus came to his
rescue, however, and soon he had invented an
escape from the tower.
" Let him wander up and clown the island
47
///.id
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 49
if he prefers," sneered King Minos; "but let it
be understood by the people that, whoever
shall shelter him or his son, Icarus, or give
them food, loses his life.
" Moreover, set guards along the shore to
intercept him if he attempts to swim away, or
to build a boat, or in any way to escape from
the kingdom. "
11 We will see," thought Daedalus. " I
shall find a way." And before long he did
find a way. One day a flock of birds flew
across the skies. Daedalus watched them
with longing eves. " If only I could fly," he
sighed. And then, "Why not?" was his next
thought.
At once the prisoner set to work. " I can
make wings," said he ; and indeed, after long,
long weeks of work, he did produce from the
feathers of the birds of the island some wings.
50
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
These he fastened to himself and his little son,
and away they flew over the heads of the
guards, out across the waters.
On, on, past the islands of Samos and of
Delos they flew; but Icarus, joyous in the
new sport, began to ascend the sky. Up, up
towards the Sun he flew, till, close upon it, the
heat melted the wax with which the father had
fastened the feathers together.
"Help me! help me, Father Daedalus !''
he cried ; but there was no help for him.
Down through the air he fell— the feathers
falling about him and flying in every direction
— and sank in the deep blue waters of the
sea.
From this time on, Daedalus became a
bitter-hearted man ; and when, one time, he
stood with his sister's son, Perdix, upon a
high tower of rock, he pushed the child off,
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 51
meaning" that he should be crushed upon the
rocks below.
But Minerva, seeing the cruel deed,
changed Perdix into a bird — a partridge —
and so saved him from the cruel fate.
But Perdix never forgot his fall ; and that
is why the partridge never soars to great
heights ; but likes rather to build its nests
in the low, safe coverts, where no harm can
come to him.
ATALANTA - RACE.
THE RACE OF ATALANTA.
Never was there a maiden so free and
happy, so tall and straight and handsome. All
her life had she dwelt in the forests and
followed the chase, as brave and daring as any
youth, and as unfailing with her arrows as
Diana herself.
Many a youth loved her and longed to
win her to grace his. home; but the Oracle had
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 53
said, "Nay, nay, Atalanta; never many; a
terrible fate awaits you if you do."
And so, when the youths came to her,
rather than that they should count her heart-
less, she would say, " There is but one condi-
tion upon which I can hear your prayer.
First, you must race with me. Such is my
fate. If you outrun me, then will I give up
my free life and come to dwell with you. If
you fail to outrun me, then you must surrender
up your life; such is the decree of the gods."
And many a youth, so beautiful was she,
had accepted her challenge; but, alas, brave
lads though they were, none had succeeded in
outrunning the fleet-footed Atalanta.
But one day a youth came to her, so tall,
and brave, and beautiful that her heart was
touched. " It is a shame," thought she, " that
such a noble life as this should be wasted."
54 MYTHS oF OLD GREECE.
Still what could she do. Never would it
be acceptable either to gods or men that she
should make an exception.
" I know the risk I take," said Hippo-
menes ; " but I am ready."
It was with a heart as sad as her free
heart could be, that Atalanta prepared for this
contest.
But in Hippomenes' heart there was only
hope and courage. Already he had prayed to
Venus, the goddess of love, and had offered
rich sacrifices upon her alters.
" I will give you aid," the goddess had
answered. " Take these three golden apples
from the far-off gardens of the Hesperides; and
as you run, drop them, one at a time, that Ata-
lanta may be tempted to stop to gather them."
And so Atalanta and Hippomenes took
their places before the king.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
.1.1
At a signal each bounded forward even
like the wild forest deer.
On, on they sped, so light of foot, it was
but as the sweeping by of a western wind.
The shouts of the people rent the air and
cheered them on.
" Courage ! Courage ! " they cried.
" Haste ! haste ! "
' Don't lose your speed ! Don't lose your
speed ! "
" ( )n ! on ! "
'You gain' You gain! You gain on
Atalanta ! "
" She's won ! she's won ! "
"On, on, Atalanta! He gains! he gains!"
Thus did the shouts of the people mingle.
But Hippomenes' strength was failing.
Now, now," said Venus, "throw the
apple."
a6
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
And out it rolled beneath Atalanta's flying
feet. Its rich color shone in the light. It was
beautiful. Who could resist so rare a prize ?
And Atalanta stooped to reach the apple.
" Hippomenes with one great effort leaped
forward, and for one moment shot ahead.
But soon again Atalanta was abreast of him.
"Again ! Throw another," whispered Venus,
who heard the heavy heaving of Hippomenes'
breath.
" On ! On ! "
"Atalanta!"
" Hippomenes ! "
" Atalanta ! "
" Hippomenes ! " shouted the crowd of
people, wild with excitement.
" The third apple ! Now ! Quick ! " whis-
pered Venus ; and out rolled the last of the
three golden apples.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 57
Again Atalanta stooped to gather the
wonderful fruit. It was one second lost. On,
on the racers flew ; and with one last bound,
one last summoning of strength, Hippomenes
fell prostrate upon the goal — Atalanta one
half leap behind.
How the people cheered ! And the king
himself, glad in his heart for the beautiful
youth, arose and swung his sceptre and
summoned the servants of the palace to
prepare a feast in honor of the victor.
But alas for Atalanta ! The Oracle will
not be defied. And so it came about that, the
ire of Venus being aroused because the happv
youth and maiden forgot for a time their
benefactor, she sent a heavy punishment upon
them.
In the midst of their happiness, a terrible
change began to creep over them; their beauty,
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
their grace, failed. Their tall, handsome forms
sank lower and lower to the earth ; their fair
skins grew tough and hairy ; and alas, they
stood at last before each other transformed
from human beings to wretched beasts, ■ —
brave, though, even now — and, as lion and
lioness, they lived to drag, for many a year, the
golden chariot of Cybele.
CASTOR AND POLLUX.
Castor and Pollux were two twin babv
boys who sprang from a great white swan's
per or
They were very beautiful, with their
golden hair and their sunny blue eyes, and as
they grew through youth to manhood became
59
60 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
real heroes. Castor was famous the world
over for his marvellous power of taming and
training horses ; and without Pollux no boxing
match in all Greece was of any note.
It was wonderful how these twins loved
each other. Never wTere they separated ;
never had one an interest into which the other
did not enter, heart and soul.
Many wTere the battles in which the two
brothers, mounted on their pure white horses,
fought and conquered ; indeed, the time came,
so successful were they, that in any battle
wThere Castor and Pollux appeared, it was the
signal for the foe to retreat ; for, said they, " Of
no use is it to fight against the warriors of the
white horse."
But at last there came a battle in which
one of the youths wTas slain. For twelve
moons the brother wandered up and down the
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. (31
earth, sad at heart, offering sacrifices to
Jupiter, and praying ever that the great god
would send him, too, to the land of shades, or
restore his lost brother to him.
But Jupiter could not do that, even for
these brothers whom he loved so well. But
there was one thing he could do ; he could
make them both immortal and place them, as
he had the Bears, in the sky.
Gladly the twins accepted this honor ;
and there to-day they are to be seen — a little
above the brave Orion — shining and spark-
ling, as happy and contented together as ever
two loving brothers could be, either on the
earth below, or on the great Mount where the
gods and goddesses dwell.
; .% >> *
vP"1
AKIST.iLb BEES.
THE BEE KEEPER.
It was the shepherd Aristaeus who,
watching the bees at work gathering sweet
honey from the flowers of field and hillside,
said first, " Why may these bees not be taught
to gather this honey in a hive, whereby, when
great quantities shall be collected, man may
eat of it ; for it is sweet and wholesome, and
suitable as food for man as well as bee ? "
And so it came about that, after many
weeks of patient study of their ways, Aristaeus
was able to draw great swarms of bees
together in the hives he built; and from that
time on, bee keeping became a favorite
industry among the people of the valley.
None of them, however, had such
CA MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
marvellous hives, such countless swarms, and
such a wealth of yellow, shining honey as
had the shepherd Aristaeus.
Proud was Aristaeus of his willing bees,
and often, on great festal days, it was he who
laid upon the altar of the gods great sheets of
the sweet honey.
But one morning, as he rose from his soft
bed of moss, he missed the hum and song of
his bees. He listened. Not a sound was to
be heard. He crept softly toward his hives.
Not a bee was there, nor wTas one to be found
in the valley round about.
All day long Aristaeus wandered up and
down the hillsides, searching in every tree
and in every bush for the lost bees ; but no
trace of them could be found. And when the
evening drew near, Aristaeus went down to the
waterside and cried to his mother, the sea
SEA NYMPH. (E. BURNE-JONBS. )
66 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
nymph Cyrene, and said, " O mother Cyrene,
hear the cry of thy sorrowing son. Lo ! my
bees are fled from me ; nowhere on hillside or
in valley are they to be found ; nor is there
honey in the hives to lay upon the altars."
Cyrene heard the voice of her child, and
sent her sea nymphs to bring him to her.
The waters, at her command, rose in a great
billow ; and then, falling back, made a path
down into the depths of the ocean, that
Aristaeus might enter.
Down, down, through the dark waters,
the youth passed, and came at last into the
sparkling cave where his mother dw^elt.
11 0, my son," she said, " indeed I can
give thee no aid ; but far away from here
dwelleth the old prophet, Proteus. To him are
revealed all the wonders of the world. From
him, if you are brave and daring, you may
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 67
learn what power has stolen your bees and
why; and, if it be the will of the gods, how
you may bring them back to you.
" But you must know this Proteus is a
most terrible creature; none like him abide in
the light of the world above.
" Neither will he help you, unless first
you subdue him by force. Prayers and
offerings avail nothing with him. I will take
you to the cave, to which at noonday he will
betake himself with his great flock of sea-cows,
that together they may drink in the air, and warm
themselves in the light and warmth of the sun.
" While he sleeps, you must bind him
with strong chains. Awaking, he will hiss
like serpents ; he will bellow like the angry
ocean ; and he will change himself into the
form of a beast with breath of fire ; or to a
poisonous, scaly dragon, with yellow mane.
68 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" But in all this have no fear ; hold fast
to the chain, and when at last he knows you
are a brave hero, and that you have no fear of
him, he will tell you all that is to be known of
your bees, and will guide you to their
recovery."
All this came to be as Cyrene had told
him ; but had Aristaeus not been as brave as
Hercules himself, surely the terrible Proteus
would have driven him back to his hillsides.
But no fear came into the youth's heart, nor
did his voice tremble when he cried, " No fear
have I, O Proteus, of thy terrible forms ;
neither will I release thee!"
Then Proteus came back to his own natural
form, and sat at the mouth of his cave looking
at his daring captor. " Aristaeus," he said,
" you came to learn of the fate of your
bees.
ORPHEUS AND EtRVDICE. ROBERT BEYSCHLAG.)
70 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" Let me tell you, first of all, it is a
punishment upon you ; for it was in fleeing
from vou that the sweet Eurydice met her
death. It was in fleeing from you that she
stepped upon the serpent whose poison
destroyed her young life; and it is in just
revenge and punishment that this loss has
come to you.
" There is but one way to appease the
wrath of the gods, and that is by sacrifices to
them, and by rendering funeral honors to
Eurydice and to Orpheus as wTell ; for it was
for grief of Eurydice that Orpheus died.
" Go, therefore, and select four of the
largest, strongest bulls ; these, first tamed and
overcome by your own prowress, lay upon four
high altars.
" These, sacrifice to the gods and leave
upon the smoking altars in the leafy grove.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 71
" After nine days of humble fasting and
sacrificing, go back to the leafy grove. If all
these things you have done bravely and
acceptably to the gods, there, swarming about
the altars, vou will find vour bees arain ; nor
» J J o
will they refuse to return to their hives."
And when Aristaeus had done all that
Proteus had bid him do, behold, it was as the
prophet had said ; the bees were found upon
the altars, and when the hives were brought,
they arose in busy swarms and gathered
together in their homes.
Then was Aristaeus glad ; and, raising his
hands towards Olympus, he promised that the
first wealth of yellow honey should be carried
by him to the temple of Jupiter, and there be
laid upon the altars, in testimony of joy and
gratitude that his bees had been returned, and
that the anger of the gods had been appeased.
ARION. (ALBERT MOORE.)
ARION, THE PRIZE-WINNER.
Arion was a famous musician; so famous
indeed that he was sent for from all the
countries round about to come and play before
the kings and princes.
Xo festival at Corinth, where he dwelt
with his good friend Periander, was complete
unless Arion was there to make sweet music
upon his lyre. Indeed, the gods themselves
might well have envied him his skill, so
delicately did he sweep the strings of the lyre,
and so sweet were the sounds that were
wafted out upon the air by his gentle touch.
Apollo himself, and Hermes too, loved to
listen; and whenever he played, the people
said, "It is Orpheus come back again."
73
74 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
Now, there was to be a contest in Sicily
among the musicians of every kingdom.
Arion longed to go and try his skill ; " and
besides," said he, " how happy it would be to
listen to the music of all these wonderful
players who will gather before the king of
Sicily ! "
" Yes," said his good friend, King Peri-
ander; "it is as you say. Still, it is a long
distance. It would take many a day to reach
the island, and more than all that, think of
the danger and risk of life. Our ships are
frail ; the storms on the sea are heavy, and
never is the sailor sure how soon the waters
may rise, the winds roar, and his soul be sent
to the land of pale shades.
" Pray, stay here with me, and be content
in my kingdom, where friends are on every
side and no danger can approach."
MYTHS OF <)L1) GREECE, ;;,
Arion sighed, " ( ) good friend, well do I
know that all you say is true ; still my soul
longs for the change, and for the sight of
other lands and other people. I will return ;
but first give me permission to leave this
kingdom, — though I have dwelt so long and
happily here — and let me wander up and
down the earth as the music-loving heart
within me urges me to do."
And Periander saw that Arion must have
his way; of little use would it be, and of little
comfort, to hold him when he longed to be
away upon his wanderings. So, one day he
called the youth to him and said, " Since it
must be that you will go to Sicily and join in
the contest for this prize, though already you
have fame in many a land, take with vou
this purse of gold and this robe of purple. I
should be sorrowful indeed to feel that Arion
76 MYTHS OF <)LT) GREECE.
journeyed through the country and across the
seas without money, or that he appeared
before the king of Sicily robed less richly than
the youths who will contend with him for this
great prize.
" Neither do I care, good friend, whether
the prize is won by you or by some barbarian
across the sea. To me there is no music like
that of Arion, and whether a prize-winner or
not, know that your welcome will be joyous
when again you come to the court of
Periander. Every day we shall miss our
Arion ; and every morning we shall look out
across the seas, and listen for the sound of his
sweet music, coming nearer and nearer over
the waters."
" Good friend," said Arion, " I shall come
back again, and gladly too ; for what would be
the joy, even of a great prize won, could not
MYTHS OF <)LL) GREECE. 77
my friend and king rejoice with me, and
could I not bring it and lay it at his feet?"
And so the youth set forth upon his
journey. Gaily the waters sparkled, and
danced, and laughed up at him as the little
boat sped across the sea ; and safely was he
landed upon the shores of the kingdom of
Sicily. It was a beautiful island ; the air was
soft and sweet, and Arion's heart was filled
with gladness.
" Surelv I shall play as never I have
played before," he said, " for my heart is
bursting with joy."
And so Arion went before the king.
Already many musicians sat about the great
marble hall, and all awaited the opportunity
to display their skill.
It was a wonderful gathering of beauty
and talent and yalor. Arion's heart beat
78 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
faster and faster ; hardly could he wait until
his turn should come to sweep the lyre and
send its melody out upon the air.
One there was whose music rose like the
rush of a mighty torrent ; another played like
the sweet babbling brook ; another like the
deep swell of the mighty ocean.
" Tho' I win no prize," said Arion to
himself, " it is joy enough to have heard the
music of this day;" and, closing his eyes from
very joy, Arion touched the chords of his lyre.
Softly, sweetly, the music rose ; more and
more tender, more and more delicate, now
near, now far, until the people whispered, " It
must be Hermes himself come to join this
contest ; " and not a sound was heard in all
the court save the soft sighing of Arion's
music. On, on he played, his eyes closed, his
face shining like the face of a god.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 79
"Tis Hermes," said the king; and no
doubt was there of the issue of the contest
when the last strains of Arion's music died
away.
And so Arion won the prize; and for
twelve days and twelve nights the kingdom
was joyous with banquet and feasting in
honor of the hero.
\.
ARION'S RETURN.
When Arion left the palace of the Sicilian
king, there was a great gathering of the
people ; for the chest of gold and the silver
cup — the prize Arion had won — were to be
given him, and the king and his pageant were
to accompany the hero to his ship.
Very grateful was Arion for the honors
poured upon him ; and glad was he when he
thought how proud Periander would be when
he saw his friend returning a victor in
the contest.
80
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 81
It was at the close of day when the little
vessel sailed away from the Sicilian shore.
The waters were smooth, the sky clear, the
wind gentle, and there seemed no danger
either from sea or sky.
But alas, there were other dangers of
which Arion did not dream ; for hardly was
the ship well out at sea, and Arion lay
sleeping, happily dreaming of his friend and
the joy there would be at his home-coming,
when the sailors, greedy of the gold they
knew lay in the chest beside Arion's bed,
began to plan and scheme together.
" We must have that gold," said one.
"But how shall we get it?" asked
another.
" We must first slay Arion," said the first.
"But Periander- ■■- what shall we say to
him when he asks us where Arion is?"
82 MYTHS OF <>LD GREECE.
" We will say he remains still in the
court of the Sicilian king."
- Then the seamen went to Arion's bedside,
and shaking him roughly, said, " Up, Arion,
up; for your hour of departure to the land
of pale shade has come. The waters invite
you ; even now the waves rise to meet you."
" But why?" asked Arion.
" We would have your gold," answered
the sailors ; and even then they had begun to
break open the heavy chest.
" Take the gold ; yes, the gold and the
silver cup if you will," pleaded Arion ; " but
leave me free ; spare me my life, and allow me
to go to my friend, Periander."
" That is it," laughed the sailors ; " it is
because Periander is your friend that we dare
not spare your life. Think you that we
dare allow you to go to him and tell him of
your lost treasure ? "
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 83
" But I promise not to tell him," said
Arion.
" We cannot risk our lives," laughed the
sailors. " Prepare at once for the sea ; let
there be no delay."
Then Arion, sad at heart, knowing how
useless were words or entreaties, dressed
himself in his robe of purple and gold. He
was indeed fair to look upon ; the purple tunic
fell from his shoulders as from the shoulders
of a king. The jewels upon his arms sparkled
in the pale moonlight.
Taking his lyre in his hand, he raised his
eves towards heaven and played one last sad
song. Even the sailor's hearts were touched.
The waves stood still, and the fishes gathered
round the vessel to catch the sounds. Arion's
voice rose, soft and sad. " Ye heroes of
Elysium, who have already passed the black
84 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
waters, soon shall I join your band. Yet ye
cannot relieve my sorrows. Alas ! I leave my
friend behind. O thou who didst seek thy
Eurydice in this land of shade, hear me ! I
too must come. Ye Nereids, receive Arion
who comes now to thee."
So saving, Arion sprang into the sea ; the
waters closed over him ; the ship moved on ;
and the sailors sat down to divide their gold.
" It is ours," they said, " nor have we any fear
now of Arion."
But they did not know.
" Arion," said a voice, as the hero sank
beneath the waters, " fear not. You shall not
die ; for I have listened to your song and long
to bring aid to you in this sad hour."
Arion looked ; and there beside him,
sinking, sinking slowly beneath the waters, even
as he himself was sinking, swam a dolphin.
MYTHS OF <>L1) GREECE.
"Get upon my back, brave youth," said
the dolphin " tell me where you would go, and
gladly will I bear you to the home from which
the cruel sailors have cut you off."
A DOLPHIN.
" O good friend," said Arion, leaping upon
the dolphin's back, " how can I repay you?"
" Speak not of reward," answered the
dolphin ; " proud am I of such a burden."
And away through the water he sped. All
night, all day, all another night he sped ; and
when again the sun rose, the shores of the
kingdom of Periander were reached, and Arion
once more stood upon the friendly sands.
86
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" Farewell, O kind and friendly dolphin!"
he said. "Would that you could come with
me to the court of the king and there receive
GALATEA (RAPHAEL.)
the thanks of Periander. But it cannot be;
companionship there cannot be for us, and I
must say farewell. May Galatea, the queen
of the deep, accord to you her favor, that you,
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 87
proud of your burden, may draw her chariot
over the smooth waters."
Then Arion hastened to the palace of the
king. " O my friend," he cried, " I have come
back to you ; nor did I fail to win the prize
offered by the Sicilian king."
Then Arion told his story : — he told of
the days of feasting at the Sicilian court, of
the plot of the wicked sailors, and of his
wonderful rescue from death.
" I will be upon the shore and await the
coming of the ship that bears these cruel
sailors. As they land I will greet them as
becomes a king, and they shall tell their story."
Soon the ship arrived.
" O sailors," asked Periander, " have you
not brought Arion back to the city that awaits
his coming and to the king that loves him ? "
" Alas," said the sailors, " it is sad ; but so
88 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
happv was he in the court of the Sicilian king,
who showered upon him every honor, that he
bade us tell our king that it was his wish to
remain in the island of Sicily another year;
nor could we persuade him to return with us."
11 A fair story," said the king sternly-
11 Come now with me to my palace, and tell me
of this wonderful island which has so captured
my friend Arion."
And the sailors, unsuspecting, followed
the king.
" Enter," said he as they reached the
gateway. The sailors entered. At once, at a
signal from the king, the sailors were seized
and put in irons. Arion came and stood
before them. The wicked men trembled with
fear. They fell upon their knees and begged
for mercy.
" Such mercy as you showed Arion, that
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 8'.)
do I show you," said the king", and the sailors
were hurried away from the city, out, out
across the country, into the borders of a
barbaric country.
" Begone, now," said the soldiers of the
king, who had driven them hither. " Begone,
and let no light from Perianders kingdom
shine again upon your wretched faces. Flee
into the forests ; and may the barbaric foe that
dwells beside these forests hunt your lives, even
as they hunt the wild beasts that you shall
hide among."
ARETHUSA CHANGED INTO A FOUNTAIN (CH. CRAUK.)
ALPHEUS AND ARETHUSA.
" O Artemis ! Artemis ! " cried Alpheus,
" O beautiful huntress-queen ! but one boon do
I ask of thee, or of the gods above in Mt.
Olympus. Neither do I ask of thee great
wealth or power or fame. Only this I ask :
that I may wander, free from care, forever up
and down these beautiful valleys amid the
tree-clad hills, and dwell forever among the
flowers and grasses that make the valley ever
fresh and sweet."
"But your wife and child at home?" —
said Artemis.
" They shall be cared for — that I prom-
ise," Alpheus answered ; " but for me, let me
91
ARTEMIS (CQKKEGGIO.)
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 93
wander here; there is no other life so free, so
sweet."
" It shall be as you wish," said Artemis ;
and, raising her bow, she caused a vision to
rise from out the hillside — a vision of a
maiden pure and beautiful, with hair like
the golden light, and a robe that shone like
shimmering mist beneath the sun.
And the maiden, singing cheerily, jovous
as a bird, came tripping down the valley to
where the huntress stood.
" It is Arethusa," said the queen, and
Alpheus turned to see. In the beautiful
maiden's hands were flowers of choicest color,
and on her head a chaplet of delicate leaves
and buds.
As Alpheus looked upon the vision of
beauty, a strange spell fell upon him ; he
forgot the valley and the hillsides ; he forgot
94 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
the huntress queen ; the song of the birds
grew fainter and fainter ; he saw not the
nodding flowers at his feet, nor yet the deep
blue sky above his head. Blind was he to
all the world, save only the sweet, pure vision
of Arethusa that stood before him in the
valley.
" O thou most beautiful Arethusa ! " he
cried, raising his arms towards her.
With a cry, Arethusa turned and fled.
" Flee not from me, O vision fair ! " he cried ;
but Arethusa flew like the wind down the
valley.
" Hear me ! hear me ! " cried Alpheus,
following in hot pursuit. " I will not hurt
thee, nor take thy freedom from thee. Hear
me, only hear me, for alas, I cannot live
without thee ! "
On, on the maiden flew, down the valley,
MYTHS OF <>LT) GREECE. 05
across the fields, up the hillsides ; and, at last,
with one sad cry to the gods for help, she
sprang from the rocky cliff, whose high walls
cast its dark shadow across the valley, and
floated down a glistening, sparkling fall of
water into the valley below.
Then Alpheus wept, and threw himself
upon his face in bitter, piteous grief. " O
Arethusa! Arethusa!" he cried; but there came
no answer save the plashing of the fountain.
Then Alpheus rose, sad at heart, and
turned to go away ; but lo, a change had
fallen, too, upon him ; for no longer was he
a huntsman, forgetting home and duty, but a
river — a long, winding river, with the sea
before him, and doomed henceforth to wander
for all time in the valley he had loved so well.
For thus had Artemis the huntress-queen
answered the prayer of Alpheus.
THETIS BEARING ARMOR OF ACHILLES (FRANCOIS GERARD.)
THE GOLDEN APPLE.
On the top of Mt. Pelion there was a
great cave — so deep that no man had ever
journeyed into the darkness of the mountain
to find its inner chambers, where, on great
occasions, the gods held high carnival.
Beautiful indeed was this cave within.
Its walls sparkled with crystals of Iris' colors,
and the great hall floor shone like glass.
Together, one evening when the davs were
short and the Sun-god had earlv driven his
chariot beyond the cloud-land of the west, the
gods met in the wondrous cave. It was the
wedding feast of King Pelcus and the goddess,
Thetis, who rose each morning from the sea.
Never was there a bride more beautiful.
9s MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
Her soft green robe was woven by the Naiads
in their grottos beneath the sea. Her chaplet
of pearls was a gift of Neptune, and, as she
walked, the sandals upon her snowy feet shone
like the sunlight on the waves.
Now Peleus had been banished from his
own country, and for many a weary day had
wandered, sad and lonely, up and down the
valley by the sea.
One morning there came a voice to him
from among the trees. It was a soft voice,
and it spoke to him in kindness ; " O Peleus,
the gods have looked writh pity upon your
weary exile; and to your prayers great Jupiter
has listened. He sends to you now, to bring
you joy, the beautiful sea-nymph, Thetis, who
rises like the gentle morning mist from
out the waters. Behold, already she is beside
you ! "
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 99
Peleus looked ; but nowhere did he see
the maiden whom Jupiter had sent to be his
bride.
Then Peleus' heart grew sad again, and
he bowed his head in grief.
" But I am here," said a soft voice again
by his side. " It is I — Thetis — the sea
nymph."
" But I see only the slow-rising mist
that floats above the waters," said Peleus
sadly.
" But I am in the mist," said the voice
again. " Care you not for the gifts of the
gods ? Will you not search for me ? "
" My life would I give for this sweet gift
of the gods," said Peleus, fervently, " but
where may I search for thee?"
" In the mist ! in the mist ! " whispered
the trees ; and Peleus hastened close to the
100 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
water's brink. " Thetis, Thetis," he cried, " do
not hide from me. Thetis ! Thetis ! "
Then the mist came closer ; it rolled
across the waters ; it lifted itself from the
fields, and stood at last a shining pillar of
white light upon the hill top.
" Never, never will I permit thee to
escape from me," said Peleus. Across the
fields, up the hillside he hurried, calling upon
the gods to give him strength and speed ; and
when he reached the hill top, there Thetis
stood, the beautiful water maiden, in her soft
robe of trailing green.
And so it came about that there was great
rejoicing among the gods, and the great cave
was ablaze with light ; for in the banquet hall
a feast was spread, and all the gods and
goddesses were there to celebrate the wedding
of the beautiful Thetis and the brave Peleus.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 101
The vaulted roof of the cave was studded
with precious stones ; and the shining floor
reflected back the thousand flaming torches
that the sea-nymphs bore.
Peleus. clad in shining armor, the gift of
Jupiter, shone with a glory that rivalled the
Iris-colored walls; and Thetis, never so
beautiful, stood like a shining moonlight
cloud, amid the ten thousand happy guests.
Wonderful were the gifts to Peleus.
There were the deathless horses which
Neptune brought, and a handsome chariot
of finely wrought gold ; for such were the
gifts suited to the hero who should win
the heart of the lovely Thetis.
First at the banquet table sat great
Jupiter, and beside him the haughty Juno
and the smiling Venus. The fleet-footed
Mercury was there ; and Hebe who brought
HEBE, THE CUP-BEARER (MME. SALLES-WAGNER.
MYTHS OF <>LI> GREECE.
103
the golden cup; the Muses made soft music.
Iris spread an arch of color above the wide-
spread table ; the sea-nymphs danced ; and
Apollo played upon his magic lyre.
APOLLO AND THE MUSES (GIULIO ROMANO.)
Never was there feast more joyous, never
wedding more auspicious. But alas ! one
goddess there was who stood in the darkness
outside and muttered evil threats, and plotted
to bring sorrow and disturbance upon the
gods who had not bidden her to the feast.
It was while Apollo sang his softest
music, and the company sat hushed in happy
104 MYTHS OF <)LD GREECE.
silence, that Iris, taking upon herself a form
invisible, crept into the banquet hall and
threw into the midst of the gods assembled
a golden apple.
Large and golden was the apple, and
upon it was written the words:
For the Fairest.
"Whence came this?" asked Jupiter, when
Mercury laid it at his feet.
"We know not," said Mercury; "it fell
just now as from out the roof of the cave.
Surely it is a gift for the beautiful " — but
there Mercury stopped. " For the Fairest ! "
Surely it was not for Mercury to say which of
the beautiful goddesses was most fair.
Even Jupiter looked from one to another,
speaking not a word. What had at first
seemed so simple became now a puzzle indeed,
even to the all-wise Jupiter.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 105
"For the Fairest!" and Jupiter looked
toward Juno. " For the Fairest ! " and he
looked toward Venus, and Minerva. Would
not some one claim it, and so relieve him of
the task of choosing?
"Why delay?" spoke out Juno, her hand-
some face flushing angrily. " Is it so difficult
to know that the apple is intended for me,
the queen ? "
"Of what moment is it to be queen," cried
Minerva, " if one has not with it the grace of
mind and gentleness of heart that makes one
queenly? The apple is intended for me; for
it is I who have the true beauty that perishes
never."
" Nonsense, both ! " cried Venus. " With
me dwells joy. In me all mankind rejoices.
To be happy, that is best. That is the true
beauty. The apple should be mine."
106 MYTHS OV OLD GREECE.
11 Truly, it is an apple of discord," and
Jupiter sighed.
" It is mine ! " said Juno, haughtily.
11 Mine ! " flashed Venus.
14 It is mine alone," said Minerva, with a
dignity that awed the gods and goddesses to
silence.
But soon the strife broke forth again.
Not one, from the highest to the least among
the nymphs, but arrayed herself upon the
side of one or another of the beautiful
goddesses who claimed the apple of discord
for herself. The music of Apollo was hushed;
the Muses fled in grief, and the sea-nymphs,
frightened, crept back to their peaceful grottos
beneath the sea; and in place of the joy that
had been, now all was bitter wrangling.
Already the chariot of the Sun-god had
appeared in the eastern sky, when Jupiter,
JUNO (NATIONAL MUSEUM, NAPLES.)
PARIS (VATICAN, ROME.)
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 109
rising, said : " Let now all discord cease. It is
not for one of us to say which goddess is most
beautiful. Let us leave the decision to some
mortal who dwells upon the earth below.
Even now, I see far across the sea, a youth
who tends his sheep upon the hillside. He
rises now from sleep, and stands beneath the
grateful shade of the sacred tree. Flee, swift-
footed Hermes, flee to the hillside where the
youth Paris guards his flocks. Tell him of
the gift for the fairest, and by his decision
will we abide."
Then Mercury, obedient, led the three
goddesses across the sea and up the hillside
where Paris watched his flock — an innocent,
happy youth, not dreaming of the greatness so
soon to be his.
44 Hard, indeed, is it to choose," said Paris,
when the three goddesses stood before him ;
110
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" but if choose I must, then would I give the
apple to thee, O Venus."
" Wise youth," said Venus ; and as a
SLEEPING VENUS (TITIAN. J
reward for your wisdom, you shall have that
which shall make you the envied of all the
world; for the most beautiful woman dwelling
upon the earth shall be your wife ; and with
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. HI
her you shall dwell, prince and princess, in a
great and glorious city."
" I thank you, kind Venus," said Paris;
" but I have already a wife, Eone, who is to
me the most beautiful in all the earth."
Venus made no answer; for she knew
full well that whatever the gods promise, that
thing must happen; and the three goddesses
rose high in the air and sped away towards
Mt. Olympus ; and Paris, although he did not
know it yet, was a changed man ; for all the
future that was to have been was swept away,
and a new future now beckoned him onward.
It happened that on the next dav Priam,
king of Troy, sat musing. " Once," said he to
himself, " I had a little son whose beauty was
like that of a god. But the Oracle prophesied
that one day he would bring destruction upon
112 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
this kingdom, and that, through him, this
people would fall into the power of a foreign
people."
11 Alas, alas, my child ! what cruel fate set
this decree upon your luckless life ; and what
was there left for me to do but, for the safety
of my people, to send you from the kingdom
and command that you be slain ! Alas, my
brave son, beautiful and strong, even as a god
is beautiful and strong ! "
And the old king sat for hours, looking
out across the city, within whose walls peace
had reigned for many a year.
" But thou art not forgotten, pale shade of
Trojan Prince," the old king said, rising, " and
on the very morrow shall a great feast be
made, and there shall be music and games —
all in honor of the Trojan Prince whose life
was sacrificed for the safety of his people ! "
MYTHS i»K OLD (iKEECE.
113
Then the king called his trusty servants
to him, and bade them go out into the fields
and up the hillsides, where they would find
the strongest, sleekest cattle. " From the
THE SACRIFICE (FLAXMAN.)
flock," said he, " bring to me the bull fittest
for sacrifice ; and to-morrow shall be a festal
day in honor of the Prince now gone years
since to the pale land of shades."
Now, there was one amongst the oldest
servants who sighed a deep sigh. To him
114 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
had been entrusted the slaying of the baby
prince ; and well did he remember the great
terror that came upon him when he threw the
child into the fire and it burned not, and when
he left him upon the cold hillside and he
suffered not.
" It was not the will of the gods," the old
servant now whispered to himself, " that the
child should die ; and it is a secret with them
and me that even now he dwells amid his
flocks upon the hillsides without the city ; and
a brave youth he is — my young Paris the
herdsman ! And well worthy is he to be the
king of Troy when at last old King Priam
passes from the light of day."
Now it was from the herd of Paris that
the bull was chosen for the sacrifice ; and so
angry was Paris that his herds should be
disturbed, that he declared that he himself
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 115
would drive it into the city and that, moreover,
he would contend for the prizes side by side
with the youths of the city.
The morning dawned bright and clear;
and before the sun had spanned the arch of
heaven by one half its course, the games wrere
at their height. Brave indeed wrere the
Trojan youths, and bravest of them all was
Hector, the son of old King Priam ; but with
the strong, young shepherd lad none could
contend. Prize after prize wras laid at his
feet, until Hector, angry, took his place before
the youth and bade him withdraw from the
games.
" I will not ! " thundered Paris ; and had
Hector been less a hero, he would have quailed
before the ringing voice of the daring youth.
" Look ! look ! " cried Priam's queen.
"Mark the two youths! How like they are!
116 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
The same fair hair; the same clear eyes!
Priam, Priam, I could believe it is our son,
our Prince, lost so many years ago to us!"
CASSANDRA (D. G. KOSSETTI.)
"O blinded king! O blinded king!" cried
Cassandra, the prophetess. " See you not that
this is your own son --the son whoso long
MYTHS OF <»H) GREECE. 117
ago you sent forth to die upon the woody hills
of Ida ? Do you not know that the gods slay
not those whom they would have live, and that
it is the same child that stands now before you,
a victorious hero on his own first festal day ? "
And so it came about that Paris was
taken to the palace of the king and given a
place of honor beside his father at the long
table of the banquet hall. All the people
rendered honor unto him, and he was hence-
forth known in all the kingdoms round about
as Paris, the long lost son of Priam — Paris,
the Prince of Troy.
For many happy months Paris dwelt in
the palace of the king, rejoicing in his new-
found home and friends ; and almost had the
cruel prophesy been forgotten, so happy were
the king and queen in their two brave and
handsome sons, Hector and Paris.
lis MYTHS OF <>LI) GREECE.
But, alas, the gods forget not their
decrees ; and one day there came to Troy
a hero from the shores of Greece. Most
valiant service had the Grecian Menelaus
rendered Troy, and such friendship sprang up
between him and Paris, that, when the Grecian
returned to his home, he took the youth with
him ; nor was there any honor that was not
showered upon him, the fair-haired Prince of
Trov.
But now had come the time for the fulfil-
ment of the prophesy. No sooner had
Paris reached the kingdom of Menelaus than,
forgetting honor, gratitude, all, he stole the
beautiful Helen, the wife of Menelaus, and
fled with her across the seas — for Helen was
the most beautiful woman in all the world.
And so it came about that through Paris,
Troy fell, and the Trojans of the city lost their
ABDUCTION OF HELEN (RUDOLPH VON DBUTSCH.)
120
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
liberty and their glory, as a people. For when
Menelaus knew the misfortune that had fallen
HECTOR GOING TO BATTLE (A. MAIGNAN.)
upon him, he raised a great army and marched
against the city of Troy, whither Paris had fled
with Helen, the beautiful queen of the Grecians.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 121
For long, long years the army besieged
the city ; thousands upon thousands of the
bravest Trojans and the bravest Grecians fell
in battle; still there seemed no hope of victory
to either side.
With both armies the gods, too, fought —
some with the Trojans, some with the Greeks,
and bitter was the contest between the foes.
But at last the Greeks, resorting to
strategy, built a wonderful wooden horse, so
large that hundreds of Greeks could easily
conceal themselves within it, and this they left
before the gates of Troy, withdrawing the
armies to a distant shelter, that the Trojans
might believe that, despairing of success, they
had set forth for their distant homes, defeated.
Great was the rejoicing of the Trojans
when, looking out from the watch towers one
morning, they found the plain outside the city
122
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
clear, and no foe in sight as far as eye could
reach. " But what is this ? " they said, as they
saw the great wooden horse outside their
gates.
" It is an offering to the gods," said one.
" Let us drag it into the city and place it
where stood the Palladium, which the Greeks
stole from us and so ruthlessly destroyed ! "
And so it was the Trojans fell into the
trap the Greeks had set for them ; and when
the wooden image had been placed in the
great square, and night had settled upon the
city, the Greeks sprang forth from their hiding
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 123
place, rushed to the gates, threw them
open, signalled to the army waiting" outside,
and before the Trojans knew the fate that had
fallen upon them, the streets were filled with
Greeks. With flaming torches they thronged
the streets and set on fire the homes and
public buildings ; the temple they razed to the
ground ; the altars were desecrated ; the city
walls were thrown down, and the people
driven captive from the city that had been so
long their home.
Such was the end of the Trojan power;
such was the fate brought upon the people by
the perfidy of Paris, the fair-haired Prince of
Troy, of whom it was prophesied at birth,
" This child shall prove the destruction of the
Trojan empire."
STATUE OF PENELOPE (VATICAN, ROME.)
ULYSSES' RETURN TO GREECE.
Now, among the brave Greek generals
who had fought with such skill and patience,
who had been among the first to urge his
countrymen on to avenge the wrong to
Menelaus, who never for a day wavered in
his purpose to rescue the beautiful Helen and
so save the reputation of his country for
courage and success in war, was Ulysses, the
friend of Menelaus.
Never a battle but Ulysses was in the
foremost ranks and in the thickest of the
fight ; never a success that Ulysses was not
among the bravest of the victors ; and never
a defeat that Ulysses was not still the ready
support of the defeated, the daring, defiant,
121
126 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
never-failing man of courage, spurring his
companions on to fresh endeavor, and to
fiercer battle. For such was the hero of these
early times when Greece and Troy fought
together.
Now this brave Ulysses had been watched
over and protected during this long siege by
more than one of the powerful gods that dwelt
on Mt. Olympus ; still, there were other gods
who, hating the Greek leaders and being
determined that Troy should conquer in the
great warfare, fought against Ulysses and
pursued him with disaster, even on his
homeward voyage.
11 Now that the war is finished and Troy
is overthrown," said Ulysses, " my heart turns
towards home. There did I leave ray faithful
Penelope and my brave son, a child only, but
now a tall youth, noble and brave I know,
MINERVA (CAPITOL, ROME),
128 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
trained as he has been by so noble a mother."
Then certain ones among the gods
counciled together. "He shall endure great
suffering ; he shall be wrecked ; enemies shall
rise up on every side, and for long, long years
shall he be tossed upon the wave."
" But at last, in spite of all your threats,"
rang out the clear voice of Minerva, " he shall
reach his home, and shall find awaiting him
the noble Penelope and the brave youth."
And so it was, Ulysses set forth upon the
sea. The sails were set, the oarsmen were at
their places, and with joyous hearts, Ulysses
turned the vessels towards his home, happy
and hopeful, not knowing the fate that lay
before him.
But hardly had the sun journeyed once
across the sky, before Neptune, the sea-god,
sent upon the little ships a terrible storm.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 129
The winds blew, the waxes rose high, and the
little fleet, driven hither and thither, drifted upon
the shores of the island of the Lotus eaters.
Three men Ulysses sent inland to learn
what manner of people these Lotus eaters
might be. Day after day passed by, but the
three men never returned. At last, no longer
willing to endure the waiting, Ulysses and
his men made their way into the island to
learn what terrible fate might have overtaken
their companions.
Sadly and with hearts heavy, they made
their way in from the rocky shore; but upon
the sunny, flowery banks of the sparkling river
there the three men lay, eating of the fruit of
the lotus tree.
" O come and eat," said they; " then let
us remain forever in this land of ease and
plenty."
130 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
" But your homes ! " said Ulysses, sur-
prised at the change that had come to his
three most valiant men.
" Do not trouble us," they answered
dreamily ; " we are content. Eat of the lotus
fruit ; then you, too, shall be content."
But Ulysses saw that a spell was upon
them, and, summoning his crew, he bade them
seize the three spell-bound men and drag
them to their vessel. And not until they were
placed upon the benches and the oars again
were within their grasp, did the spell lift itself
from them, and give them power again to
strive bravely in the struggle to reach their
homes.
" Let us row away from this spell-bound
island," cried Ulysses, " with speed. Surely
greater danger is here upon us than that of
war.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 131
On, on the vessel sped. " Now we shall
have fair sailing," said the crew ; but old
Neptune, hearing these vain words, lashed the
waters round about him and roared with glee ;
for slowly, surely, as the night wore on, the
vessel was drifting, drifting close upon the
rocky shores of the island where Polyphemus
tended his flocks, and watched with his one
great eye for ships that came too near his
shores.
* ) JHtH
m&SS&^g^^ '^T~
V[-i^F
THE BLINDING OF POLYPHEMUS (FROM A GREEK VASE DRAWING.;
POLYPHEMUS.
When the sun rose beyond the waters far
away to the east, Ulysses saw before him a
great black cave. Great trees stood before it,
and over it clustered heavy vines.
Near by, large flocks of sheep lay sleeping
on the hillsides.
" These are goodly sheep," said the crew.
" Let us rest here and feast ourselves."
132
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. ,33
But as they looked, behold, the whole
dark forest raised itself black against the sky;
— or at least, so it seemed — and, terrified, the
crew stood trembling upon the shore, daring
neither to advance nor to turn and flee to the
ship.
Then a great roar filled the air; the forest
shook itself, and there above them, Marine
down upon them with his one great horrid
eye, stood the giant Polyphemus.
But he saw them not, and when he had
turned away, Ulysses and his adventure-loving
crew made their way to the great cave where
Polyphemus dwelt, and where at night he
stabled his numerous flocks.
Into the cave the men made their way,
and finding food and wine, they seated
themselves for a generous feast.
Suddenly darkness fell upon the cave-
134 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
for at the entrance stood the giant Poly-
phemus, and before him into the cave came
the vast flocks.
" Let us hide," said Ulysses ; and glad
indeed were all the crew to conceal themselves
in niches in the rock.
For a long time, Polyphemus perceived
not the terror-stricken men ; but as the fire
flashed higher, lighting up the gloomy walls
of the dismal cave, the hiding places were
revealed.
" You sea-robbers ! You thieves ! " thun-
dered Polyphemus, " how dare you steal into
my home unasked ! "
" We are no sea-robbers, neither are we
thieves," answered Ulysses boldly. " We are
Greeks, returning from the Trojan war, and
driven by the unfriendly tide upon your shores."
But little cared Polyphemus for tales of
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
135
heroes or of disaster either upon land or sea ;
and, seizing two of the companions of Ulysses,
he swallowed them, while his roar of satisfied
greed echoed through the cave and shook it to
its foundations.
Then the giant rolled a great stone up at
the door of the cave that neither sheep nor
men might escape, and stretched himself out
upon the floor to sleep ; nor did he wake until
the sun was high in the heavens.
Then seizing two more of the unfortunate
men, he swallowed them, drove forth his
flocks, rolled up the great stone before the door,
and went forth to tend his sheep in the pasture.
Sad at heart were Ulysses and his men
as the long day wore on. At nightfall the
giant returned, ate two more men, and again
lav down to sleep.
But Ulysses had already planned revenge
136
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
upon the cruel giant; and when again his
heavy slumber shook the cave, the men crept
forth from their hiding-places, thrust a sharp
iron into the one eye the Cyclop had, and even
while he roared with pain, hid themselves
among the sheep.
Wild with anger the huge creature roared
and raged, and stretched his great arms in all
directions to seize upon his foe; but they were
MYTHS OF <)L1) GREECE. 137
safe among- the sheep ; and when Polyphemus
burst open the great cave door and roared out
across the sea, the men, clinging to the long
wool, and hidden from the touch of Poly-
phemus, were dragged forth by the frightened
sheep as they rushed forth from the cave.
Never was there so narrow an escape
from cruel death, not even in the fiercest of
the Trojan battles ; and, weak with fright,
daring not even yet to speak, the men
staggered down to the shore, swam out to
their ship, seized the oars in their trembling
hands and made their way out into the sea,
forgetting not to offer sacrifices and prayers of
gratitude to the gods that they had been
spared so terrible a death.
For days the little ship sailed bravely on;
the sky was fair, the winds favorable, and old
Neptune seemed to have forgotten his cruel
designs upon Ulysses and his weary crew.
.EOLUS (CATHEDRAL, SIENA.;
^X)LUS, THE WIND-KEEPER.
But by and by there rose before them
from out the sea, a great island of rock ; and
around its crest was a great wall of shining
brass.
"Who dwells within these walls?" shouted
Ulysses, coming nearer.
And a voice answered, " I, yEolus, the
Keeper of the Winds, dwell here ; and with
me are my six strong sons and my six strong
daughters. Bring thy vessel close upon my
shores, and come and dwell with me ; for
welcome are all strangers in my island."
Very glad were Ulysses and his men, and
straightway the vessel was driven ashore.
For four long weeks the men rested in
139
Mil MYTHS OF <>LD GREECE.
the island, feasted by King Mollis. But at
the end of the fourth week, Ulysses bade
farewell to their most kind host, and again the
little crew set forth upon the sea.
Many were the gifts and rare, with which
King ^Eolus loaded the little vessel ; but
strangest of them all was the gift of a bag
of winds. For ^Eolus was, as he had said,
the keeper of the winds, and without his
permission no wind could blow.
Knowing, then, that his guests, whom
he had come to love full well, longed for
clear weather and fair sailing, zEolus had
fastened into a great bag, tied with strong
silver cords, all but the soft west wind ; and it
was this bag he had given into the keeping of
Ulysses, saying, " Guard well this bag ; for in
it have I imprisoned the adverse winds, so
that only the west wind shall be abroad ; for
MYTHS OF <>LI) GREECE. 141
it is that wind that shall guide you gently
towards your home, the sunny land of Ithaca."
Gladly did Ulysses prize this greatest of
all gifts ; and so true was the promise of
^Eolus, that, at the end of nine days only, the
shores of their loved land lay full in sight.
" Now," sighed Ulysses, " our disasters
are at an end. The rising of to-morrow's sun
shall see our little vessel lying in the harbor
from whence, so many long, long years ago,
we sailed forth to carry war against the
Trojans."
But alas for Ulysses' hopes ! Not vet
were the wishes of the god's fulfilled ; not
yet was the time come when the wanderer
should rest within the peace and quiet of his
home. And so it came about that jealousy
and suspicion rose in the hearts of the
companions of Ulysses.
U2 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
"Who is Ulysses," they said, "that he
should hold a secret in which we have no part?
How are we to know what may lie concealed
in the great bag with the silver string? Let
us open it, since it is not his will to tell us,
and learn for ourselves. Surely we have
shared his perils, and whatever treasure he has
concealed, that, too, we have a right to share."
And so, while Ulysses slept, the men
crept towards the bag and unfastened the
silver cord ; when, lo ! there rushed forth like
hissing serpents the imprisoned winds.
They shrieked and howled among the
sails ; they lashed the water till it was white
with foam ; the great black clouds rose on
every side, and there was upon the sea a storm
so terrible that even the gods on Mt. Olympus
trembled, and the little ships were scattered
far and wide upon the stormy waters.
THE WINDS (MICHAEL ANGELO.)
144 .MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
Days passed ; the storm abated, and
Ulysses and his men, now penitent and heavy-
hearted, found themselves upon a strange
coast, where the cliffs rose black and tall, and
the waters seethed around the treacherous
rocks.
" Let us rest, even upon this inhospitable
shore," said the men ; but scarcely were the
anchors dropped and the men on shore, when
there rushed upon them a great giant, who
seizing two of the men, swallowed them, and
roared with glee to think how grand a feast he
now should have.
But the men, seeing the dreadful fate of
the two, fled from the shore and scrambled up
the sides of the vessels.
After them in swift pursuit came the
giants, hundreds upon hundreds of them ; and
tearing up great rocks and trees, they hurled
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
Uo
them at the vessels, crushing- them like shells,
and scattering the crew upon the sea.
Then, wading forth into the sea. they
gathered up the struggling men and ate them
in fierce delight. Only one vessel was saved
from all the fleet; and with the few men who
had escaped, Ulysses set forth again, sad at
heart, upon the cruel sea.
CIRCE AND THE FRIENDS OF ULYSSES (BRITON RIVIERE J
CIRCE'S PALACE.
For two days now the one lone vessel
drifted ; for so stricken with grief were the
crew, and so sick with terror were they, that
none had courage even to guide the vessel.
At last, another island rose out of the
sea ; and as they drew near they saw, rising
beyond the trees, the friendly smoke, as from
an altar or from the hearth of some home-
loving people.
Drawing near, Ulysses, unable to trust
his companions, disheartened as they were,
himself set forth to find food for them in the
unknown island.
It was a beautiful island, and game was
plenty. Then when all had feasted and had
H7
148 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
refreshed themselves, a little band of men set
forth to explore, leaving behind Ulysses and
fully half the crew.
The farther inland they went, the more
beautiful did they find the island ; and at last,
rising out of the dense forest, the wonderful
palace of Circe appeared before them.
In the distance they heard her wonderful
voice, singing softly the strange, sweet song
no mortal could imitate ; the song which no
mortal could resist.
Forward the men pressed, each eager first
to reach the palace. The great gates flew
open upon their golden hinges, and the
beautiful Circe came forth to welcome them.
Gracious and most kind did she appear
in the eyes of her guests. One only of them
all was wise and wary. He, Eurylochus,
remembering the dire disasters that had
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 149
already befallen his comrades in this unfor-
tunate voyage, held back ; and when the
guests were led to the banquet hall, unnoticed
he hid himself among the pillars of the
portico.
Then he watched his comrades, and saw
them, eager, take their places at the bountifully
spread table.
" Eat," said Circe ; and they fell upon the
food like swine, so hungry were they from
long fastings.
" Drink," said Circe ; and the wine poured
freely.
Then over Circe's face there came an evil
glitter; and raising her sceptre she said,
" Now, swine that you are, go ! Go, every
man of you, to the sty wherein such as you
should dwell. Live there in the form of those
gross animals like which you are!"
150 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
The heart of Eurylochus stood still with
horror ; for scarcely had the words been said,
when every man, grovelling on the floor of the
great hall, grunted and squealed, and snouted
like the very brutes into which they wTere
transformed ; and away they sped to the great
sty outside to dwell among others of their kind.
Then Eurylochus, speeding on the wings
of the wrind, fled back to the ship, and poured
into the ears of Ulysses the tale of woe.
" Our comrades must be rescued," was the
answer Ulysses made; and at once he set
forth to the palace.
" Whither goest thou ? " said a voice
close by.
"It is you, O Hermes," said Ulysses;
and well do you know whither I go and why."
" But you are powerless before the power
of Circe," Hermes replied.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 151
"That may be; still would I try to rescue
my companions, even at the risk of my own
life."
44 The ever brave Ulysses ! "said Hermes ;
" and I will help. Take this flower ; eat it ;
then go fearless into the presence of the cruel
Circe ; for the flower has magic power."
Then Ulyssses did as he was bid, and
entered most bravely the golden palace.
Like his comrades before him Ulysses
ate and drank as Circe commanded him ; but
when, raising her glittering sceptre, she opened
her lips to speak the fateful words, Ulysses
raised his glittering sword, and looked defiance
into the eyes of the witch goddess. Nor did
any change come over him when her words
were finished.
Then Circe, knowing that the man before
her must be some hero, protected by the gods
152 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
by a spell more potent than her own, dropped
her sceptre and fell, a suppliant, at the feet of
her noble guest.
Then did Ulysses demand of her the
freedom of his comrades, and the safe return
of every one to the vessel awaiting them
outside the rocky shores.
All this Circe fulfilled, and in due time
again the little ship was making its way to
Ithaca, the home so far away, and towards
which the crew looked with sad hearts and
weary eyes.
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ULVSSBS AND THE SIRKXS FROM A GREEK VASE..
THE SIRENS.
Merrily over the waves the vessel glided
for many a day ; for Circe had promised a
prosperous wind, and already hope had begun
to rise in the hearts of the crew, and now and
then the oars lay idle.
But one evening, when all was still, the
quick ear of Ulysses caught the sound of
distant music.
153
STATUE OF SIREN (MUSEUM, ATHENS..)
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 155
" Hark ! " said Ulysses ; and every oar
was hushed. Softer, sweeter, came the music,
nearer and yet nearer.
" We are nearin^ the flowerv meadows ot
the Sirens," said Ulysses.
" This is charmed music, which no man
can resist, let him try as he will.
We then must shut it out from our ears;
for it must not be that we shall fall entranced
by the Siren music, when our journey is
already so near its end."
And speaking thus, Ulysses warmed and
moulded a great mass of wax, and calling
each man to him, stuffed his ears, that no
sound might reach him as he passed the
charmed meadows.
" As for myself," said Ulysses, " I would
know what the music is like. So bind me,
good comrades, to the mast. Bind me
156 MYTHS OF old GREECE.
strongly that there may be no chance of
escape for me, though I struggle and beg you
to release me as the charm enthralls me."
So Ulysses was bound, and the men,
with ears sealed, took their places at the oars.
Nearer and nearer came the music.
''More wisdom for thee, 0 wise Ulysses!
Come, come, O come, Ulysses!" sang the
Sirens; and Ulysses, charmed, strained and
pulled at the ropes, and begged the men to loose
him and to turn the vessel towards the shore.
But the men only bound him the closer,
and plied the oars with greater force and
speed ; till at last quiet again came into the
soul of Ulysses, and the oarsmen, seeing that
the danger was past, unsealed their ears, and
unbound their leader from the mast. So did
they pass one danger without harm and with-
out delay.
SCVI.I.A FI.AXMAN.)
SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS.
But another danger lay in wait tor the
little crew; for it was decreed that none but
Ulysses himself should ever reach again the
shores of Ithaca.
Suddenly there rose a terrible sound of
thundef and rumble and roar. The vessel
rocked and rolled, and the foam and clouds of
spray blinded the eyes of the oarsmen, so that
they knew not which way to guide the ship.
;.:.:
158 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
The hearts of the oarsmen were cold with
fear; and even Ulysses had little courage to
urge the men onward into the waters that lay
between Scylla and Charybdis.
But the men, desperate, plied the oars;
and Ulysses, standing high upon the prow,
sword in hand, watched with strained and
eager eye, that he might catch the first
glimpse of Scylla's terrible heads, and strike
them ere she caught the shining of the blade
of steel.
But Scylla pushed not forth her heads ;
and Ulysses, seeing the whirlpool into which
the ship was drifting, cried "To the other side!
To the other side! Closer to the higher rock!"
Then the vessel turned, the whirlpool was
passed, and the vessel for one second lay
beneath the terrible cave in which the
monster Scylla dwelt.
MYTHS OF OLD GKEECE. i^
"Now, quick, quick! Row with all your
might ! " Ulysses cried ; but, alas, no oarsmen
could row with a speed that could escape the
dreadful Scylla; and before even his sword
could be raised, Ulysses saw six of his
comrades seized by the six terrible arms, lifted
from their benches, and drawn into the black
cavern above.
"On! on!" Ulysses shouted; and straining
every nerve, the oarsmen pushed the vessel
through the strait, and soon heard as from
afar the roar and rush of the waters, mingled
with the bellowing of Charybdis and the
screams of Scylla, angry both, that even
one of the crew should have escaped their
power.
Cold, and hungry, and weary, the crew
now demanded that they be allowed to land
upon the sunny island that lay now before
160
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
them, and on the shores of which fat cattle
grazed.
Ulysses groaned aloud ; for well did he
know the danger that lay in wait for them
upon this sunny island.
LAMFETIA COMPLAINS TO APOLLO.
But the men were desperate and heeded
not his warning. In the night, while Ulysses
slept, they left the vessel, reached the island,
slew the cattle, and sat dowrn to merry feasting.
Now these were sacred cattle, loved and
MYTHS OF <)LI) GREECE. ],;i
tended by the goddess-shepherd, Lampetia;
and when in the morning she saw the skin
and bones of her slain cattle lying upon the
shore, and knew they had been slain by the
crew of Ulysses, she called aloud to Jupiter
and said, "See, O Jupiter, what these wicked
ones have done. Nor will I rest, nor shall
there be fruits or grains ; the sun shall not
shine, and there shall be desolation in all the
earth, unless thy vengeance fall full speedilv
upon these Greeks."
Then up rose great Jupiter, and said,
"This complaint, O Lampetia, is most just,
and for their impious act these Greeks shall
suffer. No more shall they look upon the
light of day. I will, when night hangs dark
upon the sea, send down my bright, swift
thunderbolts; they shall cleave their boat in
twain, and the wicked ones shall sink into the
depths of the sea."
162 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
And so it was that in the dense darkness
suddenly a terrible storm arose ; the heavens
grew red, and a great bolt, straight from the
blackness overhead smote the vessel, tearing
it from stem to stern, and carrying awTay both
masts and men, as straws upon the restless
waves.
The groans of the drowning men filled
the air ; but in the blackness no help could
come from one to the other; only in the flashes
of the lurid lightning could they see each
other's wild faces, now and then struggling
above the cold black wTaters.
Seizing a floating mast, Ulysses clung
to it through the long black night. To this,
when the morning came, he bound the broken
helm, making thus for himself a raft; and on
this raft, though so frail, he floated and drifted
on the tide.
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
163
On, on, for nine long days and nights
Ulysses floated, and terrible were the suffer-
ings he endured from hunger, from thirst,
from cold, and from the terrors of the sea.
it
v
fy^
CLYSSES FLOATING ON THE MAST.
But there came a time, even as had been
decreed, when the hero landed upon a friendly
isle, where food and care were given him, and
after davs of rest, a brave crew of Phaecian
ie;4 MYTHS OF OLD GREECE.
youths set out with him upon the sea, and
rowed him safe to the shores of his own loved
Ithaca.
A deep sleep lay upon Ulysses, and
scarcely was he conscious of the voyage.
Then, when the keel grated upon the shores
of Ithaca, most carefully the youths lifted him,
still sleeping, from out the vessel, placed him
upon the soft hill slope beneath the trees, then
quietly rowed away.
For a long time Ulysses slept. Then,
rising, he thanked the gods that at last his
trials were at an end and that once more
his feet might press the soil of his native
land.
"Ulysses will come," Penelope had always
said, even when all had given him up as dead.
" I know Ulysses will yet come."
And the bov, Telemachus, now a fine
MYTHS OF OLD GREECE. 165
straight youth, had been taught to say, " Some
day my father will come."
And now, indeed, the brave hero had
come ; and great was the rejoicing throughout
the city. Great festivals were held in honor
of him, and sacrifices were offered to the gfods
But after these were over, content and
happy, Ulysses, returning to his family and
his acres, spent the remaing years of his life in
peace, ever grateful to the gods who, through
great danger, had thus brought him safety
home at last.
VOCABULARY.
Achilles (a-kil'ez). A Greek warrior, son of Pelens and Thetis.
.Eolus (e'6-lus). The god of the winds.
Alpheus (a!-fe'us). A river-god, son of Oceanus and Tethys.
Amazons (am'a-zonz). A race of -women -warriors.
Anteus (an-te'us). A giant and wrestler, son of Poseidon and Ge.
Apollo (a-poVo). Son of Zeus and leader of the Muses.
Arethusa (ar-e-thv'za). A nymph who was changed into a spring.
Argos (dr'gosj. A city iu Argolis, Greece.
Arion (a-ri'on). A fabulous horse, gifted with speech.
Ariadne (ar-i-ad'ne). Daughter of Minos, king of Crete.
Arista-us (ar-is-i&us). The protector of the shepherds.
Atalanta (at-a-lan'ta). A maideu in Greek legend.
Artemis (ar'te-mis). Greek goddess of light, identified with Roman
Diana.
Athens (ath'enz). The capital of Greece.
Atlas (at' las). The supporter of the sky.
Cassandra (ka-san'dra). A prophetess.
Castor (kas'tor). Brother of Pollux, son of Zeus and Leda.
Charybdis (kd-rib'dis). " Hole of Perdition," aby-s.
Circe (ser'se). An enchantress.
Corinth (kor'inth). A city of aucient Greece.
Cybele (sib'e-le). Mother of the Olympian gods.
Cyclops (si'klops . A race of one-eyed giants.
Cyrene (shre'ne). A nymph, mother of Aristaeus.
Daedalus (de'da-lus). Deity of handicrafts and art.
Delos (de'los). An island in the .Egian sea.
Diana (di-an'dj. Goddess of the Moon.
Elysium (eHz'ium . The abode of the souls of the good.
166
VOCABULARY.
Eurydice (u-rid'ise) . Wife of Orpheus.
Galatea (gal-a-te'd). A sea nvmph.
Hades {ha'dez). « The world of shades "
Hebe (he'be). Goddess of youth aud sprin-
Hector {hek'tor). Champion of the Trojanl
Hercules her'cu-lez). God of strength and courage
Hermes (her'mez). Messenger of the gods
Huh a (hi'dra). A monstrous dragon
reams (ik'a-rm). Son of Daedalns.
Iris (Vris). Goddess of the rainbow
Ithaca (ith'a-ka). One of the Ionian islands. Greece
Juno O'no). Roman divinity, ideatilied ,vith Greek Hera
. np.ter C, f-to-). Roman divinity, Identified ,vith Greek Zens
Lampetia (lam-pu'l-a). ApoUo'a danghter
Mercury (n^iS-rt). God of trade, science, arts, etc
Mr^r^kin^Cre:^^^1-1"-
Xemea («e'me-a). A valley in Argolis
Nereids (ne< re-idz) . Sea nymphs
Olympus (d-lim'pus). A mountain on the borders of u , •
Thessaly. "orders of Macedonia and
Orion {o-rl'on l. A giant and hnnter.
Orpheus (<^. Son of Apollo, a wonderful musician
Pans (partis). Second son of Priam, king of Trov
Peleus (pele-us). A king in Thessaly, fatherof Achilles
Penelope (pt-nd'd-ne) Wifp „f mi.. , ^mues.
Peueus J^ri rt^^T- a'ld mother of *—— ■
Periander ( per-i-an' der) . Tyrant of Corinth.
1 luecia (fe-a'shira). A mythical land
Pluto (plo'to). Lord of the infernal regions.
Pollux (poVuks). Twin brother of Castor
Polyphemus (jtol-i-fe'mus). A one-eyed giant.
Priam (pri'am). A king of Trov.
168 VOCABULARY.
Procrustes (pro-krus'tez . An attic robber.
Proteus (jpro'te-us). A sea-god.
Samos (sa'mos). An island in the -Ei^eau sea.
Scylla (siVa). A sea-monster.
Sirens (sl'rens). Evil sea-nymphs.
Styx {sticks). A river which flows in the lower world.
Telemachus (te-lem'a-kus). Son of Odysseus and Penelope.
Theseus (the'se-us). The youth who killed the minotaur.
Thetis fthe'tis). Chief of the Nereids.
Clysses (u-lis'ez). A kin<^ of Tthaca.
Venus (re'nns). Goddess of beauty.
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